Knarf's Knewz Channel

[knarf]

Congress on Thursday passed a stopgap spending bill to prevent a government shutdown this weekend and buy time for challenging talks on a wide range of unfinished business on Capitol Hill. The shutdown reprieve came as all sides issued optimistic takes on an afternoon White House meeting between top congressional leaders and President Donald Trump.

The measure passed the House 235-193, mostly along party lines, and breezed through the Senate on a sweeping 81-14 tally barely an hour later. It would keep the government running through Dec. 22, when another, and more difficult, shutdown problem awaits.

The bill now heads to Trump for his signature.

Topics at the White House session included relief from a budget freeze on the Pentagon and domestic agencies, extending a key children's health program and aid to hurricane-slammed Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida. The trickiest topic, and a top priority for Democrats, involves protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

These "Dreamer" immigrants are viewed sympathetically by the public and most lawmakers but face deportation in a few months because Trump reversed administrative protections provided to them by former President Barack Obama.

In back-to-back statements, both Democratic and GOP leaders declared the meeting "productive." The White House called it "constructive." Privately, congressional aides said little progress had been made.

"We had a productive conversation on a wide variety of issues. Nothing specific has been agreed to, but discussions continue," said Capitol Hill's top Democrats, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, ticking off a roster of Democratic priorities, including domestic spending increases, funding for veterans and money to battle opioid abuse, immigration and health care.

GOP leaders said they agreed with the need to address immigration, including the almost 1 million immigrants given protections by Obama, many of whom have only known America as their home.

Spokesmen for House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said GOP leaders "stressed the need to address border security, interior enforcement and other parts of our broken immigration system," adding that the tricky immigration issue "should be a separate process and not used to hold hostage funding for our men and women in uniform."

Negotiations are sure to be challenging. Pelosi staked out a hard line Thursday and insisted that any year-end deal solve the immigration issue.

Pelosi told reporters before the meeting that "we will not leave here" without helping the "Dreamers." Her stance was noteworthy because GOP leaders are likely to require Democratic votes for the pre-Christmas spending bill.

The White House said "negotiations on immigration should be held separately on a different track" and not slow down funding increases for the Pentagon.

Pelosi returned from the White House to oppose Thursday's stopgap bill. Fourteen Democrats supported the measure, however, while 18 Republicans opposed it.

Among Republicans, the conservative House Freedom Caucus had resisted the pending stopgap measure earlier in the week, fearing it would lead to a bad deal for conservatives down the road. But on Thursday, the group's chairman, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said the group will likely give leaders whatever support they need to pass the legislation.

Meadows said they'd help it pass to avoid distractions from the GOP drive to push their treasured $1.5 trillion tax bill through Congress this month. That measure, which mostly benefits businesses and upper-income people, is Trump's and the GOP's top remaining priority and would be their first major legislative triumph of the year.

But hours before Trump was to bargain with congressional leaders at the White House over longer-term spending decisions, Meadows said the conservatives would oppose any agreement they feel allows excessive federal spending.

"I want to avoid a headline that says President Trump's administration just passes the highest spending levels in U.S. history," Meadows told reporters. "There will be zero support on numbers that are too high, regardless of anybody's position on that."

He also said Ryan promised he'd fight in coming weeks to pass a full-year budget for the military and leave fights with Democrats over domestic spending for later. It is unclear how that strategy would work, since Republicans control the Senate 52-48 and will need at least eight Democratic votes to pass any spending legislation.

The prospects for successful White House talks were buffeted Wednesday when the impulsive Trump blurted to reporters that a shutdown "could happen." He blamed Democrats, saying they want "illegal immigrants pouring into our country, bringing with them crime, tremendous amounts of crime."

Last week, an unexpected attack by Trump on Schumer and Pelosi prompted the two to skip a bargaining session.

The two-week spending bill also makes money available to several states that are running out of funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. That widely popular program provides medical care to more than 8 million children.

The CHIP issue is among the year-end items where negotiations have gone positively, and aides say a long-term agreement is nearly in hand.

http://www.wbt.com/articles/ap-news/congress-averts-shutdown-sends-trump-stopgap-spending-bill

• Tweet

[knarf]

Arizona jurors who will decide a malicious-prosecution trial against former Sheriff Joe Arpaio were told Tuesday that one of Sen. Jeff Flake's sons suffered from depression as a result of a now-dismissed animal cruelty case that the lawman brought against him.

The jury was told on the opening day of the civil trial that Austin Flake and his ex-wife Logan Brown still suffer emotional distress from the charges they faced when 21 dogs at a kennel operated by the younger Flake's in-laws died from heat exhaustion. The Flakes were watching the dogs while the in-laws were in Florida.

The lawsuit filed by the couple alleges Arpaio pursued charges against them to do political damage to the Republican senator from Arizona and gain publicity for himself. While jurors were told about Arpaio's efforts to publicize the case, the elder Flake was barely mentioned during opening Tuesday's opening statements.

Stephen Montoya, an attorney representing the younger Flake and his ex-wife, said there was no evidence showing his clients intended to hurt the dogs.

"It wasn't Austin's fault. It wasn't Logan's fault," Montoya said, adding that the criminal case contributed to the demise of the couple's marriage.

Jeffrey Leonard, an attorney representing Maricopa County and the former sheriff, said the charges against the couple were the result of a competent investigation.

"There were no predetermined results," Leonard said. "Conclusions were drawn in good faith by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office."

Leonard also told jurors that the prosecutor who filed the charges was not pressured by Arpaio's office to prosecute the couple.

Arpaio, who lost his re-election bid last year after serving as sheriff of greater Phoenix for 24 years, is expected to testify Tuesday.

The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the facility's air conditioner failed because the operators didn't properly maintain it.

The federal judge presiding over the trial has determined previously that investigators didn't have probable cause to charge the couple.

The lawsuit alleges that Arpaio tried to link the senator to the dog deaths by conducting surveillance on the senator's home and examining phone records to see if the younger Flake called his father when the younger Flake was watching the dogs.

Lawyers for Austin Flake and his then-wife have said previously that the senator drew Arpaio's ire by disagreeing with the sheriff over immigration and criticizing the movement that questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Arpaio was known for carrying out dozens of large-scale immigration crackdowns and conducting a five-year investigation of Obama's birth record.

There was no mention during opening statements of any personal or political tension between the senator and Arpaio.

The allegations from the younger Flake came after Maricopa County paid $8.7 million to settle lawsuits from officials and judges who claimed Arpaio had launched criminal investigations against them on trumped-up allegations in disputes over budget cuts, a plan to build a new court complex and other issues.

The settlements included $1.2 million that was given to a judge who was charged in a now-discredited bribery case brought by Arpaio.

It isn't the first time Arpaio has been accused of trumping up charges in an animal cruelty case.

He launched an investigation against a police officer from the Phoenix suburb of Chandler over a 2007 death of a police dog that was left in a hot vehicle for 12 hours in blistering summer heat.

The officer was charged with animal abuse but eventually acquitted. He filed a lawsuit alleging Arpaio brought the criminal case so the sheriff could exploit the publicity.

Taxpayers paid $775,000 to the officer to settle the case.

The lawsuit by Austin Flake and his ex-wife doesn't specify how much money they are seeking. But they previously sought $4 million in a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit.

http://www.kmir.com/story/36998787/malicious-prosecution-suit-against-joe-arpaio-goes-to-trial

• Tweet

[knarf]

Some of Trump’s tweets generate more national coverage than devastating disasters. As the weather gets worse, we need journalism to get better

Which story did you hear more about this year – how climate change makes disasters like hurricanes worse, or how Donald Trump threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans?

If you answered the latter, you have plenty of company. Academic Jennifer Good analyzed two weeks of hurricane coverage during the height of hurricane season on eight major TV networks, and found that about 60% of the stories included the word Trump, and only about 5% mentioned climate change.

Trump doesn’t just suck the oxygen out of the room; he sucks the carbon dioxide out of the national dialogue. Even in a year when we’ve had string of hurricanes, heatwaves, and wildfires worthy of the Book of Revelation – just what climate scientists have told us to expect – the effect of climate change on extreme weather has been dramatically undercovered. Some of Trump’s tweets generate more national coverage than devastating disasters.

Good’s analysis lines up with research done by my organization, Media Matters for America, which found that TV news outlets gave far too little coverage to the well-documented links between climate change and hurricanes. ABC and NBC both completely failed to bring up climate change during their news coverage of Harvey, a storm that caused the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the continental US. When Irma hit soon after, breaking the record for hurricane intensity, ABC didn’t do much better.

Coverage was even worse of Hurricane Maria, the third hurricane to make landfall in the US this year. Not only did media outlets largely fail to cover the climate connection; in many cases, they largely failed to cover the hurricane itself.

The weekend after Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, the five major Sunday political talkshows devoted less than one minute in total to the storm and the humanitarian emergency it triggered. And Maria got only about a third as many mentions in major print and online media outlets as did Harvey and Irma, researchers at the MIT Media Lab found.

When Trump visited Puerto Rico on 3 October, almost two weeks after Maria assailed the island, he got wall-to-wall coverage as journalists reported on his paper-towel toss and other egregious missteps. But after that trip, prime-time cable news coverage of Puerto Rico’s recovery plummeted, Media Matters found, even though many residents to this day suffer from electricity outages and a lack of clean water, a dire situation that deserves serious and sustained coverage.

Scientists have been telling us that climate change will make hurricanes more intense and dangerous, an unfortunate reality made all too clear by this year’s record-busting hurricane season. “These are precisely the sort of things we expect to happen as we continue to warm the planet,” climate scientist Michael Mann, a distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State, told Huffington Post.

But while nearly three-quarters of Americans know that most scientists are in agreement that climate change is happening, according to recent poll, only 42% of Americans believe climate change will pose a serious threat to them during their lifetimes. Too many still believe – wrongly – that climate disasters are just something that will happen in the future. They are happening now.

In the first nine months of 2017, the US was assailed by 15 weather and climate disasters that each did more than a billion dollars in damage – in the case of the hurricanes, much more. The combined economic hit from Harvey, Irma and Maria could end up being $200bn or more, according to Moody’s Analytics. And then in October, unprecedented wildfires in northern California did an estimated $3bn in damage.

Climate change can be hard to see and intuitively grasp. It’s a relatively slow-moving scientific phenomenon caused by pollution from all around the globe. It’s not usually dramatic to watch like a candidate debate or the fallout from a White House scandal.

But an extreme weather event is a moment when people can see and feel climate change – and if they’re unlucky, get seriously hurt by it. When those disasters happen, media outlets need to cover them as climate change stories. And when a number of them happen in quick succession, as they did this year, the media have an even greater responsibility to report the big-picture story about climate change and help the public understand the immediacy of the threat.

If we are to fend off the worst possible outcomes of climate change, we need to shift as quickly as possible to a cleaner energy system. We could expect more Americans to get on board with that solution if they more fully understood the problem – and that’s where the critical role of the media comes in. As the weather gets worse, we need our journalism to get better.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/07/climate-change-media-coverage-media-matters

• Tweet

[knarf]

The Trump administration will suspend a rule to limit methane leaks from oil and gas operations on federal land, but its true aim may be to kill the Obama-era requirement.

A notice slated to be published Friday in the Federal Register by the Bureau of Land Management said the agency “has concerns regarding the statutory authority, cost, complexity, feasibility, and other implications” of the 2016 rule, which is set to go fully into effect next month.

Methane is a colorless and odorless gas that is up to 36 times as potent as carbon dioxide in terms of contributing to global warming. As development of oil and gas has increased through hydraulic drilling, or fracking, in shale formations, so have methane emissions.

The rule’s intent was to reduce wasted natural gas from “venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and natural gas production” through drilling on federally leased property and on Indian land. It began to take effect in January, with provisions phased in since then. The rule was to be fully enforced by next Jan. 17.

The delay, according to a BLM statement on Thursday, will avoid forcing oil and gas operations to comply with requirements “that may be rescinded or significantly revised in the near future.” The agency said it would review the rule over the next year.

But as the Trump administration has backed away from capping some methane leaks, an oil and gas industry advocacy group has stepped in with a program to reduce the leaks.

“The program overall is set up to continuously improve the environmental performance for onshore operators throughout the country through the process of learning, collaborating and taking action,” Erik Milito, director of upstream and industry operations for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement. “This is a very robust program.”

Oil giants, including Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron, are participating and have agreed to stronger monitoring, which could result in more emission reductions.

Conservation groups on Thursday criticized the Trump administration’s retreat from stronger methane regulation. “It is inexcusable that the BLM is suspending this rule without putting a new rule in place, because it means that the federal government has decided to leave oversight of methane waste and pollution to the states for the indefinite future,” said Chase Huntley, a program director for energy and climate at the Wilderness Society.

Huntley was also suspicious of the industry’s attempt to regulate itself. “It’s somewhat amazing that the industry hasn’t already put forward its own standard,” he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/12/07/trump-will-delay-a-rule-to-limit-a-pollutant-far-worse-than-carbon/

• Tweet

[knarf]

Air rage is getting uglier.

As the number of serious incidents involving drunk and violent travelers increases, airlines are being forced to physically restrain an increasing number of disorderly passengers, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Statistics released Tuesday by the industry’s main trade group show a 50 percent rise last year to 169 passengers who were forcibly confined for behavior ranging from verbal and physical abuse to life-threatening actions -- the most serious of which involved attempts to enter the cockpit.

The annual tally by IATA of bad form comes as examples of extreme in-flight incidents grab headlines and flood social media. These have included the escort by fighter jets in May of an American Airlines plane to Honolulu after a passenger, who appeared to be intoxicated, attempted to breach the cockpit door.

In some cases, the conflicts erupting in airplanes have hurt carriers’ own reputations, such as when security personnel dragged a passenger from a United Airlines plane because he refused to relinquish his seat. Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz apologized for how the company handled the episode.

The number of incidents involving disorderly passengers has risen in recent years, with IATA saying in the past that airlines are increasingly having to navigate local laws to bring prosecutions for offenses and crews have to be trained on how to handle violence.

While the total number of reported incidents last year actually fell by almost 10 percent to 9,837, the portion that were deemed a higher risk increased from 2015. Here’s what unruliness looked like last year:

    An incident was reported every 1,434 flights
    12 percent included physical assault, up from 11 percent a year earlier
    About a third of all incidents, involving 3,288 passengers, were related to intoxication, including 444 registered as cases that escalated physically

IATA said the more than half of safety rules-related offenses involved passengers smoking on board, either in the main cabin, or more likely, in the bathrooms.

The figures accounts for 190 of the world’s airlines so “are likely to significantly underestimate the extent of the problem,” IATA’s assistant director for external affairs Tim Colehan said in Geneva.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/drinking-punching-shouting-travelers-iata-s-unruly-list

• Tweet

[knarf]

Millions of Americans are living on the edge.

One in five households has zero or negative wealth, according to a report released this week by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank based in Washington, D.C. What’s more, an even greater share of African-American (30%) and Latino (27%) households are “underwater” financially. The combined impact of $1 trillion in credit-card debt, $1.4 trillion in student loan debt, and stagnant wages are taking a toll.

U.S. homes have regained value since the Great Recession, but many households have not. “Millions of American families struggle with zero or negative wealth, meaning they owe more than they own,” the report found. “This means that they have nothing to fall back on if an unexpected expense comes up like a broken down car or illness.” And inequality could get worse through new tax cuts for the wealthy.

President Trump’s tax proposals won’t give America’s middle class the reprieve they need to grow their wealth and recover from the financial crash, said Josh Hoxie, who heads up the Project on Opportunity and Taxation at the Institute for Policy Studies. A recent analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded that taxes would decline for all income groups, with the biggest percentage-point decline for millionaires.

After-tax income would rise by nearly 7% for households earning over $1 million per year, compared to less than 2% for those earning between $50,001 and $1 million, as MarketWatch recently reported. And less than 1% for those earning less than $50,000, according to Ernie Tedeschi, an economist at Evercore IS investment banking advisory firm who worked in the Treasury Department under President Obama.



Looking at private income, such as earnings and dividends, and government benefits like Social Security, the income of families near the top increased roughly 90% from 1963 to 2016, while the income of families at the bottom rose less than 10%, according to a separate report released last month by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit policy group based in Washington, D.C., while most other groups have been left behind.

And that gap between rich and poor is only going to get worse, Hoxie said. The wealthiest 25 individuals in the U.S., including Microsoft MSFT, -0.35%  co-founder Bill Gates, Amazon AMZN, +0.58%  CEO Jeff Bezos and Facebook FB, +0.26% CEO Mark Zuckerberg, own $1 trillion in combined assets. These 25 — a group equivalent to the active roster of a major league baseball team — hold more wealth than the bottom 56% of the U.S. population.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-in-five-american-households-have-zero-or-negative-wealth-2017-11-11

• Tweet

[knarf]

Aren't we part of Nature?  Weren't we created by God?

RE

We are 99 % space, and an infinitesimal speck in the universe. Our evolution has reached it's peak, and apparently if "God" designed this, it let us humans destroy most of the life on the planet. There are as many views about what life is about as there are people. If one needs verification of their view by others, then they compromise their own unique view. Just like what happened in the McSteinsen group think. I know you are aware of the Christian religion, and their use of the Bible to tell them about god. here is a list of different denominations, all of which group think, but are in themselves different from the other denominations...



    Adamites
    Ebionites
    Elcesaites
    Marcionism
    Nazarenes

Unlike the previously mentioned groups, the following are all considered to be related to Christian Gnosticism.

    Bardaisanites
    Basilideans
    Carpocratianism
    Nicolaitans
    Sethianism
    Simonians (sometimes considered proto-Gnostic)
    Valentinianism

Medieval sects
Main article: History of Christianity during the Middle Ages

The following are groups of Christians appearing between the First Council of Nicaea and the Protestant Reformation which are generally considered extinct as modern and distinct groups.

    Agonoclita
    Beguines and Beghards
    Bogomilism
        Bosnian Church
    Brethren of the Free Spirit
    Catharism
    Donatism
    Dulcinian
    Friends of God
    Patarines

Catholicism
Main article: Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is composed of 24 autonomous sui iuris particular churches: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Catholic Church considers itself the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded,[4] and who St. Peter initiated along with the missionary work of St. Paul and others. As such, the Catholic Church does not consider itself a denomination, but rather considers itself pre-denominational, the original Church of Christ. Continuity is claimed based upon apostolic succession with the early Church.[citation needed]
Latin Church
Main article: Latin Church

The Latin Church is the largest and most widely known of the 24 sui iuris churches that together make up the Catholic Church (not to be confused with the Roman Rite, which is one of the Latin liturgical rites, not a particular church).[citation needed]
Eastern Catholic churches
Main article: Eastern Catholic Churches

All of the following are Particular Churches of the Catholic Church. They are all in communion with the Pope as Bishop of Rome and acknowledge his claim of universal jurisdiction and authority. They have some minor distinct theological emphases and expressions (for instance, in the case of those that are of Greek/Byzantine tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin view of Purgatory).[5] The Eastern Catholic churches and the Latin church (which together compose the worldwide Catholic Church) share the same doctrine and sacraments, and thus the same faith.

    Albanian Greek Catholic Church
    Armenian Catholic Church
    Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
    Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
    Byzantine Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia
    Chaldean Catholic Church
    Coptic Catholic Church
    Eritrean Catholic Church
    Ethiopian Catholic Church
    Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
    Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church
    Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, a.k.a. Italo-Greek Catholic Church
    Macedonian Catholic Church
    Maronite Catholic Church
    Melkite Greek Catholic Church
    Romanian Catholic Church
    Russian Greek Catholic Church
    Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, usually called the "Byzantine Catholic Church" in the United States
    Slovak Greek Catholic Church
    Syriac Catholic Church
    Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
    Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
    Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Independent Catholicism
Further information: List of Independent Catholic denominations

The independent Catholic churches self-identify as Catholic although not affiliated with or recognised by the Catholic Church.

    American Catholic Church in the United States
    American National Catholic Church
    Antiochian Catholic Church in America
    Apostolic Catholic Church
    Augustana Catholic Church
    Archdiocese of the Old Catholic Church of America
    Argentine Catholic Apostolic Church
    Apostolic Catholic Church (Philippines)
    Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church
    Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada
    Catholic Christian Church
    Catholic Life Church
    Catholic Mariavite Church
    Celtic Catholic Church
    Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, in the People's Republic of China
    Christ Catholic Church
    Communion of Christ the Redeemer
    Community of the Lady of All Nations
    Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
    Ecumenical Catholic Church
    Ecumenical Catholic Communion
    Evangelical Catholic Church
    Fraternité Notre-Dame
    Free Catholic Church, in Germany
    Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation
    Independent Sacramental Movement
    Istituto Mater Boni Consilii
    Liberal Catholic Church
    National Catholic Church of America
    Mariavite Church (not to be confused with the Catholic Mariavite Church)
    Most Holy Family Monastery
    Palmarian Catholic Church
    Old Catholic Church
        Old Catholic Church in Europe
        Old Catholic Church of America
    Old Catholic Mariavite Church
    Old Roman Catholic Church in North America
    Old Roman Catholic Church in America
    Orthodox-Catholic Church of America
    Palmarian Catholic Church
    Philippine Independent Church, also called the Aglipayan Church, in the Philippines
    Polish National Catholic Church, in the United States and Canada
    Rabelados, traditionalist Catholics in Cape Verde
    Reformed Catholic Church, in Venezuela
    Reformed Old Catholic Church
    St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (St. Louis, Missouri)
    Society of Pius X
    Society of St. Pius V
    Traditionalist Mexican-American Catholic Church
    True Catholic Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church
    Venezuelan Catholic Apostolic Church

Eastern Orthodoxy
Main article: Eastern Orthodox Church
See also: Eastern Orthodox Church organization, Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, and Western Rite Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized as a communion of autocephalous (self-headed) jurisdictions, some of which also contain within them several autonomous (self-ruling) units. They are in full communion with each other and claim continuity (based upon apostolic succession) with the early Church.

In addition, there exist a number of churches or jurisdictions which consider themselves Eastern Orthodox but are not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Main article: Eastern Orthodox Church

This is the main body of Eastern Orthodoxy, consisting of jurisdictions in communion with each other. Some of them have a disputed administrative status (i.e. their autonomy or autocephaly is only partially recognized), and are marked as such, but all remain in communion with each other as one church. This list is provided in the official order of precedence. Indentation indicates autonomy rather than autocephaly, and autonomous churches are listed under their respective autocephalous mother church.

    Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
        Finnish Orthodox Church
        Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (autonomy not universally recognized)
        Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
    Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
    Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
        Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
    Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
        Saint Catherine's Monastery (considered autocephalous by some)
    Russian Orthodox Church
        Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
        Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (semi-autonomous; this is not universally recognized)
        Japanese Orthodox Church
        Chinese Orthodox Church
        Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (semi-autonomous; this is not universally recognized)
        Latvian Orthodox Church (semi-autonomous)
        Moldovan Orthodox Church (autonomy not universally recognized)
    Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
    Serbian Orthodox Church
        Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
    Romanian Orthodox Church
        Metropolis of Bessarabia
    Bulgarian Orthodox Church
    Cypriot Orthodox Church
    Church of Greece
    Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
    Polish Orthodox Church
    Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
    Orthodox Church in America (autocephaly not universally recognized)

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ founded. As such, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not consider itself a denomination, but rather considers itself pre-denominational, being the original Church of Christ.
Independent Eastern Orthodoxy

These are churches that consider themselves Eastern Orthodox but are not in communion with the main body of Eastern Orthodoxy.

    Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate
    Bulgarian Alternative Synod
    Celtic Orthodox Church
    Evangelical Orthodox Church
    Greek Old Calendarists
    Macedonian Orthodox Church
    Montenegrin Orthodox Church
    Russian Old Believers
    Orthodox Church of France
    Orthodox Church of the Gauls
    Russian Orthodox Church in America
    Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate

Syncretic Eastern Orthodoxy

These type of churches that blend with other denominations outside of Eastern Orthodoxy and are not in communion with the main body of Eastern Orthodoxy are identified as syncretic Eastern Orthodox churches.

    Evangelical Orthodox Church (blends with evangelicalism and with some other Protestant elements)

Oriental Orthodoxy
Main article: Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy comprises those Christians who did not accept the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Other denominations often erroneously label these churches "Monophysite"; however, as the Oriental Orthodox do not adhere to the teachings of Eutyches, they themselves reject this label, preferring the term Miaphysite. Some of these Churches, especially the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria claim origination by St. Mark and his 1st-century missionary journeys.

    Armenian Apostolic Church
        Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
        Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
        Holy See of Cilicia
        Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
    Church of Caucasian Albania (extinct)
    Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
        French Coptic Orthodox Church
    Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
    Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
        Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America (considers itself autocephalous but considered schismatic by the Church in Ethiopia)
    Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church (originated from kerala India )
        Brahmavar (Goan) Orthodox Church (located in Karnataka, India)
    Syriac Orthodox Church
        Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (originated from Kerala, India)
            Honavar Mission Church
            Knanaya Jacobites
    Malabar Independent Syrian Church (originated from Kerala India)
    Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church (Reformed Oriental Orthodox church originated from Kerala, India, also known as Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar or simply Mar Thoma Church)

Historically, many of the Oriental Orthodox Churches consider themselves collectively to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded. Some have considered the Oriental Orthodox communion to be a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, a view which is gaining increasing acceptance in the wake of the ecumenical dialogues.
Independent Oriental Orthodoxy

The following Churches affirm a Miaphysite Christological position but are not in communion with any of the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches for various reasons:

    Antiochian Catholic Church in America
    British Orthodox Church (founded in 1886 formerly as Catholic Apostolic Church of the West by Scottish-born British clergyman Jules Ferrette (1826-1904) to bring Oriental Orthodoxy into the British Isles without being Middle-eastern or Ethiopian)

Syncretic Oriental Orthodoxy

These are churches which blend with other denominations outside of Oriental Orthodoxy but retain a mostly Miaphysite Christological position, and are not in communion with the main body of Oriental Orthodoxy.

    Orthodox-Catholic Church of America

Other Eastern Christianity
Further information: Church of the East

The Church of the East , also called the Nestorian Church or the Church of Persia, emerged around the Persian Empire in the Roman era. Declaring itself separate from the state church of the Roman Empire in 424–427, liturgically, it adhered to the East Syrian Rite. Theologically, it adopted the dyophysite doctrine of Nestorianism, which emphasises the separateness of the divine and human natures of Jesus. After rejecting the Council of Ephesus in 431, and the following Nestorian Schism, the church spread throughout the Middle East, south India, and the Far East, before eventually suffering a nearly extinguishing decline by the Mongol conquests of Timur in the 15h century.

Subsequently, its patriarchal lines divided in a tumultuos period 16th-19th century, finally consolidated into Eastern Catholic Chaldean Catholic Church (in full communion with the Pope, and the Assyrian Church of the East. Other minor, mondern related splinter groups include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Syrian Church, and the Mar Thoma Church.
Anglicanism
Main article: Anglicanism

Anglicanism has referred to itself as the via media between Catholicism and Protestantism. It considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed. Although the use of the term Protestant to refer to Anglicans was once common, it is controversial today, with some rejecting the label and others accepting it.
Anglican Communion
Main article: Anglican Communion

    Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
    Anglican Church in Central America
    Anglican Church in Japan
    Anglican Church of Australia
    Anglican Church of Burundi
    Anglican Church of Canada
    Anglican Church of Kenya
    Anglican Church of Korea
    Anglican Church of Melanesia
    Anglican Church of Mexico
    Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
    Anglican Church of Southern Africa
    Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America
    Anglican Church of Tanzania
    Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil
    Church in the Province of the West Indies
    Church in Wales
    Church of England
    Church of Ireland
    Church of Nigeria
    Church of the Province of Central Africa
    Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean
    Church of the Province of Myanmar
    Church of the Province of Rwanda
    Church of the Province of South East Asia
    Church of the Province of West Africa
    Church of Uganda
    The Episcopal Church (in the United States and elsewhere)
    Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
    Episcopal Church in the Philippines
    Episcopal Church of Cuba
    Episcopal Church of the Sudan
    Hong Kong Anglican Church
    Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church (in Portugal)
    Philippine Independent Church (in the Philippines)
    Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo
    Scottish Episcopal Church
    Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church

United and uniting churches of the Anglican Communion

    Church of Bangladesh
    Church of North India
    Church of Pakistan
    Church of South India
    Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church [the Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church recognises itself as a church of oriental Orthodox faith but not in full communion with it. The church also is independent in governance and does not see itself as part of the Anglican communion even though it is in full communion [fellowship] with the Church of South India and the Church of North India. It sees an ecumenical relationship with the Anglican communion and is not Protestant. The church defines itself as "Apostolic in origin, Universal in nature, Biblical in faith, Evangelical in principle, Ecumenical in outlook, Oriental in worship, Democratic in function, and Episcopal in character".]

Other Anglican churches and Continuing Anglican Movement

As secessionist churches, these churches are not in full communion with the Anglican Communion. A select few of these churches are, however, recognized by certain individual provinces of the Anglican Communion.

    African Orthodox Church
    Anglican Catholic Church
    Anglican Church in America
    Anglican Church in North America
    Anglican Church of India
    Anglican Episcopal Church (USA)
    Anglican Mission in the Americas
    Anglican Orthodox Church
    Anglican Province of America
    Anglican Province of Christ the King
    Christian Episcopal Church
    Church of England (Continuing)
    Church of England in South Africa
    Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
    Diocese of the Great Lakes
    Diocese of the Holy Cross
    Episcopal Missionary Church
    Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England
    Free Church of England
    Free Protestant Episcopal Church
    Independent Anglican Church Canada Synod
    Orthodox Anglican Church
    Reformed Episcopal Church
    Southern Episcopal Church
    United Episcopal Church of North America

Protestantism
Main article: Protestantism

This list includes a variety of Protestant denominations which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, as well as their further divisions.[6]

It is important to mention that not every further division is eligible to be considered Protestant. A denomination labeled Protestant must subscribe to the fundamental Protestant principles, that is scripture alone, justification by faith alone and the universal priesthood of believers.

It has to be noted that this list gives only an overview, and certainly does not mention all of the Protestant denominations. An exact number of Protestant denominations is difficult to calculate and depends on definition. It has to be noted that a group that fits the generally accepted definition of Protestant might not officially use the term. Therefore, it should be taken with caution.

The majority of Protestants are members of just a handful of denominational families: Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Calvinism (Reformed churches), Lutheranism, Methodism, and Pentecostalism.

Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, neo-charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity.[7]
Proto-Protestant groups

    Arnoldists
    Hussites
        Czechoslovak Hussite Church
        Moravian Church
        Taborites
        Unity of the Brethren
        Utraquists
    Lollards
    Waldensians
        Waldensian Evangelical Church

Lutheranism
Main articles: Lutheranism and List of Lutheran denominations
See also: Lutheran church bodies in North America

    Apostolic Lutheran Church of America
    Association of Free Lutheran Congregations
    Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America
    Church of the Lutheran Confession
    Concordia Lutheran Conference
    Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
        Evangelical Lutheran Church "Concord" (Russia)
        Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany)
        Evangelical Lutheran Synod (United States)
        Lutheran Church of Central Africa Malawi Conference
        Lutheran Church of Central Africa Zambia Conference
        Ukrainian Lutheran Church
        Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (United States)
    Evangelical Catholic Church
    Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran
    Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America
    Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (extinct)
    International Lutheran Council
        American Association of Lutheran Churches
        Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil
        Evangelical Lutheran Church of England
        Evangelical Lutheran Church - Synod of France and Belgium
        Gutnius Lutheran Church
        Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church
        Japan Lutheran Church
        Lanka Lutheran Church
        Lutheran Church—Canada
        Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod
        Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (United States)
        Lutheran Church of Australia (associate member)
    Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church
    Laestadian Lutheran Church
    Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
    Lutheran Church - International
    Lutheran Church of China (extinct)
    Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (United States)
    Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (United States)
    Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA
    Lutheran World Federation
        Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Arcot Lutheran Church
        Batak Christian Protestant Church
        Church of Denmark
        Church of the Faroe Islands
        Church of Iceland
        Church of Norway
        Church of Sweden
        Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa
        Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
        Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
        Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia
        Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
        Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (associate member)
        Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
        Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Lutheran Church of Australia (associate member)
        Malagasy Lutheran Church
        Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Simalungun Protestant Christian Church
        South Andhra Lutheran Church
        Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church
    North American Lutheran Church

Pietism
Main article: Pietism
See also: Higher Life movement and Third Great Awakening

    Bible Fellowship Church
    United Christian Church

Anabaptism
Main article: Anabaptists
See also: Subgroups of Amish

    Abecedarians (extinct)
    Amish
        Amish Mennonite
        Beachy Amish
        Kauffman Amish Mennonite
        Nebraska Amish
        New Order Amish
        Old Order Amish
        Swartzentruber Amish
    Apostolic Christian Church
    Charity Christian Fellowship
    Church of the United Brethren in Christ
    Hutterites
        Bruderhof Communities
    Knipperdolings (extinct)
    Mennonites
        Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations
        Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
        Chortitzer Mennonite Conference
        Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Holdeman Mennonites)
        Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India
        Conservative Mennonite Conference
        Evangelical Mennonite Church
        Evangelical Mennonite Conference
        Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference
        Evangelical Missionary Church
        Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches (formerly Evangelical Mennonite Brethren)
        Japan Mennonite Brethren Conference
        Kleine Gemeinde
        Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference
        Mennonite Brethren Churches
        Mennonite Church Canada
        Mennonite Church in the Netherlands
        Mennonite Church USA
        Missionary Church
        Noah Hoover Mennonite
        Old Order Mennonites
        Reformed Mennonite
        Swiss Mennonite Conference
        US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
    River Brethren
        Brethren in Christ Church
        Old Order River Brethren
        United Zion Church
        Wengerites

Schwarzenau Brethren Movement
Main article: Schwarzenau Brethren

        The Brethren Church (Ashland Brethren)
        Church of the Brethren
        Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International
        Dunkard Brethren
        Ephrata Cloister
        Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
        Old Brethren
        Old Brethren German Baptist
        Old German Baptist Brethren
        Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference
        Old Order German Baptist Brethren
    Social Brethren

The Reformed Tradition (Calvinist)
Main articles: Calvinism and List of Reformed denominations
Continental Reformed churches
Main article: Continental Reformed church

    Afrikaans Protestant Church
    Canadian and American Reformed Churches
    Christian Reformed Church in North America
    Christian Reformed Church in Sierra Leone
    Christian Reformed Church in South Africa
    Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria
    Christian Reformed Churches
    Continued Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
    Christian Reformed Churches of Australia
    Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
    Dutch Reformed Church (extinct)
    Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana
    Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa - NG Church
    Evangelical and Reformed Church in Honduras
    Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany
    Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ
    Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches
    Free Reformed Churches of Australia
    Free Reformed Churches of North America
    Free Reformed Churches of South Africa
    Heritage Reformed Congregations
    Huguenot
    Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church
    National Union of Independent Reformed Evangelical Churches of France
    Netherlands Reformed Churches
    Netherlands Reformed Congregations
    Nigeria Reformed Church
    Orthodox Christian Reformed Church
    Polish Reformed Church
    Protestant Church in the Netherlands
    Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Croatia
    Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg
    Protestant Reformed Churches in America
    Reformed Christian Church in Croatia
    Reformed Christian Church in Serbia
    Reformed Church in America
    Reformed Church in Austria
    Reformed Church in Hungary
    Reformed Church in Latvia
    Reformed Church in Romania
    Reformed Church in Transcarpathia
    Reformed Church in the United States
    Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria
    Reformed Church of East Africa
    Reformed Church of France
    Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (extinct)
    Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated)
    Reformed Churches of New Zealand
    Reformed Evangelical Church in Myanmar
    Reformed Synod of Denmark
    Restored Reformed Church
    United Church of Christ (See Also:Congregationalism)
    United Reformed Church
    United Reformed Church in Congo
    United Reformed Churches in North America
    Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

Presbyterianism
Main article: Presbyterianism
See also: List of Presbyterian denominations in North America

    Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church
    Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
    Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Mexico
    Bible Presbyterian Church
    Church of Central Africa Presbyterian
    Church of Scotland
    Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa
    Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
    Conservative Presbyterian Church in Brazil
    Costa Rican Evangelical Presbyterian Church
    Covenant Presbyterian Church
    Cumberland Presbyterian Church
    Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
    Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians
    Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Australia)
    Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales
    Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi
    Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine
    Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
    Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church
    Free Church of Scotland
    Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
    Free Presbyterian Church (Australia)
    Free Presbyterian Church of North America
    Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
    Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
    Fundamentalist Presbyterian Church in Brazil
    Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
    Greek Evangelical Church
    National Presbyterian Church in Chile
    National Presbyterian Church in Mexico
    National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala
    Orthodox Presbyterian Church
    Presbyterian Church in America
    Presbyterian Church in Canada
    Presbyterian Church in Chile
    Presbyterian Church in Honduras
    Presbyterian Church in Ireland
    Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong)
    Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin)
    Presbyterian Church in Korea (TongHap)
    Presbyterian Church in Liberia
    Presbyterian Church in Malaysia
    Presbyterian Church in Singapore
    Presbyterian Church in Sudan
    Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
    Presbyterian Church in Uganda
    Presbyterian Church of Africa
    Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
    Presbyterian Church of Australia
    Presbyterian Church of Belize
    Presbyterian Church of Brazil
    Presbyterian Church of East Africa
    Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
    Presbyterian Church of Ghana
    Presbyterian Church of India
    Presbyterian Church of Mozambique
    Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
    Presbyterian Church of Pakistan
    Presbyterian Church of the Philippines
    Presbyterian Church of Wales (also a Methodist church)
    Presbyterian Church (USA)
    Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia)
    Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America)
    Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly
    Reformed Presbyterian Church – Hanover Presbytery
    Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of Malawi
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
    Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
    Renewed Presbyterian Church in Brazil
    Southern Presbyterian Church (Australia)
    Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church
    United Free Church of Scotland
    United Presbyterian Church of North America
    United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan
    Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa
    Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church
    Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States
    Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia

Congregationalism
Main article: Congregational church

    Church of Niue
    Church of Tuvalu
    Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa
    Congregational Christian Church in Samoa
    Congregational Christian Churches in Canada
    Congregational Federation (United Kingdom)
    Congregational Federation of Australia
    Congregational Union of Ireland
    Congregational Union of New Zealand
    Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (America)
    Cook Islands Christian Church
    English Independents
    Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola
    Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (United Kingdom)
    Fellowship of Congregational Churches (Australia)
    Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
    Huguenots (the Cévennes region in France, parts of England and Australia)
    Kiribati Protestant Church
    National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (America)
    Nauru Congregational Church
    Reformed Congregational Churches (Marshall Islands)
    Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches in Brazil
    Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches in Bulgaria
    United Church in the Solomon Islands
    United Church of Christ (See Also: Reformed Churches)
    United Church of Christ-Congregational in the Marshall Islands
    United Congregational Church of Southern Africa

Methodism
Main articles: Methodism and List of Methodist denominations

Methodism emerged out the influence of the Piety Movement within Lutheranism.

    African Methodist Episcopal Church
    African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
    British Methodist Episcopal Church
    Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
    Congregational Methodist Church
    Evangelical Church of the Dominican Republic
    Evangelical Methodist Church
    First Congregational Methodist Church
    Free Methodist Church
    Methodist Church
    Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma
    Methodist Church of Great Britain
    Methodist Church of Malaysia
    Methodist Church of New Zealand
    Methodist Church of Southern Africa
    Primitive Methodist Church
    Southern Methodist Church
    United Methodist Church
    Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia

Holiness Movement
Main article: Holiness movement

    Free Methodist Church
    Christ's Sanctified Holy Church
    Church of God (Anderson)
    Church of God (Restoration)
    Church of the Nazarene
    The Salvation Army

Baptists
Main article: Baptists
See also: Baptist beliefs, List of Baptist confessions, and List of Baptist sub-denominations

Baptists emerge as the English Puritans were influenced by the Anabaptists, and along with Methodism, grew in size and influence after they sailed to the New World. (The remaining Puritans who traveled to the New World were Congregationalists).

    Alliance of Baptists
    American Baptist Association
    American Baptist Churches USA
    Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland
    Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America
    Association of Regular Baptist Churches
    Baptist Bible Fellowship International
    Baptist Conference of the Philippines
    Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec
    Baptist Convention of Western Cuba
    Baptist General Conference of Canada
    Baptist General Convention of Texas
    Baptist General Conference (Sweden)
    Baptist Missionary Association of America
    Baptist Union of Australia
    Baptist Union of Great Britain
    Baptist Union of New Zealand
    Baptist Union of Scotland
    Baptist Union of Western Canada
    Baptist World Alliance
    Canadian Baptist Ministries
    Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists
    Central Baptist Association
    Central Canada Baptist Conference
    Christian Unity Baptist Association
    Conservative Baptist Association
    Conservative Baptist Association of America
    Continental Baptist Churches
    Convención Nacional Bautista de Mexico
    Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches
    Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars
    Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
    Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India
    Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India
    European Baptist Convention
    European Baptist Federation
    Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti
    Evangelical Free Baptist Church
    Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada
    Free Will Baptist Church
    Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America
    General Association of Baptists
    General Association of General Baptists
    General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
    General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church, Inc.
    General Six-Principle Baptists
    Independent Baptist
    Independent Baptist Church of America
    Independent Baptist Fellowship International
    Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America
    Interstate & Foreign Landmark Missionary Baptist Association
    Landmark Baptist Church
    Liberty Baptist Fellowship
    Manipur Baptist Convention
    Myanmar Baptist Convention
    Nagaland Baptist Church Council
    National Association of Free Will Baptists
    National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
    National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
    National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly of the U.S.A.
    National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
    National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A.
    New England Evangelical Baptist Fellowship
    Nigerian Baptist Convention
    North American Baptist Conference
    North Bank Baptist Christian Association
    Norwegian Baptist Union
    Old Baptist Union
    Old Regular Baptist
    Old Time Missionary Baptist
    Primitive Baptist
    Primitive Baptist Universalism
    Progressive Baptist
    Progressive National Baptist Convention
    Reformed Baptist
    Regular Baptist
    Regular Baptist Churches, General Association of
    Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches
    Separate Baptist
        Separate Baptists in Christ
    Seventh Day Baptist
    Southeast Conservative Baptist
    Southern Baptist Convention
    Southern Baptists of Texas
    Sovereign Grace Baptists
    Strict Baptists or Particular Baptists
    Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists
    Union d'Églises baptistes françaises au Canada
    United American Free Will Baptist Church
    United American Free Will Baptist Conference
    United Baptist
    United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces
    United Free Will Baptist
    World Baptist Fellowship

Holiness Baptists

    Christian Baptist Church of God

Spiritual Baptist Movement

    Spiritual Baptists

African Initiated churches
Main article: African Initiated Church

    The African Church
    Apostles of Johane Maranke
    Celestial Church of Christ
    Christ Apostolic Church
    Church of the Lord (Aladura)
    Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim
    Kimbanguist Church
    Zion Christian Church

Quakers (Society of Friends)
Main article: Quakers

    Beanite Quakerism
    Britain Yearly Meeting
    Central Yearly Meeting of Friends
    Conservative Friends
    Evangelical Friends International
    Friends General Conference
    Friends United Meeting
    Ireland Yearly Meeting
    New Foundation Fellowship
    Shakers (United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing)

Evangelicalism (Restorationist, Charismatic, & Non-Denominational Churches)
Main articles: Restorationism, Charismatic, and Nondenominational

Restorationism, also described as Christian Primitivism, is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church. Charismatic and Non-Denominational Churches are restorationist in ideology. The Plymouth Brethren were founded on the idea of Christian Primitivism, or "back to the beginning Christianity". Restorationist Churches claim apostolic succession by means of bypassing history to the nascent Church. It is important to note that some nontrinitarian groups could also be classified as Restorationist, claiming that they are the true restored Church, most notably the Latter Day Saint movement and Christadelphians.
Early Movements
Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
Main article: Restoration Movement
See also: Christian primitivism and Second Great Awakening

    Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
    Churches of Christ

        Churches of Christ (non-institutional)

    Churches of Christ in Australia
    Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples)
    Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
    International Christian Church
    International Churches of Christ

Plymouth Brethren and Free Evangelical churches

    Free Evangelical Churches
    Plymouth Brethren
        Exclusive Brethren
        Indian Brethren
        Kerala Brethren
        Open Brethren
        Church Assembly Hall

Early Sabbath-Keeping Movements, predating Millerism

    The Christ's Assembly
    Seventh Day Baptists

Ecumenical Churches and Denominations
Main article: Ecumenicism
Uniting/United Churches Movement
Main article: United and uniting churches

These churches are the result of a merger between distinct denominational churches. Churches are listed here when their disparate heritage marks them as inappropriately listed in the particular categories above.

    China Christian Council
    Christian and Missionary Alliance
    Church of Bangladesh(Anglican)
    Church of North India(Anglican)
    Church of Pakistan(Anglican)
    Church of South India(Anglican)
    Evangelical Church in Germany
    Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren
    Protestant Church in the Netherlands
    St. Thomas Evangelical Church
    United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
    United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
    United Church of Canada
    United Church of Christ
    United Church of Christ in the Philippines
    Uniting Church in Australia

Nondenominational Evangelical Church Movement
Main article: Evangelical

Many Churches are non-affiliated or non-denominational. These Churches have emerged into their own pseudo-denomination, with many similarities, commonly referred to as or included in modern American Evangelism although they may be found growing across the globe.

    McLean Bible Church
    Missionary Church

Multisite Church Movement

Due to the emergence of easy video screen technologies some churches have become "Multisite", sharing a broadcast sometimes or all the time with each location of the Church. This is different than Multiple Location local fellowships of related nondenominational evangelical churches.

    National Community Church
    The Summit Church

Internet churches
Main article: Internet church

    LifeChurch.tv

Pentecostalism
Main article: Pentecostalism
See also: List of Christian denominations § Oneness Pentecostalism

    Affirming Pentecostal Church International
    Apostolic Assemblies of Christ
    Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus
    Apostolic Church (denomination)
    Apostolic Faith Church
    Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
    Apostolic Gospel Church of Jesus Christ
    Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God
    Apostolic Pastoral Congress
    Assemblies of God
    Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ
    Believers Church
    Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ
    C3 Church Global
    Celestial Church of Christ
    Charisma Christian Church
    Christ Gospel Churches International
    Christian Church of North America
    Christian City Churches
    Christian Congregation in the United States
    Christian Revival Crusade
    Church of the Foursquare Gospel
    Church of God by Faith
    Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee)
    Church of God (Chattanooga)
    Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
    The Church of God for All Nations
    Church of God (Full Gospel) in India
    Church of God, House of Prayer
    Church of God (Huntsville, Alabama)
    Church of God in Christ
    The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres)
    Church of God Mountain Assembly
    Church of God of Prophecy
    Church of God of the Original Mountain Assembly
    Church of God of the Union Assembly
    Church of God with Signs Following
    Church of the Little Children of Jesus Christ
    Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith
    Churches of Jesus Christ International
    Congregational Holiness Church
    CRC Churches International
    Deeper Life Bible Church
    Destiny Church
    Elim Pentecostal Church
    Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon
    Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas
    Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost
    God is Love Pentecostal Church
    Hillsong Church
    Holiness Baptist Association
    Independent Assemblies of God, International
    Indian Pentecostal Church of God
    International Assemblies of God Fellowship
    International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies
    International Pentecostal Church of Christ
    International Pentecostal Holiness Church
    Mission of Full Gospel - Christian Open Door
    New Life Churches
    Open Bible Standard Churches
    Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
    Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
    Pentecostal Church of God
    Pentecostal Churches of Christ
    Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church
    The Pentecostal Mission
    Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch)
    Potter's House Christian Fellowship
    Redeemed Christian Church of God
    Revival Centres International
    The Revival Fellowship
    United Covenant Churches of Christ
    United Gospel Tabernacles
    United Holy Church of America
    United Pentecostal Church International
    United Pentecostal Churches of Christ

Pentecostal Holiness Movement

    Deeper Life Bible Church
    Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.
    Church of God (Holiness)
    The Wesleyan Church

Other Charismatic Movements
Main article: Charismatic movement

    Calvary Chapel
    Charismatic Episcopal Church
    City Harvest Church
    Every Nation
    Faith Christian Fellowship International
    International Christian Fellowship
    Jesus Army
    Ministries of His Glory
    Ministries Without Borders
    Sovereign Grace Churches

Neo-Charismatic Movement

or, the Neo-Pentecostal Movement
Main article: Neo-charismatic movement

    Association of Vineyard Churches
    Bible Christian Mission
    Born Again Movement
    Church on the Rock- International
    Destiny Church Groningen
    New Life Fellowship Association
    Newfrontiers

Millerism and comparable groups
Main article: Millerites
See also: List of Christian denominations § Bible Student groups
Adventist (Sunday observing)

    Advent Christian Church

Adventist Movement(Seventh Day Sabbath/Saturday observing)

    Adventist Church of Promise
    Branch Davidians
    Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church
    Davidian Seventh-day Adventists
    Sabbath Rest Advent Church
    Seventh-day Adventist Church
    Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement

Church of God Movements (Sunday observing)

    Church of the Blessed Hope (aka Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith)
    Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)

Church of God Movements (Seventh Day Sabbath/Saturday observing)

    Church of God International (USA)
    Church of God (Seventh-Day) (or Church of God 7th day)
    Church of God, a Worldwide Association
    The Intercontinental Church of God
        Seventh Day Christians - Norway (Syvende dags Kristne)
    Living Church of God
    Philadelphia Church of God
    United Church of God
    United Seventh-Day Brethren
    World Mission Society Church of God

Sabbath-Keeping Movements, separated from Adventism

    Seventh-Day Evangelist Church

Sacred Name Groups
Main article: Sacred Name Movement

    Assemblies of Yahweh
    Assembly of Yahweh
    House of Yahweh

Other Protestant Christian Churches and Movements

    Associated Gospel Churches of Canada (AGC)
    Believers' Church in India
    Brunstad Christian Church
    The Christian Community
    Church of Christ, Instrumental (Kelleyites)
    Cooneyites (not to be confused with Christian Conventions, above)
    Evangelical Church of West Africa
    Evangelical Covenant Church of America ("Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant")
    Evangelical Free Church of America
    Evangelical Free Church of Canada
    Evangelical Orthodox Church
    Family International, aka "The Family International", "Family of Love", "The Family"
    Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches
    Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
    Gloriavale Christian Community
    Grace Movement Churches
    Great Commission Association
    Indian Shakers
    Inspirationalists (Amana Church Society)
    Jesus Movement
    Local church
    Methernitha
    Metropolitan Community Churches
    Schwenkfelder Church
    Shiloh Youth Revival Centers
    Strigolniki
    Universal Life
    Yehowists (aka Yehowists-Ilyinites, Russian Jehovists)

Nontrinitarianism
Main article: Nontrinitarianism

These are Christian groups and denominations who do not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity ("one God in three co-equal Persons"). In some instances, while the majority of sects within a denominational family are nontrinitarian, the family may include a limited number of trinitarian sects, such as the Community of Christ in the Latter Day Saint Movement.
Oneness Pentecostalism
Main article: Oneness Pentecostalism

    Affirming Pentecostal Church International
    Apostolic Assemblies of Christ
    Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus
    Apostolic Gospel Church of Jesus Christ
    Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God
    Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ
    Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ
    Christ Gospel Churches International
    Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith
    Churches of Jesus Christ International
    Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
    True Jesus Church
    United Pentecostal Church International

Latter Day Saint movement
Main articles: Latter Day Saint movement and Mormonism
See also: List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement and Mormonism and Christianity

Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the Church of Christ established by Joseph Smith in 1830. The largest worldwide denomination of this movement, and the one publicly recognized as Mormonism, is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some sects, known as the "Prairie Saints", broke away because they did not recognize Brigham Young as the head of the church, and di

• Tweet

[RE]

Aren't we part of Nature?  Weren't we created by God?

RE

We are 99 % space, and an infinitesimal speck in the universe. Our evolution has reached it's peak, and apparently if "God" designed this, it let us humans destroy most of the life on the planet. There are as many views about what life is about as there are people. If one needs verification of their view by others, then they compromise their own unique view. Just like what happened in the McSteinsen group think. I know you are aware of the Christian religion, and their use of the Bible to tell them about god. here is a list of different denominations, all of which group think, but are in themselves different from the other denominations...

Looks like you ran out of room on your paste at "L".  lol.

I think our evolution reached its peak quite some time back and we have been on the downhill slide since the invention of agriculture.

Anyhow, this title is meant to play the Blame Game for the destruction of the earth ecosystem on Homo Saps.  Why not make it more specific and blame Boomers?  Maybe we should place the blame on White Males?  Or on Welfare Queens?

I personally will not take the blame for this, it's not MY fault the earth is going to shit.  I was born into 20th Century Amerika.  Everybody drove a car.  In most of the places I lived, if I didn't have a car, I couldn't get to work.  I never learned to farm, I didn't have to.  Food came on the shelves of the supermarket.  This is somehow MY fault?  WTF?

If you want to place blame, place it where it belongs on the Masters of the Universe who run this shit show, the .01%.

RE

• Tweet

[knarf]

CNN misreported key details of an offer made to Donald Trump Jr. last year of a batch of stolen Wikileaks documents.

The story, which CNN published on Friday and covered extensively on TV, was touted as the first evidence that the Trump campaign was given a heads-up about documents stolen from Democrats.

But the story appears to have been riddled with errors, while also lacking key context.

CNN misreported key details of an offer made to Donald Trump Jr. last year of a batch of stolen Wikileaks documents.

The story, which CNN published on Friday and covered extensively on TV, was touted as the first evidence that the Trump campaign was given a heads-up about documents stolen from Democrats.

But the story appears to have been riddled with errors, while also lacking key context.

Perhaps the most jarring error in the CNN report is the date on which Trump Jr. was sent the email. The network reported that a person named Mike Erickson emailed Trump Jr. and others on the Trump campaign on Sept. 4, 2016, with a link to Wikileaks documents as well as a decryption key to access them.

The email also offered access to emails that had been stolen from former Sec. of State Colin Powell, according to CNN.

But a copy of the email provided to The Daily Caller shows that Erickson sent the email on Sept. 14.

That date is significant because WikiLeaks had released a batch of stolen documents on Sept. 13. The group touted its release of the DNC documents, which were published by Guccifer 2.0.

The email shows that Erickson messaged Trump Jr. stating that “Wikileaks has uploaded another (huge 678 mb) archive of files from the DNC.”

“It is too big for me to send you by e-mail attachments, but you can download it yourselves,” he added, providing a link to the same website cited by Wikileaks the day before.

He also included a link to a decryption key that could be used to access the documents.

Michael Erickson email to Donald Trump Jr., Sept. 14, 2016.

The Washington Post first reported on the true date and wording of the Erickson email.

The site that Erickson linked to leads to a page where a file with the same file name referenced in the Wikileaks tweet could be downloaded.

http://dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-08-at-2.13.34-PM-620x324.png

Powell’s emails were also published online on Sept. 13. DC Leaks, a group that has been affiliated with the Russian government, published the documents online. The group granted access to the documents to several news organizations, including The Daily Caller. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Colin Powell’s Emails Hacked, Published Online)

How CNN got its report so wrong is unclear.

The article states that its information was based on a read-out of the Trump Jr. email provided by an unnamed source. Trump Jr.’s lawyer, Alan Futerfas, speculated on Friday that the source was on the Democratic side of the House Intelligence Committee, which interviewed Trump Jr. earlier this week.

Erickson also appears not to be a super-secret Kremlin agent. The Post identified him as the president of an aviation management company.

Attempts made by The Daily Caller to contact him were unsuccessful.

Futerfas, the lawyer for Trump Jr., said that the real estate executive received “tons of unsolicited emails” during the campaign.

“The email was never read or responded to — and the House Intelligence Committee knows this,” he said in a statement.

“This email arrived after published media reports disclosed 12 hours earlier that hacked documents had been posted. The suggestion that this information was not public is false.”

Futerfas blasted the House Intelligence Committee over what he says is its leak of the story.

“It is profoundly disappointing that members of the House Intelligence Committee would deliberately leak a document, with the misleading suggestion that the information was not public, when they know that there is not a scintilla of evidence that Mr. Trump Jr. read or responded to the email,” he said.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/08/cnn-botches-major-bombshell-alleging-contacts-between-don-jr-and-wikileaks/

• Tweet

[knarf]

Britain and the European Union hailed a breakthrough Friday that allows them to begin talks on their post-Brexit relations without answering some key questions about how their divorce will play out.

With pressure building on British Prime Minister Theresa May’s fragile government, the sides agreed on the last sticking point in Britain’s divorce terms: the border between EU member Ireland and the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland.

They both accepted that the border must remain open once Britain leaves the bloc in 2019, although they left it unclear how that would happen in practice. After a hectic night of phone diplomacy, the Northern Ireland party blocking a deal __ and propping up May’s Conservative government — said it was satisfied.

Negotiators also reached a broad agreement on the other divorce terms, which the EU had required before it would allow the talks to move on to the weighty questions of future relations, including trade, which had been keeping businesses and financial markets on edge.

The sides agreed on the rights of both British citizens in EU countries and EU nationals in the U.K. The also ironed out the terms of Britain’s financial obligations to the bloc, which could total some 50 billion euros ($59 billion), though the exact size of the bill cannot be calculated.

Just after dawn, with the British flag flying outside its headquarters, the EU’s executive body, the European Commission, said it was finally satisfied with May’s proposals and recommended that the talks move to the next phase. Leaders of Britain’s 27 EU partner countries are expected to ratify that decision at a meeting on Thursday in Brussels.

“I believe that we have now made the breakthrough that we needed,” Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said during a news conference with May. EU lawmakers, who must ratify any full Brexit agreement, also endorsed the deal.

The arrangement buys time, particularly for May’s government, which EU negotiators have complained of being indecisive in what it wants amid an internal fight over the direction the country should take.

A majority of British voters decided 18 months ago to leave the EU, but this first phase of talks — focused on preliminary issues that many had expected to be resolved quickly — has dragged on amid disputes over the divorce bill and the Irish border.

A final Brexit agreement must be found by next autumn, to leave time for national European parliaments to endorse it.

If EU leaders endorse this deal, Brexit negotiations are likely to resume in early January, officials say.

Still, the first phase is not really over. Friday’s deal seems to simply delay decisions on some key points, including how to keep the Irish border open.

Britain is promising to withdraw from the European tariff-less single market and customs union while saying there will be no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland — although the former will remain within the EU single market and the latter in the U.K.

So complex are the issues — and couched in such vague language in Friday’s deal — that experts will try to resolve the contradictions in a separate strand of talks over the 10 months of negotiating time that remains.

Even the European Commission acknowledged the size of the challenge in a report to EU leaders that said the wording “seems hard to reconcile with the United Kingdom’s communicated decision to leave the internal market and the Customs Union.”

The parties involved in the agreement appear satisfied, for now.

“I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase, to talk about trade and security and to discuss the positive and ambitious future relationship that is in all of our interests,” May said.

Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, welcomed the compromise as a step in the right direction, saying “this is not the end but it is the end of the beginning.”

EU heavyweights Germany, France and Spain also cautiously welcomed the Brexit developments, while warning that perhaps the most difficult negotiations lie ahead.

Those further from the talks were angry.

Nigel Farage, who led the drive to leave the EU as head of the U.K. Independence Party, said May had caved on critical points. Farage tweeted that the deal was “good news for Mrs. May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation.”

On the other side, anti-Brexit London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it is “extremely disappointing” that Britain is pledging to leave the single market and customs union.

“Despite the progress today, it looks increasingly unlikely that we will get a deal that works in London’s best interests and protects jobs and growth across Britain,” he said.

Already, precious time has been lost. The real drama — sketching out future ties, the parameters of a trade agreement and fixing the outstanding divorce issues — lies ahead.

European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair next Thursday’s summit, grimly pointed out that 18 months have passed since Britain voted to leave the EU, yet the hardest work must still be done.

“So much time has been devoted to the easier part of the task and now to negotiate a transition arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de-facto less than a year,” Tusk said.

“We all know that breaking up is hard, but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder,” he said.

https://apnews.com/a8e0cace49a44c96b49a32cf80d79369/UK,-EU-claim-Brexit-breakthrough;-eye-talks-on-future-ties

• Tweet

[knarf]

Some of this holiday season’s smart toys that can listen and talk to children are vulnerable to hackers who can take over such devices’ electronics, researchers are warning parents.

According to Pen Test Partners, the “Teksta Toucan Electronic Toy” is the latest device they have found which can have its microphone and speaker connect to a Bluetooth audio device such as a phone or laptop computer.

While the firm’s demonstration was lighthearted — making the bird-like toy say profanity instead its pre-programmed words — the researchers stressed a greater concern of hackers using the toy to listen in on rooms where the toy is located.

Previously Pen Test was critical of “My Friend Cayla,” a doll which connected to the Internet to answer children’s questions. The company posted code on their website showing how easily the toy’s related mobile app could be changed from simply responses to anything a hacker wanted to make the toy speak aloud.

Earlier this year a consumer watchdog group in Germany successfully moved to remove “Cayla” dolls from the market there, stating “any toy capable of transmitting signals and surreptitiously recording audio or video without detection is unlawful.”

“My Friend Cayla” and “i-Que,” a connected robot toy previously released, “fail miserably when it comes to safeguarding basic consumer rights, security, and privacy,” said the BEUC, the European Consumer Organization.

For countries where these toys are still being sold, Pen Test urged parents to avoid bringing them home, or at least use them under close parental supervision and switch them off when not being played with.

Both “Calya” and “i-Que” are manufactured by Genesis Toys, a company which received complaint in 2016 about such smart toys potentially violating the Children’s Online Privacy Act in the United States.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/12/08/hackers-spy-kids-toys/

• Tweet

[knarf]

A woman walks past a fruit and vegetables stall selling medicines at a market in Rubio

Venezuela's critical medicine shortage has spurred "medical flea markets," where peddlers offer everything from antibiotics to contraceptives laid out among the traditional fruits and vegetables.

The crisis-wrought Latin American nation is heaving under worsening scarcity of drugs, as well as basic foods, due to tanking national production and strict currency controls that crimp imports.

The local pharmaceutical association estimates at any given time, there is a shortage of around 85 percent of drugs.

Sick Venezuelans often scour pharmacies and send pleas on social media to find treatment. Increasingly, however, they are turning to a flourishing black market offering medicines surreptitiously bought from Venezuelan hospitals or smuggled in from neighboring Colombia.

"Here I can find the vitamins I need for my memory," said 56-year-old Marisol Salas, who suffered a stroke, as she bought the pills at a small stand at the main bus terminal in the Andean city of San Cristobal.

Around her, Venezuelans asked sellers for medicine to control blood pressure as well as birth control pills.

"People are looking for anticonvulsants a lot recently," said Antuam Lopez, 30, who sells medicine alongside vegetables, and said hospital employees usually provide him with the drugs.

Leftist President Nicolas Maduro says resellers are in league with a U.S.-led conspiracy to sabotage socialism and are to blame for medicine shortages.


RISKS

In the middle of a market in the humid and sweltering city of Maracaibo, dozens of boxes full of medicines including antibiotics and pain killers are stacked on top of each other. The packaging is visibly deteriorated: The cases are discolored and some are even dirty.

Doctors warn these drugs -- usually smuggled in from Colombia, a few hours' drive from Maracaibo -- pose risks.

"We've found that a lot of them have not been maintained at proper temperatures," warned oncologist Jose Oberto, who leads the Zulia state's doctors association.

Still, some Venezuelans feel they have no choice but to rely on contraband medicine.

"I had to buy medicine from Colombia, and it worried me because the label said 'hospital use,'" said retiree Esledy Paez, 62.

But they are often prohibitively expensive for Venezuelans, many of whom earn just a handful of dollars a month at the black market rate due to soaring inflation.

Norkis Pabon struggled to find antibiotics for her hospitalized husband to prevent his foot injury from worsening due to diabetes.

"But the treatment costs 900,000 bolivars ($9.43; twice the minimum wage) and I do not know what to do," said Pabon, who is unemployed.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuelas-chronic-shortages-rise-medical-flea-markets-122505418.html

• Tweet

[knarf]

Allen and Cooper Alexander, 4, spin around while sledding down a hill Friday Dec. 8, 2017, in Vicksburg, Miss. Heavy snow fell across several Southern states Friday.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Snowfall blanketed parts of the Deep South on Friday, delighting schoolchildren with an unexpected holiday but also reviving panicky memories for many adults of past storms that trapped commuters on interstates for hours.

Businesses closed and commuters left work early as snow mixed with rain fell in downtown Atlanta, jamming traffic on slushy roads far ahead of the usual rush hour.

"We're surprised that this little snowfall would cause this much disruption to the entire city," said Lucas Rachow, who stood outside with several colleagues as they waited for a ride to the airport.

Rachow was heading home to Switzerland after a business meeting and said he didn't know if his flight had been canceled.

The National Weather Service said just 1 to 2 inches (3-5 centimeters) of snow accumulation was expected in Atlanta, with higher amounts possible in the city's northern suburbs. It was enough to remind some residents of the 2014 storm that brought the city to a standstill and stranded motorists on roads overnight with just 2 inches of precipitation.

The National Weather Service says the snow is expected to move into the Mid-Atlantic, parts of the Northeast and New England this weekend.

At a Jersey Mike's sandwich shop in downtown Atlanta, manager Mike Thomas said the snow had driven away his clientele. He was calling his boss to see if they should close up early, just as the barbecue restaurant next door had done.

"I'm terribly slow," Thomas said, just after what should have been the lunch rush.

Accumulations of 6 inches (15 centimeters) were reported in Mississippi and northern Georgia, while at least 5 inches (13 centimeters) fell in Alabama. Rare snow flurries were spotted in New Orleans. Motorists were urged to stay off the road in Louisiana for fear of ice.

The weather band also brought a rare snowfall to parts of South Texas.

"It's the first snow of the season and any time you even mention snow in the South, you're going to get people a little panicky," said David Nadler, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office south of Atlanta.

Temperatures were expected to sink below freezing across much of the region overnight, and forecasters warned that black ice could make roads treacherous. Things were expected to thaw by Saturday afternoon, with sunnier weather and highs reaching into the 40s and 50s.

By late afternoon Friday, a total of 688 flights had been cancelled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, said airport spokesman Reese McCranie.

Later that evening, Delta Airlines said on Twitter that it had canceled 625 flights because of snow in Atlanta. Delta had prepared for the storm by having crews de-ice planes and waived fees for some passengers scheduled to fly Friday.

Highway department officials were monitoring the elevated roadways and bridges that stretch across much of south Louisiana, warning that motorists to stay home if possible. Some highways were shut down Friday, as snow fell in cities and towns that have little experience with it. Truckers were urged to stay off of Interstate 10 in Mississippi.

Short, squat snowmen — some already melting by Friday afternoon — dotted yards and parks around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Josh Black, a 30-year-old LSU graduate student, took photos of one tiny snowman outside the State Capitol building near the gravesite of former Louisiana Gov. Huey Long.

Black, who hails from the Toronto, Canada, area, chuckled about southern Louisiana's reaction to the snow.

"They canceled school this morning, which is funny to me, for an inch of snow that is going to melt in an hour," he said, smiling. "This is like May or October where I'm from."

Snowfall and icy roads in North Carolina closed government offices and schools, sent cars sliding off the road and altered the governor's travel plans.

Forecasters said heavy snow was falling in the mountainous western part of the state with up to 6 inches likely in areas including Asheville. A winter storm warning was in effect through Saturday morning for western counties.

In Alabama, Glenn Thompson said he had no trouble getting to work at a Texaco station in the northeastern town of Heflin despite snow that was still falling.

"We probably got about an inch. As long as the temperature doesn't drop we'll be fine," said Thompson.

The frigid temperatures behind a cold front combined with moisture off the Gulf of Mexico to bring the weather to parts of the South. It knocked out power to thousands and caused numerous accidents along slick roadways.

Snow and sleet fell Thursday in Laredo and other communities on the Mexican border. The weather band also brought snow to San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston and elsewhere.

Georgia road crews took no chances ahead of Friday's morning rush hour and pre-treated bridges and overpasses late Thursday with a briny water-and-salt mix against any snow or ice.

In downtown Atlanta, 42-year-old Jesse Few stood outdoors Friday afternoon, bundled in a hoodie and scarf, feeding crumbs to the pigeons. He said he had nowhere to go to escape the frigid weather and no idea where he would stay Friday night.

"I'm homeless," he said, adding that he trusts in God.

"I can't worry," he said. "I won't worry."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/aint-snow-wintry-mix-threatens-wide-swath-south-103106821.html

• Tweet

[knarf]

On Mother’s Day, 2011, a woman went to a Massage Envy in Laguna Beach for a special holiday treat.

Initially, her massage was routine. But the woman claims that midway through, she “heard heavy breathing and the sound of clanking metal” from her massage therapist’s belt.

He then “made a forceful movement with his hands” and pulled her underwear “down all the way to her knees,” according to the woman’s account. He then tried to climb up onto the table.

She jumped from the table, but was trapped in the small massage room. Despite her screams for help, she says, no one from Massage Envy came to the rescue.

She managed to escape and, still shaking, approached the front desk employees. She told them her masseur just tried to rape her. She asked them to call 911.

The employees did nothing. They ignored her, according to the woman’s account. She left the building and called 911. Officers investigated and one told her that the masseur confessed to sexual assault.

This woman is one of dozens of women who say they have endured similar situations.

This summer, four women in the Washington D.C. area all accused a massage therapist of sexually assaulting them.

Nine different women accused another massage therapist of sexually assaulting them just outside Philadelphia between 2014 and 2015.

In a city just outside Los Angeles, three women accused another massage therapist of sexually assaulting them between 2009 and 2010.

All of those massage therapists worked at Massage Envy, the United States’ largest massage chain.

With almost 1,200 franchise locations around the country — employing some 25,000 massage therapists — most Americans know the Massage Envy brand, but few people may be aware of the extent of sexual assault allegations against the company.

Since Massage Envy opened in 2002, the company has settled numerous lawsuits, and is grappling with many more — all alleging the same thing — a male massage therapist sexually assaulting a female customer.

CBS San Francisco found over 45 Massage Envy employees who were accused in criminal and/or civil cases of sexual assault against female customers over the last 15 years.

Some of these massage therapists are alleged to have assaulted multiple women.

The sexual assault allegations — described by women of different ages, living in different states – tend to fit a pattern.

The dozens of sexual assault allegations raise questions about how Massage Envy handles these claims.

Almost every woman who has recounted their experience of sexual assault at a Massage Envy has expressed a desire to protect other women from victimization.

Massage Envy’s own internal documents show its policy has been not to report such claims to police. Victims say the company’s internal investigations sweep the claims under the rug.

Even more troubling, Massage Envy franchises are accused of continuing to employ massage therapists with a known record of sexual abuse – who go on to victimize additional women.

Now, even Congress is considering legislation requiring massage businesses to alert law enforcement to sexual assault allegations, in an effort to protect the public.

Under mounting public pressure, Massage Envy announced this week that they are making some changes, including requiring their franchisees to provide any client who makes an allegation of sexual assault with contact information for local law enforcement and offer them a private room to complete that call.

Massage Envy has said a Buzzfeed News investigation into the sexual assaults at their franchises prompted the company to change their policies.

But is that enough?

Protecting The Brand
Massage Envy’s internal policies reveal that the company — as recently as 2015 — has not instructed its franchises to report any inappropriate touching or sexual assault to law enforcement authorities.

Massage Envy’s “Inappropriate Touch Procedure” is a flow chart that begins with a report of inappropriate conduct and ends with employees notifying the franchise owner, completing an incident report and emailing a copy of it to corporate headquarters and the regional developer.

While Massage Envy touts a zero tolerance policy for “inappropriate touching,” it does not clearly define what constitutes “inappropriate touching.”

Massage Envy also claims that it internally investigates reported misconduct.

Victims say that’s not true.

Some victims — such as the woman who was assaulted on Mother’s Day 2011 — claim Massage Envy employees refuse to call 911 on the victim’s behalf. Another California victim claims an assistant manager assured her that they had filed a police report about the incident, but that they never did.

Victims say the internal investigation goes nowhere, and they suspect that the failure to investigate is due to internal policies set up to protect the reputation of the company from negative publicity.

Massage Envy provided CBS SF with this statement regarding their policies in early November:

“All franchised locations must adhere to our stringent standards and policies. Before a therapist is hired, franchisees must complete a stringent background screening, check references and verify licenses and certifications. Franchisees are required to put every therapist through our rigorous training program, which includes industry-leading standards and practices to ensure safe, professional experiences for clients.

All franchisees and their therapists must comply with our Code of Conduct, and our Zero Tolerance policy. If they violate these policies, we impose serious consequences, including revoking a franchisee’s license to operate a Massage Envy franchised location.

In addition, we are partnering with industry groups and leveraging technology innovations to develop programs that will improve the safety of the entire industry.”

No Requirement to Report Assault
Patrons of Massage Envy, and other massage businesses, might assume that current law requires these companies to report customers’ allegations of physical and sexual abuse to law enforcement.

There is no law.

The sexual assault allegations raise questions about whether customers of the massage industry would benefit from a state or federal law requiring massage businesses to alert law enforcement to claims of sexual assault on their properties, or face penalties.

Similarly, patrons might assume that if a customer files a complaint with the business or the state licensing board recounting a sexual assault, the massage therapist’s license would be suspended or revoked following an investigation.

But license revocations don’t always happen when they should.

Most state massage licensing or certifying boards only issue suspensions after they have been made aware of criminal charges filed against the licensee. A complaint to the company or to the board is not enough to guarantee an investigation or a license suspension.

There is also no guarantee that a licensing board will find out about the criminal charges and suspend the license. There is no nationwide requirement for massage businesses to alert massage boards of sexual assault allegations.

It’s unknown how many sexual assault allegations customers have leveled against Massage Envy employees since the company began operation 15 years ago. However, at least two dozen Massage Envy employees have been arrested, with a handful convicted and sentenced.

Dozens of civil lawsuits have been filed against Massage Envy, claiming among other things, that the company failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent injuries to its customers.

Massage Envy has settled many of these cases out of court and none have come before a jury. Massage Envy has not had to defend itself publicly against these allegations in court and not many of the company’s internal policies have seen the light of day.

Additionally, plaintiffs who reach a settlement with the company are often barred by confidentiality clauses from discussing the settlement or its amount.

Congress Takes Notice
Among the cases of sexual assault at Massage Envy locations, perhaps none are more alarming than that of a massage therapist in Pennsylvania who victimized nine women. During his time at Massage Envy, James Deiter was briefly suspended after a complaint alleged inappropriate contact with a client, but he was later allowed to return to work, where he continued to victimize female customers.

Each of the nine women came forward to accuse Deiter of sexually assaulting them at a Massage Envy in a suburb of Philadelphia between 2014 and 2015.

Following the accusations, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pennsylvania) met with one of Deiter’s victims and in 2016, Meehan introduced the Duty to Report Sexual Assault Act into Congress.

Deiter eventually pleaded guilty in 2016 to assaulting all nine women. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 to 13 years in state prison and will need to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

It’s the first bill ever introduced into Congress that would require massage business owners to report sexual assault allegations to law enforcement or face penalties, including imprisonment.

“Her assault came even after another woman had complained, months before, of an assault by the same employee,” Meehan said. “But instead of fully investigating or reporting the alleged offender, his employer gave him a short suspension and just days later he was back on the job.”

Meehan said abusers often become repeat offenders, but some massage facility owners are reluctant to report allegations of misconduct among their employees.

“Reporting alleged assault will help victims understand their rights, like pursuing an investigation and pressing charges, and the resources available, such as local sexual assault programs,” Meehan said, adding that allegations of sexual assault should be investigated and pursued in accordance with the victim’s wishes.

“Requiring massage establishments to report these claims to law enforcement will help ensure victims get the justice and help they deserve – and help prevent future assaults on more innocent victims,” Meehan said.

The bill, H.R. 1023, is limited to massage businesses and does not include other businesses where customers sometimes are alone with employees, such as yoga studios, nursing homes, and hotels.

It has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. But so far, no hearing has been scheduled.

#MeToo
With the federal bill still sitting in subcommittee, some victims are going online to recount their experiences with the massage chain, joining a national movement of people using the hashtag #MeToo to share their personal stories of sexual assault with the world.

Stanford University law professor Deborah Rhode told CBS SF in October that victims should consider telling their stories on social media.

“If women are willing to go public in deference, you have remedy,” Rhode said. “There’s safety in numbers.”

In an effort to protect others, a survivor of sexual assault at Massage Envy created an online petition to call on the company to do better.

Danielle Dick described being sexually assaulted at a Massage Envy in Virginia in a Medium post last month.

After massage therapist Daeshawn Bullard had put his hands around her throat and sexually assaulted her, Dick said he leaned over and said: “Our little secret, okay?”

Dick has not let the assault remain a secret and she is boldly demanding change.

Her assailant was convicted of sexual battery and is serving a five-year sentence.

In the online petition, she writes:

“Let’s get the word out about what’s going on and send a message to Massage Envy that they need to change their corporate policy to put in place procedures to support victims of sexual assault. Don’t visit Massage Envy stores. Cancel your membership and let them know it is because of how they handle sexual assaults at their franchises.”

Massage Envy provided a statement about Dick’s concerns and the company acknowledges her demand to involve law enforcement, stating: “We can tell you that we expect franchisees to treat every member and guest with dignity and respect, and that includes support for reporting incidents to law enforcement.”

That statement is a departure from Massage Envy’s standard response to allegations, which consists of championing the company’s high standards and tough policies.

Dick explained that her nature is to work with people, not against them.

“I would have loved to tell my story in the context of a company that responded with action in taking these issues seriously, rather than in the context of how corporations can treat victims so callously,” Dick told CBS in early November.

Dick said the Duty to Report Sexual Assault Act could be a critical step toward holding massage establishments accountable for the way they handle sexual assaults, and would stop companies from handling allegations internally, which she said is “critical for protecting the public.”

Dick said that both before and after she went public with her story, Massage Envy threatened to take legal action against her.

“Massage Envy’s threats of legal action are intended to intimidate me into silence,” said Dick. “Sadly, this would be consistent with the way the company handled my assault, which would suggest a company that is far more interested in protecting its corporate brand than in supporting individuals assaulted at their stores.”

“Sadly, my hope that they would want to do the right thing was obviously misplaced, and they responded via e-mail to my lawyer with threats of legal action if I went public with my story,” Dick told CBS SF.

“I did anyway.”

This week, the company announced the formation of the Massage Envy Safety Advisory Council.  Dick, as well a representative from Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) will be on that council.

 ‘A National Epidemic’
Among the dozens of lawsuits against Massage Envy, is one filed on behalf of a woman who says she was sexually assaulted at a franchise located in the city of Elk Grove, just outside of Sacramento, in January 2016.

The woman alleges that massage therapist Carlos Ocampo first fondled the sides of her breast, spread her buttocks apart and then rubbed his hand on her vagina. He attempted to put his fingers inside her vagina.

The woman’s attorney, Robert Thompson, alleges in the lawsuit that “sexual assaults committed by massage therapists at Massage Envy Franchising franchise locations is a national epidemic” and that such incidents at Massage Envy are “neither isolated nor unusual.”

After assaulting the woman, Ocampo allegedly told her, “I wish it wasn’t over. I’d love to continue to practice massaging you.”

The lawsuit says the company is liable, at least in part due to the company’s “incomprehensible policy and procedure of … directing franchisees not to report said allegations to local law enforcement and/or state massage therapy boards.”

Furthermore, Thompson alleges in the lawsuit, that in numerous cases involving improper touching, Massage Envy therapists were allowed to remain employed, were transferred or re-hired at another franchise location where they went on to improperly touch more female customers.

In the case of Ocampo, Thompson alleges the company failed to conduct a criminal background check or a reference check prior to hiring him and continued to employ him even after the plaintiff reported him to management.

The complaint also alleges that for years, Massage Envy failed to take action against massage therapists, including Ocampo, despite knowing or having reason to know that they were sexual predators and/or mentally ill.

By failing to take action, the lawsuit alleges, Massage Envy ratified inappropriate and harmful actions carried out by its massage therapists.

Judy Lindenberger, a human resources specialist who founded The Lindenberger Group, told CBS SF in October that there are strict laws about reporting abuse against minors to law enforcement, but when it comes to adults, it appears the responsibility to report to law enforcement falls squarely on the victim.

Lindenberger stressed that, “There are many reasons why people don’t report sexual harassment” and abuse, such as feelings of shame, embarrassment, stress, and fear of retribution.

Lindenberger believes that because there are, in fact, so many reasons why victims do not report sexual assault to law enforcement, there is an even greater need for a law that requires companies to report customers’ allegations of sexual assault to law enforcement.

Limited Oversight
The volume of alleged sexual assaults at massage businesses such as Massage Envy may be a result of limited or no state oversight of the massage industry.

Five U.S. states: Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Wyoming, have no regulations at all regarding the practice of massage.

In California, there is a voluntary massage therapist certificate administered by the California Massage Therapy Council, or CAMTC, a private nonprofit public benefit corporation – with almost no teeth.

CAMTC states, “It is within the sole discretion of CAMTC whether or not to investigate or pursue any case against a massage professional” and reminds the public that it is not a law enforcement or government agency. In addition, law enforcement agencies are not required to alert the council to charges filed against its licensees.

Ahmos Netanel, the CEO of the CAMTC, told CBS SF that because the council is not a government agency, it does not have governmental immunity from lawsuits, which may contribute to why the council does not display as much information as the massage boards in other states.

For instance, the Florida Massage Board – which is a government entity – posts on their website administrative complaints filed against massage therapists and whether the therapist has any discipline on file.

CAMTC received roughly 300 complaints against certificate holders in 2016, but the content of those complaints are not public, making it difficult for people to check whether their massage therapist has had complaints of improper conduct filed with the council.

Company Culture
Catherine Smith is also suing Massage Envy. She says she was the victim of unwanted sexual contact by massage therapist Dennis Tolbert at a Massage Envy just outside Chicago in 2016.

Her attorney, Jessica Arbour, told CBS SF that inappropriate touching is a major issue that Massage Envy and the rest of the industry has failed to address properly.

In addition to having her breasts and vagina inappropriately touched during her massage, Smith’s lawsuit alleges that Massage Envy’s “Inappropriate Touch Procedure” discourages employees from taking independent actions beyond reporting the incident to corporate headquarters.

Massage Envy’s failure to instruct employees to call police, Smith’s lawsuit alleges, “fosters an environment that is conducive to unwanted sexual contact by its massage therapists.”

Smith’s complaint alleges: “The massage therapists can touch a client’s breasts, buttocks, and genital regions, even if the client does not welcome such contact, without the risk that law enforcement will be notified by their employer…”

Since Massage Envy does not instruct its tens of thousands of employees to notify law enforcement when sexual assault is reported, police don’t interview the victim, police don’t question the alleged perpetrator and police don’t gather criminal evidence. The lack of a police investigation may weaken the victim’s case should she decide to pursue legal recourse.

In Smith’s case, she immediately reported the incident to two Massage Envy managers who, following Massage Envy protocol had her file an internal report that purportedly launched an internal investigation, conducted by Massage Envy’s own attorneys.

Neither manager offered to make a report to law enforcement or assist her in reporting the unwanted contact to law enforcement, the complaint states.

The complaint contends that Smith was later refused any information about the status and eventual outcome of the investigation into her complaint.

Massage Envy’s apparent practice of not instructing employees to report sexual assaults to law enforcement may boil down to the notion that the company’s human resource and customers service departments exist to protect the company.

Adam Horowitz, an attorney in Florida who has represented clients in dozens of lawsuits against Massage Envy told CBS SF in October, “It’s always the same thing.”

He said the suspect consistently is a male employee and the victim a female client, and the problems often begin with inappropriate draping, which is the technique of covering the client with a sheet.

“As a leader of the industry, they should be taking the lead,” Horowitz said, noting that the problem extends beyond Massage Envy, to the industry as a whole.

Horowitz said if women only knew how common this was, they would be appalled.

More Victims
In the time since the bill requiring massage businesses to report allegations of sexual harassment was introduced in Congress last year, more women say Massage Envy employees have assaulted them.

Licensed massage therapist Habtamu Gabreselassie was arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting four women at Massage Envy locations in the greater Washington D.C. area in mid to late 2017.

A lawsuit filed against Massage Envy on behalf of one of Gabreselassie’s alleged victims claims that he sexually assaulted a female client in June 2017 at a Massage Envy location in Bowie, Maryland and was then transferred to a D.C. location, where he sexually assaulted another female client. The suit alleges that Massage Envy had full knowledge that Gabreselassie had committed at least two prior sexual assaults at two different Massage Envy locations before sexually assaulting the plaintiff.

The plaintiff alleges that Gabreselassie licked her vagina during the course of the massage without consent to do so. He then allegedly begged her not to tell anyone.

The plaintiff — named in the suit only as Jane Doe — is demanding Massage Envy pay her $25 million in damages. Gabreselassie is facing multiple criminal charges and Massage Envy stated that he no longer works for the company. His massage therapist license was also suspended. A fourth alleged victim of Gabreselassie has since come forward.

Just last month, massage therapist Brian Sams was criminally charged following allegations that he sexually battered a woman at a Massage Envy franchise near Atlanta, Georgia.

Sams’ massage therapy license remains active.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/12/08/female-customers-massage-envy-sexual-assault/

• Tweet

[knarf]

A drug-resistant strain is spreading across Southeast Asia—and proposed cuts to the President’s Malaria Initiative won’t help


Stylized image of the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito



There has been growing hope in recent years that malaria could eventually be eradicated but that sense of optimism is currently facing some major new challenges. Scientists are warning that a “supermalaria” parasite is spreading rapidly across Southeast Asia, and could pose a global health threat if it spreads to Africa. It is resistant to artemisinin, the recommended first-line treatment for malaria. In addition, if the U.S. Congress carries out the proposed 44 percent cut to the President’s Malaria initiative (PMI) funding, it could have a significantly undercut prevention and treatment programs. Projections show that the PMI cut alone could lead to an additional 300,000 malaria deaths over the next four years.

Although the disease continues to be a major global public health problem, the number of deaths from malaria has been falling due to the impact of major PMI-funded control programs, which include insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying and anti-malarial treatments. In 2015, there were an estimated 438,000 malaria deaths worldwide compared to 584,000 in 2013. The majority (92 percent ) of these deaths have been in sub-Saharan Africa and it is feared that if the drug-resistant strain currently seen in Southeast Asia spreads to Africa, it could diminish the gains that have been made.

Unfortunately, the sudden emergence and spread of this new resistant strain should not come as a surprise to malaria control experts—it’s a case of history repeating itself. Just like insecticide resistance, drug resistance is a phenomenon that we have experienced before, and will probably see again and again until malaria is eventually eradicated. Thus, we should view the periodic emergence and re-emergence of drug resistance as an opportunity to learn something new about the malaria parasite and its transmission, develop even more sustainable ways of controlling it, and make any new, alternative treatments last longer. Even more important, we need to redouble our efforts to increase and maintain funding for malaria control.

The rapid spread of resistant parasites is fueled by Anopheles mosquitoes (when they bite humans parasites are passed between different hosts) and the rise in globalization with the increase in air travel across continents. The current frontline tools for malaria control—including treatment using artemisinin combination therapy, sleeping under insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS)—are effective, but the persistence of malaria transmission points to gaps in current practice. Closing these gaps requires a deliberate effort to sustain and improve the gains made and, I would argue, for the establishment of an agenda that promotes a more integrated approach to malaria control.

The goal of malaria eradication is a constantly moving target. Malaria parasites and the mosquitoes that transmit them are continuously changing in response to control measures, and so keeping pace requires dynamism in approach and practise and shifting our focus towards encouraging multiple, concurrent strategies against the parasite and the mosquito. Control also needs to be linked to the communities themselves; environmental and community health workers can draw important lessons from the successes of integrated pest management in agriculture.

Malaria involves the human host, the mosquito vector and the parasite. As the parasite life cycle occurs partly in the mosquito and partly in the human host, this naturally presents two avenues through which malaria control is currently focused; first, to reduce human-vector contact through the increased use of ITNs and IRS and, second, to control parasite circulation in the human population through surveillance and effective treatment of identified cases.

Whilst some benefits of these frontline interventions are already being realized, I believe that integrating these with other control measures in a multidisciplinary approach will ultimately provide the added impact that is likely to shrink the existing gaps and push the eradication agenda forward. An example of these other control measures is the elimination of mosquito breeding habitats as part of an integrated vector management (IVM) framework that includes active community participation to enhance sustainability. Another important control measure is the development of clearly defined tools for community health workers to facilitate the monitoring of malaria patients following effective diagnosis and timely treatment.

A good example of where this has been effective is in Sri Lanka, where the disease was eliminated. The Sri Lankan antimalaria program has been successful—even in spite of regular movement of people between the island and India and 20 years of war and political unrest—because of a multi-dimensional approach. It had an effective mosquito control program, a three-pronged parasite surveillance program, and “patient management” or treatment of the disease. The big question remains whether a similar approach can be developed in malaria endemic regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The prospects are high as the tools applied in Sri Lanka are available; what is now needed is a well coordinated implementation step supported by advocacy, political will and adequate funding. Thus the proposed PMI funding cuts are only likely to make worse an already bad situation. They should be reconsidered.

The fears that the “supermalaria” parasite in Southeast Asia could spread to Africa are justified. So in addition to ensuring integrated malaria control locally, this is the time to also put a greater emphasis on pre-travel advice and chemoprevention, especially to people traveling between Africa and Asia. When resistance to an antimalarial first emerges, it does so in non-immune people. These are usually indigenous infants and young children who are yet to acquire immunity (which comes from surviving repeated malaria attacks), or adult foreign visitors to endemic areas. This could be the perfect opportunity for the World Health Organization and other stakeholders in malaria control to strengthen existing regulations and introduce new rules governing the use of malaria prophylaxis among international travelers, similar to the mandatory vaccinations for diseases such as yellow fever.

The malaria research community has a great sense of commitment to exploring ways of controlling the disease and mustn’t be despondent even in the face of supermalaria. It might take a lot of time, work and funding to tackle this new challenge but we have more experience and knowledge than ever before. However, to keep the hope of malaria eradication in our sights, we must apply the lessons learnt over the decades of successful malaria control to halt the spread of this super parasite and avert a crisis. It might be a new battle to face, but it doesn’t mean that we have lost the war.

Janet Midega is a scientist at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Program in Kilifi, Kenya, a research associate at the University of Oxford's Center for Genomics and Global Health, and a 2017 Aspen New Voices Fellow.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/supermalaria-is-on-the-way/

• Tweet