Compromise in Washington—but the Problems Remain…

The Washington Post wrote on January 1, 2013:

“Congress approved a plan to end Washington’s long drama over the ‘fiscal cliff’ late Tuesday after House Republicans surrendered to President Obama’s demand to let taxes rise on the nation’s richest households… the vote came less than 24 hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation…

“The bill will… shield millions of middle-class taxpayers from tax increases set to take effect this month. But it also will let rates rise on wages and investment profits for households pulling in more than $450,000 a year, marking the first time in more than two decades that a broad tax increase has been approved with GOP support. The measure also will keep benefits flowing to 2 million unemployed workers on the verge of losing their federal checks. And it will delay for two months automatic cuts to the Pentagon and other agencies that had been set to take effect Wednesday…

“Conservatives complained bitterly that the legislation would raise taxes without making any significant cuts in government spending. For much of the day, the measure appeared headed for defeat as Boehner contemplated tacking on billions in spending cuts, a move that would have derailed a compromise that the White House and Senate leaders had carefully crafted. In the end, GOP lawmakers decided not to take a gamble that could force the nation to face historic tax increases for virtually every American — and leave House Republicans to take the blame…

“The bill drew 85 votes from Republicans and 172 from Democrats, meaning well more than half of its support came from the Democratic minority. With 151 Republicans voting ‘no,’ the GOP tally fell far short of a majority of the GOP caucus. That broke a long-standing preference by Boehner to advance only bills that could draw the support of a majority of his Republican members. In a sign of the moment’s gravity, Boehner himself cast a rare vote: He supported the bill. So did Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), the GOP’s vice-presidential candidate last year, who parted ways from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a potential 2016 presidential contender, who voted against the measure.

“But other top GOP leaders voted no, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.). Boehner was humiliated just two weeks ago when the Republican rank-and-file refused to support a GOP alternative that would have permitted taxes to rise only on income over $1 million a year. But when he scheduled a vote on the Senate bill, even some of the chamber’s staunchest conservatives agreed that giving up the fight was probably the best course…

“Obama… warned again that he would not negotiate with Republicans over the $16.4 trillion debt limit, which must be raised in the coming weeks… The measure will protect more than 100 million families earning less than $250,000 a year from significant income tax increases set to take effect this month — although their payroll taxes will rise with the expiration of a temporary tax cut adopted two years ago… Neither party was entirely happy with the bill.”

And they should not be. The problems were only delayed… not solved.

More Fights Ahead…

The Independent wrote on January 1:

“The ‘fiscal cliff’ was designed by Washington for Washington — it was intended to set up a scenario so severe that the president and Congress would, at last, have to take on the nation’s major tax and spending problems. Instead, lawmakers again found a way to sidestep many of the prickliest issues and in the process set up other, potentially more severe, showdowns in the new year… [The deal] will nevertheless give way to a nearly continuous series of fights that will consume the first part of the year, even as President Barack Obama might hope to shift Congress’s attention to immigration reform and gun control…

“The next big deadline is likely to come around the end of February, when the Treasury Department will exhaust the measures now in place to extend the nation’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling. At that point, the government will not be able to pay its bills unless Congress votes to raise the nation’s legal borrowing limit. Republicans hope to use that moment to force Obama and congressional Democrats to agree to major spending cuts in return for the increase — in what could be a sequel to the contentious face-off over the debt limit in the summer of 2011… in early March [will] come another deadline: the $110 billion cut in spending, half from the Pentagon, delayed as part of this deal. A month or so later — on March 27 — a short-term measure that funds government agencies will lapse. Without a renewal, the government will shut down, setting up another possible showdown.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 2, 2013:

“Lawmakers now have two months, according to media reports, to follow up on the stop-gap measures with legislation, in particular on future budgetary cuts. This is likely to pit the Republican-dominated House of Representatives against Obama’s administration… In the words of one Twitter user: ‘To all of you who think it’s done. It’s not. It’s just been pushed back.’”

No Victory for Anybody

On January 1, 2013, Newsmax reported:

“Media baron Rupert Murdoch doesn’t see the Senate’s fiscal cliff vote early Tuesday as a victory for anybody, especially President Obama. Indeed, he tweets, the deal overwhelmingly passed by the Senate is likely to tank the economy.”

The Drudge Report posted the following on January 1:

“According to the Congressional Budget Office, the last-minute fiscal cliff deal reached by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama cuts only $15 billion in spending while increasing tax revenues by $620 billion—a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts. When Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush increased taxes in return for spending cuts—cuts that never ultimately came—they did so at ratios of 1:3 and 1:2.

“‘In 1982, President Reagan was promised $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax hikes,’ Americans for Tax Reform says of those two incidents. ‘The tax hikes went through, but the spending cuts did not materialize. President Reagan later said that signing onto this deal was the biggest mistake of his presidency. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush agreed to $2 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax hikes. The tax hikes went through, and we are still paying them today. Not a single penny of the promised spending cuts actually happened.’”

The terrible game of all players involved and the fact that they could not even reach earlier, until the very last hour, some kind of an “agreement” or better compromise which does not satisfy many Republicans or Democrats, sends an awful and shocking signal to the rest of the world. The USA—a country which is supposed by many to lead the world—has manifested itself as being unable to solve its own problems in a decent and timely manner, let alone the problems of others.

Washington Damages the Country and Threatens the World

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on January 2:

“The annual ritual of expiring deadlines and compromises in the middle of the night has long since become a tiresome farce that no one is interested in seeing any longer. … The political theater is damaging the country both domestically and abroad. Querulousness and anger are growing among the people because the national leadership in Washington isn’t in a position to solve the country’s biggest problems: the mountain of debt, the budget deficit, unemployment, the education crisis, aging infrastructure and the explosion of costs in the health care and pension systems.

“This political paralysis could stifle economic recovery. The national debt, which now exceeds the annual economic output of the country, also threatens national security. President Obama’s first term was characterized by procrastination and retreat when it came to foreign and security policy — from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya and Syria. And without Washington’s leadership, what is to become of the ‘peace process’ in the Middle East and the Arab Spring?…”

Die Tageszeitung wrote on January 2:

“Precious little has been gained… In Washington today, the main mission of politics is obstruction. All sides are acting as though the only conceivable form of politics is constantly relying on emergency measures in a panic.”

A Superpower Is Losing Its Way

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 2:

“The US has managed to avoid plunging off the fiscal cliff — for now. But the compromise is not meant to last and Washington will once again be faced with tough budgetary negotiations in several weeks… Washington’s last-minute compromise is far from being a breakthrough. And there will be many other last-minute negotiations in the coming months… In February, for example, the country will reach its debt ceiling; shortly after that, the austerity time bomb that was just now avoided will begin ticking again.

“We are, in short, witnessing a superpower losing its way in a maze of details… The Disunited States of America. And this despite the long list of tasks that urgently need addressing…”

Taxes Will Go Up…

American for Tax Reform (atr.org) reported on December 31:

“On January 1, regardless of the outcome of fiscal cliff negotiations, Americans will be hit with a $1 trillion Obamacare tax hike. Obamacare contains twenty new or higher taxes. Five of the taxes hit for the first time on January 1. In total, Americans face a net $1 trillion tax hike for the years 2013-2022, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“The five major Obamacare taxes taking effect on January 1 are as follows:

“The Obamacare Medical Device Tax: Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. Obamacare imposes a new 2.3 percent excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit in a given year. In addition to killing small business jobs and impacting research and development budgets, this will increase the cost of your health care – making everything from pacemakers to artificial hips more expensive.

“The Obamacare Flex Account Tax: The 30-35 million Americans who use a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs will face a new government cap of $2500. This will squeeze $13 billion of tax money from Americans over the next ten years. (Currently, the accounts are unlimited under federal law, though employers are allowed to set a cap.)

“There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are several million families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. This Obamacare tax provision will limit the options available to these families.

“The Obamacare Surtax on Investment Income: This is a new, 3.8 percentage point surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single)…

“The Obamacare ‘Haircut’ for Medical Itemized Deductions: Currently, those Americans facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). This tax increase imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. By limiting this deduction, Obamacare widens the net of taxable income for the sickest Americans. This tax provision will most harm near retirees and those with modest incomes but high medical bills.

“The Obamacare Medicare Payroll Tax Hike: The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9 percent on all wages and self-employment profits. Under this tax hike, wages and profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8 percent rate instead. This is a direct marginal income tax hike on small business owners, who are liable for self-employment tax in most cases.”

But we were told that Obamacare will serve the needy and that it is just and equitable. Surprise, surprise…

Bloomberg added on December 31, 2012:

“The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington… More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday.”

Warrantless Intercept Program Extended Behind Closed Doors

The Associated Press reported on December 31:

“President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government’s authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists. The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president’s approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday. Known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law allows the government to monitor overseas phone calls and emails without obtaining a court order for each intercept. The law does not apply to Americans. When Americans are targeted for surveillance, the government must get a warrant from a special 11-judge court of U.S. district judges appointed by the Supreme Court.”

At least this is what the law says…

America an Orwellian State

Rt.com wrote on December 28:

“Americans are living in an Orwellian state argue Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick, as they sit down with RT to discuss US foreign policy and the Obama administration’s disregard for the rule of law. Both argue that Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and that people have forgiven him a lot because of the ‘nightmare of the Bush presidency that preceded him.’… According to Kuznick, American citizens live in a fish tank where their government intercepts more than 1.7 billion messages a day. ‘That is email, telephone calls, other forms of communication.’

­“Oliver Stone [said:] ‘… we are going into the second administration that is living outside the law and does not respect the law and foundations of our system and he is a constitutional lawyer, you know. Without the law, it is the law of the jungle. Nuremburg existed for a reason and there was a reason to have trials, there is a reason for due process – “habeas corpus” as they call it in the United States… There has been a blind worship of the military and patriotism. I strongly believe in the strong military, but to defend our country, not to invade other countries and to conquer the world. I think there is a huge difference that has been forgotten: morality. Once you take the laws away, as Einstein once said famously, the country does not obey its laws, the laws would be disrespected. So it seems that the fundamental morality has been lost on us somewhere on the way recently and now it is what is effective… Does the end justify the means? No, it never did.

“[Peter Kuznick added:]  ‘Why are people so uninformed?… If people don’t understand their history, then they don’t have any vision of the future and what is possible. If they think what exists now – the tyranny of now – is all that is possible, then they can’t dream about the future. They can’t imagine the future that is different from the present… people have to understand the past because if you study the past then you can envision a future that is very different.’”

­Some of what is being said should be taken note of.

Controversial New Laws

NBC News wrote on January 1:

“The images out of Washington state toward the end of 2012 — all-night parties celebrating legalized pot and same-sex marriage — sparked hope among liberal activists that the tide has turned on these two issues… Beyond pot and same-sex marriage, Washington also allows physician-assisted suicide (as do Oregon and Montana) and was one of four states that decriminalized abortion before Roe v. Wade in 1971…

“Given their success in Washington and Colorado, Drug Policy Action is looking to push similar campaigns in California and Oregon in 2014 or 2016. Both states have legalized medical marijuana and in California, medical pot has becoming [sic] a booming business since it was approved in 1996. [It is] estimated that Californians consume one million pounds of pot a year…

“Washington may not be so far ahead of the rest of the country on social issues such as pot and same-sex marriage, according to Mark Smith, who teaches political science at the University of Washington…Smith said [:] ‘The whole nation is trending; we’re just further along than the rest of the country.’”

We are sometimes asked what the position of the Church is in those matters. Of course, we are not engaging in politics, but we strictly teach God’s viewpoint on social issues, as revealed in Scripture. The Bible does not allow for same-sex marriages, assisted suicide, abortion or health-damaging measures, such as consuming unclean meat or smoking. In regard to pot or marijuana, we ought to distinguish between medically-prescribed necessary treatments for certain illnesses (but even then, great caution is advised and it is the decision of the individual, after thorough investigation, whether or not to engage in such conduct) and the use of pot for non-medical reasons, which should not be done under any circumstance. Pot has a whole lot of negative press and that not without solid cause. Pot seems to be a drug that has led some into demonic experiences or exposure. The ingesting of pot is primarily through smoking, but regardless, it seems to be a drug that causes some bad and sometimes permanent problems.

Change in Global Order

The Guardian wrote on December 30:

“For Britain, a proud imperial power holding sway over vast territories spanning the globe, and for the other dominant European empires, 1913 was the year it all began to go wrong. Will 2013 bring similarly epic transformations in the current world order? As was the case a century ago, seeds of change can be discerned…

“Britain oversaw the biggest, wealthiest maritime empire ever known. London was the largest port in the world; Liverpool the second largest. Estimates suggest up to a fifth of the world’s population, and perhaps a quarter of its land mass, were under direct or indirect British rule…

“The first total or world war, which engulfed Europe the following year, may be said with hindsight to have changed everything. As generations of young men were slaughtered on the western and eastern fronts, old certainties and prejudices… crumbled… As was to happen again in 1941, the US found it impossible to stay out of the war, and Wilson sent his troops to France…

“The collapse of the old order proved irreparable. Three competing governance models – communism, fascism, and capitalism – produced another, even more murderous conflict only 20 years after the last. The second world war and its aftermath confirmed the passing of Britain as a global power and in effect entrenched the true heirs to the age of empire…

“Making predictions is a chancy business. But 2013, like 1913, could prove the precursor to another seminal turning point in the global order. China is rapidly approaching the point when the size of its economy will surpass that of the US. Its military capability is expanding hand over fist and so, too, is the confidence with which it asserts its sovereign and territorial claims… With overriding economic power inevitably comes political dominance, and the US, like Britain before it, will have to get used to the change…”

Even though China will play a dominant role in the years to come, the main power bloc will be a United States of core Europe under German leadership.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble Optimistic that the Worst Is Over for Europe

The Local wrote on December 28:

“German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said he believes the embattled eurozone is already past the peak of its three-year-long debt crisis, citing positive developments in Greece and France. He also expressed optimism about the pace of reform in fellow eurozone powerhouse France, saying Paris ‘was well aware that every country must constantly carry out reforms in order to stay competitive.’ Schäuble, 70, appeared more optimistic on what lies ahead for the eurozone than Chancellor Angela Merkel who has steadfastly refused to sound the all-clear… French President Francois Hollande has repeatedly said the eurozone crisis, which has at times threatened the very existence of the 17-country currency union, was past.”

However, as Deutsche Welle reported on December 31, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is less optimistic. In her New Year’s address, she stated: “I know that many are also heading into the new year with trepidation. And indeed, the economic environment next year will not be easier, but more difficult. That should not discourage us, but – on the contrary – serve as an incentive.” The Local added on December 31 that Mrs. Merkel also said: “The crisis is a long way from being beaten…  it has been possible this year to have the lowest unemployment and the highest level of employment since reunification…  the reforms that we have decided are beginning to work. However, we still need more patience. The crisis is a long way from being overcome.”

There may still be tough times ahead for Europe, but it is absolutely certain that the euro will survive and become one of the strongest, if not THE strongest currency in the world. Please view our new StandingWatch program, “Trouble Ahead—May God Help Us!”

Euro Pessimists Like Krugman Proven Wrong

The Globe and Mail wrote on December 28:

“Back in May, as the euro zone veered deeper into crisis, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman penned one of his gloomiest columns about the single currency, a piece in the New York Times entitled ‘Apocalypse Fairly Soon’. ‘Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro – that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union – could come apart at the seams,’ Mr. Krugman wrote. ‘We’re not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed, in a matter of months, not years.’

“Mr. Krugman was far from being alone in predicting imminent doom for the euro in 2012. Billionaire investor George Soros told a conference in Italy in early June that Germany had a mere three-month window to avert European disaster. Then in July, Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup and former Bank of England policy maker, raised the probability that Greece would leave the euro to 90 per cent, even going so far as to provide a date on which it might occur. Mr. Buiter’s D-Day – Jan. 1, 2013 – falls next week. And yet no one now believes a ‘Grexit’, or catastrophic implosion of the euro zone for that matter, is just around the corner.

“Half a year ago the chorus calling an end to the euro reached a crescendo. Among the chief doom-mongers were some of the world’s leading economists and investors, many of them based in the United States. Fast forward six months and their prophesies look ill-judged, or premature at the least. The euro has rebounded against the U.S. dollar. The bond yields of stricken countries like Greece, Spain and Italy – a market gauge of how risky these countries are – have fallen back. Even the gloomiest of the gloomy are revising their forecasts, although they warn of more trouble ahead. ‘Europe has surprised me with its political resilience,’ Mr. Krugman admitted earlier this month…

“With the benefit of hindsight, it seems clear that many simply underestimated the political will in Europe to keep the euro together, and the impact that a series of policy shifts in the second half of 2012 would have on sentiment. The most important of these were European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s July promise to do ‘whatever it takes’ to defend the euro – which led to the ECB’s commitment to buy euro zone government bonds in sufficient amounts to shore up the currency bloc – and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s late-summer shift on Greece…

“‘There may be a logic to Greece leaving, but the mechanics are too disruptive for both Greece and its neighbours,” said Barry Eichengreen, an economist at U.C. Berkeley, who has long argued that the euro is irreversible. ‘An appreciation of European politics makes you realize that everything will be done to prevent a breakup of the monetary union. It would be intensely catastrophic, economically and politically.’

“Capital Economics, a U.K.-based consultancy that forecast one or more countries would leave the single currency bloc by the end of 2012, now concedes that it underestimated the ECB’s determination to save the euro and the market’s faith in the bank’s promises… Prominent investors have also paid a price for betting against the euro zone this year. Earlier this month celebrated U.S. hedge fund manager John Paulson blamed big losses suffered in 2012 on his bets that the sovereign debt crisis would worsen. For those who placed their chips on the other side of the table, there were stellar returns of around 80 per cent to be had on 10-year Greek and Portuguese government bonds this year.

“Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist whose bearish forecasts earned him the nickname “Dr. Doom”, has been in the gloom camp from the beginning, predicting as far back as 2010 that countries would be forced to abandon the single currency. Now he says the risks of a near-term catastrophe have been reduced. Reflecting the more cautious view of many of his colleagues, Roubini believes 2013 will be another year in which European politicians ‘muddle through’, avoiding catastrophe…

“Mr. Krugman, while expressing surprise at Europe’s ability to avert disaster in 2012, isn’t backing off his predictions of gloom… In his recent blog post ‘Bleeding Europe’, he likens the austerity imposed on countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland to ‘medieval medicine’ in which patients were bled to treat their ailments. When the bleeding made them sicker, they were bled some more. Even if the euro has defied forecasts of its demise, the economics of austerity, Mr. Krugman says, are playing out ‘exactly according to script.’”

And so, Mr. Krugman and the other self-proclaimed economic prophets of doom and demise of the euro will be proven wrong once again. They might have underestimated Europe’s will to succeed, but they most certainly did not consider God’s Will in the matter. God has prophesied long ago—in the pages of the Bible—that Europe will become one more time, in these last days, a most powerful entity—economically, politically and militarily—which necessitates a common currency. And we are far too late in the time line of biblical prophecies as to observe the abandonment of the euro and the reinvention of the entire wheel of European unification.

Piers Morgan and the Bible

The Daily Mail wrote on December 28:

“CNN host Piers Morgan has said he believes the Bible and the U.S. Constitution are ‘inherently flawed’ and that the Bible needs an amendment changing its stance on same-sex marriage. The bold statements come days after the British journalist divided America with his strict stance on gun laws following the Sandy Hook massacre, even sparking e-petitions to deport him.

“While interviewing Pastor Rick Warren on his CNN show, he said: ‘Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed. Hence, the need to amend it.’ Warren, who is against same-sex marriage replied: ‘Not a chance. What I believe is flawed is human opinion, because it constantly changes’…

“His remarks sparked anger among conservatives, including Paul Kengor, the executive director of The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College. ‘It’s remarkable to watch secular liberals like Piers Morgan assume unto themselves the extraordinary authority to divine what in the Bible is true and what is not, what is flawed and what is not, and where certain “amendments” supposedly need to occur,’ he told Fox News.”

Even though Piers Morgan had a point when advocating gun control of assault weapons, he is terribly wrong when it comes to his understanding of the Bible. Unfortunately, Pastor Warren’s responses were not of great help, either. When reading the entire transcript, he seemed to be distinguishing between the “moral law” (the Bible never uses this term) and other laws, without explaining which is which. For a better understanding, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”

Interreligious Marriages

Al Jazeera wrote on December 31:

“Islam is the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing religion, and the country’s Muslim population has nearly doubled in the past decade. As the number of British Muslims increases, some are deviating from the faith’s traditional norms. Many Muslim women in the UK now walk a tightrope between their Islamic culture and British identity.

“Britain’s diversity has spawned financially independent Muslim women who appear to be challenging their cultural and religious boundaries. Radically, challenging their boundaries has meant that growing numbers are choosing to marry out their faith…

“Most religious scholars agree that Islam permits Muslim men to marry ‘women of the book’ – Christians or Jews – thus expanding the number of potential partners to choose from. Muslim women, on the other hand, are forbidden to marry a non-Muslim unless her partner converts to Islam, say purists. Some men nominally convert to Islam in order to appease their partner’s family.

“Imam Taj Hargey of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford is an exception… he argues: ‘There is no verse in the Holy Quran that bans Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. Almighty God would have revealed explicit directives if Muslim women were not allowed to marry outside the faith,’ he says. ‘As Muslim men are entitled to marry women from the People of the Book who are not Muslim [Surah al-Maidah 5:5], the same right must be afforded to Muslim women as Islam is a gender-equal religion.’”

While interfaith marriages become more common among Muslims, Jews and Christians, the Bible specifically tells us that a converted Christian is to marry “only in the Lord”—that is, only a converted Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39).

The NRA’s Damaging of America’s Worldwide Reputation

Newsmax reported on December 23:

“Wayne LaPierre, [CEO of the National Rifle Association]… reiterated [on Sunday in an interview] the message he delivered Friday at a press conference, when he called for armed security at every U.S. school. He said he is working with former Arkansas Rep. Asa Hutchinson to support an ‘immediate appropriation before Congress’ to that effect.”

This controversial idea, which has no chance of being approved by Congress, has won the approval of right-wing radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, according to Newsmax, December 21, who described the NRA as “the greatest, the largest gun-safety organization in the country” and who supported LaPierre’s proposal.  At the same time, this proposal has caused a worldwide stir of condemnation, according to the German magazine Der Stern in an article, dated December 24. But as if that was not enough to continue the damage of America’s reputation,  gun-loving enthusiasts continued their fight against any restrictions of gun purchase and possession by private citizens—including weapons which were invented and manufactured strictly for the military. Note the next incredible report.

Deporting Piers Morgan?

Sky News reported on December 24:

“Thousands of Americans have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported over his criticism of the country’s gun laws. By noon on Christmas Eve, the petition — which is posted on the White House website —  had garnered more than 31,000 signatures, surpassing the 25,000 required to get a response from the US government. Mr Morgan tweeted about the petition: ‘If I do get deported from America for wanting fewer gun murders, are there any other countries that will have me?’

“The outspoken former Daily Mirror editor has called for tighter gun control measures in the wake of the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. On Tuesday, he interviewed Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt, and appeared incredulous when Mr Pratt suggested more weapons were a credible solution…

“Following the interview, a Texas journalist posted a petition on the White House website alleging Morgan ‘is engaged in a hostile attack against the US Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment. We demand that Mr Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens,’ the petition says.

“Many Americans follow a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment, which enshrines the ‘right to bear arms’ in the US Constitution. Mr Morgan insists America can outlaw military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines without infringing on people’s constitutional rights, and says he has no quarrel with the Second Amendment. A defiant Mr Morgan refused to back down from his position…”

This highly reported incredible development, perhaps purportedly justified under some of America’s questionable immigration provisions, casts, in the opinion of the rest of the world, dark clouds on America’s freedom of speech. None of this will help America’s worldwide reputation to improve. Many, if not most Americans may not care about this, but it will come back to bite them and haunt them very soon.

Background Checks Don’t Really Work…

The New York Times reported on December 20:

“Nearly two decades after lawmakers began requiring background checks for gun buyers, significant gaps in the F.B.I’s database of criminal and mental health records allow thousands of people to buy firearms every year who should be barred from doing so. The database is incomplete because many states have not provided federal authorities with comprehensive records of people involuntarily committed or otherwise ruled mentally ill. Records are also spotty for several other categories of prohibited buyers, including those who have tested positive for illegal drugs or have a history of domestic violence.

“While some states, including New York, have submitted more than 100,000 names of mentally ill people to the F.B.I. database, 19 — including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maryland and Maine — have submitted fewer than 100 records and Rhode Island has submitted none… That suggests that millions of names are missing from the federal database… The gaps exist because the system is voluntary; the Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the federal government cannot force state officials to participate in the federal background check system. As a result, when a gun dealer asks the F.B.I. to check a buyer’s history, the bureau sometimes allows the sale to proceed, even though the purchaser should have been prohibited from acquiring a weapon, because its database is missing the relevant records…

“The background check requirements apply only to licensed dealers, not the private sellers who account for an estimated 40 percent of sales. Restrictions imposed by Congress on government tracking of firearms make it hard to know exactly how many weapons are sold each year… more than five million firearms are manufactured each year for sale in the United States, and about three million more such weapons are imported. Those numbers do not account for the sale of used guns…”

It’s Not About Just Guns…

The Washington Post published on December 21 the following opinion by “proud gun owner” and Democrat Joe Manchin III, a junior U.S. senator from West Virginia who served as governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010:

“… if you think the problem of mass violence in our country is about just guns, you’re wrong. If you think it’s about just an entertainment industry that markets violence to kids, you’re wrong. If you think it’s about just insufficient security at our schools, you’re wrong. If you think it’s about just the lack of mental health services for troubled young people and adults, you’re wrong. We need to address all of them… I propose an alternate path: a national commission on mass violence… I am not the first to suggest this approach. My friends Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. John McCain of Arizona have advocated a similar effort for years. And I believe that such a commission could go well beyond the work of the president’s task force and help provide a fuller understanding of the root causes of senseless acts of violence… Sportsmen, hunters and gun owners must have a seat at the table. They’ve been vilified for so much of the mass violence in America, and that’s just wrong. They’re hurting about Newtown as much as the rest of us….

“We cannot take a single-issue approach to this problem. The causes of mass violence run deeper than that. Any solution that doesn’t take all concerned parties into account will lack the credibility it needs to become a reality. But we should all be looking for a comprehensive fix. We owe that to Newtown… This is the way we responded to challenges in West Virginia when I was governor. After tragic mine disasters, we called a brief time out, huddled up and created a plan to protect our miners. We didn’t quit mining; we made the mines safer. That’s similar to what this country did after Sept. 11, 2001: We didn’t quit flying; we made flying safer…

“The Newtown tragedy has changed our nation forever. And as we are changed, so must our thinking be changed. We must act in such a way that those beautiful children and courageous adults who tried to save them from unspeakable horror shall not have died in vain.”

Yes, a change of heart and mind is truly necessary—a deep respect and love for human life and for the Creator of all life—God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. But sadly, that respect and love is not going to come for most people in this day and age.

Israel Disputes NRA Claims

In rejecting claims by the NRA pertaining to Israel’s gun laws, the Times of Israel and the Associated Press reported on December 24:

“Israel’s policy on issuing guns is restrictive, and armed guards at its schools are meant to stop terrorists, not crazed or disgruntled gunmen, experts said Monday, rejecting claims by America’s top gun lobby that Israel serves as proof for its philosophy that the US needs more weapons, not fewer.

“Far from the image of a heavily armed population where ordinary people have their own arsenals to repel attackers, Israel allows its people to acquire firearms only if they can prove their professions or places of residence put them in danger. The country relies on its security services, not armed citizens, to prevent terror attacks. Though military service in Israel is compulsory, routine familiarity with weapons does not carry over into civilian life. Israel has far fewer private weapons per capita than the US, and while there have been gangster shootouts on the streets from time to time, gun rampages outside the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are unheard of.

“The National Rifle Association responded to the Dec. 14 killing of 20 first-graders and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school by resisting calls for tighter gun control and calling for armed guards and police at schools. On Sunday, the lobby’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, invoked his perception of the Israeli school security system to back his proposal. ‘Israel had a whole lot of school shootings until they did one thing: They said, “We’re going to stop it,” and they put armed security in every school and they have not had a problem since then,’ LaPierre said on the NBC News show ‘Meet the Press.’…

“Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor spelled it out. ‘We’re fighting terrorism, which comes under very specific geopolitical and military circumstances. This is not something that compares with the situation in the US,’ Palmor said… Gun licensing to private citizens is limited largely to people who are deemed to need a firearm because they work or live in dangerous areas… The gap between Israeli gun ownership and US gun ownership is consequently staggering. A total of 170,000 guns are licensed for private use in Israel, or about one gun for every 30 adults… By contrast, US authorities estimate that at least one-third of all American households have firearms — and in many cases, not only one.

“Americans are also much freer to choose what type of guns they buy. Automatic weapons of the type Lanza used to gun down his victims are banned for private ownership in Israel. It is also rare for a person to be authorized to own more than one firearm… Eighty percent of the 10,000 people who apply yearly for licenses are turned down… In the US, people can purchase firearms from private dealers without a background check or a license of any kind. In Israel, applicants must undergo police screening and medical exams, in part to determine their mental state…

“Many Israelis receive weapons training in the military. But to be licensed to receive a weapon outside the military, they must undergo at least two hours of additional training, then repeat the training and medical exams every three years before they can renew their licenses. Anybody who possesses a legally acquired gun waives the right to confidentiality, and authorities cross-reference for new information about the gunholder every three months.”

Before representatives of the NRA make wild, unsupportable or false claims, they had better check out the facts.

Christmas Vacation Bill for the First Family

Newsmax and AP reported on December 23:

“While President Barack Obama and his family spend Christmas in Hawaii for the fifth straight year, federal and local taxpayers are likely to be left with a holiday bill that tops $4 million for the first family’s security and travel expenses to the exclusive retreat known for its turquoise waters and rolling surf, according to a published report. Air Force One touched down in Honolulu minutes after midnight local time on Saturday. The first family departed the plane and traveled quickly to their vacation home in the beach town of Kailua, a scenic, sleepy resort on the east side of Oahu. The Obamas pay for their own accommodations, while taxpayers shoulder the costs of security and travel.

“Though it is not clear how long the Obamas planned to stay in Hawaii about 12 miles from downtown Honolulu, the Hawaii Reporter estimated that the trip could cost taxpayers more than $4 million based on the nine-hour flying time to and from Washington and the high-priced resort accommodations for White House staff, Navy Seals, Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. The publication estimates that each leg of the nine-hour flight alone will cost taxpayers $1,635,813 for a roundtrip total of $3,271,622…”

The publication also estimated that additional related expenses for the trip to Hawaii would cost taxpayers about 1 million dollars. This sounds rather exorbitant at a time when Americans are deeply distressed and disappointed with government and Congress regarding their interrupted and so far toothless efforts to prevent the nation from jumping over the fiscal cliff into another deep recession. Note the next article.

“Most Consequential Act of Congressional Irresponsibility in American History”

The Washington Times wrote on December 23:

“There was more finger-pointing and jostling Sunday over how to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff,’ but there was also a growing sense of pessimism over whether a deal can be reached before the year-end deadline. After the collapse last week of the House compromise known as ‘Plan B,’ which would have raised taxes on those with incomes exceeding $1 million, and President Obama’s subsequent proposal to delay action on spending cuts,

“‘It’s the first time that I feel it’s more likely we’ll go over the cliff than not,’ said Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent. [He] said the result would be ‘the most consequential act of congressional irresponsibility in a long time, maybe ever in American history, because of the impact it’ll have on almost every American’… The House and Senate are both in recess until Thursday. Mr. Obama, who arrived Saturday in his native Hawaii for the holidays, is expected to return to the White House next week.”

Over the Cliff We Go?

Fox News wrote on December 27:

“The rhetoric heated up Thursday as time on the clock wound down for a fiscal crisis deal, with lawmakers trickling back into Washington and no plan of action in place for averting the tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to hit next week. President Obama returned Thursday afternoon from vacation in Hawaii, as the Senate gaveled into session for unrelated business. House leaders announced that members will return late Sunday – but that leaves just one full day to act on any legislation before the deadline passes.

“Rumors were flying Thursday afternoon about last-ditch efforts to craft some sort of a scaled-back package that can shield most Americans from the more than $500 billion in tax hikes scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. But with hope fading, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor that ‘it looks like’ the nation is going to miss the deadline.

“Reid also put all the blame on House Speaker John Boehner, likening him to a dictator and claiming he was putting his speakership before the good of the country. ‘John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on firm financial footing,’ Reid said… Boehner’s office quickly shot back: ‘Senator Reid should talk less and legislate more. The House has already passed legislation to avoid the entire fiscal cliff. Senate Democrats have not,’ Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said…

“With each side refusing to make the first move, it may be incumbent upon Obama to give a negotiated bill one last try, presuming he can get all the stakeholders in the same room… A new Gallup poll, though, showed Americans are growing increasingly pessimistic about the chances for an agreement over the next few days. Considering the time it takes to write and pass a bill of this magnitude, the best route for averting tax hikes may be to pass a short-term extension of current rates with the goal of approving a larger package early next year. Lawmakers have not even agreed to that, though.

“Without a deal, more than $500 billion in tax hikes are scheduled to go into effect. This includes increases in income tax rates, investment tax rates, the estate tax, the payroll tax and other provisions. Budget cuts to the Pentagon and other federal agencies threaten to hit government contractors. All together, a prolonged failure to avert these policies could cause another recession, economists warn.”

Threat of Continued Turmoil in Egypt

The Associated Press reported on December 23:

“Egypt’s Islamists-backed constitution received a ‘yes’ majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus on the path Egypt will take after shedding its autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

“Instead, Morsi disillusioned many non-Islamists who had once backed him and has become more reliant on his core support in the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. Hard-liners in his camp are determined to implement provisions for stricter rule by Islamic law in the charter, which is likely to further fuel divisions… 71.4 percent of those who voted Saturday said ‘yes’ after 95.5 percent of the ballots were counted. Only about eight million of the 25 million Egyptians eligible to vote — a turnout of about 30 percent — cast their ballots… The results of the two rounds mean the referendum was approved by about 63 percent…

“In a sign of disarray in Morsi’s administration, his vice president… resigned during Saturday’s voting. Vice President Mahmoud Mekki’s resignation had been expected since his post is eliminated under the new constitution. But its hasty submission even before the charter has been sealed and his own resignation statement suggested it was linked to Morsi’s policies… Over the past month, seven of Morsi’s 17 top advisers and the one Christian among his top four aides resigned. Like Mekki, they said they had never been consulted in advance on any of the president’s moves, including his Nov. 22 decrees, since rescinded, that granted himself near absolute powers…”

Egypt’s Laws Control and Prohibit Free Thinking and Speech

The Telegraph wrote on December 24:

“Among the many charges levelled against the constitution by both human rights groups, secular and liberal activists, and the Coptic Christian minority, is that its defence of basic freedoms is heavily curtailed when it comes to religion and politics. Specifically, it will forbid any law that would permit anything deemed insulting either of people or of religion, the Prophet Mohammed or the other figures considered by Islam to be God’s messengers. Such a clause could clearly have a chilling effect on free thinking and speech…

“Despite regular descriptions of ex-President Hosni Mubarak’s old dictatorship as ‘secular”’, it too made Egypt a country constitutionally obliged to follow the ‘principles of Sharia’. The laws it promulgated were wide enough and flexible enough to turn the Islamist tap on and off at will… Blasphemy laws have been in place since 1937, and can be used to defend Christianity as well as Islam. But in practice the law was deployed regularly, both as a sop to the Muslim Brotherhood and also simply as a means of state repression…”

Depressing–US Government and Intellectuals Defend Muslim Brotherhood

Jewish Ideas Daily wrote on December 20:

“One of the most consistent and depressing aspects of U.S.-Middle Eastern relations is the determination of our intellectuals and officials to defend Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. When Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi made his recent power grab, for example, immunizing his decrees from judicial review, Yale law professor Noah Feldman, said that Morsi merely ‘overreached’—and did so ‘in the service of preserving electoral democracy.’ State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland lamely characterized Morsi’s actions as a ‘far cry from an autocrat just saying my way or the highway.’

“This indulgence, though, is merely the culmination of a more-than-60-year relationship, mostly hidden from view. There has long been an on-again-off-again American romance with the Brotherhood.

“The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna as a puritanical, reactionary pan-Islamic movement. It developed as a state within a state, including a network of social welfare organs like hospitals, and an underground party apparatus that quickly spread to other countries. The Brotherhood collaborated with the Nazis before and during World War II. In 1948 it murdered an Egyptian Prime Minister and in 1954 tried but failed to assassinate Gamal Abdel Nasser… When Mubarak was overthrown, it was well-positioned as the only organized and funded opposition group…

“In the wake of World War II, the U.S. government’s perceptions of the Middle East were filtered through a single lens: the threat of Communism. The threat was hardly just theoretical… The U.S. government also tried to make Islam itself into an American partner. During the 1940s American officials met regularly with the Brotherhood, seeing it as a perfectly useful anti-communist tool. What they knew about the Brotherhood’s violently anti-modern, anti-Semitic ideology is uncertain…

“America’s fundamental inability to take [Egypt’s] religion and ideology seriously persists. Senator John Kerry, likely the next Secretary of State, stated confidently after meeting Morsi in Cairo in June, 2012 that the Egyptian president was ‘committed to protecting fundamental freedoms’ and ‘said he understood the importance of Egypt’s post-revolutionary relationships with America and Israel.’…

“… the U.S. government has long displayed… an ‘accomodationist’ approach… But the Obama administration has shown even more willingness than its predecessors to look the other way in the face of Brotherhood abuses of power—and of women and religious minorities… It has not taken the Brotherhood’s credo to heart: ‘Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law; the Prophet is our leader; jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.’

“For Israel the situation has become especially grave. Morsi, who can barely bring himself to utter its name, was lauded by the U.S. government, shortly before his coup, for his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict. He may face hundreds of thousands of internal protestors, but there is little to restrain him while there is no American financial pressure or Egyptian army opposition. The Brotherhood’s Islamization of Egypt continues, transforming schools, courts, and mosques down to the local level. When Mohammad Badie, ‘Supreme Guide’ of the Brotherhood, states that ‘jihad is obligatory’ for Muslims and calls peace agreements with Israel a ‘game of grand deception,’ it behooves all parties to listen.”

But the world—and especially the USA and Great Britain–did not (want to) listen when Adolf Hitler placed them on advance notice as to what his goals were. Now the Muslim Brotherhood has told everyone what they really want to pursue, and again, the world and especially the USA—does not (want to) listen. Will it ever…?

The Muslim Brotherhood and the USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 24:

“Author and journalist Khaled al-Khamissi sees a difficult political crisis ahead for Egypt. He says the Muslim Brotherhood, with the support of the US, is trying to transform the country into an Islamic state… [He stated the following:]

“‘The president is conducting a coup, and it’s a drastic one. The president and the Muslim Brotherhood are trying to take control of various institutions – the parliament and the constitution. They have support from the US as well as from the oil states in the Gulf, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. So they’re trying to take over the state as quickly as possible… If the Muslim Brotherhood persists, though, there’s going to be a disaster. So I believe that the coming weeks and months will not be especially peaceful. It will come to a war between the Muslim Brotherhood on the one hand and the rest of the political powers on the other…

“‘The Muslim Brothers are very conservative and belong on the extreme right in the political spectrum. Economically, they are very close to the neo-liberals. That’s why they’re so close to the US and Saudi Arabia. In Egypt, there are many important business people who share the views of the Muslim Brothers. In the long term, they want to transform Egypt into an Islamic state. In addition, these people are not real Egyptians because they want to make religion the sole basis of the national identity. It’s a horrible thought that the president is not thinking of his country but of something else: an Islamic caliphate….

“Participation in the most recent elections and the referendum was very low. That helps the Islamists because they’re able to mobilize their supporters. Their opponents don’t go to the polls because they don’t know for whom they should vote… The Americans are giving unqualified support to the Islamists…’”

The Holy Land’s Top Roman Catholic Cleric Welcomes Birth of the State of Palestine

The Washington Post wrote on December 24:

“Christians from the world over packed Manger Square in Bethlehem Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient West Bank town where he was born. For their Palestinian hosts, this holiday season was an especially joyous one, with the hardships of the Israeli occupation that so often clouded previous celebrations eased by the United Nations’ recent recognition of an independent state of Palestine.

“In his annual pre-Christmas homily, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, said the road to actual freedom was still long, but this year’s festivities were doubly joyful, celebrating ‘the birth of Christ our Lord and the birth of the state of Palestine.’”

These words are not meaningless and polite platitudes, but they reveal Catholic and European interests and goals in the Middle East, notwithstanding—as the next article describes– Israel’s conduct and attempts to appease the Christian world. 

Israeli President Peres Sings Christmas Songs and Sends Happy Christmas Greetings

Zenit wrote on December 21:

“The President of the State of Israel, President Shimon Peres, paid a visit to the official residence of Archbishop Chacour in Haifa. President Peres sang traditional Christmas songs with the local children’s choir from the Christian-Arabic school in L’bilin. President Peres delivered a festive greeting to Christians in Israel and across the world and said, ‘It is for me a privilege, as president of the State of Israel, to send profound wishes on behalf of all of Israel for a Happy Christmas to the whole Christian world and to express the hope that the Middle East may enter an era of peace and prosperity. The State of Israel is committed to protecting all the holy sites and the freedom of worship for everyone. In the Holy Land coexistence between Jews, Christians and Muslims will continue. From the city of Haifa, a model of peace and coexistence, I wish to send one clear message to the world – a message of peace and unity between all faiths, between all nations.’”

“President Peres stressed the positive relations between Israel and the Vatican and reflect  Israel’s commitment to freedom of worship. President Peres said, ‘I have enormous respect for the Pope, I appreciate his concern and action to preserve the good relations in the Christian world. Relations between Jerusalem and the Vatican are excellent and warm, the best they have ever been.’ President Peres blessed the members of the Christian community in Israel and said, ‘We are proud of the Christian community in Israel and are also proud that they feel fully at home, completely free to worship in their own way and to continue with their own traditions. I wish them and all Christians everywhere a Happy Christmas.’

“President Peres was welcomed at the festivities by a children’s choir dressed in traditional Christmas outfits, leaders of the Christian community in northern Israel and Archbishop Chacour who said, ‘I thank the president of the State of Israel for coming to speak with the Christian community and share his blessings with us before Christmas and the New Year…’”

One should read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

Germany Warns Britain Not to “Blackmail” Europe

The Local wrote on December 24:

“German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has warned Britain against ‘blackmailing’ its EU partners in a bid to bring powers back home from Brussels. ‘We want to keep Britain in the EU and not force it out,’ Schäuble told the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. ‘But I will also say that does not mean anyone can blackmail us’…

“Britain has belonged to the European Union since 1973 but has not joined the 17-nation eurozone… Schäuble has served as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s main ally in Berlin in plotting an austerity-driven course to resolve the eurozone debt crisis as well as greater political integration of the bloc.

“British Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, said last month he still supported British membership of the EU but could not accept the ‘status quo’ and called for a ‘new settlement’ involving the repatriation of some powers. He has so far avoided offering a clear ‘in-out’ referendum despite strong pressure for clarity on the issue from his party.

“Tensions flared last month when Cameron opposed a new €1 trillion EU budget for the next seven years, saying that it was unacceptable to raise spending at a time when many countries were implementing austerity measures at home. A recent poll in British weekly newspaper The Observer found that 56 percent of Britons surveyed would vote to leave the EU given the chance.”

The exodus of Britain from Europe is only a matter of time. The biblical reason is revealed in our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

“Das Gott”—God Without a Gender?

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 21, 2012

“Just in time for Christmas, Germany’s conservative Family Minister Kristina Schröder has sparked a contentious debate about the word most central to the Christian faith: God. In an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit in which she discussed gender roles in children’s literature, Schröder also took on God’s gender, and fellow members of her Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, are not impressed.

“The German language has three definite articles for nouns to indicate their gender — der (masculine), die (feminine) and das (neuter). The noun der Gott, or God, is masculine. But Schröder told Die Zeit that the article for God shouldn’t matter. It could just as easily be the gender-neutral das Gott, she said, saying the article ‘doesn’t mean anything.’

“Such a suggestion is an outrage, her colleagues say. ‘This overly cerebral nonsense leaves me speechless,’ Bavarian Social Minister and CSU member Christine Haderthauer told the mass-circulation daily Bild on Friday. ‘I find it sad when our children, due to blatant insecurity and political correctness, have the strong images that are so important to their imaginations taken away.’ The CSU’s party whip in the federal parliament, Stefan Müller, also expressed irritation over the idea. ‘… I find it improper and am a bit astonished,’ he said.  Meanwhile, Norbert Geis, also a CSU member of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, concurred. ‘God is revealed to us as the father of Christ, and it ought to stay that way,’ he said.”

It is indeed deeply distressing that a professing Christian and German Family Minister would attack the biblical revelation of God just to be gender-friendly. How sad that such ignorant nonsense is even possible, but what are we to expect in a God-defying world without any standards and absolutes? A German Bible translation from 2006, “The Bible in Just Language,” (“Bibel in Gerechter Sprache”) which was worked on by over 50 theologians, translates the first words of the “Model Prayer” as follows: “You God, are to us Father and Mother in Heaven.” Throughout the translation, God is sometimes referred to in the masculine (“der Lebendige”) and sometimes in the feminine gender (“die Heilige”).

“Without Gun Control, 48,000 Americans Will Die Next Year”

Newsmax reported on December 16, 2012:

“New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday challenged President Barack Obama to take charge of imposing stricter gun-control laws in the United States following the horrific shootings of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut schoolhouse (before the murderer committed suicide). ‘It’s time for the president, I think, to stand up and lead and tell this country what we should do, not go to Congress and say what you guys want to do,’ Bloomberg said…

“The staunch gun-control advocate, whose state’s gun restrictions are among the toughest in the country, said if Obama does not act, an estimated 48,000 Americans will die next year at the trigger of illegally possessed guns… Specifically, Obama, who campaigned in 2008 on an assault-weapons-ban platform, should enforce existing laws more aggressively and introduce legislation to Congress, Bloomberg said. ‘If Congress were to act, if Congress wasn’t so afraid of the NRA… if they were to stand up and do what was right for the American public, we’d all be a lot better off,’ he said…”

Countries Overseas Condemn American Politics on Guns

The Times of Israel wrote on December 15:

“… amid the messages of condolences, much of the discussion after the Connecticut rampage centered on gun control — a baffling subject for many in Asia and Europe, where mass shootings also have occurred but where access to guns is much more heavily restricted. Many Twitter users and media personalities in the UK immediately invoked Dunblane — a 1996 shooting in that small Scottish town which killed 16 children. That tragedy prompted a campaign that ultimately led to tighter gun controls effectively making it illegal to buy or possess a handgun in the UK. ‘This is America’s Dunblane,’ British CNN host Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter late Friday. ‘We banned handguns in Britain after that appalling tragedy. What will the US do? Inaction [is] not an option.’…

“Australia confronted a similar tragedy in 1996, when a man went on a shooting spree in the southern state of Tasmania, killing 35 people. The mass killing sparked outrage across the country and led the government to impose strict new gun laws, including a ban on semi-automatic rifles.

“China has seen several rampage attacks at schools in recent years, though the attackers there usually use knives and not guns. The most recent attack happened Friday, when a knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a primary school in central China. With more than 100,000 Chinese studying in US schools, a sense of shared grief came through. ‘Parents with children studying in the US must be tense. School shootings happen often in the US. Can’t politicians put away politics and prohibit gun sales?’ Zhang Xin, a wealthy property developer, wrote on her feed on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo service, where she has 4.9 million followers. ‘There will always be mental patients among us. They should not be given guns’…

“Some in South Korea, whose government does not allow people to possess guns privately, blamed a lack of gun control in the United States for the high number of deaths in Connecticut… In Thailand, which has one of Asia’s highest rates of murder by firearms and has seen schools attacked by Islamist insurgents in its southern provinces, a columnist for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation blamed American culture for fostering a climate of violence…”

Will Gun Control Ever Come?

The New York Times wrote on December 14:

“Each slaughter of innocents seems to get more appalling… There is no crime greater than violence against children, no sorrow greater than that of a parent who has lost a child, especially in this horrible way. Our hearts are broken for those parents who found out their children — little more than babies, really — were wounded or killed, and for those who agonized for hours before taking their traumatized children home… We have no doubt Mr. Obama will help in any way he can, for now, but what about addressing the problem of guns gone completely out of control, a problem that comes up each time a shooter opens fire on a roomful of people but then disappears again?

“The assault weapons ban enacted under President Clinton was deficient and has expired. Mr. Obama talked about the need for ‘common sense’ gun control after the movie theater slaughter in Aurora, Colo., and he hinted during the campaign that he might support a new assault weapons ban, presumably if someone else introduced it. Republicans will never do that, because they are mired in an ideology that opposes any gun control. After each tragedy, including this one, some people litter the Internet with grotesque suggestions that it would be better if everyone (kindergarten teachers?) were armed. Far too many Democrats also live in fear of the gun lobby and will not support an assault weapons ban, or a ban on high-capacity bullet clips, or any one of a half-dozen other sensible ideas…

“The more that we hear about gun control and nothing happens, the less we can believe it will ever come. Certainly, it will not unless Mr. Obama and Congressional leaders show the courage to make it happen.”

That America’s morbid obsession with guns is terribly misguided is absolutely true. The conservative German paper, Die Welt commented that America’s “armored insanity” has become routine. “The American god of arms is insatiable,” the Italian newspaper La Repubblica wrote. According to Deutsche Welle, “The Economist… drew the conclusion… that the only effective gun control is ‘no guns.’ For ‘having few guns means that few people get shot.’ The Economist made a comparison with Great Britain where, following ‘a couple of horrible mass shootings, handguns have been effectively banned.’ Firearms-ownership is onerous, involving a lot of paperwork, the Economist explained, and it’s hard to get ammunition. The result: ‘In 2008-2009, there were 39 fatal injuries from crimes involving firearms in England and Wales… In America, there were 12,000 gun-related homicides in 2008.’” Spain’s El Mundo spoke of the “‘inculture’ of violence” which “is deeply engrained in American society.”

Fortunately, the day of abolition of guns WILL come—but only after Jesus Christ has returned and people will have a change of heart and mind. The next article succinctly addresses the need to change our way of thinking and acting.

Eradicate the Culture of Violence

On December 16, the Times of Israel wrote this:

“With the jolt and shock of the mass murder in Connecticut we will once again bear witness to a futile discussion about faulty policies around gun laws and the inordinate power of the gun lobby in the U.S. We know and grow weary of the claims for and against, and we also know that nothing will change… But isn’t it appropriate that a much broader and deeper conversation be opened, one that concerns not only Americans, but all of us who are searching for a society where values and cultural mores are taught? Can such a society exist with this atmosphere of public violence surrounding us? Even in a place like the State of Israel, where there is much better regulation regarding the sale and licensing of weapons?

“I myself grew up in a home where it was forbidden to hold anything resembling a weapon, from a water gun to a slingshot or even a small knife. We were not allowed to play war games of any kind. When we received items like these for birthdays, they were thrown directly into the trash, sometimes over our loud protests. Yet this is also how we educated our own children…

“The country I served as a rabbi forbade the airing of the series ‘Power Rangers’ in order to prevent acts of violence and so as not to expose children to violence. Today, I see the amount of violence on the Internet, television, and of course in the news and in our general discourse and in contrast, ‘Power Rangers’ looks almost like a ballet. This has entered so deeply into our contemporary culture that the implications go well beyond our ability to control or direct.

“When I led discussions in this direction in the Knesset Education Committee about television programs, the response was always the excuse that all programs provide an age warning. Of course this obviously just tells children who have not reached the appropriate age that they should watch…

“I hope that in memory of these slaughtered children we not only embrace our own children, as recommended by President Obama, but we also take action to eradicate the culture of violence from within our midst.”

The author has a point, even though he quite inconsistently relates in another portion of the article (which was deleted above) that his father had no problems with fighting in Israel ‘s wars, even though he taught the strictest form of pacifism at home. Sadly, such parental conduct gives mixed signals to their children.

Gun Lobby Silent—For Now…

Deutsche Welle reported on December 16:

“In the hours of media coverage about the Newtown shooting, representatives of the gun lobby have had little to say. David Gregory, host of ‘Meet the Press,’ said his show invited all 31 senators who expressed their support for gun rights to appear on the show but all declined. Bob Schieffer of ‘Face the Nation’ on CBS said the NRA refused an invitation to appear on the show.

“Louie Gohmert, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Texas, was one of the few conservative, supporters of gun rights who appeared for interviews. He argued that had teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School also had guns in their offices, they would have been able to kill the 20-year-old gunman.”

What nonsense… However, as CNN reported this week, more and more states seem to consider providing teachers with weapons. At the same time, the NRA issued a letter of sympathy and stated that they will prevent these massacres from happening again, without giving any details as to how this is to be accomplished.

America’s Morbid Fascination with Guns

In the context of the horrible Connecticut school shooting, it might be worthwhile to consider the next report, which was published by salon.com on December 3, 2012—BEFORE the terrible mass murder in Connecticut:

“The United States produces the vast majority of firearms in this country. It’s also the world’s leading weapons exporter by far. America exported $336.5 million worth of firearms in 2011… That’s $200 million more than Italy, the next leading exporter. In addition to feeding booming gun sales at home, however, the insatiable American appetite for weapons is also responsible for fueling a burgeoning small arms industry around the world. Despite producing so many of its own weapons, the United States is also the top global importer… global small-arms sales for 2011 [are valued] at $8.5 billion, more than double its 2006 estimate of $4 billion…

“American small-arms purchases in 2009 accounted for 38 percent of the global total at $1.8 billion, more than 47 other leading importers combined… Private citizens provide the main source of demand for small arms around the globe. Of the 650 million firearms owned by civilians worldwide, more than 41 percent are in American hands. It’s no surprise the United States has by far the highest proportion of guns per person, an estimated 89 civilian firearms per 100 residents… 47 percent of American adults… keep guns. That’s the highest since 1993…

“Experts say a lack of data makes it difficult to come up with an estimate of illegal arms sales… Even though Americans are the world’s biggest exporters and importers of small arms, however, the vast majority of US-made guns stay at home. The industry exported less than 4.5 percent of its new manufactures in 2010… US companies increased production by 2 million between 2006 and 2010, bringing the total to nearly 5.5 million…

“Some blame the recent increase in civilian spending on small arms on fear President Barack Obama would introduce stricter gun control… Despite decrying gun violence, however, Obama hasn’t pushed for gun control. His administration is also advocating new regulations that would make it easier to export weapons abroad… the US gun lobby… is spending tens of millions of dollars to ensure the highly lucrative industry keeps expanding…”

Joe Biden Got the Buck

The New York Times wrote on December 19:

“During… the White House news conference on Wednesday afternoon… President Obama made a forceful announcement in response to the massacre of children last week in Newtown, Conn. He said he was directing Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to lead an effort ‘to come up with a set of concrete proposals’ about dealing with gun violence that he would submit to Congress no later than January.”

Some have criticized President Obama for passing the buck to Vice-President Biden; others have pointed out that Joe Biden was once before heavily involved in trying to pass legislation against the purchase and possession of semi-automatic weapons, but that this attempt failed miserably and that the Democrats suffered deeply as a consequence.

The Rush for More Guns

Newsmax reported on December 18:

“Thousands of Americans are rushing to their local gun stores to buy high-powered rifles and ammunition in a bid to thwart a potential assault weapons ban in the wake of last week’s Connecticut school massacre. At a Cincinnati gun show, ‘sales were through the roof on Saturday,’ Joe Eaton of Ohio’s Buckeye Firearms Association told the network. ‘People were buying everything they could out of fear the president would try to ban certain guns and high-capacity magazines.’ And in Colorado, an official at Colorado Bureau of Investigation told Fox the agency processed more than 4,200 background checks on Saturday, the day after the shootings.

“The hot-selling model is the AR-15 – the same firearm used by gunman Adam Lanza — along with the powerful .223 ammunition it uses. More than three million Americans own an AR-15, which gun store owners say buyers like because ‘it’s the civilian version of the fearsome M-16 used by the U.S. military,’’ CBS News reports…”

As the famous song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” puts it, “When will they ever learn?”

Mass Murder in Connecticut and Freedom to Own Guns

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 17:

“Once again, the United States is debating its gun laws, even if the discussion is likely to be short and inconclusive…This old fairy tale of self-defense is popular in the pro-gun lobby. It has also been statistically disproved. Civilians who shoot back usually miss. And those self-proclaimed defenders of law and order often hit the wrong target…

“The madness continues. The statistics, quoted often again since Friday, are well-known. America leads the world in shooting deaths, with some 30,000 people killed by guns each year. Yet each time there’s a major shooting, weapons sales increase…”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on December 16:

“President Obama’s ‘never again’ are little more than plaintive words. He’s trying to provide comfort, but he certainly isn’t promising any improvement. During Obama’s first term, more than 40,000 of his compatriots died in a hail of bullets. One out of 10 of these victims was under the age of 18. He never even had the courage to at least come up with stronger laws to take some of the deadliest weapons out of the hands of civilians… Obama points to the constitutionally protected right for US citizens to possess weapons. In reality, however, he is wary of a battle with the Republicans and the gun lobby…

“The statistical probability that a person will be killed by a firearm is 16 times greater in the US than Germany. Why?… Because all you really need to buy a gun [in the US] is a driver’s license. The obligatory ‘background check’ is pure farce, with officials giving the green light for 99 out of 100 applications.”

The Stuttgarter Zeitung wrote on December 16:

“This massacre, as difficult as it is to comprehend, is not a stroke of fate; it is not comparable to a natural catastrophe. … The bloody crime was made easier by conditions that can very much be influenced by people…

“Nowhere else in the world are so many weapons in circulation as in the US… Every 20 minutes, a US citizen is murdered by a firearm. American schoolchildren are killed by bullets 10 times more often than in comparable industrialized countries. Such numbers speak for themselves.”

“It is impossible to prevent mass shootings… Yet it is also clear that it is possible to significantly reduce the danger of such attacks. Where weapons are not part of everyday life, the risk of such a monstrous event such as that in Newtown is significantly reduced.”

Still, while people look for explanations for the humanly unexplainable massacre in Connecticut–the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virgina Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 victims (and the gunman) were killed—there is no doubt in our minds that the perpetrator was demonically influenced or possessed, even if “medical experts” will ultimately diagnose and label him as “mentally unstable or ill.” In fact, some have already begun doing so. Of course, easy access to guns in his mother’s home made his bloody rampage much easier. Any “rational human explanation” for his insane killings will by necessity fall short of reality and truth. The real issue is, why and how did the perpetrator allow himself to come under Satan’s influence in such a drastic way? We must understand that demonic possession does not “just happen” without any involvement and personal culpability of the possessed. Besides dealing with the occult, uncontrolled human emotions, such as anger and the obsession with violence, can contribute to demonic influence as well.

Russian Cyber-Gangster Prepared to Rob Many American Banks and Customers

The Washington Times wrote on December 14:

“The U.S. financial services industry has issued a warning that a Russian cyber-gangster is preparing to rob American banks and their customers of millions of dollars. In addition, the computer security firm McAfee has reported that the cyber-criminal, who calls himself ‘Thief-in-Law,’ already has infected… hundreds of computers of unwitting American customers in preparation to steal their bank account data.

“The warning was issued Thursday by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), which shares information throughout the financial sector about terrorist and online threats… According to McAfee, Thief-in-Law has installed malicious software programs, known as ‘malware,’ on hundreds of computers as part of his plan, dubbed ‘Project Blitzkrieg.’ The malware steals passwords and login information, which hackers can use to drain victims’ bank accounts online. ‘McAfee Labs believes that Project Blitzkrieg is a credible threat to the financial industry and appears to be moving forward as planned,’ a company report states.

“The Times reported in October that Thief-in-Law was trying to recruit an army of hackers to rob U.S. bank accounts next year and had posted a video of himself boasting about his online criminal activities and his immunity from law enforcement. ‘If you accurately target [bank] customers in the USA while being in Russia, then you can [sic] fear nothing…’ [the gangster wrote]…”

Fiscal Cliff—Britain Already Jumped…

The Washington Post wrote on December 16:

“If President Obama and congressional Republicans fail to reach a deal in the coming weeks, Americans face a fierce wave of tax hikes and spending cuts that could threaten the U.S. economy. Yet Britain has already crashed over its own economic precipice, with the Conservative-led government unleashing a radical experiment in austerity since coming to power in 2010 that has seen public spending corralled and taxes increased on this side of the Atlantic…

“Other indebted European nations, including Greece and Spain, have forcibly adopted austerity to appease international lenders and financial markets, both with devastating economic effects. But no country in Europe shares a closer profile — both economic and cultural — with the United States than Britain.

“Bringing with it even harsher austerity than the plan imposed here, the fiscal cliff, economists say, could damage the U.S. economy proportionately more than the battering in Britain. But even if the worst is averted in Washington, the British experience suggests just how difficult the challenges may be for a large and deeply indebted industrial economy like that of the United States… David Riley, managing director for sovereign ratings at Fitch Ratings in London [said:] ‘If the U.S. follows the same path as Britain, it could end up in recession, anyway.’”

Washington—Deeply Dysfunctional

Deutsche Welle reported on December 19:

“Whether or not the US will avert the fiscal cliff or jump over it at the end of the year, one thing is already clear. In Washington’s deeply dysfunctional governing process compromise is a four-letter word. The media hype, incredulously headlining that there is “hope” after all, and the bounce by Asian stock markets after the news that the US government hasn’t given up yet on trying to prevent the country from spiraling into a self-made recession, just goes to show how low expectations have become for Washington to accomplish even the most urgent tasks.

“All it took to trigger this pre-holiday outbreak of joy was that Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner didn’t end their talks over a fiscal cliff deal within a matter of minutes after starting them, but have managed to keep their conversation going for a few days now… Never mind that a real and lasting solution is all but assured and that even if one is reached, the important details have to be hammered out next year…

“Much is at stake. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated earlier this year that failure to avert the fiscal cliff – the double whammy of massive tax hikes and massive spending cuts slated to go into effect January 1, 2013 – would reduce the US budget by $607 billion or four percent of GDP. As a result, predicted the CBO, the US would probably slip back into a recession in 2013…

“The road toward the fiscal cliff is long and was paved by Congress in 2010 with the extension of the temporary tax cuts of the Bush administration and by automatic budget cuts agreed in 2011. Without new legislation, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire at the same time the automatic budget cuts kick in come January 1. ‘If Americans are about to jump over the fiscal cliff, it’s because Congress has been totally dysfunctional in the last two to four years in terms of its essential function, which is to make a budget,’ Vincent Michelot, a US expert at Sciences Po university in Lyon, told DW… Naturally this leads to the question why it is so difficult for Congress to reach any significant deal, be it over the fiscal cliff, Wall Street Reform, Health Care Reform, Immigration Reform or even to pass a budget…

“So even if a compromise on the fiscal cliff is reached and then hailed as the holiday miracle of the season, Washington’s political logic has not changed. Compromise doesn’t pay off. The next big test for this rule is already written on the wall: Gun control legislation.”

The Washington Times wrote on December 20:

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he plans to send his chamber home for Christmas and then reconvene on Dec. 27 to try to work through the ‘fiscal cliff’ — even as House Republicans said they’ll keep their troops in town to try to strike a deal. The moves come as both sides jockey for the upper hand in trying to avoid blame for a possible breakdown in the budget talks to avoid the fiscal cliff.

“House Republicans are poised to pass a bill Thursday that would prevent spending cuts and most tax increases, and have said they’ll stay here to get a deal done. But there won’t be anyone on the other side of the table — at least not until next week… Mr. Reid said the House Republicans should forget about passing their bill and not bother sending the Senate anything, but instead go deal with President Obama… Reid said he won’t put that bill up to a vote in the Senate. ‘There’s nothing to discuss. We are not taking up any of the things they are working on over there now,’ Mr. Reid… said.”

Terrorist Attack on Bonn Central Station

Deutsche Welle reported on December 15:

“Federal prosecutors in Germany have taken over the investigation into a failed bomb plot at the Bonn central station. They say the incident was likely an attempt by an Islamist organization to commit an act of terror. The announcement on Friday from the German federal public prosecutors’ office in Karlsruhe confirms that Monday’s bomb scare is being treated as an attempted terror attack…

“In a recap of the facts in the case so far, the prosecutor’s office said that a man left a sports bag on one of the platforms at the main train station in Bonn early in the afternoon on Monday. The bag contained a prepared explosive device. An initial investigation of the device revealed it consisted of a metal pipe approximately 40 cm (15.7 inches) long that contained ammonium nitrate. Compressed gas cartridges were wrapped around the pipe, as were a timer and batteries meant to serve as an ignition device… An investigation is still ongoing as to why the device did not explode…”

Debate Over Circumcision Will Continue in Germany and Europe

On December 16, JTA published the following “opinion” by Deidre Berger, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Berlin Ramer Institute for German-Jewish Relations:

“[The] German parliament passage of legislation to protect male circumcision for religious purposes occurred, coincidentally, during Chanukah. The holiday celebrates the Jewish uprising against the Syrian Greeks more than two millennia ago. It was a revolt triggered by religious persecution, including punishment by death for performing circumcisions.

“By contrast, at no time in the 1,700-year history of Jews in Germany has the practice been forbidden — not even by Hitler — despite repeated attempts, particularly during the post-French revolution era of emancipation. What a shock, therefore, when a court in Cologne last May determined criminal liability for those who perform circumcisions without medical indication on children below the age of consent.

“Following the ruling, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle affirmed religious circumcision in Germany. The German parliament vowed to pass legislation intended to quell the legal uncertainties stirred up by the Cologne ruling. Despite this swift political response, public controversy ensued.

“Secular humanists, anti-abortionists, human rights activists, and medical and legal professionals vociferously demanded a ban on circumcision. Their well-financed campaign included newspaper ads, Op-Eds, letters to the editor and cartoons mocking practitioners of circumcision. Using a body of flawed evidence, opponents alleged that circumcision is a high-risk and irreversible procedure, intimating that Jews and Muslims cause irreparable harm to their children. The depiction of Jews and Muslims as societal outcasts with primitive practices, not surprisingly, unleashed crude anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiments in hate mail, reader’s comments and the Internet. Parliamentarians were bombarded with anti-Semitic hate mail on circumcision.

“Ostensibly respectable German groups devoted to public health, some of them doctors’ organizations, cited alleged clinical proof that circumcision endangers a boy’s health, interferes with his later sexual functioning and causes long-term psychological damage. Interestingly, the anti-circumcision groups dismiss U.S. data claiming that circumcision is an ‘industry’ with American pediatricians earning enormous profits by performing unnecessary circumcisions. Accusations behind closed doors are that American medicine is in the hands of profit-greedy Jews…

“In fact, there is ample evidence that circumcision has no deleterious effects and may even lessen the odds of contracting HIV and other diseases. Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend circumcision on health grounds. Israel, a country with well-documented records on circumcision, reported complication rates in 2011 of less than a tenth of 1 percent. Given the overwhelming body of evidence, the question arises as to why Germany came so perilously close to becoming the first country to ban circumcision for religious purposes?…

“Although Jews have been part of German life for nearly 2,000 years, this debate revealed the degree to which the Jewish minority is understood by many as ‘the other,’ with demands that Jewish rituals be reformed to an allegedly more modern era. Interestingly, even though there are 4 million Muslims in Germany and approximately 250,000 Jews, the controversy focused mostly on Jews, revealing the continued discomfort with the subject of Jews in Germany nearly 70 years after the Holocaust…

“In the end, the Bundestag remained true to democratic values and affirmed the religious rights of minorities — exactly the message of the Chanukah holiday… Nonetheless, circumcision opponents are likely to challenge the legislation. A German parliamentarian has vowed to bring her fight against circumcision to the Council of Europe… Debate over circumcision, a test of democracy and religious tolerance, is likely to continue in Europe.”

America Is Preparing for War

The New American wrote on December 10:

“More than 3,000 U.S. military personnel have secretly returned to Iraq via Kuwait and 17,000 more are on their way in response to the civil war in Syria that has spilled over into northern Iraq, according to a report published Monday by Iran’s Press TV. [Update: On December 14, U.S. Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. T.G. Taylor said in an email to The New American, ‘All reports of 3,000 troops returning to Iraq are completely false.’]

“The news follows by four days a report from the Russian news service RT that the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower has joined the USS Iwo Jima off the coast of Syria. Both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week issued stern warnings to Syria about unspecified but serious ‘consequences’ that would follow if government forces in Syria were to use chemical weapons against insurgents fighting to overthrow the government led by President Bashar al-Assad. The warnings came after reports that intelligence sources have reported signs of activity where the Assad regime is believed to have chemical weapons stored. At the same time, U.S. officials have expressed concern over the possibility that Jihadist elements among the rebel forces might capture those same weapons. Israel is worried — along with Western nations — that the militant Islamic group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and enemy of Israel, might be among the rebels likely to get hold of and use chemical weapons…

“Without citing specific numbers of troops on the U.S. ships off the Syrian coast, RT reported that the Eisenhower is equipped to carry eight fighter-bombers and 8,000 men, while the Iwo Jima is designed to carry 2,500 U.S. Marines. RT last week also quoted an Australian news report of U.S. covert forces either in or very near Syria, ready to strike…

“There has been no United Nations resolution authorizing the establishment of either a no-fly zone or of U.S. ground forces. More importantly for the United States, there has been no authorization from Congress, as the Constitution requires, for the Obama administration to intervene militarily in the Syrian conflict. There is, however, a long line of precedents of presidents waging war without congressional approval, including the aerial campaign ordered by President Obama in 2011 in a ‘humanitarian intervention’ to save the rebel forces that toppled the Moammar Gadhafi regime in Libya. Anti-Western, militant Islamic groups involved in the fighting against Gadhafi’s forces later participated in the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.”

US and Germany Send Patriot Missiles to Turkish Border

CNN reported on December 14:

“The United States and Germany are sending Patriot missiles and troops to the Turkish border… The surface-to-air interceptors would be ‘dealing with threats that come out of Syria,’ said U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Threats would include Syrian strikes inside Turkey and fighting between the government and rebels that extends into Turkey… Despite the prospect of U.S. missiles on Al-Assad’s doorstep and a weakening regime, U.S. intelligence officials said the Syrian leader is showing no signs of giving up… The moves come a week after NATO foreign ministers approved the deployment of Patriots to protect Turkey against any threats from al-Assad’s regime…

“Also Friday, the German parliament approved the deployment of German Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Turkey… The Netherlands have shown willingness to add Patriot batteries… Turkey and NATO insist the Patriot system would be used only for defense.”

The Unprepared German Troops at Turkish-Syrian Border

The Local wrote on December 14:

“As the German government gave the go-ahead on Friday to send 400 troops to the Turkish-Syrian border, a soldiers’ association voiced concern that they would not be properly equipped against chemical, nuclear or biological attack. There was no plan in place to shield troops at the border from nuclear, biological and chemical warfare…

“The government approved Germany’s participation in the NATO mission by a large majority on Friday afternoon. Around 400 of its troops will now be sent to Turkey to be deployed alongside a number of Patriot missiles to help defend the country’s border with Syria. They should arrive in January 2013 and will probably stay until January 31, 2014. The Green party and the Social Democrats have both suggested they would be supporting the operation.”

NBC News Richard Engel Freed in Deadliest Country–Syria

The Associated Press reported on December 19:

“The last missing member of an NBC team that was kidnapped in Syria has been freed and is safely in Turkey, NBC News executives said Wednesday. Ian Rivers was part of the NBC team led by the network’s chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel. They were kidnapped in Syria on Thursday, and Engel and several other members escaped unharmed on Monday… Appearing on NBC’s ‘Today’ show Tuesday, an unshaven Engel said more than a dozen pro-regime gunmen dragged him and his colleagues from their car, killed one of their rebel escorts and subjected them to mock executions. He said they escaped during a firefight Monday night between their captors and rebels at a checkpoint.

“Engel said he believes the kidnappers were a Shiite militia group loyal to President Bashar Assad’s government, which has lost control over swaths of the country’s north and is increasingly on the defensive in a civil war that activists say has killed 40,000 people since March 2011… According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Syria is by far the deadliest country for the news media in 2012, with 28 journalists killed in combat or targeted for murder by government or opposition forces.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman Resigned

Deutsche Welle reported on December 14:

“Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned… ‘I have decided to resign my post as foreign minister and deputy prime minister and… also to remove my [parliamentary] immunity forthwith so I can end this matter quickly, without delay and clear my name absolutely,’ Lieberman said in an emailed statement on Friday. The announcement came one day after Israel’s attorney general had indicted Lieberman for alleged breach of trust, but had dropped more serious allegations against him including fraud and money-laundering. Lieberman is being charged for allegedly receiving classified information from a former ambassador to Belarus on an investigation against him. Lieberman has maintained he is innocent.

“It remains unclear whether he can still stand in the Jan. 22 general electionm, but he confirmed on Saturday he would attempt to run. A coalition between Lieberman’s right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu (Our Home is Israel) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party has been predicted to win by opinion polls. Without Lieberman on the bill, some pollsters believe the coaltion group will lose support.

“An official in the prime minister’s office said Netanyahu would serve as acting foreign minister until the election.”

Egyptians Vote for Islamist Constitution in First Round

Reuters reported on December 16:

“President Mohamed Mursi has won initial backing from Egyptians for a new constitution that he hopes will steer the country out of crisis, but which opponents say is an Islamist charter that tramples on minority rights. A first day of voting in a referendum on the draft basic law resulted in 56.5 percent ‘Yes’ vote, Mursi’s political party said. An opposition official conceded that Egyptians voting on Saturday appeared to have backed the measure. Next Saturday’s second set of balloting is likely to give another ‘yes’ vote as the voting then will be in districts generally seen as even more sympathetic towards Islamists, and that would mean the constitution should be approved.

“But the apparent closeness of the early tally gives Mursi only limited comfort as it exposes deep divisions in a country where he needs to build a consensus for tough economic reforms… A narrow loss could still hearten the leftists, socialists, Christians and more liberal-minded Muslims who make up the disparate opposition, which has been beaten in two elections since Mubarak was overthrown last year. They were drawn together to oppose what they saw as a power grab by Mursi as he pushed through the constitution…”

Deutsche Welle reported on December 19:

“The tensions over Egypt’s referendum on the new constitution show no signs of going away as more judges say they’ll boycott monitoring the second round of voting… Also, the judges of the Supreme Judicial Council have said they will not oversee the second round of voting, which is likely to raise doubts about the entire referendum’s legitimacy… The opposition has campaigned for weeks against the draft constitution. They see it as an Islamist basic law which would limit fundamental freedoms and turn society towards a religious path… Overall, the rift between the political camps is growing… society is getting ever more divided.”

Intermarriage OK?

The Jewish news agency, New Voices, published an article on December 17 by an author who forsook the Jewish faith and who advocates “intermarriage.” When reading the article, one must feel deep sorrow and grief for the author’s misguided opinions (We omitted his curse words and other inappropriate and offensive language).

“Like many other particularly un-athletic Jewish youth, I spent many Sundays playing Little League baseball at my local JCC… One day while waiting in the lineup I struck up a conversation with a fellow player. He told me all about how he got to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah, because his dad was Jewish and his mom was not… Not long after this I met one of my distant relatives for the first time, and I learned that he was intermarried. He has two children, and it disturbed me immensely that they were not Jewish…

“When I first discounted Judaism, I still held my old opposition to intermarriage… I have searched far and wide for reasons not to intermarry. Many rabbis, family members and peers have been consulted but I have yet to find a satisfactory answer. The most common reply people have given me is always about ‘keeping the traditions going,’ or something of that sort. I understand the appeal of this, but I do not find it valid. These traditions such as celebrating Passover are nice but they are indubitably based on falsehoods…

“Through all of this I don’t have one decent theological reason not to marry whoever I damn please, but I still have a pretty good practical one. Could I do it to my family? I know it would destroy my parents…

“But no matter how much I rationalize my Jewish heritage or contemplate intermarriage I have to admit that, strangely, I still feel Jewish. When Aly Riesman won the gold medal I felt like a proud Jewish mother and almost cried tears of joy. Whenever I see Israeli F16s fly over I get chills down my spine. Any athlete or celebrity that is Jewish immediately goes to the top of my favorite list. I do not keep Shabbat, I ate bacon cheese fries on Rosh Hashanah while drinking and watching football at a bar, and I do not even fast on Yom Kippur. This feeling of Jewish pride is the last vestige of my forsaken faith, and it may be the most essential one. I would love for my children to be able to identify as Jews simply so they could have something to be proud of, but what kind of sacrifices am I willing to make for that to happen?”

If the author had not forsaken the faith of the Bible, he would know the answer. It is not a matter of feeling proud to be Jewish, while forsaking everything which makes one Jewish. Both the Old and the New Testament teach that God’s people—ancient Israel and Judah in the Old Testament and Christians in the New—should not intermarry with others of a different faith. (If such a marriage exists, Paul’s admonitions and teachings in 1 Corinthians 7 apply). However, since the author has fallen for deceptive Satanic reasoning (such as, that the Passover is built on falsehood), and is disobedient to God by not keeping His Holy Days and by not refraining from unclean meat, whatever understanding he might have had has left him. One can’t help but to feel deeply sorry for him.

Christmas Tree Symbolizes Divine Light of Christ?

Zenit wrote on December 14:

“Pope Benedict XVI received in audience a delegation from the Italian region of Molise, which this year has donated the fir tree raised next to the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. The lighting ceremony will take place later on today. The Pope thanked the delegation for the silver fir – which was accompanied by eight other smaller trees… [He] said that event of God becoming man was to ‘dispel the shadows of sin, bringing His divine light to humanity.

“‘This highest of lights, symbolized and recalled by the Christmas tree, has not only shown no sign of dimming through the passing of the centuries and the millennia, but rather continues to shine upon us and to illuminate every person who comes into the world, especially in moments of uncertainty and difficulty.’ Recalling the words of Christ, who proclaimed, ‘I am the light of the world’, Pope Benedict said that there have been many attempts to ‘extinguish the light of God.’ These attempts, the Pope continued, are meant ‘to replace it with the glare of illusion and deceit’ and ‘have heralded episodes of tragic violence against mankind.’”

The tragic confusion is that the Christmas tree—a pagan custom and object of worship used to pray to heathen gods—is part of that very “glare of illusion and deceit” which is trying to “replace” and extinguish the true Light—Jesus Christ.

Egypt’s President Morsi More Dictatorial and Autocratic

The Telegraph wrote on December 10:

“President Mohamed Morsi has ordered Egypt’s army to take on police powers – including the right to arrest civilians – in the run-up to a divisive constitutional referendum that has triggered mass street protests… Late Sunday, the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, called for huge protests in Cairo to reject the December 15 referendum. It dismissed a key concession Morsi made rescinding another decree giving himself near-absolute powers as too late, saying he had already used it to railroad through the draft constitution…

“National Salvation Front spokesman Sameh Ashour told a news conference [that going ahead] with the referendum ‘in this explosive situation with the threat of the Brothers’ militias amounts to the regime abandoning its responsibilities’… Morsi’s camp argues it is up to the people to accept or reject the draft constitution. If the charter is rejected, Morsi has promised to have a new one drawn up by 100 officials chosen directly by the public rather than appointed by the Islamist-dominated parliament.

“But analysts said still-strong public support for Morsi, and the Brotherhood’s proven ability to mobilise the grassroots level, would likely help the draft constitution be adopted. ‘The Muslim Brotherhood believes that it has majority support so it can win the constitutional referendum,’ said Eric Trager, analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. If that happens, he warned, it would ‘set up the country for prolonged instability’.”

Like Adolf Hitler and his SS and SA militias gambled on the support of a majority of the German people—and got it—so are President Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their military allies engaged in a huge gamble which they might win. Egypt seems to be heading towards a full-fledged (Islamist) dictatorship, and especially the USA has proven to be totally oblivious to this development—as they were for a long time towards Nazi Germany in World War II. Please also note the Gestapo torture methods of the Muslim Brotherhood in the next article.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Torture Chambers

Al Monitor reported on December 6:

“Al-Masry Al-Youm spent three hours in total in the torture chambers established by the Muslim Brotherhood at the gates of the Ittihadiya Palace in the suburb of Heliopolis. The central torture chamber, which is located in front of the gate facing the Omar Ibn Abdel Aziz Mosque on al-Merghany Street, is secured with a cordon and iron barriers, where the Central Security Forces (CSF) prevent the access of any persons without the authorization of the Brotherhood… The torture process starts once a demonstrator who opposes President Mohammed Morsi is arrested in the clashes or is suspected after the clashes end, and the CSF separate Morsi’s supporters from his opponents. Then, the group members trade off punching, kicking and beating him with a stick on the face and all over his body. They tear off his clothes and take him to the nearest secondary torture chamber…

“It is hard to determine how many locations there are, given that the torture chambers are established as near as possible to where a person is arrested. Before the interrogation process starts, they search him, seize his funds, cellphones or ID, all the while punching and slapping his face in order to get him to confess to being a thug and working for money. They ask him why he took to the street, whether he got paid to take part in the protest and whether he supports Mohamed ElBaradei, founder of the Constitution Party, or Hamdeen Sabahi, founder of the Egyptian Popular Current or the dissolved Egyptian Nationalist movement. As long as this person denies the allegations, they beat him and insult his parents…

“After a while, the detainee is transported from the secondary torture chamber to the central one. On his way, the beatings and insults continue. Every time the prisoner encounters a member of the Brotherhood, that person gets in his share of the insults and beatings. They also may collectively insult him before he enters the central room, while a Brotherhood lawyer hands over his national ID card, his funds and his belongings to the SSIS chief…

“The health conditions of some of the prisoners was very bad and they were unable to answer questions. Some of them were bleeding all over their bodies, severely exhausted and not receiving any medical aid…”

The Associated Press reported on December 11:

“They showed a military-style precision: Crowds of bearded Islamists proclaiming allegiance to Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi and chanting ‘God is great’ as they descended on tents set up by anti-Morsi protesters outside the presidential palace, swinging clubs and firing rifles… a former Brotherhood member and now an opponent of the group, said the Brotherhood was surprised by the public opposition to Morsi’s moves ‘and they had no hesitation in hastening to implement their ideas and resorting to violence.’…

“One of the detention center victims, Yehia Negm, an Egyptian diplomat who has been an outspoken critic of Mubarak, told The Associated Press he was dragged on the ground from one of the frontlines to the center, where he was beaten. He is suffering from multiple injuries in the head, eye, nose, and ribs from beating and had remains of pellets in his forehead from gunfire during the clashes. ‘When they found my ID that says a diplomat, they started accusing me of working with security agencies, of being a spy and of serving foreign countries,’ Negm said. ‘They rained beatings down on me. They started yelling at me, saying, “You infidels, you want to burn the country down, you are not Muslims.’”

And these are the people the West is supporting to govern Egypt! Continue to read about Washington’s naivety in the next article.

Muslim Brotherhood Best Friend of Washington

The Washington Post wrote on December 7:

“How did Washington become the best friend of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, even as President Mohamed Morsi was asserting dictatorial powers and his followers were beating up secular liberals in the streets of Cairo? It’s a question many Arabs ask these days, and it deserves an answer.

“Morsi and his Brotherhood followers are on a power trip after decades of isolation and persecution. You could see that newfound status when Morsi visited the United Nations in September and even more so during the diplomacy that led to last month’s cease-fire in Gaza, brokered by Morsi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Brotherhood leaders had gone from outcasts to superstars, and they were basking in the attention…

“The Obama administration has been Morsi’s main enabler. U.S. officials have worked closely with him on economic development and regional diplomacy. Visiting Washington last week, Morsi’s top aides were touting their boss’s close contacts with President Obama and describing phone calls between the two leaders that led to the Gaza cease-fire… Probably thinking he had America’s backing, Morsi overreached on Nov. 22 by declaring that his presidential decrees were not subject to judicial review…

“Through this upheaval, the Obama administration has been oddly restrained…

“For a lesson in the dangers of falling in love with your client, look at Iraq: U.S. officials, starting with President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus, kept lauding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, despite warnings from many Iraqis that he was a conspiratorial politician who would end up siding with Iran. This misplaced affection continued into the Obama administration: Even after the Iraqi people in their wisdom voted in 2010 to dump Maliki, the United States helped him cobble together enough support to remain in power. Arab observers are still scratching their heads trying to understand that one…”

America’s futile (and foolish) attempts to buy allies are strongly condemned in Scripture. If you are still not convinced, then read the next article:

USA Supports Muslim Brotherhood Militarily

The Washington times wrote on December 8:

“For Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and jet fighters are on their way from the United States. Cairo’s military link to Washington has remained intact, meaning the U.S. will continue to modernize the biggest military in Africa… Analysts say Egypt’s military buildup presents risks for Washington — and Israel — with the growing influence of the Brotherhood, whose overriding goal is to establish Shariah, or Islamic, law worldwide… Egypt is due 200 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, the same mechanized firepower manned by American soldiers, bringing Egypt’s inventory to a robust 1,200. Also in the pipeline is a squadron of the Air Force F-16 Falcon, a multipurpose warplane able to dogfight and drop ordnance… The billions of dollars in U.S. military aid — in annual $1.3 billion stipends — have made the Egyptian air force the fourth-largest F-16 operator among 25 countries. Egypt’s 4,000 tanks, including the 1,000 or so M1A1s, make it the world’s seventh-largest tank army…

“Frank Gaffney, a senior defense policymaker in the Reagan administration, has been warning about the rise of the Brotherhood as it relates to the U.S. ‘My principal concern with the Obama administration’s approach to Egypt is they seem oblivious to the fact it is now in the hands of a regime that is deeply hostile to the United States and certainly poses an immediate threat, I believe, to our friends in Israel,’ said Mr. Gaffney… ‘Under those circumstances, it is alarming that they are continuing to arm Egypt in a way that can only exacerbate the threat… There are two things that are troubling… One is the sheer quantity of the weapons that these enemies of the United States have inherited, let alone those they will be getting if we continue to make arms sales with them. The second is the quality of these weapons’…

“Could U.S.-produced F-16s, manned by Egyptian pilots, one day attack Israel? ‘I think that is a valid concern, given the ideological goals of the Muslim Brotherhood,’ Mr. Phillips  [James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation] said… Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. military aid; Israel is first.

“Most of Egypt’s assistance is in the form of weapons, such as tanks and fighters, bought with U.S. tax dollars through a program called Foreign Military Sales. According to the Congressional Research Service, Egypt has ordered $14 billion in equipment since 2003.”

Israel National News reported on December 12:

“Egypt’s increasingly unstable Muslim Brotherhood regime, voted into power on an anti-US and anti-Israel platform, is about to receive 20 F-16 fighters jets [from the USA]…  The order for the Lockheed-Martin planes is another win for the American military-industrial complex… Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Wesley Miller explained to Fox, ‘The U.S.-Egypt defense relationship has served as the cornerstone of our broader strategic partnership for over thirty years. The delivery of the first set of F-16s in January 2013 reflects the U.S. commitment to supporting the Egyptian military’s modernization efforts. Egyptian acquisition of F-16s will increase our militaries’ interoperability, and enhance Egypt’s capacity to contribute to regional mission sets.’

“President Barack Obama had distanced himself from the Muslim Brotherhood until it became clear that it was a driving force following the fall of Mubarak. In a radical shift of foreign policy, Obama’s advisors, some of whom support a more liberal policy towards Hamas, began making contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood and eventually established open contacts with the radical Islamic party.”

America’s desires to “buy” allies have rarely been successful. They “bought” the alliance of Russia against Germany in World War II; the friendship of Saddam Hussein against Iran; and the cooperation of Osama bin Laden against Russia in Afghanistan. In each case, those “friendships” with “allies” have turned to challenges and defeat through Frankenstein monsters.

California Supreme Court to Rule on Barack Obama’s Eligibility as President

On December 5, Beforeitsnews.com published the following press release from the Law Offices of Dr. Orly Taitz:

“Breaking news! Supreme Court of CA to rule whether Obama should be declared illegitimate for the U.S. Presidency due to his use of forged IDs and a fraudulently obtained CT Social Security number. Loss of 55 CA electoral votes will certainly mean new elections in the U.S.

“After originally refusing to hear the case under the original jurisdiction, Supreme Court of California was persuaded by Attorney and Candidate for the U.S. Senate Dr. Orly Taitz to take on a case Noonan, Judd, MacLaren [sic], Taitz v Bowen under the provisions of the California Constitution, which allow Supreme Court of California to hear special cases under the Original Jurisdiction…

“This case is brought on behalf of four plaintiffs, all of whom have perfect standing. Edward Noonan won the American Independent Party Presidential Primary in CA and certificate of his win was submitted to the court. Keith Judd is a Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Presidency, registered with the FEC, he was a runner up to Barack Obama in West Virginia Democratic Party Primary with 40% of the vote, Thomas Gregory Macleran was a Republican candidate for President, registered with the FEC. Attorney and Doctor Orly Taitz was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in CA.

“This case has two premises.

“First. Plaintiffs provided the court with evidence of nearly One and a half million invalid voter registrations in the state of California. Such a large number of invalid votes justifies STAY of certification of the results.

“Second. Plaintiffs provided evidence of Candidate Barack Obama committing massive elections fraud by using forged IDs and a fraudulently obtained Connecticut Social Security number 042-68-4425, which was never assigned to Obama and using a name, which is not legally his, as he is listed under the last name Soebarkah in his mother’s U.S. Passport and there is no evidence of him ever legally changing his name from Barack Obama Soebarkah to Barack Obama. Additionally, in his school records in Indonesia his citizenship is listed as Indonesian, not American. There is no record of him relinquishing his Indonesian citizenship and gaining the U.S. citizenship. Even if one were to believe that he arguendo changed his citizenship from Indonesian to American later in life, he would be a naturalized citizen and not natural born.

“Additionally, plaintiffs provided the courts with a sworn affidavits of Maricopa county, AZ investigator Mike Zullo, who is currently conducting a criminal investigation of forgeries in Obama’s IDs, and who attested that Obama’s birth certificate, Selective Service certificate and Social Security card represent forgeries. Similarly, Plaintiffs provided affidavits of Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, Senior Deportation Officer John Sampson, experts Paul Irey, Douglas Vogt and Felicito Papa and investigator Susan Daniels, all of whom are attesting that Obama’s IDs are forgeries.

“Affidavit of Assistant Clerk for the City of Honolulu Timothy Adams attests to the fact that there is no birth certificate for Barack Obama in any hospital in Hawaii. Statement of the Minister of Health of Kenya, James Orenga attesting to Obama’s birth in Kenya and Obama’s own biography submitted by him to his literally agent in 1991, stating that he was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia. Plaintiffs are stating that if this court does not STAY the certification of the election results, this court will commit treason against the United States of America by allowing a foreign national, a citizen of Indonesia and possibly still citizen of Kenya to get in the position of the U.S. President and Commander in Chief by virtue of fraud and use of forged IDs and a stolen Social Security number.

“Attorney Orly Taitz is a civil rights attorney, who is conducting this and a number of other cases pro bono… If the Supreme Court of California does not grant a STAY, the case will go to Supreme Court of the United States Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is in charge of the 9th Circuit.”

There are truly far too many questions surrounding Barack Obama’s eligibility as US President than to simply ignore, and premature and rather naïve and uninformed comments by conservative Fox News commentators such as Bill O’Reilly (who is highly promoting his Christmas merchandize around this time of year and just mockingly denied the FACT that the Christmas tree is being condemned in Jeremiah 10) or Greta Van Susteren that they are satisfied with Barak Obama’s legal legibility are extremely counterproductive. Donald Trump IS correct in pursuing this issue, even though his constant flip-flops and ridiculous public stunts have not helped either.

America Plays Russian Roulette

Newsmax wrote on December 12:

“Sens. Joseph Lieberman and John McCain say they’re not encouraged by the talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner and worry that they’re playing ‘chicken’ and ‘Russian roulette’ with the approaching year-end deadline for striking a debt reduction deal… Lieberman, an independent who is retiring from the Senate at the end of this year, said everybody knows that both Republicans and Democrats ‘have got to act’ to avert the combination of automatic spending cuts and tax increases due to begin on Jan. 2…

“But he added, ‘Right now I feel the contrary happening… That is playing with fire,’ he said, calling it ‘high-risk . . . Russian roulette’ to allow the country to go ‘over the cliff’ and then ‘come back under that pressure and negotiate a deal in January’ when the new Congress convenes. ‘The consequences could be disastrous,’ Lieberman continued…

“[Republican] McCain… indicated Republicans would have to be guaranteed that spending cuts and entitlement reforms would be addressed early next year in exchange for tax hikes on higher income earners. ‘We know what the elephant in the room is. It’s entitlements,’ McCain said.”

Whether or not intentionally jumping or inadvertently falling from the fiscal cliff can be avoided, this country is in deep and irreversible trouble.

Completely Invisible Soldiers?

The Daily Mail reported on December 10:

“The U.S. military is backing the development of camouflage fabrics that could one day make their soldiers completely invisible, it has been claimed. The so-called ‘Quantum Stealth’ camouflage material is said to render its wearers completely invisible by bending light waves around them…

“However, its development is apparently so secret the Canadian company behind it says it cannot even show the technology in action and offers only mock ups of its effect on their website. Nevertheless, Guy Cramer, CEO of Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp, says he does not care that some observers remain sceptical as to his company’s claims since ‘the people that need to know that it works have seen it. Two separate command groups within the U.S. Military and two separate Canadian Military groups as well as Federal Emergency Response Team (Counter Terrorism) have seen the actual material so they could verify that I was not just manipulating video or photo results,’ Mr Cramer said. ‘These groups now know that it works and does so without cameras, batteries, lights or mirrors… It is lightweight and quite inexpensive. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have confirmed that it also works against military IR scopes and Thermal Optic’…

“In a statement published on his company’s website, Mr Cramer… says it would… allow special forces teams to carry out raids in broad daylight without detection; it could enable the creation of the next generation of stealth aircraft, invisible not only to radar but also the naked eye; and it would enable submarines to remain concealed even when they surface near an enemy fleet. Most incredibly, he imagines a group of Canadian battle tanks decked out with Quantum Stealth camouflage that could engage an enemy unit with no signs of their location except the sound of their engines and guns. ‘As news spreads of an invisible Canadian army which can move without detection, the psychological effect on the enemy is devastating, they never know when or even if this invisible army has them targeted or surrounded,’ he said. ‘How can you hit a target you cannot see, how do you defend from the invisible?’”

Of course, if true, enemies of the USA, the British Isles and Canada could use this weapon too, if it falls into their hands.

German Reactions to Morsi’s Power Grab and the Arab Spring

Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on December 7: “The only thing that Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood functionary who rose to become head of state, has proven, is his inability to facilitate the integration of Egypt’s 85 million people… Neither side can be counted on for understanding…”

Handelsblatt wrote on December 7: “In light of the current polarization between the Islamists and the secular camps, Egypt now finds itself in a deep political crisis. The crisis contributes to the worsening of the country’s long-standing and severe economic problems and weakens the role of Egypt in the region… The country suffers from the incompetent governance of the Muslim Brotherhood and at the same time the immaturity of the opposition.”

Die Welt wrote on December 7: “… people who have no experience with freedom will misuse it, and the consequences will be chaos and renewed violence… Morsi … is an Islamist, but not a holy warrior. Rather, he is a crafty power-hungry politician… The Arab Spring is turning into a hard winter…”

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on December 7: “Violence as a means of political confrontation is escalating and a calming of the situation is not in sight…”

Egypt will suffer much in the future, as the Bible clearly prophesies.

Steinbrück vs. Merkel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Germany’s opposition Social Democrats attempted to relaunch their campaign to oust Chancellor Angela Merkel in the 2013 election by giving strong backing on Sunday to their candidate, Peer Steinbrück… Steinbrück, a former governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, served as finance minister under Merkel from 2005 to 2009 in a ‘grand coalition’ between her conservatives and the SPD. He won praise for his assured handling of the global financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn in 2008 and 2009. But he has been unable so far to allay doubts about whether he will be able to mobilize enough center-left voters to have a chance of ousting Merkel… He faces an uphill struggle to beat Merkel… were Germans able to vote directly for their chancellor, 49 percent would support the incumbent chancellor with just 39 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Steinbrück. Still, that gap has narrowed in recent weeks.

“More to the point, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), together with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), stood at 39 percent in the poll, well ahead of the SPD at 30 percent. The Greens scored 14 percent and the pro-business FDP, Merkel’s junior coalition party, was at 4 percent, below the 5 percent threshold it would need to be able to stay in parliament… Steinbrück, 65, ruled out serving in another grand coalition. ‘I don’t just want a partial change of government… I want an entirely new government. I want an SPD-Greens government for our country. I’m not available for any grand coalition.’ Political analysts say, however, that such a coalition is the most likely outcome of the next election.”

This would be another unwelcome development for Germany. In its history, grand coalitions between CDU and SPD have never worked, but have led to violent developments in the 60’s.

Who is Steinbrück?

The Local wrote on December 10 that Steinbrück “has the uphill task of stopping the world’s most powerful woman from winning a third term,” continuing:

“Voters recently had a taste of his fiery debating style in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, notably when he accused Merkel of doing the ‘dance of the seven veils’ on saving Greece and challenging her to ‘tell it how it is’… He has not been helped by a rocky start to his campaign, first accused of using his influence when finance minister to gain sponsorship for a chess match, then admitting he earned €1.25 million ($1.61 million) for speeches… Gero Neugebauer, political scientist at the Free University in Berlin, also said Steinbrück’s style was similar to that of Merkel’s, although more dynamic. ‘If Merkel is often described as hesitant, Steinbrück is a man of action,’ said Neugebauer.

“… his sense of humour has at times landed him in hot water and led to one newspaper dubbing him the ‘most hated man in Switzerland’ after he compared the Swiss to ‘Indians’ during a bitter tax row between the two neighbours… SPD supporters will hope that his campaign follows the example of his favourite animal, the rhinoceros. ‘It starts very slowly but when it gets going, nothing can stop it,’ said Steinbrück.”

Even though very few seem to be willing to predict that Steinbrück will win the next election, stranger things have happened.

Circumcision Legal in Germany

The Local wrote on December 12:

“Members of lower house of parliament the Bundestag passed the cross-party motion with 434 votes for the measure, 100 against and with 46 abstentions. The legislation states that male infants may be circumcised for religious reasons within six months of their birth by a ‘specially trained’ practitioner, although this person does not have to be a doctor. Nevertheless, the rite must be carried out ‘in a professional medical manner,’ the law states and stipulates exemptions for infants who could be at risk from the practice such as haemophiliacs.

“The legislation sought to clear up confusion after a judgement published in June by the regional court in the western city of Cologne. While considering a case brought against a doctor who had circumcised a Muslim boy, the court ruled the rite was tantamount to grievous bodily harm. The decision united Jewish and Muslim groups in opposition and caused outrage from religious and political leaders in Israel and Muslim countries.”

Even though the law might now allow circumcision of Jewish and Muslim boys, almost 150 members of parliament did not vote in support of the legislation. In addition, the majority of the German people are opposed to the practice. The many published negative commentaries on the issue in the weekly, Die Zeit, are rather telling. And at a given moment, laws can always be changed again. Notice also the next article.

Concerns Remain

NBC reported on December 12:

“‘The basic sentiment here is anti-religious,’ said Sylke Tempel, editor-in-chief of Internationale Politik, a foreign policy journal published by the German Council of Foreign Affairs. ‘And Germans throw overboard anything that has to do with tradition.’ According to Tempel, the Cologne ruling was not a deliberate attack on Islam or Judaism but showed a total misunderstanding of how important circumcision is to both religions. TNS Emnid, a German polling organization, found in a July 2012 survey that 56 percent of Germans agree with the Cologne ruling.

“Deirdre Berger, executive director of the American Jewish Committee in Berlin, a Jewish advocacy organization, said that the Cologne ruling can be traced to a body of law and medical literature that has been accumulating over the past decade… While applauding Wednesday’s vote to legalize circumcision, Berger does not believe this ends the controversy. The law is likely to be appealed to Germany’s Supreme Court, she said, and could open the door to more restrictive legislation in other European countries that are having similar anti-circumcision debates.”

EU Takes Over Cyprus

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Cyprus wants help from the European Union’s bailout fund. But the price for the billions in emergency aid money is high. The country will effectively lose its sovereignty… it is already clear that in return for billions of euros for the debt-ridden country from the European bailout fund, the ‘troika,’ made up of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will essentially take control of the Mediterranean island.”

The Return of Italy’s Berlusconi?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Italy faces a return to political chaos after Prime Minister Mario Monti announced at the weekend that he will resign, prompting his notorious predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to say he would attempt a comeback.  The renewed uncertainty sent European shares into a slump as trading for the week began on Monday morning. Investors aren’t the only ones worried, either…

“After a crisis meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, Monti, a well-respected economist who is largely seen as responsible for restoring trust in the country’s ability to weather the euro crisis, announced that he would step down before the end of his term, pending parliamentary approval of next year’s federal budget. This is expected to occur before Christmas…

“In response, 76-year-old Berlusconi, who is embroiled in a sex scandal, said he would pursue a fifth term as prime minister. The election was scheduled for March or April, but is now likely to be brought forward to February. Many fear that Berlusconi could send Italy spiraling into ruin if he is re-elected… Meanwhile, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso warned on Sunday that the euro zone’s third-largest economy cannot be allowed to turn its back on reforms… European Central Bank executive board member Jörg Asmussen told German newspaper Bild that Monti’s government had ‘achieved great things in a short amount of time,’ including the return of investor trust and budgetary consolidation. ‘Whoever governs Italy — a founding member of the EU — after the election, must continue this course with the same seriousness,’ he added…

“But Berlusconi, who was sentenced to jail time for tax fraud in October, seems determined to fight his way through his upcoming trial — over paying for sex with an underage prostitute — and back to the top of the country’s political world.

“The billionaire media tycoon has his popularity measured by polls on weekly and sometimes even daily basis. And these have recently shown that the time may be ripe for a comeback, with Monti’s government no longer as popular as it once was thanks to drastically rising taxes, a tough fight against tax fraud in the sports world and the loss of thousands of jobs through austerity measures. Berlusconi, by contrast, has promised to save Italy and defend it from the ‘diktat’ of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he alleges was followed dutifully by Monti. Berlusconi’s campaign promises to be heavily populist, and with his party on the verge of falling apart, the media mogul has little to lose.

“At this point, no one can predict who will lead Italy after the election…”

Berlusconi, not unlike Hitler, promises his people great things. And who knows, he might deliver some, but under his rule, Italy is bound to lose. However, the Bible makes it very clear that Italy will remain a strong member of the EU, but the usual Italian political chaos and economic uncertainty could trigger the need and necessity for Italy to give over their authority to a central European power, led by Germany.

Europe’s Deafening Silence Towards Abbas and Hamas

The Times of Israel wrote on December 10:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday slammed the international community and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for failing to speak out against explicit calls for Israel’s destruction by Hamas leaders on Saturday. Speaking at a Hanukkah ceremony with the foreign press, Netanyahu contrasted Europe’s condemnations of Israel for approving construction plans in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, with its lack of response to Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal’s weekend speech in Gaza, in which he said the Palestinians would ‘not give up an inch of Palestine,’ and that ‘Jihad and armed resistance is the only way.’

“Said Netanyahu: ‘This weekend, the leaders of Hamas openly called for the destruction of Israel. Where was the outrage? Where were the UN resolutions? Where was President Abbas?’ Soon after Netanyahu spoke on Sunday afternoon, the EU did issue a statement saying that it found ‘inflammatory statements by Hamas leaders that deny Israel’s right to exist unacceptable. The European Union will never cease its efforts to combat terrorism which seeks to undermine the openness and tolerance of societies through indiscriminate acts of violence against civilians.’… ‘Why weren’t Palestinian diplomats summoned in European and other capitals to explain why the PA president not only refused to condemn this but actually declared his intention to unite with Hamas,’ Netanyahu asked…

“Hamas chief Mashaal completed a three-day visit to Gaza on Sunday. In a speech marking the terrorist group’s 25th anniversary, he reiterated his movement’s commitment to wipe out the state of Israel… Netanyahu made his statements as 27 foreign ministers of EU countries were convening in Brussels to debate [and condemn] Israel’s approval last week of the thousands of housing units to be built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank… Ahead of the meeting, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Europe’s political view of the Middle East has changed profoundly because of Israel’s advancement of plans to build 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem… British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he expected ‘the entire EU will be strongly opposed’ to the settlement building.”

Europe’s double-standard and hypocrisy regarding Israel and the Palestinians should clearly be visible for every objective observer. The Bible shows that Europe will turn totally against Israel—even with military means. Notice the next article.

Europe Determined to Destroy Israel?

The Times of Israel wrote on December 12:

“Europe rushes to condemn any settlement activity in the West Bank, but regards with equanimity the prospect of the Jewish state’s destruction, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman charged on Tuesday, comparing European UN delegates to members of Fatah, and reiterating his long-standing view that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not a figure with whom Israel can negotiate.

“Liberman also said that the next rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza would prompt a far more dramatic Israeli response than last month’s eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense. Israel would not be able to suffice with what he called surgical strikes, but would have to use ground forces and retake all of Gaza, from which Israel withdrew completely in 2005. ‘The next missile attack will obligate us to send in ground forces and, unlike with Pillar of Defense, to take complete control of Gaza. And the world should not urge Israel to exercise restraint.’

“Speaking at a Hanukkah menorah-lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv, Liberman slammed the international community for applauding Abbas’s speech last month to the United Nations General Assembly during a deliberation of the PA’s successful bid to upgrade its status in the international body to ‘nonmember state.’…

“Liberman also directed critical remarks at the European Union, which on Monday issued a scathing condemnation of an Israeli announcement of plans to build 3,000 new units in the West Bank… ‘Many European Union foreign ministers simply ignore reality,’ the foreign minister said. ‘As far as they’re concerned, the destruction of Israel is a matter of course.’… Liberman claimed that some of the EU foreign ministers had refused to censure Hamas… ‘I don’t want to name names and cite exact quotes, but a significant number of foreign ministers did not want to mention Hamas in their statement and did not want to insert [in the statement] a sentence calling for the cessation of incitement, when the incitement in question was a direct call for our destruction,’ Liberman said.”

Whether Europe may or may not realize it, the Bible clearly prophesies that in the not-too-distant future, Europe will intervene militarily in the Middle East and occupy the state of Israel.

Britain In or Out?

The Economist wrote on December 8:

“Opinion polls show that most Britons are in favour of leaving the European Union. Baroness Thatcher’s Conservative Party, which took Britain into Europe four decades ago, is divided between those who long for an arm’s-length relationship and those who want to walk out. The second camp is swelling.

“Even the fiercest British critics of the EU are astonished by the speed at which things are moving… A referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU now seems a matter of timing. Continental Europeans are surprised too—and annoyed. They are bewildered that the British should be talking of leaving a club that many believe has shifted decisively in a free-trading, Anglo-Saxon direction in the past two decades.

“They also resent the way Britain seems to be using the threat of an exit as a bargaining tool, especially at a time when the euro is in crisis. As they see it, Britain wants to carve out a privileged place for itself in the European club, where it can enjoy free trade without any of the other membership rules. In Berlin and Rome, political leaders argue that Britain needs to make up its mind once and for all: does it want to be in or out?”

It IS only a matter of time until Great Britain is no longer a part of the EU… at least not of the core European nations.

Britain’s Descent into Godlessness

The Economist wrote on December 11:

“Britain continues its descent into godlessness, according to the latest 2011 Census data. Just over a quarter of people in England and Wales… say they have no religion… The proportion of Christians has fallen from 71.8% to 59.3%. All other main faiths have edged up, and Muslims now account for 4.8% of the population, compared with 3% in 2001. What of less common creeds? About a quarter of a million people ticked the ‘Other religion’ write-in box. Among them, 56,620 wrote Pagan, while Agnostics and Atheists claimed around 30,000 adherents apiece. Rastafarianism, Zoroastrianism and Shamanism made the list, while the most common was Jedi Knight, by 176,632 Star Wars fans…”

And even most of those adhering to “Christianity” are not even trying to follow the dictates of Jesus Christ.

Asteroid Comes Dangerously Close

CBS News reported on December 11:

“A newfound asteroid gave Earth a close shave early today, zipping between our planet and the moon just two days after astronomers first spotted it.The near-Earth asteroid 2012 XE54, which was discovered Sunday (Dec. 9), came within 140,000 miles of our planet at about 5 a.m. EST Tuesday (Dec. 11), researchers said. For comparison, the moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 240,000 miles or so.

“Astronomers estimate that 2012 XE54 is about 120 feet wide — big enough to cause substantial damage if it slams into Earth someday. An object of similar size flattened 800 square miles of forest when it exploded above Siberia’s Podkamennaya Tunguska River in 1908… 2012 XE54 will be coming back to Earth’s neighborhood before too much longer. The asteroid completes one lap around the sun every 2.72 years.

“Scientists have discovered about 9,000 near-Earth asteroids to date, but perhaps a million or more such space rocks are thought to exist. And some of them are potentially dangerous. Observations by NASA’s WISE space telescope suggest that about 4,700 asteroids at least 330 feet wide come uncomfortably close to our planet at some point in their orbits. So far, researchers have spotted less than 30 percent of these large space rocks, which could obliterate an area the size of a state if they slammed into Earth.

“But there are much bigger asteroids out there, such as 4179 Toutatis, a 3-mile-wide behemoth that’s in the process of flying by Earth now. Toutatis will remain 4.3 million miles away during its closest approach Wednesday morning, but it may come closer on future passes. Toutatis would inflict devastating damage if it slammed into Earth, perhaps extinguishing human civilization. The asteroid thought to have killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was about 6 miles wide, researchers say.”

Hanukkah and Its Christmas Influences

The New York Times wrote on December 7:

“When my brother was in kindergarten, where he was the only Jewish student, a parent organizing enrichment activities asked my mother to tell the class the story of Hanukkah. My mother obligingly brought in a picture book and began to read about foreign conquerors who were not letting Jews in ancient Israel worship freely, even defiling their temple, until a scrappy group led by the Maccabee family overthrew one of the most powerful armies in the world and won their liberty.

“The woman was horrified. The Hanukkah story, she interrupted, was not about war. It was about the miracle of an oil lamp that burned for eight days without replenishing. She urged my mother to close the book. My mother refused. The woman wasn’t alone. Many Americans, Jews as well as Christians, think that the legend of the long-lasting oil is the root of Hanukkah’s commemoration. And perhaps that mistake is no surprise, given that for many the holiday has morphed into ‘Christmas for Jews,’ echoing the message of peace on earth accompanied by gift giving. In doing so, the holiday’s own message of Jewish survival and faith has been diluted.

“Hanukkah is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays in America. But unlike Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Passover (or even the lesser-known Sukkot and Shavuot), all of which are explicitly mentioned in the Torah, Hanukkah gets only a brief, sketchy reference in the Talmud, the voluminous collection of Jewish oral law and tradition written down hundreds of years after the Maccabees’ revolt.

“There for the first time the miracle of the oil is recorded: the ancient temple in Jerusalem held an eternal flame, but after the desecration by the foreign invaders — including the sacrificing of pigs, a non-kosher animal, on the altar — only one day’s worth of purified oil remained. Yet the faithful went ahead and lighted it.  The oil burned in the rededicated temple for eight days, long enough for a new supply to arrive. Hence the practice of lighting candles for eight nights to observe Hanukkah, which means dedication in Hebrew…

“Though Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday, 19th-century activists in America promoted it to encourage their coreligionists to take pride in their heritage. During the 20th century it was embraced more broadly by Jews who wanted to fit in with other Americans celebrating the holiday season — and to make their kids feel better about not getting anything from Santa. It helped, of course, that Hanukkah falls near Christmas on the calendar and traditionally involved candles and small monetary gifts. Over time, children began receiving grander presents, and Hanukkah-themed season’s greeting cards proliferated. Some families even started to purchase ‘Hanukkah bushes,’ small trees often decked out with Stars of David and miniature Maccabees.

“By the 1980s, when I was a child, menorahs had been placed next to mangers in the public square and Hanukkah songs had been incorporated into winter holiday concerts. Despite this recognition, I still felt excluded enough to brag to classmates that my holiday was better than Christmas, since it had eight days of gift giving, instead of one…”

The fact that Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations have become more and more similar should make us pause to think. Also note the next article.

Jewish Organizations in Israel Sell Christmas Trees

The Jewish News Archive reported on December 10, 2012, that “The Jewish National Fund began distribution today of Christmas trees to Christian institutions and individuals.

“The Jerusalem Tree Nursery, in cooperation with the Christian Department of Israel’s Ministry of Religions, also will provide trees for Christian diplomats and foreign experts on duty in Israel.” This was a quote from the Jewish Telegraph Agency, dated December 22, 1959.

Such conduct is most certainly not acceptable in God’s eyes, and it is no surprise that God accuses modern Judah of engaging in idolatrous practices.

The Pagan Lies of Christmas Customs

The Local wrote on December 6:

“[The German] Nikolaus is not to be confused with Santa Claus, who Germans call the Weihnachtsmann… They are two different people… [Nikolaus “appears” each] year on December 6… Known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for his miracles, he is also identified with Santa Claus. Beliefs and traditions about Nikolaus were probably combined with German mythology, particularly regarding stories about the bearded pagan god Odin, who also had a beard and a bag to capture naughty children…

“According to the legend, Nikolaus comes in the middle of the night on a donkey or a horse and leaves little treats – like coins, chocolate, oranges and toys – for good children… Sometimes Nikolaus only leaves a switch in the boot, ostensibly for spankings, to show that the child doesn’t deserve a treat. In other families, a man disguised as St. Nicholas will visit the family or the child’s school alone or with his… sinister-looking alter ego Knecht Ruprecht [representing a demon or even the devil] to question the children about their behaviour…

“Children were often quite frightened of being questioned about their behaviour because they’ve been told that St. Nicholas will hurt them with his rod or even put them in a sack and take them away. Though the custom is in decline, in more Catholic regions, parents inform a local priest of naughty behaviour. The priest then pays a personal visit wearing the traditional Christian garb to threaten the little rugrats with a beating… He is usually pictured with a long white beard, a bishop’s mitre and a red cloak, sometimes with a sack over his shoulder and a rod in his hand…

“Santa Claus, or the Weihnachtsmann, usually comes to German homes – often in person – on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.”

As we can see, all of this is a conglomeration of pagan rites and “Christian” lies. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

Control and Censor the Internet?

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 3:

“Talks in Dubai, under way until December 14, could bring radical changes to the Internet and who controls it… Proposals to place the Internet under the control of a global authority, like the International Telecommunication Union, a UN body, have resurfaced… Net observers say the Arab Spring would have failed to achieve the scale it did without Facebook and other social media – hundreds of thousands of unhappy citizens apparently agreed to protest and organized their demonstrations via these interactive platforms… Russia, China and Iran are among the countries that would like to see greater Internet controls, either in the form of new regulations or a global authority, or both… critics argue their real reasons are to control the packets of information that move across their borders…”

Countries under fanatical Islamist rule, as well as repressive countries such as Russia and China—and very soon a developing dictatorial European power bloc—will control the Internet or prohibit or shut down Internet access of their subjects—and violations will be punished with imprisonment or death.

The Obama’s Christmas Trees Obsession

Investors.com wrote on December 3:

“Now safely ensconced in the White House for 49 more months, the Obamas have decorated the place with 54 Christmas trees this year. Even allowing for the usual Washington excesses with taxpayer money, that’s a whole grove of Christmas trees… In fact, the Obamas’ 54 trees this year are almost 50% more Christmas trees than last year. That was during the campaign before Obama whispered a reminder to the Russians that he had to be careful until Nov. 6, when a victory would give him more ‘flexibility’…

“In addition to 54 Christmas trees, Michelle Obama has overseen the placement of thousands of ornaments in public rooms. Many of the ornaments celebrate the Obama family dog, Bo, who seems to have become the First Family’s favorite symbol of Christmas… There’s several hundred yards of garlands and wreaths all over the hallways and rooms. And, of course, a traditional gingerbread house that has working chandeliers and weighs about 300 pounds…”

This would be preposterous even without realizing how pagan and ungodly Christmas decorations and celebrations are.

Muslim Brotherhood Pays Gangs to Beat Up and Assault Opponents

Mail on Line wrote on December 1:

“Egypt’s ruling party is paying gangs of thugs to sexually assault women protesting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against President Mohamed Morsi, activists said. They also said the Muslim Brotherhood is paying gangs to beat up men who are taking part in the latest round of protests, which followed a decree by President Morsi to give himself sweeping new powers… activists have reported nearly 20 attacks in the last ten days and say there has been a dramatic increase in mob sex attacks on protestors in the last year…

“The newspaper spoke to two men who admitted they were paid to target female protestors… in a group of around 65 local men and got paid between £10 and £20 a time. But they would not reveal who pays them.”

The Muslim Brotherhood is an extremely dangerous organization, and their actions and course of conduct are reminiscent of Gestapo methods in Nazi Germany. Note the following articles as well.

Muslim Brotherhood Fooled Washington

NBC wrote on December 3:

“The era of the Muslim Brotherhood appears to have arrived. President Obama has hailed the Brotherhood’s President Mohammed Morsi as a pragmatist who helped end the Gaza crisis. Egyptians here think the Brotherhood has conned Washington, just like it conned them…

“Egypt was torn in half just over a week ago when Morsi made himself more powerful than Mubarak ever was, and the kings before him. Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight, his decisions final and unassailable. He made himself, according to critics, a new pharaoh on the Nile. Imagine if, after five months in office, an American president announced that he could pass any law he pleased regardless of Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine if he said his decisions were final and inspired by God… Morsi last night apologized for the power grab and said he didn’t want the extra authorities, but that they were necessary for the good of the people and to safeguard the revolution. Dictators always say stuff like that. Burn down the village to save it.

“At first Egyptians were shocked that Morsi would make such an obvious and, according to Egyptian judges, blatantly illegal move. It’s clear now, as some analysts have long feared, that the Brotherhood is making sure it doesn’t lose power again by taking control of Egypt’s constitution. The Brotherhood wants to write the rules of the game. Now they’ve done that too. Protected by the president’s new-found supreme and unquestionable powers, Morsi ordered his Islamist allies to finish writing the constitution and get it on his desk by the end of this week. They did it, even though many independent legal experts, Christians and opposition politicians boycotted the drafting process. The Brotherhood called the new constitution ‘a jewel.’ Many Egyptians say it leaves too much room for the implementation of Shariah law…

“The constitution has long been the Muslim Brotherhood’s lodestar and, in the past, they have been willing [to] kill for it. In 1954, not long after a group of ‘free officers’ carried out a coup against the British-backed monarchy, a Brotherhood assassin tried to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, a leading free officer, favored a mostly secular, pro-military constitution. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group that supports the return of Arab and Islamic unity and the revival of ancient Muslim glory and Shariah laws, couldn’t accept the new rules.

“The Brotherhood’s assassination attempt failed. The gunman’s eight bullets, fired while Nasser was giving a speech in Alexandria, all missed. The Brotherhood was banned. The group went underground, at times tolerated but more often repressed by Nasser’s successors: presidents Mubarak and Anwar el-Sadat. When the revolts started against Mubarak, the Brotherhood saw that fate had given them another chance…

“Looking back now, it all seems so obvious, yet many Egyptians refused to see it coming. In fact, many of the secular revolutionaries backed the Brotherhood, arguing they were better allies than the hated military. The Brotherhood played its cards well… The protests continued to grow. Labor unions went on strike. The military enacted a coup against Mubarak. President Obama withdrew his support for Washington’s long-time Arab friend. And Mubarak the president was no more.

“The Brotherhood first said it wouldn’t seek the new presidency at all. It promised to exist solely as an influential member of civil society. Back then, many Egyptians feared the Brotherhood… The Brotherhood went to work… It sent its representatives around the world, especially to Washington, on a charm offensive. We’ve been oppressed, they claimed. We were slandered by a tyrant. We’re not what you’ve heard. We can unite the Sunni world against Iran. We can help bring Israeli-Palestinian peace. There were many promises of a great future…

“Morsi won the election by a narrow margin and then five months into his term, made himself a dictator and ordered his Islamist friends to quickly finish the constitution… Yet the United States has remained mostly silent on all this, urging both sides to stay calm and work it out. Washington’s policy seems to be that what’s going on is simply democracy in progress as Egyptians learn to use their new rights. But in Tahrir Square people seem convinced the Brotherhood isn’t testing its fledgling wings. They say Morsi knows exactly what he’s doing, Washington be warned.”

The true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood should have been understood from the outset. But it seems Washington and other Western nations are refusing to hear or heed the warning; and that God has poured out a spirit of deep sleep and of blindness on our leaders (Isaiah 29:10), as well as on Egypt (Isaiah 19:14), so that they would stumble and fall, without waking up to and perceiving the real dangers.

Egypt’s Struggle for Freedom

Die Welt wrote on December 3:

“Egypt lies on the fault line of two continents, not just geologically, and the European coast is not far away either. What moves Egypt today moves the region tomorrow, and the shockwaves could very well spark fear and terror among the Europeans.”

The Bible shows us that Europe and Egypt will at first be allies against Israel, but they will then become enemies. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Morsi Won’t Relent

The Times of Israel reported on December 6:

“Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi addressed the country for the first time since mass protests began earlier this week, defiantly standing his ground on the issue of the draft constitution, the upcoming national referendum, and his immunity from oversight…

“Earlier in the day, the Egyptian army sealed off the presidential palace with tanks and barbed wire Thursday, a day after fierce clashes between supporters and opponents of the Islamist leader over a disputed constitution killed at least seven people… Protesters defied a deadline to vacate the area… The Brotherhood, which had erected metal barricades and manned checkpoints with rocks and empty glass bottles overnight, withdrew from the area by afternoon…

“The violence on Wednesday was the worst since Morsi was elected in June… The intensity of the overnight violence, with Morsi’s Islamist backers and largely secular protesters lobbing firebombs and rocks at each other, raised the specter that the country would grow even more polarized and violent.”

Palestine a “State”—Dark Clouds Before the Storm

Newsmax reported on December 1:

“The General Assembly vote declaring that Palestine, within the pre-1967 borders, is a ‘state,’ at least for some purposes, would have nasty legal implications, if it were ever to be taken seriously by the international community.

“It would mean that Israel, which captured some Jordanian territory after Jordan attacked West Jerusalem in 1967, is illegally occupying the Western Wall (Judaism’s holiest site), the Jewish Quarter of old Jerusalem (where Jews have lived for thousands of years), the access road to the Hebrew University (which was established well before Israel even became a state) and other areas necessary to the security of its citizens.

“It would also mean that Security Council Resolution 242, whose purpose it was to allow Israel to hold onto some of the territories captured during its defensive 1967 war, would be overruled by a General Assembly vote… It would be the first time in history that a nation was required to return all land lawfully captured in a defensive war…

“These absurd conclusions follow from the theater of the absurd that occurred when the General Assembly, for the thousandth time, issued an irrelevantly one sided declaration on Palestine. As Abba Eban once put it: ‘If Algeria introduced a General Assembly Resolution that the world was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass 100 to 10 with 50 abstentions.’ That’s pretty much what happened the other day. I wonder whether the European countries that voted for the Resolution knew what a tangled web they were weaving.

“Nor was this Resolution a recognition of the two-state solution, since a considerable number of states who voted for it have refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist. What they were looking for was a one-state resolution — that one state being yet another Islamic country that voted for Hamas in the last election and that is likely to be governed by Sharia Law that will not allow Jews or Christians equal rights…

“The United Nations’ action will also incentivize Hamas to continue firing rockets into Israel on a periodic basis in order to provoke Israeli retaliation. Many in Hamas believe that the recent fighting in Gaza actually helped the Palestinians get more votes in the General Assembly…This is all a prescription for continued warfare, lawfare, and enmity. It is not a prescription for resolving a complex and difficult issue in a realistic manner. But what else is new at the United Nations!”

Very true. Israel will be all alone, and the next articles prove the point.

Germany Has Distanced Itself From Israel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 3:

“Berlin has distanced itself from Israel with the decision to abstain from voting on enhancing the Palestinians’ status in the UN General Assembly. Israel had expected a clear ‘no’ vote, but Chancellor Angela Merkel balked at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s uncompromising approach to the peace process… Germany’s stance on this issue shows just how deeply frustrated its government is with the Netanyahu government’s policies. The UN vote was a defeat for Israel. In the end, 138 of the 193 UN member states supported the Palestinians’ petition, including France and 13 other European Union member states. Germany’s abstention weighed particularly heavy because it meant that Canada and the United States were the only major Western nations to vote on Israeli’s side.

“…relations between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Netanyahu have rarely been as bad as they are now… When it became apparent that a series of EU member states would support the Palestinians’ bid for observer-state status, the Israelis asked Germany to push all of its fellow EU states to abstain. Up until that point, Netanyahu had pressured Merkel’s government to gather as many ‘no’ votes as possible within the EU. But the Israeli change of heart arrived too late. In the meantime, the governments of a majority of EU states, including France’s, had decided to back the Palestinians… Merkel was upset that the Israelis were treating Germany’s vote like a bargaining chip.

“The chancellor was particularly annoyed because Netanyahu had shown himself completely unwilling to make concessions. On several occasions, Merkel had urged him to at least make a gesture on the issue of settlement construction in order to send out a signal to the Palestinians. Doing so would have made it easier for Merkel to campaign for the Israeli position. But Netanyahu stubbornly ignored her wish…”

EU Countries Summon and Rebuke Israeli Ambassadors In Protest

The Times of Israel wrote on December 3:

“Several European capitals on Monday summoned Israeli ambassadors to sharply express unhappiness over Israel’s plans to significantly expand settlement construction, as anger over the move worldwide continued to simmer. In Washington, the White House called on Israel to reconsider its plans to develop the controversial E1 tract of land east of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Yet officials in Jerusalem said they would not back down from the plan, which is seen as a punitive measure against the Palestinians for going to the United Nations to be upgraded to a nonmember observer state.

“The foreign ministries of France, Britain, Spain, Denmark and Sweden on Monday summoned and sharply rebuked the Israeli ambassadors to their countries. An Israeli official quoted by Israel Radio said the tone of the rebukes was ‘harsh and very unpleasant.’ A British Foreign Office spokesman issued a severely worded condemnation of the Israeli government decision on Friday to approve 3,000 housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem…

“Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and Russia joined the chorus of condemnations, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeting a steady stream of denunciations.”

The EUObserver added on December 3:

“‘The European Union has repeatedly stated that all settlement construction is illegal under international law and constitutes an obstacle to peace,’ said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.”

Der Spiegel Online added on December 3:

“United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday sharply criticized the Israeli government’s plan to expand settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, calling the plan ‘an almost fatal blow’ to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… German Chancellor Angela Merkel also found unusually strong words. Her spokesman said the government was ‘extremely concerned’ about the settlement plans. ‘Israel is thereby undermining confidence in its readiness to negotiate.’”

Merkel and Netanyahu Meet in Germany

On December 6, 2012, Der Siegel Online reported about a meeting between Merkel and Netanyahu in Germany, stating:

“‘On the settlement question, we have agreed to disagree,’ said Merkel on Thursday. Netanyahu struck a similar tone: ‘One should be able to voice different opinions among friends.’ In contrast to the emotion he showed during the German-Israeli government consultations a year and a half ago, Netanyahu was much more relaxed as he took questions from the media this time around. Then, he held a stern lecture on settlements as he stood at Merkel’s side. This time, he was brief and to the point…

“Despite their recent differences, Merkel left no room for doubt in Berlin that she supports the right for the Jewish state to exist… She said it has been ‘unfortunately’ necessary to make this clear again, after the rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza. The chancellor emphasized that the recent violence in the Gaza Strip, which saw an eight day skirmish between Israel and the Palestinians, was triggered by Hamas rockets…

“In three years, Germany and Israel will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. The peace process in the Middle East remains a constant theme even as the situation in the Middle East seems to have become more challenging than ever in recent months. The Europeans, Netanyahu says, believe the settlements issue is the root cause of the conflict. But, he argues, it is not purely a territorial issue, which is evident in the most recent attacks from the Gaza Strip, where Israel doesn’t keep troops…

“Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, recently celebrated his success at the United Nations, as a large majority of the UN General Assembly essentially recognized a state of Palestine by granting the Authority non-member observer status. Netanyahu had hoped Germany would vote no on the measure, and even before his visit to Berlin he voiced his disappointment over Germany’s abstention on the vote. Merkel said she had ‘taken note of it.’

“There had even been speculation in the Israeli media over whether or not Germany might even join in possible sanctions against Israel. The press conference at the Chancellery showed how deep the feeling of insecurity was. Merkel was asked by an Israeli journalist if Germany would take ‘further measures’ against Israel. Clearly irritated, Merkel said after a brief pause: ‘I am not someone who threatens.’ This week’s consultations, she said, focused on solutions to problems and on the question as to whether the construction of settlements would be a ‘helpful step, or not a helpful step.’ The foundations of German-Israeli relations are ‘untouchable’ Merkel affirmed, adding ‘and they withstand differences of opinion.’”

However, this is clearly wishful thinking.

Germany’s and Europe’s BIG Weapon Sales

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 3:

“Germany used to be extremely careful about where it exported its weapons. In recent years, however, Chancellor Angela Merkel has shown a preference for sending high-tech armaments abroad rather than German soldiers — even if that means doing business with questionable regimes…

“The government of Qatar has… shown interest in buying up to 200 [Leopard 2] tanks, a deal that, should it come to fruition, could be worth up to €2 billion ($2.6 billion).

“The Saudis, for their part, have already become loyal customers. Last summer, the German government responded positively to their request to buy up to 270 of the Leopard 2 tanks. But now Riyadh wants more. In a new request, the sheikhs have petitioned the German government for its approval of the purchase of a few hundred ‘Boxer’ armed transport vehicles… The government hasn’t issued a decision yet on the deal, which would likewise be worth billions.

“German high-tech weapons are a hot commodity among Arab potentates and other autocrats. They haven’t failed to notice that the coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) has steadily relaxed Germany’s otherwise restrictive arms export policy…

“The official (and most recent) Military Equipment Export Report for 2011 shows that business is booming, with arms export permits issued by the German government topping €10 billion for the first time. Some 42 percent of the weapons are destined for so-called third-party states, outside NATO, NATO-equivalent and European Union countries, another number that could very well be record-setting. In 2010, it was just 29 percent…

“In accordance with the chancellor’s wishes, Germany is now sending soldiers to conflict zones in emergency situations only. Instead, ‘partner countries’ in the affected regions are to be strengthened through arms exports…

“Israel gets nuclear-capable submarines from the Germans, as well as any other weapons it wants… Last Monday, with impressions from the most recent Gaza war in their minds, Merkel and her ministers decided to approve [a new] weapons deal with Jerusalem. Germany had to support Israel, ‘now more than ever,’ one minister argued, saying that the threat coming from Hamas is serious. The group agreed that the arms shipment should also send a message. In this context, [German Foreign Minister Guido] Westerwelle is the personification of German paradox. Only a week earlier, he had tried in vain to serve as a peace broker between Israel and the Palestinians. And now the same minister was rubber-stamping the delivery of weapons that could be used in the Palestinian conflict…

“In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates is the other major importer of German weapons… six guarantees have been issued for deals with countries in troubled regions throughout the world. The biggest recipient is Algeria, followed by Egypt, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq and Pakistan. The guarantees for Egypt (€700 million) and Israel (€405 million) are especially sensitive. For both countries, the guarantees are intended to secure the purchase of submarines…

“The submarines for Egypt, which are not as technically sophisticated as the ones for Israel, led to a dispute between Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who would like to block the Egypt purchase. The issue has yet to be resolved, but it is possible that Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi may soon take delivery of two new submarines…

“Compared to France and the United Kingdom, Germany is still restrained when it comes to promoting the domestic arms industry. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains the champion of promoters of his own war industry. He is thought to have promised rising nuclear power India a nuclear technology deal as a bonus if it chose to buy French fighter jets. It was an offer the Indians couldn’t pass up.

“Merkel is now using her trips abroad to pave the way for weapons deals. In Angola, for example, she offered President José Eduardo dos Santos the prospect of an energy partnership. But she also reminded him of the many offshore oil platforms that are largely unprotected. ‘We would also like to help you with your defense efforts, such as upgrading your navy,’ Merkel said at an economic conference in the Angolan capital Luanda. Specifically, she was talking about patrol boats for the Angolan coast guard, at €10 million to €25 million apiece.

“The government also uses the Bundeswehr for its export offensive. For instance, there has been a ‘Eurofighter Task Force’ in place at the Defense Ministry since 2008. The German Air Force spends more than €20 million in taxpayer money to support the marketing of Eurofighters to India…

“Chile, for example, is getting 172 tanks, for which it is paying the Bundeswehr €46 million with an additional €78.6 million being spent on upgrades. Turkey took delivery of 354 tanks, which were outfitted with new combat technology for €298 million. A similar deal is in the works with Singapore, and Indonesia is expected to follow suit…”

Europe, under German leadership, is described as modern Babylon in Revelation 18—a very rich and powerful brutal economic entity which is rich and increased with goods—also, and especially, through its sales of submarines and other weapons of war (Revelation 18:3, 5, 13, 19, 24; compare also Revelation 13:4, 7, 10).

Iran’s Nuclear Reactor Sabotaged?

DEBKA reported on December 1:

“Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr was shut down in mid-October for fear of an explosion. [On] Saturday Dec. 1, an authoritative Russian nuclear industry source revealed the cause of its malfunction: ‘Indicators showed that some small external parts were… in the [Bushehr] reactor vessel….’ They were identified as ‘bolts beneath the fuel cells.’…

“Moscow sources report this information came from a source in the office of Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian nuclear energy authority Rosatom, which supervised the construction of Iran’s first atomic reactor at Bushehr…  Russian scientists and engineers were rushed from Moscow to Bushehr when Russian leaders including Vladimir Putin were warned that the danger of an explosion at Bushehr was high. Neither Moscow nor Tehran reported what was happening. Now they are racing against the clock to get the reactor back on stream.

“Russian experts estimated that an explosion at the Bushehr reactor had the potential for causing a million Iranian deaths and hundreds of thousands of radiation victims in the Persian Gulf emirates, which supply the world with one-fifth of its fuel. The hazard was so great in October that Putin ordered command teams of the Russian emergency ministry trained to deal with nuclear disasters to set out for Bushehr in southern Iran…

“[On] Friday, Nov. 30, shortly before the disclosure from Moscow, Tehran for the first time in its twenty-year nuclear program showed concern about the impact of ‘nuclear accidents’ at Iran’s nuclear sites on the wellbeing of the population and environment. Gholamreza Massoumi, head of Iran’s accident and medical emergency center,… referred to ‘accidents’ at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility where yellowcake is converted into highly toxic uranium hexafluoride and revealed: ‘People who have been in the region, for example – Isfahan’s UCF – have had some accidents for which they have been treated.’ He admitted that some employees at Isfahan had suffered from ‘health issues’ and warned of ‘problems that civilians living close to nuclear sites could face.’ Massourni’s comments were removed from the semi-official Mehr news agency’s website a few hours after they were published.

“Officials in Tehran, already jumpy over the near-catastrophe in Bushehr, must have realized that the comments about the urgent need to prepare emergency services for nuclear accidents… were a recipe for a nightmare scenario of mass panic in the population and an outcry in the Gulf region against the hazards of Iran’s nuclear program – even before it produces a weapon.”

If the near-catastrophe in Bushehr was indeed caused by sabotage, it would be interesting to speculate who might have been behind that. At the same time, Western powers such as the USA are not  immune against nuclear sabotage, either, as the next article might show.

Southern California Power Plant Sabotaged?

NBC News wrote on November 30:

“Security has been beefed up at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California after it was discovered that a generator there might have been tampered with, the plant operator said. The plant has been out of service since January due to a leak in a steam generator. Southern California Edison said it discovered engine coolant in an oil system in the backup diesel generator in late October during routine monitoring. An internal probe found evidence of potential tampering, though it could not be confirmed…

“The news is the latest blow to San Onofre’s majority owner, which earlier this month said the cost of the prolonged outage at the damaged nuclear power plant has topped $317 million. San Onofre’s Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors have been shut down since January after operators discovered a leak in a steam generator tube in Unit 3…

“The investigation into the potential tampering is ongoing, the utility said, adding that it has enhanced security at the nuclear power plant that sits on the coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego…”

If true, it would likewise be interesting to speculate who might have been behind that act of sabotage.

White House Disapproved New Sanctions Against Iran

On November 30, 2012, the cable.foreignpolicy.com wrote the following:

“The White House announced its opposition to a new round of sanctions that the Senate unanimously approved Friday, in the latest instance of Congress pushing for more aggressive punitive measures on Iran than the administration deems prudent… The new legislative language would blacklist Iran’s energy, port, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, while also placing new restrictions on Iran’s ability to get insurance for all these industries. The legislation would also vastly expand U.S. support for human rights inside Iran and impose new sanctions on Iranians who divert humanitarian assistance from its intended purpose…

“But the White House told several Senate offices Thursday evening that the administration was opposed to the amendment… One of the White House’s chief concerns is that Congress is not providing the administration enough waivers, which would give the United States the option of negating or postponing applications of the sanctions on a case-by-case basis.

“The White House also said that secondary sanctions should apply only to those Iranian persons and entities that are guilty of aiding Iran’s nuclear and missile programs… The new sanctions too broadly punish companies that supply materials, such as certain metals, that could be used in Iran’s nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs, the White House worries. The bill allows those materials to be sold to Iranian entities that intend to use them for non-military or nuclear-related purposes, but the administration said that the ambiguity in that part of the legislation will make it hard to implement.

“Finally, the White House doesn’t want to implement the part of the new legislation that would require reports to Congress on the thousands of boats that dock at Iranian ports and the dozens of Iranian planes that make stops at airports around the world. Those reporting requirements ‘will impose serious time burdens on the Intelligence Community and sanctions officers,’ the White House said in the e-mail. The Obama administration often touts the Iran sanctions it once opposed…”

All of this begs the question as to how serious is the Obama Administration when it comes to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon?

Syria—Worst Fears Confirmed

NBC News reported on December 6:

“The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday. The military has loaded the precursor chemicals for sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into aerial bombs that could be dropped onto the Syrian people from dozens of fighter-bombers, the officials said.

“As recently as Tuesday, officials had said there was as yet no evidence that the process of mixing the ‘precursor’ chemicals had begun. But Wednesday, they said their worst fears had been confirmed: The nerve agents were locked and loaded inside the bombs. Sarin is an extraordinarily lethal agent. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces killed 5,000 Kurds with a single sarin attack on Halabja in 1988.”

Commentators estimated that these chemical weapons, if used, could kill in excess of one million Syrians and many more people outside Syria, including Israel. It may be inconceivable to believe that a leader would use deadly weapons against his own people, but sadly, many historical examples do exist for such horrific conduct. For instance, Adolf Hitler, obviously being demonically possessed, ordered the destruction of the German people just prior to his death by suicide.

Demon Possession on the Rise?

The Independent wrote on November 30:

“The Catholic Church has established an exorcist hotline in Milan, its biggest diocese, to cope with demand. Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni, the diocese’s chief exorcist since 1995, said the curia had also appointed twice as many exorcists to cope with a doubling in the number of requests for help over 15 years… The Monsignor said he knew of one exorcist who had been seeing up to 120 people a day. ‘But with so little time per client he was only able to offer a quick blessing. That’s not enough,’ he said…

“It’s not clear why the number of suspected possessions has risen so sharply…Father Gabriele Amorth, who was the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years, claims to have dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession. [He] said that sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church were proof that ‘the Devil is at work inside the Vatican’. He also claimed that satanic behaviour lay behind Vatican attempts to ‘cover up’ the deaths of Alois Estermann, then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and another Swiss Guard, Corporal Cedric Tornay, in 1998…

“Defined by the Catholic Encyclopaedia as ‘the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice,’ exorcism has been practised by the Church for centuries, but its use has increased dramatically over the last half century.”

Even though we do not believe that “exorcisms,” as practiced by the Catholic Church, will in fact cast out demons and heal demonically possessed persons, there can be no doubt that people being troubled by demons and cases of severe demonic possession have increased drastically in recent years. The Bible predicts that in these end times, Satan and his demons would become extremely angry and active. You might also want to read our Q&A, addressing the question as to how to understand “miraculous healings” and “exorcisms” which do not originate with God.

“The New Pharaoh” –Egypt’s Renewed Move to Tyranny

Newsmax wrote on November 22:

“Egypt’s president on Thursday issued constitutional amendments that placed him above judicial oversight and ordered the retrial of Hosni Mubarak for the killing of protesters in last year’s uprising. Mohammed Morsi also decreed immunity for the Islamist-dominated panel drafting a new constitution from any possible court decisions to dissolve it, a threat that had been hanging over the controversial assembly.

“Liberal and Christian members withdrew from the assembly during the past week to protest what they say is the hijacking of the process by Morsi’s allies, who they saw are trying to push through a document that will have an Islamist slant marginalizing women and minority Christians and infringing on personal liberties. Several courts have been looking into cases demanding the dissolution of the panel.

“The Egyptian leader also decreed that all decisions he has made since taking office in June and until a new constitution is adopted and a new parliament is elected — which is not expected before next spring — are not subject to appeal in court or by any other authority. He also barred any court from dissolving the Islamist-led upper house of parliament…

“The moves effectively remove any oversight on Morsi, the longtime Muslim Brotherhood figure who became Egypt’s first freely elected president last summer after the Feb. 11, 2011 fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak… Morsi not only holds executive power, he also has legislative authority… With two branches of power in his hands, Morsi has had repeated frictions with the third, the judiciary, over recent months. ‘Morsi today usurped all state powers [and] appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh,’ pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account. ‘A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences.’…”

On November 23, BBC News wrote the following:

“US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday that the decree had ‘raised concerns’ in the international community… The rapid turn of events may have caught Washington by surprise… Only on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Mr Mursi in Cairo and praised him for his efforts in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza.”

BBC News added on November 24:

“In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council called [Morsi’s] move ‘an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings’ and called on him to reverse it. Judges and prosecutors in Egypt’s second city Alexandria have gone on strike in protest, saying they will not return to work until the decree is reversed.”

“Muslim Brotherhood Stands for Radical Islam”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 26:

“Abd al-Galil al-Sharnubi says he can only laugh at the thought that there are people in the West who still see the Muslim Brotherhood as ‘moderate Islamists.’ Sharnubi is a journalist and a Muslim — and he was a member of the Brotherhood for 23 years. He’s been familiar with the movement since he was 14, and he says that the Brotherhood could be the kiss of death for democracy in Egypt.

“Last year, Sharnubi, 38, left the Islamist organization. Since then, he says that his life has become a nightmare…  he warned his fellow Egyptians that the movement was undemocratic and authoritarian, and that leading Muslim Brothers were no less corrupt than politicians from the old regime. Many accused Sharnubi of spreading panic, saying that the Islamists should be given a chance. But the former member of the Brotherhood says that last week’s events show that he’s been right all along. The president’s ‘coup,’ says Sharnubi, provides just an inkling of the Brotherhood’s obsession with power.”

In an accompanying article, Der Spiegel wrote on November 26:

“Opposition leaders, including prominent Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, have refused to cooperate with Morsi until the edicts have been scrapped. ‘He grabbed full power for himself,’ he [said.] ‘Not even the pharaohs had so much authority, to say nothing of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak. This is a catastrophe — it [is] a mockery of the revolution that brought him to power and an act that leads one to fear the worst’…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:  ‘…The reason for Morsi’s clumsily handled grab for complete power is obvious. The new Islamization of Egypt, the pet project of the Muslim Brotherhood, has arrived…’

“Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘That Morsi has chosen exactly the moment in which he is being praised internationally for his role as mediator in the Gaza conflict to grant himself new powers shows just what a cold power-monger he is…’”

Egypt’s “democracy” will be short-lived. America and Europe have been extremely naïve in the matter of the Arab Spring, and Egypt will not be a friend of either one of the two Western power blocs—nor will it be a friend of Israel.

Egypt’s Uproar Continues

The Associated Press reported on November 29:

“An Islamist-dominated panel began a fast-track vote on a final draft of a new Egyptian constitution Thursday, pushing through the document despite liberals’ boycott in a move likely to stoke a deepening political crisis between the Islamist president and the opposition. The assembly, overwhelmingly made up of allies of President Mohammed Morsi, abruptly moved up the vote – which hadn’t been expected to take place for another two months – in order to pass the draft before Egypt’s Supreme Constitution Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.

“The vote escalates a confrontation that has already thrown Egypt into turmoil, between Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters on one side and a largely secular and liberal opposition and the nation’s judiciary on the other. It was sparked when Morsi last week granted himself near absolute powers to neutralize the judiciary, the last branch of the state not in his hands…”

The Jerusalem Post added on November 29:

“Prominent assembly members including former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa have withdrawn from the assembly, as have representatives of Egypt’s Coptic Church.”

Egypt’s Ongoing Persecution of Christians

The Associated Press reported on November 28:

“An Egyptian court convicted in absentia Wednesday seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor, sentencing them to death on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that had sparked riots in parts of the Muslim world. The case was seen as largely symbolic because the defendants, most of whom live in the United States, are all outside Egypt and are thus unlikely to ever face the sentence. The charges were brought in September during a wave of public outrage in Egypt over the amateur film, which was produced by an Egyptian-American Copt.

“The low-budget ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ parts of which were made available online, portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womanizer and buffoon. Egypt’s official news agency said the court found the defendants guilty of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information — charges that carry the death sentence.

“The man behind the film, Mark Basseley Youssef, was among those convicted… Florida-based Terry Jones, another of those sentenced, is the pastor of Dove World Outreach, a church of less than 50 members in Gainesville, Fla., not far from the University of Florida. He has said he was contacted by the filmmaker to promote the film, as well as Morris Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian in the U.S. who posted the video clips on his website. In a telephone interview Wednesday, Jones said the ruling ‘shows the true face of Islam’ — one that he views as intolerant of dissent and opposed to basic freedoms of speech and religion…

“Sadek, who fled Egypt 10 years ago and is now a Coptic activist living in Chantilly, Virginia… said the verdict ‘shows the world that the Muslim Brotherhood regime wants to shut up all the Coptic activists, so no one can demand Copts’ rights in Egypt.’

“The connection to the film of the other five sentenced by the court was not immediately clear. They include two who work with Sadek at a radical Coptic group in the U.S. that has called for an independent Coptic state, a priest who hosts TV programs from the U.S. and a lawyer living in Canada who has previously sued the Egyptian state over riots in 2000 that left 21 Christians dead.

“In a phone interview, one of the men sentenced who works with Sadek, Fikry Zaklama, said he had nothing to do with the film and hadn’t even seen it… Nader Fawzy, a 53-year old jewelry store manager and president of an international Coptic rights organization from Toronto, Canada, said he planned to file a lawsuit against the Egyptian government in Canada for what he said was a wrongful prosecution. He said he’s terrified of being kidnapped and spirited to Egypt. Fawzy, who came to Canada in 2002 from Sweden and lost his Egyptian citizenship in 1992, denied any involvement in the film… The other person is a woman who converted to Christianity and is a staunch critic of Islam.

“Some Christians and human rights groups worry that prosecutions for insulting religion, which existed to a degree under the secular-leaning regime of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, will increase with the ascent of Islamists to power in Egypt.”

Of course it will… and Europe will not stand idly by for long…

Ceasefire—How CAN It Hold?

The Times of Israel wrote on November 25:

“The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas which ended Operation Pillar of Defense does not include Egyptian guarantees to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Gaza, said a senior Hamas official on Saturday… This week, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad terror organization, which is closely allied with Iran, said that the group would continue to rearm in Gaza, reported Israel Radio. The published terms of the brief agreement do not appear to include a crackdown on weapons smuggling. However, a more comprehensive set of terms is expected to be hammered out in the coming days…

“Israel’s Channel 2 said Egypt had already intercepted one shipment of missiles en route to Gaza. It also said that in the talks, Israel has indicated a willingness to let Gaza fishermen sail out further from the Gaza coast, though it is insisting on maintaining its naval blockade to prevent weapons reaching Hamas by sea…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the flow of weapons into the Strip on Wednesday night, following the announcement of the ceasefire. According to the prime minister, ‘Israel obviously cannot sit idly while our enemy reinforces itself with weapons of terror.’ He added that in a phone conversation that night with the US president, ‘we decided, President Obama and myself, that the United States and Israel would work together to fight the smuggling of weapons to the terror organizations — weapons, virtually all of which come from Iran.’

“After the eight-day conflict, during which the IDF conducted some 1,500 strikes on terrorist cells and infrastructure in Gaza and Hamas pounded Israel with roughly the same number of rockets and missiles, both sides are claiming victory.”

… and while they say, “Peace, Peace,” there is no peace. Note the next articles as well:

Iran Supplies Sudan and Hamas with Weapons

The Associated Press reported on November 24:

“Gaza’s ruling Hamas will not stop arming itself, the No. 2 in the Palestinian group told The Associated Press on Saturday, signaling tough challenges ahead for indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamist militants on a new border deal for Gaza…  Hamas officials in Gaza have said they have developed a local arms industry… the group has received weapons from Iran since Israel’s last Gaza offensive four years ago. Hamas smuggles such weapons into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt.”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 25:

“Israeli intelligence satellites have spied the loading of rockets and other material in Iran believed to be destined for the Gaza Strip… Iran began preparing the weapons shipment around the same time Israel and Hamas negotiated a cease-fire late last week. Last month, following an air attack on a weapons plant near Khartoum, the Defense Ministry’s director of policy and political-military affairs accused Sudan of acting as a transit point for weapons shipments to Gaza. Amos Gilad accused Khartoum of aiding and abetting terrorism, and said the Sudanese regime was ‘supported by Iran’ and was used as a route to transfer weapons to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip via Egypt.

“Sudan accused Israel of attacking the military plant. The Sunday Times report also cited Israeli officials speculating that Iran could be moving longer-range ballistic missiles into Sudan, which could be aimed at Israel from the African country. The official added that Tehran would act to re-arm Hamas and other Gaza groups quickly, as it sees them as a necessary part of its response to a possible Israeli attack against Iran.”

Europe Supports or Abstains from Palestinian Authority Statehood Bid

The Times of Israel wrote on November 29:

“With the UN General Assembly expected on Thursday afternoon (New York time) to approve the Palestinian Authority bid to upgrade its United Nations status to that of a nonmember state, Germany announced that it would be joining the swelling list of European countries friendly to Israel that will not oppose the vote, but would abstain. ‘We didn’t take this decision [to abstain] lightly. We share the goal of a Palestinian state,’ German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Thursday in Berlin. ‘But significant steps toward statehood can only be reached as a result of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. From our point of view it is doubtful whether the step the Palestinians are planning today will advance the peace process. Rather, we fear that it could lead to a hardening of the situation.’

“Meanwhile, just hours ahead of the vote, Italy announced that it would be supporting the Palestinian petition, joining France, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and other European countries. Beyond the US and Canada, very few UN members are expected to oppose the motion to grant Palestine nonmember status. Italian Premier Mario Monti telephoned Abbas to inform him of the decision. He also phoned Netanyahu to assure him that the decision does not mean any weakening of Italy’s traditional friendship with Israel.

“EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that the change in the Palestinians’ status at the UN would not affect the European Union’s determination to resolve, through peace negotiations, outstanding final-status disagreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and would recognize a Palestinian state when the time was right… ‘The EU has repeatedly expressed its support and wish for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations as part of a solution to the conflict… the EU reiterates its readiness to recognize a Palestinian State when appropriate.’…

“The US and Israel have led opposition to the statehood bid, though the move has broad support in the United Nations General Assembly with some 130 nations expected to vote yes on the matter. On Tuesday France said it would support the move, joining Spain, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland and a host of other countries. On Wednesday, Palestine Liberation Organization senior official Hanan Ashrawi urged the US to at least abstain, saying that voting no ‘would be seen as being really pathetic by the rest of the world’ and would hurt American interests in the Middle East. But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday told reporters the US believes the Palestinians were going in the wrong direction to reach their goals. Clinton stressed that the ‘path to a two-state solution that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people is through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not New York.’”

Der Spiegel Online added on November 29:

“The United Nations General Assembly is widely expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Thursday, but torn between political loyalties, Germany won’t be among the 193 member countries casting their votes on the controversial issue… Having strong European support strengthens the Palestinian bid for recognition in the face of US resistance, and they have likely found it in Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Meanwhile the Czech Republic and the Netherlands appear to be leaning toward a ‘no’ vote, while Britain could abstain along with Germany…

“Germany, a key political ally of both Israel and the US, is in a difficult spot trying to maintain balance on this issue… Germany plays an important mediating role in the peace process, and the abstention may be an attempt to maintain that neutrality… But it is also a reflection of the country’s varied political interests on the issue, which include support of Israel as a key part of Germany’s post-World War II rehabilitation, using this relationship as a means of strengthening ties with Israel’s main ally, the US, and economic interests in the Middle East… Polls show that Germans are becoming increasingly frustrated with their country’s staunch support of Israel…”

As was to be expected, the UN subsequently voted “overwhelmingly Thursday to grant Palestinians limited recognition of statehood, prompting exuberant celebrations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and immediate condemnations from the United States and Israel. The 193-member U.N. body voted 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions, to recognize Palestine as a ‘non-member observer state,’ a status that falls well short of independence but provides Palestinians with limited privileges as a state, including the right to join the International Criminal Court and other international treaty bodies… France, Italy and Spain [were] supporting the Palestinians, and Germany and Britain [were] casting abstentions” (The Washington Times, November 29, 2012).

Europe’s move away from Israel and towards the Palestinians should be duly noted.

Iraq Ignores American “Wishes”

Newsmax wrote on November 26:

“The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has ignored entreaties from the Obama administration and freed a top Hezbollah operative accused of murdering American soldiers. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Maliki on Nov. 13 and urged him to hold Ali Musa Daqduq accountable for his purported crimes; the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Robert Beecroft, made a similar appeal that day. But the Iraqis released Daqduq two days later, saying Iraq had run out of legal options to hold him, and he is now in Lebanon…

“White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Iraqis had assured the United States that Daqduq would be tried for his crimes… After his release, Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte said: ‘Many of us warned that the transfer of Daqduq to the Iraqis would result in his release. The administration ignored these warnings, and now a terrorist with American blood on his hands is walking free in Lebanon. There is little doubt that Daqduq is again collaborating with fellow members of Hezbollah in anticipation of their next terrorist attack.’ And Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham said in a statement: ‘The United States now has so little influence that it could not prevail upon the Iraqi government to extradite Daqduq to the U.S. to stand trial for his crimes.’”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Resigns

The Associated Press reported on November 26:

“Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday abruptly announced he was quitting politics, injecting new turmoil into the Israeli political system weeks ahead of general elections. Mr. Barak, Israel’s most-decorated soldier and onetime prime minister, said he would stay on in his current post until a new government is formed following the Jan. 22 balloting.

“His resignation could mean the departure of the most moderating influence on hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who holds a wide lead in polls and is expected to easily win re-election… [Barak’s] impending departure comes at a key time for Israel, as the nation… faces a looming decision on whether to attack Iran’s nuclear program…”

German-Israeli Relationship

Deutsche Welle reported on November 23:

“Despite German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s strong, traditional backing for Israel, some Germans are becoming more critical of the country and calling into question Germany’s unequivocal support.

“… more Germans [are] finding common cause with Palestinians… Many say that the Holocaust is no reason to ignore what they see as unjust Israeli policy. And as German leaders pledged their support for Israel this week, they balked at supporting airstrikes over Gaza…

“This change is a reflection of a wider shift in German views of Palestinians… public opinion has deteriorated recently over two landmark events: One was the 2006 Lebanon War, when Israel retaliated for a Hezbollah raid with a punishing assault that left 1,300 Lebanese and 165 Israeli people dead. The second was the 2008-9 Israeli invasion of Gaza, which resulted in 1,400 Palestinian mostly civilian casualties, sparking an international outcry… [Some are not supporting the] Jewish people by sending weapons to the Israeli government. And [they say that] we don’t do a favor to our Israeli friends by supporting the occupation, which is shameful. … the critical voices are growing…

“Gaza aside, another flashpoint for critique of Israel came last year from Nobel Laureate Gunther Grass. He published a poem in one of the country’s largest newspapers, saying that Israel is a threat to world peace. Israel banned him from entering the country in response. ‘Basically he expressed what a majority of German people think,’ said Professor Michael Wolffsohn, an historian at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich… he says German opinion of Israel is steadily and gradually getting worse. Israel consistently ranks among the least-liked countries among Germans…”

What this article is expressing is sad reality. Without any doubt, the majority—if not the VAST majority—of the German people are extremely critical of the Jewish state and of Jews in general. The public support of the recent outrageous court decision, declaring circumcision of boys to be a crime, is ample testimony for such regrettable development. However, the reaction to Gunther Grass’s poem was overblown and inappropriate. Please note the next article, and view our new StandingWatch program, “Growing Antisemitism in Germany.”

“Merkel Soothes Jewish Ire over Circumcision Row” –German Readers State Frightening Viewpoint

The Local wrote on November 26:

“Angela Merkel has tried to ease the concerns of Germany’s Jews over a disputed court ruling against circumcision, becoming the first chancellor to address the Jewish community’s annual council meeting… of the Central Council of Jews in Germany in the western city of Frankfurt on Sunday…

“In a ruling published in June, a court in the western city of Cologne judged the rite to be tantamount to grievous bodily harm, prompting international outrage and calls for more legal clarity. The ruling united Jewish and Muslim groups in opposition and German diplomats admitted privately that it had proved ‘disastrous’ for Germany’s international image, particularly in light of its Nazi past.

“Merkel was reported to have cautioned that Germany risked becoming a ‘laughing stock’ if circumcision were banned in the country. Last month, her cabinet passed a draft law to permit circumcision and clarify the legal situation. [The] Bundestag [or] German lower house of parliament [still has to approve the bill.]…

“Merkel also used the visit to reiterate Berlin’s support of Israel following eight days of violence in and around Gaza, which left 166 Palestinians and six Israelis dead. ‘Every country has the right to defend itself. This is not only the right but also the duty of every government,’ said Merkel.”

The official position of Angela Merkel and the German government is by no means shared by the majority of Germans. A representative selection of published comments to the above-quoted article speaks for itself:

“Angie messing with a court ruling. Hmmmm. Let me see. When did that happen before in Germany?”

“The article describes ‘international outrage’ over the ruling banning circumcision, as this played out over the months, there was also enormous outrage expressed by the other side, outrage that this is still permitted to be practiced in the 21st century. Why report on one side’s outrage, while ignoring the others?”

“I for one was outraged at the barbaric practice. ‘German diplomats admitted privately that it had proved “disastrous” for Germany’s international image, particularly in light of its Nazi past.’ Only in their minds, never saw it on the headline of any international paper.”

“International outrage over Germany’s civil laws can go to… Why should Germany be concerned what other nations think about our laws? Germany has among [sic] the most civilized and equitable civil laws in the world, secondary to none… Religious practices that contravene our civil laws should not be permitted to take precedence just because some religious fanatics want to practice and impose their antiquated religious beliefs into the German society. Germany has strict laws against child abuse, but yet we will allow the practice of circumcision of infants and minors (a clear example of child abuse) to continue, lest we offend someone’s religious beliefs. Where the… is the logic here? By the same token why not allow the Muslims living in Germany to have four wives? After all, it’s permitted in the Koran and [has] been their religious practice for the past 1432 years. Aren’t we afraid of offending their religious belief?”

“Genital mutilation is a barbaric practice that, if it was carried out by any other organisation, would be banned immediately but under the guise of religious freedom, they get away with it and even have the chancellor (another religious zealot) championing their cause. Religion is without doubt the main source of hatred in the world – the quicker we put away these childish myths, the sooner we can make some real progress.”

“When one practices religious acts in their former homelands that are acceptable and then find those same acts unacceptable in their new land, it is time to either obey the law or return to their former land.”

“Frau Merkel seems to have forgotten that she was voted into power to represent the Germans, not to support governments which blatantly commit war crimes, or religious radicals who live here and mishandle small children in unnecessary brutal rituals. The written German constitution not only guarantees the freedom of religion, but also the protection of children in accordance with international agreements. A government which is completely biased and continuously breaches its own basic laws cannot be trusted!”

These comments are by no means the exception to what many Germans think and believe. And they show indeed a degree of religious intolerance and hatred for the Word of God which is truly frightening.

The next article addresses a problem in Germany and other European countries, which must be corrected. But sadly, it’s all being approached from a short-sighted and faulty angle.

The Curse of Bestiality

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 26:

“Germany plans to slap a fine of up to 25,000 euros on people having sexual relations with pets, but zoophiles plan to fight the move. They say there’s nothing wrong with consensual sex and that the true violations of animal rights are taking place in the farming industry.

“The German government plans to ban zoophilia — sex with animals — as part of an amendment to the country’s animal protection law, but faces a backlash from the country’s zoophile community, estimated to number over 100,000. Zoophilia was legalized in Germany in 1969 and animal protection groups have been lobbying for a ban… Now the center-right government wants to outlaw using animals ‘for personal sexual activities or making them available to third parties for sexual activities and thereby forcing them to behave in ways that are inappropriate to their species,’ said Hans-Michael Goldmann, chairman of the parliament’s Agricultural Committee…

“Sex with animals has been banned in a number of European countries including France, Switzerland and even the liberal Netherlands. Sweden is preparing a ban too… But it’s still legal in Denmark… In most cases, the sexual partners are likely to be dogs because they are such common pets now. In the days of old, it used to be cows, horses, sheep, goats and pigs…”

It’s all about the “protection” of “raped” animals, while the absolutely despicable conduct of depraved humans engaging in these kinds of horrendous sins are not even addressed. God was very clear about the abominable nature of such terrible actions. But it IS also true that such conduct, initiated by humans, can change the nature of animals.

God stated very specifically, in Leviticus 20:15-16: “If a man mates with a beast, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast . They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.” God placed a specific curse on anyone who would engage in bestiality, compare Deuteronomy 27:21: “‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

The entire nation was to understand that such conduct was abominable in God’s eyes. How many do understand it today—being caught and deceived by the liberal thinking of tolerance and rejection of any standards? The next article shows that our Christian nations are not afraid to lie to their children, if it is being done under the disguise of religion.

More Christmas Nonsense and Lies and Deceit

The Local wrote on November 27:

“Christmas may still be a way off, but German children are already getting in the spirit, sending letter to Jesus and regional versions of Father Christmas- and his helpers are busy replying – often in English. More than 3,000 have already arrived in [the] Christmas sorting office in Himmelstadt, Bavaria. These ones are addressed the Christkind, the infant Jesus who traditionally brings gifts to children in southern Germany on 24 December. That is just the beginning, said Rosemarie Schotte, who has run the Himmelstadt office for almost 20 years. ‘By the end of the season we’re sure to have more than 80,000 again,’ she said.

“Each one gets a reply in an envelope bearing a special stamp and of course the postmark showing where it was sent from – and, Schotte told The Local, if the letters are in English, they’ll receive a reply in English. Elsewhere in Germany, requests are made to instead to Father Christmas – the Weihnachtsmann or to St Nicholas, who delivers his gifts on 6 December. Seven special Christmas post offices receive the letters – whose numbers just keep growing… Most children send their Christmas wish lists… Many of the elves are volunteers; the postage and organisational costs are met by Deutsche Post… for the sake of frazzled parents up and down the land, let’s just hope that Santa doesn’t dish out too many rash promises amidst all the festive good-will.”

This does not really deserve or require any further comments, to describe a deceived unchristian civilization which claims to be Christian.

The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Berlin

On November 22, Der Spiegel gave a few interesting facts about the history of Germany’s current capital, the city of Berlin:

“Berlin is currently celebrating its 775th anniversary…

“Although they deposed the Kaiser, once they’d lost the war [World War I], Berlin and Germany were internationally isolated, and the city’s growth slowed to a crawl in the years of the Weimar Republic. Berlin still managed to become a mecca of cultural modernity — at least until Adolf Hitler and his Nazi movement took over. But the city paid a high price for the violence that emanated from it during the Nazi years, bringing death to 60 million people in the war and during the Holocaust. In the spring of 1945, Berlin was in ruins. And before it had a chance to rise up from the ashes, it was split into two…

“The ancient Romans were responsible for Berlin’s status as a latecomer. At the time when the eternal city of the Tiber was the center of the world, Teutons lived in the swampy forests in the large Havelland area west of Berlin, where they offered up human sacrifices in a sacred grove. The Romans wanted nothing to do with these barbarians…

“It was only in 1871 that Berlin became what Paris and London had already been for centuries: the capital of a nation-state. It took so long for Berlin to attain this status because it took that long for Germans to come together into a single country. While the French, the English and the Spaniards were already establishing cohesive nation-states by the 13th century, German rulers were devoted to the idea of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806, after which they split into a collection of small states.

“When it came time to choose the city that would be the capital of the German Reich, Berlin wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Aachen and Frankfurt am Main in the west, and Erfurt in the east, were also in the running. In the end Berlin, as the capital of Prussia, by far the largest state in the new empire, was chosen…”

Berlin may or may not continue to be the country’s capital. Before the unification, the capital of West Germany was Bonn, but it is unlikely that Bonn will ever again reach such a status. The Bible tells us that the future leader of Germany will transfer his headquarters to Jerusalem, but he will still maintain a “seat” in Germany, where his “throne” will remain. However, the capital of a newly-formed core European power bloc may become Rome.

Greek Bankruptcy Averted

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 27:

“The 17 euro-zone finance ministers broke their deadlock with the International Monetary Fund on Monday night and agreed to release the next tranche of aid for Greece, which will receive a total of €44 billion starting next month in four installments to be paid by the end of March 2013. The December installment will comprise €23.8 billion for banks and €10.6 billion in budget assistance…

“Greece’s debt is rising faster than expected because the country remains mired in recession and has been slow to implement reforms… There was relief all round after the talks. Two previous marathon meetings had failed to produce an agreement. But the ministers had no choice but to come up with a deal this time… This catalogue of measures will likely suffice to avert a Greek bankruptcy for quite some time, assuming its recession doesn’t get even worse. But it doesn’t solve the Greek dilemma…”

In an accompanying article, Der Spiegel pointed out that Germany forgives Greece an amount of 730 million euros—a step which has critics in arms, even though the opposition party pledged their support for the deal, according to the Local. Germans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their main political parties.

Britons Want to Leave the EU

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 25:

“Polls increasingly show more Britons in favor of leaving the EU than staying in. Anti-EU sentiment pervades British politics, with some Cabinet ministers openly calling for Britain to pull out, or at least for the question to be put to voters in a referendum. All this has thrown the government of Prime Minister David Cameron into a tricky position… Some political analysts warn that outside the EU, Britain’s global influence would sharply diminish, especially its role as a transatlantic bridge for the U.S. ‘The Americans have always told the Brits that “you guys are important for us because you have a big influence in Europe,”’ said Philip Whyte, a research fellow at the London-based Center for European Reform. ‘If Britain left the EU, you [in the U.S.] won’t be necessarily picking up the phone to London. Britain won’t be the first country you’d be calling; the first country you’d be calling would be Germany.’…

“Further distancing itself from the rest of Europe, Cameron’s government has declared its intention to opt out of some of the EU’s unpopular legal and judicial agreements, which critics say handcuff Britain’s own law-enforcement system… That kind of cherry-picking irritates Britain’s continental partners, many of which are drawing closer economically and politically to save the euro just as Britain, which has clung to the pound as its currency, pulls in the opposite direction. Some EU countries are beginning to wonder why they don’t simply show the door to such an uncooperative club member that seems determined to go its own way anyway.”

Britain Only Joined the EU to Slow Things Down

Bloomberg wrote on November 27:

“Britain has always had mixed feelings about the European project. From the start of the drive to ‘ever closer union,’ the U.K. feared being left out, yet never quite wanted to get with the program. In some ways, it signed up mainly to slow the whole thing down. Lately its doubts have grown. According to a new opinion poll, a clear majority of the British want to quit the European Union altogether.

“Increasingly the feeling is mutual. A partnership can tolerate only so much reluctance. In a television interview this week, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (more tolerant of British ambivalence than many other European leaders) said he found that ‘the English manage to be quite exasperating when they ask, as a condition for remaining aboard this great European ship, particular exceptions, particular dispensations, that could amount to making holes in the ship and making it sail less well, if not sink altogether.’

“Those dispensations never end. At the creation of the euro, the U.K. recused itself… It wants nothing to do with parts of the EU’s planned response to the economic crisis, including proposals for a banking union and closer fiscal integration. London is unwilling, as always, to make EU budgetary contributions according to the same formula as other member states: Protecting Britain’s so-called rebate is ever the main goal of its policy on Europe…

“At some point, enough is enough. Maybe a separation on friendly terms would be better for all involved. Well, it might come to that, and it’s wrong to dismiss a British decision to leave as ‘unthinkable.’ Equally, though, since moving the country to a better location would be difficult, Britain ought to think hard about what divorcing Europe would mean… Leaving the EU doesn’t mean winning independence from it…

“In or out of the EU… Britain’s global weight will diminish, a function of the country’s continuing and inevitable relative economic decline…”

And so, Britain’s exit from the EU is just a matter of time…

Britain Plagued by Horrible Weather

Mail On Line wrote on November 27:

“People were forced to flee their homes last night as flood water and torrential rain caused ‘serious threats to life’ in villages in Cornwall… Intense downpours and gusts strong enough to bring down trees will continue to batter large areas of Britain today, weather forecasters warned last night.

“Two Atlantic storms will dump two inches of rain on already sodden ground across the South-West and Wales, bringing further flooding. Southern and eastern coastal areas will see wind speeds reach 70mph, while rain is expected to sweep across from the South-West into the Midlands and North in the afternoon…

“The forecast is grim news for the thousands who spent last week battling the harsh weather. At least 400 homes were flooded and the Environment Agency sent warnings to 9,000 householders at risk. Even before this weekend’s downpours the agency had 48 flood warnings and 173 lesser ‘alerts’ in place. Areas likely to be affected by fresh floods include Devon, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.”

These horrible weather conditions are mainly in the west of the country – and concentrated more in the south west, which always seems to suffer the worst with floods and many people losing their homes, which is just terrible.

Like the USA, the UK has been moving away from God, but it seems that they can’t see the unrecognized connection between obedience and blessings, and disobedience and curses.

The Terminator Is Becoming Reality

International Business Times wrote on November 22:

“Judgement Day was meant to happen on August 29, 1997. At 2.14am Eastern Time, the machines were meant to become self-aware and launch a nuclear strike against Russia, thus triggering a global nuclear war and the beginning of the end of the human race. This [of] course never happened, because the Terminator and Skynet were only horrifying visions of the future as dreamed up by James Cameron in his 1984 film.

“However a real judgement day may not be that far off as governments around the world pour billions of pounds into the development of autonomous weapons systems which are slowly but surely taking control from the hands of humans. Playing the role of Sarah Connor and attempting to warn the world of impending doom is Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has just released a report called Losing Humanity – The Case against Killer Robots. The report calls for all states to ‘prohibit the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons through an international legally binding instrument.’…

“However, with the US government currently spending $6bn a year on autonomous weapons and their development, it is unlikely that they would be willing to throw that money away, particularly when they are espousing the benefits of these automated systems… The US military has openly stated that it is seeking to reduce human influence on its weapons systems, adding that it is looking to make its ground vehicles ‘fully autonomous’…

“… the UK… is heavily invested in another step on the road to fully automated weapons – unmanned aircraft. These aircraft are moving beyond the capabilities of the predator drones currently being employed in Afghanistan by the US military…

“For example, distinguishing between a fearful civilian and a threatening enemy combatant requires a soldier to understand the intentions behind a human’s actions, something a robot could not do… If a fully autonomous weapon carried out an unlawful killing, who is responsible? Options include the military commander, the programmer, the manufacturer, and even the robot itself, but none of these options is satisfactory. The report says: ‘Since there is no fair and effective way to assign legal responsibility for unlawful acts committed by fully autonomous weapons, granting them complete control over targeting decisions would undermine yet another tool for promoting civilian protection.’”

Smoking Dangerous for Body and Brain

BBC News wrote on November 26:

“Smoking ‘rots’ the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning, according to researchers at King’s College London… Dr Simon Ridley, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘Research has repeatedly linked smoking and high blood pressure to a greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and this study adds further weight to that evidence…

“The Alzheimer’s Society said: ‘We all know smoking, a high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and a high BMI [Body Mass Index] is bad for our heart. This research adds to the huge amount of evidence that also suggests they can be bad for our head too. One in three people over 65 will develop dementia but there are things people can do to reduce their risk. Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked and not smoking can all make a difference.’”

California’s Fight Against Second-Hand Smoke

Newsmax wrote on November 26:

“18 cities and counties in California have banned residents from smoking — in their own apartments and condominiums. The communities have banned smoking in all existing and new multi-unit housing, according to the American Lung Association’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing, which calls the effort ‘the next frontier in California’s ongoing efforts to protect its citizens from secondhand smoke.’

“A report from the organization states: ‘Although California has made great progress in getting secondhand smoke out of workplaces, for the many Californians who live in multi-unit housing breathing secondhand smoke which drifts from neighboring units, balconies and outdoor areas has become a real health problem.’… Many of the cities and counties’ bans include declaring secondhand smoke a ‘public nuisance.’”

Second-hand smoke is not only a nuisance, but it shows total disregard of selfish smokers for their own health and the health of others.

Thanksgiving, Turkey and Giving Thanks

The Times of Israel wrote on November 24:

“The Pilgrims found inspiration in the ancient Israelites… “William Bradford [was] a passenger on the Mayflower and later the governor of Plymouth colony… In ‘Of Plymouth Plantation,’ his journal of the Pilgrims, Bradford made comparative references between the Pilgrims’ voyage and the Israelites’ Exodus. Later in life, according to Stephen O’Neill, the curator of Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth Mass., Bradford ‘taught himself Hebrew,’ even writing a book of Hebrew exercises.

“According to Bradford’s journal, the Mayflower Pilgrims gave thanks upon their landing: ‘Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought them over ye vast & furious ocean,’ reads the text. ‘Let them therfore praise ye Lord, because he is good,’ wrote Bradford, quoting from Psalm 107, which in Hebrew begins with the word ‘hodu,’ ‘give thanks.’… ‘hodu’ also happens to mean ‘turkey’…”

Truly amazing….

President Obama’s Economic Policies a Disaster

The Investor’s Business Daily wrote on November 21:

“Anyone who thinks that President Obama’s economic policies will spur strong growth should consider U-Haul rates between California and Texas. Renting a 20-foot truck one-way from San Francisco to San Antonio, for example, will cost $1,693. But the U-Haul tab to go in the opposite direction is just $983… Put simply, far more people want to leave California for Texas than vice versa. Why? Because California’s economy is moribund while Texas’ is thriving…

“The problem is that Obama’s economic policies are pushing the country to be more like the California people are leaving and less like the Texas they’re flocking to. ‘Every dream program that the administration embraces — cap and trade, massive taxes on the rich, high-speed rail — is either in place or on the drawing boards’ in California, notes Joel Kotkin, executive editor of NewGeography. Like President Obama, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown pushed for a substantial new tax on the ‘rich’ that raises the top rate to 13.3%… Even before these taxes kick in, California was the fourth most heavily taxed state… Also like Obama, the state is regulation happy. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranks California as one of the four worst states in terms of regulations. The state also imposes one of the heaviest tax burdens on businesses. As a result, California consistently ranks at or near the bottom for business friendliness. And like Obama — who has pushed federal spending up to historic highs for the past four years — per-capita spending in California has climbed 42% from 2000 to 2010, even after adjusting for inflation. The state is now one of the biggest spenders in the country. The contrast in economic policies between California and Texas — which otherwise share many things in common, since both are big-population border states with lots of immigrants — could not be more striking.”

When state and federal governments are busy regulating and restricting the conduct of their “subjects” and taxing them heavily, such consequences are inevitable. God had warned ancient Israel, when they rejected Him and chose a king instead, that this was exactly what would happen (compare 1 Samuel  8:11-18).

Blasphemy During Soul Train Awards Show

NewsBusters wrote on November 26:

“Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx recently called Barack Obama ‘our lord and savior.’ This occurred at the previously recorded Soul Train Awards broadcast on BET Sunday.”

The published video of the broadcast showed the audience applauding when these blasphemous words were uttered. These are frightening developments for everyone involved in these actions. You might want to read a similar account, and its godly retribution, in Acts 12:20-23.

Unique Example of Uganda’s President

WND wrote on November 24:

“Should a president lead citizens in a national prayer of repentance? Uganda’s Christian president believes so. The Ugandan newssite New Vision reports President Yoweri Museveni celebrated Uganda’s 50th anniversary of independence from Britain at the National Jubilee Prayers event by publicly repenting of his personal sin and the sins of the nation… ‘We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal,’ Museveni said. ‘Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict,’ Museveni prayed.

“Next, the president dedicated Uganda to God. ‘We want to dedicate this nation to you so that you will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own,’ Museveni prayed…

“Massachusetts pastor and activist… Scott Lively believes Museveni is a model for other national leaders… ‘Britain was at its height as a world power when it honored God as the Ugandan president has just done. America’s greatness has similarly diminished as we have shifted from a Christian to a secular-humanist country…’

“Homosexual activist groups have criticized the government of Uganda and Museveni for passing laws criminalizing homosexual behavior. A current bill before the Ugandan Parliament increases the jail sentences for homosexual acts and includes criminal penalties for those who encourage or promote homosexuality…

“Dave Daubenmire, PT Salt Ministries’ president and founder and social commentator, said the problem for Western nations goes deeper than the political leaders. The problem in the United States, he said, is the pastors. ‘Sadly, I think our lack of repentance is the fault of the pulpit. Individual Christians are so awash in sin that they think politicians are merely better at sin than they are,’ Daubenmire said. ‘There is no fear of the Lord…’

“He added that Christians too often play with sin. ‘Since we do not hate sin anymore, we don’t demand repentance,’ Daubenmire said. He quoted British 17th century statesman Edmund Burke, who said, ‘The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.’ Daubenmire said that in America, ‘good men have yielded power to evil men. Evil rules when evil men make the rules,’ he said.’”

Much of what is said in the article is true. Church pastors are teaching a way of life opposite to the Bible and are much to be blamed for the horrible sin-laden situation in the US and the UK. Note the next article as a further example.

Churches Conduct Concealed Weapons Training

The Daily wrote on November 26:

“In an effort to increase membership, a number of U.S. churches — including the Church of Christ congregation in this rural village 30 miles north of Columbus — are offering an unconventional public service: Concealed weapons training… Hundreds of students have enrolled in the 10-hour course, which meets the state requirements for earning a concealed weapons permit. The training includes two hours on a church member’s private shooting range…

“Preacher Jeff, as Marengo Christian’s Copley is called by his flock, likewise emphasizes the spiritual importance of being able to defend oneself. ‘Jesus advises his disciples to sell their cloak and buy a sword,’ he told The Daily. ‘He instructed his people to be prepared to defend themselves. It’s really hard to find someone in our congregation that doesn’t shoot somehow.’…”

The horrible misapplication of Scripture is ample evidence for the spiritual ignorance of quite a few American preachers. For a correct understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ words to His disciples to buy swords can be found in our Q&As on the matter. http://www.eternalgod.org/qapdf/2218 and http://www.eternalgod.org/qapdf/4026

Pope Appoints Six New Cardinals to Choose Successor

Fox News, USA Today and The Associated Press reported on November 24:

“Six new cardinals on Saturday joined the elite club of red-robed churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals… [They] hail from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States… Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, seen by many to be a rising star in the church, visibly choked up as he knelt before Benedict to receive his three-pointed red hat, or biretta, and gold ring, and wiped tears from his eyes as he returned to his place… Benedict has said that… he was essentially completing his last cardinal-making ceremony held in February, when he elevated 22 cardinals, the vast majority of them European archbishops and Vatican bureaucrats…

“The College of Cardinals remains heavily European even with the new additions: Of the 120 cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope, more than half — 62 — are European… The issue of numbers is significant since these are the men who will elect the next pope from among their ranks: Will the next pontiff come from the southern hemisphere, where two-thirds of the world’s Catholics live? Or will the papacy return to Italy, which has 28 voting-age cardinals, after a Polish and German pope?

“The new cardinals do make the papal voting bloc a bit more multinational: Latin America, which boasts half of the world’s Catholics, now has 21 voting-age cardinals; North America, 14; Africa, 11; Asia, 11; and Oceana, one. Among the six new cardinals is Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household. As prefect, Harvey was the direct superior of the pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is serving an 18 month prison sentence in a Vatican jail for stealing the pope’s private papers and leaking them to a reporter in the greatest Vatican security breach in modern times. The Vatican spokesman has denied Harvey, 63 from Milwaukee, is leaving because of the scandal. But on the day the pope announced Harvey would be made cardinal, he also said he would leave the Vatican to take up duties as the archpriest of one of the Vatican’s four Roman basilicas. Such a face-saving promotion-removal is not an uncommon Vatican personnel move…

“Cardinals serve as the pope’s closest advisers, but their main task is to elect a new pope. And with Benedict, 85, slowing down, that task is ever more present… 67 of [the current cardinals] were named by Benedict, all but ensuring that his successor will be chosen from a group of like-minded prelates. Saturday’s consistory marks the first time in decades that not a single European or Italian has been made a cardinal — a statistic that has not gone unnoticed in Italy. Italy still has the lions’ share of cardinals, though, with 28 voting-age ‘princes’ of the church.”

This structure, allowing for the designation of a pope by [ultimately, after 30 unsuccessful attempts] the simple majority vote of [currently] 120 cardinals, is not in accordance with the Bible, even though it comes closer than the adopted Presbyterian structure or the fully democratic structures of some churches. The sad part is that even some major Church of God organizations practice similar procedures (i.e., vote by majority of ministers or even members) to appoint the leader of their group, but the Bible does not endorse such practices.

Apart from the potential for political maneuvering and corruption, these procedures are opening up the floodgates for further unbiblical conduct—so, for instance, the concept that if this kind of voting is permitted for and endorsed by church ministers, what prevents members from voting, including  for candidates in governmental elections? Sadly, more and more members of certain Church of God organizations have been voting in the most recent US election—an unbiblical practice, which is strongly condemned by the Church of the Eternal God in the USA and our corporate affiliates in Canada and the UK. Please listen to Norbert Link’s recent video-recorded sermon, titled, “What Would Be Jesus’ Vote?” and our StandingWatch programs on the issue of voting, titled “Why I Don’t Vote”, and “Americans Voted For Nothing”.  Also, please review our two Q&As on the matter, which are both titled, “Why do you teach that a Christian should not vote in governmental elections?” http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/2259 and http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/2206  

Water Turning to Blood

Newsfeed.time.com wrote on November 27:

“It must have looked like a scene from Jaws: surfers and sun-worshippers fled Australia’s famed Bondi Beach as the water turned blood red. The alarming hue, however, was not the result of a tragic aquatic accident, but rather came from a crimson algal bloom… Algal blooms are most common in the spring and fall seasons, as water temperatures are higher and there are ‘greater movements in ocean currents.’ Australia, which is located in the southern hemisphere, is currently transitioning from spring to summer.”

The German mass tabloid, Bild, reported, that Australia has now a “Red Sea.” One is reminded of the prophecy of oceans turning into blood, which will happen in the future.

Timothy Geithner: “Raise Debt Limit to Infinity”

CNSNews.com wrote on November 19:

“Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday that Congress should stop placing legal limits on the amount of money the government can borrow and effectively lift the debt limit to infinity… Geithner’s Treasury Department quietly warned at the end of October that the Treasury would reach current legal limit on the federal government’s debt by about the end of the year.

“In August 2011, President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to lift the legal debt limit by another $2.4 trillion–allowing the government to borrow up to $16.394 trillion. However, as of the close of business on Thursday, the Treasury had only $154.3 billion of that $2.4 trillion in new borrowing authority left. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid… said last week that the Senate stands ready to increase the debt limit by another $2.4 trillion…”

Of course, lifting any debt ceiling would mean that the incredible, foolish and ungodly borrowing habits of the US government could continue unabated, until the whole house of cards, that the USA has created, will come crumbling down and burying everybody with and under it.

“We Have Turned Our Backs on God”

Newsmax wrote on November 15:

“Franklin Graham charged in an exclusive Newsmax TV interview that America is in a deep economic quagmire because ‘we have turned our backs on God.’ ‘The more we turn our backs on God, the bigger our problem becomes,’ Graham, the son of world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, tells Newsmax in a wide-ranging interview. “I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to call our nation to prayer. I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to ask God for help. We still think that we can work our way out of this problem – and I don’t think we can,’ Graham added. ‘I don’t have confidence in the Republican Party right now, and I don’t have confidence in the Democratic Party. I don’t believe there is leadership in Washington that can solve this problem. We just deal with it as issues for the day, and it kicks the can further and further down the road. We need God’s help to solve this problem – we can’t go without God.’ Last week’s election results, which sent President Barack Obama back to the White House for another four years, put the nation further along a ‘path of destruction,’ Graham said.

“’There is no question that America has been a nation that has been blessed by almighty God. There is no other nation in the history of mankind that has done what this nation has done – and it’s because of God’s hand and his blessing… What has happened is we have allowed ourselves to take God out everything that we do – and I believe that God will judge our nation one day.’ And, ‘maybe God will have to bring our nation to our knees – to where that we just have a complete economic collapse’ to do that, Graham said. ‘Maybe at that point, people will again call upon the name of almighty God.’

“Graham is the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The association’s tax-exempt status is under threat from a complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service by the Freedom From Religion Foundation… The move by the Wisconsin group, Graham said, reflected a broader push by the far left. ‘They want to shut the mouths of evangelicals. They want to shut the mouths of Christians. One hundred years ago, political leaders in every community were the pastors. They were the voices that were heard. They were the voices that had the influence. Politicians know that and the government knows that – and they are trying to shut the mouths of especially evangelicals. I’m going to continue to speak out,’ Graham vowed. ‘I’m not afraid. I’m not worried.’”

That the USA has turned its back on God—and that for quite some time now—is without any doubt. God blessed this country because of the faith and obedience of Abraham, so that God promised him unconditionally that He would bless his descendants—and the USA are part of the modern descendants of Abraham. But the fate of the USA is much worse than mere economic downfall. The Bible shows that the USA will be defeated in a nuclear war, and survivors will be brought into captivity. It is then, while in that miserable state, but sadly not before then, that some will begin to repent.

Petraeus: Benghazi Was Terrorist Attack

Newsmax wrote on November 16:

“[The former CIA chief] David Petraeus is telling lawmakers he believed all along that the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was a terrorist attack… Lawmakers say Petraeus told them that CIA talking points written after the attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans referred to it as a terrorist attack. But Petraeus says that reference was removed by other federal agencies that made changes to the CIA’s draft…

“Petraeus’ comments are a challenge to the Obama administration’s timeline of events which indicated the attack on the Libyan consulate were spontaneous, caused by an angry mob upset at an anti-Muslim video… the fact that talking points were changed as information made its way through various agencies is sure to spark another round of controversy for the Obama administration…”

The problems for the US Government don’t seem to diminish, but just to increase constantly.

Loss of Another Sea Gate?

National Review wrote in its November 2012 edition:

“On June 27, a plane carrying Wen Jiabao made a ‘technical’ stop on the island of Terceira, in the Azores. Following an official greeting by Alamo Meneses, the regional secretary of environment of the sea, the Chinese premier spent four hours touring the remote Portuguese outpost in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Wen’s Terceira walkabout, which followed a four-nation visit to South America, largely escaped notice at the time, but alarm bells should have immediately gone off in Washington and in European capitals. For one thing, Wen’s last official stop on the trip was Santiago, the capital of Chile. Flights from Chile to China normally cross the Pacific, not the Atlantic, so there was no reason for his plane to be near the Azores…

“Terceira, however, has one big attraction for Beijing: Air Base No. 4. Better known as Lajes Field, the facility where Premier Wen’s 747 landed in June is jointly operated by the U.S. Air Force and its Portuguese counterpart. If China controlled the base, the Atlantic would no longer be secure. From the 10,865-foot runway on the northeast edge of the island, Chinese planes could patrol the northern and central portions of the Atlantic and thereby cut air and sea traffic between the U.S. and Europe. Beijing would also be able to deny access to the nearby Mediterranean Sea.  And China could target the American homeland. Lajes is less than 2,300 miles from New York, shorter than the distance between Pearl Harbor and Los Angeles.

“Lajes is certainly the reason Wen went out of his way to win friends in Terceira. For years his country has been trying to make inroads into the Azores and waiting for opportunities to pounce. There is nothing the Chinese can do if the U.S. stays, but Pentagon budget cutters, according to some observers, are planning to make Lajes a ‘ghost base.’…

“In recent years, Beijing has identified Portugal as its entry point into Europe, and Chinese officials now know their way to Lisbon. It is in this context that the Portuguese are already thinking about the planned closure of Lajes Field. They don’t want to invite the Chinese in, but they have quietly indicated they will have no choice if the U.S. Air Force decides to leave the base…

“We will, as a longtime ally, need to work closely with Lisbon over an especially thorny issue, but in the interim, there are things that can be done. For instance, it’s not entirely clear why the U.S. Africa Command should be based at Kelley Barracks, outside Stuttgart. A transfer of the approximately 1,500 staff there to Lajes, which is much closer to Africa, would solve the problem overnight, and the move might actually improve Africom’s effectiveness. There are undoubtedly other stopgap solutions that the Pentagon could implement. None of them will be perfect, but all of them would be better than having Beijing’s red flag flying over the Atlantic — and permitting Chinese aircraft to patrol the waters connecting America to Europe.”

The Bible has prophesied that the USA and the UK will lose all its strategic sea gates. They have already lost most of them, and it seems that another one is about to fall into the hands of the Chinese.

“Outrageous” Decision by England’s Charity Commission Against Churches

Mail on Line wrote on November 16:

“MPs are demanding an inquiry into the Charity Commission after the watchdog banned a Christian group from charitable status on the grounds that religion is not always for ‘public benefit’. More than 50 MPs from all the main parties have signed a Commons motion calling on the charity regulator to think again, amid fears that hundreds of religious groups could be stripped of their tax-exempt status, threatening their very existence.

“They accuse the Charity Commission of ‘politically correct bias’ against faith groups after it ruled that the Preston Down Trust of the Plymouth Brethren Church – which has 16,000 members across Britain – is not entitled to charitable status because it does not do enough good works in the community…

“Tory MP Robert Halfon said: ‘There is something rotten in the Charity Commission. I cannot understand why the Brethren, good people who do so much in their communities, have been singled out. I believe an inquiry is needed into the role of the Charity Commission, to consider how it came to make the decision. What has happened is unjust and is creating fear in many churches across the country.’

“Garth Christie, an elder in the Plymouth Brethren… said that he and the other members had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on trying to prove their charitable status, and they would appeal all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if necessary. The group has already appealed to the Charity Tribunal in what is seen as a test case that could threaten the charitable status of hundreds of small religious groups.

“Several MPs are threatening to table amendments to the Small Charitable Donations Bill before Parliament later this month in a bid to protect faith groups… The threat to amend the Small Charitable Donations Bill seeks to overturn measures in the 2006 Charities Act which removed the presumption for charities that education, religion, or poverty relief are for the public benefit.

“In a ruling that sent shockwaves through even the established church, the Charity Commission ruled that its decision ‘makes it clear that there was no presumption that religion generally, or at any more specific level, is for the public benefit, even in the case of Christianity or the Church of England’. The commission’s decision will have a huge impact on the Brethren’s tax relief…”

This decision is just another example of a development in Europe severely limiting the rights of religious freedom and free exercise of religion… and this move is of course directed at the smaller churches.

Israel’s Coming Wars at Several Fronts

Stratfor Global Intelligence wrote on November 17:

“While Hamas is preparing for an Israeli ground assault into Gaza, Hezbollah’s movements on Israel’s northern frontier bear close watching. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Nov. 17 called on the Muslim world to retaliate against Israeli actions in Gaza. Naturally, many are looking in the direction of Lebanon, where Hezbollah, Iran’s most capable militant proxy, could open a second front against Israel.

“Though Iran would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the spectrum of its militant proxy strength, especially after supplying Hamas with the long-range Fajr-5 rockets that have been targeting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Hezbollah will likely be extremely cautious in deciding whether to participate in this war. The group’s fate is linked to that of the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad; should Syria fracture along sectarian lines, Lebanon is likely to descend into civil war, and Hezbollah will have to conserve its strength and resources for a battle at home against its sectarian rivals. Indeed, Hezbollah has already been preparing for such a scenario by seizing control of villages along the Orontes River Basin in order to maintain connectivity with Syria’s Alawite community.

“At the same time, if Hamas is able to bog down Israeli ground forces by drawing them into a war of attrition in densely populated Gaza City, Hezbollah may see a political opportunity to burnish its credentials as the region’s leading ‘resistance’ movement. In this case, Hezbollah would likely monitor the situation until it could be assured that Israeli forces are sufficiently constrained on the Gaza front before it begins attacks on the northern front… Israel is already preparing for a two-front contingency…”

Ultimately, Israel will be attacked from all fronts, and there will be nobody there to help. Note the next article as well.

Turkey Condemns Israel

CBS wrote on November 19:

“A top Turkish official has claimed that Israel is committing acts of terrorism by bombing Hamas targets in Gaza. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told the Eurasian Islamic Council conference in Istanbul that the Jewish state is systematically mass-killing Muslims. ‘Those who associate Islam with terrorism close their eyes in the face of mass killing of Muslims, turn their heads from the massacre of children in Gaza,’ Erdogan said, according to Reuters. ‘For this reason, I say that Israel is a terrorist state, and its acts are terrorist acts.’…

“Obama reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to self-defense and discussed possible ways to scale back the conflict, the White House said. It did not offer specifics. Separately, Obama called Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Friday and praised Egypt’s efforts to ease tensions in the region, the White House said. Obama expressed hope that Egypt’s efforts would be successful, officials said. In both calls, Obama expressed regret for the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives and underscored the importance of resolving the situation as quickly as possible.”

President Obama wants to please both sides, and won’t please either. Egypt and Turkey are turning against Israel to become strong enemies of Israel, as the Bible predicted. Note also the next article.

Egypt Turns Against Israel

The New York Times wrote on November 19:

“While holding itself out as an honest broker for truce talks between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza conflict,  Egypt’s new government sought on Monday to plunge into the battle over international public opinion on behalf of the Palestinian cause — an arena where the Israelis, more experienced in the world of the free press and democratic politics, have historically dominated.

“In Egypt’s most concerted effort to win more global public support for the Palestinians, advisers to Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has been an outspoken supporter of Hamas, invited foreign correspondents in Cairo to a background briefing at which a senior Egyptian official sought to blame Israel for the conflict while at the same time maintaining Egypt’s role as an intermediary pressing both sides for peace…

“Speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid upsetting the talks with the Israelis, the Egyptian official argued that the West, which supports Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Gaza, was essentially blaming the victim… He implicitly compared the leaders of Hamas to George Washington in America or Charles de Gaulle in France: Heros because they resisted foreign occupation by armed force…”

The negative outcome of the Arab Spring for Israel becomes more and more obvious. But the liberal press is still refusing to admit it, and everyone’s praise for President Morsi’s accomplishment of a ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas is shortsighted and premature at best. Even in the unlikely event that it holds, it did not and will not change a thing. Note the next two articles.

“Tenuous Truce”

The Washington Times wrote on November 21:

“The tenuous truce between Israel and Hamas militants after eight days of savage fighting now relies on Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to guarantee the cease-fire he spent days crafting. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who once suggested bombing the Aswan Dam and flooding the Nile Valley in Egypt, went out of his way Wednesday to praise Mr. Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood…

“Mr. Morsi played a delicate diplomatic role as a leader of the Brotherhood, which sided with Hamas in the conflict. Last week, Mr. Morsi called Israelis the ‘aggressors’ after they retaliated for months of Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli communities. He even threatened Israel, claiming they will ‘pay a heavy price if they continue this aggression.’

“However, Mr. Morsi balanced his support for Hamas — an offshoot of the Brotherhood that is dedicated to Israel’s destruction — with his need for support from the United States, which sided with Israel and defended the Jewish state’s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks…President Obama ‘thanked President Morsi for his efforts to achieve a sustainable cease-fire and for his personal leadership in negotiating a cease-fire proposal,’ the White House said. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who rushed to the region Tuesday to help with the peace talks, also praised Mr. Morsi, saying Egypt is ‘assuming responsibility and leadership’ in the Middle East.

“She warned, however, that this ‘is a critical time for the region.’ Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also cautioned about the reliability of a cease-fire with Hamas. ‘We expect the agreements to be fully honored, but from past experience we are aware it might be short-lived,’ he said. Although Israel agreed to a cease-fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of ‘severe military action’ if Hamas or Islamic Jihad, another designated terrorist group in Gaza, breaks the truce…

“Israel insisted that the agreement announced in Cairo deal only with a cessation of hostilities. Negotiations on other substantive issues will begin in a few days after Israel confirms that the Palestinians are honoring the cease-fire. Mr. Obama also applauded Mr. Netanyahu and expressed his ‘appreciation for the prime minister’s efforts to work’ the Egyptian government, the White House said…

“Mr. Obama promised the Israeli leader additional U.S. funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system that shot down incoming rockets. The system destroyed at least 360 Palestinian rockets and deflected others… Israel flew more than 1,500 airstrikes, killing 161 Palestinians. Israeli officials said most of those killed were Hamas terrorists, although others were civilians… Mr. Netanyahu left open the option for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip if the cease-fire fails…

“The Cairo agreement requires Israel to end airstrikes and targeted assassinations of suspected terrorists in Gaza and for Hamas to stop shelling Israel and trying to send terrorists across the border. Future talks will deal with Hamas’ demands for Israel to lift the embargo imposed on the territory five years ago, when Hamas seized power and started attacking Israel. Israel also is demanding an end to the flow of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Iran has been Hamas’ chief arms supplier…”

Fragile Ceasefire

The Times of Israel wrote on November 21:

“The absence of a ground operation speaks to the vulnerabilities that both sides prefer to conceal. Israel, though it states publicly that it has the right to defend itself, knows that Hamas rockets cannot be silenced without a prolonged house-to-house ground offensive, which could claim thousands of lives and erode further Israel’s public standing in the world.

“Moreover, as King Abdullah of Jordan reportedly made clear Tuesday afternoon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, such an operation could threaten the stability of the entire region — that was a nice way of the king saying that Jordanian Hamas members could topple the Hashemite throne, leaving Israel’s eastern border open to Islamist regimes and chaos all the way through to India…

“Iran and its proxy Hezbollah sat remarkably still during the days of warfare between Israel and Gaza. But surely the silence from Tehran and the Dahieh is not to be interpreted as a lack of concentration. Quds Force leaders will chart where the rockets fell, how Israelis responded, and which salvos proved most difficult for Iron Dome to handle. They will readjust their smuggling routes as necessary and make every attempt to keep Hamas — in essence, the first Sunni Islamist revolutionaries of the Arab Spring — within its Shiite sphere of influence.

“In agreeing to an Egypt-brokered ceasefire, Israel, too, can learn a perhaps unpleasant lesson about its ongoing and looming struggle with Iran… both Iran and Hamas have arduously amassed weapons — whether by tunneling through the sand or moving the chess pieces of a military nuclear program forward in a masterful way… On both fronts, as even the ceasefire appears to indicate, Israel will have to consider making painful concessions.

“Finally, as relates to the conflict with Hamas, the real test will be not so much in the immediately disputed provisions of the agreement, but in the reality that ensues… If, in several months, the flow of weapons resumes its pace, then lsrael’s accomplishments will be quickly forgotten and all too swiftly challenged.”

Germany Wants Strategic Partnership with Arab League

German-Foreign-Policy.com wrote on November 16:

“The German foreign minister is pleading for a ‘strategic partnership’ between the European Union and the Arab League. During a meeting of foreign ministers of the two organizations, yesterday in Cairo, Guido Westerwelle noted that lately, the association of Arab states has been ‘assuming a growing amount of regional responsibility,’ which is why cooperation should be reinforced. Observers have been pointing out for quite some time that following the overthrow of the secular regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, the dictatorships on the Arabian Peninsular have seized leadership of the Arab League, and are using their newly acquired margin of maneuver to reinforce Islamist forces throughout the Arab world – including those among Syrian insurgents. They are cooperating closely with the West – which hopes to set them against Iran and uses Islamist associations in other countries, for example in Egypt. The losers are the secular forces, which, since 2010, have been in rebellion to overthrow their repressive, western-collaborating, secular regimes and who are now confronted with repressive, Islamist allies of the EU and USA…

“At the EU/Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo yesterday, the German Foreign Minister demanded that cooperation between these two regional organizations be significantly enhanced. ‘I would like to see the Arab League become a strategic partner of the European Union’ proclaimed Westerwelle, and pointed to the League’s substantial increase in activity since the beginning of the transformation process in the Arab world in early 2011…

“The plans for cooperation are flanking the unrelenting intensification of German cooperation with Islamist forces in North Africa, as well as in the Middle East. For example, Berlin had already expanded its links to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood before Islamist President Muhammad Mursi took office. German authorities are also cooperating with Syrian Muslim Brotherhood militants, in their efforts to overthrow Syria’s president. In Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, from the standpoint of the German government, a pronouncedly closer cooperation with the respective dominant Islamist networks is indispensible[sic]. Therefore, this development has been observed by experts and think tanks for quite a while. The CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation had recently published a study on this subject. According to the paper on North African Islamist sectors, which, up to now, the West had only confronted militarily within the framework of the so-called war on terror, but is now being sought as allies, ‘detailed information’ is currently lacking on major aspects of these milieus, which are ‘not very transparent to the outside world.’…

“Social concepts pursued by the new Islamist rulers are currently of little interest to the West. ‘The only sectors that are relatively immune to constant reference to Islam are the economic and foreign policy sectors,’ writes the Adenauer Foundation… The Gulf dictatorships, which have taken over leadership in the Arab League, throughout the past few years, have proven themselves to be the most trustworthy Western allies throughout the Middle East – in spite of, or perhaps because of, their repression of any democratic movement within their respective borders. Under their influence, the Sunnite-Islamist form of worshiping Islam is becoming the force of social cohesion throughout the entire region, enabling them to oppose, in a consolidated front, those forces considered a threat by the West – Shiite Iran, as well as its allied Shiite associations elsewhere in the Middle East…”

This perceptive article is in total line with the prophecies of the Bible. We read in Psalm 83:3-8 that a confederacy of Arab nations will try to wipe Israel off the map, and modern-day Assyria (i.e. Germany) will be part of it. Shiite nations, however, such as Iran and Syria, are not mentioned in the context. In this regard, the next article should not come as a surprise.

EU Warns Israel

Haaretz reported on November 19:

“[The] White House and European countries, including Britain, France and Germany express strong opposition to ground operation…  Both Netanyahu and Barak are said to be reluctant to launch a ground operation, believing it should be ordered only if Hamas rebuffs all of Egypt’s mediation efforts. The two fear the diplomatic fallout that a ground operation would have on Israel’s relationships with Egypt and Jordan, as well as the blow such an operation would deliver to Israel’s image in the west.

“Strong messages against launching a ground invasion have been issued by the White House and European countries, including Britain, France and Germany… On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrived to tell Netanyahu that a ground invasion of Gaza would gravely endanger Palestinian civilians and make it difficult for the international community to continue giving the current Operation Pillar of Defense its backing… The EU ministers Monday expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned the rocket fire from Gaza, but in the same breath called for a cease-fire and demanded that Israel act proportionately and avoid harming innocent civilians…

“It’s unlikely, however, that many of the demands made by both Israel and Hamas will be readily accepted by other parties. For example, Israel is demanding that any cease-fire remain in place for a period of several years. Israel is also demanding an Egyptian commitment to prevent the smuggling of weapons from Sinai into Gaza, and that Hamas or other terror group members be kept 500 meters from the border fence. Israel also wants international assurance that, if necessary, it would be allowed to operate over the border to foil terror attacks.

“Hamas, for its part, wants the naval blockade of Gaza removed, and the full opening of all the border crossings to and from Israel – particularly the regular opening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt for the passage of people and goods. Hamas also wants international assurances that Israel will stop the assassination of senior members of the Palestinian factions.”

Merkel Ahead Only Because of Lack of Competition

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 19:

“With less than a year to go before Germans head to the polls for the 2013 general election, a quick glance at public opinion surveys would seem to indicate that Chancellor Angela Merkel has little to fear from her center-left challenger Peer Steinbrück. Her party holds a comfortable lead of 39 percent to 30 percent and some 53 percent would prefer to see Merkel remain chancellor, compared to just 38 percent backing Steinbrück.

“Such numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story. In reality, German voters are not at all impressed with the job her government is doing… an overwhelming majority believes that Merkel’s governing coalition… is not focused on the public good… close to seven out of 10 Germans think that Merkel’s coalition only pursues special interests, with just 24 percent believing that the public good is her administration’s priority. Furthermore, 65 percent of respondents believe the Merkel’s government is ‘not at all’ or ‘not very strongly’ focused on problems of the future…

“Not surprisingly, Merkel’s key coalition partner, the FDP, has emerged as the greatest drag on her government’s popularity… the party remains below the 5 percent hurdle necessary for representation in German parliament… Ironically, despite voters’ apparent frustration with the work of Merkel’s government, her own popularity remains high and most tend to believe that she is cutting a good figure in the euro crisis. The chancellor is, in fact, the most popular politician in Germany at the moment according to a separate survey conducted last week. Right behind her, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, with 67 percent surveyed valuing his performance as ‘very good.’”

All personal favoritism aside—the growing discontent of the German people with the German government will lead to a surprising rise of a powerful charismatic figure, who will enter the political arena and the occupation of the highly esteemed leadership role through flattery. Once in power, his mind will change, and he will become dictatorial and even demonically possessed. Biblical descriptions in the book of Daniel of certain “kings of the North” — leaders of the ancient Roman Empire and its revivals — are striking and very relevant today. A famous figure of the very distant past, i.e. Antiochus Epiphanes—and another figure of the not-too-distant past—Adolf Hitler–serve as historical example and forerunner of what the Bible predicts to happen very soon.

Powerful Solar Storms Coming

About.com wrote in its current November edition:

“NASA is predicting that the coming solar maximum could produce very energetic solar flares and coronal mass ejecta. These events have the potential to cause significant damage to our power grid as well as our orbiting satellites. But how do we know what to expect?… Should a solar storm erupt in the coming years, it will release a massive amount of high energy charged particles streaming toward Earth. Such a storm occurred in 1859.

“Shortly after the Sun reached solar maximum in 1859, the Sun experienced a significant increase in sun spot activity as well as a sequence of intense solar flares. The largest solar flare on record during the maximum was then observed by British astronomer Richard Carrington. The result of the flare was a coronal mass ejection that sent charged particles streaming toward Earth, reaching the atmosphere only 18 hours after the ejection. This is startlingly quick given that the trip normally takes several days.

“Once the particles reach the Earth they caused a series of phenomena to occur, the likes of which the Earth has not experienced since. First of all, charged particles are usually captured by the Earth’s magnetic field, and primarily get funneled to the poles. There, they interact with the Earth’s atmosphere creating brilliant colors known as aurorae. In this case, however, the flux of particles was so high that the magnetic field could not shield the Earth from them all. So instead of aurorae only being created near the poles, they came into existence throughout the Earth. Reports of aurorae were common over the Caribbean, as well as the central United States. At one point the glow in the Rocky Mountains was such that it awoke the sleeping miners, causing them to begin getting prepared for the day, believing that it was in fact dawn.

“Another, and perhaps more significant, problem was that the charged particle flux began to reek [sic] havoc on electronic systems. Specifically, failure of telegraph systems worldwide were reported. Knowing that such an event has happened in our worlds history would surely lead the world’s leaders to prepare for another such event, right? With all of today’s advanced technology we must be prepared.

“Well, no. In fact a report commissioned by the office of the President showed that… such a storm would not only cause problems for electronic devices, but could potentially bring down the entire power grid. And not just here, but around the world. The kind of damage that would be caused could take months or, more likely, years to repair. Could you imagine? No electricity for years? No phones, no computers, no internet? That is the possibility that we are facing. However, this would take a massive storm like the one in 1859 to even approach such cataclysmic events, but it is something that we need to be aware of…”

Cosmic disturbances will occur. The Bible refers to most of them as the heavenly signs—the fifth seal of the seven seals in the Book of Revelation.

Christ Born Several Years before 1 AD and Christmas Derived From Paganism

The Telegraph wrote on November 22:

“The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed… ‘The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years,’ the Pope writes in the book, which went on sale around the world with an initial print run of a million copies. ‘The actual date of Jesus’s birth was several years before.’

“The assertion that the Christian calendar is based on a false premise is not new – many historians believe that Christ was born sometime between 7BC and 2BC [Actually, He was born in 4 BC]. But the fact that doubts over one of the keystones of Christian tradition have been raised by the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics is striking…

“John Barton, Professor of the Interpretation of the Holy Scripture at Oriel College, Oxford University, said most academics agreed with the Pope that the Christian calendar was wrong and that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly thought, probably between 6BC and 4BC. ‘There is no reference to when he was born in the Bible – all we know is that he was born in the reign of Herod the Great, who died before 1AD,’ he told The Daily Telegraph. ‘It’s been surmised for a very long time that Jesus was born before 1AD – no one knows for sure.’

“The idea that Christ was born on Dec 25 also has no basis in historical fact. ‘We don’t even know which season he was born in. The whole idea of celebrating his birth during the darkest part of the year is probably linked to pagan traditions and the winter solstice.’”

The Financial Curse of Christmas

CNBC reported on November 19:

“Despite a whittling away of consumer debt that has been underway since the recession, many Americans are still entering the holiday season unprepared to cope with the expenses that crop up around this time of year… Some 45 percent… said the holiday season brings so much financial pressure, they would prefer to skip it altogether. Almost half said their level of stress related to holiday expenses is high or extremely high. That’s probably because nearly the same amount — some 45 percent — say they do not expect to have enough money set aside to cover holiday expenses… the financial anxiety may be more widespread than it had been in prior years…

“Half of the consumers polled in the survey who make between $75,000 and $99,999, said they would put items on layaway, and 32 percent who earn more than $100,000 said they did. Think Finance CEO Ken Rees said the fact that consumers of all income levels are using layaway shows there is a demand for financial options beyond just credit cards… ‘everyday Americans are still working hard to cover expenses making holiday spending particularly stressful,’ Rees said.

“It’s easy to understand why the holidays are a source of worry when you consider how many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. About 41 percent said they would only be able to get by for two weeks without a paycheck, while an additional 25 percent say they could only survive a month. The holidays are expected to only make the situation worse. About 59 percent of those in the survey expect to carry debt with them into the New Year, including more than half — some 54 percent — of those who earn more than $100,000 a year.”

But they still are willing to keep a pagan Feast which has nothing to do with true Christianity. For our readers outside the USA, we might want to explain the concept of “layaway.” The Wikipedia Encyclopedia says the following: “Layaway (lay-by in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) is an agreement in which the seller reserves an item for a consumer until the consumer completes all the payments necessary to pay for that item. Rather than taking the item home and then repaying the debt on a regular schedule…, the layaway customer does not receive the item until it is completely paid for. There is sometimes a fee associated, since the seller must ‘lay’ the item ‘away’ in storage until the payments are completed. Because there is little risk involved for the seller, layaway can be readily offered to those with bad credit. If the transaction is not completed, the item is returned to stock and the customer’s money is returned minus a fee. The main advantage of layaway is that no interest is charged.”

CIA Director David Petraeus Resigns Over Marital Infidelity Affair

Last week, Petraeus, 60, resigned as Director of the CIA and admitted in a statement to having an affair. He is a four-star general and led the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Reuters, November 9, “Petraeus’ name had circulated speculatively as a possible Republican presidential nominee before Obama tapped him as CIA chief.”

On November 11, Newsmax published the following article by Ronald Kessler, chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com. He is the New York Times bestselling author of books on the Secret Service, FBI, and CIA:

“FBI agents investigating CIA Director David Petraeus’s affair were shocked when told by bureau officials that despite the national security implications, no action would be taken on their findings until after the presidential election: Only then would President Obama ask for Petraeus’ resignation. The White House claims President Obama and his national security advisors were first informed of the Petraeus’ affair on Thursday, two days after the election.

“But the official timeline strains credulity. Senior FBI officials suppressed disclosure of the highly sensitive case, apparently to avoid embarrassment to Obama during his re-election campaign. On Oct. 10, I was contacted by a longtime FBI source who told me that a bureau investigation had uncovered Petraeus’ affair with a journalist and that it could potentially jeopardize national security. The veteran agent related to me that FBI agents assigned to the case were outraged by what… they  were told by senior officials: The FBI was going to hold in limbo their findings until after the election…

“My source said the FBI had been investigating the matter since last spring and the probe was considered among the most sensitive investigations the bureau was handling. Both FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and the Justice Department were aware of the investigation, according to my source. The source did not specifically know whether Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder or FBI Director Mueller had given the order to delay taking action until after the election.

“However, Mueller meets at least once a week with the president and routinely informs him of highly sensitive investigations and threats. An FBI investigation of the CIA director should have been at the top of that list. In fact, it would have been a scandal if the FBI had not informed the president or the attorney general of an investigation of the CIA director… If the president genuinely did not know about the probe, it would constitute malfeasance by the White House. But my FBI sources doubt the order to suppress the probe’s findings until after the election — while taking a chance with the nation’s security — was made by the bureau…

“In my opinion, Mueller is a man of impeccable integrity. He would not have acquiesced to delaying action on the bureau’s findings unless ordered to do so by the attorney general or by the president…

“As FBI agents and CIA officers tell me, such a delay could have meant that foreign intelligence service officers or criminals who may have learned of the affair could have blackmailed Petraeus into giving up the country’s most sensitive secrets. Given his position, those secrets would have included penetrations of Russian communications, bugging of foreign embassies, identities of assets risking their lives to give the U.S. valuable information on terrorists, and identities of terrorists who are about to be killed by drones…”

Holder Knew About CIA Director David Petraeus Investigation

Newsmax wrote on November 12:

“Attorney General Eric Holder knew as early as late summer that former CIA Director David Petraeus was the subject of an FBI investigation that eventually uncovered an affair that Petraeus was having with his biographer…

“The revelation raises questions of whether Holder, already under fire for the botched ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ gun-running scheme, should have – or even would have – told President Barack Obama once he was notified about the FBI investigation. ‘The idea that the White House didn’t learn of this potential problem until Election Day, I just find incomprehensible,’ John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush, told Fox. ‘Did the attorney general sit on this information for two months?’… Bolton told Fox that it begged the question ‘of whether the information was suppressed.’

“According to the White House, Obama did not find out about the Petraeus affair last Thursday when the highly decorated general met with him in the Oval Office… given that Petraeus came up in an investigation was enough reason to notify the White House, several congressmen told Fox… Utah GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz told Fox:….The heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees should have been informed… ‘Notification should have also gone to the president – immediately.’”

“White House Lied and Covered Up”

Newsmax wrote on November 13:

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tells Newsmax it’s an ‘absolute certainty’ there has been a cover-up involving the Benghazi terrorist attack and the White House ‘flat-out lied’ to the American people about it… And Huckabee, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, says he won’t rule out another White House run in 2016. Gov. Huckabee is now the host of ‘The Mike Huckabee Show,’ broadcast on 190 stations in 44 states, and a Fox News contributor…

“In an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV, Huckabee was asked if details of [Petraeus’] affair were covered up by the White House to help Obama win re-election. ‘The answer to that is I don’t know, but there are certainly some very curious things about the whole timeline,’ he says. ‘There are some things in Benghazi that the White House has covered up. That much is a pretty absolute certainty. They were dishonest with the American people. They flat-out lied to us about what happened. They knew they were lying to us. And they’ve been covering it up. That we know and we’ll stick with that until we find out what the White House did know.”

Collateral Damage

The Daily News reported on November 14:

“The seedy scandal surrounding Gen. David Petraeus has now imperiled his successor as commander in Afghanistan, given the U.S. military a black eye and embarrassed America on the world stage. The fallout from the shenanigans has also left President Obama with a huge headache as he tries to pull American forces out of Afghanistan by 2014, ending the country’s longest war…

“With the frat house-like atmosphere surrounding the top defenders of the United States, no one is sure where this ‘Greek tragedy,’ as one politician called it, will wind up. The sexcapades that have made America’s top brass a laughingstock came to light when raven-haired bombshell Jill Kelley [a  Lebanese Catholic who came to the U.S. as a child]… complained to the FBI about sketchy emails and touched off the probe that doomed Petraeus as CIA director. Now, the collateral damage from Petraeus’ two-timing has hit Gen. John Allen, whose appointment to head NATO forces in Europe has been put on hold after it turns out he and Kelley exchanged a blizzard of sometimes ‘flirtatious’ emails.”

These articles raise and address some interesting questions, but in light of the government’s and Congress’  investigative “results” of other troublesome issues in the past, it is highly doubtful that we will ever learn what really happened—until Christ’s return, that is, when all the hidden things will come to light and be revealed.

The Fiscal Cliff

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 8:

“The US has more in common with heavily indebted southern European countries than it might like to admit. And if the country doesn’t reach agreement on deficit reduction measures soon, the similarities could become impossible to ignore. The fiscal cliff looms in the near future, and it’s not just the US that is under threat…

“Americans are now facing a… real horror scenario… if the country is allowed to plunge off the ‘fiscal cliff’ at the beginning of next year. Coined by Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke, it refers to the vast array of cuts and tax increases which will automatically go into effect if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on measures to slash the US budget deficit.

“… the US is staggering under a monumental pile of debt and could potentially begin to face the kinds of difficulties that have plunged several euro-zone countries into crisis. It is a viewpoint shared by the ratings agencies… the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans in the face of a horrendously imbalanced budget looks catastrophically absurd. As their country heads toward the edge of the abyss, lawmakers preferred to debate whether or not French fries and pizza should be considered vegetables…

“Were taxes to be ratcheted up at the same time as state programs were slashed, it would have an enormous effect on the economy. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 2013 growth would immediately drop by four percentage points, making a recession unavoidable. The number of unemployed would be two million higher than without the cuts.

“It is an eventuality that doesn’t just put fear into the hearts of Americans. In its annual report on the US, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) referred to the fiscal cliff as the largest risk currently facing America. Investors have already reportedly become more cautious in the face of the looming cuts. Should politicians not agree to a credible plan for reducing US debt, it could ultimately harm the credibility of the dollar as a reserve currency…

“US politicians, no doubt, would not be fond of hearing their country compared to Greece. After all, the heavily indebted euro-zone country was used during the presidential campaign as a caricature for the horrors of European-style socialism. But their current finances are not dissimilar, with one difference being that the US can’t count on outside help as the Greeks have received.

“It remains to be seen how US politicians choose to approach the problem. Republicans, having defended their majority in the House of Representatives, could simply let the country plunge off the cliff in the hopes that it would be blamed on Obama. Or, on the other hand, their willingness to compromise may have been increased by virtue of losing the presidential election badly… Greece’s economic problems and the resulting austerity packages it has passed have plunged the country into five straight years of recession. Germany, Europe and the world are hoping that the same fate is not in store for the US.”

America’s immediate economic future looks grim. But as the next article shows, America’s not-too-distant economic future looks even grimmer.

Fiscal Cliff and Tax Cuts

Newsmax wrote on November 12:

“Most Americans believe the federal government should extend a variety of tax cuts, including those implemented during the George W. Bush administration, a new poll reveals… Most voters believe Congress and the president should work to extend the tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year, but don’t think they should allow the automatic spending cuts to take effect at that time…

The Entitlement Cliff

Newsmax wrote on November 11:

“Much has been said about the ‘fiscal cliff’ coming at the end of the year, when tax cuts are set to expire and automatic spending cuts begin, but that ‘pales in comparison’ to the ‘entitlement cliff’ looming for the country in coming years, a new report warns.

“Entitlement spending is already so high that the cost of all entitlement programs plus interest on the debt is nearly equal to total federal revenue. That means virtually everything else the government does is being paid for with borrowed money, the report from the Institute for Policy Innovation discloses.

“Entitlements include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and means-tested welfare programs, plus veteran benefits, unemployment pay, disability pay, and more.  A number of these programs have grown substantially since President Obama took office. Medicaid has grown from 46.9 recipients to 56 million, disability beneficiaries have increased from 7.5 million to 8.8 million, and the food stamp program has grown from 32 million beneficiaries to 47 million.

“All told, more than 120 million Americans receive entitlements of some kind, according to the Institute, a Texas-based think tank. Add to that an estimated 16 million new Medicaid beneficiaries resulting from Obamacare, and some 18 million people who enter the health insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.

“The bottom line: For fiscal 2012, the federal government spent about $2.2 trillion of its $3.7 trillion budget on entitlement programs, while gross annual revenues stood at $2.6 trillion. Add interest on the federal debt of $220 billion to the entitlement payout, and that leaves less than $200 billion to pay for everything else, including defense, transportation, education, and homeland security. So the government makes up the shortfall by borrowing, or printing, money.

“The problem will only get worse in coming years. Since 1980, Medicare and Medicaid have grown at more than 9 percent annually, and an estimated 77 million baby boomers are beginning to retire and collect Social Security. At the same time, the pool of workers who pay for these programs is not growing. The Tax Policy Center reports that only 53 percent of households now pay both income and payroll taxes…”

America’s troubles are not limited to the economy, as the next article explains.

The Downfall of the USA Is Obvious

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 10:

“… the signs of the downfall [of the USA] are obvious. One must only take a look at the condition of the streets (every fourth bridge is crumbling!), or the entirely outdated power grid, to come to the conclusion that this country has its future behind it. A nation that has its utility lines hanging from poles in the street, instead of burying them in an orderly fashion underground, cannot really be taken seriously…

“There is hardly an issue about which Germans as so united as they are by their desire to see America on its knees. It unites both the left and the right. Wherever they look, they see decay, a lack of culture and ignorance. ‘A perverse mixture of irresponsibility, greed, and religious zealotry,’ as… columnist Jacob Augstein, furiously argued on Monday…

“The childish excitement over Obama, that once again took hold over Germans during this election — fully 93 percent of the country would have voted for him in this election — is the flip side of this desire for America’s demise. That the Germans, of all people, should see themselves in a black civil rights attorney from Chicago can only be explained by the fact that they see him as the opposite of what they consider to be normal Americans.

“Since Obama spoke to the world in front of the Victory Column in Berlin during his first presidential campaign in the summer of 2008, he has found a firm place in the hearts of German citizens. They will always be grateful to him for this honor. That’s why they forgive him for keeping Guantanamo open and for sending out drones like other people would send postcards…

“Obama has no interest in Europe, and all of his attention goes to Asia. If this president calls the German chancellor’s office, it is only to try to sweet talk her into finally implementing euro-bonds, so Wall Street can sleep again. But that is one of those facts that is better to suppress…”

However one wants to analyze the situation, it should be rather obvious that America’s downfall has not only begun—total collapse seems to be inevitable.

Princess Europa and the New Euro

The Wall Street Journal wrote on November 8:

“No matter what happens with its high-stakes debt negotiations, Greece is staying in the euro. Literally.

“The European Central Bank said Thursday that it would begin issuing new bank notes in May of next year, starting with the five-euro bill. A new feature: The portrait of Europa, a beautiful Phoenician princess and figure from Greek mythology who gave Europe its name, will be part of the new note’s security watermark and hologram. The overall design of the notes, featuring generic bridges, arches and windows, won’t change—Europa will serve as a new security feature.

“After the five-spot, the ECB will include the watermark in 10s, 20s and 50s, all the way up to 500-euro notes over the course of several years. As the ancient tale goes, Europa was abducted by Zeus, who somehow turned himself into a bull to capture her. Thanks to the Europa design, ECB bank notes will be ‘even more secure,’ the ECB said. In other words, Greece will protect the euro, not the other way around.

“Eventually the Europa design will replace existing bank notes. Europeans holding stashes of current bills need not fear. Those notes ‘will retain their value indefinitely and can be exchanged at the Eurosystem [national central banks] at any time,’ the ECB said.”

The EUObserver added on November 9:

“In Greek mythology, the Phoenician princess Europa was abducted and raped by the king of the gods, Zeus. But her image will from next year replace pictures of windows and doors on euro banknotes as a security and decorative feature. ‘Portraits have long been used in banknotes around the world and research has shown that people tend to remember faces. Is there any better figure than Europa to serve as the new face of the euro?’ the chief of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, said on Thursday (8 November) according to Bloomberg…

“Europa’s face will be shown as a watermark and as a hologram. Until now, euro notes carried pictures of windows and doors in various architectural styles in a symbol of openness designed not to offend national sensibilities.”

It appears that the concept of the pagan god Zeus enticing the princess Europa, as well as the concept of the Tower of Babel, representing many different languages, have had a direct conscious influence on the desire of Europeans to resurrect the ancient Roman Empire.

A Great Britain Without Europe?

The Telegraph wrote on November 8:

“The leaders met in London to try to iron out differences over the EU’s €1 trillion (£800.5bn) budget that threaten to block a deal and fuel fears that London is drifting away from the 27-nation union. Describing plans to increase the EU budget as ‘ludicrous’, Cameron has threatened to veto any deal he thinks is not in Britain’s interests and will push for a real-terms freeze.

“However, German officials are exasperated by what they see as London’s slide towards Europe’s margins, a feeling reinforced last week after the British parliament voted to call for a real-terms cut in the EU’s budget. Before meeting Cameron, the German Chancellor told the European Parliament she could not imagine a Europe without Britain, the world’s sixth largest economy, which relies on the EU for half its trade.

“‘I believe you can be very happy on an island, but being alone in this world doesn’t make you any happier,’ Merkel said after British politician Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-European UK Independence Party, urged her to tell Cameron that Britain should quit the EU…

“Cameron was humiliated by last week’s defeat in parliament and opponents say he has lost control of Conservative Party anti-Europeans, a group that helped topple former leaders and that wants a referendum on Britain’s EU membership. Debate over a referendum on Britain reworking its EU role or even leaving has climbed the agenda. A YouGov survey in October found 49pc of those polled wanted to leave the EU, against 28pc who wanted to stay in it.

“Talking tough on Europe can play well with ‘eurosceptic’ British voters and Conservative politicians, but Cameron risks angering EU neighbours and his pro-European coalition partners, the Lib Dems… Cameron’s threat to block a deal could delay a funding increase for the poorest east European member states and isolate Britain from disgruntled EU nations. He has already angered some by talking of using closer eurozone integration as a chance to repatriate some powers from Brussels…

“Germany is the biggest net contributor to the budget while Britain, which receives an annual rebate on its payments, is the fourth largest net payer after France and Italy.”

Britain’s exit from the EU seems to be a foregone conclusion.

“Netanyahu Has Few Options in the South, None of Them Good”

The Times of Israel wrote on November 12:

“Israel’s situation today vis-à-vis Gaza, from the bottom up, is quite untenable.

“Hamas and other groups have fired some 11,000 rockets at Israel since 2001, according to Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter — 160 or so of them since Saturday evening. Israel’s sovereignty has been violated time and again. The residents of the south have found themselves on the front lines on innumerable occasions…

“People living in Sderot and Netivot are outraged: They know that if this rocket fire was being directed at Tel Aviv, Israel would be at war. They also know that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak only promised to fortify the houses situated between 4.5 and 7 kilometers from Gaza on October 24, in the midst of an elections campaign. (Homes closer to Gaza are already fortified.) Moreover, they know that for years the IDF and the government decided against investing in short-and-medium-range rocket protection…

“Toppling the Hamas regime is not a sensible option — the consequences range from chaos, to the rise of a still more extreme Islamist regime, to a draining, vehemently unwanted restoration of Israeli responsibility — and victories against guerilla groups are difficult to attain and nearly impossible to secure. The government owes its citizens some sort of solution. Speaking with Hamas, however, as advocated by former defense minister Amir Peretz, is not something Netanyahu is likely to do, and least of all while under fire.

“A limited operation…is a possibility. But even that means throwing Israel into a small war in Gaza – and, like all wars, one knows where it would start but not where it would end. This is especially meaningful today, with the Muslim Brotherhood presidency in Egypt, the Syrian border heating up and the entire region in a once-a-century sort of flux.

“Internationally, Netanyahu has little goodwill to call upon…  It is difficult for the prime minister to commission a report that deems the settlements in the West Bank legal by international law – disregarding the opinion of every Western government – and at the same time to expect full-throated backing from the governments whose support Israel would need for a bloody resort to force. It is impossible to appoint a man such as Avigdor Liberman to the post of foreign minister – a virtual persona non grata in Washington DC and some of the capitals of Europe — and then think that you can count on the leaders of those countries for robust support in Israel’s hour of need…

“The best case scenario for Netanyahu may be to ready the country and the world for war – much as he has done on the Iranian issue – while clandestinely urging and fervently hoping that someone else will intervene in its stead. But if they do not, if Egypt cannot or will not broker a deal, and if the US is disinclined or unable to help at this time, then however discouraging the circumstances, the Israeli government will have to act.”

Since this article, spectacular events happened pertaining to Israel, the Gaza Strip and Hamas.

Hamas Military Chief Killed in Gaza Air Strike

The Telegraph reported on November 14:

“Hamas has said an Israeli air strike in Gaza killed Ahmed Jabari, the head of its military wing, in an attack on a vehicle on Wednesday. The military wing of Hamas said in a statement that the assassination ‘has opened the gates of hell’. Israel’s military said the strike was the ‘start of targetting Gaza militants’, according to AFP… Jabari is the most senior Hamas official to be killed since an Israeli invasion of Gaza four years ago. He has long topped Israel’s most-wanted list, the Associated Press reported.
 
“Israeli officials had said in recent days that they were considering assassinating top Hamas officials following a wave of heavy rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence service confirmed it had carried out the attack, saying it had killed Jaabri because of his ‘decade-long terrorist activity’…

“Meanwhile, an Israeli official said they may try to topple President Mahmoud Abbas if he carries out a plan to ask the United Nations this month to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority. The upgrade would give the Palestinians a place in the world body akin to that of the Vatican – short of full membership as a sovereign state but as close as they can get without the full recognition that Israel says can only come from a peace treaty… Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman… said Israel must confront this challenge by means that could include ‘toppling (Abbas) and dismantling the Palestinian Authority’. Lieberman said in a speech at the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank that if the Palestinian upgrade request was accepted by the UN General Assembly – as is widely predicted – it could force Israel to punish the Palestinians.

“‘If the … proposal is adopted at the United Nations General Assembly, as far as we are concerned this would be a complete breaking of the rules and it will elicit an extreme response from us,’ Lieberman said on Wednesday. Newspaper reports say Israel instructed its ambassadors to warn it may revoke all or part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which set up the Palestinian Authority under an interim peace agreement.”

The Jerusalem Post added on November 14:

“IAF hits 20 underground sites housing long-range launchers capable of striking Tel Aviv; strikes mark start of targeted anti-terror campaign… The IAF struck and killed Hamas armed wing Izzadin Kassam Brigades commander Ahmed Jabari in central Gaza on Wednesday. The strike marked the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense to target Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations in Gaza, IDF spokesman Yoav Mordechai announced… Mordechai added that Gaza is a ‘forward Iranian base,’ adding that the latest campaign of air strikes targeted most of the long-range offensive capabilities in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad…

“Shortly after Mordechai’s annoucement [sic], the IAF struck over 20 underground rocket launchers belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The airstrikes targeted long-range rockets in the possession of terror organizations, such as the Fajr-5 and other rockets that are capable of striking Tel Aviv from Gaza. Palestinian sources said that six Gazans were killed in the IDF strikes… The majority of the Gaza weapons storage sites were located in civilian residential buildings, the IDF confirmed. “This is further evidence of the pattern of Hamas to use the population in Gaza as human shields,” the IDF stressed… Wednesday’s violence came after a four-day rocket barrage which began Saturday appeared to have come to an end on Tuesday evening. The hostilities saw over 100 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel and Israeli retaliatory strikes which killed six Palestinians.”

An escalation of the situation would of course have devastating consequences for the entire region, but it seems that this is exactly what the Bible says, will happen.

All-Out War Looms

Reuters wrote on November 15:

“Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip targeted Tel Aviv on Thursday in the first attack on Israel’s commercial capital in 20 years, raising the stakes in a showdown between Israel and the Palestinians that is moving towards all-out war.

“Earlier, a Hamas rocket killed three Israelis north of the Gaza Strip, drawing the first blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 19, six of them children.

“Israeli warplanes bombed targets in and around Gaza city for a second day, shaking tall buildings. In a sign of possible escalation, the armed forces spokesman said the military had received the green light to call in up to 30,000 reserve troops…

“Egypt’s new Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, viewed by Hamas as an ally, led a chorus of denunciation of the Israeli strikes by Palestinian allies… After watching powerlessly from the sidelines of the Arab Spring, Israel has been thrust to the centre of a volatile new world in which Islamist Hamas hopes that Mursi and his newly dominant Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will be its protectors…

“The new conflict will be the biggest test yet of Mursi’s commitment to Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which the West views as the bedrock of Middle East peace. The Muslim Brotherhood, which brought Mursi to power in an election after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, has called for a ‘Day of Rage’ in Arab capitals…”

An escalation of the situation would of course have devastating consequences for the entire region, but it seems that this is exactly what the Bible says, will happen.

“Hindu Christmas”

Deutsche Welle reported on November 14:

“India’s Festival of Lights, or Diwali, is the most important Hindu celebration. The high point in 2012 is on November 13. Due to its spiritual and social significance, the festival is often compared to Christmas. In northern India, Diwali also coincides with New Year’s Day… The key element of the Diwali Festival is light. In the past, little oil lamps were placed in rows along window sills or in doorways. Today, more and more electric lights are being used to illuminate homes, businesses and streets all across the country with decorative strings of tiny lightbulbs…

“In Hindu tradition, every worship or prayer begins with praise for Ganesha, the elephant god. He is the god of success and prosperity… and the god who clears all obstacles out of one’s path… Traditionally. Diwali is dedicated to the sweet goddess of good fortune, Lakshmi. But in some eastern India states – for instance, West Bengal – it is Kali who is worshipped. Also known as ‘the Black One,’ she is the goddess of death and destruction…In 2009, US President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali for the first time in the White House. Some three million ethnic Indians live in the United States. At the same time, Obama congratulated Hindus around the world as they marked their New Year…

“Diwali is a festival for the entire nation. The Festival of Lights is observed by all ethnic groups in every region of India, as well as by other religious groups. Across the country schools are closed for the holidays… The manufacturers of all kinds of sweet things have to work overtime in the weeks before Diwali. It is a tradition to give your neighbors, friends or colleagues some delicious treat. Milk, sugar, grits, pistachios, or almonds are the main ingredients…

“Strings of real flowers, but also plastic ones, decorate doors all over India. The most important doorways, like a home’s main entrance, are especially colorful. Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, after all, needs to find the house!… For Diwali, people often wait until the last minute to buy gifts for the family, friends and neighbors… A few days before this year’s Diwali Festival, activists from an NGO in Kolkata protested against child labor and released homemade balloons into the night sky. Children are still commonly exploited in India for manufacturing fireworks and the elaborate but tiny ‘diyas,’ or oil lamps.”

The parallels with Christmas—another festival with pagan origins—are indeed striking. That President Obama should keep this Feast is ample testimony for the accuracy of biblical condemnation for this end time, as pointed out in Isaiah 2:6-9.

Barack Obama Wins Election With Help of Hispanic Voters

The New York Times wrote on November 6:

“Barack Hussein Obama was re-elected president of the United States on Tuesday… as a divided nation voted to give him more time.

“Hispanics made up an important part of Mr. Obama’s winning coalition… And before the night was through, there were already recriminations from Republican moderates who said Mr. Romney had gone too far during the primaries in his statements against those here illegally, including his promise that his get-tough policies would cause some to ‘self-deport.’

“Mr. Obama, 51, faces governing in a deeply divided country and a partisan-rich capital, where Republicans retained their majority in the House and Democrats kept their control of the Senate. His re-election offers him a second chance that will quickly be tested, given the rapidly escalating fiscal showdown.

“For Mr. Obama, the result brings a ratification of his sweeping health care act, which Mr. Romney had vowed to repeal. The law will now continue on course toward nearly full implementation in 2014, promising to change significantly the way medical services are administered nationwide…”

The fact that the Republican Party missed the opportunity of engaging in meaningful dialogue with Hispanic voters is also being emphasized in articles below.

No Reason to Celebrate

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 7:

“Barack Obama may have won the election, but it is a victory devoid of triumph.

“Republican candidate Romney proved instead to be an opponent who will quickly be forgotten by history — an inept, even awkward politician. Far more historic in this election was the Republican Party’s foolishness in failing to make a decisive effort to attract the minority groups that increasingly determine the outcome of American elections. African-American voters were expected to stand by Obama. But Hispanic voters could well have been drawn to the conservatives, given the difficult economic situation in which the US finds itself…

“American elections can no longer be won on the strength of white men’s votes alone. The Republican Party must recognize that the increasing numbers of immigrants and Americans descended from immigrants not only plan to remain in the country, but they want to be involved in the decision-making process too. Even… Fox News television host Bill O’Reilly has acknowledged that ‘the white establishment is now the minority’…”

This is true. As the Bible predicted, the American white establishment is now indeed in the minority.

The Achilles Heel of American Democracy

The Washington Times wrote on November 7:

“All that for nothing. It was the billion-dollar election that did not decide one single… thing. Republicans control the House. Democrats control the Senate. And the White House remains in Democratic hands with absolutely no mandate whatsoever. Another four years with no hope of change.

“In this environment with this economy and all the gravely important matters pressing against the very existence of this country, it should have been a tsunami election… Instead… it  was the rape election. The contraception election. The binders full of women election. It was about who was born where and whether she really could claim to be a Cherokee Indian. It was about former president George W. Bush. And it was about gay marriage…

“Just about the only thing the election wasn’t about was the economy, which everyone agrees was the only thing voters actually cared about…

“The most disturbing issue of the election was how President Obama managed to win re-election in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan by talking about the highly unpopular bailout of General Motors. By taking billions of dollars in hard-earned money from taxpayers during a deep recession and giving it to a couple of huge companies, Obama managed to buy the votes he needed to eke out re-election. Taxpayers remain on the hook to the tune of $25 billion.

“This is the Achilles heel of a democracy. Politicians simply tax those who do not support them and give the money to those who do. Or give the money to those they would like to have support them…

“What happened last night is the same thing that has been happening for decades in America. Politicians deploy all this highly precise technology to slice and dice voters into little micro-groups… The result is you have all these states vote for one side and all these other states vote for the other side and it all comes down to Florida and Ohio… The only way this gridlock is finally broken is when politicians grow up and decide to… seriously address like adults the $16 trillion in debts they have racked up on our credit card.”

No amount of voting and politicking and propaganda and false and broken promises will change the fact that only God’s coming government can and will bring true freedom, equality, liberty, justice, prosperity, peace and happiness for all.

Why Mitt Romney Lost

Newsmax wrote on November 7:

“It was the worst of times and the worst of times… Perhaps the easy explanation is that two hurricanes… killed Mitt Romney’s chances. The first hurricane was Isaac, the one that skirted Tampa in late August during the Republican convention. That one seriously disrupted the official schedule… Then the second hurricane, Sandy, struck on Oct. 29. The campaign went into ‘freeze’ mode while Obama swung into ‘commander in chief’ mode. Romney’s surge was suddenly frozen too…

“Romney’s choice of Ryan was almost inexplicable… Ryan was unqualified for the job of vice president, and therefore the job of president… Romney’s VP selection was the most important one of his campaign, and by it he telegraphed his lack of political wisdom to the nation… Ryan’s plan, which first called for abolishing federal Medicare in 10 years and later for a substitute voucher program, proved to be disastrous for Romney and other Republican candidates…

“This election was just like every other one in modern times — about winning middle, swing voters… Romney did much to annoy them (like backing the Ryan plan) and almost nothing to reach out to them…

“Romney promised to create 12 million jobs. That’s not a plan, it’s a promise. He didn’t clearly articulate how he could fulfill that promise. In fact, Romney’s team offered the fewest specifics of any presidential campaign ever…

“As the elections of 2000, 2004, 2008, and now 2012 have demonstrated, demographics are trumping ideology in national elections. The Republican Party has a difficult time grasping this concept. Romney seemingly ignored this truth by taking an ultra-hardline on immigration — one so tough he called for the ‘self-deportation’ of illegal immigrants. Not only is such a plan impractical and immoral, it is unacceptable politically, as yesterday’s results proved… The one Hispanic group that has voted consistently for Republicans — Cuban-Americans — gave Obama a record number of votes this year…

“The GOP will learn from this debacle. The Republican Party might start the process with an image makeover — putting away the Wall Street look in favor of a Main Street one — while it takes back the mantle of Lincoln; a party that fights for the underdog and appeals to the aspirations of the American people.”

That would be nice… but this is hardly to be expected.

Reactions from Germany

The Local wrote on November 7:

“By Wednesday morning President Joachim Gauck and Angela Merkel had both offered their congratulations. Tens of thousands of Americans living in Germany were celebrating and the country’s newspapers were examining one of the most nail-biting nights of 2012.

“Der Spiegel magazine hailed Obama’s second victory as the dawn of a new era and a chance for the President to use his second term to ‘tackle the politics of change in the right way.’ The President’s re-election represents the ‘defence of his controversial political agenda,’ giving him the opportunity to secure a legacy ‘as one of the great presidents.’ If the economy picks up in the coming years, wrote the magazine, ‘it will be ascribed to Obama’s policies.’

“America voted for Obama because he was the lesser of two evils, claimed the Süddeutsche Zeitung, taking a more cynical view on the 51-year-old’s victory. The chances of him changing a lot in his second term ‘were not large.’ Remaining president was ‘not an illustrious victory,’ it said, and the US did not re-elect him for being successful, but because ‘they were not ready to put Mitt Romney in his place.’

“Not much had changed, agreed the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. That the Democrats had retained control of the senate was ‘no surprise’, and, since the Republicans held on to their majority in the House of Representatives, this would not make Obama’s second term ‘any easier than his first. Now in the political centres of power in Washington everything will remain as it has been: in the White House, in the House of Representatives and in the Senate,’ said the paper.

“Meanwhile, the daily tabloid Bild used the occasion to make demands on the new president on behalf of the world, calling for the US economy to be restored, an end to the Afghanistan conflict and to keep all options open regarding Iranian nuclear ambitions. During the next four years, the paper said, ‘it will be up to the US president to stop the Mullahs’ in their drive to build a nuclear bomb. This ‘maybe with sanctions’ but may be ‘also with military action. For the security of Israel.’…

“Although divided on the significance of Obama’s narrow victory, the German press did agree that the campaign had been what Der Spiegel called ‘harshest and dirtiest in the history of the United States.’ For the first time in the US, said Die Welt, the campaigns were tinged with negativity, as the Democrats ‘painted Romney to be a heartless multimillionaire, who wants to widen the divide between rich and poor with his tax plan.’”

The Bible shows that America is indeed in decline—and we should not expect a substantial improvement of our economy. It is interesting that the following articles agree with this assessment—even though they do not know anything about biblical prophecy.

“America Has Already Lost…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 5:

“The United States Army is developing a weapon that can reach — and destroy — any location on Earth within an hour. At the same time, power lines held up by wooden poles dangle over the streets of Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy ripped them apart there and in communities across the East Coast last week, and many places remain without electricity. That’s America, where high-tech options are available only to the elite, and the rest live under conditions comparable to… those of a developing nation. No country has produced more Nobel Prize winners, yet in New York City hospitals had to be evacuated during the storm because their emergency generators didn’t work properly.

“Anyone who sees this as a contradiction has failed to grasp the fact that America is a country of total capitalism. Its functionaries have no need of public hospitals or of a reliable power supply to private homes. The elite have their own infrastructure. Total capitalism, however, has left American society in ruins and crippled the government. America’s fate is not just an accident produced by the system. It is a consequence of that system. Obama couldn’t change this, and Romney wouldn’t be able to either…

“Romney, the exceedingly wealthy business man, and Obama, the cultivated civil rights lawyer, are two faces of a political system that no longer has much to do with democracy as we understand it. Democracy is about choice, but Americans don’t really have much of a choice…

“From a European perspective, it doesn’t matter who wins this election. Only US foreign policy is important to us — and Obama is no dove and Romney no hawk. The incumbent president prefers to wage his wars with drones instead of troops, though the victims probably don’t care if they’re killed by man or machine. Meanwhile, despite all the criticism, his challenger says he wouldn’t join Israel were the country to go to war with Iran because the US can now no longer afford such a thing.

“In any case, it is wrong to characterize Republicans as the party of warmongers and Democrats as the party of peace… After all, it was Democratic presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson who started the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Republican presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon ended these wars. And Ronald Reagan… was a peaceful man compared to the standards we have since become accustomed to…

“The truth is that we simply no longer understand America. Looking at the country from Germany and Europe, we see a foreign culture. The political system is in the hands of big business and its lobbyists. The checks and balances have failed. And a perverse mix of irresponsibility, greed and religious zealotry dominate public opinion.

“The downfall of the American empire has begun. It could be that the country’s citizens wouldn’t be able to stop it no matter how hard they tried. But they aren’t even trying.”

America’s Decline

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 5:

“The United States is frittering away its role as a model for the rest of the world. The political system is plagued by an absurd level of hatred, the economy is stagnating and the infrastructure is falling into a miserable state of disrepair. On this election eve, many Americans are losing faith in their country’s future…

“After a brilliant century and a terrible decade, the United States, in this important election year, has reached a point in its history when the obvious can no longer be denied: The reality of life in America so greatly contradicts the claim — albeit one that has always been exaggerated — to be the ‘greatest nation on earth,’ that even the most ardent patriots must be overcome with doubt.

“This realization became only too apparent during and after Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm that ravaged America’s East Coast last week, its effects made all the more devastating by the fact that its winds were whipping across an already weakened country. The infrastructure in New York, New Jersey and New England was already in trouble long before the storm made landfall near Atlantic City. The power lines in Brooklyn and Queens, on Long Island and in New Jersey, in one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, are not underground, but are still installed along a fragile and confusing above-ground network supported by utility poles, the way they are in developing countries…

“Although parts of New York City, especially the island of Manhattan, are only a few meters above sea level, the city still has no extensive system to protect itself against storm surges, despite the fact that the sea level has been rising for years and the number of storms is increasing…

“America is no longer the great, robust global power it once was. Europeans who make such claims have always been accused of anti-Americanism. But now Americans themselves are joining the chorus of those declaring the country’s decline… The worst thing about it is that the country still refuses to engage in any debate over the reasons for its decline… Criticism is seen as a betrayal of America’s greatness… At the beginning of the 21st century, this American dream, which consisted mainly of confidence and optimism envied the world over, is failing…

“In the 2012 campaign, many Americans have realized for the first time that the US’s role as a global power is no longer uncontested… The upheavals in the Arab world took America’s diplomats by surprise, and they ended Obama’s offensive in the Islamic world. But they also showed how poorly connected and, ultimately, uninfluential the United States is in the region today. A member of the Muslim Brotherhood is now Egypt’s president, Iran apparently remains undeterred in advancing its nuclear program and the situation in Israel is more precarious [than] ever. These are all signs that America has far less influence than many Americans still want to believe. This is not solely attributable to an American decline, but also has to do with various shifts in the global power structure…”

The Future of American-Israeli Relationships

The Guardian wrote on November 7:

“It was hard to imagine champagne corks popping in the Israeli prime minister’s Jerusalem residence as Barack Obama took to the stage to make his victory speech. Much more likely was a mood of sombre resignation, possibly spiked with trepidation, as Benjamin Netanyahu reflected on his heavy bet on the wrong horse.

“Judging by the swiftly delivered official response, there is no problem: Netanyahu and Obama will continue their close, warm and strategically aligned partnership. No one who has observed the deepening chill and distance between the two leaders over the past four years is likely to buy that. But, assuming Netanyahu is still prime minister after Israel’s general election on 22 January, the day after Obama’s re-inauguration, both men will be forced to recalibrate their difficult relationship.

“… some observers believe Obama will seek ‘payback’ for Netanyahu’s perceived high-handedness, attempts to browbeat the US into a tougher line on Iran, refusal to restrain settlement growth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and meddling in the US election process…

“Danny Danon, the deputy speaker of the Knesset, urged Obama to ‘reset his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years. Rather than dictating ill-advised policies that endanger the well-being of America’s only true ally in the Middle East, now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honoured policy of “zero daylight” between our respective nations.’

“Two issues will characterise the relationship between the US and Israel over the next year. The first is Iran… Israel – the political, military and security leadership, as well as the general public – would much prefer joint action with the US, not least because of questions over Israel’s military capability to strike unilaterally. But Obama’s reference in his victory speech to moving ‘beyond this time of war’ indicates his strong aversion to military confrontation with Iran.

“The second issue is progress towards a settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. This is the most likely arena for any possible ‘payback’, especially if Obama decides, as so many previous second-term presidents have, that he wants to make this a legacy issue.

“Netanyahu, whose inclination is to ‘manage’ the current situation in which millions of Palestinians live under occupation, rather than advance towards a two-state settlement of the conflict, will attempt to resist pressure…”

The Holy Scriptures tell us that the relationship between the USA and Israel will continue to deteriorate. In the end, Israel will find itself all alone. Please also note the next two articles.

“Netanyahu Vows to Stop Iran, Even in Defiance of the United States”

The Times of Israel wrote on November 5, 2012:

“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday night to put a stop to Iran’s nuclear program by whatever means necessary — even in outright defiance of American objections — if neither sanctions, nor other international action, achieves that goal. ‘There is no doubt about Iran’s intention — to destroy us,’ Netanyahu said… Asked in an interview whether, if reelected in January, he would ‘pledge that Iran won’t have a nuclear program by the end of your next term,’ Netanyahu said simply, ‘Yes.’

“When it was put to him that the US has opposed a unilateral Israeli resort to force, Netanyahu said President Barack Obama had stated that Israel has the right to defend itself as it sees fit, and that Israel dare not entrust its future to others, even to the United States. Israel’s prime ministers had ignored US disapproval in establishing the country in 1948 and preempting the Arab attack in the 1967 war, he noted…

“Asked whether he believed Netanyahu had the guts to order a strike on Iran, the prime minister’s former national security adviser, Uzi Arad, said he had ‘no doubt.’… Vowing that Israel ‘is ready to act’ against Iran, Netanyahu said he was watching the Islamist regime ‘advancing step by step… toward producing nuclear bombs.’ When the Jews were being murdered by the Nazis, they were unable to save themselves, he said. But he, as Israel’s prime minister, did have the capacity to protect the Jewish nation. ‘When we didn’t have a state, we begged others’ to defend the Jews, he said. ‘Today, we’re not begging, we are preparing.’… Netanyahu said in his interview that he was ‘not eager for war’ and hoped sanctions or other international action would thwart Iran.”

Israel and Turkey

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 5:

“Soured relations between Turkey and Israel are likely to receive another blow this week with the beginning of a controversial trial in a Turkish court against four Israeli generals for killing pro-Palestinian activists. The Israeli generals are charged with commanding a deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, which attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip two years ago. The raid killed nine Turkish citizens aboard one of the ships… Israel has already dismissed the case as a ‘unilateral judicial process’ and refused to cooperate. Many experts also question whether the Turkish criminal court has jurisdiction on the matter… observers view the legal validity of the trial and the practical imposition of the penalty highly questionable…

“The deterioration of ties between Turkey and Israel has been a growing concern for the US administration and European governments. Turkey and Israel enjoyed special and close relations for more than a half-century, despite various ups and downs. Turkey had been the first majority Muslim country to officially recognize Israel and open an embassy in Tel-Aviv. Ankara has also mediated for closer relations between Israel and other Muslim countries.

“During the 1990’s, Turkey and Israel pursued close ties in defense projects… Close relations continued in the early years of the Islamic-conservative AKP government. Erdogan mediated between the Israeli and Syrian leaders Ehud Olmert and Bashar Assad, but a two-year long effort by Ankara collapsed with an Israeli operation into Gaza in 2009. This was a turning point in Turkish-Israeli relations. Erdogan expressed great frustration with Israel when then-Prime Minister Olmert started a Gaza offensive only days after his key visit to Ankara. Relations received another major blow with the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010.

“During the 1990’s, Israeli companies had been among the leading contractors of Turkey’s strategic defense and modernization projects, reaching billions of US dollars. With the rising political tensions between the two countries all military agreements and defense cooperation was suspended, including work on a strategic aerial intelligence system.

“Turkey has blocked NATO’s closer cooperation with Israel… The Turkish-Israeli dispute has caused serious damage to political ties, defense relations and tourism…

“Erdogan told journalists on a plane en route to Ankara from Berlin that he had plans to visit Gaza soon; a plan that is likely to draw Israeli anger. The prime minister said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had asked him (on Wednesday) to take steps to normalize ties with Israel and he reiterated the Turkish position: ‘All our three demands must be realized,’ Erdogan told journalists, ‘Turkey is not open to options that include offering an apology and compensation, but not lifting the Gaza blockade.’”

The past, present and future relationship between Turkey and Israel is quite interesting, given the fact that their ancestors, Jacob and Esau, were brothers.

Radioactive Water Threatens Middle East

Der Spiegel wrote on November 5:

“The Middle East and North Africa suffer from water shortages and pump millions of liters a day from ancient aquifers. But the water contains high levels of naturally-occurring radioactive contamination. Experts fear this will increase the cancer risk for millions of people.

“True masters of water management once lived in the desert of what is now Jordan. It took the Nabataeans only a few decades to carve the city of Petra out of sandstone cliffs. In addition to crafting now world-famous decorative tomb facades, they built a sophisticated system of water pipes and cisterns, which made it possible for the city to exist in the dry wilderness in the first place — more than 2,000 years ago.

“Today trucks rumble through Jordan to supply the population with drinking water. The water sloshing back and forth in their tanks is often thousands of years old, pumped from fossil groundwater reservoirs that filled up when the region wasn’t as dry. Millions of cubic meters of water are now being pumped from such aquifers every day in the Middle East and North Africa…

“Tests have revealed that the water contains high levels of naturally occurring radioactivity, with samples exhibiting radiation levels well above World Health Organization (WHO) radiation guidelines. The health risk doesn’t just affect Jordan, but virtually all of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa…

“This is a worrisome conclusion, since fossil groundwater is now essential for the survival of agriculture in the region… Saudi Arabia already derives about half of its water from aquifers. Israel also pumps water from fossil reservoirs to irrigate its fields in the Negev Desert, and Egypt has pumped fossil groundwater in oases since the 1980s. But Libya operates the world’s largest pumping operation…

“Saudi Arabia, at least, is treating fossil groundwater and removing radioactive particles… But elsewhere, especially in rural parts of North Africa, the situation is ‘problematic.’… Libya lacks water-treatment technologies…

“There are already initial signs of the possible health consequences. In 2010, King Saud University examined 10 men who change filters in underground wells. Their blood was found to contain 11 times as much chromosomal damage than that of controls… These changes in genetic material can lead to cancer and illnesses in offspring…”

No Summit Between EU and Ukraine

The EUObserver wrote on November 5, 2012:

“The EU and Ukraine will ‘most likely’ not hold a summit this year, but diplomats blame it on technical instead of political reasons… The two sides have held a summit every year for the past 15 years. The break in tradition comes amid a sharp deterioration in ties since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych came into power in 2010.

“The EU already cancelled a meeting with him in Brussels last October after he jailed his main political opponent, former PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Top EU officials did go to Kiev last December to initial an EU-Ukraine trade and political association agreement. But the frosty meeting in the Ukrainian capital ended with a warning the pact will not be signed unless Tymoshenko goes free.

“They told Yanukovych’s Prime Minister Mykola Azaraov to ‘stay home’ in May this year. EU leaders the same month boycotted a regional summit in Yalta and later boycotted the Euro 2012 football championships in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s parliamentary elections in October did nothing to repair damage.

“International monitors, the Vienna-based OSCE, said ‘democratic progress appears to have reversed in Ukraine’ in their assessment of the vote…”

The Bible tells us that the Ukraine will break any ties with Europe and instead become Russia’s ally.

Tony Blair: “Europe Needs a President”

The Telegraph wrote on November 7:

“In a move interpreted by some as a job application, the former prime minister said the EU could do with a strong leader approved by the people. He also warned that too deep a political divide between Britain and the core eurozone countries could lead towards a break-up… Mr Blair [said:] ‘A Europe-wide election for the presidency… is the most direct way to involve the public… An election for a big post held by one person – this people can understand’…

“Speaking in Berlin, he said the EU must not allow too big a divide to grow up between Britain, which wants to claw back powers from Europe, and countries like France and Germany opting for more political union… European states, such as Finland, have expressed fears that the UK is waving ‘bye bye’ to the EU.

“Mr Blair today made it clear that forging Britain’s role in the EU as it changes will be a ‘tricky task. But it is an essential one if the UK is not to be sidelined and Europe to be without the active participation of such a large and significant member of the existing union,’ he said.”

And such strong leadership will arise in Europe… ultimately, Europe’s final leader will be the one described in the Bible as the beast, the king of the North, and King Jareb of Assyria.

Big Earthquake Strikes Guatemala

Fox News reported on November 7:

“The earth shook violently in Central America Wednesday morning, as a 7.5 magnitude quake took over the Pacific coast of Guatemala, rocking the capital and shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City and El Salvador. According to Guatemala City fire officials, 15 people died buried under rubble in three different Guatemalan towns.

“Landslides were blocking roads in some areas, authorities said, and about 40 houses had been severely damaged in the quake, which occurred at 10.35 am local time. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a possibility of a local tsunami, within 100 or 200 miles of the epicenter, but they were not issuing an immediate warning for the broader region. The earthquake, about 20 miles deep, was centered off the town of Champerico.”

We should recognize the recent intensity and frequency of major earthquakes, as foretold in the Bible.

Halloween Undoubtedly Demonic

The New York Times wrote on October 27, 2012:

“In an article from Oct. 30, 1892, ‘Customs From Halloween; An Observance That has Come From Pagan Times,’ The New York Times described ‘All Hallow Even or Halloween’ as ‘undoubtedly a relic of pagan times.’ The article continues: ‘Druids were accustomed to kindling sacred fires on the eve of Nov. 1, possibly to ward off evil spirits, as in the popular imagination this has always been considered the high carnival season for witches, fairies and the immaterial principle in humanity to wander abroad. Supernatural influences prevail and divination by means of mystic ceremonies is at its highest power then.”

ABC News wrote on October 26, 2012:

“While many in the U.S. bemoan what they see as a war on Christmas, in Russia a very different holiday is under attack: Halloween. Here some don’t see it as the holiday of tricks and treats, but as a sinister celebration that endangers children. The latest salvo came from a group of Russian Orthodox Church leaders and a group of Cossacks, who are spearheading an effort to cancel Halloween celebrations in the region of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. A nearby region, Krasnodar Krai, recently prohibited celebrating the holiday in schools…

“Like Valentine’s Day, which has also been criticized as it has grown in popularity here in recent years, Halloween is a western holiday that was imported after the fall of the Soviet Union. While some Russians have embraced them, others fear them as foreign to the country’s culture. In 2003, Moscow’s Education Department banned Halloween celebrations from the city’s schools, citing concerns about ‘rituals of Satanically oriented religious sects’ and saying it promotes ‘the cult of death.’”

The Washington Times wrote on October 28:

“Prepare yourself this Halloween for a procession of pint-sized trick-or-treaters like none you’ve encountered before. If the companies that gamble on offering the right mix of costumes are correct, visitors to your doorstep will include a grisly array of waist-high killer clowns brandishing blood-soaked machetes, deranged convicts and zombie ninjas armed with knives.

“Add to that the full roster of fictional killers who gave people nightmares during the ‘80s and ‘90s — Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees from ‘Friday the 13th,  and Chucky, the murderous doll from ‘Child’s Play’ — now available in sizes that can fit a 5-year-old…

“Cynthia Edwards, professor of child psychology at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. [says:] ‘Part of the thrill of Halloween for little kids is that you put on a costume and you become the thing. If you dress up as a fairy princess or a pilot, you are a fairy princess or a pilot for a couple of hours. But that’s when you get to the question, If you dress up as a really horrible thing, what is the kids’ perception of that?’…

“What can be especially confusing for kids, according to Fangoria’s Mr. Alexander, is that ‘parents, by and large, will say “no” to horror and say “no” to gore for kids all year long. But once a year they have no qualms about taking them to stores with body parts everywhere and animatronic dead things coming at them’ to buy disturbing costumes…”

It certainly is a horrible celebration of Satan and his demonic forces. A true Christian must have NOTHING to do with such ungodly conduct. We wrote the following in our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible? Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days?” :

“The Bible, in fact, commands us to have nothing to do with the devil or his evil forces of darkness (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; Ephesians 5:10–12). Paul warns us that we must not attempt to partake of the cup of the Lord and of the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). We are also warned not to try to communicate with the dead (Deuteronomy 18:9–14). Witchcraft, in all of its different forms and variations, is abominable and sinful (1 Samuel 15:23; Galatians 5:20)!”

However, some, if not many, professing Christians see it differently. For a typical example, note these statements from carm.org (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry):

“As Christians, there is a lot of debate on whether or not we should participate in Halloween. Is it alright to go trick-or-treating? Can we dress our kids up in costumes on that day? If we do any of this, are we celebrating an evil holiday?… it appears that the origins of Halloween are a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals superstition and early Catholic traditions… What does the Bible say about Halloween? Nothing. But it does speak concerning witches, the occult, and paganism… The Bible definitely speaks negatively about occultic practices, spirits, and witches and condemns not only the practice but also the people who are involved in it. As Christians, we are to have nothing to do with the occult. Tarot Cards, contacting the dead, séances, lucky charms, etc., are all unbiblical and can harm a Christian’s fellowship with God and open the Christian to demonic oppression. Most Christians know this and avoid these activities.

“But, the question still remains. Since there are ancient pagan connections and present occultic connections, what is the Christian to do? Can the Christian celebrate Halloween? The answer is simple: Yes and No. Let’s look at the negative first.

“The Christian is not to be involved with or support the occult, witchcraft, demonism, or any other thing that uplifts the occult. To do so is to contradict God’s word, dabble in the demonic, and invite judgment from God. If a Halloween celebration is centered on demons, devils, spirits, etc., I would say don’t have anything to do with it.

“On the other hand, it isn’t wrong to dress up in a costume and go door-to-door saying ‘Trick or Treat.’ Provided that the costume isn’t demonic, I can’t see anything wrong with this. It’s just fun for the kids. Take a look at the Christmas tree. It was originally an ancient fertility symbol. Yet, it has become a representation of Christmas and the place where gifts are placed. Are the Christians then paying homage to an ancient pagan fertility god? Not at all. They do not consider it pagan and are simply joining in a cultural event and giving no honor to anything unscriptural… Even though Halloween has pagan origins, because of your freedom in Christ, you and/or your kids can dress up in costumes and go door-to-door and just have fun…”

Similarly, the Billy Graham Organization (billygraham.org), which states:

“For some people this holiday is a time for dress-up and candy; it is an opportunity for fun. Others express concern for their child’s safety or for the emphasis that is often made on violence or horror at this time of year. Those who are interested in the right or wrong of the celebration may look at the holiday’s origin in the occult and believe it should not be celebrated at all; they are aware that some groups celebrate Halloween as a tribute to Satan. On the other hand, others recognize that Halloween, the eve of “All Saints’ Day” (November 1), is also associated with Martin Luther and the Reformation. They celebrate the religious freedoms won at that time in history. Since each of these perspectives contain truth, it is difficult to know how to respond…”

Such an evasive answer helps no one. It is not difficult to respond at all, unless one does not see the faulty trap of syncretism (combining right aspects of godly worship with wrong practices). But such is the logic of this world’s philosophy. It is detrimentally opposite to what God tells us. The Israelites were not even to inquire as to how the pagans worshipped their gods, so as to not use those pagan worship practices and apply them to the true God (such as the Christmas tree).  Whom do you want to believe—human reasoning or God?

Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Should Christians Observe Halloween?” 

Halloween and the Jews

The Jewish Press wrote on November 1:

“Halloween is also called All Hallows’ Eve, because, for the gentiles, it is a hallowed evening, the eve of All Saints’ Day, a day which honors all Christian saints.

“The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that in ancient Britain and Ireland, the Festival of Halloween was also [a] celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic goddess, Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle, the worlds of the dead and the living intertwine. This supposedly happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria, who, like most Celtic gods, does not wish to be seen by human eyes. This is one of the reason[s] behind Halloween costumes and for the holiday’s omens, spirits, demons, and witches.

“This date was also New Year’s Eve in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times, and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons said to be roaming about.

“It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divination concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes. These pagan observances also influenced the Christian festival of All Hallows’ Eve, celebrated on the same date…

“When it comes to the question whether Jews can take part in gentile holidays, the halachic discussion differs between clearly religious holidays like Xmas, which are forbidden, and purely secular holidays like Labor Day, which are permissible. Halloween’s religious origins and pagan history place it in the category of gentile holidays that are forbidden to celebrate… there is good reason for telling the kids that ‘Trick or Treating’ is a no-no for Jewish children.”

Halloween in Germany

The Local wrote on November 1:

“In Bonn, two drunken 17-year-olds who covered more than 30 cars with shaving foam, egg and tomato ketchup are likely to face hefty bills from the vehicles’ owners. A bus driver in nearby Remscheid was forced to pull over after being pelted with eggs.

“Up in the north east of the country, police were called to the scene of a robbery. A gang of opportunist thieves in Rostock forced an 8-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl to hand over their haul from treat-or-treating. They threatened the girl with what appeared to be a gun. A separate group took a bag filled with treats from a pair of 12-year-olds in neighbouring Schwerin.

“In fact, children wanting to go trick-or-treating Rostock should exercise a little caution – one elderly lady appeared to be so freaked out by the tiny monsters at her door that she hit two young girls in the face after [they] rang her doorbell. In the southern city of Trier, one of the scarier sights on Wednesday night was a 16-year-old boy being dragged through the streets by police, who said that he was very drunk and had been throwing things at the building of a security firm.

“The prize for the most police calls goes to the Rhein-Erft area near Cologne, where officers fielded 81 different cries for help – mostly complaints of loud music from parties. In Mannheim police received 50 phone calls and in the Swabia area of Bavaria there were 40. Officers in Esslingen near Stuttgart did not have an easy night either. They confiscated hundreds of eggs, 200 firecrackers and even homemade smoke-bombs…”

Roe v. Wade Based on Lies?

The Gatewaypundit.com wrote on October 24, 2012:

“Nearly 40 years ago, as a young, pregnant woman, Norma McCorvey played an instrumental part in the Supreme Court decision that brought legal abortion to America. McCorvey, the ‘Roe’ in the Roe v. Wade case… became a Christian in 1995 and has since repudiated her role in Roe v. Wade, campaigning for its reversal… McCorvey says the Roe v. Wade decision was based upon a lie… ‘I was persuaded by feminist attorneys to lie; to say that I was raped, and needed an abortion. It was all a lie. Since then, over 50 million babies have been murdered. I will take this burden to my grave. Please, don’t follow in my mistakes…’”

If true, that would really be scandalous, and these feminist attorneys will have to give account for such horrible conduct in the Day of Judgment.

Italian Court Decision Has Scientists Up In Arms

Reuters reported on October 25:

“Scientists reacted with alarm to the manslaughter conviction of six earthquake experts in Italy for failing to give adequate warning of the 2009 earthquake in the city of L’Aquila that killed 308 people. Scientists warned that researchers in areas involving unpredictable natural threats, like volcanology and even meteorology, will now be more reluctant to offer advice and insight to the public. ‘If it stands, this verdict will have a chilling effect on earthquake science in Italy and throughout Europe,’ said Sandy Steacy, professor of earthquake physics at the University of Ulster. ‘Who would now be willing to serve on an earthquake hazard evaluation panel when getting it wrong could mean a conviction for manslaughter?’…

“In the United States, Michael Halpern at the Union of Concerned Scientists lobby group said in a blog: ‘This is an absurd and dangerous decision that U.S. officials should rebuke, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano should overturn.’ Scientists warned the ruling could have repercussions beyond Italian borders and across other disciplines. ‘This bizarre verdict will chill anyone who gives scientific advice, and I hope they are freed on appeal,’ said David Spiegelhalter, a professor for the public understanding of risk at Cambridge University.”

The New York Times wrote on October 26:

“I learned with disbelief on Monday about the decision of an Italian judge to convict seven scientific experts of manslaughter and to sentence them to six years in prison for failing to give warning before the April 2009 earthquake that killed 309 people, injured an additional 1,500 or so and left more than 65,000 people homeless in and around the city of L’Aquila in central Italy.

“By this distorted logic, surgeons who warn a patient that there’s a small chance of dying during surgery should be put in prison if the patient does, in fact, die. Imagine the consequences for the health system. The effect on other fields would be just as devastating. In response to the verdict, some Italian scientists have already resigned from key public safety positions. Unless this shortsighted verdict is overturned by wiser minds, it will be very harmful in the long run.”

First, the ridiculous German court decision prohibiting circumcision; now this ridiculous Italian decision. What will be next? Where are the “no-nonsense” judges?

The US Government and the Sabbath

On October 25, 2012, the Jewish paper Haaretz, which is headquartered in Jerusalem, published the following on October 25, 2012, re-publishing an article, which was originally published by “The Jewish Daily Forward” paper on the same day: 

“Jack Lew, who is an Orthodox Jew, on how he keeps Shabbat while serving as the chief of staff for the U.S. president.
  
“When Jack Lew was appointed chief of staff to President Obama in January, many in the Jewish community wondered how he could observe Shabbat in such a demanding position. ‘I saw the president on many occasions on Friday afternoons look at his watch, and ask: “Isn’t it time for you to get going?”’ Lew said, ‘or, “Why are you still here?”…

“Lew, who is Orthodox, revealed the details about his keeping Shabbat in an extraordinary interview with the Forward that touched on his need to observe the Jewish holy day… The chief of staff noted it was Obama who brought up the issue of Shabbat when first offering Lew the job. ‘He raised it with me saying: “I know that things are going to come up where there’s an emergency on Saturday or that you need to be here. I know you well enough to know that this is not an issue. I want you to know that I’m never going to ask you to work on Saturday if it’s not really necessary. It’s important for me that you know that.”’… On Fridays, Lew leaves the White House before Shabbat begins and he is off on Saturdays. In the cases where his presence was needed on Shabbat, the chief of staff usually walked to the White House and back.

“Rabbis he consulted with assured Lew that when there is a real necessity, Jewish tradition approves of working on the Sabbath. The number of times Lew actually had to work in Saturday has been ‘limited,’ he said. Lew had dealt with the potential conflicts between observing Shabbat and working in top level positions under President Bill Clinton, when he served as the White House budget director. Clinton made sure not to have his top budget adviser busy from sundown Friday to the end of Saturday, and Lew made himself available when emergencies occurred. ‘I have found that if you are true to your own beliefs, people respect it,’ Lew said. ‘I’ve found that President Obama considers it a sign of strength and value that there is something in my life that reflects principles that I adhere to.’”

This article poses numerous interesting questions. Following the Bible, one is only justified to do work on the Sabbath if it is a true emergency of an “ox-in-the-ditch” nature. It is never permitted to engage in work, KNOWING that “emergencies” will arise. Therefore, the advice by the Jewish Rabbis is not biblically correct. But it also gives another reason why the Bible does not approve of God’s people holding such political governmental offices in this day and age.

The reaction of the readers to the articles was mixed and highly charged. We are giving you a few representative excerpts:

“Regardless of your political viewpoint, could we not all agree that people supporting each other’s observance of Shabbat is a ‘good’ thing.”

“Obama thinks he can mistreat Jews for 4 years and then plant a ridiculous story like this to win us back. Obama really thinks the Jews are fools.”

“This is a scenerio [sic] I’m quite familiar with – having my non-Jewish coworkers remind me that it’s time to leave on Friday afternoon. As a Shabbos observer, the worst employment experience I ever had was when I was working for a major secular Jewish organization. My subsequent experience has always been that I’d much rather work for a non-Jew then a secular Jew. The latter will look up what time sunset is and then start arguing with me that ‘I don’t need to leave that early’, while a goy will respect my observance.”

Political Activities by Churches Break the Law

The Washington Times wrote on October 25, 2012:

“Pastor Ron Walker knew he was breaking the law when he took his place behind the pulpit of The Little White Church in Hill City, S.D., to preach a sermon critical of President Obama. ‘I think it’s a risk well worth taking,’ said the pastor of the nondenominational church of about 150 members. ‘We would be delighted to be sued and have the opportunity to defend ourselves — in front of the Supreme Court, if necessary.’

“Mr. Walker was one of more than 1,600 pastors — up from 33 five years ago — who risked their tax-exempt status to preach politics on ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ this month, challenging the 1954 tax law that prohibits nonprofits from politicking. For many of the protesting pastors, the law violates their Constitutional rights, and challenging the rule is a fight they welcome. Many of the participating pastors mailed recordings of their sermons to the Internal Revenue Service…

“The IRS, however, is declining to take the bait… The IRS declined repeated requests to comment on the protest, except to refer The Washington Times to the segment of the federal tax code that states tax-exempt organizations are ‘absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.’

“The tax code also warns that violations could get a nonprofit’s tax status revoked and make it vulnerable to excise taxes… One sign that the federal government may not be eager to tackle the church protests — especially in an election year — was the announcement this week that the IRS will not conduct any church audits until the Treasury Department clarifies which officials have jurisdiction over the churches. The tax agency was forced to rethink its jurisdictional rules after a federal district court tossed out a case against a Minnesota church accused of promoting Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann from the pulpit in 2009.

“Three years later, no work has begun on the jurisdictional rules. That delay may be the real roadblock stopping the IRS from cracking down on the Alliance Defending Freedom and churches, said John Pomeranz, a lawyer who specializes in lobbying and election-related activities by tax-exempt organizations.

“We have wondered whether or not the IRS is hamstrung at the moment,” said Mr. Pomeranz, who works at the Washington firm Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg LLP. “I think there is a fundamental question about the ability of the IRS to audit churches, and they need to address that before they can get to the question of whether they’re going to audit these Pulpit Freedom Sunday churches…”

Catholic Clergy Involved in Presidential Election

The Chicago Tribune wrote on October 31:

“Joining the chorus of Roman Catholic clergy in Illinois criticizing President Barack Obama before next week’s election, Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky ordered priests to read a letter to parishioners on Sunday before the presidential election, explaining that politicians who support abortion rights also reject Jesus. ‘By virtue of your vow of obedience to me as your Bishop, I require that this letter be personally read by each celebrating priest at each Weekend Mass,’ Jenky wrote in a letter circulated to clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

“In the letter, Jenky cautions parishioners that Obama and a majority of U.S. senators will not reconsider the mandate that would require employers, including religious groups, to provide free birth control coverage in their health care plans…”

Churches and their pastors should NOT be getting involved in making political statements to promote voting for or against one particular political candidate. True Christians should have nothing to do with time-wasting political campaigns, and they should NOT vote in governmental elections. For more information, please listen to our video-recorded sermon, “What Would Be Jesus’ Vote?”

Fish Labeling Fraud

The Huffington Post wrote on October 28:

“It’s easy to identify the bright orange flesh of raw salmon, or tuna’s muted red tones. But when it comes to other types of fish, consumers are pretty much at the mercy of supermarket and restaurant labels, and fraud is rampant. That’s what NBC LA’s Get Garcia hidden camera investigation found when it DNA-tested samples of fish that were purchased from local stores and sushi restaurants.

“Of the 27 fish samples purchased at Ralphs, Sprouts, Pavilions, Gelsons, Whole Foods, San Pedro Fish Market and Sushi Yuzu, five were not correctly labeled… The substitutions, like the Ocean Perch fish that had been labeled ‘Red Snapper’ at Gelsons, Ralphs and Pavilions end up ripping off consumers. Ocean Perch costs $6.99 per pound, but Red Snapper retails for $14.99 a pound…

“In addition to the ripoff, mislabeling could also cause problems for people trying to avoid certain kinds of fish for health reasons.

“NBC LA’s findings echo a study released by conservation group Oceana back in April. Oceana’s investigation found that over half of the seafood sold in Los Angeles and Orange counties were fraudulently labeled, a violation of federal law. Some key findings, via the press release:

“Fraud was detected in 11 out of 18 different types of fish purchased. Every single fish sold with the word ‘snapper’ in the label (34 out of 34) was mislabeled, according to federal guidelines. Nearly nine out of every ten sushi samples was mislabeled. Eight out of nine sushi samples labeled as ‘white tuna’ were actually escolar, a species that carries a health warning for it purgative effects. The group has also found similar instances of mislabeling in Boston and South Florida… while the FDA has the authority to inspect seafood for fraud, they rarely elect to do so.”

This is a crying shame and abominable conduct, while the government watches, knows … and does nothing.

Hurricane or Cyclone Sandy Causes Once-in-a-Generation Flooding

The New York Times wrote October 29:

“Hurricane Sandy battered the mid-Atlantic region on Monday, its powerful gusts and storm surges causing once-in-a-generation flooding in coastal communities, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of people — including a large swath of Manhattan — in the rain-soaked dark.

“The mammoth and merciless storm made landfall near Atlantic City around 8 p.m., with maximum sustained winds of about 80 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. That was shortly after the center had reclassified the storm as a post-tropical cyclone, a scientific renaming that had no bearing on the powerful winds, driving rains and life-threatening storm surge expected to accompany its push onto land.

“The storm had unexpectedly picked up speed as it roared over the Atlantic Ocean on a slate-gray day and went on to paralyze life for millions of people in more than a half-dozen states, with extensive evacuations that turned shorefront neighborhoods into ghost towns…

“Hurricane-force winds extended up to 175 miles from the center of the storm; tropical-storm-force winds spread out 485 miles from the center. Forecasters said tropical-storm-force winds could stretch all the way north to Canada and all the way west to the Great Lakes. Snow was expected in some states. Businesses and schools were closed; roads, bridges and tunnels were closed; and more than 13,000 airline flights were canceled…

“Forecasters attributed the power of the storm to a convergence of weather systems. As the hurricane swirled north in the Atlantic and then pivoted toward land, a wintry storm was heading toward it from the west, and cold air was blowing south from the Arctic. The hurricane left more than 60 people dead in the Caribbean before it began crawling toward the Northeast…”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on October 29:

“Cyclone Sandy roared ashore Monday night with 80 mph winds in southern New Jersey, battering the most populous region of the United States, paralyzing epicenters of power and commerce, and plunging smaller coastal communities into crisis.

“After days of dire warnings and bustling preparations, the storm crashed ashore a little after 8 p.m. EDT, leaving more than 3 million people without power and at least two people dead. Although its winds reached low hurricane strength, officials called it a post-tropical cyclone. Cyclones, unlike hurricanes, are not defined by wind speed but how they find their energy, officials said…

“Sandy is a freak event — a late-season hurricane hemmed in by weather bands, gobbling up the energy of the Gulf Stream as it raked the coast while growing into a ragged, 1,000-mile-wide storm. As it grew, so did its power to push a wall of seawater onto shore — with such force that some rivers were expected to run backward… Sandy cast tropical-storm-strength winds from the Carolinas to Maine. Hurricane-force winds stretched from Virginia to Massachusetts.

“Because of its size, Sandy is more than a coastal event. Officials predicted a blizzard in the West Virginia mountains, 33-foot waves in Lake Michigan and high wind in Indiana. There were formal government warnings of one variety or another in 23 states, and 60 million people — nearly 1 in 5 Americans — might feel the storm before the end of the week…

“The storm derailed the presidential campaign just a week before the election, postponing early voting in some areas and causing President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to cancel campaign events…”

The Terrible Aftermath of Sandy

CNBC wrote on November 1:

“Power outages at hundreds of gas stations and a distribution bottleneck due to flooding damage and power loss has caused a gasoline shortage in the New York metropolitan area that may not be cleared up for at least a week… What was a problem for drivers when Super Storm Sandy ended two days ago has become a nightmare for frazzled motorists who find themselves in gas lines that can stretch on for hours. Some lines were hundreds of cars long in sections of New Jersey and New York Thursday… An estimated 75 percent or more of the gas stations in New Jersey were closed either because they had no gasoline, no power or both…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 31:

“Hurricane Sandy revealed just how vulnerable America is to the forces of nature. Clean-up is likely to take weeks or even months in the hardest hit sections of New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy’s true power is only now becoming apparent, hours after the storm slammed into America’s East Coast. But now it is clear that entire regions of New Jersey have been destroyed. Some 8 million Americans will be without power for days. And the number of deaths has climbed to at least 45. Half of Manhattan seems like a ghost town on Tuesday…

“Sandy, like all natural disasters, didn’t differentiate between rich and poor, city or countryside. The super-storm’s swath of destruction reached from rural Virginia across New York and into the rich suburbs of Connecticut…

“The chaos in New York, unprecedented in a metropolis that has no shortage of catastrophes in its history, made the most headlines. But the worst of the damage can be found in the state of New Jersey, where the coastal city of Atlantic City was badly flooded and battered by an unprecedented storm surge. A tired-looking New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on Tuesday that the damage ‘is beyond anything I thought I’d ever see. Terrible.’

“The full extent of what happened only became apparent as the East Coast woke up on Tuesday morning. Sandy was the largest storm ever recorded in the region, with its effects being felt from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north. There were deaths in six different states and material damage is likely to exceed $20 billion. Even through Tuesday, Sandy continued to pummel states further inland, producing heavy snowfall, torrential rains and winds gusts of over 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). Its effects were felt as far west as the Great Lakes…

“Sandy also revealed just how fragile America’s infrastructure is. Streets and rail lines were destroyed, the power grid failed and communication networks collapsed, with both telephone and internet connections spotty up and down the East Coast. Telecommunications company Verizon was hit the worst, with technically vital facilities suffering floods in Manhattan, Queens and Long Island. The most densely populated and technologically advanced region in the US turned out to be defenseless against the elements…

“At least 18 people were killed in New York City alone, according to the Associated Press, with damage likely to exceed €7 billion. Two million people were without electricity on Tuesday afternoon, 660,000 of them in Manhattan, with the southern half of the island almost completely dark. ‘This will be the largest storm-related outage in our history,’ said John Miksad, vice president of the electricity utility Con Edison… Wall Street, busy even on Christmas, was completely dark and abandoned…

“New York’s subway system — the world’s largest with 1,355 kilometers (842 miles) of track and five million passengers per day — has suffered the worst damage in its 108-year history… A total of some 15,500 flights have now been cancelled as a result of Sandy… Numerous towns were almost entirely under water on Tuesday…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 1:

“Hurricane Sandy has destroyed an entire neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York. First, the flood waters ravaged Breezy Point, and then a fire finished the job. Local residents have lost everything. Breezy Point has been decimated. Street after street, one house after the next — burned out, smashed to pieces or swept away…

“It is only now, three days after Sandy struck, that the sheer scale of the disaster has finally become apparent. Entire coastal stretches have been destroyed, 5 million people are still without power, and the death toll is rising daily. According to the latest data, 24 people have died in New York City alone — more than in any other previous natural disaster to have occurred here…”

Major Earthquake Hits Off West Coast of Canada

On October 28, the Washington Times wrote the following:

“A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck off the west coast of Canada, but there were no reports of major damage. Residents in parts of British Columbia were evacuated, but the province appeared to escape the biggest quake in Canada since 1949 largely unscathed.

“The U.S. Geological Survey said the powerful temblor hit the Queen Charlotte Islands just after 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. EDT) Saturday at a depth of about 3 miles and was centered 96 miles south of Masset, British Columbia. It was felt across a wide area in British Columbia, both on its Pacific islands and on the mainland… The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas of British Columbia, southern Alaska and Hawaii, but later canceled it… The weather service also canceled a tsunami advisory for Oregon [and] Northern California…

“Canada’s largest earthquake since 1700 was an 8.1-magnitude quake on August 22, 1949, off the coast of British Columbia… In 1970, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck south of the Haida Gwaii…”

“President Romney” and American-European Relations

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 1:

“Germans have long since made up their minds about Mitt Romney. Only 5 percent would give him their vote if they had one, they say… When America votes, the German heart traditionally beats for the Democratic candidate. To many, the Republicans are suspect: cocky, Christian-conservative, narrow-minded and often hawkish — at least according to the widespread cliché… But what would a President Romney mean for Berlin? Frankly, politicians in the German capital aren’t sure. The Republican candidate, said Harald Leibrechts, Germany’s coordinator for German-American relations, is a ‘blank page, which makes him difficult to gauge.’ He is unlikely to be alone in this assessment.

“Romney has portrayed himself as both a tough guy and a diplomat, but his waffling has confused people both at home and abroad… In Berlin, the Republican nominee is seen as somewhat of an enigma. Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, for one, is puzzled…

“Rolf Mützenich, the foreign policy spokesman of the opposition Social Democrats in parliament, believes… that a Romney administration would most likely not see eye to eye with Germany and its fellow European Union nations when it comes to the global regulation of the financial markets.

“Braml, the DGAP expert and author of the book ‘Der amerikanische Patient’ (‘The American Patient’), champions the thesis that American’s poor socio-economic condition and growing isolationist sentiments will lead it to try to shift the burdens of military actions onto its allies. This view is shared by many in Berlin. Leibrecht, Chancellor Merkel’s coordinator for German-American relations, has said that one of the possible consequences of a Romney victory would be calls for augmenting defense budgets. ‘That is not particularly popular with us,’ he said…

“In any case, whether Obama or Romney wins, CDU politician Missfelder says that Germans will have to get used to one thing: ‘When it comes to global military actions in crisis zones, the Americans will definitely be coming to us and demanding more in the years to come.’”

Britain On Their Way Out Of the EU?

The New York Times wrote on October 27:

“Is Britain moving inexorably toward the European Union’s exit door?

“When the European Union unexpectedly won the Nobel Peace Prize this month, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy spoke of their pride. But the British prime minister, David Cameron, maintained an awkward silence. Before that, the British government said it wanted to exercise an opt out of an estimated 133 areas of European Union police and judicial cooperation to which it had once agreed.

“And Mr. Cameron supported a plan for a new budget for countries that use the euro (which Britain does not), something that would place his nation firmly in Europe’s outer tier. The prime minister has been hinting that he could hold a referendum on Britain’s relations with the union, and one newspaper reported recently that a senior cabinet minister wants Britain to threaten openly to leave the 27-nation bloc. There was no official denial of the report…

“Britain has always been ambivalent about the European project. Unlike the founding six nations, all of them defeated or occupied in World War II, Britain was a victor. In national mythology, the war was neither a moment of disgrace nor a humiliation. On the contrary, it was widely considered the country’s finest hour, when it stood alone against fascism.

“So the idea of reconciliation through integration never had the appeal in Britain that it did on the Continent. Unlike many other member countries, Britain always paid more into the union in contributions than it received in subsidies. Now, with the euro zone almost three years in crisis, British public opinion has hardened. The overwhelming majority of Conservative lawmakers are euro skeptics, and many privately favor withdrawal. For some this is a question of conviction…

“Mr. Cameron seeks a new arrangement that abandons any pretense of being at the heart of the European Union. He does not, for instance, want to stop the euro zone integrating without Britain. Indeed, he recognizes that this is necessary to save the euro…But to anchor Britain in Europe, Mr. Cameron needs to emerge from a whole series of negotiations successfully — or at least persuade his own skeptical party that he has done so.

“Most urgently, he faces tough discussions on the European Union’s next seven-year spending cycle. Many officials and other observers expect Mr. Cameron to veto a budget deal at a November summit. That will satisfy euro skeptics only if Mr. Cameron can bring home an improved offer later. Yet, playing to his domestic gallery with an aggressive veto may alienate the very European allies Mr. Cameron would need in later talks in any effort to redefine ties.

“Meanwhile, the emergence of an ever more clear-cut two-tier Europe, with much greater integration among the 17 euro zone nations on issues like banking and financial services, is putting a strain on Europe’s unified economic space, and could ultimately threaten London’s status as Europe’s financial capital.”

EU Member States Have Already Lost National Sovereignty

The EUobserver wrote on October 28:

“The EU should have the power to police and interfere in member states’ national budgets, [central bank chief] Mario Draghi [said…] he ‘completely supported’ the suggestion by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to give more autonomy to the EU’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner. ‘I am certain, if we want to restore confidence in the eurozone, countries will have to transfer part of their sovereignty to the European level,’ Draghi [said] demanding a more concerted push for European integration.

“‘Several governments have not yet understood that they lost their national sovereignty long ago. Because they ran up huge debts in the past, they are now dependent on the goodwill of the financial markets,’ Draghi said.”