Merkel Furious With Trump After “Unprecedented” G-7 Failure

Zerohedge reported on May 27:

“In the end it was not meant to be…  Needless to say, Merkel who had hoped to leave the Saturday summit with the G-7 agenda endorsed by everyone, including Trump, was furious at the US president… She concluded by noting the unprecedented breach of agreement within the ranks, perhaps a first in G-7 history… To be sure, it wasn’t just Merkel who was displeased with Trump… Trump’s lack of rapport with European leaders raises serious questions about his ability to effectively team up with critical U.S. allies…”

The Ugly American at G-7 Summit

The New York Times wrote on May 26:

“‘Trump shoves his allies,’ read the front page of Belgium’s Le Soir. ‘Boor in chief’ declared Germany’s financial newspaper Handelsblatt. An editorial in Le Monde called him ‘brutal and heavy-handed.’

“President Trump is… being portrayed as the ugly American, trampling America’s friends and trashing the trans-Atlantic alliance… Mr. Trump has switched from diplomat to disrupter… his behavior overlooks the fact that America’s most durable alliances are in Europe, not the Middle East, and that Europeans are not likely to buy Mr. Trump’s bluster… His harsh statements in Europe suggested that he could be [the] most divisive American leader to join this… club since it was first organized in 1975…

“To some extent, the difference in Mr. Trump’s tone may reflect the different reception he got in the Middle East… In Europe, Mr. Trump encountered a chillier audience that viewed him less as a conquering hero than as a wayward figure who needed to be put back on the right path. ‘The Europeans didn’t give him that royal welcome; they didn’t treat him like the king of the world,’ said Volker Perthes, the director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs…”

Mr. Trump’s harsh words and his attacks on NATO, Germany and the other participating members at the G-7 summit might very well have been caused by his less than royal reception in Europe.

Gap Immense

Der Spiegel wrote on May 27 about the G-7 Summit:

“The gap between the USA and the other six nations is immense. The Trump Administration is on their way to international isolation…”

The magazine continued that the shattered relationship, as manifested during the G-7 summit, has been described by French President Emmanuel Macron as the last step before a divorce.

Merkel’s Remarks about USA and UK

Reuters/HuffPost wrote on May 29:

“Merkel sent shockwaves through Washington and London by saying on Sunday that Europe must take its fate into its own hands, implying that the United States under President Donald Trump and Britain after its Brexit vote were no longer reliable partners… After the meetings of NATO and the G7 group of wealthy nations, Merkel told a packed beer tent in Munich that the days when Europe could completely rely on others were ‘over to a certain extent.’ ‘I have experienced this in the last few days,’ Merkel said. ‘And that is why I can only say that we Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands – of course in friendship with the United States of America, in friendship with Great Britain and as good neighbors wherever that is possible also with other countries, even with Russia.’

“Her chief rival in Germany’s upcoming national elections, opposition leader Martin Schulz, denounced Trump on Monday for the way he ‘humiliated’ Merkel. ‘No freely elected head of government in our country  should allow him- or herself to be humiliated in this way, the way [Trump], like an autocratic leader, believed he could inflict humiliation in Brussels,’ Schulz said… ‘I reject with outrage the way this man takes it upon himself to treat the head of our country’s government. That is unacceptable.’ It’s not clear what incident Schulz is referring to, but he echoed Merkel’s controversial call for greater European independence on Twitter, asserting ‘the best answer to Donald Trump is a stronger Europe.’”

Leading German politicians are anxious to agree with Angela Merkel on her criticism of President Trump, also in light of the upcoming national elections in September and the huge unpopularity of Mr. Trump in Germany. Note the next article as well.

Germany Reacts to Trump

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 30:

“Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel… spoke of the US ‘dropping out as an important nation.’ ‘That’s unfortunately a signal for a change in the world’s balance of power,’ he said. Gabriel also criticized the Trump administration for selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, its refugee policy, and its lack of commitment to fight climate change.

“Gabriel, who also serves as Germany’s vice chancellor, said that ‘anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace in Europe at risk.’ ‘The short-sighted policies of the American government stand against the interests of the European Union,’ adding that the West ‘became weaker.’…

“In response to the crisis, Europe should be ‘sticking together and growing stronger’ and defend the ideas of democracy, liberalism, and openness, he said…”

A Fury of International Reactions—Russia the Beneficiary

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 29:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday prompted a fury of reactions…  In the US, the reaction was mixed, with Trump’s supporters dismissing Merkel’s comments while his opponents appeared to mourn the loss of the US’ special relationship with Germany…

“In analysis published by Israeli daily Haaretz, Daniella Peled of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting said the fallout of Trump’s visit to Europe has effectively undermined trust across the Atlantic. ‘It’s hard to think of a clearer sign of the massive and rapid damage Trump has done to decades-old partnerships than Merkel’s devastating speech,’ Peled said. ‘Angela Merkel has once again cemented her status as the new leader of the free world…’

“However, some highlighted that Trump’s ability to undermine the historic relationship between Berlin and Washington has served the interests of other actors. David Frum, senior editor of the US news magazine The Atlantic, said that Trump’s behavior has caused a rift between Germany and the US [and] has effectively served Russian interests. ‘Since 1945, the supreme strategic goal in Europe of the USSR and then Russia was the severing of the US-German alliance. Trump delivered,’ Frum said.

“Agreeing with Frum’s comments on its benefits for Moscow, Ian Bremmer, founder and director of the consultancy Eurasia Group, said that the ‘most important postwar relationship,’ the transatlantic alliance, is ‘now unraveling.’ ‘There’s not been a statement like this from Germany in generations,’ Bremmer said.”

Macron Meets with Putin

The EUObserver wrote on May 29:

“Macron hosted Putin in Versailles to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Russian tsar Peter the Great’s visit to France… ‘Peter the Great is a symbol of Russia that wants to [be] open to… Europe,’ Macron noted… The celebration and the prestigious setting of the Versailles palace were considered to be a good opportunity to mend relations between France and Russia, as well as between Macron and Putin… During his presidential campaign, Hollande’s successor Macron was the target of Russian-sponsored media attacks and hacks. Putin also received Macron’s main opponent, far right leader Marine Le Pen, at the Kremlin…

“Asked by a journalist from RT [Russia Today], a Russian state media, why RT journalists were barred to access events at the end of his campaign, Macron explained that the media, as well as Sputnik, another Russian state outlet, had ‘spread slanderous falsehoods’ about him. ‘Russia Today and Sputnik did not behave as media outlets and journalists, they behaved as organs of influence and of lying propaganda,’ he said next to a stony-faced Putin.”

Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Vladimir Putin received mixed coverage. While the will was emphasized to “work together”, it was also clear that mistrust and skepticism remained.

Europe’s Destiny

The Times of Israel/AFP wrote on May 30:

“Germany’s harsh words for Washington, traditionally a close ally, were highly unusual and came as relations have grown increasingly frosty… France’s Defense Minister Sylvie Goulard said that Trump’s broadside at NATO allies could boost efforts toward a common European defense policy… the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Twitter he ‘agreed’ with Merkel that ‘Europe’s destiny is in our own hands.’”

One of the consequences of the frosty relationship between Europe and the USA is indeed Europe’s desire to create a common defense policy; i.e., a unified European army. Due to perceived threats from Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, military cooperation already exists in some parts of Europe. Note the next article.

Nordic Military Cooperation

Bloomberg wrote on May 29:

“With Vladimir Putin in the east and Donald Trump to the west, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now telling Europe it has to stand up for itself. It’s a call that’s already being answered by the continent’s richest region. Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway have over the past two years been deepening their military cooperation to counter a deteriorating security situation in the Baltic and the Arctic… ‘There’s no doubt that Europe needs to take bigger responsibility, we have to spend more on defense and security,’ Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister, said…

“The broadest shifts in policy in the region have been seen in Finland and Sweden, which unlike Denmark and Norway aren’t members of NATO. The two neighbors have intensified military cooperation and also forged closer ties with the military alliance without outright joining NATO…”

The End of an Era

The New York Times wrote on May 28:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany [is] Europe’s most influential leader… Ms. Merkel’s strong comments were a potentially seismic shift in trans-Atlantic relations. With the United States less willing to intervene overseas, Germany is becoming an increasingly dominant power in a partnership with France…

“‘This seems to be the end of an era, one in which the United States led and Europe followed,’ said Ivo H. Daalder, a former United States envoy to NATO who is now the director of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. ‘Today, the United States is heading into a direction on key issues that seems diametrically opposite of where Europe is heading. Merkel’s comments are an acknowledgment of that new reality.’”

Europe and the USA are drifting more and more apart.

A New Chapter

The Washington Post wrote on May 28:

“Merkel on Sunday declared a new chapter in U.S.-European relations after contentious meetings with President Trump last week… This is an enormous change in political rhetoric. While the public is more familiar with the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and the United States, the German-U.S. relationship has arguably been more important… Merkel is suggesting that… Germany and Europe are likely to take on a much more substantial and independent role than they have in the past 70 years…

“Merkel’s rhetoric is clearly intended to imply that as the transatlantic relationship grows weaker, the European Union will grow stronger…  Merkel’s temperament is the polar opposite of Trump’s. She is highly cautious. This speech is not an impulsive move. Instead, Merkel is starting to make the case for a different E.U., one that is stronger, more self-reliant and disinclined to look to the United States for leadership. If she wins the upcoming German election decisively and is able to secure enough agreement from other European states to isolate the naysayers, she may set in motion a substantial long-term shift in the E.U.-U.S. relationship…”

“End of an era” and “a new chapter” are strong words. Mr. Trump must realize this too, and his reaction is predictable, but not helpful. Note the next article.

Trump Blasts Germany Again as Merkel-Modi Cite Mutual Values

Newsmax wrote on May 30:

“U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up a dispute with Germany over trade and defense as Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a demonstration of her ability to pivot from the U.S. to strengthen alternative global alliances. ‘We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military,’ the U.S. president posted on Twitter Tuesday. ‘This will change.’

“The message came minutes after Merkel and Modi held a joint press conference in Berlin, at which the German leader called India a ‘reliable partner with respect to big projects.’ That contrasted with her comments in Munich on Sunday that reliable trans-Atlantic ties that formed the basis of German foreign policy since World War II ‘are to some extent over.’”

Mr. Trump was obviously not happy to hear that Angela Merkel viewed India as a reliable partner, while she did not think so regarding the USA.

Germany Reaches Out to China

Deutsche Welle reported on May 31:

“In a week during which a Europe-US rift seems to be deepening, the Chinese premier became the second major Asian leader to arrive in Berlin. Talks will focus on closer cooperation on trade and climate issues… This has been a week of Germany reaching out to Asia… ‘The EU and China consider the Paris Agreement as an historic achievement…,’ [a] nine-page draft joint statement said. ‘The EU and China underline their highest political commitment to the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement in all its aspects.’…

“The EU has also been increasingly looking to China for support of free trade, after a shift towards protectionism from the US…  As Li arrived in Germany, the country’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank announced US$3 billion (2.7 billion euros) worth of investments in cooperation with the China Development Bank.”

As the relationship between Europe and the USA is getting worse, Europe is looking for “allies” in others parts of the world.

German Trade

The New York Times wrote on May 30:

“Germany runs a chronic, yawning trade surplus with the United States, which Trump administration officials say Germany has widened by exploiting a weak euro to put American exports at a disadvantage. That, more than differences over NATO, Russia or climate change, is driving a wedge between the two countries…

“Mr. Trump was continuing a drumbeat he began during his visit to Europe, when he told European Union officials that Germany was ‘very bad’ on trade. But the president’s campaign against Germany, while accurate on the statistics, overlooks the benefits in the German-American trade relationship, and overstates Berlin’s ability to do much about it.

“German companies employ roughly 700,000 people in the United States. Carmakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have huge American assembly plants, which export vehicles to China and Latin America. BMW’s factory in Spartanburg, S.C., is the largest single exporter, by dollar value, in the American automotive industry…”

It is interesting that one never hears President Trump speaking about these figures.

Donald Trump Isolated and Unreachable?

CNN wrote on May 31:

“At 12:06 a.m. ET, the President of the United States tweeted this: ‘Despite the constant negative press covfefe.’ By 6 a.m., that tweet had been deleted. Shortly after, Trump tweeted this: ‘Who can figure out the true meaning of “covfefe” ??? Enjoy!’… Trump seemed to be trying to type ‘coverage’ and misspelled it. As he often does. Then he fell asleep and didn’t correct the mistake until he got up in the morning. We’ve all been there!…

“What we have today — and, really, what we have had since the day Trump came into the White House — is a deeply isolated President who spends lots of time, particularly at night and in the early morning, watching TV and tweeting. That lack of discipline reveals that there is simply no one who can tell Trump ‘no.‘ Or at least no one whom he will listen to.  That’s important. Especially now as speculation runs rampant that Trump is on the brink of a major staff overhaul and in the wake of communications director Mike Dubke resigning on Tuesday… Trump doesn’t think he needs advice… Trump’s ongoing Twitter presence is a perfect example of all of this.

“Time and time again, Republican elected officials have politely suggested that Trump use Twitter less and differently… Of late, as part of a much-promised reboot, there had been talk of a ‘team of lawyers’ vetting Trump’s tweets before he sent them out… Trump is neither willing nor able to change his stripes. He is a 70-year-old man (he will be 71 on June 14) who has had much success in his life. And he believes that the way in which he was elected president — against all odds and doing everything traditional politics says not to — is an affirmation that he is the only person who really understands his supporters and the mood of the country. That assumption is what leads him to ignore advice from advisers… Trump believes in Trump — first, last and always. Staff will come and go. But to expect anyone to change Trump in any way is to ignore, literally, his entire adult life.”

If all of this is true, that would make President Trump an extremely unpredictable person.

“No Feud Between Trump and Merkel”? Get Real!

The New York Times wrote on May 30:

“Sean Spicer, the press secretary… said Ms. Merkel’s call for Europe to go it alone actually vindicated Mr. Trump’s demand that Germany shoulder more responsibility for its defense…”

Mr. Spicer also added that President Trump was happy about Chancellor Merkel’s comments.

Newsmax wrote on May 31:

“President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘have a good and productive relationship,’ and there is no feud going on between the two leaders over NATO, trade, or other issues, Germany’s ambassador to the United States, Peter Wittig, said Wednesday… ‘there are few leaders as committed to the transatlantic relationship as Merkel is to the friendship of the United States,’ Wettig continued. ‘That has not changed with President Trump.’…”

The comments by Sean Spicer and Peter Wittig are ridiculous and constitute an insult to the intelligence of Americans and Germans alike. The total opposite of their “assurances” has been clearly established, as can be seen by the articles quoted in this edition.

Trump Exits Paris Accord

The Daily Mail wrote on June 1:

“Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change on [Thursday] afternoon – deriding it as bad for American jobs and bad for the environment…

“He complained in the White House’s Rose Garden that major polluters like China are allowed to increase their emissions under the agreement in a way that the US cannot. India is hinging its participation on billions of dollars of foreign aid. The deal is a ‘massive redistribution of United States wealth to other countries,’ he argued. ‘The Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level’ to the US. ‘This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States,’ Trump said.

“Trump said he would also end the United States’ participation in the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund, which he said lacks affirmative obligations… Trump said the Paris exit is ‘a reassertion of America’s sovereignty.’ ‘Foreign leaders in Europe, Asia and across the world should not have more to say with respect to the United States economy [than] our own citizens and their elected representatives,’ Trump proclaimed.

“Trump said he would be willing to get back in but only if he is allowed to renegotiate the terms of the United States’ participation…

“When White House sources said he was pulling out…, the reports set off worldwide condemnation led by the United Nations secretary general. Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, had advised her father against an exit, as well as a series of world leaders…

“Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, Gap, Mars and Tiffany & Co. joined a group of large businesses in publishing an open letter to Trump asking him not to end the United States participation in the global warming agreement… Their ask ran as a full page ad in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on Thursday… Emmanuel Macron, the newly elected French president, said at a weekend summit in Italy he was sure Trump would back the deal after listening to his G7 counterparts…

“Economic Council chair Gary Cohn joined Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster in a campaign to remain in the accord… EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and Vice President Mike Pence were strongly against staying in the pact… and three senior advisors to the president – Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller -– came in behind the Environmental Protection Agency head and the vice president.”

Diplomatic Repercussions

The Washington Post added on June 1:

“President Trump… is withdrawing the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement… a move that honors a campaign promise but risks rupturing global alliances… More than 190 nations agreed to the accord in December 2015 in Paris, and 147 have since formally ratified or otherwise joined it, including the United States… It’s also heavily backed by U.S. and global corporations, including oil giants Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and BP…

“Withdrawing the United States from the agreement could take years due to the accord’s legal structure and language, but such a move would weaken its goals almost immediately…  But the diplomatic repercussions of a U.S. withdrawal could be vast…”

 Deutsche Welle added on June 1:

“The US will withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change despite international condemnation, US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday… Political leaders from the European Union, China, fellow G7 member states, as well as the heads of investment firms with trillions of dollars in assets, more than 1,000 US companies including coal and oil producers, and even the pope had all lobbied Trump to stick to the agreement…

“Syria and Nicaragua were the world’s only non-participants in the landmark accord, although Nicaragua did not participate as it thought it did not go far enough to address climate change…

“Trump’s protectionist policies and his reticence on climate change action have pushed Europe closer to China. ‘China has become a more important and strategic partner [than the USA],’ Merkel said at a joint news conference with Chinese Premier Li…”

The verdict on “man-made global warming” (now called “climate change”) is still out. Many arguments pro and con are advanced, and on June 1, Senator Rand Paul made an impassionate plea on CNN, questioning the accuracy of scientific data to prove man-made climate change. In addition, it is equally being debated back and forth whether the Paris accord would lead to less or more jobs and economic prosperity in the USA. What is important for us to note is the fact that President Trump kept his promise in regard to the Paris accord, and that his decision has led to international condemnation and the realignment of European allies with other countries than the USA.

Deadly Attack in Kabul, Afghanistan

Deutsche Welle reported on May 31:

“A massive truck bomb has hit Kabul’s highly secure diplomatic area, killing at least [90] people and wounding hundreds [at least 460, with the death-toll expected to rise considerably]. The German embassy was heavily damaged, although it’s unclear whether it was the target of the attack… Most of the Wednesday attack’s victims are well-to-do Afghans with jobs at foreign embassies and government offices. The attack site is in the downtown which is considered a safe place and people also go there for dining and shopping.

“The fact that such a place could be targeted has made the residents of Kabul very pessimistic about their security… the security situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated further… Afghan security forces control only about 57 percent of the country’s territory. Around 2.5 million people live in areas controlled by the Taliban and nine million more live in contested areas… The number of civilian victims, including many children, remains high…

“Kabul has in recent months sustained a series of terror attacks carried out by a resurgent Taliban, as well as the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) jihadi group. However, Wednesday’s blast is reported to have been particularly devastating, striking buildings and cars within a 1-kilometer radius. The US and British embassies [as well as the embassies of Iran, Turkey and France] are also located close to Kabul’s Zanbaq Square, where the explosion took place, as are the headquarters of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan…

“US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has warned that troops stationed in Afghanistan will face ‘another tough year’ in the fight against radical insurgent forces. The US currently deploys some 8,000 soldiers in the country, while there are a further 5,000 from NATO allies.  US President Donald Trump is soon expected to decide whether to bolster US troop numbers by a further 3-5,000, expanding the total US deployment to over 10,000 – a major operation but still a far cry from the 100,000 American troops posted in Afghanistan six years ago.”

The Washington Post added on May 31:

“The Afghan Taliban denied any role in the bombing… Security agencies had warned that both Taliban insurgents and regional affiliates of the Islamic State were planning to attack high-profile targets in the city in the early part of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that began last week…”

It does not appear that the tragic Afghan war—the longest war in America’s history—will end any time soon.

Turkey Craves Control over Eastern Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

The Jewish Press reported on May 30:

“The Jerusalem municipality’s eastern Jerusalem experts have revealed in recent days that Turkey has been competing with Jordan over influence among Arab residents as well as over control of the Temple Mount… The city’s experts… also revealed that Turkey has begun pouring millions of dollars into NGO in eastern Jerusalem, in order to strengthen Ankara’s status among the Arab residents…

“‘The growing involvement of the Erdogan regime… shows that the Turkish actions in Jerusalem are part of a wider process of creating regional Turkish hegemony at the expense of other players,’ wrote the Jerusalem mayor’s advisers on the eastern part of the city…

“Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israel for ‘massacring the Palestinians,’ calling on the Turks to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque and dubbing Israel’s control of Jerusalem ‘an insult.’ He also… declared that ‘all Muslims must defend Jerusalem.’

“The experts added… ‘In recent years, the Turks have poured considerable sums of money into the Temple Mount for a number of activities: Koran reading groups, transporting worshipers to and from the mosque, Ramadan meals, renovations, and cleaning. As a rule, whether deliberately or not, Muslim groups on the Temple Mount are acting in favor of Turkey... Erdogan’s Turkey now enjoys unprecedented popularity among the residents of eastern Jerusalem… Turkish flags are often seen hanging from rooftops in the eastern part of the city and even on the Temple Mount, and Turkish culture is being revived, which is reflected in Turkish language courses, Turkish music and Turkish cuisine.’

“One hundred years after the last Turkish soldier was chased out of Jerusalem by the invading British Empire, ‘Turkey’s public support for the Palestinian cause and the Al-Aqsa conflict, and their channeling of millions of dollars into eastern Jerusalem, bear many fruits in the form of sympathy and support,’ the experts concluded, adding that the Turks’ ‘involvement is made possible by their cooperation with Muslim Brotherhood elements in the city, who are often being used as their allies and collaborators.'”

The Bible reveals that Turkey and Israel will end up in a fierce war.

Trump Signs Waiver

The Times of Israel wrote on June 1:

“US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a waiver that delays for six months any plan to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, disappointing the Israeli government and backtracking on a key promise he made on the campaign trail throughout 2016. Announcing the move, the White House… said the president still stood by his promise to move the embassy…

“Trump was facing a Thursday deadline to renew the waiver… A 1995 law mandates the relocation of the embassy, but provides the president with the prerogative to postpone the move on national security grounds. Each of Trump’s three immediate predecessors — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — repeatedly exercised that right. The most recent waiver, signed by Obama, expired on June 1. Without its renewal, the US government would have been legally obligated to proceed with moving the embassy.

“Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it, a move never recognized by the international community. Israel declared the city its undivided capital, but the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would be seen as endorsing Israel’s claim to the city and rejecting the Palestinians’…”

Major Disagreement between Israel and USA

In a follow-up article, The Times of Israel wrote on June 1:

“Trump once again publicly disagreed with the Israeli government. The first time was the administration’s request to rein in settlement construction; Netanyahu insists that the settlements are no obstacle to peace… [The waiver] emphasized the sharp difference in how the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem view the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process…

“Netanyahu doubled down on his argument, going as far as saying that keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv ‘drives peace further away by helping keep alive the Palestinian fantasy that the Jewish people and the Jewish state have no connection to Jerusalem.’… the statement about peace being more difficult to achieve highlighted a fundamental policy disagreement between Jerusalem and Washington…”

It is prophesied in the Bible that the relationship between the USA and Israel will gradually deteriorate.

Empty Promises

The Washington Post wrote on June 1:

“The move postpones, if not outright reverses, a campaign pledge that Trump had used as a central example of how his approach to foreign policy would be different than either past presidents of both political parties…

“As a candidate, Trump promised to make the move, which he called a sign of unwavering U.S. support for Israel, on his first day in office…

“Trump’s advisers have been divided about the move, with strategist Stephen K. Bannon reportedly a main advocate for making the move. Trump’s newly installed ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, was also on record as supporting a relocated embassy ‘in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem,’ before he was confirmed by the Senate…”

Whatever position one may want to take on the issue, it is clear that the Bible holds us responsible for what we promise. God demands of us that we keep our word, “even if it hurts” (compare Psalm 15:4).

Becoming a “True Politician”

The New York Times wrote on June 1:

“The decision is Mr. Trump’s latest shift away from campaign positions… He has reversed himself on declaring China a currency manipulator, backed off plans to lift sanctions against Russia, declared that NATO is not ‘obsolete’ after all, opted for now not to rip up President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran and ordered a punitive strike against Syria that he previously opposed in similar circumstances…”

There are many more “reversals,” which could be listed, constituting a “deviation” from pledges and promises.

British Airline’s Debacle

The Telegraph wrote on May 28:

“The British Airways IT crash has caused unprecedented disruption for the airline… Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded…  A BA statement… said travellers affected would be rebooked or have their ticket price refunded, but a spokesman said compensation would be looked at on a ‘case by case’ basis.

“British Airways have started sending passengers’ luggage back to them by courier, opening up the possibility that holidaymakers still hoping to get away this weekend will be in London even as their bags are driven to their home addresses elsewhere. It comes as hotels surrounding the airports charged extortionate prices to stranded holiday makers with some charging between £1,000 to £2,500 a room for the night… Passengers who had flights cancelled had little choice but to stay at the airport or check in to local hotels charging high prices…

“The chaos happened just after 11am on Saturday when the company’s unreliable new IT system crashed worldwide for the sixth time in a year. After thousands of furious complaints from customers left in the dark about their flights, bags and compensation, the company released a video online of CEO Alex Cruz apologising to passengers…”

Apart from the chaos and the apparently less than competent handling of the situation at Britain’s airports, especially appalling is the greed of hotels to charge exorbitant prices for stranded travelers. Man’s lust for money knows no bounds, and harsh godly punishment awaits those who are responsible for such inhumane conduct.

CNBC wrote on May 30:

“BA’s decision to spend £124 million on severance packages for hundreds of staff last year seems not – at least in the short term – to have been money well spent. An ever increasing number of the firm’s IT systems have been subcontracted out to third party companies, many of them overseas. And that move has prompted the airline employees’ unions, the GMB, to blame this weekend’s computer outage and subsequent PR debacle on BA’s decision to ax and outsource British IT jobs over the past 12 months.

“… the self-proclaimed world’s favorite airline has lost a lot of fans and goodwill – in the UK and beyond – over the past few days. Airline passengers understandably want a commitment from their carrier that they will arrive at their destination on time, with all their belongings, and without major inconvenience. That’s why a premium brand like British Airways fears the fallout from major screw ups like Saturday’s computer outage not only for the short-term financial ramifications, but also for the long-term damage it can have on perceived reliability…”

Sadly, outsourcing jobs to foreign companies for lesser compensation has become quite customary, but the results are quite often far from satisfactory.

Trump May “Very Likely” Ban Laptops from Aircraft Cabins for all Flights into and out of USA

CNBC wrote on May 28:

“The United States might ban laptops from aircraft cabins on all flights into and out of the country as part of a ramped-up effort to protect against potential security threats, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Sunday… Airlines are concerned that a broad ban on laptops may erode customer demand…Asked whether the government would expand such measures nationwide, Kelly said: ‘We might, and likely will.’”

The Telegraph added on May 30:

“US plans to extend a ban on carrying laptops on to transatlantic aircraft have been mired in confusion last night with Washington denying reports from Brussels that the plans had been scrapped… The EU and aviation industry have long opposed proposals to extend the ban on laptops and other large items, including iPads and e-readers… With no ban being announced, EU officials said that the proposals were off the table, suggesting that Washington had backed down… But within hours this was flatly contradicted in a statement issued on Mr Kelly’s behalf, insisting that the proposed ban was ‘still on the table’.

“… Opposition to the proposed ban has been led by the main airline trade body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general, said extending the ban could cost passengers $1.1 billion. Major airlines fear that denying executives the opportunity to work while in the air would lead to a catastrophic fall in the lucrative business class traffic on which they depend. According to one estimate, extending the ban to Europe, which would represent the biggest shake-up in aviation security since September 11, would hit 3,000 flights a week.

“Some experts have also questioned the effectiveness of the proposals, warning that putting thousands of lithium ion batteries into the hold of an aircraft could pose an even greater threat…”

One has to marvel about the lack of logic. If laptops are banned from aircraft cabins, but still placed in the aircraft with the other luggage, where is the elimination of any supposed threat? Laptops are already being screened separately by security when checking in. It appears that this new contemplated ban is counterproductive and might very well lead to great economic losses as customers might decide not to fly at all. Who in his right mind would place his laptop in the main luggage, as it could get lost (far too many pieces of luggage don’t arrive on time or at all at the correct destination), or it could be damaged, considering how the luggage is being (mis-)treated?

German Kindergartens Must Report Parents for Refusing Vaccine Advice

Reuters reported on May 26, 2017:

“Germany will pass a law… obliging kindergartens to inform the authorities if parents fail to provide evidence that they have received advice from their doctor on vaccinating their children… Parents refusing the advice risk fines of up to 2,500 euros ($2,800) under the law expected to come into force on June 1.

“Lack of public trust in vaccines has become an important global health issue. Experts say negative attitudes may be due to fears over suspected side-effects and hesitancy among some doctors. That is leading to greater activism among parents and public health officials. Last week, a German court ruled that a father could insist that his child be vaccinated over the objections of the child’s mother because it was in the child’s interest.”

These are of course only first steps, leading to the complete compulsion of vaccinations for all children; and that in spite of REAL DANGERS, even though they are being consistently and willfully ignored by politicians and insurance-dependent doctors.

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.

Terror Attack in Manchester… ISIS Claims Responsibility… Fear of Further Imminent Attacks

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 24:

“British police confirmed on Wednesday that the suicide bomber who killed 22 people [and wounded more than 60] at a Manchester concert was not acting alone… Police have identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the attacker who blew himself up at the Manchester Arena on Monday night at the end of a concert by pop singer Ariana Grande…

“Later on Wednesday, Libyan police confirmed they had arrested Abedi’s younger brother [20] in Tripoli on suspicion of links to the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) armed group… A third brother, Ismail, was arrested in Britain on Tuesday… On Wednesday morning, Manchester police arrested three men in the south of the city in connection with the bombing, taking the total number of suspects in custody in the UK to four. A fifth man was arrested in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon…

“With Abedi suspected of having had accomplices, the government late on Tuesday raised the official terror threat level to ‘critical,’ meaning that an attack was expected imminently. It marked the highest threat level in the UK in more than a decade. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told local broadcaster BFM that the 22-year-old is thought to have also travelled to Syria, adding that he had proven links to the so-called ‘Islamic State’ jihadist group. UK Interior Minister Amber Rudd said that Abedi had recently returned to the UK from Libya…

“Rudd also expressed her displeasure at US officials for leaking information on the perpetrator to the media as the investigation was still unfolding… The minister said that as many as 3,800 troops could be deployed to patrol streets across the UK and guard vital locations, such as Buckingham Palace and the prime minister’s residence at Downing Street. Just under 1,000 soldiers have already been deployed, initially in London, then elsewhere… The Houses of Parliament have been closed for visits…”

As more and more facts come to light, we have no question that such horrendous acts are demonically inspired, and that the perpetrators ARE demonically influenced, if not possessed. As it was stated in the press: Looking at the face of the 22-year-old murderer means looking at pure evil.

What Could Be Done?

Deutsche Welle wrote in a related article on May 23:

“Once again, terrorism targets the center of a European city. Another attack on people – people just trying to have fun, people out for a good time. It was another suicide attack. And once again, the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) has claimed responsibility, even before the police made anything public.

“The choice of venue to attack – the Manchester Arena – seems particularly horrible this time: a pop concert. This means that among the victims are many children and young people… [They] fall into the hands of such [a] brutal murderer… How sick must the person be who consciously targets such victims?

“Dealing with terrorist attacks has become like a deja vu experience. All the news outlets carry the same headlines… Then there [are] the meaningless and merely voyeuristic eye-witness reports… There are numerous reactions from the music world and politicians: They want to show their anguish… Everyone’s thoughts are with the victims. And all civilized nations are showing their solidarity with Britain. Whatever that actually means…

“Europe, which has become a regular target for Islamic terrorists, has by now a well-established routine for dealing with such shock. These are rituals that serve to hide the fact that there is no easy or quick, effective answer in dealing with the struggle against terrorism. And that no such answer will be found either.

“… People will still attend concerts, go to shopping centers, soccer games or, in Germany, go to the Protestant Church Assembly… they have accepted the possibility of terrorism as normal. Right-wing extremists… continue to rant about banning all Muslims from Europe…

“But still, there is more action that could be taken by politicians, there are other options: For example, by exercising tight controls over, and if necessary banning, all places of worship in which terrorists have been radicalized. These are actually all over Europe. Or, as pragmatically demonstrated on Sunday in Saudi Arabia by Donald Trump: He had a contract signed by over 50 heads of state – above all the King of Saudi Arabia – to prevent the direct, as well as indirect, financing of IS in their countries.

“It may be that this does little to prevent terrorist attacks in European cities – that remains to be seen. But it is definitely smarter than doing nothing, or stupidly bombing cities in [the] Middle East in which, of course, civilians also live.”

Sadly, in this world ruled by Satan the Devil and his evil and deranged demons, terrible murderous acts by insane individuals like the ones in Manchester will continue. The ONLY hope for this world and for true and lasting peace is the return of Jesus Christ.

Britain Stops Sharing Intelligence Information with the USA

The Huffington Post wrote on May 25:

“Angered that U.S. intelligence officials appeared to be leaking information about the Manchester terror attack, British authorities have stopped sharing details about the case, the BBC reports. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham later confirmed the report, telling CNN that, ‘we quite frankly can’t risk it anymore.’…

“President Donald Trump called the leaks ‘deeply troubling.’ ‘The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security,’ he said. ‘I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’”

Subsequently, The Week reported on May 25:

“British police are once again sharing intelligence information with the United States, following a suspension announced Thursday morning in the wake of several leaks about the Manchester bombing by U.S. officials to the media… Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday she would ‘make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared between our security agencies must remain secure,’ and on Thursday night, Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan Police Service Mark Rowley said that after receiving ‘fresh assurances’ from the U.S., the two countries were once against sharing material.”

 America’s intentional, inadvertent or leaked sharing of sensitive and classified intelligence information has caused worldwide consternation, concern and outright anger.

Trump’s Deals with Saudi Arabia

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 20:

“The US has announced military deals worth $110 billion with Saudi Arabia… The $110 billion… deal for Saudi purchases of US defense equipment and services was one of several deals announced during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia. The military sales deal is effective immediately, with another $350 billion set of deals to kick in over the next 10 years… US conglomerate General Electric also announced it had signed agreements and memorandums of understanding worth $15 billion with the oil-rich kingdom…

“Russia and Iran – allies with Syria against the US-Saudi Arabia axis in the region – this year signed a large arms deal. The US-Saudi deal comes amid talk of a possible reconfiguration of Middle East alliances, and possibly global, ties. For Riyadh, the visit is an opportunity to rebuild ties with a key ally, strained under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama who Sunni Arab Gulf states suspected of a tilt towards their Shiite regional rival Iran…

“After a welcoming coffee ceremony, Trump and his entourage were brought to the royal court where the president was awarded the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honor. The streets of Riyadh were lined with US and Saudi flags and billboards featuring Trump and King Salman.

“US first lady Melania Trump did not cover her head when she arrived on Saturday along with her husband. Two years ago, then-citizen Trump criticized former first lady Michelle Obama’s decision to go bare-headed on a January 2015 visit with her husband. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, a senior White House adviser who is accompanying her father, also left her head uncovered…”

The different arms deals between competing parties only show that peace in the Middle East is a fanciful illusion. The incredible large arms deal with Saudi Arabia totally ignores the fact that Saudi Arabia is being sued in American courts by relatives and survivors of the September 11 terrorist attack, for having allegedly permitted or even actively pursued the attack.

President Trump’s wife and daughter did the right thing in not covering their heads. After all, they cannot be held responsible for Donald Trump’s prior condemnation of Michelle Obama.

Jared and Ivanka Kushner Received Rabbinic Dispensation to fly on the Sabbath…

JTA wrote on May 19:

“President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have received rabbinic approval to fly with him on Shabbat to the Middle East and Europe… A White House official said the couple, who are Orthodox Jews, have received a rabbinical dispensation to join the president aboard Air Force One… Orthodox Jews observe a Sabbath prohibition on work, motorized travel and the switching on or off of any appliance that uses heat, electricity or fire.

“As a matter of consensus, the prohibitions do not apply to life-or-death situations or when violating the Shabbat has the potential of saving human lives (and according to some decisors, the lives of certain animals under specific circumstances).

“Trump has tasked Kushner with brokering a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The New York Times reported Thursday that as part of his effort to secure an arms deal worth about $110 billion with Saudi Arabia, Kushner called the CEO of defense contractor Lockheed Martin directly and asked her to reduce the cost of a missile defense system so that Saudi Arabia could buy it…”

… Or Did They?

 JTA wrote on May 21:

“Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the prominent modern Orthodox rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump’s conversion to Judaism, said he did not give the first daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, a dispensation to fly on Air Force One on Shabbat.

“Lookstein told Isaac Herzog, leader of the opposition Zionist Union party, that it was ‘fake news’… Lookstein also told Herzog… that he had not been in contact with Ivanka Trump for several weeks…

“The couple also was seen traveling to meetings by car in Saudi Arabia Saturday…”

JTA added on May 24:

“Which Orthodox rabbi gave Jared and Ivanka permission to fly on Shabbat? We don’t know who it was, but we know who it wasn’t.

“It wasn’t Haskel Lookstein, who oversaw the First Daughter’s conversion to Judaism. It wasn’t Marvin Hier, who gave the invocation at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It wasn’t Levi Shemtov, the spiritual leader at the synagogue in Washington, D.C., that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have attended. And it wasn’t Shmuley Boteach, the celebrity rabbi who has lavished praise on the president and taken a series of selfies with his advisers.

“Those rabbis, on the record, denied giving their stamp of approval to the Friday night flight to Saudi Arabia — though none of them criticized the decision, and all refrained from commenting on it.”

Part of the orthodox teaching of modern Judaism is in complete opposition to the Bible. These burdensome pharisaical restrictions were strongly condemned by Jesus Christ. However, it is interesting that the White House’s announcement of a rabbinic dispensation (without giving the name of the rabbi or the timing) becomes a mystery in light of the prominent Orthodox rabbi’s denial that he gave any permission to travel on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath Controversy

JTA wrote on May 25:

“Based on conversations with a few Orthodox rabbis… flying on Shabbat is prohibited because flying the plane involves igniting a combustion engine, thereby lighting a fire. Lighting a fire is one of the few actions expressly prohibited on Shabbat by the Torah. But while that might be true for the pilot, it isn’t, really, for the passenger. After all, if I’m sitting in coach, I’m not literally flying the plane, much less turning it on or off. (Although some make the case that the additional weight of each passenger causes the engine to consume more fuel.) The reason observant Jews abstain from flying on Friday night and Saturday is because Jewish law prohibits traveling too far outside a city… on Shabbat. Unlike lighting a fire, that prohibition is mandated by rabbinic sources, not the text of the Torah itself — and therefore is less severe…

“Jared and Ivanka’s national security duties might fall under the umbrella of pikuach nefesh — dealing with matters of life and death. But a few essays suggest that they might be exempt on different grounds: simply because they’re senior advisers of the president. That concept is called ‘karov l’malchut’ — roughly, ‘confidant of the king.’ It allows observant Jewish advisers of a ruler (or president) to violate rabbinic prohibitions in order to do their jobs. Because the advisers’ actions can safeguard (or endanger) Jewish welfare, they’re given more flexibility…

“Jared and Ivanka are two of the most powerful people in the country. As public officials, their actions affect hundreds of millions of people across the country and world. Nor is their Judaism private…”

The biblical command against lighting a fire on the Sabbath was given in the context of lighting a huge fire for the purpose of working for the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. It had and has absolutely nothing to do with igniting a combustion engine, switching on a light or an oven for cooking a meal. These are just pharisaical rules, making the Sabbath a burden, rather than a delight.

At the same time, exempting governmental officials from keeping the Sabbath is equally wrong. In this world ruled by Satan, it shows that Sabbath-keeping Christians could not be working in positions which would require them to disregard God’s Sabbath command.

Trump Speaks to the Muslim World

JTA wrote on May 21:

“US President Donald Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a ‘crisis of Islamic extremism’ emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a ‘battle between good and evil,’ not a clash between the West and Islam.  Trump’s address Sunday was the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first stop overseas as president. During a meeting of more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, he sought to chart a new course for America’s role in the region, one aimed squarely on rooting out terrorism, with less focus on promoting human rights and democratic reforms….

“Trump made almost no mention of Israel, his next stop on the tour Monday, leaving it off a list of countries fighting terror…

“The president has been enthusiastically embraced in Riyadh, where the ruling royal family has welcomed his tougher stance on Iran, its regional foe… Trump also devoted much of his speech to railing against Iran, accusing it of trying to destabilize the region…

“He notably refrained from using the phrase ‘radical Islamic terror,‘ which had been a staple of campaign speeches and which he had chided predecessor Barack Obama for refusing to utter… He once mused that he thought ‘Islam hates us’… But on Sunday, Trump was full of praise for Muslim world’s history and culture. He declared Islam ‘one of the world’s great faiths.’…”

News commentators have wondered whether we are observing a modern version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Trump”…

What Happened to Saudi Arabia’s Abysmal Violation of Human Rights?

On May 22, The Times of Israel re-published the following article by the Associated Press:

“As President Donald Trump opened his keynote address in Saudi Arabia, he lavished praise on the ‘magnificent’ kingdom and ‘the grandeur of this remarkable place.’ Then he made clear there would be no public lecture from America on Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record… Trump’s willingness to set aside human rights as a principal foreign policy has been one constant in his chaotic administration. Yet the absence of any public reference to the kingdom’s treatment of women and political opponents during his two-day visit was still jarring, particularly when contrasted with his affectionate embrace of the royal family…

“To be sure, Trump’s predecessors have also forged close ties with Saudi Arabia, an important US partner in the Middle East, and other nations with questionable human rights records. But in their own ways, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush each vouched for American values in their dealings with those nations, including the kingdom…

“Saudi Arabia adheres to an ultraconservative interpretation of Islamic Shariah law where unrelated men and women are segregated in most public places. Women are banned from driving… Guardianship laws also require a male relative’s consent before a woman can obtain a passport, travel or marry. Often that relative is a father or husband, but in the absence of both can be the woman’s own son…

“Human rights didn’t go completely unnoticed on Trump’s trip. During a press briefing Saturday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hammered Iran’s newly re-elected president [Hassan Rouhani] for his government’s oppressive policies. However, when reporters shouted out questions regarding Saudi Arabia’s human rights record — namely, one question about when the kingdom intends to allow women to drive — Tillerson ignored it.”

The Bible strongly condemns the ancient and modern House of Israel for entering into alliances with nations opposed to God’s Way of Life. In many cases, those allies subsequently turned against each other. The restrictions on women in Saudi Arabia are indeed appalling and totally contrary to biblical injunctions.

“Iran President Hassan Rouhani Blasts Trump’s Saudi Summit”

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 22:

“Iran’s newly re-elected president has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s calls for the region to isolate Tehran. Peace in the Middle East could only be possible with Iran at the table, Rouhani said. At a press conference on Monday, Iran’s newly re-elected president, Hassan Rouhani, dismissed US President Donald Trump’s weekend summit with Arab leaders, describing it as ‘just a show with no practical or political value of any kind.’

“In his speech on Islamic extremism on Sunday, Trump also singled out Tehran as an agent of terrorism… Despite Trump’s confrontational rhetoric, Iran had nothing to do with the terror attacks on the US in September 2001, or subsequent attacks in Europe – including Germany, France and England… Rouhani also dismissed the US and Saudi government’s $110 billion dollar arms deal…

“However, while Rouhani’s greatest political achievement to date has perhaps been the 2015 agreement with six major powers, including the US, to curbing Iran’s nuclear program, the Iranian president insisted that ballistic missile tests would continue ‘if technically necessary’… adding that he would not need permission from the US to conduct such tests.

“Rouhani won this week’s Iranian presidential election with a resounding majority, a sign that most Iranians wish to keep on the president’s course of reform and modernization…”

It is not to be expected that the relationship between the USA and Iran will improve, which means that in the long run, the relationship between Russia (Iran’s ally) and the USA will not remain peaceful, either.

In the past, some uninformed religious “experts” claimed that Iran was to fulfill the role of the “king of the South,” mentioned in Daniel 11. Of course, at other times, they proclaimed that Saddam Hussein of Iraq or Osama bin Laden were to fulfill that role. These false predictions only show the limited biblical understanding of those “experts.”

60 US Evangelical Leaders Remind Trump of His Promise to Move Embassy to Jerusalem

The Jewish Press wrote on May 18:

“A group of about 60 US Evangelical leaders last week sent President Trump a letter calling on him to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move his embassy there from Tel Aviv, The Daily Caller reported. The letter, issued by American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI), cites the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ordering the US President to move the Embassy there by May 31, 1999.

“Every American president before Trump has opted to sign a waiver twice a year explaining why it has been politically unfeasible to obey this law. Should President Trump choose to avoid the move, he, too, will have to sign such a waiver soon. The Christian leaders wrote Trump:

“‘Sadly, every US President since then has taken advantage of a provision in the law allowing its requirements to be waived for six months if “necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.” Such suspensions have been repeated semi-annually for two decades, and it is time to end America’s doublespeak.’ The Republican National Convention’s official 2016 Platform rightly stated, “We recognize Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state and call for the American embassy to be moved there in fulfillment of US law.” Moreover, we were honored and grateful that you pledged to specifically uphold this policy in response to a request from the American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) coalition during your campaign. Many of our constituents cast their vote for you due to this commitment,’ the leaders reminded Trump…

“The letter was signed by, among others, Dr. Jerry Johnson, Dr. John Hagee, Gordon Robertson, and Dr. James Dobson.”

President Trump’s and the White House’s double-talk and flip-flops on the promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem is causing great concern among many evangelicals and Republicans, as well as conservative Israelis.

Trump Visits Western Wall as First Sitting American President

JTA reported on May 22:

“President Donald Trump visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to go to the holy site. Trump arrived there under heavy security Monday afternoon with his wife, Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. No Israeli politicians or officials accompanied the family. U.S. officials reportedly had rejected a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the site with Trump…

“Trump went to the men’s side, with his daughter and wife heading to the women’s section… The Trump family walked to the wall from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, which they visited first…”

President Trump’s refusal to allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany him on his visit to the Western Wall has caused some misgivings in Israel.

Peace, Peace… and There Is No Peace

The Times of Israel reported on May 22:

“The first day of US President Donald Trump’s first-ever visit to Israel was full of grand gestures, but it yielded very few clues as to how the leader of the free world intends to go ahead and turn his vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace into reality…

“Trump repeatedly denounced Iran and the nuclear deal that the previous administration negotiated with the regime, but did not say whether he will try to unravel the agreement…

“‘No injustice has spread more bitter fruit than the absence of a Palestinian state,’ Jordan’s King Abdullah told Trump on Sunday at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh. … The only way forward is a ‘just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian cause, based on the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative,’ he stressed…

“Trump and Netanyahu both avoided endorsing Palestinian statehood or the idea of ‘two states for two peoples’…”

The Times of Israel added on May 24:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [said] Palestinian refusal to recognize the Jewish state and its capital in any borders is the root of the conflict, and pledging that the city, including the Temple Mount and Western Wall, will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty… the prime minister vowed the city would not be divided again…”

The Bible prophecies an unparalleled time of turmoil for the state of Israel and the Jewish people. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People.” 

Trump Meets the Pope

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 24:

“The US president and the head of the Catholic Church have clashed on a number of key issues. But both men emerged smiling from their private audience, with the president saying he ‘wouldn’t forget’ Pope Francis’ words… Pope Francis was a vocal critic of Trump’s plan to bar refugees from coming to the US and to build a wall on the border with Mexico. The pontiff called these policies ‘not Christian,’ and said the job of leaders was to build bridges, not walls. The then-presidential candidate fired back that it was ‘disgraceful’ for Francis to question his faith…

“Melania Trump, who is reportedly herself a Catholic, appeared delighted to meet the pope and presented him with a small item to bless for her…

“The president later met with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni… During his meeting…, Trump affirmed how happy he was to have met Pope Francis, reiterating what an ‘honor’ it was and saying ‘he is something.’”

The Associated Press wrote on May 24:

“Though both Trump and Francis are known for their unpredictability, papal visits with heads of state are carefully arranged bits of political and religious theater that follow a specific program, with little room for deviation or unwanted surprises. Trump, the 13th president to visit the Vatican, was also given a tour of the Sistine Chapel…

“The president’s prior anti-Muslim rhetoric… is the antithesis of what the pope has been preaching about a need for dialogue with Muslims. Francis also differs sharply with Trump on the need to combat climate change and economic inequality. And he could react to events this week, including the release of Trump’s budget, which would dramatically cut funding to programs that help the poor, and the president’s agreement to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia…”

Melania Trump’s Faith

The Daily Mail reported on May 25:

“Melania Trump reveals she will be the first Catholic to live in the White House since the Kennedys. Melania Trump’s spokeswoman confirms that she’s a Catholic. The first lady met with Pope Francis on Wednesday at the Vatican, where he blessed a rosary for her. Then she went to a Vatican-affiliated pediatric hospital where she met with children, prayed in a chapel and laid flowers at the feet of a statue of Mary…

“It’s unclear when Melania became a Catholic or when she was baptized. She and her sister weren’t baptized as infants and didn’t make their First Holy Communion along with other kids their age. Her father was a member of the Communist Party in Slovenia in order to work, and the party was official atheist. Melania opened a February presidential rally in Florida by surprising the president with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer… The president is a life-long Presbyterian, and they were married in a Florida Episcopal church.”

Strange Catholic Customs

The Telegraph wrote on May 24:

“Both the First Lady, Melania Trump, and the First Daughter, Ivanka Trump… chose to honour the traditional Vatican dress codes by wearing black, long sleeved dresses and veils – the former even choosing to honour her host nation by wearing Italian label Dolce and Gabbana…

“Traditionally, under Pope Benedict XVI and all those before him, the rule was that women should wear black to meet [the Pope], covering up with full sleeves and a mantilla, the lace veil traditionally worn in the Roman Catholic Church.  Only a handful of Queens and Princesses from Catholic regions are permitted to wear white… Michelle Obama wore a black dress with a mantilla when she met Pope Benedict XVI in 2009…”

It is not clear how the Catholic tradition originated that women AND MEN are to wear black when meeting the Pope in private. Could it be that the Pope who is wearing white and who is to be addressed in those meetings as “Holy Father,” is to be distinguished in that way from his guests, wearing black, to show the difference between the alleged “representative of God” and his guests living in and being part of the “darkness” of this world?

Obama vs. Trump

The Huffington Post wrote on May 25:

“Former President Barack Obama subtly knocked his successor, President Donald Trump on Thursday, while explaining the importance of taking in refugees and immigrants in need. ‘In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child,’ he said in Berlin during a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel… Trump has taken on a decidedly more isolationist stance on immigration, banning Syrian refugees and visitors from other predominately Muslim countries and vowing to build a wall on the Mexican border…

“Other topics that… came up at Thursday’s event were defense spending, religion, and education―all issues that Trump and Obama tend to disagree on. Contending that poor education policies breed inequality, Obama said that, ‘no county will be successful if it leaves half of its children… uneducated and on the sidelines. We have to think of them as all of our children… The good news is that we know what to do, the bad news is that we haven’t convinced everybody of the necessity of doing it’…

“Obama is extremely popular in Germany, and his appearance was greeted with a massive crowd and repeated applause. Trump, on the [other] hand, has clashed with Merkel on many key issues and has a negative approval rating among Germans…”

Merkel’s meeting with Obama in Germany was much more friendly and much less controversial than her subsequent meeting with Trump in Brussels.

Trump at EU Headquarters in Brussels

The EUObserver wrote on May 25:

“The EU and the US should defend common Western values rather than their own interests, European Council president Donald Tusk said on Thursday (25 May) after meeting US president Donald Trump in Brussels… The meeting [with Tusk and Juncker]… did not appear to bridge the gap between the EU and a US president who has expressed support for anti-EU political forces as well as sympathy for Russia…”

According to Deutsche Welle, dated May 25, Tusk also said that differences remained “over several key issues.”

Der Spiegel wrote on May 25 that Trump’s meeting with Tusk and Juncker was not that “amazing.”

Trump at NATO Headquarters

The Washington Post wrote on May 25:

“President Trump, speaking at a ceremony here Thursday to dedicate a memorial to NATO’s resolve in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, publicly chastised his fellow alliance leaders for not being ‘fair to taxpayers of the United States.’

“Trump used the occasion of his maiden summit with NATO leaders, where he was invited to dedicate the September 2001 memorial, to remind its members that ‘23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying,’ and that they owe ‘massive amounts’ from past years. European leaders who gathered from across the alliance gazed at Trump without expression and offered modest applause at the end of a speech…”

Der Spiegel commented on May 25 that Trump’s demand for payment of “owed” money would have caused consternation of NATO members, as there is “no provision to pay missing funds into a NATO money pot.”   

Express wrote on May 25:

“Only the UK, Poland, Greece and Estonia and the US are currently meeting the NATO spending requirement [of 2 percent of GDP]… with Canada, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Hungary among the nations barely reaching the one per cent mark. Last year America spent 3.6 per of its GDP on defence, the highest ratio of any NATO member. The US currently funds around three-quarters of the alliance’s operations.”

“Trump Lukewarm on Nato Joint Defence”

The EUObserver wrote on May 25:

“US leader Donald Trump voiced half-hearted support for Nato… His words fell short of an explicit commitment to Article 5 of the Nato treaty, which says that allies, including the US, would defend each other if one of them was attacked… His speech had been meant to allay concern after he described Nato as ‘obsolete’ and said the US might not defend allies who did not pay their share. It was also meant to reassure Europe that he would protect it from Russia…

“Trump later belittled Montenegro’s prime minister, Dusko Markovic, by physically pushing him aside as the leaders took their places for photos…”

Trump Attacks Germany

The Huffington Post wrote on May 25:

“During a meeting with top leaders of the European Union (Juncker and Tusk), President Donald Trump said ‘the Germans are bad, very bad,’ according to participants in the room who spoke to German newspaper Der Spiegel. Trump’s specific criticism was that Germany’s auto industry exported cars. ‘See the millions of cars they are selling in the U.S. Terrible,’ Der Spiegel reports he said. ‘We will stop this.’…

“Another German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, reported that E.U. representatives felt their U.S. counterparts did not understand that the E.U. negotiates trade agreements as a single entity, rather than on a country-to-country basis. That is, the U.S. can negotiate trade deals with the E.U. as a whole, but not individually with the separate members of the E.U. Der Spiegel reported that Gary Cohn, the director of Trump’s National Economic Council, appeared to believe that the U.S. could negotiate different trade deals with Germany and Belgium.

“This is not the first time this basic misunderstanding has cropped up. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House in March, she had to explain how E.U. trade deals were negotiated almost a dozen times, a senior German official told the Times of London. ‘Ten times Trump asked [Merkel] if he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she replied, “You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU,”’ the official said. ‘On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, “Oh, we’ll do a deal with Europe then.”’ …

“Top political figures and Europe analysts have already labeled his trip a major failure…”

German newspapers, including Der Spiegel, Der Stern, Bild, Die Welt, and many others, sharply attacked and condemned Donald Trump for his “Rambo-style” appearance, his ignorance on trade matters, his refusal to commit to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, his demand for back pay, his attacks on Germany, his praise for the King of Saudi Arabia as a very wise man, and his comments that NATO needs to focus on “terrorism and immigration.”  Questions were asked what Trump actually wants—does he want NATO to fight against immigrants? Subsequently, according to The Week, dated May 25, “Press Secretary Sean Spicer later confirmed America’s commitment to Article 5 and said Trump wasn’t ‘trying to be cute.’”

Germany’s Position

The Associated Press wrote on May 25:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is confident that Germany is on the right path with its defense spending… Merkel said Thursday that NATO leaders, meeting in Brussels, will confirm a decision from 2011 to increasing spending toward 2 percent of GDP by 2024…

“Merkel also told reporters that she is pleased that NATO spending plans will also take into account what kinds of military equipment countries have and how much they are contributing to alliance operations. To meet the 2 percent guideline Germany would have to virtually double its military budget, spending more money on defense than Russia.”

Donald Trump will not accept Germany’s spending “toward” 2 percent of GDP “by 2024.” His demands of NATO members to pay immediately at least 2 percent of their GDP and “owed” money is bound to cause continued serious contention and controversy.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on North Korea and Syria

Newsmax wrote on May 22:

“‘All options’ are on the table when it comes to North Korea and its growing aggression, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in an interview airing Monday. ‘We have made it clear, we don’t want to start a fight, so don’t give us a reason to have one,’ Haley told NBC…

“On Sunday, North Korea test launched a solid-fuel Pukguksong-2 missile, which flew about 310 miles and went 350 miles high before it fell into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea says it is ready to start mass-producing a new medium-range missile that can reach Japan and hit the United States major military bases there…

“The ambassador, who has been traveling this week in the Middle East on a trip separate from the president’s, told [NBC] she has visited a refugee camp that is home to 80,000 Syrians, and while talking to families, she’s learned that they ‘just want to go home.’ ‘That’s what their prayer is every day, that one day Syria will be peaceful enough to go back,’ said Haley. But that won’t happen, she continued, unless Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is removed from office. ‘There’s no way there’s going to be a political solution and peace with Assad in charge,’ she said…

“When asked if the United States will lead the effort for regime change in Syria, Haley responded that ‘you’re going to hear me talk about how awful Assad is every chance I get.’”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley minces no words. Her warnings regarding North Korea and Syria are very noteworthy. Note the following articles.

IS US Preparing for an Attack Against North Korea?

On May 24, Euraktiv published the following article by New York Times bestseller George Friedman:

“If it were to attack North Korea, the United States would try to destroy its nuclear facilities and eliminate the southern artillery batteries aimed at Seoul. And it would do so primarily through the air…

“It’s unclear whether the United States would deploy ground forces; doing so would almost certainly incur US causalities. If the air campaign against North Korea failed to destroy its intended targets, Washington would have to consider sending in special operations forces… Any attack would begin by striking North Korean command centres, including political command centres…

“In Washington, many will claim that if President Donald Trump orders an attack, he will have done so only for political reasons. But such accusations ignore US policy on North Korea, which has stood stalwart for more than a decade. (Barack Obama even warned Trump that North Korea would be his biggest challenge in foreign policy.) It was inevitable that Pyongyang’s strategy would bring it close to, or push it over, the red line…

“The United States is advertising its preparations for war – itself an act of deterrence – and the advertisement isn’t lost on North Korea. But it’s not a bluff; bluffing in such a way is expensive and pretty ineffective. From what we can tell, North Korea appears to assume that an attack is all but inevitable but a risk it is willing to take…”

The Huffington Post added on May 24:

“U.S. President Donald Trump told his Philippine counterpart that Washington has sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, the New York Times said, comments likely to raise questions about his handling of sensitive information. The transcript of the call was first reported by the Intercept.

“Trump has said ‘a major, major conflict’ with North Korea is possible because of its nuclear and missile programs and that all options are on the table but that he wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically. North Korea has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland United States, saying the program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

“… In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean peninsula, where it joined the USS Michigan, a nuclear submarine that docked in South Korea in late April.”

Asian Trade Deal without the USA

Reuters wrote on May 20:

“Japan and other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed on Sunday to pursue their trade deal without the United States…

“China, putting itself forward as a global free trade champion in light of the U.S. shift, is pushing an agreement to encompass the vast majority of Asian economies. The Asia trade deal it favors is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.”

The influence of the USA even in economic matters is slowly waning.

Court of Appeals Rules Against Trump’s Revised Travel Ban

The Associated Press wrote on May 25:

“President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban ‘speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination,’ a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling against the executive order targeting six Muslim-majority countries. Trump’s administration vowed to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“In a 10-3 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban likely violates the Constitution. And it upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from cutting off visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban unveiled in March. Trump’s administration had hoped it would avoid the legal problems that the first version from January encountered. A second appeals court, the 9th U.S. Circuit based in San Francisco, is also weighing the revised travel ban after a federal judge in Hawaii blocked it.

“The Supreme Court almost certainly would step into the case if asked. The justices almost always have the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.”

“EU Member States Will Pay for Joint Military ‘Projects’”

The Daily Mail wrote on May 18:

“EU member states will pay for joint military ‘projects’ in a move previously opposed by Britain… The cash would form part of Franco-German efforts to develop a more integrated European defence to respond to threats on Europe’s borders.

“Nineteen countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain will start talks next month on the so-called Cooperative Financial Mechanism, or CFM, which could be running sometime next year…

“The steps, if agreed, would mark the biggest EU defence funding and research plan in more than a decade to reverse billions in cuts and send a message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that Europe wants to pay for its own security…

“Separately, the European Commission will propose in early June up to 400 million euros (£340 million) from the bloc’s joint budget until 2020 to develop new European military equipment and weapons… ‘This is the first time in the 60 years of EU history we are allocating common funds to defence,’ [an] official said.”

The push for the creation of a European Army under German-French leadership is growing stronger. Please note the next article as well.

France to Push for European Army

Express wrote on May 20:

“The new [French] Armed Forces Minister Sylvie Goulard announced her intention to get closer to Germany over new President Emmanuel Macron’s fears countries will start to look after their own interests, and not those of the bloc… Ms Goulard said in her first message to military and civilian personnel: ‘… work with Germany will be decisive.’…

“An advocate of closer EU integration, Macron backs a ‘multi-speed’ Europe, an idea that has earned growing support in Germany and other EU countries since Britain voted to leave the bloc…”

Such a multi-speed Europe or a Europe of core member states, in addition to the rest of Europe, is prophesied to occur soon.

Europe—a Political and Military Union

The Guardian wrote on May 23:

“By pursuing true political integration based on a common army and security partnership for the EU, Macron can guarantee his place in the history books. To achieve this goal, however, he will have to break from his predecessors, who always categorically ruled out a political union.

“Combining Europe’s military forces under a joint command is the only way forward. Creating a fiscal union without a political union would for ever block the road to European unification… No one who wants to build a union for peace can afford to permit, much less encourage, such an outcome.”

These are strong words. “Combining Europe’s military forces under a joint command”—another way of speaking about an European Army—is the “ONLY way forward.”

NATO Will Formally Join Anti-‘Islamic State’ Coalition

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 24:

“Members of the military alliance [NATO] have agreed to formally join the coalition against the ‘Islamic State’ extremist group. France and Germany were said to have greenlighted the ‘purely symbolic’ plan…  Diplomats said the decision is mainly political because all 28 NATO members already contribute to the coalition fighting to retake areas of Iraq and Syria from the extremist group. Some, like Germany, only taking part in support roles such as reconaissance and logistics…

“The decision follows pressure from Trump, who has previously accused NATO of being ‘obsolete’ and called for European countries to step up their funding of the military group. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that it would be an important step for the alliance to join the 68-nation anti-IS coalition. ‘I think they’re going to support NATO joining and becoming a formal member,’ he said, referring to Germany and France.

“… Although IS is on the verge of defeat in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul and bracing for an assault against its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria, there’s is rising concern that fleeing militants may move to other Middle East countries. US officials are also wary of leaving power vacuums in Iraq and Syria that could prompt Arab tribal fighters to turn on each other to gain control.”

This arrangement would obviously not only be “purely symbolic,” and the US would not be willing to treat it as such.

Italy Makes Vaccination Mandatory for Children

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 19:

“The Italian government has approved a law ordering parents to vaccinate children or face fines. The authorities have noted a rise in measles cases, which the cabinet blames on ‘the spread of anti-scientific theories.’

“The new legislation makes vaccines mandatory for 12 preventable diseases, including measles, chicken pox, polio, hepatitis B, and tetanus. Only children with immunizations would be eligible for nursery school, according to the Friday law. Parents would face large fines for sending non-vaccinated children to state childcare facilities or schools…

“Italy has noted a sudden spread of measles in recent years, with the number of infections rising from 250 in 2015 to 840 last year. Medical authorities have already detected over 2,395 cases since the beginning of 2017, and the US warned visitors to Italy to guard against the disease. Experts believe that the epidemic is due to people refusing to vaccinate their children. The world-wide anti-vaccination movement has been gaining traction in recent years, despite its theories being discredited by the scientific community. The public in Italy has been highly receptive to the debunked link about vaccines causing autism.”

This is, sadly, the policy adopted by many countries, which are following unproven “medical scientific” postulations that these vaccines are necessary to prevent the spread of epidemics. Thereby, they completely ignore the real danger of long-term complications which are dismissed as “fake news,” while it is claimed that those dangers have been “discredited” and “debunked” by scientists. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE! See the next article.

Unvaccinated Youth Have Much Lower Rates of Chronic Illnesses

The European Union Times wrote on May 19:

“The first peer-reviewed study comparing health outcomes of vaccinated children versus unvaccinated was recently published in the Journal of Translational Science by epidemiologists from the School of Public Health at Jackson State University. The study’s conclusions are likely to inflame the fierce debate over whether vaccines and a mercury-containing vaccine preservative may be culprits in the dramatic rise in certain neurodevelopmental disorders in our children, including autism.

“The ‘Pilot comparative study on the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated 6- to 12-year-old U.S. children’ implicates vaccines in a host of chronic illnesses now epidemic in our nation’s children. The team of scientists, led by the renowned epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Mawson, the author of more than fifty published studies, concluded that ‘In a final adjusted model designed to test for this possibility, controlling for the interaction of preterm birth and vaccination, the following factors remained significantly associated with NDD [neurodevelopmental disorders]: vaccination (OR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.6), nonwhite race (OR 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.4), and male gender (OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.4). Preterm birth itself, however, was not significantly associated with NDD, whereas the combination (interaction) of preterm birth and vaccination was associated with 6.6-fold increased odds of NDD (95% CI: 2.8, 15.5) (Table 8).’ Jackson State is a leading university research center.

“The study suggests that fully vaccinated children may be trading the prevention of certain acute illnesses (chicken pox, pertussis) for more chronic illnesses and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) like ADHD and Autism. In order to find a large population of children who hadn’t received any vaccines, the Jackson State scientists utilized Homeschool organizations in four states and compared the incidence of a broad range of health outcomes in 666 children, 39% of whom were unvaccinated.

“Among the more concerning findings, vaccinated children had increased risks of autism (4.2 times), ADHD (4.2 times), learning disabilities (5.2 times) eczema (2.9 times), and an astounding 30 times the risk of allergic rhinitis compared to unvaccinated children.

“As would be expected, vaccinated children did have lower likelihood of two vaccine-preventable illnesses compared to unvaccinated children: chicken pox (7.9% vs. 25.3%), and pertussis (2.5% vs. 8.4%), but the scientists found no significant differences in rates of other vaccine-preventable illnesses like hepatitis A or B, measles, mumps, rubella, influenza, meningitis or rotavirus…”

The problem with the “scientific world” denying the real dangers of vaccinations is that they are paid by or dependent on the pharmaceutical industry. The negative reaction by the mass media was to be expected, including horrific allegations that a middle-aged woman died of measles because she had not been vaccinated. And of course, any connection between vaccinations and autism was again completely denied by scientific “experts.”

Evolutionary Silliness

Express wrote on May 25:

“[A] seven yearlong study, which examined all known trace fossils across a 200 million year period, found that sea creatures made their way from the ocean, the shallow waters and eventually to spread across the world. The research revealed that once the critters reached land, there was a rapid evolutionary process followed by long periods of calm.

“Lead author Dr Nicholas Minter, from the University of Portsmouth’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: ‘When the first animals emerged from the oceans they had a blank canvas, there were no other animals there and so they diversified rapidly both in how they behaved and in the ecological roles, or the part they played, in the theatre of life.’ The population of the critters which went land-bound is small, but spiders emerged from crabs while slugs and snails came from the same families as squid and cuttlefish…

“Dr Minter explained: ‘Not many from any one group, or Phylum, made the transition from sea to land or fresh water… Each [evolutionary] burst was an evolutionary experiment…’”

Have you ever read such incredible nonsense? What a waste of time and resources to come up with complete utter silliness! If you want to know the TRUTH, please read our free booklets, “The Theory of Evolution” and “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.”

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.

Justice Department Appoints Special Prosecutor

The Associated Press wrote on May 17:

“The Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into allegations that Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign collaborated to influence the 2016 presidential election, giving Mueller sweeping powers and the authority to prosecute any crimes uncovered in the probe… The White House counsel’s office was alerted only after the order appointing Mueller was signed…

“Mueller’s broad mandate gives him not only oversight of the Russia probe, but also ‘any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.’ That could well include the firing last week of FBI Director James Comey… GOP lawmakers have grown increasingly anxious after… Comey associates said he had notes from a meeting in which Trump asked him to shut down the investigation into the Russia ties of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn…

“The latest political storm, coupled with the still-potent fallout from Trump’s recent disclosure of classified information to Russian diplomats, overshadowed all else in the capital and beyond. Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street as investors worried that the latest turmoil in Washington could hinder Trump’s pro-business agenda…

“Russia’s Vladimir Putin… offered to furnish a ‘record’ of the Trump-diplomats meeting in the Oval Office if the White House desired it. There was no word on what that record might entail, a question many were likely to raise in light of Trump’s recent warning to Comey that he had ‘better hope’ there were no tapes of a discussion they’d had…

“Trump is preparing to leave town Friday on his first foreign trip, and aides have been hopeful the journey will be a chance for the administration to get back on track after weeks of chaos and distractions. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speculated Trump was probably happy to get out of town — ‘and a lot of us are glad he’s leaving for a few days’…”

Questions abound. How can Putin have a record? Did the Russians bug the White House? Are there tapes of private conversations between Trump and Comey? How reliable are Comey’s alleged notes, and why did he not reveal their existence earlier? And the biggest question of all: Which disaster will President Trump cause next?

Repercussions of Trump’s Disclosure of Classified Information

 JTA wrote on May 17:

“An undercover Israeli agent inside the Islamic State has been put at risk by President Donald Trump’s disclosure of classified information to Russia… The spy had provided Israel with intelligence about a plan by Islamic State, or ISIS, to cause the crash of a passenger jet on the way to the United States… Israel had shared the intelligence with the United States on the condition that it not be identified as the source of the information…

“In January, an Israeli newspaper reported that American intelligence officials warned their Israeli counterparts not to share sensitive information with the Trump administration because of the threat that it could be leaked to Russia. On Wednesday, Yediot Acharonot cited an unnamed Israeli intelligence source as saying that Israel will have to reassess what information it shares with the United States and not hand over the most sensitive of it.”

Newsmax reported on May 16:

“The revelations could further damage Trump’s already fraught relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies… The disclosure also risks harming his credibility with U.S. partners around the world… A European security official said sharing sensitive information could dampen the trust between the United States and its intelligence sharing partners…”

Why Trumponomics Is Dangerous for America… and the Entire World

The Economist wrote on May 13:

“Contrary to the Trump team’s assertions, there is little evidence that either the global trading system or individual trade deals have been systematically biased against America… Instead, America’s trade deficit—Mr Trump’s main gauge of the unfairness of trade deals—is better understood as the gap between how much Americans save and how much they invest… Textbooks predict that Mr Trump’s plans to boost domestic investment will probably lead to larger trade deficits… If so, Mr Trump will either need to abandon his measure of fair trade or, more damagingly, try to curb deficits by using protectionist tariffs that will hurt growth and sow mistrust around the world…

“Trumponomics is a poor recipe for long-term prosperity. America will end up more indebted and more unequal…  when the contradictions become apparent, Mr Trump’s economic nationalism may become fiercer, leading to backlashes in other countries—further stoking anger in America. Even if it produces a short-lived burst of growth, Trumponomics offers no lasting remedy for America’s economic ills. It may yet pave the way for something worse.”

The economy of the USA is bound to collapse. The results will be devastating for many Americans.

Colossal Blunders, Mistakes and Unfulfilled Promises

The New York Times wrote on May 13:

“Pretty much every reason they [The White House] gave [for firing Comey] was utterly dismantled, if not by F.B.I. agents, who rejected the contention that they had turned on Comey, then by enterprising reporters or by the president himself in his interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. Seldom has an administration operated in such a transparently dishonest, determinedly self-destructive and spectacularly inept fashion. That ineptness may be the scariest takeaway of all.

“… no sugarcoating can survive the developments of the past few weeks. Congress approved a budget agreement at stark odds with Trump’s wish list, revealing that he’s no ace negotiator after all… The House passed health care legislation that blatantly contradicted his incessant promises of terrific, inexpensive coverage and betrayed the hard-luck Americans whose champion he purported to be. The Senate made clear that it was going nowhere anyway… He’s not draining the swamp…

“And to top it all off: the Comey fiasco, which will be remembered as a case study in misjudging a situation, mismanaging the easily foreseeable fallout and achieving the exact opposite of one’s aims… Trump reportedly thought that Democrats, so sour on Comey themselves, wouldn’t balk at his exile. No way. Trump’s aides tried to use a hastily composed memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as cover…

“With no media plan in place, they tripped over their own inventions and exaggerations. And Trump bumbled into a horrendously timed photograph of an all-smiles meeting of him in the Oval Office with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister…

“Please show me the strategic wisdom in threatening to cancel White House press briefings because Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders can’t be expected to achieve ‘perfect accuracy’ at the rostrum… the farther away the media is kept, the more we’re convinced that something is being hidden from us, and the harder we dig.”

Even strong supporters of President Trump, such as conservative Columnist and Author Ann Coulter, have voiced their agreement with the critical comments in the above-quoted article, stating, as quoted in the Daily Caller, dated May 14:

“‘I hate to say it, but I agree with every line in my friend Frank Bruni’s op-ed in The New York Times today. Where is the great negotiation? Where is the bull in the china shop we wanted? That budget the Republicans pushed through was like a practical joke… Did we win anything? And this is the great negotiator?’”

White House Beset by Leaks

The Week wrote on May 15:

“… there may never in American history have been an administration that leaks as promiscuously as this one… The Comey firing is hardly the first time that the White House has been beset by leaks. They come from everywhere and on every subject, from the high and the low, and from staffers in the White House, in agencies, and among the president’s putative allies on Capitol Hill…

“That’s one reason why this administration leaks so much: Half the time it can’t figure out what it wants to say, or it changes its story from one moment to the next. The communication chaos is often a result of the fact that the president himself is so impulsive. His every tweet and bleat can send his aides scrambling…

“The fact that Trump came into office with no government experience, then proceeded to hire a senior staff who also lacked experience, exacerbates the problem. An inefficient White House without clear lines of authority — who’s in charge, anyway? Priebus? Bannon? Kushner? Nobody knows for sure — inevitably produces warring factions who will use the media as a way to push their preferred stories, make themselves look good, and undermine their competition.“And when things go wrong, as they have so often with this administration, everyone has an incentive to talk to reporters and point fingers somewhere other than themselves. Whoever comes out looking worse in the ensuing stories is then more likely to go to another reporter to get their side told — all anonymously, of course…

“Watching it all, of course, is the president himself, a man consumed with his image in the media and incensed by leaks… It’s probably driving Trump absolutely bonkers, which means he could start acting even more erratically. And if he does, we’ll hear all about it, from 30 or 40 anonymous officials.”

This sounds again like a self-inflicted wound, leading perhaps to more “injuries.”

Further Disarray in Trump Administration over Medical Marijuana?

Newsmax wrote on May 15:

“Accompanying the spending bill President Donald Trump signed last month was an objection to a 2014 provision that prevents Justice Department from interfering with state-run medical marijuana programs…  And given Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ opposition to medical marijuana, advocates are worried that the administration is planning a full frontal assault on the programs that have been authorized in 29 states and D.C…

“Trump ran on a platform of supporting medical marijuana, but Sessions is launching a new war on drugs, rolling back easement measures on drug offenders instituted during the Obama administration.

“If the Trump administration did try to move on the signing statement in question, he’d face opposition from within his own party, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., [said], a user of medical marijuana himself and co-author of the provision. ‘I think there are a lot of people running around trying to paint the president into a corner on this,’ Rohrabacher told the Post.

“The provision, which prevents the Justice Department from spending money in any attempt at inference with the state-run programs, expires in September.”

The Week added on May 15:

“Sessions’ well-documented and troubling attitudes about marijuana could have significant consequences in states that have liberalized their pot laws. While weed is permitted for medical purposes in more than half of the United States, and legalized recreationally in seven states plus the District of Columbia, it remains illegal federally and also absurdly classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Schedule I narcotic — the classification reserved for substances with a high probability for abuse and no accepted medical use.

“Just last year, Sessions said he would like ‘to send that message with clarity, that good people don’t smoke marijuana,’ and now that he is endowed with the broad discretion of one of the most powerful Cabinet positions and best-resourced federal agencies, there’s little to stand in the way of Sessions’ throwback crusade.”

In a related article, the Local wrote on April 20 about the medical marijuana laws in Germany:

“The debate about legalizing cannabis continues in Germany – the Bundestag (German parliament) in January 2017 passed a law to officially legalize medical marijuana… As of the 2017 law, medical marijuana can be prescribed for seriously ill patients, such as those suffering from multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, serious appetite loss or nausea from chemotherapy. Still, the law didn’t give an exact definition of what ‘seriously ill’ means. It does state that doctors can write such prescriptions when they see a ‘not so remote chance’ of it resulting in a positive effect… Pharmacies can sell it in the dried bud form, as an extract, or as an oil from the plant…”

The incredibly false classification of the DEA pertaining to medical marijuana and the rather offensive viewpoints of the Attorney General are frightening prospects of completely unreasonable conduct of the Trump administration, unless the President sticks to his original promise.

What If There Was a REAL Crisis?

Politico wrote on May 14:

“After [a] chaotic, self-inflicted week many fear chaos Trump can’t control… what if there’s a real crisis? Something, and likely more than one thing, is inevitable, because he’s the leader of the country and the free world, and something always does… Trump’s behavior [and] chaotic management style… has people throughout politics and national security terrified.

“For all that’s happened in the 114 days of the Trump administration, nothing major has gone wrong, foreign or domestic. The president and his staff have scrapped through explosions of their own making, Twitter meltdowns included. But they don’t stack up to the BP oil spill, or the Sept. 11 attacks, or Katrina, or the Branch Davidians, or an Ebola outbreak, or an embassy bombing, or a hostage situation, or a combative nuclear test…

“Kori Schake, a fellow at the Hoover Institute who served on the National Security Council and State Department under Bush, said she worries what might happen if, for example, Trump declared the need for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea…

“Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and occasional Trump whisperer, … admitted that the melee set off by Trump’s canning Comey, and repeatedly revising his account of why, without including the aides meant to defend him, has created needless problems… But, Gingrich added, try telling a man who built a billion-dollar empire and world-famous name, and who then won the White House on his own gut instincts, that he should change how he operates.”

These are very sobering questions indeed. The Bible prophesies that America will experience a nuclear attack in the very near future. Note the following articles.  

North Korea Continues Missile Tests

CNN wrote on May 15:

“North Korea tested a Hwasong-12 missile Sunday which reached an altitude of 2,111.5 kilometers (1,312 miles) and flew 787 kilometers (489 miles), according to state news agency KCNA. Analysts estimated its [range] as 4,500 kilometers which would put the US territory of Guam within its reach. A small island in the Pacific, Guam is home to Andersen Air Force Base, through which the US Air Force rotates heavy bombers including B-1s, B-2s and B-52s.

“KCNA said the test showed North Korea ‘has all powerful means for retaliatory strike’ should Washington take any military action to stop its nuclear weapons program…”

Nuclear War… Not a Question of “If,” but “When”

The Hill wrote on May 15:

“Since Sept. 11, 2001, analysts have been increasingly concerned terrorists might steal, buy, build, or be given a nuclear weapon—and the War on Terrorism would become a nuclear war. The Department of Homeland Security’s National Planning Scenario #1 is detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon, as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb, in a location such as New York City or Washington, D.C.  Many experts warn an act of nuclear terrorism is not a question of if, but when.

“Until the recent protracted nuclear crisis with North Korea, relatively less attention has been paid to the increasing possibility of nuclear war between nations. India and Pakistan are widely regarded as the most likely candidates for a nuclear conflict between states. Although North Korea, Russia, and China have all made nuclear threats against the United States recently, in the case of North Korea and Russia repeatedly, most analysts dismiss these as mere ‘bluster’ and ‘nuclear sabre rattling’ not to be taken seriously. One day, perhaps soon, this may well prove to be a fatal mistake for millions.

“In the West, generations of leaders and citizens have been educated that use of nuclear weapons is ‘unthinkable’ and the ultimate horror. Not so in Russia, China, and North Korea where their nuclear capabilities are publicly paraded, missile launches and exercises are televised as a show of strength, an important part of national pride… Russia and China run TV documentaries describing how they would win a nuclear war with the United States…

“An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack… would be the most militarily effective use of one or a few nuclear weapons…  High-altitude EMP attack entails detonating a nuclear weapon at 30-400 kilometers altitude—above the atmosphere, in outer space, so high that no nuclear effects, not even the sound of the explosion, would be experienced on the ground, except EMP. An EMP attack will kill far more people than nuclear blasting a city through indirect effects—by blacking out electric grids and destroying life-sustaining critical infrastructures like communications, transportation, food and water—in the long run. But the millions of fatalities likely to eventually result from EMP will take months to develop, as slow as starvation… an EMP attack or demonstration made to ‘de-escalate’ a crisis or conflict is very likely to raise a chorus of voices in the West against nuclear escalation and send Western leaders in a panicked search for the first ‘off ramp’…

“[There are] a dozen possible nuclear EMP attack scenarios that could plausibly happen in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and against North America—tomorrow.

“Some analysts think the world is on the threshold of a ‘new nuclear age’ where… the likelihood of nuclear use is greatly increasing…”

Please view our new StandingWatch program, “Coming—Nuclear War without Survivors?” 

Putin Blames USA for Global Ransomware Attack

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 15:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied Moscow was behind a global ‘ransomware’ attack that hit 150 countries… Putin’s comments backed up a blog post by Microsoft President Brad Smith over the weekend. Smith criticized US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and National Security Agency, for ‘stockpiling’ software code that can be used by hackers…

“The malicious software encrypted data stored on hundreds of thousands of computers, while on-screen messages ordered users to pay a ransom of $300 to $600 (273 to 546 euros) in the internet currency Bitcoin. As well as Britain’s National Health Service, Deutsche Bahn train information screens were infected, along with Renault and Nissan car factories in Europe. The Spanish phone company Telefonica and US courier FedEX were also affected.

“The virus used vulnerability in the Windows operating system. Microsoft said it had released a security update in March but that many computers ‘remained unpatched globally.’ The IT giant said the attack should be a ‘wake-up call’ for governments worldwide. But Germany’s interior ministry hit back, saying that software companies needed to do their own homework, rather than blame governments for security flaws.”

EU Alarmed by US Laptop Plans

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 12:

“The suggested US extension of bans on laptop and tablet usage during flights from the EU has prompted urgent talks. A French government source said Paris would resist such strictures.

“European governments and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hastily arranged a telephone conference Friday, with Washington saying no final decision had been made on expanding the restriction. An electronics ban went into effect on March 21 for passengers on direct flights to the US from 10 Middle East airports in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Morocco. According to those regulations, laptop and tablet computers, e-book readers and cameras must be placed in checked luggage. Approved medical devices are exempt, but must go through additional screening…

“The Associated Press quoted a French government source as saying there was no information to suggest that cabin usage of such devices posed a significant terror threat increase. European airlines likely to be affected include Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France-KLM.

“On Thursday, Olivier Jankovec, the director-general of the ACI Europe airport trade association said it was worrying that there appeared to be little coordination between the EU and the United States… European regulators have already warned that placing hundreds of devices in the holds of aircraft on long-haul flights could compromise safety by increasing the risk from poorly deactivated lithium-ion batteries.”

The EUObserver wrote on May 18:

“US authorities discussed an in-cabin laptop ban on transatlantic flights from the EU following a meeting with their European counterparts in Brussels. Officials from both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday (17 May) agreed to meet again next week to work out the technical details, but said no definitive decision had been made…

“A Europe-wide ban could affect well over 3,000 direct flights made every week to the US, likely causing disruptions.  The five airports with the largest number of US weekly flights are: London-Heathrow (761 flights), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (353 flights), Frankfurt (291 flights), Amsterdam-Schiphol (242 flights) and Dublin (179 flights)… Together, these five airports accounted for nearly 50 percent of the weekly flights to the US… The four-hour meeting on Wednesday was held between US deputy secretary of homeland security Elaine Duke and her counterparts from France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK.”

To request of tourists and business travelers to place their laptops, tablet computers, cameras and other electronic equipment into their main luggage is plain unconscionable. The luggage might get stolen or at least misplaced for days, as is happening many times, or the equipment might get damaged due to the handling of the luggage. It appears that none of these factors are being seriously considered.

Netanyahu vs. Trump Administration on Embassy Move

Haaretz wrote on May 15:

“The possibility of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is becoming the first public disagreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration…   After U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hinted that Israel might have objections to the embassy move, Netanyahu’s bureau quickly responded that Netanyahu had made clear to the new U.S. administration that he wanted the embassy to move to Jerusalem.

“Moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would not harm the peace process with the Palestinians but would help peace efforts, the Prime Minister’s Bureau said on Sunday…

“Shortly after Tillerson’s remarks aired, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who is also the leader of the hard-line Habayit Hayehudi party, responded by calling on Netanyahu to tell Trump that Israel expects the embassy to be moved and the U.S. to recognize ‘united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.’… ‘Any agreement based on dividing Jerusalem is sentenced to failure,’ Bennett wrote on his Twitter account…

“A second response, which was directed at Bennett’s tweet, was issued by Netanyahu’s Likud party. The Likud party, it said, welcomes Bennett’s comments…

“Meanwhile, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and the secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, met on Sunday in Amman to coordinate their positions ahead of Trump’s arrival in the region…  In a statement released after the meeting, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority stressed that the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is by establishing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines whose capital is East Jerusalem and living in peace alongside Israel. Erekat spoke of the need to freeze construction in the settlements as an essential condition to progress in any diplomatic process…”

Will President Trump buckle and refuse to move the US embassy to Jerusalem? Or will he keep his promise which might in turn cause upheaval in the Middle East? The White House announced on May 17 that “for now,” no move of the US embassy to Jerusalem is planned. Also, note the next article.

Senior Member of Trump Delegation Outrages Israel

Times of Israel wrote on May 15:

“In a bitter diplomatic incident, a senior member of the US delegation making preparations for Donald Trump’s visit to Israel next week angrily rejected a request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompany the president when he visits the Western Wall, and then sniped at his Israeli counterparts that the Western Wall is ‘not your territory. It’s part of the West Bank,’ Israeli television reported on Monday night.

“An official at the Prime Minister’s Office, apparently confirming the report, told Channel 2 that Israel has asked the Trump administration about the incident, and said that Netanyahu is certain that the comment does not reflect President Trump’s policy.

“The Western Wall, part of the retaining walls of the ancient Temple compound, is the closest point of prayer for Jews to the site of the Temple itself and thus the Jewish people’s holiest place of prayer. It was captured along with the rest of the Old City and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and annexed by Israel as part of its united capital — a move not recognized internationally…”

Tel Aviv’s Large-Scale “Bisexuality Visibility” Parade in June

JTA wrote on May 11:

“‘Bisexuality Visibility’ will be the theme of the 2017 LGBT Pride Parade in the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the municipality announced. The march, scheduled for June 9, will be the first large-scale pride parade in the world to celebrate the theme of bisexuality, according to the municipality. It is expected to draw some 200,000 participants from inside and outside of Israel.

“Each year, members of Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ community choose a theme for the week of events in June. Past themes included last year’s ‘Women for a Change’ and ‘Transgender Visibility.’ ‘Both in Israel and around the world, many bisexual people feel that they are an invisible group within the LGBTQ community,’ Efrat Tolkowsky, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council member in charge of LGBTQ affairs, said in a statement issued by the municipality. ‘Here in Tel Aviv, we are committed to celebrating each and every LGBTQ person and ally equally, so that we can all be out and proud together.’”

Nothing to be proud about, really, if one believes the Bible.

Eastern Nations Disagree on Russia’s Role and Orthodox Church

The EUObserver wrote on May 11:

“Orthodox Christian societies in Europe are more likely to endorse Vladimir Putin’s revanchist vision of Russia than Catholic ones, according to a new survey.

“Most people in the majority-Orthodox bloc, which includes EU and Nato states Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, as well as EU-aspirant states such as Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia believe Russia should act as a ‘buffer’ against the West and should ‘protect’ them if need be.  Orthodox societies also voiced more nationalist, homophobic, and sexist views, the survey, which was published by US pollster Pew on Wednesday (10 May)…

“By contrast, people in majority Roman Catholic countries, such as Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary, looked to the West for leadership. Orthodox affiliation was also rising sharply in central and eastern Europe…

“Seventy percent of Greeks and more than 50 percent of Bulgarians and Romanians agreed with the statement that: ‘A strong Russia is necessary to balance the influence of the West’. The figure was 80 percent in Serbia, which is an EU candidate. It was 61 percent in Moldova and 52 percent in Georgia, which also want to join the EU and which host Russia-occupied breakaway territories. The figure was just 22 percent in Ukraine, where pro-Russia feelings nosedived after the invasion.  Sixty nine percent of Greeks, 65 percent of Romanians, and 56 percent of Bulgarians also endorsed the idea that Russia was ‘obliged to protect’ Orthodox believers abroad.

“Meanwhile, large majorities of people in Orthodox societies, rising to 89 percent in Greece, said their ‘culture was superior to others’, compared to 55 percent in Poland – the most nationalist state in the Catholic bloc.  Homosexuality was seen as ‘morally wrong’ by more than 90 percent of Georgians and Moldovans and 82 percent of Romanians, compared to 48 percent of Poles… Seventy one percent of Russians said they were Orthodox Christians today, for instance, compared to 37 percent in 1991. But the number of Catholics fell from 96 percent to 87 percent in Poland and from 44 percent to just 21 percent in the Czech Republic in the same time period…

“In other findings, Pew noted that most Orthodox believers (except those in Greece) looked to the Russian patriarch, Kirill, who is a close Putin ally, as their spiritual leader. It found that just two countries in the region – Greece (77%) and Lithuania (64%) – voiced strong endorsement of the idea that democracy was ‘preferable to any other form of government’. The figures in Poland (47%) and Hungary (48%), which both have illiberal parties in power despite their EU membership, fell below the half-way mark.  It found that 58 percent of Russians had a positive view of Stalin…

“Amid a heated EU debate on migrant relocations, Pew… found there was ‘widespread scepticism’ that the US would honour its Nato obligation to defend allies in the event of a ‘serious conflict’ with Russia. Estonia and Romania were the only Nato states in the region where most people believed the US would come to their aid. But the figures were just 31 percent in Poland and 25 percent or less in Estonia and Latvia.”

These opinions are interesting in light of the fact that some of those Eastern nations might become part of a future core Europe, while others will become part of the Russian dominance, which will end up in opposition to core Europe. But it is also remarkable that many Eastern nations do not believe in US decisiveness.

Merkel’s Strong Win Against Schulz

The Local wrote on May 14:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel dealt a devastating blow to her main rival on Sunday, four months before national elections, when early results showed her party securing a strong win in a regional vote in Germany’s biggest state. Her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) clinched 33 percent of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), preliminary results showed, snatching control of the sprawling industrial region which has been a Social Democratic Party (SPD) stronghold for decades. The SPD only managed to garner a little over 31 percent, its worst score in history in the state and sharply down from its 2012 showing of 39.1 percent, in a serious hit to confidence ahead of general elections in September.

“SPD leader Martin Schulz admitted that the loss in his home state marked a ‘difficult day for the SPD’ and for him personally, but urged supporters to battle on. ‘We received a body blow, but we are still striving in the ring… now we’re going into the next round, the deciding round. At the end, when we look to the judge, it’s going to be the voters who raise the winner’s arms,’ he said.

“The former European Parliament president turned to France for courage. ‘My friend Emmanuel Macron was at the bottom five months ago, and now, he is president,’ said Schulz of the new French leader who took office on Sunday. But Germany’s best-selling daily Bild noted that ‘with the clear state election failures, it would be very difficult for the SPD to win the general elections in September.’ Likewise, Spiegel Online said: ‘Martin Schulz now needs a miracle.’

“… The SPD had already suffered two setbacks since Schulz took over, with the CDU scoring strong victories in the small states of Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein.”

Deutsche Welle added on May 15:

“Sunday’s outcome has paved the way for alternatives to the ‘grand coalition’ of the SPD and CDU, currently ruling the country from Berlin. With the revival of the Free Democrats (FDP), the CDU’s traditional coalition partner is making a comeback, meaning old and new combinations may become a real possibility for Germany’s future.”

The EUObserver added on May 15:

“CDU’s Armin Laschet, who will likely become the new state premier, said on Monday that he would have discussions not only with the FDP, but also with the SPD and the Greens. He noted that the citizens of Germany’s biggest state ‘wanted a government change’, but that coalition talks do not need to be finished ‘during this morning’. Laschet excluded working together with Alternative for Germany (AfD) – a far right, anti-immigration, anti-EU party – which received 7.4 percent of the vote, entering the parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time.”

The immediate future will show whether Angela Merkel’s time as the German and European leader is over, or whether she is still needed to bring about further unification of Europe and the creation of a core Europe under German leadership.

Hamburg, Germany, Begins to Confiscate Residential Property for Migrants

The European Union Times wrote on May 14:

“Authorities in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, have begun confiscating private dwellings to ease a housing shortage…  City officials have been seizing commercial properties and converting them into migrant shelters since late 2015, when Merkel opened German borders to hundreds of thousands of migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Now, however, the city is expropriating residential property units owned by private citizens.

“In an unprecedented move, Hamburg authorities recently confiscated six residential units in the Hamm district near the city center. The units, which are owned by a private landlord, are in need of repair and have been vacant since 2012. A trustee appointed by the city is now renovating the properties and will rent them — against the will of the owner — to tenants chosen by the city. District spokeswoman Sorina Weiland said that all renovation costs will be billed to the owner of the properties.

“The expropriation is authorized by the Hamburg Housing Protection Act (Hamburger Wohnraumschutzgesetz), a 1982 law that was updated by the city’s Socialist government in May 2013 to enable the city to seize any residential property unit that has been vacant for more than four months…”

Infowars added on May 15:

“Similar expropriation measures have been proposed in Berlin, the German capital, but abandoned because they were deemed unconstitutional.”

These are surely not good signs for many German property owners.

Interesting Developments in Austria

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 15:

“Austria moved closer to snap elections on Monday after Chancellor Christian Kern called for all-party talks to set an election date following a major political shake-up inside his conservative junior coalition partner party. Sebastian Kurz, the 30-year-old foreign minister called on Sunday for early elections to be held in the autumn after he was elected to head the center-right People’s Party (ÖVP).

“It capped a heady week in Austrian politics which saw the conservative party leader and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner resign amid internal squabbling and after months of deadlock in talks with Kern’s Social Democrats (SPÖ). Kern, who admitted on Sunday he could not stop an early election, held a meeting with President Alexander Van der Bellen and spoke to Kurz by phone on Monday. The SPÖ and ÖVP are three seats short of the majority needed to call snap elections.

“The Greens and the anti-immigration, populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) said they would support a parliamentary vote to call snap elections but demanded that a parliamentary investigation into a Eurofighter deal from a decade ago be finished. The investigation is expected to be completed in June.

“Kern has warned that dissolving the coalition would open the way for the FPÖ to win the election. The FPÖ is currently leading in opinion polls, followed by the SPÖ and ÖVP in second and third place, respectively.

“The 30-year-old Kurz is a rising star within Austria politics, boosted by his tough stance against immigration. Led by Kurz, who has some similar positions as the FPÖ without the xenophobic rhetoric, the conservatives appear to believe they can outmaneuver their right-wing rivals, who last year came close to taking over the presidency amid voter backlash over immigration. Some surveys suggest that with Kurz at the helm of the party it can jump ahead of the FPÖ.

“The ÖVP executive committee granted Kurz unprecedented powers, meeting seven of his demands to take over the party leadership. The Austrian press dubbed it a “coup” within the party. Among other things, Kurz will be able to name candidates for parliamentary elections even if they are from outside the party, appoint all ministers in a potential conservative-led government and change the party name for the next election… Forming a government in Austria usually requires two parties. A SPÖ- ÖVP coalition has ruled Austria for many years in the last decades.”

Developments in Austria should be watched carefully, as modern Germans and Austrians are descendants of ancient Assyria, and the Bible has much to say about the prophetic role of modern Assyria in these end times.  

New HQ to Take Charge of EU Military Missions

The EUObserver wrote on May 18:

“EU states have cleared the way for a new HQ to take charge of three military missions in a ‘couple of days’, as well as broader plans for joint defence. The HQ will, in the words of 28 defence ministers adopted on Thursday (18 May), ‘assume responsibilities at the strategic level for the operational planning and conduct of the EU’s non-executive military missions’ including ‘the three EU Training Missions deployed in Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia’.

“EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said ‘the political decision is finalised’ and that it would take ‘a couple of days’ to have the new HQ ‘officially in place’… The HQ will be located in a building that already houses Mogherini’s military staff in Brussels, and will take over command tasks previously handled out separate locations in member states. The EU defence ministers decided additionally on Thursday that deployment of EU ‘battlegroups’ in the field would in future be paid for out of the EU budget and not by participating member states.  They also decided on a new legal framework for core groups of member states to create and command their own military projects under the EU flag in a mechanism called ‘permanent structured cooperation [Pesco]’…

“Mogherini… expected member states to put forward the first Pesco projects by the end of the year, adding that if EU countries were to pool their military budgets they would be the second-biggest military spenders in the world after the US… The EU defence surge… comes amid warnings that the US wants to spend less on European defence and amid the departure of the UK, the EU’s top military power, from the bloc in 2019.

“With US president Donald Trump arriving in Brussels for a Nato summit next week, 19 EU countries led by France, Germany, Italy, and Spain agreed, prior to the defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday, to create a joint defence procurement fund, or ‘Cooperative Financial Mechanism’. Mogherini added on Thursday that the UK would be welcome to contribute assets to EU military missions in future but would not take part in decision-making after it left…

“The new French administration of Emmanuel Macron also showed that it was serious about EU military integration on Thursday via two appointments. Macron picked Sylvie Goulard, an MEP and a europhile, to lead his ‘ministry of the armed forces’. He also picked Jean-Yves Le Drian, the former defence minister, to lead a new hybrid ministry that brought together EU and foreign affairs for the first time.”

Slowly but surely, a powerful European army will be formed.

100th Anniversary of Fatima Apparition –Lying Signs and Wonders

Newsmax wrote on May 12:

“Catholics and believers worldwide will celebrate Saturday’s 100th anniversary of the first Fatima apparition in which the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before three shepherd children in the remote village north of Lisbon, Portugal…

“The Lady of Fatima delivered messages during the visions on the 13th day of each month from May to October 1917 to Lucia dos Santos and her two young cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto…

“An attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II mysteriously coincided with the anniversary of the first Fatima vision on May 13, 1981, in St. Peter’s Square in Rome…

“The world was in turmoil during the 1917 apparitions with the ending of World War I and the beginning of the Communist revolution in Russia. The most riveting sign occurred on Oct. 13 [1917] when some 60,000 people witnessed the sun appearing to spin and nearly crash toward the ground…

“A three-part secret from Our Lady was revealed to the children on July 13, 1917, during the apparitions. These included a vision of Hell and a prayer to recite, a warning that Russia would bring calamity to the world if people did not convert, and a vision of conflict between clergy and soldiers only disclosed in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Lucia was 10 during the apparitions and died a nun at the age of 97 in 2005. Francisco, 9 at the time, and Jacinta, 7, died in 1919 and 1920, respectively, following the global influenza epidemic.

“The Fatima incidents are considered among the most spectacular Marian apparitions along with Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a peasant girl, St. Bernadette, in 1858, and Guadalupe, where an appearance occurred several times northwest of Mexico City to St. Juan Diego in 1531.”

The New York Times added on May 13:

“The children’s apparitions were officially recognized as a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church in 1930…”

The Bible prophesies that many will be deceived by lying signs and wonders. The true Mary—mother of Jesus—died and is dead in her grave, without any consciousness. She will be resurrected, with all true Christians, at the time of Christ’s return. The alleged apparitions of the “Virgin Mary”—if they are not outright frauds—would have been of demonic origin. These would have been forerunners of a worldwide end-time religious deception, coupled with true and false signs from heaven, as prophesied throughout the Bible, including in the books of Matthew, Thessalonians and Revelation.

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.

Emmanuel Macron Wins French Presidency by Wide Margin

Reuters wrote on May 7:

“European leaders hailed the victory of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the French election on Sunday as a vote for European unity and a blow to political forces that had sought to build on last year’s Brexit vote to tear apart the European Union. Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister who urged the French to embrace the EU and globalization, defeated far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen by a score of roughly 65 percent to 35 percent, early results showed…

“Europe’s political establishment limped into 2017 fearful that the Trump and Brexit votes, fueled by anger over immigration and rising economic inequality, could be replicated on the European continent in a mega-election year in which the Dutch and Germans were also voting. In March, far-right Dutch candidate Geert Wilders came in a distant second to liberal incumbent Mark Rutte, easing the concerns somewhat. But the election in France, the second largest economy in the euro zone after Germany, was always seen as the litmus test for European politics. Had Le Pen won, many European officials acknowledged, it may have been the beginning of the end of the EU, Europe’s 60-year-old experiment in closer integration which delivered peace and prosperity for decades before succumbing to a series of crises over the past decade…”

Macron’s victory is indeed a victory for European unification. As we have stated for many years, Germany, with the help of France, will be the engine running the European project and a core Europe consisting of ten nations or groups of nations. A victory for Le Pen would have seriously jeopardized these developments; hence, she did not win. Note the next article.

Worldwide Reactions

The Telegraph wrote on May 7:

“The US president was quick to congratulate Mr Macron and said he looked forward to working with him. Mr Trump had previously expressed support for Ms Le Pen because she was ‘strongest on borders, and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France’…

“In comments released immediately after exit polls showed Mr Macron’s victory, Mrs May said that France is one of Britain’s closest allies and ‘we look forward to working with the new president on a wide range of shared priorities’… Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hailed Mr Macron’s ‘amazing victory’ and added: ‘We look forward to continuing the great partnership between our two nations.’ Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who backed Ms Le Pen’s bid for the Elysee Palace, said: ‘Macron offers five more years of failure, more power to the EU and a continuation of open borders…’

“Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, said the result made him ‘happy that the ideas that you defended of a strong and progressive Europe that protects all its citizens will be those that France will cherish under your presidency’. Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister who chairs summits of European leaders, tweeted: ‘Congratulations to French people for choosing Liberty, Equality and Fraternity over tyranny of fake news’…  Guy Verhofstadt, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said: ‘We supported him from the very start. I am relieved by his defeat of demagoguery and populism. I am also proud of his commitment to a social, liberal European project.’

“… Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said: ‘Your victory is a victory for a strong united Europe and for the Franco-German friendship.’ Her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, tweeted: ‘vive la France, Vive L’Europe!’ Mrs Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert… said it was ‘a victory for a strong and united Europe’.

“… Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni tweeted: ‘Hurrah Macron President! There is hope for Europe!’ The country’s former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, echoed Mr Gentiloni’s message saying: ‘Macron’s win represents an extraordinary hope for France and Europe!’…

“Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister who won an election in March against opponents including right-wing populist Geert Wilders, has congratulated Mr Macron on his victory. Mr Rutte said in a post on his official Facebook page that in Macron, French voters ‘made a clear progressive and pro-European choice.’… In a tweet Sunday night, Dutch foreign affairs Minister Bert Koenders said that ‘France chooses for reform, for Europe and against xenophobia. We look forward to working together with the new French government.’

“… Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, said that France, with Emmanuel Macron as its new president, will help strengthen the European Union at a key moment for the 28-nation bloc… Mr Rajoy praised Mr Macron for… his ‘firm defense of the European integration process.’ Those principles and his solid backing from French voters, Mr Rajoy said, mean ‘France – a friend, neighbor and strategic partner of Spain – will actively contribute to the advancement and reinforcement of the European Union in a key moment of its history.’

“… Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s prime minister, has tweeted his satisfaction over the election result: ‘victory is a fresh breath for France and the whole of Europe. I am certain we will work closely together for Europe…’

“Bohuslav Sobotka, the Czech prime minister, said that Mr Macron’s win is a ‘positive signal for France, the entire European Union and the Czech Republic.’… Andrej Kiska, the Slovak President… says it’s a ‘victory for all who believe in Europe.’

“Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian prime minister, also congratulated Mr Macron on his win: ‘…  We will build even stronger ties between our two great nations.’…

“Macron has promised a France that would stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin…”

Macron’s victory has indeed created renewed momentum for the European project.

Will Macron’s Victory Influence Germany’s Election?

AFP wrote on May 8:

“[Macron] has said he is for setting up a separate budget for the eurozone, the 19 countries that use the common currency, and also proposes giving the eurozone its own parliament and finance minister. ‘In Brussels the hopes are high. But it’s not so easy with the French-German duo. Berlin’s CDU circles (Merkel’s party) are sceptical about, if not deeply opposed to, Macron’s ideas,’ said the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. ‘For such wide-reaching reforms, it would be necessary to change the treaties, which in turn would require a referendum in France that carries with it uncertainties. That alone, in Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s view, is unrealistic,’ added the daily.

“… German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a leading SPD figure, seized on Macron’s win to take aim at Merkel’s conservatives who have pushed a hard line on reducing national budget deficits… ‘Emmanuel Macron’s victory carries a task for us in Germany – because Macron must succeed,’ said Gabriel, warning that ‘if he fails, Madam Le Pen will be president in five years’ time and the European project will go to the dogs’. ‘We Germans must now help him…'”

Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey

We are setting forth below numerous articles discussing the reasons behind President Trump’s termination of FBI Director James Comey. President Trump’s allegation that he fired Comey because he treated Hillary Clinton unfairly is believed by just about nobody. This opens wide the floodgates of speculation as to the underlying motives, and the picture which emerges is not flattering for the President and his Team, portraying them as a laughing stock and a government which cannot be trusted. In the articles quoted below, we highlighted some of the most telling statements.

Grotesque Abuse of Power by the President?

CNN wrote on May 9:

“CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin… was not buying the idea that Comey was sacked over the Clinton investigation, saying it was ‘absurd.’ Toobin branded the move a ‘grotesque abuse of power by the President of the United States.’ ‘This is the kind of thing that goes on in non-democracies,’ Toobin said, referring to the fact that Comey was dismissed while leading an investigation that ‘reaches near’ the President. ‘We do not fire FBI directors when they are closing in on the White House.’”

A Perilous Moment in the History of the USA… Parallels to Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre?

The Editorial Board of The New York Times wrote on May 9:

“The American people — not to mention the credibility of the world’s oldest democracy — require a thorough, impartial investigation into the extent of Russia’s meddling with the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump and, crucially, whether high-ranking members of Mr. Trump’s campaign colluded in that effort. By firing the F.B.I. director, James Comey, late Tuesday afternoon, President Trump has cast grave doubt on the viability of any further investigation into what could be one of the biggest political scandals in the country’s history.

“The explanation for this shocking move — that Mr. Comey’s bungling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server violated longstanding Justice Department policy and profoundly damaged public trust in the agency — is impossible to take at face value… certainly, that’s not the reason Mr. Trump fired him.

“Mr. Trump had nothing but praise for Mr. Comey when, in the final days of the presidential campaign, he informed Congress that the bureau was reopening the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s emails. ‘He brought back his reputation,’ Mr. Trump said at the time. ‘It took a lot of guts.’

“… Mr. Comey was fired because he was leading an active investigation that could bring down a president… So far, the scandal has engulfed Paul Manafort, one of Mr. Trump’s campaign managers; Roger Stone, a longtime confidant; Carter Page, one of the campaign’s early foreign-policy advisers; Michael Flynn, who was forced out as national security adviser; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself in March from the Russia inquiry after failing to disclose during his confirmation hearings that he had met twice during the campaign with the Russian ambassador to the United States…

“This is a tense and uncertain time in the nation’s history. The president of the United States, who is no more above the law than any other citizen, has now decisively crippled the F.B.I.’s ability to carry out an investigation of him and his associates…

“The obvious historical parallel to Mr. Trump’s action was the so-called Saturday Night Massacre in October 1973, when President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of the special prosecutor investigating Watergate, prompting the principled resignations of the attorney general and his deputy. But now, there is no special prosecutor in place to determine whether the public trust has been violated, and whether the presidency was effectively stolen by a hostile foreign power. For that reason, the country has reached an even more perilous moment.”

The Real Reason for Comey’s Termination—Stop the FBI Investigation?

The Week wrote on May 10:

“President Trump’s sudden decision to fire FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday was a genuine bombshell from an administration that seems to produce one on a daily basis… the real reason he was fired should make Americans more than a little nauseous…

“The Trump administration citing Comey’s indefensible interference in the election as the reason for firing him essentially amounts to trolling… Attorney General Jeff Sessions had previously argued that Comey had an ‘absolute duty’ to send the October letter. It’s pretty hard for an action to be an ‘absolute duty’ in October and a reason to fire someone in May. Trump also effusively praised Comey’s decision to send the letter. And, indeed, Trump reportedly told Sessions to start looking for a pretext to fire Comey last week…

“The real reason is almost certainly Trump’s desire to stop the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the election, possibly in collaboration with members of Trump’s campaign… With the Republican Congress having clearly signaled that it will not conduct meaningful oversight of the Trump administration, this represents a political crisis. Trump has sent a message about what will happen to anyone who threatens to stand up to him. It’s hard to imagine this ending well.”

In a related article, the Week wrote on May 10:

“If the goal in firing Comey was to move on from the investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential collusion with Russia ahead of the 2016 election, that goal was kneecapped as soon as the president released a letter pointedly, directly, and unashamedly linking his own animus towards Comey to the Russia investigation even though the point of the letter was to undercut that very claim. ‘While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation,’ Trump wrote in his termination letter to Comey, ‘I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.’

“What is more unnerving: A president who is this oblivious to his own obliviousness? A staff that cannot convince him to remove such a self-damaging sentence? Or the removal of the director himself? It is hard to say.”

Another Reason for Comey’s Termination?

The Hill wrote on May 10:

“Former FBI Director James Comey reportedly told associates in March that President Trump was ‘crazy’ for suggesting former President Barack Obama had wiretapped him. Comey also called the president ‘outside the realm of normal,’ according to a report from The New York Times on Wednesday. The Times said that, in return, Trump was furious when Comey publicly refused to back his claims that he was wiretapped during the 2016 campaign before the House Intelligence Committee in March. Comey said during the March 20 hearing that the FBI had ‘no information’ supporting Trump’s allegations.

“The Times report highlight lingering tensions between the president and Comey that led Trump to decide to fire the FBI chief on Tuesday, a decision that stunned Washington. Trump reportedly became increasingly angered by Comey’s remarks in the weeks after the March hearing and began discussing his possible firing…

“Comey reportedly, though, told associates that he thought Trump was unlikely to fire him, believing his removal would make people revisit how he handled the probe into Hillary Clinton’s email server – in particular the announcement days before the election that they were reopening the investigation. Comey thought that treating his decisions as wrong would call into question Trump’s election victory.”

Did Comey Ask for More Resources in FBI Investigation against Trump Team?

The Washington Post (as linked by the Drudge Report) reported on May 10:

“Last week, then-FBI Director James B. Comey requested more resources from the Justice Department for his bureau’s investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussion. Comey… made the request in a meeting last week with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and Senate Intelligence Committee members were briefed on the request Monday, the officials said.

“However, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said reports that Comey had requested more funding or other resources for the Russia investigation are ‘totally false’…”

In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on May 11, acting FBI Director McCabe said that there was no need for additional resources for the Russian probe.

Fear of a Cover Up

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 9:

“US President Donald Trump has surprisingly fired FBI director James Comey, charged with investigating the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia. The move has set off shock waves in Washington amid concerns of a cover up.”

Comey’s Termination Unleashes Bipartisan Firestorm

Deutsche Welle added on May 10:

“Politicians from across the American political spectrum have reacted strongly to Trump’s sudden dismissal of FBI director Comey. The firing jeopardizes an investigation into Trump campaign ties to Russia, many said… [It] unleashed a bipartisan firestorm.

“Top Democratic senator Chuck Schumer said he had told Trump it was a ‘big mistake’ to fire Comey during the probe into Russia’s alleged interference in last year’s election. ‘Earlier this afternoon, President Trump called me and informed me he was firing Director Comey. I told the president, “Mr President, with all due respect, you are making a big mistake,”’ Senate Minority Leader Schumer told reporters.

“Schumer and several of his Democratic colleagues are calling for an independent prosecutor or commission to investigate claims of Russian interference, as well as possible collusion between Trump’s campaign team and Russian officials. In a live statement, Schumer also said it was “troubling” that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was involved in the decision to dismiss Comey, having previously recused himself from the Russian investigation…

“Among Republicans, Evan McMullin, a former CIA operative and Republican candidate who ran against Trump in the primaries, warned that Comey’s dismissal could compromise the ongoing probe. Arizona Senator John McCain said he supported calls for a special committee to take over the investigation into Russia’s alleged interference of last year’s election campaign. Republican Senator from Michigan Justin Amash echoed McCain’s sentiments and highlighted a ‘bizarre’ section of Trump’s dismissal letter where the President emphasized he was not under investigation. Jeff Flake, Republican from Arizona, voiced pure perplexity at Comey’s removal.”

Never Before in American History—Ulterior Motives Behind Comey’s Termination?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 10:

“There has never before in American history been anything like this: The head of the White House has fired the head of the FBI at a time when he is leading investigations which may turn out dangerous to the president. James Comey has been investigating attempts by Russia to influence the US election, the ultimate goal being to pave the way for Donald Trump to enter the White House and to undermine his political opponent, Hillary Clinton.

“In recent weeks, the Trump administration has rejected all allegations that it cooperated with the Kremlin during the election campaign in 2016. Yet FBI investigations were still ongoing. To fire the FBI head before they had been concluded leaves a bitter political aftertaste…

“Trump’s decision has shattered the credibility of the political institutions in Washington. The reputation of the political class will reach new low levels, and with it will come an increase in political disenchantment…

“Trump’s reason for firing Comey is his conduct regarding the Hillary Clinton email affair. But no one is buying that, not even his own party members. After all, it was none other than Trump himself who praised Comey’s conduct on that matter – after the investigations heavily affected his rival’s election campaign in its final stages. Heaven forbid that there may have been ulterior motives behind firing the head of the FBI now, months later.

“Comey’s forced retirement could cause a political earthquake in Washington…”

Parallels to Watergate?

Bild Online wrote on May 10:

“Trump’s FBI-massacre has parallels to Watergate Scandal. Political suicide?” Bild also questioned the accuracy of the statement that Comey informed Trump three times that there was no investigation against him. The tabloid wrote: ‘Did Comey really assure Trump three times that there was no investigation against him as claimed by Trump in his letter? The FBI-Director? During ongoing investigations?”

In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on May 11, acting FBI Director McCabe said that it is not usual standard operating procedure to inform anyone that there is an investigation or no investigation against him. In an interview with NBC on May 11, President Trump claimed that Comey had told him during a dinner and two phone conversations that there was no investigation against Trump. Nothing was said about the time of these alleged conversations.

“The President Lies Again!”

Die Welt wrote on May 10:

“‘The President of the United States lies again,’ [quoting from a New York Times article], continuing, “Even Fox News considers Trump’s explanation as ‘extremely untrustworthy.’”

But sadly, this is not true for all of Fox News moderators. Incredibly, Sean Hannity stated in his show on May 10 that “deranged liberal crackpots” invented the idea that Comey’s termination could have anything to do with the Russia investigation.

Did Comey Become a Danger to the President?

Der Stern wrote on May 10:

“Why did Comey have to go? … Several indications point at Moscow,” continuing: “Comey had made it clear that the FBI would try to find out the truth, regardless as to how long it would take. Possibly, Comey had become a danger for the US President.”

“White House Contradictions Continue”

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 11:

“Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe has refuted claims that ousted Director James Comey had lost the confidence of the bureau. He also stressed the probe into Russian election meddling remained ‘highly significant.’ McCabe and other intelligence chiefs were questioned by the committee in a bid to get to the bottom of Comey’s surprise ousting Tuesday.

“The White House had justified the move, stating that the former director had lost the confidence of rank and file within the bureau. However, McCabe contradicted the White House, calling its assertions ‘not accurate.’ ‘Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day. The vast majority of FBI staff enjoyed a deep, positive connection to director Comey.’ …

“McCabe said the Russia investigation remained ‘highly significant’ and that the FBI would not tolerate any White House interference in the matter, adding that he would not update the Trump administration on the status of the investigation…

“That investigation may have deepened Wednesday after Moscow released photos of a closed-door meeting between Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Scheduled to only meet with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Lavrov’s ad-hoc meeting with the president compounded the perception among critics that the Kremlin had scored a diplomatic coup — just months after being hit with sanctions by the previous administration under President Barack Obama…

“In an interview with US news network NBC on Thursday, Trump also appeared to contradict the White House’s earlier statement that he had asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy General Secretary Rod Rosenstein for their opinions on Comey and acted on those recommendations. The president stressed that he had decided to fire Comey himself, irrespective of Sessions’ or Rosenstein’s recommendation, because the former FBI Director was a ‘showboat’ who had brought the bureau into ‘turmoil.’…”

We suspect that McCabe will not be the acting FBI Director for long. It is noteworthy that President Trump wrote this in his termination letter to Comey:

“I have received the attached letters from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States recommending your dismissal as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have accepted their recommendation and you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately.”

Subsequently, the White House and Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly stated that President Trump fired Comey because he took the recommendations of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General and “had no choice but to fire him”; and that he did so “based on these recommendations.” When confronted with these glaring inconsistencies, the White House spokesperson said on May 11 that she did not have a chance to speak to the President before making her comments.

US Economy Not that Great under Trump

The Week wrote on May 6:

“Campaign promises aside, ‘the U.S. economy was not great again in the first quarter of Donald Trump’s presidency’, said Ben White at Politico. Economic growth slowed to an anemic 0.7 percent in the first three months of 2017, the Commerce Department said, down from 2.1 percent during the final quarter of last year. The disappointing figures, ‘the economy’s worst performance since the first quarter of 2014,’ pose a political dilemma for President Trump. Republicans have already blamed the weak data on the Obama administration, and argue the report demonstrates the need for Trump’s agenda of tax cuts and deregulation. But they also understand that the optics for the White House aren’t good…

“‘First-quarter slowdowns have become such a regular feature of the U.S. economy’ that it’s tempting to ignore this one, said Justin Lahart at The Wall Street Journal. We shouldn’t. There’s a big red flag buried in the data: Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, is slowing down. Americans cut back sharply on big-ticket purchases like cars and appliances, causing overall spending to grow at just 0.3 percent, the worst showing since 2009. This slowdown is troubling…

“Likewise, the stock market keeps ticking skyward, with no real evidence that business fundamentals are improving. The disconnect can’t continue forever. If Trump’s economy doesn’t start delivering, ‘this levee is going to break.’”

The economy under President Trump will not become the great success which has been promised in some circles. Rather, the economic bubble will burst soon… the downfall of the USA is inevitable.

The Trumpcare Disaster

The Editorial Board of the New York Times wrote on May 4:

“The House speaker, Paul Ryan, and other Republicans… accused Democrats of rushing the Affordable Care Act through Congress. On Thursday, in a display of breathtaking hypocrisy, House Republicans – without holding any hearings or giving the Congressional Budget Office time to do an analysis – passed a bill that would strip at least 24 million Americans of health insurance.

‘Pushed by President Trump to repeal the A.C.A., or Obamacare, so he could claim a legislative win, Mr. Ryan and his lieutenants browbeat and cajoled members of their caucus to pass the bill. Groups representing doctors, hospitals, nurses, older people and people with illnesses like cancer opposed the bill. Just 17 percent of Americans supported an earlier version of the measure, and Republicans have made the legislation only worse since that poll was conducted. Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Ryan seemed bothered by this overwhelming criticism of their Trumpcare bill, the American Health Care Act. They seemed concerned only about appeasing the House Freedom Caucus, the far-right flank of their party…

“The bill would cut $880 billion over 10 years from Medicaid, the program that provides health care to about 74 million poor, disabled and elderly Americans. That’s one-fourth of its budget. As a result, 14 million fewer people would have access to health care by 2026, according to a C.B.O. analysis of the earlier bill, which contained similar Medicaid provisions. The cuts would also hurt special education programs, which receive about $4 billion from Medicaid every year…

“It would provide $300 billion less over 10 years to help people who do not get insurance through employers and have to buy their own policies. This would hurt lower-income and older people the hardest. For example, a 60-year-old living in Phoenix and earning $40,000 would have to pay an additional $12,370 a year to buy a policy, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Many people who find themselves in this situation would have no choice but to forgo insurance…

“An amendment by Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey would allow states to waive the requirement that insurers sell policies to people with prior health problems and not charge them higher rates. The chief executive of Blue Shield of California said the bill ‘could return us to a time when people who were born with a birth defect or who became sick could not purchase or afford insurance.’ Republicans say they will require that states with waivers offer high-risk pools and find other ways to help treat these people. The bill offers $138 billion over 10 years to help states pay for such programs.

“Experts say this is far too little; Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Foundation estimates it would take at least $25 billion a year…

“The bill would also let states waive a requirement under Obamacare that insurers cover a list of essential services. This means people in some places might not have access to maternity care or cancer treatment. This provision could also hurt people who get insurance through work, because federal regulations allow employers to opt into the rules of any state for the purposes of determining annual and lifetime limits on coverage, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution…

“The bill now moves to the Senate, where several centrist Republicans are opposed to it… But Mr. Trump and far-right groups will put tremendous pressure on them to pass this dreadful bill or something similarly terrible. The health of millions of Americans is now in their hands.”

The Washington Post wrote on May 4:

“Trump’s promise to cover everyone more broadly and for less money was always an impossibility, akin to saying that you were going to have your cake, eat your cake — and give everyone in America the same cake, which would feed them forever. But based on the comments he made at the unusual Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate the passage of the House bill, it’s still not clear that he admits that what was passed diverges from what he promised.”

The debacle of Trumpcare may prove to be a great loss for the Republicans in the mid-term elections in 2018.

Trump’s Healthcare Success Might Be Short-Lived

The Associated Press wrote on May 6:

“Senate Republicans wasted no time on Friday showing they have little use for the House bill to repeal and replace Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act amid fears among Americans that people already sick won’t be able to get affordable insurance. ‘I’m going to read the House bill, find out what it costs and where I find good ideas there, why we’ll borrow them. But basically we’re writing our own bill,’ Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate health committee, said in an interview.

“‘At this point, there seem to be more questions than answers about its consequences,’ said moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote may prove one of the hardest to get for President Donald Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said over Twitter: ‘A bill — finalized yesterday, has not been scored, amendments not allowed, and 3 hours final debate — should be viewed with caution.’”

Safe Zones in Syria Not that Safe

Fox News wrote on May 6:

“A State Department official on Friday said that the Russian proposal calling to bar U.S. military aircrafts from flying over designated safe zones cannot ‘limit’ the U.S.’s mission against ISIS in the country in any way. ‘The coalition will continue to strike ISIS targets in Syria,’ the official told The Wall Street Journal… A deal hammered out by Russia, Turkey and Iran to set up ‘de-escalation zones’ in mostly opposition-held parts of Syria went into effect Saturday… The United States is not party to the agreement and the Syrian rivals have not signed on to the deal. The armed opposition, instead, was highly critical of the proposal, saying it lacks legitimacy.

“Russian officials said it will be at least another month until the details are worked out and the safe areas established… A potential complication to implementing the plan is the crowded airspace over Syria. The deal calls for all aircraft to be banned from flying over the safe zones.

“Syrian, Russian, Turkish and U.S.-led coalition aircraft operate in different, sometimes same areas in Syria. It is not yet clear how the new plan would affect flightpaths of U.S.-led coalition warplanes battling Islamic State militants and other radical groups — and whether the American air force would abide by a diminished air space.

“Russia and Iran — two of the plan’s three sponsors — are key allies of President Bashar Assad’s government and both are viewed as foreign occupation forces by his opponents. Rebels fighting to topple Assad are enraged by Iran’s role in the deal and blame the Shiite power for fueling the sectarian nature of Syria’s conflict, now in its seventh year. Turkey, the third sponsor, is a major backer of opposition factions and has also sent troops into northern Syria, drawing the ire of Assad and his government. Yet troops from the three countries are now expected to secure four safe zones. An official with Russia’s military general staff said other countries may eventually have a role in enforcing the de-escalation areas.”

It does not appear that this “deal” will have any chance for success.

Steinmeier and Netanyahu Weathering the Storm?

The Times of Israel wrote on May 7:

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday delivered a subtle but harsh rebuke to Prime Minister Netanyahu over the latter’s refusal to hold talks with foreign dignitaries who meet with the controversial Breaking the Silence group… Steinmeier defended his foreign minister’s decision to meet with the group critical of Israel’s West Bank activities despite losing out on a sit-down with Netanyahu…

“Earlier in the day Steinmeier met with Netanyahu and during a joint press conference spoke of ‘weathering’ the diplomatic storm caused by a run-in between the Israeli prime minister and the German foreign minister. Last month, Netanyahu cancelled on short notice a meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel over the latter’s refusal to abort a planned meeting with Breaking the Silence…

“Referring to but not naming the members of Breaking the Silence — which Netanyahu denounced as a group trying to get Israeli soldiers tried for war crimes — Steinmeier said that anyone who expresses criticism is not a traitor, but rather a ‘preserver’ of the nation.

“For that reason, I believe that civil-society organizations that are part of the social debate deserve our respect as democrats, even when they take a critical view of a government – in Germany, but also here in Israel,” he said.

“The German president said that he thought long and hard about the scandal surrounding Netanyahu’s snub of Gabriel, adding that he was urged to postpone or even cancel his trip to Israel as a result… Steinmeier… said it would have been cowardly of him not to come to Israel due to the spat over Breaking the Silence…

“In a lengthy speech about Israeli-German relations and the state of democracy in both countries, Steinmeier also reiterated Berlin’s opposition to ‘illegal settlement activities’ and endorsed the two-state solution as the only way that could secure Israel as a Jewish and democratic state… He also announced the creation of a prize named after Israel’s late ninth president, Shimon Peres…”

The relationship between Israel and Germany (as well as Europe) will deteriorate, as the Bible clearly prophesies. Note the next article.

UNESCO, Brussels and Germany under Attack

The Hill wrote on May 5:

“Forget fake news. UNESCO is promoting an entire fake universe.

“Like so many other UN agencies with an assured anti-Israel majority, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regularly votes to deny some aspect of Israel’s legitimacy. Their diplomatic machinations at UNESCO serves as the backbone of much of the Muslim world’s refusal to recognize the Jewish people’s historic links to Israel, the Holy Land.

“To [legitimize]  their denial of the past and today’s reality of a Jewish state with more than 8 million citizens, history itself must be re-written, holy sites rebranded… UNESCO’s new resolution, timed to coincide with Israel’s 69th Independence Day on Tuesday, May 2, rejects Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem, including modern West Jerusalem. The resolution passed with 22 nations supporting the measure, 10 opposing it, 23 countries abstaining, and three absent.

“In its text, Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rivka, Jacob and Leah are buried were repackaged as Muslim mosques… What is particularly galling was the role Germany reportedly played in enabling fellow European Union members to be free to support… this outrage. If the German Foreign Minister or any other European diplomat thinks this cynical maneuver which further fuels dreams of an alternative universe sans Israelis will impact Jews in Israel or around the world, they are dead wrong.

“Jerusalem is the heart of the Jewish people. Centuries ago, long before anyone heard of Mohammed, Jews understood the importance of the city that King David… made his capital. They built two temples there, which became focal points for their religion and their peoplehood, maintaining that centrality, even in times that it lay in ruins. ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand fail me,’ spoke the prophet…

“Reality and mutual respect, not fantasy, are the first building blocks of trust and treaties. It is a toss-up as to who has done more damage with the latest UN Middle East fiasco — Arab regimes that continue to deny that the Jewish people has risen from the ashes, or dapper European diplomats who think they can still denigrate cowering Jews. Take note Berlin and Brussels. Those days are over.”

Sadly, the days of serious hostility between Israel and Europe are just beginning.

Turkey Attacks Israel

JTA wrote on May 8:

“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  accused Israel of ‘massacres’ against the Palestinians and chided the international community for its silence. Erdogan made his comments on Monday at the Al-Quds Forum in Istanbul… to discuss the state of Muslim heritage in Jerusalem.

“Speaking of Israel, the Turkish leader was quoted as saying… ‘They feel they are immune to any punishment for their crimes, but the international community needs to stand up against them. It is impossible to establish peace in the region if the international law remains indifferent to massacres and cruelty.’”

Israel Responds to Erdogan’s Inflammatory Comments

Times of Israel wrote on May 9:

“President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday rebuked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his diatribe on the ‘Judaization’ of Jerusalem, noting that the city has had a Jewish majority for over 150 years, including under Ottoman rule… Modern Turkey is the successor of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the Holy Land from the late 15th century until 1917…

“At the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem earlier on Tuesday telephoned Turkish Ambassador Kemal Okem for a ‘clarification conversation,’ the ministry said, in the first major confrontation since the two countries re-established ties last year…

“Erdogan’s comments elicited a host of angry responses from Israeli politicians… ‘Erdogan’s grave words of incitement will not change the fact that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people, and the capital of Israel,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely tweeted. The Temple Mount will remain open to all religions but ‘under Israeli sovereignty,’ she added. ‘It is surprising that Erdogan, who leads a state that occupied Jerusalem for 400 years, wants to preach to us about how to manage our city,’ said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

“The Jewish people’s connection to Jerusalem is 3,000 years old, Barkat said, adding that Jewish roots can be seen ‘in every corner of the city.'”

The Bible prophesies that the relationship between Turkey and Israel will end up in outright war.

Knesset Preliminarily Approves Bill Defining Israel as a Jewish State

JTA wrote on May 10:

“The Knesset in a preliminary reading approved a bill that would officially define Israel as a Jewish state. The Knesset vote on Wednesday was 48 to 41…

“The so-called Nationality Law is intended to serve as Basic Law, similar to a constitutional law, and would declare Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people. It addresses national symbols, including the flag and the national anthem, the right of return for Jews, holy sites and the Hebrew calendar. It also calls for the government to work to strengthen ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry… It must pass two more readings to become law, but first has to go to the Justice Ministry, which has 60 days to draft its own version and combine the two before the vote.”

This will be interesting to watch as it could easily result in Arabic aggression.

Conflict Within the German Army

The Local wrote on May 4:

“The bizarre case of a racist soldier allegedly plotting an attack while posing as a Syrian refugee and several abuse scandals have sparked a war of words between Germany’s defence minister and the military.  It is a dangerous political battle for Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman in charge of the armed forces, who is often mentioned as a potential successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“The escalating conflict started with the arrest a week ago of 28-year-old army lieutenant Franco Albrecht, who was stationed at a Franco-German base near Strasbourg. He came to the notice of the authorities after Austrian police caught him with a loaded handgun at the Vienna airport in February. The subsequent investigation found that, amid Germany’s 2015 mass influx of refugees, he had created a fake identity as a Damascus fruit seller called ‘David Benjamin’ Incredibly, the German who speaks no Arabic managed to gain political asylum, a spot in a refugee shelter and monthly state benefits for his fictitious alter ego…

“On Wednesday, von der Leyen — who cancelled a scheduled US trip to deal with the widening scandal — visited Albrecht’s base in France. She angrily denounced the fact that Wehrmacht memorabilia was displayed in a common room there, emphasising that the World War II-era German army ‘has nothing in common’ with today’s Bundeswehr… Her comments offended many soldiers who already feel insufficiently appreciated for missions from Afghanistan to Mali in a country which, with its guilt over the Nazi era, still shows little love for the military…”

At this point, Germany has abandoned the draft in favor of a professional army (“Berufsarmee”). But voices in the media have been heard demanding a return to the draft.

A Divided UK—the Beginning of the End?

The Week wrote on May 6:

“Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has left the kingdom’s four countries deeply divided. While England and Wales voted for Brexit last June, both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, by majorities of 62 percent and 56 percent, respectively. Now faced with being dragged out of Europe, both are seriously reconsidering their historic position within the U.K. In March, the Scottish Parliament voted for the right to hold a second independence referendum, which could lead to Scotland seceding from the U.K. and rejoining the EU. Irish nationalists are demanding their own border poll on unification with the Republic of Ireland. If the Scots and Irish choose independence, England and Wales will stand alone. Ironically, the vote for Brexit was supposedly a vote for a resurgent Britain — one that would wrest back power and national pride from Brussels. Instead, says Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, it may have triggered ‘the beginning of the end of the United Kingdom.’…

“The British Isles have a complicated history, filled with conquests, rebellions, and reconquests. But the loose origins of the U.K. date back to the early 10th century, when the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan unified England’s disparate kingdoms and secured the reluctant allegiance of the Scots and the Welsh. But the relationship between England, Scotland, and Wales only became official in 1707, when the Acts of Union formally created ‘One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain.’ That kingdom merged with Ireland in 1801 to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. When most of Ireland seceded in 1922, with just six Ulster counties in the north remaining under British control, that left the U.K. as we know it — stretching from Land’s End in the south to John o’Groat’s at the tip of Scotland…

“Scotland currently receives more than $260 million a year in EU funding, and sends about $16 billion in exports to the Eurozone; in addition, many Scots resent the ruling conservatives in London far more than they do the bureaucrats in Brussels. To hold another plebiscite, though, [Scotland’s First Minister Nicola] Sturgeon needs the permission of British Prime Minister Theresa May, who refuses to give it before Brexit negotiations have been completed in 2019. But momentum for independence is growing…

“While Westminster frets about Scotland, Northern Ireland is quietly undergoing its own constitutional turmoil. Northern Ireland doesn’t want to lose billions in regional development and farming funds from the EU — though it depends on billions in U.K. subsidies too. But Brexit poses another disturbing consequence for the Irish: the prospect of a hard, 300-mile land border between the North and independent South, which remains a member of the EU…

“British politics are too volatile now for anyone to make reliable predictions. But before 2011, nationalists were just a noisy minority in Scotland. Today, they are a powerful force, and are on the cusp of a second historic independence referendum in just three years. Brits seem pessimistic about staying together: More than half think the U.K. will no longer exist in a decade in its current form, according to a BBC poll…

“The breakup of the U.K. would raise some immediate questions for the English. Would the former world power retain its permanent seat — officially held by the U.K. — on the United Nations Security Council, and its influential positions within NATO and the World Bank?… The English would also keep their military capabilities — though they would face troubling questions over their nuclear weapons, which are currently based in Scotland with no viable location to re-house them in England. After all of that, ‘Little England’ would face its own identity crisis. Would people in Manchester or Bristol consider themselves English, or British? Would they continue to sing the U.K. national anthem at England’s football games, or sing the English anthem, ‘Land of Hope and Glory,’ instead? In the post-Brexit era, says British historian Norman Davies, the English ‘are appallingly confused about who they are.’”

However it will play out, it is clear that Britain’s former glory is gone.

Gibraltar Back in the News

The Sun wrote on May 5:

“THE SPANISH government has been accused of ‘completely unacceptable’ behaviour after flying military aircraft into Gibraltar’s airspace today. A British Airways flight on its way to Heathrow was delayed after the Spanish military’s P3 Orion flew within just two miles of Gibraltar’s coastline… Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said the incursion was merely the latest in a string of deliberate incidents.

“However, he went on to describe Friday’s incident as an example of Spain taking the ‘harassment of Gibraltar to new heights’… Picardo continued: ‘It is completely unacceptable that the Spanish military have interfered with the movement of civilian aircraft in this dangerous manner. Gibraltar International Airport is an extremely busy base for civilian passengers who are significant contributors to the tourism economy of the campo area. Delays caused by the politically-motivated manoeuvres of the Spanish military are intolerable but thanks to the swift action of Gibraltar’s Air Traffic Control, delays were the only consequence…”

Gibraltar Between Rock and a Hard Place

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 9:

“Gibraltarians are preparing to face hardships in the wake of Brexit. Their very mixed city, the most EU-enthusiastic in the UK, feels disappointed and betrayed by Brussels. Santiago Saez reports from Gibraltar… Crossing Gibraltar’s border is easy. People trickle into town and wait for the bus to the center or just walk across the airport’s landing strip and past the adjacent Victoria Stadium (the national football team’s home ground) to the Main Street. All they need is a valid piece of ID from an EU country to get in…

“Of all the British territories, Gibraltar was the most EU-enthusiastic at the Brexit referendum. An overwhelming 96 percent of voters voted for the UK to remain. That’s a much larger proportion than Scotland (62 percent), London (60 percent) or Northern Ireland (56 percent). However, as pro-Remain as Gibraltar is, the EU decision to grant Spain veto powers over a special trade deal with The Rock hasn’t been well received… Gibraltarians don’t want to follow Scotland or Northern Ireland into possible independence, and won’t even talk about getting closer to Spain…

“Next month’s general elections in the UK are widely regarded as Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid for more power and legitimacy to negotiate British withdrawal conditions from the EU. However, Gibraltarians don’t get to vote: As an overseas territory, The Rock doesn’t have parliamentary representation in Westminster…”

Express added on May 9:

“The tiny British enclave on Spain’s southern tip, with a population of 30,000, is home to around 15,000 companies and is a major provider of insurance and gambling services. Its low tax rates have been a big bone of contention with Madrid, which ultimately claims sovereignty over the Rock, even though Spain runs similar offshore tax havens in Ceuta and Melilla.

“… people were concerned that its large financial services industry would be affected, but… many companies based on the Rock predominantly serve the British market anyway… about 20 percent of motor vehicles in the UK are underwritten by Gibraltar-based insurance companies, making insurers the largest financial sector in the territory…”

The fight regarding Gibraltar will not go away easily.

Executive Order Protecting Churches Woefully Inadequate?

The Hill wrote on May 7:

“Some conservatives are frustrated by President Trump’s new religious liberty order, saying it is dramatically scaled back from what they were expecting and doesn’t enact the protections he promised during the campaign… Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Ryan Anderson called the order ‘woefully inadequate’… The Christian nonprofit group Alliance Defending Freedom released a statement describing the order as ‘disappointingly vague’…  And writing on the National Review, David French… called the order ‘constitutionally dubious, dangerously misleading, and ultimately harmful to the very cause that it purports to protect’…

“The order essentially directs the Treasury Department to not enforce the relevant element of the tax code… [Some] say the Johnson Amendment requires a legislative or judicial fix. Instructing an agency to ignore it is no different from President Obama telling agencies not to enforce certain immigration laws, conservatives say. Worse, the order could encourage churches to participate in the 2018 and 2020 election cycles, only to see a future Democratic president put the Johnson Amendment back in place. ‘The answer to the Johnson Amendment … is to either repeal the statute or overturn it in court,’ French wrote. ‘This order does neither … a later administration can tear up Trump’s order and begin vigorous enforcement based on actions undertaken during the Trump administration … Thinking they were protected, churches would find themselves in the worst of predicaments, with their rights and possibly even existences dependent on the capricious mercies of the federal courts.’”

This is indeed an important warning, as executive orders can be easily revoked.

“U.S. Weighs a Ban on Laptops on Flights from Europe”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on May 11:

“Department of Homeland Security officials met with airline industry representatives Thursday to discuss the possibility of expanding a ban on laptop computers and other large electronic devices as carry-ons on planes flying to the U.S. from Europe… The potential move would expand restrictions imposed in March by the U.S. and Britain on electronic devices larger than a smartphone in passenger cabins of flights from eight Middle Eastern and African countries…

“Earlier in the day, the European Union called for urgent meetings with U.S. officials to discuss any potential expansion… The U.S. ban already in place requires passengers on international flights from 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa to put all laptop computers, electronic tablets and other devices larger than a smartphone into luggage checked into the cargo compartment…”

Will this nonsense ever stop? It seems like the Trump Administration is determined to make it more and more difficult for tourists to visit the USA. This is most certainly not the way to make America great again.

United Methodist Church Far From Being United

The New York Times wrote on April 28:

“The United Methodist Church’s highest court has ruled that the consecration of its first openly gay bishop violated church law, compounding a bitter rift over homosexuality that has brought the 13-million-member denomination to the brink of schism. In a 6-to-3 vote made public on Friday, the church’s Judicial Council found that a married lesbian bishop and those who consecrated her were in violation of their ‘commitment to abide by and uphold the church’s definition of marriage and stance on homosexuality.’…

“The Judicial Council also decided, in separate rulings, that the New York and Illinois regions must ask candidates for the ministry about their sexuality and rule out those who are gay ‘or in any other way violating the church’s standards on marriage and sexuality.’…

“The country’s third-largest religious denomination, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church adopted language in 1972 declaring that ‘self-avowed practicing homosexuals’ may not be ordained because ‘the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.’ Methodists have debated that language every four years at meetings of the church’s top decision-making body, the General Conference…

“Other mainline Protestant denominations, including the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have decided to allow same-sex marriage and openly gay ministers…”

This is what happens when compromise is allowed—a major US denomination potentially being split apart!

Indonesia’s Persecution of Christians

NBC News wrote on May 9:

“The minority Christian governor of Jakarta was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for blaspheming the Quran, a jarring ruling that undermines the reputation of the world’s largest Muslim nation for practicing a moderate form of Islam… The accusation of blasphemy engulfed Ahok in September after a video surfaced of him telling voters they were being deceived if they believed a specific verse in the Quran prohibited Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim leader…

“Massive street protests in the past six months against Ahok and Tuesday’s verdict are among the signs of an increasing religious conservatism in Indonesia… Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch described the verdict as ‘a huge setback’ for Indonesia’s record of tolerance and for minorities. He added: ‘If someone like Ahok, the governor of the capital, backed by the country’s largest political party, ally of the president, can be jailed on groundless accusations, what will others do?’…

“The two-year prison sentence was a surprise outcome after prosecutors had recommended two years of probation. The maximum sentence for blasphemy in Indonesia is five years in prison.”

Increased persecution of religious minorities all over the world can be expected. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, “Russia’s persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

 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.

EU Countries Agree on Brexit Guidelines

The Telegraph wrote on April 29:

“The EU 27 have unanimously agreed their guidelines for the forthcoming negotiations with the UK, in a meeting that lasted ‘one minute’ and ended in spontaneous applause, as the draft guidelines were ratified without a single major alteration… French President François Hollande said the UK must ‘pay the price’ for its decision to leave the EU.

“… Only a small number of amendments were made to the draft guidelines, which now list securing protections for EU citizens resident in the UK ahead of its financial obligations – reversing the previous position. Along with citizens’ rights, the disputed ‘divorce bill’ the UK will have to pay on exit – estimated at a potential £50 billion – and the question of how to maintain a free-flowing Irish border are among the key issues. Mr Tusk said ‘sufficient progress’ on all three were needed before the EU’s future relationship with Europe and trade deals could be addressed, in spite of Ms May’s call for parallel talks…”

Tough Brexit Talks Ahead

The Telegraph wrote on May 1:

“The European Union has warned that it is ‘more likely than not’ that Brexit talks will fail after Jean Claude Juncker accused Theresa May of being ‘deluded’… The President of the European Commission launched a scathing attack on Mrs May after the meeting on Wednesday last week… telling the PM ‘I’m leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before.’ He reportedly… threatened to end talks without a trade deal if Britain refuses to pay a ‘divorce’ bill.

“The Prime Minister said that the UK is not legally obliged to pay the EU anything as it leaves the EU. Mr Juncker and his colleagues responded by saying that Britain cannot simply cancel its membership of the EU as if it was a ‘golf club’…

“After the meal Mr Juncker called Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, saying that Mrs May was ‘living in another galaxy’… His call led to Mrs Merkel publicly warning that Britain was suffering from ‘illusions’ about Brexit. Mrs May subsequently highlighted her comments and said that EU nations were ‘lining up’ to oppose Britain and that talks would be ‘tough’…

“The European Union also appeared to reject calls by Mrs May for talks to remain confidential… The European Commission said that this would be ‘impossible’ given the need to consult member states and the European Parliament over discussions. ‘All documents must be published,’ the report suggested.”

These talks could become so tough that Theresa May may just walk away from them without a deal, as British media suggests and advocates. She stated that Britain will under no circumstances pay any “divorce bill” of £50 billion to the EU.

Explosive Crisis Ahead?

The Daily Mail wrote on May 3:

“Brussels admitted yesterday that it faces an ‘explosive’ political crisis if the UK refuses to pay a [by now 100 billion] pound Brexit bill…

“The bloc called for EU citizens who arrive in the UK just a day before Brexit to be granted full residency rights which can later extend to their families. It also demanded that millions of EU migrants in the UK should be governed by Brussels rules for decades to come – even if this means providing better benefits than Britons receive…

“The EU’s latest demands were rejected by Brexit Secretary David Davis. He also dismissed threats from Brussels to use the issue to block a trade deal, insisting Britain will not pay a penny if talks collapse…”

EU to Intensify “Defense Cooperation”

AFP wrote on April 28:

“Led by France and Germany, the European Union has identified defence cooperation as a key area for rebooting the crisis-hit bloc after Britain’s traumatic vote to leave… This could include efforts to relaunch a so-called rapid response force, which was approved as a rotating battle group led by member states a decade ago but never deployed…

“Britain, nuclear armed and with a permanent veto at the United Nations, long opposed such efforts, fearing the creation of a ‘European army’ commanded from Brussels. But Brexit has taken Britain out of the equation…

“German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said it was ‘impressive to see that now all 27 member states (minus Britain) are ready to put the security and defence union on a good path…. We see this year as the year of implementation.’”

These developments will lead to the prophesied establishment of a European Army.

French Election and Europe’s Future

On April 29, Joschka Fischer (former German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998-2005) wrote in project-syndicate.org:

“A lot can happen between now and the second round of the French presidential election on May 7, so it is still too early to celebrate. But, even with the nationalist, populist candidate Marine Le Pen still in the running, many observers are genuinely hopeful that the first-round winner, Emmanuel Macron, will be France’s next president.

“With Macron’s victory, Europe would avoid self-destruction yet again. A President Le Pen would almost surely bring about the end of the European Union. Taking France out of the eurozone, as Le Pen has promised, would lead to the collapse of the euro itself. After that, the EU common market and other core institutions would fall like dominoes. Europe would plunge into the abyss, and 60 years of political, economic, and social progress would be lost…

“For starters, it is in Europe’s interest that a President Macron not fail. The EU’s future, and particularly that of Germany, depends on a successful Macron presidency to lift France from its long economic malaise and resolve its paralyzing identity crisis… At the same time, a strong, self-confident France is necessary for the EU’s long-term survival… The EU is a complicated entity that can be led only by a strong French-German axis working in concert with other member states. That, too, is a lasting lesson that European leaders should take from the French election…

“As the French presidential election reaches its conclusion, the description of Europe as a ‘community of destiny’ still holds true, even after 60 years. On May 7, France will decide not just its own fate, but that of the EU, too. Europeans should rejoice – but then they must get down to work.”

At this point, the EU will not fall into the abyss or the bottomless pit, out of which it has been coming (Revelation 9:1-2; 17:8), until it has carried out its prophesied purpose.

Persecution of Jewish Beliefs and Practices in Europe

JTA wrote on May 2:

“Considering Marine Le Pen’s historical gains in the French presidential elections, the Dutch far-right’s rise and the assault on ritual slaughter in Belgium, this spring is shaping up to be a life-changing time for Europe — its religious minorities in particular…

“Did a majority of Dutch lawmakers show respect and tolerance for the country’s religious minorities when they passed a ban on ritual slaughter in 2011 — despite passionate pleas by Jews, Muslims and many Christians?

“The prohibition eventually was overturned by the Dutch Senate. But in recent weeks, two of Belgium’s three regions introduced plans to ban the custom, ignoring the pleas of a Jewish community leader to ‘not repeat the actions of the Nazis,’ who had introduced Belgium’s previous ban…

“Even if… Macron beats Le Pen 60-40 percent in the final vote on May 7, she will still have more than doubled the showing of 18 percent that her father had in 2002 – the first time the National Front made it to the second round. In Jewish communities across Western Europe, the rise of Marine Le Pen – who despite distancing herself from the rhetoric of her father has vowed to ban ritual slaughter as well as the wearing of both the kippah and Muslim garb in public – is seen as an existential threat…

“Indeed, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Luxembourg-born president of the Conference of European Rabbis, told me that he believes that Le Pen’s popularity already is emboldening initiatives to ban ritual slaughter and circumcision in Belgium and beyond…”

Europe’s intolerance for religious and ethnic minorities will continue…

EU Rules Out Suspension of US, Canada Visa-Waivers

The Associated Press wrote on May 2:

“The European Union says it has decided not to suspend visa-free travel arrangements with the United States and Canada given good progress made on resolving the standoff. The United States is refusing to allow visa-free travel to citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania until they meet the requirements of U.S. law. Canada has limits on certain categories of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens. But the European Commission said Tuesday that ‘contacts have been re-launched with the new U.S. administration’ and Canada has pledged to lift all outstanding visa restrictions by December… EU lawmakers are pressuring the European Commission to suspend the visa waiver with both countries.”

This is good news. In spite of the Trump Administration’s controversial stance towards some EU countries, the EU decided not to make it more difficult for Americans and Canadians to visit the EU, at least for the time being. Another strange move this week was the Trump Administration’s singling out Europe when issuing a travel warning to American tourists visiting Europe… as if it would not be equally dangerous, if not more so, to travel within the USA or to non-European countries.  

Trump’s Stance on North Korea Missile Defense “Chaotic”, says South Korean Media

The Guardian wrote on May 1:

“The South Korean media has accused Donald Trump of weakening bilateral security ties at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula after he said Seoul should pay for a controversial missile defence system. The US president was accused of dropping ‘a barrage of verbal bombs’ and sending ‘confusing and contradictory’ messages over Washington’s commitment to the country’s security.

“… However, Trump’s national security adviser, HR McMaster, reportedly told his South Korean counterpart on Sunday that the US would shoulder the costs for the system, which is designed to intercept North Korean missiles in mid-flight.

“… The US and South Korea originally agreed that Washington would pay for Thaad in return for South Korea providing land for missile batteries, radar and other facilities.”

These contradictory messages from the Trump Administration are truly embarrassing. President Trump has refused to state how he will deal with North Korea if they were to continue with their missile tests, which is to be expected.

“Trump Says He’d ‘Be Honored’ to Meet North Korea’s Kim”

Newsmax wrote on May 1:

“President Donald Trump said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions over his country’s nuclear weapons program if the circumstances were right. ‘If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,’ Trump said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg News. ‘If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.’

“North Korea has become the most urgent national security threat and foreign policy issue facing Trump as his first 100 days in office passed. Kim’s regime has continued development of its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile program in defiance of international condemnation and sanctions. Kim has never met with a foreign leader since taking charge after his father’s death in 2011 and hasn’t left his isolated country… Tensions have escalated since Trump vowed in January that he wouldn’t let North Korea develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and North Korea has labeled American military moves in the region as acts of ‘intimidation and blackmail.’ North Korea has continued to test missiles this year after carrying out its fourth and fifth nuclear tests in a decade last year.”

How can the US President feel “honored” to meet with a criminal and murderer like Kim Jong Un?

Trump’s 100 Days in Office and His Wish for Dictatorship

The Guardian wrote on April 29:

“On his 100th day in office on Saturday, facing historically low popularity ratings, a succession of intractable foreign crises and multiple investigations of his links with Moscow, Donald Trump… declared himself ‘disappointed’ with congressional Republicans… He blamed the constitutional checks and balances built in to US governance. ‘It’s a very rough system,’ he said. ‘It’s an archaic system … It’s really a bad thing for the country.’…

“He has failed to get any of his priorities turned into legislation in the face of party disunity, and his attempt to rule by executive order has been largely hollow. His decrees have been either meaningless, like his one-page, detail-free tax reform plan, or have been blocked by the courts, such as his travel ban for Muslim countries and refugees…

“But his core supporters have remained faithful, choosing to believe that the mainstream media are purveyors of fake news…”

To attack the US Constitution in such a way is troublesome. President Trump’s major accomplishment during his first 100 days in office has been the replacement of the late conservative US Supreme Court Judge Anthony Scalia with conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch.

“100 Days of Chaos”

Der Spiegel wrote on April 28:

“With his attacks on judges, journalists and critics, U.S. President Donald Trump is chipping away at the foundations of democracy. Is the American Constitution strong enough to withstand the assault?… Trump has never made a secret of his intense disdain for the institutions that are necessary for a vigorous democracy: an independent judiciary, a critical press and a healthy opposition. Essentially, Trump would be happy to do away with all of that, or at least marginalize it. Following the ruling from San Francisco, he indicated that he is broadly dissatisfied with the federal judges there and threatened to curtail their power…

“[Trump] harbors admiration for autocrats. He has often praised the leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of his first visitors in the White House was Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Furthermore, he could hardly congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fast enough following his victory in the recent constitutional referendum that brought the country a giant step closer to becoming a dictatorship…

“After 100 days of chaos, Trump is the least liked of all modern presidents…”

Freedom of Churches and the IRS

Newsmax wrote on May 3:

“President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that rolls back at least some of the restrictions religious organizations have when it comes to getting political. Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and Trump will host religious leaders at the White House to mark the occasion.

“According to The New York Times, Trump may sign a directive that would cancel out a section of the federal tax code that prevents religious organizations from participating in politics because of their tax-exempt status. Organizations have complained for years about the speech restrictions placed on them simply because of their legal status with the IRS.”

This would be an important and necessary change, as the interpretation of the IRS pertaining to “political speech” of churches can be quite restrictive and overreaching.

CNN reported on May 4:

“The order will direct the IRS to exercise ‘maximum enforcement discretion’

over the Johnson Amendment, which prevents churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates…

“By directing the IRS to use its discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, religious organizations are likely to escape punishment for backing political candidates. Religious leaders have argued the provision stifles their rights to free speech.

“The 1954 measure says any tax-exempt group can lose its exemption if it is found to have endorsed or actively opposed a candidate for political office…

“Trump himself vowed early in his presidential tenure to get rid of the measure, though completely striking the amendment would require an act of Congress…”

This is indeed an important and necessary change, as the interpretation of the IRS pertaining to “political speech” of churches can be quite restrictive and overreaching.Subsequently, Mr. Trump signed the executive order.

House to Rushed Through Healthcare Bill… Another Debacle in the Making

The Associated Press reported on May 3:

“The House will vote Thursday on GOP legislation to repeal and replace Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, as Republicans finally aim to deliver on seven years of campaign promises that helped them gain control of Congress and the White House. But the move announced late Wednesday by GOP leaders also carries extreme political risk, as House Republicans prepare to endorse a bill that boots millions off the insurance rolls and may not even survive the Senate…

“After an earlier defeat when Republican leaders were forced to pull the bill for lack of votes, the decision to move forward indicated confidence on the part of GOP leaders. Failure would be catastrophic. But a successful outcome would make good on the GOP’s No. 1 goal of undoing Obama’s signature legislative achievement, and provide a long-sought win for Trump, who has been in office more than 100 days without a significant congressional victory save Senate confirmation of a Supreme Court justice.

“The White House had aggressively pushed House leaders to act, and Trump got heavily involved in recent days, working the phones and personally agreeing to changes earlier Wednesday that brought two pivotal Republicans back on board. Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Billy Long of Missouri emerged from a White House meeting with Trump saying they could now support the bill, thanks to the addition of $8 billion over five years to help people with pre-existing conditions…

“The latest iteration of the GOP health care bill would let states escape requirements that insurers provide a menu of basic services like preventive care and charge healthy and seriously ill customers the same rates — changes that brought a key group of conservatives on board last week. Overall, the legislation would cut the Medicaid program for the poor, eliminate fines for people who don’t buy insurance and provide generally skimpier subsidies. The American Medical Association, AARP and other consumer and medical groups are opposed. The AMA issued a statement saying the changes… ‘tinker at the edges without remedying the fundamental failing of the bill — that millions of Americans will lose their health insurance as a direct result.’

“If the GOP bill became law, congressional analysts estimate that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026, including 14 million by next year.

“When the health bill does come to a vote Thursday it will be without an updated analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office about its cost and affect, a point Democrats complained about bitterly…”

It does not appear that there is anything godly or righteous about this new healthcare bill proposal…

Republican Obamacare Replacement Bill Passes House

CNBC wrote on May 4:

“Highlights of the GOP bill

“… Allow older adults to be charged premiums that are five times higher the premiums charged younger adults, instead of the 3:1 ratio established by Obamacare. Impose a premium penalty for people who do not maintain continuous health coverage… Give states power to request waivers for insurers that allow them to charge people with pre-existing health conditions higher premiums if they let coverage lapse…”

Deutsche Welle reported on May 4:

“The US House of Representatives has approved a bill to repeal major portions of Obamacare replacing it with a Republican health care plan. It’s a win for President Trump – even though passage in the Senate is uncertain.  By a vote of 217-213, Republicans managed to obtain just enough votes to push the bill through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democrats voted in favor of the House bill…

“In a push to pass the bill before representatives left on for a week in their home districts, the House voted before the bill could be assessed by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which is in charge of estimating its cost and effect on insurance rolls. The bill will reportedly be assessed by the CBO and fixes will be made before the Senate can get to vote on it.

“In the Senate, where the Republican majority is narrow, lawmakers said the bill would face much greater scrutiny and skepticism… While private insurance companies also showed their disagreement with Obamacare, every major medical group, including the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) opposed the Republican bill introduced by the Trump administration…

“A number of skeptical Republican lawmakers got behind the bill after President Trump proposed a compromise, which would add $8 billion over five years to help cover the cost for people with pre-existing illnesses who could otherwise not afford insurance without Obamacare. However, health care consultancy and research firm Avalere Health believes that the Republican bill featuring Trump’s compromise could only cover 5 percent of enrollees with pre-existing conditions.”

It was stated that the Senate would most certainly not adopt the bill in its present form. Any changes agreed upon by the Senate would have to be sent back to the House for its approval. So, the fight for Trumpcare and against Obamacare is far from over.

Unwilling to Let Go

The Huffington Post wrote von May 1:

“President Donald Trump is refusing to let go of his unsupported claim that former President Barack Obama ordered wiretapping on Trump Tower, despite multiple intelligence agencies and congressional investigations finding no evidence of any such activity. Trump revived the claim — again with no evidence — during an Oval Office interview with CBS’ John Dickerson that aired Monday. When asked to defend the claim, he ended the interview and walked back to his desk…

“Dickerson pressed the president on whether he still stood by the wiretapping claim. Trump wouldn’t say, but claimed ‘our side has been proven very strongly.’ ‘You can figure that out yourself,’ he said. ‘I don’t stand by anything. You can take it the way you want. I think our side has been proven very strongly, and everybody has been talking about it.’

“Dickerson repeatedly asked Trump to elaborate, but to no avail. ‘I just wanted to find out. You’re the president of the United States. You said he was sick and bad,’ Dickerson said, referring to Trump’s tweets on his allegation against Obama. ‘I want to know your opinion.’ ‘I gave you my opinion,’ Trump said.

“After several more refusals to answer, Trump dismissed Dickerson and ended the interview, angrily walking back to his desk. ‘OK, it’s enough. Thank you. Thank you very much,’ the president said.”

Embarrassing…

How To Keep the US Government Running

McClatchy wrote on May 1:

“Congressional negotiators have come up with a $1.07 trillion plan to keep the government running through the end of September – but there’s a lot missing from the 1,665-page bill. And much of it involves items that President Donald Trump promised during his campaign and the early days of his presidency.

“Here’s a list of GOP-friendly issues missing from the spending bill.

“Border wall

“The bill includes $1.5 billion for border security, but noticeably absent is any funding for a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, a major promise of the Trump administration to curb illegal immigration. Instead, the money will go toward enhanced technology and improving existing infrastructure.

“Planned Parenthood

“There are no cuts for Planned Parenthood, a target of abortion opponents and many Republicans for its provision of abortion services. Republicans have threatened to shut down the federal government in the past over Planned Parenthood funding.

“Deportation forces

“During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to build a ‘new special deportation task force’ to remove millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. No funding goes toward such a force. The bill does, however, fund 5,000 additional detention beds.

“$18 billion cut in non-defense spending

“There is no sign of massive non-defense spending cuts, another goal of the Trump administration. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains nearly 99 percent of its funding, $295 million goes toward Medicaid in Puerto Rico and $4.6 billion is set aside to permanently grant health benefits to 22,000 retired Appalachian coal miners. In a March budget proposal, the Trump administration sought to cut EPA funding by $2.6 billion. It also aimed to decrease funding for the National Institutes of Health by $5.8 billion. Instead, NIH will receive a funding increase of $2 billion.

“Sanctuary cities

“So-called sanctuary cities – which limit cooperation with the federal government on immigration law in order to shelter immigrants here illegally – will not be deprived of federal funding. Trump has threatened to withhold funds from sanctuary cities in the past.

“Cuba

“The bill does not roll back President Barack Obama’s easing of economic and trade restrictions with Cuba, a goal of some Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. It contains no language barring Americans from bringing home merchandise from Cuba or doing business with companies owned by Cuban officials or family members. Travel for educational purposes is also still allowed. In February, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump would take a ‘full review’ of U.S. foreign policy on Cuba.

“Marijuana

“The bill bars the Department of Justice from using funds to interfere with medical marijuana use in states where it is legal. Operators of marijuana companies will still have to deal in cash, as lawmakers rejected a proposal that aimed to make it easier for cannabis shops to use banking services.”

According to Eurozone Wirtschaft, dated May 3, the European economy has gained twice as much as the American economy in 2017.

Puerto Rico Declares Bankruptcy

The New York Times wrote on May 3:

“With its creditors at its heels and its coffers depleted, Puerto Rico sought what is essentially bankruptcy relief in federal court on Wednesday, the first time in history that an American state or territory had taken the extraordinary measure. The action sent Puerto Rico, whose approximately $123 billion in debt and pension obligations far exceeds the $18 billion bankruptcy filed by Detroit in 2013, to uncharted ground…

“While many of Puerto Rico’s circumstances are unique, its case is also a warning sign for many American states and municipalities — such as Illinois and Philadelphia — that are facing some of the same strains, including rising pension costs, crumbling infrastructure, departing taxpayers and credit downgrades that make it more expensive to raise money. Historically, Puerto Rico was barred from declaring bankruptcy. In the end, however, financial reality trumped the statutes, and Congress enacted a law last year allowing bankruptcy-like proceedings.

“… The island’s many creditors… are likely to receive far less of their money back than they want. Their predicament may turn out to be a cautionary tale for bond holders of other troubled states and cities. Puerto Rico’s case could show public workers and retirees that seemingly inviolate pension systems can be changed, too…”

A warning sign indeed for other US states and the entire USA.

Turkey’s Dictatorship

UPI wrote on April 29:

“Turkey has blocked all access to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia inside the country on Saturday morning… Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority confirmed the bar citing a law allowing it to obstruct certain websites to protect public order, national security or general public well being… No reason was given for the action…”

German-Israeli Relations Take a Turn for the Worse

Der Spiegel wrote on April 28:

“It has long been one of the fundamental convictions of German foreign policy that, given the crimes committed by the Nazis in World War II, the country should hold back in its criticism of Israel. But this axiom no longer holds.

“One reason is Netanyahu’s construction of an increasing number of new settlements in the West Bank, thus imperiling the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. Another is the disquiet in both the Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry over the right-wing Israeli government’s harrassment of opposition groups…

“The impression has been growing for some time now within the Chancellery that Netanyahu is exploiting the German-Israeli friendship to serve his own purposes…

“Many in Jerusalem are now wondering if the unlimited solidarity Merkel claimed with the Jewish state in the Knesset in 2008 still applies. ‘Germany is a key country for Israel in Europe and the world,’ says Avi Dichter, the former head of the Israeli domestic intelligence agency and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Knesset… Dichter, a fellow member of Netanyahu’s party, visited the German capital at the end of March and returned to Israel feeling alarmed. Foreign Minister Gabriel had explained to his Israeli guest that it was growing increasingly difficult for the political elite to defend justified Israeli interests because the German population was growing increasingly critical of Israel…

“Indeed, there appears to be a sharp contradiction between the mantras of sworn friendship between Germany and Israel and the growing lack of understanding between the two countries. Members of the Israeli parliament and government have the impression that their German counterparts have become obsessive about Israeli settlement policy and are no longer taking legitimate Israeli concerns seriously.  Most importantly, politicians in Jerusalem have the impression that the threat posed by Iran is being downplayed by the Germans… ‘Germany and the EU are closing their eyes to the Iranian threat,’ Dichter says, critically…”

In an editorial, Der Spiegel asked on May 1 why Germany feels it must bring peace to the Middle East. This is an interesting question in light of the fact that Europe, under German leadership, will try to do so in the future, using military means.

Russia vs. Germany

The EUObserver wrote on May 3:

“Differences between Germany and Russia were put on display on Tuesday (2 May), as German chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russia for the first time in two years. Merkel travelled to Russia in preparation for a G20 summit – an international forum of countries, including Russia – which Germany currently chairs. The German chancellor met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi and told a press conference that there was a need to continue dialogue despite their clashing views. But international reporters present at the press event noted that the atmosphere was tense, and that the two leaders barely made eye contact.

“Merkel said it was important that NGOs were allowed to work freely in Russia and voiced concern about attacks on gay men in Chechnya, a semi-autonomous Russian republic. The German leader asked Putin ‘to protect the rights of minorities’. Last month, a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported that some 100 gay men had been detained or had disappeared.

“But Putin said Russian authorities had not broken any laws. He added that his law enforcement agencies, which are notorious for corruption and human rights abuses, were ‘far more restrained and lenient in their conduct than their colleagues in some European countries’. The Russian leader also said his government had ‘never’ tried [to] influence foreign elections, despite a US intelligence report in January that said Russia tried to sway last year’s vote.

“Merkel and Putin diverged on the war in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-armed and controlled forces were still fighting with the Ukrainian army… The two sides noted that, despite political differences, Russia and Germany had close economic ties, with Germany being ‘the number one investor in the Russian economy’, according to Putin.”

According to Die Zeit Online, dated May 2, 2017, Angela Merkel also confronted Vladimir Putin regarding the recent Russian prohibition of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and asked Putin to guarantee and defend human rights in his country. Putin denied that there were any violations.

Britain’s Intolerance

The Independent wrote on April 28:

“Conservative MP Andrew Turner will stand down at the general election after a pupil at a school in his constituency wrote on Facebook that he had described homosexuality as ‘wrong’ and ‘dangerous to society’… Mr Turner has been the MP for the Isle of Wight since 2001…

“Labour shadow minister and elections chairman Andrew Gwynne had called for Mr Turner to be suspended as a Tory candidate and said: ‘These allegations are deeply worrying. There is no place for bigotry and hatred like this in modern society, and no one holding these views is fit for public office… I look forward to Theresa May doing the right thing and speaking out against these homophobic allegations and show that she is now serious about LGBT equality.’’

What is deeply shocking are the hypocrisy and intolerance of those who do not allow a public official to state the clear teaching of the Bible—that the practice of homosexuality IS wrong and a danger to society!

European Migrant Holding Facilities Concentration Camps?

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 30:

“The pontiff’s choice of words was met with shock in Germany and outrage among some Jewish organizations. But Pope Francis has said he stands by his choice of words – despite the swirling controversy. Pope Francis repeated his claim on Saturday that some migrant holding facilities in Europe are tantamount to ‘concentration camps,’ even after some Jewish organizations urged him to stop using the controversial term…

“The American Jewish Committee (AJC) sharply criticized the pope’s choice of words and urged him to reconsider…”

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.

French Election and Europe

Deutsche Welle reported on April 25:

“The runoff election in France [on May 7] pits diametrical visions for Europe against each other: Liberal-socialist Macron and populist-conservative Le Pen. For Brussels, the outcome can mean any number of things… A President Emmanuel Macron will carry European integration forward. Under Marine Le Pen, France would likely distance itself from its neighbors, double down on borders and get rid of the euro. Such a political earthquake could rattle the EU far more than Brexit…

“European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his colleagues were celebrating Sunday night [April 23]. Macron winning the most votes was a sigh of relief for European leaders. ‘The much-anticipated domino effect following the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election has not, so far, materialized. And the European project has won,’ Britain’s Guardian newspaper wrote the day after the vote…”

We do not expect that Marine Le Pen will win, nor have we ever felt that way. Prophecy strongly suggests that the end-time “European project” will be run by Germany and France.

Russia Prohibits Jehovah’s Witnesses…. Persecution of Religious Minorities Ongoing

Christianity Today reported on April 20:

“It’s official. Jehovah’s Witnesses can no longer practice their faith freely in Russia, where the Supreme Court on Thursday declared the pacifist religious organization an ‘extremist group’ and banned all of its activity. The judge ordered all 395 local chapters and its Russian headquarters to close and authorized the government to seize all property. Under the ruling, distributing copies of the Watchtower, discussing their beliefs in public, or even worshipping at a meeting hall has become a crime…

“To human rights and religious freedom advocates around the world, the move comes as a major blow. While ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin have put ongoing scrutiny on all non-Orthodox faiths, this case represents the first time the country has banned a registered religious group…The Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center has 30 days to appeal to a three-person panel at the Supreme Court, but Jehovah’s Witnesses say they anticipate serious problems, regardless of any pending appeal. Jehovah’s Witnesses added that, if necessary, they will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

“‘If Jehovah’s Witnesses are persecuted, then that means later “on the block” will come other religious movements—for example, Protestant churches,’ law professor Anatoly Pchelintcev told Portal-Credo, an Orthodox news site. ‘For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Armageddon has arrived, and the faithful of other religions await the apocalypse.’

“The crackdown on Jehovah’s Witnesses follows rising nationalist furor in Russia and a skepticism toward groups associated with the West. ‘The treatment of the Jehovah’s Witnesses reflects the Russian government’s tendency to view all independent religious activity as a threat to its control and the country’s political stability,’ according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which condemned Russia’s ongoing campaign against the group. ‘This approach dates back to the Soviet period and impacts other religious groups, including peaceful Christians and Muslims.’”

Russia’s Modern Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Independent wrote on April 20:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses first registered as a religious group in Russia in 1991 and registered again in 1999, but have been targeted repeatedly by authorities in a wide-ranging crackdown on religious freedom.

“Russia changed its legal definition of extremism in 2006, removing requirements for violence or hatred but stating the ‘incitement of….religious discord’ as criteria, leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses with the same legal status as Isis or Nazis. The group’s international website was blocked in Russia two years ago over alleged extremism, with the group’s Bibles banned the following year, while a local chairman was jailed for two years on charges of possessing ‘extremist literature’ in 2010.”

Russia’s Persecution of Jehovah’s’ Witnesses because of their Stance on Voting, Violence and the Military

The Washington Post added on April 20:

“After years, even decades, of persecution against the religious group, the Kremlin moved to get rid of the denomination for good. In February, Jehovah’s Witnesses were labeled ‘extremists’ and locked out of their offices. Then Kremlin officials launched a legal effort to ban the faith. That case quickly wound its way to the Supreme Court, where Justice Ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova said the Christian group posed a ‘threat’ to ‘public order and public security.’… After six days of hearings, the Supreme Court sided with the government on Thursday. They ruled that the group’s St. Petersburg headquarters and 395 churches could be seized and liquidated. All church activities, including worship and door-to-door evangelizing, were banned. Those who defy the ruling face a fine of several thousand dollars and six to 10 years in prison…

“In the Soviet era, religion… was officially banned…

“Experts like Alexander Verkhovsky, who monitors extremism in Russia, say there is no evidence that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a public threat… ‘But they are seen as a good target. They are pacifists, so they cannot be radicalized, no matter what you do to them.’… The church’s 170,000 Russian members don’t vote, won’t serve in the military and refuse to attend national celebrations that glorify violence. That means they often avoid state-sponsored rallies celebrating, say, the annexation of Crimea. That’s a problem for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is naturally suspicious of groups with pro-Western sympathies (the sect is based in the United States). It’s also a way for him to show support to the Russian Orthodox Church…”

Russia’s Orthodox Church Major Player in Suppression of Jehovah’s Witnesses

The New York Times added on April 20:

“The ruling, which confirmed an order last month by the Justice Ministry that the denomination be ‘liquidated’… had been widely expected. Russian courts rarely challenge government decisions, no matter what the evidence…

“Hard-line followers of Russia’s dominant faith, the Orthodox Church, have lobbied for years to have Jehovah’s Witnesses outlawed or at least curbed as a heretical sect, but the main impetus for the current campaign to crush a Christian group active in Russia for more than a century seems to have come from the country’s increasingly assertive security apparatus. Founded in the United States in the 19th century, Jehovah’s Witnesses has its worldwide headquarters in the United States and, along with all foreign-led groups outside the control of the state, is viewed with deep suspicion by Russia’s post-Soviet version of the KGB: the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses shuns political activity and has no record of even peaceful — never mind violent — hostility to the Russian authorities. But it has faced growing hostility from the state since President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia began his third term in 2012 and put the Orthodox Church at the center of his push to assert Russia as a great military and moral power.

“The denomination suffered relentless persecution by the KGB during the Soviet era, and after more than a decade of relative peace following the collapse of Communism in 1991, it again became a target for official harassment under a 2002 anti-extremism law. That law makes it illegal for any group, other than the Orthodox Church and other traditional religious institutions, to proclaim itself as offering a true path to religious or political salvation.”

Russia’s blatantly illegal actions towards the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a preview of much more religious persecution to come.

Turkey’s Erdogan “Wins” Referendum

The Sun wrote on April 18:

“RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, the President of Turkey, once said that democracy was like a bus. He would ride it to the destination he wanted. Once there he would get off. On Sunday Erdogan got off the bus. Taking his country with him. This is a tragedy for Turkey. But it is a deep problem for Britain and Europe too. Erdogan’s direction of travel has been clear ever since the start of his dramatic political ascent more than two decades ago, when he was Mayor of Istanbul. In public as well as private it was clear he had an Islamist view of the world. For decades he remorselessly rolled back the secular advances his country made almost a century ago. As he became Prime Minister, journalists and other critics were thrown in prison. The role of religion in politics grew.

“Then Erdogan moved from Prime Minister to President. And Turkey — which had once seemed a beacon of potential progress in the Islamic world — began to roll backwards. Last summer a coup was staged. And ‘staged’ may be the right word. Within hours, lists were produced of thousands of judges and others allegedly involved. It was the perfect pretext for Erdogan to tighten his grip on the army, the judiciary and every other wing of state that had avoided his grasp.

“Sunday’s referendum on increasing the President’s powers may have been a ‘vote’ only in the way last year’s events were a ‘coup’. But in any case, the public were said to have voted for what Erdogan wanted, effectively making him sovereign over Parliament and every other part of the state. His progress from democrat to sultan is complete.

“Among those who should feel shame for this are all those who spent the years of Erdogan’s rise arguing for his country’s entry into the EU. On a visit to Turkey in 2010 our then Prime Minister, David Cameron, told Erdogan: ‘Turkey deserves its place at the top table of European ­politics — and that is what I will fight for.’ As late as last year Cameron restated that it was UK government policy to lobby for Turkey to join the EU. The present Government’s crazy policy is that although Britain is leaving the EU we will continue to argue for Turkey to join…

“Other governments across Europe have argued for Turkish membership. Only in recent months have they taken anything like a realistic stance on what Erdogan has actually been doing. This was partly because of Turkey’s role in improving — or worsening — the migration crisis…”

Erdogan Defies Europe

Newsmax added on April 18:

“A defiant Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan denounced the West’s ‘crusader mentality’ on Monday after European monitors criticised a referendum in which he won sweeping new powers… Opponents accuse him of leading a drive towards one-man rule in Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, Iraq and Syria and whose stability is of vital importance to the United States and European Union… [Erdogan] said it was not important if the EU suspended Turkish accession talks. Germany, home to several million Turks, said it was up to Erdogan himself to heal the rifts that the vote had exposed.”

President Trump Congratulates Erdogan on His Win as a Dictator

The Telegraph wrote on April 18:

“US president Donald Trump called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to congratulate him on winning the referendum boosting his powers, the White House said on Monday… The reaction from Mr Trump contrasts with EU leaders… ‘President Trump thanked President Erdogan for supporting this action by the United States, and the leaders agreed on the importance of holding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable,’ the statement continued.”

The outcome of the referendum will increase the brutal and inhumane persecution of everyone in Turkey who is not a strong supporter of dictator Erdogan, while the West will sit idly by… especially in light of Turkey’s “help” with the migrant crisis and Turkey’s membership in NATO. Daniel 11 prophecies that Europe will not overpower modern Turkey at first, but other Scriptures show that subsequently, Europe will fight against Turkey. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

The USA Uses the “Mother of all Bombs”

The Daily Mail wrote on April 14:

“The  US dropped its largest non-nuclear weapon on ISIS in Afghanistan… The GBU-43, otherwise known as the Mother of All Bombs, or MOAB unleashes a devastating fireball that incinerates and vaporizes anything within 30 feet when it first detonates. In the milliseconds following the initial blast in Afghanistan, all the oxygen would have been forced out of the tunnels and for hundreds of feet around, literally sucking the life out of ISIS terrorists, suffocating them as their lungs imploded. Then, in a flash the fiery shockwave would have radiated outwards at the speed of sound for up to a mile, causing huge blunt force trauma injuries to anyone caught in its path, leveling buildings and trees. Ears would have been left bleeding… and internal organs battered by the sheer force of the shockwave. The blast would also have caused many within two miles of the blast to lose their hearing.

“Anyone caught inside the tunnels would have been crushed as the force of 19,000 pounds of highly complex explosives caused them to collapse on top of the ISIS terrorists. Anyone left alive would have been shocked and left in awe by the sight of a terrifying mushroom cloud – the psychological scars staying with them forever.

“The Pentagon estimates that 800 ISIS terrorists were in the area. Its frightening  power was unleashed by the United States for the first time on Thursday when it was dropped on an ISIS camp in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, in order to obliterate underground tunnels used by the terrorists. A crater left by the blast is believed to be more than 300 feet wide after it exploded just six feet above the ground…”

We publish this article to show the terrible weapons which man has at his disposal.

60 Years of Europe

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 25:

“Leaders from 27 member states declared ‘Europe is our common future’ in a final declaration signed [at a palace in Rome], where on March 25, 1957 six founding states signed the Treaty of Rome paving the way for today’s EU.

“Noticeably absent was British Prime Minister Theresa May…

“… The document signed in Rome sets a new course for the EU, laying out the principle of a multi-speed bloc wherein some countries move ahead on stronger integration while others may not participate on certain issues. ‘We will act together, at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction,’ the declaration states…”

Poland and Greece had threatened to veto the declaration, which has to be unanimous, but they finally signed it as well; which means, Europe of two speeds or a core Europe is now the official European policy of the EU.

Brexit Process Launched

The Independent wrote on March 29:

“Britain has officially launched the Brexit process, triggering Article 50 and starting a two-year countdown before the country drops out of the European Union.

“The historic moment came as a letter signed by Prime Minister Theresa May was delivered to the Brussels office of European Council President Donald Tusk, notifying him of the UK’s intention to leave…

“Manfred Weber, an ally of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel tweeted: ‘EU has done everything to keep the British. From now on, only the interests of the remaining 440 million Europeans count for us…’

“… the Prime Minister said… ‘This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 29:

“London can expect an expensive divorce… [The] EU [is]  seeking a 60-billion-euro… ‘exit bill’ from [the] UK…”

The Daily Mail wrote on March 29:

“The tensions between the two sides was underlined when German Chancellor Angela Merkel flatly rejected Mrs May’s call for the talks on the divorce and a future trade deal to happen in parallel.”

Germany’s Martin Schulz… One of Brexit’s Harshest Critics

The Telegraph wrote on March 26:

“Martin Schulz, who has emerged as the most serious challenger Angela Merkel has faced in more than a decade in power, is best known in Britain as one of Brexit’s harshest critics… He has threatened ‘the hardest Brexit possible’…

“As for Brexit negotiations, he made his priorities clear: ‘With me there will be no Europe bashing’”.

Renewed Battle for Gibraltar

The Telegraph wrote on April 2:

“Theresa May would go to war to defend the sovereignty of Gibraltar just as Margaret Thatcher did with the Falklands, a former Tory leader has suggested. Lord Howard said the British Government will stand by Gibraltar during Brexit talks amid claims of an EU ‘land grab’ for the territory by Spain…

“This morning the Prime Minister told Gibraltar’s chief minister that Britain will never allow Spain to take over the peninsula against its will. Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, has also pledged to ‘protect’ Gibraltar ‘all the way’…

“A European Council document on Friday suggested that Spain will be given an effective veto on whether the Brexit deal applies to Gibraltar. The draft guidelines drawn up by EU leaders state that the Brexit deal will not apply to Gibraltar without an ‘agreement between the kingdom of Spain and the UK’. The clause has taken British officials by surprise. ‘The Rock’, a British Overseas Territory since 1713 with 30,000 residents, remains a major source of diplomatic tensions.

“… Last night Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said that the UK’s support for Gibraltar will remain ‘implacable and rock-like’…”

The Church of God has felt for a long time that ultimately, the UK will lose Gibraltar to Europe.

The Gibraltar War

The EUObserver wrote on April 3:

“The European Commission has put its ‘full support’ behind giving Spain a veto on the economic future of Gibraltar. Commission spokesman Margiritis Schinas said on Monday (3 April) that veto, as proposed by the European Council last week, had ‘the full backing of the European Commission, of president Juncker and of Michel Barnier, let there be no doubt about that’.

“He said the Commission president and Barnier, its Brexit negotiator, had ‘worked closely’ on the EU guidelines for Brexit that included the veto. ‘We’re very happy to reaffirm our support’, he said…

“The spectacle of the EU institutions and the 27 remaining member states taking a common line against an outgoing member is a first in EU history…”

EU Threatens USA

Express wrote on March 31:

“European Union boss Jean-Claude Juncker issued a jaw-dropping threat to the United States, saying he could campaign to break up the country in revenge for Donald Trump’s supportive comments about Brexit. In an extraordinary speech the EU Commission president said he would push for Ohio and Texas to split from the rest of America if the Republican president does not change his tune and become more supportive of the EU.

“The remarks are diplomatic dynamite at a time when relations between Washington and Brussels are already strained… A spokesman for the bloc later said that the remarks were not meant to be taken literally, but also tellingly did not try to pass them off as humorous and insisted the EU chief was making a serious comparison.”

White House in the Dark

Newsmax wrote on March 30:

“A day after Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter beginning the process known as ‘Brexit,’ the White House hailed the decision of British voters last year to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. ‘We respect the will of the British electorate and Her Majesty’s government in taking steps of departing the European Union,’ Press Secretary Sean Spicer told Newsmax, ‘Whatever future the UK-EU relationship looks like, we want the UK to remain a strong leader in Europe, for both the EU and Europe to remain strong leaders globally.’

“Spicer also fired back at a warning from Jean Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, for Mr, Trump to stop encouraging countries to copy Brexit because ‘if the European Union collapses, you will have a new war in the Balkans.’ Juncker also told the Financial Times last Friday that Trump ‘does not understand anything about Europe.’

“When Newsmax read Juncker’s comments to Spicer Wednesday, the President’s top spokesman replied: ‘I think the President is very well steeped in world affairs, especially Europe, NATO, all of the issues. He was a leader in the effort to call Brexit, as you know.’”

Sadly, the Trump Administration does NOT understand much about Europe, and especially not about biblical prophecies, predicting Europe’s future. The idea that Britain could remain a strong leader in Europe after Brexit shows a complete failure of comprehension as to what is and will be happening. The fact that Mr. Trump strongly supported Brexit will backfire in dramatic and hostile ways.

President Trump’s Politics Cause for Great Concern in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on April 2:

“Following US President Donald Trump’s executive orders signed on Friday to review causes of US trade deficits, Germany’s Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said US President Donald Trump is signaling policy decisions that would send the country in ‘completely the wrong direction.’ ‘The US obviously wants to move away from free trade and trade agreements,’ Zypries said…

“Trump repeated on Friday claims that he made throughout his campaign about seeking to bring back industrial jobs to the US. Before signing the orders, he said it was time to ‘correct’ bad agreements with other countries and claimed that ‘thousands of factories have been stolen from our country.’… Zypries… criticized a lack of clear communication and communication channels concerning trade under the new Trump administration.

“Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has said he shares Zypries’ concerns. Gabriel told German newspaper ‘Rheinische Post’ that Trump’s executive orders signaled the US government ‘is ready to favor American companies, even if it contradicts international law.’ Gabriel told the EU on Friday to consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over a US plan to impose duties on steel plate imports from eight countries including Germany. The plan to impose duties came from one of Trump’s executive orders signed on Friday and also includes steel imports from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.”

The Local wrote on March 31:

“Germany Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel isn’t mincing his words. The pugnacious politician has called a Nato defence spending target being pushed by the US ‘completely unrealistic’ for Germany. ‘I don’t know of a single German politician who believes that is either achievable or desirable,’ he added…

“Nato heads of state are meeting at the end of May in Brussels, with the US reportedly planning for the 2 percent target to be agreed upon as a fixed amount which all states will have to meet. But Gabriel said that no other country could demand of Germany that it spends 2 percent of GDP on its military. The Social Democrat Foreign Minister further claimed that no such 2 percent goal had been agreed upon in Wales. Nato members had only agreed to work towards this goal, he insisted.”

The relationship between Europe under German Leadership and America under the Trump Administration is predestined to deteriorate rapidly.

Will North Korea Be Stopped by China or USA?

The Telegraph wrote on April 2:

“The US will take unilateral action to eliminate the North Korean nuclear threat if China does not help bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang, Donald Trump has warned. Mr Trump, who will meet Xi Jinping, the president of China, for the first time on Thursday, said the US would go it alone if Beijing refuses to cooperate, but refused to say whether he implied taking military action against the hermit dictatorship…

“Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, also issued a stark warning saying America would ‘no longer take excuses from China’.

“… Concern has been mounting about the North Korean missile program in the US for some years. Barack Obama’s administration identified North Korea as the top national security issue for Mr Trump’s administration during the handover of power.

“Ash Carter, US Defence Secretary under President Barack Obama, said he doubted Beijing would cooperate. He said: ‘I’ve been working on the North Korea problem since 1994 and we have consistently asked Chinese leaders, because they uniquely have the historical and the economic relationship with North Korea, to make a difference. They haven’t used that influence, and so it’s hard for me to be optimistic with that.’ Mr Carter… warned a US pre-emptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear weapons risked triggering an invasion of South Korea.”

North Korea is becoming more and more a thorn in the flesh of the United States. A unilateral military attack by the USA on North Korea would surely prove to be disastrous for America in its relationship with other countries in the Far East, including China.

Bannon Removed from National Security Council

The Los Angeles Times reported on April 5:

“President Trump has removed chief strategist Stephen Bannon from the National Security Council in a shakeup that consolidated the power of White House national security advisor H.R. McMaster… During the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, Trump was criticized for taking the unusual step of allowing his political advisor to attend all National Security Council meetings, giving Bannon unusual influence over key military and intelligence decisions… Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, is widely seen as a disruptive force in the White House, but has been close to Trump since the campaign.”

“Frustrated” McCain Attacks “Incredible” Trump Policy Regarding Syria

Newsmax reported on April 4:

“Following reports of a gas attack by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that has killed dozens of civilians, Sen. John McCain lashed out Tuesday on CNN’s ‘New Day’ at the Trump administration’s decision to no longer prioritize ending the Syrian civil war as ‘another disgraceful chapter in American history.’… McCain said statements by the U.S. administration figures that ‘the Syrian people would be determining their own future themselves one of the more incredible statements I’ve ever heard given the involvement of Hezbollah, of the Iranians, of the Russians.’

“Activist groups have blamed Assad’s regime for the attack in the north of Syria on Tuesday in which dozens of people were killed and more than 200 injured due to asphyxiation caused by exposure to a chemical agent… The Republican Arizona senator said he is frustrated that Trump does not have any clear foreign policy doctrine and insisted the U.S. must ‘help people who are struggling against one of the great dictators [Assad] in history.'”

It was stated in the press that both Obama’s declaration of a “red line,” which was not followed, and Trump’s declaration of non-involvement have emboldened Assad to use chemical weapons against his own people.

Irresponsible GOP Healthcare Proposal

Newsmax wrote on April 4:

“Proposals to revive the Republican healthcare bill would cast aside a popular requirement of Obamacare: a mandate that people would be allowed to buy insurance even if they have pre-existing conditions. States could opt out of Obamacare regulations on pre-existing conditions and on essential health benefits, according to terms described by Rep. Mark Meadows… Meadows said the proposed changes, which are not final, would be of interest to the Freedom Caucus. Any bill in the House would need that group to pass, and nearly every Republican would need to be on board to get it past the Senate.

“Opting out of benefit requirements could damage the usefulness of insurance, for example, if a cancer patient could buy a plan but the plan was not required to cover chemotherapy. Opting out of essential benefits and community ratings would prevent denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, but it would lead to insurers being allowed to charge whatever they wanted for the coverage, although the government would provide subsidies, the Times reported.

“State governments, under the proposal, would face the tough choice of cutting rules that become optional, which would leave sick people without insurance choices, or keep the options, and see prices increase for those who cannot afford them under the new subsidies. Those with pre-existing conditions would still struggle with comprehensive health plans, like before Obamacare was installed in 2009, according to the Times. ‘There is no deal, in principle,’ Meadows said, but called the proposal a ‘solid idea.’’

This is not a solid idea, but a stupid idea. The fact that such an appalling concept is even proposed and considered is mind-boggling. On his campaign trail, Mr. Trump assured the public and his supporters that the mandate of insurance for people with pre-exiting conditions would be retained. Let us hope that he keeps his promise.

More Deaths and Wars under President Trump

AFP wrote on March 25:

“The Pentagon under President Donald Trump is enjoying greater freedom to run its wars the way it wants… Many in the military appreciate this increased autonomy, but critics charge it is raising civilian death rates, puts the lives of US troops at greater risk and leads to a lack of oversight of America’s conflicts…

“Trump… has repeatedly deferred to his defense secretary, Jim Mattis, on military moves. Mattis, a retired general, has delegated expanded authorities to his battlefield commanders… Trump has also faced criticism for his hands-off approach, especially after he approved a special operations raid in Yemen that went horribly wrong, leading to the death of a Navy SEAL, multiple civilians including children and a crashed helicopter… Observers are also calling into question whether the Pentagon is allowing civilian casualties to mount…

“Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers, said Friday it had become… overwhelmed tracking civilian deaths allegedly caused by US and coalition planes… The Pentagon has acknowledged at least 220 civilians have been unintentionally killed since operations to defeat IS began in late summer 2014. Airwars estimates the real number to be more than 10 times that.”

Another Defeat–Second Travel Ban Barred

Newsmax wrote on March 29:

“President Donald Trump was barred from enforcing his revised travel ban on six mostly Muslim nations while he defends it in a court battle that will stretch for months, perhaps years. While [the] Trump administration tailored the latest version to shed all religious references, a Honolulu federal judge found that the president’s campaign rhetoric, including calls for a Muslim ban and registry, point toward discriminatory intentions. The Justice Department will probably appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the same court that upheld the order stopping Trump’s original travel order.

“U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson turned an earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii challenging Trump’s travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination… Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim that the motivation behind it is based on religion and Trump’s election campaign promise of ‘a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.’

“Seeking the longer-lasting hold, state Attorney General Douglas Chin argued that the ban’s implied message is like a ‘neon sign flashing “Muslim ban, Muslim ban'” that the government didn’t bother to turn off.”

This was a predictable outcome… at least for the time being, even though many legal “experts” did not see it coming. The next article shows that the American immigration policy under President Trump is clandestinely changing in a drastic way. Nevertheless, it seems that President Trump is failing on many different fronts. The Bible has made it clear that the downfall of the USA is unavoidable, due to its many sins.

President Trump’s Shift in Immigration Procedures Affects Green Card Applicants

WBUR News reported on March 31:

“Federal immigration officers arrested five people in Lawrence on Wednesday when they showed up for scheduled appointments at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. WBUR has confirmed that at least three of those arrested were beginning the process to become legal permanent residents. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says the agency had orders to detain each of the five individuals for deportation…

“Because Doyle’s client is married to a U.S. citizen, she is eligible for a specific application process sponsored by her husband. Both [attorney] Doyle’s client and her husband were present at the USCIS office for what’s called a marriage petition interview, a process used to screen for fraudulent marriages. Doyle said his client, a small business owner with no criminal record, had just completed her 40-minute question and answer session when an ICE agent entered the office and informed her that she was ordered removed and was being taken into custody… He says his client could be detained, away from her three children and husband, for weeks while the legal process unfolds. Ultimately, she could be deported to Brazil — a country she has not visited in more than 15 years.

“Susan Church, who heads the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, says she finds the arrests at the USCIS office not only troubling but also surprising. ‘The detention of an individual under these circumstances and most likely the arrest would be something that is definitely new,’ Church said…  ‘What this means is that people who are eligible to obtain their green card in the United States, who are following the law, who are following the rules, who are doing what the government is instructing them to do, are going to be too terrified to show up and follow through with the process,’ Church said. ‘And now a whole new category of people is going to go back into the shadow of immigration land and be living in fear.’”

It is hard to justify these procedures when applying Mr. Trump’s declaration that only the “bad dudes” would be dealt with.

Highly Controversial Immigration Changes Pursued by Trump Administration

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 4:

“Foreigners who want to visit the U.S., even for a short trip, could be forced to disclose contacts on their mobile phones, social-media passwords and financial records, and to answer probing questions about their ideology, according to Trump administration officials conducting a review of vetting procedures. The administration also wants to subject more visa applicants to intense security reviews and have embassies spend more time interviewing each applicant. The changes could apply to people from all over the world, including allies like France and Germany…

“Homeland Security officials say the agency is planning to significantly increase demands for information from all visa applicants, including visitors, refugees and others seeking to immigrate. The changes might even apply to visitors from the 38 countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program… That includes some of the U.S.’s closest allies, such as the U.K., Japan and Australia.

“The biggest change to U.S. policy would be asking applicants to hand over their telephones so officials could examine their stored contacts and perhaps other information… ‘We want to say for instance, “What sites do you visit? And give us your passwords,” so that we can see what they do on the internet,’ Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said at a congressional hearing in February. ‘If they don’t want to give us that information then they don’t come.’

“In response to Mr. Kelly’s hearing, a coalition of about 50 civil liberties and other groups issued a statement that month saying requiring passwords is ‘a direct assault on fundamental rights,’ including freedom of expression. They also complained that the policy could be mirrored by foreign governments demanding passwords from Americans.”

If these plans by the Trump Administration are being carried out, they would cause tremendous backlash from America’s closest allies and the entire world. They would strongly contribute to America’s ultimate downfall.

Terror Attacks in Jerusalem

Time of Israel wrote on April 2:

“A senior police officer said Sunday that security will be bolstered in Jerusalem ahead of the upcoming Passover festival as a precaution against possible terror attacks. Speaking a day after a terrorist stabbed three people in Jerusalem’s Old City, Commander Doron Turgeman… said terror groups seek to attack Israelis around the Jewish holidays.  ‘Holidays and festivals over the years have caused higher tensions and sensitivity and are a preferred period for attacks,’ Turgeman told Army Radio…

“The weeklong Passover festival begins on April 10. Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit Jerusalem’s Old City during the holiday… On Saturday afternoon, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed two young men and the police officer in the Old City, wounding them, before being shot and killed by security forces… It was the second stabbing attack in the Old City last week.

“Palestinian media identified the assailant as 17-year-old Ahmad Jazal from the West Bank village of Sebastia, near Nablus… Shortly before carrying out the attack Jazal photographed himself smiling outside the Temple Mount’s Dome of the Rock. The photos were shared by Palestinians on social media, with some praising the ‘martyr’ for his actions… In the past year and a half the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen several attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.”

Incitement of Hatred by Palestinians

The Times of Israel wrote on April 3:

“The Palestinian Authority’s new textbooks for first to fourth grades demonize Israel and glorify ‘martyrdom,’ a report published Sunday claims…  The report… says that the 2016-2017 elementary school curriculum in the PA ‘teaches students to be martyrs, demonizes and denies the existence of Israel, and focuses on a “return” to an exclusively Palestinian homeland.’”

Jews Forbidden to Sacrifice Passover Lamb Near Temple Mount

The Times of Israel wrote on April 2:

“The High Court of Justice on Monday upheld a police decision to bar a group of Temple Mount activists from trying to reenact the ritual slaughter of a sacrificial animal near the Jerusalem holy site in preparation for the upcoming Passover holiday. The attempt by the activists and the routine denial by the law and order authorities has become a ritual in its own right in recent years.

“For over a decade a group called the Temple Mount Institute have held a demonstration of the ritual slaughter of the Passover offering, a sheep or goat sacrifice. Each year they request to do it on or near the Jerusalem holy site where ritual sacrifices were carried out at the time of the temple. And each year they are refused by police and the courts fearing it could cause unrest, with the site that currently houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the most hotly contested site in the Middle East conflict.

“The group perform the demonstration because a ‘real’ Passover sacrifice may only be conducted on the Temple Mount. The group this year requested to hold the religious ceremony at Davidson Park, an archaeological site adjacent to the West Wall on the southern side of the Temple Mount complex. This too was rejected by the court. The group launched a crowdfunding appeal and has already raised over half the money for the sacrifice, said to cost NIS 30,000 ($8,250). As in previous years, it is expected that the group will relocate their demonstration to another site. The sacrifice is expected to take place Thursday.”

In the not-too-distant future, animal sacrifices WILL be brought again on or near the Temple Mount, which will create an outcry around the world.

Anti-Semitism in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on April 2:

“The story of a 14-year-old who had to change schools to escape anti-Semitism is making headlines in Germany. The boy’s tormentors were of Arab and Turkish descent – making the news even more explosive.

“… The story opened the floodgates for social media posts attacking Muslims and excoriating Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance toward refugees. In fact, there was no indication that any of the tormentors came from refugee families, and anti-Semitic attacks on Jews in Germany are carried out not just by Muslims… On the other hand, there is no denying that anti-Semitic thought and speech is common among some Muslim students in some German schools. Activists have been drawing attention to the problem for years… And the problem is by no means confined to the German capital.”

Vast Majority for Gay Marriages in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 2:

“… an opinion survey carried out by pollster Emnid for ‘Bild am Sonntag’ on gay marriage showed that 75 percent of respondents favored full legal equality for homosexuals in life partnerships with the laws for a traditional marriage between a man and a woman… In January, a survey by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Bureau (ADS) showed 83 percent of respondents saying marriage between two men or two women should be allowed…

“The chancellor candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Martin Schulz, has called for equality for gay marriage, and the party looks set to make it an election issue. The party has proposed protection for the status of marriage and family and to extend it to ‘other forms of cohabitation,’  Thomas Oppermann, chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, said last month. The Greens and Left (Linke) parties also support the idea.”

God does not. He calls it an abomination in the Bible.

“Russia’s Jehovah’s Witnesses Could Be Labeled Extremist, Worship Banned”

Newsmax reported on April 4:

“Russia’s Supreme Court may declare Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization at a hearing Wednesday, which means the Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters would be seized and their organized worship banned in the country. ‘If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the authorities, it will be the first such ruling by a court declaring a registered centralized religious organization to be “extremist,”’ the UN human rights’ high commissioner’s office said in a statement, Time reported.

“David Semonian, an international spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said the decision is troublesome (for) the religious group. ‘They would basically be prosecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses as criminals,’ Semonian said, according to Time magazine. ‘Anyone who would actually would have our publications could be criminalized. It is of great concern.’

“According to Newsweek, Thomas J. Reese, chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, said, ‘The Russian government’s latest actions appear designed to eliminate the legal existence of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia… USCIRF calls on the Russian government to stop its harassment of this peaceful religious group… The treatment of the Jehovah’s Witnesses reflects the Russian government’s tendency to view all independent religious activity as a threat to its control and the country’s political stability.’…

“Many on Twitter expressed their disdain for the potential ban.”

Russia’s Supreme Court Considers Jehovah’s Witnesses Ban

BBC News reported on April 5:

“Russia’s Supreme Court has begun hearing a government request to outlaw the Jehovah’s Witnesses and declare it an extremist organisation. The justice ministry has already placed its headquarters near St Petersburg on a list of extremist groups… As the case began in Moscow on Wednesday, lawyers representing the movement submitted a counter suit, asking the High Court to declare its members victims of political repression and the justice ministry’s action unlawful. The court ruled that this was not part of its jurisdiction, but did not say whose it was… The case was eventually adjourned until Thursday.

“The ministry argues that the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ activities ‘violate Russia’s law on combating extremism’ and their pamphlets incited hatred against other groups… The group was founded in the US in the late 19th Century and during Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror in the Soviet Union it was outlawed and thousands of members were deported to Siberia. As the Soviet Union collapsed, there was a revival of Christianity in Russia and the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses was lifted in 1991. Gradually attitudes towards the movement hardened and in 2004 a group was banned on charges of recruiting children and preventing believers from accepting medical assistance…

“In 2009 a report commissioned by prosecutors in southern Russia found that they ‘undermined respect’ in other religions. Human rights group Sova has said that an ‘official repressive campaign’ has been conducted against the movement for years and many of their members have been physically attacked.”

Terror Attack in London

The Huffington Post wrote on March 22:

“Chaos engulfed one of London’s most bustling areas after an armed assailant drove into pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge and then stabbed a police officer while trying to storm the city’s Parliament building Wednesday, killing at least three [some reported four] and injuring several more. Police said they are investigating the situation as a terrorist incident. The assailant was fatally shot by police…

“The vehicle plowed into the crowds on the bridge shortly before 3 p.m. and then drove onto the busy sidewalk in front of the gates of Parliament. Witnesses said the assailant then ran out of the car and rushed through the gates wielding a knife. The assailant fatally stabbed one of the police officers protecting Parliament before being taken down.

“Mark Rowley, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner, said that in addition to the police officer and the assailant, two people were killed on Westminster Bridge. At least 20 others [some reported at least 40] were injured in the attack…

“Wednesday’s tragic incident is the deadliest attack on British soil since July 7, 2005, when al Qaeda suicide bombers targeting London’s transportation system killed 52 people and wounded more than 770.

“Although major attacks have hit other European nations, including France, Belgium and Germany, in recent years, Britain has avoided another terrorism event on that scale. But England has not been completely immune to extremism and has reported foiling more than a dozen plots since 2013…”

London Terrorist Identified

BBC News wrote on March 23:

“Police have identified Khalid Masood as the man who carried out the Westminster attack, as the death toll rose to five. Kent-born Masood, who was shot dead by police, had not been the subject of any current police investigations, but had a range of previous convictions. The 52-year-old was believed to have been living in the West Midlands…

“The so-called Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack. Three women and five men were arrested in London and Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts following Wednesday’s attack.”

The “Great” Trump-Merkel Meeting

The Local wrote on March 18:

“For most of the 30 minutes in the East Room, Merkel was stony-faced as Trump ripped into Washington’s NATO allies for not paying for their ‘fair share’ for transatlantic defense and demanded ‘fair and reciprocal trade’ deals…

“Although Trump has tempered his criticism of NATO and the personal attacks against European leaders, officials still fret that Trump has too closely embraced the nationalist ideology of key advisor Steve Bannon. Bannon has championed trade protectionism and opposed the European Union and other multilateral institutions that underpin the world order…

“Merkel rejected Trump’s suggestion that individual European countries should negotiate free trade deals with the United States, rather than under existing EU-US negotiations.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 17:

“US President Donald Trump claimed that German news agency reporter Kristina Dunz was interested in ‘fake news’ when she asked him about isolationist policies. In her report, Dunz later wrote, ‘It is no longer a custom in the White House that hard, uncomfortable questions receive factual answers.”

The New York Times wrote on March 17:

“Mr. Trump appeared to go further than he has in the past on the need for burden-sharing in NATO. He demanded not just that members increase their military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, but also that they make reparations for past American contributions. Mr. Trump also said he believed that Germany, like China and other trading partners, had taken advantage of the United States…

“[Mrs.] Merkel offered a vision of what she called ‘open-minded’ globalization. Refugees, she said, needed opportunities to improve their lives, in part to stabilize their countries and prevent them from sliding into civil war. She extolled freedom of movement as one of the great strengths of the European Union. Germany’s success, she said, was inextricably tied to the success of the European Union… Mr. Trump has rooted openly for the dissolution of the European Union. His meeting in January with Prime Minister Theresa May, who is leading Britain’s exit from the union, was considerably warmer than the one with [Mrs.] Merkel, though that came before the diplomatic rupture between the United States and Britain over Mr. Trump’s claims that British intelligence was involved in wiretapping Trump Tower.”

FBI Finds no Evidence for Wiretapping but Investigates Trump

Newsmax reported on March 20:

“FBI Director James Comey confirmed [for the first time] the bureau is probing potential ties [and possible collusion] between President Donald Trump’s associates and Russia during the 2016 campaign [to influence the outcome of the presidential election] and said there’s no evidence to support the president’s allegation that his predecessor ‘wiretapped’ Trump Tower last year.

“’I have no information that supports those tweets [alleging wiretapping] and we have looked carefully inside the FBI,’ Comey told the House Intelligence Committee during a hearing Monday that lasted more than five hours… ‘I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,’ Comey said. ‘And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.'”

Deutsche Welle added on March 20:

“Speaking later at a press briefing, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters there was no evidence Trump’s team colluded with Russia. ‘Investigating it and having proof of it are two different things,’ he said.”

The Hill added on March 20:

“Ahead of the House intelligence panel hearing where Comey confirmed the probe, Trump tweeted the Russia story… ‘is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it! The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign…’

“Comey’s description of the situation, however, is at odds with Trump’s… The inquiry, which he said began last July, will determine whether any crimes were committed.”

Bild Online commented on March 20: “March 20, 2017 could become an historic day, when the US President (completely) lost all credibility… What are the consequences? Not clear. Until recently, no American President would have survived… But according to American standards, which were applied until several months ago, Trump should not have become President in the first place.”

Trump under “Inadvertent” Surveillance?

Politico wrote on March 22:

“House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes declared Wednesday that members of Donald Trump’s transition team, possibly including Trump himself, were under inadvertent surveillance following November’s presidential election. The White House and Trump’s allies immediately seized on the statement as vindication of the president’s much-maligned claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower phones — even though Nunes himself said that’s not what his new information shows. Democrats, meanwhile, cried foul…

“Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, cast doubt on Nunes’ claims in a fiery statement and blasted the chairman for not first sharing the information with him or other committee members. Schiff also slammed Nunes for briefing the White House on Wednesday afternoon given that the Intelligence Committee is in the middle of an investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, including possible collusion with the Trump team. ‘The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he is going to act as a surrogate of the White House, because he cannot do both,’ Schiff said at a news conference Wednesday…

“Nunes set off the firestorm with a news conference earlier in the day in which he described the surveillance of Trump aides through what’s called ‘incidental collection,’ something he noted was routine and legal. Such collection can occur when a person inside the United State communicates with a foreign target of U.S. surveillance. In such cases, the identities of U.S. citizens are supposed to be shielded — but can be ‘unmasked’ by intelligence officials under certain circumstances.”

Bloomberg wrote on March 22:

“The intercepted communications weren’t captured through wiretaps… or through surveillance directed at Trump or his aides, Nunes told reporters at the Capitol… Nunes — who served on Trump’s transition team — said the surveillance that picked up Trump’s associates wasn’t aimed at Russia…”

The New York Times added on March 22:

“… the intelligence collection described by Mr. Nunes… indicates that the targets of American intelligence gathering were foreign officials, not specific members of the Trump transition or Mr. Trump himself. In fact, any American citizen who talks, messages or emails with a foreign official under surveillance would be picked up by intelligence agencies. This would include Obama administration officials and private citizens like journalists and business people.

“It by no means indicates that Mr. Trump himself was under direct surveillance… Mr. Nunes also said he was not sure whether Mr. Trump’s communications were collected… Intelligence agencies are permitted to record calls even if they involve American citizens…”

Inasmuch as all of this is apparently routine and “legal,” and does not include wire-tapping at all, one must ask why this “discovery” was announced in this way by Mr. Nunes.

FBI: Trump Associates May Have Coordinated with Russians to Damage Clinton Campaign

CNN reported on March 23:

“The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, US officials told CNN. This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, according to one source.

“The FBI is now reviewing that information, which includes human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings, according to those U.S. officials. The information is raising the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence investigators that the coordination may have taken place, though officials cautioned that the information was not conclusive and that the investigation is ongoing…

“The FBI cannot yet prove that collusion took place, but the information suggesting collusion is now a large focus of the investigation, the officials said…”

Proposed Healthcare Bill… From One Debacle to the Next

Deutsche Welle reported on March 23:

“Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have announced a delay in the vote on a new healthcare bill. It represents the first setback for President Trump on the seventh anniversary of Obamacare… While the Republicans have a majority in the House, they can only afford to have 22 of their number vote against the bill for it to fail. ‘There are not enough votes as of 1:30 (1730 UTC) today,’ Mark Meadows, head of the conservative Freedom Caucus, told reporters after a meeting with Trump and other lawmakers on Thursday.

“In a television interview on Thursday afternoon, House majority leader Kevin McCarthy said lawmakers would start debating the bill on Friday, admitting the votes were not in place to secure its passage.

“While Republicans have spent seven years opposing the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, there are aspects of the planned replacement AHCA which some of their number refuse to support. President Donald Trump spent hours in phone calls and meetings late into the night on Wednesday trying to gain support from dissenting party members.

“Critics claim the new health care plan is too expensive for the government. Some want to see benefits such as maternity care, emergency room visits, screening and vaccines repealed; others are concerned their constituents would be unable to afford health insurance under the new plan. Millions of Americans could lose their access to health care under the new plan…

“Democrats in the House have said they would vote against AHCA as a bloc. As of Thursday, 36 mainly conservative Republicans had announced their opposition to the bill, thus preventing its passage…”

It’s Official–Martin Schulz New SPD Chairman and Chancellor Candidate

Deutsche Welle reported on March 19:

“Martin Schulz has unanimously won the nomination as Social Democratic party chairman and chancellor candidate for this year’s election…

“There has been a lot of media hype surrounding the new SPD chairman, but there is a real basis to the so-called ‘Schulz effect.’ The party says that it has gained 13,000 new members since January, when Gabriel – now Germany’s Foreign Minister – surprisingly agreed to take a backseat to Schulz…”

Euractiv and AFP wrote on March 12:

“Matthias Zeller, a 21-year-old Social Democratic activist, caused a stir in Germany when he enthused on national television that his party’s new leader Martin Schulz was a ‘geile Sau’ – which loosely translates as ‘sexy beast’.

“Zeller, who heads the youth wing of SPD’s Mannheim chapter, told AFP that he let slip the informal expression ‘out of sheer exuberant joy’ over Schulz’s decision to lead the party into battle against Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections. His popularity reaches close to 50%, compared to the chancellor’s 38%…”

The translation “sexy beast” does not convey the original German. In fact, the German phrase is derogatory and mean, but as so often today, bad terms are used to express something good or admirable. So, when people say, “that is bad,” they may mean, “that is really great.”

Bild Online wrote on March 21:

“The ‘Kissinger of Würselen’… is free to put his fist down as he pleases… The way he hasn’t yet been too clear about where he stands concerning policy makes it even easier for ‘comrads’ of both ends of the political spectrum to follow him into the desert like the last prophet – destination anywhere. And time is on Schulz’s side: All three federal elections to come in the spring (Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia) are likely to go well for the Social Democrats. Over and over, people will recite the ‘Schulz-Effect’ then. Even if the big boss’s name isn’t even on the ballot paper.

“This is exactly what the Christian Democrats are fearing the most. The mood being as sombre as it is, with bad election results likely. In the Saarland, they are bound to lose power completely. And a whisper will get louder and louder: What on earth are we going to do about this Schulz-guy? Ignoring him prominently – the Merkel strategy – won’t work any longer, many Christian Democrats believe. Fight him on actual issues? Hard to do, since Schulz has mainly dodged giving definite answers up to now… ‘Martin cannot make any mistakes’, one of the strategists says…

“Otherwise – and no one knows this better than Schulz himself – it’s a quick passage, much quicker than in other parties, from being the messiah, to becoming a false prophet.”

New French-German Partnership Needed for Europe

Euractiv wrote on March 17:

“France’s only clearly pro-European presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel know each other well. In 2015, they both published their vision for an economic and social union within the EU…  Calls for a new, stronger European narrative are growing louder. Sixty years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the EU institutions are in need of reform and EU countries need a new form of cooperation in order to address global challenges.

“The question is how and with whom to implement such a reform… Macron took the opportunity to promise that, should he emerge triumphant from the presidential election, he would prioritise a renewal of the old Franco-German alliance. A strong partnership between the two European powers is a precondition for EU reform, the two politicians agreed…

“Emmanuel Macron states that] we must ‘dare to go for a multi-speed Europe’…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 20:

“Le Pen is known for her far-right nationalism, anti-immigration policies and opposition to the euro currency, as well as previous pledges to withdraw France from the NATO defensive alliance… [She said] she wanted to stop ‘both legal and illegal immigration’…”

The first round of the presidential election will take place on April 23. The final [run-off] election will take place on May 7. According to opinion polls, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are currently the frontrunners. Angela Merkel announced that she is willing to work with whomever is elected French President, with the exception of Le Pen. While we felt very strongly that Donald Trump would become US President, we feel it is HIGHLY doubtful that Le Pen will win the French election.

Erdogan’s Fight with Europe Continues

AFP wrote on March 19:

“Turkey and the European Union are locked in an explosive crisis that threatens to jeopardise Ankara’s bid to join the bloc, as tensions rise ahead of an April 16 referendum on expanding Erdogan’s powers. The row erupted after authorities in Germany and other EU states refused to allow some Turkish ministers to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote on their soil, provoking a volcanic response from the Turkish strongman who said the spirit of Nazi Germany was rampant in Europe…

“Home to 1.4 million Turkish voters, Germany hosts the world’s largest Turkish diaspora but the partnership between NATO allies Ankara and Berlin has been ripped to shreds by the current crisis. Turkey reacted furiously to a Frankfurt rally on Saturday urging a ‘no’ vote where protesters brandished insignia of outlawed Kurdish rebels… The Turkish foreign ministry accused the German authorities ‘of the worst example of double standards’ for allowing the pro-Kurdish protest while preventing Turkish ministers from campaigning there…

“Ankara also reacted with indignation after Germany’s intelligence chief said he was unconvinced by Turkish assertions that US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen was behind the failed July coup aimed at overthrowing Erdogan… Defence Minister Fikri Isik said the comments raised questions about whether Berlin itself was involved in the putsch…”

When Nuclear War Starts…

On March 19, the Independent wrote the following:

“President Trump has egged on a new arms race. Russia violated weapons treaties to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. North Korea is developing long-range missiles and practising for nuclear war — and the US military is considering preemptive attacks on the isolated nation’s military facilities. Meanwhile, nuclear terrorism and dirty bombs remain a sobering threat…

“You are in a large city that has just been subjected to a single, low-yield nuclear detonation, between 0.1 and 10 kilotons. This is much less powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima — about 15 kilotons. However, it’s not unlikely when looking at weapons like the new B61-12 gravity bomb, which is built by the US, maxes out at 50 kilotons, and can be dialed down to 0.3 kilotons. (Russia and Pakistan are working on similar so-called ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons.)…

“One of your biggest and most immediate goals is to avoid nuclear fallout… Fallout is a mess of bomb material, soil, and debris that is vaporised, made radioactive, and sprinkled as dust and ash across the landscape by prevailing winds… The US government recommends hiding in a nearby building, but not all of them provide much shelter from nuclear fallout… The best shelters are thick brick or concrete and lack windows. Like a bomb shelter. Hiding in the sub-basement of a brick five-story apartment building, for example, should expose you to just 1/200 of the amount of fallout radiation outside. Meanwhile, hanging out in the living room of your one-story, wood-frame house will only cut down the radiation by half, which — if you are next to a nuclear explosion — will not do much to help you…”

Cartoon with Scary Truth

On March 19, the Telegraph published a satirical cartoon, pertaining to Brexit. The cartoon pictures a sailor on a floating submarine, handing another sailor a briefcase, saying: “If the UK is destroyed in a nuclear attack, these are the codes for triggering Article 50.”

One has to wonder why this sudden coverage of a nuclear attack in the British press.

Britain to Formally Announce Brexit on March 29

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 20:

“British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 at the end of March, her office has announced. The move would then set off two years of formal negotiations on Britain leaving the European Union. Prime Minister May will write a letter to the European Union on March 29 to formally announce Britain’s withdrawal from the soon-to-be 27 member bloc…

“Triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will start the clock on two years of formal negotiations, at the end of which Britain will leave the EU. The British parliament backed May’s Article 50 plan last week after 51.9 percent of participants voted for Brexit in a referendum last June…

“The European Commission said on Monday that it is prepared to begin Brexit negotiations after the British government confirmed the date it will launch the process… Before negotiations with the UK can begin, the other EU member states must meet to confirm the Commission’s negotiating guidelines. Officials say that a summit is likely to be held in early May…

“Monday’s announcement comes just days before the EU celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome which created the bloc. German Chancellor Angela Merkel [said] ‘it makes absolutely no difference whether the notification comes one day earlier, or three or seven days afterward.’…

“May’s preparations for Brexit were hit hard last week by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that she planned to hold a new independence referendum in order to maintain the country’s ties to the EU. On Sunday, Sturgeon said she was prepared to delay the vote to appease the government in London after initially pushing for the vote to take place in late 2018 or early 2019.

“The nationalist party Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, which made major gains in regional elections earlier this month, has also called for a referendum on breaking away from the UK and uniting with the Republic of Ireland. Out of the United Kingdom’s four nations, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU while England and Wales voted to leave.”

Sweden Afraid of Nuclear War

The Daily Mail wrote on March 21:

“Sweden is set to bring hundreds of Cold War-era nuclear bunkers out of mothballs as tensions with Russia in the Baltic are ratcheted up another notch. The news comes as the Swedish parliament held its first war game in 20 years. Fifty MPs – who would have the power to replace parliament in the event of an outright conflict – held the drill yesterday at a secret location…

“More than 60,000 nuclear bunkers were established after 1945 to protect Swedes in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union… Sweden, which is not a NATO member, is also reintroducing military service, which was scrapped in 2010.Sweden is growing increasingly worried about Russia’s military build-up. In the event of a war Sweden’s iron ore resources and its strategic position on the Baltic would be crucial…

“There have also been reports of airspace violations by Russia’s military aircraft in the Baltics and a military buildup in Kaliningrad, which sits across the Baltic Sea from Sweden… Sweden also said it was going to increase military spending by 15 per cent because of Russian aggression.”

Trump Wants Southern Ireland as his Ally 

The Belfast Telegraph wrote on March 18:

“The Donald Trump administration plans to use the Republic of Ireland as an increasingly important ally in Europe as the UK prepares to depart the European Union…

“A senior White House official indicated the warm reception afforded Mr [Enda] Kenny [Irish Prime Minister] is a clear sign the Trump administration wants to work more closely with Ireland. ‘With Brexit, Ireland comes more into play for us in Europe,’ the source told the Irish Independent… Separately, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated the administration’s intention to strengthen its ties with Ireland.”

North Korea Threatens USA

The Daily Star wrote on March 19:

“North Korea has pledged to launch a nuclear strike on the US if a ‘single bullet is fired’… as Washington and South Korea carry out war games in the region…

“North Korea has sparked international fury by launching four missiles into the Sea of Japan, not long after the alleged assassination of Kim’s brother Kim Jong-nam… Tensions have reached an all-time high with North Korea as Kim Jong-un’s diplomat warned of an ‘actual war’ while speaking at the UN.”

Mexicans Focus on Canada rather than USA

Reuters reported on March 17:

“Canada’s border authorities detained more Mexicans in the first 67 days of 2017 than they did annually in any of the three previous years, according to statistics obtained by Reuters. The spike comes immediately after Canada’s federal government lifted its visa requirement for Mexican citizens in December. Many Mexicans looking north have shifted their focus from the United States to Canada as President Donald Trump vows to crack down on America’s undocumented immigrants, about half of whom are Mexican. On Friday, Reuters reported, immigration judges were reassigned to 12 U.S. cities to speed up deportation.

“The Canada Border Services Agency… can detain foreign nationals if it is believed they pose a danger to the public, if their identity is unclear or if they are deemed unlikely to appear for removal or for a proceeding…

“With the visa requirement lifted, all that Mexicans need to come to Canada is an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), obtainable online in a matter of minutes. But they cannot work without a work permit, and the eTA does not guarantee entry. Canada issued 72,450 travel authorizations to Mexican citizens between Dec. 1, 2016, and March 10, 2017 – a significant increase compared with a similar period when visas were required.”

“US Bans Large Electronics on Some Flights from Middle East, Africa”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 21:

“US President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed on Tuesday that it is imposing new restrictions on travelers coming into the United States from 10 airports located mainly in the Middle East and North Africa. The Department of Homeland Security will now require people flying to the United States from airports in eight countries – Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Morocco and Qatar – to check electronic devices larger than a cell phone such as tablets, laptops, cameras and portable DVD players. The affected airports are located in Amman, Cairo, Kuwait City, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Casablanca. All 10 airports are located in Muslim-majority countries.

“Trump administration officials said the airlines will have 96 hours to implement the security order – otherwise, they will be barred from flying to the United States. Mobile phones and medical devices will still be allowed in carry-on items. [A] spokeswoman with the Dubai-based Emirates told Reuters that the restrictions will be in place for seven months and will begin on Saturday… No American airlines are due to be affected by the upcoming ban, as no US-based airlines have non-stop flights from those cities to the US, administration officials said…

“Some analysts expect headaches for people boarding flights. Aerospace science professor Jeffrey Price of Metropolitan State University of Denver said there would be problems for passengers being forced to put their electronics in their checked luggage. He argued that theft of electronics from baggage would increase, pointing to such a trend following a similar ban in Britain in 2006. Price also noted that some laptops are equipped with batteries that can catch fire – but that such events are difficult to detect if laptops are stowed in the cargo hold.”

Africans No Longer Welcome in the USA?

The Telegraph wrote on March 19:

“Each year, delegations from Africa meet with officials and business leaders in the US for the African Global Economic and Development… Summit. This year’s event took place at the University of Southern California… in Los Angeles. But unfortunately, one crucial aspect was missing from the summit – any Africans. None of the invited delegates were able to attend, due to being denied a visa at the very last minute… around 100 guests, from Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, were unable to attend… many who had applied for their visas weeks or months in advance were only called for embassy interviews days before they were supposed to travel.

“Prince Kojo Hilton, a graphic artist from Ghana, was due to lead a session on filmmaking, but was denied a visa four days before he was supposed to travel… Diane E. Watson, former member of Congress from California, called the State Department to question the denial of visas for the USC summit delegates. However, she was told that the State Department could not discuss individual visa cases.

“Donald Trump’s ‘travel ban’ only applies to three African countries, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, therefore it’s unclear as to why there has been such an increase in rejected visa applications from the continent.”

Hollywood’s Fight with Conservatives

The Washington Post wrote on March 18:

“[Tim] Allen… has been one of few in Hollywood to speak openly about his right-leaning views. Another 2,500 of his colleagues feel so stigmatized that they have joined a clandestine support group, according to a Los Angeles Times article profiling retribution and secrecy forced upon ‘the vast majority of conservatives who work in entertainment.’ ‘In 30 years of show business, I’ve never seen it like this,’ an unnamed actor told the outlet. ‘If you are even lukewarm to Republicans, you are excommunicated from the church of tolerance.’…

“Allen compared Trump to an amateur performer with ‘very bad comic timing.’ ‘I don’t want to defend the guy,’ he said… ‘What I find odd in Hollywood is they didn’t like Trump because he was a bully… But if you had any kind of inkling that you were for Trump, you got bullied for doing that. It gets a little hypocritical.’…

“The industry has become more toxic to conservatives since Trump took office, the Los Angeles Times reported. Workers complained of political shouting matches on set and the professional shunning of those known to hold right-leaning views…”

IRS Proceeds Quickly to Grant Tax Exemption to Satanic Group

Judicial Watch wrote on March 16:

“Under the Obama administration IRS political appointees illegally targeted conservative groups, either making them wait up to seven years for tax-exempt status or denying their application altogether. Judicial Watch uncovered that scandal and has obtained piles of government records showing how the IRS illegally colluded with another federal agency to single out groups with conservative-sounding terms such as patriot and Tea Party in their titles when applying for tax-exempt status.

“In the meantime,… groups like the Satan club got fast tracked. The principle goal of establishing the Satan clubs in public schools throughout Washington State appears to be to counter existing enterprises operated by a Christian-based group… Records obtained by Judicial Watch from the Treasury Department show that the Satanic cult applied for tax-exempt status on October 21, 2014 and received it on October 31, 2014.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses an Extremist Organization in Russia?

USA Today wrote on March 16:

“Russia’s justice ministry has filed a lawsuit with its supreme court to declare the national headquarters of the country’s Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization… The press office for the Russian branch of the religion says on its website that such a declaration, if successful, would ‘entail disastrous consequences for freedom of religion in Russia’ and directly affect about 175,000 followers at more than 2,000 congregations in the country…

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses first legally registered as a religious group in Russia in 1991 and re-registered in 1999, according to the organization’s international website. For almost two decades, however, Russian prosecutors in various localities have periodically sought to outlaw or curb the group, charging it is a cult that destroys families, fosters hatred and threatens lives…

“Vasily Kalin, chairman of the religious group’s steering committee, said: …  ‘In Stalin’s time, when I was a child, the whole family was deported to Siberia only because we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s a shame and sad that my children and grandchildren will be faced with something like that.’

“Jehovah’s Witnesses have come under growing pressure from Russian authorities in recent years, including a ban on distribution of church literature that authorities say violates anti-extremism laws. In February, investigators inspected the headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in St. Petersburg… More than 70,000 pages of documents were confiscated for the General Prosecutor’s Office… which monitors hate crimes and the enforcement of anti-extremist laws… In 2009, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld a lower court ruling that declared 34 pieces of Jehovah’s Witness literature as ‘extremist,’ including their magazine The Watchtower in Russian.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses have been officially banned from the port city of Taganrog since 2009, after a local court ruled the organization guilty of inciting religious hatred by ‘propagating the exclusivity and supremacy’ of their religion… In 2015, a court in Rostov convicted 16 Jehovah’s Witnesses of practicing extremism in Taganrog, handing out jail sentences – later suspended – of more than 5 years for five of the defendants and stiff fines for the others. That same year, the supreme court of Russia banned the religion’s international website as ‘extremist.’”

Russia’s long-standing persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is well-known. To label the Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremists” is ridiculous and preposterous. But as we recently reported in our StandingWatch program “Russia’s Persecution of Minority Christians” , we can expect that Russia, under autocratic dictator Vladimir Putin, will persecute more and more minority religions and denominations.

“Can Merkel Bring Trump to Reason?”

Der Spiegel wrote on March 10:

“Trump is not only the most powerful man in the world. He has also shown that he cares nothing about the rules of Western political game…

“Trump has announced that he plans to fight Germany’s export surplus. And although his statements on NATO have been contradictory, it is clear that he wants alliance partners to increase their defense spending. Plans for his foreign policy with Russia are also half-baked. Will he back the Western sanctions against Moscow that Merkel worked hard to implement?…

“‘Trump’s actions are driven more by his instincts and business experience than by political rationality,’ says Norbert Röttgen, the foreign policy spokesman…

“Merkel and her staff are preparing for the worst when it comes to trade. Even as vague as they may still be, Trump’s plans could become the greatest threat to the global economy since the financial crisis, with Germany standing directly in the firing line. Almost 50 percent of all jobs in Germany are dependent on exports. The Americans alone last year purchased 107 billion euros worth of German goods, whereas only 57 billion worth of U.S. goods got imported to Germany. The country would suffer severely if the U.S. started a trade war with Europe or China.

“…what happens in the likely event that Trump sticks to his ‘America First’ plans? If that happens, then Merkel is expected to push for a united EU front to blockade Washington… The goal, in such a case, would be that of isolating the U.S… One idea would be to incrementally increase duties on American imports…

“Merkel is up for re-election in September and she will also have to keep voters in Germany in mind. She can’t alienate the new president, but it also wouldn’t play well domestically if she allowed herself to be treated as a supplicant the way British Prime Minister Theresa May recently did during her visit with Trump.

“The fact that a discussion in the Chancellery is even necessary regarding how far the chancellor can go in her criticism of Trump’s violations of Western values and principles is in itself indicative how the situation has changed. In the past, these were the kinds of considerations that Merkel’s staff made prior to trips to Russia or China. Now it’s the government in Washington, once one of Germany’s closest partners, that worries the government in Berlin…”

Merkel or Trump… Who Is the Leader of the Free World?

The Local and AFP wrote on March 12:

“Europe’s most powerful leader, Angela Merkel, meets for the first time on Tuesday America’s flamboyant President Donald Trump, whose arrival in the White House has sent shockwaves across the Atlantic… there has been little known contact between the German leader and Trump since he took office… The reserved German leader herself underlined that she is travelling to Washington not only as Germany’s leader, but also as an envoy of the EU…

“While Merkel is a firm believer in the European Union and globalisation, Trump cheers Britain’s departure from the EU and scrapped the TPP free trade deal in his first days in office. The two also differ on immigration policies – she slammed his ban on citizens from mainly-Muslim countries, while he criticised as ‘catastrophic’ her liberal refugee stance that led more than a million asylum-seekers into Germany…

“Merkel had already set the tone from the beginning, when in their first phone conversation, she reminded Trump of democratic values while offering cooperation. That phone call had led some to speculate that she may have taken on the mantel of the ‘leader of the free world’, a title usually reserved for US presidents…”

Due to extremely bad weather in America’s Eastern states, a planned meeting in Washington between Merkel and Trump on Wednesday (March 15) was postponed until Friday (March 17).

Piers Morgan: “Obama Deported Millions, Killed Thousands”

Newsmax reported on March 11:

“British TV personality Piers Morgan says he’s not ready to ‘join the ecstatic global race to canonize Mr. Obama quite so enthusiastically.’ Obama, Morgan admits in a column, in The Daily Mail Friday is ‘handsome, intelligent, charming, witty’ and is a good family man and friend, but beneath the surface lies a ‘rather different, far murkier reality,’ and said the former president should not be considered a ‘saint’ while current President Donald Trump is seen as a ‘monster.’

“For one, Obama is called the ‘Deporter-in-Chief’ by his critics for good reason…  Morgan writes, he deported almost three million. Obama ‘loved to pretend that he was only deporting criminals,’ said Morgan, but more than half those deported had no criminal convictions, and others were sent back for minor misdemeanors, such as traffic violations or marijuana possession.

“The former president also was not the man of peace he liked to portray himself as being, said Morgan, pointing out that Obama was at war longer than any president, and was the only president serving two full terms with the country at war. ‘By contrast, the much-maligned Jimmy Carter never ordered a U.S. military bullet to be fired in anger during his four-year tenure,’ said Morgan…

“During 2016 alone, U.S. special operations remained active in 70 percent of the countries around the world and the same year, Obama ordered at least 26,171 bombs to be dropped on Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan, seven Muslim-majority countries. He wasn’t submitting Muslims to ‘extreme vetting’ such as that Trump called for, but instead, killing them, said Morgan.

“Obama also ordered 10 times more drone strikes than former President George W. Bush, but his administration has claimed only 117 civilian deaths.”

Michael Flynn… a Paid Foreign Agent for Turkey!

The Huffington Post wrote on March 10:

“[Michael] Flynn, who was ousted from Trump’s government last month after he was exposed for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with the Russian ambassador, revealed this week that his lobbying firm was paid more than $500,000 for work on behalf of Turkey’s autocratic regime. During the three months he worked as an agent for Turkey, Flynn was also serving as chief national security adviser to candidate Trump. In that role, Flynn attended classified government briefings with Trump, and helped craft his foreign policy. Flynn did not publicly register as a foreign agent until Tuesday, more than seven months after his firm signed the lobbying contract, and three months after the contract ended.

“[White House Spokesman Sean] Spicer on Friday insisted that Flynn kept Trump and other aides in the dark about his foreign lobbying… This ignorance claim falls short for a number of reasons. Chief among them is that many people knew about Flynn’s lobbying work last fall, and it was reported in the media… Flynn even consulted a lawyer, who called a member of Trump’s transition team to disclose Flynn’s work for his Turkish client…”

It has also been reported that Flynn, in support of the Erdogan regime, advocated the extradition of Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen to Turkey, which would have meant his certain death. Erdogan has claimed, without evidence, that his key opponent Gülen was behind the putsch, allegedly trying to oust Erdogan, but serious concerns remain as to who really orchestrated the putsch. In any event, the putsch was used by Erdogan to create an even more autocratic and dictatorial Turkish state with massive persecution of virtually all Erdogan opponents.

Turkey vs. the Netherlands

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 11:

“The Netherlands has denied landing permission for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevut Casuvoglu’s plane… Erdogan said the Dutch policies were reminiscent of the Nazis…

“The feud with the Netherlands reflects broader tensions between Turkey and Europe, especially with Germany, after several cities there blocked Turkish ministers from addressing rallies, citing security concerns. A number of Turkish officials, including Erdogan, have accused Germany of Nazi and fascist-like behavior…

“[Germany’s] constitutional court [decided] on Friday [that] the [German] government can legally ban Turkish officials from campaigning in Germany…”

Europe’s War with Turkey Escalates

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 12:

“Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya flew back to Istanbul on Sunday after being expelled from the Netherlands and escorted back to Germany…

“Kaya tried to enter the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday to address Turkish émigrés to drum up support for next month’s referendum to dramatically expand President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers. Police prevented her from entering the compound…”

Dutch Embassy in Ankara Sealed Off

The Times of Israel wrote on March 11:

“The Dutch embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul have been sealed off for ‘security reasons’, Turkish foreign ministry sources said on Saturday, as tensions soar between Turkey and the Netherlands…

“The diplomatic row comes at a time when relations between Turkey and the European Union, of which the Netherlands is a member, have been steadily worsening, especially in the wake of Erdogan’s actions since last year’s failed coup. More than 41,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 civil servants fired from their jobs.”

Denmark Blocks Visit of Turkish Prime Minister; Germany “Mulls” Legal Options

Deutsche Welle reported on March 12:

“Danish public broadcaster DR reported [Turkey’s Prime Minister] Binali Yildirim had planned to visit the country on March 20 but Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said that such a visit could not take place in light of ‘the current Turkish attack on Holland.’

“… On Sunday, German lawmakers called for a withdrawal of German troops from Turkey.”

“Diplomatic Row between Europe and Turkey Escalates Further”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 13:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of ‘supporting terrorists’… Erdogan also attacked Merkel for her public backing of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the ongoing diplomatic crisis with the Netherlands… Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim meanwhile also threatened to cancel the refugee deal struck between Turkey and the European Union one year ago, which has helped in keeping the number of migrants arriving in Germany and elsewhere in Europe at bay…

“The German Foreign Ministry meanwhile updated its travel advisory on Turkey, saying that Germans there should be worried about ‘heightened political tensions and protests that could be directed at Germans.’… The revision also recommends that German visitors to Turkey ‘stay away from political gatherings and from larger groups of people in general.’ The Netherlands followed suit and also revised their travel advice for Turkey, urging Dutch citizens visiting Turkey to exercise caution.”

Geert Wilders of the Netherlands Projected to Lose

Bloomberg News wrote on March 15:

“Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals easily beat the anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders in Wednesday’s election, an exit poll showed, as voters responded to Rutte’s plea to send a signal on halting the spread of populism. The Liberal Party is projected to take 31 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament compared with 19 seats for the Freedom Party, according to the official exit poll conducted for national broadcasters released after voting closed. Wilders’s party has to share second place with the Christian Democrats and centrist D66, both of which are also forecast to get 19 seats.

“The outcome, if confirmed, would be a worse result than opinion polls had predicted for Wilders, and represent a rejection of his platform of pulling the Netherlands out of the European Union, abandoning the euro, closing Dutch borders and stopping all immigration to the Netherlands by Muslims. It would also suggest that the nationalist sentiment that promoted the U.K.’s Brexit vote and brought Donald Trump to the White House is struggling to secure as big a foothold in mainland Europe…

“The euro climbed to the highest level in more than a month on the result… Rutte will probably stay on as premier… the Christian Democrats and D66 are both ‘strongly pro-European.’”

“EU Court’s Ruling on Religious Clothing and Symbols Means Jews, Muslims Unwelcome”

JTA wrote on March 14:

“A European Union court ruled that companies can prohibit their employees from wearing religious clothing and symbols…

“The ruling Tuesday by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg also said that customers cannot simply demand that workers remove headscarves if the company has no policy barring religious symbols…

“The ruling, which came amid a rise in the popularity of anti-Muslim politicians in Europe over the proliferation of jihadist attacks on the continent and ethnic and religious tensions, was on two lawsuits filed by Muslim employees who were sanctioned for wearing religious symbols or prohibited from doing so. ‘This decision sends signals to all religious groups in Europe,’ Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said in a statement Tuesday. ‘With the rise of racially motivated incidents and today’s decision, Europe is sending a clear message; its faith communities are no longer welcome. Political leaders need to act to ensure that Europe does not isolate religious minorities and remains a diverse and open continent’…

“Marine Le Pen, the leading candidate in the presidential race in France, said she would ban Muslim headcovering if she were elected. Asked whether she would do the same for the [Jewish] kippah, the head of the far-right National Front party said she would do so to preserve equality.”

What It Means for Germany—Conflict with EU Ruling

The Local wrote on March 14:

“The European Court of Justice… said that employers may ban headscarves if the company has a general ban on ‘political, philosophical or religious’ symbols, and if there is good reason for a ban… German courts must now comply with this ruling. Article 4 of Germany’s constitutional law or Grundgesetz states that religious freedom is a fundamental right. ‘Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable,’ it states. ‘The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.’ But how this principle applies in the workplace has been fiercely debated in Germany…

“In 2002, the Federal Labour Court ruled in the case of a store saleswoman that she should not have been fired for wearing a headscarf. Then in 2014, the same court ruled that church employers could forbid workers from wearing the Muslim headscarf. And in 2015, the Constitutional Court found that general headscarf bans for teachers… were unconstitutional. The court said that headscarves should only be banned if they were found to ‘constitute a sufficiently specific danger of impairing the peace at school.’ The Constitutional Court reiterated this in a 2016 decision regarding a Muslim child care worker, stating that ‘an “Islamic headscarf” is not uncommon in Germany.’

“The Central Council of Muslims said they felt the EU ruling was in direct contradiction with the 2015 ruling regarding teachers…”

The Protestant Church in Germany is also critical of the EU court’s decision, and so is Amnesty International.

Republicans Speak Out Against Paul Ryan’s Healthcare Plan

Breitbart wrote on March 11:

“House Speaker Paul Ryan… introduced what he calls the ‘American Health Care Act,’ a bill that does not repeal Obamacare but only amends it. For the last several days, senior Republicans ranging from members of the House Freedom Caucus to other House Republicans to Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and more have raised serious concerns with the bill.

“… now [former Alaska Gov. Sarah] Palin… expressed serious concern with the fact that Ryan’s healthcare bill does not eliminate Obamacare’s individual mandate. It just shifts the mandate—which requires all Americans to purchase a health insurance plan even if they do not want one. Under Obamacare, those who do not comply, pay a tax to the federal government. Under Ryan’s plan, those who not comply, pay a [30 percent additional] fee to the insurance companies.”

Paul Ryan’s American Healthcare Plan a Disaster?

Breitbart wrote on March 11:

“Analysis from the Brookings Institution says that 15 million people could lose coverage under Speaker Paul Ryan’s American Health Care Act.

“The Kaiser Family Foundation states that the Ryan plan’s tax credits aid wealthier Americans more than lower-income individuals. Older Americans would face comparatively less aid through tax credits than younger counterparts. American Medical Association CEO James Madara also criticized the Republican leadership’s tax credits…

“Avik Roy, a health expert at Forbes, argued that tax credits in the Ryan plan will ‘price many poor and vulnerable people out of the health insurance market.’

“Michael Cannon, the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies, believes that the GOP’s Obamacare replacement bill will force the poor to lose their coverage. He lamented, ‘If the tax credits (read: subsidies) for low-income Americans are less than under Obamacare, many more low-income patients will lose coverage. Premiums will continue to rise. Republicans will take the blame for all of it, because they will have failed to repeal Obamacare, or learn its lessons, when they had the chance.’”

White House Defends Healthcare Plan

The Guardian wrote on March 14:

“The White House was forced to defend its healthcare plan on multiple fronts on Tuesday after a damning report found it would deprive millions of people of insurance, deepening divisions in the Republican party. A non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study released on Monday predicted that by 2026, the number of people without insurance would increase by 24 million if House Republicans’ legislation… is adopted.

“But during an hour-long briefing dominated by the issue, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, challenged the CBO’s figures… the non-partisan CBO report leaves Republicans with an uphill battle to sell the plan… in the Senate and possibly the House. It was thought to be no coincidence that Breitbart News… released a potentially damaging audio recording of the bill’s champion Paul Ryan, the House speaker, saying on a conference call with House Republicans on 10 October: ‘I am not going to defend Donald Trump – not now, not in the future.’…”

President Trump seemed to support the “Ryan Healthcare Plan” during a speech in Nashville on March 15, while addressing at the same time the need for negotiations.

McClatchy wrote on March 16:

“The much-criticized Obamacare replacement bill passed the House Budget Committee on Thursday with one vote to spare, as three conservative Republicans broke ranks to vote against Paul Ryan’s health care proposal… The bill now heads to the House Rules Committee, and GOP leadership aims to have a vote on the House floor by March 23.”

Scary… How Nuclear Bombs Are Being Transported in the USA

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 10:

“The unmarked 18-wheelers ply the nation’s interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs. The covert fleet, which shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office of Secure Transportation, a troubled agency within the U.S. Department of Energy so cloaked in secrecy that few people outside the government know it exists.

“The $237-million-a-year agency operates a fleet of 42 tractor-trailers, staffed by highly armed couriers, many of them veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, responsible for making sure nuclear weapons and components pass through foggy mountain passes and urban traffic jams without incident. The transportation office is about to become more crucial than ever as the U.S. embarks on a $1-trillion upgrade of the nuclear arsenal that will require thousands of additional warhead shipments over the next 15 years.

“The increased workload will hit an agency already struggling with problems of forced overtime, high driver turnover, old trucks and poor worker morale — raising questions about its ability to keep nuclear shipments safe from attack in an era of more sophisticated terrorism… [The] worst case would be a terrorist group hijacking a truck and obtaining a multi-kiloton hydrogen bomb…

“The United States has 4,018 nuclear warheads. About 450 are in underground silos in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota. An additional 1,000 or so are on submarines, which dock at bases in Washington and Georgia. Hundreds more bombs are assigned to the U.S. strategic bomber fleet, which is based in Louisiana, North Dakota and Missouri. And a reserve stockpile sits in bunkers near the transportation office headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

“Each weapon — a complex physics machine that contains as many as 6,000 parts, including tanks of gas, wheels and gears, batteries, wiring, plastic-type explosives and radioactive materials — requires routine inspection, testing and maintenance. The workers who perform those services don’t travel to the weapons. The weapons go to them. They are picked up by the transportation office and driven to the government’s sole plant for working on live nuclear warheads, the Pantex Plant outside Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. From there, various pieces are parceled out to government plants and laboratories across the country. Uranium assemblies travel to Tennessee, plutonium parts to New Mexico, radioactive gas canisters to South Carolina, non-nuclear classified parts to California and firing mechanisms to Kansas. Those parts are then returned to Texas so the warheads can be reassembled and trucked back to their silos or military bases…

“The result is an unwieldy system that requires some of the most dangerous and vulnerable components of the nation’s defense system to be routinely shipped on long-distance journeys from one end of the country to the other… More serious than the inefficiencies in moving so many parts is the vulnerability inherent in placing nuclear bombs on the highways…”

“Trump Administration Ups Drone Strikes, Tolerates More Civilian Deaths”

 NBC News wrote on March 13:

“The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to make it easier for the CIA and the military to target terrorists with drone strikes, even if it means tolerating more civilian casualties, U.S. officials told NBC News. The military already has declared that parts of Yemen and Somalia are war zones — ‘areas of active hostilities’ in Pentagon parlance — which means the U.S. has greater latitude to launch strikes even if civilian deaths are possible. That is part of a broad policy shift underway, U.S. officials say, to grant the CIA and the military more autonomy to target and kill al Qaeda and ISIS militants without presidential sign-off in countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan…

“The Obama administration put in place a rule that no drone strike could take place outside a war zone unless there was a ‘near certainty’ that no civilian would be harmed. Obama also put the White House in the decision loop on most strikes against high-value targets. And, outside a war zone, the military or the CIA had to show that the target posed an imminent threat to the United States… To be clear, none of this applied to the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, which was and is being waged as a military campaign under the laws of war…

“A flurry of strikes in Yemen in recent weeks, against targets that had long been previously identified, was made possible by declaring parts of Yemen a war zone… The Pentagon no longer had to show that the targets posed an imminent threat to the U.S. or declare a near certainty that no civilian would be harmed. A military commander can decide whether the risk of civilian casualties is ‘proportional’ to the benefit of the strike, under the international law of war…

“Human rights groups, which fought for years to get Obama to rein in drone strikes, are dismayed by the Trump approach…”

Foreign Tourists Afraid of Visiting the USA

The Website of stuff.co.nz wrote on March 13:

“The fallout from President Donald Trump’s executive orders limiting travel from some Middle Eastern and African countries is having far-reaching implications for US tourism. It is not just visitors from the countries targeted by the bans that are souring on U.S. travel… Rather, an atmosphere of fear at the nation’s airports – and well-publicized incidents of visitors being detained and interrogated – are scaring off people without the slightest connection to the Muslim world.

“‘Think twice about visiting America…’ read a recent headline in the letters column of the Australian magazine Traveller, referring to the children’s book author who swore she would never return to the United States after being questioned at Los Angeles International Airport on her way to a literary conference. The Toronto Star newspaper in late January published a commentary calling on Canadians to forgo unnecessary trips to the US until Trump is out of office…

“An economic consulting company that has crunched the numbers from various airline and travel booking websites projects that the US will lose 6.3 million visits by the end of next year, which translates into $10.8 billion in spending. What the company, Tourism Economics of Wayne, Pa., is calling ‘Trump-induced losses’ could affect an estimated 90,000 Americans whose jobs are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism…

“Among the cities that stand to lose the most are New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. New York expects to lose 300,000 foreign tourists this year, a big worry because foreigners drop the big money, spending about four times as much as domestic tourists, officials said…”

“A survey released Wednesday by the Washington-based Global Business Travel Association found that 45 per cent of European business travel professionals say they are less likely to schedule meetings or events in the US…”

New Travel Ban Suffers Legal Setback

The Associated Press reported on March 15:

“U.S. President Donald Trump said a decision by a U.S. federal judge in Hawaii to issue an emergency halt on Wednesday to his revised travel ban was an example of ‘unprecedented judicial overreach.’…

“The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries. More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments about whether it should be put into practice early Thursday…

“Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump’s statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims. Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has said the revised order was designed to have ‘the same basic policy outcome’ as the first…”

The New York Times added on March 16: “A second federal judge in Maryland ruled against Mr. Trump overnight, with a separate order forbidding the core provision of the travel ban from going into effect.”

President Trump said during his speech in Nashville, Tennessee, (on March 15) that the second travel ban was a “watered-down” version of the first executive order, and that he would prefer to resurrect the first one and have it reviewed by the US Supreme Court: “We’re going to take our case as far as it needs to go, including all the way to the Supreme Court. And we’re going to win. I think we ought to go back to the first [ban], and go all the way. That’s what I wanted to do in the first place.”

Newsmax added on March 15:

“Famed civil rights attorney Alan Dershowitz said a federal judge’s decision Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban proved ‘the whole effort to try to clean it up was futile.’ ‘I’m not surprised, because the attitude of the court is there can’t be any lawful order as long as candidate Trump said what he said and [former New York City Mayor Rudy] Giuliani said what he said,’ the Harvard Law School professor emeritus [said]. ‘That makes anything that happens thereafter simply a cover for a Muslim ban…

“Dershowitz referenced comments made by Trump during last year’s presidential campaign about banning Muslims from entering the United States, as well as Giuliani’s comments to Fox News in January on Trump asking him how to do such a ban ‘legally.’ But Dershowitz added that the Trump administration could eventually win at the Supreme Court, since the justices have taken ‘exactly the opposite attitude when it comes to looking at motive and intent. They said you don’t look at motive and intent. You look at the word of the regulation — and that’s what the Supreme Court will ultimately hold.’”

But Professor Dershowitz was wrong before when he predicted that the first travel ban would be upheld by the courts.

“Temple Mount Is the Foundation of the History of the Jewish People”

The Times of Israel wrote on March 13:

“Hitting back at a controversial UNESCO resolution ignoring the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, senior Likud ministers put forward a proposal to establish a new government body [that] would preserve the holy site and educate about its Jewish history.  Proposed by Culture Minister Miri Regev and Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Minister Ze’ev Elkin, the plan includes a NIS 2 million ($550,00) yearly budget to set up the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation that will be responsible for ‘research, information and advocacy’ about the Jewish connection to the site…

“… the new body would be based on the government-funded Western Wall Heritage Fund, which administers the site adjacent to the Temple Mount. ‘In recent years the State of Israel has been facing a deligitimization campaign based on a distortion of facts regarding the history, tradition and culture of the Jewish people,’ reads the explanation of the proposal… ‘One of the peaks of this trend took place recently with the October 2016 UNESCO decision to attempt to nullify the connection of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount. In light of this trend, the government of Israel sees itself as responsible to prevent this disinformation and distortion of historical truth,’ it says.

‘The controversial UNESCO resolution used only Muslim names for the Jerusalem Old City holy sites and was harshly critical of Israel for what it termed ‘provocative abuses that violate the sanctity and integrity’ of the area. Lawmakers from both the right and left of the Israeli political spectrum slammed the decision and accused the UN’s cultural arm of anti-Semitism…

“The flashpoint Temple Mount, which is administrated by the Jordanian authorities, is the holiest site in Judaism, revered by Jews as the site where the biblical Temples stood. Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and believe it is the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the third-holiest site in Islam and houses the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock shrine. The Palestinians have frequently charged that Israel is trying to change longstanding understandings, in place since 1967, under which Jews are allowed to visit, but not pray at, the site.

“Last week Regev unveiled the logo to be used in the upcoming celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The emblem features an Israeli flag flying atop the old city walls and the Temple Mount and is accompanied by the slogan: ’50 years since the liberation of Jerusalem.’… Regev… stressed that part of the image featured ‘an Israeli flag that has returned to fly above the old city walls, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount.’… In a Monday statement, Glick said he welcomed the plan for a Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and has personally lobbied for its creation. ‘We need to state clearly: The temple mount is the foundation of the history of the Jewish people and of the return to the land since the beginning of Zionism,’ he said.”

Persians Then and Now—the Book of Esther and the Purim Feast

Breitbart wrote on March 12:

“Just as the Persians failed to wipe out the Jewish nation some 2,500 years ago, the Iranians of today will also fail, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim.  The prime minister made his remarks before the reading of the Scroll of Esther at the central synagogue in Caesarea… He turned to the children surrounding him in costumes traditionally worn on Purim and asked them: ‘What is the holiday about, what do we celebrate, what do we remember, what did they try to do to us then?’ Several children replied, ‘To kill us.’ ‘Where?’ Netanyahu asked. ‘In Persia,’ they answered. ‘Did they succeed?’ the prime minister asked. ‘No,’ one child said, ‘the opposite happened.’ ‘It didn’t happen, the opposite happened,’ Netanyahu repeated. ‘Also, today they want to destroy us from Persia; they will not succeed.’…

“Today, Netanyahu said, Iran – the heir of the Persians – has similar designs: to wipe out the state of the Jews…

“In his speech to a special joint session of the U.S. Congress in March 2015, Netanyahu famously evoked the Purim story when explaining the threat posed by the nuclear deal signed by then-president Barack Obama. ‘We’re an ancient people,’ he said. ‘In our nearly 4,000 years of history, many have tried repeatedly to destroy the Jewish people. Tomorrow night, on the Jewish holiday of Purim, we’ll read the Book of Esther. We’ll read of a powerful Persian viceroy named Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people some 2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies. The plot was foiled. Our people were saved.’ He continued by saying that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Haman’s modern-day heir, had similar plans for the Jewish nation. ‘But I can guarantee you this,’ he said, ‘the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies – those days are over.’”

“‘Ghosts’ Drive Brazil’s President from Residence”

The website of au.news.yahoo.com and AFP wrote on March 12:

“Brazil’s president Michel Temer blames bad vibes and even ghosts for driving him from his sumptuous official residence in the capital Brasilia, a Brazilian news weekly reported Saturday.

“Temer surprised Brazilians this week with the revelation that he has decamped from the Alvorada Palace and moved with his former beauty queen wife (Marcela Temer) and their seven-year-old son down the road to the smaller vice presidential residence… According to a report in Globo newspaper, Marcela Temer brought in a priest to attempt to drive out any evil spirits, but to no avail… The house moving comes in the middle of a severe political crisis for Brazil, with many of Temer’s allies facing potential corruption probes.”

There are many houses which are supposedly haunted… including governmental residences such as the White House. But there are no “ghosts” (of “departed ones”) who may live there, but evil spirits. After all, Satan and his demons are the real rulers of this present evil world.

The Main Differences between Catholics and Protestants

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 10:

“They worship the same God, but the principles of their faith are different. 500 years after Reformation, a Reconciliation service on Saturday is a reminder of the still painful division between Protestants and Catholics.

“In Germany, the country of Reformation, a deep animosity divided Catholic and Protestant Christians up until a few decades ago. This division had deepened over the centuries through religious conflicts and wars. It all started when Reformation took place, 500 years ago, as Martin Luther (1483-1546) tried to reform the Catholic Church. His attempt to do so instead led to a schism in the Church. On October 31, 1517, the publication of his 95 Theses, which outlined different abusive practices of the Church, is considered the founding event that led to this division in Germany and the creation of the Evangelical Church.

“Right from the beginning, on October 21, 2016, this year of commemoration of the Reformation was characterized by an ecumenical approach. In the past, protestant churches celebrated major Reformation anniversaries by worshiping Martin Luther as a hero – but this time it’s different. The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) wishes to turn the celebrations of ‘500 Years of Reformation’ into a common celebration of Christ with the Catholic Church. Through various events, both sides will pay tribute to Martin Luther while emphasizing their will to overcome divisions…

“Many of the aspects that were reformed by Luther at the time still divide both groups to this day. Here are the eight main differences:

“1. Understanding of the Bible:

“Catholicism and Protestantism have distinct views on the meaning and the authority of the Bible. For Protestant Christians, Luther made clear that the Bible is the ‘Sola Skriptura,’ God’s only book, in which He provided His revelations to the people and which allows them to enter in communion with Him. Catholics, on the other hand, do not align their beliefs on the Bible alone. Along with the Holy Scripture, they are additionally bound by the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

“2. Understanding the Church

“Catholics and Protestants have a different view on the nature of the Church. The word ‘catholic’ means ‘all-embracing,’ and the Catholic Church sees itself as the only true Church worldwide, under the leadership of the Pope. In contrast, the Protestant Churches which have emerged from Reformation, also called ‘Evangelical,’ which means ‘according to the Gospel’ do not make up one united Church. There are rather several tens of thousands of different denominations around the world. Officially, all of these many Churches are considered equal.

“3. The Pope

“Protestants are not open at all to papal primacy. According to the Evangelical view, it contradicts statements in the Bible. Catholics see in the Pope the successor of the Apostle Peter, the first head of their Church, who was appointed by Jesus. The papal office is justified by an allegedly unbroken chain of consecrations, ranging from the first century to the present.

“4. Understanding of the office

“This continuous chain, known as the apostolic succession, is overall significant for different spiritual offices in the Catholic Church. With the Sacrament of Holy Orders, bishops, priests and deacons receive a lifelong seal of God giving them sacramental authority over Catholic laymen. This consecration can only be given to men. Protestants do not consecrate specific persons into office, but rather accept the principle that priesthood can be transferred to every believer – even to women.

“5. Eucharist or Lord’s Supper

‘The Catholics’ views on the spiritual office are reflected in the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, a rite commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples before his Crucifixion. Once consecrated by a priest in the name Jesus, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Non-Catholics may not participate in communion. In the [Protestant] Church, every baptized person is invited to share and is allowed to lead the Lord’s Supper. This approach is not accepted by Catholics.

“Additionally, Eucharist has a different meaning for Catholics and Protestants. The bread, known as the Host, embodies Jesus and can therefore be prayed to. For Protestants, the ritual only serves to commemorate Jesus’ death and resurrection.

“6. Sacraments

“In the Roman Catholic Church there are seven solemn rites, called Sacraments: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders and extreme unction. The Church believes these sacraments were instituted by Jesus and that they confer God’s Grace. Protestants only practice two of these sacraments: matrimony and the Eucharist. They are perceived as symbolic rituals, through which God delivers the Gospel. They are accepted through faith.

“7. Marian dogmas and the worship of Saints

“The Roman Catholic Church reveres Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as ‘Queen of Heaven’ and is in many aspects Jesus’ equal. However, there are little biblical references of Marian dogmas – which include Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity and her Assumption into heaven. This is why they are rejected by Protestants. The Catholic Church also practices the worship of Saints. Dead models of faith, recognized as ‘saint’ by the Church through canonization, can be prayed to for help in maintaining faith in God. There are over 4,000 Saints. Their remains are considered holy relics which are venerated. This worship is also categorically [rejected] by the Protestant Church as unbiblical. According to Reformation views, every person may and should pray directly to God.

“8. Celibacy

“All main world religions integrate in some way the concept of celibacy, the vow of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations, and the Catholic and Protestant Churches are no exception. In the Catholic Church, celibacy is obligatory for priests. It is seen as a symbol of the undivided succession of Christ. The Protestant Church rejects this obligation for priests. Already in 1520, Martin Luther demanded its abolition. He made a decisive personal contribution to this end in 1525: The former monk married the former nun Katharina von Bora. Initially unsure of whether he should marry, Luther finally determined that ‘his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep.’”

What is even more problematic than the differences between Catholics and Protestants is their common beliefs, which are in opposition to the Bible.

President Trump Signs Revised Executive Order on Travel Ban

Deutsche Welle reported on March 6:

“US President Donald Trump issued a revised executive order banning travel to the US from six countries. The latest directive removes Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority countries whose citizens are banned from entering America for 90 days. The ban applies to citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and exempts those who already have valid visas [or green cards, or possess dual citizenship]… Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Iraq was taken off the list because its government had imposed new vetting procedures and because of its work with the United States in countering Islamic State militants. Attorney General Jeff Sessions added that… three ‘of these nations are state sponsors of terrorism,’… referring to Iran, Sudan and Syria, adding that others had served as ‘safe havens’ for terror operatives.

“… the new directive had an implementation delay [until March 16] to limit the disruptions that created havoc for some travelers… the Department of Homeland Security will conduct a country-by-country review of the information the six targeted nations provide to the US for visa and immigration decisions. Those countries will then have 50 days to comply with US government requests to update or improve that information.

“The order also suspends the entire US refugee program for 120 days, though refugees already formally scheduled for travel by the State Department will be allowed entry. After the suspension is lifted, the number of refugees allowed into the US will be capped at 50,000 for fiscal year 2017. The new order no longer singles out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban. Syrian refugees will now be treated like other refugees.”

Legal Challenges Ahead

Bloomberg wrote on March 6:

“The overarching question is whether the revised order… can withstand some of the same legal challenges that doomed the first, including whether it unlawfully discriminates based on religion. Those questions may ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the experts said… While the revised order halts admissions of refugees for 120 days, it no longer bans Syrian refugees indefinitely, nor does it favor Christians…

“Like the order it replaced, the revised directive doesn’t mention Muslims or Islam in singling out citizens of Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for a 90-day ban. But that didn’t stop judges from blocking Trump’s first order…

“By dropping those with green cards and visas, Trump’s new order… renders moot the legal claims of people with the strongest argument that their Constitutional right to due process of law — the right to a fair hearing before being deprived of property or rights — was being violated. While the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that non-citizens, legal or not, are entitled to due process when in the country, the Constitution doesn’t protect people in other countries with no ties to the U.S.

“The Trump administration is defending the new order, as it did the old one, by pointing to the president’s broad authority to suspend any class of aliens whose entry would be ‘detrimental to the interests of the United States.’”

Revised Travel Ban Still Illegal

The New York Times wrote on March 6:

“… [the] revised version of that order…  still suffers from a fundamental, and fatal, flaw: It constitutes unlawful religious discrimination… The order is still limited to only Muslim-majority countries: namely, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Residents of those countries — and only those countries — will be severely restricted in their ability to travel into the United States for 90 days. Left off are the predominately Christian countries that the State Department lists as ‘Terrorist Safe Havens’ like Colombia, the Philippines and Venezuela…

“This revised order is a Muslim ban. All the countries he has excluded are more than 90 percent Muslim. Three of them — Iran, Somalia and Yemen — are more than 99 percent Muslim…”

Federal Judge Allows Amended Complaint against new Travel Ban

Newsmax wrote on March 8:

“A federal judge on Wednesday said the state of Hawaii could file an amended complaint against President Donald Trump’s new executive order temporarily banning the entry of refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries… The state is claiming the revised ban… violates the U.S. Constitution. It is the first legal challenge to the revised order…

“Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty. It also says the island state’s economy would be hit by a decline in tourism.”

It also contends that it violates the Constitution by preventing families from Hawaii from visiting with their relatives living in those six banned countries. In addition, the states of Washington and New York have announced legal challenges as well.

Jewish Organizations Condemn New Executive Order

The Times of Israel reported on March 6:

“The Anti-Defamation League ‘strongly condemned it,’ calling it ‘still effectively a Muslim ban that will be challenged in the courts’… Several [Jewish] groups said the action was an affront to both Jewish and American values. ‘We will resist all attempts to vilify refugees,’ the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society wrote on Twitter…

“The social justice group Bend the Arc Jewish Action said it would ‘fight for our Muslim brothers and sisters’…the Reform Jewish movement quickly criticized Trump’s second travel ban order as well. Rabbi Jonah Pesner… said the administration ‘has doubled down on its discriminatory and unjust immigration and refugee ban, defying the American traditions of welcome and religious liberty.’…

“The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the immigration order as a ‘Muslim ban’ in all but name, and vowed to keep fighting it in court…”

President Trump Charges President Obama with Illegal Wire-Tapping

The Washington Post wrote von March 4:

“Trump offered no citations nor did he point to any credible news report to back up his accusation [that President Obama had ordered to wire-tap his phone], but he may have been referring to commentary on Breitbart… suggesting that Obama and his administration used ‘police state’ tactics last fall to monitor the Trump team…

“Some current and former intelligence officials cast doubt on Trump’s assertion. ‘It’s highly unlikely there was a wiretap,’ said one former senior intelligence official familiar with surveillance law…: ‘It seems unthinkable. If that were the case by some chance, that means that a federal judge would have found that there was either probable cause that he had committed a crime or was an agent of a foreign power’…”

What’s the Evidence?

The Daily Mail wrote on March 4:

“During the summer last year, the Obama administration filed a request with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) to monitor communications involving Trump and several advisers but the request was denied, according to Heat Street former editor, Louise Mensch. Just a day before the 2016 election, Mensch reported that ‘sources with links to the counter-intelligence community’ confirmed that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) had granted a FISA court warrant in October to monitor activities in Trump tower…

“On Wednesday, a New York Times report said [that in] January, American law enforcement and intelligence agencies examined intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of Trump… The FBI led the investigations… Investigators found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing… One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House.”

In an interview with Fox on March 6, Louise Mensch clarified that she never reported that the court warrant in October authorized wire-tapping of Donald Trump; and that she had no evidence whatsoever that President Obama had ordered such a procedure.  

FBI Denies President Trump’s Claims

The New York Times wrote on March 5:

“The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, asked the Justice Department this weekend to publicly reject President Trump’s assertion that President Barack Obama ordered the tapping of Mr. Trump’s phones… but the department has not released any such statement.

“Mr. Comey’s request is a remarkable rebuke of a sitting president, putting the nation’s top law enforcement official in the position of questioning Mr. Trump’s truthfulness…

“The White House showed no indication that it would back down from Mr. Trump’s claims. On Sunday, the president demanded a congressional inquiry into whether Mr. Obama had abused the power of federal law enforcement agencies…

“It is not clear why Mr. Comey did not issue a statement himself… the F.B.I. keeps its own records and is in a position to know whether Mr. Trump’s claims are true… no law prevents Mr. Comey from issuing the statement…

“A spokesman for Mr. Obama and his former aides have called the accusation by Mr. Trump completely false, saying that Mr. Obama never ordered any wiretapping of a United States citizen…”

“Trump Could Lose Libel Lawsuit If Obama Chose to Sue”

On March 7, The Chicago Sun-Times published the following article by Geoffrey R. Stone, the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago:

“Although the Supreme Court has given substantial protection under the First Amendment to those who inadvertently make false statements in public debate, the Court in its landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan made perfectly clear that even a public official can sue for libel if another individual makes a false and defamatory statement about him, if the person who made the statement acted either with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth…

“Now… Trump unambiguously accused former President Barack Obama of criminal conduct. In so doing, Trump committed the quintessential libel. It would be truly fascinating if Obama were now to sue Trump for defamation. If Obama did sue Trump, he could almost certainly ‘win lots of money’ from him. Indeed, there seems no doubt that Trump’s statement was false, defamatory, and at the very least made with reckless disregard for the truth. Such a lawsuit would be amusing and entertaining beyond belief. Of course, this will not happen.”

The Independent added the following on March 9:

“Noah Feldman, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the unsubstantiated claims, if proved false, could be a ‘major scandal’ that ‘could get the current president impeached’. ‘If the alleged action would be impeachable if true, so must be the allegation if false’…”

Obama Furious

The Business Insider wrote on March 8:

“Former President Barack Obama is said to be ‘furious’ about President Donald Trump’s  unproven claim… People close to Obama told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Tuesday night that Obama was ‘livid’ about Trump’s unfounded accusations…”

Repeal and Replace Obamacare?

The Associated Press/Newsmax reported on March 6:

“House Republicans on Monday released their long-awaited plan for unraveling former President Barack Obama’s health care law… launching what could be the year’s defining battle in Congress. GOP success is by no means a slam dunk. In perhaps their riskiest political gamble, the plan is expected to cover fewer than the 20 million people insured under Obama’s overhaul…

“The plan would repeal the statute’s unpopular fines on people who don’t carry health insurance. It would replace income-based premium subsidies in the law with age-based ones that may not provide as much assistance to people with low incomes… The proposal would continue the expansion of Medicaid to additional low-earning Americans until 2020. After that, states adding Medicaid recipients would no longer receive the additional federal funds Obama’s law has provided…

“Popular consumer protections in the Obama law would be retained, such as insurance safeguards for people with pre-existing medical problems [including no cap on permanent illnesses], and parents’ ability to keep young adult children on their insurance until age 26.”

The Los Angeles Times added on March 6:

“The House GOP plan… stepped back from several of the more controversial ideas that had been on the table. For example, the legislation no longer proposes to tax health benefits that Americans get through an employer.”

According to some news reports, even though the proposed plan rejects an individual mandate, it allows for a 30% penalty increase in premiums for all those who have had no insurance for at least two months. Further, the LA Times reported that virtually all California insurance policies would be ineligible for any tax credits, as they include State-mandated provisions for abortion coverage. Under the proposed plan, no tax credits would be given for insured under those insurance policies.

Breitbart reported on March 8:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a top conservative in the U.S. Senate… accused Paul Ryan of [deliberately] misleading President Donald Trump on the process and the level of support in the House for the bill that House GOP leadership—at Ryan’s direction—put forward this week… many Republican offices outside the House Freedom Caucus privately tell Breitbart News that as many as 70 or more House Republicans are opposed to Ryan’s plan…

“Paul is confident that conservative House and Senate Republicans will stick together, defeat this bill, and then work with President Trump to separate repeal and replacement into different bills passed on the same day down the road. The fact that Paul is saying Ryan is misleading Trump is an explosive charge, but is backed by the evidence of widespread mistrust in the House GOP conference over this bill and Ryan’s waning influence as Speaker—dislike of it extends far beyond the House Freedom Caucus, as Breitbart News can confirm.”

Keystone Pipeline Without American Steel

The Wall Street Journal wrote on March 3:

“The Keystone XL oil pipeline won’t use American steel in its construction, despite what President Donald Trump says. The language in the directive Mr. Trump issued in January applies to new pipelines or those under repair, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday… Mr. Trump said as recently as last week that Keystone and the Dakota Access Pipeline must use U.S. steel ‘or we’re not building one.'”

He most certainly did say this… very clearly and unmistakably.

Hypocrisy in Politics?

The Daily Beast wrote on March 3:

“President Trump tweeted an image of Senator Chuck Schumer standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It depicts the two men seemingly cordially holding coffee and donuts. ‘We should start an immediate investigation into Sen Schumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite!’ Trump wrote… Like [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions, Schumer has met with Russian officials from time to time. Unlike Sessions, however, there is no evidence of Schumer lying about such conversations…”

The hypocrisy in politics is stunning. To go back a while, Newt Gingrich, at that time Speaker of the House, demanded impeachment of Bill Clinton for lying about his extramarital affair, while Gingrich had an extra-marital affair at the same time. We all recall that President Clinton lied under oath, stating that he “did not have sexual relations with that woman,” and later alleged he did not understand the question and did not know what “sexual relations” meant. It has now became known that Vice President Mike Pence used a personal email account, while serving as Governor, while condemning Hillary Clinton for using a personal email account, while being the Secretary of State. Nancy Pelosi demanded the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for meeting with the Russian ambassador and denying it during his confirmation hearing, while she herself denied meeting with the Russian ambassador, until a photo surfaced showing her and the ambassador, whereupon she “clarified” that she meant to state that she never had a “solo meeting” with him.

May God’s Kingdom come soon.

USA Warns Israel over Annexation Policy

The Times of Israel wrote on March 6:

“Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Monday that Israel has received a direct message from US President Donald Trump’s administration warning of an ‘immediate crisis’ if the government were to annex the West Bank and apply Israeli sovereignty there… Liberman’s comments… came amid calls from some in the Likud and Jewish Home parties… for full Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

“… coalition lawmakers agreed over the weekend to delay a contentious vote on extending Israeli sovereignty to the Jerusalem-area settlement of Ma’ale Adumim… until March 12. The proposed legislation… has already been postponed several times in recent months…

“While Trump has indicated he could be more tolerant of Israeli settlements than the Obama administration was, Netanyahu on Monday reportedly said the two leaders had yet to cement an agreement regarding his government’s policies in the West Bank…”

Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem?

JTA wrote on March 5:

“A delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives visited Israel for one day, during which they were to visit possible sites in Jerusalem for the American Embassy… The delegation was led by subcommittee chairman Rep. Ron DeSantis [who] told reporters… that U.S. President Donald Trump intends to honor his campaign pledge to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“DeSantis told Breitbart News in an interview on Sunday that he thought the U.S. consulate in the upscale Arnona neighborhood of southern Jerusalem would be a good place to house a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.”

Israel Bars Entry for Supporters of Boycott of Jewish State

The Guardian and AFP wrote on March 6:

“Israel’s parliament has passed into law a bill barring entry into the country to those supporting a boycott of the Jewish state… ‘A visa will not be granted nor a residence permit of any kind to any person who is not an Israeli citizen or permanent resident if he, or the organisation or body in which he is active, has knowingly issued a public call to boycott the state of Israel or pledged to take part in such a boycott,’ the statement [of the parliament] said.”

Iran’s Provocations

Breitbart reported on March 6:

“On Saturday, several fast-attack boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) approached a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz at high speed in the latest ‘unsafe and unprofessional’ action by Iranian forces. A U.S. official… said the IRGCN boats came within 600 yards of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, and stopped. The Invincible was being accompanied by three ships from [the] British Royal Navy and forced the formation to change course. The official said attempts were made to communicate over radio, but there was no response…

“The ‘unsafe’ encounter came just two days after an Iranian navy frigate came within 150 yards of the Invincible in the Gulf of Oman, just south of the Strait of Hormuz. The gulf separates Oman from southeastern Iran. The earlier encounter was deemed ‘unprofessional’ but not unsafe because the frigate maintained a parallel course with the Invincible at the point of closest approach. The Saturday incident was also more worrying as it involved the elite Revolutionary Guard unit.

“According to Fox News, Iran test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles into the Gulf of Oman over the weekend. It was the first time Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles have been tested in two years. One of the missiles successfully destroyed a target barge at a range of 155 miles. The other missed its target…

“Sky News recalls that President Donald Trump ‘vowed that Iranian ships which intimidate the U.S. Navy would be “shot out of the water”’ during his presidential campaign.”

The Times of Israel added on March 6:

“US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss the Iranian nuclear deal and the regime’s recent belligerent acts. The two leaders talked ‘at length’ about the ‘dangers emanating from Iran and Iranian aggression in the region and the need to work together to deal with these threats,’ according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office.”

North Korea’s Threatening and Provocative Actions

Bloomberg wrote on March 5:

“Japan moved to the highest possible alert level after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles simultaneously into nearby waters… Three of the missiles fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone…

“The launches ‘clearly show that this is a new level of threat’ from North Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told lawmakers in Tokyo… North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities have really improved, and they are becoming more difficult to predict [and] are getting closer to Japan’s waters and territory.’”

The Washington Examiner wrote on March 6:

“… the Pentagon responded with a bold boast: If the missile had targeted the United States, Japan, South Korea or any other ally, the U.S. would have blasted it out of the sky… Yet critics continue to question the capability and reliability of America’s multi-layered missile shield…

“If North Korea were to make good on its threat to develop a missile with the range to strike the U.S. mainland, commanders would rely on the most expensive, and controversial, layer of the missile shield…  The last test of this complex system, which is billed as being able to identify and destroy an incoming warhead in space, was in 2014. It was reported as a successful ‘hit,’ but the three previous tests were misses, raising questions whether in real-world crisis it could be depended on to perform as advertised…

“One way to increase the odds of success if the U.S. faced real incoming North Korean missiles with a possible nuclear warhead would be to fire not one, but a half-dozen interceptors…”

The Washington Post wrote on March 7:

“North Korea was practicing to strike United States military bases in Japan with its latest barrage of missiles, state media in Pyongyang reported Tuesday, and it appeared to be trying to outsmart a new American antimissile battery being deployed to South Korea by firing multiple rockets at once.”

Europe Responds to Erdogan’s Threats and Attacks

Express wrote on March 6:

“President Erdogan has launched a series of attacks on Berlin after officials cancelled rallies aimed at courting an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Turkish voters in Germany before an upcoming referendum. The Turkish leader accused Germany of Nazi-type behaviour after the pro-Erdogan rallies were banned, in a widening European Union backlash that also includes Austria and the Netherlands. President Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul: ‘We will talk about Germany’s actions in the international arena and we will put them to shame in the world’s eyes. If I want to, I will come to Germany. If you don’t let me in or if you don’t let me speak, I will make the whole world rise up!’

“In a separate sickening attack, President Erdogan said: ‘Your actions are no different from what the Nazis used to do… We no longer want to see the Nazi world. We don’t want to see the practices of those fascist regimes.’

“Austria had already banned pro-Erdogan rallies, with their chancellor, Christian Kern, saying there should be an EU-wide ban. ‘A collective EU response to prevent such campaign events would make sense so that individual countries like Germany where appearances are forbidden don’t end up being pressured by Turkey,’ he said… Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte also weighed in on the debate, writing on Facebook: ‘We believe that the Dutch public space is not the place to conduct another country’s political campaign.’…

“German politicians have reacted angrily to the Turk’s comments. Justice minister Heiko Maas labelled his comments as ‘absurd, disgraceful and outlandish’. The ban comes after Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel was arrested in Turkey. President Erdogan called Mr Yucel a ‘German agent’ and has accused Germany of ‘aiding and harbouring terror.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 5:

“With just 10 days until the Netherlands elects its new government, [far-right populist leader Geert] Wilders delivered a statement to reporters in which he slammed plans by Turkish officials to campaign in the European country… He went on to call for a ban on the politicians from entering the country, saying in English, ‘… I would call the whole cabinet of Turkey persona non-grata for a month or two, not allowing them to come here.’

“Wilders… also said the Dutch government was weak for not banning the rally and referred to Erdogan as an ‘Islamo-fascist leader.’… The 53-year-old has vowed that if elected he will pull the Netherlands out of the EU, ban the sale of Korans, close mosques and Islamic schools, shut Dutch borders and ban Muslim migrants.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel [said] on Monday… ‘What makes it really serious – and in my opinion even rather sad – is that Nazi comparisons only ever lead to one thing, namely that the incomprehensible suffering of the victims of National Socialism is cheapened. And that’s why such statements automatically disqualify themselves…’ In an attempt to diffuse tensions, Merkel spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on the phone on Saturday, only for Erdogan to lash out at Berlin hours later.”

Dictator Erdogan is one to talk… This constitutes another example of blatant hypocrisy. The irony is that due to Turkey’s ongoing hatred towards Israel, it will ultimately collaborate with Europe in attacking the Jewish state.

EU Looks for Other Trading Partners Than USA

Bloomberg wrote on March 5:

“U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance may propel Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American economic powers into market-opening alliances with the European Union, a top EU official said… Trump’s rejection of multilateral commercial deals and border-tax threat are giving impetus to the 28-nation bloc’s push for free-trade or investment pacts with countries including Japan, China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina…

“After sealing a landmark free-trade agreement with Canada, the EU [called a “trade superpower”] is seeking to make progress on a slew of commercial goals…”

Is a Trade War Coming between Europe and the USA?

Euractiv wrote on March 8:

“America’s new governing party wants to reduce the price of US exports, but are preparing a 20% ‘equalisation tax’ in return that would apply to goods imported into the United States. This would violate WTO [Word Trade Organization] rules. The European Union is threatening to bring an action before the WTO in response. But Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility that the United States might leave the organisation. This would mean that the US would avoid any possible sanctions…”

German Current and Future Presidents Very Worried about President Trump

AFP/The Local wrote on March 3:

“Outgoing President Joachim Gauck criticized US President Donald Trump in an interview on Friday… ‘It worries me a lot that the American President is putting some things into [question] that generations of other Americans have achieved with Europeans,’ said Gauck. The German President further condemned Trump’s fraught relationship with the media as he has referred to many major news outlets as ‘the enemy of the American people’. ‘This damages democracy,’ Gauck said.

“He also said that the ‘many law-abiding US citizens will not forget’ how Trump has rallied against his other perceived opponents…  The German leader further said that while the United States used to be a ‘place people longed for’ and a ‘role model’, it currently is not such things.

“Trump’s administration has come in for criticism from a number of German politicians… Before Trump was elected, Gauck said he was worried about the country electing the ‘unpredictable’ real estate mogul. Gauck’s successor, former Foreign Minister Steinmeier, has been called the ‘anti-Trump’ for his outspoken criticism of the American leader.”

Visa Requirements for Americans Visiting Europe?

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 7:

“The European Parliament’s resolution demanding visas from Americans​​​​​​​ unless the US lifts restrictions on all EU countries sent many prospective tourists scrambling last week.  Reading the headlines, Andrea Schoellkopf of Albuquerque, New Mexico was among those panicking about how this might affect the summer trip to Israel and Europe she’d been carefully choreographing for months as a gift to her son for his high school graduation. That she might face barriers to visiting London, Paris or Brussels had been the last thing on her mind…

“US citizens currently enjoy visa-free travel throughout the EU. However, the March 2 resolution reminded the European Commission that it is now legally obliged to temporarily require visas for US citizens because Washington still requires visas from citizens of EU member Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. Lawmakers emphasize a two-year waiting period ended April 12, 2016 and now demand the commission act ‘within two months.’

“That the measure is non-binding failed to assuage many in corporate America… The head of the parliamentary committee which prepared the resolution, British lawmaker Claude Moraes, notes that Americans have had the better end of this deal for many years now… Moraes expects the commission to seek a resolution with the US this summer at a keenly-anticipated June summit. If none is forthcoming, he explains, the commission is bound – even overdue – to… impose the visas for one year, unless there are objections from the European Council or the European Parliament. He acknowledges there are serious political and commercial interests at stake but doesn’t think those should be allowed to override the lack of reciprocity…

“Back in New Mexico, Andrea Schoellkopf accepts the demand for reciprocity as reasonable, while hoping there will be a resolution. ‘If our current government is going to impose travel restrictions on residents of other countries, those countries certainly have the right to do the same for Americans,’ she said. “…  it saddens me to think that we may no longer be able to travel as freely in the world as we have enjoyed.’

“Lawyer Andreia Ghimis says… both sides are fairly unpredictable at the moment… ‘for now it’s a wait-and-see game on both sides.’”

Hungary’s Drastic Steps Against Migrants

Deutsche Welle report on March 7:

“Hungarian lawmakers have approved a controversial measure to detain all asylum-seekers in camps along the country’s southern border… The new legislation, which passed by a majority on Tuesday, prevents asylum-seekers from moving around or leaving the country until their claims have been processed. Instead, they are to be detained and transferred to container camps set up on the heavily fortified border with Serbia…

“The law reinstates Hungary’s practice of detaining asylum applicants, which it suspended in 2013 after facing pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the European Court of Human Rights.

“[Prime Minister Viktor] Orban has called migrants, many of whom are Muslims, a threat to Europe’s Christian identity and culture. His government has also built razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia…”

Two Speed Europe Coming

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 6:

“The concept of ‘multi-speed Europe’ would see some EU countries grow more united on economic and defense matters, while allowing other states to catch up later, the leaders of four [of the] EU’s biggest economies said at an informal summit on Monday. The meeting was hosted by French President Francois Hollande, who welcomed Germany’s Angela Merkel, Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, and Spain’s Mariano Rajoy in Versailles… One of the priorities, according to the French president, is [the] creation of a European defense force to cooperate with NATO…

“His comments were echoed by Angela Merkel, the leader of Europe’s largest economy. ‘A multi-speed Europe is necessary; otherwise we are blocked,’ she said. ‘We must have the courage to accept that some countries can move forward a little more quickly than others.’

“The group also urged better protection of EU borders… the EU is expected to weigh its option for the future in the run-up to the Rome conference on March 25. The meeting [will be] marking 60 years since the EU was founded… The idea of varying degrees of unity between EU nations has been endorsed by Spain and Italy, as well as several other rich EU nations. Newer members, particularly Poland and Hungary, signaled their reservations.”

Donald Tusk Re-Elected as European Council President

Deutsche Welle reported on March 9:

“The Polish former prime minister will serve a second term in his new European role. His home country Poland, now governed by fierce opponents of Tusk’s, had sought to block him – Tusk himself acknowledged the ‘paradox.’… [Tusk] said the vote displayed European unity… ‘I will work with all of you without any exceptions because I am truly devoted to a united Europe,’ he said…

“Poland was the only country to vote against Tusk…  [Poland’s] party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski… said any talk of Poland wishing to leave the EU was ‘nonsense.’ Poland’s foreign minister… said that ‘a very dangerous European relationship is being born,’ and that, given Tusk’s appointment, ‘we know now that it is a Union under Berlin’s diktat.’

“… [The] European Council president… is responsible for chairing European Council meetings and representing the EU at international summits, typically along with the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker… Poland has vowed to block the summit’s final statement in protest of Tusk’s re-election. The statement must receive unanimous agreement in order for the results of the summit to take effect.”

A European Union Nuclear Weapons Program?

The New York Times wrote on March 6:

“An idea, once unthinkable, is gaining attention in European policy circles: a European Union nuclear weapons program. Under such a plan, France’s arsenal would be repurposed to protect the rest of Europe and would be put under a common European command, funding plan, defense doctrine, or some combination of the three. It would be enacted only if the Continent could no longer count on American protection.

“Though no new countries would join the nuclear club under this scheme, it would amount to an unprecedented escalation in Europe’s collective military power and a drastic break with American leadership. Analysts say that the talk… demonstrates the growing sense in Europe that drastic steps may be necessary to protect the postwar order in the era of a Trump presidency.

“… discussion of a so-called ‘Eurodeterrent’ has entered the mainstream — particularly in Germany, a country that would be central to any plan but where antinuclear sentiment is widespread…

“Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s former prime minister and now the head of its ruling party, provided the highest-level call for a European Union nuclear program in a February interview with a German newspaper. But the most important support has come from Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker and foreign policy spokesman with Germany’s ruling party, who gave the nuclear option increased credibility by raising it shortly after President Trump’s election…

“The United States bases dozens of nuclear warheads in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as both a quick-reaction force and a symbol of its guarantee to protect the Continent. Mr. Kiesewetter said his plan would provide a replacement or parallel program. This would require, he said, four ingredients: a French pledge to commit its weapons to a common European defense, German financing to demonstrate the program’s collective nature, a joint command and a plan to place French warheads in other European countries… This would require a doctrine, he said, allowing Europe to introduce nuclear weapons to a non-nuclear conflict. He compared it to the Israeli program, which is believed to allow for a nuclear strike against an overwhelming conventional attack…

“German lawmakers across the political spectrum worry that Mr. Trump could strike a grand bargain with Russia that excludes Europe, a potential first step toward Washington and Moscow dictating Europe’s future. Mr. Kiesewetter believes a European nuclear program would allow Europe to preserve its autonomy…

“Vipin Narang, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who studies regional nuclear powers, was initially skeptical but came to see such a plan as both technically and politically feasible… If Europeans grew more serious about a nuclear program, Mr. Tertrais said, ‘you would not necessarily see it.’ Negotiations would most likely remain secret for fear of giving Mr. Trump an excuse to withdraw — or of triggering a reaction from Russia. Mr. Narang said he was reeling from the seriousness of the discussion, the first since a failed and now-forgotten effort in the 1950s for French-German-Italian nuclear cooperation…”

New EU Headquarters for Military Training

The New York Times wrote on March 6:

“Foreign and defense ministers of European Union members reached a deal on Monday to create a headquarters for military training operations… France and Germany support the proposal and have pressed the European Union to do more to ensure its own defense and counter the threat of terrorism.

“Britain has long opposed anything that resembled a European military command — but it has voted to leave the European Union, and that has altered the dynamic of the debate. With the United States appearing to take a step back in its role in the world, the core pair of France and Germany is pushing the European Union to take greater responsibility for its security…

“‘The European Union always takes a soft approach to hard security, but we also have some hard power that we are strengthening,’ Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign policy chief, said on Monday. The new office is ‘not the European army — I know there is this label going around — but it’s a more effective way of handling our military work,’ she added… ‘It’s a first step,’ said Didier Reynders, the Belgian foreign minister. As for ‘a European army, maybe later,’ he said.”

The EUObserver wrote on March 6:

“EU states agreed to set up a new HQ for military training missions on Monday… in what some see as the nucleus of a future European army. The HQ, to be called a Military Planning and Conduct Capability facility, will be housed in an EU building… in Brussels which already hosts EU military experts, the EU Military Staff.”

More Turmoil regarding Brexit

BBC News reported on March 7:

“The government has suffered a second Brexit defeat in the House of Lords as peers backed, by 366 votes to 268, calls for a ‘meaningful’ parliamentary vote on the final terms of withdrawal. Ministers said it was disappointing and they would seek to overturn the move when the bill returns to the Commons… The previous defeat was on the issue of guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens.

“…ministers insist the UK would leave the EU anyway irrespective of whether it was approved or not… government minister Lord Bridges said once Article 50 had been triggered, the process of leaving the EU was irrevocable and the amendment was totally unclear on what would happen if the UK and the EU were not able to agree a formal deal on the terms of exit. ‘We will leave with a deal or we will leave without a deal. That is the choice on offer.’…”

The Pope on Celibacy and the Populist Movement

America Magazine (“The Jesuit Review”) wrote on March 8:

“In a wide-ranging interview with the German weekly Die Zeit… Pope Francis briefly discussed the idea of allowing the ordination of married men to the Catholic priesthood. [The pope said:] ‘… voluntary celibacy is not a solution.’

“The church already allows the ordination of married men in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories and among Anglican and Episcopalian priests who were already married when they reunited with Rome…

“Commenting on the growing appeal of populist movements around the world, the pope noted Germany’s experience during the Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler. ‘Populism always needs a Messiah,’ he said, ‘and also a justification: “We preserve the identity of the people!”’”