Anger Rages In The Mideast

The BBC wrote on September 15:

“More than three years ago, President Barack Obama famously told a Cairo audience that ‘we meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world’.

“His speech, titled A New Beginning, sought to transcend the acrimony of the Bush era.

“This week, as violent protests rage across the Middle East and beyond, the president might ask himself: What went wrong?

“The truth is that there is no single explanation.

“One answer is that last year’s wave of political uprisings, the so-called Arab Spring, is responsible.

“After all, protests began in Egypt, which last year became the most populous Arab democracy, and spread to Libya, which became the largest by area.

“The Arab Spring did indeed invigorate a range of Islamist movements and weakened the law enforcement capabilities of the affected states…

USA Today wrote on September 17:

“Hundreds of Afghans burned cars and threw rocks at a U.S. military base as a demonstration against an anti-Islam film that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed turned violent in the Afghan capital early Monday.

“And in Jakarta, Indonesians angered over the film clashed with police outside the U.S. Embassy, hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails and burning tires outside the mission. At least one police officer was seen bleeding from the head and being carried to safety by fellow officers.

“The low-budget film, privately produced in the United States, portrays Mohammed as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester. It sparked violent protests in many Muslim countries in recent days, many of them outside U.S. diplomatic posts around the world.

“The U.S. Ambassador to Libya was killed during an attack on the consulate in Benghazi last week; protesters have also stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tunis and held violent demonstrations outside posts in Egypt and Sudan. The U.S. has responded by deploying additional military forces to increase security in certain hotspots”

France Takes Precautions

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 19:

“France will close embassies and French schools in 20 countries on Friday, its Foreign Ministry said, amid fears of a backlash after a French magazine published a series of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

“French authorities said they feared the cartoons published Wednesday in satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo could cause more outrage in the Muslim world, days after a video denigrating the Prophet Muhammad helped to fuel violent protests at U.S. and other Western embassies in several Muslim countries.

“Paris’s move to pre-emptively close its embassies highlights how Western governments are grappling to respond to a wave of protests whose flash points lie largely out of their control.

“The French government said that although freedom of speech rules applied in France, the magazine’s publication of the cartoons was ill-timed. ‘It is dangerous, even irresponsible, when we know the general climate, to pour oil on fire,’ Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris on Wednesday…

“Charlie Hebdo defended its decision to publish the prophet cartoons. ‘If we start to wonder whether we have the right to draw Muhammad or not, or if it is dangerous to do it, we will have to start to wonder whether we can draw Muslims or human beings in the paper,’ the weekly magazine’s editor in chief, known only as Charb, told French radio RTL. ‘Eventually, we won’t be drawing anything, and a bunch of extremists in the world and in France will have won.'”

Global Ban on Insults to Islam?

cnsnews.com reported on September 17:

“Six months after declaring that all churches in the Arabian peninsula should be destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric called at the weekend for a global ban on insults targeting all religious ‘prophets and messengers,’ a category that, from a Muslim perspective, includes Jesus Christ.
 
“Saturday’s demand by Saudi grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh came on the same day that another of Sunni Islam’s most prominent figures, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University grand imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb, made a similar appeal.
 
“Both men were reacting to an amateur video satirizing Mohammed, whose emergence on the Internet has been blamed for protests targeting American diplomatic missions across the Islamic world. According to wire services at least 12 deaths have been linked to the protests since Thursday, with deaths reported in Tunisia, Sudan, Pakistan, Yemen, Lebanon and Egypt.
 
“The two clerics’ calls are a new salvo in an unremitting campaign by Islamic political and religious leaders, spearheaded by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to pressure non-Muslims to treat Islam with deference.
 
“In a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Asheikh ‘appealed to all countries and international organizations to criminalize acts ridiculing all prophets and messengers (peace be upon them).’”

Germany Rejects Rollover to Extremists!

On September 18 Spiegel Online International wrote:

“Germany is considering forbidding a far-right party from publicly screening the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” in Berlin in November. But editorialists in the country say a ban would be wrong because it would play into the hands of extremists on all sides.

“The German far-right party Pro Deutschland has said it plans a public screening of the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” in November, prompting fears that the event could trigger violence in Germany.

“The issue has prompted a heated debate in the country, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday the film should not be shown if it endangered public safety. “I can imagine that there are good reasons for this,” she said, adding that a ban on the public screening was currently being considered.

“Religious blasphemy was a crime in Germany until 1969, when the law was changed. At present, acts of blasphemy are only deemed criminal if they could disrupt public peace.

“On Tuesday, most German media commentators said that even though the 14-minute film is disgusting rubbish, its screening should not be prohibited because it would breach the right to freedom of expression.”

Influential writers in Germany are mirroring the dominant attitude of their countrymen–it is time to quit giving in to extremist Islamists. More and more, Germany is creating a leadership that will solidify Europe’s role in the world.

China Protests Target Japanese

Reuters wrote on September 15:

“Hundreds of people protested in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday, throwing objects at the building as police struggled to keep control, amid growing tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies over a group of disputed islands.

“On Tuesday, Japan brushed off stern warnings from China and said it had bought the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner.”

Voice of America reported on September 16:

“As tensions between China and Japan escalate, anti-Japanese protests have spread to Hong Kong.  Pro-democracy activists in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory are taking a surprising lead in the pan-Chinese nationalism movement.
 
 “An estimated 5,000 demonstrators marched on the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong Sunday.  The demonstration occurred in the build-up to the anniversary this week of the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
 
“Tokyo enflamed Chinese emotions last week by purchasing contested islands, known as the Diaoyu in China, the Senkaku in Japan, from their private Japanese owners.”

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on September 17:

“Hundreds of Japanese businesses and the country’s embassy suspended services in China on Tuesday, expecting further escalation in violent protests over a territorial dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies.

“China’s worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades led to protests and attacks on Japanese companies such as car makers Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, forcing them to halt operations and prompting Chinese state media to warn that trade relations could deteriorate.

“More protests continued across China on Tuesday, which marks the anniversary of Japan’s 1931 occupation of parts of mainland China.”

Chicago Teachers Strike

Reported September 15 by Reuters:

“Thousands of striking Chicago teachers will march again on Saturday to keep the pressure on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to wrap up an agreement with their union so they can end a strike that has closed the nation’s third largest school district for a week.

“The ‘Standing Strong with Chicago Teachers Rally’ could be the largest demonstration against Emanuel’s education reforms since the strike began in Chicago on September 10.

“Labor union supporters from neighboring states are expected to converge on Chicago to join many of the 29,000 union teachers and support staff in the march…

“Emanuel angered the Chicago teachers by trying to ram through proposals to radically reform teacher performance evaluations and weaken job protection for teachers whose schools are closed or perform poorly academically.”

While this strike has reached a settlement, the underlying troubles between groups of special interests within the U.S. remain a matter for real concern.

Anti-Putin Protest

Reuters wrote on September 9:

“Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Moscow under streaming banners, flags and balloons on Saturday to demand an end to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule and to breathe life into their protest movement.

“Protesters chanted “Russia without Putin!” as they marched through central Moscow in the first big rally since June.

“Witnesses said opposition leaders appeared to have achieved their goal of attracting at least 50,000 people, enough to maintain the momentum of their movement but almost certainly too few to increase alarm in the Kremlin.

“The protest underlined anger over what liberal Russians see as tough measures to smother the opposition since Putin began another six years in the Kremlin in May, but protests have not taken off outside big cities and the opposition is not united.”

Radical Overhaul for Europe?

On September 18 The Guardian wrote:

“Five of the six biggest countries in the EU, excluding Britain, have called for a radical overhaul of European foreign and defence policies to create a powerful new pan-European foreign ministry, majority voting on common foreign policies to bypass a British veto, a possible European army, and a single market for EU defence industries.

“The German-led push, supported by 11 of 27 EU countries, embraces recent calls in Berlin and Brussels for a directly elected European president, sweeping new powers for the European parliament, and further splitting of the EU by creating a new parliamentary sub-chamber for the 17 countries of the eurozone.

“While the call for a European army was not supported by all 11, the document also calls for a new European police organisation to guard the union’s external borders and for a single European visa.

“Nine months of brainstorming over the future of Europe by the foreign ministers of the 11 countries, launched by Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, has resulted in a 12-page document crammed with policy recommendations. It will prove hugely contentious and, if implemented, will increase the pressure on Britain to quit the EU…

“The backers include Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland, five of the six biggest EU countries omitting Britain. The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg also signed up.”

European Integration–Unstoppable!

Spiegel Online reported on September 12:

“The ruling on Wednesday by the Federal Constitutional Court on the euro bailout fund makes one thing very clear: The Karlsruhe-based institution will not stop European integration because it can’t. The justices have created expectations among the people that they are no longer able to fulfill.

“Never before has there been this much drama at Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court. One of the longest-serving police guards working there confided to a radio reporter that there has never been anything like this at the highest court in the land. The scene was thronged with journalists, satellite dishes, broadcast vans, cables and floodlights: The entire world had its eyes turned to this courthouse, a converted barrack on the edge of this western German city. All the fanfare was directed at one highly anticipated event: Eight judges, three of them professors, were about to publicly declare whether they intended to block efforts to resolve the euro debt crisis.

“So, what happened? Just what everyone expected: The European Union will not be stopped in its tracks. Germany can now ratify the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the permanent euro bailout fund, and the fiscal pact aimed at bringing economic governance to countries in the euro zone — albeit with a few conditions. What’s more, court President Andreas Vosskuhle repeated his usual warning that euro bailout packages cannot come at the cost of a loss of power for the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament. Everyone has now relaxed, and even the German DAX index of blue chip companies is climbing.”

Papal Influence in Lebanon

The Daily Star wrote on September 16;

“During his three-day visit, which comes 15 years after the landmark visit of the late Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church called for interfaith dialogue as a means to bring peace to the region.
 
“In a Sunday morning Mass attended by an estimated 350,000 people at the Beirut Water Front City, the pope urged the Arab countries and the world to propose solutions to end the conflict in Syria.
 
“’Let us ask her [Virgin Mary] to intercede with her divine son for you [Lebanon] and, more particularly, for the people of Syria and the neighboring countries, imploring the gift of peace,’ the pope said at the end of the Mass.
 
“’You know the problems that beset the region. There is a tremendous amount of pain … Why so much death? I call on the international community and Arab countries to propose solutions which respect human rights,’ he added.
 
“Sleiman, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati as well as MPs and Cabinet ministers attended the Mass. Other politicians in attendance included Future Movement MP Bahia Hariri and several Hezbollah deputies.
 
“During his visit, the Holy See met with various Christian and Muslim figures including Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani who delivered a letter to the pope and said Saturday that ‘any attack on Christians is in an attack on Muslims.’
 
“The pope, who said he represented a ‘pilgrim of peace’ during his stay in Lebanon, urged Christians in the country and the Middle East not to abandon their land.
 
“In a gathering Saturday with Arab and Lebanese youth at Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate, the pope said he was moved by the courage of Syrian youth and said he was saddened by the hardships of the people there.
 
“He reiterated his praise of Lebanon’s ‘beautiful coexistence’ and urged Muslim youths to work with their fellow Christians.
 
“During the ceremony, Benedict urged Christians not to abandon their land because of an ‘uncertain future.’
 
“’Unemployment and dangers should not force you to migrate for an uncertain future. Act as the makers of your country’s future and play your role in society and the Church,’ he said.
 
“The Holy See signed the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Special Assembly for the Middle East Friday in a ceremony at Saint Paul Basilica in Harissa, north of Beirut, where he urged Christians not to be afraid but brave difficulties facing them in the region.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s acceptance in the Mideast country of Lebanon is remarkable in light of the raging anger that has emerged among extremist Moslems in the region. Biblical prophecy indicates that Rome will continue to attempt to influence matters in this part of the world–especially in Jerusalem and the land of Israel.

Romney’s Constant Flip-Flops

Newsmax reported on September 9:

“Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has called for scrapping President Barack Obama’s 2010 U.S. healthcare law, said in remarks aired on Sunday that he likes key parts of ‘Obamacare’ despite his party’s loathing of it and wants to retain them. Romney, who faces Obama in the Nov. 6 election, has vowed throughout the campaign to repeal and replace the Obama healthcare law. But asked about the Obama healthcare law on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ program, Romney said, ‘Well, I’m not getting rid of all of healthcare reform. Of course, there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I’m going to put in place,’ Romney added. ‘One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like.’

“The Obama healthcare law, among other provisions, prevents insurance companies from denying medical coverage to people who already are suffering from a medical condition. It also allows parents to keep their young-adult children on their health insurance plans until age 26. The law is Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. Elements of the state healthcare reform plan that Romney put in place as governor of Massachusetts served as a model for the federal law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by Obama in 2010 despite unified Republican opposition…

“On the day the Supreme Court upheld the Obama law in June, Romney said the American people must vote the president out of office in order to ‘get rid of Obamacare.’”

Mr. Romney also supported in that interview Mr. Obama’s drone war (as most Republicans do), even though critics have described it correctly as being morally and ethically wrong. For a true Christian, voting for either side or at all has become—and has always been–prohibitive. Please listen to our video-recorded sermon, “What Would Be Jesus’ Vote?,” and please read also the next article.

Better Off Now?

CNS reported on September 4:

“The U.S. government debt, which topped $16 trillion for the first time at the close of business on Friday, now equals approximately $136,260 for every household in the country. Just since President Barack Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009, the debt has increased by $45,848 per household—or about 50 percent per household…”

… even though the President keeps telling us that we are better off now than at the time when he was inaugurated… Surprisingly, even though Bild Online reported diligently the many embarrassing mishaps during Mitt Romany’s recent international trip, the tabloid voiced the opinion that he would still be a better president for Europe than Mr. Obama, as Mr. Obama had no international portfolio, experience or grasp for political international matters.

IRS Agents Not Involved in Obamacare?

CNBC wrote on September 11:

“The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday assured congressional lawmakers that agents would play no role in enforcing the controversial requirement that Americans buy insurance under President Barak Obama’s health care overhaul. ‘IRS revenue agents will not be involved. There will not be audits,’ IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller told a subcommittee of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The law… will charge individuals a fee, or tax, if they fail to buy insurance starting in 2014.

“Opponents of the healthcare measure have focused on that requirement, with some Republicans saying they worry the IRS, the agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement, will harass people who fail to buy insurance. ‘In most cases, taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and-or making a payment, and there will be no need for further interactions with the IRS,’ Miller said.

“Under the law, Americans who lack health insurance will have to pay an annual fee to the IRS of $95, or 1 percent of taxable household income, starting in 2014. By 2016, that will rise to $695 per person, with a cap that equals the greater of $2,085 per family or 2.5 percent of household income. About 1 percent of the population will be charged for not buying insurance, government watchdogs have estimated.”

So it seems to us, the IRS would be heavily involved in this.

“Germany Must Lead or Leave”

Reuters reported on September 8:

“Germany should leave the euro zone if it is not prepared to take a more decisive lead in helping the euro zone’s weaker nations escape a spiral of increasing indebtedness and economic decline, veteran financier George Soros said on Saturday… ‘Germany should either lead in developing a growth policy, political union and burden-sharing, accept the cost of leadership, or leave through an amicable arrangement,’ Soros said in an interview with Reuters television in Vienna… Germany should step up and accept its de-facto leadership role…”

Of course, Soros’s suggestion that Germany might leave the eurozone is utter nonsense and a far-fetched illusion, but his statement that Germany should step up to the plate and carry out more forcefully its de-facto-leadership role is quite interesting. In this regard, note the next article.

“Germany a Pillar in the International Community”

The Times of Israel reported on September 9:

“Germany shares Israel’s concern regarding Iran’s nuclear program, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Sunday at the beginning of a meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem. ‘A nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat not only to Israel but to the stability of the entire region. A nuclear-armed Iran is not an option,’ Westerwelle said…

“Barak called Germany ‘a pillar in the international community,’ praising its stand against ‘Iran’s continued movement toward military-nuclear capability.’ The minister said Germany ‘plays a part in both the sanctions and the diplomacy, and whatever might be needed to block them; we highly appreciate this position.’

“Westerwelle… said Israel and Germany shared a special friendship. ‘We condemn every kind of terrorist attack against Israel. We stand together with Israel, which means, of course, that we share also the concern about the Iranian nuclear program,” he said. Barak cited Israel’s recent purchase of a Dolphin-class submarine from Germany at a large discount as proof of the two countries’ ties. ‘We are thankful for the very good relationship, and the continued support that Germany provides for Israel, reflected by the recent signing of the agreement to buy a sixth submarine,’ he said.”

Whatever Germany will do in the future regarding Israel, the Arab nations and others, it is becoming more and more obvious that Germany is rising as the world’s leader. Please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Jews Not Welcome?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 10:

“Aaron Buck, the spokesman of Munich’s Jewish community, says that long before the circumcision debate began he has experienced anti-Semitism on a daily basis. People call him on the phone, write e-mails or letters, and many even give their names… In light of this, any desire for a ‘relaxed relationship’ between Jews and other Germans would appear somewhat naïve. It’s almost as though the circumcision ruling by the Cologne regional court had only brought the truth of people’s real differences to light…”

Fragile US-Israeli Relationship

According to Haaretz of September 11, “The White House declined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request on Tuesday to meet [with] U.S. President Barack Obama during a UN conference in New York at the end of the month.”

The paper commented that “The White House’s response marks a new low in relations between Netanyahu and Obama, underscored by the fact that this is the first time Netanyahu will visit the U.S. as prime minister without meeting Obama.”

The Washington Post added on September 11 that “The deepening dispute between the United States and Israel over how to stop Iran’s nuclear program broke into public view Tuesday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting that the Obama administration did not have the ‘moral right’ to forestall military action. Netanyahu’s remarks — and a White House decision that President Obama will not meet with the Israeli leader later this month — threatened to further exacerbate tensions between the two allies and possibly push the disagreement over Iran into the U.S. presidential campaign.”

In typical diplomatic and political fashion, the White House denied the reports. According to CNN, dated September 11, “Wolf Blitzer, citing Israeli sources, reported that the Israelis were told Obama’s schedule would not permit a meeting even though Israel offered to have Netanyahu travel to Washington. Obama and Netanyahu are both due to address the United Nations in New York in late September but not at the same time. The Obama administration pushed back later Tuesday. ‘Contrary to reports in the press, there was never a request for Prime Minister Netanyahu to meet with President Obama in Washington, nor was a request for a meeting ever denied,’ the White House said Tuesday night in its statement, which made reference to ‘our close cooperation on Iran and other security issues.’”

However, the Financial Times wrote on September 12: “Feuding between the US and Israel burst into the open when Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, sharply criticized recent US statements about Iran while the White House said President Barack Obama would not meet Mr Netanyahu in the US this month… The core disagreement between the two governments has been rumbling for some time, with Israel paying close attention to Iran’s ‘capability’ to make a nuclear weapon while the US is more focused on efforts to build an actual weapon.”

Iran on the Attack

Newsmax wrote on September 9:

“An Iranian military official said Iran will retaliate against American interests as well as Israelis if Israel launches an attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities… Iran has missiles that could reach U.S. targets in the region, as well as Israel. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also said Iran will attack American targets in the Middle East if Israel launches a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities…

“Iran has launched an attack against Israel on another front, asserting that Israel ‘spreads homosexuality’ across the globe to pursue its goal of world domination, the Jerusalem Post reported. Mashregh News, a state-controlled Iranian paper, claimed that the United States and Britain are using money from Jews to spread homosexuality, and described Tel Aviv as the gay paradise on earth.”

Radical Islamists Attack Americans

The Washington Times wrote on September 11:

“A State Department worker was killed and another injured Tuesday in separate attacks on a U.S. Consulate in Libya and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo by hard-line Islamic protesters angry about an anti-Islamic film. In the Libya attack, armed men stormed and burned the American Consulate in the eastern city of Bengazi, fatally shooting one worker and injuring another. Anti-American Islamists clambered over the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ripped down the U.S. flag, replacing it with a black flag bearing the Islamic inscription ‘There is no God but Allah,’ commonly flown by al Qaeda.

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who confirmed the death, condemned ‘in the strongest terms’ the attack. ‘We are heartbroken by this terrible loss,’ she said.

“There were warnings late Tuesday of the potential for more attacks on Americans. ‘There is a high threat of additional attacks against U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world,’ warned IntelCenter, a private-sector firm that tracks jihadi messaging for clients including U.S. agencies… The protesters — most of them hard-line Islamists of the Salafist movement — stormed the embassy chanting, ‘Say it, don’t fear: Their ambassador must leave’ as part of a rally sparked by anger about a film deemed offensive to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that reportedly was produced by expatriate members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority in the U.S.”

Predictably, the Arab Spring is turning more and more into a very cold and chilly winter—especially for America. Demonstrations in Tunsia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen against U.S. Embassies have become violent and deadly. But notice also the next article.

The Curse of the “Arab Spring”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 9:

“They began as a cry for freedom in the Middle East, but the Arab rebellions have become increasingly characterized by an ancient sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims… the power struggle between the two groups is sparking new fears along old frontlines…

“When representatives from around the world convened in the Iranian capital of Tehran last Thursday for the start of a Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, an annual meeting of 120 nations that view themselves as not aligned for or against any major powers, the focus was suddenly on 1,300-year-old battles, murders and power struggles. The host was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Shiite. Next to him on the dais was Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi, a Sunni. Morsi began his opening address with a mention of the Prophet Muhammad, but then continued: ‘May Allah’s blessing be upon our masters Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.’

“Iranian media immediately took the statement as a provocation. Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were Muhammad’s successors after the Prophet’s death in 632. Sunni Muslims venerate them as the first caliphs — but Shiite Muslims consider them usurpers and traitors to the faith, hated figures whose very names should not be spoken. Muhammad’s true successor, Shiites say, was Ali, their first imam, who later fought against the other three before being murdered.

“Morsi went on to discuss the present situation in Syria, where Bashar Assad is overseeing the massacre of rebels who are mostly Sunni. Assad and his clique belong to the country’s Alawite minority, which is more closely aligned with the Shiites. ‘The bloodshed will not stop without intervention from outside’  the Egyptian president declared, saying that Assad’s regime had lost all legitimacy. Morsi, a Sunni, made these statements while sitting next to the Shiite Ahmadinejad, who has been providing the Syrian regime with weapons and now fighters, too. Morsi must know that any country that intervenes in Syria risks ending up at war with Iran, as well…

“From Tunisia to Bahrain, the Arab Spring began as a rebellion against despots… But, increasingly, these rebellions are being sucked into… the ancient conflict between these two different camps of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites… In the past, that tension has often burst forth as carnage, for example, in the Iraqi civil war, which began in 2004 and still hasn’t really ended…

“There is an apocalyptic prophecy in Islam that some attribute to the Prophet Muhammad. It’s only a fragment, the legend of an evil being known as the Sufyani that will one day arrive to sow death and ruin among the faithful. This tradition, supposedly ascribed to Muhammad, says the Sufyani will rise from the depths of the Earth beneath Damascus.”

For more information, please read our new free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Israel Prepares for War

The Financial Times wrote on August 31:

“Amid media speculation that Israel may carry out a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites and possibly prompt a regional war, the number of Israelis collecting state-funded gas masks has quadrupled from 17,000 in April to 70,000 in July… On Thursday, a UN report showed that Iran has doubled the number of uranium enrichment machines it has in an underground bunker. Already, many in Israel are renovating bomb shelters in their apartment buildings or sealing rooms so they can provide protection in the event of biological and chemical attack… Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and cultural capital, has unveiled plans [to] put up about 800,000 residents in 60 underground parking lots in case of an attack… Many bomb shelters in residential buildings across Israel are rundown and neglected or have become furniture storage rooms, while most of Israel’s Arab citizens – about 20 per cent of the population – lack shelters altogether.

“Relentless speculation has also made investors wary. Real estate investments by foreigners dropped 50 per cent in the second quarter from the same period last year, partly because of Iran-related worries… ‘The more the media reports about a possible Iran attack, the more investments are clearly being avoided from abroad,’ said Jacky Mukmel, head of Man Properties. A regional war could cost Israel Shk47bn ($11.7bn) in direct damages such as to private property and infrastructure, six times more than the damages of the 34-day hostilities between Israel and Lebanon’s Hizbollah group six years ago, the research firm BDI-Coface said last week. Its analysis is based on the assumption that this time the more densely populated centre of Israel – rather than the north – would be targeted.”

The Bible says that in the future, Israel will receive a “wound,” apparently referring to a (military and/or economic) loss in a war.

Israel and USA—“We Don’t Trust Each Other”

The Time wrote on August 31:

“Seven months ago, Israel and the United States postponed a massive joint military exercise that was originally set to go forward just as concerns were brimming that Israel would launch a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The exercise was rescheduled for late October, and appears likely to go forward on the cusp of the U.S. presidential election. But it won’t be nearly the same exercise. Well-placed sources in both countries have told TIME that Washington has greatly reduced the scale of U.S. participation, slashing by more than two-thirds the number of American troops going to Israel and reducing both the number and potency of missile interception systems at the core of the joint exercise. ‘Basically what the Americans are saying is, “We don’t trust you,”’ a senior Israeli military official tells TIME.

“The reductions are striking. Instead of the approximately 5,000 U.S. troops originally trumpeted for Austere Challenge 12, as the annual exercise is called, the Pentagon will send only 1,500 service members, and perhaps as few as 1,200. Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, but the crews to operate them will not. Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships being dispatched to Israeli waters, the new plan is to send one, though even the remaining vessel is listed as a ‘maybe,’ according to officials in both militaries…

“In the current political context, the U.S. logic is transparent, says Israeli analyst Efraim Inbar. ‘I think they don’t want to insinuate that they are preparing something together with the Israelis against Iran – that’s the message,’ says Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. ‘Trust? We don’t trust them. They don’t trust us…’

“The [U.S. anti-missile system] is extraordinarily powerful, so sensitive it can detect a softball thrown into the air from thousands of miles away. But… only Americans are allowed to see what’s on the screens…  the U.S. array can detect an Iranian missile launch six to seven minutes earlier than Israel’s best radar. Difficult as it may be to imagine U.S. decision-makers holding back information that could save Israeli lives, both by giving them more time to reach a shelter, or their interceptors to lock onto and destroy an incoming Shahab-3, the risk looms in the complex calculus of Israeli officials mulling an attack on Iran.

“Inside Israel, reports persist that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense chief Ehud Barak are determined to launch a strike, and American officials continue to urge restraint. Israeli analysts say Netanyahu wants Obama to send a letter committing to U.S. military action by a specific date if Iran has not acceded to concessions, but the U.S. administration does not appear to be complying…”

The lack of cooperation and trust between the USA and Israel is also more fully discussed in the next article.

Israel Being Pushed into a Corner

The Times of Israel wrote on August 31:

“Israel responded bitterly on Friday to comments by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who said on Thursday that he did not want ‘to be complicit’ if Israel were to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities… Israeli commentators made much Friday of Dempsey’s use of the word ‘complicit.’ The US army chief could have said he did not want to be Israel’s ‘partner’ or its ‘ally’ in an attack on Iran, noted analyst Oren Nahari on Channel 1 state TV, but instead Dempsey employed a term with criminal connotations.

“On the same channel, analyst Ari Shavit said that the events of the past week… showed that both diplomacy and sanctions have failed, and yet the US was doing nothing to ratchet up pressure on Iran… Given the US’s publicly stressed disinclination to act, ‘Israel is being pushed into a corner, in a way that is really dangerous,’ said Shavit. ‘If all these moderate players, in the US and Europe, are so concerned about a dangerous Israeli action [against Iran], why haven’t they taken any meaningful action?’ he asked…

“Regional analyst Oded Granot said on the same program that Iran ‘does not think Obama will act’ by force to stop its nuclear program. On Channel 2, diplomatic reporter Udi Segal said comments like Dempsey’s might be bolstering the sense in the Israeli leadership that ‘maybe there’s no-one else who’s going to help us.’”

America’s alienation from the state of Israel has been predicted in Scripture. At the same time, America’s relationship with the Arab world will not improve, either. See the next article.

Endless War in the Middle East?

Haaretz wrote on September 6:

“The Palestinians criticized the U.S. Democratic Party’s decision to declare Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Democrats on Wednesday restored language in the platform saying Jerusalem ‘is and will remain the capital of Israel.’ A day earlier, the language had been removed from the platform, prompting Republicans to question U.S. President Barack Obama’s support for Israel. The language is at odds with U.S. policy calling for the status of Jerusalem to be resolved through negotiations. Both Israel and the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem.

“Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas … said a failure to recognize the Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem will ‘destroy the peace process’ and lead to ‘endless war.’…

“On Wednesday, Democrats voted to change their convention platform to add a mention of God and declare that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Many in the audience booed after the convention chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, ruled that the amendments [were] approved despite the fact that many delegates objected…

“The party reinstated language from the 2008 platform that said ‘we need a government that stands up for the hopes, values and interests of working people and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential’…  The platform now included what advisers said was Obama’s personal views on Jerusalem.”

Israel’s Security Cabinet Meets on Iran Issue

The Jerusalem Post wrote on September 4:

“The 14-member Security Cabinet, the body authorized to approve military attacks, met Tuesday to hear the annual intelligence assessments provided by the country’s intelligence agencies. The 10-hour meeting is believed to be the first time in months that this body conducted an in-depth discussion on Iran…

“While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s inner cabinet, which is made up of eight ministers, can give an advisory opinion on whether to attack Iran, the actual decision needs to be made by the security cabinet. This body could also choose to bring such a decision to the full 29-member cabinet.”

The Threat of Retaliation

Reuters reported on September 3:

“Iran could hit U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities even if American forces played no role in the attack, the leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said on Monday…

“Unrest in neighboring Syria, which acknowledged for the first time in July that it possessed chemical or biological weapons, has led to Western fears that those weapons might fall into the hands of Islamist groups including Hezbollah… Even if Israel launched a first strike attack on Lebanon, destroying a large part of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal, the militant group would retain the capacity to hit back with deadly force, he added.”

Apocalypse in the Entire Region?

The Times of Israel wrote on September 6:

“War with Iran ‘would be tormenting for Israel’ and would cause ‘an apocalypse in the entire region,’ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan said Wednesday night. Erdoðan stated, however, that an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is ‘a very null probability’ and that he does not believe Israel would launch a unilateral attack. ‘I’m sure that I don’t want to see anything like that happening in the region because in this day and age, [the Middle East] needs peace and prosperity and stability,’ the prime minister told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

“Regarding the increasingly violent, 19-month civil war in Syria, Erdoðan equated the ‘merciless slaughter’ of the Syrian people by President Bashar Assad to genocidal mass murders perpetrated in the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars in the 1990s… The international community’s failure to intervene in Syria was the fault of the United States, which has not offered anything but nonlethal support for Syrian rebels, he said.”

It is interesting that Erdogan fails to mention the genocidal mass murders of the Turks against the Armenians. Further, the Bible says that Turkey will become violently hostile against the Jews in the region.

Germany and USA Supply Egypt with Submarines and Missile Ships

The Times of Israel wrote September 1:

“Israel’s angst over the willingness of Germany to sell Egypt two Type 209 attack submarines was dismissed by Egypt’s navy Sunday. In a statement published by Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, sources in the Egyptian navy denied that Berlin would torpedo the military deal with Egypt due to Israeli pressure, as was reported in Yedioth Ahronoth. ‘The only two parties determining the fate of this deal are the German and Egyptian governments and not Israeli newspapers which try to destabilize security within Egypt,’ a source in the navy told Al-Ahram, assuring the daily that the deal is proceeding as scheduled.

“It was ‘noteworthy’ that Israeli media did not comment on another important military deal with the United States, which would supply Egypt with four US-built FMC missile ships by early 2013, the daily claimed. ‘We will not allow anyone to enter our territorial waters,’ Egypt’s new navy commander Osama el-Gendy told Al-Ahram on Friday during a joint naval exercise with Greece.”

Anti-Semitism in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on September 1:

“An anti-Semitic attack has caused consternation in Berlin. Politicians have called for more moral courage. Jews in the German capital have expressed fear, while Jewish organizations worldwide demanded more security. The attack was completely unexpected for Rabbi Daniel Alter, who was walking down the road with his 6-year-old daughter. Four young men jumped the 53-year-old, beat him viciously and threatened to kill his child. Before attacking Alter, who was wearing a kippa, the men asked him if he was Jewish. Alter, who later underwent surgery for a cheekbone fracture, described his attackers as Arab-looking. The beating did not take place in one of Berlin’s districts with a large number of Arab immigrants – it happened in affluent suburb Friedenau, southwest of the city…

“Since the incident on Tuesday (28.08.2012), several members of Berlin’s Jewish community have described their negative experiences when appearing recognizably Jewish on the street – in any district of the city. Many have taken to hiding their kippas under a baseball cap. Rabbi Andreas Nachama, a well-respected representative of the city’s Jewish community, has said he tries to avoid public transport after being attacked ten years ago on one of Berlin’s elevated trains…

“In most cases, the attacks are motivated by far-right extremism… there are many reports of an aggressive anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli sentiment in certain schools and among young Arab people…

“Governing politicians and police in Berlin would not reveal exactly how many police officers are allocated to protect Jewish public buildings, such as synagogues, Torah schools, kindergartens or other facilities – though they are protected around the clock, 365 days a year. Guarding property is one thing, but creating a sense of security for Jews in their everyday lives is a task that can’t be solved with more personnel.

“The outrage over the attack against Alter is also part of a wider context. Not only is Berlin still a city closely associated with the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime, and many Jews are deeply concerned by the current legal debate over circumcision. The president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt who is the chief rabbi of Moscow, said on Friday that Germany’s Jewish community was currently ‘at a crossroads.’ He said it was becoming clearer ‘that there is a conflict in Germany between those who truly respect freedom and tolerance, and those who would like to see an end of the German Jewish community.’ Jews, Goldschmidt said, were being faced ‘with narrow-minded humanist activists and violent thugs.’ Many believe that what is being threatened is nothing short of the successful restoration of Jewish life in Germany after the Shoah.

“Politicians have reacted with the usual appeals. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called the Alter attack an ‘attack on the peaceful co-habitation of everyone in the capital,’ while the federal government’s Integration Commissioner Maria Böhmer called on the population to show more courage. She said every individual should stand up ‘whenever people from whichever background are threatened or discriminated against.’… There were also clear signals from members of Germany’s Muslim community. Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, said such acts caused ‘deep revulsion’ among Muslims. He then professed solidarity and empathy with all Jews in Germany…”

According to the Bible, persecution of Jews and other religious minorities in Germany and Europe will continue and increase drastically. Note the next article.

Anti-Semitism in Europe

The Times of Israel wrote on August 31:

“On Sunday, 27 countries across Europe will celebrate the annual European Day of Jewish Culture 2012… Anti-Semitism, on and off, has been a growing and disconcerting phenomenon in Europe during the last decade and a half… we should not mistake an enthusiastic embrace of dead Jews and their artefacts, or of living Jews and their active participation in Western culture, as a sign that Jews are fully welcome…

“When Jews wish to pray regularly in their European synagogues… they can only do so at their peril or under heavy security. Jews who wish to publicly display the outward paraphernalia of their faith do so at their peril as well — chances are they will be beaten up here and there. It has happened before. It will happen again. It rarely gets more than the perfunctory condemnation of a society that, deep down, still feels uncomfortable when Jews dress, eat, and pray, like Jews.

“Jews who wish to impart their children with a Jewish education know their little ones will grow sheltered in the golden cage of a caring Jewish school – happy islands with no anti-Semitism inside, thanks to the barbed wire and high walls plus round-the-clock security service outside. They also know that metal detectors and police patrols will not always deter those who thirst for Jewish blood — ask Jews in Toulouse and ask no further – though plenty of others could tell you stories late into the night of how Jewish toddlers grow accustomed to cops with sniffer dogs and machine guns outside their kindergartens.

“Nor are Jews at liberty to express open, unabashed, and unconditional support for Israel — sooner or later that invites scorn and the occasional abuse (both verbal and physical)… what’s funny about facing criminal charges for circumcising your newborn sons and explosive charges when going to synagogue? A European day of Jewish Culture can no longer hide the fact of a widening assault on the most fundamental facets of Jewish identity in today’s Europe – the concerted efforts, from all corners of the political spectrum, to ban circumcision of newborn Jewish boys and the ritual slaughter of animals, according to Jewish dietary laws.

“All this is done in the name of liberal values – ritual slaughter becomes cruelty to animals; circumcision becomes an assault on free choice for toddlers to keep their foreskins intact; and the proverbial demonization of Israel as the 21st century version of apartheid has become the backdoor access for anti-Semites to join the liberal bandwagon of one standard for Jews and a different one for all other nations.

“What makes Jews what they are, ultimately, is not their jokes or their movies or their occasional literary and artistic contributions to Western culture. It is the mark in their flesh that solemnly and permanently affirms their commitment to the laws of their forefathers; the head covers and prayer shawls they wear – daily for the pious, occasionally for everyone else – to remind themselves of their Creator and the covenant that binds them to His laws; that which they can and cannot eat for so He commanded; and their love for the land and the people of Israel, with the attendant dream of restoring Zion, in both the mundane and the messianic sense, which pervades their daily prayers, the rhythm of their holidays and their rites of passage from cradle to grave.

“And yet, to fearlessly walk the streets of Europe, the parents of a 21st century-born Jewish child must henceforth forgo his circumcision, make him renounce the outward signs of Jewish devotion, raise him as a vegetarian lest he break his ancestors’ dietary laws, deny him a Jewish education to increase his chances to live to adult age, and let him become imbued with a hatred for the country where half his coreligionists live and his ancestors came from or yearned to return to. This is not a joke. It is what Europe, increasingly, has become for Jews.”

A terrible testimony, indeed. And far too many are sound asleep (or stay willingly ignorant) and do not see (or refuse to see) the real dangers looming on the horizon…. In this context, please see our recent StandingWatch programs, titled, “Political EU Union in Germany’s Image” and “The World’s Stance Against Israel” .

Further Developments on Circumcision Issue in Germany

The Times of Israel reported on September 2:

“Berlin prosecutor Matthias Weidling told Rabbi Yitzhak Ehrenberg that the charges filed against him in mid-August — for ‘disturbance of the public peace and other offenses’ — had been halted. Weidling stopped the proceedings even before initiating a[n] investigation because the police complaint against him contained ‘no indications of illegal behavior’…

“Ehrenberg had become the second German rabbi to be charged in connection with remarks he made regarding the current circumcision controversy raging in that country. In June, a Cologne court declared the ritual illegal. As a direct consequence of that ruling, a German citizen last month filed a police complaint against Rabbi David Goldberg, from the Bavarian town of Hof, who said he had performed hundreds of circumcisions in recent years…

“The question of how to apply the Cologne ruling to Ehrenberg’s pledge to continue circumcisions could ‘remain open,’ the prosecutor added. Since the Ehrenberg’s remarks didn’t call on others to commit illegal acts and no cases are known of circumcisions that were performed as a direct result of his words, there was no reason to further investigate the issue, he wrote.”

The Times of Israel reported on September 5:

“Berlin, Germany’s capital and itself a state, is the first to declare the practice legal following a Cologne court ruling in June that non-medical circumcisions on children amounted to a criminal offense, according to DPA, a German news wire… The Berlin state has authorized only doctors, and not mohels, to perform circumcisions…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 5:

“Germany has been debating the rights and wrongs of circumcising infant boys ever since a German court ruled in June that the ritual, a core part of the Jewish religion, was unlawful. Now Charlotte Knobloch, 79, the former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has had enough. In a furious editorial published on Wednesday in one of the country’s top newspapers, Süddeutsche Zeitung, she said the controversy was calling the existence of Germany’s small Jewish community into question and asked: ‘Do you still want us Jews?’… Knobloch is president of the Munich Jewish community and vice president of the World Jewish Congress…

“Knobloch wrote that circumcision was at the core of Jewish identity. ‘The zeal with which the self-appointed are unfeelingly and thoughtlessly dragging our religious foundations through the mud is unequalled. People who apparently have no idea of the religious significance of the Brit Mila (circumcision ceremony) who presumably have never spoken to a Jew, now want to tell us whether and how we can follow our religion… ‘I’m no longer prepared to go along with the sham in which people are talking about a new, fresh, flourishing Jewry in Germany… The fact is that German Jewry has never gotten over the Shoah…”

“Germany Takes the Lead”

Deutsche Welle reported on September 1:

“Germany has assumed its role as chair on the UN Security Council for the month of September. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has vowed to use the presidency to take a tough stance on Syria’s Assad. France handed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council to Germany on Saturday… During a visit to Hong Kong on Friday, Westerwelle condemned the council’s failure to take firm action against President Bashar Assad’s brutal suppression of the 17-month uprising. He described China and Russia’s veto of three Security Council resolutions on the conflict as nothing less than a ‘blockade.’

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended Moscow’s position, saying it was ‘naïve’ for foreign powers to expect Assad to withdraw his forces from Syria’s major cities first… Westerwelle noted that it was clear the international community was edging closer to the ‘continued isolation of the Assad regime,’ during this week’s summit of nonaligned countries in Iran. He was referring in part to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s offer of support for the Syrian opposition movement as the summit opened on Thursday… Morsi said his country had a ‘moral obligation’ and ‘political necessity’ to show ‘solidarity with the Syrian people against a regime that lost its legitimacy,’ prompting a walkout from the Syrian delegation.

“Germany is due to end its two-year tenure as one of 10 nonpermanent members of the UN Security Council at the end of 2012. It will not be eligible for immediate re-election. Permanent council seats are held by Russia, China, the US, France and Britain.”

Whether or not Germany will be re-elected as a member on the Security Council, Germany will continue to lead in European and world affairs… Please read our free booklet, “Germany in Prophecy.” 

No More Public Healthcare for Spain’s Immigrants?

The Guardian wrote on August 31:

“About 150,000 immigrants living in Spain will lose their right to public health services on Saturday as the recession-hit country tries to save money. But doctors warn that excluding immigrants from the health system will have a wider impact on ordinary Spaniards’ health. The move by Mariano Rajoy’s conservative People’s party government has provoked anger among doctors and some regional governments that deliver public health to Spaniards. Amnesty International and other NGOs have accused the government of breaking international agreements by excluding a significant section of the population – immigrants without proper residence permits – from public healthcare. Hundreds of doctors have pledged to keep their surgeries open to all immigrants, regardless of whether they have a valid health card or not.

“Médecins sans Frontières pointed to cases such as María, a 32-year-old Bolivian woman who works in the black economy as a maid and who needs antidepressants ever since she discovered her elder son was badly sick. ‘As of tomorrow she will be unable to continue the treatment,’ a spokeswoman said.

“Another immigrant, Petru from Romania, who suffers from pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes, will lose a right to regular insulin while her untreated tuberculosis becomes a health risk to ordinary Spaniards, the NGO added.

“Six of Spain’s 17 regional governments have pledged to ignore Rajoy’s orders and will keep providing healthcare to immigrants… But those regions that want to keep looking after irregular immigrants must go through the costly process of inventing new electronic health cards for them. As Spain’s regional governments seek their own bailouts, authorities in cash-strapped Valencia, eastern Spain, have also been making British residents apply for new health cards as they tighten up on services to EU citizens.”

More and more drastic measures will be imposed by European countries against illegal and certain legal immigrants. But the discussion is also continuing in the USA. See the next article.

Jeb Bush Criticizes Republican Party’s Anti-Immigration Policy

Bloomberg wrote on August 30:

“Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said his party’s anti-immigration policies are costing Republicans elections and contributing to lower fertility rates and gloom in the U.S. ‘The most vociferous anti-immigrant kind of candidates lose,’ Bush said during a Bloomberg/Washington Post breakfast at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. ‘They lose in primaries, they lose in general elections. And I’m all about winning.’… More than two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election… Mitt Romney… trailed Obama among Hispanics by more than a 2-to-1 margin…

“Romney has said he favors ‘self-deportation,’ the idea behind Alabama and Arizona immigration laws that pressure undocumented workers to leave. The party has adopted a similar platform calling for proposals to ‘encourage illegal aliens to return home voluntarily.’ The platform supports requiring employers to verify workers’ legal status and opposes ‘any form of amnesty’ for illegal immigrants.  Bush said a ‘dark pessimism’ coming from Washington over immigration and other issues has led to lower fertility rates in the U.S… ‘We have a lower fertility rate today than France. It’s a sign of this pessimism. And the solution is to not view immigrants as a problem.’…

“Jeb Bush, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2016 should Obama win re-election, forecast a close race in the state [of Florida] this year…

“Bush criticized Obama for skirting Congress and ordering a plan to exempt from deportation younger illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements. Bush said he supported the policy.  ‘Having a solution to the fact that we have all of these young people, many of whom are making great contributions, don’t have a connection to their parents’ former country, yeah, of course I’m for it,’ Bush said…

“Asked in an interview on Bloomberg Television after the breakfast if the Republican Party runs the risk of becoming the minority party because of the issue, Bush said: ‘Not just Latinos, but Asians as well.’ The growing immigrant community, he said, ‘will become the dominant factor in politics.’… Bush said he was in favor of better control over the nation’s borders. ‘But then get to a different conversation about American greatness that can be sustained over the long haul, if we allow people to come in, embrace our values, fortify them, and bring vitality and energy and an aspirational notion about what it is to be an American,’ he said.”

Freedom of Speech in America?

Kens5.com reported the following on August 30:

“The Secret Service is looking into a sign posted in Victoria, Texas. The sign says ‘Pray for Obama’, but it’s the scripture quoted below those words that is raising eyebrows: Psalms 109:8. Psalms 109:8 reads, ‘Let his days be few, and let another take his office.’… some people say it is hateful and inappropriate. They say it misuses the holy scripture and it must come down…

“When asked what the sign means, Neitsch responded, ‘Exactly what it says. Hope he’s gone soon and somebody different takes his place.’ Reverend Amy Danchik started a petition demanding Neitsch take down the sign. They’ve since met and Neitsch… agreed to replace the billboard.”

This is another ridiculous example to show as to how far away this country has removed itself from concepts of freedom of speech—and that with the support of ministers.

Clint Eastwood Takes the Stage

On August 30, the Washington Post posted Clint Eastwood’s refreshing, funny, intelligent and unusual unscripted speech to the Republican National Convention. While most Republicans were laughing and Rush Limbaugh described Eastwood’s speech as “bold,” Democrats and the left-liberal press were “appalled.” Here is a typical example from the New York Times, dated August 31:

“For all the finger-pointing about Clint Eastwood’s rambling conversation with an empty chair on Thursday night, the most bizarre, head-scratching 12 minutes in recent political convention history were set in motion by Mitt Romney himself and made possible by his aides, who had shrouded the actor’s appearance in secrecy.”

To judge for yourself, we are bringing you the following excerpts (we did, however, omit any of his crude remarks, which we, of course, do not approve of):

“I’ve got Mr. Obama sitting here. And… I was going to ask him a couple of questions. But… I remember three and a half years ago, when Mr. Obama won the election. And though I was not a big supporter, I was watching that night when he was having that thing and they were talking about hope and change and they were talking about, yes we can, and it was dark outdoors, and it was nice, and people were lighting candles. They were saying, I just thought, this was great. Everybody is trying, Oprah was crying… I was even crying. And then finally — and I haven’t cried that hard since I found out that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country… Now that is something to cry for because that is a disgrace, a national disgrace, and we haven’t done enough, obviously — this administration hasn’t done enough to cure that. Whenever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem…

“So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them?… I know even people in your own party were very disappointed when you didn’t close Gitmo. And I thought, well closing Gitmo — why close that, we spent so much money on it. But, I thought maybe as an excuse… I thought maybe it was just because somebody had the stupid idea of trying terrorists in downtown New York City… I know you were against the war in Iraq, and that’s okay.

“But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean — you thought that was something worth doing. We didn’t check with the Russians to see how [they] did it — they did [it] there for 10 years… I think you’ve mentioned something about having a target date for bringing everybody home. You gave that target date, and I think Mr. Romney asked the only sensible question, you know, he says, ‘Why are you giving the date out now? Why don’t you just bring them home tomorrow morning?’…

“I think attorneys are so busy — you know they’re always taught to argue everything, and always weigh everything — weigh both sides. They are always devil’s advocating this and bifurcating this and bifurcating that. You know all that stuff. But, I think it is maybe time — what do you think — for maybe a businessman. How about that?… And I think if you just step aside… You can maybe still use a plane… Though maybe a smaller one. Not that big gas guzzler you are going around to colleges and talking about student loans and stuff like that… You are… an ecological man. Why would you want to drive that around?

“… we own this country… It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours… And — so — they are just going to come around and beg for votes every few years. It is the same old deal… And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go…”

USA Today reported on September 1:

“President Obama wants to make it clear that, in his own words, ‘I am a huge Clint Eastwood fan. He is a great actor, and an even better director,’ the president said in an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One, on his way to campaign rallies in Iowa Saturday. ‘I think the last few movies that he’s made have been terrific.’ However, Obama seemed less eager to review Eastwood’s latest performance, on stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday. The 82-year-old Hollywood icon preceded Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with a rambling 12-minute improvisation that included a rude ‘interview’ with an empty chair purportedly occupied by an invisible Obama. Was he offended? ‘One thing about being president or running for president — if you’re easily offended, you should probably choose another profession.’ Obama said with a smile…”

The problem is, however, that the Bible has prophesied that in these last days, America will not succeed—no matter who is going to lead this country. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.” You might also want to watch our video-recorded sermon, “What Would Be Jesus’ Vote”?

2013—A Year of Crisis

CNN wrote on September 3:

“2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States… The crisis originates in this summer’s extreme weather. Almost 80% of the continental United States experienced drought conditions. Russia and Australia experienced drought as well… The drought has ruined key crops. The corn harvest is expected to drop to the lowest level since 1995…

“The Arab Spring of 2011 is sometimes compared to the revolutions of 1848. That’s apter than people realize: the ‘hungry ’40s’ were years of bad harvests across Europe. Hungry people are angry people, and angry people bring governments down. Will 2013 bring us social turmoil in Brazil, strikes in China or revolution in Pakistan? The answer can probably be read in the price indexes of the commodities exchanges — and it is anything but reassuring.”

The Curse of Drugs

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 1:

“[Gruenenthal, the] German manufacturer of a notorious drug that caused thousands of babies to be born with shortened arms and legs, or no limbs at all, issued its first ever apology Friday — 50 years after pulling the drug off the market… The drug is a powerful sedative and was sold under the brand name Contergan in Germany. It was given to pregnant women mostly to combat morning sickness, but led to a wave of birth defects in Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan. Thalidomide was yanked from the market in 1961 and was also found to cause defects in the eyes, ears, heart, genitals and internal organs of developing babies…

“Gruenenthal settled a lawsuit in Germany in 1972 — 11 years after stopping sales of the drug — and voiced its regret to the victims. But for decades, the company refused to admit liability, saying it had conducted all necessary clinical trials required at the time… [They] reiterated that position Friday, insisting that ‘the suffering that occurred with Contergan 50 years ago happened in a world that is completely different from today’ and the pharmaceutical industry had learned a valuable lesson from the incident… Thalidomide is still sold today, but as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer and leprosy. It is also being studied to see if it might be useful for other conditions including AIDS, arthritis and other cancers.”

The last two sentences in the article are truly alarming. Man simply does not want to learn!