This Week in the News

US Presidential Election Most Important for Israel

Israel Today wrote on October 11:

“Former President Donald Trump… declared that the upcoming U.S. presidential election will be ‘the most important day in the history of Israel.’…

“[He declared] Vice President Kamala Harris, as an existential threat to Israel… Trump blamed the Biden administration for the atrocities that occurred a year ago… [and] as  ‘one of the darkest hours in all of human history,’ adding, ‘Anti-Jewish hatred has returned even here in America’ and is ‘within the ranks of the Democrat Party in particular.’… ‘I will not allow the Jewish state to be threatened with destruction. I will not allow another Holocaust of the Jewish people,’ Trump declared.”

Israel and the Jewish people are indeed under threat all over the world, including in the USA.

The Enemy From Within

Fox News wrote on October 13:

“‘We have two enemies: We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries,’ Trump said…

“But the thing that’s tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff… ‘When you look at the danger he put our country in potentially with Russia — with a phony, made-up deal that he made up with Hillary and some bad people…”

Trump subsequently stated that under Harris, the draft would be reinstated, without saying what his plans are regarding the draft.

Using the Military

The Associated Press wrote on October 13:

“Donald Trump… has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him. Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country’s place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military.

“He… is promising forceful action against immigrants who do not have permanent legal status…  The former president and his advisers are developing plans to shift the military’s priorities and resources, even at a time when wars are raging in Europe and the Middle East… Trump also has said he will use the National Guard and possibly the military as part of the operation to deport millions of immigrants who do not have permanent legal status… the plans would be a striking escalation of the military’s involvement in domestic policy.

“Trump’s potential actions would likely require him to invoke wartime or emergency powers, such as carrying out mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, or quelling unrest under the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows a president to deploy the military domestically and against U.S. citizens…”

The Independent wrote on October 12:

“The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — part of the centuries-old Alien and Sedition Acts drafted during an undeclared war between the US and France — has only been invoked three times within the last 226 years. During the first and second World Wars, the US turned to the law to detain and restrict German, Austro-Hungarian and Italian immigrants, and infamously used the law for the shameful internment of Japanese Americans, now widely seen as a stain on America’s 20th century history.

“The law states that the president may order the arrests and removal of noncitzens during times of ‘declared war’ or during an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ by ‘any foreign nation or government.’ Only Congress can declare war, per the Constitution. But Trump and his allies [want to expand] the definition… to mean border crossings, and for drug cartels or criminal gangs to be considered a ‘foreign nation or government.’”

Media Misquotes Trump: Did Trump Cross the Line?

Express wrote on November 1:

“Trump has been slammed for saying Liz Cheney ‘should be shot at by nine guns’ in a sickening fantasy execution… Speaking to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump said the daughter of former Republican VP Dick Cheney should have ‘guns trained on her face’ due to her support for Kamala Harris…

“‘Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her,’ said Trump. ‘Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.’ The audience were audibly very quiet, unaware of how to react, while Carlson stayed silent. Disgusted viewers slammed Trump for his comments…”

However, the article above, and many other mainstream “reports,” omitted pertinent facts and quoted Trump out of context. The Associated Press published these clarifying comments by Trump, in context, on November 1:

“Former President Donald Trump criticized former Rep. Liz Cheney late Thursday, calling the Republican former Wyoming congresswoman a ‘war hawk’ and suggesting she might not be as willing to send troops to fight if she had guns pointed at her…. ‘The reason she couldn’t stand me is that she always wanted to go to war with people. If it were up to her we’d be in 50 different countries… She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with the rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. OK, let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face… You know they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying… well let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy,’ Trump said.”

“After Harris’ campaign and other Trump critics on social media pounced on the quote, Trump’s campaign responded that he ‘was talking about how Liz Cheney wants to send America’s sons and daughters to fight in wars despite never being in a war herself.’”

What Trump was saying, when read in context, should be obvious, but the sensational media was quick in misquoting Trump in order to show their support of Harris and Cheney. It is also interesting that the Bible says that ultimately the USA will not fight in war against their enemies attacking them on US soil.

Ignorant and Delusional Europeans

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 30, 2024:

“If Europeans were to elect the next US president on November 5, the result would be crystal clear.  In Western Europe, 69% would vote for the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, in Eastern Europe 46% would… Trump would only receive the support of 16% of voters in Western Europe and 36% in Eastern Europe…  Harris has the highest ratings in Denmark (85%) and Finland (82%) while Donald Trump has the most fans in Europe in Serbia (59%) and Hungary (49%)…

“The vast majority of EU heads of government back Harris. ‘I know her well, she would certainly be a good president,’ German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a television interview. Harris wants to ‘stick to what is important to us,’ Scholz added, referring to trans-Atlantic cooperation. What would Europe’s reaction to a Harris victory be?… A collective sigh of relief, absolutely

“EU diplomats from the 27 member states and the EU Commission in Brussels have been in confidential working groups for weeks already, discussing how to deal with the US election outcomes, whatever they may be. The main aim is to make economic and security policy as ‘Trump-proof’ as possible… For example, should Trump impose punitive tariffs on goods from Europe after taking office, the aim is to be able to retaliate immediately. ‘We are not prepared to give up our interests without a fight. We have significantly expanded our toolbox’” Bernd Lange, a German politician and chair of the Committee on International Trade in the European Parliament, told DW. ‘I am sure that after the election we will use this toolbox to combat things that are already wrong, such as illegal tariffs on steel or subsidies from the Inflation Adjustment Act.’ Lange said he expects US trade policy to become more challenging for the EU, no matter who wins these elections…

“German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has a similar prediction for foreign and security policy. At a press conference during a visit to London at the end of October, Pistorius said: ‘One way or another, in future, the US is very likely to do less in Europe. And for us that means we must do more.’”

On October 30, MSN quoted Trump as saying: “I’ll tell you what, the European Union sounds so nice, so lovely, right? All the nice European little countries that get together… They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price,’ Trump stated during a rally in Pennsylvania.”

Germany’s Fears

Deutsche Welle added the following on October 31:

“There is no doubt that the German government favors Harris… In early October, two-thirds of German voters… said they would like to see Kamala Harris become president, while only 12% were in favor of Donald Trump. (In another poll, 78% were for Harris, and only 8% for Trump)…

“Trump… wants to bring about a quick end to the [Russia-Ukraine] war, which would presumably mean that Ukraine would be forced to give up large parts of the territories occupied by Russia… Trump… has repeatedly questioned the very purpose of NATO itself... Trump has announced that if he wins the election, he will impose a 60% tariff on US imports from China and a 20% tariff on imports from the rest of the world. This would make German products significantly more expensive in the US. The automotive and pharmaceutical industries would be hit particularly hard…

“If Trump wins the election,… the US will likely turn away from climate action and withdraw from international climate agreements. This would make it even more difficult for the German government, which is particularly committed to climate protection, to push through internationally binding rules to limit CO2 emissions. During this year’s election campaign, Trump has specifically attacked Germany’s energy policy, claiming that after a failed phase-out of fossil fuels, Germany had begun building one coal-fired power plant every week — which has absolutely no basis in truth.”

J.D. Vance has recently explained that the USA will not leave NATO under Trump. But we will see.

The German Expectation

On October 13, the conservative Bild newspaper published the following commentary by Franz Josef Wagner about Trump, which reflected the general attitude of a broad section of the uninformed German population:

“There are three weeks until November 5. In three weeks we will know who is President of the United States. There is no time to barricade yourself. ‘Run for your life’ was the motto of Hurricane Milton, which ultimately ran out of steam.

“Is Hurricane Trump running out of steam? I’m afraid not. He is the greatest liar of all time and the greatest political entertainer of all time. He reminds me of Joker, that evil clown who made you stop laughing in your throat. He accuses immigrant Haitians of eating Americans’ cats and dogs. ‘Your kittens,’ says Trump. He tells of babies who are aborted and killed after birth. He tells all this with his clown face. It has been proven that he lies five times in every other sentence. 22,000 lies were counted.

“Why does Trump still have half of America behind him? He is the narrator of evil and he is the savior from evil. The survey results are close. There are only three weeks left. You get frightened. Are we prepared? Where are our sandbags when Hurricane Trump comes?

This propagandistic portrayal, which one might expect from radical left-wing media outlets, is frightening.

Trump: Germans Don’t Love Me!

DPA wrote on November 3:

“Former U.S. president Donald Trump spoke about his difficult relationship with Germany during an election campaign appearance on Sunday. ‘They didn’t love me, and I have heritage there,’ said the Republican presidential candidate during a stop in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Trump’s paternal ancestors hail from Kallstadt in the south-western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. He noted that the Germans had loved his predecessor in the White House, president Democrat Barack Obama. ‘You know why? Because they ate our lunch,’ said the Republican presidential candidate for the election on Tuesday, referring to his notion that Germany has allegedly been successful at the expense of the United States.

“Trump then spoke about then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel: ‘They didn’t love me because I said you gotta pay. You gotta pay. I said to Angela. Angela, you haven’t paid.’ Trump was presumably referring to Germany’s defence spending in view of its NATO obligations.

“Mimicking a German accent, the Republican said that ‘Angela’ had told him that ‘[Germany] will start [paying] by 2035.’ ‘They think we are stupid people,’ he added.”

European Reactions

Breitbart wrote on November 6:

“Donald Trump may have turned the U.S. red, but in Europe the airwaves and front pages turned blue as the very tribally left-wing legacy media vented their disappointment at the American people not voting as wanted. German broadsheet newspaper Die Zeit said it for many in the European media on Wednesday morning with their reaction to the re-election of President-elect Trump, stating in their headline simply: ‘F…’The colourful article comparing election night coverage to staring into a nuclear bomb’s mushroom cloud lamented ‘America doesn’t care at all’ about European feelings… the article’s author rhetorically asked whether this was to be the end of America…

“Top-selling Spanish left-wing newspaper El Pais called the election a victory of a ‘convicted felon’ and [the] editorial by the paper’s editor-in-chief claimed a ‘victory of disinformation’… France’s Liberation stated: ‘It would be tempting to decree that 50% of Americans are morons, but that would be flippant… all these people adhere to the priorities defined by Trump (violent economic protectionism, geopolitical isolationism, mass expulsions of migrants)’. Of Trump himself they claimed: ‘…convicted felon, misogynist, racist, egocentric, liar and probably disturbed. Either the voters did not take these accusations seriously, or they were perfectly aware of them but they do not care.’…”

Future of Criminal and Civil Cases Against Trump

Breitbart wrote on November 6:

“Corrupt Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Keystone Cop who has serially failed to throw Donald Trump in prison or undermine his reelection chances, will not wait for incoming President-elect Trump to fire him (as Trump has understandably promised to do). Instead, since a special counsel cannot prosecute a sitting president, Smith will leave the Department of Justice before Trump is sworn in as the 47th president. The (phony) cases against Trump will also be dropped.

“Trump has faced four criminal cases — two at the federal level, and two at the state level. One federal case, the ‘documents’ case, was dismissed in federal court in Florida in July after Judge Aileen Cannon agreed with the defense that Smith’s appointment as Special Counsel was constitutionally invalid. (Smith is currently appealing her ruling.) The other case, the ‘January 6th’ case, is still pending in the District of Columbia, where Smith had to refile it after Supreme Court rulings on presidential immunity and the relevant law. As of Wednesday, the Department of Justice is dropping both cases…

“At the state level, there are two cases — one in New York, and one in Georgia. In New York, Trump is set to be sentenced on November 26th on 34 felony counts of business fraud. It is unclear what his sentence will be, or whether it would be suspended; his conviction is almost certain to be overturned on appeal. As president, he would probably have the power to pardon himself for federal crimes; it is an open constitutional question as to whether he could pardon himself for state crimes. In Georgia, Trump’s prosecution has been delayed until next year, thanks in part to ethical questions over the conduct of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (who won reelection on Tuesday). There are motions by the defense to dismiss the entire case.

“Trump also faces civil cases. Two of the more prominent case are both in New York: one is his civil fraud case, and the other is his sexual misconduct case. The fraud case is currently on appeal in New York, and the state’s appellate judges have shown skepticism thus far about the massive fine that New York Attorney General managed to slap on Trump for allegedly inflating his wealth in loan applications. The latter case, involving suddenly-remembered allegations by writer E. Jean Carroll, is also being appealed; Trump was found civilly (not criminally) liable for ‘sexual abuse’ (though not for rape) and also for defamation…

“Trump’s stunning and historic victory Tuesday night was, at least in part, a rebuke of this obscene and fascist lawfare persecution…”

NBC News added on November 6:

“Justice Department officials have been evaluating how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office to comply with long-standing department policy that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted,”

Muhammad Ali and the American Propaganda

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on October 8:

“After Muhammad Ali… announced that he would not comply with the U.S. government’s draft notice, which almost certainly would have meant that he would have been sent to Vietnam to kill Vietcong, Ali stated, ‘I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.’… Not surprisingly, they went after him with a vengeance, trying not only to destroy his reputation and career but also to have him jailed for the next several years of his life. But Ali had a good point. The Vietcong had never attacked him, the United States, or the American people. Why should he go thousands of miles away to kill them?

“The answer is: Because the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA had designated the Vietcong to be official enemies of the United States. Therefore, since they are the ones with the power to do that, American citizens were expected to make the Vietcong their own enemy…

“Conscription is not voluntary. Conscription is force. They were seizing Americans and forcing them to travel thousands of miles away to kill or be killed. How in the world can conscription be reconciled with freedom? It can’t be. Conscription is one of the gravest violations of freedom one could ever find… But few Americans understood the contradiction. They considered being forced to fight, die, and kill for freedom to be normal. U.S. officials and many American citizens, especially right-wingers, condemned Ali, as well as blacks who came to his defense, for their lack of ‘patriotism.’ Again, it was a reflection of the power of government indoctrination and propaganda.”

The comments regarding conscription are well-taken. Conscription is a form of modern slavery. The article continues to try to draw a connection between the government-sponsored American war propaganda and the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

America Dragged Into Numerous Wars

Ron Paul wrote in his weekly column on October 21:

“When you take on the role of the world’s policeman, don’t be surprised when countries who cannot fight their own wars call ‘911.’ That is exactly what is happening to the United States on two fronts and it is bankrupting our country, depleting the military that should serve our own national interest, and threatening to drag the US into World War III.

“Last week… Vladimir Zelensky publicly presented his ‘Victory Plan.’ It was delusional: immediate NATO Membership for Ukraine, NATO strikes against incoming Russian missiles, and permission to use Western long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russia including Moscow and St. Petersburg… Ukraine is on the verge of losing its war with Russia and is desperate to draw the United States military into the fight… they are calling on us to step in and fight the country with the most nuclear weapons on earth — Russia – in a battle that could not be more unrelated to our actual interests…

“Likewise with Israel. Tel Aviv has, in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, launched a war to annihilate Palestinians from Gaza, invade and occupy southern Lebanon, degrade the military of Iraq and Syria, and take on Iran. But the Israeli military has nowhere near the capacity to fight so many wars on so many fronts, so it has increasingly demanded US involvement in the conflicts.

“Already the US has provided some $23 billion in additional military aid to Israel and has employed US military assets in the region to shoot down missiles and provide increased weapons and intelligence… US and Israeli leaders understand that they will be considered legitimate targets for any additional Iranian missile attack, but as soon as American troops start getting killed in Israel there will be a massive push for further US involvement. Imagine the mainstream media war propaganda if such a terrible thing happens…”

The Ron Paul Institute published on October 24 the following article by Judge Napolitano:

“Under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war on a nation or group. The last time it did so was to initiate American involvement in World War II. But Congress has given away limited authority to presidents and permitted them to fight undeclared wars, such as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and President George W. Bush’s disastrous and criminal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

The West Rejects Zelensky’s’ Victory Plan

Rezon Media reported on November 1:

“The New York Times… reported that the classified part of Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan contained a proposal to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles. According to the newspaper, American officials consider this an ‘absolutely impossible request’. Zelensky failed to convince Washington to make a decision to strike deep into Russian territory with Western weapons, the publication notes… Zelensky indicated this condition in his ‘victory plan’…

“Even after receiving training in the West, Ukrainian servicemen find it difficult to adapt to NATO’s combat tactics. This was stated by an instructor from the British army to The Daily Telegraph… Since 2022, in the United Kingdom, as part of Operation Interflex, over 45 thousand recruits of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have completed training courses.”

Assassination Attempt on Netanyahu

Newsmax wrote on October 22:

“The drone attack launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Oct. 19 targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea scored a direct hit on the home… ‘Iran tried to eliminate the prime minister of Israel. It will not escape responsibility,’ a senior Israeli government official told Ynet.

“According to reports, the assault included three drones, one of which scored a direct hit on a bedroom window at the Caesarea residence. Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were not home at the time.”

Not unlike Trump who has survived numerous assassination attempts, Netanyahu likewise escaped unharmed. It appears they still have to play a role in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Israel Strikes Iran

The Jerusalem Post wrote on October 27:

“The Israel Air Force struck a dozen targets in Iran that were used to produce solid fuel for long-range ballistic missiles as part of its retaliatory military action against the Islamic Republic, severely harming Tehran’s ability to replenish its inventory, it was reported on Saturday night. The targets struck were sophisticated equipment that Iran could not produce on its own and had to be purchased from China, Walla reported. The targets were a critical component of Iran’s ballistic missile program, Walla cited three anonymous Israeli sources as saying.

“An American researcher said an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a building that was part of Iran’s defunct nuclear weapons development program, and he and another researcher said facilities used to mix solid fuel for missiles also were struck… Israel also hit Khojir, according to Eveleth, a sprawling missile production site near Tehran…

“Overall, more than 100 Israeli aircraft participated in the attack on Iranian targets, stating that their mission was to hit the most advanced anti-aircraft systems of the Islamic Republic and develop air superiority there for any possible upcoming IAF operations – in such a way that Israeli fighter jets would be able to fly even at a relatively low altitude in the skies of Tehran itself in the future…”

Even though it was reported that Israel, following American pressure, did not attack Iran’s oil fields and nuclear reactors, the article seems to raise some doubts in that regard.

Did Israel Not Go Far Enough?

On October 31, The New York Post published the following article by John Bolton, who was national security adviser to President Donald Trump, 2018-19, and US ambassador to the United Nations, 2005-06.

“Israel lost a perfect opportunity to cripple Iran’s nuclear-weapons program during its strike against Iran this week. The targets actually selected, air defense and missile-production facilities, were entirely legitimate. Undoubtedly, both Iran’s defensive and offensive capabilities suffered significant damage. But it was not enough.

Under enormous Biden administration pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not strike Iran’s gravest threat: the existential danger of nuclear holocaust against Israel. And the mullahs’ nuclear aspirations — including the threat of Tehran transferring nuclear devices to international terrorist groups — also pose grave dangers to the United States, Gulf Arab countries and many others. Yet that threat remains in place… This mistake should weigh heavily on the consciences of President Biden and his advisers.

Donald Trump’s stance is murky. To those who think Trump will support Israel as he did in his first term, I say simply: think again.  Trump’s dislike of Netanyahu is palpable, and… the importance of US electoral politics to Trump will be much less than before. Trump came within an eyelash of meeting with Javad Zarif, Iran’s former foreign minister, in 2019. He could easily do so in a second term, always in search of a deal, any deal he believes makes him look good…

“In any event, the decision is ultimately Israel’s. Having failed to act against Iran’s nuclear-weapons activities before Nov. 5, it must decide whether to act thereafter…”

We should also not forget that according to prophecy, Israel will receive a wound—some kind of a military defeat—prior to the Great Tribulation.

Iran Prepares Counter Attack

The New York Post wrote on October 31:

“Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed his forces to prepare a direct attack against Israel after deeming the Jewish nation’s retaliatory strike last week too big to ignore, according to a new report. While Khamenei attempted to downplay to the public the extent of Israel’s attack on Tehran’s military facilities, privately, he greenlit plans for a counterattack in a meeting with his Supreme National Security Council… The ayatollah allegedly made his decision on Monday after reviewing the damage report from his military officials, which detailed the strikes across Tehran’s missile production plants and defense systems.

“Khamenei told his generals that the attack, which also killed four Iranian soldiers, could not go unanswered, saying a lack of response would mean admitting defeat to Israel… Iran’s response to the Zionist aggression is definite,’ said Gen. Ali Fadavi, the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps deputy commander, according to Iranian media. ‘We have never left an aggression unanswered in 40 years. We are capable of destroying all that the Zionists possess with one operation,’ he added.

“Israel carried out a four-hour operation last Friday consisting of 100 jets, spy planes and refueling aircraft to conduct its largest ever strike on Iran, bombing military facilities tied to the Islamic Republic’s own ballistic missile barrages against the Jewish state.

“The tit-for-tat cycle has raised fears that an all-out war is inevitable in the Middle East between Israel and Iran and its terror proxies…”

The Jerusalem Post added on October 31: “Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days…”

Iran Threatens With Nuclear Weapons

The New York Post wrote on November 2:

“Iran claimed it could build a nuclear weapon as its supreme leader on Saturday threatened the US and Israel with a ‘tooth-breaking response’ to Israel’s strike on Iranian military targets… ‘If an existential threat arises, Iran will modify its nuclear doctrine, we have the capability to build weapons and have no issue in this regard,’ Kharrazi [a top adviser to supreme leader Khamenei] told Lebanese media…”

Fox News added on November 2:

“Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Thursday that Iran’s nuclear program could be Jerusalem’s next target amid Tehran’s promises of violence… Reports this week suggested that Iran could be waiting until after the U.S. presidential election next week, though other reports have said Tehran’s retaliatory strike could come at any time.”

Annual BRICS Summit

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 25:

“Russian leader Putin welcomed representatives of more than 36 countries to Kazan this week [at the] annual BRICS summit…  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres flew to Russia where he met Putin for the first time in more than two years…

“One major focus of the summit was… increased economic cooperation between BRICS members, including alternatives to Western-dominated financial systems…”

BRICS seems to be used as an instrument to bring together some prophesied important Far Eastern alliances.

Fundamental Shift for German Military

The Sun wrote on October 22:

“GERMAN military aircraft will use British bases in a historic deal — 80 years after the Blitz. The PS Poseidon spy planes, ­operated by the Deutsche Marine and possibly armed with British torpedoes, will fly out of RAF Lossiemouth under the Trinity House Agreement

“… the accord [has been called] ‘a fundamental shift in the UK’s relations with Germany.’ It will lead to German tank-maker Rheinmetall opening a factory in Britain.”

The Rise of Björn Höcke (AfD)

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 26:

“Björn Höcke… the state chairman of the AfD branch in Germany’s eastern state of Thuringia, has… flirted with presenting himself as the supposed savior of the country… Höcke is alluding to a far-right propaganda video that depicts him as the 12th-century Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa. According to an old legend, Barbarossa, who is known for making peace across the Germanic kingdoms and beyond, is not dead but only sleeping and will wake up again to unite his loyal followers

“At the beginning of September, the AfD in Thuringia became the first far-right party since World war II to win the most votes in a German state election. Höcke was widely celebrated by his supporters in the wake of the victory…”

Germany Deserves Better Than This Government!

Bild Online published the following comment from Bild boss Robert Schneider on October 29th:

“The German economy is wounded, Volkswagen is already bleeding! While tens of thousands of VW employees are threatened with layoffs, wage cuts and factory closures are pending at Germany’s largest car manufacturer, the traffic light government is today committing a level of madness to our economy that is astonishing.

“First, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner gathers top representatives of the German economy for a crisis talk. A few hours later, Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to representatives of major industry and unions about ways out of the recession. By the way, Economics Minister Robert Habeck is not at both economic summits! How are the shocked VW employees supposed to understand this ego trip by the traffic light men?

“The fact that the red-green-yellow coalition can no longer even agree on a joint conversation with business and trade unions is an admission of capitulation and another proof of the failure of the traffic light…

“Germany as a business location suffers from high taxes, levies, bureaucratic burdens, a shortage of skilled workers and energy prices… But the traffic light lacks the courage and strength to govern, and not only in economic and financial policy:

“The migration crisis is not even remotely resolved and the consequences are affecting the entire country. The housing market is broken, many Germans are worried that they will no longer be able to pay their rent or even find an apartment. Internal security (crime) and external security (Bundeswehr) are in a worrying state… In the Middle East war, Germany is verbally and officially on Israel’s side… but at the same time the government blocked the supply of spare parts for the Israeli army for months. And in the Ukraine war, it is not known whether it is currently more important for the Chancellor not to irritate Putin too much or to help Ukraine achieve lasting military successes.

“I think: Germany deserves better than this government!”

It is clear that the German government is perhaps the worst since the end of the Second World War. But the big question is whether Germany deserves a better government. We think: Germany deserves exactly this government.

German Government History

Deutsche Welle reported on November 6:

“Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed finance minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday, after a breakdown in talks among the coalition government that was composed of Scholz’s social democrats (SPD), the Greens and Lindner’s liberal party FDP.”

Bild Online wrote that the government coalition is history. Die Welt announced that there will be no new elections at this time, but that Scholz will ask in January for a vote of confidence.

Reuters wrote on November 7:

 “German opposition parties and business groups on Thursday urged Chancellor Olaf Scholz to trigger a new election quickly to minimise political uncertainty after his rocky three-way coalition collapsed. The coalition fell apart on Wednesday when years of tensions culminated in a row over how to plug a multi-billion-euro hole in the budget and revive Europe’s largest economy, headed for its second year of contraction. The break-up creates a leadership vacuum at the heart of the European Union just as it seeks a united response to Tuesday’s election of Donald Trump as U.S. president on issues ranging from possible new U.S. trade tariffs to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the future of the U.S.-led NATO alliance…

“The last straw was [Finance Minister Lindner’s] opposition to Scholz’s plan to ease debt limits in order to increase support for Ukraine in the 2025 budget by 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion). Lindner’s dismissal led to the FDP quitting the coalition, leaving Scholz’s SPD and the Greens running a minority government…

“The crisis comes at a critical juncture for Germany, with a flatlining economy, ageing infrastructure and an unprepared military. It is likely to deal another blow to consumption and investment in coming months even as Trump’s return threatens to dampen exports…”

Tucker Carlson Attacked by Demon?

Mediaite wrote on October 31:

“Tucker Carlson said that he was ‘physically mauled’ by a demon a year and a half ago that left him bleeding and with still-visible scars on his body from ‘claw marks’… ‘I got attacked while I was asleep with my wife and four dogs and mauled, physically mauled… by a demon… Or by something unseen that left claw marks on my sides… I was totally confused, I woke up, and I couldn’t breathe, and I thought I was going to suffocate. And I walked around outside and then I walked in and my wife and dogs had not woken up. And they’re very light sleepers. And then I had these terrible pains on my rib cage and on my shoulder, and I was just in my boxer shorts and I went and flipped on the light in the bathroom, and I had four claw marks on either side underneath my arms and on my left shoulder. And they’re bleeding… And I sleep on my side, so I wasn’t clawing myself. I don’t have long nails and they didn’t fit my hands anyway…

“Carlson went on to say that he consulted his assistant, an evangelical Christian, because he had ‘never heard of anything like that happening before,’ and that she told him, ‘That happens, people are attacked in their bed by demons…’”

Demons are real. But to be clear, demons do NOT have the power to attack or influence us while we are asleep. Note our Q&A in this regard. https://www.eternalgod.org/can-satan-influence-us-whilst-we-are-asleep/

“Conclave”… Too Close to Francis’ Home?

The Associated Press wrote on October 27:

“With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican. How timely, then, that just across town in Rome, ‘Conclave,’ a thriller filled with back-stabbing, manipulative cardinals, quick to toss morality out of the window as they promote their candidate, is a top draw at the Rome Film Festival. This might be a little too close to home — literally and figuratively — for Pope Francis

“The conclave is the centuries-old tradition in which, on the death of a pope, cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to participate in rounds of voting until they elect a new pontiff. Conclave comes from the Latin ‘cum clave,’ meaning ‘with a key,’ to indicate the Cardinals are locked in until they have chosen the new leader for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.

Francis is not immortal. Discussions on who could be his successor have already begun, but it remains to be seen if the next real conclave will be as thrilling as the film…”

And it will also be interesting to see who will emerge as the next pope… an equally left-liberal pope with extremist anti-Catholic views, or, as a reaction, a conservative candidate who will be more fully in line with Catholic traditionalism.

Dangers of Corona Vaccination

Report 24 wrote on October 28:

“Pfizer/BioNTech has quietly updated the product information on the Corona vaccine and added the following regarding heart damage: ‘There is an increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination with Comirnaty. These diseases can develop within a few days after vaccination and mainly occur within 14 days. They were seen more frequently after the second vaccination and more frequently in younger men. Available data shows that most cases recover. In some cases, intensive care was required and fatal cases were observed.’

“‘The mechanism of action of this new mRNA technology can lead to the destruction of many cells in all organs by the immune system. This damage is particularly dramatic in organs that have little or no ability to regenerate, such as the brain and heart. That’s why we always warned against the corona vaccination… Now that large parts of the population have already been vaccinated and the many complications are obvious, these risks, which have been expected since the beginning and have been known for a long time, are secretly included in the specialist information,’ explains Dr. Christian Fiala. In this way, the manufacturer is trying to avoid liability, at least for future vaccinations. Because the patient himself is liable for all risks listed in the specialist information…

“The fact that the change took place in 2023 makes the matter even more explosive. Because the denial of side effects and the trivialization of inflammation of the heart have continued since then – as has the promotion of the vaccination…”

Children Endangered Through Covid Vaccines?

On October 30, Dr. Paul Alexander wrote the following:

“[A] UK study confirmed the global stable data that no healthy child in US or elsewhere, none, got severely ill or died from this thing called ‘COVID’; in fact severe outcomes ONLY after MALONE et al. mRNA… Bottom line, NO COVID mRNA vaccine was needed in any child, NONE! And is NOT needed! Parents be warned! The mRNA gene-based vaccine should have never been rolled out to children, as much as it should not have been given to pregnant women who were excluded from the registrational legacy trials by Pfizer, Moderna etc…

“Furthermore, the study found that Covid shots offered the children very little protection from the virus, with many becoming infected after just 14 to 15 weeks of receiving an injection.’ ‘The researchers were investigating the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine in fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated children and teenagers. However, they discovered that cases of myocarditis and pericarditis only emerged in the vaccinated group.’..

“Myocarditis and pericarditis are both forms of inflammation in the heart. Pericarditis is a condition where the sac around the heart becomes inflamed, while myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle. Both disorders restrict the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body and can cause clots, strokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrest, and ultimately sudden death.”

Kennedy to Reorganize Department of Health?

Breitbart wrote on October 31:

“Former President Donald Trump has asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead a reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a new administration…

“Kennedy told Breitbart News: ‘President Trump has asked me… to root out … the corruption, and the conflicts of interest; and to restore the traditions of gold-standard, empirically-based, evidence-based science and medicine, and to end the chronic disease epidemic. And he’s told me that he wants to see measurable results in the decline of chronic disease within two years. And I’ve promised him that we can to that.”

That would not be a bad idea, also in light of the next article. Kennedy has been very outspoken about the danger of Covid vaccinations.

The Propaganda and Threats of the WHO

LifeSiteNews wrote on October 31:

“The public health establishment needs to be even more ‘aggressive’ against vaccine critics than it already is, the leader of the embattled World Health Organization (WHO) declared in recent remarks… WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decried that ‘more than 14 million children in 2022 did not receive a single dose of vaccine,’ and while work with international organizations like UNICEF hopes to reduce that number, a ‘serious challenge’ remains. ‘I think we need to strategize to really push back, because vaccines work, vaccines effect adults, and we have science, evidence on our side,’ Tedros said. ‘I think it’s time to be more aggressive in pushing back on anti-vaxxers. They used COVID as an opportunity and all the havoc they are creating.’
“… Tedros gives little consideration to … the significant risks to the COVID shots… [including] higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second and third doses of mRNA-based COVID shots, as well as signs of increased risk of… pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis… and other potential safety signals… [and] statistically significant increases… in cancer deaths after third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 jabs…”

The Evolution Theory—Such a Dumb Monkey Tale!

BBC News reported on November 1:

“Two Australian mathematicians have called into question an old adage, that if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare… However, a new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe…

“As well as looking at the abilities of a single monkey, the study also did a series of calculations based on the current global population of chimpanzees, which is roughly 200,000. The results indicated that even if every chimp in the world was enlisted and able to type at a pace of one key per second until the end of the universe, they wouldn’t even come close to typing out the Bard’s works. There would be a 5% chance that a single chimp would successfully type the word ‘bananas’ in its own lifetime. And the probability of one chimp constructing a random sentence – such as ‘I chimp, therefore I am’ – comes in at one in 10 million billion billion, the research indicates…”

What is also being overlooked in all of this is the fact that an unbreachable spiritual gap exists between men and monkeys. Monkeys can never even remotely achieve what man does. This, of course, completely debunks the ridiculous evolution idea. Please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—A Fairy Tale for Adults?” 

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.

This Week in the News

13,099 Illegal Immigrants Convicted of Homicide Loose on the Streets

Fox News wrote on September 27:

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions are loose on the streets, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data provided to lawmakers this week… The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention — known as the non-detained docket.  The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket. The data says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges.

“Those include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions. 

“There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges…”

Trump has been ridiculed and maligned for consistently stating that many illegal aliens entering the USA are murderers and rapists. After all, he was right. The actual numbers might be much higher than the ones listed above.

Convicted Illegal Immigrants in the USA

CBS News wrote on September 30:

“… a letter U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [which was] recently shared with Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales… contained figures on immigrants with criminal records being tracked by ICE but not detained by the agency… many of the convicted criminals described in the letter have been in the U.S. for a long time, before the Biden administration took office, according to government data and officials. Some are still in federal or state custody serving criminal sentences and are likely to be arrested by ICE. And others cannot be deported because their home countries won’t take them back or they received legal relief from deportation in immigration court.

“… The number of non-detained docket cases has ballooned under the Biden administration, fueled by the release of millions of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. ICE is currently tracking roughly 7.7 million non-detained cases, up from 3.3 million in fiscal year 2020…

“ICE efforts to arrest immigrants accused or convicted of crimes are often frustrated by jurisdictions with so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Some communities, for example, do not honor requests from ICE to hold individuals longer so the agency can pick them up and take them into custody… ICE sometimes has to release immigrants who have been ordered deported by a judge, often because of a criminal conviction, simply because their home country won’t accept them. Additionally, some immigrants, even those convicted of serious crimes, can have their deportation deferred if immigration judges determine they would likely be tortured or persecuted in their home countries…”

The End of Democracy?

Media ITE wrote on September 29:

“Elon Musk claimed Sunday that electing former President Donald Trump in November is the ‘only way’ to save the country from the tyranny of Democrats and illegal migrants. He wrote on X:

“‘Very few Americans realize that, if Trump is NOT elected, this will be the last election. Far from being a threat to democracy, he is the only way to save it! Let me explain: if even 1 in 20 illegals become citizens per year, something that the Democrats are expediting as fast as humanly possible, that would be about 2 million new legal voters in 4 years. The voting margin in the swing states is often less than 20 thousand votes. That means if the “Democratic” Party succeeds, there will be no more swing states!! Moreover, the Biden/Harris administration has been flying “asylum seekers”, who are fast-tracked to citizenship, directly into swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona. It is a surefire way to win every election.

“‘America then becomes a one-party state and Democracy is over. The only “elections” will be the Democratic Party primaries. This already happened in California many years ago, following the 1986 amnesty. The only thing holding California back from extreme socialism and suffocating government policies is that people can leave California and still remain in America. Once the whole country is controlled by one party, there will be no escape. Everywhere in America will be like the nightmare that is downtown San Francisco.’”

This is a frightening but not improbable scenario. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Sunday that will bar local authorities from requiring photo ID to vote.

“Ridiculous ‘Fact Check’ of a True Statement During CBS Vance-Walz VP Debate”

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote on October 1:

“Sen. JD Vance was accurately describing the migrant crisis fueled by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden when CBS moderator Margaret Brennan decided to insert herself with a ‘fact check.’ ‘Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status,’ she said smugly.

“Vance was rightly annoyed by the interruption and said, ‘The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check, and since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on.’ He then proceeded to truthfully, forcefully explain what ‘legal status’ means: ‘So there’s an application called the CBP One app, where you can go on as an illegal migrant, apply for asylum or apply for parole, and be granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand.’ At which point CBS decided to CUT OFF HIS MIC.

“This was the most shameful moment in a long history of shameful moments by moderators biased against Republicans. They ‘fact-checked’ the truth, then stopped the politician from responding. It was made all the more partisan by the fact that when Gov. Tim Walz told the howler that ‘illegal border crossings are down compared to when Donald Trump left office,’ which is not even close to true, no one let out of a peep. Some ‘facts’ are too good to check…

“What Vance was explaining is absolutely, verifiably correct. There is no congressional authorization for the Biden-Harris administration to simply allow 1,000 people a day, 365,000 a year, to just walk across the border. Moreover, asylum law requires that seekers apply in the first safe country they enter. The White House is ignoring that rule. Venezuelans can walk through a half-dozen nations where they could apply for asylum, and they still let them apply here. They aren’t required to remain in Mexico while their applications are processed, as former President Donald Trump required…

“So yes, the Haitians of Springfield have ‘legal status.’ But that’s only because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are ignoring the law.”

That was by far not the only problem with the moderators of the Vance-Walz debate. Tim Walz was not taken to task when he incorrectly claimed that he did not sign a bill allowing abortions after birth; no questions were asked about his falsified record as a soldier; and no really pertinent questions were even asked about Russia and Ukraine.

Worse yet, they brought up the January 6 incident, falsely claiming that all courts had ruled that there was no evidence of fraud. The truth is, most courts did not even address the substance of the case—they dismissed causes of actions on procedural grounds such as lack of standing—and the few courts which did address substance limited their judgments to strictly local occurrences in a particular state, but not the USA as a whole. The verdict on HOW much the election was rigged is still out. It has been rightly observed that the Vance-Walz debate was again three against one (as had been the case in the previous debate between Trump and Harris). Still, it has been overwhelmingly stated that Vance won the debate.

The Costs of the Port Strike

inc.com wrote on October 2:

“Analysts at J.P. Morgan calculated that the strike that shut down ports from Maine to Texas could cost the U.S. economy between $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion for each day they remain closed. Roughly 45,000 dock workers walked off the job at 36 ports when the clock struck midnight on Tuesday when their contract expired. Negotiations have reportedly stalled for months over wages… For each day the workers strike, estimates suggest that supply chains could face an additional five to seven days of congestion as goods are rerouted to open ports in other regions of the country, namely the West Coast. Assuming those ports stay open…

“Many are concerned that the snarled supply chains the nation experienced in 2021 could resurface, along with the price increases that such disruptions may bring. Goods such as bananas, cherries, chocolate, and alcohol could be in short supply if the strike becomes protracted… As of now, Biden has chosen not to step in. The president, who has been a vocal advocate for labor unions over the years, called on USMX to raise workers’ wages. It’s unclear when both parties will next return to the bargaining table.”

That is one way of destroying the US economy.

Fortunately, The New York Post wrote on October 3:

The three-day longshorseman strike that sparked panic in the US over potential supply chain issues is set to end immediately as dock workers and port operators reached a tentative deal, representatives for each group said Thursday.

The strike — which snarled incoming shipments at dozens of ports stretching from Maine to Texas — will end at least until Jan. 15 after the Internation Longshoremen’s Association, the union representing 45,000 dockworkers, and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents shippers and port operators, reached a tentative deal on wage increases… Dockworkers will see an approximately 62% wage hike over six years under the new deal… The union had been asking for a 77% raise.”

But this is apparently only temporary, and much damage has already been done. In addition, Fortune wrote on September 29 that “Total damages and economic loss from Hurricane Helene could reach $110 billion.”

It is clear that God is not blessing the USA.

Abbas Attacks Israel

Israel Today wrote on September 27:

“In an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday morning, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas called the holiest Jewish site—the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—the ‘exclusive property of Muslims’ and referred to Israel as a ‘terrorist state’ that does not deserve membership in the United Nations…

“He also referred to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as a terrorist for calling for a Third Temple to be built on the mount.”

A Third Temple will be built on the Temple Mount, prior to Christ’s return, as the Bible clearly reveals. The evidence is indisputable. 

Netanyahu Attacks UN, Iran Before Strike on Beirut

The New York Post wrote on September 27:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the United Nations General Assembly as a ‘swamp of antisemitic bile’ during a fiery address Friday morning…  He also called the organization an ‘anti-Israel flat-earth society.’ The Likud party leader slammed the International Criminal Court’s allegations that Israel has deliberately targeted civilians in Gaza as the product of ‘profound moral confusion.’

“He called out the Iranian government for backing terror groups, including Hamas, and mentioned how Tehran directly attacked Israel for the first time in April this year. Netanyahu repeatedly emphasized Israel’s nearly year-long struggle in a war that now involves multiple fronts, as Hezbollah, the Houthis and militants in Syria and Iraq renewed their efforts against the Jewish state in response to the Gaza war…

“Shortly after Netanyahu’s speech, Israel rained down missiles on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, marking its most powerful attack on the group to date.  The explosions marked a serious escalation and came weeks after Israel confirmed that the focus of its war effort was shifting from Gaza to Lebanon. Netanyahu’s office circulated an image of the prime minister on the phone approving the strike on the Lebanese capital.”

Hezbollah Leader Killed

The U.S. Sun wrote on September 28:

“HEZBOLLAH leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed in a massive missile blitz on Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that Friday’s fighter jet blitz successfully eliminated the terror group’s Secretary-General…

“The death of Nasrallah, considered by many to be the single most powerful individual in Lebanon, is a pivotal moment for Israel – and has sparked fears of wider escalation. Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, is also believed to have been killed alongside Nasrallah in the strikes on Friday. Israel also claims to have wiped out several other Hezbollah officials including Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, in the blasts. His deputy and ‘other senior officials’ were also taken out.”

Intervention of Outside Powers?

The New York Post wrote on September 28:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Muslim world to ‘stand by’ Lebanon and Hezbollah.

“The international community has expressed concern that these bombings in Lebanon would inevitably lead to an even wider war in the Middle East

“ ‘Shockwaves radiating from the unprecedented death and destruction in Gaza now threaten to push the entire region into the abyss,’ UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutierez told the Security Council Friday.  ‘War in Lebanon could lead to further escalation involving outside powers.’”

Fox News wrote on September 28:

“… the immediate question is not whether Iran will respond, but how. Hezbollah is a creation of the Islamic Republic, built on decades of effort, and billions of dollars of support… The relationship between Iran’s supreme leader… Khamenei and Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, was almost familial – akin to that of father and son…

“Iran’s leadership cannot simply sit back while Hezbollah endures these levels of humiliation and harm. To do so would not only result in the weakening or loss of its most important proxy, but could signal the start of the unraveling of its entire regional strategy of eradicating the state of Israel, empowering Islamist groups, and expelling U.S. forces from the Middle East….”

Ultimately, Israel will receive a wound—prior to the Great Tribulation. This is apparently some kind of a defeat in war.

Reactions:

The Algemeiner and Reuters wrote on September 28:

“The following are reactions by regional politicians and others to the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday:

“IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY: The ministry said in a statement that Nasrallah’s ‘path will continue and his goal will be realized in Jerusalem’s liberation’.

“YEMEN’S IRAN-ALIGNED HOUTHIS: The group said it mourned the killing of Nasrallah, adding: ‘The martyrdom … will increase the strength of sacrifice … determination and continuity.’

“MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI, IRAQ’S PRIME MINISTER: He said the killing of Nasrallah showed ‘the reckless desire to expand the conflict at the expense of all the peoples of the region and their security and stability.’

“HERZI HALEVI, ISRAEL’S CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF: Nasrallah indiscriminately murdered Israeli civilians and aimed to end this war with the destruction of the State of Israel. We made sure that did not occur. We eliminated him, and we will continue to grow stronger. Hezbollah has murdered innocent people worldwide, hiding his weapons under the homes of families, women and children and turning them into human shields. As we have shown, we will not allow such a threat to our citizens. We are determined to continue destroying the Hezbollah terrorist organization and to keep fighting.’

“MOQTADA EL SADR, IRAQI SHI’ITE MUSLIM POLITICIAN: He said he mourned Nasrallah as ‘his companion in resistance’.

“GEBRAN BASSIL, LEADING LEBANESE CHRISTIAN POLITICIAN: He said he mourned the death of Nasrallah as a major loss and said it was a hard time for all Lebanese, adding: ‘In the face of the Israeli enemy, we have no choice but to be together as Lebanese.’

“MICHEL AOUN, FORMER LEBANESE PRESIDENT: In a statement mourning Nasrallah, he referred to ‘the dangers our country is witnessing as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression which requires rising to the highest level of national solidarity that protects and fortifies our unity because that is the true salvation’.

“SAAD AL-HARIRI, FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: The assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has plunged Lebanon and the region into a new phase of violence. It is a cowardly act condemned in its entirety by us, who paid dearly for the lives of our loved ones when assassination became an alternative to politics. May God have mercy on Sayyed Hassan and my sincere condolences to his family and comrades. We often disagreed with the deceased and his party and met a few times, but Lebanon was everyone’s tent. In this extremely difficult phase, our unity and solidarity remain the foundation.’

“TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN: In a post on X after the killing of Nasrallah but which did not name him, Erdogan said he condemned recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of ‘genocide, occupation, and invasion’ and said the Muslim world should show a more ‘determined’ stance.”

The Times of Israel added on September 28:

“Russia also criticized Israel for killing Nasrallah, with a statement from the country’s foreign ministry saying it ‘decisively condemn[s] the latest political murder carried out by Israel’ and ‘once again insistently urge[s] Israel to immediately cease military action.’”

The Lebanese unite against Israel. And what Russian hypocrisy! Controversial German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (the Greens) stated that the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah was not necessary for Isarel’s security.

It is also shocking to see that large parts of the left-wing mass media in the USA and Europe portray mass murderer and terrorist Nasrallah as a somewhat sympathetic figure. For instance, the New York Times wrote falsely that Nasrallah was a “gifted orator” who “maintained that there should be one Palestine with equality for Muslims, Jews and Christians.” The truth is, he wanted Israel destroyed and obliterated.

USA Didn’t Succeed  

AFP wrote on September 28:

“EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell voiced regret Friday that no power, including the United States, can ‘stop;… Netanyahu,  saying he appears determined to crush militants in Gaza and Lebanon… Borrell said Netanyahu has made clear that the Israelis ‘don’t stop until Hezbollah is destroyed,’ much as in its nearly year-old campaign in Gaza against fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas. ‘If the interpretation of being destroyed is the same as with Hamas, then we are going to go for a long war,’ Borrell said…

“The outgoing EU foreign affairs chief [said;]  ‘We cannot rely just on the US. The US tried several times; they didn’t succeed…’”

The rift between Europe and the USA, even under Biden and now Harris, is widening.

Israeli Strikes Continue

Daily Mail wrote on September 28:

“Israel launched fresh strikes on Beirut again this afternoon after killing Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander in an attack on Friday that has rocked the region and threatens drastic escalation. The Israeli military said late Saturday afternoon it had carried out an air strike in the Dahieh area of Beirut – the same district targeted in the strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in the city yesterday. 

“Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi acknowledged that ‘challenging days await’ for Israel after confirming the death of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, with Iran and Hezbollah’s allies vowing revenge… Israel defended its operations in Lebanon today, amid growing pressure from its allies to de-escalate, claiming that it had thwarted a Hezbollah plot to carry out an attack similar to October 7.”

The Sun wrote on September 30:

“ISRAELI special forces have stormed Hezbollah tunnels inside Lebanon as Netanyahu warns there’s nowhere Israel cannot reach. Military bosses have massed tanks and 13,000 reservists at its northern border with Lebanon to pave the way for a bloody showdown with Hezbollah terror troops…. The IDF’s elite troops have carried out raids in southern Lebanon ahead of the possible invasion.”

Can Israel Succeed?

The Sun wrote on September 29:

“Analysts said terror group Hezbollah are ready for a ‘fight to the death’ against Israel should they invade – with Iran ready to pounce and send the region into chaos… Israel’s daily rocket barrages on Beirut are believed to be a clever ploy from the IDF to help begin their ground invasion into southern Lebanon… [Israel] has left the terror group in chaos after it eliminated dozens of their leaders – paving the way for an Israeli invasion. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has already made it clear that the attacks on Lebanon have been tactically done to open up opportunities for the military to enter…

“But… despite the IDF outnumbering, outgunning and potentially outsmarting Hezbollah a complete offensive will be a tricky task to pull off. Despite being severely weakened by the rocket strikes Hezbollah are still a scary prospect after decades of training and Iranian funding…

“In the short term, Israel may be able to push Hezbollah and Iran back with their impressive battlefield skills and range of weapons. But many fear that their dominance won’t last long in the region – potentially triggering a war involving global powers…”

Ultimately, foreign powers WILL invade and conquer the state of Israel.

Israel Strikes Yemen

Express wrote on September 29:

“Israel has launched an all-out air assault on Yemen’s Houthis striking targets in a raid using dozens of aircraft. The IDF confirmed that the strike was the most powerful against the terror group since it joined the widening Middle East war following the October 7 attack in Israel last year. The targets of the strikes were oil reserves in Ras Issa and also the port of Hodeidah, according to Israeli army sources. Additionally, power plants were also struck in the devastating attacks carried out by  Israel’s air force…

“The strikes appear to be in retaliation for attacks on Israel carried out by the Houthis last week. Three missiles were fired at Tel Aviv and central areas of the country, following Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon…”

Israel is fighting on numerous fronts. In the long run, it will be extremely difficult to continue doing so.

Iran Attacks Israel

The Daily Mail wrote on October 1:

“The Israeli military has announced that missiles have been launched from Iran into Israel tonight – with the Islamic Republic ignoring warnings that any such attack would invite ‘severe consequences’. Air raid sirens sounded as dozens of missiles began raining down on Israel, with some dramatically exploding into flames as they appeared to strike areas of Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital. As the sustained attack continued into the night sky, other missiles exploded in the air as they were intercepted by Israel’s defence systems. 

“… Israel was expecting ballistic missiles to be launched by Iran this evening in yet another major escalation that leaves the Middle East on the brink of an all-out war. These can reach their targets in just 12 minutes…

“Israeli media are reporting that [about 200] missiles have been fired into Israel – after Iran vowed on Saturday that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah would be avenged…

“It comes as:  Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on towns and cities across Israel; IDF claimed to have conducted cross-border raids on southern Lebanon; Israeli airstrikes continue to devastate targets across Lebanon and Syria; Lebanon… appealed for $400 million in humanitarian aid…

“President Joe Biden said the United States was prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks and to protect American military in the region…”

However, Biden also said that Israel should not attack Iran’s nuclear sites in retaliation. But many feel that Israel will have to do something. At the same time, Israel lost eight IDF soldiers in Southern Lebanon’s Ground Offensive who were killed by Hezbollah.

Zelenskyy and Trump Meet

The Associated Press wrote on September 27:

“Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met face-to-face with Donald Trump  Friday with public tensions rising between the two over Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion… Trump has for months criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and derided Zelenskyy as a ‘salesman’ for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his military as it tries to fend off Moscow…

“In an interview with The New Yorker that was published earlier this week, Zelenskyy implied Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict. The Ukrainian leader said Trump’s running mate JD Vance was ‘too radical’ and has essentially advocated for Ukraine to ‘make a sacrifice’ by ‘giving up its territories.’…”

Zelenskyy stated that both he and Trump agree that Putin “cannot win the war.”  It is unclear what is meant by that phrase. If the intention was to say that he must not win the war, that would be one thing; if it was meant to say that Putin will be unable to win the war, then that would be illusionary. Note the next article.

Ukraine Should Be Talking About Peace

The Ron Paul Institute added on September 28:

Russia is gaining territory quickly because Ukraine is low on manpower. No amount of NATO technology or weaponry is going to help this fundamental weakness.  This is the reality in Ukraine; they are losing the war… Zelensky is dead-set on getting permission to use US and European long range missile systems against targets deep within Russia… So far the Biden Administration has refrained from supporting the long range option, but has offered another $8 billion in support.  Under a Trump presidency, the money train is likely to stop abruptly.

“Zelensky has offered no practical measures for negotiations, arguing that concessions are off the table.  Furthermore, he claims that peace is only possible once Ukraine has taken back all territory seized by Russia, including Crimea which was annexed in 2014.  He then demanded that Russia pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction and that Putin and a multitude of other Russian officials be handed over to be tried for war crimes.  This is never going to happen.

“The core of Ukraine’s victory plan relies on long range strikes using NATO guided missiles and acceptance into NATO.  Both factors at this stage would cause WWIII

“Many officials within the US and Europe have given Zelensky delusions of grandeur about his chances, perhaps because they want the war to grind on forever.  These same officials have hinted consistently that they will not accept a Ukrainian loss.   Regardless of what side people think should win, the fact is that Russia is the inevitable victor according to all the evidence on hand…. The longer the war goes on the greater the chances of a powder keg moment and a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.  Ukraine should not be talking about ‘victory’, that time has come and gone. They should be talking about peace.”

The Western press keeps repeating the mantra that Ukraine is winning the war. This is not supported by the facts. In any event, Russia and Ukraine will unite, no matter who “wins” the war.

Europe Prepared for a Suicide Venture?

Newsweek wrote on September 28:

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov… issued a new nuclear warning during the… (U.N.) General Assembly on Saturday…   NATO leaders have increasingly warned that direct conflict with Moscow is a realistic danger as it has more nuclear warheads than any other country…  Lavrov… warned Washington, D.C. as well as London to prepare for a ‘suicide venture’ pointing out the ‘pointlessness and danger of the very idea to fight to victory with a nuclear power like Russia.’

“‘A goal has been declared to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia – almost like London and Washington planned in May 1945 as they developed “Operation Unthinkable” on destruction of the Soviet Union even before the end of World War II. Back then, it was a closely held secret. The Anglo-Saxon strategists of today, however, make no secret of their intentions. So far, they expect to defeat Russia with the hands of the illegitimate neo-Nazi Kiev regime, but they already prepare Europe to leap into a suicide venture as well,’ Lavrov said.”

Again, none of these Russian warnings should be taken lightly.

Belgium Unhappy with Pope and Catholic Church

The Associated Press wrote on September 27:

“Belgium’s prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups here, demanding ‘concrete steps’ to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis’ visit on Friday.

“The speech by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip, where the genteel dictates of diplomatic protocol usually keeps outrage out of the public remarks. But even King Philippe had strong words for Francis, demanding the church work ‘incessantly’ to atone for the crimes and help victims heal.

“Their tone underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium, where two decades of revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups have devastated the hierarchy’s credibility and contributed to an overall decline in Catholicism and the influence of the once-powerful Catholic Church…

“The prime minister, king and pope also referred to a new church-related scandal rocking Belgium, over so-called ‘forced adoptions,’ which echoed earlier revelations about Ireland’s so-called mother and baby homes.  After World War II and through the 1980s, many single mothers were forced by the Belgian church into offering their newborns up for adoption. Often they barely saw their babies before nuns took them away, and the babies were then placed for adoption, with money changing hands. For those adopted, it is close to impossible now to find out who their birth mothers were, since the records have long ago disappeared.

“Francis said he was ‘saddened’ to learn of these practices, but said such criminality was ‘mixed in with what was unfortunately the prevailing view in all parts of society at this time… Many believed in conscience that they were doing something good for both the child and the mother,’ he said, referring to the social stigma of an unwed mother in a Catholic country… [it is estimated] it affected up to 30,000 babies…”

These scandals in the Catholic Church are as old as the Catholic Church, and they will continue. Only at times, the tip of the iceberg reaches the surface, but one can only imagine what is all going on in the abyss below.

The Catholic Church’s New Seven Capital Sins

FSSPX News wrote on September 30:

“Here is the [new] list of [capital] sins, as the Synod document describes them:

  • Sin against peace
  • Sin against creation, against indigenous populations, against migrants
  • Sin of abuse
  • Sin against women, family, youth
  • Sin of using doctrine as stones to be hurled
  • Sin against poverty
  • Sin against synodality / lack of listening, communion, and participation of all

“Some of them are too general and can cover many situations: the sin against poverty can be a lack of assistance to the poor, or even wastefulness. The sin against the family can cover divorce, contraception, abortion, surrogacy… The latter is also a sin against surrogate women, a kind of slavery.

“It is curious that there is a sin against youth, but no sin against old age: euthanasia is already rife in many countries, and seeks to spread to every continent. As for the sin of abuse, it’s a vast spectrum: abuse through physical violence, sexual violence, abuse of power, abuse of corporate assets.

“… it should be noted that these sins reflect the preoccupations of a Pope who has a personal conception of certain current issues, and who often comes to forget the essentials because of this bias

“As for the sin against migrants, it has taken on an increasingly sharp tone recently, to the point of asserting that turning away migrants is a grave sin. This would only be conceivable in cases of grave danger to the migrant’s life…

“But the one that appears most strikingly strange is the last one: ‘Sin against synodality’ or ‘lack of listening, communion, and participation of all.’… Should we see this as an accusation against bishops—and possibly priests—who defend episcopal power and refuse to see it diluted in the ‘common priesthood’ of the faithful? Should we see it as a ‘landmine’ prepared for participants in the synodal Assembly who wish to reject what is being cunningly prepared in this Synod? Should we anticipate a forthcoming sin ‘against democracy in the Church’, which would be nothing more than a negation of the hierarchical structure that Christ willed for the supernatural society He founded? But doesn’t this sin against synodality already savor of that? It certainly does. And that is undoubtedly why it’s on this list…”

Austria in the News

NBC News wrote on September 28, BEFORE the election on Sunday:

“Politics in a central European country of just 10 million people might not seem consequential. But that’s not the case in Austria, where there’s a good chance its election Sunday will be won by a far-right, pro-Russia party… A win for the Freedom Party, or FPÖ, would not just have historical connotations — Austria was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler — it could tilt the balance of power between Russia and the West...

“The FPÖ is led by Herbert Kickl, 55, a wiry, acerbic provocateur in designer glasses. He has been branded as ‘Volkskanzler’ or ‘People’s Chancellor,’ by his party, a term most associated with the Nazis who used it to describe Hitler. Indeed the FPÖ was founded in the 1950s by former members of Hiter’s paramilitary group the SS, although Kickl and his supporters reject the modern-day comparison…

“Kickl’s vision is to build  ‘Fortress Austria’ and ‘Fortress Europe,’ as he put it during a debate on Austrian public television Thursday night. That would involve a dramatic overhaul of Austria’s immigration system, registering all new arrivals and detaining them in specialist facilities. The party is also proposing to introduce ‘remigration’ of ‘unwanted strangers’ — deporting migrants to their country of origin.

“… the FPÖ’s influence could extend far beyond its own borders. It has for years been sympathetic toward Russia, not just calling for an end to Europe’s support for Ukraine but also advocating an end to the sanctions placed on Russia over its war. In 2016, party leader Heinz-Christian Strache signed a formal ‘cooperation pact’ with Putin’s United Russia party…“It has been a junior coalition partner before,  but crashed out in 2019 after Strache was secretly recorded offering to fix government contracts with a woman posing as the relative of a Russian oligarch…

“This time, an FPÖ-led Austria could form a Ukraine-skeptical bloc with like-minded neighbors, Slovakia and Hungary, the latter led by Trump ally Victor Orban… Its election would be the latest chapter in a rightward lurch across Europe, with voters rejecting mainstream centrists not just over immigration and the economy, but the environment and so-called ‘culture war’ issues, too… A coalition is almost certain —  not an easy task when the FPÖ is so vilified by opponents.”

In 1970, Jörg Haider became the leader of the FPÖ youth movement and headed it until 1974. Haider rose rapidly through the party ranks. In 1972, at the age of 22, he was already a well-established leader and was made party affairs manager of the Carinthian FPÖ in 1976. In early 2000, FPÖ leader Jörg Haider made a deal with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) to form a coalition government.

Haider had been in line to become Austrian chancellor. But strong international pressure convinced both parties to give the chancellor post to the ÖVP. Haider stepped down as FPÖ chief in February 2000. Just 13 days after the elections in 2008,  Haider died in a mysterious car crash in southern Austria. His wife claimed that foul play was involved.

It has been reported that Kickl had been the speech writer for Haider, and also for his successor, Heinz-Christian Strache.

The FPÖ Wins!

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 29:

“Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has scored a historic victory, winning the country’s parliamentary election for the first time. According to the preliminary official results, the FPÖ garnered 29.2% of votes, followed by Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s center-right conservative ÖVP with 26.48%… The FPÖ now has the most seats in the new Austrian parliament. Turnout stood at 74.9%, slightly down from the previous election in 2019…

“On Sunday evening, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl said his party was ready to negotiate with other political forces… Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen also told political parties to hold talks to form a government... Chancellor Nehammer (ÖVP) conceded defeat by Sunday evening

“Despite the far-right party’s historic victory, it does not have enough seats to form a government on its own and would require a coalition. The Social Democrats already ruled out such an agreement, but the ÖVP has not…

“The head of Germany’s far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, congratulated FPÖ after the projections were published. The German party… shares large elements of its ideology with FPÖ…

“During the campaign, Nehammer sought to portray FPÖ’s Kickl as a toxic extremist and said he would not be working with him, but signaled the conservatives could cooperate with the FPÖ as a whole. On Sunday, the incumbent chancellor doubled down on his rejection of Kickl…

“The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been in government several times but it has never topped a national vote before Sunday… Under [Kickl’s] abrasive leadership, the party… has seen its popularity rebound on voter anger and anxieties over COVID restrictions, migration, inflation and the Ukraine war…”

Newsmax added on September 29:

“Austrian voters handed a first-ever general election victory to the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on Sunday… underlining rising support for hard-right parties in Europe fueled by concern over immigration levels…. The FPO victory [makes] Austria the latest EU country to register surging far-right support after gains in countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany.”

Politics Made in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 28:

“The parliament in the eastern German state of Thuringia elected Thadäus König of the conservative … CDU  as its new speaker on Saturday. The speaker presides over the parliament and has the power to call lawmakers to session at any moment… König was competing for the speakership against a nominee from the… AfD, Wiebke Muhsal. König was able to secure a majority of 54 out of 88 total seats, which included members of center and far-left parties.  It comes after the AfD placed first in the September 1 regional election in Thuringia, garnering almost 33% of the vote. The CDU, meanwhile, came in second in that election with almost 24% of the vote. 

“As a result of the September 1 vote, the AfD managed to win over a third of all seats in Thuringia’s parliament. The AfD thus had priority in putting forward a parliamentary speaker candidate, although the other parties vowed to block the far-right nominee for the post…

“The CDU… turned to Thuringia’s constitutional court. The court ruled against the AfD, paving the way for the CDU to put forward König as its speaker candidate… The CDU is currently trying to form a government in Thuringia, bypassing the AfD. In order to form a ruling coalition in the state, the CDU is negotiating with the center-left… SPD  and the left-wing populist, anti-immigration… BSW.” 

The constant attempts by the main parties to bypass the AfD, and the ongoing negative reporting in the mainstream media about the AfD, will backfire. 

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.

This Week in the News

Israel-Lebanon War Escalates

The Sun wrote on September 20:

“A wanted Hezbollah terror chief has been killed in a deadly Israeli airstrike on Beirut.

“The devastating strike came just moments after the militant group launched 140 of their own rockets at northern Israel – with one even blasting a playground… The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed top brass Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil, from their Radwan Force, was eliminated in today’s strike…  The Hezbollah chief was seen as the second in command of the Iran backed militia. [The US had offered a $7 million bounty for him.] Some 10 other senior chiefs from the terror group were killed alongside Aqil, Israel said.

“The Israeli air attack came just before Hezbollah launched their own menacing attack across the border. Three separate Hezbollah barrages, made up of Katyusha rockets, were recorded today with the first being made up of over 60 missiles. Minutes later the biggest collection of rockets was let off from Lebanon with 70 being reported by the IDF. Another 20 were then reportedly launched at the Mount Meron region in Israel.

“Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has also declared the start of a ‘new phase’ of war as the country’s army moved north in recent weeks. The announcement paves the way for the first full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon since 2006 in a drive to push back the terror group and allow Israelis to return home.”

Of course, the world condemns Israel, while few condemn with the same vigor the terrorist activities of Hezbollah.

Newsmax wrote on September 22:

“Hezbollah and Israel exchanged heavy fire into Sunday, as the Lebanese militant group sent rockets deep into northern Israeli territory after facing some of the most intense bombardment in almost a year of conflict… Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until it was safe for evacuated people on his side of the border to return – also setting the stage for a long conflict as Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until a ceasefire in the parallel Gaza war…

“Israel wants Hezbollah to cease fire and withdraw forces from the border region, adhering to a U.N. resolution signed with Israel in 2006, irrespective of any Gaza deal. Tens of thousands of people have left their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in October in sympathy with Palestinians in Gaza.”

Hezbollah Strikes Tel Aviv

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 25:

“Hezbollah said it targeted a Mossad base after one of the group’s leaders was killed in a strike on Beirut. Israel intercepted the missile and said it was the first time Hezbollah had targeted Tel Aviv

“The Israeli military said the move represented ‘an escalation.’ It all comes after senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Kobeisi, who headed the group’s missile and rocket force, was killed in Beirut on Tuesday.”

UN the Diplomatic Arm of Hamas?

Israel Today wrote on September 20:

“Jerusalem’s Old City, in addition to Judea and Samaria, must be Judenrein within a year, according to a Palestinian-drafted resolution, which the UN General Assembly passed on Wednesday. The resolution, which passed by a 124-14 margin with 43 abstentions, is meant to give force to a July advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which declared Israeli presence to be illegal in any area over the 1949 armistice line. More than 40 countries sponsored the resolution, which was the first that Palestinians filed after being granted unprecedented privileges, for a non-UN member, earlier this year.

“The resolution calls on the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw completely from Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip within 12 months, which means evacuating all Jewish communities beyond the armistice line, including Jerusalem’s Old City. It also bans arms sales to the IDF of any equipment that would be expected reasonably to be used in the territory over the 1949 lines and calls for a boycott of all products produced by Jews in those areas…

“General Assembly resolutions have no legal force, but the resolution’s passage on Wednesday is expected to be used in international courts and other fora to seek additional action against the Jewish state…

“Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, called it ‘a shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic terrorism.’ He added that the General Assembly ‘continues to dance to the music of the Palestinian Authority, which backs the Hamas murderers.’…

“Arsen Ostrovsky and Nadav Steinman, CEO and board chair, respectively, of the International Legal Forum, stated that ‘today, simply put, the United Nations has become the diplomatic arm of Hamas’... ‘All it does is reward the murderers, rapists and abductors of Hamas while pouring further fuel on worldwide antisemitism and eroding whatever remaining credibility of the already problematic and politicized International Court of Justice, upon which this resolution is meant to be based,’ they added…”

The Israeli anger directed at the duplicity and hypocrisy of the UN is totally understandable.

Iran’s Grand Ambition

The Algemeiner wrote on September 19:

“Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon lambasted Iran for being a puppet master ‘pulling the strings’ of terrorist groups across the Middle East, describing them as ‘Iran’s attack dogs’ while addressing the UN Security Council on Thursday. Danon stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which he described as ‘the most oppressive regime in the world,’ wants ‘dominance, not diplomacy.’ ‘The country’s ‘grand ambition’ is the ‘creation of a Shiite supremacist empire that stretches across the entire Middle East and beyond,’ he insisted…

“‘The dark force driving the violence we see today is not a collection of independent groups. It is Iran pulling the strings. The Iran proxies — Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] — are all Iran’s attack dogs unleashed to spread death and destruction across the region.’ Danon also described the different terror cells as the ‘claws of a beast’ that is Iran.

“The ambassador then shifted his attention to the Palestinian Authority, accusing it of ‘standing by, utterly weak and impotent,’ by turning a blind eye to Iran’s terrorist actions or ‘actively collaborating with these terror networks.’ He once again criticized the PA’s leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas, for refusing to condemn Hamas since the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.”

Danon stated the obvious, but most members of the Security Council [and many countries in the world] are willfully closing their eyes and ears so that they cannot see and hear.

France vs. Israel

Israel Today wrote on September 22:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron held a difficult conversation last week over the escalating situation in Lebanon, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Friday. According to the report, Macron, who initiated the call, hurled harsh accusations at the Israeli premier for leading Israel and Lebanon to the brink of a full-scale war. ‘The responsibility to prevent escalation is yours. You can opt for a diplomatic solution. This is the moment to show leadership and responsibility. Your activity in the north is pushing the region to war,’ Macron was quoted in the report as saying.

“Netanyahu replied: ‘Instead of putting the pressure on us, it’s about time you pressured Hezbollah. We will bring our residents back home [in the north]. This is the decision we made this week and we will act on it.’ On Thursday, France voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution proposed by the Palestinian Authority to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel.”

Macron wants to be a leader of Europe, but he has been failing miserably. Now, he is venting his anger on Israel. But Germany’s Olaf Scholz and his staff are not any better. Note the next article.

Germany’s Failing  Policy

Focus wrote on September 20:

“The UN General Assembly calls by a large majority on Israel to vacate the occupied Palestinian territories. Germany abstains from the resolution…  FOCUS online chief correspondent Ulrich Reitz [wrote:] ‘Ultimately it turns out that the Israel strategy of Annalena Baerbock and the Foreign Office is simply embarrassing for Germany. The UN, under the leadership of Secretary General Antonio Guterres, is no longer an organization that can be unreservedly claimed to be on the side of law and international order…

“‘Already after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Germany abstained from a resolution. Then as now, the justification was that we wanted to keep channels of communication open to all sides.’ However, this is not an argument for Reitz. ‘If the channels of discussion are open to all sides, then one simply has to say that this German foreign policy has led to nothing. You have to attest to a complete lack of influence here.’… Baerbock’s numerous visits to the Middle East had no effect… no one was listening…

“Reitz finds the Foreign Office’s call for de-escalation from both sides to be misplaced. There can be no equality between the Israeli government and a terrorist organization… ‘We are dealing with a democratically legitimized government on the one hand… and a bunch of terrorists on the other. Those in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have decided to drive Israel into the sea and eradicate the Jewish state.”

Germany’s stance may not be only one of incompetence. Germany’s lip services for supporting Israel have long been more than dubious.

Too Political!

The Algemeiner wrote on September 20:

“Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, will perform her original song ‘October Rain’ at the United Nations to mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel…

“The lyrics of ‘October Rain’ reference the Oct. 7 massacre…  Golan had originally planned to perform ‘October Rain’ at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, rejected the song, deeming it too political. Golan instead competed in the Eurovision with a reworded version of the song that was retitled ‘Hurricane.’

“Golan finished in fifth place in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest… after being booed on stage by anti-Israel protesters, experiencing death threats, and having one of the competition’s jury members refuse to give her points because of his personal opposition to Israel…”

European antisemitism, from the top down, is shameful, shocking and VERY dangerous. But it IS prophesied.

Milei, Erdogan and Pezeshkian Speak at UN

Breitbart wrote on September 24:

Argentine President Javier Milei used his debut speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to deliver an enthusiastic condemnation of ‘globalism and the moral posturing of the woke agenda’ and warn that the U.N. flagship Agenda 2030 is a threat to global freedom… Milei launched into a searing condemnation of the recent United Nations record, condemning its support of Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns and its support of totalitarian regimes…

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spent over half of his very lengthy address to the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday criticizing Israel for its war against the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah. Erdogan accused the Israelis of genocide, compared them to Nazi Germany, and demanded the U.N. authorize ‘coercive measures against Israel’ to halt the war in Gaza…. Erdogan extensively regurgitated Hamas propaganda about the war in Gaza, absurdly insisting that almost all of the casualties were ‘women and children’ deliberately targeted by Israel in a campaign of genocide… ‘Just as Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by an alliance of humanity,’ he declared…

“Nowhere in Erdogan’s speech was there even the slightest mention of why Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza, and now Hezbollah in Lebanon… At the end of his long speech, Erdogan… launched a spirited attack against the LGBTQIAP2S+ movement, describing it as a threat to ‘the institution of the family,’ which is a ‘pillar of society.’… Erdogan said the homosexual agenda has become ‘a war against the sacred and human nature,’ a ‘multidimensional, comprehensive, and ruthless project of destruction.’”…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used his address to the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday to attack Israel on behalf of Iran’s terrorist clients in Hama… Pezeshkian criticized former U.S. President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal… without mentioning the Iranian cheating that prompted Trump to withdraw… The Iranian leader pitched his closing remarks as a direct statement to the American people, implicitly either pleading with them, or threatening them, not to send Trump back to the White House.”

There are reports that Iran has been, and probably continues to be, trying to assassinate Trump.

Biden’s Embarrassing Farewell Address

The New York Post wrote on September 24:

“Biden has not yet come to grips with reality. He dishonestly suggests he voluntarily passed the party’s torch to his vice president, declaring that ‘Some things are more important than staying in power.’ …

“Indeed, the widespread belief that we are now closer than ever to World War III captures the truth of Biden’s disastrous term. Rarely if ever have things gotten so bad so fast. ..

“Vladimir Putin saw the sudden withdrawal as proof that America was in retreat and decided the time was ripe for an invasion of Ukraine… Iran smelled the weakness and unleashed the hell of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis on Israel. Yet, repeating the mistakes of Barack Obama, Biden continues to reward Iran with sanctions relief and punishes Israel by withholding arms and isolating it on the world stage… Then there’s China, which had to be giddy when Biden made excuses after one of its spy balloons flew openly across America’s heartland.”

Fox wrote on September 25:

“President Biden’s swan song on the world stage…  was a sad demonstration of American weakness… He repeated the mantra that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that even the UN’s Atomic Energy Agency and everybody listening, knows that under his watch Iran has already become a threshold nuclear power….

“President Biden… lost his moral compass entirely… Antisemitism that is promoted and incited by the United Nations and those in his General Assembly audience. Antisemitism that is now doing enormous damage to a tolerant and peaceful America. Antisemitism that fuels the Iranian threat to world peace. .. Biden’s final speech was an opportunity to be honest and chastise the United Nations itself as an impediment to tolerance, equality and world peace.  He squandered it.”

Newsmax added on September 24:

“Biden addressed the U.N. General Assembly for the final time and urged an end to the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxy groups while at the same time praising the military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Trump’s campaign’s statement noted that the world has already witnessed the ‘devastation wrought by four years of Harris-Biden, and nothing can mask it.’

“Biden told the assembly that the world ‘is stronger than we think’ and noted his accomplishment of ‘ending’ of the war in Afghanistan. The Trump campaign took issue with Biden’s claim and called it ‘among the biggest foreign policy debacles in modern history’ adding it ‘resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and gave the Taliban safe haven for their reign of terror. Kamala [Harris], who has never said the names of the fallen heroes out loud, bragged about being the ‘last person in the room’ for the decisions that led to the withdrawal.” 

The Future of Olaf Scholz

Express published the following article on September 20, BEFORE the anxiously awaited state election in the eastern German state of Brandenburg:

“Voters go to the polls in the east German state of Brandenburg on Sunday, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces the prospect of being replaced by his own party if it goes as badly as the most recent regional elections. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be hoping to claim victory in the rural state, just as they did in Thuringia at the start of September.

“In that election, Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) managed a meagre 6.1 percent of the vote, as the AfD blew apart the federal governing coalition with almost an 33 percent vote share. On the same day, the neighbouring state of Saxony held their election, in which the SPD once again performed miserably. The party won just 7.3 percent of the vote as they were annihilated by the Christian Democrats (CDU) on 31.9 percent, the AfD on 30.6 percent and the recently formed ‘left conservative’ Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) on 11.8 percent.

“Analysts believe another drubbing could see the Chancellor replaced by the far more popular defense minister Boris Pistorius, echoing how the Democrats dispensed with Joe Biden when he proved to be an electoral liability. The German federal elections are being held in a year’s time and as it stands the SPD under Scholz are tanking in the polls. According to Politico’s Poll of Polls, the SPD are on just 14 percent nationally, five points behind the AfD and 18 points behind the CDU – Angela Merkel’s old party – on 32 percent.”

As it turned out, Scholz’ SPD did not perform as poorly as feared. Note the next article.

SPD Wins Narrowly Over AfD

Thomson/Reuters wrote on September 22:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) [did] fend off the far-right in a state election in Brandenburg on Sunday after trailing behind the Alternative for Germany (AfD) throughout the campaign…  The SPD, which has governed the state surrounding the capital Berlin since reunification in 1990, scored [30.9 %] of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany on 29.2%, in a last-minute comeback…

“The success for the SPD could give Scholz a slight reprieve from party discussions about his suitability to be once more its chancellor candidate for the federal election scheduled for next September given his unpopularity with voters. It is unlikely, however, to give him or his party a major boost given the popular, incumbent SPD premier Dietmar Woidke had distanced himself from Scholz during the campaign and criticized the federal government’s policies…

“Three-quarters of those who voted for the SPD did not do so out of conviction but rather to fend off the AfD…  The SPD is polling just 15% at national level, down from the 25.7% it scored in the 2021 federal election. That is behind the AfD on around 20% and opposition conservatives on 32%.

“All three parties in Scholz’s ideologically heterogeneous coalition combined are currently polling at around 30%, less than the conservatives [CDU] alone. The coalition has come under fire for its constant bickering and for its handling of immigration. In the formerly Communist-run East, many voters are also critical of its delivery of weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion…

“Woidke warned against complacency, noting the AfD was still gaining momentum. The ZDF poll suggested it had gained 5.7 percentage points since the last Brandenburg election in 2019. AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla noted the AfD had made strong gains among young voters

“The new leftist Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht [came] in third place, on [13.5%], ahead of the conservatives [CDU] on [12.1%], underscoring the ongoing upheavals in Germany’s political landscape making predictions tricky.”

The other two coalition parties in the German government, the Green and the FDP, did not even reach the 5% threshold and did not make it into state parliament. The CDU did not do well in the Brandenburg election. The one who did best, overall in all three states, was the AfD.

It is difficult to see that Scholz (SPD) would be reelected next year. The CDU announced that Friedrich Merz would be their candidate for chancellorship—another highly controversial political figure who is accused of being out of touch with ordinary Germans while representing the interests of corporate elites over the people. Germany seems to stumble from one problem to the next.

Turbulent Times Ahead

Report 24 wrote on September 23:

“In Brandenburg, the SPD under Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke achieved a narrow victory in the 2024 state elections. With a razor-thin lead over the AfD, the SPD was able to maintain its position as the strongest force in the state, but the circumstances of this victory highlight the profound changes and challenges in the East German political landscape… The CDU… recorded the worst result in the East. In addition, the AfD also receives a blocking minority in Brandenburg.

“A decisive factor in the SPD victory was Prime Minister Woidke’s unusual tactics. In a dramatic appeal (which some people also viewed as blackmail), he threatened to resign if his party did not emerge as the strongest force in the election. This strategy proved successful in mobilizing voters from other parties willing to change, especially those who wanted to prevent the AfD from winning…

“While the AfD became the strongest force in all age groups under 60, the SPD owes its victory primarily to seniors. In the group of people over 60, the SPD was able to maintain a clear lead over the AfD, which ultimately made the difference. This trend shows a growing dissatisfaction among young people with the established parties and their turn to populist alternatives…

“The election also revealed the dwindling importance of some parties in eastern Germany. The Greens and FDP, which are still part of the government coalition at the federal level, hardly play a role in Brandenburg and the other eastern federal states. Both parties failed at the five percent hurdle and will therefore not be represented in the state parliament…

“The effects of the Brandenburg election extend far beyond the state’s borders. FDP Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki has already speculated about a possible early end to the traffic light coalition at the federal level. He expressed doubts that the government in Berlin would remain in office until Christmas. These statements underline the nervousness in the ranks of the governing parties in view of the election results in Brandenburg. Another notable aspect of the election was the loss of Prime Minister Woidke’s direct mandate. He lost to the AfD candidate in his constituency with a difference of just seven votes. This result symbolizes the fragility of the political situation and the growing strength of the AfD, including at the local level…

“The SPD’s narrow victory may promise short-term stability, but the underlying trends – particularly the AfD’s strength among younger voters and the weakness of the center parties – point to turbulent times in East German and possibly all-German politics.

Poor Choices

Report 24 wrote the following on September 23:

“The AfD’s success in the state elections in Brandenburg is remarkable, but democracy in the ‘best Germany of all time’ is in bad shape. The pluralistic system, in which people had a variety of political parties with different programs and priorities to choose from, was buried. Today, citizens can only choose between the united front of the cartel parties and the AfD. And as long as the new anti-German unity party can still scrape together enough votes, all votes for the opposition will be summarily declared invalid…

“In a democracy, it is unreasonable to effectively declare a third of the votes invalid by eliminating any hint of political participation by the elected party. The fairytale of the ‘right-wing extremist’ party, which should be prevented, is only spread on political grounds: This accusation from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is merely a ‘matter of interpretation by a non-independent authority with political officials who are bound by instructions’ (quote from the NZZ). How credible is a salesperson who tries to convince you that every product except his own is dangerous and harmful? Should this seller be put in the position of excluding all competition from the market?…”

German Governmental Green Pary in Disarray

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 25:

“Green party national co-chairman Omid Nouripour told reporters early on Wednesday that he and co-chair Ricarda Lang would be resigning their posts. ‘We came to the conclusion that a new start is needed,’ Nouripour said in Berlin. New leadership should be chosen at the party conference in November, he said. 

“The Greens have endured three disastrous state elections in eastern Germany this month. Most recently,  on Sunday in Brandenburg, they missed the 5% hurdle required to guarantee representation in parliament. ‘Sunday’s election result in Brandenburg is evidence of the most serious crisis in our party in a decade,’ Nouripour said. 

“In Germany’s political system, party leaders or chairpersons at the federal level are not necessarily also the party candidates for chancellor. This is also the case for the Greens. Currently, Economy Minister Robert Habeck is considered most likely to stand as the party’s chancellor candidate in next year’s federal elections, given that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said she does not want the position for a second consecutive election.”

“German Car Manufacturers Should Become American”

Focus wrote on September 25:

“Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would like to boost car manufacturing in the USA if he wins the election. Trump spoke about this on Tuesday at a campaign appearance in Georgia – and already has a clear idea of ​​how it works.

“He explained that he wanted to encourage German and other companies to move to the USA: ‘I want German car manufacturers to become American car manufacturers.’ VW, BMW and Mercedes, for example, should increase their locations in the USA.

“Trump also wants to attract companies with special economic benefits. These are intended to offer the ‘lowest taxes, lowest energy costs, lowest regulatory burden and free access to the best and largest market in the world’. All of this assuming they produce in the USA and employ Americans. Otherwise, Trump threatens high import tariffs.”

EU vs. NATO

The Financial Times wrote on or about September 20:

“The EU’s defence efforts were already diverting resources from existing Nato structures, senior alliance officials told the Financial Times. ‘If Europe is under attack, people need to know immediately who is in charge of responding to that,’ said one of the alliance officials… Competing structures create uncertainty . . . that only helps the enemy.’

“In particular, Nato is concerned by the proposed expansion of the EU Military Staff, a structure that oversees the bloc’s military missions. Officials said the plan could complicate critical chains of command in the event of conflict, and is diverting manpower from Nato’s own understaffed command structure at a time when generals are in short supply.

“Officials also warned that EU defence procurement plans could exclude Nato states such as the UK, Norway and Turkey that are not members of the bloc and thus weaken existing defence-industrial co-operation projects. Twenty-three of the EU’s 27 member states are part of Nato, but there are divisions within the bloc as to how much of a role the EU — primarily a trade and regulatory bloc — should play in the future defence of the continent.

“Paris [is] pointing out that the bloc needs to be prepared for a weakening of American interest in Europe — a risk heightened by the potential re-election of Donald Trump as US president. ‘Now is therefore the time to build a true European Defence Union. Yes, I know there are some who are perhaps uncomfortable with the idea. But what we should be uncomfortable about are the threats to our security,’… Ursula von der Leyen said. Von der Leyen has created a dedicated defence commissioner in her new team set to take office this year. She picked former Lithuanian prime minister Andrius Kubilius for the role.”

This new “dedicated defense commissioner” might perhaps play an interesting role in the future. Note the next article.

The New EU Defense Commissioner—“A King Without a Kingdom?”

The Economic Times wrote on September 20:

“Facing an aggressive Russia, a long war in Ukraine and an uncertain American commitment to Europe, Ursula von der Leyen, as president of the European Commission, has created a new post of defense commissioner.

“The task before any new commissioner is formidable. The war in Ukraine has pointed up huge shortcomings in Europe’s capacity to defend itself. Its armies are small and sometimes poorly equipped. It has been slow to increase military spending and prioritize the production of artillery shells, ammunition and air defense. It remains deeply dependent on the United States for key military equipment and funds… Christian Mölling, a defense expert and director for Europe for the Bertelsmann Foundation [said:] ‘It’s a king without a kingdom.’

“In a recent comprehensive report on how to revive European growth and competitiveness, Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and governor of the European Central Bank, supported the new commissioner’s job. Europe buys more than 60% of its equipment from the United States, plus another 15% from other non-EU countries. So making European weapons more competitive would be good for European companies and taxpayers, Draghi argued, echoing many others.

“… the question of European military dependency on Washington is no longer just a theoretical question, said Ian Lesser, director of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund… ‘It is in the process of shifting from seeing its own defense companies as national champions to thinking of them also as essential building blocks for stronger European defense,’ Lesser said….” 

Western Arms for Ukraine to Be Used in Russia?

TRT World wrote on September 20:

“The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on EU countries to let Ukraine use Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia, prompting an angry rebuke from Moscow. EU lawmakers approved the resolution on Thursday, which is non-binding and does not reflect the stance of the bloc’s 27 countries, with 425 votes in favour, 131 against and 63 abstentions, during a plenary session in Strasbourg…

“Echoing an earlier warning by President Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, the president of Russia’s lower house Duma, condemned the vote…  ‘What the European Parliament is calling for leads to a world war using nuclear weapons,’ Volodin said, warning that Russian missiles could hit Strasbourg within minutes of launch [He specifically said: ‘The Sarmat missile’s flight time to Strasbourg is three minutes 20 seconds.’] … This month, Putin warned that green-lighting the use of long-range weapons deep inside Russia would put the NATO military alliance ‘at war’ with Moscow. Washington currently authorises Ukraine to only hit Russian targets in occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.”

Express added on September 20 that “Strasbourg, France, is often considered the EU’s de facto capital due to the fact it holds many of the bloc’s key institutions including the European Parliament.”

Ultimately, but not quite yet, nuclear war will break out between Europe and Russia.

“Washington’s Ukraine Obsession Is Going to Get Us All Killed!”

On September 23, Ron Paul wrote in his weekly column of the Ron Paul Institute:

“Last week the world narrowly escaped likely nuclear destruction, as the Biden Administration considered Ukraine’s request to allow US missiles to strike deeply into Russian territory. Russian president Vladimir Putin warned, as the request was being considered, that because these missiles could not be launched without the active participation of the US military and NATO, Russia would consider itself in a state of war with both NATO and the US should they be launched. It was a Cuban Missile Crisis on a massive scale.

“Thankfully, permission was reportedly not granted by Washington to hit deep inside Russia, but as we have seen throughout this war, a weapons system is often first denied and then eventually granted to Washington’s proxies in Kiev. We should not rest easy even if nuclear war has been temporarily averted. Would missile strikes deep inside Russia win the war for Ukraine? Not even the Pentagon thinks so. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin himself said earlier this month that granting Ukraine permission to launch missiles into Russia would not be a ‘game-changer’ in the two and a half year war. Risking nuclear destruction for no tangible purpose? Have these people gone insane?

“Even the ‘game-changers’ have changed little in this war. How many times has the pro-war mainstream media told us a weapons system would be a ‘game-changer’ for Ukraine? Remember Javelin missiles? Leopard tanks? HIMARS?… each one of them fails to turn the tide in Ukraine’s favor…  The fact is that Russia is winning the war despite hundreds of billions of dollars and the best weapons systems from the US and NATO countries. Each new shipment of increasingly sophisticated weapons does not produce battlefield victories for Ukraine. It only produces more dead Ukrainian soldiers and more profits for the weapons manufacturers.

“Even the mainstream media… has begun to report on Ukraine’s huge losses and hopeless situation. Yet as more and more start to wake up about the disastrous proxy war, Washington only knows one direction when it comes to war: forward. Just over a week ago the Pentagon announced another $250 million arms package for Ukraine. Nobody believes that is going to reverse the steady gains made by Russia on the battlefield, but it will generate more profits for the US arms manufacturers who are the real force behind our hyper-interventionist foreign policy.

“The unlikely duo of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Donald Trump, Jr., said it best in a recent editorial in The Hill: ‘We cannot get any closer to the brink than this. And for what? To “weaken Russia”? To control Ukraine’s minerals? No vital American interest is at stake. To risk nuclear conflict for the sake of the neoconservative fantasy of global “full-spectrum dominance” is madness.’”

Zelensky Attacks Trump

Breitbart wrote on September 23:

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is bashing former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), attacking them in American media outlets…

“The New Yorker has an exhaustive piece on Zelensky penned by Joshua Yaffa, stating that the Ukrainian leader ‘speaks with the urgency of a leader who knows that he may be facing his last best chance for substantial foreign assistance’ as President Biden’s presidential term is coming to an end. The Q&A in the piece is revealing, as Zelensky openly attacks Trump, asserting that he ‘doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.’” 

No Digital Dollar in Canada

LifeSiteNews wrote on September 24:

“Plans by the Bank of Canada (BOC) to implement a digital ‘dollar,’ also known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), have been shelved. Officials from Canada’s central bank said that a digital currency… will no longer be considered after years of investigating bringing one to market…

“Most Canadians do not want a digital dollar… an overwhelming majority of citizens want to ‘leave cash alone’… many people rely on cash to pay for things. The bank concluded that the introduction of a digital currency would only be feasible if consumers demanded its release.  The reversal comes after the BOC had already forged ahead and filed a trademark for a digital currency…

“Digital currencies have been touted as the future by some government officials, but… many experts warn that such technology would ultimately restrict freedom and be used as a ‘control tool’ against citizens similar to China’s pervasive social credit system.”

More Censorship in Canada

Rebel News wrote on September 19:

“Grave news for freedom of the press: the Federal Court of Canada just upheld an atrocious ruling by Justin Trudeau’s hand-picked censorship committee, denying Rebel News a Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO) news licence. In free countries, readers get to decide which journalists to trust. But in Trudeau’s Canada, that’s now a government decision, and Trudeau hand-picks the censorship panel making the decision…

“Rebel News publishes thousands of news stories every year. And the busiest time in our history was during the trucker convoy, back in February, 2022. We were publishing up to twenty stories a day, almost all of it from the ground — in Ottawa, Windsor, Coutts and other protest places. We were the window on the trucker convoy for the whole world. That month, we actually had more viewers than the CBC state broadcaster gets on an average month. But here’s how Trudeau’s censorship committee described that three-week period of time: ‘only 2% of the items during the aforementioned period constituted original news content.’… the judge accepted that bizarre claim and used it as a reason to deny us a QCJO licence…

“Trudeau has spent millions of dollars censoring us, including creating this well-paid censorship panel, clearly built with us in mind… What’s extra-gross is the silence from mainstream media journalists. Most Canadian journalists have been bought off by Trudeau. If they work for the CBC, (and more than 50% of Canadian journalists do) they get 100% of their pay from Trudeau. And even if they work for the ‘private’ news media, they get, on average, a $30,000 subsidy from Trudeau. That’s why they’re silent today. And that’s another reason why they hate Rebel News: because we don’t take any cash from the government, and they’re ashamed that they do.

“Under Bill C-11, which is now law, Trudeau has the power to order companies like YouTube and Facebook to either ‘boost’ or ‘throttle’ Canadian content. It would be too conspicuous for Trudeau to order them to ban Rebel News. But all he has to do is to order them to ban journalism that doesn’t have the QCJO licence. That way he can say he wasn’t targeting Rebel News, and that the tech companies did it, not him.”

Canada’s descent into dictatorship under left-wing radical Trudeau is undeniable.

Ireland Drops Portions of Hate Speech Bill… For Now

Fox News wrote on September 21:

“The Irish government is dropping parts of its controversial hate speech laws which have been criticized by free speech advocates around the world, including X owner Elon Musk who vowed to fight the legislation in court… The measure would have allowed for the jailing of citizens for merely possessing material that criticizes certain protected characteristics, ranging from gender identity to national origin. Some critics have compared it to the concept of punishing people for ‘thoughtcrime,’ a term popularized by George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984.’…

“The legislation, the Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences bill, has already passed through the Dáil, Ireland’s lower chamber, but it had stalled in the Senate, the upper chamber. [Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee] says… that legislation aimed at bringing forward tougher sentences for physical hate crimes under the bill will proceed… ‘I am adamant that hate crime legislation will be enacted,’ she said… The hate speech bill had faced mounting criticism even from government backbenches and some of those in opposition. Ireland’s main opposition party Sinn Féin voted in favor of the bill but later called for it to be scrapped.”

It’s all politics. And the push to enact freedom-denying hate speech laws will continue in Ireland, and all over the world.

Socialist Spain to Restrict Freedom of Speech?

The European Conservative wrote on September 18:

“Spain’s socialist government has unveiled radical plans to regulate the press to combat so-called ‘disinformation.’ Critics have branded the move as ‘censorship’ and an attempt by prime minister Pedro Sánchez to distract attention from an ongoing scandal involving his wife.

“The Democratic Action Plan will create a register of media outlets operating in Spain… [which] will allow the government to dictate who media outlets’ shareholders can be, their sources of financing, and how much government institutions will spend on advertising with them. Any media outlet not on the register will likely be branded ‘pseudo-media,’ a term used by the socialist government and its supporters to discredit any new outlets that deviate from the establishment line.

“In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, the leader of the opposition centre-right Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused Sánchez of having a ‘banana-republic conception of power.’ He accused the prime minister of Censorship and persecution of anyone who dares to criticise you. We haven’t seen anything like this since Franco.’

“The plan was proposed amid an investigation into Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, who is accused of influence-peddling and corruption. The PM has blamed what he calls ‘far-right’ online media for pursuing the case. The campaign by Sánchez against supposed ‘misinformation’ has intensified since he was called—and refused—to testify before judge Juan Carlos Peinado, making him the first sitting Spanish prime minister ever to refuse such cooperation. He later announced he would sue Peinado for alleged malfeasance. A government spokesperson accused the judge of acting ‘for political motives and outside the law.’”

And so, it seems Sanchez wants to control the media to protect his wife…

The Fight Over Gibraltar

Express wrote on September 20:

“Spain has issued a dire warning to the UK, with a deal on the status of Gibraltar post Brexit yet to be agreed, despite months of negotiations… there is still no resolution to thorny border issues affecting the UK Overseas Territory. Spain repeated its warning that if the stalemate continues, it will carry out border checks on the Rock within two months…

“On November 10, the EU will introduce Entry-Exit System (EES) at all borders, effectively resulting in a hard-border between the Rock and its neighbour Spain, with fears that it could spark chaos… An open border is of huge importance for the 15,000 people who cross into Spain every day for work as well as the territory’s economy.”

The battle for Gibraltar between Spain and the UK will intensify.

Tattoos in the Catholic Church

Die Welt wrote on September 20:

“During an unusual event, the Catholic Church wants to talk to people. Brave people can get a tattoo in St. John’s Church – only Christian motifs are possible. First pray and sing together, then get a tattoo: With an unusual campaign, the Diocese of Osnabrück wants to make people curious about faith and the Catholic Church.

“Today… a tattoo service will be celebrated for the first time in Osnabrück’s St. John’s Church. The needles should buzz to the sounds of the organ. Anyone who has registered in advance can have a Christian symbol tattooed on their forearm or calf for free… Spontaneous tattoo sessions may also be possible for those who decide at short notice…

“According to the diocese, one in five people in Germany is tattooed… The priest who will lead the service is already tattooed. He is a prison chaplain for the Diocese of Osnabrück…”

Tattoos are sinful. Please read our Q&A in this regard, titled, “Does the Bible teach anything about the use of tattoos?“  

If Hitler Had Conquered Britain…

The Sun wrote on September 20:

“A CHILLING map reveals how Britain would have looked if Adolf Hitler had won World War Two – with a new capital far from London and a holiday home for the dictator. Bombshell dossiers for Operation Sea Lion – Nazi Germany’s ambitious plan for a full-scale invasion of Britain – detail how the Third Reich planned an attack on the English coast in a bid to take over Europe.

“Nazi planners identified five sectors of the English coast to attack – from Ramsgate in Kent to Selsey Bill in West Sussex. They planned to land some 100,000 troops, 650 tanks and 4,500 horses in the first wave of the attack on September 21, 1940 on the southeast coast from the French ports of Le Havre, Cherbourg, Boulogne and Ostend. Once a bridgehead had been established, a further 500,000 soldiers would have landed. They would have begun mass territorial attacks between Ramsgate and Deal, Folkestone and Dungeness, Dungeness and Rye, Bexhill-on-Sea and Beachy Head and Brighton to Selsey Bill…

“Hitler already had managed to pull off some of the greatest military campaigns that summer, capturing France and the Low Countries in Europe… German officials were convinced that an onslaught would have led to the ‘rapid abandonment’ of the British defences south of London within just two weeks – before capturing the length and breadth of the nation…

“Under German plans, Oxford – Hitler’s preferred seat of power for the Reich – was to be the new capital of Britain. The city’s historic centres were left untouched by the Germans during the devastating air raids of the Battle of Britain – believed to be part of Hitler’s plan. Plans were also to carve out the nation to form six new districts – and each of them would have had to central military control centre as big as the size of a city. Headquarters were to be set up at Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, London, Dublin and Glasgow. Historians also believe that Ireland would have been united under the Nazis.

“Meanwhile, the famous Blenheim Palace near Oxford would have turned into Hitler’s secret holiday home in Nazi Britain. Blenheim Palace is the birthplace and ancestral home of Winston Churchill – the man who led Britain against Hitler during World War Two… Documents detailing Operation Sea Lion reveal how German researchers were employed to find out details of local road systems, geography, units of measurement, money and even translations of some Welsh words, all to be used by invading forces when they landed. The documents were found in the German naval archives after the Allies captured Berlin to end the war.

“Hitler believed that Operation Sea Lion would have led to the rapid conclusion of the war, winning over Europe and establishing his absolute dictatorship…”

The Austrian/German Adolf Hitler failed in conquering Britain, while the next German and/or Austrian leader—the beast—will succeed.

Hitler’s Death… Or Was It?

In an accompanying article, the Sun wrote on September 20:

“On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler…  decided to take his own life in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin. But in the months and years following his death, however, conspiracy theories circulated over whether or not he actually died – and if he escaped instead. It all began with the Soviet Union’s decision to seed two contradictory narratives in 1945: that Hitler died by taking cyanide or that he had survived and fled to another country.

Joseph Stalin himself even outright denied Hitler was dead when asked by US President Harry Truman.

“It is known some Nazis used hidden escape routes called ‘ratlines’ to flee from Germany as the Third Reich collapsed, with some finding shelter in South America… Declassified documents… showed how the UK and US hunted for Hitler for ten years after the end of World War 2 as they feared he was still alive. Secret documents reveal investigations into claims Hitler had a body double, U-boat sightings in Argentina, and claims that Adolf was photographed alive in Colombia.

“One document reported to the FBI in 1947 even described a town called ‘Casino’ near Rio Grande in Brazil which appeared to be ‘entirely populated’ by Germans. FBI agents interviewed an informant, who claimed to be a former French resistance fighter, who said he saw Hitler and Eva Braun sitting at a resort in the town. Many notorious Nazis did manage to escape to South America, but it is accepted by history that Hitler and Eva Braun were not among them.”

Even if Hitler survived, he would be dead by now. But the end-time “beast”— following Hitler’s footsteps, but turning out to be much worse than Hitler—is very much alive today.

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.

This Week in the News

EU Foreign Policy Chief Anti-Semitic?

The Jordan Times wrote on September 14:

“Israel’s foreign minister again accused EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of ‘anti-Semitism’ Saturday after the top diplomat expressed outrage at the killing of UN staff in an Israeli strike in Gaza. ‘Josep Borrell is an anti-Semite and Israel-hater who consistently tries to pass resolutions and sanctions against Israel in the EU, only to be blocked by most member states,’ foreign minister Israel Katz said in a statement. On Thursday, Borrell said he was ‘outraged’ by the killing of six employees from the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in an Israeli air strike…

“Katz has repeatedly levelled accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ against the European Union foreign policy chief… ‘There’s a difference between legitimate criticism… and the anti-Semitic, hate-filled campaign Borrell is leading against Israel — reminiscent of history’s worst anti-Semites.’”

Borrell is not the only one. Note the next article.

Anti-Israel Media Bias

Israel Today wrote on September 13:

“The apparent bias of the ABC TV moderators in failing to call out the falsehoods reportedly spoken by US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, in the debate with former President Donald Trump this week has attracted much critical comment… over the past few years, the media’s shocking pro-Democrat, anti-Trump partisanship has destroyed its role as the guardian of democracy and established it instead as an army of ruthless activists for a political cause…

“The impression given by the British media for the past 11 months of this war has been that Israel is willfully killing huge numbers of Gaza’s women and children, recklessly bombing hospitals and schools full of displaced people, and preventing humanitarian aid from getting to civilians. Those claims are the reverse of the truth

“The most egregious serial offender is the BBC... For decades, it has sanitized Palestinian Arab terrorism and painted Israel falsely as the aggressor in the region. And during the current war in Gaza, its coverage has been overwhelmingly malevolent…

“The network’s double standards in item after item, the soft-soaping of Palestinian supporters and the aggressive interruptions of Israel’s defenders, the acceptance of Hamas propaganda and blood libels about Israeli ‘war crimes’ as fact and the equally knee-jerk assumption that the Israelis are lying, all demonstrate… that the BBC is institutionally hostile to both Israel and the truth. It is therefore a national disgrace… they have been inciting often murderous hatred of Israel around the world.

“The media may have subverted and undermined American democracy. But when it comes to Israel, it has blood on its hands.”

The whole world, and especially Europe, has ganged up on Israel.

No More German Weapons for Israel?

Reuters reported on September 18:

“Germany has put a hold on new exports of weapons of war to Israel while it deals with legal challenges, according to a Reuters analysis of data and a source close to the Economy Ministry. Last year, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($363.5 million), including military equipment and war weapons, a 10-fold increase from 2022… However approvals have dropped this year, with only 14.5 million euros’ worth granted from January to Aug. 21… Of this, the ‘weapons of war’ category accounted for only 32,449 euros.

“A source close to the ministry cited a senior government official as saying it had stopped work on approving export licences for arms to Israel pending a resolution of legal cases arguing that such exports from Germany breached humanitarian law…

“… the issue has created friction within the government as the Chancellery maintains its support for Israel while the Greens-led Economy and Foreign ministries, sensitive to criticism from party members, have increasingly criticised the Netanyahu administration. Legal challenges across Europe have also led other allies of Israel to pause or suspend arms exportsBritain this month suspended 30 out of 350 licences for arms exports to Israel due to concerns that Israel could be violating international humanitarian law.

“In February, a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to halt all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns about their use in attacks on civilian targets in Gaza.”

The situation won’t improve. Note the next article.

Detonation of Hezbollah Radios

Newsmax wrote on September 18:

“Hezbollah was rocked Wednesday by a second wave of explosions with thousands of two-way radios exploding throughout Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut and in the southern region of the country. The blasts took place one day after thousands of personal pagers exploded Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and injuring another 2,800 people.

“Sources said… that Israel was also behind the explosions of the personal radios, which are used by Hezbollah members rather than cell phones. Their walkie-talkies had been booby-trapped with explosives in advance of their delivery to Hezbollah, which uses them as part of its emergency communications system, which would be used in a war with Israel, the sources said.

“The Jerusalem Post reported that according to its sources, the explosions occurred at and near the funerals of four Hezbollah members in Lebanon… Associated Press journalists working at the scene reported the funeral was for three Hezbollah members and a child who were killed by the exploding pagers on Tuesday…

“The Post said that unofficial reports claimed that iPhones, video cameras, IC-V82 radios, and other devices also detonated, in addition to the walkie-talkies, and that Hezbollah has told its operatives to stay away from all communication devices… The Lebanese media also claimed drones and aircraft had been seen flying over western and central Lebanon while the explosions were going on. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for both attacks, but Jerusalem has been publicly silent on the issue. Several foreign media outlets have reported that Israel’s Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces intelligence were behind the incidents.”

The New York Post wrote on September 18:

“The AR-924 pagers that were detonated on Tuesday were all the latest models acquired by Hezbollah five months ago and allegedly manufactured in Budapest, according to a statement released by Gold Apollo — a Taiwanese firm that authorized the use of its brand on the pagers.  Hungarian officials however, deny the allegations, saying it has no such manufacturing facility in the country…

“Israel allegedly hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were imported to Lebanon, the New York Times reported… The material was implanted next to the battery with a switch that could be triggered remotely to detonate. The exploding pagers were then detonated by a message impersonating the leaders of the group on Tuesday afternoon, officials said….”

Hezbollah vowed revenge. The situation in the Middle East will surely escalate.

No More Welfare Benefits for Ukrainian Refugees?

Reuters wrote on September 14:

“European governments should halt welfare benefits to Ukrainian men of military age who are living in their countries, Poland’s foreign minister said, a measure he said would help Ukraine call up more troops to fight Russian forces… More than 4.1 million Ukrainians had temporary protection status in European Union countries as of July this year, and about 22% of them were adult men… ‘Stop paying those social security payments for people who are eligible for the Ukrainian draft. There should be no financial incentives for avoiding the draft in Ukraine,’ Sikorski said at a conference of international leaders in Kyiv…

“Kyiv needs more soldiers…  Earlier this year, Ukraine adopted new legislation and implemented other measures, including lowering the call-up age or combat duty to 25 from 27… Kyiv ordered Ukrainian men living abroad to renew their military draft information online and encouraged them to return to Ukraine and join the fight.

“Ukraine imposed martial law at the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, banning men aged 18 to 60 from travelling abroad without special permission and beginning a rolling mobilisation of civilian men into the armed forces. But many men of military age have still fled abroad to avoid the draft amid reports of corruption in the army recruitment system, allowing some men to bribe their way out of army service.”

Fighting in war is sin and murder. Europe is becoming more and more an “armed camp,” determined to fight and kill in unjust and ungodly wars.

No German Long-Range Weapons for Ukraine?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 14:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday ruled out the delivery of long-range precision to Ukraine in the future regardless of decisions made by NATO allies… Scholz said that the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles would entail ‘a great risk of escalation’

“Taurus cruise missiles have a range of around 500 kilometers (310,6 miles), which would allow Ukraine to strike targets in Moscow. ‘I said no to that,’ Scholz asserted. ‘And of course that also applies to other weapons…’ adding that this would not change ‘even if other countries decide differently.’

“At the same event in Prenzlau, Scholz said that Berlin seeks to prosecute the perpetrators of an attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. ‘That was a terroristic act,’ Scholz said, adding that his government had called on security authorities and public prosecutors to continue investigations into the incident. ‘We want to bring those who did this, if we can get a hold of them, to court in Germany,’ he said, adding that there would be no ‘leniency’ in this case… He said that replacing Russian gas with other source shad cost Germany substantially more than €100 billion ($110.8 billion).”

Germany is under pressure from Russia. Politico reported on September 13, 2024:

“German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shrugged off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of retaliation should Western allies allow Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia… The Russian leader delivered an explicit message Thursday night to Ukraine’s Western partners, warning them against letting Kyiv use donated long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia. ‘This will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting Russia,’ he said.”

Pistorius is not in charge. And Scholz’ reply seems to be an attempt to appease Russia. In addition, strong implications suggest that in some way, Ukraine was behind the attack on the two pipelines.

German Warships a “Security Risk”?

BNN wrote on September 15:

“The passage of two German Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday ‘increased security risks’ in the region, the Chinese military has said. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing accused Berlin of staging a ‘provocation’ and violating the One-China policy. Taiwan has been de facto self-governing since 1949, when the Nationalist forces lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communists and fled to the island. Taiwan is currently recognized as a sovereign nation by only 12 countries in the world. While adhering on paper to the One-China policy, in which the government in Beijing is the sole ruling authority over Chinese territories, the US has for decades maintained unofficial relations with and supported Taipei.

“China insists that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory, with President Xi Jinping warning that Beijing could resort to military force to regain control over the island. In a post on X on Friday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a ‘German naval frigate and a supply ship each sailed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south today.’ The passage of the Baden-Wuerttemberg frigate and the Frankfurt am Main replenishment ship was the first of its kind in 22 years

“German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday that ‘international waters are international waters, it is the shortest route, it is the safest route given the weather conditions… so we pass through.’ Despite China’s repeated protests, the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and France have sent warships through the waterway on multiple occasions.”

China and Russia have indicated that they would work together militarily against their enemies in case of a conflict.

Germany’s (and Europe’s) Immigration Problem

The Daily Mail wrote on September 16:

“Germany brings in its plan to end unchecked illegal immigration to the country today with enhanced border controls at all nine of its borders. The new controls will be in place for an initial six months and are expected to include temporary structures at land crossings and spot checks by federal police.  The coalition government hopes to show its seriousness about efforts to tackle irregular migration following a spate of Islamist attacks in recent months that have galvanised groups on the far-right. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser insisted yesterday that the step would help ‘put a stop to criminals and identify and stop Islamists at an early stage’.

“But the policy has not been without its criticism internally, and risks fracturing Germany’s centre-left coalition and alienating its European neighbours.  Poland and Austria are among the neighbours that have voiced concern, while the European Commission has warned that members of the 27-nation bloc must only impose such steps in exceptional circumstances.

“Germany lies at the heart of Europe and borders nine countries that are part of the visa-free Schengen zone, designed to allow the free movement of people and goods. Border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland were already in place before the crackdown was announced. But these will now be expanded to Germany’s borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, too…

“In recent weeks, a string of extremist attacks have shocked Germany, fuelling rising public anger. Last month, a man on a knife rampage killed three people and wounded eight more at a festival in the western city of Solingen. The Syrian suspect, who has alleged links to the Islamic State group, had been intended for deportation but managed to evade authorities. The enforcement failure set off a bitter debate which marked the run-up to two regional polls in the formerly communist east, where the anti-immigration AfD scored unprecedented results.

“With national elections looming next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has been under intense political pressure to toughen its stance on migrants and asylum seekers. Scholz was in Uzbekistan on Sunday to sign a migration deal for workers to come to Germany, while simplifying deportation procedures in the opposite direction so that ‘those that must go back do go back’, the chancellor said. Closer to home, the German government has presented plans to speed up deportations to European partners.

“Under EU rules, asylum requests are meant to be handled by the country of arrival. The system has placed a huge strain on countries on the European periphery, where leaders have demanded more burden-sharing. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Germany tightening its borders means that it would ‘essentially pass the buck to countries located on the outer borders of Europe’. Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said his country ‘will not accept people who are rejected from Germany’, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned Germany’s move as ‘unacceptable’. Warsaw has also struggled with migration and accused Moscow of smuggling people from Africa and the Middle East into Europe by sending them through Belarus to the Polish border….

“Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, meanwhile, mocked the German chancellor on social media site X, writing: ‘Bundeskanzler Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration.’  Germany took in more than a million asylum seekers in 2015-16, many of them Syrians, and has hosted over a million Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022…

“In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Friday unveiled the country’s strictest migration policy yet, saying it will request an opt-out from EU common policy on asylum next week. A four-party coalition dominated by far-right firebrand Geert Wilders’s Freedom Party wants to declare an ‘asylum crisis’ to curb the influx of migrants through a tough set of rules including border controls.”

All of this comes far too late for Germany, as criminal immigrants and terrorists are already in the country. And sadly, it all seems to be dictated by politics—with the hope that incompetent politicians might be reelected.

Controversial EU Commissioner Resigns Because of Controversial von der Leyen

Euro News wrote on September 17:

“Thierry Breton, the powerful European Commissioner in charge of the internal market, abruptly resigned on Monday, claiming that Ursula von der Leyen had pressured France, his home country, to submit another candidate to replace him ‘for personal reasons.’… ‘A few days ago, in the very last stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future of the College, you asked France to withdraw my name – for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me – and offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College,’ Breton wrote. ‘… in light of these developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have concluded that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College…’

“Breton’s shock exit deals a new blow to von der Leyen’s ongoing efforts to build her new College of Commissioners, a delicate undertaking that requires balancing considerations on gender, geography and party politics. The presentation of her new team has already been delayed due to a political fight in Slovenia, where the conservative opposition has contested the appointment of Marta Kos as the country’s Commissioner-designate…

“Still, the magnitude of Breton’s departure cannot be understated: the Frenchman had acquired a strong profile in Brussels after playing a key role in the bloc’s production of COVID-19 vaccines, the industrial ramp-up to provide Ukraine with more military support and, most notably, the regulatory push to rein in the excesses of Big Tech and AI.

“But he had also become a divisive character in the city. His letter to Elon Musk in August ahead of the billionaire’s interview with Donald Trump was decried as an assault against freedom of expression and a blatant case of power overreach…”

“British Army Stockpiles Depleted Amid £7,600,000,000 of Military Aid Sent to Ukraine”

MSN wrote on September 16:

“Military aid to Ukraine has left gaps in the UK armed forces’ capabilities. The UK has sent Challenger 2 tanks, millions of rounds of ammunition, and hundreds of boat and land vehicles to help Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

“It’s made a difference, with all of the Challengers donated last summer being deployed on the frontlines against Russia’s Soviet-built tanks.”

And Now Australia… Censoring Free Speech

Rebel News wrote on September 12:

“Elon Musk has slammed the Australian government, labelling them ‘fascists’ in response to proposed legislation to combat what it sees as misinformation on social media platforms. Musk, who owns X (formerly Twitter), made the blunt comment in reaction to a post outlining the new laws, which could fine social media companies up to 5 per cent of their annual revenue… The highly controversial proposed laws… will give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) unprecedented powers to control online in the name of cracking down on misinformation.

“ACMA could fine platforms and even approve an industry code of conduct to address the issue if self-regulation fails. However, critics argue that these laws could severely limit free speech. John Storey from the Institute of Public Affairs described it as ‘the biggest attack on freedom of speech in peacetime Australia,’ warning that it could capture ‘any difference of opinion.’”

It’s happening all over the so-called “free” world.

Second Assassination Attempt on Trump

NBC News wrote on September 15:

“One [sniper] is in custody after shots were fired Sunday in what the FBI is calling an apparent second ‘attempted assassination’ of former President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. An AR-style [Ak-47] rifle was recovered from the scene, law enforcement officials told NBC News. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was ‘safe’ after the incident…

“A representative for the Secret Service said at the news conference that it wasn’t clear whether the suspect ‘was able to take a shot at our agents’ before the agents shot at the suspect… The Secret Service spokesperson… said the suspect… was an estimated 400 to 500 yards away from Trump…”

The New York Post reported that the arrested sniper is a long-time Democrat from Hawaii. “The alleged shooter mounted a GoPro on the fence and was ‘intent on filming’ what would have been the murder of a former president, officials said… [He] was previously convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction… [He] was also arrested over two decades ago following a three-hour standoff…”

We are living in dangerous times, because Satan the Devil is very angry. We ALL need God’s protection.

Reckless Rhetoric to Blame for Second Trump Assassination Attempt

On September 15, 2024, the New York Post published the following article by Miranda Devine:

“It’s a frightening development that highlights the recklessness of the hateful rhetoric constantly aimed at Trump by his political opponents, even after he was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania in July. Last week, Kamala Harris falsely accused Trump of calling Nazis ‘fine people,’ promising a ‘bloodbath,’ and being responsible for ‘the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.’ She and Joe Biden and their surrogates constantly exaggerate the J6 Capitol riot and use it to frame Trump as a ‘threat to democracy.’

“Biden has labeled Trump and ‘MAGA Republicans’ as ‘semi-fascists’ and domestic terrorists. Tim Walz called Trump a ‘fascist’ and a ‘threat to Democracy’ who will ‘put people’s lives in danger.’ On Saturday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described Trump as ‘a candidate explicitly running on the promise of political violence.’ In Orwellian fashion, they accuse Trump and his supporters of stoking violence, when the evidence is almost all the other way… What will it take for these demented partisans to lower the temperature?”

Devine has a point. Also note the next article.

Media Ite wrote on September 16:

“Former President Donald Trump directly blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for a gunman targeting him at his West Palm Beach golf club on Sunday… [Trump] claimed the gunman was motivated by the top Democrats’ ‘highly inflammatory language.’ ‘He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,’ Trump said, claiming, ‘Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out’

“Trump pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a ‘threat to democracy,’ while telling Americans they are ‘unity’ leaders… ‘It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,’ Trump added…” 

Abhorrent Security Failures… and Unintended Consequences

On September 16, The Sun published the following article by Piers Morgan:

“How could this have happened again…? I would have assumed that after the catastrophic security failure in July, when that shooter was able to lie on a roof 150 yards from a Trump rally stage, the Secret Service would have made… sure nobody could get that close to their protectee again. I was sadly, shockingly wrong… please spare me any applause for the Secret Service.

“The fact this shooter could get that close was another abject security failure of horrifying proportions, and even more inexplicable and disgraceful coming so soon after the last one. Why wasn’t the whole perimeter of the course being monitored? The answer is staggering… Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Trump would be receiving more security if he was still in office… Have you ever heard anything so dumb?…

“The agency is self-evidently failing… And I dread to think what would happen to America if Trump ever does get assassinated… As for the political repercussions of this latest assassination attempt, it can only be a massive boost to Trump, as the last one was. Once again, he showed immense calm in a life-threatening crisis, with witnesses saying his main concern was to make sure others on the course with him at the time were OK…  Love him or hate him, Trump has shown balls of steel over these threats to his life, and that won’t be lost on an American public who like their commanders-in-chief to be strong.

“The latest incident has also completely supplanted a news cycle that was being dominated by very negative fallout over his debate loss last week to Democratic rival Kamala Harris… There’s an incredible irony that right when he was enduring the worst week of his presidential race, Trump has been handed an election-winning lifeline by another attempt on his life.”

Melania Trump: Beware of the FBI

Newsmax wrote on September 15:

“Former first lady Melania Trump issued a warning to all Americans that the Biden-Harris administration’s FBI could threaten their Fourth Amendment rights that protect against unreasonable searches and seizures. Trump used X on Saturday to post a video reminding users of the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. ‘I never imagined my privacy would be invaded by the government here, in America,’ the former first lady said in the video. ‘The FBI invaded my home in Florida, and searched through my personal belongings. This is not just my story. It serves as a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedom and rights must be respected.’…

“In another X post earlier this week, Melania Trump fanned the flames of conspiracy surrounding the [first] assassination attempt on her husband, saying efforts need to be made to ‘uncover the truth.’ ‘The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,’ she said of the incident in July in Butler, Pennsylvania. ‘Now, the silence around it feels heavy. I can’t help but wonder: Why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech? There’s definitely more to this story, and we need to uncover the truth.’”

We would agree with Melania Trump on both counts, especially in light of the second assassination attempt on her husband. Important questions are not being addressed or discussed..

Clearly Biased ABC Moderators

Breitbart wrote on September 15:

“ABC News’ Linsey Davis, one of two moderators for last week’s presidential debate, admitted to the Los Angeles Times that the plan was only to fact-check former President Donald Trump, and not Vice President Kamala Harris… Davis and co-moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump seven times — often incorrectly — while never fact-checking Harris once, even when she used hoaxes, such as the Charlottesville ‘very fine people’ hoax.

“Davis told the Times that ABC had deliberately targeted Trump — and only Trump — because of perceptions that he had been allowed to get away with false statements in the CNN debate against President Joe Biden in late June…. Davis admitted that the moderators studied past statements… but somehow did not prepare to check Harris’s repeated use of hoaxes…”

This is appalling! But no surprise! That is how politics is being made.

ABC News Must Correct False Claim Regarding Abortion

Fox News wrote on September 12:

“A prominent pro-life group isn’t happy with ABC News over its hosting of Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.  Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America on Wednesday sent a letter to ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic and debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis that urges them to issue a correction and meet with abortion survivors over a viral moment where Davis fact-checked Trump.

“‘[The] ABC News Presidential Debate featured network moderator Linsey Davis attempting to debunk former President Trump’s assertion that some states allow for the killing of an infant after birth,’ Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote in the letter…  

“During the debate, Trump referred to infamous comments made by former Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in 2019 but was promptly ‘fact-checked’ by Davis. At the time, Northam suggested that in those rare instances of third-trimester abortions, a baby could be born alive… ‘The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,’ Northam said in 2019.

“Trump’s apparent reference to Northam at the debate drew a quick rebuke from Davis. ‘There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,’ Davis said. 

“Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America claims the ABC moderator was ‘inaccurate’ and should correct the record. ‘This is 100% inaccurate. Her statement tragically ignores the reality of babies who survive failed, late-term abortions but are denied basic medical care and left to die,’ Dannenfelser wrote. ‘We are writing to request a swift correction from Ms. Davis and ABC News. It is undeniable that babies are born in this country after failed abortions…’ ‘It’s also a fact that, as a U.S. senator, Kamala Harris voted against protections for babies born alive after failed abortions. And as a member of Congress, her running mate Tim Walz even issued a public apology for ‘accidentally’ voting for said legislation after he previously voted against it,’ Dannenfelser wrote.”

The conduct of the two ABC moderators was appalling. And don’t hold your breath if you expect that they or ABC News will correct their false assertions.

Eating Pets in Ohio?

The Associated Press wrote on September 15:

“Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance did not back away on Sunday from the… claims he and Donald Trump have been making that Haitians in an Ohio community are abducting and eating pets, even as the state’s GOP governor and other officials insist there is no evidence of such behavior.

“Vance, an Ohio senator, said constituents in Springfield are bringing concerns to him and that at least 10 were ‘verifiable.’ In a series of news show interviews, he said he was amplifying the claims as a way to draw attention to Democrat Kamala Harris’ immigration policies, which he said are lax, while adding, ‘Everybody who has dealt with a large influx of migration knows that sometimes there are cultural practices that seem very far out there to a lot of Americans.’”

Vance only states the obvious. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “The Biggest Loser in the Trump/Harris Debate.” 

Pope Francis Recommends Voting for the Lesser Evil

LifeSiteNews wrote on September 13:

“Pope Francis has weighed in on the U.S. presidential race by claiming that he doesn’t know whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris is the worse candidate because opposing migration and supporting abortion are both ‘anti-life.’ ‘Sending migrants away, not giving migrants [the] ability to work, not giving migrants [a] welcome is a sin, it’s serious,’ Francis said… At the same time, Francis said, ‘sending a baby away from its mother’s breast is murder, because there is life.’ The Church ‘does not allow abortion because it is killing,’ he added…”

At the same time, the Catholic church does allow killing in a “righteous war,” even though that is killing too. And is it a sin to not allow murderers and rapists into our country?

The Daily Mail wrote on September 13:

“Pope Francis on Friday slammed both U.S. presidential candidates for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and migration and advised American Catholics to choose the ‘lesser evil’ in the upcoming U.S. elections…

“Francis said migration is a right described in Scripture, and that anyone who does not follow the Biblical call to welcome the stranger is committing a ‘grave sin.’ He was also blunt in speaking about abortion… ‘One should voteand choose the lesser evil,’ he said. ‘Who is the lesser evil, the woman or man? I don´t know,’ he said. ‘Everyone in their conscience should think and do it.’

“It´s not the first time Francis has weighed in on a U.S. election. In the run-up to the 2016 election, Francis was asked about Trump´s plan to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexican border. Francis declared then that anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants ‘is not Christian.’…”

Where does it say in the Bible that migration is a right and the violation of that right is a sin? Also, the argument to fulfill one’s “civil duty” to vote for the lesser evil ignores willfully the fact that one would still vote for an evil—something a Christian is prohibited to do in God’s Word.

Francis’ Blasphemous Comments

LifesiteNews wrote on September 13:

“The Holy See Press Office has released a misleading English translation of Pope Francis’ controversial comments about all religions leading to God, as criticism of Francis’ words continues to grow. Addressing an inter-religious group of young people in Singapore on September 13, Pope Francis drew heavily on the nation’s multi-religious nature: ‘Every religion is a way to arrive at God. There are different languages to arrive at God, but God is God for all. And how is God God for all? We are all sons and daughters of God. But my god is more important than your god, is that true? There is only one God and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.’

“However, the Holy See Press Office has published a markedly different and misleading translation of the papal comments in the English transcript of his meeting. The Vatican’s official English version reads: ‘Religions are seen as paths trying to reach God.’ The difference is notable, and the online transcript of Francis’ remarks appear as far less controversial or problematic than his actual remarks.”

The pope’s statements are in clear violation of the First Commandment.

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.

This Week in the News

The Trump-Harris Debate: Three Against One

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on September 11:

“Donald Trump got to Kamala Harris’ core problem in his debate close, waving off all her promises about what she’d do in office: ‘Why hasn’t she done it already?’ Hard to think of a better riposte… Harris had a pretty smooth night: She did her homework for once, including prepping lines guaranteed to get under Trump’s skin — some of which plainly did put him off-balance.

“And of course she had backup from the moderators, ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis — who targeted far more questions at Trump than at Harris, and all of their ‘fact-checking.’ Worse: Whenever she started to babble in trying to defend her own record, they rescued her by changing the subject. And by changing it again whenever Trump was truly on a roll…

“Trump was erratic — notably taking her bait when she claimed people walked out of his rallies and when she fictionalized his remarkable business success… [Harris] needs to take more risks, and on less friendly ground, or she’s still headed for defeat.”

This was to be expected… that is why Harris refused to have a debate with Trump moderated by Fox News.

The Rigged Debate

The New York Post added on September 11:

“When Trump argued that crime in the US is increasing because of migrants allowed into the country on Harris’ watch, ‘World News Tonight’ anchor David Muir interjected: ‘President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is actually coming down.’ Trump fired back with his own fact check that ‘they didn’t include the cities with the worst crime,’ referencing the omission of data from Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago…

“At another point, ‘World News Tonight Sunday’ host Linsey Davis intervened after Trump made reference to former Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s 2019 remarks about aborting babies after birth… ‘There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,’ stated Davis after Trump concluded, drawing howls from conservatives who noted that six states and the District of Columbia currently do not place any limits on the procedure…

“Trump allies and Republican commentators were left fuming and compiling a long list of missed opportunities for Muir and Davis to rebuke Harris… ‘David Muir is out of control,’ tweeted Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, writing, ‘It isn’t ‘fact-checking,’ it is attacking.’ Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) tweeted, ‘ABC News has refused to “fact-check” Kamala Harris on lying about Trump’s positions on: – Project 2025 – Charlottesville comments – ‘Bloodbath’ comments – IVF.’”

For the moderators to state that violent crime is down in the USA is ludicrous, and to falsely claim that no state allows killing a baby after birth is appalling and unjustifiable. Those moderators need to go.

Breitbart wrote on September 11:

“Vice President Kamala Harris issued a slew of false claims and hoaxes that ABC debate moderators did not fact check during Tuesday’s debate against former President Donald Trump.” Breitbart then listed “and rebutted 21 false claims and hoaxes that Harris uttered on live television, in front of millions of Americans.” https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/10/21-kamala-harris-false-claims-hoaxes-that-debate-moderators-did-not-fact-check/

Fox News wrote on September 11:

“The biggest loser in the… presidential debate… was ABC News… The moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, embarrassed themselves and their network by, among other things, fact-checking Trump in real time on more than one occasion – sometimes incorrectly – while allowing Harris to spout serial lies and distortions. .. Trump, on the other hand, failed to prosecute his case. While Harris appeared over-prepared and practiced, with ready-to-go gestures and studied mannerisms, Trump was clearly under-prepared. It is frustrating to his supporters, because he has the facts on his side…. But instead of forcefully arguing about his successes, he meandered. And, he forgot to smile.”

Trump did not do too well, as even conservative commentators acknowledged:

“Let’s make no mistake. Trump had a bad night,” Fox News host Brit Hume said. “We just heard so many of the old grievances that we all know aren’t winners politically.”

Trump lost the debate, and whining about the moderators doesn’t change it,” conservative radio host Erick Erickson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said afterward that the former president’s debate team should be fired and that Trump was unprepared, calling the debate a “disaster.” 

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 11:

“… the consensus among pundits and pollsters appears to be that Harris narrowly won the night. But whether this makes a difference in the election, just under two months away, is less clear.”

The liberal left-wing media went over the top again, as can be expected. The Drudge Report wrote: “The Night Trump Lost it all… The Worst Performance of his Career.”

Trump Falls For Harris’ Provocations

Die Welt wrote on September 11:

“What impression did Harris leave? A surprisingly good one… Above all, she didn’t let Trump bother her at all. Unlike in the past, she did not resort to making condescending gestures or comments towards Trump. However, her lecture repeatedly had a tiring pastoral quality.

“What impression did Trump make? He performed poorly compared to the disciplined and concise Harris. Even arch-Trump fans like a Fox host said Trump had ‘missed some opportunities.’

“Initially, Trump was good at countering Harris’ attacks. On several occasions he did not answer questions from ABC journalists, but instead responded directly to an attack from Harris. Sometimes Trump scored a direct hit, for example when Harris tried to interrupt him… But Harris increasingly succeeded in irritating Trump. For example, when she claimed that his campaign appearances were boring and that people were leaving early in droves. Instead of shrugging off the comment, Trump went on a tirade that his rallies are ‘the biggest in history because people want their country back.’

Can this duel decide the election? Absolutely not. Harris may have been able to win over voters tonight. But the race is so close that a single evening of television probably won’t give the Democrats the large number of undecided votes they need to win the election. The TV duel was therefore a stage victory for Harris. But nothing more.”

Bild Online wrote on September 11:

“Kamala Harris’s tactics worked in the first presidential debate last night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She skillfully infuriated Donald Trump and stayed cool herself… Trump provided her with plenty of templates. Especially when it came to immigration, actually a possible winning issue for the Republican, Harris hit a sore spot: Trump’s vanity. ‘I invite you to go to one of Donald Trump’s events,’ she said to the millions of TV viewers… ‘You’ll notice that people leave his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.’ Sentences which were practiced before and which were the core of her tactics. The ex-president’s eyes first narrowed, then anger flared up. Trump took Harris’ bait and chose to talk about his events instead of migration…’

“The Democrats were euphoric after the debate. Trump’s Republicans practiced damage control. BUT: Hillary Clinton also clearly won her first debate against Trump in 2016…”

Immigrants Eat Pets?

The Daily Mail wrote on September 11:

“One of the stranger moments of last night’s fiery presidential debate… came when the former president ranted about Haitian migrants ‘eating pets’ in Springfield, Ohio… The claims, dismissed during the debate by the Vice President as ‘unbelievable and extreme’, have electrified the American political debate. 

“While city officials and law enforcement officers in Springfield say there have been no credible reports to suggest they are true, some fed-up residents maintain that it’s a problem… One aggrieved man made the claim during a city commission meeting last month to address the influx of legal Haitian immigrants – which has revitalized the local economy, but also sparked controversy among locals. ‘I really challenge you guys to get out here and do something,’ he told the meeting. ‘These Haitians are running into trash cans, running into buildings, they’re flipping cars in the middle of the streets. ‘They’re in the park, grabbing up ducks by their neck, and cutting their head off and walking off with them. They’re eating them.’…

“During last night’s debate, ABC’s David Muir told Trump there had been no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten. Trump shot back to say he did not necessarily believe what city officials were saying

“[A Facebook] post combined a screenshot of an earlier Facebook post from a Springfield community group, in which one user made an alarming claim that cats and dogs were being strung up to eat by Haitian migrants, with an image of an unidentified man carrying what appeared to be the corpses of two geese.  The Facebook post read: ‘My neighbor informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat… One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbor’s house, where Haitians live & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat. I’ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at Snyder Park with the ducks & geese.’

“The unsubstantiated story, when paired with the image of an unidentified man, spread like wildfire across X, garnering millions upon millions of views.  Its influence was confirmed when Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance amplified the narrative about ‘Haitian illegal immigrants’ in a September 9 post on X that said: ‘Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.’ The VP hopeful later walked back his claims in a following post, writing: ‘It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.’…

“Vance was by no means the only prominent Republican shared posts parroting the narrative on migrants eating pets and Springfield wildlife. Among them was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump ‘So Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.’…”

However, usually, where there is smoke, there might be fire.

Kamala Harris the Next President? A Frightening Scenario!

Daily Mail published the following article on September 9 by Charlie Spiering, which was written BEFORE the debate:

“As a seasoned political journalist and author of Amateur Hour: Kamala Harris In The White House – a comprehensive investigation into how this eccentric San ­Francisco attorney was fast-tracked to becoming potentially the next leader of the free world – I find the lack of scrutiny applied to this ­shallow and desperate political ­figure to be maddening. Since winning the nomination, ‘Calamity Kamala’… did nothing to enhance her authority. Senior Democrats in Washington tell me that her ­campaign is increasingly riven and dysfunctional.

“In my opinion she combines naked political ambition with an instinctive cunning, a lack of scruples and a willingness to jump on every fashionable bandwagon… It is genuinely alarming that with the world in turmoil, from war in Ukraine to escalating conflict in the Middle East, this comparative ­novice could soon be in power…. The West is confronted by an array of tyrants and terrorists, but our destiny could be imminently in the hands of an amateur...

“Harris’s parents divorced when she was seven and she was largely raised by her Hindu mother, with her Jamaican-born father ­working as a senior professor at Stanford University. This mixed-race upbringing has been useful for her career amid the American Left’s fanatical embrace of identity politics

“By rights, the presidency should be a step too far for a candidate of her ­calibre.  But there is no predicting the American electorate – and I fear the prospect of this individual becoming president is all too likely – and all too terrifying.”

Sentence Delayed in Trump’s “Total Fraud” Case

Newsmax wrote on September 8:

New York Judge Juan Merchan decided to delay former President Donald Trump’s sentencing on his New York business records convictions until after the election to allow himself more flexibility in sentencing the GOP nominee, Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law professor emeritus, told Newsmax Sunday… ‘I think he’s going to say this conviction warrants imprisonment… Of course it doesn’t. It warrants nothing, but I think that’s what he’s going to do or give him a probationary sentence and home confinement.’…

“Dershowitz argued that the case against Trump is a ‘total fraud’ and the judge and prosecutors should be ‘disciplined’ for bringing the case to court… ‘ I am probably the most experienced criminal lawyer in this country with 60 years of teaching, practicing, and writing about criminal law. I don’t understand the charges.’… Dershowitz said Sunday that the charges would be misdemeanors that would be barred by the statute of limitations, but ‘they magically tried to turn it into a felony.’ ‘It’s the most absurd criminal charge I’ve seen in my 60 years of being an expert in criminal law,’ said Dershowitz. ‘And if I can’t figure it out, how do you expect the defendant, a nonlawyer like Donald Trump, to understand that?…it’s an outrage to every American.’”

Can Germany’s Far-Right Win Across the Country?

The Week UK wrote on September 7:

“A startling AfD triumph in eastern Germany’s regional elections lays bare the fragility of the country’s mismatched coalition government. A far-right party has won a regional election in Germany for the first time since the Second World War. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party took 32.8% of the vote in the poll in the eastern state of Thuringia on Sunday, giving it a clear win over the conservative CDU, which came second with 23.6%. In neighbouring Saxony, the CDU defeated the AfD by just 31.9% to 30.6%.

“Björn Höcke, the AfD leader in Thuringia… hailed the victory as ‘historic’ and warned rival parties against excluding it from any coalition deals in the regional parliament. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose SPD party was trounced in both states, urged other parties to govern without the AfD, which he accused of ‘ruining our country’s reputation’… [Even though it is Scholz and his incompetent bickering government who have been completely running the country’s reputation.]

“The results have ‘sent shockwaves of fear and despair across Europe’. It was especially humiliating for Scholz, says the Times.  His governing coalition has proved ‘one of the weakest in the Federal Republic’s history’ [probably THE weakest] and all three of the mismatched parties within it fared badly. The results prompted Scholz to hold urgent talks with other party leaders on how to form state governments without the AfD – and even on ‘how to hold together his fractious coalition’.

“A former history teacher, [Höcke] has criticised Germany for dwelling on the crimes of the Holocaust; he seems to model his rhetoric on Hitler’s; his young supporters call themselves the ‘Höcke Youth’, an echo of the Hitler Youth; and members of his own party have tried to expel him for being too extreme. Yet none of that deterred voters in Thuringia, who have gifted him an extraordinary personal triumph… the AfD’s tough message on migration, and its calls to end the war in Ukraine, appealed to voters anxious about rising energy prices, and about Germany’s ailing economy.

“Scholz has tried to combat the AfD by echoing its hardline rhetoric… in the wake of the Solingen terror attack, he proposed tightening border controls and stepped up deportations of asylum seekers. But that strategy isn’t working. Why? Because voters in places such as Thuringia are frustrated about more than migration and war, said… Der Spiegel. When roads and bridges are dilapidated and ‘every train ride is a lottery’, a feeling takes hold that ‘nothing works anymore’, and that nobody in Berlin cares. It’s this sense of hopelessness that mainstream parties must address if they are to halt the AfD’s rise.”

Germany is more than ready for a new government. However, nobody seems to be on the horizon who could substantially change the dire situation. But that person LIVES, and will manifest himself in due time.

Germany Now Greece’s Most Important Economic Partner

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 7:

“Germany is the ‘honored country’ at this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair, which kicks off this Saturday in Greece’s second city. Not so long ago, this would have been unthinkable. At the peak of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis in 2014 and 2015, Greece teetered on the brink of leaving the eurozone currency union… Banks were nationalized, companies folded and [many] Greeks blamed the austerity measures, which they felt had been dictated by Berlin… A decade later and much has changed in the economic relations between these two EU members.

“In February 2024, Deutsche Bank reported that Greece had made an ‘astonishing economic comeback’…  The modernization of 14 regional airports by Fraport Greece, a subsidiary of the German airport operator Fraport AG, is seen as one of the country’s model investment projects… the Fraport investment was a success, specifically because the Germans invested in smaller airports, thereby attracting even more visitors to Greece… Despite all the tension between the two countries during the Greek sovereign debt crisis, Germany is now Greece’s most important economic partner and a major market for Greek exports.

“And it works both ways: Products that are ‘Made in Germany’ are in great demand in Greece. Indeed, when it comes to imports, Germany is still right at the top of Greece’s list.”

The improved relationship between Germany and Greece is remarkable, as according to the Bible, the two countries will cooperate and work together in the future… much to the detriment of the Jewish people.

More Dictatorial Measures in Germany?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:

“Interior Minister Nancy Faeser’s proposal is reminiscent of a method practiced by the ‘the Stasi,’ the Ministry for State Security of the former communist East Germany, whose secret police infiltrated the homes of suspected regime opponents in order to tap their phones… Now… Faeser wants to empower investigators to use the method once again. However,… the German parliament must first give its approval. The Interior Minister is proposing to allow the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) to enter terrorism suspects’ homes in order to install spy software on their smartphones and computers...

“It is unlikely that the neoliberal… FDP… will agree to government-authorized secret home break-ins, as defending citizens’ rights is at the heart of the party’s trademark… At the moment, German security authorities are allowed to tap suspicious persons’ electronic devices without breaking into their homes, under certain circumstances — using remote forensic software to obtain data from suspects’ devices without them noticing. German police have been allowed to use this method to monitor suspects’ homes as part of ‘online searches’ since 2017. However, every single such action must first be approved by a court — or in especially urgent cases, by a public prosecutor’s office

“But online searches have always been controversial. One 2008 Federal Constitutional Court ruling was considered groundbreaking, which stated that online searches are only permitted if human life or the state itself is at risk.

“So covert searches are supposed to be an absolute exception when fighting crime in Germany. Open raids on homes, on the other hand, are a normal part of everyday police work. They, too, can only be carried out on the order of a court or a public prosecutor’s office [However, judging by Faeser’s recent deplorable conduct, such orders seem to be easily obtainable.] As a rule, searches are undertaken in the suspect’s presence.

“Some raids make news headlines. A recent example of this was when the home of the head of the German… Comcast magazine… was searched  to secure evidence. The magazine had been banned by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in July 2024. But then the Federal Administrative Court allowed Elsässer to continue publishing because the court had doubts about the proportionality of the ban, on whether it impinges on freedom of the press and freedom of opinion.

“Despite the partial victory for magazine publisher Elsässer, his house could still be ‘secretly’ searched — theoretically — because in 2021 Compact was classified as a ‘confirmed right-wing extremist’ publication by Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution [a seemingly phony decision]. That designation authorizes so-called ‘undercover investigations,’ which can include ‘entering a person’s home’ — but only remotely.

“Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), rejected Faeser’s new proposal on X: ‘There will be no authorization given to secretly snoop in people’s homes. We don’t do that in a constitutional state. That would be an absolute breach of taboo,’ he wrote… He urges proportionality, warning that, ‘If a law allows the state to secretly break into a home to search it, many people will lose their trust in the rule of law.’”

Absolutely! In addition, such governmental actions would not be limited to suspected terrorists and “right-wing extremists.” Everyone would be in danger of governmental despotism. Sadly, it WILL come to that.

Macron’s Dubious Role in the Telegram Affair

Politico wrote on September 7:

“One of the first things Pavel Durov did when he was arrested on Aug. 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport was to tell the police he had flown to France to have dinner with President Emmanuel Macron… Macron’s office said the president had been unaware of Durov’s arrival and staying at his vacation home in a northern France beach town when the arrest was made… Much of the speculation about the reasons for Durov’s detention swirled around allegations that France was seeking to censor a platform known for its commitment to privacy…

“Durov’s arrest presents a challenge for France, which faces accusations of seeking to suppress free speech on platforms like Telegram, and for Macron, who has a long-standing relationship with the tech tycoon.  There is growing public speculation about whether Durov’s arrest may have deeper motivations — namely, a possible effort by Western powers to assert control over Telegram

“According to a French security expert who requested anonymity, landing at Le Bourget airport is akin to knocking on the front door and saying, ‘it’s me.’…

“In addition to being both a French and Russian citizen, Durov is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, where he resides and operates Telegram, as well as the Caribbean island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, which grants citizenship in exchange for investment. Both Russia and the United Arab Emirates offered Durov diplomatic assistance — which he declined

“… he does have a relationship with the French president that goes back to the early days of Macron’s presidency when he was going to great lengths to entice global tech leaders to invest in France. As part of that effort, Macron offered Durov French citizenship. ‘We made the decision in 2018 I believe — it is a decision I fully take ownership of,’ Macron said during a trip to Serbia on Aug. 29… Durov was officially granted citizenship in 2021, according to the French official journal.”

Durov’s arrest and “detention” in France is more than suspicious, and Macron’s role in this is certainly very dubious.

Unstable France in Uproar

ABC News wrote on September 7:

“Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday, responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticized as a power grab the president’s appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier. The protests are a direct challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass a prime minister from the far-left bloc following a deeply dividing legislative election in July. The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, views Barnier’s conservative background as rejecting the electorate’s will, further intensifying the EU’s second economy’s already charged political atmosphere.

“Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), warned that Barnier was ‘under surveillance’ by his party as well…

“Barnier, 73, is the oldest of the 26 prime ministers that have served modern France’s Fifth Republic. He replaces the youngest, Gabriel Attal, who was 34 when he was appointed just eight months ago. Attal was forced to resign after Macron’s centrist government suffered a major defeat in the July snap legislative elections. Macron called the election in the hopes of securing a clear mandate, but it instead produced a hung parliament, leaving the president without a legislative majority and plunging his administration into turmoil.

“Attal was also France’s first openly gay prime minister. French media and some of Macron’s opponents, who immediately criticized Barnier’s appointment, quickly dug up that, when serving in parliament in 1981, the new prime minister had been among 155 lawmakers who voted against a law that decriminalized homosexuality. Though Barnier brings five decades of political experience, his appointment offers no guarantee of resolving the crisis. His challenge is immense: He must form a government that can navigate a fractured National Assembly, where the political spectrum is deeply divided between the far left, far right, and Macron’s weakened centrist bloc. The outcome of the snap poll, far from providing clarity, has only served to destabilize both the country and Macron’s grip on power.

“The president’s decision to turn to Barnier, a seasoned political operator with deep ties to the European Union, is seen as an attempt to bring stability to French politics. And Barnier, who gained prominence as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has faced daunting tasks before. Critics say Macron, elected on the promise of a break from the old political order, now finds himself battling the instability he once promised to overcome…”

France in Turmoil

AFP wrote on September 8:

“French conservative leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to hold a referendum on key issues such as immigration, suggesting that giving the French a direct vote might help break the political deadlock… analysts say the country is set for a period of instability, with Barnier’s hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on support from Le Pen’s eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party, which is the largest party in the new National Assembly.

“More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron’s ‘power grab’. Le Pen, who leads RN lawmakers in parliament, has said her party would not be part of the new cabinet… Le Pen also indicated she would watch Barnier’s every move. ‘If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government,’ she added… The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion…”

As the Bible says, France (Reuben) is as unstable as water…

Royal Navy in Utterly Dire State

Daily Mail wrote on September 6:

“The ‘utterly dire’ state of the Royal Navy fleet can be revealed today, with not one of its six attack submarines at seaOnly nine out of 25 warships and attack – as opposed to nuclear – submarines are active or deployed.  The rest of the fleet has racked up a staggering 30 years of missed days at sea as vessels are either broken down, being modified or undergoing trials. The shocking figures, confirmed by Navy sources, emerged as fears intensify over the future of the Armed Forces.

“Despite the threat posed by Russia, instability in the Middle East and the rise of China, the new Government is making defence cuts. Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry said last night: ‘This situation is utterly dire – we haven’t got enough ships to protect our aircraft carriers and we haven’t got any attack submarines to protect our nuclear deterrent.’ It is understood that shortages of engineers and dry-dock facilities are exacerbating the situation.

“The worst offenders in the naval fleet are assault ship HMS Bulwark and destroyer HMS Daring – which have both been inactive for more than seven years…. Most alarmingly, the shortage of attack submarines has apparently led to US submarines being called on to protect the UK’s ‘bomber’ submarines.”

Great Britain’s “glory days” are long past…

“Trans Madness”

The Sun wrote on September 6:

“DO those who have convinced confused teenagers to change gender, sometimes tearing apart their loving families in the process, never worry about the appalling harm they have done?

“… These kids have been encouraged online or by classmates to believe they were born in the wrong body. Being trans became fashionable on social media.

“Professionals, possessed of the liberal-Left’s arrogant moral certitude, couldn’t wait to steer them towards life-changing decisions about their bodies, ­brainwashing them about their ‘true’ identity while shoving their worried parents out of the way…  Anyone dissenting from all this is instantly branded a ‘transphobe’.”

Such terrible developments in our “civilized” “enlightened” Western societies!

Unparalleled US National Debt

The Daily Hodl wrote on September 7:

“The US national debt has ballooned by over half a trillion dollars in just three months… America’s national debt jumped from $34,635,364,143,328 on June 3rd to $35,319,686,640,609 on September 3rd – a surge of $684,322,497,000. The massive rise is coming just over a month after the US national debt crossed the $35 trillion mark. The US credit rating giant Fitch continues to sound the alarm on the growing debt and deficit… ‘The government has failed to meaningfully tackle large fiscal deficits, the growing debt burden and looming increases in spending associated with an aging population.’

“The rating giant notes that… trust in the US and the dollar may erode if the country continues to rely on debt to fund expenses. Last year, Fitch downgraded the long-term rating for the US from the ‘AAA’ gold standard to ‘AA+,’ citing expected fiscal deterioration over the coming years.”

Such debt is unsustainable, especially because the trust in the USA and the dollar WILL erode.

American Citizen Shot and Killed by Israel

Newsmax wrote on September 6:

“The White House announced it is requesting an investigation after an American woman was shot and killed by Israeli troops… ‘We are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Egzi Eygi, today in the West Bank and our hearts go out to her family and loved ones,’ White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. ‘We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident.’

“Eygi had been attending a protest against Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, according to reports. The Israel Defense Forces said it opened fire ‘toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the force and posed a threat to them.’ ‘The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,’ the Israel Defense Force said.

“Eygi had dual citizenship with Turkey. Turkey President Recep Erdogan said he condemned ‘barbaric intervention against a civilian protest against the occupation in the West Bank,’ in a statement. Two doctors on the scene said she was shot in the head. ‘We tried to save the American citizen, we tried to revive the heart for several stages, but unfortunately, we did not succeed in restoring the heart to function,’ one of the doctors told the AP. A month ago, American citizen Amado Sison was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, he said, as he tried to flee tear gas and live fire.”

The Associated Press wrote on September 10:

“The Israeli military said it ‘expresses its deepest regret’ after its inquiry ‘found that it is highly likely that [the American/Turkish  protestor] was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.’

“… U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as ‘unprovoked and unjustified’ while speaking Tuesday at a news conference in London….”

The shaky relationship between the USA and Israel will continue to deteriorate. Archenemy Turkey, of course, uses the opportunity to continue its hateful expressions against Israel.

USA Unprepared for World War III

The New York Post wrote on September 6:

“The U.S. is treading on ground not seen since World War II, according to Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane, who warned that ‘we’re on a pathway’ to a third world war. His comments come amid conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and growing tension in the Pacific, and echoes former President Trump’s warning that the U.S. is ‘heading into World War III territory.’

“Keane told FOX… that a recent congressional commission on the Biden administration’s national defense strategy that he took part in revealed that the threat of another major war is very real. According to the recent commission,… the U.S. faces the ‘most serious’ and ‘most challenging’ threats since 1945, including the potential for a ‘near-term major war.’ It also found that… ‘the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.’

“Keane pointed out that there was a change in the behavior of U.S. adversaries that occurred between the Biden and Trump administrations. ‘What has fundamentally changed from one administration to the other is Russia, China, Iran and North Korea working together, collaborating, coordinating, and truly helping each other,’ he stressed… Keane reiterated the commission’s conclusion that the U.S. has ‘not seen a period of time like this since World War II’ and warned of what may be to come….”

Ultimately, the trumpet of war will sound in America, and nobody will fight.

All in Favor of IVF?

The New York Post wrote on September 8:

“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ripped into Sen. JD Vance and former president Donald Trump at a LGBTQ+ advocacy group Saturday, speaking about the importance of fertility treatment access without acknowledging Trump’s recent pledge to make IVF treatments free…  Vance was met with renewed scrutiny early September after reports circulated that he endorsed a Heritage Foundation report that proposed sweeping restrictions to abortions and fertility treatments.

“Access to IVF has been in the news since February when the conservative Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that would have basically ended access to IVF treatment. Since then, Republicans have been distancing themselves from the decision while Democrats have been using the issue to attack GOP rivals. Last month Trump pledged to expand access to in-vitro fertilization treatment through a combination of both insurance mandates and government funding, even though some conservative supporters oppose the move…

“Walz is viewed as an LGBTQ ally, with Minnesota enacting laws protecting access to gender-affirming health care and abortion, as well as banning conversion therapy.”

Please note our recent StandingWatch program, “What Does God Say About Abortion and IVF?” 

Parent Responsible for Child’s Criminal Conduct?

Fox News wrote on September 6:

“Georgia is one of at least 42 states and Washington, D.C., to have laws allowing parents to be held criminally responsible for their children’s actions… Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges over the alleged actions of his son, Colt Gray, 14, who is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others in a shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday. The charges against Colin Gray include four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

“Authorities said the elder Gray knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.

The parental responsibility laws vary from state to state, with some focusing on parental negligence in preventing a child’s access to firearms, while others address broader forms of delinquent behavior…  Georgia’s law allows for parents to face criminal liability if they are found to have contributed to their child’s delinquent behavior through neglect or failure to properly supervise. If a parent in Georgia knowingly allows a child to gain access to firearms or engages in reckless behavior that leads to harm, for example, they can face criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter or child cruelty.”

Dr. Ben Carlson Appointed as National Faith Chairman by Trump  

Breitbart wrote on September 6:

“Dr. Ben Carson announced that he was ‘honored to serve as the national faith chairman’ for former President Donald Trump and his campaign… Trump added that Carson would ‘work with leaders of the faith community on behalf of the campaign to promote the protection of religious freedom’ in the United States…

“After Trump was elected president in 2016, Carson joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)… while serving in this role, Carson was invited by Trump to offer a prayer during the beginning of a cabinet meeting: During his prayer, Carson observed that ‘separation of church and state means that the church does not dominate the state, and it means the state does not dominate the church.’

“Carson has also spoken out against abortion. While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2019, he spoke about his time working as a neurosurgeon and how he had operated on prematurely born babies, explaining that ‘they can feel’ and ‘can react.’”

On October 29, 2015, The Times of Israel wrote the following about Carson’s faith—an interesting mixture of truth and error:

“When Joe Lieberman became the first observant Jew with a reasonable chance at being president – after Al Gore named him his vice presidential running mate in 2000 – he faced a host of questions about how his Sabbath observance might impact his presidential duties. Now that Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist, has emerged at the top of the polls in the Republican presidential primary, he’s facing similar questions about his religion. So far, Carson’s faith — which, like Judaism, celebrates the Sabbath on Saturday and abjures eating the non-kosher animals listed in the Book of Leviticus — hasn’t been an impediment to his campaign. The neurosurgeon-turned-candidate doesn’t seem to be a Sabbath-observer in the strictest sense: He has held campaign rallies on Saturday and made Saturday stops on book tours. But Carson says he tries to respect the day of rest. ‘Sabbath is still a precious day for us. We go to church as often as we can,’ he [said]. ‘ Even if we’re on the road we treat it as a different day than all the others.’

“While the religion shares some commonalities with Judaism, Adventists believe the second coming of Jesus may be imminent. The Adventist church also focuses on health and wellness, and members are encouraged, but not required, to forgo alcohol, tobacco and meat. Carson is on a mostly vegetarian diet, but he does eat milk and egg products and occasionally chicken… Carson frequently cites his faith as the reason for his policy positions. On taxation, for example, Carson has proposed a tithing system… ‘Now we don’t necessarily have to do it 10 percent, but it’s the principle,’ Carson said in a 2013 speech…

“Like many other Christian candidates, he also cites religion for his opposition to abortion, including in cases of rape or incest (though not if the mother’s life is in jeopardy). ‘All you have to do is go and look up the many stories of people who have led very useful lives who were the result of rape or incest,’ he told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’…

“Carson… suggested in September that he’d have trouble with a Muslim in the White House, saying that any Muslim who became president would have to reject certain tenets of Islam that are incompatible with the presidency… He also believes Jews shouldn’t take offense if someone wishes them a ‘Merry Christmas’ ‘That’s a salutation of greeting, of goodwill. We’ve got to get over this sensitivity.’

“More controversially, Carson suggested in a new book and in interviews in early October that gun control was partially responsible for Hitler’s slaughter of Europe’s Jews, allowing the Nazis to ‘carry out their evil intentions with relatively little resistance.’ His comments came as part of his reaction to the deadly mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., after which Carson argued that better armed citizens, rather than gun control, is the best way to stop such mass killings.

“Several weeks later, Carson defended his comments, saying on ‘Meet the Press,’ ‘I’ve heard from many people in the Jewish community, including rabbis, who said, “You’re spot on. You are exactly right.’”

“Like many devout believers of all faiths, Carson attributes his successes in life to God. ‘There’s no question God sets these things up. My whole life, I feel, has been orchestrated by him,’ Carson said in 2013. ‘We always have to remember that no matter what’s going on, no matter how much of a spotlight we have, that all of that comes from God and everything we do should reflect glory on his name.’”

Can you determine for yourself from the Bible where Carlson is right… and where he is wrong?

Europe Without US Help?

Sky News wrote on September 6:

“Polls indicate the race for the White House has become much closer since the decision by current incumbent Joe Biden to drop out, but there remains a very real prospect that Donald Trump could win a second term as US president. Such an eventuality would have repercussions way beyond American soil, with analysts suggesting it could be pivotal for the war in Ukraine… [Experts also say] a Trump victory may leave Europe ‘in a tight spot’ – and urged leaders in the continent to begin planning for that result…

“[It was pointed] out that Trump has warned that he would immediately cut all US aid to Kyiv [he later said he would grant Ukraine money in form of repayable loansand demand a quick end to the war, which would likely require Ukraine to cede a significant part of its territory to Russia… Trump has long questioned the value of NATO, so it is not inconceivable that he would strip back the US commitment to defend Europe… Trump could act quickly, by vowing never to order US troops to fight for Europe. Europe, as a result, would be forced to confront a security crisis on a scale it has not faced since World War II…”

Without any question, the situation pertaining to Ukraine and Europe would drastically change if Trump were to be elected.

An Unholy Alliance of Western Leaders

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on September 10:

“As should be clear to all now, ‘war’ has broken out. There is no need for further pretence about it. Rather, there is evident glee at the prospect of a crackdown on the ‘Far-Right’ and its internet users: i.e. those who spread ‘disinformation’ or mal-information… There will be prosecutions, convictions, and fines for cyber ‘actors’…  There is an unholy alliance of western leaders – Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz – whose hatred of what they call populism is undisguised. In his recent visits to Berlin and Paris, Starmer constantly referred to the threat posed by populism…  These days virtually every political problem is blamed on populism …

“The war, for the moment, is targeted at the ‘unaccountable’ billionaires: Pavel Durov, Elon Musk, and his ‘X’ platform. The survival or not of Elon Musk will be crucial to the course of this aspect of the war: The EU’s Digital Service Act was always conceived to serve as ‘Brutus’ to Musk’s ‘Caesar’…”

EU vs. Google and Apple

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 10:

“The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday that Google had violated antitrust laws and that Apple needed to pay the EU €13 billion ($14.3 billion) in back taxes… Google was fined €2.4 billion, but had appealed to the ECJ, which has now upheld the fine…

“Europe’s case against Apple began in 2016… The EU has long demanded that Apple pay back billions of taxes for two Irish subsidies that the company argues are primarily taxable in the United States. Arguing that they were being subjected to double taxation

“Both the judgments against Google and Apple are final and cannot be overturned… Apple…  said in a statement: ‘The European Commission is trying to retroactively change the rules and ignore that, as required by international tax law, our income was already subject to taxes in the US.’”

Europe’s fight against American companies is clearly in full swing.

Renewed Russian Threats

Express wrote on September 6:

“Putin has once again threatened the use of nuclear weapons after accusing Ukraine of attacking a power plant in the Kursk region…  Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, Putin said: ‘One can only imagine what will happen if we strike back; what will happen in Europe.’…

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also sent a warning to the US over reports that Washington could supply long-range weapons to Ukraine to enable them to strike territory deep within Russia…”

Words and more words… but very often, words lead to wars.

The Shroud of Turin—NOT a Depiction of Jesus

Newsmax wrote on September 5:

“The blood stains on the Shroud of Turin are consistent with the description of torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, a new scientific study from Italy finds… Fanti’s and several other scientific inquiries have confirmed that the Shroud contains evidence of a real person with real blood and other bodily effluents. Fanti says the findings indicate the cloth was used on someone with bloody injuries, rather than forged using ink, dye, paint, or other techniques.

“The 14-foot-by-4-foot Shroud of Turin is imprinted with an image of the body and face of a man wearing a ‘crown of thorns’ from a plant, and is covered in bloodstains… Materials that were typical in ancient Jerusalem also were discovered, the study says, suggesting the shroud may have originated in the region and not in Europe where many skeptics think it was created as a medieval forgery

“‘Bloodstained marks all over the body image which are consistent with pre-crucifixion flagellation, bloodstained marks on the head that are consistent with a ‘crown’ of thorns, blood marks on the hand and feet that are consistent with crucifixion and the bloodstain on the chest that evidences a post-mortem wound that corresponds with the post-mortem spear wound that Christ received as is described in the Bible.”

The Shroud does not depict Jesus Christ. For more information, please read our Editorial in this issue.

Parents Sell Their Children For Covid Tests

Report 24 wrote on September 4:

“In fact, a disturbing number of parents decided to have their children vaccinated [against Covid-19] without knowing the exact side effects and potential subsequent damage. But even worse: The pharmaceutical companies also needed parents or guardians for the clinical trials, who exposed their charges to the associated risks. If you look at the ‘expenses’ for this, you will notice: babies and children can be had cheaply…

“According to this, a study on Covid vaccinations for babies has been running in Lincoln (Nebraska) since January 2023, in which healthy infants aged 12 weeks to 6 months are given an experimental vaccine in order to then examine a possible immune reaction via a blood sample. The compensation ‘for time and travel’ is ‘up to 1,800 dollars’

“Do these parents feel like heroes when they let Big Pharma tell them that they are allowing unsafe and as yet unexplored substances to be injected into their offspring for the common good, the ‘greater good’? Who is attracted by sentences like ‘Your baby could be part of important research for an investigational vaccine against the coronavirus (COVID-19)’?…

No less perverse seems the vaccination study for children that was previously conducted in Lincoln, starting in late summer 2022… This study was aimed at children – as compensation for participation over two years, parents were promised ‘more than $3,000’

“It was [a study that] aimed at babies from six months, toddlers up to five years and children up to eleven years… The consequences of a failed vaccine test are unlikely to have been explained to the young participants; young children also have no idea what a lifelong motor or cognitive disability would mean for them.

“The extent to which sacrificing a child who can never give ‘informed consent’ is morally justifiable in the context of clinical trials is an ethical question that Big Pharma is unlikely to care much about. The fact that parents are giving up their own children and exposing them to risks because they do not question the narrative of the ultimately dangerous Covid-19 or the practices of the pharmaceutical industry, for which profit has always been the top priority, should certainly give us food for thought…”

This is tragic and terrible indeed.

Sending Man to Mars?

The Sun wrote on September 9:

“THE man behind SpaceX, Elon Musk, has pledged to take humans to Mars in just four years’ time onboard his Starship mega-rocket. The eccentric billionaire, who also owns Tesla and X, said Starship’s first [uncrewed] flight to Mars will occur in two years’ time, when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. Earth-Mars transfer launch windows occur every 26 months… Musk doesn’t just have hopes of taking Earthlings to the Red Planet, but of building a Martian metropolis there, too. ‘Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years,’ he added in the same post…

“Starship, at nearly 400ft tall, with 33 engines, is the tallest rocket ever leave the ground… the first stage of Starship, known as the Super Heavy booster, is the most powerful rocket ever built… Starship is being developed as part of a $1.15 billion contract with Nasa to deliver astronauts to the Moon in the US space agency’s Artemis programme…

“The newly declared timeline came just a day after China unveiled plans for a crewed mission to Mars in 2033…  Under President Xi Jinping, China spent roughly $14 billion (11.2 billion) on its ambitious space programme in 2023… The US space agency has dominated the industry so far, though has only recently swallowed the bitter pill of scrapping the Viper Moon mission after $450 million had already been spent, citing spiralling costs and delays…”

What possible benefit to mankind could there be in sending expensive rockets and men to Mars? Sadly, none whatsoever, while these amounts of money could be used for worthwhile purposes.

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.

This Week in the News

Daily Mail’s Terrible Indictment of Harris and Walz

The Daily Mail wrote on August 30:

“Four weeks into campaigning, she finally granted an interview — to a very friendly CNN, toting her VP pick Tim Walz along for reasons unknown. Moral support, perhaps?… it wasn’t a winning look for someone who wants to be president of the United States. As for her answers: Harris was vague, policy-free, and at times just plain full of it… In attempting to answer Dana Bash’s unimaginative first question — ‘What would you do on Day One in the White House?’ — Kamala was the proverbial car engine struggling to turn over, delaying an actual answer with extraneous, redundant verbiage…

“Kamala… claimed she was taken by total, utter surprise when President Biden called her on that fateful Sunday, informing her of his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. Bash allowed Kamala to feign shock — even though the Democratic plot to oust Biden… is now well reported…

“Walz, sitting uselessly by…, doubled down on the lies he’s already told. If this otherwise pointless interview proved one thing, it’s that Harris clearly saw a fellow traveller in Walz: a shameless prevaricator and a fraud who will say anything…

Harris is incapable of articulating her thought processes because they don’t exist. She cannot speak extemporaneously. She has no intellectual reservoir, no internal editor, no cogent line of reasoning… Asked why she should be president, she said: ‘I believe that I am the best person to do this job.’ In an interview where Harris was unclear on nearly everything, one fact came into sharp focus: she is quantitatively not the best person for this job.”

In a related article, the Daily Mail wrote on August 30:

“The fact CNN had agreed to Walz’s presence showed the network had effectively thrown in the towel before the interview even started. As president, Harris would have to deal with the world’s most powerful dictators… Yet she doesn’t feel up to facing a middling broadcast journalist like Bash on her own? It was all a bit pathetic

“The interview was pre-recorded, Harris’s people (probably rightly) concluding that ‘live’ was too risky

“Though we learned nothing new and Harris made no serious gaffes, the interview reminded us of what has largely been forgotten in her recent reinvention: that in essence Harris remains a mediocre lightweight given to glib answers with no substance.…”

And she wants to be America’s next President? It is hard to believe that apparently many (willfully ignorant?) Americans are willing to vote for her…

George Clooney—the Weasel

On September 2, the New York Post published the following article by Piers Morgan:

“… it was [actor George Clooney] who first publicly plunged the knife into Biden’s back with a withering op-ed in the New York Times in which he demanded his presidential head on a plate. But it was the details of Clooney’s reasoning that were so brutal…  The op-ed was the catalyst for many other leading Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, to join in the humiliating campaign to force Biden to quit the 2024 race, something he had made absolutely clear he didn’t want to do…

“What he did to Biden was a political hit job of the most ruthless kind. He took a cold, calculating sniper aim at his friend and metaphorically sprayed him with a hail of bullets…

Yet now the same George Clooney wants us to believe Biden’s in fact the new George Washington who many polls of Americans say was not only the nation’s first president but also its greatest. In a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, he waxed lyrical about the man he’d just politically assassinated… Nobody, as Judas Iscariot could attest, forgets a famous friend who so publicly betrays another famous friend. Least of all Joe Biden, who is reportedly still spitting blood at the way you all set him up….”

USA—Moving Towards a Totalitarian Society

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on August 29:

Facebook worked in concert with the Biden administration to censor content related to COVID-19…  The government is not protecting us from ‘dangerous’ disinformation campaigns. It is laying the groundwork to insulate us from ‘dangerous’ ideas that might cause us to think for ourselves and, in so doing, challenge the power elite’s stranglehold over our lives…

“The steady, pervasive censorship creep that is being inflicted on us by corporate tech giants with the blessing of the powers-that-be threatens to bring about a restructuring of reality straight out of Orwell’s 1984, where the Ministry of Truth polices speech and ensures that facts conform to whatever version of reality the government propagandists embrace. Orwell intended 1984 as a warning. Instead, it is being used as a dystopian instruction manual for socially engineering a populace that is compliant, conformist and obedient to Big Brother…

“Eventually, depending on how the government and its corporate allies define what constitutes ‘extremism’, ‘we the people’ might all be considered guilty of some thought crime or other… We should all be alarmed when any individual or group—prominent or not—is censored, silenced and made to disappear from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for voicing ideas that are deemed politically incorrect, hateful, dangerous or conspiratorial…

“Eventually, as Orwell predicted, telling the truth will become a revolutionary act. If the government can control speech, it can control thought and, in turn, it can control the minds of the citizenry… With every passing day, we’re being moved further down the road towards a totalitarian society characterized by government censorship, violence, corruption, hypocrisy and intolerance, all packaged for our supposed benefit in the Orwellian doublespeak of national security, tolerance and so-called ‘government speech.’

“What we are witnessing is the modern-day equivalent of book burning which involves doing away with dangerous ideas—legitimate or not—and the people who espouse them. Seventy-plus years after Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 depicted a fictional world in which books are burned in order to suppress dissenting ideas, while televised entertainment is used to anesthetize the populace and render them easily pacified, distracted and controlled, we find ourselves navigating an eerily similar reality.”

Canada has already become a dictatorship. The USA is next in line, perhaps together with the UK. Of course, we all should know the path Europe is walking.

America a “Beached” Superpower

The Hill wrote on August 30:

“The root problem is growing uncertainty about America’s willingness to fight and die on behalf of its nominal allies… Would the U.S. mobilize to fight a hot war against Russia in Eastern Europe?… There is already dispositive evidence that America will not fight in defense of non-NATO members in Eastern Europe… The U.S. can be counted on to supply critical military and economic aid — for a time, at least — but it has announced in no uncertain terms that Americans will not be placed in harm’s way in defense of non-allies in Europe.

“In reality, there is also reason to doubt whether the U.S. would risk nuclear war with Russia in defense of some NATO members, such as Poland or the Baltics… sitting U.S. leaders would work hard to de-escalate any future conflict with Russia, even if it meant abandoning nominal allies in a time of need

“The U.S. is a beached superpower [in Europe]…”

The allies will not be helped by the USA, and the USA will most certainly not be helped by its allies.

Abortion Is Always Wrong

The Federalist wrote on August 27:

“The intentional ending of an innocent human life is always wrong; so too then is every abortion and every destruction of a human embryo by an IVF clinic. However, a majority of Americans will never vote to ban all abortions or prohibit the destruction of embryos created for IVF. Our country has tumbled too far down the slope of situational ethics, brainwashed along the way with the rhetoric of choice. And if the overturning of Roe v. Wade proved anything, it was that a large swath of Americans will readily accept the lies of abortion apologists to prevent even a hypothetical complete ban on abortion — even if that means sacrificing a few thousand near-term babies demand by the Left’s extremism of abortion on demand, until birth.

“… the Republican platform and the Trump-Vance ticket has abandoned any effort to advance pro-life positions, and, to the contrary, appears supportive of the unregulated destruction of human embryos through IVF…

“Trump may not govern as a pro-life president, but Harris will most assuredly be the most pro-abortion president ever elected…”

So, there are really no good choices for voting-hungry Americans. When it comes to IVF clinics and procedures, the Heritage Foundation wrote on February 15, 2023:

“One key battleground is in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is the process whereby ova are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory rather than in a woman’s body. The resulting live embryo is then implanted in the biological mother or a surrogate. For those who believe that life begins at conception, IVF is morally troubling indeed… To date, over one million babies have been born using IVF. Another one million embryos are frozen… They are ‘disposable’ babies due to common IVF practices like embryo destruction, freezing, genetic testing, and genetic editing.

“Let’s take embryo destruction. IVF is an attractive option for couples who are struggling with infertility, same-sex couples, and single persons. To raise their odds of success, doctors create multiple embryos. After testing them for genetic problems or physical traits, they then destroy the ‘unfit’ embryos. The remaining embryos are either implanted or frozen. Embryo freezing serves many purposes. In each case, it allows men and women to delay childbearing beyond normal limits. Stories like the embryos created in 1992 but not born until 30 years later will only become more common. Still, many don’t realize that only 53% of defrosted embryos result in a live birth.

“When it comes to genetic testing…, doctors routinely destroy the embryos suspected of carrying traits the parents deem undesirable. If they’re hoping for a male baby, out go the female embryos. Embryos with a treatable disease like cystic fibrosis face a similar fate. Genetic editing takes this process one step further… [It] alters the very makeup of an embryo. It can be used to change an embryo’s IQ, physical ability, or the ability to contract a disease…

“Rather than accept children as gifts, IVF treats children like products to be bought, sold, or designed. Worse, it destroys embryos that are deemed not good enough. Any practice that destroys or subverts innocent human life, even at the earliest stages, is at odds with pro-life principles.”

This horrible practice is of course ungodly. The Bible calls it murder.

America’s ”Missionaries” Bring “Evil” to Africa

LifeSiteNews wrote on August 29:

“African Catholic archbishops are sounding the alarm over Western efforts to indoctrinate Africans into homosexual lifestyles in what one prelate describes as a new kind of proselytism – one of ‘evil.’… The efforts are pervasive enough that archbishops from Kenya to Cameroon and Ghana to Tanzania are all testifying to similar problems, which reportedly include LGBTQ classroom indoctrination and gay sex parties. Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Cape Coast, Ghana described… how tourists will entice boys with money to pull them into homosexual activity… Archbishop Palmer-Buckle alluded to a growing phenomernon in Africa in which boys are paid money, which is little by American standards but astronomical by African standards, to be in homosexual pornography films. These boys are then sent to recruit others, for which they are paid even more.

“Archbishop Leonard Nkwande [of Tanzania] said [that his] experience has also suggested that the Biden administration has been involved in promotion of homosexuality in his country… This is consistent with the declaration of U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby last year that so-called ‘LGBTQ+ rights’ are a ‘core part’ of U.S. foreign policy, and the December 2023 report that the U.S. had spent more than $4.1 billion in taxpayer money on LGBT-promoting initiatives around the world…

“The West is not only corrupting Africans through on-the-ground efforts but through virtual influence via social media… This is especially the case in places like Kenya, where more than 60 percent of residents have a smartphone, much more than in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa…”

That is the kind of example the “ungodly” nation of the USA is setting.

Now Persecution of Musk in Brazil 

The Hill wrote on August 30:

“X owner Elon Musk slammed Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes [a Catholic] as an ‘evil dictator [cosplaying as a judge]’ Thursday as he threatened to shut down the billionaire’s social media platform in the country….

“The months-long feud between Musk and de Moraes reached a fever pitch Wednesday night when the judge ordered X to name a legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours or face a ban… ‘Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,’ X’s Global Government Affairs team said in a post. 

“X closed its office in Brazil earlier this month after de Moraes ordered the platform to remove posts from the site. If X failed to comply, the judge said he would levy a daily fine of $3,650 and an arrest decree against its representative, Rachel Nova Conceicao….  Starlink, Musk’s satellite company, also revealed Thursday that de Moraes had frozen its finances and was blocking the firm from conducting financial transactions in Brazil…  ‘It was issued in secret and without affording Starlink any of the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil…’”

Brazil’s Dictatorship

The Associated Press wrote on August 31:

“Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge’s order… To block X, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, told internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform. As of Saturday at midnight local time, major operators began doing so… The justice said the platform will stay suspended until it complies with his orders, and also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using VPNs to access it

“X and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in several countries — mostly authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest. Twitter was banned in Egypt after the Arab Spring uprisings… but it has since been restored.”

Even Apple and Google were initially instructed to remove X from their app stores and implement so-called anti-VPN obstacles that would make it more difficult for users to find access, but de Moraes later reversed that part of his order, saying it would not be needed.

Judge de Moraes has a controversial history. He was a member of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party. He was accused of covering up police violence. He was accused of defending Brazil’s main drug trafficking group. Already in 2020, he was criticized by outlets such as The Intercept on the basis of censorship and attack on the freedom of the press. In 2022, he ordered the suspension of the messaging app Telegram, accusing it of repeatedly failing to block accounts spreading disinformation (so he said), and ignoring previous court decisions. President Bolsonaro called the ruling “inadmissible“. In October 2022, the Superior Electoral Court gave de Moraes the unilateral authority to order the removal of online content that did not comply with previous TSE rulings, as part of an effort to combat disinformation. Bolsonaro supporters and legal experts criticized the move, fearing that it could allow for censorship. American journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald has criticized several decisions of de Moraes, accusing him of censorship and undermining freedom of speech.

In 2023, the New York Times published a piece questioning if the decisions of de Moraes were beneficial for democracy, and noted that he “has jailed people without trial for posting threats on social media; helped sentence a sitting congressman to nearly nine years in prison for threatening the court; ordered raids on businessmen with little evidence of wrongdoing; suspended an elected governor from his job; and unilaterally blocked dozens of accounts and thousands of posts on social media, with virtually no transparency or room for appeal.”

It is clear that this Supreme Court Judge rules as an unhinged dictator.

Without Telegram Many Things Would Not Have Been Possible…

Report 24 wrote on August 30:

“When the arrest of Pawel Durow was announced – according to rumors, the Telegram founder was even lured to France by… Macron personally – the MFG party invited people to the big freedom demonstration in Vienna. Durow is now out on bail – but he is not allowed to leave France and is in danger of becoming the next ‘Assange case’

“One thing is certain: Without Telegram, many things that probably saved millions of lives from the dangerous mRNA experiment would not have been possible. With the free messenger, Pawel Durow opened up the opportunity to live freedom of expression.  The problem in recent years has not been that there has been a problem with radical, dangerous or violence-glorifying opinions. It was simply about being able to openly express and promote a completely legal opinion guaranteed by fundamental rights, the constitution and the basic law.

“The ‘Western’ governments have banned and censored these dissenting opinions as they did in the darkest days of the past. A uniform opinion was and is sold as ‘science’…

“And one must not forget: Just because Durov is temporarily free on bail, doesn’t mean that the Deep State doesn’t want to lock him up for a long time – or want to blackmail him into restricting or turning off Telegram’s privacy and capabilities.”

The Bible makes it very clear that Europe will become a complete dictatorship. We are already seeing the beginning of this prophesied development.

Scholz—Germany’s Best Chancellor?

ntv wrote on August 30:

“Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach emphatically praised Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly before the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. When asked whether Scholz was the right candidate for chancellor for the SPD in the next federal election, Lauterbach told ‘Stern’: ‘Olaf Scholz is the best chancellor we have ever had.’ He is convinced of that… 

“Lauterbach himself expressed interest in holding the office of Health Minister for another term…”

Lauterbach has been called the German Dr. Fauci. His credibility is finally gone… if he even had some credibility left. But calling the worst German chancellor after the Second World War the best chancellor is the absolute height of ludicrous nonsense.

Victory for AfD in Thuringia and Saxony

Report 24 wrote on September 1:

“[FPÖ leader] Herbert Kickl congratulated the AfD and the voters in the German states of Thuringia and Saxony on the historic election results: ‘The clear victory in Thuringia and the head-to-head race with the CDU in Saxony – each with the historic ones best results – are an expression of hope for a system change. The system parties were massively punished. At the federal political traffic light, all three lights went out at the same time. [The coalition parties of the government] were presented with the bill for her harmful policies with a total of less than 15 percent for three parties in both federal states.

“‘The election results are also a lesson for all those who exclude and refuse democracy, who now have to show whether they are still capable of learning or whether they want to stubbornly continue their path to political insignificance,’ said Kickl.”

The FPÖ is an Austrian right-wing party that was led at one time by Joerg Haider and was later a coalition party in Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s government. In 2024, the FPÖ reached first place in the election for the European Parliament.

The CDU won in Sachsen with 31,9 percent; the AfD reached second place with 30,6 percent. In Thüringen, the AfD won with 32,8 percent, and the CDU only got 23,6 percent. The coalition parties of the government were far behind in both states. According to the Wall Street Journal, it is “a fresh embarrassment for Olaf Scholz’s government” and “a political earthquake and a milestone for a continent where centrist parties are increasingly on the defensive.”

“Correction” of German State Election in Thuringia

Breitbart wrote on September 2:

“Right-wingers and populists have devastated legacy left-wing parties in two state elections in Germany, even if a ‘software error’ in one state was blamed for changing the initial official results, taking two seats away from the right. The right-populist anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a state election for the first time, taking 32.8 per cent of the vote in east Germany’s Thuringia… This is particularly consequential to the AfD, as it no longer has a blocking minority in the state, which could have allowed it to block certain votes like the appointment of constitutional judges, the state auditors, and even a vote to dissolve the parliament. In such instances, votes need a two-thirds supermajority to pass, and now the AfD is one seat short…

“In both elections, voter turnout was at historically high levels, and in the case of Saxony, it was the highest state election turnout in modern German history…  In many cases, responses to the state-level success of the AfD in this election have been dismay in the international press, with the label ‘far right’ routinely applied to the AfD, even as such words lose their power through over-use…

“For the AfD themselves, the votes in their favour yesterday are all about the German public rejecting tone-deaf, failed establishment parties delivering stagnation…

“As is now typical for many European elections, while a populist-right party may have the largest number of seats, it does not hold close to a majority and few friends to build coalitions with, which may leave these states heading towards yet more rainbow coalition governments to keep the border control right out at all costs…”

One might wonder about the “software error”…

Nazi Comparisons Exaggerated and Punishable?

Report 24 wrote on September 2:

“The election results from Thuringia and Saxony are just as displeasing to the traffic lights [Germany’s governing coalition] as they are to the loyal system press: Corresponding derailments were to be expected. Yesterday, September 1, ZDF [Germany’s second public broadcast company] viewers witnessed particularly disrespectful statements: Editor-in-chief Bettina Schausten quickly put the election in the context of the start of the Second World War 85 years ago:

“‘On September 1, 1939, World War II began with the Wehrmacht attack on Poland. Germany spread suffering and death across the world and murdered 6 million Jews. On September 1, 2024, 85 years later, a party will become the strongest political force in the German state of Thuringia, which, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is proven to be right-wing extremist, with a candidate at the top who talks like a fascist and can also be called one. This is difficult to bear and makes this September 1 a political milestone and a reminder to those born after. More than 30% of voters in Thuringia and Saxony voted right-wing extremist. For the most part, they are not neo-Nazis, but, and this is no less shocking, they don’t care about voting right-wing extremist.’

“What users on social networks find particularly difficult to bear is the fact that they also finance the constant defamation and criminalization of voters with their compulsory fees. Sharp criticism also comes from legal experts: Volker Boehme-Neßler, professor of media and telecommunications law, demanded [Schausten’s] immediate dismissal.

“Lawyer Markus Haintz has now filed a criminal complaint against Schausten – and it is based on an argument from the same public prosecutor’s office, according to which an alleged comparison with the Third Reich in the Corona context constituted incitement to hatred. Thus, in Haintz’s view, any argument against the existence of sedition in Schausten’s case is a dismantling of one’s own previous argument. On X he discussed:

“‘According to the public prosecutor’s own argument, to whom I sent the criminal complaint, this is a case of sedition. A client… was charged with a criminal warrant by the same public prosecutor’s office due to an alleged COVID-related settlement and was convicted in the first instance by a district court for alleged incitement to hatred. The appeal against this has been with the regional court for almost 2 years, which is obviously having problems handling the case…

“A conviction by the district court should never have been made. Based on the arguments of the public prosecutor’s office and the district court, I also filed a criminal complaint against Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on suspicion of incitement to hatred. A preliminary investigation has been initiated in this regard, which as far as I know has not yet been completed… In his speech on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Steinmeier made a connection between the Ukrainian War and the Wehrmacht’s war of annihilation in Eastern Europe. Schausten provided a context with the Wehrmacht’s attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 and 6 million murdered Jews.

“I’m really curious to see how the politically dependent public prosecutor’s office… will try to get out of this ‘legal dilemma’. I call on my legal colleagues to oppose the countless wrong decisions made by courts and authorities, the unconstitutional impairments and the state’s excesses of power, especially since March 2020…’

“What happens with the legal complaint remains to be seen. In Germany, politicians and their court reporters are often said to have the freedom of fools that is typical of totalitarian systems. This would be an opportunity to prove that the same ‘right’ still applies to everyone. But will [this opportunity] be used?”

Mongolia Asked to Arrest Putin

The Sun wrote on August 31:

“Putin is due to visit Mongolia on September 3… Ukraine has called on the Mongolian government to arrest Putin blasting him as a war criminal… But Putin’s mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov shot back at suggestions of an arrest saying: ‘No, no worries about this. We have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia.’…

“Arresting the dictator and sending him to The Hague is up to the signatory countries as the ICC doesn’t have its own police force. Many powerful countries are not members of the court – such as the US, Russia, and China.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March of last year against Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.

“The warrant obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory… Putin is set to visit the country to mark the 85th anniversary of the victory of Russian and Mongolian forces over Japan in WW2….”

Putin will not be arrested in Mongolia—home of Genghis Khan. It will be seen what action, if any, other signatory member states of the ICC will take against Mongolia.

Russian and Mongolian Cooperation

Reuters wrote on September 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red carpet welcome on Tuesday on a state visit to Mongolia, whose failure to arrest him under a warrant from the International Criminal Court was criticised by Ukraine as a blow against justice… The Mongolian leader said he hoped the visit would boost trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

“Mongolia is on the planned route of a major pipeline that Russia wants to construct in order to carry 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from its Yamal region to China. The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia’s strategy to compensate for the loss of most of its gas sales in Europe since the start of the Ukraine war. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name which already supplies Russian gas to China and is due to reach its planned capacity of 38 billion cubic metres per year in 2025.”

A Synagogue on the Temple Mount?

Israel Today wrote on August 28:

“The US State Department stated on Tuesday that it ‘strongly opposes’ Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s call for construction of a synagogue on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The proposed Jewish house of worship ‘on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount’ would ‘demonstrate blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem,’ Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said…

“Ben-Gvir said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio on Monday that Jewish prayer is allowed on the Temple Mount. That prompted a denial from the Prime Minister’s Office… During the interview, Ben-Gvir was asked repeatedly if he would build a synagogue on the Temple Mount. He replied, ‘yes.’

“Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were among the Muslim countries that officially condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments…”

A synagogue or a Temple on the Temple Mount? Even though some are still determined to dispute the overwhelming biblical evidence and the signs of the time, a Third Temple will be built PRIOR to the return of Jesus Christ.

Hamas—a Murderous Terrorist Organization

Newsmax wrote on September 1:

“Israel said it recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where they were apparently killed shortly before its troops reached them… ‘they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them,’ military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in a briefing.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible… Senior Hamas officials said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths… The recovered bodies were from about 250 hostages captured during the Hamas-led shock incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year. Their deaths leave 101 Israeli and foreign captives still in Gaza, but around a third of these are known to have died, with the fate of others unknown…”

How anyone, including Americans, Europeans and others, can think that one can or should negotiate with murderous lying terrorists is beyond comprehension.

Biden vs. Netanyahu

The Times of Israel wrote on September 2:

“US President Joe Biden on Monday said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, while revealing that his administration was ‘very close; to presenting a final hostage deal offer later this week… At a press conference later Monday, Netanyahu denounced calls for Israel to make concessions after Hamas ‘murderers executed six of our hostages.’ ‘They shot them in the back of the head…and now, after this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says kill more hostages, murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions,’ Netanyahu stated, speaking in English in response to a question.

“‘The pressure internationally must be directed at these killers, at Hamas, not at Israel. We say yes, they say no all the time. But they also murdered these people. And now we need maximal pressure on Hamas. ‘I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving their release would seriously ask Israel, Israel, to make these concessions,’ the prime minister argued…

“The Israeli sources said Monday that Biden’s statement that Netanyahu was not doing enough to reach a deal was also dangerous because it came days after Hamas executed [six hostages] who were all kidnapped on October 7.”

The position of the Biden Administration and most of the international community is not only stupid and incompetent, it is also dangerous, anti-Semitic and extremely worrisome. 

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.

This Week in the News

Kamala Harris’s Clueless Hypocrisy

The New York Post wrote on August 23:

“Will the real Kamala Harris please stand up?… Harris finally took the floor to speak of herself Thursday night.  She spoke well and forcefully and electrified the Chicago convention hall, but color me as confused as ever.  Other than not being Donald Trump or Joe Biden, who is she? What does she really believe and what would she do as president? If she knows the answers, she’s keeping them a secret.

“Promises to ‘chart a new path forward’ and ‘be a president for all Americans’ are so boilerplate, they ought to be outlawed. Then there was this: ‘The future is always worth fighting for..’ You don’t say! 

“The economy is the top issue for voters, and as vice president for the last three and a half years, you would think she would have nailed down some ideas that could improve upon the mess she and President Biden made. 

In which case, you would be mistaken…

“Her 37-minute speech capped a remarkable shift in Democratic fortunes, made possible only by the political assassination of Biden, ostensibly by his friends.  Et tu, Barack Obama? Et tu, Nancy Pelosi?…

“… the entire Democratic convention has been a disappointment in that it relied on lies about Trump to attack him. Starting with Biden Monday and ending with Harris Thursday, many speakers accused Trump of planning to sign a national ban on abortion and of supporting an arch-conservative program called Project 2025. The problem with those accusations is that Trump has said repeatedly that he will not sign a national abortion ban and has made it clear he wants all states to include exceptions in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother. He also publicly scorned Project 2025, saying he did not support it…

“The touting of his conviction in the rigged Manhattan bookkeeping trial further betrays their desperation… Harris…  cited the case as a reason why Trump can’t be trusted. Oddly, she didn’t seem to mind working with Biden despite his family’s influence-peddling scheme, which netted it some $27 million. Or that Hunter Biden is an accused tax cheat and has already been convicted of a gun felony…”

This and the following are typical cases of hypocrisy by politicians. A true Christian ought not to have anything to do with this. Note the next article.

More and More Hypocrisy!

The New York Post wrote on August 22:

We will not soon forget the way in which [Nancy Pelosi] said that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had ‘established one of the most successful presidencies of modern times.’… But the standout moment was her tribute to Biden. Only a few weeks ago, Pelosi went to see him and brutally ended his career, reportedly telling him he must either stop his run or get pushed out ‘the hard way.’… Her performance was second to none as she paid tribute to the man whose career she so recently ended… And during Biden’s own performance, she could be seen enthusiastically waving a ‘We love Joe’ sign. It takes an actor of once-in-a-generation skill to do what Nancy did…

“Who could fail to be impressed when [Hillary Clinton] held a smile even as she said that Kamala should be the first woman to make it to the Oval Office? Some viewers may have gotten the feeling that Hillary was about to…  burst out screaming, ‘It should have been mine’ at any moment. But she didn’t. She kept herself measured and turned in a performance of rare, multi-layered complexity, underscored by a raw, sublimated rage…

Bill Clinton compared Joe Biden to George Washington and said that, like Washington, Biden had exited the stage at a time of his own choosing. Historians are still looking for the Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama and George Clooney characters of 1797.

“Leading a prayer onstage, [Cardinal Blasé Cupich] praised the idea of Americans being united by ‘profound aspirations of life.’  The cardinal had clearly not toured the abortion… trucks that were doing big business outside the convention….

Oprah Winfrey [will be remembered] not least for her inspiring claim that she understood — because she had suffered from — ‘income inequality…

Joe Biden… managed a whole speech, whipped himself up into a rage over things that nobody said and wiped a tear from his face as he accepted the gratitude of a party that wanted him gone…

“The Democrats have managed to create a whole new candidate. Not the Kamala we thought we knew. But a new, special Kamala whom we apparently don’t know at all. A Kamala who is hyper-competent, super-inspiring and a fresh face in politics…”

But there are many more examples of hypocrisy. Note the next articles.

The Daily Mail wrote on August 22:

Tim Walz is everything Kamala Harris needs him to be: steady Midwesterner, brave veteran, working-class hero, bumbling… dad — and, oh yes, a compulsive liar!… Whether Coach Walz is spinning a yarn about using ‘weapons of war’ during his pretend time in combat, or concocting a tale about his long-suffering wife Gwen’s ‘IVF’ treatment that didn’t actually happen, [he] is willing to spend credibility for the cause….”

The Guardian wrote on November 11, 2016, about Michelle Obama’s decision not to run:

“… she feels politics is very dirty and she doesn’t want to be in the gutter.”

Now she asked everyone to vote for Kamala, even though she initially refused to endorse her.

Breitbart wrote on July 21:

“[Barack] Obama and Pelosi stand out among Democrat leaders for not [initially] specifically endorsing Harris…”

The New York Post wrote on July 22:

“After Democratic bigs knifed Joe Biden in the back, wresting the candidacy from his stubborn, locked grip, they rushed to valorize him with effusive praise and glowing political obituaries. They’ve called him a ‘patriot’ and a ‘hero’... the trinity of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer…. especially with the backing of the big-money donor class and Hollywood hotshots… in a calculated campaign to remove the presidentthreatened him with the 25th Amendment in a ‘palace coup’…”

The New York Post wrote on July 24:

“[Barack] Obama’s hope was to get Biden out of the way, and an op-ed written by George Clooney in the New York Times asking him to step aside was a part of that plan. However, the higher-ups in the Democratic Party didn’t count on Biden endorsing Harris right away and ‘Obama was shocked’ when the president endorsed her… Obama is ‘furious’ that things haven’t gone his way, ‘which is why he is not joining in the Democratic Party’s support of Harris…”

Later Barack and Michelle endorsed Harris in their infamous staged phony phone call with Kamala.

Biden’s Impeachable Offenses

The New York Post wrote on August 21:

“It’s infuriating that House Republicans waited so long to release their devastating report that President Biden committed impeachable offenses when he ‘actively participated’ in a foreign influence-peddling conspiracy to enrich his family and then defrauded American voters by ­lying about his abuse of office.  Even more infuriating is that Biden will not be held accountable by Congress for his malfeasance.  It’s hard to find a clearer-cut case for impeachment than selling access to the White House to foreigners, including the Chinese Communist Party, for tens of millions of dollars. 

“The report… is believed to have been ready for release back in April, when Democrats were still pretending that Biden was a viable candidate for re-election. But fears that as many as 10… House Republicans would refuse to impeach the president led to the report being shelved until this week…

“But while Biden will not get the impeachment he deserves, the report’s meticulous array of evidence stands forever in the official record. It laughs in the face of all the nauseating eulogies for Biden this week at the Democratic National Convention as the greatest president of all time, a man of integrity and honor so great, he deserves to be memorialized on Mount Rushmore….

“But the same people who turned a blind eye and covered up Biden’s corruption are the ones who covered up his cognitive incapacity and who now are trying to smuggle mirage candidate Harris into power without real scrutiny or policies or accountability for her role in the Biden administration’s disasters…”

Trump on Kennedy

The New York Post wrote on August 22:

“The 45th president has said he would be open to a Kennedy endorsement and would even consider adding him to his team. ‘I like him a lot, I respect him a lot, I probably would if something like that would happen,’ Trump told CNN in an interview on Tuesday about the possibility of adding Kennedy to his administration.”

The Sun wrote on August 24:

“Hours after Kennedy Jr. announced that he would suspend his campaign for president, he made a surprise appearance at Trump’s rally in a show of support…. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever introduced anyone who’s gotten applause like he just did,’ Trump said of Kennedy’s entrance. Trump called Kennedy his friend and said he ran ‘an extraordinary campaign’ for the last 16 months… he is a brilliant, phenomenal person… I’m proud of Bobby if you want to know the truth…”

On April 28, 2024, The Telegraph wrote:

“Trump described Mr Kennedy as ‘a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place to help Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, get Re-Elected.’… He said Mr Kennedy ‘was far more LIBERAL than anyone running as a Democrat… Juniors’ a so-called Independent, but he’s not, he’s a Radical Left Lunatic … No Republican can vote for this guy.’”

A lesson that one ought to carefully choose one’s words. Note the next article as well.

Kennedy Attacked Trump

CNN wrote on August 26:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr… has a long history of criticizing the man he now supports, including calling Trump a ‘threat to democracy,’ and, as recently as July, a ‘terrible president.’ For years, Kennedy has repeatedly condemned Trump, referring to him as a ‘bully,’ who appealed to ‘bigotry,’ ‘hatred,’ ‘xenophobia’ and ‘prejudice.’ Among the chief attacks Kennedy has leveled at Trump through the 2024 campaign is to accuse him of corruption for turning his administration over to corporate lobbyists and special interests and failing to ‘drain the swamp’ as he’d promised.

“But on Friday, Kennedy was full of praise for Trump, saying that while he and the former president ‘don’t agree on everything,’ they do share similar isolationist views on US foreign policy, government censorship, and the need to address chronic disease in America…”

Vance on Trump:

Bild Online wrote on July 28:

“[In 2016, Vance said : ‘He is simply a bad man. A morally reprehensible person.’

The Guardian wrote on July 27:

“Vance… was selected because he faithfully reflected the ideological gut instincts of Trump, despite having previously called him ‘America’s Hitler’”

Of course, he totally changed his opinion on Trump. Right?

Kennedy’s New Role

When announcing that he would suspend his candidacy, Kennedy said this, according to the Daily Mail, dated August 24:

“He [said that] the Democrats ‘ran a sham primary that was rigged to prevent any serious challenge to President Biden.’  Once Biden, he said, ‘predictably bungled’ the debate against Trump, a ‘palace coup’ took place. ‘The same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor, also without an election,’ Kennedy charged.  ‘They installed a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020 without winning a single delegate,’ Kennedy said….

The article also said this:

“Kennedy’s siblings – who support Harris – released a joint statement slamming their brother’s decision.  ‘Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear,’ said Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy. A number of other Kennedy family members work in the current Biden administration.”

What were the values of John and Robert Kennedy which Trump is now ‘betraying”?

The Sun wrote on August 24:

“The Republican nominee [Trump] also pledged that he would create a panel to look into the causes of childhood health issues including auto-immune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility, and more. Trump said that ‘top experts would work with Bobby’ on this panel. The former president said he wanted to ‘salute’ Kennedy Jr.’s ‘decades of work as an advocate for the health of our families and children.’… ‘Nobody has done more,” Trump said of Kennedy Jr.’s philanthropy work and activism. ‘Millions and millions of Americans have concerns about toxins in our environment and pesticides in our food,’ Trump said in his announcement of the health panel….

“During his time on stage, Kennedy Jr. took aim at the CDC, the FDA, the USDA, big food processing companies, and chemical companies. ‘Our children are the unhealthiest, sickest children in the world,’ Kennedy Jr. claimed.’ Don’t you want healthy children? Don’t you want a safe environment for your children? Don’t you want to know the food that you’re feeding them is not filled with chemicals that will give them cancer and chronic diseases? Don’t you want a president that will make America healthy again? Well, that is what President Trump told me he wanted,’ Kennedy Jr. said.”

The New York Post added on August 24:

“Kennedy also touted Trump’s vows to keep the US out of foreign wars, end censorship  and protect ‘America’s freedoms’ from ‘totalitarianism.’”

All laudable goals. Would they be accomplished under a Trump presidency?

Biden Administration Fraudulently Manipulating Job Growth Statistics

Newsmax wrote on August 21:

“Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused the Biden administration of ‘fraudulently manipulating’ statistics after the government announced revised job growth numbers for this year showing lower growth than previously reported. The Labor Department released a revised report this week showing that the U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs between April 2023 and March 2024 than originally stated in a previous report. The initial report showed the U.S. added an average of 242,000 jobs per month during that time, but the revised figures show the U.S. added 174,000 jobs per month.

“… Trump called the revelation a ‘MASSIVE SCANDAL!’… Trump added: ‘The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America. New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID. The real Numbers are much worse than that…’”

This IS scandalous… but to be expected from lying politicians.

Zuckerberg Confirms Improper Conduct of Biden Administration

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 27, 2024:

“Zuckerberg said it was improper for the Biden administration to have pressured Facebook to censor content in 2021 related to the coronavirus pandemic, vowing that the social-media giant would reject any such future efforts… In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan… he wrote that senior Biden administration officials, including from the White House, had ‘repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.’ At the time, Facebook’s publicly stated goal was to push millions of people toward Covid 19 vaccines

“Zuckerberg said that he believed the pressure from the administration ‘was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it… we’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.’

“… In his letter to Jordan, Zuckerberg said that Meta [which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and others] ‘shouldn’t have demoted’ a New York Post story about President Biden’s son Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 election… At the time, dozens of former intelligence officials signed a letter that then-candidate Biden cited in a presidential debate saying that the release of the emails had ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation’… ‘It’s since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story,’ Zuckerberg wrote. In a social-media post, Jordan said that the letter was a ‘big win for free speech.’”

Parents Responsible and Not Responsible For Mass Killings of Their Children

Newsmax wrote on August 19:

“The parents of a former student accused of killing 10 people in a 2018 school shooting near Houston cannot be held responsible for what happened, a jury decided Monday. The victims’ lawsuit sought to hold Dimitrios Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, financially liable for the shooting at Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018. The lawsuit alleged the parents failed to provide necessary support for their son’s mental health and didn’t do enough to prevent him from accessing their guns. Authorities say Pagourtzis fatally shot eight students and two teachers. He was 17 years old at the time.

“Pagourtzis, now 23, has been charged with capital murder but the criminal case has been on hold since November 2019, when he was declared incompetent to stand trial. He is being held at a state mental health facility. In April, Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison by a Michigan judge after becoming the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. Pagourtzis’ parents are not accused of any crime…

“Similar lawsuits have been filed following other mass shootings. In 2022, a jury awarded over $200 million to the mother of one of four people killed in a shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. The lawsuit was filed against the shooter and his father, who was accused of returning a rifle to his son before the shooting despite the son’s mental health issues.”

Many Children Survive Abortions… Before They Die!

eSiteNews wrote on August 23:

“In Canada, not a single federal leader will discuss abortion – except to affirm their support for feticide in all its forms. Thus, there has been no response to a gut-wrenching new study by medical statisticians at the University of Montreal that found that one in four babies aborted at 23 weeks gestation in Quebec are born alive. One of the ‘complications’ of later-term abortions is known as ‘live birth,’ and ‘live birth rates’ after abortion have increased in Quebec, most noticeably in abortions between 20 and 24 weeks…

“The study found that 90% of these babies died within three hours, and… ‘only 24.5 percent of the babies born alive were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) while only 5.5% received palliative care.’

“The authors noted a strange trend, reporting that the likelihood of a baby surviving an abortion actually increased between 1989-2000, when it was 4.1%, and 2011-2021, when it was 20.8%…”

This is SO horrible. What a heartless civilization we live in, condoning, supporting and promoting such barbarous and ungodly conduct!

Telegram CEO Arrested in France

Breitbart wrote on August 24:

“Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov (39) was arrested in France on Saturday after his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport, French media reported. Durov was arrested under a warrant related to ‘various violations of his encrypted messaging service,’ according to a report by Le Monde… French authorities are accusing Durov of a ‘lack of moderation’ involving Telegram. The messaging app is reportedly under attack in Europe for the ‘viral circulation of false information.’ ‘Telegram has shielded itself from state moderation rules, at a time when the European Union and the United States are putting pressure on major platforms to remove illegal content,’ Le Monde reported. France’s OFMIN (Office to Combat Violence Against Minors) issued the warrant as part of an investigation into ‘offenses ranging from fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, glorification of terrorism, and fraud,’ a source told the French newspaper.

“Durov, who doesn’t often sit down for interviews, spoke with Tucker Carlson in April, telling the former Fox News host that the Russian government was the first entity to demand that he censor speech — via his other platform, VK — in an effort to quell protests in the country. ‘We were requested to ban these [protest organizing] communities — and I refused,’ Durov explained. ‘But that did not go too well with the government.’ ‘A few years from then, in 2013, we had a similar situation where you had these protests in Ukraine where people, again, would use VK to organize themselves and go to the main square of the city and show their disagreement with the government,’ Durov continued. ‘We received a demand from the Russian side, saying, “You have to give us the private data of the organizers of this protest,” and our response was, ‘Wait, a minute, this is a different country, we won’t betray our Ukrainian users because you asked us to.” We decided to refuse, and that didn’t go too well with the Russian government as well,’ he added. As a result, Durov chose to resign as the CEO of VK.

“‘I had to make a difficult decision,’ he said. ‘Because I was offered basically a choice between two suboptimal options: one of which was I would start complying with whatever the leaders of the countries tell me to do, and the other one was I could sell my stake in the company, retire, resign as the CEO, and leave the country. I chose the latter.’

“Carlson reacted to Durov’s arrest in a Saturday X post, writing, ‘In the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away.’ ‘Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies,’ Carlson added. ‘Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.’”

Indeed, darkness is descending on Europe. Of course, Europe was never really free, but now it is clearly being held captive by Satan the devil.

Europe’s Persecution of Freedom of Speech Continues…

Reuters wrote on August 25:

“The arrest of the 39-year-old technology billionaire prompted on Sunday a warning from Moscow to Paris that he should be accorded his rights and criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack… [Hypocritical Russia is making these demands!!!] Durov, who has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation into allegedly allowing a wide range of crimes due to a lack of moderators on Telegram and a lack of cooperation with police, a… French police source said.

“Russian lawmaker Maria Butina, who spent 15 months in U.S. prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent, said Durov ‘is a political prisoner – a victim of a witch-hunt by the West.’…

“Telegram, based in Dubai, was founded by Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has sold. The encrypted application, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.

“Durov, who is estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5 billion, said in April some governments had sought to pressure him but the app should remain a ‘neutral platform’ and not a ‘player in geopolitics’. Durov came up with the idea of an encrypted messaging app as a way to communicate while he faced pressure in Russia. His younger brother, Nikolai, designed the encryption…

“After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered – and sometimes graphic and misleading – content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict. The platform has become what some analysts call ‘a virtual battlefield’ for the war, used heavily by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government.

Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with a court order granting state security services access to its users’ encrypted messages… Telegram says it ‘is committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly.’

“Durov has previously accused U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of seeking to get a backdoor into the platform...

Musk, billionaire owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, said after reports of Durov’s detention: ‘It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.’”

Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Europe Attacks America’s Freedom!” 

Europe’s Increasing Persecution of Dissidents

Austria’s Report 24 wrote on August 26:

“While Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France, Rumble boss Chris Pavlovski departed Europe… Elon Musk could be next on the list. In the new age of censorship and surveillance, there is no place for privacy and freedom of expression.

“Europe is returning to dangerous ways of thinking. In the past, countless people from the Old Continent fled across the Atlantic to the New World to be safe from religious or political persecution. In the meantime, European politicians present themselves as ‘democratic’ and ‘liberal’, but as a result of the leftward shift in the political party system, they seem to prefer to rely again on repression against those who think differently, and on total surveillance.

“Pavel Durov… was targeted… because he stood up against the total surveillance by authorities and secret services on his platform and protected freedom of expression. But there is no room for that in Europe for censoring and control-hungry politicians…

“Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of the video streaming platform Rumble, which presents itself as a free alternative to Google’s heavily censorious YouTube, explained on X that he had just left Europe ‘for good reason’. His platform was also threatened by France because they did not censor free speech there.

“All of this raises the question of when the French and European authorities will also want to take appropriate measures against Elon Musk. After all, the tech billionaire is also an advocate for the greatest possible freedom of the press and freedom of expression. However, this is something that no longer has a place in Europe. A woke, left-liberal and green-minded totalitarianism will prevail there in the future.”

Arrest of Durov Alarming!

The New York Post wrote on August 27:

Americans should be worried… French investigators were quick to assure the public that this was most certainly not a political detention, which means it most certainly was… Durov is a seasoned veteran in the fight to protect free speech and association.

“Elon Musk has dealt with similar threats by foreign entities demanding he crack down on his platform, or else. We can expect that European-style censorship will find a welcoming audience in the DC swamp…  the major social media platforms do remain magnets for the worst of the worst elements; possibly criminals, terrorists, and traffickers. But criminals plan and commit crimes using the telephone, too, and governments around the world aren’t locking up the phone companies.

“The message of Durov’s detention is simple — hand over the data of the private citizenry, monitor and police their free speech, or face political persecution… We cannot allow our long-standing freedom of speech and assembly to become subject to European laws or lawmakers. And certainly not to the whims of globalists at the United Nations or in Davos. Durov is a walking target for refusing to capitulate to the surveillance state…”

The Associated Press wrote on August 28:

“In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to reporting illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.”

Business Insider wrote on August 26:

“Musk described the arrest as a violation of freedom of expression. ‘It is essential to supporting free speech that you forward X posts to people you know, especially in countries where censorship exists,’ Musk wrote on X on Sunday. He also posted a tweet from Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of Rumble, a right-wing competitor to YouTube. Pavlovski said in a post on Sunday that France had ‘crossed a red line’ with the arrest of Durov.”

The Guardian wrote on August 25:

“Elon Musk reposted a clip from that interview with Tucker Carlson where Durov praised Musk’s takeover of X as ‘a great development’… He followed up with a second tweet: ‘Liberté! Liberté! Liberté?’

“According to Fox News, dated August 26 , the arrest prompted ‘swift outcry from free speech advocates, including fellow tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr..”

Macron responds, according to Al Jazeera, dated August 25:

“Macron insisted that there was no political motive [that it was not a political decision], and that Durov had been detained as part of a judicial inquiry. ‘I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so,’ Macron said in a post on X.”

France Persecutes Rumble—”Macron Is Lying”!

Nius wrote on August 28:

“It’s a worrying development: in the UK people have to worry about being visited by the police for sharing posts on ‘X’, in Germany citizens who criticize the government are being sued and in France the founder of the messenger service Telegram has now been arrested. The reason: He would not take sufficient action against criminal activities on his platform.

“Now the next shock for freedom of expression: The CEO of the Canadian video platform ‘Rumble’, Chris Pavlovski, decided to leave Europe in the wake of Durov’s arrest. On ‘X’ he writes: ‘France has already threatened Rumble, now they have crossed the red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO. Rumble will not tolerate this behavior and will fight by every legal means for freedom of expression, which is a universal human right. We are currently fighting in court in France and hope for Pavel Durov’s early release.’

“Pavlovski’s video portal, an alternative to YouTube, was banned in France in 2022 and is still in legal battle with the country over its refusal to remove blocked Russian accounts. In another post on ‘X’, the Rumble CEO accuses French President Emmanuel Macron of lying. ‘We had to shut down Rumble in France because you show no commitment to freedom of expression’. He is responding to the president’s statement that Durov’s arrest was legal and that France is deeply committed to freedom of expression.

“’Rumble’ has been working with Donald Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ social network since 2021. The current [proposed] Vice President J.D. Vance has already invested in the video platform.”

The Associated Press wrote on August 28:

“French authorities handed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov [six] preliminary charges Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.”

But he has avoided jail with a 5m euro bail. He must check in at a police station twice a week.

Terror Attack in Solingen, Germany

Daily Mail wrote on August 24:

“A knifeman has left at least three people dead after stabbing random passersby in the neck in a horrific ‘terror attack’ at a diversity festival in Germany.  Eight others have been injured, five of them seriously, in the knife attack in the western German city of Solingen last night, police have said.  A desperate manhunt has been launched to find the killer who fled after carrying out the ‘brutal and senseless’ killings…

“Solingen is also known as the ‘City of Blades’, as it has long been renowned for the manufacturing of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by famous firms.  The tragedy comes amid a heated political debate about rising knife violence in German cities… The ‘Festival of Diversity,’ marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with 80,000 people expected.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 24:

“The man suspected of the stabbing in Solingen turned himself in to the police, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia told the news agency DPA. According to the German daily Bild, the man, still covered in blood, approached the officers shortly after 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) and said: ‘I’m the one you’re looking for…’  He had reportedly been hiding in a backyard since the crime.

“German news magazine Spiegel reported that the suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian, who came to Germany in 2022 and applied for asylum in Bielefeld.  Because he came from a country in civil war, he was allowed to stay in Germany… The so-called ‘Islamic State’ has claimed responsibility… In a statement on social media, IS’ Amaq media wing said the knifeman was a ‘soldier of the Islamic State’ who targeted a ‘Christian gathering’ in what it said was ‘revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.’

Breitbart wrote on August 24:

“It was claimed that, according to witness statements gathered by police, the attacker had shouted out the Jihadi war cry ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he carried out the attack…”

Reuters added on August 24:

“The episode comes ahead of three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, in which the anti-immigrant far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a chance of winning… a top AfD candidate for one of the state elections, Bjoern Hoecke, [posted] on X: ‘Do you really want to get used to this? Free yourselves and end this insanity of forced multiculturalism.’”

Bild reported on August 25 that an arrest warrant was issued for him because of alleged murder and membership in a terrorist organization (IS), and that the investigation is now in the hands of the federal prosecutor.

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.

This Week in the News

The Attack on the Nord Stream Pipeline

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 16:

“The attack on the Nord Stream Pipeline was shocking, the damage enormous, and the geopolitical consequences are still keenly felt almost two years after the attack. The 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) Nord Stream 1 served as the key delivery system between Russian energy giants and their buyers in Germany,  with Berlin braving the ire of its allies to construct another undersea delivery system,  Nord Stream 2, which would run mostly parallel to the first one and carry another 55 billion cubic meters (1.942 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year.

“It was not to be. A series of underwater blasts on September 26, 2022 crippled the pipelines, which were already out of action due to tensions between Berlin and Moscow provoked by Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. Nearly two years later, no suspects have been arrested, and it is not fully clear who was behind the sabotage.

“This week, however, a series of reports in high-profile German media, including Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the US-based Wall Street Journal pointed to a team of Ukraine divers who may have had backing from top officials in Kyiv. Sources cited by the Wall Street Journal say the plan to blow up the pipelines was initially approved by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Then, the CIA allegedly got wind of the plan and urged Zelenskyy not to go through with it. Zelenskyy ordered a halt to the scheme, but Ukraine’s top general at the time, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, decided to go through with it anyway, according to the paper.

“Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to London, denied any knowledge of the bombing and dismissed the claims to the opposite as ‘mere provocation’ when contacted by the US daily. The White House has refused to comment on the report…  ‘Ukraine’s involvement in the Nord Stream explosions is absolute nonsense. There was no practical sense in such actions for Ukraine,’ Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told AFP on Thursday… Despite Podolyak’s claims, however, Ukraine did have valid reasons to oppose the project. If reactivated, the pipelines would have been filling Moscow’s war chests… Additionally, a direct line of export to Germany via both pipelines would have made it much easier for Moscow to close off established gas routes through countries like Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia, giving it even more influence in the region…

Poland is also mentioned in the media as the possible provider of logistical support for the Ukrainian diving team which is said to have sabotaged the pipelines. German officials have confirmed that the main suspect was living in a village outside Warsaw until recently, but managed to slip out of the country despite Germany issuing an arrest warrant for him. Warsaw blamed Berlin for the mishap, saying German officials failed to update the Schengen register that would flag the suspect as wanted.

“On Friday, Poland  strongly denied claims made by the former boss of Germany’s BND intelligence agency August Hanning that Warsaw ‘was heavily involved in the preparation of this attack.’ ‘It has to be said clearly that this is a lie,’ Polish deputy prime minister , Krzysztof Gawkowski, told TV channel Polsat News. ‘Poland did not take part in anything…’

Russian officials have long blamed the West for the Nord Stream blast, most notably accusing  ‘British navy specialists’ in 2022 of participating in ‘planning, provision and implementation’ of the attack. Following a report on the alleged US involvement by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh in February 2023, Moscow said it was not surprised. ‘Our assumption was that the US and several NATO allies were involved in this disgusting crime,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow at the time.

“The latest narrative of the CIA attempting to avert the plot seems to have done little to persuade Moscow, even with top Kremlin officials staying silent on the subject. On Friday, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anataly Antonov, said there was no way for Kyiv to attack the pipelines without getting a ‘wink’ from the US. ‘They seek to shift all responsibility to their Ukrainian puppets,’ Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in a statement on Nord Stream…  Antonov also pointed to US President Joe Biden’s statement from February 2022, just ahead of the full-scale war. The US leader said Washington would ‘bring an end’ to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades, even with Germany controlling the project. ‘I promise you, we’ll be able to do it,’ Biden said at the press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“Antonov’s stance was echoed by Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who commented that the West was trying ‘to absolve itself of responsibility for the terrorist attack.’

Berlin has been notably restrained in its comments regarding the ongoing investigation into the blasts, which sabotaged a critical investment worth billions that took over a decade to build. Earlier this week, Germany insisted its help to Ukraine was ‘completely independent’ from the probe and its ties to Kyiv are unaffected…”

While German politicians may say it differently, more and more Germans are opposed to assisting Ukraine much further. 

The Blame Game

The Guardian added on August 16:

“Initially, many assumed Russia was to blame. Later, others suggested the CIA could have been involved. Last year, the New York Times reported that US officials had seen intelligence suggesting a ‘pro-Ukrainian group’ was behind the explosions, while last month, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, called the explosions ‘an act of terrorism carried out at the obvious direction of the Americans’… Ukraine has always denied involvement in the explosion and on Thursday a spokesperson for Zelenskiy again accused Russia of carrying out the sabotage…

“However, German police and prosecutors are reportedly pressing on with an investigation that is now homing in on senior Ukrainian military officials and could prove embarrassing for Berlin, given that it involves an ally launching an act of sabotage against key infrastructure… Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the opposition CDU who serves on the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament, urged caution about the allegations raised in the WSJ report. He told German radio there were ‘intensive interests’ in ‘letting all the clues lead back to Ukraine’, warning that this could be ‘part of the disinformation’.”

EuroNews wrote on August 15:

The operation was concocted during a drunken night in May 2022, as Ukrainian military officers celebrated halting Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country and were looking to deal another blow to Moscow, the newspaper (WSJ) said, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the plan… The outlet said it had spoken to four senior Ukrainian defence and security officials who either participated in or had direct knowledge of the plot and that all of them considered the pipelines as a legitimate target as it defended itself against Russia…

“The WSJ also said that portions of the sources’ accounts had been corroborated by a German investigation into the matter. Yet, German intelligence officials have said that they doubt that Ukraine was really behind the sabotage…”

What Else Did WSJ Correspondent Say?

According to an article by the Wall Street Journal of August 15, WSJ correspondent Bojan Pancevski said the following:

“I’ve been, as you know, on the story since literally day one after it happened, and now we have an answer to who did it. It was a small group of patriotic Ukrainians. The idea was dreamt up during a drunken night, sometime early May in Kyiv. Some of them were military officers. Businessmen helped fund the project, which was executed under the command of the Ukrainian military. They decided to use a very unusual method of blowing up the single biggest offshore pipeline system in the world, which NordStream was. They used six people, five men, one woman on a small leisure boat, and they loaded it with explosives and off they went. The operation worked like this. It’s a small boat, a 50 feet yacht called Andromeda, and there were at least four skilled divers on it. They worked in pairs. Two divers would go at a depth of some 80 meters each day, and then the other two the next day. What they did is they loaded these explosive packages into their bags and then they went down all the way and they attached them to the pipeline and they attached a timer to ignite the explosive when the time came. So it was a timed bomb. You have to understand all the expert divers we’ve spoken said this was extremely dangerous, obviously, for everyone involved… 

“What happened was the Dutch Military Intelligence Service got wind of the operation already in the early stages of its planning. So sometime by June, 2022, so a month into the planning, the Dutch warned the CIA. Upon receiving that report, the CIA warned the Presidential administration of Ukraine not to do it, and President Zelenskyy told his commanding general, General Zaluzhnyi, to knock it off. What happened was that Zaluzhnyi just didn’t do anything. The operation went ahead as planned. It was operating like a startup company essentially. It was insulated from the officialdom, and in a nutshell, it was [a] very quick small operation on a shoestring. The whole thing cost around $300,000 to destroy a pipeline, which cost 23 billion to build…. 

“Every single Ukrainian I spoke to, and in fact some people in the West said this was a legitimate target. Why? Because it was 90% owned by Russia and because it generated enormous revenues for Vladimir Putin’s war machine. So from a Ukrainian perspective, they were cutting the vital revenue to the aggressor state that was invading them at that time. Prosecutors in Germany obviously take another stand. They think this was an attack on their critical infrastructure, which deprived them of vital gas supplies at a time where there was an energy crisis. What the Germans have so far is some evidence on the actual sabotage crew that was on the boat, but they have nothing on the higher-up command chain.”

Pancevski also said that the idea that Russia was behind the sabotage was “complete nonsense.” The truthfulness of the German government’s claim that the latest discoveries will not negatively influence Germany’s commitment towards Ukraine may be very doubtful. Note the next article. 

Germany Freezes Weapons for Ukraine

Express wrote on August 17:

“Germany has stunned Ukraine after announcing a freeze to military aid, as Kyiv’s forces struggle to repel a Russian advance in the Donbas. Olaf Scholz’s government claims a budgetary crisis means it can no longer afford to supply Ukraine with new weapons. However, opponents have accused the German Chancellor of ‘hypocrisy’ and of making a cynical play to win votes in federal elections this autumn. Scholz reportedly told his Defence Minister Boris Pistorius that no more money for weapons would be forthcoming earlier this month… Pistorius had drawn up a wish list for €4billion (£3.4billion) in additional military supplies to Ukraine…

“The freeze in military aid will not affect outstanding orders but has already impacted new ones. After a Russian air strike on a Kyiv children’s hospital in July, Diehl Defence, the arms manufacturer, offered to supply an IRIS-T air defence system to help defend the Ukrainian capital’s airspace. Scholz, however, reportedly refused to pay for the missile system, despite the deal being backed by his Defence Minister.

“The move is said to have caused severe friction inside the German government, with both the defence and foreign ministries opposing the freeze. The news could not come at a worse time for Kyiv’s army, which is coming under severe pressure in the Donbas, where Russian troops are advancing on the city of Pokrovsk – a strategic road and rail hub. Ukraine’s army says it is running short of critical ammunition and spare parts for its German-supplied tanks and armoured vehicles.

“Scholz’s political opponents have accused him of trying to win over voters in Germany’s eastern states, who are opposed to the war in Ukraine… Ingo Gädechens, an MP for the centre-Right Christian Democrats, said that Scholz had engaged in an ‘unprecedented spectacle of hypocrisy’ by promising Kyiv unconditional support while trying to pose as a ‘peace chancellor’ at home.”

Breitbart added on August 17:

“With Germany representing Ukraine’s largest single financier in Europe, the cessation of further aid payments could represent a significant hurdle for Kyiv to continue the war against the much larger and richer Russia… Berlin is reportedly banking on future aid to Ukraine coming from the $300 billion pot of Russian central bank assets seized by Western allies in the aftermath of the 2022 invasion. While the G-7 nations agreed at their Italian summit in June to use the interest on the assets to help finance a $50 billion loan for Kyiv, there has been no formal agreement on whether the assets themselves or the income generated from interest could be sent directly to Ukraine to prop up the war effort.

“Indeed, the Green Party’s chairman in the Bundestag parliament’s budget committee said that currently ‘there is unfortunately nothing concrete on the use of Russian assets.’ The deputy budget spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Andreas Schwarz, added that it is unknown how soon Russian assets could be diverted to Ukraine or ‘whether this is legally possible at all.’

“The spending freeze will likely further exacerbate ongoing issues with the lack of support from GermanyFAZ [Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung] reported that due to a lack of spare parts and ammunition, some German guns already supplied to Ukraine can only fire three to four rounds per day, undercutting the usefulness of fast-firing guns such as the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The paper also reports that many working German Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks are being ‘cannibalised’ by the Ukrainians in order to keep others going due to a lack of spare parts supplied by Berlin.”

Zelenskyy Calls Out US, UK, France Over Slow Weapons Deliveries

Politico wrote on August 19:

“As Ukraine gains territory inside Russia but is pushed back in its own Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heaped pressure on his Western allies for more help. ‘Our guys are doing great on all fronts. However, there is a need for faster delivery of supplies from our partners,’ Zelenskyy said… ‘ Decisions are needed, as are timely logistics for the announced aid packages. I especially address this to the United States, the United Kingdom and France,’ he added.

Ukraine has been struggling to fend off Russia’s assault in the east, hence the calls for accelerated weapons deliveries. Russia is rapidly advancing near Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region. Russian forces almost seized Krasnohorivka and occupied New York, a town in the Donetsk region, a Ukrainian army brigade said… ‘The enemy is spreading across the region. The rate of advancement is very high. And, unfortunately, now his offensive potential here is limited not by the strength of our resistance, but rather by his reserves,’ the brigade said…

“Ukraine is finding more success across the border on Russian soil, where it caught the Kremlin’s forces on the hop nearly two weeks ago now.”

Russia to Strike New York and London With Nuclear Weapons?

Newsweek wrote on August 19:

“Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Russian pundit Stanislav Krapivnik recently said Moscow is ‘already at war with’ the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), adding that it should retaliate by striking cities like New York and London with a nuclear weapon.

“Krapivnik, a Russian-American and former U.S. Army officer who defected to Russia in the ’90s, repeatedly referred to the U.S. as the enemy of Russia, accusing it of wanting ‘to destroy the Russian people’ during an appearance on a Russian media program hosted by Roman Guz…  in which he repeatedly dehumanized Americans and said, ‘These are not people, these are animals.’ … ‘If we want to end this war, we need to completely destroy Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Not defeat, but total destruction. Not taking them prisoner. There should be corpses, mountains of corpses!’ Krapivnik said during his interview.

“On August 6, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region, successfully pressing into the Kursk and Belgorod area over the past two weeks, marking the largest assault on Russian soil since World War II. The area is home to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which is a major electricity producer for Russia. On Saturday,  [the] Russian foreign ministry… accused Ukrainian forces of preparing to attack the facility. 

“Ukrainian officials denied the accusation to Reuters, dismissing it as ‘insane’ propaganda. However, Krapivnik reiterated that idea and said, ‘This is an attack with nuclear materials, trying to cause a nuclear explosion of the reactor on the territory of Russia.’ He added that ‘this is a direct provocation that warrants wiping Kyiv off the face of the Earth… This is open war, and in response, an American city will be wiped off the face of the Earth or there will be a strike on London, based on who armed them,’ Krapivnik said, suggesting that ‘there will be an explosion, and New York will be gone and Washington will be next.’

“To summarize Krapivnik’s remarks, Guz asked, ‘Essentially, there should be a direct threat, straight from the President [Putin], that if something happens, nuclear missiles will fly against Washington and London. Do I understand it correctly?’ Krapivnik replied: ‘Absolutely, absolutely,’ affirming that nuclear weapons should be targeted at the U.S. and U.K….

“The Russia-Ukraine war has heightened global fears of a potential nuclear conflict, following months of rising tensions and repeated threats from Russia to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. and NATO countries. Putin has previously approved tactical nuclear weapons drills, and earlier in August, Russia advanced to the third stage, aimed at ‘preparing units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the combat use of nonstrategic nuclear weapons,’ the Russian defense ministry said… Russia has an estimated 5,580 nuclear warheads, according to a 2024 report by the Federation of American Scientists, which says the U.S. has 5,044.”

Iran Closes German Institute

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 20:

“Judicial authorities in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday closed down two branches of German Language Institute (DSIT) in the city…  the branches had been designated ‘illegal centers affiliated with the German government’ which had ‘breached Iranian law, committed various illegal actions and extensive financial violations.’… The DSIT was founded in 1995 by the German Embassy in Tehran and describes itself on its website as ‘one of the leading institutions for the learning of the German language,’  offering courses of various levels for both young people and adults.

“Germany’s Foreign Office condemned the closure of the institute which it said was ‘in no way justifiable’ and summoned the Iranian ambassador… [demanding] the immediate reopening of the institute…

“Another media outlet, Nournews… suggested that the closures were a response to the closure of the Hamburg Islamic Center in Germany in July. At the time, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had described [it] as an ‘important Iranian propaganda center in Europe.’ Iran had summoned the German ambassador in Tehran in protest at what it called a ‘hostile action’ and a ‘clear example of Islamophobia.’

“… German-Iranian diplomatic relations have suffered in recent years with several German nationals, some of whom hold dual German and Iranian citizenship, arrested and imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage….”

German Military Base in Lithuania

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 19:

“Lithuanian and German officials on Monday took part in a ceremony marking the start of construction for a new military base that will house up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops when completed in late 2027. Another 1,000 contractors will be housed elsewhere in the country… with Germany committing last year to permanently deploy troops in the NATO and EU member state— the first permanent foreign deployment of German troops since World War II…

“German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has compared the decision to deploy Bundeswehr soldiers in the Baltics to that of the Allies posting soldiers in West Germany during the Cold War… In Berlin, budget infighting threatens to hamper German pledges to upgrade the country’s military, with requests such as €2.93 billion for more than 100 Leopard 2 A8 tanks — some of which are to be stationed in Lithuania — hanging in the balance….”

EU Plot to Censor Elon Musk Blasted

The New York Post wrote on August 16:

“The House Judiciary Committee has slammed the European Union’s efforts to ‘silence great Americans like Elon Musk,’ and is threatening to investigate their attempted ‘infringement on free speech,’ according to letters reviewed by The Post. On Thursday Committee Chair Jim Jordan fired off a missive to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton who, he alleges, is trying to ‘weaponize’ law against Musk… Jordan accused Breton, a liberal, of singling out conservatives Musk and Trump and attempting to intimidate them…

“The letter comes days after the French politician posted an open letter to X warning Musk against amplifying ‘hateful content’ ahead of a broadcast conversation with former President Trump. The letter pointed to EU legislation passed in 2022 which makes the owners of social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Tik Tok potentially liable for billions in fines for the ‘amplification of content which promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence or certain instances of disinformation’ in European countries…

“Soon after Breton posted his letter, the European Commission quickly distanced themselves, saying they had not authorized it.

“The Trump campaign also slammed the EU, claiming its official is trying to interfere with US politics. ‘The European Union should mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the US Presidential election,’ Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said. ‘Let us be very clear — the European Union is an enemy of free speech and has no authority of any kind to dictate how we campaign.’

“Jordan is also holding US leaders responsible and slapped the State Department with subpoenas to learn about the Administration’s communication with the EU about this matter. ‘The silence from the pro-censorship Biden-Harris Administration is deafening—you would think censorship of American speech by foreign governments would be a step too far even for them,’ Jordan’s spokesman told The Post.

“Jordan’s harshly worded missive is part of a larger effort from members of Congress to push back against censorship. Over the last year, the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government began investigating ‘to what extent the Executive Branch has coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor lawful speech.’ ‘In furtherance of our oversight, the Select Subcommittee has examined how other governments, including the European Union (EU), have sought to censor speech online,’ one of their reports noted. While members of Congress cannot investigate foreign governments, they can defend American companies and protect them by publicly pushing back against censorship.”

The censorship employed by the US government and its collusion with the social media are appalling. Note the next articles. 

Europe, Biden and Harris in Cahoots to Censor Free Speech

On August 20, 2024, the Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by Professor Jonathan Turley:

“… Now, that very right [of freedom of speech] is again under attack from another European government, which is claiming the right to censor what Americans are allowed to say about politics, science and other subjects. Indeed, the threat from the European Union may succeed in curtailing American freedom to an extent that the Axis powers could not have imagined. They may win, and our leaders have not said a thing yet about it.

“… One of the greatest threats to free speech today is the European Digital Services Act. The act bars speech that is viewed as ‘disinformation’ or ‘incitement.’… In Europe, free speech is in free fall. Germany, France, the United Kingdom and other countries have eviscerated free speech by criminalizing speech deemed inciteful or degrading to individuals or groups...

“According to polling, only 18 percent of Germans feel free to express their opinions in publicFifty-nine percent of Germans do not even feel free expressing themselves in private among friends. Only 17 percent feel free to express themselves on the internet… there is now a massive censorship bureaucracy in Europe and the desire to silence opposing voices has become insatiable.

“Some in this country have the same taste for speech-regulation. After Elon Musk bought Twitter and dismantled most of the company’s censorship program, many on the left went bonkers. That fury only increased when Musk released the ‘Twitter files,’ confirming the long-denied coordination and support by the government in targeting and suppressing speech. In response, Hillary Clinton and other Democratic figures turned to Europe and called upon them to use their Digital Services Act to force censorship against Americans.

“The EU immediately responded by threatening Musk with confiscatory penalties against not just his company but himself. He would have to resume massive censorship or else face ruin… The anti-free speech movement had finally found the one man who could not be bullied, coerced or threatened into submission. Musk’s defiance has only magnified the unrelenting attacks against him in the media, academia and government…

“This campaign recently came to a head when Musk had the audacity to interview former president Donald Trump. In anticipation of the interview, one of the most notorious anti-free speech figures in the world went ballistic. European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton issued a threatening message to Musk…

“To recap, the EU is now moving to force censorship upon American citizens to meet its own demands of what is false, demeaning or inciting… Biden and Harris are not displeased with but supportive of letting the EU do what they are barred from doing under our ConstitutionThis administration is arguably the most anti-free speech government since John Adams signed the Sedition Act. They have supported a massive system of censorship, blacklisting and targeting of opposing voices. Democratic members have given full-throated support for censorship, including pushing social media companies to expand in areas ranging from climate control to gender identity.

“So, after only 80 years, our leaders are silent as a European government threatens to reduce our political speech to the lowest common denominator, which they will set according to their own values. Not a shot will be fired as Biden and Harris simply yield our rights to a global governing system… If free speech is truly the ‘indispensable right’ of all Americans, we need to treat this threat as an attack on our very existence. It is not only the rawest form of foreign intervention into an election, but a foreign attack on our very freedoms…”

First, the USA is destroyed from the inside, then it will be destroyed from the outside.

Facebook Censures Promotion for “Reagan” Movie

Breitbart wrote on August 15:

“After actor Dennis Quaid accused Facebook of censoring promotional content for his upcoming movie Reagan, the social media giant has admitted to ‘incorrectly’ rejecting ads for the movie… ‘While there are no restrictions on this page that would prevent the admins from posting, we did identify a handful of ads from this account that were incorrectly rejected,’ a Facebook spokesperson told the outlet. ‘This happened because our automated systems mistakenly determined that content about President Reagan required prior authorization in accordance with our policies for ads about Social Issues, Elections or Politics. This was a mistake and the restriction on the ads has been lifted.’

“Earlier this week, Dennis Quaid accused Facebook of censoring Reagan marketing content as well as twice suspending the movie’s official Facebook page. The apparent efforts to censor Reagan come during a presidential election year — a time when left-wing Silicon Valley giants have censored content that they believe will hurt Democrats. The 2020 election saw widespread  censorship of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop report as well as the banning of then-President Donald Trump’s social media accounts. As Breitbart News reported, a recent study conducted by the Media Research Center (MRC) has uncovered 39 instances of Facebook interfering with U.S. elections since 2008.”

Social Media, including Facebook, Google and others, continue their dirty procedures of censoring “unpopular” content. Facebook’s “explanations” don’t hold any water. Note the next article. 

Facebook’s Explanation Doubtful 

Fox News wrote on August 16:

“‘Reagan’ star Dennis Quaid responded on Tuesday to Facebook’s explanation for why it was throttling efforts to boost marketing of his new biopic about the 40th president, suggesting it didn’t hold water.

“At first, Facebook reportedly wouldn’t allow the movie’s marketing team to boost a post with Quaid’s picture promoting the movie through a paid advertisement. Also, Facebook suspended the movie’s official account on at least two occasions over clips it posted of Quaid discussing the movie in media appearances. The marketers said they were told by Facebook that the post ‘mentions politicians or is about sensitive issues that could influence public opinion, how people vote and may impact the outcome of an election or pending legislation.’ But, as Quaid pointed out to Fox News’ Trace Gallagher, Reagan died in 2004 and certainly isn’t eligible for another term in office.

“‘It seems to be automated that way for some reason. No one’s responsible for that,’ Quaid said. ‘This happened several times, actually, and we were suspended two days in a row … The last time I heard, Reagan hasn’t been on the ballot in 40 years and not only that, he’s not even eligible to run because he served two terms.’..;

“Quaid also told podcast giant Joe Rogan this week that he’s all too aware of social media, in his view, trying to cancel conservative viewpoints

“Quaid did acknowledge that after he and the film’s production team sent a letter to Facebook complaining about the targeting, the big tech platform admitted it was a ‘mistake,’ though he didn’t appear too convinced by the excuse. ‘… They said that yesterday because we put out a letter to it in an article on Newsweek. And they said they made a mistake. It was – their automatic systems had detected it.’ ‘Oh, how convenient,’ Rogan replied sarcastically, before going on to suggest that ‘rogue’ far-left employees might have had something to do with the ‘mistake.’ 

“‘Reagan’ will be released in theaters nationwide Aug. 30.”

Quaid’s concerns are well-founded.

Musk Quits in Brazil Because of Censorship

The Guardian wrote on August 17:

“Elon Musk announced on Saturday that the social media platform X would close its operations in Brazil ‘effective immediately’ due to what it called ‘censorship orders’ from the Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes

“X claims Moraes secretly threatened one of its legal representatives in the South American country with arrest if it did not comply with legal orders to take down some content from its platform. Brazil’s supreme court, where Moraes has a seat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment…”

Censorship all over the place…

Kennedy One of the Most Disruptive Independent Candidates in Decades

Fox News wrote on August 16:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is denying reports that he sought a position in a hypothetical Democratic administration. Kennedy was accused this week of reaching out to Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’ team to discuss the possibility of working inside a future Cabinet — the claim appeared in a report from the Washington Post.  ‘That’s fake news. I didn’t ask Kamala Harris for a Cabinet position but I’ve reached out to all the candidates. I’ve met with some,’ Kennedy told guests during his ‘TikTok Town Hall’ live-streamed event… Kennedy said he wasn’t sure he would be able to serve in a Harris-Walz administration unless ‘a lot of different changes’ were made… Kennedy was previously recorded on video speaking to former President Trump during a meeting at last month’s convention in Milwaukee, in which Trump appeared to allude to potential positions in his administration.

“Nevertheless, Kennedy has continued to campaign and make regular media appearances with the expectation that he can win the election, the report notes, though he has left open the possibility of meeting with or getting out of the way of either Harris or Trump if they share an openness about his vision for the country. Polling has shown Kennedy is one of the most disruptive independent candidates in decades in both breadth of appeal and commitment of his supporters.”

Democratic Party Much Different Now

Newsmax wrote on August 15:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he has ‘no plans to endorse’ Vice President Kamala Harris… Kennedy began by attacking the modern Democratic Party as being ‘unrecognizable’ to the one of his father, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, lamented that he could not ‘reconcile’ how far Democrats have drifted from his values. ‘The Democratic Party of RFK and JFK was the party of civil liberties and free speech. VP Harris’ is the party of censorship, lockdowns, and medical coercion,’ Kennedy wrote. ‘Kennedy Democrats were anti-war. Kamala’s is riddled with neocon warmongers. The RFK/JFK Dems were allies of Main Street, cops, firefighters, and working people. VP Harris’ is the Party of Big Tech, Big Pharma and Wall Street.’

“Kennedy has endured a difficult week after his removal from the New York state presidential ballot and a petition being circulated in Pennsylvania to have him removed. Kennedy has accused the Democrats of being the party of ‘lawfare’ and wrote that Harris is ‘scared to debate and can’t survive an unscripted interview.’ ‘I’ve spent years battling government corruption and lies. VP Harris spent years gaslighting Americans about the health of our Commander in Chief. I have no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for President. I do have a plan to defeat her,’ Kennedy wrote.”

The Anti-Democratic Democratic Party

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on August 19:

“The Democrats continue to run to course — manipulating — most recently, Joe Biden out of the presidential race. Their history for the last decade has been one of manipulation and dirty tricks, false promises and anti-democratic actions. They campaign claiming Trump is out to destroy democracy when at the same time can’t seem to find enough anti-democratic ways to behave themselves.

“Dirty tricks have long been a part of politics, but in the last decade the Democrats have turned the machine up to eleven. The year 2015 was a pivotal one in that it presented to the American people a massive plot to undermine a candidate for president based solely on direct lies. Russiagate was comprehensive in scope, touching not only on candidate Trump but also on his advisors and key staff. The plot was so outrageous — Trump was an actual Russian agent, a living Manchurian candidate — that it had to be true…

“Clinton was not necessarily the only loser in 2016. ‘The seeds,’ writes the New York Times, ‘of President Biden’s reaction to the Democratic Party’s 2024 crisis of confidence in him were planted in that manipulation to send her to the head of the ticket. It was in October 2015 when Biden, then vice president, announced in the White House Rose Garden that he would not run against Hillary Clinton… What was left unsaid was the manipulation applied to Biden to not take his case to the people but instead allow President Obama, Clinton and others in the Obama camp to force him to the sidelines. He was manipulated into not running to clear the path for Hillary…

“Trump’s 2016 win was not the end of the Democrats’ manipulation and dirty tricks, simply the beginning of another phase. In addition to the remnants of the whole extended Russiagate plot, Trump faced down the Emoluments Clause, two impeachments, claims Trump gave away intelligence info to Putin in [the] Helsinki hoax, Putin is Trump’s spy handler hoax and Trump has been an agent since the 1980s hoax, and a bizarre celebrity Twitter contest about the best way to decapitate Trump… The intent was to try and drive Trump from office either indirectly by humiliating him or directly, by claiming he was mentally ill and the 25th Amendment needed to be invoked. If he could not be actually removed from office, the manipulations were hoped to neuter the president politically even as he still sat in the Oval Office. That they all failed was not for a lack of trying on the part of the Democrats.

“If the 2024 presidential campaign started the day Trump left office in January 2021, so did the Democratic manipulation campaign against him, this round built on lawfare, the manipulation of actual laws to force Trump into court, convict him as a felon, maybe bankrupt him, certainly embarrass him, all in hopes of driving him from the race or at a minimum weaken his hold on large numbers of voters. Though several cases will likely drag on through the election, the cases concluded accomplished none of their goals. If anything, Trump the martyr is stronger as a candidate than ever before. What matters here is the ongoing pattern of dirty tricks and manipulations, not whether they succeed, or, like the impeachments and the trials, fail in their larger political purposes.

“The 2020 election between Trump and Biden was close, so close that the appearance of a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden which showed both Hunter and Joe tangled up in foreign money could have swung the race. Democrats again responded with a manipulation, another full-on falsehood, with 52 Deep State personnel writing an open letter claiming the laptop was likely Russian disinformation designed to discredit Biden and smear the tail end of the campaign… [and with] canceling Twitter accounts which sought to tell the truth…

“The next Manipulation Grande started in the 2020 campaign, hiding a very old and senile Joe Biden from voters so they did not know what kind of man they were actually voting for. In the 2020 campaign the broad excuse was Covid… and no one suspected it was all flim-flam to hide Biden’s growing dementia

“In fighting for his political life, Biden cited the ‘fact’ that he won the primaries for the 2024 election… Biden painted his stand as critical to his larger defense of American democracy. ‘How can we stand for democracy in our nation if we ignore it in our own party?’ Then he did because he was told to do so by his master’s voice…”

The political manipulations in the USA are just sickening.

Biden and the Democratic Hypocrites

The New York Post wrote on August 20:

The Joe Biden show is officially in reruns. Biden even got bumped out of prime time. His speech started at 11:28 p.m., in the hour when old sitcoms run in syndication. That wasn’t an accident. The first night of the Democratic convention was losers night, featuring Biden and Hillary Clinton…

“Democrats lined up an endless list of speakers ahead of Biden to push his speech back as far as they could, so as few people as possible would hear it. The speech itself was written as a celebration of Biden’s accomplishments — some real, many imagined — as president. The actual nominee was an afterthought. Biden spoke of Kamala Harris only as someone who helped him — not for anything she ever did on her own. If the Harris campaign had any hopes that Joe would let them get distance from his record, they were dashed….

“Amid the usual rants about January 6, there were the usual bald-faced lies, such as the claim that the Biden-Harris administration ‘helped schools get back open’ after COVID, when in fact they ignored the recommendations of scientists to side with the teachers unions in protracting school closures. They expect us to nod along, knowing it’s not true…

“Of course, the pretense of one big happy family had to be maintained. Biden denied that he was angry at the Democrats who forced him off the ticket. Nancy Pelosi stood in the front row holding a ‘We Love Joe’ sign, just weeks after wielding the knife. She came to bury Joe, not to praise him.

“Biden stayed mostly on script, leaning on the prepared text to keep him from wandering off. But he was shouty and glowering as a result. By the end, nobody would wonder why Democrats decided they needed to dump [him]. The amazing thing is that they made it as far as July pretending he was up to the job.”

Fox News added on August 20:

“Along the way, Biden was subjected to such over-the-top tributes and ‘tears of joy’…  from many of the same people who not long ago were colluding  behind closed doors to kick him to the curb

“Weeks after orchestrating the plot that led to Biden’s exit, Pelosi suggested his likeness belonged on Mt. Rushmore. The two have reportedly not spoken since the incident, and the president remains ‘unhappy’ about events, according to reporting from the New York Times… With friends like these, it’s no wonder the Bidens are jetting off to California rather than sticking around Chicago

“For all the talk about Harris’ ‘joy’ and the Democrats’ momentum, remember this: Joe Biden beat a talented field of candidates in 2020, including the person vying to replace him. The last Harris presidential run was so lackluster she dropped out in December 2019 – more than a month before the first voters were cast..”

Biden Engaged in Impeachable Conduct

Newsmax wrote on August 19:

“The House’s three-committee impeachment inquiry released a report Monday morning finding President Joe Biden has ‘engaged in impeachable conduct,’ including an ‘abuse of power’ when he was vice president and ‘obstruction of justice’ as president to cover his family’s ‘global influence peddling racket’ to defraud the United States. ‘The totality of the corrupt conduct uncovered by the committees is egregious,’ says the executive summary of the 292 page impeachment report released by the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees. ‘President Joe Biden conspired to commit influence peddling and grift. In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his abuse of office, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family.’…

“Monday’s report does not conclude the Biden impeachment inquiry, but provides an official summary of the ‘evidence gathered to date’ to give to the House and Senate a roadmap in the event Congress moves forward with an impeachment of the president. Just days after the July 13 assassination attempt on Republican nominee Donald Trump, Biden quit the race and handed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, potentially rendering a Biden impeachment moot in these final months of his term…”

The New York Post added on August 19:

“The report… is… also a reminder of how hard Democrats and the media propped up Joe despite all the evidence of unethical behavior. Keep that in mind as they prop up Kamala.”

Planned Parenthood Helps With Abortions

NBC Chicago wrote on August 20:

“A Planned Parenthood mobile clinic located near the Democratic Convention in Chicago advertised free medication abortions, vasectomies and emergency contraception during the first two days of the DNC… The mobile clinic was located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, near the site of the United Center and the DNC, from noon to 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Days 1 and 2 of the convention.

“As of Monday morning, Planned Parenthood wrote in a press release that ‘all appointments have been booked’ and encouraged patients to make an appointment at a Planned Parenthood of Illinois health center in Chicago by visiting [their website]. ‘As people from across the country travel to Illinois this week, we are proud to demonstrate what is possible when policies truly support accessible reproductive health care,’ said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, in a statement.”

npr wrote on August 20:

“Planned Parenthood… offered prescriptions for abortion pills – which she says patients could take on site or take home, under Illinois law. Illinois, where Democrats control state government, has become a major access point for patients seeking abortions.

“Planned Parenthood purchased the RV in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which allowed most of Illinois’ neighboring states to heavily restrict abortion.

Still, in the current political reality, abortion is a key issue that galvanizes each party’s base.

“In a statement, National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called the Planned Parenthood clinic ‘disgusting,’ and said it was ‘not surprising,’ given the Democratic Party’s support for abortion rights. Meanwhile, at the convention, Democrats are showcasing the stories of women who’ve been affected by abortion bans – including a rape victim and patients facing medical complications. The mobile Planned Parenthood clinic continues for a second day, providing medication abortion through late Tuesday night.”

D. Vance Complains About German Immigrants

t-online wrote on August 19:

“In a recently surfaced video clip from 2021, J.D. Vance blames immigrants from Germany, Italy and Ireland for high crime rates. In the 19th century, these formed ‘ethnic enclaves’ in the USA and fought each other. At a press conference over the weekend, Vance explained his remarks – citing Martin Scorsese’s film ‘Gangs of New York’ as a source: ‘That’s what I’m talking about, these ethnic enclaves in the middle of our country!’

“Especially in the 19th century, many people from Italy, Ireland and Germany fled to the USA. There had already been a wave of anti-Catholic and racist violence, especially in New York. Vance himself has Irish ancestors, Donald Trump has German ancestors.”

The World Against Israel

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 14:

Germany joined a chorus of international disapproval for the actions of Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after he led hundreds of religious ultra-nationalists to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The complex is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism, because two Jewish temples once stood there. Ben-Gvir… has previously criticized the agreement with the Muslim authorities that administer it as ‘racist’ and anti-Jewish. Usually, Jews and other non-Muslims are only allowed to visit at specific times and without displaying religious symbols or praying at the site

“During his Tuesday visit to the site, which Jews refer to as Temple Mount, Ben-Gvir had called for Jewish prayers to be permitted there. Joined by hundreds of mostly religious and ultra-nationalist Jews, Ben-Gvir also spoke out again against negotiations with Hamas about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory… [His] visit… drew sharp condemnation not only from Muslim-majority countries but also the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

“Germany said Ben-Gvir’s actions represented a provocation in the already tense situation. ‘We expect the Israeli government to stop such deliberate provocations. Particularly in the current situation, such playing with fire is extremely dangerous and further endangers security in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel,’ a spokeswoman for Germany’s Foreign Office told a press briefing on Wednesday. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X that the bloc ‘strongly condemns the provocations.’ Meanwhile, France’s foreign ministry issued a statement: ‘This new provocation is unacceptable.’

“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ben Gvir showed ‘blatant disregard’ for the status quo at the compound… ‘The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of radical Israelis, including ministers, under police protection is a provocation that violates the historical status of Jerusalem and will further escalate the tension in our region,’ the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN opposed ‘any efforts to change the status quo within the holy sites… This sort of behaviour is unhelpful and it is unduly provocative,’ he added.”

All used the term “provocation,” as if they had agreed on using this term. Turkey’s comments border on the ludicrous. And why should the Temple Mount, on which the two temples stood, be prohibited for Jews? Note the next article.

No Status Quo on the Temple Mount

Israel Today wrote on August 18:

“Nearly three thousand Jews visited the Temple Mount last week on Tuesday, Tisha B’av, which commemorates the destruction of the two ancient Jewish Temples. But it was the visits to the Temple Mount by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister for the Negev and the Galilee Yitzhak Wasserlauf that set off another firestorm of controversy. Ben-Gvir said during the visit that the status quo had changed and that Jews could now pray at the site. Critics condemned the visit and remarks as provocative, warning they could derail the currently ongoing hostage talks in Doha, Qatar, or even ignite the Muslim world. They claimed Ben-Gvir violated the status quo on the Temple Mount.

“But according to Yehuda Glick, a former Knesset member and currently chairman of the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation, in reality there is no status quo. ‘Jews have been praying publicly and regularly on the Temple Mount for the last decade,’ he said. The only difference, he told JNS, was that until now no one acknowledged it or said anything about it. What made Ben-Gvir’s visit different was his official announcement that prayer on the Temple Mount is permitted, he added…

“While officially Israel denies any changes have been made to the status quo, it no longer exists as formulated by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967. According to Glick, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is paying lip service to it, ‘but is totally supportive of the changes that are happening.’… Ben-Gvir’s office [stated] that as national security minister he could set policy on the Temple Mount and had determined that Jews could pray there… Ben-Gvir, his followers and many other Israeli Jews believe the time has come to stand up to foreign abuse and to assert full sovereignty over the Temple Mount…

“The idea that freedom of worship applies everywhere except for Jews on the Temple Mount is viewed by many as preposterous and hypocritical—perhaps even anti-Semitic…”

Ultimately, the Jews WILL occupy the Temple Mount and build the third temple there.

The Shroud of Turin—Genuine?

The Sun wrote on August 20:

The famed Shroud of Turin- a piece of linen imprinted with the image of a bearded man – has been a mystery for centuries. Believers claim Jesus was wrapped in the shroud before he was buried and that the image is him, while others have disagreed and branded it a hoax. But new evidence suggests the cloth was made around 2,000 years ago – the same period when he was said to have lived and died… Italian researchers used specialist x-ray technology to examine the linen sheet and determine its age. The Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council studied eight small samples of fabric to uncover tiny details of the linen’s structure and cellulose patterns. They used specific ageing metrics like temperature and humidity to determine the results.

“Researchers in 1988 claimed to have debunked the relic and proved it was from the Middle Ages – hundreds of years after Jesus. But Dr Liberato De Caro, lead author of the latest study, said the old research – which used carbon dating to estimate the shroud was made between the years 1260 and 1390 – was unreliable. He explained: ‘Fabric samples are usually subject to all kinds of contamination, which cannot be completely removed from the dated specimen.’…

“The image on the shroud appears to show a man with sunken eyes who is between 5ft 7in to 6ft tall. Some claim markings on the body resemble horror crucifixion wounds. Signs of wounds from a thorny crown on the head, injuries to the arms and shoulders and lacerations to the back have all been reported by researchers… The Turin Shroud was first displayed publicly in 1350 and since 1578 has been preserved in the royal chapel of the cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Turin, Italy – hence its name.”

Apart from the age determination using the [sometimes indeed unreliable] radio carbon method, there are other reasons why the Shroud of Turin – even if it were “genuine” – could NOT depict Jesus Christ. Please read our Q&A, https://www.eternalgod.org/is-the-shroud-of-turin-authentic

Huge Earthquakes Strike in Russia and Japan

The Sun wrote on August 17:

“A HUGE earthquake has hit off the eastern coast of Russia with a tsunami warning issued. The 7.2 magnitude quake struck around 27 miles deep in Kamchatka… It struck around 8.10pm UK time…  Many major quakes have occurred in the Kamchatka region over the years. Two in 1923 and 1952 both sparked large tsunamis…

“Just days ago a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Japan… on the southwestern island of Kyushu. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said: ‘Tsunamis will strike repeatedly… Please do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted.’” 

Christ said that in these end times, we will hear more and more about powerful earthquakes all over the world. 

Earthquakes and Volcanoes in Russia

CNN wrote on August 18:

“A volcano has erupted following a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off Russia’s east coast, spurting a column of ash miles into the air… The Shiveluch volcano is around 280 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a coastal city with a population of about 180,000 that lies in Russia’s eastern region of Kamchatka. ‘According to visual evaluations, the ash column is rising as high as 8 kilometers (5 miles) above the sea level,’ TASS reported Sunday morning local time, adding the volcano had released a gush of lava.”

USA Today wrote on August 18:

“A volcano erupted in Russia hours before a magnitude 7 earthquake shook the ground near the country’s east coast, according to the United States Geological Survey.”

Allegedly, these events are unrelated. That is extremely difficult to believe. 

Asteroid Bombshell

The Sun wrote on August 216:

“SPACE scientists have traced back the origins of the cataclysmic asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The ruinous rock – thought to be at least six miles wide – likely cannoned into earth from the outer solar system, it’s been discovered… It’s then thought to have been nudged out of orbitpossibly due to a crash with another rock, sending it on an apocalyptic collision course with earth.

“The impact crater formed after the rock slammed into earth… is buried… in Mexico.  A layer across earth was caused by the blow…  It’s also been proposed that a comet wiped out the dinosaurs, but Fischer-Godde says his team’s findings rule out that hypothesis.

“Impact from the asteroid 66 million years ago made the Chicxulub crater nearly 150 miles in diameter, leading to devastating consequences for life on earth at the time. The blow threw huge amounts of debris in the air and caused massive tidal waves that would storm over the American continents… ‘A huge blast wave and heatwave went out and it threw vast amounts of material up into the atmosphere.’ It’s thought sunlight would’ve been restricted for at least a decade…

“Fischer-Godde pointed out that although his findings offer rare insight into the planet’s past, it also comes as an alert for earth’s future. He said: ‘If there’s ever going to be a C-type asteroid on an Earth-crossing orbit, we have to be very careful. Because it might be the last one we witness.’”

The article’s suggestion that more than just one huge asteroid was involved, is quite interesting. So is the warning at the end of the article. The Bible speaks of terrible end-time catastrophes, with stars falling down from heaven.  

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.

This Week in the News

Germans Duped

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 9: 

“German media have reported on the shift in the political mood in the US over the past two weeks… The new candidate, Kamala Harris, is seen to be scoring points against the Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump.

“[According to a new survey,] a whopping 77% [of Germans] said they believe Vice President Kamala Harris is more suitable for the presidency, while only 10% favor Donald Trump.”

This ignorance is astounding. But as in the past, Germans have been the victims of propaganda in so many respects. This explains why Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are still very popular there, as their failures have simply been unreported. Of course, the same kind of ignorance prevails in the USA.

The Stupid Propaganda of the Bild Newspaper

Bild Online published on August 7 the following “commentary” from Josef Wagner in his daily column, “Post von Wagner”:

“Dear Tim Walz, you are my dream American. Am I mistaken if I believe that the election campaign is starting all over again with you? You are the candidate for vice-presidency. I like your American life. You joined the National Guard at 17, then taught high school for 20 years. You taught social studies and physical education. Your team won the Minnesota state championship. I like how you train with a Cappy on the school’s asphalt courts. Your wife Gwen teaches at the same school.

“I like how you talk about the dark hours of your marriage. ‘We went through the hell of infertility’. Your daughter was born using artificial insemination. You called her Hope. Tim Walz is an American who mows lawns and has a dog and a cat. He likes to laugh. He used to go hunting. He has been fighting the gun lobby ever since children were shot in schools. He’s a normal American. Finally one.

“Yours sincerely, F. J. Wagner.”

Of course nothing is said about his many wrong extreme ideas and actions and his political shortcomings. As we have reported, Walz is not a “normal” American. If he is one, then “Good night.” But that’s how the Germans are supposed to be taken for stupid!

Germany’s Major Parties Contentless

Die Welt wrote on August 9:

“Wages are too low, many jobs in industry are at risk: the economic problems in the East are great. Only the established parties say very little about this before the three state elections. Instead, contentless posters dominate the election campaign. This is likely to take its toll… The fact that the [right-wing] AfD is ahead in the election polls… only makes things even more worrying.

“… a study… shows how striking the differences between East and West still are almost 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall… In addition to migration policy, [economic issues] are election-decisive topics… Going into the election campaign with these contents actually makes sense. After all, what is ‘closer to the people’ than their own work and pay? Instead, the campaigns of most parties are characterized by a lack of content

“Only the posters of the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance [which emerged from the left] and those of the AfD address social and economic issues such as pensions, daycare costs, which directly affect many… The scenario according to which the extreme fringes getting most votes in all three state elections is becoming more and more realistic…”

A change in Germany’s political landscape is overdue. Note the next articles.

In the East, Höcke With the AfD in the Lead

Bild Online wrote on August 9th:

“Shock for the CDU. The Christian Democrats do not only want to provide the prime minister in all three eastern elections in September (Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg), but they also want to be ahead everywhere as a party. But according to a current survey, it doesn’t look like this in Thuringia. According to the ‘ZDF Politbarometer’, right-winger Björn Höcke (52) and the AfD are nine percentage points ahead of the CDU! 30 percent would vote for the AfD, only 21 percent for the Union…

“The traffic light parties [of the government] are far behind. The political barometer sees the SPD at seven percent, the Greens would miss out on entering the state parliament with three percent. The FDP is not even listed separately…”

Björn Höcke the next Prime Minister in Thuringia? That would be an interesting development, but it is far from certain.

German Court Sides with “Compact” and Rules Against Nancy Faeser

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 15:

“German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned the Compact magazine in mid-July, describing the publication as a ‘central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene.’… In response, Compact filed a lawsuit and an urgent motion against the immediate enforcement of the ban… In the court ruling, the judges raised doubts about the proportionality of the ban and allowed Compact to resume publishing… The lifting of the ban is provisional pending a final verdict…

“Compact-publisher Jürgen Elässer celebrated the provisional verdict as a victory. In a statement on X, he promised…  to restart publishing as soon as possible. In the meantime, Nancy Faeser faced widespread criticism, including from press associations.

“The German Journalism Association (DJV) and Reporters Without Borders both described the provisional ruling as a positive signal for the freedom of the press… A final ruling in the Compact lawsuit is not expected for another two or three years.”

This is a huge defeat for highly unpopular Nancy Faeser who should resign immediately. Of course, she will not do so. In this context, you might want to view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Germany Crushes Freedom of Speech and of the Press.”

“If You Want Peace, Prepare For War”

With the above headline, Bild Online published the following comment on August 10:

“It is absurd: the state election campaign in the east is currently becoming a peace election campaign. Although… there will definitely be no decision made about an end to the Ukraine war, AfD, Wagenknecht and Co. are outdoing each other with new demands to accommodate Putin. Even top CDU candidates want less help for Ukraine.

“Rather, Germany should ensure that the warmonger Putin is really stopped. In order to be able to credibly counter Russian threats, we must be prepared for an emergency. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case, and not just in the Bundeswehr: … there is a shortage of nurses, carers and doctors. Who should take care of our patients and nursing cases if thousands of wounded people from partner countries have to be cared for every day? Our infrastructure (rails, highways, bridges) is already crumbling in peacetime. How is it supposed to handle supplies for the front or transporting the wounded during fights in Eastern Europe?

“The ancient Romans already heeded the wisdom: If you want peace, prepare for war. Responsible politics should now do exactly that and finally begin to upgrade civil defense.”

Unfortunately, the wisdom of the Romans only led to more and more wars. Nothing has changed to this day.

Scholz Pleads for Cease-Fire

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 11:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday expressed concern about the danger of a regional war in the Middle East during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… The chancellor stressed the need to break ‘the destructive spiral of retaliatory violence, reduce tensions and work constructively for de-escalation.’ He called on the parties in the conflict to reach an agreement on a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas in the enclave.

“Scholz said ‘an end to the war in Gaza would be a decisive step toward a regional de-escalation.’ He said ‘many military goals’ in Israel’s offensive against Hamas have been achieved. Israel has said that it intends to destroy Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities in Gaza. Scholz stressed that human suffering in the Gaza Strip continued to be ‘enormous.’”

That left-wing Olaf Scholz would plead for a cease-fire is no surprise.

“Scholz Sees Paris as Inspiration”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 9:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that the Olympic Games in Paris have been an ‘inspiration’ for a future German Olympic bid… Scholz extended ‘massive congratulations to our French friends’ for a Games which he said embodied the ‘spirit of Olympic excellence, fairness and cooperation.’

“Describing those values as ‘extremely important in the world in which we live,’ Scholz said he hoped the experience of Paris 2024 could be ‘contagious’ back in Germany…”

No surprise that left-wing Chancellor Olaf Scholz would make such ridiculous comments about a scandal-ridden UNFAIR “sporting” event where biological males posing as women (two male boxers in the women’s competition received the gold medal!!!) and the promotion of the transgender and other weird sexual preferences—called “abominations” in the Bible—were endorsed and applauded. But it shows the state of affairs Germany is in with such appalling and unbiblical leadership.

The Wacky Pagan Olympics Closing Ceremony

The Daily Mail wrote on August 12:

“Hollywood legend Tom Cruise jumped from the roof of the Stade de France tonight in a death-defying stunt during an extravagant handover ceremony in Paris. [Cruise was handed the Olympic flag on Sunday and rode off with it on a motorcycle as it made its way across the globe to Los Angeles. In a cinematically filmed video, Cruise rode through the streets of Paris onto a jet, which he parachuted out of into the City of Angels.] The switch across the Atlantic kicked off with live performances from Californian natives… on Venice Beach [offering a taste of what is to come at the 2028 Los Angeles Games].

“It came after a wacky show of artist performances, including a composer playing on a piano suspended in the air, a ‘golden voyager’ accompanied by dozens of dancers and many acclaimed French musicians. The show stopping ceremony earlier saw a ‘golden bee-man’ descend into the stadium, as well as a floating pianist and ‘toilet roll mummies’ dancing around, as the closing ceremony shaped up to be as strange as the start of the games.

“After the golden voyager was lowered to the stage from the roof, a cloaked individual presented them with a Greek flag, to represent the Games ancient origin. The voyager was later joined on stage by some acrobats who were dressed as alien-like creatures who helped him discover the Olympic rings which were hoisted from the stadium floor. French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim then delivered a rendition of Hymn To Apollo

“The [golden voyager] performed acrobatic twists as a goddess figure rose out of one of the so-called nation states…”

Tom Cruise’s performance was certainly a, if not the, highlight in an otherwise wacky closing ceremony, as Celine Dion was a, if not the, highlight at the end of the wacky opening ceremony. If the Olympics are to be a pagan celebration of strange-looking weird aliens for pagan gods, then forget about it. (Apollo is known as the Roman god Sol—the sun god). When Christ rules the earth, something like this will certainly not be allowed.

Changing the German Constitution?

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 10:

“The German government wants to incorporate the protection of sexual identity into the constitution, but conservative lawmakers are against the idea. Amending the constitution is only possible with a two-thirds majority.. The abbreviation LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, and queer people, but also includes those with other identities, such as people who are intersex, asexual, bisexual or transgender… Currently, article 3 of the German constitution states: ‘No person shall be favored or disfavored because of gender, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith or religious or political opinions.’ Sexual identity is, therefore, not explicitly mentioned.

“… the three governing parties (ISPD, Green, FDP) do not hold two-thirds of the seats in parliament, meaning they need the support of the largest opposition parties… these parties (CDU and CSU) don’t think much of the idea… [Of course, neither does the AfD, the largest opposition party in some states in Germany. But as usual, the mainstream media such as Deutsche Welle conveniently ignores even mentioning the AfD. This will backfire one of these days.]

“In Europe, for example, 22 countries recognize same-sex marriage, compared to 16 outside of Europe. Same-sex marriages became possible in Germany on October 1, 2017, after years of heated debate… 20 countries worldwide have gender self-determination laws in place…”

This absolute abominable nonsense continues to grow in the Western World.

Seine Unsafe

The Associated Press wrote on August 11:

Three German swimmers became ill after competing in the open water races at the Paris Olympics, though it was not immediately clear if the long-polluted Seine River was responsible for their sickness…

“Concerns about the long-polluted Seine, where swimming had been banned for more than a century because of bacteria-laden waters, came to the forefront after Paris organizers announced plans to hold open water and the swimming portions of triathlon in the iconic river that runs through the heart of the French capital. Despite a massive, expensive cleanup project, some readings showed unacceptable levels of sickness-causing bacteria, leading to changes in the triathlon schedule and cancellation of one of two open water practice sessions scheduled ahead of the men’s and women’s 10-kilometer races.”

God will destroy those who destroy and pollute the earth.

War Between Germany and Russia Coming?

Express wrote on August 12:

“One of Vladimir Putin’s top allies has issued a chilling warning as he threatened to bring Russian tanks to a European capital. Former Russian President Dmitriy  Medvedev threatened to have Russian soldiers march over Berlin in response to what he branded a ‘revanchist’ article published on the German tabloid Bild… ‘where it proudly announces German tanks’ come back to the Russian land. Nazi German tanks entered the Soviet Union in June 1941… as the largest land offensive of World War 2  and in history.

“Writing on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, Medvedev said: ‘In response, we’re going to do everything to bring the newest Russian tanks to Platz d. Republik.’ Platz der Republik, one of Berlin’s most prominent public squares, is home to the Reichstag, the main building hosting the German Bundestag (Parliament).”

Sadly, this is what WILL happen… but not right now.

Russia Prepared to Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons Against Europe

The Sun wrote on August 13:

“RUSSIA’S nuclear hit list includes a ship yard in Cumbria, a factory in Hull and unknown site near Edinburgh, leaked papers have revealed. Some 32 Nato targets were revealed in a Russian Navy briefing seen by the Financial Times. The secret nuclear dossier states Russia could unleash massive preemptive attacks ‘from various directions’ in the event of a conflict with Nato. It shows Russian warships are primed to use tactical nuclear weapons in the early stages of a major conflict. Tactical nuclear weapons have a smaller destructive payload than a strategic nuclear weapons – but would still be devastating. The paper’s authors stressed the advantage of going nuclear early…

“The Kremlin’s Baltic Fleet based at Kaliningrad would target France and Germany, the leaked papers revealed… The maps also showed targets in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and China, North and South Korea and Japan.

“Experts said the maps showed only a tiny fraction of the ‘hundreds of not thousands of targets mapped across Europe.’”

Nuclear Fire Fear

The Sun wrote on August 12:

“TERRIFYING footage has captured thick black smoke billowing from Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant – reigniting fears of another Chernobyl-style disaster in Ukraine. Smoke could be seen pouring out of one of the Ukrainian plant’s cooling towers – with both Kyiv and Moscow blaming the other as the plant remains occupied by the Russians. President Zelensky said Russia was using the plant to blackmail Europe. It has been previously warned the facility – stuck in the middle of the warzone – could trigger a nuclear disaster equal to ‘six Chernobyls’…  

“For now the plant is under control and the fire has been extinguished, but it remains one of the most dangerous flashpoints of war in Ukraine… (The) Nuclear Power Plant was seized by Russia in a firefight in March 2022 after sending in tanks. The world’s eyes have since been on the facility – with international nuke experts regularly warning about the danger posed by the plant…

“Ukraine accused the plant’s Russian occupiers of setting fire to car tyres near the cooling tower, located about a kilometre from the power units. Writing on X, former minister at the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko said while the Kremlin invaders blamed it on a Ukrainian drone, Kyiv-based national nuclear energy company Energoatom claimed it was caused by arson or negligence. The blaze has now been stopped and radiation levels are back within normal limits, meaning Europe can breathe a sigh of relief…

“The Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 – in which one of the Russian plant’s reactors exploded – left nearly 100,000 miles of land uninhabitable, displacing 200,000 people. Those exposed to radiation suffered health problems – including cancer, tumours and depression – for years after…”

Ukraine’s Incursion Into Russia

The Daily Mail wrote on August 13:

“On Tuesday, August 6, around 1,000 brave Ukrainian soldiers supported by a few tanks launched what seemed like a reckless at best – and catastrophic at worst – incursion into Russia’s Kursk region… Now, one week later…, the initial invasion force has been reinforced by thousands more troops backed by Western armour… Volodymyr Zelensky told the world that ‘war was coming home’ to Russia and vowed to ‘kill the Russian terrorists where they are and where they launch their strikes from’…

“More than 120,000 Russian citizens have been forced to flee their homes amid widespread regional evacuations since last Tuesday…  Russia has seen previous small-scale incursions into its territory since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but the foray into the Kursk region marked the largest attack on Russian soil since World War II… there could be as many as 10,000 Ukrainian troops now in Russia.

“… Most experts agree that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia is a two-pronged tactic designed primarily to signal to its Western partners that its military is still a capable fighting force, while also seeking to put Kyiv in a more favourable bargaining position in the event of ceasefire talks ahead of the US presidential election in November…

“As of this morning, however, Moscow’s forces appear to have begun mounting a more robust defence of their territory. Army units, fresh reserves, army aircraft, drone teams and artillery forces have now been funnelled into the conflict to stop Ukrainian armoured mobile groups from moving deeper into Russia.

“… analysts are split on whether the offensive will endure, with many warning the Ukrainians would be sorely outmatched once Russia’s disorganised military command is able to mobilise the requisite resources… but [they] stressed [the Russians] would likely need to withdraw troops from frontline positions in Ukraine to do so.”

Immigration Has Destroyed the British Fabric

The Telegraph wrote on August 10:

“Award-winning historian Dr David Starkey has bemoaned the current state of play in Britain, claiming it has been ‘destroyed’ by Tony Blair and New Labour… Starkey feels many elements of Blair’s 10-year tenure are still evident today. Particularly migration, which surged in the Blair years after he took office in 1997.

“Starkey said the policy model of immigration has destroyed the UK’s fabric… ‘The Britain I grew up in was the most peaceful, the most gentle, homogenous society that has ever existed’, he said. ‘We did not need identity cards. We had extraordinarily low levels of crime. We had such high levels of public trust. That has been destroyed. It has been deliberately destroyed by Tony Blair and New Labour with this absurd notion they were going to force us to become multi-ethnic for good…’

“Starkey is concerned that Britain, now being led by a Labour Government for the first time since the Blair years, may undergo another transition… ‘Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer… Human rights are really nice, aren’t they? But what we’ve got to remember is that the sort of human rights that Starmer represents are the rights of only minorities This is the terrifying thing. Democracy has been stood on its head. Democracy means the rule of the majority.’

“Starmer has been under pressure to shed light on how Labour intends on going about stopping perilous trips across the Channel made by illegal migrants…”

It is indeed true that today, the rights of minorities are being emphasized far too often, while the rights of the majority are forgotten.

Coming in the US—Mass Deportation?

The Associated Press wrote on August 9:

“‘Mass Deportation Now!’ declared the signs at the Republican National Convention, giving a full embrace to Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of migrants in the largest deportation program in American history. Some Republicans aren’t quite ready for that…

“Trump… is pushing the Republican Party towards a bellicose strategy that hearkens back to the 1950s when former President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched a deportation policy known by a racial slur — ‘Operation Wetback.’ Trump…  suggested he would use the National Guard, and possibly even the military, to target between 15 million and 20 million people — though the government estimated in 2022 there were 11 million migrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal permission…

“Trump has worked closely with Stephen Miller, a former top aide who is expected to take a senior role in the White House if Trump wins. Miller describes a Trump administration that will work with ‘utter determination’ to accomplish two goals: ‘Seal the border. Deport all the illegals.’ To accomplish that, Trump would revive travel bans from countries deemed undesirable, such as majority-Muslim countries. He would launch a sweeping operation by deputizing the National Guard to round up immigrants, hold them in massive camps and put them on deportation flights before they could make legal appeals.

“Beyond that, Trump has also pledged to end birthright citizenship — a 125-year-old right in the U.S… The Trump administration, under those plans, could also grind to a halt temporary programs for over 1 million migrants, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Ukrainians and Afghans who fled recent conflicts as well as others who receive temporary protection due to unrest in their home country.”

“The policies would have far-reaching disruptions in major industries like housing and agriculture, including in key battleground states. ‘If the 75,000-plus immigrants who perform the hardest of work in Wisconsin’s dairy and agriculture were gone tomorrow, the state economy would tank,’ said Jorge Franco, the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin.”

It goes without saying that Trump’s plans, if they are correctly described above, would border on the insane, and they would continue to destroy the American economy… The alarming truth is that Stephen Miller, one of the most radical and scrupulous proponents in Trump’s prior government, would probably push for those and other ridiculous concepts.

California’s Huge Homeless Problem

The Associated Press wrote on August 9:

“California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday had a message for local governments: clean up homeless encampments now or lose out on state funding next year… Thursday’s announcement was part of Newsom’s escalating campaign to push local governments into doing more homeless encampment sweeps. Newsom last month ordered state agencies to start clearing encampments on state land. He also pressured local government to do the same, though he cannot legally force them to act…

“California is home to roughly one-third of the nation’s population of homeless people, a problem that has dogged Newsom since he took office. There are thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, and fill parking lots and public parks. The state has spent roughly $24 billion under Newsom’s leadership to clean up streets and house people. That includes at least $3.2 billion in grants given to local government to build shelters, clear encampments and connect homeless people to services as they see fit, Newsom said.

“Those have been unprecedented investments from the state, he added, but his administration will start redirecting that money in January… It’s not the first time Newsom has vowed to cut funding over what he sees as the lackluster efforts from local governments to address homelessness. In 2022, he threatened to withhold $1 billion in homelessness spending from cities and counties over the lack of progress. Last month, his office clawed back a $10-million grant sent to San Diego to build tiny homes because the county didn’t act fast enough.”

USA Today added on August 10:

“Homeless advocates across California say they’re terrified people living without housing are running out of places where they can legally sleep outside. The web of sleeping bans unhoused Californians face is growing more complex, as cities respond differently to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order… While the legality of sleeping bans was tied up in federal courts for years, unhoused residents in the Golden State could not be arrested for sleeping outside if there was nowhere else for them to go. Police no longer have to offer assistance or help them get indoors, and police departments in San Francisco and San Marcos have updated their policy to match what’s allowed under the Supreme Court…

“The San Francisco Police Department told USA TODAY it is enforcing new guidelines released in late July that correspond with the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, and that officers may enforce sleeping bans ‘without first assuring that the City has made offers of available shelter.’ Homeless people living in tents along highways and under overpasses are particularly vulnerable to police sweeps, because Newsom’s order has more power over state-owned land controlled by state agencies like the California Department of Transportation, also known as Caltrans. ‘All this order does is cut off those areas and force people into the municipalities and jurisdictions where they are subject to yet another patchwork of enforcement strategies,’ said Shayla Myers, a lawyer who works on homeless issues with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. ‘It is becoming harder and harder for people to figure out where they can go without breaking the law.’…”

A truly terrible situation with no real solutions in sight. It would take a completely different way of thinking to avoid homelessness in the first place. But with greed, exploitation, promotion of war and its evil consequences and other ungodly activities, this is not on the horizon until Christ returns.

Biden and Harris Responsible for Housing Crisis

Breitbart wrote on August 10:

“Democrats own the housing crisis, as they have infused ‘millions’ into U.S. society via illegal immigration, Dr. Ben Carson, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President Donald Trump, suggested during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily… ‘So, if their prices increase massively, everybody else’s prices are going to increase massively, also,’ he said, pointing to the domino effect, which caused this ‘huge housing issue’ under Democrat leadership.

“Carson also recognized that most homeless individuals either have mental problems or drug addictions…His remarks coincide with those of Arizona U.S. Senate hopeful Kari Lake, who told Breitbart News at the Republican National Convention in July that illegal immigrants are taking a massive toll on the American people — particularly the younger generations. ‘And, even more than that, we have 12 million people who poured in. They have to live somewhere, and the government’s putting them up — sometimes hotels, sometimes they’re giving them subsidies for apartments…  And when you have only so much supply and you have so much demand, prices go up. That’s exactly why housing is unaffordable for young people,’ she added.”

It is truly a vicious cycle. Man may mean well, but the problems faced are insurmountable in today’s society, and man’s “solutions” make matters even worse.

A Harris Presidency Would Be Bad News for Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 8:

“Harris’s willingness to entertain an arms embargo… is not an isolated incident. Over the years, her actions and statements have consistently raised alarms about her commitment to Israel. In February 2019, when Rep. Ilhan Omar used antisemitic tropes by suggesting that American support for Israel was… accusing American Jews of having ‘allegiance to a foreign country,’ Harris’s response was disturbingly tepid. Instead of unequivocally condemning Omar’s statements, Harris expressed concern that the criticism might endanger Omar, thus failing to denounce the antisemitic rhetoric within her party firmly…

“Harris’s support for the Iran nuclear deal  (JCPOA) is another contentious point. In 2015, she supported the agreement, which many critics argue empowers Iran, a significant threat to Israel. Rejoining the JCPOA aligns Harris with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which has increasingly taken a hostile stance toward Israel. This alignment is deeply troubling for those who believe that the deal does not sufficiently prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

“Harris’s approach to diplomacy has often been inconsistent and counterproductive. During a visit to George Mason University in 2021, a student accused Israel of conducting an ‘ethnic genocide in Palestine’. Instead of refuting these baseless claims, Harris emphasized hearing the student’s perspective. At the Munich Security Conference in February 2023, Harris advocated for the establishment of a Palestinian state without adequately addressing the ongoing threat of terrorism from groups like Hamas. Harris’s public comments have sometimes appeared to undermine Israel’s negotiating position. In March 2024, she called for ‘an immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza, which would have effectively provided a lifeline to Hamas…

“Harris’s candidacy reflects a broader and concerning shift within the Democratic Party. The party’s progressive wing, including figures like Bernie Sanders and members of ‘the Squad,’ has increasingly embraced anti-Israel rhetoric. Sanders has compared Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to Hamas leaders, calling Netanyahu a ‘war criminal’ and questioning US support for Israel. This shift is not just rhetorical but also policy-driven. Progressive leaders have called for an end to US military aid to Israel and have pushed for policies that are hostile to Israeli interests. Harris’s alignment with these figures raises severe concerns about the direction of US foreign policy under her leadership.

“Unlike President Joe Biden, who has been seen as a moderate within the Democratic Party and has a long history of solid support for Israel, Harris is more aligned with the progressive wing… This alignment is deeply troubling for those who believe that unwavering support for Israel is crucial to US foreign policy… Harris’s record indicates she will probably not provide the steadfast backing that Israel needs

“Let’s add to the fact that earlier this week, Harris’s selection of Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro as her running mate sparked significant controversy and added to the concerns about her stance on Israel and antisemitism. According to JTA, critics have suggested that Harris’s decision to bypass Shapiro was influenced by progressive elements within the Democratic Party who opposed his strong pro-Israel stance…

“American Jews need to understand definitively that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, and the allies they thought they had within the Democratic Party aren’t as supportive as they once believed…

“In stark contrast, while Donald Trump is unpredictable and controversialhis track record regarding Israel was consistently strong: he facilitated the Abraham Accords, acknowledged the Golan Heights as part of Israel, and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His actions have strengthened Israel’s position and security in the region. Harris, by contrast, could be a disaster for Israel and the Jewish people…”

America’s Military Is Straining

The National News wrote on August 8:

“On Monday, the US confirmed it will start decommissioning USS Nimitz, its oldest nuclear-powered carrier launched in 1975 and one of 10 vessels in its class. The USS John F Kennedy, one of 10 planned Ford class carriers, is now running three years behind schedule and will not be in service until mid-2025. Other carriers in the class, including the USS Enterprise, are also running behind schedule for delivery. The US has about 11 carriers, but only three or four are operational at a given time. This has caused concerns of global gaps in carrier coverage, because of the immense challenge of keeping the huge nuclear-powered ships at sea and their high burden of maintenance… Keeping America’s 11 carrier groups operational at sea can cost more than $20 billion per year.

“In the air defence realm too, the US is seen as lagging… Central to that effort is the Patriot system, optimised to shoot down ballistic missiles that plunge from high altitude at several times the speed of sound… In this context, the US said in June that deliveries of the Patriot system to some countries would be delayed to prioritise Ukraine’s air defences, and has been in talks to transfer some of Israel’s Patriots to Ukraine – in part due to Israel’s robust local air defence production. In August, however, priorities shifted again, with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin saying additional air defences had been sent to the Middle East ahead of an expected massive Iranian strike on Israel… the bigger issue is the fact that we’re using these interceptors that cost millions of dollars to shoot down Houthi drones that cost a fraction of that, in the thousands, so that’s just not a sustainable model…

“The US and allies are currently in the early stages of fielding laser energy weapons that can shoot down drones and potentially even cruise missiles for dollars per shot. There are also drones that hunt drones in the works – but much of the technology is still being tested…”

When nuclear World War III breaks out, the USA will not (be in a position to) fight against its enemies.

EU’s Attempts to Censor Elon Musk

Breitbart wrote on August 12:

“Stepping directly into American domestic politics, the European Union demanded Monday that X owner Elon Musk abide by Brussels’ speech restrictions during his planned uncensored interview with Donald Trump… Thierry Breton, the European Commission’s chief censorship czar, threatened to deploy all powers available to him under the Digital Services Act (DSA) against X if the U.S. presidential candidate breaches EU restrictions on speech… Breton said that because the Trump interview will be broadcast live throughout the EU on X, Brussels will ‘monitor’ the ‘dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.’ The EU censorship chief demanded, therefore, that X implement ‘mitigation measures’…

“The top Eurocrat said that his office will be ‘extremely vigilant’ in looking for any breaches of the DSA speech codes and vowed to ‘make full use of our toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from serious harm.’ According to the EU, ‘interim measures’ can include ‘orders to terminate or remedy alleged infringements,’ meaning that the bloc may demand that Musk remove or censor his interview with the former American president.

“Large platforms found to be in violation of the DSA face fines of up to six per cent of the firm’s ‘total worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial year’ and even face a potential suspension from operating within the European Union. Musk’s X is already under investigation for supposed breaches of the bloc’s ‘disinformation’ policies. Responding to the Frenchman’s letter on Monday, Mr Musk replied ‘Bonjour!’ and added in a separate post, ‘Thierry always reminds me of the French taunter from Monty Python.’”

EU’s conduct would be laughable if it wasn’t frighteningly serious. The march of the EU into dictatorship should be obvious to everybody.

Trump Critical of the EU

Focus wrote on August 12:

“In a conversation with Elon Musk, Donald Trump also expressed his view of the EU: ‘The EU exploits us, while we defend it.’ He also indicated that under him as president, the European states must contribute more financially to NATO. This was one of his favorite topics during his presidency from 2016 to 2020. ‘I said clearly back then: Pay up, or we won’t protect you anymore,’ said Trump in an interview on X.

“Musk also addressed EU Commissioner Thierry Breton’s previous warning not to spread hate content in connection with the Trump interview. Musk called this an ‘attempt at censorship.’”

Some “Bizarre” Claims of Donald Trump?

The Washington Post wrote on August 12:

“Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that a large gathering of plainly evident people who greeted Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in a Detroit airport hangar ‘DIDN’T EXIST.’ ‘Nobody was there,’ the former president claimed on Truth Social, accusing the Harris campaign of using artificial intelligence to superimpose the crowd both on the tarmac and at other rallies. The rally was attended by reporters from The Washington Post and other outlets who observed the large crowd, which was estimated at around 15,000 people

“[Trump also claimed on Truth Social that] Biden will try to reclaim the Democratic nomination. ‘What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden … CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!’ ‘ I hear he’s going to make a comeback at the Democrat convention. He’s going to walk into the room, and he’s going to say, “I want my presidency back. I want another chance to debate Trump. I want another chance,”’ [Trump said in Montana.]”

“Buy a Bible, Become a Terror Suspect”

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on August 13:

“… the Biden administration secretly created a new tripwire: Anything you purchase can be used against you… Federal agencies have long kept an eye on suspicious purchases by Americans considered potential troublemakers… Nowadays, the feds are flagging people who purchase Bibles and ‘other media containing extremist views,’ according to a report by the House Judiciary Committee.

“Technology is propelling new threats to freedom. A March 2024 report by the House Judiciary Committee noted that ‘the decline of cash and the rise of digital payments and e-commerce platforms… As a result, these financial institutions often act as arms of federal law enforcement as they work in coordination with federal law enforcement to identify what transactions and other information is “suspicious” enough to be reported.’

“After the January 6 Capitol clash in 2021, the Biden administration targeted average Americans as if they were would-be terrorists. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) bloated its definitions of ‘suspicious behavior,’ warning banks to track  ‘extremism’ indicators that include ‘transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel to areas with no apparent purpose,’ or ‘the purchase of books (including religious texts),’ the House Judiciary Committee announced in a January report…

“If you bought a gun or ammo since 2021, Team Biden bureaucrats may have automatically classified you as a ‘potential active shooter.’…

“Much of the absurdity begins with entitling bureaucrats to arbitrarily define ‘extremism.’ In Washington, anyone who doesn’t worship government is considered an extremist. Why else would the official list of potential alarm signals include people who shopped at Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods? The Treasury Department formally admitted in February that FinCEN ‘began shortly after January 6’ to track suspicious activity that ‘included terms such as “antifa,” “MAGA,” “Trump,” “Biden,” “Kamala,” “Schumer,” and “Pelosi.”’

“… FBI officials ‘made contact with and provided Bank of America with specific search query terms, indicating that it was ‘interested in all financial relationships’ of BoA customers transacting in Washington D.C. and customers who had made ‘ANY historical purchase’ of a firearm, or who had purchased a hotel, Airbnb, or airline travel within a given date range.’…

“As a March 2024 follow-up report from the House Judiciary Committee noted, FinCEN carried out similar meetings with Barclays, Charles Schwab, HSBC, Paypal, Western Union, Wells Fargo, Citibank, JPMorgan, and Chase ‘geared toward discussing options for financial institutions to share customer information voluntarily with federal law enforcement outside of normal legal processes.’

“The FBI shared one report with financial institutions that asserted that Americans ‘who expressed opposition to firearm regulations, open borders, COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the “deep state” may be potential domestic terrorists.’ Federal agencies used that report ‘to commandeer financial institutions’ databases and ask the financial institutions to conduct sweeping searches of individuals not suspected of committing any crimes…  American Bankers Association president Frank Keating complained: ‘The government is compelling banks to deny service to unpopular but perfectly legal industries by threatening penalties.’…

Canada exemplifies how quickly a democracy can exploit financial tools to become authoritarian. The Canadian government used emergency decrees to freeze the bank accounts of anyone suspected of being tied to COVID ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in 2022… A Canadian court later ruled that the Trudeau regime had illegally abused emergency powers, but that did not repair the damage the decrees inflicted.”

Yes, the USA can quickly become authoritarian. In many respects, it already is.

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.

This Week in the News

Germany’s Deal With the Devil

AFP wrote on August 2:

“Germany’s release of a convicted murderer in order to facilitate the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War has garnered praise from Washington but stirred controversy at home. Those freed in the deal include US journalist Evan Gershkovich, several high-profile Russian opposition figures and five German nationals who were being held in Russia and Belarus. But of the countries who released Russian prisoners in return, Germany has had to pay a particularly high price, setting free a man [Krasikov] who committed murder in broad daylight in the center of Berlin…

“German TV channel NTV reported that there had been rows between Scholz’s office and the justice ministry over Krasikov’s case. According to other reports in the German press, the justice ministry eventually ordered prosecutors to suspend Krasikov’s sentence to enable his deportation. Some in judicial circles reportedly felt this was a case of inappropriate political meddling in the legal process.

“The German section of human rights organization Amnesty International condemned the ‘bitter taste’ of the deal and the fact that it had created an equivalence between ‘a murderer… convicted in a fair trial’ and ‘people who have just exercised their right to free speech’…  An opinion piece in Germany’s Bild tabloid said that while the release of rights activists and German citizens in Russia was to be welcomed, ‘the perverse message given to the Russian people is that Putin is a hero [for] saving murderers.’… Michael Roth, the head of the German’s parliament’s foreign affairs committee and member of Scholz’s Social Democrats, summed up Berlin’s decision on X: ‘Sometimes for reasons of humanity you have to do a deal with the devil.’…

“The Spiegel weekly reported that Thursday’s swap came after ‘several months’ of negotiations between the CIA, Germany’s BND intelligence agency and the Kremlin. The swap was originally envisioned to include Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died [was murdered by Putin] in an Arctic prison in February…”

An old German proverb says; If you want to eat with the devil, you must have a long spoon (“Wer mit dem Teufel essen will, muss einen langen Löffel haben.”)

More Fraud, Disgrace and Abomination at the Olympics

Breitbart wrote on August 2:

“Another controversial [biologically male] boxer who had been disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) defeated a female opponent at the Paris Olympics on Friday… Lin Yu-Ting is the second of two boxers that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed to fight as females despite their failures in the IBA’s gender test, which caused the world boxing organization to disqualify them for sanctioned bouts last year… Imane Khelif, the first competitor who had failed the IBA’s chromosome test, had so overmatched Italian boxer Angela Carini that the latter forfeited the match on Thursday after only 46 seconds in the ring.

“In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev explained his organization’s decision to disqualify Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif from competing in the IBA’s 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships… ‘Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes…’”

This is so sick, abominable and patently unfair. But in France, everything seems to go. Note the next two articles.  

The Dangerous Nonsense of Men “Competing” in Women’s Sports

The New York Post wrote on August 2:

“In the past Khelif has been deemed to be ‘biologically male’…  But that doesn’t seem to have been a problem for the IOC. Which perhaps isn’t surprising at an Olympics which started with an opening ceremony focused on a bizarre veneration of bearded ladies and balls-out drag-queens. For years campaigners and female athletes have warned about the presence of biological men in women’s sports. In recent years this has covered almost every known field

“…it is striking how little sympathy these actual women have got. And how often they have been made into the controversial ones. Instead of people standing up for their rights and for the right to say things that absolutely everybody said until about five years ago. Young women who have worked all hours to get to their peak performance capability have kept having their dreams dashed. Time and again they took the silver or bronze medal or missed the podium altogether… Unsurprisingly it was the more violent sports that first alerted some people to the fact that there was a real problem here….

“With every day even Google, Wikipedia and other online sources try to rewrite the past, erasing the real names of people who have ‘transitioned’ and pretending that they were always a woman. Or that at the most the person had been ‘assigned male at birth.’ As though this was the act of a bigoted and ignorant doctor who just wanted to screw with the certification procedure.

“Well, in Paris yesterday, we saw the illogical and evil endpoint of all this. Angela Carini, who has trained hard for years, managed just 46 seconds in the ring opposite Imane Khelif. The ‘fight’ consisted of Khelif punching Carini hard in the face — twice. It was unclear at first if the Italian’s nose had been broken. Clearly in agony Carini shouted ‘This is unjust.’ As the ref tried to make her shake hands with the ‘victorious’ Khelif, Carini rightly refused.”

Sadly, obviously being under pressure from superiors, Carini subsequently stated that she “wants to apologize” to her opponent for how she handled the moments after the fight, continuing, “”I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”

It’s a totally wrong decision by a woke IOC, and sorrow for Khelif is thoroughly misplaced. Khelif had no business competing in this women’s sport.

Macron Proud of Olympic Opening Ceremony

Reuters wrote on August 2:

“French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday offered his support to the artists behind the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony… and praised their ‘audacity’, adding that the show had made France proud. French authorities have opened an investigation into death threats targeting the artistic director of the ceremony Thomas Jolly, after he was harassed online over a tableau that appeared to parody Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece ‘The Last Supper’…

“Macron said: ‘His audacity did a lot of good to a lot of people… the ceremony showed that France respected artistic freedom.’”

God is most certainly not proud of what is happening in France during the Olympics. And THAT is what counts, not the unqualified opinion of a losing left-wing French President.

Vatican Finally Speaks Out

The New York Post wrote on August 4:

“The Vatican broke its silence Saturday on the controversial drag performance that mocked Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic ‘Last Supper’ painting during the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony last week… ‘The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offense done to many Christians and believers of other religions,’ it said in an… evening press release…

“Olympics officials initially denied that the performance was based on Da Vinci’s painting — but a spokesperson later confirmed the painting was artistic director Thomas Jolly’s inspiration… At the center was an ornately dressed woman with a large silver headdress that resembled a halo as depicted in paintings of Jesus…”

The belated Vatican’s press release was rather tame and sounded almost apologetic.

Harris “Steals Nomination”, “Destroys Democracy”

Breitbart wrote on August 2:

“The Democratic National Committee (DNC) officially nominated Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential candidate on Friday, alienating 14 million Democrats who voted for President Joe Biden during the Democrat primary. The DNC began its virtual roll call on Thursday to nominate Harris, preempting its convention later in August. The process was scheduled to take up until Monday, the Associated Press reported, but it finished days early…

“Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after the party closed the qualifying process Tuesday. The expeditious coronation underscored the speed at which Democrats moved to coronate Harris, who received exactly zero presidential primary votes in her political career. Harris dropped out of the 2020 presidential race before the Iowa caucuses and did not enter the race in 2024 until Biden endorsed her.

“Speculation suggests Biden endorsed Harris to enact revenge on party bosses for threatening to oust him from the race with the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. Biden ‘privately’ and ‘repeatedly’ questioned the authenticity of Harris during the 2020 campaign.”

We are told that Harris and Trump are in a virtual tie. Some claim that Harris’ “success” is only temporary and will diminish once the honeymoon period is over. We will see.

Flip-Flopping Harris’ Word Salads…

Breitbart wrote on August 2: 

“Vice President Kamala Harris delivered one of her infamous word salads when speaking unscripted about Thursday’s prisoner swap with Russia… ‘This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy,’ Harris rambled with a serious face while waving her hands: It was the second awkward statement in 24 hours. Harris accidentally called herself ‘president’ on Thursday

“Perhaps the gaffes are why Harris appears to be avoiding questions from the media… Another reason Harris could be avoiding the media is out of fear of answering questions about her radical-left policies. The vice president already appears to be back-peddling on many policies, though the flip-flops were given by anonymous aides. Harris no longer supports ‘a federal job guarantee,’ an anonymous Harris campaign spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. The New York Times reported Monday, citing anonymous campaign officials, that she also now (1) supports fracking, (2) wants to increase funding for the border, (3) does not want to require people to sell their assault weapons back to the government, and (4) no longer supports ‘a single-payer health insurance program.’”

Is Harris trying to copy Biden with her gaffes? Her back-peddling is noticeable because, as we reported before, all the radical left-wing policies listed above were CLEARLY supported by Harris in the past… at least so she said. So is she now trying to deceive the voters?

Nancy Pelosi’s Abominable Hypocrisy

On August 5, the New York Post published the following commentary by Piers Morgan:

“It’s an open secret in Washington that Pelosi just did to Joe Biden what Marcus Brutus did to Julius Caesar. Of course, she didn’t actually kill him. But she did kill his political career. She appointed herself chief assassin, albeit one who continued to support him publicly while knifing him in the back behind the scenes…

“Yet on Sunday, there was his assassin, Nancy Pelosi, popping up on ‘CBS News Sunday Morning’ to call for him to be added to Mount Rushmore, the great American stone shrine to democracy that features 60-foot faces of four truly great American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln…

“What Biden really knows is that one of his closest friends in politics, someone he’s known and worked with for 40 years, and who, like him, is a devout Roman Catholic who carries rosary beads in her pocket, pounced on him at his most vulnerable moment and devoured him like a ravenous jackal feasting on the still-twitching carcass of an elderly bison. And in that moment, Nancy Pelosi revealed who she really is — a ruthless, conniving, mercilessly disloyal female version of Marcus Brutus…

“There is no record, yet, of what Biden said as he realized his own game was up. But it wouldn’t surprise me, given their shared knowledge of Latin phraseology from their faith, if it was three simple words: ‘Et tu, Nancy?’”

Harris as President—Proof of the Perversity of Our Age?

The New York Post wrote on August 6:

“Harris has no personal following. Why should she? She wasn’t going anywhere. She has no entourage of trusted experts to enlighten her on the issues… Her personality, in public, is comical, and in private it hasn’t exactly been a magnet to party activists or intellectuals. By all accounts, her staff hate her and go running for the doors at the first opportunity. Her name isn’t closely identified with a particular cause or issue…

‘She’s a pretty terrible politician. She underperformed as a vote-getter in deep blue California. She self-detonated before the first primary when, in 2020, she sought the presidential candidacy on her own merits… she’s a wretched debater…

“Harris is like that feather in the wind at the end of ‘Forrest Gump.’ She’s a historical accident. That, in less than four months, she could be the most powerful human on Earth, decider between war and peace, her manicured fingers flitting casually over the nuclear button, fills me with awe and astonishment over the inscrutable perversity of our age.”

Kamala Harris’ Running Mate Tim Walz—a Radical Left-Wing Extremist?

The New York Post wrote on August 7:

“Tim Walz actually is a radical progressive — and he’s got the record to prove it…  His aggressive lockdowns of Minnesota during COVID included a hotline for Minnesotans to snitch on their neighbors… After Georg Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis cop, Walz sat by and watched his state’s largest city burn [by BLM]… A 2022 Walz bill to give ‘hero pay’ to frontline pandemic workers ended up paying thousands of dead people; an audit found that only 60% of recipients definitely qualified for the money… Walz himself had text messages mysteriously vanish in violation of public records laws

“All of this has been amply reported in the Minnesota media. The national press doesn’t even need to investigate Walz. It just needs to read the coverage by its own local print and TV affiliates. After his party gained a one-seat majority in the state senate in 2022, Walz embraced nearly every insane idea it rammed through the legislature… Walz signed a law mandating ‘antiracist’ education in ‘ethnic studies’ in elementary, middle and high schools and compelling critical race theory training for teachers while forcing schools to record the race of every student who is given recess detentions to prevent ‘institutional racism.’ Meanwhile, nearly half of the state’s public school students can’t read at grade level.

“Walz made Minnesota a ‘refuge’ for … transgender surgeries on minors…  The state went so pro-abortion — enshrining a ‘fundamental right’ to abortion until the moment of birth — that it repealed laws requiring informed consent for abortions and even repealed the law making it illegal to coerce women into abortions…

“Minneapolis still struggles to hire cops, and has lost 40% of its police force since 2020. Walz raised gas, sales, payroll, car license, and online delivery taxes and fees to pay for it all… Given how the national press coverage of Harris has brushed aside her left-wing record and let her get away without answering questions or doing interviews, she must be hoping that Walz and his record will get the same treatment.”

Trump said that the Harris-Walz ticket will take the United States straight into communism if they win the 2024 election (The New York Post, dated August 7).

Why Walz Is “Weird”

The New York Post wrote on August 8:

“Let’s see how weird the Democrats’ new leadership is: 

“… It’s weird that Walz dawdled for three days while Minneapolis burned before calling in the National Guard during the 2020’s BLM-antifa riots…  It’s weird that Harris and Walz base their campaign on “freedom” yet he was the most authoritarian governor in the country during the pandemic, ruling by decree for 15 months, enforcing draconian shutdown orders, mask mandates and curfews. 

“It’s weird that Walz tells Republicans to ‘mind your own damn business’ when he created a COVID telephone ‘snitch line’ so that people could inform on their neighbors who breached his draconian COVID restrictions. It’s weird that Walz defended censorship of COVID dissenters by telling MSNBC: ‘There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech especially around our democracy.’ It’s weird that Walz signed laws allowing teenagers to be sterilized and genitally mutilated without parental consent and called it ‘gender-affirming care.’ It’s weird that Walz signed into law a new definition of ‘sexual orientation’ that deleted an exemption against pedophilia. 

“It’s weird that Walz has turned Minnesota into a ‘trans refuge’ with a law that removes children from parents who don’t agree to their kids’ sex-change surgery and hormone treatment… It’s weird that Walz has turned Minnesota into an ‘abortion mecca’ with no time limit up to the moment of birth and sometimes beyond, and no requirement that minors inform their parents…”

Venezuela’s Debacle Caused by Biden Administration

Newsmax wrote on August 2:

“John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Newsmax on Friday that the disputed presidential election in Venezuela was ‘largely’ caused by President Joe Biden’s administration. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this week claimed victory in what the United States has called a ‘deeply flawed’ presidential election, the official results of which have been disputed by the country’s opposition party and independent observers.

“Bolton… said, ‘… What we’re seeing now is deja vu all over again. This is just like what happened in the 2018 election that Maduro stole back then. And now, six years later … he’s stealing it again.’ Bolton said the Trump administration ‘tried in 2018 and 2019 to support the opposition, Juan Guaido, we recognized as the president … as picked by the National Assembly pursuant to Venezuela’s constitution, but it was not enough’…

“Bolton said the Biden administration ‘made a huge mistake some months back’ by removing ‘the economic sanctions that were still in place under the guise of Maduro having a free and fair election.’ Bolton said, ‘It was never going to happen. So now we see the inevitable outcome.’…”

Can anyone believe the incompetence of the Biden Administration, including of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris? Trump suggested, with apparently good reason, that Harris is even more incompetent than Biden, if that was even possible.

Shutting Down Google?

Newsmax wrote on August 2:

“Former President Donald Trump suggested Congress could shut down Google for alleged bias and censorship. The Big Tech giant has been criticized for how its search engine performed with inquiries related to the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. Google’s search bar and artificial intelligence tool would not produce results connected to the shooting.

“‘Google has been very bad. They’ve been very irresponsible. And I have a feeling that Google is going to be close to shut down because I don’t think Congress is going to take it. I really don’t think so,’ Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview broadcast Friday. ‘Google has to be careful.’”

Terror Threats in Austria

Deutsche Welle reported on August 7:

”Taylor Swift’s promoter, Barracuda Music,  called off shows by the US performer in Vienna later this week after law enforcement in Austria announced the arrests of two people suspected of planning to attack the concert venue... Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer called the cancellation of the concerts a ‘bitter disappointment’ for Swift’s fans, albeit adding ‘the situation surrounding the apparent planned terror attack in Vienna was very serious.’… law enforcement had arrested two people, the primary suspect a 19-year-old male, on suspicion of planning ‘a terrorist attack against events in Vienna’… Taylor Swift concerts in Austria’s largest football stadium were among the main suspect’s potential targets…

“Police seized chemical substances from the main suspect’s apartment and had pre-emptively cleared houses and part of a nursing home nearby, fearing the potential for explosives to be present, the Interior Ministry said… both the suspects had become radicalized online and taken concrete steps looking to prepare attacks. The young man, he said, had pledged allegiance to the self-styled ‘Islamic State’ terror group…”

Israel to Be Attacked on Tisha B’Av?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 3:

“Iran reportedly plans to attack Israel on the day of Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the loss of the first and second Temples. Western intelligence sources told Sky News Arabia that they had evidence Iran plans to attack Israel on Tisha B’Av in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which begins on August 12 and ends on August 13, the site reported on Friday. Iran’s attack will reportedly be coordinated with Hezbollah…

“On Tisha B’Av, Jews lament the destruction of the first and second Temples. During the annual event, there is fasting, mourning and a practice of self-denial… The report indicates that there is an emotional and psychological impact in targeting Israel on the holy day of mourning. The report claimed that Jewish Israelis may feel particularly vulnerable on this day – adding an additional layer of psychological torment…

“Enemy states and entities have focused their attacks on Jewish holidays in the past, as was the case on October 7, which fell on Simchat Torah [the Last Great Day, following the Feast of Tabernacles] and Shabbat, and the Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement] War in 1973. There is also reportedly a symbolic reason for attacking this date, reviving historical traumas and replaying the images of destruction. Finally, Iran allegedly hopes that attacking on this day would bring an element of surprise. While security may be occupied with their own religious rituals or settling disagreements, they may be unprepared for a military attack.”

Breitbart added on August 3:

“The Jerusalem Post reported speculation that Iran would attack on the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, a day of mourning on which the destruction of the First and Second Temples is commemorated by fasting… The State of Israel itself is sometimes referred to by Jews as the ‘Third Temple,’ an association that Iran is likely exploiting as a form of psychological warfare.”

A Bomb or a Rocket?

Deutsche Welle reported on August 3:

“Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a ‘short-range projectile’ launched from outside of his accommodation in Tehran, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.  ‘This terrorist operation was carried out by firing a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kilograms — causing a strong explosion — from outside the accommodation area,’ the Guards said in a statement.  The Guards again blamed Israel for [the] killing, adding that it was ‘supported by the United States.’…

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the prospect of sending German soldiers to the Middle East to protect Israel was ‘completely inconceivable to me right now.’… The United States on Friday said that additional warships and fighter jets would be sent to the region to protect US forces and defend Israel.”

Earlier, it was reported, especially by the New York Times, that Haniyeh was killed by a remotely detonated bomb which had been smuggled into the compound where Haniyeh was staying. Inasmuch as the explosion became a source of tremendous embarrassment for the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps], a new explanation had to be given—that of a short-range projectile launched from the outside—to make the IRGC less culpable, and to blame Israel and the USA.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel through the use of the bomb which “was placed on the day of the explosion, at 4:23 pm – some nine hours before it was activated when Haniyeh entered his room. The explosion, which was set off remotely by a robot, took place after midnight, at exactly 01:37 am local time.”

Russia Helping Iran With Military Hardware?

Hindustan Times wrote on August 4:

“Russian cargo planes carrying weapons are allegedly flying to Iran amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Reports on August 4 suggested constant Russia-to-Iran cargo flights with military hardware. However, neither Russian nor U.S. authorities immediately reacted to the reports about the flights.

“Meanwhile, the U.S. is boosting military deployment in the Middle East to defend its ally Israel in case of an Iranian attack.”

Rabbi Arrested in Ireland for Circumcising

JTA wrote on August 2, 2024:

“Ireland’s small Jewish community is in turmoil after a British rabbi who had been hired to circumcise local babies was arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license. The rabbi, Jonathan Abraham, was arrested on Tuesday and denied bail after a judge said that his 10 children and home base in London made him a flight risk. He faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to £130,000 ($166,000). Ireland’s chief rabbi, Yoni Wieder, confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Abraham remained jailed as Shabbat began in Dublin on Friday.

“Earlier, Wieder issued a statement saying that he was actively working to support Abraham and to make sure that Irish Jews continue to have access to a ritual considered essential in Jewish observance… The arrest comes at a sensitive time for Jews in Ireland, which has been home to intense pro-Palestinian sentiment during the Israel-Hamas war…

“Ireland permits mohels, or ritual circumcisers, to do circumcisions for Jews, but does not allow them to perform the same procedures on non-Jews.”

This world is becoming crazier and crazier. Anti-Semitism in Ireland is clearly on the rise… and not only there, of course.

Turmoil in the UK

Deutsche Welle reported on August 3:

“Riots erupted Friday evening for a third night in the United Kingdom, linked to a mass stabbing earlier in the week that killed three young girls… Some of the crowd shouted insults about Islam, while others chanted in support of Tommy Robinson, a far-right, anti-Islam campaigner and activist, local media reported.

“… far-right social media channels have been awash with false claims that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat. Police have emphasized that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain… Mosques across the country have also been put on an increased state of alert, the Muslim Council of Britain said.”

Daily Mail wrote on August 3:

“Widespread disruption has torn through the country this week in the wake of the Southport stabbings, where three little girls were tragically killed. The riots in cities including London and Hartlepool are thought to be triggered by misinformation spread online as to the identity of the teenager suspected of killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Axel Rudakubana, 17, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, was eventually named as the suspect in a bid to stop the chaos. Southport locals – including Elsie’s mother – have desperately pleaded for the violence to stop to no avail…

“Sunderland residents woke up to carnage after riots tore through the city, setting a police station on fire and injuring officers in a night of ‘unforgivable thuggery’ which saw a Citizen’s Advice centre go up in flames…”

It was feared that civil unrest would be the outcome of the unfettered mass immigration that the UK has had to put up with in recent years. It’s been a tinderbox waiting to be lit for some time now.   The UK continues to deteriorate. These are sad times but foreseeable by some, but not by many politicians, it would appear. Note the analysis in the next articles.

Southport Riots Did Not Happen in a Vacuum

The Sun wrote on August 3:

THIS week’s riots in Southport and elsewhere were, of course, reprehensible. To attack a mosque where ordinary Muslims go to pray would have been wrong even if it had been in response to an attack by Islamic terrorists. That those lobbing bricks at the police and setting their vehicles alight were acting on disinformation makes them look foolish as well as disgraceful. But if Britain’s liberal elite had been deliberately trying to drive people into the arms of the rabble-rousers they could not have done a better job of it. They have done everything they can to fuel the underlying sense that the white working class is being treated very differently from the rest of the population.

“On Thursday, the Prime Minister held a press conference in which he lost no time in asserting that the Southport riots were ‘clearly driven by far-right hatred’. He refused to acknowledge that any of those who took to the streets might have been motivated by reasonable concerns about the safety of children. No, each and every one of them were just ‘far-right’ thugs trying to spread hate. Nor, by the way, did Keir Starmer mention in his press conference other recent cases of public disorder which had nothing to do with the far right, such as the machete fight in Southend on Tuesday night, the attack on police at Manchester Airport last week nor the riots in the Harehills area of Leeds. Those equally concerning events don’t seem to feature even nearly as prominently on the radar of the liberal left because they don’t feed its preferred narrative that Britain is a happy, diverse community spoiled only by hate mongering on the part of the far right…

“The same seems to have happened on multiple occasions when working-class communities have protested, whether it be against low-traffic neighbourhoods, London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone or Covid lockdowns.

“All have been dismissed as being incited by ‘far-right’ conspiracy theorists…

“I haven’t heard anyone in power admit it, but there is an unfortunate backstory which may explain why people reacted to the killing of three girls (not to mention the injuries and mental trauma inflicted on many others) by seeking out a mosque. For years, police, social services and other agencies failed properly to investigate gangs of men of Pakistani heritage who had been raping and sexually exploiting girls in Rotherham, Rochdale and elsewhere. Again, it cannot be emphasised strongly enough that it is very wrong to project the crimes of the rapists on to Britain’s Pakistani population as a whole — that is the point at which legitimate demand for justice spills over into racism. But when these gangs were eventually brought to justice, it became clear from their trials that police and social services had been doing the opposite — they had been influenced by what the then Home Secretary Theresa May called ‘institutional political correctness’ in failing to take the victims’ allegations seriously enough. As the former Labour minister Denis MacShane put it ‘there was a culture of not wanting to rock the multicultural community boat’

If people feel they cannot trust what the police and other authorities do and say they will end up gravitating towards other voices who do appear to be representing their interests. Racists are to be condemned…

“But the Government needs to recognise that the Southport riots did not happen in a vacuum…”

Very well put. And this approach to blindness in the left eye can be seen all over the Western world, including in the USA.

Starmer Under Serious Attacks

Breitbart wrote on August 4:

“British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has vowed that police have his full support in taking on ‘extremists’ as anti-mass migration protests and riots have broken out across the United Kingdom following the mass stabbing at a children’s dance party in Southport earlier this week. Facing a full-blown crisis less than one month into office, recently elected leftist Prime Minister Starmer gathered top cabinet ministers on Saturday as unrest erupted in dozens of towns and cities throughout the UK, in many cases in typical Labour Party strongholds in the north of England, in response to the slaying of three young girls and the stabbing of eight others, including children, allegedly by a 17-year-old Rwandan-heritage second-generation immigrant on Monday…

“The hardline rhetoric from the left-wing PM, who has characterised the protests and riots as ‘far-right,’  on the outpouring of rage and violence has been contrasted to his response during the deadly and deeply destructive Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, when he infamously took the knee in solidarity with the Marxist movement and described those involved as ‘people rightly demanding justice’. The government has also faced criticism for refusing to discuss footage posted on social media appearing to show violent responses from large groups of Muslim or leftist counter protesters.

“The prime minister’s response to his first crisis of his expected five-year term has been heavily criticised by the Reform UK party of Nigel Farage, who accused Starmer of failing to address the root cause of the anger, which is mass migration. On Friday, Farage’s deputy, Boston and Skegness MP Richard Tice, said, ‘Many millions of concerned British citizens are furious at lawless Britain. Children being slaughtered. Machete mobs abound. Soldiers being stabbed. Police violently attacked in airports. Instead of empathy, Keir Starmer labelled folk as “far-right”. Out of touch, clueless.’

“However, others have demanded that the government go farther, including Tory leadership candidate and former Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has called on Starmer to recall Parliament to hold an emergency session on the unrest. One of the more extreme takes on the crisis came from former Labour MP and current government advisor on political violence, Baron Walney, John Woodcock, who argued that the government should consider a coronavirus-style lockdown to stamp out the uprising if it continues to persist…”

Incredible. Some left-wing politicians stop at nothing when it involves suppression of freedom and liberty of their citizens.

The Public Wants Answers!

Express wrote on August 4:

“Prime Minister Starmer has been urged by the Tory chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to acknowledge the widespread discontent which she says is fuelling protests across the UK this week.

“In remarks initially shared on her organisation’s website, Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said it was time for an honest discussion about the underlying factors. Her statement, which appeared to have been deleted from the site, was today shared by the Conservative Post website and triggered criticism from Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester Danny Chambers and Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal.

“She said: ‘The government must acknowledge what is causing this civil unrest in order to prevent it. Arresting people, or creating violent disorder units, is treating the symptom and not the cause.’

“The questions these people want answering; what is the government’s solution to mass uncontrolled immigration? How are the new Labour government going to uphold and build on British values? This is the biggest challenge facing Sir Kier Starmer’s government, and its bitten quickly.’

A challenge Britain’s left-wing government is most certainly not willing to address.

UK on the Way to Censorship and Dictatorship?

Daily Mail wrote on August 7:

“Social media chiefs are also under fire for allowing disinformation to flourish after the Southport attack, including false claims about the identity of the suspect. Amid the worst rioting in the UK for more than a decade, the PM has warned that anyone stoking violence on the internet can be prosecuted and face prison. Sir Keir has also engaged in a war of words with Elon Musk… over the riots. But one of his most senior ministers, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, has admitted the world’s richest man is ‘accountable to no one’

“Mr Musk used his X social media site to reply to a post that blamed ‘mass migration and open borders’ for unrest in the UK. Mr Musk… claimed ‘civil war is inevitable’ following the violence in the UK.  He also branded the PM as ‘Two Tier Keir’… [as it is claimed that] UK police treat some groups more harshly than others…

“Sir Thomas Winsor, who previously served as Her Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary, rejected Mr Musk’s suggestion of ‘two-tier policing’ in the UK… He also demanded that major tech firms should have to be licensed before they can operate in the UK. This would allow a regulator to put firms ‘out of business’ if they breach the terms of their licence, he said. Sir Thomas called for ‘criminal liability’ for top bosses at social media companies who tolerate ‘harmful material’ and an incitement of crimes on their sites…”

Sounds like communist China or Russia.

Breitbart added on August 7:

“Musk has effectively embodied the role of chief troll of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, branding the leftist leader as ‘Two Tier Keir,’ over allegations that the British government has been policing violence and riots from mostly working class white British men differently than the Muslim community in the country, which has also taken to the streets en masse over the past week in large and sometimes violent gangs. Responding to Starmer’s vow that his government will ‘not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities,’ Musk replied on his social media platform: ‘Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?’

“Musk has also highlighted the history of British authorities overlooking criminality among Muslim populations, including the Rotherham grooming gang scandal, in which at least 1,400 young girls were systemically sexually abused and trafficked by members of the city’s Pakistani community for years. The local authorities knew about the issue, but ignored them over fears of ‘racial tensions’ that could stem from arresting minority-community paedophiles. Musk questioned whether such crimes were still being committed and overlooked in Britain

“… the Tesla chief suggested that civil war in England was ‘inevitable’ given the cross-party multi-decade agenda of allowing ‘incompatible cultures’ to be ‘brought together without assimilation’ through the importation of millions of foreigners into the country…

“The fervour of the new Labour government to clamp down on social media may foreshadow a legal battle with Elon Musk’s X and other firms. Last year, the Conservative-in-name-only government of Rishi Sunak passed the Online Safety Act, vastly expanding the state’s ability to police the internet. While the law has yet to come into effect, it will empower British broadcasting regulator Ofcom to impose fines of up to £18 million ($22 million) or 10 per cent of global annual turnover, depending on which is higher, against social media companies that fail to censor to the standards of the British government. The impending restrictions could see free speech vastly curtailed in the UK and potentially even see companies like X choose to withdraw entirely from the country.”

Lessons for Germany?

Nius wrote on August 5:

“If in Great Britain, where people are generally very friendly and open-minded towards strangers, anger over immigration policy erupts as it currently does in cities from London and Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds and Bristol, all alarm bells should ring in Germany too. What is currently driving people onto the streets is not just the triple murder in Southport…

“Migrants from the Islamic world and Africa in particular stand out due to their low educational qualifications, high crime rates and lack of willingness to integrate. A phenomenon that is known in other European countries such as Sweden, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Austria, where the problems are the same and where politics, as in Great Britain, did a lot to downplay the fatal consequences of unchecked migration. Parallel societies, gang wars, the growing influence of Islam and increasing anti-Semitism are just some of the obvious problems…

“There are around four million Muslims living in Great Britain, and in Germany there are probably at least six million. To a large extent, they put a strain on the social systems here and there, and the lower classes in particular bear the direct consequences of mass immigration: the newcomers settle in their neighborhoods, which is reflected in the situation at schools and in the eroding security in public spaces. Ordinary people compete with migrants for living space and jobs, and the more immigrants come, especially from Islamic cultural areas, the more the feeling of being at home in their place of residence disappears. A forced cultural and social change that is bound to cause bad blood sooner or later…

 “In Hamburg, for example, houses were built according to the latest standards just for ‘refugees’, while people who have ‘lived here for a long time’… and who are paying for the astronomically high costs of migration with their tax money are desperately looking for apartments. At the same time, they notice how Muslims reject our society, demonstrating in tens of thousands on our streets and squares for the terrorist Hamas or calling for the caliphate. This can’t go well in the medium term…”

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