The Biggest Election Scam in Israel
Breitbart wrote on June 6:
“Israel’s new government is facing a crisis of legitimacy as a prime minister whose party won only 6% of the vote is set to take the reins of government, while the party that won the most votes is being pushed out of office and into opposition. The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of the Yamina party betrayed most of his promises to his voters, including a pledge not to govern with Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party, or with Arab parties…
“Israelis are perplexed that Bennett, a politician with a small constituency, could have emerged the winner… On Sunday, Netanyahu condemned the incoming government… He called it ‘a scam against the public. The biggest election scam, maybe, in history,’ the Times of Israel noted.
“Netanyahu argued that the new government would not be able to withstand pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden to accept the Iran nuclear deal, and that it would be weak against Palestinian terror, given its reliance on an Islamist party.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 7:
“Israel’s legislature announced on Monday it will vote on approving a new government, formed by opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on June 14 [this date was subsequently changed again to Sunday, June 13]… setting in motion preparations for a confidence vote in the new government to take place… For the coalition to begin its work, a majority of the 120 legislators must vote in favor of the plan. Should the June 14 vote pass, the coalition government leadership would lie with right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett of the religious nationalist Yamina party for two years, followed by centrist opposition leader and former television personality Yair Lapid for the remaining two years…
“Netanyahu is not expected to give up his position without a fight. His supporters have been working to win backing from lawmakers unsure of Bennett’s plans to form [a] government with Jewish leftists and Arab conservatives.”
At this point, the coalition of eight parties has a razor-thin majority, which means that all or virtually all members would have to vote in favor.
US in Confusion over Iran
Thompson/Reuters reported on June 7:
“The United States still does not know whether Iran is ready to resume compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal and if Tehran continues to violate the pact, the ‘breakout time’ it needs to amass enough fissile material for a single nuclear weapon will shrink to weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
“‘It remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do [to] come back into compliance,’ Blinken told lawmakers. ‘Meanwhile, its program is galloping forward. … The longer this goes on, the more the breakout time gets down … it’s now down, by public reports, to a few months at best. And if this continues, it will get down to a matter of weeks.’…
“Resuming talks on Thursday would leave only eight days to reach a pact before Iran’s June 18 election, which is likely to usher in a hard line president. Some delegates say that while a deal is possible by then, it appears increasingly unlikely.”
USA and Europe
The Week wrote on June 9:
“During his trip to Europe over the next week, Joe Biden can pronounce all he wants that ‘America is back.’ But his hosts will know it might not be true.
“Over the past 20 years, the United States has undermined its own global leadership by inconstancy. We launched a war over the strong objections of our most important NATO allies; then we actively sought to mend the resulting strained ties; then we insulted these same allies to their faces, pulled out of multilateral institutions, and threatened to walk away from NATO altogether; and now we’re reaffirming our commitment to the organization and multilateralism. We’ve also joined, withdrawn from, and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement — and spent years negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, pulled out of it, and are now trying to revive it.
“This is the behavior of a country deeply and sharply divided about how to comport itself in the world, lurching haphazardly, from one president to the next, between conflicting policy stances, temperaments, and geostrategic approaches. Given this capriciousness, our allies are bound to remain wary, and for good reason. They will know that, no matter what assurances Biden offers, promises and priorities laid out now could well end up shredded on January 20, 2025. In the wild oscillations between Republican and Democratic administrations since September 11, 2001, we’ve demonstrated in innumerable ways that we’re an unreliable partner.
“… lurking in the background at all times will be an awareness that, regardless of where the conversations lead, the United States could change its mind and shift directions again a few years down the road… leadership… requires a steadiness and dependability we’ve lacked for two decades now. The damage has been done, and Biden won’t be able to reverse it.”
The relationship between the USA and Europe is prophesied to deteriorate steadily.
Biden and the US Press
The Week wrote on June 9:
“President Biden will never call the press the ‘enemy of the people.’ He won’t whine about ‘nasty’ media ‘witch hunts’ or taunt reporters as ‘fake news.’… That does not mean he is the champion of press freedom he makes himself out to be.
“… While attention focused on Trump’s harsh language, his administration continued a long presidential tradition of spying on members of the media, coercing revelation of reporters’ sources, and punishing whistleblowers. Trump continued ‘the aggressive crackdown on journalists’ that is a little-remembered part of former President Barack Obama’s legacy, as reporter James Risen… wrote at The New York Times in 2016:
“‘[The Obama administration] prosecuted nine cases involving whistle-blowers and leakers, compared with only three by all previous administrations combined. It has repeatedly used the Espionage Act, a relic of World War I-era red-baiting, not to prosecute spies but to go after government officials who talked to journalists. Under Mr. Obama, the Justice Department and the FBI have spied on reporters by monitoring their phone records, labeled one journalist an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal case for simply doing reporting, and issued subpoenas to other reporters to try to force them to reveal their sources and testify in criminal cases…’
“This is the exact tradition Biden now prolongs, picking up where Trump left off.”
As the article points out correctly, Republican and Democrat US governments have been guilty of persecuting the “free” press.
Our Fake Mass Media
The Ron Paul Institute wrote on June 4:
“Watching the media coverage – or lack thereof – of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails and what they mean for the origin of the coronavirus, one is struck by how relentlessly fake everything is, from public health experts to science… Simply put, Donald Trump said the virus came from China and might have come from a lab, therefore that had to be wrong and racist…
“Trump disagreeing with CNN is a mortal threat to democracy and free speech, but Biden telling a reporter he’d rather run her over with an electric truck than answer a question about the war currently going on in Israel is a funny joke… This may seem partisan at first blush, but let’s remember this is the same media that once proudly carried water for the narrative about ‘Saddam’s WMDs.’ So the old Democrat-vs-Republican dichotomy doesn’t really work here, and misses the bigger picture…
“American founders codified the First Amendment because they regarded a free press necessary for a free republic. Yet the corporate media complex and their Big Tech counterparts have become a lapdog, not a watchdog, of power… ‘Facts’ mean nothing… ‘Science’ isn’t a rigorous process of finding the truth, but a word-totem invoked to grant authority and banish dissent. ‘Truth’ is whatever they declare it is at the moment…
“Biden’s behavior starts making sense when you understand he exists in a fantasy world, entirely conjured by the press and his staff…”
We feel sorry for those who think they will learn the truth by relying on the reporting of the left-wing mass media. Note the next articles.
Republicans Want Fauci Ousted
Fox News reported on June 5:
“…a growing wave of congressional Republicans are now [calling] on Anthony Fauci to resign or be fired from his post over revelations contained in thousands of his emails released this week…”
Newsmax wrote on June 4:
“…some of the emails indicated early in 2020 that Fauci was aware that some of the coronavirus’ features pointed toward its being engineered… In one of the Fauci emails, dated Feb. 1, 2020, Dr. Hugh Auchincloss wrote to Fauci that virus engineering experiments had been performed.
“Dr. Li Meng-Yan, a Chinese virologist who has alleged the COVID-19 pandemic is the result of an unrestricted bioweapon that leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, told Newsmax early Friday that the memo shows Fauci was among scientists and organizations that knew what was going on and tried to hide the matter. Yan fled to the U.S. after making allegations that China covered up its COVID outbreak and has since published two reports last year and one this year making claims about China’s virus work.”
The Biden Administration has ruled out to fire Fauci. Not surprisingly, as Fox News reported on June 7, “CNN has rushed to his defense and claimed conservatives are distorting history to smear him… Washington Times columnist Tim Young feels CNN has a ‘vested interest’ in Fauci and therefore must attempt to protect his once-sterling reputation… ‘Again, CNN is showing their hand that, with a pile of evidence and emails exposing Fauci… they’d rather stick to their narrative [than] be actual journalists. This non-journalistic behavior has become the modus operandi for CNN…’”
Russia’s Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Moscow Times wrote on June 3:
“Russia has sentenced six Jehovah’s Witnesses to multi-year prison terms on extremism charges… Rights advocates decry Russia’s prosecutions of Jehovah’s Witnesses — which has been banned in Russia as an ‘extremist’ group since 2017 — as infringements of religious freedom.
“A district court in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk sentenced engineer Andrei Stupnikov, 47, to six years in prison on charges of ‘organizing extremist activities,’ the Jehovah’s Witnesses said in an emailed statement. ‘According to the prosecution, Stupnikov’s fault lies in the fact that he did not renounce his religious beliefs and participated in peaceful services, said prayers, performed chants and Bible discussions,’ the group said…
“Last year, the U.S. added Russia to its watchlist of religious freedom violators, citing the country’s crackdown on Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Russia’s conduct is appalling, and so is the silence or inactivity of Western nations.
Putin’s Dictatorship
Newsmax wrote on June 4:
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law Friday that critics say is aimed at squashing political opposition. The new law prevents members of ‘extremist’ or ‘terrorist’ organizations from standing in elections for three to five years, with the length of time depending on the person’s position, CNN reported.
“The legislation was signed and posted on a government website Friday, the birthday of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Navalny was imprisoned earlier this year for allegedly violating the probation terms of a 2014 case in which he received a suspended sentence of 3 ½ years. On Friday, Navalny’s chief of staff Leonid Volkov tweeted he didn’t believe Putin ‘accidentally’ signed the law on that particular day.
“Founders and leaders of designated groups will not be able to run for elected office for five years after a court decides to ban the group, the new law says. Employees or financial supporters of court-ruled extremist and terrorist organizations will be banned from running for office for three years.
“A Russian court, presiding over a case involving a lawsuit filed in April by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office, will decide whether Navalny’s political and anti-corruption organizations will be designated as extremist groups. If prosecutors’ requests are granted, Navalny’s team could face serious consequences. CNN said the opposition leader’s supporters already have been subject to police raids and arrests…
“Russia already has sweeping anti-extremism laws, which critics say effectively limit freedom of speech and rights to public assembly. The new law threatens opposition politicians and ordinary Russian citizens… Constitutional reform in Russia last year allows Putin, 68, to run again. Before that, Putin would have been required to step down after his fourth and current term. Now, he can seek two more six-year terms….
“Russian authorities have ramped up their pressure on dissent ahead of the September elections. Andrei Pivovarov, the head of the Open Russia movement that dissolved itself last week, was pulled off a plane at St. Petersburg’s airport late Monday and was to be taken to Krasnodar in southern Russia Tuesday as part of a criminal probe against him. Also on Tuesday, police raided a country home of opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov, a former lawmaker who has aspired to run for parliament. Gudkov was released from custody after being held by Russian authorities for two days.”
Subsequently, Deutsche Welle reported on June 10:
“The Moscow City Court on Wednesday decided to disband organizations linked to jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny Wednesday. Moscow’s chief prosecutor had accused Navalny and his allies of attempting to destabilize Russia socially and politically.
“It marks the latest move in a campaign to silence dissent and bar Kremlin critics from running for parliament in September. The court decision stops people associated with Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his sprawling regional network from seeking public office.
“Many of Navalny’s allies had hoped to run for parliamentary seats in the September 19 election.”
Open Skies Treaty Gone
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 7:
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the country’s departure from the Open Skies treaty on Monday, following in the footsteps of the former and current US presidential administrations. The agreement was set up after the Cold War to build confidence between Russia and NATO members by allowing signatory states to conduct unarmed surveillance missions over each other’s territory…
“There had been hopes that the current president would seek to return to the treaty. These hopes were dashed in May when the United States State Department informed Moscow that it would continue with Trump’s policy after concluding that Russia had not complied with the pact.”
California to Pay Church Legal Fees Due to Permanent Injunction
Breitbart wrote on June 3:
“The state of California agreed to a settlement in which it will pay more than $2 million in legal fees to attorneys who represented churches that were handed down significant restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, even as retail businesses experienced fewer regulations… The deal includes a permanent injunction following the High Court’s rulings that asserted houses of worship cannot have restrictions placed upon them that surpass those placed on retail businesses… ‘All churches and places of worship now have the protection of the statewide permanent injunction,’ Liberty Counsel said in a statement Wednesday. ‘Many of these cases will also have to be compensated by the state and/or local city or county.’
“The firm also observed that ‘the victory against Governor Newsom is also being filed in pending church cases across the nation,’ including in Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills (D) permitted unrestricted gatherings of business and secular organizations, but still required severe restrictions on churches, including a limit of 50 people, regardless of size of the building. ‘The dominoes are falling, and churches are being freed from dictatorial and unconstitutional restrictions,’ said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel chairman. ‘The Supreme Court has intervened multiple times to provide relief. As a result, there will be more restrictions lifted and charges dropped for churches in the near future.’”
Biden Urged to Push EU to be a Military Power
Politico wrote on June 2:
“It’s time for the EU to become a global military power — and for the U.S. to stop thwarting Europe’s ambitions on defense. That’s according to a new report by the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with close ties to the Biden administration.
“The report… urges President Joe Biden to encourage the EU to develop hard-power military capabilities and calls on him to abandon decades of opposition to EU defense integration by previous U.S. leaders, under the guise of preventing wasteful duplication with NATO — which remains orthodox thinking for most American military commanders, and even for many EU governments…
“‘Since the 1990s, the United States has typically used its effective veto power to block the defense ambitions of the European Union. This has frequently resulted in an absurd situation where Washington loudly insists Europe do more on defense but then strongly objects when Europe’s political union — the European Union — tries to answer the call… This policy approach has been a grand strategic error…’
“EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have long endorsed the idea of creating an EU army…
“The report is likely to generate attention in part because the Center for American Progress has become known as a training ground for Biden administration officials…”
In this context, Airforce Technology reported on May 17:
“Thales and Rheinmetall have been awarded a contract to jointly support the certification phase of the ‘future training centre organisation’ for the Franco-German C-130J Hercules fleet. The Franco-German C-130J transport aircraft project is one of the key airforce programmes in Europe… Set to be established at Évreux in Normandy, France, the new training centre will host the French and German C-130J Super Hercules aircraft as a joint transport squadron….
“Starting this year, Germany and France plan to jointly operate a total of ten C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in Évreux, Germany. France has already taken delivery of a total of four Super Hercules, while Germany will contribute six aircraft to the squadron, with deliveries expected next year… The C-130 air transport squadron is expected to reach its initial operational capability (IOC) on 1 September.”
Is the USA creating a Frankenstein monster which will ultimately turn on his “master”?
On the Way to EU Dictatorship
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 7:
“The European Union cannot allow itself to be ‘held hostage’ in its foreign policy by single nations exercising their veto rights, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday. His remarks are being widely seen as a rebuke directed at Hungary, which in recent months has blocked several foreign policy measures agreed on by almost all other member states.
“Speaking at a conference of Germany’s ambassadors in Berlin, Maas said: ‘… The veto has to go, even if that means we can be outvoted.”
This sets a dangerous precedence.
EU Imposes Coronavirus Travel Passports
The Associated Press wrote on June 9:
“European Union lawmakers on Wednesday endorsed a new travel certificate that will allow people to move between European countries without having to quarantine or undergo extra coronavirus tests… Several EU countries have already begun using the system, including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland.
“…The new regulations governing the vaccine certificates were adopted in two votes at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France… The vote must still be rubber-stamped by EU nations, but that’s likely a formality.
“It means that beginning July 1 for 12 months, all EU countries must recognize the vaccine certificate. They will… certify that a person has either been fully vaccinated against the virus, has recently tested negative or has recovered from the disease… The passes will be issued by individual nations, not from a centralized European system…
“People coming from outside the EU, the overwhelming majority of whom should be vaccinated to enter, will be able to get a certificate if they can convince authorities in the EU country they enter that they qualify for one.”
Actually, this is a pretty bleak picture when it comes to individual liberties and freedoms.
“Historic” Deal by G-7 Nations on Global Tax
CNBC wrote on June 5 (with comments included in brackets and italics, being adopted from an article by The Guardian):
“The finance ministers of the most advanced economies, known as the Group of Seven, have backed a U.S. proposal that calls for corporations around the world to pay at least a 15% tax on earnings [in each country where they operate and where they are headquartered]… If finalized, it would represent a significant development in global taxation. Members of the G-7, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., will convene for a summit in Cornwall, U.K., next week [starting Friday]… President Joe Biden and his administration had initially suggested a minimum global tax rate of 21%… However, after tough negotiations, a compromise was reached to set the bar at 15%…
“Biden’s idea had not been received… excitement across the world. The U.K., for example, did not immediately voice its support for the proposal. The issue can be contentious within the European Union as well, where various member states charge different corporate tax rates and can attract big-name firms by doing so. Ireland’s tax rate, for example, is 12.5%, while France’s can be as high as 31%.
“Speaking in April, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said smaller nations should be allowed to have lower tax rates given that they don’t have the same capacity for scale as the larger economies do…
“The U.S., under former President Donald Trump, vehemently opposed digital tax initiatives in different countries and threatened to impose trade tariffs against countries that would plan on taxing U.S. tech companies.”
Bloomberg added on June 5:
“The Group of Seven advanced economies agreed the outline of a global deal on taxation that could give governments greater rights to tax U.S. tech giants…”
Deutsche Welle added on June 5:
“The global minimum tax would be levied… on the world’s 100 largest and most profitable companies [with profit margins of at least 10%]…
“G7 finance ministers backed moves to force banks and companies to disclose their exposure to climate-related risks… They also reiterated that digital currency projects should not operate until it meets ‘legal, regulatory, and oversight requirements through appropriate design and by adhering to applicable standards,’ the communique read.”
The New York Post wrote:
“Saturday’s deal is not binding and other groups, including the G-20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, along with governing bodies like the US Congress, would need to sign off on the deal…”
More LGBT Nonsense
Daily Mail wrote on June 4:
“Hundreds of organisations wanting to be included on Stonewall’s equality leaderboard should replace the term ‘mother’ with ‘parent who has given birth’, the LGBT charity has said. The controversial group has issued various guidance to employers wanting to make the cut on its Workplace Equality Index, which has attracted more than 500 applications in the last year.
“A number of government departments, such as the Home Office, the Department for International Trade and the Ministry of Justice – ranked as high as fifth – feature on the list, as well as the likes of MI6 and the British Army. … According to Stonewall there are more than 850 organisations, including 250 government departments and public bodies such as police forces, local councils and NHS trusts, signed up as ‘diversity champions’.
“Membership to the scheme starts at around £2,500, which according to the LGBT charity’s website, buys employers access to expert advice and resources to make their workplaces ‘inclusive’. However, the charity was embroiled in a new row over transgender rights last week, when its chief executive Nancy Kelley likened ‘gender critical’ beliefs to anti-Semitism as she defended its pro-trans campaigning.”
Is Trump Planning his Comeback?
Newsmax wrote on June 4:
“Former President Donald Trump may consider running for the House in 2022 to try to win the speaker of the House position… Others had suggested the former president run for the Senate. ‘But you know what, your idea [of becoming Speaker of the House] might be better,’ Trump said. ‘It’s very interesting.’ Previously, Trump mentioned he intends to make another presidential run in 2024, health permitting. The idea to run for the House underscores the interest many in the GOP have for Trump to make a return to public office sooner rather than later.
“The exact logistics for a House run would mean Trump would have to figure out in which district he would run. For now, the former president seems mainly interested in endorsing other congressional candidates rather than becoming one himself. Trump will also resume his rallies this summer, which could shed more light as to the next moves he wants to make. According to GOP polling, Trump would be in a strong position to win the presidential nomination in 2024. And, in a statement condemning Facebook’s decision to ban him from the platform for two years, Trump hinted that he could run for another term in the White House. ‘Next time I’m in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will all be business!’ Trump stated.”
Newsmax reported on June 5:
“Trump said America under Biden is heading to a dictatorship, although he mocked the current president for not even being the one in charge. ‘We’re going to take back the Senate, we’re going to take back the House, and we’re going to take back the White House sooner than you think,’ Trump said in a video circulating on Twitter before his North Carolina GOP Conference speech Saturday night… Despite social media rumors the former president was talking about an August return to the White House, advisers and those close to the president have denied he is maintaining that belief.”
US Supreme Court Denies Green Card for Aliens entering US Illegally
Daily Mail wrote on June 7:
“The Supreme Court ruled Monday that up to 400,000 immigrants who gained temporary protected status but came here illegally won’t be able to get green cards – with liberal Justice Elana Kagan such status ‘does not come with an admission ticket.’ The Supreme Court was unanimous in its refusal to let immigrants who have been allowed to stay in the United States on humanitarian grounds apply to become permanent residents if they entered the country illegally. it impacts thousands of immigrants who fled to the U.S. following hurricanes and other disasters and who established residency with special protected status…
“President Joe Biden, who has sought to reverse many of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, had opposed the immigrants in this case, placing the president at odds with immigration advocacy groups and some of his fellow Democrats.
“A federal law called the Immigration and Nationality Act generally requires that people seeking to become permanent residents have been ‘inspected and admitted’ into the United States. At issue in the case was whether a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which gives the recipient ‘lawful status,’ satisfies those requirements…
“Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, told CNN: ‘Today’s decision is not just a setback for those immigrants currently in Temporary Protected Status who did not enter the United States lawfully; it also reinforces the barriers that Dreamers would face until and unless Congress provides a statutory path to some kind of permanent lawful status…
“Michael Kagan, a University of Nevada law professor and immigration lawyer, tweeted: ‘SCOTUS decision on TPS (Sanchez) is just one more measure forcing large numbers of immigrants to live precariously, depending for their futures on the result of the next presidential election…’”
Roll Call wrote on June 7:
“[The ruling] will also make it more difficult for thousands of TPS holders who initially entered the U.S. without authorization, and thus were not originally ‘admitted,’ to become permanent residents, even after living in the U.S. under the temporary status for years or even decades… The case puts an end to a split among circuit courts that allowed immigrants living in some states to get green cards in the last few years…
“This gave TPS holders in those states with employers willing to sponsor them a path to a green card. It also relieved TPS holders with American spouses from having to travel abroad and reenter the country to become permanent residents, a difficult process that can be prohibitively expensive and require individuals to wait in countries deemed unsafe by the U.S. government…”
Especially the uncertain situation of the Dreamers has been a constant problem which no administration so far has been able or willing to solve adequately. It would indeed be up to Congress, but there is little hope that Congress, divided as it is, could agree on anything substantial on this issue. In fact, in the case at hand, Congress enacted the section on TPS, but it is so vague and ambiguous that the Supreme Court did not feel they could conclude that Congress wanted to convey admission status in addition with its legal status. Because of this highly questionable technicality and the lack of foresight of Congress, TPS holders are now barred from obtaining a green card.
Also, Vice President Kamala Harris came under attack from all sides–the left and the right–for her immigration stance and her visit and comments in Guatemala and her subsequent interviews. In a related development, Newsmax and The Associated Press reported on June 8 that “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday proclaimed, ‘the era of bipartisanship is over’ after talks broke down between the Biden administration and Republicans over infrastructure legislation. The breakdown comes as the two sides could not broker the divide over the scope of the president’s sweeping infrastructure investment and how to pay for it.”
This country has NEVER been divided before like this, following the civil war, and that says something!
German Catholic Church More Trouble for Rome
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 4:
“German Cardinal Reinhard Marx has offered Pope Francis his resignation from his position as archbishop of Munich and Freising, saying the Catholic Church had reached a ‘dead point.’… Marx said investigations and reports of the past 10 years [regarding child sexual abuse] showed him there had not only been ‘a lot of personal failure and administrative errors,’ but ‘also institutional and systemic failure’ within the Catholic Church.
“… Marx has previously apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church to the victims of sexual abuse… Marx had been president of the German Bishops’ Conference from 2012 to 2020… A study commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference under Marx’s presidency and released in 2018 showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed a type of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, from 1946 through 2014. The study found that the number of victims was certainly much higher…
“The series of scandals have prompted thousands of church members to leave Germany’s largest diocese [in Cologne]. The Cologne Catholic Church is also the world’s richest diocese by some measures, bringing in more income than the Vatican… Germany’s Catholic Church counted 22.6 million members in 2019 and remains the largest religion in the country.”
Newsmax reported on June 10:
“Pope Francis refused Thursday to accept the resignation offered by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx over the sex abuse scandal in the church, but said a process of reform was necessary and that every bishop must take responsibility for the ‘catastrophe’ of the crisis.
“Francis wrote a letter to Marx in response to the German’s bombshell announcement last week that he had offered to resign as archbishop of Munich and Freising over the church’s mishandling of abuse cases. Francis refused to accept the resignation and told Marx in the letter he must continue as archbishop…
“Francis’ letter, written originally in Spanish and using an informal, brotherly tone, appeared to give Marx papal backing to proceed with the German Church’s controversial reform process that was launched as a response to the abuse crisis and reports into the German hierarchy’s mishandling of abuse cases over decades.
“The so-called ‘Synodal Path’ reform process has sparked fierce resistance inside Germany and beyond, primarily from conservatives opposed to opening any debate on issues such as priestly celibacy, women’s role in the church and homosexuality. Resistance has also come from the Vatican and bishops outside Germany, including culture warriors in the United States who have broken with church protocol to pen essays critical of the German reform process.”
Hezbollah’s Rising Presence in Germany
The Algemeiner wrote on June 9:
“Despite Germany’s efforts to curtail Hezbollah-related activities, the terrorist organization’s presence continues to rise across the country. German intelligence estimates that the number of Hezbollah operatives increased 20 percent last year, from 1,050 members and supporters to 1,250. There are roughly 180 Hezbollah-affiliated individuals in the German state of Lower Saxony alone… German intelligence previously identified about 30 mosques and cultural associations intimately connected to Hezbollah, or that propagate the terrorist group’s Iranian-inspired, radical Shia ideology…
“The terrorist organization has also used Germany, among other countries, to store bomb-making material…
“Following years of malicious activity inside and outside its borders, Germany designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in April 2020, joining other Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. Yet most European Union countries continue to selectively outlaw the group’s military wing. This approach, however, allows Hezbollah’s political wing to operate freely and engage in nefarious propaganda and terror financing activities. Hezbollah is a cohesive and hierarchical organization that does not treat its political, terrorist, and military wings as distinct entities.
“Germany faces an array of Islamist terrorist threats, and has foiled numerous high-profile plots in recent years, including Islamic State-led cells that sought to…carry out a mass-casualty attack using ricin-based biological weapons… Hezbollah remains resilient in the face of German sanctions and continues to strengthen its presence across the country.”
Bible prophesy shows that Iranian mercenaries will fight for Germany and Europe against Israel. See our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”
Spahn under Fire
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 5:
“German Health Minister Jens Spahn is facing fierce cross-party criticism after a report emerged about his ministry’s plans to dispose of unusable face masks by handing them out to vulnerable groups amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Health Ministry on Saturday hit back at the claims made in the German magazine Der Spiegel, saying all its masks had been tested to a high standard and that protection of the wearer was its top priority…
“The magazine on Friday reported that the Health Ministry had ordered face masks from China in Spring 2020 for an estimated €1 billion ($1.2 billion). The order was placed amid a global mask shortage and had not been tested to meet EU standards. Due to this, the masks were unable to be used on arrival and needed to undergo emergency testing to be deemed fit for use. The Ministry of Health under Spahn drew up plans to distribute the masks to the homeless, the disabled or Hartz IV benefit recipients, the magazine reported.
“But the Ministry of Labor, which is responsible for mask safety, refused to give its approval to the plan…”
Angela Merkel strongly defended Spahn on Monday, and her colleagues in her party (CDU) accused her coalition party (SPD), on Wednesday of conducting a dirt campaign without any proof. Still, Der Spiegel responded and maintained that their reporting has been accurate.
Forced to Consume Pork!
The Associated Press reported on June 4:
“The head football coach at an Ohio high school and six other coaches there have been ousted after a football player said he was forced to eat pork in violation of his religious beliefs for missing a voluntary workout… The player and his family are members of the Hebrew Israelite religious faith and do not eat pork…
“The teen’s attorney, Ed Gilbert, said the player skipped a voluntary workout four days before the incident while nursing a sore shoulder. He was ordered to sit in the middle of the gym and eat an entire pepperoni pizza, Gilbert said. He was allowed to remove the pepperoni and some of the cheese, but pork residue remained, Gilbert said.
“The teen would have been subjected to additional drills and his status on the team might have been jeopardized if he had not followed [the head football coach’s] order, Gilbert said.”
This is despicable, but in line with growing anti-Semitism all over the world.
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.
