Mid-Term Election and the Ebola Virus

BBC News reported on November 3:

“There are two stories running big in the United States at the moment – the mid-term elections and Ebola. For Barack Obama, it is as though the two have become horribly confused. For it seems all the Democratic Party hopefuls fighting in the key Senate seats… are treating him as though he were infected by Ebola. That is to say they want Mr Obama to go through the 21-day quarantine that health workers from West Africa are undergoing. In a sealed tent, somewhere in the White House. And nowhere near their states. He is being kept away from the key swing states. When he has turned up, some candidates have cited ‘scheduling difficulties’ or ‘diary confusion’ to explain why they didn’t meet him…

“In truth, there is not much love for the Republicans either… All of which begs the question – what difference will it make if the Republicans do take control of the Senate [which they did, see next article]… Some are predicting that it will be gridlock on steroids. In other words, just like before – only worse… The Republicans will be looking at the presidential elections in 2016, and it is not a great campaign slogan to say ‘we controlled both houses, and got nothing done’. And the same pressure will be on the president…”

The US Mid-Term Election Results and Consequences

BBC News reported on November 5:

“The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. The Republicans also increased their grip on the House of Representatives and now control both chambers of Congress for the first time since 2006….

“The Republicans will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Mr Obama’s agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House. Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.”

The Next Two Most Dangerous Years for America

Charles Hurt wrote the following in The Washington Times, on November 5:

“If President Obama suffered a ‘shellacking’ in the 2010 elections, then what he endured Tuesday night was nothing short of a vicious gangland beatdown the likes of which have rarely been seen before in the history of electoral politics. This, of course, is a wonderful and well-deserved outcome. But beware: America now enters the two most dangerous years of her existence — or certainly the most dangerous since the Great Depression and possibly going all the way back to the Civil War.

“Not to dismiss the promising results of Tuesday’s election. Voters clearly and forcefully rejected the party, politics and policies of President Obama. They slapped his socialist agenda back into the days of Soviet gulags, where it belongs. His grand visions of mighty government ruling unchecked over desperate ghettos have been snuffed out…

“The silver lining for Democrats today is now they now have the perfect excuse… And this is where things get very, very dangerous for America. President Obama still has two more years left in his final term. Already, he has demonstrated again and again that he has no regard for the constitution or the legitimacy of laws when they do not suit his agenda. He flaunts his disregard for the constitutional process, dismisses laws he doesn’t like and rewrites others.

“He mocks the powers of Congress. The Supreme Court has slapped him down more than any president in recent times. All of this as he tells us he is an expert on constitutional law. Now come his very explicit threats to pass more illegal and unconstitutional presidential edicts to grant amnesty to illegal aliens already in the United States. This, in turn, will issue invitations for millions more illegals to come streaming across the border.

“It will not end at immigration. Unchecked power is addictive. Disowned by Democrats and made to feel irrelevant in this election, President Obama’s enormous and unjustified ego is deeply wounded. He is frustrated and feels caged, cornered. This is when people like him are most dangerous…

“President Obama is not a listener. He is not a negotiator. He is not a learner. He will just take what he wants. It is easier that way. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s court-packing scheme during the Great Depression was nothing like the strains this president has put on Constitution. Indeed, not since the Civil War has America faced such a dire threat to her existence as a lawful, constitutional republic…

“To bind the union, Abraham Lincoln took an economic and political war and elevated it into something higher. He made it about emancipating slaves and won. And saved the Republic. This president does the opposite. He got elected promising to elevate politics but instead finds unity and sows discord, often inciting racial divisions.

“America’s only hope today is that President Obama finally turns to the bust of Lincoln he keeps in the Oval Office and listens…”

The USA—The End of a Global Power

The Washington Times wrote on November 2:

“The Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago… It was the beginning of the end of the American republic, and the end of the beginning of the American empire.

“The Cold War victory left the United States with no rival superpower… So we embraced practices emblematic of the Soviet Union, for instance, detention without accusation or trial or indiscriminate spying on citizens without warrants… we became arrogant… and thrilled by objectless, purposeless domination for the sake of domination.

“The United States paradoxically came to resemble the global tyranny the Cold War was fought to defeat…

“A 1992 draft of a Defense Department document authored by Paul Wolfowitz urged U.S. military force pre-emptively to destroy any pre-embryonic new rival… Few if any in the nation’s political leadership asked then or later why U.S. global domination achieved not through the peaceful influence of example but through the sword would advance justice or promote an elevated moral order…

“And then came the predictable gratuitous wars and spiraling national debt.

“We evicted Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in 1991 to reinstate a tyrannical dynasty. We dispatched troops to Somalia to alleviate a humanitarian crisis and got Black Hawk Down and the Al Shabab terrorist organization.

“We rained bombs on Bosnia and got an ethnically partitioned nation between Muslims, Croats, and Serbs.

“We initiated war against Serbia over Kosovo and set a precedent for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea.

“We continued war in Afghanistan long after the perpetrators of 9/11 had been killed or captured.

“We invaded Iraq in 2003 and joined its sequel internecine war against the Islamic State in 2014.

“We have carried the global, perpetual war against international terrorism to Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, the Philippines, and elsewhere.

“We endowed the president of the United States with power to exterminate any person on the planet whom he decrees based on secret, uncorroborated evidence may endanger the national security now or in the future…

“Whom the Gods would destroy they first intoxicate with limitless power…”

It is indeed correct that with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Europe, the political landscape began to dramatically change. Europe, under German leadership, is predestined to play an important leading role in these end times, while the downfall of America and the UK is likewise prophesied. This is due to the fact that God gave His blessings to these two powers, in fulfillment of His unconditional promise to Abraham, but He also predicted that His blessings would be taken away again if these powers would continue sinning against Him. As this proved to be the case, we are observing the beginning of the prophesied downfall of the USA and the UK, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

UK’s Exit from the EU Possible

The Guardian wrote on November 2:

“David Cameron has been warned by German chancellor Angela Merkel that she would rather see the UK leave the European Union than change freedom of movement rules, according to reports. Downing Street on Sunday did not deny that the conversation had taken place, after German newspaper Der Spiegel said Merkel had rejected Cameron’s demands for a cap on unskilled migrants. Sources told the newspaper that the chancellor said demands for any changes to freedom of movement rules represented a ‘point of no return’ and that this would be it for the UK’s membership.”

BBC News added on November 2:

“This is the first time that Mrs Merkel has acknowledged that the UK’s exit from the EU is possible, Der Spiegel said… A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Cameron would make a speech on immigration before Christmas, and stressed ‘you can be sure he will always put Britain first.’”

BBC News wrote on November 3:

“Chancellor George Osborne has insisted the UK will pursue its ‘national interest’ in Europe despite German warnings about its future in the EU… The suggestion that Angela Merkel would rather see Britain leave the EU than accede to changes to the EU’s freedom of movement principle has raised political temperatures in the UK. Within the political establishment in Berlin there is increasing frustration with the UK. They do not know what David Cameron wants and are increasingly sensitive to demands that appear to be endlessly changing…

“Speaking to journalists on Monday, Mrs Merkel’s spokesman – Steffen Seibert – said this was ‘not a bilateral matter between Germany and Britain but between Britain and all of its European partners’. It was up to the UK to ‘clarify’ what wider role it wanted to play in the EU, he added…

“UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he took the German warning seriously, saying that their ‘politicians do not bluff’ and it was not possible to have an ‘a la carte menu’ in Europe. ‘David Cameron will fiddle around the edges and end up satisfying nobody,’ he told the BBC. And Labour said Mr Cameron was ‘losing allies and influence’ in Europe. ‘His weakness within his own party means he now risks pushing Britain towards exit from Europe altogether,’ said shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander.”

Once the UK will have exited from the EU, the beginning of the UK’s downfall will have begun.

Elections in Eastern Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 3:

“Germany has criticized Moscow for recognizing the results of the elections in rebel-held eastern Ukraine. Russia has said the polls amount to a ‘mandate’ for the separatist leaders to negotiate with Kyiv… The outcomes of Sunday’s elections came as no surprise, with the favorites winning easily. Interfax cited local elections officials who said that Alexander Zakharchenko won with almost 79 percent of the votes cast in Donetsk, while Igor Plotnitsky took 64 percent in Luhansk. Elections held in the rest of Ukraine late last month produced a pro-Western parliament…”

The EUObserver added on November 3:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel [was] warning at the last EU summit in Brussels that the vote is designed to create another Russia-sponsored ‘frozen conflict’ in Europe, alongside Transniestria in Moldova and Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia.”

With the elections in Eastern Ukraine, Russia has received new “encouragement” for their course towards the take-over of the entire Ukraine.

Weather Channel Founder John Coleman Challenges Man-Made Global Warming

Newsmax reported on November 2:

“The idea that there is significant man-made global warming is ‘a whole lot of baloney,’ Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman insisted on CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’ Sunday morning. ‘The government only gives money to scientists who will present their hypothesis,’ said Coleman, a meteorologist who helped found The Weather Channel 32 years ago. ‘They don’t have any choice; if you are going to get the money, you have to present their position. Those are the ones the government pays for. That doesn’t make it right, that only means it’s bought and paid for.’

“But Coleman, who debunked climate change in a letter to UCLA last month, told show host Brian Stelter Sunday that he resented him introducing him as a climate change ‘denier.’ ‘That is a word meant to put me down,’ he told him. ‘I’m a skeptic about climate change, and I want to make it… clear that [Weather Channel CEO David] Kenny is not a scientist, I am.’… ‘There is no consensus in science,’ said Coleman. ‘Science isn’t a vote. Science is about facts. If you get down to the hard cold facts, climate change is not happening. There is no significant man-made global warming now.’…

“Coleman said he and other scientists will ‘keep battling’ but meanwhile, he hopes that people will research online and find websites that ‘present the papers that show that none of this alarmism about ice and heat waves and droughts, none of it is happening.’”

Coleman, now retired, stated in the interview that he was not only the co-founder, but the founder of the Weather Channel. His voice in the debate on man-made global warming cannot be easily dismissed.

Remains of Pharaoh’s Drowned Army Found?

World News Daily wrote on October 24:

“Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced this morning that a team of underwater archaeologists had discovered that remains of a large Egyptian army from the 14th century BC, at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez, 1.5 kilometers offshore from the modern city of Ras Gharib… The scientists lead by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and associated with Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have already recovered a total of more than 400 different skeletons, as well as hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor, also the remains of two war chariots, scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters. They estimate that more than 5000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area, suggesting that an army of large size who have perished on the site.

“Many clues on the site have brought Professor Gader and his team to conclude that the bodies could be linked to the famous episode of the Exodus. First of all, the ancient soldiers seem to have died on dry ground, since no  traces of boats or ships have been found in the area. The positions of the bodies and the fact that they were stuck in a vast quantity of clay and rock, imply that they could have died in a mudslide or a tidal wave.

“The shear number of bodies suggests that a large ancient army perished on the site and the dramatic way by which they were killed, both seem to corroborate the biblical version of the Red Sea Crossing, when the army of the Egyptian Pharaoh was destroyed by the returning waters that Moses had parted. This new find certainly proves that there was indeed an Egyptian army of large size that was destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea during the reign of King Akhenaten…”

If proven to be true, this would indeed be a tremendous testimony for the accuracy of the Bible even in historical respects.

The Status Quo Will or Won’t Change?

The Associated Press reported on November 2:

“After months of escalating violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday made his clearest attempt yet to cool tempers, saying he won’t allow changes to a long-standing ban on Jewish worship at the Muslim-run site, despite such demands from ultranationalists in his coalition. Netanyahu’s reassurances to Muslims came just days after the religious feud over the Old City shrine, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, threatened to spin out of control.

“Israel closed the compound for a day last week, a rare move, after a Palestinian shot and wounded a prominent activist who has campaigned for more Jewish access to the site. Angered by the closure, Jordan, the custodian of the mosque compound, warned it might seek diplomatic sanctions unless Israel halts what a Jordanian official said were ‘repeated violations’ at the site. The U.S. has urged Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to show restraint…

“It remained unclear to what extent Netanyahu is willing to clash with coalition members lobbying for a greater Jewish presence at the shrine, the holiest in Judaism as the site of former biblical temples… On Saturday evening, Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home party, a key coalition partner, ignored appeals to tone down the rhetoric. At a rally for Yehuda Glick, the rabbi wounded by the Palestinian gunman last week, Ariel was quoted as saying that ‘the status quo on the Temple Mount will change.’

“Under that status quo, Muslim authorities reporting to Jordan continued to administer the site, home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques, after east Jerusalem’s capture by Israel in 1967. Jews were allowed to visit, but not to pray there…

“The wrangling over the shrine comes at a time when a negotiated solution for Jerusalem, claimed by Israelis and Palestinians as a capital, is out of reach. U.S.-led peace talks collapsed earlier this year, and there’s not enough common ground between the sides to warrant resumption. Netanyahu rejects any withdrawal from east Jerusalem – the area sought by the Palestinians as the capital of a future state. Instead, the Israeli leader is promoting housing construction for Jews in east Jerusalem, including an announcement last week that plans for more than 1,000 new settlement apartments there would move forward…

“In Israel, Jewish access to the Temple Mount has turned from a fringe issue into a mainstream idea. After 1967, most rabbis considered Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount a sacrilege. But since the 1990s, nationalist clerics have been pressing for an increased Jewish presence, triggering angry reactions by Muslims who argue the site is exclusively theirs…”

CS Monitor wrote on November 2:

“Today Moshe Feiglin walked on the holiest site in Judaism and posed for photos in front of the Dome of the Rock, a revered Muslim shrine that rests where many believe the Jewish Temple once stood. In doing so the Israeli member of parliament fueled growing Muslim-Jewish tensions around Jerusalem’s Temple Mount…

“Mr. Feiglin’s action was a direct challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call this morning for parliament to exercise ‘responsibility and restraint’ around the Temple Mount complex…

“Feiglin, like Yehuda Glick, the rabbi currently recovering from the murder attempt last week, favors building Judaism’s Third Temple on the site, which would require the destruction of both the Dome of the Rock and, many Muslims believe, the nearby Al Aqsa mosque…

“For both Israelis and Palestinians, this compound is not only a sacred space but the front-line of their battle for sovereignty over Jerusalem…”

The Middle East will engulf in utter chaos when the Jews begin with the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem Is Ours!

On November 5, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the following speech to the Knesset at a session marking the 19th anniversary of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (published by The Times of Israel, dated November 6):

“The murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is a low point in the history of our people, a despicable and contemptible act that threatened to drag us into the depths of self-destruction…

“If there is one idea around which we have all united for hundreds and thousands of years, it is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is different than most world capitals: It is not just a capital city, it is our heart and soul and it is the foundation for our existence as a sovereign nation. Ten days before his murder, at an event marking 3,000 years of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin said, ‘In Israel there is one subject on which we do not disagree – the wholeness of Jerusalem and its continued existence and strengthening as the capital of Israel. There are not two Jerusalems; there is only one Jerusalem. As far as we are concerned, Jerusalem is not a subject for compromise and there is no peace without Jerusalem.’ Rabin later emphasized, ‘Jerusalem was ours, it is ours and it will remain so forever.’

“Distinguished guests, over the past several months, and especially over the past several days, we have witnessed a campaign of wild incitement against the State of Israel… This front of hatred is directed at all of us… we must stand together and say clearly and without apology: Unified Jerusalem is our capital and it will remain so. We are in a battle for Jerusalem. It may be a prolonged battle. I am certain we will be victorious. For some people, the issue of Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem is an instrument of political struggle. Our presence in Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years, is called a provocation. They simply want to uproot us from here. They try to rewrite history, deny our brave affinity for Jerusalem and claim that we are trying to change the status quo on the Temple Mount, spread lies that we want to harm or destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque or change the prayer arrangements for Muslims on the Mount…

“No country in the world is willing to barter over its capital. Yitzhak Rabin said the same thing when he established his government 22 years ago. ‘The government is determined,’ he said, ‘that Jerusalem is not up for debate. The coming years will be marked by an expansion of building in Greater Jerusalem. All Jews, religious and secular alike, swear, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.”’ May these words from Yitzhak Rabin serve as a beacon for us and may his memory be blessed.”

Increasing Strife

Reuters reported on November 5:

“Increasing strife over Jerusalem’s most volatile holy site plunged relations between Israel and Jordan into crisis on Wednesday, with Amman recalling its ambassador for the first time since the countries’ 1994 peace treaty.

“In a sign of tensions, a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians in Jerusalem’s city center on Wednesday, killing an Israeli paramilitary border policeman before he was shot dead by police. More than a dozen people were injured.

“In a second attack later, a van driven by a Palestinian hit three soldiers in the occupied West Bank. One was seriously injured and two others suffered moderate wounds, an Israeli ambulance service spokesman and police said.”

The Times of Israel wrote on November 6:

“Jerusalem is starting to burn. Religious fervor is intensifying… ”

Turkey Gets Involved

In a related article,  Times of Israel wrote on November 6:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israeli actions on the Temple Mount ‘barbaric and despicable’ on Thursday, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported. In a press conference before departing for Turkmenistan, Erdogan added that ‘Israel is preparing the ground for the failure of inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue around the world… Israel has already been isolated in the Middle East, but if such actions continue, Israel will also become marginalized at the world level,’ he continued. ‘The occupation of al-Aqsa is not only a concern of Palestinians or Arabs, but of the whole Muslim world… Israel’s barbaric behavior will leave it alone in the world,’ Erdogan told Anadolu.”

The Middle East will engulf in utter chaos when the Jews begin with the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount.

Germany’s Dilemma

The Local wrote on October 31:

“Germany finds itself in a complicated relationship with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). At home, police must investigate anyone who flies the flag, but in the Middle East they are the best hope of beating back the Islamic State…

“The PKK, which is believed to have 13,000 supporters in Germany, has been banned in the country for many years in response to its armed struggle against Turkey. In the early 90s the PKK attacked Turkish government buildings in Germany and in 1993 even stormed the Turkish Consulate in Munich. As recently as 2012, Germany’s parliament reaffirmed the ban on the PKK. The parliamentary state secretary for the interior ministry said at the time the PKK was a ‘destructive’ force which undermined ‘peaceful co-existence’ between Kurds and Turks in Germany.

“In northern Iraq, German weapons and training are being delivered into the hands of the PKK’s one-time Kurdish rivals, the peshmerga, but their fighters have not been able to put up the same level of resistance as the PKK and the two groups are increasingly working together. It means arms the German government provides to the peshmerga could end up with a group classified as a terrorist organization by the EU.

“But with a fighting force of 15,000, the PKK is Germany’s and the West’s best hope of staving off Isis advances and German Kurds are joining the fight, putting domestic security forces in a difficult position…”

Apple CEO–Proud to Be Gay

USA Today wrote on October 30:

“Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirmed he is gay in an opinion piece published Thursday, making him the highest-profile chief executive to come out… ‘While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now,’ writes Cook. ‘So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.’

“Reaction has been mostly positive… Public confirmations of sexuality have increased in Hollywood, and have started to appear in the sports world…  But it’s rare to see in the business world, which makes the revelation by Cook — head of one of the world’s most profitable companies — a much bigger deal….”

God does not bestow a “great gift” of homosexuality on anyone. God calls it an abomination. Another abomination is covered in the next article.

Acceptance of Post-Birth Abortions on the Rise

The College Fix reported on October 29:

“A trend seen by prolife activists that frequently engage college students on campuses nationwide is the growing acceptance of post-birth abortion, or killing the infant after he or she is born, campus prolife outreach leaders tell The College Fix… not only do they see more college students willing to say they support post-birth abortion, but some students even suggest children up to 4 or 5-years-old can also be killed, because they are not yet ‘self-aware.’ ‘We encounter people who think it is morally acceptable to kill babies after birth on a regular basis at almost every campus we visit,’ said Mark Harrington, director of Created Equal. ‘While this viewpoint is still seen as shocking by most people, it is becoming increasingly popular.’

“Campuses where the high school, college students, local activists and staff members of Created Equal have encountered this opinion include Purdue, University of Minnesota, and University of Central Florida. And at Ohio State earlier this year, the group captured a debate on video between one of its members and an older woman on campus who defended infanticide…

“Kristina Garza, spokeswoman for Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, a prolife organization that often sets up anti-abortion displays on campuses along the West Coast, said her group also frequently encounters college students who accept infanticide. ‘For those who are firmly for abortion, because they understand it kills a human being, it’s very easy for them to accept killing a human being after birth,’ Garza said…

“Garza said there’s an explanation for it. For one, the arguments put forth by Peter Singer and other philosophers who support infanticide are given as reading assignments to college students. Singer wrote in 1979 that ‘human babies are not born self-aware, or capable of grasping that they exist over time. They are not persons … [therefore] the life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee.’”

The Catholic Church–A Ship Without a Rudder?

USA Today reported on November 2:

“A senior American cardinal in the Vatican says that under this pope, the Roman Catholic Church is ‘a ship without a rudder’’ and the faithful ‘are feeling a bit seasick.’

“Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput complains that a recent Vatican conference called by Pope Francis produced ‘confusion,’ adding, ‘Confusion is of the devil.’ A group of conservative lay Catholics say they felt ‘betrayed’ by a preliminary report from the conference that proposed a more welcoming attitude toward gay men and lesbians… for these and other U.S. Catholic conservatives and traditionalists, the papacy of Francis also seems to be infuriating, worrying or just plain puzzling…

“Many conservatives struggle to get a handle on Pope Francis, who since taking office last year warned against an ‘obsessive’ concern with culture war issues, such as abortion and gay marriage; encouraged discussion of church teaching on things like contraception and divorce; and asked, regarding gay men and lesbians who profess religious faith, ‘Who am I to judge?’’…”

Interesting Results of Brain Study

CBS News reported on October 31:

“When researchers showed disgusting images of snakes, roaches, garbage, vomit, mutilated bodies and open wounds to participants in a Virginia Tech study, they found significant differences between the way liberals and conservatives reacted, on a neural level… The more strongly a person’s brain reacted to seeing disgusting images, the more likely they were to hold conservative views. The same discrepancy did not exist in their responses to positive images.

“The authors point out in the paper, published in the journal Current Biology, that this is the first brain study to find multiple points of differentiation in activity when comparing the emotional processing of images in liberals versus conservatives. Several parts of the brain lit up in conservatives, while others were activated in liberals… Indeed, watching the brain’s reaction to a single disgusting image was sufficient to guess each subject’s political orientation…

“The study did not determine exactly how or why liberal brains differ from conservative ones, only that the two types of brains lit up in two different patterns when viewing the same images.” 

The Right To Determine When to Die?

USA Today wrote on November 2:

“Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old face of the controversial right-to-death movement, has died. She captivated millions via social media with her public decision to end her life… The statement said Maynard suffered ‘increasingly frequent and longer seizures, severe head and neck pain, and stroke-like symptoms.’ She chose to take the ‘aid-in-dying medication she received months ago.’…

“One commenter on Twitter posted… ‘To die with dignity still eludes many. May you find peace.’ Another had mixed feelings. ‘Brain cancer is a horrific way to die but, being raised traditional Catholic, suicide still a no-no,’ a commenter wrote.

“Maynard was diagnosed with a stage 4 malignant brain tumor. She moved with her family from California to Oregon, where she could legally die with medication prescribed under the [Oregon law.]

“Tim Rosales, spokesman for Patients Rights Action Coalition based in Princeton, N.J., said that for every Brittany Maynard, there’s a Barbara Wagner, an Oregon woman who fought her insurance company when it said it would cover drugs for her suicide but not for chemotherapy to fight her lung cancer. ‘We have to look at assisted suicide in much broader terms,’ Rosales said in a phone interview Sunday evening. ‘Obviously, we’re very saddened to hear the news about Brittany Maynard. However, that being said, suicide or assisted suicide sends the wrong message to a lot of young people [who] are [in] the country, particularly those who are dealing with psychological or physical challenges or serious illnesses.’

“An evangelical inspirational speaker and Catholic seminarian who has brain cancer has been outspoken about Maynard’s decision. ‘I understand she may be in great pain, and her treatment options are limited and have their own devastating side effects, but I believe Brittany is missing a critical factor in her formula for death: God,’ said Joni Eareckson Tada last month…

“Four other states, including Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico, allow patients to seek help from doctors in dying… Under the Oregon law, the person must be capable, an adult, live in state and have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.”

According to the Bible, we are not to take the life of a human being, including our own life. However desperate and painful a situation might be, we are to trust in God and His decision as to when our life will end. At the same time, suicide is quite different from the ending of artificially prolonged life.

“How to Prepare Earth for Extraterrestrial Life”

On September 25, 2014, Collective Evolution and the Huffington Post reported the following:

“A couple of months ago top US astronomers gathered in front of congress to let them know that extraterrestrial life exists without question. Their main argument was the size of the universe, emphasizing that there are trillions of stars out there, with one in every five most likely harboring an Earth-like planet. It’s also important to keep in mind that planets do not have to be ‘Earth-like’ in order to harbor life… This time, NASA and the Library of Congress have teamed up bringing together scientists, theologians, philosophers and historians from around the globe for a two day symposium in order to discuss how to prepare the world for extraterrestrial contact, whether it be microbial organisms or intelligent beings…

“One of the theologians present was Brother Guy Consolmagno, who is the new president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. This is what he had to say: ‘I Believe [alien life exists], but I have no evidence. I would be really excited and it would make my understanding of my religion deeper and richer in ways that I can’t even predict yet, which is why it would be so exciting.’ He is urging the public not to be so surprised when extraterrestrial life is discovered, because it will be discovered. He even said that he would be happy to baptize them, if it’s intelligent extraterrestrial life that’s discovered. The Vatican has been very open to the idea of intelligent extraterrestrial life, and they’ve expressed these views for a very long time…

“In the United States alone, at least half of all Americans say that we’re not alone in the universe. Fifty percent of Americans already believe that there is some form of life on other planets, while only seventeen percent think that there isn’t. A quarter of Americans believe that intelligent extraterrestrial visitors have already come to Earth and have been doing so for a long time…

“Scientists estimate that at least 10 billion habitable Earth-sized planets exist in the milky way alone (one galaxy out of billions)…

“Some of the most extraordinary statements about UFOs and extraterrestrials come from persons who have held some of the highest positions known…”

As we pointed out in our recent Q&A series on pre- and post-Adamic life, there is no biblical evidence that there is any extra-terrestrial life. The Bible teaches quite the opposite. But it is interesting that according to the Book of Revelation, mankind will try to fight the returning Jesus Christ, riding on a white horse, and accompanied with an angelic army on white horses. Will mankind be so deceived to believe that hostile extraterrestrial beings will try to take over the world?

“One Step Closer to the Exit”

Mail-On-Line wrote on October 24:

“Brussels’ shock demand for £1.7billion more from Britain has pushed us closer to leaving the EU, a furious David Cameron admitted yesterday. The Prime Minister insisted the payment – which works out at £56 for every taxpayer – was ‘not going to happen’… Britain was told to pay more because its economy has performed better than expected. But countries including France whose economies have under-performed will receive multi-million-pound rebates – something critics said was essentially a reward for their ‘basket case’ economic policies…

“But Germany’s powerful leader Angela Merkel – whose country is set to receive a rebate – suggested Britain would eventually end up paying the vast sum, and said she had no problem with the calculations. And Jose Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission, indicated that the £1.7billion bill was not up for negotiation.

“It emerged that Chancellor George Osborne had known about the demand on Tuesday but, embarrassingly, he had not passed on the information to the Prime Minister, who did not find out until Thursday. David Cameron was left red-faced as he was forced to admit he had been kept in the dark for days about the shock £1.7billion demand after George Osborne failed to inform him… And according to Labor, the Office for National Statistics might have known about it five months ago…

“UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the only way to avoid the surcharge was by leaving the Union. ‘The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers’ blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us,’ he added.”

In an accompanying polemic article, Mail-On-Line wrote on October 24:

“Like some despotic colonial power, the European Commission under its ex-Maoist president Jose Manuel Barroso suddenly demands an arbitrary levy from the UK of £1.7billion – nearly £30 for every man, woman and child in this country. This outrageous charge is a crushing blow to David Cameron as he tries to persuade an increasingly sceptical British public that the EU (whose accounts, of course, have never been signed off, so dubious are its figures) can be made to change its profligate, anti-democratic ways.

“For Nigel Farage and Ukip, it’s an absolute gift in the run-up to the Rochester and Strood by-election… Socialist France, an economic basket-case, is the biggest beneficiary – receiving £800million to keep its huge, unreformed public sector afloat. Have British families really gone through years of sacrifice so French civil servants can continue to retire on gold-plated pensions at 60?…

“The Barroso raid will convince many voters that this simply cannot be achieved within the EU. If the Commission wanted to give a boost to Britain’s growing number of Eurosceptics, it could hardly have come up with a better strategy.”

The “Express” wrote on October 25:

“FURIOUS David Cameron last night conceded that Britain had been pushed closer to a European Union exit after receiving an eye-watering £1.7billion Brussels bill… Calls for the UK to withdraw from the EU intensified yesterday…

“In an angry intervention, he interrupted a summit discussion on economic policy to confront European Commission President Jose Barroso over the cash demand. He accused the Eurocrat of having ‘no idea’ of the impact the ‘vast’ invoice would have on the UK. Speaking at a news conference at the end of the summit, he said the ‘completely unjustified and sudden production of a bill for Britain of £1.7billion’ had provoked ‘downright anger’ in him.”

However, there is, as always, another side to the story. Die Zeit Online reported on October 24 that the UK agreed to the calculation formula in 1995, and other German and European papers added that the UK had received substantial subsidies in the past, based on this automatic formula, when it “under-performed.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 24:

“British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday vehemently dismissed a request from the European Union for an additional 2.1-billion-euro payment into the bloc’s coffers after a revision of official data showed the United Kingdom’s economy was doing well… EU members pay into the bloc’s budget according to the strength of their respective economies. In the past, when the UK economy was shrinking, London received money back. Now that its economy is recovering, its contribution has been adjusted upwards.

“An EU official called the revision a ‘technical matter’ and said it came up every year. But the request for more money comes at an inopportune time for Prime Minister Cameron, who faces staunch resistance at home to the 28-member bloc by euroskeptic political parties…

“European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in response to Cameron’s objections, said rules were rules and they should not be questioned. He noted that EU member states had voted in favor of the budget scheme…”

BBC News added on October 26:

“Europe expects the UK to pay an extra £1.7bn towards the EU budget ‘and that’s that’, a vice president of the European Parliament has said. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a German MEP, said the EU would be ‘exasperated’ if the UK tried to avoid payment.”

The EUObserver wrote on October 27:

“The UK has to pay its outstanding €2.1bn bill by 1 December or face monthly penalties, EU budget commissioner Jacek Dominik said Monday (27 October) in a press conference. Dominik said he was ‘surprised’ to witness the ‘anger’ of British Prime Minister David Cameron who last week vowed not to pay the bill at such short notice.

“The commissioner said British officials knew since 17 October, when all member states were presented with their corrected share of the EU budget, based on changes in their gross national income (GNI) compared to what they had projected. ‘What is extremely important is to remember that these figures are presented by member states based on their own statistics and approved by Eurostat,’ Dominik said…

“Asked if Britain could delay or pay the bill in tranches, Dominik said such measure would require a qualified majority among member states in the EU council. ‘It would be extremely difficult to do it. The regulation on own resources also concerns the British rebate, if you open up this act for future negotiations, you open a Pandora box,’ he said…

“He said that in case Britain does not transfer the money by 1 December, the EU commission will first write a letter asking for explanations. If the explanations are not credible and the payment continues to be delayed ‘for weeks or months’, the EU law foresees penalties of at least two percent of the total bill plus 0.25 percent for each month of delay.”

Bild Online asked on October 25: “Are the British Leaving the EU?” The mass tabloid opinionated that Cameron will not be able to avoid the demanded payment on or about December 1, even though Cameron declared angrily in Brussels that he will not pay. The paper quoted a modified famous statement from William Shakespeare: “To pay or not to pay—that is the question.”

What is important for us is to realize that the prophesied rift between the UK and continental Europe is widening. See also the next article:

Merkel Blocks Cameron

The Sunday Times wrote on October 26:

“Angela Merkel has delivered a potentially fatal blow to David Cameron’s attempt to cap immigration from the European Union. The German chancellor told The Sunday Times that she would not support Cameron’s plans to limit freedom of movement within the EU as part of his planned renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with Brussels.

“The prime minister has pledged to make changes to freedom of movement a ‘red line’ in a new deal and is preparing to pledge to bring in quotas for low-skilled EU migrants. But questioned by this newspaper during an EU summit in Brussels, Merkel categorically denied that there was any possibility of Germany supporting any limitations on the freedom of movement — a potentially terminal intervention from Britain’s key ally.”

We Need a European Army

Die Welt wrote on September 30:

“Europe needs a unified army after all… It is high time for [the unification of] European military forces… Because of the bad condition of the German Bundeswehr, we are confronted with a historical opportunity to think about… a European security policy… Military forces should not be established nationally, but need to be European… A European army would open up new areas of activities… The preservation and increase of freedom, peace and security is no longer the responsibility of just one nation, but it has become a European challenge. A European army would meet that challenge.”

We will observe very soon the creation of a powerful and extremely efficient European Army.

Violence in Germany

The Local wrote on October 28:

“Further far-right protests, of the kind seen in Cologne on Sunday, are being planned in Berlin and Hamburg, leading to fears of violence spreading to other cities. The scale and violence of what was billed as an anti-Salafist demo caught police by surprise on Sunday. Forty-five people were injured in fighting around the ‘Hooligans against Salafists’ march, 44 of them police officers, and 17 people were arrested. Police used tear gas and water cannon to try to control more than 4,000 people who took to Cologne’s streets.

“Far-right protests are not unusual in Germany, but the size of the Cologne march was. Under an anti-Islamic banner, organizers managed to unite different far-right and football hooligan factions. The far-right scene hailed the protest as the ‘Miracle of Cologne’ and protesters are set to mobilize in other cities this month under the motto, ‘Cologne was just the beginning’. A similar demonstration is planned in Hamburg and Berlin on Saturday November 15th..  The ‘Hooligans against Salafists’ group is also planning a demonstration on November 15th in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate. City politicians are looking to ban the protest.

“German police union DPolG also fears the violence seen in Cologne will spread. DPolG president Rainer Wendt told dpa news agency: ‘It will not be restricted to Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne. It is possible in all cities.’” 

The Ukrainian Election

BBC News wrote on October 26:

“Ukraine’s political culture is notoriously fractious. And the issues facing the country, such as how to enact reform, battle corruption or fight the war in the east, will provide fertile ground for disagreement.

“Within the parties themselves there are a number of question marks – especially among the numerous war heroes and battalion commanders who populate the candidate lists. Though their battlefield bravery is not in doubt, their political views are not entirely clear. Where they stand on the problems the country faces remains to be seen.”

The EUObserver wrote on October 27:

“Ukraine exit polls show a strong win by pro-Western parties, a snub to the far-right, and a surprisingly good result for elements of the former regime… The CEC also reported turnout of 52 percent nationwide, rising to over 70 percent in the west, but falling to some 30 percent in government-controlled regions in the east.

“Meanwhile, three parts of the country – some 4.8 million people out of Ukraine’s 46 million population – did not vote: Crimea (annexed by Russia), and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk in east Ukraine (which are held by pro-Russia rebels).  The situation means 27 seats in Ukraine’s 450 seat parliament will be left symbolically vacant.

“Rebel chiefs, speaking to Russian media, denounced the elections as a ‘farce’. Boyko also accused authorities of corruption, calling the vote the ‘dirtiest’ ever in Ukraine… Rebel chiefs in Donetsk and Luhansk are now planning to hold their own vote on 2 November in an effort to cement claims to independence.”

Deutsche Welle added on October 28:

“The Kremlin will recognize upcoming elections in Ukraine’s separatist eastern regions…  entrenching the split between the Western-leaning national government in Kyiv and the pro-Kremlin separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk… Moscow has also agreed to recognize the results of Ukraine’s national elections last Sunday, in which pro-Western parties secured a parliamentary majority.”

How the USA Is Emboldening Putin

The Washington Times wrote on October 23:

“Russian military provocations have increased so much over the seven months since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine that Washington and its allies are scrambling defense assets on a nearly daily basis in response to air, sea and land incursions by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

“Not only is Moscow continuing to foment unrest in Eastern Ukraine, U.S. officials and regional security experts say Russian fighter jets are testing U.S. reaction times over Alaska and Japan’s ability to scramble planes over its northern islands — all while haunting Sweden’s navy and antagonizing Estonia’s tiny national security force.

“The White House months ago leveled economic sanctions on several Russian businesses and political players, and recent weeks have seen President Obama intensify his rhetoric toward Moscow. But many in Washington’s national security community say the response is simply not firm enough and that, as a result, Mr. Putin actually feels emboldened to push the envelope — Cold War-style…

“Mr. Putin has appeared undeterred. NATO officials confirmed this week that the Russian air force flew an Ilyushin-20 spy plane into Estonian airspace Tuesday, triggering a swift reaction from NATO fighter jets patrolling the area. The incursion came just days after Sweden made international headlines by scrambling a fleet of naval vessels to search for a suspected submarine sighted about 30 miles off the coast of Stockholm in the Baltic Sea… regional analysts… say they’d be surprised if the sub was not Russian. The development, the analysts say, fits within a growing list of similar Russian actions, including some directly challenging U.S. territory.

“The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled jets to scare off two Russian strategic bombers that suddenly appeared to conduct practice runs in airspace just 65 miles off Alaska in June. A similar incident occurred in September, with U.S. and Canadian fighters scrambling to deter six Russian aircraft, including two nuclear bombers, two fighter jets and two refueling tankers, according to news reports…”

Putin Blames America

The Washington Times wrote on October 25:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the U.S. for the crisis in Ukraine and radical Islamic terrorism and claimed there is ‘no true democracy’ in America during a speech on Friday… He [said] that Russia was not responsible for the unrest in Ukraine, insisting that the U.S. had pushed the country into chaos and tried to ‘remake the whole world based on its interests’…

“During his speech, which Reuters described as a ‘diatribe … that was reminiscent of the Cold War,’ Mr. Putin blasted American society and government… ‘The bear isn’t asking anyone for permission. The bear is considered a strong and very traditional animal… [but] will not surrender,’ Mr. Putin said…”

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)

The Guardian wrote on October 28:

“Until the last moment Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, held out for 7 October, to coincide with Vladimir Putin’s birthday. But in the end the parliament in Minsk ratified the treaty on Eurasian Economic Union on 9 October, the day before its first three members – Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan – were due to meet.

“It would be simplistic to reduce the nascent EEU to a toy in the hands of the Russian president. When it comes into force, on 1 January 2015, it will be the most advanced organisation for regional cooperation the former Soviet bloc has seen…

“… [According to Putin] this organisation will be the equal of the EU and other major regional entities, a powerful bloc that will matter on the world stage. Its official formation is also intended to show the world that Russia has fully recovered, while crowning Putin’s efforts to pull together the states making up the post-Soviet sphere of influence. Those who deride the scheme see it as an attempt to restore the empire…

“Ukraine, with its population of 45 million, was supposed to play a key role in the EEU… Ukraine had to be punished, for wanting to move closer to Europe but also for refusing to join the EEU, after Yanukovych’s demise…”

More Russian Provocations and Europe’s Response

The Washington Post wrote on October 29:

“NATO said Wednesday that it had intercepted a large number of Russian aircraft flying close to European airspace in the past two days, in an ‘unusual’ series of incidents that brought Russian bombers as far afield as Portugal.

“The aircraft — at least 19 in all — offered reminders of Russian air power at a time of the worst relations between the West and Russia since the Cold War. Russian military aircraft have significantly increased their activity in Europe since the conflict in Ukraine began earlier this year, with NATO scrambling to intercept aircraft more than 100 times in 2014. But a NATO official said the scale of the latest incidents was the most provocative this year.

“Over the Atlantic Ocean and the North, Black and Baltic seas, Russian bombers, fighter jets and tanker aircraft were detected flying in international airspace, NATO said. There were no incursions into national airspace, a violation of sovereignty that would have significantly amplified the seriousness of the four incidents, three of which took place on Wednesday…

“U.S. officials regard the flights as a show of force by the Putin government… In at least one of the four incidents, the aircraft had switched off their transponders and had not filed flight plans with civilian air traffic controllers. That means that civilian air traffic control cannot track them, potentially creating a risk for civilian planes.

“That incident took place around 3:00 a.m. in Western Europe on Wednesday, when four Tu-95 long-range strategic nuclear bombers and four Il-78 tanker aircraft flew over the Norwegian Sea. Norwegian F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept them. Six of the planes returned to Russia, but two of the bombers skirted the Norwegian coast, flew past Britain — sending Typhoon fighter jets to scramble in response — and then finally looped west of Spain and Portugal, attracting Portuguese F-16s. Then the two bombers appeared to return to Russia…

“Fighter jets from Norway, Britain, Portugal, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Sweden were involved in responding to the Russian aircraft… Finland and Sweden are not members of NATO, and they have long refrained from joining the defensive alliance, which was formed after World War II as a bulwark against the Soviet Union. But military incidents with Russia this year have caused both countries to start to reevaluate their positions…

“The incidents appear to have set European militaries on edge this week. British fighter jets were scrambled Wednesday to bring a civilian Antonov cargo jet into a London airport; it stopped responding to radio calls from air traffic controllers while flying over the British capital. That caused a supersonic boom that was audible across a large stretch of southeastern England.”

“The Weakest of US Presidents”

Newsmax wrote on October 23:

“President Barack Obama is ‘the weakest of U.S. presidents’ and his time in the White House has been ‘humiliating,’… said Ali Younesi, senior adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in comments coming as the United States is trying to persuade his country to join the international coalition fighting against the Islamic State. His words could also be a sign that the Rouhani regime does not intend to concede to the United States’ demands concerning Iran’s nuclear program… ‘Americans witnessed their greatest defeats in Obama’s era…’

“Younesi is not alone in his criticism of Obama, with even former members of the president’s staff… critiquing Obama’s leadership skills…

“Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iranian dissident and associate fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Free Beacon that Obama believes ‘by rewarding Iran and permitting it to do whatever it wants in the region, the mullahs in Tehran will be convinced to compromise.’ However, Iran now controls three Arab capitals, Damascus, Beirut, and Baghdad, he said, and its allies just captured a fourth one, Sana in Yemen. Further, Iran’s economy has improved significantly. ‘Unfortunately, it does not seem that the mullahs reached the conclusion desired by the administration,’ he said. ‘Iranians believe this administration is weak, it has lost its economic leverage over Iran and there is no credible military option on the table…”

Iran remains undeterred by American and Western “protests,” as can be seen by Iran’s hanging of a woman who killed a man for raping her.

Where Are the Real Alternatives?

Newsmax wrote on October 24:

“Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney should by no means make a bid for the presidency in 2016 because ‘he had his chance and he blew it,’ says real estate mogul Donald Trump… Trump also expressed his disappointment with Romney’s performance in the final four weeks of the 2012 campaign against President Barack Obama… ‘That was an election that, frankly, should have been a much easier election than the probable 2016 candidate Hillary [Clinton]. That was an election that should have been won by the Republicans.’ …

“Meanwhile, a Washington Post/ABC News poll out earlier this week found that Romney had the highest support among likely voters of any potential 2016 candidate, with 21 percent. A Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll last week showed that Romney would be the only potential GOP candidate who would beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa in a hypothetical match-up.  Specifically, 44 percent of likely Iowa voters said they would support Romney, compared to 43 percent who said they would back Clinton.”

None of that sounds too appealing…

China Buys New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Bloomberg wrote on October 7:

“New York City’s Waldorf Astoria hotel is set to become the biggest prize yet for buyers from China who have been pouring money into U.S. real estate as they seek stable investments outside their country… The Waldorf deal follows such high-profile New York acquisitions as Shanghai-based Greenland Holding Group Inc.’s purchase this year of a 70 percent interest in the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn…

“Earlier last year, a group including Zhang Xin, co-founder of Shanghai’s Soho China Ltd., took a 40 percent stake in midtown Manhattan’s General Motors Building, one of New York’s most-valuable office towers… $1.4 billion deal was the largest Chinese purchase of a U.S. building before the pending Waldorf sale… Chinese investors will have bought $2.7 billion of New York-area real estate in 2014, topping last year’s $2.6 billion…”

The Bible prophesied that due to the nation’s sins, Americans will become the tail and foreigners the head.

The Death Toll of the American Air Strikes in Syria

The Washington Post wrote on October 24:

“The United States launched its first airstrikes on militants in Syria on Sept. 23, and has continued the onslaught since. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday that 533 people have been killed in airstrikes since they began. That group counted 32 civilian deaths, including six children and five women… The human rights organization said that the number of militants could be much higher.”

Apart from the fact that God condemns war, the death of just one innocent person (“casualty of war”) is one too many.

Crisis between USA and Israel

The Associated Press reported on October 25:

“A top Israeli minister says there is a ‘crisis’ in in the country’s relations with the United States that must be fixed. Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s comments Saturday came a day after U.S. officials said the Obama administration refused Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon’s requests to meet several top national security aides.

“The White House and the State Department rejected Israeli proposals for meetings with Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry on his five-day trip to the United States. The administration is still miffed over negative comments Yaalon made about Kerry’s Mideast peace efforts and nuclear negotiations with Iran.”

More Turmoil in the Middle East

Al Arabiya News wrote on October 28:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday to keep building in all of Jerusalem, hours… after his government unveiled a plan to build 1,000 housing units in the eastern part of the city which the Palestinians demand for their future state… East Jerusalem is home to the city’s most sensitive Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. Israel says the whole city will forever be its capital, citing historical, religious and security reasons. The international community, including the United States, does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the eastern sector of Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek it as their future capital and oppose any Israeli construction there…

“In an urgent letter sent to Washington on Sunday night, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Americans to intervene in what he termed as ‘Israeli escalation in East Jerusalem.’ Abbas warned that if Israel continued with its current measures, including proposals that would allow Jews to pray at the Temple Mount compound, it would lead to an eruption of violence that would spiral out of control…

“Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities have asked the U.N. Human Rights Council to appoint an impartial inquiry commission to investigate the death of eight Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2014… ‘We call on the U.N., the European Union and the United States to take immediate punitive actions so that Israel bears responsibility for the use of live weapons and the killing of Palestinian citizens,’ PLO member Hanan Ashrawi said.”

Israel Closes Temple Mount

The Times of Israel reported on October 30:

“Israel decided Wednesday night to prohibit access to the Temple Mount Thursday to both Muslims and Jews until further notice, following the shooting in Jerusalem of Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a right-wing activist with the Temple Mount Faithful… Right-wing activists, including some members of Knesset, had called to march on the Temple Mount en masse Thursday morning in response the shooting which left Glick in serious, but stable, condition.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an increased police presence in Jerusalem, as security forces were on high alert across the country… Glick was shot three times outside the Jerusalem’s Begin Center following a conference about the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Police were still searching for the unidentified assailant who was wearing a helmet and was said to have fled the scene on a motorcycle.

“Glick had finished a speech at a conference at the Begin Center, entitled ‘Israel returns to the Temple Mount.’ Eyewitnesses said that after the event, a man with an Arabic accent approached Glick and asked him for his identity. The man then shot the victim, got on the motorcycle and fled…

“Housing Minister Uri Ariel, a proponent of a Jewish presence in east Jerusalem, said that the bullets fired at Glick ‘were aimed at all Jews who wish to pray on the Temple Mount,’ 24 news reported. He also demanded open Jewish access to the site in response… US-born Yehudah Glick, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Othniel, near Hebron, previously worked as the executive director of the Temple Institute, an organization that prepares vessels and garments for a future Jewish temple, before joining the Temple Mount Faithful…

“The shooting came amid weeks of rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem. Last week a Palestinian man drove a car into a crowded train platform located along the seam separating East and West Jerusalem, killing two. In the days following, Palestinians have clashed continuously with Israeli police in Arab neighborhoods of the capital. Israel responded to the rise in violence by increasing its police presence, deploying an additional 1,000 officers to the city. The shooting took place as diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the growing tensions in Jerusalem.”

Egypt Declares State of Emergency

Deutsche Welle reported on October 25:

“Egypt has declared a [three-month] state of emergency across much of the Sinai Peninsula [near the borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip] after a suicide car bombing that killed some 30 troops. A curfew was also introduced, while the border with the Gaza Strip was closed… [It] also ordered a three-hour curfew for the northern Sinai Peninsula, which has been plagued by Islamist violence…

“A decision was also taken to close the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip, the only point of entry into the territory that is not controlled by Israel.”

Islamist Terrorist Attacks in Canada

Newsmax wrote on October 22, 2014

“A gunman attacked Canada’s parliament on Wednesday, with gunfire erupting near a room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was speaking, and a soldier was fatally shot at a nearby war memorial, jolting the Canadian capital. The gunman in the parliament building was shot dead, and Harper was safely removed…

“Two U.S. officials said U.S. agencies had been advised the suspect was a Canadian convert to Islam… It was unclear whether there was any connection between Wednesday’s shootings and an attack on Monday when a convert to Islam ran down two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one, near Montreal, before being shot dead by police in the first fatal attack on Canadian soil tied to Islamic militants. Canada’s prime minister called the Ottawa shooting the country’s second terrorist attack in three days.”

The War Against Circumcision Continues in Israelite Countries

JTA wrote on October 22:

“A new poll indicates that 74 percent of Denmark’s citizens believe circumcision should be fully or partially banned… Two Danish parties favor a ban, while others are divided on the issue. Only 10 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed believed the decision should be left to parents… Sweden and Norway also are discussing circumcision bans. Earlier this year, Norway’s association of nurses urged the government to outlaw the procedure.”

Denmark, Sweden and Norway are part of the ancient House of Israel. 

Assault Against Religious Liberty

Newsmax wrote on October 15:

“The city of Houston has issued subpoenas to a group of pastors requesting any sermons they’ve written that cover the subject of homosexuality, gender identity, or mention of Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. The subpoenas came after pastors protested against Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance that the city council passed in June which, among other clauses related to sexuality and gender identity, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa in an effort to protect transgender rights…

“Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said in a statement he is ‘simply stunned by the sheer audacity’ of the subpoenas… Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz blasted the subpoenas, calling the move ‘shocking and shameful… For far too long, the federal government has led an assault against religious liberty, and now, sadly, my hometown of Houston is joining the fight,’ Cruz said in a statement. ‘This is wrong. It’s unbefitting of Texans, and it’s un-American. The government has no business asking pastors to turn over their sermons.’”

Newsmax added on October 25:

“Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s decision to issue subpoenas for sermons from the city’s Christian pastors was for ‘much larger political and constitutional stakes’ than just to coerce disclosure from the ministers, says Newt Gingrich… ‘The Mayor of Houston’s recent subpoena of sermons by Christian pastors in the country’s fourth largest city is a shocking violation of First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion,’ says Gingrich… ‘There is no clearer violation of First Amendment freedoms than for government officials to attempt to censor religious speech.’

“… there is an established strategy to paint protecting traditional moral values and ‘opposition to newly-invented sexual and gender identity rights’ as being malicious, says Gingrich. This was recently backed by the 2013 Supreme Court decision that invalidates the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. ‘Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that the only purpose of those who supported this traditional definition of marriage was to “disparage,” “injure,” “degrade,” “demean,” and “humiliate” certain groups of fellow citizens,’ says Gingrich.”

We can expect more and more governmental intrusion into and assaults against religious liberty and the teaching of the Bible.

Francis Not a Valid Pope?

The Independent wrote on October 25:

“The Catholic Church is changing – and the gates of reaction shall not prevail against it… Can you be more Catholic than the Pope? The American arch-reactionary Pat Buchanan clearly thinks so. He has been lambasting Pope Francis for sowing ‘confusion among the faithful’ by refusing to defend ‘the unchanging truths of Catholicism’. Indeed, says the US Catholic paleo-conservative, the Pope may be ‘speaking heresy’, which would imply that Francis is ‘not a valid pope’.

“Yet how does this high-octane indignation square with widespread reports at the end of last week that a liberal Pope had been defeated by doctrinaire traditionalists in his attempts to make the Church more welcoming to gays and divorcees? The fortnight-long Extraordinary Synod on the Family ended with headlines like: ‘Pope snubbed’ and ‘Liberal Hopes Dashed’.

“The answer is that, as the dust settles, what has become clear is that, for all the hoo-ha made by conservative cardinals, the overall outcome has been a remarkable advance for those who want the Catholic Church to be more compassionate and inclusive. The vociferous minority who tried to box the Pope into a corner, on gays and divorcees who remarry, may have won one small battle. But they are losing the wider war…

“The truth is that this Synod was extraordinary in many ways. The story began last year when Pope Francis asked for a questionnaire to be sent out all around the world to find out what ordinary Catholics thought about the teachings of their church on a range of controversial issues like premarital sex, contraception, divorce, remarriage and same-sex relationships.

“This had never been done before. Indeed, previous popes made it clear that they did not want to know what the people in the pew thought. They should just pray, pay and obey. Next Pope Francis focused the agenda by inviting one of the Church’s major progressives, Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany, to make the case to his fellow cardinals for lifting Rome’s ban which forbids Catholics who have divorced and remarried from receiving Communion.

“Then, at the opening of the Synod, the Pope binned the approach of previous popes which discouraged debate, silenced theologians and suppressed dissent. Instead he announced he wanted a strong and vigorous debate. People should listen with humility but speak with clarity and boldness. There was to be no self-censorship by cardinals who feared their views might upset the Pope. This stood in stark contrast to previous synods where Vatican officials went round privately telling participants not to mention certain subjects.

“The Pope certainly got the frank debate he wanted. It was so open that, halfway through the synod, an interim report on the discussion between the 190 cardinals, bishops and others was described as a ‘pastoral earthquake’ because of its unprecedented language of welcome and appreciation for gay people, as well as remarried Catholics and cohabiting couples.

“It was immediately met by strong dissent from a conservative minority who felt their views were unrepresented in the interim report… The vehemence of the response had its impact. When the bishops came to vote on the gay and remarriage issues most voted in favour of a more compassionate approach. But the votes did not achieve the two-thirds majorities desired in synods. The media reported that as a defeat for Pope Francis.

“The reality was different. The way the Church governs itself has been significantly changed. Bishops are now openly discussing ideas for which they could have been investigated, censured, silenced or fired under previous papacies. And a growing number of reform-minded bishops voted against the final text because it was too conservative rather than too liberal. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said he did not vote for the final wording on gays because it did not include the words welcome, respect and value…

“Pope Francis will want to bring along the majority of people with his instincts for change. But he will continue to send out signals of his desire. He will continue to appoint bishops who share his vision… Change is coming in the Catholic Church. The blustering of an outraged conservative minority will not hold back the tide.”

Interestingly, conservative bishops say that it was just a small liberal minority who unsuccessfully advocated change regarding the hotly-contested issues of marriage, homosexuality and communion. See the next article.

Split in the Catholic Church?

Newsmax wrote on October 21:

“A leftist element within the Vatican was behind a controversial church document calling for liberal attitudes toward gays, divorce and remarriage, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights [said]. The liberal bishops who wrote it made a calculated gamble that it would pick up steam when they flagrantly leaked it to the press, Donohue said… On Saturday, Catholic bishops — after a two-week meeting called a synod — passed a revised document that spells out the Roman Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality, marriage, divorce, and sex.

“The document was missing passages from a draft released earlier in the week that had a surprisingly liberal acceptance of gays, unwed Catholics who live together, and remarried divorcees who want to receive Holy Communion. Several gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups praised the earlier document, but some bishops then went public to blast the draft and insist the church was not changing…

“Donohue said there remains a split among top bishops about how the church should move forward on divorce and remarriage. ‘There’s no question. That’s the big split…’

“Donohue thinks the church will not waver on marriage [as being between a man and a woman]… After the revised document was released, Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Church should not be afraid of change and new challenges.”

Is a big split coming in the Catholic Church? 

Pope Adopts Big Bang and Evolution

Mail On Line reported on October 27:

“The Big Bang, which scientists believe led to the formation of the universe some 13.8billion years ago, was all part of God’s plan, Pope Francis has declared. The Pope said the scientific account of the beginning of the universe and the development of life through evolution are compatible with the Catholic Church’s vision of creation. He told a meeting of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Sciences: ‘The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.’ But he said Christians should reject the idea that world came into being by chance.

“Likewise, evolution was all part of God’s plan, he explained… The Catholic Church no longer teaches creationism – the belief that God created the world in six days – and says that the account in the book of Genesis is an allegory for the way God created the world.”

Of course, the Pope is wrong… again. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Evolution—A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

“Demonic” Artificial Intelligence (AI) Our “Biggest Existential Threat”

The Independent wrote on October 26:

“Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has described artificial intelligence as a ‘demon’ and the ‘biggest existential threat there is’, in his latest dramatic statement about technology… The business magnate, inventor and investor, who is also CEO and CTO of SpaceX, and chairman of SolarCity, has warned about artificial intelligence before, which he believes could be more threatening than nuclear weapons…

“The ethical issues around AI were highlighted earlier this year when Google bought the British start-up DeepMind for $400 million (£242m). The London-based firm, founded by chess prodigy Demis Hassabis, specialises in algorithms and machine learning for e-commerce and games. But Mr Hassabis has also predicted that AI machines will learn ‘basic vision, basic sound processing, basic movement control, and basic language abilities’ by the end of the decade. Google has acquired a slew of robotics firms, including Boston Dynamics

“That purchase – Google’s largest European acquisition – came just months after it bought Boston Dynamics, a firm that produces life-like military robots. Google has reportedly set up an ‘ethics board’ in wake of the purchases but concerns remain.”

The article also sets forth several AI inventions which are already in operation:

“Lincor–A bedside computer that entertains patients while engaging them with relevant information and advice.

“SwiftKey–Understands the context of language and how words fit together.

“Celaton–Applies AI to labour-intensive clerical tasks.

“Darktrace–Uses advanced mathematics to detect abnormal behaviour in organisations instantly in order to manage risks from cyber attacks.”

The Washington Free Beacon added on October 27:

“Swarms of highly intelligent militarized robots are predicted to hit the battlefield in the near future and could spark a modern day arms race, according to a report released Monday by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Teams of interconnected robots will change the way America and other countries fight their wars, providing them with more range and the ability to conduct ‘suicidal missions’ without risk to living humans…

“The study predicts that in the very near future, advances in technology will allow ‘swarms of robotic systems’ to effect ‘dramatic, disruptive change to military operations’—and that the United States must significantly step up its focus on these technologies or risk losing its status as the world’s preeminent fighting force…

“While the United States and other major powers have made great advances in unmanned technologies—such as drones and other remotely piloted devices—the report predicts that global militaries will soon enter a race to perfect the tactic known as ‘swarming,’ in which droves of militarized robots act together on the battlefield…

“However, severe U.S. defense budget cuts known as sequestration threaten to stymie America’s investment into these critical new technologies and could leave the country vulnerable to enemies, according to the report… ‘the number of combat ships and aircraft in the U.S. inventory has steadily declined, even during periods of significant growth in defense spending. Today’s acute fiscal pressures only exacerbate these trends, forcing a crisis not only in military modernization and readiness, but also in the ability to field sufficient quantities to be relevant in future fights,’ the report warns.”

Ebola Airborne or Droplet Borne… or Both?

Newsmax wrote on October 14:

“No virus that causes disease in humans has ever been known to mutate to change its mode of transmission. This means it is highly unlikely that Ebola has mutated to become airborne. It is, however, droplet-borne — and the distinction between the two is crucial… Doctors mean something different from the public when they talk about a disease being airborne. To them, it means that the disease-causing germs are so small they can live dry, floating in the air for extended periods, thus capable of traveling from person to person at a distance. When inhaled, airborne germs make their way deep into the lungs.

“Chickenpox, measles and tuberculosis are airborne diseases. Droplets of mucus and other secretions from the nose, mouth and respiratory tract transmit other diseases, including influenza and smallpox. When someone coughs, sneezes or, in the case of Ebola, vomits, he releases a spray of secretions into the air. This makes the infection droplet-borne. Some hospital procedures, like placing a breathing tube down a patient’s air passage to help him breathe, may do the same thing.

“Droplet-borne germs can travel in these secretions to infect someone a few feet away, often through the eyes, nose or mouth. This may not seem like an important difference, but it has a big impact on how easily a germ spreads. Airborne diseases are far more transmittable than droplet-borne ones.”

Incurable worldwide disease epidemics will increase in these end times.

Weird Things About Halloween and Satanism

The Huffington Post wrote on October 24:

“You may already think that Halloween is a pretty bizarre holiday… Chances are you really have no idea just how weird Halloween truly is…

“Halloween’s origins come from a Celtic festival for the dead called ‘Samhain.’ Celts believed the ghosts of the dead roamed Earth on this holiday, so people would dress in costumes and leave ‘treats’ out on their front doors to appease the roaming spirits…

“According to ancient Roman records, tribes located in today’s Germany and France traditionally wore costumes of animal heads and skins to connect to spirits of the dead. This tradition continued into modern day celebrations of Samhain, the Celtic holiday that inspired Halloween in America. On this day, merry-makers often dressed as evil spirits simply by blackening their faces. The leader of the Samhain parades wore a white sheet and carried a wooden horse head or a decorated horse skull… Young people also celebrated by cross-dressing…

“The jack-o’-lantern comes from an old Irish tale about a man named Stingy Jack. According to folklore, Stingy Jack was out getting sloshed with the Devil when Jack convinced his drinking partner to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks without spending money. Jack then put the Devil, shaped like a coin, into his pocket, which also contained a silver cross that kept the Devil from transforming back. Jack promised to free the Devil as long as the Devil wouldn’t bother him for a year, and if he died, the Devil could never claim his soul. Jack tricked the Devil again later, getting him to pick a piece of fruit out of a tree and then carving a cross into the bark when the Devil was in the branches. This trick bought Jack another 10 years of devil-free living.

“When Jack finally died, God decided he wasn’t fit for heaven, but the Devil had promised never to claim his soul for hell. So Jack was sent off to roam Earth with only a burning coal for light. He put the coal into a turnip as a lantern, and Stingy Jack became ‘Jack of the Lantern’ or ‘Jack o’ Lantern.’ Based on this myth, the Irish carved scary faces into turnips, beets and potatoes to scare away Stingy Jack or any other spirits of the night…

“Studies have shown that Halloween actually makes kids act more evil… putting costume-wearing kids into groups and introducing a clear object of desire, such as candy, has been shown to lead to ‘deindividuation.’ This psychological term explains what happens when a group of maturing young minds begins to care less about the consequences of their individual actions, leading them to do things that they might not do alone.

“One study in particular found that unsupervised costumed children in groups were far more likely to steal candy and money than both non-costumed kids and children not in a group…”

Halloween is a demonically-inspired and Satan-worshipping festival. True Christians must have NOTHING to do with it. Note also the following article by the Huntington Post, dated September 19:

“Have you ever wondered what a Satanic children’s coloring book might look like? Well, thanks to the great state of Florida you can now know for certain. Behold, the ‘The Satanic Children’s Big Book of Activities,’ a coloring book that is being disseminated across Orange County public schools… The details: A Christian group received permission to distribute Bibles and other religious materials to their students, leading atheist groups to appeal for an equal opportunity. It wasn’t long before the Satanic community hopped on board as well.

“‘If a public school board is going to allow religious pamphlets and full Bibles to be distributed to students — as is the case in Orange County, Florida — we think the responsible thing to do is to ensure that these students are given access to a variety of differing religious opinions, as opposed to standing idly by while one religious voice dominates the discourse and delivers propaganda to youth,’ the Satanic Temple’s spokesperson, Lucien Greaves, explained in a statement. ‘I am quite certain that all of the children in these Florida schools are already aware of the Christian religion and it’s Bible, and this might be the first exposure these children have to the actual practice of Satanism. We think many students will be very curious to see what we offer.’”

We hope and pray that parents and schools will be intelligent enough NOT to have curious children and young pupils try to find out anything related to the damnable curse of Satanism. 

Obama the New War President

Politico wrote on September 23:

“With his new offensive against Islamic State terrorists in Syria, Barack Obama has a chance to revive his presidency, but the only way he can do that is to become a brand-new president, one who will be almost unrecognizable to his supporters…

“So is Obama now a war president? As air strikes in Syria commenced Monday, there was no longer any doubt that this is his new role… what is happening now no longer falls into the category of cleaning up old wars… This is a wholly new war, Obama’s very own, and it is out in the open…

“It’s not that Obama has been shy about using force in the past six and a half years. But he has preferred to do it covertly…

“The risk today… is that Obama will be forced to compromise on his pledge of no new boots on the ground. In his Sept. 10 speech, he said: ‘It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.’ And yet as many as 1,700 U.S. troops are now acting in a vague role as advisers and trainers in Iraq, and it is reasonable to think that some U.S. operatives are helping to direct air strikes into their targets in Syria. The question is whether that can continue, or whether Obama will be forced to widen U.S. involvement…”

Quite a Different Message

US News wrote on September 24:

“Obama appears to be edging toward justifying a larger war. On Tuesday, he said the current attacks in Syria—which are opposed by the Syrian government—are designed to send a message “to anyone who would plot against America and try to do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people.” He also said the conflict will be lengthy and difficult.

“Obama… is now sending a far different message than he did when he ran for president. That message was so impressive that Obama won the Nobel peace prize shortly after taking office in 2009 because of his stated commitment to working for peace around the world and ending the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bild Online wrote on September 26:

“That’s how quickly it can happen, Barack Obama—from being the Winner of the Peace Nobel Prize to becoming War President… What has gone so terribly wrong?…  In one word: Weakness. His motto, ‘leading from behind’ is devastating. … Obama leaves behind a world of chaos…”

At War for Generations to Come?

Chicago Sun Times wrote on September 24:

“America will be at war for generations to come… It is impossible to feel optimistic about prospects for peace in Syria, or true democracy in Iraq or an end to Muslim sectarian strife anywhere in the Middle East. It’s hard to feel optimistic even about the ‘broad coalition,’ including Arab states such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, that Obama has pulled together to fight ISIS, which he called a ‘network of death.’

“Obama gave no hint as to just how fragile and queasy that coalition really is. All five Arab nations on board have declined to even mention the United States in their official statements of support… This war, and others to come, could go on for years…”

German analysts stated that the new war would go on for at least 20 years…

A Divided and Deeply Inconsistent Coalition…

The Huffington Post wrote on September 25:

“The U.S. administration… is between a rock and a hard place: Saudi Arabia desperately wants Assad’s head on a plate and volunteers to fund the ‘war’ effort for that end. But, for Obama to assent to Iranian-Russian conditions [to leverage the ‘war’ precisely (and only) at ISIS in Syria and Iraq]– and thereby indirectly strengthen President Assad — he will cause outrage in the Gulf and amongst the ‘moderate’ Syrian exile insurgents. By doing as the Gulf wishes (attacking Assad’s forces), however, he will almost certainly tip Russia, Iran and Hezbollah into overt opposition and escalation, which will greatly complicate the war on ISIS in Syria (and in Iraq, too).

“Turkey, too wants to ‘use’ the war on ISIS, but the Turkish immediate objective is not to weaken ISIS, but rather to help ISIS undermine the Syrian Kurdish semi-autonomous region that lies adjacent to Turkey’s own restless (and far from autonomous) Kurds.

“… in the final analysis, the deep inconsistency — and likely cause of this whole enterprise’s ultimate failure — is simply the paradox that the West’s allies of choice will not, and cannot, be true ‘partners’ to this ‘war.’…”

“Why the Military Campaign Against ISIS Will Fail”

The Times of Israel wrote on September 26, republishing an article which had appeared in The Globalist:

“No matter how much Washington and its allies may wish otherwise, the military campaign against ISIS will fail, possibly with disastrous consequences.  Surprisingly, this outcome is not dependent on the issue that is currently so hotly debated – whether or not there will be ‘boots on the ground’ (and whose).

“To understand why, one needs to consider the dynamics and legacies of history. In the ultimate analysis, the existence of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) can be ascribed in good part to the fact that… there was no reformation in the world of Islam…

“If one bears in mind the immense contribution made by the Arab world to science and civilization in centuries past — and indeed the fact that not that long ago cities like Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and Alexandria were booming global centers of commerce and creativity — notably in the arts — then one can arrive only at one conclusion. The panorama of the Arab world today is indeed depressing and discouraging. Compared with most other parts of the world, it is in regress as opposed to progress.

“It can only be remedied by the Arabs themselves, based on a profound reform and indeed renaissance of Arab society…  by virtue of insight — and not by external military force. Until and unless these reforms — this reformation and renaissance — occur in the Arab world, all Western interventions will fail, and indeed in all probability make the situation worse. The proposed battle to ‘the gates of hell’ against ISIS will suffer the same fate…”

Deja Vu as UK Heads Back to Iraq

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 26:

“The UK Parliament voted in favor of joining the military action against the ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq… The move was approved on Friday by a vote of 524 in favor to 43 against.

“The decision makes the UK the latest country to join the anti-IS coalition. As well as the Arab states taking part in the US-led military campaign against the terrorist militia ‘Islamic State,’ France has already bombed targets in northern Iraq. Denmark too announced on Friday that it was sending seven F-16 planes to join the campaign, while Belgium and the Netherlands have also sent combat aircraft…

“It seems that the West is now irrevocably set on another bloody adventure in the Middle East, less than three years after US troops were finally withdrawn from Iraq following a nine-year war.

“That war is now widely seen as a mistake in the UK – former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s fall from popularity was largely down to his support for it – and Cameron on Friday was eager to suppress the obvious comparisons… a study published in April this year by UK-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute found that ‘there is no longer any serious disagreement’ that Britain’s participation in the 2003 Iraq war contributed to the radicalization of many young Muslims in Britain.”

Mr. Cameron told the UK Parliament that the military engagement would go on for “years.” It was noted in the press that the UK was acting cautiously—even though the UK Parliament authorized military actions – because of distrust towards the USA.

Boots on the Ground

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 27:

“General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that between 12,000 and 15,000 US-trained and –armed rebel fighters would be required in Syria to defeat IS… Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has also offered seven F-16 fighter jets… for use over Iraq, not Russia-ally Syria… Germany has committed weaponry, humanitarian aid and training for Iraqis either fighting against or displaced by the ‘IS’ advance, but has ruled out direct military intervention. The first German weapons deliveries arrived in Iraq on Friday.”

Die Zeit Online reported on September 26 that the USA is in need of 15,000 Syrian rebels to fight for the coalition and against ISIS. According to Der Spiegel Online, dated September 27, 2014, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated some willingness to support fighting against ISIS, provided, among other conditions, that there would be boots on the ground.

The Huffington Post wrote on September 28 that House Speaker John “Boehner also said he believes that at some point the United States will have to send combat troops to fight the Islamic State. ‘At the end of the day, I think it’s going to take more than airstrikes to drive them out of there,’ Boehner said Sunday. ‘At some point, somebody’s boots have to be on the ground.’ Asked if those boots had to be American, Boehner said, ‘We have no choice.’”

Was There Really an Imminent Threat from Khorasan?

The website of Kansas.com (linked by the Drudge Report) published the following article on September 26:

“European counterterrorism specialists say their American counterparts never mentioned an imminent plot by al-Qaida operatives in Syria to attack Western targets and didn’t brief them on the group that’s supposedly behind the plan, a previously unknown terrorist unit that American officials have dubbed the Khorasan group.

“The interviews with the specialists, from two European NATO allies with close intelligence ties to the United States, raise questions about why the United States used its first series of airstrikes on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Syria to also attack eight installations belonging to the Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate that anti-government rebel groups consider an important ally in their fight to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad… U.S. officials… said the strikes were intended to break up a plan for an imminent attack.

“The European specialists, who meet regularly with U.S. officials on terrorism issues… said… [such] an omission [to warn them]… seemed unlikely if the plot were truly imminent.”

“Germany’s Military Feet of Clay”

The Local wrote on September 25:

“On Thursday at 10.30am a German military plane left Bonn for the Senegalese capital Dakar. It was carrying ten tonnes of supplies and a field hospital to help fight Ebola in Liberia. Almost nine hours earlier, but 12 hours late, a Dutch air force flight took off from Leipzig taking military equipment to Kurds in Iraq fighting the Islamic State (Isis). This is the role Germany wants its military to play on the world stage – transporting humanitarian aid and where necessary military trainers and equipment to help in the world’s trouble spots. But its military appears unfit for the task.

“Last week, the first military trainers being sent to join the Kurds were delayed after their own Transall aircraft broke down. Much of the Bundeswehr’s equipment is not combat ready. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended the Bundeswehr in the media on Wednesday, describing it as ‘highly capable’…

“German units are still in Afghanistan. Others are providing air defence in Turkey, hunting pirates off the coast of Somalia, and training troops or providing logistical support across Africa. But politicians’ promises that Germany will use its troops and material to intervene abroad and provide disaster relief, as in Iraq and West Africa, are placing a heavy load on the already strained Bundeswehr.

“… just 24 of the air force’s 56 Transall transport planes, which will be critical for the Iraq and West Africa missions, [are] fit to fly. The air force is close to overload with its fighter planes also well under half strength. Helicopters, too, are a weak point, with half the navy’s fleet grounded and only 16 of 83 CH-53 transport helicopters flight ready.

“There are also problems with the army’s Boxer personnel carriers and the navy’s frigates. Just 70 of the 180 armoured vehicles and seven of the 11 ships are in fighting condition… Germany spent €48.8bn, 1.4 percent of GDP, on its military in 2013, well below the target of two percent confirmed at a NATO summit in Wales in early September.”

Even though the German people might not like it, politicians will very soon work on substantially improving the Bundeswehr and bringing it up to speed.

Eric Holder’s Resignation Long Overdue

The Washington Times wrote on September 25:

“The nation thirsts for a successor who goes back to the old model, where the attorney general doesn’t check party affiliation before deciding whether to act or what to do… The next attorney general will have an uphill battle in repairing the damage done to the integrity of the Justice Department. John Fund and Hans von Spakovsky, authors of ‘Obama’s Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Justice Department,’ cite inside sources who describe Justice as ‘racialized and radicalized’ under Mr. Holder ‘to the point of corruption.’… Mr. Holder has consistently put partisan politics at the top of his agenda.

“He bashes America as a ‘nation of cowards’ because Americans don’t want to listen to harangues about race… It’s not a good sign that Al Sharpton, the noted theologian and race hustler, says that he is ‘engaged in immediate conversations’ with the White House about the selection of Mr. Holder’s successor…”

The involvement of the infamous and highly objectionable Al Sharpton—who truly gives religion a bad name—is  a matter of the greatest concern.

The Huffington Post wrote on September 28: “Holder has agreed to remain in his post until his successor is confirmed by the Senate — so, given the current state of D.C. dysfunction, he may be AG for some time to come.”

NEXT: Julia Pierson Resigns as Secret Service Director

The Washington Post reported on October 1:

“Julia Pierson resigned as Secret Service director on Wednesday after just 1 1/2 years on the job following a series of major security lapses that eroded President Obama’s confidence in her ability to run the agency tasked with protecting him.

“Pierson’s abrupt departure — one day after Obama expressed full confidence in her — came as lawmakers from both parties were calling for her ouster after her halting performance during a Tuesday House hearing.

“A decisive factor in the president’s change of heart, aides said, was that he learned only from news accounts Tuesday that a private security guard with a gun and a criminal history had not been screened before being allowed to board an elevator with him last month in Atlanta.”

Embarrassing as this latest resignation is for President Obama’s now lame-duck administration, the world is being given more and more evidence that America is no longer a dependable or even a capable ally.

“Married Couples Now a Minority in US”

“Married couples have become a minority in the United States during the past few years, while those married pairs with children comprise just one in five households… married couples living together, with or without children, accounted for 48.7 percent of households…

“In 2012, women living without a mate accounted for 15.2 percent of households, while men living without one comprised 12.3 percent. ‘Other family households’ accounted for 17.8 percent, mostly unmarried couples living together, with or without children, and to a lesser extent married couples living apart…

“The consistently decreasing percentage of Americans who are married is surely related to the rising percentage of U.S. babies born to unwed mothers… 36 percent of the generation of Americans born from 1993 through 2012, who are beginning to turn 21 this year, were born to an unmarried mother.”

Russia Puts Pressure on EU Against Ukraine

The EUObserver wrote on September 26:

“Russian energy minister Alexander Novak has warned that EU states which re-export gas to Ukraine will face cut-offs… Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia earlier this year began shipping Russian gas to Ukraine in order to help it cope in winter after Russia stopped supplying Ukraine in a price dispute which is bogged down in legal arbitration.

“Earlier this month, Russian gas flows to Poland temporarily dropped by 45 percent and to Slovakia by 10 percent in what was blamed on technical reasons. For its part, Hungarian gas distributor FGSZ on Thursday said it will no longer supply Ukraine ‘until further notice’ also due to ‘technical reasons’ linked to increased demand at home. But Ukraine transit firm Naftogaz said in a statement the decision is political.

“… two recent EU-brokered deals, on a ceasefire in east Ukraine and on EU-Ukraine free trade, have attracted criticism.  The ceasefire, agreed on 5 September, has seen Ukraine pass laws to let pro-Russia rebels stay in place in Donetsk and Luhansk and to create a buffer zone between the two forces… [Regarding the] EU-brokered trade deal…  Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said in a letter to the EU commission… that he will impose trade sanctions on Ukraine if it starts to make any pro-EU economic reforms in the next 15 months. He added that the substance of the trade treaty must be modified to meet Russian demands.”

EU Condemns Russia

The Local wrote on September 26:

“The EU condemned Russia on Friday for barring entry to the German leader of the Green fraction in the European Parliament who flew to Moscow to observe a trial of a Ukrainian pilot accused of espionage… Rebecca Harms, who co-chairs the Greens group in the European Parliament, said she was refused entry on Thursday despite holding a diplomatic passport. She said she was then sent on a flight back to Brussels after authorities told her they objected to her voting for sanctions against Russia…

“European parliament president Martin Schulz said he would lodge a formal protest with the Russian embassy in Brussels over the treatment of Harms. ‘I strongly denounce this grave diplomatic incident which is a worrying setback for relations between the European Parliament and Russia,’ he said.”

“Japan’s Cabinet Rocked by New Claims of Links to Neo-Nazis”

The Independent wrote on September 28:

“Japan’s government is weathering accusations of links to far-right groups that promote racism and hate speech. Several members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, including the Police Minister, have been forced to deny their neo-Nazi links after photographs surfaced of them posing with far-right figures…

“Mr Abe’s government has raised eyebrows with its far-right profile. Sixteen cabinet members belong to the League for Going to Worship Together at Yasukuni, a Tokyo shrine that honours leaders executed for war crimes. Sixteen support Nihon Kaigi, a nationalist think-tank that advocates a return to ‘traditional values’ and rejects Japan’s ‘apology diplomacy’ for its wartime misdeeds.

“Many belong to a parliamentary association that… deny many wartime atrocities… In August, Mr Abe sparked controversy when he paid tribute to soldiers, including war criminals, who gave their lives for ‘the foundation of the fatherland’. The tribute was sent to a temple housing a monument to 1,000 ‘martyrs’ who fought in the Second World War…”

Pope: Pray to Angels!

CNA reported on September 29:

“On Monday’s feast of the archangels Pope Francis spoke of the ongoing battle between the devil and mankind, encouraging attendees to pray to the angels, who have been charged to defend us…

“Pope Francis concluded his homily by encouraging those present to pray to the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and to recite the prayer to Saint Michael often.”

While this may represent Catholic doctrine, suggesting that we should pray to angels flies in the face of what Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 6:9 in which He said we are to pray to the Father.

Scotland Stays—“But It’s All Over Anyhow”

Fox News wrote on September 19:

“Scotland’s decision to remain part of the United Kingdom in an historic referendum Friday gave British markets a brief lift, as fears of an independent Scotland causing economic havoc waned. After an unprecedented voter turnout of just under 85 percent, 55.3 percent were against independence to 44.7 percent in favor. The decision prevented a rupture of a 307-year union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

The EUObserver added on September 19:

“In the end nothing changed and everything changed. Scottish people voted with a decisive majority against independence on Thursday (18 September) but the conversation in the UK has only just begun. David Cameron, seemingly invigorated by almost becoming the PM who oversaw the break-up of the UK, has promised devolution for everyone. In Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England…”

Breitbart wrote on September 19:

“First the good news. Thanks to last night’s “No” vote in the Scottish referendum Britain has been spared the following: a run on the pound; the hasty exodus of Scotland’s finance industry;… a collapse in the markets;… the entirely unnecessary and utterly ill-considered rupture of the greatest Union between nations the world has ever known; waking up this morning to find ourselves no longer in bed with cherished (if fractious) friends, allies, partners and comrades alongside whom we’ve fought, loved and prospered for over 300 years.

“Now the bad: it’s all over anyway.

“What… [the] Scottish National Party (SNP) insurgency achieved in Scotland last night is [this:] Yes they may have lost the battle. But it was their stepping stone towards ultimately winning the war… [They] are hardly going to view that 45 per cent they gained at the ballot box as a loss. Rather they will draw the conclusion that nearly half of Scotland’s population yearns for independence and that all they have to do now is press on…

“Their unlikely allies in this will be all those people in the rest of Britain driven to apoplexy by the concessions that have been made by the ‘Westminster government’… How can it possibly be fair, they’ll want to know, that… Scottish residents will continue to receive more than £1000 per capita per year of taxpayer-funded handouts than people in the rest of the United Kingdom? And how, with all these extra powers that Scotland’s parliament has been granted, can it be right that the 59 Scottish MPs at Westminster get to vote on matters exclusive to England, Wales and Northern Ireland… when their UK counterparts are denied any say on Scotland?

“The answers to both questions, of course, is that it isn’t. Which is why, in its desperate attempts to engender national unity by shoring up the Union, what the Westminster political class has actually ended up doing is sow the seeds for still further, deeper national division…”

Almost Queen of Scots

BBC News wrote on September 19:

“The Queen faced the prospect of becoming Elizabeth I of Scotland or even Elizabeth, Queen of Scots, had the Scottish people voted in favour of independence…

“As a 27-year-old, she was crowned more than 60 years ago in Westminster Abbey when she took a solemn oath to ‘govern the peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’.

“The Queen’s Scottish heritage has been an important part of her life. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, hailed from an ancient aristocratic Scottish family… The Queen is descended from Mary, Queen of Scots, James I, who was James VI of Scotland, and Robert the Bruce, who secured Scotland’s independence from England.”

Does God Exist?

NBC News wrote on September 18:

“The archbishop of Canterbury – the spiritual leader of the world’s 80 million Anglican Christians – has admitted he sometimes doubts whether God actually exists. Justin Welby made the comments during a relaxed interview in front of an audience at Bristol Cathedral, in England. ‘There are moments, sure, where you think, “Is there a God? Where is God?”’ The archbishop, who is also the leader of the Church of England, added that his admission was ‘probably not what the archbishop of Canterbury should be saying.’”

One in four people in Britain regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England. 1.7 million people take part in a church service every month, according to statistics from the Church of England.

The Guardian wrote on September 18:

“The archbishop of Canterbury… disclosed that, on a recent morning jog with his dog, he questioned why the Almighty had failed to intervene to prevent an injustice… Later in the interview, Welby said he was certain, however, about the existence of Jesus, even talking about his presence beside him…

“Welby, who was appointed to his post in November 2012, has frequently made known his feelings on a wide variety of issues… He has also offered wholehearted support for the consecration of women bishops, describing the rejection in 2012 as a ‘grim day’.”

Doubting the existence of God, but not of Jesus whose presence is being “felt,” seems rather incomprehensible. 

Russia and China—the NEW Warsaw Pact

The Washington Times wrote on September 19:

“The international security meeting in Paris on Monday showcased a world in fear of the growing threat that the Islamic State poses to the global order. A group of 26 countries have now vowed to fight the Sunni extremist group ‘by any means necessary,’ and more will continue to join the effort. However, there are two countries it seems that we, once again, can’t count on: Russia and China. Both nations — in different ways — are refusing to get on board.

“Russia is insisting that airstrikes must be coordinated with Damascus and Tehran. China has yet to acknowledge the proposal to participate in the U.S.-led coalition delivered last week by National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice. In this way, Russia and China are not only facilitating the power and reach of rogue regimes such as Syria and Iran, but are also continuing to solidify their alliance…

“Russian-Chinese collaboration has been growing for years, tracing back to the 2001 forming of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which Vladimir Putin called ‘a reborn version of the Warsaw Pact.’… Indeed, these longtime adversaries now work together along economic, technological, military and political lines.

“Russia and China proceed with strategic and tactical clarity — and often with mutual support. When Russia invaded Crimea in March, China abstained from a vote condemning it in the United Nations. When the European Union proposed new sanctions against Russia recently, Beijing loudly objected and suggested that additional sanctions ‘may lead to new and more complicating factors’ in Ukraine.

“Russia and China are increasing their military budgets across the board, while the United States is drawing down…

“The world is aflame today in no small part because of the influence of rogue regimes such as North Korea, Iran and Syria — and Russia and China have facilitated their activities, even if they often stay in the background… Russia and China are accomplished practitioners of cyberwarfare. The Justice Department indicted five Chinese officers of the People’s Liberation Army for cyber-espionage in May. Russian hackers, almost certainly affiliated with the Kremlin, have wrought havoc on American businesses with cyber-attacks…

“Mr. Putin has aroused memories of 1939 with his aggression in Ukraine, where tens of thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of tanks are currently operating — and he has hinted that he may move on to the Baltics. In a telephone conversation with the outgoing head of the European Commission, Mr. Putin reportedly said, ‘If I want, I’ll take Kiev in two weeks.’ China is more subtle, but no less aggressive…”

Russia, China and other Middle and Far Eastern nations will combine forces in opposition to the West—and especially Europe. See the next article.

China and Iran Conduct Joint Naval Drills

The Times of Israel wrote on September 20:

“For the first time, Chinese warships docked in an Iranian port Saturday as Beijing and Tehran prepared to conduct a series of joint naval drills… The arrival of the Chinese ships came a few days after the Iranian Navy thwarted a pirate attack on a Chinese container ship in the Gulf of Aden…

“Last year, Iranian ships were in the Sea of China ‘to deliver Iran’s message of peace and friendship to the Chinese,’ [the semi-official Iranian news agency] Fars reported.”

Putin Puts the World on Notice… But Who Is Listening?

The EUObserver wrote on September 19:

“Ukraine leader Petro Poroshenko has warned the US that Europe is at risk of a ‘terrible and unimaginable … war’ despite his two-week ceasefire with Russia. But his speech, to US congress members and senators in Washington on Thursday (18 September), failed to convince the White House to send military assistance.

“Referring to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its invasion of east Ukraine, he accused the Kremlin of having an ‘imperialistic mindset’ which threatens not just Ukraine, Georgia, or Moldova, but also EU and Nato countries such as the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria…

“His speech comes after a leaked EU paper brought to light a fresh threat by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. ‘If I wanted to, in two days Russian troops could be not only in Kiev, but in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw or Bucharest,’ Putin is said to have recently told Poroshenko, according to the minutes of the Ukrainian leader’s conversation with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Kiev last week obtained by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung…

“But the White House said only it plans to give him another $53 million in non-lethal aid – $7 million for humanitarian assistance, and the rest for equipment such as counter-mortar detection units, body armor, binoculars, and small boats. With Russia’s annual military spending dwarfing Ukraine’s by a factor of 20 to one… American weapons would make no difference if worst comes to worst…

“For their part, the EU and Ukraine recently made a big concession to Russia by agreeing to freeze their free trade pact until 2016. But Russia on Thursday said it wants more.

“Its foreign ministry noted in a statement that the trade pact should be ‘modified’ in substance… It added that if Russia does not get its way, ‘we reserve the right to respond swiftly’ with trade penalties against Ukraine.

“… the Polish foreign affairs thinktank, Pism… said there is a 50 percent chance that Russia will, in October, launch a new offensive in south east Ukraine designed to create a land-bridge to Crimea. It said there is a 30 percent chance that by the end of the year Russian leader Vladimir Putin will try to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea by conquering all of south Ukraine. It said the worst case is a full-scale invasion, including of Kiev.”

Ukraine announced that they have lost over 60% of their weaponry in their ongoing conflict with Russia. Der Spiegel Online reported that very soon, they might have no weapons left. And there are more troubles ahead for Ukraine. The Local reported that “Relatives of German victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plan to sue Ukraine and its president for criminal negligence for not closing the country’s airspace.”

Russia’s Further Provocations

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on September 19:

“Russian strategic nuclear bombers carried out air defense zone incursions near Alaska and across Northern Europe this week in the latest nuclear saber rattling by Moscow… The new aggressive military posture appears to be an element of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policy of seeking to return Russia to its Soviet empire status.”

The Local added on September 19:

“The Swedish Armed Forces confirmed on Friday afternoon that two Russian SU24 fighter-bombers had been detected flying over the country… The Foreign Ministry said the Russian Ambassador had been summoned so that Sweden could make a formal protest… The planes left Swedish airspace after a Swedish Gripen plane was scrambled to warn them off.”

We can expect an escalation between Russia and Europe… with the USA only playing a marginal future role or no role at all in that coming conflict.

No Likely Reductions of Nuclear Weapons in Europe

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 19:

“Last summer in Berlin, President Obama called for ‘bold reductions’ in U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons to ease the risk of annihilation in Europe… But since last summer, that hopeful outlook has evaporated. Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and nuclear threats made by Russian President Vladimir Putin have killed any chance that the U.S. would withdraw its tactical nuclear weapons any time soon…

“Newer members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Poland and the Czech Republic, have openly advocated for continued deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe…

“The weapons spread over the continent are exposed to potential theft or accidents…The U.S. began sending battlefield nuclear weapons to Europe in the 1950s, when it was feared the Soviet Union’s conventional military superiority would allow it to overrun Western Europe… Over the last 15 years, this U.S. nuclear umbrella has extended over an additional dozen Eastern European nations that gained entry into NATO…

“Pressure has built in Washington for the Obama administration to do more than increase the economic sanctions on Russia that seem to have had little effect…”

And so, we are moving closer and closer to the threat of total annihilation of the human race—which would in fact occur if Christ was not to intervene at the last moment to save us from ourselves (Matthew 24:22).

USA in War With “Enemies of Islam”?

Breitbart reported on September 19:

“On Thursday, in a session with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) whether America was at war in Iraq and Syria. Kerry responded: ‘If you’re more comfortable calling it a war against this enemy of Islam then please do so. We’re happy to call it that.’

“So it’s official: America is at war with the enemy of Islam. However, strange bedfellows arise if the Obama administration so chooses to uphold Kerry’s claim that we are at war with the enemy(s) of Islam.

“The following displays that Secretary of State John Kerry is far from the only person who claims to be at war with Islam’s enemies:

“Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, ‘Caliph’ of the Islamic State: ‘Support the religion of Allah through jihad in the path of Allah… Terrify the enemies of Allah and seek death in the places where you expect to find it…’

“Osama Bin Laden, former leader of Al Qaeda: ‘I am not afraid of the American threats against me… As long as I am alive there will be no rest for the enemies of Islam…’

“Ayman al-Zawahiri, current leader of Al Qaeda: ‘I invite you to gather around the true scholars of Islam, support them and protect them. I invite you to back them and support them and guard them. And I invite you to launch a massive public uprising in defense of Islam against the enemies of Islam.’

“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran: ‘The enemies of Islam are afraid… and try to confront Islam in the name of Islam and under the cover of Islam… The American Islam, despite having Islamic appearance and name, complies with despotism and Zionism… and totally serves the goals of despotism and the US.’” 

Not All Senators Agree that America Must Arm Syrian Rebels

Deutsche Welle reported on September 18:

“The US had long supported forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, but had not provided direct military assistance. Now, however, the measure [to arm Syrian rebels, including some very radical groups] has been portrayed as a part of the package of measures designed to combat the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terror group, which has taken control of parts of Syria as well as Iraq…

“Outspoken Senator Rand Paul was among the politicians to vehemently question the military assistance for Syrian opposition fighters. ‘Intervention that destabilizes the Middle East is a mistake. And yet, here we are again, wading into a civil war,’ Paul, the son of perennial Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, said. Like his libertarian father in several races before him, Paul is considered a certainty to run in the Republican primaries as a possible presidential candidate. However, he is considered a highly unlikely final Republican choice for the 2016 presidential race.”

Breitbart wrote on September 20:

“Paul told Breitbart News that while he does, in fact, support going after ISIS, he does ‘not think arming the Syrian rebels is the appropriate way to do it.’

“Syrian rebels have explicitly mapped out their priority as a toppling of the Assad Regime. However, beyond that, their interests do not lie with principles of western democracy, particularly as it relates to Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East: 

“‘If the [Syrian] rebels are to win, even the moderate rebels, how many of them do you think will recognize Israel? None. How many of them do you think might turn their arms against Israel? Maybe quite a few. In fact, some of them have said that their goal is to take back the Golan Heights if they can defeat Assad. I think that the one truism of the Middle Eastern morass is that, when we have toppled secular dictators, chaos has ensued and the rise of radical Islam has occurred. Whether this was Hussein being toppled, Mubarak being toppled, Gadaffi  being toppled, or potentially Assad being toppled, what comes in their wake is worse than what we had.’”

This is so VERY true.

Disinterested Congress Far Too Quick to Vote for War?

The Washington Post wrote on September 19:

“Before the U.S. military attacked Saddam Hussein’s forces in 1991, Congress spent months considering its approval of the war. Twelve years later, another attack on Iraq came after three weeks of debate and intensive negotiations.

“But this week, the House and Senate each took only a few hours to sign off on President Obama’s plan to once again deploy the military in the Middle East, approving it as part of a broader budget bill before bounding out of town for a two-month recess and hitting the midterm campaign trail.

“Some on Capitol Hill were stunned by the seeming congressional disinterest on a matter of such importance. Now, lawmakers in both parties are asking an uncomfortable question: Has Congress forfeited its rightful role in the most solemn of all national decisions?…

“The sentiment was expressed Friday in a stern letter from a dozen lawmakers — six Democrats and six Republicans — who wrote to House leaders in both parties…

“Both chambers approved the measure with wide bipartisan majorities, but there were visible signs of discord. Eighty-five House Democrats — more than 40 percent of the caucus — bucked the president, demonstrating the anti-war left has a new rallying point. In the Senate, several rising stars who are considered potential presidential candidates — including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — rejected the proposal…

“Some lawmakers fear this week’s action will be akin to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which was approved in 1964 after President Lyndon B. Johnson said North Vietnamese forces had launched two unprovoked attacks on U.S. ships off Vietnam. The resolution stated that the United States was ready to do all it could militarily in the region but stopped short of openly approving military action. Presidents in both parties went on to cite that resolution — approved unanimously in the House — for an escalating war in Vietnam.

“Critics from both parties note that Obama’s legal and military advisers have cited the 2001 authorization regarding the Sept. 11 attacks to justify his authority to target Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. ‘It’s no longer applicable in any way. If you read it, it says “those responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11”, so it’s clearly outmoded and needs to be updated,’ McCain said… There was no update this week, however…”

Americans Support Air Strikes Against ISIS Even Though “They Won’t Do Any Good”

The Huffington Post wrote on September 20:

“Americans remain big supporters of airstrikes against the Islamic State militants, even though few think they’ll do any good… 66 percent of Americans now support the decision to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State… even though only 32 percent of Americans think taking such action against the Islamic State will improve the situation in Iraq and Syria. Twenty-five percent said military action won’t make any difference, and 17 percent said it will make things worse. Twenty-six percent said they weren’t sure…

“Moreover, few Americans think that just airstrikes — the form of military action currently being taken by the U.S. — will make much difference. Only 30 percent said it’s possible that airstrikes alone can be an effective way to fight the militants, while 40 percent say it’s not possible.

“That doesn’t mean they want to go any further, however… Just 38 percent of Americans said they support sending ground troops, while 44 percent were opposed. President Barack Obama has declared that ground combat troops will not be used, but administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have continued to float the idea.

“Similarly, only 32 percent of Americans said they support arming more moderate Syrian rebels, while 47 percent were opposed.”

It has already been determined by God Almighty that due to America’s abhorrent sins, America will not win this war or any other future war. As we have pronounced for years, America won its last war in 1945—and they did not win that war because of any righteousness of the USA, but simply because of God’s unconditional promise to Abraham to bless his descendants for a while. But God also warned that if they would not obey Him, He would take away His blessings. And so, there has not been any American victory since World War II, nor will there be one in this day and age. 

Forever War and Broken Promises?

The Associated Press reported on September 20:

“President Barack Obama’s military campaign against the Islamic State group already has extended beyond the limits he first outlined. But military experts inside and outside the administration argue that an even greater expansion may be needed for the mission to succeed, including positioning U.S. ground troops with front-line Iraqi security forces. Doing that could put Obama close to violating his pledge to keep Americans out of combat…

“For Obama, re-engaging in combat in Iraq would mean going back on promises about the current mission and undercutting a pillar of his presidency — ending long wars and avoid new ones…”

Subsequently, the Obama administration answered affirmatively the questions in this challenging article. Note the next article.

Now America Is Clearly At War

The New York Times wrote on September 22:

“The United States and [Arab] allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the air and sea on the militants’ de facto capital of Raqqa and along the porous Iraq border.

“American fighter jets and armed Predator and Reaper drones, flying alongside warplanes from several Arab allies, struck a broad array of targets in territory controlled by the militants, known as the Islamic State. American defense officials said the targets included weapons supplies, depots, barracks and buildings the militants use for command and control. Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from United States Navy ships in the region.

“The strikes are a major turning point in President Obama’s war against the Islamic State and open up a risky new stage of the American military campaign. Until now, the administration had bombed Islamic State targets only in Iraq, and had suggested it would be weeks if not months before the start of a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria.

“Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates took part in the strikes…

“The strikes in Syria occurred without the approval of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, whose government, unlike Iraq, did not ask the United States for help against the Sunni militant group… But administration officials acknowledge that American efforts to roll back the Sunni militant group in Syria cannot help but aid Mr. Assad, whose government is also a target of the Islamic State…”

The Washington Post added on September 23:

“… in ordering the attacks, Obama also thrust the U.S. military directly into Syria’s devastating civil war, something that he had steadfastly tried to avoid since the country began breaking apart in 2011… The Islamic State also represents a mortal threat to Assad and has beaten back his forces on several fronts. The Obama administration has said repeatedly that it would not cooperate with Assad in any way, even though the two sides now share an enemy. As a result, it was unclear how Assad’s armed forces would respond to unauthorized intrusions into Syrian airspace by U.S. warplanes….

“The Syrian government has some of the most formidable air defenses in the Middle East. Obama had publicly warned Syria in advance not to interfere with any U.S. operations against the Islamic State, saying the Pentagon would respond forcefully. In the end, U.S. military planners said they expected Assad would stand down and allow them to attack Islamic State targets freely…

“The Pentagon also has a large number of aircraft stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a NATO installation. But with the exception of unarmed U.S. surveillance drones based there, Turkish authorities have said they won’t allow the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State from their territory…

“Although France has agreed to join in airstrikes in Iraq, and last week conducted a bombing raid there, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday that his government did not believe it had the legal basis to join the Syria operations…”

Germany has ruled out joining air strikes or any ground offensive in the fight against Isis jihadists. However, the beheading of French citizen HerveGourdel by an Islamic State (IS) affiliated Algerian group known asJund al-Khilafah has changed popular thinking in France.

BBC News added on September 23:

“US forces also attacked a network of al-Qaeda veterans named Khorasan who had established a safe haven west of Aleppo (Syria) and were [allegedly] plotting imminent attacks against the West.”

Russia, Iran and Lebanon condemned the air strikes as being in violation of international law.

Bombing Syria Bad Decision

The New York Times wrote on September 23:

“President Obama has put America at the center of a widening war by expanding into Syria airstrikes against the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group known as ISIS and ISIL. He has done this without allowing the public debate that needs to take place before this nation enters another costly and potentially lengthy conflict in the Middle East… In the absence of public understanding or discussion and a coherent plan, the strikes in Syria were a bad decision.

“Mr. Obama has failed to ask for or receive congressional authorization for such military action… Meanwhile, Congress has utterly failed in its constitutional responsibilities. It has left Washington and gone into campaign fund-raising mode, shamelessly ducking a vote on this critical issue…

“With so much at stake and so much unknown, before he gets any further into this operation, Mr. Obama needs to… prove that he has fully accounted for the consequences of this foray into Syria.”

Obama Ignores Iran

JTA wrote on September 24:

“President Obama devoted the bulk of his U.N. speech to the fight against violent Islamic extremism and hardly mentioned Iran’s nuclear program.

“In his address last year to the General Assembly, Obama spent a great deal of time talking about Tehran’s nuclear pursuit, describing it as one of two major focus areas for American diplomatic efforts (the other was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). On Wednesday, he devoted just four lines to Iran… The thin coverage of Iran drew immediate notice from Jewish groups… Near the speech’s conclusion, Obama also spoke a bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…

“Most of the president’s speech focused on the need for the international community to counter what he described as the ‘cancer of violent extremism.’ At the top of the list was ISIS, the Islamic group in Iraq and Syria also known by the acronym ISIL…

“The first nation Obama focused on was Russia, which he lumped in with ISIS and the Ebola virus as reasons for ‘a pervasive unease in our world – a sense that the very forces that have brought us together have created new dangers.’”

President Obama and Vice-President Biden—How Quickly “Convictions” Change

National Review wrote on September 23:

“Joe Biden mocked Mitt Romney’s foreign policy during the 2012 presidential campaign — but Obama-approved air strikes in Syria, which commenced Monday evening, suggest that the administration is coming around to the position of the former GOP nominee. ‘He [Romney] said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home,’ Biden told an audience in York, Penn., on September 2, 2012.

“‘He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he’s ready to go to war in Syria and Iran.’ Biden also scoffed at Romney for his tough talk about Russia: ‘He wants to move from cooperation to confrontation with Putin’s Russia. And these guys say the president’s out of touch?’”

According to Breitbart, September 22, President Barack Obama dismissed F-22 fighter jets as ‘outdated and unnecessary’ in a speech on July 21, 2009. But according to the Wall Street Journal of September 22, the US used F-22 fighter jets in their airstrikes against ISIS and Khorasan targets in Syria. Der Spiegel Online reported on September 22 that the F-22 fighter jets are the most sophisticated and important fighter jets of the American air force. In addition, there are more challenges for the Obama administration: Eric Holder who was heavily criticized, among other problems, for the “Fast and Furious” debacle, announced that he will step down as Attorney General.

More than 100,000 Syrians Seek Shelter in Turkey

The Washington Post wrote on September 21:

“The number of refugees seeking shelter in Turkey from the Islamic State’s advance across northern Syria has hit 100,000 in less than a week… the figure represents Syrians escaping the area near the Syrian border town of Kobane, where fighting has raged between Islamic State and Kurdish fighters since Thursday.

“The U.N. refugee agency said earlier Sunday that about 70,000 Syrians had crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, and that it was preparing for the arrival of hundreds of thousands more. Those are significant numbers, even in the context of the 1.5 million refugees who have fled to Turkey in the past 3 ½  years… The refugees, most of them ethnic Kurds, have been desperate to reach Turkey and escape the advance of religious extremists barreling across Syria.”

Philippine Terrorists Linked to ISIS Threaten to Kill German Hostage

The Local wrote on September 24:

“Islamist militants in the Philippines have reportedly threatened to kill one of their two German hostages over German support for the US-led campaign against jihadists in Iraq and Syria… [The] two German hostages… were captured from a sailing yacht in April… US-based SITE, which monitors extremists’ activities worldwide, released a picture attributed to the Abu Sayyaf group a masked militant with a machete beside a grey-haired white man, reportedly a German doctor. A younger white woman, said to be the doctor’s girlfriend, with close-cropped hair was also shown, while other masked men stood behind them, armed with assault rifles and machine guns…

“Abu Sayyaf, considered a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’ by the United States, is a loose band of several hundred Islamic militants originally organized with Al-Qaeda funding in the 1990s. It operates on remote and largely lawless southern Philippine islands that are mostly populated by the nation’s Muslim minority. Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the Philippines’ worst terrorist attacks, including kidnappings, abductions and beheadings of foreign and local hostages. It was also blamed for the bombing of a ferry on Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people in 2004…

“In recent months Abu Sayyaf has uploaded videos on the Internet proclaiming its allegiance to the Islamic State group, which has taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria. The US military has had a rotating force of a few hundred soldiers based in the southern Philippines since 2002 to train local troops in how to combat the group.”

Pope Francis in Albania

The Associated Press wrote on September 21:

“Pope Francis denounced how extremists around the world are ‘perverting’ religion to justify violence as he arrived Sunday in Albania, a Balkan nation where Christians and Muslims endured brutal religious oppression under communism but today live and work together peacefully. Security was unusually tight for Francis’ visit to the majority Muslim country amid reports that militants who trained in Iraq and Syria had returned and might pose a threat…

“It was Francis’ first visit to a majority Muslim nation since the Islamic State crackdown on Christians in Iraq, where members of religious minorities are being killed, persecuted or forced to flee their homes. The Vatican has voiced mounting concern about the exodus of faithful from lands where Christian communities have existed for 2,000 years…

“Albania is seeking European Union membership and his visit comes just a few weeks before he delivers a major speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Albania’s president, Nishani, thanked Francis for making the country his first European destination, saying it was a historic event for all Albanians…

“The capital’s main Boulevard Martyrs of the Nation was decorated with Albanian and Vatican flags, as well as giant portraits of 40 Catholic priests who were persecuted or executed under Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who declared Albania the world’s first atheist state in 1967. Hundreds of priests and imams were jailed, scores executed before the regime fell in 1990…

“Francis has a busy schedule in Tirana: In addition to the address to Albanian authorities, he celebrated a Mass before tens of thousands of people in a rain-soaked square named for Albania’s most famous Catholic — Mother Teresa. Later in the day, he was meeting with leaders of different faiths…”

Muslims make up about 59 percent of tiny Albania’s population, with Catholics amounting to 10 percent and Orthodox Christians just under that.

Man-Made Climate Change or Not?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 22:

“Naturally occurring changes in winds, not human-caused climate change, are responsible for most of the warming on land and in the sea along the West Coast of North America over the last century, a study has found.

“The analysis challenges assumptions that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been a significant driver of the increase in temperatures observed over many decades in the ocean and along the coastline from Alaska to California.

“Changes in ocean circulation as a result of weaker winds were the main cause of about 1 degree Fahrenheit of warming in the northeast Pacific Ocean and nearby coastal land between 1900 and 2012, according to the analysis of ocean and air temperatures over that time.”

India First Single Nation to Reach Mars “At Its First Go”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 24:

“India has made history by becoming the first nation to reach Mars and enter the planet’s orbit in its maiden mission, a move that catapults the country into the scientific world stage…

“India’s low-cost Mangalyaan spacecraft entered orbit around the Red Planet on Wednesday, September 24, after a 10-month-long journey. The success of the mission represents a milestone in the country’s space program…

“With this achievement, India joins a club of deep space explorers such as the United States, Russia and Europe, all of which have reached Mars. The success is also a reason for national pride as India became the first single nation to reach the Red Planet and enter orbit at its first go. More than half of all missions to the planet have failed, including China’s in 2011 and Japan’s in 2003. Moreover, at a cost of 74 million USD, the mission cost is less than the estimated 100 million USD budget of the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Gravity’ and represents just a fraction of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, which began to successfully orbit the planet just a few days ago…”

Violent Chimps

AFP wrote on September 17:

“Chimpanzees can be lethally violent to each other… Chimps kill to wipe out rivals, thus gaining territory, mates, water or food… The evidence comes from an examination of five decades of research into 18 closely-studied chimpanzee communities in African forests. The researchers pored over 152 killings by chimps, most of which were carried out by males acting together.

“The groups would often band together to carry out murderous raids on another community, typically killing rival males and infants who were not genetically related. They sometimes snatched babies from nursing mothers to slaughter them but spared the females.

“The investigators had to determine whether these acts were driven by hunger, human disturbance or deforestation and whether the protected area the chimps inhabited was large or small. Most of the killings occurred in east African communities that were least affected by human interference of any kind.”

Neither evolution (survival of the fittest) nor God are responsible for this kind of conduct, either. There remains only one possibility, as discussed in our recent Q&A series on dinosaurs prior to man.

Dangerous Developments in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on September 12:

“Germany has banned the extremist group ‘Islamic State’…  Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere used a press conference in Berlin on Friday to announce the measure, saying the ban was immediately in effect… De Maiziere said the ban applied to any activities linked to the self-proclaimed ‘IS,’ including taking part in demonstrations or supporting the group through social media. It also included the wearing or display of IS symbols or collecting donations in the group’s name.”

The Local added on September 12:

“Germany on Friday officially banned Islamic terror group Isis from any activities in the country…  Thomas de Mazière announced the ban on flying Isis flags, wearing Isis symbols and all Isis activities… The move will also ban donations to the group, recruiting fighters, holding Isis meetings and distributing its propaganda…

“The ban, however, doesn’t mean Isis has been outlawed as a foreign terrorist organization, as a court judgement is needed to do that.”

According to Bild Online, the ban also refers to any activities on the Internet, Facebook or Twitter, and the passing on of any sympathetic information about ISIS except in an “objective, non-sympathetic” way for the purpose of reporting. Any violation can be fined or violators can be imprisoned for up to two years.

Die Welt Online added that the prohibition is based on Germany’s law for associations (“Vereinsgesetz”) “banning” foreign organizations which are active in Germany without the evidence of “judicially provable structures” (“gerichtsfest nachweisbare Strukturen”). This ambiguous and somewhat unintelligible term is of course subject to all kinds of interpretations.

Der Stern Online wrote that Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made the following announcement on Friday morning: “As Interior Minister, I hereby prohibit with immediate effect all activities of the terror group IS in Germany.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote that because ISIS has not been ruled to be a terrorist organization, de Maiziere had to use the “roundabout way” of the German law for associations (“Vereinsgesetz”) to prohibit ISIS and its activities.

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 13:

“… the ban of the terrorist organization… shows once more, how difficult it is for democratic states to respect law and order and still protect society from those who use the Middle Ages as a projection for the future. There will certainly be many experts who’ll reject the ban as inappropriate. But they should be asked what suggestions they have to put an end to the repulsive actions of ‘IS’… The interior minister’s ban is only a first step in this process. But it’s an important one.”

No decent person in his right mind would sympathize with ISIS; nor would he want it to conduct its murderous appalling and demonical terrorist activities in any country, including Germany (see other articles in this edition). What is very troublesome, however, is how de Maiziere pronounced the ban in an autocratic and dictatorial way, “as Interior Minister,” without the involvement of Parliament or the courts. This reminds us of activities which are known to occur in Russia, China, North Korea and former East Germany, but they should not occur in a working democracy.

De Maiziere’s reputation is very controversial for other reasons as well. Regarding the drone debacle of last year, many felt he would have to resign as (then) Defense Minister in Angela Merkel’s cabinet. But he stayed in power—a seemingly “deadly wound” was healed. Subsequently, he became (again) Germany’s Interior Minister, which he was before becoming Defense Minister.

Note this report of Der Spiegel Online of June 2013:

“The cancellation of the Euro Hawk surveillance drone program means the waste of a half billion euros in German taxpayer money. But somehow Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziére seems to have survived the debacle. German commentators wonder why… he admitted that his ministry had made significant mistakes leading up to the abandonment of the Euro Hawk program… he blamed senior Defense Ministry officials for not having kept him adequately informed.”

At the time, Business daily Handelsblatt wrote: “De Maizière, nominally responsible for the … chaos in the Defense Ministry, was not forced to admit that his portfolio is a state within the state, but he did have to come clean about the fact that there are many areas that operate in the shadows… and that are almost autocratic.”

De Maiziere’s latest move shows again his autocratic conduct as Interior Minister. This is VERY frightening indeed. Because it is ISIS today… but who is it going to be tomorrow, and the next day?

While Die Welt wrote at the time that Thomas de Maiziere “was also not exactly an innocent bystander,” die Berliner Zeitung was much more direct:

“…there are two possible conclusions to draw…: Either the minister is lying — or the Defense Ministry does indeed have its own agenda and de Maizière was unable to get it under control. Both versions are unsettling, and neither is complimentary of the minister.”

It appears that de Maiziere should be taken note of. 

Meet Thomas de Maiziere

On December 16, 2013, Deutsche Welle wrote the following about him:

“Thomas de Maiziere is Germany’s new -and old- interior minister and a close confidant of Angela Merkel. Sometimes tipped as a future chancellor, his political career has recovered from a surveillance-drone scandal… In 2011, he took over the defense minister post when Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg had to step down in a plagiarism scandal.

“De Maiziere also became known as ‘Merkel’s best man’ and as a talented politician with potential for higher office… One poll… placed him third among German politicians, behind only Merkel herself and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

“All that changed in 2013, when outrage over the cancellation of a surveillance drone project nearly cost him his credibility – and his job. In June, only 40 percent of Germans were ‘satisfied’ with the defense minister’s performance. But he resisted calls for his resignation – and kept Merkel’s backing, even when advisers told her to drop him ahead of November’s general election…

“He was born in Bonn, the capital of former West Germany, in 1954, the last of four children. His Huguenot forefathers fled religious persecution in France, resettling in Brandenburg, the region surrounding Berlin. His father, Ulrich de Maiziere, was an officer in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. By the war’s end in 1945, he had become a member of the Supreme High Command of the German Army. He continued his military career thereafter, advancing in 1966 to become General Inspector of West Germany’s newly founded Bundeswehr.

“Ulrich’s youngest son, meanwhile, was working his way toward graduating from a Catholic prep-school in Bonn. Thereafter Thomas de Maiziere joined a mechanized infantry battalion. By 1977 he had become a senior lieutenant in the reserve forces. After his military service, de Maiziere studied law in the cities of Freiburg and Münster, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1986…

“For Thomas de Maiziere, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 also marked his entry into politics and the reunification of his family. His cousin, Lothar de Maiziere, served as the only democratically elected prime minister of East Germany, holding that position over a period of approximately six months, from April 1990 until the reunification of East and West Germany on October 3 that year… Thomas de Maiziere worked under his cousin in 1990 as an adviser to the East German government. During that time he also became acquainted with Angela Merkel, a chemist who had joined an East German opposition party known as Democratic Awakening, which later merged with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU)…

“The entire issue [of the drone scandal] was virtually non-existent during the federal elections in September 2013. When it became clear that a grand coalition government of Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats (SPD) would come to pass, initial rumors were that Thomas de Maiziere would keep his post as defense minister. Those had to be revised after the official cabinet announcement: Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) will become Germany’s new defense minister, while de Maiziere will be returning to his old job of interior minister. Angela Merkel has managed to keep her ‘best man’ a part of her new cabinet.”

Angela Merkel was the protégée of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She replaced Kohl and became the new Chancellor (some claim that she did so by stabbing Kohl in the back). Will she experience soon something similar from her “best man,” Thomas de Maiziere?

Arm and Train Syrian Rebels—Escalation of America’s War

The Washington Post wrote on September 18:

“Even as the administration has received congressional backing for its strategy, with the Senate voting Thursday to approve a plan to arm and train Syrian rebels, a series of military leaders have criticized the president’s approach against the Islamic State militant group.

“Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis… became the latest high-profile skeptic on Thursday, telling the House Intelligence Committee that a blanket prohibition on ground combat was tying the military’s hands…

“Mattis’s comments came two days after Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took the rare step of publicly suggesting that a policy already set by the commander in chief could be reconsidered.

“Despite Obama’s promise that he would not deploy ground combat forces, Dempsey made clear that he didn’t want to rule out the possibility… He also acknowledged that Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander for the Middle East, had already recommended doing so in the case of at least one battle in Iraq but was overruled.”

It does not appear that the USA will be able to prevent from being drawn deeper and deeper into another war.

Misunderstanding ISIS and Islam

Times of Israel wrote on September 11

“[President] Obama… made the following remarks: ‘Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim…’

“This statement… underline[s] Obama’s general lack of knowledge and understanding of the Middle East and Islam. His statement about ISIL being not Islamic and Islam being a religion that rejects the killing of innocents is rather strange for someone who was raised as a Muslim. That’s because the Quran contains 109 verses that call upon Muslims to wage war against innocent nonbelievers.

“Here is for example one of these verses that clearly shows that ISIL’s recent beheadings, crucifixions and other atrocities are based on the holy book of Islam.

“Quran (5:33) – ‘The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement’…”

The article of Times of Israel continued by placing a link to the following website, http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm, quoting additional 108 verses from the Koran to prove its violent teaching.

Another Brutal Murder of a Hostage through ISIS Islamists

BBC News wrote on September 14:

“The UK will take ‘whatever steps are necessary’ to keep safe after a video showing the killing of [British] hostage David Haines was issued by Islamic State militants, the prime minister has said… In the video, IS threatened to kill a second Briton, named as Alan Henning, 47, a volunteer on an aid convoy… A masked man who appears to have a British accent was pictured beside Mr Haines holding a knife.

“[David] Cameron said of IS, also known as Isil and Isis, ‘they are not Muslims, they are monsters’… Mr Cameron also said the country was ‘sickened’ that a Briton could have carried out the ‘despicable’ killing…

“BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says several British prime ministers have pledged to bring the killers of a British hostage to justice whenever they are murdered in ‘cold blood’ by jihadists, but the reality is that historically the trail tends to go cold very soon afterwards. None of those who have taken British hostages in recent years have been brought to justice, our correspondent added.”

Breitbart added on September 14  that Mr. Cameron also said that Islam is a religion of peace. Mr. Cameron fell into the same trap as Mr. Obama. Of course, these ISIS terrorists are monsters, but it is incorrect to say that they are not Muslim; nor, that Islam is a religion of peace.

ISIS Planning to Murder the Pope?

International Business Times wrote on September 17:

“ISIS is planning to kill the Pope in one of his overseas trips, Iraq Ambassador to Vatican Habeeb Al Sadr warns. He said that the terrorist group had spoken of its plan to assassinate the Pope as he was vocally supporting U.S.’ intervention in Syria and Iraq. He underlined that the ISIS has foreign members – Canadian, American, French, Britain and even Italians. The group can instruct these members to kill the Pope when the opportunity arises.”

Inconsistent Messages on War

Reuters reported on September 13:

“Pope Francis said on Saturday the spate of conflicts around the globe today were effectively a ‘piecemeal’ Third World War, condemning the arms trade and ‘plotters of terrorism’ sowing death and destruction… ‘War is madness,’ he said… ‘War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying… Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often justified by an ideology …’ he said.

“Last month the pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God’s name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop ‘unjust aggression’ by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 13:

“… the pope didn’t point to any single nation or leader, but warned that less visible forces created the conditions for military conflict. ‘In today’s world, behind the scenes, there are interests, geopolitical strategies, lust for money and power, and there is the manufacture and sale of arms,’ he told a crowd of thousands at the graveyard, where more than 100,000 Italian soldiers who died in World War I are buried… ‘The shadow of Cain hangs over us today in this cemetery. It is seen here. It is seen from 1914 right up to our own time. It is seen even in the present,’ he added.”

Die Welt reported on September 13 that German Protestant Military Pastor Pascal Kober advocated war, stating that non-action was  tantamount to the people in the parable of the merciful Samaritan, who refused to help the man who had fallen under the robbers. He added that the hope for a better future required to act for a better future which included by necessity actions causing sin, stating that this was an understanding which Luther had.

Sadly, this “understanding” is not based on the Bible. True Christianity is indeed totally opposed to war; but this cannot be said about traditional or orthodox (so-called) Christianity.

First Catholic Marriage Ceremony of Its Kind in 14 Years

BBC News reported on September 14:

“Pope Francis has presided over the marriage of 20 couples at the Vatican, including some who were cohabiting, one of them with a child… It was the first papal marriage ceremony of its kind in 14 years…

“Pope Francis told the couples at the two-hour ceremony that marriage was ‘not an easy road, it’s sometimes a contentious trip, but that’s life,’ AFP news agency reports. Very slowly, the church under the guidance of Pope Francis is facing the fact that many Catholic couples cohabit before marriage, use contraception freely and divorce and remarry without seeking an annulment…

“He said in his homily that families are ‘bricks that build society’, but also believes that the church should forgive those who have sex outside marriage or who don’t obey church teaching to the letter.”

The Scottish Independent Referendum

Deutsche Welle reported on September 18:

“The votes are in, and the final results are not expected until Friday morning in Edinburgh. More than 4.2 million Scottish residents registered ahead of the referendum on independence from the United Kingdom… commentators remained cautious about a race that had proven far closer than many expected…

“Should Scotland support independence, politicians in London and Edinburgh would have around 18 months to hammer out the details of a split: Scotland’s planned Independence Day would be March 24, 2016. The potential implications of a yes vote internationally, for instance with membership of institutions like NATO or the EU, remain unclear.”

The Washington Post added on September 18:

“With civility and passion, nearly all of Scotland’s voters turned out Thursday for a historic referendum that offered residents of this ancient land the chance to create the world’s newest independent nation by breaking up one of its oldest unions… Then they settled in for the long and anxious wait until dawn to find out which country they’ll live in come 2016: an independent Scotland for the first time in more than 300 years or a Scottish nation that remains part of the United Kingdom.

“The campaign deeply divided Scots, with preelectionpolls showing voters almost evenly split… once the question of independence has been settled, Scotland will be under pressure to quickly heal its divisions. Whether the Scots opt for ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ nearly half the nation will be deeply disappointed.”

No EU-Ukraine Trade Treaty for Over a Year

The EUobserver wrote on September 12:

“Ukraine and the EU are to delay the entry into life of a strategic free trade treaty for more than one year due to Russian concerns. The trade pact was originally to enter into force on 1 November.

“But following meetings between European Commission trade chief Karel De Gucht, Ukraine’s foreign minister, and Russia’s economy minister in Brussels on Friday (12 September) it will now be implemented on 31 December 2015.  Defending the deal, De Gucht told press it means Russia will not impose trade restrictions on Ukraine in the next 15 months…

“The trade pact is 5kg of technical documents, but it has symbolic value in Ukraine. Hundreds of people died in the ‘Euromaidan’ revolution in February when Ukraine’s former leader decided not to sign it.  Thousands more died after Russia attacked Ukraine to stop it joining Western blocs.

“One Ukraine-based EU diplomat told EUobserver the De Gucht news caused ‘shock, astonishment’. He noted that European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko had earlier the same day in Kiev spoken of ratifying the treaty on 16 September and implementing it on 1 November. Barroso has on several occasions said Russia cannot have a veto on EU-Ukraine ties.”

Russia has won again; the EU turns out to be the big loser; and Ukraine is moving away from Europe and towards Russia—as is prophesied in Scripture.

India Applies for Full Membership in SCO

The Business Standard wrote on September 12:

“India Friday formally applied for full membership in the energy-rich Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a security grouping dominated by China, and said it is ‘ready to assume day to day responsibilities within the context of the bloc’. India has been functioning as observer at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan…

“The SCO has amongst its members three largest energy producers in the world – Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. India hopes that with an SCO membership it will gain more access to major gas and oil exploration projects in central Asia.”

Russia and China Sign 30-Year Gas Deal

Reuters reported on September 13:

“Russia and China are discussing more than 30 joint economic projects in a variety of areas from petrochemicals to banking… As Russia was hit by new sanctions by the United States and the European Union on Friday over its involvement in Ukraine…  Asian countries… [do] not support the Western sanctions and were keen to cooperate with Russia.”

It is prophesied that in these end times, Far Eastern Nations, including China, India and Russia (as well as its—former—satellite states) will form a coalition in opposition to Europe. 

The Ukrainian-Russian Ceasefire … Prelude for Another War?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:

“Under this military pressure, Kyiv agreed to a ceasefire… Ukraine had no choice. In fact, it capitulated to Russia’s superiority. Russia’s role is now far too great, with tanks, rockets and more and more new soldiers. The cynical and dishonest Kremlin continues to deny this is the case. But that it continues to lead the war in Ukraine is now well documented. Russian soldiers were captured and the fallen are buried in Russian cemeteries. Braver elements of the Russian media and the Union of the Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia have now reported it even inside Russia.

“With the ceasefire, Ukrainian President Poroshenko made a decision under duress…  Russia demands a high price: the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk will remain in the hands of the separatists… This moves Moscow one step closer to its goal:… the region will in the long run remain outside the control of Kyiv…

“Many Ukrainians were disappointed. Some regard Poroshenko and his government’s orientation towards Europe as the wrong choice, and that the Kremlin may be in the right…

“For the separatists and the Russian special forces, the ceasefire means a first respite. They can now consolidate their positions. And they can regroup, perhaps for an attack on other areas in eastern Ukraine. Therein lies the great danger, if it proves impossible to transform the ceasefire into a permanent truce.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin may have already given the go-ahead for further attacks. He recently questioned the statehood of Ukraine. He brought up the notion of ‘Novorossiya’ (New Russia), a vast area that could reach from Donetsk and Luhansk to Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa. This area was conquered by the Russian Empire during the 18th century war with the Ottoman Empire, but was never an independent state. Above all, Putin may want to create a corridor to the annexed Crimean peninsula, which can currently only be reached from Russia by sea or air…

“Some Ukrainians are already talking about treason and collusion between the West and Moscow, because Europe and the US have left them virtually alone militarily… [Ukraine is] at war with Russia. And the ceasefire hasn’t changed this predicament.”

Ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will join forces and collaborate against continental Europe. However, in the meantime, it was reported in the German press (by Stern and Bild), on September 6, 2014, that the “cease-fire,” which started Friday evening, was already broken and fighting resumed on Saturday, with Ukrainians and Russian separatists blaming each other. Further incidents happened subsequently as well. The occasional reports in the press that the cease fire was “holding” are therefore not completely accurate.

More European Economic Sanctions Against Russia

The EUobserver wrote on September 11:

“Poland and Slovakia have said gas supplies from Russia are down, as the EU prepares to impose new sanctions… Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary are involved in shipping “reverse-flow” gas to Ukraine after Russia cut off Ukraine gas in a price dispute…

“Gazprom’s reductions come the same week the EU adopted a new round of economic sanctions against Russia following its invasion of east Ukraine. Some EU states had wanted to wait and see if a ceasefire deal with Russia holds before implementing the new measures. But EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy announced on Thursday that they will enter into life the following morning… The Van Rompuy announcement saw the ruble fall to a historic low against the dollar.

“Russia… has threatened to block EU airlines from flying over Siberia to Asia… it also threatened to curb import of used cars, light industry materials, and some textiles.”

The USA announced on September 11 that they will also issue further sanctions against Russia.

NATO United?

Fox News wrote on September 5:

“President Obama on Friday delivered a tacit warning to Russia’s Vladimir Putin amid the unrest in Ukraine, vowing at the close of a NATO summit that the allies will not tolerate an attack on any member nation. ‘An armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all. This is a binding treaty obligation. It is non-negotiable,’ Obama said at a press conference…

“The U.S. has effectively ruled out military action in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member…”

It will still have to be seen what NATO will do if or when a NATO member is being attacked.

Germany’s Future Role

The Local wrote on September 5:

“The Western defensive alliance agreed on Friday to the creation of a ‘spearhead’ force to deter possible Russian aggression against its Eastern members. It will consist of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers and be capable of deploying within two to three days. Weapons, vehicles and equipment will be stockpiled in countries where they might be deployed, allowing the troops to travel light.

“Six German Eurofighter interceptors have been patrolling the Baltic Sea since September 1. Germany has also promised to send 60 more soldiers to Nato’s eastern headquarters in Stettin, Poland. Integrating German soldiers into the Nato ‘spearhead’ may be difficult, as the Bundestag has to approve any deployment of military forces overseas, a process which usually takes longer than a few days…

“Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry convened a meeting of a ‘core coalition’ of 10 nations on Friday to discuss tactics to fight terror group Isis on the sidelines of the conference. The coalition, which includes Germany, will need to ‘prevent [Isis] from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,’ Kerry said.

“Germany has already begun delivering military supplies, vehicles and weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, who have found themselves on the front lines of Isis’ rapid territorial expansion.”

Bild Online speculated on September 5 that Germany’s new military role might necessitate the reinstitution of the draft. 

The New NATO Spearhead Force—Mixed Feelings in Eastern Europe

The Associated Press wrote on September 6:

“Leaders in most Eastern European nations are just short of jubilant after NATO created a rapid-reaction ‘spearhead’ force to protect the region from Russian bullying… But not all share in the joy. Some who spent decades under the Soviet yoke — politicians and ordinary people — think that the move could enrage Moscow and undermine the sense of security they have felt since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO in the 1990s…

“Poland’s former ambassador to NATO, Jerzy Maria Nowak, believes that NATO’s decisions may be a comfort for some, but ‘for Russia they may be a provocation and a violation of the agreements’ it has with NATO…

“In Romania, which borders Russia across the Black Sea, reaction to NATO’s spear-shaking was also divided… Valerica Stefanescu, 57, who runs a small café on the sea front in the resort of Mamaia said everyone was ‘worried about the situation in Ukraine… But we don’t want to see more military presence on the Black Sea, we’d feel like it was war’…

“Nearby, retired mechanical engineer, Niculae Oprea, 66, drew an even gloomier picture. ‘[President Traian] Basescu will get us into a war, we are too small compared to Putin, who didn’t even bat an eyelid with Crimea. The sanctions aren’t hurting him. You saw how he placed an embargo and now you have fruit and vegetables rotting in Europe. The Russian bear won’t let us off lightly… He will turn off the gas and we will go to Russia crying and on our knees.’”

Russian Nuclear Pre-Emptive Strike on USA?

Newsmax reported on September 4:

“A Russian defense minister wants his country’s official military doctrine rewritten to allow for a pre-emptive nuclear attack against the United States and NATO, the Russian-language news agency Interfax reports.

“Russian Army Gen. Yury Yakubov said the doctrine, last revised in 2010, should be updated to classify the United States and other NATO countries as the ‘main enemy’ of Russia, Interfax reported on Wednesday…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday told children at a Kremlin-sponsored youth camp, ‘I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers.’”

Russia will not attack the USA prior to Christ’s return, but rumors of a Russian attack on Europe will prompt a future German leader to launch a pre-emptive strike against Russia.

Terror Attacks in Europe and USA in one or two Months?

The Washington Times wrote on August 30:

“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has a stark warning to America: The Islamic State’s terror will visit American shores in one month if it is not confronted in Syria and Iraq. ‘If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,’ the king said Saturday, Agence France Presse reported.”

Radical Islamists—Not Just a Tiny Minority

Breitbart wrote on September 4:

“Over the weekend, former President Jimmy Carter attended the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference in Detroit. There, he assured Muslims that the ‘principles of Allah; were designed to ‘bring peace and justice to all’… Carter isn’t alone… This week, Barack Obama said, ‘ISIL speaks for no religion’… Eric Holder has said that radical Islam is not consistent with the teachings of Islam. For years, George W. Bush assured Americans that Islamic extremists represented but a tiny minority of Muslims…

“American politicians, mostly Christian or atheist, know less about the nature of Islam and Islamic radicalism than members of ISIS… the polls show that Islamic extremism is on the rise… the enemy we face is not a ‘tiny minority’ of Muslims, let alone a rootless philosophy unconnected to Islam entirely…

“A new, widely-covered poll shows that a full 16% of French people have positive attitudes toward ISIS. That includes 27% of French between the ages of 18-24. Anne-Elizabeth Moutet of Newsweek wrote, ‘This is the ideology of young French Muslims from immigrant backgrounds…these are the same people who torch synagogues.’…

“In 2006, a poll for the Sunday Telegraph found that 40% of British Muslims wanted shariah law in the United Kingdom, and that 20% backed the 7/7 bombers. Another poll from that year showed that 45% of British Muslims said that 9/11 was an American/Israeli conspiracy; that poll showed that one-quarter of British Muslims believed that the 7/7 bombings were justified…

“A poll in 2011 showed that 32% of Palestinians supported the brutal murder of five Israeli family members, including a three-month-old baby. In 2009, a poll showed that 78% of Palestinians had positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. A 2013 poll showed 40% of Palestinians supporting suicide bombings and attacks against civilians. 89% favored sharia law. Currently, 89% of Palestinians support terror attacks on Israel.

“After the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the Gilani Foundation did a poll of Pakistanis and found that 51% of them grieved for the terrorist mastermind, with 44% of them stating that he was a martyr. In 2009, 26% of Pakistanis approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq. That number was 29% for troops in Afghanistan. Overall, 76% of Pakistanis wanted strict shariah law in every Islamic country…

“A 2009 poll showed that 68% of Moroccans approved of terrorist attacks on US troops in Iraq; 61% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan as of 2006. 76% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country…

“72% of Jordanians backed terror attacks against US troops in Iraq as of 2009. In 2010, the terrorist group Hezbollah had a 55% approval rating; Hamas had a 60% approval rating…

“In 2009, a poll demonstrated that 26% of Indonesians approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq; 22% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan. 65% said they agreed with Al Qaeda on pushing US troops out of the Middle East. 49% said they supported strict sharia law in every Islamic country. 70% of Indonesians blamed 9/11 on the United States, Israel, someone else, or didn’t know. Just 30% said Al Qaeda was responsible…

“As of 2009, 87% of Egyptians said they agreed with the goals of Al Qaeda in forcing the US to withdraw forces from the Middle East. 65% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country. As of that same date, 69% of Egyptians said they had either positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. In 2010, 95% of Egyptians said it was good that Islam is playing a major role in politics…

“In short, tens of millions of Muslims all over the world sympathize with the goals or tactics of terrorist groups – or both. That support is stronger outside the West, but it is present even in the West. Islamist extremism is not a passing or fading phenomenon – it is shockingly consistent over time…”

The concept that the “Holy Koran” –which was allegedly handed by the archangel Gabriel to Mohammed–preaches a peaceful way of life is an illusion. The Koran was not delivered through Gabriel, and Islam under its prophet Mohammed and his successors and different factions (Sunni and Shia) was a warrior religion from its very inception. Note the next article.

“Terrorizing the Enemy Part of Islam”

Newsmax wrote on September 5:

“A British imam gave a television interview this week in which he defended acts of terror, including the beheading of foreign journalists, as consistent with the teachings of the Koran, Breitbart News blogger John Sexton reported.

“London-based cleric Anjem Choudary told Russia Today that ‘terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam’ in an interview with the English-language RT news program, ‘Worlds Apart.’

“Choudary cited a passage of the Koran that calls for Muslims to use ‘steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah.’ ‘So terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam,’ Choudary said. ‘I mean this is something that we must embrace and understand as far as the jurisprudence of Islam is concerned.’

“Sexton wrote that, ‘Choudary went on to say that Muslims make no distinction between civilians and armed forces since civilians elect the leaders who direct the armed forces.’ Choudary, also a lawyer who lectures on Sharia law, headed an Islamic group, Al Muhajiroun, which was banned in the United Kingdom.”

President Obama said in his speech on September 10 that ISIS or ISIL is not a religion and does not represent Islam. He said this: “ISIL is not ‘Islamic.’ No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.” In light of the foregoing articles and a correct understanding of Islam, the President’s statements are clearly erroneous. ISIL is a radical Sunni group. ISIS murdered Shiites and those more liberal Sunnis who do not agree with ISIS. But that does not disqualify ISIS as being Islamic.

President Obama Pushes for War

The Washington Post wrote on September 11:

“Nearly six years into a presidency devoted to ending U.S. wars in the Muslim world, President Obama faced the nation Wednesday night to explain why he has decided to engage in a new one…

“Obama’s escalation of airstrikes and the use of U.S. personnel to help ‘degrade and destroy’ the extremist Sunni group represents a major setback for [the] commander in chief…”

Germany and Britain Will Not Participate in Airstrikes Against Syria

Deutsche Welle reported on September 11:

“German and British foreign ministers said on Thursday that their countries would not participate in airstrikes in Syria. The statements were in response to an address the previous day by US President Barack Obama that the US planned to expand its military campaign against the ‘Islamic State’ (IS)…

“Meanwhile on Thursday, the Syrian government criticized the US military campaign against IS militants within Syrian territory… Russia, the closest ally of Syrian President Assad’s government, also slammed the US’ strategy saying it would be a blatant violation of international law.”

USA in Cahoots with Iran?

The Washington Post wrote on September 5:

“The urgent fight to keep Islamic State forces­ from taking over more of Iraq has led the Obama administration to tolerate, and in some cases even approve, things it once would have loudly protested.

“When Iraqi Shiite militias, backed by Iran and long branded illegal by the administration, retook the town of Amerli from the Sunni Muslim militants last week, U.S. officials breathed a sigh of relief…

“Farther north, Kurdish fighters have occupied the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a prize the Kurds have long claimed but which lies outside the borders — recognized by both Baghdad and Washington — of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurd­i­stan region. Far from insisting the fighters withdraw, the administration is glad that someone is defending the city from the Islamic State…

“It is not, as one administration official said with significant under­statement, an ideal situation, and there is widespread recognition that facts are being created on the ground that are likely to cause problems in the future…

“While the administration has acknowledged discussing the Iraqi crisis with Iranian officials on the margins of separate talks about Iran’s nuclear program, ‘we do not coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and have no plans to do so,’ National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Friday… Asked whether there was a role for Iran in the international coalition the administration is forming to fight the militants in Iraq and ultimately in Syria, a senior administration official this week said, ‘I don’t know.’ But, the official acknowledged, ‘they already . . . have a role on the ground.’

“Iranian contributions have extended beyond weapons and advisers to the Shiite militias. Despite Tehran’s concerns about separatism within its own Kurdish community, it ‘was the first country to provide us with weapons and ammunition’ to fight the militants, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said late last month during a visit of Iran’s foreign minister.

“Iran is also believed to have conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.”

Iran, a Shiite nation, would obviously be opposed to a radical fundamental Sunni group. The idea of collaboration between the USA and Iran is very troublesome. See also the next article.

An Unusual Fragile Alliance

The Washington Post wrote on September 5:

“For weeks, Iraqi Kurdish fighters had joined an unusual alliance to free this dusty highway town besieged by Islamic State fighters. Shiite militias, Iranian trainers and U.S. military pilots had all contributed, finally wresting the city from the Sunni extremists and saving the 15,000 residents from starvation or brutal slayings.

“But on Friday, as the Kurdish pesh merga fighters approached the city to greet the residents they helped save, they were treated less like liberators and more like intruders. ‘Pesh merga forces are not allowed to enter this city!’ yelled a Shiite militiaman with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi group. He waved his rifle at them and the pesh merga retreated…

“The Obama administration’s strategy in Iraq is predicated on the country’s competing militia groups, as well as its battered army, setting aside their differences over territory, ethnicity and religion to form a grand coalition to battle the radical Sunni members of Islamic State. The aftermath of the fighting in Amerli shows how quickly this hodgepodge of militia forces can turn on each other as they fight for influence and the spoils of battle…

“The U.S. government has largely looked at the Kurds, who live in a semi-autonomous zone in northern Iraq, as a stabilizing force in the region. But the months of fighting are wearing on the pesh merga troops, who have begun to view everyone with distrust. The pesh merga forces — which are divided into two groups that report to the two major Kurdish parties — even suspect each other. Around Amerli, the pesh merga fighters complain that the best weapons from the U.S. government and Iran are going to Kurdish fighters associated with their rival party.

“The Sunnis and Shiites, meanwhile, say the Kurds are using the chaos to grab territory well beyond the Kurdistan region’s traditional borders with an eye to independence…”

UK Sends Heavy Machine Guns to Iraq

BBC News wrote on September 9:

“Heavy machine guns and ammunition are being donated to Iraq to help fight Islamic State militants, the Ministry of Defence says. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the equipment was worth about £1.6m, and there would be an estimated £475,000 in transport costs. He said the UK was committed to aiding the Iraqi government and helping Kurdish forces defend themselves.”

Venezuela Worships Hugo Chavez—Quite Literally

Deutsche Welle reported on September 8:

“‘Our Chavez, who art in heaven’ – Hugo Chavez’s most ardent admirers have been praying to the late Venezuelan leader with presidential support… At a recent congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, an activist actually recited a version of the Lord’s Prayer dedicated to Hugo Chavez, and was joined by hundreds of voices shouting ‘Viva Chavez!’ in place of Amen…

“As expected, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has denounced the use of Chavez’s name and called for respect for Christianity’s most sacred prayer… Less expected, however, at least from a rational perspective, was the reaction of the current Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro…  comparing the prayer to the work of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and calling critics ‘new inquisitors’…

“Maduro said during the 2013 presidential campaign that Chavez’s spirit had inspired him in the form of a ‘very little bird’… he spoke of Chavez as a ‘leader who embodied the values ​​of Christ.’…”

Hugo Chavez had been Venezuelan president for 14 years. The leftist leader was a staunch critic of the US. He retains huge popularity among the country’s working classes. Chavez lost his battle with cancer on March 5, 2013, at the age of 58.

Respiratory Illness for Children to Become Nationwide Problem in the USA

ABC News reported on September 7:

“A respiratory illness that has already sickened more than a thousand children in 10 states is likely to become a nationwide problem, doctors say. The disease hasn’t been officially identified but officials suspect a rare respiratory virus called human enterovirus 68… Doctors say they are not even sure yet how this particular virus spreads…

“Dr. Christine Nyquist, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said the virus usually ends up appearing similar to a severe cold but can be particularly dangerous for children with asthma because of how it affects the respiratory system… To stay healthy… basic sanitary practices [are recommended] to avoid spreading the virus, including washing hands, avoiding those who are sick, and covering the nose and mouth during sneezes or coughs.”

Meteorite Hits Nicaragua

BBC News reported on September 8:

“A small meteorite landed near the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, on Saturday night, government officials say. Residents reported hearing a loud bang and feeling the impact, which left a crater 12m (40ft) wide and 5m deep. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the meteorite seemed to have broken off an asteroid which was passing close to Earth…

“Astronomer Humberto Saballos said the meteorite could have broken off from the 2014RC asteroid which passed Earth at the same time. 2014RC, which is the size of a house, came closest to earth at 18:18 GMT on Sunday, when it passed over New Zealand at a distance of about 40,000km (25,000 miles).The asteroid was first discovered on 31 August and, at its closest approach, was about one-tenth of the distance from the centre of Earth to the Moon…

“It is expected to orbit near Earth again in the future. In February 2013, a meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Central Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people. Nasa currently tracks more than 11,000 asteroids in orbits that pass relatively close to Earth.”

“Dwarf”—Only Existing Animal of Its Kind

The Local wrote on September 5:

“Diederode, near the university town, boasts the world’s only living sheep-goat hybrid, which is now the object of study by scientists.

“Goats and sheep belong to the same sub-family of species, the Caprinae, but almost never produce offspring together. Livestock researcher Professor Christoph Knorr of Göttingen University told Focus that a cross between the two species is an extremely rare case. The animal in Diederode is the only one in the world which has been confirmed by scientists to be a true hybrid.

“Sheep farmer Dirk Pieper called it ‘Dwarf’ as it was so small, he told the Göttinger Tageblatt.”

The fact that even sheep-goat hybrids are extremely rare, even though they belong to “the same sub-family of species,” confirms the scientifically proven fact that a cross between two unrelated species from different families (such as a cross between a bird and a mammal) is impossible. This in turn proves the utter ridiculousness of the concept of the atheistic evolution theory.

Find of Largest Terrestrial Animal—So Far…

The Washington Post wrote on September 4:

“Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of a new long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur that has taken the crown for largest terrestrial animal with a body mass that can be accurately determined. Measurements of bones from its hind leg and foreleg revealed that the animal was 65 tons, and still growing when it died in the Patagonian hills of Argentina about 77 million years ago. ‘To put this in perspective, an African elephant is about five tons, T. rex is eight tons, Diplodocus is 18 tons, and a Boeing 737 is around 50 tons,’ said study author and paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara at Drexel University. ‘And then you have Dreadnoughtus at 65 tons.’

“Dreadnoughtus, meaning ‘fears nothing,’ is named after the impervious early 20th century battleships. Although it was a plant-eater, a healthy Dreadnoughtus likely had no real issues with predators due to its intimidating size and muscular, weaponized tail… ‘How do you come up with a body size that is so enormous when you’re a terrestrial animal?” said Luis Chiappe, director of the National History Museum of Los Angeles’s Dinosaur Institute, who was not involved in the study. ‘You need to have a structural design that allows you to support a body like that, and you have to be potentially adapted to eat 24 hours a day, nonstop, with a minimal amount of sleep.’

“The huge creature also had a smaller companion, which Lacovara and his colleagues also dug up. Both got caught in quicksand, which is how their bones became so well-preserved… The skeleton of Dreadnoughtus schrani is remarkably complete for a dinosaur of this size — over 70 percent of the bones were dug up, excluding the head…”

 

Remains of Largest-Known Carnivorous Dinosaur Found

BBC News wrote on September 11:

“A giant fossil, unearthed in the Sahara desert, has given scientists an unprecedented look at the largest-known carnivorous [aquatic] dinosaur: Spinosaurus… Scientists say the beast had flat, paddle-like feet and nostrils on top of its crocodilian head that would allow it to submerge with ease… Spinosaurus aegyptiacus remains were first discovered about 100 years ago in Egypt, and were moved to a museum in Munich, Germany. However, they were destroyed during World War II, when an Allied bomb hit the building…”

These huge dinosaurs did exist long before the creation of man. Please read our current series in our Q&As on whether there were dinosaurs prior to man.

USA—No Strategy Yet?

CNN wrote on August 29:

“It’s too soon to say what steps the United States will take against ISIS in Syria, President Barack Obama said Thursday. ‘I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,’ Obama told reporters during a White House news briefing. ‘We don’t have a strategy yet.’”

President Obama’s Unpopular Strategy

Fox News wrote on September 3:

“President Obama does have a strategy on dealing with the Islamist militants who have been beheading Americans and slaughtering religious dissenters in Iraq and Syria, but he apparently doesn’t feel very comfortable talking about it. Trying to mop up his mess from last week when he said he didn’t have ‘a strategy yet’ for dealing with the group, the president veered a bit in his press conference on a trip to Estonia… but then clarified that his aim was not to destroy the Islamist army but to hem in its forces until it was ‘a manageable problem.’ One sees now why Obama has been so reluctant to share his strategy since it is not one which Americans will likely accept. He probably should have just stuck with ‘we don’t have a strategy yet.’…

“In Estonia today, President Obama gave his first news conference since Steven Sotloff was beheaded by Islamist militants [see our report below]. It was also the first time the president answered questions since his infamous ‘we have no strategy’ line last week. And the president did something remarkable: He dug deeper. The big news going in was to see how the president ‘cleaned up’ last week’s statement. So after a strong opening about the atrocity of the newest beheading, the president said the strategy is to ‘degrade and destroy’ ISIS. But later, he backtracked and said [the] goal was to make ISIS a ‘manageable problem.’ So which is it? Destroy or manage? And how exactly do you manage barbarians who are beheading your citizens? What promised to be a clarifying moment instead offered more fuzzy wording. And we’re left again with the question – what is our strategy with ISIS?…”

Time published the following headline on September 2: “Obama Offers Muddled Message to Europe in Face of Crises.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel found stronger words than the Commander in Chief, saying on CNN on September 3 that the US is trying to destroy ISIS. But he also said that there will be no American boots on the ground, while admitting that airstrikes alone will not accomplish the goal. He never explained this glaring inconsistency.

Likewise, Vice President Joe Biden was far more outspoken than the President (even though this does not surprise too many), stating, according to Time (September 3) that “we will follow ISIS to the gates of hell because hell is where they will reside.”

USA Arms Lebanon—a Smart Move?

Reuters wrote on August 29:

“The United States has begun delivering nearly $20 million of arms including assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and mortars to bolster Lebanon’s army after Islamist insurgents seized a border town for several days this month…”

Germany Sends Weapons to the Kurds—A Smart Move?

The Local wrote on September 2:

“400 German citizens were currently fighting with Isis in Iraq and Syria and could return to carry out attacks in Europe, [Angela Merkel said]… For the first time, weapons from the Bundeswehr (German army) arsenal will be sent, including 40 machine guns, 500 anti-tank rockets, 16,000 rifles and 10,000 hand grenades.

“Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the arms would be used to outfit 4,000 Kurdish soldiers by the end of September. Some of the soldiers may be brought to Germany to be trained in their use… In a symbolic vote late on Monday, the Bundestag supported the government’s plans, with CDU/CSU and SPD members voting for and the Left and Green parties largely opposed.

“Left party leader in the Bundestag Gregor Gysi and Green leader Anton Hofreiter said that Germany would lose control of the weapons once they had been delivered… However, [Foreign Minister] Steinmeier shared his concerns about arming the Kurds, possibly enabling their longer-term goal of an independent state… ‘An independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq would lead to more secessions in the rest of the country,’ he said, causing ‘new battles over new borders and state territories.’”

The Massacres of the Demonic ISIS

The website of npr.org wrote on August 29:

“Ever since the Islamic State seized Mosul more than two months ago, it’s been difficult to get a detailed picture of life inside Iraq’s second largest city. But glimpses have emerged. This week, the United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, presented details of a massacre that took place at the city’s Badoush prison in June. Islamic State fighters seized more than 1,000 inmates. The group spared the lives of their fellow Sunni Muslims, but gunned down some 670 people.”

Newsmax wrote on August 29:

“Islamic State has issued a new video threatening the United States with more decapitations of prisoners and hostages while showing a Kurdish soldier being beheaded… The video was released just hours after the terror group… posted footage of the mass execution of 300 Syrian national army soldiers in the desert… The footage concludes with ISIS fighters parading near Mosul in armored personnel carriers, waving their black flags and brandishing weapons in the air…”

BBC News wrote on September 2:

“An Islamic State video has appeared which [shows] the beheading of Steven Sotloff, a US journalist [formerly with Time magazine] being held hostage by the militants… A militant in the latest video also threatens to kill a British hostage… The masked man, whose voice is similar to that of the executioner in the Foley video, then describes the act he is about to commit as retribution for the US air strikes…

“The US has launched more than 120 air strikes in Iraq in the last month, in an attempt to help Kurdish forces curb the advance of Islamic State militants and protect minorities threatened by them.”

ISIS Operates in Mexico, Plans Attack on USA

Judicial Watch wrote on August 31:

“Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle borne improvised explosive devices… High-level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that a warning bulletin for an imminent terrorist attack on the border has been issued…

“Specifically, the government sources reveal that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is confirmed to now be operating in Juarez, a famously crime-infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas. Violent crimes are so rampant in Juarez that the U.S. State Department has issued a number of travel warnings for anyone planning to go there. The last one was issued just a few days ago.

“Intelligence officials have picked up radio talk and chatter indicating that the terrorist groups are going to ‘carry out an attack on the border,’ according to one JW source.  ‘It’s coming very soon,’ according to another high-level source, who clearly identified the groups planning the plots as ‘ISIS and Al Qaeda.’…

“The disturbing inside intelligence comes on the heels of news reports revealing that U.S. intelligence has picked up increased chatter among Islamist terror networks approaching the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks…”

Islamist Terrorists in Possession of Stolen Libyan Passenger Jets?

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on September 2:

“Islamist militias in Libya took control of nearly a dozen commercial jetliners last month, and western intelligence agencies recently issued a warning that the jets could be used in terrorist attacks across North Africa.

“Intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks and included a warning that one or more of the aircraft could be used in an attack later this month on the date marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports.

“Meanwhile, officials said Egyptian military forces appear to be preparing to intervene in Libya to prevent the country from becoming a failed state run by terrorists, many with ties to al Qaeda. Libya remains an oil-rich state and if the country is taken over completely by Islamist extremists, U.S. counterterrorism officials believe it will become another terrorist safe haven in the region.”

Breitbart added on September 3:

“According to veteran reporter Bill Gertz, U.S. officials said that they received intelligence indicating eleven commercial aircraft could be used to attack New York City or Washington, D.C. on the anniversary of the September, 11, 2001 jihadi attacks on America… Tripoli Airport is currently occupied by two rival groups deemed ‘terrorists’ by the Libyan parliament: Misrata and Zintan, who had previously worked together to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

“On Monday, Libyan officials announced that their capital city in Tripoli had been completely lost to Islamist forces…”

Threat from Foreigners Overstaying Their Student Visas?

Newsmax wrote on September 2:

“The Obama administration is unable to locate 6,000 foreign nationals who have entered the United States on student visas, raising concerns about the government’s ability to track potential terror suspects who may already be in the country… The news comes as Prime Minister David Cameron  announced plans to block British jihadists with passports from re-entering Britain…

“U.S. immigration officials have had difficulty keeping track of the escalating number of foreign students entering the United States. In the past year alone, 58,000 students overstayed their visas… There are currently 9,000 institutions of higher learning which are on the government approved list certifying them to accept overseas applicants. But Congress has raised concerns that immigration officials have continued to grant schools certification even when they lack accreditation, state certification, or other measurable academic standards…”

In an atmosphere of hysteria, even these harmless categories become the subject of suspicion. But the real threat comes from another source: To demand state certification or accreditation of universities is far-fetched and supports universities which follow the dictates of state and government school curriculums.

Sinai Terrorists Behead Four Egyptian Men

JTA wrote on August 28:

“Four Egyptian men were beheaded by a Sinai-based terror group for allegedly spying for Israel… The terror group said that the men provided intelligence to Israel used in a July airstrike on northern Sinai… The Egyptian army said at the time of the strike that no Israeli aircraft had been in Egyptian airspace.”

Ukraine Turmoil Heating Up

Reuters reported on September 1:

“In the latest in a string of setbacks in the past week, Ukraine’s military said it had pulled back from defending a vital airport in the east of the country, near the city of Luhansk, where troops had been battling a Russian tank battalion… Ukrainian armed forces… fled a new rebel advance in the south which Kiev and its Western allies say has been backed up by Russian armored columns.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin… called on Sunday for immediate negotiations on the ‘statehood’ of southern and eastern Ukraine…

“[Ukrainian] Defense Minister Valery Heletey [said] that Ukraine no longer faced a threat from separatists but outright war with Russian troops…

“Putin made his statehood remarks two days after comparing the Kiev government with Nazis and warning the West not to ‘mess with us’…

“[German Chancellor Angela] Merkel took a hard line [advocating new sanctions against Russia], although she acknowledged the sanctions have hurt German exporters to the Russian market… EU leaders asked the executive European Commission to prepare further sanctions within a week…

“Putin called for the EU to think twice about stepping up the sanctions… ‘A political solution is the only way out. Sanctions do not help to solve the underlying problems in Ukraine,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

“Several EU countries heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, opposed new measures, which require unanimous agreement. ‘I consider sanctions meaningless and counterproductive,’ Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday. ‘I reserve a right to veto sanctions harming national interests of Slovakia.’”

Ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine?

Deutsche Welle reported on September 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko have said their two sides have reached a ceasefire deal… The ceasefire plan, agreed to during a telephone conversation, aims to end fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists…

“Putin spoke to the conditions of a ceasefire, saying Ukraine must withdraw all its troops and pro-Russian separatists must agree to stop offensive actions in eastern Ukraine. He said international monitors must be in place to observe any truce that is reached. The plan, published on the Kremlin’s website, says both sides must agree on an unconditional exchange of prisoners. It also rules out using combat aircraft against civilians in the conflict zone and calls for the creation of ‘humanitarian corridors’ for refugees and aid deliveries…

“Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk slammed Wednesday’s peace proposal announcement, calling it an attempt by Russia to deceive the West and avoid new sanctions. ‘The real plan is to destroy Ukraine and to restore the Soviet Union,’ he said in a statement. ‘All previous agreements made with Russia – in Geneva, in Normandy, in Berlin and Minsk – were ignored or brazenly violated by the Russian regime,’ Yatsenyuk added.”

…and Yatsenyuk is absolutely right.

New EU Sanctions Against Russia?

The EUobserver wrote on September 3:

“EU ambassadors are holding talks in Brussels on new proposals for Russia sanctions – seen by EUobserver – with ideas including ‘action’ to block its 2018 World Cup. The talks are taking place amid news of a ‘ceasefire process’ agreed between Kiev and Moscow, which EU diplomats regard with caution… [A proposal] adds that EU firms should stop providing ‘future associated services’ to Russian oil firms, in areas including: seismic services; drilling; well-testing; supply of floating vessels for deep water oil exploration and production; Arctic oil exploration and production; and shale oil projects in Russia…

“The ambassadors’ talks began after Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko announced earlier on Wednesday that he had agreed a ‘ceasefire’ with Putin by phone. But Russia later quashed the news, saying it cannot agree a ceasefire because it is not a party to the conflict… A Kiev-based EU diplomat said Poroshenko was ‘tricked by the Russians into making the announcement – this just gave them another chance to deny involvement in the conflict’.”

Russia Has Severed Its Relationship with Europe

The Local wrote on September 2:

“Russia has ‘effectively severed its partnership’ with Europe and wants to establish a new order, German President Joachim Gauck said on Monday…  Gauck [spoke] at a ceremony in Gdansk to mark the 75th anniversary of Germany’s invasion of Poland that set off World War II. Invoking the ‘miracle’ of post-war reconciliation between Germans and Poles, Gauck said he was disappointed with the turn of events in Russia…

“‘It was a shock when we were confronted with a new conflict on Europe’s borders. An armed conflict aimed at establishing new borders and a new order. It’s a fact, stability and peace on our continent are once again endangered,’ he added…”

Putin’s Further Ambitions

International Business Times wrote on September 1:

“Fears are growing in Kazakhstan over Moscow’s rhetoric towards the country following Russia President Vladimir Putin’s claim that ‘Kazakhstan never had any statehood’, it was ‘created’… Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union when it finally did so in December 1991…

“Putin’s comments conjure memories of a statement he made to former US President George Bush in 2008 when he said that ‘Ukraine is not even a state!’ during a Bucharest summit… Russia’s annexation of the Crimea Peninsula and its alleged incursion into eastern Ukraine and support of pro-Russian separatists have contributed to fears in Astana that Moscow may set its sights on other areas of the former Soviet Union.”

The New York Times added on September 2:

“President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reportedly told a European official that he could ‘take Kiev in two weeks’ if he wanted to, adding a new dimension to the tensions building in Ukraine as Russian forces become more involved in the fighting there… The Kremlin did not deny the remark, which was published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Monday, but on Tuesday it denounced the European official, José Manuel Barroso, for leaking details of what Mr. Putin understood to be a private telephone call.”

What IF Russia Were to Cut Off Gas Exports to Europe?

The EUobserver wrote on September 3:

“Finland would experience gas shortages even if Russia cut off exports just for one month, while other EU countries would last between three to nine months without Russian gas, according to a German study… Since Finland has no storage capacities and 100 percent of its gas comes from Russia, it would be the first country to experience supply shortages – up to 10 percent in the first month and over 50 percent if Russia halts gas exports for three months.

“A three-month Russian embargo would leave Poland with a 1.8 billion cubic metre shortfall and Turkey with a shortfall of 3.8 billion metres. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, the Balkan countries and Estonia would feel the effects of a six-month embargo.

“Meanwhile, if Russia switches off the tap for nine months, gas supplies in Germany, Italy and France would be ‘severely affected’ and a total of 46 billion cubic metres of European gas demand could not be served. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia would also have problems, as well as the countries already in trouble after three months (Finland, Poland, Turkey, Greece, Austria, the entire Balkan, Estonia and Switzerland).

“The countries in which gas supply would be secure even during a nine-month disruption are those who still have their own gas reserves, such as Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK. Countries importing from their neighbours or with LNG terminals would also be safe: Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

“The study also looks at the impact of one extremely cold week during a six-month disruption: ‘Supply shortfalls would occur in almost the entirety of Europe.’ In that scenario, Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Romania and Bulgaria would also be affected.

“But Russia would be hit too, as it would lose €4-4.5 billion of revenues for each month of an embargo, some 3.5 percent of Gazprom’s annual revenue…

“Similar ‘worse case scenarios’ are also being considered in the European Commission, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to affect the gas supplies to EU countries this winter. ‘That Putin would use false information, lies and weapons was beyond my imagination,’ energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in Brussels on Tuesday. ‘That’s why I am not ruling out worst case scenarios anymore,’ he added, referring to Europe’s energy security… Europe’s reliance on Russian gas is expected to last for at least another 10 years, according to US ratings agency Fitch. ‘Any attempt to improve energy security by reducing European reliance on Russia would require either a significant reduction in overall gas demand or a big increase in alternative sources of supply, but neither of these appears likely,’ Fitch said in a report on Tuesday.”

Planned NATO Military Exercise in Ukraine

Reuters reported on September 2:

“As fighting between the army and Russian-backed rebels rages in eastern Ukraine, preparations are under way near its western border for a joint military exercise this month with more than 1,000 troops from the United States and its allies.  The decision to go ahead with the Rapid Trident exercise Sept. 16-26 is seen as a sign of the commitment of NATO states to support non-NATO member Ukraine while stopping well short of military intervention in the conflict…

“In addition to staging air force exercises, the United States is moving tanks and 600 troops to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for joint maneuvers in October, replacing a more lightly armed force of paratroopers…

“The United States European Command (EUCOM) says the exercise this month will involve about 200 U.S. personnel as well as 1,100 others from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Britain, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain…”

Another NATO exercise in Ukraine (“Sea Breeze”)  with 400 US soldiers and 600 Allied soldiers is planned for the end of October. Russia responded that these planned exercises constitute provocations, fearing that NATO troops will stay in Ukraine after the exercises. Russia announced that in retaliation, it will conduct military exercises with more than 4,000 soldiers.

Italy’s Federica Mogherini New EU Foreign Police Chief and Poland’s Donald Tusk New EU Council President

BBC News reported on August 30:

“EU leaders have appointed Italy’s Federica Mogherini as EU foreign policy chief and Poland’s Donald Tusk as European Council president… Ms Mogherini, a centre-left politician, is Italy’s foreign minister. She will replace the UK’s Catherine Ashton. Mr Tusk, Poland’s centre-right prime minister, has been Polish leader since 2007. He will chair EU summits.

“The full-time appointments mean that the EU’s three top jobs are now filled. Mr Tusk and Ms Mogherini will work closely with the new European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker… Mr Van Rompuy said Mr Tusk would face three major challenges: the stagnating European economy, the Ukraine crisis and ‘Britain’s place in Europe’. He said the EU leaders were convinced that Ms Mogherini, 41, ‘will prove a skilful and steadfast negotiator for Europe’s place in the world’. He noted Italy’s ‘long-standing tradition of commitment to the European Union’.”

Who Is Donald Tusk?

The Guardian wrote on August 31:

“The elevation of Donald Tusk to one of the top jobs in Europe marks a coming of age for his native Poland. Ten years after joining the EU, Poland has secured the presidency of the European council and its prime minister has become the fixer for and mediator between Angela Merkel, François Hollande, Matteo Renzi, David Cameron and other European leaders. Tusk has already won the prestigious Charlemagne prize for leadership.

“Quiet, unassuming, firm and politically ruthless, the German-speaking centre-right liberal from Gdansk, the cradle of Poland’s anti-communist, anti-Russian revolution, has been one of the EU’s most successful and most pro-European prime ministers of recent years at a time when faith in the EU has been tested.

“… under Tusk’s seven years in charge of Poland and with the help of his anglophile foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, the country performed a strategic shift, redefining the country’s national interest. Coming into the EU, Poland was a natural ally of Britain… wary of the Franco-German dominion that ran the EU until the 2004 enlargement.

“Tusk inherited a Poland that was hostile to Russia and intensely suspicious of Germany, for good historical reasons. The alliance with the UK was reinforced by Britain’s championing of Poland’s membership against deep-seated west European reservations…

“Under Tusk and Sikorski, this has all changed. The keen pro-Americanism waned, leaving a sour taste. Tusk and Sikorski concluded that Britain and David Cameron in particular were making a mess of their tactics and strategy in Europe and with other EU governments.

“Tusk bonded with Merkel, the EU’s first among equals, cemented a close Polish-German alliance, and concluded that Poland’s destiny rested on its closest possible European integration, setting it at odds with a UK travelling in the opposite direction.”

What If Yellowstone Were to Erupt?

Time wrote on September 2:

“An eruption could blanket the east coast in a few millimeters and bury the Rocky mountains in several meters of ash. If Yellowstone erupted into a massive, ash-spewing volcano, how far might the plume travel across the continental United States? From coast to coast, blanketing every city in ash, according to an unsettling new study…

“[The] resulting ash cloud, depending on wind conditions, would blanket the continental United States in ash deposits of varying thickness… New York and Washington D.C., would get a light dusting of ash measuring roughly one-tenth of an inch, while San Francisco and Seattle would get a heaping 2 inches. Billings, Montana, meanwhile, would have to dig out from a 70-inch pile up.

“If the findings sound far-flunged, so to speak, researchers point out that Yellowstone’s last massive eruption spewed ash over tens of thousands of square kilometers. Deposits from that eruption have been traced as far afield as Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, the last time Yellowstone erupted on that scale was some 2 million years ago and counting…”

The above-mentioned report (published on onlinelibrary.wiley.com) reached the following conclusion:

“Geological activity at Yellowstone provides no signs that a supereruption will occur in the near future… [We] suggest a confidence of at least 99.9% that 21st-century society will not experience a Yellowstone supereruption. But over the span of geologic time, supereruptions have recurred somewhere on Earth every 100,000 years on average… As such, it is important to characterize the potential effects of such events. We hope this work stimulates further examination of ash transport during very large eruptions.”

Even IF one was to accept these figures as correct, since the last Yellowstone eruption allegedly took place 2 million years ago, and supereruptions occur on an average every 100,000 years, then this would mean that the Yellowstone eruption has been overdue for the last 1,900,000 years. This is not very assuring.

Russia Is Preparing for Invasion in Eastern Ukraine

The New York Times wrote on August 22:

“The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and was using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday. The West has long accused Russia of supporting the separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, but this is the first time it has said it had evidence that the Russian military was operating in Ukrainian territory.

“The Russian move represents a significant escalation of the Kremlin’s involvement in the fighting there and comes as a convoy of [100] Russian trucks with [alleged] humanitarian provisions has crossed into Ukrainian territory without Kiev’s permission…

“NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, criticized the Russian moves in a statement issued in Brussels on Friday. ‘I condemn the entry of a Russian so-called humanitarian convoy into Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities and without any involvement of the International Committee of the Red Cross,’ Mr. Rasmussen’s statement said… adding: ‘We have also seen transfers of large quantities of advanced weapons, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery to separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine. Moreover, NATO is observing an alarming buildup of Russian ground and air forces in the vicinity of Ukraine.’”

BBC News added on August 22:

“Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the [aid lorries] convoy was a ‘pretence’, that allowed Russia to encroach on Ukraine through unauthorised means… Meanwhile, Lithuania – a fierce critic of Russia’s actions in Ukraine – has said its honorary consul in Luhansk has been [kidnapped and brutally] murdered ‘by terrorists’, a term routinely used by Ukraine for pro-Russian separatists… The news came amid reports that some Russian aid lorries had reached Luhansk without any permission from Ukraine.”

Deutsche Welle reported on August 25:

“Moscow says it is sending more humanitarian aid to Eastern Ukraine – despite international condemnation of a first such convoy. Kyiv refused permission for the move, accusing Moscow of aiding the rebels.”

The Associated Press reported on August 25:

“For several evenings this month, convoys of military weaponry passed with clockwork-like regularity through Krasnodon, a rebel-held town in eastern Ukraine near the porous border with Russia. The convoys were seen three times last week by Associated Press reporters, and one of them carried about 30 units of weaponry and supplies. All were coming from the direction of Russia and heading west to where pro-Moscow separatists were fighting Ukrainian troops.”

In spite of Russia’s continued denials and juvenile lies, it is obvious that they are supporting the separatists in eastern Ukraine with the ultimate goal of invading the area. In fact, notice this report from BBC News, dated August 27:

“Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had received Polish intelligence reports that regular units of the Russian army were operating inside Ukraine… Accusations that Russia is sending both weapons and men into eastern Ukraine gathered force this week when 10 Russian paratroopers were captured on Ukrainian territory, near the Russian border…”

In addition, the Washington Post wrote on August 28:

“Russian soldiers, tanks and heavy artillery began rolling into southeastern Ukraine in earnest Thursday, the Ukrainian government said, as well-armed detachments captured key towns, burned buildings and sent the under-equipped Ukrainian forces into full retreat — a show of military force that the United States now considers an invasion in all but name.”

Please view our newest StandingWatch program,“Will Russia Invade Eastern Ukraine?”

Angela Merkel Spearheading Efforts to Resolve Crisis in Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“Merkel… has been spearheading efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine… Germany has also been a major force behind the imposition of economic sanctions on Moscow… Since the outbreak of the crisis over four months ago, Merkel has regularly put pressure on Putin to use his influence on the separatists to bring an end to the fighting…”

Sounds good, even though it is clearly not good enough, but read the next article…

Merkel: Ukraine Can Go!

The EUObserver wrote on August 25:

“Germany’s Angela Merkel has said Ukraine is free to ‘go to’ Russia’s ‘Eurasian Union’, amid signs of a new willingness to make peace with Russian leader Vladimir Putin… ‘if Ukraine says we are going to the Eurasian Union now, the European Union would never make a big conflict out of it, but would insist on a voluntary decision,’ Merkel added. ‘I want to find a way, as many others do, which does not damage Russia. We [Germany] want to have good trade relations with Russia as well. We want reasonable relations with Russia. We are depending on one another and there are so many other conflicts in the world where we should work together, so I hope we can make progress’…

“[Some] fear Berlin is making a deal with Moscow over the heads of Brussels and Kiev… Andrey Illarionov, a former aide to Putin who works for the Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, also wrote on his blog on Sunday there is a Merkel-Putin deal in the making. He said it includes: Ukraine talks with pro-Russia rebels that would freeze the conflict and give Putin de facto control of east Ukraine; a promise that Ukraine will never join the EU; a promise it will never join Nato.

“Merkel in her ARD interview said ‘Nato membership for Ukraine is not on the agenda’. She added that Poroshenko’s participation at a Nato summit in September in Wales is part of Nato-Ukraine co-operation, ‘but not membership.’”

One is reminded of the infamous non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler, which did not last long. Any peace agreement between Germany (or Europe) and Russia is predestined to fail.

Ukrainian Parliament Dissolved

BBC News reported on August 25:

“Ukraine’s president has dissolved parliament and called snap elections, as government forces continue to fight pro-Russian rebel forces in the east.

“Petro Poroshenko said many current MPs were backers of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and that the majority of Ukrainians wanted a new parliament. Elections would be held on 26 October, he said in a TV address.”

One wonders what is really behind this move.

The Gaza War Continues…

BBC News reported on August 22:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said military operations will ‘intensify’ after an Israeli boy was killed by fire from Gaza. The four-year-old died in a mortar attack on a southern Israeli village near the Gaza border. [The missile landed near a kindergarten in the Sdot Negev region.]

“Meanwhile Israeli air strikes have continued, killing at least four people on Friday, Palestinian officials say. More than 2,090 Palestinians – mostly civilians – and 67 Israelis have been killed in recent weeks.

“On Thursday, an Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas leaders… on Friday, Hamas sources in Gaza said 18 people accused of collaborating with Israel had been executed…”

 
The Washington Post wrote on August 25:

“After 49 days of war, the armies of Israel and Hamas appear to have run out of new ideas — but not bombs… As the conflict enters its eighth week, the populations on both sides are less angry than exhausted… In Gaza, more than a quarter of the population has been at least temporarily displaced… In Israel, communities along the border with Gaza now resemble ghost towns, as families with children have fled…

“The 2006 Lebanon war between Israel and Hezbollah lasted 33 days. The last two wars in Gaza against Hamas, in 2009 and 2012, went 22 days and eight days, respectively. This time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that a war that began July 8 might continue into September, when Israeli schoolchildren are scheduled to return to classes — a potential setback for Netanyahu and Israeli military leaders, who have made a return to ‘peace and quiet’ their metric for success…

“On Monday, Israel pounded two mosques that it said were used as storehouses for weapons or as meeting points for militants. For its part, Hamas has sworn that it will never surrender or give up its arms. In a raw display of power — or panic —the group publically executed 24 alleged collaborators over the past five days…

“But despite calls from the Israeli right wing to strike a decisive blow against Hamas, neither Netanyahu nor the Israeli majority appears to have the stomach for a massive ground invasion and the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, which is what it would take for Israel to bring the Islamist resistance movement to its knees… there are no public signs in Gaza that the people are putting pressure on Hamas to stop. Nor has the military or political wing of Hamas been hurt in any existential way — so it is possible that Hamas’s campaign will go on and on.”

We can safely say that Tuesday’s ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will not hold. Hamas declared already that they “will refuse to disarm, as demanded by Israel, until all ceasefire demands are met,” stating that “the latest 50 days of bloodshed between Israel and Hamas would not be the last round of conflict between the two…” (Deutsche Welle, August 28, 2014).

Iraq Conflict Intensifies at a Critical Moment

BBC News reported on August 22:

“An attack by suspected Shia militiamen on a Sunni mosque in Iraq’s Diyala province has killed at least 68 people. Officials say a bomber blew himself up in the mosque during Friday prayers and gunmen fired on fleeing worshippers…

“The attack is seen as a blow to government efforts to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against Islamic State (IS) jihadists [consisting of radical Sunnis].

“Prime Minister designate Haider al-Abadi, a moderate Shia, is trying to form a more inclusive government… But two influential Sunni politicians… have suspended participation in talks on a new cabinet in protest at Friday’s massacre…

“It’s just the kind of sectarian provocation that is threatening to plunge the country back into the dark days of 2006 and 2007, when many thousands died in a vicious spiral of communal carnage… Bringing the Sunnis on board is a key element in the American strategy for isolating the Islamic State militants, who have capitalised on Iraqi Sunni grievances. But actions like the latest massacre in the mosque are not going to make that task any easier.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“A suicide bomb attack in Baghdad has killed at least 11 people, in what looks like revenge after Friday’s mass murder at a Sunni mosque… It was unclear Saturday whether the attack at the village mosque was carried out by Shiite militiamen or IS insurgents who have been advancing into mixed Sunni-Shiite areas in Diyala. Though IS is a self-proclaimed Sunni group, their fighters have also been known to kill Sunni Muslims who refuse to submit to their harsh interpretation of the Islamic code and Sharia law.”

Sunnis and Shiites will never work together under a powerful Islamist leader, as some suggest. They are too much divided amongst themselves.

Is ISIS Preparing to Blow Up Major US City?

Newsmax wrote on August 22:

“Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe has warned that Islamic State extremists are attempting to develop a weapon to blow up a major city in the United States. ‘We’re in the most dangerous position we’ve ever been in as a nation,’ the ranking GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee told Fox…

“Referring to the beheading of American journalist James Foley, Inhofe said that the terror group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has now set its sights on Americans and targets on U.S. soil. ‘They’re crazy out there, and they’re rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city, and people just can’t believe that’s happening,’ he said.”

Cities which have been suggested as potential targets include New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

IS Sleeper Cells in Europe and USA

Newsmax wrote on August 21:

“A former CIA officer said Thursday he has no doubt Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells are already planted on U.S. soil. An unnamed U.S. intelligence official told CNN there’s already an indication of ISIS sleeper cells in Europe that could target U.S. embassies and other American interests. But former CIA officer Bob Baer told the network ISIS is already on this side of the Atlantic. ‘I have been told with no uncertainty there are ISIS sleeper cells in this country,’ he said…

“In several telephone conversations with a Reuters reporter over the past few months, Islamic State fighters suggest their leader, Iraqi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is planning something for the West – and that attacks could take place through sleeper cells in both Europe and the United States… About 100 Americans are being tracked by the FBI because of their travels to Syria, some to join ISIS, analysts say. And ISIS is actively recruiting Westerners and European Muslims who could easily enter the US.”

IS Recruit in Canada

The Telegraph wrote on August 25:

“A Canadian imam known for his pacifist sermons has warned that Islamist militant group IS was actively recruiting in Canada and said one member issued him a death threat… In February, intelligence services said at least 130 Canadians were fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.”

James Foley’s Murderer Identified—Britons Fight for ISIS

Newsmax reported on August 24:

“A 23-year-old British former rapper was identified on Saturday by British security officials as the man suspected of beheading American journalist James Foley, according to news reports.  Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, who is said to be known by Islamic State members as ‘Jihadi John’ because of his British accent, was identified by unnamed British intelligence sources as the masked terrorist standing by Foley in a video ISIS posted on the Internet of the execution, The Sunday Times of London reports…

“Bary, whose music has been played on BBC radio, left his family’s home in West London last year to go to Syria, The Telegraph reports…

“According to the Evening Standard, Bary is the son of high-profile al-Qaida terror suspect Adel Abdul Bary, the Egyptian militant who was extradited to the United States in 2012 over allegations that he masterminded the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in East Africa…

“The British intelligence agencies and police estimate that up to 20 extremists from the U.K. are now traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS every month, the Times reports…

“Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Sunday that the killing of Foley by a man speaking with an English accent was an ‘utter betrayal of our country… our values and everything the British people stand for.’… Hammond also warned that IS was ‘turning a swathe of Iraq and Syria into a terrorist state as a base for launching attacks on the West.’ He added: ‘Unless they are stopped, sooner or later they will seek to strike us on British soil.’…

“More than 500 Britons have traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight with jihadists in the last few years…”

Ebola Outbreak Unprecedented

BBC News reported on August 22:

“The World Health Organization has said the speed and extent of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is ‘unprecedented’… The organisation confirmed 142 new cases of the disease had been reported since 19 August, as well as 77 deaths… At least 1,427 people have now died in the outbreak so far, with the number of cases now standing at 2,615…

“In Liberia on Friday, a boy of 16 shot during a protest about a quarantine died… Senegal has defended the closure of its border with Guinea because of the Ebola outbreak…

“Senegal also banned flights and ships from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three worst-hit countries… Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa have also imposed travel bans.”

President Obama Plays Golf on Vacation—Indifferent to the Turmoil Surrounding Him?

The New York Times wrote on August 21:

“He had just hung up the telephone with the devastated parents before heading in front of the cameras. Unusually emotional, President Obama declared himself ‘heartbroken’ by the brutal murder of an American journalist, James Foley, and vowed to ‘be relentless’ against Islamic radicals threatening to kill another American.

“But as soon as the cameras went off, Mr. Obama headed to his favorite golf course on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on vacation, seemingly able to put the savagery out of his mind. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the links even as a firestorm of criticism erupted over what many saw as a callous indifference to the slaughter he had just condemned…

“Yet the juxtaposition of his indignant denunciation of terrorists and his outing on the greens this week underscored the unintended consequences of such a remove… after the outcry over Wednesday’s game, he defied the critics by golfing again on Thursday, his eighth outing in 11 days on the island.

“It was all the more striking given that Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain canceled his vacation after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria released the video showing Mr. Foley’s death because the accent of the masked killer suggested he came from Britain.

“… the criticism went beyond the usual political opponents. Privately, many Democrats shook their heads at what they considered a judgment error. Ezra Klein, editor in chief of the online news site Vox, who is normally sympathetic to Mr. Obama, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that ‘golfing today is in bad taste.’ The Daily News published a front-page photograph of a grinning president in a golf cart next to a picture of Mr. Foley’s distraught mother and father…”

“Mr. Obama is not the first president to get in trouble with a golf club in hand. On the course one day in 2002, President George W. Bush delivered a tough-worded statement denouncing a suicide bombing in Israel and then, barely missing a beat, told reporters, ‘Now, watch this drive.’ Mr. Bush later concluded that such scenes sent a bad message, and in the fall of 2003, with the Iraq war raging, he gave up golf for the remainder of his presidency.”

“What Is It About August?” – Troubles Galore

The Associated Press reported on August 25:

“While in office, former President George H. W. Bush once plaintively asked, ‘What is it about August?’

“Indeed, this sultry month usually associated with the doldrums of summer has burdened modern presidents with personal, domestic or international crises. And for President Barack Obama, who returned to Washington Sunday from a two-week Martha’s Vineyard vacation, what remains of the August calendar looks perhaps more daunting than when he left.

“Islamic militants personalized their fight in Iraq and Syria by beheading American journalist James Foley. Russia escalated tensions in Europe by moving artillery and troops on the Ukrainian border… And a Chinese fighter jet provocatively buzzed a Navy plane in international air space…

“Obama faces his own self-imposed end-of-summer deadline for how to sidestep Congress on changes to U.S. immigration policies. And while racial tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of an unarmed young black man have subsided, the St. Louis suburb remains under the White House’s wary gaze…

“He certainly is not the first commander in chief to find August so vexing.

“President George H.W. Bush had to respond to Saddam Hussein’s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Bill Clinton admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinski in August of 1998 and days later ordered air strikes against terrorist bases in Afghanistan in retaliation for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania earlier in the month.

“For Obama, it’s the overseas trouble spots in Iraq and Syria and along Ukraine’s eastern border that present the president with his most immediate challenge… Obama, who has already ordered limited air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq, now must decide whether to expand that fight into Syria — a step he has previously been reluctant to take…”

Strong Earthquake Hits California

Deutsche Welle reported on August 24:

“California has been struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years, with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale [later downgraded to 6.0]… The quake, which was the region’s strongest since 1989, struck at 3:20 am local time, 6 kilometers (3 miles) northwest of American Canyon and 64 km northeast of San Francisco… the epicenter was located only 11 km under the earth’s surface…

“California lies on the San Andreas Fault, which forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, two of the large moving plates that form the Earth’s crust. In 1906, a devastating San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires destroyed over 80 percent of the city, killing more than 3,000 people. In 1989, San Francisco was hit by 6.9-magnitude earthquake, also known as the Loma Prieta earthquake, resulting in 63 deaths and close to 4,000 injuries.”

The website of nbcbayarea.com added on August 24:

“Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency after a 6.0-magnitude quake jolted the Bay Area early Sunday morning, igniting fires, damaging buildings, injuring dozens, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness…”

CBS SF reported on August 25:

“In just over 24 hours following the… Sunday earthquake the USGS recorded 124 minor quakes and counting in the area… The largest of the tremors was 3.6 magnitude, just hours after the initial earthquake.

“Immediately following the quake seismologists said there was over a fifty percent chance that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake will hit within the week in the same area, though that percentage begins to drop significantly more than 24 hours after the initial earthquake…

“Seismologists believed there was a 5-percent chance of an even larger quake over magnitude 6.0 in the next few days.”

On August 24, another “large 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck a sparsely populated area of central Peru” (The Associated Press).

French Government Collapses

Deutsche Welle reported on August 25:

“The French government has resigned after infighting in the cabinet about the country’s economy. French President Francois Hollande has announced there will be a cabinet reshuffle… The new ministers will not include former economics minister Arnaud Montebourg, whose harsh criticism of French austerity sparked the government’s collapse.”

Even though France would like to become the leader of continental Europe, they will have to realize that it is Germany which is pre-ordained to fulfill that leadership role in these end times.

Europe Sends Weapons to Iraq

Deutsche Welle reported on August 15:

“The European Union agreed on Friday to back the arming of the Pashmerga – Kurdish Iraqis who are fighting against IS militants. Individual EU governments now have the go-ahead to send weapons as long as they have the consent of national authorities…

“Britain and France have already begun plans to provide weapons to Iraqi forces… Most surprising was the support from EU member states who are historically less inclined to supply military arms abroad, such as Germany…”

The Local added on August 20:

“Germany is ready to send weapons to support Iraqi Kurds in their battle against the “barbaric” jihadist militants of the Islamic State, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday… He called the onslaught of the IS ‘barbaric’, the suffering of refugees ‘unimaginable’…

“Sending military hardware is unusual for Germany which, burdened by its past aggression in two world wars, shies from foreign military engagements and as a rule does not export weapons into live conflict zones. Critics oppose the idea of sending weapons to a war zone where fighters and arms can quickly change sides…

“The change of position is politically difficult in Germany, where recent polls have shown more than 70 percent of respondents reject the idea of German arms shipments to Iraq…”

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 20 that the Kurds are terribly divided among themselves, and at least one of the groups fighting ISIS (the “PPK”) has formerly been classified as a terrorist group by the USA, EU und Turkey.

Pope Endorses Use of Force

The Associated Press reported on August 18:

“Pope Francis… was asked if he approved of the unilateral U.S. airstrikes on militants of the Islamic State who have captured swaths of northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria and have forced minority Christians and others to either convert to Islam or flee their homes.

“‘In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor,’ Francis said. ‘I underscore the verb “stop.” I’m not saying “bomb” or “make war,” just “stop.”’… But, he said, in history, such ‘excuses’ to stop an unjust aggression have been used by world powers to justify a ‘war of conquest’ in which an entire people have been taken over.

“‘One nation alone cannot judge how you stop this, how you stop an unjust aggressor,’ he said, apparently referring to the United States…

“… the Vatican has been increasingly showing support for military intervention in Iraq, given that Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith and that Christian communities which have existed for 2,000 years have been emptied as a result of the extremists’ onslaught…

“Church teaching allows for ‘just wars,’ when military force can be justified under certain circumstances. And in recent days, a few Vatican officials have edged increasingly toward acknowledging the Iraq situation fits the bill… The Vatican’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi [said]… ‘Maybe military action is necessary at this moment.’”

The Catholic Church’s teaching on “just wars” is not in accordance with the Bible. In the past, it has caused much injustice and terrible atrocities. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in War?”    

Pope Francis Only Three More Years to Live… May Retire Sooner?

AFP reported on August 18 that “Pope Francis (77) on Monday publicly broached the prospect of his own death for the first time, giving himself ‘two or three years’ but not ruling out retirement before then.”

The article went on to cite Pope Francis as saying: “I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, not to become proud. Because I know it will last only a short time. Two or three years and then I’ll be off…”

The article also stated that “a Vatican source said he had previously told those close to him that he thought he only had a few years left,” and that “Pope Francis also mentioned the possibility of retiring from the Papacy, as his predecessor Benedict XVI did last year, if he felt he could no longer adequately perform his duties… Resigning the papacy was a possibility ‘even if it does not appeal to some theologians’, he told reporters. He added that 60 years ago it was practically unheard of for Catholic bishops to retire, but nowadays it was common. ‘Benedict XVI opened a door,’ he said.”

Are the IS Terrorists Unstoppable?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 18:

“Last week, thousands of Yazidis were evacuated from the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq, where they had fled due to marauding fighters from the Islamic State. Kurdish fighters from the PKK helped them escape, but it remains unclear if anyone can stop the IS jihadists…

“[There have been] stories of neighbors who suddenly became turned into their enemies, becoming accomplices to the IS… First, a discrete network of informants was established over a long period of time, including Arabs from surrounding villages, Turkmens and even some Kurds. The informants then directed the Islamist fighters to the houses full of valuables and showed them where Sunnis, Christians and Yazidis lived. The result was that the IS knew how strong their opponent was and who they should kill first. It’s the same blueprint the group followed in their attacks on cities and villages in northern Syria and on the Iraqi city of Mosul at the beginning of June…

“… the precision air strikes launched by American F-18 fighter jets have not stopped the IS… assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades have proven ineffective in stopping the jihadist fighters, equipped as they are with armored Humvees, rocket launchers and artillery captured from the Iraqi army. It is weaponry that was initially delivered to the Iraqi military by the United States…”

This might remind us of end-time events when, on a grand scale, “friends” and “neighbors” will betray true Christians to dictatorial governments.

IS’ Brutal Murder of an American Journalist

BBC News reported on August 20:

“Prime Minister David Cameron has said the… beheading of a US journalist by an Islamic State militant with an English accent is ‘shocking and depraved’. James Foley, 40, has been missing since he was seized in Syria in 2012… The Metropolitan Police… warned that ‘viewing, downloading or disseminating’ the video may be an offence under terrorism legislation…

“Earlier Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Breakfast the government was aware of ‘significant numbers’ of British nationals involved with extremist organisations overseas… ‘We’re absolutely aware that there are significant numbers of British nationals involved in terrible crimes, probably in the commission of atrocities, making jihad with Isil [now known as IS—“Islamic State”] and other extremist organisations,’ he said… It is estimated that IS, which has seized large parts of northern Iraq and Syria, has up to 400 recruits from the UK in its ranks.”

The New York Times wrote on August 20:

“President Obama declared that the entire world was ‘appalled’ by the beheading of an American journalist by militants in Syria… The president called ISIS a ‘cancer’ in the region and accused them of having ‘rampaged across cities and villages, killing unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence.’ He said it had committed torture and rape against innocent women and children and continued to enslave those they did not kill…

“Mr. Obama gave no indication that the gruesome video would change United States strategy in Iraq, although he vowed to protect Americans from the militants and bring those responsible to justice. He made no mention of Mr. Sotloff, who was shown in a similar orange outfit to the one Mr. Foley was wearing. Mr. Sotloff’s life depends on Mr. Obama’s ‘next move,’ a masked militant in the video says…

“But the killing of Mr. Foley and the subsequent threat of another slaying if the United States continues to target militants in Syria and Iraq creates a searing and personal dilemma for the president: he cannot give in to demands from terrorists, but continuing the bombing of militants in Iraq could lead directly to another gruesome death of an American.

“The video could intensify pressure on Mr. Obama to broaden the American military offensive against ISIS… Republican lawmakers who have been pressing for a more aggressive American response against ISIS seized on the beheading as evidence that Mr. Obama had not done enough to confront the Sunni militants and to acknowledge them as a direct threat to Americans…”

Did Syria’s Assad Turn James Foley Over to ISIS?

Business Insider wrote on August 20:

“Following the grisly murder of an American journalist by extremist militants, one key question remains: How did ISIS abduct James Foley, who was widely considered to be in the custody of groups loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?…

“Bashar al-Assad helped create ISIS by releasing many of its original members from Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison on May 31, 2011. He then let the group metastasize over three years to build a narrative that if the U.S. wants to choose sides in the Syrian war, it has to choose between the regime and ISIS…

“… it is well within Assad’s means and motives to give Western captors to the extremists that he helped make strong. ‘This is now the key question: Was Foley taken by the Assad regime?’ Middle East analyst Kyle Orton writes. If he was, then those who believe that Bashar al-Assad is a bulwark against [extremist jihadists] have yet another question to answer about their thesis.’” 

EU Offers to Take Charge of Gaza’s Border Crossings

The Associated Press reported on August 16:

“The European Union offered Friday to take charge of Gaza’s border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows, insisting on a durable truce and saying a return to the status quo before the latest war ‘is not an option.’…

“The EU is prepared ‘to play a strong role’ in managing the crossings while assuring that Israel’s security is guaranteed, said the 28-nation bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton… The EU foreign ministers said the bloc is also prepared to prevent arms smuggling and launch a training program for Palestinian Authority police and customs officers to be deployed in Gaza…

“Israel… has demanded that Hamas be disarmed — a non-starter for the militant group — or at the very least be prevented from re-arming. Hamas… has an arsenal of several thousand rockets, some of which can reach major Israeli cities.”

Ultimately, Europe will play a major political role in the Middle East, claiming that military invasion and occupation may be necessary to establish “peace” in the region.

Gaza Fighting Continues…

Deutsche Welle reported on August 20:

“Israel is continuing strikes on the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire broke down Tuesday amid rocket fire, air attacks and the failure by negotiators to agree on a longer-term truce.

“The most recent airstrikes took place Wednesday, when Israeli media reported the military had killed Hamas leader Mohamed Deif. A woman and child were killed in a Gaza City airstrike on Tuesday night, with speculation circulating through the media that they were Deif’s wife and child. [This was confirmed by the New York Times, on August 20.]… Hamas officials say Deif was not killed…

“In Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called together his security Cabinet to discuss Israel’s next steps. Hard-liners in the prime minister’s government have called on him to launch a broad military operation against Hamas, the Palestinian political faction that runs Gaza.

“Israel’s government has faced international criticism over its military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war has destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Gaza and seriously damaged its infrastructure, including water systems and the only power plant. More than 10,000 people have been left homeless in Gaza.”

More Terrorist Groups in Gaza

In addition to Hamas, JTA wrote on August 15 about additional terrorist organizations in Gaza which are determined to destroy Israel:

“Palestinian Islamic Jihad — Sometimes known in Israel simply as Jihad, this is the second-biggest terrorist group in Gaza after Hamas. Founded in 1979 as a break-away from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad resembles Hamas in many ways. It’s a Palestinian national movement, it receives funding from Iran and has a small social service wing that includes schools, hospitals and family mediation services… It is also party to the negotiations taking place in Cairo…

“The Popular Resistance Committees, or PRC, is a break-away from the Palestinian Fatah Party, which governs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The PRC was founded in 2000 and opposes Fatah’s peace process with Israel. Unlike many groups operating in Gaza, the PRC is not Islamist. In 2012, Yediot Aharonot estimated that it was the third-strongest militia in Gaza and that it receives much of its funding from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran…

“There are a number of jihadi groups reported to be active in Gaza and allied with, or supportive of, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda agenda of reestablishing an international Islamic caliphate. Among them [is] the Army of Islam…

“[Other terrorist groups are] Tawhid wal’Jihad [and] Jund Ansar Allah…”

Truly, Israel is surrounded by enemies…

Did Ukraine Destroy Russian Military Vehicles?

AFP wrote on August 15:

“Ukraine said on Friday it had destroyed part of a Russian armoured column that entered onto its territory in an incursion that has sent cross-border tensions rocketing. NATO accused Russia of active involvement in the ‘destabilisation’ of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Kremlin separatists have been fighting against Kiev for four months…

“Fears that the border clash could spill into all-out war between Kiev and Moscow sent major share markets tumbling across Europe and the United States…

“The European Union demanded that Russia ‘put an immediate stop to any form of border hostilities, in particular to the flow of arms, military advisers and armed personnel into the conflict region, and to withdraw its forces from the border.’…

“NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen backed reports of the ‘Russian incursion’ after British media said it had seen the column of some 20 military vehicles cross the border on Thursday.”

Steinmeier Warns of War

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 17:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the conflict should not turn into ‘a direct confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian armed forces.’… The separatists shot down another Ukrainian warplane overnight. A military spokesman confirmed the downing of the Mig-29 fighter in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, saying the pilot had ejected and been found after a search.

“Separatists have brought down some 10 Ukrainian aircraft since June. They also stand accused of having shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, killing 298 people…”

Europe is very concerned that Russia might intervene in Ukraine, and they should be. Based on Scripture, a collaboration between Russia and Ukraine will occur, which will ultimately be directed against Europe. Then, a powerful political and military European leader, the beast or the king of the North, will try to stop Russia and other Far Eastern nations militarily, but he will not succeed.

Useless Talks

Deutsche Welle reported on august 18:

“The Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on Monday traded accusations after unconfirmed reports that rocket fire had hit a convoy of buses carrying refugees from the city of Luhansk… [A Ukrainian] spokesman said rebels were responsible for the strike and that the death toll was still unknown. However, rebel sources claimed that the government had carried out the attack on the convoy.

“Around 500 people a day have been leaving the city, a rebel stronghold that has been under siege from government forces and left almost without water or electricity for more than two weeks…

“The reports come after crisis talks in Berlin on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France aimed at bringing peace to the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the talks had brought no progress toward resolving the conflict in Ukraine…

“However, Lavrov said that ‘all questions’ regarding a Russian humanitarian convoy to Ukraine had been resolved with Kyiv and the Red Cross. The convoy has been parked at the border between Russia and Ukraine for days amid objections from Kyiv…

“The conflict in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east is in a critical phase, with Kyiv and Western governments fearing a possible Russian military intervention in support of the pro-Moscow insurgents, in view of a build-up of troops on Ukraine’s border…”

Now It’s Germany Spying on Clinton, Kerry and Turkey

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“A few months ago, following revelations about the NSA tapping her cell phone, Merkel famously stated, ‘Spying between friends is simply unacceptable.’ This quote is now being used in nearly every report about the alleged espionage carried out by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).

“A major humiliation for the German government could be in the works. After all, it was only recently that German politicians were harshly criticizing the US for spying on Germany. And Germany also expelled the top CIA official in the country after the activities of two US spies came to light.

“Now it has been revealed that the BND intercepted at least one call made by Hillary Clinton during her time as US secretary of state in 2012. The German government has responded by saying that the call was picked up ‘by accident’ as part of an intelligence-gathering focus on the Middle East. And in 2013 the agency allegedly recorded a call made by Clinton’s successor John Kerry…

“But while it seems that the Clinton and Kerry calls intercepted by the BND were indeed just a by-catch, the agency has been accused of not deleting one of them as it claims to do.

“Meanwhile, the German government has indirectly confirmed media reports that the BND has been spying on fellow NATO country Turkey for years… Turkey belongs to the core target countries under observation by the German intelligence service…

“The German government has defended this line of practice vehemently, saying that Turkey cannot be compared to the US or European countries like France and Great Britain. What happens in Turkey has a direct influence on domestic security in Germany, government sources told FAS. This includes the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, left- and right-wing Turkish groups in Germany, drug smugglers and people smugglers… According to Christian Democratic Union faction deputy chairman Andreas Schockenhoff, all of this justifies systematic spying on Turkey – a NATO member and EU accession candidate.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 18:

“Turkey on Monday summoned the German ambassador in Ankara, Eberhard Pohl… after news magazine Der Spiegel reported on the weekend that Germany’s intelligence services had been spying on its NATO ally since 2009.  In a statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry said such spying would be ‘a serious matter’ if the report were true…”

These are embarrassing developments for Germany, and they will not help to better the relationship between Germany and the USA… or Turkey.

Racial Tension and Police Misconduct in Missouri

Deutsche Welle reported on August 15:

“Information released by police was met with skepticism after the shooting of an unarmed black teenager [Michael Brown] by a white police officer [Officer Wilson], which sparked outrage and put the spotlight on racial tension and police conduct…

“According to information released by authorities on Friday, the young black man had been a suspect in a ‘strong-arm robbery’ of nearly 50 dollars’ worth of cigarillos at a convenience store with a friend before he was shot dead around noon time… the family’s lawyers [were] claiming the link with the robbery was a ‘devious attempt’ to smear the teenager. ‘There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution-style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender,’ the lawyers added.

“Officer Wilson had not known that Brown had been a suspect in a robbery at the time of the shooting, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said. He declined to comment on why the officer had stopped the two teens…”

The Associated Press reported on August 18:

“An unarmed black teenager killed by a white officer in Missouri was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy has found… The autopsy by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, found that one of the bullets entered the top of Michael Brown’s skull… Witnesses say the teenager had his hands in the air as the officer fired multiple rounds.

“Baden told the [New York] Times that Brown was also shot four times in the right arm and that all the bullets were fired into his front. The newspaper said the bullets did not appear to have come from very close range because there was no gunpowder on his body.”

Racial and ethnic strife and misconduct by an increasingly “militarized” police force are major problems in the USA.

Missouri Keeps Arresting German Journalists

“‘To be arrested and yelled at and be rudely treated by police I had to travel to Ferguson and St. Louis in the United States of America,’ writes [a German] veteran reporter of his ordeal. Ansgar Graw and Frank Hermann were cuffed and jailed for three hours the day after arriving in the beleaguered suburb of St. Louis. Graw and Hermann were there to cover the town of Ferguson, whose African-American population has clashed fiercely with local police since the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer on August 9.

“The journalists had wanted to take pictures of a burned out gas station on Florissant Avenue, the street at the centre of the week-long protest. The building was looted and burned the night of Brown’s death. ‘The street was empty at the time, there was no hint of violence or riotous assembly,’ Graw wrote for Die Welt of his ordeal… Graw took the pictures… but was then cuffed in zip ties… The [young] officer gave his name as Donald Duck.

“This was Graw’s first arrest. ‘This was a very new experience. I’ve been in several conflict zones: I was in the civil war regions in Georgia, the Gaza strip, illegally visited the Kaliningrad region when travel to the Soviet Union was still strictly prohibited for westerners, I’ve been in Iraq, Vietnam and in China, I’ve met Cuba dissidents. But to be arrested and yelled at and be rudely treated by police? For that I had to travel to Ferguson and St. Louis in the United States of America.’

“[A] Tabloid paper also wrote on Tuesday that one of their reporters had also been arrested by police in Ferguson. Lukas Hermsmeier spent the night in St. Louis County Jail in Clayton, Missouri.”

The tabloid paper was Bild, the most influential and popular tabloid in Germany, and normally very supportive of and friendly towards the USA. Bild has been reporting ever since on a daily basis about their journalist’s ordeal, expressing their outrage and consternation with American injustice and incompetency.  Apart from the militarization of police forces in America, it seems that many (young) police officers are simply not up to the task and due to their feelings of power and superiority, they act in a (perceived or real) conflict situation in a manner which is outside the bounds of propriety and sound reasoning.

A Feeling of Being Left Behind

The Washington Post wrote on August 18:

“Our society expects the police to keep unemployed, poorly educated African American men out of sight and out of mind. When they suddenly take center stage, illuminated by the flash and flicker of Molotov cocktails, we feign surprise…

“Millions of African Americans took advantage of the opportunities created by the civil rights movement to climb into the middle class — and in some cases far beyond, as exemplified by President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

“Yet millions of other black Americans did not reach the middle class. This group, mired in poverty and dysfunction, finds the paths others took are blocked. They live in neighborhoods with failing schools that cannot prepare them for today’s economy. Secure, high-paying blue-collar jobs are a thing of the past. Racial bias in policing means African Americans are much more likely to be arrested and jailed for minor nonviolent offenses, such as drug possession, than whites who commit the same crimes.

“Increasingly, these African Americans who were left behind are invisible… What happens in poor black neighborhoods has less and less to do with the everyday lives of middle-class Americans, white or black.

“Yet in Ferguson and other such pockets across the nation, millions of young black men and women grow up knowing that the deck is stacked against them. Did Michael Brown have a chip on his shoulder? Not according to his friends and family, although the convenience store video suggests otherwise…

“Brown had no police record. He had graduated from high school. He was about to enter a technical college. Given where he came from, it’s hard to do a whole lot better — and easy to do a whole lot worse.

“Now that the streets are filled with incoherent rage — and the rioting must be strongly condemned — we can see Brown’s struggle. Momentarily, at least. After the smoke clears, we will be blind once again.”

Shocking! America—the Richest Nation on Earth—One of the POOREST?

cnsnews.com reported on August 20:

“109,631,000 Americans lived in households that received benefits from one or more federally funded ‘means-tested programs”’— also known as welfare — as of the fourth quarter of 2012, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau has not yet reported how many were on welfare in 2013 or the first two quarters of 2014.

“But the 109,631,000 living in households taking federal welfare benefits as of the end of 2012, according to the Census Bureau, equaled 35.4 percent of all 309,467,000 people living in the United States at that time.

“When those receiving benefits from non-means-tested federal programs — such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and veterans benefits — were added to those taking welfare benefits, it turned out that 153,323,000 people were getting federal benefits of some type at the end of 2012.

“Subtract the 3,297,000 who were receiving veterans’ benefits from the total, and that leaves 150,026,000 people receiving non-veterans’ benefits.

“The 153,323,000 total benefit-takers at the end of 2012, said the Census Bureau, equaled 49.5 percent of the population. The 150,026,000 taking benefits other than veterans’ benefits equaled about 48.5 percent of the population.

“When America re-elected President Barack Obama in 2012, we had not quite reached the point where more than half the country was taking benefits from the federal government. It is a reasonable bet, however, that with the implementation of Obamacare — with its provisions expanding Medicaid and providing health-insurance subsidies to people earning up to 400 percent of poverty — that if we have not already surpassed that point (not counting those getting veterans benefits) we soon will.

“… the CIA World Factbook says there are 142,470,272 people in Russia. So, the 150,026,000 people getting non-veterans federal benefits in the United States at the end of 2012 outnumbered all the people in Russia.

“63,742,977 people live in the United Kingdom and 44,291,413 live in the Ukraine, says the CIA. So, the combined 108,034,390 people in these two nations was about 1,596,610 less than 109,631,000 collecting welfare in the United States.

“It may be more telling, however, to compare the 109,631,000 Americans taking federal welfare benefits at the end of 2012 to Americans categorized by other characteristics.

“In 2012, according to the Census Bureau, there were 103,087,000 full-time year-round workers in the United States (including 16,606,000 full-time year-round government workers). Thus, the welfare-takers outnumbered full-time year-round workers by 6,544,000.

“California, the nation’s most-populated state, contained an estimated 38,332,521 people in 2013, says the Census Bureau. Texas had 26,448,193 people, New York had 19,651,127, and Florida had 19,552,860. But the combined 103,984,701 people in these four massive states still fell about 5,646,299 short of the 109,631,000 people on welfare.

“In the fourth quarter of 2008, when President Obama was elected, there were 96,197,000 people living in households taking benefits from one or more federal welfare programs. After four years, by the fourth quarter of 2012, that had grown by 13,434,000…”

These numbers do not point at a success story under President Obama’s leadership. But they also show the incredible decline of America’s prosperity, which can only be explained by the fact that God has been withdrawing His blessings, as it was prophesied to occur, due to our national and individual sins. 

Oregon to Pay for Transgender Surgeries

The Associated Press reported on August 14:

“Oregon’s Medicaid program will soon pay for gender reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and other treatments for transgender patients, becoming… the third state besides the District of Columbia to extend coverage to gender dysphoria treatments…  ‘This is an historic step forward toward fairness and equality for transgender Oregonians,’ said Danielle Askini, policy director for the advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon. Oregon joins California, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in covering gender dysphoria treatments under Medicaid, Askini said.

“The coverage for gender dysphoria, previously known as gender identity disorder, is set to begin Jan. 1. The Oregon Health Authority still must formally change its rules to eliminate a prohibition against covering gender reassignment surgery…  Oregon insurance regulators in 2012 ordered private insurance companies to cover treatments for gender dysphoria. A lawsuit forced the state to cover treatments for public employees.

“With Medicaid patients gaining coverage, the last segment of Oregon’s health insurance market not required to cover gender dysphoria treatments is the Oregon Educators Benefit Board, which covers school district employees, Askini said.”

This is truly a terrible testimony against a country claiming to uphold Christian and biblical values. By no stretch of the imagination could it ever be said that the true God of the Bible would remotely support transgender operations. He calls this kind of conduct a blatant abomination.

Rick Perry Indicted

Newsmax reported on August 17:

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry, indicted late Friday [by a grand jury] on abuse of power charges, said he would make the same decision if the situation repeated itself. Perry is accused of threatening to withhold funding from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office after D.A. Rosemary Lehmberg, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated and seen in a police station video kicking a door and demanding to see the sheriff. ‘This is not the way we settle differences —  political differences —  in this country,’ Perry said of the indictment in an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ ‘You don’t do it with indictments. We settle our political differences at the ballot box.’

“The two felony counts of abuse of power against Perry could result in up to 99 years in prison if he is convicted. Perry told Fox News he takes the rule of law seriously, but doesn’t believe he has broken any laws. Instead, he said, he had done the same thing governors have done for decades…

“The indictment does not deal with Perry’s veto of $7.5 million in funding for the D.A. office’s public integrity unit. He is legally entitled to veto any law passed by the Texas Legislature. Instead, the charges are based on Perry’s public statements threatening to withhold the funds if Lehmberg refused to resign. That action constituted using his official capacity to coerce a public servant, the indictment claims.

“But Perry pointed out that liberals such as David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, and Alan Dershowitz, noted Harvard Law professor, have called the Perry indictment politically questionable.”

Dershowitz “Outraged” Over Perry’s “Political” Indictment

Newsmax wrote in an accompanying article, dated August 17:

“Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz calls himself a ‘liberal Democrat who would never vote for Rick Perry,’ but he’s still ‘outraged’ over the Texas governor’s indictment Friday on charges of abuse of power and coercion. The charges are politically motivated and an example of a ‘dangerous’ trend of courts being used to affect the ballot box and politics, he told Newsmax on Saturday.

“‘Everybody, liberal or conservative, should stand against this indictment,’ Dershowitz said… ‘This is another example of the criminalization of party differences…  This idea of an indictment is an extremely dangerous trend in America, whether directed at [former House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay or [former President] Bill Clinton.’ Further, Dershowitz said, such indictments are something that’s done in totalitarian countries and should not be done in the United States…

“Dershowitz also told Newsmax Perry was well within his rights when he vetoed the money for Lehmberg’s office, as he ‘saw a drunk serving as DA’ who ‘shouldn’t be enforcing criminal law.’ Dershowitz believes Perry will be acquitted, and the indictment will become an embarrassment to those involved.

“Perry is often named as a potential candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016, and has opted not to seek a fourth term as governor of Texas…”

Some Republicans Partly Responsible?

Breitbart added on August 18:

“In light of the malicious prosecution of Governor Rick Perry, Republican lawmakers are rushing to jump on the bandwagon opposing the Democrats politically motivated action. But several House Republicans loyal to liberal House Speaker, Joe Straus, bear responsibility for setting the stage leading to the indictments.

“In fact, 18 Republicans joined with the chamber’s Democrats in stopping Gov. Perry’s 2013 initiative to move the Public Integrity Unit out from under convicted drunk driver Rosemary Lehmberg, Travis county’s Democrat district attorney.”

Politics IS such a dirty business!

Ebola Out of Control

The Sidney Morning Herald wrote on August 16:

“The Ebola crisis in west Africa is outstripping the ability of aid organisations to stem the epidemic, the head of international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Friday, likening it to a war. ‘It’s moving, and advancing, but we have no clue how it’s going. Like in a war time, we have a total collapse of infrastructure,’ she added. The outbreak started at the beginning of this year in the forested border zone between Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and has also spread to Nigeria.”

The Mirror wrote on August 17:

“Here in the hellish Ebola zone of West Africa, the victims’ remains have to be cremated quickly as even the dead are contagious. This is the heart-breaking drudgery of life in disease-racked Liberia, where the worst outbreak of this violent disease in history claims fresh lives daily. The World Health Organisation admitted that the official death toll of 1,145 in the region ‘vastly underestimates the magnitude of the outbreak’…

“Survival rates are less than 40%, and there is no vaccine or treatment… That is why the capital Monrovia is currently gripped by paranoia and ­suspicion over the spread of the disease… Yet in the filthy slums, many seem to be going about their… business as normal. Torrential rain [turns]  the shanty town tracks into a putrid quagmire. It must be the ideal breeding ground for a virus so contagious a quick touch on the arm from a sufferer is apparently enough to spread it. By the time you know you should have been more careful, it might already be too late… Incubation can take up to 21 days…”

The Bible prophesies that worldwide diseases and pandemics will increase in these last days, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy—From Now Until Forever.”

Hamas Reign of Terror

The Times of Israel reported on August 12:

“Israel may wish that Gaza’s dire situation would push residents of the Strip to rise up against their Hamas rulers, but more than a month into Operation Protective Edge, there are very few indications of that happening…

“Bassem Eid, a veteran Jerusalem-based human rights activist and political analyst, said that Gazans are reluctant to demonstrate for fear of Hamas… ‘Hamas has a physical presence in almost every house in Gaza and can listen to what’s being said. It’s a Stasi regime par excellence,’ he continued, referring to the East German secret police notorious for its eavesdropping capabilities…

“‘The population is much more scared of Hamas than it is of the Israeli soldiers,’ Eid said. Hamas, for its part, is more worried about the possible return of control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority than it is of an Israeli military incursion…

“Palestinian Authority media repeatedly gives credence to Eid’s reports of an atmosphere of terror in Gaza. Official Palestinian news agency WAFA has told of Fatah activists being placed under house arrest by Hamas from the early days of the Israeli operation. Fatah’s official Facebook page reported shots being fired at the legs of Fatah members, including the bodyguards of Fatah official Abdullah Ifranji…

“But Mkheimer Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, said that anti-Hamas demonstrations were unlikely to emerge in a society which largely regards Israel as the main cause of its suffering. ‘Even if there’s anger at Hamas, people are mostly angry at Israel,’ Abusada told The Times of Israel in a phone conversation from Gaza. ‘Hamas may bear responsibility for the war, but it’s Israel which is destroying homes and killing civilians.’ (Of almost 2,000 deaths reported by health officials in the Hamas-run Strip, Israel says 750-1,000 are Hamas and other gunmen.)…

“Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza have launched over 3,000 rockets and mortar shells into Israel during Operation Protective Edge, many of them from densely populated areas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has charged Hamas with using the civilian population in Gaza as ‘human shields’ — firing rockets and building tunnels from residential areas, providing Gazans with no protection, and sometimes even urging civilians to remain in fighting zones despite IDF warnings — while Hamas’s leadership has taken to hiding in underground tunnels. But Abusada indicated that Gazans viewed themselves as victims of Israel, not Hamas…”

There is a REASON why Hamas has been rightly classified as a terrorist organization. All the sugarcoating by analysts such as Professor Abusuda notwithstanding, it is surprising that people cannot see what is really going on. Of course, one looks for a scapegoat, and Israel has always been an easy target. This has been prophesied to occur, especially in these end times. 

There Will Be Miracles… If You Believe…

Jews News wrote on August 6:

“An Israeli commander claimed that hundreds of Israeli lives were saved recently when ‘the hand of God’ stopped a Hamas rocket:

“‘A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died. We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock.

“‘At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident. Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that … sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned…’

“One Hamas member was asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets better and actually hit an Israeli target. He responded: ‘We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.’ The first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, said this once: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’”

Israel’s Existence Has Nothing to Do with the Bible?

Yes News wrote on August 3:

“In a special interview with Die Tagespost last week, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, named by Pope Benedict to represent the Vatican in the Jewish State, declared that ‘Israel’s existence as such has nothing to do with the Bible.’ He then compared Christians’ condition in today’s Jerusalem with Jesus’ Passion: ‘We Christians never forget that even our Lord himself suffered and was mocked in Jerusalem.’…

“A few days ago, Patriarch Twal responded enthusiastically to the agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah. He also denounced ‘the Judaization of Jerusalem’ and attacked Israel for ‘trying to transform it into an only Hebrew-Jewish city, excluding the other faiths.’… Twal’s position on Israel and the Bible has been embraced at the highest levels in the Catholic Church. The Vatican synod in 2010 declared that Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people.”

Perhaps a review of both the Bible and historical evidence might be helpful to these so called scholars and theologians!

Israel’s Monetary Costs of the Gaza War

The Times of Israel wrote on August 12:

“… through last week, including both direct military expenses and indirect hits to the Israeli economy, the total cost of the four-week conflict is estimated at $2.5 billion to $3.6 billion… [For instance] Iron Dome intercepted 584 of [the Hamas’ rockets] — at $50,000 a piece. That comes to a total of $29 million, or about $1 million per day…

“Israeli planes have bombed Gaza approximately 4,900 times during the war — roughly 150 times a day… each of the Air Force’s 4,900 sorties cost $15,000, for a total of over $73 million…”

What a terrible waste of money, while millions of people starve for lack of food.

Little Progress at Cairo Truce Talks

JTA wrote on August 12:

“Negotiators at the Israel-Hamas truce talks in Cairo said they were still far from an agreement. Palestinian officials said Tuesday that the current three-day cease-fire between the sides will be the final one unless Israel and Hamas make progress toward a truce. The cease-fire, which began Monday, is the second three-day truce between the sides after a month of fighting…

“Hamas is demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and the building of an airport and seaport, and Israel is demanding Gaza’s demilitarization…”

It was announced on August 14 that Hamas and Israel agreed to extend the truce for five days to continue negotiations in the Egyptian capital. However, there will be no lasting peace in the Middle East until Jesus Christ returns.

Waiting Too Long to Stop ISIS?

Breitbart wrote on August 8:

“Yazidis in Iraq are telling stories of mass murder and rape to their relatives abroad – including in Israel… [According to Der Spiegel Online, dated August 11, “Yazidis [is] an ancient, pre-Muslim religious community, with roots in Zoroastrianism, whose members worship seven angels, including a peacock angel, in addition to god.”]

“Obama announced action against the Islamic State as if that chamber of horrors sprang into existence last night, and he immediately leaped into action against it.  Nonsense.  He’s known this stuff was happening for weeks and months.  Contrary to his feeble excuses about learning everything at the same time we do, by watching the news, he gets presidential intelligence briefings.  The brutality shown by ISIS toward Christians has been a matter of record for a long time, and Obama said nothing.  No surprise the Islamists are even more brutal toward the Yazidis, who they consider ‘devil worshipers.’

“This was all as predictable as the sunrise, but Obama did nothing, said nothing, until global media lit up with pictures of those fifty thousand people stranded on the slopes of the mountain that looms above their ancestral homeland, dying of hunger and exposure…

“Foreign policy is all about timing.  Stopping ISIS when it was on the move into Mosul – with an almost laughably small initial invasion force that nevertheless caused Iraqi forces to break and run – would have been relatively simple…  Ejecting them from their conquered territory is impossible with only a few targeted bombing runs.  They’re mixed in with civilian targets now, and they won’t hesitate to take hostages.  They can threaten to blow up the Mosul dams.  They’re far stronger, better armed, and better financed than they were when they first came across the Syrian border…

“And no matter what happens next, there’s no way to bring back the people ISIS has already murdered, no way to undo the rape and pillage.  Obama treats foreign policy like he’s in college writing a thesis about something that happened a long time ago.  But the present is bad, and the future might be worse.  If ISIS uses its manpower and resources to launch terror strikes in the West – something they are very interested in doing – the same people trying to cover for Obama’s incompetence today will be asking why nobody stopped the Islamic State long ago, when it could have been done with relative ease…”

Sunnis and Turks Support ISIS

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 11:

“The IS advance would hardly be possible without support from Iraqi Sunnis.

“… the American air strikes on IS positions still won’t solve the fundamental conflicts in these two countries… the lack of strong governments in Iraq and Syria has allowed the IS to operate freely in large swaths of the region…  the Turks have sealed the border to Kurds attempting to flee. At the same time, Turkish officials are doing hardly anything to hinder jihadists who travel in and out of Turkish airports as they make their way into the region…”

ISIS Wants Conflict with USA

Newsmax wrote on August 10:

“ISIS has said it desires a direct conflict with the United States on American soil, and the current conflict may also be serving as a lure for new members… ISIS has stated it intends to form a caliphate, or Muslim religious state, and is known for its brutality, including beheadings, of non-Muslims and even non-Sunnis. It formerly was an al-Qaida affiliate, but broke from the group after al-Qaida criticized it for its tactics.

“Members of the Iraqi army laid down their arms and fled earlier this year as ISIS forces advanced. As a result, ISIS now possesses American weapons left for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki. It also has raided banks and taken over oil wells, adding to its power…

“Of ISIS’s estimated 10,000 members, up to half are thought to be from outside Iraq and Syria. And about 100 Americans are thought to have tried or succeeded in traveling to ISIS territory. That trouble[s] U.S. officials because they fear those Americans could return to launch terror attacks on the homeland.”

Iraq’s Political Turmoil –Shiites vs. Shiites

The New York Times wrote on August 11:

“Iraq’s president formally nominated a candidate on Monday to replace Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The step broke a months-long political deadlock, but it also seemed to take Iraq into uncharted territory, as Mr. Maliki gave no signal that he was willing to relinquish power.

“The Obama administration, which has been pushing Iraqi lawmakers to name a replacement for Mr. Maliki, added to the pressure on him by welcoming the nomination of the candidate, Haider al-Abadi, a member of Mr. Maliki’s own Shiite Islamist Dawa Party…

“The nomination of Mr. Abadi came hours after a dramatic late-night television appearance in which a defiant Mr. Maliki challenged the Iraqi president, Fuad Masum, and threatened legal action for not choosing him as the nominee…

“The United States has been reluctant to help the Iraqi government militarily as long as it is led by Mr. Maliki, a Shiite Islamist who is seen by many as exacerbating sectarian and ethnic tensions, alienating some Sunnis and driving them to join the militants…”

The Washington Post wrote on August 11:

“Iraq’s president chose a veteran Shiite politician to lead the government on Monday, setting the stage for a vicious political showdown in a country already struggling to contain an extremist Islamist insurgency…

“In his eight years in power, Maliki has consolidated power in his hands, ruling in a dictatorial style that has chipped away at his support among fellow Shiites and Sunnis alike. He is widely blamed for the fostering [of] an environment that has allowed for Sunni extremists from the Islamic State to seize control of huge chunks of Iraqi territory…” 

BBC News reported on August 14 that due to worldwide pressure, Maliki stepped down. The article stated:  

“Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has stepped aside, ending political deadlock in Baghdad as the government struggles against insurgents. He resigned on state TV to make way for Haider al-Abadi, who was asked by Iraq’s president to form a government. Mr Maliki had been under intense pressure to make way for Mr Abadi, a deputy speaker of parliament…

“There had been fears that Mr Maliki might use the power base he built up through his control of the armed forces to stay in power. But, with his own party and the Shia clerical establishment, not to mention influential outside powers such as Iran and America and the entire international community backing Mr Abadi, the writing was clearly on the wall for MrMaliki’s hopes of clinging to power.”

 

USA Provides Weapons to Kurds

The Telegraph wrote on August 11:

“The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, but the aid has so far been limited to automatic rifles and ammunition.

“Previously, the US only sold arms to the government in Baghdad, some of which would then be transferred to the Kurdish forces in the north.”

Germany Might Send Weapons to Iraq

The Local wrote on August 12:

“Germany said on Tuesday it was ready to send non-lethal military aid such as armoured vehicles to help Iraq push back against the advance of Islamist insurgents… Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that, aside from humanitarian aid, Germany could possibly send equipment such as helmets, night-vision equipment, booby-trap detectors and medical supplies for Iraqi soldiers…

“Von der Leyen reiterated her government’s official position that Germany as a rule does not send arms into conflict zones but added that, if a ‘genocide’ loomed in Iraq, this question should be ‘debated intensively’ in Germany.

“Several German politicians across the party spectrum, including Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, have suggested the rule may have to be reviewed in light of the IS onslaught across vast areas of northern Iraq. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also signalled a willingness to pave the way for German weapons shipments to support Baghdad, citing the ‘existential threat’ posed by the IS…”

Sending weapons to volatile areas is never without great risk. But it is interesting that the German stance on the matter is apparently changing.

Back Into Iraq

The Huffington Post wrote on August 11:

“Obama has stated that the U.S. will not become the Iraqi government’s air force. Such an unequivocal declaration, though, presupposes that there is a functional substitute — and one that will be available in time to deal with military threats of the first order that could emerge literally any day. So, this is a typical Obama fudge. Barack Obama is a temporizer, a devotee of half-measures, ‘too clever by half’ as with his time-table limited mini-surge in Afghanistan in 2009.

“… He too often deceives himself that verbal declarations or pat phrases constitute a policy or program. Although the preferred course of action is far from clear, evasion of the tough issues and postponement of hard choices will lower the odds on coming up with wise decisions once they have to be taken…

“What are Obama’s time-frames? They seem to be confused… Certainly, there are no signs of a general strategy emerging in Washington.

“What role (explicit, tacit, or pantomime) for other outside powers, e.g. Iran, Turkey, Syria and Egypt?… On this question, too, we have no signs of the Obama administration’s overall thinking — much less the outlines of a strategy… This is a major liability and potentially highly dangerous…”

Regarding the President’s time frame, the Washington Post wrote on August 12: “Obama vacations as the world burns.”

Clinton vs. Obama

Newsmax wrote on August 10:

“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has put the largest amount of space yet between herself and a rapidly more-unpopular President Barack Obama, calling his refusal to ‘build up a credible fighting force’ in Syria to battle the Assad regime a ‘failure’ that led to jihadists such as the Islamic State (ISIS) moving in… 

“Goldberg notes in his article that Clinton’s separation from Obama was only a matter of time, and as she comes closer to announcing her own candidacy, she was notably more blunt in her interview with him…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 11:

“Clinton… ‘is basically a believer in the use of military force for humanitarian purposes and is less sensitive than President Obama is…’ says David C. Unger, the long-time member of the New York Times Editorial Board…  As Obama’s previous secretary of state, Clinton had strongly argued for arming the Syrian opposition, but that argument lost out against a more cautious approach generally favored by Obama and others in the administration.”

 

Arming the Rebels?

The Daily Beast wrote on August 11:

“The argument that America should have done more in Syria, made for years by foreign policy leaders in both parties and several members of Obama’s senior national security team, was brought back to the fore this past weekend. Obama and Hillary Clinton gave dueling interviews in which they publicly split on whether the security and humanitarian catastrophe in Syria could have been avoided if the United States had played a larger role. Obama’s outburst on July 31, one week prior, reveals the criticism was already getting to him, even before the White House tried to deflect Clinton’s remarks as pre-presidential political posturing.

“Just before the congressional recess, President Obama invited over a dozen Senate and House leaders from both parties to the White House to talk about foreign policy. According to two lawmakers inside the meeting, Obama became visibly agitated when confronted by bipartisan criticism of the White House’s policy of slow-rolling moderate Syrian rebels’ repeated requests for arms to fight the Assad regime and ISIS.

“According to one of the lawmakers, Sen. Bob Corker asked the president a long question that included sharp criticisms of President Obama’s handling of a number of foreign policy issues—including Syria, ISIS, Russia, and Ukraine. Obama answered Corker at length… But days after the White House meeting, Corker wrote a blistering op-ed for The Washington Post criticizing Obama’s handling of foreign policy. ‘Today, after three years of bold rhetoric divorced from reality, 170,000 Syrians are dead, and we are not innocent bystanders. The president encouraged the opposition to swallow deadly risks, then left them mostly hanging,’ the senator wrote. ‘Extremist groups from Syria have surged into Iraq, seizing key territory and resources, and are threatening to completely undo the progress of years of U.S. sacrifice.’

“Top Democratic lawmakers agreed with Corker and Clinton that doing more to support the moderate rebels would have at least had a chance of averting or mitigating the current crisis, which has now spread to large parts of Iraq as ISIS expands its newly declared Caliphate…

“In a New York Times interview published Aug. 8, Obama said that the idea arming the rebels would have made a difference had ‘always been a fantasy.’ ‘This idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth, and that they were going to be able to battle not only a well-armed state but also a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, a battle-hardened Hezbollah, that was never in the cards,’ Obama said…

“Not all lawmakers support arming the rebels; Sen. Rand Paul, for example, is on the record opposing the use of U.S. military resources to fight ISIS in Iraq or Syria. Also, Clinton and many lawmakers acknowledge that arming the rebels was risky and might not have worked. The weapons could’ve fallen into the extremists’ hands…”

Arming rebels is indeed a very dangerous endeavor. Now, the discussion has shifted to arming the Kurds and others in Iraq to defend against ISIS, as previous articles discuss. However, today’s “friends” can very quickly become tomorrow’s enemies. Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are prime examples.

The Lawless United States—Always at War Somewhere

The Huffington Post wrote on August 10:

“Ukraine. Gaza. Syria. Yemen. Pakistan. If it feels like the United States is always at war somewhere, that’s because it is. Not just Iraq and Afghanistan – the two wars we all know about. And, granted, we’re not only talking boots on the ground. It’s our money, our weapons and – more often in recent weeks – our Secretary of State, engaged in high-stakes diplomacy to uneven results… investigative journalist Kevin Gosztola put the U.S. war count at 74. These are mostly unannounced and undeclared wars against enemies that have different aspirations, strategies and ideologies…

“While the eyes of the American media and public might have shifted back to Iraq for now, just a week ago they were, momentarily, back on Afghanistan. In another example of how dangerous the country still is for our military, we heard about the killing of Major General Harold Greene, who was killed by an Afghan soldier in a green-on-blue gunfire exchange… Three in four Americans believe that history will judge the war in Afghanistan a failure…

“What we are leaving behind is in fact… ‘more war, and more terror.’ What we’re leaving behind in terms of our reputation is the idea of American lawlessness… Our lawlessness doesn’t just hurt us abroad. Lawlessness has encroached into the U.S.’s domestic affairs, with the NSA’s almost Orwellian reach into civic life…”

There is indeed a connection between fighting in war and engaging in lawlessness. Please read our free booklets, “Should YOU Fight in War?” and “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”

Wild West in Ferguson, Missouri

The Washington Post wrote on August 14:

“The killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., has produced a rare and surprisingly unified response across the ideological spectrum, with Republicans and Democrats joining to decry the tactics of the city’s police force in the face of escalating protests… Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)… criticized what he called the growing militarization of local police forces…

“The images of police in riot gear, with armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, shooting a tear-gas canister at an Al Jazeera camera crew… have drawn alarming reactions from the left and the right.

“The rough treatment and detainment of two journalists, Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post, has added to the public outrage about the Ferguson Police Department’s handling of the protests over Brown’s killing.”

Erdogan Becomes Head of State in Turkey… Is This Bad for the World?

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 11:

“The Turkish presidential election is decided: [Outgoing] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will become head of state [i.e., President]. It’s a bitter win, and not just for opponents of further Islamization…

“The outcome was fully democratic and therefore irrefutable. That’s one side of the coin. But on the other side is the fear that Turkey could now head further down the path of transformation into an Islamic republic – with increasing religious requirements for citizens in everyday life.

“With Erdogan’s victory, the secular reforms of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk fall further to pieces… Erdogan was chosen because he gave the Turkish people a whole new sense of self-esteem based on religious values…

“Surrounded by ongoing crises in places like Iraq and Syria, and the conflicts in Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia, not to mention the recently renewed fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Erdogan must overcome fears that he will only add fuel to these fires. It’s something he has often done in the past. The EU – and especially Germany – will have to cope with an increasingly uncomfortable relationship with Erdogan…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 6:

“Erdogan, 60, has been in power for 11 years, and because he can no longer serve as prime minister after three terms in office, he has now [been elected as] president… [He] has become more and more authoritarian with each election win. He has had protests quelled and critics arrested, and has gradually implemented Islamic moral values…

“Istanbul law professor Bertan Tokuzlu believes that… [Erdogan] will transform Turkey into a one-man state, once and for all… Erdogan himself makes no secret of how he intends to govern in the future. In a television interview in late July, he announced his intention to introduce a presidential system, and he cited China and Russia as models…”

Turkey will continue to play a very controversial role in the near future. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.” 

 

“High Probability” for Russian Invasion in Eastern Ukraine

The New York Times wrote on August 11:

“The prospect of a Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine appeared to rise sharply on Monday, threatening to take to new lows what is already the sharpest East-West confrontation of the post-Cold War era.

“As the Kremlin announced it had sent a convoy of humanitarian aid to Ukraine under the auspices of the International Red Cross, the secretary-general of NATO said there was a ‘high probability’ of a Russian attack…

“With increasing urgency, Western governments have condemned in advance any Russian aid missions, which they fear could serve as a pretext for a military incursion to support hard-pressed pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian Army in the country’s southeast…

En Route Russian “Aid” Convoy Will Be Denied Access

Deutsche Welle reported on August 12:

“Just hours after Russia deployed 280 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson from Ukraine’s military said the convoy would be denied access at the border… pointing out that Russia’s army was managing the convoy and that its contents had not been verified by the ICRC [Red Cross].

“… The aid column is expected to complete its 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) journey from Moscow to eastern Ukraine within two to three days… French President Francois Hollande [said] that he had ‘grave concerns’ prompted by the ‘possibility of a unilateral Russian mission on Ukrainian soil.’…

“According to… NATO, roughly 45,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed to Russia’s southwest, close to the country’s border with Ukraine.”

The EUObserver added on August 12:

“The Red Cross says it has no agreement to govern what will happen when Russian ‘aid’ trucks arrive at Ukraine’s border…

“The UN estimates that some 168,000 people have fled from east Ukraine to Russia over the past three months of fighting, while another 117,000 people have become ‘internally displaced’… The Red Cross said on Monday: ‘The situation is critical – thousands of people are reported to be without access to water, electricity, and medical aid’.”

The Bible shows that ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will collaborate and become “friends,” at least temporarily. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy — From Now Until Forever”. See also our Q&A on the prophetic relationship between Russia, Ukraine and continental Europe.