The Controversial Killing of al-Awlaki

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 30:

“The killing of two Americans by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen has reignited a debate about whether targeting U.S. citizens — even terrorists — is legal under the rules of war or constitutes an extrajudicial execution that ignores their rights. The Obama administration contends that U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar Awlaki was a legitimate target because he played an ‘operational’ role in Al Qaeda, alleging that, among other plots, he directed a 2009 Christmas Day plan to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner… But some human rights advocates and legal scholars said the administration had never produced evidence to back up that claim.

“They said the 40-year-old cleric was an influential recruiter and motivator, but there was little evidence to directly link him to belligerent operations against the United States. The attack also killed Samir Khan, 25, a U.S. citizen and anti-American propagandist who ran an Al Qaeda-linked website that called for attacks on the United States. Diane Marie Amann, a University of Georgia law professor who has monitored terrorism trials for the National Institute of Military Justice, said the debate over whether Awlaki’s killing was legal hinges on whether the war against Al Qaeda is an armed conflict or an international police action.

“‘Viewed through the lens of ordinary criminal justice, for the government to kill a suspect rather than put him on trial is summary execution, clearly forbidden by U.S. and international law alike,’ Amann said. ‘Viewed through the lens of armed conflict, the result is different, however: The laws of war permit a state to kill its enemies.’ An array of international law experts defended the legality of the airstrike, illustrating the conflicting interpretations of law in the fight against terrorism.”

Haaretz wrote on September 30:

“The killing of al-Awlaki, who was born in the United States, may mark the first time that a U.S. Commander in Chief has given a public order to the country’s security forces to premeditatedly kill one of its own citizens, without access to a trial or due process under American law.”

The Wall Street Journal added on September 30:

“The case of Anwar al-Awlaki and his extrajudicial killing poses a legal and moral quandary for the U.S.: Can a country that so closely guards the presumption of innocence take a citizen’s life without so much as a court order?”

It is indeed a frightening development, when American citizens can be singled out for assassination without a fair trial, even though no charges had been filed against them and no evidence had been presented that they posed an immediate danger to the country. When our political leaders are given such unrestricted powers, it is easily foreseeable how they might be abused. How far may a future corrupt leader go to misuse such unlimited authority? We should never think something like this could not happen in a civilized country. One should only remember the horrors inflicted on millions of innocent people, when Adolph Hitler received and/or usurped such absolute authority. Not too many expected such developments at the time when he was elected.

Ron Paul Speaks of Wrongful Assassination

In an additional article, the Los Angeles Times wrote on September 30:

“Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, on Friday criticized the Obama administration’s action in killing Anwar Awlaki… Paul was the strongest critic on the Republican side in condemning the attack, which was praised by other candidates… Paul told reporters that Americans need to think about such actions because Awlaki was born in the United States and was entitled to the same rights as all U.S. citizens.

“‘No, I don’t think that’s a good way to deal with our problems,’ Paul said in a videotape of the questioning by reporters. Awlaki ‘was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the “underwear bomber.” But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys. I think it’s sad… To start assassinating American citizens without charges, we should think very seriously about this.’

“[Former New Mexico Gov. Gary] Johnson made the same points as Paul, warning that killing an American citizen without due process set a dangerous precedent despite the need for the United States to remain vigilant against terrorism… other parts of the Republican Party have advocated a foreign policy based on a more robust U.S. role abroad. Perry… praised the attack… Mitt Romney also praised the Obama administration…

“Ironically, the libertarian opposition to the attack was similar to the argument by the [ACLU] in its disapproval. ‘The targeted killing program violates both U.S. and international law,’ ACLU deputy legal director Jameel Jaffer said in a prepared statement. ‘As we’ve seen today, this is a program under which American citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government without judicial process, and on the basis of standards and evidence that are kept secret not just from the public but from the courts. The government’s authority to use lethal force against its own citizens should be limited to circumstances in which the threat to life is concrete, specific and imminent. It is a mistake to invest the president – any president – with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country,’ he stated.”

The warnings should not be ignored, no matter who is raising them.

Los Angeles Times Raises Concern

In a follow-up article, the Los Angeles Times wrote on October 2:

“Amid all the self-congratulation over the killing of Anwar Awlaki and the confident assertion that the world is a better place as a result, it is worth remembering that the secret, unilateral, targeted assassination of a U.S. citizen far from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan is hardly something to celebrate.

“If Awlaki was in fact the architect of terrorism attacks inside the United States, as officials maintain he was, then perhaps his demise is to be welcomed. But we don’t really know, do we? There was no transparent, legal, reviewable process by which he was placed on the list of those targeted for killing by the U.S. government. There was no judicial procedure, nor any public airing of the charges against him. He had no opportunity to respond to specific allegations.

“Even in wartime, the killing of a U.S. citizen — or anyone else — who poses no immediate danger is morally obnoxious. It also is impossible to harmonize with the U.S. Constitution. The 5th Amendment says that no citizen should be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. If Awlaki had been arrested in America, rather than assassinated in Yemen, he would have had an incontestable right to a trial…

“We understand the government’s conundrum. In this dangerous new world, our enemies don’t wear uniforms, threats cross national borders, and an order given abroad can quickly lead to devastation at home. The U.S. has struggled for a decade with how to safeguard people without crossing moral lines or violating individual rights.

“But if the United States is going to continue down the troubling road of state-sponsored assassination, the government should, at the very least, provide a clear understanding of the criteria used to decide who should be placed on the target list. And there must be some form of judicial review of those decisions; why should a judge’s approval be required to place a wiretap on a suspected terrorist but not to kill him? Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has detained many alleged terrorists, only for courts to discover that the evidence against them was unreliable or wrong…”

When even an Obama-friendly paper such as the LAT raises legal concerns, it is high time to wake up.

Secret Panel Can Put Americans on “Kill List”

Reuters reported on October 5:

“American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials. There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House’s National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

“The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month. The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy…

“The White House is portraying the killing of Awlaki as a demonstration of President Barack Obama’s toughness toward militants who threaten the United States. But the process that led to Awlaki’s killing has drawn fierce criticism from both the political left and right. In an ironic turn, Obama, who ran for president denouncing predecessor George W. Bush’s expansive use of executive power in his ‘war on terrorism,’ is being attacked in some quarters for using similar tactics. They include secret legal justifications and undisclosed intelligence assessments.

“Liberals criticized the drone attack on an American citizen as extra-judicial murder. Conservatives criticized Obama for refusing to release a Justice Department legal opinion that reportedly justified killing Awlaki. They accuse Obama of hypocrisy, noting his administration insisted on publishing Bush-era administration legal memos justifying the use of interrogation techniques many equate with torture, but refused to make public its rationale for killing a citizen without due process…”

Muslims Concerned

USA Today wrote on October 1:

“Muslim groups around the world condemned al-Awlaki’s violent message but questioned the military strike… Mosque leaders ‘are concerned that the alleged drone attack sends the wrong message to law-abiding people around the world’…  the statement said.

“The Ramadhan Foundation, a British Muslim group, suggested al-Awlaki should have been tried in an international court. ‘One of the greatest values of our countries is that every human being is entitled to a free and fair trial,’ said Mohammed Shafiq, who leads the Manchester-based group. ‘Terrorists and extremists are no different.’ The U.S. is disregarding human rights when it confronts terrorism, Shafiq said.

“‘I am disappointed that the United States government has increased this sort of extra-judicial killing without referring to the legal system,’ he said. ‘These drone attacks have no legal justification in international law and have killed thousands of innocent people, including children.’ It is ‘time for the Obama administration to restore justice and the rule of law,’ he said.”

Even though many Muslims did not approve of al-Awlaki’s activities, their reaction shows that the US action is not popular among many of them. The reason is clear: If controversial actions can be implemented against an unpopular individual such as al-Awlaki, who is to say who will be next on the target list?

Most Americans Don’t Care

BBC news wrote on September 30:

“… some in the US have criticised the administration’s targeted killing of a US citizen abroad, arguing he should have been arrested and put on trial. However… despite the fact Awlaki appears to have been targeted for his words rather than actions, very few Americans are likely to be concerned about any infringement of his rights.”

Sadly, many Americans don’t seem to care about anything these days except as to how to put food on the table. According to USA Today, less than one percent care about America’s “war against terrorism.” However, to ignore and even accept by default potentially illegal and unconstitutional actions is a very dangerous trend.

America’s Foolish Foreign Policy

Reuters reported on October 2:

“U.S. officials have met members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, a U.S. diplomat said, after Washington announced it would have direct contacts with Egypt’s biggest Islamist group whose role has grown since U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted… The Brotherhood is one of Egypt’s most popular and organized groups, with a broad grassroots network built up partly through social work even in Mubarak’s era. The contacts may unsettle Israel and its U.S. backers.

“The Brotherhood [officially] renounced violence as a means to achieve political change in Egypt years ago. But groups like Hamas, which have not disavowed violence, look to the Brotherhood as a spiritual guide… The diplomat said contacts with the Brotherhood were part of [a] bid to understand Egypt better and explain U.S. policies.”

Fast and Furious

The Weekly Standard wrote on October 4:

“The Fast and Furious scandal, in which the Justice Department knowingly gave Mexican criminal gangs thousands of guns, just keeps escalating. The latest development centers around whether or not Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about having knowledge of the controversial gun trafficking operation. Recently released documents say Holder was briefed about the operation long before he told the Judiciary Committee he was first aware of what was going on. (Holder now claims he misunderstood the question was being asked.)

“What’s more, CBS News investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson — who’s been covering the scandal from the beginning — says in an interview… that the White House and Justice Department have taken to screaming at her for reporting on the story… Finally, Attkisson notes that the White House is claiming that a thorough investigation of the scandal is unwarranted…”

Angry Protests Against Bank of America

Mail On Line wrote on October 1:

Police have arrested two dozen protesters for trespassing during a demonstration against Bank of America’s foreclosure practices at the banking giant’s offices in downtown Boston… Organizers say about 3,000 people joined the protest…

“The Bank of America website crashed yesterday after being overwhelmed by angry customers following the decision to charge them to use $5 a month if they use their debit cards. The site went down for hours in the morning and hours later service was still intermittent. The breakdown came less than 24 hours after the bank revealed it will roll out the fee early next year…

“Though the bank… will use the revenue to help increase revenue, the move is seen as biased against less wealthy clients as they are more likely to use a debit card because they are often denied credit.”

We are informed that the $5 monthly fee will apply to purchases with debit card—not for using it at a teller to withdraw money. Also, the bank may not begin charging the fee in all states of the USA next year, but may begin with certain (undisclosed) states first.

Hillary Clinton Changes Position on Israel

The New York Sun wrote on September 27:

“Secretary of State Clinton, in a sharp departure from her stance when she was a senator, is warning that any American action, even symbolically, toward recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel must be avoided for the reason that it would jeopardize the peace process. Her warnings were issued in a brief she has just filed with the Supreme Court — in which she is arguing that a law she voted for when she was Senator is unconstitutional because it could require the U.S. government to give to an American citizen born [in] Jerusalem papers showing the birthplace as Israel…

“Mrs. Clinton’s brief alleges that any American action that ‘symbolically or concretely’ signals it recognizes Jerusalem being in Israel would ‘critically compromise the ability of the United States to work with Israelis, Palestinians and others in the region to further the peace process.’ The brief contends that American policy is to remain neutral over all sovereignty issues, leaving them to negotiations, and that the U.S. thus ‘does not recognize Palestinian claims to current sovereignty’ in the West Bank or Gaza either…

“If the Obama administration believes in the neutrality principle it is asserting in the Supreme Court — and that the mere mention of ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ on its website, or putting ‘Israel’ on an individual’s passport, would violate that principle – the question will arise as to whether it will also scrub… the references to the ‘Palestinian’ territories. If it does not treat both situations the same, the Supreme Court may legitimately question whether the Clinton brief is asserting the true reason for the administration’s adamant opposition to the designation of ‘Israel’ [in connection with Jerusalem].”

Biblical prophecy indicates that the USA and Israel will be at odds in the future. Conduct such as the one described above might contribute to such development.

“Time Is Short”

Newsmax reported on October 2:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that ‘time is short’ before Iran obtains nuclear weapons and poses a direct threat to Israel and the rest of the world. ‘Iran poses certainly a great danger to Israel, but it represents an enormous danger to the Middle East and to the world,’ Netanyahu said to PBS’s Charlie Rose, during a recent visit to New York to speak at the United Nations… ‘Iran supplies terrorists with rockets and many other things. It would give [terrorists] a nuclear umbrella or worse, actually give them nuclear weapons’…

“Pointing to steps Iran has already taken against Israel, Netanyahu said, ‘We vacated [Gaza] and Iran essentially walked in with its Hamas proxy, and they’re packing a lot of missiles. We walked out of Lebanon, and Iran walked in with its Hezbollah proxy, and they fired thousands of rockets into the north of Israel. The last thing we want is to walk away from the West Bank or pieces of the West Bank and have Iran come in and place thousands of rockets on Tel Aviv.’

“But Netanyahu still has hope that stricter international sanctions against Iran could bring down the Islamic Republic. ‘I think this regime is a lot weaker than people think,’ he said… ‘I don’t believe that the Iranian people will coalesce around a regime it detests… I think they’ll applaud this pressure, because they want to be relieved from this medieval regime, this violent theocracy that is oppressing them and threatening everyone else.’”

However, with this last pronouncement about the desires of the Iranian people, Netanyahu might be dead wrong. Also, note the next article.

Ganging Up Against Israel

Haaretz wrote on September 30:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and expressed anger over the approval of 1,100 housing units in… Jerusalem. The Chancellor’s office said Merkel told Netanyahu that the new housing permits ‘raise doubts over the Israeli government’s readiness to begin serious negotiation with the Palestinians.’

“Over the past two weeks Merkel, along with U.S. President Barack Obama, worked to issue a new Quartet declaration calling on the sides to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. ‘The Quartet’s announcement made it clear that the sides must avoid taking provocative steps,’ Merkel told Netanyahu. ‘I cannot understand how only a few days after the Quartet’s announcement there is news of the approval of 1,100 new housing units.’ Merkel added that ‘the government of Israel must now clear the doubts over its seriousness. It is your responsibility…’

“On Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Merkel and said he understood that the Quartet was calling for negotiations based on the 1967 borders and opposed unilateral moves, meaning construction in the settlements should stop.”

It should be clear from this article what the Quartet is really up to. Note the next article.

All Land Belongs to Palestinians

Haaretz wrote on October 1:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has assailed a two state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, saying the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations is doomed to fail… The Palestinians should not limit themselves to seeking a country based on the pre-1967 borders, Khameini said, because ‘all land belongs to Palestinians’… Khamenei also called Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’… Last year, Khamenei told a top Palestinian militant leader that Western support of Israel was ineffective, because Israel’s obliteration was imminent according to the will of God.”

The Vatican’s New Policy Towards Islam

Israel News reported on October 2:

“It has been five years since gave his controversial lectio about Islam at the German University of Regensburg. On September 12th, 2006, Joseph Ratzinger claimed that the god of the Muslims is both transcendental and unreasonable and he severely condemned jihad and the use of violence in the name of Koran. It was the only public event in which a Pope told the truth about some aspects of Islamic religion… It was… a vigorous attack against certain aspects of Islamic fanaticism.

“The reaction to the Pope’s speech was a familiar spectacle: Threats, riots, and violence. From the religious leaders in Muslim majority countries to the New York Times, all demanded the Pope’s apologies. In the Palestinian areas, churches were attacked and Christians targeted. In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, an Italian nun was executed. In Iraq, Amer Iskander, a Syrian Orthodox priest, was beheaded and his arms mutilated… The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood pledged ‘reactions worst of those against the Danish cartoons’… Under pressure, and aiming to stop any further violence, the Pope apologized.

“Benedict XVI recently visited again his native Germany, but this time with a different agenda. Five years later, the Vatican adopted a pro-Islam course and has capitulated to fundamentalists… Dialogue with Iran’s mullahs is pivotal in the new Vatican agenda… Last month, the Vatican published a letter… , addressing… ‘Dear Muslim friends.’ In the letter, [the Vatican] asked for Islamic help to form an alliance against atheism…

“The State of Israel is easily expendable in the new pro-Islam policy. In January 2009, thousands of Muslims marched in front of Milan’s Duomo to protest against Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. They burned Israeli flags and chanted anti-Jewish slogans. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s spokesman for 22 years, defended the ‘freedom of expression’ of the Muslims who burned the Star of David. Months later, Pope Benedict visited Bethlehem… Benedict delivered a message of solidarity to the 1.4 million Palestinians isolated in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. He said nothing of the suffering of Gaza’s 3,000 Christians since Hamas took over that territory in 2007.  Benedict could have decried the bombings, shootings and other Islamist attacks against Gaza Christian establishments, the brutal murder of the only Bible-store owner of Gaza, or the regular intimidation and persecution of Christians there.

“A few weeks later… Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [gave] a speech [before the UN] condemning Israel as ‘totally racist’ and referred to the Holocaust as an ‘ambiguous and dubious question.’ When Ahmadinejad began to speak against the Jews, all European Union delegates left the conference room. The Vatican delegation didn’t say a word.
 
“To understand the new Vatican’s approach toward Islam, one should also read what happened in the historical synod on the Middle East hosted by the Pope last autumn. Nothing was said about Islamist persecution of Christians; indeed, every effort was made to show the Catholic Church’s sympathy to Muslim grievances, especially against ‘Zionism’ – a word evoked as a symbol of evil…

“The very roots of the Christian heritage in the Middle East are being extirpated. When last winter Christians were killed in Egypt, Cardinal Tauran and the Vatican foreign office requested to ‘avoid anger’ and downplayed the Islamist role in the butchering. In the summer of 2010, Bishop Luigi Padovese, Vatican vicar for Anatolia and president of the Catholic Episcopal conference of Turkey, was slaughtered by Islamic fanatics in Iskenderun on the eve of the Pope’s trip to Cyprus. Vatican diplomacy did its part to convince the Pope to immediately and preemptively rule out the idea that this was a ‘political or religious’ murder.

“Elsewhere, the number of Christians in Turkey declined from two million to 85,000; in Syria, from half the population they have been reduced to 4%; in Jordan, from 18% to 2%; nearly two-thirds of the 500,000 Christians in Baghdad have fled or been killed; in Lebanon, Christians have dwindled to a sectarian rump, menaced by surging Shiite and Sunni populations, and in Saudi Arabia Christians have been beaten or tortured by religious police. It’s an ethnic cleansing of monumental proportions that makes it clear why the Vatican’s submission to political Islam, along with its religious anti-Israel stance, will be remembered as one of the greatest moral failings of the 21st Century.”

The Iranian Murderous and Propagandistic Dictatorship

Fox News reported on October 1:

“Iran state media put out a stunning report Saturday claiming that imprisoned Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is facing the death sentence for rape and extortion, not for apostasy and refusing to renounce his religion… [as] part of a larger Iranian media push to counter reports that Nadarkhani was facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith… In a ruling from the Iranian Supreme Court, translated into English by the ACLJ, Nadarkhani was sentenced to execution by hanging for, ‘turning his back on Islam’ and ‘converting Muslims to Christianity.’”

“The ruling also alleges that he also participated in Christian worship by holding home church services and baptizing himself and others, effectively breaking Islamic Law. FoxNews.com obtained a copy of the ruling and there is not a single mention of rape or extortion allegations…”

On October 3, Fox News added:

“Imprisoned Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, originally sentenced to death for apostasy and refusing to renounce Christianity, is now in even greater danger of being put to death in light of reports in state-run media of other charges, including being a Zionist and a threat to national security. ‘The charge of being a Zionist and thus a traitor is among the most serious accusations that can be made in Iran,’ said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ.”

This Hitler-like regime will do everything in its power to advance its own interests, but the world seems to be, by and large, indifferent to the fundamental threat that this country is posing.  Some may utter meaningless and inconsequential “concern”—such as the US government did this week—while other countries and companies still cooperate with it. However, the same powers which inspired Hitler might very well be at work now in Iran. As a famous German proverb says: “If you want to eat with the devil, you must have a long spoon.”

Rockets Missing in Libya

Der Stern Online reported on October 2 that Libya’s new (transitory) government admitted that over 5,000 rockets are missing, and that nobody knows where they are. The magazine stated that these rockets are used to defend against attacking airplanes, but that they can also be used, of course, to shoot down civilian passenger planes.

This is indeed a potential nightmare scenario…

Soon–Civil War in Syria?

The New York Times wrote on October 1:

“The semblance of a civil war has erupted in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, where armed protesters now call themselves revolutionaries, gun battles erupt as often as every few hours, security forces and opponents carry out assassinations, and rifles costing as much as $2,000 apiece flood the city from abroad, residents say… [They] speak of a decisive shift in past weeks, as a largely peaceful uprising gives way to a grinding struggle that has made Homs violent, fearful and determined.

“Analysts caution that the strife in Homs is still specific to the city itself, and many in the opposition reject violence because they fear it will serve as a pretext for the government’s brutal crackdown. But in the targeted killings, the rival security checkpoints and the hardening of sectarian sentiments, the city offers a dark vision that could foretell the future of Syria’s uprising as both the government and the opposition ready themselves for a protracted struggle over the endurance of a four-decade dictatorship…

“Homs is a microcosm of Syria, with a Sunni Muslim majority and minorities of Christians and Alawites, a heterodox Muslim sect from which President Bashar al-Assad draws much of his leadership.

“Six months of protests and crackdown here have frayed ties among those communities, forging the conditions for urban strife… Tension has grown so dire that members of one sect are reluctant to travel to neighborhoods populated by other sects. Men in some parts of the city openly carry weapons.

“Perhaps the most dramatic facet of the struggle is a series of assassinations this past week that have left nearly a dozen professors, doctors and informers dead in a paroxysm of violence that echoes the sectarian vendettas still besetting Iraq…

“Near the Lebanese border — where residents say weapons flow across a porous border from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and even Qatar — Homs strikes an odd posture. Many of its Sunni residents are at once fearful and proud, empowered by their opposition to dictatorship. Many Alawites are terrified; they are often the victims of the most vulgar stereotypes and, in popular conversation, uniformly associated with the leadership.

“In Alawite villages, only government television is watched. To do so in Sunni neighborhoods amounts to treason. There, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are the stations of choice…”

When will man ever learn that “violent uprisings” are tantamount to rebellion in God’s eyes, and they will never produce lasting peace? Such true peace will only come when Jesus Christ returns, and the heart of man will be changed…

Will Syria Set the World on Fire?

WorldNetDaily wrote on October 4:

“NATO troops are training in Turkey for a Turkish-led NATO invasion of Syria… Separately… Russia has been inspecting Syrian forces and has been advising Syria about possible Syrian military responses should NATO attack the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad… The report comes as Assad reportedly warned yesterday he will set the Middle East on fire if NATO forces attack his country. ‘If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than six hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv,’ Assad reportedly said, according to Iran’s state-run Fars news agency.

“Assad made the comments in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu, reported Fars… Assad also reiterated that Damascus will call on Hezbollah in Lebanon to launch an intensive rocket and missile attack on Israel, reported Fars. ‘All these events will happen in three hours, but in the second three hours, Iran will attack the U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf and the U.S. and European interests will be targeted simultaneously,’ Assad was quoted as saying. While Assad’s remarks could not be immediately verified, Iran, which runs Fars, is a close partner to the Damascus government.”

At the same time, the UN Security Council was not even able to pass a watered-down U.S.- and European-backed draft resolution on Tuesday, condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown on protesters, due to a double veto from Russia and China.

Clear Victory for Merkel

The Local wrote on September 30:

“In a move which was largely a formality, Bundesrat MPs who represent Germany’s 16 states approved the bill with no formal ballot, a day after it overwhelmingly won the backing of parliament’s lower house. During Friday’s debate in a Bundesrat extraordinary session, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble again stressed the urgent need to protect the eurozone…

“The vote before the Bundestag on expanding the €440 billion ($599 billion) bailout fund had also been seen as a crucial test of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s authority amid fears of a major backbench rebellion. However, she secured an overwhelming majority of her own deputies to back the move. Austria became the 14th eurozone state Friday to approve the new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility.”

Bild Online added that Merkel received much praise from the international press. Denmark’s Information wrote that the chancellor’s European spirit places her in the company of Germany’s great European chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. France’s Le Figaro wrote that one must admire the courage of Angela Merkel, and that the vote in the German Parliament reflects a personal victory for her. Switzerland’s “Tagesanzeiger” wrote that in light of the vote of the German Parliament, “Germany is better and more European than her reputation.”

The German government, presently under Angela Merkel, will continue to fight for the survival of the euro and the strengthening of the Eurozone, and other European countries will follow.

Germany Celebrates 21st Anniversary of Reunification

Deutsche Welle reported on October 3:

“Germany marked its 21st reunification anniversary in the former capital of Bonn. It was a significant showcase of unity against a backdrop of European disarray… As tens of thousands of visitors descended on sun-drenched Bonn to enjoy the public holiday, the country’s political elite gathered for the formal festivities in the old parliament building for an ecumenical religious service and a speech by Andreas Vosskuhle, the president of the Federal Constitutional Court…

“The justice said that Germany’s identity has been ‘closely linked from the beginning with the commitment to Europe,’ and he lauded the East German in particular for uniting Germany… Germany, as the European Union’s biggest economy, is a key player in trying to stem the EU debt crisis, but the struggle to rescue Europe’s debt-ridden countries is extremely unpopular in Germany.”

Even though Germans may complain, the country will continue to be the leader of the EU and finally, a united Europe, but it is Great Britain which won’t apparently be a part of it. Notice the next article.

Britain on Their Way Out…?

Mail On Line reported on October 2:

“A historic vote on growing demands for Britain to leave the European Union will be held in the Commons before Christmas. MPs will debate whether the Government should give voters a chance to decide the issue once and for all in a referendum… If MPs vote in favour of a referendum, the result would not be binding on the Government.

“But, combined with growing public opposition to the increasing power of the EU, it would put enormous pressure on David Cameron to let the people decide the country’s European fate. The Commons vote has been forced on MPs – and a reluctant Prime Minister – by public demand after the crisis in the eurozone, with desperate attempts to prop up the Greek economy, led to a surge in anti-Brussels feeling…

“In recent opinion polls, when asked directly, nearly half of [the] people want Britain to come out of the EU, with about a third in favour of staying in. But when the question was rephrased to give the choice of returning to a Seventies-style trade association, a clear majority chose that option…

“Since Britain joined the Common Market, there have been a series of Commons votes on whether there should be referendums on EU treaties such as Maastricht and Lisbon – although none on whether we should remain in the EU. All have been defeated, largely due to Government’s ordering MPs to vote them down.”

Ultimately, Britain will leave the EU, and it is most certainly not to be expected that Britain will ever join the Eurozone.

Europe Replaces the USA

Reuters reported on September 30:

“The powering down of Fermilab’s Tevatron particle accelerator on Friday marked the end of a quarter-century of U.S. dominance in high-energy particle physics. The Tevatron, which accelerates and collides protons and antiprotons in a four-mile-long underground ring, has been replaced by the Large Hadron Collider under the French-Swiss border, which began operating in March 2010…

“Europe has outspent the United States by a factor of three… lack of funding was the final blow for the Tevatron after the U.S. Department of Energy decided not to spend the $35 million needed to extend the Tevatron’s operation through 2014…

“‘We are whores to the machines. We will go to wherever the machines are to do our science,’ said Rob Roser, co-spokesman for CDF, one of the two detectors that used the Tevatron. ‘I personally will move to Europe to work on the next machine…’”

Greece’s Problems—but “Europe Can Afford It”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 4:

“The good news is that Greece will remain solvent until mid-November, despite the decision reached on Monday evening by euro-zone finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg to delay payment of the next tranche from the €110 bailout fund put together in 2010…

“The bad news, though, is that… European stock markets plunged for the second day in a row on Tuesday amid growing concerns that avoiding insolvency may no longer be possible for Greece…

“Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads up meetings of euro-zone finance ministers,… said on Tuesday that Greece… would remain solvent until November without the payment. ‘Everything will be done to avoid (insolvency) and it will be avoided,’ Juncker told news agency AP…

“With pressure increasing on both Athens and the euro-zone leaders to stabilize the crisis, civil unrest continued to swell in Greece, with protestors blocking off federal ministries across the capital on Tuesday morning in protest of austerity measures…

“Center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… Only two options are plausible. Greece could choose what amounts to an orderly insolvency… [or] Greece’s exit from the currency union and a debt haircut…’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘No, the Greeks should not fall… the cultural revolution… has yet to begin, and can only be brought about by the Greeks. They must, however, be empowered to take action on their own. And this is not possible within the euro zone. Remaining under its support means a euro guardianship with protectorate-like conditions…’

“Left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Even as parliamentarians work on the second rescue package, Athens’ new deficits show that soon a third rescue package will be necessary… Actually an insolvency… could be agreeable, because the Greeks will never be able to fully pay back their loans. Still insolvency is no solution, because only past loans will be settled. The Greeks, however, continue piling up new debts, as the current budget deficit shows. Thus Greece will continue to need help for a long time. But consolation can still be found: Europe can afford it. After all, Greece only has 11 million residents — and an economic output equivalent to the German state of Hesse.’”

Whether Greece will indeed leave the Eurozone is far from certain…

Putin Dreams of Eurasian Union

Reuters reported on October 3:

“Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wants to bring ex-Soviet states into a ‘Eurasian Union’ in an article which outlined his first foreign policy initiative as he prepares to return to the Kremlin as the country’s next president. Putin said the new union would build on an existing Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan which from next year will remove all barriers to trade, capital and labor movement between the three countries.

“‘We are not going to stop there and are setting an ambitious goal — to achieve an even higher integration level in the Eurasian Union,’ Putin wrote in an article which will be published in Izvestia newspaper on October 4… Putin said he saw the new union as a supra-national body which would coordinate ‘economic and currency policy’ between its members. It would also be open to new members.”

The Bible shows that a confederation of Russia and other Eurasian countries will develop, including China, India and Japan.

Putin the Saint to Be Worshipped…

Der Spiegel wrote on September 29:

“Mother Fotina… prays to Vladimir Putin. Her sect, in a village east of Moscow, honors Russia’s once and future president as a reincarnation of St. Paul. The group represents a rising trend in Russia, but its origins are surprisingly mundane… They believe [Putin is] a reincarnation of St. Paul… Mother Fotina… considers herself the reincarnation of Joan of Arc… Just as Saul persecuted Christians before his conversion to St. Paul, she believes Putin once beset the faithful as a Soviet KGB officer. The Soviets blew up churches, or replaced them with swimming pools, but ‘when he became president,’ she says, ‘the Holy Ghost came to him.’ Since then Putin leads his flock ‘wisely, just as the Apostle did’…

“Across Russia… popular affection for Putin has started turning to religious worship. The country’s top rabbi, Berel Lasar, swooned a few months ago that Russians had ‘every reason to ask God to bless you. Every day and every hour you do good for any number of people, you save hundreds and thousands of worlds.’ Vladislav Surkow, the influential deputy chief of the Kremlin administration, sees in Putin ‘a man whom fate and the Lord sent to Russia.’

“In Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, a proliferation of posters once showed the prime minister as an angel, with one hand extended, blessing the city’s inhabitants. Putin’s face was mounted on a photo of the cherubim crowning the city’s Peter and Paul Cathedral…

“In an act of staged self-sacrifice last weekend, President Dmitry Medvedev recommended to a party congress that Putin should replace him as a presidential candidate — and ultimately as president — in 2012. The 11,000 delegates and party members of ‘United Russia’ cheered like true believers in Moscow’s Ice Palace, at what amounted to a Coronation Mass…

“Mother Fotina believes the people have no choice anyway. ‘God has appointed Putin to Russia to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ,’ she says…”

This is remarkable in light of the fact that there will also arise in Europe two powerful personages—one with a religious and one with a political and military function—who will be worshipped by the masses. The article, quoted above, shows how easily gullible people can fall for such deception.

“America Has Lost Patience with Europe”

The Daily Mail wrote on September 24:

“As the markets went into freefall over the last few days, the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and the countries of the single currency has become frightening. The Americans believe that if the world were to tumble back into recession or a prolonged depression, as looks increasingly likely, it would be the euro area to blame… All the hard work done in the U.S., Britain and other countries in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse three years ago… will have been wasted.

“… the falls in share markets around the world… are not the result of some Anglo-Saxon plot to bring down the single currency. The reality is that months of appalling indecision, driven by some of the mini-countries within the monetary union, had in fact underlined the need for Germany and France to seize the political opportunity to bring the crisis to an end…

“The big lesson of the Great Depression of the 1930s is that governments and central banks around the world were too slow to act… Britain cannot divorce itself from events given that up to 80 per cent of our trade is with euro-area nations. Without a eurowide rescue, the prospects of heading off a prolonged slump – which will devastate every British household and business – will be remote…”

It is interesting that while America blames the Eurozone for the present economic disaster, continental Europe blames America. In fact, anti-American feelings are again very much on the rise in continental Europe. The statement in the above article that “the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and the countries of the single currency has become frightening,” should give us pause to think and reflect on biblical prophecies for these end times. Please also note the next articles.

America vs. EU

The Washington Post wrote on September 24, 2011:

“Major economic powers and the International Monetary Fund on Saturday boosted pressure on leaders of the euro zone to resolve their lingering financial crisis, leveling criticism that included a sharp new economic warning from the United States… In an address to the IMF’s chief oversight committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner starkly outlined the worst-case scenario if the 17 euro nations don’t succeed soon: ‘Cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk’… The treasury secretary has been pushing for Europe to take dramatic steps to prove that the region’s governments and its central bank will stand behind weaker nations like Greece and prop up the financial system as needed…

“The European Central Bank is… concerned about taking on responsibility for government debt. Former German ECB board member Jürgen Stark… fired back at Geithner that it wasn’t fair to blame the euro zone for a crisis with roots in the United States…

“Chinese officials, their nation’s growth linked to exports to Europe and the United States, joined the criticism, arguing that the ongoing sense of crisis showed the shortcomings of western-style democracy and culture. ‘The issue is whether Europe can make a decision,’ given the 17 parliaments that must approve an expansion to the euro’s bailout fund, Gao Xiqing, president of the state-owned China Investment Corp., said at an IMF panel discussion on Europe…”

Apart from the emphasis on disagreements between the USA and the EU, what this article also suggests is that even the Eurozone is too big to make decisive and timely decisions. This concern is obviously shared by others, and will ultimately prompt a transfer of power to a smaller group of ten Eurozone countries and their transfer of authority to one charismatic leader.

Germany vs. USA

The Telegraph reported on September 28:

“Germany and America were on a collision course on Tuesday night over the handling of Europe’s debt crisis after Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a ‘stupid idea’ and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others.

“German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble… told Washington to mind its own business after President Barack Obama rebuked EU leaders for failing to recapitalise banks and allowing the debt crisis to escalate to the point where it is ‘scaring the world’. ‘It’s always much easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself. I am well prepared to give advice to the US government,’ he said.”

Der Spiegel Online added on September 28:

“US President Obama has given the Europeans a harsh lecture on the dangers of their ongoing debt crisis… On Wednesday, German media commentators slam Obama’s criticism of Europe.

“The mass-circulation Bild writes: ‘Obama’s lecture on the euro crisis … is overbearing, arrogant and absurd. … In a nutshell, he is claiming that Europe is to blame for the current financial crisis, which is “scaring the world.” Excuse me? The American president seems to have forgotten a few details. The most important trigger of the financial and economic crisis was US banks and their insane real-estate dealings. The US is still piling up debt … The American congress is crippled by a battle between the right and the left. The banks are gambling just as recklessly as they did before the crisis. The president’s scolding is a pathetic attempt to distract attention from his own failures. How embarrassing’…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Dark clouds have gathered over the American president. The gloomy state of the economy is putting a dampener on Obama’s future prospects. The optimism of the past is gone, replaced by a cheap search for a scapegoat. Obama thinks he has found one. He blames the Europeans for reacting too late to the debt crisis. We Europeans are apparently taking on too little new debt to get out of the crisis. But we are already feeling the wonderful effects of borrowing too much money.’

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘That’s not how friends talk to each other. That applies particularly to friends who have themselves failed to get a handle on their own, self-made crisis. Barack Obama governs a country where, despite billions in state aid, the economy is stagnating, companies refuse to invest despite calls for patriotism, and which gets embroiled in one political trench war after another … Now this country is dispensing advice, suggestions and finger-pointing… In the desperate battle for his re-election he’d rather construct myths, such as claiming that the Europeans alone are responsible for the American mess. Not only is this fundamentally wrong, but — coming as it does from a friend — it’s downright pitiful and sad.’”

“The Euro Is Doomed”… Really???

We are quoting the following article to show you what seems to be logical and right in the eyes of human beings, who do not know biblical prophecy nor understand the mind of God.

The Daily Express wrote on September 25:

“Instead of accepting that the eurozone has failed, EU bosses want to spend even more money trying to sustain their disastrous project… Squandering trillions will do nothing to address the fundamental weaknesses of the eurozone, which meant it was doomed from the start… The Greek crisis should sound the death knell of the Eurozone…”

This article stands in stark contrast to the next one, which comes much closer to the prophesied truth. It strongly indicates what we have said from the outset; namely, that the current economic problems will not lead to the abrogation of the euro.

What Euro Crisis?

Der Spiegel wrote on September 23:

“The talk is and always has been of a ‘euro crisis’… Where, pray tell, is this supposed euro crisis?… What we are seeing is a crushing sovereign debt crisis, not a currency crisis. The intrinsic value of the euro — despite the talk about the dangers of massive inflation — is as stable as that of many other currencies.

“…compared to the dollar… the exchange rate has remained stable. Measured in terms of purchasing power, the euro is even overvalued against the US currency… A united Europe and the euro are the most important political projects of the postwar period. It would be a disaster if they were damaged by taking the wrong course of action.”

The Bible shows that the coming United States of Europe and the euro will not fail until they have fulfilled their prophetic purpose for these end times. It is interesting that mainly Angela Merkel is being “guided” to do whatever must be done to save the euro.

Merkel Prevails Again on Europe…

The Local wrote on September 29:

“The Bundestag approved the expansion of the eurozone bailout fund by a huge majority on Thursday. Chancellor Angela Merkel breathed a sigh of relief as 315 government MPs voted her way… the German parliament voted to increase the scope and scale of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). 523 MPs voted in favour of the measure, 85 voted against, with three abstentions…

“Opening the lively, at times fraught debate, Volker Kauder, who heads Merkel’s parliamentary group of conservatives, said it was a pivotal moment in the spiralling eurozone debt crisis. ‘Today in the Bundestag, we have an important decision for the future of our country and for the future of Europe,’ he said, as he called on rebels within the centre-right coalition to toe the line.”

“The USA Cannot Be Relied On…”

On September 23, Canada’s Globe and Mail and France’s AFP published an article by Prince El Hassan bin Talal, brother to Jordan’s late King Hussein and uncle to King Abdullah II, stating the following:

“On Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that Palestine, which was under a British Mandate since 1922, be divided into two new independent states – one Arab and one Jewish. Arguments over the division of the land continued. It was against this context that the Jewish Agency, perhaps understandably but also pre-emptively and unilaterally, declared the State of Israel. That declaration was immediately recognized by Harry Truman, and accepted by the UN a year later. It also marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli wars, as five Arab armies crossed the borders of what had formerly been British Mandate Palestine.

“The decisions made 64 years ago continue to haunt us. For two decades, peace negotiations have failed… it is becoming harder and harder to believe that the United States is capable of negotiating a peace between the parties… the U.S. can’t be relied on to guarantee Palestinian rights as assiduously as it does Israeli rights, and… it lacks the heart and moral conviction to be a sincere and impartial partner for peace…”

“USA, Australia and Israel on the Wrong Side of History”

On September 22, Australia’s Today’s Zaman published the following article by Gareth Evans, Australia’s foreign minister from 1988 to 1996, and chancellor of the Australian National University:

“For all his deep emotional attachment to the idea of Israel embracing all of historical Judea and Samaria, [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin knew that the only way to ensure a democratic Jewish state with viable, secure borders was to accept a Palestinian state alongside it, equally secure and viable. They would share Jerusalem as a capital, and find a mutually acceptable solution to the enormously sensitive issue of the return of Palestinian refugees.

“Rabin’s murder was a catastrophe from which the peace process has never recovered. No Israeli leader since has shown anything like his far-sighted vision, commitment and capacity to deliver a negotiated two-state solution. Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert came close, but not close enough. And since then Binyamin Netanyahu has lived down to every expectation of his statesmanship…

“Now, with negotiations at an impasse, settlement building continuing unabated, no end in sight to the never-ending humiliation of occupation, and all other forms of leverage evidently exhausted, the Palestinians are going to the United Nations to seek recognition in some form of their statehood. They want full UN membership, but — facing inevitable veto of that option by the United States in the Security Council — are willing to accept as a fallback a majority vote by the General Assembly recognizing Palestine as a non-member ‘observer state,’ the status now enjoyed by the Vatican…

“But being on the wrong side of history is never a comfortable position. And that is exactly where the US, Israel and its closest friends — including my own country, Australia — will be if they resist the tide of international sentiment in favor of moving now to recognize Palestinian statehood.”

“USA Betrays Palestinians”

On September 24, the Arab News, claiming to be “the Middle East’s leading English Language Daily,” published an article with the following introduction:

“[The] US has once again betrayed Palestinians and abdicated its global leadership [role].”

The article continued:

“The United States was presented with a historic opportunity this week to demonstrate it believes in what it preaches and it blew it. President Barack Obama’s UN address on Wednesday will go down in history as one of the most disgraceful examples of a US leader’s self-serving groveling before Israel and abdication of leadership…

“If the world community expected better of Obama, after eight years of George W. Bush’s wars and destruction across the Muslim world, he had given it enough reasons to do so. In his own words, Obama sought a ‘new way forward’ with the world’s Muslims, reaffirming the message in his speeches in Ankara and Cairo.

“The US leader squandered it all at the United Nations on Wednesday, in the ultimate betrayal and sellout of the cause of Middle East peace. It was a completely different side of Obama that the world saw at UN General Assembly. He talked of the Israeli suffering surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors and suicide bombers. No mention anywhere of the Palestinian dispossession and persecution under Israeli occupation over the past six decades.

“Even as he hailed the Arab Spring and people power from Tunisia to Egypt to India and their democratic choices, he lashed out at Palestinians for their audacity to make the same choices. Freedom is welcome in South Sudan but not in occupied Palestine. Could there be a more shameful instance of double standards and hypocrisy?…

“Clearly, facing his re-election battle just 14 months from now, Obama has realized that he cannot afford to upset the powerful Zionist lobby and moneybags who run the show in Washington D.C. Whatever the cause for Obama’s turnaround, America is going to pay dearly for this political opportunism and historic folly of its president. By undermining the Palestinian aspirations, the US risks turning the whole of Arab and Islamic world against itself and deepening the dangerous gulf between the West and Muslim world. The US has once again proved that it’s incapable of providing leadership and acting as an honest-broker when it comes to [the] Middle East.

“So where do we go from here? It’s high time the world community took charge of the Middle East situation initiating bold measures to deliver justice to the Palestinians. There’s merit in French President Sarkozy’s suggestion that Arabs and Europeans work together to resolve this long festering conflict. However, it’s not possible without the involvement of the rest of the world. It’s time to show who stands for justice, freedom and equal rights of all men…”

The suggestion that Arabs and Europeans should work together is quite revealing, in the light of biblical prophecy. As the next article shows, Europe is presently divided on the Palestinian question. This means, on the other hand, that Europe is not united in their support for Israel, either.

Europe Divided on Palestinian Question

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 28:

“The EU is further removed than ever from a common position in the Middle East conflict. The Europeans couldn’t even agree on a joint declaration in the UN Human Rights Council. Some backed Israel, others stood behind the Palestinians, while Germany avoided adopting a clear position… Though there are currently only eight European countries represented on the UN Human Rights Council, the position was meant to speak for the entire EU…

“Chances of a European agreement seemed good on Monday, particularly because the last version of the text had a balanced tone. Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip was condemned, as were the most recent Palestinian terrorist attacks on the Israelis. The document also pilloried executions carried out by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the violence of Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“But this turned out to be too much for some of Israel’s friends in Europe. Just one hour before the official debate began in Geneva, the Netherlands representative reported that his country could not back such a resolution. In a quickly arranged emergency meeting the Dutchman whipped out his iPhone, reading off a number of required revisions, without which he said his country would unfortunately be unable to approve the document. The corrections obviously came directly from the Dutch ambassador’s boss, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, known for his pro-Israeli policies. The member of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is himself Jewish, though not religious, and is married to an Israeli woman.

“He instructed his diplomats in Geneva to strike a number of formulations from the statement, among them numerous references to a ‘two-state solution’ — that is, the foundation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The foreign minister also didn’t want any mention of Israel’s arrests of peacefully demonstrating human rights activists or their destruction of homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that forced the affected Palestinians to resettle elsewhere.

“And this despite the fact that a report for the UN Human Rights Council confirms that the Israeli government has increased orders for the destruction of homes since the beginning of the year. According to the report, some 387 buildings have been destroyed since January, among them 140 residential buildings, turning out 755 Palestinians. Furthermore, more Palestinians have been displaced in the first half of 2011 than all of last year, the report adds.

“The changes from The Hague were not well-received by the other European diplomats… Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic all declared they were ready to accept the demands, in order to enable a unified European position. Meanwhile Sweden, Austria, Romania and Slovenia declared this was unacceptable. Thus just before the start of the council meeting, the EU representative leading the crisis meeting could do nothing but declare the debate had failed.

“In the end, the text the group had originally agreed upon was signed by only six European countries, among them those who are currently not even on the Human Rights Council. Germany could have signed on, but preferred not to take a position… It’s the latest example of how EU coherence is being sacrificed to national interests. Already hardly anyone expects the EU to present a unified vote if the Palestinian status comes before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Meanwhile the four countries currently sitting on the UN Security Council — Britain, France, Germany and Portugal — are also unlikely to agree on a single stance…”

Still, what we are seeing in Europe is a constant shift away from support for Israel and towards acceptance of Palestinian positions. The Bible shows that the coming United States of Europe, under German leadership, will become very supportive of Arab demands and very hostile towards the state of Israel. At the same time, even the ten European core nations or groups of nations, which will unite to form a United States of Europe, will be divided; it will be partly strong and partly fragile, and the core nations will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay (compare Daniel 2:41-43).

“Pax Americana Is Over”

The Jewish paper, Haaretz, which is very critical of President Netanyahu, wrote on September 23:

“On Friday afternoon, February 21, 1947, the British ambassador to Washington, Lord Inverchapel, showed up at the State Department and informed Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson that his country could no longer continue providing financial and military support to Greece and Italy. The British ‘are abdicating from the Middle East,’ Secretary of State George Marshall told President Harry Truman… Britain adjusted to the new geopolitical realities by ending its prized mandate of Palestine in May 1948, less than a year after giving up the ‘jewel in the crown’ of India.

“The transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana in the Middle East was completed during the 1956 Suez Crisis, when the United States threatened to withhold financing that Britain desperately needed unless its forces withdrew from the Suez Canal. And the United States attained what amounted to the dominant position in the Middle East in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War and the ensuing victory in the first Gulf War, in 1991.

“Like Great Britain in 1947, the United States is finding it more and more difficult to maintain its military and diplomatic status in the Middle East. Its defense expenditures constitute close to a third of its overall budget, at a time when the burden of its fiscal debt is becoming unsustainable.

“The failure to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, the specter of a nuclear Pakistan turning into a failed state, rising concerns about the decline of Iraq into a civil war after the U.S. withdrawal, the growing power of Iran and its regional satellites, the threat that the Arab Spring is posing to regimes that were willing at least to accept the U.S.-backed status-quo, and the deadlocked Israel-Palestinian peace process – all these are clear indications that the era of Pax Americana in the Middle East is over…

“And all this is happening as Turkey and other regional actors try to form a post-American order in the Middle East that even under the best-case-scenario will include support for an independent Palestinian state, and will certainly not be compatible with the positions of the current Israeli government…”

Arab Countries Disappointed by Obama

Lebanon’s The Daily Star wrote on September 22:

“U.S. President Barack Obama… told the countries of the world that Israel is surrounded by people who have launched attacks against it… Obama and his advisers will have to work against the decades-long portrayal of Israel as the eternal victim, when it in fact flouts international law and U.N. resolutions on a daily basis. But the task isn’t impossible – it’s only in the U.S. and Israel where minds must be changed, since the rest of the world backs the Palestinian point of view…

“The American president should realize that while he should be worried about his re-election chances next year, there is the matter of this year to contend with. Popular uprisings have broken out in a number of Arab countries, where people have been paying attention to what Washington has said and done. For the most part, they have been disappointed, and they are certainly going to be disappointed by Obama’s latest stance on the region, a flagrant declaration of bias toward Israel and the kind of ‘same old’ policy…”

Much To Do About Nothing…

The German magazine, Der Spiegel, wrote on September 24:

“He kept the most dramatic statement for the end. ‘We have one goal,’ he said. ‘To be. And we will be.’ With these prophetic words, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ended a 35-minute speech which will probably be seen as the highlight of his political career. Then, amid thundering applause from the delegates of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he held up a copy of the application for recognition of an independent Palestinian state and for full membership of the United Nations which he had submitted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier…

“Abbas’ successful speech will do little to advance the Palestinians’ cause. It seems certain that the Security Council, which has to approve the Palestinians’ membership application, will postpone its vote for months, if not years… The application is opposed by Israel and by the US, which holds a veto as a permanent Security Council member…

“On Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy revealed that there are… concrete plans for… negotiations under the auspices of the Mideast Quartet, which consists of the European Union, the UN, the US and Russia. The plan foresees the resumption of negotiations within a month, Sarkozy said. An agreement on borders and security should be reached within six months, with a final settlement being reached within a year…

“But achieving peace within a year seems an ambitious goal. Then-US President George W. Bush tried the same thing with the so-called Annapolis process — without success…

“Not wanting to leave the stage to Abbas alone, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced in advance that he wanted to respond to the Palestinian leader’s statement. The stage was set for a rhetorical duel which would do little to advance the peace process but would earn points for the winner. In the end, Abbas was the clear winner of the hotly anticipated showdown. The Palestinian leader avoided rhetorical tricks and made a convincing impression as an honest representative of a just cause.

“In contrast, Netanyahu came across as arrogant and aggressive. Right at the beginning of his speech, the Israeli prime minister called the UN General Assembly a ‘theater of the absurd’ that ‘for too long has been a place of darkness for my country.’ Netanyahu compared the United Nations to a ‘house of many lies.’  He also made strong remarks aimed at Abbas and the Palestinians, claiming they had rejected or failed to respond to Israeli offers of peace. Netanyahu attacked Abbas’ words about the ‘hopes and dreams’ of the Palestinians, satirically recasting them as ‘hopes, dreams and 10,000 missiles and Grad rockets supplied by Iran.’”

It is amazing how preconceived ideas and concepts may cloud objectivity. To us, it was Abbas who came across as arrogant and unbelievable, while Netanyahu gave a convincing presentation on what the future for Israel would mean, if Abbas and supporters had their way. Note also the next article.

Conflict between Israel and Palestinians Escalates

On September 23, 2011, Israel’s Ynetnews.com wrote the following:

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations on Friday to recognize a state for his people, accusing Israel of engaging in ethnic cleansing in his United Nations speech… ‘Israel issues building permits to settlers so they can build in occupied Jerusalem, while it keeps confiscating lands in eastern Jerusalem and driving away Palestinians from their ancestral lands,’ he said in his address… ‘Our people will continue their popular, peaceful resistance,’ Abbas declared…

“Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, walked out in protest during Abbas’ address. He later told Ynet that the Palestinian leader delivered a ‘speech of incitement’ that included ‘harsh threats.’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present during Abbas’ speech to begin with… On Friday afternoon, Abbas said he was adamant about not recognizing Israel as the Jewish state.

“‘They talk to us about the Jewish state, but I respond to them with a final answer: We shall not recognize a Jewish state,’ Abbas said in a meeting with some 200 senior representatives of the Palestinian community in the US… Meanwhile, Hamas said Friday that Palestinians should liberate their land, not beg for recognition at the United Nations, firmly rejecting President Abbas’ quest for statehood. Speaking hours before Abbas was due to ask formally that the UN recognize a Palestinian state, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this would not bring independence.”

But let us ask, since when were the Palestinians entitled to “ancestral lands” in “eastern Jerusalem”? It is very clear that according to the Bible, these lands were given by GOD to the houses of Israel and Judah. Abbas’ comments are also quite revealing in that Palestinians will never accept Israel as a Jewish state, in light of the fact that the PLO has recently announced that no Jew will be allowed to live in a Palestinian state. In his address, Netanyahu responded that it was time for the Palestinians to acknowledge that “Israel is a Jewish state”—something which Palestinians are unwilling to do. Further, Abbas’ description of suicide bombers and other terrorist activities as “peaceful resistance” is quite a stretch.

On September 20, The Blaze wrote this:

“In a weekend interview, an Iranian official described the effort as merely another step in a much broader plan. Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt, openly conceded in an interview with Al-Watan al-Arabi, that the PA’s push for full membership as a UN member state ‘is a step towards wiping out Israel,’ and that ‘the Palestinians must follow a correct example and complete all the measures to prevent the Zionist Entity from depriving them their rights.’”

Putin’s Return to Power

Deutsche Welle reported on September 25:

“The often tricky relationship between Russia and the West could get stickier if a planned leadership reshuffle goes through, putting former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin back in the presidency, but both the US and German governments have pledged to maintain a strong relationship with Moscow, regardless of who governs Russia. Constitutional restrictions forced Putin to step down in 2008 after two terms in office, but after the single term of his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, Putin is free to run in 2012 elections.

“He announced that he would on Saturday at his United Russia party conference. Putin is widely expected to win that election as his United Russia party dominates the political landscape. A change to the constitution now means presidential terms last six years, meaning Putin could remain in power until 2024…

“US-Russian relations frayed towards the end of Putin’s presidency and that of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. But under Obama and Medvedev the two countries have hammered out a new nuclear arms reduction treaty and greater cooperation on issues like Iran’s nuclear program… Merkel was quoted as saying that she works well with Medvedev, in a tweet from her spokesman Steffen Seibert. ‘Cooperation will be good with every Russian president,’  Seibert continued, ‘because Germany and Russia are connected by a strategic partnership.’…

“If Putin were to take over the presidency, it’s expected that Medvedev would then become his prime minister, a role more focused on domestic policy… Russia’s opposition is deeply concerned about Putin’s potential return to the presidency, with Boris Nemtsov, who served as deputy foreign minister in the late 1990s, describing it as a ‘horror scenario.’  ‘Putin returns and everyone else leaves,’  he said. ‘Foreign capital will flee and people will emigrate.’”

The Local added on September 25:

“In a first reaction to Putin’s nomination to presidential candidate for his United Russia party – which effectively crowns him Russian leader – Merkel was less than warm about the prospect, but diplomatically optimistic… The likely return of the former KGB agent who served in East Germany, to the head of the Russian government will be accompanied by ambitious plans.  He told his party conference that Russia’s economy must grow by up to seven percent a year, and should become one of the five biggest national economies in the world. He said he intended to create 20 million new jobs in modern industry over the coming 20 years.”

Pope Disappoints Protestants

The Local wrote on September 23:

“Benedict… met leaders of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), but disappointed those who had hoped for a signal of reconciliation between the Catholic and Protestant Churches.

“Speaking at the Augustine Monastery where Luther had lived 500 years ago, he said, ‘Prior to the pope’s visit there was some talk of an “ecumenical gift” which was expected from this visit. There is no need for me to specify the gifts mentioned in this context. Here I would only say that this reflects a political misreading of faith and of ecumenism’… he did not take part in a joint Catholic and Protestant Eucharist, remaining firm in the separation of the two churches… The pope had said he was not prioritising the idea of bringing the two churches closer together, leaving many disappointed…”

Still, “reconciliation” between the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches will come, but only under Catholic terms. Please also note the next articles.

Be Obedient to Rome

Deutsche Welle reported on September 25:

“[The pope] called on German Catholics to challenge themselves to form a closer relationship with God… ‘The Church in Germany will overcome the great challenges of the present and future and it will remain a leaven in society, if the priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful … work together in unity,’ he said… Benedict alluded to the dissent in the Church on Saturday night, saying that ‘damage to the Church comes not from opponents, but from uncommitted Christians.’

“He went further on Sunday, urging Catholics to remain faithful and obedient to Rome in ‘this time of danger and radical change’ and a ‘crisis of faith.’ ‘The Church in Germany will continue to be a blessing for the entire Catholic world if she remains faithfully united with the successors of St. Peter and the Apostles,’ he said… Also on the schedule for the pope’s last day in Germany is a lunch with religious leaders [and] a meeting with judges from Germany’s Constitutional Court…”

Catholics and Orthodox Closest

VIS wrote on September 24:

“[The pope] met with fifteen representatives from the Orthodox Churches in Germany gathered in the main hall of the Seminary of Freiburg im Breisgau. Germany has a total of 467 Byzantine Orthodox communities with some 1,300,000 faithful belonging to various autocephalous Churches… the Pope reaffirmed that ‘among Christian Churches and communities, the Orthodox are theologically closest to us; Catholics and Orthodox both have the same basic structure inherited from the ancient Church. So we may hope that the day is not too far away when we may once again celebrate the Eucharist together.’”

American Warfare with Drones

The Vancouver Sun wrote on September 23:

“The United States administration of President Barack Obama is dramatically extending the reach of its program using missile-armed remote-controlled drone aircraft to assassinate terrorist and militant group leaders.

“The focus of the operation to hunt down and kill senior figures in al-Qaida and linked groups is shifting from Pakistan, where 581 of the more than 600 people killed in the 118 drone strikes launched last year were hiding, to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

“The movement to deploy the Predator and Reaper drones to a U.S. base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, an un-named Arab state, and the Indian Ocean islands nation of Seychelles is in response to the rising presence of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the failed states of Somalia and Yemen…

“The program is controversial not least because of the hazy legal authority under which U.S. officials… remotely control the drones and fire their Hellfire missiles at people intelligence information identifies as militants in Pakistan or elsewhere. The drones… [have] been equipped with missiles they are known to have been used in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Somalia as well as Pakistan.

“As well as the cloudy legal authority for assassinating people in countries with which the U.S. is not at war, there is the matter of killing innocent bystanders. In Pakistan in particular, there has been much public outrage at so-called ‘collateral damage’ when missile attacks have killed women, children and other people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…

“Since April, the drone-fired attacks in Pakistan have all been launched from Afghanistan. It is the success of this assassination program… that has precipitated the move to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula… In Ethiopia, the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is being… cautious before playing host to Obama’s killer drones.”

This kind of warfare is not finding much support. It is also interesting that Ethiopia keeps showing up in one way or another, either in friendly or not-so-friendly relationships with Western powers.

Britain Enslaved to Brussels?

The Telegraph wrote on September 20:

“We’re fed up with Europe… Britain has become a slave to the EU, writing blank cheques to prop up its lazy economies… with Europe’s ever increasing bail-outs and international loans – many drawn on the backs of struggling British taxpayers – it is no longer tenable to separate the economics of Europe from British domestic politics… As Britons lose their jobs, struggle to pay utility bills, forgo annual holidays and are made to pay more into their pensions, future bail-outs of Europe’s mostly unreformed and lazy economies will not attract Conservative parliamentary support.

“When Britain voted to stay in the European Economic Community in 1975 the country was promised it would be a common market. Yet over time, mostly by stealth and within every new treaty, we have been drawn relentlessly into an ‘ever closer union’ with the Continent. For many Britons, the EU has already become a kind of occupying force, setting unfamiliar rules, demanding levies, curbing freedoms, subverting our culture and imposing alien taxes. In less than four decades, Britain has become enslaved to Europe – servitude that intrudes and impinges on millions of British lives every day. Brussels has become a burdensome yoke, disfiguring Britain’s independence and diluting her sovereignty…

“The majority of Britons living today have never had a say on Europe. After nearly four decades of subjugation to Europe, it is time for the British people to choose their own destiny and to be set free…

“That is why the Coalition should agree to a referendum on Europe asking whether Britain should be part of a political union or of the trade-only relationship we thought we had signed up to… The referendum should be held next year, and a successful ‘No to political union’ result would immediately strengthen the Prime Minister’s negotiating hand in Brussels to commence serious and meaningful negotiations with our partners on Britain’s new relationship.

“… if Brussels refused to repatriate specified powers within a designated 24-month period, then a second referendum – this time an ‘in or out’ vote – would be triggered in 2015 and held on the day of the next general election… If specified powers were not returned within the defined timetable, Brussels would have only themselves to blame if Britons voted to leave the EU.

“The British have grown weary of Europe. The Coalition government should end decades of political appeasement by successive governments and champion freedom and democracy for Britain…”

As we have declared for decades, Britain will not be a part of the final configuration of a political United States of Europe. In addition, if  Britain thinks it is already enslaved to Europe, then this is nothing in comparison with what awaits the British people when real and quite literal slavery is going to be inflicted upon them.

Europe’s Huge Bill for British, US and Chinese Airlines

The Financial Times wrote on September 19:

“British Airways faces a bill of nearly €50m, the highest of any airline, when carriers around the world are brought into the European Union’s carbon emissions trading scheme next year…

“But BA and other large European carriers will face a relatively smaller burden than their rivals in the US and China, because they should get an average of 81 per cent of the carbon allowances needed under the scheme for free. The Chinese and American carriers will only get an average of up to 64 per cent…

“The findings come amid a fierce row over the EU’s move to make any airline flying into and within the bloc pay for pollution. US airlines have taken legal action… and Chinese complaints have prompted warnings of a trade war…”

None of this will make Europe popular, but it seems, they don’t really care, knowing that Britain, the USA and China have really no alternative than to comply.

American Lectures Rejected by Europe…

The EUObserver wrote on September 19:

“A unprecedented visit by US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner to a meeting of European finance ministers in Poland was coolly received by the gathered European economy chiefs…  a number of EU ministers felt that Geithner had over-stepped his bounds. The Austrian and Swedish finance chiefs offered reporters particularly sharp words about the intrusion from across the Atlantic.

“‘He conveyed dramatically that we need to commit money to avoid bringing the system into difficulty,’ Austrian finance minister Maria Fekter said of the discussion… ‘I found it peculiar that the Americans, although they themselves have significantly worse fundamental data than the euro area, explain to us what we should do and when we make a proposal … they say no right away.’

“Sweden’s Anders Borg too argued that Washington has problems of its own to deal with. ‘Geithner is right that we need to make progress, but it’s quite clear the US has a big debt problem and the situation would be better if the US could show a sustainable way forward,’ he said…”

From a European perspective, their dismissal of Timothy Geithner’s interference is quite understandable, given the fact that under the Obama Administration, the debt crisis in the USA has reached unparalleled and unprecedented proportions. As the old saying goes: Clean up first  your own house and backyard, and then you can start lecturing others. However, President Obama’s recent proposals in his long-awaited speech have met with stern opposition and rejections from Republicans and even some Democrats, and no real solution for America’s economic misery is in sight. In fact, some papers within the European media are reacting with anger towards the most recent developments in the USA, blaming the Feds for irresponsible conduct and warning of another worldwide US-caused recession. Of course, the economic situation in Europe, especially in countries like Greece, as well as reports that China’s growth may be slowing down, have been contributing to the negative development of worldwide markets. Note the next articles.

Dow Jones Plunges

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 22:

“The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 300 points in early trading as investors recoiled from the Federal Reserve’s new effort to stimulate the economy and the central bank’s statement that the economy may be in for a long period of slow growth… The losses built on declines late Wednesday after the Fed announced it would attempt to bring down long-term interest rates by replacing $400 billion of its holdings of short-term government debt with long-term U.S. Treasury bonds.

“Analysts have questioned whether the program will have the desired beneficial impact, given that the economy is facing significant headwinds and long-term interest rates are already quite low. The Fed also rattled investors Wednesday by highlighting ‘significant downside risks to the economic outlook.’ The statement ramped up fears that the economy could be headed for a new recession…”

The New York Times wrote on September 21:

“Global markets tumbled Thursday as investor pessimism about the outlook for the United States and European economies was deepened by weak data for the euro zone and a grim assessment from the Federal Reserve… Stocks had fallen in the United States 2 percent or more on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announcement that a complete economic recovery was still years away, adding that the United States economy has ‘significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets…’ The export-driven economies in Asia, such as South Korea, are most vulnerable to the European and American economic challenges… Additionally, investors were beginning to worry that China’s rate of growth may slow… It really comes down to political immaturity in both the U.S. and Europe…”

Three Major US Banks Downgraded

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 21

“Moody’s Investors Service has cut the credit ratings of three major U.S. banks, saying that Washington is less likely to bail out big U.S. financial companies if another financial crisis were to hit Wall Street. The rating company Wednesday downgraded the long-term credit ratings of Bank of America Cor. and Wells Fargo & Co. and bumped down Citigroup Inc.’s short-term credit rating, citing ‘a decrease in the probability that the U.S. government would support’ them in future financial crises… After the downgrades, bank stocks helped lead markets down Wednesday…”

Germany to Eurozone: Go It Alone, Don’t Mind UK or USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 17:

“Germany has called for the eurozone to go it alone if necessary and implement a financial tax despite opposition from the US and UK… Germany’s finance minister supports pushing through a tax on financial transactions within the 17 member eurozone currency union in the face of opposition from nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States, two of the world’s largest financial markets…

“Supporters of the move, such as Germany and France, believe a financial transaction tax would check speculation and slow the growth of bubbles while raising money that could be used to bail out banks in crisis situations. The European Union, however, remains divided over the measure with non-euro states such as Sweden and Britain expressing opposition. Opponents argue that such a tax would drive business to non-taxed foreign markets… ”

But as the past has shown, once Germany and France lead, the rest of the Eurozone members will follow…

Greece and the Eurozone

Deutsche Welle reported on September 21:

“The Greek government announced fresh austerity measures late on Wednesday, after Greece’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos insisted earlier in the day that his country had no plans to abandon the euro and would do everything in his power to stay in the eurozone.

“Greece is and will forever be a member of the eurozone, he said. ‘We will do anything, we will not place at risk the fate of the country and its place in the eurozone.’”

Of course, as could be expected, huge anti-government demonstrations occurred in Greece, following the announcement…

Germany—A Model of Stability

The Washington Post wrote on September 19:

“The financial crisis has turned Europe topsy-turvy… But… one country stands apart: Germany, where reforms a decade ago made the country less generous than some of its peers but also helped ease the blow when the rest of the world stopped snapping up BMWs and Bosch washing machines.

“Now, as its neighbors are being forced to retrench… Germany’s social services are running surpluses, helped by taxes that are among the highest in Europe and difficult sacrifices its citizens have made to jump-start their economy. Many Germans are peering across their borders and wondering why others can’t do the same, putting intense political pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel not to appear too generous with bailouts. Other countries point out that Germany’s wealth depends at least in part on outsiders spending for German exports… economists say that Germany’s own social services are sustainable, protected by the surpluses…

“Wages stayed largely flat for the past decade even as industry profits and government tax receipts rose, making Germany one of the West’s most competitive exporters. This was helped along by the euro zone, which made German products cheaper abroad than they were under the Deutschmark.

“Other aspects of Germany’s welfare state remained deluxe. Germans receive parental leave of 14 months at two-thirds salary, generous vacation time and publicly sponsored health insurance. And the tradeoff for flat wages has been a better chance at staying employed: If companies are struggling, they can appeal for government funds to subsidize their workers’ salaries, helping to avoid layoffs.”

It is interesting that Germany arose out of the ashes after World War II and became the most prosperous country in Europe…  This is exactly what the Bible has said would happen…

Big Losses for Germany‘s Governmental Coaltion Party

The Local wrote on Septmeber 19:

“Germany’s Free Democrats are unrepentant after taking an electoral battering in the Berlin state poll on Sunday. After taking less than two percent of the vote, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) has been turfed out of the German capital’s state’s legislature. The miserable result caps a dismal year for the party, which suffered losses in seven separate elections.

“Merkel’s conservatives are now trying to calculate the damage the Berlin election may do to their centre-right alliance at the national level…”

Der Spiegel added on September 19:

“German commentators on Monday size up the meaning of Sunday’s vote for Merkel’s coalition, for the SPD and, with the stunning success of the Pirate Party, for Germany’s political landscape.

“The center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘Germans have never before experienced such a ruined government so early in a term. Of course it has always been the case that criticism of the national government is reflected in state results. That has occurred in (all of the state elections held this year)…’”

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘The repeated, considerable failure of the FDP on Sunday along with the modest result for Merkel’s CDU means yet another blow to Merkel’s national coalition…’”

The Pope’s Visit in Germany— Push for Unification of Christians

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 18:

“German Chancellor Merkel urged Christians to unite against the advance of secularism in a message ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany [this] week, which has been widely criticized. In her weekly video podcast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Christians to reflect on what unites them…

“‘I think it is important to constantly reinforce the unity of Christians at a time when we are confronted by a growing secularism,’ Merkel said. ‘What the Christian faith has in common should always be remembered,’ she said. ‘When the Pope visits Germany, he is also visiting the country of the Reformation,’ Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor who grew up in the Communist East added. Merkel said the Pope’s visit was a reminder of Germany and Europe’s Christian roots, giving the strength and inspiration to fight against all religious persecution. The 500th anniversary of the German Reformation will be in 2017…

“The Pope’s first state visit to his native Germany from September 22-25 will take him to the mostly atheist former East Germany. It will include an address in Berlin’s vast Nazi-era Olympic Stadium as well as a meeting in Erfurt, one-time home of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, to discuss ways Catholics and Protestants can work together…”

Please also note the next article. It may seem that unification of the Catholic and Protestant Churches is still a far way off, but this might not necessarily be the case…

The Pope’s Visit in Germany—The Catholic Church’s Conservative Stance

Der Spiegel wrote on September 20:

“When Joseph Ratzinger became pope in 2005, Catholics in Germany joyfully celebrated the first German pope in almost 500 years. Since then, the euphoria has turned to disappointment and disillusionment. Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany this week will do little to heal the deep divide between conservatives and reformers in the German Church…

“What will the German head of state [German President Wulff] and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church talk about when they meet for the first time… Will they talk about the fact that Wulff, a practicing Catholic, is divorced and remarried, a fact that, under the current rules of the Church, excludes him from receiving Communion?… Gerda Hasselfeldt, the Catholic chairwoman of the conservative Christian Social Union’s group in the Bundestag… is also divorced and has remarried. So has the leader of her party, Horst Seehofer, who also fathered an illegitimate child, and Oskar Lafontaine, the former co-chairman of the Left Party and a former Jesuit school pupil.

“Benedict [will] meet with Berlin’s openly gay Mayor, Klaus Wowereit. Will the pope encourage Wowereit, a Catholic and a member of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) who has been living with his partner for years, to practice abstinence and not to act out his proclivities, as his church demands of all homosexuals? Luckily for the pope, he won’t have any problems with two other prominent people he will meet in Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel (remarried) and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (gay) are both Protestants.

“But even those Catholics who seem to abide by all the rules aren’t truly reliable. One of his hosts in Berlin, Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, recently ruffled feathers at the Vatican when he and fellow Christian Democrat Annette Schavan, who is Germany’s education minister, together with other reformist Catholics, sent a letter to Germany’s bishops about the marriage ban for priests… The open criticism of the pope was not well received in Rome. Lammert’s appeal was an ‘insult to Jesus Christ,’ Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, a close associate of Benedict, thundered…

“Many of the people that Benedict will encounter during his visit are divorced, gay, in common-law marriages or uninterested in the Church’s ban on birth control. And even though they are Catholic, they do not see themselves as sinners. The pope, who rules the papal state as one of the last absolute monarchs on earth, will encounter a modern society with modern representatives….

“The pope and his fellow Germans are not on good terms… Ratzinger did not become the kindly, benign old prince of the church and bridge builder… they had wanted him to be. On the contrary, he proved to be more conservative than the Germans wanted to believe at first. He has never grown out of his former role of head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [formerly known as the Office of the Inquisition]…  Benedict is not leading his church into an open-minded future, but back into a narrow-minded past.

“The German pope, of all people, irritated Protestants by saying that their church is not a church ‘in the actual sense.’ He snubbed the Muslims with harsh words against the Prophet Muhammad. And he insulted the Jews by reinserting into the Good Friday liturgy, a prayer for the conversion of the Jews that one of Benedict’s predecessors, Paul VI, had removed as a gesture of reconciliation after the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council.

“Instead, Ratzinger sent signals of understanding and sympathy to the conservative fringe of Catholicism. By currying favor with the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), he took the Church back in time and infuriated the overwhelming majority of Roman Catholics… The Vatican continues to reject artificial birth control, which it sees as cause for eternal punishment. Millions of AIDS deaths have done nothing to convince the keepers of Catholic sexual morality that condoms might be a good idea.

“Similarly, half of the Church’s members remain excluded from all leadership positions. Women cannot become priests, let alone bishops. The official Church still excludes lesbians and gays from its community… At the beginning of his career, Ratzinger held completely different views, views that were open-minded and liberal. At the Second Vatican Council in 1962, he and the prominent Swiss theologian Hans Küng were among those who sought to open up their fossilized church and fought against the Vatican’s claim to absolute authority.

“But the year 1968 became a turning point in Ratzinger’s life… Since then, Benedict has viewed the Catholic Church as the sole custodian of a divine truth…”

It should be understood that we are quoting the articles about the pope’s visit in Germany to show the current climate, as it pertains to the Catholic Church. We do not agree with certain positions of the Catholic Church, nor do we agree with certain voices of criticism. For example, while the Catholic Church’s teaching on birth control is unbiblical, its prohibition of practicing homosexuals or women in the priesthood is biblical.

In spite of all the criticism and current anti-Vatican feelings in large sections of the German population, it is very clear that the conservative stance of the pope will continue. At the same time, a push for unification between the Catholic and Protestant churches will increase–Angela Merkel’s “admonition” for unity in this regard is quite remarkable—and once the time has arrived when the leader of the Catholic Church will receive the power to work miracles, such as asking for fire to come down from heaven, then any disagreements with Roman Catholic dogma will soon be forgotten. The Bible prophesies that the whole world will follow and even worship that man—but ultimately, it will have a rude awakening.

The Pope’s Visit in Germany—Challenges and Opportunities

BBC News wrote on September 22:

“Benedict XVI, the German head of the Roman Catholic Church, has begun his first official visit to his home country as Pope. At Germany’s parliament he received a long round of applause from MPs – though some [mainly representatives from the Left and, to a lesser extent, from the Greens and the Social Democrats] boycotted the event. After arriving in Berlin, he called on Catholics disgusted by priestly abuse of children not to abandon the Church…

“The 84-year-old pontiff will travel widely across the country, where there are officially 25 million Catholics – one in three of the population. He has visited Germany unofficially several times since assuming the Church’s highest office…

“Chancellor Angela Merkel, daughter of a Lutheran pastor who grew up in East Germany, said Christian unity would be a focus of the Pope’s visit…

“A record 181,000 German Catholics officially quit the Church last year, a total for the first time higher than that for Protestants leaving their churches… Disgust at the Church’s handling of child sex abuse by clergy was one factor… [The pope said:] ‘The Church is a net of the Lord that pulls in good fish and bad fish. We have to learn to live with the scandals and work against the scandals from inside the great net of the Church’…

 “Mr Wulff referred to German Catholics alienated by the Church when he spoke during Thursday’s papal visit. ‘Many ask themselves how mercifully it treats people who have suffered break-ups in their own lives,’ the divorced [Catholic] president said…

“One of the highlights of the visit is a Mass to be held on Thursday evening at the Olympic Stadium. The stadium, where Hitler hosted the 1936 games, is now a popular sporting and entertainment venue, and some 70,000 people are expected to attend the Mass. Other events during the tour include a meeting with former [Catholic] Chancellor Helmut Kohl…”

In spite of the reports dealing with ongoing criticism, we should not underestimate the overwhelming and enthusiastic reception that the pope is receiving in Germany.  Mass tabloid Bild wrote in big letters: “We Are Pope.”  Many papers and magazines report on line in “live tickers” about every event and movement of the pope during his two-day stay. Catholic Bundestag President Norbert Lammert said, when welcoming the pope to the German Parliament: “Never before in history has a pope spoken in front of an elected German Parliament.”

According to Die Welt, Lammert added that we must not only talk about unification of the Catholic and the Protestant churches, but that we must do something to bring it about. During Angela Merkel’s and the pope’s private meeting prior to the pope’s speech before the German Parliament, the future of Europe was an important issue, according to Bild Online.

Deutsche Welle added on September 22:

“Amid gun salutes and military music, Pope Benedict XVI was greeted in Berlin on Thursday by German President Christian Wulff at his official residence, Schloss Bellevue… German President Christian Wulff greeted the pope with the words ‘welcome home, Holy Father!’ In his address, Wulff said that millions of people would be looking forward to his visit… Although Church and state are separated in Germany, he added, that did not mean that the Church was parallel to society – it was at the center of society. ‘Your visit will strengthen Christians and all people in Germany,’ Wulff told the pope.”

Those who have ears to hear should hear…

Lieberman Praises Obama for UN General Assembly Speech

Haaretz wrote on September 22:

“After perhaps the warmest pro-Israel speech given at an annual UN General Assembly meeting by any U.S. president, Barack Obama now has ‘seal of approval’ from no less an authority than Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.”

The article continued:

“…while posters plastered across New York City describe Obama as ‘not pro-Israel,’ inside the United Nations building in Turtle Bay, Obama delivered what is probably the warmest pro-Israel speech ever given at an annual UN General Assembly meeting by any U.S. president, bar none. Not only did Obama refrain from directly mentioning the 1967 borders, much to relief of the Israeli government, but to a large extent he also made up for what he allegedly left out in his famous Cairo speech, expressing his empathy with, and sympathy, for the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people and their Zionist dreams. In the eyes of his Israeli audience, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama’s speech was nearly faultless, an assessment which was subsequently confirmed by the harsh criticism leveled at it by Arab and Palestinian officials…

“The Americans hope that Obama’s firm stance, and the continued efforts to prevent the Palestinians from obtaining the nine votes required to force a U.S. veto, will persuade Abbas to settle for a symbolic move at the UN Security Council, and to refrain from going to the General Assembly where his victory is guaranteed. The price for such a move will be a renewed commitment to restarting negotiations with attached conditions that may not be so palatable to Netanyahu and Lieberman, including a definite timeline for ending talks such as the one mentioned yesterday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Because even in Middle East diplomacy, when the party’s over, there is always the morning after and the hangover that accompanies it.”

“Sarkozy Breaks with Obama”

The New York Times wrote on September 21:

“President Nicolas Sarkozy of France broke sharply on Wednesday with the effort by the Obama administration and some Europeans to quash the effort by the Palestinians for recognition here, instead calling for enhancing their status in the General Assembly to that of an observer state.

“The French leader, speaking from the famous green marble podium of the General Assembly barely an hour after President Obama, also said it was time to change the formula in trying to negotiate an Arab-Israeli peace, taking an indirect swipe at the United States by saying the efforts so far were a complete failure… The timetable he suggested is resuming the negotiations in one month, agreeing on borders and security within six months and finishing a definitive agreement within one year…

“In the meantime, if the Palestinian effort at membership faces a Security Council veto, the deadly reverberations will be felt across the Arab world, Mr. Sarkozy warned… Most Israeli concern has focused on the possibility that making the Palestinians an observer state could enhance their ability to join the International Criminal Court and pursue Israeli leaders through ‘lawfare.’

“In choosing to go to the Security Council to seek full membership, Mr. Abbas chose a more difficult path but one that could get lost in the thicket of United Nations bureaucracy for months before the United States used its threatened veto. There is even a question if the Palestinians can muster the needed 9 votes. But the United States has no veto over a General Assembly resolution, and the Palestinians enjoy overwhelming support there…”

America and Israel vs. the Arab World

Newsmax wrote on September 21:

“President Barack Obama pressed Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday to relaunch peace talks as he made a last-ditch attempt to avert a U.N. crisis over Palestinian statehood and pull his Middle East policy back from the brink of diplomatic disaster… Grappling with economic woes and low poll numbers at home and growing doubts about his leadership abroad, Obama is wading into Middle East diplomacy at a critical juncture for his presidency and America’s credibility around the globe.

“He faces the daunting challenge of reasserting Washington’s influence in the region… The drama over the Palestinian U.N. bid is playing out as U.S., Israeli and Palestinian leaders all struggle with the fallout from Arab uprisings that are raising new political tensions across the Middle East.

“It also comes as Israel finds itself more isolated than it has been in decades and confronts Washington with the risk that, by again shielding its close ally, the United States will inflame Arab distrust when Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world is already faltering.”

The Role of Turkey and Iran in the Middle East

WorldNetDaily wrote on September 21:

“Iran has begun to increase its strategic relationship with Russia… Analysts confirm Turkey and Iran generally have enjoyed close ties and cooperate in a variety of fields including trade, economic relations, fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and promoting stability in Iraq and Central Asia.

“Turkey has been strengthening its ties to Iran and other countries in the East, attempting to re-establish its historical influence, since the Muslim government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in 2002… Turkey has been a strong supporter of Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy… Erdogan’s most recent visit to Cairo demonstrated Turkey’s interest in filling that void with a fellow Muslim country left by the greatly diminished influence of the United States and European countries there.

“Regional sources point out that Erdogan has embarked on a ‘revolution tour’ not only in Egypt but also in Tunisia and Libya… Ironically, Israelis are comparing Erdogan with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who similarly seeks to cast Tehran’s influence in the Sunni Arab world. Iran is accepting credit for the various Arab revolts, comparing them to Iran’s own 1979 Islamic revolution.”

Setback for Peace in Afghanistan

The New York Times reported on September 20:

“The most prominent Afghan official trying to negotiate a reconciliation with the Taliban was assassinated Tuesday night by a suicide bomber with explosives tucked in his turban who had been brought to his home by a trusted emissary, officials said. The assassination was a potentially devastating blow to the Afghan-led peace process aimed at ending 10 years of war.

“The main victim of the attack, Burhanuddin Rabbani, was the leader of the High Peace Council, and had been tasked with reaching out to the Taliban for ways to resolve the conflict. Mr. Rabbani was also a former president of Afghanistan, and news of his death sent shock waves through the Afghanistan government just as President Hamid Karzai was at the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Karzai was cutting short his trip to head home, aides said…

“[Rabbani] was killed a week after Taliban insurgents orchestrated a surprise attack on several Kabul neighborhoods that demonstrated the seeming ease with which they can strike, despite ambitious efforts by the American-led NATO forces here to improve security and persuade Taliban insurgents to engage in negotiations to end the war.

“The Taliban attacks have called into question the basic readiness of President Karzai’s forces to assume security in the country as the foreign military forces gradually withdraw, as they have pledged to do by the end of 2014. The killing of Mr. Rabbani was the third time in three months that a high-ranking Afghan official was assassinated in a place that was supposed to be secure, infiltrating the coteries of guards and walled compounds that surround Afghan politicians.”

The Curse of War

ABC News reported on September 19:

“Beginning with his service in World War II, [singer Tony] Bennett said that his experiences as a teenager in combat forever changed his position on war… Drafted by the U.S. Army in November 1944, Bennett served as an infantryman in Europe, moving across France, and later into Germany. ‘The Germans were frightened. We were frightened. Nobody wanted to kill anybody when we were on the line, but the weapons were so strong that it overcame us and everybody else.’

“Bennett credited the Army with allowing him to study singing under the GI Bill. He also admitted that his two years of service gave him enough time to witness the horrors of war. ‘The first time I saw a dead German, that’s when I became a pacifist,’ he said [and] that he was left forever shaken by the sight of death. ‘It was a nightmare that’s permanent,’ he said…”