Outrageous Iranian “Deal”

On November 29, the Times of Israel published an article with the following headline:

“How Sloppy US Diplomacy Is Empowering Iran!”

The article continued:

“After all the hype about an interim agreement between Iran and world powers on Sunday, it became clear on Wednesday that the deal is not actually finalized. Not only has the six-month interim agreement not come into effect yet, but also Iran is free to proceed with its military program at full speed until the deal’s final ‘technical’ details have been worked out, as US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki put it…

“Psaki was speaking on Tuesday, just a few hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that his country’s interim agreement with the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany — does not obligate it to stop construction of the heavy-water production plant in Arak, which could be used in the production of weapons-grade plutonium. Zarif said the agreement only required Iran to cease heavy water production at the site.

“Various experts have also said that the agreement published by the White House leaves the Iranians the ability to manufacture crucial components for their nuclear program outside the Arak facility and install them if the site is reopened. The highlight came later on Tuesday when the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the agreement Washington published was not the one it had agreed to. If it weren’t so sad, it might almost be funny.

“In her earlier announcement, Psaki explained that there is no clear timetable for implementing the signed interim agreement with Iran. If that is really the case, someone on the American negotiating team in Geneva deserves a prize for incompetence – or possibly for misleading the public. Leaving aside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contempt for the interim accord, and his now openly problematic relationship with President Barack Obama over this most acute of crisis, certain Arab countries, particularly those belonging to the Saudi-Egyptian camp, see the handling of the negotiations with Iran and the resulting agreement as part of [a] trend. The White House, they say, is reliably amateurish and clumsy when attempting to intervene in the Middle East…

“The nuclear issue is not the only one that worries various countries in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia. ‘The [Persian] Gulf countries are now concerned that the US is essentially supporting Iranian hegemony in the region… According to Susser, if these processes continue, the Arab countries will have no choice but to tighten bonds with Iran. ‘They won’t like it but they may not have any other alternative,’ he said.”

It remains doubtful whether Sunni and Shia countries will indeed form a tight confederation. It is more likely that certain Arab countries will seek support from Europe. But the article’s description of American politics in the Middle East is stunning: “sloppy diplomacy,” “incompetence,” “reliably amateurish and clumsy,” “possibly… misleading the public.”

Outrage Over Israel’s “Relocation Plan”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on November 30:

“Thousands of Israelis took to the streets across the country Saturday over a government plan to displace some 40,000 Arab Bedouins from their lands… The demonstrations are part of an ‘International Day of Rage’ against the Prawer Plan, which is expected to be approved by the Israeli parliament in its final reading by the end of this year. Demonstrations also took place in the West Bank, Gaza and about two dozen countries, including Britain, Germany and Egypt…

“On Friday, musicians Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno, along with more than 50 public figures, published a letter opposing the Bedouin relocation plan in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, calling on the British government to link its relationship with Israel conditional to ‘respect for human rights and international law.’

“The Bedouins, some 192,000, are indigenous residents of the Negev. Half of them live in some 40 ‘unrecognized’ villages, for which the Israeli government does not provide public services. Israeli National Insurance defines these villages as the poorest in Israel, which suffer from overpopulation and lack of infrastructure. According to the relocation plan, most of these villages will be dismantled and the villagers will be relocated to seven towns set up by the government in the 1950s and 1970s.”

One is, sadly, reminded of America’s policy of forcibly “relocating” American Indians and placing them in reservations—a terrible procedure which has caused and is still causing, to this day, enormous suffering for those affected by it.

Iraq’s Grim Future

The Independent wrote on November 28:

“The future of Iraq as a united and independent country is endangered by sectarian Shia-Sunni hostility says Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia religious leader whose Mehdi Army militia fought the US and British armies and who remains a powerful figure in Iraqi politics. He warns of the danger that ‘the Iraqi people will disintegrate, its government will disintegrate, and it will be easy for external powers to control the country’… he expressed pessimism about the immediate prospects for Iraq, saying: ‘The near future is dark.’…

“As Mr Sadr sees it, the problem in Iraq is that Iraqis as a whole are traumatised by almost half a century in which there has been a ‘constant cycle of violence: Saddam, occupation, war after war, first Gulf war, then second Gulf war, then the occupation war, then the resistance – this would lead to a change in the psychology of Iraqis’. He explained that Iraqis make the mistake of trying to solve one problem by creating a worse one, such as getting the Americans to topple Saddam Hussein but then having the problem of the US occupation. He compared Iraqis to ‘somebody who found a mouse in his house, then he kept a cat, then he wanted to get the cat out of the house so he kept a dog, then to get the dog out of his house he bought an elephant, so he bought a mouse again’…

“A main theme of Mr Sadr’s approach is to bolster Iraq as an independent nation state, able to make decisions in its own interests. Hence his abiding hostility to the American and British occupation, holding this responsible for many of Iraq’s present ills. To this day, neither he nor anybody from his movement will meet American or British officials. But he is equally hostile to intervention by Iran in Iraqi affairs…

“Why are Iraqi government members so ineffective and corrupt? Mr Sadr believes that ‘they compete to take a share of the cake, rather than competing to serve their people’… At the end of the interview Mr Sadr asked me if I was not frightened of interviewing him and would not this make the British Government consider me a terrorist? Secondly, he wondered if the British Government still considered that it had liberated the Iraqi people, and wondered if he should sue the Government on behalf of the casualties caused by the British occupation.”

To summarize, American and British intervention in Iraq is perceived by Iraqis as a colossal mistake. The stated goal of bringing democracy to the country has been a miserable failure.

Afghan President Condemns US Air Strike

BBC News wrote on November 29:

“Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned a US air strike that killed a small child and injured two women in the southern province of Helmand. Mr Karzai’s spokesman said the raid on a house was another sign of America’s disregard for civilian life. Nato has said it will investigate the strike.

“It comes as Washington and Kabul are finalising a deal allowing US troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014. Mr Karzai refuses to sign the pact, seeking further assurances from the US… Earlier this week his office demanded guarantees that American troops would not raid Afghan homes and that Washington would help start stalled peace talks with the Taliban… Also among his conditions was the return of Afghan nationals held in Guantanamo Bay, according to reports.”

In the midst of “negotiations” regarding American presence in Afghanistan, the USA allegedly engaged in an attack on civilians. Even though the attack was purportedly meant to kill a terrorist, the fact remains that it could not have come at a more inappropriate time. Truly, American conduct overseas seems to be cursed.

Incredible American Incompetency

Mail Online wrote on November 29:

“For nearly 20 years, the secret code to authorize launching U.S. nuclear missiles, and starting World War III, was terrifyingly simple and even noted down on a checklist. From 1962, when John F Kennedy instituted PAL encoding on nuclear weapons, until 1977, the combination to fire the devastating missiles at the height of the Cold War was just 00000000. This was chosen by Strategic Air Command in an effort to make the weapons as quick and as easy to launch as possible…

“The Permissive Action Link (PAL) is a security device for nuclear weapons that it is supposed to prevent unauthorized arming or detonation of the nuclear weapon. JFK signed the National Security Action Memorandum 160 in 1962 that required all nuclear missiles to be fitted with a PAL system… But nuclear experts claim the military was worried about the possibility of command centers or communication lines being destroyed in real nuclear war, stopping soldiers getting the codes or authorization to launch missiles when they were actually needed. So they simply left the security code for the weapons as eight zeros, getting around the security safeguards.

“Dr. Bruce G. Blair worked as a Minuteman launch officer between 1970 and 1974. He has written several articles about nuclear command and control systems… he wrote that Strategic Air Command ‘remained far less concerned about unauthorized launches than about the potential of these safeguards to interfere with the implementation of wartime launch orders.’

“Incredibly, he also writes that the vital combination for America’s nuclear deterrent was even helpfully noted down for the officers. ‘Our launch checklist in fact instructed us, the firing crew, to double-check the locking panel in our underground launch bunker to ensure that no digits other than zero had been inadvertently dialed into the panel,’ Dr Blair wrote…

“Blair wrote an article in 1977 entitled The Terrorist Threat to World Nuclear Programs. This claimed that it would take just four people working together to launch nuclear missiles from the silos he had worked in. That very same year all the PAL systems were activated, and the nuclear codes were changed. Hopefully to something more complicated than 00000000.”

One can always hope, but must wonder…

EU Upset With Britain

Deutsche Welle reported on November 29:

“Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron wants to restrict access for immigrants to the welfare system. EU officials have harshly criticized the proposals. With his campaign, Cameron is attacking a pillar of the EU. In Brussels, Laszlo Andor is not exactly known for his explosive nature. So the interview the EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs gave the BBC on Wednesday (27.11.2013) bordered on an outburst of fury. ‘The unilateral action, unilateral rhetoric, especially as it is happening at this time, is not really helpful. It risks presenting the UK as a kind of nasty country in the European Union. We don’t want that. We have to look into the situation collectively and if there are real problems react accordingly.’

“The Commissioner’s resentment was caused – yet again – by proposals put forward by British Prime Minister David Cameron. In an article for the ‘Financial Times’ he announced plans to curb benefits for immigrants from the European Union for three months and ‘remove’ those who don’t have a job after nine months… EU law, in theory, allows for the expulsion also of EU nationals. But they can come back the following day. That has to stop, says Cameron. He has long called for a ‘re-entry ban’ – 12 months are planned for Romanians and Bulgarians.

“That will be difficult to do under existing law, policy analyst Alex Lazarowicz… believes. ‘That’s a red line under EU law.’ EU citizens can only be banned from entering another EU state under limited conditions – if they’ve committed a crime, for instance. The basic idea behind the freedom of movement is to give EU citizens the option of moving about as freely in the EU as they do in their country of origin (with certain limitations). Restrictions on the free movement of workers may apply to workers from new EU member states for a transitional period of up to seven years. That period runs out for Romania and Bulgaria in January…

“Cameron, therefore, is launching an attack against one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms, without which the internal market is not worth much, say his critics. That’s why the criticism from Brussels was instant and brusque. ‘The freedom of movement for citizens in Europe is a fundamental right which the Commission defends,’ snapped EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, in charge of EU internal affairs. Her colleague Viviane Reding topped it in an interview with news agency Reuters: ‘Free movement is non-negotiable,’ the Justice Commissioner said. ‘If Britain wants to leave the single market, you should say so. But if Britain wants to stay a part of the single market, free movement applies. You cannot have your cake and eat it, Mr Cameron!’”

We are not taking political sides. However, what is interesting to note is the ongoing rift and deepening gulf between Great Britain and continental Europe. The Bible strongly indicates that Great Britain will exit the EU.

Europeans Find UK to Be Hostile to the EU

The Guardian wrote on November 30:

“… a new four-nation poll suggests the UK could be heading out of the EU. The landmark survey of more than 5,000 voters in the UK, Germany, France and Poland finds British people far more hostile to the EU and its policies than those in the other EU states, and strikingly low support for British membership among people on the continent.

“… just 26% of British voters regard the EU as, overall, a ‘good thing’ compared with 42% who say it is a ‘bad thing’. In Poland 62% say it is a good thing and 13% bad; in Germany 55% good and 17% bad, and in France 36% good and 34% bad… Just 9% of Germans and 15% of French people think the UK is a positive influence on the EU, with more Poles, 33%, taking that view.

“Only 16% of Germans and 26% of French people back the idea of a special deal being struck for the UK… The idea of Britain leaving the EU does not appear to worry our European partners unduly. Just 24% of French voters said a UK exit would have a negative effect, compared with 36% of Germans and 51% of Poles…”

The German press, including Der Spiegel and the Local, have picked up the story, saying that the “gulf widens between UK and EU nations.”

Scottish Independence Would Mean Exit from EU

The Telegraph wrote on November 27:

“[Spanish Prime Minister] Mariano Rajoy said it was important that Scots were ‘realistic’ about the consequences of a ‘yes’ vote next year and warned against ‘regions’ of member states embarking on ‘solo adventures’… it would mean Scotland having to apply from scratch for EU membership, a process that would take years, and having to negotiate its own opt-out from the euro. The Spanish Prime Minister confirmed a separate Scotland would require the consent of all 28 existing member states, including his country, to join the EU…

“His comments, made in a joint press conference in Madrid with Francois Hollande, the French President, directly contradicted this week’s Scottish Government White Paper on independence. Published on Tuesday, the document said Scotland ‘will continue as a member of the EU’ by completing accession talks in the 18 months between a ‘yes’ vote in September next year and leaving the UK in March 2016.”

Whatever Scotland may decide regarding independence from the UK, it is expected, based on biblical prophecy, that it will not remain a member in the EU.

Outrageous Conduct by Britain’s Social Workers and High Court

The Telegraph wrote on December 1:

“A pregnant woman has had her baby forcibly removed by caesarean section by social workers. Essex social services obtained a High Court order against the woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and her child to be taken from her womb. The council said it was acting in the best interests of the woman, an Italian who was in Britain on a work trip, because she had suffered a mental breakdown. The baby girl, now 15 months old, is still in the care of social services, who are refusing to give her back to the mother, even though she claims to have made a full recovery.

“The case has developed into an international legal row, with lawyers for the woman describing it as ‘unprecedented’. They claim that even if the council had been acting in the woman’s best interests, officials should have consulted her family beforehand and also involved Italian social services, who would be better-placed to look after the child…

“The case… raises fresh questions about the extent of social workers’ powers. It will be raised in Parliament this week by John Hemming, a Liberal Democrat MP… He said: ‘I have seen a number of cases of abuses of people’s rights in the family courts, but this has to be one of the more extreme. It involves the Court of Protection authorising a caesarean section without the person concerned being made aware of what was proposed. I worry about the way these decisions about a person’s mental capacity are being taken without any apparent concern as to the effect on the individual being affected.’

“The woman… suffered a panic attack, which her relations believe was due to her failure to take regular medication for an existing bipolar condition. She called the police, who became concerned for her well-being and took her to a hospital, which she then realised was a psychiatric facility. She has told her lawyers that when she said she wanted to return to her hotel, she was restrained and sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

“Meanwhile, Essex social services obtained a High Court order in August 2012 for the birth ‘to be enforced by way of caesarean section’, according to legal documents seen by this newspaper. The woman, who says she was kept in the dark about the proceedings, says that after five weeks in the ward she was forcibly sedated. When she woke up she was told that the child had been delivered by C-section and taken into care. In February, the mother, who had gone back to Italy, returned to Britain to request the return of her daughter at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

“Her lawyers say that she had since resumed taking her medication, and that the judge formed a favourable opinion of her. But he ruled that the child should be placed for adoption because of the risk that she might suffer a relapse…”

This is a truly outrageous example of authoritarian and dictatorial conduct of alleged democratic governments. We should note the ongoing restrictions of personal liberties and freedoms imposed by totalitarian measures of governmental, medical and judicial officials.

Nelson Mandela Died at 95 – the Myths and Reality

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 5:

“Media and politicians are vying to outdo one another with their tributes to Nelson Mandela who himself disliked the personality cult… Nelson Mandela was no saint, even though that is how the media are now portraying him. Every headline makes him appear more superhuman and much of the admiration is close to idolatry…

“He repeatedly pointed to the collective achievements of the resistance movement, to figures who preceded him in the fight against injustice… When Prisoner Number 46664 was released after 27 years behind bars, he had become a brand, a worldwide idol, the target of projected hopes and wishes that no human being could fulfil alone…

“Who would dare scratch the shining surface of such a man, list his youthful misdemeanors, his illegitimate children? Who would mention his weakness for women, for models, pop starlets and female journalists with whom he flirted in a politically incorrect way when already a respected elder statesman? Who would speak out critically against the attacks he planned when he headed the ANC armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation)? And who would criticize the way he would often explode in anger or dismiss any opinions other than his own?…

“His record as head of government from 1994 to 1999 is also not above reproach… Overdue decisions were not taken, day to day matters were left to others. When choosing his political friends his judgment was not always perfect. A Mandela grandchild is named after Libyan dictator Colonel Moammar Gadhafi. Seen from today’s perspective, not everything fits the generally accepted picture of visionary and genius.

“But Mandela can be excused these lapses because, despite everything, he achieved more than ordinary human beings. His long period of imprisonment played a significant role here. It did not break him, it formed him… His youthful anger dissolved, he mellowed and acquired the wisdom of age. When he was at last released Mandela was no longer burning with rage, he was no longer a revolutionary. This is what some of his fellow freedom fighters now hold against him, although not in public. They wanted a full-blown revolution.

“Mandela wanted reconciliation, at almost any price. His own transformation was his greatest strength; the ability to break free from ideological thought processes and to be able to see the greater whole, the realisation that those who think differently are not necessarily enemies, the ability to listen, to spread the message of reconciliation…

“When Mandela was released from prison in 1990, the old world order of the Cold War era was collapsing. Mandela stood at the crossroads and set off in the right direction. How easily he could have played with fire, sought revenge, or simply failed. He could have withdrawn from public life or, like other companions in arms, earned millions. Two marriages failed because of the political circumstances. His sons died tragically long before him. It was only when he was 80 and met his third wife, Graca Machel, that he again found warmth, partnership and private happiness.

“Setbacks did not leave him bitter, because he regarded his own life as being less important than the cause he believed in. He served the community humbly, with a sense of responsibility, of duty and willingness to make sacrifices, qualities that are today only rarely encountered…

“How small and pathetic his successors now seem. Their battles for power will probably now be fought even more unscrupulously than in the past…”

Will the Events of the “Prague Spring” Be Repeated in Ukraine?

The Associated Press reported on December 1:

“More than 100,000 demonstrators chased away police to rally in the center of Ukraine’s capital on Sunday, defying a government ban on protests on Independence Square, in the biggest show of anger over the president’s refusal to sign an agreement with the European Union. Thousands of demonstrators tried to storm the nearby presidential administration building, but were driven back by riot police using tear gas and flash grenades, which produce a loud bang but are not intended to cause injury. The standoff continued, with more demonstrators arriving.

“The protest was led by prominent opposition politicians, who demanded that President Viktor Yanukovych and his government resign. They also called for a nationwide strike and for tents to be set up to allow demonstrators to remain on the square around the clock… Chants of ‘revolution’ resounded across a sea of yellow and blue Ukrainian and EU flags on the square, where the government had prohibited rallies starting Sunday.

“The crowd was by far the largest since the protests began more than a week ago. Many of the demonstrators had traveled to Kiev from western Ukraine, where pro-EU sentiment is particularly strong… The EU agreement had been eagerly anticipated by Ukrainians who want their country of 45 million people to break out of Moscow’s orbit. Opinion surveys in recent months showed about 45 percent of Ukrainians supporting closer integration with the EU and a third or less favoring closer ties with Russia.

“Moscow tried to block the deal with the EU by banning some Ukrainian imports and threatening more trade sanctions. A 2009 dispute between Kiev and Moscow on gas prices resulted in a three-week cutoff of gas to Ukraine.”

If these protests continue, will Russia militarily intervene as it did in the past, during the “Prague Spring,” when it brutally suppressed the attempts in Czechoslovakia to free themselves from the clutches of the Russian regime? How will Europe act or react? The next article gives different reasons as to why the demonstrations in Ukraine are taking place.

What Is Behind the Protests in Ukraine?

The EUObserver wrote on December 2:

“Watching hundreds of thousands of people flock to the streets of Ukrainian cities, Western audiences may have a feeling of deja vu and think that a second Orange Revolution is in the making. Hundreds of EU flags on Ukraine’s squares have prompted many to think the protest is about the country’s relations with the EU. The violent dispersal of the ‘Euromaidan’ over the weekend has led many others to believe that Ukraine is turning into another Belarus.

“The answer is much simpler. What is driving Ukrainians to the streets is the desire to change the way their country is run… What they are revolting against is the entire political system… Ukraine faces very turbulent times.  Neither the opposition nor the President seem to be in control of the situation… If the Ukrainian political elites do not find a peaceful solution, the situation may get even worse and people’s appetite for radical solutions might increase…”

Jews Demand Right to Pray on Temple Mount

The Washington Post wrote on December 2:

“A small but growing movement by Jewish activists demanding the right to pray at the site of their destroyed temple, in the heart of this disputed capital’s Old City, is creating a potentially explosive clash with the Muslim world, which considers the spot holy and bans Jews from public worship there.

“Each week, hundreds of Jews ascend the creaky wooden ramp built above the Western Wall and enter what is often called the most contested real estate on Earth. Many then embark upon a game of hide-and-seek with their police escorts — whispering forbidden prayers while pretending to talk into cellphones, and getting in quick but banned bows by dropping coins and then bending to pick them up.

“Their proposals, long dismissed as extremist, are now being debated in the Israeli parliament and embraced by an expansionist wing in the ruling coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.These political leaders, many in Netanyahu’s party, want Israel to assert more, not less, control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Old City, including the place known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary…

“Two millenniums ago, this place was the site of the Jews’ Second Temple, destroyed in A.D. 70 by Roman legions under Titus, who cast the Jews into exile. The Western Wall, visited by 10 million people a year, is part of the remaining rampart built around the raised temple complex. Together, the wall and the site of the destroyed temple are the holiest landmarks in Judaism.

“The same courtyard is home to al-Aqsa mosque, one of the oldest in Islam, and the Dome of the Rock, the golden landmark where tradition says the prophet Mohammad made his night journey to heaven. For Palestinians and much of the Muslim world, any mention of changing the status quo at the site, the third-holiest in Islam, is incendiary…

“Non-Muslim tourists are welcome to wander freely around the grounds. But non-Muslim prayer is forbidden. Jews in religious garb are taken aside at the entrance by Israeli security officers, screened more closely and sternly warned not to pray, bow, sing, tear their clothes in mourning or display any religious items.

“Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has ruled that Jews should not enter the Temple Mount esplanade, for fear they will accidentally walk upon ground that is part of the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and only the high priest was permitted to enter. But political leaders are urging that this stance be reexamined. Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, deputy minister of religious affairs, has proposed giving Jews an hour a day to pray there…

“A frequent visitor to the site is Rabbi Chaim Richman, a director of the Temple Institute, whose mission is to prepare for the building of the Third Temple where the Dome of the Rock now stands. He says he envisions a new temple rising toward the clouds, with underground parking, Internet connectivity, radiant heating for the sanctified floors (the priests, in accordance with Jewish law, will be barefoot), and a return of burnt offerings and animal sacrifice.

“In April, Richman’s Temple Institute moved to a large, renovated space in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, overlooking the Western Wall. The project was funded by Henry Swieca, the billionaire American investor, and his wife, Estee.

“Inside, researchers and artisans have created silver trumpets, wooden lyres and three-pronged forks that would turn over burnt offerings. They sewed a priest’s robe with a breastplate of golden thread and 12 precious stones, as described in the Bible and representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There is a golden menorah and an ark for the covenants. And there are architectural plans. Evidence, Muslim leaders say, that proves that the Jews have literal designs on the mount…”

Did Jesus Travel To Britain?

The Daily Mail wrote on December 3:

“A theory dating back to the Middle Ages suggests that Jesus of Nazareth traveled to Britain in his youth, settling in Priddy, Somerset, and building the first wattle cabin in Glastonbury.

“During the late 12th century, Joseph of Arimathea, the man who donated his own tomb for the burial of Jesus after crucifixion, became connected with the Arthurian cycle… Legend has it that Joseph supposedly took Christ under his wing years earlier when his mother Mary was widowed.”

Storm Hits England and Continental Europe

The Local wrote on December 5:

“Hurricane Xaver hit northern German late Thursday morning and its strength surpassed expectations. Water levels are expected to rise far high than initially thought, putting cities like Hamburg in danger of flooding… The DWD issued an extreme weather warning for the states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen. Travelling from Greenland – Xaver has already hit Scotland, leaving large areas without electricity and killed one person… The storm is expected to hit at high tide leading to fears of a repeat of the floods which devastated Hamburg in 1962.”

 

AFP wrote on December 5:

“A fierce storm battered northern Europe with hurricane force winds Thursday, leaving five people dead or missing, disrupting travel and forcing thousands to flee their homes over fears of the worst tidal surge in decades. British authorities evacuated 15,000 homes as flooding started on the North Sea coast while Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden all boosted their flood defences.

“Winds of up to 142 miles per hour (228 kilometres per hour) were recorded in Scotland and Britain’s environment agency said the ‘surge along the east coast of England is expected to be the worst for more than 60 years.’

“Hundreds of flights were cancelled across northern Europe while rail and ferry services were shut down and one of Europe’s longest bridges — connecting Sweden to Denmark — was closed… The biggest fear across Europe was from a potentially devastating storm surge which will coincide with high tides in many areas late Thursday and early Friday.

“Police and council officials said they were evacuating 9,000 homes in the county of Norfolk, eastern England, and 1,000 in Essex, southeastern England, before three high tides over the next 36 hours… There was travel chaos as the storm barrelled across the North Sea from Britain towards Germany and northwest Europe…”

The Times added on December 5:

“The waves hit like a ‘mini-tsunami’, a rolling tidal surge that swept down the east coast of England leaving flooding and devastation in its wake. Coastal communities were left battered and underwater last night by the biggest storm surge to hit the country in 60 years – causing ten thousand homes to be evacuated and leaving tens of thousands more without power.”

Ice Storm Hits USA

AccuWeather.com wrote on December 5:

“An ice storm will affect millions of people into Friday and threaten to cut power for hundreds of thousands from northern Texas to western Kentucky… The storm is similar in size and may be similar in magnitude to a storm just several years ago… According to Jesse Ferrell, weather expert and storm chaser for AccuWeather.com, ‘This will be the worst ice storm for the United States since January 2009 and will affect many of the same areas as that storm.’

“The New York Times reported that 1.4 million homes and businesses lost power in that late January storm. Lingering, and in some cases intensifying, cold air in the wake of the storm will prevent the ice from melting quickly and can make immediate cleanup difficult, if not impossible. Many road crews have limited ice-melting compounds at their disposal.

“Adding to potential damage or complicating cleanup further, a second round of ice will follow in some areas over the weekend, as a second large storm rolls in from the Southwestern states…”

Hailstorms and Darkness in South Africa

News24 wrote on November 28:

“A massive hailstorm has hit Krugersdorp in the West Rand in Gauteng on Thursday afternoon. The area was pelted with hailstones that were reportedly as large as golf balls.”

News 24 added on November 29:

“A heavy hailstorm hit parts of Pretoria and the Witwatersrand on Thursday afternoon… During the storm motorists had to turn into petrol stations for cover. By 4pm, the sky had turned a dark grey and the rain started to pour as darkness fell… The hailstorm lasted less than half an hour, with hailstones the size of apples.”

All of this reminds us of what the book of Revelation predicts to occur in the near future on a much wider and more serious scale.

“Pope Francis Is the Catholic Church’s Obama – God Help Us”

Fox News wrote on December 4:

“Pope Francis is undergoing a popularity surge comparable to the way Barack Obama was greeted by the world in 2008. And just as President Obama has been a disappointment for America, Pope Francis will prove a disaster for the Catholic Church… Just like President Obama loved apologizing for America, Pope Francis likes to apologize for the Catholic Church, thinking that the Church is at its best when it is passive and not offending anyone’s sensibilities.

“In his interviews with those in the left-wing media he seeks to impress, Francis has said that the Church needs to stop being ‘obsessed’ with abortion and gay marriage, and instead of seeking to convert people, ‘we need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.’…

“Just like Obama thought he’d won over Putin by promising a reset, Francis thinks by talking vacuously about the poor, he will be respected…Francis not only panders to enemies and professional grievance mongers, but also attacks his allies. Just as Obama snubs Britain and Israel, Pope Francis swipes at practicing Catholics…

“On world matters, Francis’ statements are embarrassing. About communism, a destructive ideology that slaughtered millions of Catholics, he said: ‘Learning about it through a courageous and honest person was helpful. I realized…an aspect of the social, which I then found in the social doctrine of the Church.’

“Apart from the fact that there is no major nation practicing unfettered capitalism (like Obama, Francis loves attacking straw men) there is more real tyranny in socialist cesspools like Francis’ home of Argentina than in places where capitalism is predominant… Like Obama, Francis is unable to see the problems that are really endangering his people. Like Obama he mistakes the faithful for the enemy, the enemy for his friend, condescension for respect, socialism for justice and capitalism for tyranny…”

Wearing a Cross…

Mail On Line wrote on November 30:

“Wearing the Crucifix is now a fashion statement with no religious meaning, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury… Justin Welby said the Cross has been trivialised and ceases to shock or challenge people… ‘As a friend of mine used to say, you might as well hang a tiny golden gallows or an electric chair around your neck.’…

“Archbishop Welby wrote… that the fact that the early church stuck to the story of the crucifixion – despite attacks on it – proves that it is true.  He added: ‘For God to be fully human, and then to die an ignominious death reserved for a criminal, seems so extraordinary and pointless as to be inexplicable. Indeed in the early centuries of Christianity many of the accusations against the church started with the assumption that you could not seriously believe in a God who undertook such a terrible and dishonourable death.’…

“Crucifixion was used by the Romans to execute robbers and other common criminals. Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, abolished the practice in the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. The Cross became the symbol of Christianity early in the history of the Church, but it had also been used… as a symbol by other religions and cultures… After a legal battle, the European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark ruling earlier this year saying that Christians may wear a cross at work.”

The article contains some truth and much error. That the cross is being worn today by many as a fashion statement, without any religious significance, cannot be denied. At the same time, wearing a cross is not anything a Christian should do, under any circumstances and for whatever reason. As it is remarked in the article, we might as well wear a golden gallows around our necks. The symbol of the cross is pagan, and as the article points out, it was worn or worshipped long before Jesus Christ’s death: “it had also been used… as a symbol by other religions and cultures.” Further, the cross, as being used and “adored” today, was in all likelihood not the instrument of Christ’s death—rather, the Bible speaks of a tree (1 Peter 2:24).

The Iran Deal

Reuters wrote on November 24:

“At around 2:00 a.m. [Sunday morning], U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and counterparts from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia were brought to a conference room to approve a final text of the agreement [with Iran] which would provide limited relief of sanctions on Iran in return for curbs to its nuclear program. At the last minute, with the ministers already gathered in the room, an Iranian official called seeking changes. Negotiators for the global powers refused. Finally the ministers were given the all clear. The deal, a decade in the making, would be done at last.

“Now that the interim deal is signed, talks are far from over… The deal was in part the result of months of secret talks held with Iran in such out-of-the-way places as Oman, with U.S. officials using military planes, side entrances and service elevators…”

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Israel knew at all or in detail about these secret talks.

Saudis Opposed

The Telegraph wrote on November 25:

“A senior advisor to the Saudi royal family has accused its Western allies of deceiving the oil rich kingdom in striking the nuclear accord with Iran and said Riyadh would follow an independent foreign policy… Mr Obaid said that while Saudi Arabia knew that the US was talking directly to Iran through a channel in the Gulf state of Oman, Washington had not directly briefed its ally. ‘We were lied to, things were hidden from us,’ he said…

“In a statement the Saudi government…warned that a comprehensive solution should lead to the ‘removal of all weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear, from the Middle East and the Gulf.’”

Iran Serious?

CNN wrote on November 24:

“When it comes to Iran and the West, the relationship has been convoluted for decades. And this deal is no different. After days of negotiations, six world powers and Tehran reached an agreement that calls on Iran to limit its nuclear activities in return for lighter sanctions. It’s complicated politics coupled with complicated science… A better deal would have included Iranians shipping out their highly enriched uranium to be converted elsewhere… Whether Iran is serious about mothballing its nuclear ambitions remains to be seen… There are certainly aspects where the deal stopped short.”

US and Iran Disagree on Terms of the Deal

The Financial Times wrote on November 24:

“Shortly after the historic nuclear agreement was reached with Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning, John Kerry, US secretary of state, took to Twitter to announce a ‘first step that makes the world safer’…

“Yet within hours, both men had also revealed substantial disagreements over the nuclear negotiations in Geneva which served to expose the very large gaps that still lie between this initial deal and a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme over the next six months… the negotiations must… now deal with the much harder issue of whether Iran will substantially roll back its nuclear programme to a point where building a bomb would be near-impossible…

“The interim agreement reached in Geneva places a cap on central parts of the Iranian nuclear programme in return for modest sanctions relief. However, it still leaves Iran with a substantial nuclear infrastructure which western experts believe could produce the material for a bomb within a few months.

“Speaking just hours after the deal was announced, Mr Rouhani declared that ‘world powers have recognised the nuclear rights of Iran’. Tehran has long insisted that it has a ‘right’ to enrich uranium under international treaties. However, this view was immediately rejected by Mr Kerry, who gave a series of television interviews in Geneva at 5am and claimed an Iranian right to enrich was ‘not in this document’…

“However, even after the interim agreement, Iran’s willingness to dismantle substantial parts of its nuclear infrastructure and to allow inspections of sites where hidden nuclear facilities might exist remains uncertain, analysts said.”

Deal Not Even Started Yet?

JTA wrote on November 27:

“State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that the six-month interim agreement with Iran has not yet started. The next step is ‘a continuation of technical discussions at a working level so that we can essentially tee up the implementation of the agreement,’ she said.

“It’s not clear when the agreement will come into force, but in the meantime Psaki said the United States is ‘respecting the spirit of the agreement in pressing for sanctions not to be put in place’ and expects that the same is coming from Iran’s end.

“However, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told Iran’s Parliament on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would continue to build the Arak heavy water plant in contravention of the announced agreement. The previous day, Iran said that the United States had not distributed an accurate account of the agreement.”

Altered Sanctions while Iran Continues with Enrichment Program

Newsmax added on November 25:

“The United States released $8 billion in frozen assets to Iran on Sunday in a move meant to ensure Tehran’s compliance with a nuclear agreement signed over the weekend, say top Iranian officials, the Washington Free Beacon reported Monday. Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht confirmed Monday that the U.S. government freed $8 billion in assets that had been blocked by the Obama administration. In addition, Iran will get about $7 billion in sanctions relief, gold, and oil sales under the nuclear deal that was signed in Geneva with Western nations over the weekend…

“The State Department has denied that sanctions have been altered since an interim deal with Iran was announced… Iran announced on Sunday that its nuclear work would continue despite the deal, which is aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program and enrichment of uranium, the key to producing a nuclear weapon.

“Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who helped ink the deal, praised it for recognizing Iran’s right to enrich uranium, a key sticking point that had delayed the deal… Over the next six months, Iran will see ‘the full removal of all [United Nations] Security Council, unilateral and multilateral sanctions, while the country’s enrichment program will be maintained,’ Zarif said, adding that the Fordo and Natanz nuclear sites will continue to run. ‘None of the enrichment centers will be closed, and Fordo and Natanz will continue their work, and the Arak heavy water [nuclear reactor] program will continue in its present form, and no material [enriched uranium stockpiles] will be taken out of the country, and all the enriched materials will remain inside the country,’ Zarif said. ‘The current sanctions will move towards decrease, no sanctions will be imposed and Iran’s financial resources will return.’”

Will Iran Ever Give Up Development of Nuclear Weapons?

The New York Times wrote on November 23:

“… some experts, including a former official who has worked on the Iranian issue for the White House, said it was unlikely that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would ever close the door on the option to develop nuclear weapons. Instead, they said, any initial six-month agreement is more likely to be followed by a series of partial agreements that constrain Iran’s nuclear activities but do not definitively solve the nuclear issues…

“On the contentious issue of the heavy water reactor Iran is building near Arak, which could produce plutonium and therefore another path to a bomb, Iran agreed not to produce fuel for the plant, install additional reactor components there or put the plant into operation. Iran is not required to dismantle the facility, however, or convert the plant into a light water reactor that would be less useful for military purposes…

“To guard against cheating, international monitors would be allowed to visit the Natanz enrichment facility and the underground nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo on a daily basis to check the film from cameras installed there. But Iran did not agree to all of the intrusive inspection regime that the International Atomic Energy Agency had said was needed to ensure that the Iranian program is peaceful.”

Iran Still Determined to Build Nuclear Weapons

Newsmax wrote on November 26:
 
“Bill Kristol, founder and editor of The Weekly Standard, thinks Iran is determined to build nuclear weapons despite its deal with the United States. ‘If you just came down from Mars and looked at this deal, you would conclude the Iranian regime, having spent 10 years cheating, lying, . . . and willing to risk very tough sanctions . . . [is] willing to sign off on a little bit of a pause in their [nuclear] program in return to getting sanctions released,’ Kristol told ‘The Steve Malzberg Show’ on Newsmax TV.”

Iran Claims Victory

The Daily Caller wrote on November 24:

“Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed victory over the United States Sunday shortly after a historic nuclear agreement was reached in Geneva between the Islamic Republic and the 5+1 world powers… [President Hassan] Rouhani… said Iran will continue its nuclear progress. ‘No matter whether the world wants it or not, this path (to nuclear capability) will, God willing, continue to the peak,’ he said.

“Iran has negotiated its nuclear program with the U.S. and the world powers for over a decade, during which time it has successfully increased the number of centrifuges enriching uranium from 150 to over 19,000 today. It now has over 10 tons of low-enriched uranium — enough for several bombs — and has over a thousand ballistic missiles and, in collaboration with North Korea, is working on intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

Israelis Critical of Deal

Breitbart wrote on November 25:

“Yossi Klein Halevi… American-born Israeli author… had strong words of condemnation for the nuclear deal reached in Geneva with Iran. ‘I think it’s a betrayal. The Obama administration had to be dragged into supporting sanctions. It took the administration three years to sign up for crippling sanctions. And now, just as they’re starting to work, the administration is beginning to dismantle the system… They are laying the groundwork for another North Korea… Before this deal, there were two credible threats to a nuclear Iran. One was the sanctions effort, and the other was an Israeli strike. The deal with Iran undercuts both. If Israel doesn’t strike, Iran will go nuclear. And the price of an Israeli strike has now risen exponentially… Obama has created a condition in which Iran will be gradually reaccepted into the international community, and Israel could well find itself a pariah. That’s Obama’s gift to the Jewish people. I think this deal makes an Israeli strike inevitable.’”

Alan Dershowitz: Deal a Big Mistake

Breitbart wrote on November 24:

“Harvard professor and noted civil rights and international law expert [and liberal Democrat] Alan Dershowitz criticized the nuclear deal with Iran sharply on Sunday, saying that it ‘could become a Chamberlain moment’ for President Barack Obama… ‘It’s no surprise that the Iranians are jumping up in the air celebrating, and American experts are deeply divided as to whether this is a good deal or bad deal.

“‘Of course someone like Zbigniew Brzezinski says it’s a good deal–he’s the perfect litmus test. He’s always wrong. If you look back at his history, from the day he became an adviser to Jimmy Carter, I can’t think of one decision where he turned out right. Korea, Syria, the Arab Spring, and the Palestinians–he’s much worse than a broken clock, which is right twice a day. I challenge anyone to find any major issue of foreign policy on which Brzezinski has been right over the past four years. The idea that the Obama administration listened to this man is remarkable to me. Where does this notion that he’s a wise man come from? His history is one mistake after the other… This decision is much more likely in my view to lead to a military confrontation than increasing the sanctions…
 
“‘It increases the chance Iran will develop nuclear weapons. It increases the chance of an Israeli attack. It increases the chance Saudi Arabia will have to try to obtain its own nuclear weapon. It increases chances of a general arms race… Many people thought that [British Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain was correct [in 1938] when he bartered an important part of Czechoslovakia for the hope of peace… he didn’t fully understand the great danger of Nazism and the great threat of a Nazi regime that had the Sudetenland… I think the Obama administration has failed to understand the evil of the mullahs. Iran was weakened by the sanctions. We’ve given them a great victory… Iran’s goal has always been to create a wedge between Israel and the U.S. They are the smartest enemy the U.S. and Israel have faced in recent years…’”

Deal Worse than 1938 Munich Agreement

Newsmax wrote on November 26:
 
“The U.S.-Iran deal on nuclear weapons is far more disastrous than the 1938 Munich Agreement, which permitted Nazi Germany’s annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia, says David Horowitz, president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
 
“‘It is catastrophic. It’s worse than Munich because after [British Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain sold the Czechs down the river to [Adolf] Hitler, although they suffered and many of them died, they weren’t obliterated,’ Horowitz told ‘The Steve Malzberg Show’ on Newsmax TV. ‘Whereas the [President Barack] Obama-[Secretary of State John] Kerry deal with Iran jeopardizes the lives of the entire Jewish people in Israel,’ he said Monday. ‘When Israel is the size of New Jersey, a nuclear bomb or two could just wipe out the population.’”

Charles Krauthammer agrees. According to newsbusters.org, dated November 25, he said:
 
“I just heard the Secretary of State say we’re going to get a destruction of the 20 percent uranium. That is simply untrue. What’s going to happen is the 20 percent enriched uranium is going to be turned into an oxide so it’s inoperative. That process is completely chemically reversible, which means Iran holds on to its 20 percent uranium and can turn it into active stuff any time it wants. This is a sham from beginning to end. It’s the worst deal since Munich.”

Israel Not Bound

JTA wrote on November 25:

“Netanyahu… reiterated [on Sunday] that Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear program — with or without U.S. approval — if Israel deems it necessary. ‘This agreement and what it means endangers many countries, including, of course, Israel,’ Netanyahu said. ‘Israel is not bound by this agreement. The Iranian regime is committed to the destruction of Israel, and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.’”

Israel Might Strike Alone

The Guardian wrote on November 24:

“Netanyahu, who has staked his premiership on the need to defend Israel against the Iranian threat by military action if necessary, faces further isolation from key allies in the west who brokered and endorsed the diplomatic accord with Tehran. The issue has severely strained relations between Israel and the US over recent weeks.

“But the prospect of diplomatic alienation did not stop a string of minsters taking to the airwaves to denounce the deal. ‘If in another five or six years a nuclear suitcase explodes in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the agreement that was signed this morning,’ the economy minister, Naftali Bennett, said. ‘We woke up this morning to a reality in which a bad, a very bad agreement was signed in Geneva.’

“The foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman… added: ‘Obviously when you look at the smiles of the Iranians over there in Geneva, you realise that this is the Iranians’ greatest victory, maybe since the Khomeini revolution, and it doesn’t really change the situation within Iran.’”

The Washington Post wrote on November 24:

“Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the deal ‘brings us to a nuclear arms race. The world has to understand that this is the biggest diplomatic victory Iran has had in recent years,’ Lieberman said. ‘There’s no doubt the agreement recognizes Iran’s right to enrich uranium.’… Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, last week referred to Israel as ‘the rabid dog of the region’ and promised ‘the Zionist regime is doomed to destruction.’”

Americans Opposed

The Washington Times wrote on November 25:

“Asking Iran to ‘halt and scale back its nuclear program’ is like asking President Barack Obama to take responsibility for his presidency. It will never occur. From one dishonest broker to another, this explains why Obama agreed to the ‘sucker’s deal’ negotiated in Geneva between Iran and five other so called ‘superpowers,’ Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia.

“Obama bowed to Iran’s demand that Tehran be allowed to keep its current supply of enriched uranium with the promise it won’t produce anymore high grade uranium to use in a nuclear bomb. Iran also ‘promised’ it would stop construction on a nuclear reactor in Arak being built to produce plutonium used to make a bomb. In exchange for Iran’s generous assurances, economic sanctions will be lifted for six months and the cash starved, mullah run nation will be able to tap some of its $7 billion in frozen funds. ‘Halting’ isn’t dismantling or ending Iran’s nuclear program. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said ‘Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and it pays nothing.’…

“Remember this is the same Iran arming Syrian President Assad to continue his massacre of his own people. The same Iran that professes its goal is to wipe Israel from the face of the earth and the same Iran that funds terrorism globally through groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, enemies to Israel and America…”

Newsmax wrote on November 24:

“Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden on Sunday criticized the Obama administration’s deal with Iran saying it will only delay, not derail the country’s nuclear program… ‘Practically the worst of all possible outcomes, because now what you have here is a nuclear capable state,’ Hayden said… ‘And my fear is, this interim agreement, which doesn’t roll back much of anything at all, becomes a permanent agreement,’ Hayden said.”

Newsmax reported on November 25:

“Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday that despite the Obama administration’s interim deal with Iran the Senate would pass a bipartisan measure forcing sanctions against the rogue nation until its nuclear capability has been completely dismantled…  Graham is the latest in a growing line of Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill who oppose the deal with Iran… The Obama administration has warned Congress not to move ahead with sanctions, but Graham’s statement is the strongest yet that lawmakers are not willing to let the White House deal stand.”

American Pastor Still Jailed in Iran for His Religious Convictions

Newsmax wrote on November 25:

“Naghmeh Abedini, whose American husband Saeed Abedini remains imprisoned in  Iran, spoke out Monday about the failure of the United States to work the Christian pastor’s release into the nuclear deal reached early Sunday… With the holidays approaching, Naghmeh Abedini said her children were praying their 33-year-old father, who has been behind bars for more than a year because of his Christian religious practices, would be returned to the United States…

“According to the White House, the release of Abedini— a U.S. citizen who was born in Iran and who was working in an Iranian government-approved orphanage when he was arrested — did not enter discussions that took place last week in Geneva. President Barack Obama raised the issue of Saeed Abedini’s release in September during earlier rounds of talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, but an agreement allowing the prisoner to come home was not reached, prompting the American Center for Law and Justice to reach out to Secretary of State John Kerry.

“ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow accused both Obama and Kerry of turning their backs on a U.S. citizen; however, Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said Saeed Abedini’s case, as well as the cases of other American prosoners in Iran, have been part of diplomatic discussions.”

Deal Similar to the One With North Korea Which Failed

Beitbart wrote on November 23:

“A similar deal with the regime in North Korea in 1993 ended with that regime going fully nuclear in 2006… In the main, the deal buys time for Iran to continue its nuclear development – and, as Israel has argued, Iran remains perilously close to development of its first nuclear weapon, which would dramatically shift the balance of power in the region away from the Jewish state. The deal effectively forestalls any Israeli military action thanks to the West’s tacit endorsement of a ‘process’ that will supposedly end in Iran disarming, but will far more likely end with Iran going nuclear…

“The approach of the Obama administration in the Middle East seems to be one of making parchment agreements without any real verification or enforcement mechanisms. Each agreement puts Israel in a worse position. And while the world press announces triumphantly that the Obama administration is achieving peace in our time, the world grows closer and closer to the world’s worst regimes armed with the world’s most dangerous weapons – all presided over by a weak-kneed White House intent on minimizing American influence around the globe.”

German Reactions

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on November 25: “Iran’s concessions are significant but don’t mean the end of the nuclear program… It’s worth noting that the sanctions imposed on Iran worked by causing the leadership in Tehran to embark on a charm offensive… If an instrument is working, one shouldn’t abandon it prematurely.”

Die Welt wrote: “So far, the Geneva agreement is just a test of Tehran’s seriousness. Everything, truly everything, now depends on Obama not getting carried away by grand historic, global political visions. There must be complete certainty that Iran is opening up all its centrifuges and letting the inspectors do their work without obstruction. There are too many historical examples of deceitful dictatorships and betrayed democracies not to remain very suspicious regarding Tehran… It’s an exceedingly bold assumption that six months will suffice to achieve this certainty.”

Charging Fees for Deposits?

The Financial Times wrote on November 24:

“Leading US banks have warned that they could start charging companies and consumers for deposits if the US Federal Reserve cuts the interest it pays on bank reserves.

“Depositors already have to cope with near-zero interest rates, but paying just to leave money in the bank would be highly unusual and unwelcome for companies and households…Banks say they may have to charge because taking in deposits is not free: they have to pay premiums of a few basis points to a US government insurance programme.”

New Obamacare Dates and Delays

Politico wrote on November 27:

“The Obama administration today announced a one year delay of online enrollment for small businesses looking to purchase health coverage through federal Obamacare exchanges, another high-profile setback for HealthCare.gov…

“The announcement just before Thanksgiving is the latest in a series of delays and miscalculations for the president’s signature domestic legislation. On July 2 — also just before a holiday —it delayed the employer mandate for a year. Small businesses with fewer than 50 workers are exempt from the requirement to cover them, and the exchanges are supposed to give more options to those that choose to offer coverage…

“Small businesses have been able to apply for exchange coverage by paper application since Oct. 1. HHS on Wednesday announced they will have additional ways of enrolling on SHOP, including going through an agent or broker or directly through an insurer…

“Employers, like individuals, will have until Dec. 23 to purchase coverage that takes effect Jan. 1, HHS said on Wednesday. Employers can enroll at any point in the year, though, while the 2014 open enrollment period for individuals is scheduled to end March. 31.”

Why the Ukraine Forsook the EU

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 25:

“The inability of European bureaucrats to keep up with the Kremlin’s manipulations — or Kiev’s political calculations — has cost the EU a trade deal with Ukraine, and severely damaged its foreign policy. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decisive move came on Nov. 9. That day, after years of courtship, and several months of promises and threats, he met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich at a military airport near Moscow. The meeting was so clandestine the Russians initially denied that it had taken place at all.

“Before that point, the plan had been for Yanukovich to sign a 900-page association agreement, a sort of engagement contract, with the European Union in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Nov. 29. But in early November near Moscow, Putin seems to have sealed an alliance with Ukraine, preempting his rivals in Brussels. And last Thursday Yanukovich postponed the signing of the EU agreement indefinitely…

“In the end, the Russian president seems to have promised his Ukrainian counterpart several billion euros in the form of subsidies, debt forgiveness and duty-free imports. The EU, for its part, had offered Ukraine loans worth €610 million ($827 million), which it had increased at the last moment, along with the vague prospect of a €1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Yanukovich chose Putin’s billions instead…

“The EU’s eastern partnership had gotten off to a rocky start even before the Ukrainian incident. Belarus dashed the EU’s hopes it would join when protesters were violently suppressed after the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in 2010. Armenia called off an association agreement with the EU this September.

“In the case of Ukraine, it initially seemed as if the Europeans’ rational arguments would prevail over Russia’s threatening gestures. According to an internal EU analysis, joining the ‘Eurasian Union’ — a Russia-backed proposed political and economic union including Russia, Tajikistan, Kayahkstan, Belarus and others — would severely limit Ukraine’s sovereignty. Once such a union had been formed, Kiev would no longer be able to enter into any other free trade agreements without Moscow’s approval. An alliance with Moscow would thus have the exclusive nature of a marriage. The EU’s eastern partnership, in contrast, would still allow Ukraine to enter into other alliances…

“In August, Russian officials began painstakingly inspecting trucks from Ukraine bringing goods across the border into Russia. Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuck was barred from importing steel pipes to Russia, and a former cabinet minister was prevented from selling his chocolate in the country. These measures have led to a 25 percent decline in exports since 2011. Ukraine exports a third of its goods to Russia and other former countries of the former Soviet Union, and only 25 percent to the EU. Russia also threatened that it would require Ukrainians to apply for visas to travel to the country in the future. Three days after the secret meeting in Moscow, Ukrainian oligarchs, apparently in consultation with the Kremlin, asked Yanukovich to postpone signing the EU association treaty by a year… The Kremlin made it clear the harassment could become permanent…”

BBC News added on November 26:

“Russia had urged Kiev to delay signing a key deal with the EU, Ukraine’s prime minister has admitted, as mass protest rallies continue across the country… Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied putting any pressure on Kiev, accusing instead the EU of ‘blackmailing’ Ukraine into signing the agreement…

“On Sunday, more than 100,000 people rallied in the capital, Kiev, in the largest show of public discontent since the Orange Revolution in 2004… Protesters are accusing the president of bowing to growing pressure from Mr Putin, who wants Kiev to join the Moscow-led Customs Union…”

Merkel Criticizes Russia’s Cold War Mentality

The EUObserver wrote on November 27:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised Russia’s ‘Cold War’ mentality and said Ukraine can still sign an EU pact, as EU leaders flock east for the Vilnius summit. She is one of 20 or so EU heads of state or government, along with her British and French counterparts, going to the Lithuanian capital on Thursday (28 November) and Friday for the so-called Eastern Partnership event.

“But Germany’s privileged economic relations with Russia, and Merkel’s standing as the most powerful leader in the EU, make her words carry special weight. Most of the six Eastern Partnership states – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – are also attending at the top level.  But Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in a shock u-turn last week, said he will not sign an EU association and free trade treaty, citing Russian threats to cut off trade. His signature was to have been the main outcome of the summit… ‘It means the Eastern Partnership is dead,’ one EU diplomat told this website…

“With Armenia also backing out of an EU pact due to Russian threats, Merkel said: ‘The more they [post-Soviet countries] come closer to Europe, the more Russia sees it as distancing themselves from Russia.’… Some EU diplomats fear that following its demolition of the Ukraine treaty, Russia’s next move will be to stop Georgia and Moldova from ever signing or implementing the pacts. But Georgia’s foreign minister, Maja Panjikidze, said in an op-ed for EUobserver on Thursday that ‘as Russian troops and barbed wire continue to encroach on our sovereignty, Georgia’s commitment to European and Euro-Atlantic integration stands stronger than ever.’…”

Anglo-Spanish Tensions over Gibraltar

BBC News wrote on November 26:

“Britain has formally protested to the Spanish authorities after police opened a diplomatic bag at the border with Gibraltar… This is a very unusual incident. The last occasion on which British diplomatic bags were opened involved Zimbabwe 13 years ago. The Foreign Office says it has no record of a previous such incident involving an EU partner or NATO ally.

“The 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic relations… states simply that a diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained… But against the background of recent Anglo-Spanish tensions over Gibraltar, it could represent a serious new development.”

Germany’s Grand Coalition—More Power to the Eurozone

The EUObserver wrote on November 26:

“Germany’s upcoming government will not change its eurozone policy, but wants more powers for the bloc’s foreign service… Germany is to remain an ‘anchor of stability’ in the eurozone… The new government will continue to promote Merkel’s plan to have binding contracts for all eurozone countries with the EU commission… the new German government is in favour of a strong European Parliament combined with close cooperation with national parliaments…

“The new coalition government wants to strengthen the post of the High Representative for foreign and security policy, currently held by Catherine Ashton. With her mandate coming to an end next year, Germany wants to improve the way her diplomatic service (EEAS) reacts to and seeks to prevent crises… ‘We are in favour of further linking civilian and military instruments of the EU and improving military capacities for crisis prevention and conflict resolution’…  Drones – a tool used by the German military in Afghanistan – will continue to be used… The new government also backs a controversial law allowing drones to fly in EU airspace and wants it introduced as soon as possible…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 27:

“Weeks of talks ended early Wednesday morning with a contract between Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats to form Germany’s next government. The deal still faces a difficult vote by all SPD members in December… The deal won’t be completed until it is put before a vote of the roughly 470,000 members of the SPD on Dec. 6. The outcome of that vote is uncertain, but the Social Democrats have won important concessions from the conservatives that could make it easier for party boss Sigmar Gabriel to sell it to the party base… Results are expected by Dec. 14. If everything goes according to plan, Merkel could then be elected as the next chancellor on Dec. 17. If the SPD rejects the contract, however, Merkel may be forced to negotiate a government with the Greens.”

The New York Times wrote on November 27:

“The sections in the accord on Europe and on financial policy contained few surprises. The document reiterates the primacy of the ‘unique’ Franco-German partnership in Europe but also stresses how important it is to strengthen German-Polish ties. It also says that German should become a working language of the European Union, alongside French and English. That reflects the electoral program of Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc and also seemed to show that Germany is comfortable asserting its interests in Europe.

“In that vein, the accord confidently reiterates Germany’s financial policies and particularly its frequently voiced belief that weaker European economies are entitled to ‘solidarity’ but must also take responsibility for their own affairs. Many in struggling southern Europe read this as continued austerity prescribed and administered by Berlin. German officials insist they are no stricter with others than with themselves, and have so far shrugged off demands from Brussels and Washington to spend more of their surplus.”

Berlusconi Expelled

AFP wrote on November 27:

“Italian senators on Wednesday expelled three-time former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament due to his criminal conviction for tax fraud, in a momentous round of voting. ‘The conclusions of the committee on elections have been approved, abolishing the election of senator Silvio Berlusconi,’ Senate speaker Pietro Grasso said.”

Berlusconi—Dead or Alive?

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 28:

“[W]ill the man called politically ‘dead’ again pull off the impossible? Silvio Berlusconi might return to power…  Beyond Italy’s borders in Europe, hardly anyone – and definitely not a head of state – has shed a tear… During the eurozone rescue he was dead weight. But, the Berlusconi era is not yet over.

“The billionaire who reigns over an intricately woven corporate empire and influential media outlets, could certainly be mulling revenge in a return to the political arena. That’s not out of the question. Should the Letta government’s economically-oriented policy course end up crashing in the coming years, new elections could return Berlusconi to power through a coalition between his Forza Italia and other right-of-center parties. His expulsion due to tax evasion is only temporary. He only has to have patience, and then hope that he won’t be convicted of another crime.

“There are opinion surveys which show that Berlusconi, in spite of all the scandals related to sex, money and bribery, still enjoys 20 percent support among the electorate. Many small business owners admire the self-made billionaire… The drama now enters its final round. In the third and final court appeal, Italian judges will decide whether Silvio Berlusconi, as a result of sex with an under-aged prostitute, should go to jail for seven years…”

Hanukkah – An “Answer” to Christmas?

The Times of Israel wrote on November 27:

“In 1860s Cincinnati, Rabbi Max Lilienthal noticed that many Jews were enjoying German Christmas customs, with decorated trees and a Kris Kringle figure. Having preached in some churches, he also noticed the tendency toward Christmas festivities and gifts that kept children interested in religion and their church. Why not, he said, have Hanukkah festivals and pageants, with gifts for the kids?…

“In Baltimore, future Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold, too, believed that Hanukkah celebrations needed to be reshaped in line with Christmas ones. ‘Christmas truly fulfills its mission of bringing peace and good will to men. All this and more, Chanuka should be to us,’ she wrote in the New York Jewish Messenger in 1879.”

Hanukkah—an originally often neglected occasion in the Jewish calendar—developed into a big celebration which was deemed particularly relevant for American Jews, by creating and adopting a mixture between Jewish tradition and Christmas concepts.

Call for Renewal of Catholic Church

Reuters wrote on November 26:

“Pope Francis called for renewal of the Roman Catholic Church and attacked unfettered capitalism as ‘a new tyranny’, urging global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality in the first major work he has authored alone as pontiff. The 84-page document, known as an apostolic exhortation, amounted to an official platform for his papacy, building on views he has aired in sermons and remarks since he became the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years in March.

“In it, Francis went further than previous comments criticising the global economic system, attacking the ‘idolatry of money’ and beseeching politicians to guarantee all citizens ‘dignified work, education and healthcare’. He also called on rich people to share their wealth…

“The pope said renewal of the Church could not be put off and said the Vatican and its entrenched hierarchy ‘also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion’…  ‘As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,’ he wrote…

“Since his election, Francis has set an example for austerity in the Church, living in a Vatican guest house rather than the ornate Apostolic Palace, travelling in a ford Focus, and last month suspending a bishop who spent millions of euros on his luxurious residence. He chose to be called ‘Francis’ after the medieval Italian saint of the same name famed for choosing a life of poverty.

“Stressing cooperation among religions, Francis quoted the late Pope John Paul II’s idea that the papacy might be reshaped to promote closer ties with other Christian churches and noted lessons Rome could learn from the Orthodox such as ‘synodality’ or decentralised leadership. He praised cooperation with Jews and Muslims and urged Islamic countries to guarantee their Christian minorities the same religious freedom as Muslims enjoy in the West.”

BBC News added on November 26:

“Pope Francis has called for power in the Catholic Church to be devolved away from the Vatican… the main thrust of Pope Francis’ pontificate… is that he wants to see a less Vatican-centred Church… In addition, Pope Francis says that ties with Islam have taken on great importance for the Catholic Church because of the growing number of Muslim immigrants now residing in many traditionally Catholic countries. ‘We Christians,’ he says, ‘should embrace Muslims with affection and respect in the same way that we hope and ask to be respected in countries of Islamic tradition.’”

Massive Downgrade of US-Vatican Relationship?

Breitbart wrote on November 25:

“The Obama administration has decided to shut down the free-standing American embassy to the Holy See. The offices for the Ambassador to the Vatican will be moved onto the grounds of the larger American embassy to Italy, in a separate building. The move is being justified as a result of the security reviews that followed the attacks on our embassy in Benghazi last year but five former American envoys are strenuously objecting…
 
“Justified primarily on the grounds of enhanced security, the move is described by former U.S. Ambassador James Nicholson… as a ‘massive downgrade’ in U.S./Vatican ties… ‘The Holy See is a pivot point for international affairs and a major listening post for the United States,’ he said, ‘and to shoehorn [the U.S. delegation] into an office annex inside another embassy is an insult to American Catholics and to the Vatican.’… Raymond Flynn, the first Clinton ambassador… described the move as part of broader secular hostility to religious groups, the Catholic church in particular…
 
“Catholic Vote considers the move to be ‘an unmistakable slap in the face.’… It looks to some as though the Obama administration is trying to diminish and discredit the Vatican’s role in the world because it’s  pro-life, pro-family, and pro-religious freedom values  is at odds with the Regime’s pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage stance…”

Germany Complicit of Illegal US Wars?

The Local wrote on November 15:

“The Süddeutsche newspaper published an investigation in its Friday edition into America’s foreign policy and wars being conducted from German soil. It claimed: ‘The U.S. knows no limits. And Germany looks on—even asking where it can help.’ But on Friday afternoon the US Embassy’s press department in Berlin took the unusual step of sending out a statement attacking the ‘outrageous’ claims. It described the story as ‘full of half-truths, speculation, and innuendo’…

“The story in the Süddeutsche was particularly critical of the US drone war which it described as a ‘massive break with international law’, as well as its use of private firms to conduct spying operations. The newspaper launched the investigation with public broadcaster NDR and said it had spent months trying to shine a light on the secrets.

“It argued: ‘German agencies and politicians have obviously gotten used to American intelligence and military right here in their own backyard: tapping, code cracking, recruiting informants, observing suspects, kidnapping and abducting foreign enemies. The Germans have known all that for years. There’s no war in Germany. But where the U.S. army and intelligence agencies once protected the West during the Cold War, they now lead a worldwide secret war—a massive breach of international law. American soldiers—on bases in Ramstein and Stuttgart—are conducting a bloody drone war in Africa from within Germany… Germany acts as the headquarters for secret wars in Africa, the European hub for CIA operations and the training ground for drone attacks worldwide. And Germany’s location is indispensable,’ it argued.”

No Armed Drones for Germany… At Least Not For Now

The Local wrote on November 14:

“Members of the next German government have agreed to postpone the country’s purchase of armed drones indefinitely following controversy over their use and cost. A draft version of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Social Democrats seen by news site Spiegel states: ‘We categorically reject illegal killings by drones. Germany will support the use of unmanned weapons systems for the purposes of international disarmament and arms control.’ It went on: ‘Before acquiring a qualitatively new arms system, we will thoroughly investigate all associated civil and constitutional guidelines and ethical questions.’…

“The move is a blow to outgoing defence minister Thomas de Mazière who was slated for spending hundreds of millions of euros on Euro Hawk drones which were never allowed to fly over German airspace. He revealed in May that talks were underway with both the US manufacturer of Predator drones as well as their Israeli competitor, which produces Heron drones, to buy 16 in the next few years.

“But the Social Democrats apparently signaled early on during the talks over forming Germany’s next government that they were in favour of delaying a decision on purchasing drones. The Christian Socialist Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party, was also supportive of delaying the move. According to Spiegel, the working group on foreign and security policy also agreed to set up a commission to work on coming up with proposals in response to a controversial Conservative proposal to no longer seek parliamentary approval for all deployments by the Bundeswehr carried out within an EU framework.”

This will also be a blow to the USA and the Obama Administration, because they support and are engaged in drone warfare.

Europe’s Own Drones?

Haaretz wrote on November 19:

“European states took a first step on Tuesday towards developing a drone that could challenge U.S. dominance of the unmanned aircraft sector. Defense ministers meeting in Brussels instructed the European Defense Agency (EDA), the European Union’s defense arm, to start studying the military requirements and costs of a future EU surveillance drone that could be produced after 2020.

“The United States has used drones to kill suspected militants in countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, causing intense controversy about sovereignty and civilian casualties. But drones also have a wide range of civilian uses, including border control, fire-fighting and disaster monitoring. A factsheet from EDA, which groups all 28 EU states apart from Denmark, said ‘beyond 2020’ seemed a reasonable timeframe to produce a European medium altitude, long endurance drone… Eight European countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, signed an agreement to invest jointly in research into various drone components, including collision avoidance technology and automatic take-off and landing…

“EU leaders are trying to promote European cooperation in four key defense-related areas in the run-up to the bloc’s December summit which will have a defense focus. Apart from drones, the other areas are increasing air-to-air refueling capacity, government satellite communications and working together more closely on cyber defense.”

The EUObserver gave a slightly different report on November 20, talking about seven—not eight—European countries having signed the drone agreement. They omitted Britain:

“Seven EU countries have formed what France calls a ‘club’ to produce military drones from 2020 onward. The scheme was agreed in Brussels on Tuesday (19 November) at a meeting of the European Defence Agency (EDA), the EU’s defence think tank, by France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.”

Watch Germany’s CSU and Horst Seehofer

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 14:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the next government to be unified on its EU policy, but her sister party is resorting to populism. Bavaria’s Christian Social Union wants tougher provisions against deficit offenders and the ability to drive them out of the euro zone… the CSU, the Bavarian sister party to Merkel’s CDU, calls for repeat deficit offenders to exit the euro zone… The CDU and the SPD take a different view from the CSU and no compromise is in sight.

“… the party [CSU] wants bankrupt nations to leave the common currency. That’s precisely the position the CSU unanimously agreed to at a party conference last year. And it’s certainly not good news for Merkel, who would prefer to do without such potentially burdensome political outbursts on European policy. It’s also a sign that Merkel’s sister party won’t simply go along with policies from the chancellor that tend to be friendly towards the EU… the CSU adds another one of its pet demands — namely for national referendums on ‘European decisions of particular importance.’

“The CSU is also calling for more powers to be transferred from Brussels back to the EU member states as well as procedures for the restructuring of countries’ debts… CSU party boss Horst Seehofer is already preparing for European Parliament elections that are scheduled in May… With that in mind, it’s unlikely the CSU is just going to sit back and allow the CDU and the SPD to negotiate gently for the sake of Merkel’s party.

“In the note, the CSU also pleads for a smaller European Commission, the EU’s executive. ‘There has to be a reduction of the departments,’ said the CSU’s Thomas Silberhorn, who is negotiating EU policy issues on behalf of his party. ‘The only places where cabinets are this big is Africa, where all tribes have to be taken into consideration when building governments.’”

Some of what the CSU is planning to do sounds very familiar in light of biblical prophecy.

The End of the Merkel Era?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 19:

“The decision by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) to open itself to a possible future alliance with the Left Party has unsettled coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, and is a ticking time bomb that could topple her third government before the next general election, in 2017… the SPD’s party congress in the eastern city of Leipzig last week approved a motion to open itself to the option of a future coalition with the Left Party. It was a clever move that shows that SPD chair Sigmar Gabriel can match Merkel’s famed political cunning. The leftist option will put the conservatives under pressure in the ongoing coalition talks with the SPD, and will keep that pressure up throughout their shared government.

“Technically, the SPD, Greens and Left Party already have enough seats in the newly elected Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, to govern: They have 320 and they need 316 for an absolute majority, whereas the conservatives hold 311 seats. But no one expects the SPD to pull out of the coalition talks and team up with the Left Party in the near future. For that to happen, the Left Party would have to undergo a dramatic overhaul of its policies…

“The conservatives (CDU and CSU) feel they can no longer trust the SPD. Will it pull out of the government at some point? Will it hold Merkel ransom during her third term? And what options will the conservatives have if the SPD does pull the plug? Some conservatives are now calling for the party to foster deeper ties with the Greens, their only possible partners if the SPD abandons them.

“For the SPD, the grand coalition is the last stage before what it hopes will be the biggest shake-up in German politics since the SPD-Green government came to power in 1998, which ended 16 years of calcifying conservative rule under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl… Yet Merkel has more reason to be worried than her triumphant election win on Sept. 22 would have suggested. Her coalition with the SPD will have an overwhelming parliamentary majority, but her fate will be chained to an SPD leader who is already preparing the groundwork for the end of the Merkel Era.”

No Trade Deal Between EU and Ukraine

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 21:

“The Ukrainian government announced on Thursday afternoon that it would cease preparations to sign a trade deal with the European Union… The statement followed the Ukrainian parliament’s failure just hours earlier to pass bills that would have allowed the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for medical treatment abroad…

“The trade pact, which would require the former Soviet republic to adopt EU governance and trade standards, is a source of tension with Russia, which has sharply criticized the measure… Moscow has attempted to hinder the trade deal, threatening economic sanctions and tougher travel regulations between the closely tied neighbors, then attempting to entice Kiev away from the pact with affordable gas prices.

“The failure of the Tymoshenko bills and the break-off of preparations for the deal is a victory for Russia in its struggle to maintain its influence in Ukraine. Russia is currently hoping the country will join its Customs Union with Kazahkstan and Belarus — a nascent rival to the European Union. On the eve of the vote, Russian politician Alexei Pushkov accused Europe of already treating Ukraine like a ‘half-colony.’”

The Battle for Gibraltar

The Telegraph wrote on November 19:

“Spain risked provoking a serious diplomatic incident on Tuesday after sending a survey ship into Gibraltar’s territorial waters and defying orders to leave by the Royal Navy. The Foreign Office said it had summoned the Spanish ambassador in London after the Ramon Margalef, a164ft oceanographic survey ship, defied repeated orders from British Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Sabre to leave the area… According to radio exchanges overheard by a local ship enthusiast onshore, the captain of the Spanish vessel insisted he was carrying out survey work with the permission of the Spanish government…

“David Lidington, the Minister for Europe, said: ‘Despite repeated diplomatic protests to Spain in relation to incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters in recent months, a Spanish State research vessel, the RV Ramon Margalef, undertook significant surveying activity in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on 18 and 19 November for over 20 hours. When challenged by radio, the vessel responded that it was conducting survey work with the permission of the Spanish authorities and in the interests of the European Community. This comes only two weeks after dangerous manoeuvres by a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel in the vicinity of Royal Navy vessels in British waters put lives at risk and resulted in a minor collision.

“‘According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the waters around Gibraltar are indisputably British territorial waters, under United Kingdom sovereignty, in which only the United Kingdom has the right to exercise jurisdiction. Spain is a Party to this Convention and is fully aware of the legal position, yet has, over the past two years, increased the level of unlawful incursions by Spanish State vessels into British territorial waters from around five per month to around 40 per month. I strongly condemn this provocative incursion and urge the Spanish government to ensure that it is not repeated. We stand ready to do whatever is required to protect Gibraltar’s sovereignty, economy and security.’

“It is the third time the Spanish ambassador has been publicly summoned in relation to Gibraltar since the current Spanish government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took office in December 2011. The Government of Gibraltar condemned the actions of the Ramon Margalef and said it represents ‘yet another escalation of Spain’s campaign against Gibraltar on land and sea. This is an intolerable intrusion into British waters and constitutes a clear violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),’ a Gibraltar government spokesman said…

“Diplomatic tensions escalated over the summer when Spain imposed stringent border checks that lead to traffic delays of up to eight hours. Prime Minister David Cameron personally complained to Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy and called for Brussels to monitor the ‘disproportionate and politically motivated checks.’ But in a report published last week the European Commission absolved Spain of illegal checks saying their observers had found no evidence of infringement of EU border regulations.”

Monroe Doctrine Dead

AFP wrote on November 20:

“Secretary of State John Kerry has declared that a nearly 200-year-old policy which had governed Washington’s relations with Latin America was finally dead. Known as the Monroe Doctrine after it was adopted in 1823 by former President James Monroe, the policy had stated that any efforts by European countries to colonize land in North or South America would be viewed as aggressive acts and could require U.S. intervention.

“‘The doctrine that bears [Monroe’s] name asserted our authority to step in and oppose the influence of European powers in Latin America,’ Kerry told an audience at the Organization of American States. ‘And throughout our nation’s history, successive presidents have reinforced that doctrine and made a similar choice. Today, however, we have made a different choice. The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,’ he insisted to applause.”

Obamacare “Fix” – Confusion Galore

The Washington Post wrote on November 16:

“State regulators across the country said they were blindsided by President Obama’s decision to change a key health-law provision and spent Friday scrambling to make sense of it… The president tried to solve [the] issue — his broken promise that people who like their health plans can keep them — by allowing insurance companies to extend health plans that were supposed to be banned. But the move is adding to the confusion that surrounds the health-care law and throwing an element of uncertainty into the insurance market…

“Obama and senior White House officials met with more than a dozen insurance executives Friday afternoon… The executives noted that they could not act on Obama’s remedy for cancellations without the blessing of state regulators…

“Three states — Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — will not allow any changes in their insurance markets. Five states — Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Texas — will give insurers the opportunity to sell these plans… Other states, including [California, Colorado, Oregon] Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, said they need more time to decide… [Note: According to the New York Times, dated November 19, thirteen states have said they will allow consumers to renew cancelled plans, while eight states have refused. California is expected to announce its decision on Thursday.]

“State officials in Georgia said they lack the statutory authority to allow insurers to provide the stopgap measure… In Montana, the main insurer, BlueCross BlueShield, is canceling individual policies by the end of the year. Reversing those cancellations would mean the insurer would have to develop new prices for those same plans, file them with regulators, and give consumers 45 days’ notice…

“Washington state’s insurance commissioner, Mike Kreidler, quickly decided Thursday that he would not allow insurers to renew noncompliant plans as the president has asked…”

Obamacare Navigators Include Convicted Felons

The website of anncoulter.com wrote on November 13:

“In a weird confluence of the nation’s two most pressing issues — Obamacare and our insane immigration laws — this week we found out that the tens of thousands of ‘navigators’ hired by the government to enroll people in Obamacare will include convicted felons. Despite some ‘navigators’ having already been exposed as having arrest warrants against them, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has no plans to screen out the criminals… In addition to convicted felons, navigators are drawn from labor unions, community organizers, former ACORN staffers and front-groups for the Democratic National Committee.

“Call right up and give all your private financial and medical information to those guys! What could go wrong? (Before Obamacare was even online, Minnesota’s health exchange emailed the Social Security numbers and other identifying information for about 2,400 Americans to a man applying to be a ‘navigator’).”

Democrats Divided and in Opposition to President Obama

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 15:

“Dealing a blow to President Obama’s effort to fix problems with his healthcare law, more than three dozen House Democrats voted Friday to support a Republican-sponsored bill to address the crisis, brushing aside White House warnings that the legislation would only make matters worse. Thirty-nine Democrats joined Republicans in a 261-157 vote  to approve the legislation… which would allow insurers to continue selling individual policies that do not meet new federal standards.

“The Democratic defections, which the White House and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had hoped to prevent, highlighted the growing unease among House Democrats over the botched rollout of the program and dissatisfaction with the administration’s proposed fix, announced by the president on Thursday… The vote was seen as a critical test of Democratic unity. The president sought to tamp down a revolt from congressional Democrats… It was unlikely that the Senate would pass a similar bill, and Obama has vowed to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.”

Bild Online commented that with this vote, Democrats gave Obama a lesson and a punishment. At the same time, the far left condemned Obama for even offering a one-year delay and his call for restoration of millions of canceled healthcare policies. Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote that “At stake… is more than the fate of one presidency or of the current Democratic majority in the Senate. At stake is the new, more ambitious, social-democratic brand of American liberalism introduced by Obama, of which Obamacare is both symbol and concrete embodiment.”

How can two walk together unless they are agreed?

Republicans Divided and in Opposition to Former President Bush

Deutsche Welle reported on November 15:

“Recent congressional debate over counterterrorism and Syria has revealed deepening fault lines among Republicans on national security. The party that launched the Iraq war has taken an increasingly isolationist turn… But after more than a decade of war, Americans have become increasingly critical of Bush-era foreign policy decisions. According to the pollster Gallup, 53 percent of Americans now believe the Iraq war was a mistake. And although 66 percent of Republicans still stand by the invasion, nearly a third of the party now regrets the misadventure.

“‘There really is a kind of international commitment fatigue among the general public and that includes a lot of Republicans,’ Colin Dueck, the author of Hard Line: The Republican Party and US Foreign Policy since World War II, told DW. ‘It’s just simply the case the people are in no mood in this country for further military interventions overseas.’

“One of the more stunning foreign policy confessions came recently from an old GOP warhorse, former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich. A foreign policy hawk who led Republicans to congressional dominance in the mid-90s, Gingrich also ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. ‘I am a neoconservative,’ Gingrich told the Washington Times, referring to the hawkish wing of the Republican Party. ‘But at some point, even if you are a neoconservative, you need to take a deep breath to ask if our strategies in the Middle East have succeeded. It may be that our capacity to export democracy is a lot more limited than we thought,’ he said…

“Many elected officials now identified with the Tea Party, such as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, are conservatives cut from a different cloth. They support ultra-conservative economic policies at home, but oppose military interventions abroad… The junior senator from Kentucky sought to force the White House to answer his questions about the drone program. Paul wanted to know whether or not the Obama administration thought it had the authority to launch drone strikes against American non-combatants on US soil. When he didn’t receive an answer, Paul spoke on the floor of the Senate for 13 hours, delaying John Brennan’s nomination for CIA director. The White House eventually took notice of the senator’s filibuster and responded, publicly stating that it did not have the authority to launch such drone strikes on US soil…

“The internal Republican battle over national security intensified during the summer, when the intelligence leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden ignited a firestorm of controversy over post-9/11 surveillance policies. Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, a Republican associated with the Tea Party, proposed an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that would have stopped funding for the NSA mass surveillance programs like PRISM… But Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and six other Republicans sent a letter to the party rank and file, encouraging them to vote against the Amash amendment… Ultimately, the Amash amendment narrowly failed by a margin of just 12 votes. Republicans were deeply divided on the issue, with 93 voting for the measure and 134 against.

“Just days after Amash’s amendment failed, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took aim at Paul, calling ‘the strain of libertarianism’ running through the Republican Party ‘a very dangerous thought.’ Both Christie and Paul are potential contenders for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. But during the debate over possible military strikes against Syria last September, Republican lawmakers gravitated increasingly toward Paul’s non-interventionist approach. According to a CBS tally at the time, 20 Republican senators were opposed to the strikes while 14 were undecided and only 8 were in favor. In the House, 155 Republicans were opposed to the strikes or were leaning toward opposing the strikes. Meanwhile, just 20 Republicans said they supported or were considering supporting military intervention.

“According to foreign policy expert Dueck, Rand Paul is better positioned to make the non-interventionist argument today than his libertarian father, former Representative Ron Paul. The latter ran in the Republican presidential primaries in 2008 and 2012 on an anti-war platform. But Dueck says Rand has a long way to go if he wants to win over the party. ‘The mood right now among a lot of Republicans is we don’t want to have anything to do with Syria; we don’t want to have anything to do with Libya – our main concerns are domestic; our main concerns are fiscal,’ Dueck said. ‘[But] even after all of the frustration of Iraq and even after everything that’s happened in the last decade, most Republicans tend to be more hawkish than the average American and significantly more hawkish than the average Democrat on defense and foreign policy issues,’ he said.”

A house divided cannot stand…

Bush In Support of Messianic Groups, Angering Jews

The Huffington Post wrote on November 15:

“Today, former President George W. Bush is giving the keynote speech in Irvine, Texas, at a major fundraising convention for a messianic religious group whose goal is to convert Jews to Christianity, so there can be the Rapture… [This] has caused outrage and heartbreak among Jewish leaders…

“I never once felt that George Bush had especially good, warm, caring feelings towards Jews. I always sensed that he was a born-again religious disciple who started wars in the Middle East that he referred to as a ‘crusade.’ That he explained to a Palestinian delegation, ‘God would tell me, “George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan”. And I did. And then God would tell me “George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq”. And I did.’… 

“We know that George Bush is speaking today at a fundraiser for a group whose sole, publicly-stated goal is to convert Jews to Christianity to prepare the world for the Rapture. He knows who he’s speaking to. He can’t not, most especially with all the controversy…”

The Bible does not teach a rapture. The Bible does not teach that true Christians ought to “convert” people today to true Christianity. The Bible does not teach that we must fight in war today to make this world a better place. But if our political leaders believe this, then their actions will by necessity be extremely dubious and unbiblical.

Bible as Foreign Policy Guide on Israel

The Huffington Post wrote on November 15:

“Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) took to the House floor Wednesday for a speech on the Obama administration’s Israel policy, using the Bible for guidance. ‘There are many who have been aware of Scripture, and it has often been a guide in our relations with Israel,’ Gohmert said. ‘Some of us believe that the Bible is accurate. Certainly, so many prophesies have been fulfilled, and if that is true, this administration, unless they can find a verse that accurately says that those who betray Israel will be blessed, then this country is being dug in a deeper hole by this administration, and its betrayals of Israel’s trust and Israel’s friendship.’

“Gohmert accused President Barack Obama of pursuing policies not in Israel’s best interest. He mentioned the administration’s support for Israel signing an international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and quoted Genesis 12, which describes the consequences of ‘betraying’ Israel. ‘It seems appropriate … “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee,”’ Gohmert said. ‘It was no accident that just minutes after Israel became a nation, the United States … became the first nation in the world to recognize what was prophesized throughout the Old Testament about Israel returning after its absence.’…”

Israel Doomed to Extinction?

The Washington Times wrote on November 20:

“Right around the time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heading to Russia for an 11th hour attempt to influence a global deal with Tehran over nuclear development, Iran’s top religious leader was emphasizing the fated fall of the Jewish nation. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran wanted to have a friendly working relationship with Israel — but that Israel was ‘doomed to extinction,’ Ynet News reported.

“Mr. Khamenei also said, in remarks that were broadcast on state-run television: ‘I insist on stabilizing the rights of the Iranian nation, including the nuclear rights. I insist on not retreating one step from the rights of the Iranian nation. We want to have friendly relations with all nations, even the United States. We are not hostile to the American nation. They are like other nations in the world.’ In the next breath, however, the ayatollah spoke harshly of France’s stand with the United States in opposition of much of the nuclear deal being forged in Geneva, vowing that Iran would ‘slap aggressors in the face in such a way they will never forget it,’ Ynet News reported.”

What the U.S. Government Does Not Want You to Know

The website of cnet.com wrote on November 14:

“Requests from governments worldwide for user information have more than doubled since three years ago. Worse still, says Google, is what the US won’t let us tell you… The US government is on a data-gathering spree at Google, new data from the search giant reveals. Between January and June 2013, the US government issued nearly 11,000 requests to Google asking for user information, or about 42 percent of the global total. India was second with nearly 2,700 government requests.

“The collective requests from governments around the world during that six-month period have more than doubled in the three-and-a-half years since Google’s first government transparency report, which covered the second half of 2009. ‘And these numbers,’ Google said in a blog post Thursday, ‘only include the requests we’re allowed to publish.’

“It’s the things that Google can’t share about those data requests that really has the company hot and bothered. ‘We believe it’s your right to know what kinds of requests and how many each government is making of us and other companies,’ Google Legal Director Richard Salgado wrote in the blog post. ‘However, the US Department of Justice contends that US law does not allow us to share information about some national security requests that we might receive. Specifically, the U.S. government argues that we cannot share information about the requests we receive (if any) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But you deserve to know.’”

Drug-Resistant Super-Bugs Grave Threat to Mankind

The Independent wrote on November 17:

“Drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ represent one of the gravest threats in the history of medicine, leading experts have warned. Routine operations could become deadly ‘in the very near future’ as bacteria evolve to resist the drugs we use to combat them… England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor John Watson, said: ‘I am concerned that in 20 years, if I go into hospital for a hip replacement, I could get an infection leading to major complications and possible death, simply because antibiotics no longer work as they do now.’

“About 35 million antibiotics are prescribed by GPs in England every year. The more the drugs circulate, the more bacteria are able to evolve to resist them… Writing in The Lancet, experts, including England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, warn that death rates from bacterial infections ‘might return to those of the early 20th century’. They write: ‘Rarely has modern medicine faced such a grave threat. Without antibiotics, treatments from minor surgery to major transplants could become impossible, and health-care costs are likely to spiral as we resort to newer, more expensive antibiotics and sustain longer hospital admissions.’…

“However, a leading GP told The Independent on Sunday that the time had come for the general public to take responsibility. ‘The change needs to come in patient expectation. We need public education: that not every ill needs a pill,’ said Dr Peter Swinyard, chairman of the Family Doctor Association… Antibiotics are also used in vast quantities in agriculture, fisheries and by vets, the resulting environmental exposure adding to bacterial resistance, with further consequences for human health.”

Japan Meltdown Warning to the World

The Telegraph wrote on November 19:

“The man in charge of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has warned that the meltdown of the plant in 2011 contains important lessons for the British government and its plans to build new nuclear power stations. Naomi Hirose, president of the company that runs Fukushima, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), said the triple meltdown following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan was a ‘warning to the world’ and that Britain’s nuclear industry must be ‘prepared for the worst.’

“… he said that despite what the nuclear industry and the public wanted to believe, nuclear power was not 100 per cent safe… The British government recently stuck at deal with EDF Energy to build the first of a new generation of nuclear reactors in Somerset.”

Pagan Origin of New Moon Celebrations?

God decreed that the Feast of Trumpets is to be kept at the first sighting of a new moon, but the determination of the beginning of Trumpets was and is not only based on observation, but also on calculation. (Today, the dates for Trumpets and all of God’s Holy Days have been determined and fixed by the Hebrew calendar, as published by the Church of God.) In addition, God never ordered that there should be new moon celebrations (new moons were never viewed by God as Holy Days), but it is also true that Israelites and Jews began early on to observe and celebrate new moons with festivities.  A new article in The Times of Israel (dated November 16, 2013) sheds some light on how and why new moon venerations might have begun:

“It’s easy to walk past the gray-brown slab of basalt in the Israel Museum’s archaeology wing and pay it no heed… But etched into the monumental stele’s pocked surface is a mysterious figure [a bull stele unearthed in Bethsaida] central to understanding the significance of the lunar god in ancient Canaan and the origins of the Jewish veneration of the new moon…

“The bull stele once stood atop an altar situated at the entrance to the ancient city of Geshur, the capital of an eponymous kingdom. It was one of several Aramaean kingdoms that ruled southern Syria and bordered the Israelites. Like the Israelites to the south, the Geshurites spoke a Semitic tongue, likely a blend of Aramaic and Hebrew… Scholars postulate that the altars were akin to those referred to as ‘high places of the gates’ in II Kings 23…

“King David married Maachah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur, forging a political alliance between Israel and its stronger neighbor. In 732 BCE, Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III embarked on a campaign of conquest and destruction in Canaan. Bethsaida, like many cities in the southern Levant, was put to the sword. The stele was smashed and cast down in ruin…

“In much of the ancient Levant, the bull was associated with storm deities, like the Canaanite Baal, or his Syrian cognate Hadad. A 15th century stele from Ugarit, in northwestern Syria, for example, shows a thunderbolt-wielding Baal adorned with bull horns… The bull’s head on the Bethsaida stele is surmounted by horns forming a clearly defined crescent moon, suggesting it may represent a lunar deity.

“Although the storm god [Baal] reigned supreme among the Arameans, as the Syrian kingdom fell under Assyrian influence, the moon god — particularly the new moon — found increased significance in the Aramean and Israelite pantheons… Nearly exact copies of the Bethsaida stele have been found at sites in Syria and southern Turkey — a staff topped by a bull’s head whose horns form the crescent moon.

“Scholars point to a lengthy tradition of theriomorphic… depictions of the moon god Sin-Nanna in Mesopotamian cultures. To the ancient Mesopotamians, the ‘horns of a bull or cow were seen to match the pointed curve of the waxing and waning crescents so exactly that the powers of the one were attributed to the other, each gaining the other’s potency as well as their own,’ writes Jules Cashford in her book ‘The Moon: Myth and Image.’ Tallay Ornan of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations argues that  [the] Bethsaida stele intentionally conflates the bull and moon imagery in order to symbolize both deities…

“As for the Israelites and Judeans, she wrote in an email, seals unearthed at Jerusalem’s City of David indicate that moon god worship intensified in Israel and Judea under Assyrian domination during the period of the Bethsaida stele and after its destruction. It is precisely during this time period — the late First Temple Era — under Aramean and Assyrian influence, that Israel and Judah began venerating the new moon… a fairly extra-biblical tradition that was bestowed with quasi-holiness in an otherwise season-driven calendar.

“The Jewish lunar month — Rosh Hodesh – traditionally begins with the sighting of the first sliver of the waxing moon and religious time governed ritual observance of Judaism’s many holidays…  The Talmud, codified centuries later, discusses in exhaustive detail the byzantine process of verifying eyewitness sighting of the new moon and the consequent declaration of the commencement of the new month…”

Israel and Judah are known for committing idolatry by worshipping the pagan sun-good Baal, who was pictured many times as a bull. But even though God clearly instructed how and when to begin with the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, He never enjoined the Israelites to celebrate new moons. (See our Q&A on the issue of new moons.). It appears that this practice may be rooted in paganism and the worship of the “moon” god or goddess. The famous female idol called “Astarte,” also referred to in the Bible as the queen of heaven, was indeed a moon goddess. She was also known as Ishtar or Eostre—the modern name for “Easter” is derived from these designations.

Peter’s Bones in the Vatican?

The Guardian wrote on November 18:

“On 26 June 1968, as much of Europe was busy rebelling against authority and fighting for free love, Pope Paul VI made a dramatic announcement that put the Roman Catholic church back in the headlines for reasons other than its stance on women, abortion or contraception. Bones discovered in a Roman cemetery in the Vatican, he declared, had been identified ‘in a way we believe to be convincing’ as those of Saint Peter, the Christian martyr who is traditionally held to have been the first pope and died 1,950 years ago.

“But despite the 1968 announcement, the bones remained hidden. That will change on Sunday, when fragments are to be displayed in public… The fragments, contained in an urn usually kept in a private papal chapel, will be presented for public veneration in St Peter’s Square at a mass celebrated by Pope Francis.

“The decision to exhibit is controversial. No pontiff has ever said the bones are without doubt those of Saint Peter, and some within archaeological circles are fairly sure they are not…

“In his book, The Vatican Diaries, longtime observer John Thavis calls the affair ‘an embarrassment’ for the church. ‘The supposed bones of Saint Peter had been surreptitiously dug up by a meddling monsignor when the archaeologists weren’t looking; then they were thrown into a box and forgotten for more than a decade; then they were rediscovered by accident and became the focus of a feud between church experts,’ he writes. ‘The whole affair did not inspire confidence in the Vatican’s ability to exhume its own history, and it is little wonder that none of it is mentioned in the Vatican guidebooks.’…”

Utter Nonsense–When Scientists Babble Nonsense…

Mail On Line wrote on November 15:

“Most scientists would probably say that the concept of an afterlife is either nonsense, or at the very least unprovable. Yet one expert claims he has evidence to confirm an existence beyond the grave – and it lies in quantum physics. Professor Robert Lanza claims the theory of biocentrism teaches that death as we know it is an illusion created by our consciousness…

“He believes our consciousness creates the universe, and not the other way round, and once we accept that space and time are ‘tools of our minds’, death can’t exist in ‘any real sense’ either… Lanza… continued that as humans we believe in death because ‘we’ve been taught we die’, or more specifically, our consciousness associates life with bodies and we know that bodies die… Lanza, instead, said that when we die our life becomes a ‘perennial flower that returns to bloom in the multiverse.’”

Sadly, there will be some pseudo intellectuals who will actually believe this utter nonsense.

Utter Nonsense–End of Days—First the Mayas, Now the Vikings

Mail Online wrote on November 16:

“If Vikings were here today, the sounding of a distinctive horn in York would have created chaos. The ancient instrument, blown last night, signalled exactly 100 days until the end of the world, according to Norse mythology. Legend has it that the Norse God, Heimdallr, would blow the mythical Gjallerhorn to warn of the Viking apocalypse, also known as ‘Ragnarok’…

“Ragnarok, which translates to ‘Doom of the Gods’, is due to be preceded by the winter of winters. Vikings believed, prior to the apocalypse, three freezing winters would follow each other with no summers in between… All morality would disappear and fights would break out all over the world, signalling the beginning of the end. The wolf Skoll would devour the sun, and his brother Hati would eat the moon, causing stars to vanish from the sky and the Earth to be thrown into eternal darkness. Norse mythology experts have calculated that Vikings believed this will take place on February 22, 2014.

“On this day, the god Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir and the other ‘creator’ gods… There will be huge earthquakes, the sea will rear up and the soil and the sky will be stained with poison. The Earth will sink into the sea, paving the way for a new utopian world with endless supplies… The sound of the horn is supposed to call the sons of Odin to the battlefield, where Odin will ultimately be killed.”

We can dogmatically state—in case someone wonders—that the end of days will NOT occur in 2014. All of the above is just a myth and has no resemblance of reality… but sadly, some will even believe this utter nonsense.

Utter Nonsense–US Ecologist “Out to Lunch”

Mail Online wrote on November 14:

“A U.S. ecologist has claimed that humans are not from Earth but were put on the planet by aliens tens of thousands of years ago… Dr Ellis says that humans might suffer from bad backs because they evolved on a world with lower gravity… He suggests that Neanderthals such as homo erectus were crossbred with another species, perhaps from Alpha Centauri, which is the closest star system to our solar system, some 4.37 light years away from the sun… Dr Ellis said many people feel that they don’t belong and feel at home on Earth.‘This suggests (to me at least) that mankind may have evolved on a different planet, and we may have been brought here as a highly developed species.’

“One reason for this … is that the Earth might be a prison planet, since we seem to be a naturally violent species and we’re here until we learn to behave ourselves,’ he said… He is interested in whether humans came to Earth separately, perhaps by arriving on meteors and comets, before evolving into the species we know today. ‘My thesis proposes that mankind did not evolve from that particular strain of life, but evolved elsewhere and was transported to Earth (as fully evolved Homo sapiens) between 60,000 and 200,000 years ago,’ he says.”

This is more evidence as to how absolutely ridiculous scientists can get. Of course, if one is foolish enough to believe in the ungodly theory of evolution, then it is only a small step towards believing in aliens on other planets who transferred “evolved” or “evolving” life forms from those other planets to earth. All of this is utter nonsense.

Kristallnacht—Today?

Times of Israel reported on November 8:

“As Europe prepares to mark the 75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht this weekend, there will be a certain sense of déja vu in the air. Earlier memorials have been characterised by emotional speeches and complex analysis as to how Kristallnacht could have come about in the first place. This year, the 75th Anniversary of the pogroms against Jews, their homes, their businesses and their synagogues, will be marked by – you guessed it – new calls to boycott Jewish businesses!

“But do not expect to hear anything about it in the commemoration events which follow a well-known pattern. The mistakes of past generations will be condemned in the harshest words possible, but anyone who dares to draw a parallel with today´s situation will automatically be dismissed…

“This year however, it will be rather difficult to pretend that anti-Semitism belongs only to the past. In one parliament after another, neo-Nazi parties are gaining ground. This is also true of the European Parliament in Brussels, where extreme right wing parties are expected to score new victories in the upcoming Spring election, and where the European Commission is busy preparing for new guidelines to boycott Jewish businesses in the disputed territories. When the new guidelines come into effect, on January 1st, 2014, any Israeli entity located ‘on the wrong side of the 1967 lines’ will be facing a financial embargo from the EU, as they forbid EU grants, prizes and loans from going not only to Israeli entities located beyond the Green Line, but also to Israeli entities that have any activity beyond the post-1967 lines.

“Other measures are already in place to start marking Israeli goods produced in the disputed territories. Once the EU starts implementing the new guidelines and marking Israeli goods, life will become increasingly difficult for any Jewish person… who chooses to stay on in the territories, as they will now be considered international outlaws.

“The lessons from Kristallnacht should not be forgotten. It all started with boycotts and demonstrations against Jewish businesses, academia and culture, but it did not stop there. Today’s campaigns of the delegitimisation of Israel have all the same ingredients as the events leading up to Kristallnacht.

“The EU guidelines, which in fact pre-determine where Jews can and cannot live, have been issued, despite the fact that they are in clear breach of Article 15 of the Mandate for Palestine which states that ‘No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the sole grounds of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the grounds of his religious belief.’…

“Nothing much seems to have changed in Europe since 1938. Yes, the EU has sworn never again to let down the Jewish people, but since the Yom Kippur war of 1973, the European Union has consistently taken the side of the Arabs… much of European civil society, consisting of trade unions, academia, churches and other non-governmental organisations, has stepped up its diplomatic war against Israel and is pressing for more sanctions and boycotts. When the World Council of Churches met recently for its annual meeting in Geneva, there was little concern for its persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East; but  there were four workshops on the issue of… the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The problems in Europe in 2013 are the same as in 1938. When the boycotts and singling out of the Jewish people began, the good people chose to look the other way. It is now high time to look in the right direction.”

Worldwide persecution of physical Israelites and Jews as well as spiritual Jews (true Christians) is prophesied to happen soon.

The War Against Circumcision

The Jewish Chronicle wrote on November 8:

“In a move triggering one of the gravest threats to European Jewry since the infamous Nuremberg laws, the Council of Europe’s parliament voted last month for countries, including the UK, to ‘take legislative and policy measures that help reinforce child protection’ in cases where young boys are circumcised for religious reasons. Endorsing a report by the Social Affairs and Health Committee, the Parliamentary Assembly voted to restrict religious circumcision performed by non-medical practitioners and initiate a debate on whether male circumcision should be prohibited until a boy reaches the age of consent.

“The problem, according to the report, is that ‘circumcision applied to young boys is clearly a human-rights violation against children,’ since it irreversibly changes the bodily form at a time when the child is unable to give full and informed consent. Since there is no medical justification for routine neonatal circumcision, the procedure is said to violate a child’s right to physical integrity. The report also expresses concern about circumcisions performed by non-medical practitioners in a non-sterile environment such as a private home or ‘a religious edifice’, presumably a synagogue. A footnote asserts: ‘There is clear evidence of regular deaths amongst new-born boys due to infectious diseases (for example, herpes) transmitted by rabbis or mohels (the traditional Jewish circumcisers)’.

“The report disparages the arguments that male circumcision is an integral and indispensable part of religious ritual, which, for thousands of years, has not harmed a child’s health; and that it is in the child’s best interests to be brought up in accordance with the fundamental tenets of his faith…

“The report and resolution are regarded as highly influential in Europe. Children’s ombudsmen from five Nordic countries have already agreed to work with their national governments to achieve a ban on non-therapeutic circumcision of under-age boys…

“In Israel, however, these developments have been met with fury. The Foreign Ministry described the report and resolution as ‘appalling ignorance at best, or defamation and anti-religious hatred at worst,’ and ‘casting a moral stain on the Council of Europe’…

“Alarmingly, there is a subtle change between the report’s draft resolution and the final version approved by the Parliamentary Assembly. The report recognised that there needs to be a public debate concerning the balance struck between the rights and best interests of the child and the rights and religious freedoms of parents and families.

“But, in a breathtaking amendment, the Parliamentary Assembly deleted the reference to striking a balance — because when it comes to the rights and best interests of children, apparently there is no balance to strike.

“If the value of ancient religious practice is diminished to such a degree in the rhetoric of human-rights theology, it is only a matter of time before circumcision of Jewish boys is banned across Europe.”

European Denials

JTA wrote on November 12:

“The Council of Europe will not ban Jewish ritual circumcision of boys, its leader assured members of the Conference of European Rabbis. Thorbjorn Jagland, the council’s secretary general, said Monday in Berlin that he wanted to make it ‘absolutely clear … that in no way does the Council of Europe want to ban the circumcision of boys. It is a very important part of Judaism and of Jewish life.’…”

What Iran Is REALLY Up To!

The Washington Times wrote on November 8:

“Note to Iran: If you’re trying to assure world leaders that the new president brings messages of peace and compromise, you might not want to broadcast a lengthy documentary about attacking Israel with missiles. But that’s what Tehran television just did. The media outlet broadcast an hour-long documentary about Iran’s missile capabilities and how its security force would use them against foreign threats, Ynet News reported.

“Notable in the video was a simulated attack on Israel to take out its nuclear plants. The video went into great detail, showing computer-generated images of launches of Iran’s long-range Sejjil ballistic missiles, Ynet News reported. In the broadcast, Israel was only able to intercept some of the missiles — while others were direct hits.”

Netanyahu Feels Misled by Obama

The Times of Israel wrote on November 9:

“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ‘in a state of shocked disbelief’ at [a possible, however so far averted] deal in Geneva [see articles below] over Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli television news reports said Friday night. Netanyahu, the reports on Israel’s Channel 10 and Channel 2 news said, had ‘an unprecedented confrontation’ with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Tel Aviv on Friday morning over the possible deal, which he publicly described as ‘a very, very bad deal’ and which he implored Kerry ‘not to rush to sign’ and to ‘reconsider.’

“The Netanyahu government is ‘in a crisis of faith’ with the Obama administration over the possible deal, Israel’s Channel 1 News further reported, in part because it apparently differs in content from the terms that Kerry had previously described to Netanyahu. Other Israeli reports said Netanyahu felt he had been ‘misled’ by the US over the terms of the deal… Israel, the TV reports said, also believes the US has been negotiating with Iran in a secret channel, without disclosing the content of those discussions to Israel.”

Divisions in Geneva Over Iran

The New York Times wrote on November 9:

“Negotiations on an agreement to temporarily freeze Iran’s nuclear program ran into headwinds on Saturday, as France questioned whether the deal would do enough to curb a nuclear reactor that will produce plutonium and to limit Iran’s enrichment of uranium… Mr. Fabius said that a draft of the agreement was unacceptable to France and that there was no certainty that this round of negotiations would lead to an agreement… France has taken a harder line than the United States in recent years on curbing Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear fuel that could be used in weapon..

“Under a compromise favored by the United States, Iran might agree to refrain from operating the facility for the six months of an interim deal, while continuing to work on the installation. But once the facility is operational, as early as next year, it will be very difficult to disable, since a military strike would ignite the plutonium inside. French officials also noted a difference between the United States and Europe on the issue of sanctions relief, which Iran is seeking in return for concessions…”

A Failed Deal

The Associated Press wrote on November 10:

“World powers’ efforts to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran adjourned early Sunday… with failure to seal a deal…”

However, talks are scheduled to resume November 20.

“Vive la France!”

AFP wrote on November 10:

“Conservative leaders, fond of finger-pointing at France in recent years, lavished praise on Paris Sunday for blocking an agreement between Western powers and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. ‘Vive la France!’ Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, an outspoken voice on national security issues, wrote on his Twitter account.

“‘France had the courage to prevent a bad nuclear agreement with Iran,’ he said, after the weekend announcement of the failed agreement with the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, known as the P5+1.”

The Times of Israel added on November 10:

“In Geneva on Saturday, France’s Foreign Minister Fabius gave very specific reasons for his objections to the emerging deal. He said Tehran was resisting demands that it suspend work on its plutonium-producing reactor at Arak and downgrade its stockpile of higher-enriched uranium. Which rather leads to a different question: Not ‘Why did France choose to stand alone against the deal?’ But, rather, ‘why did the other major powers consider the terms acceptable?’”

France–“No Sympathy for Israel”

JTA wrote on November 12:

“France’s posture in the talks between Iran and the major powers — Russia, Britain, the United States, China and Germany along with France — is not the result of its sympathy for Israel or its supposed aversion to confrontation, experts say. Rather it is the product of a complicated matrix of French interests stemming from the country’s centuries-old role in the region, longtime distrust of Iranian theocracy and a postwar insistence on forging its own foreign policies…

“France’s hard line is rooted in the country’s hostility toward Iran, said Heather Hurlburt, a senior adviser at the National Security Network, a Washington think tank. In the 1980s, the Islamic Republic conducted an assassination campaign against Iranian dissidents who had sought refuge in France, a history that generates significant rancor even today. The killings not only hit French national pride — France for centuries has seen itself as a safe haven for dissidents — but were all the more galling because France had protected Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini when he was in exile…

“Also salient are French ties to a number of nations in the region, particularly Syria and Lebanon. The French were among the Western nations pressing hardest to stop the Iran-backed Syrian government’s slaughter of civilians in the country’s grinding civil war — an intervention averted by a deal, brokered by Russia and the United States, to have Syria relinquish its chemical weapons capability. ‘For France, this was a rare opportunity for score settling with Iran, but also with the United States for humiliatingly pulling the plug on France’s plans to strike in Syria,’ said Afshin Ellian, an Iran-born lecturer on international public law at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

“France also has jealously guarded its independence in foreign policy, a legacy of the postwar leadership of Charles de Gaulle, who removed all French forces from the NATO command in 1966 even though France was a founding member of the alliance. France returned to full membership only in 1999…

“Several analysts also have suggested that France has its eye on a major arms deal it is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, a country nearly as adamant as Israel that Iran must not achieve nuclear capability. ‘The hidden player is Saudi Arabia, which is very familiar with Iranian deceit and would do anything to keep Iran from having nuclear arms,’ Guy Bechor, a lecturer on Middle Eastern studies at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, wrote on his website. ‘Saudi Arabia triggered the French move in exchange for its signature on massive weapons contracts from France.’”

USA vs. Israel – As Far Apart As Ever

USA Today wrote on November 10:

“Israel and longtime ally the United States are as far apart as ever on how to deal with growing threats in the Middle East. Analysts say the Obama administration needs to take Israel’s fears seriously, while the White House insists it is doing what is best for the security of Israel, the United States and the Middle East.

“Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. peace negotiator who has advised Democratic and Republican secretaries of State, said the rift may cause problems for the United States on multiple fronts, including a risk of dragging the United States into war with Iran. ‘How this will play out is not clear,’ Miller said. ‘I find it almost unimaginable this administration would conclude even an interim agreement with (Iranian President Hassan) Rouhani that left Israel angry and aggrieved and the relationship in even worse shape.’

“Miller said Israeli frustration with the United States may have been greater at points in the past but he’d never seen Israeli ire expressed as publicly as has been done in recent days by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Headlines in the Israeli press seem to agree. ‘If there were a synoptic map for diplomatic storms, the National Weather Service would be putting out a hurricane warning right now,’ said Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Chemi Shalev. ‘And given that the turbulence is being caused by an issue long deemed to be critical to Israel’s very existence, we may actually be facing a rare Category 5 flare up, a “superstorm” of U.S.-Israeli relations.’…

“The Iranian question is just the latest issue to severely fray relations between Israel and the United States in recent months, along with the U.S. decision to tackle Syria’s chemical weapons with diplomacy, and President Obama’s emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian standoff as being the major problem facing the Middle East. Israel complains that an increasingly radicalized Syria, the spread of Islamist ideology in Egypt and elsewhere, and a nuclear bomb in the hands of what Netanyahu has called ‘Islamofacist fanatic’  in Iran are the real problems for the world in the Middle East…

“Jonathan Rynhold, a senior researcher at Bar Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said the ‘crisis of trust’ isn’t just between Israel and the U.S. Most Middle East countries, he said, believe that a nuclear-armed Iran ‘would undermine the balance of power that has served everyone so well over the years.’ If Iran becomes ‘a nuclear threshold’ state, ‘Saudi Arabia will quickly obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan,’ which reportedly developed its own nuclear weapons with help from the Saudis, Rynhold said. ‘Egypt is already looking to Russia to supply it with conventional weapons and will, no doubt, seek to obtain nuclear capability, as will Turkey.’

“The breakdown over Iran came amid the extraordinary public barbs between the two longtime allies… Kerry… told Israel’s Channel 2 TV that Israel faced possible international isolation and violence with the Palestinians if his attempt to broker a peace deal for a Palestinian state failed. An agitated Netanyahu lashed back that ‘no amount of pressure’ would make Israel compromise on its basic security and national interests…

“Former U.S. negotiator Miller agrees that the rift between the United States and Israel may have serious consequences and soon. The frayed relationship makes it harder to gain Israeli backing for a final deal with Iran and to prevent a unilateral Israeli military strike. Such a strike, with or without Obama’s approval, would hike oil prices and threaten the U.S. economy, Miller said. And with the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet based in the Persian Gulf, it could cause the USA to be ‘dragged in and required to respond’ to an Iranian counterattack, he said.”

Sadly, the relationship between the USA and Israel will continue to deteriorate.

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s Anti-Israeli Propaganda

The Times of Israel and The Associated Press reported on November 14:

“Republicans were left unconvinced after US Secretary of State John Kerry’s closed-door presentation to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, which was aimed at delaying a new round of sanctions against Iran. ‘It was an emotional appeal,’ committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker said, according to the US-based media outlet BuzzFeed. ‘I have to tell you I was very disappointed in the presentation.’…

“Sen. Mark Kirk called the officials’ presentation ‘very unconvincing,’ and added that it was ‘fairly anti-Israeli. I was supposed to disbelieve everything the Israelis had just told me, and I think the Israelis probably have a pretty good intelligence service.’

“The BuzzFeed report cited a Senate aide who said that ‘every time anybody would say anything about what would the Israelis say they’d get cut off and Kerry would say “you have to ignore what they’re telling you, stop listening to the Israelis on this.”’”

North Korea’s Brutal Dictatorship and Murders

Fox News reported on November 12:

“As many as 80 people were publicly executed in North Korea earlier this month, some for offenses as minor as watching South Korean movies or possessing a Bible… the so-called criminals were put to death in seven cities across North Korea on Nov. 3, in the first known large-scale public executions by the Kim Jong-un regime… authorities gathered a crowd of 10,000 people, including children, at Shinpoong Stadium and forced them to watch the killings.”

The demons which plagued Nazi Germany are still alive and well today…

Pope Francis Will Meet Vladimir Putin

On November 7, Thomson/Reuters reported the following:

“Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 25, an encounter that could help mend strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian-Vatican relations have been fraught since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with Moscow accusing the Roman Catholic Church of trying to poach believers from the Russian Orthodox Church, a charge the Vatican denies. But Putin is the first Kremlin leader since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to publicly profess religious faith — to the Orthodox church — and has several times advocated ending the long feud between the two major Christian churches…

“Another dispute between the churches concerns the fate of many church properties that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered confiscated from Eastern Rite Catholics, who worship in an Orthodox liturgy but owe their allegiance to Rome. Stalin gave the Catholic property to the Russian Orthodox Church, but after the fall of communism, the Eastern Rite Catholics took back many sites, leading to a rise in tensions…

“Francis is the first non-European Pope in 1,300 years. His predecessors came from countries — Italy, Poland and Germany — that were caught up in the 20th century’s two global conflicts as well as in the Cold War that followed World War II. Diplomats have said that Francis, an Argentine with no European political baggage, would have a far better chance of improving ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. There have been signs of a general warming between the western and eastern branches of Christianity. On March 20, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew became the first worldwide spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians to attend a papal inaugural Mass since the Great Schism split western and eastern Christianity in 1054.”

The Roman Catholic Church will indeed be successful in convincing other Catholic (Orthodox) churches and most Protestant churches to “return” to the fold of the “mother church.”

“St. Peter’s Bones”?

The Washington Post wrote on November 11:

“For the first time since they were discovered in the 1940s, the Vatican plans to display bones that are believed to have belonged to St. Peter. The remains will be exhibited at the leader of the 12 apostles’ tomb in honor of the end of the Year of Faith… pilgrims who make their way to St. Peter’s tomb will see ‘the relics traditionally recognized as those of the apostle who gave his life for the Lord on this spot,’ announced the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization in L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See’s semi-official newspaper.”

However, it is highly questionable that the Apostle Peter was killed in Rome, or that his bones are buried there. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

Sunday—The Day of Rest in France

npr wrote on November 8:

“Since 1906, Sunday has been deemed a collective day of rest in the country, and French law only allows stores to open on Sundays under very specific conditions — for example, if they’re in a high tourist area. Sunday work is also tightly controlled… A Paris court recently upheld the ban on Sunday work… Stores that choose to flout the Sunday work ban are fined $135,000 per day. Some of the larger home-improvement chains went ahead and paid it to stay open…

“Labor groups are leading the push to keep the ban on Sunday work… the Sunday lunch is still sacrosanct in France. In Paris, you see many people carrying bouquets of flowers to decorate the lunch table. But many young people don’t feel bound by such traditions… So far the French government has supported the court’s ruling. One politician said the greatest civilizations always have one day of the week when trade does not take place.”

France will not abrogate Sunday as its “day of rest”—and neither will the rest of continental Europe. In fact, more and more stringent laws to enforce the “holiness” of Sunday will be enacted. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Germany’s Hate/Love Relationship with the USA

The Economist wrote on November 9:

“Germany is disheartened by America… many Germans are now pleading with Angela Merkel, the chancellor, to grant Mr Snowden asylum… Most on Germany’s left and some on the right can’t wait to welcome him… Der Spiegel, a magazine, lists 51 German celebrities chiming in, with several even suggesting him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

“Legally, say scholars, Germany could refuse America’s demand for extradition if it declared Mr Snowden’s acts ‘political’. But everybody knows that this would be an unprecedented affront in the relationship with America…

“[The transatlantic] alliance (many Germans no longer call it a friendship) was always complicated. Germans have yearned for America since they migrated there en masse in the 19th century. Those who stayed behind dreamed of it… Germans still remember the Berlin airlift of 1948-49, when American ‘raisin bombers’ fed and saved West Berlin. This summer they enthusiastically commemorated the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s visit to Berlin. They continue to admire George Bush senior for his effort to make German unification succeed in 1990…

“But Germans, especially on the left, always had a concomitant image of the ugly American… Now Mrs Merkel feels betrayed, as many ordinary Germans do… The emotion that runs through this public debate means that Mrs Merkel can no longer simply drop the subject…”

German Trust in United States and Britain Plummets

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 8:

“A string of NSA spying scandals has sent Germans’ trust in the United States plummeting, with only a third saying they view their longtime ally as a trustworthy partner, a recent opinion poll has found… The results appear to be a strong indictment of the pervasive US surveillance programs uncovered through classified documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden — whom 60 percent of respondents consider a hero. Despite that strong majority support, Germans were evenly split over the question of whether their country should offer Snowden asylum, with 46 percent saying ‘yes’ and 48 percent saying ‘no.’…

“In the wake of the German government’s furious response, Washington has reportedly offered to negotiate with Berlin over a mutual no-spying agreement akin to the ‘Five Eyes’ deal it has with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. However no such deal has been publicly announced, and 92 percent of respondents in the poll said they expect the US would break the agreement and continue secret intelligence operations on German soil.

“The survey also found that Germans’ trust in the British government had also deteriorated to 50 percent, down from 80 percent four years ago. The Snowden leaks also revealed a number of heavy-handed espionage practices by GCHQ, the UK counterpart to the NSA, as well as a suspected interception post on its embassy grounds in Berlin.”

Germany will not remain a friend and an ally of the USA.

“Britain a Major Problem”

The Local wrote on November 8:

“Europe needs more integration, including a single finance minister for the bloc, if it is to remain competitive in the years to come – but Britain posed a major problem, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said…

“Britain would do its utmost to block any attempts to bring the 28-member European union closer together, as that would imply handing over more powers to Brussels, said the former chancellor on Thursday… ‘We need… to press ahead with Europe’s political unity, towards a kind of European federation,’ he urged.”

Japan Automaker Warns Britain

The Independent wrote on November 9:

“The chief executive of the UK’s biggest car maker has added to fears over the economic consequences of an exit from the European Union, by warning it would force a re-evaluation of the company’s presence in this country. Carlos Ghosn – the head of Nissan, whose plant in Sunderland employs 6,500 workers – said a vote by the UK to leave the EU would require the Japanese company to ‘reconsider our strategy and our investments for the future’.

“With David Cameron promising to hold a referendum on EU membership after the next General Election, Mr Ghosn’s warning is the latest note of caution from the business world over the possibility of an exit. The investment banking giant Goldman Sachs and the business lobby group CBI are among those who have also recently spoken out about such a move…

“In contrast, the former CBI director-general and ex-trade minister, Lord Jones of Birmingham, this week attacked the EU as a ‘job destroyer’, writing in The Times that Britain must be prepared to quit in order to be ‘a globally competitive economy worthy of the name’”.

The UK will leave the EU, leading to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, predicting that ultimately, war will break out between continental Europe and the UK.

Homosexuality Illegal in 41 Commonwealth Countries

The Guardian wrote on November 12:

“Homosexuality is illegal in 41 out of the 53 Commonwealth countries, a report released on Monday reveals. Despite this, the forthcoming Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Sri Lanka has elected not to discuss the issue of anti-gay discrimination.

“Commissioned by the Kaleidoscope Trust and compiled by LGBT activists throughout the Commonwealth, the report calls for Commonwealth countries to repeal anti-gay legislation, with an immediate moratorium on enforcement. ‘If you look at the world as a whole, around about 40% of nations have state-sponsored homophobia,’ said Kaleidoscope’s spokesman, Douglas Pretsell. ‘Half of those – about 54% – are in the Commonwealth. If you look at the rest of the world not inside the Commonwealth, it’s only 24.5% – so the Commonwealth has a big problem…’

“Pretsell said the anti-gay laws were [a] hangover from British colonial rule. It exported laws – including those outlawing sodomy – to Commonwealth countries, where they persist backed by the prevalence of strong religious views among the populations. ‘It’s worth noting that in the vast majority of these countries, the laws sit there and they’re completely unused, so no one is ever prosecuted…’

“Australia did not completely decriminalise homosexuality until 1997 after a legal case was brought to the UN. From 2007-13 all forms of legislated discrimination were removed from Australian law… ‘In fact Sri Lanka has gone out of its way to refuse visas to any lesbian or gay group, to ban their own activists in the country…’

“Britain’s shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, singled out the host nation’s stance on gay rights, the Press Association reported. ‘Today’s report from the Kaleidoscope Trust highlights the ongoing concern about human rights – and in particular the rights of the LGBT community – within Sri Lanka,’ Alexander said… ‘As David Cameron departs for this week’s Commonwealth summit, the evidence that Sri Lanka is heading in the wrong direction is mounting…’

“A Downing Street spokeswoman said: ‘The prime minister and foreign secretary will make clear their concerns about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka when they visit Colombo this week. The Commonwealth Charter, agreed by all Commonwealth members, explicitly states that we are opposed to all forms of discrimination and it is important that all members live up [to] these values. That is the message that we will be taking to the summit.’”

“British Colonial Rule” has now become the forerunner of attempting to abolish laws which they themselves enacted. Sadly, this “change of heart” is not motivated by godly standards.

“What Obama Forgot to Apologize For”

The Washington Times wrote on November 8:

“When he said Thursday that he was sorry for the health-care mess-up, he performed the mea culpa as well as — if not better than — anyone in recent history… He’s sorry that some people have been inconvenienced by HealthCare.gov’s computer disaster. He’s sorry that some people have lost the policies he promised they could keep. He’s sorry that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) wasn’t adequately ‘crafted.’

“But is he sorry that he intentionally misled people? I must have missed that part… The key to redemption… is the sense that the apology is heartfelt and sincere. Most important, the apology must be specific to the affront. In this case, the sin isn’t the mess but the promise the White House knew as early as 2010 it couldn’t keep… Did they really think no one would notice when they received cancellation notices and their premiums suddenly doubled on the exchanges?

“The other rule of effective apologies is that they must come from authentic remorse rather than at the tip of a sword. Obama had no choice once caught and it was no longer possible to deny reality. That reality was further enhanced when 16 Senate Democrats, 15 of whom are up for reelection next year, stormed the White House barricades to express their outrage to the president.”

True apologies and genuine repentance require a sincere willingness and desire to confess and depart from the wrong and to begin to do what is right.

More Confusion

The Associated Press reported on November 14:

“Bowing to pressure, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced changes under his health care law to give insurance companies the option to keep offering consumers plans that would otherwise be canceled. The administrative changes are good for just one year… But it was unclear if state officials, who would have to implement the changes, would go along. Insurers also had concerns. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said the president’s proposal could undermine the new health insurance markets his law seeks to create.

“Obama’s proposal ‘may lead to higher premiums and market disruptions in 2014 and beyond,’ said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, speaking for the organization. At the White House, Obama acknowledged that ‘we fumbled the rollout of this health care law’ and pledged to ‘just keep on chipping away at this until the job is done.’…

“It’s unclear what the impact of Thursday’s changes will be for the millions of people who have already had their plans canceled. While officials said insurance companies will now be able to offer those people the option to renew their old plans, companies are not required to take that step.

“The main industry trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, said Obama’s offer comes too late and could lead to higher premiums, since companies already have set 2014 rates based on the assumption that many people with individual coverage will shift over to the new markets created under Obama’s law…”

The Weekly Standard added that “Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean questioned whether President Obama has the ‘legal authority’ to carry out the Obamacare fix the White House outlined today.”

The Hill wrote that “President Obama failed to put jittery Democrats at ease Thursday with a proposal he said would allow millions of people to keep their insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act… Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said Obama ‘should have done that two weeks ago’ to spare the party a torrent of negative publicity… Obama’s job approval rating has dropped to 39 percent, the lowest of his presidency… When Congress was debating the landmark legislation in 2009, the president repeatedly promised: ‘If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan.’ Democrats fear a public backlash if that promise is broken…”

Abortion Is Murder

The following article just came to our attention. Even somewhat dated, the information contained therein is as relevant and timely as ever.

Life News wrote on May 23, 2013:

“Dr. Anthony Levatino is a pro-life physician from New Mexico but, before having a change of heart on the issue of abortion he was an OBGYN who also performed abortions. Levatino did as many as 1,200 abortions — some of them after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Then, after his daughter died in a tragic automobile accident, he re-evaluated his position on abortion and stopped doing abortions…

“Dr. Levatino told members of a Congressional committee [the following:]

“‘Imagine if you can that you are a pro-choice obstetrician/gynecologist like I once was. Your patient today is 24 weeks pregnant. At twenty-four weeks from last menstrual period, her uterus is two finger-breadths above the umbilicus.

“‘If you could see her baby, which is quite easy on an ultrasound, she would be as long as your hand plus a half from the top of her head to the bottom of her rump not counting the legs. Your patient has been feeling her baby kick for the last 2 months or more but now she is asleep on an operating room table and you are there to help her with her problem pregnancy.

“‘The first task is remove the laminaria that had earlier been placed in the cervix to dilate it sufficiently to allow the procedure you are about to perform. With that accomplished, direct your attention to the surgical instruments arranged on a small table to your right. The first instrument you reach for is a 14-French suction catheter. It is clear plastic and about nine inches long. It has a bore through the center approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter. Picture yourself introducing this catheter through the cervix and instructing the circulating nurse to turn on the suction machine which is connected through clear plastic tubing to the catheter. What you will see is a pale yellow fluid that looks a lot like urine coming through the catheter into a glass bottle on the suction machine. This is the amniotic fluid that surrounded the baby to protect her.

“‘With suction complete, look for your Sopher clamp. This instrument is about thirteen inches long and made of stainless steel. At the end are located jaws about 2 ½ inches long and about ¾ of an inch wide with rows of sharp ridges or teeth. This instrument is for grasping and crushing tissue. When it gets hold of something, it does not let go. A second trimester D&E abortion is a blind procedure. The baby can be in any orientation or position inside the uterus. Picture yourself reaching in with the Sopher clamp and grasping anything you can.

“‘At twenty-four weeks gestation, the uterus is thin and soft so be careful not to perforate or puncture the walls. Once you have grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard–really hard. You feel something let go and out pops  a fully formed leg about six inches long. Reach in again and grasp whatever you can. Set the jaw and pull really hard once again and out pops an arm about the same length. Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart and lungs.

“‘The toughest part of a D&E abortion is extracting the baby’s head. The head of a baby that age is about the size of a large plum and is now free floating inside the uterine cavity. You can be pretty sure you have hold of it if the Sopher clamp is spread about as far as your fingers will allow. You will know you have it right when you crush down on the clamp and see white gelatinous material coming through the cervix. That was the baby’s brains. You can then extract the skull pieces. Many times a little face will come out and stare back at you… If you refuse to believe that this procedure inflicts severe pain on that unborn child, please think again…

“‘I often hear the argument that we must keep abortion legal in order to save women’s lives in cases of life threatening conditions that can and do arise in pregnancy… But is abortion a viable treatment option in this setting? I maintain that it usually, if not always, is not. Before a Suction D&E procedure can be performed, the cervix must first be sufficiently dilated… In the mid second trimester, this requires approximately 36 hours to accomplish. When utilizing the D&X abortion procedure, popularly known as Partial-Birth Abortion, this process requires three days…

“‘In cases where a mother’s life is seriously threatened by her pregnancy, a doctor more often than not doesn’t have 36 hours, much less 72 hours, to resolve the problem. Let me illustrate with a real -life case that I managed while at the Albany Medical Center. A patient arrived one night at 28 weeks gestation with severe pre-eclampsia or toxemia. Her blood pressure on admission was 220/160. As you are probably aware, a normal blood pressure is approximately 120/80. This patient’s pregnancy was a threat to her life and the life of her unborn child. She could very well be minutes or hours away from a major stroke. This case was managed successfully by rapidly stabilizing the patient’s blood pressure and “terminating” her pregnancy by Cesarean section. She and her baby did well. This is a typical case in the world of high-risk obstetrics. In most such cases, any attempt to perform an abortion “to save the mother’s life” would entail undue and dangerous delay in providing appropriate, truly life-saving care.

“‘During my time at Albany Medical Center I managed hundreds of such cases by “terminating” pregnancies to save mother’s lives. In all those hundreds of cases, the number of unborn children that I had to deliberately kill was zero.’”

Abortion is murder in the eyes of God. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?”. Please also view our new StandingWatch program, “Why Abortion Is Murder in God’s Eyes.”

Biggest Storm in History

Mail On Line wrote on November 9:

“A monster typhoon… [and] category-5 super typhoon Haiyan – Chinese for ‘sea bird’ – smashed into the eastern islands of the Philippines [on November 8] with winds nearly 150mph stronger than the St Jude storm which struck the UK in late October…

“More than 125,000 people were evacuated from towns and villages that lay directly in the typhoon’s path… The storm brought further misery to thousands of residents of Bohol who had been camped in tents and other makeshift shelters after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the island last month…

“The US Navy said the typhoon’s maximum sustained winds were 195mph, with gusts up to 235mph. Meteorologists said last night that made it the strongest storm to ever hit land… [An] US expert said he expected the damage in Guiuan, a fishing town of about 40,000 people that was the first to be hit on Friday, to be ‘catastrophic’.”

Reuters reported on November 10:

“One of the most powerful storms ever recorded has killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines province of Leyte, a senior police official said on Sunday, with coastal towns and the regional capital devastated by huge waves. Typhoon Haiyan destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through the province, said chief superintendent Elmer Soria, a regional police director… it also caused a storm surge and whipped up waves of 5 to 6 meters (yards).”

The Associated Press added on November 10:

“It wasn’t until Sunday that the scale of the devastation became clear, with local officials on hardest-hit Leyte Island saying that there may be 10,000 dead in the provincial capital of Tacloban alone. Reports also trickled in from elsewhere on the island, and from neighboring islands, indicating hundreds, if not thousands more deaths, though it will be days before the full extent of the storm’s impact can be assessed.”

Sadly, we can expect increasingly devastating natural disasters to continue on a rapid scale.

What If Oxygen Disappeared?

On November 9, The Independent asked the question, “What would happen if oxygen disappeared for five seconds?” It continued giving the following answers which they received from scientists:

“Everyone at the beach would get sunburn. Ozone is molecular oxygen, and blocks the majority of UV light. Every internal combustion engine would stall. This means that every airplane taking off from a runway would likely crash to the ground… Everyone’s inner ear would explode… Every building made out of concrete would turn to dust… Fires would go out… Many of the answers to this question will focus on what would happen during those five seconds, but after that, there would be a huge explosion due to the oxidation of all the oceans that have been converted to hydrogen… So, the Earth would suddenly become extremely cold for five seconds followed by a Big Bang.”

From this we can see that in spite of man’s denial of the existence of Almighty God and his rebellion towards His Will and His Law (Psalm 2:1-4), God, through Jesus Christ, sustains and “upholds” this earth (as well as the entire universe) “by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).

The Curse!

The Independent wrote on November 2:

“Obama’s vacillations in the Middle East have not only upset every US ally in the region, from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to Israel, but provided Vladimir Putin, no less, with a chance to lecture the US on the op-ed page of The Times, a spectacle as grotesque as it was humiliating. Meanwhile, the requisition of a score of journalists’ phone logs has paled beside the revelation that the NSA has been scooping up the internet records of about every human being on the planet, and listening into Angela Merkel’s mobile.

“On top of that, we’ve had the government shutdown (not Obama’s fault, but which did not reflect well on his ability to wheel and deal) and, most recently, the shambolic launch of his signature healthcare reform, in which he has been revealed as being, shall we say, somewhat economical with the truth. Obama’s approval rating has dropped to 42 per cent, not yet at Nixon or Bush levels, but the worst since he took office…”

Our governmental leaders ARE under a curse, because God’s laws are being violated daily, and God’s time allotted to America for the enjoyment of freedom, safety and prosperity is running out.

Israel Upset With America

The Times of Israel wrote on November 1:

“Israel is fuming with the White House for confirming that it was the Israeli Air Force that struck a military base near the Syrian port city of Latakia on Wednesday, hitting weaponry that was set to be transferred to Hezbollah. Israel has not acknowledged carrying out the strike, one of half a dozen such attacks widely ascribed to Israel in recent months, but an Obama administration official told CNN on Thursday that Israeli warplanes had indeed attacked the Syrian base, and that the target was ‘missiles and related equipment’ set for delivery to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel’s Channel 10 TV on Friday night quoted Israeli officials branding the American leak as ‘scandalous.’ For Israel’s ally to be acting in this way was ‘unthinkable,’ the officials were quoted as saying. A second TV report, on Israel’s Channel 2, said the leak ‘came directly from the White House,’ and noted that ‘this is not the first time’ that the administration has compromised Israel by leaking information on such Israeli Air Force raids on Syrian targets.

“It said some previous leaks were believed to have come from the Pentagon, and that consideration had been given at one point to establishing a panel to investigate the sources.

“Channel 2’s military analyst, Roni Daniel, said the Obama administration’s behavior in leaking the information was unfathomable. Daniel noted that by keeping silent on whether it carried out such attacks, Israel was maintaining plausible deniability, so that Syria’s President Bashar Assad did not feel pressured to respond to the attacks. But the US leaks ‘are pushing Assad closer to the point where he can’t swallow these attacks, and will respond.’ This in turn would inevitably draw further Israeli action, Daniel posited, and added bitterly: ‘Then perhaps the US will clap its hands because it will have started a very major flare-up.'”

One scandal follows another scandal, and now this one. It seems as if the USA seems to be wanting to do just about everything to make sure its allies become upset… as if it is on a suicidal trip… it is hard to recount ANYTHING that the US leadership is doing to inspire the world which is quickly passing the US by. If the present US government is meant to bring this nation to its knees, then they seem to be certainly excelling in that predestined task. We grieve for the innocent people who have to suffer because of incompetent leadership, and we hope that those who are truly looking to God for help will find it.

“German-American Relations at an Absolute Low Point”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 2:

“The very idea that Germany is paying so much attention to whistleblower Edward Snowden is an affront to many Americans. His Moscow meeting with Green politician Hans-Christian Ströbele has caused quite a stir in the US… It would be a disaster for American-German relations if Snowden came to Germany and publicly testified before the Bundestag… What Green MP Christian Ströbele ultimately is hoping for after his surprise visit with Edward Snowden in Moscow would be a nightmare for Stephen Szabo of the German Marshall Fund, as well for the Obama administration. The relationship between the two countries is headed towards ‘a deep, downward spiral,’ says Szabo…

“… while in Germany Snowden is considered enlightened, in the eyes of many in the US – and especially President Obama – he is a traitor. Particularly sensitive is the fact that Snowden, according to Ströbele, is apparently ready to testify in Germany about NSA spying. This intention is also underscored by an open letter from Snowden. That German Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, has even welcomed the news, saying he ‘was glad to hear it’ has left official Washington speechless…

“‘If it really happens, it would be a slap in the face to the Americans, there’s no question about that,” said Jackson Janes, Director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington… Janes interprets the growing interest of the German federal government and parliament in a statement from Snowden – wherever he might make it – as a no-confidence vote against the Obama administration…

“Both Janes and Szabo see German-American relations at an absolute low point. They are ‘worse than during the war in Iraq,’ says Szabo. ‘We have differences on very fundamental values, ​​such as trust and economic competition. And esteem for America in Germany has been very low for some time.’”

BBC News and the Huffington Post reported on November 3 that “the White House” and “Senior US lawmakers have rejected the idea of any clemency for the fugitive intelligence analyst Edward Snowden.” This was in response to Snowden’s offer to testify before the US Congress if he was granted clemency. With this harsh reaction, the impression is continued to be given that the USA is more interested in secretly spying on friends and allies than in repentance and the revelation of the truth.

On the other hand, the German government would love to hear more from Snowden, but it is apparently too afraid to grant him asylum, fearing a further deterioration of their relationship with the USA. But several influential German politicians as well as the mass media and celebrities are not that timid—they demand asylum for Snowden and they request his testimony to be given before the German Parliament. Newsy reported on November 3 that “In a letter to Der Spiegel, several high-ranking German officials voiced support for Snowden and said Germany should grant his request for asylum.” Apparently Snowden has stated that he was not willing to testify in Moscow; and Russia, which has granted Snowden temporary asylum until June 2014, has said that Snowden was free to testify wherever he wanted.

Der Spiegel Online explained on November 2 that “Snowden would be safe from deportation [to the USA] if he were provided with a residence permit [by the German government]. Since the withdrawal of his US passport, Snowden is officially stateless. A residence permit can be issued on the basis of international law or on humanitarian grounds as well as for the ‘protection of political interests.’”

However, Deutsche Welle reported on November 6:

“A parliamentary committee has announced that bringing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to Germany for questioning is not yet on the cards. Speaking after a special meeting of the Parliamentary Control Panel on Wednesday, Chairman Thomas Oppermann said the body would not try to interrogate Snowden in Germany for the time being.”

Die Welt added on November 6 that it was also announced by the German government that Snowden would not receive asylum in Germany.

The German people, the mass media, and the opposition have strongly criticized Angela Merkel for her unwillingness to confront the US government, when NSA’s massive spying activities became known, until it was revealed that her cell phone conversations had been spied upon. Bild Online reported on November 5 that 72 %  of the Germans believe that Obama is lying regarding NSA’s spying on Merkel, and only 16% believe him, while 12% are undecided.

Bild Online commented on November 6:

“It is today’s hottest debate in German politics. Should Snowden be granted asylum in Germany? Angela Merkel rejected it strongly. Now John Kerry warned against granting Snowden asylum in Germany. He said that he should be sent to the USA to be tried there in a fair procedure.”

None of that will make most Germans happy.

The Distance Between the Two Continents Has Grown Larger

On November 4, presseuropa.eu wrote the following:

“German-Russian relations are at their worst since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Things between the US and Russia are no better either. By driving a wedge between the two allies, Moscow is scoring a major achievement… Mr Snowden wasn’t planted by the Russians in the first place. He was created by the National Security Agency, obsessed with the idea of spying on everything and everyone. Worse still, the NSA gave Mr Snowden access to its secrets, which he took advantage of before fleeing through Hong Kong to Russia. No one knows what other compromising evidence he is holding up his sleeve and how long the revelations will continue to emerge and cause embarrassment to the White House…

“There’s no denying that there’s been a lot of hypocrisy in the EU’s reactions to the Snowden affair. After all, European intelligence agencies do not sit idly watching as the NSA hacks the Internet, but are instead doing exactly the same and using similar means. Moreover, they coordinate their efforts and advise each other on how to circumvent the EU’s anti-surveillance laws. Besides, Europeans too – if on a smaller scale – spy on the Americans and try to steal their secrets…

“During Mr Obama’s term, the distance between the continents has grown larger… Barack Obama hasn’t fulfilled the hopes that were pinned on him in Europe. US intelligence agencies have treated European countries like colonies. We have good reasons to hold a grudge against America…”

Secret Meeting Between Guttenberg and Merkel

Bild Online and Welt Online reported on November 6 about a secret meeting between Angela Merkel and former defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. It is claimed by Bild that the meeting dealt with the NSA scandal and possible asylum for Snowden. Prior to his meeting, Guttenberg had accused Obama of inexcusable wrong conduct in the matter, according to Die Welt.

USA and Britain the Worst Offenders

CNN reported on November 3:

“Leaked classified documents show the U.S. National Security Agency and its British counterpart are among the ‘worst offenders’ of mass surveillance without oversight, according to an open letter purportedly written by Edward Snowden and published Sunday by the German magazine Der Spiegel. The publication of the letter, titled ‘A Manifesto for the Truth,’ came just days after a German lawmaker met with the former NSA contract analyst…

“‘The world has learned a lot in a short amount of time about irresponsibly operated security agencies and, at times, criminal surveillance programs. Sometimes the agencies try to avoid controls,’ Snowden wrote, according to the news magazine. ‘While the NSA and GCHQ (the British national security agency) appear to be the worst offenders — at least according to the documents that are currently public — we cannot forget that mass surveillance is a global problem and needs a global solution.’ The letter, published in German by Der Spiegel, was written on Friday in Moscow and provided to Der Spiegel through a ‘locked channel,’ the news magazine said. It was published in German and has been translated by CNN…

“The letter also accused governments of trying to squash debate about mass surveillance ‘with a never before seen witch hunt’ that threatens journalists and criminalizes the publication of details about the programs. ’The debate they wanted to avoid is now taking place in countries around the world,’ the letter said.”

Deutsche Welle added on November 5:

“The British Ambassador to Germany has been called in by the foreign ministry over spying reports. The Independent newspaper says that Britain is operating a spy post near Germany’s parliament and chancellery.”

And Now New Zealand…

The Guardian wrote on November 5:

“New Zealand’s parliament has narrowly passed new legislation compelling telecommunication companies to allow the intelligence agencies to access customers’ emails, texts and phone calls… The law, which passed by 61 votes to 59, would give GCSB powers similar to Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters… and the… NSA.

“Along with the Australian and Canadian intelligence agencies, GCSB shares large amounts of data with its US and UK counterparts through the ‘Five Eyes’ electronic espionage alliance. ‘Essentially signing up to this legislation is part of the price for membership of the Five Eyes network,’ said the Green party co-leader, Russel Norman, according to Fairfax New Zealand News. The Greens have called for an inquiry by the Independent Police Conduct Authority into GCSB spying.”

Google: NSA Spying Outrageous and Potentially Illegal, If True

Reuters reported November 4:

“Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said widespread U.S. government spying on its data centers would be outrageous and potentially illegal if true, the Wall Street Journal reported. ‘It’s really outrageous that the NSA was looking between the Google data centers, if that’s true,’ Schmidt said in an interview… Schmidt told the newspaper in Hong Kong that Google had registered complaints with the National Security Agency (NSA), President Barack Obama and Congress members.

“According to a Washington Post report on Wednesday, the NSA had tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo Inc to move huge amounts of email and other user information among overseas data centers… Schmidt said in the interview that the NSA allegedly collected the phone records of 320 million people in order to identify roughly 300 people who might be at risk.”

Obama: “I am Really Good at Killing People” With Drones

CBS reported on November 3:

“A new book covering the 2012 presidential campaign uncovers a series of scathing remarks from political figures, but one alleged comment has stirred controversy around President Barack Obama and his administration’s use of targeted drone strikes. Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s book ‘Double Down: Game Change 2012’ notes President Obama commenting on drone strikes, reportedly telling his aides that he’s ‘really good at killing people’… The White House had not officially commented on the alleged remarks…

“The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that a total of 2,528-3,648 people have been killed by CIA drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, and between 416-948 of them being civilians. The group labels 326 of such events as ‘Obama strikes.’”

This newest revelation has caused another stir in Germany where drone strikes are highly unpopular and are viewed by many as illegal.

“Anti-U.S. Sentiments in Egypt at All-Time High”

Fox News reported on November 3:

“With U.S. aid to Egypt being cut in the wake of the military crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, word on the street in Egypt, along with tweets and Facebook posts, seems to indicate anti-U.S. sentiments are at an all-time high. Washington has lost friends on both sides of the Egyptian political battle, including both supporters and critics of ousted Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi.

“The anger against the U.S. is based on Egypt’s June 30 uprising that led to the July 3 ouster of Morsi. Supporters of Morsi said Obama turned his back on him while secular Egyptians say Obama sided with ‘terrorists’ instead of aligning with freedom fighters in eradicating extremism from their country…

“After a one-month review, Washington reported that it would halt the delivery of American-made tanks, fighter jets, attack helicopters and offensive missiles in reaction to the Egyptian army’s deadly crackdowns against protestors. The U.S. also suspended $260 million in cash assistance to the interim government, which has been in power since Morsi’s overthrow. Many… say Russia will make up the loss in U.S. aid, and they prefer it that way.”

Biggest Anti-American Protest in Iran in Years

The Washington Times wrote on November 4:

“Tens of thousands of protesters converged Monday at the U.S. Embassy in Iran, calling for ‘death to America’ in what’s shaping to be the largest anti-American gathering in the nation in years. The Associated Press reported that similar protests have gone forth every year since 1979, when the Islamic Revolution launched an attack and took 52 hostage for 444 days. But this year’s protest is particularly large.

“It comes as hard-liners in the country are decrying President Hassan Rouhani’s stated interest in forming peaceful relations with Washington, D.C., leaders and reaching a resolution on nuclear development, AP said. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supports the reach-out to America. Others, however, decry any friendly associations with the West and vow their protests will continue, AP reported.”

Iran will never be on friendly terms with the USA.

Dictatorial Russia’s “Justice”

France 24 wrote on November 5:

“Jailed Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is on her way to a new penal colony in Siberia, her husband said Tuesday, following fears after two weeks without information about her whereabouts. Tolokonnikova, 23, who alleged major prison abuses in her previous colony in central Russia, is on her way to a new prison colony deep in the Krasnoyarsk region, her husband Pyotr Verzilov wrote on Twitter, saying the information comes from a reliable source.

“‘Essentially, she is transferred 4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles) from central Russia to the heart of Siberia as punishment for the resonance of her letter’ that alleged abuses, Verzilov added. [There are]  just months left of her two-year term for performing a ‘punk prayer’ in Russia’s main Orthodox cathedral protesting ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin…”

And Mr. Putin dares to condemn the Americans for spying…

Russia and Japan Getting Closer

Reuters reported on November 2:

“Japan and Russia held their first joint defense and foreign ministers’ meeting on Saturday and agreed to boost security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific… [They] have never signed a treaty to mark the end of World War Two because of a territorial dispute but they are moving to deepen ties… The foreign ministers of both countries said the meeting helped build trust…”

The Bible predicts a strong alliance of Far Eastern nations under Chinese leadership.

China’s “Superior” Nuclear Submarines

The Huffington Post wrote on November 1:

“For the first time in more than 40 years, China has given the rest of the world a view of its mysterious fleet of nuclear submarines… State-run China Daily reports that Gao particularly noted the importance of the fleet’s supposedly spotless safety record when compared to that of the United States and Russia… some characterize it as a power move as China becomes increasingly confident in its economic and military capabilities… earlier in the year, a report by the U.S. military’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center reported that the modernized arsenal includes ‘nuclear warheads capable of reaching the United States.’”

China Capable of Destroying Major American Cities?

Newsmax reported on November 1:

“China’s state-run media have revealed for the first time Beijing’s potential for attacking U.S. cities with submarine-launched nuclear missiles… The Washington Times reports an article in the Global Times features a map showing damage projections for nuclear attacks on Seattle and Los Angeles, with radiation reaching as far east as Chicago… ‘Because the Midwest states of the U.S. are sparsely populated, in order to increase the lethality, nuclear attacks should mainly target the key cities on the West Coast, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego,’ the Global Times observed.

“China’s submarine fleet reportedly includes about 70 vessels, with at least four capable of launching nuclear missiles. The Global Times article also asserts that China can launch land-based ballistic missiles over the North Pole that can ‘easily destroy’ U.S. cities in the East, including New York…”

Sadly, the Bible predicts that major American cities such as the ones mentioned in the article above WILL be totally destroyed in the near future, just prior to Christ’s return—but the military attack will not be launched by China and its Far Eastern allies, but by a powerful European union. However, we also read that following Christ’s return, China and its allies will attempt to destroy the peoples of America, Britain, Canada and other English-speaking nations who have survived the terrible devastation of the Great Tribulation. For more information, please read our free booklet, titled, “Biblical Prophecy—From Now Until Forever.”

You might also want to read our free booklet, titled, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

Joel Osteen’s “Gay Problem”

Salon.com wrote on November 3:

“Joel Osteen has a problem, one that all Evangelicals in the U.S. are facing. The anti-gay position of mainstream Christianity has fallen out of favor with the public. Every reputable poll currently shows uncontested majority support for gay marriage. And the cultural shift happened more quickly than the churches can follow. The Huffington Post’s Josh Zepps recently asked Osteen about this passage from his new book…: ‘It doesn’t matter who likes you or doesn’t like you, all that matters is that God likes you. He accepts you, he approves of you.’

“Zepps wanted to know if this included gay folks. ‘Absolutely,’ Osteen offered without missing a beat. Evangelicals are notoriously tricky on the subject. It’s common theology to claim that God accepts absolutely everyone because being gay is viewed as an affliction, not an identity. What makes Osteen’s statement so unusual is his claim that God ‘approves’ of gay folks.

“The Texas megachurch pastor has always been relatively soft on the issue… In the past, Osteen at the very least claimed homosexuality was unacceptable. He told Fox News’ Chris Wallace in 2012, ‘I believe that Scripture says that being gay is a sin, but every time I say that, Chris, I get people saying, “You’re a gay hater.”’

“Osteen is quite a bit more slippery on the issue than his straightforward answer to Wallace would imply. In the same interview, Osteen immediately followed his anti-gay pronouncement by saying, ‘Gays are some of the nicest, kindest, most loving people in the world.’ Osteen never says a bad word about LGBT individuals without offering some sort of olive branch afterward, often a condescending one. In a particularly weird moment with CNN’s Piers Morgan, he even professed a love of Lady Gaga while his wife prefers Madonna.”

They are all wrong, and public opinion is no guide. The Bible makes it very clear what God thinks about homosexual practices. One does not have to be “slippery” or “apologetic” or “tricky” about it, if one wants to follow the inspired Word of God. Please watch our video-taped message, “Today’s Sodom.” 

The Obamacare Curse

Business Insider wrote on November 3:

“At least 3.5 million Americans have been issued cancellations, but the exact number is unclear. Associated Press checks find that data is unavailable in… half the states… Obama said the problem is limited to fewer than 5 percent of Americans… But in a nation of more than 300 million, 5 percent is a big number — about 15 million people. Among them are Ian and Sara Hodge of Lancaster, Pa., in their early 60s and paying $1,041 a month for a policy.

“After insurer Highmark, Inc., sent the Hodges a cancellation notice, the cheapest rate they say they’ve been able to find is $1,400 for a comparable plan. Ian is worried they may not qualify for tax credits, and doesn’t trust that the federal website is secure enough to enter personal financial information in order to find out… Their policy may not have met the government’s standards, ‘but it certainly met our minimum standards,’ Hodge added. ‘The main thing that upsets us is the president … said over and over and over again: If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan, guaranteed.’

“There’s a chance the number of people getting unwanted terminations may grow. In 2015, the law’s requirement that larger companies provide health insurance will take effect. It’s expected that a small share of firms will drop coverage, deciding that it’s cheaper to pay fines imposed under the law…”

When Is a Lie a Lie?

The Daily Caller wrote on November 6:

“President Barack Obama told his enthusiastic supporters Monday night that he never promised what video recordings show him promising at least 29 times. The videos show Obama promising 300 million Americans that ‘if you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan, period.’ But that’s not what he really said, Obama announced Monday…. ‘What we said was you could keep it if it hasn’t changed since the law was passed,’ he told Obamacare’s political beneficiaries and contractors.

“That claim is not supported by his videotaped statements, which don’t include any mention of his new ‘if it hasn’t changed’ exception.

“But the newly-revealed exception is justified by a higher-priority promise in Obamacare, Obama declared. ‘If we had allowed these old plans [to continue]… then we would have broken an even more important promise — making sure that Americans gain access to health care that doesn’t leave them one illness away from financial ruin,’ he announced. ‘So the bottom line is, is that we are making the insurance market better for everybody,’ he declared, prompting loud applause by supporters eager to ignore his three years of fraudulent statements. Obama’s higher promise is now causing the cancelation of insurance policies chosen by at least 3.5 million Americans…”

Pediatrics vs. Religious Beliefs

Reuters reported on October 28:

“Pediatricians and child abuse agencies should step in when parents’ religious beliefs keep kids from getting necessary medical care, doctors said Monday. In a policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics also said states should repeal any exemptions to child abuse and neglect laws. Those exemptions mean some states don’t always consider parents negligent if they forgo medical treatment for a child because of their religious beliefs…

“People of certain faiths, including many Christian Scientists, advocate prayer before or instead of medical treatments when a person is ill. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions… In one recent case, an Ohio court ruled that a hospital could force a 10-year-old Amish girl with leukemia to resume chemotherapy. Her parents had decided to forgo the treatment in favor of ‘natural medicines.’”

These are dangerous developments, because unbelieving doctors are very quick in labeling parental conduct as child neglect if religious parents do not follow their recommended medical treatment, however erroneous or incompetent the doctor’s “advice” might be.

Spanking Harmful for Kids?—NO WAY!

Reuters wrote on October 21:

“Think spanking will help teach an out of control child to stay in line? A new study suggests the opposite may be true. Researchers found kids who were spanked as five-year-olds were slightly more likely to be aggressive and break rules later in elementary school.

“Those results are in keeping with past research, said Elizabeth Gershoff… ‘There’s just no evidence that spanking is good for kids,’ she told Reuters Health… Despite mounting evidence on the harms tied to spanking, it is ‘still a very typical experience’ for U.S. children, the study’s lead author said.”

This is just another example of a rebellious and Bible-defying society which thinks that they know it better than their Creator.

Kristallnacht in Germany—and the World Kept Silent

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 5:

“In the days surrounding Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazis committed the worst pogrom Germany had seen since the Middle Ages… the shocking events prompted little more than hollow condemnation…

“The pogroms in November 1938 lasted several days, although history books often refer to the event merely as one ‘Night of the Broken Glass’ (Kristallnacht) because Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels announced on the radio on Nov. 10 that the excesses had ended…

“The diplomats almost unanimously condemned the murders and acts of violence and destructions. The British described the pogrom as ‘Medieval barbarism,’ the Brazilians called it a ‘disgusting spectacle,’ and French diplomats wrote that the ‘scope of brutality’ was only ‘exceeded by the massacres of the Armenians,’ referring to the Turkish genocide of 1915-1916. Nevertheless, no country broke off diplomatic relations with Berlin or imposed sanctions, and only Washington recalled its ambassador. Most of all, however, the borders of almost all countries remained largely closed for the roughly 400,000 Jewish Germans…

“Most of the diplomats were well informed about the scope of the atrocities through the accounts they had heard from desperate people describing their experiences. Besides, the smashed windows and ransacked premises of Jewish businesses were clearly visible… Unfortunately for the German Jews, many international observers failed to notice how radically the Nazis now felt about their victims. If they hadn’t, perhaps some exile countries, such as the United States or Brazil, might have relaxed their rigid immigration requirements, which became a key obstacle to Jews trying to emigrate.”

Sadly, not much has changed since then…

The Real Threat of Huge Asteroids Hitting Earth

BBC News reported on November 6:

“The threat of another asteroid strike like the one that hit Russia earlier this year is much higher than was previously thought, a study suggests. Researchers have found that space rocks of a similar size to the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk are hurtling into the Earth’s atmosphere with surprising frequency… The asteroid that exploded over Russia on 15 February this year was estimated to be about 19m-wide. It hit the atmosphere with energy estimated to be equivalent to 500,000 tonnes of TNT, sending a shockwave twice around the globe. It caused widespread damage and injured more than 1,000 people.

“Now though, scientists say there could be many more space rocks like this one on a collision course with the Earth. An international team looked at the last 20 years of data collected from sensors used by the US government and infrasound sensors positioned around the globe… The researchers found that during this time about 60 asteroids up to 20m in size had smashed into the Earth’s atmosphere: far more than was previously thought. Most went undetected because they exploded over the ocean or in very remote areas… This suggests that the risk from asteroids of this scale has been underestimated. The team estimates that the strike rate of asteroids that are tens of metres in size is between two and 10 times higher than was previously thought…

“‘There are literally millions of objects in the tens-of-metres-of-size range that we suspect are near Earth asteroids, that can get close to the Earth,’ [a scientist] said. ‘We have only discovered over 1,000 of these… In another study… scientists believe they have traced the asteroid that the Chelyabinsk meteor splintered off from. They think it is a fragment of a 2km-wide rock called asteroid 86039.”

The Bible predicts that the earth will be hit by huge asteroids, just prior to Christ’s return.

Did President Obama Know and Approve NSA Spying on Merkel and Others?

BBC News wrote on 27 October 27, 2013:

“Fresh reports in German media based on leaked US intelligence documents are prompting damaging new questions about the extent of US surveillance. Der Spiegel suggests the US has been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone since 2002. Another report says Mr Obama was told in 2010 about the surveillance and failed to stop it. The spy row has led to the worst diplomatic crisis between the two countries in living memory…

“As well as the bugging of Mrs Merkel’s phone, there are claims the NSA has monitored millions of telephone calls made by German and French citizens…

“Mrs Merkel phoned the US president when she first heard of the spying allegations on Wednesday. President Barack Obama apologised to the German chancellor and promised Mrs Merkel he knew nothing of the alleged phone monitoring and would have stopped it if he had, Der Spiegel reports.

“But on Sunday Bild newspaper quoted US intelligence sources as saying NSA head Keith Alexander personally briefed the president about the covert operation targeting Mrs Merkel in 2010. ‘Obama did not halt the operation but rather let it continue,’ the newspaper quoted a senior NSA official as saying… Germany’s Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told Bild that running such an operation on German soil would be illegal under German law, and adds that those ‘responsible must be held accountable’.

“Similar [US] listening units [as the one in Berlin] were based in around 80 locations worldwide, according to the documents seen by Der Spiegel, 19 of them in European cities. If the existence of listening stations in US embassies were known, there would be ‘severe damage for the US’s relations with a foreign government,’ the documents said. Mrs Merkel – an Americophile who was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 – is said to be shocked that Washington may have engaged in the sort of spying she had to endure growing up in Communist East Germany.”

“Obama Was Aware of Merkel Spying: Report”

The Local added on October 27:

“Bild am Sonntag said that Obama wanted to be informed in detail about Merkel, who has played a decisive role in the eurozone debt crisis and is widely seen as Europe’s most powerful leader. As a result, the report said, the NSA stepped up its surveillance of her communications, targeting not only the mobile phone she uses to conduct business for her conservative Christian Democratic Union party but also her encrypted official device. It said US intelligence specialists were then able to monitor the content of her conversations as well as text messages, which Merkel sends by the dozen each day to key associates. Bild said only the specially secured land line in her office was out of the reach of US spies. The intelligence gathered was forwarded straight to the White House, without bypassing the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, according to the report.

“Bild and Spiegel described a hive of spy activity on the fourth floor of the US embassy in central Berlin, a stone’s throw from the government quarter, from which the United States kept tabs on Merkel and other German officials. If the spying against Merkel began as early as 2002, it would mean the United States under then president George W. Bush targeted her while she was still the country’s chief opposition leader, three years before she became chancellor. Bild said that Merkel’s predecessor Gerhard Schroeder was also in the NSA’s sights because of his vocal opposition to the US invasion of Iraq. Bush was also mistrustful of the Social Democrat because of his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report added.”

NSA Denies German Reports

Deutsche Welle reported on October 28:

“Barack Obama has come under intense pressure following the scandal over the bugging of Angela Merkel’s cell phone by the NSA. The intelligence agency insists the US president knew nothing, but there are contradictions.

“The White House remains silent, while the National Security Agency denies German media claims that its chief, Keith Alexander, informed President Barack Obama in 2010 that it was bugging German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone. Alexander neither spoke with Obama about the secret operation, ‘nor has he ever discussed alleged operations involving Chancellor Merkel,’ a statement from NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said.

“According to the New York Times, the eavesdropping began 10 years ago, around the time of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, while Merkel was still in opposition as chairwoman of her party, the Christian Democratic Union. ‘What is coming to light now is no surprise to me,” said Thomas Drake, an NSA operative for 18 years before becoming a whistleblower… He says the new revelations about the NSA tally with his own memories of working for the agency a decade ago. ‘Just after the September 11 attacks the word on the ground was: since many of the attackers had been to Germany, had lived in Germany, or had travelled through Germany, the NSA and the US government declared Germany as the number one target in Europe.’

“Still the former agent is shocked by the level of surveillance targeting Merkel. ‘It is an unbelievable violation of the rules of international diplomacy,’ he said. ‘It affects Chancellor Merkel personally. That is her personal cell phone. How is that necessary?’… The man who once spied on East Germany from airplanes says the operations reminded him of the dictatorial state that was once in the grip of the stasi.

“The veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward also criticized the NSA activities. ‘They need to review this secret world and its power in their government because you run into this rats nest of concealment and lies time and time again then and now,’ Woodward told broadcaster CBS. He said that the US was being ruled by an ‘incredibly powerful government that gets on automatic pilot and you have people with inexperience who don’t know about nuts and bolts questions.’…

“For its part, the White House has refused to add anything to its previous statements on the transatlantic bugging scandals. ‘The United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor,’ White House spokesman Jay Carney said last Wednesday (23.10.2013). Insiders now argue that may have been a straight lie… ‘The president makes the rules by which the secret services operate. The NSA and other US organizations cannot work outside the boundaries that the president sets,’ [Pete Hoekstra, former chairman of the secret services committee at the US House of Representatives] said.”

Contradictions…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 28:

“What did President Barack Obama know? How can the crisis of confidence in the trans-Atlantic alliance be repaired? And what will really change in the end?

“That last question can already be answered: not a lot. Over the weekend, senior members of Congress strongly defended the NSA’s actions and dismissed the White House’s efforts at appeasement as nothing more than superficial politeness…

“It’s an attitude that newspaper editorialists shared…

“There is also confusion about what and when Obama knew about the operation against Merkel… Even if Obama didn’t know, it wouldn’t look good… The White House remains tight-lipped… Obama remained silent and spent his Sunday with a visit to church and a four-hour golf game.”

The Accusation and Denial Game Goes On…

Fox News reported on October 29:

“With every passing day bringing new allegations of the U.S. spying on its allies, many Israelis figure they would be naive to believe America wasn’t snooping on its closest ally in the Middle East. But instead of the indignation seen in France, Spain and Germany at the prospect that the National Security Agency listened in to the phone calls of top leaders, Israelis seem to take in stride the prospect of Uncle Sam listening in. ‘I think it is almost a universal assumption that everyone tries to spy on everyone,’ Mark Heller, of Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies told FoxNews.com… ‘It’s almost a given’ Heller continued. ‘The whole story reminds me of the scene from Casablanca when the Chief of Police is shocked to find out that there is gambling going on in the casino!’

“‘The Americans rightly see themselves as a superpower, but wrongly feel that they can do whatever they want, including the eavesdropping,’ Yatom, former head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad, told Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv. ‘I can tell you with certain knowledge that [America] has been listening in on its allies, including Israel. The U.S. doesn’t really care about anyone [but itself],’ Yatom said. ‘When the Americans think they need to listen in on someone, they’ll do just that.’…

“‘I think a lot of it [the shocked European reaction] is either hypocrisy or jealousy,’ Heller concluded. ‘After all, that is why almost everybody takes whatever counter-measures they can if they want to keep things secret. In the case of the Europeans, well, they’ve done a fair bit of their own [spying] as well.’”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on October 28:

“The White House and the State Department signed off on surveillance targeting phone conversations of friendly foreign leaders, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, pushing back against assertions that President Obama and his aides were unaware of the high-level eavesdropping…

“Intelligence officials also disputed a Wall Street Journal article Monday that said the White House had learned only this summer… about an NSA program to monitor communications of 35 world leaders.”

The New York Times wrote on October 29:

“The nation’s top spymaster said on Tuesday that the White House had long been aware in general terms of the [NSA’s] overseas eavesdropping, stoutly defending the agency’s intelligence-gathering methods and suggesting possible divisions within the Obama administration…

“General Alexander said news media reports that the N.S.A. had vacuumed up tens of millions of telephone calls in France, Spain and Italy were ‘completely false.’ That data, he said, is at least partly collected by the intelligence services of those countries and provided to the N.S.A. Still, both he and Mr. Clapper said that spying on foreign leaders — even those of allies — was a basic tenet of intelligence tradecraft and had gone on for decades. European countries, Mr. Clapper said, routinely seek to listen in on the conversations of American leaders…

“Several current and former American officials said that presidents and their senior national security advisers have long known about which foreign leaders the United States spied on…”

BBC News reported on October 29:

“The head of US intelligence has told lawmakers that discerning foreign leaders’ intentions is a key goal of the nation’s spying operations. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said such efforts were a ‘top tenet’ of US intelligence policy. But he told the intelligence panel of the House of Representatives the US did not ‘indiscriminately’ spy on nations.”

The Local wrote on October 30:

“The head of German foreign intelligence denied on Wednesday that Berlin was carrying out bugging operations from its embassy in the United States in a deepening espionage row. ‘No telecommunication-intelligence is conducted from the German embassy in Washington,’ Gerhard Schindler, head of the BND agency, was quoted by Zeit online news site as saying…”

The New York Times wrote on October 31:

“In testimony to Congress on Tuesday, the director of national intelligence… gave only the roughest sketch of the size of the N.S.A.’s surveillance program, but suggested that the leader of the United States’ most powerful European ally [Angela Merkel] was a single fish in a very big sea… ‘They suck up every phone number they can in Germany,’ said one former intelligence official.”

Spying on the Pope

AFP wrote on October 30:

“The US National Security Agency allegedly eavesdropped on cardinals before the conclave in March to elect a new pope, Italian weekly magazine Panorama claimed on Wednesday. ‘The National Security Agency wire-tapped the pope,’ the magazine said, accusing the United States of listening in to telephone calls to and from the Vatican, including cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio before he was elected Pope Francis. The allegations follow a report on surveillance website, Cryptome, which said the US intercepted 46 million telephone calls in Italy in December last year and early January this year…

“Bergoglio ‘had been a person of interest to the American secret services since 2005, according to Wikileaks’, it said… If true, the US spying would be an embarrassing blow to an institution famous for its secrecy. The goings-on of the conclave are particularly [cloak]-and-dagger, with a system installed in the Sistine chapel where the cardinals meet in order to scramble any mobile phone communications and excommunication for those who spill the beans.”

Spain Too

CNN wrote on October 28:

“The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported Monday that the NSA collected data from 60 million phone calls in Spain in one 30-day period.”

Spying on Yahoo and Google

Deutsche Welle reported on October 30:

“The US National Security Agency has reportedly broken into links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world. The latest revelations came hours after German and US officials met to discuss US spy claims… The program, operated jointly with the NSA’s British counterpart GCHQ (UK Government Communications Headquarters), allows the agencies to intercept data flows from the fiber-optic cables used by the US Internet giants.”

Brazil and Germany Request UN Resolution Against USA

Foreign Policy wrote on October 24:

“Brazil and Germany today joined forces to press for the adoption of a U.N. General Resolution that promotes the right of privacy on the internet, marking the first major international effort to restrain the National Security Agency’s intrusions into the online communications of foreigners…

“Although the U.N.’s ability to fundamentally constrain the NSA is nil, the mounting international uproar over U.S. surveillance has security experts fearful for the ramifications… Anyone who thinks this issue will only resonate in Brazil, Mexico, France, Italy, and Germany… isn’t paying attention.”

US-European Relationship – “After the Love Has Gone”

CNN wrote on October 25:

“On July 24, 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama addressed tens of thousands of Germans on the avenue that leads from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. In a pointed reference to the outgoing administration of President George W. Bush, he promised a new era of ‘allies who will listen to each other, who will learn from each other, who will, above all, trust each other’… No U.S. politician since John F. Kennedy had so captured Europeans’ imagination. Five years on, in the words of the song, it’s a case of ‘After the Love Has Gone.’…

“Even pro-U.S. newspapers like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung are in full throttle, writing that: ‘The government in Washington has apparently not yet understood the level of damage that continues to be caused by the activities of American intelligence agencies in Europe.’… French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault commented it was ‘incredible that an allied country like the United States at this point goes as far as spying on private communications that have no strategic justification, no justification on the basis of national defense.’…

“The fall-out may be more than rhetorical. Germany’s opposition Social Democrats are asking whether the European Union can — or should — agree a free trade deal with the U.S. in the current atmosphere. Negotiations on the Transatlatic Trade and Investment Partnership were already in a fragile state and will not be helped by claims in Le Monde that large French corporations such as telecom company Alcatel-Lucent have been targeted by the NSA…

“Der Spiegel reported… that the British equivalent of the NSA was involved in a cyber-attack against Belgium’s state-run telecommunications company, Belgacom…”

All of these events are highly significant, as the Bible has prophesied—and the Church of God has proclaimed for decades—that in these end times continental Europe, under German leadership, will rise, while the USA and the UK will fall and become totally isolated in the world, and that a hostile relationship will especially develop between a European power bloc and the USA and the UK. We are clearly seeing now the beginning stages of these developments.

USA Upset with Germany

The Wall Street Journal wrote on October 30:

“The U.S. used sharp language Wednesday to criticize Germany’s economic policies in a semiannual currency report, saying the country’s export-led growth is creating problems for the euro zone and the global economy.

“The U.S. identified Germany ahead of its traditional target, China, and the most-recent problem country, Japan, in the ‘key findings’ section. The move indicates U.S. concerns about Germany’s policies have moved to the forefront while U.S. angst over the yuan and the yen is abating.”

The Local wrote on October 31:

“Germany on Thursday rejected as ‘incomprehensible’ criticism levelled by the US Treasury that Berlin should do more to increase its domestic demand and rely less on exports in order to help boost the global economy… The critical [US] report comes amid already strained German-US ties over reported US bugging of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone…”

One wonders whether the USA is engaging in a case of revenge against Germany’s strong attacks on American spying activities. This would not help to heal the broken relationship between the two countries.

“One ‘Oops’ Away from Armageddon”

The Independent wrote on October 26:

“In the 68 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, apart from scheduled nuclear tests, not a single nuclear warhead has exploded… since 1945, no nuclear weapon has gone off by accident… The US… currently has around 4,650 strategic missiles, 1,950 of which are deployed, the rest on stand-by. No figures are published, but upkeep, support and modernisation of the nuclear force reputedly costs at least $50bn (£31bn) a year…

“But never rule out the human factor. Somehow, for example, in contravention of rules set in place after North Carolina, six cruise missiles fitted with live nuclear warheads were carried on a flight in 2007 from North Dakota to Louisiana without authorisation. Apparently, loaders confused dummy warheads with the real thing…

“Back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, the greatest nuclear threat to America was accidental detonation of an American weapon. That remains the case now…”

The dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear sites worldwide should not be underestimated, as this and the following articles show.

Big Earthquake Hits Japan Near Fukushima Nuclear Site

On October 25, The Associated Press reported:

“An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck early Saturday off Japan’s east coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and Japan’s emergency agencies issued a tsunami advisory for the region that includes the crippled Fukushima nuclear site. Tsunamis of up to 15 inches were reported at four areas along the coast, but the advisory was lifted less than two hours after the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage on land…

“All but two of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors have been offline since a March 2011 magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami triggered multiple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks at the Fukushima plant, about 160 miles northeast of Tokyo. About 19,000 people were killed in the disaster. A string of mishaps this year at the Fukushima plant has raised international concerns about the operator’s ability to tackle the continuing crisis.”

Iran Almost Ready to Build a Bomb?

JTA reported on October 25:

“Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear bomb in as little as a month, according to a new estimate by a top American think tank… The new assessment comes as the White House invited Senate staffers to a briefing on negotiations with Iran as part of its efforts to persuade Congress not to go ahead with a bill to stiffen sanctions against Iran…

“Israeli Intelligence and International Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz has said that Iran had made no concrete offer to resolve the conflict around its nuclear program during the last round of talks…”

Religious Freedom and Conviction at Stake

On October 25, The San Diego Union Tribune wrote the following:

“The U.S. Supreme Court is… likely to consider a complex legal tangle that focuses on a simple question: Are business owners free to follow their religious beliefs when they conflict with the expanding dictates of the government? The main case involves a nationwide craft store known as the Hobby Lobby, which objects to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that it provide certain types of contraceptives as part of the health plan the company offers its 22,000 employees.

“It is owned by evangelical Christians who see their business as an extension of their religious faith. Hobby Lobby already covers contraceptives in its insurance plan, but it objects to including ‘drugs and devices (they) … believe to be abortifacients,’ explained the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal in a decision siding with the company. Federal officials and state attorney generals, including California’s Kamala Harris, urged the court to take the case and side – no surprise here – with the government…

“This case is about a question that harkens back to the nation’s founding. When the individual’s conscience collides with the government’s rules, who wins?…”

New Deadline for Obamacare’s Individual Mandate – March 31.

Newsmax wrote on October 23:

“The Obama administration is giving individuals who buy health insurance through government-run marketplaces until the end of March to enroll in a plan, an administration official said.  And the deadline for a penalty or fine? It hasn’t changed, says White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest… It’s still March 31. ‘Under [the Affordable Care Act], if you have access to affordable coverage but choose to be uninsured for 3 consecutive months in a calendar year, you would face a penalty. In other words, you need to have insurance by the end of March to avoid a penalty in 2014,’ Earnest said in an emailed statement.

“‘Some have asked whether consumers could face a tax penalty if they don’t enroll in coverage by Feb. 15 of next year. This is not the case. If you sign up for insurance by the end of March, you will not face a penalty. The guidance that the administration will issue soon will reinforce this,’ Earnest continued… The open enrollment period extends from Oct. 1 to March 31…”

Broken Promises and Misrepresentations

Breitbart wrote on October 30:

“In a speech at Boston’s Faneuil Hall on Wednesday afternoon, President Barack Obama discarded his now-infamous broken promise: ‘If you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance.’ Instead, he offered a new promise: ‘You will be getting a better deal,’ the president told health insurance consumers. He blamed insurance companies, not Obamacare, for the canceled policies:

“‘Now, if you had one of these substandard plans before the Affordable Care Act became law, and you really like that plan, you were able to keep it. That’s what I said when I was running for office. That was part of the promise we made. But ever since the law was passed, if insurers decided to downgrade or cancel the substandard plans, what we said under the law is that you have got to replace them with quality, comprehensive coverage because that, too, was a central premise of the Affordable Care Act from the very beginning… So if you’re getting one of these letters [canceling your insurance policy], just shop around in the new marketplace. That’s what it’s for…

“‘For the fewer than 5% of Americans who buy insurance on your own [sic], you will be getting a better deal. So anyone peddling the motion that insurers are canceling people’s plan without mentioning that almost all the insurers are encouraging people to join better plans with the same carrier and stronger benefits and stronger protections, while others will be able to get better plans with new carriers through the marketplace, and then many will get new help to pay for these better plans and make them actually cheaper–if you leave that stuff out, you’re being grossly misleading, to say the least.’”

“Ignoring evidence that the ‘better deal’ is often far more expensive than existing plans, the president updated his promise without apologizing for misleading voters for years about the consequences of Obamacare. He also ignored the fact that companies were compelled by the law to change their plans to comply with new rules…”

The earlier promise and the updated representations are simply false. Statements especially by Democrats during a House hearing on Wednesday, applauding the Obamacare disaster, were likewise misleading. The fact is that insurance companies are cancelling individual insurance policies by the hundreds of thousands because of Obamacare—including policies which were not substandard by any means—and that it is virtually impossible for MANY customers to find similar policies with the same or lower rates. The TRUTH is that the rates are much higher and simply not affordable for many “customers.”

There is no doubt that America’s healthcare system is in an awful state—the concept that a person who loses his or her job is forced to maintain individual healthcare through extremely expensive and largely unaffordable mechanisms (such as COBRA) is just one of the many horrible examples of a totally broken system—but sadly, Obamacare is not the solution. And of course, the ungodly greed of many insurance companies does not help to solve the problems either. The bottom line is that America’s disastrous healthcare system is just one of the many manifestations of a superpower which is descending into the abyss.

Americans More Divided Than Ever

Money Morning wrote on October 31:

“Obamacare doesn’t officially kick off until January 1st, yet millions of Americans are already at each other’s throats over it. Research from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the country is now more divided than any other time in history since the Civil War era. In fact, 20 states including Texas, Georgia and Louisiana have threatened to secede. And despite a recent Supreme Court ruling making Obamacare the law of the land, only 24 states are moving forward with a key aspect of Obamacare- the expansion of Medicaid. Of the rest, 21 are opposed and five are deadlocked in debate.

“So far, every single southern state from Texas to Virginia has refused to widen Medicaid, a key provision of the Obamacare program. This will leave millions of Americans without coverage. That’s because they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid as it now stands, but not enough to get the subsidies to buy insurance in the new exchanges.

“The South isn’t alone in rejecting Obamacare. Liberal states such as Maine have opposed the bill. Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio have yet to move forward with the expansion. Even legendary investor Warren Buffett, a one-time Obamacare supporter, said in 2010 he would scrap the healthcare bill and start over. One of the main architects of the bill, Democratic Senator Max Baucus from Montana said Obamacare is heading for a ‘train wreck’ if it’s not implemented properly.

“While even Obamacare detractors applaud the requirement that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions and put a stop to lifetime caps on benefits, they say these laudable benefits don’t compensate for the bills high cost – especially in new taxes. According to most experts, Obamacare will create no fewer than twenty new taxes or tax hikes on the American people. In fact, the Obama administration has already given the IRS an extra $500 million to enforce the rules and regulations of Obamacare.

“The new taxes don’t bode well for millions of middle-class Americans. Incomes for the rich have soared this decade but middle class workers have seen their wages stagnate and even drop since the 2008 Great Recession. Many fear Obamacare with its high insurance costs and new taxes, could provide the middle class a fatal blow… a third of all U.S. employers could stop offering health insurance to their workers… ordinary Americans will get stuck paying for substance abuse coverage – even if they never touched a drink or drug in their life… senior citizens will get hit the hardest. Hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery will be especially hard to get from Medicare in the months ahead thanks to Obamacare…”

The Bible pronounces a curse on those who take advantage of and neglect or mistreat the elderly.

Spooky Halloween Candy Is Big Business for Careless Americans

The website of fastcodesign.com published the following article:

“Halloween has always been about the things trick-or-treating represent… For a thousand years, Halloween has been all about eating sugar to assuage our fears. Dating as far back as the ancient pagan Celtic festival called Samhain–in which the end of harvest coincided with the opening of a liminal window into the spirit world–October 31st has always been an amalgamated swirl of sweets and the supernatural… As the Celts gorged themselves on crude jellies, sweetmeats, and candies, they would mask or blacken their faces to placate evil spirits…

“In the 1950s, candy companies started realizing that this trick-or-treat thing might be a huge thing for them… Then on November 2, 1970, 5-year-old Kevin Toston from Detroit died after eating what initial reports identified as heroin-laced Halloween candy. It later turned out that the heroin never came from the candy, but by that point, no one was paying attention. The idea that sickos were poisoning candy to give to trick-or-treaters had been launched into the zeitgeist.

“In a ghoulish twist, the notion that Halloween candy might be poisoned turned out to be great for candy makers. Concerned with safety, parents started telling their kids not to take any sweets that weren’t factory-wrapped, which meant that the homemade treats or loose candy that most houses had handed out in the past became objects of suspicion…

“Buoyed by the monster fad of the 1970s, the packaging of Halloween candy got increasingly weirder and wilder… Today, Halloween candy is big business. In 2011, $2.3 billion worth of Halloween candy… ‘When it comes to the money Americans spend on the holiday, Halloween is second only to Christmas’…

“Yet if there’s anything that the history of trick-or-treating or even Halloween shows us, it’s that sugar and fear are a winning combination. Whether you’re an ancient Celt facing the long nights of winter, when the spirits of the dead are rumored to roam; a kid running through the streets in a costume with his mouth full of gummi worms; or a mom, telling her children to only accept individually wrapped chocolates from name-brand candy makers, lest they be poisoned: candy sells better when it’s spooky.”

Expensive Government Shutdown

Time and CNN reported the following on October 17, under the following headline:

“Here’s How Much The Government Shutdown Cost The Economy.”
The article continued:

“$24 billion. That’s according to an estimate from Standard & Poor’s. The financial services company said the shutdown, which ended with a deal late Wednesday night after 16 days, took $24 billion out of the U.S. economy, and reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent…

“Hundreds of thousands of federal workers bore the economic brunt of the shutdown. But small businesses also suffered from frozen government contracts and stalled business loans. Tourism suffered from closed national parks, and military families had to cope without childcare and other services. Federal workers will receive back-pay under the deal, but contractors will probably not get their lost wages…

“And with the deal only guaranteeing government funding through Jan. 15, the situation could grow worse…”

And all of this for nothing…

National Debt

AFP wrote on October 19:

“The government shutdown may have ended Wednesday, but the bipartisan deal that put workers back on the job also suspended the nation’s debt ceiling, leaving the national debt soaring at an astronomical rate that is expected to keep growing.

“The nation’s debt climbed by a record $328 billion on Thursday alone, reports The Washington Times, the first day the federal government could borrow money under the agreement. The debt is now at a record $17.075 trillion and climbing, according to the Treasury Department.”

The website http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-economy-politics-debt/2013/10/19/id/531938?ns_mail_uid=9650683&ns_mail_job=1542415_10192013&promo_code=153B3-1 offers up-to-date figures of the climbing national debt. Newsmax reported on October 10 that “The national debt is set to double by the time President Barack Obama leaves office, if it continues to increase at the current rate.”

Obamacare Website—Disastrous and Catastrophic

Newsmax reported on October 18:

“The disastrous rollout of the Obamacare website has taken a new turn with errors turning up for the few who successfully managed to enroll through the glitch-filled site.

“Executives at more than a dozen health plans have told The Wall Street Journal that errors include duplicate enrollments, spouses reported as children, missing data fields [sic], and suspect eligibility determinations. In one case, a customer successfully signed up on Healthcare.gov for three plans at one company. ‘The longer this takes to resolve… the harder it will be to get people to [come back and] sign up,’ Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Mark Bertolini told the Journal. ‘It’s not off to a great start.’…

“The administration initially blamed the issues on high demand, but has since admitted the site was fraught with serious flaws, though officials have withheld details. President Barack Obama this week admitted his frustration with the website… On Thursday, the Journal published an editorial labeling the Obamacare website ‘a catastrophe.’”

Newsmax reported on October 21:

“Consumer Reports, the nation’s most respected consumer watchdog, has some sobering advice for Americans attempting to sign up for Obamacare: ‘Stay away.’ The federal exchange, Healthcare.gov, which has been plagued by software glitches, should be avoided ‘for at least another month if you can… Hopefully that will be long enough for its software vendors to clean up the mess they’ve made.’”

The Weekly Standard wrote on October 23:

“While the Affordable Care Act was making its way through Congress in 2009 and 2010, President Obama famously promised the American people over and over again that if you like your health plan, you can keep it. ‘Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you,’ Obama said at one rally in July 2009. ‘First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan.  Nobody is talking about taking that away from you.’ 

“But the president’s promise is turning out to be false for millions of Americans who have had their health insurance policies canceled because they don’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.  According to health policy expert Bob Laszewski, roughly 16 million Americans will lose their current plans because of Obamacare.”

Breitbart wrote on October 23:

“The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein now admits that weeks before the disastrous ObamaCare launch, he heard ‘some very ugly things about how the system was performing[.]’ We also now know that a few hundred people were involved in a test that crashed the site days before the launch and that insurance companies were complaining about the site before the launch.  On top of all that, we are now seeing story after story about the red flags ignored by the Administration. But it isn’t just the White House claiming to be caught off guard by The Obvious, it is also a useless American media that seems incapable of breaking stories embarrassing to this president…

“Once again, despite numerous red flags, our media claims to  be as surprised by a major scandal as the rest of… America. This isn’t the first major Obama White House scandal the media failed to break. The NSA, Associated Press, IRS, and Benghazi scandals were all missed by an American mainstream media that apparently spends its days spinning for the White House instead of engaging in the kind of investigative journalism into it that might result in revelations they don’t want to know about or report.

“From what we now know, three weeks after the launch of this half-billion dollar debacle, the only thing more outrageous than the Obama administration launching a site they knew was nowhere near ready, is that our media was too lazy or partisan or incompetent or all three to have been way ahead of this scandal.”

Some even try to put their usual positive spin on these events, praising the “success” of Obamacare by pointing out that so many have (unsuccessfully) attempted to sign up for it. Beg your pardon?

Next War Inevitable

USA Today wrote on October 17:

“Budget reductions could render the Army at ‘high risk to meet even one major war,’ according to documents obtained by USA TODAY, a warning the Army is sounding because it sees another war as inevitable before long… War is likely to break out again…

“Since May, the Army, Marines and Special Operations Command have been emphasizing the importance of ground forces in future conflicts. The Strategic Landpower Task Force states that some in the defense community believe wars will be fought primarily with weapons fired from a safe distance… [But] operations on land are most effective at achieving national objectives. [Commanders] referred to the need to influence what they refer to as the ‘human domain.’ Compelling people to act in U.S. interests is best accomplished by land forces, they said.”

Sadly, America’s next war IS inevitable, but America will not win it.

U.S.-Saudi Arabia Rift Deepens

The Guardian wrote on October 22:

“A deepening diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and the US burst open on Tuesday after secretary of state John Kerry acknowledged that Washington’s key strategic ally had serious misgivings about US foreign policy in the Middle East.

“Kerry held urgent talks with his Saudi counterpart in Paris on Monday amid complaints from Riyadh that the US was not doing enough to help Sunni-dominated rebels in Syria following a decision not launch US military action… Kerry insisted relations remained fundamentally sound, but news of the meetings appears to confirm reports in the Wall Street Journal that the Saudis had threatened to scale back their regional co-operation with the US in protest at what it saw as a misguided Middle East strategy…

“Reuters also quoted Prince Bandar telling European diplomats that the kingdom would be making a ‘major shift’ in relations with Washington over perceived inaction towards the conflict in Syria, and a possible rapprochement with Iran over its nuclear program. Saudi Arabia is understood to be upset at perceived US weakness over Iran – and wants more aggressive steps taken to prevent Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons technology – and Egypt, where the US has severed military ties with the new government in protest at crackdowns on demonstrators…

“These are the latest signs that a US policy of rapprochement with Iran is causing friction with existing allies in the region, following similar concerns expressed by Israel. Washington is also struggling to maintain good relations with France, Brazil, and Germany over separate arguments about surveillance by the National Security Agency. But the row with Saudi Arabia threatens to destabilise one of the strongest diplomatic ties in Washington, based historically on mutual oil and security interests. Last week, Riyadh snubbed a US-backed offer to take a seat on the United Nations security council.”

Mail On Line added on October 22:

“In unusually blunt public remarks, [Saudi Arabia’s] Prince Turki al-Faisal  called Obama’s policies in Syria ‘lamentable’ and ridiculed a U.S.-Russian deal to eliminate Assad’s chemical weapons…

“Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, ploughs much of its earnings back into U.S. assets. Most of the Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets of $690 billion are thought to be denominated in dollars, much of them in U.S. Treasury bonds. ‘All options are on the table now, and for sure there will be some impact,’ the [unnamed] Saudi source said. He said there would be no further coordination with the United States over the war in Syria, where the Saudis have armed and financed rebel groups fighting Assad.”

“America’s Not in Decline… It’s on the Rise”

Believe it or not, this ridiculous article was published on October 20 by the Washington Post. The authors, Ely Ratner and Thomas Wright, begin to describe correctly the ACCURATE international reaction to the most current developments, as follows:

“It’s been a banner month for the oracles of American decline. The shutdown of the federal government, the prospect of a default on the country’s debt, and the political dysfunction that made the United States seem rudderless on Syria and forced the cancellation of President Obama’s trip to Asia seemed to confirm that the end of American preeminence is finally upon us.

“Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass argued that Washington was ‘hastening the emergence of a post-American world.’ The Guardian’s Timothy Garton Ash wrote that ‘the erosion of American power is happening faster than most of us predicted — while the politicians in Washington behave like rutting stags with locked antlers.’ And the financial Web site MarketWatch declared: ‘This is what decline of a superpower looks like.’…”

But then, the opinion is uttered that these concerns are baseless, and that a glorious future is ahead of the USA. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. But read yourself the statements in the article:

“Despite gridlock in Washington, America is recovering from the financial crisis and combining enduring strengths with new sources of influence… Meanwhile, emerging powers are running into troubles of their own. Taken together, these developments are ushering in a new era of American strategic advantage… the United States is experiencing a turnaround of fortunes. The unemployment rate has fallen to just over 7 percent from an October 2009 peak of 10 percent. By contrast, euro-zone unemployment remains stuck at around 12 percent.”

This is so wrong. These figures (even though lamentable per se) are terribly misleading, as they do not include those who are self-employed and who have lost their business; who are part-time or under-employed, and who have given up on even claiming unemployment.

The article continues:

“In this dawning era of strategic advantage, the United States will confront foreign policy challenges largely associated with weakness and instability abroad… The Middle East will continue its painful and bloody revolution. And Europe appears increasingly unable to move beyond protracted stagnation, eroding its ability to play a constructive role in world affairs.”

This world view is hopelessly naïve and unrealistic. It’s mere wishful thinking. It reminds us of the false prophets of old, at the time of Jeremiah, who proclaimed peace and security, while captivity and slavery were awaiting the nation. The same is true today. Don’t listen to these false prognosticators of incorrect fantasies… they are lulling the people to sleep and don’t help them at all.

Schwarzenegger for President?

The Washington Times wrote on October 18:

“Hollywood action star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been quietly lobbying key politicos for a legal loophole or a constitutional change that would clear the path for him to run for president in 2016. If allowed, Mr. Schwarzenegger would face off against Hillary Rodham Clinton, The New York Post reported… ‘Schwarzenegger has been talking openly about working on getting the constitutional rules changed so he can run for president in 2016,’ a source said, The Post reported. ‘He is ready to file legal paperwork to challenge the rules.’

“The actor was born in Austria, making him ineligible to seek the high office. The Constitution states plainly that one of the requirements for a U.S. president is to be a natural born citizen. Section One Article Two states: ‘No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president.’

“The loophole language could be the definition of ‘natural born citizen,’ legal minds have argued. Columbia University Law School professor Michael Dorf said, The Post reported: ‘The law is very clear, but it’s not 100 percent clear that the courts would enforce that law rather than leave it to the political process.’

“Meanwhile, there’s little doubt that the Hollywood icon would run if he could. Mr. Schwarzenegger became a legal U.S. citizen in 1983, and in 2010 he was asked during a ‘Tonight Show’ appearance if he would seek the presidency if the law allowed. His answer: ‘Without any doubt.’”

One has to wait and see what will develop. After all, there are still nagging doubts and many unresolved answers whether Barack Obama is a “natural born citizen” under the Constitution and therefore eligible to hold the office of President.

Obama Administration to Give Iran Billions of Dollars?

The Associated Press reported on October 18:

“The Obama administration is weighing whether to offer Iran the chance to recoup billions of dollars in frozen overseas assets if it takes steps to scale back its nuclear program, U.S. officials and congressional aides said Friday. The proposal would face a skeptical Congress determined to make the end of Tehran’s uranium enrichment activity the condition for any sanctions relief.

“The brainstorming comes after two days of nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers ended this week in Geneva. The talks — the first since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office — ended on an upbeat note although it fell short of specific and concrete commitments by Iran to stop enriching uranium or ship out its stockpiles of higher-enriched uranium…

“Under the plan being weighed, Iran would be able to access money from oil sales overseas that it currently can only barter with because of U.S. and international sanctions. Senate aides put the total between $50 billion and $75 billion. It’s not clear what Iran would have to do in return to prompt the Obama administration to allow banks to release the money.”

Iran would be happy to get that money, while NEVER agreeing to forsaking their nuclear program…

USA Guilty of War Crimes?

The Guardian wrote on October 21:

“US officials responsible for the secret CIA drone campaign against suspected terrorists in Pakistan may have committed war crimes and should stand trial, a report by a leading human rights group warns. Amnesty International has highlighted the case of a grandmother who was killed while she was picking vegetables and other incidents which could have broken international laws designed to protect civilians.

“The report is issued in conjunction with an investigation by Human Rights Watch detailing missile attacks in Yemen which the group believes could contravene the laws of armed conflict, international human rights law and Barack Obama’s own guidelines on drones… The US has repeatedly claimed very few civilians have been killed by drones. It argues its campaign is conducted ‘consistent with all applicable domestic and international law’.”

Frightening Incompetency in the US Air Force

Fox News wrote on October 23:

“Four Air Force officers who were entrusted with the launch keys to nuclear-tipped missiles have been punished for leaving open blast doors intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their post while they were sleeping. Air Force officials confirm to Fox News that twice this year alone, Air Force officers were caught leaving open blast doors. The doors are never to be left open if one of the crew members inside is asleep — as was the case in both these instances — out of concern for the damage an intruder could cause, including the compromising of secret launch codes.

“Transgressions such as these, which were first reported by the Associated Press, are rarely revealed publicly. But officials with direct knowledge of Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile operations told the AP that such violations have happened, undetected, many more times than in the cases of the two launch crew commanders and two deputy commanders who were given administrative punishments this year. The blast door violations are another sign of serious trouble in the handling of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The Associated Press has discovered a series of problems within the ICBM force, including a failed safety inspection, the temporary sidelining of launch officers deemed unfit for duty and the abrupt firing last week of the two-star general in charge.”

30 Million People Enslaved Today

Reuters reported on October 17:

“Some 30 million people are enslaved worldwide, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or even born into servitude, a global index on modern slavery showed on Thursday. Almost half are in India, where slavery ranges from bonded labor in quarries and kilns to commercial sex exploitation, although the scourge exists in all 162 countries surveyed by Walk Free, an Australian-based rights group… almost 21 million people are [estimated to be] victims of forced labour…

“The Global Slavery Index 2013 defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception. The definition includes indentured servitude, forced marriage and the abduction of children to serve in wars. According to the index, 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world’s slaves.

“After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Myanmar (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000)…

“At the other end of the scale, Iceland has the lowest estimated prevalence with fewer than 100 slaves. Next best are Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark, although researchers said slave numbers in such wealthy countries were higher than previously thought…”

It is interesting that the countries with the lowest percentage of slaves are all of Israelite descent, while the countries with the highest percentage are all of non-Israelite descent. Sadly, it will be many of the Israelite nations who will find themselves in slavery and captivity of war in the not-too-distant future.

France Prohibits Freedom of Conscience

AFP wrote on October 19:

“France’s Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that the country’s mayors cannot refuse to officiate at same-sex weddings, rejecting a bid by a group of mayors who claimed gay marriage went against their moral or religious beliefs.

“The Constitutional Council’s ruling followed an appeal by mayors and registrars opposed to France’s controversial bill legalising same-sex marriages, which came into effect in May this year. They argued that the same-sex marriage bill should have included a ‘freedom of conscience’ clause, giving officiators the right not to carry out same-sex marriages if it conflicts with their personal religious or moral beliefs. The lack of such a clause in the bill goes against the French constitution, they claim.

“But the Council, France’s highest legal authority, rejected this argument in its ruling on Friday morning. Jean-Michel Colo, the Mayor of Arcangues in southwest France who hit headlines in June when he became the first official to refuse to marry a gay couple, denounced the Council’s decision. ‘The Constitutional Council has been manipulated by politics. It is a political decision,’ he told AFP.

“Colo said that the group of mayors would now take their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Meanwhile, the group Manif Pour Tous, which has been at the forefront of protests against the legalisation of same-sex marriage, said it supports ‘all the mayors who courageously dare to assert their right to freedom of conscience’. The organisation says a petition it launched in defence of the right of mayors not to officiate at gay weddings has collected more than 80,000 signatures.

“In France [as well as in Germany and many other European countries], marriages can only be made official by state authorities, though many couples also celebrate religious weddings.”

France Immigration Debacle

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 21:

“French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on Sunday defended his decision to deport a 15-year-old Roma girl and her family to Kosovo after they lost their bid for asylum. The deportation has prompted calls for the minister’s resignation by students and leftist groups. Valls, the point person on immigration policy in François Hollande’s Socialist government, has been assailed in the French media ever since police detained Leonarda Dibrani in front of her classmates while on a fieldtrip on Oct. 9. Dibrani and the rest of her family, who were living in Levier in eastern France, were all flown to Kosovo that day.

“Thousands of secondary school students demonstrated in Paris and across the country last week against the government, while some politicians have backed students’ demands that Valls step down, according to French media…

“The interior minister has taken a hard line on illegal immigration, causing a rift within his own center-left party. Valls argued last month that France’s 20,000 Roma migrants were ‘different’ and not capable of integrating into French society, suggesting they should be returned to their countries of origin… Hollande was criticized on both the left and the right for the move. The leader of the center-right opposition Union for a Popular Movement accused the prime minister of undermining the ‘authority of the state,’ while the Left Party called the decision not to allow her family to join her one of ‘abject cruelty’…

“The Dibrani case appears to have further damaged the popularity of the embattled Hollande. A new poll published Sunday by the Journal de Dimanche gave him a record low approval rating of 23 percent. However, a survey conducted by French pollster BVA, published in Saturday’s Le Parisien, showed that around 77 percent of the French public support Valls’ stance on the situation, indicating continued French unease with immigration.

“Over 10,000 Roma — mostly from Romania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia — were forcefully evicted from informal settlements in France during the first half of 2013, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.”

For additional information, please view our new StandingWatch program, “France in Prophecy.”

France Appalled by US Spying Activities

The Associated Press reported on October 21:

“The U.S. National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French telephone records in a 30-day period, according to a newspaper report Monday that offered new details of the massive scope of a surveillance operation that has angered some of the country’s closest allies. The French government summoned the U.S. ambassador for an explanation on Monday and renewed demands for talks on protection of personal data, as well as pledges that the surveillance would cease…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government canceled a Cold War-era agreement that allowed the U.S. and Britain the authority to request German authorities to conduct surveillance operations within the country to protect their troops stationed there. Privacy is especially cherished in Germany after the country’s painful history of mass surveillance of citizens of communist East Germany and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi state.

“‘I can understand the anger in France. You don’t do that among partners. You don’t do that among friends. That is why it is important that everything becomes clear what happened. That applies to France. It applies to other countries, and also for Germany,’ German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Monday…”

US Allies Outraged

Deutsche Welle reported on October 22:

“The revelations of US espionage have angered several US allies. On Sunday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry demanded answers from Washington after the publication of a separate article alleging NSA-snooping on Mexico. The latest revelations stemmed from an article published by the German news magazine Der Spiegel which said the US surveillance program had been spying on Mexico for years… Last week, Deutsche Telekom announced a plan to shield domestic Internet traffic from foreign spying. The telecommunications giant aims to strengthen data privacy in Germany by preventing it from leaving its borders and opting instead to channel it through domestic servers only.”

NPR added on October 22:

“The fallout from revelations about the National Security Agency’s spying activities continues: A key European Parliament committee approved new rules strengthening online privacy and outlawing the kind of surveillance the U.S. has been conducting. NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says the legislation could also have significant implications for U.S. Internet companies.”

The Associated Press added on October 23:

“European lawmakers on Wednesday called for the suspension of an agreement that grants U.S. authorities access to bank data for terror-related investigations, marking a sharp official rebuke of Washington’s surveillance programs. The European Parliament’s resolution, adopted in a 280-254 vote with 30 abstentions, is not binding. The agreement could only be suspended by a two-thirds majority of the 28-nation bloc’s member states.”

Did USA Spy on Angela Merkel?

BBC News reported on October 23:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called US President Barack Obama after receiving information that the US may have spied on her mobile phone. A spokesman for Mrs Merkel said the German leader ‘views such practices… as completely unacceptable’… [and calling any spying activities on Merkel “a grave breach of trust.”] The White House said President Obama had told Chancellor Merkel the US was not snooping on her communications… The US has been on the receiving end of anger from allies over spying allegations based on material said to originate from fugitive American leaker Edward Snowden… But the spokesman did not address whether Mrs Merkel’s phone had been monitored in the past.”

In an accompanying “analysis,” BBC News stated this:

“The language in the White House statement responding to allegations that the NSA monitored Angela Merkel’s private mobile phone is deliberately precise. ‘The president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of Chancellor Merkel.’ It did not deny possible past surveillance on her phone.

“Clearly, Angela Merkel believes these allegations are plausible enough to confront directly Barack Obama, in what must have been an awkward conversation.Tonight at the White House there was supposed to be a state dinner for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. But she cancelled the visit last month following allegations that the NSA snooped on her personal communications.

“Only on Monday, President Obama had to reassure his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, over allegations published in Le Monde of electronic eavesdropping on French political figures and business leaders on a vast scale. The diplomatic backlash is getting fiercer by the day.”

The Associated Press added on October 23:

“In Germany, opposition politicians, the media and privacy activists have been vocal in their outrage over the U.S. eavesdropping. Up until now, Merkel had worked hard to contain the damage to U.S.-German relations and refrained from saying anything bad about the Americans.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 23, 2013:

“During her conversation with Obama, Merkel expressed her expectation that ‘US authorities would provide an explanation about the possible extent of such surveillance practices, and thus answer questions that the German government already posed months ago’…”

In possibly spying on Angela Merkel, the USA might have gone too far and might have taken too big a bite of the apple—being unable to swallow it.

Europeans Angry with the USA

Der Spiegel wrote on October 24:

“The newest allegations of US spying have unleashed a torrent of criticism and concern in Europe. If suspicions unearthed by SPIEGEL that the US tapped Chancellor Merkel’s cell phone turn out to be true, the ramifications for trans-Atlantic ties could be immense.

“Leading politicians and media commentators in Germany expressed serious concern on Thursday following allegations that US intelligence agencies had tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone. Merkel’s spokesman confirmed that she placed an angry call Wednesday night to United States President Barack Obama to discuss the suspicions, which arose from an inquiry by SPIEGEL. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle took the unusual step Thursday morning of summoning the US ambassador, John B. Emerson…

“The news agency Reuters reported that representatives of both Merkel and French President François Hollande said the two would have a one-on-one meeting on the US spying issue Thursday afternoon before the start of a two-day EU summit in Brussels.

“And the German Federal Prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe is also looking into the new allegations of US spying, setting up a so-called ‘monitoring process,’ and requiring the appropriate federal agencies to supply them with relevant reliable information. The agency started a similar process at the end of June to look into possible activities by the NSA in Germany. That process is still ongoing, a spokesman said. Claudia Roth, the outgoing co-leader of the German Green Party, told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the alleged bugging of Angela Merkel’s cell phone is a ‘terrible, terrible scandal’ that will lead to a ‘meltdown’ in German-US relations… adding that the allegations, if proven, are a more extreme invasion of privacy than those imagined in George Orwell’s 1984.

“Sharp criticism also came from German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière… De Maizière went on to say that he had assumed for years his own phone had been tapped. ‘However, I did not expect the Americans,’ he added. Asked about possible effects on US-German and US-European relations, de Maizière said: ‘We can’t simply return to business as usual. There are allegations in France, too.’ Diplomatic relations between France and the US have been strained following reports that millions of French calls had been monitored by US intelligence agencies.

 “‘The allegation shows once again that our fears have been confirmed,’ said Thomas Oppermann, chairman of the Parliamentary Control Panel, which is responsible for monitoring Germany’s federal intelligence services. ‘The NSA’s monitoring activities have gotten completely out of hand and evidently take place beyond all democratic controls,’ continued the center-left Social Democrat…

“German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has called for Merkel’s government to suspend the SWIFT deal between the EU and US, which governs the transfer of some bank data from the EU to anti-terror authorities in the United States. ‘The new suspicion exceeds all bounds. The NSA affair is not over,’ she said, calling for EU bodies to ‘decide quickly’ on the matter.

“German media commentators also reacted angrily on Thursday. ‘A greater affront by a friendly country is hardly conceivable,’ wrote the prominent center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung in a front-page commentary that criticized Merkel’s government for initially downplaying the US spying scandal. ‘But the new allegations also cast a new light on Obama and the US intelligence community. During his visit to Germany, the US president grandly promised a trustful cooperation. But even Merkel now seems to have lost her belief in that. It’s hard to even imagine how Obama’s intelligence services deal with hostile states when one sees how they behave toward their closest allies.’

“The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung cautioned readers that nothing had yet been proven regarding the chancellor’s mobile phone, but it also emphasized the extent to which the US spying scandal has already damaged diplomatic relations. ‘As Obama’s cool reaction shows, the government in Washington has apparently not yet understood the level of damage that continues to be caused by the activities of American intelligence agencies in Europe. They have diminished the trans-Atlantic relationship — even to a major degree.’

“Elsewhere in Europe, other editorialists also reacted with outrage to the latest spying allegations. Conservative Paris daily Le Figaro called the news ‘a warning shot in the direction of the US and a call for a resolute response from the EU. Europe is not discovering the NSA wiretapping scandal now. But with a personal accusation from Angela Merkel, the matter takes on a spectacular new scale.’

“Even if the cell-phone allegation turns out to be false, writes right-leaning Milan daily Corriere della Sera, ‘it doesn’t change anything of the substance. … The real central issue is that a threshold has already been crossed… [The] left-wing Guardian newspaper on Wednesday evening… question[ed] what it means ‘to be an American ally in the 21st century.’”

NSA Scandal in Germany—More and More Details Come to Light

The Guardian wrote on October 24:

“Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, has called the US ambassador to a personal meeting to discuss allegations that US secret services bugged Angela Merkel’s mobile phone. The decision to call in John B Emerson, who has only been the US representative in Berlin since mid-August, is an unusually drastic measure. During previous upheavals in relations, such as over the Syrian crisis, conversations have taken place between diplomats.

“Allegations that the US government’s spying had reached the highest level were met with outrage and disappointment in Germany on Thursday. On Wednesday Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, made plain that the chancellor upbraided Obama unusually sharply… The sharpness of the German complaint direct[ed] to a US president strongly suggested that Berlin had no doubt about the grounds for protest…

“On Thursday Süddeutsche Zeitung conveyed a strong sense of the depth of disillusionment with the US president in Germany when it wrote that ‘Barack Obama is not a Nobel peace prize winner, he is a troublemaker’… Die Zeit wrote that Obama’s ‘half-hearted denial’ of the allegations raised more questions than it answered…”

The German press reported that the NSA spying activity on Angela Merkel might have emanated from the US Embassy in Berlin. In addition, according to an article of the Guardian, dated October 24, 2013, the “NSA monitored [the telephone] calls of 35 world leaders.”

Obama—the Isolated “Ice-Cold” President

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 24:

“US President Barack Obama… has failed to foster close relationships with other heads of state, causing much frustration around the world… The Democrat, who prefers to spend his evenings with his family or alone in front of his computer, has made it no secret in Washington that he does not want to make new friends. That maxim especially applies to his foreign diplomacy. Unlike his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama is loved by the people of the world, but much less by their heads of government. On the heels of recent revelations that US spy agencies might have monitored Chancellor Merkel’s cell phone, the complaints about Merkel’s ‘lost friend’ Obama are misplaced. Obama doesn’t want to be a friend

“During a recent visit by a European head of government to Washington, the atmosphere was described as frosty by those in the entourage from Europe. Obama didn’t find the time for even a little small talk…

“Obama angered Nicolas Sarkozy by choosing to dine with his family instead of with France’s then-president during his visit to Paris. The Polish and Czech heads of state informed the president by telephone that they would not install a long-planned missile defense system. And when it comes to Britain, traditionally America’s closest partner, Obama was initially uncomfortable with the long-held notion of a ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. He may have expressed his vision for the friendship when, on his state visit, he brought the queen an iPod as a gift. London was not amused.

“The frustration extended well beyond the typical bruised vanities of the Europeans… An African head of government said during a visit to Washington that he longed for the days of George W. Bush. At least with him, he said, one knew where one stood… Israel, one of the closest allies of the US, was irritated that Obama didn’t find time for a state visit during his first term in office. Obama let the relationships with Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, and the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki deteriorate so much that the troop withdrawals grew more difficult.

“And Obama promised the Asian diplomats that he would be the ‘Pacific president,’ but he just cancelled his trip to the continent because the budget debate was more important to him. So much non-diplomacy is new among US presidents… ‘Coolness has its price,’ Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl wrote in 2010, adding that Obama appeared to have no genuine friend among world leaders. But what for? He has the NSA.”

The German Success Story

Deutsche Welle reported on October 19:

“The world is fascinated by Europe’s biggest economy. Despite the economic crisis, Germany has grown, created more jobs, and reduced its national debt…  Around 100,000 new engineers and scientists arrive on the job market every year – young men and women who have just received a top class education at one of the 200 engineering schools, or in the technical faculty of a university. But also uneducated, still well-qualified workers also contribute to the country’s high productivity…

“Having a good product is often no longer enough to compete with low-wage economies in Asia. The ‘Made in Germany’ now includes a number of extra services. ‘A company now doesn’t just sell a machine – it installs it, it trains the buyer’s staff in how to use it, it offers a 24-hour repairs service,’ said Röhl. ‘At the end of the day it practically goes so far as to guarantee the machine’s performance.’

“One guarantee for the success of the ‘Germany Model’ is advanced technologies. Germany is practically forced to innovate, because it doesn’t have any real natural resources. As many as 11 percent of German workers are employed in high-tech industries – far more than the EU average. Every year, around 70 billion euros ($96 billion) is spent on research – more than in any other European country…  only hard facts count when it comes to infrastructure. But here, too, Germany passes the stress test.

“Only a few countries in the world can boast such well-developed networks in energy, telecommunications, roads, rail, and aviation. Every European country is within a few hours’ journey of Berlin – and the country’s geographical location may well make up the final piece of the puzzle. That, and the moderate climate. ‘We don’t have any heat waves or tornadoes that could act as shocks to the system,’ said Brückner. ‘It is relatively moderate and cool, which has meant that through the centuries better growth and production conditions have appeared than at the edges of Europe. And Germany has profited from that too.’”

Germany is destined to lead Europe. Even though some human and natural factors might contribute to its success story, the most important reason is that Germany must fulfill its prophesied future.

Germany Undisputed Leader of Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 21:

“At the beginning of her third term, Merkel has more power in Germany and Europe than any chancellor before her. There hasn’t been such a strong majority behind a government in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, since the first grand coalition half a century ago. In the midst of the European crisis, Germany has become the undisputed dominant power in Europe.

“The grand coalition will hand Merkel a majority she could use to shape Germany and Europe and address major issues, including constitutional reforms in Germany and the reform of European Union institutions.”

Beware of Genetically Modified Salmon

The Telegraph wrote on October 20:

“American supermarkets are being pressured to refuse to stock genetically-modified salmon, which is poised to become the first GM animal ever approved for human consumption in the coming weeks. A so-called ‘super salmon’, which has been under development in Massachusetts for 18 years, is expected to be cleared for sale soon by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“The AquAdvantage salmon, which contains genes from an eel-like fish and from another breed of salmon, grows twice as fast as its natural alternative, allowing for increased and more robust supplies… opponents claim the fish poses a risk of cancer to consumers and could destroy other breeds. They also point to polling suggesting that some 90 per cent of Americans do not want GM fish to go on sale.”

One of the many obvious problems is that the genetically-modified salmon contains genes from an eel—an unclean fish, which is not meant for human consumption.

End to Fiscal Impasse?

The New York Times wrote on October 16:

“Congressional Republicans conceded defeat on Wednesday in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law, agreeing to end a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and extend federal borrowing power to avert a financial default with potentially worldwide economic repercussions.

“With the Treasury Department warning that it could run out of money to pay national obligations within a day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening, 81 to 18, to approve a proposal hammered out by the chamber’s Republican and Democratic leaders after the House on Tuesday was unable to move forward with any resolution. [According to] the Senate plan… the government [will be funded]  through Jan. 15 and… the debt limit [will be raised] through Feb. 7.”

The House approved and the President signed the bill. And what will happen when these dates will come?

Der Spiegel Online commented on October 17:

“The United States has temporarily avoided federal default… But no one should be happy, because the debacle has exposed just how broken the American political system truly is… America’s 237-year-old democracy is approaching its limits…

“The once civil political discourse in Washington has long since turned into a fight of bitter rivals trying to inflict the worst possible wounds. One is no longer respected as a worthy opponent, but attacked like an enemy… Adding to this is the almost unlimited flow of campaign contributions… as the system limps along, the next crisis already has a deadline: Jan. 15, 2014, when the bill agreed to on Wednesday expires.”

The Losers in the Recent Developments

The Washington Post wrote on October 16:

“Everyone — and we mean everyone — acknowledges now that the rollout of Obamacare’s health-insurance exchanges on Oct. 1 has been a total disaster. But, because of the shutdown, those stories have been pushed off the front page and the lead of the newscasts.  The problems with the rollout would have been massive news — and all of it bad for the White House and Democrats — if not for the shutdown. That fact is the single greatest Republican strategic miscalculation – amid many — of the shutdown. Downside for Obamacare: With the shutdown now  – almost — over, there will be a bright light on the rollout and its problems…

“John Boehner… failed, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Time and again he tried to walk the fine line between appeasing the most conservative wing of his party and passing legislation that would have a chance of winning Senate approval. In the end, Boehner’s greatest failing might have been in hoping that he could forge consensus within a conference where that simply is not possible. Boehner survived this fight and probably even strengthened his hand among tea party Republicans. But, the political costs were too high…

“The GOP brand: By the end, nearly three-quarters of Americans disapproved of how congressional Republicans had handled the budget showdown in a Washington Post-ABC poll. Congressional Republicans hit new lows in overall approval and, according to most polls, lost the blame game for the shutdown as well. The best news for Republicans is that this all happened in the fall of 2013, not the fall of 2014, meaning they have a year to rebrand themselves in a more favorable way in the eyes of the public.

“Our system of government: Does anyone think this is how our government should work? Does anyone think we won’t be right back in this mess early next year?  The government has proven over and over in the last few years that it is simply incapable of doing big things or, if we are being honest, even medium things.”

Even though the Democrats have also lost support of the American people, the Republicans were clearly the big losers. They gained nothing. They capitulated and surrendered. There is not even a hint that would show that their “fight” was of any value or benefit to the American people.

Barack Obama Opposed Raising the Debt Ceiling… in 2006

On November 16, the Washington Times published in its editorial a speech of Senator Barack Obama to the Senate, dated March 16, 2006. Some key statements stand out: “Raising the debt ceiling is a sign of leadership failure. It shows our government’s reckless fiscal policies. It weakens us domestically and internationally”… and so on. Now President Barack Obama supports raising the debt ceiling. What has changed, Mr. President?

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government’s reckless fiscal policies. Over the past five years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is ‘trillion’ with a ‘T.’ That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next five years, between now and 2011, the president’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion. [Today, it is almost $ 17 trillion.] …

“If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies… the Senate continues to reject a return to the common-sense pay-go rules that used to apply. Previously, pay-go rules applied both to increases in mandatory spending and to tax cuts. The Senate had to abide by the common-sense budgeting principle of balancing expenses and revenues. Unfortunately, the principle was abandoned, and now the demands of budget discipline apply only to spending.

“… we must remember that the more we depend on foreign nations to lend us money, the more our economic security is tied to the whims of foreign leaders whose interests might not be aligned with ours. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally… America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”

Building a De-Americanized World

Fox News reported on October 13:

“China’s official news agency is calling for a ‘de-Americanized world,’ in a blistering editorial characterizing the United States as a ‘meddling’ and ‘hypocritical’ nation that introduces chaos into the world for its own ends. ‘As U.S. politicians of both political parties are still shuffling back and forth between the White House and the Capitol Hill without striking a viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world,’ writes the Xinhua News Agency.

“‘Meanwhile, the U.S. government has gone to all lengths to appear before the world as the one that claims the moral high ground, yet covertly doing things that are as audacious as torturing prisoners of war, slaying civilians in drone attacks, and spying on world leaders…  Such alarming days when the destinies of others are in the hands of a hypocritical nation have to be terminated, and a new world order should be put in place, according to which all nations, big or small, poor or rich, can have their key interests respected and protected on an equal footing,’ writes Xinhua.”

Even though China is most certainly a country which is guilty of hypocrisy, it is interesting that even those countries find the audacity to attack the US of actions which they are guilty of themselves… and worse.

“The US Is Losing Control of the Internet”

The website wired.co.uk published this article, dated October 12, with wide-reaching consequences:

“All of the major internet organisations have pledged, at a summit in Uruguay, to free themselves of the influence of the US government. The directors of ICANN, the Internet Engineering Task Force, the Internet Architecture Board, the World Wide Web Consortium, the Internet Society and all five of the regional Internet address registries have vowed to break their associations with the US government… In another part of the statement, the group ‘expressed strong concern over the undermining of the trust and confidence of Internet users globally due to recent revelations of pervasive monitoring and surveillance’.

“Meanwhile, it was announced that the next Internet Governance Summit would be held in Brazil, whose president has been extremely critical of the US over web surveillance. In a statement announcing the location of the summit, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said: ‘The United States and its allies must urgently end their spying activities once and for all.’”

Everyone seems to be ganging up on America. And severing Internet ties from the US government could have wide-ranging and terrible consequences for the USA.

Mideast Allies Bewildered by US Policy

The Times of Israel wrote on October 15:

“Finally, a reason to celebrate. Not only because, starting Tuesday, Iran will participate in negotiations in Geneva with the P5+1 over its nuclear program, but also because Tehran agreed to hold direct talks with representatives of the American government. This stands in stark contrast to the familiar Iranian policy that shirked any official contact with representatives of the ‘Great Satan.’… The End of Days must be upon us.

“And yet, as Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s words Monday night made clear, there has been no substantive change in Iran’s nuclear position that would alleviate concerns over its intentions to produce a nuclear bomb or to become a ‘threshold state.’ Indeed, Araqchi made clear that Iran ‘will not agree to cease the enrichment of uranium, even for one day.’

“Regarding the enriched uranium stores Iran already possesses, including quantities enriched to 20%, Araqchi, who is also the deputy head of Tehran’s nuclear negotiating team, was adamant that ‘we will not agree to transfer even one gram of enriched uranium out of Iran.’ He added that his country would be ready to negotiate over the level of uranium enrichment in the future, but Tehran repeatedly makes clear that the talks are contingent on the partial removal of Western sanctions as a goodwill gesture.

“Why the West needs to show goodwill toward Iran is not clear. Tehran may hint that it is ready to show some flexibility on its nuclear program, but that flexibility is not enough, or shouldn’t be — not for Israel and not for other countries in the West and in the Arab world. The persistent storing of enriched uranium, even at the 3.5% level, while Iran maintains its enrichment capacity through advanced centrifuges, combined with Tehran’s dubious record regarding supervision of its nuclear facilities, leave serious suspicion that Iran will try to secretly produce a nuclear bomb in the future.

“And still, some American media outlets have evidently been mesmerized by President Hassan Rouhani’s smile. The New York Times seems to be directing a campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said sanctions on Iran must not be removed and warned about the Islamic Republic’s true intentions. Certain Western journalists are possibly driven by the hope — and, perhaps, some degree of naivety — that the crisis will not require the use of force.

“But the anti-Netanyahu campaign misses (or ignores) the fact that the wary Israeli government, not surprisingly, enjoys the support of many Arab countries — including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — which are not naive about Iran.

“On Sunday, the Saudi-owned newspaper a-Sharq al-Awsat published an editorial calling for Iran to be barred from enriching uranium altogether. Numerous WikiLeaks documents dealing with the Gulf States suggest that, with all due respect to the Palestinian question, what truly keeps Arab rulers awake at night is the fear that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon, and will undermine their rule with terror attacks and orchestrated demonstrations. ‘Cut off the head of the snake,’ as Saudi King Abdullah reportedly put it.

“These are not paranoid visions or the brainchild of Netanyahu. These are real concerns of past and present American allies in the region, who gaze with wonder and bewilderment upon Washington’s foreign policy and struggle to understand why the US president rushes to telephone the president of Iran while almost simultaneously announcing that military aid to Egypt will be frozen. The voices from these states express concern again and again in light of the lack of coherence from the United States and what they perceive as its lack of understanding of what is really happening in the Middle East.

“How is it possible that precisely when Egypt’s government declares war on radical Islam, on terror, Washington prefers to flirt with its enemies — Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood? For Cairo, Riyadh, Amman and other capitals, the Obama administration — in negotiating with Iran and suspending aid to Egypt — is shooting itself in the foot, and wounding its allies in the process.”

America’s foreign policy is a disaster, but so is its domestic policy. Its downfall is inevitable, as clearly prophesied in Scripture. At the same time, Iran’s ambitions will lead to a rude awakening for many Western nations.

Obamacare’s Nightmare

Breitbart wrote on October 15:

“Constant ‘glitches’ keep people from logging into the exchanges. Humiliating live video of reporters normally favorable to Obamacare simply giving up in frustration because they cannot sign up. Consumers who are lucky enough to get through the system are stunned to learn that their premiums have skyrocketed by thousands of dollars. One Pennsylvania mother says that she can either pay her increased premiums or pay for her kids to eat, but she can’t do both.

“Extremely personal information has already leaked from the system in Minnesota. Software security experts from McAfee predict millions of identity theft victims. And one of the healthcare exchanges was forced to acknowledge that information collected from patients will be shared with law enforcement…

“The rollout has been such a nightmare that it is abundantly clear now that members of Congress really did not, as then-Speaker Pelosi admitted, even read the Obamacare bill before they passed it. In fact, the program’s launch has been such an unimaginable disaster that it raises an alarming new question that would have been unthinkable amid the exaggerated claims of health utopia from three years ago: Did President Obama even read this legislation before he signed it into law?

“This is the single most complex piece of legislation in U.S. history, and we citizen-patients have a right to know. Did anyone in the notoriously cozy establishment Washington press corps even ask him this basic question? Obamacare is a disaster and the American people know it…

“Which begs the question: where are the Republicans anyway?… Why aren’t Republicans telling the very real human stories of people losing their jobs and their doctors because of Obamacare? The president guaranteed that by 2013 the average family would see premiums reduced by $2,500. In reality, the average family has seen their premiums jacked up by $2,900, an eye-popping $5,400 miscalculation. What other predictions will prove to be horribly off?…

“When this debate began, President Obama guaranteed Americans that if we like our current insurance policies, we can keep them. If we like our current doctors, we can stay with them. Since then, millions have been kicked off their company insurance. More than 750,000 New Jersey residents have been notified that their former policies no longer meet new government mandates and will be discontinued… almost one-third of doctors report their unwillingness to accept patients from newly expanded governmental programs.

“Meanwhile, Obamacare supporters continue to call it ‘universal’ coverage. And the media is totally complicit. The fact is, the massive new bureaucracy will extend coverage to only 27 million of the 56 million uninsured under current official government projections for 2020. Ultimately, Washington is going to take over 1/6 of our economy to try to fix less than half of the total uninsured problem. This is madness…”

The government’s incompetency regarding the “Affordable Care Act” is stunning, mind-boggling and truly appalling at the same time.

Politicians Have Turned Their Back on God

Newsmax reported on October 14:

“Franklin Graham tells Newsmax that the nation is ‘in a mess’ because politicians ‘have turned their backs on God.’ ‘Our country is in a mess, no question, and it seems like we’re just in an ever-tightening spiral downward, and it doesn’t seem as if anybody is listening to what is happening,’ Graham said Monday on Newsmax TV.

“‘We, as a nation, we’ve turned our back on God. Politicians have turned their backs on God. They have taken God out of our schools, out of just about everything you can imagine, and now we find ourselves in great danger,’ said Graham, son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham.”

Who should be surprised about man’s departure from the true God when “even” the pope proclaims that atheists can go to heaven, as he did recently. Also, please see the next article for more reactions to the pope’s non-traditional views.

Catholic Conservatives Question the Pope

The Washington Post wrote on October 14:

“Rattled by Pope Francis’s admonishment to Catholics not to be ‘obsessed’ by doctrine, his stated reluctance to judge gay people and his apparent willingness to engage just about anyone — including atheists — many conservative Catholics are doing what only recently seemed unthinkable: They are openly questioning the pope…

“During the previous three decades, popes John Paul II and Benedict shared a focus: Make orthodox teachings crystal clear so Catholics don’t get lost in an increasingly messy, relativistic world… Some Catholics feel Francis is resurfacing fights that followed the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Conservatives felt liberal Catholics misinterpreted the Council’s intention and took ‘open’ too far.

“The last two popes seemed to agree, making a priority of establishing ‘Catholic identity’ among people and institutions by emphasizing the importance of crystal-clear doctrine… Conservatives who perceive too much ambiguity in Francis’s remarks were heartened to note that the pope in recent weeks excommunicated a priest who spoke in favor of women’s ordination, gave some of his most anti-abortion comments and called a rare Synod on the Family, which they believe will be a vehicle for reinforcing orthodoxy . But so far they have not garnered the same kind of attention as the pope conversing with an atheist.”

Still, the pope will not deviate from Catholic core doctrines—and from the Catholic Church’s long-held historic position of allegedly being the “Mother Church” wanting to bring most Christian and also some non-Christian religions into its fold.

Germany’s Armed Forces

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 15:

“In Afghanistan, dangerous combat has helped post-war Germany’s reluctant armed forces gain self-confidence and expertise… The German military entered Afghanistan over a decade ago as a peacekeeping force tasked with aiding in the reconstruction and development of infrastructure and civil society. Today, it leaves the country as a combat force that engaged in deadly warfare.

“The evolving role of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, in the conflict has helped to dramatically reshape it as a more experienced and capable fighting operation…  ‘Afghanistan has been the most important experience for the German armed forces. It was the first time since World War II that the German military was involved in real combat action,’ says retired General Harald Kujat, the former Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr from 2000-2002 and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2002-2005. Kujat says the Afghanistan experience has created a new generation of young officers with personal combat experience, contributing to a ‘more self-confident’ Bundeswehr. The expertise gained by many of these soldiers has made the Bundeswehr a more educated military, better able to weigh the pros and cons of war and what it is capable of contributing to a given mission, explains Kujat…

“The Bundeswehr’s development in Afghanistan into a ‘real fighting force’ has had a significant impact on recent reforms implemented by the Defense Ministry, says Christian Mölling, an international security associate with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). The ministry, Mölling explains, is working to streamline the Bundeswehr and make it a ‘highly deployable force.’ …

“Germany — the third-largest contributor to the US-led coalition in Afghanistan and the country responsible for Regional Command North — has lost 54 soldiers since 2002, 35 of whom died during attacks or fighting…

“Despite German reluctance to engage in future military endeavors, it is likely Germany will be called on to assist with future international armed missions, says Patrick Keller, an expert on foreign and security policy… ‘It may not be too far-fetched that we will have to be prepared to act’ in potential conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa region or in central and eastern Europe, argues Keller…

“But how much responsibility is Germany actually willing to bear? The question comes back to the broader issue of Germany’s hesitation to play a leading role in European Union and global affairs. ‘Germany has a great difficulty in taking on leadership. We don’t want to be in a leadership position,’ be it about security issues or the euro-zone crisis, says Stefani Weiss, a European foreign and security policy expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung.  Similarly, SWP’s Mölling says Germany could play a ‘significant and positive’ role within NATO and the EU on defense issues given its central location in Europe, if it were not for a lack of political will…

“But parliamentarian Kiesewetter suggests Germany should begin to take on a greater leadership role in helping Europe develop a cohesive security policy and a shared military apparatus… ‘There is a need for leadership within the EU,’ he says. ‘Germany could be a partner to create synergy between EU states … to take over responsibility where others are not willing to.’”

And Germany will…

Powerful Cyclone Hits India

The New York Times reported on October 13, 2013:

“A powerful cyclone whose spinning arms engulfed much of the Bay of Bengal weakened Sunday morning as it crashed into India’s eastern coast, flooding homes and roads throughout the region and disrupting electricity and communications. The authorities evacuated about 800,000 people, one of the largest such evacuations in India’s history. The storm’s maximum sustained winds… were approximately 124 miles per hour when the storm made landfall about 9 p.m. Saturday…”

NBC News reported on October 14:

“A deadly cyclone which slammed into the coast of India has caused the loss of $4 billion worth of crops across an area the size of Delaware, local media reported Monday. Cyclone Phailin hit the state of Orissa on Saturday and is the most destructive to affect the subcontinent in 14 years.”

Terrible natural disasters prior to Jesus’ return are prophesied. Also note the next two articles.

Powerful Earthquake in the Philippines

NBC News reported on October 15:

“A magnitude-7.2 earthquake struck in the central Philippines on Tuesday morning, killing 82 people and severely damaging some of the country’s most hallowed churches, authorities said. The earthquake hit at 8:12 a.m. (5:12 p.m. Monday ET) less than a mile from the town of Carmen in Bohol province, the U.S. Geological Survey and Philippine emergency authorities said. Carmen is in a remote region across the Cebu Strait about 40 miles from Cebu City.”

Storm In South Dakota Kills 100,000 Cattle

Fox News reported on October 13:

“Ranchers in South Dakota fear they may lose everything after a freak storm dumped up four feet of snow in parts of the state last week, killing as many as 100,000 cattle. Matt Kammerer, a 45-year-old rancher whose family has operated in South Dakota’s Meade County since 1882, told FoxNews.com that he lost 60 cattle in the storm, or one-third of his entire herd…

“Kammerer painted a gruesome scene north of Rapid City, where a record 23 inches of snow fell… ‘There are cattle that are 8 or 9 miles away from the pasture they were in, just lying dead. And within that whole stretch, it’s just dead cow after dead cow, where they’ve gotten caught in dams, streams, fences, you name it. They’re dead everywhere.’ Carcasses of mature cows as well as calves were floating downstream local waterways in droves, Kammerer said, stoking fears of a potential outbreak of disease…

“Most ranchers in the state lost anywhere between 50 to 75 percent of their herds… Aside from the economic losses… the unprecedented storm has left an ‘incredible emotional burden’ on the state’s ranchers…”

Our Government Is Responsible to God

The Huntington Post wrote on October 3:

“One of the most depressing things I heard on the first day of the government shutdown was that it was a record fundraising day for both parties. Washington, D.C., is no longer about governing; it is just about winning and losing. But the people who will lose the most during a government shutdown — and then an impending United States government default on paying its debts — are those who live day to day on their wages, those at the lower end of the nation’s economy, and the poorest and most vulnerable who are always hurt the most in a crisis like this…

“Jeremiah, speaking of King Josiah, said, ‘He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.’ The subsequent line is very revealing:  ‘“Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord’ (Jer. 22:16). Of Solomon, the Scriptures say, through the words of the queen of Sheba, ‘Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness’ (1 Kings 10:9). Psalm 72 begins with a prayer for kings or political leaders: ‘Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. … May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor’ (Ps. 72:1-4).

“… government… needs to play the important and modest role of servant. The criteria for evaluation and judgment of civil authority is whether it is serving the people, whether it is guarding their security, whether it is maintaining a positive and peaceful social order, whether it is helping to make the lives of its citizens better, and, in particular, whether it is protecting the poor… Transparency, accountability, and service are the ethics of good government. ‘Of the people, by the people, and for the people’ is still a good measure and goal of civil authority. But people of faith will ascribe ultimate authority only to God, to whom civil authority will always be accountable.”

American Confidence in Economy and Government at Frightening Low

The Huffington Post wrote on October 8:

“The partial government shutdown has Americans nearly as freaked out about the economy as the event that triggered the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new survey by Gallup. U.S. economic confidence last week suffered its biggest one-week drop since Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, Gallup reported…

“If lawmakers do not increase the country’s borrowing limit by October 17, the government won’t have enough money to pay its bills and will be at risk of defaulting on some of its debt. Although it is difficult to predict what will happen if Congress does not come to an agreement by then, several experts have warned that a U.S. default would ignite an economic crisis much larger than the global disaster that followed the end of Lehman.”

In this context, the following article by Breitbart, dated October 8, is quite revealing:

“A new Fox News poll shows that a majority of American voters–58 percent–would vote ‘no’ on raising the debt ceiling. Only 37 percent of American voters would vote to raise the debt ceiling. An even bigger majority–62 percent–would only vote to raise the debt ceiling after ‘major cuts in government spending.’…”

“According to The Washington Times, dated October 10, “The number of American voters who think the country is headed in the right direction fell by 11 percentage points over the past week, placing it at its lowest level in two years, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey. Just 17 percent of likely voters said they think the United States is on the right track, a sign that the ongoing government shutdown and fight over the debt limit is taking its toll on public confidence.”

One has to wonder on what planet the 17 percent live who believe the country is heading in the right direction…

China Warns the USA

The Independent wrote on October 8:

“China, the biggest foreign creditor of the United States, has waded into the American budget crisis, warning Congress that it must resolve the political impasse over the debt ceiling without further delay.

“The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Zhu Guangyao, told America’s deadlocked politicians on Monday that ‘the clock is ticking’… ‘We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way the political issues around the debt ceiling and prevent a US debt default to ensure the safety of Chinese investments in the United States,’  Mr Zhu told reporters in Beijing. ‘This is the United States’ responsibility,’ he added…”

At the same time, President Obama and Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, have been accusing each other publically for causing the shutdown [now in its 10th day], while the media is wading in and taking sides, making a meaningful agreement between Republicans and Democrats even more difficult. Fox News reported on October 10: “A Republican proposal to approve a short-term increase in the debt ceiling was thrown into doubt late Thursday, as Senate Democrats insisted the partial government shutdown be lifted before talks can proceed — and a White House meeting broke up with no deal announced.”

America’s Downfall

MarketWatch wrote on October 8:

“Foreign policy analysts at home and abroad have been predicting for years the inevitable decline of American power, often with a fair amount of schadenfreude and sometimes even with glee. But now that political dysfunction in Washington is accelerating, the downsizing of the world’s only remaining superpower, all you hear is whining… So what did you expect American decline to look like?

“Get used to it, folks… So sad. The end of the American gravy train really is in sight… the nightmare is likely to continue for some time, with unforeseeable consequences for us and for the rest of the world… we are in the process of destroying our democracy. Sooner or later, history tells us, the United States of America will go the way of Rome and other empires…”

Swearing in Court

The Daily Mail wrote on October 6:

“Defendants and witnesses in British courts will no longer swear on the Bible to tell the truth under controversial plans being considered by a powerful body of judges… Existing religious oaths have, for hundreds of years, required Christian witnesses to hold the Bible and state: ‘I swear by almighty God that I shall tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’

“Followers of other faiths are given copies of their sacred texts with Muslims swearing on the Koran and Jews on the Old Testament, for instance. Those who choose instead to make an affirmation are required to ‘solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm’ the truth of their evidence.

“Under [the new] proposal,  the holy books would be removed and the oath would read: ‘I promise very sincerely to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and I understand that if I fail to do so I will be committing an offence for which I will be punished and may be sent to prison.’”

Under New Testament injunctions, Christians should indeed not swear or raise their right hand in court, but instead affirm to tell the truth. From that standpoint, a simple sincere promise to tell the truth would indeed be the preferable course of action in court settings.

Scalia: The Devil Is Alive

CNN wrote on October 7:

“As the Supreme Court begins its new term Monday, the devil is not on the docket – but the Evil One apparently is on the mind of Justice Antonin Scalia. New York magazine has published a fascinating new interview with Scalia in which the outspoken jurist tackled a number of topics. But none seemed to surprise Scalia’s interviewer, Jennifer Senior, more than his views on Satan… [Scalia] is one of a record six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court… the justice said… ‘I even believe in the devil.’…

“Scalia said the devil has gotten ‘wilier’ and convinced people that he and God don’t exist. The justice added… that disbelief in God ‘certainly favors the devil’s desires… Jesus Christ believed in the devil! It’s in the Gospels! You travel in circles that are so, so removed from mainstream America that you are appalled that anybody would believe in the devil! Most of mankind has believed in the devil, for all of history. Many more intelligent people than you or me have believed in the devil.’”

Left-liberal newspapers and websites such as CNN scoff at the idea of a devil, but the devil is real and very much alive. Please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

Graham: Immoral America and Christ’s Return

Newsmax wrote on October 6:

“In an exclusive interview… Billy Graham tells Newsmax that President Obama’s ‘hope and change’ mantra is nothing more than a cliché and warns that the nation faces increasing threats to civil and religious liberties from its government. Graham… said America is drenched in a ‘sea of immorality’ and suggested that the second coming of Christ is ‘near.’ … ‘Our country is turning away from what has made it so great,’ he continued, ‘but far greater than the government knowing our every move that could lead to losing our freedom to worship God publicly, is to know that God knows our every thought; he knows our hearts need transformation.’…

“Many believing Christians believe in a coming Armageddon, a final battle between good and evil prophesied in the book of Revelation. Graham tells Newsmax it is not wise to ‘speculate’ about the dates of such a battle, but he adds that the Bible says that there ‘will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord. I believe all of these signs are evident today,’ Graham wrote, adding that ‘the return of Christ is near. Regardless of what society says, we cannot go on much longer in the sea of immorality without judgment coming,’ he says.”

Amen.

Vatican Comes Out Strong

The Local wrote on October 10:

“The Vatican pledged on Thursday to take action against a German diocese which gives out Holy Communion to Catholic divorcees who have re-married. The Freiburg diocese in southern Germany said it would give communion to the divorcees in defiance of official Catholic policy which has upset the Vatican…

“The Vatican already condemned the decision on Tuesday with spokesman Federico Lombardi saying it risked causing ‘confusion’ and did not mean that Catholic Church policy on the issue had changed.

“Under Catholic doctrine, marriage is for life and breaking the sacrament means not being able to receive the Eucharist if the marriage is not officially annulled by an ecclesiastical court.”

The Catholic Church will remain steadfast to its hard-and-core doctrines, even though they are not in harmony with the Bible. The Vatican’s position on divorce and remarriage is clearly unbiblical.

US Guilty of Kidnapping a Libyan Citizen?

The Washington Times wrote on October 7:

“Libya’s interim government is seeking answers after U.S. special forces over the weekend captured al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi in Tripoli, calling the operation a ‘kidnapping of a Libyan citizen.’… From Indonesia where he is attending a regional summit, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said al-Libi is a ‘legal and an appropriate target for the U.S. military under the Authorization of the Use of Military Force’ enacted in September 2001.

“Libyan authorities called the raid ‘news,’ indicating they did not know about the raid before it happened. The U.S. and Libya have no status of forces agreement that would allow U.S. military operations on Libyan soil.”

CNN added on October 8:

“Libya’s General National Congress on Tuesday demanded that U.S. officials hand over al Libi, spokesman Omar Hmidan said. He also demanded that Libyan authorities and al Libi’s family have access to him in the meantime. The developments come as 200 heavily armed U.S. Marines headed to an Italian naval base, poised to fly at a moment’s notice to Libya should the U.S. Embassy come under assault from angry crowds in the wake of al Libi’s capture.”

Deutsche Welle reported on October 8:

“The US capture of a suspected al Qaeda chief from his own home in Libya once again puts the focus on the legality of Obama’s version of the ‘war on terror.’ The Libyan government’s role is also ambiguous… The Libyan government denies involvement and even fore-knowledge of the early morning commando raid, but eye-witness accounts (from al-Liby’s relatives) insist that Libyan soldiers were also involved.”

Deutsche Welle added on October 10:

“Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan has appealed for calm in his first comments since being freed from captivity earlier on Thursday. His abduction was in apparent retaliation for the US capture of an al Qaeda suspect.” It stated that “many militia groups accused the Libya government of colluding in the [US] operation…”

As it has been the case with other African and Middle Eastern nations, the Arab Spring will become a frosty winter for the US.

Germany to the Rescue?

BBC News wrote on October 6:

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has raised the possibility of Germany acting as a mediator to try to end his country’s 30-month-long civil war…

“Mr Assad said he ‘would be delighted if envoys came from Germany’. But he stressed that Damascus would not negotiate with rebels unless they laid down their weapons. Mr Assad again denied claims that his troops had used chemical weapons, blaming the rebels instead.”

However, as Deutsche Welle reported on October 8, “[current and soon former] German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle categorically rejected the offer”—that is, for now. In this context, please note the next extremely interesting article.

Germany To Lead a Holy Roman Empire in Europe

The Local wrote on October 8:

“In the last week Germany’s president Joachim Gauck has called on the country to take more responsibility in the international arena and told the Germans: ‘Our country is not an island.’… But is it time for Germany to step up on the global stage? At an event at the US Embassy in Berlin on Monday The Local asked US author and foreign policy expert Professor Walter Russell Mead for his view…

“Professor Mead argued German foreign policy has been relatively successful in Europe. Asked if Germany should play a greater global role, he said: ‘Germany is playing a larger role in the world than people appreciate… Europe is doing what it wants, in many ways led by Germany. We would hope Germany would continue to play the leading role it has played in the past.’

“Professor Mead… also praised Germany’s success in the Ukraine where the country has signed a deal with the EU, luring the country away from Russian influence… He added it was ‘quite remarkable’ that Germany had achieved this without it being perceived as some sort of German interference. This ‘quiet but very effective’ diplomacy ‘strikes me as an example that the world could use a lot more of and doesn’t appreciate enough,’ he added…

“On the subject of Europe and the Eurozone, Professor Mead… urged Germany to lead a Holy Roman Empire rather than a Prussian conquest. ‘Any discussion of Germany’s world role must begin with Europe,’ he told reporters…

“Professor Mead called for Germany to lead a Holy Roman Empire in Europe – a loose federation of states – instead of aggressively imposing austerity…  ‘Are you going to have a King of Prussia or the Holy Roman Emperor? The Holy Roman Emperor is the more sustainable…”

Those with ears to hear should listen. The Bible shows us that Germany will indeed lead another revival of the ancient Roman Empire… a final revival of ten nations or groups of nations under a “Holy Roman emperor”—the “beast.”

Fracking Produces Annual Toxic Waste Water Enough to Flood Washington DC

On October 4, the Guardian published an article with the following headline:

“Growing concerns over radiation risks as report finds widespread environmental damage on an unimaginable scale in the US.”

It continued:

“Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found… The full extent of the damage posed by fracking to air and water quality had yet to emerge, the report said…

“A number of recent studies have highlighted the negative consequences of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which have unlocked vast reservoirs of oil and natural gas from rock formations. There have been instances of contaminated wells and streams, as well as evidence of methane releases along the production chain…

“The report said the drilling industry had used 250bn gallons of fresh water since 2005. Much of that returns to the surface, however, along with naturally occurring radium and bromides, and concerns are growing about those effects on the environment.

“A study published this week by researchers at Duke University found new evidence of radiation risks from drilling waste water. The researchers said sediment samples collected downstream from a treatment plant in western Pennsylvania showed radium concentrations 200 times above normal… ‘Fracking waste-water discharged at treatment plants can cause a different problem for drinking water: when bromide in the wastewater mixes with chlorine (often used at drinking water treatment plants), it produces trihalomethanes, chemicals that cause cancer and increase the risk of reproductive or developmental health problems,’ the report said.”

The New York Times added on October 9:

“France and Bulgaria have already banned it, and in Britain the government’s attempts to promote it have led to heated demonstrations in the countryside. It is complicating Germany’s attempts to wean itself from fossil fuels and forcing Russia to recalibrate the energy-export strategy that sustains its economy.

“Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has already revolutionized the energy business in the United States, which is now 87 percent self-sufficient for gas, and it is transforming environmental policy, too. Now the temptation to follow the United States in extracting shale gas from rock on a large scale is presenting Europe with contentious trade-offs that could affect the Continent’s economic competitiveness, test its commitment to curbing climate change and determine its place in a 21st-century version of the Great Game.

“The early signs are that densely populated Europe, with citizens generally more sensitive to environmental concerns and more willing to tolerate high energy costs, is unlikely to embrace the technique as the Americans have. As an indication of the skepticism, European Union lawmakers gave initial approval on Wednesday to a measure requiring companies to conduct extensive environmental audits before fracking for shale gas.”

When Christ returns, He will “destroy” those who “destroy” the earth.

Overflowing Tank Cause of New Leak at Fukushima

The Associated Press reported on October 3:

“Another day, another radioactive-water spill. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant says at least 430 liters (110 gallons) spilled… The amount is tiny compared to the untold thousands of tons of radioactive water that have leaked, much of it into the Pacific Ocean, since a massive earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant and sent it into meltdown in 2011. But the error is one of many the operator has committed as it struggles to manage a seemingly endless, tainted flow…

“The tank is one of about 1,000 erected on the grounds around the plant to hold water used to cool the melted nuclear fuel in the broken reactors… The overspill, the latest of several mishaps in less than a month, prompted the Nuclear Regulation Authority to summon the utility president and reprimand him in public… The new leak is sure to add to public concern and criticism of TEPCO and the government for their handling of the nuclear crisis. In August, the utility reported a 300-ton leak from another storage tank, one of a string of leaks in recent months. That came after the utility and the government acknowledged that contaminated groundwater was seeping into [the] ocean at a rate of 300 tons a day for some time…”

US Government Starts Shutting Down

The Los Angeles Times reported on September 31:

“U.S. government agencies were ordered to close for the first time in more than 17 years after lawmakers stalemated over Republican efforts to block President Obama’s healthcare law.

“More than 800,000 federal workers were to spend Tuesday, the first day of the new fiscal year, on unpaid furloughs as agency managers executed contingency plans for the costly process of closing down operations indefinitely.

“The official word to shut down came from the White House just before midnight Monday. Hours earlier, the Senate, by a 54-46 party-line vote, killed a House measure that would have funded government agencies for six weeks but delayed key parts of Obamacare for a year.”

This event is prompting big headlines in Germany. Conservative Bild On Line wrote: “Can America still be saved?” Conservative Focus On Line wrote: “This is ample testimony of the downfall of American’s democracy.” Conservative Die Welt wrote: “If there is not a change soon, America will go into recession and the whole world economy might be affected.” Also, shares fell and the US dollar dropped considerably towards the Euro. Left-liberal Die Zeit wrote that a handful of radicals is responsible for the standstill ,as they are not willing to compromise but try to force their ideology on the rest and are holding the country hostage.

America’s Superpower Status Ebbs Away

The Telegraph reported on October 1, 2013:

“For a country that is supposed to be the most powerful in the world, the fact that Americans have today woken up  to find large swathes of their nation closed for business is humiliating…

“While the White House insists that essential areas of the government, such as the military, will continue to function, the shut down represents yet a further blow to the prestige of the Obama administration at a time when it is still reeling from its inept handling of the recent Syrian crisis.

“There was a time not so long ago when the world looked to America for both political and economic leadership. But now that can no longer be taken for granted thanks to Mr Obama’s inability to provide decisive leadership on either front.

“Republicans rightly argue that by pressing ahead with Obamacare before the implications of the programme have been properly assessed risks adding to America’s debt mountain at a time when the American economy is still recovering from the biggest economic crisis in recent history.

“The emergence of Russia, meanwhile, as the main power broker in the Syria crisis has severely damaged America’s standing as a major global player.”

USA Politically Bankrupt

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 2:

“As the United States government shutdown enters its second day, Washington is the target of both ridicule and concern overseas. German commentators describe the situation as a ‘specifically American problem’ with far-reaching consequences.

“The illustration on the cover of German business daily Handelsblatt on Wednesday morning fairly well encapsulates the way the US federal government shutdown is being perceived across the Atlantic. The Statue of Liberty stands bound in chains, her torch hand hanging listlessly by her side. Across it reads the headline: ‘The Blocked World Power.’

“Many Germans have found it hard to understand American lawmakers’ inability to resolve their budget disagreements in time to prevent a shutdown of all nonessential government services, which went into effect at midnight on Monday night… Yet it was clear to many that the fallout would be far-reaching. ‘The whole world pays for America’s shutdown,’ reads a headline in the right-leaning daily Die Welt above an article about the consequences on the German economy. In the article, several prominent German economists registered disapproval. ‘If the Americans shoot themselves in the foot right now, it is highly dangerous for the entire global economy, and of course for the German export economy,’ warned Anton Böner, president of the Federal Association for German Wholesalers and Foreign Trade…

“The overwhelming consensus among the German press is that the Republicans are the most to blame for the gridlock… When it came to the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, the German press was not pulling any punches…

“Munich’s national Süddeutsche Zeitung offers a slightly more depressing take, pointing blame at all sides. ‘What has already been apparent in America for a few years now is the self-destruction of one of the world’s oldest democracies… ‘At the moment, Washington is fighting over the budget and nobody knows if the county will still be solvent in three weeks,’ the paper concludes. ‘What is clear, though, is that America is already politically bankrupt.’”

Iran and US Talk

The New York Times reported on September 29, 2013:

“Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday that there was a ‘real chance’ to reach an agreement with the United States over his country’s nuclear program, as long as Washington was prepared to end sanctions and recognize Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear enrichment.

“Even as the country’s American-educated foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was making his comments on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ his deputy in Iran, seeking to reassure hard-liners there, said Tehran would never fully trust the United States.

“The dueling narratives underscored the complexity of any rapprochement between the two countries, despite a series of unexpected public and private exchanges in recent weeks culminating in a historic phone call Friday between President Obama and Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani.

“While Mr. Zarif is widely believed to have the backing of the country’s supreme leader to at least give negotiations a try, hard-liners among the Iranian leadership are watching warily and could try to derail an agreement…

“In his comments on Sunday, Mr. Zarif signaled that Iran would be prepared to allow inspections, including unannounced ones, so long as they did not come in the form of demands from the United States.

“’We are willing to engage in negotiations,’ he said. ‘Of course, the United States also needs to do certain things very rapidly.’

“His statement that Iran’s ‘right to enrich is nonnegotiable’ also pointed toward a difference with the U.S. that is more than merely semantic. So far the United States has said only that the Iranians have a right to nuclear energy. The Iranians say that implies a right to enrich uranium; the West has previously negotiated deals, which ultimately fell apart, to provide Iran with nuclear fuel in a form that would be more difficult to weaponize.

“In Tehran, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, sought to assure conservative factions that Iran remained skeptical of Washington and would not rush headlong into a deal.

“’Definitely, a history of high tensions between Tehran and Washington will not go back to normal relations due to a phone call, meeting or negotiation,’ Mr. Araghchi was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars news agency.

“’We never trust America 100 percent,’ he added. ‘And, in the future, we will remain on the same path.’”

Iran Taunts Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on October 2, 2013:

“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Israel’s military threat has little substance, referring to it as a ‘sword’ which has gone ‘blunt,’ Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

“‘Israel is upset to see that its sword has gone blunt and Iran grows more powerful day by day,’ he said after a cabinet meeting in Tehran.

“Rouhani also told reporters that Israel’s aggressive discourse with regard to Iran ‘is the cause of our happiness.’

“Iranian Chief-of-Staff Hassan Firouzabadi said Wednesday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s threat of a unilateral Israeli military strike on Iran ‘lacks stability,’ and stems from desperation,  Fars reported.

“After Netanyahu warned Iran against advancing its nuclear program in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, the Iranian military chief told Fars that the use of a military threat is a method which is ‘rusted, old and blunt,’ and that Tehran’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

“‘Such remarks stem out of desperation,’ he added.

“Firouzabadi also told Fars that Netanyahu’s remarks had only served to ‘increase the threat against the Zionists.’ Referring to Netanyahu as a ‘warmonger,’ Firouzabadi said ‘Iran will be the winner in this case for its revolutionary stance of heroic flexibility.’

“Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Netanyahu and ‘the Zionist lobby’ were trying to hinder negotiations.

“‘We will not let Netanyahu determine the future of our talks,’ Zarif wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.”

Israel “Will Stand Alone”

The Jerusalem Post reported on October 1, 2013:

“A steadfast Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made clear in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that Israel would not accept a nuclear armed Iran, and would “stand alone” if necessary to achieve that aim.

“‘Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, even if we have to stand alone. Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others,’ he said.

“The prime minister dismissed the recent so-called ‘charm offensive’ by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, charging that while his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, had been openly aggressive towards Israel, Rouhani was concealing his true intentions. The Iranians’ goal, Netanyahu said, was an end to the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy and which were implemented over Teheran’s intransigence on its atomic ambitions. It was with this goal in mind, Netanyahu said, that Rouhani was elected president.

“‘When it comes to Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the only difference between them is this: Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf’s clothing, Rouhani is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community,’ Netanyahu said.”

More and more, Israel is finding itself alone. Under President Obama, US relations with Israel continue to deteriorate. Biblical prophecy reveals that difficult times are ahead for the State of Israel.

France Wants Sunday Work

The Times of India reported on October 1, 2013:

“When economic inequalities helped foment the French Revolution, the legendary cry from on high was, ‘Let them eat cake!’ Now, as modern France struggles economically, the cry from below is, ‘Let us work!’

“As France battles high unemployment, rising taxes and pinched pocketbooks, the Socialist government has said its main focus is job creation. Now, critics of a more-than century-old law that prevents most stores from opening on Sundays say revising it would be a good step in that direction.

“Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault appeared to respond to that call on Monday, ordering a review of the law that labour unions and Roman Catholic faithful cherish, but that consumers — and increasingly some workers decry . Under French law, Sunday is a mandatory day off to help ensure rest and the quality of life, although some retailers in tourist areas can get exemptions . Critics say the protections go too far, crimping modern lifestyles and putting France at a competitive disadvantage . A sporadic debate revived last week after a court, ruling on an unfair-competition lawsuit brought by a rival hardware vendor, ordered home improvement chains Leroy Merlin and Castorama to shut 14 Paris-area stores on Sundays. It threatened fines of 1,20,000 ($1,62,000) on each store that violated the rules.

“The stores got temporary waivers, but their employees were growling —insisting that Sunday openings give them needed extra pay and suit customers who find it hard to shop during the work week bustle.”

Italian Government Suffers Downfall… Again!

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 30, 2013:

“The resignation of all five cabinet ministers from Berlusconi’s PdL party has sparked an outcry across Italy. For Prime Minister Enrico Letta it’s a new low in an already turbulent five months in office.

“Despair across Italy’s Sunday papers: Berlusconi’s latest move was ‘insanity,’ writes La Stampa as does the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore. Like a cry for help, the Corriere della Sera asks on its front page ‘Moderates, where are you?’. And Il Fatto Quotidiano runs a headline playing on Berlusconi’s recent court sentence: ‘The convicted is taking Italy down.’

“What did go down was the governing coalition in Rome, when on Saturday, five ministers from Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party declared their resignation. In response, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Sunday announced he would seek a confidence vote from both houses of parliament on Wednesday.
 
“The official reason given by the PdL was their rejection of a raise of the country’s VAT. ‘We cannot support a government that increases the tax burden for our citizens,’ former Prime Minister Berlusconi explained the decision…

“Berlusconi too kept popping up in the headlines – although he was not part of the cabinet he still was in charge of Letta’s junior coalition partner, the PdL. So far his numerous court cases have resulted in one conviction for tax fraud with several other cases still pending.

“Italy is going through its deepest recession in post war history and is heavily in debt. It needs a strong government, ready to push reforms and get the debt problem under control. Berlusconi is hoping for new elections, the sooner the better. President Napolitano though seeks to prevent that, saying he would only dissolve parliament if there is no other option left.”

Deutsche Welle added on October 3:

“Another big show: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi knows how to craft a good story – and, as his stage, he uses the Senate floor. After building up tension for days, the showdown between him and Prime Minister Enrico Letta was supposed to come on Wednesday (02.10.2013). But just before noon, Berlusconi stepped out of his role as the bad guy, let the pistol fall from his hand and gave the young sheriff his blessing. Letta can carry on governing – thanks to Berlusconi…

“Perhaps that’s exactly what Berlusconi had planned, and the split in his own party – between Berlusconi loyalists ready to vote no and a group of dissidents who were prepared to support Letta – was nothing but a hoax. That’s not out of the question. As an old professional and master of communication, Berlusconi knows all the tricks. Over the last few weeks, he’s dominated Italian media with his U-turns, implying to the people that the fate of Italy is indissolubly linked to his own. So now, in spite of Berlusconi’s threats, the government has not fallen.”

Pope Francis Challenges the Status Quo

Der Spiegel Online reported on September 26, 2013:

“At the Vatican, a down-to-earth Pope Francis has been preaching humility and modesty. Many bishops in Germany, however, are having a hard time embracing a more austere lifestyle.

“Last week Rudolf Voderholzer, 54, the bishop of the Bavarian city of Regensburg and one of Germany’s younger church leaders, was taken to task at the Vatican by the pope himself. In an admonishment to the German bishop and others attending a seminar for new bishops in Rome, Francis said: ‘Be close to the people and live as you preach. Always be with your flock, do not succumb to careerism and ask yourselves whether you are truly living as you preach.’

“This is a new message for German princes of the church. Many of them have long cultivated a lifestyle oriented toward strict dogmas, prestige and a career within the church, much like former Pope Benedict XVI. But now that his successor arrives at meetings in an old car, there has been a fundamental shift. Loyalty to the pope is being completely redefined, and not just in Regensburg, where Voderholzer’s predecessor Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a fervent devotee of former Pope Benedict, alienated many Roman Catholics.

“This week, German bishops have a chance to discuss what the change at the Vatican means for them, as they meet for their annual Bishops’ Conference in the central German city of Fulda. There hasn’t been this much uncertainty within their ranks in a long time…

“The spirit of optimism among ordinary churchgoers has grown with virtually every gesture coming from the new pope. In his interview with Civiltà Cattolica, published last week, Francis made it clear that he is fundamentally changing the nature of discourse in the Catholic Church. According to Francis, the church should not constantly focus on controversies surrounding gays, women and celibacy. ‘We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible,’ he said. ‘The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.’

“For Jesuit priest Klaus Mertes, who, as principal of Berlin’s Canisius School, unleashed the abuse scandal in Germany, the position of his fellow Jesuit and now pope is still revolutionary, even if Francis hasn’t abandoned any of the church’s strict principles. ‘If there is a change in the church’s practices, as well as in the way we interact with each other and with parishioners, the theory will also change in the end, and not the other way around.’ Many others share his hope.

“In their sermons, German bishops have repeatedly called upon pastors and parishioners alike to accept the church’s doctrine without question. ‘Obedience is love and not compulsion,’ Limburg Bishop Tebartz-van Elst said at an ordination ceremony for new priests.

“Ironically Francis who, as a Jesuit, was taught to be obedient and who, as pope, is entitled to demand obedience from every Catholic, is now breaking with this doctrine. ‘People get tired of authoritarianism,’ he said in his historic interview last week. ‘I lived a time of great interior crisis,’ he noted, only to recognize that ‘my authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative.'”

German Reunification and the Losing Protestant Church

Deutsche Welle reported on October 3:

“Despite the Protestant Church having played a major role in the collapse of former East Germany, churches there today appear to have lost out – the region remains among the most non-religious in the world… In the movement to bring down the Berlin Wall, Protestant pastors and churchwardens opened their doors to protesters in the peaceful revolution. Many church leaders sought political change, and fought for German reunification. Joachim Gauck, now president of Germany, was one such religious leader.

“But despite the church’s paramount role in Germany’s reunification, hardly any other region in world is considered as ‘godless’ and non-religious as the former German Democratic Republic. So did Christianity lose out in the peaceful revolution that led to German reunification? Some eastern German churches have sought to evolve in response.”

New Circumcision Court Case

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 27:

“The Higher Regional Court of Hamm, a city in western Germany, has concretized the law regulating culturally and religiously motivated circumcision, ruling that parents and doctors need to discuss any impending procedure with children.

“Circumcision has become a highly fraught subject in Germany since 2012, when a Higher Regional Court in Cologne decided that religious circumcision of boys constituted ‘bodily harm.’ That case involved a 4-year-old boy who, two days after being circumcised according to the wishes of his Muslim parents, was brought to the emergency room due to profuse bleeding. The prosecutor then brought charges against the doctor who had performed the circumcision.

“While the doctor was ultimately acquitted, the court decided that a child’s right to self-determination superceded his parents’ right to freedom of religion. The decision prompted widespread uproar, particularly among Jewish and Muslim groups and as far away as Turkey, Israel and the United States. Germany’s Central Council of Jews called it ‘an unprecedented and dramatic intrusion on the right to self-determination of religious communities.’ Ali Demir, the chairman of the Islamic Religious Community, argued that circumcision is a ‘harmless procedure, a tradition that is thousands of years old and highly symbolic.’

“Ultimately, the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, passed a law allowing the religious procedure. According to the new rules, specially qualified members of religious communities can perform the operation in the first six months of a boy’s life, after which it must be performed by a physician.”

Non-Binding European Resolution Condemns Religious Circumcision

JTA added on October 2:

“A resolution that calls male ritual circumcision a ‘violation of the physical integrity of children’ was passed overwhelmingly by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“The council, a pan-European intergovernmental organization, debated and passed the resolution on Tuesday based on a report by the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development led by German rapporteur Marlene Rupperecht. The resolution passed by a vote of 78 in favor and 13 against, with 15 abstentions.

“The resolution calls on states to ‘clearly define the medical, sanitary and other conditions to be ensured for practices such as the non-medically justified circumcision of young boys.’ It also calls on member states to ‘initiate a public debate, including intercultural and interreligious dialogue, aimed at reaching a large consensus on the rights of children to protection against violations of their physical integrity according to human rights standards’ and to ‘adopt specific legal provisions to ensure that certain operations and practices will not be carried out before a child is old enough to be consulted.’”

Killer Hornets!

BBC wrote on October 2, 2013:

“Attacks by hornets in northern China have killed 41 people since July, state-run media report.

“More than 1,600 people have also been injured by stings in Shaanxi province, according to China News Agency.

“It says 206 people are still being treated in hospital, with 37 patients remaining in a critical condition…

“The Chinese term for hornets is ‘hu feng’ – those behind the deadly attacks this summer appear to be the Asian giant hornet, or Vespa mandarinia.

“They can grow up to 5cm long with a 6mm sting.

“The area is also home to the smaller Asian hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax.”

The Gambia Leaves Commonwealth

BBC News reported on October 3:

“The Gambia’s decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth 48 years after joining is something to ‘very much regret’, the UK Foreign Office has said. The west African nation branded the 54-member grouping, which includes the UK and most of its former colonies, a ‘neo-colonial institution’. The withdrawal was announced on state TV but no other reasons were given…”