Pompeo Accuses Iran
Times of Israel wrote on May 22:
“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday accused the Iranian leadership of ‘echoing Hitler’s call for genocide’ after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for ‘eliminating the Zionist regime’… Khamenei also posted on his website an anti-Israel poster that invoked the term ‘final solution’ which is usually associated with Nazi Germany’s efforts to eliminate all Jews.
“The poster showed people celebrating at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem after apparently capturing it from Israel as a Palestinian flag is raised over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. ‘Palestine Will Be Free. The final solution: Resistance until referendum,’ the text on the poster says…
“The European Union on Thursday evening condemned the Iranian leader’s threats against Israel with the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell issuing a consensus statement on behalf of all 27 members of the EU. ‘Such statements are totally unacceptable and represent a deep source of concern. They are also incompatible with the objective of a stable and peaceful Middle East region pursued by the EU,’ the statement read. ‘The European Union reiterates its fundamental commitment to the security of Israel.’
“Israel’s Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff… said Friday that the union’s statement did not go far enough. Khamenei ‘did not just bring into question Israel’s legitimacy, he wrote explicitly about ‘eliminating the Zionist regime which goes from denying the Holocaust to promoting one,’ the Israeli diplomat wrote on his Twitter account. ‘The gravity of his remarks is not reflected in the EU reaction.’”
The EU’s alleged support of Israel is questionable at best.
Israel Will Annex
The Times of Israel wrote on May 25:
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has set a July date for when Israel will extend its sovereignty to areas of the West Bank, and… he has no intention of changing it…
“Netanyahu said there has never been a better time in the country’s history to apply sovereignty, which is tantamount to annexation, to these areas…
“The move would be coordinated with the US, in accordance with the Middle East plan US President Donald Trump unveiled in January, which endorsed extending Israeli sovereignty over roughly 30 percent of the West Bank. However, the entire peace plan has been rejected by the Palestinians, who seek the West Bank as territory for a future Palestinian state.”
Israel’s planned annexation, which has also been condemned by the EU, will set in motion turbulent developments in the Middle East.
Into the Abyss
Marketwatch wrote on May 23:
“Charles Hugh Smith… the man behind the OfTwoMinds.com, which was recognized by CNBC as one of the best alternative financial blogs on the internet, has been calling for the implosion of the U.S. empire for years now, and the coronavirus pandemic has him believing that time has finally come…
“The slippery slope to collapse — decadence — is characterized by greed, corruption, irreconcilable internal political rifts, moral decay, frivolity, materialism,’ Smith writes… The pandemic is merely ‘the final kick into the abyss,’ he said, after the global financial crisis laid bare the fragile nature of an economy kept alive with artificial stimulus. ‘Elites have done nothing but kick the can down the road for over a decade,’ he wrote. ‘Nothing that’s broken has been fixed; all that’s been done is trillions in currency has been borrowed or printed to paper over the dissolution, decay and decline.’
“Smith warned of a ‘terminal crisis’ that begins in 2021, regardless of any progress made to bring an end to the pandemic and kickstart the ravaged global economy. ‘A COVID-19 vaccine, or lack thereof, will have zero effect in terms of reversing these cycles,’ he said. ‘Call it fate, call it karma, call it what you will, but the cycles have aligned and nothing can stop the unraveling of all that was foolishly presumed to be permanent.’”
America is indeed beyond recovery… even when it comes to the economy. Also note the next article.
Rental Car Giant Hertz Files For Bankruptcy Protection
npr wrote on May 23:
“Car rental company Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, citing an ‘abrupt decline in revenue’ during the coronavirus pandemic… Retailers J.C. Penney, J. Crew and Neiman Marcus all filed for bankruptcy protection this month. Home-decor chain Pier 1 Imports announced it would be closing for good…
“After many states began to declare stay at home orders in March, car rentals dried up, and Hertz reduced spending, implemented furloughs and laid off 20,000 employees. In April the company, which includes car-rental brands Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly, missed a payment on its debt, but reached a short-term deal with its creditors. The company was unable to secure a long-term agreement.”
Measures of German State of Saxony Remind of Nazi Germany
Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten reported on May 21 that beginning on May 25, the German state of Saxony is threatening parents of students who fail to bring with them daily a signed letter from the parents that their children are healthy. The letter will also have to state whether someone else in their household is sick.
If the parents forget to give that letter to their children, the school will inform the parents to immediately collect the children. In case of a repeat, the state may come in to take the children away from their parents.
Wochenblick added on May 20 that this reminds one of methods in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Germany’s Antisemitism—from the Kaiser to Hitler and Beyond
The Algemeiner published on May 27 the following opinion piece by Historian Harold Brackman:
“Among the ideological causes of World War I were hubris and hatred by Germans that reinforced Kaiser Wilhelm’s — and ultimately Adolf Hitler’s — antisemitism. In broad terms, many Germans became intoxicated with the ‘völkisch’ conception of themselves as a conquering race…
“Houston Stewart Chamberlain [was] a prolific self-taught pseudo-scholar who had Kaiser Wilhelm I’s ear before and during World War I — and lived long enough to influence Hitler… [His book] The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century (1899)… gave Chamberlain a following as far as the United States, whose doom he prophesied.
“The book’s… theme was that Germans had been a master race ever since they vanquished the Roman Empire… In 1901, after Kaiser Wilhelm read Chamberlain’s Foundations, they became fast friends and regular correspondents… German defeat and the kaiser’s abdication in 1918 did not end Chamberlain’s influence. Sensing that a man of destiny was emerging… he wrote a fawning letter in 1923 thanking Hitler for ‘transform[ing] the state of my soul.’”
Deutsche Welle wrote on May 27:
“Authorities… recorded 2,032 crimes motivated by anti-Semitism – a rise of 13% over 2018, and the highest since those statistics were collected. Some 93.4% of those crimes were carried out by far-right perpetrators.”
German anti-Semitism is by no means a thing of the past. The same goes for anti- Semitism throughout Europe and the entire world.
Guidelines for School Children in the USA
In an article published by the Ron Paul Institute, Ron Paul wrote on May 25:
“Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)… unveiled ‘guidelines’ for schools to follow when they reopen. Among the CDC’s guidelines are that schools put tape on the hallways, directing children which direction to walk and how much distance to keep between themselves and their classmates. The CDC also recommends children do not share electronic devices or learning aids. The guidelines even say children should wear masks at school.
“The CDC’s guidelines instruct schools to close playgrounds and cafeterias, and to cancel all field trips and assemblies. Instead, students are to spend all day at their desks, not even leaving classrooms for lunch or recess.
“The CDC’s guidelines may not have the force of law, but it is likely most government schools will adopt them in order to ensure continued access to federal funding… by forbidding children from going outside to play, exercise, and get sunshine, the guidelines actually endanger children’s health. The guidelines also harm children by limiting their ability to interact with their fellow students and develop social skills.”
These guidelines are indeed horrible and, if implemented, would be harmful to our children.
Separating New-Born Babies from their Mothers
Breaking Israel News wrote on May 26:
“The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a statement recently that recommends separating newborn babies from their mothers in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19. The separation is intended for mothers who tested positive for coronavirus. However, the CDC also recommends separating them from mothers who are suspected to have coronavirus. In other words, the CDC is looking to separate newborn babies from their mothers even if they didn’t test positive for Covid-19.”
This is just so SICK and so INSANE!
A National Disgrace
ABC News reported on May 22:
“People arriving in the U.K. next month will have to quarantine themselves for 14 days and could face an unlimited fine if they fail to comply… the rules will take effect June 8 and will apply to arrivals from all countries except Ireland… Britons returning from overseas will also have to stay home and avoid mixing with others for 14 days under the measures, which will be reviewed every three weeks…
“Arriving passengers will have to provide contact details and will be checked on regularly during the two weeks… They will also be ‘encouraged’ to download a contact-tracing app that authorities are developing — if the glitch-filled app is ever put into use…
“There has been confusion about the U.K. policy, after the government initially said it would not apply to people arriving from France… Britain later said France would not be exempt. Airlines have warned that the British move could hobble their efforts to rebuild a business devastated by pandemic-related travel restrictions. Tim Alderslade, chief executive of trade body Airlines U.K., said a blanket quarantine was ‘just about the worst thing government could do if their aim is to restart the economy.’…”
The Mirror added on May 22:
“The move will anger some sectors, with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary earlier this week branding the plan ‘idiotic’ and ‘unimplementable’, while trade body Airlines UK has previously said a quarantine ‘would effectively kill’ international travel to and from Britain…”
Europe Might Retaliate Against Britain
Express wrote on May 20:
“European countries have said they will open their borders to British tourists, but only if the UK does not impose the 14-day travel rules…
“Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio also said… ‘From mid-June to September it will be possible to travel in Italy without any problems… We will [open the borders] and we expect reciprocity.’…”
This might very well lead to further alienation between the UK and the European power bloc.
No Masks Allowed
The Guardian wrote on May 22:
“Shops around the US make headlines for denying entry to those wearing masks as protesters argue against preventative measures… On Thursday…, a Kentucky convenience store that put up a sign reading: ‘NO Face Masks allowed in store. Lower your mask or go somewhere else…’
“Another sign was posted by a Californian construction store earlier this month encouraging hugs but not masks. In Illinois, a gas station employee who put up a similar sign has since defended herself, arguing that mask-wearing made it hard to differentiate between adults and children when selling booze and cigarettes.”
Deutsche Welle added on May 26 that the east German state of Thüringen [Thuringia] announced “that they might be the first to lift the restrictions [including to wear face masks] altogether on June 6, but later seemed to go back on those comments. Thuringia said it reserves the right to pass measures that differ than the ones recommended by the national government in the public space… Germany is set to extend its coronavirus distancing measures until June 29… The measures allow up to 10 people or members of two households to meet in public.”
UN Advances Abortion in the Midst of Corona Crisis
Breaking Israel News reported on May 24, 2020:
“Last week, John Barsa, the acting administrator for the US agency for international development (USAid), sent a letter to the UN secretary-general António Guterres, criticizing the UN’s decision to include abortion as an ‘essential service’ during the pandemic.
“‘… the UN should not use this crisis as an opportunity to advance access to abortion as an “essential service”… by cynically placing the provision of “sexual and reproductive health services” on the same level of importance as food-insecurity, essential health care, malnutrition, shelter, and sanitation. Most egregious is that [the UN] calls for the widespread distribution of abortion-inducing drugs and abortion supplies, and for the promotion of abortion in local country settings.’”
This is despicable. While measures are allegedly implemented to save lives, at the same time measures are promoted to take lives. The rationale of the UN might be that cells of many aborted fetuses are needed to produce vaccines.
California Opens Up to Essential Church Services… Really?
The Los Angeles Times wrote in a daily newsletter on May 26:
“Amid growing political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to address church reopenings… attendance at services will be capped at 25% of total capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower. The attendance limits will be in place for 21 days and then reassessed. The reopening of houses of worship will be subject to approval by county departments of public health… the guidelines… strongly encourage churches, mosques, temples and other houses of worship to continue to facilitate remote services for those who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19…
“On Friday night, the 9th Circuit Court of appeals [one of the most liberal courts if not the most liberal court of appeals in the country] upheld Newsom’s prior ban on in-person church services in a split ruling… hours after [Trump declared church services as being essential.]
“The rethinking of the state moratorium also came just ahead of Pentecost Sunday, which falls on May 31 this year. More than 1,200 pastors had vowed to hold in-person services on the holy day, in defiance of what had been the state guidelines… houses of worship will be discouraged from sharing items used during services, such as prayer books, cushions and prayer rugs… congregants must be screened for fever or other symptoms of illness and are asked to use hand sanitizer and wear face coverings. The passing of offering plates will also be discontinued…
“[The guidelines also said that] ‘activities such as singing and group recitation negate the risk-reduction achieved through six feet of physical distancing’… As individuals project their voices to join together in song, they could also be dispersing viral particles into the room…”
Has one ever heard such nonsense? The same nonsense prevails in Germany. See the next article.
No Singing in Germany
The Daily Mail wrote on May 27:
“German authorities are warning against singing and several states have banned it from church services over fears it spreads the coronavirus… In recommendations for the resumption of church services, the federal government stated that singing should be avoided ‘because of the increased production of potentially infectious droplets, which can be spread over greater distances’…
“[However, the] Bundeswehr University in Munich published a study in early May showing that singing only disturbs air flow up to half a metre (1.6ft) in front of the person. Freiburg University’s Institute for Performing Arts Medicine has also published guidelines for singing with similar results…
“Germany’s Catholic Church has endorsed ‘quiet singing’ in services, as well as restricting numbers. By contrast, the Protestant Church continues to advise a complete ban.”
It is sickening to see how the two big Churches in Germany, perhaps due to unsubstantiated fear or politics, are advocating and supporting questionable recommendations by the German government.
How Coronavirus Statistics Are Exaggerated
Breitbart wrote on May 27:
“… according to a report from [Italy’s] national health authority (ISS)… only 4.1 percent of fatalities testing positive for Wuhan coronavirus happened in the absence of serious comorbidities… 15 percent of fatalities occurred with the presence of just one other serious pathology, while 21.4 percent died with two other pathologies, and 59.6 percent with three or more pathologies…
“One of the most astonishing findings of the report was that only 1.1 percent of all coronavirus deaths in the country happened to people below the age of 50, while more than 57 percent were over 80…
“This week Spain had to revise down its official death count for the coronavirus by nearly 2,000 after discovering a series of reporting errors and duplications… representing a seven percent drop in the total deaths reported.”
Is this mere “coincidence,” negligence and incompetence, or is more behind these terribly exaggerated figures?
Fauci’s Change of Mind?
The Street wrote on May 22:
“Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, warned Friday that stay-at-home orders that are intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus could end up causing ‘irreparable damage’ if they are imposed for too long…
“Earlier this month, Fauci warned senators that areas that disregard government guidelines in reopening their economies risk ‘triggering an outbreak you may not be able to control.’”
Fauci had demanded stay-at-home orders in the first place and he had also demanded that they remain in force and effect. His sudden “change of heart” really sounds extremely hypocritical, and one has to wonder what is behind this sudden reversal.
Defiance
The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 26:
“From the Lake of the Ozarks to the Texas Gulf Coast, Americans spent Memorial Day weekend in defiance of the forced ‘lockdown’ orders of the politicians. Dr. Birx was furious over people refusing to wear masks at the beach. Other local tyrants screamed and threatened. The people are ignoring them. Deliverance from this coronavirus-induced government tyranny is not coming about because politicians have seen the error of their ways. It is coming about because the people are finally waking up.”
The Week wrote on May 27:
“If the unprecedented global race for the first effective human coronavirus vaccine is successful, only 49 percent of Americans say they would get the vaccine… 31 percent said they were not sure while 20 percent said they would not get the vaccine. About 70 percent of those currently refusing the future vaccine cited safety concerns…”
How long can governments insist on lockdowns and social distancing regulations and even possibly mandatory vaccinations until “civil disobedience” becomes overwhelming and perhaps even violent?
Alan Dershowitz’s Wrong Concepts of the Bible
The Gatestone Institute published the following article on May 22 by Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law Alan Dershowitz:
“Most of the emails and phone calls that I have gotten since I stated that the Constitution permits safe mandatory vaccination against highly contagious and lethal diseases have been from anti-vaxxers who claim the authority of the Bible… The Bible speaks volumes about the need to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Large sections of the Bible deal with diagnosing contagious diseases such as leprosy and quarantining carriers outside the city walls until they were no longer contagious…
“Supporters of slavery cited the Bible, as did anti-Semites and anti-gay bigots. And now anti-vaxxers are distorting and weaponizing the Good Book, religion and God against science. This has happened before, with evolution, the age of the earth, abortion and assisted suicide. But this time the anti-vaxxers who cite the Bible have no plausible argument as anyone can see by turning to Leviticus and other portions of both the Jewish Bible and the Christian New Testament.
“These are God’s words, as recorded in Leviticus, Chapters 13 and 14. ‘The priest shall isolate’ the contagious person for seven days and then an additional seven days if the contagion persists. ‘And he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.’ Nor was this quarantine voluntary. The priest could compel it. In light of the Bible’s great concern for preventing the spread of contagious diseases – innumerable rules and regulations are devoted to it — can there be any doubt that if a safe and effective vaccine had been developed, it, too, would have been mandated along with a compelled quarantine?…”
This article was obviously written in light of the coronavirus and the present house-arrests and self-isolations and quarantines of healthy persons. In that, Alan Dershowitz is dead wrong. He twists and perverts the Bible by insinuating that God would ever demand quarantining a healthy person.
In his convoluted scriptural reasoning, Dershowitz seems to even admit that only unhealthy persons suffering from a contagious disease should be quarantined, but then seems to suggest that everyone is presumed unhealthy and could be quarantined, unless a “safe” vaccine is developed against the coronavirus. Also, is Dershowitz honestly suggesting that the Bible does NOT condemn homosexuality, abortion, assisted suicide or evolution? Dershowitz is not a credible authority on the right understanding of the Bible.
Locusts Plague Widens
Deutsche Welle wrote on May 27:
“On Tuesday, Indian authorities sent out drones and tractors to track desert locusts and spray them with insecticides, in one of the worst locust swarms seen by the country in nearly 30 years… India is facing its worst food shortages since 1993… Thousands of migrant workers have died from hunger after India suddenly imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, leaving workers penniless. An agrarian crisis because of a locust swarm will further hamper relief efforts of the government.
“… the locust infestation will increase next month, when locusts breeding in East Africa reach India. India isn’t the only country attacked by a huge swarm of locusts this year. Pakistan, countries in East Africa, and Yemen have also faced the desert pests and their destruction.”
This is INSANE: In fighting “coronavirus” via lockdown, the government of India has caused the death of thousands of migrants!
Women Not to Give Public Prayers
Fort Worth Star Telegram wrote on May 21:
“The mayor of a Dallas suburb does not want women leading public prayers at city council meetings, according to an email that circulated online. Eric Hogue, the mayor of Wylie and a preacher at one of the town’s churches, confirmed the contents of the email to multiple TV stations. He quoted Corinthians and Timothy scriptures from the Bible…
“‘Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law,’ 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 states. ‘And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.’ ‘Let the women learn in silence with all subjection,’ 1 Timothy 2:11-12 states. ‘But I suffer not a woman to teach, not to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.’
“The mayor went on to tell the recipient of the email he understands not everyone will agree with him, but he said ‘I can’t go against my conscience… I believe, and this is me, when it comes to (picking) somebody to lead the invocation at a city council meeting, because of those two sets of verses, I’m going to choose a male.’
“Hogue added to KXAS, “In a religious setting, the bible teaches that she’s not to say a public prayer or to lead the singing or to deliver the sermon.’ He has been mayor of Wylie for the past 12 years and has been a pastor at Cottonwood Church of Christ since 2010, WFAA reported.”
The Bible does indeed prohibit women from preaching in public or from a church pulpit, writing religious articles with Scriptural quotations or giving public prayers.
Catholic Mother Earth Worshippers?
Grandin Media wrote on May 21:
“In angry corners of the Internet, there’s no shortage of voices warning that Pope Francis is trying to change the Gospel, or change Catholic doctrine. Such a change simply can’t be found in the text of Laudato Si’, [Development and Peace deputy director Luke] Stocking said. ‘Those who fear the change think we’re becoming Mother Earth worshippers, or that we are becoming essentially pagan…’
“When Laudato Si’ was published in 2015, many thought the kind of economic change the Pope was proposing would be simply impossible. The global economic system was too big to turn around. But our national and international response to COVID-19 shows that we can put the brakes on the economy and change direction on a dime, said University of St. Michael’s emeritus professor Dennis Patrick O’Hara….
“Catholics who experience the joy of the Incarnation at Christmas, who mourn on Good Friday, who celebrate every Sunday, cannot fail to understand Pope Francis and Laudato Si’, said Sr. Margot Ritchie…
‘What’s more Christian than the Incarnation?’ she asked. ‘What other spiritual tradition holds so closely to the fact that God takes flesh, takes body, becomes human, becomes material?…’”
It is interesting that in refuting the idea that Pope Francis is embracing the worship of Mother Earth, a relationship is supposed to be drawn with all kinds of other pagan practices, such as “the joy of the Incarnation at Christmas,” the mourning of Catholics on Good Friday and their celebrations on every Sunday.
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.
