Munich Security Conference 2019: Europe vs. USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 16:

“NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg grew increasingly exasperated as he batted away different versions of the same question: Do you really still think that Trump believes in NATO? ‘Every time I speak to President Trump he tells me that he likes NATO!’ he told one reporter, to a flutter of incredulous laughter. ‘And not only that he likes NATO, but that he’s 100 percent in favor of it!’

“In her remarkably fired-up speech on Saturday too, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuked the spirit of Trumpism… ‘Who can pick up the pieces of the world’s puzzle? Only all of us together,’ she concluded, to a rush of audible excitement in the room, half of which stood up to applaud…

“US Vice President Mike Pence… on Saturday condemned European allies (in particular Germany, France and Britain) for adhering to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after Washington pulled the plug on the accord… Pence evoked a visit he made to Auschwitz the previous day to say anti-Semitism voiced by the Iranian leadership should be taken at its word. ‘The Iranian regime openly advocates another Holocaust,’ he said… ‘The time has come for our European partners to stop undermining US sanctions against this murderous revolutionary regime.’…

“Pence… received modest applause for his Iran comments… In an apparent dig at Germany, the vice president praised European allies who had taken a stand against the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline. ‘We commend others to do the same,’ said Pence… while the scheme is backed by Germany and France, it is opposed by the Baltic states and Poland. The US has said it fears that Europe could become dependent on Russian gas, while Washington also wants to sell shale gas to its allies. [‘We cannot strengthen the West by becoming dependent on the East,’ Pence said, according to Reuters.] However, Angela Merkel has dismissed US concerns, saying Europe is keen to have both Russia and the US as key energy suppliers… “

Rift Wide Open at Munich Security Talks

AFP added on February 16:

“The United States and European powers voiced sharply differing views on issues from Mideast security to trade Saturday, laying bare a deep trans-Atlantic rift in the era of President Donald Trump.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders… voiced dismay at a range of Trump decisions deemed hostile to America’s NATO allies. In one awkward moment Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence said he was bringing greetings from Trump, only to be met with stony silencefrom a room full of national leaders, ministers and generals.

“… Especially Trump’s announcement he would soon pull American troops out of Syria has left allies scratching their heads about how to prevent further chaos and instability there.

“French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian — whose country contributes about 1,200 troops in the region — asked why the US would create a power vacuum that could benefit its declared enemy Iran, calling it a ‘mystery’…

“… there was spirited pushback from Merkel, the veteran leader who has sometimes been dubbed the leader of the free world, and who has spoken out more strongly in her final term as chancellor due to end in 2021. On Syria… she openly challenged the wisdom of the looming US troop withdrawal… On the trade dispute, she insisted that in Germany ‘we are proud of our cars’ and explained that the biggest plant of luxury brand BMW was not in Bavaria but in South Carolina, from where it exports vehicles to China…”

Angela Merkel’s Masterful Munich Moment…

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 17:

“The German chancellor spoke freely, without a script — a rare occurrence. She talked about a world order that is in danger of decline and destruction. A world order that in its current form may not exist for much longer. In one bold speech she traveled around the globe, from Russia to China to the United States and then back to Germany and Europe. Trade, security, the environment: No political sphere was left out…

“Her words came as a relief to the audience, particularly when contrasted with the speech from United States Vice President Mike Pence… Pence plugged along with his message, at times sounding like he was carrying out an order.

“The contrast between these two speeches clearly illustrated just how strained the trans-Atlantic relationship is at the moment. But while Merkel rocked the conference hall and triggered a worldwide wave of support on social media, her domestic critics groaned. Regional leaders of her own conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) started a petty discussion about whether they should let Merkel campaign for them in upcoming state elections in eastern Germany. The chancellor’s popularity east of the Elbe River is so low at the moment it could actually hurt the CDU’s election chances…

“Vilified at home, celebrated abroad. This is a problem Merkel shares with many of Germany’s post-war chancellors: The benefit of global respect and attention goes hand in hand with a decline in authority when it comes to domestic politics. Be it Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt or Helmut Kohl — they all lost the backing of their party colleagues, some were even forced out of office by their own people, all while their reputation was growing on the international stage.

“Merkel has already stepped aside as leader of the CDU… So who is going to pick up the pieces from our shattered world order?… The chancellor may not be leading the way much longer…”

The fear is that someone will replace Merkel who might be much more radical and fanatic.

US-European Relations at Worst Level Ever

The Times wrote on February 19:

“President Trump has threatened to reignite a transatlantic trade war by imposing hefty tariffs on European car imports. ‘I like punitive tariffs’, he said ahead of a US Commerce Department report this week which is expected to recommend that the EU vehicle industry be classified as a threat to US national security because it robs the country of an industrial base needed to produce military hardware.

“Mr Trump is expected to raise tariffs tenfold from 2.5 per cent to 25 per cent within the next three months. Relations between the US and Europe have now slumped to their worst level since the start of the Iraq war as Brussels vowed to retaliate with ‘swift and adequate’ measures of its own.”

EU Commission Head Jean-Claude Juncker claims that Trump had promised him that he would not raise tariffs on European cars. It was not revealed when this alleged promise had been made.

Trump and Kurz—Not the Best of Friends

The EUObserver wrote on February 21:

“The current rift in transatlantic relations seems to be deepening by the day. The visit of the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, to the White House on Wednesday (20 February) – the first such summit in 13 years – only underlined this even further. And this is despite the fact that Trump and Kurz share a common conservative agenda and a number of foreign policy goals… But it seems that it was more the issues that divide Europe and the US which dominated Wednesday’s talks at the White House…

“‘Trump has very strong opinions, he is very direct, and not always very diplomatic, especially with regard to topics that are important to him such as trade between the US and the EU,’ Kurz said in an interview with the Austrian television ORF, immediately following his meeting at the White House. ‘We argued against this and therefore the discussions were very controversial,’ he added…

“When asked about the possibly of tariffs to be imposed on European cars, Kurz said that ‘he (Trump) is using this as a threat and he is trying to exert pressure, even if he continues to mention that the talks are ongoing’… Kurz added in his ORF interview that Trump was adamantly opposed to Germany’s plan to build a new gas pipeline with Russia called Nord Stream 2, involving Austrian energy firm OMV. ‘We in Austria are supporting this project because we have an interest in securing our gas supply’, the chancellor said…

“Trump’s request for Austria to increase its military spending also did not go down well… ‘We are taking our own decisions when it comes to how we spend our budget,’ Kurz said.

“But while new avenues of transatlantic cooperation are badly needed, it seems that Trump and Kurz did not become best friends despite their many shared opinions.”

Releasing 800 ISIS Fighters?

Politico wrote on February 17:

“U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to release 800 ISIS fighters captured in Syria unless European allies agree to accept them and put them on trial. ‘The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial,’ Trump wrote. ‘The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them.’

“Trump’s threat, characteristically in a tweet, drew confusion and some outrage from European officials and security experts gathered Sunday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.

“Trump has previously unnerved allies by announcing a unilateral pullout of U.S. forces in Syria and in recent days Trump allies, including Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Lindsey Graham, have said during the Munich conference that the president expected European forces to take over for the withdrawing American troops.  Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell was among the European officials to quickly say they have no intention of meeting Trump’s demand for additional troops…

“Trump’s demand regarding the 800 fighters complicates an already tense debate about what European countries should do regarding combatants who have been captured fighting for the Islamic State, some of whom are European citizens.”

The EU’s Proposed Copyright Laws Would End Freedom of Expression

Light Stalking wrote on February 14:

“The EU’s new copyright laws are entering the final phases before being approved by the EU Parliament… these new directives have drawn a lot of criticism from Internet users – and even some massive corporations… The most controversial aspect of the new law, Article 13, would require a lot of web services to start monitoring what people upload to their platforms. Basically, it’s going to involve filters and, in some cases, human monitoring as well. Huge companies like Facebook and Instagram are going to need to start investing in technology to prevent so-called copyright infringement by their users, or face fines themselves. This is the crux of the controversy because it… could absolutely upend business models like YouTube.

“Another aspect of the copyright law, Article 11, means that publishers can charge people who link to and quote their articles online… Though it isn’t the law of the land yet, the basic language is final and now it begins its process through the EU’s legislative process.”

This dangerous law would clearly be another Satanic attack with the goal to prevent the publication of the meaningful and powerful warning message which the Church of God is commissioned to proclaim in these last days. Note the next article as well.

Incredible Arrogance of EU Commission

Boing Boing wrote on February 18:

“The EU Commission has been forced to retract a Medium post in which it patronised and dismissed opponents of the controversial Article 13 proposal that will force platforms to surveil and censor users’ postings with copyright filters, calling them a ‘mob.’… The Copyright Directive… is coming up for a vote this spring, just before EU elections; the Commission has, it seems, chosen a side in that vote and is attempting to sideline and marginalise EU voters who might put pressure on their elected representatives.

“The Commission’s piece has been removed… and replaced with a message that blames readers for not understanding it correctly.

“This patronising dismissal marks a new phase in the effort to force the Directive through… Parliament; it supercedes an earlier tactic of characterising opponents of the Directive as ‘bots’… The tactic is backfiring. This weekend, thousands marched against the Directive in Cologne, carrying signs that mocked the ‘mob’ and ‘bot’ characterisations. More events are planned for March across the EU, ahead of the final vote. This vote will come weeks before the EU elections, and parties will be extremely sensitive to pressure from voters. Indeed, in Germany — the key EU nation whose support or opposition will make or break the Directive — the trending hashtag #NieMehrCDU (never again Christian Democratic Union, a reference to Germany’s leading political party) has spooked politicians.

“What is even more bewildering is that the Commission is not sorry for what was written. The article was removed not because it was incorrect, but because the public apparently doesn’t have the capacity to understand it. Evidently, a simple update and clarification wouldn’t have been understood either, hence the deletion of the entire piece.”

Most EU Governments Without Concern for their Citizens

The EUObserver wrote on February 20:

“The majority of EU governments Wednesday endorsed a draft reform of copyright rules which would force Google, Facebook, and other platforms to pay publishers for news fragments and filter out copyright-protected content [Of course, it does a lot more than that, as the previous articles show]. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Poland refused to back the deal, which they said damages the interests of citizens and companies. The final vote in the European Parliament is expected next month or in April.”

Anti-Semitism in Austria

Reuters wrote on February 20:

“A group representing Austrian Holocaust survivors voiced outrage on Wednesday over staffing shortages in a government department dealing with Nazi-related crimes, calling on Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to take action. Kurz, a conservative governing in coalition with a far-right party founded by ex-Nazis, has repeatedly denounced anti-Semitism and the Holocaust since taking office just over a year ago. His government has pledged to offer citizenship to the descendants of Austrians who fled the country under Nazi rule.

“But a department at the main domestic intelligence agency that handles reports of Nazi-related crimes is understaffed to the point of having a large backlog, according to the Mauthausen Committee, which represents survivors of Austria’s biggest Nazi-era concentration camp. ‘The government – and in particular the chancellor – stresses at every opportunity that everything is being done to fight neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism effectively,’ the committee said in a statement. ‘In fact the Nazism-reporting department is being denied the necessary staff, to the point that it has a backlog of hundreds of pieces of evidence and some far-right crimes are falling under statutes of limitations,’ it said, adding that it mainly gets no reply when it passes on information to the department.

“The far-right Freedom Party controls much of Austria’s security apparatus including the Interior Ministry, to which the main domestic intelligence agency belongs. ‘Chancellor Kurz is responsible for ensuring that Interior Minister (Herbert) Kickl no longer hinders the fight against neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism. One can only hope that there is no political intent behind this hindrance,’ the committee said.

“In Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, it is a crime to deny the Holocaust or give the Hitler salute. As in several other European countries, cases of anti-Semitism appear to be on the rise. The leader of Austria’s main Jewish organisation also says the far-right Freedom Party that is in power has failed to tackle anti-Semitism within its ranks, even after scandals involving party officials. Israel refuses to deal directly with Freedom Party ministers even though the party says it has turned its back on its Nazi past…”

Brexit–“No Deal Inevitable”

Express wrote on February 22:

“CHIEF Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker tonight declared he was tired of Brexit and suggested Britain is on course to leave without a deal. Cabinet ministers spent hours locked in talks with Brussels negotiators as they raced against the clock to find a way to break the deadlock before March 29. But Mr Juncker, who met Theresa May on Wednesday, said he was ‘not very optimistic’ that an agreement will be reached by exit day. And Government sources admitted an agreement is unlikely to have been struck by next week’s crucial Brexit vote…

“Mr Juncker said he had ‘Brexit fatigue’ and was still ‘recovering’ from his talks with the Prime Minister. ‘Brexit is deconstruction, it is not construction. Brexit is the past, it is not the future,’ the European Commission president said. ‘If a no-deal would happen – and I can’t exclude this – this would have terrible economic and social consequences, both in Britain and on the continent, and so my efforts orient in a way that the worst can be avoided. But I am not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.’”

Pope Francis Accuses Accusers

Reuters reported on February 20:

“Pope Francis says that those who are constantly attacking the church are linked to the devil… [He said that those who] spend their lives ‘accusing’ the church are either the devil’s friends or relatives. Francis spoke on the eve of a Vatican summit on clergy sex abuse and cover-ups by the church’s hierarchy. Detractors, including a former Vatican ambassador to the United States, have accused him of not properly dealing with top prelates and priests who were suspected abusers…

“…Many Catholic church leaders around the world continue to protect the church’s reputation by denying that priests rape children and by discrediting victims, and the pope himself admits to having made similar mistakes.”

However, during his afore-mentioned speech, Pope Francis seemed to belittle the huge amount of sexual abuse cases and cover-ups in his church by commenting that “we are all sinners.”

Trump Tax Cuts—Not that Great!

The Los Angeles Times wrote on February 16:

“President Donald Trump again indicated this week that he might be open to revisiting the new limit on state and local tax deductions that hits many middle-income residents hard in California and other high-tax, Democratic states. Even so, don’t count on any changes soon to the Republican tax law that went into effect last year.

“Legislative and political realities mean the $10,000 cap is unlikely to be scrapped or increased until after the 2020 elections at the earliest…

“There have been stories about angry taxpayers, many of whom find that they may owe money to the IRS or that their refunds are smaller than expected because of the various changes, including the elimination of personal exemptions and other deductions, and new withholding tables put in place last year.”

These misrepresentations of huge tax cuts for many Americans are bad enough. Now read the next article.

Individual Mandate Still in Force for 2019 Tax Returns

Some might be surprised to learn that if they did not have health insurance in 2018, they are still subject to the stiff penalty of the individual mandate. Even though it has been proclaimed time and again by President Trump and Republican lawmakers that the “terrible” individual mandate of Obamacare was revoked, the truth is, and it was never explained as to why, that it has NOT been revoked effective as of 2018. There is no rationale as to why it would have to drag on until 2019.

Very Well Health wrote on July 23, 2018:

“Is There Still an Obamacare Penalty for Being Uninsured in 2018?

“Yes, the ACA’s [Affordable Care Act] individual mandate penalty is still in effect, and will continue to be in effect in 2018. If you’re uninsured in 2018 and not eligible for an exemption, you’ll owe a penalty when you file your taxes in early 2019. But after that, the penalty will not be assessed.

“Republican lawmakers passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and President Trump signed it into law in December 2017. Although the tax bill leaves the rest of the ACA intact, it repeals the individual mandate penalty, as of 2019 (other provisions of the tax bill take effect in 2018, but the individual mandate repeal is delayed by a year.”

How Laws Are Made in the USA

Newsmax wrote on February 15:

“Sen. Rand Paul… tweeted his disagreement with the 1,159-page bill Thursday evening, which passed in both houses of Congress.

“‘I’m disappointed with both the massive, bloated, secretive bill that just passed… He added, ‘I, too, want stronger border security, including a wall in some areas. But how we do things matter. Over 1,000 pages dropped in the middle of the night and extraconstitutional executive actions are wrong, no matter which party does them.'”

All of this is shameful indeed.

16 States Sue Trump

The Associated Press wrote on February 18:

“A group of 16 states filed suit in federal court in California to stop President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border… Joining California and New York are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia. All have Democratic governors but one — Maryland, whose attorney general is a Democrat — and most have legislatures controlled by Democrats…

“The suit seeks a preliminary injunction against Trump’s play to move federal funding to pay for the wall. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.”

All the 16 states have Democratic attorney generals.

Trump Hits Back

The Guardian wrote on February 19:

“One week after Donald Trump called California’s high-speed rail project a ‘green’ disaster’, the US Department of Transportation announced plans to cancel $929m in federal grant funds that were yet to be paid toward the $77bn endeavor. The department also ‘is actively exploring every legal option to seek the return from California of $2.5bn in federal funds FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) previously granted,’ according to the statement released Tuesday… Trump sent out a tweet asking for the return of ‘three and a half billion dollars’…

“The federal government’s moves are the latest point of friction between the Trump administration and California’s state government. The transportation department’s announcement came one day after California led a coalition of 16 states to sue the Trump administration over the president’s decision to declare a national emergency for border wall funding. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, ‘The failed Fast Train project in California, where the cost overruns are becoming world record setting, is hundreds of times more expensive than the desperately needed Wall!’…”

Unparalleled National Debt… but Nobody Cares

Agora Financial wrote on February 15:

“Not that anyone cares, but as of yesterday the national debt exceeds $22 trillion. ‘The Treasury Department reported the debt hit $22.012 trillion,’ says USA Today, ‘a jump of more than $30 billion in just this month.’… But as we said, no one cares about the national debt. We know this because White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says so. As we noted last week… a few hours before the State of the Union address, someone asked him whether there’d be any mention of the national debt. His reply? ‘Nobody cares.’

“Quite the turnabout from when Donald Trump said he’d eliminate the national debt ‘over a period of eight years.’ That was during an interview with The Washington Post in April 2016 — when the national debt was still ‘only’ $19.22 trillion. By the time of his inauguration the total was $19.95 trillion. So the national debt has grown 10.3% over his first two years… now he’s got only six years left to fulfill his promise.”

Trump’s Political Move to Decriminalize Homosexuality Abroad

NBC News wrote on February 19:

“The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay…

“U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

“… the campaign was conceived partly in response to the recent reported execution by hanging of a young gay man in Iran, the Trump administration’s top geopolitical foe… Reframing the conversation on Iran around a human rights issue that enjoys broad support in Europe could help the United States and Europe reach a point of agreement on Iran…

“Yet by using gay rights as a cudgel against Iran, the Trump administration risks exposing close U.S. allies who are also vulnerable on the issue and creating a new tension point with the one region where Trump has managed to strengthen U.S. ties: the Arab world. In Saudi Arabia, whose monarchy Trump has staunchly defended in the face of human rights allegations, homosexuality can be punishable by death…

“The push to end laws that outlaw homosexuality abroad also stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s mixed record on gay rights at home… since he took office, his administration has scaled back some workplace protections for gay people… He has also announced a ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military…”

Arrested U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant a Domestic Terrorist?

The Week wrote on February 20:

“Federal prosecutors say that a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant arrested last week on drug and gun charges wanted to ‘murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.’ … investigators discovered 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in his Maryland home, court documents say. Prosecutors allege that [the Coast Guard] was a ‘domestic terrorist,’ who held extremist views and read ‘neo-fascist and neo-Nazi literature’ online… [He] allegedly compiled a list of ‘political leaders, media leaders, cultural leaders, and industry leaders’ he wanted to target, including… several MSNBC and CNN journalists.”

Fox News added on February 20:

“A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant arrested last week on weapons and drug charges is a white nationalist… [He] regularly read a manifesto written by a Norwegian far-right extremist who killed 77 people in a pair of 2011 terror attacks, and stockpiled weapons and ammunition… [He] drafted an email to ‘friends’ in which he said he was ‘dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth. I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something.’

“In the same email, [he] mused: ‘Start with biological attacks followed by attack [sic] on food supply … Two pronged [sic] attack seems it might be more successful. Institute a bombing/sniper campaign.’”

And such an insane and mentally ill person works for the Coast Guard! What is this country coming to?

China and Russia—“Together We Can Rule the World”

Politico wrote on February 17:

“Seen from Moscow, there is no resistance left to a new alliance led by China. And now that Washington has imposed tariffs on Chinese exports, Russia hopes China will finally understand that its problem is Washington, not Moscow. In the past, the possibility of an alliance between the two countries had been hampered by China’s reluctance to jeopardize its relations with the U.S. But now that it has already become a target, perhaps it will grow bolder…

“The thing to remember is that both countries are obsessed with overturning the American-led global order… Imagine an international crisis in which Russia and China suddenly emerge as a single bloc… Washington would feel under attack; Europe, intimidated and unsettled… It would be an entirely new world, and it’s one that is coming closer to becoming reality…”

China and Russia will form an alliance which will ultimately be hostile towards Europe.

Drone Swarms and Robots Fighting Wars

The Washington Post wrote on February 11:

“Swarms of small attack drones that confuse and overwhelm anti-aircraft defenses could soon become an important part of the modern military arsenal, Britain’s defense secretary said, something that would mark a major evolution in robot-enabled warfare…

“The technology to enable synchronized drone swarms is here, and military leaders are starting to embrace the idea of building it into their operations…

“The U.S. military has been exploring different iterations and uses of the drone swarm concept for more than a decade… It envisions tiny, disposable aircraft that are meant to be deployed in large numbers to ‘seed’ areas with small electronic sensors, something that could allow military surveillance of dense jungle areas without sending a human pilot into enemy territory. An experimental program… is looking for a way to launch small, jet-powered drones out of the belly of a C-130 cargo plane and recover them later, effectively turning the plane into a flying aircraft carrier… employing drone swarms would mean figuring out how a single human could command masses of robots and still have a degree of control over them…

“Kingston Reif, director for disarmament and threat control policy at the Arms Control Association, said he is worried that drone swarms could increase the risk of a nuclear first strike if they were used to upset missile defenses. There is also a possibility that they could be used to deliver chemical or biological weapons…”

Politico wrote on February 12:

“The killer robots are coming, and it won’t be the United Nations that’ll stop them… an effort to ban ‘lethal autonomous weapons systems; under the U.N.’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons seems set to fall apart… The effort — which would have outlawed killer robots alongside blinding lasers and the use of napalm against civilians — has been unable to overcome resistance from military powers such as Russia, the United States, South Korea, Israel and Australia… a ban… would require a consensus of all the signatories of the treaty… few expect… a binding decision…

“A failure of the talks would mean there will be no barriers to countries wishing to develop autonomous systems that can decide on their own when and whom to kill… The use of similarly self-acting weapons could soon multiply, as artificial intelligence technology gallops ahead. Arms manufacturers have already begun developing autonomous systems that can be deployed in areas where adversaries seek to jam communications between the robots and their human controllers…

“If communication breaks down, will the weapons be allowed to strike targets on their own without human approval? If an enemy shoots at them, will they be allowed to fire back? If the system launches an attack against civilians, who will be responsible for that decision?…”

A Third Temple on the Temple Mount

Breaking Israel News reported on February 14:

“When most people think of the Temple Mount they consider one building; the golden Dome of the Rock built by the Muslims in the Seventh Century. The Temple Mount Compound is actually quite large… most of it either empty or covered in trees planted in the last few decades. Though Israeli and international law mandates allowing equality of religions and universal prayer at the site, the Israeli police cite security concerns for restricting the right to pray only to Muslims.

“In a rare display of Islamic pluralism, a 2017 article in The Muslim Times noted that there is certainly room at the site to create a worship space, even a Third Temple, for the Jews. The editor, Dr. Zia Shah, suggested a multi-story structure to maximize the space…”

The Bible CLEARLY reveals that a Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, prior to Christ’s return. While the Church of God might not have always understood this point clearly in the past, it has grown in God’s knowledge and proclaims now with dogmatic certainty that such a Temple will be built. Incredibly, there are still some who claim to be Christians who deny this fact.

Israel Closes Golden Gate Site at Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on February 19:

“The Palestinian Authority on Monday warned that Israel was ‘playing with fire’ after clashes erupted at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem over the closure of the Golden Gate site – also known as the Gate of Mercy – to Muslim worshipers. The PA also accused Israel of ‘waging war on Islam’ and called on the intervention of the international community… Palestinians claim that Israel is planning to turn the area into a prayer site for Jews. The site, which once housed the offices of the Islamic Heritage Committee, was closed by the Jerusalem Police in 2003 after it was revealed that the committee was involved in political activities. In 2017, a court issued an order to keep the site closed until further notice.

“Last week, Muslim worshipers entered the premises and prayed there, prompting the police to lock the gate with chains… Mahmoud Habbash, religious affairs adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned what he called the ‘occupation’s criminal measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque and at its gates, especially the closure of Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy) and the eviction of worshipers by force and under the threat of weapons.’… The Palestinians, he added, will defend the ‘precious and blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.’…

“Jordan, meanwhile, protested to Israel over the closure of the site and said it constitutes a ‘flagrant violation of the historical and legal status quo and Israel’s obligation under the international law and humanitarian law.’”

When the Jews begin to build the prophesied Third Temple and to bring animal sacrifices, it will really set the Middle East on fire.

The Animal World Is Being Decimated

The Week wrote on February 17:

“As the human population has swelled to 7.5 billion, our species’ massive footprint on planet Earth has had a devastating impact on mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and marine life. We’ve driven thousands of species to the edge of extinction through habitat loss, overhunting and overfishing, the introduction of invasive species into new ecosystems, toxic pollution, and climate change. In the past 40 years, the number of wild animals has plunged 50 percent, a 2014 study found. And the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that populations of vertebrates – higher animals with spinal columns – have fallen by an average of 60 percent since 1970. The past 20 years have brought a 90 percent plunge in the number of monarch butterflies in America, a loss of 900 million, and an 87 percent loss of rusty-patched bumblebees. Only 3 percent of the original populations of the heavily fished Pacific bluefin tuna remain in the sea…

“Earth is home to between nine million and as many as one trillion species – and only a fraction have been discovered. Vertebrate species have, however, been closely studied, and at least 338 have gone extinct, with the number rising to 617 when one includes those species ‘extinct in the wild’ and ‘possibly extinct.’ Recent vertebrate extinctions in the wild include the northern white rhino, which lost its last male member in 2018, and Spix’s macaw, a blue parrot native to Brazil…

“There are 26,500 species threatened with extinction… That includes 40 percent of amphibian species, 33 percent of reef-building corals, 25 percent of mammals, and 14 percent of birds. There are now only 7,000 cheetahs left, and the number of African lions is down 43 percent since 1993. Only about 100 Amur leopards – often poached for their beautiful coats – are left in the wild in southeastern Russia and China. A third of insect species are endangered…

“Many scientists now believe humans are living through a ‘mass extinction,’ or an epoch during which at least 75 percent of all species vanish from the planet… the last one occurred about 66 million years ago, when the aftermath of a massive asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs…

“99 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth are gone… More than half of the vertebrate extinctions since 1500 have occurred since 1900… The loss of species can have catastrophic effects on the food chain on which humanity depends. Ocean reefs, which sustain more than 25 percent of marine life, have declined by 50 percent already – and could be lost altogether by 2050. This is almost certainly contributing to the decline of global marine life, down – on average – by 50 percent since 1970… Insects pollinate crops humans eat…”

These facts bring to mind haunting prophecies in the books of Hosea and Revelation about the extinction of most animal life on this planet.  

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 World in Crisis

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 11:

“The world is in crisis — and the US is only making things worse. That’s the bold verdict of the Munich Security Report (MSR)…

“President Donald Trump’s administration… is showing little interest in holding to international agreements… Even worse: Under Trump, the US appears ready to relinquish its role as a leading power in what is often still called the ‘free world’…

“The rivalry between the US and Russia… remains mired in accusations and counteraccusations about arms… ‘The European Union is particularly ill-prepared for a new era of great power competition,’ the MSR declares… [2019] is going to be a fateful year for the European Union… it [is] important that [it is shown to the] non-European participants that the EU is ready to fight for its interests by asserting itself…

“Brexit proceedings will continue to inflict wounds on both sides of the Channel for years to come…

“Can Germany’s leaders save the liberal order?  Can the European Union play a role, or is it too weak?… a new survey… found that only 42 percent of French people, as opposed to 59 percent of Germans, believe their country should remain neutral in international questions. Similarly, far more German than French people reject military interventions (65 percent to 50 percent)… The current crisis of the trans-Atlantic partnership is a bigger challenge for Germany than for France…”

Even though polls differ widely as to how many Germans are in favor of military interventions of their country, the Bible shows that parts of continental Europe, under German and perhaps Austrian leadership, will emerge as a very powerful political, economic and military bloc, which WILL become engaged in military actions.

Sebastian Kurz… the New European Leader?

The American Interest wrote on February 8:

 “For years it has been an open question who will be the informal ‘leader of Europe.’ Over the last few years, it has been assumed that only Angela Merkel or Emanuel Macron could be serious contenders for the job—only natural given that Germany and France are the biggest countries within the European Union.

“But the European project is in crisis once again. Angela Merkel is out, and the clout of her younger successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) has yet to be proven. Meanwhile, Macron’s support has dried up and Paris is burning… The weakness of both Macron and Merkel, of both France and Germany, opens the door to another player on the European chessboard: the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

“At first glance it seems controversial to claim that the Prime Minister of a country with less than nine million inhabitants can become the key European leader. But Kurz has proved he has more vision than any of his peers, and that he understands better than anyone how politics on the European level is going to work going forward.

“On the key question of migration, Kurz was already positioning himself as a guy who can get things done while media mandarins from the West were celebrating Angela Merkel for her ‘bravery’ in doing nothing…

“Whereas the euro crisis was mainly a north-south affair, the migrant crisis revealed a new east-west rift in Europe. The rift manifested itself most vividly in the founding of the so-called Visegard Group of countries—the coming together of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia—who all favored a drastically different approach to migration… all of these states were part of the Warsaw Pact, dominated by Moscow…

“Austria is not a formal member of this grouping, but it is highly respected among them… All members of the Visegrad Group were either part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or have kept historically close relations with Vienna. Before World War I, Austria was the dominant Western power in the Balkans… during the Cold War, Austria, due to its neutrality, maintained special relations with all these states…

“Fredrick the Great once said that the most important precondition for any good foreign policy is a good domestic policy, since ‘no one will be respected by others if he is weak at home.’ Kurz probably knows that dictum.”

Even though Kurz might very well play an important role in the future, as pertaining to the unification process of Europe, his present policies do not reflect the kind of concepts which would have to be expected from THE coming European leader.

Sweden Suspends Schengen Agreement

Express wrote on February 11:

“Sweden has passed plans to scrap the EU’s Schengen rules and extend border checks for another three months over fears of public safety… Sweden first brought in the checks in autumn 2015 after hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in the country after travelling through Europe. Interior minister Mikael Damberg hit out at the EU and what he saw as failures of the Schengen agreement, which grants free movement between participating countries across Europe.

“When announcing the measures on Thursday, he said: ‘Sweden is one of a handful of countries that continue to have internal border controls due to lack of border controls at the Schengen’s external borders’… In a statement, the government said: ‘The decision is based on the government’s assessment that there is a threat to public order and internal security in Sweden.’”

Sweden might end up outside the emerging core European power bloc, to be consisting of ten nations or groups of nations. Britain will most certainly not be part of it. Note the next article.

Another Brexit Defeat for May

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 14:

“Lawmakers in Westminster have voted against the government’s motion to send the PM back to the EU for final negotiations… Now that the motion has failed,  May will have almost zero credibility left to continue talks with the EU… May lost support from both the hard-Leave and hard-Remain factions of her own party, leading to the motion failing…

“Across the English Channel, Germany’s Justice Minister, the half-German half-British Katarina Barley, told DW that it seemed to her like May ‘is only trying to gain time and put more pressure on the other member states. And that is a strategy that will not work out.’ Barley also criticized British MPs who are resisting the backstop measure to avoid at all costs a hard Irish border…”

The Controversy regarding the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“Germany alone will decide whether to enforce EU law on its new gas pipeline with Russia, after France caved in during last-minute talks on the issue…

“Leaving Germany the option whether to impose the EU laws on Nord Stream 2 might see Gazprom keep its monopoly…

“Opponents of Nord Stream 2 include most eastern EU countries, the Nordic states, and the UK… Nord Stream 2 is to concentrate 70 percent of Russian gas sales to the EU in Germany. Its opponents, including the US, say Russia has a track record of using gas-cut offs to ‘blackmail’ its neighbours. They also say it might embolden Russian aggression in east Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014…

“EU leaders recently agreed to aim for ‘strategic autonomy’ in foreign policy and military terms, amid Franco-German plans for joint EU armed forces.  The US has threatened to impose sanctions on Anglo-Dutch, Austrian, French, and German energy firms who co-financed Nord Stream 2. It has also posted troops as part of a Nato battalion to Poland to deter Russian aggression in wider Europe.”

The EUObserver added on February 13:

“Germany will need to make sure that EU rules are being followed by Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline currently under construction, it was decided in negotiations between EU institutions on Tuesday evening… If Gazprom does not adhere to all EU rules and Germany decides to ignore it, the commission can start an infringement procedure. However, this legal route would mean that it can take a long time before the commission could make Germany reverse course.”

Once again and in the face of tremendous opposing pressure, Germany has still emerged as the leader of Europe.

Disconnecting the Internet in Russia?

ZDNet wrote on February 11:

“Russian authorities and major internet providers are planning to disconnect the country from the internet as part of a planned experiment… The reason for the experiment is to gather insight and provide feedback and modifications to a proposed law introduced in the Russian Parliament in December 2018. A first draft of the law mandated that Russian internet providers should ensure the independence of the Russian internet space (Runet) in the case of foreign aggression to disconnect the country from the rest of the internet. In addition, Russian telecom firms would also have to install ‘technical means’ to re-route all Russian internet traffic to exchange points approved or managed by Roskomnazor, Russia’s telecom watchdog. Roskomnazor will inspect the traffic to block prohibited content and make sure traffic between Russian users stays inside the country…

“A date for the test has not been revealed, but it’s supposed to take place before April 1, the deadline for submitting amendments to the law–known as the Digital Economy National Program… The proposed law, fully endorsed by President Putin, is expected to pass. Ongoing discussions are in regards to finding the proper technical methods to disconnect Russia from the internet with minimal downtime to consumers and government agencies… The end goal is for Russian authorities to implement a web traffic filtering system like China’s Great Firewall, but also have a fully working country-wide intranet in case the country needs to disconnect.”

BBC added on February 11:

“It’s important to understand a little about how the internet works. It is essentially a series of thousands of digital networks along which information travels. These networks are connected by router points – and they are notoriously the weakest link in the chain. What Russia wants to do is to bring those router points that handle data entering or exiting the country within its borders and under its control– so that it can then pull up the drawbridge, as it were, to external traffic…– or if it decides to censor what outside information people can access.

“China’s firewall is probably the world’s best known censorship tool and it has become a sophisticated operation. It also polices its router points, using filters and blocks on keywords and certain websites and redirecting web traffic so that computers cannot connect to sites the state does not wish Chinese citizens to see.”

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“Ostensibly the goal of the legislation is to protect the Russian internet from the US… However, many observers think the creation of a Russian intranet is a further step towards a goal of duplicating the Great Firewall of China to restrict the access of the country’s internet users to content deemed harmful by the authorities.

“Russia has already moved to block webpages run by opposition figures… Russia has tried, so far with extremely limited success, to block Telegram, a popular encrypted messaging service, but its use continues to be widespread, including among some senior Russian government officials…”

In other words, Russia’s “big brother” approach wants to have total supervision and control over the communication of their citizens and it wants to be able, at the same time, to prevent any communication of Russian citizens with anyone outside Russia. This reveals an unrestricted totalitarian system, which should wake up everybody who still may be in doubt about the real motives of Vladimir Putin. The same goes for dictatorial China. Ultimately, Satan is behind this, as this would be a means of preventing the preaching of the gospel in those countries.

Deal Reached to Avoid Shutdown

The Washington Post wrote on February 11:

“Key lawmakers said late Monday they had reached a tentative agreement over immigration rules and funding for border barriers…

“The framework would provide $1.375 billion for barriers along the border, including 55 miles of new fencing, with certain restrictions on the location… Trump called for using $5.7 billion in taxpayer money to construct more than 200 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border…”

NBC wrote on February 12:

“President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is ‘extremely unhappy’ with the bipartisan deal… but he vowed to build a border wall anyway…”

Newsmax wrote on February 13:

“President Donald Trump [is] expected to grudgingly accept [the] agreement that would keep the government open but provide just a fraction of the money he’s been demanding for his Mexican border wall…

“Trump has a history of suddenly balking at deals after signaling he would sign them… Trump and his aides have also signaled that he is preparing to use executive action to try to secure additional funding for the wall by shifting federal dollars [including from disaster relief funds] without congressional sign-off.

“Accepting the deal… would be a disappointment for a president who has repeatedly insisted he needs $5.7 billion for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and painted the project as paramount for national security. Trump turned down a similar deal in December, forcing the 35-day partial shutdown that left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and Republicans reeling… Democrats are also pressing to try to make sure employees of federal contractors receive back pay for wages lost during the last shutdown…

“… the proposal was met with fury by some on the right, including Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, a close friend of the president, who slammed it as a ‘garbage compromise.’”

In addition, extreme right-wing anti-immigration proponents like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Lou Dobbs also voiced their sharp disagreement with the deal. In the past, President Trump listened to them and rejected a similar deal in 2018 (of $1.6 billion for 65 miles of fencing), even though he had said earlier that he would sign it. However, it is felt that if he were to refuse to sign THIS deal, his veto would be overruled by Congress. Subsequently, Trump announced that he would sign the deal… but for a price. Note the next articles.

Trump to Declare National Emergency

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 14:

“White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Senator Mitch McConnell have said President Trump will declare a national emergency at the border with Mexico. He will also support a funding bill to avert another shutdown… Such a declaration will likely lead to a court battle between the government and lawmakers over the president’s ability to redirect money Congress committed to other uses.

“Under the National Emergencies Act, the president can declare a national emergency [and] then be granted power by other laws to declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, expand the military, seize property and restrict trade, communications and financial transactions.

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would support Trump’s emergency declaration. That is a turnabout for the Republican leader who, like Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans, had until now opposed such a declaration…

“Reaction to Trump’s intention to declare a national emergency has been swift… ‘Declaring a national emergency would be a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall,’ [Speaker of the House Nancy] Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.”

The Guardian added on February 14:

“Lawmakers of both parties have raised concerns about Trump declaring a state of emergency… Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said Trump’s use of a state of emergency is of ‘dubious constitutionality’ and will face challenges in court. ‘We have a crisis at our southern border, but no crisis justifies violating the Constitution,’ said Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida. He warned that Trump was setting a precedent: ‘A future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal.’…

“Pelosi told reporters that she would consider a legal challenge to the declaration – something that most observers say is inevitable and would likely result in a victory. ‘You want to talk about a national emergency – let’s talk about today,’ Pelosi said, noting that it was the first anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives. ‘That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr President.'”

It appears certain that a declaration of a national emergency will be immediately challenged in court and, as a first step, it will be stayed. Most legal experts feel that President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to declare a national emergency and to redirect funds. One of those experts is Judge Andrew Napolitano who already stated in early January that President Trump does not have such authority. He reiterated his opinion again on February 14, as reported by Fox News.

Fox Business News wrote on January 7, 2019:

“President Trump is looking for ways to get his wall on the southern border built, but Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said he does not have the authority to declare a national emergency and use the resources to build the wall. ‘The Supreme Court has made it very clear – even in times of emergency – the president of the United States of America cannot spend money unless it’s been authorized by the Congress,’ Napolitano told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Monday…

“In 1950, President Harry Truman proclaimed a state of emergency during the Korean War to nationalize the steel industry, but the Supreme Court struck it down. ‘When there was a steel strike during the Korean War he asked the Congress to seize the steel mills and operate them against the striker’s wishes and produce steel for our troops who desperately needed [it] in the Korean War,’ said Napolitano. ‘The Supreme Court said no, you can’t do that. Congress can do it. Congress can pay for the steel mills and operate them but the president can’t do it on his own.’”

U.S. Government’s Public Debt Higher than Ever

npr wrote on February 13:

“The U.S. government’s public debt is now more than $22 trillion — the highest it has ever been. The Treasury Department data comes as tax revenue has fallen and federal spending continues to rise. The new debt level reflects a rise of more than $2 trillion from the day President Trump took office in 2017… the U.S. is projected to rack up annual deficits and incur national debt at rates not seen since the 1940s, according to the Congressional Budget Office…

“Annual deficits and the national debt rose to new heights under the Obama administration, and the trend has continued under President Trump… The national debt nearly doubled under Obama: It was $10.6 trillion when he took office and was nearly $20 trillion when he left…”

Trump’s Approval Rating Highest since 2017

The New York Post wrote on February 11:

“President Trump’s approval rating has reached 52 percent… his highest level since shortly after his inauguration in 2017… Trump’s approval rating was at 55 percent just days after he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2017…

“His marks have been on the rise since his State of the Union address last Tuesday and in the wake of the 35-day partial government shutdown over border security and his demand for $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall.”

Trump’s Foreign Policy Has Arrived

The National Interest wrote on February 9:

“Donald Trump is moving to assert control over foreign affairs. The most prominent members of his original foreign policy team—Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, James N. Mattis and Nikki Haley—are gone…

“During his first two years, Trump took several steps that appealed to his base—abandoning the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, imposing trade tariffs and demanding that NATO allies contribute more financially—but he did not fundamentally reorient American foreign policy. In recent months, with his declarations that he wishes to withdraw American troops from Syria as well as Afghanistan, Trump has signaled that he is returning to the precepts that he enunciated in 2016…

“Does Trump… mark the end of an era?… In his hostility to the European Union—he referred to it in July as a ‘foe’—Trump has made it plain that he wants to deal with states on an individual basis when it comes to trade matters, which is why he has urged Britain, among other things, to fulfill Brexit and conclude a separate deal with America…

“In assessing Trump, for example, Antony J. Blinken and Robert Kagan in the Washington Post offered a predictable peroration: “‘If the United States abdicates its leading role in shaping international rules and institutions—and mobilizing others to defend them—then one of two things will happen: Some other power or powers will step in and move the world in ways that advance their interests and values, not ours. Or… the world will descend into chaos and conflict, and the jungle will overtake us, as it did in the 1930s…”

The Terrible State of Affairs in Venezuela

Express wrote on February 13:

“MILLIONS of Venezuelans are starving, while their streets are ridden with disease and rubbish piles line the streets…

“Since 2013 [Nicholas] Maduro has oppressed political dissidents, eroded the country’s constitution, and been accused of election fixing, to solidify his grip on power. Under his rule, life in the South American country has become a living nightmare with annual inflation at 1.7million percent…

“Nearly 90 percent of Venezuelans now live in poverty… The brutal tyranny of the left-wing regime has caused many to fear speaking out against Maduro’s rule since he came to power… A chronic shortage of medicines means measles and Diphtheria are spreading throughout the country. Meanwhile… 73 Venezuelans died a violent death every day in 2017.

Following the re-election of Maduro as president in a corrupt election last year, the leader of the country’s national assembly, Juan Guaido, claimed the constitution gave him the legal authority of president until new elections could be held. His claim to power has been supported by the UK, US and many other national leaders, giving hope the Maduro regime could soon collapse.”

The Independent wrote on February 13:

“Beleaguered Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro has accused the Trump administration of warmongering and has claimed the White House is controlled by the Ku Klux Klan… Maduro insisted he would not give in to what he said was a foreign attempt to back a coup…

“Russia, China, Turkey and Mexico continue to recognise Mr Maduro as president, as does, crucially, the Venezuelan military. Mr Maduro has been criticised for moving to block humanitarian aid from the US that many in his country would welcome…”

Will Hawaii Ban Smoking Altogether?

BBC News wrote on February 5:

“In a new bill, proposed by Democrat Richard Creagan, the smoking age [in Hawaii] would increase rapidly between 2020 and 2024. It will need to pass through the state legislature and weather a potentially strong backlash from tobacco companies in order to become state law…

“Dr Creagan, who was an emergency room physician before he was elected as state representative in 2014, calls the cigarette ‘the deadliest artefact in human history’ in the bill. In January 2017, Hawaii became the first US state to raise its smoking age to 21. In other US states the legal age is usually 18 or 19. The new bill, HB 1509, suggests that the smoking age should go up to 30 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, and 60 in 2023 – until finally, in 2024, people would need to be 100 years old to buy cigarettes.

“He told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that a ‘ridiculously bad industry’ had designed the cigarette to be ‘highly addictive, knowing that it is highly lethal’… E-cigarettes and cigars are left out of the bill because Dr Creagan believes they are significantly safer for smokers than regular cigarettes – although the National Cancer Institute warns that ‘all tobacco products are harmful and cause cancer’…

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US say that cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable disease and death in the country. About half a million people in the US die every year from smoking-related conditions.”

Everybody knows or should know that smoking cigarettes is causing cancer and premature death. But due to the powerful and dishonest tobacco industry, it is still allowed and promoted, thereby causing the DEATH of many gullible, careless and deeply selfish people, but also of innocent victims, due to second-hand smoke.

Now… Revocation of Medical Exemptions in California?

Even though the following article is somewhat dated, its relevance and actuality is still, sadly and shockingly, far too real and exemplifies the ungodly and very dangerous proposals of left-wing politicians. US News and World Report wrote on October 29, 2018:

“In 2015, California passed a law eliminating personal belief exemptions for vaccinations that kids must receive before they can attend public school… The 2015 law made California the first state in nearly 35 years to eliminate personal belief exemptions for mandatory vaccinations…

“Democratic state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and author of the California law… [would] like to amend California law so public health officials would have the power to revoke doctors’ authority to issue medical exemptions… [and] invalidate all of the medical exemptions that have been inappropriately written, as a threat to public health…”

This whole ridiculous argument for vaccinations constitutes a damnable and ungodly development. The so-called success of vaccinations is highly disputed, and there are clearly many proven cases of terrible side effects, including autism, due to vaccinations. To use a totally unsubstantiated claim of “inappropriately written” medical exemptions as “justification” for the prohibition and revocation exemplifies once more the terrible development within the hype of vaccinations, which is being supported and endorsed by left-wing politicians, and if enacted, would be contributing to and causing the DEATH of innocent children! Note the next article.

More than Half of American Parents against Flu Shots

Study Finds wrote on February 9:

“Millions of parents in America have reservations about their child getting the flu shot… A recent survey shows that more than a half of parents believe their child can get the flu from the vaccine itself, while a third simply believes it doesn’t work.

“… doctors say there’s no risk of contracting the virus from the vaccine itself. The body takes up to two weeks to develop the correct responses to the flu after receiving the vaccine, so if one contracts the disease immediately after getting vaccinated, they could still get sick, experts warn.

“Of course, the belief that the vaccine causes autism has been a topic of debate for many years, with 28% of respondents in this latest survey believing that it does. Three in ten respondents believe the flu shot is actually a conspiracy. Still, doctors insist it’s simply not true… Medical experts recommend every healthy person over the age of six months get a flu shot every year…”

Of course, the article claims that medical experts, paid by the medical industry, assure us that flu shots work and are safe, and conveniently asserts that when someone gets sick after receiving the flu shot, it is not the flu shot’s “fault.” This IS in fact a conspiracy which we should not believe. However, the next article addresses a conspiracy theory which is ludicrous.

Flat Earth Nonsense

The Guardian wrote on February 9:

“Though not a new phenomenon, flat Earth theory has enjoyed a huge resurgence recently. A YouGov poll indicated that a third of Americans aged 18 to 24 were unsure of the shape of our planet, in spite of scientific proofs…”

The IGNORANCE of these people and their willingness to fall for such completely ridiculous nonsense is truly shocking.

Drift of North Magnetic Pole

CNN wrote on February 5:

“The north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast that it could be a problem for smartphone maps and navigation systems… unlike the geographic north pole, which is fixed, the north magnetic pole has been slowly migrating over time — moving across the Canadian Arctic toward Russia since 1831.

“But its swift pace toward Siberia in recent years at a rate of around 34 miles per year has forced scientists to update the World Magnetic Model… a year ahead of schedule… The model… is typically updated every five years, the most recent being in 2015… the model’s primary user is the military.

“… Scientists first noticed the change in 2018… which showed the pole had gone beyond the model’s predicted area… The drift is caused by processes deep inside the planet… Some scientists think a jet stream of molten liquid is pushing the north pole, while others have suggested that the south and north magnetic poles are reversing positions…”

It will remain to be seen whether catastrophic occurrences could be the result of this apparent shift.

Decline in Insect Populations

Fox News wrote on February 11:

“A decline in insect populations happening across the planet has Earth’s ecosystems and humankind facing catastrophic consequences. The sobering message has emerged from a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports on insect population declines which found the rate of extinction is eight times faster than vertebrates such as mammals, birds and reptiles… Humans have wiped out about 60 percent of the planet’s animal life since 1970…

“Insects are considered vital to many of nature’s ecosystems for the productive role they play, particularly in controlling populations of other organisms. They maintain soil structure and fertility, pollinate plants and control insect and plant pests. Many insects feed on dead animals and fallen trees, thereby recycling nutrients back into the soil. Various insects are also a common food source for larger animals… If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death…

“The main driver behind the decline… was habitat loss due to intensive agriculture and urbanization. They also pointed to the growing use of pollutants, mainly synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as the impact of invasive species and climate change…”

The Bible tells us that especially in these last days, man will be destroying the earth (Revelation 11:18), and many animals will die and become extinct in the process (Hosea 4:3). It also condemns those who “join” house to house (Isaiah 5:8), thereby causing extreme habitat loss for animals. Also note the next sickening article.

The Appalling Business with Sick Trophy Hunters

The Sun wrote on February 13:

“The Zambian government stands to make MILLIONS by letting sick trophy hunters slaughter thousands of hippos in the country, a charity has said. Zambia says the mass killing is being carried out to control the hippopotamus population in Luangwa Valley in the east of the African nation. However, experts at Born Free have slammed the decision insisting the species is increasingly rare and is being threatened across the African continent.

“The killing of 1,250 hippos over five years could generate upwards of £2.6m for trophy hunting outfitters and the Zambian government, the charity says. Dr Mark Jones, Associate Director of the International wildlife organisation… said: ‘We don’t believe there is any reason the hippos should be culled and trophy hunting is not in any way an appropriate way of managing animal populations… they’re talking about hunters killing two hippos for over £4,350… this is very far from an animal management programme and very much to do with lining the pockets of trophy outfitters and very presumably of some of Zambia’s officials.’…

“There are only approximately 130,000 wild hippos remaining on the planet and the sick trophy hunting industry is driven by Asian demand for their tusks as a substitute for ivory.”

This is VERY sick indeed.

Chaos and Devastation in Australia

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“After what can only be described as an environmental massacre of mammoth proportions throughout the whole of north-west Queensland, the people of this country are heartbroken… The scale of devastation here and throughout the north-west is impossible to put into words. There are estimates of hundreds of thousands of domestic livestock having been lost so far during this disaster and it is impossible to put into numbers the impact on the region’s native wildlife…

“Almost overnight we have transitioned from relative drought years to a flood disaster zone…

“There are kangaroos dead in trees and fences, birds drowned in drifts of silt and debris… The sheer amount of storm water that engulfed the region has demolished fences, exposed pipelines, destroyed water infrastructure, created huge gullies that were once only small seasonal streams, turned roads into rivers and washed dam banks away… reports are coming in of entire herds being washed away. Many homestead complexes have been completely submerged…

“It will be four years before many of these people once again have a useful income… This is possibly the greatest disaster that our livestock industries have suffered in Australia’s history.”

“Four in Five Vatican Priests Are Gay”

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“Some of the most senior clerics in the Roman Catholic church who have vociferously attacked homosexuality are themselves gay, according to a book to be published next week. Eighty per cent of priests working at the Vatican are gay, although not necessarily sexually active, it is claimed in the book, In the Closet of the Vatican. The 570-page book, which the French journalist and author Frédéric Martel spent four years researching, is a ‘startling account of corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of the Vatican’, according to its British publisher Bloomsbury. It is being published in eight languages across 20 countries next Wednesday, coinciding with the opening day of a conference at the Vatican on sexual abuse, to which bishops from all over the world have been summoned.

“Martel, a former adviser to the French government, conducted 1,500 interviews while researching the book, including with 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 priests and seminarians… Martel describes a secretive culture among priests that creates conditions in which abuse is not confronted…”

We should note that the book’s author, Frédéric Martel, is a non-believer and openly gay.

Canada’s Ungodly Agenda

Life Site News wrote on February 7:

“Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will spend $30 million over the next five years to push the homosexual and gender identity agenda in developing countries… After that, Canadians will fork over $10 million every year in perpetuity… to advance the homosexual agenda as part of their country’s international aid…

“The non-stop multimillion dollar international homosexual promotion fund is intended to… further the aims of the Feminist International Assistance [FIAP] Policy… Adopted in June 2017, the Trudeau government’s FIAP has as a key goal the promotion of global legal abortion. Indeed, the Liberals earmarked $650 million over three years in March 2017 to push abortion in the developing world, including funding campaigns to legalize abortion in countries where the unborn child is protected…

“The first Canadian prime minister to march in a homosexual Pride Parade, Trudeau most recently green-lighted the Royal Mint’s release of a new one-dollar coin designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his father’s decriminalization of homosexuality… More substantially, the Liberals codified the unscientific gender identity theory in law in June 2017 with Bill C-16, which added ‘gender expression’ and ‘gender identity’ to Canada’s Human Rights Code and the Criminal Code’s hate crime section…

“That was during his tearful apology in the House of Commons for Canada’s alleged past mistreatment of LGBTQ persons, including apologizing to Canadians convicted under former laws against… running bawdy houses. In February 2017… [the government began] forcing public servants to take a pro-LGBT ‘gender equality’ test, with unspecified consequences if they refused or failed to provide the appropriate ‘feminist’ answers. The Canadian military… responded to Trump’s 2017 ban on transgender military members by declaring they actively recruit LGBT people.”

Please view our StandingWatch program, “Persecutions of Homosexuals and Conversion Therapies”.

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 State of the Union Address—Facing a Deeply Divided Congress

The Guardian wrote on February 6:

“Donald Trump issued sharp warnings to Democrats, including that ‘ridiculous partisan investigations’ would harm economic progress, in comments that clashed with an appeal for unity during his first State of the Union address to a newly divided Congress. ‘If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,’ Trump declared. The presence of Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi on the dais behind him was an acute reminder of the political challenges he faces in the next two years…

“Trump appealed to two areas of his base supporters by reasserting his vow to build a wall on the southern US border with Mexico, and urging lawmakers to ban late-term abortions…

“During the speech, Trump’s comments careened from dark proclamations about the ‘lawless state of our southern border’ and the ‘bloodthirsty monsters’ who fight for Isis, to sweeter moments, such as praising the optimism of a 10-year-old girl who fought brain cancer, and veterans who helped liberate Europe from Nazism during the second world war.

“Trump commanded one of the biggest stages in American politics on Tuesday night but… Capitol Hill was something of a hostile environment. Pelosi… who has thwarted his border wall at every turn… sat mostly stone-faced… She was joined on the dais by Vice-President Mike Pence, who dutifully applauded the president at each opportunity…

“Trump decried ‘new calls to adopt socialism in our country… On foreign policy, an area where Trump faces an increasingly adversarial Republican Senate, the president defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan. Just hours prior, the Senate approved a resolution opposing the plan… ‘Great nations do not fight endless wars,’ he said.”

Newsmax added on February 6:

“Facing a divided Congress for the first time… Trump peppered his remarks with calls for bipartisanship, urging Washington to govern ‘not as two parties, but as one nation.’ But his message clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation’s capital — as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his path during his next two years in office…

“Trump’s speech to lawmakers and the nation comes at a critical moment in his presidency. He pushed his party into a lengthy government shutdown over border security, only to cave to Democrats. With another shutdown deadline looming, the president has few options for getting Congress to fund a border wall, and he risks further alienating his party if he tries to circumvent lawmakers by declaring a national emergency instead.”

High Marks in Polls

The Week wrote on February 6:

“President Trump earned high marks among those who tuned into his State of the Union address Tuesday night. A CBS News poll found that 76 percent of speech-watchers approved of what the president said, and 72 percent specifically approved of his remarks on immigration.

“In this poll, 24 percent disapproved of the speech. CNN found that 59 percent of speech-watchers had a very positive reaction, up from 48 percent in 2018, while 17 percent had a somewhat positive reaction, and only 23 percent had a negative reaction…”

USA and Russia Withdraw from Nuclear Arms Treaty… Europe Worried

The Associated Press wrote on February 1:

“Russian politicians accused the United States on Friday of undermining global security by ending compliance with a nuclear arms treaty, while NATO said Russia was at fault for the pact’s demise and European countries watched with dismay.

“The U.S. announced it would stop observing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty as of Saturday and would withdraw within six months from the pact, a cornerstone of international security since 1987. The treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union bans the development, deployment and testing of land-based nuclear weapons with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310-3400 miles). Moscow and Washington have for years traded claims of the other party being in violation.

“Before Friday’s announcement, the United States alleged that a new Russian missile breached the treaty. Russia in turn accused the United States of unilaterally seeking to neuter the agreement and of resisting Russian attempts to resolve the dispute. ‘I “congratulate” the whole world; the United States has taken another step toward its destruction today,’ Konstantin Kosachev, head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of Russia’s parliament, said…

“However, the end of the treaty could also serve Russia’s strategic interests, removing any obstacle to Moscow deploying intermediate-range missiles that could reach Europe and China. U.S. officials had expressed worry that China was gaining a significant military advantage in Asia by deploying large numbers of missiles with ranges beyond the treaty’s limit…

“Washington’s decision was received with anxiety in Europe… The Europeans are keen to avoid a repeat of a crisis in 1983, when NATO allies decided to deploy U.S. cruise and Pershing 2 ballistic missiles as negotiations with Moscow faltered over Russia’s stationing of SS-20 missiles in Eastern Europe… European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini [said:] ‘What we definitely don’t want to see is our continent going back to being a battlefield or a place where other superpowers confront themselves,’ Mogherini told reporters in Romania.”

Europe will become a battlefield where superpowers (continental Europe and mainly Russia and Ukraine) will confront themselves.

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 2:

“Russia will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday… Putin said Russia would, for now, not initiate talks with the US on disarmament… Putin added that Russia would now begin work on developing new medium-range missiles, but would only deploy them if Washington does so…

“The US [said it] would develop ‘military response options’ and work with its NATO allies ‘to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct’… German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas… said on Twitter that ‘many new weapons have been developed for which there are almost no international rules.”

Russia’s New Weapon

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“A weapon that sounds like something out of the ‘Star Wars’ movies has apparently been installed onto a pair of Russian Naval ships…

“[It allegedly] fires a beam that resembles a strobe light. People on the receiving end of the beam have their vision impacted. Others who participated in the weapon’s tests experienced hallucinations and vomiting. More specifically, people on whom the weapon was tested had difficulty aiming rifles because their vision was affected by the light.”

Rearming Europe

Focus Online wrote on February 2: “The Cold War is back and we can’t rely on the USA. Europe must rearm.”

Global Firepower wrote: “… the combat tank remains the primary spearhead for ground offensives combining the qualities of fire power, mobility protection into an all-in-one system.”

They continued to give the following statistic:

Russia has 20,300 tanks; China has 7,716 tanks; North Korea has 5,243 tanks; India has 4,426 tanks and Japan has 679 tanks. The USA has 5,884 tanks.

Poland has 1065 tanks; Germany has 432 tanks; France has 406 tanks; Spain has 327 tanks; United Kingdom has 227 tanks; Italy has 200 tanks; and other European countries have less than 160 tanks each. Some have no tanks at all.

No wonder, then, that there is call for re-armament.

Closer European Defense Cooperation

Handelsblatt Global wrote on February 4:

“The announcement by the United States and Russia that they both plan to abandon a key nuclear arms limitation agreement has stoked German fears of a revived nuclear arms race…

“Speaking to Handelsblatt, Wolfgang Ischinger, the chair of the conference and a former German ambassador to Washington, said Europe should engage in a two-pronged strategy. It should bolster its conventional defenses while also supporting negotiations to reduce the risk of a nuclear arms race…

“This did not mean Germany or Europe were powerless, he added. But Europe needed a more coherent policy-making environment… Germany should take the lead on this, he suggested…

“US-European relations [are] worse than at any time in decades…”

Capturing the Neoliberal EU?

The Week wrote on February 1:

“For those who support the European Union, the good news of recent months has been that Brexit is unfolding so disastrously in the U.K. that the temptation of some to bolt from the bloc has faded across the continent. But the bad news is that those who despise the bureaucrats in Brussels may have found a new strategy to advance their aims — and one that has a much greater chance of succeeding. Instead of fighting the EU, the anti-liberals now hope to capture it.

“The first big push to make that happen will take place from May 23 to May 26, when elections for the European Parliament will be held across 28 member countries. The idea is simple: Parties that oppose the neoliberal policies of the EU aim to forge a right-wing popular front — and perhaps even a truly big-tent anti-liberal movement that includes both right- and left-wing populist parties — that can win a large block (and maybe even a plurality) of seats in the legislative body.

“… There are ideological and practical political reasons why this is likely to happen — and some signs that it has already begun… over the past two decades, the institutional left and right have converged across Europe, with differences between them becoming miniscule. A long list of policies has been championed by both sides… It’s been an era of nearly homogenous elite consensus — on immigration and refugees (follow humanitarian imperatives that demand acceptance of all comers), on crime (don’t talk about it), and on economic policy (austerity is the only responsible option)…” We should not forget that Hitler’s declared rule was based on national socialism.

World’s Largest Free Trade Agreement between EU and Japan

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 1:

“A free trade agreement between Japan and the EU entered into force on February 1, covering 635 million people and almost one-third of the world’s economy. Dubbed the world’s largest free trade agreement,  [it] removes duties on almost all agricultural and industrial products and opens up the service sector and procurement. It also moves to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade…

“Japan is the EU’s second-largest trade partner in Asia after China. EU businesses export €58 billion in goods and €28 billion in services to Japan every year. The EU estimates exports to Japan will increase 13 percent, or €13 billion, as a result of the free trade zone. Japan exports €69 billion in goods and €18 billion in services to the EU annually.”

A close economic relationship between Europe and Japan has been prophesied before the relationship between those powers becomes hostile and Japan joins an economic and military coalition of Far Eastern nations.

Status of Gibraltar and Free Travel

The Guardian wrote on February 1:

“A straightforward change in EU law guaranteeing visa-free travel for Britons in Europe after Brexit has sparked a diplomatic row after Brussels described Gibraltar as ‘a colony of the British crown’ in its no-deal legislation.

“The footnote containing the contentious description of the Rock was attached to the EU’s regulation on the insistence of Spain, with whom the UK has been in dispute over Gibraltar for three centuries…

“Despite the flare-up, the decision means UK citizens entering the EU’s Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180 days should be granted visa-free travel. The EU said, however, that British tourists would lose that right if the UK government imposed visa requirements on any of its member states.”

Recently, Spain has renewed its claims for Gibraltar in case of a no-deal Brexit. The UK will ultimately lose Gibraltar to continental Europe.

Brexit and War Talk

The Guardian wrote on February 4:

“A Conservative MP (Daniel Kawczynski) came under fire this weekend after invoking the second world war in a statement about the way the ‘ungrateful’ EU treats the UK on Twitter… But Kawczynski… isn’t the first politician to have used war analogies to describe Brexit proceedings:

“Last week (MP) Mark Francois said: ‘My father, Reginald Francois, was a D-Day veteran. He never submitted to bullying by any German and neither will his son.’…

“Johnson [argued] in May 2016, when he argued in a Telegraph interview that the EU were trying to create a superstate like Hitler had. ‘Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods,’ said Johnson.”

Wars start with words…

Brexit “Talks” Become More Hostile

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 6:

“European Council President Donald Tusk did not mince words on Wednesday with regards to Brexit. Writing on Twitter, Tusk wrote: ‘I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.’

“The president’s comment was criticized by prominent pro-Brexit voices, such as Nigel Farage, who called Tusk and his colleagues ‘arrogant bullies’…  British Prime Minister Theresa May took a slightly more subdued, but no less critical tack, saying ‘it’s a question for Donald Tusk as to whether he considers the use of that kind of language helpful.’

“Tusk’s strong words came as he met Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Brussels… ‘The top priority for us, remains the issue of the border on the island of Ireland… There is no room for speculation…’  Tusk said in a statement… But Northern Ireland’s conservative unionist DUP party, which props up May’s government, was insisting the backstop, the only measure the UK and EU agree unequivocally on, be scrapped… The DUP also had choice words for Tusk’s Twitter tirade, calling him a ‘devilish, trident-wielding, euromaniac.’”

Iran’s New Cruise Missile

Breaking Israel News wrote on February 3:

“On Saturday, during celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran state television announced their military had successfully tested the new Hoveizeh surface-to-surface cruise missile. The missile, launched from a mobile launcher, has an effective range of 800 miles, puttingIsrael and U.S. troops stationed in the region within range…

“Debka File, an English language Israeli military intelligence news site, described the effectiveness of this type of missile. ‘Iran is confident that neither the United States nor Israel has the answer to this threat,’ Debka wrote. ‘And indeed, say our military experts, no military force in the world has so far found an effective means of intercepting cruise missiles before they strike unless they are of short range.’”

Iran Threatens Israel with Obliteration

Express wrote on February 1:

“Iran has chillingly warned Israel that it will be ‘destroyed’ with a death toll so high there will not be sufficient space to bury them as tensions mount over Syria.

“The shocking remarks made by a senior Iranian military leader come after Israel hit several military targets in Syria, which… killed up to 12 Iranians… it said the overnight operation… was in response to a rocket fired towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights… Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Israel would be obliterated before its closest ally, the United States, has a chance to intervene…

“Since the war in Syria broke out in March 2011 Israel has hit military targets in Syria on dozens of occasions. Israel’s arch-enemy Iran has backed President Bashar al-Assad since the war began as an uprising of rebels and jihadists against the regime. Assad’s other top foreign ally, Russia, has called on Israel to end its strikes on its war-torn neighbor… Moscow joined in on the war in 2015 at the request of Assad, saying it was acting to ‘fight and destroy militants and terrorists’ in Syria rather than wait for them to come to Russia…”

These may not be just idle threats. We are told in the Bible that the state of Israel or “Judah” will receive a wound… apparently some kind of defeat in a war with its enemies.

Executions of Homosexuals in Iran

On February 1, Bild Online published the following commentary by US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who is openly gay:

“The recent press reports, first carried by ‘The Jerusalem Post,’ that the Iranian regime publically hanged a 31-year-old man for being gay should be a wakeup call for anyone who supports basic human rights… This is not the first time the Iranian regime has put a gay man to death with the usual outrageous claims of prostitution, kidnapping, or even pedophilia. And it sadly won’t be the last time they do it either. Barbaric public executions are all too common in a country where consensual homosexual relationships are criminalized and punishable by flogging and death.

“In Iran, where children as young as nine can be sentenced to death, gay teenagers are publically hanged in order to terrify and intimidate others from coming out. Iran’s horrific actions are on par with the brutality and savagery regularly demonstrated by ISIS. Being gay is a death sentence in eight countries and criminalized in 70 more. LGBT status or conduct means arrest, imprisonment, and violence for people who are simply dating or falling in love…

“The truth for LGBT people is that we were born gay. Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the idea that all of us are born free and equal in dignity and rights. People can disagree philosophically about homosexuality, but no person should ever be subject to criminal penalties because they are gay.

“India, Trinidad and Tobago, Angola, and Belize have recently decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual conduct. But there’s still much more work to be done. Reasonable people can help by speaking out when young gay men are publically hanged in Iran or shot in Chechnya. And government officials must work harder to demand that UN Members decriminalize homosexuality.”

First of all, LGTB people are NOT born gay. Rather, this is an adopted lifestyle which, according to the Bible, is wrong. In addition, why does Ambassador Grenell not single out the most vicious and brutal culprit when it comes to killing homosexuals… which is America’s ally, Saudi Arabia? Could it be that political motivations played a decisive role for writing this article against America’s enemy, Iran? In this context, read the next article.

Curing Homosexuals?

Handelsblatt Global wrote on February 3:

“‘The physical and mental state of homosexuals is far from normal.’ Or: gay people ‘are not healthy.’… those statements were published by a group of German doctors just five years ago… Homosexuality, ‘a disturbance in the developmental phase,’ can be treated, the Munich-based group insists. [It] offers ‘treatment’ ranging from psychoanalysis to homeopathy, prayer or ‘detoxification.’…

“German doctors stopped ‘diagnosing’ homosexuality as a mental disease after the World Health Organization dropped it from its list of illnesses in 1992… the World Medical Association has condemned so-called ‘conversion’ or ‘reparative’ methods targeting same-sex attraction. ‘These constitute violations of human rights and are unjustifiable practices that should be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties,’ the WMA said in a 2013 statement. The body represents some 10 million physicians in over 100 countries…

“Nearly two dozen US states, Canadian provinces and Latin-American countries have outlawed or restricted anything resembling a ‘gay cure.’ It has been outlawed, at least for minors, in places like Ontario, California, Illinois, among others, while Brazil and Argentina have imposed nationwide bans. But not in Germany, where conversion therapies are still legal. This is also true throughout most of Europe, despite a non-binding resolution against conversion therapy overwhelmingly backed by the European Parliament last year. In fact, Malta and Switzerland are the only European countries that have passed any legislation against them, in addition to a handful of Spanish regions…

“Six years ago, Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, raised eyebrows when she wrote a letter congratulating the Gnadau community on its 125th anniversary. An Evangelical organization with some 200,000 members in Germany, Gnadau is an outspoken proponent of ‘healing’ gays. Another CDU heavyweight, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, once endorsed a Christian festival in Bremen which promoted gay conversion seminars. And last spring, German media reported that regional CDU politicians in Saxony-Anhalt, including a former president of that eastern state, supported a Protestant group that for decades had attempted to cure homosexuals…

“The current health minister, Jens Spahn, is one of the country’s best known gay politicians – and unsurprisingly, he is against ‘curing’ homosexuals, which falls within his remit. In a Facebook post last summer, he called conversion therapies ‘nonsense’ and ‘a form of torture.’ [But] in early July, a left-wing lawmaker submitted a written request asking the government to take steps to ban conversion therapies. The written answer consisted of one word: ‘Nein.’”

Regardless of what man might say, the practice of homosexuality is clearly condemned in the Bible as sinful and an abomination. The apostle Paul made it clear that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the Kingdom of God and eternal life, but he also said that those who became members of God’s true church were cured and healed from committing this sinful practice.

God Wanted Trump to Become President

CNN wrote on January 31:

“White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she believes God wanted President Donald Trump to win the 2016 election, the Christian Broadcasting Network reported on Wednesday. ‘I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that’s why he’s there,’ Sanders told CBN’s David Brody and Jennifer Wishon, according to a transcript of the interview provided by CBN. ‘

“‘I think he has done a tremendous job in supporting a lot of the things that people of faith really care about,’ Sanders added. When asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling Trump’s proposed wall along the US southern border ‘immoral,’ Sanders told CBN, ‘The idea that protecting the people of your country, which is the fundamental duty of being president of the United States, would in some way be immoral is a ridiculous charge.'”

To be clear, we believe too that Donald Trump was placed in the position of President to fulfill biblical prophecy–not, in order to support a lot of things which true Christians care about, but in order to bring about the speedy downfall of the USA.

Suicide Risks Through Contraceptive Pills

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 1:

“The European Medicines Agency demands that a warning about a heightened suicide risk be included in the medication package insert for contraceptive pills. What is the connection between hormones and mental health?

“… there are scientific studies that do draw a connection between depression and hormonal contraception… Women who take the pill have a higher risk of suffering from depression than women who do not use hormonal contraception… the probability of suicide is about three times higher for women taking the pill than for women who did not use hormonal contraception. And the probability of a (first) suicide attempt is twice as high with the pill as it is without it. Similar to the study on depression and the pill, teenagers were particularly at risk…

“In addition to depression and suicide attempts, the pill is also associated with other risks. These include an increased likelihood of thrombosis, an increased risk for certain types of cancer and reduced libido.”

It has been known, but many times ignored, that “the pill” poses a great risk to the health of women. In addition, using medication after conception constitutes abortion which is sinful in the eyes of God. Note the next article.

Third-Trimester Abortions

Newsmax wrote on February 1:

“The growing laws allowing third-trimester abortion is a serious issue for many Americans,… Rep. Mark Walker said Friday… Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is refusing to back down from comments about a late-term abortion proposal in his state that would have allowed women to have the legal right to abort a fetus up until and even after birth, and Walker said he finds that frustrating.

“‘One of the things that bothers me as well is almost the arrogance or prideful spirit he has with this,’ said Walker. ‘Never once have I heard him mention (anything) about the baby, the concerns about the third trimester.’ However ‘81 percent of Americans are against’ third-trimester abortion, said Walker…”

“The baby” is indeed an innocent human being who is being murdered through abortion.

AI Today and Tomorrow

Express wrote on February 2:

“Robots will be in a position to outstrip the abilities of mankind within half a century, an expert in artificial intelligence has warned, stressing it was vital to introduce safeguards to prevent mankind being ‘replaced.’ Luca De Ambroggi, the research and analysis lead for AI solutions [said:] ‘In 50 years, it is reasonable to think that robots will be able to ‘support’ and replace human beings in several activities. Already electro-mechanical devices outperform humans in sensitiveness and reaction time.’ Considering the vast technological progression witnessed in the last decade, Mr Ambroggi said 50 years was ‘sufficient’ to close several gaps with human beings.

“He added: ‘Even if our brain will still have advantages and human beings will remain more dynamic and versatile, electronics will be able to outperform humans in several specific functions, as it does today, from machine vision, to audio/speech recognition…’ He said: ‘Artificial Intelligence is here, and it’s here for the long haul… from the sensing perspective electronics and semiconductor support, to the ability to see, hear, touch, as well as smell and taste with the latest MEMS technologies.”

Once-in-a Century Floods Overtake Australia

Breitbart wrote on February 3:

“Once-in-a-century floods have turned streets into rivers and forced thousands to abandon their homes in northeast Australia, with authorities warning of tornadoes and more rain over the next few days. Australia’s tropical north experiences heavy rains during the monsoon season at this time of the year, but the recent downpour has surged far above normal levels…

“Military personnel were delivering tens of thousands of sandbags to affected locals, as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned residents to be careful. ‘It’s basically not just a one in 20-year event, it’s a one in 100-year event,’ she told reporters Saturday…

“The deluge comes amid a severe drought in the eastern inland of the vast Australian continent, including parts of Queensland state… Extreme heatwaves during the southern hemisphere summer have also led to maximum-temperature records being broken in some towns…”

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 Ends Shutdown Temporarily

The Wall Street Journal wrote on January 25:

“President Trump [has] reached a deal with congressional leaders to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations over border security funding continue… The stopgap spending bill… provides no immediate funding for a border wall…

“Mr. Trump warned that if no deal is reached by Feb. 15, the government could shut down a second time. He also threatened to address border security unilaterally [by declaring a national emergency] if no agreement is struck by that point…”

Breitbart wrote on January 27:

“Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S. Mexico border would be a ‘terrible idea’ and that he would fight it.”

Many Republicans feel the same.

The Hour of National Turmoil

The Associated Press wrote on January 25:

“Recent polls found Trump bore the blame for the shutdown… Republicans were openly calling on him to back down from his demands and reopen the government…

“The breakthrough came as LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey both experienced at least 90-minute delays in takeoffs Friday due to the shutdown. And the world’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — was experiencing long security wait times, a warning sign the week before it expects 150,000 out-of-town visitors for the Super Bowl…

“The standoff became so severe that, as the Senate opened with prayer, Chaplain Barry Black called on high powers in the ‘hour of national turmoil‘ to help senators do ‘what is right.'”

Right-Wing Conservatives Against Trump

Breitbart wrote on January 25:

“On Friday’s edition of the Fox Business Network’s ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ host Lou Dobbs stated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) won the shutdown battle and President Trump ‘got rolled on this.’ Dobbs said… ‘to deny it is to try to escape from reality.’”

Breitbart added on January 25:

“The White House finally caved to Democrats demands, despite Trump’s repeated assertions this week that he would not do so.”

The Guardian wrote on January 25:

“Ann Coulter, author of In Trump We Trust, tweeted: ‘Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.’ And so it was that Trump… found himself crushed by Pelosi on his left and Coulter on his right…”

Trump Should Be Praised

USA Today wrote on January 26:

“Right-wing pundits are not happy… As the saying goes, with friends like these who needs enemies?

“Indeed, right-wing pundits caused the mess… by bullying the president into a decision he originally rejected: close the government, and then negotiate…

“Of course Ann Coulter, Michael Malice, Tomi Lahren, Breitbart News, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Steve Doocy and their ilk have a First Amendment right to make disparaging comments about the president of the United States. But the president has an Article 2 responsibility to make sure the government is functioning…

“The president’s decision on Friday to reopen the government… demonstrates that he recognizes his immense constitutional responsibility.

“President Trump should be commended for his decision, not condemned for it.”

Only the First Round?

Fox News wrote on January 25:

“… this shutdown, and the one that will likely follow it on Feb. 15, was not about money. It was about establishing dominance. It was about base voters. It was about bragging rights. And most of all, it was about the 2020 election.”

Many feel that President Trump will not shut down the government again, as he would lack support for such a step from most Americans, including many Republicans. On the other hand, the right-wing pundits who speak for many of his supporters would strongly support such a move.

On Saturday morning, and subsequently, President Trump tweeted several messages, reiterating that he will insist on building a wall.

Second Shutdown an Option

The Hill wrote on January 28:

“Lawmakers in both parties are skeptical about President Trump’s chances of securing funding for his wall on the Mexican border… Democrats seem unlikely to budget any money for a border wall, and even if they did, lawmakers say such a deal would likely require Trump to include significant immigration reforms, such as giving immigrants known as Dreamers a pathway to citizenship or permanent residency.

“That would be a tough nut to crack in only three weeks, and the concessions could also damage Trump with his base… Trump [said on Sunday] that he is doubtful Congress can come to a deal over border wall funding, adding that another government shutdown is ‘certainly an option.’”

The Cost of the Shutdown

The Week reported on January 28:

“The 35-day government shutdown cost the American economy $11 billion, $3 billion of which will never be recovered, an analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed. The loss of work from federal employees, suspension of federal services, and decreased economic demand chiefly contributed to the slowdown, the report says…

“A separate CBO economic outlook report also found that, if taxation and spending remains unchanged, the federal deficit will grow to an annual total of $1 trillion in [the] next decade.”

Will Americans Remember?

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 25:

“The ‘deal’ President Trump announced to temporarily end the longest government shutdown in US history was no deal at all. But given the suffering his shutdown continues to cause for so many, there are no winners here.

“It took US President Donald Trump 35 days to sign off on a bill that he could have had before Christmas [Instead, he listened to the bad advice of right-wingers such as Limbaugh and Coulter]…

“Trump’s… triggering of the shutdown… meant that 800,000 government workers and their families have had to make ends meet despite going without pay for over a month. Not to mention the more than one million government contractors who went unpaid…

“One could speculate now what caused Trump to cave… But it is an exercise in futility; no one really knows Trump’s mind…

“Let’s hope that Americans remember the… president who would readily gamble other people’s lives and livelihoods for a pointless border wall he ultimately did not even get…”

The Reckless Nature of Politicians

Some feel that President Trump has a chance of receiving the support of Democrats for building a wall for a barrier, as Democrats advocated better border security in the past. The following article questions this conclusion, with interesting arguments:

The Week wrote on January 25:

“After 35 days… the longest government shutdown in history is finally coming to an end. It accomplished nothing…

“The worst thing of all? It’s only going away for three weeks. Meanwhile the president and the Democratic Party remain as divided on the question of funding for the border wall as they were in December. The deal will fund the government for less than a month while members of both parties in Congress are expected to ‘negotiate.’ What do they have to say to each other that they have not been saying for days and weeks and months now? Nothing will come of it…

“As long as Democrats control the House, the wall is never going to happen… Politicians change their minds about all sorts of things every day. It is almost never because they have had a genuine change of heart. These shifts follow a straightforward pattern: The Blue Team says x because it is rhetorically beneficial to them at a certain juncture. The Red Team says not x for the same reason. Eight or even four years later the Red Team might say x and the Blue Team not x, making exactly the same arguments as the other side. Who cares…”

This describes perfectly the nature and motives of politicians.

New Nuclear Weapons

npr (National Public Radio) wrote on January 28:

“The U.S. Department of Energy has started making a new, low-yield nuclear weapon designed to counter Russia (called W76-2)… The (already existing) W76-1 is believed to have a yield of around 100 kilotons… By contrast, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of about 15 kilotons.

“The Energy Department would not provide details about the W76-2, but it’s believed to have a yield of around 5 to 7 kilotons… That smaller yield is probably created by removing or disabling the secondary stage of the W76-1. The secondary is designed to deliver a large thermonuclear blast triggered by a much smaller nuclear weapon known as the primary. Removing or disabling the secondary while leaving the primary would, in effect, create a smaller weapon.

“Last year the Trump administration made the case for the development of a smaller nuclear weapon that could be launched from a submarine… [There are worries that] the new warhead could actually make nuclear war far more likely…

“The National Nuclear Security Administration says its first production unit of the new weapon is underway. It is on track to deliver a small number of weapons to the Navy by October of this year.”

The Polar Vortex… Historic Winter Freeze

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 30:

“A record arctic air mass will remain over the central and eastern United States over the next several days. Chicago has already recorded temperatures colder than parts of Antarctica…

“Including the wind chill factor, parts of the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Minnesota had temperatures of -70 Fahrenheit (-56.7 Celsius)…  In Chicago, the morning temperature was -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius), which was colder than Alaska’s state capital and parts of Antarctica…”

Dangerous Cold and Global Warming

The Weather Channel wrote on January 29:

“President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he wants global warming to ‘come back fast’ in response to the dangerous cold outbreak… ‘In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the… is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need you!’ Trump tweeted.

“The comment highlights a lack of understanding about the difference between weather and climate. NASA makes this distinction: ‘Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long periods of time.’ The consensus of scientists is that individual weather events do not reflect the long-term trend of global warming…

“This isn’t a one-off comment by the president on weather and global warming. Trump continues to deny the existence of climate change and often points to individual weather events as evidence that climate change is a ‘hoax,’ as he has called it in the past. In November, Trump denied his own administration’s National Climate Assessment, noting that global warming is only temporary.”

Scientists are not as unanimous in their conclusions for man-made global warming as the article implies. Quite a few scientists deny man-made global warming. Interestingly, the late founder of the Weather Channel, meteorologist John Coleman, was an ardent denier of climate change and filed a lawsuit to prove his conclusions.  Apparently, the lawsuit ended with Coleman’s death. Amongst others, the late Michael Crichton, a doctor and novelist (“ER,” “Twister,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “Jurassic Park”), also questioned man-made global warming.

Is This Really Happening in the USA? It Sure Is!

The New York Post wrote on January 25:

“New video shows the moment Roger Stone, President Trump’s longtime confidant, was taken into custody during a pre-dawn raid Friday carried out by armed FBI agents. With their guns drawn, several agents stormed Stone’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around 6 a.m. — pounding on the door and bellowing, ‘FBI! Open the door!,’ according to the footage obtained by CNN.

“The dramatic moment was witnessed by former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chad Johnson. ‘FBI arrested my neighbor Roger before my morning jog, I’ve only seen [something] like that in movies, crazy to start to my Friday,’ he tweeted.

“Stone is facing multiple counts including obstruction of an official proceeding, making false statements and witness tampering related to his communications with WikiLeaks and information he’s alleged to have shared with the Trump campaign. The charges stem from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.”

Sadly, such controversial and objectionable behavior by the FBI is only all too common. In addition, special counsel Muller was commissioned to look into collusion by Trump with the Russians. He found nothing in that regard; instead, he indicted some friends of Trump for unrelated crimes, which he was not commissioned to investigate, to justify two years of time and millions of dollars on what many have labeled a “witch hunt.”

FBI Can’t Find Motive in Las Vegas Shooting

The Week wrote on January 29:

“The FBI has concluded its 16-month investigation into the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival in 2017, which left 58 people dead and hundreds injured, but could not find [a] ‘single or clear motivating factor’ behind it. Shooter Stephen Paddock wanted to inflict ‘the maximum amount of damage,’ the FBI said in a report released Tuesday, but added that he was not ‘directed, inspired, nor enabled by ideologically-motivated persons or groups.’

“His decision to die by suicide suggests he wanted to ‘attain a certain degree of infamy via a mass casualty attack,’ the FBI said. Because he did not leave a note, investigators say this report ‘comes as close to understanding the why as we’re ever going to get.’”

Actually, it is quite astonishing that the FBI could not find a motive after 16 months of investigation. Of course, the FBI would not even dare to consider factors outside the physical realm. It is obvious to us, however, that the murderer was influenced, if not possessed, by demonic forces.

Martial Law in the UK?

Daily Mail wrote on January 27:

“Whitehall officials have been ‘war-gaming’ imposing martial law to avoid chaos on the streets after a no-deal Brexit… The extreme measures are being considered as part of a major response if the UK crashes out of the EU at the end of March.

“Mandarins have been discussing whether to use wide-ranging powers in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 – which include curfews, travel bans and deploying the army…

“Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was no ‘specific’ plan for martial law, but did not completely rule it out. ‘Of course Government all the time looks at all the options in all circumstances,’ he [said]. ‘It remains on the statute book but it isn’t the focus of our attention.’”

Brexit–No Deal No Money?

Daily Mail wrote on January 30:

“Ministers ramped up tensions with the EU today in the wake of Theresa May’s historic Commons victory – warning that the £39billion divorce bill could be axed if it does not compromise.

“Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng insisted Brussels would not get a ‘penny pinch’ from the UK unless there was ‘some give’ on the hated Irish border backstop. The threat came as the PM braces for ‘trench warfare’ with the EU after leaders flatly dismissed calls to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement.”

Putin’s Apocalypse

Project Syndicate wrote on January 24:

“In the last year, Putin has spoken about a ‘nuclear apocalypse’ more than any Western leader has over the last decade… Putin has blamed the risk of a catastrophic outcome on the West, framing Russia’s hypothetical use of nuclear weapons as revenge or retaliation.

“… the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has predicted a Book of Revelation-style reckoning [and it is] his belief that doomsday is near… Chair of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin has argued that the end of the world is already upon us and ‘the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.’

“… apocalyptic rhetoric in Russia is closely related to positioning Putin as a kind of messiah… Alexander Dugin, the leader of the Eurasia movement and arguably the Kremlin’s chief ideologist, calls Putin ‘katechon,’ an Orthodox leader who prevents the ‘kingdom of the Antichrist,’ which he defines as a combination of Western ‘globalization, post-liberalism, and post-industrial society’…”

The Bible shows that Europe will attack Russia and other Far Eastern nations, apparently with chemical and biological weapons, and that these nations (the kings of the East) will retaliate against Europe, apparently with nuclear weapons.

Coming… War with Iran?

Lobe Log wrote on January 25:

“Donald Trump’s domestic troubles, combined with the current makeup of his foreign policy team, provide a confluence of circumstances, perhaps a perfect storm, to pull the United States into a war with Iran… Trump’s position has never been weaker. And despite what appears to be his personal desire to extract U.S. troops from the Middle East… his deepening political problems may make war more attractive.

“Israel has exhibited a new boldness in bombing suspected Iranian weapons sites in Syria. ‘Analysts have warned that Israel’s new openness [in publicly claiming responsibility for the strikes] could ratchet up tensions, making it harder for Iranian leaders to ignore attacks and pushing them to retaliate,’ The New York Times reported this week.

“Meanwhile, any incident involving Iran… could quickly spiral out of control, drawing in U.S. forces.

“The potential of some kind of conflict with Iran escalating into a larger regional war is very real, possibly more real than ever. Although some have been sounding the alarm, the attention given to this dire situation is nowhere near the level it deserves… it’s possible that the United States could find itself in a new Middle East war without anyone really noticing it happen.”

Europe vs. USA on Iran

Handelsblatt Global wrote on January 31:

“Germany, France and Britain have set up a special payment platform to keep trade with Iran intact despite Washington’s sanctions. That’s unlikely to go down well with the US administration… It won’t be the first time that Europe and America clashed over how to handle Iran after their quarrel over the nuclear deal in 2015…

“European countries tried to keep doing business in Iran, and were promised protection by Brussels. The EU called on companies to reject US sanctions and passed a blocking statute guaranteeing help for businesses in case of US retaliation. This has not proved successful, however. The US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, countered these efforts and contacted companies individually, pressuring them to withdraw from Tehran. One after another, German firms fell into line. Within short order, Siemens, BASF, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom and Munich Re announced they would stop doing business in Iran.

“Now, there are several ways Washington might respond to the newly-created payment channel… The administration could sanction the bureaucrats involved in the vehicle, the French, British and German board members. It could sanction companies attempting to use the vehicle. Or it could warn such businesses that if they engage with the vehicle, legally or not, they will face consequences…”

Deutsche Welle added on January 31:

“On Thursday, the US State Department said it was ‘closely following’ reports on the European mechanism. ‘As the president has made clear, entities that continue to engage in sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequencesthat could include losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do business with the United States or US companies,’ the State Department said in a statement.”

EU Warns USA over Tariff Debacle

The Hill wrote on January 23:

“The European Union said Wednesday that it will retaliate with nearly $23 billion in tariffs if President Trump puts taxes on imported EU cars and auto parts…

“Trump has long threatened to slap 25 percent tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts, citing the national security concerns his administration raised to impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last year… a U.S. probe of automotive imports will be completed in February.”

Comeback for Schulz?

Bild Online reported on Sunday, January 27, that former SPD leaders Martin Schulz and Sigmar Gabriel are very dissatisfied with their own party (the junior governmental coalition party of Angela Merkel’s CDU) and are allegedly contemplating to initiate a comeback.

Der Merkur confirmed on January 27 that there are rumors regarding a putsch from Gabriel and Schulz if the SPD were to lose the upcoming European election and the local election in the city of Bremen by the end of May. It was stated that in such a “worst-case scenario,” the current leaders of the SPD would no longer be tolerable.

On January 29, Focus Online discussed the pro and cons for such an alleged putsch as well, but concluded that it won’t happen.

Given Sigmar Gabriel’s current position on political issues, including the European army and the German-French friendship, it does not seem that he will play a prominent role in the future. It may be different for Martin Schulz.

A European Army

Forbes wrote on January 23:

“With Brexit looming and Europe under threat from populism, France and Germany have signed a historic new friendship treaty in the city of Aachen. Both countries agreed to establish common positions and issue joint statements on key EU issues, deepen economic integration and further develop their defensive cooperation…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the aim of the pact is a ‘German-French economic area with common rules’ and ‘a common military culture’ which could ‘contribute to the creation of a European army.’ Unsurprisingly, the announcement of the treaty and particularly Ms. Merkel’s references to the potential creation of an EU army have enraged nationalists and Eurosceptics. Some merely called it a symbolic and irrelevant gesture while others accused their governments of signing away national sovereignty.

“The subject of an EU-army has been a prickly issue across Europe for years. After World War II, plans for such a force initially gained traction before grinding to a halt in the mid-1950s. While the threat from a resurgent Russia has given the idea new impetus, it has proven extremely controversial in many parts of the EU. In some countries, such as the UK, a united military service with old Second World War enemies Germany and Italy would prove unacceptable in some quarters…

“The most recent research on the issue was conducted… in 2017 and it found that support was highest in the Netherlands and Belgium at 74%. In France and Germany, it stood at 65 and 55% respectively. In the EU’s neutral countries, support was 45% in Austria, 46% in Ireland, 42% in Finland, 55% in Malta and just 40% in Sweden.”

However, today, the figures would show that the support for a European army is much higher in certain countries, especially in Germany.

Bigger than the USA

Express wrote on January 23:

“Angela Merkel has boasted about Germany and France’s plans for an EU Army in a defiant speech where she warned it would be bigger than the US forces…

“She said: ‘… we have even more than 170 different weapons system, the US have less than 60… The French leader argued the two nations’ partnership will provide EU citizens with the ‘real protection’ they need.”

USA Committed to NATO

USA Today wrote on January 25:

“President Donald Trump ‘is committed to NATO’ and deserves credit in obtaining $100 billion more in defense spending for the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said Sunday…

“Stoltenberg’s comment stands in contrast to Democrats who fear Trump wants to pull out of NATO… A New York Times report earlier this month said Trump repeatedly told aides he wanted to pull out of the alliance. In response to the report, Democrats pushed for legislation requiring congressional approval of any move to leave NATO.

“Trump has also been criticized for his aggressive approach in insisting America’s ‘delinquent’ allies pay a greater share toward the collective defense agreement. At the summit in July, he demanded the other members ‘immediately’ increase their contributions. Stoltenberg said the tough approach paid off.

“‘… you have to remember that the increase we now see in defense spending by European and NATO allies comes after years of decline. So before they were cutting billions. Now they’re actually adding billions,’ he said.”

On the one hand, Stoltenberg is fooling himself and others, not knowing and understanding biblical prophecy. On the other hand, the US is causing actions, which will in turn lead to an attack by the newly powerful EU—and that on Britain and America!

Free Europe in Danger

The Guardian wrote on January 25:

“Liberal values in Europe face a challenge ‘not seen since the 1930s’, leading intellectuals from 21 countries have said, as… nationalists look set to make sweeping gains in EU parliamentary elections…

“They write of their regret that Europe has been ‘abandoned from across the Channel’ – an oblique reference to the drawn-out Brexit process that has arguably brought Anglo-European relations to their lowest point since the second world war…

“Unlike Eurosceptics in the UK, most European counterparts do not want to leave the EU but to take it over…”

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Europe

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 27:

“Jewish organizations say they have seen an increase in anti-Semitism in Germany… Some 41 percent of Jews in Germany said they were victims of anti-Semitic hostility, compared to an average of 28 percent in the other surveyed countries.

Handelsblatt Global wrote on January 25:

“Anxiety is increasing that remembrance of the Holocaust, and of Germany’s and Europe’s anti-Semitic past, is fading. A survey published this week found that 90 percent of Jewish people in the European Union feel that anti-Semitism has grown in the last five years. One in three is considering emigrating.

“Another survey, taken last year, showed that anti-Semitism is strong in France, but also prominent in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden and Belgium. Last fall, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, noted that in Germany people are almost accustomed to Jewish institutions requiring police protection.

“Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress, highlighted this situation in a speech to the European Parliament marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The future for Jews in Europe is bleak, he said.

“… the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, said… he was deeply worried that Jews are afraid to practice their faith in Europe, and that Holocaust denial remains alive on the continent…”

Hitler’s Plan for Holocaust in USA and Canada

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 27:

“A Canadian archive has acquired a book owned by Adolf Hitler that shows his plans for Jewish people living in Canada and the US. The archive said the book shows what could have happened if World War II ended differently.

“[The book] contains detailed Jewish population data, as well as information on key organizations and media for Canadian and American Jewish communities… [It] demonstrates that the Holocaust was not purely a European event, but rather an operation that was stopped before it reached North America.”

Earthquakes in Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 27:

“Last Thursday evening, northern Israel was shaken by a 3.6 magnitude earthquake. Earthquakes are not uncommon in Israel as the Syrian-African fault line… runs underneath the Jordan Valley.

“The last earthquake in northern Israel was in July, measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale, but seismologists estimate that according to statistics and the geologic history, the region should experience a major quake every 80-100 years. The last major quake was in 1927 and registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale killing 500 people. Another major earthquake is therefore now due…

“A 2016 report… stated that in the case of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, an estimated 7,000 people would be killed, another 8,600 injured and 377,000 left homeless. In addition, such a quake could cause up to $55 billion in damages.”

According to Revelation 11:13, a future earthquake in Israel will cause the death of 7000 people.

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.

“It’s Time to Let the UK Go”

Der Spiegel wrote on January 18:

“The EU should let the British go, so that they can answer that question in peace outside of the European Union. Instead of continuing to run after the Brits in the hope they might give their blessing to a deal after all, Europeans should just allow a hard Brexit to come to pass and focus their energies on preparing for the fallout…

“DER SPIEGEL has joined many others in the past in arguing that Brexit is a mistake and that Europe is stronger with the UK as a member. At the best of times, Britain made the EU a better place…

“But now the EU risks allowing the political malaise in Britain to cause lasting damage to the community’s already weakening foundations. When it comes to solving its problems — be it migration, currency reform or, more importantly, an American president who is increasingly hostile to the bloc, the EU cannot afford to allow itself to be held hostage by Britain’s Tories…

“The consequences of a no-deal Brexit would, of course, be unpleasant, but hardly a disaster — at least not for the EU…”

Brexit will happen… with devastating consequences for the British people.

“Blocking Brexit Will Unleash ‘Political Tsunami’”

Breitbart wrote on January 20:

“Britain’s Secretary of State for International Trade [Cabinet Brexiteer Liam Fox] has warned that if politicians refuse to respect the people’s vote for Brexit it could unleash a ‘political tsunami’ with ‘unknowable consequences’ for the stability of the realm.

“… commentators have warned that membership of either the European Union Customs Union or a permanent customs union with the EU would leave the United Kingdom at the mercy of the bloc, which would be able to both drag it into trade wars with third countries and… force it to allow third countries privileged access to the British market on disadvantageous terms, according to their own commercial interests. Brussels would also be able to both raise and reduce tariffs on non-EU goods in Britain, and receive a large part of the revenue from said tariffs…

“[Fox also said:] ‘… it is not possible to take “No Deal” off the table for, if agreement is not reached, the law as it stands would mean that the European treaties no longer apply to the UK after 29th March.”

No More Glue for Britain

The Local wrote on January 16:

“As Brexit hangs in the balance, Politicians, newspapers and commentators in Germany and Europe have been having their say on the chaotic events taking place on the island. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday that delaying Brexit beyond March 29th would make no ‘sense’…

“… in an opinion piece, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung didn’t hold back. ‘There is no glue that can be used to reassemble the British political system, which has disintegrated into a thousand splinters,’ it said.”

New Challenges for Brits

The Sun wrote on January 23:

“Brits could be banned from travelling to the EU if they have less than 15 MONTHS left on their passports after No Deal Brexit…

“The UK Foreign Office warns: ‘If the UK leaves the European Union with no deal, the passport validity rules for travel to most countries in Europe will change from 29 March 2019. Some passports with up to 15 months validity remaining may not be valid for travel.’ Countries popular with British tourists such as France, Spain and Portugal could all be affected.

“This could lead to a rush in passport applications in the UK, following previous advice that just six months validity would be needed… Up to five million passengers could face travel chaos after Brexit with plane tickets at risk of being cancelled.”

Preparing for a No-Deal Brexit

Der Spiegel wrote on January 21:

“A no-deal Brexit threatens to have a major impact on the European economy. Companies have long since begun making concrete preparations for an eventuality that is looking increasingly likely…

“Policymakers are also preparing for a no-deal Brexit, with the German government having introduced two packages of laws to regulate the residence status of British citizens — a necessary step because they will be losing their freedom of movement in the EU. The European Commission has likewise presented emergency legislation to prevent trade and traffic from ending abruptly. Air traffic is particularly sensitive given that the only airlines for whom there will be total freedom are those that are majority-owned and controlled by investors inside the EU.

“The consequences for airlines like Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, Ryanair or Easyjet would be disastrous, given the size of British holdings in those companies. They would lose all route rights from and within the EU. As a precaution, Easyjet has taken the step of setting up a subsidiary in Vienna, while Ryanair is considering ways of reducing the influence British shareholders have over the company.

“The European Commission is eager to prevent planes from being grounded and is considering granting companies their old route rights between Britain and Continental Europe until a new aviation treaty can be concluded, or at the latest, until March 2020. Still, they would not be allowed to operate flights from point to point within the EU.

“The planned regulations, however, are of no help to aircraft manufacturers. Without certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which would no longer have supervisory authority over Britain following a no-deal Brexit, no British-made parts could be installed in European jets. Such a situation that would hit Airbus hard; the wings used in the Airbus family of jets are all manufactured in Britain…

“The impact of a disorderly Brexit would be a… serious blow to German carmakers, above all BMW. The Bavarians operate four plants in Britain, and more than 200,000 ultra-compacts of the cult-brand Mini are built in Oxford each year. Each Mini is composed of 3,000 parts, most of which are delivered by semi-truck from Continental Europe…”

Europeans will not be happy if they suffer economically due to a no-deal Brexit. Voices of “declaring war on Britain” have already been heard in the European population.

“EU Has Many More Weapons Systems than the USA”

Reuters wrote on January 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday the European Union must deepen cooperation in defense and in particular weapons systems development…

“In a speech to her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in the northern city of Rostock, Merkel said: ‘It is good that after several decades we want to develop a common defense policy … We must develop weapons systems together,’ adding Europe had many more systems than the United States.

“Arguing that EU countries should not compete among themselves for new projects and fighter planes but develop products together, she said there would be a need to compromise on export rules…

“In her weekly podcast, Merkel stressed the importance of the French-German partnership at the heart of the EU…”

These comments should wake everybody up and disprove the false notion that Europe would never dare to attack the USA, as they would be so much weaker militarily than America.

US Fear of Missile Attacks from Russia, China and Other Nations

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote on January 18:

“US President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped US missile defence strategy on Thursday that called North Korea an ongoing and ‘extraordinary threat,’ seven months after he declared the threat posed by Pyongyang had been eliminated… The plan, which also detailed concerns about the burgeoning capabilities of Iran, Russia and China, called for developing space-based sensors to detect incoming enemy missiles and exploring space-based weapons to shoot down missiles among other steps to shield the United States…

“The report said Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East… US intelligence officials believe [North Korea] is still advancing its nuclear program despite a halt to missile launches last year.

“Pentagon officials contend that American missiles defences are too few to effectively counter a major first-strike on the US homeland by an advanced nuclear power like Russia or China. Washington hopes those countries will instead be deterred from attacks by America’s nuclear arsenal.”

Even though the Bible does not indicate a major attack from countries such as Russia, China, North Korea or Iran, it does imply that these and other Far Eastern nations will collaborate militarily and fight against Europe, referring to them as the “kings of the East.” At the same time, we know that Europe will attack America with nuclear weapons.

Russia Deploys Missiles and Troops Near Ukrainian Border

Fox News wrote on January 18:

“Satellite images shot Thursday… have revealed a new Russian deployment of Iskander missile batteries and launchers… 270 miles from the border with Ukraine… The Iskander ballistic missile has a range up to 310 miles, and can carry both unconventional as well as nuclear warheads, putting most of America’s NATO allies at risk…

‘Fox News has reported of further Russian troops deployment and S-400 Surface to air missile[s]…”

The Bible tells us clearly that Russia and Ukraine will combine forces against Europe.

Venezuela… the Next US Battle Ground?

CNBC wrote on January 23:

“Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning over the backing of the Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Nicolas Maduro to break relations with the United States… Maduro said he would give U.S. diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave Venezuela, which is suffering from a hyperinflationary economic collapse.

“U.S. President Donald Trump formally recognized Guaido shortly after his announcement and praised his plan to hold elections. That was swiftly followed by similar statements from Canada and a slew of right-leaning Latin American governments, including Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it would not remove American diplomats because it did not recognize the Maduro regime as the government of Venezuela…

“Guaido’s declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the opposition now running a parallel government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions…

“Maduro welcomed the deployment of two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers. The Russian aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, landed in Caracas last month in a move designed to show Moscow’s support of Venezuela’s socialist regime. The Pentagon swiftly criticized the Russian deployment of warplanes to Venezuela…

“Maduro started a second term on Jan. 10 following a widely-boycotted election last year that many foreign governments described as a sham. Venezuela’s constitution says if the presidency is determined to be vacant, new elections should be called in 30 days and that the head of congress should assume the presidency in the meantime. However, the pro-government Supreme Court has ruled that all actions taken by congress are null and void and Maduro’s government has previously accused Guaido of staging a coup and threatened him with jail…

“The South American country has the largest crude reserves in the world and is a major supplier to U.S. refiners…”

The Guardian wrote on January 24:

“The head of Venezuela’s armed forces has thrown his weight behind the embattled president, warning that the country could be thrust into a devastating civil war by what he called a US-backed ‘criminal plan’ to unseat Nicolás Maduro… Further bolstering Maduro’s position, Russian President Vladimir Putin… insisted [the crisis] was ‘provoked from abroad’…

“Donald Trump has warned that ‘all options are on the table’ for a US response if the Maduro government seeks to hold on to power by force. His national security advisor, John Bolton, refused to exclude military action on Thursday, but said the immediate emphasis would be on economic measures… He said that Washington was currently trying to strengthen the coalition against Maduro among American and European states. The EU has called for new elections but most member states have not followed Washington in recognising Guaidó… The UK however, broke European ranks on Thursday and sided with the US.”

Iran Deal further Divides Europe and America

Politico wrote on January 19:

“Of all the damage Trump has done to transatlantic relations, no issue has divided the U.S. from its European allies as starkly as the dispute over the Iran accord… The fight is about to heat up. EU officials… plan to approve and register in France a ‘special purpose vehicle’ aimed at helping European companies to continue doing business with Iran and circumvent the sanctions Trump unilaterally reimposed on Tehran last year… The refusal of the EU… France, Germany and the U.K…. to fall in line behind Trump’s pullout from the deal has enraged the president and his administration.

“Escalating the dispute, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has railed recently against the EU and other multilateral organizations, will hold a conference in Poland next month on Middle East peace that will put a spotlight on tensions between Warsaw and Brussels, including on foreign policy…”

President Trump’s Huge Impact

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 19:

“At the halfway-mark of his first term it is time to acknowledge the huge impact he’s already had – and wonder how much more could come.

“In his first two years in office, US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the landmark international nuclear arms agreement with Iran, out of the signature global climate accord and out of the historic trade pact with Asia, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). He launched a bruising trade war with China, slapped tariffs on America’s European allies and ordered a speedy withdrawal of all US forces from Syria.

“He signed into law one of the largest tax overhauls in recent history, instituted a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants and triggered the longest government shutdown in US history. And he is in the process of remaking US courts by appointing more federal judges to the bench than any of his recent predecessors at the same time.

“These are only some of the most striking examples of the tangible impact Trump has had. And it is important to note that all of these moves, while often rolled out erratically, should not have come as a surprise to anyone as all of them were campaign promises made by then-candidate Trump…”

President Trump is determined to carry out his remaining campaign promises as well.

“If You Thought the first Two Years Were Crazy, then You’d Better Buckle Up”

The Independent wrote on January 19:

“With so many challenges confronting him, so many pitfalls to face, and so much likelihood he will be pressured in a way he does not like, we can expect two years of hard fighting and ugliness from the White House… Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College in New York… said if Trump finds himself with his back to the wall as a result of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller… things ‘will get very ugly… If we think things have been divisive over the government shutdown, that will look like child’s play’…

“Trump and his legal team have always dismissed the probe as a witch hunt and denied any collusion. But this week saw two interesting developments: a vow from Trump’s new pick for attorney general, William Barr, that he will let the Muller investigation be completed, and an apparent admission from Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani – ‘clarified’ the following day – that somebody in the campaign may have colluded with Moscow…

“Two other things are going to further unsettle the president. One is the fact that the Democrats now control the House of Representatives and everything that means… The final factor that will trigger reverberations from the White House is the 2020 election… if Trump fights the 2020 campaign as he did the one in 2016, we can expect it to be unpleasant, toxic and ill tempered. The name-calling he deployed against people such as Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz will be the least of it…

“Given the pace of developments…, it has been nothing less than exhausting. The next two years will only be worse.”

In regard to allegations of collusion with Russia, notice the next article.

BuzzFeed vs. Trump vs. Mueller

Newsmax wrote on January 19:

“BuzzFeed News released a statement Saturday standing by their Thursday report that Donald Trump directed his then-attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow after the Mueller team disputed the report Friday. ‘As we’ve re-confirmed our reporting, we’ve seen no indication that any specific aspect of our story is inaccurate,’ wrote BuzzFeed’s director of communications Matt Mittenthal in a statement. ‘We remain confident in what we’ve reported, and will share more as we are able.’

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s spokesman issued a rare statement disputing BuzzFeed’s report Friday. ‘BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate,’ said Peter Carr, Mueller’s spokesman.

“It was unclear exactly what Mueller’s office was disputing, but BuzzFeed reported that the special counsel learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie through ‘interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages and a cache of other documents’…

“Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani called the claims ‘categorically false,’ and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also denied the report. BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith wrote on Twitter that ‘we stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he’s disputing’…”

It appears that somebody is not telling the truth.

Trump’s Proposal to End Shutdown—Dead on Arrival

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 19:

“President Trump offered to extend protections for some immigrants in exchange for $5.7 billion to build a wall at the Mexican border…

“Trump’s proposal:

“$5.7 billion for wall or steel barriers for critical areas of the border

“$800 million dollars in urgent humanitarian assistance to the border

“$800 million for technology, border protection

“75 new immigration judge teams, to reduce immigration casework backlog

“Measures to protect migrant children from exploitation, a new system for minors to apply for asylum from their home countries

“Three years of legislative relief for young immigrants who arrived illegally with their parents (DACA), including access to work permits and protection for deportation

“A three-year extension to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) refugee program…

“Prior to the speech, the White House made the proposal public, stressing the DACA and TPS extensions. Both programs have been imperiled by Trump, as he sought to end them early in his presidency. The fate of more than 700,000 DACA recipients, young people who entered the US illegally before the age of 14, has rested on the courts since Trump announced his plan to end the program.

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed Trump’s plan as a ‘non-starter.’ ‘His proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives,’ Pelosi said.”

Fox News added on January 19:

“Trump announced that he was prepared to back a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children and were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program… The offered deal would also extend protections for 300,000 recipients of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program — which protects immigrants from designated countries with conditions that prevent nationals from returning safely. It would allocate $800 million for drug detection technology to secure ports of entry [and] 2,750 new border agents and law enforcement professionals…

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Trump for his ‘bold solution’ to re-open the government… Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voiced support for the president’s compromise plan, pledging his support for it via Twitter.

“The partial government shutdown, which has dragged on for 29 days and led to hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed or working without pay, is the result of Republicans and Democrats being unable to come to an agreement over Trump’s demand for wall funding. Trump has said he will not sign a bill to open the government unless it includes that funding, while Democrats have refused to consider the $5.7 billion figure, instead offering $1.3 billion for general border security.

“Trump’s move marks a rare outreach in a week where both sides appear to have hardened in their positions, with Trump canceling a Democratic delegation’s military flight to Afghanistan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on him to delay his State of the Union address earlier in the week. On Saturday before the speech, Trump described Pelosi as being ‘controlled by the radical left.’”

It does not appear that the shutdown will end any time soon. This is really a terrible testimony to America’s inability to govern and lead. At the same time, both Democrats and rightwing Republicans rejected President Trump’s attempt to come to a compromise. Note the next article.

Juvenile Stalemate between Republicans and Democrats Continues

The Washington post wrote on January 24:

“The Senate on Thursday rejected competing Republican and Democratic plans to end the partial government shutdown, now in its 34th day. The Republican bill included funding for President Trump’s border wall while the Democratic plan did not. Both measures failed to win the 60 votes needed to move forward…

“The votes follow a dramatic day in which Trump agreed to postpone his State of the Union address after Speaker Nancy Pelosi… disinvited him from making the speech next week in the House chamber.”

Rightwing Hard-Liners Attack Trump

The Huffington Post wrote on January 19:

“Rightwing scold Ann Coulter is tearing into President Donald Trump’s offer to extend protections for the so-called immigrant Dreamers in exchange for Democrats’ support for $5.7 billion for his southern border wall. Coulter lashed out after Trump offered to extend protections for three years under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Coulter mocked the plan’s ‘amnesty,’ noting sarcastically that maybe Trump could finally get an entire border wall if ‘we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners.’ [She] also accused Trump of turning into his GOP presidential candidate rival Jeb Bush, who is far more supportive of immigrants.

“Coulter speaks for extreme immigration hardliners. But many observers believe her opinions sway the president… Earlier this month Coulter told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business that she would rather deport Dreamers than MS-13 gang members.”

Sadly, it may very well be true that President Trump thinks he needs to listen to such extreme right-wing views as expressed by Coulter and others. Note the next article.

Trump Responds to Coulter and Hard-Liners

The Hill wrote on January 20:

“President Trump early Sunday… chastised Democrats for dismissing his plan, and attempted to assuage immigration hard-liners who likened the administration’s latest proposal to amnesty for immigrants already in the country illegally.

“‘No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer,’ Trump tweeted. ‘It is a 3 year extension of DACA. Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else. Likewise there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally–but be careful Nancy!’”

His implied threat to Pelosi in the context of removal of illegal aliens is worrisome to many observers.

How America Feels about the Shutdown and the Wall

Newsmax wrote on January 23:

“Sixty-six percent of Americans want President Donald Trump to agree to a budget without funding for a wall on the southern border, while 52 percent want Democrats to reach a deal on a budget that includes funding for the barrier… Only 28 percent said the border wall is worth the government shutdown, while 71 percent said it is not worth it. Only 37 percent said a wall is necessary to secure the border, while 61 percent said the border can be secured without it…

“Sixty percent of Americans said the government shutdown is causing serious problems, while 34 percent said it is causing some problems, but not serious ones and 5 percent said it is causing no problems.

Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped three percentage points from November to 36 percent today. Fifty-nine percent of Americans now disapprove of the job he is doing, a high for his presidency… The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample is plus or minus three percentage points.”

How 34 percent of Americans can possibly feel that the shutdown does not cause serious problems is a mystery and further testimony of total ignorance.

Worldwide Hatred for Jews

The Algemeiner wrote on January 23:

“Israel was condemned at least 20 times in the UN General Assembly for human rights abuses, illegal settlements, and continued occupation of East Jerusalem in 2018 — more than any other country. According to former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, since the 1940s, the UN has condemned Israel at least 500 times…

“Consider the charge a few years ago by newly-elected Congresswoman Ilhan Omarthat ‘Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel‘…

“Medieval persecutions of Jews were horrible. In 1349 in Germany alone, more Jews were slaughtered than early Christians were killed in all Roman persecutions…

“Medieval Jews were expelled from one Western European country after another. But today, as the Jewish population has been ‘globalized,’ antisemitic conspiracy mongers have a much easier time portraying Jews through modern media as a ‘world menace.’

“The existence of Israel is double-edged. Israel, since the Shoah, has been a potential haven for Jews seeking to escape persecution. But on the other hand, there is a real ‘Jewish state’ that antisemites can depict as an all-powerful evildoer on the world scene.”

Many anti-Semites refuse to believe in the Devil, while calling Israel the Devil. They do not realize that it is they who are inspired by the Devil to believe and act in that way.

“More than Half of all Food Produced in Canada Lost or Wasted”

CBC wrote on January 17:

“According to [new] research, some 4.82 million tonnes of food, or nearly $21 billion worth, is lost or wasted during the processing and manufacturing process. Some 2.38 million tonnes of food, or more than $10 billion worth, is lost at the consumer level. In total, the value of all food that is lost or wasted in Canada is a staggering $49 billion…

“The amount of food is enough to feed every Canadian for five months… The annual cost of avoidable food loss and waste in Canada is $1,766 per household.”

That is so sad. While many people starve to death in certain parts of the world because of lack of food, wealthy and blessed nations such as Canada destroy and waste surplus food supplies.

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.

Brexit Delay?

The Guardian wrote on January 13:

“The EU is preparing to delay Brexit until at least July after concluding that Theresa May is doomed to fail in getting her deal through parliament… The country’s 29 March deadline for exiting the EU is now regarded by Brussels as highly unlikely to be met… A ‘technical’ extension until July is a probable first step to give May extra time to revise and ratify the current deal…

“Senior EU sources said that a further, lengthier extension could be offered at a later date… although the upcoming May elections for the European parliament would create complications… The first session of the parliament is in July. You would need UK MEPs there if the country is still a member state…”

Der Spiegel Online commented that it would be impossible to delay the exit until July, due to the EU parliamentary elections in May. In any event, if there were such a delay, it would only postpone the inevitable.

May Defeated in Parliament

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 15:

“The UK parliament on Tuesday voted to reject an agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, in the biggest ever defeat of a modern government in the House of Commons. It was a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May and her Brexit plans.

“Lawmakers in the parliament’s lower House of Commons voted by 432 to 202 to reject the withdrawal agreement. The loss by 230 votes far exceeds the previous record for a defeat which was held by the Labour government of Ramsay Macdonald, crushed by 166 votes in 1924…

“The European Union will intensify its preparations for a scenario in which Britain leaves the bloc without a withdrawal agreement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday. ‘The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,’ Juncker said…”

Newsmax added on January 15:

“British lawmakers… [were] triggering political chaos… the United Kingdom is now ensnared in the deepest political crisis in half a century…

“The humiliating loss, the first British parliamentary defeat of a treaty since 1864, appeared to catastrophically undermine May’s two-year strategy of forging an amicable divorce with close ties to the EU after the March 29 exit… Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said there would be no further renegotiation…”

The End of the British Empire

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 16:

“Britain needs a new prime minister, but opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is plagued by the lack of unity within the Labour Party. And so far, there has been no one else in sight to take on the role… there’s no guarantee of a good outcome. But this shows Brexit’s unprecedented destructive power: It is not tearing apart the European Union as expected, but, rather, it is tearing Britain apart. Brexit will likely prove the country’s greatest disaster.”

The Week wrote on January 15:

“The drama of Brexit has both revealed and deepened cleavages between the nations that make up the United Kingdom…”

Bild Online wrote on January 16:

“It’s over… How can the island leave the European Union (EU) without sinking itself?…

“In the course of the negotiations with the very united EU (from Hungary to Germany and Italy), the British Prime Minister… was toppled by the expectations that she herself had fueled for far too long… The 48 percent of Brits who do NOT want Brexit have no audible political voice in parliament or among the parties. That’s why re-elections also wouldn’t help…

“It is sad to witness the tarnishing of the future of the proud United Kingdom…  Of course, one can stop the clock and continue to negotiate. But what will talking achieve…?”

“Zombie May Shambles On”–Theresa May Barely Survives No-Confidence Vote

Breitbart wrote on January 16:

“Theresa May’s government has survived a vote of no confidence by 325 votes to 306… The Prime Minister would not have survived without the support of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The Brexit-supporting party has provided her minority government with its parliamentary majority through a confidence and supply arrangement, but helped the Opposition… hand the Withdrawal Agreement she negotiated with the EU a stunning defeat, believing some of its provisions would have undermined Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.

“Mrs May adopted a magnanimous stance after the vote confirmed her position, offering to hold talks with the leaders of rival parties on how to take the Brexit negotiations forward the same night. How fruitful these can be remains in doubt, however…”

 German-French Treaty

Euractiv wrote on January 10:

“With their signature in 1963, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulles laid the ground for the beginning of an unexpected friendship. The document, with just under six pages, did not define any political goals but was rather a blueprint for what became later the Franco-German engine on the European level.

“The extension to the Élysée Treaty approved by the German and French cabinets will be signed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in the German border city of Aachen on 22 January – an ancient symbol of European concord… German government spokesman Steffen Seibert, called the decision ‘an issue of historical importance’…

“The document… stipulates that a priority of German-French diplomacy will be for Germany to be accepted as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.”

The treaty will also include a cooperation agreement in the area of defense… or collaboration of their militaries.

Breitbart wrote on January 10:

“There is profound significance to having chosen Aachen… the ancient Roman spa city… [that] was also the residence and burial place of the early medieval ruler Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor dubbed the ‘Father of Europe’ for having united the western part of the continent by the 9th century.”

We are witnessing Europe’s LAST revival of the ancient HOLY Roman Empire.

Europe Is Forming an Army

On January 10, Handelsblatt published this opinion piece by German Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen:

“Europe’s army is already taking shape. Reforms in recent past months and years have brought our armed forces closer together. We’re working quickly…

“Among European nations, Germany and France are the driving forces in defense. But the German army’s close cooperation with other European partners, especially with Dutch forces, has also proven effective in many missions, and illustrates how to do integration properly.

“Now 25 countries have joined forces in a security initiative we call Pesco. And not because we’re following requirements from Brussels, but voluntarily, because we see the obvious benefits, and because it’s in Europe’s security interests.

“We’re moving even further ahead with our close partner France. The draft of ‘the new Elysèe Treaty’, agreed by the cabinet yesterday, shows that in future we want to address our security challenges together… Let’s note also that France and Germany, rivals and arch-enemies until 70 years ago, have now pledged mutual assistance and every conceivable kind of help to each other, in case of an armed attack on the territory on the partner country…

 “I have therefore proposed forming a special committee at the European level, composed of members of national parliaments, which is to be informed early on about crisis scenarios as they take shape. That could speed up decision-making processes at the national level, as well as strengthen support for any military action… Europe must be able to defend itself.”

Breitbart wrote on January 12:

“On Friday, the bloc’s top military official Claudio Graziano said he had been working with other EU army chiefs to thrash out what can be done to enhance the bloc’s capabilities, saying there is ‘a lot of expectation’ about what the EU can undertake.”

German Ban on Homeschooling Upheld by European Court of “Human Rights”

CNA wrote on January 11:

“Two homeschooling German parents who said their parental rights were violated by the enforcement of compulsory school attendance laws did not prevail in the European Court of Human Rights, which unanimously rejected their claims Thursday…

“In August 2013, a group of at least 20 police officers and social workers raided the… home and took away their four children… they were eventually returned to their parents…

“In its Jan. 10 decision, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights said that compulsory school attendance to ‘prevent social isolation’ and to ensure their integration in society are relevant justifications to intervene against parental authority. German officials were reasonable to assume that parents had ‘endangered their children by not sending them to school,’ the court said…

“The court acknowledged that the parents later submitted learning assessments showing that the children had ‘sufficient knowledge, social skills and a loving relationship with their parents’…

“Homeschooling has been illegal in Germany since 1918, though in recent years the policy has raised questions and concerns with human rights groups who say it is an infringement on the right to family life…

“Several German families who wish to homeschool, many of them Christian, have sought refuge in the United States to ensure their ability to educate their children at home. Others have moved to countries like France or Austria, which have less strict laws [at this point].

“In 2014, Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled that restrictions on homeschooling were justified on the grounds that the government has a compelling interest in preventing the formation of religious or ideological parallel societies. The court also argued that requiring children to attend school provides them the benefit of interacting with other children who might think differently.

“In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there is no right to homeschool.”

This practice in Germany and other European countries and the decision by the European Court of Human Rights place an undue burden on religious parents—Jews and Christians alike—who are opposed to the German and Europe school courses on sex education and unbiblical religious activities. Homeschooling should be a decision which should be made by the parents—not by the government. However one may look at homeschooling, a ban on homeschooling clearly violates the parents’ right of free exercise of religion and other constitutional guarantees and should have been deemed to be illegal by the courts.

AfD Proposes DEXIT

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 13:

“The AfD blasted the ‘privileged’ members of the European Parliament while campaigning to join that very body… The final version of the manifesto passed on Sunday evening retained the threat of a ‘Dexit,’ [Germany’s departure from the EU] but jettisoned any concrete timeframe…

“The AfD was founded in 2013 as a euroskeptic party intent on having Germany leave the euro currency. But it has since been taken over by anti-immigrant and Islamophobic members and has risen in popularity to become the largest opposition party in the Bundestag… Their manifesto also opposes the EU having a joint defense and foreign policy.

With that stance, the AfD will have no future and unless it changes its position again, like the proverbial chameleon, it has signed its own death certificate, as the Bible clearly shows that Germany will not leave the EU and that there will be a European army.

US Ambassador to Germany Threatens German Companies

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 13:

“The US ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, has sent threatening letters to German companies working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline…

“German companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Germany and Russia received letters from US Ambassador Richard Grenell warning them of ‘a significant risk of sanctions’ if they did not pull out of the project, Germany’s mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag has reported. The large pipeline is set to deliver gas from northwestern Russia to northern Germany under the Baltic Sea and effectively double the amount of gas Germany imports from the country.

“The US opposes the project over fears that the gas link would tighten Russia’s control of Europe’s energy supply and diminish the importance of gas transit countries such as Ukraine. US companies are also keen to sell gas obtained by fracking to many European countries…

“Grenell’s latest move remains highly unusual and is likely to prompt fresh tensions between Washington and Berlin…”

AFP added on January 13:

“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas… weighed in on the transatlantic row last week, saying ‘European energy policy should be decided in Europe, not in the United States.’”

Did Trump Forsake Europe?

BBC News wrote on January 14:

“For generations, American presidents have saved some of their warmest words for their European colleagues.

“They came to the Berlin Wall and spoke of freedom – and, after it fell, they spoke of a new era of co-operation with a rebuilt Europe. But in the era of Donald Trump, leaders across the continent now know that those days have gone.

“John F Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ declaration, Ronald Reagan’s 1987 message to Moscow: ‘Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall,’ George HW Bush’s promises of collaboration after the Cold War and Barack Obama’s warm words about binding ties across the Atlantic are all now distant memories.

“With every visit to Europe and every White House tweet about the cost of Nato or EU tariffs, this president makes it clear that he believes Europe is more often an impediment than an ally.

“None of his predecessors would have dreamed of calling the EU a ‘foe’, as President Trump did in a recent interview about trade…

“With Europe embroiled in its Brexit difficulties, which leave so many questions unanswered, its leaders also find themselves scrambling to work out what it might mean if these old ties with the United States continue to unravel.”

Trump Rebuked by European Parliament and US Congressional Democrats

Deutsche Welle reported on January 17:

“The Trump administration’s recent downgrading of the EU ambassador’s status without prior notice… has led to parliamentary action on both sides of the Atlantic. In a strongly worded letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 27 congressional Democrats denounced the diplomatic downgrade. ‘Disturbingly, this step, which appears to have taken place late last year, occurred without congressional consultation or apparent notification to the European Union,’ the lawmakers wrote in a letter published this week… Both the substance of this decision and the undiplomatic way in which it was carried out needlessly denigrate trans-Atlantic relations.’…

“US lawmakers demand answers by January 30 to four specific questions about the downgrade, among them why the decision was made, why Congress was not informed, and how it was reviewed and approved within the Trump administration. ‘We ought to support and strengthen our allies, not turn them into foes,’ the letter concludes. ‘Insulting them for no apparent reason does not typically encourage them to take a warmer view of the United States.’

“The missive echoes the sentiment expressed in a letter by members of the European Parliament. Addressed to members of the US Congress and published one day after the downgrade became public, the letter by the European Parliament’s 58-member Delegation for Relations With the United States slammed the White House’s ‘increasingly harmful approach’ to trans-Atlantic relations and urged Congress to help ‘strengthen and not undermine each other’.

“The MEPs criticized the demotion of the EU’s ambassador to the United States, David O’Sullivan, saying neither the ambassador nor the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had been ‘formally notified of this change’ in advance. ‘This is no way to treat partners,’ they wrote.”

Killing NATO

The New York Times wrote on January 14:

“Last year, President Trump suggested a move tantamount to destroying NATO: the withdrawal of the United States… several times over the course of 2018, Mr. Trump privately said he wanted to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization… Mr. Trump told his top national security officials that he did not see the point of the military alliance, which he presented as a drain on the United States…

‘American national security officials believe that Russia has largely focused on undermining solidarity between the United States and Europe after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Its goal was to upend NATO, which Moscow views as a threat…

“Russia’s meddling in American elections and its efforts to prevent former satellite states from joining the alliance have aimed to weaken what it views as an enemy next door, the American officials said. With a weakened NATO, they said, Mr. Putin would have more freedom to behave as he wishes, setting up Russia as a counterweight to Europe and the United States…

“Mr. Trump’s skepticism of NATO appears to be a core belief…

“Allies feeling threatened by Russia already have extreme doubts about whether Mr. Trump would order troops to come to their aid…”

Especially now, in light of President Trump’s announcements regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Syria (note the articles below). President Trump responded to the article by saying that the US is “100% in support of NATO”… a dubious claim in light of recent developments.

In Light of Shutdown… US Constitution Outdated and Near Collapse?

The Week wrote on January 11:

“President Trump’s shutdown will stand alone… as the longest in American history…

“In most modern democracies, this kind of preposterous standoff is simply not possible. In Canada, for instance, failure to pass a budget is an automatic vote of no confidence that triggers new elections… In the meantime, the previous budget is basically rolled forward until the new government can get a chance to pass a fresh budget…

“By contrast, the American Constitution not only allows for this sort of thing, but encourages it… There is no democratic principle on the basis of which it can be resolved…

“Trump… starkly illustrated a weakness inherent to the American system… Every other country with an American-style constitution watched it collapse eventually, most of them over impasses very similar to the one we are experiencing now. It is not at all impossible that we are in the first stages of that same process. The U.S. Constitution was clearly outdated 100 years ago. It might be time to start thinking about how to replace it.”

The shutdown is continuing, with no end in sight. In fact and quite incredibly, the childishly stupid divisions between Trump and the Republicans on the one hand, and the Democrats on the other hand, are even deepening.

National Emergency

President Trump has indicated that he might declare a national emergency if no deal can be reached regarding the building of a wall between Mexico and the USA.US News and World Report wrote on January 8:

“What actually constitutes an emergency… is up for debate and requires the president to use existing law to justify a declaration. Presidents in recent history have exercised their power to declare national emergencies under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 [However, it is up to the President to “define” what constitutes a national emergency.]

“… [Under a national emergency], the President may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens.

“Congress, however, can check the executive branch and overrule the president’s use of the act by passing a joint resolution out of the House and Senate. Like a law, the resolution would require a simple majority in each chamber and require the president’s signature, or require Congress to override his veto” [by 2/3rd vote in both House and Senate].

US Begins Withdrawal from Syria

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 11:

“The United States has started the ‘deliberate withdrawal’ process of its forces from Syria, US military officials confirmed on Friday, but they refused to provide any details on exactly what troops and equipment were being moved… A Defense Department spokesperson later said that while equipment was being moved out of Syria, troops were not withdrawing.

“Separately, the head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights… confirmed that the US had started withdrawing troops from the airfield base near the town of Rmeilan in northeast Syria on Thursday evening. Some 150 soldiers and 10 armored vehicles, along with some trucks and heavy equipment, left the town and crossed the Iraqi border, he said…”

Newsmax wrote on January 13:

“President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that the United States has begun withdrawing from Syria. ‘Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions,’ Trump wrote. ‘Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds…’

“The president also warned the Kurds not to antagonize Turkey in a continuation of his tweet…

“Strains in relations with Turkey have also increased over American demands that Kurds be protected…”

This will make neither side happy.

ISIS Kills American Troops in Syria

Newsmax wrote on January 16:

“A bomb attack claimed by Islamic State killed U.S. troops in northern Syria Wednesday, weeks after President Donald Trump said [the] group was defeated there and he would pull out all American forces… [Reportedly] four U.S. troops had been killed and three wounded in the blast, which an Islamic State-affiliated site said was the work of a suicide bomber…

“The attack, which took place in the town of Manbij, controlled by rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, appears to be the deadliest on U.S. forces in Syria since they deployed on the ground there in 2015…

“A witness in the city said the attack had targeted a restaurant where U.S. personnel were meeting members of the local militia that Washington backs there. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said 16 people had been killed in all, including two Americans. A militia source in north Syria also said two U.S. troops had been killed.”

Ukraine Could Soon Cease to Be a Country

The Independent wrote on January 16:

“Ukraine could lose its statehood if the former Soviet republic continues to be divided by competing interests, Russia’s top security official has said. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s security council, accused Ukrainian authorities, including president Petro Poroshenko, of being ‘controlled’ by the US amid simmering tensions between Kiev and Moscow… He continued: ‘The Kiev authorities are doing everything to split Ukraine, implementing the West’s scenario to break Ukraine away from Russia, while ignoring the interests of its own people. As a result, the country has been de facto split.’

“Mr Patrushev’s comments come amid a crisis between the two countries following Russia’s 2014 invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea, an autonomous region in Ukraine’s southeast with close historical and cultural ties to Russia. The standoff moved a step closer towards open conflict last year when three Ukrainian vessels and 24 Ukrainian sailors were fired at and captured by Russian coast guards in the Black Sea in November. A Moscow court on Wednesday extended the detention of eight of the seamen. Russia insists the men should be put on trial for violating its border. Ukraine calls them prisoners of war who were illegally captured…

“The US has provided more than $1bn to Kiev to help enhance its defensive military capabilities, and last year their militaries co-hosted a major exercise involving US Navy warships and hundreds of sailors and Marines…

“Mr Patrushev said [that] ‘anti-government sentiment in the [western] regions is mounting…”

Is Russia creating a scenario under which it will justify a coming annexation of Ukraine?

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.

Bolton Contradicts Trump on Withdrawal from Syria

The Jewish Telegraph Agency wrote on January 7:

“U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said in Israel that there is no timeline for a U.S. withdrawal from Syria and that American troops will remain until the Islamic State is defeated.

“Bolton met Sunday with Israeli security and intelligence officials to reassure them over the withdrawal unexpectedly announced by President Donald Trump last month… Bolton reportedly disagrees with the withdrawal decision.

“Trump also walked back the timetable on Sunday, telling reporters he had ‘never said we were doing it that quickly.’”

Of course he did say that. On his program of January 7, Shepard Smith of Fox News made this VERY clear. One wonders what is going on behind the scene. General Mattis resigned over President Trump’s announcement that American troops would be withdrawn from Syria “immediately.” Is John Bolton speaking for the President, and with his consent? The next article wonders about this too.

Axios wrote on January 7:

“Trump now says U.S. troops will withdraw ‘at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else that is prudent and necessary.’ He initially announced: ‘They’re all coming back, and they’re coming back now.’…

“There is a pattern of ‘Trump saying we’re getting out and his advisers saying we’re staying in,’ Philip Gordon of the Council on Foreign Relations says. Gordon… [says] the moment of truth may be when Trump is asked about the apparent contradictions between his statements on Syria and Bolton’s: ‘I guess we’ll find out then if Bolton actually speaks for the president or if we’re back to “ISIS is defeated and we’re getting out.”’…

“The bottom line: ‘The danger of such inconsistency is that America’s word becomes meaningless, leading allies to doubt Washington’s promises and adversaries its resolve,’ writes Joel Rubin of the Washington Strategy Group. ‘… it’s unclear how committed he is to the Syria withdrawal.’”

And that IS the bottom line: America is perceived as being unreliable and its promises as being meaningless. First, President Trump shot from the hip when he announced on Twitter that American troops would withdraw now and immediately. When General Mattis tried to talk him out of that plan, he did not react kindly, so General Mattis resigned. Subsequently, John Bolton, Senator Graham and others were seemingly successful in getting President Trump to change his mind. But how long will it last? Regardless, the damage towards America’s allies has been done.

Turkey Unwilling to Give Assurances to USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 8:

“Bolton said on Sunday, in Israel, that he would seek assurances that Turkey would not harm US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria, a condition of the withdrawal…

“Erdogan gave a fiery speech to parliamentarians from his Law and Justice Party (the AKP), saying Bolton made a ‘serious mistake’ calling for the condition. ‘We cannot make any concessions,’ he told his party’s MPs. ‘Those involved in a terror corridor in Syria will receive the necessary punishment.’

“The United States fought alongside and supported the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militant group in Syria against the so-called ‘Islamic State.’ Kurds in Iraq also fought against IS militants in alliance with NATO powers, while Turkey is fighting an insurgency within its own borders against Kurdish groups.”

The Guardian wrote on January 8:

“Turkey has asked Washington to hand over its bases in Syria as the Trump administration appeared to reverse plans to withdraw from the country’s north-east on Tuesday, jeopardising Ankara’s plans to launch a widespread military operation targeting Kurdish groups…”

The relationship between Turkey and the USA is bound to deteriorate further, as prophesied in the Bible.

Former Presidents Debunk Trump’s Claim that They Support a Border Wall

The Week wrote on January 7:

“President Trump claimed last week that former presidents had told him that they supported the idea of building a wall on the southern border…

“All four living ex-presidents told The Washington Post on Monday that this is untrue. Former President Barack Obama’s spokesman referred to previous comments in which Obama said a wall would ‘run counter to our history as the world’s melting pot,’ while former President Jimmy Carter said he does ‘not support [Trump] on the issue.’ Representatives for former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton said they had never discussed the matter with Trump.”

The Huffington Post added on January 8:

“Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday struggled to back President Donald Trump’s lie that former presidents have affirmed their support for his proposed border wall… attempting to claim that the president meant that it had been ‘his impression’ and that he meant ‘the importance of border security.’”

Trump’s Case for a Border Wall

The Associated Press reported on January 8:

“President Donald Trump made a somber televised plea for border wall funding Tuesday night, seeking an edge in his shutdown battle with congressional Democrats as he declared there is ‘a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.’… saying it was ‘immoral’ for ‘politicians to do nothing.’

“Responding in their own televised remarks, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of misrepresenting the situation on the border as they urged him to reopen closed government departments and turn loose paychecks for hundreds of thousands of workers…

“Trump used emotional language, referring to Americans who were killed by people in the country illegally, saying: ‘I’ve met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration. I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible.’

“The president often highlights such incidents, though studies over several years have found immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.

“Trump has been discussing the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow him to move forward with the wall without getting congressional approval for the $5.7 billion he’s requested. But he did not mention that Tuesday night… Trump embraced the ceremonial trappings of his office as he tries to exit a political quagmire of his own making. For weeks he has dug in on a signature campaign promise to his base voters, the pledge to build an impregnable ‘beautiful’ wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

“For his inaugural prime-time television address to the nation two years after taking office and during one of the longest government shutdowns in recent memory, President Donald Trump… could have used the bully pulpit accorded to US presidents to present himself as the true leader of the country, one who will earnestly try to bridge the gaping divide that threatens to tear the nation apart.

“… Instead… Donald Trump has once again shown he is incapable or unwilling to fulfill a key requirement for a president: To unite, not divide the nation.”

Shutdown to Continue

The Guardian wrote on January 5:

“Donald Trump said [the partial government shutdown] could go on for months or years, if he is not given funding for a wall on the Mexican border…

The Week wrote on January 5:

“President Trump… [asserted] in a… tweet that everyone ‘other than drug dealers, human traffickers, and criminals’ wants the wall ‘very badly.’ Recent polling shows just one in four Americans say shutting down the government is better than accepting no wall funding.”

CNBC wrote on January 9:

“President Donald Trump on Wednesday stormed out of a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over an ongoing partial government shutdown, calling it ‘a total waste of time.’

“The breakdown in already fraught negotiations over border wall funding, which have kept nine federal agencies shut down for 19 days and counting, appeared to heighten the possibility that Trump might declare a national emergency.

“‘I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO,’ Trump explained in a tweet… ‘I said bye-bye, nothing else works!’ Trump added.”

Affecting Air Travel

The Associated Press wrote on January 8:

“The partial government shutdown is starting to affect air travel. Over the weekend, some airports had long lines at checkpoints, apparently caused by a rising number of security officers calling in sick… Safety inspectors aren’t even on the job.”

Please view our new prophecy program, titled, “The Ongoing Shutdown– Comments on News and Prophecy (January 5, 2019)” 

Tax Refunds Still To Be Sent Out

The Week wrote on January 7:

“Lawyers for the Trump administration ruled on Monday that the Internal Revenue Service will be able to issue tax refunds, despite the government shutdown. During earlier shutdowns, including one last year, the IRS said it would not send out any refunds.

“A senior official with the Office of Management and Budget told The Washington Post it was decided that processing tax refunds is similar to paying Social Security benefits, which is allowed during a government shutdown. Since the shutdown started on Dec. 22, 90 percent of IRS staffers have had to stay home without pay…”

Food Stamps to Continue through February

Axios wrote on January 8:

“The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it has found a way to continuing providing food stamps to millions of Americans during the month of February, despite the government shutdown.”

Trump Did Not Realize what a Shutdown Would Do!

The Intelligencer wrote on January 7:

“Just as Trump did not expect to win the election and neglected to plan for his transition, he shut down the government on a whim, after right-wing media complained about his plan to approve a government funding bill. Nobody in the administration had a clear understanding of just what a shutdown would entail…

“Trump appears to have no endgame in mind. He told Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer he would ‘look foolish’ if he agreed to reopen the government without extracting concessions. But Democrats have no incentive to give him any. Voters in general tend to blame the president for problems… it especially holds true when the president personally engineers the calamity and announces beforehand on camera that he won’t blame the other side for it…”

And that is the big problem in other areas as well: How much WOULD President Trump understand when it comes to actions of war which might threaten the very survival of the USA?

USA Today wrote on January 9:

“… the shutdown’s most obvious impact has come in the form of trash pileups and overflowing toilets at national parks, where bathrooms have been closed and garbage is not getting picked up…

“Accidents like last week’s horrific crash in Florida that killed seven people — five of them children on the way to Disney World – will not be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board… Transportation Security Agency officers… are no longer just calling in sick. Now… some are resigning… the situation poses a… massive security risk for American travelers… At the very least.. the shutdown will mean increased wait times for travelers going through security checkpoints…”

CBS Chicago added on January 9:

“Funds from an emergency farm-aid bill are frozen and government employees who offer several services to farmers are [prevented from working]… This is happening on top of less demand for American crops as China retaliates in response to President Trump’s tariffs. Farmers… have to store much of the biggest soybean crop ever.”

Astronomical Health Care Prices in USA

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health wrote on January 7:

“The United States, on a per capita basis, spends much more on health care than other developed countries [which] was due mainly to higher prices—including higher drug prices, higher salaries for doctors and nurses, higher hospital administration costs and higher prices for many medical services.

“… the U.S… health care spending [was] about 25 percent higher than second-place Switzerland… It was also 108 percent higher than Canada… it was more than double… the U.S. spent per capita on health care in 2000…

“Not only does the U.S outspend other OECD countries, on the whole it has less access to many health care resources…”

An abominable report on America’s failing health care system.

Trump Cuts Aids to California’s Fire Victims

Roll Call wrote on January 9:

“President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has ordered FEMA to withhold funds from California’s state government until officials there ‘get their act together’ fighting forest fires. But he tweeted he thinks that is ‘unlikely.’

“The president long has criticized California state officials, sometimes with dubious claims, over wildfires there and their steps to prevent and nix them. But stopping the flow of federal funds is an escalation of the feud, and one that might raise the ire of lawmakers — even the sizable House GOP delegation from the Golden State.

“Trump appeared… unconcerned that cutting off the FEMA aid might put more people at risk of injury, death or losing their homes…”

This is indeed a major blow to past, current and future fire victims of California.

Europe to Defend Its Interest against Trump

Euractiv wrote on January 3:

“[Manfred Weber,] the EPP’s Group leader in the European Parliament and candidate for the EU Commission top office said Europe does not want a trade conflict. ‘We have tried everything to make dialogue and mutual understanding prevail. If President Trump decides to treat Europe as an enemy, we will have no choice but to defend the European industry, European jobs, European interests,’ the German conservative politician emphasised. ‘This will have consequences for the American people too. In a trade conflict there are only losers,’ Weber added.

“The Bavarian politician also said the new situation with increased US isolation, should be seen as a wake-up call for Europeans to be the ‘bridge-builders’ and reliable partners towards the rest of the world.”

Europe will fill the gap “for the rest of the world,” created by America’s exclusivist policies.

Trump Downgrades Diplomatic Status of EU

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 8:

“The Trump administration has downgraded the diplomatic status of the European Union’s delegation to the United States… The demotion happened at the end of last year without notice… ‘I can confirm that this has not been well received in Brussels,’ [an EU official] said…

“The diplomatic downgrade of the EU’s mission in Washington appears to be in line with what is widely being perceived as an anti-EU stance by the Trump administration. Trump was an avid supporter of Britain’s exit from the European Union during his presidential campaign, and as president has repeatedly lashed out against the European Union on issues such as trade or defense.

“In a major foreign policy speech in Brussels in early December, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Trump, a self-declared nationalist, and urged European countries to reassert their national sovereignty vis-a-vis the EU…”

The Guardian added on January 8:

“The change… potentially means that the EU mission would have less clout and access to US officials… ‘This is a gratuitous and entirely unreasonable swipe at the EU by the Trump administration,’ said Nicholas Burns, who was under secretary of state for political affairs in the George W Bush administration.

“‘It coincides with Trump’s campaign to depict the EU as a competitor, and not a partner, of the US. It continues the administration’s delegitimization of… the supranational organization that is the EU. Americans should remember that the EU is our largest trade partner and largest investor in our economy,’ Burns added. ‘Trump’s entire policy toward the EU continues to be misguided and ineffective.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

“The US Congress has been sent an open letter by EU parliamentarians fuming over the sidelining of the EU’s mission in Washington. The MEPs again accuse President Donald Trump of eroding trans-Atlantic relations.

“[The] letter published Wednesday by the 58-member EU parliamentary Delegation for Relations with the United States slammed the White House’s ‘increasingly harmful approach’ to trans-Atlantic relations and urged Congress to help ‘strengthen and not undermine’ ties… The EU signatories urged Congress to build on a ‘long-cherished’ trans-Atlantic relationship. ‘This is no way to treat partners,’ they wrote…

“The delegation’s letter specifically takes aim at President Trump, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland. ‘They lambast the EU as bureaucratic, make no secret of their preference to deal with individual member state governments bilaterally, and have praised populist and nationalist movements,’ wrote the delegation in its open letter.

“In a resolution passed last September, the European Parliament said it regretted ‘that the current US administration has chosen a one-sided “America first” policy that harms the interests of both the EU and the US and undermines mutual trust.’”

Whatever the practical consequence of this downgrade might be, the Europeans are again VERY unhappy with President Trump. But there is more. Note the next article.

US State Department Warns of China AND Europe!

Business Insider wrote on January 3:

“The US State Department has issued a travel advisory urging Americans to ‘exercise increased caution’ when traveling to the People’s Republic of China. The State Department’s elevated travel advisory is out of concern that China may arbitrarily enforce local laws and detain US citizens without cause.

“‘Chinese authorities have asserted broad authority to prohibit US citizens from leaving China by using ‘exit bans,’ sometimes keeping US citizens in China for years,’ the State Department said in its advisory. ‘US citizens may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crime,’ the State Department said. ‘US citizens may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to “state security.”’ ‘Security personnel may detain and/or deport US citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government,’ the agency added.

“The new China travel advisory is a level-two advisory, which urges increased caution. A level-one advisory suggests travelers ‘exercise normal precautions,’ while a level-three advisory urges Americans to ‘reconsider travel.’ A level-four advisory recommends that Americans avoid traveling to a particular country.

“Other countries or regions with a level-two advisory include Algeria, Antarctica, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Myanmar, and the United Kingdom.”

The level-two travel advisory towards China seems more than justified, based on the facts reported in this article. BUT that the USA has such two-level travel advisories in place against its closest European allies is quite ridiculous.

In addition, as Handelsblatt reported on January 9, “The US and European Union have not made progress in solving their trade dispute, EU Commissioner Cecila Malmström said after a visit to Washington D.C..”

The Curse of Nuclear Weapons Tests

The Sun wrote on January 8:

“Deadly radioactive plutonium is leaking into the Pacific Ocean from a tiny island where the US detonated dozens of Cold War nukes. During its clean-up operation on Enewetak Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, the American military built a giant concrete dome to house the toxic material left over from the nuclear tests. And now with rising sea levels, the storage facility is leaking into the Pacific Ocean, potentially spreading its deadly contents far and wide.

“It has now been claimed that the dome, which was built with a porous base of seashells and sand, was not sealed properly – which has further contributed to the radioactive leak… Over the course of 10 years, during the Cold War, 43 nuclear bombs were detonated, blasting craters and vaporising islands. Back in 2013, a report commissioned by the US Department of Energy confirmed the dome is leaking its highly toxic waste. Locals refer to it as ‘the poison’ and have already been complaining of birth defects and high cancer rates.

“One of the substances buried within the nuclear dump is plutonium — which has a half-life of 24,000 years – and is one of the most toxic and carcinogenic substances on the planet. Exposure can cause a number of health issues, including radiation sickness, genetic damage, cancer and death…

“Some of the largest nuclear bombs ever tested were detonated in the tiny tropical islands. In the ’70s, US media reports labelled the area the most decimated and toxic in the world. One of the bombs tested in the area was called the ‘Bravo Shot’ — 1000 times more powerful than those bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki…

“The 2013 US government report also warned that the increasing severity of storms in the region meant the dome was at risk of being blown apart…”

It is just terrible what man in his morbid and sick desire for war and destruction is capable of doing. But Christ will come to destroy those who destroy the earth.

Brexit: May Suffers Further Defeat in Parliament

Reuters wrote on January 8, 2019:

“British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government suffered a defeat in parliament on Tuesday when lawmakers who oppose leaving the European Union without an accord won a vote that created a new obstacle to a no-deal Brexit. The 303 to 296 defeat means that the government needs explicit parliamentary approval to leave the EU without a deal before it can use certain powers relating to taxation law.

“The defeat highlights May’s weak position as leader of a minority government, a divided party, and a critical parliament just days before she is due to hold a pivotal vote on whether to approve the Brexit deal she has negotiated with the EU…

“The government downplayed the significance of its defeat. ‘This amendment does not change the fact that the UK is leaving the EU on the 29 March, and it will not stop the government from collecting tax,’ a spokesman said…”

May Suffers Another Defeat

The Sun wrote on January 9:

“Theresa May has been defeated on Brexit for the second time in 24 hours today as rebels wrestled back power from the Government. Hopes that she can get next week’s deal passed by MPs are now fading fast after she was slapped down yet again by politicians demanding more of a say on our EU exit.

“The PM will now be forced to make a statement within three days if her withdrawal agreement gets thrown out by MPs on Tuesday as expected.”

Germany Warns Britain

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 8:

“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the EU would not accept a hard border between Ireland, an EU member state, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Maas pledged the EU’s full support for the Republic of Ireland…

“The British parliament is set to vote on May’s deal on January 15. Many observers expect it to end in defeat for the prime minister, who was forced to postpone an earlier vote in December due to lack of support… Any extension of the deadline for Britain leaving the EU would require unanimous approval from the EU’s remaining 27 member states.”

None of this looks good for Great Britain.

Belgian Region of Flanders Bans Halal and Kosher Slaughter

Express wrote on January 8:

“Under the new law [in the Belgian region of Flanders] animals must be stunned before being slaughtered, which animal rights campaigners argue is more humane. However, traditional halal and kosher rituals involve cutting the animals throat without stunning the animal first. Halal and kosher meat will continue [to] be sold in shops but it must be sourced from elsewhere.

“The move – initiated by right-wing nationalist Ben Weyts – has prompted a furious outcry from religious groups, with claims it is motivated by Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

“Muslim leader Saatci Bayram told The New York Times: ‘This ban is presented as a revelation by animal rights activists, but the debate on animal welfare in Islam has been going on for 1,500 years. Our way of ritual slaughtering is painless.’

“Yaakov David Schmahl, a senior rabbi in Antwerp, added: ‘It is impossible to know the true intentions of people. Unless people state clearly what they have in mind, but most anti-Semites don’t do that. It definitely brings to mind similar situations before the Second World War, when these laws were introduced in Germany.’”

JTA wrote on January 4:

“Antwerp’s Jewish community was still recovering from its Holocaust-era devastation when Wim van den Brande’s grandfather opened one of Europe’s largest kosher slaughterhouses. Since its establishment in 1966, the Kosher Poultry factory grew together with the local Jewish community, which numbered only a few thousand people after Nazis and their collaborators murdered most of the Jews in Flanders — the Belgian region whose capital is Antwerp.

“By the end of last year, van den Brande’s factory was processing 80,000 chickens a month — a testament to how the region’s Jewish population has more than quadrupled to 20,000 since 1945. But all that ended last month, when a law banning methods used in ritual slaughter went into effect, forcing van den Brande, who is not Jewish, to fire his 10 employees and close up shop, in the hope of moving his factory to Hungary. For van den Brande, 42, and hundreds of meat industry professionals, it means ‘an attack on traditions and on an entire industry,’ he told JTA.

“It has less immediate implications for Antwerp’s Jews — who can simply switch to importing customs-free kosher meat from elsewhere within the European Union trading bloc. Yet many of them view the law both as a declaration that they are not wanted in Belgium, and as the opening shot of further hostile action…

“Schuldiner fears the law, which he considers a ban, is a ‘prelude to a ban on importing kosher meat,’ and a move heralding ‘new restrictions, be it on milah or other elements of Jewish life.’ Milah is the Hebrew word for circumcision of men…

“In this context, the law passed in Belgium ‘is clearly only the beginning,’ said Ari Mandel, an Antwerp Jew who in 2011 opened Kosher4U, an online store that specializes in shipping kosher products to remote European Jewish communities, such as in Sweden and Norway. ‘We’re talking about a domino effect. Kosher slaughterhouses can move but moving appears to be a temporary solution, a stay of execution,’ he added…

“Ritual slaughter of animals is allowed in France, Germany, the United Kingdom [but with restrictions], Ukraine and Russia… Five European Union member states — Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and Slovenia — have blanket bans on ritual slaughter. So too do three other non-EU countries in Western Europe: Norway, Switzerland and Iceland.

“In Belgium, it is currently illegal only in Flanders, or the Flemish Region, which is one of three states that make up the federal kingdom. Another region, Wallonia, will impose a ban in September. Austria and Estonia also enforce strict supervision of the custom that some Jews there say makes it nearly impossible…”

Anti-Semitism is clearly on the rise, and what we observe here in some European states (others will follow) is an obvious preview of the future when European armies will invade the Middle East and the state of Israel to suppress the animal sacrifices which will be offered at the rebuilt third temple.

CNA wrote on January 8:

“Yaakov David Schmahl, a rabbi of Antwerp, reflected on fears the Belgium rules conceal anti-religious bigotry under animal protection concerns… He also voiced concern about a new Belgian law regulating homeschooling, a common practice for his Jewish community, as another example of a European trend he said makes it more difficult for observant Jews to live according to their practices.”

Homeschooling is, for example, prohibited in Germany, which places an undue burden on many religious parents who are opposed to the German school system and its many questionable teachings, including courses on sex education and unbiblical religious activities.

Germany and France Sign Security Policy Agreement

The EUObserver wrote on January 9:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron will sign a bilateral cooperation and integration agreement on 22 January at a ceremony in Aachen town hall, the German government announced on Tuesday. The new Treaty of Aachen builds on the Elysee Treaty of 1963 on reconciliation between Germany and France and will further strengthen relations in areas such as economic policy, foreign and security policy.”

Aachen was the capital of Charlemagne from which he ruled, and where he is buried.

Needed—a European Army

Handelsblatt added on January 9:

“The common defense project is currently the hot topic. US President Donald Trump recently reconfirmed through his conduct that the times when we could rely completely on the US are over. There can be no doubt about it: There is an urgent need for action, and it is ultimately a question of building a ‘real European army,’ as Chancellor Angela Merkel would have it, or an ‘army of Europeans,’ per Defense Minister Ursula Von der Leyen — whatever the difference may be…

“In the discussion about joint armed forces, the German army has a critical role… In no other field than security and defense is more Europe more urgent and necessary. The majority of European citizens agrees…”

Violent Attacks on Germany’s AFP Party

The Sun wrote on January 8, 2019:

“Frank Magnitz, chairman of Germany’s AfD party, was left with a gaping wound in his head after he was reportedly knocked unconscious by three attackers on Monday… The party has described the assault as a ‘politically-motivated attempted assassination’… German Chancellor Angela Merkel has led condemnations of the assault with her spokesman saying on Twitter the ‘brutal attack’ was to be ‘condemned sharply’…

“An AfD office in Saxony was damaged by an explosive device left in a bin and three people were detained.

“… it was Merkel’s reaction to the refugee crisis that propelled the far-right party into the Bundestag lower house. It is expected to attract even more votes in May’s European elections.”

Deutsche Welle added on January 8:

“Monday’s attack on Bremen’s… AfD leader Frank Magnitz is not the first time the far-right populist party has been targeted in the northern German city. In the past, windows have been smashed and a car vandalized. Yet the brutal beating of Magnitz does mark a new level of violence in Bremen.

“The 66-year-old Magnitz, who remains hospitalized, was reportedly set upon by masked assailants, who struck the parliamentarian in the head with an object. When Magnitz went to the ground, the attackers apparently continued beating him. Passersby ultimately came to his aid. Bremen’s police and state security authorities suspect the attack was politically motivated…

“Leading politicians from all parties in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, condemned the attack on Magnitz… Alice Weidel, who leads the AfD’s parliamentary group together with Alexander Gauland, said… that ‘the hatred against the AfD and the media coverage against this democratically elected party is bearing fruit.’”

Political propaganda from all sides and hatred and fanaticism in all their regrettable forms are taking their toll. Terrible incidents like these remind us of the violence which was experienced in Germany after the First World War.

Pope Francis Warns Against Populism and Nationalism

Breitbart wrote on January 7:

“Pope Francis compared today’s emergence of populist and nationalist movements to the days of Nazi Germany in an address to a group of diplomats accredited to the Holy See Monday… During the period between the two world wars, he said, ‘populist and nationalistic propensities prevailed over the action of the League of Nations…”

His speech was directed, in part, at President Trump. This is remarkable, as the Catholic Church will support the coming European power in their launch of a military attack on the USA in the not-too-distant future.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx a Lightning Rod in Francis’s Papacy

Crux Now wrote on January 5:

“President of the German Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Munich and Freising, Marx is also a member of the pope’s ‘C9’ advisory council. Almost from the moment Francis took office in 2013, he has been a consistent provocateur, taking a leading role in the Vatican’s financial reform as president of the Council for the Economy, pushing for a more progressive interpretation of Francis’s 2016 exhortation on the family…, advocating for intercommunion in mixed marriages when one spouse is Catholic and one is not, and also calling for greater openness to LGBT relationships.

“Most recently Marx stirred the waters on the issue of celibacy, which will be openly debated during the German bishops’ permanent council meeting in the spring on the grounds that it could have an impact on the Catholic Church’s clerical sexual abuse crisis… He said that 2019 will be a year of ‘unrest and opposition’ in the German Church… “From the beginning, Marx has been a key player in virtually every aspect of Francis’s papacy… Marx’s role as a major point of reference in the Francis papacy seems destined to endure.”

It will be interesting to see as to what faction in the Vatican will ultimately prevail.

 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 President Trump Made the Decision to Withdraw from Syria and Why General Mattis Resigned

The Washington Post wrote on December 21:

“When he spoke to President Trump on the telephone a week ago Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agenda had not changed from when they met two weeks earlier at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. He repeated his inability to understand why the United States was still arming and supporting Syrian Kurdish fighters to conduct a ground war against the Islamic State…

“The Islamic State, according to Trump himself, had been defeated, Erdogan said. Turkey’s military was strong and could take on any remaining militant pockets. Why did some 2,000 U.S. troops still need to be there? ‘You know what? It’s yours,’ Trump said of Syria. ‘I’m leaving.’

“The call, shorthanded in more or less the same words by several senior administration officials, set off events that, even by the whirlwind standards of Washington in the Trump years, have been cataclysmic…

“For those who cared to defend the decision, including some on Trump’s staff, a minority of lawmakers, and presumably a good portion of his unshakable supporters across the country, Syria withdrawal was a promise kept… But for many members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats — and the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, it was an unmitigated disaster. None was officially informed in advance of Trump’s announcement, made on Twitter early Wednesday. Most warned that Turkey, whose troops were poised on the border waiting for U.S. forces to leave, would slaughter U.S. Kurdish allies. Overall, they said, it was nothing less than a capitulation to the other two powers on the ground in Syria — Russia and Iran.

“For Trump it was an assertion of presidential prerogative that he had repeatedly been constrained from exercising. It came at a time when he was feeling a loss of control over a range of issues, from the special counsel’s Russia investigation to the falling stock market and a threatened government shutdown.

“In the days after the Friday call with Erdogan, Trump’s senior national security team tried, and failed, to get him to reconsider, saying it was the worst possible moment for such an abrupt action. On Wednesday evening, in the Oval Office with aides, Trump complained that Mattis and others were still trying to dissuade him from the withdrawal… The Syria decision, [Mattis] believed — along with Trump’s order to prepare for troop withdrawals from Afghanistan — was the epitome of the president’s careless way of operating.

“On Thursday afternoon…, Mattis sat in his Pentagon office and watched a video lasting one minute and 19 seconds that the president had posted of himself on Twitter the night before. ‘We have won against ISIS,’ the Islamic State, he said. ‘We’ve beaten them badly, and now it’s time for our troops to come back home… Having to call families of military casualties was ‘heartbreaking . . . no question about it,’ Trump said, and there was ‘nobody happier’ about his decision, he said, pointing up at the sky…

“Mattis was done trying to talk Trump out of it. In a calm, 45-minute conversation with the president, he talked about their divergent views of the world and how to treat allies and partners. Trump, he said, deserved someone who thought more like he did. They thanked each other, and it was over…”

It is all over indeed. Another war has been lost by the USA, proving the accuracy of our prediction for many years that the US will NOT win another war. It’s certainly the beginning of the end…

Mattis’ Resignation Has the World on Edge

Bloomberg wrote on December 21:

“The abrupt resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has governments from Seoul to Brussels on edge, as the reliability of American alliances and the direction of policy under an erratic leader come under question.

“The former Marine general was widely seen as a moderating force against President Donald Trump’s hostility toward traditional American alliances and overseas troop commitments, and had come to be described as ‘the last adult in the room.’ Besides the immediate moves to pull forces from Afghanistan and Syria, Mattis’s departure could have ramifications for U.S. standing around the world…

“Mattis leaves at a perilous time for South Korea, which is grappling with the price of Trump’s outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his decision to suspend joint annual military exercises with the south. Mattis worked to reassure South Korea that America’s commitment remained strong, while the president focused on questioning the necessity of having some 28,000 troops on the peninsula and pressed Seoul to pay more for its security…

“Mattis’s resignation and the announcement of a partial U.S. troop withdrawal undercut the recent efforts to finally end the 17-year-long conflict in Afghanistan. They’ve also left U.S. allies hanging. Germany, which has the second-biggest troop contingent in NATO’s Afghanistan mission after the U.S., is particularly miffed…

“Even before the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, the Middle East had been jolted by a series of policy about-faces under Trump… While Trump justified the Syria move by saying the U.S. has scored ‘historic victories’ over Islamic State [which claim is largely disputed], he’s drawn bipartisan criticism from lawmakers who warn that it leaves Syria’s future in the hands of Russia and Iran, the primary backers of President Bashar al-Assad…

“The reshuffle at the Pentagon will exacerbate already deep concern in Europe, and in particular NATO. After Trump initially failed to recommit the U.S. to the alliance’s mutual-defense pact… it fell to Mattis to reassure allies… With him gone, allies are losing confidence that there’s any resistance within the administration to Trump’s ‘America First’ policies… Mattis ‘checked President Trump’s worst instincts and was a strong supporter of NATO,’ Guy Verhofstadt, head of ALDE in the European Parliament and a former Belgian prime minister, said in a tweet. ‘Europe stands unprepared & needs to speed up the establishment of a European Defense Community.’…

“Mattis struck a middle road on one of Asia’s biggest potential flash points, the South China Sea. He reassured China’s neighbors with more frequent naval patrols and tough rhetoric criticizing Beijing’s efforts to expand its military footprint on reclaimed reefs in the disputed water body… His talks with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe helped ease tensions after a near collision in the South China Sea…

“Over the long history of postwar disputes between the U.S. and Japan, their security pact has often proved an anchor. Trump threw that into doubt by not only threatening to levy auto tariffs against Japan, but questioning its contribution to security. Since taking the job, Mattis has repeatedly visited to share reassuring words about the alliance with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe…

“For the Kremlin, Mattis’ announcement capped a sweep of wins the Kremlin had long desired but didn’t believe would ever happen. But the jubilation was measured in public statements, and some were tinged with anxiety about what the U.S. retreat might mean for conflict zones where Russia’s now left as the primary foreign power… Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov… said he couldn’t speculate on what decisions Mattis may have kept Trump from making, but warned that the unpredictability of U.S. policy was a growing risk.”

The world has become much less safe, even though it was never safe to begin with.

Angry Trump Responds

Newsmax wrote on December 23:

“Reportedly angry at the publicity that U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis was getting over his resignation letter, President Trump suddenly named a new defense secretary Sunday morning, ensuring that Mattis will leave months early. ‘I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019…’ Trump tweeted… Shanahan is a former Boeing Co. executive…

“Trump was enraged over the publicity and news coverage Mattis and his pointed resignation letter was receiving. Trump was also castigated by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday… ‘To be allies is to fight shoulder to shoulder. It’s the most important thing for a head of state and head of the military,’ he said. ‘An ally should be dependable.’”

Europe knows that under Trump, the USA is clearly not dependable. And the appointment of a Boeing Co. executive with little military experience does not help to give Europe any sense of security. Note how Germany’s popular weekly magazine, Der Stern, described the situation on December 23:

“Donald Trump betrays his friends, accommodates his enemies such as Russia, and does not care about the chaos which he creates. His fans will celebrate him for that.  And of course Stephen Bannon, for whom it does not matter, presumably, who sets the world on fire. They don’t call him prince of darkness for nothing.”

Iraq Condemns Trump’s Surprise Visit; Demands Withdrawal of US Troops

The Guardian wrote on December 27:

“Iraqi lawmakers have demanded US forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by Donald Trump, which politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided parliament called for a vote to expel US troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate the matter… Trump, making his first presidential visit to troops in a troubled region on Wednesday, said he had no plans to withdraw the 5,200 US forces in the country… But after defeating Isis militants in their last urban bastions last year, Iraqi politicians and militia leaders are speaking out against the continued presence of US forces in Iraqi soil…

“Qais Khazali, the head of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia that fought key battles against Isis in north Iraq, promised on Twitter that parliament would vote to expel US forces from Iraq, or the militia and others would force them out by ‘other means’… [Trump] left without meeting any Iraqi officials, though he spoke to the prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, by phone. Abdul-Mahdi’s office said in a statement after Trump’s visit that ‘differences in points of view’over arrangements led to a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders being scrapped.”

The USA is losing its allies, one after the other.

Germany and France Feel Threatened because of US Withdrawal from Syria

The EUObserver wrote on December 21:

“America’s Western allies have voiced dismay at US leader Donald Trump’s sudden idea to pull out of Syria…France and Germany spoke out against Trump’s move on Thursday (20 December)… The risk of an IS resurgence is especially frightening for France and Germany – the main targets of its overseas attacks. But the US pull-out from a part of Syria under Kurdish control also posed other threats for Europe.

“Turkey reacted to Trump’s news by saying that it would attack Kurdish forces in the region, as part of its long-term campaign to stop the creation of a Kurdish state and to wipe out Kurdish separatism at home… A Turkish assault could create ‘thousands upon thousands’ of new refugees, Mehmet Tanriverdi, a spokesman for Kurdish Community in Germany [said]. The US pull-out could also embolden the Syrian regime and its main allies Iran and Russia to attack the last rebel stronghold in Syria’s Idlib province, prompting an even larger exodus to Europe…”

Europe is still struggling with the migrant crisis. A renewed influx is not in Europe’s perceived best interest, and President Trump will be blamed and hated for this.

Germany and France to Fill the Gap?

The EUObserver wrote on December 20:

“The decision by president Donald Trump to withdraw US forces from Syria has sent shock waves throughout… the entire globe. It has left many officials and observers, not the least in Washington, flabbergasted about what is going to happen…

“… there lies an opportunity for France and Germany to consider military options. At a first glance, such a move would appear totally improbable. However when studied, it is neither unachievable nor would it be controversial. Both France and Germany are part of the international coalition against ISIS…

“It is… time for president Emmanuel Macron and chancellor Angela Merkel to walk the talk on the idea of a European army by sending their troops to Rojava, filling the security gap the United States is leaving behind.”

The call for a powerful European army gets louder—thanks to President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Politico wrote on December 21

“… European allies’ biggest fear is here to stay: In the case of a real crisis, Trump may well fail to defend them…”

Aljazeersa wrote on December 21:

“The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger… believes that a more common European defence policy and the creation of a European army is inevitable. ‘It’s necessary … if there is a question mark about the reliability of our American partner (and) if we have a huge question mark about Russian intentions…’”

US Special Envoy Resigns

CBS News wrote on December 22:

“Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS… submitted his resignation on Friday… [He] was publicly left in the lurch by the president’s sudden declaration on Wednesday that he was pulling U.S. forces out of Syria…

“Just days earlier, McGurk had stood at the State Department podium to guarantee an ongoing U.S. commitment to the fight… At the time he made those remarks, the Trump administration’s policy was to remain in Syria to help stabilize areas under the control of U.S. allies and until Iran pulled out its militias…”

More resignations of highly qualified military personnel will follow, and competent replacements willing to serve under Trump will be hard to find.

“It’s Time to Be Worried!”

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 21:

“While the resignation of James Mattis was widely lamented in Washington, hopes for some kind of internal resistance against Donald Trump are misplaced… any kind of musings about this president resigning are wishful thinking…

“Trump is the commander-in-chief and people will salute…

“The Trump administration and the world… have been fortunate until now that this president has not yet had to deal with the kind of national security crisis that a US president usually has to face in his tenure. But eventually… such a crisis… is likely to come.”

It will come, and will end badly for the USA.

The Shutdown (Night) Before Christmas

The Associated Press wrote on December 22:

“A partial federal shutdown took hold early Saturday after Democrats refused to meet President Donald Trump’s demands for $5 billion to start erecting his cherished Mexican border wall, a chaotic postscript for Republicans in the waning days of their two-year reign controlling government…

“The gridlock blocks money for nine of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice. The lack of funds will disrupt many government operations and the routines of 800,000 federal employees. Roughly 420,000 workers were deemed essential and will work unpaid just days before Christmas, while 380,000 will be furloughed, meaning they’ll stay home without pay. Those being furloughed include nearly everyone at NASA and 52,000 workers at the Internal Revenue Service. About 8 in 10 employees of the National Park Service will stay home and many parks were expected to close…

“The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, will not be affected because it’s an independent agency. Social Security checks will still be mailed, troops will remain on duty and food inspections will continue. Also still functioning will be the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard. Transportation Security Administration officers will continue to staff airport checkpoints and air traffic controllers will also remain at work.

“Trump has openly savored a shutdown over the wall for months, saying last week he’d be ‘proud’ to have one and saying Friday he was ‘totally prepared for a very long’ closure… GOP lawmakers have wanted to avoid one, since polling shows the public broadly opposes the wall and a shutdown over it…

“Despite saying last week he’d not blame Democrats for the closure, Trump and his GOP allies spent the last two days blaming Democrats anyway. Trump said now was the time for Congress to provide taxpayers’ money for the wall, even though he’s said repeatedly that Mexico will pay for it — something that country has repeatedly rebuffed…

“Republicans conceded that one of their biggest hurdles was Trump’s legendary unpredictability and proclivity for abruptly changing his mind…”

No End in Sight

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 22:

“The shutdown… is the third since the president took office less than two years ago…  no votes will take place for another five days.”

Some claim that the shutdown could even last until sometime in 2019.

Project Syndicate commented as follows, on December 24:

“With no compromise in sight to end the federal government shutdown, and no one left in President Donald Trump’s cabinet who can restrain him, Americans and their allies are staring into the abyss that has been looming since the 2016 election.”

Limbaugh and Fox Changed Trump’s Mind

The Huffington Post wrote on December 20:

“Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)… criticized President Trump’s tendency to be controlled by the opinions of talk-radio hosts… alluding to talk radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh and ‘Fox & Friends’ hosts throwing a fuss when they learned Trump would sign a bill to fund the government that didn’t include $5 billion for a border wall.

“Trump changed his mind Thursday and announced that he wouldn’t sign the bill passed by the Senate Wednesday, angering many Republicans… in the process.”

Now THAT is VERY troublesome and incredible, given the FACT that he had PROMISED to sign the bi-partisan bill.

The Unpredictable Stock Market

The Week wrote on December 26:

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked over 1,080 points Wednesday, a nearly 5 percent gain and the largest rise since 2009. The S&P 500 jumped nearly 5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.6 percent, largely thanks to oil and retail stock hikes in the wake of the holidays. The massive gains come after the biggest Christmas Eve trading slump in history, which continued the stock market’s worst December since the Great Depression…

“Markets also seemed placated after White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s job is ‘100 percent safe.’”

The Perils of the US Economy

The Associated Press wrote on December 22:

“… the partial shutdown of the government that began Saturday has added another threat to a growing list of risks. The stock market’s persistent fall, growing chaos in the Trump administration, higher interest rates, a U.S.-China trade war and a global slowdown have combined to elevate the perils for the economy…

“The world economy is showing clear signs of a downshift… Several other global risks abound. There is Britain’s turbulent exit from the European Union… China, the world’s second-largest economy after the U.S., is trying to manage a slowdown in growth that is being complicated by its trade war with Trump…”

The Washington Post wrote on December 22:

“… the closure of the government… was barely a blip on the radar amid the many other storms buffeting the nation…These chaotic events have rattled world markets and sparked concern that the next crisis could tip the nation into recession – with no certainty that the Trump administration and feuding lawmakers are up to the task of correcting course…

“Diane Swonk, chief economist of accounting and advisory firm Grant Thornton, called the shutdown ‘another straw on the camel’s back – and the straws are piling up.’ She said she was already worried about a recession hitting in late 2019 or early 2020, ‘and something like this could make it happen sooner.’

“Americans are more concerned about their finances than at any time in the Trump presidency…”

Will Demise of the Dollar Begin in 2019?

Money Morning wrote on December 24:

“It’s been a grim year for markets – the worst since 2008. But the drama’s not over yet… Could 2019 be the year the demise of the dollar begins?…

“The tricky thing about the debt ceiling is that, while it’s entirely artificial, if it’s breached, it means that the US can’t borrow any more money. In other words, it can’t issue any more Treasuries (government bonds). If that happens, then the US would only be able to use incoming tax money to repay any debts. It would have to start prioritising the various payments it has to make every month. And eventually it’d run out of money to pay its bills – including the interest payments due on government debt… If the US government actually defaulted on its debts – even once – that would send a shockwave of epic proportions across global financial markets….”

US Supreme Court Rejects Trump Asylum Ban

The Associated Press wrote on December 21:

“A divided Supreme Court won’t let the Trump administration begin enforcing a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Chief Justice John Roberts joined his four more liberal colleagues Friday in ruling against the administration… New Justice Brett Kavanaugh and three other conservative justices sided with the administration…

“The court’s order leaves in place lower court rulings that blocked Trump’s proclamation in November automatically denying asylum to people who enter the country from Mexico without going through official border crossings. Trump said he was acting in response to caravans of migrants making their way to the border…

“The ban conflicts with an immigration law that says immigrants can apply for asylum regardless of how they enter the U.S., [superior court justice] Tigar said… The ruling prompted Trump’s criticism of Tigar as an ‘Obama judge’ and led to an unusual public dispute between Trump and Roberts, who rebuked the president with a statement defending the judiciary’s independence.”

The public dispute between Trump and Roberts might very well have had some underlying repercussions.

Witchcraft Grows in the USA

The Telegraph wrote on December 21:

“Witchcraft is thriving in the US, with an estimated 1.5 million Americans now identifying as witches – more than the total number of Presbyterians. As Christianity declines across the country, paganism has swung to the mainstream, with witchcraft paraphernalia for sale on every high street and practises normalised across popular culture…”

How much more can Americans drift away from God?

Cybersecurity–Taking Entire Countries Offline

Business Insider wrote on December 22:

“Gatwick Airport is Britain’s second busiest by passenger volume, and Europe’s eighth. And yet it was brought to a standstill for two days by two people and a single drone…

“The criminals who break into the web sites of banks or chainstores and steal personal data or money are not the scariest people out there… The hackers we really ought to be worrying about are the ones trying take entire countries offline. People who are trying to take down the internet, switch the lights off, cut the water supply, disable railways, or blow up factories.

“The West’s weakness is in the older electronics and sensors that control processes in infrastructure and industry. Often these electronics were installed decades ago. The security systems controlling them are ancient or non-existent. If a hacker can gain control of a temperature sensor in a factory, he… can blow the place up, or set it on fire… The problem people don’t realise is it becomes a weapon of mass destruction. You can take down a whole country. It can be done…

“In December 2017, three men pleaded guilty to causing the largest internet outage in history – a distributed ‘denial of service’ attack that blacked out the web across most of the US and large chunks of Northern Europe for about 12 hours… And then, in April 2018, the African country of Mauritania was taken offline for two days when someone cut the single undersea cable that serves its internet… The Mauritania attack was probably done by the government of neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was trying to manipulate local election results by crippling the media.

“… In June 2018, Atlanta’s city government was hobbled by an attack that wiped out a third of its software programs. The FBI told Business Insider earlier this year that it believed terrorists would eventually attempt to take America’s 911 emergency system offline…

“[During] the December 2015 blackout in Ukraine… three major power suppliers were simultaneously taken over by hackers. The hackers gained remote control of the stations’ dashboards, and manually switched off about 60 substations, leaving 230,000 Ukrainians in the cold and dark for six straight hours. The hack was almost certainly done by Russia, whose military had invaded Crimea in the south of the country in 2014… Hackers don’t need to control an entire plant, the way they did in Ukraine. They only need to control an individual censor on a single machine…

“2010 was the year that cybersecurity experts really woke up to the idea that you could take down infrastructure, not just individual companies or web sites. That was the year the Stuxnet virus was deployed to take down the Iranian nuclear program… Then, in 2017, the Wannacry virus attack happened. Like Stuxnet, Wannacry also spread itself through the Microsoft Windows ecosystem… During its brief life, Wannacry became most infamous for disabling hundreds of computers used by Britain’s National Health Service… By December 2017, the US government confirmed that the North Korean government was responsible for the attack…”

This is a real danger. And the USA seems to be unprepared for such attacks. It is also a FACT that America is lingering far behind other sophisticated countries when it comes to their Internet capabilities and reliabilities.

The Russian Bear Is Back

The Sun wrote on December 21:

“Russia’s empire is expanding around the globe as Putin warns of ‘catastrophic’ global war. The Russian bear is back as strongman Putin re-arms his country’s military and expands his powerbase across the globe

“Once he dubbed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 as a geopolitical disaster. And during Vladimir Putin’s 18 years in power, he has been on a mission to revive Russia’s empire — and yesterday he even threatened a ‘catastrophic’ World War 3 if any nation defies him.

“Describing the re-arming of his nation as a ‘priority’, the ultra-nationalist strongman wants to have one million serving personnel by 2020. Missiles, planes and ships have been upgraded and modernised. Meanwhile, bases have been improved or established all over the globe… From the cold wastes of the Arctic to tropical islands, his power is spreading across the world.”

Russia, together with China, India, Japan and other Far Eastern countries, will form a military power bloc with massive capabilities.

Putin Lectures Brits on Democracy

The Guardian wrote on December 20:

“Vladimir Putin has said the UK should not hold a second referendum on Brexit, insisting Theresa May must ‘fulfil the will of the people.’ Offering public support that the embattled British prime minister could probably do without, Putin said he understood May’s position in ‘fighting for this Brexit.’

“Britons may see some irony in a lesson on democracy from a fourth-term president who has co-opted or crushed any substantial opposition in his home country…”

“Putin Tests New Missile to Frighten Europe”

The EUObserver published the above-quoted headline and continued to write on December 27:

“Russia has tested a ‘hypersonic’ missile capable of a nuclear strike anywhere in Europe in what Russian president Vladimir Putin called ‘a great New Year’s present for the country’. The ‘Avangard’ system, to be deployed in 2019, travels at 20 times the speed of sound and has a range of 6,000km.”

Europe is most certainly concerned about these developments.

Non-Citizens in the World’s Militaries

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 27:

“The news that the Bundeswehr is tentatively considering recruiting non-German European Union citizens has naturally triggered concerns… but this is hardly a new idea… Many countries have foreign nationals in their military ranks…

“EU citizens aged between 18 and 34 have been allowed to join Belgium’sarmed forces since 2004. The Danish military allows foreign recruits, as long as they are already living in Denmark and can speak Danish, and Luxembourgalso allows EU citizens to join, as long as they have been living in the country for three years and aged between 18 and 24. Ireland allows any citizen of the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) to join its military, while other foreign nationals can also apply as long as they have been living in Ireland for three years.

“Britain has traditionally sourced military recruits from the former colonies of its empire, which in the first half of the 20th century morphed into an international organization of 53 nations known as the Commonwealth, now a bloc of some 2.3 billion people that includes Australia, India, Canada, Kenya, and Fiji… The Ministry of Defense announced in November that it would no longer require Commonwealth citizens to have lived in the UK for five years before joining up…

“The French Foreign Legion remains unique as the oldest foreign-only military branch still active. Founded in 1831, foreign nationals are still commanded by French officers, and can apply for French citizenship after three years’ service… Spain has allowed foreigners into its military since 2002, when it began recruiting citizens from ex-colonies (a measure that some branded as imperialist)…

“Russia has… made the army a fast-tracked route to citizenship: non-Russians who speak Russian can sign five-year contracts to join the military, with the option of applying for citizenship after three years.

“The US allows permanent residents and Green Card holders to join the military… a path that is also seen as a fast-track to US citizenship. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed an order allowing citizenship procedures to be accelerated for non-US soldiers in the military. Now, around 8,000 non-citizens join the US military every year, with the two biggest countries of origin being Mexico and the Philippines.”

All true, but Germany’s desire to do so shows a remarkable shift from its previous pacifistic attitude after World War 2.

Germany’s Role in Tackling Global Conflicts

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 27:

“[Germany’s] Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed again that the UN’s highest decision-making body, the Security Council, needs to be reformed to include more than the current five permanent members… insisting that Germany should hold a permanent seat. The UN Security Council currently has five members, the US, the UK, France, China and Russia…

“Maas stressed that Germany’s global ‘responsibility is growing’ and that his country is prepared to take a greater role in tackling global conflicts… ‘We won’t be able to shun big decisions anymore,’ he said, especially regarding conflicts in the Middle East, including those in Syria and Yemen… Germany starts its latest two-year stint on the UN Security Council on January 1.”

Germany will get involved more and more in international conflicts, especially in the Middle East… including militarily.

A Mosque Tax for German Muslims

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 26:

“Lawmakers from Germany’s grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a ‘mosque tax’ for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay… In Germany, church taxes are collected by the state [from practicing Catholics and Protestants] and then transferred to religious authorities.

“In the absence of a similar tax, mosques in Germany are reliant upon donations, raising concerns about possible financing by foreign organizations and governments…

“Several European countries, including Austria, Sweden, and Italy, also use church taxes to fund Catholic and Protestant institutions. It has also been criticized for being compulsory for practicing Christians and, as it is collected by the government, for blurring the lines between church and state.”

While couched in language sympathetic towards Muslims in Germany, the ulterior goal and motive of Germany’s grand coalition is quite obvious: To supervise, control and restrict Germany’s Muslim community.

Government of Israel Collapses

JTA wrote on December 24:

“Israel will hold new elections in April after the heads of all six coalition parties announced Monday that they were dissolving the government…

“According to Jerusalem Post political correspondent Gil Hoffman, the ‘coalition heads decided to go to elections at the beginning of April because they couldn’t reach agreement on the ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill’ — legislation addressing a judge’s order that could mean that all members of the haredi Orthodox community are subject to the military draft.

“Israel had appeared to have narrowly avoided a coalition collapse last month following the resignation of Yisrael Beiteinu party head Avigdor Liberman, the defense minister, and his call for new elections over what he described as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘capitulation to terror’ in accepting a cease-fire with Hamas.

“With Yisrael Beiteinu out of the government, the coalition led by Netanyahu still had the narrowest of majorities in the 120-member Knesset with 61 seats. Further cracks began to form when Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the Jewish Home party leader, threatened to leave unless he was appointed to replace Liberman. Instead, Netanyahu kept the defense portfolio for himself and Bennett backed down. Netanyahu is currently in charge of the foreign affairs, defense, health and immigration absorption ministries…

“The new elections could also forestall American efforts to negotiate a deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The White House is reported to have decided to hold off on launching its peace initiative until after the election.”

It will be interesting to see whether Netanyahu can hold on to power or whether another leader will emerge who will be more orthodox, conservative and militaristic.

Austria’s Mixed Bag

The EUObserver wrote on December 26:

“When Austria took over the EU presidency, for the third time, on 1 July 2018, Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz declared that his government – in a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) – would use its six-months tenure to promote what he called ‘a Europe that protects’… Six months later, it is clear that this goal was achieved only partially… Kurz’s much-repeated promise to act as ‘bridge-builder in the EU’ could not be kept.

“Austria’s decision on 31 October to withdraw from the UN migration pact left many European partners alienated and caused great damage to the international reputation of the country. Most observers believe that Kurz gave in on this to demands by the far-right FPO coalition partner… Similarly, many European partners were taken aback by the attendance of Russian president Vladimir Putin at the wedding of Austrian foreign minister Kneissl in August. This reduced the country’s credibility to act as bridge-builder between Russia and West.

“On 1 January 2019, Romania will take over the EU presidency from Austria and with it thus inherit a mixed bag of challenges.”

Huge Tsunami in Indonesia

ABC News wrote on December 23:

“[Hundreds] were left dead and hundreds more injured in Indonesia early Sunday as a tsunami hit the island nation following [and caused by] a volcanic eruption… Krakatau, a volcano located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, is known for the historic eruption in 1883 that blew the island apart and killed 30,000 people, but it has erupted regularly since…

“Indonesia was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami in late September. The disaster hit Sulawesi, an island hundreds of miles northeast of Java. The disaster killed over 2,000 people and displaced 70,000 more.”

Deutsche Welle added on December 22:

“Saturday’s tsunami was reminiscent of several similar disasters that have struck the vast archipelago, including the massive earthquake and seismic sea wave [at Christmas time] in 2004 that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.”

Mount Etna Erupts, Triggers Earthquake

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 26:

“Volcanic activity on Mount Etna has continued after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck the nearby region… The mountain has been shooting ash, smoke and lava stones into the air over recent days…

“The eruption began on the side of Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, on Monday… The mountain is the largest of Italy’s three active volcanoes at 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) high… The last major eruption was in the European winter of 2008-2009…

“‘Etna remains a dangerous volcano, and this country of ours is unfortunately fragile,’ said government undersecretary Vito Crimi…”

Trump Hates Christmas Parties

The New York Magazine wrote on December 17:

“By the 26th, he will have attended 21 Christmas parties, clocking in at more than 52 hours of festivities in total, or about 10 percent of his waking hours this month. This is the life of a modern president of the United States in the month of December — and Donald Trump hates every minute of it… Making Christmas great again may have been a pillar of his presidential campaign — ‘We’re going to start saying “Merry Christmas again,” he often promised — but the war on Christmas is now raging inside of him… Trump hates the entire production surrounding Christmas…

“For his first Christmas as president, the White House parties featured a procedure for guests to enter a line and take a photo with Donald and Melania, an excruciating and monotonous ritual endured by most modern presidents since the early 1960s. It can, and often does, go on for hours. But Trump seems to have less patience for it than his predecessors. At one party, Trump grew so annoyed that he began complaining openly to one of his aides… He said, ‘I’m supposed to be the president, but now all I do is stand there and take pictures all day. There’s no telling what’s going on in the world right now. I’d never know’…

“Christmastime was not always a season of forced merriment for the president. The first White House Christmas party was held in 1800 by President John Adams and his wife Abigail… but it wasn’t until the administration of President John F. Kennedy, well after American concerns about paganism had given way to the commercial embrace of the holiday and all of its symbols, that celebrating became a matter of First Family tradition. President Ronald Reagan even dressed up as Santa Claus in 1983.

“But Trump is not the first president to bristle at the hostile, tinsel-draped takeover of his schedule. In 2012, Vanity Fair published a bizarre item in which the writer… criticized Obama for not shaking as many hands or posing for as many photos as his predecessors did during the holidays… As an example of someone Obama should have tried to emulate, [the magazine] shared a horrifying story about Abraham Lincoln holding, ‘near-constant public receptions during the depth of the Civil War (including one on the night his young son, Willie, lay dying upstairs).’…

“The oddest parts of the events were when people who thought Obama was the anti-Christ — like Sean Hannity and Darrell Issa — would show up to eat some Bo-shaped cookies and get a picture with the president.”

Please read our Q&A in this issue, asking and answering the question as to whether Donald Trump or Barack Obama could be the Antichrist.

German Christmas Celebrations

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 22:

“17 million people in Germany do not celebrate Christmas, and some of that can be chalked up to Germany’s immigrant population, which is largely Muslim. However, there are fewer than 5 million Muslims in Germany. Immigrant families only accounted for about 20 percent of respondents who told researchers that they avoid Christmas celebrations.

“The poll found that the majority of the people not partaking in the holiday were young adults between the ages of 18 and 30, and overwhelmingly male… One key reason that may account for the drop in Christmas celebrations could be economic…

“However, the survey also found that Christmas remains Germany’s biggest festival of the year, both in economic and personal terms.”

Can’t Get Rid of Christmas?

Mosaic Magazine wrote on December 24:

“Around the time of Thomas Balazs’ confirmation into the Lutheran church, his father sat him down and explained that he and Thomas’s mother had been born and raised as Jews, survived the Holocaust in Hungary, and converted to Christianity upon their marriage to spare their children the danger and indignity of growing up Jewish. Thomas returned to Judaism in the fifth decade of his life. But it was several years later—ice-skating with his own son to the sound of Christmas carols the day before Thanksgiving—that he first found himself missing the Gentile holiday of his youth:

“‘Until that moment, the first ten years without Christmas had been surprisingly easy for me. . . . So it was odd when I found myself singing [‘Jingle Bell Rock’] along with Bobby Helms as [my son] and I skated around the rink…

“If it’s true, as some say, that one can never stop being a Jew, it’s also true that you can never quite shake off Christmas once it has worked its way into your system… And it’s a consequence of there being some really great Christmas songs.”

With God’s help, it IS possible to leave Christmas observance behind.

Pope Francis Realizes Great and Widespread Sexual Abuse Problem in His Church

The Guardian wrote on December 21:

“Pope Francis has vowed the Catholic church will ‘never again’ cover up clerical sexual abuse and demanded that priests who raped and abused children turn themselves in… after a year of revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-ups that rocked his papacy and caused a crisis of confidence in the Catholic hierarchy… His remarks capped a difficult year for the Catholic church, which began with the pontiff’s botched handling of a sexual abuse scandal in Chile and ended with US state prosecutors uncovering decades of cover-ups.

“… The pope has summoned church leaders from around the world to an abuse prevention summit in February, indicating that he has come to realise the problem is far greater and more widespread than he had understood at the start of his pontificate five years ago… [He claimed] there were priests who, ‘without batting an eye’, were ready to enter into a ‘web of corruption’ by abusing those in their care. ‘Often, behind their boundless amiability, impeccably activity and angelic faces, they shamelessly conceal a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls,’ he said.”

If one could only know how serious and committed Pope Francis is about all of these and others challenges.

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.

Rejecting the “Christmas Story”

Even though one year old, the following article is worthwhile reading.

The New York Times wrote on December 13, 2017:

“Is Christmas a Religious Holiday? A Growing Number of Americans Say No…

“Ninety percent of Americans celebrate Christmas in some form… Fifty-six percent of Americans believe that the religious elements of Christmas are emphasized less now than they were in the past, but only 32 percent of Americans say that development bothers them either ‘a lot’ or ‘some,’ according to the study.

“In 2017, 55 percent of Americans said they celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday…  Four years ago, 59 percent of Americans said they celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday…

“The most seismic change captured by the survey, from a theological standpoint, may be the declining number of people who said they believed the biblical story of Christmas accurately reflected historical events. The survey asked respondents about their belief in four parts of the biblical Christmas story: that an angel heralded the birth of Jesus; that it was a virgin birth; that wise men were guided to baby Jesus by a star; and that he was placed in a manger.

“Only 57 percent of Americans believe in all four, down from 65 percent in 2014… atheists and the religiously unaffiliated appeared even less likely now than in the past to believe the story of Jesus’ birth…”

Even though the Bible does not teach that we ought to keep Christmas, the story regarding the birth of Jesus, as recorded in Scripture, is most certainly accurate. That so many celebrate Christmas, claiming to remember the birth of Christ, and reject the facts pertaining to His birth, is more than telling and shows an appalling degree of hypocrisy.

Embracing Christmas Demons and Pagan Rites

National Geographic wrote on December 5, 2018:

“When listening to the radio in December, it’s unlikely to hear holiday songs singing the praises of Krampus: a half-goat, half-demon, horrific beast who literally beats people into being nice and not naughty.

“Krampus isn’t exactly the stuff of dreams: Bearing horns, dark hair, fangs, and a long tongue, the anti-St. Nicholas comes with a chain and bells that he lashes about, along with a bundle of birch sticks meant to swat naughty children. He then hauls the bad kids down to the underworld.

“In Catholicism, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children. His saints day falls in early December, which helped strengthen his association with the Yuletide season. Many European cultures not only welcomed the kindly man as a figure of generosity and benevolence to reward the good, but they also feared his menacing counterparts who punished the bad. Parts of Germany and Austria dread the beastly Krampus, while other Germanic regions have Belsnickle and Knecht Ruprecht, black-bearded men who carry switches to beat children. France has Hans Trapp and Père Fouettard. (Some of these helpers, such as Zwarte Piet in The Netherlands have attracted recent controversy.)

“Krampus’s name is derived from the German word krampen, meaning claw, and is said to be the son of Hel in Norse mythology. The legendary beast also shares characteristics with other scary, demonic creatures in Greek mythology…

“According to folklore, Krampus purportedly shows up in towns the night of December 5, known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night. The next day, December 6, is Nikolaustag, or St. Nicholas Day, when children look outside their door to see if the shoe or boot they’d left out the night before contains either presents (a reward for good behavior) or a rod (bad behavior)…

“A more modern take on the tradition in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic involves drunken men dressed as devils, who take over the streets for a Krampuslauf—a Krampus Run of sorts, when people are chased through the streets by the ‘devils’…

“Krampus’s frightening presence was suppressed for many years—the Catholic Church forbade the raucous celebrations, and fascists in World War II Europe found Krampus despicable because it was considered a creation of the Social Democrats.

“But Krampus has been having a resurgance over the past few years… with people searching for ways to celebrate the yuletide season in non-traditional ways. In the United States, people are embracing the dark side of Christmas with Krampus movies, special ‘Krampus’ television episodes. They’re throwing Krampus parties, attending local Krampusnachts (in cities like Washington, D.C. and New Orleans), and running in Krampus-themed races…”

The dark side of Christmas shows the true origin of that festival.

National Geographic had written the following on December 1, 2017:

“Krampus isn’t the only menacing counterpart to St. Nicholas… These [other] figures [mentioned in the previous article] date back to pagan celebrations of December 22, the longest night of the year, that were later adopted for Christmas… In the U.S., most celebrations of Krampus are also kind of like drunken dress-up days for adults—which, ironically, are more similar to an older type of American Christmas…

“‘For most people, before the 1800s, Christmas was not a domestic quiet holiday,’ says Stephen Nissenbaum, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Battle for Christmas. ‘It was a holiday that was characterized by boisterous revelry. It was sort of like a combination of Halloween and New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras.’ These early celebrations often involved costumed ‘mummers,’ who went from door to door demanding alcohol, and threatened to make trouble if they didn’t get it. Kids today participate in a watered-down version of this when they go trick-or-treating on Halloween…”

Alcoholism is still running rampant during the Christmas season.

How Christmas Became Popular in the USA

History wrote on December 13:

“Before the Civil War, Christmas was not an official holiday in the United States. Nor was it celebrated uniformly across the country. In early New England, Christmas was looked down upon by Puritans and Calvinists… During the 17th century, Massachusetts imposed a fine on colonists who celebrated the holiday, and after it became a state, its businesses and schools did not observe the holiday at all.

“Elsewhere, Christmas was celebrated in a variety of ways, most depending on the country of origin of the immigrants who celebrated it…

“In the… South, plantation owners used the holiday as a way to show off their paternalism toward the people they enslaved… Though enslaved people managed to create some of their own Christmas traditions, many of which incorporated traditions from Africa, they were also expected to help absolve slaveowners’ guilt over the holidays by enthusiastically opening gifts and showing their gratitude….

“But the Civil War disrupted not just the relations between plantation owners and the people they enslaved, but those within families and communities… children’s mothers, aunts and sisters experienced Christmas as an agonizing reminder of the danger faced by men who had gone to war. Civil War-era diaries and letters document how many women felt anxiety, grief and depression around Christmas…

“In 1870, in the aftermath of the war, Congress passed the first federal holiday law and made Christmas an official holiday…”

Far from being a time of peace, the American Christmas as we know it today was created amidst grief and depression during the Civil War.

Christmas Highest Risk for Heart Attacks

The Independent wrote on December 12:

“In one of the largest studies to assess the hazards of the holidays, Swedish researchers pinpointed 10pm on Christmas Eve as the point where annual heart attacks are most likely. While Swedish festivities peak on Christmas Eve, previous studies have shown other countries have higher rates on Christmas Day…

“But the greatest additional risk was at Christmas Eve, with heart attack rates as much as 37 per cent higher than on the same day a week later or earlier. Risks were greatest in the over 75s and those with pre-existing heart conditions, or other diseases such as diabetes. It said previous studies ‘have shown that acute experience of anger, anxiety, sadness, grief and stress increases the risk of myocardial infarction and thus possibly explains the higher risk observed in our study.’

“While New Year’s Eve is typically seen as another peak of emotion and indulgence, the researchers found a higher risk on New Year’s Day.”

If Christmas is a time of joy and peace, why has there been so much fear, anxiety and depression and even increased chances of heart attacks during that time?

President Trump’s Christmas Present Leads to Flood of Divorces

The website of inc wrote on December 15:

“You might remember that a year ago, on the Friday before Christmas (Christmas was on a Monday last year), President Trump signed a  last-minute tax law –in fact, the most sweeping tax law in 30 years. It contained many different tax cuts–largely permanent tax cuts for corporations, and temporary tax cuts for individuals that sunset in 2025. Because the whole thing was largely negotiated in secret, it also contained some surprises people didn’t even notice at the time–including some hidden tax increases.

“One of these individual tax increases goes into effect next month, and it has a big potential impact on anyone who gets divorced and has to pay alimony starting next year. Because unlike people who divorced earlier, they won’t be able to deduct alimony from their income before they pay taxes. That looming change has prompted ‘flood of last minute divorces’…

“It’s a big boon for the U.S. Treasury to take away this deduction. The IRS says that in 2010, nearly 600,000 taxpayers who claimed an alimony deduction–and the total amount added up to more than $10 billion.”

Another Christmas Present?–US Federal Judge Rules Obama Healthcare Law Unconstitutional

The Guardian wrote on December 14:

“A US federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday that the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional, a decision that was likely to be appealed to the supreme court… [He] agreed with a coalition of 20 states that a change in tax law last year eliminating a penalty for not having health insurance invalidated the entire Obamacare law. [The] decision was issued the day before the end of a 45-day sign-up period for 2019 health coverage under the law…

“The White House hailed Friday’s ruling, but said the law would remain in place pending its expected appeal to the supreme court. ‘Once again, the president calls on Congress to replace Obamacare and act to protect people with preexisting conditions and provide Americans with quality affordable healthcare,’ the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.”

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Breaks Away from Russia

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 15:

“Ukraine on Saturday formally created a new national Orthodox church, breaking away from Russia’s influence, as worsening political and military tensions between the two neighbors spills over to religion… The founding of a new Ukrainian Orthodox church had been in the works since Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea…

“The church’s establishment received a boost in October when the spiritual leader of the global Orthodox Church – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople – recognized Ukraine’s independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. In doing so, he revoked a 332-year-old ruling that had placed Ukraine under the Patriarchate of Moscow. That decision led the Russian Orthodox Church to break off all ties with Constantinople… The Constantinople Patriarchate’s leaders – based in Istanbul, Turkey – are widely considered to be the most influential in the global Orthodox hierarchy, which boasts some 300 million followers.

“Around half of them, however, are aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is considered to have close ties to the Russian state, especially under President Vladimir Putin’s leadership. Despite the support of three Ukrainian church branches, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine of the Moscow Patriarchate – which comprises most priests, churches, and monasteries, has boycotted the meeting and has recommitted itself to Moscow’s dominion. The Russian Orthodox Church still considers Ukraine its territory.

“If the attempt to create a unified Ukrainian Church is successful, it would be among the largest in the Orthodox world in terms of numbers of believers. Some 67 percent of Ukraine’s 45 million population adheres to one or more strands of Orthodox Christianity.”

Putin’s Role as KGB Spy for Notorious East German Stasi

Bild Online wrote on December 11:

“28 years after the end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the Stasi Records Agency (BStU) thought it knew all the secrets from the past. However, newly discovered documents reveal that the former KGB officer and present ruler of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin (66), was a member of the infamous State Security Service until the fall of the Berlin wall! Major Vladimir Putin, who was 33 at the time, received the ID on December 12, 1985 from the Ministry of State Security. The ID was renewed on a quarterly basis. It carried his signature and an official stamp and was valid until the end of 1989…

“Konrad Felber (65), Head of the Stasi Records Agency says: ‘Up to now, it was unknown that Putin who had worked as KGB agent in Dresden until 1990 was in possession of a Stasi ID… What has been known is that KGB spy Putin was working in the KGB villa at 4 Angelika Street, in Dresden, with other agents. His wife Ljudmila, who was 25 at the time (they are now divorced), came over with their daughter Marija in the autumn of that year…

“No one knows precisely the impact his work has had. One thing is certain however: he was recruiting German agents.”

As a former KGB spy and a member of the infamous Stasi who never apologized for his conduct during that time, it is obvious that he cannot be trusted.

Graham: Allah and the Christian God Not the Same

Breitbart wrote on December 16:

“Franklin Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat… Graham, the son of the prominent Christian leader Billy Graham, reminded citizens that Islamic extremism has not ceased to be a menace to the world and that, contrary to popular opinion, the Muslim idea of God is very different from the God worshiped by Christians. In the past… Graham has said that bloody jihadist attacks should not surprise anyone, since hatred and violence against nonbelievers are central to the teachings of Islam.

“… Graham has been an ongoing critic of theories that would equate Islam to Christianity. In August, 2016, Graham challenged Pope Francis for his remarks suggesting that Islamic terrorism is not religiously motivated. Referring to the Pope’s comments that Islamic attacks do not constitute a ‘war of religion,’ Graham posted on Facebook that ‘I disagree that it’s not a war of religion. It is most certainly a war of religion.’

“The pope has frequently declared that all religions seek peace, and that religious beliefs cannot be the force driving Islamic terrorism. Rather than religious belief, poverty and misguided politics are the force behind jihadism, he has stated… Graham said that religion ‘is behind the violence and jihad we’re seeing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and here in this country… It’s a religion that calls for the extermination of “infidels” outside their faith, specifically Jews and Christians’… ‘It’s a religion that calls on its soldiers to shout “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Great” in Arabic) as they behead, rape, and murder in the name of Islam,’ he said. ‘Radical Islamists are following the teachings of the Quran. We should call it what it is,’ Graham concluded.”

There is most certainly a fundamental difference between Allah and the God of the Bible. Unfortunately, many Christians and Jews do not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the God of the Old and the New Testament—but they either believe in just one God Personality or a Trinity of Three Persons in One Person. However, the true God of the Bible is a Family, consisting of two distinct Persons—God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Russia’s Victory and US Defeat in Syria

Daily Mail wrote on December 19:

“President Donald Trump declared victory over ISIS in Syria on Wednesday, as the Pentagon prepares for an immediate troop withdrawal. ‘We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,’ the president wrote on Twitter… The move is likely to please Turkish president Recep Erdogan, who wants to counter U.S. allied Kurdish forces in Syria and who spoke with Trump by telephone last week. He has been threatening an assault on U.S. allied Kurdish forces, who have been effective in helping to combat ISIS.

“As the U.S. is preparing to pack up, Russia is moving in… The Russian parliament ratified a deal with Damascus on the permanent presence…  The deal would expand the Tartus naval facility, Russia’s only naval foothold in the Mediterranean, and grant Russian warships access to Syrian waters and ports…

“Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has pushed for a longer-term presence to make sure ISIS does not return to its former power, having been rolled back from its sprawling geographic base in Iraq and Syria.

“The move drew immediate criticism from Trump ally Lindsey Graham… ‘Withdrawal of this small American force in Syria would be a huge Obama-like mistake,’ Graham tweeted… Trump has previously lambasted his predecessor, Barack Obama, for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq that preceded an unraveling of the Iraqi armed forces. Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of Islamic State’s advance into the country in 2014…

“U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned earlier in December that the United States had trained only about 20 percent of Syrian forces required to stabilize areas captured from Islamic State.”

JTA (Jewish Telegraph Agency) added on December 19:

“The Israeli government likely will be rattled by the decision. Remaining in Syria are Russian and Iranian advisers as well as troops belonging to Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist militia allied with Iran. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are aligned with the Assad regime…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that any final status settlement to the war must include the removal of Iranian influence from Syria, and the removal of U.S. troops substantially diminishes U.S. leverage to achieve that outcome.”

The Times of Israel wrote on December 20:

“The White House decision to pull US troops out of Syria is almost universally derided in Israel as a move that will cede the war-torn country to Iran (to say nothing of the Kurds being abandoned to face Turkey, which is a much bigger danger)… Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a hard time hiding his disappointment…”

ISIS Not Defeated

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 20:

“Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have said that ‘Islamic State’ remains a threat in Syria. All three appeared to dispute US President Donald Trump’s claim that the militants had been vanquished…

“The sudden withdrawal needlessly denies the US the possibility of having a say in it the rebuilding of post-war Syria. Trump has shown the world that he has lost interest in the Middle East as a whole.”

Troop Withdrawal a Major Blunder and Colossal Mistake

Newsmax wrote on December 19:

“President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement declaring victory over ISIS and withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria triggered some blistering criticism from members of his own party on Capitol Hill…  Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted withdrawal is a ‘major blunder’ that will ‘haunt this administration and America for years to come.’

“Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., derided Trump’s declaration of a victory over ISIS, saying it is ‘simply not true’…  other Senators in the upper chamber are ‘disappointed, furious, concerned’ Trump had not consulted members of Congress and gone through a normal process of letting people know about his decision…

“In comments to NBC News, Rubio ticked off three reasons why the withdrawal would be a ‘colossal mistake.’ He told the news outlet ISIS has been converted into an insurgency and will be a more powerful one without the U.S. presence, Syria will fall more under the control of Russia and Iran without U.S. forces, and the United States will be more readily seen as an ‘unreliable ally’ by the rest of the world.”

Defense Secretary James Mattis Retires Effective by End of February

Newsmax wrote on December 20:

“Mattis in his resignation letter said Trump had the right to ‘have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with’ his on ‘these and other subjects.’ ‘My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues,’ he added.

“His departure had been anticipated since Trump announced on Wednesday that he was withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria despite opposition from U.S. allies and top U.S. military officials.”

Deutsche Welle added on December 20:

“Jim Mattis has announced his retirement citing policy differences with his president. He was seen as a stabilizing force for international order in the chaotic, go-it-alone administration…

“The Trump administration has had the highest senior-level staff turnover of the past five presidents, according to the Brookings Institution.”

Chaotic Decision without any Consultation

The Guardian wrote on December 19:

“‘This is a chaotic decision, hastily made with no consultation with anyone responsible for the actual nuts and bolts of withdrawal,’ [Nicholas] Heras, [a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security] said… [The White House also] said Trump would ‘take a look’ at Ankara’s demand for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, a dissident Turkish cleric living in the US…

“Trump’s own national security adviser, John Bolton, is adamantly opposed to the decision, for different reasons. At the UN general assembly in September Bolton declared: ‘We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias.’ A diplomatic source described him as ‘livid’ about the president’s decision.”

This is how President Trump rules and makes his unpredictable decisions. His close relationship with Turkey’s tyrant Erdogan is extremely worrisome. An extradition of Gülen would lead to his certain death in Turkey.

Kurds Feel Betrayed by USA

Fox News wrote on December 19:

“Wednesday’s surprise announcement that the U.S. will quickly withdraw all its troops from Syria is the stuff of nightmares for many of the Kurds living under the protection of U.S forces and the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). ‘Everyone is upset, sad and afraid,’ one SDF member from the Kurdish-dominant Syrian city of Kobane told Fox News. ‘It’s a historic mistake. We wanted to be part of America. We are surrounded by enemies, and ISIS isn’t even finished yet.’

“… most of all, the millions in the region left in limbo are concerned about strikes from the Turkish side of the border. ‘Everyone is confused and scared. This will mean that Turkey will likely attack us. We are in shock because we thought the U.S. would help us achieve peace after ISIS. We didn’t think that they would… leave us alone to face the horror of Turkish forces and its extreme factions,’ lamented Mazloum Kurdy, a 33-year-old father and teacher from Kobane… In his words, it is an ultimate betrayal by the United States… Just hours after [the] White House announced it will pull all U.S. troops out of Syria, the State Department announced plans to sell $3.5 billion worth of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Turkey.”

Incredible!

Erdogan Persecutor of Journalists  

Breitbart wrote on December 14:

“Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of Turkey’s last remaining opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for claiming to defend the free press in the aftermath of the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Dündar, also writing in the Washington Post from exile in Germany… calls Erdogan the ‘world’s biggest hypocrite’ for defending Khashoggi…

“The Turkish journalist retells the story of how he ended up in Germany, separated from his wife for two and a half years because Erdogan’s government will not let her leave Turkey but put out an arrest warrant for Dündar to be apprehended the second he returns to his home country. Dündar’s newspaper… has for years criticized Erdogan’s government as increasingly dictatorial, Islamist, and paranoid…

“The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published its annual global freedom of the press report on Thursday declaring Turkey the most prolific jailer of journalists in the world for the third year in a row. Of the 251 journalists known to be in prison currently, 68 are in Turkey, and all facing charges for speaking out against the government.”

Erdogan Attacks Israel… Again!

Breitbart wrote on December 16:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Israel and compared it to Nazi Germany, accusing the Jewish state of ‘trying to erase the traces of the Islamic heritage in Jerusalem for the last 50 years.’…

“Erdogan said criticizing Israel never means anti-Semitism, adding: ‘Some European countries side with the U.S. and do not raise [a] voice against Israeli occupation policies due to shameful scenes from World War II’… blaming the West for fanning strife in the Muslim world for financial gain…

“This is the second time this year Erdogan has delivered a rhetorical broadside against Israel. After Turkey recalled its ambassadors to Israel and the United States in May to protest the Israeli response to riots along the Gaza border fence, he called Israel a ‘terror state’ and denounced its actions as ‘genocide.’… The Turkish parliament recently rejected a bill that would have formally recognized the Armenian genocide, even as thousands marched around the world to commemorate the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1915.”

As reflected in this and the previous article, the hypocrisy of Erdogan is appalling. Turkey will become one of the worst and meanest enemies of Israel.

US Unable to Defend against new Chinese and Russian Hypersonic Weapons

Fox News wrote on December 18:

“The U.S. lacks the defenses needed to protect against a new breed of highly sophisticated hypersonic weapons from China and Russia, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. ‘China and Russia are pursuing hypersonic weapons because their speed, altitude and maneuverability may defeat most missile defense systems, and they may be used to improve long-range conventional and nuclear strike capabilities,’ the report said. ‘There are no existing countermeasures.’

“… Russian President Vladimir Putin said [the new] Kinzhal [missile system] flies 10 times faster than the speed of sound, has a range of more than 1,250 miles and can carry a nuclear or a conventional warhead. The military said it’s capable of hitting both land targets and navy ships…”

Trump to Honor Anwar Sadat

JTA wrote on December 17:

“President Donald Trump signed legislation that will honor Anwar Sadat posthumously with the Congressional Gold Medal for leading Egypt to peace with Israel. The medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, would be conferred next year, the 40th anniversary of the Camp David accords…

“Militant Islamists assassinated Sadat in 1981 because of the 1978 Camp David peace deal he forged with Israel. Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin received the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.”

The Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong had a very close and friendly relationship with Anwar Sadat and his wife who, after Sadat’s assassination, had been a guest at the Church’s premises in Pasadena.

Trump Gives In on Border Wall, Pays Mexico Billions of Dollars

The Drudge Report linked the following two articles by the Associated Press with this headline:

“Wall Funding Off Table. USA Giving $4.8 Billion to Mexico.”

The Associated Press reported on December 19:

“President Donald Trump appeared Tuesday to back off his demand for $5 billion to build a border wall…”

But maybe not. The Week wrote on December 20:

“President Trump says he will not sign a stopgap spending bill passed by the Senate that would keep the government open through Feb. 8 and avert a shutdown at midnight Friday.

“House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday after meeting with Trump that the president will not sign the bill ‘because of his legitimate concerns for border security.’ The bill does not give President Trump the $5 billion he has been demanding for a border wall. Without the bill, funding will lapse for nine federal departments at the end of the week.”

On December 18, the Associated Press wrote:

“The United States pledged $5.8 billion in aid and investment Tuesday for strengthening government and economic development in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico. The U.S aid aims to promote better security conditions and job opportunities as part of a regional plan to allow Central Americans and Mexicans to remain in their countries and not have to emigrate. The plan was announced in a joint U.S.-Mexican statement released by the State Department…

“The combination of public and private investment for the stay-at-home effort doesn’t require congressional approval, unlike Trump’s signature project to stem illegal immigration — a border wall… It was unclear if Mexico would give anything in return.”

Federal Reserve Defies Trump… Stocks Plunge

Newsmax and the Associated Press wrote on December 19:

“The Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate for the fourth time this year… It will mean higher borrowing costs for many consumers and businesses.

“The Fed’s move came despite President Donald Trump’s attacks in recent weeks on its rate hikes and on Chairman Jerome Powell personally. The president has complained that the moves are threatening the economy. At a news conference after the Fed’s announcement, Powell said Trump’s tweets and statements would have no bearing on the central bank’s policymaking…

“U.S. stocks had been sharply higher before the Fed’s announcement but began falling afterward and then accelerated into a plunge during Powell’s news conference. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 400 points soon after the news conference ended…”

The Week added on December 19:

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid another 351 points after the announcement, on track for its worst December since the Great Depression.”

CNBC added on December 20:

“Dow drops 470 points to 14-month low in second day of big losses following Fed rate hike.”

So it seems, Trump is right, and the Feds are wrong, seriously endangering the country’s economy.

US Senate Passes Anti-Saudi Resolutions

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 17:

“Saudi Arabia has ‘categorically’ rejected a resolution from the US Senate blaming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and another to end American military support for a Riyadh-led war in Yemen. ‘The kingdom categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs, any and all accusations … that disrespect its leadership … and any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or diminish its stature,’ read a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry…

“US lawmakers passed the anti-Saudi resolutions after growing discontent with President Donald Trump’s acceptance of the crown prince’s innocence, even from within his own Republican Party. The resolutions cannot be debated in the House of Representatives before January, and are likely to be vetoed by Trump. The resolutions acknowledge the importance of US-Saudi ties, but call upon Riyadh to moderate ‘its increasingly erratic foreign policy.’”

Those ties will end soon.

German Church Condemns Merkel Government over Arms Exports to Saudi Arabia

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 17:

“A German church organization representing both the Catholic and Protestant churches has condemned the country’s arms exports, as criticism mounts of Angela Merkel’s decision to allow old Saudi weapons orders to be fulfilled, despite a recent promise to put exports to Saudi Arabia temporarily on hold. ‘Contrary to all its statements, we cannot see that the government has recognized the seriousness of arms export policy questions,’ the Berlin-based Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE) said in a statement on Monday, which was issued along with the organization’s 2018 arms export report. ‘The tightening of arms export guidelines promised for 2018 are nowhere in sight.’

“Karl Jüsten, Catholic prelate and co-chairman of the GKKE board, condemned the exports to belligerents in the Yemen war, especially Saudi Arabia. From January to September of this year, Germany approved arms exports worth €416.4 million ($472.6 million) to Saudi Arabia. These sales meant that Germany carried co-responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen and the violations of international law…

“But Joachim Pfeiffer, economic spokesman for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Bundestag, argued that the arms sales for Saudi Arabia are still important for Germany. ‘I think it’s wrong and dangerous to break off all communications and then to unilaterally withdraw approved arms exports,’ he told DW in an email. ‘Germany would be shooting itself in the foot and would lose credibility. Saudi Arabia remains an important strategic pillar in the Middle East. … The West cannot afford to easily give up its influence on states in the Middle East…’”

The “important strategic” collaboration between Germany and Saudi Arabia will increase… at least for a while.

Guttenberg Questions Suitability of New CSU Leader

The Teller Report wrote on December 19:

“Former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has questioned the CSU-chief qualities of the Bavarian Prime Minister [Markus Söder, replacing Horst Seehofer]… ‘The CSU must be sure how sustainable this solution is in the long term and to what extent the new party chairman is suitable for this great task,’ said Guttenberg… He did not submit to the format of Franz-Josef Strauss or Theo Waigel…

“The ex-Defense Minister and former hopeful… resigned in 2011… because of a plagiarism scandal of [his] doctorate…

“Guttenberg said that he found it difficult to [accept] Söder’s transformation from a skillful but brute power politician to a humble team player… ‘A great party leader also has the gift of empathy, which has not been the most outstanding feature of Markus Söder in the last 20 years.’”

One of Der Spiegel’s Top Journalists Faked News Stories for Years

The Guardian wrote on December 19:

“The German news magazine Der Spiegel has been plunged into chaos after revealing that one of its top reporters had falsified stories over several years. The media world was stunned by the revelations that the award-winning journalist Claas Relotius had… ‘made up stories and invented protagonists’ in at least 14 out of 60 articles that appeared in its print and online editions, warning that other outlets could also be affected.

“Relotius, 33, resigned after admitting to the scam. He had written for the magazine for seven years and won numerous awards for his investigative journalism, including CNN Journalist of the Year in 2014…

“In a lengthy article, Spiegel, which sells about 725,000 print copies a month and has an online readership of more than 6.5 million, said it was ‘shocked’ by the discovery and apologised to its readers and to anyone who may have been the subject of ‘fraudulent quotes, made-up personal details or invented scenes at fictitious places’. The Hamburg-based magazine, which was founded in 1947 and is renowned for its in-depth investigative pieces, said Relotius had committed journalistic fraud ‘on a grand scale’. It described the episode as ‘a low point in Spiegel’s 70-year history’…. The reporter also wrote for a string of other well-known outlets…

“The magazine, which is one of Germany’s most prominent news organisations, is now trying to rescue its reputation amid fears a magazine already challenged by the problems in the German newspaper industry will struggle to recover.”

This is indeed a shocking revelation. Even though a magazine with left-liberal tendencies, which showed in their reports, it was always considered as presenting reliable facts, unlike mass tabloids such as Bild. It will have to be seen whether Der Spiegel can recover from this debacle.

Belgium PM Resigns

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“Embattled Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel announced on Tuesday evening that he would step down as leader of his country’s government. The move came after he lost a vote of confidence in Belgium’s parliament… Michel immediately notified King Philippe of his decision to step down… Belgium is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

“Michel came under fire 10 days ago when his Flemish nationalist coalition partner N-VA, angered by his decision to sign a UN immigration pact, withdrew support from the government. The N-VA is the largest party in parliament. The move left Michel’s liberal Reformist Movement (MR) along with his Flemish liberal Open VLD and Christian Democrats (CD&V) coalition partners with only 52 of 150 seats in parliament.”

EU and Italy Reach Compromise

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“Rome and Brussels appear to have resolved their disagreements and reached a compromise, after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte promised the EU that his country would reduce its 2019 deficit… The move would mark the end of a standoff between Italy and the EU over its debt…

“Italy’s new government, comprised of the far-right Lega party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, had sought to implement sweeping budget measures that included cutting taxes and establishing universal income… With the proposal Italy was expected to breach EU budget deficit limits, risking punitive action from the bloc.”

Unlike Britain, Italy will resolve its problems with the EU, as Italy will clearly be part of a prophesied core Europe, consisting of ten nations or groups of nations.

“No Deal” Brexit More Popular than Second Referendum

Breitbart wrote on December 16:

“[A] ‘No Deal’ petition has rapidly outstripped a rival petition… for a re-run of the 2016 referendum… The Government issued a response to the petition opposing a second referendum promising that the 2016 result would be upheld, and that failing to do so ‘would be to undermine the decision of the British people, and to disrespect the powerful democratic values of this country and this government.’

“‘17.4 million votes to leave the European Union. This is the highest number of votes cast for anything in UK electoral history. This was the biggest democratic mandate for a course of action ever directed at any UK Government,’ the response concedes.”

Theresa May Lashes Out at Tony Blair

The Sun wrote on December 15:

“Theresa May has launched an attack on the former Labour PM [Tony Blair] and accused him of insulting the British public after his attempt to influence the Brexit result… And she bluntly reminded him it was his own open-door immigration policy which spurred millions to vote leave… ‘For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating for a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the British people he once served…’

“On Friday she angrily confronted EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker after he branded her ‘nebulous.’”

The Sun commented:  “… We will be humiliated no more. When the clock strikes 11pm on March 29th next year, we WILL leave the European Union… The Brussels beast has wormed its way into just about every one of our institutions…”

Interesting choice of words. The Bible speaks indeed of a unified Europe as the “beast.”

UK Prepares for No-Deal Brexit

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“The government has ‘now reached the point where we need to ramp up… preparations’ in case the UK crashes out of the EU. Without certainty, businesses in the UK are hurting, said the British Chambers of Commerce.

“Part of the preparation includes putting 3,500 British troops on standby to prevent public order from deteriorating and to assist in the potential chaos of a no-deal Brexit…”

Margaret Thatcher: EU Has Always Been Opposed to UK

Express wrote on December 19:

“THE EU has always turned against the UK and against every concessions or initiatives Britain has made in Europe, Margaret Thatcher firmly stated in her pioneering treatise Statecraft [from 2002]…

“The Iron Lady argued that French President Charles de Gaulle was ‘right’ to oppose Britain’s application to join the European project in the early 1960s, as just like he put it during a press conference in 1963, Britain is a ‘fundamentally different kind of nation state to those which are involved in “building Europe”. She claimed that for this reason, Britain will always be at odds with other European countries and the bloc.

“The Baroness explained: ‘It was Britain’s long history of continuous constitutional development, the respect in which her institutions were held, the honesty of her politicians and the integrity of her judges, the fact that not since the Norman Conquest had she known occupation, and that neither Nazism nor communism had ever gained grip on her political life – all these things marked Britain out from Continental Europe… Britain is different. That is why Britain is still repeatedly at odds with the other European countries, however determinedly cooperative British politicians wish to be.’”

Need for a European Nuclear Force

The European Leadership Network wrote on December 7:

“… all western European countries, with the exception of France… abandoned the quest for nuclear weapons with the inception of NATO’s extended deterrence… Yet questions surrounding… the need for an independent European nuclear force have again emerged. Two important events have precipitated the debate. First, Russia’s annexation of Crimea… and  second, arguments made by President Trump regarding the conditionality of America’s commitment to European security…

“The current security environment demands a serious discussion on European nuclear security…”

Unified Europe will become a strong nuclear power.

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.