California Declares Nation Statehood
The Ron Paul Institute wrote on April 25:
“Bloomberg published a stunning piece on April 9th promoting the secession of California from the US… This does not mean we should normally expect some announcement by Governor Newsom that ‘The California Republic is an independent nation-state’. Yet amazingly, it has been almost verbatim said in this way…”
Will California and other American states secede from the USA? If so, then citizens of those states will have to decide rather quickly where their loyalty lies.
More Nonsense—Facemasks Required for All San Diego Residents
“All San Diego County residents will be required to wear face coverings while in public starting May 1, health officials announced Friday. County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said a mandate would be added to the public health order that would require anyone to wear a face covering whenever you are within six-feet of a non-household member….
“The county has said that medical-grade masks should not be used but homemade masks, bandanas, scarves and neck gaiters are acceptable since the items can be washed and reused… ‘We believe this is going to be a part of life in the new normal,’ Fletcher said. Until such time as we have a vaccine or a widely available therapeutic drug, there are going to be parts of life that are going to change. And getting in the habit of having a face covering when you leave your house, that’s going to be part of that change.’”
Wearing a mask is to become part of the new normal? San Diego’s governmental instructions to wear face masks are just one example of the uninformed paranoia sweeping through this entire country. It is highly disputed whether wearing masks is helpful at all or whether it could even be harmful. The Guardian had written this on April 7:
“The WHO… maintained that… there was no evidence that wearing a mask in the community prevented healthy people from picking up respiratory infections including Covid-19… Prof David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who chaired the WHO’s scientific and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, said that unless people were working in healthcare settings, masks are ‘only for the protection of others, not for the protection of oneself’.
“… Another concern is that people may contaminate themselves when they adjust, remove and dispose of their masks. The WHO said… countries that recommended masks for the general population should set up studies to monitor their effectiveness. William Keevil, a professor of environmental healthcare at the University of Southampton, said governments felt under pressure to be seen to be doing something, even if it was a waste of time and valuable resources.”
That is exactly what California and many other states are doing… wasting our time without proper studies and requiring the wearing of masks which could prove to be dangerous for those who wear them.
This is of course not limited to Californian politicians. In general, politicians are anxious to be seen as doing “something” to guarantee their (re-)election by a gullible public. That is one of the many reasons why TRUE Christians must NEVER vote in man’s political elections.
Insane Facemasks Requirements in Germany
The Guardian wrote on April 27:
“New rules have come into force legally requiring most people in Germany to wear face masks on public transport, long-distance trains and in shops. The so-called Maskenpflicht (mask duty) was introduced in 15 of the country’s 16 states on Monday morning. The northern state of Schleswig-Holstein will on Wednesday be the last state to implement the legislation.
“Fines of between €25 and €10,000 can be imposed on those who fail to wear a mask, with rates differing widely across the country… The heftiest fines will apply to shopkeepers whose staff are caught not wearing masks…
“Authorities have been quick to insist the masks do not have to be medically approved. Scarfs or cloths over the nose or mouth are adequate… But the decision has drawn scorn from some medical experts, who say non-medical masks will have little effect in stemming the spread of the virus, and could even encourage it, if masks are worn incorrectly… Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the chairman of the World Medical Association… said the proper wearing of a mask was complicated. ‘People are in danger of contaminating themselves if they wear a mask incorrectly,’ he said…
“But as Germans sought to understand the rules… in a confusing twist car drivers were warned not to wear coverings that completely disguised their faces or risk a €60 fine. This is largely so they can still be recognised by speed cameras and police surveillance. Since October 2017 it has been illegal for people to cover their face while driving, with veils, burqas and niqabs specifically singled out. Passengers are not affected.
“In most states the mask duty applies to those aged six or seven and over. People with disabilities for whom wearing a mask would be inappropriate, such as those with breathing difficulties, are exempt… 97% of those asked saying they supported the rule and recognised the importance of keeping it to help tackle coronavirus.”
If true, then these 97% of Germans are living in an illusionary dangerous dreamworld and have become victims of nationwide propaganda. That is scary indeed.
Cancer Kills More People than Coronavirus
Daily Mail wrote on April 24:
“… we’re facing a cancer epidemic, with more preventable deaths from cancer than from Covid-19. The reason is simple – in the rush to focus on stemming the awful death toll from coronavirus, the UK’s medical experts decided to temporarily ‘forget’ about cancer victims, thousands of people who had already started treatments…
“Cancer affects more people in the UK than coronavirus ever will… Four hundred and fifty people die every day from the disease – 165,000 a year. If caught early, half of those diagnosed will live for more than ten years, and great work in diagnosis and treatment is seeing survival rates increase…
“A thousand new cases of cancer are diagnosed every day – at least there were in the UK, before coronavirus diverted our attention and all the resources… I cannot imagine the horror for breast, bowel and lung cancer patients whose treatment has been mothballed. Even after lockdown ends, it could take 6 to 9 months for services to return to normal. Experts say a delay in bowel cancer scanning can be a death sentence. So why do we care more about covid-19 than a disease which could affect (and potentially kill) half of us?
“Cancer charities say donations have plummeted – all we’re thinking about is coronavirus and fund-raising for the wonderful NHS. According to leading expert Professor Karl Sikora (a former director of the World Health Organisation’s cancer programme), the NHS’s decision to stop screening, delay surgery, and postpone chemotherapy will lead to far more deaths than coronavirus – over the coming years, as many as 50,000 victims could have had a good chance of life, if they’d been diagnosed and treated swiftly. According to Professor Sikora, cancer sufferers are ‘collateral damage’ in the current war against the virus…”
Thousands upon thousands of people dying of cancer and other sicknesses because of the preoccupation with Coronavirus are now deemed to be collateral damage? This is war-talk… we fight an imagined or real enemy and accept collateral damage of the innocents and helpless. We are indeed in a war… a war with the spiritual forces of darkness which have deceived and taken captive this entire world while bombarding it with insane ideas which would ultimately lead to the destruction of this planet… if Christ were not to intervene at the last minute to stop the utter madness of man’s misguided policies.
“Treating” Coronavirus Pathway to More Dangerous Sicknesses
The Mirror wrote on April 27:
“The coronavirus pandemic is paving the way for an increase in deadly superbugs, a scientist has warned. Ronan McCarthy, a lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at Brunel University London, has warned that there could be a surge in antibiotic resistance following the pandemic…: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has led to huge numbers of people with compromised immune systems being admitted to hospitals, which are a known breeding ground for drug-resistant bacteria. Because of this influx, these hospital-associated bacteria will now have a much wider potential target group.’
“According to Mr McCarthy, emerging evidence suggests that many coronavirus patients are being diagnosed with secondary infections while in hospital. He said: ‘… there is some evidence that multidrug-resistant bacteria are among the germs causing these secondary infections.’ As a result, many coronavirus patients are given antibiotics, despite the fact that they won’t treat the virus itself. Mr McCarthy said: ‘This rapid increase in antibiotic use, particularly in hospitals, will apply a strong selective pressure on bacteria to evolve resistance.’”
This appears to be a real danger. It is known that even in “normal” times, the frequent use or better misuse of antibiotics can do more harm than good.
Death Certificates Have Always Been Extremely Unreliable
USA Today wrote on April 26:
“Up to 1 in 3 death certificates nationwide were wrong before COVID-19, Bob Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics, said in an interview with the USA TODAY Network… Experts said the inaccuracies are part and parcel of a patchwork, state-by-state system of medical examiners, coroners and doctors who have disparate medical backgrounds, and in some cases none at all.
“The problem is likely to get worse as the pandemic inundates overworked and sometimes untrained officials who fill out the forms…
“Inaccurate death reporting is a long-standing problem. A review of Missouri hospitals in 2017, for example, found nearly half of death certificates listed an incorrect cause of death. A Vermont study found 51% of death certificates had major errors. Nearly half of the physicians the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed in 2010 admitted that they knowingly reported an inaccurate cause of death.
“Death certificates regularly lack enough details to accurately pinpoint the cause of death, Anderson said. ‘For example, cardiac arrest is not an acceptable cause of death, because everybody dies of cardiac arrest,’ Anderson said. ‘That just means your heart stopped.’…
“Physicians, coroners, medical examiners, and in some states, other medical personnel, such as nurse practitioners, can legally sign death certificates…”
In light of these comments, the alleged accuracy of the figures claiming death by the coronavirus becomes even more disputable.
Tucker Carlson on the Attack against Lockdowns
Fox News wrote on April 28:
“Tucker Carlson began Monday’s edition of ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ by playing a video clip posted by Dr. Daniel Erickson of Bakersfield, Calif., in which Erickson gave his analysis of the coronavirus pandemic and called for an end to shelter-in-place orders around the U.S. ‘These are serious people who’ve done this for a living for decades. They have in their hands the largest currently available data sets on this question,’ Carlson said. ‘And the question they’re asking after analyzing all of those numbers [is] “Are the lockdowns worth it?” So what is the answer to that?
“‘What’s so striking is that so many politicians, the ones enforcing the lockdowns, don’t seem at all interested in asking it,’ Carlson added. ‘Instead, they’re bullying forward as if nothing has changed… Remember what they first told us back in February and March? They said we have to take radical steps in order to “flatten the curve.” Well, six weeks later, we’re happy to say that curve has been flattened, but it’s likely not because of the lockdown,’ Carlson said. ‘The virus just isn’t nearly as deadly as we thought it was.’
“The host also mentioned the negative impact of the lockdown on hospitals around America. ‘The result of this policy? In many hospitals, entire floors have been mothballed. Doctors and nurses are being furloughed in the middle of a pandemic,’ Carlson said. ‘This is insanity. It weakens our health care system. Its effects will last for many years. That’s all from the lockdown.’
“Carlson cited the SARS virus as a reason why Americans cannot wait for a vaccine for the economy to reopen. ‘We spent millions of dollars and more than a decade trying to find a vaccine for the SARS virus. Scientists never developed one. That’s a shame. But did we hold life in the United States in response?’ Carlson said. ‘We didn’t. In fact, you may not even remember that any of that happened. The striking thing is, the science has not changed that much since then,’ Carlson added. ‘Unfortunately, American politics have changed a lot. And that’s the difference.’”
This is a very true assessment of the situation and the insanity ruling this world. Unfortunately, most still do not understand.
Trump’s “Hypocritical” Immigration Policy
The Week wrote on April 25:
“On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order that bars [certain] forms of immigration to the United States for the next 60 days… [It] is the culmination of what has been a set of increasingly restrictive immigration policies put out by his administration since COVID-19 began. All along, Trump and his allies have defended these restrictions primarily as sensible health measures, meant only to protect Americans from infection-carrying outsiders.
“The latest… immigration decision by Trump this week took place just as he was also ramping up his latest push to end the lockdowns and reopen the American economy… The blatant hypocrisy of… using supposed health concerns as the basis for limiting immigration is trademark Trump doublespeak… If the virus is serious enough to suspend immigration, then the economy shouldn’t be reopened…
“Since early March… the Trump administration has diligently made more than a dozen changes to the U.S. immigration system…
“In justifying this week’s executive order, Trump said he was suspending immigration to protect American jobs from being taken by outside workers, a change from his earlier arguments that any immigration restrictions were designed to lessen the health threat immigrants posed to Americans. With more than 26 million Americans filing jobless claims… it’s not a mystery why Trump has shifted from a health-based justification to an economic rationale for his immigration order…
“Whether he characterizes them as deadly to American lives or destructive to the nation’s economy, Trump constantly scapegoats immigrants for America’s problems, especially those of his own making. Still, no matter how many people he keeps out of the country, it won’t do one thing to curb the sickness that is raging within.”
People always need to find a scapegoat which they can blame and persecute—whether it’s professing or true Christians, Jews and now immigrants. The sickness raging within our country is most certainly not limited to coronavirus—a far more dangerous sickness is that of the soul and the mind.
Also, Vatican News reported on April 24 that the American Catholic Bishops criticized Trump’s suspension of applications for green cards for 60 days. They stated that there are not really any indications that those immigrants would take away jobs from Americans, as claimed by Trump as “justification” for his executive order. The Bishops are absolutely correct, as we pointed out in our previous Update. One must not overlook that Trump’s immigration measures are part of an agenda to destroy, step by step, our immigration laws and policies as we once knew them. Trump announced that much when he ran for president, and no one should be surprised when he carries out what he had proclaimed.
Stephen Miller—The Instigator behind the Trump Immigration Agenda
The Independent wrote on April 24:
“Donald Trump’s senior policy adviser Stephen Miller told White House supporters in a private call this week that the president’s new executive order curbing immigration will usher in the kind of broader long-term changes to American society he has advocated for years, even though the 60-day measures were publicly characterised as a ‘pause’ during the coronavirus pandemic…
“Mr Miller told the group that subsequent measures were under consideration that would restrict guest worker programs…
“The Trump administration has been trying for years to scrap the family-based US immigration model, which Mr Miller and other restrictionists call ‘chain migration.’… Although Mr Trump described his order this week as a temporary ‘pause,’ he also said it is an open-ended move that will remain in place until he decides the US labour market has sufficiently improved once the coronavirus crisis subsides…
“Mr Miller has been the leading proponent of the argument that immigrants compete for jobs with US workers and depress their wages. The argument is anathema to many economists and pro-business Republicans who argue that immigration fuels long-term US growth and keeps US industries competitive. The debate remains a significant fault line in the Republican Party, with many GOP members unwilling to support the more hard-line positions Mr Miller backs. Mr Trump’s efforts to overhaul the immigration system have floundered in Congress…
“Mr Trump acknowledged sending out the tweet before the order was written, and the version he signed Wednesday was far less sweeping than the one he had teased on social media. It does not apply to immigrants already living and working in the United States who are seeking permanent residency, nor does it apply to the spouses and children of US citizens, among other exemptions. But the measure, which took effect Thursday, does block the other immigrant visa categories Mr Trump calls chain migration,’ namely the ability for US citizens to sponsor their parents, adult children and siblings…”
These kinds of immigration restrictions are cruel and unjustifiable. In tearing apart families or preventing children from helping their old parents, they are in direct violation of God’s Word and fall under the condemnation of Jesus who chastised the Pharisees for such ungodly behavior.
Postponing Presidential Election?
AfP wrote on April 24:
“Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has predicted that US President Donald Trump will try to postpone the country’s November election… ‘Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,’ Biden said…
“Biden, highlighting Trump’s recent threat to veto emergency funding for the US Post Office, claimed it was an example of the president’s intention to ‘do all he can to make it very hard for people to vote.’
“While mail-in voting and absentee ballots remain methods many say could help limit voters spreading coronavirus, Trump maintains they create the potential for fraud. Meanwhile, dozens of US states have postponed their primary races, which will officially determine who will be the presidential nominee.”
The Guardian wrote on April 24:
“Under the law, no president has the power to postpone the presidential election. To change the date, Congress has to intervene. Trump has not announced plans to delay the 3 November election, but it is a concern both political parties have raised… The Covid-19 outbreak has also increased concerns about how to conduct in-person voting safely. In response, many are pushing for an expansion of voting by mail… Trump… urged Republicans to fight efforts to expand voting by mail.”
Biden may be right with his concerns regarding a “postponement” of the election…
Reviving America? Get Real!
CNN wrote on April 26:
“Another 4.4 million Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week, bringing the number of people who’ve lost work in the past five weeks to an apocalyptic 26.5 million… People who never had their hands out before are going to food banks, and the unemployment rate is suddenly approaching Great Depression territory. It’s the same story around the world.
“… even if the virus were waning across the US — which it isn’t — shops, restaurants, bars and movie theaters would likely reopen at reduced capacity. A cafe that had six waiters might need only three. And there’s no guarantee those other jobs will ever come back. That scenario will be repeated millions of times over. Fewer workers will mean fewer people with money to buy cars and go on vacation — which will mean that industries like tourism, entertainment and hospitality have a long haul. So after the battle against the coronavirus is won, the war to revive America will likely continue. We’re talking years, not months.”
America may never revive.
Schools on Saturdays in Germany?
En24 wrote on April 24:
“In view of the massive loss of teaching in the Corona crisis, [Minister of Education Anja] Karliczek is also open to teaching on Saturdays. One should ‘not rule out an option’, she said… Saturday might be needed to teach everyone three times a week.”
She also advocates a mask requirement for schoolchildren, and she spoke of a vaccine by next year. She is an “engaged” Catholic and serves under Angela Merkel, being a member of the CDU. Before her “surprise appointment” by Merkel in 2018 as Minister of Education, she was virtually unknown in Germany.
Focus wrote on April 24 that a controversial debate regarding teaching in school on Saturdays has begun in Germany. After quoting Karliczek’s comments, the magazine continued that Schleswig-Holstein‘s Minister for Education, Karin Prien (CDU), also raised the possibility of opening schools on Saturdays, but that she encountered strong resistance from the state’s labor union, as, according to leader Astrid Henke, schools on Saturdays would be to the detriment of teachers; and that therefore, the labor union rejects this option categorically.
Karin Prien is of Jewish origin and was born and grew up in the Netherlands, where her maternal grandparents had fled in the early 1930s before the emergence of National Socialism in Germany. She later moved to Germany. Prien has declared that she does not feel Jewish and that she has no relationship to the Jewish religion.
Of course, the very thought that school on Saturday violates God’s explicit command to remember His Sabbath Day does not even enter the minds of carnal people… and if it does, it is immediately rejected. The violation of the Sabbath is one important aspect of the mark of the beast.
Italian Bishops Object to Unacceptable Governmental Restrictions
Vatican News wrote on April 27:
“The Italian Bishops’ Conference… addressed the policies that would continue to restrict the Church’s ability to carry out its pastoral activity. The Bishops of Italy made it clear that any move to compromise the ‘exercise of freedom of religion’ is unacceptable… the note continues, the plan presented by Prime Minister Conte ‘arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people’.
“… In the dialogue with government offices, the note continues, the Bishops’ Conference has stressed, repeatedly and explicitly, that as soon as the measures taken to deal with the pandemic began to be lifted, ‘the Church would demand to be able to resume its pastoral activity’.”
The Christian Churches have been cowardly quiet far too long all over the world when “dealing” with secular governments. And the waffling and backpedaling Pope does not help. Note the next article.
Pope Plays Politics… What Else Is New?
Crux Now wrote on April 28:
“Since Pope Francis began livestreaming his daily Mass from the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence, many people around the world have been grateful for the opportunity to hear the pope’s words and to participate, albeit virtually, in his liturgy, helping to break the isolation of the coronavirus quarantine. Tuesday morning, however, probably no one was more grateful than Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
“Conte got a badly needed favor, as the pontiff essentially hit the off switch on mounting Catholic resistance to the PM’s program for recovery by calling for ‘prudence and obedience.’ What remains to be seen is whether… the utterance was… a clever political tactic, in effect putting the Italian leader in the pope’s debt and creating capital Italy’s bishops now can spend in negotiations with the government…”
This reminds us somehow of the relationship between the (then) Pope and Mussolini.
The Craziness of Spain
The Independent wrote on April 27
“Spain’s government lifted a home confinement rule for children under 14 years old after 44 days on Sunday, ending one of the most restrictive measures of its national lockdown to rein in a coronavirus outbreak… Even Italy, with more deaths than Spain, has not kept its youngsters completely secluded.
“Spain’s 5.8 million children under 14-years-old are now allowed to take walks once a day, accompanied by a parent for up to one hour and within a kilometre of their home. Many children took out their bikes and scooters. Kids can take one toy with them, but they are not to play with other children. They can accompany a parent on shopping outings for food, medicine or a newspaper…
“Since the start of Spain’s state of emergency on 14 March, adults can only leave home for essential shopping or to make unavoidable commutes to work… Prime minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday that he plans to permit adults to go out for exercise next week… Parents still have no indication when schools will reopen. Only factory and construction workers are back on the job after a two-week stoppage of all industry. All non-essential retail stores are shuttered…”
This reminds one of the totalitarian regime under Franco who collaborated with Hitler.
No Brexit Extension?
The Huffington Post wrote on April 27:
“Despite the likelihood of a recession this year following the lockdown, the prime minister [Boris Johnson] is sticking to his Brexit principles and refusing calls to extend the transition period beyond December 31 to give the country a breather before the upheaval of leaving the EU single market and customs union…
“The UK also believes that extending the transition will not help the UK and EU strike a deal…”
A no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for the UK.
Trump Praises Boris
Breitbart wrote on April 23:
“Speaking at a press conference Thursday, President Trump expressed his amazement at the rapid recovery of Britain’s Prime Minister. Revealing that when he picked up the phone to Mr Johnson he expected him to sound exhausted, instead ‘he was ready to go’. President Trump said Mr Johnson was like ‘the old Boris’, with ‘tremendous energy and tremendous drive.’
“He continued: ‘I was very surprised, because he called me pretty close to when he got out of the hospital. I think he’s doing great. He was so sharp and energetic. Pretty incredible. He’s an incredible guy. He’s a friend of ours and a friend of mine…they’re lucky to have him over there.’”
Watch the triumvirate —Trump, Johnson and Netanyahu.
EU Threatens Israel
Breaking Israel News wrote on April 24:
“Rather than congratulate Israel on forming a unity government after three elections, many governments responded by warning the new alliance against annexing Biblical Judea and Samaria…
“The agreement [between Netanyahu and Gantz] also stated that the new government would bring Donald Trump’s ‘vision for peace’ to a government vote from 1 July. The plan gives Israel full military control over Judea and Samaria…
“The European Union and several European states… made public statements saying that Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria would endanger their relations with Israel…
“The announcement comes significantly the day after the Holocaust Day of Remembrance. The first stage of the genocide perpetrated against the Jews of Europe in 1939 was to restrict Jews from entering specific sections of Germany and by later deporting them. It should also be remembered that the inception of Palestinian nationalism began with an alliance between Haj Al-Amin Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem, and Nazi Germany… March 12 marked 82 years since Adolf Hitler, a native Austrian, led Germany to annex Austria, which led to more than 65,000 Austrian Jews being murdered during the Holocaust…
“The EU said annexing Palestinian territory ‘would constitute a serious violation of international law.’ The German mission said it ‘advises against the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories’ as this would have negative repercussions on the viability of the two-state solution and Israel’s standing in the international community.
“French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière… said annexation ‘would not pass unchallenged and shall not be overlooked in our relationship with Israel.’ In stark contrast, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that annexing parts of the West Bank is ‘ultimately Israel’s decision to make.’”
Europe’s hostility towards Israel is only too obvious. Netanyahu said Sunday that he was “confident” US President Donald Trump would let him fulfill his election promise to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank “a couple of months from now.”
Netanyahu Jr. Speaks out
Times of Israel wrote on April 28:
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, on Tuesday condemned the European Union for supporting a joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day event the previous evening organized by bereaved parents on both sides of the conflict. ‘Shame on you for financing a disgrace in the holiest day of the Israeli calendar! We have one day in a year to remember our fallen soldiers! And you destroy it with a “memorial” to Palestinian terrorists!’ he wrote on his Twitter account… ‘EU is an enemy of Israel, and an enemy to all European Christian countries!…’
“Last year, Prime Minister Netanyahu denounced the Tel Aviv event and ordered a halt to permits for dozens of West Bank Palestinians who were planning on attending, citing security precautions. The High Court of Justice overturned the decision, arguing that it was not legitimate to bar the attendees’ entry for security reasons… [Yoel’s] brother Eyal was killed in Operation Defensive Shield in 2002…
“The younger Netanyahu has gained a reputation as an arch-conservative… Most recently, two weeks ago, he sparked a firestorm of criticism by appearing to wish that left-wing Israelis die of the coronavirus… Yair Netanyahu’s comments drew immediate and vociferous rebuke, including from his father, whose office released a statement saying that he ‘roundly rejects the remarks.’”
Even though, the question is whether he speaks, to an extent, for his father.
Israel Condemns Egypt for TV Show
Times of Israel wrote on April 26:
“Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned a new Egyptian TV drama set in the year 2120 that predicts the Jewish state’s destruction, as well as the breakup of the United States… The Egyptian series ‘El-Nehaya’ — Arabic for ‘The End’ — is about a computer engineer living in a dystopian future dominated by cyborg clones…
“In the first episode, a teacher tells a class of students about ‘the war to liberate Jerusalem,’ which he says occurred less than 100 years after Israel’s founding in 1948. The teacher says Jews in Israel ‘ran away and returned to their countries of origin’ in Europe… A holographic map of a divided US is also shown, with the teacher saying that ‘America was the central supporter of the Zionist state.’ …
“The series is produced by Synergy, one of Egypt’s largest production companies, which has strong links with the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The series airs on the ON television network, which is owned by a pro-government company. The show’s writer, Amr Samir Atif, told The Associated Press that the destruction of Israel ‘is a possible future in the absence of real peace and true stability in the region…’”
Only, it won’t occur in 2120, but much earlier.
Towards the Third Temple
Breaking Israel News wrote on April 26:
“In the wake of an agreement with political rival Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White party, rumors currently abound that Prime Minister Netanyahu will appoint the current Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev to replace Gilad Erdan as Internal Security Minister. According to media reports, if appointed, Regev will offer the position of police commissioner to the former Jerusalem District Police Commander Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi…
“Halevi’s role in helping Jews ascend the Temple Mount is professional but it also reflects his family’s Biblical role in the Temple, one which will only increase after the Temple is built. As his name implies, the police chief is from the tribe of Levi, which was charged with several key roles in the Temple including guarding the complex…”
This would be an interesting development in light of the prophecies of the Bible that a Third Temple will be built on the Temple Mount prior to Christ’s return, and that Levites will officiate at the Temple.
Erdogan Defends Top Religious Official on his Comments on Homosexuality
AFP wrote on April 28:
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended a top religious official who claimed homosexuality caused diseases, corrupted people and was condemned in Islamic teaching. Ali Erbas, head of a state-funded agency called the Diyanet, which runs mosques and appoints imams, also claimed during his weekly sermon that homosexuality caused HIV.
“The Ankara bar association of lawyers accused him of inciting hatred against gay people… But Erdogan dismissed the criticism, saying ‘an attack against the Diyanet chief is an attack on the state’ before adding: ‘What he said was totally right.’”
In Germany, spokespersons of all three major parties have condemned Erbas’ comments, stating that German schools must teach “tolerance” towards homosexuals.
Mother Nature’s Revenge?
Breaking Israel News reported on April 26:
“Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro took to the airwaves on his Daily Wire program blasting Pope Francis for promoting what Shapiro considered pagan after the Pope commemorated Earth Day which Shapiro said was a ‘Pagan holiday.’
“The… monologue of the April 22 broadcast was as follows:
“‘I’m starting to see the pagan awakening of some… suggesting that this is nature’s revenge… Now, I have been informed by reliable sources that nature does not actually have intent. I have been informed by reliable sources on the left that God doesn’t exist, number one, and then even if God did exist, nature doesn’t have intent, right? I mean, evolutionary biology suggests that basically it’s survival of the fittest out there… Mother Nature has decided to release a virus, unleash a plague upon us [– that is] pretty pagan…
“‘So Pope Francis actually pushed this nonsense yesterday… He made an impassioned plea… for protection of the environment on Wednesday’s 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, which again is a pagan holiday.’”
The Pope also said that while God and humans may forgive, nature does not forgive. Stupid comments indeed.
Widespread Famine
Breaking Israel News wrote on April 26:
“The world is heading towards widespread famine ‘of biblical proportions’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the chief of the UN’s food relief agency warns… Over 30 developing [countries] worldwide could experience widespread famine. In 10 of those countries, over 1 million people [are] on the brink of starvation.
“The UN official connects the pandemic in the developing countries to a strain on the economy that he says is already limiting resources. ‘This is truly more than just a pandemic – it is creating a hunger pandemic,’ said Beasley. ‘This is a humanitarian and food catastrophe… this is the perfect storm.’”
End-time worldwide famine and disease epidemics are prophesied in the Bible. See also the next article.
Panam Post wrote on April 27:
“An impending ‘hunger pandemic’ will bring ‘the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II,’ World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley warned the United Nations Security Council. The number of starving people could exceed the number of deaths from coronaviruses at 300,000 per day within three months…
“He says that famine is ‘a very real and dangerous possibility’ in at least 36 countries because of ongoing wars and conflicts, economic crises, and natural disasters… the countries most at risk of famine are in the Middle East and Africa, the economic crisis in Lebanon, [Venezuela] the wars in Syria and Yemen, and the desert locust swarms that are destroying crops in much of East Africa have put these regions at risk of mass starvation.
“Now, the crisis is aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic paralysis it has caused…”
Meat Production in Danger
Finance Yahoo wrote on April 26:
“Plant shutdowns are leaving the U.S. dangerously close to meat shortages as coronavirus outbreaks spread to suppliers across the nation and the Americas. Almost a third of U.S. pork capacity is down, the first big poultry plants closed on Friday and experts are warning that domestic shortages are just weeks away. Brazil, the world’s No. 1 shipper of chicken and beef, saw its first major closure with the halt of a poultry plant owned by JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat company. Key operations are also down in Canada, the latest being a British Columbia poultry plant.
“… the staggering acceleration of supply disruptions is now raising questions over global shortfalls. Taken together, the U.S., Brazil and Canada account for about 65% of world meat trade… New U.S. shutdowns are hitting at a dizzying rate…
“Prices are surging. U.S. wholesale beef touched a record in the week ended April 24, and wholesale pork soared 29%, the biggest weekly gain since 2012…
“There haven’t yet been big shutdowns in Europe. The European Union accounts for about a fifth of global meat exports…
“Total American meat supplies in cold-storage facilities are equal to roughly two weeks of production. With most plant shutdowns lasting about 14 days for safety reasons, that further underscores the potential for deficits.
“Meanwhile, with slaughterhouses closing, farmers don’t have a place to sell their animals. That’s forcing some livestock producers to dispose of them… It’s been reported that a large chicken-processing company was forced to kill 2 million of its birds earlier this month because of worker shortages. That’s the latest cruel blow to supply chains, with food being wasted en masse at the same time that grocery store shelves are running empty…”
Millions of Pounds of Meat Will Disappear
CNN Business wrote on April 27:
“Tyson Foods (TSN) is warning that ‘millions of pounds of meat’ will disappear from the supply chain as the coronavirus pandemic pushes food processing plants to close leading to product shortages in grocery stores across the country. ‘The food supply chain is breaking,’ wrote board chairman John Tyson in a full-page advertisement published Sunday in The New York Times, Washington Post and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
“US farmers don’t have anywhere to sell their livestock, he said, adding that ‘millions of animals — chickens, pigs and cattle — will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities.’… TSN which employs roughly 100,000 workers, closed its pork plants in Waterloo, Iowa, and Logansport, Indiana, last week so that workers in those facilities could be tested for the virus.”
How We Destroy Our Food
Politico wrote on April 26:
“Tens of millions of pounds of American-grown produce is rotting in fields as food banks across the country scramble to meet a massive surge in demand, a two-pronged disaster that has deprived farmers of billions of dollars in revenue while millions of newly jobless Americans struggle to feed their families…
“Images of farmers destroying tomatoes, piling up squash, burying onions and dumping milk shocked many Americans who remain fearful of supply shortages. At the same time, people who recently lost their jobs lined up for miles outside some food banks, raising questions about why there has been no coordinated response at the federal level to get the surplus of perishable food to more people in need…
“The precipitous drop in demand left many growers with no choice but to trash excess food or leave it in the fields because the cost of picking, packing and storing the crops would only put them further in the hole. Some with more resources in hand took on the cost of harvesting and donating the food themselves, but the gut-wrenching reality is that crops are being abandoned on an unprecedented scale…
“The scale of produce waste is staggering. Farmers in Florida, which provides much of the fresh produce to the eastern half of the U.S. during the winter and spring, left about 75 percent of the lettuce crop unharvested, along with significant portions of the state’s sweet corn, cabbage and squash. Up to 250 million pounds of tomatoes could end up left in the fields… Florida officials estimate produce growers there have taken a half a billion dollar hit. In California, the industry is projected to lose more than $1 billion per month…
“The dairy industry, for its part, estimates that its supply is currently 10 percent greater than domestic demand, in part because of the closure of thousands of K-12 schools, which are usually significant consumers of milk. The upheaval has strained dairy processors’ ability to turn milk into more storable products like cheese… about 5 percent of the country’s milk is currently being dumped.”
The governmental unrestricted panic-driven measures in their fight against the coronavirus have been having terrible consequences for just about every area of life.
Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Worldwide Famine Is Prophesied.”
A Decades-Old Prediction on Europe’s Destruction May Come True Soon
Express wrote on April 26:
“The BBC Panorama special, dubbed ‘If The Bomb Drops’ was broadcast on March 10, 1980, and… came at a time of heightened tensions in the so-called Cold War between the Soviet Union, and its respective allies in the Eastern Bloc, and the US and its coalition of NATO -backed countries…
“The video… cut to General Sir John Hackett, the former commander-in-chief of NATO’s northern army group, who painted a rather chilling image. He said: ‘After a nuclear war, the whole of Europe could become a vast uninhabitable desert.’”
A nuclear war is coming, and the Bible says that in that war, Europe with its (then) capital, Rome, will become “an uninhabitable desert” due to nuclear attacks by Far Eastern countries such as Russia and China.
Germany’s Dramatic Increase in Military Expenditures
Deutsche Welle wrote on April 26:
“In Germany, [military expenditures] rose by 10% to $49.3 billion — the largest defense budget increase among the world’s top 15 states… the increase in Germany’s defense budget [is attributed to Trump’s demand to raise expenditure and] the fact that, ‘Russia is once again being considered as more of a threat.’ In 2019, almost 4% of Russia’s GDP went to military spending, amounting to $65.1 billion…
“Of the 15 countries in the world with the highest defense budgets, six are NATO members: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their combined military expenditure makes up for almost half of the world’s total figure. In 2019, the total military expenditure of NATO’s 29 member states was some $1.04 trillion… in 2019 the US was responsible for 38% of global military expenditure, totaling $732 billion. The increase over its 2018 budget alone amounted to the equivalent of Germany’s total expenditure in 2019.”
Still, Germany’s increased military expenditure is not just “accidental.”
The Coming Greater Depression
Project Syndicate wrote on April 28:
“The policy response to the COVID-19 crisis entails a massive increase in fiscal deficits — on the order of 10% of GDP or more — at a time when public debt levels in many countries were already high, if not unsustainable…
“… the loss of income for many households and firms means that private-sector debt levels will become unsustainable… potentially leading to mass defaults and bankruptcies… the crisis is also creating a massive slack in goods (unused machines and capacity) and labor markets (mass unemployment)…
“Populist leaders often benefit from economic weakness, mass unemployment, and rising inequality. Under conditions of heightened economic insecurity, there will be a strong impulse to scapegoat foreigners for the crisis. Blue-collar workers and broad cohorts of the middle class will become more susceptible to populist rhetoric, particularly proposals to restrict migration and trade…
“Recurring epidemics (HIV since the 1980s, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, MERS in 2011, Ebola in 2014-16) [and pandemics]… will become more frequent, severe, and costly in the years ahead… any happy ending assumes that we find a way to survive the coming Greater Depression.”
“Greater” than even the “Great” Depression?
Tourism Industry in Big Trouble
Deutsche Welle wrote on April 28:
“No one can say when and how the borders will reopen for travel, said Germany’s Government Commissioner for Tourism Thomas Bareiss. ‘It is rather unlikely that German tourists will travel to Spain or Greece in summer,’ he added. It is more likely that Germans will stay in their own country or region this year…
“The tourism industry’s economic situation is a disaster not only in the southern European states bordering the Mediterranean, but in Germany, too. The travel industry expects a drop in bookings of package tours of up to 70% this year. The EU Commission estimates that with a loss of 90%, cruise companies will be hit hardest…
“However, it remains completely unclear when the EU interior ministers will agree on a coordinated plan for opening the borders for tourists. Officials in the EU Commission who are supposed to draw up guidelines for travel have been reluctant. First, the individual states would have to lift domestic travel restrictions, making travel to neighboring regions possible. Then, travel between neighboring states would have to become possible, and lastly, intra-European air traffic. No one knows when tourist travel to Asia, the US and other parts of the world will be possible again…”
That is the disastrous result and outcome when men try to deal with problems of their own making.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
