Ted Cruz Facing Serious Challenge over His Birth in Canada—Donald Trump Surging Ahead

On January 15, 2016, Newsmax reported:

“Sen. Ted Cruz’ ‘birther’ nightmare took a dramatic turn Friday after a Texas lawyer filed the first lawsuit challenging his eligibility to serve as president because he was born in Canada… The lawsuit… was filed in federal court in Texas Thursday and argues the question must be presented to the Supreme Court for a fair shake instead of left up to popular opinion. ‘This 229-year question has never been pled, presented to or finally decided by or resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Only the U.S. Supreme Court can finally decide, determine judicially and settle this issue now,’ the lawsuit states…

“Cruz, the son of an American mother and a Cuban father, was born in Canada… Cruz’s campaign insists he is eligible, but the suit argues that a United States president must be a ‘natural-born citizen’ — a term whose definition the Supreme Court hasn’t previously considered.”

Several legal scholars, including Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe (who taught law to Barak Obama and Ted Cruz) concluded that the issue was far from clear. But it is not expected that the Supreme Court, even IF it was to hear the case, would decide against Cruz.

As one will recall, Barack Obama’s eligibility has been repeatedly questioned, based on the allegation that he was not born in the USA, but in Kenya or Indonesia. Even though short and long form “birth certificates” were produced, purportedly stating that he was born in Hawaii, that issue is far from settled, and despite the narrative of the mainstream media, nagging questions and inconsistencies remain, but they did not make any difference in the political field.

Express wrote on January 15:

“Mr Trump is one step closer to becoming the Republican Presidential candidate. According to a poll by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, 47.6 per cent believed Mr Trump won the debate [on January 14]… The front-runner and his nearest challenger Ted Cruz ended a longstanding truce with a series of bitter exchanges.  Just 34.6 per cent of voters believed Mr Cruz won the debate with the remaining five candidates trailing behind.

“… a quarter of Republicans think White House hopeful Mr Cruz is disqualified to serve as US president because he was born in Canada to an American mother and Cuban father… The birthright issue has dogged American politics before, in 2008 Republican nominee John McCain survived questions about his birth in Panama because he was born on a U.S. military installation there and it was judged to be U.S. soil. In 1967, Republican candidate George Romney faced questions about his birth in Mexico, but his candidacy never advanced far and the issue was abandoned.

“Mr Trump also defended his controversial call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. He first called [for] a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country in the wake of the deadly attack in San Bernardino, California, which saw a Muslim couple shoot 14 people dead.” [All other candidates on stage disagreed with Donald Trump on this issue.]

Criminal Charges Against Hillary Clinton?

Newsmax reported on January 15:

“Two former U.S. Attorneys predict that [the] FBI has developed a strong case in its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server that will result in criminal charges…  ‘I expect the FBI to conclude the investigation within 60 to 90 days and make a recommendation to the Justice Department, and I believe they will recommend a series of charges involving the classified information,’ Joseph diGenova, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, tells the Free Beacon.

“Matthew Whitaker, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa in the George W. Bush administration agreed that the public evidence so far indicates ‘serious legal violations’ have been uncovered by the FBI’s look at whether classified information was mishandled by Clinton’s use of private email while she was Secretary of State, the Free Beacon reports.

“‘There’s got to be more that we don’t know,’ added Whitaker, who runs a watchdog group that has criticized Clinton. ‘I think that could be really incriminating evidence, if it’s like anything we’ve already seen.’”

Newsmax wrote on January 19:

“Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush told Newsmax TV Tuesday that he doubted whether Hillary Clinton would be indicted in the email scandal because ‘it’s the most politicized attorney general and Department of Justice in a long while.’ ‘I have doubts that they will do the right thing,’ Bush, who governed Florida from 1999 to 2007 [said]. ‘I think the process should go forward, but at a minimum she is not telling the truth.’”

It is highly doubtful that the FBI and the democratically-run Justice Department would bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In the Democratic Debate on January 17, she had a heated exchange with Socialist Bernie Sanders who is surging in the polls and who is becoming a serious contender to Hillary Clinton, although few observers believe that he will win the Democratic nomination.

Iran is Sanctioned by USA and Receives Billions of Dollars

Breitbart wrote on January 18:

“Iran will ignore recently-passed U.S. sanctions against its ballistic missile program, the regime’s defense minister pledged on Monday, promising to unveil new homemade weapons systems in the near future… On Sunday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would impose sanctions against a number of individuals and organizations over Iran’s ballistic missile program…

“The new sanctions come as Iran is expected to receive tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets in accordance with the Iran nuclear deal… agreed upon by the regime in Tehran and the P5+1 world powers.

“On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. had granted Iran $1.7 billion dollars, repaying the Ayatollah’s theocracy a $400 million dollar debt plus $1.3 billion in interest. Kerry called the payment a ‘fair settlement.’ President Obama agreed, claiming ‘the settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran.’”

Saudi Arabia Unhappy about Iran Deal and Lifting of Sanctions

The Guardian wrote on January 18:

“Saudi Arabia has never formally objected to the international deal restricting Iran’s nuclear programme and ending [international] sanctions [against Iran]. But it watched with anxiety and irritation as Barack Obama pursued the historic agreement… Billions of dollars were wiped off Saudi and other Gulf stocks the moment the Islamic republic returned to world oil markets – at time when low prices are taking a heavy toll on the Saudis and forcing them to undertake unprecedented economic reforms.

“Their larger fear is that Iran, flush with new revenues, will be emboldened to intensify its activities across an already violent and unstable Middle East. ‘Every country in the world is worried about this,’ Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, said last week as sanctions were set to lift. ‘Iran’s record has been one of war and destruction, terrorism, destabilisation, interference in the affairs of other countries…’

“For similar reasons to Israel, Saudi Arabia has good reason to fear a resurgent post-sanctions Iran pursuing its policies unhindered across the region… The question is whether they risk, by maintaining their own hardline positions, turning that into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Germany’s Former President of Bavaria: “Close Borders to All Migrants”

Breitbart wrote on January 18:

“Germany should completely close its borders to refugees if it is to solve [the] migrant crisis, a former President of Bavaria has said. Edmund Stoiber (74) — an elder statesmen in the Christian Social Union (CSU), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party — said Germany had to change direction fast, and gave the Chancellor just two months to solve the problem. ‘Angela Merkel must now change her position, otherwise there will be disastrous consequences for Germany and Europe,’ Mr Stoiber said in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung. In what appeared to be an ultimatum, he added that if Mrs Merkel does [not] change her policy, there will be a ‘confrontation’ after local elections in March [when three German states will go to the polls]…

“The only solution that will likely make a difference, Mr Stoiber added, was for Germany to completely close its border to refugees for an unspecified period… If it does not take radical action, the rest of Europe will see the migrant crisis as a specifically German problem and will never reach an agreement to tackle it.

“Mr Stoiber is well-known for his outspoken conservatism as was regarded as a thorn in Angela Merkel’s side while he served as Bavarian President, despite being formally in electoral alliance with her. In 2002, he outmanoeuvred her to become the main centre-right candidate for Chancellor, but narrowly lost the subsequent election. He had already been calling for limited immigration long before the current migrant crisis began and staunchly opposed Turkey joining the European Union (EU), saying its Muslim culture was not compatible with European values.

“In 2004, Mr Stoiber even went as far as to call Turkey a threat to the EU’s very survival…”

A Press Release of the European Commission announced that on December 18, 2014, “the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, appointed Dr Edmund Stoiber as Special Adviser on Better Regulation. In his new role, Dr Stoiber will in particular advise on how to cut red tape and reduce administrative burdens for small and medium sized enterprises to boost jobs, growth and investments in the EU.”

Gauck and Merkel vs. Stoiber

The Local wrote on January 20:

“Germany’s president [Joachim Gauck] said Wednesday it is ‘morally and politically necessary’ to limit Europe’s refugee influx, warning that failing to do so meant ceding ground to populists and extremists… Gauck stressed however that for Germany, the drastic action of slamming the door shut to refugees – as sought by populists and the far-right – was not an option. An isolation strategy is different from setting limits, he said…

“Like Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel has rebuffed calls to close the German borders…”

However, the EUobserver reported on January 19:

“Germany must… be ready to close its borders, German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt has said, in a direct challenge to chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy… Dobrindt is from the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s Christian democrat CDU, which has been critical of the chancellor’s policy from the start…

“On Sunday, Bild, Germany’s most popular daily, asked on its first page whether Merkel is ‘still the right one’… It concluded: ‘Merkel’s refugee policy [is] at the point of failure.’ 

“Coming from a newspaper known for its populist tendencies, but which has, overall, supported Merkel’s ‘Willkommenspolitik’ [the policy that everybody is welcome] the story could signal a change of fortune for the chancellor…

“Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, has said that from the end of this week, she will let through only migrants who intend to seek asylum in Germany…”

Bild also wrote on January 21 that CSU-chief and President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer,  threatened with a lawsuit to establish that only a certain number of migrants would be allowed to come to Germany. According to a recent poll, most Germans agree with Seehofer and propose 200,000 migrants.

Der Spiegel and Der Stern claim that it is the goal of the CSU to “overthrow” Merkel.

Everyone Against Merkel, While Germany Is Boiling

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 18:

“There is growing criticism of Angela Merkel in Germany. There are increasing indications that her own party is distancing itself from her. What is odd is the apocalyptic mood in the media…

“Germany is boiling. Much of the German media is boiling. More than a million refugees in the country and more and more problems, some predictable, some surprising and disturbing. The country is expressing opinions with a new dimension of harshness. And a sense of schadenfreude accompanies both the disastrous situation and the apocalyptic scenarios…

“Merkel, whose ‘humanitarian imperative’ opened up the (German) borders to refugees, is at the heart of the criticism – the degree of which is surprising, despite the drama… It’s everyone against the chancellor.”

For those who might not be entirely familiar with the German word “schadenfreude,” as quoted in the article above, its meaning is “a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people.”

Der Stern Online commented on January 20 that for the first time, Merkel pursues politics against the will of the people, reminding us of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder who tried the same on a different topic and failed in 2005. At that time, he asked the parliament for a vote of confidence and lost, and as a consequence, premature new elections were held, which resulted in Merkel’s victory against Schroeder. Germany is not due for national elections until 2017, but if Merkel were to ask for a vote of confidence and were to lose, things would be different, according to the magazine.

Time to “Reset” EU-Israeli Relationship?

JTA wrote on January 15:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a ‘reset’ in relations with the European Union, accusing it, and Sweden in particular, of unfairly singling out Israel. In addition to attacking Brussels for its decision to label West Bank settlement goods, Netanyahu on Thursday for the first time publicly accused the E.U. of building ‘illegal constructions’ in the West Bank in an alleged bid to create ‘political realities’ there…

“He added that he had recently discussed the tense bilateral ties with the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini…”

Deutsche Welle reported on January 18:

“EU Ministers have reiterated the bloc’s position that the lands Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war – including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are not part of the internationally recognized borders of Israel. Therefore, goods coming from those locations cannot be labeled ‘Made in Israel.’… The EU statement was positively received by Palestine, with chief negotiator Saeb Erekat calling it ‘a step forward towards accountability.’ He called on the EU to ‘take immediate steps, such as banning settlement products’.

“But Israel responded that the statement was discriminatory… ‘Out of about 200 border conflicts in the world, the European Union is choosing to discriminate only against Israel. This stance prevents the (European) Union from being a fair player in resolving the conflict,’ the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Following the EU’s publication of the labeling guidelines, Israel suspended contact with EU bodies working on peace efforts with Palestine – bringing the Middle East peace process to a halt.”

The relationship between Europe and Israel is prophesied to deteriorate drastically.

“A Recession Worse than 2008 Is Coming”

CNBC wrote on January 15:

“… a recession has occurred in the U.S. about every five years, on average, since the end of WWII; and it has been seven years since the last one — we are overdue… this one will be worse. A major contributor for this imminent recession is the fallout from a faltering Chinese economy… But the debt debacle in China is not the primary catalyst for the next recession in the United States. It is the fact that equity prices and real estate values can no longer be supported by incomes and GDP.

“… the startling truth is that businesses, the federal government and the Federal Reserve have taken on a humongous amount of additional debt since 2007. Even household debt has increased back to its 2007 record of $14.1 trillion. Specifically, business debt during that time frame has grown from $10.1 trillion, to $12.6 trillion; the total national debt boomed from $9.2 trillion, to $18.9 trillion; and the Fed’s balance sheet has exploded from $880 billion to $4.5 trillion… the federal government’s debt has now soared to nearly 600 percent of total revenue…

“Therefore, this… by all accounts brutal upcoming recession [is inevitable]… the ability of government to save the markets and the economy this time around will be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Look for chaos in currency, bond and equity markets on an international scale throughout 2016. Indeed, it already has begun.”

The Telegraph wrote on January 19:

“The global financial system has become dangerously unstable and faces an avalanche of bankruptcies that will test social and political stability, a leading monetary theorist has warned. ‘The situation is worse than it was in 2007…’ said William White, the Swiss-based chairman of the OECD’s review committee and former chief economist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). ‘Debts have continued to build up over the last eight years and they have reached such levels in every part of the world that they have become a potent cause for mischief,’ he said…

“European banks have already admitted to $1 trillion of non-performing loans: they are heavily exposed to emerging markets and are almost certainly rolling over further bad debts that have never been disclosed.  The European banking system may have to be recapitalized on a scale yet unimagined, and new ‘bail-in’ rules mean that any deposit holder above the guarantee of €100,000 will have to help pay for it.

“The warnings have special resonance since Mr White was one of the very few voices in the central banking fraternity who stated loudly and clearly between 2005 and 2008 that Western finance was riding for a fall, and that the global economy was susceptible to a violent crisis…

“Mr White said the Fed is now in a horrible quandary… ‘It is a debt trap. Things are so bad that there is no right answer. If they raise rates it’ll be nasty. If they don’t raise rates, it just makes matters worse,’ he said…”

The Washington Post wrote on January 20:

“Queasy investors sent global markets plunging again Wednesday, stomping out recent meager gains and spotlighting fresh worries over cratering oil prices and signs of slowing international growth.”

Bloomberg added on January 20:

“US Stocks Sink With Markets Around the World as Rout Deepens… Turmoil returned to global markets as oil plunged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 400 points, fueling a rush into haven assets.”

A New Job for President Obama?

The Washington Times wrote on January 12:

“… rumors are floating back from the Middle East that he is sounding out Democrats, Republicans and friends of the United Nations in the United States to help him get the job of secretary-general of the U.N. [Ban Ki-Moon term expires this year] and Mr. Obama is said to think he’s just the man to succeed him…

“The Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has heard the rumor and is recruiting the Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, new allies in fear of Iran, to cut the president off at the pass…

“The Jerusalem Post reports that its sources close to Mr. Netanyahu do not deny the speculation that the prime minister aims to ‘torpedo the Obama project.’ These friends say Mr. Netanyahu thinks Mr. Obama’s presidency has been characterized by moving closer to the Muslim Brotherhood, toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and by attempts to ally himself with political Islam.

“Mr. Obama is said to think he can resolve the warfare between Shiites and Sunnis, between Persians and Arabs, Turks and Kurds, Copts and Salafists, and get the states of the United Nations to acclaim him as the messiah once envisioned for himself in Washington. Hope and change didn’t work there, but maybe it would at the U.N., where standards and expectations are lower. The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. The general assembly, dominated by left-wing regimes that despise America and the democratic traditions it stands for, might happily support the ex-president who set out to cut America down to size.

“But China and Russia, both as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have a veto over the secretary-general’s appointment, might not agree, leftist or not… The story might be just another imaginative fairy tale of the Arabian night. The Arab media is addicted to such tales. But Mr. Obama was once described by Bill Clinton as a fairy tale, too, and here he is, completing his second term, and Mr. Obama does not suffer excessive modesty…”

Biden Had It With Culture

The Huffington Post wrote on January 20:

“Vice President Joe Biden got visibly heated while discussing the importance of LGBT rights on Wednesday. Speaking at an LGBT rights roundtable at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, [he] lamented that openly gay and transgender people are still treated like second class citizens around the world. ‘LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation — always in the name of culture. I’ve had it up to [here] with culture. I really mean it,’ he said, striking the table with his palms. ‘Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None.’

“Biden said that he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where people face persecution over their sexuality. He didn’t say which leaders he spoke to, but at least 75 countries represented in Davos outlaw homosexuality.

“The vice president has been a vocal champion for gay rights during his time in the White House. In 2012, he publicly announced his support for same sex marriage — a move many suspected prompted a similar announcement three days later from President Barack Obama. Most recently, he helped the administration push comprehensive new legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination…”

Vice President Biden, a practicing Catholic, does not seem to care about Judeo-Christian culture AND what the Bible has to say about the topic.

Sex Education Classes Required for California Public School Children

On January 13, KQED reported the following:

“A new state law in effect this year requires all California public school students to take sex education beginning in seventh grade. Parents who don’t want their kids to learn about issues like body image, contraception and HIV awareness and prevention will have to formally opt out by submitting a document to their school or district. For years, sex education has been optional. If parents wanted their children to take a sexual health class, they had to sign up for the instruction.

“The law, called the California Healthy Youth Act, attempts to standardize and update sex education in the state, which also now must include gender identity. San Francisco Unified has one of the most comprehensive sex education curriculums in the state, covering everything from sexual orientation to abusive relationships…

“The big question is how the state will monitor school districts, and whether there will be an uptick in families opting out. Camille Giglio, with the group California Right To Life, says this curriculum goes too far. ‘This comes into a whole new category of being forced to listen for six years to one version of so-called sexual health,’ Giglio said.”

This is another attempt by a left-liberal God-defying agenda to teach against the clear doctrines of the Bible.

“Easter Date to Be Fixed ‘Within Next Five to 10 Years’”

The Telegraph wrote on January 15:

“The date of Easter could be fixed within the next five to 10 years, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said…

“Anglicans are to join Copts and Catholics in talks to resolve the problem… The Pope has already signaled that he is open to changing the date of Easter so that Christians around the world could celebrate on the same day.

“The date of Easter depends on the phases of the moon. It is determined by the first full moon after the spring equinox and means Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The Easter Act of 1928 means it is already possible for the government to institute a permanent date….

“The leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, Bishop Angaelos, said it would be a powerful demonstration of Christian unity if it could be achieved…

“The Coptic Easter falls on May 1 this year and can vary from the main western date by five weeks. Easter Sunday this year falls on 27 March, with Good Friday, 25 March, and Easter Monday, 28 March, both bank holidays. Next year Easter falls later, in the middle of April.”

It appears that “Christianity” is less concerned with what is perceived to be the correct timing of the most important festival of its creed, but more with “unity.” However, as pointed out below, the entire festival of Easter is in no way biblical.

In a related article, titled, “How Easter is calculated,” the Telegraph explained the following:

“Methods for calculating Easter are fiendishly complicated, in a uniquely baffling synthesis of mathematics, astronomy and theology. Because Christians believe that Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival, Easter is marked around that time. But by the end of the 2nd Century different Christian groups were already marking it on separate dates. The landmark Council of Nicea in 325AD, which set out the core Christian beliefs in a single creed, also attempted to standardise Easter.

“Since then it has generally been accepted as falling on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox – which the Church approximated as March 21. But throughout the centuries disputes over the exact timing have been used as proxies for deeper power struggles. It effectively set the course of the history of the British Isles at the Synod of Whitby in 664AD when the preferred date of the Roman, rather than the Celtic church, became the standard. The decision is regarded as having brought Britain more firmly into the European sphere of influence – an issue still dominating the political agenda in the run up to the EU referendum.”

The Bible nowhere commands the observance of Easter, which was originally a pagan holiday in worship of the moon goddess Ishtar or Eastre. The Bible does not teach either that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday, as He proclaimed that He would be dead and in the grave for three days and three nights—72 hours (Matthew 12:38-40; compare John 11:9-10, defining the daylight portion of a day as including 12 hours, followed by the night portion of including another 12 hours).

The Bible commands the observance of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. The seven Days of Unleavened Bread immediately follow the Passover evening when Jesus was betrayed and arrested. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days.”

New York Times: Merkel Should Resign

On January 9, 2016, the New York Times wrote the following:

“For decades conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic have warned that Europe’s generous immigration policies, often pursued in defiance of ordinary Europeans’ wishes, threaten to destabilize the continent. The conservatives have made important points about the difficulty of assimilation, the threat of radicalization, and the likelihood of Paris-style and Cologne-style violence in European cities… Until recently, Europe’s assimilation challenge looked unpleasant but not insurmountable… With the current migration, though, we’re in uncharted territory. The issue isn’t just that immigrants are arriving in the hundreds of thousands rather than the tens of thousands. It’s that a huge proportion of them are teenage and twentysomething men… many of these men carry assumptions about women’s roles that are diametrically opposed to the values of contemporary Europe…

“If you believe that an aging, secularized, heretofore-mostly-homogeneous society is likely to peacefully absorb a migration of that size and scale of cultural difference, then you [are] a fool. Such a transformation promises increasing polarization among natives and new arrivals alike. It threatens not just a spike in terrorism but a rebirth of 1930s-style political violence…

“This need not happen. But prudence requires doing everything possible to prevent it. That means closing Germany’s borders to new arrivals for the time being. It means beginning an orderly deportation process for able-bodied young men. It means giving up the fond illusion that Germany’s past sins can be absolved with a reckless humanitarianism in the present.

“It means that Angela Merkel must go — so that her country, and the continent it bestrides, can avoid paying too high a price for her high-minded folly.”

Note this assessment of Pope Francis, as reported by NBC News on January 10:

“Pope Francis warned Monday that the recent influx of migrants risked overwhelming European values and traditions, but said he was confident the continent could successfully integrate the newcomers. In an annual address to diplomats at the Vatican City, the pontiff said the flood of new arrivals, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, was a major burden for Europe and had given rise to ‘significant’ fears over security and international terrorism…

“Despite the ‘inevitable difficulties’ in trying to absorb the migrants, who brought with them different cultures and traditions, the pope said he hoped European nations would prove capable of integrating and accepting the refugees.”

Official Lies in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on January 8 about the suspension of Cologne’s police chief, following allegations he withheld information on the New Year’s Eve sexual assaults [by now, in excess of 500 complaints have been filed in Cologne]:

“The scandal over the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne has claimed a first political victim. And rightly so: There’s no justification for lying to the public and deliberately withholding facts…

“This has caused maximum social damage. The state needs the trust of its citizens. If people lose trust, the whole system erodes. And the hateful generalizations about foreigners, refugees and Muslims currently abounding on social networks are an indication of where that particular journey leads.

“Cologne’s police chief, Wolfgang Albers, the man responsible for security in Germany’s fourth-largest city, systematically lied to the public over a period of several days…

“New, shocking revelations about what happened on New Year’s Eve have come to light every day this week. On Tuesday, the police chief and the mayor held a press conference that was thin on information: Unfortunately, they didn’t know anything about the suspects and their ethnic origin, they were unable to make any arrests that night, and any victims who hadn’t already done so should report to the police. Who, by the way, did a fantastic job on New Year’s Eve and had everything under control, according to Albers.

“The police have reaped nothing but scorn and sharp criticism on social media for this portrayal – including from Germany’s interior minister. The officers who were working in downtown Cologne on New Year’s Eve couldn’t take it anymore. Internal reports and detailed accounts began making their way into the hands of journalists.

“And that information tells a different story: Around 100 people were stopped and checked or taken into police custody that night. The majority identified themselves with Syrian passports or asylum papers. Only a few of them had been in Germany for longer than three months, according to officers who were on duty. But that’s exactly what the mayor, prompted by the police chief, took issue with at the press conference on Tuesday: There was no evidence to suggest that the molesters were refugees, she said. But anyone who had access to internal police data banks knew even then that this was a lie…

“Lying can never be the answer, because the damage is even greater when the lie finally comes to light. Germany doesn’t need lies, but rather honesty in the debate about the massive challenges facing our country…

“It would be only honest, for example, to accept that we now have many young men living in this country who come from cultures where women who go out at night, who dance, who drink alcohol, who wear tight clothing and who don’t cover their hair are labeled whores. And that it will take much more than a language course or an Arabic translation of our constitution to integrate such men into our society.”

And so, Germany has her scapegoat: Cologne’s police chief Wolfgang Albers. But how many others have been directly or indirectly involved in this massive cover-up will perhaps remain an open secret for a long time. Many allegations have been made in Germany “that police and the media had colluded in an institutional cover-up over the Cologne attacks,” according to The Telegraph (as of January 8).

Angela Merkel had declared earlier that multi-culturism has failed. But on January 8, she stated, according to the EUobserver (January 8), that “‘the fundamentals of cultural co-existence’ must be discussed.” The magazine also pointed out that “Finnish police said that ‘widespread sexual harassment’ was reported in Helsinki during New Year’s celebrations on the city’s central square… ‘The suspects were asylum seekers…’”

Angela Merkel’s reflection might come much too late… and amounts to far too little. On January 8, The Telegraph quoted Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, as saying, “The idea of multicultural Europe has failed… The migrants cannot be integrated, it’s simply impossible.”

Please note the next articles as well.

Germany and the Migrant Crisis—A Country in Denial

The Daily Mail wrote on January 8:

“The attacks have sounded the alarm bell in Germany over the consequences of mass migration. A country dogged by guilt over its Nazi past, it has enjoyed its recent role as saviour of Europe, welcoming in foreigners from the war-divided Middle East and Africa’s poverty hotspots. When the migrants began arriving in their thousands each day last summer, there were welcoming parties across the country. ‘We love refugees!’ proclaimed banners outside reception centres.

“Yet that warm hospitality is now being replaced by fear, as a society renowned for its good order begins to buckle under the strain — and to worry if it has made a mistake.

“Figures this week revealed that 1.1 million newcomers registered for asylum in Germany in 2015. Many more — including potential jihadists and opportunists pretending to be refugees — are suspected of slipping in under the radar since August, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel controversially announced she would welcome all Syrian migrants who knocked on the door… German ministers say 3,200 migrants a day continue to enter the country…

“Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere admitted the New Year crimes against women by such large numbers of men from a migrant background were a ‘new departure’ for the country… the truth is the mass assaults have clear echoes of the sex crimes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in Egypt in 2011, during celebrations welcoming the so-called Arab Spring, when groups of men violently harassed women…

“Many Germans, including some of the victims themselves, have accused authorities of a conspiracy of silence over the assaults to stop criticism of the mass immigration policy pursued by Mrs Merkel and her politically-correct supporters. The mainstream media in Germany has, until recently, toed the Government line; a top public broadcaster, ZDF, recently refused to run a segment about a rape case on its prime-time ‘crime-watch’ show because the ‘dark-skinned’ suspect was a migrant…

“Cracks only began to show just before New Year. Bild, Germany’s largest daily newspaper, broke ranks by accusing officials of conducting a campaign of deception on a ‘massive scale’ by burying bad news on migration. It reported that drug gangs involved in organised crime were actively recruiting newly-arrived migrants from the vast temporary camps where they live.

“The Cologne police force has also been accused of deliberately hushing up the New Year scandal. It issued an official press release the following day describing the celebrations as ‘exuberant, but mostly peaceful’. The release has since been retracted, and last night it emerged that police chief Wolfgang Albers is to resign. Broadcaster ZDF had to apologise for a ‘cover up’ after it failed to report the Cologne story for three days, even though it knew about it.

“And until Thursday, a week after the attacks, there had been silence from Mrs Merkel’s ministers about the backgrounds of the perpetrators. Initially, they insisted there was no evidence that new migrants were involved in the violence. A leaked police report which emerged 48 hours ago showed this was far from the truth. It revealed that one of the Cologne attackers said: ‘I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly: Mrs Merkel invited me.’…

“The involvement by foreigners flies in the face of Germany’s PC lobby which has ruthlessly called critics of Merkel’s migration programme ‘Nazi’ or ‘racist’.

“Take 59-year-old Akif Pirincci, an outspoken Right-winger and German writer of Turkish origin, who has warned that Christian Germany is becoming Islamic. His books, one of which is called Germany Gone Mad, were best-sellers until last autumn, when big publishers and bookshops chose not to distribute them any more. It is the first time since the Nazi era that such censorship has occurred.

“In another controversy, Catholic journalist Matthias Matussek lost his job at the respected German newspaper Die Welt after he posted his views on November’s massacre in Paris on his personal Facebook page, saying mildly: ‘I think that the terror in Paris will move our (German) debate about open borders and … young Muslim men in our country in an entirely new and fresh direction.’…

“Andre Schulz, head of Germany’s criminal police association, said recently that in his experience 10 per cent of the migrants would turn to criminality, including theft, sexual assault or drug dealing. ‘The policy has been to leave the German population in the dark …ordinary citizens are being played for fools,’ he declared…

“Germany is having to confront the harsh result of welcoming in huge numbers of men from a culture which denigrates women and abhors the social rules of a modern European society. The European Commission estimates that three million more migrants — many of them ill-educated Muslim males who are illiterate even in their own Arab language — will arrive in the EU this year. The chances of successfully integrating them is next to nil.”

Schweiz Magazin and Blick.ch reported on January 7 that during New Year’s Eve, four Syrian immigrants (age 14-21) allegedly raped repeatedly two minor girls in Weil am Rhein in Germany, close to the Swiss border. Three of the alleged perpetrators were arrested; one is still at large. The 21-year old is a recognized refugee; his 15-year old brother has applied for asylum.

The man, boys and the girls knew each other to an extent; they all went to the apartment of the 21-year old refugee. According to Bild Online, the girls were then raped for hours in the apartment which is situated in a location with many migrants.

The Local reported on January 10 that the “man who attacked a Paris police station last week had lived in a centre for asylum-seekers in [Recklinghausen,] Germany. The individual was shot dead by French police on Thursday after he tried to storm a police station in northern Paris, brandishing a meat cleaver and wearing a fake suicide vest. The assault took place exactly one year since the start of a series of jihadist attacks in France, marked by the killing of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine on January 7 2015…

“The news site Spiegel Online reported, meanwhile, that the man had already been classed by German police as a possible suspect after he posed at the refugee centre with an IS flag, but he disappeared in December… He had used different names in separate registrations with German authorities, and filed for asylum using the name Walid Salihi… The man had also given different nationalities at each registration, once saying he was Syrian, another time saying he was Moroccan, and on yet another occasion, Georgian.”…

… In Spite of the Evidence

The Local wrote on January 11:

“Ralf Jäger, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, released initial findings of a criminal probe over the crime spree that has piled pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance towards refugees. ‘Witness accounts and the report by the (local) police as well as findings by the federal police indicate that nearly all the people who committed these crimes were of foreign origin,’ he said…

“Justice Minister Heiko Maas has said he believed the violence in the western city of Cologne was organised. ‘For such a horde of people to meet and commit such crimes, it has to have been planned somehow,’ he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. ‘No one can tell me that this was not coordinated or planned. The suspicion is that a specific date and an expected crowd was picked,’ he said.

“Quoting confidential police reports, Bild am Sonntag said some North Africans had sent out calls using social networks for people to gather in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.”

Demonstrations in Germany Turn Somewhat Violent

Deutsche Welle reported on January 9:

“Police in the western German city of Cologne have broken up a protest by the ‘anti-Islamization’ group PEGIDA. Water cannons were used to disperse demonstrators protesting after the New Year’s Eve attacks on women…

“The demonstrators protesting against Germany’s current refugee policies, who numbered some 1,700 people according to police estimates [far less than expected by PEGIDA], were confronted by an estimated 1,300 [leftist] counter-demonstrators, who also gathered near the train station. More than 2,000 state and federal police were tasked with keeping the two groups apart… There were reports of several arrests, and a number of people were also injured, including with cuts to the face…

“Police said half of those attending the PEGIDA rally were football hooligans and right-wing extremists [It is unclear whether the police counted supporters of the local party “Partei Pro Köln” as right-wing extremists. That would be a mischaracterization. They are right-wing, but not right-wing extremists]. A spokeswoman said some of the hooligans were known to police and came from the eastern city of Dresden. Dresden is the center of PEGIDA’s activities.

“Earlier in the day, several hundred women gathered in front of the cathedral in Cologne, situated near the central train station where the attacks mostly took place, to protest against violence to women…”

As the Local pointed out, the violence was caused by hooligans and right-wing extremists, not necessarily by those supporting PEGIDA. It stated on January 9:

“The initially peaceful rally against a shocking spate of sexual assaults during New Year’s festivities in Cologne took an ugly turn when a group of far-right extremists began flinging projectiles at officers… A Pegida spokesman urged ‘all participants to go home.’ ‘The event is officially over,’ he said.

“Earlier, chanting ‘expulsion’, supporters of Pegida waved banners and signs bearing slogans like ‘Rapefugees not welcome’. They also took aim at Chancellor Angela Merkel, accusing her of allowing migrants to run rampage in Germany through her liberal stance towards those fleeing war…

“Pegida started life over a year ago as a xenophobic Facebook group, initially drawing just a few hundred protesters to demonstrations in the eastern city of Dresden before gaining strength, peaking with rallies of 25,000 people.

“Interest subsequently began to wane following overtly racist comments by founder Lutz Bachmann, and the surfacing of “selfies” in which he sported a Hitler moustache and hairstyle. But Pegida has seen a revival with the record influx of migrants to Germany.”

Increased Violence on the March in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on January 11:

“According to police in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a group of about 20 people attacked six Pakistanis on Sunday evening, near Cologne’s central train station… Shortly after the first attack, a similar incident unfolded when a 39-year-old Syrian national was assaulted by a group of five people. Police said they were investigating grievous bodily harm, but could not confirm whether either of the attacks was racially motivated. It was also not initially clear whether the two were linked.

“Cologne tabloid ‘Express’ reported on Monday that a group of ‘bikers, hooligans and bouncers’ had used Facebook to plan a ‘human hunt’ to ‘clean up’ Cologne’s city center. Early on Monday, a police spokesperson was unable to confirm the reports. On Sunday afternoon, police had received tipoffs about ‘groups,’ which were ‘specifically looking for provocation,’ police said…”

In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on January 11:

“Thousands of Germans, particularly in Dusseldorf near Cologne, have joined Facebook groups claiming to promote vigilante city patrols in light of the Cologne assaults. The police have expressed their dismay at the idea… The Facebook group ‘One for all, all for one, Dusseldorf takes care of itself’ claims to be in contact with the police, and says it is ‘independent of political direction and religion. Any kind of racism and radicalism will not be tolerated. The point here is to show a peaceful sign that people can peacefully resolve crisis situations together.’… Similar Facebook initiatives have popped up for the southwestern city of Stuttgart, and Cologne itself – though that group says it does not promote vigilantism or patrols, but wants only to encourage citizens to be more careful.

“Yet despite their claims of peaceful intent, North Rhine-Westphalia’s anti-fascist collective has used the same social media platform to accuse the group of having a far-right, anti-immigrant agenda, and of ties to fascist soccer hooligans and Dügida – Dusseldorf’s iteration of the anti-Islamization PEGIDA movement.

“It is possible that far-right extremists have simply taken advantage of a peaceful call to exercise caution to gather and promote their agenda, but according to German daily ‘Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung’ Dusseldorf police are less than enthusiastic about their self-appointed ‘helpers.’ ‘The monopoly of power clearly lies with the state,’ in this case, a police spokesman told the newspaper, making it clear that anyone who partakes in vigilante activities is breaking the law and that such behavior will not be tolerated.”

Did Angela Markel Violate the German Constitution?

The Local wrote on January 13:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel overstepped her constitutional powers by letting over a million refugees into the country, one of Germany’s most senior former judges has said. ‘Going it alone was an act of self-empowerment,’ Michael Bertrams, who was president of North Rhine-Westphalia’s constitutional court from 1994 to 2013, wrote in the Kölnischer Stadt Anzeiger on Wednesday. Merkel’s policy of opening Germany’s doors to refugees was ‘full of empathy but lacking in a plan,’ the ex-judge said.

“All substantial decisions in a democracy lie in the hands of the people’s chosen representatives, he argues, pointing out that the constitutional court had decided that the parliament has the last word on decisions over whether the German army is sent to war. ‘If the military mission in Mali could only go ahead with the permission of the parliament, then it is certainly necessary when we are talking about taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees,’ the judge writes.

“Bertrams is the second constitutional judge to criticize Merkel’s refugee policy in a matter of days, after Udi Di Fabio announced on Tuesday that Bavaria has a right to take the government to court over its open-door policy. Di Fabio who sat on the federal constitutional court from 1999 to 2011, made the comments in a report he had been commissioned to write by the Bavarian state.”

The World View of Vladimir Putin

On January 11 and January 13, Bild Online published a rare interview with Vladimir Putin. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“We have done everything wrong… From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe’s division. 25 years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since…

“Back in 2007, many people criticized me for my talk at the Munich Security Conference. But what did I say there? I merely pointed out that the former NATO Secretary General Manfred Wörner had guaranteed that NATO would not expand eastwards after the fall of the Wall. Many German politicians had also warned about such a step, for instance Egon Bahr… the states that were already in NATO, the member states, could also have… abstained from an expansion to the east… NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone…

“In 2009, US President Obama said that the missile defense only serves as protection from Iranian nuclear missiles. But now there is an international treaty with Iran that bans Tehran from developing a potential military nuclear project. The International Atomic Energy Agency is controlling this, the sanctions against Iran are lifted – but still the US are working on their missile defense system. Only recently a treaty with Spain was signed, a deployment in Romania is being prepared, the same will happen in Poland in 2018, and in Turkey, a radar unit is being installed…

“The mutual sympathy of our peoples is and will remain the foundation of our relations… Even with the help of anti-Russian propaganda in the mass media, Germany has not succeeded in damaging this sympathy… Germany’s media are heavily influenced by the country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean… We had a very good situation in 2005. The common budget had a volume of 80 billion dollars per year. Thousands of jobs were created in Germany by Russian investments. At the same time, a large number of German companies invested in Russia. There were countless cultural and social contacts. And today? The trade volume is half as much, only about 40 billion Euros…

“I… remain close friends with Gerhard Schröder… I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law…

“The nationalists’ coup in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in February 2014 has hugely scared 2.5 million Russian people living on Crimea. So what did we do? We have not gone to war, we have not fired, not a single person was killed. Our soldiers have merely prevented the Ukrainian troops on Crimea from impeding the freedom of expression of the people. In the referendum – which was still decided to take place by the Crimea’s old parliament – the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people’s will… According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination. Just take Kosovo: back then, UN bodies decided that Kosovo should become independent of Serbia and that the interests of Serbia’s central government had to be subordinated… if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it?… The Russian population is absolutely clear about the situation… the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just.

“The West’s sanctions are not aimed at helping Ukraine, but at geo-politically pushing Russia back… the sanctions are severely harming Russia. But the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy. We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere… We are currently gradually stabilizing our economy. Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive. For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than 300 billion dollars in gold reserves. Several programs for modernizing the economy are being carried out…

“I have met [Angela Merkel] seven times last year, and we were calling each other on the phone at least 20 times. 2016 is the year of the German-Russian youth exchange, so the relations are moving on… I trust her, she is a very open person. She is also subject to certain constraints and limitations. But she is honestly trying to settle the crisis, also in the south-east of Ukraine. However, what the European Union is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theatre of the absurd… The Chancellor and the European partners would be well-advised to address the problems in eastern Ukraine more thoroughly. Maybe they have too many domestic problems of their own at the moment. At least Germany and France have recently criticized that the Ukrainian central government has limited certain parts of the autonomy regulations to three years. They were supposed to last permanently.

“… we do not claim the role of a superpower for ourselves. That is far too expensive and unnecessary. We are still one of the leading economic nations in the world.. Russia would like to cooperate with NATO again… Now there is also a direct confrontation with a NATO state. Turkey has recently shot down a Russian jet fighter in the Turkish-Syrian border region. Can such an incident – accidentally, so to say – set the whole world on fire?… NATO… does not have to protect Turkey, and our problems with Turkey have nothing to do with the NATO membership of that country. The Turkish leadership had better apologize for shooting the plane down, which was clearly a war crime, instead of calling NATO’s headquarters… I very much hope that such events do not grow into large military conflicts. But if Russia’s interests and security are threatened, Russia will resist. Everyone needs to know that…

“I also think that President Assad has done much wrong over the course of this conflict. But the conflict would never have become so big if it had not been fueled by outside of Syria – with weapons, money, and fighters… we do not want Syria to end like Iraq or Libya…

“I do not want to speculate whether a full-blown conflict between [Saudi Arabia and Iran] is to be expected. Russia maintains very good relations with both – Iran as well as Saudi Arabia. But it was a mistake of the leaders in Saudi Arabia to execute the Shiite cleric. He was not fighting with arms in his hands…  on the other hand, it was also absolutely inappropriate to storm the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran…

“There is no uniform, global model for democracy. What you mean by democracy differs from county to country. This conception is different in India and in the USA and in Russia or Europe. In the USA, for example, twice in history a politician became President because he had more electoral votes, regardless of the fact that his competitor had more votes from the citizens. Does that mean the USA are not a democracy? Of course they are…”

European September 11 in the Making – 2015 “Just a Rehearsal”

AFP reported on January 9:

“Just a week into the year, France has already been rattled by an attempted attack on a police station, but counterterrorism officials have far graver fears for Europe in 2016. Last November’s attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed by Islamic State group jihadists, showed the trauma that could be caused by a group of men with Kalashnikov rifles, but experts fear it could be just the start.

“‘Unfortunately, I think 2015 was nothing,’ a counterterrorism official told AFP on condition of anonymity. ‘We are moving towards a European 9/11: simultaneous attacks on the same day in several countries, several places. A very coordinated thing. We know the terrorists are working on this,’ he added. He said the Islamic State group was recruiting and training Europeans ‘with the goal of sending them back to hit their countries of origin.’

“‘They have the necessary false documents, the mastery of the language, the sites, the weapons. We stop a lot of them, but it must be recognized that we are overwhelmed. Some will get through — some already have.’ Recent arrests of jihadists returning from Syria and Iraq have added to concerns, he said… ‘If the quality of the attackers improves, we will have a problem,’ he said, adding that there was a ‘terrible pessimism’ among security service professionals for 2016. ‘Maybe we will say that 2015 was just a rehearsal,’ he added.”

Turkey in the Mix

The New York Times wrote on January 8:

“As the Middle East has descended into bitter sectarian conflict in recent years, Turkey has tried to remain above the fray, posing as an honest broker and peacemaker. Increasingly, though, it is being drawn into the conflict, and its preferred status as disinterested mediator is slowly becoming untenable…

“Turkey, a Sunni-majority country, has pursued an aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East in recent years in an effort to expand its influence and to position itself as the region’s leader of Sunni Islam. In doing so, it has sought to occupy a middle ground in the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. As a number of Sunni-led countries in the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, sided with Saudi Arabia, Turkey sought to calm tensions by advocating dialogue and offering itself as a possible mediator…

“Turkey relies on Iran for natural gas imports, which have become more important in the wake of the breakdown in Ankara’s relations with Russia, another important energy supplier, over Turkey’s shooting down a Russian warplane in November. As Turkey seeks to navigate the growing Saudi-Iranian dispute, it is also in the midst of a broader shift in its foreign policy, with events pulling it back to its traditional relationship with the West. The migration crisis has brought it closer to the European Union, which has sought Turkey’s help in stemming the flow of refugees from Syria. The dispute over the Russian plane has forced Turkey to rely more heavily on its NATO allies. And Ankara is also in negotiations to restore diplomatic relations with Israel, which broke down in 2010 after Israeli commandos stormed an aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip from Turkey…

“Mr. Erdogan has seemed to be more pro-Saudi Arabia in his remarks. He has called out Iran for what he sees as a double standard: condemning the execution of the cleric while giving support to Mr. Assad, whose military campaign and indiscriminate bombings have been blamed for the deaths of tens of thousands of Syrian civilians… Mr. Erdogan dismissed the criticism directed toward Saudi Arabia over the execution, calling it, ‘an internal legal matter.’…”

For more information on the future of Turkey, please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.” 

Terrorism in Turkey

Deutsche Welle reported on January 13:

“According to Turkish media reports on Wednesday, the suicide bomber who killed 10 [German] tourists in Istanbul was registered in Turkey as a Syrian refugee [and] had entered Turkey from Syria as a refugee on January 5…

“Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish authorities announced that they had arrested one person in connection with the attack in the popular tourist area of Sultanahmet Square, home to the famous historic sites the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Investigators have rounded up a further 68 individuals after the incident, but it was not clear how many were directly connected to the bombing

“Loyal to the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terrorist group, Fadli detonated explosives near the ancient Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius on Tuesday, making it the first time tourists have been deliberately targeted in Turkey following a string of IS-related attacks across the country over the last year…”

The attack was directed against a German travelling party scheduled to travel from Istanbul to Dubai. In addition to the ten German tourists who were killed, five are in intensive care.

“Jordan to Form Judicial Committee to ‘Inspect Israel’s Violations’ at Temple Mount”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 10:

“Jordan has been selected to establish an international judicial committee to inspect Israel’s ‘violations’ on the Temple Mount, the Amman-based daily Al-Rai reported on Sunday. This role was assigned to Jordan, which is recognized by many as the custodian of the holy places in Jerusalem, during a conference that took place recently in Egypt, assembling Arab judicial experts.

“Faisal Hizahi, an international judicial specialist, will chair the committee; he said it will inspect and document all the ‘violations’ that harm the holy places in Jerusalem, and initiate criminal procedures against Israel in the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

“In addition, Hizahi stated that the white paper submitted by the conference emphasized the central role of Jordan’s king, Abdullah II, in inspecting the ‘daily violations committed by Israel in Jerusalem’ and forming a united international stance toward them…

“Many Muslims see Jewish MKs’ visits to the Temple Mount as a sign of Israel’s intention to change the status quo there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel has no intention to change the status quo, under which Jews can visit the Temple Mount but cannot pray there.”

While this highlights only one move to try and contain Israel’s Temple-Mount presence, it is important to note that the effort to bring this to the Hague is one more step in turning the whole world against a Jewish Jerusalem. In addition, as we point out on page 16 of our free booklet, “Germany in Prophecy,”  Jordan will become part of a confederacy against “Israel”—apparently the descendants of the ancient houses of Israel and Judah.

President Obama’s State of the Union Address and the Republican Response

Breitbart wrote on January 13:

“President Barack Obama promised his final State of the Union address would be short. Dana Bash of CNN called it ‘low-energy.’ One thing it was not was accurate — or honest…

“[President Obama said:] ‘Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.’ … the truth is that despite the slow recovery–the slowest since World War II–labor force participation is the lowest it has been in decades. Wages are stagnant, household incomes still have not recovered from the recession, and young people see a bleak future…

“‘That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It’s about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to school, or start that new business, we’ll still have coverage.’ That is a cruel joke, given that Obamacare canceled insurance coverage for millions of Americans who did not change jobs. It also raised deductibles and premiums so high that many insurance companies are leaving the Obama exchanges totally…

“‘No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin.’ Of all the lies in Obama’s speech, this was undoubtedly the worst…

“‘We are training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in Iraq and Syria [from Islamic State].’ The Obama administration’s attempt to train and arm Syrian rebels has been a disaster…

“‘Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America.’ And a year of appeasement has not promoted democracy, either. The Castros remain firmly in power, and we are not helping the opposition. Worse, the Cuban regime continues to arrest thousands of political dissidents, to cozy up to enemies like Iran and North Korea, and to carry out provocative acts—such as stealing a U.S. Hellfire missile.

“Towards the end of his speech, Obama told one important truth: ‘There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.’ An unusual, but overdue, admission of guilt.”

In a related article, Breitbart wrote on January 13:

“Nikki Haley, the South Carolina governor hand-picked by House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to give the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, confirmed Wednesday morning that she did indeed target GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and that the speech was approved in advance by Republican leaders…

“If Haley wants to endorse a  GOP presidential candidate, hit the stump for that candidate, and rip into Donald Trump, no one is going to begrudge her that. But to use the State of the Union response to publicly attack her own frontrunner must be unprecedented, and certainly serves as more proof to Trump’s supporters that the Republican Establishment is much more interested in DC Media love than winning elections and advancing their legislative agenda.

“The eyes of the entire country were on Haley Tuesday night, and rather than use that time to make a case against the Democrats, Haley squandered it by attacking the frontrunner… Haley’s unconscionably selfish behavior reminds me of Chris Christie’s keynote address for Mitt Romney at the 2012 convention. Rather than make the case for Romney or against Obama, he used the opportunity to puff himself up.

“The GOP Establishment has lost the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections… this suicidal Republican Establishment temple must come down and be ground into dust.”

USA and Its Vaccines—a Country in Denial

The following article appeared in August of 2014. It is now more relevant than ever, as the unfortunate mandatory vaccine regulations, signed into law by left-liberal and highly controversial California Governor Brown, became effective in the most liberal state of the nation, California, as of January 1, 2016. It abolishes religious exemptions and strictly limits medical exemptions, requiring currently 49 shots of over 16 different vaccines for most Californians before the age of six, in spite of the established danger of health-threatening side effects, such as autism. These side effects are being denied by the left-wing liberal mainstream media and doctors working for or supported by the pharmaceutical industry.

Natural News wrote on August 25, 2014:

“CDC scientist William Thompson has admitted to committing scientific fraud over the last ten years in conjunction with other CDC scientists. They retroactively altered study data to hide the proven fact that MMR vaccines cause a huge increase in autism risk in African-American children, and the CDC’s top criminal, Dr. Julie Gerberding, orchestrated the entire fraud.

“Now Rob Schneider, famous for his many roles in popular comedy movies, is urging the political leadership of California to investigate the fraud. More importantly, he also says he has a copy of ‘the original CDC report that was later suppressed and fraudulently changed.’…

“[Schneider wrote:] ‘This policy of one size fits all Vaccine schedule for every child is as absurd as giving the same eye prescription glasses to every child. The fact is EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT and there is currently NO SYSTEM or thought to which child could be more susceptible to adverse reactions including permanent injury and death from any Vaccine or Vaccine ingredients… As a concerned citizen of the State of California, I feel compelled to share with you proof the CDC committed fraud (I have copies of the original CDC report that was later suppressed and fraudulently changed). One disturbing disclosure, AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN were and still are THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT more likely to develop Autism under the current Vaccine MMR schedule. This according to the original CDC study in 2001.

“My question to you and Governor Brown is, how many children in California in the last thirteen years since this report have been hurt? How many children in the US have been permanently damaged? Lastly, how many MORE children will be needlessly injured because of the bill Governor Brown signed?”

As we know, Governor Brown brushed those concerns aside and signed the law anyhow. One other extremely vocal opponent to this ridiculous law is world-known comedian Jim Carrey.

Creating Human-Animal Chimeras

Technology Review reported on January 6:

“… some U.S. research centers are moving ahead with attempts to grow human tissue inside pigs and sheep with the goal of creating hearts, livers, or other organs needed for transplants. The effort to incubate organs in farm animals is ethically charged because it involves adding human cells to animal embryos in ways that could blur the line between species.

“Last September, in a reversal of earlier policy, the National Institutes of Health announced it would not support studies involving such ‘human-animal chimeras’ until it had reviewed the scientific and social implications more closely… The NIH action was triggered after it learned that scientists had begun such experiments with support from other funding sources, including from California’s state stem-cell agency. The human-animal mixtures are being created by injecting human stem cells into days-old animal embryos, then gestating these in female livestock.

“… Technology Review estimates that about 20 pregnancies of pig-human or sheep-human chimeras have been established during the last 12 months in the U.S., though so far no scientific paper describing the work has been published, and none of the animals were brought to term…

“By modifying genes, scientists can now easily change the DNA in pig or sheep embryos so that they are genetically incapable of forming a specific tissue. Then, by adding stem cells from a person, they hope the human cells will take over the job of forming the missing organ, which could then be harvested from the animal for use in a transplant operation. ‘We can make an animal without a heart. We have engineered pigs that lack skeletal muscles and blood vessels,’ says Daniel Garry, a cardiologist who leads a chimera project at the University of Minnesota…

“Because chimeras could provide a new supply of organs for needy patients and also lead to basic discoveries, researchers including Garry say they intend to press forward despite the NIH position…

“The worry is that the animals might turn out to be a little too human for comfort, say ending up with human reproductive cells, patches of people hair, or just higher intelligence. ‘We are not near the island of Dr. Moreau, but science moves fast,’ NIH ethicist David Resnik said during the agency’s November meeting. ‘The specter of an intelligent mouse stuck in a laboratory somewhere screaming ‘I want to get out’ would be very troubling to people.’…

“Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a stem-cell biologist at Stanford University, began trying to make human-sheep chimeras this year… Other kinds of human-animal chimeras are already widely used in scientific research, including ‘humanized’ mice endowed with a human immune system. Such animals are created by adding bits of liver and thymus from a human fetus (collected after an abortion) to a mouse after it is born.

“The new line of research goes further because it involves placing human cells into an animal embryo at the very earliest stage… This process, called ‘embryo complementation,’ is significant because the human cells can multiply, specialize, and potentially contribute to any part of the animal’s body as it develops…

“The word chimera comes from the creature of Greek myth, part lion, part goat, and part snake.

“Pablo Ross, a veterinarian and developmental biologist at the University of California, Davis, [asks:] ‘What if the embryo that develops is mostly human? It’s something that we don’t expect, but no one has done this experiment, so we can’t rule it out.’”

Mysticism in the Catholic Church

Express wrote on January 8:

“… researchers are investigating a mystery photo which has been said to show the Virgin Mary appearing before an amphitheatre full of worshippers. The remarkable image appears to show the shape of the Virgin Mary appearing towards the front of a packed crowd, as if being beamed in from a source up above. It was taken at a mass held by a high-ranking Catholic priest who claimed to receive messages from the Madonna herself…

“The source claims the original snap was taken in 1994 during a huge Catholic mass called a cenacle given by Italian priest Father Stefano Gobbi at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Father Gobbi, who has toured the world, was encouraged by the then Pope and was scrutinised by the church over claims of having mystical dealings with the Virgin Mary… Father Gobbi died aged 80 on June 29 2011, but spent more than three decades holding special mass gatherings centring around the Virgin Mary.

“In his lifetime he ‘traveled the world holding Cenacles of Prayer on every continent’, according to an article on Father Gobbi by Colin Donovan, vice president for Theology, at the Global Catholic Network… According to Mr Donovan there had been some scrutiny of Father Gobbi’s ‘claims of mysticism’ high up in the Catholic Church. He added: ‘In the case of alleged mysticism there is always the possibility of mental illness, fraud, vivid imagination, or even the demonic…

“In his favour, however, are the opinion of his spiritual director, his own zeal to promote Consecration to the Immaculate Heart and fidelity to the Magisterium, the great numbers of lay, religious and priestly vocations strengthened, and in some cases saved, through the Marian Movement of Priests, and the good will shown him by very many members of the hierarchy, including the Pope, who has received him and encouraged him in his work on several occasions.’’

These developments are truly frightening as, if true, they are clearly NOT godly inspired. The Bible shows that many people will believe in “miracles,” not realizing that they are lying wonders, inspired by Satan the Devil and his demons.

Fraud in the Lottery…

The Washington Post wrote on January 10:

“… with the jackpot soaring to world record-breaking levels — standing at an estimated $1.3 billion as of Sunday night— Powerball hysteria is sweeping the United States… The U.S. saw Powerball sales of $277 million on Friday and more than $400 million were expected Saturday… In California, where total Powerball ticket sales usually average $1 million a day, they were selling at a rate of $2.8 million per hour…

“Those sales have soared despite a scandal that rocked the organization that runs the game — a five-year-old investigation into jackpot fixing in one state that grew to include at least four others. In the end, a Multi-State Lottery Association security expert was convicted of fraud and sentenced to a decade in prison and the man who ran Powerball since it began was quietly put on leave…

“In December 2010, a man walked into a Quik Trip convenience store on Des Moines’ north side and bought what would become the winning ticket in a Hot Lotto draw with a $16.5 million jackpot, according to court documents.

“The prize was unclaimed for nearly a year. In November 2011, a Canadian man contacted the Iowa Lottery claiming to be the winner. A month later, he said he was not the winner himself, but represented the anonymous winner. Later that month, a New York lawyer came forward to claim the prize for a Belize-based trust. No one involved could provide the basic details of the winner, information required by Iowa law. Eventually, the attorney withdrew the claim to the jackpot and the money went back to the states where the tickets were sold.

“… three years later, [investigators] released surveillance footage of a hooded man buying the winning ticket in the hopes that someone would recognize him. Several people identified him as Edward Tipton, Multi-State Lottery Association’s former security director. Tipton was charged with fraud almost exactly one year ago, on Jan. 15, 2015. Investigators argued that Tipton was able to secure the winning ticket for himself through self-destructing software he installed on lottery computers…  Tipton then allegedly filtered the ticket through a friend in Texas.

“Ultimately, he was found guilty of two counts of fraud last July and sentenced to 10 years in prison last September… In October, investigators alleged that Tipton also rigged a $4.8 million jackpot in Colorado in 2005 and a $2 million jackpot in Wisconsin in 2007. They have also investigated alleged rigging in Kansas and Oklahoma.

“After the investigation was expanded nationwide in early October, Multi-State’s executive director Charles Strutt — who had run Powerball since it was created — was quietly placed on indefinite administrative leave…  Strutt hopes to return to the job when the Tipton case ends.”

It is unlikely enough that one wins a Powerball jackpot, even if the game was fair. It may be more likely of being hit by lightning or an asteroid. But it makes matters worse when the game is blatantly unfair.

It should be common knowledge that casinos operate in a way which could easily be described as fraud, but since everybody knows or should know about it, it would be extremely difficult to win a court case, as one of the elements of fraud is misrepresentation… and if one knows that what is represented is fraudulent, then one cannot reasonably rely on it. For instance, one knows or should know that slot machines in casinos are fixed. Apparently, based on the article above, lotteries have been fixed too.

It has been proven that soccer games and boxing matches have been fixed to get an undue advantage in bets—referees were paid to let a certain team win; entire teams were paid to lose a game; and boxers were paid to lose a match. It is assumed that games in other sports are fixed too. The truth of the matter is that we are living in a dishonest and criminal world.

Escalation of Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Bloomberg reported on January 3, 2016:

“In a significant escalation of tensions, Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran and expelled the Islamic Republic’s diplomats, a day after its embassy in Tehran was attacked to protest the Saudis’ execution of a prominent Shiite cleric…

“[Saudi Foreign Minister Adel] Al-Jubeir announced the expulsion after Iranian protesters set the Saudi embassy on fire following the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a critic of the kingdom’s treatment of its Shiite minority. He was one of 47 men executed for offenses that included terrorism and political activism…

“The escalation probably will undermine already-stumbling efforts to end the war in Syria, where Saudi Arabia backs largely Sunni militants and Iran supports the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The two OPEC members are also engaged in a proxy confrontation in Yemen…”

Saudi Arabia and Iran—“Two Murderous Theocracies”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 4:

“The timing of the executions was no coincidence. The Saudi State knows full well what it does – and when. No one in Riyadh is naïve enough not to have considered the reactions to the mass executions ahead of time. But that also means: In ordering the executions the Saudis were sending, above all, a political message. The message read: No one should dare oppose us. No one inside and no one outside our borders. Whoever dares confront us must expect dire consequences…

“Of course, Iran’s reactions have been dubious as well: By allowing protesters to storm and vandalize the Saudi embassy in Tehran the Mullah regime has demonstrated that it is not interested in calming tensions… Iran has declared itself to be the protector of all Shiites inside and outside Iran.”

Military Conflict between Sunnis and Shiites on the Horizon?

Breitbart wrote on January 4:

“Bahrain and Sudan have joined their ally Saudi Arabia in formally severing diplomatic ties with Iran, while the United Arab Emirates has ‘downgraded’ its diplomatic team, recalling its ambassador from Tehran and announcing that it would reduce the number of diplomats assigned to Iran…

“Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics warned that the breach between Saudi Arabia and Iran ‘could easily spiral out of control,’ noting that the proxy battle between the Saudis and Iran – which is, in turn, a manifestation of the old conflict between Sunni and Shiite – has already produced violent clashes on the Arab street, plus armed conflict in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, and Lebanon.

“Another CNN analyst, retired Lt. General Mark Hertling, thought it was possible the conflict between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and their respective allies could become a direct military conflict. He echoed Gerges’ warning that ‘this is spiraling very quickly.’”

A Point of No Return?

The Telegraph wrote on January 4:

“The Persian Gulf has become a strategic tinderbox. Saudi Arabia’s drastic decision to behead the Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr marks a point of no return in the bitter Sunni-Shia conflict engulfing the region. It is a dangerous escalation in the Kingdom’s struggle with Iran for regional hegemony. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has vowed swift and harsh revenge, promising to bring down the Saudi dynasty in short order to avenge this ‘medieval act of savagery’…

“The risk for the Saudis is that the execution of Sheikh Nimr for what is essentially peaceful political protest ignites a long-simmering revolt by an aggrieved Shia minority, who make up 15pc of the population and are sitting on top of the giant Saudi oil fields in the Eastern Province…

“Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington…said the mass executions have set in motion a fateful chain of events that nobody can now control. ‘It will likely trigger a bloody civil war that won’t end until the Saudi monarchy ceases to exist. This cycle of violence will not spare anyone or anything, including the coveted oil installations,’ he said…”

All the Actors in the Middle East Will Have to Choose Sides

The Times of Israel wrote on January 4:

“… nearly all the actors in the Middle Eastern arena now understand that… Tehran will try to… attack… the Saudi kingdom.

“Any revenge attack via Shiite actors will draw a Saudi response. Which means… the cold war will heat up suddenly into a… much more dangerous confrontation between the two countries.

“It has to be said that this crisis, which is likely to lead to a clash of the two civilizations, Shiite and Sunni, does not come as much of a shock. In all, what’s come to light here is the depth of the loathing between the two local powers, which have for years been fighting behind the scenes… for regional hegemony. There’s hardly a country or a region in which the fingerprints of the hostility between Tehran and Riyadh cannot be seen; or more precisely, between the representative of Sunni Islam — Saudi Arabia — and Iran, its competitor in the Shiite world…

“From now on, the name of the game in our region is that every country or organization will have to choose a side…”

Boiling Over… Iran vs. Saudi Arabia

The Associated Press reported on January 7:

“Iran on Thursday accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of hitting its embassy in the capital, Sanaa, in an overnight airstrike, but there were no visible signs of damage on the building… Analysts have feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria…

“Meanwhile Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia… Iran’s annual exports to Saudi Arabia are worth about $130 million a year and are mainly steel, cement and agricultural products. Iran’s annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles…”

Sunni and Shia’s 1,400-Year-Old Divide Explained

The Independent wrote on January 4:

“Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran fundamentally boil down to two things – the battle to be the dominant nation in the Middle East and the fact the countries represent the regional strongholds of two rival branches of Islam.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ruled by a Sunni monarchy known as the House of Saud, with 90 per cent of the population adherents of their leaders’ faith. The Islamic Republic of Iran, meanwhile, is overwhelmingly Shia, with up to 95 per cent of nationals belonging to the denomination…

“It is the theological divide that really drives the wedge between the two countries… with each unable to accept the legitimacy of the other nation’s dominant faith.

“The Sunni-Shia conflict is 1,400 years in the making, dating back to the years immediately after the Prophet Mohammed’s death in 632.

“The Prophet died without having appointed a successor leading to a massive split over the future of the rapidly growing religion – chiefly whether the religion’s next leader should be chosen by a kind of democratic consensus, or whether only Mohammed’s blood relations should reign. The arguments are complicated but essentially boil down to the fact that Sunni’s believe the Prophets’ trusted friend and advisor Abu Bakr was the first rightful leader of Muslims or ‘caliph’, while Shias believe that Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law Ali was chosen by Allah to hold the title.

“Both men did eventually hold the title – Abu Bakr first until his death, and Ali fourth after two previous caliphs were assassinated – but the schism really hit over who should come next. While Sunni Muslims argue that their interpretation of Islam follows the Sunnah (ways of Mohammed), Shias argue that Ali was the rightful first caliph and only his descendants could claim to be the true leaders of Muslims.

“The tension is not eased by a Hadith in which the Prophet was quoted as saying: ‘My Ummah (community) will be fragmented into seventy-three sects and all of them will be in the Hell fire except one.’ Inevitably both Sunnis and Shias claim to be the one ‘pure’ Islamic sect. As with any division that lasts over a thousand years, the Sunni-Shia split led to each denomination developing its own unique cultures, doctrines and schools of thought…

“The vast majority of the Muslims in the world are Sunni, amounting to as much as 85% of the religion’s adherents. They are spread all over the globe – from Morocco to Indonesia – and make up the dominant religion in North Africa and the Middle East. Only lran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain have a Shia majority, although there are also significant Shia populations in Yemen, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria and Qatar…”

America’s Questionable Support of Saudi Arabia

The Huffington Post wrote on January 4:

“The killing of Al-Nimr has sparked a massive reaction because he was a prominent religious leader who defended the Shia minority and criticized the abuses — both domestic and foreign — of the Saudi regime. He supported the 2011 anti-government protests in the Eastern Province, protests that erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring… Al-Nimr was arrested and imprisoned in 2012, then convicted of sedition, disobedience and bearing arms. He did not deny the political charges against him, but insisted he never carried weapons or called for violence…

“But instead of insisting on al-Nimr’s release during his years in prison and echoing Amnesty International’s condemnation of his ‘deeply flawed’ trial, the U.S. government was silent. Even after the execution, the U.S. refused to issue a strong denunciation. For decades, U.S. administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have backed the kingdom. The U.S.-Saudi alliance dates back to World War II, when U.S. officials started to see Saudi’s oil as a strategic advantage. Since then, the US has blindly supported the Kingdom in almost every political and economic effort, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is an ultraconservative monarchy rife with human rights abuses.

“Saudi Arabia has consistently been ranked by Freedom House as one of the worst human rights violators in the world… [earning] the lowest possible score in all three categories of freedom, civil liberties and political rights…”

“Should Germany Stop Exporting Arms to Saudi Arabia?”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 4:

“Despite official condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s executions, many wonder why Germany doesn’t take action against the kingdom. Critics think arms exports to the country should have been stopped a long time ago…

“In the first half of 2015 alone, Germany approved a number of arms exports to the Gulf region, despite concerns about conflicts and human rights violations. Among the exports approved were 15 patrol boats for Saudi Arabia. The latest report showed that the value of Germany’s arms sales, the world’s fourth-biggest arms exporter, was 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion) in the first six months of 2015 – compared to 2.2 billion euros in the first half of 2014…”

Massive Attacks on Men and Women in Cologne, Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on January 4:

“Police in the western German city of Cologne responded on Monday to outrage over a string of sexual crimes over New Year’s Eve. According to police, the series of assaults in one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares represented a ‘completely new dimension of crime.’… City police chief Wolfgang Albers said the crowd [of attackers] was composed of up to 1,000 heavily intoxicated men who gave the appearance of being ‘Arab or North African’ in background. The police chief told German news agency dpa that the incidents represented ‘an intolerable situation’ for Cologne…

“Speaking with local newspaper ‘Express,’ Ralf Jäger, the state interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, promised swift action. ‘We will not accept that groups of North African men gather expressly for the purpose of debasing women by sexually assaulting them,’ the paper quoted Jäger as saying… The leader of the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of Germany’s main police union, Arnold Plickert, called the crimes ‘a massive attack on basic rights’ and said justice must be seen through even if it has ‘politically uncomfortable’ consequences.”

Massive Cover-Up by German Police and Media?

The Local wrote on January 4:

“Men of ‘Arab background’ were likely responsible for sexual assaults on dozens of women in central Cologne over the New Year, police said on Monday – as a social media storm accused police and media of a cover-up…

“A group of around 500 men between the ages of 15 and 35 assembled at the central train station and in the area of the cathedral before throwing firecrackers into the masses of people celebrating the arrival of the new year. This appears to have been a means of causing distraction, as during the disturbance groups of young men entered the crowd where they sexually assaulted women and pick-pocketed revellers. Police then carried out a large-scale operation to clear the area of the miscreants…

“As the extent of the crimes emerged on Monday, the story became the central theme of Twitter… Many people accused the national media of engaging in a cover-up due to the ethnic background of the criminals, with many pointing to the fact that it took days before the details of the story reached national attention. One commentator wrote sarcastically that ‘it is fascinating that the event in Cologne on New Year made it through the media censorship.’…

“MP Steffan Bilger from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, meanwhile, claimed the events in Cologne were proof Germany needed to reduce its intake of refugees.

“Writing for the Huffington Post Deutschland, Anabel Schunke accused the police of covering up details about the suspected criminals in order to protect public order. Questioning why no details were given on the appearance of the suspects when police called for witnesses, despite plentiful CCTV footage, Schunke suggested that police chose to leave important details out so that the public would not make a connection between the crime and refugees.

“In its details, the case is reminiscent of the mass sexual assaults which took place in north Africa during the huge Arab Spring protests of 2011-2013, Schunke points out, writing of her concern that so many people are moving to Germany from ‘patriarchal, Muslim societies.’”

German Policy Confronted with Hard Questions

Breitbart added a few more uncomfortable questions, stating on January 4:

“Just five arrests have been made by German police after central Cologne was transformed into a war-zone on New Year’s Eve, as an estimated 1,000 migrants celebrated by launching fireworks into crowds and sexually assaulting German women caught up in the chaos.

“The sordid details of the horrifying sexual assaults and attacks made against ordinary Germans by large gangs of migrants in Cologne in the early hours of Friday morning are just now emerging.

“Far from a small number of sex assaults reported to have been made by German speaking men in initial reports on New Year’s Day, dozens of women are now reported to have been molested and ‘raped’, while dozens more men have been assaulted and robbed..

“A press conference hosted by Cologne’s chief of police Wolfgang Albers this afternoon confirmed the attacks had been perpetrated by migrants, all of whom were found to be carrying official immigration paperwork by police officers at the time…

“Despite dozens of men and women having been attacked, the area being comprehensively monitored by CCTV, and having thousands of potential suspects, Cologne police have arrested just five men so far in relation to the new year’s eve attacks. The police chief may yet have serious questions to answer on the attacks, which follow a year of record breaking migration, after it emerged that just ten officers were dispatched to the station after the report of a gang sex assault in the early hours of the morning, and unverified accusations started to circulate on-line of officers even ridiculing a victim for not having been vigilant enough to avoid being attacked…”

It is almost ironic that in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, she told Germans “they should see the arrival of thousands of migrants as ‘an opportunity’ and warned of divisions in German society” (EUObserver, December 31, 2015). However, it is becoming more and more obvious that Angela Merkel’s policy regarding migrants and refugees has been failing. Backlash is unavoidable. Notice the following articles which paint a really grim and disgusting picture on the situation in Germany.

Germany’s Official Version Vehemently Rejected by German Police 

Die Welt am Sonntag published an explosive article on January 7, stating that German police officers vehemently deny the official version that it is unknown as to who Cologne’s perpetrators and aggressors were. They say that some of them came from North Africa, but most of them were Syrian refugees who had just arrived in Germany. The police officers state that the migrants’ primary goal was to have some “sexual amusement,” and that robbing attendees was only their secondary goal. 

The police officers also declare that they arrested at least hundred migrants and checked their identities, and that this is the reason why they know that most of them were Syrians. They also state that many migrants arrived from outside Cologne, and that at least 2,000 aggressors were involved. But they also point out that many friendly and peaceful Arabs were in the crowd who even asked the police whether New Year’s Eve was always celebrated in Germany in such a brutal fashion, and that they were anxious to get out of the Cologne environment at the main train station.

It is obvious that somebody is lying. 

The Local added the following on January 7:

“A New Year’s Eve police report from Cologne showing the full extent of the sexual assaults against women in and around the city’s main train station appeared in German media on Thursday, causing fresh waves of consternation. ‘We were already informed of the conditions in and around the station as we were arriving at our positions by emotional members of the public with crying and shocked children,’ a high-ranking police officer wrote in a document seen by Spiegel Online and tabloid Bild. ‘On the square outside were several thousand mostly male people of a migrant background who were firing all kinds of fireworks and throwing bottles into the crowd at random.’

“The police vans were themselves the targets of thrown fireworks as they pulled into their parking spaces, and people immediately rushed to the officers to report thefts, violence and sexual assaults against women… ‘State and federal police officers were repeatedly fired on with fireworks and had bottles thrown at them during the clearance,’ the report read. But the chaos around the station continued, with the officer recording ‘numerous crying and shocked women reporting sexual assaults by several male migrants or groups.’ ‘The officers on the ground couldn’t gain control of all of the events, attacks and crimes – there were simply too many at the same time for that to be possible.’

“At some points officers were too busy even to be able to record crimes people were trying to report. The report also notes that many of the perpetrators were mocking police throughout the night and saying they knew they would face no consequences for their actions. Crowds at times prevented officers from reaching people crying out for help and were seen threatening them as they tried to report crimes to the police…”

Attacks in Other German Cities As Well

Breitbart wrote on January 6:

“Although on a smaller scale to the unrestrained and un-policed sex attacks in Cologne, the Berliner Morgenpost has now reported on assaults taking place on the street ‘in front of the Brandenburg gate’ [in Berlin]. The revelation may prove difficult for the German media, which until now has stressed in most reports on the new year’s rapes that Berlin was not caught up in the scandal.

“The paper reports four separate incidents around the city, including a tourist being sexually assaulted by a group of ‘three to five men’, and two women being ‘sexually harassed’ by men from Pakistan and Iraq…

“More analogous to the Cologne attacks were events in Hamburg, where groups of ‘southern or Arab appearance’ men aged between 20 and 40 sexually assaulted dozens of women… [One attacked] girl told Spiegel she thought [the attackers] were [of] ‘foreign origin’.

“In Stuttgart two 18 year old women were assaulted and robbed by a gang of 15 men reports the Stuttgarter Zeitung, as well as an unspecified number of other ‘mostly young women’ victims. Düsseldorf saw at least eleven sexual assaults in the historic city centre by ‘North African’ men…”

The Local added on January 6:

“In scenes similar to those in Cologne, several women have reported New Year sexual assaults to police in Frankfurt… The men were of north African appearance who spoke in broken English with strong Arabic accents, police said… Police in Cologne have received around 90 reports so far, with more from other cities including Hamburg and Stuttgart under similar circumstances taking the total up to 118…

“With no… leads so far, authorities are struggling to make themselves heard when they insist there is no known link to recently arrived refugees… for many conservatives and people on the far-right, news of the events in Cologne has confirmed rumours coursing online in recent months of increasing numbers of sexual crimes by Muslims in Germany.”

Does the Spin in Germany Continue?

The Local reported on January 5, 2016:

“Recently-elected mayor [of Cologne] Henriette Reker… insisted that there was ‘no evidence that we are dealing with people who have received accommodation here in Cologne as refugees.’… Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, meanwhile, said ‘that such a large number of people, apparently from a migrant background, could have carried out these attacks, is a new departure.’”

Infowars reported on January 5:

“German authorities are being accused of covering up a mass sexual assault at Cologne train station on New Years Eve, during which Arab and North African migrants molested dozens of women after fireworks were thrown into a crowd…

“Critics have also pointed to the fact that the story has been ignored by many large German news outlets. In general, English-language mainstream media has also failed to report on what happened, although BBC News did cover the story. ‘Many people accused the national media of engaging in a cover-up due to the ethnic background of the criminals, with many pointing to the fact that it took days before the details of the story reached national attention,’ reports the Local…

“This is not the first time that authorities in Germany have been accused of covering up crimes committed by migrants. After a 13-year-old girl was raped at a migrant camp in Detmold, police buried the incident, fearing it could lead to ‘right wing demonstrations.’ ‘Although the rape took place in June, police kept silent about it for nearly three months, until local media published a story about the crime,’ wrote Soeren Kern. ‘According to an editorial comment in the newspaper Westfalen-Blatt, police are refusing to go public about crimes involving refugees and migrants because they do not want to give legitimacy to critics of mass migration.’

“As the Gatestone Institute documents, reports of migrants raping women in and around migrant camps in Germany have exploded since the country opened its borders to around a million ‘refugees’ last year.”

Tough Questions for German “Legal” System

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 6:

“There is no doubt about who the perpetrators were: they were young, male and looked North African or Arab. Unfailingly, this has brought the migration and refugee debate to a new level… The sexist assaults only became public much later than New Year’s Eve. And it wasn’t the police who made the incredible events public either: It was the female victims whose criminal complaints got the ball rolling, bringing to light an issue that is a massive threat to the city’s social peace.

“The night of the uncontrolled male mob in the vicinity of Cologne Cathedral is closely linked to the all-encompassing refugee topic. It polarizes German society like nothing else has in a long time… That’s the last thing we need after an historic 2015, when more than 1.1 million refugees were so enamored with Germany that they wanted to be evacuated to nowhere else but here – all within a single year…

“Cologne, too, now faces a change in mood. Once prejudices against ‘the foreigners’ begin to dominate the public debate, warnings against simplification will barely be heard. Agitation against refugees and asylum-seekers on the Internet could hardly be more aggressive than it is now. Xenophobia is fashionable again…

“This phenomenon, however, shouldn’t divert attention from the fact that the problem of criminals migrating to Germany along with other refugees went unnoticed for a long time. Surely, the refugees aren’t all well-behaved fathers. The perpetrators in Cologne were young and male – as is the vast majority of the refugees that entered Germany in 2015.

“Other masculinity norms legitimizing violence have arrived in Germany along with the refugees, a problem that has become more real than ever before. A growing population thanks to migration from Muslim countries calls for novel ways of thinking and new action…

“It defies common sense that delinquent refugees, perhaps even repeat offenders, can’t be deported. Bars ban drunks who go on a rampage from their premises; people who light pyrotechnics are banned from soccer stadiums. But refugees and asylum-seekers would have to commit murder before they’re deported. In the wake of the Cologne incidents, the number of Germans who understand this legal situation is bound to dwindle.”

Backlash from the Right

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 6:

“The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been one of several groups to seize on the attacks as fuel for its anti-migrant rhetoric. ‘Here we see the appalling consequences of catastrophic asylum and migration policies on Germany’s everyday realities,’ said party leader Frauke Petry.”

Donald Trump wrote the following on Twitter: “Germany is going through massive attacks to its people by the migrants allowed to enter the country. New Years Eve was a disaster. THINK!”

The mass tabloid Bild and Stern Online responded in typically ridiculous fashion: “Trump poebelt gegen Deutschland” (“Trump abuses (or attacks) Germany.”)

Breitbart reported on January 6:

“German counter migration movement the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) have called a mass protest for this Saturday afternoon at the square outside the railway station where the attacks happened. Announced within the past few hours, the march is likely to attract thousands, and not just of long-standing PEGIDA members, but also of ordinary Germans and the citizens of Cologne.

“For many, the realisation that the German mainstream media and government have been apparently colluding in the cover-up of migrant sexual violence has provided a sudden and rude political awakening. PEGIDA protests in the past have fielded upwards of 30,000 marchers to protest the Islamisation of Europe, and have been characterised by the broad cross section of society who have joined their ranks…”

Did North Korea Develop a Hydrogen Bomb?

The New York Times wrote on January 6:

“North Korea declared on Tuesday that it had detonated its first hydrogen bomb. The assertion, if true, would dramatically escalate the nuclear challenge from one of the world’s most isolated and dangerous states… The North’s announcement came about an hour after detection devices around the world had picked up a 5.1 seismic event along the country’s northeast coast. It may be weeks or longer before detectors sent aloft by the United States and other powers can determine what kind of test was conducted…

“The North is believed to have enough plutonium for eight to 12 weapons, and several years ago it revealed a new program to enrich uranium, the other fuel for a nuclear weapon. But if the North Korean claim about a hydrogen bomb is true, this test was of a different, and significantly more threatening, nature…”

China’s Stock Market Plummets

The Los Angeles Times wrote on January 4:

“On Monday, the new year’s first day of trading, China’s benchmark Shanghai composite index fell 6.9% to 3,296.66, its lowest level in nearly three months. The Shenzhen composite plunged 8.1%, marking its worst day in nine years. The drop triggered ‘circuit breakers’ for both markets, closing them early to halt the panicked slide…

“Economists expect China this year to record its lowest growth rate in a quarter of a century, as the country struggles with excess capacity, piles of government debt and weakening demand for key commodities.”

China’s stock market crash affected markets around the world, with Asia and Europe down -3 percent and U.S. markets down 1.7 percent. CNBC wrote that the Dow Jones closed down triple digits, with the “worst opening day in 8 years.” Express wrote that Britain experienced the “worst stock market start of the CENTURY” and that its “top stock market lost billions of pounds today, prompting fears over invested pension savings.”

Chinese Stocks Collapse Again

The Huffington Post wrote on January 7:

“Chinese stock markets packed enough drama for a few months into a spectacularly condensed half-hour collapse on Thursday. And as they did earlier this week, U.S. stocks are also falling. China’s CSI 300 stock index plummeted 5 percent in the first 10 minutes of trading…”

Bloomberg added on January 7:

“The worst start to a year in global stocks since 2000 extended to a fourth day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 200 points, as turmoil emanating from China spread around the world and billionaire George Soros warned that a larger crisis may be brewing.”

Most Americans One Paycheck Away from the Street

Market Watch reported on January 6:

“Americans are starting 2016 with more job security, but most are still theoretically only one paycheck away from the street. Approximately 63% of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair… Faced with an emergency, they say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (23%), borrowing from family and/or friends (15%) or using credit cards to bridge the gap (15%).

“This lack of emergency savings could be a problem for millions of Americans. More than four in 10 Americans either experienced a major unexpected expense over the past 12 months or had an immediate family member who had an unexpected expense…

“Why aren’t people saving? Millions of Americans are struggling with student loans, medical bills and other debts… Indeed, personal savings rates as a percentage of disposable income dropped from 11% in December 2012 to 4.6% in August 2015… and now hover at 5.5%.

“… the amount of wealth held by the middle class is shrinking. The share of income held by middle-income families has plunged to 43% of households in 2015 versus 62% in 1970…”

Harvard Professor Fired by Hospital for His Critical Views on LGBT

The Blaze wrote on December 31:

“Can a hospital fire a physician who doesn’t support LGBT views and practices? One Boston hospital just did. After a legal battle that lasted more than 10 years, Dr. Paul Church of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) lost his final appeal to the hospital’s Board of Directors to reconsider the center’s decision to fire him and revoke his medical privileges.

“Church, a urology professor at Harvard University, disagreed with BIDMC’s institutional endorsement of LGBT causes. The hospital ordered his expulsion after discovering that Church had expressed concerns about the health dangers related to same-sex activity on the hospital’s internal online portal…

“‘Celebrating sexual perversions is highly inappropriate, especially in the context of a medical center that should be aware of the negative health consequences of high risk behaviors,’ Church wrote in 2013…

“Church said that he intends to continue his medical practice elsewhere while striving to fulfill his professional duties ‘by advocating for healthy and moral choices.’”

Vast Majority of Brainwashed Scientists and Teachers Believe in Unbiblical Evolution

The Washington Post wrote on December 17:

“… the National Science Teachers Association strongly supports the teaching of evolution (and only evolution)… Although 98 percent of scientists connected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science say they believe that humans evolved over time, only 66 percent of Americans surveyed by Pew believe that science has reached a consensus on the issue.

“Nearly a third of Americans reject evolution entirely, and around half of those who accept it as good science still believe that a higher power played a part in the process…”

As the article strongly suggests, scientists do NOT even believe in a “theistic” evolution (although that concept is not biblical either). The scientists’ concept of evolution is totally atheistic.

Attempted Abortion a Crime, Successful Abortion Not a Crime?

CBS News reported on December 17:

“A Tennessee woman is charged with attempted first-degree murder for what investigators say was a failed abortion attempt… [The woman, 31] filled a bathtub with water and attempted to self-abort with a coat hanger. She began bleeding and became worried about her safety…

“Her boyfriend took her to the hospital where doctors delivered a 24-week-old baby weighing just 1.5 pounds. Doctors told investigators the child will need medical support for the rest of his life because of the injuries he sustained.”

This is indeed a very tragic situation. But this question must be allowed: If a woman can be charged with attempted murder for trying unsuccessfully to abort her baby, how in the world can the law allow a woman to successfully abort her baby and not being charged with murder? Clearly, there is something awfully rotten in our legal system.

Why Is January 1 Celebrated as New Year’s Day?

The Washington Post wrote on December 31:

“Starting the new year on the first of January feels counterintuitive. We mark a fresh beginning in the dead of winter, when the days are shorter and the nights are colder…

“Jan. 1 isn’t the only New Year’s Day; many religious and cultural communities also observe their own calendars. But much of the world abides by the Gregorian calendar’s solar dating system…

“When the Romans used a lunar calendar, the year began in March, on the day the new consul took office. But by 153 B.C., with the addition of some months, consuls assumed office on Jan. 1.

“There’s also some religious significance, as January had a festival for Janus, the god of gates, or beginnings. As the Greek-born historian and philosopher Plutarch wrote, one explanation invoked the legendary first king of Rome, Romulus, ‘a warrior and a lover of battle, and was thought to be a son of Mars,’ who preferred March, named after … Mars.

“But then a king named Numa, ‘a lover of peace and whose ambition was to turn the city towards husbandry and to divert it from war, gave precedence to January,’ named after Janus ‘a statesman and husbandman rather than a warrior.’

“How do you feel about Roman gods and kings helping dictate your calendar circa 2016?… even Plutarch acknowledged the arbitrary nature of picking the start to the Roman calendar…

“This Roman system had some problems. By the time Julius Caesar came onto the scene, the lunar-based Roman calendar had fallen out of sync with the seasons, creating an organizational mess. So with the help of an Alexandrian astronomer, and using the Egyptian solar calendar as a foundation, Caesar introduced what’s now known as the Julian calendar in about 46 B.C. Like its Roman predecessor, it started in January…

“By the 1500s, the vernal equinox fell back 10 days… Pope Gregory XII commissioned a reform to fix the problem… It also codified Jan. 1 as the official start of the new year, keeping with its predecessor… Though Catholic states adopted it, Orthodox churches and Protestant states initially rejected the timetable in favor of the ‘Old Style’ Julian calendar. Many Orthodox churches strictly observed the Julian calendar until World War I; some still adhere to a version of it… It wasn’t until 1752 when the Brits gave in to the Gregorian calendar and changed the New Year’s Day to Jan. 1…

“Even though Gregorian is how most of us function day-to-day, many religious communities and cultures have their own calendars. There are religious calendars, such as from the Muslim, Hindu and Jewish traditions, that dictate holiday observances and fasts and begin anew at many different points throughout the Gregorian year.

“For instance, the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah comes between September and October on the Gregorian calendar [Our comment: Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of a new year according to the CIVIL calendar. The religious new year begins in March/April according to the Hebrew calendar.] The Coptic Church also observes new year in September. The Islamic new year fluctuates…

“Doesn’t spring — the very season of renewal — feel like a more natural time to kick off a year?…”

The Church of God follows the Hebrew calendar in determining the annual Holy Days, as commanded by God. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” and “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.” 

2015—A World on Edge

The Financial Times wrote on December 28:

“Battered, bruised and jumpy — the whole world is on edge. Not one global power is optimistic…

“In 2015, a sense of unease and foreboding seemed to settle on all the world’s major power centres. From Beijing to Washington, Berlin to Brasília, Moscow to Tokyo — governments, media and citizens were jumpy and embattled.

“This kind of globalised anxiety is unusual. For the past 30 years and more, there has been at least one world power that was bullishly optimistic… Yet at the moment all the big players seem uncertain — even fearful…

“On the political and security front, the implosion of the Middle East continues. Outside powers have proved unable to restore order to the region and are finding that disorder is spreading to Africa and Europe, in the form of refugees and jihadi terrorism.

“The biggest common factor is… a bubbling anti-elite sentiment, combining anxiety about inequality and rage about corruption that is visible in countries as different as France, Brazil, China and the US. In America and Europe, such complaints are often linked to a pervasive narrative of national decline. These social and economic anxieties have political side effects, fuelling a demand for ‘strong’ leaders, such as Mr Xi, Mr Trump or Vladimir Putin of Russia…

“The global gloom makes the international political system feel like a patient that is still struggling to recover from a severe illness which began with the financial crisis of 2008… Another severe shock, such as a major terrorist attack or a serious economic downturn, could spell real trouble…”

2015 — A Horrible Year

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 31:

“2015 was a horrible and depressing year. It was a year of crises, of war and of catastrophes. It was a year of things starting to unravel, of shows of force and of monstrous terror… The world is in political disarray and on the move. And the center of this commotion is the Middle East… terrorism is starting to spread out from the Middle East…

“Meanwhile, Europe has been dealing with war on its front doorstep, in Ukraine… Russia – despite all the sanctions against it – is back on the world stage… Obama’s USA is focusing on itself again… He knows that America can’t solve all of the world’s problems, and he knows it doesn’t want to, either.

“2015… has shown that crises around the world are starting to merge at a global level… countries are pursuing nationalist political interests… That is why 2015 was such a horrible, depressing and difficult year. And also because there is not much reason to hope that things will be any better in 2016, either.”

2015—A Year of International and National Violence and Domestic Turmoil for the USA

Deutsche Welle reported on December 27:

“It’s been a year of violence, unrest and historic change for the United States – both at home and abroad. With a presidential election just around the corner, the country’s future course is far from settled.

“President Barack Obama broke two major taboos in US foreign policy this year: he re-established diplomatic ties with Cuba, and cut a deal with Iran over its nuclear program… The nuclear deal with Iran has sparked fierce opposition from one of America’s closest allies, Israel…

“While negotiating with US adversaries, the president sought to end the country’s controversial wars. The rise of the self-styled jihadist group ‘Islamic State’ (‘IS’), however, has upended those plans. Three years after withdrawing, US troops have returned to Iraq in small numbers to combat ‘IS.’ In October, the president decided to keep more than 5,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan after he leaves office to check a resurgent Taliban and budding ‘IS’ branch…

“Domestically, gay and lesbian Americans won the right to marry nationwide over the summer, capping a decades-long struggle and a sea change in public attitudes toward homosexuality.  Earlier this month, the military opened combat positions to women, one of the few areas in the country where gender discrimination was still official policy…

“Muslims have been the target of increasingly discriminatory rhetoric in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Thirty-one governors oppose resettling Syrian refugees, while Republican front-runner Donald Trump has called for an outright ban on Muslims entering the United States. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said the US should focus on settling Syrian Christians…

“Racial tensions have also been running high amid recurring incidents of unarmed African Americans dying at the hands of police. In the case of Baltimore, April protests boiled over into riots… In June, a white supremacist opened fire in a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine worshipers… The massacre sparked a renewed debate on white supremacy in America and its symbols, particularly the Confederate flag – which represents the former slave-holding states of the south.

“The shooting spree in Charleston was one of 30 mass killings in the United States this year…

“The political environment is ripe for outsiders. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the US is witnessing a level of income inequality not seen since the 1920s. Nearly eight years after Obama was first elected president, Americans are still looking for change.”

2015—The Year of Terror in Europe

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 30:

“The year 2015 began as it ended: with shots ringing out in terror attacks in the heart of Paris…

“European politicians… promised solidarity and aid… the end of this year of terror saw the formation of an unlikely coalition that intends to take action against ‘Islamic State’… the USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, France and Turkey are all… pursuing totally different goals in the region…

“Germany and other European allies such as Great Britain and Denmark are now intent on putting their declared solidarity into action. The states have mobilized their air forces for the war against ‘IS.’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel… ordered the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance planes, a naval ship and a fueling aircraft to Syria. Security authorities have warned that Germany, too, has long been a potential target for terrorists, and more than ever at the end of the year…

“The European Union is promising France military assistance according to Paragraph 42 of the Lisbon Treaty. That’s never been the case before… The intended result is to have more monitoring of travel and money transfers…

“The open inner borders in Europe are doubly under pressure: first, because of the refugees who have been coming to the continent for months without being controlled, and secondly, because of the realization that terrorists with EU passports can obviously travel unhindered or mingle with the influx of refugees and thus arrive in France from Syria without being recognized. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has called for better protection of the EU’s external borders… From there, terror attacks are being coordinated and carried out in Europe… A joint border guard is to be set up…

“Nearly all the traces left by the perpetrators of the Paris terror attacks lead to Belgium. The attacks were apparently prepared in the Brussels district of Molenbeek, an Islamist stronghold that has long been known to the Belgian authorities… Soldiers are patrolling the streets at the end of the year 2015. Will that offer protection against jihadists?…”

“2015: The Year Merkel Became Europe’s Boss”

The Local wrote on December 28:

“In a year of crises for Europe, from the Ukraine war to Greece’s debt turmoil to the historic refugee influx, Germany’s Angela Merkel emerged as the continent’s de facto leader, drawing more praise and fire than ever. Whether spearheading EU diplomacy with Moscow, bargaining with Athens over tough bail-out terms or responding to the world’s biggest refugee wave since World War II — Merkel was in the middle, again and again.

“At a time of growing uncertainty and division in Europe, the pragmatic quantum chemist whom Germans call ‘Mutti’, or mummy, preached fiscal rectitude and humanitarian principles, often drawing a mixed response. Her unusually bold move to throw open Germany’s doors to Syrian refugees has particularly battered her long-stellar poll ratings at home, and left the leader of Europe’s top economy isolated on key issues in the 28-member EU. ‘2015 has been an incredible year, hard to comprehend really,’ said the 61-year-old chancellor, who is not usually given to hyperbole, at a congress of her centre-right party this month. ‘I’ve never experienced such a rapid sequence of highly significant events.’

“That was quite a statement for the Protestant pastor’s daughter, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain and lived through the fall of the Berlin Wall a quarter-century ago… The rise of Germany’s influence during Merkel’s decade in power has often unsettled European neighbours. When an unyielding Merkel told debt-hit eurozone members to slash public spending, she was caricatured as an austerity dominatrix in Nazi garb who deployed accountants rather than tanks…

“Merkel won over some of her harshest critics with her decision in September to open the doors to a record wave of refugees who were heading in, many on foot, from Budapest. The country that once sent rail carriage-loads of people into concentration camps was now cheering as trains arrived packed with refugees from war-torn Syria, in moving TV footage seen around the world… In rare unanimity, media organisations including Agence France-Presse, Time magazine and the Financial Times declared the long-time ‘Queen of Europe’ the world’s most influential person of 2015.

“New York Times columnist Roger Cohen wrote that ‘she has become a towering European figure, certainly the equal of such postwar German giants as Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl — perhaps even surpassing them’…

“Many Germans, however, now have doubts, fearing that Merkel, their trusted guarantor of stability, is plunging the country into chaos. Polls point to growing fears about the influx of mostly Muslims, a right-wing populist party has been gathering steam and there has been a spike in racist hate crimes. ‘Germany is definitely split,’ said Oskar Niedermayer of Berlin’s Free University. ‘In general, Merkel and her work are still very highly regarded, but on the refugee crisis a majority think she is pursuing the wrong policy.’

“Merkel’s plan to avoid a million more arrivals next year is based in large part on convincing other EU members to accept more refugees. Yet the response so far has ranged from deafening silence to howls of protest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected Germany’s ‘moral imperialism’ and sealed national borders with razor wire, while Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka charged that Merkel had ‘encouraged illegal migration’ to Europe. Even European Council president Donald Tusk labelled Merkel’s migrants policy ‘dangerous’.

“At the party congress, Merkel conceded that the refugee influx…  presented an ‘enormous’ task and would change the country forever. ‘It is a historic challenge for Europe, and I say we want Europe to meet this challenge,’ she said, to thundering applause. ‘And I am convinced it will.’

“Niedermayer said that Merkel, in her best speech so far, had ‘bought herself a few months, but not more’ while voters and her own party base would likely grow more impatient. ‘That’s why 2016 will be the true acid test.’”

Will the Deutschmark Replace the Euro? No Way!

On December 30, the Local published an article with the following headline: “Supermarket to accept Deutschmarks again.” But before anti-Euro politicians, parties and demonstrators get all excited, one has to read on:

 “Kaufland supermarkets will be accepting the former German currency at their cashiers. To support the campaign, many of the company’s products will also be given a 1960s design to enhance the nostalgic theme. But the food giant hasn’t suddenly been bought over by right-wing political party the Alternative for Germany (AfD) – who famously want to reintroduce the old German currency. Instead, this is a limited campaign, lasting from January 4th until January 30th, and the aim is to get Germans to use the old currency they still have lying around. The estimated value of that currency is over €6 billion.

“A spokesperson for the company told The Local that customers can do all their normal shopping but pay with the currency which went out of use in 2002. The cashier will then calculate the payment based on an exchange rate of 1 Euro to 1.95 DM, a rate which has remained unchanged for 14 years… Calculations made by the Federal Bank in November estimate that 168 million Deutschmark notes and 24 billion coins were never exchanged. In fact these estimations suggest that around 54 percent of Deutschmark coins are still in the hands of the general public.

“But bankers also reckon that a large proportion of this booty no longer exists – or at least is no longer to be found in Germany. Many smaller coins will have simply been lost, while special edition silver coins could have been melted down to take advantage of the high price of silver in recent years, the Federal bank believes. Meanwhile, because the Deutschmark was used as a stable currency in the countries of former Yugoslavia for many years, other coins and notes were taken out of Germany years ago.”

Germany Criticizes Greece; Pleads for a EU Army; Establishes Special Classes for Foreign Children

The EUobserver wrote on December 29:

“Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has often been on collision course with Greek politicians over the last years of the country’s debt crisis, on Sunday (27 December) told Bild am Sonntag that Athens has for years ignored the rules that oblige migrants to file for asylum in the EU country they arrive in first. He recalled that German courts decided that refugees were being treated inhumanely in Greece, therefore it is not possible to send asylum seekers back there…

“Athens has been pushed to accept EU help to patrol its islands, where most migrants land from Turkey, and additional EU staff to help with fingerprinting new arrivals. Greece’s reluctance to accept EU assistance has also given birth to an EU Commission proposal to be able to send European border guards to a country in crisis at the external border area of the passport-free Schengen travel zone, even without that country’s consent…

“Schaeuble also said, the refugee influx meant that European countries will have to increase spending on defence. ‘Ultimately our aim must be a joint European army. The funds that we spend on our 28 national armies could be used far more effectively together,’ Schaeuble was quoted as saying. Earlier this year, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker also called for the gradual establishment of an EU army. He said the European Union needs its own army to help address the problem that it is not ‘taken entirely seriously’ as an international force.

“Faced with refugees from war torn areas in the Middle East and Asia, Germany has also stepped up efforts to play a more visible role in international affairs. In December, lawmakers approved a mission to Syria, which includes sending six Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate to help protect a French aircraft carrier, a refueling aircraft, and 1,200 military staff…

“Germany stepped up efforts at home too to accommodate the unprecedented number of new arrivals, many of whom are children in need of education. The country has recruited 8,500 people to teach child refugees German… With some 196,000 children fleeing war and poverty entering the German school system this year, 8,264 ‘special classes’ have been created to help the new arrivals catch up with their peers… According to Germany’s education authority, 325,000 school-age children reached the EU country in 2015.”

German MPs Angry at NATO Plane Mission

The Local wrote on December 27:

“A Nato force of reconnaissance planes that includes German personnel will be sent to help Turkey police its border, drawing ire from politicians in Germany who said on Sunday they were not consulted. ‘The government must immediately inform parliament of the details of this deployment, in particular what missions will be assigned to these planes and the destination of any data they collect,” Tobias Lindner, the green party’s head of defence matters, demanded…

“Though the mission involves sending German troops abroad, the government said it has no plans to consult the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament… It was not immediately clear how many planes were to be sent to help Ankara ‘ensure Turkish security’ in view of conflicts in neighbouring Syria and Iraq…

“The head of the Bundestag’s defence committee, Social Democrat Wolfgang Hellmich, said the timing of the news was ‘a bit curious’ given that lawmakers were away for the holidays and have not yet taken up the matter.”

One has to wonder whether the German government is trying to secretly “pull a fast one,” while keeping the German people and even German MPs in the dark.

US Foreign Arms Sales Reach Astronomical Height

The New York Times wrote on December 25:

“Foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost $10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent… American weapons receipts rose to $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7 billion the year before, bolstered by multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Those deals and others ensured that the United States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year, controlling just over 50 percent of the market.

“Russia followed the United States as the top weapons supplier, completing $10.2 billion in sales, compared with $10.3 billion in 2013. Sweden was third, with roughly $5.5 billion in sales, followed by France with $4.4 billion and China with $2.2 billion.

“South Korea, a key American ally, was the world’s top weapons buyer in 2014, completing $7.8 billion in contracts. It has faced continued tensions with neighboring North Korea in recent years over the North’s nuclear weapons program and other provocations. The bulk of South Korea’s purchases, worth more than $7 billion, were made with the United States and included transport helicopters and related support, as well as advanced unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles.

“Iraq followed South Korea, with $7.3 billion in purchases intended to build up its military in the wake of the American troop withdrawal there. Brazil, another developing nation building its military force, was third with $6.5 billion worth of purchase agreements, primarily for Swedish aircraft.

“The report to Congress found that total global arms sales rose slightly in 2014 to $71.8 billion, from $70.1 billion in 2013…

“Despite the competition, the report concluded that, given its positioning, the United States was likely to remain the dominant supplier of arms to developing nations in coming years…”

What utter insanity!

Holocaust Denial on the Rise in Eastern Europe

Ynetnews.com wrote on December 29:

“The testimonies are fading away, the memorial sites are turning into entertainment centers, and the historical story is seen as just another ‘Jewish narrative’: If anyone thought that Holocaust denial was a marginal phenomenon among a few anti-Semites and Israel haters, evidence shows that is it a much wider, more well-established and dangerous phenomenon that is receiving reinforcement on the ground from eastern European countries.

“In Lithuania, for example, people are doing everything to downplay the significance of the horrors of the war as a unique event in the history of mankind, and in Ukraine a famous mass murder site has turned into a thriving jogging spot. According to Dr. Efraim Zuroff, a Nazi hunter and director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center office in Jerusalem, many countries have adopted an intentional policy leading to de facto Holocaust denial…

“Dr. Zuroff pointed at Lithuania as the country leading the change… He says there is an attempt to conceal and blur the eastern Europeans’ role in the massacre. ‘In Lithuania there was a systematic killing of Jews by the local population,’ he explained. ‘That is the reason why 96 percent of the Jews there did not survive and many communities were completely erased. The intentional goal is to conceal this fact. ‘The mass murderers of Jews among the local population are perceived as national heroes because of their war against the communists, and streets, squares and governmental institutions have been named after them…’

“Lithuania is not alone… ‘soft denial’ is taking place in Baltic countries like Estonia and Latvia, as well as in Poland, Croatia and Hungary… many Poles were far from being righteous gentiles, but… rather played a role in the annihilation in wide areas in Poland as the Nazis’ active partners…  sites of mass killing across Europe are being deserted or turned into parks which attract families on Sundays… The Babi Yar mass murder site in the heart of Kiev, where one of the deadliest massacres in Eastern Europe took place, has become a green band of jogging and baby strollers…

“According to Dr. Zuroff, Eastern European countries’ efforts to ‘conceal the evidence’ and blur history have increased since the Baltic countries became part of the European Union… The EU is keeping quiet… the leading countries in Holocaust denial today have good relations with Israel, even if they may be anti-Semitic towards Jews. So instead of crying out against what was done to the Holocaust victims, Israel is keeping quiet…

“According to Zuroff, the United States… is keeping quiet too, as are France and Germany. ‘The fact that there are countries in Europe which have not taken responsibility for the Holocaust must be acknowledged. In Austria, for example, they are still using all kinds of legal measures to prevent the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. Only recently, they rejected our request to try a woman who was responsible for putting women in gas chambers, arguing that she only played “a passive role” which she cannot be prosecuted for… We must understand that we are standing at a decisive junction in the history of the Holocaust. Most of the survivors can no longer cry out and speak, so it’s our mission to make sure that Europe, which wants to forget, will not forget.’”

Yehudah Glick to Become Member of Parliament?

The Times of Israel wrote on December 27:

“Yehudah Glick is undeterrable. Last year, he survived an assassination attempt when a Palestinian shot him four times at point-blank range. Before firing, the terrorist had called Glick an ‘enemy of al-Aqsa’ for his vocal advocacy on behalf of Jews’ rights on the Temple Mount.

“But Glick is not backing down. Even now that Israel finds itself in the middle of an extended terror wave, which is to a large extent inspired by Muslim concerns over the Jews’ alleged intention to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque, Glick does not intend to stop calling for Jews to be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. And he might soon be able to make his case as a member of Israel’s parliament. ‘Just as I do it today outside the Knesset, I’ll try to do it inside the Knesset,’ the 50-year-old redhead told The Times of Israel this week in Jerusalem. ‘If I am in the Knesset, I will try do my best to change the situation on [the] Temple Mount.’…

“Jews can currently visit the contested site but are forbidden from praying there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted numerous times in recent months that he does not wish to change this arrangement — the so-called status quo — which has been in place ever since Israeli troops captured Jerusalem’s Old City in the 1967 Six Day War… But currently, Jews can’t even go up there without being harassed, argued Glick, the director of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation…

“Glick… is next in line to enter parliament for the Likud party. In internal Likud elections before the general election in March, he placed 33rd on the party’s roster for Knesset, which seemed like a long shot. But then Likud surprisingly got 30 seats. After that, Danny Danon left to become Israel’s ambassador to the UN. And now Silvan Shalom is quitting politics amid harassment allegations. If one more Likud MK drops out, Glick will be sworn in as a lawmaker.

“Political pundits say it’s not unlikely that rabble-rousing MK Oren Hazan, currently barred from participating in parliamentary debates because of his behavior in the House, will be forced to quit the Knesset. A recent state comptroller report accused him of severely violating campaign finance laws and he now faces a three-year prison sentence. According to the abridged version of the so-called Norwegian Law, which the Knesset passed in July, government ministers may also quit the parliament while holding on to their ministerial portfolios, freeing up their seat.

“One way or another, Yehudah Glick could become Yehudah Glick MK pretty soon… In preparation for that possible future position, Glick has been regularly attending the Likud’s weekly faction meetings. Ideologically, he appears a good match: like most Likud MKs… he rejects Palestinian statehood…

“Left-wing groups and even centrist politicians… argue that any change to the fragile status quo on the Temple Mount has the potential to inflame the entire Arab world. Some worry that any move advancing Jewish rights at the site could spark World War III…”

Even though the article only reports about Glick’s ambition to allow Jews free access to the Temple Mount to be able to pray there, it is worthwhile noticing that Glick previously worked as the executive director of The Temple Institute, a group that supports the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. Glick has been referred to in the Israeli press as a Temple Mount activist and a Third Temple activist.

The Bible shows that a Third Temple will be built, even though some biblical readers claim the opposite. Their argument is correct that sacrifices were offered at the time of Ezra before the Second Temple had been built (Ezra 3:1-6); however, those sacrifices were only given because it was settled that the Temple would be built (Ezra 3:8-13); further, it is not a question as to whether a Temple is “needed,” but whether it is going to be built in these end times. Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that just prior to Christ’s return, the false prophet—the man of lawlessness—will sit in the Temple of God, claiming to be God, REQUIRES the building and existence of a literal Temple. The notion that the “Temple” could refer in this context to the Church of God—a symbolical spiritual Temple—is preposterous.

No Christ in “Christmas”!

MSN wrote on December 25:

“How do you keep the Christ in Christmas if your language doesn’t have a Christ in it to begin with? The languages of the world have quite a variety of names for Christmas… And many of them have nothing to do with Christ.

“Christmas lands right at the same time as winter solstice festivals that were celebrated long before the coming of Christianity. That’s likely an important reason Christmas is celebrated when it is: to co-opt the pagan festivals. (Jesus probably wasn’t actually born on December 25. Scholars — including, in a 2012 book, Pope Benedict XVI — have raised many questions and made many suggestions about his actual birth date.) And Christmas isn’t the only Christian celebration to co-opt pagan festivals: Hallowe’en and All Saints’ Day take over from a fall festival, for instance, and Easter gets its English name — and those eggs and bunnies — from a pagan goddess, Eostre. Likewise, Christmas gets its trees and holly and mistletoe and even its gift-giving traditions from pre-Christian religious celebrations, and in many languages it gets its name from them too.

“Take Yule, for instance (Old English spelling: Geol). Yule featured trees, logs, boars, carol-singing, and feasting at night. It appears in Scandinavian languages as Jul (or, in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, Jól) and was borrowed into Finnish as Joulu and Estonian as Jõulud — all now their words for Christmas. Yule was a festival of a holy night (or nights), and that’s where [the] German name for Christmas, Weihnachten, comes from: Middle High German wihen nahten, ‘holy night’ (also converted by Czech into Vánoce). Oh, yes, it’s holy for Christians too. It was easy enough to convert the festival to Christianity. Other nearby countries had winter festivals, too. In Latvian, Christmas is Ziemassvētki, which means… ‘winter festival.’

“The Romans had a similar festival: the day of the birth of the unconquered sun. In Latin, that’s dies natalis solis invicti. Just as the festival came to celebrate the birth not of the sun but of the son (of God), that word natalis, ‘of the birth,’ changed over time as Latin split into different languages. It became French Noël, Italian Natale, Spanish Navidad, and Portuguese Natal. Celtic languages also borrowed it: Gaelic Nollaig, Welsh Nadolig, and Breton Nedeleg.

“Romanian also came from Latin, but in Romanian, Christmas is Crăciun, which is thought to come from Latin calatio, the name of a calling together of the people by priests — pre-Christian ones. Hungarian uses another version of the same word, Karácsony. In Lithuanian, Christmas is Kalėdos, which has an unclear origin but may come from the same source or a related one.

“Birth shows up in other languages’ names for Christmas, and it’s not always easy to say whether the term started in reference to the birth of Jesus or whether it was carried over from a reference to a pagan birth (as of the sun god, for instance). In Polish it’s Boże Narodzenie, ‘birth of God.’ Croatian Božić is a similar reference to God (or a god)…”

This should tell us a lot about the true origin of Christmas.

Religion and Belief in God a Product of Atheistic Evolution?

If you have never read a ridiculous article by God-defying atheists, then here is a classic example.  It shows HOW FAR this evil and rotten world has departed from the true God. Satan must have a field day in reading [and inspiring] this nonsense. First, scientists taught atheistic evolution. Now, they are beginning to teach that atheistic evolution produced religion and a belief in a (non-existing) God, and that the Bible is a fabrication of “fearful” men. This is truly abominable, and woe to those scientists and teachers who fill the heads of our children with such blasphemous thoughts.

The Daily Mail wrote on December 25:

“Religion is often seen as being at odds with the science of evolution, but according to a growing area of research, it may actually be a product of this fundamental biological process. Fear of incurring the wrath of God, or a range of gods, may have played a key role in the development of our species, according to a leading expert in the evolution of human co-operation. He argues that belief in a divine being who will punish bad behaviour may have allowed humans to co-operate in a way our relatives in the animal kingdom do not…

“… it appears floods, famines and plagues may have… helped to start belief in some gods in the first place… The findings may help to shed light on how religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam first emerged and why stories of hardship play such a central role…”

And if that was not enough, an accompanying article suggested that “it is possible to significantly change a person’s beliefs simply by targeting their brain with magnets… People who were subjected to this treatment reported that their belief in God dropped by a third following the stimulation, while there was an increase in positive feelings towards immigrants…”

Indeed, Satan has brain-washed the entire world, and he is now using “educated” scientists to continue doing so. Please also note the following article about Professor Richard Dawkins, an atheist and one of the leading Evolutionists.

Richard Dawkins Attacks Islam… and other Religions

Express wrote on December 28:

“The furious academic walked out of an interview when a Muslim journalist confirmed he personally believed the prophet Muhammad flew to heaven on a winged horse. Dawkins… told the New Statesmen’s Emad Ahmed that his belief was ‘pathetic’ before angrily storming off… [He said on Twitter]: ‘I left when he said Muhammad rode a winged horse. A non-timewasting journalist needs at least SOME grasp of reality.’ He added: ‘Ridiculing belief in a winged horse is not “bigotry”, not “Islamophobia”, not “racism”. It’s sober, decent, gentle, scientific realism.’…

“The attack on Islamic belief is the latest in a long line by Dawkins. Last month he said Islamic culture could ‘go to…’ on a live TV chat show in the United States when referring to some practices in Islam, such as women being made to wear burkhas. Nor is it… the first time Dawkins has attacked the belief in the ascension of Muhammad…

“The Qur’an briefly refers to the Isra and Miraj, two parts of a night journey Muhammad took during a single night in the year 621. The ‘physical and spiritual journey’ sees the Islamic prophet travel on the steed Buraq to the ‘furthest mosque’ where he leads other prophets in prayer. He then ascends to heaven in the Miraj journey where he speaks to God, who gives instructions to take back to the faithful.

“Dawkins – who was once named the world’s leading thinker by Prospect Magazine – has been equally critical of other religions. He has described Judaism as a ‘tribal cult of a single fiercely unpleasant God, morbidly obsessed with sexual restrictions’. And he once claimed that being raised a Catholic and taught to fear hellfire is ‘worse than child abuse.’…

“Dawkins was born in Kenya but moved to Britain aged eight. He studied at Oundle School, in Northamptonshire, before reading Zoology… at Oxford University, where he is now an emeritus fellow of New College. He became an atheist in his early teens after learning about Darwin’s theory of evolution and has written 13 books on evolution, biology and religion, including several international best-sellers.”

Sadly, especially younger people in the UK believe in Dawkins’ pronouncements, and may view him almost like a Savior of mankind. However, Dawkins is dead wrong on his atheistic evolutionary beliefs. The fact that the crowd follows him is a strong testimony about the ability of “scientists” to brain-wash people. On the other hand, his comments are right on regarding the belief that “Mohammed rode to heaven on a winged horse.”

Horrible! Do Some Islamic Jurists Allow Cannibalism?

The Washington Examiner wrote on December 25:

“The Islamic State’s religious scholars have ruled that taking the organs of non-Muslims is permissible under Islamic law to save the life of a Muslim, because killing apostates to eat their flesh has previously been allowed. The revelation comes in a January 2015 document that was captured by U.S. special forces in Syria in May and obtained by Reuters… the document notes that Islamic jurists have ‘permitted, when necessary, the killing of the infidel combatant or the apostate should one need to consume their flesh for the purpose of saving his own life.’ Islamic scholar Imam al-Nawawi, according to the document, wrote about the ‘legitimacy of killing the infidel fighters and apostates and eating them.’

“The Islamic State scholars argue that ‘If the jurists had permitted, when necessary, the consumption of human flesh as a means [to] counter… death or harm, then it is even more appropriate [to] transplant… organs from the apostate to the Muslim to save the life of the latter. This is especially true because it was ruled that the apostate’s life and organs are not protected. On the contrary, the apostate’s life and organs don’t have to be respected and can be taken with impunity.’

“The document notes that, ‘The permission to transplant the apostate’s organs into a Muslim body facilitates, alleviates and removes the difficulties endured by Muslims [and] is corroborated by a reason strongly rooted in the pure Sharia.’”

Thomas Aquinas Against Islam (and the Catholic Church?)

Breitbart wrote on December 27:

“The 13th-century scholar Thomas Aquinas, regarded as one of the most eminent medieval philosophers and theologians, offered a biting critique of Islam based in large part on the questionable character and methods of its founder, Mohammed… Aquinas—considered by Catholics as a saint and doctor of the Church… wrote between 1258 and 1264 AD [that] the spread of Islam was worked through the promise of sensual pleasures and the violence of the sword…

“Islam’s violent methods of propagation were especially unconvincing to Aquinas, since he found that the use of such force does not prove the truth of one’s claims, and are the means typically used by evil men…

“Aquinas wrote that Mohammed ‘perverts almost all the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments by making them into fabrications of his own, as can be seen by anyone who examines his law.’ According to the noted historian Hilaire Belloc, Islam ‘began as a heresy, not as a new religion… It was a perversion of Christian doctrine… It was, Aquinas wrote, ‘a shrewd decision on his part to forbid his followers to read the Old and New Testaments, lest these books convict him of falsity.’”

It is undisputable that the Koran has changed and re-written numerous passages of the Old Testament. However, with the above-quoted statements, Thomas Aquinas also convicted his church of the same wrong methods and ideas, because many times the Roman Catholic Church resorted to brutal violent means to fight any “detractors” and “heretics,” and it also forbade its followers to read the Bible.

Blind Mystic Predicts Destruction of Europe in 2016

Express wrote on December 30:

“A BLIND mystic who ‘foresaw’ the 9/11 terror attacks on America and the Boxing Day Tsunami also predicted that Europe would be ‘DESTROYED’ in next year. Bulgarian peasant Baba Vanga claims a vision came to her showing Europe desolate and deserted in 2016 following a series of devastating catastrophes which rocked the continent… adding that Europe will ‘cease to exist’ by the end of next year… The bold prophecy has caused a stir, coming at a time when the 28-nation bloc faces being ripped apart by internal divisions. Experts have warned that ‘arrogant’ EU leaders are sleepwalking into catastrophe, with dire economic results and the ongoing migrant crisis sparking a surge in anti-Brussels sentiment…

“Ms Vanga, who died in 1996 aged 85, said in a dire prediction that Europe will ‘cease to exist’ in 2016, with the continent becoming a ‘wasteland almost entirely devoid of any form of life’ after a series of catastrophes. She predicted that the population of the continent will reach almost zero by 2025 with Muslim invaders – believed by some to refer to Islamic State (ISIS) – moving in to conquer the former European countries by 2043.  In a chilling echo of ISIS’ own stated goals, she prophesied that Islamist militants will conquer Rome in 2066 before the US will respond with a ‘climate change’ weapon to try and claim the city back for Christianity.

“She finishes her dire predictions for Europe by stating that the entire continent will come under the rule of a Communist dictator by 2076. Whilst the so-called ‘Nostradamus of the Balkans’ may be outlandish in her statements, other experts have also predicted that 2016 could be the year the EU falls apart.”

All of this is of course utter and complete nonsense. The late blind mystic was indeed very blind. She might have had some inspirational help from demons who know the future in part, but they are lying spirits, willing to deceive gullible people.

 Is Gonorrhea Becoming Untreatable?

BBC News reported on December 27:

“A highly drug-resistant strain of gonorrhoea was detected in the north of England in March. That strain is able to shrug off the antibiotic azithromycin, which is normally used alongside another drug, ceftriaxone. In her letter, the chief medical officer said: ‘Gonorrhoea is at risk of becoming an untreatable disease due to the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance… Gonorrhoea has rapidly acquired resistance to new antibiotics…’

“The infection is spread by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex… Often the person has no symptoms… but can still easily spread the disease to others. Untreated infection can lead to infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and can be passed on to a child during pregnancy.

“Gonorrhoea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in England and cases are soaring…”

The spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as Gonorrhea would be largely avoided if sexual conduct would be restricted to married couples.

Trump Hails Putin

Newsmax wrote on December 18:

“GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump was full of praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday morning, saying he has always ‘felt fine’ about the Russian dictator and touting his poll numbers for being much higher than President Barack Obama’s. ‘I think that he’s a strong leader,’ Trump told MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ program about Putin, stunning host Joe Scarborough. ‘He’s a powerful leader.’

“Further, Trump said that Russians respect Putin as a leader, and his poll numbers show that… On Thursday, Putin hailed Trump as the ‘absolute leader’ in the presidential race and praised his talk about building a deeper relationship with Russia…

“But, Scarborough pointed out, Putin is ‘also a person who kills journalists, political opponents, and invades countries…’  Trump replied that there is ‘a lot of killing going on’ around the world… ‘I think our country does plenty of killing, also, Joe,’ Trump told him. ‘There’s a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now… And that’s the way it is…’ Scarborough… asked Trump if he condemns Putin ‘killing journalists and political opponents.’ ‘Oh sure, absolutely,’ Trump told him.

“Trump also pushed back on questions about Putin’s role in Ukraine and the Crimea, criticizing Germany and other nearby countries for not being more involved in the threat of Putin spreading his hold… Further, he said the United States is $19 trillion in debt, and nothing but problems in this country, but ‘we’re sitting on a big fat beautiful bubble that’s ready to explode, financial bubble, I’m talking about.’… Further, Trump said, the United States needs to rebuild its military, but ‘that doesn’t mean we have to use it.’

“Trump later in the show said he thinks Russia could be a ‘big asset to our country… They’re a powerful nation and they have a big military base and force and I think there can be a lot of good things happen with Russia, if we get along well and they respect us.’ Putin does not like Obama, Trump said, and the feelings are mutual… ‘I watch those two sitting in two chairs looking at each other and I say, “wow, that’s really bad chemistry.”‘

“But Russia can be a ‘positive force with respect,’ said Trump, praising Putin for bombing ISIS after starting out bombing other targets in Syria.”

The Huffington Post wrote on December 20:

“After basking in the ‘great honor’ of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s praise, Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday defended Putin against longstanding accusations that his regime has carried out murders of journalists who oppose him… Trump said there is no evidence that Putin was behind any journalist murders in Russia.”

The Associated Press reported on December 20: “Putin says Russia will continue to develop nuclear weapons but doesn’t intend to use them… ‘Russia as a leading nuclear country will be improving this weapon as a containment factor; the nuclear triad is the basis of our nuclear security polices,’ he said, referring to the three main delivery systems for nuclear warheads — bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ICBMs.”

Thomson/Reuters wrote on December 20:

“Putin said Moscow would not abandon Russians living in southeast Ukraine to Ukrainian nationalists.. More than 9,000 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops since April 2014. Moscow says Ukrainian nationalists pose a threat to ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the region.”

Could a Trump election as President lead to an American-Russian alliance, angering Europe?

Does Putin Kill Russian Journalists?

The Washington Post wrote on December 21:

“Russia watchers would have to begrudgingly admit that… [there] really is little evidence to suggest that Putin ‘kills journalists that don’t agree with him.’ No one denies that journalists critical of Putin have been killed in Russia. There have been a number of cases over the years. The Committee to Protect Journalists has described Russia as ‘one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists,’ with 36 journalists killed since 1992.

“Perhaps the most well-known case is that of Anna Politkovskaya, a writer who was critical of Putin’s role in the second Chechen war. Politkovskaya was fatally shot in her apartment building on Oct. 7, 2006 – the same day as Putin’s birthday. Opposition politicians also have been killed: Boris Nemtsov, a high-profile figure in post-Soviet politics, was shot just steps from the Kremlin in February. There are plenty of people who suspect that Putin ordered the killings. The evidence, however, isn’t there…

“Given that few of these cases ever find closure in Russia’s flawed justice system… we may never know whether Putin had any involvement. Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, says that about  90 percent of killings of journalists in Russia go unpunished…

“Scarborough’s suggestion that Putin kills journalists is evidence of a widespread misunderstanding of Putin’s Russia — that he is directly responsible for every bad thing that happens in the country. That idea of Russia desperately lacks nuance: Putin may set the tone for everything that happens in the country, but he doesn’t necessarily order every politically charged murder…

“There’s a key difference between ordering the murder of a journalist and creating an environment in which journalists can be murdered. And while Putin may not be guilty of the former, he is certainly guilty of the latter…”

The Third Democratic Debate

AFP wrote on December 20:

“Democratic presidential hopefuls including Hillary Clinton used Donald Trump as a political bogeyman Saturday to highlight their own calls to defeat jihadist extremists without using the bigotry and bluster employed by their Republican rival… It was their party’s third debate of the primary election season — the last of 2015 and their first since the attacks in San Bernardino, California where a radicalized married Muslim couple killed 14 people…

“While the Democrats united against Trump, they disagreed on foreign policy, guns and how to rein in Wall Street excesses. Sanders clashed at length with Clinton over how to tackle extremism, opposing her call for a no-fly zone over Syria and for focusing on ousting that country’s President Bashar al-Assad… The self-described democratic socialist also reminded viewers of Clinton’s 2002 vote when she was a New York senator authorizing president George W. Bush’s use of military force in Iraq.

“Clinton insisted she too was not ready to send US boots into Syria and Iraq, saying she had a strategy to ‘combat and defeat ISIS without getting us involved in another ground war.’…

“The debate unfolded amid a minor scandal between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns, with accusations that a data breach was carried out by Sanders’s team against Clinton’s. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) temporarily suspended the Sanders campaign’s access to a key voter database after at least one of its staffers took advantage of a computer glitch to peek at Clinton voter data. Sanders filed suit against the DNC to regain access to the data on Friday. But on stage Saturday he apologized to Clinton, saying ‘this is not the type of campaign that we run.’…

“Data and IT are uncomfortable topics for Clinton, who was the center of an uproar after it was revealed she used a personal email account and server while secretary of state… Clinton, who has raised much more money than Sanders, has depended significantly on large checks from big donors. In national polls among Democrats, Sanders has 31 percent support, a number that has remained constant since early November. Clinton’s support in the mid-50s.”

A day after the debate, Hillary Clinton sent an email message to potential donors, stating: “I don’t know how else to say it except by saying it: We could lose the nomination… I am not taking anything for granted.”

There is still the ongoing FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton’s alleged criminal conduct regarding her emails. And the media fact checker pointed out that some of her claims against Trump during the debate were without any factual evidence… which prompted Trump to state that Clinton “lies like crazy about everything… and everybody knows that.” In turn, Sanders stated that Trump was a “pathological liar.”

US Congress Approves 2016 Budget and Proves Its Total Corruption

Deutsche Welle reported on December 18:

“US lawmakers have approved a compromise spending package that funds the government through September 2016. The budget deal also includes tighter visa requirements…

“US Congress on Friday cleared the way for government to spend a total of $1.14 trillion (1.05 trillion euros) in the current fiscal year, ending September 2016… US defense spending will be increased following pressure from the Republican Party which said this was critical given the level of unrest in the Middle East and rising terrorism.

“… a controversial measure aimed at temporarily halting a program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States was scrapped.”

Fox News wrote on December 20:

“A fired-up Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday he voted against the massive $1.1 trillion spending bill because not only was it rushed through Congress — but no one had a chance to read it. ‘It was over a trillion dollars, it was all lumped together, 2,242 pages, nobody read it, so frankly my biggest complaint is that I have no idea what kind of things they stuck in that bill in the middle of the night,’ Paul, R-Ky., said…

“On Friday, President Obama signed the legislation into law… Republicans and Democrats joined to approve the spending bill on a resounding 316-113 vote in the House… The unexpectedly large margin was a victory for new House Speaker Paul Ryan, who saw a majority of his GOP lawmakers back the legislation. Not long after, the Senate voted 65-33 to send the entire package to Obama’s desk. Paul said Sunday passing such large spending measures without thorough examination is ‘part of the reason why government is broke.’ He said the blame fell on every lawmaker’s shoulder. ‘Once again this came not at the behest of just the Democrats,’ he said… ‘It came at the behest of right-wing Republicans who want military spending and left-wing Democrats who want welfare spending, and that’s the first little secret.’

“Paul also called out specific spending habits of both parties. ‘You have people on the right who want unlimited military spending and then you’ve got people on the left who want unlimited welfare spending and the dirty little secret in Washington is that they come together… there’s an unholy alliance and in that unholy alliance everybody gets money and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill,’ he said…

“Ryan on Sunday dismissed criticism of the $1.1 trillion spending bill that passed Friday, saying that Republican leaders fought hard for compromise. ‘Let me first say, this is a divided government and in divided government you don’t get everything you want,’ Ryan said… ‘we’re going to pick up next year where we left off and keep going for more.’

“Ryan… acknowledged that both Democrats and Republicans employ divisive political tactics…”

What a terrible picture of a US government and its political parties that are hopelessly sunk into the mire of corruption and blatantly unholy alliances.  

Franklin Graham Resigns Republican Party for Financing Planned Parenthood

Newsmax reported on December 22:

“Franklin Graham has resigned from the Republican Party and become an independent, declaring that ‘I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or tea party to do what is best for America…’

“[He wrote on Facebook:] ‘Shame on the Republicans and the Democrats for passing such a wasteful spending bill last week. And to top it off, funding Planned Parenthood! A Huffington Post article called it “a big win for Planned Parenthood.” I call it a big loss for America. After all of the appalling facts revealed this year about Planned Parenthood, our representatives in Washington had a chance to put a stop to this, but they didn’t. There’s no question—taxpayers should not be paying for abortions!…’”

“‘Abortion is murder in God’s eyes. Seeing and hearing Planned Parenthood talk nonchalantly about selling baby parts from aborted fetuses with utter disregard for human life is reminiscent of Joseph Mengele and the Nazi concentration camps! That should’ve been all that was needed to turn off the faucet for their funding. Nothing was done to trim this 2,000 page, $1.1 trillion budget. This is an example of why I have resigned from the Republican Party and declared myself Independent. I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or Tea Party to do what is best for America…’”

IRS Allowed to Revoke US Passports

USA Today wrote on December 22:

“A new enforcement provision passed by Congress and signed into law earlier this month… allows the Department of the Treasury and the IRS to authorize the State Department to take away U.S. passports from individuals with seriously delinquent tax liabilities. That’s defined as those greater than $50,000 and for which the IRS has filed a lien or levy….

“The State Department is now authorized to deny, revoke or limit use of a taxpayer’s U.S. passport, and it isn’t supposed to issue a passport to anyone owing that much money (with exceptions for emergencies or for humanitarian reasons). Americans out of the country when their passports are revoked may be allowed to return home…

“It doesn’t help that it’s getting more difficult for people to contact the IRS, which is answering only about 40% of telephone calls from taxpayers… Even tax professionals are looking at average phone waits of about 90 minutes…

“An IRS spokesman said the agency is reviewing the new law and taking steps to implement the program ‘as soon as feasible.’”

“Blessed Are the Peacemakers”

Breitbart published the following editorial by Senator Rand Paul on December 22:

“The birth of our Christ was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, who declared him ‘the Prince of Peace.’ Christ himself extolled the virtue of working for peace in the Beatitudes as he declared, ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers.’ Nowhere does he declare himself the Prince of War, or extol the virtues of those eager for war…

“I believe too many of our leaders are too eager for war—too eager to sacrifice the lives of our sons and daughters on the altar of their nation-building worldview, one that has proved to be so wrong and so destructive.

“The last century was the century of World Wars. There was WWI, the war to end all wars. Then there was the one after that, and the one after that.

“I read All Quiet on the Western Front years ago, which told the horrors of trench warfare, in which millions of young men were led to their slaughter. Then I read Silent Night, the story of the Christmas Armistice, in which opposing troops came out of their trenches, exchanged gifts, and played soccer together. The dichotomy is quite striking. For a brief moment in the middle of war, humanity won, and God’s light of peace broke through. It was short-lived, but it is repeatable if we seek it…”

US Air Force Was Prepared to Drop 91 Atomic Bombs in and around East Berlin

The Local wrote on December 23:

“The US Air Force planned to drop 91 atomic bombs in and around East Berlin in the event of the Cold War turning hot, documents released on Wednesday showed.  A 1956 list naming thousands of priority targets compiled by the US Strategic Air Command (SAC) showed that the USAF would drop nuclear weapons on military targets around the East German capital, as well as explicitly targeting the population for ‘systematic destruction’. That was in direct contravention of the international norms that had been established following the Second World War, which prohibited attacks directed mainly at civilians.

“The highest-priority targets on the list, released by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, were airbases from which the Soviets and their allies could launch strikes against the West… Soviet airbases around Berlin included Briesen, Welzow, Werneuchen and Gross Dolln (Templin) – all among the top 150 targets on the USAF list…

“As well as central Berlin, SAC planned to hit nearby Bernau, Hennigsdorf, Oranienburg, Postdam, Schönwalde and Velten, according to a list of targets around East Berlin provided by the National Security Archive… The atomic bombing of East Berlin and its suburbs would likely have produced fire storms, among other effects, with disastrous implications for West Berlin…”

Guns on Top of Christmas Lists

USA Today wrote on December 22:

“The convergence of fears over terrorism, a perceived threat of gun laws being changed and the Christmas holiday have sent gun sales soaring in what is already the busiest month of the year for firearm purchases. Guns are at the top of many Christmas lists, especially if November is any indication.

“Last month, the FBI ran more than 2.2 million firearm background checks on potential buyers, a 24 percent increase from November 2014. On Black Friday, a record 185,345 background checks were processed by the FBI…

“Giving a gun as a gift to another person within your own state is allowed under federal law, and in many states, the recipient is not required to get a background check… More companies have also tailored their approach to attract more women…”

Hasidic Jews Celebrate Christmas Eve

JTA wrote on December 22:

“Christmas Eve occupies a special place on the Hasidic calendar as a kind of ‘silent night’…  Known as ‘Nittel Nacht,’ the hours leading up to Christmas include a few peculiar traditions in Hasidic communities. It’s one of only two times during the year when Torah study is avoided (the other is the summertime fast day of Tisha b’Av). Couples traditionally abstain from sex. Yeshiva students are encouraged to engage in such ‘kosher’ secular activities as playing chess or doing household chores.

“And when it’s over – at the stroke of midnight, the same time many churches hold Midnight Mass – Hasidic study halls come alive when a community leader bangs on a lectern to signal the resumption of Torah study… The origins of Nittel Nacht customs are murky, and even the name itself is a matter of some debate.

“While ‘nacht’ is Yiddish for night, variations on the origins of ‘nittel’ range from the Latin for ‘the birth of our god’ to the Hebrew acronym for the words meaning ‘born on the ninth of Tevet’ — a reference to the time of Jesus’ birth.

“Historically, Christmas Eve was a fraught time for Jews who lived among Christian populations in Eastern Europe and Russia, a night when Jews sought to keep off the street for fear of violence by Christian celebrants… Others cite spiritual reasons for avoiding Torah study on Christmas Eve. Those who saw belief in the Trinity as a form of idolatry believed Christmas Eve was a time when dark forces were about, rendering it unfit for the purity of Torah study. Others say Torah study was avoided on this night so that the heavenly merit of Torah learning would not be accrued by Jesus or those celebrating his birth, or somehow benefit the souls of the wicked…

“Whatever the reason, Nittel Nacht observances remain in Hasidic communities, taking place either for the last six or 12 hours on Dec. 24 or, for Hasidic sects with origins in Russia or Ukraine, for the six or 12 hours before the Eastern Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7…”

Christmas Restricted or Banned in Some Muslim States

Deutsche Welle reported on December 23:

“The Muslim-majority countries of Tajikistan, Somalia and Brunei have clamped down on Christmas. In the case of the latter country, celebrating the Christian holiday has been banned entirely…

“In Tajikistan, the government has issued a decree banning Christmas trees and other decorations from schools – the most aggressive attempt yet by the ex-Soviet country to clamp down on the Christian holiday… The move is part of an ongoing effort to tighten restrictions on Western holidays in general. In 2013 and 2014, for example, people dressed as zombies for Halloween were reportedly detained by Tajikistan police…

“In Somalia, the federal government announced a decision to ban Christmas and New Year celebrations in the capital of Mogadishu… ‘All events related to Christmas and New Year celebrations are contrary to Islamic culture, which could damage aqidah (faith) of the Muslim community,’ Director General of Somalia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs was reported as saying.

“Meanwhile, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of the Southeast Asian country of Brunei is going forward with his plan to enforce sharia law, which includes punishing anyone who defies the country-wide ban on Christmas…”

Mohammed Born on Christmas Eve?

“For Sunni Muslims, Milad un-Nabi is usually celebrated on the 12th day of the Islamic calendar month Rabi’ al-awwal, while the Shia Muslims celebrate it on the 17th of their month.

“This year, the 12th coincides with Christmas Eve, and while some Muslims around the UK took the step of celebrating in public earlier this month, at least two groups decided they wanted to march through British town centres on Christmas Eve.”

Now, this is REALLY interesting.

Israel’s Pro-Shabbat Bill Passes Preliminary Reading

Israel National News reported on December 20:

“The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved MK Mickey Zohar (Likud)’s Weekly Day of Rest bill Sunday afternoon in a preliminary hearing… The bill will ban businesses opening on Saturday without special permission from the Economy Minister and also ban conditional or contract work on Shabbat, forcing employees to work on Shabbat, or penalizing workers for protesting Shabbat work.

“Violating the ban would be considered ‘an injustice against citizens,’ and business owners will be able to file a claim against franchise operators who force businesses to open on the day of rest.

“The Israeli Merchants’ Association welcomed the approval of the bill. ‘This is an important first step to saving tens of thousands of small businesses from economic collapse,’ it said. ‘There is an end to the phenomenon of ‘Israebluff’ where tycoons and retail chains are breaking the law, opening their businesses on Saturdays, and require employees to work then.’”

It is interesting that the State of Israel is a country that at least, nominally, observes the Sabbath. It makes us wonder about the implications of Matthew 24 as far as what would cause God’s people to be in Israel and have to take their “flight.” For more information, please read our free booklet, “When and How Will Christ Return?”

Thousands of Terror Suspects Lost in the USA

Fox News and The Associated Press reported on December 18:

“The Obama administration cannot be sure of the whereabouts of thousands of foreigners in the U.S. who had their visas revoked over terror concerns and other reasons, a State Department official acknowledged Thursday. The admission [was] made at a House oversight hearing examining immigrant vetting in the wake of major terror attacks…”

UK Declares Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group—Clashing with Obama

Newsmax wrote on December 22:

“The United Kingdom declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after an 18-month study ordered by British Prime Minister David Cameron — and the Obama administration slammed the document as flying in the face of the Brotherhood’s history as a ‘nonviolent Islamist group.’…

“As a result, the prime minister said that the U.K. government would continue to refuse visas to Muslim Brotherhood members and associates… Britain also will continue to uphold the European Community’s freeze on the assets of Hamas, another terrorist group with ties to the Brotherhood, Cameron said…

“Here are some key statements from Cameron’s report:

“‘There is little evidence that the experience of power in Egypt … has caused a rethinking in the Muslim Brotherhood of its ideology or conduct… even by mid-2014, statements from Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood-linked media platforms seem to have deliberately incited violence… Material still being promoted by UKIM [U.K. Islamic Mission] as of July 2014 continued to explicitly claim that it is not possible for an observant Muslim to live under a non-Islamic system of government.’”

Cameron Investigates US Ban of British Muslims Entering USA

The Associated Press reported on December 24:

“British Prime Minister David Cameron will look into claims that U.S. officials prevented a British Muslim family of 11 from flying to Disneyland for a planned holiday. The issue is sensitive because U.S. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims visiting the U.S. due to concerns about extremist attacks.

“Stella Creasy, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said Wednesday that U.S. officials gave no explanation for refusing to allow her constituents to board a flight from Gatwick Airport on Dec. 15, so she wrote Cameron seeking his intervention. She said there is ‘growing fear’ among British Muslims that aspects of Trump’s plans are coming into practice even though they have been widely condemned…

“Mohammed Zahid Mahmood said he and his family – two brothers and their nine children – were told nothing except that they were not allowed to travel to the U.S. despite having previously obtained clearance. ‘We were the only family that was of Asian, Muslim, sort of appearance, and it seemed a little bit embarrassing that only we were taken out (of the line to board),’ he told the BBC.

“Cameron… had earlier characterized Trump’s policy as ‘divisive and wrong’… Ajmal Masroor, a London-based imam and broadcaster, said he received similar treatment when trying to travel to the U.S. for business recently. He told the AP that a U.S. Embassy official prevented him from boarding a Dec. 17 flight and told him his business visa had been revoked…

“The Muslim Council of Britain also said the last-minute denial of boarding privileges without explanation is distressing for Muslims. ‘There is a perception that such decisions are being made due to the faith or political activism of individuals,’ the council said.”

In addition, the family had spent about 16,000 dollars in preparation for the trip. It was reported that they cannot expect any reimbursement. The US Immigration procedures came under attack some time ago when they refused entry to world-known artist Cat Stevens (“Morning Has Broken”) because he converted to Islam and was perceived to be a “threat” to the USA.

Ridiculous actions like these will make America extremely unpopular throughout the world.

ISIS Wants to Bring Terror Blitz to Europe’s Cities

Express wrote on December 19:

“ISIS militants are set to launch a ‘series of coordinated attacks across European cities.’ The terror blitz will… happen ‘all at once’ according to a former propaganda mastermind of the Islamic State group… British authorities are concerned that the recent wave of migrants across Europe could set the stage for pan-European terror. The horrifying plan has been revealed after a former Daesh identified only as Harry S escaped the terror group and is now being questioned by authorities in Germany…

“He told German intelligence officers that senior ISIS commanders asked him, along with other fighters, if he would ‘bring jihad back to their homeland’. He then detailed a plan to carry out a Europe-wide terror attack. He said: ‘They want something that happens everywhere at the same time. ‘All you need is to take a big knife, and go down to the streets and [slaughter] every infidel you encounter.’ The German jihadist witnessed beheadings and executions in Syria for three months but fled after he could no longer stand its brutality…

“Germany’s domestic intelligence agency believes more than 700 Germans have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria…”

Planned French Anti-Terrorist Measures “Deeply Worrying”

Deutsche Welle reported on December 23:

“French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told a news conference on Wednesday that constitutional changes were necessary to protect France from the threat of French nationals returning home from territory controlled by the self-declared ‘Islamic State’ (IS). Under the planned changes, state-of-emergency laws which allow authorities to detain and search suspects without warrants would be enshrined in the French constitution. This would prevent the measures from being challenged in court…

“The constitutional reforms still need to be passed by a three-fifths majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament, where debates will start on February 3…

“Amnesty International said the constitutional reforms were ‘deeply worrying’ and added to an ‘already extensive and sometimes disproportionate arsenal’ of measures. ‘The government cannot undermine the rule of law and violate the very human rights it is trying to protect: freedom of expression, freedom of movement and non-discrimination,’ said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty’s Europe director.

“Controversial justice minister Christiane Taubira has come under pressure to resign after publicly opposing the changes….”

Merkel under Attack

Reuters reported on December 20:

“Not since 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell and communism crumbled across eastern Europe, has the continent’s geopolitical kaleidoscope been shaken up so vigorously…

“The collapse of the Iron Curtain led within two years to the agreement to create a single European currency and, over the following 15 years, to the eastward enlargement of the EU and NATO up to the borders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. That appeared to confirm founding father Jean Monnet’s prediction that a united Europe would be built out of crises.

“In contrast, this year’s political and economic shocks over an influx of migrants, Greek debt, Islamist violence and Russian military action have led to the return of border controls in many places, the rise of populist anti-EU political forces and recrimination among EU governments…

“[Angela] Merkel has received little support from her EU partners in sharing the migrant burden… Some partners also accuse Berlin of hypocrisy over its energy ties with Russia… Merkel’s critics rounded on her at an end-of-year EU summit.

“Italy’s Matteo Renzi, backed by Portugal and Greece, attacked her refusal to accept a euro zone bank deposit guarantee scheme. The Baltic states, Bulgaria and Italy denounced her support for a direct gas pipeline from Russia to Germany at a time when the EU is sanctioning Moscow over its military action in Ukraine and has forced the cancellation of a pipeline to southern Europe. ‘It was pretty much everyone against Merkel in the room,’ a diplomat who heard the exchanges said.

“One problem likely to worsen in 2016 is that Europe’s main leaders are politically weak and so preoccupied by domestic challenges that they are unable to take the necessary collective action. The conservative Merkel’s survival in the chancellery hinges on her ability to bring down the number of refugees flooding into Germany next year and show she has migration under control…”

Germany Threatens Legal Actions Against Some EU Countries on Migrant Crisis Issue

The Local wrote on December 20:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier threatened legal action on Saturday against EU countries that refused to accept refugees under the bloc’s quota programme. Steinmeier said in an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel that ‘if it cannot be done otherwise, things will be resolved through the appropriate legal channels’, adding that ‘Europe is a community of law’. The German minister spoke specifically of Slovakia and Hungary, which have both made their own threats of legal action against the controversial quota system… ‘European solidarity is not a one-way street,’ Steinmeier said, adding that ‘those who refuse (to welcome refugees) must know what is at stake for them: open borders in Europe’.

“… EU leaders on Thursday set an end-of-June deadline to agree on a new border and coastguard force to slow the influx of migrants across the 28-nation bloc’s porous external frontiers… they acknowledged they had been too slow to carry out a joint strategy to tackle Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.”

Will all of this lead to a rapid emergence of ten nations or groups of nations, developing out of the EU, as prophesied in Scripture, as well as the manifestation of a strong charismatic political leader from Germany or Austria, replacing the current leaders in these countries?

UN Resolution for “Peace” in Syria… a Total and Complete Joke

On December 18, the Los Angeles Times reported the following:

“The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution Friday outlining a process to end the civil war in Syria, but without settling one of the most contentious issues: the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad. After five hours of discussion, foreign ministers from 17 countries — some on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict — endorsed a plan that calls for cease-fire talks to begin next month and for U.N.-supervised elections to be held in mid-2017…

“The resolution urges the Syrian government and its opposition to embark, under the auspices of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on ‘urgent’ discussions of a ‘political transition process’ for the country… But key differences remain over how and on what timetable Assad should be removed from power… The lawlessness in much of Syria and neighboring Iraq has supplied the Islamic militants with a vast area to operate…

“The resolution… makes clear that a ceasefire would not apply to international operations aimed at ‘terrorist organizations.’ That means the U.S.-dominated coalition may continue airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. It also gives the green light to Russia, which has been accused of bombing Assad’s foes rather than Islamic State.

“In addition to atrocities and carnage since 2011, the fighting in Syria and Iraq has sparked a desperate exodus. Fueled in large part by the Syrian war, the number of people forcibly displaced worldwide this year will surpass the record of 60 million, the U.N. refugee agency reported Friday.”

Not only is the UN resolution a complete joke, there may be more going on behind the scenes. Note the next article:

Are Germany and the USA Working with Syria’s Assad Behind the Scenes?

The Local reported on December 18:

“Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND has resumed cooperation with the Syrian secret service in the fight against Islamist extremists, according to a newspaper report Friday. The BND declined to comment on the report by Bild daily which comes as Berlin and other Western governments shun official cooperation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his regime’s abuses.

“The mass-circulation daily, citing unnamed ‘informed sources’, said BND agents had been travelling regularly to Damascus for talks with their Syrian counterparts and that the service wanted to reopen an office there… a spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel also declined comment at a press conference.

“Bild said the aim of the contact was to exchange information on Islamist extremists and to open a channel of communication in the event of any potential crisis, such as a German Tornado pilot being shot down over territory held by jihadists. Germany has deployed Tornado surveillance aircraft and other non-combat military support to the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which controls wide areas of Syria and Iraq.

“Merkel has argued the world must seek a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict to end the killing there, to better focus on fighting IS, and to reduce massive refugee flows to Europe. But she has repeatedly stressed that this must not include cooperation with Assad, who, she said, ‘keeps dropping barrel bombs on his own people’, and whose regime was the main cause of the refugee exodus.”

One has to be very careful with the accuracy of “information” supplied by the mass tabloid “Bild.” However, Bild is known to express what most Germans think, and it is also quite instrumental in forming public opinion…

According to Newsmax, dated December 23, Germany would not be the only Western nation working with Assad. The magazine reported:

“The Joint Chiefs of Staff has indirectly supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a bid to help him defeat jihadist groups, a bombshell report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claims. Hersh writes… that the group of senior military leaders who advise Secretary of Defense Ash Carter sent intelligence through Israel, Germany, and even Russia.”

Turkey’s Forked Tongue

Reuters reported on December 19:

“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Khaled Meshaal, leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, on Saturday in Istanbul, Turkish presidential sources said, a day after Israel and Turkey said they were close to patching up five-year political rift…

“Israel’s once-strong ties to Turkey soured in 2010 when Israeli commandoes killed 10 Turkish activists when storming the Mavi Marmara, a ship in a convoy seeking to break an Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Turkey had demanded Israel apologize over the assault, pay compensation and lift the Gaza blockade. For Israel, limiting Hamas activity in Turkey has been key.

“Under the preliminary deal between the two countries, Saleh al-Aruori, a senior leader in the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas who has been living in Turkey, would be barred from the country, the Israeli official had said.”

Anti-Semitism in Greece

JTA wrote on December 21:

“A leading Greek bishop has blamed the ‘Zionist monster’ for new legislation that would give same-sex couples in Greece expanded civil rights. Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus said the cohabitation bill is a result of the ‘constant war against the true faith’ being waged ‘by the international Zionist monster,’ which he said controls the Greek government…

“The bishop has a long history of making anti-Semitic comments. In 2010, he told a Greek TV station that Jews had orchestrated the Holocaust and were behind Greece’s financial crisis. He later clarified that these were his personal opinions and did not represent the Church of Greece…

“While the bill is highly unpopular in Greece, the Parliament could face European Court of Justice sanctions for discrimination if it does not pass the measure to meet European Union standards.

“Anti-Semitic stereotypes are widespread in Greek public and political discourse… Greece has Europe’s highest rate of anti-Semitic attitudes…”

More Than 60 Million Refugees in 2015

Reuters reported on December 18:

“The number of people forcibly displaced worldwide is likely to have ‘far surpassed’ a record 60 million this year, mainly driven by the Syrian war and other protracted conflicts, the United Nations said on Friday. The estimated figure includes 20.2 million refugees fleeing wars and persecution, the most since 1992… Nearly 2.5 million asylum seekers have requests pending, with Germany, Russia and the United States receiving the highest numbers of the nearly one million new claims lodged in the first half of the year…

“‘2015 is on track to see worldwide forced displacement exceeding 60 million for the first time – 1 in every 122 humans is today someone who has been forced to flee their homes,’ [a UN report] said. The total figure at the end of 2014 was 59.5 million.

“An estimated 34 million people were internally displaced as of mid-year, about 2 million more than the same time in 2014. Yemen, where civil war erupted in March, reported the highest number of newly uprooted people at 933,500.

“Syria’s civil war that began in 2011 has been the main driver of mass displacement, with more than 4.2 million Syrian refugees having fled abroad and 7.6 million uprooted within their shattered homeland as of mid-year… Together, nationals of Syria and Ukraine, where a separatist rebellion in the east erupted in April 2014, accounted for half of the 839,000 people who became refugees in the first half of 2015…

“Violence in Afghanistan, Somalia and South Sudan sparked large refugee movements, as well as fighting in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq… Many refugees will live in exile for years to come…”

Judicial Watch Takes on Obama Administration on Climate Change “Alarmism”

Judicial Watch reported on December 22:

“Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a lawsuit on December 2, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking records of communications from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials regarding methodology for collecting and interpreting data used in climate models… The lawsuit sought the same documents unsuccessfully subpoenaed by a House committee.  Less than week after Judicial Watch served its lawsuit on NOAA, the agency finally turned over the targeted documents to Congress.

“Judicial Watch is investigating how NOAA collects and disseminates climate data that is used in determining global climate change. NOAA collects data in thousands of ways – from temperature gauges on land and buoys at sea, to satellites orbiting Earth.  Considered the ‘environmental intelligence agency,’ NOAA is the nation’s leading collector of climate data…

“Information provided to the Committee by whistleblowers appears to show that the study was rushed to publication despite the concerns and objections of a number of NOAA employees. On November 26, Smith published an opinion editorial in The Washington Times, which accused NOAA of tampering with data to help promote global warming alarmism… ‘We have little doubt that our lawsuit helped to pry these scandalous climate change report documents from the Obama administration… we have little doubt that the documents will show the Obama administration put politics before science to advance global warming alarmism’ [said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton].”

Undiscovered Asteroid Passes Near Earth

Express wrote on December 19:

“The asteroid was discovered just two days ago. Astronomers were oblivious to the existence of the space rock, which is big enough to destroy a town and called 2015 YB, until Wednesday… A Slooh spokesman said the pass was so near it would be within range of geosynchronous satellites which orbit at the same rotation period as Earth…

“It may sound far, but the estimated 34,672 miles away pass, it’s a cat’s whisker in cosmic terms, and is less than a fifth of the 238,000 miles between earth and the moon. The asteroid is only 20 metres in length, but an asteroid of the same size exploded suddenly in Earth’s atmosphere above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013 – injuring 1,500 people. If an asteroid of 50 metres hit London it could destroy the city.

“Astronomers have nicknamed the asteroid The Flea, in honour of the world’s greatest soccer player, Lionel Messi. The spokesman added: ‘We will be asking, why, like Messi, it got through our best defences until two days ago.’… It is the second recent near Earth asteroid to turn up out of the blue.”

This article proves the total misrepresentation of the occasional claim by “scientists” that asteroids pose no threat to us, and that all asteroids which could come close to earth have been discovered.

Giant Comets May Threaten Earth

AFP wrote on December 22

“Planet Earth could be at higher risk of a space rock impact than widely thought, according to astronomers who suggested Tuesday keeping a closer eye on distant giant comets. Most studies of potential Earth-smashers focus on objects in the asteroid belt roughly between Mars, Earth’s outside neighbour, and Jupiter on its other flank, said the researchers. But they noted that the discovery in the last two decades of hundreds of giant comets dubbed centaurs, albeit with much larger orbits, requires expanding the list of potential hazards.

“These balls of ice and dust, typically 50-100 kilometres (31-62 miles) wide, have unstable, elliptical orbits that start way beyond Neptune, the most distant planet from the Sun. Their paths cross those of the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, whose gravity fields occasionally deflect a comet towards Earth — once about every 40,000-100,000 years. As they draw closer to the Sun, the comets would gradually break up, which is what causes the trademark cometary debris tail — ‘making impacts on our planet inevitable’…

“They noted that a single centaur contains more mass than the entire population of Earth-crossing asteroids discovered to date… A comet strike is… a leading contender for having ended the reign of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago… ‘A centaur arrival carries the risk of injecting, into the atmosphere… a mass of dust and smoke comparable to that assumed in nuclear winter studies,’ wrote the researchers, referring to the hypothesised climate effects from the soot that would be released by firestorms caused in an atomic war.”

Pope Francis to Receive the Charlemagne Prize 2016

Deutsche Welle reported on December 23:

“Pope Francis will receive the annual Charlemagne Prize for 2016, according to some reports. The award, given out by the German city of Aachen, honors those who promote European unity… More specifically, the prize is given to people or institutions ‘distinguished by their outstanding work toward European unity or cooperation between its states.’

“The Charlemagne Prize was created by Dr. Kurt Pfeiffer in March 1950. In 1969, the Commission of the European Community became the first institution that would eventually become part of the EU to receive the award. Martin Schultz, a German citizen and President of the European Parliament, was the recipient of the prize in 2015.”

Angela Merkel received the prize as well. Pope Francis will be the first pope to receive it. Normally, the prize is given in Aachen, but in this case, the pope will receive it in Rome.

Utter Confusion in the “Christian” World

On December 18, JTA linked to an article by Forward, stating this:

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of the new document on the conversion of Jews that the Vatican released December 10… What the document says is that the Catholic Church rejects ‘specific institutional mission work’… aimed at Jews…

“Protestants don’t always admit it, but Vatican thinking has a trickle-down influence beyond Catholics. What happens in Rome doesn’t stay in Rome…

“… many Catholics believe… that Jews, unlike other non-Christians, can end up in heaven without believing in Jesus… that implication has been stated explicitly by growing numbers of Catholic scholars… Mainline and liberal Protestant churches, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Lutherans, have largely adopted [this concept] …

“The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, has repeatedly voted by huge majorities to reject proposals that it give up missionizing Jews…

“… the Vatican itself has difficulty explaining how it can reconcile its belief in the continuing Jewish covenant [and the concept that Jews go to heaven when they die, without having believed in Jesus]… with the equally clear principle appearing elsewhere in the New Testament that salvation comes only through Jesus. The new document puts it this way: ‘That Jews are participants in God’s salvation is unquestionable, but how that can be possible without confessing Christ explicitly, is and remains an unfathomable divine mystery.’…”

When the Catholic Church has no answers to the many contradictions between the clear teachings of the Bible and the church’s dogmas, the biblical doctrines are explained away as “mysteries.” The unbiblical claim of the Trinity is labeled as another mystery, which no one can explain, but which one “must believe.” In times past, those who questioned the Trinity were considered by the Roman church as heretics and “anathema” of Christ.  

Germany Releases Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”

The Economist wrote on December 19:

“IN GERMANY, as in the rest of Europe, copyright expires seven decades after the author’s year of death. That applies even when the author is Adolf Hitler and the work is ‘Mein Kampf’. Since 1945, the state of Bavaria has owned the book’s German-language rights and has refused to allow its republication. German libraries stock old copies, and they can be bought and sold. But from January 1st no permission will be needed to reprint it.

“Those living outside Germany may not immediately grasp the significance of the moment. ‘Mein Kampf’ has always been available in translation and is now just a click away online. But that is not the point. For Germans, the expiry of the copyright has caused hand-wringing and controversy.  The question, as they ring in the new year, is not what to do about ‘Mein Kampf’ as it enters the public domain. Rather, it is what Hitler means for Germany today…

“One by one, post-war taboos connected to Hitler are vanishing. Flag-waving is one. A breakthrough occurred in 2006, when Germany hosted the football World Cup. For the first time since the war the black-red-and-gold came out everywhere…

“Germans know that whenever others are angry with them, they will paint a Hitler moustache on posters of their chancellor. Many Germans are fed up with this—with being ‘blackmailed’, as Bild, the leading tabloid, complained this spring, when Greece unexpectedly brought war reparations into negotiations about bail-outs in the euro crisis…”

The American Papers that Praised Hitler

The Daily Beast wrote on December 20, 2015:

“‘The train arrived punctually,’ a Christian Science Monitor report from Germany informed its readers, not long after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933… As for all those ‘harrowing stories’ of Jews being mistreated—they seemed to apply ‘only to a small proportion’; most were ‘not in any way molested.’ Overall, the Monitor’s dispatch declared, the Hitler regime was providing ‘a dark land a clear light of hope.’

“Why did many mainstream American newspapers portray the Hitler regime positively, especially in its early months?… Why did they excuse or rationalize Nazi anti-Semitism?…  many American editors and reporters assumed… that a radical candidate would show some restraint once in office.

“An editorial in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin on Jan. 30, 1933, asserted that ‘there have been indications of moderation’ on Hitler’s part. The editors of The Cleveland Press, on Jan. 31, claimed the ‘appointment of Hitler as German chancellor may not be such a threat to world peace as it appears at first blush.’…

“Soon after Hitler assumed power, all Jews were dismissed from government jobs and ousted from a wide range of other professions, from dentistry to the movie industry. Sporadic anti-Jewish violence erupted throughout the country—and was amply reported in the American press. The Chicago Tribune described assaults… ‘Hundreds of Jews have been beaten or tortured. Thousands of Jews have fled. Thousands of Jews have been, or will be deprived of their livelihood. All of Germany’s 600,000 Jews are in terror.’

“Yet some American journalists presented a very different view of Germany… A page-one dispatch from the New York Herald Tribune’s Berlin correspondent on March 25 asserted that while the situation of German Jewry was ‘an unhappy one,’ many atrocity stories were ‘exaggerated and often unfounded.’…

“The New York Herald Tribune’s Berlin correspondent, John Elliott, claimed the Nazis were targeting Jews not because of their ‘race,’ but because they were political opponents of the Hitler regime…  A Christian Science Monitor editorial declared that it was the Jews’ own ‘commercial clannishness’ which ‘gets them into trouble.’

“A leading Protestant periodical, The Christian Century, proclaimed in an April 26 editorial: ‘May we ask if Hitler’s attitude may be somewhat governed by the fact that too many Jews, at least in Germany, are radical, too many are communists? May that have any bearing on the situation? There must be some reason other than race or creed—just what is that reason?’…

“Anne O’Hare McCormick [of the Times]… provided the Nazi leader with a major public-relations boost in July 1933. Her page-one interview, headlined ‘Hitler Seeks Jobs for All Germans,’ gave the Führer paragraph after paragraph to justify his domestic policies as the only way to deal with Germany’s unemployment, improve its roads, and promote national unity…

“Remarkably, even five years later—after five years of anti-Jewish violence, German militarization, and the annexation of Austria—some in the Western press still tried to present Hitler’s human side. In November 1938, the same month that the Kristallnacht pogrom devastated German Jewry, the British magazine Homes & Gardens ran a fawning three-page photo spread on Hitler’s “bright, airy chalet” in the Bavarian Alps…  Not long before that puff piece, The New York Times published a dispatch from one of its Berlin correspondents in which he could barely conceal his admiration of Hitler’s ‘mountain retreat.’…

“There was another important factor that influenced U.S. press coverage of Hitler’s early years: the position taken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration. Many editors and reporters took their cues from the White House… The Roosevelt administration, which carefully monitored 425 newspapers daily, downplayed the plight of the Jews… During the 1930s, the position of the White House was not just to sidestep the plight of the Jews, but also to combat any domestic criticism or protests that might interfere with U.S.-German diplomatic and economic relations.

“The administration intervened to block congressional resolutions in 1933-34 criticizing Nazi Germany… Secretary of State Cordell Hull shared with U.S. diplomats in Germany his ‘fear that the continued dissemination of exaggerated reports may prejudice the friendly feelings between the peoples of the two countries and be of doubtful service to anyone.’… Roosevelt even compelled Interior Secretary Harold Ickes to remove critical references to Hitler, Mussolini, and Nazism from a 1938 speech.

“When U.S. Jewish groups organized a boycott of German products, Hull asserted it would be damaging to American interests. The administration even quietly permitted goods to be labeled as having been made in a particular city or province rather than requiring that they be stamped ‘Made in Germany.’ It took the threat of a lawsuit by Jewish leaders to put an end to that. The labeling episode was a tailor-made opportunity for investigative journalism—if the mainstream news media had any interest in exposing the administration’s duplicity. Which it didn’t.

“Perhaps it is not surprising that the sudden, unexpected rise of an extremist from beer halls to the halls of power would catch the Fifth Estate off-guard. What is troubling, however, is the extent to which some mainstream American newspaper editors and reporters deviated from accepted journalistic standards and allowed their better judgment to be clouded by wishful thinking, admiration for punctual trains, susceptibility to celebrity, or deference to the president. One wonders how their successors would respond if a comparable situation were to arise in our own time.”

A comparable situation WILL arise in our time, and it will have to be seen how it is going to be reported in the mainstream media.

Trump at an All-Time High

The Washington Post wrote on December 15:

“Following his proposal to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the country, Donald Trump has increased his lead in the Republican primary to its largest margin yet, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The results are the latest sign that Trump’s outspoken comments on immigration and terrorism continue to find an audience among rank-and-file Republicans in spite of sharp condemnation from Democrats, GOP leaders, some of Trump’s rivals and a chorus of world leaders.

“The survey puts Trump’s support at 38 percent among registered Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, six points higher than in October and November. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who also is running an anti-establishment campaign, has surged into second place with 15 percent, effectively doubling his support since last month.

“Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ben Carson are tied for third, with 12 percent each… No other candidate in the new poll registers in double digits…

“In Iowa, which kicks off the nominating season with caucuses on Feb. 1, Trump trailed Cruz [by more than 10 points] in a Des Moines Register-Bloomberg Politics poll released over the weekend. Trump continues to lead in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary on Feb. 9…”

In the most recent Republican Presidential Debate on December 15, Trump emerged as the undisputed winner, followed by Ted Cruz. Nationwide, according to several polls, Trump leads convincingly by a wide margin.

Buchanan to GOP: “Support Trump or Lose to Clinton”

Newsmax reported on December 10:

“Veteran conservative voice Patrick Buchanan issued a stern warning to the Republican Party on Thursday: Throw your weight behind GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump now — or prepare to lose next year’s election to Hillary Clinton. Buchanan, an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, told Newsmax TV the freak-out over Trump’s proposal to temporarily bar all Muslims from entering the U.S. is misguided…

“Buchanan said he made the same arguments for limits on entry into the U.S. when he ran for president in 1996 and 2000…”

Ben Carson Blasts Corrupt GOP Conspiracy

Newsmax reported on December 11:

“Ben Carson said Friday that he would not run as an independent candidate amid reports that Republican Party officials had met to discuss the possibility of a ‘brokered’ convention to name a presidential nominee in Cleveland next year as Donald Trump continues to lead in national polls. ‘If it became clear that they were using various types of procedures to get around the will of the people, I would leave,’ the retired pediatric neurosurgeon told Neil Cavuto on Fox News in a telephone interview from Iowa… ‘I would not want to be a part of the deception,’ Carson said. ‘That’s the reason I got into this: to see if somehow we can turn this thing around and bring back integrity.’

“The Washington Post reported late Thursday that 20 top GOP officials, along with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, attended a private dinner on Monday to outline the party’s convention strategy… Generally, most delegates are required to support the candidate chosen in primaries or caucuses, the Post reports. That would not hold, however, if no nominee is chosen. This could lead to a ‘brokered’ convention, in which deals are made to attract delegates to another candidate. The Republican National Convention will be held July 18 to 21, 2016.

“Carson slammed party leaders, charging that any brokering of an eventual nominee would usurp ‘the will of the people’… ‘I don’t want to be part of corruption,’ Carson said. ‘One of the reasons that I got into this race is because I want to return America to we, the people — and the last thing I want to be part of is a bunch of establishment party bosses thwarting the will of the people.’

“Carson blamed leaders from both political parties for creating the current political climate in which he and Trump have thrived as outside candidates since their campaigns began earlier this year… ‘It’s been the conventional political establishment on both parties that have manipulated for the last many decades that has gotten us into this position,’ he told Cavuto. ‘They used the press, they use whatever they have, to manipulate the population and make them think that they’re getting what they want when in fact they are not. And I’m tired of it,’ Carson declared. ‘A lot of people are tired of it — although they still a lot of times don’t realize they’re being manipulated, and we just have to fight this.’”

These comments are very true. The corrupt political system in the USA, with its “politicians” and “political leaders,” is a total disgrace. However, during the Republican Presidential Debate on December 15, Dr. Carson claimed that he was assured by the GOP leadership that the report in the Washington Post was false, and that no such tactics, as alleged, will be employed. We will see.

Why Trump Would Clash with Germany

The Local wrote on December 10:

“Donald Trump would find plenty to dislike in the Federal Republic of Germany.

“Angela Merkel… beat out Trump to win the coveted TIME magazine Person of the Year award on Wednesday December 9th. Trump immediately made his feelings clear with an angry tweet that Merkel was ‘ruining Germany’. The two couldn’t be more different as politicians…

“A big part of Merkel being named person of the year was her decision in August to allow refugees fleeing conflict in Syria free passage into Germany from Hungary. That wouldn’t go down well with Trump, who famously called this week for all Muslims – not just Syrians or refugees – to be banned from the USA. There are sizeable Muslim communities all over Germany, and up to a fifth of people in the country have some kind of link to migration in their background. Just this year, German leaders of all political stripes have insisted that Islam ‘is a part of Germany’ – something Trump would definitely never say about the USA…

“Germans love nothing more than being green… Across the country, people recycle everything from glass bottles to electronic waste. Trump, meanwhile, thinks that global warming is ‘very expensive bull…’

“In Germany, people are often prosecuted for the crime of inciting people to hatred… It’s made far-right movements, such as anti-immigration, anti-Islam Pegida, very wary about the words they use to express their aims. You can also get into serious trouble with the authorities for saying or doing something that ‘endangers the basic democratic order’ of the country. That’s not something Americans like Trump have to worry about, thanks to the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech…

“Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in the world – you have to prove that you need a gun for a good reason, such as hunting or target shooting… Trump, meanwhile, regularly expresses his support for gun ownership…

“Trump has regularly said that he thinks he’d ‘get along’ with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. That might not sit too well with Merkel, who has faced down the Russian leader over his annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine and support for pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country…

“In conclusion: Please don’t come to Germany, Donald – you’ll only regret it.”

There are of course many other reasons which would make Trump’s America clash with German leadership. For instance, Trump insisted that Germany should do more for Ukraine, rather than relying on the USA. He also favors the death penalty which is outlawed in Germany. But most importantly, an American President with the name of Donald Trump would be perceived as being in fierce competition with Europe regarding the economy. While wanting to make America great again and to re-regulate and renegotiate deals, Trump would by necessity antagonize Germany. This would include America’s terrible “deal’ with Iran to which Germany was a party.

Trump vs. Much of the Rest of the World

CNN wrote on December 11:

“If Donald Trump were to become president, he’d be starting off on the wrong foot with many of Americas’ allies…

“British Prime Minister David Cameron put out a rare statement criticizing the GOP presidential front-runner’s statements, calling them ‘divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.’…

“Shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office repudiated the proposal, Trump canceled a planned December trip to visit Israel and meet with Netanyahu…

“The foreign minister of America’s neighbor to the north (Canada) also publicly rejected Trump’s comments…

“Trump has also been called out by other Western allies, including politicians in France and the Netherlands…

“On Friday, a member of the Saudi royal family and business magnate tweeted that Trump was a ‘disgrace’… Trump also received a warning that he would ‘not be welcome’ in Muslim countries…”

Putin Praises Trump

AFP wrote on December 17:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as ‘talented’ and ‘outstanding,’ welcoming his stance on Russia.”

Bloomberg added on December 17:

“Putin hailed Donald Trump as the ‘absolute leader’ in the U.S. presidential contest, praising the candidate’s talk about building a deeper relationship with Russia.”

The Bible does not indicate any war between Russia and the USA, but it DOES prophesy a war between continental Europe and the USA, the UK and the state of Israel; and a subsequent war between Europe and Russia.

“Paul Ryan Betrays America”

Slate.com wrote on December 16 about “The Paul Ryan Compromise,” continuing, “The new speaker’s first big deal is just like all of the ones that infuriated conservatives under Boehner…”

Breitbart minced no words and published the following headline on December 16:

“Paul Ryan Betrays America: $1.1 Trillion, 2,000-Plus Page Omnibus Bill Funds ‘Fundamental Transformation of America’…”

The article continued:

“Ryan’s first major legislative achievement is a total and complete sell-out of the American people masquerading as an appropriations bill… The Ryan-Pelosi package represents nothing short of a complete and total betrayal of the American people… By locking in the President’s refugee, immigration, and spending priorities, Ryan’s bill is designed to keep these fights out of Congress by getting them off the table for good…

“What may prove most discouraging of all to Americans is that recent reports reveal that conservatives in the so-called House Freedom Caucus are praising Ryan even as he permanently locks in these irreversible and anti-American immigration policies… the House Freedom Caucus will ‘give Ryan a pass’ even as he funds disastrous policies that prioritize the interests of foreign nationals and global corporatists above the needs of the American people whom lawmakers are supposed to represent.”

The Netherland’s Geert Wilders “Politician Of The Year” for the Third Time—Supports Trump

Breitbart wrote on December 15:

“Anti-Islamisation politician Geert Wilders has been named politician of the year for the third time in a Dutch poll as his Freedom Party gains ground in the country. In a survey of 37,000 people, Mr Wilders won 25 per cent of the vote, making him the first politician to win the vote three times. Dutch news site NDTV says he beat his nearest opponent, Green-Left leader Jesse Klaver, by 11 per cent. In third place, Labour’s finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem had just nine per cent.

“[Mr Wilders’] party is currently leading opinion polls in the country, with one poll recently suggesting they would win 35 out of 150 if elections were held tomorrow. The poll comes just days after Mr Wilders endorsed U.S. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s proposed temporary halt on Muslim immigration. Mr Wilders said: ‘I hope [Donald Trump] will be the next US President… We need brave leaders’. He added: ‘Also in The Netherlands, 100,000 Muslims – 11% – say it’s acceptable to use violence.’

“In September, he called Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis an ‘Islamic invasion’ that threatens the continent’s ‘prosperity, security, and identity’. Then in November, he said that Europe should close its borders to Muslims, telling AFP: ‘I’m not asking for anything strange, I am asking that our government close its doors as Hungary did … that we close our borders to those we consider to be migrants, not refugees.’

“Mr Wilders has also supported the ‘Draw Mohammed’ campaign of Pamela Geller, pledging to show Mohammed cartoons on Dutch television.”

Stunning Defeat of Le Pen in France

Breitbart wrote on December 13:

“Marine Le Pen has steered France’s Front National (FN) from pariah status into the mainstream, and despite her party’s defeat in regional elections on Sunday, she sounded a typically defiant and vitriolic note, lashing out at the traditional parties for teaming up against her and vowing to press on…

“The first round of the regional elections had given the anti-mass immigration FN the highest share of the vote… But Sunday’s results showed the 47-year-old lawyer by training still has some way to go before convincing the majority of French voters.

“In the northern Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie region, she broke the symbolic 40-percent mark in the first round on December 6, exploiting anger over the dismal economy and the large numbers of migrants camped out in squalid conditions as they try desperately to reach Britain. But as so often for the FN, it was trounced in the second round after the ruling Socialists withdrew candidates and urged voters to back the centre-right.”

It is interesting that through political maneuvering and tactical manipulation, victories can be achieved (in this case for the French Socialists and the Republicans), which otherwise would not materialize. The Bible predicts that a very powerful German or Austrian leader (the “beast”) will arise on the world scene, gaining popularity and a high-ranking political office through flattery and deceit.

Does Merkel Cause More Damage Than Trump?

The Telegraph wrote on December 11:

“… we now have a great many Muslims in our midst – far more here, proportionately, than in Mr Trump’s country, and more in France than here. The risk of violence rises with the total. Even if it is true that 99 per cent of Muslims would not hurt a fly, when you increase the numbers you inevitably get more of those who would. People are, therefore, right to worry more about mass immigration from, say, Syria, than from, say, Poland…

“The founders of the European Union wanted… to give Christendom modern democratic form, but this is now nearly invisible. The leader of the union’s largest Christian Democrat party, Angela Merkel, has let more than a million mainly Muslim immigrants into her country this year alone. The East German pastor’s daughter is surely a much nicer person than Donald J Trump, but I wonder if she is not doing more actual harm to the future of the West.”

Merkel Rejects Multiculturalism

The Huffington Post wrote on December 14:

“In an address to the Christian Democratic Union on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to limit the flow of refugees entering the country, addressing critics in her own party who have questioned her decision to open Germany’s borders. As a top economic and political power, Germany has a ‘humanitarian imperative’ to accept people fleeing turmoil in Syria, Merkel said. Yet after accepting roughly 1 million refugees so far this year, she added that the country must now ‘noticeably reduce’ the number of new arrivals.

“… Merkel said refugees will have to make an effort to assimilate into German society. She also dismissed the idea of multiculturalism, which in parts of Europe is associated with a policy of encouraging distinct cultural groups to live in separate communities. ‘Those who seek refuge with us also have to respect our laws and traditions, and learn to speak German,’ she said. ‘Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies, and therefore multiculturalism remains a grand delusion.’…

“Her comments on Monday were neither new nor unexpected. In 2011, the Netherlands abandoned a policy of multiculturalism that allowed separate ethnic communities to live side by side without integration efforts. At a speech she gave to her party in 2010, Merkel said immigrants were welcome in Germany — but they should be prepared to adapt. ‘The approach [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other … has failed, utterly failed,’ she said at the time.”

DHS Under Severe Scrutiny

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on December 6:

“At least 72 employees at the Department of Homeland Security are listed on the U.S. terrorist watch list, according to a Democratic lawmaker… Rep. Stephen Lynch (D., Mass.)… ‘The [former DHS] director had to resign because of that,’ he said… Lynch referred to a recent report that found the Transportation Security Administration, which is overseen by DHS, failed to stop 95 percent of those who attempted to bring restricted items past airport security…

“Lynch said he has ‘very low confidence’ in DHS based on its many failures over the years. For this reason, he voted in favor of recent legislation that will tighten the vetting process for any Syrian refugees applying for asylum in the United States… ‘I have even lower confidence that they can conduct the vetting process in places like Jordan, or Belize or on the Syrian border, or in Cairo, or Beirut in any better fashion, especially given the huge volume of applicants we’ve had seeking refugee status,’ Lynch said.”

Muslim Brotherhood Very Active in the USA with White House Support

Breitbart wrote on December 7:

“Though President Barack Obama claimed that America must ‘enlist Muslim communities’ to combat terrorism in his Sunday evening Oval Office address, former FBI Counterterrorism Agent John Guandolo said… that since 9/11, ‘we collectively have received nearly zero help from the Muslim Community.’

“Guandolo… pointed out… that a ‘vast majority’ of U.S. mosques and Islamic centers are a part of a much larger ‘jihadi network’… He also pointed out that the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Islamic charity in America, was a ‘Hamas organization at the time it was indicted and Hamas is an inherent part of the Muslim Brotherhood.’ He said it will be nearly impossible to… successfully combat terrorists ‘so long as the U.S. government… emboldens and empowers Muslim Brotherhood organizations here.’…

“He also called out Saudi Arabia for being the top financier of Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and al-Qaeda projects in the United States. Guandolo said these organizations build lavish mosques that can hold thousands of people in areas where there are only 12 Muslims because their strategy is to claim ground ‘up to three miles around the mosque.’ He said the Saudis help these organizations purchase homes in the area at substantially above-market prices in order to ‘occupy that space around that mosque.’”

ISIS May Print Fake Syrian Passports

ABC News wrote on December 10:

“With the U.S. and other countries on high alert for ISIS attacks, American authorities are warning the terror group’s followers may have infiltrated American borders with authentic-looking [Syrian] passports ISIS has printed itself with its own machines…

“Former Department of Homeland Security intelligence official and ABC News consultant John Cohen said, ‘If ISIS has been able to acquire legitimate passports or machines that create legitimate passports, this would represent a major security risk in the United States.’

“Fake Syrian passports have already been discovered in Europe, most notably two used by suicide bombers in the horrific terrorist attack on Paris last month. The two men are believed to have slipped into Europe with a flood of Syrian refugees fleeing the violence in their homeland…

“[Allegedly] fake Syrian passports can be obtained in Syria for $200 to $400 and… backdated passport stamps to be placed in the passport cost the same…”

Saudi Arabia’s Coalition vs. ISIS, but without Iran

Express wrote on December 15:

“Saudi Arabia [a Sunni country] has announced a huge 34 state military alliance tasked with wiping out the Islamic State and other terrorist groups… Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defence minister, said the group would fight terrorist activities in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan…The huge coalition combines Arab countries like Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates with Islamic countries like Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

“However [Shiite] Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch rival for influence in the Arab world, is not part of the coalition. The two countries are locked in proxy conflicts across the Middle East. [Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen.] In Yemen, Saudi and Gulf Arab forces have been locked in battle with Iran-allied rebels, with an uneasy ceasefire soon to take place in the region.

“The alliance comes after western pressure, particularly from the USA, for nations like Saudi Arabia to help tackle ISIS, otherwise known as Daesh. Saudi Arabia is currently leading a military intervention in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels and is part of the US-led coalition bombing ISIS in Iraq and Syria.”

All these Middle Eastern and other Islamic countries, as mentioned in the article, are of a dictatorial and totalitarian nature, suppressing individual freedoms and liberties of their citizens. Any coalition between the USA and Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations will not hold. In addition, note the next article.

Saudi Arabia’s “Alliance” Makes No Sense

The Washington Post wrote on December 17:

“Saudi Arabia’s ‘Islamic Military Alliance’ against Terrorism makes no sense… First, some of the countries apparently in the alliance [including Pakistan, Malaysia and Lebanon] claim to have never heard of it… Other countries listed as being part of the alliance [including Uganda, Gabon, Benin and Togo] do not have Muslim majorities… A number [of] major Muslim countries [including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Indonesia] are not part of the alliance… 

“It’s unclear what exactly the alliance is aiming to do… Saudi Arabia has also gone to lengths to suggest that the alliance would not be limited to attempts to fight the Islamic State, but would focus on terrorism in general… Saudi Arabia’s definition of terrorism is worryingly broad… Under a law introduced last year, virtually any criticism of the kingdom’s political system or its interpretation of Islam counts as terrorism…”

ISIS Envisions Destruction of Rome

The Daily Mail wrote on December 11:

“The Islam State has released a chilling new video showing its apocalyptic vision of a final showdown with the West, which includes jihadists advancing toward the Colosseum in Rome. The disturbing footage, named ‘Meeting at Dabiq’, is focused on the notion of a deadly battle for world domination, in which ISIS ‘believers’ will fight western ‘crusaders’ in the Italian capital.

“… in a digitally-altered scene, an ISIS armoured unit is filmed heading toward the Colosseum. The male narrator describes how militants will destroy the ‘crusader’ sites… As well as the famous amphitheatre, St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City also features in the footage.”

ISIS will not destroy Rome, but it is interesting to see what goals ISIS has in mind.

Does Turkey Provoke Russia Deliberately?

Express wrote on December 13:

“The Russian plane shot down by Turkish forces last month was targeted in a cold-blooded ambush, according to a defence and aviation expert. Pierre Sprey, an American defence analyst involved in the development of the F-16 fighter jet, has revealed that he thought it was clearly a ‘pre-planned operation.’… He concluded: ‘The evidence looks pretty strong that the Turks were setting up an ambush.’

“The Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down as it returned to an air base following a military operation in Syria. According to the Turkish government, the Russian aircraft had crossed into their territory and refused to change direction despite receiving ten warnings in five minutes. However, the Russian military has responded by saying that their jet had not crossed the border and said it was one kilometer outside of Turkish airspace when it was shot down.

“They also claimed that they had not received any warnings, something Mr Sprey believes could be true. He said: ‘Now it so happens that Su-24s have no radios onboard for receiving UHF-frequency signals, a fact which is well known to American, NATO and Turkish intelligence. Those warnings may have been deliberately transmitted only on the international civilian frequency so that the Su-24s would never hear them.’”

Deutsche Welle added on December 13:

“Russian media reported on Sunday that the defense ministry had summoned Turkey’s military attaché in Moscow over a near-miss in the Aegean Sea. According to the Kremlin, a Russian destroyer only narrowly avoided Turkish vessel despite repeated warnings on the part of the Russian navy.

“‘The crew of the Russian patrol ship Smetlivy which was located 22 kilometers from the Greek island of Lemnos in the northern part of the Aegean Sea avoided collision with a Turkish seiner,’ said a ministry statement. ‘Despite numerous attempts by the Smetlivy, the crew of the Turkish seiner would not engage in radio contact and did not respond to special visual signals,’ the statement continued. The Smetlivy then fired small arms as a warning, ‘to prevent the collision of the ships.’

“The incident was sure to add to the tensions between the two nations, which has been at a fever pitch since a Russian warplane was shot down by Turkish security forces at the end of November, killing a pilot… Moscow has been particularly insistent that Turkey is funding terrorism by buying oil from ‘Islamic State’ (IS) jihadists.”

The Bible indicates that Turkey will ultimately collaborate with the EU and apparently against Russia.

Catholic Church Will Not Attempt to Convert Jews… at Least Not for Now

The New York Times wrote on December 10:

“Catholics should not try to convert Jews, but should work together with them to fight anti-Semitism, the Vatican said on Thursday in a far-reaching document meant to solidify its increasingly positive relations with Jews. Despite a long history of mutual suspicion and conflict, Christianity and Judaism are deeply intertwined, and Christians should treat the subject of the Holocaust with sensitivity and repel any anti-Semitic tendencies, the Vatican wrote.

“… the commission wrote that the church was ‘obliged to view evangelization to Jews, who believe in the one God, in a different manner from that to people of other religions and world views.’ It specified that ‘the Catholic Church neither conducts nor supports any specific institutional mission work directed towards Jews.’…

“‘It clearly states that salvation doesn’t come from the Jews’ conversion, but it’s very respectful of their own mission,’ said Alberto Melloni, the director of a liberal Catholic research institution, the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies in Bologna… Coming 50 years after the Vatican formally repudiated the idea of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’ death, the document emphasized the tight and inescapable link between Christianity and Judaism. ‘A Christian can never be an anti-Semite, especially because of the Jewish roots of Christianity,’ it stated…

“Jewish leaders praised the document and the way that Catholic-Jewish relations had progressed… Before the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, Catholic prayers said on Good Friday, the day that commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion and death, called Jews ‘perfidious.’ The revisions to the Mass ordered by the council eliminated that characterization, but some other language that Jewish groups found offensive continued to be said by ultratraditional Catholics using old-style Latin prayers, including a reference to ‘the blindness of that people.’ Pope Benedict XVI ordered those prayers changed in 2008.

“The Vatican’s efforts to improve relations with Jews gained major impetus under Pope John Paul II. He was the first pope to pray in a synagogue, the first to acknowledge the failure of individual Catholics to act against the Holocaust and the first to call anti-Semitism a sin ‘against God and man.’…”

What is of course missing from this nice-sounding dialogue is the biblical truth that even though salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22), salvation is not possible except through acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. To be a true Christian, one has become a spiritual Jew, who will accept both the Old and the New Testament, but there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, and there is no salvation in any other but in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

“The War That Nobody Wants”

This is the headline of an article which was published by Deutsche Welle on December 4. The article continued:

“Germany is sending soldiers to Syria to combat the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terror group. The government isn’t acting out of conviction, rather in response to external pressure…

“The Iraq War of 2003 should serve as a cautionary tale when it comes to this sort of ill-considered obedience…

“Nobody is questioning the murderous, deeply evil character of this terrorist group… They can attack anytime, anywhere, and everyone knows it. Despite this, the government is contributing to the illusion that ‘IS’ can be beaten with more air strikes. They are deluding themselves…

“Independent political and military experts have voiced serious doubts about the success of such a mission. Then, there are international legal concerns… There is already a long list of failed deployments in this young century: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya – all failed states where the seeds of terror were planted and continue to grow. Now, in Syria, military alliances are suddenly being formed that, just weeks ago, would have been likened by all parties to a pact with the devil… This alone shows just how helpless and desperate the West – and with it now Germany – has become.

“The German government has painted itself into a corner. It knows that the agreed deployment is highly risky for both the soldiers, and the German people. It will, of course, increase the risk of an ‘IS’ terrorist attack on German soil.

“There are jihadists living among us. And the horrific scenes from Paris are still fresh. There, it was mainly French citizens with a Muslim background who carried out the attacks. Now, out of an honest sense of solidarity, Germany is participating in a war for which there are no convincing political and military arguments…”

German Muslims Warn Against German Military Involvement in Syria

Deutsche Welle reported on December 5:

“The head of Germany’s Central Council of Muslims spoke out against German involvement in Syria on Saturday… Aiman Mazyek said that this type of strategy in the fight against terrorism had already proven a failure…

“According to Mazyek, a much better plan is to stop the delivery of weapons to the jihadists, to force regional powers to come together at the negotiating table and by focusing on a strategy of reconciliation, creating a perspective of hope and peace for Syrians and not one of continued misery and conflict… adding that groups like ‘IS’ and al Qaeda benefit from the West engaging them in violence because war is an important part of their political goals.

“Referring to Germany’s involvement in the protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Mazyek reminded readers that ‘we have sown war, and out of it came refugees and terrorism.’”

Undoubtedly, ongoing military engagement in Syria (which will not be successful in destroying ISIS) will maximize the ongoing migrant crisis.

Terror Attack in San Bernardino–a Political Nightmare for Obama

The Guardian wrote on December 4:

“There is never a good time for a commander-in-chief to learn of a terrorist attack on the homeland, but confirmation… could hardly have come at a worse time politically for Barack Obama. Just one week [ago] the president responded to mounting fear of terrorism with unusually forthright reassurance for Americans to ‘go about their usual activities’ during the US holiday season… the president also went out of his way to stress there was ‘no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland’.

“The message was a direct response to what Obama said were ‘understandable’ fears about terrorism in the wake of the recent Paris shootings. But it also came as he was facing unprecedented levels of criticism from political opponents about failing to take seriously the threat from Isis and those potentially inspired by its violent extremism…

“In the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s shooting, Obama focused exclusively on gun control as a policy response – suggesting the attack fitted into a ‘pattern of mass shootings in this country’. By Thursday, after the identity of the attackers had become clear, the president acknowledged that terrorism was a possibility but still spoke mainly about the need to pass gun control legislation – even though it now looks possible that the assault rifles in the attack may have already been illegal under California law.”

Incredible–Falwell Jr. Encourages Students to Buy Guns

Newsmax reported on December 5:

“Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Christian-based Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, is encouraging students to carry concealed weapons on campus for protection, a local newspaper reported. Falwell made his remarks at the school’s weekly convocation on Friday night, according to The News & Advance in Lynchburg. The comments came two days after a shooting in San Bernardino, California left 14 people dead and in the wake of other shooting sprees in the United States, including some on college campuses.

“‘It just blows my mind when I see that the president of the United States [says] that the answer to circumstances like that is more gun control,’ Falwell said, according to the newspaper. ‘I’ve always thought if more good people had concealed carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in.’ Later on Friday, Falwell clarified via Twitter that he was referring to Islamic terrorists, not all Muslims, the paper reported.

“Falwell, whose [late] father Jerry Falwell Sr. was an evangelical Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative political commentator, urged students to take free classes offered by the university’s Police Department to obtain a concealed weapon permit, the newspaper reported. ‘Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,’ he said. Liberty University is a private institution with about 14,500 students taking courses on campus and another 95,000 enrolled online, according to the school’s website.”

Newsmax added on December 7 “that… Jerry Falwell Jr. defended his stance that his students should be carrying guns on campus, saying the policy has been in effect since the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32… Students have to be 21 years old to carry weapons on campus, he said.”

Others, such as Dr. Ben Carson and Donald Trump, have made similar claims and recommendations.

However, all should be well advised to read Christ’s statements to Peter, in Matthew 26:52: “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword [or a gun] will perish by the sword [a gun].” The warning is repeated in Revelation 13:10: “… he who kills with the sword [a gun] must be killed with the sword [a gun].” Christ introduced this warning in verse 9 with, “If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”

Falwell and others have not been listening so far, and neither have millions who think that they will live safer lives by carrying a gun and by willing to use it. The opposite is true.

Franklin Graham Blasts “New York Daily News” over Prayer Article

Newsmax wrote on December 4:

“Christian evangelist… Franklin Graham is blasting a prayer-shaming headline and story in the New York Daily News.

“… the son of famed preacher Billy Graham… decries the attitude that prayers don’t do much to prevent mass shootings like the [terrorist attack by a heavily-armed radical Muslim couple] that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. ‘The New York Daily News front page touts “God isn’t fixing this” in regards to the San Bernardino mass shooting,’ Graham writes.

“‘And they have the audacity to criticize politicians who had publicly offered prayers and asked for God’s comfort following the killings, calling them “cowards who could truly end gun scourge.” Shame on them! … ‘It’s evident that this group is bashing the importance of prayer in order to promote their own gun control agenda,’ he adds.

“Graham argues prayers aren’t ‘“meaningless platitudes” as they say on their cover.’ ‘Prayer does make a difference in heartbreaking situations like this,’ he writes.”

“Most Controversial” Statements by Donald Trump So Far—“Complete Shutdown on Muslims Entering the USA”

NBC News reported on December 7:

“Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Monday called for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’ [‘until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.]… Trump released a statement citing polling data he says shows ‘there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population.’…

“Trump’s announcement comes the day after President Barack Obama addressed the nation, calling on Americans ‘to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country.’…

“‘Donald Trump always plays on everyone’s worst instincts and fears and saying we’re not going to let a single Muslim into this [country] is a dangerous over reaction,’ Carly Fiorina told NBC News after a campaign stop in Iowa.

“‘This is the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about,’ Chris Christie said during a radio interview. ‘That’s a ridiculous position,’ he added.”

Lindsey Graham tweeted that ‘Every candidate for president needs to do the right thing and condemn’ Trump’s comments. Ted Cruz said ‘that is not my policy.’ A spokesperson for Ben Carson said, ‘Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries. We do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.’

Jeb Bush wrote on Facebook that Trump is “unhinged” and that his “policy proposals are not serious.” He later speculated whether Trump and Clinton were engaged in a conspiracy so that Clinton would win; and reporters on MSNBC “speculated” quite seriously whether Trump was making those controversial comments so that he could lose.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said he disagrees with Trump. “[His] habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together…” he said in a statement. Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that “such a policy goes against the spirit of America.” The White House and the Democrats universally condemned Trump’s proposal.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Trump’s proposal “is not what this party (GOP) stands for. And more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.”

The Washington Post wrote:

“In the past month… Trump has called for greater scrutiny of Muslims — including Muslim Americans who are legal residents of the country. He has said he would support heavy surveillance of mosques, bar Syrian refugees of all religions from entering the country and would consider establishing a database to track all Muslims in the country. But Trump’s statement on Monday was his most controversial proposal yet.”

The Huffington Post wrote: “Trump goes full fascist.”

Fox News host Shepard Smith said that Trump “is representing the worst, darkest part of all that is America.”

 In Germany, Trump’s comments made the headlines in almost every news outlet. Bild Online wrote about Trump’s newest “provocation,” adding that Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, confirmed via Email that Trump’s demand to exclude Muslims does not only refer to refugees, but also to tourists and students. (Trump later “clarified” that his proposal would not apply to US citizens and Muslims living in the USA, and a Trump spokesperson said that his comments were meant to apply “only” to immigration). Trump also said that there would be exceptions for some, without giving any specifics. Die Zeit wrote that Trump found a new scapegoat—the “hateful” Muslims.

Trump was also highly criticized in Great Britain.

Deutsche Welle characterized Trump’s comments as “racist” and wrote on December 9:

“British hostility towards… Donald Trump is a hot commodity across the United Kingdom… nearly a quarter of a million people [have been] signing a petition to ban the US presidential candidate from Britain… [Trump said:] ‘We have places in London… that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives.’

“The latter comment drew outrage and fury from across Britain’s political establishment. London Mayor Boris Johnson lashed into Trump. ‘I think he is betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him frankly unfit to hold the office of the president of the United States,’ Johnson told ITV News. The mayor also told the BBC, ‘Crime has been falling steadily… in London…’

“Prime Minister David Cameron – who now leads the same conservative party once led by Margaret Thatcher – said the US presidential candidate’s statement [banning all Muslims from entering the USA] was ‘divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.’…

“Trump’s comments prompted an outraged Scottish government Wednesday to drop him as a business ambassador for the country, where he owns golf courses and hotels… The petition will now be considered for debate by parliament as it has over 100,000 signatures, and will receive a written government response…”

The Associated Press wrote on December 7:

“[Trump] did not respond to questions about whether it would also include Muslims who are U.S. citizens and travel outside of the country, or how a determination of someone’s religion might be made by customs and border officials. There are, for example, more than 5,800 servicemen and women on active U.S. military duty and in the reserves who self-identify as Muslim and could be assigned to serve overseas.

“Trump was also unclear on whether his ban would apply to Muslim allies in the fight against Islamic State militants. Ari Fleischer, a former aide to Republican President George W. Bush, tweeted, ‘Under Trump, the King Abdullah of Jordan, who is fighting ISIS, won’t be allowed in the US to talk about how to fight ISIS.’…

“Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said of Trump’s idea, ‘It’s just foolish.’ But will it hurt his campaign? ‘I have no idea,’ McCain said. ‘I thought long ago that things he said would hurt his prospects, and he continues to go up.’”

On the other hand, the following two articles give a slightly different picture.

The New York Times wrote on December 8:

“His remarks ignited widespread condemnation that crossed ideological and social lines in many countries… But Mr. Trump’s position also had its admirers. His stance on Muslim immigration drew several hundred favorable comments on China’s Twitter-like social media site, Weibo, where supporters linked his idea to their own fears of the Uighurs, a minority Muslim group in China’s northwestern region, some of whom have resorted to militancy and violence…

“Mr. Trump’s views were more recognizable in Europe than most people liked to admit and… his stances resembled those of not just Ms. Le Pen [note the next section in these Current Events] but also other larger-than-life politicians who appealed to voters fed up with the political mainstream… in a world in which terrorism has come to be associated with radical Islam, Mr. Trump’s stance resonated among people who perceive a similar threat…”

Bloomberg reported on December 9:

“Almost two-thirds of likely 2016 Republican primary voters favor Donald Trump’s call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S., while more than a third say it makes them more likely to vote for him.”

Trump’s proposals, if they are indeed serious and not just unrealistic comments to get votes, become more and more troublesome. But in times of war, when “enemies” are found or designated, they are not surprising. In Nazi Germany, Jews became the scapegoats for everything which was “bad” in Germany, and they were persecuted mercilessly. In the USA under President Franklin Roosevelt, during World War II, unconstitutional restrictions were placed on American citizens of Italian, German and Japanese descent, culminating in American “detention camps” of innocent Japanese civilians. Is history beginning to repeat itself… and are much worse times ahead?

Far Right Anti-Muslim Party Wins Stunning Victory in France

The EUObserver wrote on December 7:

“The [far-right] National Front [under party leader Marine Le Pen] has come first [with a 27.9 percent share of the votes] in half of the regions in a first round of local elections in France. The results were expected but they created a shock in French politics… The Front National is ‘without contest the first party of France,’ Le Pen told supporters Sunday evening… The Socialist Party (PS) of president Francois Hollande and prime minister Manuel Valls came only third with around 23 percent.”

The Associated Press wrote on December 8:

“France’s options are no longer as simple as left and right. The far-right, anti-establishment National Front has ridden a wave of anger over migration and extremist attacks straight into the political mainstream — where experts predict it will stay. The party’s historic results in Sunday’s first round of regional elections were the latest in a series of electoral inroads, with scores that shamed and destabilized the traditional parties. The conservative party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Francois Hollande’s Socialists — the long-standing anchors of French political life — scrambled to find ways to block the ascent of the far-right before the December 13 final round.

“The showing of the National Front… will dynamize leader Marine Le Pen’s planned bid for the presidency in 2017. In the traditionally Socialist northeastern region where she was running, the party won more than 40 percent of the vote. Her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, had a similar showing in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, a stronghold of the traditional right…

“The party… is opposed to the European Union and the euro currency and fears that Muslim immigrants will supplant French civilization, replacing church bells with calls to prayer… Marine Le Pen replaced her father, party co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011. She immediately set about changing its anti-Semitic image to make it less toxic to voters and undo its pariah status. In its former life, people were often too ashamed to reveal that they had voted for the National Front…

“Far-right parties have made inroads across Europe in recent years, from Greece to Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands and elsewhere. Le Pen heads a powerful far-right group in the European Parliament. All are feeding on the migrant crisis… German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the National Front’s strong performance must be a ‘wake-up call for all democrats in Europe.’”

JTA wrote on December 7:

“According to Haaretz, the result is the strongest electoral achievement for a far-right European party since World War II. Le Pen’s father, National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, had a history of anti-Semitism, though his daughter has distanced herself and the party from him and his record. Following publication of the results, CRIF, the umbrella body of French Jewry, called on French Jews to vote against National Front in the runoff. ‘On this coming Sunday, go out and vote by the masses to block the National Front, a xenophobic and populist party,’ the CRIF statement read. ‘Do not allow the Republic to fall.’”

War Is in the Russian Air

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 5:

“The popular Russian rock band Va-Bank released a new music video on Wednesday. It’s called ‘And After Berlin’ and… contains current political messages. International sanctions, Crimea and the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin are mentioned before the chorus comes: ‘First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.’

“Since the annexation of Crimea, war and conquest fantasies have become commonplace in Russia. You hear them from politicians, journalists and pundits. Apocalyptic photomontages depicting a future war between Europe and the United States are making the rounds on social media…

“The threat of nuclear weapons… now surfaces regularly… ‘Russia is the only country in the world that is truly capable of turning the USA into a heap of radioactive ash,’ star moderator Dmitri Kisseljov said on state television [on March 16, 2014].

“Since then, prominent personalities have continued to swing the nuclear club. Right-wing populist Vladimir Shirinovsky, the deputy parliamentary chairman, has threatened to reduce first Kyiv, then Berlin, then Washington to dust. Most recently, he was toying with the idea of throwing a nuclear bomb into the Black Sea near Istanbul. Then the Turkish city would be washed away by a giant wave, Shirinovsky reasoned during an appearance before parliament on Tuesday…

“The ‘expectation of war’ is hanging in the air these days, the Moscow-based journalist and blogger Alexander Plushev told DW. He said the media were mainly responsible for spreading such sentiment.

“Turkey’s downing of a Russian military jet on its border with Syria at the end of November appears to have heated up Russia’s war rhetoric even more… Even some journalists loyal to the Kremlin have shown concern. At the end of November, Ulyana Skoibeda of the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda questioned the jingoism in the wake of the Turkey conflict… Her column disappeared from the paper’s website a few hours after it was published…”

It is interesting that the article mentions a coming war between Europe and the USA… as this is exactly what will happen, according to biblical prophecy.

Denmark Says No to More Europe

On December 4, the EUObserver published an article with the following headline: “Denmark says No to more EU, casts shadow on UK vote.”

It continued:

“Danish voters, on Thursday (3 December), responded with a clear No when asked to integrate deeper with the European Union. The referendum resulted in a large majority – 53.1 percent No, against 46.9 percent Yes – refusing to join EU justice and home affairs policies. Denmark opted out from this part of EU policy when ratifying the Maastricht treaty 22 years ago.”

It does not appear that Denmark or the UK will be part of the final configuration of ten European core nations or groups of nations, as prophesied in the Bible.

EU Will Fall Apart Unless…

Express wrote on December 9:

“The European Union is at risk of falling apart over the next 10-years due to the migrant crisis, the head of the European Parliament suggested. Martin Schulz said the EU was in danger as there are forces trying to rip it apart… Mr Schulz said: ‘No one can say whether the EU will still exist in this form in 10-years’ time…

“Mr Schulz added no country could single-handedly tackle challenges like migration, adding this was only possible as a unified EU.”

According to the Bible, ten nations or groups of nations will emerge out of the EU “in this form.”

Israel Could Easily Destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Times of Israel wrote on December 3:

“Israel could easily destroy Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque, but emphatically does not want to, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. In remarks to Likud colleagues, Netanyahu said Israel could rid the Temple Mount of the mosque with little effort, but that to do so would contradict everything that Israel represents…

“The mosque atop the Temple Mount — which is the holiest place in Judaism as the site of the two biblical temples — has been at the heart of a wave of Palestinian terrorism and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in recent months. Palestinian leaders and media have alleged that Israel intends to change the decades-long arrangements under which Jews are allowed to visit but barred from praying on the Mount — something Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted is not the case.”

However, the Bible shows that a Third Temple will be built and that sacrifices will be given by the Jews on the Temple Mount prior to Christ’s return. This suggests that the Al-Aqsa mosque WILL BE destroyed.

Outright Derision between USA and Israel

JTA wrote on December 5:

“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking at an annual U.S.-Israel confab, said Israel’s government must consider the consequences of evolving toward a single state incorporating the Palestinian areas… Kerry’s forceful questioning of Israeli policy as well Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon’s outright derision of U.S. Middle East policy the previous evening underscored the divisions that continue to dog the governments of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…

“Kerry’s bluntness matched Yaalon’s in his claim the previous evening that the Obama administration had forfeited leadership in the region to Russian President Vladimir Putin… Netanyahu, in a last-minute addition, delivered a 10-minute video address Sunday rebutting Kerry’s warning. He said the core issue hindering Israeli-Palestinian peace was the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state…

“Much of the recent spate of deadly violence in the West Bank and Israel has been stoked by tensions surrounding the Temple Mount…”

No Connection Between Temple Mount and Islam

Israel National News reported on December 6:

“Renowned Egyptian scholar Youssef Ziedan, a specialist in Arabic and Islamic studies [said] that there is actually no connection between Jerusalem and ancient Islam. When Islam was founded during the 7th century, he says, Jerusalem was a holy city to the Jews, while the Mosque of Omar was not even built until 74 years after Muhammed’s death. The reason it was built, Ziedan says, is because the builder wished to detract from the centrality of Mecca in Islam.

“Prof. Ziedan is the director of the Manuscript Center and Museum in the Library of Alexandria. He is a public lecturer, university professor, columnist and prolific author of more than 50 books. He won the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his work Azazeel, which was also translated into Hebrew… ‘Al-Aksa is not ours,’ he emphasizes, ‘and though the word comes from the word “extreme,” it does not refer to the far mosque on the Temple Mount, but rather to a mosque that is the “further” of two mosques in Mecca.’

“According to Ziedan, Muslims are purposely and falsely turning a political struggle between Israel and the Arabs into a religious one. ‘The religious aspect of the conflict is nonsense… The only reason why Muslims insist on the sanctity of Jerusalem is simply politics.’…

“Prof. Ziedan’s claims support knowledge long held by Jewish historians. Muslims have historically attached themselves to Jerusalem only when political expedient, beginning with Mohammed himself. In a barefaced attempt to win over the Jews living near him, the founder of Islam decided to announce that prayers would be directed towards Jerusalem – but when the Jews scorned his advances, he slaughtered many of them, and proceeded to direct his followers’ prayers towards Mecca instead.

“Not only did Mohammed never mention the city in the Koran, but later, when Moslems conquered the Holy Land, they totally ignored Jerusalem and established their capital in Ramle…”

Impression of King Hezekiah’s Royal Seal Unearthed

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 2:

“An unprecedented impression of the royal seal of King Hezekiah from the First Temple period was unearthed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem archeological team during excavations at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the university announced on Wednesday. Dating back to 727–698 BCE and measuring 9.7 mm by 8.6 mm., the oval impression… was imprinted on a 3-mm.- thick piece of clay, measuring 13 mm. by 12 mm…

“The impression bears an inscription in ancient Hebrew script stating: ‘Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah,’ accompanied by a two-winged sun with wings turned downward, flanked by two ankh symbols serving as emblems of life…

“King Hezekiah is described favorably in the Bible (II Kings, Isaiah, II Chronicles) as well as in the chronicles of the Assyrian kings Sargon II and his son, Sennacherib, who ruled during his time. ‘Hezekiah is depicted as both a resourceful and daring king, who centralized power in his hands,’ the university said. ‘Although he was an Assyrian vassal, he successfully maintained the independent standing of the Judean kingdom and its capital, Jerusalem, which he enhanced economically, religiously and diplomatically.’

“The Bible states of Hezekiah: ‘There was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those before him’ (II Kings 18:5).”

Again, the Bible has been proven to be historically accurate.

California Owns Your DNA

CBS reported on November 9:

“… a non-descript office building in Richmond contains the DNA of every person born in California since 1983. It’s a treasure trove of information about you, from the color of your eyes and hair to your pre-disposition to diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer.

“Using these newborn blood spots for research, the state is able to screen babies for 80 hereditary diseases. But the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is not the only agency using the blood spots. Law enforcement can request them. Private companies can buy them to do research – without your consent…

“The CDPH turned down a request for an interview and wouldn’t explain why it doesn’t ask permission to sell babies’ blood spots. But it said parents can have them destroyed. And CDPH says the blood spots are de-identified and can’t be tracked back to the child. But Yaniv Erlich with Columbia University and the New York Genome Center said there’s no way to guarantee that. His research demonstrated how easy it is to take anonymized DNA, cross-reference it with online data and connect it to a name…

“[Mrs.] Gatto thinks the state should have to at least ask her consent before storing and selling her daughters’ DNA… Gatto ended up requesting that her child’s blood spots be destroyed. Meanwhile, her husband – state Assemblyman Mike Gatto – introduced a bill this year that would have required signed consent on newborn screening. Opposition from the state and the industry killed it.”

This is rather shocking and disturbing. Is there anything in citizens’ lives which the US government and lobbyists do not take over and manipulate?

Incredible Religious Persecution… in Texas!

Fox News reported on November 28:

“12-year-old Jordan Wooley, the Texas girl who spoke out after her teacher made her say that God is a myth, says she has been bullied and told to kill herself after media coverage of the incident. It all began when Jordan’s teacher assigned a quiz asking students at West Memorial Junior High School in Katy, Texas, to label statements as ‘fact, assertion, or opinion.’

“Among the statements were ‘America is the most free country on Earth’ and ‘there is a God.’ After Jordan labeled the latter as a ‘fact,’ her teacher told her to deny God or get an ‘F.’

“The Katy Independent School District denied the incident ever happened and claimed no one could verify Jordan’s story. But that didn’t stop her from calling the board members ‘liars’ and asking for an apology in a statement on Monday…”

If this story turns out to be true, then the teacher and the responsible representative(s) of the Katy Independent School District should resign or be fired immediately.

Careful… Obama Administration and IRS Up to No Good?

Fox News reported on December 7:

“An Obama administration proposal to have some nonprofit charities report the Social Security numbers of donors giving at least $250 in one year is raising concerns about security, government overreach and another episode of IRS targeting. ‘There’s a big caution here. There’s a big yellow light that should be flashing for a couple of reasons,’ Illinois Republican Rep. Peter Roskam tells Fox News. ‘Number one, the IRS has not demonstrated its capacity to hold this type of information from confidentiality and a security point of view.’

“The change would impact organizations that fall into the 501 (c)(3) category, which includes churches and other religious or charitable groups. The Internal Revenue Service states the proposed change would be optional. But skeptics question whether it will eventually become the only option… attorney Cleta Mitchell… argues that the IRS cannot be trusted and that the change could have a devastating impact on charities’ ability to collect enough money to survive…”

EU To Become a World-Ruling Superstate

On November 29, The Telegraph published an article with the following headline: “How a secretive elite created the EU to build a world government.”

The article pointed out the following:

“Voters in Britain’s referendum need to understand that the European Union was about building a federal superstate from day one… As the debate over the forthcoming EU referendum gears up, it would be wise perhaps to remember how Britain was led into membership in the first place. It seems to me that most people have little idea why one of the victors of the Second World War should have become almost desperate to join this ‘club’…

“Why would [Britain] want to enter the EEC [forerunner of the EU]? The answer is that Harold Macmillan and his closest advisers were part of an intellectual tradition that saw the salvation of the world in some form of world government based on regional federations. He was also a close acquaintance of Jean Monnet, who believed the same…

“Despite advice from the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir, that membership would mean the end of British parliamentary sovereignty, Macmillan deliberately misled the House of Commons — and practically everyone else, from Commonwealth statesmen to cabinet colleagues and the public — that merely minor commercial negotiations were involved…

“Monnet’s Action Committee was also given financial backing by the CIA and the US State Department. The Anglo-American establishment was now committed to the creation of a federal United States of Europe.

“Today, this is still the case. Powerful international lobbies are already at work attempting to prove that any return to democratic self-government on the part of Britain will spell doom. American officials have already been primed to state that such a Britain would be excluded from any free trade deal with the USA and that the world needs the TTIP trade treaty which is predicated on the survival of the EU…”

Another European “Core Group” Created

The EUObserver wrote on November 30:

“German leader Angela Merkel has said a core group of eight EU states is preparing to resettle refugees from Turkish camps next year.  The eight leaders – from Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden – held a separate meeting in Brussels on Sunday (29 November), shortly before the 28 member states met with Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu.”

European core groups come and go, but ultimately, a political and military core group of ten nations or groups of nations will emerge, which will signal the imminent end of this present age.

Why the West Can’t Win Against ISIS

Breitbart wrote on November 27:

“Without question, our military is superior to any other on earth and we could inflict devastating damage to ISIS if we unleashed our military forces against them. But we are not going to do that…

“The real enemy is not ‘over there’ in Syria and Iraq, or in Paris or London. The enemy is already here in our homeland… I am speaking of the accelerating rot in our own culture… Islamist suicide bombers believe they are dying for a higher purpose, the greater glory of Allah.  What, exactly, are our ideals?…

“Witchcraft is as much a legitimate personal religion as Christianity… and polygamy is just another ‘lifestyle’…”

Bush and Obama Administrations Responsible for the Creation of ISIS and Current Mayhem

The Huffington Post wrote on November 30:

“Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, former U.S. special forces commander in Iraq and Afghanistan who was the country’s highest ranking military intelligence official, says that the George W. Bush administration’s Iraq war was a tremendous blunder that helped to create the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS. ‘It was a huge error,’ Flynn said about the Iraq war in a detailed interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel published Sunday. ‘As brutal as Saddam Hussein was, it was a mistake to just eliminate him,’ Flynn went on to say. ‘The same is true for Moammar Gadhafi and for Libya, which is now a failed state. The historic lesson is that it was a strategic failure to go into Iraq…

“When told by Der Spiegel reporters Matthias Gebauer and Holger Stark that the Islamic State would not ‘be where it is now without the fall of Baghdad,’ Flynn, without reservations, said: ‘Yes, absolutely.’

“Flynn, who served in the U.S. Army for more than 30 years and was former commander of special forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, also said that the American military response following 9/11 was not well thought-out at all and based on significant misunderstandings… Instead of determining why the U.S. was attacked by terrorists, Flynn said, the Bush administration was looking at where the terrorists came from and locations to attack. ‘Then,’ Flynn said, ‘we strategically marched in the wrong direction.’

“Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 based on sketchy evidence presented by the Bush administration that linked weapons of mass destruction and terrorist organization Al Qaeda to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The fall of Hussein resulted in chaos and led to a power vacuum in the region that terrorist organizations, like the Islamic State, have taken advantage of…

“Following the violent attacks in Paris earlier this month, Flynn said that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is ‘amateurish’ and has ‘its own place of responsibility in the mayhem that we are seeing right now.’”

Sadly, this entire assessment rings very very true. America’s leadership, both past and present, has been a catastrophe.

“Obama’s Anti-Islamic State Coalition Crumbles as Arab Allies Abandon Effort”

The Washington Times wrote on November 30:

“The major Arab powers once deemed essential to the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have largely pulled back from the U.S.-led military campaign, undercutting the Obama administration’s claims about the depth and reach of the coalition it has built with allies in the region. The Obama administration consistently touts the ‘65-nation coalition’ it has assembled to fight the group also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh — but critics say [that] fewer than a dozen nations today are contributing anything significant to the campaign.

“And behind closed doors, administration and military officials admit that air support from such key Arab allies as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — something the White House once touted as an unprecedented and essential part of the coalition — has all but evaporated.”

The White House’s Announcement Regarding Visa Waiver Program

 Deutsche Welle reported on November 30:

“The White House has announced it will add more screening for travelers allowed to enter the US without a visa. The decision comes after calls to tighten the Visa Waiver Program following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

“People from thirty-eight countries around the world are currently allowed to enter the US without applying for a visa. While the program will remain in place, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will start collecting information regarding visits to countries considered a ‘terrorist safe haven.’ The White House said on Monday it was also asking Congress for the authority to reprimand airlines that failed to verify passport data.

“DHS released a statement as well urging Congress to pass legislation tightening the program…”

Actually, the White House’s plans go much further than that. As Bild Online reported on November 30, “citizens from Germany and 37 additional countries… will be examined much more severely at American airports.” That will not make visiting Europeans very happy, as the American immigration procedure at its airports has already been a complete and incompetent nightmare.

This is also true for German airports, and the White House’s measures at its airports will undoubtedly be copied in Europe, making international travel a terrible endeavor for most people. It is interesting that terrorists will probably reach their goal of paralyzing major industries not so much by violent attacks, but much more easily by the reactions of panicking governments.

Der Spiegel Online wrote that traveling to America is already complicated enough, but that Obama wants to make it even more complicated, which measures will also affect German tourists and business people. For some American politicians, these changes don’t even go far enough.

The New York Times wrote on November 30:

“Congressional Republican leaders announced Monday that they would pursue more potent legislation to toughen the waiver program… The extremists who mounted the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 were not Syrians but citizens of Europe who might have been able to fly to the United States without getting a visa or going through any of the significant security screening that refugees face…

“The visa-waiver program also dwarfs the refugee plan, allowing 20 million foreigners a year to travel to the United States without being interviewed at American consulates and embassies. It covers 38 counties, mainly European but also allies such as Japan, Australia, Chile and New Zealand.

“While cracks in the visa-waiver program are worrisome to national security officials, business leaders see the program as a boon to tourism and the economy. Foreign tourists who come to the United States under the program are estimated to spend as much as $100 billion a year, and advocates argue that tightening the program would deter tourism, a concern the White House shares. American tourists get similar waivers to travel to Europe and other friendly countries…

“The House majority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, said Monday that Republicans would push their own changes, which would include requiring that all visa-waiver countries issue electronic passports with built-in computer chips…”

It cannot be doubted that the tightening of the visa waiver program will have a devastating effect on America’s economy. America’s irreversible path towards national bankruptcy continues…

Under Obama in WW II, British Theaters Would Do Hamlet in German

The Washington Post wrote on November 30:

“You can speculate that if the Obama of today and not Winston Churchill had led Britain in World War II, the Old Vic theater would now be doing ‘Hamlet’ in German. The president has lost his voice, that is certain. The numbers say so. Obama has the approval of only 44 percent of the American people. During his time in office, Congress and much of the nation have gone Republican — statehouse after statehouse, governor after governor (soon to be 32)…

“His problem is that he often has nothing to say… It is on foreign policy particularly where he goes empty and cold… Obama’s self-inflicted predicament was apparent in the statement he issued following the Paris terrorist attacks… saying all the right things in the manner of a minister presiding at the funeral of a perfect stranger…

“This happened once before, when he issued his ‘red line’ warning to Syria — and then, upon consideration, said never mind. The result has been a foreign policy debacle…

“Obama’s dilemma is not just that he cannot find the words to articulate his policy. He cannot stick to his policy either. His initial reluctance to act in Libya faded when Moammar Gaddafi threatened to massacre his opposition and the French took the lead. His determination to stay out of Iraq collided with the threatened genocide of the Yazidis. Iraq fell apart, the Islamic State seemed to come out of nowhere. Americans were beheaded. Women were enslaved. No boots on the ground became some boots on the ground — and then some more and then some of them helped the Kurds and mixed it up with the Islamic State…

“Obama… is out of words because he is out of ideas…”

Britain Enters the War—and Splits the Country

On December 2, 2015, The Guardian wrote:

“Britain is to launch airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria immediately after MPs voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday night to authorise an extension of bombing. At the end of a day of extraordinary rhetoric and private anguish, MPs voted by 397 to 223 in favour of sending Tornados from the RAF base in Cyprus to seek out Isis targets in Syria…”

Reuters reported on December 2:

“Given Britain’s diminished role on the world stage, the victory hands Cameron the chance to restore Britain’s standing in global affairs… Many British voters are wary of being dragged into another war in the Middle East. Some view Western intervention in Iraq and Libya as a failure that sowed chaos across the region… British air strikes are unlikely to change the military balance…

“The British public is divided over launching the strikes… with 48 percent of respondents supporting strikes and 31 percent against. Those opposed to air strikes recalled the events of 2003 when Britain helped the United States to invade Iraq after asserting – wrongly, as it later turned out – that dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“Julian Lewis, Conservative chairman of the Commons Defence Committee and a critic of extending air strikes to Syria, said the government was in denial about the effectiveness of bombing without deploying viable ground troops. Lewis compared Cameron’s assertion that there are as many as 70,000 moderate opposition fighters in Syria with the ‘dodgy dossier’ on Iraq’s military capabilities. ‘Instead of dodgy dossiers, we now have bogus battalions of moderate fighters,’ he said.’”

It is undoubtedly true that the radicals (not moderates) are the most successful Syrian “rebel” fighters against Assad’s regime.

Britain Does Not Have Enough Tornados Against ISIS

The Daily Mail wrote on November 28:

“Britain does not have enough aircraft to carry out effective bombing missions against Islamic State in Syria, a senior Conservative MP has told The Mail on Sunday. Experts say that 24 Tornado ground-attack aircraft would be needed for Britain to mount an effective campaign, while maintaining current missions in Iraq. But RAF sources say that only ‘two to four’ jets are poised to join the eight-strong force already operating over IS territory from Britain’s airbase at Akrotiri in Cyprus.

“…David Cameron was informed of the lack of available aircraft by Defence officials and was said to have been ‘disappointed’. Lewis, the Tory chairman of the influential Commons Defence Select Committee, said last night that Britain’s fleet of mission-ready Tornados was so small that it could only make a ‘marginal’ contribution to the war against Islamic State…

“And former Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Sir John Walker, said: ‘Can we sustain an effective bombing campaign against IS in Syria with the numbers of Tornado currently available? I would say no, we can’t, and a lot of RAF people I speak to feel the same way. We’ve only got eight Tornados flying over Iraq and Syria. If you’re going to do this properly you need around 24.’…”

HIV Infections on the Rise in Europe

Breitbart wrote on November 27:

“Europe has seen 142,000 new infections of HIV this year, the virus which causes AIDS — the highest number in one year ever. Although the rising rates of transmission due to heterosexual intercourse and careless use of unclean drug paraphernalia has been cited in the media as causing the rise, gay sex between men is still the main source of the virus spread…

“World Health Organisation director for Europe Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab… named migrants travelling across Europe as being a particular risk for spreading HIV in the continent… A third of all new HIV diagnoses in Europe are to migrants and non-native Europeans, despite only accounting for a fraction of the population.”

German Police Unable to Protect Public?

Breitbart reported on November 28:

“The German police have been left unable to protect the public from criminal migrants due to years of neglect by state governments which have left the force short of thousands of officers. The remarkable admission was made by a spokesman for the Gewerkschaft der Polizei — the German union for police officers — in response to the comments made by union chief Rüdiger Seidenspinner about the migrant problem.

“Union spokesman Michael Zielasko told Breitbart London it was inevitable criminals would travel to Europe, remarking: ‘of course there is a percentage of criminals in this big amount of refugees the police has to cope with’.

“Mr. Zielasko said the state forces were hamstrung in the fight against migrant crime by budget cuts, which left them without the manpower to deal with the problem. He said: ‘It isn’t very easy to deal with this issue because German police has a lack of 16,000 policemen…

“Chief Mr. Seidenspinner spoke out yesterday on the migrant crime wave, his potentially controversial comments backed up by statistics which show incomers are between three and four times more likely to commit crime than the general population. Complaining officers routinely came up against the same criminal migrants time and again, he hit out at the courts and migration system which gave them joke punishments such as unenforceable fines, while failing to deport criminals…”

Germany’s New War

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 27:

“The news that Germany was going to join the military campaign against the self-styled ‘Islamic State’ (IS) in Syria in the wake of the Paris attacks was met with some skepticism in a country weary of war and fatigued by the long, protracted conflict in Afghanistan…

“For more than fifty years after the Second World War, Federal Germany pursued a policy of what became known as checkbook diplomacy, in which money rather than troops was sent abroad to help solve problems. That began to change with NATO’s Kosovo campaign in 1999 and popular opinion may now be following suit. At the beginning of 2014, two thirds of Germans opposed the idea of armed forces directly participating in combat missions. A survey from November 27 however suggests that 47 percent of Germans think the country should take part in fighting the jihadists militarily as opposed to 46 percent who are against it…

“Whether or not they are for or against military engagement abroad, a large majority (74 percent) of Germans fear their country will be targeted in a future terror attack. While bombing terrorist targets in Syria may provide some short-term relief, it won’t tackle the problem at its roots…”

How circumstances can change “convictions.” Thousands of years ago, the Bible prophesied that in these end times, Germany will become a powerful military force which will be actively engaged in international conflicts and combat missions.

France and Germany to Cooperate Militarily with Syrian Troops?

The EUObserver wrote on November 30:

“France and Germany have opened the door to a cooperation with the Syrian army in the fight against Islamic State (IS), while Germany is to send 1,200 military in the Middle East in a move away from its usual non-intervention stance. ‘There will be no future with [Syrian leader] Assad, this is clear,’ German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen said on German ZDF television on Sunday (29 November). ‘But there are parts of the Syrian troops that we can take.’…

Bild Online asked the question whether Germany is entering into a “pact with the Devil” when contemplating fighting together with Syrian troops against ISIS. Der Stern stated that such action of the German government would be tantamount to a “crime.”

Die Welt Online wrote on November 30 that “Germany stumbles aimlessly into the Syrian War” and engages in an “adventure with an uncertain outcome.”

Der Stern wrote on December 1, that “war for peace does not work,” stating that the war in Afghanistan has brought absolutely no positive results.

German Army’s Largest Mission

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 2:

“Germany should prepare for a long, difficult and dangerous fight against IS in Syria… Lawmakers have expressed concerns about the deployment but are likely to approve the mission… So far, the basic tenets of the deployment call for 1,200 soldiers, six Tornado renaissance jets, refueling aircraft and a frigate to join the international coalition fighting ‘IS.’

“The vote in the Bundestag is set for Friday, with approval seen as likely, as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ‘grand coalition’ government enjoys a wide majority in the German parliament’s lower house…

“The head of Germany’s armed forces union, Andre Wüstner of the Bundeswehrverband, told public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday that fighting could last ‘far more than 10 years’ and said politicians should come up with a ‘clearly defined mission’ for the military. German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on public broadcaster ARD’s morning program on Wednesday that ‘it will be a long deployment, and it will be a difficult and dangerous deployment’…

“… the Syria mission would become the Bundeswehr’s largest. At the moment, the biggest foreign deployment of German armed forces is in Afghanistan, where fewer than 1,000 troops are assisting Afghan security forces. Germany previously fielded some 5,000 soldiers in the country during a combat mission. This week’s proposed mandate would also cover a deployment of up to 650 soldiers to the West African nation Mali to provide assistance to French forces fighting Islamist militants.”

France… The Beginning of the End of Democracy?

Reuters reported on November 28:

“France has put 24 green activists under house arrest ahead of the United Nations climate talks, using emergency laws put in place following the Paris shootings, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Saturday. Cazeneuve said the activists were suspected of planning violent protests at the talks which kick off on Sunday, a day ahead of the opening ceremony, and run until Dec. 11.

“The conference, also dubbed COP21, is seeking to agree a deal that signals a break with a rising reliance on fossil fuels, blamed by a U.N. panel of scientists for causing more floods, heat waves and rising sea levels…

“Following the Nov. 13 attacks on Paris in which 130 people were killed, the French government declared the state of emergency, banning public demonstrations and giving police extended powers of search and surveillance. ‘These people have no connection at all with the terrorist movement, but our forces need to be totally focused on the protection of the French people,’ Cazeneuve said, saying any serious public disturbance would distract police from their fight against terrorism…

“Greenpeace France director Jean-François Julliard said that, to his knowledge, all the ecologists under house arrest were pacifist activists who had never committed any violent acts nor been charged with anything. ‘We have the feeling that (the government) wants to stifle criticism from the militants, but they are going about it in the worst possible way, this is repression,’ he said on BFM television…”

AFP added on November 28:

“Three of those concerned, who are in their late 20s, are suspected of belonging to the ‘radical opposition movement’, according to information obtained by AFP. They are banned from leaving their home town in western France without special police permission, they must report to a local police station three times a day and remain at their homes between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am until December 12, the day after the talks are due to end. The interior ministry says the three individuals have caused ‘serious disturbances to public order’ in the past.

“The activists’ lawyer, Marie Dose, said the state of emergency was being ‘misused’ in their cases… In the wake of the bloody jihadist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people on November 13, the government banned all public demonstrations linked to COP21…

“Stephan Oberreit, head of Amnesty International France, said the measures taken by the government were ‘disproportionate’. ‘The systematic banning of all meetings linked to COP21 deprives critical voices of an essential outlet to express themselves,’ he said in a statement.

“France’s Human Rights League (LDH) on Thursday condemned the decision to place Joel Domenjoud, a member of the legal team for the coalition of protest groups, under house arrest.”

Erdogan and Putin… Two of a Kind?

The Guardian wrote on November 26:

“Even if Turkey is right that a Russian fighter jet strayed into its airspace, the plane was within Ankara’s borders for just 17 seconds before being attacked – and was making no hostile moves against the Turks. Airspace incursions… happen all the time, and generally you’d expect warning shots to be fired and then attempts to force the intruder to leave or to land.

“That the Turks shot down the jet and did so within 17 seconds – with the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying he gave the order to fire himself – suggests very strongly they were waiting for a Russian plane to come into or close enough to Turkish airspace with the aim of delivering a rather pyrotechnic message. In this respect, it is understandable that the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, called the attack a provocation and an ambush.

“Moscow may have been foolish to let its planes stray so close to the border…  Turkey’s response went way beyond the usual practice.

“In 2012, the Syrians shot down a Turkish jet which had entered its airspace, and Erdoğan’s furious response at the time was that ‘a short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack’. (At the time, the then Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called it ‘another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms’. There hasn’t been a similar critique of Ankara.)…

“There are striking similarities between Erdoğan’s Turkey and Putin’s Russia, not least their ability and propensity to move conflicts into the covert arena. While Russia’s intervention in Syria may have cynical intent, the Turks are acting in support of their national interests in Syria with equal ruthlessness.

“Ankara is often guilty of neglecting attacks on Isis and hitting the Kurds (who are in so many ways the most effective force against the jihadists) instead, smuggling weapons in the guise of humanitarian convoys (something we saw the Russians doing in Ukraine), and being willing to support groups which are often jihadist in their own terms. Turkish military intelligence organisation (MIT) is every bit as cynically opportunist as the Russian military spy agency (GRU), and Erdoğan every bit as erratic, brutal and ambitious as Putin…

“This is a conflict that Ankara triggered and while it is being managed it is not going to go away… Expect to see this play out in snide, deniable, but nonetheless bitter actions for months to come.”

Turkey “Regrets” Downing of Russian Plane

The Associated Press reported on November 28:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday voiced regret over Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane, saying his country was ‘truly saddened’ by the incident and wished it hadn’t occurred. It was the first expression of regret by the strongman leader since Tuesday’s incident in which Turkish F-16 jets shot down the Russian jet on grounds that it had violated Turkey’s airspace despite repeated warnings to change course. It was the first time in half a century that a NATO member shot down a Russian plane and drew a harsh response from Moscow…

“Erdogan’s friendly overture however, came after he again vigorously defended Turkey’s action and criticized Russia for its operations in Syria…”

Der Spiegel Online added that Erdogan’s statements of regret are not be confused with an apology. Erdogan specifically rejected the concept that Turkey would apologize; also because that might trigger causes of action for damages and punishment for the “criminals,”  as demanded by Russia.

The Russian-Turkish Fight – Far From Over

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 28:

“Vladimir Putin has approved a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey in retaliation for the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish forces. The move came after Turkey’s Erdogan expressed regret over the incident.

“President Putin on Saturday signed a decree which bans the import of some Turkish products and forbids Russian firms from hiring Turkish citizens. The measures also include orders to suspend visa-free travel for Turkish citizens, end charter flights from Russia to Turkey, and for Russian tourism companies to stop selling trips to Turkey – a favorite holiday destination for many Russians. The Kremlin said the decree aimed to ‘ensure Russia’s national security and protect Russian citizens from criminal and other illegal activities.’…”

US Wants Turkey to Close the Border to Syria

Newsmax wrote on November 28:

“The U.S. wants Turkey to seal off a 60-mile stretch of its border with Syria in hopes of blocking the Islamic State (ISIS) from moving in foreign fighters, a move that Pentagon officials estimate could take as many as 30,000 soldiers.  Turkey has agreed that it needs to tighten the border… but has demands of its own, including support for a safe zone in Syria, which the Obama administration has rejected.

“Further, Turkey points out that Washington has not been able to seal the U.S./Mexico border, a statement that angered U.S. officials.  ‘If we were at war with Mexico, we’d close that border,’ a senior official responded to that line of argument…

“There also could be negative reaction from Europe if Turkey does not close its border and more ISIS fighters come through to Europe to commit terrorist attacks.”

Incredible Incompetency of the Obama Administration Regarding “Iran Deal”

Investors.com wrote on November 25:

“The Obama administration admits to Congress that its nuclear pact with Iran has not been signed by the Iranian regime and has no legal force. Obama’s ‘tough diplomacy’ is puff diplomacy…

“Going back to when, as a candidate, he expressed a willingness to talk directly with Iran, then through months of negotiations on its nuclear program, Obama never said that at the end of it all the Iranians might never bother to sign the deal that he promises will prevent the terror state from becoming nuclear-armed. Or that the lack of Iran’s signature was OK.

“But that is exactly what Obama’s State Department now says, in a Nov. 19 written response to a letter to Secretary John Kerry from Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., obtained by National Review’s Joel Gehrke. ‘The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,’ according to Julia Frifield, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs… According to the State Department, it doesn’t matter ‘whether it is legally binding or signed.’

“What matters are ‘the extensive verification measures we have put in place’ — like letting Tehran inspect its nuclear facilities — and ‘Iran’s understanding that we have the capacity to reimpose — and ramp up — our sanctions if Iran does not meet its commitments.’

“But sanctions will never be reimposed, because that would expose the deal as not being worth the paper it’s signed on — or, rather, isn’t signed on. Reinstating sanctions would kill the deal and expose Obama’s and Kerry’s efforts as a monumental failure…

“Earlier this year, the White House website answered the question, ‘Will companies that sign contracts with Iran be able to continue that business even if Iran violates the JCPOA and snapback occurs because of a grandfather clause? The answer was, ‘No. There is no grandfather clause in the JCPOA … (and) no exemptions from our sanctions for long-term contracts.’

“But if the deal is not signed, what does it matter what clause is there? A nonsigned contract is no contract, which our law ‘professor’ president presumably was taught in his high school business law class. Iran knows this — which is exactly why it hasn’t signed. ‘Moderate’ President Hassan Rouhani in August opposed parliamentary approval because ‘it will create an obligation for the government. It will mean the president, who has not signed it so far, will have to sign it,’ he said, asking, ‘Why should we place an unnecessary legal restriction on the Iranian people?’

When Donald Trump talks about our “stupid leaders,” he seems to know very well what he is talking about.

Israel Suspends Peace Talks with Europe

 JTA wrote on November 29:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended contacts between Israeli officials and European Union institutions and representatives involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The order Sunday comes in the wake of the EU decision to approve special labeling for Israeli products made in the West Bank and Golan Heights.

“Netanyahu, who also holds the foreign minister portfolio, ordered the Foreign Ministry to ‘reassess’ the involvement of EU and European Commission agencies in the peace process. But Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic contact with individual European countries that are member-states of the EU, such as Germany, Britain and France.

“The labeling regulations adopted last month require separate labeling for Israeli products sold in the European Union when they are either packaged or produced in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem or the Golan. It also requires labels on such products specifying whether they were produced by Israelis or Palestinians.”

More Nonsense—Emission Limits an Act of Defiance of Terrorism?

Bloomberg News reported on November 30:

“President Barack Obama told world leaders that the climate talks that opened Monday in Paris mark a turning point for collective action on global warming and stand as a rejection of the terrorists who struck the French capital a little more than two weeks ago.

“The threat posed by climate change is the defining challenge of the century, Obama told the United Nations-sponsored summit organized to reach the first truly global agreement to curb greenhouse gases.  Linking the meeting to the battle against extremism, Obama said a deal on emissions limits would be ‘an act of defiance’ that proves nothing will deter nations from ‘building the future we want for our children.’”

As if the terrorists cared about climate change…

Der Spiegel Online commented on December 1 that even though Obama likes to present himself as the savior of the world, his sincerity must be questioned.

Newsmax added on December 1:

“President Barack Obama and other world leaders meeting in Paris for climate talks nearly three weeks after violence by Islamic State terrorists caused 130 deaths and more than 360 injuries is ‘insane,’ actor Kevin Sorbo [former performer of “Hercules” in the long-running TV series] told Newsmax TV on Tuesday.

“‘They just had an ISIS attack,’ Sorbo, star of the new Christian film ‘The Secret Handshake,’ told ‘The Steve Malzberg Show’ in an interview. ‘Perfectly executed, exactly what they wanted to do in Paris — and here the irony is all these leaders are meeting in Paris, and it’s global warming is what they’re concerned about…’”

Murders at Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs

The Washington Post wrote on November 28:

“The police officer who was killed during Friday’s shooting standoff at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs has been identified as… a co-pastor at his church and an ice-skating champion. [He] who was married and had two young children, had been with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs police department for six years and responded to the initial reports of an active shooter.

“Authorities said a suspect was taken into police custody after the hours-long shooting standoff at the clinic where [the officer] and two civilians were killed. Police were trying to determine the suspect’s motive after his capture. At least four other police officers and five civilians were injured.

“In a statement released by the White House on Saturday, President Obama praised the slain officer: ‘May God bless Officer… and the Americans he tried to save — and may He grant the rest of us the courage to do the same thing.’

“[The officer] was part of the leadership at his non-denominational, evangelical church that is overseen by a group of elders or co-pastors, as opposed to one specific pastor. [He] was part of what the church calls the ‘teaching team’ and played guitar on the worship team…”

The deadly events at the Planned Parenthood clinic are horrible and deeply disturbing. While Planned Parenthood immediately issued an irresponsible statement blaming the negative reports about its controversial abortions and sales of body parts for the shooting and while President Obama immediately blamed “liberal” gun control laws for the murders, we must ask the question whether the vicious cycle of violence can ever end when even pastors work for the police force. We truly regret the officer’s untimely death, who clearly meant well, but Christ’s warning against participation in violent conduct should ring loud and clear. When we feel that we can use the sword, even in the defense of others, then we might be in danger of dying by the sword, as Christ warned Peter who took the sword to defend Christ against an illegal arrest.

Mass Shooting in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Times reported on December 3:

“As the holiday gathering got underway Wednesday morning, Syed Rizwan Farook joined dozens of his colleagues from San Bernardino County’s public health department. Farook, an inspector, seemed quiet during the early hours of the event, then vanished just as a group photo was about to be taken. Shortly afterward, gunfire erupted at the Inland Regional Center where the employees filled a conference room.

“By the end of the day, police had identified Farook, 28, as a suspect in the massacre and said he was one of two people shot to death in a gun battle with officers. The other was 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, who a family member said was Farook’s wife… San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said that there were reports of a dispute before Farook left the party…

“Farook recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned with a new wife he had met online… Farook was a devout Muslim, but rarely discussed religion at work.”

Fox News reported that the suspects’ apartment was a “bomb-making factory,” with improvised explosive devices (IED) and remote-controlled cars for delivering explosives to their targets. The suspects are said to have attacked the holiday party wearing body armor and GoPro cameras to record their exploits.

The Associated Press added on December 3:

“A heavily armed man and woman dressed for battle opened fire on a holiday banquet for his co-workers, killing 14 people and seriously wounding [at least 21 people] in a precision assault, authorities said. Hours later, they died in a shootout with police. Authorities were trying to determine a motive, which could include workplace violence or terrorism… San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan [said:] ‘They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission’…

“The couple dropped off their 6-month-old daughter with relatives Wednesday morning, saying they had a doctor’s appointment…  Farook and Malik were found with assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns, and were wearing ‘assault-style clothing’ with ammunition attached… Three explosive devices — thought to be real and all connected to one another — were found at the social service center and later detonated by a bomb squad… Federal authorities said that the two assault rifles and two handguns used in the violence were purchased legally, but they haven’t said how and when they got into the hands of the two shooters.”

The Daily Mail added on December 3:

“The radicalized San Bernardino gunman clashed with a Jewish co-worker over religion just two weeks before he and his Pakistani wife stormed an office holiday party where they massacred 14 people.

“Syed Farook, 28, got into a heated argument with colleague Nicholas Thalasinos, a Messianic Jew who was identified today as one of the victims of Wednesday’s rampage.

“It came as FBI agents discovered a huge arsenal of weapons and pipe bombs at a California home linked to Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik.

“Agents discovered nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition, a dozen pipe bombs and hundreds of tools for making improvised explosive devices at the property, law enforcement officials revealed today.

“It also emerged that the US-born Farook appeared to have been radicalized and was in touch by phone and via social media with more than one international terrorism subject, which may have in part motivated the attacks, CNN reported, citing investigators.”

A Sad State of Affairs… Majority of Young Americans Believe in Atheistic Evolution

The website of iflscience.com reported on November 25:

“Nearly a quarter of the American public… do accept evolution, but with a huge caveat: a supreme being guided the process throughout history for the sole purpose of creating humans…

“…the majority of Europeans and many in other parts of the world accept the theory regardless of their religious propensities…

“51 percent [of young Americans under the age of 30] accept evolution without a guiding supreme being…  This upward tick may have something to do with the fact that America is getting less religious each year…

“As also seen with social issues – including same-sex marriage…– the younger generations tend to be far more progressive than the comparatively conservative elder generations…”

More ungodly would be a better term to describe the “values” of “younger generations.” And this is why God is VERY ANGRY with America and a rulership consisting of “children.”

Dangerous Virus Without Treatment

NBCNews.com reported on November 28:

“Chikungunya, a painful, mosquito-borne virus that’s spreading fast across the Americas, can be more serious than feared, researchers report. They found it can cause a serious brain inflammation called encephalitis far more frequently than reported before. That’s bad news for Latin America and the Caribbean, where the rate of infection is about a million people a year. ‘Since there is no vaccine to prevent chikungunya and no medicine to treat it, people who are traveling to these areas should be aware of this infection and take steps to avoid mosquito bites, such as wearing repellent and long sleeves and pants if possible,’ said Dr. Patrick Gérardin of Central University Hospital in Saint Pierre, Reunion Island, who led the study…

“More than 600,000 cases have been reported so far this year, with 76 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization. In 2013 and 2014 more than 1.1 million cases were reported and it killed 194 people…

“They said it’s higher than the rate of encephalitis [in] the United States from [West] Nile virus and similar infections between 1999 and 2007. West Nile was only introduced into the United States in 1999, but it quickly spread to all 50 states as well as Canada and Mexico. Since then, it’s infected hundreds of thousands of people, causing severe illness in about 40,000 and killing more than 1,600… There’s no vaccine against either chikungunya or West Nile…”

Religious Persecution of Christians in Kenya

The Associated Press reported on November 27:

“As song and prayer drifted from the open, ivy-lined doorways of a Catholic church in Garissa, several security officials, including Muslims, stood watch on the grounds nearby. Their presence was a reminder of the violence that hit this Kenyan town in April, when Islamic extremists killed nearly 150 people at a college of mostly Christian students…

“Garissa offers a snapshot of what France and Lebanon, both targeted in recent attacks, and other countries face — the challenge of harmonizing Christian-Muslim relations at a time of danger from extremists…

“Garissa, 225 miles (365 kilometers) east of the capital, Nairobi, lies in a mostly Muslim area. But the country is about 80 percent Christian… Survivors of the attack said the gunmen fired indiscriminately but also asked some students what faith they belonged to first…

“Nicholas Mutua, a local Catholic priest, welcomed the deployment of police to guard Garissa churches during services and noted that the Bible and the Quran carry similar messages of tolerance…”

To say that the Bible and the Koran carry similar messages on tolerance is absolutely untrue.

Recreating Ancient Wines Drunk by David and Jesus

The New York Times reported on November 29:

“The new crisp, acidic and mineral white from a high-end Israeli winery was aged for eight months — or, depending on how you look at it, at least 1,800 years. The wine, called marawi and released last month by Recanati Winery, is the first commercially produced by Israel’s growing modern industry from indigenous grapes. It grew out of a groundbreaking project at Ariel University in the occupied West Bank that aims to use DNA testing to identify — and recreate — ancient wines drunk by the likes of King David and Jesus Christ.

“Eliyashiv Drori, the Ariel oenologist who heads the research, traces marawi (also called hamdani) and jandali grapes to A.D. 220 based on a reference in the Babylonian Talmud. ‘All our scriptures are full with wine and with grapes — before the French were even thinking about making wine, we were exporting wine,’ he said…

“Wine presses have been uncovered in Israel — and the West Bank — that date to biblical times. But winemaking was outlawed after Muslims conquered the holy land in the seventh century. When Baron Edmond de Rothschild, an early Zionist and scion of a famed Bordeaux winery, helped restart the local craft in the 1880s, he brought fruit from France…

“Then there is proving that the old specimens were actually used for wine… one set that was recovered near the site of the destroyed Jewish temples alongside a shard of clay marked in an ancient Hebraic script, ‘smooth wine’…”

This article also shows that wine existed at the time of David and Jesus, and that Jesus did in fact drink wine, as the Bible clearly states… not just unfermented “grape juice,” as some contend.

“Should Hanukkah Be the Jewish Christmas?”

JTA wrote on December 1:

“Jews throughout America once again will encounter a challenging cultural/religious question: how should we celebrate Hanukkah?  Sure, there will be candle-lighting and latkes, but what else? Lavish presents?  Contemporary, catchy songs?  Vodka and latke parties? Or, to put it more succinctly, how much like Christmas should our Hanukkah celebration be?

“The traditionalists among us might recoil at such a thought. After all, according to the (second) blessing we recite when lighting our candles, Hanukkah celebrates a great miracle that our ancestors experienced in 165 BCE.  It is a holiday that enables us to… praise God for the miracle of a single cruse of oil lasting a full eight days.  Why tarnish these virtues by dipping into a Christian(ish) context?…

“On the other hand, Christmas asserts a powerful gravitational pull on American culture from late October through New Year’s.  Whether or not one is Christian, one is bombarded — in malls, on the radio, in office elevators, and on and on — with Christmas music, decorations, and other symbols.  It is incredibly hard to shelter Jewish Americans from this influence; merely suggesting that all Jews just turn a blind eye to this cultural monolith is perhaps a tad naive. Plus, it is far from clear how Christian Christmas actually is.  As far back as 1984, the Supreme Court ruled… that a town’s display of a Santa Claus house, a Christmas tree, a banner reading ‘Season’s Greetings,’ and a crèche were not Christian symbols violating the First Amendment…

“Hanukkah is referenced several times in the Mishna… and other early Jewish literature… without any reference to the miracle of oil lasting eight days. Nor is the oil miracle described in either of the two Books of the Maccabees. It is only several hundred years later, in the Babylonian Talmud…  that the account of the oil miracle first occurs. Based on this novelty, along with… the prevalence of Zoroastrian lighting ceremonies in Babylonia at the time the Talmud was redacted, [Professor] Hauptman suggests that the oil miracle story might have been incorporated by the rabbis to provide a mythology to underlie the pre-existing Hanukkah celebration dating back to Hasmonean times.

“While this might seem radical to the naked eye, the truth is that Judaism… has incorporated, expanded, and Judaized contemporary religious and cultural practices of other groups… In short, it is Jewish to borrow from broader cultural memes and symbols and to redirect them through a Jewish prism. Perhaps Hanukkah, in its relationship to Christmas, is no different. Perhaps we can derive Jewish nachas (Yiddish for pride) and meaning from a little more Christmas-style revelry in our Hanukkah celebrations.”

This article sheds interesting light on the modern celebration of Hanukkah and Jewish practices in general. The Bible prohibits the incorporation of pagan worship elements in the true worship of God. Many claim that Jesus Christ celebrated Hanukkah. The idea that Jesus kept Hanukkah is based on John 10:22-23, which says that “it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem… And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” “Hanukkah” is Hebrew for Dedication. It is also referred to as the Feast of Lights. But that Christ walked in Solomon‘s porch during the Feast of Dedication, and that He referred to Himself as the “light of the world” (John 8:12), does most certainly not justify the conclusion that He participated in modern day Hanukkah celebrations.

The following article, which was published on the Internet in December of 2008, adds additional observations, which we would like to share, as they raise interesting questions.

“When Jesus was in Solomon’s Porch as written in John 10, He was not there to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, but was walking in the court of the Gentiles that was built by Herod. It was built so that non-Jews could access a view of the Temple without defiling the Temple proper, which had signs warning of imminent death if the area was entered by any non-Jewish person. Solomon’s Porch was also where the money changers set up shop, as well as where they kept the animals and birds that were sold for sacrifices. This is where the tables were that Jesus overthrew when He chased the money changers from the temple…

“Does anyone believe that Jesus had a chanukkiah (nine branch menorah) which was devised by men, and not commanded by God as the seven branch menorah was. The miracle of the oil is merely a legend, and is not historically accurate. There is no mention of it in the apocryphal-historical writings of either Maccabees 1 or 2 (63 bce – 25ce). The legend was first introduced into Judaism in the talmud (200-500 CE)…

“To think that He celebrated Chanukkah in the modern sense as we know it cannot be proven historically or Scripturally…”

Pope Francis Attacks “Fundamentalism”

AFP wrote on November 30:

“Pope Francis said Monday that fundamentalism was ‘a disease of all religions’, including the Roman Catholic Church, but had nothing to do with God. ‘Fundamentalism is always a tragedy. It is not religious, it lacks God, it is idolatrous,’ the Argentine pontiff told journalists on the plane during his return from a trip to Africa.

“Francis said Islam was not the only religion to suffer from violent extremists, such as the ones behind the deadly attacks in Paris which were claimed by the Islamic State. ‘We Catholics, we have a few, even many fundamentalists. They believe they know absolute truth and corrupt others,’ he said, adding: ‘I can say this because this is my Church’.”

Even though Pope Francis does not define “fundamentalism,” which he condemns, he seems to equate it with the belief in absolute truth. These statements sound rather strange for the leader of a church which claims that it has received godly authority to change the truth of the Bible and replace it with their own dogmas and human traditions, including the abrogation of the weekly Sabbath and the introduction of Sunday, as well as the replacement of God’s annual Holy Days with human holidays such as Christmas and Easter, which do not derive from the Bible, but from paganism and the heathen worship of sun and moon gods.

How ISIS Came into Being

The Huffington Post wrote on November 22:

“The Bush administration invaded Iraq and made policy calls that are central to how the Islamic State group became the force the world is so worried about today. (Though there are, of course, many other reasons for the group’s rise.)… here’s a rundown of the many ways the Iraq War helped a small extremist group formed in Jordan in 1999 become the focus of the world’s fears today.

“The Bush administration decided, less than a month after it toppled the Saddam Hussein regime, that it would disband Hussein’s army. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who had previously been among the most privileged in their desperate country were suddenly unemployed, though they retained all the ingenuity and discipline they had gained working for the dictator.

“Veteran New Yorker correspondent Dexter Filkins called the move ‘probably the single most catastrophic decision of the American venture in Iraq.’ Multiple Iraqi soldiers were willing to work with the Americans, and some U.S. military commanders wanted to keep the institution alive, but those messages went ignored…

“After the Bush decision, many of these disenfranchised soldiers — who were doubly alienated because they were largely Sunni, like Hussein, in a country now being run by the other major sect of Islam, the Shiites — joined the insurgency against the U.S. presence. Deep investigations into ISIS’s workings show that the group has benefited from having well-trained Sunni army lieutenants from the Saddam era in its leadership…

“After Bush transferred thousands of potentially enraged detainees to Iraqi custody…, hundreds of them were released– fresh with bomb-making expertise and other dangerous skills.

“Bush’s adventure had a ripple effect throughout the Middle East that empowered violent radicals. Just a year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, extremist groups were already gaining recruits thanks to the propaganda value of an unpopular, visibly ineffective occupation… At the same time, more established anti-American forces in the Middle East — notably, the regimes in Syria and Iran — saw the massive U.S. presence in Iraq as a juicy target and began ramping up their support to extremists who would later attack U.S. soldiers, undermine stability in Iraq and, you guessed it, help ISIS grow.

“Dictatorial Syrian President Bashar Assad allowed thousands of extremists to move through Syria to Iraq… and Iran’s top intelligence agency supported al Qaeda in Iraq as recently as 2012…  The group eventually became the Islamic State group’s predecessor…

“There are scores of other reasons for ISIS’s growth. President Barack Obama’s approach to Iraq did not help… the Obama administration did support controversial Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki for years after it became clear that he was not serious about working with Sunnis in Iraq, and did not attempt to increase aid to Iraq or take steps that might give Washington leverage over him.

“The White House didn’t pressure the prime minister to step down until after Maliki’s shocking treatment of Sunnis — including the  persecution of top Sunni politicians — led Sunni Iraqis to welcome ISIS with open arms in the summer of 2014. Though his successor, Haider al Abadi, has attempted reform, his hands seem tied by the Iranian influence that Maliki allowed to grow for years under Obama’s nose.

“Syria’s Assad is another factor. He violently reacted to a largely peaceful Sunni opposition movement in 2011, sparking a civil war that gave ISIS a new power vacuum to move into… Assad has helped ISIS by releasing extremists from his jails and largely ignoring its advances through his country. An Associated Press report earlier this week revealed that Assad continues to enable the extremists…

“Some of the blame also goes to Turkey… and to Arab rulers who continue to suppress their populations with U.S. backing and guarantee future radicalization…”

As this article shows, one bad decision of this world’s leaders leads to the next, until an unsolvable situation has been reached.

What ISIS Wants…

The Huffington Post wrote on November 23:

“Many experts agree that terrorists in the group that calls itself the Islamic State believe they are waging an end-times battle against the West, and the Nov. 13 Paris attacks are just the latest chapter… The hadith — the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings as recounted by others — includes accounts of a final reckoning and a struggle between the forces of al-Dajjal, the Great Deceiver, and the Mahdi, a Muslim messiah… The Quran itself does not mention these messianic figures.

“… many extreme jihadists believe they are in the midst of an apocalyptic struggle against Christians and Jews…

“… the group’s end-times fixation distinguishes it from other groups, including al-Qaida, and is key to its relative success… Many young people facing what they feel are dead-end lives find the idea of restoring Islam to its past glories irresistible… [and] ISIS promises young men who join its army concubines and wives…”

ISIS terrorists, in preaching, teaching and practicing radical Islam, are willing to destroy everyone who is not accepting their demonic theology, but especially Christians, Jews and Shiites.

Majority of Americans for Ground Forces in Syria

Newsmax reported on November 20:

“The Washington Post-ABC News survey finds a stunning 83 percent of registered voters believe a terrorist attack in the United States resulting in large casualties is likely in the near future… A full 40 percent say a major attack is ‘very likely’…  The survey also shows 59 percent think ‘the United States is at war with radical Islam.’…

“Asked about Obama’s handling of the threat of terrors, 40 percent approve, 54 percent disapprove. Asked about his handling of ISIS, a mere 35 percent approved, and a whopping 57 percent disapproved…

“54 percent say the United States shouldn’t take in refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East – even if they’re screened.

“In other findings, the survey shows: 73 percent think the United States should take part in a military response to the Paris attacks, with 73 in support of increased air strikes – and a majority 60 percent backing the use of U.S. ground forces.”

This might lead to another American military adventure in the Middle East… with devastating consequences for the USA.

President Obama Invites Millions of Refugees to Come to the USA

The Associated Press reported on November 21:

“Pushing back against efforts to bar Syrian refugees from resettling in the U.S., President Barack Obama vowed Saturday that his country will be a welcoming place for millions fleeing violence around the world ‘as long as I’m president.’…

“Obama’s comments were intended as a direct rebuke to those demanding a halt to Syrian and Iraqi refugees entering the U.S. in the light of the Islamic State’s attacks in Paris… Democrats in large numbers have abandoned their president… forty-seven of them voted against Obama on Thursday. Having secured a veto-proof majority in the House, supporters are now hoping for a repeat in the Senate, while Obama works to shift the conversation to milder visa waiver changes that wouldn’t affect Syrian refugees.”

NPR wrote on November 20:

“While dozens of governors have announced their opposition to Syrian refugees settling in their states, some senators are focusing their attention on a program they say poses a bigger threat of allowing terrorists into the country: the visa waiver program.

“And while some lawmakers have been discussing changes to the program for months, they gained more support after one of the attackers in the Paris massacre appeared to have a Syrian passport that had been stamped in Greece. That provoked concern on this side of the Atlantic about how the U.S. government screens asylum seekers and refugees.

“At least 19 million people visit the United States through the visa waiver program every year. And given that there are an estimated 3,000 fighters in Syria from Europe, the fear is that a jihadist could attempt to come to the U.S. on a European passport and not be subject to an in-person interview or in-depth screening.

“Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has called the program America’s ‘Achilles’ heel.’ She and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., are proposing legislation that will impose new restrictions, including requiring anyone who has traveled to Iraq or Syria in the previous five years to apply for a visa, whether or not their country is part of the visa waiver program.

“That position is gaining adherents on Capitol Hill…

“As NPR’s Brian Naylor reported on Friday for Morning Edition, the visa waiver program has been in operation for decades: ‘It used to be that if you were a person living abroad and you wanted to see the U.S., you had to first go to an American Embassy and get a visa. You would be interviewed by an embassy official who would ask about your background. Since the 1980s, residents of many countries no longer have to go through that process. In fact, 38 nations, including most of Europe are visa waiver countries. It’s a largely hassle-free way to come to the U.S. for tourists and businesspeople. You’ll need to answer a few questions on a form on the Internet, and have a passport with a digital photograph.’”

“As Naylor reports, the Obama administration has said it is open to amending the program.”

Inviting millions of refugees to come to the USA and at the same time limiting free travel for Europeans under the Visa Waiver program is surely not a wise and just course of conduct… especially in light of the next article.

ISIS from Syria in the USA

The New York Post wrote on November 19:

“A leader of New York City’s Syrian community told The Post on Wednesday that ISIS terrorists have ‘absolutely’ sneaked into America by posing as civil-war refugees — and joined sleeper cells just waiting to be activated. ‘I believe the terrorists from Syria have been coming into the United States, not only in the past few years, but way before that,’ said Aarafat ‘Ralph’ Succar of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, home of the city’s largest enclave of Syrian immigrants. ‘I think they’re already at work.’

“Succar, a member of the Bay Ridge Community Council, said corruption in his homeland is so rampant that anyone could easily pay bribes and obtain official identification papers bearing a fake name to disguise their real identity… ‘These are not forged documents. These are written out by a government employee who needs money, whose family has no food.’”

UN Against Israel

The website of unwatch.org reported on November 24:

“The UN General Assembly today adopted six non-binding resolutions, drafted by the Palestinians and Syria, singling out and criticizing Israel, and no resolutions on China, Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, ISIS, or any other human rights situation. ‘Surreal barely captures the scene whereby the world is under assault by terrorists killing in the name of Islam and martyrhood — as Palestinians are doing while stabbing Israeli Jews — and the UN’s response is to reflexively condemn Israel in six separate resolutions, all of which are one-sided,’ said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

“One resolution condemned Israel for holding on to the Golan Heights, demanding Israel hand the land and its people to Syria. [This resolution was adopted by 105 in favor, 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States) and 56 abstentions.]

“‘It’s astonishing,’ said Neuer. ‘At a time when the Syrian regime is massacring its own people, how can the U.N. call for more people to be subject to Assad’s rule? The timing of today’s text is morally galling and logically absurd.’ ‘What is also outrageous is that these resolutions claim to care about Palestinians, yet the U.N. proves itself completely oblivious to the actual suffering on the ground, happening right now: hundreds of Palestinians slaughtered, maimed and expelled by Assad’s forces.’

“‘Today’s farce at the General Assembly underscores a simple fact: the U.N.’s automatic majority has no interest in truly helping Palestinians, nor in protecting anyone’s human rights; the goal of these ritual, one-sided condemnations remains the scapegoating of Israel,’ said Neuer. ‘The U.N.’s disproportionate assault against the Jewish state undermines the institutional credibility of what is supposed to be an impartial international body, and exposes the sores of politicization and selectivity that eat away at its founding mission, eroding the U.N. Charter promise of equal treatment to all nations large and small,’ Neuer added.”

Another resolution reads: “Reiterates its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the Occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to immediately cease all such illegal and unilateral measures.” This resolution was adopted by 153 in favor, 7 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, United States) and 8 abstentions (Australia, Cameroon, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, South Sudan, Toga, Tonga).

Incompetence, Treason or What?

Canada Free Press wrote on November 21:

“As of late, there is a constant drone of political pundits, even from CNN, asking ‘Why is Obama doing this?  Why is he saying that?’  Even former President Carter, the weakest president of the twentieth century, has said ‘Obama is inept.’… Is he truly inept or is there much more to this man that our miserable main-stream media didn’t tell us or bothered to find out?

“The media seems to be playing the ‘we’re confused card.’  They scratch their collective heads and wonder in amazement about what Obama says and does.  They actually look as confused as so many of us.  Is he incompetent or does he have a plan he’s not divulging?  Or, did Obama plainly announce his plan in 2008 to ‘fundamentally change America?’…

“Why is Obama insisting on importing Syrian ‘refugees’ contrary to fervent public opinion in spite of the Paris tragedy and then say ‘Are you telling me that the American people are afraid of widows and orphans?’…  In short, why is Obama doing the opposite of what any amount of common sense would say to do?

“Former Defense Secretaries Panetta and Gates have both written books and have had numerous interviews testifying to Obama’s refusal to take advice from professionals in the military and his administration as to how to deal with terrorists and criminal regimes like Iran. Why did Obama work so hard on an Iran deal that gives that country a nuclear capability?  Why is Obama shrinking our military to pre-World War II levels?… Why does Obama ignore the plight of Christians and Jews but is constantly pleading for Muslims?… Why does Obama seem to divide the nation by race and class, white against black, rich against poor?  Why does Obama routinely trash his own country on foreign soil?…

“Spread the gay agenda in the culture and especially in the military; sabotage their morale and morality and you help destroy the most powerful nation in the world.  Dismantle the family, the Church… Destroy the culture and you destroy the nation.

“Anyone with any sense can see the destruction of our nation is increasing in intensity.  Unless an accomplice can complete the task, Obama has only a year left to conclude the work.  He has much help from the likes of Kerry, Clinton and Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s Iranian-born senior advisor and communist mentor.

“This is not mere incompetence, but a carefully planned program of eradication.  His father hated the West.  Maybe that is why Obama ordered the bust of Churchill removed from the oval office… A plan to crush what he hates, the West, Christianity, Israel and America…”

Of course, there is another and much more compelling answer to the question as to why President Obama is acting in the way that he does. If you want to know the answer, please watch Norbert Link’s sermon, “The Christian in a Political World.”

The Ever-Growing Authority of the IRS—Revoking Passports for Delinquent Tax Debts?

Newsmax reported on November 22:

“The U.S. government reportedly plans to soon enact a law allowing your passport to be revoked or denied if you owe more than $50,000 in taxes. Starting in January, the State Department will block Americans with ‘seriously delinquent’ tax debt from receiving new passports and will be allowed to rescind existing passports of people who fall into that category…

“The rule is buried in a highway funding bill… The rule has been passed in similar versions by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress is expected to pass it in early December.

“Critics of the measure claim there will be no judicial review and no due process if the passport revocation rule retains its current form… [One expert stated:] ‘You don’t get to go in front of a judge first to have a fair and impartial hearing over whether or not the government’s tax allegations are accurate. The language in the law is very clear: they can simply revoke your passport if you owe them money in their sole discretion’…”

Many complain about the burdensome tax code and the virtually unrestricted authority of the IRS. Some Republican presidential candidates have been advocating a much simpler tax code and the abolishment of the IRS… a nice dream which won’t be materialized in the USA. In fact, things will get much worse, not better or easier.

Western Powers Will Not Lift Sanctions against Russia regarding Ukraine

Reuters reported on November 20:

“Western leaders who met on the margins of last week’s Group of 20 summit in Turkey agreed to extend sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine by six months until July of next year… The decision was taken despite mounting calls to cooperate more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the fight against Islamic State following the militant group’s Nov. 13 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people…

“The sanctions are due to expire in January, before full implementation of the so-called Minsk peace deal, which aims to resolve the standoff between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Western countries have said all elements of Minsk need to be fulfilled before they can consider easing the sanctions… the leaders had concluded that it was important to maintain pressure on Russia ahead of planned elections in eastern Ukraine.

“Hollande has called for a grand coalition of nations to fight Islamic State, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq. The French president is due to travel to Moscow on Nov. 26 to discuss closer cooperation with Putin.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel will dine with Hollande in Paris the evening before his trip and, according to German officials, will urge him to remain firm on the sanctions question while in Moscow.”

Russia’s New Military Control Center… a Nightmare for the USA

The Washington Post wrote on November 21:

“It could have been a scene straight out of ‘Dr. Strangelove’ when President Vladimir Putin stepped into the Russian Ministry of Defense’s brand new…  control center this week, for a war briefing that had its fair share of movie-like pageantry. The fortified National Control Defense Center was Putin’s first stop after officials confirmed that the Russian charter jet crash that claimed 224 lives last month was the result of an act of terror. On movie-theater-size screens, live broadcasts showed long-range strategic bombers taking off from Russian air bases to fly sorties over Syria…

“But the real star of the show may have been the building itself, which is designed to be a new nerve center for the Russian military that will coordinate military action around the world, including ballistic missile launches and strategic nuclear deployments. The building is roughly the equivalent of the U.S. National Military Command Center used by the Pentagon, but as one Russian state news agency noted in a breathless headline this week, ‘Russian Defense Data Center Outperforms US Facility Threefold: Official.’…

“It was finished in 2014 and is part of a massive, decade-long modernization of Russia’s army, which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but has also produced noted improvements, from the expertise of Russian troops deployed during the Crimea operation to the recent cruise missile strikes launched from the Caspian Sea…

“Yes, it all looks very persuasive, and the Pentagon might even only dream of something like this, if only in a nightmare…”

Turkey Destroys Russian Warplane

npr.org reported on November 24:

“Turkey says that after issuing 10 warnings in five minutes, two of its F-16s shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey claims violated its airspace… Russia’s Defense Ministry said its Sukhoi SU-24 was flying ‘only within the borders of Syrian territory.’… Russian President Vladimir Putin called the action a ‘stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices.’… Putin went on to say that there would be ‘significant consequences… We will never tolerate such atrocities as happened today and we hope that the international community will find the strength to join forces and fight this evil,’ Putin said…

Russian Jet Shot Down INSIDE Syrian Airspace

AFP wrote on November 25:

“The United States believes the Russian jet shot down by Turkey was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a US official told Reuters. The official… said the assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet…

“Turkish ambassador Halit Cevik said in a letter to the UN Security Council that his government was determined to defend its sovereignty, security and borders… ‘The ambassador said two SU-24 planes approached Turkish airspace in the Hatay region, flying at an altitude of 19,000 feet and that they crossed into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds… One plane left Turkish air space, but the second one was fired at by Turkish F-16s performing patrols in that area, said the ambassador…”

Turkey allegedly warned the Russian planes 10 times for five minutes while they were NOT in Turkish airspace. Turkey also alleges that the Russian pilots did not respond to the warning. (All of this is disputed by Russia, see below.) Turkey then proceeded to shoot down one jet inside Syrian airspace (!) after it had allegedly entered Turkish airspace for 17 seconds before leaving. Der Spiegel Online summarized the events as follows: The incident contains many mysteries. The invasion of the Russian jet into Turkish airspace was as unnecessary as its destruction.

Surviving Russian Pilot Claims: “No Warning Received, Never Entered Turkey’s Airspace”

Breitbart wrote on November 25:

“… the navigator of the Su-24 warplane, Captain Konstantin V. Murakhtin, survived, and was rescued by Russian special forces who suffered a casualty of their own during the operation, a Marine named Aleksander M. Pozynich. Pozynich was reportedly killed when his Mi-8 search-and-rescue helicopter came under fire from insurgent ground forces.

“The pilot of the Su-24, Lt. Col. Oleg A. Peshkov, was killed, apparently by small arms fire from Turkmen rebels on the ground, according to the UK Guardian…

“After his rescue, Captain Murakhtin was interviewed by Russian television from Russia’s Hmeymim airbase in Syria. He insisted that his plane did not cross into Turkish airspace. ‘There were no warnings. Not via the radio, not visually. There was no contact whatsoever,’ said Murakhtin, according to the UK Independent’s translation of his remarks. ‘That’s why we were keeping our combat course as usual. You have to understand what the cruising speed of a bomber is compared to an F-16. If they wanted to warn us, they could have shown themselves by heading on a parallel course. But there was nothing. And the rocket hit our tail completely unexpectedly. We didn’t even see it in time to take evasive maneuvers.’…

“There seems to be no question that the Russian plane came very close to the Turkish border… The Russians, of course, maintain that their plane had no intention of attacking targets in Turkey, while the Turks point out that they’ve complained about numerous Russian violations of their airspace since the Syrian bombing campaign began.

“It seems unlikely that Murakhtin’s plane could have missed all ten warning messages broadcast on the GUARD frequency by Turkey, but they might not have taken those warnings seriously enough…

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his government had ‘serious doubts’ the downing of its plane was an ‘unpremeditated act.’ He said it looked ‘very much like a planned provocation,’ according to CNN.

“There is also the question of exactly what the Su-24 was doing when it crossed the Turkish border. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan angrily denied Russian claims that the plane was carrying out operations against the Islamic State. ‘There is no Daesh!’ he thundered about the area where the Su-24 was flying, using another name for ISIS…”

The Russian-Turkey (NATO) Conflict Widens

The Huffington Post wrote on November 24:

“The Defense Ministry… announced that Russia is severing all military contracts with Turkey…

“Ankara is dependent on Moscow for natural gas and is looking to deepen its energy cooperation with Russian entities… While Turkey and Russia have been close partners in natural resources, the two nations butt heads on Syria policy; Russia backs Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad and Turkey demands his ouster.

“It’s far from the first time that Ankara has been accused of turning a blind eye to or even supporting extremists in Syria, a country in which its shared border has been deemed a ‘jihadi highway’ for ISIS recruits. Turkey vehemently denies any connections to the hardline militant group. Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes aiding Syria’s supposed war on ‘terrorism’ have largely targeted moderate Syrian rebels and civilians, not ISIS.

“The Russian-Turkish military dispute comes at an increasingly complicated and deadly time in the nearly five-year-long Syrian civil war, in which over 250,000 Syrians have died and millions more displaced…”

The New York Times wrote on November 24:

“The tensions immediately took on Cold War overtones when Russia rejected Turkey’s claim and Ankara responded by asking for an emergency NATO meeting, eliciting more Russian anger and ridicule. After the meeting, the NATO secretary general… said the allies ‘stand in solidarity with Turkey.’ It was thought to be the first time a NATO country has shot down a Russian plane in half a century… the incident highlighted the dangers of Russian and NATO combat aircraft operating in the same theater and has soured chances for a diplomatic breakthrough over Syria…

“Mr. Hollande and Mr. Obama clearly hoped that the bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, claimed by the Islamic State, would cause Moscow to make defeating the jihadists more of a priority than propping up Mr. Assad. But Tuesday’s events will make that a tougher sell…

“Turkey, especially under the increasingly authoritarian rule of its nationalist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been fierce in defending its airspace, shooting down Syrian jets that have strayed in the past… Mr. Putin said that instead of ‘immediately making the necessary contact with us, the Turkish side turned to their partners in NATO for talks on this incident. It’s as if we shot down the Turkish plane and not they, ours. Do they want to put NATO at the service of Islamic State?’…

“NATO countries have been concerned about Mr. Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies for some time, and NATO officials acknowledge that Turkey’s agenda in Syria does not always match that of Washington, Britain or France — let alone Russia… Mr. Erdogan’s own troops have largely turned their fire on the Syrian Kurds, whom Washington regards as its best local ally so far against the Islamic State…

“Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov canceled a Wednesday visit to Turkey, and a large Russian tour operator, Natalie Tours, announced it was suspending sales to Turkey. Russians accounted for 12 percent of all tourists to Turkey last year. The two countries are also significant trade partners. But ‘Russia-Turkey relations will drop below zero,’ Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center for Strategic Trends Studies, said on the state-run Rossiya 24 cable news channel.

“Washington is not interested in getting deeper into Syria with ground troops or having a conflict with Russia. So cautious are the NATO countries about Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which calls for mutual self-defense, that when Mr. Hollande declared ‘war’ on the Islamic State after the Paris attacks, he invoked the European Union’s toothless Lisbon Treaty and sidestepped NATO. Mr. Hollande was also, French officials have said, eager not to offend Mr. Putin by making Syria a NATO issue.”

This incident and NATO’s response will seriously jeopardize any cooperation between Russia and Western nations in their fight against ISIS. At the same time, it is telling that Mr. Hollande asked for the military help of the other EU member states, and NOT of NATO (and the USA).

Putin Is Playing Hard Ball

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 25:

“Russia has already said bombers flying missions in Syria will now be accompanied by fighter planes and that it plans to increase its military presence in Syria.

“The defence ministry has announced it is sending a warship off the coast of the country and that it will be deploying its advanced, long-range S-400 anti-aircraft system to a military base there. It has already warned that, following the attack, ‘all potentially dangerous targets will be destroyed.’

“This could have huge implications for not just Turkey, but other nations operating in the skies above Syria.”

It was also reported that the S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, located just about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets “with deadly precision.”

Russia Responds to Turkey

The Washington Post reported on November 26:

“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called for tough sanctions against Turkey that could bite into more than $30 billion in trade ties between the two countries, as police here began seizing Turkish products and deporting Turkish businessmen… On Thursday, it became clear that the Russian government was now turning its ire on whatever extensions of the Turkish economy it could get its hands on.

“At a cabinet meeting, Medvedev said that joint investment projects with Turkey would be frozen or canceled. Negotiations over a proposed preferential trade regime with Turkey would also be scrapped, he said… ‘These documents will introduce restrictions and bans on the activity of Turkish economic structures in Russia, limiting deliveries of goods, including foodstuffs, labor, and services from Turkish companies,’ Medvedev said…

“Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev at the same session said that economic sanctions would affect Turkstream, the planned gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey announced by Putin last December, and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, which it signed an agreement with Russia to build in May 2010. He added that the sanctions may affect direct flights between Russia and Turkey.

“Elsewhere, government agencies were busy. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer oversight agency, announced it had seized 800 kilograms of ‘high-risk Turkish products,’ including meat, candies, and nuts.

“And in the southern Kuban region, Russia’s Migration Service said it had arrested and would deport 39 Turkish businessmen who attended an agricultural expo on tourist visas.

“Analysts say that Russia will choose from a menu of asymmetric responses in retaliation against Turkey, including informal economic sanctions and providing military aid to Turkey’s enemies, including the Kurds… Russia is unlikely to change its mission in Turkey as a result, Russian analysts said, and will seek to punish Turkey on the ground there…

“On Wednesday evening, Turkey’s state-run news agency, Anadolu, reported that Russian airstrikes targeted Turkish aid vehicles in the Syrian border town of Azzaz, killing at least seven drivers. The town is a hub for supplies being delivered from Turkey to Syrian rebels fighting government forces in the nearby city of Aleppo… On Thursday morning, reports emerged of a second bombing raid against Azzaz, a Syrian border town.

“Shady al-Ouaineh, a media representative for Determined Storm, a rebel group associated with the Free Syrian Army, said in a telephone interview that Russia had dramatically intensified air raids in the rebel-held areas of Latakia province. Syrian government forces and allied Shiite militiamen from Iraq, backed by Russian air cover, have been trying to advance on some of the last opposition holdouts in the province, said Ouaineh, close to where the Russian jet was shot down. ‘It is clear Russia is taking out its revenge on us here,’ he said.

“Russian attitudes toward Turkey, which were reasonably friendly a year ago, have turned cold with alarming speed. Most Russian tour operators stopped selling travel packages to Turkey on Wednesday. Protesters in Moscow pelted the Turkish Embassy with eggs and rocks, shattering windows. Russian lawmakers introduced a bill that would criminalize denying that the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire was a ‘genocide.’ The issue remains highly sensitive: Turkey acknowledges that atrocities occurred but has long denied that what took place constituted a genocide…”

In addition, Putin demanded an apology from Turkey for shooting down the jet, which Turkey refused to give. These developments are of prophetic significance, because the Bible shows that Turkey will ultimately enter into a closer relationship with Europe—and not with Russia.

Germany at War

Deutsche Welle reported on November 25:

“Merkel promised Hollande she would act ‘swiftly’ in the fight against terrorism and promised her complete solidarity.  ‘We have a shared enemy: terrorism. The Islamic State will not be convinced with words. It has to be defeated militarily,’ Germany’s chancellor said.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 26:

“Germany plans to send reconnaissance jets to Syria, to help in the fight against ‘Islamic State’… Germany has already promised to send 650 peacekeeping troops to Mali, relieving French troops fighting an Islamist insurgency in the former colony. Berlin also promised to strengthen its operations training anti-IS fighters in northern Iraq…

“Sources told the DPA news agency that Germany would send a warship [with torpedoes, missiles and over 250 soldiers] and at least one refueling aircraft [of the German Luftwaffe or air force], as well as providing [spy] satellite reconnaissance. The decision was made at a meeting of senior ministers in Berlin, called by Chancellor Angela Merkel…”

The Local added on November 26:

“German frigates could [also] escort friendly ships at sea… Merkel’s promise marks a big change from just a few days ago, when her junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) told The Local Hollande’s request for aid from EU partners was only ‘symbolic’… Germany has shown increasing willingness to help France more directly since then…”

Bild Online added that the German government did not specify how many fighter jets would be sent to Syria. Allegedly, six jets are being discussed.  According to Bild, all of this means that Germany will now be actively participating in the Syrian war, which in turn might increase the possibility of terrorist attacks in Germany. 

In this context, The Associated Press reported on November 26:

“A senior German police official says some of the migrants reaching Europe are Islamic State radicals planning terrorist attacks… He said Thursday that his office knows of 7,900 Islamic radicals in Germany who advocate violence to advance their goals, with some trying to win migrants to their cause.”

Bavaria’s Premier Horst Seehofer Reelected as CSU Leader—in the Midst of Controversy with Angela Merkel

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 21:

“Horst Seehofer, the premier of the German state of Bavaria, has been re-elected as leader of his conservative Christian Social Union (CSU). This comes amid ongoing disagreements with the chancellor over refugee policy… It is the fifth time he has been chosen as leader of the CSU, which is the Bavarian sister party and coalition partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

“The vote comes as Seehofer has clashed with the chancellor over refugee policy…  On Friday, Seehofer reiterated his call for a cap on the number of asylum applicants allowed to enter Germany, contradicting Merkel, who, also speaking at the CSU conference, again rejected the idea of imposing a limit. Seehofer, who has in the past described Merkel’s decision to allow Germany to take in hundreds of thousands of refugees this year as a ‘mistake,’ continued to insist on Saturday on putting a ceiling on asylum seeker numbers…

“Sticking to his hard line on refugees, he ruled out abolishing border controls into Germany any time soon, saying that they had to stay in place as long as the European Union’s external borders lacked effective monitoring. Seehofer said the controls were urgently needed to protect Germany and its citizens, with Bavaria bearing the brunt of the refugee influx into the country…”

Merkel Defiant

 Reuters reported on November 25:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Wednesday to stick to her open-door refugee policy, defying criticism at home and abroad which has intensified due to growing fears about a potential security risk after the Islamist attacks in Paris.

“Conservative Merkel faces splits in her right-left coalition and pressure from EU states, including France, over her insistence that Germany can cope with up to 1 million migrants this year and that Europe must accept quotas to take them in… Merkel stressed her commitment to her disputed refugee policy, saying Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, has a duty to protect those fleeing war and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia…

“She countered politicians in some countries who have warned that the refugee crisis has exposed problems in Europe’s Schengen passport-free area, saying that states must develop it further by agreeing on migrant quotas…”

Seehofer Wants to Meet with Putin

Bloomberg wrote on November 21:

“Bavaria’s state premier said he plans to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin next year, stepping on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s foreign-policy turf a day after clashing with her over refugee policy… ‘We can’t solve the conflicts of our times without or against Russia,’ Seehofer said in a speech to a CSU convention on Saturday in Munich, which is home to companies such as Siemens AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG…”

A temporary pact or agreement between Russia and some European nations, including Germany, might very well occur, but it will be short-lived.

Europe’s Anti-Immigration and Hard-Right Parties Gain Support

Business Insider wrote on November 19:

“Europe’s anti-immigration and hard-right parties are on the warpath. It seems like everywhere you look in continental Europe, the hard right is gaining ground.

“Today, it’s the turn of the Sweden Democrats. In 2014, the hard-right party came in third place on 12.9% of the vote, shocking international commentators. By comparison, the party got just 5.7% of the vote in 2010, and 1.49% in 2006. They’ve only been getting more popular since and on Thursday Yougov published a poll that puts the Sweden Democrats ahead on 26.7%, 5 points clear of any other party…

“Germany’s rightist and eurosceptic AfD just got their best polling result ever, hitting 10.5%. They’re back in 3rd place as the public mood with regards to refugees becomes increasingly fearful.

“Dutch polling likewise puts Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom not just in the lead for the next election (which must take place before March 2017), but 19 points clear of the next party.

“In the rest of Europe, it’s a similar story. Austria’s Freedom Party have drawn or lead in every poll conducted for the last six months. Italy’s regional hard-right Lega Nord’s polling average is sitting at around 15%, after getting just 4.1% in the 2013 election.

“In France… Front National leader Marine Le Pen, who has built up significant support on the same eurosceptic and anti-immigration platform, [leads] in most polls for the 2017 presidential election. Le Pen has already demanded an immediate halt of all migrant flows into France since the attacks.

“Europe’s hard-right is already riding high after months of refugee crisis headlines, and the brutal attacks on Paris could propel it even further.”

“The Schengen Agreement Must Survive”

The EUObserver wrote on November 25:

“Europe’s single currency would come under threat if the Schengen visa-free travel zone fails, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday… Juncker warned that the euro is pointless if people can’t move around freely to use it…

“‘Schengen is one of the main pillars of the construction of Europe,’ he added… Schengen has 26 members, though a few are not EU states… ‘Those who believe in Europe, those who believe in its values and principles, freedoms, must breathe new life into the spirit behind Schengen,’ he noted…”

“He also confirmed the EU commission will come forward with proposals on an EU-wide border guard and coast guard system in December, and called for more effective cooperation between European intelligence services.”

Europe Is Looking for a Strong Leader

Newsmax reported on November 22:

“Conservative pundit Pat Buchanan says the United States and Europe are moving more conservative in light of events such as the November 13 terrorist attacks on Paris. ‘I think we are seeing a general retreat of liberalism in the United States and in Europe, and a fairly dramatic shift to the right, if you will, politically and ideologically,’ Buchanan said Sunday… ‘These events are producing a tremendous rise in nationalism…’

“‘Europe is also seeing a move toward “Caesarism,”’ Buchanan said, ‘in other words, the look for a strong leader, someone who will deal with these devils who came to kill us and who will deal with them in a tough way. So I think it’s a change in the world…”

There are already “strong leaders” in certain countries around the world, and the USA is also looking for a strong leader. Some of the presidential contenders might qualify for that role. The question is, will all of these “strong leaders” make the world a safer place, or will they in fact cause a nightmarish situation of unparalleled disaster— well beyond the ability of any man to prevent, stop or reverse?

Coming… a Two-Speed Europe

The EUObserver wrote on November 19:

“The European Union will have to develop a framework in which some core member states can do everything together and others will be less involved, Jean-Claude Juncker, EU commission president, said on Wednesday (18 November). ‘I think that, eventually, it will no longer be possible that 33, 34 or 35 states will proceed at the same speed with the same momentum in the same direction,’ Juncker said in a discussion with citizens in Brussels.

“The 28-member EU is in accession talks with countries in the Balkans with the aim of having them join the bloc eventually. Juncker said at the start of his presidency, however, that there will be no enlargement under his mandate until 2019.  Of the 28 EU countries, some already work more closely together on certain issues than they do with others.

“Most notably, the 19 member states that share the euro currency coordinate budget policies and have a banking union in which all the large eurozone banks are under a single supervisor, the European Central Bank… The Schengen states, meanwhile, share a common external border and have dismantled border checks amongst themselves… [However, the rules of the Schengen agreement were temporarily suspended by some of the member states, due to the migrant crisis.]

“‘One day we should rethink the European architecture with a group of countries that will do things, all things, together, and others that will position themselves in an orbit away from the core,’ Juncker said… His predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso, former EU commission president, opposed allowing a split within the EU and creating core and non-core EU countries – a two-speed Europe… Juncker also reinstated his call for a European army and argued for a common defence policy in the EU.”

The Bible shows that a two-speed Europe will develop, and that ten core nations or groups of nations, arising out of the eurozone, will lead the EU, including militarily. They, in turn, will transfer their authority and power to a charismatic political “strong leader.”

 Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Looking for a Strong Leader.”

Archbishop of Canterbury Doubts God’s Presence

Daily Mail wrote on November 22:

“Justin Welby has admitted that the terrorist attacks in Paris had made him doubt the presence of God. The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was left asking why the attacks happened and where God was when the militant jihadis struck.”

This is quite a statement for the religious leader of a powerful Christian denomination.

Archbishop of Canterbury Supports Use of Armed Forces

The Daily Mail wrote on November 24:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury admitted today the world’s battle with ISIS ‘must involve the use of armed force’.”

Christ warned against this kind of thinking.

 Britain’s Biggest Cinema Chains Refuse to Show Movie Reciting the “Lord’s Prayer”

Daily Mail wrote on November 21:

“Britain’s biggest cinema chains have banned the screening of a [one-minute] film in which the Archbishop of Canterbury and members of the public recite the Lord’s Prayer – because they say it could be offensive to movie-goers…

“The ban will heighten fears that Christianity is being pushed to the margins of society by political correctness, and the Church said it could have a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech.”

No doubt about that. Worldwide antagonism against the Bible and its teachings is one of the signs of our time.

Will the Nonsense Ever Stop?

Daily Mail wrote on November 22:

“The King of Sweden has called for a ban on baths to help save the environment. King Carl XVI Gustaf… said he realised how much water and energy they used when he was recently staying somewhere without a shower…

“Much like the Prince Charles’s overhaul of Highgrove House with ‘eco toilets’, the Swedish king’s residence has been made greener with environmentally-friendly heating and low-energy lightbulbs.”

The Associated Press wrote on November 24:

“Prince Charles says climate change is partly responsible for Syria’s civil war and the chaos it has unleashed. The heir to the British throne says climate change is causing drought, conflict over resources and mass migrations.”

Syrian refugees flee the territory because of ongoing violence–not because of alleged or real climate change.

Muslim Invasion

Breitbart wrote on November 13:

“‘Allahu akbar!’ That all-too-familiar battle cry kicked off six Islamic acts of war on the people of France. Muslims set off on a murderous rampage in Paris Friday night… Devout Muslims were celebrating the attacks on social media.

“One of the apprehended jihadists reportedly stated, ‘I am from the Islamic State.’ … [Also, shouts by the terrorists were heard, stating: This is for Syria!]… At the concert hall, the merciless jihadis murdered their hostages one by one… Paris police said that the siege ended when French forces killed at least two of the jihad murderers inside the hall.

“Hollande ordered a state of emergency in Paris. He also closed the country’s borders.  [He also ordered a curfew… the first since World War II , and he called in the army of 1,500 troops.]

“The massacre took place at several different locations in Paris — near the site of the massacre of Muhammad cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo offices in January…

“This Paris jihad massacre casts into a new light the desire of New York State Senator Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to bring 1.5 million Muslim migrants from Syria to New York. Obama wants to accelerate the entry of Syrian refugees into the U.S…. Americans must be ready… It’s not just in Paris, it’s here… yesterday, an Ohio Muslim was arrested for plotting to kill U.S. soldiers and bomb churches and schools. ‘I’ll be proud when I shed American blood,’ Muslim convert Terrence McNeil said, according to prosecutors. He allegedly posted messages advocating jihad against the United States: ‘I would gladly take part in an attack on this murderous regime and the people.’ …

“The Muslim migrant stream into Europe is a Muslim invasion. Back in February, the Islamic State warned that they would send millions of Muslim fighters into Europe. They have made good on their every pledge. And now the attacks in Paris demonstrate that Europe is at war. It’s coming here. …”

Hollande’s order of state of emergency in Paris is tantamount to martial law in the USA.  AFP reported on November 15 that “he wanted the state of emergency declared after the Paris attacks to last three months…  Any extension to a state of emergency beyond 12 days requires parliamentary approval.”

ISIS Responsible for Paris Terror Attacks—France Retaliates

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“The ‘Islamic State’ group has claimed gun and bomb attacks in Paris that left more than 128 people dead. It said the attacks would continue as long as the country continued its current policies… French President Francois Hollande had earlier vowed to strike back after an emergency meeting with security officials on Saturday… The president announced that France ‘will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State’ and act ‘by all means anywhere, inside or outside the country.’”

On November 15, Reuters reported:

“France has been bombing Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria for months as part of a U.S.-led operation. Following Friday’s mayhem, Paris vowed to destroy the group. Underlining its resolve, French jets on Sunday launched their biggest raids in Syria to date, hitting its stronghold in Raqqa…”

New Terrorist Attacks in the Making…

The Local reported on November 18:

“Sweden has raised its terror threat level in response to ‘concrete information’ of a terrorist plot… Turkish police have arrested eight alleged jihadists from Morocco at Istanbul airport as they were headed for Germany…”

The Washington Post wrote on November 18:

“A woman triggered a suicide blast Wednesday as more than 100 police and soldiers stormed an apartment north of Paris… the seven-hour siege left no doubt that other potential threats remained… a police helicopter spotted a man trying to escape as he fired at police. Sharpshooters killed him…

“In addition to the two dead, police arrested at least seven people before the showdown was over in the historic heart of the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, a teeming quarter with a large immigrant population.”

Newsmax added that “Authorities believe the raids thwarted a bigger operation by Islamist radicals.”

Breitbart added on November 18:

“The man believed to be the mastermind behind Friday’s Paris terror attacks that resulted in the deaths of over one-hundred people and wounded hundreds more has been killed in a police raid on his location, according to senior European intelligence officials.”

Germany in Panic

The Washington Post reported on November 17:

“Germany and the Netherlands were supposed to play a soccer match in Hannover on Tuesday, but it was called off about 90 minutes before kickoff after police found a suspicious object inside the stadium, which was evacuated.

“German media is reporting that police received ‘concrete’ information about a bomb threat and that the Hannover police confirmed an explosive device on the premises. In a press conference held later, however, German officials denied any explosive device had been found… German officials also denied various reports purporting that a truck bomb disguised as an ambulance was found near the stadium.

“Hannover police informed fans that the game had been canceled on its Facebook page… At the stadium, police asked that people evacuate by foot, as all trains moving away from the stadium were stopped. Only a few spectators were inside the stadium when the evacuation was announced…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel was expected to attend the game, according to reports, ‘as a signal that Germany wouldn’t bow to terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks,’ the AP reports. On Friday, a match between Germany and France in Paris was the site of numerous explosions in a terror attack that killed at least 129 people throughout the city. One of the attackers reportedly attempted to enter the stadium with a ticket after the game had begun but was turned away. He then detonated his explosive vest.”

Deutsche Welle added on November 17:

“Police also closed off part of Hannover’s central train station after another object was found before a bomb disposal unit removed a suspicious package from an InterCity (IC) train. Investigators were unable to immediately determine whether it was a bomb or a dummy-explosive… A second Hannover stadium, the TUI arena, was evacuated shortly after, where fans had been waiting to [see the] German band ‘Söhne Mannheims.’”

It was also reported that Belgium called off a friendly soccer match against Spain after the country raised its terror threat level. A friendly soccer game between England and France did take place in London, as scheduled. Reuters reported on November 17 that during a friendly soccer game between Turkey and Greece, a moment of silence for the victims of the Paris attacks was booed by Turkish fans before breaking out into a chant of “Allah Akbar.” It was also pointed out that 99.8 percent of the Turkish population is Muslim (Sunni), and that the disruption came at a game attended by both the Turkish and Greek prime ministers.

German Interior Minister Mocked on the Internet

The Local wrote on November 18:

“Germans proved that the Teutonic sense of humour is alive and well on Wednesday, as people mercilessly mocked Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière’s reason for protecting his intelligence sources… ‘Part of the answer to the question [of why we evacuated the stadium in Hanover before the Germany-Netherlands friendly] would make the public feel unsafe,’ de Maizière told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday night. But as many social media users quickly pointed out, leaving the public hanging was liable to have much the same effect.

“Inevitably, the Interior Minister became the subject of ribaldry and guffawing across social networks… [Here is a funny and telling example:] ‘How do you think I’m doing as Interior Minister?’ de Maizière asks Merkel. ‘Part of my answer would unsettle you,’ Merkel responds…”

Subsequently, De Maizière gave some lame “explanations,” stating that he had received specific information to the effect that an attack was imminent. However, he did not shed any light on the fact as to why his intelligence sources were so wrong. He only tried to defend the government’s action with a statement that he still did not know whether the information was correct or false.

De Maizière is a scandal-ridden politician. Many Germans feel that he should have been sacked a long time ago. But for whatever secret reason–perhaps only known to Mrs. Merkel–he is still heavily engaged in politics, and continues making a mess of things.

German Conservatives Link Terror Attack to Migrant Crisis

The Local wrote on November 14:

“Conservative leaders in Germany insisted on linking the terror attacks in Paris on Friday night to the country’s own refugee crisis… ‘Paris changes everything,’ Bavarian finance minister Markus Söder told Die Welt am Sonntag. ‘It cannot be that we don’t know who is coming to Germany and what these people are doing here. This situation must be brought to an end by any means,’ said Söder, echoing comments by state premier Horst Seehofer.

“Söder added that Germany should consider following France’s lead by closing the country’s borders if the European Union was unable to secure its external frontiers – something the state of Bavaria might also do itself if federal action is not forthcoming, he said… The German Police Union (DPolG) also called for tougher action at the borders, with Ernst Walter, head of the DPolG federal police branch, calling for the ‘immediate conversion of the EU border agency Frontex to an effective European border police’ in a statement…”

American Conservatives Link Terror Attack to Migrant Crisis

 The Washington Post wrote on November 15:

“Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal [who announced this week that he is suspending his campaign for the Presidency] called for sealing off U.S. borders, while former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee wants to halt the arrival of any refugees from countries with a ‘strong presence of ISIS or al-Qaeda.’ [Dr.] Ben Carson… said Sunday that accepting Syrian refugees is ‘a suspension of intellect.’…

“The Obama administration has said it wants to host an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year — which some liberals argue is not nearly enough. During the Democratic debate on Saturday evening, Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley said the United States should increase that number to 65,000…”

Newsmax added on November 16:

“Mitt Romney is calling for the West to stop the ‘insanity’ of accepting refugees from the Middle East — particularly young men — and for the United States to wage war on the Islamic State to ‘eradicate it once and for all.’”

Republican Governors in Open Defiance of President Obama

Daily Mail reported on November 16:

“25 Republican governors – and one Democrat too – have said they don’t want Syrian refugees in their states, as President Obama recommitted the U.S. to take a portion of this population fleeing from ISIS. In a press conference this morning in Turkey, Obama said that ‘the United States has to step up and do its part,’ while chiding those in the opposition party for suggesting there be a ‘religious test’ for entry into the United States…

“Republican governors from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Texas and Wisconsin said they would postpone programs to bring in Syrian refugees, or they’re against the idea entirely… Additionally, CNN reported that Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Nebraska, Ohio and Tennessee are also on the list. Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina were added by USA Today.

“Presidential candidate Chris Christie, indicating that New Jersey also isn’t on board, and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez also said she opposed the administration’s plan. New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan was the first Democrat to express support for stopping the flow of Syrian refugees into her state.”

US “Civil War” Continues

AFP reported on November 17:

“President Barack Obama lashed out Wednesday at Republicans who insist on barring Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., deeming their words offensive and insisting ‘it needs to stop.’ ‘Apparently they’re scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America,’ Obama said.

“Mocking GOP leaders for thinking they’re tough, Obama said overblown rhetoric from Republicans could be a potent recruitment tool for the Islamic State group. He insisted the U.S. process for screening refugees for possible entry into the U.S. is rigorous and said the U.S. doesn’t make good decisions ‘based on hysteria’ or exaggerated risk…

“Obama’s comments during a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino marked his harshest condemnation yet of Republicans’ response to the Paris attacks blamed on IS that killed 129 people last week. Republicans in Congress and on the 2016 presidential trail have urged an immediate closure of America’s borders to Syrian refugees, but the Obama administration has shown no sign of backing off its plans to bring an additional 10,000 Syrians fleeing civil war into the U.S….

“In Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have urged at least a temporary halt in the resettlement of Syrians, while disputing Obama administration claims that the small numbers making their way here so far are being thoroughly investigated…”

Newsmax added on November 17:

“The Obama administration stepped up its assurances that it can keep terrorists from mixing with incoming Syrian refugees as a top Senate Democrat voiced reservations about a resettlement program already under fire from Republicans. New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who will take over as the Democratic leader in the chamber in 2017, said ‘a pause may be necessary’ on the entry of Syrians fleeing civil war.”

Obama Clueless and Delusional?

Newsmax reported on November 17:

“Fox News host Bill O’Reilly says President Barack Obama seems to have no idea the ‘civilized world’ is losing the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). ‘Is President Barack Obama delusional?’ he asked in opening Monday’s ‘O’Reilly Factor.’ ‘History will record that the two biggest deficits of the Obama administration were the failure to create a robust economy and the president’s retreat from the terrorist battlefield,’ O’Reilly said.

“Obama has never had a real strategy for dealing with ISIS, he said, and his cluelessness was underscored when Obama declared that ISIS is being ‘contained’ just hours before the deadly Paris attacks.”

Dangerous Thinking—Suspending the Visa Program with Europe?

Breitbart reported on November 16:

“Representative Tulsi Gabbard argued ‘we need to temporarily suspend this visa waiver program’ between the US and Europe because ‘it could just be a matter of hours, before someone travels through these different borders, someone who’s become a foreign fighter, who’s been fighting in Syria, and ends up here on the United States soil’ on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s ‘The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.’…”

Blitzer responded that this could also mean that Europe would suspend its visa waiver program for US citizens, meaning that US citizens would need a visa for visiting Europe, while European citizens would need visas to visit the USA. Gabbard agreed with this conclusion. Other ideas propose the concept of shutting down all “dangerous” mosques in the USA, as well as in France.

Some of the Paris Terrorists Entered Europe as “Refugees”

Reuters wrote on November 15:

“The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday night’s attacks in Paris was registered as a refugee in several European countries last month, authorities said.

“The man… came into Europe through the Greek island of Leros, where he was processed on Oct. 3, Greek officials said on Saturday. He was among 70 refugees who arrived on a small vessel from Turkey… The information is significant because if one or more of the Paris gunmen turned out to have come into Europe among refugees and migrants fleeing war-torn countries, this could change the political debate about accepting refugees… Greek government sources said a second suspect attacker was also likely to have passed through Greece.”

Some have stated that the Syrian passport might have been forged to cast suspicion on refugees in their attempt to stop migrants entering Europe. Controversial and scandal-ridden German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière toyed with this idea, as Deutsche Welle reported on November 17:

“Police in France have been trying to discern whether a passport used by one of the Paris suicide bombers was stolen from a dead Syrian soldier. Germany’s interior minister has suggested it was a ploy to set up refugees.”

When “Enemies” Become “Friends”… at Least for a Brief Moment

Deutsche Welle reported on November 16:

“Obama and Putin met for around half an hour on the sidelines of the [G20] conference, and according to eye witnesses they had an intense discussion… To date, both Russia and Iran have supported Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. The US, Western countries and Saudi Arabia are demanding that he be replaced. It’s now possible that the common fight against ‘Islamic State’ could bring the two sides together…

“However, Turkey is involved in this as well. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is hosting the summit, is also conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq – but he’s attacking Kurdish rebels, too. Turkey considers them to be terrorists. But the United States is supplying these Kurdish fighters with weapons…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel… conceded… that Europe must protect its external borders better if it is to be able to register Syrian refugees and prevent the possibility of terrorist infiltration…”

The EUObserver added on November 17:

“On Tuesday the Russian air force bombed the IS stronghold of Raqqa, where the French had already struck twice on Sunday and Monday evening… Putin also admitted on Tuesday that the Russian aircraft that crashed in Sinai on 31 October, killing 234 people, was downed by terrorists. He had previously ruled out any terror act. His admission may indicate that he is ready to cooperate against IS with France, Britain, the US, and the EU member states ready to join operations in Syria.”

Greater Military Involvement for Germany?

The Wall Street Journal reported on November 16:

“The Paris attacks have jolted Germany into considering greater military involvement in the fight against Islamic State, despite public opposition to abandoning its largely pacifist foreign policy. The voices raising the prospect of military intervention by the European Union’s biggest country came largely from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative group in parliament…

“Government officials urged caution but ruled out nothing. They noted that Germany already was contributing by training and equipping Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, who have been attacking Islamic State positions there…”

“German Army ‘Could Join UN Syria Mission’”

The Local wrote on November 18:

“Germany might send ground troops into Syria on condition that there is a UN resolution covering any military intervention, Der Spiegel reported… That would be a big step up from Germany’s current role in the battle against Isis of arming and training Kurdish Peshmerga troops in northern Iraq. Officials close to Chancellor Angela Merkel believe it’s increasingly likely that German troops might be called on to supervise a negotiated ceasefire…

“The cabinet decided on Wednesday to moderately restrengthen the Bundeswehr’s (German army) presence in the north-east of Afghanistan… The cabinet also agreed upon extending Germany’s involvement in “Active Endeavour” the EU’s anti-people smuggling mission in the Mediterranean.”

“We Need a European Army” – “Europe in Great Danger”

According to the German edition of the Huffington Post, Germany’s former Finance Minister, Rainer Brüderle (FDP), stated on November 15 that Europe needs a European army. He recommended to start with German-French combined military combat forces, and others could join them.

Bild Online wrote on Sunday, November 15, that a real danger exists that Germany will be attacked by terrorists, and that an attack could happen any time. Experts are quoted as saying that the danger has not been that real for the last 15 years. According to a secret governmental study, at least more than 200 jihadists have entered Germany from Syria.

Newsmax added on November 16:

“Sharad Kumar, the director general of India’s National Investigation Agency [who attended a conference of European police chiefs in September, said the following:] ‘During a discussion on the threat posed by the ISIS in Europe, we were told that there were around 50,000 Europeans who have joined the ranks of the terror outfit… It makes Europe very vulnerable to terror attacks from these fighters who can come back any day and who also know major cities there from the back of their hands.’

“According to the Clarion Project, ‘The European Police Chiefs Convention was held on September 23 and 24 and briefed 300 police representatives from 50 countries on the terror threats posed by the Islamic State and related groups.’”

Activation of the “Mutual Defense Clause” in EU Treaty

The EUObserver wrote on November 17:

“EU member states agreed Tuesday (17 November) to grant military assistance to France following Friday’s terror attacks in Paris. For the first time in EU history, defence ministers unanimously decided to activate the ‘mutual defence clause’ of the EU treaty… French president Francois Hollande had invoked article 42.7 of the EU treaty in an address to the parliament Monday. ‘If a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory,’ the article states, ‘the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power.’…

“While EU law also includes a solidarity clause in the event of a terrorist attack, to ‘protect democratic institutions and the civilian populace’, France chose to ask for help for its external military operations… In addition to launching strikes against the Islamic State group and protecting its own territory, France has sent troops to the Sahel region, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, and to several minor theatres. Around 7,000 troops are deployed overseas…”

The Times of Israel added on November 17:

“France made an unprecedented demand Tuesday that its European Union allies support its military action against the Islamic State group…

“The French government invoked a never-before-used article of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty obliging members of the 28-nation bloc to give ‘aid and assistance by all the means in their power’ to a member country that is ‘the victim of armed aggression on its territory.’

“French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all 27 of France’s EU partners responded positively… Arriving for talks in Brussels with his EU counterparts, Greek Defense Minister Panagiotis Kammenos told reporters that the Paris attacks were a game-changer for the bloc. ‘This is Sept. 11 for Europe,’ he said…

“‘(Syria is) the biggest factory of terrorism the world has ever known and the international community is still too divided and too incoherent’ in its response, Hollande said, adding that the ‘acts of war’ in Paris were decided upon and planned in Syria…”

“These Are the End Times”

Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“Two days after the horrendous jihadist attacks in Paris, Pope Francis preached about the ‘end times,’ encouraging his hearers to be vigilant and ready at any moment to meet God face to face… the Pope invited the ten thousand pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to think about their death, the day they will meet God and give an accounting for their life… Francis unequivocally recognized the Islamist ideology behind the attacks, denouncing the use of God’s name to justify the brutal attacks as ‘blasphemy.’

“Commenting on Sunday’s Scripture readings, the Pope said that Jesus’ preaching about the end of the world contains ‘apocalyptic elements, like war, famine, and cosmic catastrophes.’ ‘In those days,’ Francis repeated, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’… The most important thing is not knowing when the end will come, but being ready for it when it does, he said.”

“Ukraine Gives Equal Rights to Gay Workers to Please Brussels”

The EUObserver wrote on November 13:

“Members of the Ukrainian parliament granted equal rights to gay workers on Thursday (12 November), but several did it more out of necessity than of conviction. The adopted legislation was a requirement from Brussels if Ukraine wants visa-free travel. As a result of the vote, Ukraine’s labour code will be amended to include sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds on which discrimination in the workplace is prohibited…

“The European Union had set the inclusion of anti-discriminatory provision for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGTBI) people as a prerequisite for visa-free travel by Ukrainians to those European countries which are part of the Schengen area. It was also framed in Kiev as a measure required to move closer to the EU out of fear of Russia. ‘It’s better to have a gay parade on [Kiev’s main street] Khreshchatyk than Russian tanks in the centre of the Ukrainian capital,; said MP Yuri Lutsenko, who is a member of president Petro Poroshenko’s party. ‘I believe if we go to Europe, we must recognise the rules adopted in the EU,’ Lutsenko added…

“Those opposed had argued the bill was an attack on Ukraine’s Christian Orthodox values…”

Ultimately, many Ukrainians will become very unhappy with European rules (as is the case with the UK), and they may want to become part of the Russian influence, while departing from the EU.