US Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

Breitbart wrote on June 24:

“The Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade on Friday, holding… that the Constitution does not include a right to abortion and returning the issue of abortion laws and regulations to state legislatures… With Roe overruled, the issue of abortion now goes back to the states to pass whatever restrictions on abortions the voters of each state choose to adopt.”

The Associated Press wrote on June 26:

“Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states… Thomas… wrote a separate opinion in which he explicitly called on his colleagues to put the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage, gay sex and even contraception cases on the table. But Alito contended that his analysis addresses abortion only…”

Many misconceptions regarding Roe v. Wade exist. Contrary to public opinion, the case did NOT guarantee an unrestricted nationwide right to abortion. The Britannica Encyclopedia explains:

“The Supreme Court [in Roe v Wade] disagreed with Roe’s assertion of an absolute right to terminate pregnancy in any way and at any time and attempted to balance a woman’s right of privacy with a state’s interest in regulating abortion. In his opinion, Blackmun noted that only a ‘compelling state interest’ justifies regulations limiting ‘fundamental rights’ such as privacy and that legislators must therefore draw statutes narrowly ‘to express only the legitimate state interests at stake.’ The Court then attempted to balance the state’s distinct compelling interests in the health of pregnant women and in the potential life of fetuses. It placed the point after which a state’s compelling interest in the pregnant woman’s health would allow it to regulate abortion ‘at approximately the end of the first trimester’ of pregnancy. With regard to the fetus, the Court located that point at ‘capability of meaningful life outside the mother’s womb,’ or viability, which occurs at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.”

Also, many misconceptions exist regarding the most recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade.  As Fox News wrote on June 25:

“… many [are] acting as if abortions had been banned nationwide. In response, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., explained… that in reality ‘nothing has been banned’ – as the ruling simply reversed the regulatory power over abortion laws to the state legislatures, as prescribed by the 10th Amendment for those powers not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution.”

Still, the national and international condemnation of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade is telling, and those who are ringing the alarm bell, favoring abortion, can be found in any religious affiliation. Note the next article.

National and International Condemnations

Chuck Schumer

Fox News reported on June 24:

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer [Catholic] called Friday ‘one of the darkest days our country has ever seen.’…

Merrick Garland

“Attorney General Merrick Garland [conservative Jew] said that the Department of Justice ‘strongly disagrees’ with the Supreme Court, and that it delivered a ‘devastating blow’ to reproductive freedoms in America…

Ilhan Omar

“Rep. Ilhan Omar [Muslim] compared the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade to decisions legitimizing slavery and concentration camps….

Barack Obama

“Former President Obama [Protestant Christian] slammed the Supreme Court for having ‘not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent,’ but having ‘relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.’…”

Business Insider wrote on June 24 that Obama said: “Join with the activists who’ve been sounding the alarm on abortion access for years — and act. Stand with them at a local protest.”

Nancy Pelosi

Fox News wrote on June 24:

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [Catholic] on Friday said the ‘Republican-controlled’ Supreme Court ‘achieved the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions… This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching…’

Joe Biden

“President Biden [Catholic] on Friday urged Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade by codifying abortion rights into federal law… while urging protesters to remain peaceful and saying ‘violence is never acceptable.’… The president said Roe v. Wade ‘reaffirmed basic principles of equality that women have the power to control their own destiny, and to reinforce the fundamental right of privacy.’”

Reuters added on June 26: “Biden, a lifelong Catholic, condemned the ruling, calling it a ‘sad day’ for America and labelling the court’s conservatives ‘extreme.’”

Fox News wrote on June 24: ‘‘Excited to hear ‘devout Catholic’ Biden condemn today’s Supreme Court decision that any devout Catholic would agree with,’ Washington Times columnist Tim Young remarked, pointing out the irony in Biden’s position.”

LifeSiteNews wrote on June 24:

“Biden decried the pro-life victory as stripping women of the ‘right to choose’ to murder their unborn children, claiming abortion should be an ‘intensely personal decision… Biden assured his fellow abortion supporters that while the overturning of Roe v. Wade ‘casts a dark shadow over large swaths of the land,’ there remain ‘many states in this country that still recognize a woman’s right to choose’…. Biden reminded the public that ‘the Supreme Court’s decision does not prevent [a woman] from traveling from her home state to the state that allows it.’…

“Biden’s statements were met with immediate backlash, with many implying the president is a hypocrite for consistently calling himself Catholic while flagrantly denying the Church’s explicit condemnation of abortion.”

Biden stated that the right to travel must be upheld, referring to the right to travel from one state to another to have an abortion.  This is ironic as he abolished the right to travel during the coronavirus crisis.

 Emmanuel Macron

Fox News wrote on June 24:

“French President Emmanuel Macron [baptized as a Catholic, an agnostic today] tweeted Friday… ‘Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected. I wish to express my solidarity with the women whose liberties are being undermined by the Supreme Court of the United States.’”

 Boris Johnson

Express added on June 24: “Prime Minister Boris Johnson [formerly Catholic, now Anglican] called the decision a ‘big step backwards.’ He added: ‘I have always believed in a woman’s right to choose and I stick to that view, that’s why the UK has the laws that it does.’”

Justin Trudeau

MSN on June 24 wrote that leftist “Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau [Catholic] also called the news ‘horrific,’ saying that ‘no government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.’”

LifeSiteNews wrote on June 24: “Trudeau’s claim that no government or politician can tell a woman what to do with her body is at odds with the COVID vaccine mandates he imposed on federal workers and for travel. People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier called Trudeau a ‘hypocrite’… Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) President Jeff Gunnarson blasted Trudeau for his comments… ‘What’s horrific is that we have a Prime Minister who is absolutely callous toward the some 100,000 pre-born Canadian children who are killed every year by abortion. What is truly horrific is the disembowelment, dismemberment, and decapitation of these innocent human beings,’ noted Gunnarson… Trudeau for years has professed his support for abortion despite claiming to be Catholic…”

Lisa Paus

Deutsche Welle reported on June 24 that “Germany’s Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus [member of The Greens; her religion is designated as “Christian”] said she was ‘shocked’ by the development.”

Jacinda Ardern

The Guardian wrote on June 24 that “New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern [formerly Mormon, renounced her faith in favor of the LGBT movement], said… the ‘removal of a woman’s fundamental right to make decisions over their own body’ was ‘incredibly upsetting.’”

Kamala Harris

Breitbart added on June 26:

“Vice President Kamala Harris [Baptist] on Friday mourned the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade… She warned that other rights guaranteed by the court such as same-sex marriage, contraception, and interracial marriage were threatened by the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade…. ‘Today I invite all people to stand together in defense of one of the most fundamental ideals and principles for generations, for centuries…’

Hillary Clinton

“Two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton [Methodist] on Friday condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. ‘Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women’s rights and human rights…’”

Praise for the Decision

Fox News wrote on June 25:

Donald Trump

“Former President Trump praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade… When asked whether he feels he played a role in the reversal of Roe v. Wade, after having appointed three conservative justices to the high court, the former president told Fox News: ‘God made the decision.’…

Mike Pence

“Former Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the court’s decision… ‘Today, Life Won. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States has given the American people a new beginning for life, and I commend the justices in the majority for having the courage of their convictions… Having been given this second chance for Life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.’…”

Franklin Graham

Newsmax wrote on June 24:

“Franklin Graham praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling the abortions of more than 60 million fetuses since the landmark court ruling 50 years ago a ‘genocide against the unborn’… ‘Today, abortion is not illegal in the United States… I wish it was wiped out completely but it’s not. There are going to be many states that will permit abortions, but I believe this is a step in the right direction.’… ‘We have a lot of evils in this world and abortion is one of those evils and I hope and pray that one day it will be terminated in this country in every state,’ he added.”

The Vatican

Newsmax reported on June 24:

“The Vatican’s Academy for Life on Friday praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, saying it challenged the world to reflect on life issues, but also called for social changes to help women keep their children… The Roman Catholic church teaches that abortion is murder because life begins at the moment of conception and ends with natural death. Pope Francis has compared having an abortion to ‘hiring a hit man’ to eliminate a problematic person.”

The Vatican’s statement that women must be helped to keep their children is of utmost importance.

The Vatican’s Hypocrisy

The Associated Press wrote on June 29:

“U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Francis on Wednesday and received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica… despite her position in support of abortion rights… Pelosi met with Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing…”

Both seem to be oblivious to the obvious hypocrisy they are both showing.

American Jewish Perspective

JTA wrote on June 24:

“American Jews favor abortion rights, more than any other religious group, according to public polling. And traditional Jewish law permits (and even requires) abortion in some circumstances, particularly when the life or health of the pregnant person is at stake.”

That position is appalling.

Prohibiting Contraception?

Boston Globe wrote on June 24:

“In an opinion concurring with his conservative colleagues on the Supreme Court to overturn the fundamental right to an abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote on Friday that striking down Roe v. Wade should also open up the high court to review other precedents that may be deemed ‘demonstrably erroneous.’ Among those, Thomas wrote, was the right for married couples to buy and use contraception without government restriction from the landmark 1965 ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut.

“‘In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,’ Thomas wrote… ‘we have a duty to correct the error established in those precedents.’…

“In Griswold, the Supreme Court invalidated a law prohibiting birth control…”

Apart from the legal technicality as to who has jurisdiction to decide the issue, the substantive question is as to what is meant by “contraception.” Are they talking about the pill AFTER conception [so-called telemedicine abortions, ENDING a pregnancy], or are they referring to measures preventing pregnancy? If the latter is meant and contraception before pregnancy was to be prohibited, that would be a ludicrous and extremely serious ungodly outcome.

Civil War in the USA?

Fox News wrote on June 24:

“Liberal media outlets, with most of the noise emanating from MSNBC and CNN, went full scorched-earth after the Supreme Court… send abortion back to the states. Journalists, pundits and guests quickly gave emotional reactions to the news, claiming that a ‘legal Civil War’ was imminent and lamenting the Supreme Court as a partisan institution bent on destroying women’s rights…

“NBC’s Chuck Todd immediately reacted to the news by claiming many Americans believe the Supreme Court is ‘rigged.’…

“CNN’s legal analysts also weighed in on the ramifications of the ruling, with Toobin predicting that the result would lead to ‘legal civil war.’ ‘It’s going to be legal chaos, forget the legal Civil War,’ legal analyst Lauren Coates similarly stated. Lawyer and Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick joined MSNBC just after the ruling and stopped herself short of agreeing with the Civil War phrase, but added that the Court’s decision would at the very least lead to’”immense bickering.’ ‘There are two countries [now]. There are quite literally red states and blue states,’ she added.”

t-online wrote on June 24:

“With their decision on Friday to leave abortion laws to the respective states and thereby potentially criminalizing millions of women, America’s top judges are driving the country into an unprecedented political and social divide… The USA is no longer only divided politically and socially. Two different legal systems are emerging – one in the states governed by Democrats, the other in the states governed by Republicans. It is a legal ditch that is becoming more and more obvious….

“The most powerful democracy in the world is in danger of collapsing because of these internal political struggles…. The most important world power threatens to fail for the foreseeable future…  the US will be busy trying not to plunge into civil war amid social tensions…”

This nation is terribly divided. Note the next article as well.

A Divided Nation—and Newsom the New Democratic Star?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on June 25:

“Gavin Newsom (California) called the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade sickening and beckoned women in other states to California, their ‘sanctuary’ for free abortion care… Greg Abbott (Texas) celebrated the ruling and promised he will ‘always fight to save every child from the ravages of abortion.’ The disparate responses from the governors of the two most populous states in the nation highlighted the stark political divide in America, deepened by radically different approaches to healthcare, gun control, the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ rights, immigration and now, once again, reproductive rights…

“The gulf between red and blue states has widened significantly in recent years. That reversed a long trend that started just after World War II of growing uniformity across the country, as legal racial segregation ended in the South and the federal government and courts expanded rights for all American citizens. The split on abortion closely reflects public opinion in the states. In California, Oregon and Washington, for example, roughly 60% of residents said abortion should be legal in all or most cases… By contrast, only about 40% of people took that position in the most strongly antiabortion states, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Utah and Idaho…

“[Newsom] also used the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision as an impetus for signing a bill that protects abortion providers in California from liability when caring for patients traveling from areas where the procedure is now banned or access is narrowed. Newsom said the law counters one passed in Texas last year allowing private citizens to sue anyone who ‘aids or abets’ an abortion in the state after about six weeks of pregnancy…

“Last year, as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic became highly partisan, mask and vaccine mandates became political battlegrounds. California was the first state to announce that it would require all public employees and healthcare workers to show proof of vaccination or be tested weekly. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law last year banning employers from firing workers who refuse a COVID-19 vaccination if those employees claim a medical or religious exemption…

“In 2004, as the newly elected mayor of San Francisco, [Newsom] decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law. More than 4,000 couples wed before the California Supreme Court put a halt to the issuances; those unions were later nullified. The young mayor instantly became the national face for the gay marriage movement, much to the chagrin of both social conservatives and some gay rights activists, who worried his action would set back their cause. National Democrats chastised Newsom at the time and he was put on the defensive when John Kerry lost the presidential election that year.

“But with Democrats eventually embracing same-sex marriage, which was made legal nationwide after a 2015 Supreme Court decision, Newsom is now seen as an early leader on that issue….”

Many Democrats would like to see Newsom become the next President.

No Longer a Great Nation

Newsmax wrote on June 25:

“‘It is no longer a great nation,’ Trump told his crowd in Mendon, Illinois, at a rally…  ‘It is a nation in decline — hate to say this to you… It is no longer energy independent or energy dominant… It’s a nation that is begging Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil… It’s a nation that surrendered in Afghanistan, leaving dead soldiers, American citizens, and $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment in the world behind… It’s a nation that allowed Russia to devastate a country, Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and it will only get worse… It’s a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before. A nation that no longer has a free press or a fair press…

“‘It’s a nation where free speech is no longer allowed, where crime is rampant, where the economy is collapsing, where more people died of COVID in 2021, than in 2020… It’s a nation that is allowing Iran to build a massive nuclear weapon… and China to use the trillions of dollars that [it] has taken from us to build a military rival. It will be just a disaster for the world… Perhaps most importantly, a nation that… is no longer respected or listened to around the world… It is a nation whose economy is floundering, whose stores are not stocked, whose deliveries are not coming, and whose educational system is ranked in the lowest quadrant of 45 countries and yet spends more money per student than any other country by three times.’”

Sadly, his assessment is very true. He hopes that beginning in 2024, things will change for the better. But will they?

Violence, “Incitement” and “Insurrection”

The Sun wrote on June 25:

“Anti-abortion demonstrators gathered outside the Arizona Capitol Friday night forcing lawmakers to huddle in a basement after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling. SWAT team members with the Department of Public Safety fired tear gas from the second floor of the old Capitol building to disperse protesters in the mall between the current House and Senate buildings. KPHO-TV reported the officers opened fire when several anti-abortion protesters started banging on the glass doors of the Senate building.

“Arizona is among the eight states where abortion clinics paused abortion services… The incident sent Senate lawmakers into the basement for about 20 minutes… Stinging tear gas wafted through the building afterwards, forcing the Senate to move its proceedings to a hearing room instead of the Senate chamber…

“Huge crowds of protestors gathered outside the Supreme Court and in multiple cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and New York City… At least 25 people were arrested in New York with one police officer estimating that 17,000 gathered in a march in Washington Square Park… Protesters clashed with police in Los Angeles after some threw fireworks and other objects…”

Fox News added on June 25:

“Arizona Senator Kelly Townsend said abortion protesters are holding her and other lawmakers ‘hostage’ inside the Capitol building in Phoenix.”

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on June 24:

“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Friday joined protesters outside the Supreme Court to call the institution ‘illegitimate’ and urge supporters ‘into the streets’ to fight for abortion… Ocasio-Cortez [Catholic] is one of 27 House Democrats who recently opposed a bill that bolstered security measures for the justices, following protests outside their homes…

“Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) also told protesters, ‘The hell with the Supreme Court—we will defy them….’ ‘You see this out here?’ Waters added, referencing the size of the protest outside the Court. ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’… Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas)… condemned Democrats whom he believes are inciting [violence].”

Congresswoman Maxine Waters [“Christian”] is considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today. As beliefnet reports, “She also said God was ‘on our side’ when she urged her party in late June to take on members of the Trump administration. ‘If you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,’ Waters said.”

How are the events in Arizona and elsewhere, described above, any different from Donald Trump’s statement on January 6, 2021 when he called for peaceful protests, saying, make your voices heard “peacefully and patriotically.” In addition to Obama’s statements, quoted earlier, if Trump is supposed to be held accountable for the “insurrection” of January 6, 2021, why would Ocasio-Cortez and Maxine Waters not have to be held accountable for “inciting” violent acts, occurring now?

Thoughts About Abortion, War and Violence

On June 27, Dr. Ron Paul wrote in his weekly column in the Ron Paul Institute publication:

“The Supreme Court undid one of its worst mistakes last week when it overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision declaring a constitutional right to abortion. The Constitution reserves to the states the authority to write and enforce laws regarding murder. Since the question of whether or not to legalize abortion revolves around whether abortion is murder, it is not a federal issue. Roe was thus an illegitimate usurpation of state authority… Murder is certainly an act of aggression. Therefore, even though all humans have a right to bodily anatomy, this does not justify abortion.

“No one ever asked an expectant mother, ‘how’s the fetus?’ Instead, people ask about the baby. This implicitly acknowledges the unborn child’s humanity and thus the child’s right to live. The denial of this right has warped our constitutional system. More importantly it has contributed to the devaluing of human life that is the root of much of America’s moral crisis. A society that devalues life will not respect liberty. Therefore, all who value liberty must protect the right to life. This does not just include ending abortion. It also includes rejecting the militaristic foreign policy that kills innocents in the name of ‘freedom and democracy.’

“Just as pro-life conservatives should be antiwar, progressives should reject the violence government commits against its own citizens via taxation, income redistribution, and the fiat money system that robs average Americans to benefit politicians and elites. Rejecting the use of force, including government force, will lead to a society that values and protects our lives, liberty, and property.”

Coach Can Pray

The Associated Press wrote on June 27:

“The Supreme Court sided with a football coach from Washington state [Kennedy] who sought to kneel and pray on the field after games. The court ruled 6-3 for the coach with the court’s conservative justices in the majority and its liberals in dissent. The justices said the coach’s prayer was protected by the First Amendment. ‘The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,’ Justice Neil Gorsuch  wrote for the majority.

“In a dissent… Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the coach decision ‘sets us further down a perilous path in forcing states to entangle themselves with religion.’

“Kennedy… wanted to continue praying on the field himself, with students free to join if they wished. Concerned about being sued for violating students’ religious freedom rights, the school asked him to stop his practice of kneeling and praying while still ‘on duty’ as a coach after the game. The school tried to work out a solution so Kennedy could pray privately before or after the game. When he continued to kneel and pray on the field, the school put him on paid leave.”

Monkeypox Underrated?

npr wrote on June 25:

“On the surface, the monkeypox outbreak in the U.S. doesn’t look that bad, especially compared with other countries…. But in the U.S., the official case count is misleading… The outbreak is bigger — perhaps much bigger — than the case count suggests… Infections have been largely found in men who have sex with men…

“… as the need for testing grew — and the disease became more common than officials initially predicted — the testing system set up by the CDC stopped functioning well, because it actually deters doctors from ordering a monkeypox test. Providers have to go out of their way to order a test.”

One HAS to ask: WHY are tests discouraged??? Could it have something to do with the nature and origin and transmission of the sickness?

Germany Revokes Ban on Promotion of Abortion

AFP wrote on June 25:

“Germany’s parliament on Friday removed a… law that limits the information doctors and clinics can provide about abortion. One of the most controversial sections of the penal code, Paragraph 219a, prohibits the ‘promotion’ of abortion… [The law was adopted] in 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler had taken power… The Bundestag decision came just hours before the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in the country…

“Germany’s ruling coalition, comprising Buschmann’s Free Democrats, the Social Democrats and the Greens, had made a pledge to remove the law when they signed up to govern together. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the far-right AfD voted against scrapping the law.

“Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker of the CDU argued that while a woman may face difficulties because of an unwanted pregnancy, ‘we are also thinking of the child’s right to live.’ She pointed this out as the ‘key difference’ between the ruling coalition and her party… Despite dating back to the darkest chapter in German history, the law was applied until recently. Courts handed out penalties to doctors for offering information on the internet about pregnancy terminations….

“Women wishing to have an abortion must have an obligatory consultation at an approved center… After the consultation, patients must wait for three days… before making a decision. Around 100,000 abortions are carried out in Germany annually, although the number has dropped in recent years… In large parts of the vast southern state, no hospitals offer the procedure. Many people opt to cross the border to Austria instead.”

Nuclear-Capable Missiles for Belarus

Aljazeera wrote on June 25:

“Russia will supply Belarus with missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads after the president complained about nuclear-armed NATO flights coming close to the Belarusian border…

“Lukashenko expressed concern about the ‘aggressive’, ‘confrontational’, and ‘repulsive’ policies of Belarus’s neighbours Lithuania and Poland.”

Belarus, as well as Ukraine, will ultimately be a part of a full-fledged military alliance with Russia.

No One Will Come to Israel’s Aid

Israel 365 wrote on June 27:

“… for Ukrainians, the situation must be particularly galling. After all, it has been barely 20 years since the Budapest Memorandum was signed, in which Russia, the U.S. and the U.K. pledged to refrain from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine if the country gave up its nuclear weapons. They also pledged—among other things—to respect Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty according to its then-current borders.

“Clearly, there have since been blatant Russian violations of the Memorandum, notably the 2014 annexation of Crimea and then the 2022 invasion of Ukraine…

“For Israel, the message is stark and unequivocal: It must remember that should it cede vitally important strategic territory at the behest of foreign governments, it could well tempt its adversaries to launch a deadly assault on it, because it would be far more vulnerable and exposed than before. Moreover, Israel should remember that it can expect scant support from other countries, which will be reluctant to come to its aid. For, as Yossi Cohen [former director of Mossad] warned… if Israel is attacked, it must be prepared for the possibility that ‘no one will come.’”

NATO to Grow by 650 Percent

UPI wrote on June 27:

“The NATO chief [Jens Stoltenberg] announced plans to shore up NATO’s eastern flank nearer Russia by boosting NATO’s quick-response forces by 650%. The force would grow from 40,000 to 300,000 as part of the ‘biggest overhaul of our collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War.’”

Sweden and Finland Give In to Erdogan

The Guardian wrote on June 28:

“[An] agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become Nato members…  [Swedish prime minister] Andersson hailed the deal as a ‘very good agreement’, rejecting claims that she had conceded too much to Erdoğan in order to persuade him to drop his veto…

“Turkey had said it would block the applications of Sweden and Finland unless it received satisfactory assurances that the Nordic countries were willing to address what it regards as support for Kurdish groups it designates as terrorist organisations, in particular the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK)…

“The Nordic countries said they confirmed that the PKK was a proscribed organisation and, in a key concession, would ‘not provide support’ to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) groups that have been active in the fight against Islamic State in Syria… all three countries said they would work together on extradition requests.

“Sweden is home to 100,000 Kurdish refugees and Turkey has called for the extradition of individuals it says are linked to the PKK or the Syrian YPG. Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden had agreed to ‘further amending their domestic legislation’ to give Turkey the anti-terror reassurances it had sought, and would be ‘cracking down on PKK activities’ and ‘entering into an agreement with Turkey on extradition’.

“US president Joe Biden congratulated the three countries on securing the deal, which he described as ‘a crucial step towards a Nato invite to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our alliance and bolster our collective security.’ Boris Johnson greeted the announcement by tweeting: ‘Fantastic news as we kick off the Nato Summit. Sweden and Finland’s membership will make our brilliant alliance stronger and safer.”

These are very troublesome and dangerous developments, and the [willful?] blindness of Biden and Johnson is amazing, as they should be able to see clearly that Putin will consider these developments as provocations, while Turkey under dictator Erdogan is being given dangerous powers.

Germany’s Military Ambitions

Express wrote on June 29:

“In February, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany announced it would sharply increase its defence spending to more than two percent of its economic output. Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted ‘we will have to invest more in the security of our country to protect our freedom and democracy’… Some French politicians have since blasted the move, which they perceive to be an attempt to overtake France’s military power.

“Les Patriotes official Joffrey Bollée wrote in a post on Twitter: ‘Germany completes its power! After having used the EU as a stepping stone and as a tool to weaken France, Germany is now displaying its military ambitions.’ He insisted that France ‘must urgently counter this project and keep our first rank in terms of defence’.

“Mr Bollée and others appear to have taken particular issue with Mr Scholz’s claim Germany will possess the greatest military force in Europe. The Chancellor last week told the German Parliament the country should boast [the] ‘largest conventional army’ among European NATO state members…

“Les Patriotes President Florian Philippot saw this as a simple act of power play over France. He wrote: ‘In a few weeks, the German Chancellor repeated twice and forcefully that “Germany will soon have the largest army in Europe” (implied, ahead of France)! It might be time to wake up, right?!’”

If Germany under weak and indecisive Chancellor Scholz is already perceived as displaying its military ambitions, only imagine how the world will look when the “beast” comes to power.

G-7 Meeting in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on June 26:

“Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) began three day talks on Sunday in Germany’s Bavarian Alps with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set to dominate the agenda.

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden are also set to discuss proposals to tackle the sharp rise in food and oil prices across the world, as well as inflation, with the leaders of Canada [Trudeau], France [Macron], Italy [Draghi], Japan [Kishida] and the United Kingdom [Johnson]. One of the first announcements was a $600 billion (€568 billion) infrastructure initiative to help developing countries tackle climate change.”

Incredibly, Biden thanked Scholz for his leadership on the Ukraine crisis, saying his leadership had been crucial. What an unbelievable joke, uttered by one failing leader to another. And what a group of “leaders” has been assembling in Germany!

Joe Biden Has the Worst G7 Summit Since Jimmy Carter

The New York Post wrote on June 28:

“This G-7 has to be judged the worst G-7 meeting since the one in Japan in 1979 that also took place amid a global energy crisis and rising inflation. The other factor these two summits, 43 years apart, have in common: an out-to-lunch American president.

“Both the 1979 meeting and this week’s meeting attempted to create an oil buyers’ cartel to limit oil imports but with opposite targets in mind. In 1979, the G-7 wanted to limit imports from the Middle East (the attempt failed immediately). Today the G-7 wants to limit imports from Russia… while begging the Middle East, and especially the dominant producer Saudi Arabia, to increase oil exports to the West.

“As in 1979, when the other G-7 leaders were harsh toward President Jimmy Carter at the summit, this week France’s Emmanuel Macron… advised [Biden] that the Saudis and other top Persian Gulf producers are close to current maximum capacity and as such aren’t able to bail out Biden even if they wanted to…

“Biden… appears oblivious to the fact that Europe is looking for a face-saving way to ease existing sanctions that threaten to harm their own economies more than Russia’s.

“Another parallel between Biden’s position and the dismal Carter years:… In 1979, Saudi Arabia was enraged that the United States sat back during — even encouraged — the fall of the shah in Iran, thus handing over Iran to radical Islamists who have destabilized the Middle East ever since. The Saudis resent Biden calling them moral monsters one day and coming begging for more oil at a lower price the next day, while reopening the futile negotiations with Iran that will have only one outcome — a nuclear-armed Iran….”

“If You Think Joe Biden Is Bad, Just Imagine President Kamala…”

On June 28, the New York Post published the following opinion by Piers Morgan:

“Picture the scene:

“It’s July 4, 2023, and President Kamala Harris is about to address the American people about Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Poland.

“She’s been leader of the free world for six months since Joe Biden, implementing the 25th Amendment, abruptly resigned on the grounds of physical and mental incapacity after the Democrats suffered the worst midterm election mauling in history, losing 120 House seats and eight Senate seats…

“President Harris’ tenure in office has bordered on the miraculous, in that she has managed to be even worse than her predecessor — something political experts didn’t think was possible.

“In fact, her presidency has been a catalog of calamities, dominated by woke-ravaged lunacy. Her first decision was to make freshperson Congressperson Megan Rapinoe her vice president, saying how delighted she was to appoint the first gay woman to such high office…

“Schools are in meltdown after she made Meghan Markle the new education secretary and her first act was to make it a firing offense for teachers to even mention the names of… American icons like Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Neil Armstrong and Mickey Mantle because they all ‘looked like the cruel white supremacists in the royal family’ from whom she was forced to escape.

“Illegal immigration has exploded after Harris declared an immediate path to full US citizenship for anyone who turns up to attempt illegal entry on the southern border and identifies as a legal immigrant…

“Crime has also dramatically increased after President Harris’ new secretary of homeland security, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, introduced a substantial defunding of the police, which led to instant widespread lawlessness…

“Gas prices are now $12 a gallon after Harris signed an emergency executive order banning all US government dealings with Saudi Arabia… The Saudis responded by saying, ‘This is why we don’t let women drive cars’ and giving all their oil to China and Russia, massively worsening America’s energy supply crisis.

“Inflation has continued surging to 15%, a full-blown recession is raging, another Great Depression is looming, and her only response has been to give an interview to Jen Psaki on MSNBC…

“If President Harris’ domestic agenda is a disaster, then her performance on the international stage has been a catastrophe of biblical proportions.

“She withdrew all US weapons supplies to President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine after discovering he had cracked ‘totally, like, inappropriate’ trans jokes when he was a comedian. This woeful inaction of woke-induced military hardware cancel culture promptly emboldened Russia to attack and seize Kyiv, thus completing their illegal takeover of the entire country…

“But her most shocking move was to unilaterally disarm the United States of all its nuclear weapons because Putin said he would too if America went first… Of course, like Adolf Hitler in 1939, Putin went back on his word, and has attacked Poland, telling NATO if they respond, he will nuke them to rubble.”

In spite of his biting sarcasm, Morgan does describe a horrifying and not all that unrealistic scenario.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Some Thoughts About the War in Ukraine

The Ron Paul Institute wrote the following on June 20:

“Putin is to be condemned for launching this war– as is virtually any leader who launches any war. Putin can be termed a war criminal… secondary condemnation belongs to the US (NATO) in deliberately provoking a war with Russia by implacably pushing its hostile military organization, despite Moscow’s repeated notifications about crossing red lines, right up to the gates of Russia…

“Russia is winning the war, Ukraine has lost the war… American sanctions against Russia have turned out to be far more devastating to Europe than to Russia… There are already deep cracks in the European façade of so-called ‘NATO unity.’ Western Europe will increasingly rue the day that it blindly followed the American Pied Piper to war… NATO may in fact ultimately emerge weakened… Europe will sooner or later return to the purchase of inexpensive Russian energy… Europe already perceives the US as a declining power… a Europe that perceives the US already in decline has a little incentive to join the bandwagon against China…

“We now see how massive US sanctions against Russia, including confiscation of Russian funds in western banks, is causing most of the world to reconsider the wisdom of banking entirely on the US dollar into the future…

“One of the most disturbing features of this US-Russian struggle in Ukraine has been the utter corruption of independent media. Indeed Washington has won the information and propaganda war hands down, orchestrating all Western media to sing from the same hymnbook in characterizing the Ukraine war… Nor, of course, is the Russian press to be trusted either… serious analysts must dig deep these days to gain some objective understanding of what is actually taking place in Ukraine…

“China and Russia have now been decisively pushed ever more closely together… That the US can split… Russian and Chinese cooperation is a fantasy. Russia has scientific brilliance, abundant energy, rich rare minerals and metals… China has the capital, the markets, and the manpower to contribute to what becomes a natural partnership across Eurasia.

“Sadly for Washington, nearly every single one of its expectations about this war are turning out to be incorrect…”

We have omitted much of the questionable rhetoric in the article, but what we published above is quite interesting. Please view our recent message, “Biden’s Ministry of Truth and Consequences of the Ukraine War.” 

Anadolu Agency reported on June 17:

“Russia is not concerned that Ukraine could get the status of a European Union candidate ‘because the EU is not a military organization,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday… On future relations with Ukraine, he said Moscow remains willing to build relations with anyone, but ‘only our army and navy can be the guarantors of our security.’”

Putin Back on the World Stage

CNN wrote on June 22:

“When Russian President Vladimir Putin dials into the virtual BRICS summit hosted by Beijing on Thursday, it will be his first time attending a forum with the heads of major economies since launching an invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

“For Putin, this could offer a welcome picture: his face beamed onscreen alongside other leaders whose countries make up this acronymous grouping: China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa — a signal that Russia, though battered by sanctions and remonstrations for the invasion, is not alone.

“It’s a message that may resonate even more clearly as China and Russia, weeks before the invasion, declared their own relationship to have ’no limits,’ and as each of the BRICS leaders have avoided condemning Russia outright… and run foul of Western friends…. the decision by the group to press ahead with its 14th annual summit does reflect a view held by BRICS countries on the global order and, by extension, the situation in Ukraine, that departs from that of the West, experts say…

“The BRICS summit is followed days later by the meeting of a bloc of the world’s leading advanced economies, the Group of Seven, which have been united in their voice against Russian aggression, and kicked Moscow out of their bloc following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.”

The formation of some of the future participants of the “kings of the East” is in the making…  

UK Army Commander: Prepare to Fight in Europe in WW III

The Daily Mail wrote on June 18:

“Britain’s top army general has told his troops to prepare to fight and beat Putin’s armies in a European land war… General Sir Patrick Sanders, who assumed overall command of the British Army this week, warned soldiers ‘we are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again’ as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rocks global stability… ‘I am the first Chief of the General Staff since 1941 to take command of the Army in the shadow of a land war in Europe involving a continental power…

“It comes as Putin menaces NATO countries and this week taunted former Soviet states in Europe by declaring: ‘They are part of historic Russia’…”

A war on European soil will be fought in the future, involving a United States of Europe and Russia, but Britain will not be a part of that fight.

Disastrous Defeat for Macron

Breitbart wrote on June 20:

“… the French public has refused to grant President Emmanuel Macron a parliamentary majority as Marine Le Pen’s populists on the right and an ecological alliance on the left surged at the ballot box to strip the once self-described ‘Jupitarean’ leader of his ability to govern France firmly.

“Just under two months after securing a second term as President of France, Emmanuel Macron and his Ensemble! coalition have suffered a disastrous result in the final round of voting in the parliamentary elections on Sunday, securing just 245 seats, far short of the 289 necessary to maintain a governing majority…

“The night’s true victor… was perhaps Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), which saw a surprising result of 89 candidates elected to the National Assembly, the most in the history of the party…

“Though Mr Macron… had promised in 2017 that his presidency would unify France by doing ‘everything in the five years to come so there is no more reason to vote for the extremes,’  he has apparently failed on this front, with the socialist NUPES coalition headed by far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon winning 131 seats, making the hard left the largest opposition voting bloc in the parliament, should the group of socialists, communists, and greens maintain a unified front… something which could prove difficult for Mélenchon…

“The beleaguered president will most likely need to turn to the centre-right Les Republicans, meaning Macron may need to shift to the right to pass legislation [But for now, the Republicans have ruled out a partnership.] … The loss of his parliamentary majority may also see Macron diminished on the world stage… it remains to be seen how effective Macron will be at casting himself as the premier leader in Europe.

“Upon the retirement of Angela Merkel in Germany and the subsequent elevation of Social Democrat (SPD) Olaf Scholz as chancellor — who is the head of a somewhat precarious ‘traffic light’ coalition government including the Greens and the centrist-liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) — the mantle of head honcho in the European Union appeared to be within grasp for Macron. Yet, Sunday’s results may throw such a vision in doubt….”

DNYUZ wrote on June 20:

“France woke up on Monday wondering whether President Emmanuel Macron would be able to govern effectively… fueling fears of political gridlock. ‘Ungovernable!’ read the front page of Le Parisian, a daily newspaper.”

With a greatly weakened Emmanuel Macron and an indecisive and mostly inconsequential German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who follows, rather than leads, the world, without knowing it, is waiting for the beast to arrive in Europe.

Full-Fledged War Between Israel and Iran on the Horizon

The Wall Street Journal wrote on June 20:

“Israel is intensifying its campaign to thwart Iran’s nuclear, missile and drone programs with a series of covert operations targeting a broader range of key targets… The new moves are the latest evolution of a strategy that has been dubbed the Octopus Doctrine by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett…

“After failed Iranian attempts in recent years to target Israeli civilians around the world, including in Africa, Asia and South America, Israel has been warning its civilians not to travel to Turkey, especially Istanbul, due to an immediate threat posed to them by Iranian units looking to harm Israelis… Israeli concerns reached a fever pitch on Friday night when Israeli officials in the Hebrew media advised Israeli tourists in Istanbul to stay in their rooms and not answer the door to strangers amid a warning that Iran had given the go-ahead for a deadly attack in Turkey… Mr. Bennett made it clear that Israel would do everything to foil those terrorist attacks…

“Israel has carried out more than 400 airstrikes against Iran and its allies in Syria since 2017. Most recently, Russia and Syria accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike earlier this month that shut down the international airport in Damascus. Israel and Iran have each used mines to hit their rival’s ships in waters across the Middle East. Israel says it has shot down advanced drones sent from Iran.

“Iran, in turn, has accused Israel of carrying out a massive airstrike on one of its drone facilities and retaliated for the strike by firing missiles at a compound in northern Iraq that Tehran said had been used by Mossad agents to organize the attack. Israel has used drones and sabotage—including cyberattacks—to target Iran’s nuclear and missile programs…

“The evolution of the Israeli policy comes as U.S.-led efforts to broker a new deal to contain Iran’s nuclear capabilities with Iran appear to be on the brink of collapse. Iran has removed surveillance cameras from various nuclear-related sites across the country and expanded its advanced centrifuge work…”

JTA wrote on June 21:

“Israeli security forces evacuated Israeli citizens from their Istanbul hotel last week, allegedly ahead of an Iranian hit-squad that was intent on kidnapping or killing them.”

In addition, according to Israel 365 of June 17: “Israel’s actions in Jerusalem will lead to a ‘religious war… [that] will reach the US, Europe, and the entire world’… These are threats coming from PA Chairman Abbas’ official spokesmen and advisors.”

Israel Today added on June 17:

“Despite all the warm words in Jerusalem, there’s no sign that this EU hostility is about to ease… It promotes the Palestinian narrative that seeks to delegitimize Israel through lies about its ‘illegal’ settlements and alleged Israel Defense Forces’ aggression; it funds NGOs devoted to harming and destroying Israel; in an aggressive move in 2015 against Israeli ‘occupation’ of the disputed territories, it started to label products from the ‘West Bank.’… von der Leyen announced the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of some 214 million euros (about $224 million). This money had previously been frozen because of the incitement against Israel in Palestinian schoolbooks. Now it’s been unfrozen, even though the incitement remains…

“The Europeans are playing the double game so familiar in the West—pledging support for the Jewish people while empowering Israel’s mortal enemies…. This twin-track has long been the strategy of both Britain and America…”

Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Will Israel Attack Iran?”. Please also note our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Time to Build the Third Temple in the Face of Violence?” 

Coalition in Israel Collapses

The Times of Israel wrote on June 20:

“After months of dysfunction, Israel’s 24th Knesset is set to come to an end, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced Monday that they would submit a bill next week to voluntarily dissolve the Knesset. The dramatic joint statement by the two architects of the so-called change government, which put an end to 12 straight years of the Benjamin Netanyahu premiership, said that all efforts to save the government had been ‘exhausted,’ due to numerous rebellions by wayward MKs…

“Following the Knesset’s dissolution, Lapid is slated to become caretaker prime minister until a new government is sworn in, as per the original coalition agreement. Bennett is expected to become alternate prime minister, a post Lapid currently holds, and will also be responsible for the ‘Iran file,’ Hebrew media reports said.

“Given legal and holiday constraints, new elections are expected at the end of October, possibly the 25^th…”

Newsmax wrote on June 22:

“Israel moved closer on Wednesday to its fifth election in less than four years after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament, with a comeback by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already dominating the campaign… The Knesset voted unanimously to dissolve in a preliminary reading of a bill expected to be finalized next week.”

Israel Today wrote on June 22:

“… elections could still be avoided if opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu succeeds in forming a government before the Knesset is dissolved. Can he do it? Netanyahu currently controls 55 Knesset seats. He needs 61, a bare minimum majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament… The other party in the opposition, the Joint List, an anti-Zionist Arab party, can be immediately ruled out as a potential partner…”

Israeli observers say that Netanyahu’s chances to form a coalition government before the final vote of the Knesset next week to dissolve parliament and set the dates for new elections are very slim…

Better Relations Between Saudi Arabia and Turkey

Reuters wrote on June 22:

“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Turkey for the first time in years on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalising ties that were ruptured after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi… Erdogan said last week he and Prince Mohammed would discuss ‘to what much higher level’ they can take ties during talks in Ankara…

“In a statement following the talks, the two countries emphasized determination on ushering in a new period of cooperation in bilateral relations… The two countries also discussed improving cooperation in trade and sectors such as defence, energy and tourism among others…”

The Bible prophesies the formation of a confederacy between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other nations against Israel (Psalm 83:1-8). 

“Deadliest Earthquake in Afghanistan in Two Decades”

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 22:

“1,000 people died after a magnitude 6 earthquake hit the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan. The death toll is likely to rise as search efforts continue… The magnitude 6 quake struck around 44 kilometers (27 miles) from the city of Khost, located near the border with Pakistan…

“The disaster comes as Afghanistan battles a humanitarian and economic crisis that has worsened since the Taliban seized power last year.  Many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover and the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the country…

“In 2015, more than 200 people were killed in northeastern Afghanistan and neighboring northern Pakistan as a major earthquake hit. Around 1,000 people were killed in a 6.1-magnitude quake in 2002, four years after another devastating 6.1 earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan’s remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.”

There will be “great earthquakes in various places” (Luke 21:11).

Rumors Regarding Sick Francis’s Resignation Persist

 The Daily Mail wrote on June 20:“Pope Francis has fuelled speculation that he could resign after postponing a trip to Africa and announcing an unusual meeting of cardinals. Hobbled by pain in his knee and forced to use a wheelchair in recent weeks, the 85-year-old pontiff postponed a July trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan last week. He also announced an unusual decision to hold a consistory to name new cardinals during a Vatican vacation month and arranged meetings to ensure his reforms stay intact. The extraordinary consistory will be held on August 27, a slow summer month at the Catholic headquarters, to create 21 new cardinals – 16 of whom will be under the age of 80, thereby eligible to elect his successor in a future conclave….

“On August 28, Francis will then pay a visit to L’Aquila and the tomb of Celestine V – the first pope to have resigned from the papacy, in the 13th century….The moves have triggered intense speculation about his plans for the future, including the most radical – that he was planning to step down. The resignation of a pope was once almost unthinkable until Benedict XVI renounced his reign in 2013, citing his declining physical and mental health….  in May, as reported by various Italian media, Francis joked about his knee during a closed-door meeting with bishops: ‘Rather than operate, I’ll resign.’

“But Vatican insiders do not yet think Francis is on the verge of handing over the papal keys… A trip to Canada at the end of July is still on the pontiff’s schedule, and the pope continues to receive injections in his knee and physical therapy, according to the Vatican.

“As a child, Francis had one of his lungs partially removed. Today, besides his knee issue, he suffers recurring sciatic nerve pain.”

When he became pope, Francis declared that his papacy would be short.

Pope No Plan to Resign?

Newsmax wrote on June 23:

“Pope Francis on Wednesday told a group of Brazilian bishops that he had no plans to step down despite recent rumors that he will resign. In a Portuguese translation of the Vatican newsletter, Archbishop Roque Paloschi said Francis told the bishops that, ‘I want to live my mission as long as God allows me and that’s it.’

“Paloschi added that ‘resignation does not cross his mind.’”

His wording, though, “as long God allows me,” is telling.

America’s Belief in God

GALLUP wrote on June 17:

“The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend. Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of Americans believed in God. Gallup’s May 2-22 Values and Beliefs poll finds 17% of Americans saying they do not believe in God…

“Fewer Americans today than five years ago believe in God, and the percentage is down even more from the 1950s and 1960s when almost all Americans did. Still, the vast majority of Americans believe in God, whether that means they believe a higher power hears prayers and can intervene or not. And while belief in God has declined in recent years, Gallup has documented steeper drops in church attendance, church membership and confidence in organized religion, suggesting that the practice of religious faith may be changing more than basic faith in God.”

But the real question is, do those who believe in God believe in the true God of the Bible? Otherwise, “in vain” do they worship God, teaching for doctrines the commandments and philosophies and ideas of men.

In Favor of Killing Babies?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 17:

“[In a speech to religious conservatives in Nashville, Tennessee, Donald Trump] claimed that Democrats were in favor of killing babies… and said the education system was so distorted that teachers could not teach the Bible but were allowed to teach Kindergarten children they could pick their gender… And he repeated his… claims that his defeat to Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud…

“’Our children are captives to unhinged Marxist educators who are pushing inappropriate sexual, racial and political material on our children from the youngest possible age,’ he said… ‘The current education system is so upside down that school prayer is banned. But drag shows are absolutely allowed… The biggest applause line came when he teased a possible 2024 run, something he has floated repeatedly without yet announcing… He added that he would consider pardons for people arrested in connection with the January 6 attack...”

Supreme Court Expands Gun Rights

The Associated Press wrote on June 23:

“In a major expansion of gun rights, the Supreme Court said Thursday [in a 6-3 decision] that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense…

“Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority that the Constitution protects ‘an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.’ The decision struck down a New York law requiring people to demonstrate a particular need for carrying a gun in order to get a license to carry one in public. The justices said that requirement violates the Second Amendment right to ‘keep and bear arms.’… “

The New York Post added on June 23:

“In a separate opinion concurring with Thomas, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Thursday’s ruling does not preclude state and local restrictions on gun ownership by felons and the mentally ill — or laws banning the carrying of firearms in ‘sensitive locations’ like schools and government buildings.”

Trespassing in the US Capitol

Breitbart wrote on June 17:

“The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a group of nine staffers from CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for allegedly trespassing in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday night, according to Fox News…

“Fox News’s Jesse Watters reported that the Colbert staffers were let into the House office building by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA). There have been calls for Schiff to resign from his post on the January 6 Committee over this breach of security. In addition, many want to see Colbert’s staffers arrested and charged with the same crimes as those who entered the Capitol on January 6.”

It is ironic that Adam Schiff is a member of the sham-and-farce-committee trying to establish Trump’s responsibility for the January 6 “insurrection.”

We Are in a Recession Now

Newsmax wrote on June 18:

“The United States may not be in an official recession yet, according to the federal government, but the nation is ‘in a recession now,’ and tens of millions of American families already believe the worst is already happening because prices are going up higher than their incomes, and their savings are being rapidly depleted, Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, told Newsmax. ‘We’re in a big mess, and we’re going to be already over the cliff on the economy,’ Forbes said…

“‘Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve believes that the only way to control inflation is by crushing demand… ‘When they talk about a soft landing or trying to slow the economy down, that means making people poor… Consumer debt is going up, and credit card debt is going up… Mortgage payments are going to be very bad when those adjustable mortgage rates are readjusted later this year… And when heating oil prices come in this winter, when you’re paying twice as much as you were before and you have to heat your home, that’s going to be a disaster…’

“Meanwhile, the government is releasing lower inflation numbers based on the ‘so-called consumer price index,’ said Forbes, so one must take the numbers with a ‘grain of salt.’ ‘What people feel is, How much are they paying for food? How much are they paying for fuel? What are they paying on their mortgage rates? What are they paying for college and the basic things that they have to do on a day-to-day basis?’

“On that level, Steve Moore, another economist, said, ‘You know the official rate is maybe 8.5%. [But] people feel it’s more like 20%, so the cost of living is going up rapidly, and what’s bad about inflation? Among other things, it’s a hidden tax and the [government’s] reckless overspending…’ This also means that even when people get pay raises, they’re still behind, according to Forbes.”

Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Civil War, Violence and Misery in the USA.” 

Biden’s Gas Relief as Likely as a “Purple Cow Jumping Over the Moon”

The New York Post wrote on June 22:

“President Biden repeated his charge that high gas prices are Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s fault… Gas remains almost $5 a gallon nationwide and analysts predict $6 a gallon is coming [In California, for example, the average gas price a gallon has already exceeded $6.]. A Rasmussen poll found that just 11% of voters blame Putin for gas prices; almost five times as many blame Biden.

“Another Rasmussen poll found that only 27% of likely voters approve of Biden economic policies and 74% believe the economy has ‘gotten worse’ during his presidency.

“Biden portrayed himself Wednesday as a consumer savior for proposing to suspend the 18-cent-agallon federal gasoline tax for 90 days. He said the US government could afford to suspend gas taxes (which finance highway repair) because the federal deficit declined last year. He didn’t mention that the deficit is $1 trillion this year and will surge in the coming years…

“The White House PR team should have added a drawing of a purple cow jumping over the moon. It is just as likely as Biden delivering $1-a-gallon relief. A White House economic adviser summarized the administration’s struggle on gas prices: ‘They’re fighting about narrative rather than fighting about substance … Nobody thinks there’s going to be a compelling solution.’

“While the president delivered his awkward pitch, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demolished one of Biden’s chief talking points during testimony Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) asked him: ‘Would you say that the war in Ukraine is the primary driver of inflation in America?’ Powell replied, ‘No. Inflation was high, certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out.’”

“Joe Biden’s Political Future in Europe”

Adam Dick wrote the following in the Ron Paul Institute of June 23:

“President Joe Biden’s popularity among American voters has been in descent since he took the oath of office in January of 2021. Indeed, by May 25 of this year, Biden’s approval rating, as related by Paul Bedard in a Washington Examiner editorial, had fallen below that of every president back through Harry Truman at that point in their presidencies. And Biden’s approval rating has continued to drop since then…

“One option for the career politician who may not want to step away from the political power just yet is to look for opportunity in Europe. Less than 4 in 10 Americans polled say they support Biden, and a majority disapprove. In at least some countries in Europe, in contrast, polling suggests majority support for Biden.

“Spring polling numbers from Pew Research Center indicate confidence in Biden was at 53 percent in France, 56 percent in both Spain and Great Britain, and a whopping 64 percent in Germany…  Europe may be a land of political opportunity for Biden after so many people in his home country electorate and even in his own party have soured on the prospect of him seeking reelection as US president… Maybe Biden could even hold a high government office in Ukraine…”

It is beyond belief that Biden should have such approval rates in parts of Europe, especially Germany. It can only be explained by total ignorance and utter distortion of the facts by the mass media in those countries. The same could be said about President Clinton’s and President Obama’s incredible popularity in Germany. 

Germany’s Energy Crisis

Breitbart wrote on June 23:

“The energy crisis appears to only be going from bad to worse in Germany, with the country announcing that it was triggering the second level of its three-tier gas emergency plan, with the last and final level being available to the state allowing authorities to begin rationing supply. It comes shortly after Moscow dramatically reduced the amount of gas it is supplying to the central European state, which has become heavily addicted to Russian energy exports in part as a result of the country’s obsession with its climate change agenda.

“According to a report by Die Welt, Germany’s Economics and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck announced the move to the second level of emergency powers on Thursday, with the country now aiming to fill its gas storage tanks before winter hits. ‘We are in a gas crisis. Gas is now a scarce commodity. The prices are already high and we have to be prepared for further increases,’ the publication reports Habeck as saying…. The minister then proceeded to call on ordinary Germans to cut their own energy usage…”

New Rules for Transgender Athletes

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 19:

“World swimming’s governing body FINA adopted new rules for [male-to-female] transgender athletes… only permitting swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s competitions…

“Female-to-male transgender athletes (transgender men) are eligible to compete in men’s swimming competitions, as their physical makeup at birth puts them at a disadvantage, if anything… FINA also intends to create an ‘open category’ to allow transgender athletes to compete in a separate class at elite level…

“The new rules drew mixed reactions. British swimmer Sharron Davies said that she was proud of FINA… On the other hand, advocacy group Athlete Ally called the new eligibility criteria ‘discriminatory, harmful, unscientific.’”

It is sad that in this God-defying world, these kinds of issues even exist and will have to be discussed and regulated.

Pelosi, Harris and the Drag Queens

IFN wrote on June 16:

“… the Left has been using drag queens to advance the LGBT agenda and groom our children. For example, Fisher-Price has just introduced a set of RuPaul drag queen figurines marketed to children as young as one. To celebrate Pride month this year a gay bar in Dallas, Texas, hosted a ‘family friendly’ drag show targeted at children… at the event children threw dollar bills at scantily-clad drag queens and went on stage with them. And now two prominent Democratic leaders—U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris—are proudly hanging out with drag queens to show support for the radical LGBT agenda.

“In an episode of the RuPaul Drag Race show which aired on June 10, 2022 on Paramount +, Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes a guest appearance and gives strong support to the drag queens. In the episode Pelosi states: ‘It is my honor to be here to say to all of you how proud we all are of you. Thank you for the joy and beauty you bring to the world. Your freedom of expression of yourselves in drag is what America is all about. I say that all the time to my friends in drag.’…

“Vice President Kamala Harris, however, would not let Speaker Pelosi steal the show in giving support to drag queens… Harris and her husband appeared at the Capitol Pride event in Washington, DC, and both went on stage with the drag queen winner of season thirteen’s RuPaul’s Drag Race… After the event Harris posted on Instagram a picture of herself hugging the drag queen with the words ‘Love is love. Happy Pride!’”

“That is what America is all about!” Maybe it’s true…and so, the downfall of America is irreversible. Please view our new sermon, “Rumors, Fake News and the Truth” .

No Conversion Therapy for Confused Minors

Breitbart wrote on June 18:

“The Biden administration promised this week to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors who claim they are members of the opposite sex… Now, in sync with pro-transgender activists and clinical organizations, President Joe Biden’s White House is using an overly broad definition of ‘conversion therapy,’ seemingly in the hopes of silencing ‘gender identity’ critics — all while promoting puberty-blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even surgeries for sex-questioning youth…

“Florida Medicaid found that there is ‘low or very low quality’ evidence that so-called ‘puberty blocker’ drugs protect the mental health of minors who want to live as members of the opposite sex. Another study completed by the Heritage Foundation suggests making puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones easier for minors to access has increased youth suicide rates…

“But why is the federal government so eager [to] push gender ideology onto younger generations, while also preventing counselors and religious leaders from exploring alternatives?…  there is a great deal of money to be made from ‘gender transitions.’ A report released in December 2020 found that the U.S. sex reassignment surgery market size was valued at $267 million in 2019 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 14.4 percent from 2020 to 2027.”

It’s the same with the push for vaccines. Big Pharma makes a fortune. See below.

Covid Vaccinations for Infants

Breitbart wrote on June 19:

“The Biden administration’s long-predicted coronavirus vaccine program tailored exclusively for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers began Saturday on the back of requests from the pharmaceutical industry.

“The shots will expand the nation’s vaccination push down to children as young as six months with an estimated 18 million possible recipients to be targeted.

“President Joe Biden hailed what he called the ‘monumental step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus,’ adding ‘for parents all over the country, this is a day of relief and celebration.’ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended approval of vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for use among the child target group.

“A recent survey asked parents with children under the age of five if they plan to get their youngest children vaccinated. A majority, 52 percent, said they are either not getting their children vaccinated or are ‘not sure.’ Of the 52 percent, specifically, 34 percent said they will ‘not’ get their children vaccinated, and 17 percent said they are not sure. Forty-eight percent however, said they plan to do so.

“The government has already been gearing up for the vaccine expansion, with millions of doses ordered for distribution to doctors, hospitals and community health clinics around the country.”

Another example of greed and insanity in our times. Note the next article.

Did Russia Fake Its Covid Vaccine Trial?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 21:

“Russia appears to have faked trial results of its flagship Covid vaccine, according to an analysis. A team of researchers in Australia and Singapore, who pored over the original study, have uncovered what they believe is proof the Kremlin fabricated efficacy data. Russian scientists claimed the jab produced nearly identical results across five different age groups when the trial was published last year. It sparked claims among some experts the results were ‘too good to be true’, given the tiny numbers of infections that occurred in each cohort.

“Now researchers have run the trial through a simulation model 50,000 times to test the likelihood of the results being genuine. They found the chance of replicating the same efficacy across all five age groups again was just 0.02 per cent…. Hundreds of millions of people are thought to have been vaccinated with Sputnik worldwide. Around 70 countries had placed orders worth up to £7billion before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine….”

The question is, however, how reliable and SAFE are the vaccines which have been approved by Western nations?

Lockdowns Led to Global Mental Health Crisis

Daily Mail wrote on June 21:

“Covid lockdowns have created a ‘global crisis for mental health’, the World Health Organization has admitted. An international report by the UN agency found two years of restrictions have led to ‘significant mental health consequences’, especially for young people. The WHO now estimates more than a billion people around the world are living with a mental health disorder as a result, a quarter more than pre-Covid. It said there had been an even bigger rise among children…

“Curbs imposed to control Covid led to feelings of ‘social isolation, disconnectedness and uncertainty about the future’, the report added. The admission comes despite the WHO hailing China’s lockdowns at the start of the pandemic and warning that lifting measures too early in Britain may cause a ‘deadly resurgence’ in 2020.

“Schools were closed nationally at least twice over the course of the pandemic, with students also forced to learn from home because of individual closures. More than 100 countries also shut down schools during the peak of the first wave… The most common types include anxiety, depression and developmental disorders like autism.”

The Foolishness of Man!

Germany Considering Mask Mandates for the Winter

LifeSiteNews wrote on June 18:

“The German government is considering a proposal that would require citizens to wear masks indoors every winter in anticipation of annual COVID waves.  According to German newspaper Die Welt, the proposal would require mask wearing in all public spaces, including restaurants, bars and retail stores, throughout the entire winter season of October to March. It is unclear if the proposal would extend to schools or other settings with young children.

“The justification being given for the annually renewing mandate is the idea that COVID, like the flu, experiences an uptick in cases during the cold weather, and the widely disputed idea that mandating the wearing of masks could limit the spread of the highly survivable virus… at least 47 studies have indicated that masks are ineffective at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.  An additional 32 studies… suggest that mask wearing can actually negatively impact one’s health… Many are concerned that masking has caused needless and even irreparable harm.’”

It’s mere lunacy…

Austria Scraps Unsuccessful COVID Vaccine Mandate

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 23:

“Austria is scrapping an already-suspended COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Health Minister Johannes Rauch said on Thursday. [He said:] ‘… today that means the abolition of compulsory vaccination… No one is getting vaccinated because of the compulsory vaccination…’

“Originally, the plan was to threaten those who refused vaccination with a fine of up to €3,600 ($3,780), as of March 15. But by the beginning of March there were few signs that people were responding to the possible financial penalties, and the law was suspended… In February, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen signed into law a mandate for all eligible adults over 18 in the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The move sparked fierce protests…

“Last month, Austria announced it would be dropping its mask wearing mandate  though the health ministry said it may return later in the year.”

These mandates were stupid ideas from the outset. 

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Trump Slams House Committee

Newsmax wrote on June 10:

“Former President Donald Trump blasted the House Jan. 6 select committee for its biased, ‘negative’ prime-time hearing on Thursday night… The proceedings did not include any cross-examination or contradictory testimony. The former president railed against the committee’s members — Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans — for hiring former ABC executive James Goldston to help produce a one-sided show. ‘So the Unselect Committee of political HACKS refuses to play any of the many positive witnesses and statements, refuses to talk of the Election Fraud and Irregularities that took place on a massive scale, and decided to use a documentary maker from Fake News ABC to spin only negative footage. Our Country is in such trouble!’ Trump posted Thursday night…

“Trump on Friday morning slammed the committee for suggesting he supported protesters for chanting, ‘Hang [then-Vice President] Mike Pence!’ ‘I NEVER said, or even thought of saying, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’ This is either a made up story by somebody looking to become a star, or FAKE NEWS!” Trump posted… ‘The so-called “Rush on the Capitol” was not caused by me, it was caused by a Rigged and Stolen Election!’ Trump posted Friday morning.

“Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was incorrect when she claimed then-President Trump ‘did not condemn the attack.’ Actually, Trump did condemn the violence in a video Twitter quickly blocked, along with an Oval Office address a week later. Cheney also used Trump’s words of ‘love in the air’ out of context as the committee showed protesters breaching the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump spoke those words about the Stop the Steal rally, not to describe the people breaching the Capitol.”

Trump DID Ask for National Guards Prior to January 6, 2021

TND wrote on June 9:

“A Capitol Police timeline of the days and weeks surrounding Jan. 6 shows former President Donald Trump’s Department of Defense (DOD) offered the National Guard’s assistance in the days leading up to the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, validating claims from Trump administration officials that were said to be false by liberal fact-checkers…

“According to the timeline, a DOD official reached out to Capitol Police Deputy Chief Sean Gallagher four days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol to inquire about whether Capitol Police anticipated they would request National Guard troops be deployed to prepare for Jan. 6… Just hours after Gallagher’s rejection of DOD’s offer for troops, Capitol Police issued a new warning to its commanders and executives, as well as to the two congressionally appointed House and Senate Sergeants at Arms responsible for congressional security, the timeline shows… Within 24-hours of the new assessment’s circulation, then-chief of the Capitol Police Steve Sund changed course and began requesting permission to deploy National Guard troops from the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms – both of whom report to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer, respectively… Sund’s requests were denied…”

“Out of Desperation, Democrats Resurrect ‘Insurrection Theater’”

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on June 13:

“This week, US gasoline prices hit an average of $5.00 per gallon, an all-time record. Officially, consumer price inflation hit 8.6 percent last month compared to last May. That is a four-decade high. In reality, though, inflation is much higher than that, as anyone who works for a living can affirm…

“The most recent polls have President Biden with a record low approval rate, and Democrats in Congress are bracing for a real beating in the mid-term elections in just under six months…

“With so much going wrong in areas Americans are most worried about, the Democrats have for some reason decided that the ticket to electoral success in November is to bring back ‘Insurrection Theater’ in the form of new hearings on the events of January 6, 2021… these hearings have had nothing to do with getting at the truth behind the events of January 6th and everything to do with trying to drum up more partisan anger and fear.

“What we won’t see in the hearings is any of the 14,000 unreleased hours of surveillance… We also won’t hear anything about how many of the ‘insurrectionists’ were actually government informers or even provocateurs. And we certainly won’t get any answers as to why the police actually seemed to be opening the doors and inviting the people inside.

“Maybe that’s because the January 6th Committee is a star chamber, where the only Republicans – the deeply unpopular Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – have been hand-selected by Nancy Pelosi… Meanwhile, no one at all wants to talk about how the Fed, with the participation of Congress, is leading us to economic disaster.”

Committee Unethical, Unfair and Fraudulent

Newsmax wrote on June 10:

“Constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax on Friday that the Jan. 6 committee’s public hearing on Thursday night was ‘’not a fair proceeding’ in that it was ‘’one-sided’ and ‘’unethical.” Take, for example, President Trump’s speech on Jan. 6,’ Dershowitz said… ‘He said at the end of the speech he wanted people to show their voices patriotically and peacefully. They doctored the tape… they edited those words out. If a prosecutor ever did that, they’d be disbarred. You can’t present part of the tape and deliberately omit the rest of the tape in order to mislead the audience, especially when the other side has no opportunity to cross-examine, no opportunity to present its own evidence… President Trump committed no crimes… Anybody who thinks that he did fails to understand the First Amendment.’

“… Because Donald Trump’s side had no opportunity to present its case, Dershowitz said the committee had a ‘special ethical obligation not to cheat, not to defraud the viewers, and that’s exactly what the Democrats, with their two Republicans, did yesterday… People would take seriously a nonpartisan, non-biased commission… But nobody should take seriously this one-sided basketball game in which only one team is allowed to shoot for the basket, and the other team is not even allowed to defend.’”

Enough said. Everybody should be able to see that this Committee is nothing but a sham and a farce.

Increasing Violence Against Pro-Life Groups

The Washington Examiner wrote on June 10:

“Law enforcement officials arrested and charged a man last week with the ‘attempted murder’ of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh… This assassination attempt was not a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion… The assassination attempt is part of a growing string of acts of violence, intimidation, and domestic terrorism targeting pro-life groups and conservative public figures following the Supreme Court leak…

“A crisis pregnancy center in Asheville, North Carolina, for example, was vandalized on June 7. The building was splashed with red paint, the windows were smashed, and the vandals spray-painted a message on the building that read, ‘If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you!’

“On June 6, a Christian pregnancy center in Buffalo, New York, was firebombed. The office was destroyed. The attackers left a message scrawled near the building. It read, ‘If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.’

“On June 3, a pregnancy crisis center in Washington, D.C., was vandalized. The front door was splashed with red paint and a message reading ‘Jane Says Revenge’ was spray-painted on the side of the building — ‘Jane’ presumably being a reference to the ‘Jane Roe’ in Roe v. Wade. For context, the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center is a faith-based nonprofit organization. It does not refer or perform abortions.

“On May 27, a crisis pregnancy center in Lynnwood, Washington, was vandalized. The attackers spray-painted the message: ‘If abortion isn’t safe, you aren’t either.

“On around May 20, a pro-life billboard in Portland, Oregon, was defaced with pro-abortion messages that read ‘Abort the Supreme Court’ and ‘My body, my choice.

“On May 14, a crisis pregnancy center in Frederick, Maryland, was vandalized with pro-abortion graffiti.

“On May 13, a crisis pregnancy center in Reisterstown, Maryland, was vandalized. Messages left behind included, ‘You’re anti-choice,’ ‘Not pro-life,’ and ‘If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you.’

“On May 8, activists attacked a Right to Life office in Keizer, Oregon, with Molotov cocktails. In that same time period, a crisis pregnancy center in Denton, Texas, was vandalized. The attackers left messages painted on the building that read ‘Forced birth is murder’ and ‘Not a clinic.’ A crisis pregnancy center in Madison, Wisconsin, was also attacked on May 8. It was firebombed, and the assailants left threatening messages scribbled on the property, including ‘If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.’…

“On May 7, a Roman Catholic church in Fort Collins, Colorado, was vandalized, its doors and windows smashed. ‘My body, my choice’ was written on the church’s entrance doors.

“On May 6, a Roman Catholic church in Armada, Michigan, was vandalized with messages that include ‘666’ and ‘F-g Republicans dead.’

“On May 5, a crisis pregnancy center in Portland, Oregon, had its windows smashed. The perpetrators left behind a note that read, ‘F*** [crisis pregnancy centers].’

“On May 3, a pregnancy center in Illinois was razed, causing roughly $250,000 in damages. The center provided diapers and baby supplies to struggling mothers.

“Also, on May 3, a Roman Catholic church in Boulder, Colorado, was vandalized. The perpetrators splashed paint on a statue of the Virgin Mary and spray-painted messages all over the church, including ones that read ‘My body, my choice’ and ‘Keep your religion off our bodies.’

“Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three is a trend. More than a dozen is a coordinated campaign whose message is: You are next.”

It really appears that all or many of these attacks are coordinated.

Fauci Sick With Corona

Webmd.com reported on June 15:

“Anthony Fauci, MD, the chief medical officer to the White House, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday… Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received his second booster dose, is experiencing mild symptoms and will isolate at home…”

Anybody should be able to see the fraudulent claims in support of Big Pharma, uttered by Fauci in the past,  that you don’t get corona if you are vaccinated, while totally ignoring or downplaying natural immunity.

Proposed Bi-Partisan Gun Law

Newsmax wrote on June 11:

“President Joe Biden says he will sign an agreement on a framework for a firearms safety bill proposed by a bipartisan group of senators… The plan includes support for state ‘red flag’ laws that would keep guns from potentially dangerous people, tougher criminal background checks for firearms buyers under 21 and a crackdown on ‘straw purchases’ by people buying firearms for others who could not pass a background check… the framework is far less ambitious than proposals offered by Biden and other Democrats for banning semi-automatic, assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines or at least raising the minimum age to buy those from 18 to 21.

“… While the deal represents a significant breakthrough, it does not ensure that legislation will be passed, as lawmakers still must hammer out legislative language that can secure enough votes to get through both the Senate and House of Representatives, each narrowly controlled by Democrats… But Sunday’s announcement still marks the furthest that talks on a gun measure have advanced in Congress since 2013, following a Connecticut school massacre, when gun control legislation failed on the Senate floor… The group that agreed to the framework included 10 Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

“The United States has the highest rate of firearms deaths among the world’s wealthy nations. But it is a country where many cherish gun rights and its Constitution’s Second Amendment protects the right to ‘keep and bear arms’…”

To quote General Douglas MacArthur: “It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh” (Radio Broadcast, September 2, 1945).

The Danger of Red Flag Gun Laws

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on June 15:

“… at a time when red flag gun laws (which authorize government officials to seize guns from individuals viewed as a danger to themselves or others) are gaining traction as a legislative means by which to allow police to remove guns from people suspected of being threats, it wouldn’t take much for police to be given the green light to enter a home without a warrant in order to seize lawfully-possessed firearms based on concerns that the guns might pose a danger. Frankly, a person wouldn’t even need to own a gun to be subjected to such a home invasion….

“As The Washington Post reports, these red flag gun laws ‘allow a family member, roommate, beau, law enforcement officer or any type of medical professional to file a petition [with a court] asking that a person’s home be temporarily cleared of firearms. It doesn’t require a mental-health diagnosis or an arrest.’ … Where the problem arises is when you put the power to determine who is a potential danger in the hands of government agencies, the courts and the police…. Red flag gun laws merely push us that much closer towards a suspect society where everyone is potentially guilty of some crime or another and must be preemptively rendered harmless…. No matter how well-intentioned, red flag gun laws will put a target on the back of every American whether or not they own a weapon.”

Joe Biden… King Midas in Reverse

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 11:

“US President Joe Biden, along with leaders from 19 Latin American countries, unveiled a new plan to tackle migration in the Americas…

“The signatories of the deal include the three major Central American countries that play an outsized role in migration, namely, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; together known as the Northern Triangle. Mexico, which plays a key role in curbing illegal migration at the US-Mexico border, also signed the pact…

“The Central American countries’ cooperation was deemed essential because their leaders boycotted the southern Californian gathering over Biden’s decision to exclude three countries the US considers autocratic, namely Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The leaders’ boycott, most notably involving Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, dealt a big blow to the event, even as US officials tried to downplay it.

“In the end, despite Biden’s assurances of the significance of the migration pact, only 20 countries signed it, several fewer than the number attending the summit…

“The administration is also seeking to counter growing Chinese influence in the region as Beijing develops stronger economic ties with several Latin American countries like Brazil and Argentina.”

According to a new poll, most Americans believe that Biden is purposefully trying to sabotage the economy and deliberately allowing gas prices to rise to allegedly force consumers to use less fossil fuel and to buy electric cars instead. Whether this is true or not, there can be no doubt that Biden is largely responsible for the high gas prices. As Breitbart correctly pointed out on June 10, “he attacked American energy independence on day one by nixing the Keystone Pipeline and continued the trend by rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and canceling oil and gas leases.” He also “issued a 60-day halt on all new oil and gas leases and drilling permits on federal lands and waters… directed federal agencies to eliminate all supports for fossil fuels [and] imposed new regulations on oil and gas and methane emissions.”

The New York Post wrote on June 12: “Food prices will keep climbing – with no end in sight — as inflation continues to take hold of the US economy, some of the nation’s leading food suppliers and restaurant chains said.”

Fed’s Aggressive Rate Hikes Raise Likelihood of a Recession

The Associated Press wrote on June 16:

“A worse-than-expected inflation report for May — consumer prices rocketed up 8.6% from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1981 — helped spur the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of point Wednesday. Not since 1994 has the central bank raised its key rate by that much all at once. And until Friday’s nasty inflation report, traders and economists had expected a rate hike of just half a percentage point Wednesday. What’s more, several more hikes are coming…

“Each rate hike means higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. And each time would-be borrowers find loan rates prohibitively expensive, the resulting drop in spending weakens confidence, job growth and overall economic vigor… Indeed, since 1955 every time inflation ran hotter than 4% and unemployment fell below 5%, the economy has tumbled into recession within two years… The U.S. jobless rate is now 3.6%, and inflation has topped 8% every month since March… And there’s another byproduct of Fed rate hikes: The dollar will likely rise as investors buy U.S. Treasuries to capitalize on higher yields. A rising dollar hurts U.S. companies and the economy by making American products costlier and harder to sell overseas…”

Food Shortage Worries Mount

 Zero Hedge wrote on June 16:

 “Pennsylvania farmers are being ‘crushed’ by the record cost of diesel – so much so, that questions about a food crisis are starting to loom…  The situation looks as though it will continue to push food prices higher, after the government reported that food prices in May were 10.1% higher than last year…

“The PA average for diesel is now $6.19 per gallon, up about 75% from a year ago… One farmer who works on about 3,500 acres burns through about 2,000 gallons of diesel per month… said. ‘If the farmers cannot get crops out of the ground, then there is not food on the shelves.’”

Biden to Roll Back Jerusalem Embassy Move

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on June 10:

“The State Department confirmed… that a new Office of Palestinian Affairs will be established in Jerusalem and act independently of the U.S. ambassador to Israel’s office there. The formation of a separate diplomatic office… could violate the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which mandated that a single U.S. embassy be established in the holy city. The State Department also confirmed that it is working to go even further—opening an official Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem wholly independent of the U.S. embassy in Israel…. That would set the stage for Jerusalem to once again be viewed by the United States as divided between Israeli and Palestinian territories.

“Former U.S. diplomats… said the Biden administration is trying to undermine former president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which eliminated a formal distinction between West and East Jerusalem.”

America, under Biden, becomes more and more an antagonistic enemy of Israel.

Israel Prepares for War With Iran

Israel Today wrote on June 12:

“Both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) are now actively preparing for a major confrontation with Iran and the bombing of nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic… On Thursday, it was announced that IAF engineers have succeeded in designing a system that eliminates the need to refuel its F-35 Adir stealth fighter jet mid-mission. The F-35 is a radar-invisible warplane that reportedly will be used in a future massive IAF air strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities…

“That such a bombardment could now become a reality was also shown by a massive air exercise by IAF aircraft over the Mediterranean one and a half weeks ago. Hundreds of IAF aircraft took part in this exercise, and the government in Jerusalem said the exercise was intended to simulate a multiple-front war with Iran…”

The Bible prophesies that Israel will suffer defeat in a coming military confrontation—in addition and PRIOR TO the Great Tribulation.

Israel and Iran: Five Minutes to Armageddon?

The Hill published the following article on June 16:

“The Pentagon fully realizes that time is not on Israel’s side, nor that of the U.S. and its allies. In March, now-retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then commander of U.S. Central Command, testified in a Senate hearing that Iran has ‘3,000 ballistic missiles,’ including variants capable of reaching Tel Aviv, while assessing Tehran’s nuclear ‘breakout’ is now measured in ‘weeks,’ not ‘months.’ 

“Israel concurs. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett acknowledged on June 12 Iran is ‘dangerously close to getting their hands on nuclear weapons.’ Earlier, Jerusalem — in an atypical disclosure for Israel — declared it has sufficiently extended the range of its U.S.-supplied Lockheed Martin F-351 Adir stealth fighter-bombers to complete any missions tasked to them in Iran. Israel’s message to the ayatollahs was loud and clear: Israel can reach deep inside Iran and exit Iranian air-space unseen…

“If forced to attack Iran’s nuclear program, Israel’s primary target would be destroying the centrifuges enriching HEU in Natanz, Fordow, and elsewhere — all of which are buried deep underground. It is the only military means by which Jerusalem could avert Tehran from reaching the 90 percent HEU enrichment level. Numerous tertiary targets also would need to be eliminated. Iran Watch lists 38 known nuclear-related sites in total.

“Jerusalem’s planning must anticipate Hezbollah, Hamas and other Tehran-backed militias aggressively responding in kind if Israel launches a raid into Iran. In all likelihood, before Israel’s air forces could return to Israeli airspace, massive volleys of rocket fire would be hitting the country from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria — and possibly even from Iran itself. Striking Iran’s nuclear facilities would be only the beginning, not the end, of a hot war between Israel and Iran.

“Prepared or not, Israel and Washington both appear to be out of time — Iran’s threat is substantial, and it is only intensifying… Measured in Doomsday Clock terms, it is five minutes to midnight in Jerusalem and Tehran — and in Megiddo, the historical biblical site of Armageddon in Israel.”

Spineless Congress Has Been Abrogating Powers to Allow for Dictatorship

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on June 14:

“The US Constitution explicitly gives Congress, not the president, the authority to determine if the republic should go to war. Unfortunately, that fundamental point is now little more than a quaint historical footnote. Congress has issued no declarations of war since the early 1940s, when it did so against Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and other Axis powers. Yet the United States has launched more than a dozen significant ‘presidential wars’ since then. Moreover, that pace shows little sign of slowing.

“… When Harry Truman sent more than 200,000 US troops to intervene in the conflict that had erupted on the Korean Peninsula, he showed no inclination whatever to seek a declaration of war from Congress… Later presidents likewise ignored Congress and acted entirely on their own alleged authority (Johnson in the Dominican Republic, Reagan in Lebanon and Grenada, Obama in Libya). In one case (Clinton in Kosovo), a president even disregarded the legislative branch’s refusal  to give approval for military action. More often, though, White House occupants preferred supportive, ‘blank check’ congressional resolutions (Johnson in Vietnam, the the elder Bush in the Persian Gulf, and Bush the younger in Afghanistan and Iraq).

“America’s would-be emperors indeed have been bold in expanding US power throughout the international arena and making a mockery of the Constitution in the process… The failure of Congress to halt brazenly unconstitutional presidential wars… has been the most graphic example of such dereliction of duty. A more subtle manifestation, though, has been the passage of vacuous, open-ended congressional resolutions. Such measures authorize the use of force against a designated US adversary, but give the president unrestricted discretion to decide if or when that step is necessary…

“Congressional attitudes about two volatile arenas that could lead to dangerous military entanglements for the United States – Ukraine and Taiwan – are the latest examples of an unhealthy deference to the White House and an avoidance of responsibility…  There also is a pervasive absence of congressional willingness to rein-in President Biden as he deepens US involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war…

“Abdication serves an important political purpose, because it enables Congress to avoid responsibility for issues of war and peace, life and death. If a presidential military intervention goes well, legislators can climb aboard and portray themselves as enthusiastic supporters of the venture. If the war goes badly, they can disown it and even criticize it as the ultimate in presidential folly – especially if the occupant of the Oval Office is from the opposition party. Such abdication of the congressional war power, however, constitutes a profile in cowardice. It also has been a major factor in the proliferation of ill-conceived, often disastrous, US military interventions…”

A similar development in Europe would certainly allow for the immediate rise of the Beast, as described in the Book of Revelation.

China Threatens USA Over Taiwan

Aljazeera wrote on June 10:

“China will ‘not hesitate to start a war’ and ‘smash to smithereens’ any Taiwan independence efforts, its defence minister warned his US counterpart in the pair’s first face-to-face talks.

“‘If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,’ Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said during a meeting with Lloyd Austin on Friday, [continuing that China will] ‘resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland’ [saying that] ‘Taiwan is China’s Taiwan’…

“The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier, a source of constant friction between Washington and Beijing…”

BBC News added on June 11:

“China and Taiwan were divided during a civil war in the 1940s, but Beijing insists the island will be reclaimed at some point, by force if necessary… Only a few countries recognise Taiwan. Most recognise the Chinese government in Beijing instead. The US has no official ties with Taiwan but does have a law which requires it to provide the island with the means to defend itself.”

Biden recently said that the USA will itself defend Taiwan militarily.. .a claim which was subsequently disputed and “clarified” by the White House.

Fear of Nuclear War

Newsweek wrote on June 7:

“Russian state TV… has warned that if NATO keeps supporting Ukraine in President Vladimir Putin’s war, there will be a ‘massive nuclear strike’ that will see only ‘mutants’ survive…. Solovyov, who has close ties with Putin and has been called ‘Putin’s voice,’ was speaking on Russia-1…

“[He] said that the world is ‘descending into bloody pages of world history… Because if NATO decides they can place whatever they want at our borders, they’ll be sending more and more of American weapons to Ukraine, Ukraine will fire and end up hitting one of our nuclear power plants, and here we go.’ Solovyov said the ‘process’ then will ‘quickly become uncontrollable.’”

Nuclear war between Russia and Europe will occur… but not yet.

Putin’s Plans for Europe?

Fox News wrote on June 12:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to force the West to end its sanctions by causing a widespread famine, Yale historian Timothy Snyder argues. [He] pointed to Russia’s ongoing blockade of Ukrainian grain, which shows no signs of stopping. Ukraine is a major global producer of grain, supplying mainly Middle Eastern and Asian countries.

“Snyder argues that Putin’s plan is not only to destabilize Ukraine by cutting off exports but also destabilize the European Union by generating ‘refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine.’ ‘When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted,’ Snyder concluded…

“Russia is currently holding a blockade on Ukraine’s port of Odessa, causing a backlog of roughly 20 million tons of grain.”

These proposed concepts are not without merit.

Putin—the Modern Peter the Great?

Metro.co.uk wrote on June 10:

“Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Russian tyrant Peter the Great, drawing parallels between what he portrayed as their twin historic quests to reconquer Russian lands. After months of denials that the Kremlin has been driven by imperial ambitions with the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president appeared to offer the clearest glimpse yet of his true goals.

“Speaking on the 350^th anniversary of the tsar’s birth, he said: ‘Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years. It would seem that he was at war with Sweden, he took something from them. He did not take anything from them, he returned (what was Russia’s). Apparently, it also fell to us to return (what is Russia’s) and strengthen (the country). And if we proceed from the fact that these basic values form the basis of our existence, we will certainly succeed in solving the tasks that we face.’

“Putin’s words will also be seen as a thinly-veiled threat to the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which fear being occupied once the war in Ukraine is over. Sweden and Finland have also been moved to apply for NATO membership in response to the invasion…

“Peter the Great, an autocratic moderniser admired by liberal and conservative Russians alike, gave his name to a new capital, St Petersburg – Putin’s hometown – that he ordered built on land he conquered from Sweden. Prior to Putin’s visit to the exhibition, state television aired a documentary praising the tyrant as a tough military leader, greatly expanding territory at the expense of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire.

“In recent years, Putin’s interest in Russian history has loomed ever larger in his public appearances. In April 2020, as Russia entered its first coronavirus lockdown, he compared the pandemic to ninth century Turkic nomadic invasions of medieval Russia. In July 2021, the Kremlin published a long essay by Putin in which he argued that Russia and Ukraine were one nation, artificially divided… Putin blamed Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, for creating Ukraine on what Putin said was historically Russian territory.”

And so, Russia and Ukraine WILL somehow unite again.

Poland’s President Likens Russia’s Putin To Adolf Hitler

International Business Times wrote on June 10:

“Poland’s President Andrzej Duda recently blasted the leaders of France and Germany for having one-on-one phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he likened to Nazi’s Adolf Hitler.  Speaking in an interview with German newspaper Bild, Duda said holding talks with Putin only legitimized the war crimes committed by Russian leaders currently invading Ukraine. He later argued that no world leader held talks with Hitler when he invaded Poland in 1939, an event that triggered the start of World War II.  ‘I’m amazed at all the talks that are being held with Putin at the moment… These talks are useless,” Duda said…

“President Duda’s interview comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron held one-on-one phone calls with Putin. Macron, in particular, drew backlash after he argued that Russia must not be humiliated over the invasion and said it was vital for Putin to have a way out of his ‘fundamental error.’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later blasted Macron’s remarks…”

Duda has a point.

The Week wrote in response to Macron’s and Scholz’s position on June 11:

“French President Emmanuel Macron, who fancies himself a Putin whisperer, warned again last week that ‘we must not humiliate Russia.’ Instead, we must reward Putin’s pitiless efforts to erase a peaceful, democratic neighbor from the map by awarding him a nice chunk as a consolation prize: the Donbas and southern Ukraine along the Black Sea. Henry Kissinger… has joined Macron in urging Ukrainian concessions. So has The New York Times editorial board, which recently advised Ukraine it will need to make ‘painful territorial decisions’ in exchange for peace. On the isolationist right, America Firsters from Sen. Rand Paul to Tucker Carlson to Donald Trump have denounced U.S. military aid to Kyiv as a waste of money for a fight that is not ours.

“It is… not realistic to believe any concessions will end Putin’s messianic ambitions to absorb Ukraine into ‘holy Russia.’ A deeply cynical, KGB-trained liar, he will happily violate any treaty naïve ‘realists’ force Ukraine to sign. If there is a brief peace, Putin will use it to rebuild his battered army and reinvade until Kyiv succumbs… It’s critically important to prove Putin wrong, even if he finds it humiliating.”

Putin’s ambitions and real goal should be obvious by now.

Medical Emergency for Putin

The Sun wrote on June 10:

“VLADIMIR Putin was given ‘urgent medical assistance’ earlier this week after being struck down by a ‘sharp sickness’, according to Kremlin insiders. Russia’s president has reportedly been ordered by his doctors not to make any ‘lengthy’ public appearances. [He] is said to have fallen ill while talking to his military chiefs and suffered ‘sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness’ as he got up from his desk after a 90-minute virtual session.

“The claims appeared on the General SVR channel on the messaging app Telegram, which is purportedly run by a Kremlin insider… However, the 69-year-old did make a now-rare public appearance in Moscow this Thursday as he addressed young Russian entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists. At an event marking the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, Putin bizarrely bragged that he was following in the former Russian tsar’s footsteps with his war in Ukraine [see article above]…

“The General SVR channel has made repeated claims in the past about Putin’s alleged medical problems, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. These claims, which the channel says are based on inside intelligence, are impossible to verify, but come amid swirling rumours in the West about the Russian president’s health.

“Recent pictures have shown Putin looking frailer with a puffy face, while critics say he has been gripping the side of desks during public appearances to hide his tremors.”

Putin will stay in office until his “purpose” has been fulfilled.

Pope Francis’ Incoherent Proclamations

The Daily Mail wrote on June 14:

“Pope Francis said… Russian troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers…  He also said the situation was not black and white and that the war was ‘perhaps in some way provoked’ by NATO…’

“Francis said the on-going war in Ukraine, along with other conflicts around the globe, means ‘World War III has been declared’ and therefore the human race has seen three world wars in a century. This, he said, is a ‘calamity’ for humanity….”

Apart from other questionable comments by the Pope, his idea that we are experiencing World War III right now is utter nonsense, and it totally belittles and plays down events which will take place when a REAL World War III is going to occur, which would indeed lead to the extinction of the human race if Christ would not return to stop this madness.

Meaningless Sanctions Against Russia

Newsmax wrote on June 13:

“Russia is making a killing from oil exports despite an embargo from the United States and most of Europe, and it is easily using the profits to finance its ongoing invasion of Ukraine…  Oil exports were 45% of Russia’s overall revenue in 2021… and it still made enough in the first 100 days of the Ukraine invasion to more than replenish what it had spent on the war…

“Despite the number of countries that have stopped receiving Russian oil imports, oil prices have risen by about 60%… so Russia’s discount on price still gives it higher revenues over a year ago. Europe has been struggling to free itself of Russian energy as it simultaneously sends Ukraine military aid to fight off the Russian invasion. Greater efforts are being made, though slowly.

“Still, China remains Russia’s largest fossil fuel importer, while Japan is its top importer of coal… And Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be exempted from a ban on Russian oil that goes into effect later this year.

“India has increased its purchases of Russian oil, making Russia its top supplier over Saudi Arabia, which had previously held the No. 1 spot… And Sri Lanka has indicated it is open to buying Russia’s oil, its prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told the AP.”

As Biden has strongly, but foolishly pronounced that the sanctions were not meant to deter Russia from fighting in Ukraine, what then are the sanctions supposed to accomplish? Regardless, as we can see from the article, they accomplish NOTHING.

Fox News Promoting Transgenderism

Breitbart wrote on June 10:

“Fox News promoted the story of a transgender child who switched genders at five years old as part of the network’s ‘LGBTQ+ Pride Month’ special on Friday. On an episode of America’s Newsroom, Fox News reporter Bryan Llenas highlighted the story of Ryland Whittington, a young girl whose family embraced her transgender transition to male when she was five years old. Whittington hopes going public about her story will encourage other families to accept their transgender children…

“Llenas described Whittington as ‘a typical southern Californian teenager,’ during the segment’s introduction. According to her mother, Hillary Whittington, Ryland told her parents that she was a boy before she could even speak… Despite the Whittington family’s ‘conservative faith,’ Whittington’s mother believes God ‘created Ryland just the way “he” is.’… At the segment’s conclusion, Llenas praised the Whittington family for being public about transgender issues in today’s political climate. He also commended the family for displaying ‘extraordinary courage.’…”

This is truly incredible, coming from a supposedly conservative network.

Newsmax wrote on June 11:

“Shortly after the Fox report aired, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro slammed Fox for airing the pro-transgender segment as a ‘complete betrayal.’ ‘Every element of this [Fox News] video is propagandistic, dangerous garbage,’ Shapiro said. ‘The report states that this biologically female child was choosing her gender before she could speak. That is madness.’…

“Likewise, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles knocked Fox News for spotlighting a controversial issue that goes against the beliefs of its Christian viewers… And Knowles’ colleague at the Daily Wire, Matt Walsh, [tweeted:] ‘’The poor kid is 14 now with a permanently altered body, condemned to live forever with an identity imposed as a small child. It is horrifying, evil, and sick. And it is what Fox chose to promote…

“The pro-transgender story on Ryland is not new for Fox News, which has been undergoing a transitioning of sorts itself as it moves away from its more traditional base of viewers. In March Fox announced it had hired, Caitlyn Jenner as top political Contributor for the network. Caitlyn, former Olympic athlete and TV star Bruce Jenner, had never been a commentator on politics before she ran for California governor as part of the 2021 recall effort. Jenner received just 1 percent of the recall vote.

“Fox News CEO Suzanne heralded [Jenner’s] appointment as part of the network’s LGBTQ+ outreach… noting the star was ‘the most famous transgender woman in the world.’ ‘She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience.’”

Fox News… Disney… when is this “madness” going to stop?

Pelosi Proud of Drag Queens

Daily Wire wrote on June 11:

“Pelosi called it ‘an honor’ to make a guest appearance on the most recent episode of the drag queen show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’… [She said:] ‘I was inspired by the contestants because they know their power’… During her appearance, Pelosi told the contestants she was proud of them and thanked them ‘for the joy and beauty [they] bring to the world… Your freedom of expression of yourselves in drag is what America is all about,’ the House speaker added. ‘I say that all the time to my friends in drag.’…

“Pelosi’s appearance on the ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ comes as many parents and politicians across the country voice their anger over drag-themed events being targeted toward children.

“The appearance wasn’t Pelosi’s first on a drag queen show. She was also on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ in 2018.”

And so speaks and acts a practicing Catholic who was recently prohibited by some bishops from taking the communion, due to her stance on abortion, while others [including the pope] had no problem with allowing her to partake of the Eucharist. All of this is so shameful and disgusting.  

Europe Condemns US Supreme Court Over Abortion Issue

Breitbart wrote on June 11:

“In a preemptive strike before the American Supreme Court has even had a chance to rule on the legal future of abortion, globalists in the European Union’s so-called parliament passed a measure on Thursday by a margin of 364 to 154 (37 abstentions) to ‘remind’ the United States that it is ‘vital’ to uphold Roe v Wade… The resolution also targeted individual U.S. states for introducing limits on abortion access, such as Texas, which under its heartbeat bill has banned abortion after six weeks, when unborn babies begin to develop their own distinct heartbeat…

“Apparently not understanding how American republicanism operates as a governmental system, the EU parliament went on to call on President Joe Biden to ‘ensure access to safe and legal abortion,’ despite the President having no legal authority to do so. The globalist body also curiously claimed that Roe v Wade ‘protects the right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution,’ even though there is no mention whatsoever of abortion in America’s founding documents.

“Noting the apparent ignorance of the EU lawmakers, German right-wing MEP Christine Anderson, who opposed the measure, commented: ‘The USA is no longer a colony ruled from Europe. Didn’t you know that?’”

It really shows Europe’s “conquering” mentality towards the USA…

The Woman Riding the Beast

The National Catholic Register wrote on June 10:

“Pope Francis discussed the Ukraine war on Friday with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The head of the executive branch of the European Union, a political and economic union of 27 member states, also met on June 10 with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and ‘foreign minister’ Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who visited Ukraine in May.

“The Holy See press office said: ‘During the cordial discussions held in the Secretariat of State, the parties focused on the good bilateral relations and common commitment to work to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, dedicating particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and the food consequences of the continuation of the conflict.’… They also reflected on ‘the consequences for the future structure’ of the EU.

“Tweeting after her papal audience, the German Lutheran mother of seven said she was ‘truly glad’ to meet the Pope again, following a private audience in May 2021… Von der Leyen, who visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in April, spoke on June 9 at the opening session of a conference organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.”

And so, the woman, and her daughters, are riding the European beast once more…

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

War Between Israel and Iran Coming?

The Daily Beast wrote on June 2:

“The ongoing war between Israel and Iran across the Middle East came out of the shadows and into the open long ago. But now, on the back of several suspected Israeli attacks inside Iran itself, the deadly contest threatens to escalate—possibly beyond the region.

“Last week, several quadcopter drones smashed into a suspected Iranian nuclear research and drone facility at Parchin, killing one engineer. Mere days before, two assassins on motorbikes shot dead an Iranian military colonel in the heart of Tehran…

“This is all part of what the Israeli government, just under a year in power, has come to describe as its ‘Octopus Doctrine,’ a new and risky expansion of its campaign against Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities.

“If in years past Israel did hit inside Iran, it was done covertly—usually through spies and cyber-attacks—and almost always targeted Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities… But now, Israeli officials openly describe a ‘new defense strategy,’ as one termed it to The Daily Beast, aimed at the ‘head’ of the octopus in Iran, and not just its ‘tentacles’ across the region in places like Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Iraq…

“The dangers of this new Israeli approach are… obvious.”

US Civil War Coming?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 2:

“A new poll shows 44 percent of Americans believe the nation is headed toward another civil war…  That includes 53 per cent of Republicans and 39 per cent of Democrats.

“In another concerning statistic, about one in five said they at least somewhat approved of assassinating a politician whom they believed was ‘harming the country or our democracy.’… The figure included 44 per cent of young Democratic men and 40 per cent of young Republican women…  A majority of both Republicans and Democrats believe their political opponents pose a threat to the country and want to harm their political opponents.”

These are frightening statistics.

Heading Towards an Energy Crisis…

CNN Business wrote on June 2:

“‘Now we have an oil crisis, a gas crisis and an electricity crisis at the same time,’ Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency watchdog group, told Der Spiegel in an interview published this week. ‘This energy crisis is much bigger than the oil crises of the 1970s and 1980s. And it will probably last longer.’

“The extent of that perfect storm — underinvestment, strong demand and supply disruptions from the war — will have wide-reaching consequences, potentially threatening the economic recovery from Covid-19,  exacerbating inflation, fueling social unrest…

“Already, US gasoline prices have surged by 52% over the past year to record highs, angering the public and contributing to the nation’s inflation crisis. Prices for natural gas, a vital fuel for heating homes and powering the electric grid, have nearly tripled over the past year in the United States. Natural gas prices have skyrocketed even further in Europe…

“The 1973 oil crisis was marked by hours-long lines at gas stations, fuel shortages and panic. Experts said they worry about fuel shortages again today…”

… While Oil Executives Profit Big Time

The Daily Beast wrote on June 3:

“Gas prices have skyrocketed to record highs, forcing some families to choose between filling their tank and putting food on the table. But for the oil execs whose stock holdings have soared, these are happy days—and some of them are cashing in their shares at unusually high rates…

“Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, [said:] ‘I don’t know that they’re doing anything illegal, but it’s clearly pretty unethical to be making this type of money off people’s pain…’… in the first quarter, oil industry execs collectively sold over $1 billion worth of stock….”

Greatest Credit Bubble to Burst?

Bloomberg wrote on June 3:

“Mark Spitznagel is paid to be prepared for when the market’s weakest links are exposed in a big way. Right now, the Universa Investments founder, whose fund aims to protect clients during black swan events, says the financial system is most vulnerable to ‘the greatest credit bubble of human history.’ ‘If this credit bubble ever pops, it’s going to be the most catastrophic market failure that anyone has ever read about — but let’s hope that doesn’t happen,’ Spitznagel… said… He’s long been critical of central banks keeping interest rates near-zero or even negative, which he says has propped up asset values and encouraged excessive borrowing. Officials around the world are now tightening monetary policy to combat elevated inflation.

“His warning follows other cautious remarks this week from JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who told investors to prepare for an economic ‘hurricane,’ and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President John Waldron, who said he’s seen an unprecedented number of shocks and expects ‘tougher economic times ahead.’ Traditional flight-to-quality assets like US Treasuries and gold are failing investors this year, adding to the pain, Spitznagel said…”

Many expect that this bubble will burst…

Millions of Wasted Vaccine Doses

The Huffington Post wrote on June 6:

“More than 82 million COVID vaccine doses went to waste in the U.S. from December 2020 until the middle of May…

“Some waste is attributed to doses reaching their expiration date before they could be administered to patients, while others were ruined due to power outages that took freezers out of use. Unused doses from opened vials that had to be discarded at the end of the day also accounted for some of the waste…

“The news about wasted doses comes as the Biden administration warns the country is short on funds to pay for vaccines, treatments and tests… The White House said children under five years old could be able to get their first vaccine as early as June 21.”

California’s Worst Drought in 1,200 Years

CBS wrote on June 2:

“Southern California is imposing mandatory water cutbacks as the state tries to cope with the driest conditions it has faced in recorded history… Nearly all of California is experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought. Very little rain fell in January, February and March, when the state typically receives half its annual precipitation. As a result, the state is facing its driest ever start to the year, with one recent study calling the current drought the worst in 1,200 years…

“Areas of California that depend on the Colorado River for water have so far been spared conservation measures, although water levels in the river are also unusually low…

“This summer is also expected to be hotter than normal, which would create higher demand for air conditioning and strain the power grid further…”

How the Military Controls Hollywood

The Los Angeles Times wrote on May 30:

“[Top Gun: Maverick’s] F-18s and other military gear are courtesy of the Pentagon… which allows use of such assets in exchange for control of the script…

“Until recently, the scholarly consensus had been that this phenomenon was isolated to perhaps a couple of hundred films. In the past five years, however, my small group of researchers has acquired 30,000 pages of internal Defense Department documents… which show that the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency have exercised direct editorial control over more than 2,500 films and television shows. These discoveries raise questions about the government’s reach at a time when deciphering propaganda from fact has become increasingly difficult.

“This includes a history of excising unsavory or controversial topics… including depictions of war crimes, torture, security of the nuclear arsenal, veteran suicide, sexual assault and racism in the ranks. At the same time, these institutions have used their clout to promote weapons, gin up recruiting and normalize U.S. military action around the world.

“We have also discovered dozens of instances where films, denied U.S. government assistance because of objectionable content, were ultimately never made. Jerry Bruckheimer, a top producer, said that ‘Top Gun’ and 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ simply wouldn’t exist without military approval. Mace Neufeld, who produced virtually the entire Jack Ryan film franchise, also needed Pentagon and CIA support. Neufeld has acknowledged that Paramount Pictures would greenlight the first film in the series, 1990’s ‘The Hunt for Red October,’ only if it secured Defense Department approval first…

“[The Pentagon] found ‘no major problems with the storyline’ [in Top Gun: Maverick] but asked for ‘some revision to characterization and actions of Naval aviators’…  The ‘Production Assistance Agreement’ formally stipulated the Pentagon’s right to ‘weave in key talking points’ in exchange for all that expensive equipment.

“What exact changes did the Pentagon make to the new ‘Top Gun: Maverick’? We don’t know, and that’s part of the problem. While we have script change details for hundreds of other productions, such as ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Fast and Furious 8,’ the military has repeatedly invoked a ‘trade secrets’ exception to block our Freedom of Information Act requests when it comes to its most high-value assets.

“Americans should have a right to know the extent of the military’s influence on the shows and films they consume… producers and directors… should fight for creative integrity and refuse to give up control of their scripts…”

This is quite a shocking revelation.

Attempted Murder of US Supreme Court Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh

Breitbart wrote on June 8:

“‘A California man carrying at least one weapon near Brett M. Kavanaugh’s Maryland home has been taken into custody by police after telling officers he wanted to kill the Supreme Court justice,’ the far-left Washington Post [reported]. From the looks of it, the Democrat party and corporate media’s jihad against Kavanaugh, the one that started with all those lies about him being a serial rapist in college and continues over the possibility that the atrocity known as Roe v. Wade might be overturned, has finally borne some wicked fruit. ‘Two people familiar with the investigation,’ continues the Post, ‘said the initial evidence indicates the man was angry about the leaked draft of an opinion by the Supreme Court signaling that the court is preparing to overturn Roe. v. Wade[.]’

“He was also angry about the ‘recent spate [of] mass shootings,’—so, according to police, he grabbed a gun to go out and shoot a Supreme Court justice… Looks like we should also thank the corporate media for broadcasting the front of Kavanaugh’s home, which makes it so much easier for his enemies to find.

“And let us never forget that, contrary to written law,… Joe Biden and his corrupt administration championed these mass and unruly protests outside the justices’ homes. This is all on the media and Democrats who have demonized and scapegoated conservative justices as ‘threats to democracy’ and worse…”

First of all, it is a crime to protest “in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge” with “the intent of influencing any judge.” The refusal by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce the law and the approval and instigation of  illegal protests by Joe Biden and his administration is deeply troublesome. Secondly, in March 2020, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated to Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, “you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you, if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

At the time, Chief Justice Roberts responded to Schumer by saying: “… threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.”

It has been suggested by Fox News moderators that Schumer should be impeached for inciting violence, as there is allegedly no other explanation for his verbal outbursts.

The Navarro Scandal

Breitbart wrote on June 3:

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested former White House economic adviser Peter Navarro on Friday, acting on a referral from the Democrat-run House that held him in contempt for refusing to testify at the partisan January 6 Committee. The arrest came one day after Navarro appeared on left-wing MSNBC to promise that he would lead efforts to promote the impeachment of President Joe Biden if Republicans take Congress in the midterm elections, which they are expected to do…

“Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took the unprecedented step of refusing to seat some Republican members of the committee. When House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) withdrew all of his nominees in response, Pelosi hand-picked the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans [RINOs], contrary to the eight Democrats and five Republicans that the resolution requires. The committee has no official ranking member, which critics say means its subpoenas are invalid…

“… The Department of Justice ignored referrals for contempt of Congress when a Republican-led Congress found then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to hand over documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious, which led indirectly to the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, and when Congress found former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify about her agency’s effort to target conservative groups…”

Breitbart also wrote:

“An August poll reveales 58 percent of voters believe the January 6 Committee is biased toward Democrats.”

Of such blatant bias, there can be no doubt. The troublesome hypocrisy in all of this is shameful, clear and convincing.

Fox News added on June 3:

“Navarro alleged that the prosecution was acting in ‘bad faith’… ‘This is something that needs to get to the Supreme Court,’ he added. ‘Department of Justice appears to have colluded with the White House and Congress.’… Navarro has called the Jan. 6 committee illegitimate and is suing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the committee’s activity. In an interview with Fox News, he called any possible prosecution of him ‘domestic terrorism.’ Navarro continues to assert executive privilege since he worked at the Trump White House and said he was exempt from appearing before the committee.”

Democracy in Danger

Newsmax wrote on June 4:

“The arrest of Peter Navarro on an indictment charging him with contempt after refusing to comply with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 incidents at the U.S. Capitol sets a precedent that is ‘dangerous to democracy,’ Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said on Newsmax Saturday. ‘It’s as if somebody was called to testify about what he told his priest or his doctor or his lawyer… He invokes the privilege and immediately gets indicted, instead of the government going before a court and the judge rules whether or not the privilege applies.’

“If the judge ruled that executive privilege did not apply in the case and ordered Navarro to testify, then he could be held in contempt for refusing, argued Dershowitz. ‘But you cannot constitutionally be held in contempt of Congress without a judicial order,’ said Dershowitz…

“This, he continued, makes Navarro’s arrest ‘dangerous to democracy, dangerous through the rule of law and dangerous to the concept of privilege, whether it be a priest privilege or a doctor, privileged lawyer privilege or executive privilege. I’m shocked that the justice department brought it without there being a judicial determination that he was compelled to testify.’ This means Navarro’s indictment is ‘unconstitutional,’ and that’s a ‘real scandal’… ‘That’s for a court to decide, not for a partisan congressional committee that has almost all Democrats and a few anti-trump Republicans on it, to be able unilaterally to ask the Justice Department to enforce a subpoena without first going to the court,’ he said… ‘ I don’t think it will be allowed by the courts… But of course, in this these days of partisan, even judicial decisions, one can’t be absolutely certain…’”

Our legal and political system is corrupt. True Christians are told to come out of it, rather than be an active part of it. Please listen to our new message, titled, “Our Corrupt Political and Legal System—Comments on News and Prophecy, June 4, 2022.” 

Pure Ugly Politics

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote on June 3:

“Former Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro was cuffed and dragged in to custody Friday. For no reason: the 72-year-old said he would have voluntarily surrendered over his contempt of Congress charges relating to his refusal to work with the Jan. 6 Committee and noted he was given no warning that he was going to be arrested.

“The man has no history of violence and zero flight risk. And the judge in his case released him on his own recognizance — an admission that no one really thinks Navarro is going anywhere. Defendants in similar situations are nearly always given the opportunity to surrender.

“Instead the feds pulled Navarro off a plane at a Nashville airport as he was off to a TV appearance.

“This is pure, ugly politics. The Justice Department and the Jan. 6 committee are coming down hard on Navarro for being a Donald Trump ally, nothing else…”

What a despicable mockery of justice.

Elon Musk vs. DOJ

Fox News wrote on June 5:

“Elon Musk took to Twitter Saturday to ask if anyone was bothered by how quiet the ‘leaking’ Justice Department is when it comes to… Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said the DOJ, which grew notoriety for leaking under former President Donald Trump, was remarkably silent about the deceased convicted pedophile… Maxwell, Epstein’s former assistant and lover, was convicted on December 29, 2021, of recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 28. While Maxwell disputed the impartiality of a juror who failed to disclose he was a victim of sexual abuse, a federal judge denied her a retrial.

“Epstein died after an alleged suicide in Manhattan — though the official story is widely disputed — in 2019 while awaiting a federal sex trafficking trial… Last month, Musk also garnered tremendous attention on social media when he suggested that he might die ‘under mysterious circumstances.’”

Famously, Musk is attempting to acquire Twitter to make it less partisan, but he is running into some “difficulties.”

Dr. Oz Wins in Pennsylvania

The New York Post wrote on June 3:

“Celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz has secured the Republican nomination for the US Senate in Pennsylvania after his opponent, former hedge fund manager David McCormick, conceded the race Friday amid an ongoing statewide recount… Following a bitterly fought campaign, Oz — boosted by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump — led McCormick by a mere 974 votes out of 1.34 million votes cast in the May 17 primary — a margin of just 0.07 percentage points. With McCormick’s concession, Oz’s nomination was confirmed.

“Oz will now face off against progressive Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November in what is expected to be a hotly contested election as both parties look to take control of the closely divided Senate… Oz, who is best known as the host of “The Dr. Oz Show,’ faced several attacks throughout his campaign from his opponents’ and from die-hard Trump supporters who were wary of Oz’s position on Republican issues likes guns, abortion, transgender rights… His opponents attacked his dual citizenship with Turkey. If elected, he would become the country’s first Muslim senator.

“Although born in the United States, Oz served in the Turkish military and voted in its 2018 election. He said he would renounce his Turkish citizenship if he won the election in November…”

It appears that Trump only endorsed Dr. Oz because of his celebrity status, hoping that thereby Dr. Oz will defeat Fetterman, as philosophically, McCormick is much closer to Trump than Dr. Oz.

The Future of the Commonwealth

France 24 wrote on June 4:

“As the United Kingdom celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s 70th year on the throne, many in Britain and abroad are questioning the future of the Commonwealth of Nations, a group of 54 nation-states largely comprised of former British colonies which the Queen has championed throughout her reign…

“Although some of the wealthier nations in the Commonwealth, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, still retain the Queen as their head of state, members in the Caribbean seem keen on breaking with the royal hierarchy. Officials in at least six countries in the Caribbean have indicated they plan on removing the monarch as their sovereign following Barbados, which became the region’s newest republic at the end of 2021… Yet, even as smaller states move to reject the monarchy as a symbol of a colonial past to which they no longer wish to be tethered, staying in the Commonwealth could be seen as a way to continue to reap certain benefits under the British crown…

“As the monarch celebrates her platinum jubilee, many are asking what the future of the Commonwealth will look like when its strongest champion is succeeded by Prince Charles, who is presently heir to the British throne. The Commonwealth has been criticised as being ineffective, with a poor track record of bringing about major policy changes, and many have suggested that it has perhaps run its course historically…

“In recent days, speculation has arisen that Australia may be the next Commonwealth nation to become a republic after the new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, appointed an Assistant Minister for the Republic…  For British conservatives, further engagement with the Commonwealth could help the UK achieve Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘Global Britain’ strategy, which consists of reconnecting with ‘old friends and new allies’ in a post-Brexit world. Yet the success of this aspect of the country’s foreign policy remains to be seen.”

The Bible prophesied thousands of years ago the existence of the British Commonwealth—now referred to as the Commonwealth of Nations. However, due to Britain’s sins, the Bible also foretold the downfall of Britain and its Commonwealth.

Boris Johnson’s Survival… For Now

CNBC wrote on June 6:

“U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a vote of confidence triggered by his own lawmakers amid increasing dissatisfaction in his leadership. Some 211 Conservative Party lawmakers voted in favor of the prime minister on Monday, while 148 voted against him. Johnson needed the support of a simple majority of 180 MPs to win the vote, but the figure of 148 was worse than many expected. It is also worse than the result of a similar vote faced by former leader Theresa May in 2018. She resigned as prime minister just six months later.

“The secret ballot of Tory lawmakers comes at a time of deep dissatisfaction with Johnson’s leadership and behavior in office less than three years after he secured a whopping parliamentary majority. Given the narrow margin of Johnson’s win, there is now a possibility that he might face another confidence vote in the near future.

“Usually, if a British leader wins a confidence vote, they are protected from another vote for 12 months. However, there have been reports that these rules may be changed — and the close nature of Monday’s result could make this more likely.”

Horsemen of the Apocalypse on Their Way

Metro wrote on June 4:

“President Joe Biden announced this week that his administration was sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, backtracking on an earlier statement that the US would not be giving the war-torn country advanced weaponry.

“Dmitry Medvedev, a former prime minister under Putin and current chairman of the national security council, warned there would be consequences if these were used on Russian soil. He told Al Jazeera: ‘If, God forbid, these weapons are used against Russian territory then our armed forces will have no other choice but to strike decision-making centres. Of course, it needs to be understood that the final decision-making centres in this case, unfortunately, are not located on the territory of Kyiv.’

“He also warned that fighting in Ukraine was pushing the world dangerously close to nuclear Armageddon ‘The Horsemen of the Apocalypse are already on their way and all hope now is with Lord God the Almighty,’ he said.

“Kremlin-controlled state TV has said on a number of occasions that the war in Ukraine could turn nuclear, with attacks on the UK and the rest of Europe…

“The White House said it had agreed to provide Ukraine with the new missiles after receiving assurances from President Zelensky that they would not be used to hit targets inside Russia. However, the Kremlin said it did not believe Zelensky.”

‘The United States is directly and intentionally adding fuel to the fire,’ Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said.”

Merkel Shows No Regrets

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 8:

“In her first interview since leaving office, the former German chancellor has defended her policy toward Russia and said she doesn’t blame herself for the current situation in Ukraine… She refused to apologize for her policies towards Moscow, but stressed there was no justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…

“Putin told her that the collapse of the Soviet Union had been ‘the worst event of the 20th century.’ Merkel replied that for her, as someone who grew up in communist East Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall meant she could live her life in freedom… Putin, she said, ‘hated’ the Western model of democracy and wanted to ‘destroy’ the European Union…

“Merkel defended her opposition to Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO in 2008… In Tuesday’s interview, Merkel said that if NATO had granted them membership, Russian President Vladimir Putin could have caused ‘enormous damage in Ukraine.’ As it was, Russia invaded Georgia less than six months after this declaration in Bucharest, instigating Europe’s first war in the 21st century. Merkel also cited systemic corruption issues in Ukraine as reasons to block their membership…. Merkel conceded that there could have been a harsher response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea…

“The former chancellor also touched briefly on the controversial, now-mothballed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, largely to criticize the US decision to sanction entities over their participation in the gas project… Merkel’s government has been criticized for steering Germany into its considerable dependency on Russian oil and gas…  Germany’s appeasement of Russia runs through decades of German foreign policy.”

There’s none so blind as those who will not see.

Biden’s Legacy in Afghanistan

The Week wrote on June 5:

“Afghanistan has deteriorated dramatically since President Biden ordered the U.S. military to complete its withdrawal in August. When the Taliban returned to power, women’s rights advocates took to the streets demanding to keep advances made during the U.S. occupation, such as education for girls. Many of those protesters were beaten and detained, while activists fled or went into hiding. In March, the Taliban announced that girls could only attend school up to the sixth grade. Last month, the hard-line government announced that Muslim women must be covered from head to toe while in public, with only their eyes exposed, and ordered woman TV broadcasters to cover their faces. Now women have started vanishing from the workforce…

“[The economy] has virtually collapsed. [It] was heavily dependent on foreign aid, which made up nearly 80 percent of the government’s budget before the Taliban took over. Foreign aid has been reduced to a trickle, as countries reduce or even suspend assistance to the Taliban-led government because of its human rights abuses… Nearly 1 million Afghans have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover. Restrictions on women’s employment have led to up to $1 billion of economic loss… There is almost universal poverty in the country… In extreme situations, people desperate for money are selling their daughters into marriage or selling their own organs, which is illegal yet commonplace… a laborer… received $4,500 for his 15-year-old son’s kidney to pay off his debts…

“Many Afghans have little or no income to buy food for their families; meanwhile, prices keep rising due to inflation, supply chain woes, and higher customs fees… The United Nations estimates that 95 percent of Afghans do not have enough food, and half the population of 39 million is suffering from acute hunger…

“Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate, known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, has carried out a string of deadly attacks targeting minorities…

“Taliban’s hard-line leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada,… and ultraconservative Taliban hard-liners… have instituted other retrograde policies targeting women, including warning them not to leave their homes without men accompanying them. The hard-liners include bands of young Islamist radicals and leaders of the Haqqani network, an internationally designated terrorist group, who jointly seek to intimidate the population into complying with sharia law…”

This was all predictable. The incredible fiasco caused by the USA in Afghanistan was so unnecessary.

Disunified Summit of the Americas

Axios wrote on June 6:

“Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed Monday that he will not attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week, citing concerns over the exclusion of leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela… It’s a blow to President Biden, who is seeking to reassert U.S. influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, which have become more closely tied to China in recent years..

“Some other leaders, including Bolivian President Luis Arce and Honduran President Xiomara Castro, had previously threatened to reject Biden’s invitation to the summit, citing the possibility of leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela being excluded…

“López Obrador said he hopes to visit the White House in July to talk to Biden about the ‘integration’ of all American countries, with the goal of forming something similar to the European Union.”

Pope Francis to Retire?

The Associated Press wrote on June 5:

“Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013. Italian and Catholic media have been rife with unsourced speculation that the 85-year-old Francis might be planning to follow in Benedict’s footsteps, given his increased mobility problems that have forced him to use a wheelchair for the last month.

“Those rumors gained steam last week when Francis announced a consistory to create 21 new cardinals scheduled for Aug. 27. Sixteen of those cardinals are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect Francis’ successor.

“Once they are added to the ranks of princes of the church, Francis will have stacked the College of Cardinals with 83 of the 132 voting-age cardinals…

“The basilica in L’Aquila hosts the tomb of Celestine V, a hermit pope who resigned after five months in 1294, overwhelmed by the job. In 2009, Benedict visited L’Aquila, which had been devastated by a recent earthquake and prayed at Celestine’s tomb, leaving his pallium stole on it. No one at the time appreciated the significance of the gesture. But four years later, the 85-year-old Benedict would follow in Celestine’s footsteps and resign, saying he no longer had the strength of body and mind to carry on the rigors of the papacy.

“The Vatican announced Saturday Francis would visit L’Aquila to celebrate Mass on Aug. 28 and open the ‘Holy Door’ at the basilica hosting Celestine’s tomb… Francis has praised Benedict’s decision to retire as ‘opening the door’ for future popes to do the same…

“Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, noted that most Vatican watchers expect Francis will eventually resign, but not before Benedict dies. The 95-year-old retired pope is physically frail but still alert and receiving occasional visitors in his home in the Vatican gardens. ‘He’s not going to have two former popes floating around,’ Bellitto said in an email…”

Stranger things have happened. In Catholic church history, there were indeed at one time three “popes” floating around, all claiming to be the legitimate office holder.

Scientists Create Super-Vicious Aggressive Hamsters

Daily Mail wrote on June 4:

“Scientists inadvertently bred a horde of unusually aggressive hamsters after a gene editing experiment to ‘reduce aggression’ went wrong.

“Researchers at Georgia State University produced new rodents without hormone vasopressin in an effort to raise ‘social communication’ between the rodents. Yet the chemical change turned the Syrian hamsters wild, prompting fights inside cages. The ultra-vicious hamsters were pictured pinning, biting and chasing each other.

“Lead researcher Professor Elliott Albers said: ‘We anticipated […] we would reduce both aggression and social communication — but the opposite happened…. We were really surprised at the results.’… The study’s striking conclusions challenge scientists’ understanding of the relationship between biology and behaviour. The professor added: ‘We don’t understand this system as well as we thought we did.’”

What lunacy. Man is trying again to play God… with disastrous consequences…

Turkey’s Name Change

Express wrote on June 3:

“Turkey will now be known as Türkiye, which will be adopted by the United Nations this week. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is understood to be embarrassed by their country’s association with the ground feeding festive bird and the Cambridge English Dictionary’s definition saying the meaning of the word is ‘something that fails’ or is ‘a stupid or silly person’…

“Exported products will now feature ‘Made in Türkiye’ instead of ‘Made in Turkey.’”

Silly!

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Our Culture of Violence and Death

The Federalist wrote on May 27:

“As the country reels over the Texas massacre, where 19 children and two adults were gunned down by a single shooter who was barely more than a child himself, the question on everyone’s mind is why? Why would any person march into an elementary school and open fire on innocents? And why can’t we overcome such evil?

“… it’s impossible to look honestly at mass shootings and ignore the culture of death that prompts them. This culture is much deeper than abortion… That barbaric ritual is in many ways just another piece of rotten fruit from the same Godless tree. It’s in rejecting the Creator’s authority and the truth that He made every human being in His own image and for His glory, not our own, that our society embraces death.

“After all, if there is no God who assigns value to human life, we really are nothing more than aimless clumps of cells without worth or eternal purpose…

“In addition to euphemizing the murder of the unborn, we’ve cultivated an antisocial culture of screen addiction then used it to dispense violence as entertainment… When children misbehave, we diagnose and medicate them rather than discipline them.

“When we don’t like something, we tear it down even if it doesn’t belong to us… We’ve created a culture of death, and now we have to live in it.”

.. and unless there is a change of heart, we will die in it…

Trump’s Change of Heart?

Mediaite reported on May 27:

“Former President Donald Trump was reportedly ‘shaken’ after a 2019 massacre at an El Paso Walmart, and asked a chief advisor, ‘What are we going to do about assault rifles?’

“The New York Times noted the country’s 45th president was also disturbed by the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The massacre left 17 dead and another 17 injured. Trump made news at the time by saying he was open to imposing some restrictions on firearms. He dropped the issue following a meeting with the NRA.

“The Times reported: ‘Unbeknownst to the public, however, Mr. Trump again pushed inside the White House for significant new gun-control measures more than a year later, after a pair of gruesome shooting sprees that unfolded over 13 hours. Those discussions have not previously been reported. On Aug. 3, 2019, a far-right gunman killed 23 people at a Walmart store in El Paso. Early the next morning, a man shot and killed nine people outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio. Both assailants used semiautomatic rifles. At the White House the next day, Mr. Trump was so shaken by the weekend’s violence that he questioned aides about a specific potential solution and made clear he wanted to take action, according to three people present during the conversation.

“According to sources who were then close to Trump, he questioned if there was anything that could be done about the legality of popular AR-15 rifles. Trump asked former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney: ‘What are we going to do about assault rifles?’ Mulvaney’s reported response: ‘Not a… thing.’ According to the Times, Trump asked Mulvaney, ‘Why,’ and was told, ‘Because… you would lose.’”

As the next article shows, Trump gave in, and today, as he is preparing for a come-back in 2024, he fully endorses the gun lobby.

The New York Post wrote on May 27:

“Former President Donald Trump on Friday said that the gunman who murdered 21 people at a Texas elementary school is ‘damned’ to ‘burn in the fires of hell’ as he read aloud each victim’s name to a tolling bell… ‘The monster who committed this crime is pure evil,’ Trump said. ‘While those he slaughtered are now with God in heaven, he will be eternally damned to burn in the fires of hell.’

“Trump offered an array of policy suggestions to prevent school shootings, including allowing teachers to concealed-carry firearms… Trump defiantly pressed for protecting the rights of gun owners. ‘The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm, law abiding citizens,’ Trump said…

“He did not endorse any gun control measures — as he did during his presidency…  As president, Trump upset gun rights advocates in 2018 by expressing a willingness to enact reforms in response to the murder of 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who used a legally purchased AR-15-style rifle. Trump endorsed a higher age limit for AR-15 rifles, background checks for private gun sales and reforms to let police ‘take the guns first, go through due process second’ to reduce the risk posed by mentally ill people.

“Later that year, the Trump administration banned ‘bump stocks’ that hasten the firing rate of semiautomatic rifles in response to that tool’s role in the murder of 60 people at a Las Vegas concert in 2017.”

Sadly, it appears that if a Republican wants to become elected, he cannot oppose the powerful NRA conglomerate.

How America can even allow an 18-year-old boy to purchase an AR-15-style rifle, with the only conceivable reason to shoot and kill, is beyond comprehension.  America’s fascination with and glorification of guns is something that the rest of the world cannot understand. Parents should and must do everything they can to fight against any fascination of their children with guns, rather than encouraging it in any way. Also, what we all must do is to pray for our children and grandchildren daily, that God would protect them from such unspeakable evil perpetrated by mad violent people under demonic influence and possession.

No Handgun Ban in the USA

Newsmax wrote on May 31:

“Law Professor Joseph Blocher of Duke University told Newsweek on Tuesday that there is ‘no chance either politically or constitutionally’ that a handgun ban similar to Canada’s could be implemented in the United States… ‘The Supreme Court has been clear that the Second Amendment protects the fundamental right to have a handgun in the home for self-defense,’ he added.

“The law professor’s statement comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new legislation in his country’s parliament that seeks to prohibit the ability to ‘buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada.’

“The proposed Canadian law is in reaction to a series of mass shootings that have hit the U.S. recently, including one that resulted in 10 deaths at a supermarket in Buffalo on May 14 and another at a Texas elementary school on May 24, where 19 children and two teachers died…

“‘So, even if handgun prohibition were politically feasible [in the USA], the courts will strike it down,’ [Blocher] added…”

When Christ rules this earth, no one will have a gun in his or her home for the purpose of self-defense. Trudeau’s announcement must be seen, however, in the light of his desire to remain as Canada’s unquestionable dictator.

War Propaganda

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 27:

“With Russia’s war in Ukraine now in its fourth month, mainstream media consumers have been treated to seemingly endless headlines and analysis of Russia’s extensive military losses. At the same time Ukrainian forces have tended to be lionized and their battlefield prowess romanticized, with essentially zero public information so far being given which details up-to-date Ukrainian force casualties, set-backs, and equipment losses.

“But for the first time The Washington Post is out with a surprisingly dire and negative assessment of how US-backed and equipped Ukrainian forces are actually fairing. Gone is the rosy idealizing lens through which each and every encounter with the Russians is typically portrayed. WaPo correspondent and author of the new report Sudarsan Raghavan underscores of the true situation that ‘Ukrainian leaders project an image of military invulnerability against Russia. But commanders offer a more realistic portrait of the war, where outgunned volunteers describe being abandoned by their military brass and facing certain death at the front.’

“As many careful and less idealistic observers suspected the whole time, a steady stream of both wartime propaganda and one-sided social media feeds where it seems the only tanks being blown up are Russian ones has served to present a very skewed portrayal of the battlefield to the Western public…

“The Washington Post report belatedly admits the avalanche of propaganda based in a pro-Kiev, pro-West narrative from the outset: ‘Videos of assaults on Russian tanks or positions are posted daily on social media. Artists are creating patriotic posters, billboards and T-shirts. The postal service even released stamps commemorating the sinking of a Russian warship in the Black Sea.’

“The report then pivots to the reality of an undertrained, poorly commanded and equipped, rag-tag force of mostly volunteers in the East who find themselves increasingly surrounded by the numerically superior Russian military which has penetrated almost the entire Donbas region. ‘Ukraine, like Russia, has provided scant information about deaths, injuries or losses of military equipment…”

In the end, Ukraine and Russia will be united against Europe. However this will come about, whether by Russian occupation or due to a “peace” agreement between Russia and Ukraine, remains to be seen.

How the World Finances Putin’s War

Money Control wrote on June 1:

“In early March, as the US and its allies unleashed a wave of sanctions on Russia, President Joe Biden stood in the White House and said they wanted to deal a ‘powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.’ But as the war in Ukraine approaches its 100th day, that machine is still very much operational. Russia is being propelled by a flood of cash that could average $800 million a day this year — and that’s just what the commodity superpower is raking in from oil and gas. For years, Russia has acted as a vast commodity supermarket selling what an insatiable world has needed: Not just energy, but wheat, nickel, aluminum and palladium too…

“Russia is far from unscathed by the sanctions, which have made it a pariah across the developed world. Corporate giants have fled, many walking away from billions of dollars of assets, and the economy is heading for a deep recession. But Putin can ignore this damage for now, because his coffers are overflowing with the revenue from commodities, which have become more lucrative than ever thanks to the surge in global prices driven in part by the war in Ukraine… Russia’s oil-and-gas revenue will be about $285 billion this year…  That would exceed the 2021 figure by more than one-fifth. Throw in other commodities, and it more than makes up for the $300 billion in foreign reserves frozen as part of the sanctions.

“Europe is only slowly weaning itself off this dependency. That’s giving Moscow time to find other markets — such as… China and India — to limit any damage to export revenue…  The ruble has become another symbol used by Putin to project strength… to become the world’s best-performing currency against the dollar this year. Putin… said he’ll allow exports of grain and fertilizer only if the sanctions on his country are lifted…

“One of the big holes in the sanctions against Russia is the willingness of other nations to continue oil purchases… Indian refiners purchased more than 40 million barrels of Russian oil between the start of the Ukraine invasion in late February and early May. That’s 20% more than Russia-India flows for the whole of 2021… China is also strengthening its energy links with the country, securing cheaper prices by buying oil that’s being shunned elsewhere. It’s boosted imports and is also in talks to replenish its strategic crude stockpiles with Russian oil.

“It’s a similar story for steelmakers and coking coal. Imports from Russia rose for a third month in April to more than double last year’s level… And some sellers of Russian oil and coal have tried to make things easier for Chinese buyers by allowing transactions in yuan… The vast majority of the world is not involved in imposing sanctions…. The trade will go on, the need for fuels will be there… and buyers in Asia or the Middle East will step up…

“About 40% of the EU’s gas needs are met by Russia… European deliveries even jumped in February and March as the invasion caused a price spike in European gas hubs, making purchases from Russia’s Gazprom PJSC cheaper for most customers with long-term contracts. Volumes have decreased since then, thanks to warmer weather and record inflows of liquefied natural gas from the US and other countries. There’s also been disruptions because of military activity, and Russia itself halted supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland, which refused Putin’s demand to pay in rubles. [Also, exports to the Netherlands and Denmark are being stopped.]

“Even as the EU reduces its dependency — Germany says it’s down to 35% from 55% — there are complications at every step…”

“Solutions” fail.

Olaf Scholz Keeps on Wavering… Why?

Politico wrote on May 27:

“The German chancellor, who has steadfastly refused to visit Kyiv or even say he wants Ukraine to ‘win’ the war, has been under heavy fire since March for hesitating on delivery of tanks to Ukraine. When Scholz last month bowed to pressure and agreed to send some heavy weapons, he surprised the Ukrainians, allies and experts with his decision to provide anti-aircraft tanks, which Kyiv hadn’t asked for, while continuing to hold off on the delivery of the battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles Ukraine had been urging the West to send.

“Scholz’s latest scolding came this week from Polish President Andrzej Duda, who accused the German government of breaking its promises on military support for Ukraine, which just entered its fourth month of intense fighting. Poland has donated over 200 of its own Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine and was counting on Germany to replace them with modern German equivalents, Duda said, adding that Berlin had not honored a commitment to do so….

“Even before Russia’s latest invasion, Ukraine has urged Germany, the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, to send tanks, most notably the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and the Leopard battle tank. However, ‘there is an absence of political will to really do something,’ Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, told POLITICO.

“The German government presented various arguments for why it wasn’t able to comply with Kyiv’s request, first saying that it could not deliver weapons to crisis zones, and then… arguing that German tanks required too much training for Ukrainian soldiers, before also backtracking on that claim. Berlin further argued that it could not spare any tanks from its own reserves. Yet German defense companies like Rheinmetall say that they could directly deliver decommissioned tanks from their stocks — if Scholz authorized them to do so. (Defense contractors require government permission before exporting arms.)… Ukrainian officials say they began discussing the Marder deal as far back as March with Rheinmetall, which told them it could deliver within weeks. But so far, Berlin has refused to greenlight the deal.

“This week, German Deputy Defense Minister Siemtje Möller came up with a new justification for holding back the Marders…  claiming that NATO countries had collectively agreed to not send any Western-type battle tanks or infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Möller’s comments triggered an immediate backlash from the German center-right opposition. ‘Such an agreement does not exist,’ said Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker from the Christian Democratic Union, arguing that Möller had ‘promulgated false information. The absence of any agreement ‘is confirmed by different sources, among others, directly by NATO,’ he added.

“Möller has since backpedaled via a spokesperson, arguing that she had merely intended to point out that other allies like the U.S. were also not supplying Ukraine with modern Western-made armored combat vehicles, such as the American M1 Abrams, the U.S.’s main battle tank. Yet, given that the American tanks are located thousands of kilometers away in North America and would require much more intensive training than Germany’s Marders, which could be delivered to the Ukrainian border in less than 24 hours, Möller’s argument has struck many allies as fairly eccentric.

“What’s more, the U.S. has been Ukraine’s main arms supplier… and unlike Germany, it hasn’t made promises to Ukraine its hasn’t fulfilled….

“The chancellor has in recent weeks repeatedly argued in background discussions with journalists that he does not want to repeat the mistakes of Wilhelm II, the last German emperor, who played a key role in Europe’s fatal descent into World War I in 1914…. In other words, when it comes to actually winning the war, Ukraine shouldn’t look to Berlin.”

What game is the German government playing?

Germany’s €100 Billion Deal

Politico wrote on May 30:

“After weeks of negotiations, German politicians finally reached a deal on a massive €100B military modernization fund… [It] will raise Germany’s annual military spending from roughly €50 billion to an average of €70 billion over the course of five years. That would put Germany in line with the NATO goal to spend 2 percent of economic output on defense — a commitment Berlin has so far blatantly violated. However, the deal reached on Sunday night falls short of enshrining the 2 percent target in the German constitution. Instead, it says the benchmark should be reached ‘on a multi-year average,’ meaning Germany might spend more than 2 percent in some years due to major military investments, but less in others….

“Although Germany’s official list of military investments is secret, there is one huge project the government has made public: The purchase of U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jets… Notably, these high-tech jets should, if worst comes to worst, be able to carry U.S. nuclear weapons… Sunday’s deal specifies that the new money must be used for Bundeswehr investments, raising hopes among German defense companies like Rheinmetall that they will get fresh orders for new tanks and ammunition…

“Given that the €100 billion will be spent over five years, Germany is unlikely to soon have more tanks and artillery to donate to Ukraine…

“Scholz’s government has been hammered internationally in recent months for being too hesitant to provide Ukraine with military support. While Scholz’s pledges to make Germany a more prominent European military power are being welcomed in many EU capitals, especially in the east, many nations are waiting to see if those words are followed by deeds. On that front, Scholz’s track record so far is quite thin.”

Scholz Being Pushed Again…

Breitbart wrote on June 1:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday his country will rush modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems to Ukraine… His promise to Kyiv came just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced he was releasing advanced rocket systems to help Ukrainian forces repel their Russian invaders…”

Of course, a “promise” by Scholz, which he was pushed to make, does not mean that it will be carried out any time soon.

Weak Germany Loses Authority

Express wrote on June 1:

“Germany and Austria have ruled out any future European Union embargo on Russian gas imports after a Brussels summit agreed a partial oil ban last night… Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are already pushing to step up Russian energy sanctions to keep the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, but other EU countries said the bloc had hit the political limit. Setting the scene for a new clash over sanctions, Karl Nehammer, the Austrian chancellor, said that there could be no question of suspending gas imports because of the effect on major European economies, such as Germany’s. He said, in a reference to the German chancellor ruling out any moves towards a ban during talks last night: ‘The gas embargo will not be a topic, Olaf Scholz has made this clear as well.’…

“The crumbling of German authority was on vivid display this week as EU heads of state and government struggled to reach an agreement to embargo Russian oil and to overcome the stubborn opposition of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.”

Hungary was permitted to keep importing its needs for oil from Russia. Hungary gets more than 60% of its oil from Russia. Scholz is viewed by observers as the weakest and most inconsequential and irrelevant chancellor in the history of Germany. But Germany’s lack of influence will change under a new leadership.

Denmark Reconsidering its “Neutrality”

Courthouse News Service wrote on May 25:

“In 1992, Danes voted against the Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union. Instead, the Danish Parliament suggested joining the treaty with several significant reservations as a compromise. Denmark joined the bloc but kept its own currency, maintained a line between Danish national citizenship and EU citizenship, and opted out of EU justice, police and defense policies. The latter means that Denmark does not contribute soldiers, financing and equipment for EU-led military operations abroad… The only EU-related defense efforts from the Danish government have involved sending police on civilian missions for peacekeeping purposes. Otherwise, the small Nordic country has abstained from 11 EU operations in global hotspots, mainly on the African continent.

“But now, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the defense reservation has been put up for a new referendum. On June 1, Danish citizens will vote on whether to lift the 30-year-old military opt-out. In March, the Danish government announced an agreement on an updated national security policy. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized how she wishes to go all-in on the defense collaboration with the EU…

“The defense reservation is heavily debated in the Danish public and media. Political opponents of lifting it have warned of the prospect of an EU army and how Denmark can become an involuntary pawn in large military operations caused by strategic considerations of bigger EU member states, such as France. But supporters argue that [the] time has come for Denmark to take responsibility for security in Europe and abroad… The share of Danish voters who support joining the EU defense pact has grown to 42%… Twenty-eight percent of Danes are opposed to lifting the country’s defense reservation while 22% are undecided.”

It will be interesting to observe where the Nordic nations of Denmark, Sweden and Finland—all descendants of the ancient house of Israel—will end up in relationship with a united Europe, a core Europe, and a European Army.

Denmark Voted to Join the EU’s Defence Policy

 The Guardian wrote on June 1:

“Denmark has voted overwhelmingly to join the EU’s common defence policy, becoming the last of the bloc’s members to sign up… The referendum on Wednesday, in which voters backed the government’s proposal by 66.9% to 33.1%, followed historic applications by Denmark’s previously non-aligned Nordic neighbours, Finland and Sweden, to join Nato last month…

“Participation in the EU’s defence policy will allow Denmark, a founding Nato member, to take part in joint EU military operations, such as those in Bosnia, Mali and Somalia, and will allow Danish officials to stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defence issues…

“‘The political significance will outweigh the military contribution,’ said Kristian Soby Kristensen, a senior researcher at Copenhagen University’s Centre for Military Studies. Those opposed to abandoning the opt-out argued that the EU’s defence cooperation is hampered by excessive bureaucracy and inefficient decision-making, and that a joint European defence would come at the expense of Nato.”

The Not-So-Hidden Truth About Pope Pius XII

DNYUZ wrote on May 27:

“David Kertzer… a 74-year-old historian… cut through a crowd lined up to see Pope Francis, showed his credentials to the Swiss Guards and entered the archives of the former headquarters for the Holy Roman Inquisition. Over the last few decades, Mr. Kertzer has turned the inquisitive tables on the church. Using the Vatican’s own archives, the soft-spoken Brown University professor and trustee at the American Academy in Rome has become arguably the most effective excavator of the Vatican’s hidden sins, especially those leading up to and during World War II.

“The son of a rabbi… participated in the liberation of Rome as an Army chaplain… [A new book] documents the private decision-making that led Pope Pius XII to stay essentially silent about Hitler’s genocide and argues that the pontiff’s impact on the war is underestimated. And not in a good way…

“The current pope, Francis, said ‘the church is not afraid of history,’ when in 2019 he ordered the archives of Pius XII opened. But as Francis wrestles with how forcefully to condemn a dictator, this time Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Mr. Kertzer has unearthed some frightening evidence about the cost of keeping quiet about mass killings.

“Mr. Kertzer makes the case that Pius XII’s overriding dread of Communism, his belief that the Axis powers would win the war, and his desire to protect the church’s interests all motivated him to avoid offending Hitler and Mussolini, whose ambassadors had worked to put him on the throne. The pope was also worried, the book shows, that opposing the Führer would alienate millions of German Catholics. The book further reveals that a German prince and fervent Nazi acted as a secret back channel between Pius XII and Hitler, and that the pope’s top Vatican adviser on Jewish issues urged him in a letter not to protest a Fascist order to arrest and send to concentration camps most of Italy’s Jews…

“Defenders of Pius XII, whose case for sainthood is still being evaluated, have long argued that he worked behind the scenes to help Jews, and that anti-Catholic enemies have sought to stain the institution by sullying the pontiff… But the urge to protect Pius’s reputation, according to Mr. Kertzer, reflects a more general refusal by Italy — and apologists in the Vatican — to come to terms with their complicity in the Second World War, the Holocaust and the murder of Rome’s Jews…”

Actually, Pope Pius’ collaboration with the Italian and German Nazis has been known for a long time. One revealing book in this regard is David Kertzer’s work, “The Pope and Mussolini,” which was published in 2014.

Pope Francis’ Political Move and Pelosi’s “Defense”

Fox News reported on May 29:

“Pope Francis on Sunday named as cardinal San Diego Bishop Robert W. McElroy, a Roman Catholic leader who had spoken out against the calls for bishops to exclude pro-choice politicians like President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Holy Communion over their stances on abortion.

“The move comes in the wake of San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s announcement earlier this month that he would bar Pelosi from receiving Holy Communion due to her stance on abortion. In naming McElroy, Francis passed over Cordileone, who holds a higher rank…

“Despite Cordileone’s clear declaration, Pelosi received Holy Communion at the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., last Sunday. Pelosi defended her position and condemned Cordileone’s move in remarks last Tuesday. She claimed the issue of abortion is not just about terminating a pregnancy because the people criticizing its legality and morality also oppose contraceptives, family planning and in-vitro fertilization… ‘This decision… [is] not consistent with the Gospel of Matthew,’ she argued.”

For Pope Francis to say that the issue of the eucharist should not be politicized and then heavily politicize it himself is stunning.. .and then maybe not. Pelosi’s “defense” conveniently muddles the issues of abortion and conception.. but the ban on conception (a wrong teaching by the Catholic Church) was not at issue here. The gospel message according to Matthew most certainly does NOT endorse or even allow for abortion.

Iraq to Become Arch-Enemy of Israel?

Israel Today wrote on May 27:

“Iraq on Thursday passed a new law criminalizing the normalization of relations with Israel, ostensibly ending any hope that it would eventually sign on to the Abraham Accords.  Those violating the law could face the death penalty or life in prison. It was passed by an overwhelming majority of 275 lawmakers out of Iraq’s 329-seat parliament…

“The US State Department on Thursday issued a statement decrying the new Iraqi law: ‘The United States is deeply disturbed by the Iraqi Parliament’s passage of legislation that criminalizes normalization of relations with Israel. In addition to jeopardizing freedom of expression and promoting an environment of antisemitism, this legislation stands in stark contrast to progress Iraq’s neighbors have made by building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel, creating new opportunities for people throughout the region.’”

The Algemeiner added:

“The provisions outlaw ‘contact and communication of any kind and means with the occupying Zionist entity, its nationals, and representatives, whether individuals or institutions or organizations, for any reason.’ Also prohibited are any ‘financial or moral assistance’ to the State of Israel or Israeli organizations, alongside the ‘promotion of any ideas, ideologies, principles, or Israeli or Zionist conduct, in any form.’”

The law also states this:

“This law aims to achieve the following: 1. Criminalizing normalization with the Zionist entity in any form. 2. Preventing the establishment of diplomatic, political, military, economic or cultural relations or any other form of relations with the occupying Zionist entity… It is forbidden to normalize and establish diplomatic, political, military, economic, cultural, or any other relationship with the Zionist entity.”

The law also forbids any Iraqi to travel to Israel and to visit any Israeli institution throughout the world.  

The Bible indicates in Psalm 83 that Iraq (possibly identified as parts of “Moab”) might belong to a confederacy of Israel’s enemies determined to destroy and obliterate the state.

Will Netanyahu Return?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on May 27:

“Since the current coalition came together, it has appeared impossible that Netanyahu could ever form a government again, overcoming both the political vetoes of key figures on the Right and his ongoing corruption trial. But over the past two weeks, the eulogies have been halted, and even the most anti-Netanyahu media have started speaking seriously – and objectively – about the possibility of a Netanyahu comeback…

“Over the past couple weeks, the top state’s witness, former Communications Ministry director-general Shlomo Filber, has repeatedly harmed the prosecution by denying key elements in its story about how Netanyahu tried to evade the law. The prosecution was scolded by the judges for seeking to change the indictment in Case 4000 following Filber’s apparently self-contradictory testimony. Even legal analysts who have repeatedly predicted that Netanyahu will end up in jail wrote that the prosecution has lost its momentum in the trial… Netanyahu’s associates said Wednesday that they have never been more relieved that he did not accept a plea bargain before the departure of former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit.

“The second reason for renewed optimism about a potential Netanyahu comeback is the rapid disintegration of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s inner circle in the Prime Minister’s Office. Over the past two weeks, he lost his powerful diplomatic adviser, Shimrit Meir, and his loyal chief of staff, Tal Gan-Zvi…

“A successful comeback after he failed in four elections still remains far-fetched. But he has surprised both his strongest supporters and worst enemies before. Don’t rule out being surprised once again.”

It would be extremely premature to rule out a comeback of Netanyahu. It was predictable from the outset that the current coalition government would not hold.

Clinton Lawyer Michael Sussmann Acquitted—No Surprise

Techno Fog wrote on May 31:

“The acquittal is no surprise. This is a DC jury, after all. In the Roger Stone case, for example… a juror lied to get on the panel (That judge didn’t care.) Making matters worse, the Sussmann judge wrongly allowed for a woman to remain on the jury, despite the fact that her daughter and Sussmann’s are on the same high school crew team. One can’t help but think that juror had her own daughter’s interests in mind – the cohesion of the crew team, sparing her of teenage drama, etc. – when she reached a decision…

“On the facts, the evidence was more than sufficient to prove Sussmann’s guilt. Sussmann lied to then-FBI general counsel James Baker via text message in order to get a meeting to pass the Alfa Bank hoax materials to the FBI. Sussmann lied again during the meeting – stating he was not there on behalf of a client – in order to get the FBI to open an investigation into the Trump Organization’s purported ties with Alfa Bank….

“I won’t say the verdict doesn’t matter. Of course it matters. It would have proven that a DC jury can convict one of their own. It would have resulted in accountability for lying to the FBI. Not the gravest of crimes, but it is still a crime…”

The judge in the case was an Obama appointee. Several jurors were Clinton supporters. So how could this have been a fair trial? But it shows again how corrupt our legal system is.

The USA Under Biden… the New Sodom and Gomorrah

The Federalist wrote on May 25:

“K-12 schools must allow boys into girls’ private areas to obtain federal funds for lunches, breakfasts, and snacks, the Biden administration announced this month…

“Under this new demand, establishments that accept any federal food funding, including food stamps, must also allow males who claim to be female to access female private spaces, such as showers, bathrooms, and sleeping areas. Such organizations must also follow protocols such as requiring staff to use inaccurate pronouns to describe transgender people and allowing male staff to dress as women while on the job.

“Religious institutions, however, qualify for a waiver exempting them from these requirements… Organizations may request a religious exemption by submitting a written declaration to the Secretary of Agriculture identifying the provisions that conflict with a specific tenet of the religious organization…

“Government schools can receive no exemption…

“Parents have told The Federalist that their daughters no longer use the bathrooms or locker rooms at their public schools because they don’t feel safe there. Many parents are finding after the fact that school districts are helping their children live as the opposite sex and hide that from their families….”

This is awful. How a professing “Christian” government and nation can endorse such blatantly ungodly concepts is beyond belief.

“Important” to Support Family-Friendly Gay Parades

Insider Paper wrote on May 31:

“There is no reason to avoid LGBTQ+ parades, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), despite the recent outbreak of monkeypox virus, which has been confirmed in over 435 cases in nearly 24 countries… While the virus is not a sexually transmitted infection… the most recent outbreak appears to have been spread among men who have sex with other men.

“The WHO, on the other hand, emphasized that anyone can contract monkeypox and that it is critical to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. ‘It’s important that people who want to go out and celebrate gay pride, LGBTQ pride, to continue to go and plan to do so,’ Andy Seale, strategies adviser at WHO’s department of sexually transmitted infections programmes, said… ‘Most of these events – the official events – are outdoors, they’re family friendly…’

“… people expressed concern about upcoming pride marches in New York on June 26 and Berlin on July 23, among other cities.”

Travel Restrictions Lifted for Germany?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 25:

“Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that, as of next Wednesday, people entering Germany would no longer have to show proof of vaccination or negative test result or demonstrate a recent recovery from the coronavirus… ‘Until the end of August, we will suspend the 3G rule on entry,” Lauterbach [said].  It is not clear what will happen from September onward… Stricter rules will remain in force for people entering from ‘virus-variant’ areas…

“Earlier this month, Germany said it had no plans to lift the mask mandate for flights coming into the country despite new EU guidance.”

Lauterbach has lied many times before or walked back his “promises.” It will remain to be seen what is going to happen… especially beginning in September.

European Payback

Express wrote on May 28:

“Brexit has resulted in many changes for Britons since it came into force at the beginning of 2021. Holidays to EU countries have been impacted, with British citizens now having to pay extra to travel to Europe. From next year, UK passport holders travelling from Britain will have to pay to get a visa…. This means Britons will have to pay to enter 27 countries, all of which are in the EU.

“To acquire a visa, British holidaymakers will need to have it issued through the European Travel Information and Authorisation System if they’re travelling for less than 90 days during an 180 day period. This applies to anyone travelling to any EU country by plane, boat, or car.

“The visa must be applied for 96 hours before departing on a trip, and will cost €7, or £5. Travellers younger than 18 years old and older than 70 will be the only ones not required to get one. Applicants will be asked for information about their identity, passport, education, job, recent travel, and criminal convictions. The visa will last for three years, but expires when a person’s passport expires.

“… Under new requirements, Britons must have a specific length of time left on their passport in order for it to be classed as valid for travel… A passport issued by non-member states hoping to visit the Schengen Area must have been issued in the past 10 years. If your passport doesn’t meet these rules, you need to apply for a new passport before travelling to the countries affected…’

More paperwork… more money… more time wasting… more complicated procedures. But Europe’s payback because of the Brexit has only just begun.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Another Massacre in Texas

 The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 26:

“We are caught in a vicious cycle.

“With alarming regularity, the nation is being subjected to a heartbreaking spate of violence that terrorizes the populace, fractures communities, and gives the government greater justifications to crack down, lock down, and institute even more authoritarian policies for the so-called sake of national security without many objections from the citizenry.

“Mass shootings have taken place in schools, on college campuses, movie theaters, nightclubs, grocery stores, concert venues, bars, workplaces, churches, on military bases, and in government offices. In almost every instance, the shooters were dressed in military-style gear and armed with military-style weapons.

“Take the latest shooting that took place in Uvalde, Texas, when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, wearing body armor and carrying a rifle, walked into Robb Elementary School and opened fire, leaving at least 19 children and two teachers dead. This Uvalde shooting took place ten days after another 18-year-old man heavily armed and wearing tactical gear (including a tactical helmet and plated armor), opened fire in a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y, killing 10 people.

“In 2018, a 19-year-old former student armed with a gas mask, smoke grenades, magazines of ammunition, and an AR-215-style semi automatic rifle, opened fire on students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., leaving 17 people dead.

“Ten years ago, 20-year-old Adam Lanza—wearing body armor and black clothing, and armed with military-style weapons—opened fire on students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., leaving 26 dead…

“According to an FBI report issued the day before the Uvalde shooting, these kinds of ‘active shooter attacks’ have doubled in recent years…

“… surely there’s more to these shootings than just easy access to weapons and mental illness.

“Ask yourself: Why do these mass shootings keep happening? Who are these shooters modelling themselves after? Where are they finding the inspiration for their weaponry and tactics? Whose stance and techniques are they mirroring?…

“The United States is the number one consumer, exporter and perpetrator of violence and violent weapons in the world…  We have been a nation at war for most of our existence… We are being fed a steady diet of violence through our entertainment, news, sports and politics…

“Then there are the growing number of violent video games, a number of which… have accustomed players to interactive war play through military simulations and first-person shooter scenarios. As Esther J. Cepeda writes for The Washington Post, ‘Violent video games alone do not cause people to go off the rails, arm themselves and open fire on innocent people in public places. But there’s also no question that there is something wrong with a multibillion-dollar video game industry that sells to young men the ability to virtually assassinate a foe as an escape from real life.’…

“You want to stop the gun violence? Stop the worship of violence that permeates our culture…”

 Satan is the god of this world, and he is the destroyer of mankind. Only after Christ has returned, man will begin to see how horrible violence and war are. Then they will receive a new heart and mind, and they will embrace a new and peaceful way of thinking. In the meantime, the glorification of weapons, especially in the USA, will continue.

WHO to Become an Autocratic Superpower?

On May 21, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote the following in LifeSiteNews:

“In the coming days, the Nations that adhere to the World Health Organization (WHO) [may] vote on resolutions regarding the WHO’s management of pandemics [As we point out below, however, the vote on those resolutions is not on their agenda.]. These resolutions [would] transfer sovereignty regarding the health of citizens to a supranational body that is largely financed by the pharmaceutical industry and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. If these resolutions are approved by a majority, the WHO will have exclusive international authority in the case of a pandemic to impose all the rules, including quarantines, lockdowns, obligatory vaccinations, and vaccine passports. It should also be borne in mind that this organization enjoys immunity, and thus its members cannot be either tried or convicted if they commit crimes. Unelected technocrats will paradoxically have more power than that which citizens confer on their representatives by means of their democratic vote.

“It therefore sounds absurd, to say the least, that there is now a desire to give binding decision-making power to the WHO, when in its management of the recent pandemic emergency and the vaccine campaign the greatest damage was done in terms of the number of deaths and of patients who have suffered permanent damage to their health. In addition to the impunity it enjoyed for the crimes it has committed thanks to the silence of the mainstream media, the WHO also has total discretion over how to respond to the upcoming emergencies that are obviously being planned by the pharmaceutical lobby. The marginalization of health personnel who appeal to the Hippocratic Oath risks becoming the norm by which to eliminate every voice of dissent…

“The Holy See… is a Permanent Observer at the United Nations and also at the WHO for one year now… The present conspiratorial silence of the Vatican, after the hasty pronouncements it made at the beginning of the pandemic and its shameful endorsements of Big Pharma… has made itself an accomplice in a crime against God and man…”

However, whether the WHO will indeed acquire such global powers at this point is doubtful. Note the next articles.

The Proposed Pandemic Treaty

The Washington Post wrote on May 22:

“The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO’s 194 member states, is holding its first fully in-person event in two years… theories focus largely on the discussion of a ‘pandemic treaty’ — a potential agreement that could… regulate how countries prepare for and respond to future pandemics. Though such a treaty will not be agreed upon at the assembly, the backlash has spread fast and far beyond the world of global health…

“A pandemic treaty is not imminent. Though member states agreed in December that a new agreement is needed, it will take years of negotiations to reach a final draft; 2024 is the target. Nor will it grant WHO sweeping new powers, as the organization has no army nor power of sanction and will still need to rely on member states to comply and enforce its rules… Even if the text for a treaty on pandemic preparedness is reached, it would have to be signed, ratified and enforced by the member states themselves.”

Of course, all of that could happen rather quickly… but then, it might not.

The Pandemic Treaty

Politico wrote on May 20:

“Many of the consequential decisions, such as those on a pandemic treaty and changes to the International Health Regulations, will only happen years from now. Even the matters that will likely be agreed on at the assembly, such as the WHO’s future budget and the timelines to increase the budget, stretch years into the future… the most controversial proposal — for a pandemic treaty — isn’t even on the agenda at the assembly.

“What was meant to be considered were amendments proposed by the U.S. to the International Health Regulation, a legally binding law that governs how countries are meant to respond to health threats. The wide-ranging proposal from the U.S. suggested giving the WHO greater powers to share information from countries experiencing events that could put public health at risk. But decisions on this are now set to be delayed, with countries having agreed on a watered-down proposal related to procedural decisions on when changes to the regulations would come into effect.”

It has been reported that especially Russia and China have objected to a “pandemic treaty.”

Biden Misrepresents Again—Or Does He?

Breitbart wrote on May 23:

“President Joe Biden forced his own White House on Monday to again walk back a false claim of his that Washington has a military ‘commitment’ to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, most likely by China.

“Biden answered affirmatively to a question about defending Taiwan on Monday during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Tokyo. Asked if he would be willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan, Biden replied, ‘Yes. That’s the commitment we made,’ citing the Taiwan Act.

“Taiwan is a sovereign state governed under a free and democratic system. China falsely claims it as a ‘province’ and regularly threatens violen[ce] to bring about ‘reunification’ (Taiwan has never been governed by a regime based in Beijing in its history). The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a state, a concession to China granted by former President Jimmy Carter.

“The Taiwan Act allows Washington to establish ‘relations’ with Taipei separately from Beijing and allows the United States ‘to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character,’ but does not make a military commitment to defend Taiwan’s independence. No military treaty exists between Taiwan and America.

“The White House soon issued a statement to the media reassuring the world once again that Biden’s remarks did not create a new military commitment for America…

“This is not the first time that Biden has seemingly fabricated a military commitment to defend Taiwan… In October, the White House also walked back his rhetoric on Taiwan after he said the United States would act to defend Taiwan if China invaded.”

No Communion for Nancy Pelosi Because of Her Grave Sin and Evil

AFP wrote on May 20:

“The archbishop of San Francisco told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that she is barred from receiving communion over her support for abortion rights, the archdiocese said in a letter released Friday. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in the letter that he had previously asked Pelosi to ‘publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion “rights” or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion’ – or face the consequence of being denied access to the rite. ‘As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come,’ the archbishop said…

“‘Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s position on abortion has become only more extreme over the years, especially in the last few months,’ Cordileone wrote. ‘Just earlier this month she once again, as she has many times before, explicitly cited her Catholic faith while justifying abortion as a “choice,” this time setting herself in direct opposition to Pope Francis…

“The archbishop quoted Pelosi from a statement Pelosi gave to the Seattle Times following that leak: ‘The very idea that they would be telling women the size, timing or whatever of their family, the personal nature of this is so appalling, and I say that as a devout Catholic,’ Pelosi said in the statement. ‘They say to me, ‘Nancy Pelosi thinks she knows more about having babies than the Pope.’ Yes I do. Are you stupid?’

“The archbishop continued: ‘After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion “rights” and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance… Cordileone referred to the church’s Cannon 915, which says: ‘Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church opposes abortion.”

Breitbart wrote on May 21:

“Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila released a statement Friday in support of San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone for barring Nancy Pelosi from receiving Holy Communion because of her aggressive abortion advocacy… ‘Church teaching is clear that people endanger their souls if they are separated from God because of grave sin and then receive the most Holy Eucharist in an unworthy manner,’ he said… When that person is a public figure, he added, ‘love for the community means guarding against scandal and confusion and allowing others to be led into sin if they don’t see the issue addressed in an appropriate and compassionate manner.’

“Archbishop Aquila encouraged the faithful of his own archdiocese ‘to read the letters written by Archbishop Cordileone, and to ask the Holy Spirit with an open heart to clear away any doubt or confusion you have about this issue, and lead you into a more intimate and full relationship with Jesus…  let us pray for our state and country, that we may once again view every precious life as a true gift from our heavenly Father.’”

He “nicely” promoted the Trinity… Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Except, the Holy Spirit is not a person, and praying to the Holy Spirit is wrong.

A House Divided…

ABC News added on May 20:

“Cordileone over the past year has been among the most outspoken U.S. bishops advocating that Communion be denied to President Joe Biden and other politicians who support abortion rights. However, each bishop has authority in his own diocese on this matter, and the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, has affirmed that Biden is welcome to receive the sacrament there. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops last November overwhelmingly approved a long-anticipated document on Communion that stopped short of calling for withholding the sacrament from politicians who support abortion rights but offered justifications for individual bishops to do so.”

The Huffington Post added on May 20:

“Pope Francis warned last September that Communion should never be politicized… Francis said he had ‘never denied the Eucharist’ to anyone. The pontiff was responding to calls then by conservative Catholics to deny Communion to President Joe Biden, also because of his stance supporting women’s reproductive rights. A month later, Biden met personally  with the pope at the Vatican. Francis told him he was a ‘good Catholic’ and that he should ‘keep receiving Communion,’ Biden said.”

Of course, one can’t know how true Biden’s statement is, as he is known for exaggerations and lies. But Francis did not dispute the statement… so a political Church states one should not become political.

The Left Responds…

Fox News wrote on May 22:

“The San Francisco Examiner’s editorial board wrote a scathing rebuke of the city’s archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone, after he announced he would deny… Pelosi  Holy Communion… In response, the liberal editorial board blasted the Catholic leader for ‘punishing’ Pelosi, instead of ‘right-wing politicians’…  They defended Pelosi as a leader who has ‘consistently fought on the morally right side of these issues,’ and praised her as a role model for women.

“The editorial board argued that by denying Pelosi Holy Communion, the archbishop wasn’t being loyal to Christ. ‘Cordileone’s chief loyalty is not to Christ, but to the cabal of far-right American bishops led by Raymond Leo Burke, a Catholic prelate who has led a continual campaign to undermine Pope Francis’ authority,’ they wrote, before demanding the Pope remove the ‘radical conservative’ from San Francisco.

 “We repeat the call for Pope Francis to remove him and replace him with a leader who can unify rather than divide. Cordileone’s radical conservative politics might attract more people to the faith in places like Oklahoma or Texas, but his partisan pomposity will win no converts in San Francisco,” the editorial board complained. ‘It is Nancy Pelosi, not Archbishop Cordileone, who reflects the true spirit of Christian care in the City of St. Francis,’ the board wrote.”

 Incredible! We repeat and say it again: Abortion is murder, and neither Pelosi nor the Editorial Board of the San Francisco Examiner reflect in any manner, shape or form the godly values of true Christianity when it comes to abortion. How Pelosi can be viewed as a role model for women when she defends the murder of innocent unborn children is absolutely beyond imagination.

The Lies of the Abortionists

Fox News wrote on May 20:

“The abortion industry…  has for decades told women and girls that a preborn baby is nothing but a clump of cells. That lie is what I, and millions of women and girls, remember being told.  That is the lie being told to millions of vulnerable women and girls who are lined up in abortion clinics like widgets on an assembly line, forced to fork over hundreds of dollars in advance, and have their babies dismembered and then sucked out by vacuum from their womb. But, from the moment a baby is conceived, it is much more than a clump of cells. At 4 weeks, a baby’s brain and heart tissue begin to develop, and the first heartbeat can be detected after 22 days. Limbs and major organs start forming shortly thereafter and then come the lips and nose. A preborn baby responds to touch by week 6 and scientists have discovered that preborn babies may be able to feel pain as early as 12 weeks gestational age. Ultrasounds show the beating heart and small fingers and toes.

“These are the facts the abortion industry doesn’t want you to hear. The argument in favor of abortion is encapsulated in the slogan, ‘My body, my choice.’ This argument, however, is fundamentally flawed. It deliberately ignores the fact that innocent infant lives are at the center of the abortion issue. What about the body of the preborn baby? What about their choice? There are two bodies involved in an abortion, the mother’s and the baby’s. The circumstances of the mother, however tragic and difficult, must not devalue the life of the child she carries and the long-term psychological impact on the mother who has an abortion cannot be thrown aside. Abortion providers make money off abortions and the sale of baby body parts for research.”

In fact, there are more than just “two bodies” involved. It also includes the “body” of the father and, most importantly, but always conveniently overlooked, is the “bodies” of the God Family—consisting of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Preaching on Sin Outdated

The Washington Times wrote on May 22:

“… the Apostle Paul… told the first-century church that ‘everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ and ‘there is none righteous, no not one.’ From its inception, the church has consistently taught that ‘the human heart is desperately wicked’ and ‘beyond cure’ (Jeremiah)…

“Rather than warning of the consequences of sin, it appears that many of our contemporary evangelical preachers and teachers are celebrating it.  Karl Menninger once asked, ‘Whatever became of sin?’ Well, it appears that in today’s churches, it has gone… Preaching about sin is now viewed as outdated and too judgmental… Contemporary church attendees are now told they are born good and that anyone suggesting they are sinners is a sinner for doing so.

“… the new world of the American Christian [is] a religion whose congregants see themselves as sinless, and everyone who dares disagree with them is sinful…

“Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they wanted to supplant God and become gods themselves. And as such, they declared that they would decide what was right and what was wrong, what was true and what was false, and what was just and what was unjust. In essence, they chose to define what sin was and wasn’t, and thus, they denied its existence while, at the same time, giving it birth. The story of the garden teaches us that when anyone but God declares themselves to be good, it never ends well…”

Clinton’s Legacy of Lies

The New York Post wrote on May 21:

“Proving that what’s old is new again, here is how the late William Safire began his New York Times column of Jan. 8, 1996: ‘Americans of all political persuasions are coming to the sad realization that our First Lady [Hillary Clinton] — a woman of undoubted talents who was a role model for many in her generation — is a congenital liar. Drip by drip, like Whitewater torture, the case is being made that she is compelled to mislead, and to ensnare her subordinates and friends in a web of deceit.’

“Safire detailed a series of situations where Hillary Clinton was caught in obvious lies, and there is a straight line to the Hillary Clinton whose shadow hangs over the [current] Michael Sussmann trial in Washington. Once again, Clinton is being exposed as ‘compelled to mislead’ and ensnaring ‘her subordinates and friends in a web of deceit.’

“And to think she almost got away with stealing the presidency. It is in keeping with her history that she is portrayed as the off-stage chief conniver at a trial that is, like her, something of a throwback. Coming six years after the 2016 presidential campaign, the Sussmann trial inevitably carries an air of anti-climax.

“After all, we have known since the Robert Mueller report in 2019 that the charge that Donald Trump colluded with Russia was fake news. And we have known for almost as long that Clinton’s campaign secretly funded the smear merchants at Fusion GPS who hired Christopher Steele who fabricated a ‘dossier’ that was long on lies and gossip and short on facts. Finally, we have known that Jim Comey’s FBI was punch drunk on power and some of its top officials were foaming at the mouth to help Clinton defeat Trump. They were so dirty they used the rancid dossier to get court approval to spy on Trump’s campaign.

“That sequence adds a strange dimension to the Sussmann case in the sense that the only charge against him — that he lied to the FBI in denying he was working for Clinton in trying to peddle Russia trash — makes the agency look innocent, when it was, in its own way, as guilty as Clinton.

“Still, there is value in special counsel John Durham’s tireless effort to reveal the secrets of the dirtiest dirty trick ever. His assignment was to probe how and why the FBI took the unprecedented step of spying on the campaign of the opposing party’s presidential candidate and while the going has been slow, he is adding important details to a major stain on our national history.

“The Biden administration would surely love to shut Durham down, but convicting Sussmann likely would give the prosecutor new impetus and save his probe from the Democrats’ ax. It is vital that he continue because, although it failed to elect Clinton, the hoax was sensationally successful in capturing the media’s attention and implanting a deep distrust of Trump, thanks in part to the Deep State’s anonymous sources who fed media hysterics.

“Democrats, especially Nancy Pelosi, insisted Trump was an illegitimate president for his entire term. One result was that the party refused to negotiate with him, robbing America of any meaningful bipartisanship even on issues like infrastructure. Another outcome was the 2018 midterms, where the hoax surely played a role in the public’s decision to hand control of the House to Dems, who instantly began their Russia, Russia, Russia investigation and soon turned to impeaching Trump.

“The Clinton lies, then, did enormous damage…

“Meanwhile, the related misconduct of the media, the FBI and other government agencies resulted in an incalculable loss of credibility that continues to grow as new facts emerge. In that sense, the most redeeming feature of the Sussmann case is the proof that the Steele dossier wasn’t Clinton’s only effort to fabricate so-called ‘evidence’ about Trump and Russia. Testimony is revealing that the pattern the two efforts followed was almost identical.

“First her campaign concocted a lie, then secretly peddled it to Trump-hating media and the Trump-hating FBI…

“It was… Sussmann’s job to get the New York Times to run a story on the claim, an effort Clinton herself approved, according to testimony from her former campaign manager, Robbie Mook. Although the Times didn’t bite on that one, other media outlets did, and Clinton herself tweeted about the stories to magnify their impact as she hoped for an October surprise. One of her aides then, Jake Sullivan, was also pushing the fake story as a national security threat, and he is now Joe Biden’s national security adviser…

“[Clinton] was a lousy, lazy presidential candidate who made up slanderous tales about her opponent to cover up her own unpopularity and failures. As proof, the trial resurrected declassified notes from September of 2016 written by John Brennan, then CIA director. It said intelligence officials learned Clinton planned to tar Trump with Russia ties ‘as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.’

“The notes suggest Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on the finding, yet Obama still went along with the FBI probe of Trump and told Comey how to brief the president-elect in January of 2017 on the most salacious parts of the Steele dossier. Assuming Durham is able to continue, his real challenge will be finding someone in her circle who was not ensnared in Clinton’s web of deceit.”

Hillary Clinton Strongly Implicated in the “Russia” Hoax Scandal

On May 21, the Hill published the following article by Law Professor Jonathan Turley:

“The trial of former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann crossed a critical threshold Friday when a key witness uttered the name ‘Hillary Clinton’ in conjunction with a plan to spread the false Alfa Bank Russian collusion claim before the 2016 presidential election.

“For Democrats and many in the media, Hillary Clinton has long held a Voldemort-like status [something like “a holy cow” protection and immunity] as ‘She who must not be named’ in scandals. Yet, there was her former campaign manager, Robby Mook, telling a jury that Clinton personally approved a plan to spread the claim of covert communications between the Trump organization and the Russian bank. It was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns in American politics, and Mook implicated Clinton as green-lighting the gas-lighting of the electorate.

“The mere mention of Clinton’s name sent shockwaves through Washington. In past scandals, the Clintons have always evaded direct responsibility as aides were investigated or convicted, from the Whitewater land dealings to cattle futures. Even when long-sought documents in Whitewater were discovered outside of the family quarters and bearing Hillary Clinton’s fingerprints, Washington quickly moved on.

“Clinton was not supposed to be the object of the Sussmann trial, because Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, issued a series of orders limiting the scope of the trial and its evidence. The orders were viewed as ‘spar[ing] the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee … potential embarrassment.’

“Yet, even after winning such limiting orders, it was the defense that called Mook to the stand… and he proceeded to confirm that Clinton herself approved of the tactic.

“It was Washington’s worst-kept but least-acknowledged secret… Clinton not only approved using the Alpha Bank claim but helped to portray it as an established fact, tweeting: ‘Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.’”

What a web of rotten lies and dirty deceit.

Biden and His Sinking Ship

The Associated Press wrote on May 20:

“President Joe Biden’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency in May, a new poll shows, with deepening pessimism emerging among members of his own Democratic Party. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier. Overall, only about 2 in 10 adults say the U.S. is heading in the right direction or the economy is good, both down from about 3 in 10 a month earlier. Those drops were concentrated among Democrats, with just 33% within the president’s party saying the country is headed in the right direction, down from 49% in April. Of particular concern for Biden ahead of the midterm elections, his approval among Democrats stands at 73%, a substantial drop since earlier in his presidency. In AP-NORC polls conducted in 2021, Biden’s approval rating among Democrats never dropped below 82%.

“The findings reflect a widespread sense of exasperation in a country facing a cascade of challenges ranging from inflation, gun violence, and a sudden shortage of baby formula to a persistent pandemic… Republicans have not been warm to Biden for a while. Less than 1 in 10 approve of the president or his handling of the economy, but that’s no different from last month… Overall, two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy… Just 18% of Americans say Biden’s policies have done more to help than hurt the economy, down slightly from 24% in March. Fifty-one percent say they’ve done more to hurt than help, while 30% say they haven’t made much difference either way. The percentage of Democrats who say Biden’s policies have done more to help dipped from 45% to 37%, though just 18% say they’ve done more to hurt; 44% say they’ve made no difference… Only 38% back Biden on immigration…

“Overall, 45% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the U.S. relationship with Russia, while 54% disapprove. That’s held steady each month since the war in Ukraine began. Seventy-three percent of Democrats and 15% of Republicans approve… The new poll shows just 21% of Americans say they have ‘a great deal of confidence’ in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine; 39% say they have some confidence and 39% say they have hardly any.”

In light of Joe Biden’s terrible job performance, the idea that over 70% of Democrats approve of what he does can only be explained, at best, by complete and total willful ignorance.

House Prices Begin to Fall

Money Week wrote on May 23:

“A recent article in The Economist contains a very nice table which shows that Britain only ranks 13th of 20 countries in its house-price risk table. Sweden, the Netherlands and New Zealand comprise the top three, with famously-overpriced Australia coming in at five, similarly expensive Canada in at seven, and the US joint eighth place (with Denmark). In the two pandemic years… house prices [in the UK] have ‘only’ risen by around 18%; prices in New Zealand by contrast, are up by 46%.  In Britain, the share of homeowners who own homes with mortgages outstanding is about one in three. Again, New Zealand stands out as being double that.

“Britain has a very low proportion of mortgage-holders on variable-rate loans. In Norway (fourth on the vulnerability list), 94% of loans are variable rate. In the UK, it’s below 10%. That said, apparently about half of those who have fixed mortgages are on two-year loans – so that’s not as reassuring as it may sound at first…

“Last month, house prices in Canada fell for the first time since April 2020… while sales volumes are down by more than 25% on the year. Sales have fallen across 80% of local markets…

“It’s a very similar story in New Zealand… Prices peaked in November and have been edging lower since, and are down by 5% since then. Transactions fell by 30% in a single month in April.  Again, economists are starting to talk about 20% falls. That’s a crash… “

Germany’s Dictatorship Continues

Breitbart wrote on May 20:

“Germany’s crusade for forced vax laws continues after a court in the country [in fact, it was the highest court in the country, German Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht, comparable to the US Supreme Court] ruled on Thursday that a mandate requiring caregivers to get jabbed or lose their job is constitutional. The ruling has seemingly emboldened politicians in the country once again to push for a wider forced vax regime covering all older people in the country, despite the fact that many other nation-states across the world have largely relaxed all lockdown measures aimed at tackling the disease… While the court did agree with the challenge’s claim that the law interfered with an individual’s fundamental human rights, it concluded that such interference was in keeping with the German constitution considering the circumstances…

“The court’s ruling, which will now see nursing and healthcare staff dismissed if they cannot provide proof of being jabbed or recently recovered from COVID-19, may have had an emboldening effect on lockdown loving politicians in Germany, with many once again pushing for a more widespread forced vax mandate to be introduced in the country. Officials from the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse reportedly once again made an appeal for mandatory vaccination… saying that a forced vax regime for all aged 60 and up would reduce hospitalisation numbers in the coming autumn.

“The call comes after an identical mandate was flatly rejected by the German parliament back in April, being rejected by the country’s Bundestag by over 80 votes. While this loss was no doubt a setback for many within the country’s pro-lockdown government, it has not stopped those in power from keeping in place hardline lockdown rules… Those flying to and from Germany are still required to wear either FFP2 or medical masks throughout the journey, even if their destination or place of origin has totally relaxed rules regarding mask-wearing.”

Germany’s dictatorial habits and philosophical concepts have never been overcome… and they show again their ugly faces at this time.

Germany Preparing for Gas Shortage

Breitbart wrote on May 22:

“German industry is reportedly preparing to institute gas rationing in Europe’s largest economy as Vladimir Putin’s Russia cut off shipments to Finland, which has launched an application to join the NATO military alliance…

“Germany, even after government measures to lessen dependency on Russian oil and gas, still receives around 35 per cent of its gas imports from Russia, sparking concerns among business leaders that should the supplies be cut off, there could be massive implications for the German economy, which is already experiencing its highest level of inflation in over 40 years….

“Unlike neighbouring France, the German government has pursued a policy of denuclearisation, vowing to shut down all of its reactors in favour of so-called green alternatives like wind and solar. Yet the policy has left them beholden to Russia for natural gas — a fact that was a frequent criticism levied at the country by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The potential of gas rationing in Germany comes as Russia’s state-owned energy firm Gazprom shut off pipeline shipments of liquid natural gas to Finland on Saturday… the shutdown was [reportedly] related to Finland’s state-owned energy firm Gasum refusing to pay Russia in rubles for gas supplies. However, it also noted that the move was likely linked to the decision of the traditionally militarily neutral Finland to join the Western military alliance of NATO this week.

“Gasum has claimed that they have prepared for this eventuality…”

Austria’s and Switzerland’s Neutrality

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 21:

“By declaring their intention to join the NATO defense alliance, Finland and Sweden are respectively abandoning decades and centuries of neutrality. Yet Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said Austria has no intention of following suit… Polls regularly show that some 75% of Austrians wish to maintain neutrality. One would think this would signal the end of the discussion. Still, it begs the question of why Austria’s neutrality appears so non-negotiable, especially since the country pursues a far more active foreign policy path than Sweden, Finland or… Switzerland.

“Austria was once one of the world’s great powers and much of its history has been anything but neutral: Whether when ruling the Holy Roman Empire, or later, in the 19th century, as the Austrian Empire; and eventually, after 1867, as the Austro-Hungarian Empire — when it possessed great swaths of the Balkans and stretched into current-day Ukraine. Austria’s territorial possessions were trimmed back to its current borders as a result of its defeat in World War I and the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Saint Germain. Still, the country would not officially become neutral until October 26, 1955 — 10 years after suffering another military defeat in World War II — with the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, which re-established Austria as a sovereign state.

“Like Germany at the time, Austria was occupied by the Allied powers (the UK, US, USSR and France)… Neutrality was Austria’s only way to get occupying forces to leave… Back then there was even the threat that Austria would be partitioned like Germany. That threat was avoided when the Allies — especially the US and the Soviet Union — consented to Austria becoming neutral instead…

“Much as in Austria, Swiss neutrality is based on a compromise with great powers: At the 1814-1815 Congress of Vienna, France, Austria and Prussia all agreed to forfeit their interests in the territory in favor of a neutral confederation. Still, there are marked differences between the neighboring Alpine states: Switzerland, for instance, was never a great power. Until it became a nation in 1848, Switzerland was a loose amalgamation of small sovereign states… it traditionally avoids signing on to economic sanctions and is also not a member of the European Union, thus it does not participate in EU foreign or security policy.”

Canada Is Now an Authoritarian State Under Trudeau

The New York Post wrote on May 21:

“Two decades ago, when I was 4 years old, my parents immigrated to Canada from India in search of greater freedoms, autonomy and economic opportunities. They’re core Canadian values — enshrined in our national anthem, which gloriously heralds ‘The True North strong and free.’

“However, the past two years have seen a near complete erosion of the foundational liberal values that have attracted millions of immigrants like myself to this country… the Canadian government has taken its power to extreme levels once only imaginable — let alone permissible — in a dissent-stifling authoritarian state. The control has extended to nearly every element of Canadian society, but nowhere more so than in our everyday personal lives. Take my own case contending with Canada’s COVID bureaucracy a few months back.

“I was returning to Canada from the US when multiple Air Canada employees refused to let me on the plane. Although I had a negative COVID test, the government was suddenly requiring even returning citizens to be vaccinated (unvaccinated foreigners were already barred from entering)…

“COVID is just the beginning of the Canadian madness. The internationally recognized trucker protests earlier this year were the most flagrant display of political control ever witnessed within the ranks of the Canadian government… Trudeau manufactured a National Emergency in order to justify truly outrageous tactics…

“Trudeau… has plunged the country into over $1 trillion in national debt for the first time in history. Every day, that number surges by an additional $400 million. Canada is now at risk for stagflation: both economic stagnation and high inflation, as families are unable to meet their bills…

“As if current measures aren’t authoritarian enough, Trudeau’s government has proposed the ‘online harms’ bill C-36, designed to crack down on hate speech against ethnic and sexual minorities. If passed, the bill would allow citizens to report on others who they fear may post something hateful, leading to possible fines, online surveillance and electronic monitoring.  Once a vibrant, liberal democracy, Canada is now becoming an authoritarian state.”

Major Political Change in Australia

The LA Times wrote on May 23:

“Australia’s new prime minister was sworn in Monday and flew to Tokyo for a summit with President Biden while vote-counting continued to determine whether he will command a majority in a Parliament that is demanding tougher action on climate change. [In his Saturday election victory speech, he promised sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions]…Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party ousted predecessor Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition in Saturday’s election. The coalition had been in power under three different prime ministers for nine years

“Albanese, who describes himself as the first candidate for the office of prime minister with a ‘non-Anglo Celtic name,’ and Malaysian-born Penny Wong, Australia’s first foreign minister to be born overseas, were sworn into office by Governor-General David Hurley…  Morrison’s decision to resign as prime minister during early vote-counting enabled Hurley to appoint his replacement without evidence that Albanese can control a majority of seats in Parliament’s lower chamber…”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Threats of Nuclear War

Express wrote on May 13:

“Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said… NATO support [for Ukraine] will make a direct conflict between the alliance and Moscow more likely. He also warned that this could even result in a full-blown nuclear war…. This comes as NATO looks set to welcome Finland and Sweden as new members in a move that has appeared to rub Moscow the wrong way. The Kremlin warned it ‘will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature’ if the Nordic NATO plans materialize…

“Putin already put his nuclear forces on high alert back in March, sparking fears of a nuclear war. He has also been unveiling some terrifying weapons in his 6,000 strong arsenal. This includes the Sarmat II, dubbed Satan II by the West. This is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and can hit targets in the US and Europe.”

Turkey Might Veto

Express wrote on May 13:

“Turkish President [Tayyip Erdoan] argued Finland’s plan to apply for NATO membership, and the expectation that Sweden will follow, would bring about the expansion of the alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent from happening by invading Ukraine… Saying it was a mistake for NATO to accept Greece as a member in the past, he added: ‘As Turkey, we don’t want to repeat similar mistakes.’… Mr Erdoğan then said: ‘Furthermore, Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organisations. They are even members of the parliament in some countries. It is not possible for us to be in favour.’

“Mr Erdoğan’s comments were primarily directed at the militant group the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey regards as a terrorist organisation, although they appeared to encompass the communities of Kurdish origin in Scandinavia as a whole. Sweden has a large Kurdish diaspora, with the community considered to be one of the largest outside of the Middle East…. any decision on enlargement [of NATO] must be made by unanimous agreement of its members, a single country opposing a nation’s bid to join could block the membership from unfolding.”

The Associated Press added on May 16:

“Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday ratcheted up his objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO… [He] said Swedish and Finnish officials — who are expected in Turkey next week — should not bother to come if they hope to convince Ankara into relaxing its objections to their membership.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 18:

“Turkey on Wednesday stopped NATO members from starting talks on the bids launched by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance… Helsinki and Sweden handed their official bid to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday morning… other members of the alliance have given their full backing to the Nordic countries and remain optimistic that they can overcome Turkey’s objections. They hope to complete the process in six months rather than the usual 12 months.”

Turkey is the second-largest military in NATO. It joined NATO 70 years ago. Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty says an attack on any NATO country should be seen as an attack on all. While Sweden and Finland have long had close relations with NATO, they are not covered by its security guarantee.

Russia Feels Threatened

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 13:

“If [Sweden] formally joins NATO, it will end over 200 years of Swedish non-alignment. It would be a severe setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin… NATO’s land border with Russia is set to more than double if Finland and Sweden submit their membership applications.

“Such an expansion by the Western military alliance would leave Russia surrounded by NATO countries in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.”

Finland to Join

Deutsche Welle reported on May 14:

“Finland’s ruling Social Democrats backed a proposal on Saturday to apply for NATO membership… The party followed in the footsteps of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who released a joint statement with President Sauli Niinisto on Thursday saying Finland must join the alliance ‘without delay.’… With the majority of Parliament backing membership, an official application is expected within days…

“The Kremlin’s response to the Finnish president was that any move to abandon Finland’s historically neutral stance would be a mistake. Putin said Russia posed no threat to Finland, but that membership in NATO could negatively affect the countries’ relations. The Kremlin cut off Russian electricity supplies to Finland on Friday night after the firm supplying the electricity, RAO Nordic, complained of payment arrears. Russia provided about 10% of Finland’s electricity, but this has largely been covered by imports from Sweden.

“NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has previously said both Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into the alliance ‘with open arms.’”

On Tuesday, May 17, Finland’s legislature approved the country’s bid for NATO membership with 188 votes in favor and eight against. The vote in Parliament was seen a formality. Deutsche Welle wrote:

“The vote clears the way for a Finnish application for membership in the Western defense alliance. President Niinisto will now have to sign the application and hand it in to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels… .German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Germany will increase military cooperation with Sweden and Finland during the application process… Finland joining NATO would be the  biggest security policy shift for the country since after World War II, after which the country adopted a policy of military nonalignment and neutrality.

“Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) long border with Russia, and Moscow has strongly opposed its membership in NATO. Neutral Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939 and fought two wars against it during the course of World War II. It ultimately lost large chunks of the eastern Karelia province to the Soviet Union and had to pay reparations.”

On Sunday, Sweden’s governing party backed a plan to join NATO.  Axios wrote that “Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced Monday that her government will formally apply to join NATO”, continuing: “Sweden does not share a border with Russia but has long feared the possibility of Moscow invading Gotland — a strategically located island in the Baltic Sea viewed as critical to the defense of the region.”

The Sun reported on May 16 that as a consequence, “Russia has started deploying nuclear missiles toward its border with Finland.”

Russia Accepts the Challenge

Express wrote on May 14:

“Sergei Lavrov… told a Russian audience:  ‘The collective West has declared total hybrid war on us and it is hard to predict how long all this will last but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception. We did everything to avoid a direct clash – but now that the challenge has been thrown down, we of course accept it.’…

“Efforts by the West to isolate Russia were doomed to fail, Mr Lavrov claimed, while pointing to the importance of Russia’s relations with China, India, Algeria and Gulf states. His comments come two days after Boris Johnson travelled to Finland and Sweden to sign security pacts with the two Scandinavian nations, which pledge military assistance if either party is attacked…

“As well as threats of cyber warfare, concerns have been raised that Russia may resort to chemical or biological weapons. It has already hinted at using its nuclear option. Russia is also not averse to targeted attacks on individuals on foreign soil, including in the UK: the Russian Government has already been blamed for the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London and the attempted poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.”

Where Do the $56 Billion Go?

The Dossier wrote on May 14:

“The United States has now delegated some $56 billion… ‘for Ukraine’, but hardly any of it is actually going to the Ukrainian people… If you think the people of Ukraine are going to see one dime of this money, think again. Not even the ‘humanitarian aid’ portions of the assistance will reach the Ukrainian people…

“… the majority of the funds from the latest $40 billion behemoth will be used to supply weapons purchase orders, and resupply weapons that were already sent to Ukraine, which arrived with a seeming back room deal to add to the deep pockets of the weapons manufacturers back home.”

Freakish NBC Program… Simulation of US War with China

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 18:

“NBC’s Meet the Press just aired an absolutely freakish segment in which the influential narrative management firm Center for a New American Security (CNAS) ran war games simulating a direct US hot war with China. CNAS is funded by the Pentagon and by military-industrial complex corporations Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, as well as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, which as Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp notes is the de facto Taiwanese embassy in the US.

“The war game simulates a conflict over Taiwan which we are informed is set in the year 2027, in which China launches strikes on the US military in order to open the way to an invasion of the island. We are not told why there needs to be a specific year inserted into mainstream American consciousness about when we can expect such a conflict, but then we are also not told why NBC is platforming a war machine think tank’s simulation of a military conflict with China at all.

“It happens that the Center for a New American Security was the home of the man assigned by the Biden administration to lead the Pentagon task force responsible for re-evaluating the administration’s posture toward China. That man, Ely Ratner, is on record saying that the Trump administration was insufficiently hawkish toward China. Ratner is now the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs in the Biden administration…

“It also happens that CNAS co-founder Michele Flournoy, who appeared in the Meet the Press war games segment… wrote… in 2020… that the US needed to develop ‘the capability to credibly threaten to sink all of China’s military vessels, submarines, and merchant ships in the South China Sea within 72 hours.’…

“It also happens that CNAS is routinely cited by the mass media as an authoritative source on all things China and Russia, with no mention ever made of the conflict of interest arising from their war machine funding… citing war machine-funded think tanks as expert analysis without even disclosing their financial conflict of interest is plainly journalistic malpractice. But it happens all the time in the mass media anyway, because the mass media exist to circulate propaganda, not journalism.

“This is getting so, so crazy… the mass media are now openly teaming up with war machine think tanks to begin seeding the normalization of a hot war with China into the minds of the public… The mass-scale psychological manipulation is getting more and more overt and more and more shameless.

“This is headed somewhere very, very bad. Hopefully humanity wakes up in time to stop these lunatics from driving us off a precipice from which there is no return.”

More Violence in Israel

The Evening Standard wrote on May 13:

“Israeli police clashed with Palestinian mourners packed around the coffin of killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh at the start of her funeral procession in Jerusalem on Friday… The violent scenes underlined the growing anger over Ms Abu Akleh’s killing which has threatened to add further fuel to an already raging conflict. Ms Abu Akleh, who had covered Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for more than two decades, was shot while reporting on an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

“Palestinian authorities described Ms Abu Akleh’s killing as an assassination by Israeli forces. Israel’s government initially suggested Palestinian fire might have been to blame, but officials have also said they could not rule out it was Israeli gunfire that killed her… The inquiry has raised two possibilities, the military said in a statement. The first, that Ms Abu Akleh was hit by Palestinian militants who fired dozens of bullets toward Israeli military vehicles, ‘which is also the direction where Ms. Abu Akleh was.’ The second, that an Israeli soldier returning fire from a jeep toward a gunman had inadvertently hit her…

“Ms Abu Akleh’s death has drawn widespread condemnation. Video footage from the moments after she was shot showed the 51-year-old wearing a blue vest marked ‘Press’… Israel, which has voiced regret at Ms Abu Akleh’s death, has proposed a joint investigation with the Palestinians, asking them to provide the bullet for examination. The Palestinians have rejected the Israeli request. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said Israel was fully responsible and called for an international investigation.”

Bogus Charges Against Netanyahu?

Breitbart wrote on May 16:

“Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gloated Monday as the prosecution in his corruption trial asked the court for permission to amend its indictment against him when a key witness backtracked on his earlier testimony against him. ‘In your face,’ Netanyahu told reporters.

“He faces three charges, which have been described by critics from the beginning as bogus, and as an apparent effort by Netanyahu’s political enemies in the Israeli legal fraternity to remove him from power…

“The prosecution has… been clouded by revelations that state investigators unlawfully hacked Netanyahu’s phone and those of his associates in an effort to spy on him and use damaging personal information to turn witnesses against him. Netanyahu has refused to accept any plea deals and has insisted on proving his innocence. The prosecution has stumbled as the post-Netanyahu government, a ragtag coalition led by former aide Naftali Bennet, has moved closer to internal collapse.”

Iran May Already Have Nukes

Israel 365 wrote on May 16:

“‘Washington’s bipartisan consensus is that Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons or missiles capable of threatening the United States with a nuclear attack,’ wrote Peter Vincent Pry, the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security executive director. ‘But some Israeli analysts and some highly credible U.S. experts disagree with the “consensus view.’”…

“‘Assessments that Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons assume erroneously: our intelligence is perfect, Iran’s civilian nuclear program is all there is, and no clandestine nuclear weapons program exists in Iran’s numerous underground military facilities — including unaccounted uranium and plutonium facilities for fueling nuclear weapons, as in North Korea,’ the report warns…

“Washington’s intelligence assessments that Tehran ‘suspended its nuclear-weapons program in 2003 are contradicted,’ the group cautions, ‘both by Iran’s nuclear archives, stolen by Israel in 2018, indicating Iran’s ongoing nuclear-weapons program (reported at several sites in 2006, 2017, and 2019) and by Iran’s rapid resumption of enriching uranium to prohibited levels. This demonstrates an existing capability to quickly produce weapons-grade uranium.’…

“‘Iran is a threshold nuclear weapons state,’ Pry concludes. ‘Prudence would dictate regarding Iran as a de facto nuclear threat.’”

Blow to Olaf Scholz in North Rhine-Westphalia (NW)

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 15:

“In a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party, voters backed the conservatives, CDU, in an election Germany’s most populous state. The Greens meanwhile more than doubled the number of votes they received…. In Germany’s federal system, state lawmakers hold a considerable amount of power and the election in NRW was considered an important bellwether  for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling SPD party…. Around 13 million people were eligible to vote, making it the biggest election in Germany this year,  and one of the most important outside of the general election…

“The victory will be seen as an important boost for the CDU, relegated to the opposition in last year’s election after 16 years in power under Merkel… The CDU has tried to recover from its big defeat in last year’s general election by gaining ground in regional governments. Just last week, voters in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein delivered a landslide victory in the CDU….”

According to Bild Online, this was the biggest defeat ever for the SPD in NRW. Bild blamed Scholz for the disaster for his indecisiveness and lack of clarity.

Fauci “Promises” to Resign, if…

Breitbart wrote on May 16:

“[Fauci] used an interview on CNN to reveal he does not want to serve under the former president if he is re-elected in 2024 and would likely resign… Fauci’s antipathy towards Trump was made plain on notable occasions, none more so than when he accused the former president of ‘poisoning the well’ on vaccinations…

“Previous to that he questioned the Trump administration’s vaccine rollout efficiency and publicly called into question Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises to protect all Americans during the height of the coronavirus pandemic… Fauci said, ‘the divisiveness during the Trump administration’ made his job difficult… ‘I had to be publicly correcting misrepresentation on the part of the president and on the part of people in the administration.’

“Fauci, 82, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He was appointed as Chief Medical Advisor to the Biden administration in 2021.”

Fox News added on May 16:

“Many conservatives expressed relief on Sunday when Dr. Anthony Fauci declared he would not stick around as chief medical adviser at the White House if… Trump wins the 2024 election… Fauci has emerged as a symbol of COVID-era lockdowns and restrictions in the eyes of many Trump supporters… [Many stated that] this was the best possible endorsement for Trump in 2024…”

Due to Fauci’s many failed predictions, wrong and dangerous advice and false promises, his resignation has been long overdue. Of course, Trump should have fired him when he had the chance.

WHO to Get Universal Powers

 Israel 365 wrote on May 18:

“In four days, the World Health Organization will vote on resolutions that will give them emergency powers over any country they choose [by unilaterally declaring a health emergency in that country]. The Biden administration initiated the measures but kept them under wraps until just a few weeks ago when the vote was a foregone conclusion. It was recently revealed that Israel fell into lockstep, backing the measure…  

“If passed, the resolutions will go into effect in November.  [They] will empower WHO’s Director-General to declare health emergencies or crises in any nation and do so unilaterally and against the opposition of the target nation. The Director-General will be able to declare these health crises based merely on his personal opinion or consideration that there is a potential or possible threat to other nations.”

It seems that Biden is doing whatever he can to destroy the USA.

Buffalo Massacre Used as Alibi to Restrict Freedom of Speech

Law Professor Jonathan Turley wrote on May 16 (reprinted by the Ron Paul Institute):

“Politicians have long viewed tragedies and crises as opportunities not to be ‘wasted.’… Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) adopted the same approach to the massacre in Buffalo in renewing calls for censorship on the Internet…

“As it became more likely that Elon Musk could buy Twitter, there was a notable shift in the comments of pro-censorship figures. Hillary Clinton went to Twitter to call on the European Union to quickly pass the Digital Services Act in Europe to force censorship ‘before it’s too late.’…

“At the same time, the United Kingdom is pushing its own Online Safety Act and recently Musk was summoned to Parliament to answer for his alarming suggestion of restoring free speech on social media… It is threatening to take ten percent of the company’s profits if Musk does not censor users.

“Now, Hochul is trying to rally voters to the cause of censorship in the wake of the Buffalo tragedy. To defend free speech in response to such a call is to risk being denounced as supporting violent extremists or dishonoring the fallen.

“The government would then be able to determine what constitutes ‘unfettered sharing of hate information on the internet.’ Indeed, the Biden Administration already created a Disinformation Governance Board that is ready to start that work with great eagerness. It may be a bitter pill for some who value free speech, but it is hard to defend the abstraction of free speech in the aftermath of a massacre. That is why this is a crisis that cannot be wasted. As the Biden’s Administration’s ‘Mary Poppins of Disinformation’ might say, a crisis ‘helps the censorship medicine go down in a most delightful way.’”

Perhaps she is going to release another childish song on video. Please spare us!

Disinformation Governance Board “Paused” – Janowicz Resigns

The New York Post wrote on May 19:

“Despite calling The Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop a ‘Trump campaign product’ and blasting Republican concerns about the teaching of ‘critical race theory’ in public schools as ‘weaponizing people’s emotion,’ the now-former head of the Biden administration’s short-lived disinformation board is denying she has a pro-Democrat bias.

“Nina Janowicz made the far-fetched claim to MSNBC ‘All In’ host Chris Hayes hours after she announced her resignation following the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to ‘pause’ the Disinformation Governance Board… The board was criticized almost from the moment of its creation last month by conservatives, libertarians and even some liberals, who compared it to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s novel ‘1984.’”

The Hunter Biden Scandal

Newsmax wrote on May 17:

“A former White House staffer during the Trump administration has apparently posted more than 120,000 emails [to a searchable database this week through his organization, Marco Polo] from Hunter Biden’s now-infamous laptop computer, which was seized by the FBI in 2019… The emails reportedly span from December 2009 to March 2019 — shortly before Hunter Biden dropped off his MacBook Pro at a Delaware computer store, but never returned to pick it up…

“Among the reported highlights, according to the Daily Mail: The ‘10 for the big guy’ message, which potentially links President Joe Biden to son Hunter’s overseas business dealings — during Joe Biden’s time as vice president (2009-17) — through a 10% equity stake in a Chinese energy conglomerate… Hunter Biden describing an apparent quid pro quo with a Mexican billionaire’s son, outlining how Biden got him into the White House and presidential inauguration ceremony, and then thanking him for visits to a villa…

“The site also pointed out that Hunter Biden’s laptop had been abandoned… as a legal loophole for posting the trove of emails online…

“The Daily Mail reportedly had the laptop authenticated by top cyber forensics experts last year; and earlier in 2022, The Washington Post and The New York Times independently verified the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop…

“This potentially sets the stage for Republican lawmakers launching a full-scale investigation into the alleged corruption exposed from Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2023, if Republicans take back control of the House chamber after the November midterm elections.”

Republicans have said that, if they come to power in the midterm election and if the allegations against Hunter Biden and Joe Biden are proven to be true, an impeachment procedure against Joe Biden would be initiated.

A New Definition of “Woman”

Breitbart wrote on May 12:

“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has adopted a new definition of ‘woman’ that would reportedly allow male-to-female transgender residents to demand inclusion as women in jails, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters… the ordinance… include[s] those who simply identify as women…

“Local television station KUSI-TV [said:] ‘Now in San Diego County, the definition of “women” will include transwomen and intersex women…’

“Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson declined to provide a definition of ‘woman’ in her confirmation hearings in March.”

Britain’s Sad “Accomplishments”

The Daily Mail wrote on May 14:

“A dozen native oysters washed down with vintage champagne, then a large tranche of oozing, bloomy, artisan Camembert — there is no finer or more elegant lunch.

“You could be enjoying such delicacies on holiday in Normandy and, for decades, you may have wished we did this just as well at home… At last the British are beating the French at what they do best — producing the greatest food and wine… As for our seafood, it is riding a high… Tourists are flocking to the British coast in pursuit of the freshest lobster, crab, Dover sole and turbot, while there’s an expanding market for buying fish online, direct from the boats….

“The popularity of shellfish has also boomed. Oysters, once a rarity on menus, are popular again. Our brown crab is considered the best worldwide owing to cold waters, and we can even buy ormer — or abalone — farmed in Jersey.

“So these are exciting times. Essentially, one no longer needs to live near a good fishmonger to buy the freshest fish. There are seafood sellers online who will deliver even live shellfish to your door via overnight courier.”

“Sadly,” all these “delicious” “foods” are forbidden in the Bible and declared to be “unclean,” since they are harmful to humans.

Hard to Believe: Used Cars Much More Expensive than New Cars

The Daily Mail wrote on May 14:

“Motorists are facing a massive used car premium with some second hand vehicles costing some £26,000 more than a brand new model… A nearly new Landrover Defender with a list price of £62,000 will cost £10,000 more if the car is second and with relatively low mileage. This is especially true if the car is bought using a PCP plan, which are affected by changes in the interest rate…

“The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee has indicated that interest rates will have to rise further in order to counter the threat of runaway inflation despite the very real threat of the country moving into recession… Also, manufacturers have said that the supply of microchips used in onboard computers and vital safety systems are in incredibly short supply since Covid-19.

“Under normal market conditions, a second hand car will lose a considerable percentage of its value as soon as its front wheels hit the tarmac outside the dealership… Even Britain’s cheapest car, the Dacia Sandero has seen it price increase. A one-year-old version with 10,000 miles on the clock will cost £12,481 – or £312 a month on a three-year PCP with £2,000 deposit. This makes the used car £5,333 more expensive than the new version…

“New car buyers, however can face long waiting lists before they can sit into their vehicle… Popular marques such as BMW and VW have told prospective buyers that there is a nine-month waiting list… Worse still for motorists, diesel prices have soared to a new record high despite the cut in fuel duty, figures show.”

 Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Our Lying Government

Politico wrote on April 29:

“Who among us thinks the government should add to its work list the job of determining what is true and what is disinformation? And who thinks the government is capable of telling the truth? Our government produces lies and disinformation at industrial scale and always has.

“This is the government that lied about winning the war in Vietnam, that said the Watergate affair was a ‘third-rate burglary,’ that fought a  secret war in Nicaragua, that lied about a clandestine love affair in the White House, that used faulty intelligence to force a war in the Middle East… President Barack Obama shortchanged the truth. Of 600 Obama statements… a quarter of them fell into the ‘red zone’ of being false, mostly false, or ‘pants on fire’ false. Not so long ago,  50 intelligence officials assured the nation that the Hunter Biden laptop story bore ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.’… The idea that Covid could have come from a Chinese lab was similarly dismissed as disinformation; now it’s considered a legitimate possibility by the Biden administration. Meanwhile, we have documented proof from the Washington Post that…  Joe Biden can’t handle simple truths! (We don’t need to reassess the Donald Trump presidency here, do we?)…

“After branding something disinformation, it’s only a short slide to suppressing the contested information… If Russian disinformation is a problem, it has been so for almost a century… the Russians started sending out fake defectors in the 1930s to spread disinformation in the West. After World War II, the Soviets shifted their focus to the United States. Two years after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Soviet leadership sought to influence public opinion by covertly funding newspapers and radio stations around the world… It forged documents and attempted to plant them in credible publications. In one disinformation campaign, it promulgated the tall tale that AIDS was the product of an American biological weapons experimentation…”

Shocking when you think about all the lies that our governments have been spreading…

A Long History of Lying

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 7:

 “The most egregious and blatant official U.S. disinformation campaign in years took place three weeks before the 2020 presidential election. That was when dozens of former intelligence officials purported, in an open letter, to believe that authentic emails regarding Joe Biden’s activities in China and Ukraine, reported by The New York Post, were ‘Russian disinformation.’ That quasi-official proclamation enabled liberal corporate media outlets to uncritically mock and then ignore those emails as Kremlin-created fakes, and it pressured Big Tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to censor the reporting at exactly the time Americans were preparing to decide who would be the next U.S. president.

“The letter from these former intelligence officials was orchestrated by trained career liars — disinformation agents — such as former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Yet that letter was nonetheless crucial to discredit and ultimately suppress the New York Post‘s incriminating reporting on Biden. It provided a quasi-official imprimatur — something that could be depicted as an authoritative decree — that these authentic emails were, in fact, fraudulent…

“The purpose of Homeland Security agents is to propagandize and deceive, not enlighten and inform. The level of historical ignorance and stupidity required to believe that U.S. Security State operatives are earnestly devoted to exposing and decreeing truth… is off the charts… That the Board will be run by such a preposterous and laughable figure as Nina Jankowicz… has, in some sense, made this board seem more benign and harmless. After all, how nefarious and dangerous can a board be when it is governed by a person as frivolous and banal as this, calling herself ‘the Mary Poppins of disinformation’? But just as banality can be a vehicle for evil, it can also be a vehicle for repression and tyrannical control…

“… this new Disinformation Czar has herself ratified and helped spread virtually every disinformation campaign concocted by the union of the Democratic Party and corporate media over the last five years… An agency with a long history of lying, run by life-long disinformation agents, has just created a board to issue… official decrees, all overseen by a person who is so partisan and ideologically motivated that it is hard to take her seriously. Whether or not you take her seriously, the power that Homeland Security has just secured for itself is anything but a joke.”

In fact, it is frightening and extremely dangerous.

Ill-Defined, Biased and Dangerous

Politico wrote on May 5:

“In an almost offhand fashion last week, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told several congressional committees that his Department of Homeland Security had created a new body, the Disinformation Governance Board (DGB). He offered few specifics as to how it was combating disinformation, and few have come since, apart from his meaningless comment that the DGB would have no ‘operational authority or capacity.’ In short, the message amounted to ‘There’s nothing to see here or worry about.’ We disagree, and we have seen this saga before. An episode from over a hundred years ago tells us a great deal about how such a venture can go wrong, and to some extent already has.

“We refer here to the Committee on Public Information, created by President Woodrow Wilson on April 14, 1917, one week after the United States entered World War I. This was done through a three-sentence executive order that offered no meaningful specifics other than that the CPI would be headed by the pyrotechnic, muckraking journalist George Creel.

“Wilson seems to have had in mind that the CPI would be responsible for censoring information that compromised military operations. This, of course, was a matter of legitimate concern. But in the next 18 months that the war lasted, the CPI grew willy-nilly into a ministry of propaganda… The CPI soon began declaring ‘the facts,’ calling out Americans who dared to dissent, and even chastising small town editors who took minor exception to administration policy…

“The appointment of Creel was another major misstep… From his early days in Kansas City and later Denver, his crusading journalism was overwrought and his political alliances never far from the surface…

“The appointment of Nina Jankowicz as executive director of the DGB is similarly ill-advised… Jankowicz has drawn criticism for comments that smack of political bias, among other things appearing to wholly dismiss the Hunter Biden laptop controversy as Russian disinformation…

“The biggest problem, however, was with the very idea of a government agency monitoring truth… Despite its claims to provide only facts, however, [the CPI] could not resist playing on emotions and providing tendentious information that fed on unfounded fears of German spies lurking everywhere. Those ‘spies,’ in effect, were people who challenged Wilson’s administration policies…  if America learned anything from its experience with the CPI, it is this: An organization that is ill-defined can be anything it wants to be… And that is particularly perilous when that organization is a governmental entity that has the power to speak directly to 330 million Americans….”

Warnings from the past are usually ignored.

Unconstitutional Assault on Freedom of Speech

The Week wrote on May 4:

“The Biden administration’s plan to create a Disinformation Governance Board is a ‘shockingly unconstitutional assault on freedom of speech,’ says Mike Huckabee…

“‘The concern [is] that the board will spy on Americans,’ says the Wall Street Journal in an editorial… and tells ‘the masses what is true and what is false’…

“These are worthy goals. But that doesn’t mean we should give the job to a federal government that has lied to the American people about everything… The horrible name alone is reason enough to ‘pull the plug’ on the Disinformation Governance Board ‘and never speak of it again,’ says… the Washington Post. Calling it ‘Orwellian is an insult to George Orwell,’ who understood the importance and power of language…”

Another Step Toward US Dictatorship

Fox News wrote on May 5:

“Rand Paul challenged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his department’s newly-announced Disinformation Governance Board, asserting that the American people do not need the federal government to tell them what the truth is. Paul specifically pointed to claims that he has made about the COVID-19 pandemic that have not been in line with administration policies. ‘I’ve said a million times that cloth masks don’t work. YouTube takes me down. They’re a private company I can have that beef with him. What about you? You’re going to look at that? I often say that natural immunity from having had the infection is equal to the vaccine or better. You’re going to take that down?… Are you going to put information out there saying that I’m spreading disinformation?’ Paul asked. ‘Mayorkas stated that his agency’s staff ‘are not the public’s health experts to make those determinations.’ ‘So public health won’t be part of the Disinformation Governance Board? No COVID disinformation? Yes or no?’ Paul pressed.

“Mayorkas would not answer, claiming that Paul was giving him ‘vague’ hypothetical situations. Paul claimed that his examples were ‘very specific.’ [Paul said:] ‘… you don’t have the perspective of history knowing that disinformation, the largest progenitor of disinformation in our history, has probably been the U.S. government.’ That last comment was in line with what Paul said earlier, about the U.S. government having a history of spreading disinformation. ‘Do you know who the greatest propagator of disinformation in the history of the world is? The U.S. government,’ Paul said. ‘Are you familiar with McNamara? The Pentagon Papers? Are you familiar with George W. Bush and the weapons of mass destruction? Are you familiar with Iran-contra?… I want you to have nothing to do with speech… Do you think the American people are so stupid they need you to tell them what the truth is? You can’t even admit what the truth is with the Steele dossier. I don’t trust government to figure out what the truth is. Government is largely disseminating disinformation.’”

Paul has a valid point. When governments try to suppress opinion and “define” the truth as they want to propagate it, then they have become dictatorships.

Companies “Look After” Their Employees to Guarantee Their “Right” to Kill

Breitbart wrote on May 4:

“Since conservative-leaning states began flexing their legislative muscles to outlaw abortion within their borders or severely limit its practice, companies from the likes of Amazon to Yelp have been drafting policies that will pay for employees’ abortions should they live in a state that outlaws the practice…

“Amazon became the latest corporation to cover employees’ travel costs to seek abortion care. The company told staff it would pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for medical treatments including abortions…

“Amazon joined Citigroup, Yelp, Uber, Lyft, Bumble, Match Group, and Salesforce to draft such a policy. On Tuesday, Levi Strauss & Co. reminded its employees that its current benefits program will grant reimbursements ‘for healthcare-related travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including those related to reproductive health care and abortion.’…”

And so, the murder of innocent unborn children continues…

Come to Canada to Murder Innocent Lives!

Huffington Post wrote on May 5:

“A Canadian official said Wednesday that Americans will be able to obtain abortions in Canada should the Supreme Court overturn the landmark abortion rights decision, Roe v. Wade… Abortion is legal in Canada at any point in pregnancy. …

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the ‘right to choose is a woman’s right and a woman’s right alone.’ ‘Every woman in Canada has a right to a safe and legal abortion. We’ll never back down from protecting and promoting women’s rights in Canada and around the world,’ he said.”

Nothing else could be expected from left-wing radical autocrat Trudeau. To him, the right of an unborn child to LIVE does not seem to matter.

Some Tough Questions for Joe Biden

The American Thinker wrote on May 6:

“Why are you leaving the southern border wide open with no troops, no army, and no border security?… Why are you intentionally enacting policies that hike up the price of gasoline?  Why do you pursue policies that drive up the price of food?  Why do you push an agenda that drives up the inflation rate to a 40-year high?… Why promote policies that have made the price of homes unaffordable for many families, and made it so that rental properties are out of reach for many couples?  Why have you brought us to a place where there is a shortage of fertilizer for farmers, and thus the yield on crops will be smaller, and there will be even less food for American families?

“Why are citizens who acted within their legal rights during the J6 rally imprisoned in Washington, D.C.?  Why do they remain in American Gulags without being officially charged and without the provision of bail?  Why did you say it is illegal and an insurrection to question the outcome of the stolen 2020 election?  Why are you against voter identification to vote lawfully, but are insistent on a vaccination passport to enter a store or fly on a plane?  Why do you call your enemies white supremacists?  Why did seven states all stop the counting of votes, all at the same time, on election night?…

“Why would your government lie about where the COVID-19 virus actually originated?  Why did you shut down schools, make the wearing of masks mandatory, require citizens to keep six feet apart, and impose an experimental vaccine upon the nation — when it was clear these ‘solutions’ did not work?… Why, during COVID, did you lock down schools and churches — but keep open liquor stores, hemp centers, and needle exchanges?  Why are you against allowing individual states, within our federal system, to decide on their own laws with respect to the pro-life issue?  Why are you in favor of more federal legislative protection for snakes, alligators, and turtles more than you are for protecting living babies inside the womb?

“Why would your Deep State create a Ministry of Truth?…

“Why did your Department of Defense leave behind $83 billion’s worth of military equipment for the terrorists in Afghanistan to keep?… Why do you think it is acceptable for public schools to groom young children?… Why did you tolerate mobs of BLM and Antifa pulling down statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt?…”

Of course, many more tough questions could be asked of Mr. Biden and his administration… It appears that he and his administration are being used by spiritual forces to destroy America from the inside. Note the next article.

The Mystery of Biden’s Presidency

The New York Post wrote on May 8:

“… a cottage industry of so-called journalists is… twisting truth to make the failing president [Biden] a victim, if not a hero…

“… his administration has effectively defined ‘extremist’ as anybody who disagrees with its far-left dogma, including parents objecting to school racial and sexual indoctrination… the left-wing media doesn’t have a single unkind word to say about the unprecedented leak itself… neither the White House nor congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer condemned the radical leftists who published the home addresses of six conservative justices and promised to protest outside their houses. Schumer instead gave a speech [insisting] that the justices ‘have lied to the US Senate, ripped up the Constitution, and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation.’

“This is civil war level fiery and drew the ire of GOP colleagues, who accused him of slandering the justices and of trying to intimidate the court…

“And that remains the central mystery of the Biden presidency – how and why did that happen? How did a career moderate create perhaps the most radical administration in history? Here was an unlikely president, old and in obvious decline, who had the narrowest possible majorities in Congress at a time of intense polarization….

“Biden… started going far left, kept going and has never stopped… Each blunder underscores the mystery that hangs over this White House: Why, Joe Biden, did you sacrifice your presidency and American progress on the altar of the far left?”

Here is the mystery which most people don’t understand: Satan is the god of this world, and he influences the leaders of this world. And the Bible has prophesied thousands of years ago that in our time, due to America’s horrible sins, it will go down. Its fall is undeniable and inevitable, and it will end soon in defeat in a nuclear war.

The Terrible Curse of Inflation in the USA

cnbc wrote on May 11:

“Inflation is showing no signs of slowing down, making it harder for workers to make ends meet… Food prices are up at the fastest pace in more than 41 years… As of March, close to two-thirds, or 64%, of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck…

“Consumers who are struggling to afford their day-to-day lifestyle tend to rely more on credit cards and carry higher monthly balances making them financially vulnerable… Overall, credit card balances rose year over year, reaching $841 billion in the first three months of 2022… At this rate, balances could soon reach record levels amid higher prices for gas, groceries and housing…”

The New York Post added on May 10:

“Biden isn’t fooling anyone ⁠— inflation is his fault and he has no solution to fix it.”

Biden vs. Trump and America’s Hopeless Division

Fox News reported on May 5:

“Trump on Thursday told Fox News Digital that ‘MAGA [“Make America Great Again”] is saving America,’ and slammed President Biden for being ‘divisive’… Trump’s comments are in response to Biden, who, reacting Wednesday to the leaked draft opinion signaling the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade, slammed Republicans, saying the controversy is ‘about a lot more than abortion.’

“Biden said the ‘MAGA crowd’ is ‘the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history.’ Biden declared in April that the GOP [“Grand Old Party”; that is, the Republican Party] ‘ain’t your father’s Republican Party,’ saying it has shifted to a ‘MAGA party’ and warning that right-leaning politicians ‘who know better’ are ‘afraid to act correctly’ out of fear of losing a primary election.”

The Democratic Party is surely not anymore what it used to be in the not-too-distant past. This country is hopelessly divided and given to hatred, with no change in sight.  And a house divided CANNOT stand! And it won’t.

Conflict of Interest of Biden’s New Press Secretary

The New York Post wrote on May 6:

“President Biden’s trailblazing pick of his new press secretary is already being accused of creating troubling conflicts of interest because of her long-term relationship with star CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux. Karine Jean-Pierre — who next Friday will be both the first black and first openly gay person to hold the key White House post — lives with the network’s national correspondent in Washington, DC, with their 7-year-old daughter…

“While the groundbreaking pick was widely celebrated, it also left some questioning the pair’s impartiality, especially given CNN’s recent scandals, including now-axed host Chris Cuomo’s behind-the-scenes meddling in brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sex scandals. ‘This is one of many examples of the corporate media LITERALLY in bed with the government it covers,’ tweeted Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of right-wing news outlet Breitbart.”

Current White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is no stranger to controversy herself when it was revealed that, while still acting as Press Secretary, plans had been finalized for Psaki to join left-wing MSNBC. The conflict of interest is obvious, but does not seem to bother the White House.

Politics and More Politics… Developments in Germany and Russia Regarding Ukraine

Deutsche Welle reported on May 5:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is due to travel to Kyiv.  The announcement came after weeks of friction after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his visit was not welcome by Kyiv.  Earlier on Thursday, the president’s office said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone adding that both Steinmeier and Scholz have both been invited to Kyiv….‘The German president expressed his solidarity, respect, and support for the Ukrainian people’s courageous fight against the Russian aggressors,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Both presidents described the discussion as very important and very good… Irritations of the past were cleared up…’

“[Israel’s] prime minister [Bennett] accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said. The Kremlin made no direct reference to the row…”

How past irritations between Germany and Ukraine were “cleared up,” and what Putin allegedly “apologized” for, if anything, remains clouded in mystery. As true politicians, all parties are trying to show a good face to a bad game. But this “friendly” relationship of propaganda will not last…

Europe Needs an Army

The American Conservative wrote on May 9:

“There is [a] solution which has until now been met with derision from all sides of the American political spectrum: American support for the creation of a European Union army… President Donald Trump reacted angrily to French President Emmanuel Macron’s mention of the idea in 2018. Conservatives and anyone who wishes for the U.S. to successfully pivot to Asia should reconsider this position.

“… The E.U. is not entitled to the lives of America’s soldiers… The E.U. has a thriving arms industry, massive population, nuclear weapons… They can take care of themselves…

“Americans died in the Second World War for two reasons: to extinguish a 20th-century Nazi threat and extinguish a 20th-century Japanese threat. They did not die to occupy Europe forever… some might claim that the E.U. is simply not ready for an army, or that leaders in the E.U. will not want to take on such a burden. But not being ready or willing is no reason for America to stay in Europe forever. Since 1945 we have defended Europe, and in return we have received mockery and scorn… it is time for Europe to learn to fend for itself. The next presidential administration should make the formation of a European Union army a top foreign-policy priority.”

And so, Europe will have a unified army soon… much sooner than many may think.

Sinn Fein’s Historic Win in Northern Ireland

 The Associated Press wrote on May 8:

“The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with Ireland, hailed a ‘new era’ Saturday for Northern Ireland as it captured the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in a historic win… Sinn Fein secured 27 of the Assembly’s 90 seats. The Democratic Unionist Party, which has dominated Northern Ireland’s legislature for two decades, captured 24 seats. The victory means Sinn Fein is entitled to the post of first minister in Belfast for the first time since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state in 1921….

“The victory is a milestone for Sinn Fein, which has long been linked to the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that used bombs and bullets to try to take Northern Ireland out of U.K. rule during decades of violence involving Irish republican militants, Protestant Loyalist paramilitaries and the U.K. army and police.

“Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neil… stressed that it was imperative for Northern Ireland’s politicians to come together next week to form an Executive — the devolved government of Northern Ireland. If none can be formed within six months, the administration will collapse, triggering a new election and more uncertainty.

“O’Neill has said, on Irish unification, there would be no constitutional change until voters decide on it. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald indicated Friday that planning for any unity referendum could come within the next five years.”

Russian Dress Rehearsal for Victory Day on May 9:

The Associated Press wrote on May 7:

“Russia held a dress rehearsal on Saturday for the military parade to commemorate Victory Day on [Monday,] May 9, when the country marks the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.

“This year’s Victory Day… won’t just honor a conflict that ended 77 years ago. Many Russians will be thinking about the thousands of troops in neighboring Ukraine. Signs of support for the military have grown across the country since Feb. 24, with the letter ‘Z’ appearing on billboards and signs in the streets and subways, and on television and social media.”

“On Saturday, an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile rolled through Red Square as part of the rehearsal in Moscow, with warplanes and helicopters flying overhead, troops marching in formation and self-propelled artillery vehicles rumbling past.”

On Instagram, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) posted on March 3 that the “Z” symbol is an abbreviation of the phrase “for victory,” while the “V” symbol stands for “strength is in truth” and “The task will be completed.”

Putin Defends Invasion of Ukraine

The Los Angeles Times wrote on May 9:

“Putin delivered a strident speech Monday at an annual military parade in Moscow, accusing the U.S. and the West of provoking the conflict and comparing it to the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War II.

“But the Russian leader stopped short of using the occasion — known as Victory Day to mark the defeat of Hitler’s forces 77 years ago — to declare an all-out war with Ukraine… Russia still refers to the invasion as a ‘special military operation,’ which does not require a full national mobilization of resources for war.”

For now?

Does America Run Short of Weapons because of the Ukraine War?

Bloomberg wrote on April 14:

“Western allies face a choice: Send more weapons to Kyiv or save their stockpiles for their own defense. America is following an ‘arsenal of democracy’ strategy in Ukraine: It has avoided direct intervention against the Russian invaders, while working with allies and partners to provide the Kyiv government with money and guns.

“…Yet as the war reaches a critical stage with… the arsenal of democracy is being depleted… it is revealing American weaknesses that could be laid bare in the next great-power fight. American stockpiles of key weapons are smaller than one might imagine, partly because of production constraints and partly because most of the Pentagon’s roughly $750 billion budget goes to manpower, health care and things other than bullets and bombs…”

The Heritage Foundation wrote on May 5:

“Supplying Ukraine with weapons… will almost certainly exacerbate the issue of an already depleted American arsenal. Due to the complexity and time required to manufacture today’s precision weapons, we must start thinking now, before a war breaks out, about whether America has enough weaponry to sustain a conflict….

“Last month President Biden released a defense budget request that does not even keep up with the rate of inflation, much less provide for any growth to meet our own needs. It’s a recipe for weakness at a time when the free world desperately needs strength.”

On May 10, Popular Mechanics published an article with the following headline:

“…the U.S. Sent So Many Missiles to Ukraine That It Depleted Its Own Stockpiles.”

Possibility of Defeat Becomes Real

The Washington Times wrote on May 3:

“New reports have now been disseminated to an increasingly concerned public that the West’s major defense contractors are unable to replenish the drained stocks of Javelin anti-tank missiles and stingers… For the West, specifically the Americans, we should be asking our leaders how we got to this place where weapons that are both essential and basic for modern warfare… are suddenly unavailable in the numbers needed to fight a modern war?…  If, as the Russians insist, we are already in another world war and the West has already almost depleted its supply of essential weapons, one must wonder how the future of America’s fighting capabilities will be negatively impacted. It doesn’t look good, that’s for sure…

“American leaders have so badly ignored industrial policy that we may yet lose a world war because we’ve gutted our manufacturing capabilities for so long that we can’t recover… and once America’s enemies realize that we can no longer threaten them because of severe limits on the availability of our arms, then the real challenge to America’s military begins … and the possibility of defeat becomes painfully real.”

Hunger Crisis Because of Ukraine War

npr wrote on April 20:

“The pains of every war ripple out beyond the borders of the conflict zone. And as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, the disruptions in the global food supply chain are beginning to deepen the already dire hunger crisis around the world.

“Ukraine and Russia combined export 30% of the world’s wheat, in addition to other food supplies. Now, because of the ongoing war, the price of food worldwide is skyrocketing and 38 countries are facing acute food insecurity, meaning they are just one step from famine.”

WFP wrote on May 6:

“The World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for the immediate reopening of Black Sea ports – including Odesa – so that critical food from Ukraine can reach people facing food insecurity… Today, as record numbers of people wonder what they will eat tomorrow, harvests from Ukrainian farms are failing to be shipped to the destinations where they are needed most… 44 million people around the world are marching towards starvation…

“Before the war, most of the food produced by Ukraine – enough to feed 400 million people – was exported through the country’s seven Black Sea ports. In the eight months before the conflict began, close to 51 million metric tons of grain passed through them… Global food prices have risen sharply since the onset of the crisis. This will affect local food prices and people in the most vulnerable locations, on extremely tight budgets, are particularly at risk…”

Pope Francis vs. Patriarch Kirill

Fox News wrote on May 5:

“The Russian Orthodox Church hit back at the Vatican this week after Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that Patriarch Kirill should not ‘transform himself into Putin’s altar boy’ amid the invasion of Ukraine. ‘Pope Francis chose the wrong tone,’ the Russian Orthodox Church said in a statement on Wednesday. ‘Such statements are unlikely to contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches, which is especially needed at the present time.’

“The Pope recalled during an interview with the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper that half of a 40-minute conversation he had with Patriarch Kirill in March consisted of the Russian Orthodox Church leader reading off ‘all the justifications for the war.’ Kirill, a longtime supporter of Putin, has echoed the Russian president’s justifications for the war in sermons and placed the blame on NATO. ‘Patriarch Kirill recalled that at the end of the Soviet era, Russia received an assurance that NATO would not move an inch eastwards. However, this promise was broken, even the former Soviet Baltic republics joined NATO,’ the Russian Orthodox Church said Wednesday. ‘Russia could not and cannot allow this to happen.’

“Despite their disagreements, Pope Francis also partially blamed NATO, telling the Italian newspaper this week that the ‘barking of NATO at Russia’s door’ may have forced Putin to invade… Pope Francis met with Kirill in-person in Cuba six years ago, marking the first time that a pontiff has met with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism nearly a millennium ago.”

Is Francis playing politics again, as he is known to do? Bild Online commented, the pope should stay out of politics and devote himself to prayer instead. This is of course an illusionary and unrealistic proposal. Historically, the Catholic Church has never stayed out of politics. Indeed, it is the woman riding and to an extent directing and leading the coming European beast of 10 core nations, as described in Revelation 17.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Leaked Draft—Roe v. Wade to be Overturned?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 5:

“Protesters gathered outside the US Supreme Court late on Monday after news outlet Politico released what it said was a draft majority opinion from the court overturning the landmark abortion judgment known as Roe v. Wade. Written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the initial draft [which was drafted in February of 2022, without any information as to whether the initial draft was subsequently revised] is his opinion and what he believes reflects the opinion of at least four other conservative members of the top court. It does not reflect comments or reactions from other members of the nine-member court. It is also not the final decision, since the Supreme Court has not ruled on the case yet, and judges can also change their final vote.

“In the reported draft opinion, Alito said he believes that ‘Roe was egregiously wrong from the start… It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,’ the opinion reportedly adds.

“Roe v. Wade is the landmark US Supreme Court judgment of 1973 that legalized the right to abortion across the country. It was once again upheld in a 1992 ruling, which said states could not place an ‘undue burden’ on women seeking abortions before a fetus could survive outside the womb, at around 24 week…

“It is typical court procedure for a member of the court to write a draft of the court’s opinion after holding a preliminary vote on a case privately, but it is exceptional for the draft opinion to be leaked to the public as a case remains pending before it…. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in June…”

Fox News added on May 4:

“Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that Alito’s draft opinion… was genuine – although the draft dates back to February, and it does not represent the current or final opinion of the court.”

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, then each state is allowed to decide whether to allow, restrict or ban abortions within its own borders. It is estimated that 26 states would be certain or likely to restrict abortion procedures. In some cases, prosecutions could be brought against anyone aiding in obtaining an abortion. Practicing Catholic politicians like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer strongly opposed the proposed decision, saying that the woman’s right to choose must be upheld and that the decision would be “one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” even though the Catholic Church prohibits most cases of abortion, focusing thereby on the killing of an innocent unborn child. Many conservatives surmise that the leak occurred to sway the court’s decision by a left-liberal outcry. The leak has been described as an “original sin for judicial ethics,” and “one of the greatest breaches of security in the history of the Court.”

Israel Upset Over Lavrov’s Comments About Hitler

Times of Israel wrote on May 2:

“Israeli leaders on Monday demanded an apology and denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for saying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ‘had Jewish blood’ and that Jews are among the worst antisemites. Lavrov made the remarks during an interview with Italian television, in which he claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewishness did not undercut Russia’s claims that its invasion of Ukraine was meant to ‘denazify’ the country.

“‘The aim of such lies is to blame the Jews themselves for the most terrible crimes in history that were committed against them, thus freeing from responsibility the oppressors of Israel,’ Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement from his office.

“Bennett’s denunciation followed stronger condemnation from Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and other Israeli ministers. ‘This is an unforgivable and scandalous comment, a terrible historical error and we expect an apology,’ Lapid said. ‘Hitler was not of Jewish origin and the Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest form of racism against Jews is blaming the Jews themselves for antisemitism.’ Added Lapid: ‘We are making every effort to maintain good relations with Russia, but there is a line, and this time the line has been crossed. The Russian government  must apologize to us and to the Jewish people.’”

Breitbart added on May 2:

“Despite Israel’s ambivalent stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine war – the result of being a rare ally of both countries — its language has taken a stronger tone in recent weeks…”

Axios wrote on May 2:

“It’s the first time Israel has publicly condemned the Russian claim that Zelensky is a ‘Nazi.’… The condemnation is the latest example of how Israeli policy toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine has slowly shifted, with the Israeli government voicing more criticism of Russian action and showing more willingness to give aid to Ukraine. While Israel condemned the Russian invasion and recently accused Russia of committing war crimes, it has for many weeks taken a careful approach to the Ukraine crisis to ensure military cooperation with Russia in Syria continues.”

The “good” relationship between Russia and Israel will end.

The Daily Mail wrote on May 3:

“Russia has doubled down and accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine in a bitter row sparked by Sergei Lavrov’s comments that Adolf Hitler had ‘Jewish blood’….  in a statement today, the Russian foreign ministry said Lapid’s comments were ‘anti-historical’ and ‘explaining to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv’… Moscow reiterated Lavrov’s point that Zelensky’s Jewish origins did not preclude Ukraine from being run by neo-Nazis.”

Hamas Threatens Israel

Times of Israel wrote on May 2:

“In a speech Saturday night filled with murderous threats and denunciations of Israel, Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar said the terror group ‘will not hesitate to take any steps’ if Israel ‘violates’ the Al-Aqsa Mosque… ‘Violating Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem means a regional, religious war,’ he said…

“Sinwar praised the recent terror wave against Israelis that has left 15 dead; encouraged Palestinians in the West Bank and Arab Israelis to commit more attacks; hailed a ‘global shift’ in favor of the Palestinian cause; and urged the Islamist Ra’am party to withdraw from Israel’s governing coalition… Ra’am suspended its membership in the coalition after the recent clashes between Palestinians and police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Although tensions have not escalated further, Ra’am has yet to officially rejoin the government…

“Sinwar further accused Israel of seeking to partition the Temple Mount as a ‘first step’ to ‘destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build a temple’ in its place… ‘Al-Aqsa is indeed in danger,’ Sinwar said…

“As for Arabs living in Israel, he urged them, too, to kill Israelis: ‘Our people living inside the occupier state — in the Negev, in the [northern] Triangle, in Haifa, in Acre, in Jaffa and in Lod — everybody who has a gun should take it, and those who don’t have a gun should take a butcher’s knife or any knife he can get,’ he said…”

Iran’s International Terrorist Activities

The Jerusalem Post wrote on April 30:

“[Israel’s] Mossad – operating in Iran – apprehended and interrogated an Iranian national who was leading a plot to kill an Israeli diplomat and a US general, sources have confirmed. An audio recording released on Saturday showed a photo of Mansour Rasouli admitting he had been ordered to establish a cell to assassinate a worker at the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, a US general stationed in Germany and a journalist in France…

“The Quds Force, the IRGC branch responsible for overseas operations, planned to carry out the assassinations via drug cartels, with the Islamic Republic reportedly willing to pay over $1 million for the targets. The planned hits were organized by a member of Quds Force’s Unit 840 stationed in Europe, who was paid $150,000 to ‘prepare for the assassinations’ by using his connections to various European drug lords.

“Unit 840 is a relatively secretive operational unit that organizes terrorist infrastructure outside Iran against Western targets and opposition groups… Defense officials said the failed assassinations join a long list of similar plots, including recent ones in Kenya and Colombia. Turkish, British and American reports over the last few years have accused Iran of using major international crime organizations to help advance its goals abroad, which include carrying out terrorist plots.”

Putin to Be Operated and His Powers Transferred?

The Sun wrote on April 30:

“[Putin] has been source of considerable speculation amid reports that he is battling both abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. But now it has been reported that 69-year-old Putin could soon vanish as he goes under the knife, with power transferred to Nikolai Patrushev.

“Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the Ukraine war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neo-Nazis.  The claim was reported on Russian media outlet General SVR, which first raised issues of Putin’s health around 18-months ago…

“When exactly Putin will go into hospital is unclear but it is unlikely to [be] before May 9, when he presides over the grandiose Red Victory Day commemoration of the defeat of Hitler…

“An all-out war [against Ukraine] would allow Moscow to draft in more conscripts, impose martial law and also bid for support from its international allies – such as Belarus.”

Destroying Europe?

The Sun wrote on May 2:

“RUSSIAN state TV has threatened to drown the UK under a radioactive tsunami in a bizarre new propaganda video. In the chilling broadcast the presenter also showed how the Kremlin’s latest world-ending Satan 2 nuclear missile could also annihilate Britain. The warning comes as the Kremlin raised the prospect of devastating military strikes on Britain over its deal to supply weapons to Ukraine… host Dmitry Kiselyov heralded Russia’s second option to ‘plunge Britain into the depths of the sea’ with its ‘underwater robotic drone Poseidon.’ In a chilling graphic he warned the missile would raise a giant tsunami wave up to 1,640ft high…

“Putin himself last week darkly warned of using nuclear weapons against the UK and its European allies as devastating nuke maps were broadcast across Russian TV. It gleefully warned Berlin can be nuked in 106 seconds, Paris in 200 seconds and London in 202 seconds. The Sarmat hypersonic 208-ton ’Satan-2’ intercontinental ballistic missile has a speed of 15,880mph and is claimed by the Kremlin leader to be ‘unstoppable’…

“Sergei Lavrov said the risk of World War 3 is now ‘considerable’ – saying the West is essentially fighting a proxy war against Moscow via its support for Kyiv…

The Mirror added April 30:

“Russian state TV simulated a terrifying nuclear strike on Europe, declaring there would be ‘no survivors’… The terrifying claims… were made on the popular TV show which is one of the country’s most watched.”

This will not happen now, but nuclear war, involving Russia and Europe, WILL happen in the future.

Criticism Against Scholz

The Daily Mail wrote on April 29:

“After two months of prevarication and excuses, the German government at last agreed this week to send some heavy armour to Ukraine… Better late than never, you might think. Except that the 50 Gepard (German for cheetah) anti-aircraft vehicles it has approved first saw service in the 1960s and, despite several upgrades, haven’t been part of the German army’s arsenal for over a decade… Military experts say it’s a complicated weapon that requires months of training (five months, for example, when the Romanian army acquired it), a constant stream of spare parts — and ammunition from Switzerland, which the Swiss have not yet agreed to send.

“No wonder Ukrainians feel Germany’s heart is not quite in its efforts to arm them with the weapons it desperately and quickly needs.

“Yet it’s only just over two months since Scholz made an historic speech to the German parliament which was hailed at the time as a watershed. In an address which lasted just under an hour, as Russian armour and troops poured across the border in an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the recently elected chancellor laid waste to Germany’s long-standing policy of cosying up to the Kremlin. He promised billions more for defence to end the hollowing out of Germany’s military, support for sanctions against Moscow and even weapons for Ukraine. When he sat down, 16 years of Merkelism — the pro-Russian approach of his predecessor, Angela Merkel — lay in tatters.

“It was all the more remarkable coming from a chancellor whose Social Democrat party had always been in the vanguard of rapprochement with Russia — a policy known as Ostpolitik, which dates back to the early 1960s.Yet in the aftermath of this supposed watershed, Scholz was nowhere to be seen. It was almost as if he’d gone into hiding…

“Sympathetic commentators reminded us that Scholz was in coalition with the Greens, who dabbled in pacifism, and had to accommodate the Left of his own party, which still had a soft spot for Ostpolitik despite Russian barbarities in Ukraine. But the Greens let it be known they were in favour of sending heavy weapons and the Left kept their heads down. Another pathetic excuse bit the dust…

“Die Welt, one of Germany’s most respected newspapers, calls Scholz’s failure to follow through after his watershed speech as ‘the most dangerous miscalculation in the history of the Federal Republic’. It’s a crisis for the whole German political establishment, since all of it — Left, Right and centre plus big business and trade unions — has been implicated in the sorry mess that Germany’s long-standing complicity with the Kremlin has become.

“As perhaps Germany’s most egregious Putin puppet, former chancellor Gerhard Schroder, recently confessed: ‘We were all at it for 30 years.’ As chairman of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and board director of oil giant Rosneft, he has been filling his boots with Russian energy company treasure for years — and still is.

“The German establishment has been more vociferously critical of Brexit Britain than of Putin’s Russia. Now it’s paying the price for its Kremlin complicity. Schroder’s great mate, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is Germany’s head of state. His ties with Moscow are so extensive that Kyiv has declared him persona non grata. Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin refuses to be in the same room as him.

“The contrast between Germany’s political leaders and the female leaders who have been dubbed the Five Warrior Women of the North could not be starker — or more refreshing. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania are all led by smart, feisty women who’ve been fiercely critical of Putin from even before the invasion and robustly supportive of Ukraine since…

“The decision to become increasingly reliant on Russian hydrocarbons was entirely of Germany’s own making. It was not forced to go down this route. Important voices at home and abroad warned Germany not to do it. They were ignored. It was a terrible mistake with huge geopolitical consequences that are now tragically unfolding for all to see…”

Germany has messed it up big time for many years.

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 30:

“When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that Germany is ‘doing everything’ possible. And yet the gap between his words and actions suggests otherwise… Earlier this week, I blinked, and something that Olaf Scholz had spent weeks insisting was impossible suddenly became possible. Germany will start delivering anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. Like so much of German policy on the war in Ukraine, including the initial decision back in late February to send any weapons at all, the announcement came out of the blue: Just hours before, leading members of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party had given interviews saying sending heavy weapons was out of the question. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo — or Scholz left them in the dark, as he reportedly did to some of his ministers when he proposed a major budget hike for the Bundeswehr (Germany’s armed forces) in the days following the Russian invasion.

“In the leadup to the war and ever since, Germany’s default position has been we can’t: We can’t send weapons to a conflict zone, we can’t block Russia from SWIFT, (international payment system), we can’t embargo Russian energy, we can’t send heavy weapons — the list goes on… the fact that so many ‘can’t do’s’ have turned into ‘can do’s’ reveals a discrepancy between the chancellor’s rhetoric and Germany’s feet-dragging actions… Scholz seems to be acting out of pressure rather than conviction… The spontaneous U-turns, where the impossible becomes possible overnight, suggests that ‘can’t’ may really be ‘don’t want to’ in disguise.

“… at the moment, Germans don’t seem keen on making sacrifices. A poll released Thursday showed that only every other German was willing to give things up in daily life to help Ukraine. But public support can shift… Germany has the tools to do much, much more. The question is does it have the leader.”

Of course, the answer is obvious. None right now. But it will change in due time.

The Guardian wrote on May 1:

 “The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has defended himself against accusations that his approach to Russian aggression has been hesitant and timid, insisting his decisions followed close consultation with Germany’s allies and sought to avoid any suspicion that the country was ‘going it alone’. Scholz has faced fierce criticism even from within his own government and last week came under particular fire from the opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, who accused him of weak leadership and of ‘procrastination, dithering and timidity’…

“Scholz appeared to bow to immense domestic and international pressure last week by announcing that Germany would deliver heavy weaponry to Ukraine, in the form of self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, in what was seen as a sharp policy U-turn. But while the outspoken Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, said he welcomed the move, he piled further pressure on Scholz on Sunday by insisting it did not go nearly far enough, and demanding more ‘fantasy and courage’ from Germany… Melnyk… said that the Gepard anti-aircraft guns promised last week were insufficient and too old…

“As debate raged among policymakers in Germany as to when and whether Germany can become independent from Russian gas supplies, the news agency DPA reported that the government was planning to support EU plans for a Russian oil embargo, as part of a sixth round of sanctions about to be announced by the bloc, despite opposition from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Spain, Italy and Greece….”

Hungary Opposed to Ban of Russian Oil and Gas

Express wrote on May 2:

“Senior officials in Hungary have warned that Budapest is prepared to block any attempts in the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia’s oil industry… Hungary has warned that if these measures would hinder Budapest’s ability to import energy, the country would be ready to veto it… Hungarian Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas told HirTV on Sunday: ‘Since such decisions require unanimity, it makes no sense for the commission to propose sanctions affecting natural gas and crude oil that would restrict Hungarian procurements. ‘We’ve made it clear that we’ll never support.’…

“ An official told Reuters that in order to keep the 27-nation bloc united, the EU Commission might offer Slovakia and Hungary ‘an exemption or a long transition period’… German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck warned that there was still no unity among the EU member states on whether to ban Russian oil and gas.”

Germany Suddenly for Oil Embargo?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 2:

“German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said Berlin was ready to support a gradual, EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports… [Economy and Climate Minister Robert] Habeck admitted that higher prices in Germany were there for the long run, as the state could not cushion all energy price increases… But he said that for a number of firms, the consequences of higher energy costs would not kick in until 2023, as many companies had long-term contracts on fixed terms…

“Habeck said that most of the current energy supplies arriving from Russia go to the Schwedt refinery near Berlin… responding to Habeck’s comments, the city of Schwedt issued a statement calling into question his assurances that an embargo was ‘feasible,’ and accusing the government of ‘dictating terms from afar’ for the city’s main business.”

Breitbart added on May 2:

“Germany’s central bank has warned that should the country entirely cut off Russian energy it could severely increase inflation and damage economic growth, warning that the economic powerhouse of the European Union could experience a two per cent decline in GDP this year. However, despite the move to cut off Russian oil, the government has not made any commitments to cutting off liquid natural gas from Moscow…

“At present, the European Union pays Russia some €780 million ($850/£680 million) per day in exchange for oil and natural gas. Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, the bloc has sent over €44 billion to Russia, accounting for 71 per cent of Russian energy exports. Germany, the largest single nation buyer [of] Russian gas and oil in the EU, has sent more than €9 billion since the start of the invasion.”

Pelosi in Ukraine

Axios wrote on May 1:

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday led a congressional delegation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv…

“For the time being, the White House has ruled out sending President Biden, citing security concerns.”

The real reason might very well be that Democrats are concerned about what Biden might say or do during a visit to Ukraine. Note the next article.

Biden’s Embarrassing Blunders

The New York Post wrote on April 29:

“Gaffe-prone President Biden has raised concerns after his latest embarrassing blunder, which saw him repeatedly stumble over the word ‘kleptocracy’ during a Thursday speech asking the US Congress for an additional $33 billion Ukraine aid package… Biden, 79, was talking about his administration’s plans to seize Russian assets when he ran into some linguistic trouble. ‘We’re going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes, and other ill-begotten gains of Putin’s kleptoc- — yeah — kleptocracy and klep- — the guys who are the kleptocracies,’ Biden told reporters with a self-deprecating chuckle…

“Moments earlier, Biden also mistakenly said [twice] that the US will ‘accommodate’ the Russian oligarchs ‘and make sure we take their — take their ill-begotten gains.’”

Putin’s Allies

Express wrote on May 2:

“Putin and his regime is becoming increasingly desperate in Ukraine, where it has struggled to make gains beyond the country’s outskirts while facing international condemnation. Some world leaders have supported the invading regime, breaking from the global consensus… He isn’t without support, as he has scattered allegiances around the world. Most of them come from Eastern Europe, but some surprising officials have warmly welcomed members of the Russian regime in the last few months.

“Chief among them is Alexander Lukashenko, the controversial premier of Belarus, known as the ‘last dictator in Europe’… Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has also supported the Russian regime… Vucic has boasted about his political ties with his Russian counterpart. He has refused to condemn Russia and participate in the EU’s sanctions regime, despite having applied for membership, undermining the bloc’s work to discourage attacks on Ukraine…

“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attained another term this year. Almost immediately after winning his election in April, Orban dropped his attempts to distance himself from his historical backing of Putin and criticised Volodymyr Zelensky. He called Ukraine’s leader an ‘opponent’ of Hungary, and the Kremlin said that Putin sent him a personal message of congratulations after his win…

“Further east, Putin’s regime has found support from the Indian government… India has continued to trade with Russia despite western sanctions and increased oil imports, undercutting efforts from other nations… Earlier this month, officials organised a vote to condemn Russia that 143 nations supported, including the US, UK, France and Germany. But India, Pakistan, Iran and China were among the abstainers, and the vote exposed four other supporters of Putin, whose administration voted against it… Syria, Belarus, North Korea and Eritrea all voted not to condemn the invasion. Belarus was already aiding Putin in Ukraine, while the remaining nations voiced their distaste for western interventionism.”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on April 30:

“Americans… responded negatively to the relationship between Russia and China, which has not denounced Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine… Some 62% saw the relationship as a very serious problem for the US and another 30% saw it as somewhat serious.”

It is interesting that some of the nations mentioned in the quoted articles will ultimately unite and become part of the Far Eastern military alliance, which is described in the Bible as the “kings of the East.”

Russia’s Robot Army

Express wrote on May 4:

“Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky warned… ‘there is a myth abroad that Russia lags behind in robotics.’ In reality, he claimed, no other army in the world possesses such a diverse range of unmanned vehicles and drones as the Russian Federation. Given recent investments by Putin’s forces in the arena of robotics, this is a situation that appears unlikely to change any time soon.

“Mr Murakhovsky said: ‘Today’s Russian army is the successor of the Red Army, which created remote-controlled tanks back in the 1930s.’ Mr Murakhovsky told Russia Beyond: ‘After the war, pilotless planes were developed in the USSR…  in terms of land and sea robots it has the most extensive program in the world.”

Collaboration Between Ukrainians and Russians

The Washington Post wrote on May 4:

“Rumors about traitors run rife as invading forces have seemed to know in advance which residents have guns and which are said to be wealthy…

“In small towns and villages across Ukraine that fell under Russian occupation in February and March and have since been liberated, the fog of war has been replaced by the fog of conspiracy and suspicion. Weeks later, citizens across the country speak in hushed tones about people who they believe sold out their neighbors and whether they might have done so willingly or under duress.”

Pope Francis Blames NATO for the War

The Daily Beast wrote on May 3:

“‘I feel that before going to Kyiv, I must go to Moscow,’ [Pope Francis] told Corriere Della Sera in an interview that ran Tuesday. But the meeting would not exactly be to condemn Putin, based on what he told the paper. He said that the real ‘scandal’ of Putin’s war is ‘NATO barking at Russia’s door,’ which he said caused the Kremlin to ‘react badly and unleash the conflict.’…

“Francis repeated comments he has made in general audiences and in other interviews that the war is nothing more than a giant opportunity for a ‘trade in arms’ and that it is still ongoing because of the constant shuttling of weapons to Ukraine…

“Francis veered toward conspiracy theory as he blamed the international community for instigating the war… ‘In Ukraine, it seems that it was others who created the conflict…’”

Ungodly Canada

The Spectator wrote on April 30:

“Since last year, Canadian law… has allowed both the rich as well as the poor to kill themselves if they are too poor to continue living with dignity… [Canada] will even pay for their deaths. What it will not do is spend money to allow them to live instead of killing themselves…

“In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada reversed 22 years of its own jurisprudence by striking down the country’s ban on assisted suicide as unconstitutional… The next year, Parliament duly enacted legislation allowing euthanasia, but only for those who suffer from a terminal illness whose natural death was ‘reasonably foreseeable’…

“It only took five years for the proverbial slope to come into view, when the Canadian parliament enacted Bill C-7, a sweeping euthanasia law which repealed the ‘reasonably foreseeable’ requirement – and the requirement that the condition should be ‘terminal’… Even before Bill C-7 was enacted, reports of abuse were rife. A man with a neurodegenerative disease testified to Parliament that nurses and a medical ethicist at a hospital tried to coerce him into killing himself by threatening to bankrupt him with extra costs or by kicking him out of the hospital, and by withholding water from him for 20 days. Virtually every disability rights group in the country opposed the new law. To no effect…

“Since then, things have only gotten worse. A woman in Ontario was forced into euthanasia because her housing benefits did not allow her to get better housing which didn’t aggravate her crippling allergies. Another disabled woman applied to die because she ‘simply cannot afford to keep on living’. Another sought euthanasia because Covid-related debt left her unable to pay for the treatment which kept her chronic pain bearable…

“[The media] has expressed remarkably little curiosity about the open social murder of citizens in one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Perhaps, like many doctors, journalists are afraid of being accused of being ‘unprogressive’ for questioning the new culture of death…

“Next year, the floodgates will open even further when those suffering from mental illness … become eligible for assisted suicide, although enthusiastic doctors and nurses have already pre-emptied the law. There is already talk of allowing ‘mature minors’ access to euthanasia too…”

This is terrible. But those responsible will be held accountable by God.

Schools Must Stop Indoctrinating Our Children

Dr. Ron Paul of the Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 2:

“A Florida bill restricting classroom instruction regarding sexuality in kindergarten through third grade has become the latest culture war skirmish. Supporters of the bill say government schools have no business being involved in this type of instruction with young students. They make a good point. The use of government power to indoctrinate children in certain political and social beliefs — regardless of the wishes of parents — is a major problem.

“While the instruction at issue in Florida is associated with efforts of leftists, the temptation to seek to achieve ideological objectives through education policy can be strong among conservatives as well… [Some] conservatives are trying to force schools to adopt a ‘patriotic’ curriculum. This is just as pernicious as leftists’ efforts to force schools to teach critical race theory. Students indoctrinated in critical race theory will graduate believing that white male capitalists are the source of all evil. Students indoctrinated in ‘patriotism’ will graduate believing every bit of propaganda sponsored by the war party and will smear all dissenters from the ‘party line’ as unpatriotic…

“In a free society, parents — not politicians, bureaucrats, or teachers unions — would control education. Parents would decide whether and when their children’s education will include topics like sexuality, race theory, and the evidence for and against Darwinism.”

The school system in the USA is awful.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Macron Remains President

The Sun wrote on April 24:

“[Macron] will become the first French President to be re-elected in 20 years, thumping his far-right rival by 16 percentage points in Sunday’s count… Le Pen quickly conceded defeat…

“Turnout was… the lowest… in more than 40 years, with voter abstention at its highest level since 1969 at 28 per cent…

“Brussels can breathe a sigh of relief after fears a shock victory for Le Pen in today’s presidential election failed to materialise. Experts claim the far-right Eurosceptic’s election win would cement ‘the end of the EU as we know it’. They said Le Pen’s win would have put France ‘on a direct collision course’ with EU rules and bring the whole institution crashing down.

“James Shields, Professor of French Politics at the University of Warwick, says a Le Pen victory would ‘herald drastic changes in terms of France’s place within the EU.’ He told The Sun Online: ‘… her programme, if implemented, would pose critical challenges to France’s continued membership of the EU.’”

The EU is delighted in Macron’s victory. Scholz was the first to congratulate him via phone. Bild Online wrote that Scholz’s joy might be short-lived, as Macron will demand from him to take a stronger position against Russia.   

Macron Europe’s De Facto Leader?

Express wrote on April 25:

“EMMANUEL MACRON’s election victory will see an escalation of his ambitions for the EU, beginning from the final formation of a united army for the bloc… France, a founding member of the EU, has been at the centre of efforts to integrate Europe since the end of World War Two… The French leader is now expected to push even further with his pro-EU agenda.”

The Irish Times wrote on April 15:

“With a renewed mandate, Macron now has the power to make his presidency truly transformational. But that will require him to change. His arrogance and impatience have alienated many voters… Now, with Angela Merkel off the stage and her successor Olaf Scholz still finding his feet [a polite way of saying, Scholz is weak and indecisive], Macron, his stature enhanced by re-election, has emerged as the EU’s de facto leader. That means the whole of Europe, not just France, has a stake in his success.”

The question is, how is “success” defined? It could very well end up in disaster.

Germany Is Beholden to Putin

The Los Angeles Times wrote on April 21, 2022

“As the savage war in Ukraine continues, the world expects Germany, Europe’s largest economy and a political heavyweight, to play a central role in the fight to isolate and stop Russia. But how serious is Germany about supporting Ukraine?

“On Feb. 27, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced ‘a historic change.’… Yet almost two months after Scholz’s historic announcement, not much has happened on any of these fronts. Despite criticism from international observers and its own ministers, the German government has slow-walked its support for Ukraine.

“Military aid has yet to be delivered. Estonia and the Czech Republic, far smaller countries than Germany, have donated more weaponry and arms to Ukraine than Germany has since the war began. No heavy weapons such as tanks, artillery or advanced air defense systems have been delivered at all. Ukraine has offered to buy 100 German tanks, but Germany has balked, arguing that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has to reach a joint decision among its members on the deal first…

“Last week, Scholz announced Germany would provide $1 billion to Ukraine. That is likely to get parliamentary approval, but a decision has been delayed until June. Meanwhile, Russia receives $1 billion a day from Germany and other European countries from sales of its oil and gas. Germany is more dependent on Russian gas and oil than the rest of Europe, so cutting off its dependence would be a powerful signal of credible commitment to Ukraine…

“So what’s stopping Germany? The inertia on economic and military aid cannot be explained by lack of popular support, potential damage to the German economy or even government coalition politics. Nor is it a question of German guilt over its Nazi legacy. Instead, the failure to act exemplifies a persistent attitude among the German political establishment that there could be ‘no peace in Europe without Russia.’ In practice, this has meant prioritizing Russian interests. For decades, German elites dismissed the security interests of smaller countries around them, much as Russian President Vladimir Putin has…

“The ties between the German and Russian political elites reinforce this deference to Russia. Perhaps most notoriously, Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, quickly gained a seat on the board of the Russian energy company Rosneft after leaving office and then energetically lobbied for Russian interests… Other politicians have defended what they see as joint German and Russian interests. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s president, defended Nord Stream 2 last year as ‘one of the last bridges between Russia and Europe’ and, despite Russian aggression, argued that ‘we must not lose sight of the bigger picture.’ Sigmar Gabriel, the former Social Democratic leader and energy minister, called for the ‘federalization of Ukraine’ after the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea, widely understood to mean a permanent Russian role in Ukraine… Scholz, the current chancellor, previously sought friendly ties with Russia, while ignoring Putin’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the aggression against Ukraine in 2014. For many German elites, appeasing Russia neatly dovetails with what they see as Germany’s economic interests: not just energy, but the billions sunk by Russian oligarchs into German real estate and industries.

“In this mindset, addressing Ukraine’s survival without first considering Russian interests is nearly impossible. After all, Scholz’s predecessor, chancellor Angela Merkel, also ‘kept in mind what was tolerable for Russia,’ as one of her top foreign policy advisors put it. Germany is the political and economic leader of the European Union. Yet, time and again, it has deferred and submitted to Russia’s autocratic government. If the horrific invasion of a sovereign European country cannot change the minds of the politicians in Berlin, Germany is not only failing its moral obligations but also cementing its government’s reputation as being beholden to Putin.”

Things will change. Soon.

Germany and Russia… a Unique Relationship

The New York Times wrote on April 23:

“Gerhard Schröder, who is paid almost $1 million a year by Russian-controlled energy companies, has become a pariah. But he is also a symbol of Germany’s Russia policy…  ‘They all went along with it for the last 30 years,’ he said. ‘But suddenly everyone knows better..’ Mr. Schröder scoffed at the notion of now distancing himself personally from Mr. Putin, 69, whom he considers a friend and sees regularly…

“Mr. Schröder refuses to resign from his board seats on Russian energy companies, despite calls to do so from across the political spectrum… Distancing himself now, Mr. Schröder said, would lose him the trust of the one man who can end the war: Mr. Putin. Even so, after all of his years of close relations with Mr. Putin, he walked away with nothing during his one brief interlude trying to mediate in the Ukraine conflict…

“Mr. Schröder distanced himself from the war, though not from Mr. Putin. I asked about the by-now notorious atrocities in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb. ‘That has to be investigated,’ Mr. Schröder said, but added that he did not think those orders would have come from Mr. Putin, but from a lower authority…

“Mr. Schröder’s entanglement with the Russian president and Kremlin-controlled energy companies overshadows all he achieved in seven years as chancellor, from 1998 to 2005, a pivotal period of leadership when he was lauded for refusing to join the United States in the Iraq war; giving immigrants a regular path to citizenship; and putting in place far-reaching labor market overhauls that would pave the way for a decade of growth under his successor, Angela Merkel….

“But even his fiercest critics acknowledge that Mr. Schröder’s close and lucrative dealings with Russia are also emblematic of his country’s decades-old approach of engagement with Russia. Lobbied aggressively by Germany’s export industry and cheered on by labor unions, successive chancellors, including Ms. Merkel, collectively engineered Germany’s dependency on Russian energy. ‘Schröder is the tip of the iceberg,’ said Wolfgang Ischinger, a former ambassador to the United States and veteran diplomat. ‘But there is a whole iceberg below him.’…

“When it came to pipelines, Mr. Schröder was not the first. They were being built between Germany and Russia even during the Cold War. Under Brandt, Germany signed a major pipeline project with Moscow, in 1970. His successor Helmut Schmidt … oversaw an expansion of the pipelines, including another big project known as the West Siberia Pipeline… During his own time in office, from 1998 to 2005, Mr. Schröder shepherded through Germany’s next pipeline project, Nord Stream 1. ‘You can’t blame Schröder for Nord Stream 1,’ Mr. Ischinger said. ‘Most German politicians, whether in government or in opposition, did not critically question this. No one asked whether we were laying the foundation for getting ourselves into an unhealthy dependence.’…

“Once Nord Stream 1 was operational, Mr. Schröder set about lobbying for a second pipeline: Nord Stream 2… was approved in June 2015, the same year that Gazprom was also allowed under the Merkel government to buy Germany’s biggest strategic gas-storage facility, where it has kept levels of gas conspicuously low for the past year in what may have been preparation for providing leverage for Mr. Putin in his war…

“What if Russia turns off the tap? ‘It won’t happen,’ Mr. Schröder said. But if it did, ‘then I would resign.’… Mr. Schröder holds to his unwavering belief that peace and prosperity in Germany and Europe will always depend on dialogue with Russia… ‘You can’t isolate a country like Russia in the long run, neither politically nor economically,’ he said. ‘German industry needs the raw materials that Russia has. It’s not just oil and gas, it’s also rare earths. And these are raw materials that cannot simply be substituted… When this war is over… we will have to go back to dealing with Russia. We always do.’”

Maybe so. For a while… But notice the next article.

Moscow Expels German Diplomats

Insider wrote on April 25:

“Moscow said Monday it was expelling 40 German diplomats in response to the ‘unfriendly decision’ by Berlin to kick out Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine…

“‘The 40 Russian diplomats in Germany whom we expelled three weeks ago did not serve diplomacy for a single day during their stay in Germany,’ Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement. ‘Rather, these people worked systematically for years against our freedom and against cohesion in our society,’ she said… The German diplomats in Russia, meanwhile, ‘have not done anything wrong’, Baerbock said… ‘They went to Russia with openness, curiosity and great commitment to serve our bilateral relations there.’

“Baerbock had said earlier that Germany was expelling the Russians in response to the ‘unbelievable brutality’ of Russian forces in its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine. The Russian foreign ministry on Monday called Baerbock’s words ‘unacceptable’…”

Baerbock’s words are quite contradictory. In spite of Germany’s soft approach towards Russia, it does not help the German-Russian relationship.

Russia Cuts Natural Gas to Poland and Bulgaria

The Associated Press wrote on April 27:

“Russia cut off natural gas to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday and threatened to do the same to other countries, dramatically escalating its standoff with the West…  A day after the U.S. and other Western allies vowed to speed more and heavier weapons to Ukraine, the Kremlin used its most essential export as leverage against two of Kyiv’s staunch backers. Gas prices in Europe shot up on the news…

“The gas cuts do not immediately put the two countries in dire trouble. Poland has been working for several years to line up other sources of energy, and the continent is heading into summer, making gas less essential for households. Yet the cutoff and the Kremlin warning that other countries could be next sent shivers of worry through the 27-nation European Union…”

Gazprom stated it was shutting off the two countries as they refused to pay in Russian rubles.

Biden Pushed Germany to Delay Russian Oil Ban?

Newsmax reported on April 25:

“Germany’s decision to not immediately end Russian oil imports… came at the urgent request of the Biden administration, a senior European official involved in Russian sanctions tells Newsmax… ‘until later this year and after the U.S. midterm elections.’

“The White House appears to believe it has a chance to keep the Senate in Democrat hands – but that opportunity could be endangered from a serious spike in oil prices if Germany had to start buying oil from global markets. Earlier this month, President Biden signed a law that bans all Russian imports of oil, gas, and coal to the U.S. But Biden had been reluctant to approve such a ban fearing the already high cost of gasoline would grow, even though the U.S. only imports 3% of crude oil from Russia.

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Congressional Democrats, led the charge on banning Russian oil imports.

“German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced last Wednesday that Germany will stop importing half of its oil from Russia by summer with the remainder closed down at year’s end. But those comments were quickly qualified by Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who suggested that a quick cut-off of Russian oil won’t happen anytime soon.”

Germany Bending to International Pressure

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 26:

“After weeks of mounting pressure, the German government will now supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine… The German government on Tuesday confirmed reports that it will approve a delivery of ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft tanks…  German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht… also said that Berlin was working to train Ukrainian soldiers on German soil. ‘We are working together with our American friends in training Ukrainian troops on artillery systems on German soil,’ the minister said….”

But as we point out in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Weak German Government under Attack” , huge problems are associated with the delivery of those tanks.

German Lawmakers Approve Heavy Weapons for Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 28:

 “In a historic move, lawmakers in Germany have given the official green light to send ‘heavy weapons and complex systems’ to Ukraine…  with 586 votes in favor, 100 against, and seven abstentions… after the government held off for weeks on sending heavy equipment…

 “The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposed the initiative, saying that it felt close to a declaration of war… and ‘could make us party to a nuclear war…’  The socialist Left Party was also against the move… [and] said that delivering more weapons would simply make the war last longer. In response, Nils Schmid, from the ruling SPD party, said weapons’ deliveries would help end the war faster by putting Ukraine in a position of strength…

“But the move is not likely to help Scholz shake the accusations of being indecisive on Ukraine. A new dpa/YouGov poll suggests some 45% of Germans are unhappy with his course in the crisis, compared to 37% who approve of his response to the war.”

Germany’s Duplicity

The Daily Mail wrote on April 23:

“France and Germany sold £230million worth of military hardware to Moscow which was likely used in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an EU analysis. It should have been impossible to do so owing to an EU embargo that banned selling arms to Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.  Last month, it was discovered that France, Germany and Italy used a loophole in the ban. They were just three of at least 10 EU member states to export almost €350million (£293million) in equipment that included missiles, rockets, guns and bombs… 78 per cent of this total was supplied by French and German firms.

“The EU banned ‘the direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts therefore, to Russia’ eight years ago.

However, countries were able to sell hundreds of millions of pounds worth of kit to Russia despite the ban using a backdoor technicality that permitted contracts signed before August 1, 2014, or additional contracts that would help conclude those deals… Earlier this month, it was revealed that the European Union had sent almost €1billion to Russia each day for energy since the war in Ukraine began.

“German Chancelor Olaf Scholz has faced sharp criticism for failing to deliver heavy weapons to the besieged country, such as tanks and howitzers, to fend off savage Russian attacks. The leader said he feared that providing Ukraine with tanks could spark a nuclear war. Other Western allies have stepped up their military shipments to Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces but Scholz has held firm in his bid not to upset Vladimir Putin. Instead, on Tuesday, he said Germany would provide Ukraine with £830million to buy their own weapons.

“Asked in an extensive interview published on Friday why he thought delivering tanks could lead to nuclear war, he said there was no rule book that stated when Germany could be considered a party to the war in Ukraine.”

The Downfall of Olaf Scholz

The Local wrote on April 22:

“Contrary to what many commentators are saying, what’s most surprising about Olaf Scholz’ precipitous fall in popularity is not how quickly it has happened – but rather how slowly…

“In what seems like an eternity ago, back in early February when the Ukraine war was still a ‘Ukraine crisis’, Joe Biden welcomed Olaf Scholz on his first official visit to the White House and, despite the fact our Chancellor refused to make clear that Nord Stream 2 would be cancelled if Russia invaded Ukraine, called Germany a ‘reliable partner’ and did his best to keep his frustration in check…

“Yet it’s been downhill from there on in…  he shrank back from any immediate measures which might prove too radical: no heavy weapons for the Ukraine; no embargo on Russian gas…  The result is widespread dissatisfaction with Scholz’ government and, naturally, with Scholz himself.

“… Scholz is still applying the methods of the Merkel years – delaying, delegating down to committees, and hoping problems solve themselves – in circumstances which he himself has publicly identified as radically different… No one is expecting miracles, but having come to power implicitly promising to explain and justify his policies more than his predecessor Angela Merkel… Scholz has now… retreated back into the Chancellery. His silence, both on the Ukraine and on other pressing issues.. is leaving too much room for interpretation – and dissatisfaction.”

Germany Complicit in Russia’s War Crimes

The Local wrote on April 22:

“Many of those murdered during Germany’s singular historic crime, the Holocaust, were deported from what is today Ukraine; many others never even made it that far, summarily shot like the tens of thousands at Babyn Jar near Kyiv in 1941. Now, eighty years on, civilians have once again been executed in the Kyiv suburbs and there may have been attacks with chemical weapons further east. While Germany is not the perpetrator this time, it is complicit.

“The problem is gas. For despite all the tough talk and sanctions, Germany is still, like several other European nations, transferring eight-figure sums to Moscow in return for gas deliveries on a daily basis. We are doing this because half of the gas in our network is piped in straight from Russia…

“Germany’s dependency on Russian gas is an abject national failure several decades in the making and so cannot be fixed overnight. But, to be blunt, we… have made our bed and must now lie in it. We need to stop importing Putin’s gas now. Not tomorrow, not next week, and not at the end of the year…

“How many more massacres have to be uncovered before we take our historical responsibility seriously when history actually comes calling? How many Buchas does it take before we feel ready to embargo Russian gas: two, three, four? And are we really going to wait to find out whether Putin’s army has used chemical weapons on innocent Ukrainians before we act?”

The Fear of Nuclear War

The Daily Mail wrote on April 23:

“Putin’s deranged regime has announced it will deploy the fearsome nuclear-capable ‘Satan II’ missile it recently tested in a show of strength by autumn, in a further ratcheting of tensions between Russia and the West as Moscow redoubles its brutal war on Ukraine.

“The Sarmat missile is said to be the world’s longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of striking a target 11,200 miles away – meaning it could easily strike targets in the US and Europe. Western military experts said the Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys – easily enough to wipe out Britain or France in a single strike…”

The Sun added on April 22:

“Russia successfully test-launched the missile on Wednesday with video showing the enormous 115-foot missile being launched from an underground silo, triggering an enormous fireball. It travelled almost the entire length of Russia – almost 3,600 miles – in around 15 minutes.

“The deadly projectile, nicknamed Satan 2, can fly 11,000 miles, carry more than 12 warheads… The separate warheads in the Satan 2 missile are capable of detaching from the main 100-tonne missile before travelling towards their target at hypersonic speeds. The bombs are 1,000 more powerful than those dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War Two. This means they are capable of pulverising an area the size of England and Wales or Texas in the USA.”

In a previous article, the Sun wrote on April 20:

“Military expert Dr Paul Craig Roberts sensationally claimed that the ‘five or six’ of the Russian missiles could wipe out the entire US east coast… it has been reported that the weapon could ‘wipe out an area of the size of England and Wales twice over.”

Ultimately, nuclear weapons will be used by Russia and its allies against Western Europe, including Germany—not against the USA or the UK, as they will have been destroyed by Western Europe in a nuclear war BEFORE nuclear war between Western Europe and Far Eastern nations, including Russia, breaks out.

“Moscow Aims to Capture Southern Ukraine”

The Algemeiner wrote on April 23:

“A Russian general said on Friday that Moscow wants to seize all of southern and eastern Ukraine, far wider war aims than it had acknowledged.

“Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying Moscow aimed to seize the entire eastern Donbas region, link up with the Crimea peninsula, and capture Ukraine’s entire south as far as a breakaway, Russian-occupied region of Moldova…

“Minnekayev… said Russian speakers there were oppressed, the same justification Moscow has given for its interventions in Ukraine since 2014, which Western countries call a baseless pretext…

“Pope Francis dropped plans to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a Putin ally and backer of the war. Francis [said] the plan was suspended because Vatican diplomats advised that such a meeting ‘could lend itself to much confusion at this moment.’”

Austria: Ukraine Should Not Become Part of EU

Fox News wrote on April 24:

“Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg spoke at the 14th European media summit this week, saying that Ukraine should not receive candidate status in June. He reiterated Austria’s dedication to neutrality as a key element of the nation’s ‘self-definition.’ ‘We don’t belong to any military alliance and we don’t want to…’ [He] said Ukraine should not, in principle, become a member even in the future…

“Ukraine’s foreign ministry expressed disappointment with Austria’s stance, calling the Austrian official’s statement ‘short-sighted’ and ‘not in the interests of the united Europe’…, adding that postponing Ukraine’s membership means ‘indulging Putin’s aggressive plans.’

“But around 40% of Austrians consider the government’s position on Ukraine as ‘on the whole correct,’ while 23% believe the government is ‘too pro-Ukraine’ and 17% ‘too pro-Russia,’ according to Heute.”

Tensions Between Israel and Christians in Jerusalem

The Associated Press wrote on April 23:

“Christians celebrated their ‘Holy Fire’ ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel, which imposed new restrictions on attendance this year that it said were needed for safety. Israel says it wants to prevent another disaster after a crowd stampede at a packed Jewish holy site last year left 45 people dead.

“Christian leaders say there’s no need to alter a ceremony that has been held for centuries… Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that on the Saturday before Easter a miraculous flame appears inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre… built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected…”

Violence Carefully Staged

Israel Today wrote on April 24:

“Hamas sees itself as the patron of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram al Sharif, the Temple Mount…

“The disinformation campaign portrayed Israel as an ‘aggressor,’ while it also was falsely claimed that Israel was making a new attempt to change the status quo on the Temple Mount… Third parties then also started to get involved in the conflict and issued condemnations over ‘Israeli violence’ and an alleged ‘change of the Israeli policy towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque.’ Turkey’s President… Erdogan… called PA leader… Abbas and condemned Israel’s ‘intervention and provocations’ on Haram al-Sharif… King Abdullah II of Jordan also got involved in the conflict and ordered his government to obtain regional and international support for more pressure on Israel…

“It has now also been established that the acts of violence that started last Friday on the eve of Passover were organized… Zreiyer, a member of Abbas’ ruling Fatah faction, organized the outbreak of violence. He brought hundreds of young Palestinian Arabs to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and ordered them to prepare for a confrontation with the Israeli police. The group of youths came from Arab Jerusalem and also included Hamas members. The gang received funding from the PA and Turkey to prepare for the battle over the Temple Mount…”

A Temple in Jerusalem

Israel Today wrote on April 25:

“After the 1967 Six Day War, during which the Temple Mount was captured, Israel did not take advantage of the situation. Moshe Dayan, who served as Minister of Defense at the time, returned rule over the site to the Jordanian[s]…

“Many believe that a decision by Israel to retake control of the Temple Mount will ignite a regional war that could lead to a third world war. Whether or not that would happen, it is clear from Scripture that the day is coming when, ‘“I will shake heaven and earth, and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this Temple with glory,’ says the Lord of Hosts.’ Haggai 2:6-7. And, ‘I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. Because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ Isaiah 56:7.”

And so it will be!

Disney Lost Special Tax Status in Florida

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 21:

“Walt Disney Co. lost its special tax status in Florida on Friday after Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill scrapping the company’s self-governing status in the area around its Orlando theme park complex. Florida’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday in a 68-38 vote, following a previous 23-16 vote in the state’s senate.

“Before urging Florida’s legislature to back the new measure, DeSantis had criticized Disney for its opposition to another bill banning discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for students under age 9..

“Disney initially avoided taking a stand on the legislation, but later halted political donations in Florida following pressure from some of the company’s employees and LGBTQ rights groups…

“‘If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,’ DeSantis recently wrote… ‘Disney is a guest in Florida. Today we remind them,’ Republican lawmaker Randy Fine tweeted. ‘Disney doesn’t say a word about the dictatorship in China because it would cost them billions of dollars,’ Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a tweet. ‘But they have no problem using their corporate power to lie about laws passed by democratically elected legislators in Florida.’

“The southeastern US state of Florida declared a special area, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, in 1967 to facilitate the construction of the Disney World theme park near the city of Orlando… The Disney district covers 100 square kilometers and includes the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista as well as land in Orange and Osceola counties in central Florida. Disney runs the district and is responsible for collecting taxes and guaranteeing municipal services such as fire-fighting, energy, garbage collection, water treatment and road maintenance. In exchange, the company has been exempted from paying taxes in the territory. Under Florida law, if the district is dissolved its assets and debts could be transferred to local governments that surround the area.”

Breitbart added on April 23:

“The Reedy Creek district, along with several other similarly situated special tax districts, will be dissolved effective June 1, 2023. However, the law allows the districts to be reestablished in the future, which could happen after further negotiation.”

Biden and the Democrats are not happy about the developments in Florida.

Daily Mail wrote on April 22:

“President Joe Biden criticized ‘ugly’ Republicans for targeting Disney and said the GOP has been taken over by the ‘far right’ in his speeches at two Democratic fundraisers on the West Coast on Thursday.”

What this is really all about is the push by the left to indoctrinate young school children UNDER AGE 9 with their political agenda.

Fauci the “Expert”?

Newsmax wrote on April 22:

“The White House’s chief medical adviser apparently won’t let go of the recent mask mandate cancellation… Fauci ripped U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for dropping the federal mask mandate for public transportation, telling CBS News the Florida-based judge has ‘no experience’ in the medical field… Fauci similarly dismissed Judge Mizelle’s ‘unfortunate ruling’…

“Current data suggests that COVID-19 infections in America have precipitously declined in recent weeks, but that’s not how Fauci views the trends. ‘It’s obvious to everyone we’re seeing that infections are on the rise…’ Fauci told CBS News.

“… the Justice Department filed a notice that it would appeal Judge Mizelle’s ruling, at the behest of the CDC and White House… Fauci did not acknowledge that Americans now have tremendous access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, or how the Biden administration still wants to repeal the CDC’s Title 42 health order at the U.S.-Mexico border — which, on the surface, runs directly against the logic behind the mask mandate for public transit.”

Dr. Fauci, even though not a lawyer, should still realize that Judge Mizelle did not utter a scientific finding in the medical field, but a legal finding showing the unconstitutionality of the mask mandate.

White House Contradicts Fauci

Fox News wrote on April 24:

‘The White House has contradicted Dr. Anthony Fauci on mask mandate decisions, saying that the judiciary plays an ‘important role’ and simply made an ‘incorrect decision’…. Fauci told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that it’s a ‘bad precedent when decisions about public health issues are made by people, be they judges or what have you, that don’t have experience or expertise in public health.’”

The problem is, Dr. Fauci uttered numerous false opinions and made many contradictory recommendations.

“Google Goes Woke!”

Daily Mail wrote on April 25:

“Google has launched an ‘inclusive language’ function designed to avoid the use of politically incorrect words. Users typing ‘landlord’ will see a warning that it ‘may not be inclusive to all readers’ with the suggestion they should try ‘property owner’ or ‘proprietor’ instead.

The word ‘humankind’ is a suggested alternative to what the online giant apparently sees as the controversial term ‘mankind’. Gender specific terms such as ‘policemen’ or ‘housewife’ should also be replaced by ‘police officers’ and ‘stay-at-home spouse’, according to the new Google Document style programme. It is now being rolled out to what the firm calls enterprise-level users. Many computer document systems use methods to correct spelling and grammar.

“But nudging users towards woke language is being seen by critics as a step too far. Tests on the system have also thrown up major flaws… it suggested President John F Kennedy’s inaugural address should say ‘for all humankind’ instead of ‘for all mankind’…”

Insane!

EU to Restrict Free Speech (again) on Musk’s Twitter?

Bloomberg wrote on April 26:

“Elon Musk vowed to prioritize free speech as Twitter Inc’s new owner, but a senior official from the European Union has warned the world’s richest person will still have to contend with the region’s strict content rules… The EU approved the Digital Service Act over the weekend, giving European governments new power to take down illegal content, and demand platforms do more to tackle harmful content.

“Possibly even more crucial is the DSA’s requirement that companies like Twitter submit annual reports to the EU detailing how they’re handling systemic risks posed by harmful content…

“[Twitter] famously banned former U.S. President Donald Trump from the site last year… The move provoked condemnation from conservatives in the U.S., who argued the ban hindered free speech….

“There’s also the prospect of major financial penalties if Musk and the EU disagree. If the company doesn’t comply with the DSA, the EU can issue fines of as much as 6% of a company’s annual revenue and even ban the platform from operating in the bloc.”

The Ron Paul Institute asked the pertinent question: “How far will authorities go to restrict freedom of expression?” The answer is obvious: Very far; indeed, without any limits. 

Obama—“Liar of the Year”?

The New York Post wrote on April 22:

“In a Stanford University speech Thursday, Obama called on Big Tech to ‘redesign’ itself to face the dangers disinformation allegedly poses to the nation. Hilariously, he cited his own ‘failure to fully appreciate . . . just how susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories’ during his time in office…

“Obama, after all, won PolitiFact’s ‘Lie of the Year’ Award in 2013 for his endlessly repeated claim that under ObamaCare, ‘if you like your health plan, you can keep it.’  This lie was treated as fact and amplified by major media across the US for naked political purposes. I.e., a textbook example of actual disinformation… The New York Times invented a new, Orwellian term as camouflage for the lie: ‘incorrect promise.’

“Then there was Benghazi, where his administration blamed an attack by an al Qaeda affiliate against a US consular outpost on an inflammatory YouTube video — and again saw the lie propped up by big media properties…

“Don’t forget his lie about whether he ever set a red line around Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria. He did. On record. Then, insanely, he literally claimed he hadn’t. Again, although he’d been caught in an obvious, clumsy lie, our fearless fact-checking journalists got busy trying to somehow make it reality. [The] Washington Post… refused to award it any of [the] trademark ‘Pinocchios.’

“… Obama presided over the start of the Russiagate narrative, now revealed as another textbook disinfo operation — one of the most successful in recent US history, not only kneecapping the Trump administration but leaving tens of millions of Americans still convinced of the lie even today.

“The ex-president is utterly comfortable with the media spreading disinformation, as long as it benefits his team…”

Lest we forget another possible lie: The dubious claim that Obama was born in the United States. Overwhelming evidence suggests the opposite (we have reported extensively in our Current Events about the many nagging questions regarding Obama’s alleged birthplace), but the potential political fiasco resulting from exposing what might very well have been the truth was deemed too much to cope with for Democrats and Republicans alike. Even Trump gave in with some phony “explanations.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.