NATO’s Half-Hearted Response

Newsmax wrote on April 17:

“The Obama administration is sending ground troops to Poland in response to Russia’s moves in Ukraine… The move… was agreed to as part of an expansion of the NATO presence in the region. The New York Times, meanwhile, said the troops would participate in small exercises in Estonia as well as Poland… The Army exercise is far short of what Poland Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested earlier this month, when he said he wants NATO to deploy two combat brigades with as many as 5,000 troops.”

The “Tentative” Agreement

The Washington Times wrote on April 17:

“Secretory of State John F. Kerry reached a tentative agreement Thursday with Russia’s foreign minister to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine by disarming militias, but tensions remained high as three pro-Russian separatists were killed in clashes and Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of plunging the country into an abyss.

“In the first such talks since Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine last month, the diplomats in Geneva agreed that all sides would refrain from violence and that all ‘illegal armed groups will be disarmed.’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the agreement ‘  compromise of sorts’…

“The document didn’t address the 40,000 Russian troops who the U.S. says are massed on Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders. President Obama expressed skepticism that the agreement would hold… Mr. Putin scoffed at the renewed threat from the West. ‘They badly want to bite us, but their opportunities are limited,’ Mr. Putin said. ‘If they try to punish us by putting us into a corner on our knees like naughty children, they will cut the branch they are sitting on.’”

What Putin Really Wants

The New York Times wrote on April 17:

“Even as the world’s top diplomats were gingerly drafting a tentative accord to ‘de-escalate tensions’ in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin was on national television here, brashly declaring Russia’s historical claims over Ukrainian territory, reiterating a threat to use military force and generally sounding a defiant, even mocking, tone toward the United States. Mr. Putin, appearing cool and confident during a four-hour question-and-answer show, referred repeatedly to southeast Ukraine as ‘new Russia’ — a historical term for the area north of the Black Sea that the Russian Empire conquered in the 1700s. And, he said, only ‘God knows’ why the region became part of Ukraine in the 1920s, signaling that he would gladly correct that error… Mr. Putin pointedly asserted that he had the authority to invade Ukraine, but added that he hoped it would not be necessary.”

Breitbart wrote on April 17:

“Russia has achieved a strategic psychological victory over NATO in the Ukraine with the announcement by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva that an agreement had been reached with Ukrainian and NATO member diplomats to ease tensions in the country…

“Over the last few weeks, NATO has been shown to be economically unstable, fully dependent on Russian energy, and lacking a meaningful military deterrent. Russia has brutally humiliated NATO and has strategically reemerged as the dominant nation in Europe… After succeeding in annexing the Crimean peninsula from the Ukraine by popular demand, Moscow sought to bait the Ukrainian government into violent reprisals against pro-Russian protestors and government building occupiers in eastern and southern Ukraine. But unlike the Crimea where the support for Russia was overwhelming, eastern pro-Russian protests were often met with large pro-Western counter-demonstrations. Without the supportive political conditions to welcome a military intervention, Russia fostered the maximum amount of turmoil in the hope the Ukraine military would violently retaliate against both paramilitary groups and civilians.

“The Ukrainian government did begin an ‘anti-terrorism’ campaign in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to drive out mobs of pro-Russian forces that had barricaded themselves inside federal buildings near the Russian border, demanding the government disarm… Russia has succeeded in stopping any further talk of Ukraine joining NATO and must be ecstatic with the state of paralysis in the nation that was already facing financial insolvency and default. The International Monetary Fund had already approved a loan in March that required politically painful austerity spending reforms. Those reforms include doubling of residential natural gas prices and adopting a floating currency exchange rate that will devalue the buying power of worker’s salaries and pensions.

“With a highly contentious Ukraine presidential election coming on May 25th, Russia will be able to criticize the legitimacy of the vote count and feed bitter historic antagonism against politicians in the western Ukrainian capital city of Kiev. If continuing protests cause the elections to be delayed, Russia can push for a break-up of the country or a decentralization of power. Either event would strengthen Russia’s position and humiliate the credibility of NATO as a friend and ally to other Eastern European nations.

“President Vladimir Putin is enjoying a 75% approval rating at home since the beginning of his muscular response to Ukraine. As a former KGB operative, Putin has the luxury of choreographing events in a way that emphasizes his defiance of perceived Western meddling in other nations’ internal affairs. Fearing a scenario like the Ukraine, I expect a number of countries to move away from NATO and re-establish ‘ harmonious relationships’ now that Russia has reemerged as the dominant power in Europe.”

One People Before God?

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 20:

“In an interview with NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin dreamed of restoring Moscow’s former geopolitical and territorial power. According to excerpts of the interview released ahead of Sunday’s broadcast, Yatsenyuk said: ‘President Putin has a dream to restore the Soviet Union. And every day, he goes further and further. And God knows where is the final destination.’…

“Pro-Russian activists remain in control of government buildings in more than a dozen eastern cities. They have rejected the terms of Thursday’s Geneva deal, in which Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine agreed that activists must lay down their arms and end their occupation of administrative offices. The separatists insist they will remain where they are until the ‘illegitimate’ government in Kyiv – established after the fall of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych – steps down. They have also reiterated calls for a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.

“… proof that tensions remain high came from religious leaders on opposing sides of the conflict, who delivered deeply political Easter Sunday messages. The head of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church condemned Russian ‘aggression’ and said ‘evil’ would be defeated. ‘God cannot be on the side of evil, so the enemy of the Ukrainian people is condemned to defeat,’ Patriarch Filaret told worshippers in Western-friendly Kyiv. Across the border in Moscow, Russian Church Patriarch Kirill, called on God to put ‘an end to the designs of those who want to destroy Holy Russia’. He said that while Ukraine was ‘politically’ separate, spiritually and historically’ it was at one with Russia, and he prayed that it would benefit from authorities that are ‘legitimately elected’. ‘We are a single people before God,’ he added.”

Russia Fortifies in the Far East

RIA Novosti reported on April 18:

“Russia will build more than 150 military facilities on the Iturup and Kunashir islands, part of the Kuril chain disputed by Japan, a senior military commander told reporters Friday.

“’All decisions on the construction of military stations on the Iturup and Kunashir islands have been made and approved,’ said Col. Gen. Sergei Suvorkin, the head of Russia’s Eastern Military District.

“’All essential facilities, more than 150, will be built before 2016,’ he added.

“The government endorsed the decision to revamp Russia’s troops on the Far Eastern Kuril Islands in 2011. A territorial dispute with Japan over the island chain, in addition to the island of Sakhalin, prompted Russia to tighten its grip on the territories…

“The four disputed islands — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai — were given to Soviet forces at the end of World War II and are still claimed by Japan.

“The two countries never signed a permanent peace treaty following the end of World War II because of the row over the islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories.”

Japan’s Defensive Concerns

Reuters wrote on April 19:

“Japan began its first military expansion at the western end of its island chain in more than 40 years on Saturday, breaking ground on a radar station on a tropical island off Taiwan.

“The move risks angering China, locked in a dispute with Japan over nearby islands which they both claim.

“Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who attended a ceremony on Yonaguni island to mark the start of construction, suggested the military presence could be enlarged to other islands in the seas southwest of Japan’s main islands.’

“‘This is the first deployment since the U.S. returned Okinawa (1972) and calls for us to be more on guard are growing,’ Onodera told reporters. ‘I want to build an operation able to properly defend islands that are part of Japan’s territory.’

“The military radar station on Yonaguni, part of a longstanding plan to improve defense and surveillance, gives Japan a lookout just 150 km (93 miles) from the Japanese-held islands claimed by China.”

Pakistan-China Military Exercise

Xinhuanet reported on April 20:

“Two-week long Pakistan-China joint military exercise started Sunday near the garrison of Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s military said.

“Flags of both countries were hoisted and national anthems played to mark the opening of the joint military exercise in a ceremony, a statement from the army’s Inter-Services Public Relations said. ‘The joint exercise is aimed at sharing mutual experience and information in [the] medical field through a comprehensive training program in near real time environment,’ it said…

“The exercise will also provide an opportunity to exchange latest technological advancement in [the] medical field to improve medical operations during peace and war.

“The joint military exercise ‘Peace Angel 2014’ will certainly pave the way for further cementing the existing bilateral relations between the armies of the two countries.”

Sweden Reacts to Russia

thelocal.se wrote on April

“Sweden’s centre-right government coalition announced plans on Tuesday to pump more funds into the military if the four parties win the September elections, with an emphasis on more fighter jets and submarines.

“In an article published in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) the four party leaders wrote about the crisis in Ukraine and how Russia had now ramped up both its military and propaganda machines.

“The leaders said they had previously welcomed Russia’s attempts to embed itself deeper in the global community, despite harbouring fears that the tide could turn at any point.

“‘What we see today is a Russia that acts in a way that confirms and surpasses the fears we had then,’ the leaders of the Moderate, Liberal (Folkpartiet), Centre and Christian Democrat Parties wrote.”

Hitler and the EU

Express wrote on April 17:

“The EU was HITLER’S idea and it proves Germany WON the Second World War, claims [a] new book. “THE ‘fascist’ EU was inspired and designed by the NAZIS and is proof Hitler won the Second World War, an outrageous new book is claiming.

“’The EU: The Truth About The Fourth Reich – How Hitler Won The Second World War’ argues the single currency, the free market and even the phrase ‘United States of Europe’ were all dreamt up by high ranking Nazis, including the Fuhrer himself… It also claims the only country which benefits from the EU is Germany – just as Hitler planned.

“A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats – which its leader Nick Clegg describes as the ‘party of in’ when it comes to the EU – dismissed the authors of the book as ‘peddling outlandish myths’.

“The book, co-written by Daniel J Beddowes and Falvio Cipollini, says: ‘What is the EU for? Who really benefits? And the answer is of course Germany… We may think we won the Second World War. But we lost. It is no surprise that we are all living in the Fourth Reich. Knowingly or not those who support and defend the European Union are supporting the Nazi legacy.’…

“Under a chapter heading ‘The EU was inspired [and] designed by Nazis’, the authors claim: ‘Hitler was the man who gave bones to the dreams first expressed by Charlemagne and Napoleon but the finishing touches to the EU as we know it were put in place during World War II by a man called Walther Funk, who was President of the Reichsbank and a director of the Bank for International Settlements…’ The book argues it is no coincidence that the EU is so close to Hitler’s plan for post-war Europe.

“According to the authors: ‘In 1945, Hitler’s Masterplan was captured by the Allies. The Plan included details of his scheme to create an economic integration of Europe and to found a European Union on a federal basis. The Nazi plan for a federal Europe was based on Lenin’s belief that ‘federation is a transitional form towards complete union of all nations’. It is impossible to find a difference between Hitler’s plan for a new United States of Europe, dominated by Germany, and the European Union we have today.’…

“It is not the first time the EU has been described as a German plot to take over Europe. In 1990, Cabinet Minister Nicholas Ridley – a close ally of Margaret Thatcher – was forced to resign after he described proposed Economic and Monetary Union as ‘a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe’ and said that giving up sovereignty to the European Union was as bad as giving it up to Hitler.”

False Signs and Wonders

The Telegraph wrote on April 23:

“A woman whose ‘miraculous’ recovery from an inoperable brain aneurysm paved the way for the late Pope John Paul II to be declared a saint at a ceremony at the Vatican this weekend has described how the Polish pontiff appeared to her in a vision. Floribeth Mora Diaz, from Costa Rica, will be a guest of honor at the ceremony on Sunday, when Pope Francis will canonise two of his predecessors – John Paul II and John XXIII, the Italian pontiff nicknamed ‘the Good Pope’ who initiated reforms to the Catholic Church in the 1960s.

“Three years ago, Mrs Mora was told by doctors in her home country that her condition was hopeless and that her death was only a matter of time. Partially paralysed, she was on pain medication and lying in bed at home on May 1, 2011, clutching a magazine with a front cover photograph of the former Polish pontiff, when he purportedly appeared before her in a vision. It was the day that John Paul II was beatified at a grand open-air ceremony in St Peter’s Square – the first step towards him being made a saint.

“‘Floribeth, get up, what are you doing here? Why don’t you go into the kitchen and see your husband?’ the vision said to her. The late Pope’s hands seemed to reach out towards her from the cover of the magazine, she said. ‘And I responded, now I feel fine, I’m going, I’m going,’ the 50-year-old mother-of-four told Il Messagero, an Italian daily, on Wednesday. She insisted that from that day on, she was completely cured…

“Even her neurosurgeon seems to be convinced. ‘If I cannot explain it from a medical standpoint, something non-medical happened,’ said Alejandro Vargas Roman. “‘[I] can believe it was a miracle.’ Since her recovery, she has become the object of almost cult-like devotion, with the faithful and people suffering from illnesses flocking to her home in a middle-class neighborhood in the town of Dulce Nombre de Cartago, 12 miles outside the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose… Her cure, which the Vatican insists cannot be explained by science, was declared a miracle last July by Pope Francis, in a move which gave the final approval for John Paul II to be canonized.

“The first miracle attributed to him was the apparent healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre. Her recovery from Parkinson’s disease after praying for the late Pope’s ‘intercession’ in 2005 had no medical explanation, the Catholic Church maintains.”

We can expect to hear more about such false signs and miracles within the Catholic Church. Biblically, these occurrences are NOT in any way connected with the working of the true God.

Jews Don’t Keep Unleavened Bread According to the Bible

JTA wrote on April 23:

“On Wednesday, just hours after observant Jews ended their eight days of Passover-mandated abstinence from all things leavened, the New York Times gave them something to chew on: an entire Dining section devoted to bread.”

The interesting thing is that observant Jews keep their own traditions, while transgressing God’s commandments (Mark 7:6-9, 11). According to the Bible, Passover had to be kept this year on Sunday evening, April 13, but the Jews kept it one day too late, while confusing it with the Night to Be Much Observed—the beginning of the first Day of Unleavened Bread in the evening of April 14. Then, the Days of Unleavened Bread were to be kept for seven days, ending on Monday evening, April 21. Somehow, observant Jews managed to keep the allotted time for eight days and ended the period one day late—in the evening of Tuesday, April 22. While God gave the Jews the responsibility to faithfully maintain the Hebrew calendar, which they did, He does not approve of their unfaithfulness in misapplying God’s laws… for example, in keeping each annual Holy Day for two days, while rejecting to observe the entire eight days of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day (they only keep four days of the entire time span).

Virtually No Conscientious Objection in Israel

The Telegraph reported on April 14:

“Israeli teenagers risk being sent to prison by refusing to join the army… Draft-age pupils in Israel have defied the law and Benjamin Netanyahu by telling him they will not join the army after leaving school… All men and women are obliged to join the Israeli Defence Forces at age 18, although exemptions exist for Arab citizens and ultra-Orthodox Jews engaged in religious studies.”

We can be thankful that the USA does not have similar restrictive laws, prohibiting religious freedom of sincerely held beliefs against fighting in war. Also, to compel women to fight in war is extremely troublesome.

American Companies Flee Overbearing Tax Liabilities

The Financial Tines wrote on April 13:

“Walgreen has come under pressure from an influential group of its shareholders, who want the US pharmacy chain to consider relocating to Europe, in what would be one of the largest tax inversions ever attempted. At a private meeting in Paris on Friday, investors owning close to 5 per cent of Walgreens’ shares lobbied the company’s management to use its $16bn takeover of Swiss-based Alliance Boots to re-domicile its tax base…

“Existing rules mean that a US company can forgo its domestic tax status through a deal that transfers more than 20 per cent of its shares to foreign owners. A tax inversion by Walgreens would be likely to face strong political resistance in the US, where the practice has become increasingly popular during the past two years…”

With ridiculous American tax laws, those practices should surprise no one. As usual, America is digging its own grave in so many different ways.

Ukraine Crisis Escalates

AFP wrote on April 13:

“The UN Security Council has held emergency talks after Ukraine declared a ‘full-scale’ military operation against pro-Russia forces, amid deadly clashes in its restive east. Russia and the West locked horns over the escalating crisis in Ukraine with Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin saying ‘there has already been bloodshed and a further escalation must be swiftly stopped’…”

“Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced the launch of a counterstrike against the armed separatists in the eastern Donetsk region early on Sunday morning… US ambassador Power urged Russia to explain why 40,000 of its forces are massed on the Ukrainian border and find constructive ideas to stop armed attacks on government buildings in eastern Ukraine.”

This crisis will not end any time soon…

Russia’s Preparations For Ukrainian Occupation

AFP wrote on April 16:

“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday said Ukraine was on the verge of civil war as Kiev authorities launched a military operation against pro-Kremlin militants in the separatist east. ‘I will be brief: Ukraine is on the brink of civil war, it’s frightening,’ the country’s former president was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.”

The Local added on April 16:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Chancellor Angela Merkel that Ukraine was on the verge of civil war after the Kiev government sent in the army against separatists in the east of the country, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.”

Apparently, Russia is preparing the occupation of Ukraine and providing the West with a “justification” for their anticipated actions. One should not be fooled by Russia’s promises to cooperate with the West in regard to Mr. Putin’s militant separatists.

Global Military Spending

Deutsche Welle reported on April 14:

“Global military spending totaled $1.7 trillion (1.23 trillion euros) in 2013, a decrease of nearly 2 percent from the previous year. However, the drop in overall investment in the armed forces was by no means a sign of countries across the globe of nations slowing down military development, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday… the  major cause of the 2-percent drop stemmed from changes the United States’ military budget, the top spender in the world. Washington-approved budget cuts led to a 7.8 percent drop year-on-year, down to $640 billion. The withdrawal from Iraq and the winding down of operations in Afghanistan also contributed to the decrease in spending.

“Meanwhile, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia sharply increased their spending between 2012 and 2013. Beijing invested 7.4 percent more in its armed forces, bringing its total budget to $188 billion. Saudi Arabia rose from seventh to fourth in the world. In 2013, its military expenditures totaled $67 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year…

“France, Britain, Germany, Japan, India and South Korea were among the top spenders. The SIPRI report also noted stark growth in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East as the West spent less.

“SIPRI ranked Russia number three on its list, noting that it had invested a greater percentage of its GDP in its military in 2013, beating out the US for the first time in a decade. Moscow spent 4.1 percent of its GDP on its armed forces, barely overtaking Washington, which spent only 3.8 percent of its GDP on the same sector…

“Moscow’s deployment of troops along its southwestern border with Ukraine has worried Western leaders, who are trying to de-escalate tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the transitional government in Kyiv. The SIPRI report noted that the perceived threat of Russian military aggression could also have an influence on EU military spending, which has dropped in the face of the eurozone crisis.”

These statistics are highly significant, in light of biblical prophecy, which predicts the military decline of the USA, and the rise of military spending in Russia, China and Europe.

Germany Warns of War in Europe

The Local wrote on April 14:

“Germany warned of war in Europe on Monday, with vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel stating the continent was being ‘dragged’ into a ‘smoldering conflict’ with Russia over Ukraine… He said that good news several months ago from Ukraine – including an end to bloody violence against protesters – had since given way to ‘an ongoing military confrontation’ and the realization that ‘Russia is apparently willing to let tanks cross European borders. Suddenly, we are being dragged from the observer’s position into a long smoldering and incendiary conflict, which is also demanding a price from Europe in the form of sanctions against Russia,’ he said.

“Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier meanwhile, called the danger of Europe splitting a ‘ dal one’…

“He told the paper that he believed Russia was testing the West through it’s handling of Crimea. ‘ [It] cannot be, seven decades after the end of the second world war and 25 years after the end of the cold war, that we start changing borders based on ethic, linguistic or religious factors.’ Berlin also said it saw indications Russia was supporting pro-Kremlin militias who seized government buildings in eastern Ukraine.

“Christiane Wirtz, spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said: ‘There are many signs that the armed groups active in eastern Ukraine are receiving support from Russia,’ she said, adding that Merkel had discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister David Cameron by phone on Monday morning. ‘A look at the appearance, uniforms and weaponry of some of these groups hardly suggests that they are defense forces spontaneously formed by civilians,’ she said.”

NATO Reacts to Russia’s Threats

AP wrote on April 16:

“NATO is strengthening its military footprint along its eastern border immediately in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the alliance’s chief said Wednesday.

“Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO’s air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region west of Ukraine, far from the tensions in the eastern part of the country. He said allied warships will also deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed.

“NATO’s supreme commander in Europe told reporters that ground forces could also be involved at some point, but gave no details.

“NATO members Poland and the Baltic countries Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have been wary following Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, demanding a more robust military posture to counter neighboring Russia.’
“Rasmussen said the new NATO deployments are about ‘deterrence and de-escalation” in the face of Russia’s aggressive behavior in Ukraine, which is not a member of the 28-nation alliance…

“Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said multiple nations have approached him with offers of ground forces that will be included in a plan of operations he will give to NATO later Wednesday or Thursday.

“Breedlove said the package of new military moves is designed to remain in place through Dec. 31.”

One certain outcome from Russia’s gamesmanship is the awakening in Europe to the fact that their military strength must increase! The US has proven itself to be weakened and can no longer be looked to as their first line of defense.

Signs in the Heavens?

The Daily Mail reported on April 14:

“Popular televangelist claims four blood moons are sign of ‘world-shaking event… Four complete lunar eclipses will appear in the sky starting on April 15. Pastor John Hagee, of Texas’ Cornerstone Church, believes God is trying to communicate with humans through these celestial signs….

“Bestselling author and televangelist Pastor John Hagee claims the four blood moons that will soon appear in the skies over America are evidence of a future ‘world-shaking event.’ The blood moons are part of a tetrad, a set of complete and consecutive lunar eclipses that will begin on April 15 and continue in roughly six-month intervals until October 2015…

“The April 15 event happens during Passover. On Oct. 8, the blood moon will occur during the Feast of Tabernacles. Another blood moon will occur during Passover on April 4, 2015. The last will happen on Sept. 28, 2015, another Feast of the Tabernacles.”

Technically, all the predictions don’t match the times of God’s Holy Days. In 2014, the Passover was already in the evening of April 12. It is true, however, that the Days of Unleavened Bread fall from the evening of April 14 until sunset of April 21. Further, the Feast of Tabernacles 2014 BEGINS at sunset—at the end of October 8. In 2015, Passover will be in the evening of April 2, and the Days of Unleavened Bread will begin with sunset of April 3. In 2015, the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated, according to the Hebrew calendar, from the evening of September 27 until October 5. Even though close, Hagee’s dates are not completely accurate.

In any event, we must be careful not to assign “heavenly signs” to events like the ones described by Hagee. The biblical heavenly signs will cause tremendous catastrophes… they involve much more than just inconsequential visible constellations or eclipses. Also, from a time sequence standpoint, the heavenly signs will occur AFTER the BEGINNING of the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation did not begin with Passover of 2014, and it is not to be expected that it will begin in 2015 either.

Putin Defies Obama in Syria

Bloomberg wrote on April 3:

“President Vladimir Putin, condemned by NATO for annexing Crimea, is now defying the U.S. in Syria by sending more and deadlier arms to help Bashar al-Assad score a string of advances against insurgents, military experts say. Assad’s army, seeking to end a three-year civil war that’s killed 150,000 people and displaced 9 million, started using longer-range Russian Smerch and Uragan rockets for the first time in February… ‘Russia is now doing everything to ensure that Assad wins convincingly,’ Alexei Malashenko, a Middle East analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, said by phone. ‘If Russia can show it’s capable of carrying out its own foreign policy, regardless of America’s wishes, it will be a major achievement for Putin.’” 

Russia Meddles in Ukraine

The Washington Post wrote on April 5:

“First, Russia took over a chunk of their country. Now, to the astonishment of many Ukrainians, Moscow is telling them how to run the rest of their nation. The lectures do not sit well here. Russia has been insisting that Ukraine adopt a federal form of government that would give regions nearly boundless authority. It’s a means to make the regions vulnerable to Russian interference, Ukrainians say, and eventually tear the country apart. And, they point out, Russia would never tolerate such a system itself… ‘The issue of federalization is absolutely artificial,’ said Yuriy Yakymenko, a political expert at the Razumkov think tank in Kiev. ‘It’s part of Russia’s plan to impose control over Ukraine and prevent it from integrating with Europe.’…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has steadily built a top-down system he calls the ‘vertical of power.’ And Russia, which snapped up Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula after arranging a March 16 referendum in favor of annexation that violated Ukraine’s constitution, has shown no tolerance for separatism at home.

“A declaration of independence by Russia’s southern region of Chechnya in 1991 led to two wars with Moscow that were fought with exceptional brutality and bloodshed. Although a Kremlin-installed strongman has extinguished most of the violence, Chechnya remains unpredictable. Last week, four Russian soldiers were killed and seven were wounded when their armored vehicle drove over an explosive device in Chechnya during what the Interior Ministry described as a reconnaissance mission. And Islamist separatists have taken the struggle to neighboring Dagestan, where shootouts kill hundreds of police and militants every year.

“Ukraine is tranquil by comparison. Although some pro-Russian crowds in eastern Ukrainian cities have clashed with pro-Ukrainian crowds since the fall of Yanukovych, Ukraine authorities say Russian agents provoked the disorder. But Russia has described what it calls ‘atrocities’ against Russian-speakers, issuing warnings that suggest it is building a case to send troops into eastern Ukraine as it did in Crimea…”

Unrest in Eastern Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 7:

“Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said that unrest in eastern Ukraine is part of a plan to destabilize the country and bring in Russian troops. Pro-Russian demonstrators have seized government buildings in several cities. The interim prime minister described the protest organizers as a ‘group of radicals who coordinate themselves with intelligence services from foreign countries.’

“Pro-Russian protesters on Sunday night seized official buildings in the cities of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk, calling for referendums on the regions joining the Russian Federation. In Donetsk on Monday, protesters were quoted by Interfax Ukraine as proclaiming the creation of a sovereign ‘people’s republic’ independent of Kyiv’s rule. Interfax reported that the men pledged a referendum on joining Russia no later than May 11.

“Yatsenyuk also said on Monday that Russian troops remained within a 30-kilometer (19-mile) zone near the border with Ukraine – contradicting earlier reports of a Russian withdrawal from the border. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Monday in Berlin that the German government was ‘alarmed’ by the most recent tensions in eastern Ukraine…”

USA Backs Militarization of Japan

Reuters wrote on April 5:

“U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he welcomed the possibility of Japan giving its military a greater role by allowing it to come to the aid of allies under attack… [This] represents the clearest U.S. support yet for Tokyo’s effort to bolster its military as it faces off against a more assertive China… Hagel visits China, suspicious of Japan’s military intentions and where memories of Japan’s past militarism run deep, after Tokyo.

“Japan has been locked into a security pact for more than half a century that commits the United States to defend Japan should it come under attack. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, however, are not allowed to aid U.S. ships or other military units that are fired upon… In its postwar pacifist constitution, written by the United States, Japan renounced the right to wage war… Japan eased its weapons export restrictions on Tuesday in the first major overhaul of arms transfer policy in nearly half a century in a move that alarmed China.”

All of this will backfire on the West, when Japan, Russia and China combine their forces. Note the next article.

Japan Loses Confidence in America

The New York Times wrote on April 5:

“When President Bill Clinton signed a 1994 agreement promising to ‘respect’ the territorial integrity of Ukraine if it gave up its nuclear weapons, there was little thought then of how that obscure diplomatic pact — called the Budapest Memorandum — might affect the long-running defense partnership between the United States and Japan. But now, as American officials have distanced themselves from the Budapest Memorandum in light of Russia’s takeover of Crimea, calling promises made in Budapest ‘nonbinding,’ the United States is being forced at the same time to make reassurances in Asia. Japanese officials, a senior American military official said, ‘keep asking, “Are you going to do the same thing to us when something happens?”’

“For Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who arrived in Tokyo on Saturday for two days of talks with Japan’s leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, America’s longstanding promise to protect Japan against hostile nations — read China and North Korea — has suddenly come under the microscope. The American response to the Russian takeover of Crimea, which President Obama has condemned while at the same time ruling out American military action, has caused deep concern among already skittish Japanese officials… ‘If Japan is attacked, and the Americans decline to respond, then it is time from the Americans to pull out” of their bases here, [one analyst] said. “Without those bases, America is not going to be a Pacific power anymore…’”

USA to Send Warships to Japan

Deutsche Welle reported on April 6:

“After discussions with his opposite number in Tokyo, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Sunday that the US would deploy two extra ballistic missile defense destroyers to Japan. Hagel said the two ships would be sent in response to North Korea’s ‘pattern of provocative and destabilizing actions,’ which he said were a violation of UN resolutions.”

European Communication Network?

Reuters reported on April 4:

“The United States on Friday criticized proposals to build a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States, warning that such rules could breach international trade laws… Germany and France have been discussing ways to build a European network to keep data secure after the U.S. spying scandal… Deutsche Telekom has suggested laws to stop data traveling within continental Europe being routed via Asia or the United States and scrapping the Safe Harbor agreement that allows U.S. companies with European-level privacy standards access to European data.”

In light of America’s illegal spying activities in Germany and France, these countries would be most likely not that concerned about America’s interpretation that they might violate international law… Note the next article.

German Public Anger with USA over Spying Scandal

The Washington Post wrote on April 3:

“A chapter in trans­atlantic relations that Washington would sooner forget got a new lease on life Thursday as German lawmakers opened their first parliamentary hearings into the Edward Snowden scandal. Revelations of large-scale U.S. spying on Germans, up to and including Chancellor Angela Merkel, prompted an initial wave of outrage here last year. But now, the lengthy committee investigations could keep the spotlight on leaks by the former National Security Agency contractor for a year or two to come…

“The hearings also have the potential to provoke further anti­pathy. Indeed, a number of lawmakers here are demanding safe passage to Berlin for Snowden — who is living in self-imposed exile in Moscow — to testify before the eight-member committee. Any such move would likely outrage the United States, which is seeking to take Snowden into custody… the push to give Snowden his day here serves as another reminder that, even as the scandal appears to be dissipating in other parts of Europe, it remains at the top of the agenda in Germany…

“The committee is set to call dozens of witnesses and review piles of documents. But even its members appear to concede the limits of their effort, which is likely to be hampered by an anticipated lack of full cooperation by U.S. officials. It suggests that the hearings are being called at least in part for national catharsis and as an outlet for German rage.

“Parliament’s airing of the evidence began Thursday, even as fresh revelations continue to stoke public anger. In recent days, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine published further details from the Snowden leaks, including evidence of an NSA dossier on Merkel that allegedly included more than 300 intelligence reports. Although U.S. snooping on Merkel is not new, the reports served as a continuing reminder for an already bitter German public…

“A top German prosecutor is still weighing whether to open a criminal investigation into the affair, which could further damage ties between Washington and Berlin. And there is no mistaking the lingering anger of German lawmakers, particularly those clamoring to bring Snowden to Berlin to testify. Such a move… would create fresh tensions at a time when Europe and the United States are trying to maintain a common front on the Russian-Ukraine crisis. But some here seem to think that bringing Snowden to Berlin is exactly the kind of thumb-nosing the Americans deserve.”

Germany Strongly Criticizes USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 6:

“German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has strongly criticized the US over revelations about electronic surveillance by intelligence services. The minister complained that German questions have not been answered… the minister complained that Berlin’s fears about the extent of the agency’s operations – as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden- had not been allayed. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit US President Barack Obama in Washington in May. However, de Maiziere said he held out little hope of concrete results… ‘My expectations about the success of further talks are low,’ said the minister.”

Superpower–But No Clout!

Bloomberg’s report on April 9, 2014, stated:

“Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed on one thing today: Being a superpower isn’t what it used to be.

“At a hearing on the U.S. State Department budget, Republicans and Democrats alike raised concerns about America’s limited ability to cope with global challenges, from Russian aggression in Ukraine to Iran’s nuclear program, China’s assertiveness in the Pacific and Syria’s civil war.

“While some Republicans blamed the administration for decisions that they say have eroded U.S. influence, Kerry pointed to a ‘changed world.’

“’The United States has power, enormous power,’ he said, ‘but we can’t necessarily always dictate every outcome the way we want, particularly in this world where we have rising economic powers — China, India, Mexico, Korea, Brazil, many other people who are players.’

“The two-hour Senate hearing was only one place where lawmakers and others challenged President Barack Obama’s foreign policy today. The jousting underscored the U.S. struggle to defend its global interests and allies as technology and the diffusion of economic and military power erode its post-Cold War position as the lone superpower.”

If the descendants of ancient Israel stopped obeying God, His clear warning was that His protection would be withdrawn. In so many ways, the United Kingdom and the United States are coming under these curses. One poignant example is found in Leviticus 26:19: “I will break the pride of your power…” You just might want to read the whole chapter of this Book of Leviticus, which is found in the Old Testament, to see how many other problems our nations will suffer!

United European Military Scheme

Carnegie Europe wrote on April 1:

“Just as the EU seemed powerless to prevent the rise of an aggressive Russia, a series of new EU security plans began leaking to the Brussels foreign policy crowd. The ideas, collected in a 73-page paper co-authored by the European External Action Service and the European Commission’s enterprise directorate, are dynamite… it reveals a shocking shift by European mandarins in their increasingly desperate attempts to boost the union’s lackluster military capabilities… The paper states: ‘The EU member states, the European External Action Service, and the European Commission welcome the pledges by leading European corporate entities to boost EU defense capabilities through targeted, high-volume financial contributions. . . . These contributions will enable the EU, within the period of its forthcoming budget, to build, train, integrate, and deploy its own supranational military task force.’

“In other words: since governments won’t buy the EU its own army, big business will. What nations seem incapable of offering will now be provided by a consortium of Europe’s capitalists… The core of the new initiative will be a Friendship Projection Force (FPF), comprising up to 31 naval vessels. Each will carry the name ‘EU Security Ship’ or EUSS. The first batch of ships will come from the French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, originally earmarked for sale to Russia but now available as a corporate donation to the EU. They will be named EUSS Strasbourg and EUSS Helgoland.

“Plans for additional ships, including a helicopter carrier and four German-built submarines, are at an ‘advanced stage,’ according to EU officials. After a long, heated debate about where to put the EU flotilla’s naval base, the Ukraine crisis tilted the decision toward the historic former Lenin shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, home of the anti-Communist Solidarność movement. A second, smaller naval headquarters will be built in Malta to cover the union’s southern flank…

“The document does not reveal all the companies involved in the new scheme, but Germany’s Siemens, Spain’s Telefónica, Italy’s ENI, and Gaz de France seem to form the core of the consortium. They will function as ‘shareholders’ of the new force, with no say over operational matters but some input into strategic discussions on individual countries and thematic priorities…

“Sources close to the deal stress that the switch to a commercial approach was necessary to finally get Germany behind the idea of a beefed-up European defense. They also claim that the idea was not so unusual within the broader European context…”

Global Banana Production Threatened

The Independent wrote on April 4:

“Scientists have warned that the world’s banana crop, worth £26 billion and a crucial part of the diet of more than 400 million people, is facing ‘disaster’ from virulent diseases immune to pesticides or other forms of control… Alarm at the most potent threat – a fungus known as Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4) – has risen dramatically after it was announced in recent weeks that it has jumped from South-east Asia, where it has already devastated export crops, to Mozambique and Jordan.

“A United Nations agency told The Independent that the spread of TR4 represents an ‘expanded threat to global banana production’. Experts said there is a risk that the fungus… has also already made the leap to the world’s most important banana growing areas in Latin America, where the disease threatens to destroy vast plantations of the Cavendish variety. The variety accounts for 95 per cent of the bananas shipped to export markets including the United Kingdom, in a trade worth £5.4bn…

“According to one estimate, TR4 could destroy up to 85 per cent of the world’s banana crop by volume…  the crop – and many other banana varieties – have no defence against TR4, which can live for 30 years or more in the soil and reduces the core of the banana plant to a blackened mush. It can wipe out plantations within two or three years… Such is the virulence of soil-based fungus, it can be spread in water droplets or tiny amounts of earth on machinery or shoes…”

Clinton: Space Aliens Possible

NBC News wrote on April 3:

“Former President Bill Clinton said he ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if Earth was eventually visited by aliens… However, Clinton also explained that he had reviewed the subject during his time in the White House and found no evidence of alien life. ‘We know from our fancy telescopes that just in the last two years more than 20 planets have been identified outside our solar system that seem to be far enough from their suns and dense enough that they might be able to support some form of life, so it makes it increasingly less like that we’re alone,’ Clinton added.”

However, according to the Bible, there is no alien life form anywhere in the universe; the earth is the only place where God created life. Mr. Clinton argues from human wisdom, leaving God out of the picture.

“Pentagon Alarmed as Troops Mass Near Ukraine Border”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on March 28:

“Russian troops massing near Ukraine are actively concealing their positions and establishing supply lines that could be used in a prolonged deployment, ratcheting up concerns that Moscow is preparing for another major incursion and not conducting exercises as it claims, U.S. officials said. Such an incursion could take place without warning because Russia has already deployed the array of military forces needed for such an operation, say officials briefed on the latest U.S. intelligence.

“The rapid speed of the Russian military buildup and efforts to camouflage the forces and equipment have stoked U.S. fears, in part because American intelligence agencies have struggled to assess Russian President Vladimir Putin’s specific intentions. The troop movements and the concealment—involving covering up equipment along the border—suggest Mr. Putin is positioning forces in the event he decides to quickly expand his takeover of the Crimea peninsula by seizing more Ukrainian territory, despite Western threats of tighter sanctions…

“The U.S. believes Russia now has nearly 50,000 troops in position for possible operations, including those participating in the declared exercises along the Ukrainian border and those already inside Russian-controlled Crimea, officials said… A senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that the number of Russian troops in the area was closer to 100,000… Another senior military official said the Pentagon was increasingly worried that the Russians have moved into place additional supplies including food and spare parts that could both support an exercise or a military incursion into Ukraine. Putting in place the logistics support could allow Russian forces to sustain themselves if they were to cross into eastern Ukraine.”

How Russia Plays with the West

Deutsche Welle reported on March 31:

“The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies Monday that after completing maneuvers in the Kadamovsky range in the Rostov border region, a battalion from the central military district’s 15th motorized infantry brigade would return to its home region of Samara on the Volga… During a call Monday, Putin informed Merkel of the partial withdrawal that he had ordered, the chancellor’s spokesman said in a statement… German Defense Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Putin’s partial withdrawal order was ‘a small signal that the situation is becoming less tense.’”

The naivety of the West is astonishing and frightening at the same time.

BBC News added on April 1: “Nato is not seeing a Russian troop pullout from the border with Ukraine, the military alliance’s chief has said.”

The Washington Times wrote on April 2: “NATO’s top military leader warned Wednesday that Russia was ready enough to move on Ukraine that troops could be across the border within 12 hours of receiving the order to attack.”

Putin Calls Obama—No Mention of Crimea

The New York Times wrote on March 28:

“President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached out to President Obama on Friday to discuss ideas about how to peacefully resolve the international standoff over Ukraine, a surprise move by Moscow… But it remained uncertain whether Mr. Putin was seriously interested in a resolution that would go far enough to satisfy the United States, Ukraine and Europe, or instead was seeking a diplomatic advantage at a time when he has been isolated internationally. While the White House account of the call emphasized the possible diplomatic movement, the Kremlin’s version stressed Mr. Putin’s complaints about ‘extremists’ in Ukraine and introduced into the mix of issues on the table the fate of Transnistria, another pro-Russian breakaway province outside his borders.

“Neither American nor European officials expect Mr. Putin to easily reverse his seizure of Crimea, the largely Russian-speaking Ukrainian peninsula Moscow annexed last week after Russian troops took control there. Indeed, the Kremlin statement made no mention of Crimea, suggesting Mr. Putin considers the matter a fait accompli that is no longer up for discussion…”

No leader in the Western World is remotely as shrewd as Vladimir Putin. But at least some understand his tactics and actions better than others. See the next article.

Putin’s Actions Parallel Hitler’s Conduct

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 31:

“On Monday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said he saw parallels between Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and Adolf Hitler’s land grab of Sudetenland. As Germany’s Mr. Euro, Wolfgang Schäuble is one of the country’s best-known politicians abroad. When the finance minister speaks, people generally tend to listen…

“Russian officials claim ethnic Russian residents of the peninsula are threatened by Ukraine. The Nazis argued similarly in… 1938 that ‘ethnic Germans’ in peripheral regions of what was then Czechoslovakia required protection.”

On the other hand, most Americans are as blind as most of their leaders, paralleling the ignorance of most citizens in other Western countries. Note the next article.

The Blindness of the Nations

CNN wrote on April 2:

“The vast majority of Americans say Vladimir Putin’s not honest or trustworthy, but according to a new national poll they don’t compare the Russian president’s actions in Ukraine with the land grabs in the years leading up to World War II by Germany’s Adolf Hitler.

“A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday indicates that only 24% of the public equates Putin’s annexing last month of neighboring Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula with Hitler’s actions, with 51% saying that’s too strong a comparison. Just over one in five admitted they don’t know enough about pre-Second World War history to answer the question.

“Early last month… at a fundraiser in Long Beach, California, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Putin’s military intervention in Crimean to Hitler’s European aggression ahead of World War II.”

That Putin’s actions can be compared with Hitler’s “land grabs” leading up to World War II, there can be NO DOUBT. And as Hitler did not stop with just the “Anschluss” with Austria, so Putin will not stop with just the annexation of Crimea. He may patiently wait a little while until his opportunity presents itself. Note the next article.

Putin Won’t Stop with Crimea

National Journal wrote on March 30:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to seize more territory beyond Crimea, a slim 54 percent majority of National Journal’s Security Insiders said. ‘There is nothing about the international response so far to his actions in Crimea that would discourage Putin from annexing additional portions of Ukraine,’ one Insider said. After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea, National Journal’s pool of national security experts believe Putin is eyeing more territory that was formerly under Moscow’s control. ‘Putin will make every attempt to secure his gains in Crimea by adding predominantly ethnic Russian territories in Ukraine and, quite possibly, Transnistria from Moldova,’ one Insider said. ‘Now that he has an appetite for conquest, Putin may find the idea of seizing further territory irresistible.’

“Poltava, another Insider noted, the site of Peter the Great’s victory over Charles XII of Sweden that established Russia as a major force, is in eastern Ukraine. ‘If Putin can grab Crimea for historical reasons, than Poltava can’t be far behind.’”

Will Putin Invade Finland?

The Independent wrote on April 1:

“After annexing Crimea and with troops massed on the border of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will not stop trying to expand Russia until he has ‘conquered’ Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland, one of his closest former advisers has said. According to Andrej Illarionov, the President’s chief economic adviser from 2000 to 2005, Mr Putin seeks to create ‘historical justice’ with a return to the days of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Soviet Union under Stalin.

“Speaking to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Mr Illarionov warned that Russia will argue that the granting of independence to Finland in 1917 was an act of ‘treason against national interests’. ‘Putin’s view is that he protects what belongs to him and his predecessors,’ Mr Illarionov said…

“Mr Illarionov has helped draft a host of Russia’s economic policies in recent years, and served as Mr Putin’s personal representative at a number of G8 conferences. He is now a senior fellow at the Cato institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity in Washington. Finland is not a Nato member, meaning a Russian invasion would not be considered an attack against the alliance… The Scandinavian nation was part of the Russian empire for 108 years as an autonomous Grand Duchy.”

Germany’s Big Business with Russia

Bloomberg wrote on March 30:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy chided Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser for traveling to Moscow, saying German companies shouldn’t sell out European values to protect business with Russia… While the European Union and the U.S. seek to punish Russia for annexing Crimea, many German corporate leaders view Putin as an economic partner… While Merkel has said Germany could withstand the economic impact of European economic sanctions against Russia, the heads of Adidas AG, ThyssenKrupp AG and Deutsche Post AG questioned the need for sanctions…

“ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger said ‘Russia felt cornered.’ Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel said the U.S. and its allies had meddled ‘in the front yard of another big power’ and questioned calls by EU leaders including Merkel to review Europe’s energy ties with Russia…

“Kaeser said meeting with Putin showed that Munich-based Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering company, ‘won’t be overly influenced by short-term turbulences’ involving Russia…”

This short-sighted and highly questionable approach by some of Germany’s powerful economic companies (including Krupp which has the controversial reputation of having conducted big business with Hitler) is, to an extent, mirrored by equally short-sighted and totally unrealistic and false statements by former German Chancellors Schmidt and Schroeder, trying to justify, explain or at least downplay Putin’s illegal actions. Note the next article.

German Shortsightedness and Anti-Americanism

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 31:

“Is it acceptable for a person to be sympathetic towards or have an understanding for Russia’s actions in Crimea? Are Moscow’s claims justifiable? Did the West provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin? For weeks, this debate has dominated the public discussion in Germany like no other…  Nothing, it seems, is as polarizing as the question of whether Moscow’s annexation of Crimea was a justifiable reaction to NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe or if it was acting in violation of international law, thus making any sympathy for the move unacceptable.

“Those expressing understanding for Russia’s move are clearly dominating the Internet forums and talk shows. One former German chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, even declared that the situation in Ukraine is dangerous ‘because the West has gotten so terribly worked up about it.’ The question of whether Putin’s actions were legitimate didn’t even seem to interest him. ‘I find it entirely understandable,’ he said. Another former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, admitted that he himself hadn’t always respected international law…

“The soft-heartedness for Russia’s iron hand has many origins — some historic, some current, some idealistic and others material. The most obvious are the interests of business, because companies want to continue trading with Russia and therefore oppose sanctions. Other influencing factors include fears of a new cold or even hot war, historic ties to Russia and anti-American sentiment that is widespread in Germany…

“Klaus von Dohnanyi… is a conservative Social Democrat and enjoys widespread respect among CDU politicians as well. He is the personification of Germany’s political center… In an interview at a hotel in Berlin, Dohnanyi says that it wasn’t wise of Putin to annex Crimea. It would have been better, he continues, if the Russian president had used the referendum results to force Ukraine to become neutral. Nevertheless, he believes that the West must show Russia respect.

“Dohnanyi’s understanding for Russia is one side of his worldview. The other is his criticism of the United States. ‘The Americans often don’t have a sense for diplomacy and for Europe’s geopolitical problems,’ he says. The longer one listens to him, the greater the impression becomes that the Americans are the problem and not the Russians. ‘What has the situation produced? The situation has produced an attempt to bring Ukraine into NATO,’ he said in a talk show…

“As a consequence of so much understanding for Russia, the interests of Eastern European countries are often ignored… Today, it is the Ukrainians who are being sacrificed on the altar of sympathy for Russia. When the Polish government imposed martial law in 1981 and stepped up its fight against the opposition, the US initiated sanctions against the Soviet Union and Poland. Then-German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD refused to join…”

German Anti-Americanism clouds the issues and ignores the real dangers. Germany will bitterly pay for such false ideologies.

Russia Is Winning in the Middle East

The Mosaic Magazine wrote on March 26:

“On March 19, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that if the West imposed sanctions over the annexation of Crimea, Russia would retaliate by exacting a much greater price: it would throw its support to Iran in the nuclear talks…  the Kremlin sees itself as the great-power patron not just of the Assad regime but also of Iran and Hizballah—the entire Resistance Alliance… [Putin] will never sell out Tehran and Damascus in order to win compliments in Washington; if forced to choose, he will always side with the former against the latter, and will certainly leave them in no doubt that Russia is their most dependable friend in the United Nations Security Council. It is this fact that makes Russia a revisionist power in the Middle East and the permanent adversary of the United States…

“Putin has a strong track record of supporting some actions designed to prevent an Iranian bomb… he also has a strong track record of building the Iranian nuclear program and of providing security assistance to the Iranian military… On the key issue of stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, he is never so supportive as to be taken for granted…

“No matter which course the president follows, the Ukraine crisis has damaged the prestige of the United States in the Middle East. America’s Arab friends in the region, who are on the front line against Iran, Syria, and Hizballah, already feel the pinch, and are deeply uncertain about how to respond…

“The ally who most immediately feels the fallout is Israel. On March 17, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon described, with unusual bluntness, the consequences of what he called the ‘feebleness’ of American foreign policy. The Obama administration’s weakness, he argued, was undermining the position not just of Israel but also of America’s Sunni allies. ‘The moderate Sunni camp in the area expected the United States to support it, and to be firm, like Russia’s support for the Shiite axis,’ Yaalon lamented. Yaalon spoke no less despairingly of Obama’s ability to make good on his pledge to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon…

“Whether Israel actually has the political will and military capability to launch an independent strike against Iran is anybody’s guess. But two facts are undeniable. First, Putin’s muscular foreign policy and Washington’s timorous response have increased the pressure on Israel to strike independently. Second, Obama has lost influence over the Israelis—just as he lost influence over his Arab allies when he refused to back them on Syria.

“Adrift in Machiavelli’s no man’s land, neither a true friend nor a true enemy, Washington is left with the worst of both worlds, treated by its adversaries with contempt, charged by its friends with abandonment and betrayal… in the Middle East, Russia and its clients are winning and the United States, despite huge natural advantages, is losing.”

It is sad that when decisive American leadership is needed, the same is lacking or non-existent.

Catastrophic Consequences of Regional Nuclear War

CBS wrote on March 26:

“With an estimated 17,000 nuclear weapons in the world, we have the power to exterminate humanity many times over. But it wouldn’t take a full-scale nuclear war to make Earth uninhabitable, reports Live Science. Even a relatively small regional nuclear war, like a conflict between India and Pakistan, could spark a global environmental catastrophe, says a new study…

“Firestorms would belch over 5 million tons of ash into the sky. The ash would absorb the sun’s rays, causing deadly cooling on the surface… Rainfall and other precipitation would be reduced by about 10 percent, triggering worldwide droughts and leading to wildfires in the Amazon, which would spew more smoke into the atmosphere. The sky ash would heat the stratosphere and accelerate the chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer. The intense ultraviolet radiation that would get through to the surface would be a dramatic threat to human health and damage fragile ecosystems on land and sea.”

Press Freedom Under Serious Attack

Daily Caller wrote on March 24:

“New York Times reporter James Risen called the Obama administration ‘the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation’ on Friday, explaining that the White House seeks to control the flow of information and those who refuse to play along ‘will be punished’…

“Risen made the remarks while speaking at Sources and Secrets conference — a meeting of journalism, communication and government professionals held in New York City. The foreign policy reporter, who is currently fighting a fierce court battle with the federal government over his protection of a confidential source, warned that press freedom is under serious attack in today’s America… And the media has been ‘too timid’ in pushing back against the onslaught.”

Hollywood’s “Noah” and the Bible

Newsmax wrote on March 31:

“People expect to see literalism in Bible movies, says Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly, so it isn’t surprising there has been adverse reaction to Darren Aronofsky’s blockbuster ‘Noah.’ On his show Monday, O’Reilly noted that conservative talk show host Glenn Beck had called the movie ‘dangerous disinformation.’…

“Chicago Sun-Times film critic Richard Roeper countered that ‘Noah’ is a big-budget picture that has to have a lot of elements to succeed, including the stone giants who protect Noah and help him build the ark… EWTN’s Arroyo said people were willing to give the film a chance, but then once they saw it on screen they were hit with Noah’s trying to kill his grandchildren because he thinks it is what God wants him to do. O’Reilly noted that the story in the Bible is dark. God is vengeful and says humans have spit in his face, he said.”

Stone giants protecting Noah? Noah trying to kill his grandchildren? Enough said.

Ongoing NSA Spying Scandal

AFP wrote on March 29:

“According to German news magazine Der Spiegel, the US National Security Agency kept a spy database on more than 100 world leaders. This included 300 files on German Chancellor Angela Merkel… The list was 122 names long, but only 12 of these names were shared with Spiegel…

“The Spiegel story also indicated that Britain’s GCHQ intelligence service infiltrated German internet firms and that the US National Security Agency (NSA) obtained a court order to spy on Germany.”

France’s Move to the Right

Deutsche Welle reported on March 31:

“The shake-up of Hollande’s deeply unpopular government comes after nationwide local elections on Sunday in which both the far-right National Front (FN) and the mainstream opposition party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) made historic gains, while Hollande’s Socialists suffered some of their worst losses ever.

“The UMP, the party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, snatched a number of towns long considered Socialist bastions, a performance that bodes well for its chances in national elections scheduled for 2017. The FN under Marine Le Pen also put it its best showing at the grassroots level of French government, winning control of 11 towns and more than 1,200 municipal seats nationwide.

“The results reflect the growing discontent in France with Hollande’s government, which came to power in 2012. Critics say it has been helpless in the face of a stagnant economy, persistently high unemployment and falling living standards in many quarters.”

Outbreak of Deadly Ebola Virus in Africa

BBC News reported on April 1:

“The WHO says 83 people in Guinea have died in suspected cases of Ebola, which is spread by close contact and kills between 25% and 90% of its victims. It has now spread to neighbouring Liberia, as well as Guinea’s capital, Conakry, which has a population of two million people… The traditional handshake is no longer a part of salutations in Guinea as people are really terrified of being infected with Ebola… The disease originated in the southern Forest Region where bats, a local delicacy, are thought be carriers of the virus. Their sale and consumption has been banned…

“‘We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases,’ said Mariano Lugli, a co-ordinator in Guinea for the medical charity. ‘This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic.’… Sierra Leone has also reported five suspected cases, none of which have yet been confirmed, while Senegal, which also borders Guinea, has closed its land border. Saudi Arabia suspended visas for Muslim pilgrims from Guinea and Liberia on Tuesday, in a sign of the growing unease about the outbreak… The tropical virus leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.”

Big Los Angeles Earthquake Just a Preview?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 28:

“The 5.1 magnitude earthquake that rattled Southern California on Friday night raises the possibility that a larger quake is on the way, seismologists said. The swarm of earthquakes began at 8:03 p.m., when a 3.6 earthquake hit. That ended up being a foreshock of the largest earthquake to hit, a magnitude 5.1 at 9:09 p.m. At least two more aftershocks hit, a 3.4 at 9:11 p.m. and a 3.6 at 9:30 p.m.… The quake was felt over a large swath of the region…”

The Los Angeles Times added on March 30:

“Experts say a bigger earthquake along the lesser-known fault that gave Southern California a moderate shake could do more damage to the region than the long-dreaded ‘Big One’ from the more famous San Andreas Fault. The Puente Hills thrust fault, which brought Friday night’s magnitude-5.1 quake centered in La Habra and well over 100 aftershocks by Sunday, stretches from northern Orange County under downtown Los Angeles into Hollywood — a heavily populated swath of the Los Angeles area.

“A magnitude-7.5 earthquake along that fault could prove more catastrophic than one along the San Andreas, which runs along the outskirts of metropolitan Southern California, seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that such a quake along the Puente Hills fault could kill 3,000 to 18,000 people and cause up to $250 billion in damage. In contrast, a larger magnitude 8 quake along the San Andreas would cause an estimated 1,800 deaths…

“Part of the problem with the potential damage is that the fault runs near so many vulnerable older buildings, many made of concrete, in downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood. And because the fault, discovered in 1999, is horizontal, heavy reverberations are likely to be felt over a wide area.The shaking from a 7.5 quake in the center of urban Los Angeles could be so intense it would lift heavy objects in the air…”

Big Earthquakes Will Strike

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on March 28:

“John Dvorak, a geophysicist who now works at an astronomical observatory in Hawaii, warns that a quake break can just be the calm before the earthquake storm… As he notes in an interview, plenty of other parts of the country are vulnerable to earthquakes, including the Northwest, the Midwest, the South and – yes – even the Big Apple… earthquakes, even large ones, tend to cluster in time and space. An earthquake storm is when there is a cluster of large earthquakes in a region occur over a period of several decades.

“The best examples are the earthquakes that are now happening in northern Turkey along the North Anatolian fault. The storm began in 1939. Since then there have been 13 major earthquakes, and scientists expect at least one more major earthquake is yet to happen at the west end near Istanbul… The last major earthquake to strike Istanbul was in 1509.  The next one is expected in the next few decades.

“There is also an earthquake storm happening at the eastern end of the Indian Ocean. It began in 2001 with a magnitude-7.9 event and includes the disastrous December 2004 earthquake that struck Sumatra. In total, there have been seven major earthquakes there since 2001, and at least a few more are expected…

“Most of the motion between the Pacific and North American plates occurs along coastal California. In the last hundred years, there has been only one significant earthquake along those plates: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the World Series earthquake. But during the previous hundred years before that, there were five significant earthquakes along the California coast, in 1812, 1838, 1857, 1868, and 1906. Large earthquakes are the major means by which seismic energy gets released after building up between the two tectonic plates. And so one or more large earthquakes are in California’s future. It is a matter of when…

“Alaska is the most seismically active place in the United States, followed by California. In third place is Utah, fourth is Hawaii. And there is a big seismic potential in the Pacific Northwest. There is also the New Madrid area in southeast Missouri where a series of four major earthquakes struck in 1811 and 1812. A repeat of those events will cause major damage in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. There’s also New York and New England. The largest historic earthquake in New York occurred beneath New York Harbor in 1884. It was felt along most of the East Coast. The largest New England earthquake occurred in 1755 off the coast at Cape Ann. It is still a mystery why earthquakes occur in these areas.”

Major Earthquake Strikes Chile

BNO News reported on April 2:

“A major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday evening, prompting tsunami warnings for Pacific coastlines in the region, seismologists and officials said. The 8.0-magnitude at 6:46 p.m. local time was centered about 83 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of Iquique, the capital of the Tarapaca Region in northern Chile. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it extremely shallow, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Reuters added on April 2:

“A major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of  northern Chile on Tuesday, causing five deaths and triggering a tsunami that pounded the shore with 2-meter-tall waves.”

This earthquake was followed on Wednesday, April 2, by a 7.8 earthquake.

The Ring of Fire

ABC News added on April 2:

“The 8.2 earthquake that shook northern Chile and surrounding countries late Tuesday night was one of a string of recent earthquakes along what is known as the ‘Ring of Fire,’ a circle of quake-prone areas on the Pacific Rim. A magnitude 5.1 quake hit Los Angeles last week, followed by aftershocks along the California coast… Both cities lie along the so-called Ring of Fire, where two plates underneath the earth’s surface occasionally bump up against other plates… The 9.0 magnitude quake that hit Japan and cause the Fukushima meltdown in 2011 was on the Pacific’s Ring of Fire… The most susceptible areas on the Ring of Fire include such populated cities as Santiago, Chile; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Tokyo, Japan; and Lima, Peru.”

Powerful Earthquake at Yellowstone

NBC News reported on March 30:

“A 4.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Yellowstone National Park in Montana early Sunday…the quake, which hit at 6:34 a.m. local time, was centered almost in the middle of Yellowstone National Park, near the Norris Geyser Basin… Jessica Turner, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Service, said the quake was the most powerful to hit the park since 1985…”

Is Yellowstone’s Supervolcano About to Blow?

Epoch Times wrote on April 2:

“A number of bloggers are posting videos that show bison and other animals allegedly leaving Yellowstone National Park, prompting theories that as earthquakes ramp up the seismic activity will set off the Yellowstone supervolcano. Two of the main bloggers behind the discussion stress that there’s no way to know when the supervolcano will go off but note that the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit on March 30 seemed to set off a reaction from the animals, who are moving for a reason…

“A series of smaller quakes have hit the region over the past few weeks, and those quakes have been linked to the recent 5.1 magnitude quake (and aftershocks) that hit in the Los Angeles region. Tom Lupshu, who describes himself as a “noted Ohio survivalist and search-and-rescue expert,” said on YouTube that nearly one quarter of the northern elk herd at Yellowstone National Park are missing, according to the annual winter count… ‘The more the Earthquakes in the region, the more are the chances of the volcano being activated from its dormant state. Last time an earthquake struck in 1980…’

“Researchers recently discovered that the supervolcano is far bigger than previously thought, about 2.5 times… The findings point to the potentially disastrous consequences if the volcano were ever to blow… the Yellowstone Volcano is still active, and… nothing can be done to prevent an eruption.”

The Great Alaska Earthquake

Quartz wrote on March 30:

“Fifty years ago this week, the Great Alaska Earthquake ravaged the Pacific Northwest, killing more than 100 people. Nine-tenths of those weren’t caused by the earthquake, though, but by a series of tsunamis that pummeled the coast, one of which towered 219 feet (66 meters) high. They come taller than that, though. The 1958 tsunami that ripped through Lituya Bay, a sleepy fjord near the Gulf of Alaska, was eight times bigger…

“Calamity struck at 10pm on July 9, 1958, when a 8.0-Richter-scale earthquake rammed the Alaskan coast up and northward. That impact shook free between 40 million and 60 million cubic yards (30.6 million and 46 million cubic meters) of rock and ice that rimmed the Lituya basin, dumping it 3,000 feet into the bay below. The 1,720-foot monster that reared up as a result shot through the bay at 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour)…”

Who Is Next?

CNN wrote on March 21:

“Putin said Russia had no intention of violating Ukraine’s sovereignty (beyond the 5% of its territory it has absorbed this week.) ‘Do not believe those who want you to fear Russia, shouting that other regions will follow Crimea,’ he told Ukrainians. But he then said this: ‘It should be above all in Ukraine’s own interest to ensure that these people’s rights and interests are fully protected. This is the guarantee of Ukraine’s state stability and territorial integrity.’

“In other words, if the Kremlin believes Russians are being discriminated against, Ukraine’s independence is no longer assured. Those words will have echoed across parts of the former Soviet Union with large Russian populations: Moldova (10%), Lithuania (6%), Latvia (27%) and Estonia (25%). Will the Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova begin agitating for its own referendum? Will oblasts (regions) of eastern Ukraine demand their own vote?

“… In a 2006 referendum more than 95% of voters [in Transnistria] said they wanted to be reunited with Russia. The assumption at NATO headquarters is that Putin won’t stop at Crimea… Nor does the White House see Crimea as Putin’s end-game…”

Obama Administration: Possible that Russia Will Invade Eastern Ukraine

CNN wrote on March 23:

“A top White House aide says it’s possible that Russia could invade eastern Ukraine, and even U.S. military assistance would be unlikely to prevent it… He says the U.S. is looking at providing military assistance to Ukraine. But he also says ‘it’s very unlikely to change Russia’s calculus and prevent an invasion.’”

America’s helplessness is astonishing.

Putin’s Aim Is All of Ukraine

AFP wrote on March 23:

“Ukraine’s Western-backed leaders voiced fears on Sunday of an imminent Russian invasion of the eastern industrial heartland following the fall of their last airbase in Crimea to defiant Kremlin troops. Alarm about a push outside Crimea by Moscow’s overwhelming forces — now conducting drills at Ukraine’s eastern gate — were fanned further Sunday by a call by its self-declared premier for Russians across the ex-Soviet country to rise up against Kiev’s rule.

“The interim leaders in Kiev fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin — flushed with expansionist fervour — is developing a sense of impunity after being hit by only limited EU and US sanctions for taking the Black Sea cape. ‘The aim of Putin is not Crimea but all of Ukraine… His troops massed at the border are ready to attack at any moment,’ Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy told a mass unity rally in Kiev…

“One of the biggest tests facing the besieged interim leaders in Kiev now comes from restless Russians who have been stirring up violent protests and demanding their own secession referendums in the southeastern swaths of Ukraine. The region’s mistrust of the new team’s European values lies from cultural and trade ties with Russia that in many cases are centuries old…”

Travel Warnings for US Citizens

CNN reported on March 22:

“The U.S. State Department also issued a travel warning for Ukraine Friday. It cautioned U.S. citizens ‘to defer all non-essential travel to Ukraine and to defer all travel to the Crimean Peninsula and eastern regions of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lugansk due to the presence of Russian military forces in the Crimean Peninsula.’”

Is It Transdniestria?

Reuters reported on March 23:

“NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, voiced concern about Moscow using a tactic of snap military exercises to prepare its forces for possible rapid incursions into a neighbouring state, as it had done in the case of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Russia launched a new military exercise, involving 8,500 artillery men, near Ukraine’s border 10 days ago. ‘The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready,’ Breedlove told an event held by the German Marshall Fund think-tank.

“The president of ex-Soviet Moldova warned Russia last Tuesday against considering any move to annex Transdniestria, which lies on Ukraine’s western border, in the same way that it has taken control of Crimea… Breedlove said NATO was very concerned about the threat to Transdniestria, which he said, in Russia’s view, was the ‘next place where Russian-speaking people may need to be incorporated. There is absolutely sufficient (Russian) force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transdniestria if the decision was made to do that and that is very worrisome.’”

Europe—not America—has the most to fear from a militaristic Russia, and Europeans know this. They will feel compelled to create their own strong military apparatus.

Is It Kherson?

Fox News wrote on March 21:

“As Ukraine appears to have all but conceded Crimea to Moscow, Ukrainians in Kherson, the province just north of the peninsula, are believed to be pushing a secession vote of their own in what a local leader angrily denounced as ‘treason.’ The province has a huge Russian speaking population, and a vote – particularly with politicking from Russia – could go against Kiev as did  [in] last Sunday’s referendum in Crimea. In addition to a major push from ethnic Russian politicians, the proposal in Kherson could be boosted by the presence of Russian soldiers, pro-Moscow protesters and the kind of propaganda Ukraine accused Moscow of engaging in before the Crimea vote.

“… an estimated 70 suspected Russian cossacks arrived in Strelkovoe on the Arabat spit in Kherson’s eastern Henichesky region. The group urged locals there to hold a referendum similar to the one in Crimea last Sunday, which passed overwhelmingly despite being called illegitimate by Kiev and western nations…

“Kherson is key in the unfolding conflict… because it links Crimea to the mainland by rail and road and provides the contested peninsula with most of its food, fresh water and electricity…”

Is It Latvia or Estonia?

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“Pro-Russians took over another Ukrainian military base in Crimea, and Poland asked the US to send more troops to Europe to strengthen NATO’s defenses against Russia…
“After Crimea declared their independence from Ukraine, the government said they would seize Ukraine property and disband the Ukrainian military in the peninsula… Vice President Joe Biden visited Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia on Tuesday and Wednesday to assure NATO allies the US will defend them if Russia continues to pose a threat…

“Alarms went off after the Russian ambassador said Moscow is ready to grant Russian citizenship to ethnic Russians in Latvia. A Russian diplomat also told the United Nations Human Rights Council Moscow is worried about the language rights of ethnic Russians in Estonia. The ex-Soviet states are worried they might be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next target.”

It is highly doubtful that America is prepared to send troops to Europe, and it was not specified what America means when it says that it will “defend” its European allies.

How Russia and China Annex Other Countries

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“With Russia’s annexation of Crimea now a fait accompli, it’s well to remember that this isn’t the first recent annexation of other countries’ territories. China has already seized islands in the South China Sea that have historically belonged to the Philippines and Vietnam and is operating on the belief that any ‘short, sharp attack’ on any one island won’t bring an American response. China intends to continue annexing islands in this fashion…

“The news on Friday is that Russia is massing over 20,000 troops on the border with eastern Ukraine, evidently with the intention of invading, in order to annex some or all of that territory. It’s really not logical for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to stop with Crimea, since there are plenty of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine—and because Crimea can’t survive without the fresh water, electricity, gas, and food that it imports from Ukraine…

“Russia has long complained about Estonia’s insistence that its large Russian minority in the country should learn to speak Estonian. But recent remarks by Russian diplomats that, for example, Russia was ‘concerned by steps taken… in Estonia as well as in Ukraine’ to use language to ‘segregate and isolate groups’ is giving rise to fears that Estonia is one of the countries on Vladimir Putin’s list to be invaded in order to protect Russian citizens.

“Estonia has a centuries-old bitter history with Russia. People today vividly remember that Josef Stalin’s Red Army reoccupied Estonia in June 1940 and made it part of the Soviet Union. On a one-night operation, June 13-14, 1941, thousands of Estonians, mostly women and children, were deported to Siberia, while tens of thousands of men were forcibly relocated to Russia to fight in the army. This period of bloody Soviet rule left a deep mark on the Estonians, and so when the German Nazis invaded later in 1941, they were greeted as liberators. The Nazis were just as brutal as the Soviets, but when the Red Army returned in September, 1944, some 70,000 Estonians fled the country and formed a diaspora throughout Europe and North America. After the war, Stalin’s Soviet brutality continued by forcing ethnic Russians to relocate to Estonia to dilute the Estonian population. Estonia only became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Today, as Estonia is well into a new generational Crisis era, it is haunted by ghosts of ‘Nazi sympathizers’ who opposed the Soviets, and a substantial Russian minority, mainly descendants of Russians whom Stalin had forced to relocate to Estonia after the war, who consider themselves to be victims as well.

“There are several countries that separate Russia from the European Union, and many of them have sizable ethnic Russian minorities who consider themselves to be victims. Many of these countries, including Estonia, are members of Nato, meaning that if Russia invades, then Nato will be required by treaty to fight the invasion militarily.

“Russia as a whole, and Putin in particular, are becoming increasingly nationalistic, and it’s possible that Putin will conclude from the experience of annexing Crimea that Nato won’t respond militarily even after a Nato country is invaded but will simply adopt new sanctions such as making it illegal for Russian politicians to visit Disneyland. Similarly, the Chinese may conclude from Russia’s experience in Crimea and their own experiences in the South China Sea that they can continue annexing other people’s islands and territories with impunity…

“It’s true that there’s a ‘new normal’ today that permits Russia and China to annex foreign territories with impunity. But actually it’s the same ‘old normal’ that existed in 1938 when Britain allowed Nazi Germany to annex Sudetenland with impunity…

“A year after taking office, president Xi Jinping is emerging as the strongest Chinese leader in decades. He’s adopted Mao Zedong’s populist style…”

Russia and China are operating in similar ways, and a collaboration between them is prophesied.

Russia Looks to China, Japan and India

Reuters wrote on March 21:

“When President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty this week annexing Crimea to great fanfare in the Kremlin and anger in the West, a trusted lieutenant was making his way to Asia to shore up ties with Russia’s eastern allies. Forcing home the symbolism of his trip, Igor Sechin gathered media in Tokyo the next day to warn Western governments that more sanctions over Moscow’s seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine would be counter-productive.

“The underlying message from the head of Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, was clear: If Europe and the United States isolate Russia, Moscow will look East for new business, energy deals, military contracts and political alliances.

“The Holy Grail for Moscow is a natural gas supply deal with China that is apparently now close after years of negotiations. If it can be signed when Putin visits China in May, he will be able to hold it up to show that global power has shifted eastwards and he does not need the West…

“The support of Beijing is vital for Putin. Not only is China a fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with whom Russia thinks alike, it is also the world’s second biggest economy and it opposes the spread of Western-style democracy… Chinese President Xi Jinping showed how much he values ties with Moscow, and Putin in particular, by making Russia his first foreign visit as China’s leader last year and attending the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi last month…

“Russia and China could also step up cooperation in areas apart from energy… the prospects of Russia delivering Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets to China, which has been under discussion since 2010, would grow…

“Tokyo has been working hard under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve ties with Moscow, despite a territorial dispute dating from World War Two… Putin did take time… to thank one other country apart from China for its understanding over Ukraine and Crimea – saying India had shown ‘restraint and objectivity’.  He also called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the crisis on Tuesday, suggesting there is room for Russia’s ties with traditionally non-aligned India to flourish… Russia remains a key defense supplier [to India] and relations are friendly… Putin’s moves to assert Russian control over Crimea were seen very favorably in the Indian establishment…”

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 20 that behind the scenes, Russia and China are working on a military pact “which could drastically change the alignments between world powers.”

Russia Reasserts Itself in Afghanistan and Middle East

The Washington Post wrote on March 21:

“As the U.S.-led war winds down and Russia reasserts itself in Ukraine and the Middle East, Moscow is also ramping up its investment in Afghanistan. It is rebuilding the relics of the Soviet occupation and promoting its own political and cultural prowess…

“Russia’s recent incursion into its neighbor, Ukraine, and its annexation of Crimea reflect its intent to maintain influence in some former Soviet republics. It also reaching out to old allies further afield. Last month, President Vladimir Putin received Egyptian army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, whose relations with Washington have been strained since a coup last summer, and expressed support for the military man’s expected presidential bid.

“Moscow is also negotiating a major arms deal with Sissi and agreed in 2012 to sell Iraq $4.3 billion in weapons. In Syria, Putin is strongly backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad as he seeks to crush a rebellion that has received support from the West.

“In Afghanistan, Russian officials point to their development activities as a counterexample to U.S. aid projects, which many Afghans criticize as wasteful and misguided… Many Afghans, including President Hamid Karzai, praise the Soviet model even though they fought a bloody 10-year war against the country’s army, which invaded in 1979 to support an unpopular communist government…

“The new warmth between the Kremlin and Afghanistan was visible this week when the Afghan government released a message from Putin marking the Islamic new year. It was the only such message made public, and was released at a time when the United States and European governments are imposing sanctions on Russia for its expansion into Ukraine…

“Russian officials say that supporting Afghanistan makes sense, given their regional interests. Afghanistan shares borders with three former Soviet states that still receive considerable funding — and direction — from Moscow…”

Russia’s ambitions are not limited to Ukraine and other former Soviet satellite nations. Russia’s ultimate goal is world domination.

Putin Eyes Latin America

The Hill wrote von March 21:

“Away from the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is quietly seeking a foothold in Latin America, military officials warn. To the alarm of lawmakers and Pentagon officials, Putin has begun sending navy ships and long-range bombers to the region for the first time in years. Russia’s defense minister says the country is planning bases in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and just last week, Putin’s national security team met to discuss increasing military ties in the region…

“The U.S. military says it has been forced to cut back on its engagement with military and government officials in Latin America due to budget cuts. Kelly said the U.S. military had to cancel more than 200 effective engagement activities and multi-lateral exercises in Latin America last year. With the American presence waning, officials say rivals such as Russia, China and Iran are quickly filling the void.

“Iran has opened up 11 additional embassies and 33 cultural centers in Latin America while supporting the ‘operational presence’ of militant group Lebanese Hezbollah in the region… China is making a play for Latin America [as] well, and is now the fastest growing investor in the region, according to experts. Although their activity is mostly economic, they are also increasing military activity through educational exchanges.

“The Chinese Navy conducted a goodwill visit in Brazil, Chile and Argentina last year and conducted its first-ever naval exercise with the Argentine Navy. Meanwhile, the U.S. had to cancel the deployment of its hospital ship USNS Comfort last year… [T]here are 10 countries in Latin America that currently have no U.S. ambassador because they either haven’t been nominated yet or confirmed, a sign that the region is seen as a low priority.”

China, India, Brazil and South Africa Support Russia’s Participation at G20 Summit

The EUObserver wrote on March 25:

“The G7 club of wealthy nations has cancelled a summit with Russia over its annexation of Crimea, but emerging economies have protested against its exclusion from a G20 meeting. The G7 leaders – from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US – announced the move in a communique published after their meeting in The Hague on Monday (24 March). The June summit, which was to be held in the G8 format with Russia in Sochi, on the Black Sea coast, will now be held in Brussels…

“For its part, US ally Australia had indicated Russia might also be excluded from a G20 summit in Brisbane in November. But Brazil, China, India, and South Africa rejected the idea. They said, together with Russia, also at The Hague, where almost 60 countries had sent VIPs to a Nuclear Security Summit, that ‘the escalation of hostile language, sanctions and counter-sanctions … does not contribute to a sustainable and peaceful solution’ to the Ukraine crisis…

“With Brazil and China now wealthier than some G7 countries, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov noted the G7 has lost its monopoly on global governance. Russia on Monday also hit back at Western sanctions by blacklisting 13 Canadians. It has mocked EU and US blacklists and economic threats.”

The Crimea Anschluss—Is History Repeating Itself?

The Times of Israel wrote on March 21:

“An overwhelming 95.5% voted for the union with Putin’s Russia… The context in which the referendum was held is staggeringly similar to another poll, held in Austria on April 10, 1938. That referendum took place less than a month after German forces had entered Austria and had a 99.71% turnout, with 99.73% of Austrians voting in favor of unification with Germany. The vote sealed the Anschluss, turning Austria into the province of Ostmark within the larger German Reich.

“The Crimean referendum took place against the background of a full-scale propaganda campaign led by the Kremlin-controlled media. In what was likely the worst threat related through the press since the Cold War, the Kremlin’s chief propagandist Dmitry Kiselev said on state TV that ‘Russia was the only country able to turn the US into radioactive ash.’ A giant mushroom-shaped cloud blossomed in the background as he spoke.

“The evening of March 18 saw a pro-annexation demonstration in Moscow’s Red Square. Pop music blasted from an enormous stage erected next to the Kremlin’s ancient walls, and over 100,000 people, according to official estimates, rallied under the slogan ‘One People – One Country.’ An unoriginal statement, which is part of a similar slogan that was invented by another authoritarian leader in the 20th century. Adolf Hitler’s mantra ‘Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer’ (One People, One Empire, One Leader) was widely used in Nazi propaganda on the eve of and throughout WWII.”

Of course, most Crimean people were willing participants in the Anschluss, as were most Austrians.

Russia Wants to Divide Europe

Deutsche Welle reported on March 22:

“During his trip to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has accused Russia of trying to divide Europe… Steinmeier’s visit comes a day after Ukraine signed the political chapters of an association agreement with the EU. Yatsenyuk… also called for greater military cooperation with the EU. ‘We have to re-arm and strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces,’ the prime minister said.”

Deutsche Welle added on March 23:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that the crisis in Crimea could escalate. He threatened Russia with further sanctions if it tried to claim more Ukrainian territory for itself…  ‘If Russia reaches beyond Crimea, we in Europe will decide on radical measures, even if we have to accept economic disadvantages by doing so,’ he said.”

As Europe finally wakes up to Russia’s goal, and feeling quite forsaken by America, it will prompt its leading core European nations to unite militarily.

Britain Defeated on Every Level

News Republic re-published the following article by Press Association, dated March 25:

“Britain has been defeated on every single one of the 55 occasions it has voted against a proposal in the European Council over the past 18 years, new research has found… Britain’s voting power in the European Councils has fallen since 1973 from 17% to 8% as the EU has expanded, while its representation in the European Parliament has decreased from 20% to 9.5% and its share of European Commission staff has dropped from 15% to 4% over the same period, said the report.”

Reintroduction of Compulsory Military Service in Germany?

The Local wrote on March 25:

“Mounting tension in the Crimea is prompting calls for compulsory military service to be reintroduced in Germany. A number of German ex-generals have raised fears over the nation’s military strength should it be drawn into a Nato-led conflict. ‘We need compulsory military service. There is no other way for Germany to guarantee national defence within the [Nato] mutual defence alliance,’ retired Nato general Egon Ramms told Bild newspaper. ‘[It certainly can’t be done] on a voluntary basis.’

“Ramms was commander of the Allied Joint Forces Command between 2007 and 2010, one of the highest-ranking positions in the Nato alliance. He expressed doubts about Germany’s readiness for war in light of the decision in July 2011 to abolish the nine-month stretch of compulsory military service.

“Similar fears were raised by retired Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Harald Kujat, who told the paper staff shortages meant the German army had been ‘brought to its knees’ by the move. ‘We don’t have enough soldiers and not enough qualified ones. We must talk about reintroducing compulsory service,’ agreed CDU politician Patrick Sensburg, who voted against the July 2011 decision in parliament…”

Israel Prepares to Strike Iran… Just an Empty Threat?

The Associated Press reported on March 21:

“A rising chorus of Israeli voices is again raising the possibility of carrying out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in what appears to be an attempt to draw renewed attention to Tehran’s atomic program — and Israel’s unhappiness with international negotiations with the Iranians.

“In recent days, a series of newspaper reports and comments by top defense officials have signaled that the military option remains very much on the table. While Israeli officials say Israel never shelved the possibility of attacking, the heightened rhetoric marks a departure from Israel’s subdued approach since six world powers opened negotiations with Iran last November…

“A front-page headline in the daily Haaretz on Thursday proclaimed that Netanyahu has ordered ‘to prep for strike on Iran in 2014’ and has allocated 10 billion shekels (2.87 billion dollars) for the groundwork. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon hinted that Israel would have to pursue a military strike on its own, with the U.S. having chosen the path of negotiations. And the military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said this week that Iran ‘is not in an area that is out of the military’s range.’

“An Israeli military strike would be extremely difficult to pull off, both for logistical and political reasons. Any mission would likely require sending Israeli warplanes into hostile airspace, and it remains unclear how much damage Israel could inflict on a program that is scattered and hidden deep underground. In addition, it would likely set off an international uproar, derail the international negotiations and trigger retaliation on Israeli and U.S. targets…”

Netanyahu Allocates Almost $3 Billion for Iran Attack

Newsmax reported on March 23:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have reportedly ordered the military to continue preparing for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Three Knesset members who were present at Knesset joint committee hearings on Israel Defense Forces plans said that at least 10 billion shekels ($2.89 billion) of the defense budget would be allocated this year for preparations for the strike on Iran, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

“After an interim accord between Iran and six world powers was reached, Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not consider itself bound by it. Netanyahu in fact is again making implied threats about a possible unilateral Israeli strike.  ‘My friends, I believe that letting Iran enrich uranium would open up the floodgates,’ Netanyahu said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington earlier this month. ‘That must not happen. And we will make sure it does not happen.’

“Ya’alon said in a recent speech at Tel Aviv University that he is now likely to back a unilateral strike on Iran in light of his assessment that the Obama administration will not do so, according to Haaretz.”

 Israel’s disappointment with the weak leadership of America is telling and frightening.

Israel Shuts Down All Its Embassies and Consulates Worldwide

JTA reported on March 23:

“Employees of the Foreign Ministry in Israel declared a general strike, shutting down the country’s 103 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions around the world. The strike, which is open ended, was called on Sunday following two weeks of labor sanctions and seven months of mediation. ‘Today, for the first time in Israel’s history, the Foreign Ministry will be closed and no work will be done in any sphere under the ministry’s authority,’ said a statement issued Sunday by the Foreign Ministry’s worker’s committee…

“The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem also was closed, preventing Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman from entering his office. The strike could torpedo a planned visit by Pope Francis in May. Limited sanctions initiated two weeks ago caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a trip to Latin America. Damage to Israel’s economy due to the work dispute has totaled millions of dollars.”

Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Warplane

The Associated Press reported on March 23:

“Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian warplane Sunday after it violated the country’s airspace, Turkey’s prime minister said, in a move likely to ramp up tensions between two countries already deeply at odds over Syria’s civil war. A spokesman for Syria’s military confirmed the incident, denouncing it as a ‘blatant aggression.’ The unnamed spokesman quoted on Syrian state TV said the plane was hit while pursuing gunmen near the border, and that the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft.

“Top NATO commander says Moldovan region is vulnerable as Russia masses forces on Ukraine’s eastern border. Turkey, once an ally of Syria, has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Syrian President Bashar Assad and is now one of the main backers of the 3-year-old rebellion against him. Hostilities have flared along the border on several occasions, although the exchanges of fire have generally been brief and very limited in scope…

“Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at a rally in northwestern Turkey a week ahead of local elections, congratulated the Turkish military. ‘If you violate our border, our slap will be hard,’ he said.”

Turkey—biblical Edom—will cooperate with Europe, but its brutal methods will be condemned by God.

Turkey Blocks Internet Access

Deutsche Welle reported on March 27:

“Authorities attempted to restrict access to video-sharing website YouTube on Thursday ‘as a precaution,’ Technology Minister Fikri Isik said… Just hours earlier an audio file was published on YouTube of a recording of a security meeting at which top government, military and spy officials had discussed a possible plan for military action inside Syria…

“The European Union’s top official for digital affairs called Turkey’s action on Thursday ‘desperate and depressing.’ ‘I express my support for all those supporters of real freedom and democracy,’ EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement. ‘We in Europe stand for an open Internet and free expression on it,’ Kroes said… Turkey also has the largest number of jailed journalists in the world.”

But Not Just in Turkey

Infowars reported on March 23:

“A major anti-Obama YouTube channel with 55 million views was shut down yesterday just days after a new policy went into effect handing governments the power to flag ‘extremist’ content on the video sharing website.  Media commentator and activist Mark Dice, whose channel had 55 million views and 265,000 subscribers, had his account suspended yesterday for what YouTube described as ‘severe terms of service violations’. The channel was not deleted due to copyright issues…

“The most popular videos on Dice’s channel lambasted supporters of Barack Obama. Dice had built up a reputation for his ‘man on the street’ videos which featured him getting Obama supporters to sign petitions that called for a number of insane proposal…

“After Dice made a video drawing attention to the censorship on his back-up channel, that too was deleted despite having zero strikes against it… Attempts to get an explanation for why the channel was deleted have proven fruitless.

“Dice’s YouTube channel was also deleted after parent company Google gave some 200 government and police organizations ‘super flagger’ powers enabling them to flag up to 20 videos for review and possible removal.”

Subsequently, Infowars reported:

“UPDATE: About 3 hours after this article was posted and following a wave of public pressure, Mark Dice’s channel was restored by YouTube.”

Controversial Court Decision in Egypt against Muslim Brotherhood

BBC News wrote on March 23:

“Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested. In a case centred on the killing of a single police officer, more than 520 defendants have been sentenced to death, at a breathtaking pace… The verdict now goes to Egypt’s supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti (a senior Islamic scholar), for approval or rejection…

“The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced death sentences and Washington expressed shock and concern… The Muslim Brotherhood’s spokesman in London, Abdullah el-Haddad, told the BBC the sentences showed that Egypt was now a dictatorship… The US government also questioned how the defendants could have had a fair trial in just two court sessions – one of which was Monday’s sentencing.”

Another consequence of the “Arab Spring”—a movement destined to failure from the outset.

Homosexuality Non-Pardonable Offense in Ethiopia?

The Washington Times wrote on March 25:

“Lawmakers in Ethiopia are about to pass a law that lists homosexuality as a crime for which there is no forgiveness — a stipulation that would have dramatic impact on those seeking amnesty or pardon. Specifically, the new rule would list homosexuality as a ‘non-pardonable’ offense under the country’s amnesty law, The Associated Press reported.

“The nation already has strict same-sex prohibitions. Those found guilty of engaging in sex acts with others of the same gender can be sentenced up to 15 years in prison. Those who engage in same-sex acts and infect another with HIV can be imprisoned up to 25 years, AP reported. The new law would mean that the president would not be able to pardon anybody convicted of those offenses — in much the same manner the law prohibits the president from granting freedom to anyone convicted of terrorism.

“Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers has already given the thumbs-up to the proposal, and it’s largely expected to pass with a wide majority during a scheduled vote next week, AP said.”

What to Do With Chemical Weapons

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 21:

“Even as the United States pushes Syria to surrender its chemical weapons for destruction in a matter of months, this country has struggled for decades with its own deadly stockpiles.

“Redstone Arsenal, in the swampy lowlands of northern Alabama, is the largest of the 249 sites in 40 states and territories where chemical weapons remain buried and await cleanup at a cost of billions of dollars. Just outside the Redstone gates is Huntsville, a city of nearly 200,000 residents.

“As World War II ended, the United States military collected chemical weapons from Nazi Germany and Japan, as well as from British and American stockpiles. A million chemical weapon munitions marked for storage or disposal were shipped to Redstone, where the U.S. had produced blister agents and other chemical weapons during the war… Today a toxic stew of some of the most lethal weapons ever devised rests beneath the surface: Nazi mustard, a liquid blister agent. Lewisite, another blister agent. Adamsite, a vomiting agent. And possibly Nazi tabun, a nerve agent. Also buried are containers of white phosphorus, chlorine, smoke bombs, tear gas and incendiary bombs…

“President Nixon declared a moratorium on new production of chemical weapons in 1969. In 1985, the U.S. declared its chemical weapons stockpiles obsolete and said they should be destroyed. By the time the U.S. in 1997 signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty outlawing production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their precursors, the country was stuck not only with buried weapons at sites such as Redstone, but also with stockpiles totaling 31,500 tons of chemicals in mortar and artillery shells, rockets and other lethal weapons. Most contained mustard or the nerve agents sarin and VX.

“In 1990, the process of incinerating those weapons began at eight sites in the U.S. and on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific. Nearly 90% of the job was completed by April 2012, leaving only two chemical weapons stockpiles, in Pueblo, Colo., and Blue Grass, Ky. Disposal by incineration was halted because of environmental concerns, and the remaining 10% is now set to be destroyed by a chemical process. The rough target dates for completion are 2017 for the Colorado stockpile and 2021 to 2023 for the one in Kentucky…

“The U.S. has rid itself of some chemical weapons by burying them at sea. There were about 72 separate disposals in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and Mediterranean Sea. Dumping chemical weapons at sea was banned by Congress in 1972, but there is no plan to clean up the underwater sites…”

The curse of chemical weapons will haunt the nations—including America—for a long time.

The Washington Mudslide

BBC News reported on March 27:

“The number of fatalities in a mudslide in Washington state will rise ‘substantially’ in the next two days, authorities say. Sixteen bodies have been recovered and another nine bodies have been found but not yet retrieved. Some 90 people remain missing after the 177ft (54m) wall of mud hit the town of Oso, north of Seattle…

“The mudslide on Saturday destroyed about 30 houses, temporarily damming a river and leaving a square mile field of muck and debris in its wake. ‘This disaster is so enormous, I sometimes think even the pictures don’t always do it justice,’ said Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents the area… The mile debris field is pocked with deep pits of water and strewn with sharp and dangerous wreckage, including fallen trees, propane and septic tanks, destroyed vehicles and smashed timber.”

USA Plans to Surrender Control over the Internet

Newsmax wrote on March 23:

“Former President Bill Clinton objects to the Obama administration’s plan to give up the United States’ control over online domain names and addresses saying that the country’s agencies have done a good job keeping the Internet free and open. ‘A lot of people… have been trying to take this authority from the U.S. for the sole purpose of cracking down on Internet freedom and limiting it and having governments protect their backsides instead of empowering the people,’ Clinton said…

“And although National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s revelations gave ‘new energy’ to an international opinion that the United States should not be in control of domain names, Clinton disagrees, saying that he does not believe the control should be spread out among other nations… The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers… has been in charge of managing Internet addresses since 1998.

“… opponents [to the plan to surrender US control] say the plan opens the door for totalitarian governments such as Russia and China to gain more control over the Internet… ‘I understand in theory why we would like to have a multi-stakeholder process,’ said Clinton. ‘I favor that. I just know that a lot of these so-called multi-stakeholders are really governments that want to gag people and restrict access to the Internet.’”

The Religious US Supreme Court

The Washington Post wrote on March 23:

“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. are devout Catholics who faced questions during their confirmation hearings about how their faith would affect their jurisprudence. Justice Clarence Thomas is a former seminarian who says God saved his life.

“Justice Antonin Scalia is the most outspoken. He has urged fellow intellectuals to be ‘fools for Christ’ and used an interview last fall to underscore his belief in the existence of the Devil, whose latest maneuver, he said, ‘is getting people not to believe in him or in God.’

“Justice Elena Kagan, not religious like the others, nonetheless has reminded Jewish groups that she undertook years of three-days-a-week religious instruction as a child. She negotiated with her rabbi to be the first girl to have a bat mitzvah at New York City’s Lincoln Square Synagogue…

“Much attention has been given to the religious makeup of the current edition of the Roberts court. With six Catholics and three Jews, it is the first without a Protestant member.”

Francis and Obama – a Lot in Common

Religious News Service reported on March 22:

“President Obama is to meet Pope Francis for the first time next week (March 27) as Obama wraps up a European tour, a high-profile encounter between two major world leaders that appears to carry especially high stakes from the U.S. perspective… the two men have a lot in common… Ken Hackett, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See… said there’s no doubt that Francis and Obama differ on issues like abortion rights and gay marriage. But neither he nor Vatican officials expect those wedges to dominate the discussions, nor would either camp want them to sidetrack the meeting…

“Instead, the talks are likely to be governed by two other realities. The first is that Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has clearly signaled that he wants the Catholic Church’s public witness to focus less on culture war issues and more on addressing income inequality and helping the poor and society’s outcasts — which dovetails with Obama’s priorities…

“A second factor shaping the upcoming Vatican meeting is the sudden eruption of violence in global hot spots. Obama has been drawn somewhat reluctantly into the foreign policy arena while he would prefer to focus on domestic issues at home. Francis, meanwhile, has sought to push the Vatican back onto the world stage as a voice for peace and a diplomatic player that can play a concrete role as well as providing moral and spiritual guidance…

“Hackett also noted that Francis’ planned visit to the Holy Land in May will give the Vatican another high-profile role in a volatile region at the same time Kerry is trying to develop a framework for peace… Vatican officials often speak highly of Obama in private conversations, and even when they disagree with him they do so in terms that are far less caustic and charged than the language many U.S. bishops use.

“For his part, Obama has gone out of his way to praise and quote the pope. That’s no surprise: Obama got his start as a community organizer working with the Archdiocese of Chicago fresh out of college — an experience that helped shape his views and politics much as Francis’ ministry as a priest and bishop in poor areas in Argentina shaped him…”

Some of the “similarities” are quite revealing…

Reuters added on March 27:

“Calling himself ‘a great admirer’, President Barack Obama held nearly an hour of private talks about the global situation with Pope Francis on Thursday and invited the pontiff to visit the White House… Ahead of the meeting, Obama told the Corriere della Sera that Francis’s ‘great moral authority’ had added weight to calls to redress the increasing imbalance between the winners and losers of globalization and economic change… Francis has turned his back on much of the traditional formality of the Vatican but he deployed the full weight of state ceremonial on Thursday, welcoming the U.S. President outside the Papal Library in the richly frescoed Small Throne Room, where they shook hands warmly before beginning their private meeting.”

… but Differences Remain!

The Washington Times wrote on March 27:

“President Obama’s first meeting with Pope Francis produced a little schism of its own. The Vatican and White House gave starkly different versions Thursday of Mr. Obama’s meeting with Francis… Mr. Obama deflected a reporter’s question about the extent of his discussion with the pope on the contraceptive mandate by saying that Francis ‘actually did not touch in detail’ on the subject. The administration has been locked in a lengthy legal and political battle with the U.S. Catholic Church hierarchy over Obamacare and issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

“The Vatican, however, issued a statement after the meeting saying the president’s discussions with Francis and two other top Vatican officials focused ‘on questions of particular relevance for the [Catholic] Church in [the United States], such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection’ — issues that have fueled divisions between Mr. Obama and the church.”

Bizarre Twist in Disappearance of Malaysian Airplane

Breitbart wrote on March 16:
 
“As the possibility… grows that Malaysia Airlines flight 370 may have been hijacked and taken to a hidden location, Israeli authorities are preparing for the possibility that the hijackers might attempt to use the Boeing 777 to mount an attack. According to the Times of Israel, Israel’s Channel 2 has revealed that Israeli air defenses have been boosted, and approaching civilian aircraft will be asked to identify themselves far earlier.
 
“Though the flight was presumed at first to have crashed, whole or in pieces, into the ocean, passive satellite transmissions from the aircraft suggest that it made a deliberate course change and may have headed north into central Asia. Pakistan has already said that the flight never registered on its radar, but at least one expert has suggested the flight could have landed in Bangladesh, whose air defenses presumably would be weaker.
 
“Though the possibility that the Boeing 777 could be used in a terror attack is mere speculation, it is evidently being taken seriously by Israel. A plane filled with nuclear material would not need to be in Israeli airspace long to do catastrophic damage, even if shot down…”

The Washington Times wrote on March 16:

“The disappearance this month of a Malaysian jetliner was a result of ‘an intentional, deliberate act,’ the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said as more details emerged Sunday about the circumstances behind Flight 370. ‘This was not an accident. It was an intentional, deliberate act to bring down this airplane,’ Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican, said on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ adding that mysteries about the plane’s disappearance continue to develop….

“Mr. McCaul said no evidence suggests terrorism but such a possibility shouldn’t be ruled out. He said the investigation is pointing toward actions on the part of the pilot and co-pilot, but the motivation and the intent are unclear. The scheduled destination was Beijing, but the plane could have been diverted north toward Kazakhstan or, more likely, south toward Australia and Indonesia, he said. ‘Now, two scenarios are here,’ he said. ‘One is the plane ran out of fuel and landed in the ocean… The other one is, it landed in a country like Indonesia, where it could be used later on as a cruise missile, as the 9/11 hijackers did.’…

“Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the possibility of terrorism was being investigated.”

CNN wrote on March 18:

“A law enforcement official told CNN Tuesday that the aircraft’s first turn to the west was almost certainly programmed by somebody in the cockpit. There is no indication of when the coordinates were entered into the computer. It could have been done during the flight or, as is more common, during preflight preparations, the official said… a leading theory from Malaysian investigators [claims that the] missing plane veered off course in a deliberate act by someone who knew what they were doing. But investigators still don’t know who was at the controls, or why whoever was flying the plane apparently took it far from its original destination.”

Newsmax reported on March 19:

“Iranian intelligence officials may be behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 earlier this month, former El Al Airlines security chief Isaac Yeffet says…  ‘They will land [the aircraft] in [a]place that nobody will know… Yeffet, who is also a former member of the Israeli Secret Service, believes the two passengers traveling with stolen passports may be a key part of the mystery, despite authorities discounting their culpability.

“‘With them [was] an Iranian man [who] said [he] was a businessman but this Iranian went to purchase three tickets for the three of them and paid cash,’ he said. ‘Who pays cash money, in the last 20 years, to purchase three tickets… For us, it’s immediately a suspicious sign. They boarded the flight without any difficulty and I am afraid if they had the plan to hijack the aircraft, inside the aircraft they will have more people to assist them.’

“Yeffet does not believe the Bejing-bound airliner, which had 239 passengers aboard, crashed into the sea. ‘If it was in the water we would find debris. History shows us that aircraft that crash in [the] ocean will be found immediately… if not the same day then the next day,’’ he said.”

Subsequently, it was claimed that debris from the crashed plane might have been located floating in the Indian Ocean.

John Kerry Betrays Israel

Breitbart wrote on March 14:
 
“On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress that it would be a ‘mistake’ to insist that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a condition of a peace agreement. That statement was a complete reversal of recent promises by Kerry and by President Barack Obama, and effectively makes a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians impossible. Yet the news was completely buried by the mainstream U.S. media… perhaps because journalists are disinclined to document the failure of Obama’s peace push, or perhaps because a story about him breaking a promise is nothing new.”
 
Sad indeed. The Jewish press did run the story, of course, shaming the US mass media. For instance, Haaretz wrote on March 13:
 
“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday that it is problematic for people to continue raising the issue of whether Palestinians would agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish state… Kerry added that the issue was resolved in 1947, referring to UN Resolution 181 that divided Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs, and reminded of former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state in 1988.

“According to the report, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said last week that the U.S. considers Israel as a Jewish state, but doesn’t require the Palestinians to do so. Kerry adopted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that Israel be recognized as a Jewish state back in December during a visit to Israel, and later turned to the Saudis and Jordan asking them to support Palestinian recognition. Last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made it clear there was ‘no way’ he would recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and later the Arab League came out in support of his statement.”

America’s back-paddling on the issue of the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state only shows its total lack of decisive leadership. Another example can be seen in America’s unsuccessful attempts to accomplish anything in regard to the Ukraine crisis. Note the next articles.

The Crimea Debacle —“Heim ins Reich” [“Back Home into the Empire”]

BBC News wrote on March 16:

“[97 %] of voters in Crimea have supported joining Russia… in a disputed referendum… Russia’s Vladimir Putin has said he will respect the Crimean people’s wishes. Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum, and the EU and US condemned it as illegal…

“Sergei Aksyonov, Crimea’s leader installed last month after the Russian takeover, celebrated the referendum on stage in Simferopol. Backed by the Russian national anthem, Russian flags, and the personnel of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, he told supporters that Crimea was ‘going home’… Some 58% of people in Crimea are ethnic Russian, with the rest made up of Ukrainians and Tatars. Most of the Tatars that the BBC spoke to said they had boycotted the vote, and felt that life under the Kremlin would be worse…

“The Tatars were deported to Central Asia by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. They were only able to return with the fall of the Soviet Union and many want to remain in Ukraine. But the referendum did not have an option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged. Voters were asked whether they wanted to join Russia, or have greater autonomy within Ukraine.

“Away from the Crimea region, unrest continued in the south-east Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Pro-Russian protesters stormed the prosecutor’s building shouting ‘Donetsk is a Russian city’, and then broke into the local security services headquarters for the second time in two days…”

Putin might very well use this “unrest” for justification of continued occupation of additional parts of Ukraine, knowing that the West sees no options to stop him. Ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will combine their military forces AGAINST the EU.

Crimea Parliament Declares Independence from Russia

BBC News wrote on March 17:

“Crimea’s parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation…

“According to the declaration approved by Crimean MPs, the region: becomes an independent state and applies to formally join Russia, with some autonomy; will adopt the Russia rouble as its currency within a month; will move to Moscow time (GMT+4 and two hours ahead of Kiev time) on 30 March; [and] will offer Crimean soldiers the chance to join Russian military.”

Putin Signs “Treaty” of Accession with Crimea; Declares Kiev as Mother of all Russian Cities

The Washington Post wrote on March 18:

“Invoking the suffering of the Russian people and a narrative of constant betrayals by the West, President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Russia was within its rights to reclaim Crimea, then signed a treaty that did just that. Putin, defiant in the face of U.S. and European pressure, dispensed with legal deliberation and announced a swift annexation of Crimea, as if to put Europe’s most serious crisis in decades beyond the point where the results could be turned back…

“Putin declared that Russia has no interest in expanding its hold within Ukraine… But he also said that Russia would always be ready to stand up for the rights of fellow Russians living in other countries. He mentioned, seemingly in passing, that Russians in eastern Ukraine, in the cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk, had been subject to the same sort of abuse at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists that he said had led him to act on Crimea…

“He also touched on Russians’ roots in the Ukrainian heartland, in a way that many Ukrainians may not have found reassuring. ‘We sympathize with the people of Ukraine,’ he said. ‘We’re one nation. Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities.’…”

Following the signing of the “treaty,” violence erupted in Crimea. According to Deutsche Welle, dated March 18, “Ukraine’s military says a base in Crimea has been stormed with one serviceman killed… The Ukrainian premier says the crisis has now become a military one… Kyiv [Kiev], which blamed Russia for the attack, authorized Ukrainian troops to use weapons if necessary to defend themselves… ‘Today, Russian soldiers began shooting at Ukrainian servicemen,’ said Yatseniuk. ‘This is a war crime.’” CNN added that “Ukraine’s defense ministry authorized its forces to open fire.”

Subsequently, on March 19, Reuters reported: “Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag.”

John Kerry Fails in Ukraine Crisis

Prior to the “referendum,” Deutsche Welle reported on March 14:

“Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have failed to resolve differences over Crimea… ‘We have no common vision of the situation. Differences remain,’ Lavrov said…”

The referendum was of course a manipulated effort to justify Russia’s continued occupation of the Crimean peninsula, but while it is true that a majority of Russians living there wanted to be annexed by Russia (one is reminded of the vast majority of Austrians supporting Austria’s Anschluss to Nazi Germany), it is also true that the Russian military apparatus employed terror measures to “persuade” the people of Crimea NOT to vote against Russian occupation, as the next articles show.

NATO Allies Criticize USA

The Washington Times wrote on March 18:

“NATO members criticized Washington for getting caught off guard by Russia’s military buildup… Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told Mr. Biden directly that Russia’s actions should not have come as a surprise, given Moscow’s significant increase in military spending… Estonian President Toomas Ilves told Mr. Biden that Russia’s action in Crimea should be a wake-up call… Mr. Biden tried to reject the suggestion that the U.S., in the midst of defense cutbacks, was allowing Russia to gain a strategic advantage…

“Mr. Ilves also sounded a note of discontent about the U.S.-led response with sanctions… In Congress, Republicans increased their calls for the administration to consider sending military aid to Ukraine and to reassess the U.S. relationship with Russia.” 

Russia’s Terror Regime in Crimea

The New York Times wrote on March 14:

“With a mix of targeted intimidation [and] an expansive military occupation by unmistakably elite Russian units… Crimea has been swept almost instantaneously into the Kremlin’s fold. This has happened well ahead of the referendum… Organizers of counterprotests have been threatened and in some cases disappeared…

“Crimean journalists have been ordered not to describe the soldiers on their soil as Russian or to use the word ‘occupation.’ And foreign and local journalists have been beaten and had their materials confiscated by uniformed men who are not officially connected to any government.

“Civilian airline flights to and from Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, have been blocked. The Berkut riot police, disbanded in February under accusations of brutality by Ukraine, the state they once served, have regrouped in Crimea, where they stand as enforcers of the new authorities’ will. All the while, Ukrainian government centers are blockaded by a mix of Russian troops and men identifying themselves as their supporters.

“… the Kremlin… has ensured that most anyone who might publicly resist secession is marginalized or discouraged…”

These methods are indeed similar to Gestapo activities in Germany prior to, and during World War II. And as the world did nothing then, so nothing is being done now. Chancellor Merkel of Germany placed Russia and the world on notice that European military actions are not an option. Even though some concerned German residents with Ukrainian roots hit the streets on Saturday to voice their disapproval of Putin’s occupation tactics, many short-sighted Germans are apparently indifferent as to what is happening in Ukraine and don’t seem to care whether or not a WORLD WAR breaks out. Indeed, this world is sound asleep.

Bloomberg reported on March 16:  “Russia has deployed about 60,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, the government in Kiev said. Ukraine closed border crossings to Russia and will mobilize as many as 15,000 volunteers in the next 15 days to defend the nation, officials said today.”

Of course, Ukraine alone has NO military chance against Russia, and since the West made it clear that it will not militarily intervene, Ukraine is as good as gone.

Crimea Just the Beginning

The Financial Times wrote on March 16:

“Crimea is now occupied by Russia – in violation of all norms of international law and treaties signed by Moscow itself. Russia is rapidly emerging as a rogue state…

“Crimea is a tasty slice of historic Russia – a region with the best resorts, beautiful scenery and strategically important military bases. Whoever controls Crimea controls the Black Sea… The invasion of Crimea cannot be explained with concern for the Russian-speaking people of Crimea. Russia’s rulers do not even care about their own people, robbing them cynically. Why would they suddenly care about their kinsmen in Crimea? And nobody has oppressed the Russians in Crimea…

“Mr Putin’s goals are far beyond the Crimean peninsula. First, Moscow’s rulers are terrified that Ukraine’s Maidan protest movement could replicate itself in Russia. The fate of Viktor Yanukovich, the ousted Ukrainian president, frightens them. They are also frightened by the tough anti-communist spirit of the Maidan. The revolution is taking place amid collapsing monuments to Soviet leaders: Lenin, Kirov, Dzerzhinsky. But in neighbouring Russia, 25 years after the ban of the Communist party, Grandpa Lenin is still resting in his mausoleum on Red Square, his monuments still stand. In Russia, we have a metamorphosis of the Communist order; in Ukraine, a decisive parting from it.

“This scares the KGB officers in charge of Russia today. It is also one of the reasons why the Russian media has branded the Maidan participants ‘fascists’. It is a logic familiar to many older Russians: if you oppose the Soviet Union, you are a fascist. Such was the custom in the Stalinist era; it has been now reborn…

“Second, Mr Putin is well aware of the Brezhnev doctrine – the principle of limited sovereignty of the involuntary allies of what was then the Soviet Union. The USSR kept its satellites on a leash, the length of which could  [be] adjusted according to taste… But even more important is the belief that, in the countries of the former Soviet Union, it is Moscow that must define the rules of the game. Ukraine, like Poland in 1981, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Hungary in 1956, rose up against this principle of limited sovereignty. And the Russians want to bring Ukraine to heel, just as they did with its western neighbours…

“So the occupation of Crimea is only a means for the current political regime in Russia – a means towards goals that are extremely dangerous for Europe, for Ukraine and for the Russian people itself.”

Der Spiegel Online added on March 19:

“It’s not only in Crimea where Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing with fire, but also in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the people in the economically powerful region speak Russian and reject the new government in Kiev.”

Consequences of Putin’s Invasion

Breitbart wrote on March 17:

“Russia has pushed the ‘reset’ button all right, resetting history and geography to take the Crimea back, while the U.S. and the European Union do virtually nothing… The weakness of the west in facing the Russian seizure of the Crimea is likely to have a significant geopolitical effect, both in the short term and long term. Here are five of the most likely consequences of the ‘Crimea reset’:

“1. China advances claims over territory and airspace. An aggressively nationalist China was already moving to broaden its air defenses and its claims to the Senkaku Islands, despite U.S. plans to ‘pivot’ from the Middle East to the western Pacific. It will now be even more assertive, knowing there are few consequences.

“2. Al Qaeda steps up its attempts to create an Islamic caliphate. The Obama administration, having dispatched Osama bin Laden, has left Al Qaeda to expand across Africa and the Middle East. Those hoping to establish an Islamic state in the ruins of Syria and Iraq will be encouraged by the failure of the west to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine, because the artificial borders of the Middle East seem even more vulnerable now.

“3. Israel plans for completely unilateral action on Iran. It is clearer than ever before that the Obama administration has no ability to enforce its own ‘red lines’ and no will to risk armed conflict. Israel will likely set aside the task of obtaining U.S. approval for a pre-emptive strike on Iran and will make independent plans–perhaps in coordination with Saudi Arabia, which has likewise learned that Obama is not to be trusted.

“4. Europe gets serious about fracking… the EU has realized that energy independence is vital to its security. It will start to reject pseudo-scientific ‘green’ arguments in favor of oil and gas development.

“5. Russia continues to challenge U.S. allies and create crisis. The Crimea crisis is hardly over, and may reach other parts of Ukraine, as well as NATO allies in Eastern Europe, as Putin tries the same trick again. He is also expanding Russian influence into Latin America…”

America Disappoints…

An article by The Associated Press, dated March 18, seems to support the concerns of Israel, stating:

“Israel cannot depend on the United States to lead any action against Iran’s nuclear program and can only rely on itself, the country’s defense minister said in remarks published Tuesday… the defense minister alleged American influence is waning in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine over the crisis there. ‘Weakness certainly does not pay in the world,’ he said. ‘… I hope the U.S. will come to its senses.’”

JTA added on March 19:

“In response, a [US] senior administration official told Israeli media, ‘We were shocked by Moshe Yaalon’s comments, which seriously call into question his commitment to Israel’s relationship with the United States. Moreover, this is part of a disturbing pattern in which the defense minister disparages the U.S. administration and insults its most senior officials. ‘Given the unprecedented commitment that this administration has made to Israel’s security,’ the unnamed official said, ‘we are mystified why the defense minister seems intent on undermining the relationship.’”

The Obama Administration seems to be delusional and sound asleep, not realizing reality. The USA imposed toothless sanctions on seven Russian and four Ukrainian officials, as well as a Russian bank, and the EU could only agree on 21 officials, while some had originally proposed to enact sanctions against at least 100 persons. Later, the EU added another 12 individuals to their list. None of the sanctions are targeting Putin. In fact, Putin laughed about and ridiculed them, while announcing sanctions in retaliation against U.S. White House officials and Senators. However, the EU and especially Germany might become bolder in their action. Note the next article.

Will Europe Impose Serious Sanctions?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 17:

“The EU has imposed new sanctions to prevent Vladimir Putin from further escalating the crisis in Ukraine. Berlin has played a leading role in the punitive actions, despite protests from the German business community. There’s no turning back for Merkel… Despite pressure from many European Union member states and the US, Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel initially managed to prevent swifter sanctions. They wanted to attempt to resolve the Crimean crisis through talks. The strategy ultimately failed because of Putin’s intransigence…

“Both the Americans and the Europeans have ruled out the possibility of a military response and instead want to strike Putin where he is most vulnerable: Russia’s economic dependency on the West…  The main role here also continues to lie with Germany. The reason is simple: The country has very close business relations with Russia and has the greatest capacity to exert pressure… Economic warfare could prove expensive for Germany. And this puts Merkel in a difficult situation since she may be forced to push through political measures that harm her country’s business interests. Now that it has made a claim to leadership, Berlin can’t simply retract it.

“The sanctions the EU imposed against Russia on Monday in response to Sunday’s Crimea referendum remain moderate. The plan involves freezing bank accounts and issuing travel bans against 21 Russian and Crimean politicians. If Putin continues to escalate the situation, however, more decisive action could follow…

“The consequences would be serious — for both sides. Last year, Germany and Russia had trade in goods of close to €77 billion ($107 billion). Russia primarily supplies petroleum and natural gas to Germany. Germany, on the other hand, exports mechanical engineering products, medicines, trains and automobiles to Russia. More than 6,000 German companies are registered in Russia and, together, they have invested €20 billion in recent years. German chemical giant BASF has holdings in Siberian gas fields and Russian gas monopoly Gazprom obtained natural gas storage facilities in the state of Lower Saxony in exchange.

“Without special chemicals from Germany, it would be difficult for Russia to refine its crude oil. It would be a shattering blow to supplies for Putin’s massive country if Merkel were to turn the screws on Germany-Russian economic relations. At the same time, Germany’s business community would also have to assume some severe losses…

“It is unlikely that such punitive measures would go unanswered by Russia; Putin has not been shy about threatening retaliation. A senator with his United Russia party is now calling for the expropriation of foreign companies doing business in the country. Moscow could respond by freezing bank accounts held in Russian banks as well as seizing assets…

“In Berlin, all officials can do is guess at just how far Putin might be willing to go… high-ranking diplomats believe it is… conceivable that Moscow might attempt to destabilize other regions like the Baltics or the Caucuses by using economic pressure or the presence of strong Russian minorities in countries in those places…”

Ukraine—Not All As It May Seem

The EUObserver reported on March 18:

“With Russia’s ratification of the Crimea bill to be completed by the end of next week, the annexation looks like a fait accompli. But there are fears Putin will go further.  He also told MPs that ethnic Russians in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kiev are ‘still’ appealing for his help and he described Kiev as the ‘mother of all Russian cities … ancient Russia, our common source.’

“He has amassed military forces on Ukraine’s north and eastern borders. If he is going to absorb Crimea, he will also need to take control of the electricity and water infrastructure which feeds it and which is located on the Ukrainian mainland…

“Yushchenko… warned the West that all may not be as it seems in Ukraine. Some Russian media reports say Yushchenko’s old rival, former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, cut a deal with Putin – to give him Crimea in return for helping her to regain power… Yushchenko said it is ‘quite strange’ that Ukraine’s Tymoshenko-dominated government has done nothing to secure the Crimean electricity and water infrastructure on the mainland.

“He said it is equally strange Ukraine did not close its border with Russia to stop Russian nationals from going to pro-Russia rallies in Donetsk and Kharkiv. ‘I belong to this group of people [who believe there is a Putin-Tymoshenko deal],’ Yushchenko said. ‘This is one of the biggest mysteries for Europeans … The line of relations between these two people have been significantly underestimated and Europe risks falling into their traps,’ he added.”

Ukraine Crisis–Parallel with the Crimean War of 1853…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 14:

“The Crimean War of 1853-1856… which ultimately consumed well over half a million lives, began when Russia sent 80,000 troops into the Ottoman-controlled Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Russia argued that it had the right and obligation to act as the guardian of orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire, much as it today claims the right to safeguard the interests of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine…

“NATO, as the alliance formed to protect Western interests in the Cold War, is focused firmly on the global balance of power, just as the Crimean coalition was in the 1850s. NATO and the EU are not coextensive and not identical in their interests. When the Americans, the Poles and the Baltic states proposed the extension of NATO membership to Georgia and Ukraine in 2008, France and Germany objected, just as Prussia refused to join the anti-Russian Western coalition of 1854-5…

“The Ukrainian emergency is a reminder of how quickly events can undo the best-laid plans and produce unforeseen constellations…”

The Bible warns that oblivious people will be caught by surprise when they are being hit by another World War…which will threaten to annihilate all human life on this planet.

Libya Is Falling Apart… and Western Powers and Media Are Much to Be Blamed

The Independent wrote on March 16:

“Without a central government with any real power, Libya is falling apart. And this is happening almost three years after 19 March 2011 when the French air force stopped Mu’ammer Gaddafi’s counter-offensive to crush the uprising in Benghazi. Months later, his burnt-out tanks still lay by the road to the city. With the United States keeping its involvement as low-profile as possible, Nato launched a war in which rebel militiamen played a secondary, supportive role and ended with the overthrow and killing of Gaddafi.

“A striking feature of events in Libya in the past week is how little interest is being shown by leaders and countries which enthusiastically went to war in 2011 in the supposed interests of the Libyan people. President Obama has since spoken proudly of his role in preventing a ‘massacre’ in Benghazi at that time. But when the militiamen, whose victory Nato had assured, opened fire on a demonstration against their presence in Tripoli in November last year, killing at least 42 protesters and firing at children with anti-aircraft machine guns, there was scarcely a squeak of protest from Washington, London or Paris.

“Coincidentally, it was last week that Al-Jazeera broadcast the final episode in a three-year investigation of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988. For years this was deemed to be Gaddafi’s greatest and certainly best-publicised crime, but the documentary proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted of carrying out the bombing, was innocent. Iran, working through the Palestinian Front for The Liberation of Palestine – General Command, ordered the blowing up of Pan Am 103 in revenge for the shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane by the US navy earlier in 1988…

“This is not to defend Gaddafi, a maverick dictator who inflicted his puerile personality cult on his people, though he was never as bloodthirsty as Saddam Hussein or Hafez al-Assad. But the Nato powers that overthrew him – and by some accounts gave the orders to kill him – did not do so because he was a tyrannical ruler. It was rather because he pursued a quirkily nationalist policy backed by a great deal of money which was at odds with western policies in the Middle East. It is absurd to imagine that… the real objective of the war was to replace Gaddafi with a secular democracy…

“Libya is imploding. Its oil exports have fallen from 1.4 million barrels a day in 2011 to 235,000 barrels a day. Militias hold 8,000 people in prisons, many of whom say they have been tortured. Some 40,000 people from the town of Tawergha south of Misrata were driven from their homes which have been destroyed…  Libya is a land of regional, tribal, ethnic warlords who are often simply well-armed racketeers exploiting their power and the absence of an adequate police force. Nobody is safe: the head of Libya’s military police was assassinated in Benghazi in October while Libya’s first post-Gaddafi prosecutor general was shot dead in Derna on 8 February. Sometimes the motive for the killing is obscure, such as the murder last week of an Indian doctor, also in Derna, which may lead to an exodus of 1,600 Indian doctors who have come to Libya since 2011 and on whom its health system depends.

“Western and regional governments share responsibility for much that has happened in Libya, but so too should the media. The Libyan uprising was reported as a simple-minded clash between good and evil. Gaddafi and his regime were demonised and his opponents treated with a naïve lack of scepticism and enquiry. The foreign media have dealt with the subsequent collapse of the Libyan state since 2011 mostly by ignoring it, though politicians have stopped referring to Libya as an exemplar of successful foreign intervention…”

Evidence for a Big Bang?

The Associated Press reported on March 18:

“Researchers say they have spotted evidence that a split-second after the Big Bang, the newly formed universe ballooned out at a pace so astonishing that it left behind ripples in the fabric of the cosmos… The discovery ‘gives us a window on the universe at the very beginning,’ when it was far less than one-trillionth of a second old, said theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who was not involved in the work. ‘It’s just amazing,’ Krauss said. ‘You can see back to the beginning of time.’”

As we explain in our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—A Fairy Tale for Adults,” the big bang theory is by no means an accurate explanation of the beginning of the universe. However, what it does admit is that the universe HAD a beginning! With this admission, it totally contradicts the Theory of Evolution. The Bible tells us of course WHY the universe had a beginning. It had a beginning and did not always exist BECAUSE GOD created it: “In the beginning, God created the heavens—the universe—and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Pope Benedict and Pope Francis

Zenit wrote on March 19:

“Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s private secretary, has disclosed that Pope Francis asked his predecessor to write down a critique of the interview he gave the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica last August. The German archbishop, who is also Prefect of the Papal Household under Pope Francis, told the German television channel ZDF over the weekend that, after the interview was published in September, the Pope gave him the interview, instructing him to take it to Benedict XVI so he could ‘read it and write down any criticism he may have.’

“The Pope Emeritus ‘did his homework,’ Archbishop Gänswein continued. ‘He read it and, in accordance with his successor’s request, he did indeed offer some thoughts and some remarks on certain comments or certain questions on which he thought something additional could perhaps be said in another context.’…

“The interview drew controversy, especially over the Pope’s comments on abortion, contraception and same-sex ‘marriage’ … Archbishop Gänswein said the Francis and Benedict ‘have a very good relationship,’ adding that ‘clearly they are in accordance with regard to the substance… There is a marked and visible difference with regard to presentation…’”

It was also reported that both popes are expected to be present and participate in the upcoming sanctification ceremony for the canonization of Pope John Paul II in April.

“Repent or Receive God’s Fiery Judgment”

The Hill wrote on March 7:

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) didn’t disguise his presidential ambitions on Thursday… ‘These are the things that I know. I know there is a God, and I know this nation would not exist had he not been the midwife of its birth. And I know that this nation exists by the providence of his hand, and if this nation forgets our God, then God will have every right to forget us,’ Huckabee said. ‘I hope that we repent before we ever have to receive his fiery judgment.’…

“The speech from the Baptist pastor was predictably heavy on social issues. Huckabee warned that ‘a society that sacrifices its own children is no better than the ancient Philistines… I know that the IRS is a criminal enterprise,’ he said. ‘The best way to get the IRS off our backs and out of our lives is to enact a fair tax which will eliminate the IRS once and for all.’”

Sadly, the realistic view point is that based on the Bible, only very few Americans will repent—the overwhelming majority will continue to practice their ungodly ways, until God’s judgment will be poured out upon them. God was in fact bringing about the birth of this nation, but not for reasons usually assumed. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Germany vs. Russia

Der Spiegel wrote on March 10:

“Russia’s occupation of Crimea has violated international law and created a new crisis among world leaders. Now the EU and the US are fighting over the best means to address Russia’s reawakened expansionary ambitions…

“The United States and the EU approved initial sanctions against Moscow late last week, Washington sent military reinforcements to Poland and the Baltic countries and the German federal police promptly suspended half a dozen cooperative programs with Russia. On Sunday, the Polish Defense Minister announced that the US was sending 12 fighter jets to Poland.

“But aside from these measures, the situation has thus far been characterized by a horrifying sense of helplessness… the Kremlin leader has succeeded in one respect: He has divided the West…

“Political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of the renowned New York-based Eurasia Group… fears that the events in Ukraine could reflect a ‘broader geopolitical shift.’ Russia, Bremmer writes, will use the crisis as an opportunity to strengthen its ties with China. ‘We are in a world with a distinct and dangerous lack of global, coordinated leadership.’ Meanwhile, the Republicans are critical of the [US] president for engaging in a foreign policy in which ‘nobody believes in America’s strength anymore,’ as Senator John McCain bitterly notes…

“Germany is playing a key role in the Ukraine crisis. The chancellor has spoken with the Russian president by phone three times in the last few days, and the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has met three times with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in addition to almost daily telephone conversations. Last Monday, Steinmeier even made a trip to Geneva to speak with Lavrov in person and to keep the conversation going.

“This is in keeping with the new, more active German foreign policy Steinmeier announced in January. At the same time, the German government is also clearly feeling the limits of this policy…

“Merkel spoke with Putin by phone on the Friday before last, after pro-Russian militias had taken over government buildings in Crimea… In their telephone conversations, the chancellor and Putin have been unable to agree on any of the central issues, from events in Crimea to the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government… Even cabinet ministers are saying ‘Crimea is gone,’ and that the West should now focus on preventing the Russian president from creating more precedents in eastern Ukraine… Keeping eastern and western Ukraine together is currently Merkel’s most important goal.

“When German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel met with Putin in Moscow last week, he told the Kremlin leader that Russia would suffer considerably under sanctions. He also tried appealing to the Russian president on a personal level, saying it was now up to him, Putin, to prevent Europe from sliding into a new Cold War. But the Russian leader remained impassive.”

Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations will unite against a United States of Europe under German leadership.

Merkel Condemns Putin

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 13:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday issued her strongest condemnation yet of Moscow’s intervention in Crimea, calling it a clear breach of international law. ‘If Russia continues down the course of the past weeks, it would not only be a catastrophe for Ukraine,’ Merkel told the German parliament, the Bundestag. ‘As Russia’s neighbors, we would not only consider it a threat. It would not only change the relationship of the European Union as a whole with Russia,’ Merkel said.”

Ukraine’s Political Spectrum—Opening of Pandora’s Box?

The International Business Times wrote on March 7:

“Ukraine’s leader of the far-right Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) paramilitary movement Dmytro Yarosh has announced his presidential bid in elections planned for 25 May. The ultra-nationalist movement’s chairman Andriy Tarasenko said that Right Sector will also become a political party… ‘We remain the leaders of this revolution. We are mobilising, we are preparing to react to foreign aggression,’ Tarasenko added, claiming that the movement was ready for a full-scale war with Russia.

“A leading figure in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Yarosh advocated a ‘national revolution’ during the protests and dismissed ousted Viktor Yanukovich’s administration as an ‘internal occupational regime’. Yarosh, who considers the far-right Svoboda ‘too liberal’, wants to ban both the former ruling party (Party of Regions) and the Communist Party of Ukraine.

“Tarasenko distanced the movement from the pro-EU government led by interim president Oleksandr Turchinov… Russia opened a criminal investigation against Yarosh for incitement to extremism and terrorism. Right Sector was condemned by the US State Department for ‘inflaming conditions on the streets’… Yarosh revealed that the ultra-nationalist movement had amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons. The movement’s ideology, which rejects any foreign influence over Ukraine, borders on fascism…”

JTA added on March 7:

“Israel’s ambassador in Kiev, Reuven Din El, and a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist movement agreed to work together to ‘prevent provocations.’ The agreement came at the end of a meeting held last week between Din El and Dmitry Yarosh, the leader of the Right Sector paramilitary group, which participated in the overthrow of the government of President Viktor Yanukovych… Yarosh’s troops had a decisive role in the revolution that forced Yanukovych to flee to Russia…

“Yarosh said that ‘non-Ukrainians’ should be treated according to principles set forth by the late Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. A onetime ally of Nazi Germany who later turned against the Nazis, Bandera said non-Ukrainian allies should be treated as brothers and neutral parties should be respected.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center and other Jewish organizations have condemned the glorification in Ukraine of Bandera, whose troops are believed to have killed thousands of Jews when they were allies of the Nazis in 1941…

“Svoboda’s leader, Oleh Tyahnybok, has in the past referred to a ‘Moscow-Jewish mafia’ which he said ruled Ukraine.”

Taking these last two articles together, we see a very unfavorable picture emerging in Ukraine, which is not reported widely in the Western press. We might be reminded of the chaotic consequences of the “highly praised” Arab Spring. Are we seeing a repeat in Ukraine?

“Putin the Great” Enjoys All-Time High Approval Rating in Russia

Breitbart wrote on March 7:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin may have to endure the stern disapproval of U.S. President Barack Obama, and the occasional insult from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as a result of his invasion of Ukraine. But at home… [over] 70 percent of Russians support Putin’s tactics in the Crimea… even some Russian opposition leaders are praising Putin. One… claims, ‘If Putin returns Crimea to Russia without blood, he will go down in history as a great, and there’s nothing you can do about that’…

“Praise for ‘Putin the Great’ has not been universal. Former international chess champion Garry Kasparov, who is also an important Russian opposition figure, wrote… that Putin’s domestic political gains are the whole point…

“Although a U.S. Navy destroyer entered the Black Sea on Friday, and the west has extended economic aid [to] Ukraine while applying some sanctions to Russia, the global response to Putin has been symbolic at best…”

How Putin Controls the Russian Media

The Washington Times wrote on March 13:

“Russians looking to get a different perspective on the Ukraine crisis will essentially have to settle for whatever story Vladimir Putin tells them — the Kremlin banned four opposition websites on Thursday… The move comes on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State  John F. Kerry warned Russia that ‘there will be costs’ if Moscow continues to escalate the crisis in Ukraine.

“Former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov, whose website was taken down within Russia, tweeted: ‘Obviously Putin is preparing something drastic if he’s blacking out the last sources of truth in Russia. I fear for the safety of Ukraine.’”

The Russian Fighting Machine

The Washington Times wrote on March 6:

“President Vladimir Putin has turned a once-moribund Russian military into a lean, quick-strike force that can invade Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula… Mr. Putin has built a military that can unleash a force to reclaim territory lost in the Soviet empire’s demise…

“The re-emergence of the Russian bear has rattled Europe and the Obama administration… Moscow’s 2013 defense budget funds a 40 percent increase over the next three years… putting the Kremlin only behind the U.S. and China in military spending… ‘There is no great mobilization capacity in Russia today,” [Mr. Kipp, of the Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office] said. ‘What that means is, in a crisis, if the military gets into problems, the Kremlin has some very unappealing options. What they’ve been doing in their exercises is, when the conventional forces fail in defense, they go nuclear.’”

America Knew

NRP wrote on March 7:

“Senior U.S. officials were warned of imminent Russian military action in Crimea about a week before the troop movements that have sparked a major international crisis over Ukraine, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency tells NPR…

“Barely a week after the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine accused Russia of sending troops into Crimea… The action… has pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest level in years.”

Ukraine and Crimea—The Conflict Continues

Deutsche Welle reported on March 11:

“Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych has blamed his opponents for the crisis in Crimea. Meanwhile, Crimea has voted in favor of adopting a declaration of independence ahead of Sunday’s referendum to join Russia… Yanukovych, who surfaced in Russia after leaving Kyiv late last month, also reiterated that he was Ukraine’s legitimate president and would soon return… He also lashed out against the West for acting as ‘protectors of the dark forces’ currently in power…

“On Tuesday the European Commission agreed to offer Ukraine trade breaks worth about 500 million euros ($675 million) a year as an immediate gesture of support for Ukraine’s economy… The measure would need to be approved by EU leaders and the European Parliament.

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has assured ex-Soviet Baltic states that NATO and the EU stand behind them amid rising tensions over the crisis in Ukraine… Steinmeier said the EU would rather avoid confrontation with Russia but would have to prepare a response if the country did not back down… French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius… told the radio station France Inter that the planned referendum in Crimea on joining Russia would be illegal…”

Libya Slides Into Chaos—The Curse of the Arab Spring

Reuters reported on March 7:

“Two-and-a-half years after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, the oil-rich North African state [of Libya] is struggling to contain violence between rival forces, with Islamist militants gaining an ever-stronger grip on the south of the country… [W]ith violent disputes between rival tribal factions disrupting exports of Libyan oil, the lack of a stable political foundation is causing growing concern for energy-hungry western countries, several of which were involved in overthrowing the Gaddafi government.”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 11:

“Parliamentarians in Libya have passed a vote of no confidence in the country’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. It comes after a ship full of Libyan oil exported by a militia escaped into international waters. Libya’s Defense Minister Abdullah al-Thani will step in as the country’s premier for two weeks, until a permanent replacement is approved by the General National Congress… Authorities in Tripoli have struggled to control much of the country since a revolt in 2011 which led to the downfall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

“A multitude of former rebel militias have carved out their own areas of control, particularly in the oil-rich country’s east. Last October the now-former prime minister Ali Zeidan himself was briefly abducted by a militia group in Tripoli.”

These further consequences of the “Arab Spring” which was highly favored by the West, have only brought about more headaches, chaos and total confusion.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar at War with Iraq—The Curse of the Iraq War

AFP wrote on March 8:

“Saudi Arabia and Qatar are destabilising Iraq by supporting militant groups and have effectively declared war on the country, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said…‘They are attacking Iraq, through Syria, and in a direct way, and they announced the war on Iraq,’ the premier said in an interview with France 24, in a rare direct attack on the Sunni Gulf powers.”

America’s unrealistic wish and goal to bring democracy to Iraq has terribly back-fired and brought about complete chaos.

Arab League Refuses to Recognize Israel

JTA wrote on March 10:

“The Arab League refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in the framework of current peace talks with the Palestinians, as per Israel’s demand. On Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers released a resolution at a meeting in Cairo that supported the decision by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. ‘The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a ‘Jewish state,’” the resolution said…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the signing of a peace agreement contingent on the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the first prime minister to do so. The U.S.-backed peace talks are scheduled to end on April 29. Abbas has said he will not allow for an extension of the nine-month process.”

There will never be a peace treaty between Israel and the Arab nations, nor will there be a peace treaty between Israel and Germany. All these concepts are fanciful ideas of the unlearned human mind which are nowhere supported in Scripture.

Germany’s “Saints”

The Local wrote on March 7:

“Germany is a land infested with saints. Travel more than a few miles in any direction and you’re liable to trip over a shrine to some ascetic or hermit with the reputation for performing miracles. It seems like every village church has an ornate shrine dedicated to their local holy hero, usually incorporating a grisly, preserved body part… Here in Germany nothing is done by halves and this is especially true of those the Catholic Church has seen fit to canonize.

“St Alban of Mainz… [a] 5th century bishop sent from Milan to preach to the heathens was so caught up in his work that he lost his head to angry locals. Not particularly perturbed by this change in his circumstances, he picked up his severed noggin and walked (accounts vary on the distance) to where he wanted to be interred.

“St Emmeram of Regensburg demonstrated similar levels of endurance when he was martyred in the 7th century. Having taken the blame for getting a duke’s daughter pregnant (the real father being a member of the Duke’s court), the understandably upset father and his son ambushed him, cutting him into pieces and reducing him to a limbless trunk. Amazingly, this wasn’t enough to kill him and he lingered on until he was found by some of his followers. They carried the (still alive) bishop to a green and lovely place where he saw fit to die. Some say at this point a ladder extended down from Heaven to take him up… Upon being interred, legend states that it rained for 40 days and nights, until frustrated locals dug him up and floated him down the river to Regensburg, where his various bits and pieces can be found today…

“St Corbinian, who also lived in the 7th century in Bavaria, was said to have power over beasts. Once, on a pilgrimage to Rome, a bear attacked and killed his horse. Without missing a beat, the saint commanded the unruly bear to take his belongings and carry them to Rome. Once he arrived, he released the bear, who quite happily loped back into the woods…

“Eucharius of Trier… was said to have been given St Peter’s staff, which he used quite liberally to bring the dead back to life. Another saint with this gift was St Fridolin, who was once memorably employed by a nobleman to raise a dead man so he could testify in a legal case…

“Hildegard of Bingen was just a girl when she entered the convent at Disibodenberg, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, during the 12th century… She wrote poetry, based on visions that she had, that are still being printed and reprinted to this day. She staged deeply mystical plays, using her nuns in an early form of liturgical dance.”

Especially the Catholic part of Germany has many saints. We might read an article which we quoted above and shake our heads in unbelief, or laugh about such superstition, but the fact of the matter is that such “beliefs” in saints will lead the way to the arrival of a religious “Christian” leader—called the false prophet–who will bring about miracles and signs. He will be empowered by Satan the devil, but people will be deceived thinking that he is used by God. It is he—not the political leader called “the beast”—who will be sitting in the temple of God—a newly built temple in Jerusalem—claiming to be God.

Religious Persecution and Hostilities Worldwide

The website of pewforum.org published the following article on January 14, 2014, which just came to our attention.  Although somewhat dated, it is still very relevant:

“The share of countries with a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion reached a six-year peak in 2012, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. A third (33%) of the 198 countries and territories included in the study had high religious hostilities in 2012, up from 29% in 2011 and 20% as of mid-2007. Religious hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the Americas. The sharpest increase was in the Middle East and North Africa, which still is feeling the effects of the 2010-11 political uprisings known as the Arab Spring. There also was a significant increase in religious hostilities in the Asia-Pacific region, where China edged into the ‘high’ category for the first time.

“The share of countries with a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion stayed roughly the same in the latest year studied. About three-in-ten countries in the world (29%) had a high or very high level of government restrictions in 2012, compared with 28% in 2011 and 20% as of mid-2007. Europe had the biggest increase in the median level of government restrictions in 2012, followed closely by the Middle East-North Africa – the only other region where the median level of government restrictions on religion rose.

“Looking at the overall level of restrictions – whether resulting from government policies or from social hostilities – the study finds that restrictions on religion are high or very high in 43% of countries, also a six-year high. Because some of these countries (like China) are very populous, more than 5.3 billion people (76% of the world’s population) live in countries with a high or very high level of restrictions on religion, up from 74% in 2011 and 68% as of mid-2007.

“Among the world’s 25 most populous countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan and Burma (Myanmar) had the most restrictions on religion in 2012… As in previous years, Christians and Muslims – who together make up more than half of the global population – were harassed in the largest number of countries (110 and 109, respectively)…

“The study finds that the share of countries where violence, or the threat of violence, was used to compel people to adhere to religious norms also increased in 2012… Governments used force against religious groups or individuals in nearly half (48%) of the world’s countries in 2012, up from 41% in 2011 and 31% as of mid-2007…”

Religious persecution will continue, including through powerful religious organizations and governmental agencies against religious minorities. The Bible warns of a soon-coming worldwide persecution of God’s true followers.

Large Earthquake in California

On March 10, the Los Angeles Times reported the following:

“The magnitude 6.9 earthquake off the coast of Northern California on Sunday night was the largest on the West Coast since the 7.2 Baja California quake in 2010. Sunday’s temblor was followed by a series of at least 13 aftershocks as large as a magnitude 4.6… The big quake occurred at 10:18 p.m. 50 miles west of Eureka in Humboldt County in the Pacific Ocean. The USGS put the depth of the quake at about four miles. Several of the aftershocks were much closer to land, including one about 16 miles off the coast that registered as a magnitude 3.4…

“The Eureka area is considered seismically active, and there have been similar-sized quakes in the area with some regularity… In 1964, an 8.8 earthquake in Alaska caused catastrophic damage on the North Coast…

“By California standards, Sunday’s quake was large. Two larger recent quakes occurred in remote areas: the 1999 Hector Mines temblor, magnitude 7.1, and the 1992 Landers quake, which was magnitude 7.3.”

The steady increase of strong earthquakes is a sign of the times, indicating the last days and the beginning of sorrows.

Alleged Benefits of Medical Marijuana

On March 6, CNN Health published the following article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent:

“It’s been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them. I have been reminded that a true and productive scientific journey involves a willingness to let go of established notions and get at the truth, even if it is uncomfortable and even it means having to say ‘sorry.’

“It is about emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics override science and patients are caught in the middle. Since our documentary ‘Weed’ aired in August, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

“I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy. I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I’ve seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

“I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana. I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.

“…many doctors and scientists, worried about being ostracized for even discussing the potential of marijuana, called me confidentially to share their own stories of the drug and the benefit it has provided to their patients… Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, defined as ‘the most dangerous’ drugs ‘with no currently accepted medical use.’ Neither of those statements has ever been factual. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana don’t agree with the Schedule I classification, knowing how it’s impeded the ability to conduct needed research on the plant.

“…the United States already holds a patent on medical marijuana…. Patent No. 6630507: Cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma. However, this particular issue still bothers me: How can the government deny the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits? Members of the Food and Drug Administration declined my repeated requests for an interview.

“This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, ‘I don’t think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol.’ And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country… cocaine and methamphetamine are actually more available than marijuana to patients, physicians and medical researchers: They are Schedule II drugs, with recognized medical uses… on average, a person dies every 19 minutes in this country from a legal prescription drug overdose, while it is virtually unheard-of to die from a marijuana overdose…

“I am a father myself, first and foremost. I don’t want my children taking or being offered a psychoactive substance. As a neurosurgeon, I know that the developing brain is more susceptible to the most harmful effects of cannabis and that brain development continues well into our mid-20s… Yes, I know there is a concern that many people out there will feign ailments just to get marijuana. But withholding legitimate treatment for the needy is a very unjust way of addressing that concern.

“As a physician and reporter, I feel a deeper obligation to present the real stories, soundly supported with the science from all over the world. When I first apologized for my previous marijuana reporting, I was thinking about the impact that reporting may have had on Charlotte Figi. She is a sweet little girl whose brain was locked in nearly nonstop seizure activity. Without success, she tried seven different medications, stringent diets and high-dose supplements. Modern medicine had nothing more to offer, which is why her parents turned to an ancient plant. As you know, it worked.

“And, as you will see, she is one of so many patients out there, suffering from different ailments, who believe cannabis rescued them when nothing else did. For conditions like Charlotte’s, the American Epilepsy Society says that there are a million people for whom existing therapies do not control their seizures. The society recently said anecdotes about medical marijuana ‘give reason for hope’ and said it supports ‘well-controlled studies that will lead to a better understanding of the disease and the development of safe and effective treatments.’ You should know that Charlotte continues to do well.

“When I saw her around the holidays, she ran over and gave me a hug. She looked me in the eyes, took me by the hand and led me all around to meet her friends. She is a delightful, happy and now healthy little girl. I know the discussion around this topic will no doubt get heated. I have felt that heat. But I feel a greater responsibility than ever to make sure those heated discussions are also well-informed by science.”

We reported on the alleged benefits of medical marijuana in our Update #624, where we said:

“If it is true that medical marijuana—especially those products in the form of oil with a greatly reduced or eliminated amount of THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana)–help patients who are suffering from serious and otherwise ‘untreatable’ diseases, such as cancer, kidney failure or epilepsy, then the federal law’s all-encompassing universal prohibition of the same seems to be highly suspect. Sadly, the desire of many to allow and legalize marijuana for ‘recreational’ improper personal purposes has clouded or even suppressed the recognition of a need for research regarding a potentially beneficial medical use of certain marijuana products with virtually no THC.”

The statements in the above-quoted article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta support our comments, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. government denies “the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits.” This is not merely suspect—it appears to be driven by ulterior (monetary) motives and/or highly hypocritical conduct.

The Budapest Memorandum

Daily Mail wrote on March 1:

“A treaty signed in 1994 by the US and Britain could pull both countries into a war to protect Ukraine if Putin’s troops intervene. Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma – the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine – agreed to the… Budapest Memorandum as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“Technically it means that if Russia has invaded Ukraine then it would be difficult for the US and Britain to avoid going to war.”

This conclusion is not compelling. Note the next article.

What Exactly Is the “Budapest Memorandum”?

Voice of America wrote on March 2:

“The ‘Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances’ is a diplomatic memorandum that was signed in December 1994 by Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is not a formal treaty, but rather, a diplomatic document under which signatories made promises to each other as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“Under the memorandum, Ukraine promised to remove all Soviet-era nuclear weapons from its territory, send them to disarmament facilities in Russia, and sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Ukraine kept these promises. In return, Russia and the Western signatory countries essentially consecrated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine as an independent state. They did so by applying the principles of territorial integrity and nonintervention in [the] 1975 Helsinki Final Act — a Cold War-era treaty signed by 35 states including the Soviet Union — to an independent post-Soviet Ukraine…

“In the ‘Budapest Memorandum,’ Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States promised that none of them would ever threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. They also pledged that none of them would ever use economic coercion to subordinate Ukraine to their own interest. They specifically pledged they would refrain from making each other’s territory the object of military occupation or engage in other uses of force in violation of international law…

“Is there anything legally binding about the ‘Budapest Memorandum’ regarding Russia’s obligations to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity? ‘That’s actually a much more complex question than it may sound. It is binding in international law, but that doesn’t mean it has any means of enforcement,’ says Barry Kellman, a professor of law and director of the International Weapons Control Center at DePaul University’s College of Law…

“Kellman concludes that there are a host of other sources of international law that oblige Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity — including the provisions of the CSCE treaty and the UN Charter.”

Russia Takes Crimea Without a Shot

The Associated Press reported on March 2:

“Igniting a tense standoff, Russian forces surrounded a Ukrainian army base Sunday just as the country began mobilizing its military in response to the surprise Russian takeover of Crimea. Outrage over Russia’s tactics mounted in world capitals, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling on President Vladimir Putin to pull back from ‘an incredible act of aggression.’ Fearing that Europe’s borders were being rewritten by force, world leaders rushed to find a diplomatic solution to reverse what had already happened on the ground: Russia captured the Black Sea peninsula on Saturday without firing a shot…

“Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine. His confidence is matched by the knowledge that Ukraine’s 46 million people have divided loyalties between Russia and Europe. While much of western Ukraine wants closer ties with the 28-nation European Union, its eastern and southern regions like Crimea look to Russia for support.

“Russia has long wanted to reclaim the lush Crimean Peninsula, which was part of its territory until 1954. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet pays Ukraine millions every year to be stationed at the Crimean port of Sevastopol and nearly 60 percent of Crimea’s residents identify themselves as Russian…”

Putin seems to think that no earthly power will stop him at this point.

Ukraine Mobilizes Its Troops Against Russia

The Independent wrote on March 2:

“Ukraine’s acting Prime Minister described the country as being on the ‘brink of disaster’ while his government ordered the full mobilisation of its army in response to Russian military movements across the peninsula…

“Kiev had asked its forces in Crimea, numbering around 3,500 and facing up to 30,000 better-armed Russians, not to ‘react to provocation’.”

A war between Russia and Ukraine would result in total subjection of Ukraine towards Russia. Whether anyone would intervene militarily to assist Ukraine in such a war against Russia is highly doubtful.

Putin’s “Defense” and His “Contact Group”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 3:

“Russian President Putin has agreed to a proposal from the German chancellor to form a ‘fact-finding’ mission to calm tensions with Ukraine. The move follows Western outcry over his deployment of troops to Crimea… Even though Putin defended his decision – directing Merkel’s ‘attention to the unrelenting threat of violence…to Russian citizens and the whole Russian-speaking population [in Ukrainian territory]’ – he also agreed to work with her to curb the diplomatic crisis. ‘President Putin accepted the German chancellor’s proposal to immediately establish a commission of enquiry as well as a contact group, possibly under the direction of the [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] to open a political dialogue,’ a statement from Berlin said… US President Barack Obama reportedly discussed the turmoil in Ukraine with Chancellor Merkel after her call with Putin, according to Reuters news agency…

“While Kerry derided what he called Russia’s ‘brazen act of aggression,’ he stopped short of threatening US military involvement… Ukrainian authorities also launched a treason case against the newly-appointed head of the navy, who announced on Sunday he had switched allegiance to Crimea’s pro-Russian regional leaders. In a televised statement, Denis Berezovsky said he ‘swears allegiance to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea’ and told Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms.”

Putin is good in playing politics, but can he be trusted? Many observers feel that his goal is to bring former Soviet Union satellite states back into “Mother Russia’s” fold, and being aware of the present weakness of the West, he might have concluded that he can’t be stopped at this moment. Europe realizes that they cannot rely on the USA, and this will motivate them to unite militarily. This then will bring about further swift fulfillment of end-time biblical prophecy.

Putin Detached From Reality?

The New York Times wrote on March 2:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told Mr. Obama by telephone on Sunday that after speaking with Mr. Putin she was not sure he was in touch with reality, people briefed on the call said. ‘In another world,’ she said.”

Putin’s Twists and Turns—While Putting the World on Notice

BBC News reported on March 4:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need yet to send troops into Ukraine, but that Moscow is ready to protect its citizens. His comments come as armed men, who Mr Putin says are not Russian troops but pro-Russian self-defence groups, surround army bases in Crimea…

“Meanwhile, two Ukrainian warships are reported to be blocked by a Russian ship in the port of Sevastopol… Ukraine says some 16,000 Russian troops have arrived in Crimea in recent days… Mr Putin said the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych last month following mass protests was an ‘anti-constitutional coup and armed seizure of power’. He also insisted that Mr Yanukovych – whom Ukraine’s parliament voted to impeach on 22 February – was still the legitimate president…

“Ukraine was in ‘chaos’, he said, with ‘nationalists’ and ‘anti-Semites’ roaming the streets of Kiev and other cities. If Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine asked for Russia’s help, or if there were signs of anarchy, ‘we reserve the right to use all means,’ he said. He accused the West of encouraging the street protests.”

On March 4, 2014, the German mass tabloid, Bild, published an article about Putin’s “seven lies,” accusing him of blatantly and intentionally misrepresenting the truth. Along the same lines, CNN reported on March 4 that “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of making up reasons for intervention in Ukraine, saying Tuesday ‘not a single piece of credible evidence supports any one of these claims.’”

Russian Retaliation and Pretext?

Reuters reported on March 4:

“Russia said on Tuesday that it would retaliate if the United States imposed sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine… In Kiev on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday condemned Russia’s ‘act of aggression’ in Ukraine and said Moscow, which has taken control of the Crimea region, was looking for a pretext to invade more of the country.”

Crimea Ready To Join Russia?

BBC News reported on March 6:

“MPs in Crimea have asked Moscow to allow the southern Ukrainian region to become part of the Russian Federation. The parliament said if its request was granted, Crimean citizens could give their view in a referendum on 16 March… The Crimean parliament resolved ‘to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation’. It said it had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘to start the procedure’.”

“Russia China Unite”

With this headline, the Drudge Report linked to the following article by Sky News, dated March 5:

“Russia has said China is largely ‘in agreement’ over Ukraine, after other world powers condemned Moscow for sending troops into the country… Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine by telephone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Monday, and claimed they had ‘broadly coinciding points of view’ on the situation there, according to a ministry statement…

“As the tense stand-off continues, the other seven nations of the G8 urged Moscow to hold talks with Kiev. ‘We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,’ they said in a statement. ‘We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June.’

“British Foreign Secretary William Hague… said Russia has taken operational control of Crimea. He described Russia’s intervention in Ukraine as the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century.”

“Worst Crisis Since Berlin Wall”

The Local wrote on March 3:

“Russia’s intervention means ‘the threat of a division of Europe is real again,’ Steinmeier said… ‘But now is time for diplomacy. Diplomacy does not mean weakness but is more needed than ever to prevent us from being drawn into the abyss of military escalation,’ he said… The German minister said ‘the situation in Ukraine worsens every day and so far, an end to the escalation is not seen’…

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert…  said he saw ‘no military option’ and that the German government ‘is not thinking in military terms’ about the crisis… ‘I don’t want to rule anything in or rule anything out,’ said British Minister for Europe David Lidington… Late on Sunday Germany said Putin had accepted an offer from Merkel to set up a ‘contact group’ with Ukraine over the crisis, but Moscow did not confirm the German reports…

“Merkel told Putin the intervention was a violation of a 1994 Budapest memorandum on security assurances in which Russia committed itself to respecting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine in its existing borders, as well as the 1997 treaty on the Russian Black Sea fleet, based in Crimea…”

No German Trust in Russia

The Local reported on March 6:

“A third of Germans expect there to be an armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia over Crimea, according to a poll on Thursday. It comes on a day of frenzied diplomacy by Germany to defuse the crisis. The poll from public broadcaster ARD also showed that trust in Russia among Germans had sunk to its lowest ever recorded level… Meanwhile, Germany’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Putin to discuss the Crimea crisis…

“The EU is discussing possible sanctions against Russia… The US announced the first sanctions against Russia on Thursday lunchtime with visa restrictions against Russian officials.”

America Without Any Real Options

The Washington Times wrote on March 2:

“… the U.S. appears to have few effective options to punish Russia for its actions, which Ukrainian officials consider to be ‘a declaration of war.’ Mr. Kerry who appeared on four Sunday political talk shows, stressed that all options are on the table, but it’s clear military force is unlikely. Instead, the U.S. and its allies are considering economic sanctions and a suspension of the nearly $40 billion-per-year U.S.-Russia  trade relationship. In another move of condemnation, the U.S. and its key allies… have halted planning efforts for the June meeting of the Group of Eight, set for Sochi…

“But those moves, if they come to fruition, may not sway Russia, some analysts say. For Mr. Putin… punishment from the international community may pale in comparison with the benefits of annexing key parts of Ukraine and expanding his influence across the old Soviet bloc. ‘Russia believes there is nothing going to stop them, which is why they’ve become so aggressive in Crimea. There is not a lot of options on the table and, candidly, and I’m a fairly hawkish guy, sending more naval forces to operate in the Black Sea is not really a very good idea,’ said Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, speaking during an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ ‘Unless you’re intending to use them, I wouldn’t send them…’”

USA, UK and France May Boycott G8 Meetings in Russia

Reuters reported on March 2:

“Britain will suspend its participation in preparations for a G8 meeting in Sochi after Russia violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Sunday. The United States has already said it will not take part in the meetings, and a source in President Francois Hollande’s office said France has also pulled out.

“Western countries are scrambling to respond to developments in Ukraine’s Crimea… ‘The United Kingdom will join other G8 countries this week in suspending our co-operation under the G8, which Russia chairs this year, including … meetings this week for the preparation of the G8 summit,’ Hague told media…”

The G8 countries include the US, Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Whether or not the G8 countries will meet; whether the other countries will speak to Russia or not—Vladimir Putin will do what HE wants to do.

“Why Is Britain Running Away from Europe?”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 28:

“Great Britain used to play a key role in leading Europe, and the benefits have been substantial. But now, the UK is turning its back on the EU and has chosen to focus on peripheral issues…

“In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill called for the creation of a ‘United States of Europe’ to bind France and Germany together. In doing so, he made clear that Britain would be a supportive but independent partner of any such entity. He famously said: ‘We are with Europe but not of it.’ In the end, Britain did join the European Economic Community but only in 1973, 15 years after the Treaty of Rome was signed…

“In other words: Britain was always a bit late to the party. But once it found its way to Belgium, Britain had an uncanny knack of winning the big strategic battles. It is therefore a puzzle that the current British government has diverted its attention from winning the next round of key policy debates in Brussels and, instead, focused on a pointless exercise of seeking treaty change to repatriate powers.

“… the UK has seen its leadership role in Brussels diminish…  Britain is losing more votes in the European Council than at any point in recent history…”

Whether Britain is running away from continental Europe or being pushed out, it will not be part of the prophesied member states of core Europe.

How Corporate America Defeated Arizona Bill Regarding Homosexuals

The Associated Press wrote on February 27:

“Voicing concern for their employees, customers and bottom lines, prominent companies from American Airlines to Verizon used threats of reduced business to help convince Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto legislation that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to gays based on the owner’s religious beliefs…

“The measure Brewer vetoed Wednesday night would have allowed people to cite their religious beliefs as a defense against claims of discrimination. She faced intense pressure from gay rights supporters, prominent politicians and local businesses. But ultimately, it might have been the national business community that tipped the scales…

“American Airlines CEO Doug Parker suggested his airline would cut flights… Verizon CEO Lowell C. McAdam also flexed some muscle… Other companies, such as Intel, PetSmart, American Express, eBay and GoDaddy joined with local and state chambers of commerce and other business collations, signing letters in opposition to the bill, known as SB 1062.”

Other companies mentioned in the article which opposed the bill were Yelp, Marriott, Southwest Airlines and Starwood Hotels.

Obama Warns Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on March 2:

“Israel can expect to face international isolation and possible sanctions from countries and companies across the world if Benjamin Netanyahu fails to endorse a framework agreement with the Palestinians, US President Barack Obama cautioned on Sunday… Obama stressed that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal, and added that he believed Netanyahu had the capacity to rally Israel’s citizens behind an agreement…

“The president went on to condemn in no uncertain terms Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank, and said that though his allegiance to the Jewish state was permanent, building settlements across the Green Line was counterproductive and would make it extremely difficult for the US to defend Israel from painful repercussions in the international community…”

Ultimately, the USA will withdraw all support from Israel.

President Obama’s Scary Interview

The Weekly Standard wrote on March 3:

“President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Jeffrey Goldberg that shows a chief executive who has learned next to nothing about the world in his five years in office… what emerged is an awful portrait of the president and his conception of the world.

“Take Syria. Here’s what Obama said: ‘I think those who believe that two years ago, or three years ago, there was some swift resolution to this thing had we acted more forcefully, fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the conflict in Syria and the conditions on the ground there. … nobody has been able to persuade me that us taking large-scale military action even absent boots on the ground, would actually solve the problem. And those who make that claim do so without a lot of very specific information.’

“Who are these people who have inadequate information, misunderstand the conflict in Syria, and think there is much more the United States could have done? They include both of Obama’s secretaries of state, Clinton and Kerry, his former defense secretary Leon Panetta, and his former CIA director David Petraeus—all of whom wanted much more U.S. support for the Syrian rebels…

“On Israel, Obama was harsh and unfriendly to Netanyahu… Mr. Obama says this: ‘Palestinians would still prefer peace. They would still prefer a country of their own that allows them to find a job, send their kids to school, travel overseas, go back and forth to work without feeling as if they are restricted or constrained as a people.’ If they would also prefer freedom of the press and of speech, and free elections, and an independent court system, and a government that does not steal their money, well, that isn’t of much interest to Mr. Obama. It isn’t even worth mentioning. So he would give the Palestinians the ‘dignity’ that led to oppression and uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, and seems to have no interest in the actual conditions of political life in the state he would create…

“As to that ‘aggressive settlement construction,’ it is worth noting that at Obama’s request Netanyahu suspended construction in settlements for ten months in 2009. Apparently that gesture, its political cost for Netanyahu, and the fact that it gained Netanyahu and Israeli absolutely nothing from the Palestinians or the Europeans, is now forgotten…

“When it comes to Iran, Obama shows an attitude that can only be described as solipsistic: what’s in his mind is reality. And any other reality is just plain silly… It’s pretty obvious to all analysts that Iran does not fear an American military strike much these days, especially after Mr. Obama’s failure to act in Syria last summer. But Obama denies it, referring to himself in the third person as someone ‘who has shown himself willing to take military action.’ Drones, sure; a quick raid as well. But in Libya and Syria, he showed himself extremely reluctant to take military action…

“Goldberg pushes him, asking why (as is obvious) no one in the Gulf believes Obama. ‘I don’t think it is personal,’ says the president; the problem is them, not him, and his analysis is therapeutic: change is always scary, and they are having trouble catching up with it.  But talk with Gulf Arabs and one finds quickly that it is in fact quite personal: they don’t trust Mr. Obama. They believe his handling of Iran and Syria and for that matter of Russia have made the world a more dangerous place.

“Change is apparently not scary to Mr. Obama, who is confident all his policies are right. Those who disagree are uninformed, or itching for conflict, or ignorant about the risks they will soon face, or sadly unable to adapt to world events. This is the Obama who said of his own nomination that ‘this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.’ If he believes it, it must be so. The Goldberg interview reveals that five years in, nothing has changed.”

To be clear, we most certainly do not support any military action or violence on either side. But we are quoting the article to show how the world perceives America and its “leadership.” From that standpoint, as Mr. Putin is apparently not in touch with reality, maybe Mr. Obama isn’t either…

Persecution of German Homeschoolers

The Associated Press reported on March 3:

“The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a German family seeking asylum in the United States because their home country does not allow home-schooling. The justices rejected an appeal from Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, who claim the German government is persecuting them because they want to raise their children in accordance with their Christian beliefs.

“The family moved to Morristown, Tenn., in 2008 after facing fines and threats for refusing to send their children to a state-approved school, as required by Germany’s compulsory attendance law. They say German laws violate international human rights standards. Last year, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that claim…”

WorldNetDaily added on March 4:

“The penalties [in Germany] are based on a Hitler-era law [enacted in 1938] that the German government still enforces against homeschooling. The Romeikes said they chose homeschooling because of anti-Christian and cult beliefs being taught in the public schools.

“The Obama administration successfully fought to overturn the federal judge’s decision that would have given the family permission to remain in the U.S. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the Romeike family was granted asylum in 2010 by a federal immigration judge who found that ‘Germany’s treatment of the family amounted to persecution.’… But on the request of the Obama administration, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided against the family, saying Germany was just enforcing its law… Justice Department officials… contended that Germany wasn’t persecuting homeschoolers, just applying the Hitler-era laws to everyone…

“Thomas Schirrmacher, executive chair of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, who is based in Germany, recently touched on the homeschooling law in a lecture on religious freedom. Germans, of all people, should know better, he said. ‘The fact that the laws of a nation make something lawful doesn’t make it right,’ he told the organization… He noted that the law against homeschooling was never changed after the war…

“In Germany, children having been seized from their parents in several cases, most recently last September when armed police officers equipped with a battering ram forcibly took four children from German parents Dirk and Petra Wunderlich because they were being homeschooled. WND reported later the children were return[ed] to the parents after they were given no choice but to agree to have the children begin attending public school classes…”

Breitbart wrote on March 4:

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has verbally informed the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) that the Romeike family, German homeschoolers who sought legal asylum in the United States, has been granted indefinite deferred action status, which means that the order for their removal from the United States will not be acted upon… the U.S. Supreme Court had denied the Romeike family’s petition for certiorari, or review. According to a press release Tuesday by HSLDA, however, news of the Supreme Court’s denial sparked ‘an immediate and unprecedented reaction.’

“Fox News informed HSLDA that it recorded one million page views of the story about the Romeike family within 24 hours – an all-time high. ‘We are happy to have indefinite status even though we won’t be able to get American citizenship any time soon,’ said Uwe Romeike. ‘As long as we can live at peace here, we are happy. We have always been ready to go wherever the Lord would lead us – and I know my citizenship isn’t really on earth. This has always been about our children…’ Before fleeing to the U.S. in 2008, the Romeike parents had been threatened with thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time in Germany because they chose to homeschool their children…”

But what would have happened if the American public would not have overwhelmingly shown their support for the Romeike family? And what about the many other German families who are being forced to have their children “educated” in a public school system which seems to become more and more hostile towards minority religions?

Former Ukraine President in Hiding—Russia VERY Unhappy

AFP wrote on February 24:

“Ukraine issued an arrest warrant Monday for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych over the ‘mass murder’ of protesters and appealed for $35 billion in Western aid to pull the crisis-hit country from the brink of economic collapse. The dramatic announcements by the ex-Soviet nation’s new Western-leaning team — approved by parliament over a chaotic weekend that saw the pro-Russian leader go into hiding — came as a top EU envoy arrived in Kiev to buttress its sudden tilt away from Moscow…

“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev issued one of Moscow’s firmest responses to date by condemning the ‘armed mutiny’ in Ukraine… Russia’s finance minister added to the pressure by warning that Moscow would have to raise duties on its goods if Kiev reversed Yanukovych’s decision and still signed the EU partnership pact… Russia’s anxiety about the changes sweeping its western neighbour were underscored Sunday when it recalled ambassador Mikhail Zurabov ‘due to the escalation of the situation in Ukraine’.”

Ukraine’s New Leadership on Collision Course with Russia

Deutsche Welle reported on February 26:

“Ukraine’s new pro-Western leadership has disbanded the feared riot police blamed for killing protesters. In a sign of tension with the West, Russia ordered a military drill to test the country’s combat readiness… The 46 million-strong nation’s sudden shift to a pro-Western government has fueled United States and Euopean Union tensions with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of his country’s armed forces… The district lies on the border with Ukraine…

“Far-right opposition protesters played a significant role in the protests that unseated Yanukovych. In particular, Lavrov cited the attempts of Ukraine’s new leadership to ban the Russian language in the country, restore Ukrainian as the obligatory language in official documents, and turn the ‘Russian-speaking population into “non-citizens”.’

“The change in power has also raised fears that the southern Crimea peninsula, a Russian-speaking region where Yanukovych is believed to have gone into hiding, could secede. The port city of Sevastopol has already seen pro-Russian protests and further demonstrations were held Wednesday…”

Russia and Ukraine—How Will it Play Out?

The New York Times wrote on February 23:

“The sudden collapse of the Kremlin-backed government in Ukraine has for now delivered a profound setback to President Vladimir V. Putin’s strategy to deepen political and economic ties with the country and thus keep it from embracing Europe… Mr. Putin now faces the task of reasserting Russia’s influence in a country that it considers a fraternal ally, one with deep cultural, social and political connections that bind it to Moscow’s orbit regardless of its new government.

“Russia still has enormous leverage and close allies in Ukraine, particularly in the east and on the Crimea Peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a sizable ethnic Russian population that views the leaders of the political uprising that toppled President Viktor F. Yanukovych with disdain. That has raised fears that Russia would use the disenchanted populations there as a pretext to intervene to reverse Ukraine’s new trajectory — even militarily, as the Kremlin did in two ethnic enclaves in 2008 in another former Soviet republic, Georgia.

“The fears have been so palpable — and the subject of endless speculation in Ukraine and here in Russia — that President Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, warned in a television interview on Sunday that it ‘would be a grave mistake’ for Russia to use force…

“How exactly Russia responds remains to be seen, but the turmoil is certain to further strain relations with Europe and the United States, which officials here have denounced for meddling in Ukraine at the expense of Russia’s vital interests. At the same time, the United States and Europe have accused Russia of trying to impose its will there…”

Putin Gets Tough in Moscow

The Daily Mail wrote on February 24:

“Russian president Vladimir Putin risked accusations of stifling dissent in Moscow today as police cracked down on a rally in support of a group [of] anti-government protesters facing jail. At least 100 were detained outside a courthouse in central Moscow where the defendants were sentenced today in the first protest since the fall of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich following protests there.

“Among those arrested were Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, from Pussy Riot, the dissident punk band. Putin is rumoured to be sheltering the ousted leader, an ally of the Kremlin, in the Crimea, a majority Russian area of Ukraine where the Russian Black Sea naval fleet is based.

“Today there were the first signs of support for the Ukraine demonstrations in Moscow, during a demonstration outside a court where opposition activists are being sentenced… Putin, who staked his reputation on the Olympics, engineered the release of long-jailed ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and two women from protest band Pussy Riot in December, moves widely seen as an effort to improve his image before the Games.”

Russia Is Getting More and More Involved

The New York Times wrote on February 27:

“Viktor F. Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, declared on Thursday that he remained the lawful president of the country and appealed to Russia to ‘secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.’ Russian news agencies reported that he had already arrived in Russia…

“Mr. Yanukovych’s remarks were his first since he appeared in a video on Saturday night after fleeing Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, for eastern Ukraine. His defiance of the country’s new interim leaders only deepened the political turmoil in the country and threatened to draw Russia more deeply into the conflict.

“Mr. Yanukovych, in a letter published by news agencies here, went on to suggest that largely Russian regions of Ukraine – including the east and Crimea – did not accept ‘the anarchy and outright lawlessness’ that had gripped the country and said that orders by the new authorities to use the armed forces to impose order were unlawful. He clearly meant the response to pro-Russia demonstrations in Crimea, which took an ugly turn on Thursday morning when armed gunmen seized control of the regional Parliament in Simferopol [and raised the Russian flag there]…

“Russia has denounced the political upheaval in Kiev and refused to recognize the interim government… With Mr. Yanukovych apparently under Russian protection, and still calling himself Ukraine’s legitimate leader, Russia now finds itself in a worsening confrontation with Europe and the United States, which have promised political and economic support for the new leaders in Kiev…”

The Associated Press added on February 27:

“Russia scrambled fighter jets to patrol its border and reportedly gave shelter to Ukraine’s fugitive president as pro-Russian gunmen stormed offices of Ukraine’s strategic region, deepening the crisis for the new Ukrainian government even as it was being formed.

“The moves pose an immediate challenge to Ukraine’s new authorities as they seek to set up an interim government for the country, whose population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West. Ukraine’s new prime minister said the country’s future lies in the European Union but with friendly relations with Russia…

“Oleksandr Turchynov, who stepped in as acting president after Yanukovych’s flight, condemned the takeover of government buildings in Crimea as a ‘crime against the government of Ukraine.’ He warned that any move by Russian troops off of their base in Crimea ‘will be considered a military aggression. Unidentified people with automatic weapons, explosives and grenades have taken over the governmental buildings and the Parliament building in the autonomous region of Crimea,’ he said. ‘I have given orders to the military to use all methods necessary to protect the citizens, punish the criminals, and to free the buildings.’…

“Shortly before the lawmakers chose him as the leader of the new Cabinet, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine doesn’t want a fight with Russia, but insisted the country wouldn’t accept the secession of the southern Crimea region… The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced concern Thursday about the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and vowed to protect their interests…”

No to Tymoshenko?

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 24:

“While Ukraine went through its dramatic revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko was stuck in jail. Now she wants to be president. But many protesters say the former opposition leader doesn’t represent the change they fought for… Tymoshenko’s return to politics brings with it a potential for conflict… Neither her disputed trial nor her conviction in 2011 ever really mobilized the people, with only a few hundred people ever present to call for her release. It seems the West was far more interested in her fate than her own people.

“What’s more, many Ukrainians hold Tymoshenko partly responsible for the failure of the Orange Revolution in 2004… Conflict is also on the horizon with fellow opposition figure and world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. Relations between the two have been tense for years… Both Tymoshenko and Klitschko have presidential ambitions, and both have made those public…”

Obama and NSA Have Not Learned Any Lessons

AFP wrote on February 24:

“US intelligence has stepped up eavesdropping on hundreds of key figures in Germany, including a government minister, after Chancellor Angela Merkel was dropped as a direct target, a German report said Sunday. Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that 320 political and business leaders in Germany were being monitored by the US National Security Agency (NSA), including Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. ‘We have the order not to allow any loss of information whatsoever after the communication of the chancellor no longer being able to be directly monitored,’ Bild quoted an unnamed high-ranking US intelligence employee in Germany as saying.

“US-German ties soured amid revelations leaked by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden that US intelligence agencies had allegedly eavesdropped on Merkel and collected vast amounts of online data and telephone records from average citizens. Last month, US President Barack Obama said the US intelligence service would continue to spy on foreign governments but assured Merkel that he would not let intrusive surveillance harm their relationship.”

Europe and Brazil vs. USA

Reuters reported on February 24:

“Brazil and the European Union agreed on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil’s reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia. At a summit in Brussels, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the $185 million cable project was central to ‘guarantee the neutrality’ of the Internet, signaling her desire to shield Brazil’s Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance…

“EU leaders are sympathetic to Brazil’s call following the revelations of fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that showed the agency also eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone and some EU institutions… Brussels is threatening the suspension of EU-U.S. agreements for data transfers unless Washington increases guarantees for the protection of EU citizens’ data…

“Rousseff clearly took heart from Merkel’s calls this month for a European Internet that is protected from U.S. surveillance, even if there are questions about the practicalities of setting up alternative networks in Europe. Rousseff said Brazil and the European Union have ‘similar concerns’ about U.S. dominance of fiber-optic cables and hoped to have a cable running from the Portuguese capital Lisbon to the northeastern Brazilian of Fortaleza from next year…

“Brazil, one of the world’s largest and most influential emerging economies, is ready to do a deal. It is backed by Uruguay and Paraguay but the question is whether Argentina, one of the most protectionist members of the Group of 20 countries, will join in opening its economy to greater EU imports.”

German Supreme Court Abolishes Three Percent Threshold for European Parliament

Deutsche Welle reported on February 26:

“The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday ruled that the current 3 percent threshold required to secure seats in the European Parliament is unconstitutional, abolishing the hurdle altogether… The decision now opens the door to smaller and fringe parties winning seats in the May 25 poll that will see 96 German lawmakers elected – the largest national contingent. Polls have suggested fringe groups would poll well in many countries in the upcoming elections.

“These parties include the Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD), the anti-establishment Pirate Party, Free Voters and the Ecological Democratic Party. The decision could also see the country’s far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) winning seats in May.

“National voting systems for the EU Parliament differ across the 28 member states with most – including Britain, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands – having no threshold at all. The maximum threshold allowed under EU law is 5 percent, which eight nations have, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania.”

As we can clearly see, out of the multitude of European nations within the EU, a core Europe of ten nations or groups of nations will have to develop.

Iranian-Iraqi Weapons Deal

Reuters reported on February 24:

“Iran has signed a deal to sell Iraq arms and ammunition worth $195 million, according to documents seen by Reuters – a move that would break a U.N. embargo on weapons sales by Tehran. The agreement was reached at the end of November, the documents showed, just weeks after Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returned from Washington, where he lobbied the Obama administration for extra weapons to fight al Qaeda-linked militants… Several Iraqi lawmakers said Maliki had made the deal because he was fed up with delays to U.S. arms deliveries…

“The Iranian government denied any knowledge of a deal to sell arms to Iraq. It would be the first official arms deal between Shi’ite Iran and Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government and highlight the growing bond between them in the two years since the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq…

“The official documents seen by Reuters showed that six of eight contracts were signed with Iran’s Defense Industries Organization to supply Iraq with light and medium arms, mortar launchers, ammunition for tanks as well as artillery and mortars. A final two contracts were agreed to with the state-owned Iran Electronic Industries for night vision goggles, communications equipment and mortar guiding devices… Officials from the Iraqi and Iranian defense ministries signed the agreements, according to the documents. They did not list a timetable for deliveries and it was not possible to confirm whether they had taken place.”

AFP wrote on February 21:

“A prominent hardline cleric in Iran warned on Friday against the Islamic republic resuming ties with the United States, and said any attempt to do so would prove futile… ‘Our people are anti-American…’ His comments sparked chants of ‘Death to the America!’ and ‘Death to Israel!’ from the thousands of Friday worshippers.

“Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all Iranian state matters including foreign policy and the nuclear issue… The most remarkable development to date was a 15-minute telephone conversation between [President Hassan] Rouhani and his US counterpart Barack Obama in New York in September… Khamenei later said he deemed part of Rouhani’s New York trip as inappropriate, but without referring directly to the phone call.”

These developments are interesting. As we point out in our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy,” Iran (biblical Elam) will fight against Israel [the state of Israel and also possibly the USA] and we also read that at the time of Christ’s return, “the remnant” of His people [remnants from the ancient houses of Israel and Judah] will be “left” in countries such as Shinar (Iraq) and recovered from there (Isaiah 11:11).

Israel at War with Lebanon’s Hezbollah

The Associated Press and JTA reported on February 27:

“Israel has allegedly opened a new front in its attempts to halt weapons smuggling to Hezbollah, striking one of the group’s positions inside Lebanon for the first time since the sides fought a war eight years ago. This week’s alleged airstrike, apparently meant to prevent the Islamic militant group from obtaining sophisticated missiles, is part of a risky policy that could easily backfire by triggering retaliation…

“With a lack of good choices, Israel has avoided taking sides in the Syrian war, and in the short term, is content watching the two sides beat each other up. But in the long run, officials have expressed concerns about the battlefield expertise that Hezbollah has gained…

“Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian war is highly controversial and divisive in Lebanon and has eaten away at the group’s wider base. But Hezbollah remains a formidable force in Lebanon, and has two ministers in the current national unity government that was recently formed following 11 months of impasse… The likelihood of retaliation is just one of the shortcomings of the Israeli airstrike policy. It also appears that the strikes have failed to halt the flow of arms to Hezbollah. In recent days, Israeli military officials have acknowledged that Hezbollah has likely succeeded in sneaking sophisticated weapons into Lebanon.”

The Rocky Israeli-German Relationship

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 24:

“German public opinion of Israel is slumping… There is growing public and political disillusionment over Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian neighbors… A recent BBC poll showed that only 14 percent of Germans today had a positive view of Israel. ‘I think German public opinion is actually worse than what’s shown in the polls because Germans don’t publicly state their opinion, they play it down,’ said Israel’s former ambassador to Germany and the European Union, Avi Primor. ‘The Germans are still very aware of their Nazi past, particularly Merkel who is originally from East Germany, so she has a bad conscience from the past but this is changing and you can’t ignore the growing public opinion,’ he told DW…

“A senior Israeli official confirmed to DW that recent phone calls between Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during and since the P5+1 meetings on Iran had escalated to shouting and disagreements. The most divisive issue between the two countries is over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank…

“Germany is Israel’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China and if relations deteriorate, trade could be impacted said former ambassador Avi Primor. ‘Germany is totally indispensable to Israel – Germany has many pro-Israel policies, but I think this is gradually fading and if nothing in the Middle East changes it will get worse.’”

Will Israel Turn Over Control of Mount Zion to Catholic Church?

WorldNetDaily wrote on February 22, 2014:

“Israel could be entering the final stages of negotiations to turn over control of Mount Zion to the Vatican, according to a report by Israel National News. According to the online news source, a secretive meeting took place this week between the Jerusalem Municipality, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Tourism and senior Catholic officials. During the meeting, the Catholic delegation reportedly pressed Israel to follow through on a years-old proposal to give the Church control over the compound that houses the traditional ‘Hall of the Last Supper.’

“The problem is that the same compound also houses the traditional ‘Tomb of David,’ a holy site revered and frequented by religious Jews. Not to mention that Mount Zion is symbolic of Jerusalem as a whole, and surrendering it to the Vatican would be seen by many Israelis as a repudiation of Judaism’s claim to the city.

“In response to reports regarding the negotiations, the Jerusalem Municipality released a statement insisting that it would remain ‘the central sovereign power on Mount Zion.’ Others are not so sure, and believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to turn over control of Mount Zion prior to Pope Francis’ visit to the Holy Land in May.”

Israeli Lawmaker Debate Temple Mount Sovereignty

JTA reported on February 25:

“Jews should be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, Likud party members said at a volatile Knesset debate on the right of non-Muslims to pray at the holy site. More than 30 Israeli lawmakers, from the right and left wings, asked to speak at the special session on Tuesday. Most of the Arab-Israeli lawmakers protested the debate by not attending the session. ‘I call on the government to apply the full sovereignty of the State of Israel in the entire Temple Mount,’ said the Likud’s Moshe Feiglin, who requested the debate. ‘I call on the Israeli government to allow free access to any Jew to the Temple Mount through any gate, and allow them to pray.’”

“… Zahava Gal-on, head of the Meretz party, said that while she believes Jews have a right to pray on the Temple Mount, it must be done in consultation with the agreement of the Arab world, the Times of Israel reported. She called Feiglin’s proposal ‘a match that could ignite the powder keg on which the Middle East rests,’ and said extending Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount would harm the peace process.

“The site is overseen by the Muslim Wakf, the Muslim religious administration charged with managing the Temple Mount site, which is holy to Jews and Muslims. Jews generally are not permitted by the Wakf to pray or bring any ritual objects to the Temple Mount. Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian youths rioted on the Temple Mount in response to the session, resulting in three arrests and injuries to two Israeli police officers.”

Jordan Responds to Israel’s Debate on Temple Mount Sovereignty

The Times of Israel wrote on February 27:

“Jordan warned Wednesday that it might review a 1994 peace treaty with Israel after Israeli MPs began a debate on allowing Jewish prayers at Jerusalem’s sensitive Temple Mount. ‘If Israel wants to violate the peace treaty in this issue, the entire treaty, its articles, details and wording will be put on the table,’ Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper in an interview. Under the peace treaty, Jordan is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

“Ensour’s remarks, quoted by state-run Petra news agency, came as Jordan’s parliament passed a motion urging the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to the kingdom, Daniel Nevo. ‘Such Israeli attempts would lead to the destruction of the peace treaty as the international community is pushing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians,’ government spokesman Mohammad Momnai told Petra. ‘The Jordanian custodianship is not a privilege granted by Israel. It is the Hashemites’ historic responsibility that is emphasised in the peace treaty.’

“Last year, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement to confirm a verbal deal dating back to 1924 that gave the kingdom custodianship over Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites. The Jordanian parliament’s vote followed a motion the previous day signed by 47 MPs demanding that the peace treaty with Israel be scrapped. ‘All deputies who attended a meeting today to discuss Israel’s debate on sovereignty over Al-Aqsa voted to kick out the Israeli envoy and recall the Jordanian ambassador in Israel (Walid Obeidat),’ prominent lower house deputy Khalil Attieh told AFP.”

Popes Francis and Benedict

Deutsche Welle reported on February 22:

“Pope Francis has appointed Catholic leaders from some the world’s smallest and poorest nations to the College of Cardinals. Former Pope Benedict XVI also joined the ceremony in a rare public outing… Two are from Africa, two from Asia and six from Francis’ native Latin America, which is home to nearly half the world’s Catholics. However, Latin American leadership is grossly underrepresented in the church’s hierarchy. German Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller is also among those appointed.

“Surprising the congregation, former pope Benedict XVI, who retired last year, made a rare public appearance at the ceremony. He was greeted by Francis with an embrace and by the people in the pews with applause and tears. It is the first time Benedict and Francis have appeared together at a liturgical ceremony since Benedict stepped down last March, the first pope to do so in 600 years. Two weeks later, Francis was elected the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.”

Pope Francis is also the first Jesuit who has ever been elected as Pope. At one time, the Catholic Church had even outlawed the Jesuits.

Uganda’s New Anti-Gay Bill

Deutsche Welle reported on February 24:

“Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed a controversial anti-gay bill into law that toughens already strict rules banning homosexual activity. In doing so, he defied international criticism about the legislation. ‘No study has shown you can be homosexual by nature, that’s why I have agreed to sign the bill,’ Museveni said in a speech after the signing ceremony… The law, which toughens penalties for homosexual sex, sets out a 14-year jail sentence for first-time offenders.

“The legislation also sets life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” This category of offenses is defined as repeated gay sex between consenting adults and acts involving minors, a disabled person, or where one partner is infected with HIV. It also outlaws the promotion of homosexuality and requires people to denounce gays… The bill is popular with the conservative local constituency that is vehemently opposed to homosexuality, but international rights groups have condemned it as draconian.

“Museveni is a key African ally of the United States and the European Union but he has been under fire recently by key Western donors over the anti-gay legislation… Many African countries, with the exception of South Africa, have laws that ban or suppress homosexuality. In January, a law took effect in Nigeria that outlaws same-sex relationships with up to 14 years in prison for gay couples living together.”

CNN added on February 24:

“At the public signing of the bill Monday, a defiant Museveni declared that he would not allow the West to impose its values on Uganda. ‘We have been disappointed for a long time by the conduct of the West, the way you conduct yourselves there,’ he told CNN’s Zain Verjee in Entebbe. ‘Our disappointment is now exacerbated because we are sorry to see that you live the way you live, but we keep quiet about it. Now you say “you must also live like us” — that’s where we say no.’… [He] said he’d sign [the bill] because scientists had determined that there is no gene for homosexuality and that it is merely a choice to embrace abnormal behavior. ‘It was learned and could be unlearned,’ Museveni said.”

According to the Bible, the practice of homosexual activities is in fact an abomination, and it is also correct that no one is “born” as a homosexual. In this context, note the next article.

Oregon Ready to Allow Same-Sex Marriages?

The website of oregonlive.com wrote on February 20:

“Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a legal filing Thursday that she will not defend the state’s ban on gay marriage and argued that the ban ‘cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review’…

“Federal judges in several states have struck down similar bans in recent months, saying that they conflict with last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking major provisions of a law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

“At the same time, supporters of gay marriage are nearly done with their effort to collect enough signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot asking voters to strike the ban on gay marriage from the state Constitution and allow same-sex couples to marry.”

Same-sex marriages are in violation of Scripture. The Bible defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

And Now—Police May Search a House without a Warrant Even When There is NO Emergency

The Los Angeles Times reported on February 25:

“Police officers may enter and search a home without a warrant as long as one occupant consents, even if another resident has previously objected, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a Los Angeles case. The 6-3 ruling, triggered by a Los Angeles Police Department arrest in 2009, gives authorities more leeway to search homes without obtaining a warrant, even when there is no emergency.

“The majority, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., said police need not take the time to get a magistrate’s approval before entering a home in such cases. But dissenters, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, warned that the decision would erode protections against warrantless home searches. The court had previously held that such protections were at the ‘very core’ of the 4th Amendment and its ban on unreasonable searches and seizures…

“In the past, the court has frowned upon most searches of residences except in the case of an emergency or if the police had a warrant from a judge.”

And the erosion of our privacy rights continues in the “land of the free”…

Piers Morgan Leaves CNN

CNN wrote on February 23:

“There have been times when the CNN host Piers Morgan didn’t seem to like America very much — and American audiences have been more than willing to return the favor. Three years after taking over for Larry King, Mr. Morgan has seen the ratings for ‘Piers Morgan Live’ hit some new lows, drawing a fraction of viewers compared with competitors at Fox News and MSNBC.

“It’s been an unhappy collision between a British television personality who refuses to assimilate — the only football he cares about is round and his lectures on guns were rife with contempt — and a CNN audience that is intrinsically provincial. After all, the people who tune into a cable news network are, by their nature, deeply interested in America.

“CNN’s president, Jeffrey Zucker, has other problems, but none bigger than Mr. Morgan and his plum 9 p.m. time slot. Mr. Morgan said last week that he and Mr. Zucker had been talking about the show’s failure to connect and had decided to pull the plug, probably in March.  Crossing an ocean for a replacement for Larry King, who had ratings problems of his own near the end, was probably not a great idea to begin with. For a cable news station like CNN, major stories are like oxygen. When something important or scary happens in America, many of us have an immediate reflex to turn on CNN. When I find Mr. Morgan telling me what it all means, I have a similar reflex to dismiss what he is saying. It is difficult for him to speak credibly on significant American events because, after all, he just got here…

“Old hands in the television news business suggest that there are two things a presenter cannot have: an accent or a beard…  Mr. Morgan’s approach to gun regulation was more akin to King George III, peering down his nose at the unruly colonies and wondering how to bring the savages to heel.  In the current media age… Mr. Morgan’s lecturing on the evils of guns have clanked hard against the CNN brand… We don’t look for moral leadership from CNN, or from a British host on a rampage. Guns, along with many other great and horrible things, are knit into the fabric of this country…”

The bottom line is, America’s TV network “news” culture is an atrocity, and the above article from CNN, somehow trying to justify CNN’s separation from Piers Morgan, inadvertently brings this out. If one wanted to rely on the news, as reported by America’s main TV stations and networks, one would be hopelessly lost. Whether it’s CNN, NBC, MSNBC or FOX, just to name the more “popular” ones, they are all driven by their ideologies and political agendas, while having their carefully selected “guests” “debating” and talking to death their view points, as well as by their desire to cater to the “interests” of their viewership and, due to satisfactory ratings, to attract as many sponsors as possible, while being willfully indifferent regarding the fact that those “interests” are for the most part inconsequential, immaterial and futile.

The article above, demanding that Morgan should have assimilated and “reported” on mundane and insignificant events, speaks for itself. The comment that guns are “knit into the fabric of this country,” which is, sadly, very true, and that no one should dare to question this, especially not a “foreigner,” is another example showing the ungodly ideas permeating America’s “way of life.” When Christ returns, all people will learn the horrible effects of guns and they will beat their guns into plowshares. Until that time, America has still a long way to go and bitter lessons to learn…

New York’s Shame

National Review wrote on February 21:

“In 2012, black women in New York City aborted over 6,500 more children than they gave birth to. Data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows that, among non-hispanic black women, there were 31,328 ‘induced terminations’ to 24,758 live births…

“In total, there were almost 74,000 abortions in New York in 2012, meaning that 42.4 percent of all abortions were of black children. Hispanic children accounted for 31 percent of those aborted in the city at a total of nearly 23,000. Altogether, black and Hispanic abortions were 73 percent of the total of 73,815 abortions in New York in 2012.

“For years, New York has had the highest abortion rate of any city in the nation.”

CNS News reported on February 25:

“Although whites outnumber blacks in Mississippi by nearly 2-to-1, 71.67% of the babies aborted in Mississippi are black, while 26.6% are white.”

2014—A Special Year

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 14:

“This year will be a historic one, marking three important anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the eruption of World War I, the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall…”

The Futility of War — “Christians in Iraq Worse Off Now Than Under Saddam”

Newsmax wrote on February 16:

“The persecution of Christians in Iraq is worse today than it was before a United States-led force deposed brutal dictator Saddam Hussein, a Republican congressman declared. ‘As we witness the black flag of al-Qaida again fly over cities such as Fallujah, which we had won at the cost of so much American blood, we wonder how it is that for Christians in Iraq, life appears to be worse now than it was under the vicious dictator Saddam Hussein,’ Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey said at a Tuesday hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.

“One of the witnesses at the hearing was Archbishop Francis Chullikat, who served as the papal nuncio to Iraq. Chullikat said the violence that children in particular have seen — including the killing of Christians — will ‘leave a lasting scar’ on that generation. Chullikat said ‘flagrant and widespread persecution of Christians rages even as we meet.’

“Smith disclosed that the population of Christians in Iraq has decreased from 1.4 million in 1987, prior to the first Gulf War, to an estimated 150,000 today. ‘Much of this exodus has occurred during a time in which our country invested heavily in blood and treasure in seeking to help Iraqis build a democracy,’ Smith said.

“In one of the most horrific recent attacks against Christians in Iraq, militants launched two separate bomb attacks against Christians celebrating Christmas, killing at least 37. In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in Baghdad’s southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, police said. Earlier that day, a bomb exploded at an outdoor market in a Christian neighborhood, killing 11 people and wounding 21.

“Smith added that ‘researchers from the Pew Center have documented incidents of harassment of religious groups worldwide — a term defined as including “physical assaults; arrests and detentions; desecration of holy sites; and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education, and housing” — and has concluded that Christians are the single most harassed group today.’”

America’s declared “noble” goal for invading Iraq to bring more freedom and democracy to the people backfired terribly and created a situation which is worse than it was prior to the invasion. Of course, the war was fought based on misleading, inaccurate and deceiving information, and many commentators feel that the real goal had nothing to do with bringing democracy to Iran. In any event, America’s conduct contributed to the prophesied alienation between America and the rest of the world. In regard to the issue of warfare, please view our StandingWatch program, “Should Christians Fight in War?” 

Iran Prepares for War Against USA

The Washington Examiner wrote on February 14:

“Iran’s surprising decision to move warships off the Atlantic coast poses a potential catastrophic threat to America from a nuclear or electromagnetic pulse attack, according to an expert who foresaw Iran’s move. Peter Pry, an expert on EMP attacks, said the ships are likely a dry run for a future attack, a maneuver meant to lull Washington into complacency while also embarrassing President Obama and his effort to convince Tehran to give up production of a nuclear bomb in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions…

“Pry said the ships are probably conducting a test for a future visit from an Iranian freighter that would launch the attack. ‘I think the Iranian Navy patrols off our coasts may be intended to lull us into complacency, to get the U.S. Navy accustomed to an Iranian naval presence in our hemisphere, so eventually they could contribute to “Zero Hour” and the great day when the Mullahs decide to drop the nuclear hammer on America,’ said Pry… Pry… one of the nation’s leading authorities on EMP, revealed that Iran recently purchased Russia’s Club-K missile launcher, which can be hidden in tractor-trailer-sized cargo boxes.”

America’s naivety in respect to Iran is topped by its indifference towards the dangers confronting the country from the outside and the inside. America’s downfall IS inevitable.

Nazi Scientists Worked on Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes as a Weapon

The Local wrote on February 14:

“Nazi scientists worked on ways to use malaria-carrying mosquitoes as a weapon, according to researchers… Until now, it had been generally thought by experts that the Nazis only intended ever to use biological weapons defensively… But tests with mosquitoes infected with malaria were never carried out and Hitler opposed biological warfare, according to Reinhardt.

“He and his team published their findings in the Endeavor scientific journal in December. It states how in 1942 head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, set up the Dachau institute to study the physiology and control of insects that inflict harm to humans.

“Institute leader Eduard May had, Reinhardt said, an interest in dragonflies before Himmler put him – for reasons unknown – in charge of the Dachau institute. Reinhardt said: ‘I have a special interest in dragonflies so really came across the mosquito plan by accident.’”

The coming world war will be fought, no doubt, with chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Eurozone’s Growth

The Telegraph wrote on February 14:

“The eurozone has taken a major step towards recovery with the single currency’s four major economies all growing for the first time in almost three years. Germany, Italy, and France all registered expansion in the final three months of 2013, official figures showed, with France avoiding a dreaded double-dip recession and Germany, the region’s biggest economy, performing better than had been expected.

“Along with Spain, which last month recorded its best quarterly growth since 2008, the countries led the 18-currency bloc to growth of 0.3pc in the final three months of 2013. The four biggest economies in Europe had not grown in unison since the first quarter of 2011.”

The “Revival” of Europe under German-French Leadership?

The EUObserver wrote on February 17:

“The French and German leaders will in Paris on Wednesday (19 February) discuss what France is calling ‘the revival of Europe.’ French President Francois Hollande has announced that his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers will launch three projects: harmonisation of French and German corporate tax; the creation of a joint company, on the model of aeronautic firm Airbus, specialising in renewable energy; and ‘a Franco-German partnership for European defence.’

“He said in a speech last month the initiatives will open a new chapter in European politics after the economic crisis. Harking back to the idea of France and Germany as the engine of EU policy-making, he added that Wednesday’s summit will also ‘establish a basic principle: namely, that our governments are to collaborate from an early stage on all large projects. Initiatives for Europe must first be agreed between France and Germany,’ he said. ‘This Franco-German momentum will enable us … to revitalise the European ideal.’”

The Local added on February 19:

“France and Germany have decided to send elements of the Franco-German Brigade to Mali: the first deployment under the aegis of the EU and in an African location,” a statement said after a security and defence meeting in Paris between the two countries… The statement said the troops sent would integrate into a European mission in Mali to train soldiers… The Franco-German brigade… was set up in 1989 to increase military cooperation between the World War II-era foes…”

For more information on Europe’s rise, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

European Communication Network to Circumvent USA

Reuters reported February 15:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would talk to French President Francois Hollande about building up a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States… Merkel said in her weekly podcast that she disapproved of companies such as Google and Facebook basing their operations in countries with low levels of data protection [such as the USA] while being active in countries such as Germany with high data protection…

“[Merkel said:] ‘Above all, we’ll talk about European providers that offer security for our citizens, so that one shouldn’t have to send emails and other information across the Atlantic. Rather, one could build up a communication network inside Europe.’…

“Government snooping is a particularly sensitive subject in Germany due to the heavy surveillance of citizens practised in communist East Germany and under Hitler, and there was widespread outrage at the revelations of NSA surveillance by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden… Germany has been pushing, so far in vain, for a ‘no-spy’ agreement with Washington.”

Due to America’s NSA spying activities and the Obama Administration’s short-sighted refusal to consent to a no-spy agreement with Europe, the prophesied alienation between the USA and Europe continues, and Europe is being pushed into a position of creating even more of a powerful fortress in many different respects, keeping out of Europe and barring American power, interests and activities.

“Americans Only Understand the Language of the Wild West”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 18:

“Away from the public eye, the German government is moving toward implementing plans to turn its own spies against partner countries like the United States, putting allies on the same level as the Chinese, Russians and North Koreans. The stubbornness of the Americans, who have answered few relevant questions from Germany during the National Security Agency spying scandal, has angered the new government… ‘They’re like cowboys who only understand the language of the Wild West,’ sources in Merkel’s party say, referring to the Americans’ intractability…

“The plans for monitoring allies are already well developed. Section 4 in the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, where just 100 specialists had been employed, is to be significantly expanded… The changes mean that, nine months after the NSA affair, the German government is steering towards a serious confrontation with the US. It would mark a break with the decades-long practice of allowing Western partners to essentially do as they please in Germany…”

Europe’s Economic Boycott against Israel

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on February 16:

“The European Union, Israel’s No. 1 trading partner, accounts for about a third of its total trade, and was long the favored destination for Jordan Valley produce. But these fruits and vegetables are grown on land that Israel has occupied since 1967. For a growing number of European consumers, that’s a problem. They say that buying such produce is supporting the illegal confiscation and control of land and water resources that should be in Palestinian hands.

“The campaign is starting to bite. Last year, Jordan Valley farmers lost an estimated $29 million, or 14 percent of revenue, because they were forced to find alternative markets for their exports, such as Russia, where prices are 20 to 60 percent lower. Pepper exports to Western Europe have stopped completely, and grape exports are likely to be phased out this year because of consumer pressure…

“According to a 2013 BBC poll, public opinion of Israel is worsening. Favorability ratings dropped 8 percent in both Spain and Germany, to the single digits. Even in Britain, the first European country to formally support the establishment of a Jewish state, only 14 percent of citizens have a positive view of Israel today. EU citizens and lawmakers alike have long opposed Israeli policies, but popular discontent… is increasingly pressuring businesses and governments to take more concrete action…

“In September a Dutch engineering firm, under pressure from the government, dropped plans to build a sewage treatment plant in East Jerusalem, and in December, a Dutch water company cut ties with Israel’s national water carrier over its operations in the West Bank. But it’s not just the Dutch. Germany announced in January that it would not renew research grants to Israeli companies that do business over the Green Line, the de facto border before Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war… Germany’s move prompted concern that if Israel’s best friend in Europe, still burdened by the guilt of the Holocaust, takes such steps, every other EU country could follow suit…”

Denmark Bans Religious Slaughter of Animals

The Independent wrote on February 18:

“Denmark’s government has brought in a ban on the religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat, after years of campaigning from welfare activists. The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called ‘anti-Semitism’ by Jewish leaders and ‘a clear interference in religious freedom’ by the non-profit group Danish Halal.

“European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed. Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that ‘animal rights come before religion’.

“Commenting on the change, Israel’s deputy minister of religious services Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan told the Jewish Daily Forward: ‘European anti-Semitism is showing its true colours across Europe, and is even intensifying in the government institutions.’ Al Jazeera quoted the monitoring group Danish Halal, which launched a petition against the ban, as saying it was ‘a clear interference in religious freedom limiting the rights of Muslims and Jews to practice their religion in Denmark’.

“The ban has divided opinions in the country, particularly after it recently made headlines for animal welfare policy after Copenhagen Zoo slaughtered the ‘surplus’ young male giraffe Marius… Last year politicians in Britain said they would not be outlawing religious slaughter despite ‘strong pressure’ from the RSPCA, the National Secular Society and other activists.”

Ukraine in Uproar

Newsmax reported on February 19:

“The office of Ukraine’s embattled president says he and leaders of the country’s raging protests have called for a truce. The brief statement late Wednesday came after President Viktor Yanukovych met with top leaders of the protests that flared into violence on Tuesday that has left at least 26 people dead… Yanukovych had moved to quell the growing insurgency by granting sweeping powers to the army and police after a region declared independence from his government, risking wider conflict.

“Reeling from the bloodiest clashes in a three-month standoff, the Russian-backed leader’s security service said Wednesday it was undertaking a nationwide anti-terrorism operation to restore public order and protect state borders. That move would give the military the right to search, detain, and even fire on Ukrainians in the course of the operation, the Defense Ministry said…

“Obama said the United States condemns the violence in the strongest terms and holds Ukraine’s government primarily responsible to ensure it is dealing with peaceful protesters appropriately… The European Union moved toward freezing the assets of Ukraine’s most powerful officials…

“Russia blames ‘extremists’ and ‘radical elements’ for the escalation of violence… Russia, which said this week it would renew funding for Ukraine, blamed the United States and the EU for the violence…”

The Washington Post added on February 20:

“Fierce fighting broke out Thursday between government forces and protesters in the Ukrainian capital, shattering a truce declared hours earlier and leaving scores of people dead. A top human rights official said at least 50 people were killed in the clashes that erupted Thursday morning in the streets around Kiev’s Independence Square. Other estimates of the death toll were considerably higher…

“In Washington, the White House called on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych  to ‘immediately withdraw his security forces’ from downtown Kiev and to ‘respect the right of peaceful protest.’ The statement Thursday also urged protesters ‘to express themselves peacefully.’ In Brussels, the 28-nation European Union decided unanimously Thursday in an emergency meeting to impose sanctions against Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for the violence… The E.U. also announced a suspension of arms sales to Ukraine…

“Videos indicated that some protesters have sniper rifles, and police were shown shooting automatic weapons… A truce reached late Wednesday between President Viktor Yanukovych and three main opposition political leaders has not been formally renounced, but the fighting demonstrated how neither side appears to have control over its armed contingents…

“The pressure on Ukraine — internal and external — has only increased, and the two sides are so far apart that reconciliation appears impossible. They are now faced with the challenge of getting the country back on track even without reconciling politically… Abroad, the Western nations and Russia blamed each other for supporting one of the two sides in Ukraine’s long-running political crisis…”

Syrian Electronic Army Attacks Forbes

The website of cnet.com reported on February 14:

“The Syrian Electronic Army has attacked Forbes, stealing user data and posting fake stories to its Web site. The hacking group announced the exploit on Friday, showing several screenshots of the WordPress-based backend of the Forbes.com Web site. The organization said in a tweet that more than 1 million user e-mails and passwords were successfully stolen and will be published at some point.

“Forbes acknowledged that its Web site and publishing platform were the targets of a hack in a Facebook post on Friday… IBTimes… talked to a spokesperson for the SEA, who said the attacks are based in its belief that Forbes’ ‘hate for Syria is very clear and flagrant in their articles’…

“The Syrian Electronic Army is one of the more active hacking groups. Last year, the organization hacked into Viber’s database, hijacked a Thomson Reuters Twitter feed, and took aim at both the Onion and BBC Twitter accounts. Earlier this year, the group also broke into several Microsoft Twitter accounts.”

And there seems to be no one able or willing to deal with these despicable criminal hackers.

Silly Governmental “Justification” for Video-Surveillance Cameras

Fortune reported on February 13:

“Is the video-surveillance system that blankets Manhattan from Midtown to the Battery, river to river, really not so different from an earlier anti-crime innovation, street lights? That’s what Richard Daddario, deputy commissioner for counterterrorism under former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, once told me. Street lights mean criminals can’t operate with impunity under cover of darkness. Cameras, same principle, slightly extended.

“‘That comparison seems a bit disingenuous and silly,’ according to Glenn Cohen, a professor at Harvard Law School, who spoke about privacy and technology recently at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge, and corresponded with me afterward by e-mail. ‘Lights don’t have the potential for “function creep” whereby they are introduced for one purpose but then used for something quite different in the future, like social security numbers. Lights are temporary in their effect and don’t record what we do for the indefinite future. Finally, there are few activities that people actually want to do in the dark in public, so losing darkness is not a loss to many people, if anyone. By contrast, there are many activities we want to undertake without being recorded and watched…’

“In the post-Snowden era, alas, such concerns can seem almost quaint. A street-corner surveillance camera, easily evaded by ducking indoors, is one kind of intrusion. A smartphone that tracks our movements and hoards for future inspection by parties unknown [of] our emails, blog posts, photos and tweets, is something else altogether.

“Like it or not, we have entered the era of assumed ubiquitous snooping, and we have not begun to parse the implications… Can the law protect us? We shouldn’t count on it…”

Let’s face it, we have gone far beyond a George Orwellian “1984” Big Brother mentality, when NOTHING is sacred anymore to our governments. Forget the right of privacy… the “exceptions” are so manifold that one could not even begin to write them all down. And the average American, indifferent, detached and non-involved, seems to not even care, while governmental officials invent ridiculous excuses to justify such blatantly ungodly and SINFUL behavior.

Most of our Christian churches—including even many of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God organizations–have been fearfully and suspiciously silent about such intrusions, and our main stream media and networks—“conservative” and “liberal” alike–have only half-heartedly “reported” about some of the most egregious violations, and even then, they were quick in interviewing a representative of either party to advance arguments as to why such activities are justified.

Especially in light of the appointment of czars and the issuing of executive orders to circumvent Congress, some, if not many in Europe—including older people who have experienced and still remember the horrors of World War 2–have begun to accuse the American government of trying to become as dictatorial as Hitler and Mussolini. Such impression, whether right or wrong, will not in any way build confidence and friendship between America and Europe.

Pope Francis—The “Super Pope” and Crowd Pleaser

The Associated Press reported on February 14:

“A year ago this past Tuesday [February 11], Pope Benedict XVI said in a voice so soft that cardinals strained to hear (and in a Latin not all could easily follow) that he was becoming the first pontiff to resign in more than half a millennium. On the eve of the anniversary, Benedict’s longtime private secretary credited the stunning decision with opening the way to the ‘enormous impact’ Pope Francis is having on the church and the world at large.

“Monsignor Georg Gaenswein’s comments sent a message of continuity between the awkward, bookish Benedict and his charismatic, superstar successor — the first Jesuit pope and the first pontiff from Latin America… ‘We are all seeing the impact that Pope Francis is having on the world, not just the faithful in the church but in the world. It’s an enormous impact…’

“Gaenswein is in the historically unique situation of serving two popes: While he remains Benedict’s secretary, lives with him in his retirement home in the Vatican gardens and takes daily walks with him in the afternoon, Gaenswein is also the head of Pope Francis’s household…

“As the anniversary of that momentous resignation day approached, Vatican officials have sought to stress Benedict’s generosity, courage and service to the church in deciding to step down as they battle to preserve his legacy amid the increasing temptation to contrast his often problematic papacy and reserved personality with his crowd-pleasing successor. It’s no easy feat when no one ever made a ‘Super Pope’ wall painting of Benedict or created a life-size chocolate statue of him — as has been the case with Francis….

“Benedict has largely stuck to his retirement pledge to live his remaining years ‘hidden from the world’ in a converted convent in the Vatican gardens… Francis seems perfectly at ease with the pope next door; they exchanged visits over the Christmas holidays, and they not only speak frequently by phone but also exchange written notes…”

Pope Francis—the Gentle Pontiff?

CNN wrote on February 19:

“In the year since Francis was elected Pope, the media have told us a certain story about this man ‘from the ends of the Earth,’ as he once described himself. Francis, we are told, is warm and friendly, gentle and compassionate. He embraces the poor, the disfigured, the outcast. These attributes pose a sharp contrast, we are informed, to his mean-spirited, judgmental and arrogant predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who was known for his fancy vestments and aloof, academic attitude.

“If Francis has the common touch, the story goes, Benedict was firmly out of touch, perched on an ivory tower far inside the Vatican. To many Catholics this media-driven contrast between the two Popes is laughable.

“Benedict may have been unpopular with the world and many of its opinion-makers, but those who loved him… knew a far different man than is cruelly caricatured in the media. We welcomed Benedict’s theology and liturgical vision… And when Benedict did say something likely to be deemed offensive, he was often extremely careful about the way in which he said it. In fact, he was much more careful not to offend than [Francis]… bluntness is a double-edged sword, and some of [Francis’] speeches and sermons have offended some of the papacy’s biggest supporters. This, of course, counters the image of Francis as the ‘gentle, pastoral shepherd.’ In sifting through media reports, I was shocked by how often the Pope criticized Christians and by the severity of his insults…

“Indeed, here’s some of the names the Pope has actually called people: ‘pickled pepper-faced Christians,’ ‘closed, sad, trapped Christians,’ ‘defeated Christians,’ ‘liquid Christians,’ ‘creed-reciting, parrot Christians,’ and, finally, those ‘watered-down faith, weak-hoped Christians.’ Catholics who focus on church traditions are ‘museum mummies,’ the Pope says. Nuns who fail to inspire faith in the church are ‘old maids,’ and the Vatican hierarchy has at times been ‘the leprosy of the papacy,’ in Francis’ words.

“Indeed, men of the cloth face the brunt of Francis’ fulminations. He has called some of them ‘vain’ butterflies, ‘smarmy’ idolators and ‘priest-tycoons.’ He’s described some seminarians as potential ‘little monsters.’… some Catholics have felt alienated by Francis’s criticisms, as if they are under attack. In blasting the status quo, it can sometimes seem as if the Pope is slighting the most faithful members of the church.”

California’s Ongoing Exceptional Drought—Is Climate Change Responsible?

The Telegraph wrote on February 14:

“For California this is the third year of little or no rain. More than 90 per cent of the state is in ‘severe to exceptional drought’. Records have been kept since the 1840s and last year was the driest yet. Some farm areas received less rain than Death Valley in 2013.”

The Washington Times wrote on February 14:

“While touring areas of California ravaged by a historic drought, President Obama on Friday sounded an ominous warning and said that even if the federal government takes meaningful action to combat climate change, much of the damage already has been done… ‘The planet is slowly going to keep warming for a long time to come,’ Mr. Obama said…

“Mr. Obama and many Democrats, along with their supporters in the environmental community, have held up extreme weather events such as California’s drought, Hurricane Sandy and others as proof that global warming is wreaking havoc all across the planet. But the issue remains bitterly divisive, and many lawmakers believe Mr. Obama’s dire warnings are grossly overstated. The heated debate over climate change has led to near gridlock on Capitol Hill, with Republicans and some Democrats standing in staunch opposition to major legislative proposals to address the issue.”

The Drudge Report linked to an article on February 16, stating: “If February ended today, this would be the third coldest winter on record in the US, after 1979 and 1899.”

The Washington Post wrote on February 16:

“Secretary of State John F. Kerry, calling climate change perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction, urged developing nations on Sunday to do more to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as he derided climate-change skeptics at home and blamed big companies for hijacking the debate.

“Kerry painted a picture of looming drought and famine, massive floods and deadly storms as a result of global warming, and he urged ordinary citizens in developing nations to speak out on the issue and demand more from their political leaders. He labeled those who denied the evidence of climate change as ‘shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues.’”

So, is it man-made global warming or man-made climate change? Are they, or which one of them, causing droughts in California, terrible winters in large parts of the USA, and flooding in the UK? Apparently, something seems to be wrong with this inconsistent picture, and polemic accusations by proponents against those who dare to ask questions don’t help. Many may not know or recall that late Michael Crichton (M.D. and author of Jurassic Park) concluded in his remarkable novel, “State of Fear,” with interesting arguments, that one cannot prove man-made global warming. San Diego’s famous KUSI weather man and founder of the Weather Channel, John Coleman, came to the same conclusion. Are these skeptics “shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues”?

Radiation Leak at New Mexico Military Nuclear Waste Site

Reuters reported on February 16:

“Unusually high levels of radioactive particles were found at an underground nuclear waste site in New Mexico on Saturday… U.S. officials were testing for radiation in air samples at the site where radioactive waste, such as plutonium used in defense research and nuclear weapon making, is dumped half a mile below ground in an ancient salt formation… A different part of the site was evacuated this month after a truck used to haul salt caught fire…”

We are playing with fire, and serious disasters involving our nuclear power plants are bound to occur.

US Lawsuit Charges Japanese Company with Negligence over Radiation

The website nextgov.com reported on February 19:

“The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier experienced radiation levels 30 times above normal while its crew conducted disaster relief operations off the coast of Japan in March 2011 after a tsunami damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, according to a new analysis published on Monday. That analysis came just days after 79 Reagan crewmen filed an amended lawsuit in federal court in San Diego against the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. The plaintiffs seek $1 billion in damages, claiming the company was negligent in construction and operation of the plant and during the subsequent meltdown of its reactors following the tsunami March 11, 2011.

“Kyle Cleveland, a sociology professor at Temple University Japan, cited transcripts of a conference call between high level Navy and Energy Department officials in an article in the Asia-Pacific Journal… The transcripts… show concern among U.S. officials discussing the level of radioactivity on the Reagan on March 13… Troy Mueller, deputy administrator for naval reactors at Energy, said the radiation is ‘about 30 times what you would detect just on a normal air sample out at sea . . . So it’s much greater than what we had thought. We didn’t think we would detect anything at 100 miles.’…

“The law firm Bonner & Bonner, based in Sausalito, Calif., charged in its lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power that crewmen on the Reagan exposed to radiation from the Fukushima plant ‘now endure a lifetime of radiation poisoning and suffering which could have and should have been avoided,’ if the company had not been negligent in construction and operation of the facility. The suit also charged that sailors aboard the Reagan ‘have been and will be required to undergo further medical testing, evaluation and medical procedures, including but not limited to chelation therapy, bone marrow transplants and/or genetic reprogramming.’

“Sailors on the Reagan were exposed to both airborne radiation and radiation from contaminated seawater, the suit said. One plaintiff said the ship was taking in sea water, ‘but obviously the ship can’t filter out the radiation. Water we all showered with, drank, brushed our teeth, and had our food cooked with.’ Tokyo Electric Power registered as a California foreign corporation in 2003. As a result, TEPCO is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal District Court, the suit said.”