Pope Francis Takes a Stand

swampland.time.com wrote on September 5, 2013:

“Pope Francis has written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the G-20 summit that President Obama is attending, urging world leaders to oppose a military intervention in Syria.

“’To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution,” the Pope urged. ‘Rather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community.’

“The move is the latest in a series of efforts by the Holy See to prevent military action in the already civil-war torn region. On Sunday, the Pope declared in his Angelus teaching that Saturday Sept. 7 would be an day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria. The prayer rally will take place in St. Peter’s Square from 7 p.m. to midnight, on the vigil of the birth of Mary, the Queen of Peace. ‘Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love,’ the Pope asked people around the world. ‘She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children!’

“Next Pope Francis took his views on Syria to Twitter. On Monday he tweeted, ‘War never again! Never again war!’ and ‘How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake.’ On Tuesday, he tweeted ‘We want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out!’ and ‘With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons.’ Today his social media message was, ‘With all my strength, I ask each party in the conflict not to close themselves in solely on their own interests. #prayforpeace.’

“Cardinal Dolan and leaders of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops followed the Pope’s lead and wrote to every member of Congress today urging them to vote against military intervention in Syria. Yesterday the USCCB also wrote to President Obama, reminding him that the Pope and Middle Eastern Bishops ‘have made it clear that a military attack will be counterproductive, will exacerbate an already deadly situation, and will have unintended negative consequences.’ Dolan also asked Catholics to urge their representatives in Washington to vote against a military strike.

“The Vatican, which almost always stops short of taking sides in international issues, historically holds to just war theory, which requires a military defense meet a set of strict qualifications, including that ‘the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain,’ ‘all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective,’ and ‘the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.’

“Pope Francis’ response to Syria is in line with how his predecessors handled international conflicts. Pope Benedict XVI expressed concerns over the military intervention in Libya. Pope John Paul II continually and strongly spoke out against the US-led war in Iraq. The US and the Vatican squared off during the 1989 Panama invasion when dictator Manuel Noriega took refuge in the Vatican embassy.”

The Telegraph also reported on the Pope’s intervention in the debate on the Syrian conflict on September 5, 2013:

“Foreign ambassadors were summoned to a briefing by Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s foreign secretary, on Thursday, on the Pope’s appeals to halt hostilities in Syria.

“The Pope’s push for a peaceful solution in Syria includes a four-hour vigil to be held in St Peter’s Square on Saturday evening. The Vatican will station 50 confessors around the square. Bishops’ conferences around the world have announced local vigils.

“An official at the Vatican’s justice and peace office warned earlier this week that military action in Syria could spark a world war. In a tweet this week, the Pope wrote: ‘War never again! Never again war!’

“The Pope, who is a Jesuit, has been backed in his criticism of a military strike on Syria by the head of the Jesuits, Father Adolfo Nicolas.

“In an interview with the Independent Catholic News, posted on September 4, Father Nicolas said a strike would be ‘an abuse of power’.

“‘I cannot understand who gave the United States or France the right to act against a country in a way that will certainly increase the suffering of the citizens of that country, who, by the way, have already suffered beyond measure,’ he said.

“In a stinging attack on the White House, he said: ‘The US has to stop acting and reacting like the big boy of the neighbourhood of the world. This leads inevitably to abuse, harassment and bullying of the weaker members of the community.

“‘We, Jesuits, support 100 per cent the Holy Father and wish with all our hearts that the threatened attack on Syria does not take place.'”

As Pope Francis begins to assert himself in world affairs, it will be interesting to note the support of the powerful Jesuits and the unifying influence this is already having on the Catholic Church. On the other hand, we might expect another power struggle to occur between the Pope and forces within the Vatican.

G-20 Leaders in Disarray

SPIEGEL ONLINE reported on September 6, 2013, on the recent summit:

“The G-20 summit ended worse than expected on Friday — with acrimony, division and name-calling over Syria. The conference, which was originally conceived as an economic forum, also failed to deliver results on global recovery.

“In the end, even a meeting between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin failed to deliver results. Participants at the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg couldn’t manage to find a common position on Syria. The American president demanded that punitive action be taken against Syria, but his Russian counterpart stood between Obama and his allies. Now any decision on a possible military strike against Damascus will be up to the US Congress…

“One can certainly debate whether it makes sense to conduct a military strike. Critics correctly note that a limited bombing attack would do little change the situation in Syria. Besides, the European Union hasn’t even been able to agree to a common position. Countries like France and Britain support military efforts, even if the British will not be participating themselves now that the House of Commons rejected a direct role in Syria. And other European countries oppose any attempt by the United States to go it alone. A third group, which includes Germany, doesn’t want to commit…

“Though bringing Syrians to the table will be difficult, bridging the gap between Russia and the US will be equally complicated. Diplomatic relations between the two nations have hit rock bottom at this week’s G-20 summit. Not only did Putin openly call Secretary of State John Kerry a liar, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said that Russia had contributed nothing to a solution in Syria. Verbal disarmament is unlikely — the discussion will only become more heated.”

With the foregoing articles in mind, what has since transpired regarding Syria is simply mind-boggling–as more recent news will show.

Putin to the Rescue!

The New York Times reported on September 9, 2013:

“President Obama woke up Monday facing a Congressional defeat that many in both parties believed could hobble his presidency. And by the end of the day, he found himself in the odd position of relying on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, of all people, to bail him out.

“The surprise Russian proposal to defuse the American confrontation with Syria made a tenuous situation even more volatile for a president struggling to convince a deeply skeptical public of the need for the United States to respond militarily in yet another Middle Eastern country, this time in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons. It could make the situation even more precarious. Or it could give Mr. Obama an escape from a predicament partly of his own making.

“In effect, Mr. Obama is now caught between trying to work out a deal with Mr. Putin, with whom he has been feuding lately, or trying to win over Republicans in the House who have made it their mission to block his agenda. Even if he does not trust Mr. Putin, Mr. Obama will have to decide whether to treat the Russian proposal seriously or assume it is merely a means of obstructing an American military strike…

“The twists and turns in the Syria debate have whipsawed the nation’s capital and by some accounts imperiled Mr. Obama’s presidency. Democrats are mystified and in some cases livid with Mr. Obama for asking Congress to decide the matter instead of simply ordering one or two days of strikes and getting it over with.”

President Obama’s Classic Dilemma

DW wrote on September 10, 2013:

“US President Barack Obama’s zigzag course on Syria has not only strengthened his adversaries and weakened his supporters. He has failed at his most important task as president, writes DW’s Michael Knigge.

“Decisions on war and peace, over life and death, are a major part of the job description for the office of US president. President Obama made a point of pointing that out during his first term in office: ‘When a problem has a clear solution, it does not land on my desk. The only things I decide are the difficult things,’ he once said in an interview.

“However, as far as the crisis in Syria is concerned, Obama has not done that. It took months of violence before the president finally took a stand and demanded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down. Military intervention and arming the opposition were excluded. The consequences: none…

“To be sure: there are cogent reasons for and against a military strike, but there is no silver bullet. The risks outweigh the possible benefits in both alternatives. It is a classic dilemma.

“But that is exactly why US presidents are elected – for just these kinds of situations, where there are only bad options.

“And when someone goes about saying he is the man for the tough decisions, as Obama did, then one expects he will live up to this standard in a time of crisis.

“Obama has not done so.

“Since the start of the Syrian crisis two and a half years ago, Obama has waited and waffled and played for time. He has not been a leader; he has not acted, but only reacted, after pressure from his own Cabinet, the opposition, the British parliament and events in Syria. A real Syria strategy is not even remotely visible.”

A Hard Sell for Mr. Obama

CNN wrote on September 11, 2013:

“President Barack Obama tried Tuesday to sell a military intervention he never wanted to an American public that opposes it, telling the nation that he needed authorization to attack Syria as leverage in a newly emerged diplomatic opening from Russia.

“Calling the United States ‘the anchor of global security,’ Obama offered moral, political and strategic arguments for being ready to launch limited military strikes while trying to negotiate a diplomatic solution to what he called Syria’s violation of a global ban on chemical weapons.

“‘Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used,’ Obama said in making the case that the United States must act when dictators such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ‘brazenly’ violate international treaties intended to protect humanity.”

At this point the second-guessing of the US President is rampant, but one inescapable fact does stand out–the United States is coming away from this misadventure with an eroded world position. The pride of our power is being broken!

Europe–the Global Player

EUObserver reported on September 4, 2013:

“Everything considered, Europe is still the most important global player in the Middle East.

“The US has armed forces and capacities. Russia and China have overt and covert interests, but Europe is the real player.

“Despite the criticism and the slowness, awkwardness and contradictory interests of its member states, it is still the only player truly changing and affecting the Middle East.

“No wonder then that most of the region’s peace initiatives have been linked to Europe, from Rhodes in 1949, via Madrid, to Oslo and the Geneva accord in 2003.

“The US is needed to close the deal, but without Europe nothing can be started. That is why, while all shallow glances are directed at US secretary of state John Kerry, well-informed observers instead look to Europe.”

The author of this article “was the speaker of the Knesset from 1999 to 2003 and is a former chairman of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organisation.”

EU Military Integration Coming!

EUObserver reported on September 4, 2013:

“Europe should create a civilian and military crisis operations HQ under EU command, according to a report by centre-right MEPs.

“The proposal, contained in a policy paper published on Tuesday (3 September), by deputies from the European People’s Party, the largest group in the assembly, said EU ‘heads of state and government have to start building stand-by forces under Union command.’

“It called for EU leaders to commit themselves to defining the union’s security interests, prioritising its strategic objectives and linking these with operational deployments.

“They said this should include a definition of European defence interests and its geographical priority zones.”

This new military combine will arise much more swiftly than even its planners now conceive–especially, in light of the fading role of America!

NSA Spying–No Privacy!

News Republic posted on September 8, 2013:

“Just when it seemed the biggest NSA-related revelations were over, a new report says the U.S. intelligence agency has had direct access to private smartphone data for years.

“Germany’s Spiegel Online claims it has seen documents that detail the NSA’s ability to tap into leading smartphone platforms, including Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and BlackBerry. In fact, based on the documents referenced, the agency has even set up separate teams dedicated to working on each operating system.”

The growing sense that the US is operating outside of its own laws–without our normal “checks and balances”–is proving to be a profound shock to Americans and to the rest of the world.

The Goal–A Third Temple in Jerusalem

JTA wrote on August 27, 2013:

“No praying. No kneeling. No bowing. No prostrating. No dancing. No singing. No ripping clothes.

“These are the rules that Jews must abide by when visiting the Temple Mount, the site where the First and Second Holy Temples once stood, located above and behind the Western Wall in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Although the area is under Israeli sovereignty, the mount — known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif — is controlled by the Islamic Wakf, a joint Palestinian-Jordanian religious body. As the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, whose golden dome overlooks the city, the Temple Mount attracts daily crowds of Muslim worshipers.

“Under Wakf regulations, Jews may only access the mount for 4 1/2 hours per day and are forbidden from praying there…

“Ahead of Tisha b’Av, the fast day next week that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the institute released a video showing Jewish children donning tool belts and leading their fathers out of synagogue to begin construction of the Holy Temple.

“’Our goal is to fulfill the commandment of “They shall make a Temple for me and I will dwell among them,” ‘ Richman says, quoting Exodus. ‘”The basis of a Torah life is action.”’

“Following the Second Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E., most rabbis adopted the position that Jewish law prohibits reconstructing the Holy Temple prior to the age of messianic redemption, or that the law is too ambiguous and that the messiah must come first”…

“The institute isn’t shy about advocating what many see as a radical goal: replacing the mosque at the Dome of the Rock with a new Jewish Holy Temple. A painting in the institute’s exhibition depicts this scenario, with the city’s light rail line taking residents to the Temple Mount. The Temple Institute is dedicated to laying the groundwork for this vision.

“The organization has formulated a program for where the temple will stand and what its vessels will look like, aided by 20 men who study Temple law full-time. The products of this research — 40 ritual objects — are on display in Plexiglas cases at the institute’s headquarters in the Old City.

“Silver trumpets to be blown by priests and a wooden lyre are perched next to two deep pans with long handles — one for collecting blood from small sacrificial offerings and another for large sacrifices like the Passover lamb.

“In another room, mannequins with beards wear the respective vestments for deputy priests and the high priest. The high priest’s outfit, with azure weaves, gold thread and a breastplate with 12 precious stones, took 11 years of research and $150,000 to complete. Next to it stands a massive 12-spigot sink with electric faucets — technology that Richman says will be permitted in the Third Temple.

“The institute’s crowning achievement — the Temple’s golden, 200-pound, seven-branch menorah — stands outside in a case overlooking the Western Wall. Unlike art or history museums, the institute’s goal is to remove the objects from their cases and bring them to the mount for use as soon as possible.

“Many Israelis view the goal as a danger to the status quo that has kept this site holy to Muslims and Jews from turning into a tinderbox.”

As improbable as this “goal” might seem in present circumstances, the Bible strongly indicates that the Jews will somehow be able to build a “third Temple”–including on the location where previous Temples have stood!

Arctic Ice cap Has Grown

MailOnline reported on September 7, 2013:

“A chilly Arctic summer has left nearly a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year – an increase of 60 per cent.

“The rebound from 2012’s record low comes six years after the BBC reported that global warming would leave the Arctic ice-free in summer by 2013.

“Instead, days before the annual autumn re-freeze is due to begin, an unbroken ice sheet more than half the size of Europe already stretches from the Canadian islands to Russia’s northern shores.

“The Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific has remained blocked by pack-ice all year. More than 20 yachts that had planned to sail it have been left ice-bound and a cruise ship attempting the route was forced to turn back.

“Some eminent scientists now believe the world is heading for a period of cooling that will not end until the middle of this century – a process that would expose computer forecasts of imminent catastrophic warming as dangerously misleading.”

Persecution of German Homeschoolers, while America Refuses Asylum

Breitbart wrote on August 31:

“A team of 20 social workers, police officers, and special agents raided a homeschooling family’s residence near Darmstadt, Germany Thursday, forcibly removing the family’s four children, aged 7-14. Law enforcement raided the home and seized the children solely because the parents homeschool them—in defiance of a German ban on home education. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), the children of Dirk and Petra Wunderlich were taken to unknown locations. Officials reportedly told the parents they would not be seeing their children ‘anytime soon.’

“HSLDA states that it obtained and translated court documents that authorized the use of force to seize the children and remove them from their parents’ custody. The documents indicated that the only legal grounds for removal were the family’s continuation of homeschooling. Though nothing indicated that the parents were failing to provide an adequate education, the law in Germany ignores the educational progress of the child. Attendance in government schools—not learning—is the object of the German law.

“According to HSLDA, Judge Koenig, a Darmstadt family court judge, signed the order to seize the children on Wednesday. Koenig cited the parents’ failure to cooperate ‘with the authorities to send the children to school.’ In addition, the judge authorized the use of force ‘against the children’ if necessary, indicating that such force might be needed because the children had ‘adopted the parents’ opinion’ regarding homeschooling, and ‘no cooperation could be expected’ from either the parents or their children… Returning to Germany after Dirk was unable to find work in other European Union countries, the Wunderlich family was hit with a criminal truancy case within days after registering in their town. After several months, the ‘Youth Welfare Office’ was granted legal custody of the children. A court allowed the children to remain in the parents’ home, however, since they were well-treated otherwise and cared for by their parents.

“According to HSLDA, German authorities even seized the children’s passports, making it impossible for the family to flee. ‘The right to homeschool is a human right,’ said Michael Farris, HSLDA chairman and founder. ‘So is the right to freely move and to leave a country. Germany has grossly violated these rights of this family. This latest act of seizing these four beautiful, innocent children is an outrageous act of a rogue nation… The United States Constitution is not alone in upholding the right of parents to decide how to educate their children. Germany is a party to numerous human rights treaties that recognize the right of parents to provide an education distinct from the public schools so that children may be educated according to the parents’ religious convictions. Germany has simply not met its obligations under these treaties or as a liberal democracy’…

“HSLDA is also representing the Romeike family, a German homeschooling family that was granted legal asylum in the United States in 2010 by a U.S. immigration judge. The Obama administration, however, successfully appealed that decision. When the Romeikes appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, but were denied asylum, HSLDA decided to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case. If denied asylum by the Supreme Court, the Romeike family faces thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time in Germany because they have homeschooled their children.
 
“‘No one can understand why the White House is showing so much leniency to millions of immigrants who have come here illegally in hopes of securing better jobs, but is so determined to deport this one family who has come to America in search of freedom for themselves and their children,’ said Farris. ‘The Obama administration has argued before our federal courts that Germany’s policy is legitimate and does not violate either human rights principles generally or religious freedom specifically,’ Farris said. ‘Academic success may be present, but governments are justified in banning homeschooling for the purpose of suppressing religious minorities. That is the full position of this administration. And it is unacceptable.’”

This is somewhat reminiscent of America’s shameful days when persecuted German Jews tried to find asylum in the USA, only to be rejected and turned away.

Germany Condemns Russia While Refusing to Fight with the USA

Deutsche Welle reported on August 31:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized Russia and China for failing to cooperate with the West in efforts to bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria… The two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have used their veto powers to block three separate resolutions on Syria since the conflict broke out more than two years ago. Now they are expected to block any resolution that the US, Britain and France manage to put before the Council, that would authorize the use of force against the Syrian government, following an alleged chemical weapons attack 10 days ago… 

“Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, meanwhile, used an interview… call on Russia to work with the West. ‘Those who look away despite the use of chemical weapons … encourage their use. That is why we are calling on Russia to send a signal along with the international community,’ he said… the chancellor also noted that while the alleged use of chemical weapons resulting in hundreds of deaths ‘cannot remain without consequence,’ Germany’s armed forces could not take part in any military action under the current circumstances. ‘Germany cannot participate in any military intervention without a mandate from the United Nations, NATO or the EU,’ Merkel said. ‘Therefore, there is no question of any participation by the Bundeswehr at the moment.’

“This stance appears to be in keeping with the sentiment of a majority of Germany. An opinion poll released on Thursday found that 60 percent of those asked said they were opposed to launching military strikes on Syria, while only about 33 percent supported the idea. Germans are set to go to the polls in a general election on September 22.”

Germany’s position seems to be terribly hypocritical, but it shows again how isolated America has become.

Putin Attacks Obama

The Washington Post wrote on August 31:

“Russia dramatically escalated its denunciations of American threats to attack Syrian military targets on Saturday, with President Vladimir Putin saying it would have been ‘utter nonsense’ for the Syrian government to use chemical weapons as the Obama administration alleges. The Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued before President Obama said he would seek congressional authorization before ordering strikes on Syria, said a U.S. attack would be a ‘gross violation’ of international law. Speaking out for the first time since an apparent chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Aug. 21, Putin called on President Obama to find a nonviolent way out of the crisis. ‘I would like to address Obama as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate: Before using force in Syria, it would be good to think about future casualties,’ Putin told Russian news agencies in Vladivostok during a tour of the country’s flood-stricken Far East…

“Putin said he was sure the attack was the work of rebels trying to provoke international — and especially American — involvement in the Syrian conflict. The government of Bashar al-Assad, he said, would have had no reason to use chemical weapons at a time when it had gained the upper hand in the fighting… Putin said he was surprised by the vote in Britain’s Parliament on Thursday not to join a U.S. attack on Syrian military targets. ‘It shows that there are people guided by common sense there,’ he said…

“Obama arrives in St. Petersburg for the G-20 meeting on Thursday and leaves on Friday. The purpose of the gathering is to discuss economic growth, but the White House acknowledges there will be plenty of conversation about Syria on the side. There are currently no plans for a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Obama, who earlier this month decided not to attend a Moscow summit with the Russian president. On Friday, the head of the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of parliament, Alexei Pushkov, said the Nobel committee should strip Obama of his 2009 Peace Prize if he launches an attack on Syria.”

Putin’s question as to why Assad would have used chemical weapons in the given situation does make some sense. One is terribly reminded of the false US claim of the existence of weapons of mass destruction to justify an ill-conceived and unsuccessful war against Iraq. Note the next article.

Russia Unconvinced

The Associated Press reported on September 2:

“The information the U.S. showed Moscow trying to prove that the Syrian regime was behind an alleged chemical weapons attack is ‘absolutely unconvincing,’ Russia’s foreign minister said Monday. The United States insists Syrian President Bashar Assad’s troops were behind the chemical attack on Aug. 21, which they say killed over 1,400 people, and is considering strikes against his regime. Moscow is Assad’s key ally and weapons supplier, and its protector at the United Nations.

“… Sergey Lavrov said the evidence Washington presented was not detailed. ‘Yes, they showed us some findings but there was nothing specific there: no geographic coordinates, no names, no proof that the tests were carried out by the professionals,’ Lavrov said. He did not say what tests he was referring to. ‘What our American, British and French partners showed us in the past and have showed just recently is absolutely unconvincing,’ Lavrov said. ‘And when you ask for more detailed proof they say all of this is classified so we cannot show this to you.’”

Obviously, Russia, the ancient “bear” which—in collaboration with Persia–was asked to “arise” and “devour much flesh” (Daniel 7:5), is acting because of self-serving political, military and pecuniary motives, but the questions raised still deserve scrutiny and a convincing answer.

Putin Warns—While the West Is Divided

The EUObserver wrote on September 4:

“Russian leader Vladimir Putin has warned against Western strikes on Syria on the eve of the G20 summit in St Petersburg on Thursday… he compared Syria to the Iraq war in 2003, which was based on false intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, and hinted he will deliver modern anti-air defences to the region… He added that a strike must be authorised by the UN Security Council, where he has a veto, on the basis of hard information…

“He said if Western powers go ahead, ‘we [Russia] shall think how we should act in the future, in particular regarding supplies of … sensitive weapons to certain regions of the world.’…

“The EU itself is also divided on Syria… German forces will not take part. France has said it backs the US, while also ruling out ground troops. But Italy says any strike without UN approval would be illegal. Meanwhile, the rejection of joint UK-US strikes by British MPs last week is causing political problems for French leader Francois Hollande…”

Russia’s Plan for a Eurasion Union

The following was reported by the EUObserver on September 3:

“[Armenia] wants to join a trade and political union with Russia instead of an EU alternative… The news came as a surprise to EU officials… If Armenia does become a full member of the Russian-led customs bloc, along with Belarus and Kazakhstan, it cannot sign the EU pact at the same time… Russia is Armenia’s main security guarantor in its frozen conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway territory…

“Russia in recent weeks has also threatened Moldova and Ukraine, two other former Soviet states which are seeking deeper ties with the EU… Putin has said he wants all former Soviet republics, except the Baltic states, which are EU members, to join his customs bloc. He plans to transform it into a political union, the Eurasian Union, in 2015.”

None of this is good news for the West.

Unusual Isolation of the USA

The New York Times wrote on August 30:

“… when Prime Minister David Cameron was unable to muster the votes in Parliament for support for a strike in Syria — even one limited to stopping the future use of chemical weapons — shock could be heard in the voices of senior White House officials who never saw the British rejection coming… Now Mr. Obama is left to cope with miscalculations on both sides of the Atlantic. If he goes ahead with the strike… he will look more isolated than any president in recent memory entering a conflict…

“Mr. Obama has done comparatively little to explain his longer-term strategy for changing the course of events in Syria without getting sucked into a war. In fact, he has argued the opposite — that a brief strike will do the trick of teaching the Syrians a lesson… The British Parliament, however, fears it will be something else: the beginning of another conflict in which the West will inevitably get sucked in.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 30:

“For United States President Barack Obama, this is a disaster. He’s been left in the lurch by Britain, Washington’s most loyal ally. What happened on Thursday in London was a historical decision.”

President Obama’s About-Face or Humiliating Retreat?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 1:

“Even to the president’s allies, it looked like an abrupt about-face. To his enemies, Obama’s announcement at the White House on Saturday… that he would seek Congress’ approval for a missile strike on Syria was a humiliating retreat… John Pike, director of Washington think tank GlobalSecurity.org,… called Obama’s implied constitutional innovation ‘amazing.’ ‘There is simply no precedent in American history for that doctrine. [US presidents have] authorized the use of force on their own account over a hundred times.’…

“On Sunday, more than one media outlet pointed out that when Obama’s first election campaign was starting in 2007, the Illinois senator and former constitutional law professor told a reporter: ‘The president does not have power under the constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.’ So is Obama simply staying true to a campaign pledge, or at least worrying that statements like this might be flung in his face? This is unlikely considering the president was not shy of using his executive power in Libya in 2011. Then, Obama went to war against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime even though the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly against taking action.”

Kerry’s Struggle to Defend the President’s Actions

Breitbart reported on September 1:

“Secretary of State John Kerry struggled to defend President Obama’s plan for Syria when he appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. On Saturday, Obama said he would seek Congressional approval for military strikes on Syria. Wallace asked Kerry why Obama decided not to call back Congress to debate on Syria. Lawmakers will not reconvene until September 9 from their August recess. Kerry could not provide a simple answer…

“To make matters worse, Obama’s speech completely contradicted Kerry’s Friday speech where he said action should be taken now against Syria. Wallace told Kerry it appears that Obama’s plan of action was the direction from the beginning and nothing like the points Kerry made on Friday. Kerry responded by reminding that the President can throw out the advice of his advisers entirely…

“Kerry insisted America’s credibility is on the line and he hopes Congress will vote with Obama… Kerry stated that tests from hair and blood samples prove sarin gas was used against civilians in the August 21 attack. The chemical weapons attack killed 1,400 people, including almost 500 children.”

As we pointed out in previous Updates, even though John Kerry might want to take a stronger and more decisive stance in certain international matters, he won’t be supported in this by the President and his administration. But it’s not only the Obama administration which puts on some breaks, as the next article shows.

US Congress–Will Britain Repeat Itself?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 1:

“Members of Congress from across the political spectrum reacted with deep skepticism Sunday to President Obama’s bid for approval of strikes against Syria, with lawmakers raising doubts about whether a vote would succeed. Few of the approximately 100 members of Congress who returned to Washington for a classified intelligence briefing Sunday said they would support the administration’s request to authorize the use of force, even though they showed little doubt that Syrian President Basher Assad’s government was behind the alleged chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.

“The administration now appears to face a two-front battle to win the support of Congress, needing to convince skeptical representatives of a war-weary public on the one hand and more hawkish lawmakers seeking an even tougher response on the other. And it has just more than a week to do so… Assad has joined Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler as the only individuals to have used chemical weapons against their own people, Kerry said as he made the case for Congress to support a resolution authorizing force…”

In the meantime, House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that he would support President Barack Obama’s call for a limited military strike against Syria. On the other hand, Senator John McCain (who was caught playing a phone game of poker at a Senate hearing about Syria) and former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, stated that such a limited strike would not be sufficient, while others are opposed to any strike, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senator Rand Paul. So, the division could not be any greater. In addition, to save face, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and later President Obama presented the new and rather concocted idea that the President had not drawn a red line in the sand regarding Syria’s use of chemical weapons, but that Congress and the world community had done so, by outlawing chemical warfare, and that “the credibility of Congress, the United States and the international community as a whole is at stake” (Washington Post and Washington Times, September 4).

Even Syrian Opposition Critical of US Strike

Deutsche Welle reported on September 4:

“The West is fretting about whether to intervene in the Syrian war, and the opposition is also split…

“Omar Hossino, a Syrian-American researcher based in Washington, says the split in the opposition is identifiable: ‘The al-Qaeda-linked groups and other radical Salafist groups are very much opposed to the strike, because they want to be the ones that save the Syrian people, and they are assuming the strikes will target them,’ he said. ‘The more mainstream rebel groups seem to mostly favor strikes, although they’ve been saying that this strike is not really going to do anything.’…

“Another question – the nature and size of a potential strike – is just as much of a controversy…  In a statement released on Sunday (01.09.2013), the Syrian opposition’s ‘Local Coordination Committees in Syria,’ condemned a minimal approach. ‘A limited strike to merely warn Assad will lead to nothing but increase in his violence, as well as to his complete confidence that no one would prevent him from killing.’

“Echoing the view of many analysts, the statement continued, ‘Apparently, the main concern of the West in this regard is based on international balance and interests, not on the serious attempt to rescue a people who are striving for freedom and dignity, and dying for that, every day.’ In other words, Obama’s cruise missile attack was simply saving face to back up his ‘red line’ warning about chemical weapons. ‘Most of the mainstream groups are against a strike unless it can actually be a game-changer and change the dynamic on the ground against Assad,’ said Hossino, before adding that he doubted whether CIA training operations would have any effect, and if they do, they would take months.”

Now the Pope Speaks…

JTA reported on September 2:

“Pope Francis in a meeting with Jewish leaders sent Rosh Hashanah greetings to Jews worldwide and expressed ‘concern’ at the ban on kosher slaughter in Poland… Francis met with a WJC [World Jewish Congress] delegation headed by the organization’s president, Ronald Lauder…

“A WJC statement said the pontiff and Lauder spoke about the situation in Syria ‘and agreed to speak out against attacks on religious minorities, such as Coptic Christians in Egypt and against trends to restrict well-established religious practices such as circumcision.’… Referring to the conflict in Syria, ‘the pope called the killing of human beings unacceptable and said world leaders must do everything to avoid war,’ according to the WJC.”

Zenit added on September 4 that “Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state, has scheduled a special briefing for ambassadors accredited to the Holy See to speak with them about the importance of the Day of Prayer and Fasting for Syria, which the Pope has called for Saturday.”

The Associated Press added on September 5 that “Pope Francis urged the Group of 20 leaders on Thursday to abandon the ‘futile pursuit’ of a military solution in Syria as the Vatican laid out its case for a negotiated settlement that guarantees rights for all Syrians, including minority Christians.”

The Humanitarian Catastrophe of Syrian Refugees

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 4:

“As Obama contemplates a military strike against Assad, more than 5,000 Syrians are fleeing the country every day. Many, including the UN, are calling the situation a ‘humanitarian catastrophe.’…

“Syria’s 20-million citizens are so distressed that many of them have decided to flee the country regardless of the hardship and risks. Ever since President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents engaged in a relentless, bloody war, more than 2 million people have fled Syria, according to the United Nations. Every tenth Syrian is currently on the run…

“Lebanon alone registered more than 700,000 Syrian refugees by the end of August. Jordan has accepted slightly more than half a million and Turkey slightly less than half a million. Around 160,000 Syrians are now living in Iraq and more than 100,000 have managed to flee to Egypt. According to the UN, countries in the region have accepted 97 percent of Syrian refugees… Housing, employment, medical care and, ideally, education are among the services these countries are expected to provide. But the refugee numbers are so large that they pose a challenge to local social structures. For example, Lebanon’s population has grown by nearly 20 percent as a result of the refugees. This increase has led to social tension and rising rents…

“The EU also warns of a destabilization of Syria’s neighboring countries… The prospects for the millions of refugees to return to their homes are difficult to assess, given the rising violence in Syria. And there are no signs of an imminent solution to end the war between the Assad regime and the Syrian opposition…”

What Will Happen After Assad?

The Huffington Post wrote on September 1:

“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday portrayed the current conflict in Syria as one between the government of President Bashar Al Assad, who Paul said ‘has protected Christians for a number of decades,’ and ‘Islamic rebels,’ who Paul said ‘have been attacking Christians’ and are aligned with Al Qaeda. ‘I think the Islamic rebels winning is a bad idea for the Christians, and all of a sudden we’ll have another Islamic state where Christians are persecuted,’ Paul said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’

“Paul was likely referring to a string of incidents in Egypt in recent weeks, where supporters of the deposed government of former president Mohamed Morsi have burned Coptic Christian churches to protest what they see as Christian backing for the military overthrow of Morsi’s government…

“Paul, a first-term senator and vocal opponent of U.S. intervention overseas… said the U.S. should pursue a negotiated settlement where ‘Assad is gone, but some of the same people [from Assad’s regime] remain stable,’ because, he said, ‘that would also be good for the Christians.’… Paul also said that U.S. intervention would imperil U.S. allies in the region, including Jordan and Israel…”

It is a fact that Christians were somewhat protected or at least tolerated in Egypt under Mubarak, in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and in Syria under Bashar Al Assad. With new Islamic governments taking over, violent hostility and persecution against Christians have been increasing.

Our Hypocritical Media

Breitbart wrote on September 1:

“In the years since the United States first went to war in Iraq, liberal groups and commentators have accused many media outlets of not asking the right or critical questions of the Bush administration…This time around, under President Obama, as the US has engaged in military action in Libya, launched an unprecedented number of unmanned aerial drone strikes around the world and threatened military ‘punishment’ in Syria… [is] the media… completely falling asleep on the job?” 

This appears to be the case.

Now it’s Morsi’s Turn…

The Associated Press reported on September 1:

“Egypt’s top prosecutor… ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to trial on charges of inciting the killing of opponents protesting outside his palace while he was in office, the state news agency said… No date was announced for the trial. Morsi will be tried, along with 14 members of his Muslim Brotherhood, in a criminal court for allegedly committing acts of violence, and inciting the killing of at least 10 people…

“Those referred to trial with Morsi include the deputy leader of the Brotherhood’s political party, Essam el-Erian, currently in hiding. They also include leading Brotherhood member Mohammed el-Beltagy, arrested this week, as well as leading pro-Brotherhood youth leaders who were video-taped during the street clashes on the front lines.

“Since Morsi’s ouster, authorities have waged an intensive security crackdown on members of his group. The crackdown followed a violent breakup of a sit-in held by Morsi supporters for weeks demanding his reinstatement that left hundreds killed.”

First Mubarak is charged, now it’s Morsi, and when is it going to be the military and the present government of Egypt, which is purportedly guilty of committing similar atrocities? And while all of this is going on, America supports first Mubarak, then Morsi, and now the military. And the people of Egypt don’t like it a bit. And “Leviathan,” the “fleeing [and] twisted serpent” of Egypt—“the reptile that is in the sea” or river, will turn around and bite America (compare Isaiah 27:1).

Fukushima Radiation Set to Hit the U.S. by 2014

Salon reported on August 29:

“Unless you were one of the 160,000 thousand people in the near vicinity of the Fukushima disaster who evacuated their homes in 2011, the ongoing nuclear crisis on Japan’s shore can seem awfully far away. It’s worth remembering, though, that the radioactive waste leaking from the plant has been making its way into the Pacific Ocean, and from there, to the rest of the world. According to new research from the Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, the radioactive ocean plume from the original disaster will reach the west coast of the U.S. by 2014, 3 years after it was first released.

“… it’s important to understand how pollutants are carried throughout the world’s oceans, especially since Japan is still trying to figure out what to do with its 132 Olympic pools worth of radioactive water.. [It will] hit Oregon first, and then California by 2016… its 30-year half-life means it’s not just going to disappear anytime soon.”

We are being assured that the radioactive fallout will pose no health risk or dangers to Americans. The same false assurances were given years ago to Europeans when the disaster of Chernobyl wiped out entire regions and killed many people.

BBC News added on September 4 that “Radiation levels around tanks storing contaminated water at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have risen by a fifth to a new high, officials say.”

Fukushima Radiation—“Much Worse Than You Think”

CNN wrote on August 30:

“While the amount of radioactivity released into the environment in March 2011 has been estimated as between 10 percent and 50 percent of the fallout from the Chernobyl accident, the 400,000 tons of contaminated water stored on the Fukushima site contain more than 2.5 times the amount of radioactive cesium dispersed during the 1986 catastrophe in Ukraine. So, where has this huge amount of highly contaminated water – enough to fill 160 Olympic-size swimming pools – come from? In the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the reactor cores of units 1, 2 and 3 melted through the reactor vessels into the concrete. Nobody knows how far the molten fuel went through the containment – radiation levels in the reactor buildings are lethal, while robots got stuck in the rubble and some never came back out.

“The molten fuel still needs to be cooled constantly and the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), injects about 400 tons of water into the perforated reactor vessels every day. That water washes out radioactive elements and runs straight through into the basements that were flooded during the tsunami. By 2015, over 600,000 tons of highly radioactive liquid are expected to have accumulated in temporary tanks, some underground, many bolted rather than welded together, and none ever conceived to hold this kind of liquid over the long term. The dangerous fluid is pumped around in four kilometer long makeshift tubes, many of them made of vinyl rather than steel, and plagued with numerous leaks in the winter when the above ground lines get hit by frost.

“TEPCO’s account of the discovery this month of the leak of 300 tons of highly radioactive water showed a frightening level of amateurism… The tank leak is just the latest in a long list of signs that things are going fundamentally wrong at the site of what could still turn out to be the most serious radiological event in history. And the situation could still get a lot worse. A massive spent fuel fire would likely dwarf the current dimensions of the catastrophe and could exceed the radioactivity releases of Chernobyl dozens of times. First, the pool walls could leak beyond the capacity to deliver cooling water or a reactor building could collapse following one of the hundreds of aftershocks. Then, the fuel cladding could ignite spontaneously releasing its entire radioactive inventory…

“The fact is that the Fukushima Daiichi site represents challenges of unprecedented complexity. Maintaining the cooling of three molten reactor cores and five spent fuel pools in a disaster zone is a job of titanic proportions…”

Merkel: Trust Between USA and Germany Lost

The EUObserver wrote on September 2:

“A 90-minute TV debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democrat rival Peer Steinbrueck on Sunday (1 September) mostly revolved around domestic topics, with some tense exchanges on the US spying scandal and the eurozone crisis.  Seen by 12 million Germans, the debate was the first and last before the 22 September elections and the only chance for Steinbrueck, who trails Merkel in the polls, to score some points. If anything, the debate put Steinbrueck on an even footing with Merkel… ‘If I would have been chancellor, I wouldn’t have called a press conference about the US mass surveillance of Germans only to say: “Let’s wait”’,  Steinbrueck said.

“Merkel… said she has ‘no reason not to trust the National Security Agency’ – the US secret service behind the mass surveillance of online users. But a few minutes later she appeared to contradict herself. When pressed by one of the moderators, Merkel said: ‘Of course trust was lost between Germany and the US.’…”

Germany Awards Whistleblower Prize to Snowden

rt.com reported on September 1:

“Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has been awarded the biennial ‘whistleblower prize’ in Germany, worth some $3,900, in recognition of his ‘bold efforts’ to expose the monitoring of communications data by his former employer. The prize, last awarded in 2011, was officially bestowed upon the 30-year-old at a ceremony in Berlin which took place Friday, prompting a nine-minute congratulatory video message from Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald on Saturday… The organizers of the prize commended Snowden’s work, stating that he had uncovered ‘massive and unsuspecting monitoring and storage of communication data, which cannot be accepted in democratic societies.’ … ‘Not only did [German Chancellor Angela Merkel], it seems, allow the US to spy on Germany, but it seems she also helped the US to spy on Germany. So this is one of the reasons why Edward Snowden has received this award,’ RT correspondent Peter Oliver said from the ceremony in Berlin…

“The whistleblower award was first awarded in 1999 under the auspices of the Association of German Scientists and the German chapter of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA)… It was revealed in June that for seven years, the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using PRISM, a warrantless web surveillance system with a near-limitless ability to spy on anyone’s phone calls, e-mails, video chats, search history and more, with major Internet giants Google, Apple and Facebook being complicit in the scheme.”

What a slap in the face for the USA.

Update on Yosemite Fire

The Associated Press reported on September 4:

“Officials said they still are investigating the cause of the fire, which started 18 days ago in an isolated area of the Stanislaus National Forest and has burned nearly 370 square miles – the fourth biggest recorded wildfire in California. With higher humidity and lower temperatures, the fire reached 80 percent containment… Officials said 111 structures, including 11 homes, have been destroyed. More than 4,300 firefighters are still battling the blaze.”

San Diego In Danger of Tsunami

U-T San Diego reported on September 4:

“Federal and state researchers came up with a hypothetical magnitude 9.1 earthquake [erupting off Alaska] that produces a tsunami severe enough to force the evacuation of 750,000 people along the California coast while sinking or damaging one-third of all boats in the state’s marinas. Such a tsunami could cause $1.2 billion in damages… at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach…

“The report also says the tsunami would produce waves up to 6-feet high locally, inundating and damaging some areas… ‘The good news is that three-quarters of California’s coastline is cliffs, and thus immune to the harsher and more devastating impacts tsunamis could pose. The bad news is that the one-quarter at risk is some of the most economically valuable property in California.’…

“The state has not been hit by the sort of tsunami that occurred off Japan following a 9.0 quake in March 2011. But California has felt the impact of such events. The 9.2 earthquake that broke in Alaska in 1964 created a tsunami that killed 11 people in Crescent City, California, and destroyed most of the city’s business district. Crescent City was slammed again in March 2011 when a tsunami from the Japan quake produced 8-foot waves that heavily damaged the city’s harbor.”

Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

Natural News wrote on September 3, 2013:

“You won’t hear anything about it from the mainstream media, but the federal government’s kangaroo ‘vaccine court’ has once again conceded, albeit quietly, that the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine does, indeed, cause autism. In a recently published ruling, part of which was censored from public view, a young boy was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars after it was determined that the MMR vaccine led to a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Ten-year-old Ryan Mojabi’s parents say he first suffered an encephalopathy after being vaccinated for MMR on December 19, 2003. Known as a ‘table injury,’ encephalopathy is a recognized, compensable adverse reaction to vaccines… According to Ryan’s parents, the MMR vaccine caused their son’s encephalopathy, which manifested… in the form of asthma and ASD.’

“After being bumped around from court to court, Ryan’s case was eventually heard by the vaccine court’s Autism Omnibus Proceedings, according to The Huffington Post. And in the end, the federal government agreed that Ryan’s encephalopathy had been caused by the MMR vaccine, a landmark ruling that confirms what Dr. Andrew Wakefield found more than 15 years ago when studying gut disorders in children given the MMR vaccine. ‘Ryan suffered a Table injury under the Vaccine Act — namely, an encephalitis within five to fifteen days following receipt (of MMR),’ admitted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the case. ‘This case is appropriate for compensation,’ it added, in full agreement with the court’s decision.

“Of particular note in the case is the fact that concession documents by the government remain under seal. While the court and the government at large openly admitted that the MMR vaccine caused Ryan’s encephalitis, it did not make public its opinion on whether or not that encephalitis led to Ryan’s other injuries, including those that fall into the category of ASD. But the fact that these documents remain censored shows that the government is hiding something of importance from the public, which most definitely has to do with the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.

“In a similar case heard during the same month, young Emily Moller from Houston, Texas, was also awarded massive compensation for injuries resulting from the MMR vaccine. According to reports, Emily experienced a severe reaction after receiving not only the MMR vaccine but also the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), HiB, and Prevnar vaccines. Like with Ryan’s case, the government conceded that these vaccines led to Emily’s autism and other developmental problems.

“These two cases, combined with numerous published studies out of the U.S., South America, and Europe, prove that the MMR vaccine is not the harmless vaccine that the conventional medical industry claims it is. In fact, everything that Dr. Wakefield found back in the late 1990s concerning the MMR vaccine — findings that cost him his career and reputation, by the way — are proving to be undeniably true.

“‘There can be very little doubt that vaccines can and do cause autism,’ Dr. Wakefield recently stated from his home in Austin, Texas. ‘In these children, the evidence for an adverse reaction involving brain injury following the MMR that progresses to an autism diagnosis is compelling. It’s now a question of the body count. The parents’ story was right all along. Governments must stop playing with words while children continue to be damaged. My hope is that recognition of the intestinal disease in these children will lead to the relief of their suffering. This is long, long overdue.’”

Of course, most doctors and medical scientists would deny Wakefield’s findings, as they do not fit into the paradigm of routinely wanting to administer vaccines to little (and helpless) babies—while, at the same time, many of them advocate and endorse the murder of unborn children through abortions.

Will America Attack Syria?

The Independent wrote on August 25:

“Options for a military strike [against Syria] drawn up by the Pentagon are already on President Barack Obama’s desk. However as he contemplated them last night – most likely a strike by cruise missiles launched from the Mediterranean – he was on the receiving end of strong warnings to desist from both Moscow and some leaders of his own party at home…

“President Obama just a few days ago made clear his preference for winning support for any military intervention from the UN Security Council first. That, however, would assume the backing of both Russia and China, which each have veto power. Hardly encouraging therefore was a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry that sought to remind the US of events 10 years ago when it began its invasion of Iraq without a UN resolution…

“The dilemma is vivid for Mr Obama who has made no secret of his own misgivings about involving the US directly in the conflict… Polls show that most Americans [are] strongly opposed to US intervention. Harry Reed, leader of the Democrat majority in the Senate, publicly fretted about being sucked into a longer commitment in Syria…”

“We are Going to War”

Fox News added on August 26:

“Steve Hayes, a columnist for The Weekly Standard and Fox News contributor, told viewers Monday… that ‘we’re going to war’ with Syria, adding that it is only a matter of when and what type of strike will be launched against the country…

“Hayes’ comments came after Secretary of State John Kerry earlier Monday told reporters at the State Department  there was undeniable evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria and called the killing of civilians a ‘moral obscenity’ that must carry consequences.  Hayes called Kerry’s remarks a dramatic shift in rhetoric by the Obama administration despite the fact that intelligence has previously been available tying the Assad regime to chemical weapons use.”

America’s Credibility at Stake

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 26:

“European editorial writers ponder the international community’s options for action – and agree the US faces a dilemma… Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung… warned that Obama faces the question of ‘what his word is worth if he threatens consequences but does not act. The President’s credibility and the role of the United States as a global political regulatory force are at stake.’…

“Obama faces difficult decisions, Holland’s de Volkskrant agrees. ‘If Assad gets away with this, anyone can, and US threats of reprisal are empty – with all manner of consequences for the proliferation weapons of mass destruction,’ the paper said. It concluded: ‘The logic of deterrent forces Obama to act.’…

“Vienna’s Der Standard also agreed that Obama must find a way to put the Assad regime in its place and ‘confirm US credibility without leading the country into a conflict where neither a victory nor peace are possible.’ However, the Austrian paper says, ‘no one knows the magic formula.’…”

US, Britain and France Ready for War?

Deutsche Welle reported on August 26:

“The US, along with its allies Britain and France, is apparently gearing up for yet another military intervention in the Middle East. But the consequences of even the most minor attack in Syria are very unclear…

“The US, along with its allies Britain and France, already has plenty of military hardware within striking distance of Syria. The US has three destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, which it has now bolstered with a fourth, while Britain is also thought to have four warships nearby. The US, Britain, and France, also have fighter jets within range of Damascus – based in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Cyprus.”

Great Britain has declared its support and participation in an American military attack against Syria, and France has called for military intervention as well. Germany wants to be cautious, as the next article shows. In fact, the majority of Germans (58%) is opposing any military actions against Damascus, while only 33% would support it (The Local, August 29, 2013).

Germany Asserting Itself

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 23:

“Germany started deviating from French leadership in March 2011, when its diplomats ruled out participation in Libya regardless of UN Security Council resolutions. The following year, Germans long refused the French assessment that the occupation of northern Mali by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) presented a threat against Western interests. France has continued to raise international pressure on the Assad regime over German objections…

“But something different is at work here. Contrary to appearances, Germany is not simply receding ever deeper into itself. In fact, the Berlin Republic is quietly asserting itself and fleshing out its foreign policy. The unwillingness to act as France’s cheerleader in the greater Mediterranean comes with the creeping recovery of self-confidence, and a desire to reposition itself vis-à-vis this historically French sphere of influence…

“German obstructionism also reveals the consensus across the German political spectrum that an Islamist regime in Syria is to be avoided… The deputy leader of Merkel’s Christian Democrats has said orthodox Christian populations risk ethnic cleansing or worse if the French-allied Islamists come to power… In addition to the 50 years of the Elysée Treaty, this October also marks the 200th anniversary of the war liberating Prussia from Napoleonic occupation.”

Washington Expects More Leadership from Germany on Global Matters

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 23:

“Angela Merkel’s conservatives are well ahead in the polls and the chancellor herself likewise remains extremely popular… Washington is hoping that, once the campaign is history, Germany will take on a greater global leadership role on issues like trade, the euro crisis and international security…

“Conley, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says there is some ‘uncertainty’ in Washington about how strong a partner Germany is on military and security issues in the Middle East. She says she would like to see the new government ‘articulate its foreign and national security views and strategies’ following the election.”

How Will Germany Lead?

The Economist wrote on August 22:

“One month from now, on September 22nd, Germans will elect a new parliament. Perhaps more than at any time since reunification in 1990, the world will watch the results with great interest. That is, first, because the current chancellor, Angela Merkel, as Germany’s first woman and first Ossi (Easterner) in the job, has become something of a global celebrity and is now fighting to stay in power…

“The second reason why the world, and you, will care about this election is that Germany has become so important. The euro crisis has now been going on for three years. Currently, it seems to be stable, but it could return with fury at any time. This has led to an old question being asked anew. This ‘German question’ has changed over the centuries—whether the Holy Roman Empire would centralise or stay fragmented, whether and how Germany in the 19th century would unify, et cetera. But always it was about how this central land (‘too big for Europe, too small for the world,’ as Henry Kissinger once put it) would relate to its neighbours and continent. Today, with demands for Germany to play a new and unfamiliar role as ‘hegemon’ over the euro system, that question is suddenly relevant again.”

The Reluctant Giant—“Germany Has No Other Choice but to Lead”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 29:

“The world admires Germany and would like to see more active engagement from the country… The rest of the world is waiting for Germany. But instead of feeling pleased about Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s historic statement that he fears Germany’s power less than its inactivity, we cringe anxiously over such sentiments. When US President Barack Obama calls Germany a leading global power, we hope that he doesn’t really mean it. And when politicians in Israel say that Germany should wield its power more actively, we don’t interpret it as a mandate to become more committed, but are puzzled instead.

“We Germans? Exercise power? Take action? Lead?…  [But] ‘history’ has given us reformed Germans in the 21st century the mandate to play an influential role in all of the world’s affairs… Who, if not we Germans, is as well versed in emerging from the swamp of overthrown dictators? Who, if not we Germans, could advise war-torn countries on how to find their way back to peace? Who, if not Germany, whose path to liberal democracy was long and rocky, could help other countries along this path? And who, if not we Germans, would be destined to warn the Americans, for example, that absolute national security doesn’t protect freedom but instead destroys it? Seen in the cold light of day, we have no other choice…

“For a country as important as Germany, getting involved is a duty, not a choice. The role of being an active player falls on us, whether we want it or not…

“We… want to dream again, of a better Germany in a better world. Germany is being administered, not governed. It could be a soft giant, but when it looks in the mirror, it still sees itself as a gray mouse. But that’s just an optical illusion.”

Syria and Iran Threaten Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on August 26:

“A senior Syrian official on Monday issued a first direct warning that if attacked, his country would retaliate against Israel. Khalaf Muftah, a senior Baath Party official who used to serve as Syria’s assistant information minister, said in a radio interview that Damascus would consider Israel ‘behind the [Western] aggression and [it] will therefore come under fire… If the US or Israel make the mistake of taking advantage of the chemical issue… the region will go up in flames… that will affect security not only in the region but across the world.’

“His words were echoed by Iranian officials, who on Monday shrugged off the threat of a US attack on its close ally Syria, but said that if such a strike were to take place, Israel would suffer…

“The Syrian and Iranian statements Monday came as Britain reportedly pushed for US action on Syria in the wake of a horrific alleged chemical weapons attack on civilians outside Damascus. According to a report from the Times of London, British Prime Minister David Cameron wants a strike in the coming days while outrage over the alleged attack is still fresh. British Foreign Minister William Hague said in an interview with the BBC on Monday that action could be taken even without the full support of the UN Security Council.”

Russia Warns the USA

USA Today wrote on August 26:

“Russia warned again Tuesday that any military intervention in Syria would have ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the region… Russia has vowed to veto any Security Council attempts to approve a military attack on Syria, and it is arming Syria as well, which is why the United States is considering a unilateral attack with the help of the United Kingdom and other nations… The Russians have already promised to send Syria S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missiles that have a range of almost 100 miles and would reach deep inside Israel…

“The Russians could also send Assad their supersonic P800 long-range anti-ship missile, which is capable of sinking NATO ships with a single strike… The Russians could expand sales to Iran of weapons and nuclear technology that has both nuclear and civilian functions…”

Arab League Rejects Attack Against Syria

The New York Times wrote on August 27:

“The leaders of the Arab world on Tuesday blamed the Syrian government for a chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people last week, but declined to back a retaliatory military strike, leaving President Obama without the broad regional support he had for his last military intervention in the Middle East, in Libya in 2011.

“While the Obama administration has robust European backing and more muted Arab support for a strike on Syria, the position of the Arab League and the unlikelihood of securing authorization from the United Nations Security Council complicate the legal and diplomatic case for the White House.”

Jordan—No Attack on Syria From Our Soil

The Associated Press reported on August 28:

“Jordan will not be used as a launching pad for attacks on Syria and the kingdom favors a diplomatic solution to the crisis… A U.S.-led strike on Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad’s regime likely would involve cruise missile attacks from the sea, which would not need to cross or make use of Jordanian territory… Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled into Jordan from Syria.”

Further Setback for USA

The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 28:

“The Obama administration’s move to punish Syria’s government for allegedly using chemical weapons in a deadly attack last week appeared to suffer a setback Wednesday when the U.S. failed to get United Nations approval for use of force [over Russia’s objection] and British support was thrown into question. The collapse of diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria was expected. The British impediment was not…

“How soon such strikes might occur remained unclear after British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has repeatedly called for strong action on Syria, was unable to muster enough support from lawmakers to push ahead with a vote to approve military intervention. Members of Parliament from both his Conservative Party and the opposition Labor Party insisted that a vote be delayed until U.N. chemical experts now in Syria issue a report…”

Will US, Britain and France Fight with Al-Qa’ida Against Assad?

The Independent wrote on August 27:

“If Barack Obama decides to attack the Syrian regime, he has ensured – for the very first time in history – that the United States will be on the same side as al-Qa’ida… The men who destroyed so many thousands on 9/11 will then be fighting alongside the very nation whose innocents they so cruelly murdered almost exactly 12 years ago. Quite an achievement for Obama, Cameron, Hollande and the rest of the miniature warlords.

“This, of course, will not be trumpeted by the Pentagon or the White House – nor, I suppose, by al-Qa’ida… While the Americans drone al-Qa’ida to death in Yemen and Pakistan – along, of course, with the usual flock of civilians – they will be giving them, with the help of Messrs Cameron, Hollande and the other Little General-politicians, material assistance in Syria by hitting al-Qa’ida’s enemies. Indeed, you can bet your bottom dollar that the one target the Americans will not strike in Syria will be al-Qa’ida or the Nusra front.

“And our own Prime Minister will applaud whatever the Americans do, thus allying himself with al-Qa’ida, whose London bombings may have slipped his mind…”

Britain may not fight at all, and Mr. Hollande has also begun to back-paddle. The BBC reported on August 29, 2013:

“British MPs have voted to reject possible military action against the Assad regime in Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons. A government motion was defeated by 285 to 272, a majority of 13 votes. Prime Minster David Cameron said it was clear Parliament does not want action and ‘the government will act accordingly’. It effectively rules out British involvement in any US-led strikes against the Assad regime.”

Turkey Against Israel

IB Times wrote on August 25:

“As a NATO member, Turkey is seen by the U.S. as a strategic ally to the West and a crucial liaison to the Arab and Muslim world… Sometimes, though, statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and officials of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) call into question the notion that the West and Turkey have ‘common hopes and … common dreams.”

“Here is a sample of some of the more provocative statements that have come out of Ankara recently…

“‘There are some circles that are jealous of Turkey’s growth … They are all uniting, and on one side is the Jewish Diaspora…’ Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, July 2, 2013. Invoking the spectre of Jewish domination of the global media may be unseemly in the West, but it’s standard fare among Turkish leaders.

“‘Israel cannot do whatever it wants in the eastern Mediterranean. They will see what our decisions will be on this subject. Our navy attack ships can be there at any moment.’ — Recep Tayyip Erdoðan September 15, 2011. Erdoðan was responding to the recent discovery of an offshore natural gas find in the Eastern Mediterranean that Israel discovered and is working on in cooperation with Cyprus and Greece, two nations that also happen to have problems with Turkey.

“‘The press wants to throw mud to see if it sticks. The Times is renting out its own pages for money. This is the Times’ failing. We will pursue legal channels regarding the Times.’ — Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, August 22, 2013. Erdoðan was threatening the prestigious British newspaper The London Times for publishing an open letter criticizing the Turkish government for excessive use of force against protesters. Erdoðan said, ‘If they truly believed in democracy, they couldn’t have displayed such a lack of character to call the leader of a party that won 50 percent of the vote a dictator.’ Erdoðan’s distinctly non-Western view of journalism and press freedoms was further illustrated when he jailed 64 journalists.”

The Bible shows that Turkey—modern Edom—will turn against Israel… the Jewish state as well as countries like the USA and Great Britain.

Israel Attacks Lebanon

The Associated Press reported on August 23:

“Israeli warplanes struck a target south of Beirut early Friday, a day after militants fired four rockets into northern Israel… It was the first air raid on the area since the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group…

“On Thursday, militants in Lebanon fired four rockets into Israel, setting off air raid sirens and startling a nation already on edge over turmoil along its northern and southern borders… the rockets added to the nation’s fears at a time it is nervously watching unrest in neighboring Syria, where the government has been accused of using chemical weapons against rebels and civilians this week. It’s also worried about Egypt to the south, where Islamic militants have stepped up their activities near the Israeli border in the wake of a military coup…

“Israel fears that Syria will transfer sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah and has carried out several airstrikes in Syria in recent months on suspected Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for the militant group… Netanyahu… also accused Iran, the key backer of Syria and Hezbollah, of using… Syria as a ‘testing ground’…  ‘Iran is closely watching whether and how the world responds to the atrocities committed by Iran’s client state Syria and by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah against innocent civilians in Syria,’ he said. ‘These events prove yet again that we simply cannot allow the world’s most dangerous regimes to acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons.’”

Israel is indeed surrounded by enemies… Syria, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, etc.

Less and Less Christians in the Middle East

CNN wrote on August 22:

“Islamist thugs have attacked dozens of churches across Egypt in the past few days, burning many of them down… Today there are more than 10 million Christians in the Middle East and they make up an estimated 5% of the Middle East’s population. A century ago they made up an estimated 20%…

“Take Syria. Many Syrian Christians have tacitly supported the regime of President Bashar al-Assad… As a result, the jihadists who have come to dominate a significant portion of the Syrian rebel movement have supplemented their war against the government with attacks that target Christians…

“Meanwhile, in March in Benghazi, Libya, where a militant attack on a U.S. government complex left four Americans dead in September 2012, around 60 Christians were rounded up by extremists and handed over to the government on suspicion of immigrating from Egypt illegally. The militants tortured several of their captives, killing one of them. That bout of vigilantism followed the arrest in February of four Christians accused of proselytizing to Muslim Libyans. The consequence of such attacks and harassment has been an exodus of Christians from the region…

“This kind of homogenization has happened before in the Middle East, which boasted a sizable Jewish population in the ’50s. But with the creation of the state of Israel and the rise of Arab nationalism and then Islamism, the region has become more hostile to non-Muslims. Around World War II there were 100,000 Jews in Egypt, a community that had existed in Egypt since the time of the pharaohs. Now, there are a handful of synagogues operating in Cairo…”

Church Bylaws on Marriage

The Associated Press reported on August 24:

“Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman… ‘I thought marriage was always between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision said no,’ said Gregory S. Erwin, an attorney for the Louisiana Baptist Convention…

“Kevin Snider is an attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute… [He]  said some religious leaders have been threatened with lawsuits for declining to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

“Dean Inserra, head pastor of the 1,000-member City Church Tallahassee, based in Florida,… said he already has had to say no to gay friends who wanted him to perform a wedding ceremony. ‘We have some gay couples that attend our church. What happens when they ask us to do their wedding?’ Inserra said. ‘What happens when we say no? Is it going to be treated like a civil rights thing?’…

“Some Christian denominations, such as the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, accept gay marriage. The Episcopal Church recently approved a blessing for same-sex couples, but each bishop must decide whether to allow the ceremony in his or her local diocese. The majority of Christian denominations, however, view homosexual relationships as sinful…”

For the doctrine and teaching of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates in matters of marriage and homosexuality, and that marriages which are officiated by ministers of the church are strictly between a “believing” man and a “believing” woman, see our booklet on “Keys to Happy Marriages and Families,” as well as our numerous Q&As, including  https://www.eternalgod.org/qapdf/3683 ; https://www.eternalgod.org/qapdf/13060 and https://www.eternalgod.org/qapdf/771.

Another Ridiculous Court Decision

The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 29:

“A federal appeals court Thursday upheld a state law that prohibits licensed mental health therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation of minors. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel said the never-enforced law does not violate the free speech rights of patients or professionals, or the fundamental rights of parents. The state has the right to prohibit treatment it deems harmful, the court said…

“The California law… subjects licensed professionals to discipline if they try to change a minor’s sexual orientation. California was the first state to ban the therapy, and New Jersey followed this year. ‘The 1st Amendment does not prevent a state from regulating treatment even when that treatment is performed through speech alone,’ the panel concluded.”

The Dark Alliance Between Homosexuals and Pedophiles

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 29:

“In the 1980s, gay rights groups in Germany formed an alliance with pedophiles who advocated the legalization of sex with minors. It’s a dark period few care to talk about now.

“In July 1981, the gay interest magazine ‘Rosa Flieder’ published an interview with Olaf Stüben. Stüben was one of the most infamous pedophiles in Germany at the time. As a writer for the leftist newspaper Die Tageszeitung, he openly advocated for people to accept pedophilia as healthy and moral… in the 1970s and 80s, numerous gay-oriented magazines brazenly promoted sex with children…

“Anyone who searches through archives can find ample evidence of the alliance between gay rights organizations and pedophile activists. If pedophiles got into trouble with the law, they could rely on legal advice from a group called ‘Gay Lawyers’…  there was the remarkable idea that underage boys should not be denied the chance to have sexual experiences with grown men… The gay movement helped pedophiles in entirely practical ways..

“Beginning in the mid-1980s, the gay movement in Germany began to distance itself from pedophiles… The gay rights movement also began to notice how much damage the alliance with pedophiles was causing…”

Rim Fire Reaches California’s Yosemite National Park

BBC wrote on August 26:

“A huge fire in and around California’s Yosemite National Park has continued to spread and now covers almost 230 sq miles (600 sq km), officials say. The Rim Fire is now raining ash on a key reservoir that supplies water and hydro-electric power to San Francisco… The blaze is also threatening thousands of homes and some of California’s renowned giant sequoia trees.

“On Monday officials said the fire was 15% contained after burning for more than a week – up from 2% containment on Friday. Strong winds are making the fires more difficult to control. ‘This fire has continued to pose every challenge that there can be on a fire,’ said Daniel Berlant of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection… The blaze began on 17 August in the Stanislaus National Forest but the cause is still unknown…

“Ash is said to be falling like snow on the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies San Francisco with 85% of its water… Two of three hydroelectric power stations serving the city were shut down, forcing the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to spend $600,000 (£385,000) buying power on the open market…

“The Rim Fire is one of 50 major wildfires burning in the western US. Lack of rain and snow have made it a bad year, with 5,700 fires being tackled so far. The Beaver Creek fire in Idaho has destroyed some 45,000 hectares near the ski resort of Sun Valley…”

By Wednesday night, August 28, the flames had scorched over 300 square miles, making it the 6th largest fire in state history. Officials said Wednesday evening that the fire was 30 percent contained.

Egypt Does Not Know the Way to Peace

Newsmax reported on August 16:

“The National Salvation Front, a coalition of pro-democratic and secular parties in Egypt, set out its objections to remarks made by President Barack Obama Thursday on the escalating violence in Egypt. Led by Ahmed Said of the Free Egyptians Party, the group issued the following letter:

“‘Let us first inform you about who the Muslim brothers are: They’re an unlawful organization operating outside the realm of Egyptian law, receiving foreign funding and laundering money in a flagrant breech of international law. Their aim is to rule the world through a so-called Islamic Caliphate as they believe in their absolute supremacy. They pretend they are God’s emissaries and they will not rest until they have forced the whole world into submission. For them, Egypt is the launching pad to achieve their fascist dream. Their international reach spans the globe and they command the hearts and minds of many unsuspecting politicians. They have used deceit, soft speeches, international funds and whenever required, violence,  to impose their will…

“‘The rule of (deposed President Mohammed) Morsi showed how in less than a year they abused the people, reneged on their promises and overturned the rule of law by issuing constitutional diktats monopolizing the judiciary as well as the legislative arms of the state. This was enough to impeach any president in a democratic nation. Unfortunately, Egyptians couldn’t refer to their Supreme Court as it was besieged by thugs for over 60 days back in November of 2012. So finally, Egyptians took to the streets and this century’s second Egyptian ‘peaceful unarmed’ revolution took place in June 2013 to recall the president and reject the rule of the Brotherhood. Egyptians deposed their president not because he was not inclusive, as you so kindly represented, but because he broke his constitutional oath and became another dictator reminiscent of the previous dictator this same great people of Egypt removed in January 2011. This was the will of the people that the West is now trying to bend pretending they are doing so in the name of democracy with no intention of interfering in Egyptian affairs!…

“Since July 3, 2013, the day deposed President Morsi was ousted by popular demand of millions of Egyptians, the Western media and prominent emissaries from the U.S. and Europe have consistently described the sit-ins that paralyzed a large part of Cairo as ‘peaceful demonstrations.’ They chose to ignore what was happening across Egypt from torching churches and killing randomly and destroying private and public properties… Peaceful demonstrators do not attack a police station with RPG and kill the police chief and his deputies, strip them of their clothes and drag their naked bodies down the street. Peaceful demonstrators do not threaten Christians with genocide as many of the Muslim Brotherhood declared in hate speeches from the sit-in stage. Peaceful demonstrators do not raise the black flags of al-Qaida while marching with pictures of bin Laden and al Zawahri on their chests…”

This may all be very true, but still, the military coup with ITS mass murders is equally deplorable. Both sides in Egypt are terribly wrong, and the bloodshed of innocent people is bound to continue. Egypt does not know the way to peace, nor does man in general. Man’s ways do not bring peace. Man will never achieve peace through propaganda, selective news “reporting” and violence, including the possession and use of weapons and the means of strife and war, rebellion, revolution, uprisings, military coups, or the mass murders of opponents. ONLY the return of Jesus Christ will establish true and lasting peace for this sick, violent, war-stricken and deceived world.

Israel Supports Egypt’s Military

On August 19, the New York Times wrote the following:

“The Israeli government is pressing its efforts to convince the United States and the European Union to support the military-backed government in Egypt. The New York Times reported late Sunday that Israeli ambassadors in Washington and the European capitals will lobby foreign ministers, and that Israeli leaders will urge diplomats to see the Israeli viewpoint that the Egyptian military will prevent a further deterioration of the situation in Cairo.

“The newspaper cited an unnamed ‘senior Israeli official involved in the effort.’ ‘If you insist on big principles, then you will miss the essential — the essential being putting Egypt back on track at whatever cost,’ the official told the Times. ‘First, save what you can, and then deal with democracy and freedom and so on. At this point it’s army or anarchy.’

“Israel reportedly has been lobbying American officials hard to sustain the annual $1.5 billion in U.S. aid to Egypt… Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who led the military coup that ousted Morsi, developed close ties with Israel when he headed Egypt’s military intelligence, according to the Times, and has remained in close contact with Israel throughout the recent violence and bloodshed.”

The Associated Press reported on August 19 that Israel is quietly maintaining close contacts with the Egyptian military, hoping that their rule and fight against Islamists will maintain Israel’s historic 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. As so often during its history, Israel is betting on the wrong horse. Its attempt to buy allies is condemned by God, and the Bible prophecies that Europe and Egypt will become allies to fight against Israel.

Egypt Key Partner to Europe– the Conscience of the World

The EUObserver wrote on August 19:

“The EU’s envoy to north Africa, Bernardino Leon, has said events in Egypt are ‘more complex’ than a simple story of the army killing Muslim protesters… [He said:] ‘There are two sides. There is violence coming from all sides … We have seen attacks on Coptic churches and on public buildings. We’ve been saying very clearly that violence from both sides, from all sides, has to stop.’…

“Leon underlined the importance of Egypt in terms of regional stability. ‘Egypt is a key partner [for the EU], probably the most important partner in the Mediterranean,’ he said… Egypt’s ambassador to the UK, Ashraf ElKholy, told The Telegraph newspaper that: ‘Europe is the conscience of the world.” He added: ‘I think we are beginning to see recognition that the Muslim Brotherhood is involved in the violence from Europe’s governments.'”

It is remarkable that Europe—not the USA—is perceived as being the conscience and therefore the leader of the world. The revelations of the terrible spying activities of the NSA and the witch-hunt like prosecutions of whistleblowers (see below) did little to establish America as having a conscience which others should follow.

Further Egyptian Complications—Mubarak to Be Released…

The New York Times reported on August 19:

“A court in Egypt has ordered that former President Hosni Mubarak, who has been detained on a variety of charges since his ouster in 2011, should be set free [The court acquitted Mubarak on a charge of corruption]…

“The development threatened to inject a volatile new element into the standoff between the country’s military and the Islamist supporters of the deposed President Mohamed Morsi… It was unclear how Egyptians… would respond to the release of a despised autocrat whose downfall united Mr. Mubarak’s secular and Islamist foes. News of the legal maneuvers came at a time of sustained bloodletting.”

The New York Times added on August 21:

“An Egyptian court on Wednesday ordered former President Hosni Mubarak released from prison, saying all appeals by prosecutors to keep him behind bars had been exhausted… The juxtaposition of freedom for Mr. Mubarak while Mr. Morsi remains in custody would dramatically test the level of support for the military-led government among the many anti-Mubarak people who later sided with the decision to depose Mr. Morsi and crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood…

“His ouster, and the disgrace of public trial in courtrooms full of opponents and television cameras, was deeply unpopular among some of Egypt’s allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, which helped put together a $12 billion aid package for Egypt after Mr. Morsi was deposed last month. The money will help offset threats of aid cutoffs from the United States and European countries over the huge numbers of deaths in pro-Morsi protests.”

Obama’s Half-Brother Overseer of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt?

WorldNetDaily wrote on August 21 (this article was also posted by the Drudge Report on August 21):

“President Obama’s half-brother in Kenya could cause the White House more headaches over new evidence linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and establishing that controversial IRS supervisor Lois Lerner signed his tax-exempt approval letter.

“Malik Obama’s oversight of the Muslim Brotherhood’s international investments is one reason for the Obama administration’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to an Egyptian report citing the vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Tehani al-Gebali. In a news report on Egyptian television of a Gebali speech… said she would like ‘to inform the American people that their president’s brother Obama is one of the architects of the major investments of the Muslim Brotherhood.’”

Rand Paul Slams Congress

The cable.foreignpolicy.com wrote on August 15:

“Sen. Rand Paul is hammering his fellow senators for keeping billions in financial aid flowing to Egypt’s military — even as Cairo’s security forces massacre anti-government activists. ‘This is something that those who voted in Congress are going to have to live with,’ Paul told The Cable on Thursday. ‘The question is: How does their conscience feel now as they see photographs of tanks rolling over Egyptian civilians?’

“…  the legislation the Kentucky libertarian is referring to was an amendment to suspend aid to Egypt until the country holds free and fair elections. Two weeks ago, Republicans and Democrats rejected it by an overwhelming 86-13 vote — and top lawmakers in both parties protested it loudly… ‘It would be a terrific mistake for the United States to send a message to Egypt: you’re on your own,’ Republican Senator John McCain added back then. ‘I urge my colleagues to vote to table the Paul amendment.’

“The vote has already come back to haunt some lawmakers, such as McCain, who is now advocating a cancellation of aid to Egypt and criticizing White House policies as a ‘colossal failure.’… ‘For those who think more weapons is engaging us with the Egyptian people, ask an Egyptian,’ [Paul] continued.  “When you’re protesting in the streets and you’re run over by an American tank, you’re not going to be appreciative of American engagement.’”

How the Political Tides Turn

Newsmax reported on August 18:

“Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison joined the call to suspend aid to Egypt on Sunday following the crackdown by the military last week that left hundreds dead… ‘I would cut off aid,’ Ellison said… ‘In my mind, there’s no way to say that this was not a coup. It is. We should say so. And then we should follow our own law, which says we cannot fund the coup leaders.’

“Ellison said the administration needs to engage in ‘intense diplomacy’ with Egypt, and Congress needs to ‘suspend aid’ to the country until its leaders establish a set of Democratic protocols and stop the violence. Ellison and Ayottte joined with the call being made by influential Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to end the aid to Egypt… [John] McCain renewed his call on Sunday to stop the aid. ‘For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for,’ said McCain… ‘We’re not sticking with our values.’

“Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said… that U.S. aid to Egypt was more likely to ‘buy a chateau in Paris’ for an Egyptian military leader than ‘bread in Cairo’ for the poor. ‘I don’t think we’re buying any friendship with the Egyptian people,’ Paul said, especially when people see tanks supplied by the U.S. to the Egyptian military on the streets of Cairo….”

Rand Paul was one of the very few senators who asked for the aid to stop right after the military coup in Egypt. Most politicians, INCLUDING John McCain, rejected Paul’s plea and insisted that aid had to continue, and that in clear violation of American law. Now, suddenly, the political tides are turning, and some senators, INCLUDING McCain, advocate to stop the aid, but the question is, what is the underlying and true motivation? No wonder that the Bible says, Don’t put your trust in ANY political leader and ANY of the rulers of this world, but strictly in God. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, “We Told You So—America’s Sickness and Egypt’s Turmoil.”

Lebanon the New Battle Ground?

The Washington Post wrote on August 16:

“Hezbollah’s leader said Friday that he is prepared to go to Syria personally to fight extremist Sunni Muslims whom he blamed for the deadliest bombing in Beirut in at least eight years, an attack that analysts said could herald a new ‘dark era’ of sectarian bombings targeting Lebanese civilians. The car bomb, which killed at least 21 people, was the second in a little more than a month to hit the militant Shiite movement’s staunch support base in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. But unlike the first, which caused no deaths, the explosives-packed car that detonated Thursday evening outside a shoe store and a pastry shop appeared intended to cause maximum civilian casualties.

“While Lebanon is no stranger to explosions, since the country’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990 they have largely taken the form of targeted assassinations, with the civilian lives lost as tragic collateral. But since Hezbollah has begun sending fighters to Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad battle a largely Sunni opposition, the civil war there has taken an increasingly sectarian turn and reprisal attacks on the Shiite movement in Lebanon have multiplied. Analysts cited Thursday’s bombing as evidence that Iraq-style sectarian bombings have now reached Lebanon as Sunni-Shiite divisions widen. ‘This is no longer targeted assassinations of political and militant figures with clear political ends. It’s actually targeting the civilian population,’ said Imad Salamey, an associate professor of political science at Lebanese American University. ‘We are seeing the Iraqization of Lebanon, a spillover from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon. This is massive, a potentially dark era, and God knows how it can be limited.’”

The entire Middle East is a powder keg, ready to explode. Very soon, Europe will intervene militarily to try to restore “peace,” but that attempt is doomed to fail as well.

Iran—A Problem of US Making

The Huffington Post wrote on August 20:

“Sixty years ago this week, on Aug. 19, 1953, the United States, in collaboration with Britain, successfully staged a coup in Iran to overthrow democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh that a newly declassified CIA document reveals was designed to preserve the control of Western companies over Iran’s rich oil fields. The U.S. government at the time of the coup easily had manipulated Western media into denigrating Mossadegh as intemperate, unstable and an otherwise unreliable ally in the Cold War, but the real motivation for hijacking Iran’s history was Mossadegh’s move to nationalize Western-controlled oil assets in Iran…

“Tragically, the coup that overthrew Mossadegh also crushed Iran’s brief experiment in democracy and ushered in six decades of brutal dictatorship followed by religious oppression and regional instability. If Iran is a problem, as the United States persistently and loudly insists, it is a problem of our making…”

Fear of Terror Attacks in Coming Weeks—Israelis Ordered to Avoid Certain Countries or Leave Them

The Times of Israel reported on August 19:

“Israeli and Jewish targets all over the world are likely to be sought out by terrorist organizations in the coming weeks, the Israeli government’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned in strikingly strident tones on Monday, listing dozens of countries where it said it had ‘concrete’ indications of a terrorist threat.

“It cited concerns about terrorist acts timed to coincide with the forthcoming Rosh Hashana (New Year), Yom Kippur and Succot festivals, and also said that the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US was likely to be ‘a favored period’ for al-Qaeda and other global jihadist groups to attempt to carry out acts of terrorism…

“Israelis are barred altogether from travel to Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the ‘concrete’ terror threat was ‘very high.’ In addition, [the Israeli government] ordered Israelis not to travel to Sudan, Somalia, Algeria, Djibouti, Mauritania, Libya and Tunisia, and to leave these countries immediately if they were there, because of a similarly ‘very high’ terror threat…

“The unusually shrill and widespread alert included an order to Israelis not to travel to the Sinai Peninsula, because of the chaotic situation in Egypt. The Sinai’s Red Sea resorts are a traditionally popular holiday destination for Israelis, especially at this time of year…

“Using only slightly less urgent language, the bureau… ordered Israelis to ‘avoid visiting’ the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Qatar, where it cited what it called a ‘basic’ terrorist threat… The bureau also told Israelis to postpone nonessential visits to Turkey, Oman and Morocco, because of ‘ongoing potential threats.’

“Slightly further afield, it cited ‘very high’ terror threats in Afghanistan, parts of southern Thailand, parts of the southern Philippines, east Senegal, India’s Kashmir province, northern Nigeria, parts of Kenya, and Chechnya. Israel[is] were not to travel to any of those areas, and to leave immediately if they were there, it ordered.

“The advisory also specified a ‘high’ terror threat in Indonesia, Burkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Mali, Malaysia and Pakistan, telling Israelis not to go there and urging them to leave as soon as possible if they were there now…”

That terror attacks are feared to strike during the upcoming annual Holy Days of God—the Feast of Trumpets (“Rosh Hashana”), the Days of Atonement (“Yom Kippur”) and the Feast of Tabernacles (“Sukkoth”)—is ample evidence for the fact as to who would be behind such violence—obviously none other than Satan the devil, the god of this world and the prince of darkness, whose declared goal it is to fight against God and everything that He stands for.

Germany’s Sad Leadership in Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 16:

“The option of selecting ‘blank’, in addition to the standard choices of ‘male’ or ‘female’ on birth certificates will become available in Germany from November 1. The legislative change allows parents to opt out of determining their baby’s gender, thereby allowing those born with characteristics of both sexes to choose whether to become male or female in later life. Under the new law, individuals can also opt to remain outside the gender binary altogether.

“Germany is the first country in Europe to introduce this option — Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung is referring to the change as a ‘legal revolution’. It remains unclear, however, how the change will affect gender assignment in other personal documents, such as passports, which still require people to choose between two categories – ‘F’ for female and ‘M’ for male. German family law publication FamRZ has called for the introduction of a third category, designated by the letter ‘X’.

“The law was passed back in May, but has only now been reported on, following an article this month in FamRZ — just six weeks after Australia became the first country in the world to introduce legal guidelines on gender recognition. Under the Australian system, which applies to all personal documents, individuals can select the third category irrespective of whether or not they have undergone sex reassignment surgery or hormone therapy…

“Finland is the only EU member state aside from Germany to have made significant progress in the area of third gender recognition. Despite its efforts, bureaucratic hurdles in the Nordic country have meant that there is still no concrete legislative change in sight.”

The Local added on August 16:

“The new law will apply to intersexuals, or hermaphrodites – people born with gender-indeterminate bodies, rather than transsexuals, who are born with a specific sex but feel they are members of the other gender. Brussels-based lawyer Wolf Sieberich told the FamRZ transsexuals should also get the right to determine their own legally recognized gender.

“Marriage law may also have to be altered as a result he said. Currently a marriage in Germany is only allowed between a man and a woman and a legally recognized life partnership is allowed for members of the same gender. Sieberich questioned what that would mean for someone whose gender is not specified.”

This is the opening of a Pandora’s box. Where will it end? Our world is drifting further and further away from God’s standards.

Christie vs. the Bible

Newsmax reported on August 19:

“New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who has opposed same-sex marriage, said that gay people are born that way and it is not a sin.  The statement was released as he signed a bill banning therapy that tries to change a minor’s sexual orientation. Christie said such efforts pose ‘critical health risks including, but not limited to, depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.’

“Christie, who is seeking re-election for governor in November and appears to be positioning himself to run for president in 2016, has walked a fine line on issues surrounding homosexuality as polls show a majority of Republicans oppose gay marriage amid broader acceptance of the practice… Christie told CNN’s Piers Morgan in 2011 that while he is Catholic and his church believes homosexuality is a sin, he doesn’t share the view…

“New Jersey becomes the second state, after California, to ban gay-conversion therapy. The law… prohibits licensed professional counselors — including psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and social workers — from engaging in practices designed to change the sexual orientation of anyone under age 18.”

Such appalling laws and opinions of high-ranking and influential politicians, which are in total contradiction to the godly revelation of the Holy Bible, help to explain WHY America is in such a terrible mess.

Former Marijuana Enthusiast Barack Obama’s Ongoing War on Medical Marijuana

The Huffington Post wrote on August 20:

“The White House declined to weigh in Tuesday on whether President Barack Obama has changed his position on medical marijuana use after the president’s onetime choice for surgeon general, Sanjay Gupta, reversed his stance and apologized for misleading the public on the drug’s effects.

“During the daily press briefing, CQ-Roll Call reporter Steve Dennis asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest if the administration had any reaction to Gupta’s Aug. 9 column, ‘Why I changed my mind on weed,’ in which Gupta explores the discrepancy between the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug and scientific research demonstrating its benefits. Gupta, who serves as CNN’s chief medical expert, not only apologized for dismissing the evidence from medical marijuana patients, but said he had concluded that marijuana has a low potential for abuse and ‘very legitimate medical applications.’

“Dennis also asked if Obama had personally been looking at the issue, given that national polls show rising support for marijuana legalization since he took office. Earnest ducked the question, responding, ‘I have to confess I did not see the Sanjay Gupta column you’re referring to, so it’s hard for me to comment at this point.’

“The Obama administration has cracked down hard on medical marijuana, even in states that have legalized its use. A recent report found that this administration spent nearly $300 million on medical marijuana intervention through lawsuits, indictments and asset forfeiture attempts by the Justice Department. Over the past few years, the Internal Revenue Service has also targeted medical marijuana dispensaries, forcing many of them to the brink of closure, and largely ignoring the fact that many such businesses were in compliance with state laws.

“But as the White House continues to wage war on pot, public opinion has shifted in the opposite direction. A HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted in April found that 51 percent of Americans said marijuana should be ‘legalized, taxed and regulated like alcohol.’ An earlier Pew Research Center survey also found majority support among Americans for marijuana legalization.

“‘It’s baffling that the White House still seems so afraid to embrace this issue, particularly for an administration headed by a former marijuana enthusiast who repeatedly pledged during the 2008 campaign to put a stop to federal raids on state-legal providers,’ Tom Angell, co-founder of the pro-legalization website Marijuana Majority, told The Huffington Post in a statement. ‘Polls show that legalizing marijuana is a mainstream issue and that a super-majority of voters wants the feds to let states implement their own marijuana laws without harassment. There’s almost no one clamoring for a continued federal crackdown, so I can’t imagine why the president hasn’t put a stop to it yet.’

“Obama has previously shown significant confidence in Gupta’s medical expertise: As many observers recalled, the president reportedly offered him the post of surgeon general in 2009. Gupta then withdrew his name from consideration, citing his reluctance to give up his medical practice and be away from his family.”

Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

The Washington Post wrote on August 21:

“A military judge on Wednesday morning sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks… [The prosecution had asked for 60 years in prison, while the maximum sentence would have been 90 years in prison.] Manning is required to serve one-third of the sentence, minus three and half years of time served, before he is eligible for parole. That will be in eight years when he is 33… Manning was dishonorably discharged. He was also reduced in rank and forfeits all pay…

“The decision was immediately condemned by the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system,’ said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project…

“Manning’s lawyers said he had become disillusioned by what he was seeing in Iraq and hoped that the public release of the secret material would prompt greater public understanding of the wars…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 21:

“Activist groups Amnesty International and the Bradley Manning Support Network have announced an online petition asking President Barack Obama to pardon Manning. He has also been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize and a number of other awards.”

The Huffington Post wrote on August 21:

“Yochai Benkler, a Harvard professor who has studied WikiLeaks and testified in Manning’s defense [said:] ‘Basically the decision has done more damage to the American Constitutional order than all of the disclosures put together did to any other kind of American interest.’…

“‘Bradley Manning acted on the belief that he could spark a meaningful public debate on the costs of war, and specifically on the conduct of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy at Amnesty International, said in a statement. ‘The US government should turn its attention to investigating and delivering justice for the serious human rights abuses committed by its officials in the name of countering terror.’

“The sentencing phase of Manning’s trial revealed that contrary to the claims of pundits and politicians, Manning had no blood on his hands —  the Departments of Defense and State were unable to tie his releases to the deaths of any U.S. informants… [The judge] acquitted Manning of aiding the enemy but gave little explanation as to why…

“UN special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez found after a 14-month investigation that Manning’s treatment at Quantico was cruel, inhuman, and degrading. [The Judge] said the conditions had been ‘excessive’ in relation to the government’s legitimate interest in holding Manning. She granted the soldier an additional 112 days credit for enduring those conditions, which will also be applied to shorten his sentence…

“Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel and advocate in Human Rights Watch’s U.S. Program, told HuffPost that the massive investigation involving hundreds of State and Defense Department employees into Manning’s leaks stood in stark contrast to the government’s unwillingness to prosecute those involved in torture and abuse at places like Abu Ghraib. ‘It’s hard to look at the aggressive prosecution of someone so young, who is clearly troubled, and probably did have a fair bit of concern about the public interest … and compare that to people who authorized a regime of torture and abuse and will remain free,’ Prasow said.”

The Incredible Scope of US Government Spying Activities on Its Citizens

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 16:

“Spy on US citizens? We don’t do that, the American government claimed. But new NSA documents published by the Washington Post show that the intelligence service violates the law in thousands of instances. Analysts with the agency are free to pick targets as they choose. With each new publication of documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the scope of the United States’ spying system becomes ever clearer. And each piece of the puzzle reveals yet more lies and half-truths that those who are supposed to be providing oversight for the NSA have used to defend the practices…”

CNet added on August 16:

“The National Security Agency exceeded its legal authority and broke agency rules thousands of times since it was granted broader powers in 2008… Most violations involved unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the U.S…. infractions ranging from serious legal violations to typographical errors that resulted in unintended data collection…”

America’s reputation as a country of freedom and liberty is suffering tremendously because of the appalling revelations of improper spying conduct and the government’s disproportionate prosecution of whistleblowers, while refusing to prosecute those guilty of torture and abuse.

Britain’s Newest Scandal

The Huffington Post wrote on August 20:

“British prime minister David Cameron was placed at the center of the controversy surrounding his government’s actions towards the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, as it was revealed that he was informed about the imminent detention of David Miranda… and that he approved the decision to try to force the paper to hand over materials given to it by NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

“Downing Street told the media that Cameron was personally ‘kept abreast in the usual way’ about Miranda’s detention at Heathrow airport. Miranda, who was traveling from Berlin to Brazil, was held for nine hours and quizzed aggressively about Greenwald’s work. His electronic equipment was confiscated. On Tuesday, lawyers for Miranda said they were set to take legal action against the British government over the detention.”

Reuters wrote on August 21:

“Two of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s most senior aides pressed the Guardian newspaper to hand over or destroy intelligence secrets leaked by Edward Snowden, political sources said on Wednesday. News that Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood and National Security Adviser Kim Darroch were involved drags Cameron into a storm over Britain’s response to coverage of leaks from the fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor – a response that left even its U.S. ally talking of the importance of media freedom.”

The Guardian wrote on August 20:

“The Metropolitan police had no legal basis to detain David Miranda under the Terrorism Act 2000, Tony Blair’s former lord chancellor has claimed. Lord Falconer of Thoroton, who helped introduce the bill in the House of Lords, said that the act makes clear that police can only detain someone to assess whether they are involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism… The peer, who served as solicitor general from 1997-98 and as lord chancellor from 2003-07, was highly critical of the home secretary, Theresa May, who praised the police action at Heathrow on the grounds that the partner of the Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald possessed sensitive documents which could help terrorists and ‘lead to a loss of lives’. May also said that police had acted within the law…”

In an accompanying article of August 20, the Guardian wrote:

“Two great forces are now in fierce but unresolved contention. The material revealed by Edward Snowden through the Guardian and the Washington Post… indicates not just that the modern state is gathering, storing and processing for its own ends electronic communication from around the world; far more serious, it reveals that this power has so corrupted those wielding it as to put them beyond effective democratic control. It was not the scope of NSA surveillance that led to Snowden’s defection. It was hearing his boss lie to Congress about it for hours on end…

“But it remains worrying that many otherwise liberal-minded Britons seem reluctant to take seriously the abuses revealed in the nature and growth of state surveillance. The arrogance of this abuse is now widespread…

“I hesitate to draw parallels with history, but I wonder how those now running the surveillance state – and their appeasers – would have behaved under the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. We hear today so many phrases we have heard before. The innocent have nothing to fear. Our critics merely comfort the enemy. You cannot be too safe. Loyalty is all. As one official said in wielding his legal stick over the Guardian: ‘You have had your debate. There’s no need to write any more.’”

Germany Condemns British Action

The Local wrote on August 21:

“Markus Löning, the human rights chief at Germany’s foreign ministry, said on Wednesday the British government had crossed ‘the red line’ and had their actions… left him ‘truly appalled’. He expressed ‘great concern’ about media freedom in Britain after the Guardian said it was forced to destroy files linked to US surveillance practices or face a court battle.

“Löning also slammed the detention and questioning at a London airport on Sunday of the partner of US journalist Glenn Greenwald who has written extensively about Snowden’s revelations for the Guardian. ‘The United Kingdom has a long and proud tradition of freedom but the way the authorities detained David Miranda at Heathrow airport I see as unacceptable,’ he told the newspaper Berliner Zeitung. ‘That took place on the basis of an anti-terror law but I cannot see any connection to terrorism…’

“The detention of Miranda and treatment of the Guardian by the British government has also been met with horror by the German press with newspapers running editorials expressing their dismay at the action. And Sigmar Gabriel, chairman of Germany’s biggest opposition party, the SPD, said that the European Union could intervene. He told newspaper Kölner Stadt Anzeiger that Britain should think about the consequences of its action… Gabriel added: ‘Eroding freedom and fundamental rights under the guise of fighting terrorism can’t be allowed to happen in Europe.’”

Der Spiegel Online commented on August 20:

“The abuses against The Guardian prove that the British government has lost all restraint in its fight against terrorism… It’s astonishing to see how many Britons blindly and uncritically trust the work of their intelligence service.”

Indeed, Ephraim—partially describing the modern UK—is like a cake unturned and a silly dove, without sense… and it does not even know it (Hosea 7:8-11).

Pope Benedict Explains Why He Resigned

The Guardian wrote on August 21:

“The former pope Benedict has claimed that his resignation in February was prompted by God, who told him to do it during a ‘mystical experience’. Breaking his silence for the first time since he became the first pope to step down in 600 years, the 86-year-old reportedly said: ‘God told me to’ when asked what had pushed him to retire to a secluded residence in the Vatican gardens.

“Benedict denied he had been visited by an apparition or had heard God’s voice, but said he had undergone a ‘mystical experience’ during which God had inspired in him an ‘absolute desire’ to dedicate his life to prayer rather than push on as pope… Benedict said his mystical experience had lasted months, building his desire to create a direct and exclusive relationship with God. Now, after witnessing the ‘charisma’ of his successor, Pope Francis, Benedict said he understood to a greater extent how his stepping aside was the ‘will of God’.

“Benedict’s reported remarks contrast with the explanation he gave to cardinals when he announced his resignation on 11 February. ‘My strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,’ he said then… Speculation also grew that he was depressed after his trusted butler, Paolo Gabriele, was caught leaking his personal correspondence. Italian press reports have recently claimed he was frustrated by a network of influence built up at the Vatican by a pro-gay lobby of prelates.”

Radioactive Water Leaks at Nuclear Plant in Fukushima

AFP wrote on August 21:

“Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday upgraded its evaluation of a radioactive water leak at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima to a level three ‘serious incident.’ The assessment, on an international scale of zero to seven with seven being the worst, came after operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said some 300 tonnes of radioactive water was believed to have leaked from a tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the worst such leak since the crisis began.”

BBC News added to explain:

“Events are classified at seven levels: Levels 1-3 are ‘incidents’ and Levels 4-7 ‘accidents’. In order, the levels are classified as: anomaly; incident; serious incident; accident with local consequences; accident with wider consequences; serious accident; major accident. To date, two incidents have been classified as level 7 – Chernobyl and Fukushima. The severity of an event is about 10 times greater for each increase in level on the scale.”

Terrible Flooding in China, Russia and the Philippines

Deutsche Welle reported on August 19:

“Flooding is continuing to cause death and destruction in parts of China, Russia and the Philippines. Thousands of people have been forced to flee or have been evacuated by rescue workers. More than 70 people have been killed and 100 others are missing after China was hit by the worst flooding in more than a decade, the government said on Monday. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported that around 360,000 people had been evacuated over the weekend.

“In the far east of Russia, more than 17,000 people have been evacuated and the authorities have declared a state of disaster in the hardest-hit regions of Amur and Khabarovsk… In the Philippines, torrential rains brought the capital, Manila, to a standstill on Monday, with flooding forcing schools, offices and the stock exchange to close.”

Dolphins Die in Alarming Numbers

The website of npr wrote on August 17:

“Dead dolphins have been washing up in alarming numbers on mid-Atlantic beaches since July as scientists struggle to find a cause for the largest such die-off in a quarter-century. More than 160 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have turned up dead from New York to Virginia, says Charley Potter, a marine mammal collection manager…

“While no definitive cause for the dolphin deaths has been determined, Potter says one possibility is the morbillivirus, a member of the same family of virus that causes measles and canine distemper. Morbillivirus was pinpointed as a cause in a 1987 dolphin die-off that killed some 2,500 animals… Scientists must now determine ‘whether or not the [morbillivirus] infection is something that’s always been there and that we’re picking it up because of increased surveillance, or in fact it’s the smoking gun,’ he says…”

America’s and Europe’s Serious “Concerns” About Israel

On August 12, dpa wrote the following:

“The United States on Monday said it has ‘serious concerns’ about Israel’s approval of more than 1,000 new homes in Palestinian areas ahead of the launch of new peace negotiations. ‘We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity,’ State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.”

Netanyahu Challenges Europe

The Times of Israel wrote on August 12:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the European Union’s new anti-settlement directives Monday in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who was on an official visit to Israel…. ‘I have to say, on a sad note, that I think Europe — the European guidelines by the EU — have actually undermined peace.’…

“The day before, President Shimon Peres met with the German foreign minister and called on the EU to halt the implementation of the measures, saying that when the future borders are determined between Israel and a Palestinian state, the issue of settlements will be solved… Earlier Sunday, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said the borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state will be determined by the two sides, and not by the European Union.”

Israel Facing Total Isolation

Bloomberg wrote on August 12:

“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace mission to the Middle East is semi-quixotic, if not wholly quixotic. I doubt he’ll reach his goal of negotiating a final-status agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The two sides haven’t even agreed yet to the topics they’ll discuss in negotiations…

“There are some early signs that Netanyahu is realizing the price his country may one day pay for its settlements, in particular those near Palestinian population centers. He met recently with some of Israel’s leading manufacturers, who expressed their worry that their products may one day be boycotted in Europe, a worry he shares. Kerry, capitalizing on this anxiety, has warned Netanyahu in recent weeks that if the current peace talks bear no fruit, Israel may soon be facing an international delegitimization campaign — in his words – ‘on steroids’…

“Kerry thinks the one thing Netanyahu fears as much as Iran’s nuclear program is the growing power of the international movement that seeks to isolate, scapegoat and demonize his country…

“Although Netanyahu is worried that the campaign to make Israel appear to be an illegitimate state could hurt the country’s robust economy, he is said to be even more worried that this campaign will erode Israel’s ability to defend itself. The theory is simple: A country seen as illegitimate, not only by the powerful Arab lobby at the United Nations but also by Western powers, will have little standing if it is forced to retaliate against sustained attacks from groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which remain committed to Israel’s extermination. Netanyahu thinks that the campaign to delegitimize Israel could force Western powers to rein in Israel, or at the very least, rush to condemn it before it has the chance to defend itself.

“Netanyahu’s two fears are related. Israel will find it increasingly difficult to one day act against the Iranian nuclear program if it is hobbled by the hostility of the international community…

“So, when the European Union recently issued guidelines that will restrict its members from (among other things) funding research conducted on the far side of Israel’s 1967 borders, these politicians decided, in their wisdom, that Israel should engage in a partial boycott of the EU. They’re demanding that Israel withdraw from a lucrative EU-sponsored research-funding program to protest the settlement exclusion guidelines.

“Netanyahu also finds the new EU guidelines reprehensible (and they are, in fact, highly problematic, potentially placing settlers in the far-flung Jewish colonies of the West Bank in the same category as Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City). But he understands that he can’t win a fight with the entire EU if it decides to enact a partial boycott of his country… Threats directed at Israel from Europe, the continent whose cruelty and hatred helped create a need for a Jewish national refuge in the first place, may… bolster Israel’s far-right…”

Israel will end up in total isolation. The USA or the UK won’t be able to help it, and continental Europe will ultimately invade the country, as the Bible clearly predicts.

Glenn Beck and the Lost Tribes of Israel

In a recent TV program, widely-known moderator Glenn Beck stated his belief that the United States of America and Great Britain are among the descendants of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel. A pertinent portion of the program can be watched on YouTube. A longer version can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVkKFcl3fOU . In the program, Beck also pointed out that the ancient Assyrians settled in Western Europe, including Germany.

Glenn Beck is right on these points. For more information, please read our free booklets, Germany in Prophecy; Europe in Prophecy; and the Fall and Rise of Britain and America.

Iran’s True Intensions

The Washington Times wrote on August 13:

“Newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has picked his defense minister [Hossein Dehghan. In 1982], after Israel invaded Lebanon, sparking a decade-long civil war, Mr. Dehghan was sent to Lebanon to help establish a military wing for Hezb’Allah, the Iranian-backed Shi’ite political movement.

“The following year he was appointed the commander of IGRC forces in Lebanon. Shortly afterwards, the IGRC received orders from Tehran to attack multinational peacekeeping forces in Beirut. On October 25, 1983, a Shi’ite suicide attacker detonated a truck bomb at the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241; simultaneously, another suicide bomber blew up the French paratroopers’ barracks in Beirut, killing 58 soldiers… The order to carry out the attacks was transmitted, and the funding and operational training provided, with the help of the Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon under the command of Hossein Dehghan…”

Turmoil in Egypt… Again

The Associated Press reported on August 14:

“In Egypt’s bloodiest day since the Arab Spring began, riot police Wednesday smashed two protest camps of supporters of the deposed Islamist president, touching off street violence that officials said killed nearly 300 people and forced the military-backed interim leaders to impose a state of emergency and curfew.

“The crackdown drew widespread condemnation from the Muslim world and the West… and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei resigned as the interim vice president in protest – a blow to the new leadership’s credibility with the pro-reform movement.”

Der Spiegel Online added on August 14:

“Horribly battered corpses lie in the streets, and there are more than 1,000 injured. The government sought to bring calm to Cairo by clearing the Morsi camps, but now the entire country is under a state of emergency. Residents fear a ‘war between two Egypts.’”

We warned that this would happen. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”  

Irreconcilable Differences

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on August 15:

“The three most important institutions that ensured the country’s cohesion and stayed out of politics — the military, the Islamic Al Azhar University and the Coptic Church — were parties in the putsch this time. Morsi’s supporters are now disputing their integrity and view these institutions as political enemies. The basis for possible consensus in Egypt has collapsed.”

Handelsblatt wrote on August 15:

“The bloodbath on the Nile … is a scandal. A scandal for the country, but also a scandal for international diplomacy… But warnings or expressions of concern are insufficient because what is beginning in Egypt is a serious drama — a vicious cycle of lasting violence.”

Even though news commentators are saying now that nobody could have foreseen these recent developments, we did warn from the outset that this would happen. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.” 

America’s Failed Diplomacy

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on August 14:

“Since the military coup that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi from the Egyptian presidency on July 3, the Obama administration has bent over backwards not to call it a ‘coup.’ The reasoning behind this decision was that Egypt’s military is the most powerful force in the country and that alienating and punishing them for their action would both undercut US influence and create the conditions for a broad military crackdown…

“So while principled talk about ‘democracy’ and getting militaries out of politics is one thing, the world of realpolitik is something else. While emissaries from Obama danced around the ‘coup’ question, the US government refused to announce a cut off in the Egyptian military’s $1.3 billion annual subsidy, and continually urged restraint and reconciliation. These decisions led to odd rhetorical constructions from the US government, as when State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki was pressed last week on whether the Obama administration thought Egypt’s military had carried out a coup. ‘We have determined that we do not need to make a determination,’ she said.

“Today, the military… delivered the military’s own determination: We’re going ahead and doing it our way. This morning Obama White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said that the US is opposed to the state of emergency declared by Egypt’s military, which gives it sweeping powers, much as a state of emergency after the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981 formed the backbone of the military-backed Mubarak dictatorship that prevailed until 2011. Mr. Earnest said the US believes today’s actions will make achieving ‘stability’ more difficult. He also said that the US is not ready to determine whether Egypt has had a military coup. He said Egypt’s interim rulers have promised a swift creation of a democracy and ‘it’s a promise we’re going to encourage them to keep’…

“A cycle of violence, with the military calling the shots, is all but assured for the foreseeable future. Elections, let alone free and fair ones, this year? Not likely to happen. Forming a national consensus on a revised constitution any time soon? Also hard to imagine…

“It’s a truism that you can’t please everybody. But in the case of Egypt, the US has pleased precisely no one. And the Arab world’s most populous country is heading into a period of turmoil likely to dwarf the troubles of the past few years.”

The New York Times added on August 14:

“Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday condemned the Egyptian military’s crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters… Mr. Kerry, who was speaking on behalf of a vacationing President Obama, did not disclose any specific American response to the crackdown and left without taking questions from reporters. For Mr. Obama, who was wrapping up a round of golf on Martha’s Vineyard as Mr. Kerry stepped before the cameras, the upheaval in Egypt put him in an awkward but familiar place: on vacation, confronting a wave of bloodshed in the Middle East…

“A spokesman, Josh Earnest, said Mr. Obama had been briefed Wednesday morning on the situation… He said, however, that the administration did not plan to shift its policy, which is to keep open lines of communication to Egypt’s generals and maintain the flow of American military aid. Mr. Earnest declined to label the military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi a coup, a designation that could prompt a cutoff of $1.5 billion a year in aid…

“The United States has walked a fine line in dealing with the Egyptian military… ‘The outcome of the current Egyptian crisis will determine how America is seen in the Muslim world for years,’ said Bruce O. Riedel, a former intelligence officer and adviser to the administration who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. ‘If it looks like the U.S. effectively colluded in a counterrevolution, then all the talk about democracy and Islam, about a new American relationship with the Islamic world, will be judged to have been the height of hypocrisy,’ Mr. Riedel said. However horrifying the images from Cairo, analysts said, the president faces the same conundrum he has had since early 2011, when President Hosni Mubarak was forced out in a mass uprising: the United States, even with its aid, has little leverage over events there…”

In other words, who cares what America says and does…? And America’s ill-conceived actions and lack thereof make matters only worse…

America’s Middle East Policy—a Lot of Empty Words

The Washington Post wrote on August 15:

“Put it this way: President Obama’s Egypt policy is about as effective as his Syria policy. And for the first time Wednesday, with the number of dead and injured mounting, one could almost envision Egypt’s descent into out-and-out civil war.

“Obama was briefed, said nothing and went back to golf. Secretary of State John Kerry took a break from his fruitless obsession with the nonexistent ‘peace process’ to condemn the violence, but took no questions and had no policy announcement. This, in a nutshell, is the White House’s approach to the Middle East — the absence of any policy and a lot of empty words.

“Sam Tadros, a Egyptian expert at the Hudson Institute who is also affiliated with the Hoover Institution, is not optimistic… The question now is what can be done and what role the United States should play. Tadros is blunt: ‘As to outside powers, I am afraid it is too late now…’

“In a sense, then, Obama might as well play golf. He’s dropped the ball on Egypt and the entire region, leaving the United States with few options and the Egyptian people to a bloody future in the short run and a repressive authoritarian junta in the longer run. This is a policy failure of the highest order.

“Isolationists on the right and left argue that the United States has no interest in places like Egypt. But without U.S. leadership, what follows in places such as Egypt and Syria is a humanitarian and geopolitical nightmare that doesn’t stay within one country’s borders. Syria, Iran and Hezbollah must be gleeful to see the United States so weakened and insignificant.”

It would not be fair to just blame the military for the violence. The Muslim Brotherhood is clearly provoking and committing violence as well, as they did from the outset. Both sides are to blame. Of course, in this world of Satanic violence and a total lack of worship of the TRUE and ONLY God, there are NO solutions. It will take the return of Jesus Christ to bring peace and end the violence.

On a “Working Vacation…”

NBC News reported on August 15:

“President Barack Obama strongly condemned  Egypt’s interim government Thursday, saying the United States was canceling a planned joint military operation in protest over violent clashes that left at least 525 dead.

“He also called on Egypt’s army-backed interim government, which took power after the July 3 ouster of elected president Mohammed Morsi, to cancel the month-long state of emergency it imposed after Wednesday’s bloodshed. ‘The cycle of violence needs to stop,’ he said in Martha’s Vineyard where he is on a working vacation.”

On August 15, the Huffington Post reported Obama’s condemnation with the following headline:

“’We strongly condemn attacks’… that we are paying for.”

Der Spiegel Attacks Obama

The Local wrote on August 15:

“The German government summoned the Egyptian ambassador on Thursday morning over the deadly crackdown on protest camps of supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi…. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said: ‘On the orders of Foreign Minister [Guido] Westerwelle, the ambassador was told the position of the German government in no uncertain terms.’… In the face of rising violence, magazine Der Spiegel attacked Barack Obama accusing him of being ‘powerless’ to stop the fighting and failing to take a clear position on the conflict. The US government provides $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt’s military.”

Obama Administration Complicit in Egypt’s Bloodshed

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post wrote on August 14:

“Before the July 3 coup in Egypt, the Obama administration privately warned the armed forces against ousting the government of Mohamed Morsi, pointing to U.S. legislation that requires the cutoff of aid to any country where the army plays a ‘decisive role’ in removing an elected government. Yet when the generals ignored the U.S. warnings, the White House responded by electing to disregard the law itself. After a prolonged and embarrassing delay, the State Department announced that it had chosen not to determine whether a coup had taken place, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry declared that Egypt’s military was ‘restoring democracy.’

“Because of those decisions, the Obama administration is complicit in the new and horrifyingly bloody crackdown… The military’s disregard for these appeals [by the Obama Administration] was logical and predictable: Washington had already demonstrated that its warnings were not credible…

“This refusal to take a firm stand… is as self-defeating for the United States as it is unconscionable. Continued U.S. support for the Egyptian military is helping to push the country toward a new dictatorship rather than a restored democracy…”

Relationship between USA and Russia Deteriorating Further

BBC News wrote on August 8:

“Several analysts in Russian newspapers see the decision by US President Barack Obama to cancel his visit to Moscow next month as a sign that ties between the White House and the Kremlin are set to deteriorate further. Some say that Russia’s decision to grant temporary asylum to the fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden is the reason for the crisis in bilateral relations. Others, however, point to stalled negotiations on nuclear arms reduction and the lack of progress on other important issues for the past several years. According to one commentator, problems between Washington and Moscow have now become ‘strategic and long-term’, while another writes that the US has ‘struck Russia off its priority list’’’.

The paper then quoted the following excerpts from several Russian commentaries:

“After President Obama publicly said that the issue of Snowden’s extradition was extremely important and fundamental, it became impossible to reduce the scale of this problem between Russia and the USA. Figuratively speaking, the head of the White House has climbed up a high fence from which he can no longer jump down… The meeting (with Russian President Vladimir Putin) would have been meaningless anyway, as no progress has been achieved on any issue (in bilateral relations)… Even in 2008, during the war with Georgia, there were problems in (US-Russian) relations. Now these problems have become strategic and of a long-term character…”

Lavabit Website Shuts Down—Is the Handwriting on the Wall—and Has America Been Found Wanting…?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 9:

“The latest casualty of the American government’s online surveillance program seems to be Lavabit, the email service supposedly used by Edward Snowden to protect himself against National Security Agency (NSA) snooping. In a dramatic letter posted on Lavabit’s website Thursday, Ladar Levison, the company’s owner and operator, announced that he had decided to shutter the site rather than become ‘complicit in crimes against the American people.’

“Although it didn’t include any mention of the NSA, Edward Snowden or government surveillance, the letter seems to refer to a court order asking for cooperation in the US government spy programs: ‘I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on — the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.’…

“At Wired, Kevin Poulsen speculated that Levison had been served with either a National Security Letter (which comes with a gag order) or a ‘full-blown search or eavesdropping warrant.’ If this is the case, it marks the first time that an American company has chosen to shut down instead of cooperating with such a request from the American government. In the wake of Lavabit’s announcement, another American online company, Silent Circle, shut down its encrypted email service because, according to a blog post, it sees ‘the writing on the wall.’…

“Levison announced in his letter that he is ‘preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ — he has created a Legal Defense Fund for this purpose — and that, if possible, he will re-form his service as an American company. But he ends his letter on a grim note that would likely have sounded paranoid a few months ago: ‘I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.’”

If all of this is correct, then we must ask whether we are facing the danger of dictatorial intimidating dictatorship in the United States… We have warned for years that our individual liberties and freedoms are gradually being eroded and chopped away….

The Media Abrogated Their Duty

The Huffington Post wrote on August 13:

“The New York Times secured an interview with Edward Snowden for the first time since he ousted himself as the leaker of NSA documents in June. The brief Q-and-A appeared Tuesday alongside a lengthy profile of Laura Poitras, the filmmaker who, along with Glenn Greenwald, has been the journalist most at the center of the Snowden saga. Both pieces were written by reporter Peter Maas.

“In one portion of the interview, Snowden talked about why he turned to Poitras and Greenwald, instead of the Times or the Washington Post: ‘After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism. From a business perspective, this was the obvious strategy, but what benefited the institutions ended up costing the public dearly. The major outlets are still only beginning to recover from this cold period.’”

This assessment seems to be absolutely correct.

President Obama’s Attempts to Deal with Fallout from US Spying Activities “Destined to Fail”

Business Insider wrote on August 13:

“In the wake of seemingly endless leaks from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, President Obama’s attempt to manage the political fallout seems destined to fail. On Friday, Obama announced that he would form a ‘high-level group of outside experts’ to review intelligence and communications technologies. This group, Obama said, would be ‘independent’ — able to step back freely — to review surveillance technologies and ‘consider how we can maintain trust of the people.’

“It only took the weekend for much of any trust in that group to fade. On Monday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed that yes, the review group would happen. He also confirmed that, yes, he would be establishing it. This is the same James Clapper who gave false information to Congress when asked whether the NSA was collecting data on Americans. He later apologized.

“Perhaps most interesting in Clapper’s statement on Monday is the absence of wording used on Friday: independent, and outside. In an expanded statement, the White House said the group would present their interim findings to his office, and the final report would go ‘through the Director of National Intelligence.’ ‘In practice — not theory — Clapper gets to chop the draft of the interim and final reports, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would — again, in practice — assist in selecting the members of the review group,’ Robert Caruso, a former assistant command security manager in the Navy and consultant, said in an email.

“This arrangement is sure to arouse suspicions, with many Americans showing distrust after leaks of previously unknown spying programs. Even Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a veteran politician and national security hawk, admitted as much to Fox News Sunday… ‘Young Americans do not trust this government,’ McCain said…”

There can be no doubt that due to the American government’s questionable and controversial conduct, trust of many American citizens in their government has been eroded and destroyed… And without trusted and trustworthy leadership, a country is doomed to fall…

Germany Spying and Being Spied On…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 12:

“German intelligence services cooperate closely with the NSA, but the country is also a target of US surveillance, as a document seen by SPIEGEL makes clear. The spy software XKeyscore is operated from a facility in Hesse, with some of the results landing on President Obama’s desk… Lawmakers in the German parliament, the Bundestag, have… expressed an interest in the group of buildings near Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt. The campus houses one of the most important European branches of the National Security Agency (NSA)…

“Germany is a special place for the NSA, in many respects. Few other countries are the source of as much data for US intelligence agencies, much of which comes from the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany’s foreign intelligence agency. At the same time Germany itself, despite all friendly assurances to the contrary, is also a target of the surveillance. According to a ‘secret’ summary among the documents obtained by Snowden, which SPIEGEL was able to view, Germany is one of the targets of US espionage activity… the European Union is also one of the targets of American surveillance… Only the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand — referred to as the ‘five eyes,’ together with the United States — are seen as true friends, largely off-limits in terms of espionage, and with which there is an open exchange of information…

“More than six weeks after the scandal began, the German government is still waiting for answers on what exactly the NSA is doing in — and against – Germany… The Americans are hardly likely to admit to the German government what exactly the group in Griesheim is doing and whether the Americans there also have targets in Germany under surveillance. Former NSA Director Michael Hayden told SPIEGEL that ‘the damage for the German-American relationship is huge.’…”

Der Spiegel Online added on August 13:

“Chancellery chief Ronald Pofalla’s appearance before a parliamentary committee on Monday was supposed to pacify public misgivings in the wake of the NSA spying scandal. But his announcement of a German-American no-spying agreement raised far more questions than it answered… The core of Pofalla’s message was simple: The American intelligence agency and its British counterpart adhere to German law and have agreed in writing to do so. Pofalla went on to say that the rights of millions of Germans have not been violated, ostensibly in response to recent criticism by the opposition Social Democrats. The data that the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, has handed over to America’s National Security Agency pertained to reconnaissance abroad and not to German citizens, he assured the panel.

“It was a peculiar sort of political spectacle… Pofalla painted a picture of a harmonious world of German-American intelligence cooperation. And it’s this collaboration, he said, that has prevented terrorist attacks on German and US soldiers in Afghanistan…

“The BND and the NSA have agreed on pursuing a brand-new ‘no-spy pact.’… Yet the establishment of such a no-spying agreement implies that espionage has been allowed up to now, an unwitting confirmation of the information in the documents leaked by Snowden… The no-spying agreement isn’t likely to make the NSA scandal disappear. On the contrary, Berlin will be faced with new questions: What should comprise such a pact? Will it only pertain to the work of foreign intelligence agencies? Or will it address the interests of citizens whose Internet data flow through American servers and can potentially be captured and cached? None of this has been definitively answered, all written assurances to the contrary.

“Pofalla obviously anticipated what new questions might be raised by the envisaged agreement. It was he who carefully said that the US agency would not have made the offer, ‘if their assurance that they would abide by the law were not true.’ This is twisted logic — logic that only Pofalla himself could explain. But an explanation never came. Just like at his last appearance before the committee, the Chancellery chief declined to take any questions. After Item 15, Pofalla exited without a word.”

Pofalla acted as proverbial politicians would act. But it appears that Germany has played a very dubious and hypocritical role in the spying activities. It will have to be seen whether Angela Merkel’s political survival and her victory in the September election are in jeopardy. Until recently, most were convinced that Merkel would win, but the recent revelations could perhaps change all of this. However, it does not appear that her challenger, Peer Steinbrueck, is a very convincing alternative to many Germans, and the fact that his own party had a finger (if not both hands) in the spying pie does not help him either.

Britain and Spain Battle Over Gibraltar

Deutsche Welle reported on August 12:

“Britain is considering taking legal action against Spain over stringent border checks imposed at the border with Gibraltar. It is the latest in an escalating row between the two countries and the disputed territory. Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman said on Monday that tighter checks by Spanish officials at the border of the contested territory are ‘politically motivated and totally disproportionate.’… Also on Monday, several British warships set sail for the Mediterranean in what the defense ministry stresses was a routine exercise. However, one of the ships is set to dock in Gibraltar later this week.

“Last week Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the country would consider introducing a 50 euro ($66) tax to enter or leave Gibraltar… It is the latest in a string of spats going back decades between Spain and Britain over Gibraltar, the territory known as ‘The Rock’. The diplomatic disputes are frequently sparked by disagreements over fishing rights around the British outpost, which Madrid wants to reclaim as its own.

“Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. Britain refuses to do so against the wishes of the territory’s residents. In 1969, Spain closed the frontier crossing with Gibraltar, which is just 6.8 square kilometers in size (2.6 square miles) and home to about 30,000 people. It was fully reopened only in 1985.”

Der Spiegel Online added on August 12:

“Britain is dispatching warships to Gibraltar. The frigate HMS Westminister is due to set sail on Tuesday and three other vessels left on Monday. The British government played down the move as being part of a long-planned military exercise. But Spanish media said the plan for HMS Westminster to stop at Gibraltar was an intimidating move by Britain…

“Madrid argues that Gibraltar doesn’t belong to Europe’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel and that the checks are a legal and proportionate step to prevent money laundering and smuggling of tobacco and other products from Gibraltar… Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported that Madrid is also seeking support from current UN Security Council president Argentina in its dispute with Britain. Both countries have similar complaints about Britain, with government officials in Buenos Aires currently seeking to reclaim the British-controlled Falkland Islands.”

The Washington Times added on August 13:

“Gibraltar, the 2.5-square mile tip of the Iberian Peninsula that juts into the narrow strait between Spain and North Africa, guards the gateway to the Mediterranean.”

The Chicago Tribune wrote on August 12:

“HMS Westminster, a British Royal Navy warship set sail for the territory on Monday as part of an annual Mediterranean military exercise… It evoked the 16th century naval rivalry between the two countries in which the English repelled an attempt by the Spanish Armada to try to invade England in 1588 and the Spanish defeated an English ‘Counter Armada’ the following year.”

The Bible indicates that ultimately, Britain will lose Gibraltar (to Spain) and the Falkland Islands (to Argentina). God said that Britain will be given the “doors of their enemies,” but it would later lose them again. Gibraltar is most certainly such a door—a “narrow strait between Spain and North Africa, guard[ing] the gateway to the Mediterranean,” as one of the articles above points out.

European Recession Likely Over

The Associated Press reported on August 13:

“The recession that’s gripped the eurozone since late 2011 is likely over… economic growth among the 17 countries that use the euro inched up 0.2 percent from April to June compared with the previous quarter.  The increase is slight. But it would end six straight quarters of a debilitating recession — the longest to afflict the single-currency bloc since its creation in 1999.  And it would represent an encouraging sign for other economies… as the eurozone is the world’s biggest trading bloc…

“The strongest economy, Germany, is expected to post quarterly growth of 0.6 percent, thanks to its high-value exporters. Others continue to languish under the burden of austerity policies… ‘While welcome news, much of the return to growth is likely to be driven from Germany, which is likely to be cold comfort to countries like Spain, Italy and Greece buckling under crippling levels of debt and unemployment,’ said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets.

“Few economists think the indebted countries can start producing German-style levels of growth in the coming years. Burdens from expensive public financing and unemployment will likely continue to weigh on their economies.  Yet for many people, even a mild improvement is cause to celebrate, however tentatively, and a suggestion that the darkest days are in the past.”

The Bible shows that continental Europe will recuperate and become the most powerful economic enterprise in the world.

Near Death-Experiences Just Function of the Brain?

The Washington Post wrote on August 12:

“You feel yourself float up and out of your physical body. You glide toward the entrance of a tunnel, and a searing bright light envelopes your field of vision. Rather than an ascent into the afterlife, a new study says these features of a near-death experience may just be a bunch of neurons in your brain going nuts. ‘A lot of people believed that what they saw was heaven,’ said lead researcher and neurologist Jimo Borjigin. ‘Science hadn’t given them a convincing alternative.’

“Scientists from the University of Michigan recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in nine anesthetized rats after inducing cardiac arrest. Within the first 30 seconds after the heart had stopped, all the mammals displayed a surge of brain activity that had features associated with consciousness and visual activation. The burst of electrical activity even exceeded levels during a normal, awake state. In other words, they may have been having the rodent version of a near-death experience’…

“Near-death experiences have been reported by many who have faced death, worldwide and across cultures. About 20 percent of cardiac arrest survivors report visions during clinical death, with features such as a bright light, life playback or an out-of-body feeling…

“When the heart suddenly stops, ongoing blood flow to the brain stops and causes death in a human within minutes. A likely assumption would be that, without a fresh supply of oxygen, any sort of brain activity would go flat. But after the rats went into cardiac arrest, [George] Mashour and his colleagues saw the opposite… [such as] heightened communication among the different parts of the brain, actively seen in an awake state, but often lost during anesthesia. In the rats, this connectivity went above and beyond the levels seen during the awake state — which could possibly explain the hypervivid, ‘realer-than-real’ perceptions reported close to death…”

These discoveries would make a lot of sense, as we know that “near-death” experiences are not real. Nobody’s soul departs at the time of death and goes to heaven. It must also be emphasized, however, that those “experiences” do not occur every time, when a patient has congestive heart failure and is resuscitated.  It should not be ruled out, of course, that some of these “experiences” are demonic delusions, but this could hardly be the explanation for all of them.

Again… California Leading the Nation… Away from the Bible

The Washington Times wrote on August 12:

“California has enacted the first law in the nation that will require public schools to accommodate students based on their self-declared ‘gender identity’ in addition to their biological sex. The law means that biologically female students can use boys’ bathrooms, and biologically male students can join all-girls’ sports teams.

“The law, signed Monday afternoon by California Gov. Jerry Brown and sponsored by California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, is intended to assist transgender children navigate school from kindergarten to 12th grade, as their preferred gender. Major gay-rights groups supported the law, saying it builds on a national movement to end discriminatory practices based on gender identity and gender expression.”

AFP added on August 13:

“Transgender students in California public schools will be able to choose which bathrooms to use and which sex-segregated sports to play, according to new legislation passed. The bill signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown would allow students to be treated as their chosen gender rather than that listed on their official documents… The California Catholic Conference objected to the law… California, the most populous US state, has been at the forefront of a nationwide debate on gay, lesbian and transgender rights.”

Will California become a modern example of the conduct and fate of “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner as these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, [which] are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7)?

Our Liberal Laws, Juries and Judges… Cloned Horses

Reuters reported on August 13:

“A U.S. horse association soon will be required to add cloned horses and their offspring to its prestigious registry, a federal judge in Texas ruled on Monday. The decision could encourage cloning and open the way for the animals to participate in lucrative horse races… A jury last month ruled that the horse association violated anti-monopoly laws by banning cloned animals… No other horse breeding registry allows cloned animals, although the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association allows cloned horses to compete in rodeos…

“The quarter horse association, which has a registry of 751,747 animals, stated in court that it is a private organization and has the right to decide its membership rules… Cloning is the creation of an animal that is an exact genetic copy of another, with the same DNA. A cloned sheep named Dolly produced in Scotland drew international attention when she was shown to the public in 1997. Since then, cloning of agricultural livestock such as cattle and pigs as well as horses and sheep has become more common although it is still a small portion of total livestock production.”

Maybe for now… But where will it all lead? Scientists are toying with the idea of cloning mammoths and perhaps, from certain DNA samples, vicious extinct animals such as aggressive sable-tooth tigers or dinosaurs. And insofar as private organizations are concerned, our liberal legal system does apparently NOT allow them anymore to decide its own membership rules. As we mentioned before, individual liberties and freedoms are becoming more and more targets of governmental manipulation and erosion.

Fires Will Worsen

The Verge wrote on August 12:

“In June, the Black Forest wildfire in Colorado wiped out 500 homes in 48 hours and ultimately took two lives. Yet the catastrophe actually ranked as one of the smaller fires authorities have had to contend with this year. 100,000-acre wildfires have become a yearly occurrence — a worrying development in and of itself — and now NASA is raising warning flags about where things may be headed…

“Last week, NASA released new animations projecting how dry conditions may worsen in the decades ahead, leading to greater risk of fire across the Great Plains and upper Midwest US… NASA says even worse conditions await the Mountain West and other regions where fires already burn. The data is sourced from NASA’s own instruments and extensive knowledge of fire distribution across the planet.”

The Bible prophecies worsening fires for the USA and other countries.

The Difficult American-Russian Relationship

The Associated Press reported on August 7:

“In a rare diplomatic snub, President Barack Obama is canceling plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month. The decision reflects both U.S. anger over Russia’s harboring of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and growing frustration within the Obama administration over what it sees as Moscow’s stubbornness on other key issues, including missile defense and human rights. Obama will still attend the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, but a top White House official said the president had no plans to hold one-on-one talks with Putin while there…

“White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Russia’s decision last week to defy the U.S. and grant Snowden temporary asylum only exacerbated an already troubled relationship. And with few signs that progress would be made during the Moscow summit on other agenda items, Rhodes said the president decided to cancel the talks… Obama’s decision to scrap talks with Putin is likely to deepen the chill in the already frosty relationship between the two leaders. They have frequently found themselves at odds on pressing international issues, most recently in Syria, where the U.S. accuses Putin of helping President Bashar Assad fund a civil war. The U.S. has also been a vocal critic of Russia’s crackdown on Kremlin critics and recently sanctioned 18 Russians for human rights violations.

“For its part, Moscow has accused the U.S. of installing a missile shield in Eastern Europe as a deterrent against Russia… Putin also signed a law last year banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children, a move that was seen as retaliation for the U.S. measure that cleared the way for the human rights sanctions… Even as Obama scraps plans to meet with Putin, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are preparing for meetings in Washington on Friday with their Russian counterparts. Snowden’s status is expected to be a main topic of conversation.

“The lower-level meetings with Russia underscore that the U.S. cannot completely sever ties with the Kremlin. Russian transit routes are critical to the U.S. as it removes troops and equipment from Afghanistan. And despite deep differences over Syria’s future, the White House knows it will almost certainly need some level of Russian cooperation in order to oust Assad. Still, some congressional lawmakers have called for Obama to not only scrub the Moscow summit but also demand that Russia forfeit its right to host the G-20 summit. Others have spoken of boycotting next year’s Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.”

Ultimately, the relationship between Russia and the USA will be completely severed.

How to Deal with Putin?

The Associated Press reported on August 8:

“From the civil war in Syria to missile defense and gay rights, the Obama administration can’t seem to figure out how to deal with Putin… The latest disappointment — Russia’s embrace of a fugitive who leaked US secrets — pushed President Barack Obama to cancel a one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month…

“The two nations are at odds over the civil war [in Syria]. Russia has shielded Syrian President Bashar Assad from international sanctions and provided him weapons, despite an international outcry… Russians have a long-standing beef about the US missile defense system planned for Europe, dating back to the Reagan administration’s disputes with the Soviet Union… Americans object to the way Russian leaders have tried to silence critical voices…

“Russia… expelled the US Agency for International Development, which had promoted democracy and civil societies in Russia for two decades… the US is criticizing Russia for an official crackdown on gay rights. A new Russian law imposes fines and up to 15 days in prison for people accused of spreading ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations’ to minors… And it bans gay pride rallies. Russian officials say the law will be enforced during the 2014 Olympics in the city of Sochi.”

USA Left Snowden No Choice

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 2:

“Edward Snowden has been granted asylum for one year in Russia in a move that threatens to further strain Russian-American relations… In Washington, politicians are outraged… The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Edward Snowden knocked on many doors in recent weeks. There were plenty of expressions of sympathy for the young man who, with his betrayal of secrets, shed light on the scope of American spying programs. But despite all the excitement over the obsessive spying, no one wanted to open the door for Snowden. Now, it is Vladimir Putin of all people who has taken blatant pleasure in playing the role of a champion of freedom of opinion and human rights by letting the American stay in Russia for a year. But it’s also the same Putin who has taken considerable pleasure in taking political opponents out of action with flimsy charges…’

“The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, the largest newspaper in the populous Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia, writes: ‘Snowden is out of the intermediate world of the Moscow airport and has now entered Russia. Russia of all places, a country that is anything but a flawless democracy. A country in which a former intelligence agent rules the country with an iron fist. But to blame the whistleblower for all this would either be malicious or naïve. Snowden had no other choice. Go back to the States? The fate of WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning shows what happens to people there who uncover government misconduct. Not a single country that could claim to be democratically flawless offered Snowden asylum.’

“In an editorial, WDR Radio, one of Germany’s largest public broadcasters, states: ‘Rarely since the end of the Cold War have relations between Moscow and Washington been as frosty as they are right now. A considerable amount of that is attributable to President Barack Obama’s manic attempt to persuade Putin to extradite NSA expert and whistleblower Snowden… The US president has made petty revenge a leading principle of his policies. Obama wanted Snowden to be extradited at any cost. Obama didn’t hesitate in having his attorney general write a letter to Moscow with logic as follows: We Americans are even willing to forego our classic instruments of torture and the death penalty if you, the Russians, just extradite Snowden to us.

“‘The letter couldn’t have been more telling in terms of Obama’s position towards unwelcome whistleblowers and possible betrayers of secrets. To expose himself to an ice cold Machiavelli like Putin with such a laughable position of self-revelation like that speaks volumes about the way in which Obama conducts foreign policy beyond his brilliant speeches. If the US president now also commits the error of playing the role of the offended prima donna and not appearing at the G-20 summit in September, then we can forget about relations between Washington and Moscow altogether…’”

Manning’s Sentencing a “Stain” on Obama’s Legacy and America’s Global Reputation

The Washington Times wrote on August 7:

“A military judge on Tuesday scaled back the maximum time that Bradley Manning could serve behind bars, from 136 years to 90 years, after ruling that many of his charges were related enough to be combined… The cut doesn’t mean Manning will get out any time soon… The 25-year-old will more than likely spend the remainder of his life behind bars at one of the nation’s most notoriously tough prisons, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 5:

“By using the Espionage Act to punish Bradley Manning, the Obama administration has shown how far it will go to intimidate leakers. His sentencing is a stain on the president’s legacy and on America’s global reputation. It was never an issue whether Bradley Manning violated US law. Manning pleaded guilty to 10 charges at the beginning of his military trial. The maximum sentence for those charges was 20 years in prison — an intolerable sentence, but unlikely to be the extent of his punishment.

“… Prosecutors have brought in the big guns — and invoked the Espionage Act, which was passed in 1917 in reaction to fears of German spies and saboteurs. It is political despotism to use this act in a trial that has to do with neither espionage nor sabotage. It means the defense can no longer argue that the defendant harmed no one, that he acted in the public interest. It deprives Manning of the only basis to justify his actions and the opportunity to avoid a guilty verdict.

“This is why the appropriate reaction to this verdict would be to reverse it. It would be overzealous, both from a legal and political standpoint, to pass judgment on Manning as a warning to other possible politically motivated offenders. The 25-year-old soldier, a man who is unconvincing as a heroic figure and burdened with complexes, is the most recent casualty in a hysterically prolonged ‘war on terror.’

“The Manning trial isn’t the first instance in which the United States under President Barack Obama has demonstrated its willingness to do everything it takes to prevent the spread of unwelcome truths. Former President Richard Nixon tried to use the Espionage Act to put the leaker of the Pentagon Papers — about the planning of the Vietnam War — behind bars. With a guilty verdict against Manning, Obama has now prevailed where Nixon failed.

“This injustice… will define Obama’s presidency in the long term… The reputation of the United States is at stake, along with its credibility as a country where freedom also means confrontation with the truth… Leaks are necessary for the fight against abuses of power. Manning’s leaks uncovered war crimes, albeit ones that have remained unpunished. His leaks revealed, at an early juncture, the disorientation of the US’s Afghanistan operations. And the cables from US embassies, far from being high-level gossip, showed how eagerly those in power deceived their own people.

“Obama must pardon Manning so that more whistleblowers do not find themselves compelled to seek refuge in the even darker realm of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Political lawbreakers like Nixon and Iran-Contra conspirators like former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane were pardoned. After all, there’s honor among thieves. Now it’s also time to pardon someone willing to call a thief a thief.”

It is highly unlikely that President Obama will pardon Manning. This is clearly not part of his agenda or within the interest of his Administration. What we are seeing in the USA is a continuing erosion of individual liberties and freedoms and the build-up of a controlling and somewhat secretive governmental apparatus.

Washington Afraid of Attacks in Yemen

Reuters wrote on August 6:

“The United States told its citizens in Yemen on Tuesday to leave immediately and airlifted out some U.S. government personnel, following warnings of potential attacks that have pushed Washington to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East. The poorest Arab country, Yemen is the base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the most active branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden, and militants have launched attacks from there against the West. U.S. sources have told Reuters that intercepted communication between bin Laden’s successor as al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the Yemen-based wing was one part of the intelligence behind their alert last week.

“Britain, which has already advised for more than two years that its citizens in Yemen should ‘leave now,’ announced it was temporarily evacuating all its embassy staff… The State Department’s announcement urging Americans to leave the country follows a worldwide travel alert on Friday which prompted Washington to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East and Africa. Some of Washington’s European allies have also closed their embassies in Yemen. ‘The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately,’ the statement posted on its website said.”

Controversial American drone attacks in Yemen and the incarceration of over 50 Yemen citizens in Guantanamo Bay have contributed to the creation of a hostile atmosphere in Yemen towards the USA.

Preferential Treatment for Same-Sex Couples

Newsmax reported on August 4:

“Same-sex married partners seeking U.S. travel visas will now be recognized as legal couples under a new rule put forth by Secretary of State John Kerry, the Advocate reports. ‘One of our most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all people,’ Kerry said Friday at the U.S. embassy in London announcing his decision. ‘Now, our history shows that we haven’t always gotten it right,’ but Kerry said the recent Supreme Court decision changing the definition of marriage will change that.

“The change in visa status means preferential treatment for the couples in the application process, reports the Washington Post. It also helps foreign nationals in a same-sex marriage with U.S. citizens to more easily acquire a visa. The announcement comes on the heels of a Homeland Security Department decision by Secretary Janet Napolitano to acknowledge same-sex marriage when awarding green cards.”

This is no longer just equal treatment, but now we are informed that Immigration is willing to grant preferential treatment to same-sex partners.

Berlusconi’s Conviction and the Implications for Italy and Europe

 The EUObserver wrote on August 2:

“An Italian court Thursday (1 August) upheld former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s prison sentence marking the first definitive conviction for the 76-year old politician in over 20 trials spanning almost two decades. The court of cassation, Italy’s highest court and against which Berlusconi cannot appeal, decided after a three-day hearing to uphold a prison term for tax fraud. The original sentence of four years was handed out by two lower courts last year and automatically commuted to one year under a new amnesty law. Due to his age, he is expected to be held under house arrest or do community service. Meanwhile the court said a decision to ban Berlusconi from public office should be re-examined, but it did not reject the ban.

“Berlusconi, four times Italy’s prime minister, faced charges over the years ranging from corruption to having sex with an underage prostitute, but was finally snared by the Italian justice system over deals that his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. He reacted angrily to the ruling…

“The court ruling has been keenly watched in the rest of the eurozone, not only because of the interest in a politician who at times proved as controversial outside Italy as he was inside the country but for the wider implications of the decision. It has the potential to destabilise the three-month old government, which consists of an uneasy coalition between Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL)… analysts remain quietly nervous about Italy, the region’s third largest economy… The current government was formed to try and get the economy back on track with unemployment at 12 percent and national debt at almost 130 percent of GDP, the second highest in the eurozone.”

News reports suggest that Berlusconi’s daughter might become his “successor” in Italian politics.

Germany’s Lucrative Weapon Sales

The Local wrote on August 7:

“German arms exports to Gulf states are set to hit a new record in 2013… In the first six months alone, the country sent over €800 million worth of combat weapons to the troubled region. Germany is sending millions of euros worth of tanks and howitzers to a region where governments have been accused of using force against their own citizens in violent crackdowns against dissent…

“Merkel’s government has come under fire over the past 18 months from domestic critics who question the morality of arming governments with less-than-perfect human rights records during the upheavals of the Arab Spring.”

Europe at Odds With Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on August 7:

“Despite heavy criticism from Israel, the European Union will not cancel, modify or delay the implementation of recently published guidelines that block EU funding from Israeli institutions either located or maintaining any links beyond the Green Line, a top EU official said this week. ‘The guidelines will take effect as they are. This is how they were published [in the EU’s Official Journal], as a legal act, and that’s how it will be,’ Ambassador Andreas Reinicke, the EU’s special representative to the Middle East peace process, told The Times of Israel last week. In certain areas where the guidelines are still unclear, ‘a closer look’ at the details might… have to be taken, he allowed. But their main points will not be changed and will take effect by January 2014 as planned.

“The EU’s directive, published last month, mandates a denial of European funding to, and cooperation with, Israeli institutions based or operating over the Green Line, and a requirement that all future agreements between Israel and the EU include a clause in which Israel accepts the position that all territory over the Green Line does not belong to Israel… In the wake of the new funding guidelines, the Israeli government is currently discussing whether to participate in a multibillion-dollar scientific cooperation program under EU auspices called Horizon 2020…

“Israelis from across right to center-left on the political spectrum protested the EU’s new guidelines… not all European capitals were enthusiastic about the issuance of the funding guidelines. The German government, for instance, distanced itself from the move… But… several EU foreign ministers explicitly welcomed the funding guidelines…”

The relationship between Europe and Israel will become more and more hostile in the not-too-distant future.

Israelis Will Be Hit Hard in Next War

The Los Angeles Times reported on August 8:

“As tensions escalate along Israel’s northern border, a senior military official warned that the next war with Hezbollah would be far more painful for Israeli citizens than any previous experience. ‘What we witnessed in 2006 is the very tip of the iceberg,’ said the official, referring to the 33-day war between Israel and the Lebanese-based Shiite militia Hezbollah. In that case, a third of the country was forced into bomb shelters for a month while rockets rained down on northern Israel…

“In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, nearly 4,000 rockets were fired into Israel, killing more than 40 civilians and causing widespread devastation to property and the economy. Hezbollah is now believed to have 60,000 to 100,000 rockets that boast longer ranges, improved accuracy and larger warheads… Israeli officials fear that as many as 2,000 rockets a day could be released against all parts of Israel… only 60% of Israelis have chemical-weapons protection kits…  Nearly one-third of Israelis don’t have quick access to bomb shelters.”

Japan’s Largest Warship and 68th Anniversary of Hiroshima

CNN wrote on August 6:

“Japan on Tuesday unveiled its largest warship since World War II, an 820-foot-long, 19,500-ton flattop capable of carrying 14 helicopters, according to media reports. The ship, named the Izumo, is classified as a helicopter destroyer, though its flattop design makes it look like an aircraft carrier…

“Tuesday’s launch also came on the 68th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. Upwards of 60,000 people — according to various estimates, about one-fifth of Hiroshima’s population at the time — were killed when a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped the bomb on August 6, 1945. In remembrance ceremonies in Hiroshima on Tuesday, a list of 286,000 atomic bomb victims was presented… In a speech, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the Japanese people to always remind the world about the consequences of nuclear war…”

Zenit added on August 6:

“Cardinal Peter Turkson is in Japan for an initiative marking the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945…He called the atom bomb dropped 68 years ago today on Hiroshima a ‘frightful wound inflicted upon the people of Japan and the whole human family.’… Cardinal Turkson noted the popes’ warnings about the suffering brought by war, and particularly the atom bomb, most recently Pope Francis: ‘The possession of atomic power can cause the destruction of humanity. When man becomes proud, he creates a monster that can get out of hand.’”

This is very true. Sadly, mankind will ignore these warnings, and if Christ were not to intervene to cut short a terrible time of self-destruction, no human being would be saved alive. And even though China is concerned about Japan’s military ambitions, the Bible prophesies that China, Japan, Russia and other Far Eastern countries will form a military union which will be confrontational towards Western powers, especially Europe.

German President Speaks Up

The Local wrote on July 26:

“German President Joachim Gauck said on Friday he had been so deeply troubled by the NSA spying revelations that he had wondered whether it was still safe to send emails and talk openly on the phone. ‘I never thought that the fear that secure communication was no longer possible could ever arise in Germany again,’ he told the paper. But he said this was exactly what had happened in the past weeks. ‘The scandal has really troubled me,’ President Gauck told the Passauer Neue Presse regional newspaper on Friday… The state had a duty to protect citizens from the threat of terrorism, which Gauck conceded means sometimes limiting their freedom in order to keep them safe. But this must always be done with respect for the right to private communication guaranteed in Germany’s constitution, he said…

“It was up to Germany, he said, where strict data protection and privacy rules developed as a bullwark against the abuses of the Stasi and Gestapo secret services, to pass on these lessons to the rest of the world. ‘It could be that the Americans and the Germans have different perceptions of data protection. But we Germans have had to live through abuse of state power with secret services twice in our history,’ said Gauck, who himself came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany. ‘That’s why we’re particularly sensitive on this issue, and that’s something our American friends, among others, are going to have to put up with.’

“The president also subtly sent a message of support to fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose revelations over the past weeks had brought the scandal to light. ‘Whoever brings [information] to the public and acts on grounds of conscience deserves respect,’ he said. In a further rare intervention into politics, Gauck demanded Angela Merkel’s government enter into binding agreements with Germany’s allies to secure these freedoms. ‘We have to make sure that even our allies’ secret services respect the boundaries we find necessary here,’ said the president…”

Understandably, many German are concerned. The position of Governor Christie (see below) would be met with consternation, and views from Libertarians such as Rand Paul or Thomas Mullen (see below) would accurately reflect how most Germans feel.

Unconcerned… Esoteric or Reckless?

Breitbart wrote on July 26:

“Sen. Rand Paul’s office shot back at criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the government’s sweeping surveillance operations. Christie had said Paul’s concerns over NSA spying and the government’s use of drones was ‘esoteric’…

“‘If Governor Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is “esoteric”, he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years,’ Doug Stafford, Senior Advisor to Sen. Paul said in a statement provided to Breitbart News. ‘Defending America and fighting terrorism is the concern of all Americans, especially Senator Paul,’ Stafford continued. ‘But it can and must be done in keeping with our constitution and while protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional.’… 

“Christie recklessly said that those who oppose the government’s broad surveillance of all Americans should talk to widows and orphans from the 9-11 attacks. Christie’s implication is that keeping track of every cell phone call and every internet interaction by average citizens would prevent another tragedy like 9-11. Maybe it would. With the steep cost of our privacy, though, what would be the point?”

Government Security Measures Did Not Prevent One Single Terrorist Attack

On July 27, Thomas Mullen wrote the following in the Washington Times:

“Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) introduced an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill [which did not pass] that would have defunded the NSA’s blanket collection of metadata and limited the government’s collection of records to those ‘relevant to a national security investigation.’ It terrified New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who lashed out at those who supported the bill and libertarianism in general…

“[Libertarianism] is dangerous to the bloated national security state, which tramples the liberty and dignity of every American under the pretense of protecting them from what Charles Kenny recently called the ‘vastly exaggerated’ threat of terrorism. Chris Christie shamelessly invoked the image of ‘widows and orphans’ of 9/11 in an attempt to discredit any resistance to the federal government’s complete disregard for the Bill of Rights…

“The Fourth Amendment forbids the federal government from running programs like the NSA’s. Only an amendment that revises or repeals it can change that… Let’s not forget that none of the… security measures established since 9/11 have prevented a single terrorist attack… Flight 93 on 9/11, the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber were all foiled by private citizens, the latter two after the perpetrator walked right past the government’s garish security apparatus.

“The truth is that no security measures will ever be able to make Americans 100% safe from harm. There is absolutely nothing the U.S. government could do right now to prevent Russia or China from launching a nuclear attack on the United States… the government can’t stop the next terrorist attack any more than it has stopped any previously. What it can do is continue to erode American liberty. This country is already unrecognizable as the same one that ratified the Bill of Rights…”

How Our Willingly Ignorant Mainstream Media Lost

The Guardian wrote on July 27

“Edward Snowden is not the story. The story is what he has revealed about the hidden wiring of our networked world. This insight seems to have escaped most of the world’s mainstream media, for reasons that escape me… The obvious explanations are: incorrigible ignorance; the imperative to personalise stories; or gullibility in swallowing US government spin, which brands Snowden as a spy rather than a whistleblower… Without him, we would not know how the National Security Agency (NSA) had been able to access the emails, Facebook accounts and videos of citizens across the world; or how it had secretly acquired the phone records of millions of Americans; or how, through a secret court, it has been able to bend nine US internet companies to its demands for access to their users’ data.

“Similarly, without Snowden, we would not be debating whether the US government should have turned surveillance into a huge, privatised business, offering data-mining contracts to private contractors such as Booz Allen Hamilton and, in the process, high-level security clearance to thousands of people who shouldn’t have it. Nor would there be – finally – a serious debate between Europe (excluding the UK, which in these matters is just an overseas franchise of the US) and the United States about where the proper balance between freedom and security lies…

“It was always a possibility that the system would eventually be Balkanised, ie divided into a number of geographical or jurisdiction-determined subnets as societies such as China, Russia, Iran and other Islamic states decided that they needed to control how their citizens communicated. Now, Balkanisation is a certainty… no US-based internet company can be trusted to protect our privacy or data…”

US influence in the world is bound to diminish in just about every aspect of human life…

Senators Accuse NSA and Obama Administration of Breaking the Law

The Huffington Post wrote on July 31:

“The National Security Agency’s massive collection of all Americans’ phone records breaks laws without making the country safer, two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee argued Tuesday night, saying the practices must be reformed. Taking to the Senate floor, Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called on the White House to act on its own to rein in the programs. The senators criticized the administration’s intelligence leaders for ‘misleading’ the public on the controversial NSA programs and accused the administration of breaking the law.”

The Manning Conviction—a Dangerous Precedent

Der Spiegel Online reported on July 30:

“The first and most serious charge against Manning was that of aiding the enemy. In theory, the death penalty can be applied in such convictions, but the government only demanded life imprisonment for Manning, without the possibility of parole. Just life imprisonment… In the end… Manning [was convicted] on a total of 20 out of 22 charges. Guilty of espionage, guilty of theft, guilty of computer fraud…

“Responding to the conviction, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said, ‘This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower. It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short sighted judgment that cannot be tolerated and must be reversed. It can never be that conveying true information to the public is “espionage”’…

“The messages the judge in this trial of the largest betrayal of secrets in American history is seeking to send are already clear though. The first is that no mercy will be shown for whistleblowers. The United States is pursuing and treating whistleblowers as traitors… The second is that [the judge] stopped short of creating a precedent for the erosion of press freedom in the US.  If the court had convicted Manning on charges of aiding the enemy, it would have equated publishing stories about the documents in the media with aiding the enemy…

“Still, the fact that Manning wasn’t convicted of aiding the enemy in no way diminishes the massive pressure that US President Barack Obama has applied on the media and potential future whistleblowers…”

In the past, left-liberal German magazines like Der Spiegel spoke very highly about President Obama. Such “sympathy” and “admiration” have been considerably reversed.

Newsmax and Reuters added on July 30:

“‘This is a historic verdict,’ said Elizabeth Goitein, a security specialist at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. ‘Manning is one of very few people ever charged under the Espionage Act prosecutions for leaks to the media. … Despite the lack of any evidence that he intended any harm to the United States, Manning faces decades in prison. That’s a very scary precedent,’ she added.”

Banning Exposed Obama

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 31:

“For journalist James Bamford, well known for his books on the recently heavily criticized National Security Agency, Manning’s actions did not amount to aiding the enemy. Bamford said Manning may have released many, many documents, but they were not very sensitive. Indeed, most of the documents should not have been classified as secret by the government in the first place, he said.

“Bamford told DW that in his view, Manning did a great service to the public at great personal risk. ‘The most important piece of information that I saw shows how the Obama administration, how Obama himself, lied to the American public numerous times about our attacks in Yemen…[where] the US fired cruise missiles that were loaded with cluster bombs. These cluster bombs killed many, many civilians,’ he said.

“Bamford said due to their devastating destructive force, cluster bombs are outlawed in 109 countries. ‘And when it was discovered that [the bombs] killed many women and children and destroyed a village, Obama actually denied that the US had anything to do with it,’ he added.”

“Reaffirming to the World Who We Really Are”

Michael Moore wrote the following comments in the Huffington Post, dated July 31:

“Today Bradley Manning was convicted on 20 of 22 counts, including violating the Espionage Act, releasing classified information and disobeying orders. That’s the bad news. The good news is he was found not guilty on the charge of ‘aiding the enemy.’ That’s ’cause who he was aiding was us, the American people. And we’re not the enemy. Right?…

“When you hear about how long Manning – now 25 years old – will be in prison, compare it to sentences received by other soldiers:

“Col. Thomas M. Pappas, the senior military intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib and the senior officer present the night of the murder of Iraqi prisoner Manadel al-Jamadi, received no jail time. But he was reprimanded and fined $8,000…

“Sgt. Sabrina Harman, the woman famously seen giving a thumbs-up next to al-Jamadi’s body and in another photo smiling next to naked, hooded Iraqis stacked on each other in Abu Ghraib, was sentenced to six months for maltreating detainees. Spec. Armin Cruz was sentenced to eight months for abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib and covering up the abuse.

“Spc. Steven Ribordy was sentenced to eight months for being accessory to the murder of four Iraqi prisoners who were ‘bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a canal’ in Baghdad in 2007. Spc. Belmor Ramos was sentenced to seven months for conspiracy to commit murder in the same case…

“Marine Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich received no jail time for negligent dereliction in the massacre of 24 unarmed men, women and children in 2005 in the Iraqi town of Haditha. Seven other members of his battalion were charged but none were punished in any way.

“Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate and Lance Cpl. Tyler Jackson were both sentenced to 21 months for the aggravated assault of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, a father of 11 and grandfather of four, in Al Hamdania in 2006. Awad died after being shot during the assault…

“No soldiers received any punishment for the killing of five Iraqi children, four women and two men in one Ishaqi home in 2006. Among the U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by Bradley Manning was email from a UN official stating that U.S. soldiers had ‘executed all of them.’ When Wikileaks published the cable, the uproar in Iraq was so big that the Nouri al-Maliki government couldn’t grant any remaining U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, thus forcing the Obama administration to abandon its plans to keep several thousand U.S. soldiers in Iraq permanently. All U.S. troops were removed at the end of 2011.

“My guess is Bradley Manning will spend more time in jail than all of the other soldiers in all of these cases put together. And thus, instead of redeeming ourselves and asking forgiveness for the crimes that Spc. Manning exposed, we will reaffirm to the world who we really are.”

The Bradley Manning conviction and sentencing will further decrease the world’s respect for America.

Communist Ho Chi Minh Inspired by US Constitution and Thomas Jefferson?

Canada Free Press wrote on July 26:

“Talking to reporters as he stood beside Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, Obama [said], ‘we discussed the fact that Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson.’… Truth is Ho Chi Minh was about as inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson as Obama is…  Obama has about as much credibility in white washing Ho Chi Minh as he has in trying to portray Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the IRS and NSA as ‘phony’ scandals…

“Following Ho Chi Minh’s death in 1969, over a million Viet Nam people, many of whose relatives were put to death as dissidents by the brutal dictator fled to North America and elsewhere becoming forever known as ‘The Boat People’.  The number of people who died at sea trying to find freedom is recorded somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000…

“Chris Stirewalt, of Fox News writes, ‘But his [Obama’s] connection between the American founders and Ho shows either a massive lack of historical knowledge on the part of the president or a remarkable degree of moral flexibility.’”

With ridiculous comments like these, America is becoming more and more a laughing stock in the world.

Aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Disaster

AFP wrote on July 26:

“Halliburton Energy Services has admitted destroying evidence relating to the devastating 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico… Halliburton — which constructed the cement casing of the well at the center of the disaster — had carried out its own internal investigations following the accident in April 2010. However, results of computer simulations carried out in May and June 2010 were ordered to be destroyed and were unable to be recovered, the Justice Department said.

“In addition to a guilty plea for destruction of evidence, Halliburton has agreed to pay the maximum statutory fine and also made a separate and voluntary $55 million payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Eleven people died and some 4.9 million barrels of oil were sent gushing into the Gulf over a three-month period after the explosion at the offshore oil rig. It was the largest offshore oil disaster in US history, wreaking havoc on the region’s environment and economy.”

Man-made catastrophes and subsequent “denials” or “justifications” will continue and increase.

Mysterious Death of Dolphins

On July 24, wired.com reported the following:

“At least 54 bottlenose dolphins have died mysteriously in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon since January… In a normal year, that number would be closer to 22. On July 24, NOAA declared the mass die-off an ‘Unusual Mortality Event’… It’s the lagoon’s worst dolphin die-off on record, and the cause is mysterious… It’s the second time this year that NOAA has declared an Unusual Mortality Event for marine mammals in the lagoon, a 156-mile-long estuary that runs along Florida’s Atlantic coast. In April, a mass manatee die-off received the same designation. This is the third time a UME has been declared for dolphins in the lagoon. What caused the others, in 2001 and 2008, is still a mystery…”

The Bible prophesied the demise of many animals in these last days.

Man Kills Bees through “Harmless” Pesticides and Fungicides

On July 24, Quartz wrote the following:

“… the mysterious mass die-off of honey bees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the US has so decimated America’s apis mellifera population that one bad winter could leave fields fallow. Now, a new study has pinpointed some of the probable causes of bee deaths and the rather scary results show that averting beemageddon will be much more difficult than previously thought.

“Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. Suspects have included pesticides, disease-bearing parasites and poor nutrition. But in a first-of-its-kind study… scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.

“… bees that ate pollen contaminated with fungicides were three times as likely to be infected by the parasite. Widely used, fungicides had been thought to be harmless for bees as they’re designed to kill fungus, not insects, on crops like apples… Bee populations are so low in the US that it now takes 60% of the country’s surviving colonies just to pollinate one California crop, almonds. And that’s not just a west coast problem—California supplies 80% of the world’s almonds, a market worth $4 billion.

“In recent years, a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids has been linked to bee deaths and in April regulators banned the use of the pesticide for two years in Europe where bee populations have also plummeted. But… the new study shows that the interaction of multiple pesticides is affecting bee health… the solution does not lie in just banning one class of product…

“The study found another complication in efforts to save the bees: US honey bees, which are descendants of European bees, do not bring home pollen from native North American crops but collect bee chow from nearby weeds and wildflowers. That pollen, however, was also contaminated with pesticides even though those plants were not the target of spraying…”

Man’s ignorant and dangerous actions are causing the death of many animals and human beings.

Mysterious “Hum” in New Mexico, England and Scotland

Life Science wrote on July 26:

“It creeps in slowly in the dark of night, and once inside, it almost never goes away. It’s known as the Hum, a steady, droning sound that’s heard in places as disparate as Taos, N.M.; Bristol, England; and Largs, Scotland. But what causes the Hum, and why it only affects a small percentage of the population in certain areas, [remains] a mystery, despite a number of scientific investigations…

“Reports started trickling in during the 1950s from people who had never heard anything unusual before; suddenly, they were bedeviled by an annoying, low-frequency humming, throbbing or rumbling sound. The cases seem to have several factors in common: Generally, the Hum is only heard indoors, and it’s louder at night than during the day. It’s also more common in rural or suburban environments…”

“Bedevilled” is an interesting choice of words.

Europe’s Rise or Fall?

On July 26, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with British-American historian Walter Laqueur (92). Even though Laqueur incorrectly predicts the decline of Europe, he also makes some interesting, albeit contradictory comments with which we would agree. The following are some [correct] excerpts from the interview:

“Europe will likely remain influential in the future as an economic power and trading partner. But the continent still isn’t standing on its own feet politically and militarily today… the conflicts have not decreased… Keeping a low profile is easier for most Europeans than coming up with the political will to become a major political power once again… The Europeans haven’t quite understood that trying to stay out of the fray offers no protection against the consequences of global policy… I don’t think that the economic, political and military problems Europe faces are insurmountable by any means… Thanks to the short-sighted, arrogant and aggressive US foreign policy of those years, a European anti-Americanism flared up, which has remained latent on both the left and the right… 

“The collapse of the monetary union is not unavoidable. In fact, if one considers the consequential costs, I think it’s somewhat unlikely in the foreseeable future. Perhaps a rapid decline would be even better, because it would raise awareness of the need for a general overhaul of the European structure. Crises bring about solidarity, as Jean Monnet, one of Europe’s founding fathers, knew all too well… Europeans have lost the sense of clear and present danger. Once again, European leaders believe that they are out of the woods. Well, miracles happen… The rise and fall of empires are constants in history. Historians have been searching for explanations since antiquity…”

For a short time and in the not-too-distant future, Europeans will play a leading role in the entire world… and most people will be surprised when that happens. But Europe’s lead will have devastating consequences. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Israel vs. Europe

Reuters reported on July 26:

“Israel has blocked the European Union from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank, in retaliation for an EU ban on financial assistance to Israeli organizations in the occupied territories. The EU imposed its restrictions last week, citing its frustration over the continued expansion of Jewish settlements in territory captured by Israeli forces in the 1967 Middle East War. The new guidelines render Israeli entities operating there ineligible for EU grants, prizes or loans, beginning next year…

“Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon had decided to suspend contacts with the EU in the West Bank… [He] has ‘frozen projects, canceled meetings, curtailed coordination and permits for Europe’s operations’ for Palestinians living in what is known as Area C, a West Bank area fully administered by Israel…  A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to the Israeli measures, several European humanitarian aid staff had failed to receive permits to enter the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip.”

The relationship between Europe and Israel will deteriorate more and more.

Palestinian Vision of “Final Solution”

JTA wrote on July 30:

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian journalists that no Israelis, civilians or soldiers, will remain in a future Palestinian state. Reuters reported that Abbas made the statements on Monday night in Cairo, where he was meeting with interim Egyptian President Adli Mansour. ‘In a final solution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli — civilian or soldier — on our lands,’ Abbas said… The statements flew in the face of efforts by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to keep the terms of the peace talks under wraps, according to Reuters.

“Abbas insisted that ‘East Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Palestine’… Abbas also said that he would not approve of a settlement-building freeze in which Israel halted building in isolated settlements but continued to build in settlements in the blocs that likely will remain part of Israel under a peace agreement.”

These extreme and radical views only show that the idea that the USA could broker a “peace treaty” is just totally unrealistic.

Violence in Egypt

Reuters reported on July 27:

“Egyptian security forces shot dead dozens of supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Saturday, witnesses said, days after the army chief called for a popular mandate to wipe out ‘violence and terrorism’… The bloodshed, near the military parade ground where President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981, has rocked a country already struggling with the transition to democracy two years after Hosni Mubarak was swept from power…

“Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had poured onto the streets on Friday in response to a call by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for nationwide demonstrations to give him backing to confront the weeks-long wave of violence. His appeal was seen as a challenge to the Brotherhood, which organized its own rallies on Friday calling for the return of Mursi…

“European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she ‘deeply deplores’ Saturday’s deaths and urged all sides to halt the violence. There was no immediate comment from the United States, which provides Egypt with some $1.5 billion dollars of aid a year, mainly military hardware. Washington has delayed delivery of four F-16 fighters because of the turmoil. However, officials have indicated they do not intend to cut off aid to a country…”

The Times of Israel wrote on July 27:

“It’s not a civil war yet, but Friday night’s events underline the level of strife in Egypt between the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters and the military. For now, the army still enjoys the backing of many secular groups… But as the body count rises, that impressive support will slowly, inevitably erode… The Egyptian divide is bitter…

“…it is apparent that Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi cares little about the honor of Egypt’s citizens. Unlike former president Hosni Mubarak, who could not order the army to fire on protesters, el-Sissi not only can, but is more than willing to do so. The order came down and, on Friday, we could see a change in the army’s attitude towards the protesters. The government, the new president Adly Mansour, everyone, has decided to take off the gloves and put an end to the protests in favor of ousted president Mohammed Morsi…

“The Islamist movement is determined to flood the streets of Egypt with its people, and gradually turn all those who supported the second revolution against the military… The battle is far from over. ‘Iron Man’ el-Sissi is out to crush the Muslim Brotherhood, while the Islamists are convinced that they can topple the general. If Egypt doesn’t get back on track — economically and administratively — in the next few weeks, even the army’s strong-handed policy toward the Brotherhood will not produce stability. Tensions will rise further, and the danger of full-fledged civil war will draw ever closer.”

Egypt’s future is prophesied in Scripture. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Senate Supports Ongoing Further Assistance to Egypt

The Washington Times wrote on July 31:

“The Senate on Wednesday… rejected Sen. Rand Paul’s push to temporarily halt foreign assistance to Egypt and his argument that the nation no longer qualifies for aid in the wake of the military takeover earlier this month. Mr. Paul, a likely 2016 presidential contender, said President Obama and his congressional allies are openly flouting the law by continuing to send money to the Middle Eastern power and said those taxpayer funds should be redirected to the nation’s crumbling infrastructure until Egypt holds new elections. ‘When there is a military coup, the aid must end,’ the Kentucky Republican said, citing the Foreign Assistance Act…

“A bipartisan group of lawmakers… defended the Obama administration’s decision to keep sending roughly $1.5 billion in annual assistance to Egypt after the July 3 military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim brotherhood who had been democratically elected in June 2012.”

This was to be expected. Politics reigns, while the law is being ignored, re-interpreted or circumvented.

Merkel’s Re-Election in Jeopardy?

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 31:

“The failed Euro Hawk drone project has cost German taxpayers tons of money, and the Defense Ministry sympathy – but the biggest loser could be Chancellor Merkel, who may lose re-election…

“The opposition has been calling for Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere to step down for a long time… [He] admitted that [the government] had invested more than half a million euros into the project, only to realize after 10 years of research and development that there are ‘problems that can’t be solved.’ … The political responsibility for this surely lies with the minister himself – who should therefore step down together with his close aides.

“A few gently critical words about his poor handling of the situation and his crisis management are not enough for a scandal of such scope… Moreover, stepping down would also do Angela Merkel a favor. The general election is looming on September 22 and Merkel hopes to win her third term in office. Thomas de Maiziere clinging to his job could easily turn into a dangerous risk for that ambition.”

Duke of Bavaria Entitled to British Throne?

The Local wrote on July 25:

“All eyes were on the British royals this week, while in Bavaria a direct descendant of Stuart King Charles I turned 80 in relative privacy. Yet our German of the week Franz Herzog von Bayern’s blood runs as blue as little Prince George’s… Franz is the elder brother of Prince Max of Bavaria and inherited the title of Duke as head of the Wittelsbach family– once rulers of the Kingdom of Bavaria – when his father died in 1996.

“What is still hotly-contested in some quarters of Britain is whether the Duke’s direct blood line connection to 17th-century Stuart monarch King James II of England means he has a legitimate claim to the British throne. Franz is James II’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson. The Duke’s branch of the royal family lost the throne after the Catholic James II was deposed by William of Orange in England’s Glorious Revolution. James’s elder son, also a Catholic, was passed over for the succession in favour of his daughters, Mary II and Queen Anne…

“The… aristocrat was born in Munich in 1933 to Duke Albrecht of Bavaria and his wife, the Croatian Countess Maria Draskovich, as Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern. His parents disapproved of the Nazi regime and left Germany in 1939 for the relative safety of Hungary. They lived in Budapest until Hitler invaded in 1944 and had the family arrested – along with 11-year-old Franz, forcing them to spend the rest of the war in concentration camps – until they were liberated by US troops in 1945…

“The aristocrat never married and lives alone in the large Nymphenburg palace. Around 2,500 of Bavaria’s richest, most powerful and influential guests [were] on hand to pay tribute to the Duke at his birthday party at Schleißheim palace outside Munich on Monday, an event surpassed only in pomp by the royal birth taking place in Britain.”

Pope at War with Vatican

Newsmax reported on July 29:

“The pope’s recent visit to Rio de Janeiro underscores how wildly popular he is among the faithful. But an inside Vatican source says Francis will face a continuation of his war with the Holy See’s curia — and he has ambitious plans to expose corruption and dramatically change the Church’s image.”

Pope Won’t Judge Homosexuals…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 30:

“‘If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?’ Pope Francis asked during an unexpectedly candid in-flight news conference on Monday. ‘We shouldn’t marginalize people for this. They must be integrated into society.’ ‘Pope Francis used a different and more benign tone than his German predecessor when he was talking about homosexual people,’ said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the LGBT program at Human Rights Watch. ‘I read his view … as a call to Roman Catholic clergy in many countries to speak up and protest when gay men or lesbian women are arrested or discriminated against by the authorities in their countries.’…

“The German wing of the international Catholic reform movement ‘We are Church’ also praised the pope’s remarks. ‘This is a major coup for gay priests who have had to cover up their sexual orientation,’ said spokesman Christian Weisner…

“By contrast, Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men who had deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis distanced himself from this position in his first news conference as pope, when he said that gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten. But Francis still stopped short of rejecting the Catholic Church’s principle that homosexual acts are a sin. ‘Basically, what he said was obvious,’ wrote Germany’s center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. ‘In his press conference, the pope skillfully avoided the truly thorny issue of whether gays and lesbians can only be equal before God (as others) if they are celibate.’”

Pope Not as Liberal as He May Seem

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 31:

“Pope Francis has sparked enthusiasm with his call for greater tolerance toward gays. But it’s too soon to celebrate, says [homosexual Catholic] theologian David Berger… ‘It is incredibly naïve to liken it to a dam bursting. What are gays or lesbians to think when someone tells them: I don’t want you to be discriminated against, but you are not allowed to live out your “tendency” anyway? According to doctrine, the homosexual act is still a sin…

“‘The notion that gays shouldn’t be discriminated against is already in the catechism… Take Francis’ categoric[al] rejection of the ordination of women. “This door is closed,” he said. This shows that when it comes to liberality, the pope is committed to the old gender roles… It is common knowledge in the Catholic Church that supervisors put pressure on gay priests in order to exploit them for their own interests…

“‘While John Paul II and Benedict XVI could be gauged, that’s not possible with Francis. His theology is rather a kind of folk Catholicism of Latin American origin. Much of what is currently fascinating believers is really the Catholic version of the rites of popular evangelical sects. For example, when he asks people at his discretion to bless him before he does it himself, he is acting out a blessing rite of the Pentecostals…

“‘Benedict XVI spoke as he would have written. Almost everything he said was well thought out in every detail. Francis’s statements often contradict each other. So he first said that atheists are devils, only to say shortly later that they are just as good as Christians. Then it was up to his spokesman to correct the statements and put them into perspective accordingly. From an intellectual perspective, the election of Francis is a fiasco for the Catholic Church. But the general public is presumably already won over by his charisma.’”

Archbishop Tutu Rejects God of the Bible

The Daily Mail wrote on July 27:

“The South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a ‘homophobic God’ and would rather go to hell than find himself in a ‘homophobic heaven’. The retired archbishop said the fight against homophobia in South Africa was similar to the campaign waged against racial apartheid in South Africa.”

Germany Proactive Partner in USA Spying Activities

The Verge wrote on July 20:

“Reports that the US National Security Agency is spying on European allies and bugging embassies have been met with strong condemnation in Germany, where chancellor Angela Merkel angrily denounced the agency’s activities earlier this month as ‘unacceptable.’ But new documents obtained by Der Spiegel reportedly show that German intelligence services actually make significant use of a powerful NSA spying program used to monitor internet communications…

“The NSA’s spying programs have struck a nerve in German citizens, many of whom still hold memories of the East German Stasi, the infamous secret police force that spied on countless innocent civilians before the fall of the Berlin Wall. But Der Spiegel says the new documents reveal that the German government has been a proactive partner in the mass-surveillance efforts…”

NBC News added on July 20:

“Der Spiegel reported that documents reviewed by its writers said Germany has shown an ‘eagerness and desire’ to aid in U.S. global intelligence gathering efforts. Another document describes Germany’s foreign intelligence service as the NSA’s ‘most prolific partner’ in its intelligence gathering efforts.”

This had been suspected for quite a while, but the hypocrisy of those involved German politicians is still dumbfounding.

German Drone Disaster

Deutsche Welle reported on July 22:

“Within a period of just days, German parliamentarians hope to conduct an investigation into the failure of the 600-million-euro Euro Hawk drone project, a process that would normally take months or even years. Nineteen witnesses will be called to testify before a special committee, which will conduct its work during parliament’s summer break, from July 22 until July 31. And with Germany’s federal elections just two months away, the planned testimony by Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere could prove politically explosive for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition government.

“The investigative committee wants to know how the defense ministry could invest 12 years and hundreds of millions of euros in an aircraft that is not even allowed to fly in German airspace due to security concerns…

“In 2005, the Euro Hawk company was established, a joint venture between the European aerospace firm EADS and America’s Northrop Grumman. The American defense company manufactured the Global Hawk, the brother of the Euro Hawk…

“The problems, which ultimately led to the Euro Hawk failure, arose out of this business arrangement. The American airspace permit for the Euro Hawk – the prototype was built in the US – was not valid in Germany and could not be obtained… And according to the German defense ministry, the American side withheld documents detailing the technical specifications of the Euro Hawk. As a consequence, it could not be proven beyond doubt that the Euro Hawk would not pose a danger to civilian air traffic…

“But regardless of what de Maiziere tells the investigative commission in his defense, he already has the reputation of not having his house in order.”

This is in addition to the fact that many Germans reject drone warfare as immoral and as being in violation of national and international law.

Further Developments in US Spying Activities

Ubergizmo reported on July 25:

“In the PRISM saga, big companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Google and Yahoo were named, though all of them denied knowing about the program. CNET now reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that the federal government is demanding ‘major internet companies’ to hand over their users’ passwords. The report doesn’t say exactly which companies have received such requests. If we were to consider, for the sake of argument, that the government is indeed asking for passwords, what would it do with them? The obvious answer is to spy on user data such as emails, messages and other private data. It would also have full access to users’ accounts, impersonating users will become very easy.

“The report also says that the government has demanded that internet companies hand over encryption keys, a process that is used to strengthen encrypted information such as passwords. The FBI reportedly did not comment on this report, whereas Microsoft and Google are said to have declined to mention if they have received any such requests. Spokespersons of both companies said that they don’t turn over users’ passwords.”

Deutsche Welle reported on July 25:

“The US House of Representatives has rejected an attempt to limit a phone surveillance program… the White House, several senior members of Congress, and senior intelligence officials, all came out in support of the surveillance program… House Democrats and Republicans alike were split over the proposed amendment. A majority of 111 House Democrats voted for the Amash amendment while 83 were against. Among Republicans, 94 were for it and 134 against.

“In a heated debate ahead of the vote, Amash argued the Obama administration was using fear to help justify its ‘violation of rights.’ ‘The government collects the phone records, without suspicion, of every single American in the United States,’ Amash said… According to a recent poll by The Washington Post and ABC News almost three-quarters of respondents believe the NSA programs were infringing on some Americans’ privacy rights.”

But contrary to the clear mandate of the American citizens not to do so, the government will continue to spy on innocent people…

Is US Becoming the World’s Leader for the Restriction of Freedom and Liberty?

On July 21, the website rferl.org stated the following:

“Internet experts say Washington’s covert program to track the online activity of foreigners by tapping into the servers of Facebook, Google, Skype, and other U.S. companies could play directly into the hands of repressive regimes. The revelation could provide them with potentially powerful justification for existing programs that restrict online freedoms — as well as cover for implementing new measures.

“Ronald Deibert, the director of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, one of the world’s foremost research centers on how cyberspace, global security, and human rights interrelate, says the United States has now largely ceded the moral high ground on Internet freedom. ‘As countries realize that a lot of the structural power conferred on the United States and other countries comes from their ability to essentially coerce domestic telecommunications carriers into colluding with their intercept and wiretap programs, countries around the world will quickly look to rectify that by building and encouraging their own national networks and subjecting them to their own territorialized controls,’ Deibert says… ‘It is really a kind of perverse set of unintended consequences that we’re nurturing.’

“‘National Internets’ already exist in North Korea and Cuba and are reportedly being developed in Iran… In an interview with ‘The New York Times’ on July 14, Ruslan Gattarov, a lawmaker in Russia’s upper house of parliament, said, ‘We need to quickly put these huge transnational companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook under national control.’… U.S. Internet companies operating in Russia and a host of other countries already face pressure from governmental bodies or law enforcement to share data. Experts say such pressure is now likely to intensify…

“Some have also expressed concern that the U.S. government’s explanation for its surveillance program — legitimate or not — could be manipulated by repressive governments: Washington has defended the program as a legally authorized method of helping to guard the country against terrorist attacks. Countries ranging from China to Belarus to Uzbekistan have previously rationalized pervasive online censorship under the banner of national security….”

It is indeed a bleak day in America’s history when the worldwide defender of liberty and freedom is now perceived as the main violator of the same and as the country, which justifies restrictions of such freedoms under the guise of national security, thereby enabling authoritarian regimes to do the same.

America’s Politics of Non-Intervention

BBC News wrote on July 23 about a letter by “the top US military officer [Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Martin Dempsey] [who] has outlined the costs, risks and benefits of possible American military involvement in the Syrian conflict… including limited strikes and establishing a no-fly zone. But he said using force in Syria would be ‘no less than an act of war’ and could cost the US billions of dollars.”

In their analysis, BBC News wrote this:

“This is the first time the US has explicitly laid out options for using force in Syria – a glimpse of what military leaders are, presumably, advising US President Barack Obama. And the advice seems to come down on the side on non-intervention. The letter does not even attempt to address the wider challenges – of how to win UN authorisation when Russia seems dead set on blocking it; of how to secure support of war-weary Americans or reluctant allies; of the danger of further destabilising fragile neighbours; or of finding the US at war not just with Syria, but Iran and Russia.

“So, aside from quietly arming Syria’s moderate opposition, what would it take to make US intervention more likely?

“Perhaps a catastrophic clash or massacre on an extraordinary scale might shift calculations. So might the danger of Lebanon or Jordan imploding, or a large-scale use of chemical weapons, which also threatened, say, Israel or Turkey. And if a new status quo were to emerge which essentially partitioned Syria, then buffer zones in areas Assad forces no longer seemed likely to attack might seem more feasible.”

What most Americans and many others do not realize is that America has been losing its political influence and will-power to act. And as we have proclaimed for a long time, America will not win any more wars.

“Is Washington Turning Its Back on Freedom of the Press?”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 24:

“President Obama is cracking down on leakers. Both Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning face prosecution under the Espionage Act, while a New York Times reporter [James Risen] was ordered to reveal his sources or risk jail time. Is Washington turning its back on freedom of the press?…

“A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that Risen would receive no First Amendment protection safeguarding the confidentiality of his sources… The ruling could not have come at a more volatile time. In the midst of the revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Risen trial sheds further light on the Obama administration’s unparalleled clampdown on official leakers. The 118-page judgment, which sets a precedent that could create significant hurdles for investigative journalism, has dealt a further blow to First Amendment protections for reporters in the US.

“President Obama’s war on the whistleblower is now being fought on multiple fronts — in the Russian capital, where Snowden has been given temporary documents and is soon expected to leave the airport he has been holed up in for weeks, and in South America, where the American hopes to be granted asylum. The battle is also being waged in Maryland, where Bradley Manning, a former US Army private, currently faces military trial for passing documents to WikiLeaks. And last week it took hold in Virginia’s fourth circuit appeals court, where Risen is likely to be compelled to give evidence [in a case involving activities of the CIA]…

“If Risen continues to ignore the subpoena, he could face jail time… The legal landscape now facing US journalists appears to be a bleak one… The Justice Department… expressly supported the decision, with a spokesperson announcing that the next steps in the prosecution of the case were already being examined. Ironically, the statement comes shortly after the Justice Department published new guidelines for leak investigations designed to protect the interests of reporters. The revision was a response to public outcry over the department’s aggressive investigative tactics, including subpoenaing Associated Press reporters’ phone records.

“Despite the ruling, Risen has pledged to uphold his decision not to testify…”

Our respect for those who make a promise and do not break it, even if it hurts…

The Obamacare Big Brother Database

rare.us wrote on July 20:

“Would you trust thousands of low-level Federal bureaucrats and contractors with one-touch access to your private financial and medical information? Under Obamacare you won’t have any choice. As the Obamacare train-wreck begins to gather steam, there is increasing concern in Congress over something called the Federal Data Services Hub. The Data Hub is a comprehensive database of personal information being established by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement the federally facilitated health insurance exchanges. The purpose of the Data Hub, according to a June 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, is to provide ‘electronic, near real-time access to federal data’ and ‘access to state and third party data sources needed to verify consumer-eligibility information.’ …

“They certainly should be; the potential for abuse is enormous. The massive, centralized database will include comprehensive personal information such as income and financial data, family size, citizenship and immigration status, incarceration status, social security numbers, and private health information. It will compile dossiers based on information obtained from the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration, state Medicaid databases, and for some reason the Peace Corps. The Data Hub will provide web-based, one-stop shopping for prying into people’s personal affairs.

“Not to fear, HHS says, the Data Hub will be completely secure. Really? Secure like all the information that has been made public in the Wikileaks era? These days no government agency can realistically claim that private information will be kept private, especially when it is being made so accessible. Putting everyone’s personal information in once place only simplifies the challenge for those looking to hack into the system…

“Given the slap-dash, incoherent way Obamacare is being implemented the prospect for quality control is low. And the Obama administration’s track record of sweetheart deals, no-bid, sole-source contracting and other means of rewarding people with insider access means the Data Hub will be firmly in the hands of trusted White House loyalists. So if you think the IRS targeting Tea Party groups was bad, just wait for the Obamacare Navigators to be unleashed. ‘Trust us,’ the administration says, no one will abuse the Data Hub…”

The country is indeed in DEEP trouble.

“Vatican Bank Again at the Center of a Financial Scandal”

IB Times wrote on July 21:

“The Vatican has once again been rocked by scandal as Italian prosecutors press ahead with a money-laundering investigation of three of its top former officials that threatens the Holy See’s Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), or as it’s commonly known, the Vatican bank.

“Following the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, who was head of analytical accounting, for allegedly attempting to smuggle $26.5 million from Switzerland to Rome; Giovanni Maria Zito, a former agent who is now a Carabinieri police officer; and Giovanni Carenzio, a financial broker, in June, two more top Vatican officials have been accused, prompting their resignations. The news comes at a bad time for Pope Francis as his plans to bring the bank into line with other European banks, even agreeing to forgo the Vatican’s infamous secrecy laws, look to have taken a hit…

“This is not the first time the Vatican Bank has caused controversy in the financial sector. From 1971 to 1989, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus was involved in the higher echelons of the Vatican Bank. He was allegedly involved with Mafia-linked Sicilian banker Michele Sindona and Italian banking executive Roberto Calvi, president of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed with massive debts, including around $250 million to IOR, one of Banco’s main shareholders.

“After a number of investigations by the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Justice Department, including his alleged involvement in the delivery of $14.5 million worth of counterfeit bonds to the Vatican in July 1971, Marcinkus was cleared of wrongdoing. Calvi, on the other hand, was found dead, hanging from a rope under Blackfriars Bridge in London, victim of a faked suicide. Marcinkus was wanted for questioning on the murder but sought diplomatic immunity by taking refuge in the Vatican, although not over the murder of Calvi, but instead over huge losses that the Vatican incurred by setting up fake offshore shell companies in the Bahamas. The murder was later found to have been committed by the Mafia.

“The case against the Vatican officials is still in its infancy, but formal charges are expected to be brought in the coming weeks and months by Rome prosecutors. The bank was established in 1942 by Pope Pius XII to handle the Vatican’s finances that were held in different countries — then embroiled in World War II — by religious orders, cardinals, bishops and priests. The bank is estimated to hold around $7.5 billion in assets.”

The Bible has much to say about the riches of the Catholic Church in these last days. In addition, in his remarkable book, “Secrets of the Freemasons,” Michael Bradley claims on pages 150 and 151 that “Many people feel that Calvi’s death was symbolically Masonic… The Vatican’s role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal has been used as evidence that Pope John Paul I was murdered for attempting to root out financial and Masonic corruption in the Holy See.” Bradly also says that the Vatican Bank is “personally owned by the Pope and loans money to religious projects worldwide.” 

Catholic Purgatory and Indulgences

The Guardian reported on July 16:

“In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering ‘indulgences’ to followers of Pope Francis’ tweets. The church’s granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins. The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

“But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away… Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate’s house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory. But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.

“Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican’s sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the ‘rites and pious exercises’ of the event on television, radio and through social media… In its decree, the penitentiary said that getting an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having previously confessed and being ‘truly penitent and contrite’. Praying while following events in Rio online would need to be carried out with ‘requisite devotion’, it suggested.”

This is so unbiblical, but people are willing to believe just about anything, and even act upon their beliefs, as long as they are not the truth.

Catholicism in Brazil

On July 17, Al Jazeera reported:

“Pope Francis will be in Brazil starting on Monday… expected to bring over a million Catholic pilgrims, mostly youth, to Brazil. It will be historic for all the obvious reasons: The first Latin American Pope, the first trip as pope to South America, neighboring his native Argentina… Brazil is ‘the world’s largest Catholic country.’ … But what exactly does that mean?…

“The total population of Brazil is 198.4 million, as of last year. Of the total population, 169.3 million identify themselves generally speaking as Christian, and of those, 123 million strictly identify as Roman Catholic (123,280,172 to be exact), while another 42 million Protestant. But it’s the fast growing evangelical/Pentecostal religions that seem to be the biggest challenges to the Catholic Church in Brazil… In short, the Vatican can still rely on Brazil to be the place of the largest pool of ardent Catholics anywhere in the world. But it’s not the absolute numbers that should concern Pope Francis, it’s the trend lines.”

And so, the Catholic Church will do something about this, trying to reverse the trend lines in its favor.

Revolution in the Catholic Church?

Deutsche Welle reported on July 24:

“Many Catholics hope Pope Francis will strengthen laymen and women in church, who have been taking on responsibilities of priests in some rural areas. That might trigger a revolution, experts say.  The Catholic Church in Latin America has a way of dealing with contradictions: Instead of discussing whether women should be allowed to be ordained to the priesthood or debating the celibate, laymen go ahead and create precedents in their religious communities. They’ve come up with new forms of church services – services without a priest. Hopes are high during this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro that Pope Francis will give more power to ordinary people in the church: the laypersons. That would ultimately change the Catholic Church…

“Many laypersons have already come up with their own solution: they simply hold church services without the support of the clerics. They pray together, break the bread, administer wine, and care little about Catholic regulations, which specify that only priests are allowed to administer the sacrament of the Holy Communion… Rebellion and revolution – that’s nothing new for Latin America: In the 1960s and 70s, Latin American liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez and Oscar Romero inspired clergymen and believers all over the world. One of them was Ludwig Gerhard Müller, who now heads the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith…”

The Pope in Brazil—as If It’s Jesus?

The Washington Times wrote on July 24:

“Thousands of Catholic Church faithful crowded for a glimpse of Pope Francis on Wednesday, as he visited small town Aparecida, venerated Brazil’s patron saint and delivered his first public Mass on his visit to the country. ‘I have been up for almost 24 hours, most of that time on my feet and in the rain and the cold. But I don’t feel any pain. I feel bathed in God’s glory and that’s because of the pope,’ said Nacilda de Oliveira Silva, 61, in The Associated Press. ‘For me, it’s the same thing as seeing Jesus pass by. That’s how moved I feel.’”

Zenit added on July 24:

“Yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, July 23, Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta presided over the opening ceremony of Rio’s WYD [World Youth Day] with thousands of young people and hundreds of Bishops who defied a subtle and persistent rain… In his homily, Archbishop Tempesta… invited young people to come out of themselves and be ready to respond to God’s plan… Several times the archbishop addressed young people as ‘morning watchmen.’”

The Bible warns of religious deception and especially of those who proclaim to be servants of Christ, speaking on behalf of Christ, or pretending to be Christ, while rejecting His words. It is also interesting that young Catholics are being referred to as “watchmen,” while the true watchmen are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news of the Kingdom of GOD—for instance, in our “StandingWatch” programs.

Obama: “Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me.”

IB Times wrote on July 20:

“President Barack Obama made a surprise visit on Friday to the White House briefing room, where he reflected on comments made last year in the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case. When Martin, 17, was shot and killed in Florida last February by Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, the president had said the teen could have been his son. Reflecting upon the statement more than a year later, Obama said, ‘Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.’”

Breitbart added on July 19:

“President Obama strongly implied that George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin due to Martin’s race, despite the utter lack of evidence that Zimmerman did so. In fact, an FBI investigation into Zimmerman turned up no evidence of racial bias, and the Department of Justice has been utterly unsuccessful in providing evidence of any racially-based federal crime committed by Zimmerman…  ‘I think, to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario that, from top to bottom, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different,’ Obama stated.

“Obama provided no evidence for that contention. Such evidence would not include the case of Roderick Scott, a black man acquitted for the killing of white 17-year-old Christopher Cervini. Scott shot Cervini after confronting him and two others robbing a car; Cervini apparently charged Scott, who shot him. Scott was acquitted. Cervini’s aunt said, ‘How can this happen to a beautiful, sweet child like that? All he wanted to do was go home. And then for them to say, he was saying, ‘Please don’t kill me. I’m just a kid,’ and he just kept on shooting him.’ No word from President Obama on [that] case.”

Rather than unifying the country, unproven allegations of racial profiling only divide the country even more.

Ignorant Americans

CBS wrote on July 23:

“A new poll finds that a majority of Americans believe that God played a part in the evolution of humans… 62 percent of Americans believe God helped create humans. Thirty-seven percent of those believe God created human beings in their present form within the last 10,000 years while 25 percent believe human beings evolved from lesser life forms over millions of years but God guided the process. Only 21 percent believe that God did not play a part in human evolution.

“Seventeen percent of those polled were not sure if God played a part in the existence of humans… more people favored having creationism taught in schools than those that opposed. Forty percent of those polled believe that intelligent design – the belief that God created the universe – should be taught in public schools, while 32 percent opposed such teachings. Twenty-nine percent of Americans were not sure if creationism should be taught. The poll also found that those who say God played no part in human evolution rose from 13 percent in 2004 to 21 percent in 2013, an 8 percent increase.”

The truth is, the evolution theory is completely wrong, whether one believes in random chance or God’s “direction” during the alleged evolution process. But creationism is also wrong, as it does not believe in the clear teachings of the Bible either. For a better understanding, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults.” 

Politically Incorrect Crimes in Britain

Gatestone Institute wrote on July 17:

“Great Britain is in the throes of a rape and pedophilia epidemic unlike anything the country has experienced in living memory. Many of the sex crimes are being perpetrated by Muslim child grooming gangs responsible for drugging, raping and torturing hundreds and possibly thousands of British girls. But another wave of sex crimes involves predatory Muslim taxi drivers who are raping female passengers. The number of so-called taxi rapes is snowballing to such an extent that a British judge has issued a warning that no woman can expect to be safe while traveling in a cab…

“Apart from a few high-profile cases, taxi rapes are rarely reported by national newspapers in Britain, apparently because the politically incorrect crimes are not deemed to be newsworthy. But a survey of stories buried deep inside local newspapers shows that taxi rapes are occurring in all parts of England, Wales and Scotland on an almost daily basis.”

Cameron’s Pride At Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage in Britain

The Telegraph wrote on July 25:

“The Prime Minister spoke of his pride at legalising same sex marriage, just a year after explicitly giving a personal guarantee to do it by 2015 to a reception for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-sexual community at 10 Downing Street. Mr Cameron told guests… that Britain was now ‘the best place to be gay, lesbian or transgender anywhere in Europe’.  He added: ‘That is a great achievement…’ He said that he wanted to ‘export’ same sex marriage around the world so other countries could follow suit… In his speech he told guests four times how proud he was to have been Prime Minister when same sex marriage was legalised in Britain… Although the Queen could hardly not have given her assent to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, [Cameron]  promised… that he intended to thank her ‘personally’ for signing it at his audience with her [on Wednesday evening]…”

Britain’s New Prince Third in Line to the Throne

The Associated Press reported on July 22:

“Prince William’s wife, Kate, has given birth to a prince [George Alexander Louis] who is now third in line to the British throne… No one can tell what political and personal changes the intervening years will bring, but the baby can be expected to become the head of state of 16 countries, including Britain, Australia and Canada. The child will also eventually become Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The little prince represents a living link to Britain’s imperial history – the infant is the great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, who ruled at the peak of British power.”

In light of the signs of the time, it is highly unlikely that the new-born prince will ever sit on the British throne.

Japan Urges the UK Not to Leave the EU

BBC News wrote on July 21:

“Thousands of jobs with Japanese firms could be at risk if the UK leaves the EU, the Japanese government has hinted… Japan said its firms were attracted to the UK because it offered a gateway to the European market. ‘If the UK leaves the single market… that is not good news,’ the Japanese embassy told the Sunday Times… Japan said it was ‘committed to making its relationship with the EU stronger than ever before.’ It added: “’In this context, it expects that the UK will maintain a strong voice and continue to play a major role in the EU…’

“But Conservative MP Julian Brazier dismissed Japan’s concerns. He told the newspaper: ‘It’s kind of the Japanese to give us guidance on our national destiny but at a time when the eurozone is in a crisis unseen for nearly a century I’m not sure they are well qualified to see the way forward for Britain. In deciding on our national interest we may have to disappoint their expectations.’”

Although it may make sense to the UK to leave the EU, this is a prophesied development which will lead to the UK’s downfall.

Turkey in Uproar

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 23:

“Following mass anti-government protests in Turkey, Ankara is now taking revenge on its critics. Activists and demonstrators are being investigated and intimidated, while journalists are getting fired and insubordinate civil servants transferred far afield… The demolition of the park in downtown Istanbul was only the initial cause of the protests, which have continued and are now directed against the government. The protesters’ numbers have dwindled from the hundreds of thousands who had been attending the mass protests, though. Many are exhausted, but many are also afraid.

“Largely unnoticed by the public, a big cleanup has begun, in which those who opposed Prime Minister Erdogan and his administration in recent weeks are now being punished. Activists are being locked up, journalists bullied and demonstrators persecuted. The Turkish parliament has deprived the chamber of architects and engineers of its voice in urban planning projects. The Turkish education ministry has ordered schools to provide it with the names of all teachers who took part in the protests, who could now face adverse consequences…

“According to Turkish human rights organizations, the police have arrested at least 3,000 people, including children. Although some have been released, no one knows how many are still in prison… Turkish journalists have suffered from repression for years. No other country in the world has as many journalists behind bars… For the first time, the policy of intimidation is also directed against foreign journalists…  But the government’s attempts to intimidate are only fueling a spirit of resistance among some people…”

Bulgaria in Uproar

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 24:

“Forty days of anti-government protests culminated Tuesday night in an eight-hour blockade of Bulgaria’s parliament in Sofia. Police ended the siege on Wednesday morning, escorting more than 100 officials out of the building amid ongoing unrest… The blockade was the culmination of weeks-long protests and clashes with the police, triggered by a government decision to name media tycoon Delyan Peevski as head of the National Security Agency. The move was seen as evidence of private interests controlling public institutions. The government’s subsequent withdrawal of the appointment was seen as too little, too late in the European Union’s poorest country, and crowds took their outrage to the streets, demanding the cabinet’s resignation.

“An angry mob estimated by French news agency AFP to include 2,000 people surrounded the parliament building on Tuesday evening chanting slogans like ‘Mafia!’ and ‘Resign!’ as lawmakers took part in a late-night sitting to discuss a controversial budget adjustment that would raise the deficit and state borrowing limit… President Rosen Plevneliev asked both demonstrators and police to remain ‘peaceful and civilized.’… The Socialist-led government came to power in May, following the resignation of the previous cabinet amid heavy anti-austerity protests.

“Protesters in Bulgaria have now taken to the streets for some 40 days to demonstrate against the Socialist-led government and its junior coalition partner, the Turkish minority DPS party. The protests are an expression of outrage over corruption, nepotism and impoverishment in the country.”

Ban on Kosher Slaughter and Anti-Semitism in Poland

JTA wrote on July 16:

“Hundreds of comments calling on Jews to leave Poland have appeared beneath news articles in the days since the country’s parliament defeated a bill that would have reversed a ban on kosher slaughter, or shechitah, first imposed in January. ‘The ban is bad enough because it’s the result of disinformation, but it opened the door to anti-Semitism that’s very evident in these comments,’ said Piotr, who with his wife is a founding member of Czulent, an association of young Krakow Jews.

“The shechitah ban and ensuing anti-Semitic outbursts come as painful reminders that despite years of government-led projects celebrating Jewish tradition, Poland still has a long way to go…

“In January, a constitutional court, responding to a petition filed by animal welfare activists, outlawed religious slaughter in Poland. A law that would have reinstated shechitah was rejected by the Sjem, the Polish parliament, on July 12 by a vote of 222-178. On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had no plans to reintroduce legislation to lift the ban.

“The Polish ban is not the first time a European country has put animal welfare concerns above the religious freedom of its Jewish and Muslim minorities. In 2011, a large majority of the lower house of the Dutch parliament passed a bill banning the practice, but it was scrapped by the Dutch Senate. Laws banning kosher slaughter also are on the books in Norway, Switzerland, Latvia, Sweden and Iceland…

“[Poland] is the sole European country that does not offer private property restitution to [Holocaust] survivors and their heirs… Last month, a prosecutor in the northern city of Bialystok called swastikas ‘symbols of prosperity’ in explaining the refusal to investigate the painting of Nazi symbols on municipal property. Earlier that month, a Polish official said the courts were ‘powerless’ to stop a declaredly anti-Semitic political party from running in elections. In April, a survey found that 44 percent of 1,250 Warsaw teenagers polled said they would rather not have Jewish neighbors. More than 60 percent said they did not want Jewish spouses…

“Jews and Muslims are not the only ones affected by the ban, which has shut down the country’s robust export industry of kosher and halal meat. Estimates place the value of the ritual slaughter industry at more than $500 million…”

On July 23, JTA wrote the following:

“A Polish government minister asked Jewish and Muslim representatives to petition the country’s Constitutional Court to sort out conflicting laws that have led to a ban on ritual slaughter. According to a statement Monday by the office of Michal Boni, the Polish minister responsible for religious affairs, the minister asked the representatives to petition the court with regard to the 1997 Act on the Relation of the State to the Jewish Communities in Poland, which states that ritual slaughter may be performed in accordance with the needs of the local Jewish community.

“The law appears to conflict with Article 34 of the 1997 Law on the Protection of Animals, which states that ‘vertebrate animal in a slaughterhouse may be killed only after being knocked unconscious by qualified personnel.’ Muslim and Jewish religious laws require animals be conscious before their necks are cut. ‘The matter can only be settled by Constitutional Court,’ read a statement sent from by Boni’s office. According to the statement, Boni asked Piotr Kadlcik, president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, and Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, to petition the court on the issue…”

Anti-Semitism in Europe is prophesied to sharply increase and grow. But not just in Europe… see the next article.

America vs. Israel

JTA reported on July 23:

“A federal court upheld the State Department’s refusal to list ‘Israel’ as the country of birth for Americans born in Jerusalem. The 42-page decision released Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia delved into constitutional law in finding that Congress, in passing a 2002 law mandating the listing of ‘Israel’ should Americans born in Jerusalem request it, impinged on the executive branch’s foreign policy prerogative.

“President Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, have refused to implement the law, saying it violates longstanding policy that does not recognize any nation’s sovereignty in the city and leaves its status to be decided in peace talks. The request to list Israel ‘runs headlong into a carefully calibrated and longstanding Executive branch policy of neutrality toward Jerusalem,’ the court ruled.”

Same-Sex Marriages Sign of End of Days

The website rferl.org reported on July 21:

“The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that the legal recognition of same-sex marriage is ‘a very dangerous sign of the apocalypse.’  Patriarch Kirill told a congregation at Kazan Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square on July 21 that such recognition ‘means people are choosing a path of self-destruction.’ The patriarch criticized the states that have legalized same-sex marriage, saying that ‘some countries approve their choice in favor of sin and justify it by law.’

“Kirill also said he supports a ban on ‘homosexual propaganda’ recently signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993 but remains stigmatized in a country where the Orthodox Church still holds considerable influence. Gay-rights parades are forbidden…”

Even though it is very unpopular to voice this, Kirill’s statements and warnings are in line with the teachings and prophecies of the Bible.

Major Earthquakes Hit New Zealand and China

The age.com.au reported on July 21:

“A large 6.5 earthquake has hit central New Zealand, sending people diving for cover in the capital of Wellington. The quake was felt widely across the country… It is the latest in a sequence of major earthquakes that have been hitting Wellington and wider areas around central New Zealand since Thursday… Quakes measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale, 5.5 and 6.9 have all hit the Wellington area.”

CNN reported on July 22:

“Rescue teams are scrambling to reach the site of Monday morning’s strong and shallow earthquake in northwestern China that has killed at least 89 people, according to state media. Another 593 people were injured and five were believed missing after the quake tore through Gansu Province, China Daily reported… The original quake and powerful aftershocks caused roofs to collapse, cut telecommunications lines and damaged a major highway linking the provincial capital of Lanzhou to the south, according to the China Daily newspaper… According to the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau, the quake registered a magnitude of 6.6, however the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 5.9-magnitude tremor, which struck at the relatively shallow depth of about half a mile (1 kilometer).”

Christ warned of major earthquakes here and there, just prior to His return.

The Week in the News

We begin reporting on the rising tidal waves and tsunamis of Anti-Americanism smashing through the countries of Germany and South America, following the continuous earthquakes of ongoing revelations about the atrocious behavior of US worldwide spying activities—coupled with the realization, especially by German citizens, that their German government is unwilling to confront the US—perhaps because of passive or even quite active participation. We also report about Hungary’s warning against German leadership in Europe.

We continue reporting on the trial and acquittal of George Zimmerman, following the untimely death of Trayvon Martin. We are focusing on the fabricated story of the mass media and radical commentators pertaining to the myth of racial profiling, while most are ignoring the real, but uncomfortable crux of the matter.

We point out America’s apparent repeated and ongoing unwillingness to obey its own laws prohibiting military aid to Egypt (notwithstanding that America CLAIMS to be a nation of laws); speak of European anti-Semitism; Israel’s repeated announcements that it might attack Iran militarily; Israel’s desire to build a Third Temple; and a possible collaboration between Iran and North Korea.

We report on gay marriages in Britain and Wales; and conclude with France’s celebration of its Bastille Day on July 14, 2013, showing that the French people might be in error regarding the origin and nature of their national holiday.

Anti-Americanism on the Rise…

The Financial Times wrote on July 12:

“Outside the US, [Snowden’s] revelations have revived a narrative about the dangers of a world dominated by an untrustworthy superpower that had been dormant as debate raged instead about American decline. Already criticised for its extensive use of drones, the international image of the administration has taken another heavy hit by the documents about extensive US surveillance.

“Many Latin American governments were angered when the plane carrying Evo Morales, Bolivia’s president, was diverted to Vienna airport on suspicion that Mr Snowden was on board – a tip that Spanish officials said this week came from the US. The disclosures about US surveillance in Brazil have prompted a new round of indignation in a region with a strong anti-US sentiment…”

Anti-Americanism is prophesied to increase—some, if not much of it, is due to America’s own conduct.

A Flop and Total Disaster

Deutsche Welle reported on July 13:

“German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich says he is satisfied with US assurances about spying activities. Weeks ahead of a federal election though, the opposition are not about to let the issue go.

“Neither of Germany’s main opposition parties was satisfied with the assurances Friedrich… said he received during his meetings with senior US officials in Washington on Friday. Thomas Opperman, the parliamentary floor leader of the Social Democrats, said Friedrich’s trip had not achieved much. ‘Minister Friedrich is returning empty-handed,’ Oppermann said in an interview published in the Saturday edition of the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper: ‘We have not moved a single step forward on any of the key points.’ Konstantin von Notz, the Green Party’s interior affairs spokesman described Friedrich’s trip as a complete flop…”

In a related article, dated July 13, Deutsche Welle quoted opinions and statements from German politicians and newscasters, as follows:

“The election campaign has officially begun, and the NSA surveillance scandal is emerging as a key issue along the way. Now… it will fall to the opposition parties to come up with clear proposals on how they intend to treat the matter. Furthermore… the federal government has not yet comprehended what is at stake with respect to the data scandal… the governing coalition has put too much emphasis on the fact that official German delegations were potentially the victims of surveillance, whereas the core of the issue… is that 80 million German people’s communication was being monitored.

“… what’s at stake in the NSA affair is the balance of political power between the US and Germany… Germany is letting itself be lulled by ‘security nonsense’ – a reference to claims that the NSA’s surveillance activities have been able to stop terrorist attacks… Although German media have featured much discussion and criticism of the NSA’s activities, there have yet to be any major public demonstrations in response to the disclosures in recent weeks… this ‘lethargy’ [is blamed] on the fact that, due to the nature of the intelligence agencies’ surveillance, people remain unaware of the act as it is occurring…”

Friedrich’s “results” won’t satisfy the German people. Their distrust of America and their own governmental leaders is growing. And if the “lethargy” of the Germans in this matter is criticized, what word should be used to describe the deafening silence and the appalling lack of interest of a majority of the American people? One is reminded of ancient Rome before its fall—as long as the government provides some bread and a lot of games or distractions to the people, they can be kept in ignorance and a fragile state of “happiness.”

“America Is Sick”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 16:

“America is sick. September 11 left it wounded and unsettled — that’s been obvious for nearly 12 years — but we are only now finding out just how grave the illness really is… The global spying scandal shows that the US has become manic, that it is behaving pathologically, invasively. Its actions are entirely out of proportion to the danger…

“An American government that gives its blessing to a program like Prism respects nothing and no one. It acts out its omnipotence, considers itself above international law — certainly on its own territory and even on foreign ground… Did Obama, the Harvard Law student, even believe what he was saying in his speeches about the return of civil liberties? Can someone be so cynical that they promise to heal the world, then act in such a way all the while giving the xenophobic explanation that only foreigners would be monitored?…

“The German government has shown devastating weakness. Merkel should say, ‘You are manic, and what you are doing is sick’… Instead she weighs every word to avoid annoying the Americans…”

In an accompanying article, Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 16:

“The United States has massively and systematically violated the civil rights of people who have no possibility of voting against its practices in elections. After all, the NSA and CIA and whatever the other organizations are called aren’t operating under German laws when they’re supposedly protecting the security of the free world… Europe and Germany aren’t powerless against American encroachments. The European Union’s data protection directive includes provisions to force US firms to adhere to our rules…”

The expression, “America is sick,” is quite interesting in light of an end-time prophecy about the modern house of Israel—including the USA—in Isaiah 1:5-6.

America’s Worst Nightmare

Reuters reported on July 12:

“Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first published the documents Snowden leaked, said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday that the U.S. government should be careful in its pursuit of the former computer analyst. ‘Snowden has enough information to cause [more] harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had,’ Greenwald said…

“‘The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen[s] to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare.’… Greenwald said… that documents Snowden has tucked away in different parts of the world detail which U.S. spy programs capture transmissions in Latin America and how they work. ‘One way of intercepting communications is through a telephone company in the United States that has contracts with telecommunications companies in most Latin American countries,’ Greenwald said, without specifying which company.”

Did German Government Know?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 17:

“The German government has so far claimed that it knew nothing of the United States’ Prism spying program, revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden last month. But parts of a confidential NATO document published by daily Bild on Wednesday show that the German military, the Bundeswehr, was probably already aware of the National Security Agency’s operations in 2011.

“The document, reportedly sent on Sept. 1, 2011 to all regional commands by the joint NATO headquarters in Afghanistan, gives specific instructions on working together with the foreign data surveillance program. According to Bild, the document was also sent to the regional command in northern Afghanistan, for which Germany was responsible at the time under General Major Markus Kneip.  Should the media report be confirmed, Berlin’s claims of ignorance will prove to have been false… if it turns out that Berlin knowingly tolerated and participated in the NSA activities, many would see it as a betrayal by the government.”

The Local wrote on July 17:

“The news reports add to pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of September 22 elections because she has said she only learnt through the media of the US online and telecom surveillance programme. Many Germans are angry that their emails, phone calls, web searches and other data have been captured and stored under the NSA programme, details of which were leaked by fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.”

Hungary Warns Against German Leadership in Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 17:

“The latest remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are unlikely to improve his fractured relations with Germany or the EU. Speaking on Tuesday, he invoked the memory of World War II to warn against German leadership of the European Union. ‘When a person reads about a rapprochement between Russia and an EU led by Germany, he looks out to see whether his children are still in the yard,’ Orbán said…

“Many people in Central and Eastern Europe are wary of any signs of closer ties between Moscow and Berlin because they remember the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact which carved up much of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence… In May, Orbán had made a remark about Nazi tanks in the context of Germany’s policy towards Hungary, drawing an unusually sharp rebuke from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.”

Our Lying Media on “Racial Profiling”—The “Trial” of George Zimmerman

On July 13, the jury of six mostly white women found Hispanic George Zimmerman not guilty of murder or manslaughter of black 17-year old teenager Trayvon Martin. The mainstream media and radical proponents had created a nationwide circus and resorted to falsehoods and lies in order to invent and create a case of racial profiling to be able to convict Zimmerman in the eyes of the public.  Sadly, the real crux of the matter—whether we should have laws allowing us to have and use guns to shoot and kill others who are unarmed, when we are not in fact threatened, but feel that we might be (“Stand Your Ground” law)– took back stage in view of the hype and hysteria of unsupported allegations of racial discrimination and profiling. 

Breitbart wrote on July 13, before the verdict had come in:

“As we await the verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who claims to have shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense, this seems the perfect time to reflect on the media’s cynical and dishonest role in turning a local crime into a national obsession… the mainstream media did everything in its still-potent power to not only push for the prosecution of Mr. Zimmerman (the police originally chose not to charge him) but also to gin up racial tensions where none needed to exist.

“It all started with the [black] anchor of a major television network (Al Sharpton) inserting himself in the story to spread division and hate; it continued straight through to the closing days of the trial when another major news network, desperate to keep a fabricated racial narrative alive, propagated the portrayal of Zimmerman as part of a racial group that doesn’t exist — the ‘white Hispanic.’ In-between, there has been an astonishing amount of malicious fraud and lies, all in an effort to serve a president, stir racial hatred, and influence the justice system… A small detail that the Obama administration and the media apparently missed was that the white versus black racial narrative they were preparing to invest so much into was missing just one thing: a white person…

“In their venomous zeal, the media and Democrats likely assumed that someone with the last name Zimmerman had to be white. But they were wrong, as Zimmerman is Hispanic. Never [once] to back off a good narrative, rather than use this revelation to tamp down tensions or correct their reporting, the media simply made up out of whole cloth a new racial category: the ‘white Hispanic.’… [On March 19] CNN went to extraordinary lengths to claim Zimmerman had uttered the racial slur ‘coon’ when he had not… CNN wouldn’t officially retract their defamation until April 5th, long after it was too late…

“President Obama made huge news when he stepped before the cameras, demanded action in the Zimmerman case, and famously said, ‘If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.’ In just two days, a network news anchor [Sharpton] and an American president had blasted the Zimmerman case into the nation’s top story and did so based on a racial narrative without a shred of evidence to support it. Almost every other major news outlet would now commit every journalistic sin imaginable to fabricate evidence… By late March it was widely known that George Zimmerman was Hispanic. This did not stop the Boston Globe from using its pages to describe him as ‘a white neighborhood watch captain’…

“Even though Zimmerman is Hispanic and there was no evidence of any racial motivation behind his actions, the media’s racial-hysteria was, at this point, in full bloom… Desperate to keep a non-existent racial narrative alive, during a broadcast of the PBS Newshour Gwen Ifill falsely stated: ‘Martin, who was black, was on his way to a convenience store in a mostly white gated community when George Zimmerman, who is white, shot and killed him after a disputed altercation…’ After the arrest, and as the trial date neared the following year, NBC would allow Al Sharpton to turn his primetime MSNBC show into a platform dedicated to convicting Zimmerman…”

The myths of “racial profiling” in this case continues. As Fox News reported on July 13, 2013: “‘Today, justice failed Trayvon Martin and his family,’ said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP in a statement. ‘We call immediately for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the civil rights violations committed against Trayvon Martin. This case has re-energized the movement to end racial profiling in the United States.’ ‘We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,’ said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, in another statement… ‘we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed.’”

Al Maurer of The Washington Times agreed with the sentiments expressed in the article of Breitbart, quoted above, and stated on July 14:

“From the beginning the media sought to play the story as white-on-black violence. It fits the narrative of the white man oppressing the black man. The only problem is that Zimmerman isn’t ‘white’; he’s Hispanic. Alter the facts… The media creates a new racial category, ‘White Hispanic.’

“For the story to work, however, the black man as victim must be innocent. Trayvon Martin was pictured as an innocent young teen. Youthful pictures of him were released; more recent ones suppressed. To fill the role of oppressor, Zimmerman had to be made to look like one. While flattering pictures of Martin were used, the most unflattering ones of Zimmerman accompanied them. Zimmerman was portrayed in the popular press as a vengeful vigilante just looking for the opportunity to shoot someone.

“As time wore on, Zimmerman didn’t appear so menacing. Martin didn’t appear so innocent… In contemporary America it is not just the media who push the narrative. The president himself commented on the case well before all the facts were known. But facts don’t matter, after all. The narrative does. Recent press reporting indicates that the Justice Department has been involved as well.

“The race-baiters Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have been prominent in pushing the narrative too. Ominous warnings of riots in case of an unfavorable (i.e., ‘not guilty’) verdict were sounded… Six women had the courage to decide ‘not guilty’ when the mob screamed ‘guilty.’”

If one repeats a lie often enough, it will finally be believed as being the truth. So be careful when you are confronted with statements which are not based on proven evidence, and if you want to receive fair and objective accurate news reports from our mainstream media. In all likelihood, you will not get it.

Jury Duty and Questionable Law the Real Issue

According to the New York Post of July 14, 2013, Donald Trump made these statements: “Zimmerman is no angel but the lack of evidence and the concept of self-defense, especially in Florida law, gave the jury little other choice.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Piers Morgan, according to Beitbart, dated July 14: “I don’t critisize the jury—I critize the law that enabled them to find George Zimmerman not guilty of anything.” He added: “If George Zimmerman had not had a gun, he’d never got out of his car that night, and Trayvon Martin would still be alive.”

Maybe. But here we are getting to the crux of the matter: While the focus is detracted from the essentials and placed on concocted non-existing issues of race and racial profiling, we are really dealing here with questionable laws and the jury’s duty under the legal system to uphold these laws during their deliberations and decision-making. That is one of the many reasons why true Christians should not sit on a jury under any circumstances.

Why It Is Unlawful to Give Military Aid to Egypt

On July 12, The Washington Post published the following editorial by Senator Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Homeland Security committees:

“Egypt has undergone a coup, deposed its leader and the military has installed a new president. The situation is unpredictable, unstable and volatile. The country remains in a state of unrest… U.S. law states that we can’t send military and other types of aid to any country whose duly elected head of state is deposed by a coup. U.S. law clearly says that we cannot send such aid where the military plays a decisive role in the coup. This law allows no presidential waiver. Aid cannot be reconsidered or restored until a democratically elected government is elected.

“Yet, as President Obama has so often done with other laws and even the Constitution, he ignores it. The Obama administration has refused to acknowledge that the military takeover in Egypt is a coup. When asked directly to spell out the State Department’s definition of a coup, spokeswoman Jen Psaki refused… we have a president who denies a coup has taken place in Egypt when, by any conventional definition, it most certainly has. The president of Egypt was placed under house arrest. The military took over the television stations. The military took control of local police and all forms of local and national government.

“Still, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN, ‘If this were to be seen as a coup, then it would limit our ability to have the kind of relationship we think we need with the Egyptian armed forces.’ Thursday morning, it was reported that this relationship included delivering four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in the next few weeks in addition to the eight we sent in January. Another eight are scheduled to ship later this year… In January 2011, some of the jets we gave to President Hosni Mubarak were used to intimidate protesters — the same people whose protests helped to overthrow Mr. Mubarak and replace him with Mohammed Morsi. Not surprisingly, Gallup reported in February 2012 that 71 percent of Egyptians opposed U.S. foreign aid to their country. When both Mr. Mubarak and Mr. Morsi were overthrown, protesters held signs criticizing U.S. aid to ‘dictators.’

“It should also be noted that when the Egyptian military helped oust Mr. Mubarak — the classic definition of a coup d’etat — the Obama administration also declined to acknowledge even then that a coup had taken place. When we continued giving F-16s to Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood after Mr. Mubarak, I offered an amendment to stop military aid to Egypt. It was defeated 79-19.

“The United States has cut off weapons aid in the past after military officers overthrew civilian governments in the Ivory Coast, the Central African Republic, Fiji, Honduras and Mali. In Egypt, however, where the regimes are constantly changing, our foreign-aid policy never does. This week, I introduced legislation again that would cut off foreign aid to Egypt. We either have a nation of laws, or we don’t. If we are a nation of laws, foreign aid to Egypt should immediately end. If instead, we are now just governed by popular prejudice and unlimited executive ability to contravene the law, then perhaps we should be looking at Washington to determine whether or not a coup has occurred.”

To predict the outcome, U.S. military aid to Egypt will most likely continue… even though a coup has CLEARLY occurred WITHOUT ANY DOUBT… which, with the words of Senator Paul, would mean that ours is not (any longer) a nation of laws. This is almost ironic as, following the verdict in the Zimmerman case, President Obama issued the following statement, according to CNN, dated July 14:

“The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken…”

Egypt Might Become Even More Radical

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 16:

“After the massacre last Monday of more than 50 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, Egypt has become all but ungovernable. The new unity government in Cairo is already crumbling, and now it’s the ultra-conservative Salafists who stand to benefit… Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been filled with anger and frustration. The bloody clash between Brotherhood supporters and the military destroyed any hope that a peaceful settlement could be reached…

“In this overheated mood, precisely what the military sought to prevent with its coup could in fact happen: The Islamists could become radicalized. Last week, Egyptians experienced a taste of what that could mean, when a 60-year-old Coptic Christian was beheaded and a priest was shot on the Sinai Peninsula. In a village in Upper Egypt, a mob beat a Christian supporter of the Tamarud movement to death, while other Copts were stabbed to death and about 20 houses owned by members of the religious minorities were torched…”

Europe’s Anti-Israeli Wares and America’s Silence

Al Jazeera wrote on July 16:

“Guidelines revealed on Tuesday make clear that, from next year, Israeli ‘entities’ operating in the territories will not be eligible for EU grants, prizes or loans. The measure will apply to Israeli companies, universities or other bodies operating in areas occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, including the Golan Heights, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. ‘The EU has made it clear that it will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East peace process,’ a copy of the guidelines seen by the Reuters news agency said… The guildelines say that all Israeli groups applying for financial assistance, scholarships and funding must prove they do not operate in the occupied territories.”

The Washington Post wrote on July 16:

“Europe… never miss[es] the [chance] to display their anti-Israeli wares. The Wall Street Journal reports: ‘Israel reacted angrily Tuesday to an effort by the European Union to keep EU funds from flowing to Israeli organizations operating in the occupied territories, the latest bump in the sometimes-rocky relationship between Israel and Europe.’… Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the EU should focus on the ‘more pressing’ issues of Syria’s civil war and Iran’s nuclear program rather than Israeli settlement activity… The EU already charges customs duties on Israeli imports that originate in the occupied territories that would otherwise enjoy free-trade exemptions…

“The EU has long sought to play a role in Middle East peace talks… This is an old story for the European Union — it strives for relevance but its anti-Israeli tendencies make it particularly unsuited to play any constructive role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… If the United States made clear that such behavior is entirely unacceptable, some of the Israel bashing might stop. Whether at the United Nations or in direct conversations with our European ‘friends,’ this should be a topic of conversation. It is evidently not…”

The global influence of the USA is diminishing. Even when America speaks, not too many listen any more. It will indeed be Europe which will speak loudly, and nations will listen and heed. It is prophesied that Europe will play a decisive role in Middle Eastern politics.

Israel May Have to Address Iran Before USA Does…

Bloomberg wrote on July 14:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran is moving ahead toward nuclear weapons capability and warned that his country would act by itself if necessary to prevent that from happening. ‘We’re closer than the United States,’ Netanyahu said Sunday… ‘We’re more vulnerable. And therefore, we’ll have to address this question of how to stop Iran, perhaps before the United States does.’…

“Netanyahu has said Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons that would pose an ‘existential threat’ to Israel and ‘all options are on the table’ to stop it, including a military strike… Netanyahu dismissed speculation that [Iran’s new political leader] Rohani’s victory last month signals a possible change in Iranian nuclear policy… Rohani’s strategy ‘is [to] be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Smile and build a bomb,’ the Israeli leader said…”

Building the Third Temple

JTA wrote on July 9:

“No praying. No kneeling. No bowing. No prostrating. No dancing. No singing. No ripping clothes.These are the rules that Jews must abide by when visiting the Temple Mount, the site where the First and Second Holy Temples once stood, located above and behind the Western Wall in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Although the area is under Israeli sovereignty, the mount — known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif — is controlled by the Islamic Wakf, a joint Palestinian-Jordanian religious body. As the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, whose golden dome overlooks the city, the Temple Mount attracts daily crowds of Muslim worshipers…

“Rabbi Chaim Richman… is the international director of the Temple Institute, an organization based in the Old City with a singular goal: to rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem… Following the Second Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E., most rabbis adopted the position that Jewish law prohibits reconstructing the Holy Temple prior to the age of messianic redemption, or that the law is too ambiguous and that the messiah must come first.

“The Temple Institute takes a different position. ‘There are no Jewish legal barriers’ to rebuilding the temple, Richman says, only political ones. The institute isn’t shy about advocating what many see as a radical goal: replacing the mosque at the Dome of the Rock with a new Jewish Holy Temple… The organization has formulated a program for where the temple will stand and what its vessels will look like, aided by 20 men who study Temple law full-time. The products of this research — 40 ritual objects — are on display in Plexiglas cases at the institute’s headquarters in the Old City.

“Silver trumpets to be blown by priests and a wooden lyre are perched next to two deep pans with long handles — one for collecting blood from small sacrificial offerings and another for large sacrifices like the Passover lamb. In another room, mannequins with beards wear the respective vestments for deputy priests and the high priest. The high priest’s outfit, with azure weaves, gold thread and a breastplate with 12 precious stones, took 11 years of research and $150,000 to complete…

“The institute’s crowning achievement — the Temple’s golden, 200-pound, seven-branch menorah — stands outside in a case overlooking the Western Wall. Unlike art or history museums, the institute’s goal is to remove the objects from their cases and bring them to the mount for use as soon as possible… Though observant Jews pray thrice daily in the Amidah prayer for the Temple to be rebuilt, few do anything about it…

“Richman says support for the institute’s goals is growing. For him, the issue involves far more than politics, archaeology or even Jewish legal research. The Temple Institute, he says, is doing God’s work. ‘The point is that we can’t live without the Temple,’ Richman says…”

In regard to Tisha B’Av, a Jewish fast day in memory of the destruction of the Second Temple, Times of Israel wrote on July 15:

“The Talmud in Sukkah tells of the beauty of the Second Temple that Herod rebuilt. It is hard to imagine such beauty when we see the above ground Western Wall today. Erosion and time have taken its physical beauty. But underground the stones are a pristine white and appear good as new… What we see of the Wall today, is a fraction of the size of the original Wall… There is a section of floor from the Second Temple era that has been excavated… walking and sitting on the floor where our grandparents sat 2000 years ago is very powerful…

“On this Tisha B’Av, remember that we are not crying over a dead Temple. If it were so, we would have stopped crying eons ago. The stones are alive. They are kept alive by the promise that we will see a Third Temple. They are kept alive by the souls of the Jewish people yearning for their Temple to be rebuild. And they are kept alive by the tears we cry on Tisha B’Av every single year.”

North Korea’s and Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Programs

Reuters wrote on July 17:

“Stanford University’s Siegfried Hecker… said the North had ‘everything in place’ for what would be the fourth [nuclear] explosion since 2006. The impoverished country conducted its third nuclear test in February, prompting stiffer U.N. sanctions against it… Hecker said North Korea ‘needed additional tests in my opinion to miniaturize’, referring to the effort to develop a bomb small and robust enough to fit onto a delivery vehicle such as a missile…

“But China’s displeasure was an important reason ‘why I think they are hesitating now…’  China is North Korea’s most important economic and political backer, but the two are uneasy allies and tensions have grown. Some Chinese banks have frozen out North Korea’s main foreign exchange bank amid frustration in Beijing over the North’s continued pushing of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs…

“Hecker… said he was concerned about the possibility of cooperation between North Korea and Iran… Any sharing of the North’s test data would be dangerous, he said, adding: ‘That would be very, very troublesome and indeed could give the Iranian program a significant boost’… Hecker said he believed Iran had developed a nuclear weapon option. ‘Iran … has put all the things in place to be able to develop the bomb should it decide to do so,’ he said.”

“Gay Marriage” Legal in Britain and Wales

Salon.com reported on July 16:

“Britain’s lower house of parliament voted Tuesday to pass a measure legalizing gay marriage in England and Wales… ‘It’s impossible to express how much joy this historic step will bring to tens of thousands of gay people and their families and friends,’ Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, a gay rights group, said in a statement. ‘The bill’s progress through Parliament shows that, at last, the majority of politicians in both Houses understand the public’s support for equality, though it’s also reminded us that gay people still have powerful opponents.’”

The Associated Press reported on July 17:

“The French like to make fun of the British, joking about their repressed ways in matters of the heart. But when it came time to debate same-sex marriage, it was France that betrayed a deep conservative streak in sometimes violent protests — while the British showed themselves to be modern and tolerant. With little fanfare or controversy, Britain announced Wednesday that Queen Elizabeth II — hardly a social radical — had signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriages in England and Wales. France has also legalized gay marriages, but only after a series of gigantic protests attracting families from the traditional heartland that revealed a deeply split society.

“Official word that the queen had approved the bill drew cheers in the usually sedate House of Commons. ‘This is a historic moment that will resonate in many people’s lives,’ Equalities Minister Maria Miller said in a statement. ‘I am proud that we have made it happen and I look forward to the first same sex wedding by next summer.’ There were British political figures and religious leaders vehemently opposed to gay marriage but the opposition never reached a fever pitch, in part because the same-sex marriage bill had broad public support and the backing of the leaders of the three major political parties. In fact, it was Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the tradition-minded Conservatives, who proposed the legislation in the first place.

“The public seemed to take it for granted that gay marriage should be a part of British life… The law was also written in a way that allowed the Church of England — which is opposed — to sidestep the controversy since it is explicitly barred from conducting same-sex marriages.”

The French Bastille Day—Truth And Error?

BBC wrote on July 13:

“When the French parade on Sunday [July 14] for their national day, they will be marking the fall of the Bastille prison-fortress on 14 July 1789. Everyone knows that. Or do they? In fact there is a surprising twist in the story of this proud Republican anniversary. Without realising it, what the French may technically be celebrating is not the storming of the Bastille but an event that took [place] exactly one year later, on 14 July 1790: the Fete de la Federation…

“There was Napoleon; then the restored Bourbons after Waterloo; then King Louis-Philippe; a brief republican interlude starting in 1848; and then the second empire under Napoleon III. Not until 1870, after defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, did France establish a lasting republican system. And even then, in the Third Republic’s first elected Assembly, there was a clear majority of members who actually favoured a return to monarchy. The forces of anti-revolutionary conservatism remained strong…

“By the end of the 1870s, the situation had moved. Most monarchists had become reconciled to the Republic; there was a Republican majority in the Assembly; so now was the time to anchor the new order with a set of national symbols. And one of the first questions was the choice of national day. After looking at various options, the left settled on 14 July. They reasoned that the taking of the Bastille was what triggered the French Revolution – the moment an angry people began to throw off its chains. But the trouble was that 14 July was also a day of bloodshed. The governor of Paris had his head cut off with a pen-knife…

“For the ex-monarchists – now late converts to the Republic – this was all too much. A national day should be a day of reconciliation, they argued, not a celebration of class hatred. And so eyes turned to the Fete de la Federation… And to mark it, the authorities organised an extraordinary outdoor event on the Champs de Mars – where the Eiffel Tower now stands… On 14 July 1790, it poured with rain. But delegations of the newly-created national guard from across France paraded through the city, led by the Marquis de Lafayette… On the Champs de Mars there was military music; oaths were made to the King, who in turn swore to uphold the decrees of the National Assembly; Mass was celebrated. And in a scene straight out of today’s celebrity culture, there was a roar of excitement as Queen Marie-Antoinette held up the baby dauphin – heir to the throne – to the crowd.

“In the words of historian Georges-Henri Soutou, it was a moment when ‘it was still possible to imagine that a new regime could be established – one that did not offend the religious sensitivities of the majority and had the support of the King.’ It did not last, of course. Within a year, the revolution was on course towards its bloody conclusion. But a century later, the Fete de la Federation had the huge distinction of being an occasion on which just about everyone – from Bourbon loyalists to proto-Socialists – could agree. For the Senator Henri Martin – who drew up the National Day law – ‘14 July 1790 is the most beautiful day in the history of France, possibly in the history of mankind. It was on that day that national unity was finally accomplished.’ Passed in 1880, the law was deliberately ambiguous. It did not say which 14 July was being celebrated. And today, of course, everyone thinks of it as Bastille Day.”

As it is so often the case with human traditions and the celebration of humanly devised holidays, we see in the observation of the “Bastille Day” a mixture between perhaps some truth and a lot of error and misconceptions.

Building the Third Temple on the Temple Mount

The Times of Israel reported on July 5:

“A government minister from a nationalist religious party called Thursday for the Jewish Temple to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The statement from Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) breaks a long-standing taboo on high-ranking government officials speaking about changing the fragile status quo on the holy and contested esplanade, and will likely draw ire from official Israeli circles and anger the Arab and Muslim world… Ariel called for a third Temple to be built on the site, which today is home to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque and is considered Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest…

“The Jerusalem site was home to Judaism’s first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed, the second one in 70 CE… Last year, Jewish Home MK Zevulun Orlev also called for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, saying that removing the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque would mean that the ‘billion-strong Muslim world would surely launch a world war.’ However, he added, ‘everything political is temporary and there is no stability.’

“Jews are currently banned from praying on the Temple Mount by the Jordanian department of endowments, known as the Wakf, which administers the plaza surrounding the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.”

The Bible indicates strongly that the third temple will be built in Jerusalem, prior to Christ’s return.

Pope’s Waivers for Sainthood in Catholic Church

Thomson/Reuters reported on July 5:

“Pope John Paul II… who led the Catholic Church for nearly 27 years, and Pope John XXIII, who called the reforming Second Vatican Council, will be declared saints… The Vatican said Pope Francis had approved a second miracle attributed to John Paul, a Pole who was elected in 1978 as the first non-Italian pope in 450 years and who died in 2005. His progression to sainthood is the fastest in modern times.

“The Vatican also said Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963… would be made a saint even though he has only been credited with one miracle since his death… Francis waived the customary rules requiring a second miracle after beatification… John XXIII was beatified in 2000…

“John Paul went down in history as the ‘globe-trotting Pope,’ visiting every inhabited continent in more than 100 trips outside Italy. His successor, Benedict, waived a Church rule that normally requires a five-year waiting period before the preliminaries to sainthood can even begin.”

Popes are Popes and can therefore do whatever they want—it seems.

“Vatican Issues First Text Co-Written by Two Popes”

AFP wrote on July 5:

“The Vatican on Friday issued an unprecedented religious text co-written by Pope Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI in which the two popes… restated their opposition to gay marriage. Francis paid tribute to pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the encyclical, saying that the ex-pontiff had ‘almost completed’ the text before stepping down in a historic resignation this year and that he himself had merely added ‘further contributions.’

“Francis and Benedict, who both live within the walls of the Vatican City and wear the white papal vestments, met publicly on Friday at a ceremony in the Vatican for the unveiling of a new statue. [Zenit reported on July 5 that the statue, sculpture or monument represented “Saint Michael the Archangel, patron of Vatican City State.”] Benedict became the first pope to resign of his own free will in 700 years in February and Francis was elected to succeed him in March as the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years…

“Encyclicals are papal circular letters addressed to the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church that are intended to summarise a pontiff’s thoughts on a particular aspect of Church life. Some of them have gone down in history as significant landmarks in Church history.

“Pope Leo XII in 1891 published ‘Rerum Novarum’ in which he undertook to engage the Catholic Church in social issues, denouncing living conditions for the working class and encouraging workers to organise themselves into associations. In 1914, Benedict XV denounced the horrors of World War I in ‘Ad beatissimi apostolorum principis’ and Pius XI in ‘Mit brennender Sorge’ in 1937 condemned Nazi racism. In Paul VI’s ‘Humanae Vitae’ in 1968, Paul VI condemned all forms of contraception, while John Paul II in ‘Evangelium Vitae’ in 1995 called for opposition to laws legalising abortion and euthanasia.”

Pope Angers Establishment

ABC News reported on July 6:

“It appears Pope Francis truly wants to change the Catholic Church. He’s reforming the Vatican Bank first, but he’s also circumventing the old guard wherever he can. The establishment is up in arms… When, in autumn 2010, fresh suspicions of money laundering to the tune of triple-digit millions emerged, then Pope Benedict XVI promised stricter rules for his financial managers. In fact, though, nothing changed. In the so-called Vatileaks scandal, secret documents that had been smuggled out of the Vatican shed light on bizarre intrigues inside the papal state. Often, the Vatican Bank [IOR] played a role in those intrigues. Benedict XVI was appalled, but also overwhelmed. He failed to prevail over the powerful cardinals who backed the IOR. His resignation was the logical outcome.

“His successor is taking more decisive action. First, he fired Nunzio Scarano, the top accountant in the Vatican office that oversees Vatican property and investments, after he was accused of money laundering and corruption and arrested. Then, practically overnight, he forced out IOR Director Paulo Cipriani and his deputy. Now the bank will be led by Ernst von Freyberg, a German baron and former consultant, member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the president of the IOR supervisory board since mid-February… ‘Did we actually vote for someone who really believes in what he preaches?’ some within the Curia are now whispering.

“Once again, Francis has taken them fully by surprise. In an almost demonstrative manner, he has been excluding the Vatican apparatus in every way he can. Most recently, this happened with the trip the pope announced he would take on Monday to the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, first learned of the planned trip through a papal press release. And instead of the kind of months of advance-team work used by heads of the Catholic Church for trips in the past, Francis has dispensed with that. Instead, the eccentric Argentinian pope ordered his staff to prepare a plane so that he could fly there in the morning and be back by midday… The pope has announced that he doesn’t want to meet with the mayor or other authorities. He also ordered church officials to stay away.”

Obama’s Waiver of Lack of Waiver for Egyptian Aid

JTA reported on July 5:

“When it comes to foreign assistance, American law couldn’t be clearer: A coup d’etat suspends funding, period. But that directive, which has persisted for years in federal appropriations bills, is now clashing with another congressional priority: the apparent desire to foster an alternative to Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s democratically elected Islamist president who was removed from power this week by the Egyptian military.

“In recent months, Congress has intimated that it would be happier if his secular foes in the military were running the country. But the law ties Congress’ hands. On July 3, President Obama said he would ‘review’ what the coup means for American aid…The United States provides some $1.55 billion in aid to Egypt annually, most of it defense assistance conditioned on Egypt’s observance of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Congressional leaders cited those circumstances in suggesting that the Obama administration work with the interim government. But other lawmakers… underscored that the language in the appropriations bill left virtually no wiggle room…

“Unlike many other spending provisions, the language regarding a coup d’etat does not include a presidential waiver. That leaves the Obama administration three options for working around the provision: Obtain congressional agreement to add a waiver within the next few weeks; accelerate the democratic replacement of Egypt’s interim government; or use executive privilege to work around the lack of a congressional waiver…

“The first two options are unlikely. Congress can barely agree on a budget, let alone a waiver on a sensitive issue like Egypt. And with Egypt already roiling with violence, its military would be loath to facilitate the return of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood to power through a hastily arranged election. The third option — exercising the prerogative of the president to advance foreign policy — could undercut U.S. credibility overseas, conveying an impression Obama has tried to correct: that the United States supports the powers it prefers, regardless of the will of the people.”

The Daily Caller added on July 5:

“The $1.5 billion in U.S. foreign aid slated for Egypt next year is in jeopardy after the Egyptian army deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday. Section 508 of the decades-old Foreign Assistance Act stipulates that ‘none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by a military coup or decree.’ A clause in the 2011 omnibus bill strengthens the provision, excluding from American aid any nation experiencing a ‘coup d’etat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role.’

“Although events in Egypt appear to conform perfectly to these criteria, it’s unclear whether the Obama administration will cut off revenue to the strategically important nation anytime soon… the president also refused to call the takeover a coup, indicating his administration’s wariness to label events in Egypt before deciding how to proceed.

“Time reports that the $1.3 billion marked for the Egyptian military in 2014 is around 20 percent of that organization’s total budget. Without that money, the army may be unable to keep the peace should an extended confrontation develop between Morsi’s supporters and opposition activists. ‘The Egyptian military has long been a key partner of the United States and a stabilizing force in the region, and is perhaps the only trusted national institution in Egypt today,’ House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said… The ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee echoed that sentiment… Their comments indicate that the administration would face little protest from congressional Republicans if they decide to ignore or circumvent the law on foreign assistance.

“But politicians from the president’s own party may be less forgiving. ‘Our law is clear: U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree,’ said Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the budget committee which oversees foreign aid.”

Somehow, it can be expected that Congress and the Obama Administration will be able get around the “clear language of the law” to do what they want to do–if they can agree on WHAT to do.

America Clueless on Egypt

On July 5, CNN published an editorial by Christian Whiton, former State Department senior advisor from 2003-2009:

“That’s twice Washington was caught slack-jawed amid revolution in the world’s biggest Arab-majority state. But don’t blame the Obama administration exclusively for twice being on the losing side of events in Egypt. Reality in Egypt has also eluded Beltway Republican foreign policy mavens and America’s dysfunctional and distracted intelligence bureaucracies. That makes shaping events in Egypt nearly impossible.

“The first shock for Washington came in January 2011, when hundreds of thousands of Egyptians demanding secular democracy filled town squares. According to Washington and its $80 billion-per-year intelligence bureaucracy, these people did not exist in the Middle East…  Even as it became clear that Mubarak would not survive, Vice President Joe Biden said supportively, ‘I would not refer to him as a dictator.’ Of the nation that historically has been the political bellwether of the broader region, then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton said, ‘We’re not advocating any specific outcome.’

“These officials should be afforded some pity. The information and advice they were getting came partially from State Department experts who are perennially wrong about major developments in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the CIA was distracted. Originally created for the crucial tasks of stealing secrets and waging political war on America’s foes, the CIA has spent the last decade becoming a second military. With what amounts to a second American air force around the globe and a ground force now focusing on arming Syrian rebels – inexplicably so for a mission that isn’t conceivably covert – the CIA drifts ever farther from helping policymakers grasp and influence foreign political developments.

“And so the first Egyptian revolution came and went. Despite being caught flatfooted before the uprising, surely officials across Washington would be excited at the emergence of a bloc in Egypt that wanted a modern democracy, wouldn’t they? Unfortunately, Washington has a way of not allowing new facts to tamper with long-held assumptions. If Egyptian secular liberals did not exist in theory then they couldn’t exist in practice.

“So when Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham went to Cairo in February 2011, they held high-profile meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood, lending it credibility. According to the Wall Street Journal, Graham remarked, ‘After talking with the Muslim Brotherhood, I was struck with their commitment to change the law because they believe it’s unfair.’ Later, in April 2012, White House spokesman Jay Carney cited the McCain-Graham engagement with the Brotherhood as justification for the Obama administration’s own engagement with the Islamist group…

“Enter Egypt’s second revolution.  Is it any wonder that the Obama administration has chosen to remain reticent about the matter?  Egypt’s Islamist president is gone, but his supporters still exist and their secular opponents don’t yet appear to be more organized.  Worse still, the will for America and its allies to help them organize, and the tools to do that with, both appear to be in mothballs. So once again the most titanic political contest of our era takes a dramatic turn – one that will have an impact in every Muslim-majority nation and beyond, but with America largely on the sidelines. Washington will again leave crucial matters to chance.”

That is the picture which is being painted increasingly by Washington—when it comes to world affairs, it seems to be clueless, standing on the sidelines, leaving it to others to lead. The time when America was respected as a leader in the world is gone. See also the next article.

Obama’s Mideast Policy Ineffective

The Los Angeles Times added on July 5:

“The military overthrow of the democratically elected government in Egypt, for decades America’s most important Arab ally, has rekindled a fierce debate about whether the Obama administration’s Mideast policy has been too passive and ineffective…

“The critics, who include Democratic foreign policy stalwarts as well as Republicans, say the upheaval in Egypt, on top of the administration’s inability to stem the civil war in Syria or persuade Iran to curb its nuclear program, adds a blot to Obama’s foreign policy record. They blame, in part, Obama’s desire to reduce America’s overseas commitments after a decade of war, along with his apparent effort to pull back from a leadership position in favor of a more supporting role in the Middle East…

“Critics now say the U.S. focus on security meant the White House was unwilling to push back when Egypt’s military abused human rights, including ordering military trials for 10,000 civilians accused in connection with the 2011 protests, and when the Morsi government began trying to monopolize power. ‘Washington was embarrassingly quiet,’ said Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a nonpartisan think tank…

“Martin Indyk, a former U.S. diplomat and advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the administration’s failure to object more loudly was a serious mistake. ‘Our failure to stand against Morsi when he began trampling on minority rights convinced the secular opposition that we were now in his corner,’ Indyk wrote in Foreign Policy magazine. ‘We appeared to be shifting our support from one authoritarian Pharaoh to the next.’…

“U.S. officials and European governments, in particular, talked about developing an international aid framework to assist Egypt’s struggling economy, but it never got off the ground. Egypt ultimately turned to Qatar for a $3-billion annual subsidy.”

Kerry on Yacht—Why These Constant Lies?

CNN reported on July 5:

“After the emergence of photographs showing Secretary of State John Kerry on his 76-foot yacht ‘Isabel’ on Nantucket Sound on Thursday, the State Department issued an embarrassing correction Friday morning, back-tracking and acknowledging that the Secretary was in fact on the yacht on Wednesday, the day the Egyptian military staged a coup against democratically-elected Egyptian President Mohamed [Morsi].  Originally, State Department officials were quick to deny a Wednesday tweet from CBS News’ Mosheh Oinounou that: ‘A CBSThisMorning producer just spotted Secretary of State Kerry on yacht in the Nantucket Boat Basin…’

“State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki issued a statement Wednesday saying ‘any report or tweet that he was on a boat is completely inaccurate. Since his plane touched down in Washington at 4 am, Secretary Kerry was working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt… He participated in the White House meeting with the President by secure phone and was and is in non-stop contact with foreign leaders, and his senior team in Washington and Cairo.’

“But overnight, photographs emerged showing Kerry on ‘Isabel’ and taking in some kayaking on Thursday… On Friday morning, Psaki issued a second statement, acknowledging that Kerry was ‘briefly on his boat on Wednesday.’…”

This is just another nail in the coffin of the lack of trust in the American government’s truthfulness.

The Important Role of Egypt’s Military

Deutsche Welle reported on July 5:

“Within two years and with the help of the army, the Egyptians have overthrown two presidents… The period between Mubarak’s fall and the election of his successor, Mohammed Morsi, was marked by continued unrest. Initially, some people welcomed the role of the army, but the Supreme Council soon found itself accused of maintaining the old power structures and of carrying out numerous human rights abuses…

“From the start, Morsi’s presidency was marked by a battle for power with the military. In August 2012, he suspended articles of the constitution which limited his power in favor of the military… Morsi’s attempts to increase his powers led to increasingly vocal protest from society and the opposition. In the course of his presidency, he found himself accused of turning Egypt into an Islamic state…

“The Egyptian army is one of the most important actors on the country’s political stage. Since the end of the monarchy in 1952, all the Egyptian presidents have come from its ranks: Mohammed Nagib, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. At the same time, it was the military which was crucial in Mubarak’s overthrow…  The military has once more played an important role and taken the upper hand in the fall of Morsi… it… announced Morsi’s arrest and appointed the president of the constitutional court, Adli Mansour, as interim president to replace him.”

On July 5, the Huffington Post published the following comment by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Emmy-Nominated Producer/Host:

“I understand why so many (namely President Obama) are careful not to call this a coup. But whatever we call it, we must acknowledge the basic facts: A president elected in unprecedented free and fair elections was overthrown by an ever-powerful military that took its cues from an unprecedented mobilization of millions of Egyptians challenging his rule. Morsi failed at nearly everything the Egyptian people had hoped and entrusted him to do, chief among them, uniting a divided Egypt. But Egypt’s military has failed for far longer, with a lot more blood on their hands. And no one is more ruthless in suppressing the rights of others in Egypt than the American-made military.”

Egypt’s Turmoil Ongoing

Fox News and The Associated Press reported on July 10:

“Egypt ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader and nine others for allegedly instigating violent clashes with the military this week that left more than 50 Brotherhood supporters dead…

“Newly appointed Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi was to begin forming a Cabinet on Wednesday, and has said he will offer the Brotherhood — which helped propel Morsi to the presidency — posts in a new government. But a Brotherhood spokesman dismissed any talk of joining a military-backed administration, and said talk of national reconciliation is ‘irrelevant.’…

“Interim President Adly Mansour called for a reconciliation process called ‘One People’ to begin in Ramadan, traditionally a period for Muslims to promote unity. It called for parties and movements to hold meetings. But there was no sign the Brotherhood and its allies would attend, much like Morsi’s opponents rejected his calls for dialogue, which were dismissed as empty gestures…

“Egypt still remains deeply polarized with heightened fears of violence, especially after Monday’s shootings… Tens of thousands of Islamists massed on Tuesday for another day outside a Cairo mosque.”

Persecution of Christians in Egypt

F24 wrote on July 6:

“Violent clashes across Egypt have been taking place not just between the supporters and opponents of deposed President Mohammed Morsi of late. During times of upheaval, the Coptic Christians in Egypt always suffer abuse, and now is no exception. The Coptic community comprises roughly 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million. They belong mostly to the Coptic Orthodox Church although some subscribe to Greek Orthodoxy. The Copts live primarily in Egypt’s largest cities, Cairo and Alexandria.

“Since the beginning of the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, they have suffered constant harassment, and dozens have lost their lives to violence. Their churches have been torched. Coptic women have been beaten, forced to wear hijabs, or forcibly converted to Islam, according to human rights organizations. The Muslim Brotherhood has taken a public stance against the targeting of Copts. Not only did Morsi condemn violence against the group during his presidency, he appointed numerous Copts as ministers and advisers in his government. The main group antagonistic to the Copts has been the Salafi movement, a conservative Islamic group that recently joined the liberals in coalition against Morsi.”

The New York Times reported on July 11:

“The military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi has unleashed a new wave of violence by extremist Muslims against Christians whom they blame for having supported the calls to overthrow Mr. Morsi, Egypt’s first Islamist elected leader, according to rights activists.  Since Mr. Morsi’s ouster on July 3, the activists say, a priest has been shot dead in the street, Islamists have painted black X’s on Christian shops to mark them for arson and angry mobs have attacked churches and besieged Christians in their homes. Four Christians were reported slaughtered with knives and machetes in one village last week.  The attacks have hit across the country, in the northern Sinai Peninsula, in a resort town on the Mediterranean coast, in Port Said along the Suez Canal and in isolated villages in upper Egypt.

“After Mr. Morsi’s ouster, Islamist mobs in the village of Dagala in that province looted one church, burned a building belonging to another and surrounded Christian homes, shattering their widows with rocks and clubs, EIPR said.  After one Christian man shot at the attackers from his roof, they dragged his wife from the house, beat her up and shot her. She is currently hospitalized, according to EIPR.  ‘The police came the day after the events and they didn’t do anything,’ Mr. Ibrahim said [Ishaq Ibrahim documented the violence for the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, or EIPR.] ‘People prevented the fire engines from coming in so they couldn’t do anything.’

“In the village of Naga Hassan near Luxor, Muslim mobs invaded Christian homes and set them alight while besieging other Christians in their homes. Security forces arrived to evacuate the women, but left the men, four of whom were subsequently stabbed and beaten to death, Mr. Ibrahim said…  Dozens of Christian homes were reported burned in the Naga Hassan attacks, and most of the village’s Christians have fled or are believed to be hiding in the local church.”

“NSA and the Germans ‘In Bed Together’”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 7:

“SPIEGEL reporting… indicates that cooperation between the NSA and Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, is more intensive than previously known. NSA, for example, provides ‘analysis tools’ for the BND’s signals monitoring of foreign data streams that travel through Germany. Among the BND’s focuses are the Middle East route through which data packets from crisis regions travel. In total, SPIEGEL reported that the BND pulls data from five different nodes that are then analyzed at the foreign intelligence service’s headquarters in Pullach near Munich. BND head Gerhard Schindler confirmed the partnership during a meeting with members of the German parliament’s control committee for intelligence issues.”

The EUObserver added on July 8:

“The German intelligence service (BND) has been co-operating ‘for decades’ with the US, but only within legal boundaries, a German government spokesman said on Monday (8 July)… Liberal politicians in Germany have demanded for Snowden to be granted asylum – but not the Liberal foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, who points out that the US is a democracy and the justice system there is independent, which gives no grounds for political asylum… An opinion poll carried out by Emnid end of June showed that 50 percent of Germans consider Snowden to be a hero and 35 percent would hide him in their homes.”

Trust in US at Lowest Level Since Bush

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 5:

“Ongoing revelations about the NSA spying scandal have pushed German trust in the US to its lowest level since the presidency of George W. Bush… Early in [Obama’s] first term, some 78 percent of Germans saw the US as ‘a country that could be trusted.’… A survey released late on Thursday found that only 49 percent of Germans now view the United States as trustworthy… Fully 78 percent agreed with the statement that German Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘must protest more unequivocally to the US.’

“The reputation of the United Kingdom — which was also revealed to have been engaged in tight Internet surveillance — has also suffered according to the survey. Only 63 percent of Germans now see the country as a trustworthy partner…”

The Frightening Militarization of US Police and Increasing Criminal Prosecution of US Citizens for Noncriminal Acts

The website of timesdispatch.com wrote on July 5:

“Elizabeth Daly went to jail over a case of bottled water. According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress, shortly after 10 p.m. April 11, the University of Virginia student bought ice cream, cookie dough and a carton of LaCroix sparkling water from the Harris Teeter grocery store at the popular Barracks Road Shopping Center. In the parking lot, a half-dozen men and a woman approached her car, flashing some kind of badges. One jumped on the hood. Another drew a gun. Others started trying to break the windows. Daly understandably panicked. With her roommate in the passenger seat yelling “Go, go, go!” Daly drove off, hoping to reach the nearest police station. The women dialed 911. Then a vehicle with lights and sirens pulled them over, and the situation clarified: The people who had swarmed Daly’s vehicle were plainclothes agents of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The agents had thought the sparkling water was a 12-pack of beer.

“Did the ABC’s enforcers apologize? Not in the slightest. They charged Daly with three felonies: two for assaulting an officer (her vehicle had grazed two agents; neither was hurt) and one for eluding the police. Last week, the commonwealth’s attorney dropped the charges. The agents’ excessive display of force is outrageously disproportionate to the offense they mistakenly thought they witnessed: an underage purchase of alcohol. But in a sense, Daly got off easy. A couple of weeks after her ordeal, a 61-year-old man in Tennessee was killed when the police executed a drug raid on the wrong house. A few weeks later, in another wrong-house raid, police officers killed a dog belonging to an Army veteran. These are not isolated incidents…

“They are, however, part and parcel of two broader phenomena. One is the militarization of domestic law enforcement. In recent years, police departments have widely adopted military tactics, military equipment (armored personnel carriers, flash-bang grenades) — and, sometimes, the mindset of military conquerors rather than domestic peacekeepers. The other phenomenon is the increasing degree to which civilians are subject to criminal prosecution for noncriminal acts, including exercising the constitutionally protected right to free speech…

“[Remember] the case of Jeff Olson, who chalked messages such as ‘Stop big banks’ outside branches of Bank of America last year. Law professor Jonathan Turley reports that prosecutors brought 13 vandalism charges against him. Moreover, the judge in the case recently prohibited Olson’s attorney from ‘mentioning the First Amendment, free speech,’ or anything like them during the trial. In May, a Texas woman was arrested for asking to see a warrant for the arrest of her 11-year-old son. ‘She spent the night in jail while her son was left at home,’ reports Fox34 News. The son never was arrested…

“Federal prosecutors also recently used an anti-terrorism measure to seize almost $70,000 from the owners of a Maryland dairy. Randy and Karen Sowers had made several bank deposits of just under $10,000 to avoid the headache of filing federal reports required for sums over that amount. The feds charged them with unlawful ‘structuring.’ Last week, they settled the case. Authorities kept half their money to teach them a lesson.

“‘I broke the law yesterday,’ writes George Mason economics professor Alex Tabarrok, ‘and I probably will break the law tomorrow. Don’t mistake me, I have done nothing wrong. I don’t even know what laws I have broken. … It’s hard for anyone to live today without breaking the law. Doubt me? Have you ever thrown out some junk mail that … was addressed to someone else? That’s a violation of federal law punishable by up to five years in prison.’ Tabarrok notes that lawyer Harvey Silverglate thinks the typical American commits ‘Three Felonies a Day’…

“As The Wall Street Journal has reported, lawmakers in Washington have greatly eroded the notion of mens rea — the principle that you need criminal intent in order to commit a crime… ‘What once might have been considered simply a mistake,’ The Journal explains, is now ‘punishable by jail time.’ And as 20-year-old Elizabeth Daly has now learned, you can go to jail even when the person making the mistake wasn’t you.”

The Huffington Post added on July 10:

“Despite campaign promises to the contrary, Obama has not only continued the Bush and Clinton administration policy of sending SWAT teams to raid medical marijuana growers, shops, and dispensaries in states that have legalized the drug, he appears to have significantly increased enforcement. Just two years into his presidency, Obama’s administration had conducted about 150 such raids. The Bush administration conducted around 200 medical marijuana raids over eight years. Obama has also stepped up the heavy-handed raids often used to enforce immigration laws. In 2012, his administration deported more people than in any prior year in American history. He’s on pace to deport 2 million people by 2014, a figure equal to the total number of people ever deported from America until 1997…

“In 2011, an armed team of federal agents raided the floor of the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville, Tenn. The raid made national headlines and picked up traction in the tea party movement, largely because it had been conducted to enforce the Lacey Act, a fairly obscure environmental law — not the sort of policy most people would think would be enforced by armed federal agents. The same year, a SWAT team from the Department of Education conducted a morning raid of what they thought was the home of a woman who was suspected of defrauding federal student loan programs — again, not the sort of crime usually associated with a SWAT action. (They also got the wrong house — the suspect had moved out months earlier.)

“The Obama administration has defended the use of aggressive, militaristic police actions in court. In the case Avina v. U.S., DEA agents pointed their guns at an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old during a drug raid on the wrong house. The agents had apparently mistaken the license plate of a suspected drug trafficker for the plate on a car owned by Thomas Avina. Obama’s Justice Department argued in federal court that the lawsuit should be dismissed before being heard by a jury because the agents’ actions were not unreasonable… there was a time in America when even the original tough-on-crime administration was appalled enough at the idea to hold such overly zealous drug cops accountable…”

This incredible injustice in the land of the free and the brave is most certainly an abomination in God’s eyes… But this should come as no surprise because God prophesied in His Word that we would reach the time when there is NO MORE JUSTICE in the land (compare Isaiah 59:9-15; Hosea 4:1). It appears more and more that time HAS arrived.

Largest Joint Naval Drill Ever Between China and Russia

The Washington Times reported on July 5:

“Chinese and Russian navies have partnered for the countries’ largest joint naval drill in history… Military analysts see the joint drill as yet another sign of the countries’ growing friendship… The drill… [is] aimed at giving the countries the chance to practice anti-submarine warfare and naval maneuvers at a close range. The drills are the largest in scope that China’s ever held with a foreign nation. The country has been actively building up its navy, AP reported.”

The New York Times wrote on July 10:

“An armada of Chinese and Russian warships sailed in ceremonial formation in the Sea of Japan, off the port of Vladivostok, on Wednesday in what was the high point of joint naval exercises intended to show the growing unity between [the] two countries…  State-run news media gave widespread coverage to the action, which included live firing drills…

“From Beijing’s point of view, there was a message for Washington, too: As China rapidly builds its maritime power and the United States begins to deploy more of its naval and air assets back to the Pacific Ocean as part of its new focus on Asia, China will not stand alone… ‘This shows unprecedented good relations between China and Russia,’ said Professor Wang Ning, director of the Center for Russian Studies at the Shanghai International Studies University. ‘It shows that the two countries will support each other on the global stage.’ Both countries want a more multipolar world in which the United States is less dominant, he said.”

The Bible speaks of an end-time military collaboration between Far Eastern countries, including China, Russia, Japan, India and others, which are referred to as the “kings of the East.” For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy—From Now Until Forever.”

Latvia to Be 18th Member of the Eurozone

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 9:

“The European Union has officially approved Latvia as the 18th member of the eurozone, which uses the bloc’s common currency. The Baltic country is set to adopt the euro on January 1, 2014. European Union finance ministers from the 28-member bloc gave their final approval for Latvia to join the eurozone…  Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed the news… adding that it was ‘good news not only for Latvia but also for Europe and the eurozone.’”

The “Euro Zone Beast” May “Bite”

Reuters wrote on July 3:

“Portugal [and] Greece risk reawakening [the] euro zone beast… EU officials have been at pains to talk down any unrest, buoyed by the tranquility in financial markets since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made good on his pledge last summer to do whatever it takes to protect the euro via a bond-buying program. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has spoken of the worst of the crisis being over, and the economic affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, has often dismissed ‘doomsayers’ who once predicted the euro would collapse.

“But despite the desire to project calm, EU officials quietly acknowledge that all is not well and that any number of problems could throw the region back into turmoil. ‘There are always issues simmering under the surface,’ said an EU diplomat who has been dealing first hand with the crisis since it erupted in Greece in early 2010. ‘It’s far from over. The immediacy may have ebbed away, but I think we’re all aware that under the surface, there’s still a lot of stuff that can come back to bite us.’”

We are not quoting the article because we believe that a major euro crisis will throw the region back into turmoil, or that the euro will collapse. The Bible shows otherwise. But the language used in the article is quite revealing: the euro zone is a beast that may bite. According to the Bible, it is indeed a beast—the last revival of the ancient Roman Empire, referred to as the “beast” in Scripture, which will finally consist of ten core nations or groups of nations that will in turn give their authority to a military leader who is ALSO called the “beast” in the Bible. This last revival of the ancient Roman Empire will at first be a collaboration between the Catholic Church and the states, but the ten nations or groups of nations—the “beast”–will subsequently turn against the church and “bite” it.