Germany Ready for Change?

The Telegraph wrote on September 10:

“[Scholz] said his country was afflicted by a ‘blight’ of timidity and risk aversion that only an ‘act of national strength’ can heal… the country has been brought down to earth by a gloomy economic reality… ‘The government’s story that green investments will bring a big boom is clearly misleading,’ Ifo head Clemens Fuest told The Telegraph. Climate policies such as a decision to phase out gas heating that was passed… by the German parliament on Friday are ‘of course raising costs and slowing down production’ in the crisis-hit building sector, he added…

“Berlin estimates that it needs to build some 8,600 miles of extra power lines to transport electricity from its new renewable wind and solar sources. But so far, less than 1,200 miles of the new lines have been completed…

“The picture of economic doom and gloom is playing into the hands of the far-Right Alternative for Germany party, which has been surging in polling in recent months. The pro-Russian party says it would tackle high energy prices – one of the core issues facing German industry – by repairing the sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines and buying gas from the Kremlin again. The price they are willing to pay is an end to military support to Ukraine.

“A recent poll from Saxony, one of three states in the former communist east that is going to the polls next year, found that all three parties in Mr Scholz’s coalition may struggle to win even the five per cent necessary to make it into the state legislature. Meanwhile, the AfD is set to win the most seats with 35 per cent of the vote while the CDU would come in second with 29 per cent….”

IF Germany was willing to change, it would have to start at the very top. But the question is, what kind of change? Note the next article. 

Persecution in Germany Continuing

The Ron Paul Institute published on September 12 the following article by C.J. Hopkins (an American author living in Germany. We reported on this development in our Current Events in our Update #1083, dated September 1, 2023):

“So, the Berlin State Prosecutor has launched another criminal investigation of me. Apparently, I’m being charged with reporting on the original investigation of me that the Berlin State Prosecutor launched in June…

“What happened is, the prosecutor visited my blog and read a column I published in July…  which included screenshots of the alleged ‘hate-crime’ Tweets that the original criminal investigation is based on, and that resulted in the Order of Punishment that the Berlin District Court handed down two weeks ago. So, the prosecutor opened a new criminal investigation and sent my attorney an official notice explaining the gravity of the additional charges… I am officially accused of ‘relativizing’ or ‘minimizing’ the crimes of the Nazis … by republishing the two Tweets that I originally tweeted…

“You would have to be a certified moron to believe they ‘minimized,’ or ‘relativized,’ or in any way made light of the crimes of the Nazis. You and I are not certified morons. Neither is the Berlin State Prosecutor. Neither is the District Court of Berlin… They are a blatant pretext to crackdown on dissent… [As was pointed out before in our above-mentioned Update, the allegations against Hopkins of minimizing the crimes of the Nazis are indeed preposterous and laughable.]

“I’m not at all enjoying my introduction to the so-called ‘German legal system.’ It is taking up my time. It is making me angry. It is upsetting my wife, which I do not appreciate. It is costing me a lot of money… The goal of… prosecutions like mine (and those of many other dissidents currently) is (a) to punish us for speaking out against ‘New Normal’ totalitarianism by making our lives as miserable as possible, (b) to make examples of us to discourage others from speaking out, and (c) to intimidate us into shutting… up… They may cloak themselves in the mantle of the law, but their modus operandi is brute force… their message is simple: ‘either do what we say, or we will hurt you.’..

“Never, ever, give in to a bully. The second you do, that bully owns you. What the bully wants, more than whatever he is demanding, more than anything else in the world, is your fear. The bully interprets your fear as respect, because the bully doesn’t understand respect. The bully craves your fear, and your obedience, because they reify the bully’s ‘authority.’ They enable the bully to feel powerful and important. The bully needs to feel ‘powerful’ and ‘important’ because the bully feels weak and unimportant, and afraid…

“Michael Ballweg, the founder and lead organizer of the ‘Querdenken’ movement… just spent nine months in jail. The German authorities have seized his assets, and frozen all his funds, so he is homeless, and bankrupt, and they are prosecuting him for attempted fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion, or, in other words, for launching a protest movement… The most absurd aspect of Michael’s case is the German authorities’ ‘theory of his crimes.’ According to this theory, Michael’s devious scheme was to commit serious fraud by … basically, launching a nationwide protest movement that was certain to get a ton of media attention and incur the wrath of the German authorities…”

These developments in Germany are indeed deeply disturbing. They are reminiscent of persecutions in Germany’s recent past. Hopkins’s comments on a bully are quite insightful. 

Ukraine’s Costly War

On September 9, FPMag wrote the following:

“‘Supporting the USA proxy war in Ukraine is not a necessity. Ending this war is a necessity,’ exclaimed Alona Adamovich, humanitarian team lead providing women’s shelters in the Ukraine war zone…

“Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Tucker Carlson the way ahead is ‘peace’. The only way to achieve that, PM Orbán said, is ‘call back Trump’…

“All the while, some 40,000 NATO troops are present at Russia’s borders and the Pentagon has called up 8,500 U.S. troops to prepare for ‘shipping out’ to join others… as a plan for 50,000 more is in the works…

“‘All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine,’ the RF defence ministry has repeatedly said in the past…

“‘Half a million people have died in Ukraine in the last year,’ said Irish MEP Claire Daly at a EU Parliamentary session with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, while Kiev resorts to conscripting disabled people into the army having lost 400,000 to 500,000 military personnel.”

And the way to peace they do not know…

Many “Able” Men Flee Ukraine

European Conservative wrote on September 9:

“Neither the Austrian, nor the Czech government is willing to bow to Ukraine’s demands and extradite Ukrainian men who have fled the war-torn country…

“David Arakhamia, parliamentary faction leader of Ukraine’s governing party, Servant of the People, said last week that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies should demand the extradition of men of military age who had illegally left Ukraine to escape mobilisation. With the war against Russia costing thousands of lives, the Ukrainian leadership is stepping up its efforts to recruit soldiers… But there are more and more reports of men fleeing the country to avoid military service. 

“President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a general mobilisation after Russia’s invasion in February of last year, and military reservists between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible for conscription. The number of Ukrainian men who have successfully avoided mobilisation and sought refuge abroad could be in the tens of thousands… What Eurostat’s statistics do tell us is that 17.7% of the 4 million Ukrainians who have been granted temporary protection in the EU since the start of the war are men aged 18-64…

“… there are around 14,000 Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 54 who have been registered as refugees in Austria… 80,000 Ukrainian men of military age may have entered Poland since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the German Interior Ministry has registered more than 200,000 men in the same age group since the start of the war…”

This demand to extradite Ukrainian men seems to be in violation of international law. 

NATO Admits Its Responsibility for the Ukraine War

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on September 11:

“During a speech at the EU Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clearly and repeatedly acknowledged that Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine because of fears of NATO expansionism… It would have been so very, very easy to prevent this horrific war…”

Formal Impeachment Inquiry Into Joe Biden

The New York Post wrote on September 12:

“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that Republicans plan to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s alleged involvement while vice president in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. ‘House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption,’ McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at the Capitol…”

Fox News added on September 12:

“The speaker said House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry in coordination with House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio… ‘Through our investigations, we have found that President Biden did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings. Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions, dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his sons and his son’s business partners,’ McCarthy said.

“‘We know that bank records show that nearly $20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates through various Shell companies. The Treasury Department alone has more than 150 transactions involving the Biden family. Another business associates that were flagged as suspicious activity by U.S. banks. Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family. Biden used his official office to coordinate with Hunter Biden’s business partners about Hunter’s role in Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company,’ he continued. 

“‘Finally, despite these serious allegations, it appears that the president’s family has been offered special treatment by Biden’s own administration. Treatment that not otherwise would have received if they were not related to the president,’ McCarthy said. ‘These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they want further investigation by the House of Representatives.’”

The concept, propagated by some, that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden is laughable, in light of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Whether McCarthy will garner enough votes for an impeachment inquiry or an impeachment is a different question. 

At the same time, Hunter Biden was indicted on Thursday on three firearm charges, carrying prison terms (even though it is unlikely that the President’s son, if convicted, will be imprisoned.). He was not charged (so far) with FARA or tax violations. It was pointed out that the indictments are the only alleged criminal violations which do not directly implicate Joe Biden.

The US-Iran Deal 

The Associated Press wrote on September 11, 2023:

“The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States… Congress was not informed of the waiver decision until Monday…

“The outlines of the deal had been previously announced and the waiver was expected. But the notification marked the first time the administration said it was releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal. The prisoners have not been named. The waiver drew criticism of President Joe Biden from Republicans and others who say the deal will boost the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to U.S. troops and Mideast allies.”

The Biden Administration announced that the money will only be used by Iran for “humanitarian” purposes. This has been flatly contradicted by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who said that the money will be used “wherever we need it,” continuing, “This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money’ (compare Newsmax, dated September 12). 

Besides everything else, the timing is just awful. So is the timing for the next “announcement”:

White House Praises Saudi Arabia

Daily Dot wrote on September 11:

“The White House is facing backlash online after praising Saudi Arabia on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks… In a tweet on Monday, National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson applauded the foreign regime after it committed tens of billions of dollars towards the Partnership for Global Infrastructure (PGI). The initiative, spearheaded by President Joe Biden, seeks to spur economic growth in low- and middle-income countries with investments in infrastructure.

“But users on X were quick to label the tweet as out-of-touch given the day’s date. ‘Posting on 9/11 and 20 minutes after the first tower fell,’ one user wrote. ‘Just incredible timing.’

“Saudi Arabia has long been accused of helping to fund and assist the 9/11 terror attacks. Of the 19 Al Qaeda members involved in hijacking the four commercial airliners that day, 15 were citizens of Saudi Arabia…

“‘Great tweet for 9/11,’ wrote Chuck Ross, a journalist for the Washington Free Beacon. The tweet comes just three days after Bloomberg reported on allegations from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that Biden’s Deputy Assistant Brett McGurk was actively working against the interests of the families of 9/11 victims in order to curry favor with Saudi Arabia. The victims’ families for years have attempted to convince Congress to strengthen a law aimed at allowing U.S. citizens to sue foreign governments that funded or aided terrorist attacks…”

More Biden Fairy Tales

Fox News reported on September 11:

“President Biden claimed Monday, without evidence, that he stood at Ground Zero in New York City viewing the damage from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks just one day later, despite records showing he was in Washington, D.C. that day… and gave a speech on the floor of the Senate. Records show the Senate met in the morning, and a classified briefing was held for all senators that afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET…

“Records also show Biden participated in a joint resolution vote condemning the terrorist attacks later that afternoon. Biden was the Democratic manager of the resolution… Biden also contradicted his own claim in his autobiography detailing his actions after the attacks. Biden said in the book that he ‘headed back to the Capitol’ on September 12, and made no mention of visiting Ground Zero that day.”

It looks like, Joe Biden has a very difficult time to tell the truth. 

Biden Violated Free Speech

Breitbart wrote on September 8:

“A federal appeals court ruled that the Biden administration likely violated Americans’ First Amendment rights when it worked to censor speech during the COVID-19 pandemic… the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said the White House, surgeon general, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Federal Bureau of Investigation improperly commandeered speech…

“The decision modifies a lower court preliminary injunction which prohibited a wide-ranging group of government officials from coercing social media platforms to take down or limit posts on their websites. While agreeing with much of the lower court’s premises, the new order limits the scope of the restrictions imposed to the groups it found culpable — the White House, surgeon general, CDC, and FBI…”

That the Biden Administration exerted undue pressure on social media outlets to suppress politically inconvenient opinions is without any doubt. That those social media outlets bowed to such pressure is shameful. 

Guilty of Sedition?

The Future of Freedom Foundation wrote on September 6:

“This week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentenced Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, to 22 years in jail for the crime of ‘sedition’ arising out of the January 6 protests at the Capitol. It wasn’t the first time that the judge, Timothy Kelly, meted out a high jail sentence for the sedition offense. Last week, he handed out an 18-year sentence to Ethan Nordean, one of Tarrio’s co-defendants. Last May, another D.C. federal judge, Amit P. Mehta, sentenced leader of the Oath Keepers militia, Stewart Rhodes, to 18 years for the federal crime of ‘sedition.’

“Those high jail sentences… are so ridiculous… The federal crime of ‘sedition’ is akin to the local crime of ‘disorderly conduct.’ It is designed to give federal authorities the ability to severely punish people who have committed no real crime to justify severe punishment…

“How did Kelly arrive at 22 years for Tarrio when the law expressly limits sentences to 20 years? He used some sort of enhancement provision relating to terrorism law, even though Tarrio was convicted of ‘sedition,’ not “’terrorism.’…

“The notion that the January 6 protests were an attempt to overthrow the U.S. government is laughable to the extreme. After all, everyone knows about AR-15s and other assault rifles. Everyone also knows about regular mass killings in the United States. If people are going to attempt a violent overthrow of the federal government, they are going to go into the Capitol with AR-15s or other assault rifles. They are immediately going to start shooting and killing people and taking hostages… They are not going to settle for smashing a few doors and windows, forcing their way past security police, or damaging some desks.

“In fact, it is ironic that the only person who was killed on January 6 was an unarmed protestor. That was Ashli Babbitt, who was shot dead by a Capitol policeman who got scared during the protest. Notwithstanding the fact that he shot an unarmed woman in cold blood, that cop got away scot-free, unlike Tarrio and Nordean, who didn’t kill anyone…

“There is no doubt that on January 6, people were filled with passionate emotions… There is also no doubt that given the heightened emotions, such protests oftentimes get out of hand. That certainly is what happened in the January 6 protests. But to jump from that to the notion that the protestors were attempting to overthrow the U.S. government is so patently ridiculous that it defies credulity…

“It’s one thing to charge January 6 protestors who got out of control with such crimes as trespass, assault, or destruction of government propriety. It’s quite another thing to punish them for sedition…”

The conviction and the length of incarceration are unworthy examples of a country which claims to be “brave and free.” 

The Magic Bullet

The Independent wrote on September 10:

“A former Secret Service agent who was metres away from John F Kennedy when the former president was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 has spoken out to cast fresh doubt on the official findings.

“Paul Landis, 88, who had been assigned to protect first lady Jackie Kennedy, challenged the Warren Commission’s findings that a ‘magic bullet’ had struck and exited the president before hitting then-Texas governor John Connally Jr.

“Mr Landis told the New York Times he recalled hearing several shots ring out in Dealy Plaza as he walked just behind the president’s limousine, and saw the president slump forward after being struck in the head… Investigators claimed [the bullet] passed through Kennedy’s throat, and then somehow hit the former governor’s right shoulder before causing wounds to his back, chest, wrist and thigh.

“It became known as the ‘single bullet’ or ‘magic bullet’ theory, and was relied on by the Warren Commission as evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald had carried out the assassination alone….”

The “magic bullet” theory is so ridiculous. The idea that Oswald acted alone has been dismissed for a long time by many experts as absolutely unbelievable. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on September 11 during a Fox News interview that he is convinced that his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was not killed by just one person, acting alone, and that the concept that his father, Robert F. Kennedy, was killed by just one person must likewise be dismissed. Kennedy stated that the CIA was probably behind both murders. 

Covid Hysteria and New Elections

Newsmax wrote on September 9:

“Former President Donald Trump warned ‘COVID hysteria’ is coming back because ‘there’s an election coming up,’ and Republicans have to step in to stop the tyranny…

“Trump has long believed Democrats ‘used COVID to cheat’ on the 2020 presidential election, including having key battleground states impose mass mail-in ballotingwithout constitutionally required authorization from state legislatures…”

Trump definitely has a point. The connection should be obvious.

“Never Again!”

Brownstone wrote on September 11:

“In a recent piece for the Washington Post, Ramesh Ponnuru wrote that ‘the public is not going to accept restrictive coronavirus mitigation measures again, regardless of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other public health authorities say.’…

“If there’s an upside to the lockdowns that never, ever made sense… it’s that government has forfeited a great deal of the little credibility it had…

“Much worse than the [arrogant] conceit [of lockdowns] were the lockdowns themselves, that to varying degrees blinded the very people who very much needed to see clearly. Precisely because the arrival of the coronavirus brought with it unknowns, a country with sane leadership would have turned the unknowns into knowns by getting out of the way.”

People say a lot these days that they will never comply again. But the “sheep instinct” of most may paint a very different picture.

Oil Prices Climb

LifeSiteNews wrote on September 9:

“Oil prices shot passed $90/bbl Wednesday after Saudi Arabia and then Russia announced a continuance of production cuts through the end of this year. The BRICS alliance is going to deliver some pain to the Western alliance… 

“Gasoline, energy products, petroleum products, home heating oil, groceries, everything will cost more as the geopolitical battle continues; but we are supposed to pretend we are unaware of the global political dynamic…

“Saudi Arabia said it would extend the voluntary cut of 1 million b/d of for another 3 months, from October until the end of December, well beyond the expectation of just 1 more month…  Russian deputy PM Novak said Russia would also extend its reduction of oil exports until the end of the year, reducing its oil output by 300kb/d in voluntary cuts until December 2023.”

Crazy California Child’s Gender Bill

Breitbart wrote on September 8:

“The California legislature approved a bill this week that would punish parents who do not ‘affirm’ their child’s gender identity… If Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs the bill, it would require custody judges to consider a parent’s ‘affirmation’ of their child’s gender, as judges consider the ‘health, safety, and welfare of the child’ when making decisions.

“Threatening the standard of ‘health, safety, and welfare’ of a child under the California Family Code can carry penalties under the California Penal Code—prompting parents, activists, and lawmakers to speculate that AB 957 could result in parents being charged with child abuse or neglect for not participating in a child’s transgenderism. 

“In a hearing about the bill, California Sen. Scott Wilk (R) said the bill would force parents to leave the state.  ‘In recent years, we have put government bureaucrats between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to medical care—and now we have this where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, [children] are going to be taken away from the home,’ Wilk said, adding, ‘if you love your children, you need to flee California.’”

God sees California’s ungodly policies. 

Climate Change Findings Distorted

Fox News wrote on September 9:

“A California scientist admitted that he ‘left out the full truth’ about climate change, blaming it primarily on human causes, to get his study published in a prestigious science journal. [He admitted] that he distorted the findings of his studies to appeal to the editors at Nature and Science magazines, which are prestigious online science journals. 

“‘And the editors of these journals have made it abundantly clear, both by what they publish and what they reject, that they want climate papers that support certain preapproved narratives—even when those narratives come at the expense of broader knowledge for society,’ Brown wrote in The Free Press.”

Joe Biden said in Vietnam during a “confused, bizarre and rambling” press conference, that those who question man-made global warming, are “lying dog-faced pony soldiers,” quoting from a John Wayne movie.

Devastating Earthquake in Morocco

CNN reported on September 10:

“The [6.8] quake, the strongest to hit Morocco in more than 120 years, killed more than [in excess of 2,900] people. Many others remain missing… The difficult access to the vast earthquake-hit area has hampered aid delivery efforts. While emergency camps have been set up in some places, people in other inaccessible areas have been left to fend for themselves…

“Many are exhausted and heartbroken, and emotions are running high… With each passing hour, the chances of anyone being pulled out of the rubble alive are disappearing.”

Devastating Floods in Libya

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 12:

“At least 2,300 people have died in an eastern Libyan city alone [Derna] after a powerful storm caused devastating floods in the area over the weekend… The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) earlier Tuesday reported that around 10,000 people were missing…

“Libya is divided between rival administrations in the west and east… The chaos and split in governance in the oil-rich nation has long left cities with crumbling and inadequate structures.”

It has now been reported that the death toll hit 11,300 and could reach 20,000.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

The Totalitarian EU State

Express wrote on September 1:

“Arch-Europhile MEP Guy Verhofstadt has been accused of trying to turn the EU into a ‘totalitarian supra-national authority’ with a package of proposals including one which would see member states stripped of their vetoes. Mr Verhofstadt’s ideas are set out in a 116-page draft document which… would introduce qualified majority voting in dozens of areas including defence, taxation and foreign policy. 

“The proposals contained in the dossier… would dramatically enlarge the powers of the European Parliament, and – crucially – prevent members of the EU27 from blocking legislation.”

Even if this proposal were not to be adopted for now, the underlying thinking is alarming.

Scholz Tells Economic Fairy Tales

Bild Online wrote on September 3:

“Chancellor Olaf Scholz… predicted in March… new mega growth. Scholz at the time: ‘Due to the high investments in climate protection, Germany will be able to achieve growth rates for some time, as last happened in the 1950s and 1960s.’ In plain language: the Chancellor promised the Germans a new ‘economic miracle’, expected growth rates as in the post-war period (In 1950 to 1960 an average of 8.2 percent per year). For comparison: Between 2010 and 2020, growth was only 1.2 percent.

“HOW does Scholz arrive at this positive forecast, while economists even warn of a shrinking economy? In response to a question from the Union faction [opposition] in the Bundestag, the traffic light [coalition] has to admit: there are no expectations of an economic miracle… MEANING: The chancellor CANNOT justify his economic promises!

“Union parliamentary group leader and economic politician Jens Spahn (43, CDU) accuses Scholz of [lying to] the citizens with his promise. Spahn to BILD: ‘The chancellor tells economic fairy tales. The traffic light cannot provide any evidence for his claim that there will be growth rates last seen in the 1950s and 1960s. In truth, we are further away than ever from a new economic miracle.'”

In another article regarding power supply, Bild Online wrote on September 3:

“Jens Spahn… to BILD: ‘No one believes in the Chancellor’s perseverance slogans anymore, not even his own party. The losers are millions of industrial workers. They don’t know if their jobs will still be there tomorrow.’”

The days of incompetent Scholz and his pitiful “traffic light” coalition are numbered.

Does Pistorius Have the Courage to Act?

Focus wrote on September 4:

“Boris Pistorius [Germany’s Federal Minister of Defense] achieves fantastic poll numbers reminiscent of those of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. The big question now is: Will he use this position to act? He has a historic opportunity – but also a lot of resistance.

“Is Boris Pistorius a brave man? There is much to be said for it… Above all, the decision to station a heavy brigade permanently in Lithuania was courageous. The army strongly advised against it – the organizational problems and disruptions to the restructuring of the land forces were too great. Pistorius made the decision anyway. And he was right… especially since it also makes operational sense to have powerful brigades on NATO’s eastern border.

“Organizationally, the implementation of this decision is an enormous challenge for the overly bureaucratic and cumbersome apparatus… Can you even find enough soldiers who are willing to go there for maybe three years? What do you do with the families? In addition: A powerful brigade normally includes well over 4,000 men and women, especially if they are to operate independently.

“Of course, these problems are also an opportunity, a kind of lever to advance the Bundeswehr’s focus on national and alliance defense. Everyone knows that the armed forces are dysfunctional and it is high time to do something about it. Boris Pistorius’ predecessors didn’t have the courage to reform… 

“Now it’s Pistorius’ turn. The conditions for reforms were never better in the days of the Berlin Republic: After the disaster with the weak Christine Lambrecht in times of war, the chancellor cannot afford any further downtime, there are comprehensive commitments to NATO that require quick action and according to public opinion, the Bundeswehr is very well-liked…

“Certainly no defense minister can implement the reforms that are actually necessary on his own… The staff shortage can probably only be solved by introducing a militia system, a mandatory year or the massive expansion of the reservists, which also requires a cabinet decision…

“But the minister can also do a lot of things on his own… many regulations could easily be changed with good will.

“He is by far the most popular politician in Germany—an ace in Olaf Scholz’s hands during these months when the cabinet is struggling. Politically, however, this will only sting if the defense minister follows up his positively received speeches with deeds… The soldiers appreciate their minister beyond measure. However, if he does not use the historic opportunity to advance fundamental issues, the euphoria will be followed by bitter disappointment….”

And so, the concept of mandatory military service is being thrown into the mix.

France at Brink of Civil War?

Modern Diplomacy wrote on September 3:

“A couple of months ago, France was engulfed by an explosive wave of civil unrest… The significance of the situation cannot be overstated: the entire world witnessed the outbreak of anarchy in a major European nation. Street violence took place not just in Paris, but also in various other French cities and the contagion even reached the neighbouring Swiss city of Lausanne. People were beaten, businesses were looted, vehicles were burned and countless acts of vandalism were committed. As law enforcement was overwhelmed by the proportions and intensity of this popular revolt, the French government —unable to respond effectively— was badly shaken by the seismicity of the ensuing political shockwaves…

“In turn, the reaction of everyday citizens showed a combination of disbelief, concern, dismay, outrage and uncertainty. The perception of danger made people think that there is no reliable guarantee that their lives, integrity and property will be respected. Moreover, the fact these events took place shortly before the anniversary of the French Revolution makes things look even more ominous. From a long-range perspective, they could be interpreted as a powerful confirmation that history has fatefully returned to Western Europe… illusions of everlasting peace and harmony are being shattered by reality… 

“Yet, perhaps the most problematic implication of recent events in France is that similar dynamics could gain traction in societies with similar conditions, most notably Britain, Germany and Sweden. Signs of violent interethnic animosities are becoming ‘part and parcel’ of everyday life in such European nations…

“France may already be in a state of low-intensity civil war. So far, it remains to be seen if the clashes remain intermittent or if they will spiral out of control. The undecisive reaction of the French government reflects an unwillingness to confront a difficult situation. Blaming videogames and expect trouble to go away on its own is the equivalent of burying one’s head in the sand…

“Although the latest wave of urban riots in France seems to have subsided, their underlying structural roots remain unchanged. Accordingly, this episode foreshadows the escalation of violence sooner or later. The magnitude of the next crisis will likely be higher both quantitatively and qualitatively… The sinister spectre of civil war is haunting France…”

Macron is not the man who would be able to stop this development. But a charismatic powerful person, called the beast in the Bible, will rise up, and European countries, including Germany and France, will transfer their authority to the beast. He will rule with an iron fist. 

American Nuclear Bombs on British Soil?

Bloomberg wrote on September 5:

“Russia warned Tuesday it will treat any US move to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years as an ‘escalation’ after media reports indicated plans to deploy the bombs on British soil. ‘If this happens, it will be treated by us as an escalation, which will lead to the exact opposite of achieving the pressing task of removing all US nuclear weapons from Europe,’ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday…

“The US Air Force has earmarked $50 million in funding for military housing at a UK air base. The language used to describe the purpose for the increased personnel usually refers to the handling of nuclear weapons, The Guardian reported last week…

“Around 150 US B-61 nuclear gravity bombs are currently stationed in four European countries — Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy — as well as Turkey…”

Ultimately, these weapons will be used AGAINST the USA.

Will NATO Collapse by 2025 Over Ukraine?

Atlantic wrote on September 2:

“Europe and the United States are on the verge of the most momentous conscious uncoupling in international relations in decades. Since 1949, NATO has been the one constant in world security. Initially an alliance among the United States, Canada, and 10 countries in Western Europe, NATO won the Cold War and has since expanded to include almost all of Europe… It… might collapse by 2025.

“The cause of this collapse would be the profound difference in outlook between the Republican Party’s populist wing—which is led by Donald Trump but now clearly makes up the majority of the GOP—and the existential security concerns of much of Europe. The immediate catalyst for the collapse would be the war in Ukraine…

“The past few weeks have revealed that Trump’s pro-Russian, anti-NATO outlook isn’t just a brief interlude in Republican politics; suspicion of American involvement in supporting Ukraine is now the consensus of the party’s populist heart. During last week’s GOP presidential debate, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy… both argued against more aid for Ukraine…

“… the growing sentiment on the American right against supporting Ukraine represents an extraordinary challenge to the future of NATO. European states have been moving in the opposite direction… [This] would split the Atlantic alliance…

“If the United States simply abandons Ukraine a year and a half from now, there is no way whatsoever that Europe could make up for the loss of aid…”

Ultimately, NATO will fall apart, and the animosity between the USA and Europe will continue. 

Zelenskyy to Replace Defense Minister

Thomson/Reuters reported on September 3:

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday he had decided to replace his defense minister, setting the stage for the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s defense establishment since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said he would dismiss Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s main privatization fund…

“The decision comes amid a crackdown on corruption in Ukraine that Zelenskyy has been keen to emphasize. Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and the public has become highly sensitive to corruption as the war rages with no end in sight…

“During the war, Reznikov’s defense ministry lobbied the West to overcome various taboos on supplying powerful military kit to Ukraine, including everything from German-made main battle tanks to HIMARS multiple-launch rockets. Kyiv now looks poised to receive U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets soon…

“His apparent exit appears to bring an end to months of domestic media pressure that began in January when Reznikov’s ministry was accused of buying food at inflated prices. Though he was not personally involved in the food contract, some Ukrainian commentators said he should take political responsibility for what happened.

“Last month, a Ukrainian media outlet accused his ministry of corruption during the procurement of winter coats for the army. Reznikov denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said he was being targeted by a smear campaign.”

Whether this was a wise decision to fire Reznikov will have to be seen.

COVID Hysteria, Vaccines and Mandates Starting Again!

Daily Express US wrote on September 1:

“With summer coming to an end and a new Covid variant on the loose, some health experts are recommending people begin taking precautions again – starting with mask-wearing… CDC spokesperson Scott Pauley told Daily Express US the CDC recommends that all people are up to date on their vaccines before they travel… 

“An updated vaccine for new strains is expected to be available by the end of September – the CDC recommends everyone receive a booster shot.”

Will we experience a repeat of Biden’s horrible war of the vaccinated against the unvaccinated?

Corona in Spite of Vaccination and Booster Shots

Fox News wrote on September 4:

“First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19… President Biden tested negative for the virus… The first lady is double-vaccinated, twice boosted, according to a statement from her communications director last year.”

So, vaccinations and booster shots don’t seem to be “miracle cures” after all.

Biden’s Insane Fearmongering

Fox News wrote on September 5:

“Social media users mocked the news that President Biden will return to masking indoors Tuesday…

“White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre… said: ‘President Biden… will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance…  the president will remove his mask when sufficiently distant from others indoors and while outside as well.’

“The return to indoor masking ignited backlash online from X users, who complained about the possibility of mask mandates returning. ‘The conspiracy theorists were right again. These loony psychopaths are going to try to bring masks back. Nope. We aren’t playing this time,’ cryptocurrency entrepreneur Bruce Fenton wrote.

“Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich commented, ‘Your regular reminder that masks are garbage against COVID/Wuhan coronavirus and do not work. In fact, they cause harm with lung damage and cancerous materials. Not to mention the massive environmental pollution.’ ‘Biden masking again because he’s been around Jill is such nonsense fearmongering,’ investigative reporter Emily Miller wrote… ‘They never stop. They never quit,’ RealClearInvestigations editor-at-large Benjamin Weingarten posted.”

Biden’s fearmongering is indeed ridiculous, but it is dangerous!

School in Maryland Reinstates Masks

Fox News wrote on September 5:

“An elementary school in a Washington D.C. suburb in Maryland is reinstating school masks for third-graders, after a handful of kids recently tested positive for COVID-19. In a now-viral X post, OutKick founder Clay Travis posted a letter that was allegedly sent to all parents at Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Montgomery County, updating them on updated mask requirements for all students.

“‘A DC area elementary school — Montgomery County, Maryland — is reinstating a mask mandate — N95’s — for third-graders over a few kids testing positive for COVID,’ Travis wrote on X. ‘Here’s the letter. They’re coming with masks for your kids again. Get ready. Read this insanity.’”

Insanity indeed. 

We Will Not Comply Movement

Newsweek wrote on August 31:

“A ‘we will not comply’ movement is slowly formulating across social media, spurred by Donald Trump’s renewed focus on mask mandates and COVID-affiliated lockdowns that he initiated at the pandemic’s inception. Trump, in a video posted Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, vowed to reject any ‘fearmongering’ of new coronavirus variants and if elected president pledged to cut federal funding for entities like schools and airlines that follow such protocols.

“Trump was the individual who set the original mandates and lockdowns in motion, however, when coronavirus cases escalated exponentially starting in March 2020. At the time, he urged individuals to avoid bars, restaurants and other areas where 10 or more people were gathered in the hope that the virus would dissipate by that summer.

“‘Do not comply’ means your [sic] not going to go to work if your employer requires a mask as part of the “mandate” not law; your [sic] not going to wear one at the Dr, Dentist, restaurant or stores,’ wrote one Facebook user. ‘Imagine if everyone did not comply how that would hurt our government or economy. If every American did not go to work or buy anything at all for one or two days things would get real. We are all slaves to our Government until we stop conforming to the demands and dollar.’

“One X user posted that she would ignore mandates instituted by Trump, President Joe Biden or anyone else. ‘I won’t mask again,’ the user wrote. ‘I don’t care what Trump or Fauci or Birx or Biden or any other governmental agency try and push again. I won’t deal with the anxiety mask wearing brings me again. Not going to cover my daughter’s beautiful face or force her to deal with the frequent painful breakouts again. Nope. For my child, I say, never again.’”

Sadly, Trump was responsible for many of the ridiculous governmental measures or recommendations pertaining to the fight against COVID. Instead of firing incompetent Fauci, he followed his nonsensical advice in far too many instances. Biden, of course, made matters much worse.

Fauci’s Incompetence Exposed

The New York Post wrote on September 3:

“Social media erupted after Dr. Anthony Fauci was confronted by a CNN host with a study showing face masks made little to no difference in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic… ‘Fauci admits that masks don’t work for the public at large but still absurdly claims masks work on an individual basis. More subterfuge,’ Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)… wrote on X, formerly Twitter… 

“‘It’s really hard to assume Fauci’s disastrous “mistakes” were in good faith when he refuses to acknowledge obvious facts that don’t require a PhD to decipher. It looks a lot more like “TRUST THE SCIENCE!” only applies when it suits Fauci’s personal or political narrative,’ former senior White House and US Intelligence Community official Cliff Sims said…

“During the initial onset of the pandemic, he suggested that masks were not providing the type of protection ‘people think it is’ and underscored the severe shortage of masks afflicting health care providers. As mask production ramp up and supply snarls abated, Fauci reversed course and endorsed masking to tamp down the spread… ‘I don’t regret anything I said then because in the context of the time in which I said it, it was correct…’”

Fauci has been preaching this kind of nonsense all along. 

Assassinating Trump?

Business Insider wrote on September 2:

“Tucker Carlson… claimed that the political establishment is plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump… ‘They have decided — permanent Washington, both parties have decided — that there’s something about Trump that’s so threatening to them, they just can’t have him,’ he said.

“Carlson had, in fact, asked Trump if he feared being killed in an interview last week, to which the former president responded: ‘They’re savage animals. They’re people that are sick.’… While Trump has never made such an assertion, he often describes himself as the victim of a ‘witch-hunt’…”

John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy were assassinated; and Ronald Reagan barely survived an assassination attempt. In fact, four sitting presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865, by John Wilkes Booth), James A. Garfield (1881, by Charles J. Guiteau), William McKinley (1901, by Leon Czolgosz), and John F. Kennedy (1963, by Lee Harvey Oswald). As far as we can see, only one person was assassinated while running for the office of the Presidency, and that was Robert Kennedy. In addition to the assignation attempt on Ronald Reagan, another assassination attempt was made on former president Theodore Roosevelt (1912, by John Flammang Schrank). 

Will Trump Go to Prison?

The Independent wrote on August 31:

“Trump faces four criminal indictments in three separate jurisdictions. Nearly 100 felony criminal charges are leveled against the former president who remains the… favourite to win the 2024 Republican primary… Between his 91 felony counts, Mr Trump faces a total of roughly seven centuries in total jail time, spread between dozens of various charges of differing seriousness…

“The first indictment to drop against the former president… deals with conduct committed the furthest in the past. Donald Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a felony under New York state law… Mr Trump’s accusation is largely victimless, and as such a judge is not likely to sentence him to anything more than fines or, at the most, probation and community service were he to be convicted by a jury…

“After exploding into the public eye last year with an FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, the allegations spelled out in this [second] indictment… [accuse him] of mishandling classified information in an egregious manner… Convictions of willful and/or reckless retention of classified information frequently result in prison sentences of several years or more…

“The Department of Justice’s most recent [third] indictment charging Mr Trump with crimes was related to the 2020 election… There are two basic parts of this case which should concern the ex-president; the possibility that he will be convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiring against Americans’ right to vote in free elections, and the possibility that he will be convicted of directly attempting to block the certification of the election via summoning a mob to attack the Capitol.

“The real battle in [regard to the first allegation] will be for prosecutors to prove that the Trump team’s efforts went beyond legal challenges to the election results… [Regarding the second allegation,] Mr Trump and his allies have fiercely denied since the attack itself that the mob of Trump supporters… was directed by the president himself…

“Should he be convicted of either, however, he faces steep maximum prison sentences for each count… 

“The most recent [fourth] indictment to drop, Fulton County’s case against Mr Trump in Georgia is unique in that it also involves the only charges to carry minimum prison terms… A RICO charge will undoubtedly be the hardest for prosecutor Fani Willis and her team to prove… Should that fail, however, Mr Trump also faces 12 other felony counts, all of which carry the potential for incarceration…

“In the end, it’s quite possible that the answer to the question of whether Mr Trump will ever see the inside of a cell comes down to not whether he will be convicted, but whether jailing a former president is even feasible. Should he win the general election next year, an entirely new layer of complexity is added to the mix…”

Apart from the perception of many Americans that these are all trumped-up charges, the idea that an elected President could be officiating, while imprisoned, is preposterous. 

Trump Barred From Office?

Raw Story wrote on September 4:

“Trump on Monday claimed that ‘almost all legal scholars’ have agreed that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution ‘has no legal basis or standing relative to the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election.’

“The former president’s comments come the same day as former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner joined the ranks of several other legal experts,  including retired Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe and former conservative federal judge Michael Luttig, in arguing that former President Donald Trump is automatically disqualified from running for office again under the plain text of the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on aiding insurrection. 

“‘Like Election Interference, it is just another “trick” being used by the Radical Left Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, to again steal an Election that their candidate, the WORST, MOST INCOMPETENT, & MOST CORRUPT President in U.S. history, is incapable of winning in a Free and Fair Election,’ Trump wrote.”

Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty?

22 Years Prison Sentence for Proud Boy

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:

“Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys militia, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday in Washington… it is… the stiffest penalty handed out so far for the 2021 attack on the US Capitol… Despite agreeing that Tarrio’s actions did not fall under the most traditional definitions of ‘terrorism,’ US District Judge Timothy Kelly said the adjustment should apply, as prosecutors had wanted.

“Tarrio was not in Washington on January 6 but was accused and convicted of directing the assault on the Capitol by members of the Proud Boys.

“Tarrio and three others were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May for their roles in the failed attempt to stop the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Republican Donald Trump… The other three men received jail terms of between 10 and 18 years last week. Tarrio’s sentencing was delayed as the judge was ill.”

The defense has announced that it will appeal “on both the merits of the case and the sentence imposed.” These are indeed ridiculous sentences, which are clearly politically motivated, while violent criminals are either not prosecuted at all or receiving a light sentence. 

Biden Keeps Telling “Stories”

The Washington Post wrote on August 31:

“Biden’s propensity to exaggerate or embellish tales about his life led to doubts about his truthfulness… Biden has continued a tradition of embellishing his personal tales in ways that cannot be verified or are directly refuted by contemporary accounts…

“At least six times as president, mostly recently in comments to Hurricane Idalia victims Wednesday, Biden has exaggerated the extent of a fire that occurred at his house in 2004…

“At least 10 times as president…, Biden has told a heartwarming but implausible story about an Amtrak conductor named Angelo Negri who congratulated him for traveling more on Amtrak than he had on Air Force planes as vice president…

“Three times this year — and at least seven times since 2014 — Biden has told a version… of a story about words his father supposedly spoke after a teenage Biden saw two well-dressed men in suits kiss each other in downtown Wilmington in the early 1960s… Biden depicts a scene that would have been unusual six decades ago. He describes this exchange with his father usually as taking place in 1961. But back then, gay men generally did not kiss in public…

“Four times… Biden has suggested he was arrested for standing on the porch with a Black couple who were subject to demonstrations… the story did not add up. There was a protest of a Black couple who had purchased a house in an all-White area, but it was a neighborhood many miles from the Biden home…

“Campaigning for president in 2020, Biden three times claimed he was arrested in South Africa for trying to see Nelson Mandela, who at the time was imprisoned on Robben Island, near Cape Town. When we determined that was false, he amended his statement to say he was ‘stopped’ at the airport while traveling with a congressional delegation — though others on the delegation said that did not happen…

“Biden recalled how his Uncle Frank fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart but never received it. He said that after he became vice president in 2009, he arranged to present the medal to his uncle with the rest of the family in attendance. But his uncle, Frank H. Biden, died in 1999, a decade before Biden became vice president…

“Twice this year, most recently in the Milwaukee speech, Biden has claimed his grandfather, an oil company executive, ‘died in the same hospital’ just before Biden himself was born there… But Biden’s paternal grandfather, Joseph H. Biden, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Sept. 26, 1941…  Biden was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Scranton, Pa., on Nov. 20, 1942, 14 months later. His maternal grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan, did die at St. Mary’s — but in 1957, nearly 15 years later.”

If one keeps repeating a fabricated story long enough, he might even begin to believe it himself.

The Lie of Bidenomics 

Fox News wrote on August 29:

“In the midst of President Biden’s campaign to sell ‘Bidenomics’ to American voters [the false claim that his economic measures are working], Vice President Kamala Harris made a curious admission. Speaking about the costs of getting an abortion…, she stated that ‘[m]ost Americans are a $400 unexpected expense away from bankruptcy.’ Of course…, it wasn’t exactly true. But you have to give her credit for raising a counter-narrative the Biden administration is otherwise choosing to ignore. The fact is that American families are in trouble, deep trouble, and it’s far more significant than any Bidenomics spin can conceal.

“Harris’s point comes from a recent Morning Consult survey which found that in the third quarter of this year only 46% of Americans could cover a $400 unexpected expense without going into debt. That’s not the same as being $400 away from bankruptcy, but it’s still really bad. It shows how expenses as commonplace as a surprise car repair or a medical bill are forcing many American families into debt – at a time when interest rates are disturbingly high…

“The Lending Club’s Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report for June confirms the Morning Consult survey. It found that a majority of Americans (54%) were living paycheck to paycheck. That includes 53% of consumers who earn $50,000 to $100,000 per year. So, this problem extends well beyond lower-income families, although it certainly hits you harder the less you have. But what about personal savings? Americans received a lot of cash from the government during the pandemic. In fact, when Biden took office, Americans had $2.3 trillion in personal savings. That number shot up to $5.7 trillion following Biden’s March 2021 ironically named ‘American Rescue Plan.’ But by June of this year, a mere 27 months later, personal saving had dropped by nearly $5 trillion to a much diminished $862 billion. 

“Again, it isn’t just lower-income Americans who have watched their savings diminish. According to a Bloomberg analysis, the average middle-class household has lost over $33,000 in real wealth in just the past year. The situation is so bad that Americans are even draining their 401(k) plans to cover expenses… 36% more people drained their retirement accounts to make ends [meet] in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to the same period last year.

“So, where did all that money go?…

“The Bureau of Labor Statistic publishes the Consumer Price Index (CPI) each month, a common measure of inflation. CPI takes a basket of commonly purchased goods and services and prices them on a monthly basis. In January 2021, when Biden took office, that basket cost about $261.50. In July of this year, the same basket cost $305.70. That’s a huge 16,9% increase in only two and a half years…  Exacerbating the problem, wage growth has failed to keep pace with inflation – increasing only 13% since Biden took office (versus nearly 17% for inflation). When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, as most Americans are, that kind of disparity hurts. 

“So, with savings increasingly depleted and wages failing to keep up with increased living expenses, many Americans are resorting to their credit cards in an effort to make ends meet. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the second quarter of this year,  credit card debt rose to $1 trillion–the highest number ever. And that amount of credit card debt is a huge problem with 51% of Americans unable to pay off their entire balance each month – so they let it revolve to the next month at an average budget killing interest rate of nearly 15% [or 22%, depending on the source]…”

“Bidenomics” is clearly not working. The utter incompetence of Biden and his administration is obvious in this regard as well.

Americans Aren’t Sold on Joe Biden’s Handling of the Economy 

1945 wrote on September 5:

“A Wall Street Journal poll, taken between August 24 and 30, found that just 37 percent of registered voters ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ approved of Biden’s handling of the economy. By contrast, a majority of the same group, 59 percent, said they disapproved of how the [president] has tackled the economy…

“The Wall Street Journal post also found that nearly three in four voters believe that inflation ‘is headed in the wrong direction,’ while 63 percent said they ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ disapproved of the president’s record on inflation and climbing prices.”

Who are those people who “strongly” approve of Biden’s failed handling of the economy????

Funding the Government Being Threatened

The New York Post wrote on September 1:

“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)… told constituents: ‘I’ve already decided I will not vote to fund the government unless we have passed an impeachment inquiry on Joe Biden.’ She also conditioned her vote on withdrawing US defense funding for Ukraine, cutting out federal spending for new COVID-19 vaccines and ending ‘Biden’s weaponization of government.’ That includes moving to ‘rein in the FBI,’ defunding special counsel Jack Smith, who has twice indicted former President Donald Trump, and firing Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, Greene added…

“Congress has until Sept. 30 to avoid a partial shutdown by passing legislation to fully fund the government. The Senate is scheduled to return from its August recess Tuesday, while the House is due back the following week…

“NBC News reported Friday that the White House is preparing a legal war room for the president’s expected impeachment inquiry, helmed by dozens of lawyers, aides and communications staff…”

The Daily Mail added on September 1:

“[Greene] is not the only Republican to have threatened to block funding.  Earlier in the week Rep. James Comer… [said] an impeachment inquiry [was] ‘imminent’… 

“In the meantime, the federal government is hurtling towards its funding deadline. The White House is looking for a stopgap measure to keep things ticking over. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said: ‘It is clear that a short-term continuing resolution will be needed next month.’”

Dire prospects indeed.

Will the GOP Impeach Joe Biden? 

1945 wrote on September 5:

“Elected Republicans are the most skittish group of powerful people imaginable. Here they have one half of one of the three branches of the federal government, and they are afraid to use whatever power they have against their political foes. 

“In this case, despite all their perpetual talk about the corruption of President Joe Biden and his wayward son, Hunter; irrespective of the… evidence they’ve compiled after years of investigations into the Biden Family, the leadership of the House Republicans acts as though they don’t have enough to impeach President Joe Biden. 

“Hilariously, when the political shoe was on the other foot, with the Democrats not having the relevant power that they needed to successfully impeach—and remove then-President Donald J. Trump— that never stopped the Democrats. That’s because the Democrats have gumption, whereas the Republicans are perennially afraid of making mistakes…

“Under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)… it has now become unbearable… [He insists] that it’s still premature to impeach Joe Biden. He makes such statements, even after the Republican-led House Oversight Committee recently received the sworn testimony of two senior IRS whistleblowers alleging that the Department of Justice (DOJ) purposefully slow-walked their investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances out of fear that they’d be forced to also investigate Joe Biden’s finances. 

“McCarthy pretends like his investigators in the House have not received sworn testimony from one of Hunter Biden’s closest business associates, Devon Archer, who admitted under oath that then-Vice-President Joe Biden was intimately involved with Hunter Biden’s allegedly illicit international influence-peddling scheme from the outset of Hunter Biden’s efforts…

“The House investigators have already proven that every member of the Biden Family received huge payouts from Hunter Biden’s firm…

“Furthermore, a series of text messages between Hunter Biden and a Chinese businessman… was uncovered… showing Hunter threatening the Chinese businessman with political reprisals unless the businessman paid Hunter Biden an exorbitant amount of money. 

“The specific threat entailed Hunter texting the Chinese businessman that he was sitting next to his father, Joe Biden, and relaying the threats from his father to the Chinese businessman by text…

“An impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden is still undesirable, as that should have happened earlier in the Spring. We should be onto a full-blown impeachment by now… Impeaching Biden, much as the Democrats showed by impeaching Trump on inflated charges in 2019, may not lead to Biden’s removal from office (that requires a majority in the Senate that the Republicans simply lack). But, as the Democrats proved in 2019, an impeachment will galvanize their base going into a contentious presidential election…”

Not to forget Joe Biden’s admission of successfully coercing or blackmailing Ukraine to fire the prosecutor investigating the corrupt company Hunter Biden was working for. 

The Hill wrote on September 5:

“Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is tiptoeing through a political minefield as he weighs whether to open an official impeachment inquiry into President Biden… Trump… is exerting public pressure to pursue impeachment without a long inquiry. So are voters in the GOP base, Republicans say…  Some GOP members, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Ralph Norman (S.C.), have also pushed to quickly open an impeachment inquiry. Republicans have told The Hill that they are getting many phone calls and town hall questions asking when they will take the step toward impeachment…

“While McCarthy argues that taking a step to open an inquiry is distinct from the House actually impeaching Biden, it would be politically unthinkable to not follow through on an inquiry with a vote on impeachment articles…”

Pressure on McCarthy

Newsmax wrote on September 5:

“In a statement issued on Tuesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., predicted forthcoming efforts to compel House votes on impeachment [of Biden], while delivering a warning to Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif… ‘if Speaker McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long,’ Gaetz said.

“Amid the electoral complexities that unfolded during McCarthy’s election saga in January, he strategically decided to decrease the threshold required to initiate a ‘motion to vacate the chair’ [which] is a parliamentary maneuver available to ordinary lawmakers to remove the speaker of the House of Representatives. 

“Under former GOP rules, this process could have been initiated only by a majority of House Republicans. McCarthy, intent on locking down his speakership, ultimately agreed to permit a single member to initiate such a vote.”

Apart from the fact that many Republicans don’t seem to have much backbone, one reason for not wanting to impeach Biden could be that in the unlikely event of Biden’s removal from office, Kamala Harris, viewed by many as totally incompetent, would take his place.  

Biden’s Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Fox News and The Associated Press wrote on September 5: 

“U.S. military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan has made its way to militant groups in other countries through the Taliban, Pakistan alleged Monday, [saying] terror groups in the country are now using American equipment, including night vision goggles and firearms, in their operations…

“The U.S. abandoned approximately $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan following President Biden’s withdrawal from the country in 2021… The equipment included guns, ammunition and helicopters, among other things.

“More than 40,000 of the 96,000 military vehicles given to Afghan authorities were abandoned, including 12,000 Humvees. Just under three-quarters of the 427,300 weapons provided to the Afghan forces were left behind along with less than 1,537,000 ‘specialty munitions’ and small arms ammo…

“Pakistan’s claims come just days after the second anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden hailed the operation as ‘one of the largest airlifts in history’…

“The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies in the country under the rule of the Taliban, which swiftly retook control of Afghanistan as American forces prepared their exit.”

Attempting to defend Biden’s incompetent withdrawal is just beyond belief. 

How the Government “Flags” Us

The Rutherford Institute wrote on August 29:

“Consider just a small sampling of the ways in which the government is weaponizing its 360 degree surveillance technologies to flag you as a threat to national security, whether or not you’ve done anything wrong.

“Flagging you as a danger based on your feelings…  Flagging you as a danger based on your phone and movements… Flagging you as a danger based on your DNA…  Flagging you as a danger based on your face… Flagging you as a danger based on your behavior… Flagging you as a danger based on your spending and consumer activities… Flagging you as a danger based on your public activities…   Flagging you as a danger based on your social media activities… Flagging you as a danger based on your social network…  Flagging you as a danger based on your car…  Flagging you as a danger based on your political views… 

“Now the government wants us to believe that we have nothing to fear from these mass spying programs as long as we’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t believe it. The government’s definition of a ‘bad’ guy is extraordinarily broad, and it results in the warrantless surveillance of innocent, law-abiding Americans on a staggering scale… the police state wants us silent, servile and compliant.”

Nothing in regard to man’s mis-rule and leaders’ oppression of “subjects” will substantially change until Christ comes back and makes an end with ALL human governments. 

Canada—a Laughing Stock

The Telegraph wrote on August 31:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been a mediocre, ineffective leader since coming to power in 2015. Every time you believe he’s reached the lowest depths of political incompetence, he finds a new way to sink even further into the muck. As fate would have it, the most unserious government in Canadian history has reached another new low. 

“Global Affairs Canada adjusted its international travel advisory this week to warn the LGBTQ+ community against supposed discrimination they may face in the United States…

“This impetuous decision likely came as a result of U.S. states passing limits or bans with respect to medical treatment for underaged children identifying as transgender, or on the teaching of sexual orientation in schools…

“Does anyone seriously believe most LGBTQ+ Canadians will now be scared to visit the happiest place on earth, Walt Disney World, because Florida decided its schools can’t teach about gender identity and support parental rights in education?…

“The U.S. and [the] rest of the world have taken notice of Canada’s rapid decline as a serious, relevant international player during Trudeau’s unserious, irrelevant leadership. They hope it will change when the next Canadian election is held. Many Canadians feel the exact same way.”

Trudeau continues to ruin his country. His authoritarian and dictatorial style, coupled with extreme left-wing Woke nonsense and a persecution of religious minorities who opposed his COVID lockdown, have been noted. Also view the next article.

“The Decline and Fall of Canada”

The Telegraph published on September 5 the following article by Dr. Jordan Peterson:

“In my case, a court has upheld an order from the College of Psychologists of Ontario that I undergo social media training or lose my licence to practice a profession I have served for most of my adult life. My transgressions? Two tweets criticizing Justin Trudeau; one criticising his former chief of staff, who resigned in the aftermath of scandal some years ago; one ironically commenting on the identity of a city councillor in Ottawa, who in my view acted in a particularly unforgivable manner during the famous trucker convoy protest; and one objecting to the actions of the physicians performing mastectomies on perfectly healthy women – often minors –  alongside a criticism of a famous actress who received such ‘treatment’ and then advertised its benefits to her unwitting fans. 

“In conjunction… I expressed doubts… about the validity of the idiotic models that economists stack carelessly upon the doom-mongering climate predictions… which will harm millions…

“[There] are many ‘regulated professions’ in Western countries, including Canada; professions whose conduct is held to be crucial to the public interest, and whose practitioners must therefore uphold certain standards to protect the public… In Canada, as elsewhere, these professional colleges, with authority delegated from the government, limited their actions to situations of obvious professional misconduct.

“In the last few years, however, such bodies… have been weaponised by the same ideological radicals of the Left that have infiltrated and undermined higher education, media, judiciary, law, science and government. Any radical anywhere can submit the kind of complaint that can bring a professional’s life to a halt, and can increasingly rely on these captured colleges and other professional regulatory bodies to uphold and pursue their vexatious, vengeful, petty, spiteful and ideological motivated ‘complaints.’…

“I appealed the decision of my professional college. But the court has rejected my appeal, ruling that although I had my Charter rights – my constitutional right to freedom of speech – the professional regulatory body essentially has indefinite sway over the determination of what limits they felt fit to impose in their professional context, in whatever retroactive manner they felt fit to impose them…

“Canadians now need to wake up to the fact that the right to freedom of speech in Canada is subject to limitations placed by any level of government, for any reason. I know perfectly well that many professionals in Canada are cowed to the point where they are forced to lie; they tell me so repeatedly in private. And when professionals have to lie, they can no longer do their job properly, and the public suffers. I know, too, that this is increasingly true across the West. Hence the increasing international interest in the dangerous social experiment taking place in Canada, as we ride the forefront of the wave of woke lunacy threatening to swamp the entire Western world…

“I will fight this idiocy all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. I have instructed my lawyers, in the aftermath of the rejection of my appeal, to inform the College that I will not comply with their forced re-education mandate, and to proceed with the disciplinary hearing they have promised will occur…

“But I know few people are in a position to conduct such a fight: I have the resources necessary to wage a multi-year court battle, ruinously expensive (tens of thousands of dollars a month) though it is. I also have the means of communication at hand to publicise exactly what is going on. I do so on the behalf of those who are unable to do so…”

Deluge on Burning Man Festival Divine Retribution?

Benzinga wrote on September 4: 

“… a severe deluge at the annual Burning Man festival has been described as an act of divine retribution by leading Republicans… The Burning Man festival, traditionally held in Black Rock City, Nevada, faced an unprecedented level of rainfall this year, leading to muddy conditions and stranding thousands of festival-goers.

“The extreme weather conditions resulted in the tragic loss of one life and caused the event’s closing ceremony to be postponed. However, the situation took a political turn when key figures suggested a religious angle to the calamity. 

“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)… suggested that the unfortunate incident at the festival was a divine sign, stating, ‘God has a way of making sure everyone knows who God is.’ She also insinuated that festival attendees were misguided into blaming climate change for the disaster.

“Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) expressed a similar sentiment… attributing the floods to ‘God’s judgment’ and challenging the moral correctness of the festival’s unconventional activities. Andrew Torba, founder of Gab, a far-right social platform, and Jeff Clark, a former assistant attorney general, joined the chorus with similar views, with Clark labeling the festival a ‘neopagan ritual.’”

Daily Mail added on September 5:

“Burning Man has descended into chaos as fed-up revelers snapped and fought during the mass exodus from the washout festival… It came as the grand finale – the burning of ‘the man’ – finally got underway a day late on Monday night, with the wooden statue lit for the dwindling crowd who’d stayed…

“A half-inch of rain fell on Friday, turning the site into a quagmire, and attendees were ordered not to leave because the exit roads were impassable… People were being urged to delay their departure until Tuesday if possible.

“Disruptions are part of the event’s recent history: Dust storms forced organizers to temporarily close entrances to the festival in 2018, and the event was twice canceled altogether during the pandemic…”

According to Wikipedia, “Burning Man began as a bonfire ritual on the summer solstice. Sculptor Mary Grauberger, a friend of Larry Harvey’s girlfriend, Janet Lohr, held solstice bonfire gatherings on Baker Beach for several years prior to 1986, some of which Harvey attended. When Grauberger stopped organizing it, Harvey ‘picked up the torch’, with Grauberger’s permission, and ran with it. He and Jerry James built the first wooden effigy on the afternoon of June 21, 1986, cobbled together using scrap wood, to be torched later that evening. 

“On June 22, 1986, Larry Harvey, Jerry James, and a few friends met on Baker Beach in San Francisco and burned an 8 feet (2.4 m) tall wooden man as well as a smaller wooden dog. Harvey later described his inspiration for burning these effigies as a spontaneous act of ‘radical self-expression’. In 1987, the Man grew to 15 feet (4.6 m) tall, and by 1988, it had grown to 30 feet (9.1 m). 

“By 1988, Larry Harvey formally named the summer solstice ritual ‘Burning Man’ by titling flyers for the happening as such. This was apparently done to ward off references to ‘wicker man,’ the reputed Celtic pagan practice of burning live sacrifices in human-shaped wicker cages…”

Still, the parallels are undeniable. Why would anyone want to participate in such obscure pagan and ungodly customs?

Majority of Church of England Priests Support Premarital Sex and Gay Marriage

The Daily Caller wrote on August 30:

“The Church of England’s (CofE) liberal drift continues as a new survey shows that a [majority] of priests now support abandoning traditional Christian sexual ethics.

“A survey by the Times found that 62.6 percent of priests believe the church should relax its teaching that all premarital sex is sinful. A smaller majority (53.4 percent) voiced their support for same-sex marriage. The Church of England currently allows marriages only between men and women, though the General Synod — the CofE’s legislative body — voted in February to offer blessings to civilly married same-sex couples.”

The Bible condemns premarital sex and gay marriage. 

Children Change Their Gender

The Washington Examiner wrote on September 2:

“Thousands of children have undergone gender transition surgeries in recent years, following a trend that has ‘increased significantly,’ according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study identified 48,019 Americans of all ages who had undergone some form of gender dysphoria-related surgery in the United States between 2016 and 2019.

“Nearly 4,000 of those were between the ages of 12 and 18. The reasoning for including 18-year-olds, the age of adulthood, in the younger cohort was not explained, so it is unclear by the study how many who are legally children were given the surgeries.

“However, a recent Vanderbilt University study found that 489 children between the ages of 12 and 17, with a median age of 16, had gotten their breasts removed in a double mastectomy in 2019 alone. ‘…it’s been happening to thousands of kids and it’s continuing to grow,’ Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project, told the Washington Examiner. ‘The reality is that trans is not a civil rights movement. It’s an industry that’s mutilating and sterilizing the next generation of Americans for profits.’

“Surgeries in the JAMA article went beyond mastectomies and breast implants and included genital transition and facial reconstruction… ‘The fact that they are asking children to consent to something that they clearly can’t understand and will change lives irrevocably is extremely unfortunate…’, Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of the Do No Harm medical advocacy group, told the Washington Examiner…

“People who have destransitioned… cite deep regret for their adolescent surgeries and drugs and point to heavy coercion on the part of doctors, who many critics say are trapping children in a lifetime of medical procedures and drugs at personal monetary gain….”

The horrible propaganda and unjustifiable encouragement of medical “experts,” with the brainless support of the mass media, leading to horrific decisions by uninformed children and teens, are appalling examples of a deceived world having gone terribly wrong.  

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Travesty of Justice in Germany

Breitbart wrote on August 24:

“A judge who struck down government rules that children must wear masks at school in a German state in 2021 stands to lose his legal career and pension, and has been handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for ‘perverting the law’ (“Rechtsbeugung”).

“Judge Christian Dettmar struck down the order by German state Thuringia in 2021 that, as part of Coronavirus lockdown procedures, children must wear masks while at school, should keep a minimum distance from each other, and should be subjected to virus tests. Ruling that this was not compatible with the welfare of the children involved, Judge Dettmar ordered two schools in the city of Weimar, Thuringa, no longer to enforce the order, and the judge’s decision caused instant outrage in state government.

“His ruling was overturned by a higher court following a complaint by the state’s education department meaning masks returned to schools, and a prosecution against Judge Dettmar was launched, as he stood accused of ‘perverting the law’ and ruling on a matter he did not have authority over…

“Now the Thuringian district court has found against the judge, giving him a two-year suspended sentence. His lawyers had argued for acquittal and the prosecution had asked for a three-year sentence, so now both will appeal the sentence…

“The defence argued the trial was politically motivated and was intended to silence dissenters, while Judge Detmarr himself said he felt no regret and would make the same ruling again ‘out of deep inner conviction.’

“While a two-year suspended sentence may not seem like a serious outcome, it will have massive consequences for Judge Dettmar, as German law dictates any civil servant sentenced to a custodial sentence of more than 12 months is deprived of both their position and their pension… He has already been suspended on probation pending the outcome of the challenges, and police searched his home, offices, and digital devices.”

Legal experts have pointed out that, contrary to the prosecution’s and the courts’ allegations, Dettmar was fully authorized to make that decision as a family judge ruling in family matters, and there can be no doubt that the action by the government, in collaboration with politically motivated courts, is a travesty of judgment… especially, as rumors have it that the German government under Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (who has been called the German Anthony Fauci) wants to soon reinstate rigorous coronavirus restrictions.

LifeSiteNews added on August 24:

“Dettmar’s ruling striking down COVID mandates in schools had caused international headlines. A higher court subsequently overturned his decision on the grounds that a family court is not entitled to issue instructions to public institutions; only administrative courts are allowed to do so. The Thuringian Higher Regional Court and the Federal Court of Justice affirmed that family courts do not have jurisdiction to make such decisions. 

“However, according to Erik Rusch from Epoch Times Germany, this legal interpretation is debatable among experts. ‘If this interpretation of the law were to be followed consistently, sexual assaults against children in private schools, for example, could be attacked and stopped on the basis of Section 1666 of the German Civil Code (BGB) for endangering the welfare of children, but not in public schools,’ Rusch explains. ‘According to this case law, victims of sexual violence in state schools would have to engage in lengthy administrative proceedings.’”

Not only that, in order to be legally convicted, Dettmar must have intentionally issued his decision, knowing that he did not have the authority to do so, even though legal experts said that he had that authority. This defies credibility and is indeed a travesty of judgment. But it’s not the only legal travesty in Germany.

“American Author Convicted in Germany for Comparing COVID Regime to Nazi-Era”

LifeSiteNews reported on August 23:

“American satirist and playwright C.J. Hopkins has been convicted of a crime for content in social media posts that a judge considered to be critical of the German government for its Covid policies. Hopkins, who lives in Germany, was reportedly charged after posting a picture of his book that shows a face mask with a barely visible Swastika printed on it in response to a social media post featuring German health minister Karl Lauterbach…

“A German judge sent Hopkins a ‘punishment order,’ sentencing the writer to a fine of €3,600 or 60 days in jail. The American author told [journalist] Taibbi that he was convicted for ‘disseminating propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization.’

“Hopkins reportedly responded to a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, by the German newspaper Die Welt, featuring a picture of Lauterbach and a quote from the German health minister: ‘The mask always sends out a signal.’ The American writer responded to the post by quoting Lauterbach’s words back to him with a picture of the cover of his book called ‘The Rise of the New Normal Reich,’ which features a transparent swastika on a face mask.

“Hopkins’ book criticizes the draconian political response to the Covid crisis in Germany and around the world, comparing some aspects of it to the Nazi era. Hopkins stressed that neither his book nor any of his other works ever promoted National Socialism or anything related to it. ‘I’m laughing because it would take all of about 20 seconds of anyone looking at my actual work to determine how absolutely opposed I am to anything resembling totalitarianism, fascism, authoritarianism, anything,’ the author told Taibbi.

“To both Hopkins and Taibbi, the verdict appeared to be an act of censorship against a political dissident by the German state… When Taibbi asked Hopkins whether he thinks the case against him happened because the German government was upset at being compared to the Nazis, the author responded, ‘That’s exactly the way that I interpret it’…

“While it is illegal to spread symbols associated with National Socialism in Germany if the intent is to promote the ideology, many books and movies that depict swastikas are nevertheless allowed in Germany. ‘Yes, if you’re a Nazi, it’s illegal to spread swastikas around in Germany,” Hopkins said to Taibbi. “But if you’re doing art, if you’re commenting on history, if you’re selling a book, there are a whole slew of reasons for exceptions where people can and do use swastikas …’ according to Hopkins, he cannot appeal his conviction and can only go to court to ask for mitigation of the sentence….”

In Germany, judges are employed and appointed for life. It is very difficult to get rid of them. And so, we see more and more examples where German judges usher incredibly outrageous decisions in violation of the law. And as in this case, they cannot even be appealed. Also, in the last issue of our Current Events, we reported the incredible and blatantly false decision of a German judge against an AfD official, Florian Jäger, for alleged antisemitic statements, which “coincidentally” corresponds with the ridiculous decision against Hopkins.

Nothing Works Anymore in Germany

Bild Online wrote on August 29:

“Everywhere you look it crunches… Construction sites like malignant cancers that go on forever, which could be due to weeks of no workers in sight…

“No one can ever be reached by phone if you want to complain to a governmental office or make an appointment. Registry office, passport, driver’s license, doctor – forget it…

“… economically, we are the sick man of Europe, the world economy is growing, we are shrinking, this year by 0.3 percent. On the other hand, we have the highest inflation at six percent, exports are weakening, China is no longer buying our cars…

“Where are all the people who used to work in gastronomy, in medical practices, in sales?… We don’t know. They are just missing.

“But we also have records. Regarding fearmongering or sickness. Every second person has already called in sick this year… We are never part of the solution, but always part of the problem.

“When it comes to absurdities, our state works. Self-determination from the age of 14; i.e., in the middle of puberty?…”

Such incredible nonsense!

Trump: I Am Your Retribution!

Report 24 wrote on August 25:

“His last tweets were from January 2021 – after the alleged ‘storming of the Capitol’ it was over; Donald Trump had been banned from Twitter. He did not respond to the activation after Elon Musk took over the network, but now the former President of the United States has reported back to X. He demonstratively posted his ‘mug shot’ taken of him today at Fulton Prison. The subtitle: ‘Never surrender!’

“X (formerly Twitter) rejoices: Donald Trump is back. While the German mainstream is trying very hard to convey the impression that he would have become unacceptable as the first US President with a so-called mug shot, the users in the social networks seem to see it quite differently: for his still enormous group of supporters the police photo that Trump provocatively posted on Twitter is likely to be a badge of honor.

“The actions of the judiciary against the former US President, who had always campaigned for the fight against the so-called Deep State, is seen as evidence of the machinations that Trump had vehemently denounced in the past. In particular, he saw the Justice Department as infiltrated and in the service of powerful, foreign masters who do not work for the well-being of American citizens but for their own interests – and who accordingly perceive ricochets like Trump as archenemies. Trump promised American citizens in May: ‘I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I will totally obliterate the Deep State.’

While Democrats and no-Trumpers are gloating, and while many Americans, being sound asleep, have no “opinion” on the matter, others came to his defense, and Trump’s approval rate skyrocketed after he had to present himself to Georgia’s “justice” system in connection with his fourth (!) criminal “indictment” to have his mug shot taken (which had never been taken before of a sitting or former President, but which he later placed himself on Twitter, now called “X,” attempting to show the travesty of the actions taken against him, and to reassure his supporters that he will fight to the bitter end).

Also, his “fundraising committee is selling now T-shirts, mugs, beverage coolers, bumper sticks, and other products featuring Trump’s mug shot and the words ‘never surrender’. The mug shot merchandise ranges in price from $12 for a bumper sticker to $36 for a long-sleeve T-shirt,” according to Newsmax, dated August 25.

Trump: I Will Jail My Opponents

Newsmax wrote on August 30:

“Former President Donald Trump, blaming President Joe Biden for the indictments he’s facing, [said in an interview with radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday] he’ll have ‘no choice’ when it comes to jailing political opponents if he’s elected as president, as ‘they’re doing it to us.’…

“His comments came after Beck asked if he regrets not locking up his 2016 presidential election challenger Hillary Clinton, despite his calls during the campaign to ‘lock her up.’ ‘Then when you became president, you said, “We don’t do that in America.” That’s just not the right thing to do. That’s what they’re doing,’ Beck said. ‘If you’re president again, will you lock people up?’”

Beck asked a legitimate question as to why Trump broke his word when he did not at least retry to lock Hillary Clinton up.

Set Trial Date Blatant Election Interference

Breitbart wrote on August 28:

“Republicans blasted U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s scheduling the trial date for former President Donald Trump’s federal case a day before Super Tuesday, deeming it another ‘corrupt’ act by President Joe Biden’s DOJ as well as a ‘blatant’ form of election interference against the former president and Republican frontrunner.

“On Monday, the Associated Press reported on Chutkan’s decision in Washington, DC, after she denied Trump’s legal team’s request for a spring 2026 date. The trial date for the former president’s case — alleging he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results — is set for a day before more than a dozen states hold their caucuses or primaries, marking one of the most momentous days of the presidential primary process.”

It was pointed out that the Democrats are doing exactly what they are accusing Trump of doing, and that Chutkan should be disbarred. Also, as Breitbart reported, “Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump alleging 34 counts of falsifying business records is also set to commence this spring on March 25. Smith’s other case relating to classified documents Trump allegedly took at the end of his presidency is set to begin on May 20.”

Could anything be more obvious?

Breitbart quoted former U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell as saying:

“‘Election interference in broad daylight, right up in your face by a weaponized justice system. Defund the DOJ, impeach Biden & Garland. Power is all they understand, use what power we have or lose the republic… The U.S. State Department usually calls out this type of election interference. Instead, Blinken is participating in election interference. Dictators around the world are celebrating. I look forward to removing these shisters from government and helping restore America’s moral clarity.”

Civil War Is Going To Happen

Daily Express US wrote on August 25:

“Donald Trump’s fourth indictment prompted fury from the former Alaskan Governor, with Sarah Palin evoking violent language and warning that a second Civil War is ‘going to happen’.

“Sarah Palin said a second Civil War is ‘going to happen’ if Donald Trump continues to be persecuted. The former Alaska governor made the grim prediction in an interview with Newsmax after Trump handed himself over to the authorities in Georgia. ‘Those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tier system of justice, I want to ask them… do you want us to be in civil war?’ she said. ‘Because that’s what’s going to happen. We’re not going to keep putting up with this.’… Palin also told ex-Fox News anchor Eric Bolling: ‘You suggested that we need to get angry. We do need to rise up and take our country back.’”

There is much anger in this country about what is perceived to be a crooked, corrupt and weaponized injustice department. Only imagine if Trump is convicted and imprisoned, for instance in Georgia, as some conservative legal experts, such as former US Attorney for Washington D.C. Joe diGenova, have predicted will happen, as Trump could not get a fair trial or a fair and impartial judge and jury. You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to know that if or when that happens, it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, the question was asked of Trump: “So what’s next, after trying to put you in prison for the rest of your life? That’s not working. Don’t they have to kill you now?” Trump responded indirectly, saying that violence could break out: “There’s a level of passion I’ve never seen, there’s a level of hatred I’ve never seen,” he said. “And that’s probably a bad combination.”

It won’t be just some violence. It will be a full-fledged civil war, the likes of which we have not seen since THE Civil War which started in 1861 and ended in 1865. We have been warning you of this possibility for quite some time.

Democrats sense that too, but they place all the blame on conservatives and Trump supporters. Disgraced former FBI chief Andrew McCabe said on CNN that Palin’s comments were irresponsible, outrageous and “validate and seem to permit political violence,” while “proposing essentially extortion.” Left-wing reactions on social media were telling, with users suggesting that Palin was inciting violence and should be arrested for her comments.

In an article by BU Today, dated March 27, 2019, the following was stated:

“A recent Washington Post headline says: ‘In America, talk turns to something not spoken of for 150 years: Civil war.’ The story references, among others, Stanford University historian Victor Davis Hanson, who asked in a National Review essay last summer: ‘How, when, and why has the United States now arrived at the brink of a veritable civil war?’ Another Washington Post story reports how Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King recently posted a meme warning that red states have ‘8 trillion bullets’ in the event of a civil war. And a poll conducted last June by Rasmussen Reports found that 31 percent of probable US voters surveyed believe ‘it’s likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years.’”

In an article by Marca, dated August 23, 2022, it was stated that “half of Americans think there’s another civil war coming.”

That was then. Now it’s even much worse. This country is hopelessly divided. It is a powder keg ready to explode.

Former Ukraine Prosecutor Charges Biden With Receiving Bribes

The New York Post wrote on August 25:

“Former Ukraine prosecutor general Viktor Shokin says in a new interview… that he believes… that President Biden and his son Hunter received bribes in exchange for forcing him out of office in early 2016. ‘I do not want to deal in unproven facts, but my firm personal conviction is that, yes, this was the case. They were being bribed,’ Shokin [said]… ‘And the fact that Joe Biden gave away $1 billion in US money in exchange for my dismissal, my firing, isn’t that alone a case of corruption?’ added the former top law enforcement officer in Kyiv…

“Shokin was dismissed by a vote of Ukraine’s parliament in March 2016 following intense pressure from then-Vice President Joe Biden. His office had been investigating Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of natural gas company Burisma Holdings, which paid then-second son Hunter Biden up to $1 million per year as a member of the company’s board beginning in April 2014. Biden publicly claimed credit for forcing out Shokin by threatening to withhold $1 billion in US loan guarantees…

“An FBI informant file released publicly last month said that Zlochevsky claimed in 2016 that he was ‘coerced’ into paying $5 million apiece in bribes to Joe and Hunter Biden in exchange for Shokin’s ouster…

“Shokin [also] claimed that Joe Biden was responsible for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which occurred in early 2014, before Hunter Biden joined Burisma. ‘Everybody knows that it was because of Joe Biden’s actions that Russia was able to claim Crimea without firing a single shot, which of course eventually led to a full-scale war that is currently underway,’ Shokin said…

“This week, purported internal Obama-Biden administration emails… indicate officials were surprised that Biden was pushing for Shokin’s ouster as a condition of US aid… Shokin’s office won a court order to seize Zlochevsky’s property on Feb. 2, 2016… Shokin was fired on March 29. The elder Biden spoke on the phone four times  in February and March 2016 with then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and once with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as he pushed for Shokin’s ouster.”

Who can seriously question that Joe Biden’s conduct in this entire matter was utterly corrupt, to say the very least?

Joe Biden Secretly Revealed Government Information to Hunter and Others

Breitbart wrote on August 28:

“The National Archives (NARA) possesses about  5,400 emails and records linked to President Joe Biden’s email aliases, the House Oversight Committee revealed Monday evening. ‘The email aliases — ‘Robert Peters,’ ‘Robin Ware,’ and ‘JRB Ware’ — were used to share government information and discuss business with Hunter Biden and associates, according to the Southeastern Legal Foundation…”

When is Biden going to be held accountable for his actions?

Abortion Up to Birth Nationwide

Life News wrote on August 23:

“Joe Biden has a message for the American people. He wants voters to know that, if he’s re-elected, he will institute abortions up to birth nationwide.

“Biden wants Democrats to take over the House and pass a bill through Congress that would restore Roe v. Wade and legalize abortions up to birth without limits and at taxpayer expense across the country.”

International Family News wrote on August 26:

“In a move that contradicts the teachings of the Catholic Church, 30 U.S. House Democrats have claimed that their Catholic faith compels them to support abortion. Led by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, these lawmakers condemned the Supreme Court’s life-saving decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, stating that their Catholic faith supports a woman’s right to access abortion. They described themselves as devout Catholics who believe in the dignity of every human being and protecting the most vulnerable. However, they reject pro-life laws that aim to protect the lives of unborn babies. They argue that such laws disproportionately harm marginalized communities and violate the principles of social justice and religious freedom.

“Contrary to their claims, pro-life laws have been proven to save lives. Researchers estimate that approximately 25,000 unborn babies have been spared from abortion since the Dobbs decision. Pro-life advocates also ensure that pregnant mothers are protected by the law.

“In contrast, Pelosi and most Democrats in Congress support legislation that would legalize abortion for any reason up to birth and force taxpayers to fund these procedures. They argue that allowing individuals to make their own decisions about their bodies, families, and futures aligns with their beliefs as Catholics. However, Catholic Church teachings are clear that abortion is considered evil, as it destroys human life.

“While Catholics worldwide are active in the pro-life movement, speaking out for the sanctity of life and advocating for policies that protect unborn babies, some Catholic politicians have tried to justify their pro-abortion views by distorting their faith’s teachings. Pelosi, in particular, has faced criticism from San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who  recently denied her communion in an effort to make her understand the seriousness of her actions.

“The stance of U.S. Catholic bishops on denying communion to pro-abortion politicians remains divided, with some welcoming and offering communion to those who support abortion rights without requiring them to repent. This divisive issue continues to stir debate within the Catholic Church.”

Joe Biden claimed that Pope Francis called him a good Catholic during a recent visit in spite of Biden’s ungodly stance on abortion which also happens to violate the official teaching of the Catholic Church.

Biden: Anyone Will Have to Take New COVID Vaccine

Fox News reported on August 26:

“President Biden said Friday he plans to request additional funding from Congress for the development of a new COVID-19 vaccine, adding he may require everyone to take it, regardless of if they previously received a vaccine or not.”

“Require”? He can’t be serious!

Is Governmental COVID Tyranny Coming Back?

On August 28, Dr. Ron Paul wrote in his “Weekly Column”:

“Just four and a half months since President Biden declared an end to the Covid ‘emergency,’ the media is suddenly full of stories about the return of Covid. This time a new ‘variant’ is being rolled out and the media, in collusion with big Pharma and the fear-industrial complex, are churning out stories about how forced masking is making a comeback. Also, the ‘unvaccinated’ are again to be denied basic human rights in the name of fighting a virus that the vaccine demonstrably does not protect against.

“In short, they are desperately trying to revive the tyranny, insanity, and utter irrationality of the two-year Covid scare. And they are pretending none of us remembers how they destroyed society with their lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates. They are hoping that none of us will remember the suicides, lost jobs, broken marriages, increased alcoholism and drug abuse, and the rest of what went along with the world’s experiment with global lockdown.

“Even Fauci himself is back – like a moth drawn to the light of publicity. Despite all the scientific evidence that the lockdowns were a disaster, that they did far more harm than good, Fauci has re-emerged with his trademark arrogance and claimed that they were the right thing to do and should be done again if that’s what it takes to force people to take the vaccine. A vaccine that does not work.

“They won’t even allow us to mention the spike in all-around mortality or the millions who may have been vaccine-injured the first time around. They want us to think that 20-year-old world-class athletes have always just dropped dead of heart attacks out of the blue…

“Yes, look for a renewal of all those old hollow phrases used to attack those of us who can see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears. Their slogans are meant to silence any debate…

“The big question is…why? Why are they doing this and how do they think they can get away with it a second time? One reason they believe they can get away with it again is that no one has ever been punished for what they did the first time. The Federal Government made sure that the pharmaceutical companies would not be liable for vaccine damages.

“The public figures who openly became monsters, demanding the unvaccinated be drummed out of society and maybe even off the face of the earth have not been shamed or shunned. Politicians who displayed cowardice and worse have not been voted out of office for their treachery.

“Why are they coming back around for another round of Covid tyranny? Fear is a weapon to gain control. Last time around they generated fear to radically change how America voted. Suddenly everyone was mailed ballots. How closely were they checked? No one knew and no one dared ask. The people who did ask about the election are now facing jail terms.

“They want us to shut up while they do it again. Will we?”

Even though it states the opposite, let us remind our readers that we are not talking here about communist China, dictatorial Russia or autocratic North Korea, but the USA. Who would have thought a few years ago that such tyranny is even possible in America? Who can doubt that America is experiencing a complete irreversible downfall which will end in TOTAL DESTRUCTION?

Sadly, it is feared that many—far too many—in the USA and elsewhere will be COWARDS again, too afraid to speak up. Others won’t object because they profit financially, or politically, from the fear tactics employed by unscrupulous governmental officials, financially supported medical “experts,” and the left-wing mass media. See our new member letter (August 23). https://www.eternalgod.org/letter-to-the-brethren-august-21-2023/ . And note the next article!

Travesty of “Justice”: Court Rules Against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Breitbart wrote on August 28:

“The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has rejected a request by Democrat primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a temporary restraining order preventing Google-owned YouTube from censoring his content.

“YouTube recently doubled down on its ‘medical misinformation’ policy, which it has used as a pretext to censor RFK Jr., who is Joe Biden’s closest competitor in the Democrat party primary…  ‘The Court finds that the First Amendment claim is unlikely to succeed on the merits because Google and YouTube are not state actors,’ wrote Judge Trina Thompson, who was nominated to serve on the Court by Joe Biden in 2021, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2022. ‘Second, Plaintiff was not, and will not, be irreparably harmed if a temporary restraining order is not issued because he does not demonstrate urgency or that he will not be able to share his videos through other sites and methods.’

“In the application for a restraining order, attorneys for Kennedy sought to prevent YouTube from using its ‘medical misinformation’ policy to censor videos of the candidate during his campaign in the 2024 election. In the ruling, Judge Thompson also argued that even if Kennedy could establish that YouTube is a state actor, the First Amendment does not necessarily protect ‘medical misinformation’… Thompson wrote ‘the coronavirus still poses a health risk to certain individuals, and it would not serve the public interest to let medical misinformation proliferate on YouTube.’”

Who says that Kennedy is disseminating “medical misinformation”? Has anyone ever heard such politically driven nonsense? Where are the “no-nonsense” judges in this country—or in Germany, for that matter?

Social Media Outrage Over John Kerry’s Accusations Against Climate Change Deniers

Fox News wrote on August 26:

“The Biden administration’s climate czar John Kerry sparked social media outrage this weekend with a video of him scolding humanity for threatening itself by not curbing its effect on the climate…. X (formerly Twitter) users ripped into it, calling Kerry a ‘con-artist’ and a ‘tyrant’ for his strong rebuke of those not on board with the climate agenda.

“During the address, Kerry likened climate-change deniers to ‘cult’ members, who ‘lash out at the truth tellers’ and refuse to accept ‘indisputable evidence’ of manmade climate change.”

Actually, much of the “indisputable evidence” of “man-made” climate change has been doctored and manipulated.

More Green Agenda Nonsense From the Biden Administration

The New York Post wrote on August 25:

“Ceiling fans are now the latest target in the Biden administration’s green agenda, sparking pushback from Republicans and manufacturers. The Department of Energy is proposing a rule that would require ceiling fans to be more energy efficient, arguing the move would save U.S. households on energy costs. According to the Energy Department’s analysis, the new rules would save households about $39 over the lifespan of the new energy-efficient fan. However, the cost to manufacturers associated with the increased equipment will total $86.6 million per year, the department said.

“Republicans on the House Committee on Small Business say if the rule goes into effect it could put small manufacturers out of business, given the costs the companies would incur in order to comply with the changes…

“The Energy Department has been on the warpath to impose more stringent regulations on household appliances for the past several months, proposing new standards for gas stoves, ovens, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and other essentials as part of its mission to advance energy efficiency and conservation.

“On his first day in office in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order requiring the Energy Department to make ‘major revisions’ to current appliance regulation standards and standards set by the Trump administration. A month later, the agency listed more than a dozen energy-efficiency rules impacting appliances like water heaters, cooking products, and lamps, that it would review….”

The Woke nonsense is sweeping through the Western world, and the unified approach of leaders in different countries suggests coordinated efforts, as were the draconian measures against Corona.

Hurricane Idalia Causes Devastating Damage

The Associated Press wrote on August 30:

“Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 3 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines in an area that has never before received such a pummeling…

“The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia ‘an unprecedented event’ since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend…

“Idalia had grown into a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon and became a Category 3 just hours earlier Wednesday before strengthening to a Category 4 and then weakening slightly to a high-end Category 3. Hurricanes are measured on a five category scale, with a Category 5 being the strongest. A Category 3 storm is the first on the scale considered a major hurricane and the National Hurricane Center says a Category 4 storm brings ‘catastrophic damage.’…

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast… The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.”

Leader of Wagner Group Confirmed Dead

Fox News reported on August 27:

“Russian investigators say DNA testing confirms that Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard the small jet that crashed outside Moscow under mysterious circumstances last week. [They] confirmed the identities of all 10 people aboard the craft, which also included Prigozhin’s second in command, Dmitry Utkin. Investigators have yet to offer an explanation for why the plane crashed…

“Prigozhin’s private jet plummeted out of the sky on Wednesday in the Tver region outside Moscow…

“Prigozhin’s death comes just months after he led a stop-and-go insurrection against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime earlier this year. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, expressed anger at how his forces had been used and treated and ordered a march on Moscow. He soon aborted the march after deal making with Putin’s regime, under which he was supposed to remain in exile in Belarus.”

There are speculations that Russia struck the plane with a surface-to-air missile or that a bomb was brought on the plane which exploded during the flight. There have also been speculations that Prigozhin was not on the plane, but another person using his name. It was also reported that Putin has ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state. Note the next article.

Prigozhin Still Alive?

The Daily Mail wrote on August 29:

“A Russian political analyst has claimed warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin is alive after his body double was killed in last week’s plane crash – not the Wagner chief himself.

“Prigozhin is ‘alive, well, and free’ in an unnamed country, according to Dr Valery Solovey, even as Russa stages his funeral which Vladimir Putin is refusing to attend..

“Prigozhin is now plotting his revenge [against the people who tried to kill him, and for killing some of his closest associates], says the political analyst, a former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training school for spies and diplomats… ‘the plane in which Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposed to fly was downed by a Russian air defence system,’ he said, challenging US intelligence claims that the plane was destroyed by a blast on board…

“Dr Solovey said he would reveal Prigozhin’s supposed country of exile early next month but denied it was in Africa where the Wagner private army has multiple interests… Prigozhin has access to £1.6 billion in bitcoin, Solovey said – a fund he will use to strike back.”

There is also still the existence of an unsolved mystery regarding a second plane taking off at the same time the destroyed plane departed. It is alleged that this second plane carried Prigozhin while others say that it had no connection to the Wagner group.

Hungary: War Must End Immediately

MENAFN wrote on August 27:

“Europe is ‘destroying’ itself… due to its backing of Ukraine, and the European Union’s restrictions strategy is a laughing stock on the international phase, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has stated. He said again his administration’s  [position is] that the war in Ukraine ‘must end this minute.’

“It would be a ‘baroque and poetic exaggeration’ to say that restrictions towards Russia have effectively paralyzed the Russian economy, Szijjarto [said]…. ‘The policy of sanctions has failed,’ he stated, also noting that ‘everywhere in the world, the European sanctions policy is being laughed at.’”

Don’t Travel to Ukraine for Feast of Trumpets?

Israel 365 News reported on August 27:

“Every Rosh Hashana (a/k/a the Feast of Trumpets), tens of thousands of Jewish men travel to the city of Uman in the Ukraine to pray at the gravesite of a Hasidic rebbe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used this against the Israeli government, threatening to prevent this religious pilgrimage if his political demands were not met…

“The tradition of the Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to his grave began after Rabbi Nachman’s death in 1810 at the age of 38.  For hundreds of years, the tradition was carried out by a small group of ardent followers. His influence continues today, and, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the New Year’s gathering grew quickly, soon attracting tens of thousands of men. While the sudden influx of foreigners brings massive tourist dollars into the economically depressed country, Jewish tourists have been targeted by violence and anti-Jewish vandalism.

“Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened to shut the borders to Jews for the holiday due to alleged mistreatment of Ukrainian tourists to Israel… In response, Interior and Health Minister Moshe Arbel rejected claims of mistreatment of Ukrainian tourists…

“Despite the ongoing war and travel restrictions, over 20,000 Israelis traveled to celebrate Rosh Hashana in Uman last year… A similar number of Jews are expected to arrive in Uman the week before the Jewish New Year is celebrated on September 15.”

The Department of State continues to advise that U.S. citizens, including Jews, do not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict.

Pope Francis vs. Javier Milei

The Guardian wrote on August 27:

“In one corner of the ring stands Javier Milei, 52,… frontrunner in Argentina’s upcoming presidential elections; in the other, his compatriot Pope Francis, 86,… repeatedly derided by Argentina’s likely next president as… ‘the representative of the evil one on Earth’…

“Milei, a political unknown until 2020, has pledged to wage a ‘cultural battle’ to transform Argentina… From Rome, Pope Francis has expressed grave concern about the rise of such ‘callous’ policies in his home country… In words that seemed to be referring to Milei, the only candidate in the 22 October vote with no political experience prior to 2021, the pope added: ‘I am terrified of saviours of the nation without a political party history.’…

“[Milei said] the pontiff is ‘preaching communism to the world’. Juan Grabois… with close links to the pontiff… calls Milei a ‘false prophet’ but attributes his rise to Argentina’s dire economic crisis…

“Milei is also treading fearlessly into anti-woke territory saying he will reinstate the ban on abortion, legalised in 2020, shut down the ministry of women, gender and diversity, as well as the ministries of science – ‘climate change is a socialist lie’ – health, education, labour and public works, and will legalise the sale of firearms…

“Milei is broadly considered the undisputed shoo-in president appealing particularly to young underprivileged men… Milei’s rise has been nothing short of mesmerizing… ‘What happens if an unstable country is ruled by an unstable leader?’, asks journalist Juan González… 

“In a country that will celebrate four decades of uninterrupted democracy after decades of military rule when the new president takes office on December 10, the prospect of the military reassuming a role in ‘internal conflicts’ is raising alarms…”

It will be interesting to see whether the fight between Pope Francis and Javier Milei will continue after the election on December 10.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Georgia’s Indictment Started with Fake News

Breitbart wrote on August 18:

“The fake news was reporting that Trump had told Georgia officials, by telephone, to fabricate votes.

“In early January 2020… Trump was reported to have told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘find’ the votes he needed to win. Actually, what Trump said was: ‘I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state’ (emphasis added)… Trump was speaking in the context of believing he had already won the state…

“As George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley has noted: ‘… it seems more likely that Trump was swatting back claims that there was no value to a statewide recount by pointing out that he wouldn’t have to find a statistically high number of votes to change the outcome of the election. It is telling that many politicians and pundits refuse to even acknowledge that obvious alternate meaning.’

“The term ‘find’ is also used colloquially, and often, in the context of counting votes. Political analysts on television routinely say that a candidate needs to ‘find’ votes in one area or another, having already been cast, as results are reported by local precincts.”

It is just appalling to see how the left-wing mass media—also being described as fake news—influences the governments on federal and state levels… and vice versa. Of course, Georgia’s left-wing biased prosecutor Fani Willis jumped on just about anything she could think of in order to accomplish her declared goal of “getting Trump.”

Trump Cancels Press Conference on Indictment in Georgia

Breitbart wrote on August 18:

“Trump will no longer hold a media conference… to address his fourth indictment…

“‘Rather than releasing the Report on the Rigged & Stolen Georgia 2020 Presidential Election on Monday, my lawyers would prefer putting this, I believe, Irrefutable & Overwhelming evidence of Election Fraud & Irregularities in formal Legal Filings as we fight to dismiss this disgraceful Indictment,’ Trump wrote…”

As we predicted, these criminal indictments by Jack Smith and now by Fani Willis have opened a pandora’s box in that the carefully avoided discussions by the mass media of possible voter fraud and a rigged election in 2020 are now being attempted to be finally litigated in the courts, as this was for the most part NOT done before. The often-repeated claim by the mass media that many courts have decided on the merits that there was no voter fraud is absolutely false.

Schiff in Prison for a Millennium 

American Insider wrote on August 20:

“‘Remember the Russian hoax and the Mueller investigation?’ Senator Graham asked rhetorically. ‘Donald Trump is being charged with a criminal act for telling people to watch a network show about the election.’ ‘If that becomes a crime Adam Schiff will be in jail for 1,000 years!’ he continued. ‘How many times did Schiff go on MSNBC and CNN and tell us Donald Trump was a Russian agent?’…

“The blatant lies of Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff were recently exposed with the release of the bombshell ‘Durham Report.’ Schiff spread false information to Americans by repeatedly claiming President Trump’s 2016 campaign was coordinated with Russia to influence the election…”

A funny suggestion by Graham. Although satirical, it shows the blatant hypocrisy of Schiff and others regarding their condemnation of Trump.

CNN: Biden Was Wrong, Trump Was Right

Fox News wrote on August 19:

“CNN host and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper admitted that former President Donald Trump ‘was right’ when he accused then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden of accepting large amounts of foreign money during the 2020 presidential debates…

“Tapper also declared that Biden ‘was wrong’ during the match-ups between the two candidates three years ago, when the then-Democratic nominee denied Trump’s allegations that his son made ‘a fortune in Ukraine, in China, in Moscow and various other places.’ At the time Biden flatly rejected the claim, saying, ‘None of that is true.’…”

Even though Tapper seemed to suggest that Joe Biden might not have known better—a rather ridiculous assumption—CNN keeps shooting at Biden by finally admitting what has been known to be the truth for many years.  

Biden Lies and Lies…

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote on August 20:

“President Joe Biden is in the middle of a victory tour over his supposed economic successes — but the numbers keep showing his arguments for Bidenomics are pure disinformation. ‘It’s working,’ he crowed Tuesday to an audience in Milwaukee on a re-election campaign tour stop. Not, it’s not.

“…Average Americans are spending $709 more per month on everyday goods and services like food than they were two years ago. That’s an eye-watering $8,508 yearly bump. 

“Indeed, inflation since Biden took office totals 15%. Focus on daily essentials (like food, power bills, mortgages), and prices are up almost 25%…

“Biden’s lies on the economy are nothing new. Witness his February claim that ‘We created more new jobs in two years than any president did in their entire term.’ No: Those were jobs lost to COVID policy overreactions that came back during the long and tepid employment recovery he oversaw. 

“Seems the overall Biden strategy here just to lie and lie and lie as liberal [journalists] seal-clap, and figure everyday voters will buy it. Huge mistake: Every trip to buy milk or fill the tank proves what a disaster Bidenomics has been…”

The tragedy is, even though many Americans suffer economically and otherwise, they do not seem to be able or willing to connect the dots. Something else is happening in Germany; note the following articles.

Germans Dissatisfied

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“If you think Germany is efficient and decisive, you probably don’t live here. From unreliable passenger rail to long waits for public services, too few appointment slots to see doctors and not enough room in preschools, German institutions seem increasingly unable to meet the everyday needs of the population they serve. 

“That hasn’t gone unnoticed by the general public. Just 27% of people in Germany have the sense the state is able to fulfill its responsibilities…

“Germans are looking for leadership…”

It currently does not exist in Germany. But things will change…

Germany’s Decline

Daily Mail wrote on August 18:

“German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, en route to Australasia on a week-long, high-profile mission to enhance her country’s status in the Indo-Pacific region, was left stranded in Abu Dhabi when her government A340 Airbus broke down during a refuelling stop in the Gulf. Attempts to continue her journey were aborted twice, minutes after take-off. She abandoned her diplomatic mission and returned to Berlin on a commercial flight…

“That broken-down official jet, opined Der Spiegel, the country’s leading news magazine, ‘fits with everything you’ve been hearing about the country lately’, capturing the pervasive sense of gloom that grips Germany these days — and with good reason.

“The economy, now in recession, has declined for three consecutive quarters. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) thinks Germany will be the only major economy to shrink this year… The country is gripped by a variety of woes signalling long-term decline, most of which can be traced to Angela Merkel’s 16 years as German Chancellor…

“Germany’s mighty car industry has its back to the wall, especially since it has no special advantages when it comes to building electric vehicles (EVs) and Berlin has inflicted such high costs on it. The combined market value of the country’s legendary carmakers — BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Porsche — is now barely 50 per cent of Elon Musk’s Tesla. Chinese-manufactured EVs are eating away Germany’s once huge share of the car market…

“Government bureaucracy is mired in the analogue age, which makes it inefficient, and even its fabled railways no longer run on time. Indeed, some run so late that Switzerland often stops German trains at the border so they don’t mess up the immaculate time-keeping of its own train services.

“There are a lot of ways to ruin a nation… Merkel and her successors seem to have discovered most of them….”

Sadly, this seems to be very true. And so, Germans are crying out for change and decisive leadership.

The Success Story of Germany’s AfD

The left-wing radical Washington Post wrote on August 18:

“Maximilian Krah, the newly elected top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany for the European elections, doesn’t believe in watering down political messages to win centrist votes… he has described Pride Month as ‘disgusting,’ is a proponent of deporting immigrants and peppers his speech with allusions [to] white supremacist conspiracy theories [Not really, see his statements and explanations below.]. ‘We have become clearer in what we want and what we think,’ the 46-year-old rising star of the far right said of his party, known by its German acronym AfD. ‘We have more of the Trumpian style of communication.’

“Far-right experts say his recent election as lead candidate to represent the party in the 2024 European Parliament elections was just another sign of the AfD’s increasing radicalization [How his election to the European Parliament is a sign of his party’s increasing realization is difficult to fathom.]. But while the party is becoming unpalatable as a partner even to some of Europe’s most radical right-wing populists, it is attracting a record number of German voters. In recent months the AfD has surged to become the second strongest political force in the country after the opposition Christian Democrats, polling at around 21 percent, ahead of all members of the country’s liberal governing coalition…

“While other European far-right parties… have toned down and turned their focus to courting more centrist conservatives, the AfD stands apart. ‘The experts and pundits always tell us that if you want to have better election results, you have to give up your positions, you should become a more centrist style party,’ said Krah, who has eight children by three women… ‘We are not the kind of singer that asks what your audience wants and then sings a song,’ he said… ‘We have a clear ideology.’

“At the European Union level, even Hungarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban last year said he was ‘forced to sacrifice relations with the AfD on the altar of good international relations’ while far-right Italian politician Matteo Salvini has indicated he’s looking for more centrist allies… At the summit in Magdeburg over weekends in late July and early August, 600 candidates vied to represent the party and adopt an election program that branded the European Union a ‘failed project.’ Guest speakers included Bulgarian right-wing extremist Kostadin Kostadinov, who fondly referred to the alliance between Germany and Romania during both world wars and called for Germany to take ‘its rightful place as a great power, and not only in Europe.’..

“The party has so far failed to overturn a decision by the agency to put it under surveillance, with a Cologne court ruling in March last year that there were ‘sufficient indications of anti-constitutional endeavors within the party’ to justify its monitoring…

“Krah rejects the notion that the party is becoming more extreme or that he’s to the right of it… The idea that immigrants are replacing ethnic Germans is ‘a description’ of the situation rather than a conspiracy theory, said Krah, who also doesn’t see an issue with saying that Germany should reclaim its rightful place in the world. ‘Germany is a country in a crisis, and it’s not just an economic crisis. It’s also an identity crisis,’ he said. ‘It’s a crisis where Germans forgot to be proud of their own fathers and grandfathers. Mothers and grandmothers.’…

“The AfD’s record-high position in the polls comes amid brimming dissatisfaction with Germany’s ruling three-party coalition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats… [In addition to Germany’s mishandling of the Covid pandemic and Germany’s shaky economy,] Krah puts the party’s success down to the population’s distain for liberal policies on climate, gender and LGBT issues, immigration and the war in Ukraine, saying established political parties have no answer to real issues German face… the party’s increased success makes it difficult for others to make viable political coalitions without them…  ‘The right wing is on rise,’ [Krah] said. ‘And that’s Europe wide.’”

The left-wing narrative in the article cannot hide the fact that, reading between the lines, many of the positions of the AfD, as described herein, are not unreasonable. They also seem to indicate the beginning of the fulfillment of prophecy.

AfD Politician Convicted of “Incitement”!

Deutsche Welle reported on August 18:

“A court in the German city of Munich on Friday convicted a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over remarks comparing a coronavirus vaccination campaign with Nazi-era anti-Jewish pogroms.

“Florian Jäger, who served as a member of Germany’s national parliament, the Bundestag, posted a video on his Facebook page in 2021. In it, he claimed that the German government’s COVID measures were comparable with the November pogrom terror campaign against German Jews in 1938…

“The court ruled that the comments in question amounted to incitement and sentenced Jäger to pay a fine of €2,700 ($2,930)…

“If the Holocaust is degraded to an arbitrary object of comparison for measures that are perceived as unwelcome, then the protection of Jewish people from anti-Semitic attacks, would also be dragged down,’ [the prosecutor] said.

“Jäger is currently the chairman for the AfD in the district Fürstenfeldbruck. He has one week to appeal the decision.”

An absolutely ridiculous decision. By no stretch of the imagination was the Holocaust “degraded” and neither was the “protection of Jews from anti-Semitic attacks” endangered. The comparison between Germany’s unconstitutional measures of “fighting” the Corona pandemic and Germany’s terror campaign against Jews amounted to just the opposite. But the German legal system does not want to hear this. No wonder the AfD rises in popularity with such nonsensical and blatantly false allegations and “findings” against it.

F-16 Jets for Ukraine Without Immediate Benefit!

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 18:

“Washington has cleared the way for the Netherlands [and Denmark] to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine…

“The announcement comes amid growing concerns that Ukraine’s counteroffensive has stalled, with Kyiv’s forces having so far failed to punch through fortified Russian lines. One U.S. official said an intelligence assessment concluded it was unlikely that the Ukrainians would reach Melitopol, their presumed objective near the Sea of Azov, during their current counteroffensive…

“Western officials caution it will take time to train Ukrainian pilots and deliver the aircraft. Ukrainians won’t have the aircraft until well into 2024, and perhaps not until the middle or latter part of next year, they said. Only eight Ukrainian pilots are currently deemed to meet the language requirements to immediately begin training…

“Ukrainian officials have complained about the slow pace of the projected delivery schedule and argued that Washington has dragged its feet…  Gen. James Hecker, the top U.S. Air Force commander for forces in Africa and Europe,… warned it could be [four or five] years before Ukraine would make full use of the jets…”

Washington’s blessing for the plane donations to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian pilots are needed because the aircrafts are made in the United States.

America’s Friends Alienated and America’s Enemies Emboldened

The Telegraph wrote on August 20:

“[In 2021], the Americans handed to the Taliban one of the most expensive and complete sets of military equipment in the world… the manner of the withdrawal [from Afghanistan] and the weakness it projected have had profound implications. Many experts believe that Vladimir Putin’s long-held desire to annex Ukraine was sparked into action by the ineffectual way in which the US withdrew. Worse is that the axis on which the global order moves has subtly shifted in the resulting period.

“For instance, if you are going to make one big mistake in a region, you had better make sure that every other alliance is in very good working order. The necessary isolation of Russia since its aggression in Ukraine has certainly pushed Russia closer into its own axis, of China and Iran… far from being without clout, and all the more reason to shore up your natural allies. The Biden administration has been exceptionally poor at doing that.

“Israel is generally thought of by outsiders as being almost de facto within the orbit of America. But the fraying of that relationship during the Obama administration (during which Biden was vice president) is undeniable. During that time, Israel inevitably had to keep other lines of friendship open, including with Russia. So Israel has, as a matter of realpolitik, kept itself out of the clear demarcations the rest of America’s allies have held to since the start of the Ukraine crisis.

“Such things happen once you take to hectoring allies, rather than working with them. Until recently, there were few similarities between the Israelis and the Saudis. But Biden has managed to create some… With energy prices soaring last summer due to the fallout of the Ukraine war, Biden personally went to Saudi Arabia and asked them to increase oil production. There was a time when an American leader just needed to pick up the phone. But with midterms looming, Riyadh actually cut production. It was an amazing… sign not only that the Saudis didn’t need to do what the US asked, but could do the opposite if they chose.

“In such a situation, dangerous new alliances form. What has been most striking in the past year has been the audacious efforts by the Chinese to step into the roles once expected of the US. If there was a peace deal to be brokered in the Middle East, it used to be assumed that it would be America that would broker it. No more. 

“When a deal was agreed in March to restore relations between the bitter enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia, it was Beijing that brokered it. Around the same time, it was the Chinese leadership that started touting a ‘peace deal’ to end the war in Ukraine… as the Ukrainian counteroffensive makes slow progress, many nonaligned countries see China at least providing some solution to the conflict. The Americans, meanwhile, just talk the language of taking ‘as long as it takes’. And whatever your views on the Ukraine conflict, it is hard to deny that the line from Washington has changed again and again.

“Munitions that are ruled out one month are passed another month. Tanks and planes are presented as unthinkable to provide one month and provided the next. None of this is helped by the sheer lack of confidence that anybody dealing with the US president himself must feel. 

“Last month, Biden held a meeting at the White House with the Israeli president Isaac Herzog. The hope was that it would reassure Israelis that the relationship was as solid as ever. This came at the same time as Biden was chiding prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his judicial reforms. That in itself is a classic Biden misstep. What business is it of the Americans if the Israeli government chooses to make long overdue changes to its supreme court system?… the belief that the Americans have the right to lecture everyone in the region is built into the system…

“Tehran is once again extorting the US by demanding money for prisoners. Iran has been a rogue state since 1979, but there are few rogue states in the world that America is so constantly and successfully blackmailed by. Expect pallets of cash to be handed over once more, as during the Obama-Biden years, to a regime dancing on the edge of trying to become a nuclear power. 

“For many countries in the region, Saudi Arabia and Israel perhaps most of all, that is the nightmare scenario, an Iran that goes nuclear fast. But then, Iran is in a good position. It has some strong friends… and some weak enemies, including the US…”

An accurate description of America’s shameful and incompetent performance on the world scene.

Saudi Arabia to Take Over the Temple Mount?

Israel News wrote on or about August 20:

“The timing was not accidental when Saudi Arabia announced over the weekend that its ambassador to Jordan will also take on the roles of ambassador to the Palestinian Authority and consul general in eastern Jerusalem…

“Although Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Sunday quickly shot down the idea of a Saudi consulate for the Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem, Saudi and Palestinian officials said, ‘The Saudi move is an indication of the possibility of an agreement to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia soon and is a signal to the entire region.’

“But Saudi and Palestinian officials also said, ‘Saudi Arabia wishes to signal to Jordan that it considers itself entitled to set foot in the al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, which would make the crown prince and the Al Saud dynasty responsible for the three holy places of Islam: Mecca, Medina and al-Aqsa.’… For several years, Saudi Arabia has been signaling to Jordan that it intends to replace Amman as custodian of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount…

“Dr. Mordechai Kedar… said… ‘When considering the negotiations to bring normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it is important to remember that the Saudis do not consider the Palestinians to be Arabs… If the Saudis take over the Temple Mount, it will be a huge blow to the Palestinians. Without Al Aqsa, the Palestinians have nothing; no connection to the land, no political claim, no claim to status in Islam…’”

Interesting developments in the Middle East. The Temple Mount and the Al Aqsa mosque keep at the forefront of attention.

China and Russia Collaborate Militarily

Business Insider wrote on August 20:

“China claims it has remained neutral and has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“But The Telegraph’s investigation found that the country has delivered tens of thousands of shipments to Russian military equipment manufacturers… Trade between the two countries is set to exceed $200 billion this year, per the report — setting a new record.”

Russia and Iran Collaborate Militarily

The New York Post wrote on August 20:

“Russia is secretly working on building thousands of drones through a covert partnership with Iran… Engineers are quietly working to construct 6,000 drones by the summer of 2025 via a billion-dollar weapons deal between Moscow and Tehran. The work is being carried out at a facility in Tatarstan, about 500 miles from the Russian capital.

“Leaked documents… show that Russian drone production is heavily reliant on electronic parts from other countries and that Russian engineers have been trying to improve on the Iranian Shahed-136 attack drone, which is able to travel over 1,000 miles. Among the attempted improvements is making the drones able to carry out a swarm attack, in which they autonomously coordinate to strike a common target.”

Russia and India Collaborate Economically and Militarily

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 22:

“Russia, an enemy? Not in India, where Russia has long been viewed as a valued political and economic partner. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the relationship has even picked up additional pace. India has declined to join the West’s sanctions on Moscow, and the country is now importing more crude oil from Russia than ever before…

“Russia has become India’s fourth-largest source of imports in the past year… The economic and political relationship between Russia and India, which are both nuclear powers, is not only based on their mutual interest regarding oil. It also goes back to their long-standing cooperation during the Cold War era.

“The Soviet Union supplied weapons to India for decades and trained Indian forces in how to use them. India obtained three-fifths of its arms from the USSR between 1955 and 1991… military cooperation between India and Russia remains significant… By contrast, there was a cooler relationship with the United States, which delivered arms to India’s enemy Pakistan…

“‘The Russian-Indian partnership will continue,’ Rajan Menon and Eugene Rumer from the US think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace wrote in September last year. ‘For India, Russia remains an important supplier of weapons…’”

The Kings of the East are coming together, including China, Russia, India and North Korea (see article below).

The Russia-North Korea-Pact

Daily Express US wrote on August 23:

“Russia’s ‘probable secret’ nuclear agreement with North Korea signals a ‘very dangerous development’…

“According to Paul Bracken, professor of management and political science at the Yale School of Management, the alliance between Russia and North Korea is a major cause for concern. He told Daily Express US: ‘We’re seeing new coalitions taking shape right before our eyes…’

“North Korea currently holds a huge stockpile of ballistic missiles… [It] has conducted more than 100 weapons tests since 2022, some involving nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the US mainland and its allies South Korea and Japan.

“Russia, meanwhile, has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, with around 6,000 warheads in its arsenal.”

It is alleged that North Korea provides Russia with conventional weapons while Russia provides North Korea with information as to how to build nuclear weapons.

The BRICS Bloc to Enlarge?

Portland Press Herald wrote on August 21:

“The BRICS bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will use an annual leaders’ summit in Johannesburg this week to begin the process of enlisting more members to bolster its global heft, a push driven mainly by Chinese President Xi Jinping but also backed by Russia and South Africa. There will also be talks on how to accelerate a shift away from the dollar, in part by increasing the use of local currencies in trade between members, which is surging…

“The summit could see the bloc’s first expansion since South Africa was added in 2010. High on the list of potential candidates are Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Egypt. But India wants the process to be gradual. An expanded group would represent about half of global output by 2040… double the share of the Group of Seven, a reversal from the turn of this century. A bigger BRICS would account for almost half of the global population, up from 42% currently…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin is staying away from this year’s summit because he faces a war-crimes arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, of which host South Africa is a member. He will participate remotely. The gathering will give him another opportunity to present his narrative of the Ukraine invasion directly to leaders from the Global South, many of whom have been sympathetic to his accounts in the past. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been cautious about openly taking Russia’s side in the war, but have also been unwilling to ally with the West in opposing it...”

The Guardian wrote on August 24:

“The Brics group of big emerging economies has announced the admission of six new members, in an attempt to reshape the global world order and provide a counterweight to the US and its allies. From the beginning of next year, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, the UAE and Ethiopia will join the current five members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – it was announced…

“The decision to admit Iran, also looking for a way to sidestep sanctions, represented a win for Putin and Xi, helping give the group a more anti-western, non-democratic tinge. They prevailed over the more cautious approach of the other members, who prefer to portray the group as non-aligned…”

South Africa—a modern descendant of the House of Israel–appears to be out of place in this group.

Panama Canal Dried Out

On or about August 20, MSN wrote the following:

“In what is being called the ‘world’s worst traffic jam,’ some 200 cargo ships are waiting to pass at the Panama Canal… the area experiences its worst drought in 100 years... the huge backlog has been growing for some time and might not get any better for a few weeks yet. The human-made passageway is famous not only as one of the world’s most impressive feats of engineering but as one of the most important trade routes on Earth.

“The Panama Canal relies on massive amounts of water, the supply of which is shrinking in the current drought…

“Though the flow of ships at the Panama Canal started at about 1,000 vessels when it opened in 1914, that traffic has steadily increased. In the 2022 fiscal year, the passageway was crossed by over 14,200 ships, accounting for some 40% of U.S. container traffic and annually representing $270 billion in cargo…”

Not surprisingly, the current drought is being blamed on “man-made climate change.” Sounding like a parrot, the author mentions climate change eight times in this short article.

More and More Boosters

The Dossier wrote on August 17:

“Pfizer announced Thursday that their new shot, which targets the Eris variant (whatever that is) of… Covid-19, is showing great promise in mice.  And given that Big Pharma heavyweights like Pfizer pretty much control America’s Government Health institutions, we should expect to see FDA authorization for another ‘emergency use’ shot in the coming weeks.

“… this would make for an eighth dose of mRNA in under three years… some… now recommend a booster every two months for the immunocompromised. If you’re not yet immunocompromised, you can take a shot every four months…

“… most Americans have stopped getting mRNA injections, largely because many quietly realized that they have been bamboozled by Big Pharma into taking a shot that does not in fact stop [Corona].”

COVID Mandates Are Coming Back!

Breitbart wrote on August 21:

“COVID mask mandates are returning to Hollywood, with Lionsgate being the first major studio to reinstate masking and daily testing for its Los Angeles office workers… A growing number of colleges and medical institutions throughout the country are also reinstating mask mandates, with the mainstream news media running articles pushing for the return of face coverings…

“The return of mask mandates comes as the Biden administration is ramping up another round of COVID hysteria ahead of 2024, pressuring all Americans to get the latest booster this fall. This had led to growing suspicion that Democrats will not only impose mask mandates but bring back mass lockdowns ahead of the next presidential election, in a repeat of 2020… the new push for Americans to line up for booster shots follows the revelation in January that health officials want to make coronavirus booster vaccinations an annual event.”

This is so appallingly incredible. Please take note of our new member letter, dated August 21, 2023, which addresses this issue in great detail.

A New Virus on the Horizon?

LifeSiteNews wrote on August 19:

“There are strong indications that another alleged ‘virus’ may be released early this Fall and that governments will once again, on the advice of the WHO, declare a health emergency mandating masking, lockdowns and much more and put heavy pressure on the populace to be ‘vaccinated.’ Should this happen and the public again complies, the results are certain to be catastrophic…

“We now know that all the mandates and policies for the last coronavirus alleged ‘pandemic’ were not only useless and medically and scientifically unjustified, they were also devastatingly harmful…

“If another health emergency is declared… will be told another pile of seemingly convincing lies and for many it will be hard to resist the lies and the pressures to comply…

“Dr. Meryl Nass wrote: ‘We can produce vaccines in 100 days and manufacture them in 130 days–but there will be no guarantees that the products will be safe, effective, or adequately manufactured. And we can expect large profits but no consequences for the manufacturers… New biological weapons can be engineered. They can be shared. Maybe that will speed up the development of vaccines and therapeutics. But who really benefits from this scheme? Who pays the price of accidents or deliberate use? Wouldn’t it be better to end so-called gain-of-function research entirely through restrictions on funding and other regulations, rather than encouraging its proliferation?’”

Big Pharma would fight it. And so will be the mass media. Note the next article.

YouTube on the Warpath Again

Rebel News wrote on August 16:

“YouTube will censor content creators that disagree with, or perhaps only question, guidance from the World Health Organization or local health authorities, according to the company’s updated ‘medical misinformation’ policy.

“The change has broad, sweeping implications for content creators. The platform’s previous policy touched on vaccines, abortions and content promoting or glorifying eating disorders but severely ramped up during COVID-19.

“In the new, ambiguously worded update, YouTube says it ‘doesn’t allow content that poses a serious risk of egregious harm by spreading medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities’ (LHAs) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance about specific health conditions and substances.’…

“Part of the policy means that one cannot make ‘claims that an approved COVID-19 vaccine will cause death, infertility, miscarriage, autism, or contraction of other infectious diseases.’”

This is completely unjustified and constitutes censorship aimed at supporting Big Pharma and suppressing the Truth.

Maui Wildfire Was Preventable!

Breitbart wrote on August 23:

“Evidence suggests the heartbreaking Maui wildfire was preventable… Democrats have become the equivalent of pagan sun worshippers. Nature has become their god. Therefore, in their pagan minds, human beings are nothing more than viruses, a threat to their god. This means that on their list of priorities, we humans come way behind the air, water, plants, animals, and even insects.

“Democrats believe every living thing on the planet is sacred, worthy of respect, requires protection, and is part of the natural world … except human beings, especially Western ones. You see, with our hamburgers and air conditioners and automobiles and plastic coolers, we’re an aberration, a mistake made by nature. We are in the way.

“Hawaii is one of the most left-wing states in the union… Hawaii votes for politicians who put nature above human safety and comfort…

“Firefighters in Maui didn’t run out of water to fight this deadly fire because Maui doesn’t have enough water…  With wildfires ravaging West Maui on Aug. 8, a state water official delayed the release of water that landowners wanted to help protect their property from fires. The water standoff played out over much of the day and the water didn’t come until too late…

“Then there are the pagan nature worshippers who neglected fire control to worship Gaia…

“We see this doom spiral throughout the country in one catastrophic Democrat-run city after another. In Hawaii, it was a totally preventable wildfire. In Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Detroit, Oakland, and San Francisco, it’s totally preventable violent crime, filthy and dangerous streets, hate crimes, addiction, failing schools, and exorbitant home prices…

“It’s a cult so brainwashed its members believe trashed cities and dead children are preferable to mean tweets. The Chief Priests of this cult will, of course, blame Climate Change… To them, Maui’s dead children are a necessary sacrifice to a pagan god that keeps them wealthy and powerful.”

Also note the next article.

Demonic Possession Is Real!

LifeSiteNews wrote on August 21:

“The idea that people can be possessed by malevolent spirits has been the basis of countless books, movies, and TV shows, many of which were, and remain, enormously popular… Despite our fascination with the topic, many people are ambivalent in their feelings about the demonic realm. Some dismiss the whole idea as mythical, assuming that all human wickedness can be explained as symptoms of psychological illness (or maybe politics).

“Others assume that incidents such as the one described in… Matthew 15, where Jesus frees the daughter of a Canaanite woman from possession — are artifacts of the distant past. ‘That was Bible times,’ they’ll say. ‘Such things don’t happen anymore.’

“Yet, the [Catholic] Church insists demons are indeed real, and that they’re as active today as they were in Jesus’ time. They work at the behest of Satan, and their intention is to make bad things happen. Really bad things…

“The Canaanite people (of whom the woman in Matthew’s Gospel was one) worshiped a variety of gods, each of which personified some force of nature. The Bible talks about the shrines, altars, and high places of worship at which the rituals of Canaanite religion were carried out. Those sites dotted the countryside, constant reminders of pagan presence in the land of Israel. The rites practiced there could open the hearts of participants to demonic influence (which may explain the daughter’s problem).

“Nature worship still exists… as Environmentalism… the Environmental Movement has elevated concern for ‘Mother Earth,’ a created thing, over devotion to God who created it… But environmentalism, in the extreme form to which it has mutated, is a false god. And the worshipping of that false god has opened many people’s hearts to demonic influence, prompting numerous evil acts…

“This preoccupation with ‘Mother Earth,’ often to the exclusion of human need and safety, is just the kind of opening after which demons prowl. Another is involvement in the occult.

“Ouija boards, tarot cards, fortune telling, seances, crystals and pyramids, astrology — such devices have long been of great popular interest… they’re specifically intended for contacting a world outside of conscious life. And when people become absorbed in them (which happens more frequently than may be apparent), such practices can come to dominate someone’s thoughts. People can begin to make important decisions on the basis of ‘signs,’ ‘influences,’ and ‘messages’ from the beyond… These too are false gods. And giving oneself over to them can provide an opening to malevolent spirits…

“… in this modern era, we’ve seen evil of such magnitude that psychological illness (or even politics) is not sufficient to explain it.”

Satan is the god and ruler of this world, and he and his demons give their powers to whomever they want. Possession is clearly a fact, and not a thing of the past. Those who want to get in contact with demons—in whatever way—will pay a heavy price.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Trump Indicted in Georgia by “Hypocritical Democrats”

Breitbart wrote on August 15:

“Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Monday that District Attorney Fani Willis had indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others for a ‘conspiracy’ that was exactly what Democrats did in challenging the 2000 election. ‘The tactics of the Trump team, including claims of fraud, were neither more nor less than what Democrats had done in claiming that the election had been stolen from then-Vice President Al Gore by Republicans pushing for then-Governor George W. Bush… ‘You cannot start making crimes out of things that the Democrats did…’

“Dershowitz added that the indictments against Trump, both federal and state, were the ‘weakest’ he had ever seen against any candidate… The indictment against Trump and others claims that acts as mundane as tweeting to turn on the TV, reserving a meeting room, and asking for a phone number were part of the overall criminal conspiracy.”

Such incompetent and concocted charges are truly mind boggling.

Breitbart added on August 15:

“… more than 150 examples show Democrats denying election results, including President Joe Biden; two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); Reps. Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters… and  failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. 

“In fact, every single Democrat president since 1977 has questioned the legitimacy of U.S. elections…”

What hypocrisy! But this is not about justice, it is about the political motive by Democrats to interfere in the upcoming election. In trying to silence the leading candidate, they use methods of a dictatorship, reminiscent of a Banana Republic. With the approval and collaboration of the Presidency, the Biden Administration and numerous governmental agencies, the USA has ceased to be a Democracy.

Indictment Excessive and Dangerous

Fox News wrote on August 15:

“[Law Professor] Jonathan Turley argued the indictment is ‘excessive’ and ‘dangerous’… ‘It essentially criminalizes challenges to elections… They are charging things like the president saying publicly, we need to have a recount. Democrats and Republicans challenge these elections routinely… What’s concerning, particularly about this is that [Fani] Willis didn’t really show any semblance of restraint. She indicted everyone for everything she could think of…

“‘But having said that, I think that the Trump team has to realize that this is a serious threat, not because of the merits, but because, as a racketeering case, it’s very hard to take these cases up on appeal before trial… Also, this is not a case that can be dismissed with a federal pardon, whether by Trump himself or by an elected Republican.”

The claimed reason being, this is a state, not a federal case. Fox News explained that “The power to pardon in Georgia does not fall to the governor, but rather a five-member board… Felons who are seeking pardon by the board must serve their sentence for five years before doing so.”

This view is not uncontested. Famous attorney and litigator Mark Levin “argued that Trump can pardon himself from state charges if he wins the presidency, under existing Department of Justice policy and the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause” (Breitbart, dated August 16).  

Of course, Trump could and probably will try to remove the case to federal court because it involves presidential powers. Trump attorney Alina Habba stated that “as a deliberate ploy, the state of Georgia is bringing charges against former President Donald Trump that should be in federal court… ‘Anything having to do with … election issues at this level with a president should 100% be in federal court,’ Abba said, adding that this was all done ‘by design’” (Newsmax, dated August 15).

Of course it was. That should be obvious to any objective observer.

Trump: The Whole World Is Laughing At the USA

Fox News wrote on August 15:

“‘Nineteen people were indicted, and the whole world is laughing at the United States as they see how corrupt and horrible a place it has turned out to be under the leadership of Crooked Joe Biden,’ Trump told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview late Monday night. Trump and more than a dozen others were charged, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeff Clark, John Eastman, among others.

“‘The racist and corrupt district attorney of Fulton County, which has turned out to be a murder capital of the world with among the highest violent crime levels anywhere in our country, just opened a fundraising site in order to benefit [she launched her reelection fundraising site days before the grand jury indicted Trump] off the things she most campaigned on, “I will get Donald Trump,”’ he said… [He] blasted Willis, saying that it is ‘not even conceivable that a person with such a record of failure could be allowed to interrupt perhaps the most important election in the history of our country… Trump said that Willis ‘should focus on the people that rigged the 2020 presidential election, not those who demand an answer as to what happened.’”

This Is Not Justice

Breitbart wrote on August 15:

“… conservative talker Mark Levin criticized the Fulton County, GA indictment against former President Donald Trump… ‘Well, Stalin would be proud. I’m sure Putin is proud. I’m sure enemies are celebrating, and our allies are appalled at what’s going on here… We’re going through the motions of justice here, like autocratic regimes… the Democrat Party has become so radicalized and such a tool of its radical base, they are tonight, most of them, celebrating. They don’t come out and say a… thing about Hunter Biden… they don’t even have a curiosity about anything related to Joe Biden despite the fact there are predicates all over the place for a special counsel and they are excited…

“‘Ladies and gentlemen, the people of America, you know what’s going on here… this is not justice. Just because you have a judge, just because you have grand juries, just because you have a fake media, that doesn’t mean things are going right… People vote for tyranny, and then it’s too late.

“‘You got people who are self-righteously saying how wonderful the system is, nobody’s above the law. Are you kidding me?… This is a grave time in American history…’”

According to Deutsche Welle, dated August 15, “former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election, told broadcaster MSNBC the indictment showed that justice in the US was working.”

Clinton is one to talk! IF justice in the USA was working, she would be in jail for illegally destroying over 30,000 emails, including sensitive and classified documents.

District Attorney Fani Willis a Disgrace for the Legal Profession

Newsmax wrote on August 15:

“Former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova told Newsmax on Tuesday that Democrat Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has brought disgrace to the legal profession…

“Willis, 52, was raised by her single father, John Clifford Floyd III, a onetime Black Panther with a criminal record who became a defense lawyer in Washington, D.C… ‘Apparently that pedigree has worn well,’ diGenova said. ‘She has conducted herself unprofessionally. She has become basically a terrorist in a prosecutor’s uniform…’

“‘The truth is, Fani Willis, Bragg in New York, Jack Smith; there’s the cult because what they’ve decided to do is gather together like a bunch of witches and to bring their brew together to take down one man,’ diGenova said… ‘This is 250 years of jurisprudence being destroyed by a cult called the Democratic Party. This is disgraceful.’’

It surely is. The case against Trump should be dismissed for the reason alone that the prosecution posted on their website and thereby leaked a draft of the indictment to the press BEFORE the grand jury had even rendered a verdict, thereby violating Trump’s right to a fair trial. The methods which the prosecution in Georgia are using are truly unbelievable.  

Willful Ignorance or Intentional Lies?

Breitbart wrote on August 14:

“White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing Monday that there was ‘zero evidence’ that President Joe Biden had ‘discussed,’ or was ‘involved with,’ his son Hunter’s business dealings… That response is different from Jean-Pierre’s effort in recent weeks to claim that ‘[t]he president was never in business with his son,’ which she denied was a change from Biden’s own earlier response that he had ‘never discussed’ his family’s businesses.

“In claiming that there was ‘zero evidence,’ Jean-Pierre ignored a mounting collection of evidence, including the following:

“Travel logs showing that Hunter Biden traveled to China with his father on Air Force Two before a lucrative business deal; E-mails and messages on Hunter Biden’s laptop showing that Joe Biden had met with his son’s business associates; Evidence from Hunter Biden’s laptop showing that he and his father had intermingled their family’s finances and bills; Businessman Tony Bobulinski’s claim that he met with Joe Biden to discuss ‘family business plans with the Chinese’; A voicemail from Joe Biden to his son regarding New York Times coverage of Hunter Biden’s business interests; Bank records showing wire transfers from abroad to Hunter Biden via shell companies for distribution to family members; Testimony from Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, stating that Joe Biden had spoken by speakerphone at least 20 times with Hunter Biden’s business associates, and had attended a dinner meeting with many of them in 2014; Joe Biden’s infamous boast about using the threat of withdrawing $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to remove a Ukrainian prosecutor, whom Devon Archer confirmed Hunter had been hired by the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to counteract.”

In light of these FACTS, events which took place the next day in Georgia are truly remarkable.

Articles of Impeachment Filed on Joe Biden

Newsmax wrote on August 13:

“Rep. Greg Steube has filed articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden, accusing him of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ and commenting that ‘it’s long past time’ to impeach him. ‘He has undermined the integrity of his office, brought disrepute on the presidency, betrayed his trust as president, and acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice at the expense of America’s citizens,’ the Florida Republican said…”

Fox News wrote on August 12:

“While several congressional committees are building a multipronged case to remove Biden from office, Steube… filed [four] articles of impeachment against Biden charging that the president had been complicit in his son Hunter’s alleged crimes and had worked to shield him from justice…

“The first accuses the president of abusing the power of his office by allegedly accepting bribes, committing Hobbs Act extortion and honest services fraud related to use of his official position. These charges arise from Biden’s alleged involvement with his family’s business dealings, including Hunter and James Biden’s (the president’s brother) alleged effort to sell access to then-Vice President Biden between 2009 and 2017 in exchange for ‘payments and business opportunities from foreign and domestic business partners.’ House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, on Wednesday released a memo purporting to show that foreign payments to the Biden family totaled more than $20 million…

“The second article charges that President Biden obstructed justice, citing IRS whistleblower testimony that ‘members of the Biden campaign improperly colluded with Justice Department (DOJ) officials to improperly interfere with investigations into tax crimes alleged to have been committed by Hunter Biden.’…

“The third and fourth articles accuse Biden of ‘fraud’ and paying for Hunter Biden’s illegal drugs and trysts with prostitutes, respectively…

“On the same day, Steube introduced legislation to require the Secret Service chief to write a report on the illicit use of controlled substances in the White House. The move comes after the Secret Service closed its investigation into cocaine found at the White House last month without identifying a person of interest…”

Even though filing articles of impeachment on Joe Biden may have been long overdue, there is little chance that Biden will be removed from office, as Senate Democrats, for example, would not in any way support such a move. And even if Joe Biden would vacate the office, Kamala Harris would take his place, which would constitute the absolute nightmare in the eyes of many observers.

Appointment of “Special Counsel” in Hunter Biden Case Another Cover-Up?

Breitbart reported on August 11:

“Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. prosecutor David Weiss as a special counsel in the ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden… ‘David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,’ Russell Dye, a spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), told Breitbart News in a statement. ‘Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it,’ he added…

“House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) also was skeptical of the appointment of a special counsel. ‘This move by AG Garland is part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of GOPoversight‘s mounting evidence of President Biden’s role in his family’s schemes selling “the brand” for millions of dollars to foreign nationals,’ he said in a statement.

“The appointment of a special counsel comes on the same day that news broke that Weiss’ prosecutors acknowledged that the gun and tax charges against Hunter will likely have to be resolved at a trial in California or Washington, DC…  The DOJ’s probe into Hunter Biden could implicate Joe Biden. A witness who testified before the jury was reportedly asked to identify the ‘big guy.’…

“George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday… that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden criminal case would make it harder for Congress to ask questions in their probe of Hunter Biden… ‘This new status can slow that process down. Weiss was at the top of the list of Congress to be brought in to explain why did you allow statute of limitations to run? Why were Biden people tipped off about raids? Why was there interference with investigators trying to interview Hunter Biden?

“‘All of those questions are now likely to be delayed before they are answered… The initial concern is whether Weiss is damaged goods. You usually appoint special counsel who will satisfy all sides, that is someone who doesn’t bring baggage to the question and can resolve issues. These whistleblowers were critical of Weiss. Weiss suggested that he always had this authority. The whistleblowers said he said the opposite to staff, suggested he allowed statute of limitations to run…’”

Garland’s appointment of Weiss might indeed have been a “dirty trick” in his attempts to continue the cover-up and protection of Joe Biden, as the next article suggests.

Garland’s Last Dirty Trick

The New York Post wrote on August 11:

“Attorney General Merrick Garland may have just played his last trick card to save Joe Biden: appointing a special counsel to delay prosecution of his son Hunter. With any luck, the official Justice Department final report on Biden family shenanigans will be released in December 2024, one month after the presidential election… Federal agencies and the Justice Department dragged out for five years the investigation of Hunter’s gun, tax and foreign influence peddling. The statute of limitations already expired on several of his crimes, but that was OK because of the spelling of his last name.

“Despite a string of crimes that would have sent average Americans up the river for a decade, Biden’s Justice Department cut a deal in June that permitted Hunter to plead guilty to misdemeanors, not serve a day in jail and dodge any other federal charges. That deal collapsed when federal Judge Maryellen Noreika asked a few questions after she was blindsided by a last-minute sweeping exoneration paragraph added to the plea deal…

“For Joe Biden, Weiss is absolutely trustworthy: He’s the same lawyer who dragged out prosecuting Hunter for years. Former White House correspondent Emerald Robinson quipped, ‘Appointing David Weiss is like appointing a crack pipe to ‘investigate’ Hunter Biden.’

“According to The Federalist’s Sean Davis, “Weiss demonstrated his loyalty to the Biden family by shutting down investigations, tipping off suspects before searches . . . refusing to interview Hunter, hiding FBI documents, firing IRS investigators . . .’ Is there any reason to expect Weiss to be more honest in the future?…

“Coverups have been a key to Biden’s political power for more than three years… Team Biden is teaching Americans that ‘Justice Department’ is often an oxymoron…”

Even CNN is questioning the appointment of David Weiss as a special counsel. Note the next article:

Jake Tapper: Some Concerns Have Merit

Fox News wrote on August 11:

“Many Republicans are wary of U.S. attorney David Weiss overseeing the Hunter Biden probe, and CNN anchor Jake Tapper agreed Friday that some of their concerns ‘have merit.’… ‘I think there are some legitimate questions about this whole situation,’ Tapper said on ‘CNN News Central.’ ‘First of all, I do think it’s fair to question why would U.S. Attorney Weiss be appointed to special counsel. Usually, a special counsel is an outside attorney. Now, it has happened before. Durham came from inside, and the attorney general has the right to do that, but it is odd.’

“Tapper went on to ask why they would stick with the person who was responsible for the ‘colossal failure’ of the Hunter plea deal…

“He also spoke about the mixed messages regarding Weiss’ jurisdiction and whether he already had the necessary power to charge outside of Delaware before he was made a special counsel, recalling that the U.S. attorney had made different claims about his power in private versus in public, according to whistleblowers.

“‘The Justice Department and Weiss denied what the whistleblowers were saying, but this move makes it seem as though, well, maybe the whistleblowers were right. Maybe what they were alleging is true, and he didn’t have the ability to charge whatever he wanted to charge, and now he does. So I do have a lot of questions about that, and I do think some of the political questions being raised by Republicans have merit,’ Tapper said…”

When left-wing CNN begins to ask questions regarding the affairs of Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as the conduct of the Justice Department and the FBI in those matters, then that should tell us something.

 USA Like Nazi Germany?

The Daily Mail wrote on August 11:

“A majority of Republican voters in Iowa believe the pursuit of former President Donald Trump by the FBI and the Department of Justice smacks of Nazi rule in 1930s Germany, according to a new poll  for DailyMail.com. Some 57 percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement: ‘The lawlessness of the persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.’ [73 % of Trump supporters agreed with the statement.]  It comes after months of attacks on the FBI and the Department of Justice by Trump and his allies, who say he is the victim of an attempt to end his presidential campaign…

“Republicans in Iowa… will have a crucial say in selecting the party’s 2024 nomination. It is the first state to pick its preferred candidate next year, and the currents of public opinion will be watched closely until then… The DailyMail.com poll shows Trump retains a tight grip on the race. He is in clear first place with 43 percent support in the state…  Ron DeSantis has lost nine points, putting him on 17 percent… Meanwhile Sen. Tim Scott has surged to 11 percent.”

When the majority of Republican voters feel that the Justice Department and the FBI act like the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, then any confidence by a vast portion of America’s population in those institutions is gone. And we do not even know how many Independents (and Democrats) have similar opinions. What will the consequence be? 

Many propose that the DOJ, the FBI and many other federal agencies must be freed from their internal corruption by reforming them and by getting rid of the bad guys, starting with the very top. Others feel, such as businessman and Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, that these agencies are beyond repair and must be totally shut down.

Really Dangerous US-Iran Deal

Newsmax and The Associated Press wrote on August 13:

“Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted the Biden administration for apparently buying the release of jailed Americans in Iran. Pompeo… was asked about the U.S. working to bring home the jailed Americans via a deal that involves billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets being transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar. ‘It’s really dangerous… for the Gulf nations, it’s dangerous for … Israel.’

“Pompeo said paying for the Americans’ release ‘will build their [Iran’s] economy’ and encourage more hostage-taking. ‘You now have a situation where we have told the Iranians, For every American you take, the Biden administration will provide you with $1 billion,’ Pompeo [said]…

“The U.S.-Iran deal… was announced on Thursday, when Iran moved four of the five Americans from prison to house arrest. The fifth American had already been under house arrest. U.S. and Iranian officials say they believe the agreement could be finalized by mid- to late-September.

“The cash involved represents money South Korea owed Iran for oil purchased before the Trump administration imposed sanctions on such transactions in 2019.

“The U.S. maintains that, once in Qatar, the money will be held in restricted accounts and will only be able to be used for humanitarian goods, such as medicine and food. Those transactions are currently allowed under American sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic over its advancing nuclear program.

“Some people in Iran have disputed the U.S. claim, saying Tehran will have total control over the funds. Qatar has not commented publicly on how it will monitor the disbursement of the money.”

This deal is clearly an incentive for Iran to continue kidnapping and arresting American citizens.

 US Army in Trouble

The Hill wrote on August 11:

“… the military, and especially the Army, is now shrinking… A variety of factors have led to the recruiting crisis…  Disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have dented confidence in military leadership…

“President Joe Biden’s recent executive order authorizing the mobilization of up to 3,000 reserve soldiers to augment U.S. forces deployed to Europe highlighted the unending demands of maintaining an expansive U.S. global military presence… Without significant changes to its force structure or missions, the U.S. Army may be stretched to the breaking point, even though America is not at war.

“The active-duty force will soon be at its smallest duty size since the attack on Pearl Harbor. But unlike the pre-World War II force, today’s Army carries out a host of concurrent missions in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia…

“Shrinkage in the force without commensurate cuts in overseas deployments have led to an exceedingly high peacetime operational tempo, with negative effects on the Army’s readiness for war…

“When Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana in 2006, thousands of the state’s Guardsmen were deployed in Iraq — active-duty Marines had to be hastily dispatched to New Orleans to assist with relief efforts and maintain order. In 2020, Oregon could not use six of its Guard helicopters to fight raging wildfires because they were in Afghanistan…

“America’s Army needs either more soldiers or fewer missions. Given the demographic and societal headwinds hitting military recruiting, a larger force is going to be difficult to recruit for the foreseeable future. The alternative is making difficult, overdue decisions about which deployments are truly necessary for American national security. The Pentagon and its political overseers are resistant to such retrenchment… But perpetuating the status quo threatens a descent into a hollow force…”

The Bible shows that America’s Army will not help the country when it is going to be attacked in the near future.

Germany’s Approach Towards Ukraine

Express wrote on August 14:

“Kyiv’s relentless push to secure the Taurus cruise missile, a high-stakes weapon boasting an impressive range of over 500 kilometres (300 miles), has triggered alarm bells in Berlin. These missiles, packed with firepower and launched from formidable fighter jets like the Tornado, F-15, and F-18, have ignited geopolitical tensions that can no longer be ignored.

“In a rare twist, Germany’s reluctance to heed Kyiv’s call stands in stark contrast to the UK and France, who’ve already dispatched Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles… Across the Atlantic, even the United States has chosen to sit this one out, withholding its own Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) from Ukraine’s eager grasp…

“According to Der Spiegel, the German Defence Ministry is asking Taurus’ manufacturer to integrate programming safeguards to dictate potential targets for these long-range cruise missiles.

“Scholz, the mastermind behind the manoeuvre, said he envisions a future where Ukrainian offensives on Russian soil are nothing more than a fleeting mirage, as the publication revealed.”

Die Welt Online wondered on August 14 what Germany’s strategy and goal towards Ukraine are; and if there is even a strategy.

Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Unsuccessful

Business Insider wrote on August 11:

“The Ukrainian summer counteroffensive began in June and, despite Western allies supplying advanced tanks and weaponry, the country’s recent moves against Russian combatants have resulted in only modest gains — and heavy casualties.

“The New York Times reported morgues in the country are seeing vastly increased fatalities due to the heightened fighting… The total dead in the local morgues is ‘more or less double since the counteroffensive’ started, added. Though Ukraine doesn’t publicly share the total number of casualties it has sustained, Insider reported General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, estimated in February that Ukraine had lost more than 100,000 soldiers since the war began last year… Ukrainian troops are taking heavy damage from old-fashioned wartime tactics, including mines and booby traps, high-tech drone attacks, and advanced weapons systems.

“While the US and other allies have provided formidable battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and massive amounts of ammunition… the modest gains won so far in the summer counteroffensive have prompted Ukrainian troops to abandon Western tactics and strategies in favor of wearing the enemy down with barrages of missiles…”

Ukraine in Trouble

ZeroHedge wrote on August 11:

“It’s long been clear that Ukraine’s armed forces have undergone some significant recruitment problems amid generally low morale as throughout the summer the counteroffensive has stalled and appears failing. There’s also a grim emerging consensus that Ukraine is suffering staggering losses… This week, even one of Kiev’s most ardent supporters and NATO backers – Poland, has said the counteroffensive is likely to fail. Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a fresh Washington Post interview, ‘Does Ukraine have enough weapons to change the balance of the war and get the upper hand?’ And he answered his rhetorical with – ‘Probably, no’…

“A new announcement by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday has further confirmed this pessimistic view of Kiev’s prospects, as the government has fired all heads of military recruitment on concerns of rampant corruption…  Recruiters have apparently been paid handsomely by those of means to look the other way as they avoid conscription…

“Aside from desperately needing more manpower, also at a time the phenomenon of Western mercenaries flocking to Ukraine is a thing of the past, Kiev is also likely concerned with the prior optics of the brutal mobilization by Ukrainian military recruitment officers. As the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet recently reported, ‘Many conscripted men are taken straight off the street by uniformed men.’ The paper gave the following example of such: ‘Most recently in Subcarpathia, a surveillance camera recorded the overreach of the authorities as a man trying to go to a store was kidnapped from his bicycle in broad daylight.’”

The victory of Ukraine over Russia, as had been so dogmatically proclaimed in much of the Western press, is more than doubtful.

“Overwhelming Consensus” on Climate Change “Manufactured”

The New York Post wrote on August 9:

“We are told climate change is a crisis, and that there is an ‘overwhelming scientific consensus.’ ‘It’s a manufactured consensus,’ climate scientist Judith Curry tells me. She says scientists have an incentive to exaggerate risk to pursue ‘fame and fortune.’

“She knows about that because she once spread alarm about climate change. The media loved her when she published a study that seemed to show a dramatic increase in hurricane intensity. ‘We found that the percent of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes had doubled,’ says Curry. ‘This was picked up by the media’…  ‘I was adopted by the environmental advocacy groups and the alarmists and I was treated like a rock star,’ Curry recounts. ‘Flown all over the place to meet with politicians.’

“But then some researchers pointed out gaps in her research — years with low levels of hurricanes. ‘Like a good scientist, I investigated,’ says Curry. She realized that the critics were right. ‘Part of it was bad data. Part of it is natural climate variability.’

“Curry was the unusual researcher who looked at criticism of her work and actually concluded: ‘They had a point.’ Then the Climategate scandal taught her that other climate researchers weren’t so open-minded. Alarmist scientists’ aggressive attempts to hide data suggesting climate change is not a crisis were revealed in leaked emails… It made Curry realize that there is a ‘climate-change industry’ set up to reward alarmism. ‘The origins go back to the . . . UN environmental program,’ says Curry.

“Some United Nations officials were motivated by ‘anti-capitalism. They hated the oil companies and seized on the climate change issue to move their policies along.’… The researchers quickly figured out that the way to get funded was to make alarmist claims about ‘man-made climate change.’ This is how ‘manufactured consensus’ happens.”

It has been observed for a long time that scientists manufacture and manipulate statistics to prove their case for man-made global warming.

US Money Down the Drain?

Ron Paul wrote in his weekly column in the Ron Paul Institute on August 14:

“I am not a big fan of Federal Government disaster relief. Too much of the time the money never gets to those who need it most, and too often Washington’s armies of disaster ‘experts’ are more interested in pushing people around than helping them.

“Nevertheless, it’s hard to look at recent footage of the devastation in Maui and then hear President Biden tell Congress that he needs another $24 billion for Ukraine. How can this Administration continue to justify tens of billions of dollars for this losing war that is not in our interest while the rest of the United States disintegrates?

“Biden’s new $24 billion request comes on top of well over $120 billion already spent to fight the US proxy war on Russia in Ukraine. Heritage Foundation budget expert Richard Stern has done the math and determined that Biden’s spending on the Ukraine war thus far will cost each and every American household $900. How many Americans would rather have those $900 dollars back in their pocket rather than in the pockets of Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, and Ukraine’s oligarchs?

“Recent surveys have shown that a majority of Americans could not afford to cover a sudden $1,000 emergency. Will Americans connect the dots and realize that the reason they can’t find that $1,000 for an emergency is because the neocons have already sent it to Ukraine?

“Ukraine has long been known as among the most corrupt countries on earth and not long ago investigative journalist Seymore Hersh wrote that Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky has embezzled at least $400 million in aid from the American people. Corruption scandals continue to break in Ukraine. Just last week Zelensky fired the heads of all local draft boards for corruption. Some press reports suggest that sales of luxury cars in Ukraine have broken all previous records. I wonder why.

“No wonder the tide of US public opinion is turning against further involvement in the war. Recently CNN found that among all Americans, more than 55 percent are opposed to continued aid to Ukraine. Among Republicans the number opposing more aid to Ukraine rises to three-out-of-four…

“Yet the Biden Administration persists in backing Ukraine even as the US mainstream media is increasingly pointing out the obvious: Ukraine is not winning and cannot win, and continuing to pour money into a losing cause will just result in bankruptcy at home and more dead Ukrainians overseas.

“Last week Newsweek published an article asking, ‘Does Ukraine Have Kompromat on Joe Biden?’ In the article, Northeastern University Professor Max Abrahms wonders out loud whether Biden’s continued support for Ukraine might be related to compromising information held in Kiev about the many Biden family shady business ventures in Ukraine and the region. It is certainly worth considering.

“Meanwhile, the residents of Maui that survived the recent horrific fire will take little comfort knowing that the Biden Administration is more interested in sending their money to Ukraine than in helping them recover.”

Donald Trump stated in a recent interview that Biden is a compromised President.

Maui Wildfires Deadliest in More Than 100 Years

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 13:

“The newly released [death] figure has exceeded that of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California…  The new death toll Saturday came as search teams with cadaver dogs sifted through the ruins of Lahaina, four days after a fast-moving blaze leveled the historic resort town.

“It is projected to be the second-costliest disaster in Hawaii history, behind only Hurricane Iniki in 1992…

“The cause of the fire is still unknown, but residents are puzzled and angered over the lack of warnings. Sirens stationed around the island — intended to warn of impending natural disasters — never sounded. Alerts were sent via cell phones, TV and radio stations, but the reach was limited due to power and cellular outages…

“Experts say many factors must have contributed to the rapid spread of the inferno, such as a dry summer, unchecked growth of flammable non-native plants, the volcanic topography that creates drying down-slope winds, an unusually parched winter, and a hurricane to the southwest.”

There have been numerous incidents in the past where Hawaii’s warning system had failed miserably. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will not visit Maui because they “don’t want to distract” from the relief efforts, Harris said. Finally, Biden spoke out on the disaster in Maui, but apparently forgot the name of the island.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Biased Judge in Trump 2020 Election Case Must Recuse Herself

Breitbart wrote on August 4:

“Appointed to the bench by the Obama administration in 2014, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan will oversee the 2020 election case against Trump. Chutkan previously worked in litigation and white-collar criminal defense at Boies, Schiller, & Flexner, where Hunter Biden and Chutkan were colleagues for five years. During her tenure as a judge, she also oversaw an important case regarding the Russia Hoax.

“‘I don’t believe for one second it’s a coincidence that in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump drew the most partisan, bias judge who is incapable of being fair and neutral,’ said Patel, who is a former House Intelligence Committee aide and principal deputy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

“Patel argues Chutkan is a partisan judge and has no credibility to oversee Trump’s case after she recused herself from overseeing an ongoing case concerning Trump and the Russia hoax in November 2017. ‘If you’re a judge, and you represented one of the parties or your firm represented one of the parties before you, it’s an automatic recusal, full stop,’ he said…

“‘The [Russia hoax] court case was assigned to Judge Chutkan,’ Patel said. ‘And we litigated the case for approximately one month… after about a month of all that heavy litigation, she just shuts down on her own, recuses herself,’ Patel said. ‘She didn’t file an order justifying it. She just does it…  Why would she recuse from Russiagate? Well, it’s because Boies, Schiller, under her tenureship, represented Fusion GPS, the very firm that was suing us before her [court]… She knew that when we filed the lawsuit because it was Fusion who brought the lawsuit, and she allowed it to be litigated in front of her already, violating the canons of ethics and the rule of law about maintaining neutrality…

“‘She cannot be fair, based on her prior employment at a law firm that has literally been one of the most corrupt, legal con artists for the Democrat National Party [and] in the Hillary Clinton Campaign,’ Patel said, ‘All of which was to get Trump during Russiagate and the Steele Dossier, all of it ran through her.’”

Professor Dershowitz said that she must recuse herself, as she is obviously biased. That should be obvious, but we will see what she will do. Trump is also asking for a change of venue as he could not possibly receive a fair trial in Washington DC. That should be obvious too.

2020 Election on Trial?

Newsmax wrote on August 4:

“Former President Donald Trump and his legal advisers see his latest indictment as another opportunity to argue that the 2020 election was stolen from him in favor of President Joe Biden… Trump’s defense team is signaling that it will rebut allegations in the indictment that Trump knew his claims of fraud in the election were false, but that he allegedly took steps to flip the results.

“According to sources close to Trump, he wants to subpoena people about the election while arguing that he won… Some Republican strategists see this plan as problematic, as they say there are more issues to focus on in the 2024 race…

“Meanwhile, Trump attorney Alina Habba said Thursday that Trump’s defense team will show that he believed there were issues with the 2020 election’s results… ‘When somebody wants to say that the 2020 election was perfect and that President Trump has no right to object to it, we’ve got to go show him all the facts, and there’s a lot of facts to show.”

Habba was also quoted as saying this on National Report:

“Trump has every right to question the integrity of the election… He had every right to do so at the time, I think millions and millions of Americans still to this day also share that sentiment that there may have been issues in the 2020 election…

“We’ve seen a lot of facts that result in this continual belief that things were not done exactly appropriately, and the president did what he wanted to do and what he needed to do in the way that he was advised by some … But imagine any politician who feels that that somebody has lied or that there’s been a fraud, not being able to challenge that fraud and what that means for our country. That’s their job, and he was the sole person in the executive branch who had the power to do so…”

As we pointed out last time, special counsel Jack Smith might have opened a Pandora’s Box.

Did House Select Committee Destroy January 6 Documents?

Newsmax wrote on August 9:

“Former President Donald Trump accused the Democrat-led Jan. 6 House Select Committee of ‘illegally’ destroying records and documents… ‘So now that I have full Subpoena Power… it has just been reported that the Unselect January 6th Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs has illegally destroyed their Records and Documents,’ Trump wrote. ‘This is unthinkable… The system is Rigged & Corrupt, very much like the Presidential Election of 2020. We are a Nation in Decline!’

“Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight for the Committee on House Administration, told Fox News that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s partisan Jan. panel, which was comprised of Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans in the previous Congress, failed to adequately preserve documents, data, and video depositions.

“Loudermilk said that he was contacted by a defense attorney, who needed access to key information in one of the video depositions. The committee then realized it did not have the videos he was seeking.”

Nancy Pelosi’s conduct in the matter of the 2020 election deserves some investigation and scrutiny.

How All Criminal Charges Against Trump Could Be Wiped Out

Breitbart wrote on August 3:

“Harvard Law professor emeritus Laurence Tribe told CNN on Thursday that former President Donald Trump could ‘wipe out’ all criminal charges against him, including both state and federal cases if he gets elected to the White House in 2024… Tribe said a Republican president could ‘simply erase’ the charges against Trump if Trump does not win the presidency… ‘Simply appoint an attorney general who dismisses it all.’…

“The fact that Tribe recognized a Trump presidency would ‘wipe out’ all of Trump’s criminal cases is notable because House Democrats consulted with Tribe as they prepared their first articles of impeachment against Trump…”

That Attorney General Merrick Garland [and his special counsel Jack Smith] would be fired under Trump is a foregone conclusion. Tribe also said that Jack Smith’s indictment was brilliant. The truth is, this was a horrible piece of draftsmanship, and there was nothing brilliant about it. A first semester law student could rip (at least some of) it apart. It is an attack on constitutionally protected political free speech. If Trump is convicted (which is the likely outcome in a trial in antagonistic and hostile Washington DC) and the case should not be thrown out by a Court of Appeals and should ever reach the US Supreme Court, it surely would have to be overturned by them.

AG Garland May Face Charges of Obstruction of Justice

Fox News wrote on August 4:

“Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich… believes Attorney General Merrick Garland is in danger of facing charges of his own for ‘directing’ special counsel Jack Smith’s ‘disgustingly political’ assault on former President Donald Trump.

“[Gingrich said:] ‘Look, we have never seen a major political figure as routinely and methodically assaulted as Donald Trump. It’s a sign of how desperate the establishment is. They are terrified that if he’s still standing and in October of 2024, he is going to become the president. And, of course, if he does become the president, all of these people are in jeopardy. Remember, Watergate led to 46 people being convicted. The only Cabinet officer ever to go to jail was Attorney General John Mitchell for obstruction of justice.

‘‘And I am absolutely certain that the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, is in grave danger of being charged with obstruction of justice and with having destroyed the system. And I think the Congress, frankly, should be right now subpoenaing all the documents between Smith and Garland, because I think Garland’s been directing this. I think the timing is weird. As you know, the other night, ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ put up a chart that showed something happens to Hunter, the next two or three days, something happens to Trump… I mean, this is so blatantly, disgustingly political. And it has no business being in the Department of Justice.’”

Please view our new lengthy and detailed StandingWatch program in this context, titled, “IS America Doomed? The Biden and Trump Scandals.”

Federal Judge Comes Out Swinging Against Jack Smith in Document Case

Fox News wrote on August 7:

“The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump delivered multiple blows to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s efforts in a brief Monday. Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida – who is presiding over the case stemming from a Miami grand jury’s June indictment of Trump – denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for sealed filings, striking two from the record. Cannon also requested additional information from prosecutors regarding the continued use of an out-of-state grand jury to investigate the case.

“‘The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view “to comport with grand jury secrecy,” but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement,’ Cannon wrote in the brief, denying the DOJ’s request. ‘Among other topics as raised in the Motion, the response shall address the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district,’ she continued in the brief…”

Trump Not Guiltless

Breitbart wrote on August 7:

“During an interview with NBC News on Monday, 2024 Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that the 2020 election was poorly run, but we had mass mail-in balloting because ‘Trump turned the government over to Fauci, they embraced lockdowns, they did the CARES Act, which funded mail-in ballots across the country. Donald Trump signed that bill that funded the mail ballots that all the Republicans have been so concerned about.’ And that the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story ‘was Donald Trump’s FBI that was working with that’…

“‘…when they changed the rules for COVID, I think that was wrong. I think some of those changes were unconstitutional. When they do mass mail ballots, I think that’s wrong. I think ballot harvesting is wrong… I think the fact that the FBI was working with Facebook and these other tech companies to censor the Hunter Biden story was wrong. And so, I don’t think it was the perfect election. I remember after, a lot of the media was saying, this was the most secure election in history. How could it be the most secure with those millions of mail ballots going out?…’ [Trump] didn’t have control over his own government. … And so, I think all of those issues were very problematic, but, at the end of the day, Donald Trump helped facilitate that whole set of circumstances.’”

Even though clearly prompted by political motives, DeSantis has a point. Especially Trump’s failure to deal with Fauci and his crazy ideas caused great harm to the country.

Four Pinocchios for Lying Joe Biden

Breitbart wrote on August 3:

“The Washington Post‘s fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, gave President Joe Biden four Pinocchios for lying about his son Hunter Biden not making money in China.

“Kessler documented two instances where Biden denied his son had made money in China.

“In an October 22, 2020 presidential debate, Biden told moderator Kristen Welker: ‘My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are you talking about, China. I have not had … the only guy who made money from China is this guy [Donald Trump]. He’s the only one. Nobody else has made money from China.’

“In a September 29, 2020, debate, Trump told Biden, ‘Once you became vice president [Hunter Biden] made a fortune in Ukraine, in China, in Moscow and various other places,’ to which Biden responded, ‘That’s not true.’

“Kessler wrote: ‘But now, nearly three years later, Biden’s assertions have been directly rebutted by Hunter himself. In court testimony last week, the younger Biden acknowledged that he in fact had been paid substantial sums in China — the first official confirmation that this was the case…”

The Ron Paul Institute republished on August 1 the following article by Law Professor Jonathan Turley:

“President Joe Biden has been a regular recipient of ‘Pinocchios’ by the Washington Post for his false statements… Biden is undeterred and regularly repeats false stories from his life… Now, the President has a fresh set of ‘Four Pinocchios’…

“The Post is admitting that Biden has been lying about how his son Hunter never made money from China. It is the latest indication that the protective media wall surrounding Biden is beginning to crumble under the weight of new evidence in the corruption scandal…

“What is curious is that Kessler and the Post waited for Hunter to effectively confess rather than take notice of money transfers and records released by House committees investigating the corruption scandal. The Post and most of the media have taken little observable journalistic interest in independently confirming such payments or benefits. Instead, the media has adopted a largely passive stance and waited for confessions rather than find confirmation…

“Of course, the Post has not been known to be particularly active in independently trying to confirm such benefits [which Joe Biden allegedly received from Hunter’s business deals with foreign associates] absent another Biden admission or confession. As with the clearly false claims that he had no knowledge or involvement in these dealings, the question is now not whether Joe Biden has been lying but why he has been lying.” 

Joe Biden’s blatant denial of Hunter’s receipt of money from China does in fact raise serious questions regarding Joe Biden himself. His continuous lies do not help either.

Kennedy and Trump

American Thinker wrote on August 4:

“Trump’s Achilles heel was allowing himself to be bamboozled into supporting the COVID narrative of the pharmaceutical-medical-globalist complex. Because of his congenital reluctance to issue a mea culpa and admit that he was conned, Kennedy could potentially appeal to this large segment of the electorate… For solid realpolitik reasons Trump avoids attacking Kennedy and is modestly complimentary…

“There will be many disaffected Democrats regardless which candidate secures the nomination. Media and Democratic attacks on Kennedy only help him, similar to Trump… Capturing the Democratic nomination requires that Kennedy overcome the media and the Clinton/Obama machine…

“Kennedy… is a skilled debater, commanding facts, with his finger on the pulse of current existential concerns. No one in his imploding party comes close. No one owns the COVID vaccine debate as he does… Trump currently needs Kennedy more than Kennedy needs Trump…”

An interesting proposal to contemplate.

No Religious Exemption in Connecticut

The Associated Press wrote on August 4:

“A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a 2021 Connecticut law that eliminated the state’s longstanding religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities. The decision comes about a year and a half after a lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit challenging the contentious law…

“‘This decision is a full and resounding affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of Connecticut’s vaccine requirements. Vaccines save lives — this is a fact beyond dispute,’ Democratic Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. ‘The legislature acted responsibly and well within its authority to protect the health of Connecticut families and stop the spread of preventable disease.’

“The plaintiffs, We the Patriots USA Inc. and others, had argued that Connecticut violated religious freedom protections by removing the exemption. The 2021 law, they said, demonstrates a hostility to religious believers and jeopardizes their rights to medical freedom and child rearing. ‘We fully intend to seek review of this decision in the United States Supreme Court, to obtain equal justice for all children — not only in Connecticut, but in every state in the nation,’ Brian Festa, co-founder and vice president of We the Patriots USA Inc., said in a statement.

“He said his group, which focuses on religious and medical freedom, parental rights and other matters, disagrees with the court’s conclusion that removing the exemption does not violate religious freedom under the First Amendment or the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law…

“Connecticut law currently requires students to receive certain immunizations before enrolling in school, yet allows some medical exemptions. Students could seek religious exemptions as well prior to 2021, but lawmakers decided to end that after being concerned by an uptick in exemption requests coupled with a decline in vaccination rates in some schools. The Connecticut General Assembly ultimately passed legislation that eliminated the exemption but grandfathered students in K-12 that had already received one…”

There is nothing reasonable about this terrible decision which, sadly, reflects the policy of so many states in a country which claims religious freedom but is becoming more and more an autocratic dictatorship.

Poland’s Diminishing Support for Ukraine

The Conversation reported on August 4:

“There has been a fundamental shift when it comes to the stance that young Poles think their government should adopt in the war in Ukraine. In 2022, an overwhelming majority of 83 percent argued that the government should support Ukraine — but this number has changed drastically.

“Now, 65 percent of respondents back continuous support for Ukraine, whereas the remaining 34 percent wish for Poland to stay neutral. Clearly, more than one and a half years into the current phase of the conflict and amid fears of other countries being pulled into the war, young people have become more cautious…

“Asked about the type of support that people consider appropriate for Ukraine, our most recent (2023) data shows that only 2 percent of young Poles want the national army to be involved in the Ukraine war. And while 60 percent support offering humanitarian aid, only 28 percent want Poland to offer weapons.”

That even Poland—Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe—has begun to have second thoughts is rather telling.

Germans Unhappy With Political System

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 4:

“If federal elections were held this week, the populist party [AfD] would win 21% of the vote, putting it firmly in second place [after the CDU]. [In a new poll,] Germany’s center-left government [SPD, FDP and the Green] again failed to win a majority… Only one in five respondents said they were satisfied with the work of the federal government…Chancellor Scholz is also becoming increasingly unpopular: Only three out of 10 eligible voters (31%) say they are satisfied with his work, the lowest approval rating since he took office in December 2021…

“Voters are not only dissatisfied with the chancellor and his government, but also with the overall situation in the country. Some 58% say that burdens are not shared fairly in Germany. That feeling has to do with the distribution of wealth, but also with the fact that certain groups in the population feel that their views and interests are not being taken into account enough by the political mainstream… As many as 62% of respondents said politicians focus too much on the interests of those who are wealthy, while 48% think that politicians focus too much on the needs of refugees.

“Despite the fact that the opposition conservative parties are leading in the polls, only 19% said they believe that they would do a better job at solving the country’s problems — in fact, 21% said they would do an even worse job, and 53% said they’d expect a conservative-led government’s overall performance to be similar… The low expectations for a CDU-led federal government correspond to the poor rating of CDU leader Friedrich Merz. Only three out of 10 respondents said they think he is a good party leader, and only 16% said they thought he would make a good chancellor. Perhaps even worse for Merz, only one in three CDU supporters want him to become the next head of government after the general election in 2025…

“The CDU/CSU has been thrown into turmoil by the question of whether the decision to disassociate itself from the far-right AfD should apply at all political levels. This comes after Merz suggested in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF in July that cooperation with AfD representatives on a local level was sensible common practice. He walked his comments back the following day in response to an immediate backlash, including from figures within his own party.

“Overall, 64% of those surveyed for the Deutschlandtrend poll said they think it is right for the CDU to rule out cooperation with the AfD in principle, while 29% are open to considering it. However, there are considerable differences when the western and eastern German states are considered separately.

“While two-thirds of eligible voters in western Germany welcome the CDU’s official stance of rejecting cooperation with the AfD, in eastern Germany, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), only half of the eligible voters agree. There, the AfD is the strongest party, polling at over 30%.

“Some 70% of all respondents called for more pragmatism: They say that support of individual AfD motions in the parliaments of cities, municipalities and districts should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“In eastern Germany, as many as 81% of respondents said they were in favor of more pragmatism, compared with 67% in western Germany. Nationwide, it is only Green supporters (51%) where a majority say that all AfD motions should be rejected on principle.”

Germany is in chaos, due to a lack of true leadership. All seem to act as proverbial politicians… without any strong convictions and without any backbone. But this will end soon when the “right man” shows up.

Germany in Deep Financial Trouble

Express wrote on August 8:

“Germany, once regarded as the powerhouse of the European economy, is grappling with severe economic challenges that are leaving a profound impact on its social fabric. The nation’s economic struggles have manifested in a distressing rise in poverty rates, increased reliance on food banks, and a worrying decline in industrial output, particularly within the renowned car manufacturing sector.

“Recent data reveals that more than two million Germans are now dependent on foodbanks for their daily sustenance… Furthermore, approximately 14 million Germans, equivalent to one in six of the population of 88 million, are classified as living in poverty... Amid these challenges, official economic forecasts point toward a recession in Germany this year.”

All the while, enormous amounts of money are being spent on ridiculous “Green” projects and on assisting Ukraine militarily.

Fear of War in Germany

Bild Online wrote on August 4:

“Since Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, the number of conscientious objectors in the Bundeswehr has increased fivefold! Background: In the case of a partial or general mobilization in the event of tension or defense, ALL men between the ages of 18 and 59 could be drafted. THAT apparently scares even soldiers.

“In the German Basic Law, Article 4, Paragraph 3, it says: ‘No one may be forced into military service against his conscience.’ A response from the Federal Government to a small question from the Left Group now shows: More and more are invoking this law – there is a trend towards objection…

“But when do German soldiers actually have to fear being mobilized for a defensive mission? The Bundestag must decide with a two-thirds majority that there is a ‘stress situation’ (“Spannungsfall”). Meaning: increased military alert and general compulsory military service for men up to the age of 60. This is a preliminary stage of the ‘defense case’ (“Verteidigungsfall”).

“The defense case can also occur if the Federal Republic is attacked with armed force [by the enemy; or when such an armed attack is “imminent”]. Then the authority to command the armed forces [of Germany] is transferred to the Federal Chancellor. So far this has remained a theoretical scenario: the stress situation or the defense case have never been announced.”

Sadly, this scenario will become all-too-real pretty soon.

Germany Hesitates to Supply Arms to Ukraine

Focus wrote on August 5:

“In May, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Berlin after a long time—a symbolic visit to show that Ukraine and Germany are now putting their tensions over arms shipments behind them. But little has happened since then. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) promised a comprehensive weapons package worth 2.4 billion euros at his meeting with Selenskyj in May of this year. But until today, this promise has hardly been fulfilled…

“The list of delivered weapons… shows sobering numbers. So far, only a few of the promised weapons have arrived in Ukraine. Only ten of 110 Leopard 1 tanks, twelve of 18 Cheetahs, an air surveillance radar and 850 rounds of artillery ammunition were delivered. Non-lethal weapons such as reconnaissance drones, air surveillance radars and tankers have also not received so far…

“It is also particularly annoying for Kiev that commitments for weapons have apparently been withdrawn…

“Germany also remains hesitant with regard to new types of weapon systems… Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and his party colleague Ralf Stegner continue to reject a delivery [of German Taurus missiles] in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict with Russia. Taurus missiles have an enormous range and could theoretically hit targets on Russian territory. Ukraine had repeatedly pledged to only use the weapons to defend Ukrainian territories.”

Germany is repeating an all-too-familiar pattern of unreliability.

EU a Failed Project?

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 6:

“Germany’s far-right AfD on Sunday derided the EU as a ‘failed project’ during a party conference in the eastern German city of Magdeburg.

“A text adopted by hundreds of party delegates at the event said the bloc ‘completely failed’ on issues such as climate and immigration. The party also said it does not support the Euro as a currency.  

“However, the text did not urge Germany to leave the EU. The AfD also did not call for the bloc to be dissolved entirely, as suggested by an earlier party draft in June.

“The AfD rather wishes to establish ‘a federation of European nations, a new European economic and interest community that preserves the sovereignty of member states.’

“The party conference this weekend was tasked with preparing a program for next year’s European Parliament elections. Last month, the AfD selected EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah as its top EU election candidate. Krah, an incumbent lawmaker in the European Parliament, has called the AfD ‘the most exciting right-wing party’ in Europe.

“The AfD’s deliberations on its EU strategy come as the anti-immigration party rises in support among the German population. The party has capitalized on rising inflation in Germany as well as higher energy costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

The AfD’s switch in policy towards the EU is interesting. Even though the call for an abandonment of the euro will not come to fruition, the call for greater independence of EU member states might be answered, at least to an extent and for a while, until power and authority is being transferred to “the beast.” Daniel 2:42-43 reads: “… the kingdom [of Europe] shall be partly strong and partly fragile… they [ten core nations of Europe] will not adhere to one another…”

American Anger at Europe

Die Welt wrote on August 9:

“If US citizens want to travel to Europe in the future, they have to register online beforehand – and pay eight dollars for it. Many Americans are angry, others are in a real Oktoberfest panic. The USA has had comparable – and more expensive – rules for travelers from the EU for 15 years…

“They are venting their anger on social networks. Some speak of a ‘deterrent‘ by the EU, while others speak of ‘expensive insolence’.

“The excitement seems so great that ETIAS has already arrived in the US election campaign. Ex-President Donald Trump has already announced that if he is re-elected, he will not allow his compatriots to pay to enter the EU… ‘We give them everything, including military support and trade, and now we are supposed to pay to go there.’ Europeans have no respect for the United States, Trump continues…

“To register, travelers have to pay a fee of seven euros (equivalent to around eight dollars) and provide some personal information. In the US, in addition to the costs, there are also concerns about the latter…

“Nile Gardiner, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, even described the new EU program as ‘Orwellian’ – in reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 about a totalitarian surveillance state…

“This week showed again that the United States is not squeamish when it comes to entry from EU countries. The US authorities have severely restricted the visa exemption for Hungary. Last week, the ESTA validity period for Hungarian passport holders was reduced from two years to one year, and an ESTA permit is only valid for single entry…

“Some Americans have already drawn their own conclusions from the new EU rules. They no longer want to travel to Europe as a protest, as Jeffery Lawnicki writes on Instagram: ‘Who wants to visit a garbage dump like Europe?‘”

The deterioration of the EU-USA relationship will continue drastically.

Right To Cash

The Associated Press wrote on August 4:

“Austria’s… Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Friday that ‘more and more people are concerned that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria.’…  ‘People in Austria have a right to cash,’ Nehammer said.

“While payments by card and electronic methods have become increasingly common in many European countries, Austria and neighboring Germany remain relatively attached to cash. The government says 47 billion euros ($51 billion) per year are withdrawn from ATMs in Austria, a country of about 9.1 million people.

“Protecting cash against supposed threats has been a demand of the far-right opposition Freedom Party, which has led polls in Austria in recent months. The country’s next election is due in 2024…

“The chancellor’s proposal, according to his office, involves a ‘constitutional protection of cash as a means of payment,’ ensuring that people can still pay with cash, and securing a ‘basic supply’ of cash in cooperation with Austria’s central bank. Austria is one of 20 countries that are part of the euro area. Nehammer said he has instructed Finance Minister Magnus Brunner to work on the proposal and plans to hold a round table with the ministries concerned, finance industry representatives and the central bank in September.”

The very thought that people might be prevented from paying in cash is abhorrent and disgusting—and worthy of a manipulating, controlling and suppressing dictatorship.

The Problems With Electric Cars

1945 wrote on August 4:

“In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom dictated that by 2035, all new cars and trucks sold in the state must be fossil-fuel-free. Electric vehicles, or EVs, are to be the new king of the road…

“Almost every EV battery requires cobalt—a rare and expensive mineral found mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The African country is by far the world’s largest producer… The DRC is also rich in other natural resources such as copper, zinc, coltan, cassiterite, gold, bauxite, diamond, oil, and gas. Yet it is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with a gross national income of approximately $550 per person as measured in U.S. dollars.

“The Congolese people have seen little benefit from these immense natural resources, which have been exploited for many decades, particularly by… China, as well as its own government. Not only are miners, including children, essentially working as slaves, risking their lives. Mining for these natural resources is an extremely dangerous endeavor, one that kills up to 2,000 illegal miners a year… Yet, no one, particularly Governor Gavin Newsom, wants to talk about this. 

“Although far behind the Congo, Russia and China are also in the top ten list of producers, raising geopolitical concerns around this valuable mineral. While China is at the bottom of the list, producing only 2,200 MT, the country leads the world in refined cobalt production at 70 percent of the total global supply with most of the raw material coming from the Congo…

“China is also the top consumer of cobalt with most of it used to supply the rechargeable battery industry. The push for EVs drives the U.S. increasingly into the arms of the CCP. While some companies have created batteries without cobalt, these have not proven to provide the necessary energy to power a car for any significant distance…

“Currently, the Lucid Air is the car that can go the farthest on a single charge – 516 miles or approximately the distance from San Diego to San Francisco. The car costs $139,650. The Tesla S Model will take you 405 miles on a single charge, or about the distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco and the vehicle sells to the tune of almost $90,000. 

“The most reasonably priced EVs… like the Chevy Bolt (which is set to be discontinued to make room for other electric vehicle models from Chevy) or the Nissan Leaf, which run between $26,000 and $30,000 – have a maximum range closer to 230 miles which, if driving at 65mph is approximately 3.5 hours. Who drives at 65mph on an open freeway?… This is before, like any battery, the cells lose their maximum charging capacity, which will decrease maximum driving distances…

“Lithium-ion batteries are toxic and can cause destructive fires that spread quickly, particularly when they are stored together. Then there’s the issue of charging stations and availability… It typically takes anywhere between 6 to 12 hours to charge an EV using a Level 2 charger…”

The push for electric cars by the green Woke culture seems to be a rather ineffective, costly and perhaps even dangerous idea.

Biden Administration Concedes No Evidence Behind Recommendation for 6 COVID Booster Shots a Year

Southern Maryland Online wrote on August 8:

“President Joe Biden’s administration concedes that there is no scientific evidence to support an apparent recommendation to receive as many as six COVID-19 booster shots in a year. After Health Secretary Xavier Becerra [an attorney with no medical degrees], a Biden appointee, wrote in a social media post on Nov. 29, 2022, that people should get vaccinated ‘if it’s been over 2 months since your last dose,’ the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents supporting the statements.

“The watchdog organization then sued after the administration didn’t comply with timelines laid out in the law. FGI asked for, among other documents: ‘Any scientific support relied on by Secretary Becerra when approving or issuing the tweet recommending that all Americans receive a booster shot every two months’ and ‘any study, synopsis, or similar statement or document of scientific, academic, or government research on whether a bi-monthly booster shot will effectively prevent the transmission or susceptibility to COVID-19 and known active variants as of November 2022.’

“It also asked for internal communications regarding Mr. Becerra’s statements. In a new response, the government said it had no evidence to support Mr. Becerra’s recommendation. ‘The department reviewed 1,263 pages of potentially responsive records captured in the agency’s search for this FOIA request. After a careful review of these records, I determined the 1,263 pages were not relevant to your request,’ Alesia Williams, an official in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), told FGI.

“‘The lack of a single record supporting Secretary Becerra’s bold public health recommendation for six COVID boosters a year is a startling development,’ Pete McGinnis, a spokesman for FGI, said in a statement. ‘It is tremendously irresponsible for the government’s chief health official to fire off tweets recommending frequent injections of a new vaccine booster apparently based on no academic or scientific support,’ Mr. McGinnis added. ‘How can the public be assured that the agency is ‘following the science’ on other important public health matters when it demonstrates such clear disregard for basic scientific integrity standards on an issue as important as COVID vaccine shots?’”

This ongoing propaganda by the Biden Administration is truly alarming.

A World Deceived?

The Dossier wrote on August 1:

“Anthony Fauci is a worldwide celebrity and has taken up a prestigious series of appointments at Georgetown University and elsewhere. Bill Gates and the gang are jet setting around the world preaching the gospel of the Climate Hoax Church… Most of the appointees to the Trump and Biden coronavirus task forces have long since cashed out and laundered their credentials through the revolving door and into the BioTech/Big Pharma space…

“So it shouldn’t come as much as a surprise that they’re trying to restart the party to attempt another series of grand slams. The Pharma-sponsored corporate media is once more spreading the fear hype. ‘Time to bring [masks] out again especially as the school season starts,’ read the MSNBC headline Tuesday morning. An entire segment on Tuesday from ABC’s Good Morning America was dedicated to tracking supposed increasing hospitalizations from coronavirus infections, warning that the numbers are ‘on the rise.’

“… the bad guys of the Covid hysteria era never faced any consequences for the human rights atrocities they committed since 2019. And in all likelihood, they probably never will…

“Coronavirus hysteria ended because enough human beings became educated to the reality that the ‘response’ to the ‘pandemic’ was wildly overblown… It’s the same reason why Pfizer and Moderna stock is crashing…

“The problem occurred because it took too many people way too long to realize that humanity had been bamboozled by power hungry tyrants… When the next big power grab arrives, we should hope for much more courage and bravery than last time around.”

Note the next article as well.

Climate Lockdowns?

Report 24 wrote on July 31:

“Klaus Schwab’s daughter Nicole Schwab obviously follows the example of her father. At an event, she indicated that the Covid crisis had shown that radical change is possible if there is enough panic. The best conditions for a Great Reset: Will climate lockdowns follow soon after the Covid lockdowns? The desire to establish a globalist dictatorship including the dystopian ‘Great Reset’ is obviously in the blood.

“The WEF [World Economic Forum] makes no secret that Covid-19 has been used as a test run for a potential climate dictatorship… Nicole Schwab [a ‘WEF Executive Committee member’] takes a similar stance… she sees Covid as a ‘tremendous opportunity’ that has shown that radical change is achievable when people are scared. This could be used to launch the WEF’s ‘Great Reset’ agenda…

“If you take the political measures of the Corona period as a model, the fear arises that globalists are actually flirting with dictatorial ‘climate lockdowns’. That would mean severe restrictions being imposed on individuals and businesses to reduce carbon emissions. These measures could include travel restrictions, strict regulations on energy use and consumption in general, and even temporary closures of industries considered to be harmful to the environment. Globalist advocates argue that strict action is needed to prevent catastrophic consequences of supposedly man-made climate change…”

Too far-fetched to be true? Perhaps not!

“Preparing” For the Next Pandemic

Life Stite News reported on August 7:

“U.K. scientists at a high-security government laboratory have begun developing vaccines for a potential future pandemic. 

“Two-hundred scientists are currently working on vaccines against an unknown ‘Disease X’ at the Porton Down laboratory in Wiltshire, England… Bird flu is considered the most likely candidate to cause the ‘next pandemic’ by the scientists working at the lab. They are furthermore developing vaccines against a potential outbreak of monkeypox and hantavirus, a disease that primarily occurs in rodents. 

“The laboratory reportedly successfully developed ‘the world’s first vaccine against Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a disease that’s spread by ticks and has a fatality rate of 30%.’ The tropical disease is viewed as a potential global pandemic threat as it is allegedly becoming more common in Europe…

“Since the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 and the subsequent draconian lockdown policies, leading globalists like Bill Gates have been continuously warning about the ‘next pandemic.’

“During a 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) panel discussion fittingly titled ‘100 Days to Outrace the Next Pandemic,’ former British prime minister Tony Blair predicted that vaccines for future pandemics will require ‘multiple shots.’ Blair called for digital infrastructure ‘to know who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t been.’ A few months later, the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a partnership to create a ‘global system’ of vaccine passports built on the EU’s ‘system of digital COVID-19 certification.’ 

“Moreover, the head of a ‘nudge unit’ employed by the U.K. government during the COVID crisis said in a recent interview that lockdowns would be accepted by the population in future pandemics because people already ‘know what the drill is.’ 

“Professor David Halpern from the Behavioural Insights Team (the ‘nudge unit’) admitted that his agency used psychological manipulation to prime the population and defended the use of fear-based messaging ‘in extreme circumstances.’ He said that visual prompts and catchy slogans can be used to prime people if they ‘are wrongly calibrated.’”

Satan is the ruler of this world, which is also shown in the next article.

Persecution and Prosecution of Christians in the West

The Christian Post wrote on August 6:

“Don’t be surprised if one day you are on trial for quoting the Bible on social media. If that seems unthinkable, you should know it’s already happening to some Christians in other parts of the world… Christians have become accustomed to getting banned (or shadowbanned) on social media for our beliefs, but it seems strange to think that one day we could be arrested for quoting the Bible. 

“But that’s what happened to Päivi Räsänen, a member of parliament in Finland. She has been an elected official since 1995. She was the chair of the Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2015, she was minister of the interior from 2011 to 2015, and she is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with her husband, who serves as a pastor. 

“In June 2019, Päivi tweeted a picture of Bible verses and questioned her denomination’s partnership with an LGBT Pride event. The prosecutor general in Finland opened an investigation against her. In April 2021, the prosecutor announced three charges of hate speech against Päivi — one charge for the tweet, a second charge for a 2004 pamphlet on sexuality for her church, and a third charge for a 2019 radio debate on sexuality.

“Alliance Defending Freedom International supported her defense at a district court, and in a unanimous ruling in March 2022, the court dismissed all charges against her. However, the prosecutor appealed the ruling. So on August 22nd, Päivi will stand trial again.

“It is tempting to think this could never happen in America. Freedom of speech is protected by law in this country. But Päivi can say the same about her country. The constitution in Finland protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

“Therefore it is Päivi today, but it could be your pastor tomorrow. If a politician can be charged with hate speech for quoting the Bible, pastors can receive the same charge. If politicians can be charged for that, less powerful people like you can also be charged for quoting the Bible on social media.

“Last week, police officers in Wisconsin arrested several young Christians for preaching the gospel at a public drag queen event that targeted children. In June, the House of Representatives in Michigan passed House Bill 4474, a bill that would make speech that ‘causes the victims to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened’ a hate crime. Speech against a person’s ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity or expression’ are listed as hate crimes.

“Western nations like America and Finland founded their legal system on Christian ethics, but now they are radically committed to LGBT ideology and opposed to their founding values. Just as Christian theology shaped the West’s legal system, LGBT ideology is reshaping it. LGBT ideology cannot co-exist with Christian theology… Therefore, it suppresses Christianity through persecution. It arrests Christians for preaching the Gospel. It criminalizes speech against homosexuality and transgenderism.”

The LGBT ideology is condemned in the Bible.

Building the Third Temple

Israel 365 News wrote on August 4:

“Channel 12, a Hebrew-language news site, published an article on Sunday accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of allocating resources to a project aimed at building a third temple on the Temple Mount. The article blames Christians for bringing red heifers to Israel.

“The Channel 12 article cites a project by Boneh Israel, an organization that brings together Jews and Christians. In cooperation with the Temple Institute, Boneh Israel successfully imported five red calves in September to Israel from Texas for the purpose of raising them for the Biblical commandment.  

“The red heifer was the main component in the Biblically mandated process of ritual purification for impurity that results from proximity or contact with a dead body. Because the elements needed for this ceremony have been lacking since the destruction of the Second Temple, all Jews today are considered ritually impure, thereby preventing the return of the Temple service… [Not all religious authorities in Israel agree with this conclusion, but many do. And even though a red heifer is not required in the Bible for the building of the third temple, many rabbis think that it is.]

“The article claimed that the Netanyahu government is complicit. ‘A few years ago, the Jerusalem Ministry submitted a design proposal for the construction of the Mount of Olives Promenade, and officials who were involved in the planning claim that its route is intended to serve, among other things, the future ceremony of burning the cow,’ the article wrote, also blaming the Ministry of Agriculture for complicity by issuing permits for importing the red calves…

“The article also noted that the Minister for Jerusalem and Heritage, Nathaniel Isaac attended the ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport when the calves arrived, citing this as proof that Netanyahu’s government is paving the way for the Third Temple.

“The article quoted Dr. Tomer Persico, a Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, who claimed that Christians are involved in the project in order to help bring about the ‘Temple of the Antichrist’. ‘The Antichrist, the “Satan” one might say, needs to come here and defile the Temple,’ notes Persico…

“The Ministry of Heritage responded to Channel 12 by stating that the project did not receive funding from the government… ‘The Director General of the Ministry participated in the ceremony of their arrival privately and during the tenure of the previous government. The plan for the promenade on the Mount of Olives was intended for tourism purposes and not for the benefit of the Red Cow fire.’

“The Ministry of Agriculture stated in response:  “An import license for the source is granted as long as the country is approved for the type of import requested. The US has been approved for this for about a year. The calves mentioned in the article were imported for breeding purposes, and met all the import conditions required by the ministry.’

“The article raised an uproar among the Arab media. Al Jazeera cited Dr. Saleh Lutfi, ‘a researcher in Jewish, Zionist, and political affairs,’ as saying that in light of the current Palestinian and regional circumstances, the Netanyahu government [thinks] the time is ripe to ‘realize the myth of building the alleged “Third Temple”… All parties in the government coalition… agree among themselves on the need to continue preparations… for the construction of the Temple, the preparation of priests’ clothing, the raising of the red cow, and the strengthening of the position of the Chief Rabbi,’ Lufti wrote.

“He went on to claim that the idea of rebuilding the Temple ‘has become rooted even among large segments of the Israeli secular and liberal movement, as well as among the circles of the so-called Jewish Zionist left.’

“Despite the preparations and the allocation of budgets, Lufti reasoned that the Netanyahu government is not currently building the Temple in the courtyards of the Temple Mount, pointing out that this would be ‘a suicidal step for the Israeli entity, which would ignite a religious uprising in historic Palestine, taking into account that it will spread to the Arab and Islamic worlds, which will expose the region to a religious war… The temple includes a biblical council (Sanhedrin) as well, deciding and prosecuting according to Jewish religious provisions, and paves the way for the preparation of the king, or the so-called chief rabbi, who does not necessarily rule in a democratic manner.’

“Palestinian Shehab News reported that the deputy director of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, Najeh Bakirat, ‘confirmed that the occupation government adopted the project to build the Temple in the place of Al-Aqsa, to make Jerusalem a Jewish capital…through several steps and nonstop violations against the mosque.’”

Netanyahu’s position regarding the Third Temple has been quite ambiguous for a long time. We wonder what is really going on behind the scenes. You might want to listen to our StandingWatch program from 2018, titled, ‘Netanyahu’s Announcement of a Third Temple?”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

More Evidence Against President Joe Biden?

The Daily Mail wrote on July 31:

“Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer told Congress in bombshell testimony the ‘Biden brand’ helped Ukrainian firm Burisma from going bankrupt and revealed Joe was on the phone at least 20 times while his son was talking with foreign associates. Republicans claim Archer’s testimony added to mounting evidence that the then-Vice President was involved in Hunter’s overseas deals that raked in millions from nations including China and Romania.  Democrats claimed the phone calls were innocent and did not involve business. 

“Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., confirmed Archer told the House Oversight Committee that Joe had been on speakerphone multiple times while his son was talking with business partners – but insisted they were talking about ‘niceties’ such as the weather…

“Oversight member Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told DailyMail.com in an interview Archer testified that ‘the Bidens were in the actual business of influence peddling’… claiming that the 20 phone conversations Archer referred to were directly about business deals…

“But Archer is facing legal troubles of his own and is expected to go to prison shortly. He was sentenced to one year and a day in prison in February 2022 for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars, in connection with the issuance of $60 million in bonds…

“Archer, 48, and Hunter both graduated from Yale and were friends for decades. Hunter has reportedly described Devon as his ‘best friend in business.’…

“Archer testified that Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi [and] owner Nikola Zlochevsky put ‘constant pressure’ on Hunter in 2015 to get his father to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma… In March 2016, Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid to Ukraine if Shokin was not fired for corruption…”

Shortly thereafter, Shokin was fired. The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.

More Criminal Charges Against Trump

Fox News wrote on August 1:

“Fox News correspondent David Spunt reported… that Trump had been indicted on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

“[Professor] Turley [explained] that special counsel Jack Smith might be ‘yielding to his weakness’ with the indictment. ‘[Smith] may be stretching the law a bit… Jack Smith has a reputation for stretching criminal statutes beyond the breaking point. He went after [former Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell] and secured a conviction there. He was unanimously overturned because he just stretched the law too far.’…

“Host Jesse Watters… expressed incredulity that it appears to relitigate claims of election fraud in 2020 in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Michigan. Watters quipped that Democrats might not want to go back down the road of defending the ‘integrity’ of the election system in Philadelphia…

“Trump has repeatedly claimed Pence had the authority to send the elector slates back to the state legislatures under the Electoral Count Act of 1887… [Former New York federal prosecutor Andy] McCarthy… suggested that no matter how ‘frivolous,’ such machinations, [they] are likely protected speech… ‘it was something that [Trump] was allowed to rely on’…”

Real Clear Politics wrote on August 1:

“[Professor] Jonathan Turley on Tuesday told FOX News host Sean Hannity that… ‘This is a free speech killing indictment. There’s no way around it. I write a great deal in academia in the free-speech area and I [have] rarely seen a more chilling filing by the Department of Justice…  And I have to tell you, this indictment is really [a] sad moment for me… It basically just says that we think Trump is lying that he actually didn’t believe this. I can’t tell you how faciously ridiculous this claim is…’”

Breitbart wrote on August 1:

“Turley said Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump ‘basically just accuses him of disinformation. This is a disinformation indictment’ and charges “many” things that are protected by the First Amendment…’”

CNBC wrote on August 1:

“An attorney who is representing former President Donald Trump in his latest federal criminal indictment vowed to use the charges to ‘re-litigate every single issue in the 2020 election in the context of this litigation.’ The case gives Trump ‘an opportunity that he has never had before, which is to have subpoena power since January 6 in a way that can be exercised in federal court,’ attorney John Lauro said in a Fox News interview.”

In the 45-page indictment, it was alleged about 50 times regarding election fraud that Trump made false statements which he knew were false. With these accusations, Jack Smith has opened up a Pandora’s box as Trump will undoubtedly try to litigate or relitigate the question on the merits whether his statements regarding a “rigged election” were false and whether he knew that they were false. The underlying question is also whether a person can even be criminally prosecuted for conduct while in the office of the Presidency, and whether his statements are constitutionally protected as free speech and therefore immune from criminal prosecution. In addition, note the next article.

npr wrote on August 1:

“… one count of conspiracy against rights refers to Trump and his co-conspirators alleged attempts to ‘oppress, threaten and intimidate’ people in their right to vote in an election. The charge of ‘conspiracy against rights’ goes back to the Civil War era. It was passed after the Civil War as a way to stop members of the Ku Klux Klan and other similar organizations from intimidating, harassing and outright terrorizing Black voters especially in the South. This law was part of the Enforcement Act, passed between 1868 and 1870…”

As can be clearly seen, this law does not remotely apply to Trump’s alleged conduct.

The article continued:

“The case [against Trump] has been assigned to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan [who] stood out for her tough punishment [and “the hardest line against Jan. 6 defendants of any judge serving on Washington’s federal trial court”] for Jan. 6 rioters. In at least seven cases… Chutkan imposed harsher penalties than what federal prosecutors sought for those rioters.”

Chutkan was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama.

Reactions from Republicans

Breitbart wrote on August 1:

“Republican officials blasted the Justice Department’s January 6 probe and the fresh indictment of former President Donald Trump, expressing support for Trump in the face of ‘serial election interference.’… Republican members slammed Smith’s ‘political witch hunt’ targeting ‘every one of his supporters.’

“House Republican Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) released a statement on ‘the disgraceful non-stop witch hunt by Biden’s corrupt DOJ against President Trump,’ calling Tuesday ‘yet another dark day in America’ as Biden continues to ‘weaponize’ his ‘corrupt’ Justice Department against his leading political opponent:  ‘Less than 24 hours ago, Congress heard testimony from Hunter Biden’s longtime business partner that Joe Biden joined Hunter‘s business calls over 20 times. This directly contradicts Biden’s lie that he never discussed business with his son. Today’s sham indictment of Donald Trump is yet another desperate attempt to distract attention away from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden‘s direct involvement in his family’s illegal influence peddling scheme — one of the greatest political corruption scandals in history.’

“According to Stefanik, Trump ‘had every right under the First Amendment to correctly raise concerns about election integrity in 2020.’…

“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) highlighted how people have recently been informed that Hunter Biden ‘received money from China (contradicting President Biden’s claim),’ that Biden ‘spoke with Hunter’s business associates over 20 times (contradicting what Biden previously claimed),’ and that Biden’s DOJ ‘tried to secretly give Hunter broad immunity and admitted the sweetheart deal was unprecedented.’… he charged that ‘Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJ’s attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump.’…

“‘Let’s be clear about what’s happening: Biden’s DOJ is cutting sweetheart deals for Hunter to cover for the Biden Family’s influence peddling schemes while at the same time trying to persecute his leading political opponent,’ wrote House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) as he deemed it ‘an outrageous abuse of power.’…

“‘When you drain The Swamp, The Swamp fights back,’ wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). ‘President Trump did nothing wrong!’…

“‘It’s not shocking that every time the Biden crime family has evidence surface (FD-1023), or a congressional hearing that exposes further corruption and abuses of power, that the weaponized DoJ indicts his top political opponent (Pres. Trump),’ wrote Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL)…

“‘Democrats would rather destroy America than see Donald Trump in the White House again,’ wrote Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN)…”

And many more voiced their disgust with Smith’s indictment. Also, Fox News wrote on August 1:

“Reacting to the charges, a Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital [that] ‘the lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes.’”

Where is America heading?

More Charges Against Trump in the Document Case

Breitbart wrote on July 27:

“Special Counsel Jack Smith on Thursday (one day after Hinter Biden’s “sweetheart plea deal” fell apart) brought new charges against former President Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago White House documents case. Smith charged Trump with one count of willful retention of national defense documents and two counts of obstruction. Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, who was previously charged in the first indictment, also received two new obstruction-related charges.

“The superseding indictment also charged Carlos De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s head of maintenance, with altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a document, making false statements, and conspiracy to obstruct justice…

“With the additional charges, Trump is now facing 40 counts in the criminal case.

“Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung blasted the U.S. Department of Justice for the new charges, calling it a ‘continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him… Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden…’

“Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial in this case for next May, just months before the 2024 presidential election.”

In a related article, Breitbart wrote on July 27:

“‘This is harassment. This is election interference,’ Trump said when asked to respond to the superseding indictment and additional charges. ‘I’m protected by the Presidential Records Act totally. It shouldn’t even be a case. It’s not a criminal case. Where’s Biden with all the documents? He’s got 20 times, 30 times the documents I have, and he has not made it easy for them either. He has been hiding boxes. They’re sending boxes to Chinatown… and yet China is paying them millions of dollars. You explain that one. You don’t even hear about it. All you hear about is Trump. No, this is a two-tier system of injustice. That’s what we have. We have a sick country… We have a failing nation and it’s a very sad thing to watch.’…

“Trump also told Breitbart News that if elected president again—he is currently the leading GOP candidate for the White House—he would fire Smith. Trump also cited failed cases Smith’s office has brought against other politicians from both political parties… ‘He’s destroyed a lot of lives… He went after Christians… What he’s done is just horrible. The abuse of power—it is prosecutorial misconduct.’…

“Trump said he thinks history will remember this all as an ‘embarrassment’ for Democrats and for the nation… Trump said he believes the public sees it his way, which is why he says his poll numbers keep rising—in both the primary and the general…”

Trump denied all charges and said he will continue to run, even if he were convicted and sentenced. Questions were raised in the media whether he could pardon himself once he was elected President—a question not addressed in the Constitution. It was also pointed out that if he were to do so, it would be very difficult to challenge this, because, for one reason, who would even have standing to do so in a Court of Law?

GOP Members Outraged by Biden’s “Justice” Department

The New York Post wrote on July 28:

“The three new charges stacked against Donald Trump have left members of the GOP enraged over the timing a day after Hunter Biden’s probation-only plea deal fell apart. ‘It’s so brazen right now, what they’re doing,’ Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Fox News… ‘It is really a subversion of the rule of law…’

“Hawley said the Department of Justice has begun ‘charging random people’… hinting that the new charges were meant to take attention off the first son. ‘Is it any coincidence that the DOJ rushes to add these new indictments today, after the Hunter debacle…

“The president’s son pleaded not guilty to federal tax and gun charges following the bombshell ruling by the judge, opening the door for the possibility of additional charges in the future — such as for allegedly working as an unregistered foreign agent.

“Hunter Biden admitted during the hearing he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Chinese Communist Party-backed company— contradicting President Biden’s claims that his family never ‘made money from China.’

“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the charges brought forth by the Democrats ‘a disgrace’… ‘I think Merrick Garland should be impeached and removed from office for allowing the Department of Justice to be turned into a partisan hammer to attack the political enemies of the White House,’ Cruz said of the attorney general…

“Fellow Republican lawmakers have also begun ringing the bell that the indictment is being used as a distraction to benefit the Biden family. ‘The American people understand that Joe Biden and his administration are engulfed in one of the biggest political corruption scandals of all time,’ wrote House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in a statement shared on Twitter. ‘It is no coincidence that the day after a federal judge throws out Hunter Biden’s corrupt, sweetheart plea bargain, Biden’s weaponized [Department of Justice] continues its witch hunt against President Trump,’ she added. ‘Our Republic is in peril, our justice system is broken.’…”

The Justice Department’s blatant witch hunt against Donald Trump and the appalling protection of Joe Biden are continuing…

What is particularly shocking about the Hunter Biden sweetheart plea deal is that the prosecution and the defense attorneys reportedly tried to hide the immunity clause in an attachment (dealing with the gun charge), which was allegedly given to the judge on the day of the hearing (not before) with the apparent hope that the judge would not even read it and sign off on the deal.

It will remain to be seen whether the judge who has given the parties leave to amend the documents, will ultimately sign off on them, as some scholars have already suggested that she would.  Some have even expressed their fear that the immunity clause will be removed from the written documentation, but a secret verbal understanding between the prosecution and Hunter Biden’s attorneys will be reached to the effect that no further charges against Hunter will be brought, while claiming that investigations are ongoing so that Congress would have no access to uncovered information pending investigation.

This is almost too bizarre to contemplate, but with the existing corrupt Justice Department, even the unbelievable becomes believable.

Great Britain Takes Note of the Biden Scandal

The Daily Mail wrote on July 28:

“This was the week Joe Biden’s ‘s rotten House Of Cards began teetering on the brink of collapse. While Netflix’s fictional U.S. President Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of sex charges by a jury in London, in another courtroom 3,500 miles away the web of lies and secrecy around alleged corruption in the Biden family was unravelling spectacularly…

“A judge in Delaware threw out a disgraceful sweetheart deal which would have seen Biden’s degenerate son Hunter walking free after pleading guilty to tax evasion, gun and drug charges, which would normally have led to serious jail time. Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to rubber-stamp an incredibly lenient plea bargain agreement stitched up between Hunter’s lawyers and the prosecution. It would have given Hunter not just a virtually free pass on past and present crimes but would have granted him immunity against any future charges he might face. After the judge ripped up the deal, Hunter was forced to enter not guilty pleas on two counts to which he had pleaded guilty to minutes earlier. He now faces further investigation into alleged crimes which may well implicate his father.

“On Monday, Hunter’s former best friend and business partner Devon Archer is due to tell a Congressional committee that both Hunter and Joe Biden accepted bribes of $5 million each from a Ukrainian businessman. He is also expected to testify that despite previous repeated denials, the President was involved in his son’s business dealings. Archer says he was present when Joe Biden took part in not one but 24 separate telephone conference calls with Hunter’s foreign clients.

“That’s if Archer actually turns up and isn’t found floating face down in Washington’s Potomac River. Last night he was reported to have gone into hiding, after friends said he had received unspecified ‘threats’ against both himself and his family.

“For once, America’s mainstream media hasn’t been able to swerve the mounting evidence against the Bidens. On Wednesday all three major national TV networks led their nightly news bulletins with reports on the sensational decision by the judge to throw out Hunter’s sweetheart deal. Until now, Joe Biden has enjoyed fawning coverage from NBC, ABC and CBS, along with backing from 95 per cent of America’s big city newspapers. Negative stories have been studiously ignored…

“Peter Baker, who covers the White House for the Democrat-supporting New York Times, admitted it would be difficult for Joe Biden to continue defending his son on the grounds of Hunter’s well-documented ‘battle’ against drug addiction… And tellingly, Baker added: ‘For President Biden, it’s not just about his wayward son but whether he himself had something to do with his wayward son’s business dealings.’ Joe Biden has always maintained he has never even discussed business with Hunter. That changed subtly this week when the White House said he had never been in business… with him…

“Yet if half of what is being alleged about Joe Biden is true, Clinton’s ‘I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky’ is at worst a little white lie which pales into insignificance alongside allegations of multi-million-dollar influence peddling. The claim that both Bidens received $5 million each in bribes from a Ukrainian businessman is supported by a recently released document detailing sworn evidence from a source described as an FBI ‘trusted confidential informant’…

“[Hunter’s] laptop hard drive contained a mine of explosive and potentially incriminating material [including] an email from Hunter to his sister complaining that he had to give half his income to his father…

“[Press spokeswoman] Karine Jean-Pierre… refused to answer questions from the Washington Press Corps on the preposterous grounds that Hunter is a ‘private person’ who is trying to ‘rebuild his life’ following drug addiction… As for the notion that Hunter is a private person, how come he was driven to court in a six-vehicle secret service motorcade? If he’s a private person, what is he doing at official functions at the White House, where he appears to live half the time? Why is he flying to Camp David on Marine One… or swanning round the world on Air Force One, accompanying his dad on state visits?…

“Biden’s apologists say he is only trying to protect his son. But, as former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich said this week, President Biden is really trying to protect himself… Even the mainstream media, which has protected Biden for years, appear to be withdrawing their love right now…”

Calls for an impeachment inquiry and impeachment have been growing. Bribery is one of the two offenses specifically mentioned by the Constitution as grounds for impeachment, along with treason. But will it reach that point? Note the next articles.

A Doomed President?

1945 wrote on July 28:

“Those who are concerned that former President Donald J. Trump’s alleged crimes will dissuade independent voters from supporting Trump in the General Election will now have to contend with the fact that President Biden will be under the same—if not more—legal scrutiny than Trump if Biden remains the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2024. 

“Already, President Biden is one of the most unpopular men to have ever run for reelection in modern political history. He’s got slightly less unpopularity than what Trump has. But the presence of this corruption scandal hanging over his head, as well as the likelihood that the Republicans impeach the forty-sixth president, means that his chances for reelection have just declined drastically—and Trump’s chances have increased. 

“This is a nightmare scenario for the Democrats, who now find themselves having to support Biden no matter what or replace him with a far less effective candidate, such as Vice-President Kamala Harris.  Or with a more effective candidate, like California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who will have difficulty proving to independent voters that they should vote for the obviously unstable Democratic Party in 2024, should the DNC kick both its presidential and vice-presidential candidates to the curb.”

What are the Republicans waiting for in regard to an impeachment inquiry or impeachment? While the Democrats impeached Trump twice with much less “evidence,” Republicans don’t seem to be willing to impeach Biden, while the evidence of his misconduct is mounting. The next article might explain as to why the reluctance.

Impeaching Biden?

1945 wrote on July 28:

“Former Speaker Newt Gingrich has a warning for Republicans on a Joe Biden Impeachment: You will get President Kamala Harris if you impeach Joe Biden and remove him from office… ‘The only short-term consequence of a successful impeachment is Kamala Harris , and Kamala would be such a total disaster for the country that Biden’s corruption is probably preferable to her incompetence,’ Gingrich said…

“The chances of removing Biden in the event he is impeached is slim and none because it takes 67 senators to remove a president from office. Donald Trump’s second impeachment marked the first time a majority of senators voted to remove the then former president. Fifty-seven senators voted to remove and disqualify Trump, falling 10 votes short…

“The precedent set during the Trump impeachments has transformed impeachment into something akin to a vote of no confidence, as exists in parliamentary democracies. Impeaching Biden would expose politically damaging information during the 2024 political campaign and could take the political sting off of the Trump prosecutions. It would then be up to the voters to decide which candidate is the lesser of two evils.”

From that last standpoint, impeachment procedures against Biden would make a lot of sense.

Doomed Either Way–Neither Trump Nor Biden?

The Washington Examiner wrote on July 29:

“A new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports confirmed what many voters say to each other: we’re doomed. The interesting twist on this survey is that the answer is more indicative of the country’s political tribalism than any particular candidate’s character or platform.

“82% of the country thinks we are doomed if President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump is reelected president in 2024. This breaks down to 40% of ‘likely U.S. voters’ agreeing that the country is doomed unless Biden is elected. Conversely, 42% of voters felt that Trump must win in 2024 or ‘the United States is doomed.’…

“69% of liberals agreed in some form with the ‘Biden-or-doom’ attitude regarding the 2024 presidential election. Comparatively, 63% of conservative voters supported the ‘Trump-or-doom scenario.’… only 24% of voters ‘strongly disagree’ with both the Biden-or-doom and Trump-or-doom statements…

“The poll reveals what many people in the country already knew: we are a country divided…”

A division which will NOT be cured.

How Biden “Forced” Censorship of Free Speech

Fox News wrote on July 28:

“The Biden administration is facing intense scrutiny after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, revealed a ‘smoking gun’ Thursday indicating alleged collusion between the White House and Facebook to censor Americans. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued the documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee show the Biden administration pushed Big Tech beyond its own censorship bounds… ‘We knew that Joe Biden had coerced and colluded with Big Tech social media to silence American voices in violation of the First Amendment right to free speech,’ Bailey [said]. ‘And what this shows is that not only did he coerce and collude with Big Tech social media, but he actually pushed them further than their own internal censorship policies…’

“Earlier this month a judge blocked key Biden agencies and departments from communicating with social media companies to avoid potential First Amendment violations in the Missouri v. Biden ruling… ‘We can’t let Joe Biden destroy free speech in America,’ Bailey continued. 

“‘Never-before-released internal documents subpoenaed by the Judiciary Committee PROVE that Facebook and Instagram censored posts and changed their content moderation policies because of unconstitutional pressure from the Biden White House,’ Jordan wrote Thursday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. ‘During the first half of 2021, social media companies like Facebook faced tremendous pressure from the Biden White House—both publicly and privately—to crack down on alleged “misinformation”… In April 2021, a Facebook employee circulated an email for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, writing: “We are facing continued pressure from external stakeholders, including the [Biden] White House’ to remove posts.”

“‘They didn’t actually care whether things was true or false to censor it. They just censored it. So, for instance, if you said that you had a pretty good immunity after COVID recovery, well, you could get censored. If you said that people could get vaccine injured [sic] you were censored,’ Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford Medical said Friday. Last year’s ‘Twitter Files’ revealed that Bhattacharya was allegedly on the platform’s ‘blacklist’ because he ‘argued that COVID lockdowns would harm children,’ according to information revealed by reporter Bari Weiss. ‘You could even get censored for saying true things,’ Bhattacharya continued. ‘For instance, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused by the CDC. When the White House posted that on its Facebook page, it got censored. It got censored by its own censorship regime that it created. It’s ironic and tragic that the White House violated the rights of American people for nothing.’

“But Jordan said Facebook knew what it was doing when it was succumbing to the administration’s demands in order to maintain a ‘cozy’ relationship… ‘One of those Facebook executives said “this is a significant incursion into the boundaries of free expression.” That is a fancy way of saying this violates the First Amendment…’

“Bhattacharya echoed Jordan’s sentiment, arguing the White House infringed on Americans’ free speech rights, but also ‘harmed public health’ in the process…”

So much more has been revealed in the meantime, including Biden’s pressure on Facebook [now called Meta] to delete footage from Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program (see The Wall Street Journal, dated July 28). In light of this evil development of governmental suppression of free speech— including true statements—, the next article is really shocking.

Most Democrats Support Suppression of Free Speech

The Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by Professor Turley on July 27:

“[A new] Pew found that ‘Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to support the US government taking steps to restrict false information online (70% vs. 39%).’

“I was raised in a politically active Democratic family in Chicago. Free speech was viewed as one of the defining values of the party and championed across campuses in the country. That changed dramatically in the course of the last ten years as many liberal politicians and professors called for opposing voices to be banned or canceled. I no longer recognize the party as it pushes for censorship and speech regulation…

“What is particularly chilling is that this poll is occurring after the disclosure of biased censorship efforts by the government and corporations, including the suppression of views that were later found to be legitimate. That includes the banning or cancelling of scientists who raised concerns over Covid-19 that are now considered valid from the lab theory to the efficacy of masks to natural immunities. It also includes the suppression of political stories like the Hunter Biden laptop.

“The growing support for censorship may reflect the echo chambered media environment… President Biden even charged that companies who refused to censor opposing views on social media were ‘killing people’… former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich has declared free speech is ‘tyranny.’  Many journalists have joined politicians and professors in decrying the dangers of free speech…

“The result left free speech values in free fall in our country… The European crackdown on free speech has now reached our shores and there are a growing number of citizens calling on the government to limit their right to free expression. It is a form of constitutional immolation by citizens who have never known true authoritarian government.

“The Pew poll shows how dire this struggle has become… This is a crisis of faith that we cannot ignore. Justice Louis Brandeis once warned that ‘The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.’”

Another proof that America is descending into authoritarian dictatorship, following Canada’s horrific example.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. Vice-President Under Trump?

Newsweek wrote on August 1:

“Steve Bannon has joined a growing number of conservatives who have suggested that a 2024 presidential ticket with Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could find success with voters.

“Bannon, a one-time senior adviser to Trump, discussed the possibility during Sunday’s episode of his War Room podcast. Though he noted the chances of Kennedy, a Democrat, running with the Republican former president would be a ‘long shot,’ Bannon said the pairing could win in a ‘massive landslide.’

“Kennedy… has found favor with many conservatives. Federal Election Commission filings show he has received large contributions for his presidential campaign from donors who typically give to GOP candidates.

“But some prominent right-wing figures would prefer that Kennedy join forces with Trump rather than running his own campaign for the White House. Roger Stone, another former adviser to the ex-president, has suggested Kennedy should receive a top administration role if Trump wins the White House in 2024. Last week, Stone dedicated an episode of his show on the video platform Rumble to the possibility of Kennedy running as Trump’s VP.

“Numerous social media users have also endorsed a Trump/Kennedy ticket in recent days… Trump himself has also spoken well of Kennedy, saying… that he thinks the Democrat is a ‘very smart person.’”

Adverse Effects From Covid Vaccinations Seriously Underreported

Rebel News reported on July 25:

“The senior Health Canada official [Dr. Celia Lourenco] who approved which COVID vaccines Canadians could take is admitting their surveillance of ‘adverse events’ — caused by the jab — fell short…

“Parliament imposed a vaccine mandate on the public service and federally regulated sectors in October 2021 and abandoned it last June.

“Lourenco ascertains that underreporting adverse effects caused by COVID vaccines is a ‘well-known fact’ because healthcare providers and patients may not report or even be aware of the events.

“… litigator Bernard Desgagné… claimed this degree of underreporting could have caused millions of deaths south of the border… A health department spokesperson told the publication that ‘most pre-pandemic studies about this topic estimate adverse drug reactions under-reporting rates of 90% or higher.’…

“As of writing, the federal government has paid nearly $6.7 million in damages to Canadians caused by COVID vaccine injuries… As of November 2022, Canada administered 93 million COVID doses to residents.”

This is SO irresponsible!

Visiting the Temple Mount? Not Allowed!

The Times of Israel wrote on July 27:

“Far-right National Security Itamar Ben Gvir visited the flashpoint Temple Mount site Thursday for Tisha B’Av, a Jewish day of national mourning, prompting anger from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror group as well as a rebuke from Washington.

“It was Ben Gvir’s third visit to the site while serving as a cabinet minister. Each visit has prompted a furious reaction from the Arab world.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry warned that alleged unilateral measures by Israel at the site and violations of the status quo ‘threaten to escalate the situation into more rounds of violence.’ ‘We warn against the dangerous consequences of allowing the extremists to reach the mount and allow them to carry out provocations,’ the ministry added.

“In a statement following Ben Gvir’s visit, the US Embassy in Israel said it ‘stands firmly’ for preserving the status quo and the site, adding that ‘any unilateral action or rhetoric that jeopardizes the status quo is unacceptable.’

“The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry charged Ben Gvir’s visit was part of ‘an official Israeli cover for the ongoing invasions and the plans to Judaize the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to impose forced changes on the existing historical and legal reality, as an inseparable part of the Judaization of Jerusalem.’

“Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasem called the visit a ‘dangerous escalation’ and a ‘provocation’ to the Palestinian people, vowing that they would not allow Israel to carry out its alleged ‘plans’ at the site. ‘Our people will defend the identity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and protect its Islamic and Arab character at all costs, because Al-Aqsa has always been the trigger for revolutions and rebellions,’ the statement read.

“The Saudi Foreign Ministry also condemned Ben Gvir’s visit to the site, calling it a ‘flagrant violation of all international norms and agreements’ as well as a ‘provocation to all Muslims around the world.’…

“Observant Jews fast the entirety of the day in mourning of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and then of its replacement in 70 CE. A major reason for the catastrophes cited in tradition is the division and hatred between different groups in Jewish society. The two temples were located at the flashpoint site…

“[Negev and the Galilee Development Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party] tweeted his hope for the ‘redemption’ of the Jewish people and ‘the building of the [Third] Temple soon in our days, amen.’…

“Last week, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef accused Ben Gvir of ‘sinning and causing others to sin’ by visiting the Temple Mount. Yosef said Ben Gvir has defied multiple rabbinical rulings stating that Jewish Orthodox law forbids Jews to enter the Temple Mount, citing principles detailed in halacha, Jewish Orthodox law, about preserving the purity of the site, considered the holiest in Judaism.

“Ben Gvir defended the visits in response, saying that he was following the advice of his own rabbis, who said it was a ‘mitzvah’ — the Hebrew word for duty or commandment — to visit the site.”

A third temple will be built, but the contentions among Jews regarding this issue are quite telling.

Ukraine Moves Christmas to December 25

Evening Standard wrote on July 29:

“Ukraine has moved its official Christmas Day state holiday from January 7 to December 25 in a snub to Russia. President… Zelensky said the parliamentary bill would help Ukraine ‘abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations’…

“Ukraine’s largest Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long-standing historic ties to Moscow, has previously celebrated the holidays according to the Julian calendar used by Russia.”

Neither January 7 nor December 25 marks the birthday of Jesus. He was clearly not born at that time. But more importantly, nowhere does the Bible tell us that we ought to celebrate Christ’s birthday.

Russia and Africa

Tag24 News wrote on July 29:

“Russia has signed agreements for military cooperation with over 40 African countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday in St. Petersburg… Putin stated that African states received a wide range of weapons and technology, some for free ‘with the aim of enhancing the security and sovereignty of the countries’…

“Putin reiterated that Russia would continue to be a reliable supplier of grain to the continent’s countries. The pledge came after Russia ended a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea. Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to Africa.

“The chairman of the African Union said in his closing address at the summit that Putin’s proposals to provide grain were insufficient. ‘Yes, this is important, but it may not be quite enough. We need to achieve a ceasefire,’ Azali Assoumani said. ‘President Putin has shown us that he is ready to engage in dialogue and find a solution,’ he added. ‘Now we need to convince the other side.’”

Russia Threatens Ukraine With Nuclear Weapons

The Daily Mail wrote on July 30:

“The Kremlin today bluntly threatened use of nuclear weapons in the wake of the Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow’s skyscraper zone. Three drones struck an elite office building and residential skyscraper in Moscow early Sunday morning in what Russia’s Defence Ministry has branded an ‘attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime’.

“Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and Putin ally, has warned there is ‘simply no other way out’ and said that Kyiv should ‘pray to our warriors’ that they do not ‘allow the global nuclear fire to flare up’.

“Moscow said it had brought down three Ukrainian drones early on Sunday that had been trying to attack the capital. (Moscow claimed it injured one person and prompted a temporary airport closure). It also claimed its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to attack Russia-annexed Crimea with 25 drones overnight.

“Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been targeted by Kyiv throughout Moscow’s Ukraine offensive but has come under more intense, increased attacks in recent weeks. Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take Crimea back.”

The US Cannot Establish Air Superiority

On July 29, the Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by William Schryver;

“I have long asserted, and I continue to be convinced, that the US could NOT establish air superiority against Russia, China, nor even Iran — not in a week; not in a year. Never. It simply could not be done. American air power would prove substantially inferior to the extremely potent and abundantly supplied air defenses arrayed against it in any of those three countries. American suppression of enemy air defenses would prove woefully inadequate to the task… US air power as a theater-wide undertaking could not be sustained in the context of a non-permissive regional and global battlefield.

“In a high-intensity combat scenario in either eastern Europe, the China seas, or the Persian Gulf, the maintenance requirements for US aircraft could not be met… The US would, quite literally after only a few days, see sub-10% mission-capable rates for the F-22 and F-35, and sub-25% rates for almost every other platform in the inventory…  US supply lines would be severely attrited on both a regional and a global scale.

“Russian and Chinese submarines and long-range anti-ship missile systems would wreak havoc on US seaborne logistics… The US could not fight an overseas war in a non-permissive environment against a peer adversary. It doesn’t have the means, let alone the experience and competence, to do so…”

Of course, the real and unappreciated danger is overlooked; and that is the coming prophesied war between Europe and the USA. But, applying the statements about the USA above to a war with Europe, they are frighteningly accurate.

More Women in the Germany Army!

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 30:

“Germany wants you for the armed forces — especially if you’re a woman. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet adopted a series of measures this week to boost equal opportunity in the military… The Bundeswehr needs people to fill its ranks, as part of Germany’s efforts to bolster its military capabilities in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine…

“As the government sees it, putting more women in uniform ‘makes a contribution’ to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development…

“… the improved provisions… follow up efforts elsewhere in the bureaucracy and private sector. Some political parties, for example, require a 50-50 split of candidates running for office. The Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, has strengthened laws to get more women into leadership positions in companies…

“When West Germany’s military was founded in 1955, women were barred from service. That would not change until 1975 — and only then limited to the medical corps. Even after all military roles were open to women, in 2001, the medical corps remained the area with the highest female contingent.

“The story was different in [East Germany]. The country’s socialist character took pride in equal opportunity for men and women. Its armed forces were founded in 1956 and allowed full participation. The big difference: men were drafted, whereas women could volunteer. Those who did mainly fulfilled medical and administrative tasks…

“The Bundeswehr’s push for more women is not only a matter of equal opportunity. It dovetails with new demand for all-around improvements to Germany’s military capabilities.

“The military has the added burden of needing to attract young people [wanting a] high degree of flexible and individual freedom in working life… Those expectations are generally at odds with a military’s rigid hierarchy and command structure. This week’s adoption of stricter equal opportunity standards helps fulfill part of the Bundeswehr’s strategy to expand recruitment.

“Another challenge the military shares with the private sector: workplace safety, especially for women. Sexual harassment lingers in the ranks. The Bundeswehr saw nearly 850 cases between 2018-2020…”

When becoming a part of the military, you are becoming a slave of the military. Paul said we should not voluntarily become slaves of men (1 Corinthians 7:23).

Germany is willing to become the strongest military in Europe—no matter what the challenges and costs. In Revelation 9:8, the coming European army is described as having “hair like women’s hair.”

The Real Dangers With Electric Cars and Bikes

The Sun published the following article by Jeremy Clarkson on July 29:

“For years I’ve told people until I’m blue in the face that electric cars don’t have enough range, that they take far too long to charge up, that they will always be too expensive and that they aren’t even very ­environmental. Happily, people are now starting to listen, so it’s time to move the argument along a bit with this:  Electric cars are also… dangerous.

“As I write, a massive ship is on fire off the Dutch coast and one person has died. No one knows for sure what caused it, but it was carrying 25 electric cars, and experts say it’s likely that one of them had a faulty battery pack.

“Earlier this month, much the same thing happened on an Italian car transporter in the port of Newark, New Jersey.  Two firefighters were killed putting that out.

“And then there was the Felicity Ace, which was carrying cars powered by lithium-ion batteries when it caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean and sank.

“In total, there have been ten major fires on ships carrying electric cars in the past 20 years… in the last five years, the emergency services have been called out to 753 electric vehicle fires in the UK alone.

“Last weekend the World Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill in Kent had to be abandoned when a faulty battery pack destroyed the pits and burned out two Lancia Delta Evo E racing cars.

“And it’s not just cars. A safety charity announced this week that e-bikes have caused hundreds of catastrophic house fires.

“People have died, and that’s not surprising when you learn that a fully charged e-bike contains the same explosive energy as six hand grenades. And to make matters worse, fires in electric bikes and cars are often very difficult to extinguish.

“The electrical car that Richard Hammond rolled down a hill while filming for the Grand Tour burned for days. And then, after the fire had died down, something in the battery pack called ‘thermal runaway’ caused it to rear back up again. And this went on for weeks.

“The fact is this. It’s only a matter of time before an electric car bursts into flames on a cross-Channel ferry or in the Chunnel. Or in an underground car park…”

Bild Online asked 10 carmakers about the danger of electric cars. Not surprisingly, some responded by denying any danger, limiting their response however strictly to THEIR products, while other companies refused to answer.

Massive “Ocean” Under the Earth’s Crust

On the website of Indy100, we read the following:

“… there’s a massive ocean hidden under the Earth’s crust… there’s a huge supply of water 400 miles underground stored in rock known as ‘ringwoodite’… Scientists made the findings at the time after studying earthquakes and discovering that seismometers were picking up shockwaves under the surface of the Earth.

“From that, they were able to establish that the water was being held in the rock known as ringwoodite… If the rock contained just 1 per cent water, it would mean that there is three times more water under the surface of the Earth than there is in the oceans on the surface.”

God tells us that He will water the dry land (Isaiah 35:6-7; 44:3-4)—not necessarily with salt water from the oceans on the surface. We also read that at Noah’s time, “the fountains of the great deep were broken up” (Genesis 7:11), and that at the end of the Flood, “the fountains of the deep… were… stopped” (Genesis 8:2).

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Biden Mumbles Indecipherable Comments

The Daily Mail wrote on July 21:

“[Israel’s] President Isaac Herzog had been in Washington D.C. for a meeting on Tuesday… Video footage of their exchange shows Biden mumbling indecipherable comments towards Herzog while avoiding eye contact, and looking down at himself, as if he’s about to nod-off…

“The footage shows Biden with his eyes closed talking to Herzog, saying: ‘We brought Israelis and Palestinians together, at a political level’.”

Biden Struggles to Read From Teleprompter

Rare wrote on or about July 21:

“President Biden held brief remarks today on artificial intelligence from the White House. Biden spoke for just 6 minutes before shuffling out of the door. During his remarks, Biden struggled to read from his teleprompter, repeating himself over and over again. Biden can be quoted as saying, ‘Artificial Intelligence or promises an enormous, enormous promise of both risk to our society and our economy and our national security but also incredible opportunities.’

“As Biden concluded his short 6 minute remarks, reporters shouted questions about a recent Chinese hack of government emails. The hack is purported to have affected high-level Biden officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and others. The reporter shouted, ‘Mr. President, can you tell us about the hacking of cabinet officials by China?’ As she spoke, Biden turned and walked away, beginning to talk to Secret Service in the hallway as reporters awaited a response. Biden said, ‘Ready? How we getting these guys down there?’

“There has never been a less transparent Administration occupying the White House than that of Joe Biden. Why are Biden officials still traveling to China? Why have they not appropriately responded to China’s spy balloon, which flew clear across the contiguous United States with no response from our government officials? This is simply absurd.”

Biden is clearly not up to the task, as the next article points out as well.

Biden’s Declining Health

The Telegraph published on July 21 the following commentary by Nile Gardiner, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC:

“Biden’s evidently declining health should be an issue of huge concern on both sides of the Atlantic. The US President’s schedule on international trips is increasingly being curtailed by his advisers who fear that he is simply not up to the task… Biden’s own team carefully limit his engagements, appearances and speeches, for fear that he will embarrass himself and the United States on the international stage. Biden’s relatively brief visit to Windsor Castle earlier this month was a case in point, with King Charles III having to closely watch Biden’s movements, clearly irritated by his meandering inspection of the Welsh Guards.

“Biden’s recent speeches at home and abroad have been littered with gaffes and gasp-inducing moments… When Biden speaks to audiences these days it’s impossible to predict what exactly he will end up saying or how it will end. He is increasingly reduced to reading out carefully scripted answers in press conferences…

“Biden’s White House aides also have major concerns over his physical frailty, demonstrated by a series of potentially dangerous stumbles while boarding Air Force One in recent months. As Politico reported this week, the President is now using the ‘short stairs’ to board the presidential plane, with just 14 steps as opposed to the traditional 26…

“President Biden’s rapidly deteriorating condition is clearly good news for America’s adversaries, from Beijing to Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran, given that Biden’s deputy, Vice President Kamala Harris, is viewed as an even less effective leader than her boss. But the Chinese, Russians, North Koreans and Iranians relish even more the weak-kneed policies the Biden administration advances on the world stage.

“This is a feeble presidency at every level, enveloped in woke left-wing ideology while pursuing short-sighted policies of appeasement towards some of the most wicked regimes on Earth… The Biden presidency represents American retreat, decline and despair, headed by a president regarded by the enemies of the free world as a soft and easy opponent.”

Even worldly commentators confirm, inadvertently, the end-time biblical prophecy about America’s decline.

Hunter Biden’s “Sweetheart Deal” Falls Apart

Fox News reported on July 26:

“Hunter Biden’s plea deal fell apart during his first court appearance Wednesday morning and pleaded ‘not guilty’ as federal prosecutors confirmed the president’s son is still under federal investigation. The president’s son was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, as part of plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.

“But Judge Maryellen Noreika did not accept the plea agreement, questioning the constitutionality–specifically the diversion clause [regarding the gun charge] and the immunity [regarding other future charges] Hunter Biden would receive…

 “The judge pressed federal prosecutors on the investigation and questioned whether there was the possibility for future charges, and asked prosecutors if Hunter Biden was currently under active investigation. Prosecutors said he was, but would not answer specifically what the president’s son is under investigation for. Prosecutors on Wednesday, though, said Hunter Biden pleading guilty to the two misdemeanor tax offenses would not immunize him from future charges.

 “At one point… Noreika asked if the government could potentially bring a charge related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), to which Wise replied: ‘Yes.’

 “At that point, the original plea deal broke down. Defense attorney Chris Clark said he did not agree with that. ‘Then there’s no deal,’ Wise said…

 “The developments in the case Wednesday come after IRS whistleblower testimony revealed allegations of DOJ misconduct throughout the years-long investigation into the president’s son [saying] politics influenced prosecutorial decisions throughout the investigation. 

 “House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith filed an amicus brief to the court, requesting that testimony be considered ahead of accepting the planned plea deal, saying Hunter Biden ‘appears to have benefited from political interference which calls into question the propriety of the investigation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.’”

Many observers feel that this is currently the worst possible outcome for Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, as the floodgates of further investigations and possible criminal charges are still wide open. It also appears that the parties tried to pull a fast one. Note the next article.

How the JD Tried to Protect Joe Biden

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on July 27:

 “With the text of Hunter Biden’s plea deal now public, it’s no longer possible to deny that the Justice Department’s been bending over backward to protect the Biden family — including President Joe Biden. ‘The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute [Hunter] Biden . . . for any federal crimes’ related to the case, the deal reads. It left only the possibility of ‘prosecution for any future conduct.’

“No wonder Hunter and his attorneys were convinced he’d be off the hook for other crimes, such as those related to foreign lobbying — and, perhaps, bribe-taking, influence-peddling or other corruption. Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned such a ‘broad,’ ‘nonstandard’ agreement, and wondered why both parties wanted her to ‘rubber stamp it.’

“Her questioning forced Special Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise to shift gears on a deal he was intimately knowledgeable of because he had hammered it out over weeks with Hunter’s lawyers. Stunning Hunter’s lawyer, and the rest of the court, he suddenly claimed the deal allowed only a narrower set of potential Biden crimes to be off limits to prosecutors. 

“The first son then balked, of course, and his lawyer, Chris Clark, declared the deal ‘null and void.’ Yet why would Justice include such blanket immunity in the first place?… It has little to do with protecting Hunter Biden. And everything to do with protecting his dad.

“… The reason the judge called the deal ‘nonstandard’ — and why Wise couldn’t provide any precedent — is that no normal defendant ever gets such a sweetheart deal… But despite enormous evidence— millions of dollars in alleged bribes to Joe and his family, Mafia-like threats and apparent Watergate-level coverups — don’t expect the Biden DOJ to ever launch a serious probe. Not with Joe [Biden] in office, anyway.”

Joe Biden’s Business Deals With Foreign Entities

Professor Jonathan Turley wrote the following on July 19 in the New York Post:

“The peril of the poorly crafted question was on display in Wednesday’s hearing with two whistleblowers on political interference in the Hunter Biden investigation… Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) often goes where wiser members fear to tread. On this occasion, Goldman may have delivered one of the most damaging moments for the Democrats. In the course of just a few minutes, the freshman New York congressman seemed to demolish the defense of President Biden.

“Goldman was trying to get the witnesses to say that there is no evidence that President Biden was personally involved in the alleged felonies of his son. He raised the shocking WhatsApp message that Hunter had allegedly sent to a Chinese official with foreign intelligence contacts. In the message, Hunter wrote: ‘I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.’

“Most Democrats have avoided the message, which is incredibly damaging and seems to contradict the President’s long denial of any knowledge or involvement in his son’s dealings. Goldman pressed veteran IRS investigator Gary Shapley about his suggestion that Joe Biden discussed the foreign dealing with his son. Shapley eagerly said that he would be happy to explain but Goldman cut him off and said that he did not have time for such explanations.

“At this point, most lawyers would have reversed engines out of troubled waters, but Goldman plowed full speed ahead. He said that the references to Joe sitting next to his son does not mean that they actually discussed his business. Goldman then went even further and raised a ‘lunch where Joe Biden came to say hello at the Four Season’s hotel to a lunch that he was having with CEFC executives.’ He then reads from the record in how Biden associate Rob Walker described the origins of the meeting with the Chinese officials to get his dad to stop by: ‘Hunter told his Dad that “I may be trying to start a company or try to do something with these guys.”’

“Goldman then pounced and said slyly ‘Now let me ask you something, that doesn’t sound much like Joe Biden was involved in whatever Hunter was doing with the CEFC if Hunter Biden is telling him that he is trying to do business with them, does it?’ That is when Shapley stated the obvious: ‘No, but it does show that he told his father that he was trying to do business…’

“This is the same Joe Biden who has repeatedly told the American people that he never discussed any of Hunter’s deals and had no knowledge of such deals. He has maintained that denial as evidence has mounted contradicting him. Even when he flew his son to China where Hunter cut lucrative deals, he insists that they never mentioned that deal.

“There are also repeated references to President Biden as the ‘Big Guy’ in emails who was to receive a 10 per cent cut on a deal with the Chinese as well as other benefits. There are other references to Hunter Biden paying portions of his father’s expenses and taxes.

“People apparently were told to avoid directly referring to President Biden…  In one email, Hunter’s business associate Tony Bobulinski was instructed by Biden associate James Gilliar not to speak of the former veep’s connection to any transactions…  There are also the disclosures that Biden met with at least 14 of Hunter’s business associates from the US, Mexico, Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan over the course of his vice presidency.

“Then there is the audiotape message from President Biden for Hunter that specifically discussed coverage of those dealings. Finally, there is another audiotape of his uncle, Jim Biden, telling Hunter that he and his father had discussed his collapsing financial position and could arrange a ‘ safe harbor.’…”

The evidence is mounting that Joe Biden did not only lie repeatedly to the American people, but that he was also involved in business deals with foreign entities which might have jeopardized America’s security. Note the next article:

A Criminal Family Sitting in the White House?

The New York Post wrote on July 23:

“Former House Speaker Newt… Gingrich speculated that the evidence of alleged wrongdoing could soon become overwhelming. ‘What this says to me is that it’s very possible that there was a direct payment to the then-Vice President of the United States,’ Gingrich said… ‘At some point, the dam is going to break and even The New York Times and The Washington Post are going to recognize that we have a huge problem on our hands,’ he added.

“‘We may have a criminal family sitting in the White House that took money from foreigners in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Russia, and China… Now, that’s a pretty sobering comment that has huge national security implications and also just basic honesty implications,’ he continued…

“As vice president, Joe Biden had sought to leverage US support to oust Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, his son was on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that Shokin’s was investigating…”

None of that looks good for Joe Biden and his family.

The Media Would Love to Move On, But…

The New York Post published the following article by Professor Turley on July 25:

“The media’s desire to ‘move on’ from the scandal is reaching an almost frantic level… the release of the new evidence of corruption had left no room to maneuver for both Democrat politicians and the media… Any question would now trip a wire on the Bidens, so most avoid the allegations in favor of talking about Trump or other shiny objects… No matter the severity of the revelations, the liberal media calls the investigations a ‘clown show.’ Others have continued to tell the public that there remain no alleged ties from Hunter to President Biden despite emails, pictures and witness testimony. Yet it is becoming harder and harder to avoid these details…

“Members and the media were literally citing a plea bargain [the so-called ridiculous “sweetheart deal” with Hunter] as dispositive, even as two lead investigators were saying it was fixed and politically influenced… Others insisted that the allegations were still ‘unproven’ or ‘unverified’ while showing the same lack of interest in establishing the truth. Notably, these same media outlets did wall-to-wall coverage of the false Russian collusion claims in the Steele dossier. They are now simply shrugging off what could be one of the most serious corruption scandals in modern history despite the testimony of highly credible whistleblowers and thousands of pages of supporting evidence.

“None of this is going to work, of course. The public has long ago lost trust in the media… Polls show that the public is not ‘moving on’ and now view this as a major scandal. A majority believes that Hunter has received special protection in the investigation. While the media can continue to suppress the evidence and allegations within their own echo-chambered platforms, truth like water has a way of finding a way out. The scandal is moving forward with or without the media.”

Let’s hope so!

Why No Special Counsel to Investigate Joe Biden

Breitbart wrote on July 24:

“During Sunday’s broadcast of FNC’s ‘Life, Liberty & Levin,’ New York Times best-seller author Peter Schweizer explained why a special counsel had not been appointed to investigate alleged Biden family wrongdoing… ‘The reason that one has not been appointed is if they’re appointed, all hell is going to break loose. Let’s remember what we’re talking about here… Just look at China. Based on the laptop, based on public corporate records, what we know is that Hunter Biden and the Biden family received $31 million from four businessmen in China, and when you look at those four businessmen in China, these are not ordinary businessmen…

“‘These are not even ordinary members of the Chinese Communist Party. Each and every one of them has ties to the highest levels of Chinese intelligence,’ he continued. ‘Xie Feng, who arranged a $20 million deal for Hunter Biden in that private equity deal, his business partner at the same time, he is setting up Hunter Biden was the vice minister for State Security for China, whose job is to recruit foreign nationals to spy for China. Or look at Henry Zhao, who wires $5 million to Hunter Biden. He wires him to $5 million out of an account of a company called Harvest that Henry Zhao co-owns with the family of the former Minister of State Security, who runs the entire spy apparatus in China.

“‘Or you look at Chairman Yi, the CEFC energy company who, sends $6 million to Hunter Biden,’ Schweizer added. ‘His previous job before he gets appointed to this energy position is running an organization that is widely known to be a front for Chinese military intelligence. This was an intelligence operation by the Chinese to extract information, to get their claws into the then Second Family, now First Family of the United States.

“‘Nobody in Washington, DC wants to have that conversation, and Merrick Garland is not going to go there, even though this is the poster child for an independent counsel because of how the investigation is being stifled and who the investigation is actually about.’”

It really sounds as if America’s national security might very well have been compromised.

Breitbart added on July 24:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr…. called for an investigation into the alleged Biden bribery scheme…  the Democrat presidential candidate said allegations surrounding President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden about allegedly accepting $5 million in bribes are worth ‘a real investigation… I mean, these revelations about the, where you had Burisma, which is, you know, a notoriously corrupt company that paid out, apparently, $10 million to Hunter and his dad. If that’s true, then it is really troubling.’”

Rand Paul Demands Prosecution of Dr. Fauci

Outkick wrote on July 19:

“Rand Paul is not letting the pressure up on Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci through his role as head of the NAIAD made any number of unimaginable mistakes. He claimed, inaccurately, that masks work to stop the spread of COVID. He advocated for school closures, afterwards denying he did any such thing.

“His misinformation on the efficacy of COVID vaccines helped usher in the spread of vaccine mandates and passports. Inexcusably, he’s also avoided acknowledging mistakes or admitting that he was wrong about many of these disastrous assertions.

“But one of the most contentious aspects of Fauci’s tenure revolves around the origins of COVID. And as more information emerges, it’s becoming even more clear how hard he worked to protect himself and his colleagues by deflecting from his organization’s role in funding gain-of-function research. The release of new, unredacted, emails shows that he was well aware that gain-of-function experiments were happening in Wuhan. That directly contradicts his previous claims that NIH had nothing to do with funding such experiments.

“And as a result, Senator Rand Paul’s referred him to Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute him for potentially lying under oath…

“… But Merrick Garland has proven to be far from an independent, unbiased enforcer of the law. Instead, unsurprisingly, he’s function[ing] primarily as an enforcer of Biden administration priorities. Most notably through his lax prosecution of Hunter Biden and alleged interference in an IRS investigation… The odds that this Department of Justice prosecutes him for potentially lying under oath is infinitesimal, to say the least.

“But Rand Paul’s dogged efforts are necessary and immensely valuable to publicize how Fauci repeatedly mislead the public to protect himself. There may never be true accountability, but every opportunity to remove the veneer of Fauci’s credibility is worth pursuing.”

In this context, the New York Post reported on July 25 about Joe Biden’s latest blunder regarding COVID, as follows:

“In yet another embarrassing slip-up, President Biden Tuesday accidentally provided a lowball estimate of COVID-19’s death toll — saying ‘over 100’ Americans have died from the disease since it emerged over three years ago. Biden, 80, committed the gaffe — which was later corrected to ‘over 1 million’ in an official White House transcript — while announcing a new plan for the expansion of mental health care.

“‘We’re still feeling the profound loss of the pandemic.  As I mentioned, we have over 100 people dead,’ Biden said at the White House. ‘That’s 100 empty chairs around the kitchen table. Every single loss, there are so many people left behind and broken-hearted,’ the commander-in-chief added.”

Incredible!!!

The BRICS Economic Bloc

Modern Diplomacy wrote on July 24:

“Twenty two nations have formally applied to become members of the BRICS economic bloc… An equal number have also informally sought to join the organization that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa… Anil Sooklal, the bloc’s ambassador from South Africa… previously said that countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran have formally asked to become BRICS members, while countries that expressed an interest in joining include the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, Indonesia and others…

“The countries agreed to pool $100 billion of foreign currency, which they can lend to each other during emergencies,,, They founded the New Development Bank — a World Bank-inspired institution that has approved more than $30 billion of loans for projects like water and transport infrastructure since it began operations in 2015… They plan to discuss the feasibility of a common BRICS currency this year…

“BRICS is similar to clubs such as the Group of 20 in representing a move toward a more multipolar world and away from one dominated by the US…”

America’s influence in the world is clearly diminishing and failing…

Russia Threatens Poland

Al Jazeera wrote on July 21:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union and said any aggression against its neighbour and ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia itself.

“In televised remarks on Friday, Putin warned that Moscow would use any means at its disposal to protect Belarus, which forms a loose Union State with Russia, against possible attacks. Putin said there were reports of plans for a Polish-Lithuanian unit to be used for operations in western Ukraine – parts of which in the past belonged to Poland – and ultimately to occupy territory there…

“Poland, a NATO member and one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in its fight against Russia’s invasion, denied any territorial ambitions in Ukraine or Belarus…

“In his remarks, Putin argued Poland’s western territories were a ‘present’ from former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. ‘Thanks to the Soviet Union, to Stalin, Poland got significant amounts of lands in the west, lands that used to belong to Germany. It is so. Western territories of Poland are the present given by Stalin to Poles. Our friends in Warsaw had forgotten about it. We will remind them.’

“Putin’s comments are a message that ‘Poland has to be grateful to the Soviet Union, to Russia, and instead they are becoming more of an enemy to Russia,’ said Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at the New School and great-granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. ‘Also this is a message to the Ukrainians: “Please remember that for many years Ukraine and Poland were not great friends, and so now you’re being duped.”’…

“Warsaw’s Security Committee decided on Wednesday to move military units to eastern Poland after Wagner fighters arrived in Belarus…”

Germany Pledges Military Support for Poland

Express wrote on July 21:

“Germany’s Defence Minister [Boris Pistorius] has pledged support for Poland in the event the NATO member’s eastern border comes under attack from Belarus or Russia… Mr Pistorius emphasised that if Poland wants assistance, it will receive it since they are trusted NATO members…

“Poland’s intention to beef up its military along the Belarusian border has alarmed the Kremlin. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov… told reporters: ‘Of course it is a cause for concern. The aggressiveness of Poland is a reality. Such a hostile attitude towards Belarus and the Russian Federation requires heightened attention [from our side].’”

Germany is again at the forefront of potential military activities.

Western Hesitancy Helped Russia

The Washington Examiner wrote on July 21:

“Western hesitance to provide Ukraine with heavy weaponry and training provided Russia with ‘more time than they needed’ to fortify their lines, according to Ukrainian President… Zelensky. ‘We did plan to start it in spring, but we didn’t because, frankly, we had not enough munitions and armaments and not enough properly trained brigades… in these weapons,’ Zelensky said… Friday…

“Much of equipment arrived far later than Ukrainian officials first hoped. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for instance, declined to authorize the transfer of Leopard tanks until Biden promised to pledge U.S.-made Abrams tanks. That protracted conversation drew to a conclusion in January — weeks after France and the United Kingdom unveiled their respective decisions to provide light and heavy NATO-designed tanks and nearly a year after Zelensky began to ‘express a need for tanks’ and other heavy arms in anticipation of this clash.”

Ukraine will not easily forget “Western hesitance”—especially from Germany.

Zelensky Fires His Ambassador to the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on July 21:

“Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom… Vadym Prystaiko had criticised Zelensky’s sarcastic response to suggestions from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that Ukraine should show more gratitude for arms supplies from its allies…

“The row began when Wallace told journalists at a NATO summit in Vilnius this month that Britain was not an Amazon delivery service for weapons to Ukraine and suggested Kyiv could express more ‘gratitude’… Zelensky responded at a press conference at the summit, saying he did not know how else to make clear Ukraine’s gratitude, adding: ‘We could wake up in the morning and express our words of gratitude to the minister personally.’

“The Ukrainian diplomat agreed with a suggestion from a Sky News interviewer that Zelensky responded with ‘a little bit of sarcasm’ to Wallace. ‘I don’t believe that this sarcasm is healthy. We don’t have to show the Russians that we have something between us, they have to know that we are working together,’ Prystaiko added, stressing the need to smooth over relations with the UK…

“Prystaiko is a career diplomat who has served as ambassador to the United Kingdom since July 2020. He became a prominent figure in London amid the UK’s response to the war, often appearing on TV and radio to outline the latest view in Kyiv while also attending various official events in Downing Street and elsewhere linked to Ukraine’s war effort.

“Only last Thursday, he was in the royal box at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Before taking up the diplomatic role in London, he was Ukraine’s vice-prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration and is also a former foreign minister.”

Zelensky’s outbursts and his hasty and unpopular decisions might very well backfire on him.

Trump and His Supporters on the Russia-Ukraine-War

Newsweek wrote on July 23:

“Former President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday morning that Ukraine should receive over $100 billion more in aid from European nations to match what the United States has contributed… In recent months, the former president has repeatedly said that the war would not have happened if he was still president, and that he’d end the conflict in a day if he’s reelected in 2024.Trump’s comments about the war have garnered significant criticism from Democrats and Republicans who strongly support Ukraine…

“… data from the Kiel Institute for World Economy, a German research institute, shows that as of May 31, the U.S. has sent just north of $75 billion of the allocated assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile…  EU institutions have contributed a little more than $27 billion, while the United Kingdom and Germany have each given more than $10 billion. Several other European nations’ contributions have totaled in the billions of dollars, while a number of others have given hundreds of millions, according to the research institute…

“Although most Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress continue to support U.S. assistance to Ukraine, there is a vocal faction of GOP lawmakers who staunchly oppose any support to Kyiv… 43 percent of Trump voters believe the U.S. has provided too much support to Ukraine, while 20 percent felt it was too little. In addition, 20 percent said it was about right and 17 percent answered ‘don’t know.’

“The survey also found that 41 percent of Trump voters believe the U.S. ‘should reconsider our levels of support as the war continues,’ while 20 percent believed U.S. support should stop now. A further 26 percent said support should continue until Ukraine wins the war and 13 percent didn’t know…

“Meanwhile, Trump previously told Fox News that he’d warn Putin that U.S. aid to Ukraine would increase if he didn’t make a deal to end the war. ‘… We’re going to [give Ukraine] more than they ever got if we have to…’”

This Is Obliteration!

Fox News wrote on July 23:

“Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview clip aired Sunday that President Biden is not up to the task during a precarious time for the U.S. amid growing tensions around the globe. ‘Look, this is the most dangerous time in the history of our country because of weaponry. The nuclear power is so enormous. This isn’t two Army tanks going and shooting each other in World War I, World War II, soldiers standing behind a bunker and shooting people,’ Trump said during a sit-down interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. ‘This is obliteration,’ Trump added…

“‘And we have a man that doesn’t understand what he’s doing. We have a man that … stood up and told the whole world that we have no ammunition,’  Trump said of Biden… ‘You talk about classified documents. That’s worse than any document that you could give,’ Trump continued… ‘So, now these people are sitting back in China and other places that hate us, including North Korea… They’re talking about the United States of America has no ammunition. Think of it. How stupid can somebody be to say that?’” 

The USA will reach a point where it will NOT go out to battle anymore, even if it wanted to.

Germany Critical of Ukraine

The Times wrote on July 25:

“Germany’s armed forces have criticised the tactics adopted by the Ukrainian army in its counteroffensive against Russian positions and said that battle-hardened troops and officers were ignoring methods taught in western training, according to a leaked Bundeswehr paper.

“The Bild newspaper reported that it had obtained a confidential German army assessment of the Ukrainian assault that Kyiv has admitted is making slower progress than hoped.

“The Ukrainian forces were splitting their western-trained brigades into small units of just ten to 30 soldiers in some cases to attack an enemy position, which meant they weren’t putting their western training, superior weapons or large troop numbers to use, the report said.”

Frictions between Germany and Ukraine will continue.

Kennedy: US Pushed Ukraine War

The Daily Beast wrote on July 26:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. debated Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall event Tuesday about the United States’ role in the Russia-Ukraine war, with the 2024 presidential candidate claiming that the U.S. had been ‘pushing’ Ukraine into the war…. ‘Do I trust Putin? No,’ Kennedy Jr. said… [He] then accused the U.S. of sabotaging the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015, which aimed to end the Donbas war yet largely failed to stop the fighting between Russian separatists and Ukraine’s armed forces…

“Kennedy Jr. claimed that the expansion of NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union was an example of the U.S. deliberately bringing out the conditions that ultimately led to the war. Minutes later, Kennedy Jr…. dismissed the idea that Russia would lose the war it started. ‘It would be like us losing a war to Mexico,’ he said. ‘They are not going to lose the war.’”

Kennedy also repeated his claim that the CIA was involved with the murder of his uncle, John F. Kennedy. According to an article in the New York Post, dated May 9, 2023, it had been reported:

“RFK Jr. claimed to remember that his father’s first call after receiving the news of his brother’s assassination was to CIA officials, asking them if they were responsible. ‘It was my father’s first instinct that the agency had killed his brother,’ said Kennedy.

“The candidate added that his father had also investigated Jack Ruby, who killed accused triggerman Lee Harvey Oswald on live television, and found he had ties to mob bosses and casino owners who were in ‘cahoots’ with the CIA.”

Hungary Opposed to Unconditional Financial Long-Term Support for Ukraine

Ukrainska Pravda wrote on July 20:

“Hungary has opposed the EU’s attempt to create a long-term fund of up to €20 billion to support the Ukrainian army…

“Foreign ministers met in Brussels on Thursday, 20 July, and discussed for the first time a proposal that would allocate at least €5 billion a year over the next four years to cover the costs of EU countries buying and donating arms to Ukraine as well as training Ukrainian troops.

“But during the meeting, Hungary said it would object to the plan until Ukraine removed Hungarian Bank OTP from its list of ‘war sponsors’… The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has included Hungary’s OTP Bank in the list of international ‘war sponsors.’”

This is idiotic. There are nothing but “international war sponsors” around these days. Many major business corporations or organizations, including in the USA and Europe, are in one way or another involved in promoting and sponsoring war activities.

Hungary and the EU

Hungary Today wrote on July 22:

“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán… claimed that the European Union has rejected its Christian heritage, and it is carrying out a population replacement. Mr Orbán said that people have the feeling that the EU is plagued by anxiety and feels hemmed in. It is a rich and weak Union, which sees around it a world in revolt, millions of people heading for Europe…

“The big European companies do not want to break away and leave Russia, Mr Orbán said. He pointed out that seventy percent of energy companies are still present in Russia, and Western companies have paid $3.5 billion into the Russian budget…

“The EU… is waging an LGBTQ campaign against family-friendly nations. The Prime Minister said that Europe has created its own political class, which is no longer accountable, no longer Christian or democratic in its beliefs…”

Europe will become much more undemocratic and dictatorial, and even though its “Christian heritage” will be revived, it will not be the Christianity taught in the Bible.

Gridlock in Spain

USA Today wrote on July 24:

“Spain was plunged into political uncertainty Monday a day after Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s conservative Popular Party narrowly won the country’s national election but without securing the parliamentary majority needed to topple the five-year-old coalition government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

“The result means Feijóo can’t claim outright victory, though he told his supporters he would try to form a government. That process is likely to take weeks or even months as Sánchez may also be able to secure support from smaller parties to form a governing coalition. A new election could also be called.

“Expectations Santiago Abascal’s far-right Vox party would perform well enough to prop up a Feijóo-led government did not happen…

“Jobs. The economy. The cost of living. These were the issues that appeared to matter most to Spanish voters. However, climate change, nationalism and LGBTQ and gender issues also featured in campaigns.

“Feijóo’s best chances of forming a government had been with a partnership with Vox. That’s unlikely to happen now because of the latter’s poor performance. A route to power for incumbent Sánchez could be if he were able to secure the backing of Junts, a Catalan pro-independent party founded by Carles Puigdemont. Catalonia is a region of Spain with Barcelona as its capital that has long sought to breakaway from Spain’s government.

“‘The results are so close that they leave everything up in the air,’ the Spanish newspaper El Pais wrote Monday. ‘The Spanish political landscape is wide open.’”

The Associated Press added on July 25:

“The divided results have made the hardline Catalan separatist party Junts (Together) emerge as Sánchez’s potential kingmaker. If Junts asks for a referendum on independence for northeast Catalonia, that would likely be far too costly a price for Sánchez to pay. ‘We won’t make Pedro Sánchez PM in exchange for nothing,’ Míriam Nogueras of Junts said…

“Spain’s new Parliament will meet in a month. King Felipe VI then appoints one of the party leaders to submit him or herself to a parliamentary vote to form a new government. Lawmakers have a maximum period of three months to reach an agreement. Otherwise, new elections would be triggered.”

It appears to us that Spain will be one of the prophesied ten nations or groups of nations forming core Europe. The developments in Spain are therefore of great significance.

The EU Is Not UK’s Friend

The Telegraph wrote on July 21:

“During her Tory leadership campaign Liz Truss was asked if President Macron of France was a friend or foe. She indicated it was too early to tell… Today, however, the question is not whether France is our friend or foe but whether the EU as a whole is. 

“For this week, at the end of a meeting with Latin American states collectively known as Celac, the EU issued a communique which called the Falkland Islands the Malvinas. Regarding their sovereignty the EU merely noted the historical position of the Latin American states on the issue and backed a peaceful solution to the dispute. Frantic British objections before the communique were simply brushed aside…

“Clearly all member states had discussed the matter before agreeing to the communique and backing the Hispanics… The EU must have known that the Argentine claim is baseless. There has been a British colony on the Falklands since 1833. There has never been an equivalent Argentine one. We fought a war to retain the islands in 1982, where 255 British servicemen died. In 2013 in a democratic referendum 99.8 per cent of the population voted to remain British. The EU knows all this but chooses to ignore it because, since Brexit, we are now its enemy. It wishes to humiliate us whenever possible. The defence of democracy matters little to it…

“Gibraltar is like the Falklands. The Spanish seized it from the Moors in 1462. The British conquered it in 1704 and acquired it permanently by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. So it was Spanish for 242 years and has been British for 319 years. Moreover a referendum in 2002 showed 98.97 per cent of the population rejected joint sovereignty with Spain. Another in 1967 had shown 99.67 per cent wanted to remain British. Now though, we can expect the new government [of Spain] to blame the situation on Brexit and push again for ‘sovereignty’ talks – with the full support of the EU…

“The EU is not our friend. It is only nice to us when it needs us…

“The EU’s true colours have been shown over Northern Ireland, too. There the Windsor Framework was supposed to solve trade disputes by creating a ‘green lane’ which would allow all goods from the UK headed only for Northern Ireland free and frictionless transit. Yet the EU has imposed such a burden of regulation on the ‘trusted traders’ supposed to benefit from this that many have given up trying to use it. In short the EU is making Northern Ireland a foreign country. And it is doing so deliberately…”

The hostilities between the EU and the United Kingdom will continue.

USA Not a True Friend of Israel

Israel Today wrote on July 20:

“The mantras that ‘the US-Israel relationship is rock solid’ and ‘the US has Israel’s back’—so often proclaimed in the breach by both countries—may be wearing thin in Israel…

“Israel knows the US has never truly had its back. During Israel’s 1947-1948 War of Independence, the US imposed an arms embargo to prevent Israel from defending itself against the heavily armed Arab armies invading it. In the 1956 Suez War, the US forced Israel to withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza after Israel’s victory over Egypt.

“In the 1967 Six-Day War, the US pressured Israel to halt its advance on Damascus. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, US fear of Arab criticism led to delays in resupplying Israel. The 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, which saw the US temporarily suspend arms shipments, showed again that Israel could not depend on a US resupply during wartime.

“The US opposed Israel’s destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981 and Syria’s in 2007. Now the US is facilitating Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. Over the decades, whenever Israel defended itself against attacks from its neighbors, the US intervened to force Israel to back off. This prevented decisive victories that could have discouraged future wars and led to lasting peace settlements.

“The claim that Israel can always count on American military support is a fiction that both countries want to maintain. The US does it to reassure its domestic Jewish population. Israel does it so its enemies will see Israel as that much stronger…

“American support, which includes some $4 billion a year in military aid, is a mixed blessing, partly because it comes with strings attached. Israel must spend the lion’s share of the money on US arms that don’t always provide value for money. Worse, the subsidies lead many Americans to believe Israel should be accountable to the US, giving Israel’s critics license to interfere in Israeli affairs…

“While many US administrations have been high-handed in their relations with Israel, the Biden administration has been especially discourteous, reflecting increased hostility towards Israel from America’s progressive left. It has referred to the Israeli government as extremist, scolded Israel on all manner of issues and refused to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.”

What an insightful and powerful article, stating FACTS which are easily forgotten or suppressed by America’s mainstream media.

Uproar in Israel

CNN wrote on July 24:

“The Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law stripping the Supreme Court of its power to block government decisions, the first part of a planned judicial overhaul that has sharply divided Israeli society and drawn fierce criticism from the White House.

“The controversial bill passed by a vote of 64-0 in the Knesset. All members of the governing coalition voted in favor the bill, while all opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber as the vote was taking place.

“Huge crowds of angry protesters gathered outside, attempting to block access to the building… Thousands of military reservists – including more than 1,100 Air Force officers – said even before the bill passed that they would refuse to volunteer for duty if it did.

“The so-called reasonableness law takes away the Supreme Court’s power to block government decisions by declaring them unreasonable. Its passing could trigger a constitutional crisis – if the court declares the law itself is unreasonable.”

Breitbart added on July 24:

“The new law prevents courts from using their own idea of ‘reasonableness’ in blocking government policies. Critics had long argued that the ‘reasonableness’ doctrine allowed the left-leaning judiciary to abuse its power, and that it tended to do so more often against Israel’s conservative governments…

“U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration publicly opposes Israel’s internal reforms, issued a last-minute warning to Netanyahu not to proceed… Many of the reforms closely parallel existing practice in the U.S. and other democratic countries; Israel’s judiciary began amassing extraordinary powers in the 1990s…”

Why does Biden get involved in this? Didn’t he cause enough problems at home?

Justin Trudeau Canada’s Worst Prime Minister

The Telegraph wrote on July 24:

“The votes have been tallied. The results are in.  Justin Trudeau is Canada’s worst Prime Minister… in the past 55 years… Trudeau, a left-leaning Liberal, was once the political darling of the progressive set. That reputation came unglued…

“He’s… spent taxpayer dollars like a drunken sailor on the much-ridiculed federal carbon tax, national dental care, voluntary euthanasia, legalized marijuana, firearms regulation, Covid-19 measures and so on. Private investment and involvement in Canada has dried up like the Sahara Desert. Trudeau embarrassingly took a knee during Black Lives Matter in front of TV cameras. He claimed to admire China’s economy, which was later explained away as a joke…”

If similar honest surveys were to be conducted in other countries, we are sure that Joe Biden would turn out to be the worst President (even though some in the media suggest that Jimmy Carter was the worst President, followed by Joe Biden); Olaf Scholz would be the worst German Chancellor; and Emmanual Macron would be the worst French President. And the list would go on. There are no true leaders around these days…

Pope: God Loves Us As We Are!

ANSA reported on July 25:

“God loves us just as we are, Pope Francis tells a young transgender person in a new podcast produced by Vatican Radio ahead of World Youth Day in Lisbon and released on Tuesday… after hearing the story of Giona, who spoke about the challenges of being a believer, while accepting the reality of having physical challenges and being transgender.”

This is of course NOT what the Bible says.

No More Visa-Free Travel in Europe

Travel Noire wrote on July 21:

“The days of visa-free travel throughout most of Europe are about to change. Starting early next year, the European Union will implement the European Travel Information and Authorization System requiring all visitors from visa-free countries to obtain travel authorization prior to their departure.

“The European Travel Information and Authorization System is not your traditional visa. It’s a straightforward online application process with approval delivered by email. Travelers will need to fill out an online form with basic biographical information, travel plans and travel history, along with security questions. While most applicants will receive approval within an hour, some may experience a wait of up to 96 hours for further checks. The cost of the application is approximately $8, applicable to travelers of all ages. Once approved, the travel authorization will be valid for multiple entries over three years or until the traveler’s passport expires…

“European Travel Information and Authorization System will be required for travel to all member countries including full Schengen members, like Spain, France, and Italy, European Free Trade Association countries, like Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, future Schengen members, like Bulgaria and Cyprus, and European microstates, like Andorra and Monaco…

“As Europe gears up for the rollout, it’s essential to remember that the length of time American tourists can spend in Europe remains unchanged. United States passport holders are still allowed to stay up to 90 days within a 180-day period without a visa. For stays longer than 90 days, a special visa will be required.”

Support for Germany’s AfD Reaches Unparalleled Levels

Bloomberg wrote on July 22:

“Support for the far-right Alternative for Germany climbed to a record, widening its lead over all three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition. In the latest sign of voter frustration with the government, the AfD — as the party is widely known — increased to 22%, trailing only the conservative Christian Democrat-led bloc [CDU] at 26%, according to a poll conducted for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper by INSA.

“Support for Scholz’s Social Democrats was at 18%. The junior coalition partners, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats, were at 14% and 7%, respectively. The AfD’s advances in recent months have been fueled by discontent over issues ranging from record immigration, persistently high inflation and costly climate-protection measures.

“Coalition infighting, including a drawn-out feud over measures to shift household heating away from fossil fuels, has further irritated voters. The INSA poll said 70% were dissatisfied with the government and 60% with Scholz’s performance as chancellor…”

As reported by Bild Online, dated July 23, according to some experts and observers, the AfD is already the strongest party in Germany, even leading over the CDU.

Criminalizing Politically Incorrect Speech?

The Washington Examiner wrote on July 18:

“A new poll conducted for Newsweek found that ‘44% of those aged 25-34 think “referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense,’ versus just 31% who disagree. The remainder ‘neither agree nor disagree’ or ‘don’t know.'”

“This is a striking finding…  It is worthwhile to ask a simple question: Why?… Knowledge of history, which could teach us that compelled speech is antithetical to the idea of a free society, has gone by the wayside. Fidelity to tradition, which ensures we do not make revolutionary changes without due thought, is now out of fashion. And a sense of humility, which endows people with the sense that the accumulated wisdom of the past may be greater than an on-the-fly thought in the present, has all but disappeared…

“If we value tolerance more than anything else, then why do so many support draconian punishments — quite intolerant, if you ask me — for those who use incorrect pronouns?… even the most tolerant of societies must be intolerant of something. After all, there is no such thing as a society without any standards…’

This whole woke concept is so nonsensical. And the consequences of this brain-washing mentality are alarming and pose real threats to a democratic society, not to speak of the lack of upholding godly standards. Also note the next article.

Mad LGBT Scientists Playing God

IFN wrote on July 22:

“Scientists from the LGBT community have started a biotech firm with the express purpose of seeking to manufacture human eggs and sperm in a lab so that same-sex couples can produce children containing the DNA of both partners…

“If the experimental technology pans out, the human egg created in a lab with the DNA of a gay man in a same-sex relationship could be fertilized by the sperm of his partner, and then the resulting embryo would be carried by a surrogate through to the birth of a baby that is genetically related to both men. Lesbians could also use the technology to create sperm, allowing them to have babies with genes from both women. Transgender couples could also have biologically related babies.

“So much is wrong about this situation. The creation of lab babies to satisfy the desires of LGBT activists is morally and ethically bankrupt. It not only challenges the natural order created by God, but it raises extremely serious concerns relating to issues such as human cloning, designer babies, eugenics and even cross-species development… These mad scientists are playing God…”

God DESTROYED Sodom and Gomorrah. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His standards do not change. What the article above is describing is sickening and ungodly.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Trump a “Target in the January 6 Investigation”

The New York Post wrote on July 18:

“Former President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday that his attorneys had informed him he is a target of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — and that he is prepared for ‘an Arrest and Indictment’ in the case. Trump… decried what he called a ‘WITCH HUNT’ and ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ on his Truth Social platform.

“‘WOW! On Sunday night, while I was with my family, having just arrived from the Turning Point event in Florida, where I won the Straw Poll against all other Republican candidates with 85.7%, with all polls showing me leading in the Republican Primary by very substantial numbers, almost everyone predicting that I will be the Republican Nominee for President, and as I am leading Democrat Joe Biden in the polls by a lot, HORRIFYING NEWS for our Country was given to me by my attorneys,’ Trump wrote.

“‘Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.’

“Trump added: ‘So now, Joe Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, who I turned down for the United States Supreme Court (in retrospect, based on his corrupt and unethical actions, a very wise decision!), together with Joe Biden’s Department of Injustice, have effectively issued a third Indictment and Arrest of Joe Biden’s NUMBER ONE POLITICAL OPPONENT, who is largely dominating him in the race for the Presidency. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close.’”

This looks more and more like the methods of a Banana Republic, especially in light of the fact that nothing seems to happen in the Joe Biden/Hunter Biden numerous scandals. View our new program “America, Where ARE You Going?”

Biden’s Involvement in Trump’s Political Prosecution

The New York Post published the following opinion piece by Michael Goodwin on July 19:

“Most Americans are not fooled and see… the dirty hand of partisan politics, and conclude the whole thing is corrupt… There is no way to be more politically obvious than the way [AG Merrick Garland] slow-walked and settled the Hunter Biden case [with a “sweetheart deal”] and the vengeance with which he repeatedly goes after Donald Trump…

“There was never any doubt  [that Trump would become a “target” in the January 6 events]—that was the whole point when Garland took Nancy Pelosi’s tainted House select committee file and made a federal case out of it. Even when Garland, in a phony bid to appear fair, named headhunter Jack Smith as special counsel to go after Trump…, the smell of a fix was unmistakable… all the prosecutors gunning for him are Democrats, but we are told to believe politics has nothing to do with it…

“We’re also supposed to believe that… Biden… is playing zero role in Garland’s decisions to go after Trump. Some extremely naive people might have swallowed that once upon a time… But there is no excuse for cluelessness now that the truth of how the Justice Department behaves under Garland stands so nakedly obvious.

“Indeed, the results unfolding before us were predictable, thanks to a New York Times article back on April 2, 2022. Here’s a key section:

“‘The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments.

“‘And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6.’

“Assuming the article is accurate, it would mean Biden has been telling people he wanted Trump prosecuted since late 2021. And how precious of the Times to say Biden never spoke ‘directly’ with Garland about the matter, as if that makes it all kosher. In reality, anonymous White House sources tell the Times what Biden wants, and the Times delivers the message to Garland and the world with its story. The two men don’t have to speak ‘directly’ when the Gray Lady plays messenger.

“… that the zealousness for prosecuting the former president compared to the soft, favored treatment given the current president and his son smells to high heaven. That, too, [ought to] be a crime.”

The Storm on the Capitol Infiltrated by Federal Agents?

On July 17, Life Site News republished the following article by WND News Center:

“Tucker Carlson has dropped a bombshell during an interview, one of few he’s given since his abrupt departure from the [Fox] cable network. It’s that the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol, where a few hundred people rioted and vandalized parts of the building, were ‘filled’ with federal agents.

“How does he know? He got it from then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund… Carlson pointed out Sund would know, as ‘he was in charge of security at the site.’

“Carlson was canceled by the Fox News Channel before that interview could be aired.

“There long has been discussion of the idea that multiple federal agents acted as provocateurs at the events that day, encouraging those who may have been no more than interested participants in the Trump rally earlier in the day to become violent. Their goal would have been to trigger violence, which they then could blame on Trump, as Democrats have done in recent months. In fact, one person who was ranting around that day, telling people to go into the Capitol, and is on video doing so, but never has been charged.

“Carlson indicated he hopes to interview Sund again, this time without the restrictions imposed by Fox on the first interview.

“The PJNewsletter said, ‘We all suspected that the “conservative” network fired Tucker for speaking his mind. Some noted the timing of his cancellation – just days after he aired real footage from J6. And he revealed that Fox dumped him before he could report on this… The timing of this interview and Tucker’s ousting seems highly suspicious to some. Was it possible that Fox News was trying to censor this interview? Do they not want Americans to know that the U.S. Capitol Police chief believed that the crowd of “Trump supporters” had been infiltrated by federal agents?’”

Suspicious timing indeed.

The Cocaine Scandal Cover-Up

On July 16, The New York Post published the following editorial by Miranda Devine:

“Of all the excuses offered by the Secret Service to explain why it shut down the White House cocaine investigation last week after just 11 days, one jumped out as particularly ridiculous. 

“It couldn’t conduct interviews of potential cokeheads known to be in the vicinity of where the bag of drugs was found because it didn’t want to infringe on their civil rights, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC… Tell that to the hundreds of people rounded up by the FBI for just being in the vicinity of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

“Sorry, nobody believes that the Biden administration cares about safeguarding civil liberties unless it’s part of a cover-up... Shifting stories about where the cocaine was located add to the public skepticism, and then a flat-out lie about when the president and his son left the White House for Camp David that weekend compounded the problem. 

“Despite enlisting the help of the FBI, the Secret Service found no fingerprints or DNA evidence on the bag of cocaine [So the culprit wore gloves?] Even more astonishing is that, in a complex bristling with security cameras, the Secret Service said no surveillance video footage exists because the baggie was located in a ‘blind spot.’…

“Donald Trump, who is more familiar with the White House than most people, told Fox News on Sunday: ‘You know how many cameras they have opposite the front door of the Situation Room? [It’s] where you decide on war, where you decide on nuclear.’…

“Biden has a history of cozy relationships with the agency. Hunter once told a friend, in a message left on his laptop, how his father leveraged favors through his Secret Service agents: ‘guys that he got their daughter into the naval academy that he had to the VP residence and let them use his apartment to stay and cost the White House, guys he paid their health insurance premiums for anonymously.’’ 

Nobody believes that the culprit could not be found if there was a real interest in doing so.

More on Joe and Hunter Biden

 The New York Post wrote on July 20:

“A bombshell FBI informant file describing a $10 million bribery allegation against President Biden and his son Hunter was released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, showing that a Ukrainian oligarch claimed that he was ‘coerced’ into making the payoff.

“Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of natural gas company Burisma Holdings, told the FBI informant in 2016 while meeting at a coffee shop in Vienna, Austria, that ‘it cost 5 [million] to pay one Biden, and 5 [million] to another Biden,’ according to the redacted FD-1023 form. ‘Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden “was stupid, and his (Zlochevsky’s) dog was smarter,” Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden (on Burisma’s board) “so everything will be okay,”’ the June 2020 document says. 

“The source asked whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should ‘retain’ the younger Biden; Zlochevsky allegedly replied, ‘They both did.’”

The New York Post also reported that Zlochevsky allegedly said: “Don’t worry Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad.”

How FBI Director Christopher Wray Lied to the American People

Professor Jonathan Turley wrote the following on July 13 (the article was republished by the Ron Paul Institute):

“Yesterday’s hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray was another maddening experience of faux contrition and the open evasion. Wray apologized for violations that have already been established by courts or Congress (often over the best efforts of the FBI). However, on ample public evidence of new violations, Wray continued to use his favorite testimonial trilogy to block any questions: expressing (1) lack of knowledge, (2) ongoing investigation, and (3) promises of later answers or briefings…

‘Despite the near total lack of substance, Wray did make one surprising denial. He insisted that the FBI does not engage in censorship efforts, focuses only on ‘foreign disinformation,’ and does not pressure companies to censor others. Those denials are not only directly contradicted by the recent opinion of a federal court and the Twitter Files, but a new release from the Twitter Files and journalist Matt Taibbi…

“[Wray’s] statement is obviously false. The FBI maintained a large operation of agents actively seeking the censorship of thousands…  Taibbi, however, has released another example of how aggressive the FBI was with social media companies. In the latest Twitter Files release, there is one email exchange where Twitter ‘immediately’ suspended accounts flagged by the FBI without investigation.

“Taibbi explained: ‘In one shot, you can see the FBI asks to remove three accounts, that gets forwarded to Twitter, Twitter immediately suspends them, the accounts. But more importantly, when there’s a glitch, and the accounts remain up, the FBI immediately writes back and says, what’s the deal? We just wrote to you, why is it still up? So, that shows the nature of the relationship basically that it’s not really a collaboration. It’s much more like somebody reporting to an authority…’

“We also have hundreds of emails that show the FBI and other agencies targeting individuals for a wide array of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. The latter category is truly Orwellian…

“The latest email does not suggest that the FBI was the passive, helpful agency portrayed by the Director…”

The FBI, as well as many other American governmental agencies, have fallen into utter disgrace—so much so that many are advocating their complete overhaul, from the top down, or their total abolition.

NATO Members Furious With Zelensky

Breitbart wrote on July 14:

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s exasperated complaint about the slow pace of an invitation for his country to join NATO, delivered as the annual NATO summit began in Vilnius, Lithuania, may have actually moved the process backward by alienating the United States and allied leaders, the Washington Post claimed…

“Zelensky on Tuesday called it ‘unprecedented and absurd’ for NATO to speak vaguely about inviting Ukraine to join without setting a time frame and to add ‘conditions’ by demanding political reforms not demanded of the two newest alliance members, Finland and Sweden. ‘Ukraine also deserves respect,’ Zelensky fumed, blaming NATO’s hesitancy for giving Russia ‘motivation to continue its terror.’ ‘Uncertainty is weakness,’ he concluded.

“Some NATO leaders were publicly annoyed by Zelensky’s outburst. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Wednesday said a ‘slight word of caution’ was in order for the Ukrainian president, and suggested he try showing a little ‘gratitude’ if he expected allied countries to ‘give up their stocks’ of weapons to defend his nation…

“… according to the Washington Post on Thursday, the Biden White House was so miffed by Zelensky’s complaints that it ‘considered scaling back the “invitation” for Kyiv to join’ NATO. What NATO actually did at the conclusion of the Vilnius summit was declare that ‘Ukraine’s future is in NATO’ and promise that Kyiv will be invited at some undetermined point in the future, which is precisely the approach that made Zelensky angry…

“The Ukrainians believe full membership, with its commitment to collective defense, could have prevented Russia from invading, and full membership now might make the Kremlin back down instead of risking a world war… At one point, Zelensky threatened to boycott the Vilnius summit unless a firm timetable for Ukrainian membership was put forward. The Washington Post’s inside sources said the NATO leaders gathered in Lithuania were ‘stunned’ by Zelensky’s public rebuke, and the United States delegation was downright ‘furious.’…

“Zelensky fired off a string of Twitter posts after departing Vilnius that each contained the words ‘grateful’ or ‘thanks,’ suggesting a desire to put the controversy behind him…”

Still, ultimately, the rift between Europe and Ukraine will widen. Note the next two articles.

Zelensky Blocked From Attending EU Summit

Express wrote on July 15:

“Ukraine’s President Zelensky was left stunned after Latin American countries blocked his attendance at an upcoming EU summit with its leaders… on July 17-18.

“The Spanish Prime Minister extended an invitation to President Zelensky to attend the summit… However, several Latin American leaders objected strongly to Zelensky’s presence at the summit, forcing the Ukrainian president to pull out…

“Many Latin American countries enjoy good political and economic relations with Russia and are keen not to upset the Kremlin. Brazil, in particular, has seen its commercial ties with Moscow grow strongly… Other countries suspected of being within the Russian orbit include Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, as well as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.

“Latin American leaders were also reported to have ‘thrown cold water’ on the EU’s efforts to unite the continent in its support of Ukraine… Brussels had intended to issue a summit declaration text, that would have included several paragraphs of support for Ukraine…”

The monetary and economic interests of Europe pertaining to Latin America are perceived to be much more important than the “support” of Ukraine, which is, in any event, judged as being merely of self-serving importance, as the next article suggests.

The NATO 2023 Summit

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on July 15:

“On the one hand the US and its NATO allies came face to face with the reality that endless promises of ‘unlimited’ military aid to Ukraine to defeat Russia would not achieve that goal. Five weeks of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive have produced zero results. They have only snuffed out another estimated 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers, this time mostly drawn from the shrinking pool of forced – and barely trained – conscripts… when President Biden was asked right after agreeing to send Ukraine a tranche of ghastly cluster bombs why he did so, he replied, ‘we’ve run out of ammunition.’ It was an incredible admission, particularly considering the massive increase in already astronomical US military spending…

“Americans might want to know how their government can spend a trillion dollars per year on ‘defense’ and in addition add another hundred billion or so for Ukraine and end up with…no ammo…

“While many – especially in Kiev – expected some kind of concrete signal from NATO that Ukraine had a clear path to join the club… the path to membership was made more vague than ever. To add insult to injury, Stoltenberg remarked that a perhaps mortally-wounded Ukraine must win the war with Russia before NATO membership could even be considered. Biden himself painfully drove that death sentence for Ukraine home, remarking that, ‘no one can join NATO while a war is going on.’…

“One can certainly feel for Zelensky… NATO… never had any intention to go to war with Russia over Ukraine…

“So at the end of the day, the seemingly unremarkable Vilnius summit was in fact quite illuminating. Regimes fall slowly and then suddenly and we are seeing that process clearly in place with NATO. Ukraine has been hung out to dry, even as the dark lords of war will continue to spend billions shipping weapons to [Kiev]. After all, there is money to be made from this and everyone’s in on it.”

Others feel likewise that NATO has become obsolete. The most prominent proponent of that idea has been Donald Trump. But others agree. According to the New York Post, dated July 15, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “suggested this week that NATO should be disbanded. ‘It is insane to even keep NATO going…’ He was non-committal when asked by The Post whether, as president, he would pull the United States out of the longstanding alliance… ‘I don’t know how to handle it right now. There are many many options,’ he said.”

Russia Seizes Foreign Companies

The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 17:

“Russia has unexpectedly seized the local operations of Carlsberg CABGY [a Danish brewing company] and Danone DANOY [a French company–the largest dairy company in Russia], two of the world’s largest consumer-goods companies, in a move that escalates economic hostilities with the West… Russia placed Danone and Carlsberg’s local operations under temporary management, putting them under the control of the federal state property management agency…

“The move is the second time Russia has seized Western assets in the country since the Kremlin unveiled a decree in April that allows the state to take temporary control of assets of companies or individuals from what Moscow calls ‘unfriendly’ states. Russian officials have said that the seizures are in retaliation for similar moves by Western countries. In April, Russia took control of utilities owned by Germany’s Uniper and Finland’s Fortum…

“Among the Western companies to remain are several makers of food, drink and household products… Other major companies looking to exit Russia include brewing giant Heineken, which said in March it was doing everything it could to find a new owner for its business…

“Last year, Germany took control of the German business of Russian oil giant Rosneft and put Gazprom’s German natural-gas business, formerly known as Gazprom Germania, under trusteeship. Russia at the time warned that it could seize more Western assets.”

This development will not end any time soon.

Russia Stops Grain Deal With Ukraine

The Associated Press wrote on July 17:

“Russia halted an unprecedented wartime deal on Monday that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.

“Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Russia would suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative until its demands to get its own agricultural shipments to the world are met — even though the country has been shipping record amounts of wheat and its fertilizers also have been flowing…

“It’s the end of a breakthrough accord that the United Nations and Turkey brokered last summer to allow food to leave the Black Sea region… The deal provided assurances that ships won’t be attacked entering and leaving Ukrainian ports… [Ukraine announced they would continue with their shipments. Russia responded that they would consider those ships as hostile and subject to attack.]

“The warring nations are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations rely on…

“Asked Monday whether an [Ukrainian] attack on a bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia was a factor behind the decision on the grain deal, the Kremlin spokesman said it was not…”

This is hard to believe, given the fact that Russia called the attack on the bridge a terrorist attack, allegedly killing children.

Kennedy: I Never Suggested That Corona Was Engineered to Target Jews

Breitbart wrote on July 15:

“Democratic presidential challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is defending himself from claims of antisemitism after a New York Post reporter falsely claimed the candidate said COVID-19 was engineered to protect Jews… video of Kennedy’s remarks… show that Kennedy never actually said that coronavirus had been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jews.

“What Kennedy does say is he believes that several governments have developed the ability to target bioweapons at particular ethnicities. As evidence that this might be possible, he cites research that suggested some groups were more susceptible to COVID-19 than others — but he adds that he does not know if that was intentional… He also said he ‘never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews’…

“Rabbi Shmuley Boteach… defended Kennedy Saturday evening… ‘Bobby’s father was murdered by Palestinian terrorist Sirhan Sirhan because of his strong support for Israel and Bobby recently marched with me against the demonization of the Jewish state at the giant ‘Israel Day’ parade in New York City carrying an enormous Israeli flag. He has publicly called upon the Biden Administration not to give Iran billions of dollars in a second Iran deal that would ultimately result in an Iranian nuclear weapon. In our recent interview together Bobby called upon the Democratic Party to return to the strong, unconditional support of Israel that was the hallmark of the party under the leadership of his uncle…’

“Kennedy is experiencing the same treatment doled out to Donald Trump, who — as a candidate and as president — was constantly smeared by the media as an antisemite despite defending Jews and supporting Israel strongly.”

As the Editorial by Brian Gale in this Update admonishes, one must separate fact from fiction or fake news. Note the next two articles.

Kennedy’s Support for Israel

Breitbart wrote on July 16:

“Kennedy explained why he supports the Jewish state… ‘I believe, in my heart, it is core to the values I was raised with,’ noting the pro-Israel views of his father, the late Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-NY), and his uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)…

“Kennedy’s father, notably, was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, by a crazed Palestinian, Sirhan Sirhan, who targeted Kennedy on the first anniversary of the Six-Day War over his public support for Israel. Kennedy had been on track to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination on an anti-war platform.

“Kennedy expressed his concern for growing antisemitism within the Democratic Party and a younger generation of Americans…”

Sadly, antisemitism is rising again throughout the world. In reality, it never was dead.

No Stronger Champion for Israel Than Kennedy

Israel 365 News wrote on July 18:

“The lawyer… has come under fire for recent remarks about COVID-19. Many have said that Kennedy’s comments on a study, which suggested that Ashkenazi Jews were less affected than others by the virus, are antisemitic. Many others, including prominent Jewish leaders, have defended him. ‘It’s clear to me now that I need to be much more careful,’ Kennedy told JNS. ‘I have to learn a lesson from this, and the lesson I learn is that I have to understand that the words that I use have impact, and they can be misused and misinterpreted,’ he said. ‘I regret talking about that study, and I am going to be careful to make sure that I don’t do anything like that in the future.’…

“His father, Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, a former U.S. attorney general and senator, and his uncle, the former president, were strong supporters of Israel. Bobby was in Israel in 1946 and 1947, and both he and his brother supported “the sacred alliance between Israel and the United States,” said the current presidential candidate, who is known as RFK Jr.

“Kennedy added that his uncle, the late Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy, a longtime U.S. senator from Massachusetts, ‘was the architect of the exodus of oppressed Soviet Jewry to safe havens’ in the 1980s and early 1990s. ‘There is nobody in the presidential race who is going to be a stronger champion for Israel than me,’ Kennedy told JNS…

“What was once ‘an oasis for justice and rights in the Middle East’ is instead seen as an ‘imperial nation’ that oppresses the ‘indigenous population of Palestinians,’ Kennedy said. ‘There’s very little understanding of the evolution of the Jewish state, of what was happening in Palestine prior to the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate after the empire. The entire history going back thousands of years.’ 

“Kennedy told JNS that he is aware of no other country that has Israel’s military discipline, or what he calls, its ‘unique moral approach’ to warfare…

“Kennedy, who is Catholic, sees Christianity as an extension of Jewish scripture. ‘Jesus never stopped being a Jew, by the way,’ he said. ‘His disciples basically opened up his ideological and religious philosophy to non-Jews. We were raised with the idea that we were kind of little brothers of the Chosen People.’…

“‘[Israel is] the historical homeland of the Jewish people, from which they were driven and to which they returned as well.’ It is a ‘prevailing yet erroneous’ view that ‘Israel settled in a place where they didn’t belong,’ Kennedy said. ‘The idea that is just a distortion, a perversion of history.’”

In fact, the Promised Land is the historical homeland of the House of Israel and the House of Judah. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy—From Now Until Forever.”

AGAIN! Democrats Try to Censor JFK Jr. At Hearing on Censorship

Fox News wrote on July 20:

“House Democrats on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to remove Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from a hearing on federal government censorship… That effort and others by Democrats to silence him at the hearing prompted Kennedy to say, ‘This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing.’ Kennedy… was  invited by Republicans to testify at a hearing at the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. But after Kennedy’s opening remarks, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., moved to take the hearing into executive session to discuss  Kennedy’s alleged violation of a House rule aimed at banning testimony that defames or degrades others. Wasserman Schultz said the witness made ‘despicable’ antisemitic and anti-Asian comments in the last few days, referring to his comment [about] COVID.

“Kennedy used his opening remarks to lament the Democrats’ efforts to censor his speech, and broader efforts to censor his run for the White House. He said his speech announcing his candidacy was censored five minutes into his speech by YouTube. ‘Censorship… was appalling to my father, to my uncle, to FDR, to Harry Truman, to Thomas Jefferson…’ Kennedy noted recent emails that show the Biden administration tried to censor his comments about vaccines, just three days into the start of that administration. ‘They had to invent a new word called “malinformation” to censor people like me,’ he said. ‘Malinformation is information that is true, but it is inconvenient to the government, that they don’t want people to hear.’”

According to Breitbart, dated July 20, “Democrats notably tried to censor Kennedy after his opening statement during the hearing, in which he defended his record on racism and antisemitism, and disputed claims by 102 Democrats in a letter that he had allegedly ‘spread vile and dangerous antisemitic and anti-Asian conspiracy theories.’”

None of the House Democrats came to Kennedy’s defense, but Kennedy commented that not all of the House Democrats signed the letter. In fact, the majority did not.

War Propaganda: They Are Coming For Your Children!

On July 17, the Ron Paul Institute published the following article by Ron Paul:

“As a rule, US war reporting since Vietnam has been mostly mainstream media cheerleading the mission rather than digging beyond government war propaganda. After all, it was images of American boys coming home in body bags shown on the six o’clock news across America that finally galvanized mainstream opposition to that war.

“The Pentagon learned its lesson by the first Gulf War, and it severely restricted up-close media coverage. Only ‘trusted’ journalists were able to report from the front lines. Most of the press corps wrote up stories based on US military press releases from luxury hotels in Baghdad.

“By the time of Gulf War II the Pentagon came up with the concept of ‘embedding’ select journalists with the troops. This allowed the story to be framed by the Pentagon with the false impression that actual journalism was taking place. It felt authentic, because the journalist was with the troops and close to the action, but the story presented what the Pentagon wanted to be presented.

“This is perhaps a long way of pointing out that US mainstream media coverage of the war in Ukraine leaves a lot to be desired… Russia is losing, they report. Russia has already lost, as Biden said recently. Most Americans don’t go out of their way to listen to actual experts like Col. Doug Macgregor, who from the beginning has been telling a very different story. Thus Americans continue to be fed propaganda…

“We are on a very slippery slope, with Biden’s neocons continuing to escalate in the face of massive Ukrainian losses and an apparent shortage of US troops. Make no mistake, if the US/NATO proxy war with Russia is not halted the next step will be to look at the US Selective Service. That means they are coming for your kids. How long before America wakes up and says ‘NO’?”

This development will also be repeated in Germany and other European nations. Will the Germans say “NO”? Would the government even care? Note the next articles.

Germany Is Ukraine’s Second Largest Arms Supplier

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on July 15:

“Germany is actually Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier, after the United States. Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a new arms package worth 700 million euros, including additional tanks, munitions and Patriot air defence systems at the Nato summit in Vilnius, putting Berlin, as he said, at the very forefront of military support for Ukraine…

“The Ukraine crisis has provided the context for accelerating Germany’s militarization… Germany is the Biden Administration’s closest ally in the war against Russia…

“Rheinmetal, the great 135-year old German arms manufacturing company, has disclosed that it is opening an armoured vehicle plant in western Ukraine at an undisclosed location in the next twelve weeks…”

Running Out of Ammunition

CNN wrote on July 18:

“The US and Europe are struggling to provide Ukraine with the large amount of ammunition it will need for a prolonged counteroffensive against Russia, and Western officials are racing to ramp up production to avoid shortages on the battlefield…

“The dwindling support of artillery ammunition has served as a wake-up call to NATO… since the alliance did not adequately prepare for the possibility of a protracted land war in Europe following decades of relative peace… the ammunition will still take ‘years’ to mass produce to acceptable levels, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN Sunday…

“A German government source told CNN that Berlin has taken steps to try to close existing gaps in ammunition stocks and to increase ammunition reserves, noting that the munitions for the Swiss-made Gepard tank, which has been provided to Ukraine, is now being produced in Germany…”

It was clear from the outset that, unless Russia were to win very quickly, the war would rage for a long time.

Army Technology wrote on July 18:

“The German Bundeswehr has just issued a large-volume order for service and practice artillery ammunition worth around 1.3 billion Euros ($1.46bn)… The framework contracts will help to assure a secure supply of ammunition to the armed forces of Germany and other Nato nations…”

Germany to Have the Best Equipped Army Division?

The Economic Times wrote on July 17:

“Germany is confident it will have the best equipped army division amongst European NATO allies in 2025, Army Chief Alfons Mais told Reuters, as countries are scrambling to gear up their troops in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… Berlin… aims to have the first of three divisions operational by 2025, with the second to follow in 2027…

“‘This will be good enough,’ the lieutenant general said. ‘It will be sufficient, in any case, to contribute the best equipped division of all European NATO partners in 2025. At least, this is our joint goal with our Dutch partners.’”

The war machine is in full gear. And it will get worse. Note the next article.

Europe to Become a Nuclear Deterrent?

Express wrote on July 17:

“Alarm bells rang when German general Klaus Naumann, French admiral Jacques Lanxade, former Labour UK Europe minister Denis MacShane and German former senior foreign policy adviser Margarita Mathiopoulos jointly authorized an article for the Atlantic Council calling for a European nuclear deterrent. The article suggested that the UK, France and Germany should get together to provide a Europe-wide nuclear deterrent in the face of threats from Russia…

“There are also worries over reports that President Joe Biden wants European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to be the next NATO General Secretary. Ms von der Leyen is a former German defence minister who has pushed strongly for an EU army.

“The article said: ‘… Europe will need a convincing conventional and nuclear deterrent of its own, and Germany will be key…’ The four said that the war in Ukraine made it clear Germany needs to play a more significant role in NATO which means it needs a nuclear deterrent… ‘This, then, is the moment to start a debate in Berlin, Paris, and London about a trilateral French, British, and German nuclear European Defense Initiative, and the responsibility of those three powers to protect Europe if Article 5 is invoked in a worst-case-scenario.’ [Article 5 says that an attack on one NATO ally is to be considered as an attack against all NATO member states].”

The Bible says that Europe, under German leadership, will become a nuclear power… and that it WILL use nuclear weapons against their enemies!

German Chancellor Wants to Stay in Power

The Associated Press wrote on July 14:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed optimism Friday that support for a far-right party which has been surging in the polls lately will shrink to previous levels again by the time of the next national election in 2025… Recent polls have shown support for the party, known by its German acronym AfD, at around 20% and ahead of Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats…

“Aside from fears about growing migration, AfD has benefitted from skepticism in parts of the electorate about the government’s plans to tackle climate change and Germany’s military aid to Ukraine. The German domestic intelligence agency recently warned that anti-war views and climate disinformation are partly spread by Russia-backed channels and pro-Moscow influencers [NOTE: These are alarming developments. Suddenly, everyone who is opposed to war—any war—is being treated by Germany’s “domestic intelligence agency” as a “Russian agent”?].

“Scholz insisted that the gradual increase in support Germany is providing Ukraine — which includes 17 billion euros ($19 billion) worth of arms such as high-end Leopard 2 tanks and advanced air-defense systems — enjoys mainstream backing…

“On climate change, he played down the recent dilution of a bill on replacing fossil fuel heating in millions of German homes following strong pushback from the opposition, tabloid media and even members of his own three-party coalition. Scholz admitted he wasn’t happy with months of bickering over the bill between his junior governing partners, the libertarian Free Democratic Party and the environmentalist Greens, but made clear he could live with the compromise, which still needs to be passed by parliament…

“The 65-year-old, who took office in late 2021, also made clear that he expects to hold the reins in Berlin for some time. ‘I’m at the beginning of my work as chancellor,’ he said.”

Scholz appears to be totally oblivious as to what is really going on in Germany. His coalition government is being perceived by most Germans as an utter failure.

A European Move to the Right!

The Daily Mail wrote on July 14:

“Across the continent, millions of citizens are shifting their allegiance towards populist Right-wing parties. The dramatic development will transform the EU if the swelling wave of populist sentiment translates into political power at the bloc’s parliamentary elections next year.

“… the EU’s traditional social democrats, green ideologues and Left-wingers are losing their appeal at the ballot box. The rebellion has been growing — and the dominos continue to fall. Right-wingers have gained power in Sweden, then in Italy, Finland and Greece. The Spanish could be next, with national elections in a week, then Holland and… Germany could soon follow.

“… more than a third of the EU’s 27 member nations are now run, or highly influenced, by populist-style governments or factions. All favour halting uncontrolled migration, tackling crime, promoting traditional families and pausing hated EU laws aimed at forcing people to alter their lifestyles to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“The change in political outlook means the EU, a bloc rooted in technocratic social democracy, may soon become too liberal for the ordinary people living within its borders…

“Vienna University’s Anthony J. Constantini, who specialises in studying populism [says:] Voter anger on migration is a ‘clear driver’ of Right-wing victories… adding that supporters of populism have been ‘lambasted as racist’ and ‘most of the Right-wing victories have been chalked up to disinformation’. He continues: ‘The EU is either ignoring the facts, or wilfully misunderstanding them. There remains a persistent reluctance (within the EU) to understand exactly why populists and the far-Right are succeeding.’

“Eight years ago, when then German Chancellor Angela Merkel unilaterally invited 1.3 million Syrian migrants into Germany, some who arrived were opportunists from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, sub-Saharan Africa and the Balkans… pretending to be escaping war and persecution…. Europeans are telling their politicians to look after their own people first, amid soaring inflation and energy and food price rises.

“Millions of voters also blame high immigration — the EU received almost 900,000 asylum seekers last year alone, nearly double the number in 2021 — for rising crime, a crippling housing shortage, terror attacks, social problems and what they may see as an erosion of European culture.

“Migrant youths stand accused of fuelling a gun-and-gang crime wave in Sweden unseen in that liberal nation until the influx of new arrivals from 2015… on those arrested, prosecuted and sentenced for firearms offences over five years to 2021… 85 per cent were born abroad or had a parent who hailed from overseas… The majority had roots in Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon as well as Balkan countries, Kosovo, Bosnia and Serbia…

“Last September, 12 of Germany’s 16 states blocked further arrivals, insisting they could not ‘absorb’ any more. A national shortage of 700,000 homes is expected by 2025, with surveys showing that half of Germans blame immigration for the crisis. Anger rose further when 110 elderly nursing-home residents in Berlin were evicted earlier this year to give their rooms to migrants.

“Uglier still, according to the Right-wing Alternative for Germany MPs, half of the gang-rape convictions in Germany last year were committed by recently arrived foreigners without citizenship. A record high of 789 gang rapes, exceeding two a week, was logged by the Berlin government. This has fuelled an anti-migrant revolt by German women and families.

“There is also a growing sense of unease across Europe that a new wave of Islamist terrorism will soon break out. According to Dutch intelligence, the terror group Islamic State has started reintroducing active ‘commando units’ through the EU’s borders.

“Thibault de Montbrial, president of France’s Centre for Reflection on Homeland Security, said in a recent interview that the easy infiltration by Islamic State was down to the ‘tragic’ decision by Angela Merkel to open borders to all-comers. In the past eight years alone, hundreds in France have been killed by Islamist terrorist attacks and nearly 1,200 wounded.”

Like Olaf Scholz, many governmental leaders in Europe seem to be unwilling to consider the fact that to a large extent, THEY and their unrealistic policies are to be blamed for the dissatisfaction and “rebellion” of their citizens.

Canada Is Fallen—Trudeau “a Modern-Day Caligula”

Fox News wrote on July 16:

“The son of a Canadian pastor drew raucous applause from the European Parliament earlier this month when he pleaded for international pressure in the case of his father…

“‘I am here today in desperation, a cry for help,’ Nathaniel Pawlowski, 23, told members of the EU Parliament on July 4. ‘I would like to stand here and tell you all the things about freedom and democracy that I like, but I no longer know those things. They have been taken away from us Canadians. Canada has fallen.’… his father, Pastor Artur Pawlowski… [was arrested] five times after he continued to conduct services in defiance of a court order, including once in the middle of a busy highway on his way home from church…

“Pawlowski was found guilty in May of mischief and breaching a release order when he delivered a 19-minute speech to truckers who were protesting federal vaccine mandates by blocking Alberta’s border with Montana in February 2022. In the speech, Pawlowski advised truckers against their plan to go to the provincial capital of Edmonton, urging them instead to remain peaceful but not to ‘break the line’ against the government at the border. He was arrested days later and spent 50 nights in two separate prisons…

“Pawlowski remains under house arrest as he awaits another court date on Aug. 9, and also faces a charge pending a constitutional challenge under the provincial Critical Infrastructure Defense Act for allegedly participating in blocking the border crossing, which could carry a sentence of up to 10 years.

“‘We no longer have freedom of religion, or freedom of speech, or the right to protest or assemble or associate or express ourselves or have free media or disagree with the government,’ Nathaniel Pawlowski told the EU Parliament. ‘Anyone who does so is arrested, charged and jailed as political dissidents.’ His speech was followed by a recorded video in which his father likened his situation in Canada to growing up behind the Iron Curtain in communist Poland.

“The pastor’s son has himself has been slapped with charges for a sermon he delivered in April outside a drag queen story hour with children at the Calgary Public Library, during which he allegedly violated a municipal bylaw passed in March that prohibits protests within 100 meters of a recreation facility or library entrance.

“The law was passed after Pastor Derek Reimer was thrown out of a public library in Calgary after interrupting a drag queen story time for children. Reimer was subsequently arrested and jailed for continuing to protest such events. Artur Pawlowski told Fox News Digital at the time that the arrest of Reimer, whom he knows, indicates that the way authorities enforced COVID-19 protocols in Canada is now being used to enforce ideology. ‘I myself have been charged for preaching and reading the Bible publicly because the government claims the Bible isn’t inclusive and is hateful,’ Nathaniel Pawlowski told the parliament…

“Likening Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ‘a modern-day Caligula,’ Pawlowski continued, ‘We cannot allow these mad emperors to run mad. And remember, all of this is being done under the guise of health, safety and protecting us by stripping our rights and ushering in tyranny.’

“Among the European MEPs who invited Pawlowski to address parliament was Christine Anderson, a German who rebuked Trudeau to his face in March 2022, accusing him of trampling ‘fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalizing his own citizens as terrorists just because they dare to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy,’ and calling him a ‘disgrace for any democracy.’..

“Nathaniel Pawlowski told Fox News Digital that when he returned to Canada, customs officials in Montreal, Quebec, told him that there was a warrant out for his arrest…

“Artur Pawlowski told Fox News Digital that he is ‘enraged’ at how he and his family are being treated by Canadian authorities… ‘Now they want to hurt my children, my family, my wife. They are coming after our children, and those are the tactics of every totalitarian regime. The Gestapo did it. The KGB did it. Every totalitarian regime, every dictatorship has this playbook… if I could deliver a message to them, I would simply say that one day they will stand before the Judge of judges who does not take bribes, and they will give an account for every word that they said and everything they have done. One day justice will be served.’”

AMEN to that! As we reported many times before, Canada has become a dangerous totalitarian dictatorship under Justin Trudeau, but very few governmental leaders in the West seem to care.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

How the White House Is Twisting the Facts

The New York Post wrote on July 7:

“White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called The Post ‘irresponsible’ Friday for asking point-blank whether cocaine found in the West Wing last weekend belonged to any member of the first family… ‘the Biden family was not here,’ Jean-Pierre added… ‘They were at Camp David. They were not here Friday, they were not here Saturday or Sunday, they were not even here Monday. They came back on Tuesday. So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible, and I’ll just leave it there.’…

“In fact, the first family — including first son Hunter Biden, an admitted past crack cocaine addict — did not leave the White House for Camp David until around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 30, almost exactly 48 hours before the dime-sized bag of illicit white powder was found by a Secret Service agent on a routine patrol…

“Five days after the drugs were discovered in a cubby near the West Wing’s basement entrance and steps from the Situation Room, the White House has yet to flat-out deny that the cocaine belonged to any member of the president’s family or staff…

“Elsewhere in the briefing, national security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared to suggest that outside workers may have been responsible for the cocaine getting inside one of the most secure buildings in the world…”

Also, the location where the substance was found is NOT open to the general public.

Report 24 wrote on July 6:

“Just hours after Hunter Biden visited the White House, the Secret Service found cocaine there. Joe Biden’s son is known for his drug use, thanks in particular to his ‘Laptop from Hell’.

“…While it is likely that there would be fingerprints and DNA evidence on the package, it is highly unlikely that these would be… publicly assigned to Hunter Biden. And this despite the fact that he has a long drug history and was also in the White House at the time. In addition, according to ex-US President Donald Trump, the surveillance recordings should show the culprit.

“Hunter Biden, who has not only admitted a past addiction to crack but has repeatedly recorded himself smoking, snuffing and otherwise ingesting the substance on dozens of occasions, was also on the White House grounds Friday before he went to Camp David with his father for the second weekend in a row.

“And as expected, there will probably be no further investigations. Silence is the motto. Because the Biden administration has absolutely no need for another drug scandal involving Hunter Biden – and that even in the White House.”

Caught in a Lie

Breitbart added on July 7:

“… that claim [that the Biden family was not present when cocaine was deposited and found in the White House] is contradicted by contemporaneous reporting by the White House pool, which said that the Biden family had, in fact, been in the White House, including Hunter, on Friday until leaving for Camp David that evening.

“The pool report supplied by Eugene Daniels of POLITICO on Friday, June 30, stated: ‘Poolers saw Jill Biden, Baby Beau and Hunter Biden climb into presidential SUV. President Biden followed a few minutes later. Motorcade rolling to Fort McNair as of 6:34p.’

“Moreover, there is photographic evidence to back up the pool report. The Associated Press published [a] photo on Friday, June 30, showing both Joe and Hunter Biden leaving Fort McNair for Camp David.”

Fox News added on July 7:

“According to the Friday, June 30 pool report, Biden gave remarks in the Roosevelt Room that afternoon, and didn’t depart the White House for Camp David until 6:34 p.m., along with First Lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, and Hunter’s son Beau Biden.”

How long can the White House continue their lies to protect Hunter Biden and, more importantly, Joe Biden? On July 13, the Secret Service announced that the investigation had ended and that no culprit had been found!

US Cluster Bombs for Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 7:

“Washington will supply Ukraine with cluster munitions as part of a military aid package worth $800 million to help fight off the Russian invasion…

“German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected supplying such weapons to Ukraine on Friday. Speaking in Vienna, Baerbock said the government stood by the Oslo Convention, which is considered a milestone in the fight against the controversial explosives. An international ban on them came into force in 2010. [On the other hand, according to Die Welt, dated July 7, Steffen Hebestreit, spokesman for the German government, expressed “understanding” for the American position.]

“To date, 110 countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and a further 13 nations have signed but not ratified the Convention — so they are not yet obliged to implement it. Signatories commit to neither produce, stockpile nor use the weapons.

“However, the world’s largest countries ―including Russia, the US, China, India and Pakistan ― and also Ukraine have not signed…

“Despite the Convention’s adoption, the proportion of cluster munitions victims has increased significantly, especially in recent years, due to escalated use of the bombs…

“According to Human Rights Watch, Russian troops have ‘extensively used cluster munitions in Ukraine, killing many civilians and causing other serious civilian harm.’ Ukrainian forces had also used them, causing ‘numerous deaths and serious injuries to civilians,’ the international non-governmental organization said.

“Handing such munitions over to Kyiv would ‘inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international opprobrium of their use,’ the group continued…

“Cluster munitions are dropped as bombs from airplanes or fired as rockets from howitzers, artillery guns and rocket launchers. They contain hundreds of smaller submunitions, known as ‘bomblets’, that then fall indiscriminately over wide areas that range in size from a few soccer fields to several hectares of land. Cluster bombs not only kill soldiers, but civilians, including many children.

“Such munitions have been in use since World War Two and were deployed extensively in the Vietnam War, for example. During that conflict, the US dropped some 260 million of them on neighboring Laos, making it the country with the world’s highest level of cluster munition contamination.

“According to Humanity & Inclusion, a France-based charity organization also known as Handicap International, only about 40% of the smaller bomblets contained in a cluster bomb detonate upon impact. The undetonated ones can still pose a deadly threat decades after they are deployed: The munitions remain ready to explode and can maim or kill a person at any time. They work in a similarly disastrous way to landmines, sometimes rendering affected areas uninhabitable. Some areas of Laos, for example, remain completely contaminated decades after the end of the war.

“Civilian populations are especially affected by the use of cluster munitions… [According to a report from 2022,] 97% of victims were civilians and 66% of those injured or killed are children…

“Ahead of the announcement on the US aid package, the executive director of the US Arms Control Association spoke out against the transfer of such weapons. Sending them ‘would be escalatory, counterproductive, and only further increase the dangers to civilians caught in combat zones and those who will, someday, return to their cities, towns, and farms,’ Daryl Kimball said.”

This is just such a crazy world of war-hungry irresponsible governmental officials, without any consideration for the life, well-being and welfare of civilians and children.

Biden’s Complicated History on Cluster Bombs

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“The Washington Post recalled Biden’s ‘complicated history’ — i.e. flip-flopping — on the issue of cluster bombs… The Post noted that Biden offered stern criticism of then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin…

“The Post recalled: ‘Amid reports that Israel had used cluster bombs in its invasion of Lebanon, some Democrats went so far as to push for cutting off aid to Israel. According to a contemporary UPI report, Biden said that if those reports were accurate, then Israel was clearly in violation. He said the United States should respond by “cutting off the ability to get access to that kind of weaponry in the future.”… Democrats also expressed such concerns during what the New York Times labeled “a highly emotional confrontation” on Capitol Hill with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in June 1982…’

“During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when Israel was again accused of using cluster bombs (this time against Hezbollah guerillas), then-Sen. Biden (D-DE) opposed a bill that would ban the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. His position would appear to have changed, but he continued to express skepticism of cluster bombs. In 2022, the Post noted, Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, delivered a speech in which she declared that cluster bombs have ‘no place on the battlefield.’ The administration had to walk that back.”

A Difficult Decision

The Huffington Post wrote on July 7:

“[Biden said he] ultimately took the Defense Department’s recommendation to provide the munitions and discussed the matter with allies and with lawmakers on the Hill. He said ‘the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition’ and the cluster bombs will provide a temporary fix to help stop Russian tanks. The move was met with divided reactions from Congress, as some Democrats criticized the plan while some Republicans backed it…

“Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., called the decision ‘unnecessary and a terrible mistake.’…  Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, backed the move, saying Ukraine needs access to weapons Russia already is using…

“Providing the cluster bombs will also ease the pressure on limited U.S. ammunition stockpiles. The U.S. has been taking massive amounts of 155 mm rounds from Pentagon stocks and sending them to Ukraine, creating concerns about eating into American stores…

“The last large-scale American use of cluster bombs was during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to the Pentagon. But U.S. forces considered them a key weapon during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, according to Human Rights Watch. In the first three years of that conflict, it is estimated the U.S.-led coalition dropped more than 1,500 cluster bombs in Afghanistan.”

Democrats Oppose Biden’s Decision

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“Democrats across the spectrum oppose President Joe Biden’s decision to provide Ukraine cluster bombs…

“Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, ‘Cluster bombs are munitions so horrific for civilians that more than a hundred nations have signed an international treaty banning them. Now the Biden administration is preparing to send them to Ukraine.’

“House Democrats swiftly came out against Biden’s [decision] to provide cluster bombs. Nineteen House progressives said in a joint statement:

“‘… The White House’s announcement runs counter to Congress’s restrictions on the transfer of these weapons and severely undermines our moral leadership. It underscores the work still ahead to press the U.S. to join the international community in banning the use of cluster munitions.’…

“Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last year that alleged Russian use of cluster bombs would ‘potentially be a war crime.’”

So, would this make Joe Biden a potential war criminal as well?

The New York Post wrote on July 8:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Saturday slammed President Biden for his plan to send indiscriminately lethal cluster bombs to Ukraine— suggesting that the choice ran afoul of Biden’s own ethics… ‘Stop the ceaseless escalation! It is time for peace… What happened to his conscience?’…”

Trump: Don’t Send Cluster Bombs, End the War

Breitbart wrote on July 11:

“‘Joe Biden should not be dragging us further toward World War III,’ former President Donald Trump said in a statement released Tuesday, calling to ‘immediately end the bloodshed in Ukraine’ and for a return ‘to a focus on America’s vital interest.’

“Trump warned: ‘He should be trying to END the war and stop the horrific death and destruction being caused by an incompetent administration. These unexploded cluster munitions will be killing and maiming innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children for decades to come, long after the war—we pray—has ended… If, as Biden inadvertently admitted, the reason for sending cluster bombs now is that the United States is ‘running out of ammunition’ (a great breach of classified information), that only further emphasizes the urgency of immediately deescalating this bloody, dangerous, and out of control conflict. It certainly means we should not be sending Ukraine our last stockpiles at a time when our own arsenals, according… Joe Biden, are so perilously diminished.

“There could be no more vivid proof that Joe Biden’s policy of endless war in Ukraine has tremendously weakened the United States than the humiliating admission that the USA is now out of ammo, something our enemies are undoubtedly salivating over. This ‘admitted’ weakness is an invitation to enemies all over the world. Joe Biden is needlessly and dangerously leading us into World War III, which would be a nightmare beyond imagination—obliteration’…

“These statements come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admits fear of Trump returning to the White House. ‘President Biden is the president during a full-scale war and he has been more helpful to us than President Trump,’ Zelensky stated in part, telling the Wall Street Journal, ‘In a situation like this, when there is support, you are afraid of changes.’”

NATO in Disunity

The Associated Press wrote on July 9:

“As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member. Military spending by member nations still lags behind longstanding goals. And an inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO’s next leader forced an extension of the current secretary general’s term for an extra year.

“Perhaps most thorny are questions over how Ukraine should be eased into the alliance. Some maintain admitting Ukraine to NATO would be the fulfillment of a promise made years ago and a necessary step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Others are fearful it would be seen as a provocation that could spiral into an even wider conflict… the challenges come at a moment when President Joe Biden and his counterparts are heavily invested in demonstrating harmony among members…

“Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni — one of Western Europe’s staunchest backers of Ukraine in the war — reiterated her country’s condemnation of the Russian aggression but called for the ‘universal application of the principles’ of the international convention banning the production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions…

“Also in the spotlight in Vilnius will be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the main obstacle blocking Sweden’s attempts to join NATO alongside its neighbor Finland…

“Turkey and the U.S. are also at an impasse over the sale of F-16 fighter jets. Erdogan wants the upgraded planes, but Biden says that Sweden’s NATO membership has to be dealt with first… Hungarian Prime Minister Vitkor Orban is also delaying his country’s approval of Sweden’s membership. In response, Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is blocking a $735 million U.S. arms sale to Hungary…

“More disagreements loom over NATO’s updated plans for countering any invasion that Russia might launch on allied territory. It’s the biggest revision since the Cold War…”

Regarding NATO’s updated plans, as mentioned above, note the next article.

How NATO Wants to Defend

The New York Times wrote on July 9:

“Supporting Ukraine and clarifying its relationship with the alliance will be a dominant theme at an upcoming summit. But NATO’s efforts to strengthen its own defenses along its eastern flank will also be key… NATO’s main task is to defend its 31 members… NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, insisted that NATO was a purely defensive alliance, but with a sharper sense of the threat it faced…

“At the moment, the total number of troops for the eight battle groups along the eastern flank is only 10,232…  The leaders at Vilnius are expected to approve plans on how to scale up to 4,000 to 5,000 troops — a brigade — in each of those eight countries, with clearly defined tasks and pre-positioned equipment.

“Separately, since the Russian invasion began, around 40,000 troops drawn from member nations were put on standby under NATO command, but officials admit that the forces it can quickly send to battle are currently nowhere near that level. Under its new plans, NATO aims, at least, to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days, though officials call that number ‘aspirational.’

“The main point, Mr. Stoltenberg said, is that the new regional plans detail what each country must do to help defend its assigned territory, and with what equipment. Those troops will exercise regularly with allies on the territory they are assigned to defend…

“NATO is coming to understand the sophistication and the vulnerability of its modern equipment. A modern Leopard 2A6 tank, the best of those provided to Ukraine, has excellent speed and armor and runs on most any fuel. But it needs two hours of complicated maintenance for every hour on the battlefield…

“It will also take convincing the leaders and voters of larger allies farther away from Russia that their own security is at risk, and that they are going to have to pay the considerable price of a more militarized Europe for decades to come. And that means being truly prepared to come to the aid of smaller countries bordering Russia, like Lithuania, while rebuilding their weak militaries and learning to rely less on the United States.

“For Lithuania, a country of 2.7 million people that borders Russia and Belarus, getting Germany to commit to permanently stationing a brigade inside its borders became a domestic political issue… Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, promised to station a brigade of 4,000 troops in the country — once Lithuania constructed the necessary infrastructure, including housing, schools and warehouses for ammunition and vehicles… Mr. Pistorius said, ‘Germany, of course, is willing and will be able to take responsibility now for the new eastern flank.’…

“NATO supports Germany’s decision for a brigade in Lithuania… But… most allies would continue to plan for rapid deployment of more forces in a crisis rather than stationing them permanently at the front, partly because of expense and partly out of caution — a war could start with troops in the wrong place, and massed troops could be exposed to a first attack.

“Despite all of the reassurances, the Balts feel vulnerable, given their size and their neighbor. And they feel that their past warnings about the imperial intentions of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia were played down by larger, more distant allies, like Germany…”

Germany’s dubious role and its declared goals in all of this should not be overlooked.

Erdogan Gives Green Light for Sweden…

The Associated Press wrote on July 10:

“Sweden’s membership of NATO took a big step forward on Monday after Turkey agreed to remove one of the last major roadblocks in return for help in reviving Turkey’s own chances of joining the European Union… President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committed to put the Nordic country’s accession protocol before Parliament ‘as soon as possible,’ the head of NATO said…

“There was no comment from Erdogan on the move, which many saw as linked in part to Turkey’s demands on other issues, particularly Erdogan’s desire for support for European Union membership from European leaders and for F-16 fighter jets from the United States…

“Biden welcomed the agreement and said he will work with Turkey ‘on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally.’ Biden’s reference to enhancing Turkey’s defense capability was a nod to Biden’s commitment to help Turkey acquire new F-16s…

“The Biden administration has backed Turkey’s desire to buy 40 new F-16s as well as modernization kits from the U.S…

“In exchange for Turkey’s help with NATO, Sweden has agreed to help unblock Turkey’s progress towards joining the European Union, which has been on hold since 2018… Earlier Monday, Erdogan had warned that he would block Sweden’s attempt to become the 32nd NATO ally unless European members of the military organization ‘pave the way’ for Turkey to join the world’s biggest trading bloc.

“Turkey first applied to join what is now the EU in 1987, but its membership talks have been at a standstill since 2018 due to democratic backsliding during Erdogan’s presidency, concerns about the rule of law and rights abuses, as well as disputes with EU-member Cyprus.

“Of the 31 NATO member countries, 22 are also members of the EU, like Sweden.”

“Erdogan Is Not a Good Person”

Bild Online published on July 11 the following editorial by Franz Josef Wagner:

“The people in his prisons know better. He is a terrible ruler. In Vilnius everyone shook hands with him. They shook hands with a prison guard. Suddenly people are talking benevolently about him… Erdogan is a friend of Putin. Turkey still gets cheap gas from Russia. What kind of two-faced man is Erdogan?…

“Sweden should become a NATO member, Erdogan agreed. He gets his F-16 fighter jets from the USA. The Swedes pass new terror laws. What a great statesman. What a double face. In the Turkish prisons, journalists, lawyers and members of the opposition think every minute about the oppressor Erdogan… Erdogan is not a good person.”

Zelenskiy Failed to Secure NATO Membership

The Guardian wrote on July 11:

“Volodymyr Zelenskiy has failed in a last-ditch effort to secure an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato after leaders of the 31 countries signed off on a declaration that did not give a firm timetable or clear conditions for its eventual membership.

“The frustrated Ukrainian president had accused Joe Biden and other leaders present at a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, of showing disrespect and complained that there was ‘no readiness’ to invite his country to join. But the dramatic lunchtime intervention on Tuesday had no impact on the final summit communique, issued a few hours later. It said that while ‘Ukraine’s future is in Nato’, the alliance would only ‘extend an invitation to Ukraine’ when Kyiv had completed certain ‘democratic and security sector reforms’.

“Zelenskiy said, in a statement issued after the communique: ‘Today I embarked on a trip here with faith in decisions, with faith in partners, with faith in a strong Nato. In a Nato that does not hesitate, does not waste time and does not look back at any aggressor … And I would like this faith to become confidence.’”

Many of the member states also said that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO until after Ukraine has won the war against Russia.

Disagreements Between USA and United Kingdom

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 8:

“US President Joe Biden’s upcoming European trip, where he will be popping in to see UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, will no doubt reinforce the optics of the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. At the same time, it will also conceal the underlying fact that London needs Washington far more than vice versa.

“Sunak was, of course, polite and diplomatic when signing the ‘Atlantic Declaration’ with Biden in June, a watered-down version of a full-fledged free trade deal with the United States. But the unilateral recalibration of UK-US ties wasn’t hard to miss. 

“Sunak said a free trade agreement was no longer ‘a priority’ for either side, and his officials said the declaration marked a ‘less sentimental and more pragmatic’ approach to the UK-US ‘special relationship.’ 

“For many, it was a watershed moment — the moment when Brexit’s dreams of unfettered UK global trade came crashing down to earth. For others, it was simply a reminder that the UK outside the European Union is weaker and less attractive to the US.  For Brexiteers in the UK, a free trade deal with the US was one of several promises made before and after the 2016 referendum that have failed to come to fruition. A potential deal with Washington was widely seen as partly compensating for the loss of free access to the EU, the UK’s largest trading partner.

“While the UK struggled to get former US President Donald Trump to walk the talk on his promise of a ‘massive’ trade deal during his time in the White House, it hasn’t been any easier with Biden at the helm. Protectionist pro-American trade policies remain the order of the day. Biden’s irritation with London’s inability to solve its ‘Irish question’ after Brexit has also played a role.

“US businesses are losing confidence in the UK as a place to invest in as a result of Brexit, rising corporate taxes and a year of political turmoil in London…”

The Government of The Netherlands Collapses

Euronews reported on July 9:

“Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the king to turn in the resignation of his four-party coalition. The government collapsed Friday because of irreconcilable differences within the coalition about how to rein in migration, a divisive issue that has split nations across Europe.

“The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the longest-serving premier of the nation, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen… The decision underscored ideological divisions that existed from the day the coalition was sworn in just over 18 months ago between parties that do not support a strict crackdown on migration…

“Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022… The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country.

“Rutte’s government worked for a law that could compel municipalities to provide accommodations for newly arrived asylum-seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass through both houses of parliament.

“The prime minister also promoted the European Union’s efforts to slow migration to the 27-nation bloc…”

Will the events in The Netherlands find a repetition in Germany? Note the next two articles.

Dissatisfaction With German Government

Die Welt wrote on July 9:

“The week-long dispute [within the German government] has caused approval ratings for the coalition’s policy to continue to fall… the Social Democrats [come] to 19 percent, as in the previous week. The Greens lose a point [and reach]13 percent.

“The FDP remains stable at seven percent. This brings the [governmental] traffic light parties together to 39 percent – less than ever before…

“The Union [CDU] can gain a point and is at 27 percent. The AfD remains at 20 percent, the left at 5 percent. The other parties can unite nine percent of the votes. According to the survey, 70 percent of citizens are dissatisfied with the work of the traffic light government – a new negative record…”

Steinmeier Warns Against AfD

Die Welt wrote on July 9:

“Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has expressed concern about the high poll numbers of the AfD and at the same time warned against pure protest elections…

“The AfD is currently around 20 percent in the nationwide polls – and thus ahead of the Chancellor Party SPD. In Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony, where new state parliaments will be elected in just over a year, the AfD is currently the strongest party in the current polls… ‘Yes, the polls are worrying,’ said Steinmeier. ‘But they must not lead us to automatically classify every critical question as populism and right-wing extremism.’

“[He said that] when larger parts of the electorate turn away from the ruling parties and the main opposition party does not win, this raises questions…

“According to Steinmeier, Germany should not block the US-announced delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine. It is true that this type of ammunition is still banned by the federal government and that Germany is against deliveries, he said. However, ‘in the current situation, Germany cannot stab the USA in the back…’

“With regard to the discussions about arms deliveries to Kiev, the Federal President emphasized that if the country [Ukraine] stops defending itself ‘or if we ensure that they are no longer able to defend themselves, it will be the end of Ukraine.’”

“Our Father” Problematic, Archbishop Says

The Guardian wrote on July 7:

“The archbishop of York has suggested that opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, recited by Christians all over the world for 2,000 years, may be ‘problematic’ because of their patriarchal association. In his opening address to a meeting of the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, Stephen Cottrell dwelt on the words ‘Our Father’, the start of the prayer based on Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4 in the New Testament. ‘I know the word “father” is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers has been destructive and abusive, and for all of us who have laboured rather too much from an oppressively patriarchal grip on life,’ he said.

“His comment… will divide members of the C of E, a body whose differences on issues of sexuality, identity and equality have been highly visible for years.

“After Cottrell’s speech, Canon Dr Chris Sugden, chair of the conservative Anglican Mainstream group, pointed out that in the Bible Jesus urged people to pray to ‘our father’. He said: ‘Is the archbishop of York saying Jesus was wrong, or that Jesus was not pastorally aware? It seems to be emblematic of the approach of some church leaders to take their cues from culture rather than scripture.’

“Rev Christina Rees, who campaigned for female bishops, said… ‘The big question is, do we really believe that God believes that male human beings bear his image more fully and accurately than women? The answer is absolutely not.’

“In February, the C o E said it would consider whether to stop referring to God as ‘he,’ after priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead…  saying ‘Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship’…

“One of the most divisive issues within the C of E, same-sex marriage, led to a decision earlier this year to allow clergy to offer services of blessings to gay and lesbian couples who have undergone a civil wedding…”

Breitbart added on July 8:

“The woke Church of England’s latest assault on the tenets of the Christian religion is apparently the Lord’s Prayer… The comments from Cottrell, the second-highest ranking bishop in the Church, come amid a broader push to adopt progressive beliefs from the CoE leadership…

“The issue of the gender of God has also become an increasingly contested debate within the Church of England, with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, previously declaring that God is ‘gender neutral.’ Welby has often used his position as the principal leader of the Church to push for left-wing issues, notably surrounding illegal immigration and climate change.

“Earlier this year, it was reported that the CoE was planning on establishing a project ‘on gendered language’ in reference to God later, with some suggesting  that phrases like ‘Our Father’ could be replaced by supposedly neutral terms or feminine alternatives in order to combat alleged sexism within the faith.”

The Bible clearly reveals that the God Family consists of God THE FATHER and Jesus Christ THE SON. If the Church of England wants to believe that the Highest in the Godhead is NOT our Father, would they also be teaching that Jesus was not a Male, when here on earth, or that He changed somehow into a “neuter” when He was resurrected? Please read our free booklet, “God the Father Is the Highest”

New Cardinals in the Catholic Church

Thomson/Reuters wrote on July 9:

“Pope Francis (86) on Sunday announced that he would elevate 21 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation. The ceremony to install them… will be held on Sept. 30…

“Eighteen of the churchmen are under 80 and will be able to enter an eventual conclave to choose the next pope. The other three, who are over 80 and too old to vote in a conclave, were named to thank them for their long service to the Church. All cardinals, regardless of their age, are allowed to take part in pre-conclave meetings known as General Congregations, giving them a say in the type of person they think their younger brother cardinals should choose.

“The new cardinals come from countries including the United States, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Portugal. Three of the new cardinals were recently named as heads of major Vatican departments, including Argentine Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department.

“Another significant appointment was that of Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-Yan of Hong Kong. Chow is one of the major links to the Catholic Church in communist China, where the Vatican is trying to improve conditions for Catholics.”

It will be extremely interesting to see who the next pope will be.

Jews Condemn Baker For Not Producing LGBTQ Symbols

JTA wrote on July 6:

“The request for rainbow-frosted cupcakes came from a repeat customer — a local [conservative] synagogue that had relied on the West Orange Bake Shop to make kosher desserts for its special events. But this year, bakery co-owner Yitzy Mittel decided to decline the order. He couldn’t bring himself to produce the Pride-themed goods.

“Mittel, an Orthodox Jew, had made a similar cake for an order the year before. But the experience unnerved him, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, because his understanding of Jewish law holds that LGBTQ symbols are ‘antithetical to what we stand for.’ The symbols are ‘a celebration of something which is against Torah,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to be making that cake.’…

“In the weeks since that decision, Mittel has gotten validation from the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last week that a Colorado web designer had the right to refuse to build a wedding site for a same-sex couple. The ruling expands on a 2018 decision, in which the court ruled a Colorado baker had the constructional right, on religious grounds, to refuse to create a wedding cake for a gay couple.

“But the local Jewish community is still reeling. Multiple rabbis have accused the baker of bigotry, and some local Jews are boycotting his shop. The area’s Jewish federation privately said it would stop buying from Mittel before publicly walking back its position. And Eshel, an advocacy group for LGBTQ Orthodox Jews and their families, announced an ‘ally training’ in West Orange this coming Sunday in response to the incident…

“The firestorm comes at a time of widespread advocacy by political conservatives against LGBTQ inclusion and rights. Pride events across the country have faced pushback this year.

“Some of that has taken place in Jewish communities. In another New Jersey town 30 miles away, Orthodox rabbis successfully petitioned their mayor to remove the Pride flags that were flying in front of a synagogue on a central street. The mayor later apologized and put the flags back up.

“But what happened in West Orange offers a particularly potent example of how culture wars can play out in — and divide — Jewish communities, in part because of the symbolism of a kosher bakery citing what it says are Jewish values to justify declining the order of a local synagogue. ‘While I know this has happened in other parts of the country I hadn’t expected it here,’ wrote Dan Cohen, senior rabbi of the Reform Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in nearby South Orange… ‘Then I learned that the bakery in question is a kosher bakery, and as a result, the bias was coming from within our Jewish community.’”

The real scandal is that a Jewish conservative (!) synagogue orders “Pride” cupcakes, and parts of the Jewish community support such a move and condemn the Jewish baker to refuse to produce cupcakes with symbols which were clearly designed to honor the LGBTQ movement (which is condemned by God).

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.