This Week in the News

Working for a Third Temple

JTA wrote on August 12:

“It’s been nearly two millennia since the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, bringing to an end the priestly period of Jewish history and commencing the Diaspora. A third Temple has been prophesied, and in preparation for the messiah, [a] nonprofit Jewish group, The Temple Institute, wants to build it.

“Last month, the institute launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with the goal of raising $125,000 to breed a red heifer, a requirement for Temple purification rituals. It has already raised nearly $33,000 from some 500 donors… ‘For 2,000 years we’ve been waiting for a perfect red heifer,’ said Richman, an institute director in a video for the fundraising campaign. The project, he said, is ‘nothing less than the first stage of the reintroduction of biblical purity into the world, the prerequisite for the rebuilding of the holy Temple.’…

“The project is controversial, of course. The site of the ancient Temples, and thus the prescribed site for the new one, is on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where sites holy to Muslims – the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque – have stood for 13 centuries. The Temple Institute has admitted that the mosques must be cleared for the building of the Temple to begin…

“Haaretz reported in 2013 that nearly a third of secular citizens surveyed in a poll supported the building of the Temple, and the numbers rise for religious Jews. After the fundraising campaign is complete, the plan is for red cow embryos to be deposited in surrogate mother cows – what Haaretz referred to as essentially bovine Virgin Marys. When birthed nine months later, rabbis will determine if any of the offspring meet the strict kosher cow standards.

“If so, they will be ritually sacrificed and burned at age 2, allowing newly purified priests to ascend the Temple Mount. Then… the holy wars begin.”

 According to biblical prophecy, it is very likely that the Jews will build a Third Temple just prior to the return of Jesus Christ.

“Obama’s Track Record on Radical Islam”

 On August 13, The Times of Israel published the following blog by Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA):

“Citics repeatedly claim that the reason President Barack Obama agreed to a catastrophic nuclear deal with Iran is his naiveté, his ineptness, and his being out negotiated. Does Obama’s record validate that thesis? Or is there evidence that President Obama’s feelings toward Islam may require a different conclusion.

“President Obama attended Pastor Jeremiah Wright’s anti-America, anti-Israel church for 20 years while calling Wright a ‘great man and my mentor.’ Obama attended radical Muslim racist Louis Farahkan’s Million Man March in Washington – but refused to attend the four million man march against radical Islamic terrorism in Paris. Obama’s closest friends include Rashid Khalidi, Columbia professor, an extremist anti-Israel activist. There are pictures of President Obama having dinner with anti-israel activists Professors Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said.

“Although Obama has called American police and much of America racist, he has refused to ever utter the term, ‘Islamic terrorist’ when Jihadists murdered eighteen U.S. soldiers in Ford Hood and Tennessee and said nothing when two Islamic terrorists attempted to murder hundreds of Americans at a Mohammed cartoon drawing event in Texas. He’s even ordered that federal counter-terrorism training materials used for law enforcement and national security communities to delete such terms.

“It may surprise you to learn that during his first campaign for president, Obama stated that Hezbollah and Hamas have ‘legitimate claims’ (NY Times, May 16, 2008). And during the latest Hamas war against Israel, Obama sent Hamas $47 million, urged Israel to accept an early ceasefire, refused sending critical arms to Israel for several days and unnecessarily stopped US commercial flights to Israel for a short period.

“Moreover, President Obama not only didn’t condemn the Palestinian Authority (PA) for forming an alliance with Hamas but proclaimed he was going to continue funding the PA despite this, even though Hamas’ charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of every Jew! That didn’t surprise me since during a meeting at the White House with Jewish leaders that I attended, President Obama stated we Jews should speak to our Israeli friends and relatives and search our souls [to] see if we’re serious about peace. ‘You and the Israelis think since Israel’s economy is good, there’s little terrorism, so peace is overrated…but Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are sincere about peace.’ [Mahmoud Abbas is a holocaust minimizer, who, with Yasser Arafat, co-founded the terrorist group Fatah].

“What other Arab groups did Obama side with? When he gave his first major speech on the Middle East in Cairo, he invited the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed terrorist group to attend, despite pleadings against this from US ally Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. When Mubarak was forced from office, why did Obama embrace the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood who came to power, but was cold to new moderate Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah Al- Sisi. Furthermore, why did Obama publicly support rallies to oust US ally Mubarak from office yet refused to support rallies to oust the genocidal, anti-American, anti-Israel president Achmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran, America’s enemy. He was also silent about continuous Iranian rallies, even after the agreement was finalized, calling for ‘Death to America and Israel’ while Iran vowed support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. And Obama said nothing about Iran’s executing 1000 political dissidents a year, executing gays, imprisoning journalists, and closing dozens of opposition newspapers.

“Maybe this shouldn’t have been surprising since Obama delayed US votes on sanctions on Iran for over a year, fought against additional sanctions, and didn’t fully implement the sanctions that the US Congress passed.”

These are indeed very interesting questions in light of the facts presented in this article.

Ben Carson Tries to Justify His Research on Aborted Fetuses

 Newsmax reported on August 13:

“Ben Carson is defending research he did in 1992 on aborted fetal tissue… The research, which was co-authored by Carson, was revealed by Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB-GYN and pain medicine doctor, who said that while Carson was ‘opining on the uselessness of fetal tissue research to Megyn Kelly, Dr. Carson neglected to mention his own paper… published … in 1992.’

“The section cited by Gunter says that ‘Human choroid plexus, ependyma, and nasal mucosa were obtained from two fetuses aborted at the ninth and 17th week of gestation.’…

“Carson said that research on fetal tissue should not be banned and that it is not immoral… He added that he finds no contradiction between his pro-life views and the research he did…”

Creating a Human Brain…

The Independent wrote on August 19:

Scientists have succeeded in growing an almost fully formed human brain in a lab for the first time ever. The miniature brain is about the size of a pencil eraser and resembles that of a five-week old foetus. It contains 99 per cent of the genes present in the human foetal brain and has an identifiable structure… The brain has been created by scientists at University. Professor Rene Anand from the department explains: ‘It not only looks like the developing brain, its diverse cell types express nearly all genes like a brain.’”

This horrible “research” is justified in the name of science for finding a cure against certain sicknesses.

… While Destroying Human Brains

BE WARNED about the gruesome nature of the following article. We are republishing portions of it to show how far the twisted mind of man, under Satan’s influence, is prepared to go. And most Americans are willingly ignorant about the terrible abominations which are happening in their country.

Breitbart wrote on August 19:

“In the latest video produced by the Center for Medical Progress, Holly O’Donnell describes a medical technician using scissors to cut through the face of a newly aborted but nearly fully developed baby boy at a Planned Parenthood facility so that his intact brain could be extracted…

“Holly O’Donnell and her Planned Parenthood colleague were harvesting organs that day at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, a mega-clinic in San Jose, California…

“O’Donnell, who turned whistleblower after leaving StemExpress, said the child was the most fully developed she had seen up to that point. She describes in great detail how the newly aborted boy was rinsed off and prepared for dissection… Her colleague then took an instrument and ‘tapped the heart and it starts beating.’… The medical technician said the child was so intact that they could ‘procure a lot from it. We’re going to procure a brain.’ The tech told O’Donnell they would need to ‘go through the face.’ The medical tech took scissors and cut through the child’s lower jaw up through the mouth. O’Donnell was directed to cut the rest of the way through ‘the middle of the face.’… O’Donnell had to take the boy’s remains and put him in a bio-hazard container and ‘then I realized I was the only person ever to hold that baby… That was the moment I realized I couldn’t work for [StemExpress] any more,’ she said…

“Up to now Planned Parenthood has been successful in convincing Americans that the federal funded group performs very few abortions. Planned Parenthood has claimed that abortions make up merely 3 percent of their overall annual ‘services.’ Even liberal outlets have debunked that claim. Even so, polls show that most Americans don’t believe Planned Parenthood performs abortions at all, when in fact it performs more than 300,000 every year, more than any other group, generating more than $100 million in revenue from abortions alone.”

“Sick” is not a word which could remotely begin to describe such inhumane abominations.

Trump To Be Used by God as a Trumpet?

WorldNetDaily wrote on August 12, 2015:

“A Christian minister in Florida has ignited a firestorm over his suggestion that God is using Donald Trump as a divine instrument in the 2016 presidential election cycle… Jeremiah Johnson… said he was praying several weeks ago ‘when God began to speak to me concerning the destiny of Donald Trump in America:

‘“‘The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, ‘Trump shall become My trumpet to the American people, for he possesses qualities that are even hard to find in My people these days. Trump does not fear man nor will he allow deception and lies to go unnoticed. I am going to use him to expose darkness and perversion in America like never before… Many will want to throw him away because he will disturb their sense of peace and tranquility, but you must listen through the bantering to discover the truth that I will speak through him. I will use the wealth that I have given him to expose and launch investigations searching for the truth. Just as I raised up Cyrus to fulfill My purposes and plans, so have I raised up Trump to fulfill my purposes and plans prior to the 2016 election. You must listen to the trumpet very closely for he will sound the alarm and many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger.”’

A big deal is made in the article regarding the alleged connection between the word “Trump” and the biblical use of the word “trumpet.” However, whoever might have spoken to this charismatic minister (if anybody), it was NOT God’s voice which he heard. We must understand that sometimes demons know the future as well and might even speak about it… but one never knows when they lie—and we are specifically warned not to listen to their “prognostications.”

We feel that Trump might be used, to an extent, by God, but most certainly not for the reasons given in the article. For more information, please view our new StandingWatch program, “The Trump Phenomenon—How To Explain It!”

Hillary Clinton’s Email Dilemma

Newsmax wrote on August 17:

“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s decision to use a private email server, let alone deleting at least half of the communications on it, was ‘extraordinary,’ Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward said Monday, and the omissions remind him of the decisions made by President Richard Nixon back in the 1970s…  Woodward said he expects the investigations to go on for a ‘long, long time and the answers are probably not going to be pretty’…

“He said the FBI, inspectors general and others are ‘furious’ because they have spent hours being trained in the proper use of government email… Woodward said… that Clinton is blaming the controversy about her private emails on ‘dirty politics,’ but he pointed out that it is President Barack Obama’s administration that is investigating her.”

CBS reported on August 19:

“Hillary Clinton continues to be dogged by questions about her use of a private e-mail account while she was secretary of state. CBS News identified two e-mails on her server Wednesday which the intelligence community says contained classified information. The messages were uncovered during an investigation of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others…

“The emails are among the some 30,000 Clinton turned over to the State Department from her private server. On Monday, the State Department said it had flagged 305 emails, out of the 20 percent it has reviewed, as potentially containing classified information. Clinton has insisted there was no classified information on her server…

“As for the server, Clinton’s attorney confirmed it was wiped clean of all data before she turned it over to the FBI. But the FBI is hopeful that some material may be recovered — or a backup server located.”

“Ukraine Threatens to Tip Europe into Full-Blown Military Conflict”

The Local wrote on August 17:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned on Sunday that conditions in Ukraine once again threatened to tip Europe into a full-blown military conflict. ‘The situation in eastern Ukraine is explosive,’ Steinmeier told Bild Am Sonntag.There’s a lot at stake: if both parties to the conflict don’t pay heed to the peace processs, we could enter a new spiral of military escalation at any time.’

‘Steinmeier has been engaged in a whirlwind round of visits and phone calls over the past week with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in an attempt to bring the two sides together for talks. Sunday saw the ‘most intensive shooting for months’ in Ukraine, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army told journalists in Kiev…

“The OSCE said on Sunday that the separatists had refused its observers access to their heavy weapons, which according to the Minsk Accords signed in February are supposed to have been withdrawn from the front lines. Germany played a key role in brokering a ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine and the Kiev government in February, nearly a year after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.”

The Battle for Greece’s Membership in the Eurozone

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 14:

“Following six hours of talks in Brussels on Friday, eurozone finance ministers agreed Friday to lend Greece a further 86 billion euros ($96 billion), to be released in stages. Greek lawmakers had accepted a reform package – containing many of the austerity elements voters had rejected in a July referendum – following a lengthy debate in parliament. The agreement is awaiting approval by several parliaments of eurozone countries, among them Germany. If those parliaments agree, which it is expected they will, 13 billion euros should be in Athens next Thursday and a further 10 billion will be set aside at the European Stability Mechanism.”

The Telegraph stated on August 14:

“Greece last night stepped back from the ‘abyss’ as European finance ministers approved a third, three-year bailout to keep the country afloat and avoid a chaotic exit from the Euro… Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said that the past six months had been difficult and testing. ‘Together, we have looked into the abyss. But today, I am glad to say that all sides have respected their commitments. Greece is living up to its ambitious reform commitments’ Mr Juncker said in a statement.  ‘The message of today’s meeting is loud and clear: on this basis, Greece is and will irreversibly remain a member of the euro area,’ he said.

“The first payment to Greece could be €13bn, officials said.  That means Greece will have funds available to cover a debt payment to the European Central Bank due on August 20. And it means that an emergency bailout fund, supported by Britain’s taxpayers, will not be used. A further €10bn cash injection for the country’s beleaguered lenders is expected to follow shortly after…

“However, in a blow to Athens, ministers said the issue of writing-off some of Greece’s debt would not be discussed until October.  The IMF has stated that it will not participate in another bail-out programme unless it receives an ‘explicit and concrete agreement’ on debt relief.

“However, Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, and other countries are seeking a ‘binding’ commitment from the Fund to join the rescue programme in October, as he refused to rule out a second bridging loan for Greece to allow more time for talks…”

Sizeable Rebellion in Merkel’s Party Regarding Greece

The Local wrote on August 19:

“German MPs voted through a third European bailout package for Greece on Wednesday, although a large number of abstentions and ‘no’ votes pointed to a sizable rebellion among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ranks. With 454 voting in favour of the bailout package, 113 against and 18 abstentions, 63 MPs from Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) voted against the plan, while three abstained and 17 were absent altogether – leaving the party with just 228 votes from its 311 MPs.

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had earlier opened debate on the bailout with a final call for his party colleagues’ support. The new deal was ‘in the interest of Greece and the interest of Europe,’ Schäuble told the Bundestag (German parliament). ‘Of course after the experiences of the past months and years, there is no guarantee that everything will work. And doubts are always permitted…’

“Approval of the latest €86-billion emergency rescue plan for Athens was seen as assured given the 504 seats Merkel’s left-right ‘grand coalition’ holds in the 631-seat Bundestag lower house. With the Netherlands, Germany [was] one of the last eurozone countries to vote, after positive results from other countries, including Spain, Austria, and Estonia earlier this week…”

More Money for Greece

Deutsche Welle added on August 19:

“The finance ministers from the 19 eurozone countries gave the green light on Wednesday for the latest round of bailout funds to Greece, according [to] the EU commissioner for the common euro currency, Valdis Dombrovskis. The decision from the Eurogroup clears the final hurdle for Athens to receive its 85 billion euro ($95 billion) in rescue funds. The finance ministers approved the first tranche of 13 billions euros just in time for Greece to meet Thursday’s deadline for repaying about 3.4 billion euros to the European Central Bank.

“The Eurogroup’s move came right after the Dutch parliament supported the third bailout package to Greece, voting down a motion against it by a margin of 81-52. Prime Minister Mark Rutte also survived a no confidence vote called by far-right politician Geert Wilders…”

One will have to wait and see whether Greece will be able to remain a member of the Eurozone. It does not appear likely, however, that it will become one of the prophesied ten “kings,” “horns” or “toes” (member states of the coming Federation of the United Stated of Europe), which will emerge from the Eurozone and hand over their authority to a charismatic political leader, called the “beast” in the book of Revelation and the “king of the North” in the book of Daniel. The conservative German mass tabloid, Bild, is quite upset with the German government and especially with Angela Merkel, claiming that they broke their promises regarding Greece in at least four separate areas.

“Greece Gets its ‘Groundhog Day’ in Bundestag”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 20:

Remember the film ‘Groundhog Day’? In this 1990s cult classic, an arrogant weatherman finds himself reliving the same day over and over again, with seemingly no way out of the time warp. What does this have to do with Greece’s credit? A lot.

“The latest loan approved by the Bundestag will not magically lift Greece out of its debt quagmire. It will only reinforce the status quo… it does not solve the underlying problem. Of the 86 billion euros ($95 billion) Greece will receive, 54 billion euros will go to repaying existing debt to the lenders. This creates new debt in order to pay old debt. And this new debt must also be paid at some point. But with what funds?

“Greece’ banks will get a further 25 billion euros to save them from bankruptcy. Again. A bit of the cash will flow into the state budget, but in reality this has already been spent. Greece has enough bills to pay, and, as soon as the money arrives, it will be gone. What then?… If things continue as they have, the answer is obvious: A fourth credit package will follow and then a fifth, and so on.

“And that brings us back to ‘Groundhog Day.’ The arrogant weatherman finds a way out of the time warp by making changes. And that’s what Greece’s creditors have to do. First, they have to realize that they are never going to see their money again as long as they keep replacing old debts with new ones…

“… legislators [who are against a credit package for Greece] are in the Bundestag minority… Maybe they’ll be able to get more people on their side when voting on the fourth bailout or the fifth or the sixth. See you soon in the time warp known as ‘aid for Greece.’”

On August 20, Germany’s mass tabloid Bild Online blasted Angela Merkel, stating that she behaved cowardly throughout the parliamentary debate and that she immediately took off afterwards to fly to Brazil. Bild, a conservative paper, is furious with the German government, and Bild is a very interesting mirror of the overwhelming view point of the German population. One wonders what would happen if a charismatic person such as Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump would arise in Germany.

Greece’s Prime Minister Resigns

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned on Thursday, hoping to strengthen his hold on power in snap elections after seven months in office in which he fought Greece’s creditors for a better bailout deal but had to cave in.

“Tsipras submitted his resignation to President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and asked for the earliest possible election date.

“Government officials said the aim was to hold the election on Sept. 20, with Tsipras seeking to crush a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party and seal public support for the bailout program, Greece’s third since 2010, that he negotiated…

“Faced with a near collapse of the Greek financial system which threatened the country’s future in the euro, Tsipras was forced to accept the creditors’ demands for yet more austerity and economic reform – the very policies he had promised to scrap when he was elected in January…

“His decision deepens political uncertainty on the day Greece began receiving funds under its 86 billion-euro ($96 billion) bailout program, five years after a previous government took the first bailout from the euro zone and IMF.

“But a snap election should allow Tsipras to capitalize on his popularity with voters before the toughest parts of the latest program – including further pension cuts, more value-added tax increases and a ‘solidarity’ tax on incomes – begin to bite. This may allow him to return to power in a stronger position without anti-bailout rebels in Syriza to slow him down…

“Tsipras had long been expected to seek early elections in the autumn. But he was forced to move quickly after nearly a third of Syriza lawmakers refused to back the program in parliament last week, robbing him of his majority…

“Tsipras nevertheless remains popular among his supporters for trying to stand up to the foreign creditors and with the opposition in disarray, he is widely expected to return to power.

“A Metron Analysis poll on July 24 put support for Syriza at 33.6 percent, making it by far the most popular party, but not enough to govern without a coalition partner…”

UK Powerless in Europe

Express wrote on August 20:

“British government votes failed to block a single European Union measure during David Cameron’s first five years in office, new research showed yesterday. It also suggests that although Britain seems to pick its fights by formally objecting in only a relatively few cases, its No has now not stopped a measure put to a vote from going through for at least 19 years.

“The stark statistics were seized on by eurosceptics as evidence of how powerless the UK is in Europe despite the claims by those who argue British influence in Brussels makes it worth our while to stay at the table… In decisive votes where regulations and decisions were being finally adopted between 2010 and this year, the UK voted No 23 times and abstained 18 times, the new research shows. In each case the measure went through anyway, often with potential to cost British taxpayers billions.

“Taking into account votes held at earlier stages of the legislative process, the UK voted or abstained in vain around 70 times in total – although this was still only a small proportion of more than 600 votes taken over the period. In other cases the UK could not vote because it was not part of the policy, for example by not being in the eurozone…

“Anti-Brussels Conservative MP Philip Davies, whose office based its analysis on data from VoteWatch Europe, said: ‘We are always told we need to be in the EU because of the influence it gives us. But these figures show clearly how little influence we have within the EU. Time and time again we have things imposed upon us against our will and there is nothing at all we can do about it. The case for leaving the EU gets stronger every day.’

“Daniel Hannan, a eurosceptic Tory Member of the European Parliament, said: ‘The actual situation is even worse than the headline figures suggest. British officials in Brussels tend to back down gracefully when they think they’re going to lose and find a face-saving way of doing so, such as claiming to have made some amendment that makes the measure acceptable. So the fact we have been actually outvoted as often as we have is just the tip of the iceberg. So much for the idea that we are gaining influence in the EU.’…”

Britons Have Little Trust in Their Government

Express wrote on August 20:

“A majority of Britons don’t believe a vote to leave the EU in the upcoming referendum will lead to the UK cutting ties with Brussels…

David Cameron has promised the public a say on whether Britain should remain part of the 28-member bloc by the end of 2017 at the latest. But most remain sceptical that a vote for ‘Brexit’ would lead to the UK unshackling from Brussels.

“Four out of ten believe opting to leave the EU would simply result in the Government holding a second referendum, while 10 per cent said the UK would remain a member of the EU even with a decisive vote to leave. Just one in four believe a ‘No’ vote would result in Britain leaving the EU.

“And voters are also sceptical that the Prime Minister would support an exit if he doesn’t secure reforms. Just 22 per cent of British people believe Mr Cameron is trying to get major changes to Britain’s relationship with the EU. While a similar number say the PM is looking to achieve only ‘minor tweaks’ to the existing treaties.

“UKIP Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall described the figures as ‘depressing’ and added that they ‘reveal the contempt people feel they are held in by David Cameron and the political elite’. He said: ‘People do not believe that their wishes will be respected. They don’t believe that Cameron is serious in his negotiation strategy, and they certainly do not want a second referendum.’…

“Today’s survey by YouGov found support for Britain to remain a member of the EU stands at 44 per cent, ahead of backing for withdrawal from the union at 37 per cent. But a majority of those aged over 40 would like to see Britain cut ties with the union. It comes as research found thousands of people are in the process of applying for dual nationality amid fears of a breakup of the EU.

“In June, a leaked memo revealed the PM had set himself the ‘firm aim’ of ensuring Britain remained in the European Union. Mr Cameron was accused of embarking on a referendum campaign that focused on the perceived dangers of a British exit. The confidential document said: ‘He believes that people will ultimately vote for the status quo if the alternatives can be made to appear risky’…”

ISIS—a Demonic Movement

The New York Times wrote on August 13:

“In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted. He bound her hands and gagged her. Then he knelt beside the bed and prostrated himself in prayer before getting on top of her. When it was over, he knelt to pray again, bookending the rape with acts of religious devotion… ‘He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God,’ she said in an interview alongside her family in a refugee camp here, to which she escaped after 11 months of captivity.

“The systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution. Interviews with 21 women and girls who recently escaped the Islamic State, as well as an examination of the group’s official communications, illuminate how the practice has been enshrined in the group’s core tenets.

“A total of 5,270 Yazidis were abducted last year, and at least 3,144 are still being held, according to community leaders. To handle them, the Islamic State has developed a detailed bureaucracy of sex slavery, including sales contracts notarized by the ISIS-run Islamic courts. And the practice has become an established recruiting tool to lure men from deeply conservative Muslim societies, where casual sex is taboo and dating is forbidden… Repeatedly, the ISIS leadership has emphasized a narrow and selective reading of the Quran and other religious rulings to not only justify violence, but also to elevate and celebrate each sexual assault as spiritually beneficial, even virtuous… the Islamic State cites specific verses or stories in the Quran or else in the Sunna, the traditions based on the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad, to justify their human trafficking, experts say. Scholars of Islamic theology disagree, however, on the proper interpretation of these verses, and on the divisive question of whether Islam actually sanctions slavery…

“Cole Bunzel, a scholar of Islamic theology at Princeton University [points] to the numerous references to the phrase ‘Those your right hand possesses’ in the Quran, which for centuries has been interpreted to mean female slaves. He also points to the corpus of Islamic jurisprudence, which continues into the modern era and which he says includes detailed rules for the treatment of slaves. ‘There is a great deal of scripture that sanctions slavery,’ said Mr. Bunzel, the author of a research paper published by the Brookings Institution on the ideology of the Islamic State. ‘You can argue that it is no longer relevant and has fallen into abeyance. ISIS would argue that these institutions need to be revived, because that is what the Prophet and his companions did.’…

“The use of sex slavery by the Islamic State initially surprised even the group’s most ardent supporters, many of whom sparred with journalists online after the first reports of systematic rape… In a pamphlet published online in December, the Research and Fatwa Department of the Islamic State detailed best practices, including explaining that slaves belong to the estate of the fighter who bought them and therefore can be willed to another man and disposed of just like any other property after his death. Recent escapees describe an intricate bureaucracy surrounding their captivity, with their status as a slave registered in a contract. When their owner would sell them to another buyer, a new contract would be drafted, like transferring a property deed. At the same time, slaves can also be set free, and fighters are promised a heavenly reward for doing so…

“The Islamic State recently made it clear that sex with Christian and Jewish women captured in battle is also permissible, according to a new 34-page manual issued this summer by the terror group’s Research and Fatwa Department. Just about the only prohibition is having sex with a pregnant slave… Beyond that, there appears to be no bounds to what is sexually permissible. Child rape is explicitly condoned…”

 ISIS has become one the most demonically influenced movements known to mankind in recent years. But make no mistake. God is not mocked, and ISIS fighters and supporters will pay a severe price for their abominable crimes and for following their Satanic practices. Also, the article above claimed that only Yazidis were raped and kept as sex slaves [We omitted those statements in our quotes from the article above, since they are patently false,  as the next article proves.]

Breitbart reported on August 14:

“ABC News is reporting that Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi repeatedly raped American hostage Kayla Mueller while she was under ISIS control. The terrorist group murdered the young woman earlier this year… From ABC News: ‘Al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi who calls himself “Caliph” as ruler of the Islamic State, personally brought the enslaved 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, Arizona, to be imprisoned inside the home of Abu Sayyaf, a Tunisian in charge of oil and gas revenue for the group, counter-terrorism officials have told ABC News over the past several months…’

“In February, The Daily Beast reported that President Obama waited almost a month after British intelligence told him the location of American hostages to launch a rescue mission. Obama received the reports in June 2014, but by the time he acted on July 4, ISIS already moved the hostages, which included Mueller, James Foley, and Steven Sotloff, to another location. ISIS executed Foley and Sotloff in August and September.”

The following article about the horrible ISIS murderers is perhaps the most shocking of all, so please BE WARNED.

 Express reported on August 20:

“Savage Islamic State terrorists are reportedly selling off the organs of their sex slaves to fund the regime. A new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute – which monitors ISIS online – claims militants are openly discussing slavery on social media. It says that the terrorists are discussing prices for the women – some of whom are yet to reach their teenage years. The shocking messages also apparently reveal a horrific trade in the ‘possible trafficking in human organs’.

“Earlier this year dozens of bodies were discovered with surgical incisions as well as missing kidneys and other vital organs, according to the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Alhakim. The corpses were found piled up in shallow, mass graves in February.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses Accused of Massive Sexual Child Abuse Cover-Up in Australia

The Washington Post reported on August 14:

“The abuse was meticulously catalogued. From 1950 to 2014, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society amassed 5,000 files detailing sexual abuse of Australian children by 1,006 of its members, who believe that only they — the Jehovah’s Witnesses — proclaim the truth about God.  Young girls were assaulted by neighbors. Teenagers were raped by their fathers. Victims were forced to pray with their abusers…

“In all, 127 church officials were demoted. No one was reported to the authorities. Child abuse was recorded and hidden away. Now, sordid details from the closed world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are being exposed that could severely tarnish the image of a powerful organization that has 8.2 million members and has mostly avoided scrutiny.

“Two years ago, the Australian government established a royal commission — similar to a presidential commission in the United States — to investigate institutionalized child sexual abuse… The inquiry’s primary target was the Catholic Church, whose record of protecting pedophiles was almost as rampant in Australia as in the United States. To avoid singling out one religion, government officials gave the inquiry wide legal powers to examine any organization that may have covered up abuse…

“Of the religious and ­nonreligious groups being investigated, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are exceptional, experts say. In a converted office in downtown Sydney, the organization’s doctrines and practices are being parsed by lawyers, victims and journalists, providing rare insight into one of the Christian world’s most conservative churches.

“The church, which was founded in Pennsylvania during the 1870s to promote a 1st-century interpretation of the Bible, has emerged as the least able or willing to deal with sexual abuse within its ranks, said Anne Cossins, an associate law professor at the University of New South Wales and an expert in sex crimes who is a consultant for the inquiry…

“Unlike the pedophile priests of the Catholic Church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have no paid clergy. Abusers are mostly regular congregants, who are shielded from official prosecution by the church’s strict code of moral conduct…

“In 1988, a 17-year-old girl in the state of Queensland was abused by her father, a prominent member of the local Jehovah’s Witness congregation, while her mother and six brothers and sisters were on vacation, according to testimony given to the commission. He gave her alcohol and showed her pornographic movies… While she was being raped, her father quoted passages from the Bible and referred to verses of Scripture about being more obedient… After the rest of the family returned from vacation, the father prohibited her from speaking to anybody he thought she might confide in. ‘If I broke his rules, he flogged me,’ she said. When the teenager revealed the assaults to her mother, she learned that several of her sisters had gone through similar ordeals, including one who was 5 years old.

“The church has strict rules governing moral behavior. If a Jehovah’s Witness becomes aware that another member has committed a serious sin — such as ‘fornication, adultery, homosexuality, blasphemy, apostasy, adultery and similar gross sins,’ according to the commission — they are advised to tell senior men in their congregation known as elders. The process for handling these complaints is based on notions of justice and procedural fairness devised 2,000 years ago and recorded in the Bible.

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses set a high bar for the discipline of their own. Church elders need to secure a confession or the testimony of two credible witnesses to the same incident, two witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind, or strong circumstantial evidence testified to by at least two witnesses. The accuser also has to justify his or her allegations to church elders, often in the presence of the alleged perpetrator.

“Church officials acknowledge the process can be difficult for victims but say they have no choice but to follow the Bible… Those found guilty are often banned from the church for a number of years, or they are demoted in the church hierarchy.

“When the 17-year-old complained to church elders of being raped, two of her father’s friends carried out the investigation… She later filed a police report, left the church and tried to commit suicide. Her father was expelled from the church, convicted of rape and sentenced to three years in jail.

“Four years after the abuse, he was allowed to become a Jehovah’s Witness again. ‘I remember that when it was announced to the congregation, all of the brothers crowded around my father, shaking his hand and patting him on the back,’ his daughter told the inquiry, referring to male members of the church. ‘Despite many people in the congregation knowing what he had done to me and my sisters, I heard members of the congregation say, “‘Welcome back.’”’”

When a religious group mixes truth and error, by using some biblical injunctions together with human-devised wrong ideas, such horrible consequences as described in the article above are predictable and not unusual.

Cheating on Your Mate

Newsmax reported on August 19:

“Some 15,000 employees of the U.S. federal government were reportedly among the 32 million cheating spouses exposed in a hack of [an] online adultery site…  Names, ages, addresses, phone numbers, credit card details and detailed sexual fantasies have been leaked in the hack of a controversial seduction site — and the data included email addresses for U.S. government officials, United Kingdom civil servants and high-level executives at European and North America corporations…

“The Daily Mail reports that  15,000 users have been found to be registered under .gov and .mil email addresses – the official domain names of the American military and government. The website has long boasted that 59,000 Washington residents are members of the infidelity site, and that the district had the highest number of registrations across America for the last three years, the Daily Mail reports.”

Shocking: Most Catholics for Same-Sex Marriage

The Local wrote on August 20:

“A study carried out by a Münster University research group questioned around 12,400 Catholics in 42 different countries…

“Over two-thirds – 70 percent – of Catholics surveyed in Germany wanted same-sex marriages to be recognized and blessed by the church… This puts Germany in stark contrast with Poland, southern Europe and Brazil, where the majority of those surveyed were against homosexual marriage…

“Eighty-five per cent of those surveyed thought priests should choose whether or not to remain celibate. This figure was similar in most other countries, excluding Poland and southern Europe. Even among those Catholics who were fundamentally in favour of celibacy, a quarter thought priests should have the choice whether or not to follow this lifestyle.

“The vast majority of Catholics in Germany were also in favour of female deacons, with 87 per cent stating that women should be allowed to take on this role. In the Catholic Church, deacons assist bishops, and have numerous roles including teaching and distribution of food. But the role is still not equivalent to that of a priest…

“Only around 10 percent of the 7,900 Catholics surveyed in Germany thought divorcees who remarried should be excluded from communion – a subject currently under debate in the Vatican. Catholic teaching states that divorcees who remarry without having had their first marriage annulled are living in sin, making them ineligible for communion.

“However, Pope Francis has begun a high-level debate about whether this can be altered – and in December last year, the head of the German Bishops’ Conference announced that German bishops were in favour of allowing remarried divorcees to receive communion under certain conditions…

“Almost 80 per cent of those interviewed in Germany said they attend church more than once a month…”

Robots Appear Human-Like

The website of wired.co.uk published the following article on August 14:

“Japanese robotics professor Masahiro Mori devised the concept of the ‘uncanny valley’ in 1970. It’s the point at which a robot is made to appear so human-like — if not quite human enough — that it inspires feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in we mere mortals… But as androids are being developed to be more and more lifelike, copying human gestures, body language and even speech, our simultaneous fascination/horror at the world of uncannily human-like robotics shows no signs of slowing down…

“Created by Uncanny Valley robotics expert Hiroshi Ishiguro, Erica android is one of the most unnervingly human yet created. Not only can she speak and move, but she can also mimic human body language with disconcertingly accurate facility. Smiling, blinking, grimacing, turning her head as she speaks — you could easily be forgiven for mistaking her for a sentient mortal… But, of course, the very fact that Erica falls short of being entirely convincing is what makes her all the more strange… But it might not be too long before Erica and her mechanical brethren make an appearance a little closer to home…

“Designed and built by Hanson Robotics, Inc., Jules is a conversational character robot with a gleamingly bald head and the stilted voice of an English gentleman. A sophisticated AI creation, he’s made from a pliable, lightweight material called Frubber, which enables him to expressively move his face just like a real human. Jules can also boast of having a ‘statistically perfect face’ — which not many of us mere mortals can lay claim to. He’s also capable of having a ‘natural, interactive’ conversation if you’re so inclined. And Jules isn’t alone. Creator David Hanson has modelled an entire family of humanoids, including Alice, Han and — in honour of the great physicist himself – the Albert Einstein Hubo…

“Kurokawa was created by robotics firm Kokoro and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) as a ‘brother’ for their original — if not quite as ‘humanly’ named — Actroid-F. These super-realistic humanoid siblings are able to have a conversation with each other, and use their range of 12 facial expressions to indicate their reactions to the world around them. They can also imitate the movements of the people they’re watching. After being successfully trialled in hospitals to see how patients felt in their presence… AIST plans to employ the robots in other socially useful ways, including talking to elderly people to help prevent mental decline, and interacting with children who have developmental problems…

“Perhaps it was inevitable that the ultimate in unsettling humanoids would be an AI recreation of maverick sci-fi visionary Philip K. Dick. A dead ringer for the late, great novelist himself… you can watch him muse on everything from Cartesian philosophy to how he picks up new words…”

The question is: Where does it lead, and where does it end? One can be assured that the militaries of this world are eager to get their hands on these androids (if they have not already done so), to advance their further developments into fighting “machines.”

“Possible Home of Mary Magdalene Unearthed in Israel”

Newsmax wrote on August 18:

“Father Juan Solana purchased land in northern Israel to build a Christian retreat center six years ago. By law, he was required to perform test excavations, and soon discovered a first-century synagogue underneath the dirt… According to scripture, Jesus was said to have preached in the synagogues of the Galilee region. The recently unearthed synagogue is the only one in the area that would have existed during Jesus’ lifetime, so it’s very likely that he preached there.  ‘She lived here and she met Jesus here and she continued with Him. Yes, it’s that place,’ [said] senior Israeli archaeologist Arfan Najar, who oversees the excavation at Magdala. ‘This is the closest synagogue to Capernaum where He lived. So it was likely He was here many times,’ added Solana.

“So far, archeologists have uncovered mosaic flooring, frescos, pottery, and coins. Their biggest find, however, is the Magdala Stone… In speaking about the carved platform, Solana explained, ‘This is the first time ever a menorah carved in stone has been found out of Jerusalem.’ Additionally, archeologists have uncovered the town’s purification baths and a bowl that was likely for the washing of hands before citizens entered the synagogue. The bowl is over 2,000 years old, and Jesus himself may have washed his hands there.”

This Week in the News

Donald Trump—the Winner

Breitbart wrote on August 7:

“Whatever you might think about how well Donald Trump did in Thursday night’s Republican Primary debate, there is no question the billionaire businessman is winning the most important part of the process: the post-debate spin. The Narrative on almost all the morning shows centered primarily around how Fox News was gunning to take out Trump. If anything, debate co-moderator Megyn Kelly is taking on the most damaging post-debate water.

“The very first debate question, asked by Bret Baier, was obviously aimed directly at Trump. For weeks, Trump has refused to dismiss the idea of running as a third party candidate should he lose the GOP nomination. When Baier asked the field of ten to raise their hand if they would not agree here and now to support whoever won the nomination, regardless of what you might think of the question, the whole world knew a target was being placed on Trump’s back…

“Kelly grilling Trump over tweets calling women ‘pigs’ and ‘slobs’ is being singled out Friday morning as a hatchet job. This spin is obviously going to work in Trump’s favor in a primary where voters are thoroughly and rightly disgusted with both the media and the Republican establishment…

“Kelly attacked Trump from the premise that he’s a sexist. The truth, though, is that Trump calls everyone names… Like him or not, Trump is playing political hardball by his own rules. And so far, it’s taken him this far.”

 According to polls by the Drudge Report and Breitbart, Trump turned out to be the WINNER of the debate. The New York Times admitted as well that Trump was the winner, as did Time Magazine and the Washington Post. A Morning Consult tracking online national poll, which was published on August 10, found Trump increasing his lead to 32 percent—21 percentage points ahead of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who garnered 11 percent.

According to Deutsche Welle, dated August 10, “Bombastic presidential candidate Donald Trump suffered no damage to his support among Republican party voters following a controversial performance at a recent debate, a new poll revealed Monday. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump with the support of 24 percent of Republican voters, maintaining a big lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump’s closest rival, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, trailed with 12 percent, down from 17 percent just before the debate. No other candidate garnered more than 8 percent in the poll…”

Bloomberg wrote on August 7 that “Fox News Couldn’t Kill Trump’s Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger.” The Washington Post published an opinion piece, stating that Trump avoided “the one mistake that could have seriously damaged his insurgent campaign: sounding like a professional politician. For that reason alone, he seemed… the clear winner.”

 An interesting report appeared in Germany’s mass tabloid, “Bild.” According to the on-line article, Fox-Chief Rupert Murdoch (84) tried to prevent his network, Fox News, and his papers (including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post) from reporting positively about Trump. But Murdoch’s Top-Journalist, Fox’s Chairman of the Board Roger Ailes (75), disagreed and saw to it that positive reports were continued to be published about Trump. The paper added that it became obvious that during the debate, the moderators followed Murdoch’s lead. However, the paper also wrote that during the debate, Trump looked like the winner, but that nobody so far has won a Republican pre-election, while being opposed by Fox News. Still, the paper concluded: “But with Trump, much develops differently anyhow.“

 But as we show below, Fox News does not seem to be opposed to Trump any longer. The war seemed to have ended, and Trump turned out to be the winner.

 The German magazine Focus commented that Trump survived the inquisition and stood his ground. Der Spiegel Online added that about 24 million viewers watched the debate (an unprecedented occurrence for political debates), which was largely due to Donald Trump. The magazine stated that Trump is one of the most likely Republican candidates for the run for the White House, but that the final word as to who will represent the GOP will be decided in several pre-elections within the party.

Piers Morgan Comes to Trump’s “Defense”

Newsmax wrote on August 7:

 “Tough-talking billionaire Donald Trump ‘created merry h… in the first GOP debate’ Thursday night, and though ‘he may not be everyone’s cup of tea’ he is nonetheless ‘single-handedly destroying the modern cult of political correctness’ with ‘his hugely entertaining, deeply provocative campaign,’ journalist and former CNN talk show host Piers Morgan writes in the Daily Mail. ‘It was classic Trump: he was at times hilariously funny, brash and super-confident, combative and aggressive, and played both the live audience and the far bigger TV audience like a rock star,’ according to Morgan, who won the 2008 season of Trump’s NBC show ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’

“Trump, Morgan continued, ‘just refused to play by the normal rules … as he has done since he declared his candidacy. And let’s be honest, whether you love him or hate him, isn’t it fantastically refreshing to see someone stomping around the political arena who DOESN’T behave like a robotic, media-trained, timid little mouse?’

“During Morgan’s month taping ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ he never witnessed Trump be ‘racist, sexist or homophobic despite boardroom sessions lasting up to four hours at a time with people of all colours, creeds, sexes and sexuality… He is not the dumb, ranting bigot many would like to portray him as. He’s a smart, cunning, alert showman who knows what it takes to win,’ all characteristics that Morgan says lead many to believe Trump would make an excellent president…

“Most Americans…  want someone who can stand up for them and their country in an increasingly difficult, hostile world. In Trump, many of them… see a man who would undeniably do that, hence his huge lead in the polls.’”

Trump’s Days Are Far From Over

Bild Online asked the question on Sunday: “Is Trump’s Campaign Dead?” Some Republican contenders claimed that Trump’s days were over. They could not be more wrong! After being confronted with an unexpected backlash from many viewers, Fox News back-paddled.

 According to Newsmax, dated August 10,Fox News chief Roger Ailes appears to have stepped in to smooth things over,” by calling Trump, inviting him to appear again on Fox News, to which Trump agreed, and allegedly promising him that “he would be treated fairly by Fox News.” CNN quoted Ailes’ as follows: “I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared.”

 Trump turned out to be the winner against Fox. This fact became obvious in Fox’s follow-up coverage, which was very “accommodating” to Trump. We should realize that the “Trump phenomenon” is of much greater importance than many suspect. It will not go away soon—if at all.

“When It Comes to Jewish Ties, Nobody Trumps Trump”

 JTA wrote on August 7:

“Among the expansive field of Republican presidential candidates on display in the party’s first [debate] Thursday night, Donald Trump may be the most closely connected to the Jewish people. Trump is from New York, works in professions saturated with Jews and long has been a vocal supporter of Israel. His daughter and two grandchildren are Jewish [and] the executive vice president of his organization is Jewish…

“Given his myriad Jewish associations, Trump is not an unfamiliar face in Jewish circles. He has served as a grand marshal at New York’s annual Salute to Israel Parade. After Hurricane Katrina, he was among a group of celebrities who decorated Jewish federation tzedakah boxes to be auctioned off to support hurricane disaster relief. And in February, he was honored with an award at the annual gala for the Algemeiner, a right-wing Jewish news organization…

“Before the 2013 Israeli election, Trump recorded a video message endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… By the same token, Trump has made clear he believes President Barack Obama is bad for Israel and has questioned how American Jews could support the president. ‘I have many Jewish friends that support Obama and I say, “Why?” and they can’t explain why. They support him, they give him money, they give him campaign contributions,’ Trump told radio host Michael Savage in February. ‘This is the worst enemy of Israel.’…

“Trump’s record suggests he’s far from a Republican ideologue… Overall, Trump doesn’t appear to have very many fixed policy positions. Unlike the other Republican candidates, he has no policy section on his campaign website.

“When Ivanka Trump introduced her father at the Algemeiner dinner six months ago, she said, ‘He has used his voice often and loudly in support of Israel, in support of developments within Israel, in support of security for Israel and in support of the idea of the Israeli democracy.’ One thing is certain of Donald Trump: As long as he stays in this campaign, he will continue to use his voice often and loudly.”

Clinton’s Approval Rate Declining

 According to Newsmax, dated August 10, a “recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that Clinton’s favorability rating dropped to 37 percent, from 44 percent, between June and July… the results of a Post-ABC poll found Clinton’s favorability ratings had fallen to their lowest since April 2008, when she first ran for president. The poll found that 52 percent of Americans said Clinton is not trustworthy, ‘a 22-point swing in the past year,’ according to the Post, which noted that Clinton support from both independents and Democrats had diminished.”

In addition, Clinton is now agreeable to turning over her private server to the FBI, while mcclatchydc.com reported on August 11:  “The inspector general for the Intelligence Community notified senior members of Congress that two of four classified emails discovered on the server Clinton maintained at her New York home contained material deemed to be in one of the highest security classifications – more sensitive than previously known.”

The Associated Press reported on August 12: “The inspector general for the intelligence community had told Congress that potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information are among the cache that Clinton provided to the State Department.”

The Times of Israel reported on August 10 that Hillary Clinton “spoke publicly for the first time since the Republican debate… She said [Trump’s appalling] remarks should not overshadow the rest of the Republican candidates’ policies dealing with women.”

She added that she was supporting unequivocally Planned Parenthood and advocated women’s right to choose. Marco Rubio ruled out abortion for any reason. According to Breitbart, dated August 11, Trump said in an interview with CNN that he would not fund the abortion aspects of Planned Parenthood, but would be open to the idea of funding non-abortion services of Planned Parenthood. He was also in favor of the rape, incest, and life of the mother exceptions for abortion.

Clinton’s Email Messages Speak of UK’s Exit from Europe

 The Daily Mail wrote on August 3:

“David Cameron was branded ‘unsure, inexperienced, oblique and largely uncommitted’ on foreign policy by a key aide to Hillary Clinton, it has emerged. A series of emails sent by Sidney Blumenthal, an adviser in Bill Clinton’s White House, painted a bleak assessment of Mr Cameron’s positioning on the world stage before he became Prime Minister. The remarks were revealed in a slew of emails from a private system used by Mrs Clinton when she was US secretary of state…

“An email sent in October 2009, barely six months before Mr Cameron became Prime Minister… suggests Mr Cameron might be unable to stop his party from taking Britain out of the European Union… Mr Blumenthal, who was an aide to Bill Clinton during his time in the White House, said Mr Cameron’s foreign policy was largely driven by his ‘need to keep his party behind him’ on issues such as Europe… ‘His future problem is that he does not want to be the leader who takes Britain out of Europe but he is putting himself in a position where he may not be able to prevent his party doing so.’

“Downing Street sought to play down the impact of the highly-critical messages being sent to someone who now wants to take the White House. A spokesman said: ‘The special relationship between the UK and the United States is as strong as ever and the president recently acknowledged the importance of the alliance to the US.’

“In another email, Mr Blumenthal warned that the UK-US alliance was being destroyed by ‘the Obama administration’s denigration of the UK’ and the president’s indecision over Afghanistan…”

High-Ranking Democrats Oppose Obama’s Deal with Iran

JTA wrote on August 6:

“Two of the most watched Jewish lawmakers in Congress announced they will vote to disapprove of the Iran deal. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., both said Thursday evening they had considered the issue carefully before their decision. ‘Advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view that cannot simply be dismissed,’ Schumer said in a statement obtained by the New York Times. ‘This has made evaluating the agreement a difficult and deliberate endeavor, and after deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval.’

“Schumer, a Jewish lawmaker from New York who is poised to become his party’s leader in the Senate in 2017, and Engel, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives, had come under intense pressure from the White House and critics of the deal both because of the intensity among some Jewish New Yorkers and because of their influence as unabashed supporters of Israel. ‘The answers I’ve received simply don’t convince me that this deal will keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands, and may in fact strengthen Iran’s position as a destabilizing and destructive influence across the Middle East,’ Engel was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“Congress has a window until the end of September to kill the deal, but opponents of the deal must garner two thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome President Barack Obama’s pledged veto. Most Republicans want to kill the deal, making the battleground for votes among Democrats. MoveOn, a liberal group that backs the deal, announced within minutes of Schumer’s declaration that it would launch a donor strike targeting the Democrats’ Senate reelection committee…”

Schumer wrote the following in an open letter, which was published by JTA:

 “I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power. Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be.”

 Other top Jewish Democrats in the US House of Representatives who refused to be intimidated, announced that they will also vote against the deal: Reps. Nita Lowey and Steve Israel, both of New York, and Ted Deutch of Florida announced their opposition on Tuesday afternoon (August 4). In addition, the second Ranking Democrat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), announced his opposition to the deal on Friday.

 Sherman was an opponent to the Iraq war. Other prominent Iraq war opponents who oppose the Iran deal include Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz.

 Newsmax added on August 10 that “Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has been named chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and advocacy group that opposes the nuclear deal recently negotiated with Iran by the Obama administration.”

A New Greece Deal?

 The EUObserver reported on August 11:

“The Greek government and its creditors reached a deal on a third bailout programme on Tuesday morning (11 August). ‘An agreement has been reached. Some minor details are being discussed right now’, a Greek official told the Reuters press agency…

“The news has not yet been confirmed by Greece’s creditors – the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)… The Greek parliament is expected to be recalled from its summer recess to vote on the prior actions on Thursday… The exact amount of the bailout was not known Tuesday morning, but discussion[s] were on a programme of up to €86 billion…

“Several obstacles remain before Greece can effectively receive the bailout, however. First, the deal will have to be endorsed by eurozone finance ministers, either at a meeting or by conference call probably on Friday. Then it will have to be ratified by several eurozone parliaments, including the German Bundestag. Doubts remain about Germany’s willingness to sign a bailout agreement before all issues are settled…

“It was not clear on Tuesday morning if the IMF would participate in the bailout. It earlier said several times it would not do so if there was no restructuring of the debt, which it considers unsustainable. But Germany… wants the IMF to participate.”

The Telegraph added on August 11:

“Greece has agreed [to] the broad terms of a new three-year bail-out deal with its international lenders, though experts warned that severe austerity demands mean the country’s fiscal targets remained ‘utterly unachievable’.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 12:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert… added that Germany needed more time to thoroughly review the 400-page text outlining fiscal and policy measures… ‘So one can say that the agreement goes in the right direction. But at this hour it is not yet possible to say whether we are at the point where we can start the national process, in other words call for a vote in the Bundestag,’ Seibert concluded.”

Germany’s mass tabloid Bild Online wrote on August 12 that pursuant to information received by Bild, the German government will reject the Greece deal, which is scheduled to be discussed by the EU Finance Ministers on Friday. But Bild has been wrong before. Officially, it was reported that Germany needs more time to evaluate. One will have to wait and see.

Germany Gained 100 Billion Euros from Greece Crisis

 The Local wrote on August 10:

“Germany, which has taken a tough line on Greece, has profited from the country’s crisis to the tune of €100 billion ($109 billion), according to a new study on Monday. The sum represents money Germany saved through lower interest payments on funds the government borrowed amid investor ‘flights to safety’, the study said. ‘These savings exceed the costs of the crisis — even if Greece were to default on its entire debt,’ said the private, non-profit Leibniz Institute of Economic Research in its paper…

 “Germany, the eurozone’s effective paymaster, has demanded fiscal discipline and tough economic reforms in Greece in return for consenting to new aid from international creditors. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has opposed a Greek debt write-down while pointing to his own government’s balanced budget. The institute, however, argued that the balanced budget was possible in large part only because of Germany’s interest savings amid the Greek debt crisis… The bonds of other countries — including the United States, France and the Netherlands — had also benefited, but ‘to a much smaller extent’.”

Violence In and Surrounding Turkey

Deutsche Welle reported on August 11:

“Turkish air force has conducted airstrikes against Kurdish militants in the border regions of the country… The military jets targeted Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a series of overnight raids, the army announced on Tuesday… Also on Tuesday, a Turkish soldier was killed in the country’s restive southeast, in the attack army blamed on PKK militants.

“The latest bout of violence follows a police station bombing in Istanbul on Monday, which the government also claimed to be the work of Kurdish militants. Later, a group of gunmen fired on police inspecting the scene of the explosion. In addition, Kurdish forces targeted the security forces in southeastern Sirnak with a roadside bomb, and a Marxist group reportedly fired at the American consulate in Istanbul…”

Religious Zionism Growing in Israel?

 The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 7:

“Yuval Diskin, the former director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), warned on Friday that ‘religious Zionism is on its way to taking control of the State of Israel.’

“In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, the onetime Shin Bet chief wrote: ‘The “two-state solution” is emerging before our eyes amongst us Jews – there is the State of Judea, which is de facto being established alongside the State of Israel… These are two states in which the differences between them is only growing, and this chasm is becoming irreversible,’ Diskin wrote.

“The former Shin Bet head posted the notice in response to the deadly arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma last week that is alleged to have been committed by Jewish extremists in the West Bank. ‘Religious Zionism does not constitute the majority in the State of Israel, but as a very significant elite it has succeeded in making a vital contribution to the establishment, de facto of course, of the State of Judea, and it is now on its way to consolidating (in a democratic manner) its hold on the State of Israel,’ Diskin wrote. ‘This is, without a doubt, a victory for the ideology of religious Zionism, but it’s a pyrrhic victory,’ he wrote. ‘It’s a tragic victory’…”

Waiting for the Red Heifer

 The Times of Israel wrote on August 9:

 “… for the past few years, a number of rabbis have rolled up their tzitzit and stepped into rubber boots in a quest to create the ideal farm for a small herd of holy red heifers, called in Hebrew parah adumah. Red heifers were slaughtered as sacrifices in the Temple and the ashes were used in purification rituals, especially for people who had become impure through contact with dead bodies…

“What has made a modern-day red heifer an impossibility thus far lies in this description in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 19: ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.’

“Cows that are raised on commercial dairy farms are subjected to all sorts of blemish-causing conditions, including ears pierced with a numbered tag, cuts or bruises from roughhousing with other cows or contact with broken fences, and ulcers from ingesting metal accidentally mixed into cheap cattle feed. Even a vaccination could count as a blemish. Additionally, cows on commercial farms are used for work, which… is forbidden according to the red heifer criteria…

“The Temple [Institute] is in the process of importing frozen embryos from Red Angus cows in the United States – deemed most likely to create progeny that are completely red – in order to create the first herd of red heifers for ritual use in Israel. It is called a ‘red heifer’ because the cow must be female, but it can never have given birth…

“The Temple Institute recently launched [a] fundraising campaign to raise more than $125,000 in donations. Each frozen embryo costs approximately NIS 3,000 ($800). Thus far, implanting embryos in cows in Israel has had about a 30 percent success rate. The Agriculture Ministry does not allow the importation of live cattle due to the threat of cattle-borne diseases such as hoof and mouth or mad cow disease, so any farmer who wants to raise a breed of cow not available in Israel must use frozen embryos…

“[Rabbi Chaim Richman, the international director and co-founder of the Temple Institute] said that the organization’s focus on building ritual objects ready for use in the Third Temple does not have a messianic agenda and does not aim to hasten an eschatological end of days. Richman points out that one-third of the 613 commandments of Judaism are related to the Temple…

“More than one million people have visited the Temple Institute’s exhibition of the 70 ritual objects it has built according to specifications in the Torah… The Temple Institute’s most well-known object is a candelabra, or menorah, that stands in a plaza of the Old City near the Western Wall…

“But the Temple Institute is not alone in planning for a red heifer. There are reports of red heifers all the time…The Temple Institute has already had a small success, with the birth of a few completely red cows from the frozen embryos. There was only one problem: they weren’t red heifers. They were red bulls.”

Some associate the arrival of a red heifer with the appearance of the Messiah. But biblically, there is no connection. Please read our Q&A on the issue of the “red heifer.”

British and German Governments Call for Crackdown on Migrants

The EUObserver wrote on August 10:

“The British and German governments have called for a new crackdown on economic migrants…

“Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, told the BBC… that ‘large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around’ the Channel Tunnel entrance in France pose ‘a threat to … security’. He said the EU must ‘resolve the problem’ by deporting more people… But he said EU asylum laws make people ‘pretty confident’ that if they enter EU territory, they will get the right to stay…’

“In Germany, Volker Kauder, a senior figure in the ruling centre-right CDU party, targeted Western Balkan asylum seekers.  He told the Die Welt newspaper, also on Sunday, that ‘whoever comes from Kosovo, should be sent back home within a month’. Manfred Weber, the German leader of the centre-right EPP group in the European Parliament, told press the EU should reimpose visa regimes on Kosovo and Serbia. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, also said the list of ‘safe countries of origin’ in the Western Balkans, which excludes Kosovo and Montenegro, should be extended, making it more difficult for people to claim protection…

“The anti-migrant rhetoric is not new in the UK, where the PM, David Cameron, in July, spoke of a ‘swarm of people’ coming across the Mediterranean. It also isn’t new in Germany, Greece, and Italy, or at the EU level, where migrants have been likened to ‘slaves’ and labelled as potential ‘terrorists’.”

“Hardliner de Maizière Visits Migrant Processing Center

Deutsche Welle reported on August 11:

“Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière was in the Bavarian town of Deggendorf on Tuesday to visit a processing center for migrants seeking to enter Germany through the Balkans. De Maizière, who has been outspoken about reducing the number of asylum applications from Kosovo, Serbia, and Albania, visited the rural town near the Austrian border to acquaint himself with the procedures of the center.

“Made up of 50 containers turned into offices, the office photographs, registers, and performs medical examinations on some of the hundreds of migrants detained each day on Bavarian trains and highways. Germany faces an unprecedented influx of migrants from war-torn areas in the Middle East and Africa, and has sought to reduce migrants from eastern Europe by declaring some nations there ‘safe’ countries of origin and turning their citizens back. Germany expects to process around 450,000 asylum applications during the course of 2015.

“Later on Tuesday de Maizière was set to meet with the German Police Union, which has called for the reintroduction of international borders within Europe, and more staff to deal with the rising number of refugees. ‘From a policing point of view, a return to border controls would be the best of all measures,’ Rainer Wendt, union chairman, told a local newspaper.

“Europe abolished passport checks inside what is called the Schengen Zone – 26 EU member countries alongside Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Although migrants are legally bound to remain in the first EU country they set foot in, the lack of borders within the Schegen area prompts them to try their luck on international trains or roads to reach destinations thought to be most favorable.

“As a result, police have stepped up passport checks in border areas and on European flights. The union had said it planned to show de Maizière the ‘catastrophic conditions’ for overworked police due to the demands of increased migration.”

What Is Putin Up To?

 Bild Online reported on August 11, 2015 that during the Russian military exercise which is being conducted in Kaliningrad (500 kilometers from Berlin), bombs and transporters are carrying the designation, “To Berlin” and “for Stalin.”

 The paper stated that both “labels” were war cries used by the Russians in their fight against Nazi Germany. Observers do not feel that these labels were only attached because of nostalgia, but that they show dangerous tendencies of Putin and the Russian military.

The Telegraph wrote on August 12:

“Russia and Nato are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build-up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a new report says. Rival exercises by the Russian armed forces and Nato have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides…”

China’s Devaluation

The Washington Post wrote on August 12:

“China’s currency slid for a second day on Wednesday, sending more shockwaves through global financial markets and raising fresh questions about the credibility of the country’s economic management.

“The surprise moves by China to allow more market forces to set currency rates — an effective devaluation at the moment — have also deepened speculation about the true strength of the world’s second-largest economy after recent jolts including a stock market plunge.

“The sense that the Communist Party was an almost infallible steward of the nation’s economy took a battering during the stock crash in June and July. A few weeks later, China’s economic data — showing growth steady at 7 percent despite widespread signs of a slowdown — were widely derided by analysts as inaccurate and overblown…

“Over two days, China’s currency, known as the yuan or renminbi, was down 3.5 percent, sparking headlines about a global currency war and threatening to fan trade tensions with the United States. The currency shake-up has spilled far beyond China to drag down world financial markets…

“China’s decision to free up its exchange rate appeared to come in response to repeated urging from the International Monetary Fund — as well as from the United States. It appeared designed, experts said, to bolster the case for the yuan’s acceptance as a global reserve currency, and specifically its inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights basket alongside the dollar, euro, yen and pound.”

Newsmax added on August 11:

“Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday said China’s devaluation of the yuan would be ‘devastating’ for the United States as the global currency war entered a new and critical phase. ‘They’re just destroying us,’ the billionaire businessman, a long-time critic of China’s currency policy, said in a CNN interview… Earlier on Tuesday, China devalued its currency following a series of poor economic data in the yuan’s biggest fall since 1994. Some said this could signal a long-term slide in the exchange rate.

“China has been a frequent theme for Trump since he entered the 2016 presidential campaign, promising to be a tougher negotiator with Beijing in order to bolster the U.S. economy.”

The Disaster of Durango… with Many More to Come

 The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 10:

“Shock, sadness and anger have gripped this pretty college town [Durango] in southwestern Colorado as residents struggle to understand the slow-moving environmental disaster that has transformed their crystal clear Animas River — or the River of Souls, translated from its Spanish name — into a ribbon of mustard yellow sludge. The tragedy in Durango underscores the persistent menace of defunct hard-rock mines, lingering like cancers across the American landscape…

“On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency was supervising the draining of contaminated water from the defunct Gold King Mine above the town of Silverton. The water suddenly surged, overwhelming the crew and spilling into a tributary leading to the Animas River. The EPA initially estimated the spill at 1 million gallons, but tripled it to 3 million gallons Sunday. A slew of heavy metals — cadmium, aluminum, copper and perhaps even arsenic — turned the water a sickly fluorescent yellow. Local officials immediately ordered the river shut down…

“Durango and La Plata County proclaimed states of emergency Sunday… Meanwhile, the plume has flowed downstream to Aztec and Farmington, N.M., and is expected to reach the San Juan River, Lake Powell and eventually the Colorado River…

“The danger posed by mines was laid out in a 1993 report from the Mineral Policy Center, a Washington think tank dedicated to identifying threats to natural resources. The study said there were about 557,650 of these sites in 32 states and 50 billion tons of untreated waste covering public and private land. The waste included arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, cyanide and mercury. ‘Mine effluents have already polluted 12,000 miles of the nation’s waterways and 180,000 acres of our lakes and reservoirs and are a growing threat to underground aquifers,’ the report said.

“About 40% of all Western headwater streams are polluted by old hard-rock mines, the EPA has said. Colorado has 22,000 such mines, ranking third behind Arizona and Nevada. Cleaning them up is difficult because the owners are often dead or unknown. Even if they are alive, many fear making matters worse by trying to remedy the situation, as the EPA just did.

“Early mining techniques were all about speed and efficiency, with little or no regard for the environmental consequences. For example, the Sierra Fund’s 2008 report titled ‘Mining’s Toxic Legacy’ said that millions of gallons of mercury were used to extract gold from ore and that untold tons of waste rock were left to leak their toxic contents into rivers and streams…”

On August 12, denver.cbslocal.com reported:

“After the Gold King Mine spilled 3 million gallons of waste water into the Animas River, experts are concerned about the health of the river as well as the health of residents. People who live along the Animas River could be ingesting the contaminated water in any number of ways, from drinking it to showering in it, and the fear is how much exposure those people have had.

“Scientists fear effects from the yellow plume of waste water could linger well after the river regains its natural color. ‘Remember, this is mine waste, it’s heavy. It’s going to sink to the bottom of these streams, it’s going to get into the layer at the bottom,’ said Dr. Dan Teitlebaum. He is a toxicologist who says the elements in the water can pose the risk of illness. The waters were loaded in lead, copper, cadmium, and arsenic, some of which can cause cancers in prolonged exposures…

“Wildlife officials have been quick to show fish that have survived the event, but Teitlebaum says that’s not necessarily an indication that everything is safe. ‘If you’re going to eat those brown trout that somebody’s catching in that river, what are the arsenic levels going to be? What are the lead levels going to be? We don’t know!’ said Teitlebaum.

“He said health concerns in the river are just beginning, even as it appears to look more normal. When asked if it’s possible for that much pollution in a river to have no effect, Teitlebaum said, ‘Everything is possible. Is it likely? I think not.’”

Gender Equality–More Nonsense by TARGET

People.com wrote on August 10:

“On Friday, Target announced it will begin removing gender-based labeling from its stores, particularly in departments like toys and bedding, which are often separated by ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’ signs. ‘As guests have pointed out, in some departments like toys, home or entertainment, suggesting products by gender is unnecessary,’ reads a statement from the company. “Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance.’ The move comes after an increase in complaints over the past year from families who feel ‘frustrated or limited by the way things are presented,’ the statement reads…

“The company points out that the kids’ bedding area, for example, doesn’t need to suggest if certain patterns and colors are for boys or girls, but rather ‘just kids.’ The same applies to the toy aisles, where Target will also ‘remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves.’”

What’s Next? Marriage with Robots?

 On August 10, slate.com published the following article:

“The Supreme Court’s recent 5–4 decision… legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States has already spawned speculation about ‘what will be next’ in expanding marital rights. As the Supreme Court noted, ‘[t]he history of marriage is one of both continuity and change. That institution … has evolved over time.’ Interracial marriage, equality between husband and wife, and same-sex marriage were all excluded for long periods of time under our Constitution but now have been sanctioned and protected by the courts. While these changes have come slowly, and courts are unlikely to take the next step in expanding marital rights for some time, the courts are probably not finished expanding the legal definition of marital rights.

“A New York Times op-ed published shortly after the Supreme Court’s same-sex decision said that the court’s logic could eventually lead to recognition of polygamy or plural marriages, an argument also made by Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissenting opinion. This slippery-slope argument has also been used to contend that the court’s decision will open the door to legal recognition of bestiality or incest.

“Robot-human marriages might be next on the list. Probably not soon, admittedly, but it nevertheless will be an inevitable part of our future. Indeed, some critics of same-sex marriage, including some conservative Christian opponents of gay marriage, have argued that the court’s recognition of same-sex marriage would inevitably lead to robotic-human marriages. There has recently been a burst of cogent accounts of human-robot sex and love in popular culture… Or just look at the marketplace. Sex ‘dolls’ have become more and more realistic in appearance and touch, and one company recently announced that it was developing a sexbot with artificial intelligence that can talk back and express emotions…

“The era of love and sex with robots has begun and will continue to accelerate going forward, even if it remains a minority choice for the next couple of decades. But with sex and love will come calls for the right to marry…

“From a strictly legal perspective… the court’s decision… contains arguments and dicta that could be used to make the case for or against robot-human marriage. Of course, as a practical matter, the legal legitimacy of robot-human marriage is not going to be recognized anytime soon. Most people (including judges) presumably think robot-human relationships are absurd and twisted. But that was once also the case for interracial marriage and same-sex marriage. Of course those advances involved sanctioning the love and relationship of two human beings, regardless of their race or sexual preferences, which is arguably quite distinct from recognizing human-machine marriage. But as robots become more and more humanlike in their appearance and behavior, this distinction may eventually erode away.

“The Supreme Court itself recounted the long, difficult road to get to the point where the law (and most of society) could now recognize same-sex marriage. First, advocates had to overcome the classification of same-sex relations as an illness. Then they had to declassify it as a crime. And then finally… the right to marry people of the same sex was finally legally recognized.

“The path to recognition of robot-human marriage is likely to be equally, if not more, lengthy, torturous, and contested. But as the court emphasized at the close of its opinion… the issue comes down to the ‘fundamental right’ of a person in a free society to choose the nature of the relationships and lifestyle they choose to pursue, providing they do not unreasonably harm others in exercising their choices. Robot-human marriage is not about robot rights; it is about the right of a human to choose to marry a robot. While few people would understand or support robot-human intimacy today, as robots get more sophisticated and humanlike, more and more people will find love, happiness, and intimacy in the arms of a machine. Robot sex and love is coming, and robot-human marriage will likely not be far behind.”

What a SICK society we are living in…

Rise of Brain-Controlled Robot Armies

Daily Mail wrote on August 12:

“… the future of warfare could see robot armies controlled using just a commander’s mind. China has been training students at a military academy to use headsets that detect and interpret the brain activity of the wearer, allowing them to control the machines. At a demonstration at the People’s Liberation Army Information Engineering University in Zhengzhou, students used the device to send robots trundling in different directions. They were also able to turn the robot’s heads and get them to pick up objects… The technology is being developed at the military academy’s laboratory for brain-machine coordination.

“Among the other projects being developed at the laboratory are drones that can also be controlled using a brain headset… [This] has raised fears it could also be used for warfare. Rather than having to put its soldiers into the battlefield, China could exploit the technology to send mind-controlled robots into action… Researchers elsewhere have been developing similar technology to help amputees control robotic prosthetic arms.”

Regarding the last statement, CNBC wrote on August 12:

“Scientists have created a machine that’s able to have babies. Sort of. In an experiment designed to show how robots can learn and evolve, researchers in Cambridge and Zurich programmed a robot arm—or ‘mother’—with an algorithm to create a device made out of blocks containing motors—its ‘child’.”

This Week in the News

A New Fence in Calais?

The EUobserver wrote on July 29:

“The UK has offered France some €10 million to help build a new fence in Calais after there were around 2000 attempts by migrants to enter the Eurotunnel Monday… French police said another 1,500 attempts were made on Tuesday night (28 July)… The money will help pay for a new 2km fence at the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles. The UK has already paid around €5 million to put up barriers at the site.

“The Eurotunnel company, which manages the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, says it wants millions more in compensation from both governments because of the disruptions… An estimated 3,000 migrants are camped in and around the port, known as the ‘jungle’… Those unable to pay smugglers opt to take matters in their own hands and attempt to scramble onto the back of lorries. Many risk their lives in the process… Aid agencies say the situation has… become worse with some describing the squalid living conditions and desperation of the migrants camped around the port ‘as catastrophic’… The new state-sanctioned site has no running water, no electricity, and no toilet facilities…”

Migrant Chaos in Britain and France to Continue

Express wrote on August 1:

“THE Calais migrant crisis causing misery for holidaymakers and businesses will last all summer, David Cameron warned yesterday. The Prime Minister issued his gloomy prediction after chairing an emergency Whitehall meeting to discuss plans to tackle the chaos that is causing havoc on both sides of the Channel… Mr Cameron said Britain planned to send more sniffer dogs and fencing to France. But many feared the minimal response to an escalating crisis was just a ‘sticking plaster’ answer to a massive problem.

“Last night, David Cameron and French President François Hollande spoke about the migrant situation in Calais… Thousands of desperate migrants from Africa and the Middle East are gathered in squalid conditions in Calais from which they are trying every day and night, sometimes with young children, to hitch a perilous ride to Britain on trains and lorries. The chaos has been made worse by striking French ferry workers protesting at job cuts, who yesterday continued their wildcat action by burning tyres to block a road in Calais…

“New laws to tackle illegal working and abuse of the asylum system will be fast-tracked in a bid to deter migrants from coming while Britain and France will jointly put on flights to return migrants to their home countries… Meanwhile there were renewed calls for a longer term solution to the fact that thousands of migrants from countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya, Eritrea and Somalia are crowding into boats to struggle over the Mediterranean seeking a new life in Europe. Thousands then head for Calais in a bid to reach Britain instead of seeking permission to stay in other EU countries.

“Calais police union representative Gilles Debove said various factors made the UK a magnet for the migrants: ‘In Great Britain, the migrants can work without a residency permit or identity card and they can work illegally. In France, we have a police force trained to fight against such illegal work and in the UK you don’t have any police force tracking these people who work in the black market.’

“Labour former Cabinet minister Jack Straw blamed the Schengen agreement, which Britain is not in but which lets people travel freely between EU states that are part of the arrangement once they reach the zone. ‘You now see the price that Europe is paying, as well as the UK is paying for this completely open border arrangement… They need to face up to the consequences of Schengen. My understanding is there is provision in Schengen to reinstitute border controls if it is necessary.’”

Puerto Rico to Default?

The Associated Press reported on July 31:

“Puerto Rico’s government said Friday it would not make a $58 million bond payment due on the weekend and warned that the general fund will run out of liquidity by November if no action is taken… Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla warned several weeks ago that the government and state agencies cannot repay the $72 billion in public debt that hangs over the U.S. territory, which is struggling with a nearly decade-long economic slump.

“Puerto Rican officials contend that failure to make Saturday’s payment will not constitute a default because it involves moral obligation bonds, which means there is no legal requirement to repay them. But economists reject that argument. ‘It is a default no matter how they try to disguise it,’ said Sergio Marxuach, policy director at the Center for the New Economy, a Puerto Rico-based think tank. Marxuach and other economists said bondholders could file a lawsuit as soon as next week as a result of the nonpayment, which they said would be the first default in the history of the U.S. territory.”

Obama’s Anti-Semitic Accusations

Breitbart wrote on July 31:

“President Barack Obama is using anti-Jewish language to sell the Iran deal… On Thursday, Obama led a conference call with left-wing activists in which he repeatedly railed against his political opponents by using the old canard of rich Jews using their money to exert control… Obama railed against ‘well-financed’ lobbyists, as well as the ‘big check writers to political campaigns,’ and  ‘billionaires who happily finance super-PACs.’ He complained about ‘$20 million’ being spent on ads against the deal—a subtle reference to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC–whose support he had repeatedly courted when running for office).

“Some of Obama’s references were thinly-veiled attacks on specific (Jewish) individuals—columnist Bill Kristol, for example, the Weekly Standard publisher and former New York Times resident conservative who served in the George H.W. Bush administration, and also helps run the Emergency Committee for Israel, which opposes the Iran deal; or billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is a prodigious Republican benefactor, super PAC donor, and well-known hawk on Israel issues.

“On the call, Obama twice accused his opponents of being the same people “responsible for us getting into the Iraq war.“ That sweeping, and largely false, characterization of the opponents of the Iran deal repeats the sensational accusations of The Israel Lobby, a widely discredited 2007 book that accused a group of pro-Israel, and largely Jewish, individuals and organizations of pushing the U.S. into war with Iraq, and seeking to drag America into a new war with Iran.

“Obama’s deliberate, and jarring, choice of words clearly worried even some sympathetic Jews… a Republican who did the same thing would be criticized as anti-Semitic…

“On the call, Obama’s case for the agreement was weak. He claimed it has the most rigorous inspections regime ever—ignoring the fact that unlike the inspections under the New START treaty, the Iran deal excludes Americans from participating. He said that while it was possible military force might be needed if Iran raced to the bomb after the deal expired in 15 years, the U.S. would be better prepared for war then—ignoring the likelihood that Iran would be, as well…”

It was also mentioned in the press on August 5 that in a subsequent phone call, President Obama shared his “frustration” with Jewish leaders in the USA regarding the “inaccurate” Jewish reporting on the Iran deal.

Huckabee Responds to Obama’s Anti-Semitic Language

Breitbart wrote on July 31:

“GOP presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee is responding to Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak’s recent report about President Obama using anti-Jewish language in order to boast his Iran deal. The former Arkansas governor says: ‘Instead of blasting his critics with personal attacks, President Obama needs to open up his eyes. The last time the world ignored these types of threats against Jews, millions died, and it shouldn’t take a mushroom cloud over Israel for Obama to realize that “taking Iran’s word for it,” is idiotic and absolutely insane…’

“Huckabee continued, ‘If Congress approves this agreement, President Obama will go down in history as the architect of a dangerous deal that triggered senseless death and a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.’…  Huckabee recently made headlines and was attacked by the mainstream media, Obama, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, and fellow GOP candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, when he referenced the Holocaust when expressing his disapproval over Obama’s deal with Iran.

“The backlash from the left and the establishment didn’t prove to harm Huckabee [who] saw an increase in social media support and visitors to his campaign website after he made his statements against the Obama Administration and the deal with Iran.”

The attacks on Huckabee’s statements that the Iran deal will march Jews to the door of the ovens are ludicrous. Huckabee warned against the consequences of the Iran deal and in no way compared Obama with Hitler, as some critics have maliciously claimed. For more information, please view our new StandingWatch program, “The Secret Iran Deal–What They Are Hiding From You!”

Huckabee Responds to Malicious Accusations Against Him

On July 31, USA Today published the following editorial by Mike Huckabee:

“The world said ‘never again’ after the Holocaust, yet today, some refuse to take Iran’s evil threats seriously. Hillary Clinton directly attacked me this week and said my comments about Iran were ‘offensive.’  President Obama said they were ‘ridiculous’ and ‘sad’. What’s offensive, ridiculous and sad is that Obama and Clinton are more upset about my comments than Iran’s threat to kill millions of Jews and then direct their missiles at the United States.

“Iran has the blood of American soldiers and civilians on its hands. For decades, Iranians have murdered Jews, Christians and Muslims across the world… Iran has been crystal clear. Iran’s… leaders and politicians have directly called Israel a ‘barbaric, wolflike and infanticidal regime’ that must be ‘erase[d]’ and ‘wiped off’ the map. They have threatened to ‘replace Israel…with a big Holocaust.’

“Tehran’s tyrants can be trusted no more than Goebbels or the Gestapo. The last time the world ignored these types of threats against Jews, millions died… After negotiating a deal with Adolf Hitler in 1938, Neville Chamberlain claimed he secured ‘peace in our time’. One year later, Hitler’s tanks rolled into Poland and Europe descended into war…

“Sadly, this administration signed a nuclear deal that injects $150 billion into Iran’s economy. Why would we reward the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism with money, power, global recognition and a path to a nuclear weapon?…

“We should be prosecuting Iranian officials for genocide and crimes against humanity, not allowing them to enrich uranium to be used to build a bomb. My words might be too brash for President Obama, but they echo the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘The Ayatollahs in Iran, they deny the Holocaust while planning another genocide against our people,’ he said.  The nuclear deal with Iran ‘signals that the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned.’ Netanyahu is a Winston Churchill in a world full of Chamberlains…

“While Congress can stop this deal, sadly, they are heading home for an August recess. This is no time for a vacation. This is not a political battle between Democrats and Republicans. Many courageous Democrats refuse to wave the white flag and betray our ally…”

Huckabee Against Planned Parenthood, Same-Sex Marriage and Abortion

Newsmax wrote on July 31:

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told Newsmax TV on Friday that ‘there would be no funding for Planned Parenthood’ if he were elected to the White House next year… ‘There’s nothing that they do, which is very little for women’s health, that couldn’t be done by better and more responsible providers rather than these butchers who are out there justifying and defending the slaughter of children and the selling of their parts. It’s time for us to get honest… Let’s end this scourge of abortion,’ he added. ‘Fifty-five million unborn children have died in what ought to be the safest place in the world, in a mother’s womb. We, as a culture, as a civilization, need to come to grips with the evil of this practice — and we need to end it.’

“Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, told Hayworth that he feared that last month’s Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage would lead to the federal government ordering pastors to perform such unions. ‘It’s headed in that direction,’ he said. ‘Churches losing tax-exempt status, economic terrorism already being applied to people across America, fines of $135,000 to a wedding-cake maker for the simple and just denial of making a wedding cake for a same-sex couple…  ‘There is no legislation that has ever passed Congress signed by a president that authorizes same-sex marriage — and there’s nothing in the Constitution…’

“At two campaign stops in Iowa Thursday, Huckabee said he’d ‘invoke the 5th and 14th amendments for the protection of every human being’ to stop abortions – and suggested he’d consider using the FBI or federal forces to do so, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Both amendments contain due process protections against depriving people of life without due process of law. Huckabee argued the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was wrong to cite the right to privacy as a reason for allowing abortion. ‘Privacy doesn’t allow you to take a life,’ he said… At a second event, asked if he’d use the FBI or federal troops to stop abortion, he replied: ‘We’ll see, if I get to be president.’”

Hillary Clinton’s Deep Personal and Economic Interests in Planned Parenthood

Breitbart wrote on July 31:

“A new report released jointly by PACs America Rising and Women Speak Out… chronicles the longstanding relationship between Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Planned Parenthood. Though Clinton was first quoted as saying she found the Planned Parenthood videos depicting the organization’s officials describing the sale of aborted baby organs as ‘disturbing,’ the former Secretary of State tweeted out her support for the nation’s largest abortion provider on Thursday: ‘Proud to stand w/Planned Parenthood & for access to quality, affordable healthcare for women, men & young people.’

“‘What’s really “disturbing” are Hillary Clinton’s long financial connections to Planned Parenthood,’ said Joe Pounder, spokesman for America Rising, in a press release. ‘Like any Clinton associate, all you need to do is follow the money to discover how deep Clinton’s Planned Parenthood ties go. That’s exactly why you will never see Clinton criticize the group—her personal interests run too deep.’ ‘Planned Parenthood’s brutal abortion business has been laid bare for all to see and Americans are repulsed,’ said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Women Speak Out PAC. ‘Hillary Clinton must immediately renounce her Margaret Sanger Award, Planned Parenthood’s highest honor, and return the tens of thousands of dollars she’s accepted from them.’”

New Disgusting Video About Planned Parenthood’s Practices

Newsmax reported on August 4:

“The Center for Medical Progress, the anti-abortion group that has released recordings of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting and selling of organs of aborted babies, has released a fifth video that deals with using ‘intact fetuses’ and the organization’s ‘diversification of the revenue stream’…  The video is ‘repulsive and unconscionable,’ said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after the fifth video from the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast clinic in Texas was released.

“AP reports that footage shows people touring the clinic as they pretended to be from a company that procures fetal tissue for research. Not only were the individuals shown recently collected fetuses, but the video also shows a Planned Parenthood official, Melissa Farrell, director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, discussing intact fetuses. ‘Just depending on the patient’s anatomy, how many weeks, where it’s placed in the uterus … we’re going to potentially be able to have some that will be more or less intact, and then some that will not be,’ she tells an interviewer…

“Planned Parenthood has previously stated that rather than selling the body parts and organs for profit, Planned Parenthood will ‘donate’ human remains to for-profit and non-profit entities. However, the latest video shows a Planned Parenthood official stating, ‘we’ve had studies in which the company, or in the case of the investigator, has a specific need for a certain portion of the products of conception and we take that into our contract, and our protocol, that we follow this. So we deviate from our standard in order to do that. If we alter our process and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget, that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this. I mean, it’s all just a matter of line items,’ she adds later…

“The first four videos that were released by the anti-abortion group has caused an uproar amongst conservatives and has ultimately led to a fight to defund Planned Parenthood. According to The Hill, despite court orders blocking the release of some of the videos, Daleiden’s group is planning to release other videos that are not affected by the court ruling.

“On Monday afternoon, a standalone Republican-led bill to defund Planned Parenthood failed to defeat a Democratic filibuster, securing 53 votes in favor and 46 against. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised no government shut downs on his watch, presidential candidate Donald Trump says the ‘only way to get rid of Planned Parenthood money is to shut the government down.’”

Growing Human Organs in Mice

Breitbart reported on August 5:

“Medical researchers are growing human organs in mice by implanting dead human baby organs into rodents, a practice that stands to gain greater scrutiny in light of undercover videos exposing what appears to be Planned Parenthood affiliates selling aborted baby parts to medical procurement companies like StemExpress.

“In a fourth video released from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), Planned Parenthood personnel can be seen sifting through aborted baby parts allegedly to show what parts can be salvaged and sold. These mice or rats are created by removing a human organ such as a kidney from a dead human baby and implanting it into a mouse or rat for the purpose of medical research…

“StemExpress is a primary buyer of baby parts from Planned Parenthood… [It is] claimed that all donors consent to donating the aborted baby parts… Questions have arisen, however, over whether the mothers donating are truly ‘informed’ as required under parameters for organ donation…

“While the mothers may not be receiving direct compensation, the undercover investigative videos documenting Planned Parenthood affiliates show what appears to be financial dealings between these abortion providers and medical waste procurement dealers such as StemExpress. Ethical questions over these experiments have also arisen over creating a potential incentive to induce a pregnant woman to choose abortion. After Center for Medical Progress videos began hitting the media, StemExpress promptly acquired a restraining order against CMP regarding further release of videos that involve StemExpress.”

For more information, please watch our new StandingWatch program, “Planned Parenthood—Just the Tip of the Iceberg.”

Hillary Clinton’s Potentially Illegal Email Conduct

Newsmax reported on July 31:

“Republicans Friday slammed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton amid revelations that she kept classified documents from five government agencies on her private server and that many [emails]… newly released by the State Department had been censored because the Obama administration deemed the information too sensitive to make public…

“David Kendall, Clinton’s attorney, has back-up copies of the emails on a thumb drive in his Washington office. This also has sparked outrage among GOP legislators — and some analysts said Friday that storing the emails on the private [server] and thumb drive might be illegal… That Clinton kept the emails on her private server — and, with Kendall now holding the back-up copies — may violate federal laws governing the storage and removal of classified information, national security attorney Edward MacMahon Jr. said. ‘In most situations like this, you’d expect that a warrant would be issued and that the Marshals and the feds — FBI, somebody — would go and get that thumb drive and take it somewhere where it would be considered safe by the government,’ MacMahon told Fox News…

“Federal law describes the illegal removal and storage of classified information as when someone ‘knowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location,’ Fox reports… Friday’s release brings the volume of emails made public by the State Department to about 12 percent of the 55,000 pages Clinton had turned over to department lawyers earlier this year. That falls short of the 15 percent goal set by a court ruling in May, a lag the State Department attributed to interest by the inspector general of the U.S. intelligence community in the possible compromise of classified information.”

The Observer reported on August 1:

“[F]ederal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has… given the State Department only a week—until August 7—to get some answers from Hillary Clinton, and her top aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills—under penalty of perjury… Judge Sullivan reopened the case when he learned that Clinton and her staff used personal email accounts to conduct government business. This is a flagrant violation of the Federal Records Act and jeopardizes national security—prompting rapidly escalating concerns of countless ramifications internationally, nationally, and criminally…

“Now the State Department must produce for the court’s docket its correspondence with and between Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin, and Ms. Cheryl Mills regarding the government records in their possession; identify what servers, etc. the State Department has; require Ms. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills to state under oath whether they have produced all responsive materials; and, have Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills describe the extent to which they used Ms. Clinton’s server for government business…”

The Washington Post reported on August 4:

“The FBI has begun looking into the security of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private e-mail setup, contacting in the past week a Denver-based technology firm that helped manage the unusual system, according to two government officials…”

Newsmax added on August 4:

“[F]ormer New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief Edward Klein… said he… believes Clinton is in ‘a kind of race against time.’ ‘Which is going to come first, is she going to be able to sew up the nomination by just throwing more money, more organization at the primaries so that she is unbeatable – or will a criminal indictment come down from the Justice Department [over her personal email system while Secretary of State] before that fact?’ Klein said. ‘And they’re [the Clinton camp] very concerned about which is going to come first.’”

Did Joe Biden Promise His Son to Run for the Presidency?

The New York Times wrote on August 1:

“Joe Biden is… talking to friends, family and donors about jumping in. The 72-year-old vice president has been having meetings at his Washington residence to explore the idea of taking on Hillary [Clinton] in Iowa and New Hampshire… going through the crucible of the loss of his oldest son, Beau, to brain cancer made the vice president consider the quest again. As a little boy, Beau helped get his father through the tragedy of losing his beautiful first wife and 13-month-old daughter in the car crash that injured Beau and his brother, Hunter.

“When Beau realized he was not going to make it, he asked his father if he had a minute to sit down and talk… He tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values…

“It could be awkward for President Obama, who detoured from the usual route — supporting your vice president — and basically passed the torch to Hillary. Some in Obama’s circle do not understand why he laid out the red carpet for his former rivals. ‘He has no idea how much the Clintons dislike him,’ said one former top White House official. But the president has been so tender and supportive to his vice president ever since learning that Beau was sick, it’s hard to say how he will react…”

Cardinal Dolan Attacks Trump

On July 30, Breitbart published the following apology of Catholic Priest Marcel Guarnizo regarding a written attack by Cardinal Timothy Dolan against Donald Trump:

“This week, Cardinal Timothy Dolan took to the New York Daily News to write an incoherent and defamatory political hit piece against Donald Trump. As a Catholic priest, I can only say it is embarrassing to have a Cardinal so blatantly and unfairly trying to associate Mr. Trump with the worst kinds of racism imaginable. I offer an apology on behalf of so many Catholics who are outraged by the dirty politics of Cardinal Dolan.

“Ever so ‘cleverly,’ Dolan makes clear that in his opinion Trump is the revival of nativism, ‘an organized, white, Protestant antagonism towards the Catholic immigrant,’ which for Dolan is just a more recent incarnation of the KKK and other racist organizations–an absurd claim–and perhaps one of the most ignorant statements and mean-spirited remarks I have ever seen a bishop state publicly. The more than clear implication by Dolan that Trump is a white supremacist reaches levels of defamation that even the most liberal media has not dare trod.

“Dolan should perhaps realize that the continued race bating in this country by President Obama and others is immoral and destructive to the social fabric of our nation…  Dolan’s words are unbecoming of a bishop and are not factual… This is the same bishop who is silent about the recently revealed atrocities of Planned Parenthood, who did little to defend marriage and has done absolutely nothing about pro abortion politicians in his diocese receiving communion and remaining falsely in good standing in the Catholic Church…

“Dolan seems jovially unaware of the social unrest that lax immigration laws are causing in France, England and other nations in Europe. It is not Catholic or Christian to advocate for irresponsible immigration. Immigration to be of any help to immigrants and the host country, requires order, knowledge and balance… If Dolan were to say something sensible about politics to Catholics he should perhaps state the obvious: no Catholic in good conscience can vote for the Democratic party, a party that supports funding Planned Parenthood, opposes marriage, and is seen to be devastating the social fabric of this nation while bringing economic ruin to a once prosperous country…”

The Dilemma of the American Political Class

Breitbart wrote on July 31:

“A new National Journal survey of ‘Republican insiders’ finds that 57 percent of these political professionals think Donald Trump will bow out of the Presidential race before the Iowa Caucuses. This survey probably says more about the state of the Republican political class than anything about the 2016 race or Republican voters. Interestingly, 65 percent of ‘Democrat insiders’ believe Trump will compete in the Iowa Caucuses in February next year. The survey results could easily be dismissed as both groups answering what they hope will happen…

“The easiest political prediction to make is that the Trump campaign will implode after some impolitic remark. To date, though, that hasn’t been the case, despite a full-throttled assault by the media and DC’s political class. Trump currently leads all national polling in the race. His lead has apparently increased even after he made off-the-cuff remarks criticizing Sen. John McCain’s war record. That he has gained support after those remarks should be a sobering wake-up call to the political class.

“Peggy Noonan, the Republican establishment’s Greek chorus, has woken up to the realization that the Trump phenomenon — and it is exactly that — is real. She understands something the political class doesn’t: ‘His rise is not due to his supporters’ anger at government. It is a gesture of contempt for government, for the men and women in Congress, the White House, the agencies.’…

“True, the national polling this summer is of little consequence to the actual race once voting starts. That said, Trump is polling very strongly in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first states to vote early next year. Further, it is hard to imagine any new information coming to light that will blunt Trump’s raw appeal to a significant section of Republican voters. Trump has lived his life in the public eye for decades. His bombastic, off-the-cuff, outrageous demeanor is already baked into the cake. Voters know all of this about him and a large number of them don’t particularly like him, but they like less the thin intellectual gruel that has been served up by the political class for the last several years.

“This is the real threat of the Trump campaign. As Noonan observes: ‘American political establishment, take note: In the past 20 years you have turned America into a nation a third of whose people would make Donald Trump their president. Look on your wonders and despair.’”

The American political class and establishment have failed miserably. Trust in American politicians has reached an all-time low, which is due to the dishonest and corrupt behavior of politicians.

Ben Carson’s Disappointing Response as to Whom to Obey

Newsmax reported on August 2:

“Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says that whether the Bible has authority over the U.S. Constitution depends on the specifics. Carson was posed the question during an appearance on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday… Moderator Chuck Todd told Carson he was ending with a ‘simple question … Does the Bible have authority over the Constitution?’

“Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and devout Seventh-day Adventist, paused before replying, ‘That is not a simple question… I think probably what you have to do is ask a very specific question about a specific passage of the Bible and a specific portion of the Constitution,’ Carson said. ‘I don’t think you can answer that question other than out of very specific context.'”

This is a sad and disappointing response, but it is typical for those who want to be politically correct… However, Ben Carson has a history of giving evasive answers, or of apologizing for or “clarifying” controversial statements (such as his comments on homosexuality). The answer to the question at issue is VERY clear. We must obey God rather than man. If there is a conflict between the US Constitution and the Bible,  we MUST obey the Bible.

Northern Ireland’s Persecution of a Christian Pastor

Breitbart wrote on August 6:

“The Belfast pastor who said Islam was ‘satanic’ and ‘heathen’ is to make his first appearance in court today. The elderly man, who is in ill health, faces up to six-months in jail for making the remarks.

“Pastor James McConnell, 78, made the comments in May 2014 during a sermon that was broadcast live on the Internet… Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service has said he violated the 2003 Communications Act by ‘sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive.’…

“The pastor has refused to give any admission of guilt… He said: ‘It is a battle of free speech…’

“Meanwhile, the local Muslim ‘community leader’ pushing for his prosecution – who has used the controversy to leverage government into supplying land for a mega-mosque – has expressed sympathy for Islamic State (IS) but has been left alone by the law.”

Such travesty of justice is repulsive and abominable.

Merkel to Run for Fourth Term?

Reuters wrote on August 1:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has ruled Germany since 2005, has decided to run for a fourth term and has started planning her 2017 re-election campaign, according to an unsourced report on Saturday in Der Spiegel news magazine… Merkel, who has guided Europe’s biggest economy through the 2008 financial crisis and euro zone turmoil, regularly ranks as one of Germany’s most popular leaders, which is unusual for a sitting chancellor.

“There are no term limits in Germany and the last CDU chancellor, Helmut Kohl, ruled for 16 years before losing his bid for a fifth term in 1998 to Gerhard Schroeder of the Social Democrats (SPD). Neither were as popular among voters as Merkel. In a country that cherishes stability after the Weimar Republic’s chaos contributed to Hitler’s rise, Merkel is only the eighth post-war chancellor. Her CDU has no obvious successor…

“Merkel is so popular in Germany that one SPD leader, Schleswig-Holstein state premier Torsten Albig, said recently the SPD should not bother putting up a candidate to run against her in 2017…”

Not yet, anyway.

Incredible Atrocities Against Innocent Germans AFTER World War II

The Local wrote on July 30:

Seventy years ago on Friday, a munitions depot exploded in [the] Czechoslovakian town [of Ústí] … The explosion happened in the afternoon of July 31st, 1945. Around 27 people were killed, including seven Czechs. World War II had ended just weeks before – and Czechoslovakia had begun to forcibly expel over two million Sudeten Germans who lived in the country. So when the explosion happened, rumours quickly spread that the Germans were responsible. What followed was a massacre.

“All ethnic Germans had been forced to wear white armbands, making them easily recognizable – and on the day of the explosion, German men, women and children were mercilessly beaten and killed. Some were shot dead. Others were thrown into the River Elbe and then shot at while they tried to swim to safety… Those responsible for the massacre were Revolutionary Guards (a post-war Czech paramilitary group) alongside Soviet and Czech soldiers, as well as around 300 Czech civilians who had just arrived from Prague by train…

“The massacre was part of something much wider… and what happened in Ústí was… only one of many violent examples of what historians and German expellees call the wilde Vertreibungen (fierce expulsion) of Germans from countries such as Czechoslovakia… The massacre divided the two countries for decades – with ongoing controversy as to why exactly it occurred… Since the German expulsion from Czechoslovakia, the Czech government has refused German calls for compensation for these refugees – several thousand of whom died in the expulsion.

“But in 1997, the German-Czech Declaration was founded. The agreement saw both sides state that they would ‘not allow past legal and political issues to be a burden’ on the relationship between the two countries…”

The article continued to point out that more than 5,000,000 Germans were expelled from Poland, “which was one of the largest and most organized ethnic cleansings in modern history outside of India and Pakistan.” War is SO wrong and leads to indescribable suffering of innocent victims. NO ONE wins in war, and EVERY country is guilty of inflicting horrible pain, suffering and death on the helpless elderly, women and children. This is Satan’s world, and NO war fought by human beings in ANY country can be described as just and godly.

Pope Francis and the Catholic Church’s Teaching on Divorce

The Associated Press reported on August 5:

“Pope Francis declared on Wednesday that divorced Catholics who remarry, as well as their children, deserve better treatment from the church, warning pastors against treating these couples as if they were excommunicated. Catholic teaching considers divorced Catholics who remarry are living in sin and are not allowed to receive Communion…

“Francis’ emphasis on mercy in church leadership has raised hope among many such Catholics that he might lift the Communion ban. Catholics who divorce after a church marriage but don’t take up a new union, such as a second marriage, can receive Communion. The Vatican this fall is holding a month-long follow-up meeting on family issues, after a similar gathering last year left divorced Catholics who remarry hoping in vain that a quick end to the ban would have resulted from those discussions…

“‘People who started a new union after the defeat of their sacramental marriage are not at all excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way,’ Francis told pilgrims and tourists at his first general audience after a summer break. ‘They always belong to the church.’ The church, he said, must be one of ‘open doors.’

“The pope acknowledged that church teaching considers ‘taking up a new union’ after divorce wrong. ‘The church knows well that such a situation contradicts the Christian sacrament’ of marriage…

“Other than being widowed, the only possible way for Catholics who marry in the church to remarry is receiving an annulment. That long, complicated process essentially involves examining whether the marriage never existed in the first place. Grounds for annulment include refusal by a spouse to have children. Previous pontiffs had complained that annulments in some places, notably in the United States, were being granted too liberally.”

The problem is that the Catholic Church’s teaching on divorce is not biblical. The Bible does allow for divorce and re-marriage, under limited circumstances, even for a converted Christian.

Vatican: “God May Have Created Alien Life Forms”… “Bible Not a Scientific Book”

AFP wrote on July 31:

“On a leafy hilltop near the papal summer home of Castel Gandolfo sits the Vatican’s Observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world, where planetary scientists mix the study of meteorites and the Big Bang theory with theology. Boasting a prestigious research centre at the University of Arizona in the United States, the institute has never shied away from asking whether there could be life on other planets and is thrilled with the discovery of an ‘Earth 2.0’.

“Astronomers hunting for a planet like ours announced to huge excitement last week that they have found the closest match yet, Kepler 452b, which is circling its star at the same distance as our home orbits the Sun. Around 60 percent larger than Earth, it sits squarely in the Goldilocks zone of its star, where life could exist because it is neither too hot nor too cold to support liquid water, according to the US space agency NASA.

“The discovery ‘is great news’, the Observatory’s Argentine director Jose Funes told AFP, despite the fact that scientists suspect increasing energy from the planet’s ageing sun might now be heating the surface and evaporating any oceans, making life difficult… Kepler 452b is 1,400 light-years away — an impossible distance to cover using mankind’s current technology. NASA may have made history this year with a Pluto fly-by, but it took nine years for its probe to get there despite the planet being under six light hours away. The fastest spaceship in the Solar System, it would take some 11 million years to reach the Earth’s cousin…

“What is clear, [Funes] says, is that while God may have created aliens and planets similar to Earth, there can be no second Jesus… ‘The bible is not a scientific book. If we look for scientific responses to our questions in the bible, we are making a mistake,’ he said. ‘It answers great questions, like “what is our role in the Universe?”‘ But such answers can also come from exploring the stars, he said…”

This rejection of the Holy Scriptures is pathetic. For TRUE understanding on these matters, please read our free booklets, “Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?” and “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.”

 In addition, the comment never seems to be made by those proponents of space exploration about cost.  The amount of money spent on such projects is astronomical and could be used for far more immediate practical benefits for the 7 billion people currently living on earth.   Also, as we cannot conduct ourselves properly on the earth that God gave us and that 6,000 years of appallingly bad stewardship of a wonderful gift given to man amply prove, do they think that expanding man’s occupation of other parts of the galaxy would be any different?   Of course, it won’t happen, but if it did, it would be a repetition of the historical bad management that is there for all who have eyes to see.   How different it will be in the Kingdom of God.

This Week in the News

House Chickens Out on Planned Parenthood Scandal

 Breitbart wrote on July 29:

“The House is leaving for its summer recess until September 8 without voting on legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of the recent gruesome videos released of the abortion giant’s practice of harvesting the body parts of aborted babies for sale to biomedical companies… Thousands of Americans participated in rallies across the nation Tuesday to urge their state and federal lawmakers to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of the revelations in the videos.

“Rep. Diane Black… condemned the chamber for its failure to pass the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, a measure she introduced and for which there are 150 cosponsors, only one of which is a Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski…

“Black said on the House floor: ‘I stand here profoundly disappointed that the House will leave town today without taking a vote on my legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Over the past two weeks, we’ve all seen the gruesome videos showing the heartless depravity of this organization. We issued statements, we made passionate floor speeches, and we pledged action. Now, our constituents would like to know when we’re going to follow through on that promise. Today, I’m reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act,”’ she added.

“Black, who has been a nurse for over 40 years and is a member of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, concluded by saying, ‘[W]e have a moral obligation to defund Planned Parenthood, and we must do it now – not when the politicians and pundits think it is most politically expedient.’

“Though House Republican leaders have lambasted the videos, The Hill reports they have indicated legislation to defund Planned Parenthood would not likely come up for a vote in the near future. The Senate, nevertheless, is expected to vote next week on a legislation effort led by Sen. Rand Paul… that would defund Planned Parenthood. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell… confirmed Tuesday that the Senate will vote next week to eliminate the $540 million in taxpayer funding the nation’s largest abortion provider receives.

“At least one Republican senator, Sen. Susan Collins… said Wednesday… that until she knows more, she will oppose ending federal support to Planned Parenthood.”

There is really NO true leadership in the USA, and an appalling lack of morality and moral values in ALL political parties…

 The Fight Against Planned Parenthood

 Breitbart wrote on July 24:

“[Sen. Rand] Paul tried to get the floor to stand up and offer an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood and another one to arm servicemen and women on military bases. He intended to offer these measures as amendments to the highway bill that is currently on the Senate floor. Whoever was presiding over the floor refused to recognize Paul to offer his amendments…

“Paul isn’t taking this lying down. He is… currently circulating a petition to go around the Senate leaders and force a vote on defunding Planned Parenthood anyway. Paul is calling pro-life leaders to join him in this crusade, and some pro-life leaders are already whispering that this may be the perfect time to strike at Planned Parenthood. If he succeeds, it would of course be a massive rebuke of McConnell’s leadership of the GOP majority in the Senate…

“Planned Parenthood gets over $500 million a year in taxpayer funding. Senate sources also say that in addition to Paul’s effort to go around McConnell for a vote to defund Planned Parenthood, more damning videos—like the ones showing the organization’s executives sought to sell baby body parts for cash or for a Lamborghini sports car—may be coming, though it’s unclear when the videos will come out…

“If Paul can get the necessary support from his colleagues for these measures, a vote could come this week on this bill to defund Planned Parenthood either as an amendment to the highway bill or as a stand-alone piece of legislation.”

 Clinton Supports Planned Parenthood

 ABC News reported on July 29

“Hillary Clinton has staunchly defended Planned Parenthood in the wake of recently released videos that an anti-abortion group claims to show employees with the organization discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue.  But, in a new interview, she calls the graphic videos ‘disturbing’ and says there should be a national investigation into that practice… Clinton, however, did not waiver in her overall support of the organization…

“Clinton made the remark on the same day the Center for Medical Progress released a third video which it says shows the harvesting of fetal tissue, as well as current and former Planned Parenthood employees discussing the procedures and pricing.

“Several Republicans — including many GOP presidential candidates — have cited these videos as a reason why Planned Parenthood should lose federal funding. And Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has called for Clinton to return the group’s donations to her campaign. In response to the claims of illegal behavior in the video, Planned Parenthood has asserted that all of its actions are legal as well as ethical…

“Clinton, who is pro-choice, has vowed to defend Planned Parenthood over the weekend, even adding in a new line to her campaign stump speech. ‘I will defend a woman’s right to choose,’ Clinton said in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, ‘and I will defend Planned Parenthood.’”

Why can’t we all see that God HATES what is going on in this country, and that the murder of MILLIONS of innocent babies will NOT go unpunished?

 March the Jews to the Door of the Oven?

 On July 26, CNN wrote the following:

“President Barack Obama is marching Israelis to ‘the door of the oven’ by agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal, Mike Huckabee said Sunday… ‘This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,’ Huckabee said. He continued: ‘This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal. It should be rejected by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and by the American people. I read the whole deal. We gave away the whole store. It’s got to be stopped.’…

“Huckabee and other GOP presidential candidates have pledged to undo the deal, which the United States and five other world powers struck with Iran this month after weeks of negotiations in Vienna…”

 Kerry on the Defensive

 The New York Post wrote on July 24:

 “Secretary of State John Kerry had an ‘intense exchange’ when he tried to sell the Iran nuclear deal to skeptical Jewish leaders in New York on Friday. A day after GOP senators blasted him for getting ‘fleeced’ by Iran, Kerry faced another tough crowd in a closed-door meeting with about 120 Jewish leaders at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations…

“Kerry spoke from a podium and fielded pointed questions from a crowd of Israel supporters concerned that the deal could allow Iran to get relief from sanctions while still maintaining some nuclear infrastructure that could threaten Israel… One critic was former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Kerry’s former Senate colleague, who ‘made some impassioned comments’…

“Earlier, at the Council of Foreign Relations, Kerry said Israel would get the blame if Congress votes down the nuclear deal… That line of argument didn’t go over well with the Jewish leaders….

“In his speech at the Foreign Relations group, Kerry also went after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he hasn’t offered a real alternative to a deal he has been denouncing for months… Kerry also warned Israel would be making a huge mistake if it took unilateral military action against Iran.”

 Kerry Won’t Reveal Iran Side Deals to American People

 The Weekly Standard wrote on July 29:

“Secretary of State John Kerry testified on Capitol Hill today the U.S. government will not be revealing the contents of secret side deals with Iran to the American people. Senator Tom Cotton wanted to know why it can’t be made public.  ‘I’d like to stick with you, Secretary Kerry,’ Cotton said. ‘Why can’t we confirm or deny the content of these agreements in public? Why is this classified? It’s not a sensitive U.S. government document.’

“’Because we respect the process of the IAEA and we don’t have their authorization to reveal what is a confidential agreement between them and another country,’ said Kerry. Cotton said, ‘So the ayatollahs will know what they agreed to but not the American people?’ Kerry said that members of Congress would be able to learn about it in a classified briefing.”

 There is evidently something to hide, and it is not what the American people would like!

“Iran: Obama Administration Lying About Nuclear Deal”

freebeacon.com reported on July 30:

“Senior Iranian officials are accusing the Obama administration of lying about the details of the recent nuclear accord in order to soothe fears among U.S. lawmakers and Americans about the implications of the deal, which will release billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic while temporarily freezing its nuclear program, according to reports from Iran’s state-controlled media.

“As Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior Obama administration figures launch a full-court press to convince Congress to approve the  deal, Iranian leaders are dismissing the rhetoric as ‘aimed at domestic consumption.’…

“When addressing claims this week by the administration that the deal shuts down Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, Iranian officials scoffed and said that the Obama administration is misleading the public in order to sell the deal…”

The Times of Israel added on July 30:

“Iran will not allow American or Canadian inspectors working for the U.N. nuclear watchdog to visit its nuclear facilities, an official said in remarks broadcast by state TV on Thursday.

“Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will only allow inspectors from countries that have diplomatic relations with it.”

 

 Turkey Strikes Against ISIS and PKK

Deutsche Welle reported on July 27:

“Turkey says its warplanes have struck ‘Islamic State’ sites in Syria for a second straight night. Turkish jets also struck Kurdish PKK camps in Iraq. The twin strikes will complicate the US-led air campaign against IS.

 “On Saturday, Turkey risked double-fronted warfare against ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, respectively. IS and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are themselves bitter foes. Ankara’s change of tack follows a suicide bombing last Monday that shook Turkish society.”

Strikes against the Kurds will complicate the situation regarding USA, which considers the Kurds as their allies in the fight with ISIS.

Greece Not Ready to Leave the Euro

The Huffington Post wrote on July 20:

“Like many people following the negotiations between Greece and its creditors, I was inclined to see Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s finance minister, as the villain of the story. After all, Mr. Schauble insisted on severely punitive measures for Greece as a condition for continuing support from the European Central Bank (ECB). He appeared to be the bad cop relative to others in the negotiations, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was willing to make at least some concessions to keep Greece in the euro. But a more careful analysis arguably leads to the opposite conclusion.

“Schauble did not argue for throwing Greece out of the euro simply as a punitive measure, although he quite obviously disapproved of the way Greece had run its budget and its economy. He argued, quite possibly sincerely, that at least a temporary departure from the euro zone would be the best path forward for Greece… This divorce process was clearly not the first best solution. That would have involved restructuring Greek debt while keeping Greece in the euro, but none of the major actors among the creditors seriously considered such proposals…

“The Greek government had not prepared itself for the process of leaving the euro. Perhaps the world will be surprised and the deal it reached with its creditors will provide a basis for renewed growth. But if not, it may want to get back in touch with Mr. Schauble.”

 UK Government Accused of Trying to Buy Influence with US Power Family

Daily Mail wrote on July 25:

“Tens of millions of pounds of UK aid money has been siphoned through charities linked to Hillary Clinton, it emerged last night. British politicians – including Gordon Brown – stand accused of diverting huge amounts of cash through the organisations after falling under the spell of the US presidential candidate and her husband Bill. At least £50 million of taxpayer-funded foreign aid money has gone to Clinton charities, which are at the centre of allegations in the US that foreign governments used donations to buy influence.

“The UK is one of the biggest donors, handing over more than £20 million last year alone to the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), an organisation chaired by former President Bill, 68, and whose board includes the couple’s daughter Chelsea, 35. Since 2011, a total of £48.9 million has gone into the coffers of this charity alone.”

The Bible prophesies that in these end times, especially the UK and the USA will try to “buy” friends and allies, but this plan will backfire.

Obama Urges UK to Stay in the EU 

Deutsche Welle reported on July 23:

 “US President Barack Obama said Britain must remain in the European Union to maintain its global influence. In previous interviews Obama has avoided taking a stance on such issues. ‘Having the UK in the EU gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union, and is part of the cornerstone of the institutions built after (the second world war) that has made the world safer and more prosperous,’ Obama said.

“‘We want to make sure that the United Kingdom continues to have that influence,’ he added… Obama said that Britain was the US’ ‘best partner’ because of its willingness to project power beyond its ‘immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world.’”

With these derogatory comments about continental Europe, President Obama stepped again into a wasp’s nest.

 German Influence in Africa

German Foreign Policy wrote on July 22:

“Parallel to the escalating crises in Greece and Ukraine and the participation or involvement in various wars in the Arab world, the German government is intensifying its efforts to enhance its political and military influence on the African continent. German companies are seeking lucrative business opportunities in booming Angola at the ‘Angola/Germany Economic Forum’ ending today in the country’s capital Luanda. Despite its persistent efforts, so far, German trade relations with Angola have not achieved a real breakthrough, whereas Berlin has already made progress in its military cooperation with Luanda. In late 2014, both countries signed an agreement on a ‘partnership’ in military policy followed by a joint military exercise in March 2015. Angola is considered useful as an ally for implementing Germany’s geo-strategic interests in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been massively upgrading its military apparatus and thereby become a challenge to South Africa’s claim to continental hegemony…

“More than twenty German companies are currently present in the country, including the Frankfurt-based Commerzbank AG and the Swabian technology company Bosch. The Gauff Engineering Company, in Nuremberg, is participating in important infrastructure projects…

“For Germany, Angola’s arms buildup offensive is considered an ideal alternative to South Africa, with which Berlin had maintained a relatively intensive military cooperation. Pretoria’s ties to the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which in the long run is a challenge to the West’s hegemony, has made it increasingly unreliable in German eyes – not least of all in the context of the West’s current conflict with Russia…”

The fact that German-South African relationships are deteriorating is interesting in light of biblical prophecy indicating that continental Europe, under German leadership, will develop a hostile attitude towards the descendants of the ancient house of Israel, including South Africa.

Obama Clashes with Kenyan President over Gay Rights

The Telegraph wrote on July 25:

“Barack Obama… has directly challenged his host Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, on the issue of gay rights, suggesting that ‘bad things happen’ when countries don’t accept their citizens’ right to be homosexual.

“Mr Obama said that as an African-American, he was ‘painfully aware’ of what it was like to be treated as a lesser citizen in law in his own country and that such discriminatory policies ended up on the wrong side of history. ‘When you start treating people differently, not because of any harm they’re doing anybody but because they’re doing different, that’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode, and bad things happen,’ Mr Obama told reporters at State House in Nairobi. ‘And when government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits start to spread. I am unequivocal on this. The idea they are going to be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop.’

“But Mr Kenyatta, who was warned by senior members of his party not to comment on the issue in the run-up to Mr Obama’s historic visit, insisted gay rights in conservative Kenya was a ‘non-issue’… The tense exchange came during an unusually frank press conference in which Mr Obama raised concerns about endemic corruption holding back the economic growth of Kenya, where his father was born…

“Mr Obama also explained his failure to visit his ancestral home until now, six years into his presidency, saying he ‘didn’t want to play favourites’ but admitting that International Criminal Court charges facing Mr Kenyatta over post-election violence in 2007 were of concern to the United States. The ICC recently dropped the charges against Mr Kenyatta citing witness intimidation and a lack of evidence. Separate ICC charges still face his deputy, William Ruto. Before Mr Obama’s arrival, there had been questions whether he would meet Mr Ruto, who has waded into the homosexual debate by decrying the ‘dirty’ practice. Mr Obama shook Mr Ruto’s hand during an unguarded moment at State House that was captured by the Kenyan presidency photographer and posted on Twitter.”

It is exactly the attitude expressed by President Obama which will contribute to the downfall of the USA… where bad things happen…

Boy Scouts Under Attack

Thomson/Reuters reported on July 28:

“A decision by the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay leaders was met with indignation by the largest U.S. Protestant group on Tuesday along with criticism from a leading gay rights group that the move did not go far enough.

“About 70 percent of the roughly 100,000 U.S. Boy Scout units are sponsored by religious institutions, and many said the Monday decision runs counter to the moral standards set by the 105-year-old youth organization. ‘We express consummate sadness that this once vibrant organization continues to cave to social pressure, compromising its long-held, constitutionally protected tenets,’ said Roger ‘Sing’ Oldham, a spokesman for the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention. Even though the decision permits religious organizations to exclude gay adults in keeping with their beliefs, other major conservative church groups also criticized the change, which took effect with the vote Monday by the National Executive Board.

“The largest sponsor of Boy Scout units, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has said it was ‘deeply troubled’ by the move, adding the Mormons’ ‘century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined.’… The Catholic Church, another leading sponsor of troops, on Tuesday said in a statement it was concerned with the ‘practical implications’ of allowing gay leaders but remains committed to its relationship with the Irving, Texas-based Scouts… The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, called for the Scouts to drop the opt-out religious exemption and become fully non-discriminatory…

“The Boy Scouts’ president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called for the change in May, saying continuation of the blanket ban on gay Scout leaders was ‘unsustainable’. Gates helped end the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving. Earlier, corporate sponsors such as Lockheed Martin and Intel dropped funding for the organization to protest policies considered discriminatory. Membership in the Boy Scouts has been steadily declining over the past decade, but the 2013 decision to allow gay youth contributed to a steeper drop of 7.4 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to organization figures.”

 Britain Threatened with Terrible Winter Storms?

Express wrote on July 25:

“THE STRONGEST El Nino in recorded history could lead to Britain being battered by SIX MONTHS of violent storms… Climate scientists warned temperatures in the Pacific have increased by THREE degrees Fahrenheit in recent weeks as ocean winds have weakened. The so-called El Nino phenomenon, which has a huge impact on the world’s weather, has only been stronger twice before in recorded history – the last time in 1997, when a series of violent 100MPH Atlantic storms slammed into the UK. And experts claimed this year’s El Nino is STILL strengthening and could soon break all historical records with the extreme weather patterns lasting until next Spring – meaning Britain could face one of the worst winter storm seasons in living memory…

“The current El Nino event is under the watchful eye of meteorologists across the world as it can devastate farming and fish harvests. AccuWeather’s global weather centre said the world could be facing the strongest El Nino in 50 years. It threatens storms in parts of the US including California, heavy rain and floods in western Australia and an unsettled UK winter… Confidence continues to grow that this El Niño will be one of the stronger El Niños over the past 50 years… El Niño typically reaches its peak during the December through February period… The strongest El Niño on record since the beginning of the 20th century occurred during 1997-98.”

 Pope Francis the “Antichrist”?

In July 29, the Drudge Report posted a link to the following article by Charisma Link:

“… why do so many people think-or at least ponder-that the Latin American pontiff is the Antichrist (or at least the end-time False Prophet mentioned in Revelation 19:20)? It could be for some of the same reasons his popularity is declining. His approval rating in the United States has dropped from 76 percent a year ago to 56 percent today, according to Gallup. Indeed, even Roman Catholics are cooling off to Francis, the first-ever Jesuit pope who emerged as a darling among the evangelical community when he took over for the retiring Benedict. Some Pentecostal onlookers suggested he was Spirit-filled. And Kenneth Copeland and James Robison met privately with the pope in Rome and exchanged high-fives…

“Reuters’ Scott Malone points out: ‘The decline comes as Francis has changed the focus of his public remarks from that of his immediate predecessors, concentrating less on the Church’s opposition to abortion and gay marriage and spending more of his time discussing social inequity and poverty.’ Francis has been vocal about the evils of capitalism while backing off conservative views about homosexuals, asking, ‘Who am I to judge?’ He’s even called for a New World Order more than once…

“Francis has warmed up to Islam like no other pope before him. In a historic first, Francis opened the door to Muslim prayers and Quran readings at the Vatican last year. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres joined the pontiff in the Vatican gardens for a prayer meeting… Some saw this as a precursor to the one world religion.

“Protestant feathers really got ruffled when the washingtonpost.com.co and others falsely reported that Francis said the Quran and Holy Bible are the same… Although it seems unlikely that the pope actually said that… the fact that so many Christians took it as truth without a second blink is telling. He’s said and done enough other shocking things to make this statement believable in the ears of many believers…

“More than 50 years ago, a Jesuit priest predicted the resignation of Pope Benedict-to the day-and now Tom Horn, who worked with Cris Putnam to unveil a 900-year-old prophecy buried in the library at the Vatican that describes a series of 112 popes, and others are looking at his research.

“‘Was he divinely inspired? Was he demonically inspired?’ Horn asks. ‘Because we know demons know things about times and dispensations, too…’”

Indeed, they are, and since they are lying spirits, one never knows when they tell the truth…

This Week in the News

The Abortion Culture of America

 The Boston Globe reported on July 22:

“It’s not often that a business-lunch conversation becomes a viral YouTube video. But then, it’s not often that a top Planned Parenthood official is recorded discussing, over a leisurely lunch of salad and red wine, the business of selling fetal organs harvested from aborted babies.

“More than 2.5 million people have seen the undercover video in which Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, readily details the ins and outs of harvesting the body parts of aborted fetuses, which are then sold for research. Nucatola thought she was speaking to buyers for a fetal-tissue supply firm in California. In fact, her lunch companions were researchers for the pro-life Center for Medical Progress, which posted the recording online — both the full footage, as well as a nine-minute abridged version.

“The video came as a bombshell. Selling fetal organs for profit is illegal under federal law, yet Nucatola appears quite candid in describing Planned Parenthood’s lively commercial interest in human tissue from abortion. She is alert to market demand — ‘I’d say a lot of people want liver,’ she tells her lunch companions — and understands how to carry out an abortion to maximize the quality of the organs that can be supplied to buyers afterward.

“’We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that,’ says Nucatola, ‘so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.’ She talks about properly trained abortion doctors using ultrasound to ensure that forceps don’t damage organs destined for sale. When she is asked for a ‘price range,’ Nucatola replies: ‘I would say it’s probably anywhere from $30 to $100’ per specimen, depending on the facility.

“Planned Parenthood adamantly insists that it does not traffic in fetal remains. Women who have abortions ‘sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research,’ the organization said in a formal statement, and Planned Parenthood receives ‘no financial benefit’ for facilitating such donations — merely compensation for its ‘actual costs,’ which is legal.

“As a matter of law, Planned Parenthood may be on solid ground. But it isn’t illegality that makes this video so scandalous. It is amorality. It is the nonchalance with which Planned Parenthood’s senior medical director schmoozes, between swigs of wine and forkfuls of salad, about dismembering a healthy unborn child and selling its parts for ‘anywhere from $30 to $100’ apiece. It is the sheer indifference to the enormity of destroying life in the womb and then ‘donating’ the wreckage for money.

“On Tuesday, a second undercover video was released. This one shows Dr. Mary Gatter, the president of Planned Parenthood’s medical directors council, haggling over the price for fetal organs. ‘We’re not in it for the money,’ Gatter says; still, the payment ‘has to be big enough that it’s worthwhile for me.’ She settles on $100 a specimen — and says she’ll talk to the abortion doctor about using a ‘less crunchy’ technique to retrieve more intact body parts.”

This scandalous admission reminds us of the nonchalance with which Nazi German officials planned the “final solution” at the infamous conference at Wannsee. The Bible warns that in these last days, the use and sale of organs (“bodies and souls of men”) will dramatically increase (Revelation 18:13).

Adultery Hacked!

CBS News wrote on July 22:

“The hackers who infiltrated AshleyMadison.com, a dating website geared toward people seeking extramarital relationships, have sacrificed their first hostage.

“The attack, reported Monday, collected personal information on 37 million members. The perpetrators demanded that the whole website be taken down or they would release all the names and private data they have…

“For a website like Ashley Madison that prides itself on secrecy and anonymity, a breach like this can be catastrophic. The site’s subscribers presumably felt that their private information was safe — and many even paid extra to have their information scrubbed.

“‘The quick answer is: not that safe,’ Dr. Michael Sulmeyer, the director of the Cyber Security Initiative at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center, told CBS Boston.

“He said Ashley Madison’s clients know now the truth of the web: Everything is hackable.”

The simple answer to situations like these can be found in the Bible; “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Exodus 20:17).

1 in 5 Ottawa Residents are on Ashley Madison

Global News reported on July 22:

“Ashley Madison, the Toronto-based website created for married people to find new lovers, is popular in Ottawa.

“According to data on AshleyMadison.com, there were more than 55,000 users on the website living in Ottawa in 2013, making it the most infidelity-friendly city in the country.

“The same was true this year when the website gave updated data to the National Post in February as Ottawa topped the list with roughly 189,000 users, or nearly one in five people living in the city. That’s a lot of people who might be worried their information might get leaked after Monday’s highly-publicized hack…”

ISIS Terrorists Sneak Into Europe 

Express wrote on July 22;

“ISIS fanatics have taken advantage of porous borders by travelling from North Africa to Italy on boats packed with refugees, according to terrorism experts.

“Now it is feared that the notorious group, which controls much of Iraq and Syria, could target Europe within months.”

Proposal for Eurozone Government

Bloomberg reported on July 19:

“French President Francois Hollande said that the 19 countries using the euro need their own government complete with a budget and parliament to cooperate better and overcome the Greek crisis. ‘Circumstances are leading us to accelerate,’ Hollande said in an opinion piece published by the Journal du Dimanche on Sunday. ‘What threatens us is not too much Europe, but a lack of it.’

“While the euro zone has a common currency, fiscal and economic policies remain mostly in the hands of each member state. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made a plea this week for deeper cooperation between the euro members after political squabbles over Greece almost led to a rupture in the single currency.

“Countries in favor of more integration should move ahead, forming an ‘avant-garde,’ Hollande said…”

International Business Times added on July 19:

“In his proposal, Hollande floated the idea of instituting an elected eurozone parliament ‘to ensure its democratic control.’ The escalating tensions over Greece’s debt have raised questions over the long-term viability of the eurozone project, doubts Hollande hopes a less-removed governance system would dispel. ‘What threatens us is not an excess of Europe but its insufficiency,’ Hollande wrote.

“‘Parliaments remain too far away from decisions,’ Hollande said. ‘And people are turning away after having been bypassed so much.’”

For more information on the future of the Eurozone, please view our StandingWatch program, “Greece in Prophecy.”

Europe the Next Middle East Peacemaker?

Fox News reported on July 20:

“The European Union’s top diplomat is looking for a fresh formula to revive the now moribund peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Federica Mogherini, who chaired negotiations that led to a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, said Monday she’s working on fleshing out an idea for ‘an international support group.’ The group would build on the existing ‘quartet’ of the EU, United States, Russia and the United Nations.

“Right now ‘there seems to be no peace process at all’ between Israel and the Palestinians, Mogherini said.

“She said a new regional and international framework is necessary to foster a more positive environment.

“Mogherini spoke to reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, who said in a statement that leaving the status quo unchanged ‘is not an option.’”

Grexit Off the Table?

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected the idea of a Greek debt haircut, saying it wouldn’t work in a currency union. At the same time, she has also ruled out forcing Greece to leave the eurozone. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday dismissed the idea of writing off part of Greece’s debt, but she said Berlin was open to a flexible repayment plan…

“On Friday, German MPs voted overwhelmingly to back another financial rescue package, despite being branded senseless by many voters…”

Germany Demands Answers

The Local wrote on July 23:

“Germany said on Wednesday it was ‘demanding answers’ from the United States over fresh allegations of official US espionage, this time against German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Berlin ‘confronted’ Washington with German media reports based on Wikileaks documents indicating that the… NSA… ‘systematically’ spied on Foreign Minister Steinmeier a ministry spokesman said. The spokesman, Martin Schaefer, told reporters that the revelations, ‘if true’, were ‘damaging’ relations between Germany and the United States.

“A high-ranking ministry official, Stefan Steinlein, phoned the US ambassador to Berlin, John Emerson, Tuesday. ‘He confronted him with the accusations and stressed that we expect the necessary clarifications and explanations on this case and all the other cases that remain unresolved,’ Schaefer said [continuing] that during the nearly two-year-long scandal over NSA spying against Germany, information had only emerged ‘bit-by-bit and via media outlet’…

“German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was dropped due to lack of proof…”

Seven Disturbing Facts about the Iran Deal

Beitbart wrote on July 17:

“As Iran and President Barack Obama cheer and champion their controversial nuclear deal, critics are roundly condemning the deal as a historic and catastrophic agreement that will strengthen Iran and imperil national security for America and its allies. Here, then, are seven facts about Obama’s proposed Iran nuclear deal Americans should know:

“1. U.S. Nuclear Inspectors Are Banned From Inspecting Iran’s Nuclear Sites. 

Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice admitted to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that ‘no Americans will be part of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspection teams.’

“The administration’s claim that the deal provides inspections ‘anytime, anywhere’ is also false. Obama’s deal allows Iran to block inspector access to any undeclared nuclear site…

“2. Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal Lifts Economic Sanctions that Could Boost Iran’s Economy with $150 Billion in Revenue.

“As the Washington Post reports, ‘Yet another worry is that the lifting of tough economic sanctions on Iran would provide it with as much as $150 billion in revenue. Some of that money would be spent on infrastructure and the Iranian people. Some of it, critics say, would go to the likes of Hezbollah, Syrian Bashar al-Assad and Iraqi militias that no long ago were killing Americans.’

“3. The Obama Administration Admits That ‘We Should Expect’ Iran Will Spend Some of the $150 Billion in Revenues Obama’s Deal Gives Them On Their Military and Possibly Terrorism.

“In the same interview with Wolf Blitzer, Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice conceded the following: ‘Yes, it is real, it is possible, and, in fact, we should expect that some portion of that money would go to the Iranian military and could potentially be used for the kinds of bad behavior that we have seen in the region up until now.’

“4. On the Very Week Obama Brokered His Iran Nuclear Deal, Large Crowds Across Iran Could Be Heard Chanting ‘Death to America’—And Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Declared ‘Death to America’ Just Months Ago.

“As even the Huffington Post noted… ‘hatred towards the United States remains a basic tenet of Iran’s ruling system, on display just last week during an annual protest day that saw large crowds across Iran chanting ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’…

“5. Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal Does Not Require Iran to Release Any American Prisoners…

“6. Obama’s Deal Allows Russia and China to Supply Iran with Weapons.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed on Tuesday that ‘weapons supplies will be possible’ under the new deal. As the International Business Times reported, ‘Russia and China will continue to make weapons deals with Iran under U.N. procedures.’…

“7. 77 Percent of Americans Oppose Obama’s Lifting of Sanctions Against Iran

“According to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, 77 percent of Americans believe U.S. sanctions against Iran should be kept the same or increased, not lifted as Obama’s deal calls for…”

Secret Iran Deals?

The Blaze reported on July 22:

“Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) revealed on Tuesday that they were made aware of two secret side deals included in the Iran nuclear deal that will not be shared with Congress or the public.

“The lawmakers reportedly met with the International Energy Agency in Vienna on Friday and were informed that ‘two side deals made between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will remain secret and will not be shared with other nations, with Congress, or with the public,’ according to a press release.

“One of the alleged secret deals involves the ‘inspection of the Parchin military complex,’ and the second ‘details how the IAEA and Iran will resolve outstanding issues on possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program,’ the release added.

“The parties involved in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, including the Obama administration, reportedly agreed to the arrangement. Cotton and Pompeo urged the Obama administration to disclose details of the full Iran deal.”

“Stop Laughing at Donald Trump”

The Washington Post wrote on July 17

“… writing Trump off is dangerous… while establishment candidates in both parties might want to ignore him… an enormous number of voters clearly like his views…

“Republicans especially need to stop laughing…  Trump happily appeals to older, more conservative white baby boomers and seniors… Vilifying them cannot be a lasting political strategy for tomorrow…”

Donald Trump continues to change the political landscape in the presidential race. He is favored by 23% of potential GOP voters.

Rome in Decay

The Telegraph wrote on July 16:

“The Eternal City is facing crisis, with its administration engulfed in corruption scandals and debt, its roads scarred by pot-holes, the main airport partially closed and a growing immigration crisis… ‘Rome is on the verge of collapse,’ Giancarlo Cremonesi, the president of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters… Everything has been exacerbated by the effects of Italy’s longest recession since the Second World War, with homeless people on the street and youth unemployment over 40 per cent…

“Along the Tiber River, Romany gipsies have set up shanty villages, their shacks hidden from view by tall thickets of cane grass… A lack of bins mean that locals and visitors alike drop their rubbish on the ground…

“An investigation found that corrupt local politicians had colluded with criminal gangs to cream off money from a range of services, from rubbish collection to the management of refugee facilities. The scandal has been dubbed ‘Mafia Capitale’, and comes amid growing evidence that the city is being infiltrated by organized crime groups. On Wednesday police raided a restaurant close to the Pantheon… on suspicion that it was controlled by the Calabrian mafia…

“The crime syndicate is believed to be laundering more and more of its money through legitimate businesses in Rome, as well as Milan… On main roads out of the city, teenage prostitutes from eastern Europe and west Africa tout for business in miniskirts and high heels – a brutal departure from the romantic image of the capital portrayed by sentimental films such as Eat, Pray, Love or Three Coins in the Fountain…”

Looking for Aliens?

ABC News reported on July 21:

“Stephen Hawking is ready to find aliens.

“The cosmologist is throwing his support behind a $100 million initiative, funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, to begin an extensive search for proof of extraterrestrial life.

“What makes the search different this time, Hawking said at a news conference on Monday, are the extensive resources and access to some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, which may help answer the lingering question of whether we are alone.

“‘Mankind has a deep need to explore, to learn to know,’ Hawking said. ‘We also happen to be sociable creatures. It is important to us to know if we are alone in the dark.’

“The team behind the project, which is being called Breakthrough Initiatives, has booked time using two of the world’s best telescopes, one in West Virginia, the other in Australia, to beginning scanning the entire Milky Way and neighboring galaxies for radio waves and light sources that could indicate life exists beyond Earth.

“The telescopes are 50 times as sensitive and will cover 10 times as much territory as previous searches, according to Breakthrough Initiatives, giving the group what it believes could be mankind’s best opportunity yet to take a gamble on finding life outside Earth.

“Instead of asking the cosmos if anyone is out there, the project will instead focus on listening…

“’It’s time to commit to finding the answer to search for life beyond Earth,’ Hawking said. ‘We are alive, we are intelligent, we must know.’”

If one were to believe the Bible and not pride in atheism and agnosticism, then these horrendous amounts of wasted money could be put to a much better use. According to Scripture, GOD created the universe and all life on earth, and there is no hint of any alien lifeforms in the physical realm. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth…Before and After the First Man!”

This Week in the News

Bad Deal

The Washington Post wrote on July 14:

“Israeli leaders across the political spectrum condemned in stark apocalyptic language the Iranian nuclear pact announced by the United States and world powers Tuesday, calling it a historic mistake that frees Iran to sponsor global terror while assembling the information and materials to build a nuclear weapon. ‘Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons,’ said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday… With the lifting of economic sanctions, Netanyahu warned, ‘ Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror.’

“Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partner, education minister Naftali Bennett said, ‘Today a terrorist nuclear superpower is born, and it will go down as one of the darkest days in world history.’…

“Many Israeli leaders view a nuclear Iran as an existential threat to their state. Israeli social media accounts were filled with images of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who pushed a policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler and the Nazis on the eve of World War II… ‘Israel will defend itself,’ Bennett warned, vowing that military action is still an option for the Jewish State, which feels itself in the crosshairs from a belligerent enemy, where just last week protesters in Tehran were chanting ‘Death to Israel!’…

“Israeli politicians and pro-Israel supporters in the United States will now likely press Congress to derail the deal, a difficult prospect that could eventually require trying to override a presidential veto, which would require deep Democratic support..

“Netanyahu and his government charge that Obama especially, is naive about Iranian intentions and has placed a foolish bet on a deceptive and devious partner…”

Biggest Foreign Policy Gamble

Reuters reported on July 14:

“The sealing of a nuclear pact with Iran marks the biggest foreign policy gamble of Barack Obama’s presidency – a legacy-defining achievement that could yet backfire if Tehran exploits any loopholes or escalates tensions in the Middle East. No other foreign policy challenge bears Obama’s personal stamp more than the final nuclear accord reached with Iran on Tuesday, and none poses a more critical test of his doctrine of talking to America’s enemies to avoid confronting them…

“But if the critics are proven right, Obama could go down in history as the president who only bought time before allowing Tehran to go nuclear. That could spark a regional arms race. Obama, who controversially won the Nobel Peace prize barely nine months into his first term, must overcome accusations from hawkish lawmakers that he abandoned many of his original ‘red lines’ and compromised on others.

“Initial U.S. demands dropped along the way included fuller dismantling of Iran’s nuclear architecture and rollback of its ballistic missile program. As details emerged on Tuesday, opponents complained that Obama also made concessions on inspection of military sites – although Iran too appeared to have given ground on the issue… He must now convince a skeptical Congress not to sabotage the agreement while reassuring allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia who fear that, once freed from economically crippling sanctions, Iran will be empowered to expand regional influence…

“The most immediate challenge for Obama will be to clear the obstacles in the Republican-controlled Congress, which will have 60 days to review the Iran agreement… If Congress votes down the accord, Obama would veto the ‘disapproval’ legislation and then likely have enough votes from fellow Democrats to make it stick. But resorting to such a move would underscore the deal’s unsteady footing in Washington…

“Critics say Obama’s drive to limit U.S. military engagement in the Middle East, most notably a failure to enforce his ‘red line’ on chemical weapons use in Syria in 2013, was seen by Iran’s nuclear negotiators as a sign of weakness. By contrast, President Richard Nixon’s unquestioned anti-communist credentials helped immunize him from criticism at home and shored up trust in his commitment to act from strength when he made a historic opening to China in the early 1970s.

“Many fear that even if Iran does not covertly work toward a bomb it would remain a nuclear-weapons threshold state able to race ahead once restrictions on its uranium enrichment activities begin expiring in a decade. That could leave a future U.S. administration with the decision whether to go to war to stop it.”

President Obama Should Think Again…

 The Telegraph wrote on July 14:

“You only had to look at the beaming smiles on the faces of the Iranian negotiating team to see who had emerged as the undisputed winners… Iranians have long enjoyed a reputation for being wily negotiators, but the outcome… will have surpassed even their wildest expectations. Tehran entered these talks, let us not forget, out of sheer desperation to escape the crippling effects of the economic sanctions imposed by the West…

 “The main reason we have ended up with this apology for a deal is that, rather than maintain the economic pressure on Iran until it guaranteed proper cooperation, President Barack Obama indicated he was more interested in securing his foreign policy legacy by signing a historic accord, irrespective of the concessions this would require.

 “Mr Obama might have convinced himself that the deal cuts off all of Iran’s ‘pathways to nuclear weapons,’ but that is certainly not how the deal will be viewed by those who have more intimate knowledge of the Iranian regime’s devious tactics, such as the Saudis and the Gulf states….

 “If Mr Obama really believes his ‘historic’ deal is going to bring peace to the region, then he needs to think again.”

Very Little That America Can Do Now

The Associated Press reported on July 14:

“Although President Barack Obama doesn’t need Congressional approval for the deal, lawmakers will likely try to derail it by passing new sanctions or preventing Obama from lifting existing sanctions – the key incentive for Iran to comply with the deal. Under an agreement that Obama struck with lawmakers earlier in the year, Congress has 60 days to review the agreement before he can start easing sanctions.

“Obama on Tuesday threatened to veto any resolutions from Congress seeking to undermine the deal, meaning opponents would have to muster a two-thirds majority in Congress to override the veto. That would require dozens of Democrats to vote against the president, which appears unlikely, and even if opponents are successful, Obama could use his presidential powers to offer substantial sanctions relief on his own.”

 The Deal with Greece

 Deutsche Welle reported on July 14:

“Eurozone leaders have reached a deal to provide Greece with a third financial bailout… European Council President Donald Tusk… along with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem appeared at a press conference to unveil the agreement.

“Tusk, trying to lighten the atmosphere after what by all accounts were at times heated discussions, described the bailout deal as an ‘agreekment’ to save the financially stricken eurozone country from bankruptcy. The European Council president pledged that the deal would allow Athens to ‘get back on track.’ ‘Grexit has gone,’ Juncker said, referring to the scenario of Greece being forced out of the eurozone, if a deal had not been reached…

“In her remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that despite the fact that the agreement provides for some debt relief for Athens, there would be no fresh debt ‘haircut’ for Greece. She also noted that ‘trust needs to be rebuilt’ between Greece and its creditors, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Achieving this and implementing the terms of the bailout would not be easy, she warned. ‘The road will be long, and judging by the negotiations tonight, difficult,’ Merkel said…

“The agreement announced on Monday will require Tsipras to push… spending cuts, tax increases and pension reforms. These are just the sort of reforms that Tsipras and his left-wing Syriza party vowed to stop in their successful January election campaign. Shortly after the deal was announced, his labor minister warned that it wasn’t clear whether there was a parliamentary majority prepared to endorse it. The joint statement released by the eurozone leaders about the deal said that none of the other countries would move to approve the deal until the measures have been passed by Greece…”

Subsequently, the Greek parliament approved the deal [see articles below]

Germany Flexes Its Muscles!

 USA TODAY reported on July 14:

“The deal agreed to Monday between Greece and its creditors was hard fought, and even if Athens did not come out on top, the lengthy negotiations call to mind another Greek battle: the Battle of Marathon, a famous Greek victory against Persian invaders in 490 B.C. that later inspired the marathon run.

“After hours of intense negotiations, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted terms for a third bailout that were far more onerous than those in the second bailout program, which expired June 30 after Greece rejected further austerity.

“The harshness of the terms and the intransigence of core eurozone creditors, led by Germany, astonished many economists and observers worldwide. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called it ‘vindictive folly’ and suggested it might be a fatal blow against European integration.

“Although many thought Tsipras had a secret agenda to lead Greece out of the euro, he remained faithful to his pledge — and the will of the majority of Greek voters — to stay with the joint currency.

“In fact, it seemed that that particular objective was German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s, with former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis attributing it to Schäuble as a way of enforcing discipline among other euro members.

“In the end, it was Tsipras who reneged on the other half of the pledge that got him elected: that Greece would not accept a bailout ‘at any cost.’

“Faced with the chaos of a collapsing economy and failing banks, which forced Greeks to scramble for food and risk running out of essential medicine, Tsipras ended up accepting austerity terms Greek voters had decisively rejected in a referendum last week.

“It was Merkel who remained firm in her declared objective to keep Greece in the euro but not ‘at any cost.’

“So is Merkel the winner and Tsipras the loser?

“It depends on what time frame you look at. In the very short term, Merkel has clearly won this battle.

“But in the longer term — can we now call it a war? — this ‘victory’ could produce a political backlash throughout Europe, with fateful consequences for the future of ‘ever-closer union’ in the eurozone and European Union, a 28-nation political bloc.

“Germany has made it clear that Europe will operate strictly on terms set in Berlin and Frankfurt. Voters in France, Spain, Italy and other eurozone countries have to decide if that’s the future they want for their countries.

“Even many voters in Germany have grown uncomfortable with Merkel’s display of naked power after she submitted another freely elected European leader to what one eurozone official at Sunday night’s negotiations termed, according to The Guardian, ‘extensive mental waterboarding.’”

Germans Dislike/Mistrust the Deal

The Local wrote on July 14:

“The deal on Greek reforms has been met with horror in certain quarters, as German journalists worry that their government is undermining 70 years of post-war diplomacy.

 “Merkel and her hardline finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, drove a tough bargain at the marathon negotiations, in line with Berlin’s stated goal of defending the cause of fiscal rectitude. But while Merkel, often called Europe’s de facto leader, has grown used to Nazi caricatures on the streets of Athens, a backlash appeared to be mounting this time at home too. Commentators of all political stripes said they feared that Berlin’s ‘bad cop’ stance in Brussels had brought back ‘ugly German’ stereotypes of rigid, brutal rule enforcers.

 “‘The German government destroyed seven decades of post-war diplomacy on a single weekend,’ news website Spiegel Online said. ‘There is a fine line between saving and punishing Greece. This night the line has disappeared,’ tweeted Mathias Mueller von Blumencron of the conservative standard-bearer Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as the details of the German-brokered austerity-for-aid deal emerged. ‘Merkel managed to revive the image of the ugly, hard-hearted and stingy German that had just begun to fade,’ the centre-left daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote…

“The German public though were more receptive to the deal.  A clear majority (62 percent) … voiced their support for Greece staying in the euro. But at the same time only a minority said they believed the Greek government would implement the reform package it has promised… These numbers have changed significantly in just a matter of weeks. When Tsipras announced that he would take the creditors’ proposals to a referendum at the start of July an equal number of Germans were for a Grexit as wanted the country to stay in the euro, at 45 percent…

“After a shock Schäuble proposal for a temporary Greek exit from the euro or ‘Grexit’ surfaced over the weekend… Spiegel called the package that was finally hammered out a ‘catalogue of cruelties’ that read like a ‘plan to humiliate Greece’.

“… former foreign minister Joschka Fischer said the Greek crisis had given rise to a rebirth of nationalism and accused Merkel of failing to use her considerable power to persuade Germans to look beyond their pocketbooks for the sake of Europe. Merkel, who in November will celebrate a decade in power and enjoys nearly 70-percent approval ratings, ‘as not argued or acted politically but as a bookkeeper’, he said.”

Britain to Pay for Greece?

Breitbart wrote on July 14:

“Britain could face a bill of up to £850m for [the] latest Greek bailout as European leaders desperately search for money for the heavily indebted nation. Although Britain is signed up to an emergency EU fund, Prime Minister David Cameron believes he has won an opt-out as the UK is not a member of the Eurozone. However, EU Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker is desperate to raise funds to keep Greece in the euro.

 “Greece needs €12bn to prevent it going into economic meltdown, and Britain could face £850m in liabilities if it is ordered to join the bailout. Any such move would likely enrage Conservative Eurosceptics and seriously weaken David Cameron’s attempts to EU renegotiation, thus playing into the hands of UKIP.

“Chancellor George Osborne has promised to fight attempts to raid British taxpayers’ money to pay for Greece…

“Britain was originally signed up to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), a €60bn fund, until it was ‘deactivated’ in 2011 after the EU created a bigger and more flexible fund that did not include Britain… France already wants to bring back the EFSM, and if German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble agrees, George Osborne could find himself outvoted…”

Would Britain Prosper from a Brexit?

Breitbart wrote on July 12:

“Britain has nothing to lose and everything to gain from leaving the European Union. A seamless Brexit could even spark a free market ‘chain reaction’ across the continent, driving the likes of Denmark and Sweden to take control of their own destiny…

“Britain [was encouraged] to rejoin the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which the UK was a founding member. Its members – Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and Liechtenstein – enjoy access to the EU’s common market, but are not subjected to the same political controls imposed by Brussels… The EU has declined in importance as a trade destination for the UK, with just 45.3 per cent of its goods exports headed to the political union in May, down from a peak of 66 per cent in the early 2000s…”

In an accompanying article, Breitbart wrote on July 12:

“Britain receives less than half the money it puts into the EU back as subsidies thanks to the ongoing Eurozone crisis, a new report has found. The report also found that British households could be as much as £933 a year better off if Britain left the EU. The think tank which compiled the report advised that staying within the EU poses ‘serious risks’.

“The comprehensive new report from Business for Britain, runs to a mammoth 1,032 pages, has found that, between 1976 and 2003 the average return from Britain’s financial input into the EU was 68 per cent, meaning that, for every £1 British taxpayers paid into the European project, just 68 pence was returned in grants and subsidies. That figure alone is enough to demonstrate that membership of the EU can only ever be justified on ideological, not economic grounds. But since the Eurozone crisis which began in 2008, the figure has dramatically worsened to the point that just 49 pence in each pound are now returned to British coffers, less than half of what is paid in.

“The report… notes that if Britain stopped paying into the EU, it is not just the direct payments which would be saved: ‘Without paying into the central EU Budget, the UK would make administrative savings by removing an extra tier of administration, add new options for efficiency savings, and could identify projects where it saw greater investment return.’ But direct payments from the government are not the only form of payments into the EU. Previous research by Business for Britain has already revealed how Brits pay more into the EU than citizens of other member states through VAT payments…

“… the authors… highlight that membership of the EU has never been about the economics. ‘The EU’s overriding objective has always been political,’ they say… The Eurozone is separating into ‘Euromark’ and ‘Eurodrachma’ groups… Even within the Eurozone there already exists a ‘two tier Europe’…”

Greece in Much Bigger Need of Help

Reuters reported on July 14:

“Greece will need far bigger debt relief than euro zone partners have been prepared to envisage so far due to the devastation of its economy and banks in the last two weeks, a confidential study by the International Monetary Fund seen by Reuters shows. The updated debt sustainability analysis (DSA) was sent to euro zone governments late on Monday, hours after Athens and its 18 partners agreed in principle to open negotiations on a third bailout program of up to 86 billion euros in return for tougher austerity measures and structural reforms.

“European countries would have to give Greece a 30-year grace period on servicing all its European debt, including new loans, and a very dramatic maturity extension, or else make explicit annual fiscal transfers to the Greek budget or accept ‘deep upfront haircuts’ on their loans to Athens, the report said.

“The latest IMF study said Greek debt would now peak at close to 200 percent of economic output in the next two years, compared to a previously forecast high of 177 percent.

“Even by 2022, the debt would stand at 170 percent of gross domestic product, compared to an estimate of 142 percent issued just two weeks ago…”

Greek Parliament Approves EU Austerity Measures

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 15:

“Greece’s parliament has approved a raft of fresh austerity imposed by international creditors… ‘We don’t believe in it,’ Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said ahead of the vote early Thursday, ‘but we are forced to adopt it.’”

The Washington Post wrote on July 15:

“Hours after police and demonstrators clashed in central Athens, Greek lawmakers early Thursday morning approved austerity measures that were overwhelmingly rejected by their citizens just days ago, in a stark turnabout that was the price Greece’s lenders demanded for not forcing it off the euro and into a whirlwind of economic turmoil.

“The vote reverberated around Europe, marking a stunning defeat for populist forces that have pushed for a break from years of grinding cuts that powerhouse economies led by Germany have enforced as the key to growth. In the new topsy-turvy reality, leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was tasked with advocating a stricter version of the austerity he has long opposed. Many of his allies abandoned him, saying their nation was taking more of the same toxic medicine that had forced it into five years of penury.

“The adoption of the new measures was a milestone on the road toward European approval of an up to $96 billion bailout, sparing Greece from certain bankruptcy and its ouster from the shared euro currency. Already, banks have been closed for more than two weeks. With a dearth of cash to fuel basic transactions, Greece’s economy is slowly suffocating under the pressure.

“Greek leaders were stuck Wednesday urging the approval of measures to which they could offer only tepid support, acknowledging that they may send their country into deeper recession…”

Trump the Clear Frontrunner

 Breitbart wrote on July 14:

“A new poll from USA Today and Suffolk University finds that billionaire Donald Trump is the clear Republican frontrunner for 2016.

“Trump leads the GOP field with 17 percent in the poll, whereas former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trails him by three points at 14 percent.”

Breitbart added the following commentary on July 14:

“Finally! A great, unifying figure emerges in American politics to bring the endlessly bickering factions here in Washington back together again. Not since 9/11 has everyone in Washington rallied in such unison as they do now — vehemently opposed to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. But unlike 9/11, the sophisticates and kleptocrats in both parties of Washington find themselves wildly out of step with actual American voters…

“Professional Republicans denounce him. Conservative commentators mock him and insist he is no part of the Grand Old Party. Professional Democrats abhor him and smear him as a racist boob. Liberal commentators predict that he will destroy the Republican Party… People here in Washington despise voters and think you are stupid and not to be taken seriously. You are rude and vulgar and uneducated.

“Take Mr. Trump’s comments about the illegals streaming across the border from Mexico who commit these heinous crimes… This was not a polite thing to say. But it is absolutely, incontrovertibly true. Just ask the grieving family of Kathryn Steinle out in California. And polls show that American voters in both parties agree with Mr. Trump and desperately want the crisis to be fixed.

“But in this ever-lying world of Washington politics, it is wrong to speak the truth if it is shocking or unpleasant. Which, of course, is how this country has gotten into the terrible fix we are in today. So Mr. Trump is denounced from every corner, branded as a racist and excommunicated by proper politicos of every stripe…

“Nobody is talking about people of Mexican extraction who are living and working legally in America. This is about illegal Mexicans illegally crossing the border and illegally committing atrocious crimes, in many cases even after they have been deported — repeatedly! It is about a broken border and a broken immigration system…”

The Biggest “Data Hack” in US History!

 The Washington Post reported on July 10:

“Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta resigned under pressure ­Friday, a day after the Obama administration announced that two major breaches of U.S. government databases holding personnel records and security-clearance files exposed the sensitive information of at least 22.1 million people.

“Archuleta, who had been leading the agency for 17 months, had been under fire from Republicans and Democrats in Congress and federal employee unions in the five weeks since she disclosed a massive hack of the employment files of 4.2 million current and former federal employees. But calls for her resignation grew late Thursday after administration officials revealed the full scope of a second hack that compromised background investigation files of federal employees, contractors, applicants and their families.”

This Week in the News

Greece Votes “No!” — Now What?

Deutsche Welle reported on July 5:

“[The] Greeks have voted against the conditions of any further bailout, raising possible issues with regard to Athens’ future in the euro… It remains to be seen, however, how [the] eurozone leaders… will digest the result, and what’s more, whether it will trigger the ‘Grexit,’ or Greece’s exit from the eurozone, as has been supposed…

“The reaction in Germany was decidedly less enthusiastic [than in Greece]. Michael Fuchs, one of Merkel’s senior conservatives on the federal level, said a ‘disaster happened’ on Sunday…

“Greek government spokesman Sakellaridis said the Bank of Greece was immediately asking the European Central Bank to inject emergency euro cash for Greece’s depleted banks, which have been shuttered all week. Greece was officially declared in default on Friday by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which holds some 145 billion euros of Greek loans, after Athens failed to make an IMF repayment.

“Tsipras is demanding that the ECB, IMF and European Commission absolve Greece of 30 percent of the 240 billion euros Athens has received over the past five years. The Prime Minister also wants a 20-year grace period to repay the other 70 percent. Greece’s eurozone counterparts, as well as the institutions that approved and stipulated the bailout, have rejected those demands.”

The Washington Post wrote on July 5:

“… initial reaction from European officials suggested they were unmoved by the result [of the referendum], and had no intention to yield. ‘The E.U. is not a make-a-wish club in which a single member sets the rules and the others pay the bill,’ tweeted Julia Klöckner, deputy chairwoman of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party.

“Germany’s deputy chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, said Greece had ‘destroyed the last bridges across which Europe and Greece could have moved toward a compromise. Tsipras and his government are leading the Greek people onto a path of bitter sacrifice and hopelessness,’ he told Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel…

“Reuters reported that the euro-zone’s finance ministers, who would be responsible for crafting any deal, had no plans to meet…”

Newsmax added on July 5:

“[The outcome of the referendum] leaves Greece in uncharted waters: risking financial and political isolation within the euro zone and a banking collapse if creditors refuse further aid… Many of Athens’ partners have warned over the past week that a ‘No’ vote would mean cutting bridges with Europe and driving Greece’s crippled financial system into outright bankruptcy, dramatically worsening the country’s economic depression…”

Greece Only Temporarily Without the Euro?

The Telegraph wrote on July 4:

“Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble… mentioned the prospect of Greece only temporarily being without the euro, telling the newspaper [Bild] that he is no longer ruling out a Greek withdrawal from the Eurozone. ‘Greece is a part of the Eurozone. There’s no doubt about that. Whether with the euro or temporarily without, this question can only be answered by the Greeks themselves,’ he said… ‘I am certain that Europe and the EU will be better and stronger in a year’s time than at the beginning of the Greek crisis. At least, if we draw the right conclusions from the crisis… a community can only function if the members abide by the rules. And self-critically we must admit: it was us Germans and the French who in 2003 first broke the stability rules of the euro.’…

“A recent poll showed the overwhelming majority of Germans backed Mr Schäuble’s tough stance, with figures from broadcaster ARD giving the finance minister his highest-ever personal approval rating at 70 per cent. This is in stark contrast to public sentiment in Greece, where posters put up by those campaigning for a ‘no’ vote in the Greek referendum depict Mr Schäuble in a vampire-like image…’”

Der Stern wrote on July 5 that Greece has said “Bye-bye” to Europe. On the other hand, Die Welt wrote on July 5 that a Grexit is not inevitable, emphasizing the fact that the referendum was not a vote for Greece’s departure from the Euro, and that most Greeks prefer to stay in the Eurozone. The paper also said that it would be difficult, legally, to declare a Grexit, or to be thrown out of the Eurozone, as the Eurozone treaties compel a member state to remain part of the Eurozone for life. Only a departure from the EU would also include the departure from the Eurozone. (Of course, we also know that legal papers can be easily “re-interpreted” and treaties ignored or broken, and so voicers are being heard advocating a “Grexit” of sorts—by leaving the euro but not the EU.)

At the same time, we must reject speculation in the press that the events in Greece might signal the end of the EU and the Euro, and that national currencies will be reintroduced. Such a conclusion would be ridiculous. However, some ignorant writers propose this.

EU Is Causing Massive Resentment?

The Telegraph wrote on July 6:

“The European Union today is causing massive resentment between European nations. Just look at how relations between Germany and Greece have deteriorated. Far from bringing peace, the EU now sows resentment… Whatever fine aims there were fifty or sixty years ago have no relevance to the reality of life for young people right across the EU now, including in Greece. The EU’s old, outdated ideas have been rejected at the ballot box in exchange for a new approach and fresh thinking…

“The result is a tired, stumbling European Union that is dying on its feet before our very eyes. Credibility for the project is fading fast… With younger generations now turning against the EU project, we can see support for the EU’s dream of a United States of Europe fading fast. An outdated European Union has been found out and rejected emphatically by young Greeks in the 21st century.

“It is all too clear to see why: both the euro single currency and the European Union itself have done great harm to the prospects of young people who are now realising that we do not need a single currency or a political union to be friends, neighbours and trading partners. Far more important than this European Union is the concept of national democracy, of which this Greek referendum and its result are a beaming example of.”

Anti-European feelings might exist in the UK, but most continental Europeans are FOR the EU and the Euro—and most Greeks are likewise. Our new StandingWatch program, “Greece in Prophecy,” makes all of this very clear. But this is not to say that the EU and the Eurozone are a great accomplishment in the eyes of God. However, they fulfill prophecy to bring about end-time events.

Greek Finance Minister Resigns

AFP wrote on July 6:

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sacrificed his finance minister Monday in a gesture aimed at placating his eurozone creditors, which must now decide whether to loan more money to the debt-wracked country or prepare for a ‘Grexit,’ or Greek exit from the euro. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced that he was stepping down immediately and at Tsipras’s request… The euro had tumbled as much as 1.6 percent in electronic trading immediately on the 61-percent ‘No’ result from the referendum, but recovered after Varoufakis’s shock resignation to $1.1086, just 0.25 percent lower. European markets also gave a relatively muted reaction, with losses limited in mid-morning trade at around 1.5 percent…

“More than three quarters of Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone…”

Five Days to High Noon?

 The Washington Post wrote on July 7:

“An emergency summit of European leaders called to salvage Greece’s financial rescue broke up acrimoniously late Tuesday night, with officials saying the country now has just five days to avoid bankruptcy. Following a day’s worth of talks aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece’s proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Thursday. The leaders of all 28 European Union members will then meet Sunday in what officials said will be the final chance to save Greece from economic oblivion — or the moment the country is ejected from the euro zone…

“European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pounded the lectern as he announced that Europe has detailed plans for Greece’s exit from the euro zone — known as ‘Grexit’ — and for delivering humanitarian aid to Athens…

“President Obama on Tuesday escalated his involvement, speaking in separate conversations to Merkel and to Tsipras… But that prodding appeared to do little to bridge a divide that has only widened as Greece’s crisis has deepened…

“Even as several European officials expressed grave disappointment with Tuesday’s talks, others held out hope that the worst outcomes can still be avoided. French President François Hollande said France will do ‘everything to save all those who wanted this Europe.’ Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he was optimistic that ‘we can achieve an agreement on Sunday.’ Analysts, too, said there remained reason to think the two sides can reach a last-minute deal — but only because the dire circumstances in Greece have left no doubt about the potential consequences…”

Is Merkel Facing Her Waterloo?

The Local wrote on July 8:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s tough stance on Greece plays well with German voters but carries a huge risk, analysts warn – history would likely blame her for a catastrophic ‘Grexit’. The austerity champion often dubbed the ‘Queen of Europe’ now faces the toughest crisis in her nearly decade-long reign at the helm of the EU’s top economy…

“Daniela Schwarzer, of think-tank the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said Merkel ‘faces a huge dilemma because, on the one hand, if Greece leaves, she will be the chancellor who didn’t manage to hold the eurozone together. But if she keeps Greece in after all that has happened, then she will be extremely criticised for giving up the principles that govern the eurozone. Whichever way this goes, she will be criticised.’…

“The Greek ‘No’ vote to EU-IMF bailout terms last Sunday, cheered by left- and right-wing populists across Europe, heightened the pressure on Merkel. Germany’s conservative daily Die Welt called it her first ‘great defeat’… At home, conservative lawmakers and newspapers have warned Merkel not to give in now, as anger with Greece has come to cross mainstream party lines and polls show about half of Germans favour a Grexit.

“The mass-circulation Bild daily this week urged Merkel to be ‘an Iron Chancellor’ in her dealings with Greece, depicting her with a Prussian spiked military helmet. On Wednesday the tabloid-style newspaper was furious EU leaders were even considering a third bailout and fumed: ‘NO, we are not consistent. YES, we are open to blackmail. What a defeat!’

“News magazine Der Spiegel meanwhile warned that Merkel – heir to chancellor Helmut Kohl, a champion of European unity – could become the leader on whose watch Europe started to crumble. Its stark cover shows Merkel sitting on toppled Greek columns, with the headline ‘The Rubble Woman’, referring to the iconic survivors who cleared up bombed German cities after the Second World War… ‘The Greek crisis called for leadership, a plan, but Merkel did not want to commit to one. Merkel likes power, but at the crucial moment, she doesn’t know what to do with it. Now she faces the ruins of her policy on Europe.’

“Especially outside Europe, many wonder how a divided continent will deal with other challenges – from the Ukraine crisis to dealing with a wave of refugees to the looming threat of Britain leaving the EU. As Berlin has taken an increasingly central role in Europe, many are warning it must not fail now…”

Europe will not crumble. Rather, a powerful leader WILL arise… and it is not Angela Merkel.

Brexit Unimaginable? – Stranger Things Have Happened!

The Telegraph wrote on July 4:

“A British exit from the European Union is ‘unimaginable’, according to a senior German politician, who urged the UK to stay in the bloc… Michael Fuchs, a member of Angela Merkel’s party and deputy chairman of the ruling CDU-CSU coalition… described Brussels as a ‘huge’ bureaucracy that needed to be scaled back…

“Mr Fuchs said it was very unlikely that Mr Cameron would be able to achieve [a treaty change]…. ‘This is not easy because you are talking about the Lisbon Treaty and you know to change it you need 28 votes, a unanimous vote. The fathers of the EU made it complicated for us to change it because they knew at a later stage there could be demand for changes. It is difficult [to change].’”

Apart from the tremendous economic repercussions and political considerations and just analyzing it from a legal standpoint, a Brexit could be “accomplished” much more easily than a Grexit, because Britain is not a part of the Eurozone.

China at the Brink of Economic Disaster?

The Telegraph wrote on July 8:

While all Western eyes remain firmly focused on Greece, a potentially much more significant financial crisis is developing on the other side of world. In some quarters, it’s already being called China’s 1929 – the year of the most infamous stock market crash in history and the start of the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression.

CNBC added on July 8:

“The precipitous plunge in Chinese stocks, and Beijing’s struggle to halt the fall, has sent waves of panic through the country’s 90 million-plus retail investors, who say their life-savings are ‘falling into an abyss.’ At a Citic Securities brokerage in Beijing on Wednesday, the trading hall was packed with retail investors, many of them pensioners, lamenting the loss of the money in the stock market. One investor was watching the big screen between his fingers as if at a horror flick.

“The mood was fearful, panicked and sometimes hostile, as investors huddled around computer screens, waiting to see whether the latest moves by Chinese authorities to prop up the stock market would do any good. ‘The government has been manipulating the stock market all this time,’ one investor who didn’t want to be named told CNBC. ‘The authorities made us believe that we can make money from a bull market but actually we are falling into an abyss losing most of our life savings.’”

Hollywood’s Celebrities Take on Governor Jerry Brown’s Vaccination Law

The Hollywood Reporter wrote on June 30:

“Jim Carrey is speaking out against new legislation requiring all public school children in California to be vaccinated starting in 2016. Carrey, who has been an outspoken critic of vaccinations, said Gov. Jerry Brown needed to be stopped… The new legislation removes personal belief exemptions to vaccinations for religious reasons. Carrey was once in a relationship with Jenny McCarthy, the public face of the anti-vaccination movement. She has said her son developed autism after receiving a vaccination.

“Fellow celebrities have also voiced their displeasure with the law, taking to Twitter to retweet those voicing similar positions and writing their own opinions condemning the compulsory vaccination policy. Amongst those throwing their weight behind Carrey are Kirstie Alley… Others, such as fellow Scientologists Jenna Elfman and Danny Masterson, as well as actress Selma Blair and noted activist Erin Brockovich, clarified that though they aren’t necessarily anti-vaccine, they feel the law is an egregious case of government overreach and suppression of parental rights.

“A petition asking Brown to repeal the law has been gaining steam, with both Blair and Masterson sharing it on Twitter. Thus far, it has nearly reached its goal of 100,000 signatures.”

There can be no doubt that this new law is an incredible governmental intrusion into the rights of parents and another attempt of Big Brother to destroy religious freedom and liberty. In addition, the concern of a connection between vaccination and all kinds of dangerous reactions and sicknesses, including autism, is very real. To blindly believe self-serving scientists (many of whom have a conflict of interest in that they are being supported, sponsored or paid, directly or indirectly, by the drug- and vaccine-producing pharmaceutical industry) could prove to be devastating for our inoculated children.

Inasmuch as there is some confusion as to what the bill (SB 277) does and does not say, we are publishing below the most pertinent provisions:

“SEC. 2. Section 120335 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:…

“(g) (1) A pupil who, prior to January 1, 2016, submitted a letter or affidavit on file at a private or public elementary or secondary school, child day care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center stating beliefs opposed to immunization shall be allowed enrollment to any private or public elementary or secondary school, child day care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center within the state until the pupil enrolls in the next grade span.

“(2) For purposes of this subdivision, ‘grade span’ means each of the following:

“(A) Birth to preschool.

“(B) Kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, including transitional kindergarten.

“(C) Grades 7 to 12, inclusive.

“(3) Except as provided in this subdivision, on and after July 1, 2016, the governing authority shall not unconditionally admit to any of those institutions specified in this subdivision for the first time, or admit or advance any pupil to 7th grade level, unless the pupil has been immunized for his or her age as required by this section.

“SEC. 5. Section 120370 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

“(a) If the parent or guardian files with the governing authority a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that the physical condition of the child is such, or medical circumstances relating to the child are such, that immunization is not considered safe, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of the medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history, for which the physician does not recommend immunization, that child shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 1… to the extent indicated by the physician’s statement…”

CNN Takes on NSA and Obama Administration Regarding Spying on Journalists

CNN reported on July 4:

“An investigation by the German parliament is raising questions on whether the Obama administration not only spied on journalists in that country, but interfered in the exercise of the free press under the guise of U.S. national security…

“That the NSA was spying on German officials is not new, though it continues to upset free press advocates and those with memories of repressive governments both Communist and Nazi.

“… this week came news that the NSA was eavesdropping not only on Merkel, but in some capacity on Germany’s free press as well, namely Der Spiegel… ‘It feels bitter to learn that American intelligence agencies spied on reporters in another country and denounced alleged sources to the government,’ said one reporter involved, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions from his government or the U.S. government. ‘This is something I expected to happen in authoritarian states like Russia or China but not in a democracy.’…

“The incident raises questions about what exactly the German Chancellery knew and when it knew it — specifically that officials were notified by the CIA station chief in 2011, two years before the revelation that the NSA was spying on Merkel’s cell phone — that the U.S. was conducting surveillance that touched on both German journalists and the German government… Der Spiegel on Friday reported on the event, writing that ‘it is becoming increasingly clear that representatives of the German government at best looked away as the Americans violated the law, and at worst supported them.’ …

“Without question, Der Spiegel has broken many stories that have frustrated the U.S. intelligence community… It is clear that regardless of the national security principle, the Obama administration has been embarrassed before the world and seen its diplomatic efforts weighed down by the drip-drip-drip of these revelations…”

When even CNN begins questioning the Obama Administration’s conduct in relationship to NSA’s alleged wrongdoing, the situation must be really very serious and troublesome.

Pressure on Merkel… “Only the Tip of the Iceberg”

Daily Mail wrote on July 4:

“German leader Angela Merkel is coming under increasing pressure to act on the NSA spying scandal after it was revealed Washington spooks eavesdropped on the country’s top news magazine as well as politicians. Der Spiegel, a publication which enjoys a high level of trust among readers, politicians and the media classes in Europe, fell victim to the surveillance unleashed on Mrs Merkel and her top lieutenants…

“Germany, which has cherished a free press ever since the overthrow of Nazism, is more bitter about the Spiegel row than the surveillance of top politicians.

“One German journalist told Radio Bavaria: ‘This is a scandalous assault on a free press, a scandalous assault on the dignity of journalists and their craft. America perpetually claims it is acting in the interests of free people everywhere, but when you learn of dirty tricks like this, one must question this.’ …

“Mrs Merkel, who smoothed over relations with America after revelations last year that her own mobile phone was hacked by the agency, is now facing fresh demands for concrete action against Washington following the scandal which broke on Thursday… the latest raft of revelations may prove too large to sweep under the diplomatic carpet…

“Christian Flisek, the senior SPD lawmaker on the NSA committee, said the fresh revelations of spying were only the tip of the iceberg…”

It is very doubtful that Angela Merkel, who has proven to be weak and indecisive in her relationship with Mr. Obama, will take action towards the USA. However, a very charismatic and influential personage will arise in Germany in the near future, who will act…

Negative Media Coverage of Trump Might Actually Help Him

The Huffington Post wrote on July 2:

“According to Facebook… Trump’s announcement [to run for the Presidency] generated 6.4 million ‘interactions’… among 3.4 million Facebook users, over a million more than for Ted Cruz (at 2.1 million)… Only Hillary Clinton (10.1 million interactions among 4.7 million unique Facebook users) did better on her announcement day.

“Similarly, Trump has also dominated the other Republican candidates in Google searches since his announcement two weeks ago, and that huge difference has persisted… On Monday June 29… there were 38 searches for Trump for every 2 for Jeb Bush and 1 for Marco Rubio.”

Trump vs. Rubio vs. Bush—Our Immigration “System” in Shambles

Breitbart wrote on July 4:

“Rubio joined Democrats and liberals—as well as most of the mainstream media—in attacking Trump for calling out international criminals who exploit America’s weak and insecure border to get into the United States illegally. ‘Trump’s comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive,’ Rubio said…

“Rubio joins people like Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign co-chair and liberal actress Eva Longoria—who compared Trump to Adolf Hitler—and Univision programming president Alberto Ciurana–who compared Trump to Charleston, South Carolina, mass murderer Dylann Storm Roof. There are plenty of others throughout the mainstream media and institutional left who have slammed Trump as well, and some Republicans like former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former New York Gov. George Pataki [as well as Mitt Romney who said on July 4 that Trump made a “severe error,” that his comments were “unfortunate,” and that he was hurting the Republican Party].

“Sending out a link to a Breitbart California article detailing how one such illegal alien like the criminals Trump called out in his announcement speech allegedly murdered a woman in San Francisco on Wednesday, … Trump sent a message directly to Rubio: ‘… what do you say to the family of Kathryn Steinle in CA who was viciously killed b/c we can’t secure our border? Stand up for US.’…

“In addition, Trump’s adviser told Breitbart News that his boss can’t wait to expose Rubio’s weakness on immigration… Trump has also been extraordinarily critical of the Obamatrade deal that Rubio voted for… Trump is likely to turn the jets on Rubio, as Rubio continues sinking in the polls again…”

In addition, Trump’s outspoken criticism of Jeb Bush [presently number one amongst likely GOP voters] on just about every issue, including immigration—and that even long before Trump announced his candidacy—is well known and has been thoroughly documented. Trump issued the following statement on July 4:

“Just like the simple question asked of Jeb [Bush] on Iraq, where it took him five days and multiple answers to get it right, he doesn’t understand anything about the border or border security… Jeb will never be able to secure our border, negotiate good trade deals, strengthen our military or care for our veterans…”

Trump’s statements regarding an illegal immigrant who allegedly committed murder are to be seen in the light of the following article by The Associated Press, dated July 3:

“Declaring itself a sanctuary with no obligation to obey federal immigration law, the city of San Francisco ignored an order by federal immigration officials to detain for deportation a man now accused of gunning down a young woman at [a] popular city tourist destination. Francisco Sanchez has seven felony convictions and has been deported five times, most recently in 2009, a federal agency said Friday. He was arrested about an hour after Wednesday’s seemingly random slaying of Kathryn Steinle at Pier 14 — one of the busiest attractions in the city.”

This is beyond belief!

Business Insider wrote on July 6:

“Donald Trump is doubling down on his controversial comments about Mexican immigration. The entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate sent out an epic three page, 881 word statement on Monday afternoon detailing his belief that ‘the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government.’ ‘The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this,’ Trump wrote.

“‘Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world… I have lost a lot during this Presidential run defending the people of the United States. I have always heard that it is very hard for a successful person to run for President. Macy’s, NBC, Serta and NASCAR have all taken the weak and very sad position of being politically correct even though they are wrong in terms of what is good for our country,’ Trump wrote.”

“Obama Administration Responsible”

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“In 2013 the Obama administration released 36,007 criminal immigrants who had nearly 88,000 convictions. Those convictions included 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions, and 1,075 aggravated assault convictions… of those criminals released in 2013, 1,000 had gone on to commit additional crimes including, terroristic threats, lewd acts with a minor, various types of assault, DUI, robbery, hit-and-run, gang activity, rape, and child cruelty…

“In 2014 the administration released another 30,558 criminal immigrants, who had a total of 79,059 convictions. The convictions included in the 2014 releases included: 86 homicide convictions, 186 kidnapping convictions, 373 sexual assault convictions, 449 commercialized sexual offenses, 1,194 battery convictions, 1,346 domestic violence convictions, and 13,636 DUIs.

“‘When aliens released onto the streets go on to commit additional crimes yet could have been placed in ICE custody, this Administration is responsible …’ House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said in April… ‘The Administration… will be held accountable,’ he added…

“In May the Obama administration revealed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that between 2010 and 2014, 121 convicted criminal immigrants with final orders of deportation were never removed and now face murder charges.”

Daily Mail wrote on July 7:

“The mother of a teenage boy gunned down by an illegal Mexican immigrant in strikingly similar circumstances to how Kathryn Steinle died, has backed Presidential hopeful Donald Trump to ‘close our borders’. Anita Shaw, whose 17-year-old boy Jamiel Jr was murdered by gang member Pedro Espinoza in Los Angeles in 2008, says she is ‘angry’ at the current immigration policy. She told Daily Mail Online: ‘It makes me sad, it makes me angry, it makes me frustrated. It’s amazing to me that the same incident is still going on today. It’s like, when will the public wake up and do something. And this guy who is running for President, Donald Trump, he’s trying to do something and they’re trying to shut him down.’”

What Americans Think on Immigration

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“Several recent surveys show that a majority of Americans agree with Donald Trump that the United States needs to secure its southern border with Mexico. According to Rasmussen Reports, 63 percent of Americans want the U.S. to gain control of the border, while just 30 percent want to make undocumented immigrants legal citizens. As for President Barack Obama’s immigration plan that would grant amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., 55 percent of those polled by Rasmussen oppose it.

“Further, 58 percent of the Americans surveyed think that providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants will lead to more illegal immigration… According to the Rasmussen numbers, Americans have a favorable opinion of immigrants who are living in the U.S. to working hard and trying to achieve the American dream. Trouble is, just 54 percent think that’s what immigrants are doing here.”

Hispanic Leaders Warn GOP

On July 4, the times of Israel published the following article by The Associated Press:

“Hispanic leaders are warning of harm to Republicans’ White House hopes unless the party’s presidential contenders do more to condemn Donald Trump… Trump’s comments… have haunted the party for much of the last two weeks and dominated Spanish-language media. It’s bad timing for a Republican Party that has invested significantly in Hispanic outreach in recent years, given the surging influence of the minority vote…

“Not since the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush has a Republican presidential candidate earned as much as 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton cast Trump’s remarks as ‘emblematic’ of a larger perception within the Republican Party.”

We might recall that during the last presidential race, video-recorded semi-public comments by Mitt Romney about the Spanish community were largely responsible for Romney’s defeat.

San Francisco—The New Rome?

 Breitbart wrote on July 6:

“‘San Francisco: It’s the New Rome.’ That’s the anonymous comment overheard by Politico’s Mike Allen–or one of his sources–at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the summer gathering of the nation’s intellectual elite (and the people with enough money to be seen with them). It is an acknowledgment of the city’s new power–and its decadence…

“St. Augustine wrote that the collapse of ancient Rome showed the contradictions between the City of God–the ideal republic that awaited in Heaven–and the city of man on earth. San Francisco, the new Rome, is beset by contradictions between the ideal of liberal utopia and the reality of liberal government.

“The city’s environmentalists have imposed building restrictions that make housing astronomically expensive. The city’s socialists respond with higher minimum wages that drive up business costs. And so the city welcomes illegal aliens–a minority of whom commit horrific crimes.

“For fifty years, San Francisco has been the capital of a counter-culture–one that has since become the nation’s dominant culture. With the legalization of same-sex marriage as a ‘fundamental right’ by the U.S. Supreme Court last month, the city–recognized for decades as the gay capital of the world–has few taboos left to challenge…

“Today, Rome stands for both rise and fall. Which Rome, then, is San Francisco?…”

San Francisco, as well as the entire USA, is doomed to fall… like ancient Rome did.

Clinton a Better Friend to Israel than Obama

The Jewish Press reported on July 4:

“Hillary Clinton has promised that Israel will have her as a better friend than President Barack Obama if she is elected President next year. She also exclaimed that Iran poses an ‘existential threat’ to Israel…

“While strongly supporting attempts for a ‘good’ deal with Iran, she is trying to reassure wealthy Jews that they can safely contribute to her campaign coffers and can sleep safely last [at] night knowing that she will be good for Israel, even if Israelis spend the night running to bomb shelters. That is what President Obama also said in 2008. That is what every presidential candidate says, but American Jews love to hear [it] because they want to believe it…”

Jimmy Carter’s View of Jesus

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“Though he admitted he doesn’t have any supporting Scripture, former President Jimmy Carter says he believes Jesus would approve of gay marriage. Appearing on HuffPost Live, Carter, an evangelical Christian, was asked by host Marc Lamont Hill whether Jesus would support same-sex marriage. ‘I believe he would. I believe Jesus would,’ Carter answered, but admitted, ‘I don’t have any verse in Scripture… I think Jesus would approve of any love affair that was honest and sincere, and was not damaging to anyone else. And I don’t think that gay marriage damages anyone else.’”

Jimmy Carter’s view of Jesus is most certainly not in accordance with how the Bible describes Him.

Obama Is Being Warned Not to Bring His LGBT Agenda to Kenya

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“Kenyan leaders are warning President Obama not to bring his ‘gay agenda’ with him when he visits his father’s homeland at the end of this month… Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the White House image was cloaked in the militant LGBT rainbow, as was the Facebook profile picture of the U.S. Department of Education.

“In Nairobi on Monday, members of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya called upon Obama to refrain from discussing the gay agenda… ‘Anybody who tries to come and preach to this country that they should allow homosexuality, I think he’s totally lost,’ said TNA lawmaker Jamleck Kamau, according to The Daily Nation. ‘And I would also like to add, our son from the U.S., Barack Obama, when he comes here, to simply avoid that topic completely because Kenyans will not be happy with him if he comes to bring the issue of homosexuality in this country.’…

“Rose Mitaru, one of 47 female lawmakers in Kenya, said that allowing same-sex marriage in her country would open ‘floodgates of evil synonymous with the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah.’… Deputy President William Ruto also said homosexuality was ‘against the plan of God’ during a church sermon in Nairobi. ‘God did not create man and woman so that men would marry men and women marry women,’ he was quoted as saying by The Daily Nation…

“White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that Obama would not avoid the topic of the gay agenda during his visit…

“In June, the U.S.’s openly gay ambassadors announced that Obama’s proposed trade agreements ‘will export our values of equality and tolerance,’ and ‘promote greater justice beyond our borders’… the eight openly gay U.S. representatives abroad said ‘trade policy’ is one of the ‘most promising tools’ to advance the meme that the LGBT agenda is the agenda that expresses America’s ‘values.’”

Nobel Prize Winner Challenges Obama on Global Warming

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“A Nobel Prize-winning scientist who supported President Barack Obama has said that he does not believe global warming is a problem, and has openly criticized the president for his position on the issue. ‘I would say that basically global warming is a non-problem,’ Dr. Ivar Giaever announced during a speech at the 65th Nobel Laureate Conference in Lindau, Germany, last week… Quoting Obama’s warning that ‘no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,’ Giaever said it was a ‘ridiculous statement’… Obama said last year that 2014 is [the] hottest year ever. But it’s not true. It’s not the hottest.’

“Giaever, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1973, questioned the theory behind fears about rising carbon dioxide levels and said that the theory is not backed by evidence. ‘Global warming really has become a new religion. Because you cannot discuss it. It’s not proper. It is like the Catholic Church.’…”

The Pope in South America—Hinting At Big Changes

CNN wrote on July 6:

“Several hundred thousand pilgrims thronged to see the popular pontiff preach Monday… in… Ecuador… Waving flags from several South American nations — including Argentina, the Pope’s homeland — the crowd cheered Francis like a native son.

“Monday is the first full day of Francis’ weeklong trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, three of the smallest and poorest nations in South America…

“In his homily, or sermon, the Pope referred to a highly anticipated meeting of bishops to be held in Rome this October. The Catholic leaders are expected to discuss changes to several controversial areas of church teaching, including divorce and homosexuality… ‘I ask you to pray fervently for this intention,’ the Pope continued, ‘so that Christ can take even what might seem to us impure, scandalous or threatening, and turn it … into a miracle’…

“More than 425 million Catholics live in Latin America… That’s nearly 40% of the world’s total Catholic population. But Catholics in nearly every country, including Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, have fled the church in recent decades for other faiths, or no faith at all…”

Murderous ISIS Terrorists Don’t Stop at Anything

 Breitbart wrote on July 8:

“Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) militants have crucified dozens of Syrian men and boys for breaking the Ramadan fast, according to reports… The victims were placed about a block apart from each other, and some of the victims have signs placed around their necks. According to Syrian activist Saray ad-Din, since the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, ISIS has crucified dozens of civilians on charges of deliberately breaking the fast. This year, Ramadan extends from June 17 to July 17… In late June, ISIS executed and crucified two children in Mayadin on similar charges of having violated the fast.”

Demons are having a field day with the ISIS fanatics.

This Week in the News

We begin with extensive coverage on the US Supreme Court’s “historic,” “landmark” and “watershed” decision on same-sex marriage; report on Israel’s reaction to the Vatican’s treaty with the Palestinian Authority; and point out that most Muslim countries reject Iran and its agenda.

 We continue with the terrible state of affairs in Greece and the dire financial situation in Puerto Rico; speak on ongoing futile attempts to silence Donald Trump and his resolve to fight back; and we conclude with the mysterious death of a popular doctor openly opposed to the vaccination of children.

Supreme Court RULES on Same-Sex Marriage

The Associated Press wrote on June 26:

“Gay and lesbian Americans have the same right to marry as any other couples, the Supreme Court declared Friday in a historic ruling deciding one of the nation’s most contentious and emotional legal questions… The vote was narrow – 5-4…  [with Kennedy’s usual swing vote supporting it. Kennedy also wrote the majority opinion.]

“In praise of the decision, President Barack Obama called it ‘justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.’…  [The four dissenting  judges] accused their colleagues of usurping power that belongs to the states and to voters, and short-circuiting a national debate about same-sex marriage. ‘This court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us,’ Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in dissent. Roberts read a summary of his dissent from the bench, the first time he has done so in nearly 10 years as chief justice… [He said:] ‘… do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.’

“Justice Antonin Scalia said he was not concerned so much about same-sex marriage as ‘this court’s threat to American democracy.’ He termed the decision a ‘judicial putsch.’ Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas also dissented…

“Speaking a few minutes later at the White House, Obama praised the decision as an affirmation of the principle that ‘all Americans are created equal.’…”

Opposition… But to What Extent?

Newsmax wrote on June 26:

“Franklin Graham, the president of… Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said that the Supreme Court did not define marriage and therefore cannot re-define it… ‘God gave us marriage. Period. And God doesn’t change his mind,’ Graham told Fox Nation.

“’If pastors are going to be forced to provide marriage services for gay couples, I’m not going to do it… ‘Long before our government came into existence, marriage was created by the One who created man and woman — Almighty God — and His decisions are not subject to review or revision by any manmade court. God is clear about the definition of marriage in His Holy Word: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) …’

“Earlier reports state that many Christian evangelicals say they would refuse to obey a decision allowing gay unions. ”

Breitbart wrote on June 26:

“President Obama reacted quickly to the Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage today, sending out a message on Twitter. ‘Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else,’ he wrote on his Twitter account. He signed his message with the hashtag ‘#LoveWins.’”

Some demonstrators at the court doorsteps, cheering the decision of the Supreme Court, were carrying signs, saying “Our Fight Against the Bible.”

 BBC News reported on June 26:

“Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called the ruling ‘an out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny’… Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licenses will now be issued to same-sex couples, said the justices ‘have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court’s previous decisions reserve to the people of the States.’”

Mashable.com wrote on June 28:

“Texas is doubling down on the fight against Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage. On Sunday, state attorney general Ken Paxton issued a statement calling the SCOTUS ruling ‘lawless’ and declaring that county clerks could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing religious objections…

“Paxton’s statement follows a declaration from Texas governor Greg Abbott on Friday that he, too, would continue to fight the SCOTUS ruling. Texas is hardly alone in refusing to abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling. Both Louisiana and Mississippi have said they will wait on issuing licenses. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal issued a statement echoing Gov. Abbott’s statement and Alabama governor Robert Bentley, no stranger to the battle over issuing same-sex marriage licenses, is also digging in to fight the ruling.”

However, this approach was tried before when states adopted same-sex marriages, and it failed. Sadly, the “law of the land” does not seem to allow religious objections for county clerks…

Deutsche Welle added on June 28:

“The Supreme Court has attempted to ‘unwrite the laws of nature and the laws of nature’s God’ with its decision, said Huckabee. Huckabee urged people to flout the decision, and he compared doing so to President Abraham Lincoln ignoring a 1857 high court decision that black people could not be citizens.

“Huckabee also derided President Obama for what Huckabee saw as flip-flopping on the issue, pointing out that the president opposed gay marriage until 2012: ‘He was either lying in 2008 or he’s lying now, or God has rewritten the Bible and only Barack Obama has gotten the new edition.’…

“Many of the Republican candidates took to social media to vent their frustration… Not every Republican was disappointed, however. Former Republican Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, changed his Facebook profile picture to display the rainbow stripes associated with gay pride following the ruling…”

Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s adulterous conduct is hardly an endorsement for any moral cause in the matter of marriage. In addition, the justices re-defined the clearly expressed will of America’s founding fathers, to totally rewrite the Constitution… which they have no authority to do. But it is now the “law of the land,” altering and redefining the plain language of the Constitution and holding that the Constitution states that marriage is between a man and a woman–and a man and a man–and a woman and a woman… and what else? It seems that only a constitutional amendment could change the legal status quo… and this is extremely unlikely to occur.

 The concept that we are all equal and we are all free to marry whom we want has potentially devastating consequences, if viewed on its face value: Does this mean a father can marry his daughter? Does this mean, a brother can marry his sister; a man can marry five women; or a woman can marry five men? Obviously, the issue that two transgender people can marry each other has now been answered in the affirmative. But what about bestiality and other abnormal sexual practices?

 Obama’s and Clinton’s “Evolving” Opinions

The Associated Press reported on June 28:

“When President Barack Obama praised the Supreme Court’s watershed same-sex marriage ruling, he held it up as evidence that a ‘shift in hearts and minds is possible.’ Obama may well have been describing his own public trajectory on gay unions — a complicated path that took him through opposition and ambivalence to enthusiastic embrace…

“Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign jumped on the Supreme Court decision, changing its red campaign logo to a rainbow colored H, releasing a gauzy video of gay wedding ceremonies, and blasting out supportive tweets aimed at building its campaign list. In a fiery speech Friday night to Democratic activists in Northern Virginia, Clinton said that ‘love triumphed in the highest court’ and declared: ‘We can sum up the message from the court and the American people in just two words: Move on.’

“But like Obama, such expressions of support mark a remarkable shift for Clinton, who opposed gay marriage for more than two decades as a first lady, a U.S. senator and a presidential candidate. Just three months ago, Clinton’s position was that while she personally supported gay marriage the issue was best left for individual states to decide — a policy stance held by most of the Republican presidential field. ‘It has been an evolutionary process,’ said Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. But he said Obama now stands as one of the great champions of gay rights, up there with the likes of Harvey Milk. As for Clinton, he said, ‘she connects with gay people on a level that is beyond explanation.’…

“By 2004, as [Obama] ran for the U.S. Senate, he said he opposed gay marriage for politically strategic reasons, saying Republicans would exploit the issue, and he advocated instead for gay civil unions. In his 2006 book, ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ he cited his own faith as a reason to oppose same-sex marriage…

“He came out firmly for same-sex marriage in 2012 and called for it in his second inaugural address. But earlier this year, his former top strategist, David Axelrod, wrote that Obama had feigned opposition to gay marriage for most of his political career, grudgingly taking Axelrod’s advice that African-American religious leaders and others would oppose him if he let it be known he supported gay marriage. ‘If Obama’s views were ‘evolving’ publicly, they were fully evolved behind closed doors,’ Axelrod wrote. Obama disputed the account…

“Clinton’s path into the embrace of the gay community has been similar. She backed her husband’s Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, described marriage between a man and a woman as a ‘fundamental bedrock principle’ in a 2004 Senate floor speech, and dodged the question when asked in 2007 whether she agreed with Gen. Peter Pace, then the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, that homosexuality was immoral. But as secretary of state, Clinton emerged as a champion of gay rights, declaring that ‘gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,’ at a 2011 conference in Geneva.”

True politicians have spoken…

 The US Supreme Court under Kennedy Plays God

Breitbart wrote on June 26:

“The day after declaring Obamacare magically rewritten and that the lawsuits against discrimination in housing require no proof of actual discrimination, the Supreme Court found a unicorn in the 14th Amendment. By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy under that aforementioned 14th Amendment (adopted in 1868, when every state in America criminalized sodomy) requires that every state in America grant marriage licenses to men who want to marry men and women who want to marry women, and that every state recognize such licenses from every other state…

“As our Supreme Rulers, the Supreme Court can declare what they want to declare, since rule of law died long ago… But this decision is particularly galling to those who believe words have meaning and that government is not God… Government is God, a dignity-conferring institution capable of making moral that which religion teaches is sinful, logic teaches is worthless, and societal experience teaches is societally counterproductive.

“Naturally, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has made it his lifelong work to read same-sex rights into the Constitution (this, after all is the man who once wrote, based wholly on the authority of the voices in his head, that the Constitution mandates ‘respect’ for sodomy), delivered the majority opinion…

“Kennedy quotes everyone from Confucius to Cicero on the importance of marriage. Then, begrudgingly, he admits, ‘It is fair and necessary to say these references were based on the understanding that marriage is a union between two persons of the opposite sex.’ He adds, patronizingly, that the view that such a definition is the only definition ‘has been held – and continues to be held – in good faith by reasonable and sincere people here and throughout the world.’

“But those people are wrong, because Justice Kennedy says so… Kennedy and the Court now contend that the intent of those who want to change marriage is a defining feature here, and that since people are born gay, this is their only path to happiness…

“Kennedy’s case is simply that to be against same-sex marriage is bigotry: ‘It demeans gays and lesbians…’

“For thousands of years, everybody got it wrong. For hundreds of years, every American state got it wrong. Today, the vast majority of the planet’s population gets it wrong, and so do hundreds of millions of Americans. But their wrongness is ‘manifest.’ Why? Because Kennedy says so.

“But he goes even further: he explains that rights emanate not from God or nature, but from the wise oligarchs of the government, who can reinterpret rights as they see fit… Which means that since the government is God, it can change the definition of fundamental rights and institutions at whim… It does not matter whether religious Americans stand for traditional marriage because of their religion or because of secular concerns. They are… to be considered legal bigots…

“The majority opinion drew [four] dissents… ‘Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us. Under the Constitution, judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be,’ [Chief Justice] Roberts writes, in a line that would have been far more convincing before he rewrote Obamacare in favor of how it should have been written according to him…”

The US Supreme Court’s recent decisions have been strictly political in nature and, in fact, have nothing to do with the law or the Constitution. That is the sad and shameful state of affairs in the United States of America.

 The Fall and Decline of America—Orthodox Christians to Become Persecuted Exiles in the USA

Time wrote on June 26:

“No, the sky is not falling — not yet, anyway — but with the Supreme Court ruling constitutionalizing same-sex marriage, the ground under our feet has shifted tectonically. It is hard to overstate the significance of the… decision — and the seriousness of the challenges it presents to orthodox Christians and other social conservatives. Voting Republican and other failed culture war strategies are not going to save us now.

“Discerning the meaning of the present moment requires sobriety, precisely because its radicalism requires of conservatives a realistic sense of how weak our position is in post-Christian America. The alarm that the four dissenting justices sounded in their minority opinions is chilling. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia were particularly scathing in pointing out the philosophical and historical groundlessness of the majority’s opinion. Justice Scalia even called the decision ‘a threat to democracy,’ and denounced it, shockingly, in the language of revolution…

“But when a Supreme Court majority is willing to invent rights out of nothing, it is impossible to have faith that the First Amendment will offer any but the barest protection to religious dissenters from gay rights orthodoxy. Indeed, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito explicitly warned religious traditionalists that this decision leaves them vulnerable.

“… we have to accept that we really are living in a culturally post-Christian nation. The fundamental norms Christians have long been able to depend on no longer exist… This is the new normal… The Supreme Court has now, in constitutional doctrine, said that homosexuality is equivalent to race. The next goal of activists will be a long-term campaign to remove tax-exempt status from dissenting religious institutions. The more immediate goal will be the shunning and persecution of dissenters within civil society.

“… social and religious conservatives must recognize that thedecision did not come from nowhere. It is the logical result of the Sexual Revolution… orthodox Christians must understand that things are going to get much more difficult for us. We are going to have to learn how to live as exiles in our own country…

“So many Christians… have no clue how far things have decayed in our aggressively secularizing world…  four Supreme Court justices [were] in effect declaring from the bench the decline and fall of the traditional American social, political, and legal order. We live in interesting times.”

 The Signs of the Time—Facebook, Google, Apple and Others All in Support of Gay Marriage

On June 27, gadgets.ndtv.com wrote the following:

Facebook has introduced a new feature that lets users show off their support for marriage equality by superimposing a rainbow over their profile picture. CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally announced the Celebrate Pride tool on his personal page following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry.

“In another post Zuckerberg said, ‘Our country was founded on the promise that all people are created equal, and today we took another step towards achieving that promise. I’m so happy for all of my friends and everyone in our community who can finally celebrate their love and be recognised as equal couples under the law. We still have much more to do to achieve full equality for everyone in our community, but we are moving in the right direction.’…

“Other IT bigwigs such as Apple, Google, Uber and Salesforce too have voiced their support for gay marriages on social media channels throughout the day. On Twitter, you can automatically make a tiny rainbow heart appear in your tweet by including the #LoveWins hashtag.”

 American Jews Strongly in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

 JTA wrote on June 28:

“American Jews are among the most supportive religious groups of same-sex marriage. Some 77 percent of American Jews expressed support for same-sex marriage, according to data gathered in 2014 by the Public Religion Research Institute. Some 47 percent of American Jews polled said they ‘strongly favor’ allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, and 30 percent said they ‘favor’ it.

“Thirteen Jewish groups, among them organizations representing the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative streams, were among the 25 groups that joined the amicus brief filed by the Anti-Defamation League in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that  legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

“The only religious group to be more supportive of same-sex marriage are Buddhists at 84 percent, with 48 strongly favoring and 36 in favor. Seventy-seven percent of religiously affiliated also support same-sex marriage, with 45 strongly in favor and 32 in favor.”

Nothing to be proud of….

 JTA wrote on June 26:

“The notion that the decision would propel a broader debate about LGBT rights concerned the Orthodox Union, which in a carefully worded statement noted that it adhered to the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, but also recognized ‘that no religion has the right to dictate its beliefs to the entire body politic.’”

.. a “carefully worded statement,” indeed.

 Tax Exemption in Jeopardy Because of Biblical Belief?

 JTA wrote on June 30:

“Bob Jones University, the private Protestant college in South Carolina, lost its tax-exempt status in 1983 when the Supreme Court ruled that its policies banning interracial dating on campus were ‘wholly incompatible with the concepts underlying tax exemption.’

“Orthodox Jewish organizations, several of which publicly dissented from the Jewish community’s broad endorsement of the high court’s decision, now worry that similar consequences could befall Jewish organizations that decline to recognize gay marriage. ‘It remains to be seen whether gay rights advocates and/or the government will seek to apply the Bob Jones rule to all institutions that dissent from recognizing same-sex marriage,’ Nathan Diament, the Washington director for the Orthodox Union, said in an email.

“The groups point to an exchange in April between Donald Verrilli, the Obama administration solicitor general, and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who asked whether a school could lose its tax-exempt status if it opposed gay marriage? ‘I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue,’ Verrilli replied…

“How much of an issue is what is now exercising Jewish groups. Will Jewish schools lose their tax-exempt status if they don’t recognize gay couples? Could they become ineligible for government grants? Or face discrimination lawsuits for teaching the traditional Jewish perspective on homosexuality?…

“Marc Stern, the counsel for the American Jewish Committee, which also filed an amicus brief in favor of same-sex marriage, said immediate consequences were unlikely at the federal level. But on the local and state levels, there would be challenges, Stern said, especially in areas where the gay community has a strong political presence. ‘Will a state or city official take the decision to remove a tax exemption? In San Francisco, it’s a possibility. In New York City, it might happen,’ said Stern, who pointed out that he was speaking as a legal analyst and not expressing the AJC’s views….”

These concerns are not far-fetched or overblown. Mark Oppenheimer writes the biweekly “Beliefs” column for The New York Times. Time magazine published one of his opinion pieces on June 28, advocating the revocation of tax-exemption for churches and religious institutions which do not support same-sex marriages. 

Native Americans Say “No” to Gay Marriage

The website of thefederalistpapers.org published the following article just prior to the US Supreme Court decision:

“In the cultural battle over ‘same-sex’ marriage, one of the American groups overlooked in the debate is the Native American population.  Organized along ancestral tribes, these groups form a diverse, yet significant portion of the U.S. population… Tribal laws of the two largest Native American tribes in the United States prohibit gay marriage, as do the laws of nine other smaller tribes.

“The Navajo and Cherokee Nations, the first and second largest tribes respectively, together have about 600,000 members. The nine smaller tribes that ban gay marriage have another 350,000 members. These tribes all either define marriage as between a man and a woman or explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage…

“Since 2011, six of the eleven tribes revisited and upheld their preexisting legal definitions of marriage as between a man and a woman… Native American bans on gay marriage will remain in effect because federally-recognized tribes have the right to establish their own laws and are not subject to the U.S. Constitution.

“These Native American tribes have thought through this issue and their statements are clear, concise, and legally binding as CNS News explains: For example, the Cherokee Nation Marriage and Family Protection Act of 2004 defines marriage as ‘a civil contract between one man and one woman’ and states that ‘no marriage shall be contracted…between parties of the same gender.’ Title 6 of Chickasaw tribal law states that ‘a marriage between persons of the same gender performed in any jurisdiction shall not be recognized as valid and binding in the Chickasaw Nation.’ …

“The question, at this point, is whether homosexual rights bullies will eventually [focus on] on these Native American tribes as they have done to various Christian businesses around the nation. It is doubtful such challenges could be successful.  But, that may not stop these extremist radicals from trying to foist their ‘gender confusion’ onto Native Americans as well. Native Americans have endured far worse in their past and survived.  They will probably overcome this threat to their way of life as well.”

Israel Unhappy with the Vatican

AFP wrote on June 26:

“Israel’s… foreign ministry expressed its ‘regret regarding the Vatican decision to officially recognise the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a state, in the agreement signed today,’ spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement. ‘This hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the PA to return to direct negotiations with Israel,’ he said.

“The accord, a treaty covering the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, was the first since the Vatican recognized the Palestinian state in February 2013. The treaty, which took 15 years of negotiations to complete, was agreed in principle last month and bitterly condemned by Israel as a setback for the peace process. The Vatican’s recognition of the state of Palestine followed a November 12 vote in favor of recognition by the UN General Assembly. Vatican officials have described it as reflecting the Church’s desire to see the conflict in the Holy Land resolved by a ‘two-state’ solution.

“The Vatican has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1993 but has yet to conclude an accord on the Church’s rights in the Jewish state which has been under discussion since 1999. ‘We also regret the one sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem,’ Nahshon said… ‘Israel will study the agreement in detail, and its implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican.'”

Iran Rejected by Most Muslim Countries

Newsmax reported on June 28:

“Iran is viewed poorly… by Muslim-majority countries… Unfavorable views of Iran predominate in several Muslim nations in the Middle East — 89 percent in Jordan, 64 percent in Turkey, 58 percent in Lebanon, and 57 percent in the Palestinian territories.

“In Lebanon, 95 percent of Shiite Muslims have a favorable view of Iran, the nation with the world’s largest Shiite population, but just 5 percent of Sunni Muslims… have a favorable view of Iran.

“In Asia, seven nations have an unfavorable view… including mostly Muslim Malaysia (47 percent vs. 34 percent favorable) and Indonesia (41 percent vs. 36 percent favorable).

“Muslim Pakistan has a favorable view of Iran — 57 percent of respondents feel that way, while 16 percent have a negative view…”

The Joke with Greek Bailout Funds

The Huffington Post wrote on June 26:

“In 2010 and 2012, Greece accepted bailout deals from European creditors totaling hundreds of billions of euros in order to prevent the collapse of the Greek banking system. The funds kept Greece from a potential default that would force it out of the eurozone, but most of the enormous sum of money involved in the bailouts ultimately didn’t end up funding public services or directly going to the Greek people.

“Instead, as The New York Times reported in 2012, much of the bailout funds went back to the same creditors who gave Greece both the bailouts. This resulted in a situation where the so-called troika of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission were effectively lending Greece money so it could pay off the debt it already owed them. As a senior adviser to Germany’s Deutsche Bank told the Times then, the troika ‘is paying themselves.’

“At the time, the bailouts stopped a potential ‘Grexit,’ or Greek withdrawal from the eurozone, and quelled fears that Greece’s collapse could have a disastrous domino effect throughout the eurozone. But some economists say it did very little to actually put the nation on a path to growth…

“The first bailout largely went to paying off the private creditors that held Greek bonds and were owed debt payments, notes The Washington Post. This removed some of the danger that if Greece defaulted on its loans, it would lead these French and German banks to bankruptcy and in turn have a negative impact on Europe’s financial system. However… the bailout may have set up the Greek economy for a fall…

“In exchange for lending the funds, the creditors required Greece to institute strict austerity measures that many economists blame for holding back the country’s economic recovery. It also set up a stringent schedule of debt payments for Greece to meet with its creditors, but the country didn’t experience the growth predicted by the IMF that would have potentially given it the funds to pay these debts.

“This year’s debt crisis negotiations have focused around a June 30 deadline for Greece to pay the IMF 1.6 billion euros, with additional payments owed to the ECB in July and August… large amounts of the 7.2 billion euro tranche of bailout funds potentially released in these negotiations would quickly recirculate back to the creditors who lent it…”

David Cameron Prefers Greece to Leave the Eurozone

The Guardian wrote on June 26:

“David Cameron told a fellow EU leader that it ‘might be better’ for Greece to withdraw from the eurozone to allow it to fix its economy…

“The note, a leaked account of a private discussion between the prime minister and one of his European counterparts about his EU reform demands, indicates that Cameron made his remarks in an informal part of the meeting. The note says: ‘On Greece, the PM wondered if it was wise for Angela Merkel to allow the discussion with Greece to take place at PM level and mused that it might be better for Greece to leave the eurozone in order to sort its economy out – though also accepted that there were major risks in that too.’

“The prime minister’s remarks may cause some irritation among eurozone leaders who are fighting to avoid a Greek default, which could lead to its exit from the euro… The British prime minister’s suggestion that Greece might be better off outside the euro may revive criticism of Cameron among some eurozone countries for lecturing them on the single currency, which Britain decided not to be part of….

“Sir John Holmes, Britain’s former ambassador to France, told BBC… in 2012 that EU leaders were resentful of Cameron’s interventions. Holmes said: ‘Other leaders find David Cameron’s lectures rather irritating.’”

Keep Greece in Eurozone?

The Local wrote on June 28:

“This weekend there have been long lines at ATMs throughout Greece, following the collapse of talks on Saturday to reach agreement on austerity measures put forward by Greece’s creditors. The Greek prime minister’s decision to refer the measures to the Greek electorate in a referendum next Sunday precipitated the failure of the talks…

‘France’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, earlier urged Greece and other nations to do whatever they can to keep Greece in the 19-nation bloc that uses the euro currency. Valls said on Sunday that ‘we don’t know — none of us — the consequences of an exit from the eurozone, either on the political or economic front. We must do everything so that Greece stays in the eurozone.’”

Schäuble: Greece Will Stay in Euro…

 The Local wrote on June 30:

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that Greece will stay in the eurozone even if the Greek public vote ‘no’ on July 5th… The MP said that those present were surprised by Schäuble’s comments as many were now working under the assumption that plans would be put in place to facilitate Greece’s exit from the single currency… On Monday and early Tuesday an increasing number of politicians in Germany were already calling for Greece to be gently ushered out of the euro.”

…Or Will it?

Breitbart wrote on June 30:

“Greece has failed to make the payment to the International Monetary Fund which was due at midnight Brussels time (11pm London, 6pm E.S.T.). If the IMF declares the non-payment a default then Greece becomes the first developed European country in 71 years of the IMF to join the club of defaulters, enjoying the illustrious company of the likes of Sudan, Zimbabwe and Somalia.

“At the same time as the possible default, the second European bailout package has now expired and tomorrow [Wednesday] Greece, for the first time in five years, will operate without a financial safety net…

“The IMF does not have to declare failure to pay a default, it can just cover its eyes and wait to see if a solution arises, so negotiations will continue. The real drop dead date is the 20 July when payment is due to the European Central Bank (ECB). If default has not been declared before that date and payment to the ECB is not forthcoming then Eurogeddon is upon us…

“Whatever happens in the next hours, days and weeks Greece has never been closer to falling out of the Eurozone.”

A Week of Huge Uncertainties

The Associated Press wrote on June 28:

“Greece’s parliament voted early Sunday in favor of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ motion to hold a July 5 referendum on creditor proposals for reforms in exchange for loans, with the country’s future in the eurozone looking increasingly shaky.

“Tsipras’ surprise call stunned Greece’s international debt negotiators, and the country took a big step closer to falling out of the euro currency union after fellow eurozone member states refused to extend its bailout program past its expiry date on Tuesday, leaving Greece on the brink of financial chaos.

“In the streets of Greece, worried people queued outside banks for cash from dawn to dusk after Tsipras’ announcement in the early hours of Saturday, after billions of euros had already been emptied in the preceding weeks…

“The radical left-wing leader accused the creditors of using blackmail and ultimatums against his proud but struggling people…

“If Greece’s banks collapse, the government would have to support them itself. Penniless, it would have to revert to printing a new currency, effectively drawing the country out of the euro union…”

Markets Suffering….

 The Guardian wrote on June 29:

“Markets suffered across Asia on Monday as Greece shut down its banks for a week ahead of an increasingly likely debt default… Turmoil in Asia had been widely expected after the failure of 11th-hour talks in Europe over the weekend raised the possibility of a Greek exit from the Eurozone.

“More than $35bn was wiped off the Australian stock market in the first hour of trading on Monday as investors braced for what could become a torrid week. Earlier the euro dropped more than 3% to 133.80 yen, its lowest level for five weeks. The common currency fell as much as 1.9% to $1.0955, its lowest level in almost a month…”

Is It Merkel’s Fault?

The Huffington Post wrote on June 29:

“If Greece leaves the eurozone in the coming days, it will be the result of decisions made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, more than any other institution or leader… The country is the single largest creditor in the series of bailout payments that the troika has provided to Greece since 2010. As such, Germany under Merkel’s leadership has been the lead architect of the loans-for-austerity policy Europe has used to manage the Greek debt crisis. Germany is also the euro monetary union’s largest economy and, arguably, its most powerful voice on the international stage…

“Under Germany’s leadership, the eurozone nations have insisted that Greece make rapid fiscal adjustments in order to pay off its mammoth debts in a timely fashion. Greece claims — and many economists agree — that it will never be able to repay the debt it currently owes the troika of creditors, and that continuing to try to do so is preventing the country from recovering economically…

“As such, analysts believe that if Greece leaves the eurozone, history will treat Merkel as the European leader who is most to blame…”

Merkel—the Villain of the Greek Drama?

The Washington Post wrote on June 30:”

“Her critics call her the villain of the Greek drama, a taskmaster forcing a bankrupt nation to its knees. But even as the Greeks reach their breaking point, the leaders of Europe are lining up behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel… Europe needs the deep pockets of its economic powerhouse, Germany, in case a broader financial crisis erupts from a Greek exit from the euro. And if there’s a revolt brewing so far, it’s against Tsipras, while Merkel is enjoying a surprising level of support… Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, for instance, has been a long-standing critic of Merkel’s tight fiscal line for Europe. But on Tuesday, he defended her, saying any effort to blame Berlin for a pending Greek tragedy is ‘a convenient alibi that doesn’t correspond to reality.’…

“French President François Hollande, who is, like Tsipras, a leftist, has nevertheless backed Merkel’s conservative stance. While calling for continued dialogue, he echoed the German consensus that Athens cannot dump austerity and keep the euro. And some of the harshest criticism of Tsipras is not coming from the Germans at all, but from nations such as Spain and Portugal that endured painful cuts and have begun to emerge from their financial black holes. Their leaders, not coincidentally, also have strong opponents on the left who would be empowered if Tsipras is seen to be a success.”

…Or Is It also the Fault of the German Media and the German Public?

The Local wrote on July 1:

“‘No more billions for the greedy Greeks’ or ‘Merkel shoots down new proposals from Athens’: these are just a couple of the bold headlines Germans have digested with their morning coffee in recent months. In a country still massively reliant on traditional forms of media – newspapers, and above all television – for its news, these headlines matter.

“In a 2015 survey, Reuters found that the country’s biggest online news source, Spiegel Online reaches just 16 percent of the population – despite 89 percent of people having access to fast internet. By contrast, large numbers continue to read newspapers and watch the two big TV news shows – ARD’s Tagesschau and ZDF’s Heute – which reach 52 and 38 percent of Germans, respectively.

“… the upshot for Greece has been a German Chancellor anxiously listening to the petulant voices coming from the talkshow armchairs and the tabloid rage of Bild against the spendthrift Hellenic Republic. Because those are the voices that will inform the largest single bloc of voters – the older people who will form the base for the next round of general elections. That meant prescribing the same tough medicine for Greece as seemed to be working in countries like Spain, Portugal and Ireland in the years following the financial crisis…

“The Sueddeutsche Zeitung pointed out on Wednesday that ‘alongside the politicians the people also bear responsibility’ for what has happened… The only way this can become a success story is if Merkel finally exhibits the flexibility and dedication that she’s been rightly demanding of the Greeks for five years,’ the SZ concludes.

“But the only way Merkel will be able to do that is by freeing herself from the fear of the media and the German people’s verdict – and on past form, that’s unlikely to happen.”

…and also Puerto Rico?

Chicago Tribune reported on June 28:

“Puerto Rico’s governor believes the U.S. territory’s $72 billion public debt is unpayable, a spokesman confirmed late Sunday, adding another blow to a world financial system already struggling with a possible default by Greece…

“Puerto Rico’s constitution dictates that the debt has to be paid before any other financial obligation is met. If Garcia seeks to not pay the debt at all, it will require a referendum and a vote on a constitutional amendment…

“Puerto Rico’s governor recently confirmed that he had considered having his government seek permission from the U.S. Congress to declare bankruptcy amid a nearly decade-long economic slump. His administration is currently pushing for the right for Puerto Rico’s public agencies to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9. Neither the agencies nor the island’s government can file for bankruptcy under current U.S. rules…”

 If Puerto Rico Defaults

Marketwatch reported on June 30:

“U.S. investors would actually have much more to lose in a potential Puerto Rican default than in a Greek default. The reason is that Puerto Rico’s bonds are trading in the U.S. municipal bond market, while the vast majority of Greek debt is in the hands of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and eurozone countries.”

Don’t Mess with Donald Trump

Politico wrote on June 26:

“Donald Trump sent a letter to Univision CEO and president Randy Falco on Friday informing him that ‘no Univision officer or representative’ is allowed to use his Trump National Doral, the resort and golf club immediately adjacent to Univision offices in Miami…

“The move is the latest in a public dispute that started Thursday when Univision announced it would end its business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is co-owned by Trump and NBCUniversal, based on what it described as Trump’s ‘insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants’ during the launch of his presidential campaign. Trump later announced that he would sue Univision for breach of contract and defamation, and accused Univision of defaulting on an ‘iron-clad’ $13.5 million contract, which he said it had no right to terminate.

“In the letter, Trump writes to Falco, ‘Please be advised that under no circumstances is any officer or representative of Univision allowed to use Trump National Doral, Miami—its golf courses or any of its facilities. Also, please immediately stop work and close the gate which is being constructed between our respective properties. If this is not done within one week, we will close it.’ In a post-script, Trump added: ‘Please congratulate your Mexican Government officials for having made such outstanding trade deals with the United States. However, inform them that should I become President, those days are over. We are bringing jobs back to the U.S. Also, a meaningful border will be immediately created, not the laughingstock that currently exists.’

“Shortly after publication of this item, a Univision spokesperson told the On Media blog that the following directive had been sent to all employees: ‘As part of this decision, [Univision Communications Inc.] employees should not stay at Trump properties while on company business or hold events/activities there.’

“Trump accused Univision of capitulating to pressure ‘put on them by various sources in Mexico.’ ‘The Mexican government is putting pressure on Univision to get me to stop exposing the weaknesses the U.S. has at the southern border,’ he said during the interview, citing his claims that U.S. leaders were ‘incompetent’ on trade with Mexico, allowing the country to take advantage of the U.S., and that the southern border ‘is a sieve’ that ‘illegals are pouring through…’”

CNN reported on June 29 that “NBC Universal, under pressure from an array of Hispanic groups, is severing its business ties to presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12, will no longer air on the network. Nor will the Miss Universe pageant, scheduled for next January. Both pageants were, until now, jointly owned by NBC and Trump… Trump told CNN correspondent Athena Jones that he may sue NBC… Trump is also the face of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice.’… On Monday, the network indicated that it wants to keep ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ going, but without Trump as the host.”

With these attempts to silence Trump, the opposite may be achieved. It appears that he will go full steam ahead… Note the next article.

 The Hill wrote on June 28:

“GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump says the Obama administration is making the U.S. ‘look like we’re beggars,’ as they pursue a long-term deal on Iran’s nuclear program… ‘The Persians … are very good negotiators… They’re dealing with fools…, ’ he said, adding that Obama is ‘not a negotiator.’…

“Speaking to reporters in Vienna on Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry said both sides still have ‘very tough issues’ to deal with before striking a deal. Trump likened the talks… to the prisoner swap the administration made with the Taliban for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl… ‘We get Sgt. Bergdahl, the traitor, and they get five leaders that they’ve wanted for years, and they’re out now on battlefield trying to kill everybody, including us,’ according to Trump… ‘It’s a very sad time for the country as far as I’m concerned,’ he said.”

 Trump Sues Univision for 500 Million Dollars in Damages

Breitbart wrote on June 30:

“GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump filed a $500 million lawsuit against Univision after it terminated its contract to carry the Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12.

“In a news release, Trump’s team announced: ‘Under the contract, Univision is required to broadcast the pageant live on television in Spanish.  While Univision claims its decision came solely in response to comments by Mr. Trump during a June 16, 2015 campaign speech announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, the decision was, in reality, a politically motivated attempt to suppress Mr. Trump’s freedom of speech under the First Amendment as he begins to campaign for the nation’s presidency…

“‘Nothing that I stated was different from what I have been saying for many years. I want strong borders, and I do not support or condone illegal immigration. There is a high level of crime occurring in this country due to unchecked illegal immigration. This is a major security issue for the United States… I have great respect for Mexico and love for the Mexican people and their tremendous spirit!…'”

CNN pointed out that they had reviewed the contract, and that the law suit for breach of contract is by no means frivolous.

NBC Cuts Ties with Trump, but not with Sharpton?

Newsmax wrote on June 30:

“Conservatives are calling foul on NBC for cutting ties with Donald Trump on Monday while keeping the Rev. Al Sharpton as a host on its sister cable network MSNBC… Al Sharpton… has called Jews white interlopers…”

Of course, Al Sharpton has made many derogatory comments pertaining to whites, playing the “race card” whenever he gets a chance.

 … and Now Macy’s

Bloomberg reported on July 1:

“Donald Trump has announced he is severing his ties with Macy’s due to ‘pressure being put on them by outside sources.’ The real estate tycoon and presidential candidate issued a statement on Wednesday terminating his relationship with Macy’s, the same day the retail giant said it would phase out its line of Trump menswear.

“Trump said like NBC, which cut ties with Trump on Tuesday, Macy’s is caving to pressure… ‘Clearly, NBC and Macy’s support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country. Both Macy’s and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty with special interest groups who are nothing more than professional agitators, who are not looking out for the people they purport to represent, but only for themselves. It is people like this that are actually running our country because our leaders are weak and ineffective.’…

“Trump said he’s fine with losing the clothing line, much of which is made in China and did not always meet his standards. ‘While selling Trump ties and shirts at Macy’s is a small business in terms of dollar volume, my principles are far more important and therefore much more valuable,’ he said. ‘I have never been happy about the fact that the ties and shirts are made in China, and should I start a new product line somewhere in the future, I would insist that they are made in America.  I was never satisfied with manufacturing my product in China, but because of what they’ve done in terms of devaluing their currency, it is very hard for other companies to compete and make such apparel in the United States. These are the kinds of issues I am committed to addressing. Securing our border, negotiating trade deals that benefit the United States and bringing jobs back to America is my top priority.’”

Macy’s decision to phase out Trump products might back-fire. According to Newsmax, dated July 1, “GOP 2016 presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump are rising in national polls among GOP primary voters. While Bush holds 19 percent of the vote among Republican voters, Trump holds 12 percent, making them the only Republican presidential candidates to have a double-digit showing in the poll, Business Insider reports.” Trump also holds second place in New Hampshire and Iowa among likely participants of Republican voters, according to Breitbart, dated July 1.

Mysterious Death of Anti-Vaccine Doctor

CBS/AP reported on June 27:

“Authorities say Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, who published research based on the medically disproved claim that vaccines cause autism, has been found dead in an apparent suicide in North Carolina. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release issued this week that Bradstreet died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest… His body was found by a fisherman. The sheriff’s department said Tuesday that a handgun was also pulled from the river…

“Bradstreet ran a clinic in Buford, Georgia. He also owned Creation’s Own, a maker of dietary supplements, which he also prescribed… agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, aided by the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, raided the Bradstreet Wellness Center last week. The FDA did not reveal to the paper why agents had searched Bradstreet’s office.

“Bradstreet’s family is now raising funds online to investigate his death, including ‘an exhaustive investigation into the possibility of foul play.’…

“In 2009, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims…  found Bradstreet’s research claiming causation between autism and environmental mercury exposure, which were published in non-peer-reviewed journals, and his testimony about links between a young patient’s autism and his MMR vaccination, to be unconvincing and unsupported by evidence…”

This article operates from the wrong assumption that causation between vaccination and autism has been “medically disproved.” This is clearly a false statement, and an opinion of just one court to the opposite is hardly convincing. The mysterious death of the doctor promoting the opposite raises at least an eyebrow. Whether the truth will ever come to light may be doubtful.

This Week in the News

Europe’s Shift to the Right

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 19:

“Denmark’s elections resulted in a narrow yet decisive success for the country’s right-wing…

“Among the ones, who were up in Copenhagen all night celebrating victory, was Michelle Mork Hansen, a young politician with Denmark’s ‘Conservative Youth’ movement. She said that the outcome of the election was a ‘huge success’ for various right-wing parties in the country, adding that it would send a clear signal about Denmark’s position and outlook within the greater framework of the EU: ‘The ever-growing resistance against the European Union and a clear feeling among the population that most of our laws are directly dictated by Brussels have created a re-birth among the Danish right wing parties. The fact that Denmark is now fighting for the reintroduction of border controls has also been used as a symbol by the right wing throughout the election campaign along with the ever-rising amount of refugees entering our country,’ she said.

“Hansen’s observations bear the hallmarks of a movement that seems to be sweeping across many parts of Europe. Euroskeptic, right-leaning parties made gains across the continent, and predictions for upcoming elections in other EU nations have been confirming this trend. It would appear that Europe is largely turning to the right – and the reason for this is Europe…

“A lot of Europeans are not happy with the way things are going in Europe… ‘Throughout Europe, the right-wing parties have very charismatic and strong leaders, epitomized by Nigel Farage in the UK, Marine Le Pen in France and Kristian Thulesen Dahl here in Denmark, whose personalities and public speaking abilities seem to be drawing in the votes more than their party manifestos,’ [Hansen] said…”

In spite of or even because of right-wing charismatic euro-skeptics, the European unification process will continue, and a core Europe will emerge, consisting of ten nations or groups of nations. However, Israelite countries like Great Britain and even Denmark, Finland or Sweden might not be part of core Europe. The verdict on Greece is still out (Greece being a non-Israelite country, which is prophesied to have at the very least strong ties to Europe). While an overwhelming majority of Germans is in favor of a Grexit, most Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone. And while Angela Merkel is experiencing more and more resistance from her own party to loan Greece more money—especially from the “Euro-Man,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (see Bild Online, June 24)—she is reportedly determined to do whatever she can to keep Greece within the Eurozone. According to the EUObserver, dated June 19, “Viktor Orban, the Hungarian PM, has said only ‘strong’ leaders, not institutions, can create stability in Europe.” As Angela Merkel is undoubtedly not the kind of leader whom many envision and hope for, a strong leader, identified as the “beast” in the book of Revelation, will arise soon in Europe.

11th Hour for Greece

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“As the 11th hour of bailout talks approaches, will Greece and its creditors agree on a bailout deal?… It only took an hour for eurozone finance ministers to call an end to crisis talks on Wednesday. The summit was expected to pave the way for a ‘final deal’ ahead of Greece’s impending deadline to repay the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1.6 billion euros ($1.79 billion) by June 30… However, widening rifts continue to postpone a deal between Greece and its creditors – European Central Bank (ECB), EU, and IMF – with the latter taking the harshest stance against the Greek government’s proposals…

“IMF chief Christine Lagarde said…  she did not want Greece to exit the eurozone, but added that if that did occur, she did not believe it would to an ‘explosion’ of the eurozone… Addressing lawmakers ahead of an EU summit slated for Thursday and Friday, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the monetary union had a ‘moral obligation’ to help Greece with a bailout deal. Renzi’s view runs contrary to a strain of public opinion in some countries…

“If an agreement is reached, it would unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds, allowing Greece to avoid a default on its IMF loan, which would likely force the country to exit the eurozone and possibly even the EU.”

Breitbart took a different stance on the matter, writing on June 24:

“The Greek farce continues its record-breaking run. After 43 last ditches, 28 eleventh hours and 17 late-night drinking sessions in the Last Chance Saloon, the comedians in Brussels and Athens are rehearsing their latest routine.

“The joke, of course, is on the taxpayers of Europe. For Grexit remains a remote contingency, at least for as long as the politicians can contain the situation by throwing other people’s money at a problem they manufactured. If the markets explode, that would be another matter. Barring meltdown in the markets, Brussels – which in this context is also an alias for Berlin – simply will not permit Greece to leave the Eurozone…

“Brussels knows only one law: ever-closer integration. If Greece departed the Eurozone, that would represent disintegration and that must not happen at any price…

“Which brings us to the crunch point. If the infatuated integrationists of Brussels will go to such extreme lengths, draining the European Central Bank and destabilising the European and wider economy, for the petty purpose of keeping basket-case, parasitic Greece within the Eurozone, how desperate would they become if there was the slightest prospect of Britain leaving the EU altogether?

“Britain is a net contributor to the EU, a nuclear power with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an economy with a growth rate over the past year of 2.4 per cent compared with 1 per cent in the Eurozone…

“The European Union could not survive the departure of Britain… Yet if Britain had representative leaders, honest media and real political will we could successfully demand any concessions – including full treaty change… If we held their feet to the fire they would squeal for mercy. That, along with the benefits of Brexit, is what we must bring home to our fellow citizens between now and the referendum.”

However, this conclusion is overly optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the view point. The Bible strongly indicates that Britain WILL leave the EU sometime in the future, and it is not specified whether Greece will stay within the Eurozone. But we know that in the future, there will be ten nations or groups of nations (apparently comprising Eurozone members), which will lead Europe. This means that some of the current 19 Eurozone members WILL have to leave.

Greece—No Breakthrough

AFP wrote on June 25:

 “Eurozone finance ministers’ talks broke up without an agreement on a Greek debt deal on Thursday, Finland’s Alexander Stubb said, with sources saying they were likely to meet again on Saturday.”

It was also reported that Greece will not vote over the weekend, and that no deal is expected—if at all—before Monday, June 29, just prior to the deadline of July 1, when the current EU assistance program for Greece runs out.  If that happens, then many commentators feel that Greece will be bankrupt by Friday, July 3.

David Cameron Changes His Mind… Again

BBC News reported on June 25:

David Cameron has accepted it may not be possible to change the EU’s treaties before the UK’s in/out referendum on the EU, the BBC understands. The PM has argued instead for an ‘irreversible lock’ and ‘legally binding’ guarantees that EU law will at some point in the future be changed to accommodate Britain’s aims. As recently as January Mr Cameron said he would be demanding ‘proper, full-on treaty change’.

“Eurosceptics and those who want to leave the EU altogether have always been suspicious that agreements between political leaders can be later undermined in the courts. They believe that legal or treaty changes are necessary to deliver the prime minister’s negotiating objectives – in particular to free Britain from the EU’s commitment to build an ‘ever closer union’ of nation states and to ensure that benefits such as tax credits be withheld from migrants who have been in the country for less than four years.

“David Cameron’s critics may fear that the formula he is now using is a watering down of that commitment and will demand to know who would interpret any legally binding agreement reached between the UK and the rest of the EU. Downing Street insists, however, that it is simply a reflection of the fact that any treaty change will require a time consuming ratification process in 28 different countries involving parliamentary votes as well as referendums in France, Ireland and Denmark…

“Mr Cameron also discussed EU reform with Council President Donald Tusk, who said the substance of the UK’s proposals would be considered ‘but only in a way which will be safe for all Europe’. Mr Tusk warned that the fundamental values of the 28-member bloc ‘are not for sale and so are non-negotiable’.

“The PM’s official spokeswoman said… ‘ever closer union’ was not a principle Britain was attached to.”

Ireland’s Contingency Plan in Case of Brexit

The Guardian wrote on June 17:

The Irish government is preparing contingency plans in the event that Britain leaves the European Union, Ireland’s foreign minister has said… Britain is Ireland’s largest trading partner and a Brexit would have damaging ramifications for its economy. A recent report by the Open Europe think tank predicted that Britain leaving the EU could cost Ireland a permanent loss of 3.1 per cent and even in the best case scenario it would still lose 1.1 per cent of GDP…

“Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern warned Mr Cameron that Ireland would not support treaty change – a key demand of Mr Cameron’s in his drive to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU…”

Northern Ireland’s Persecution of a Christian Pastor

TheBlaze reported on June 19:

“An evangelical pastor in Northern Ireland is under fire and will be prosecuted after calling Islam ‘satanic’ and claiming that its doctrine was ‘spawned in hell’ during a controversial 2014 sermon that streamed over the Internet. Pastor James McConnell, 78, of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, made his comments — which included calling Islam ‘heathen’ — in a sermon delivered last May.

“‘The Muslim religion was created many hundreds of years after Christ. Muhammad, the Islam Prophet, was born around the year A.D. 570, but Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion,’ he preached. ‘Now, people say there are good Muslims in Britain. That may be so, but I don’t trust them.’ McConnell continued, ‘Islam’s ideas about God, about humanity, about salvation are vastly different from the teaching of the holy scriptures. Islam is heathen. Islam is satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell.’

“He initially defended his comments, but relented and apologized for offending anyone after a public outcry; the police were subsequently called to investigate him for a potential hate crime… A representative for the Public Prosecution Service in North Ireland told the BBC that McConnell had violated the Communications Act 2003 and that his offence was ‘one of sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive.’

“But McConnell — who retired from Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle following the controversy — isn’t backing down, proclaiming in an interview that he is ‘not going to be gagged.’ ‘The police tried to shut me up and tell me what to preach. It’s ridiculous. I believe in freedom of speech. I’m going to keep on preaching the gospel,’ he said… ‘I have nothing against Muslims, I have never hated Muslims, I have never hated anyone. But I am against what Muslims believe.’ McConnell continued, ‘They have the right to say what they believe in and I have a right to say what I believe.’

“As TheBlaze previously reported, Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland was also recently convicted of discrimination after refusing to make a cake with a message supporting gay marriage.”

 Certainly, his choice of words should have been different. We don’t even know what he meant with his claim that Islam’s doctrine was “spawned in hell.” Still, it is an alarming sign when “Christian” governments attempt to silence those who preach what they understand to be the biblical teaching, while no Muslim or Islamist is prosecuted by those governments for ridiculing the Bible, libeling the Judeo-Christian religion, and blaspheming Jesus Christ.

 Little Boy Decided to Be a Girl… Mother is Proud About It!

On June 20, The Daily Mail published an article with the following headlines. One does not need to read the article—the headlines say it all:

 “Proud mother backs her ‘brave’ transgender 9-year-old son as he prepares to go back to school dressed as a girl and wearing a blonde wig. Sam Hughes [the proud mother] says son Joseph has made own choice to go to class as a girl. Has been dressing in girls’ clothes for ages and even painting his nails. When he puts on blonde wig he transforms from Joseph into Ellie-Jo. Has now decided he’ll take the big step of returning to school after summer as a girl.”

 Sickening…. 

 Luther’s Anti-Semitism

The Times of Israel reported on June 18:

Germany’s top Jewish leader urged Protestants to confront and condemn anti-Jewish teachings of Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation. Speaking at a conference in Berlin last week, Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said he hopes for a clear sign from the Protestant Church condemning Luther’s anti-Jewish writings, ahead of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

“In his voluminous 1543 text ‘On the Jews and their Lies,’ Luther called Jews a ‘base’ people and urged faithful Protestants to burn down synagogues and drive Jews from their homes. Luther was responsible for regulations barring Jews from working or living in his region.

“Nikolaus Schneider, former council president of the Protestant Church in Germany, told Schuster during a public discussion at the June 10 conference that the church has begun to confront Luther’s anti-Jewish sentiments, adding he was he was fairly sure the council would issue a declaration on the matter in time for the anniversary…

“In 1517, Luther disseminated his Ninety-Five Theses condemning various church practices. According to some, he posted the theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. But while Luther took church leaders to task on their abuses, it has taken too long for Protestants to take Luther himself to task, critics have said.”

There can be no doubt that after Luther had tried unsuccessfully to convert Jews to Christianity, he propagated the persecution of Jews and other Sabbath keepers. One of his infamous works was titled: “Against the Jews and All Those Who Keep the Sabbath.” Some have said that Hitler carried out what Luther had recommended.

“Europe’s Jews Decry ‘Beast’ of Anti-Semitism Overtaking Continent”

The Times of Israel wrote on June 24:

“European Jewry is all in the same boat, and that boat is slowly but surely sinking. That, at least, was the impression from a roundtable conversation Tuesday at the Jerusalem Press Club with leaders from 25 of the continent’s Jewish communities.

“During the hour and a half lunch in a picturesque hall overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, even those leaders who claimed their countries are without anti-Semitism today were pessimistic about the future of Europe. The obliviousness to a looming Nazi regime pervasive in 1930s Jewish communities was referenced, as were the increased Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) efforts that have taken over Scandinavia and elsewhere.

“The 30-odd leaders were assembled under the banner ‘A Time for Action’ for the fifth Israeli Jewish Congress (Hakhel) Gathering and Solidarity Mission to Israel of senior European Jewish leaders…

“Musician Peter Gyori, the vice president of the Jewish Community of the Czech Republic, said his country doesn’t suffer from anti-Semitism, nor are there any calls for BDS. He said he can be openly Jewish, and appears widely on radio and television. But he has no utopian illusions. ‘I know that if something would happen to me, nobody would protect me,’ said Gyori.

“For her part, Gkratsiela Sofia Bourla, wife of the president of the Greek Jewish community, Moses Constatinos, said she cannot believe leaders, such as the delegates from the Czech Republic and Portugal, who say their countries do not have any anti-Semitism. ‘I think the beast is sleeping in their countries,’ said Bourla.

“Continuing with anti-Semitism as beast imagery, the Serbian Jewish community’s president Ruben Fuks said no one is dealing with the monster itself… ‘Seeing what’s around, how the beast is waking up, raising its ugly head, I’m worried,’ said Fuks.

“Born in Ostend, Belgium, in 1939 and hidden as a child during the Holocaust, Baron Julien Klener, the immediate past president of the Consistoire Israelite de Belgique, said he too is anxious in today’s Europe…”

Germany’s Latest Scandal

The Guardian wrote on June 22:

“German authorities have released al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour without charge, after he was detained on Saturday by police at Berlin’s Tegel airport on an Egyptian arrest warrant.

“Questions remain as to why the German authorities arrested Mansour at the behest of Egypt’s military regime in the first place, and why they waited until he was at the point of leaving Germany to do so. There was considerable confusion over the warrant, which a German government spokesman said on Monday came via Interpol’s ‘red notice’ system, though both Mansour and Interpol said no such red notice exists against his name. According to police spokesman Meik Gauer, the arresting officers at Tegel airport were answerable only to the federal police headquarters, not to Interpol. There also remains a question mark over why the police officers felt obliged to detain Mansour, given that Germany does not have an extradition agreement with Egypt… For that reason, legal commentators have suggested the warrant could not have been executed without consultation with the government.

“Last year, an Egyptian court convicted Mansour in absentia of torturing a lawyer in Tahrir Square in 2011 and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Mansour rejected the charges, calling them ‘a flimsy attempt at character assassination’… MPs across Germany’s main political parties had voiced concern over his detention…

“Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was criticised by opposition parties and rights groups for hosting the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, on a state visit this month. During the visit, the German industrial group Siemens signed an €8bn deal with Egypt to supply gas and wind power plants. Since Sisi took power in 2013 and won a presidential election the following year, courts in Egypt have issued scores of death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood members including the group’s leadership.”

Die Zeit commented on June 22 that Germany did everything wrong in the matter. In arresting Mansour, Germany angered the Arab world which does not have any great sympathy for the Egyptian government, while upholding the popularity of Mansour (showing again the ridiculousness of the notion, taught by some, that Egypt may be the “king of the south” and the leader of Arab nations.). But Germany also gave the impression to the corrupt Egyptian government that Mansour would be extradited to Egypt, angering the Egyptian government when he was set free. Die Zeit stated that part of the reason for Germany’s debacle is the fact that the German government does not seem to have any cohesive course of action towards Egypt at this point. But this is just one more example of increasing failures in Angela Merkel’s leadership.

NSA in Hot Water Again

The Telegraph wrote on June 24:

“Documents published online by WikiLeaks show that the US wiretapped three French presidents, including current leader François Hollande.

“A note dated May 22, 2012 and classified as ‘Top Secret’  shows that French president François Hollande had ‘approved holding secret meetings in Paris to discuss the eurozone crisis, particularly the consequences of a Greek exit from the eurozone’. Mr Hollande also arranged in a meeting with then-French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on May 18, just days after he had taken office, to hold secret meetings with Germany’s opposition Social Democratic Party. Mr Ayrault warned the president to keep the meetings secret to avoid ‘diplomatic problems’, with the cable explaining he meant ‘what could happen if Angela Merkel, German chancellor, finds out that Mr Hollande is going behind her back to meet with the German opposition’.

“The note said that after earlier talks with Mrs Merkel in Berlin, Mr Hollande had complained that nothing of substance was achieved and that the chancellor was fixated on Greece, ‘on which he claimed she had given up and was unwilling to budge’. This, the note said, made Mr Hollande ‘very worried’ for Greece and the Greek people, who he said may react by voting for an extremist party…”

The Globe and Mail added on June 24:

“The United States allegedly spied on three successive French presidents by eavesdropping on their phone calls, according to a new set of documents released by WikiLeaks that will reignite the controversy over American surveillance of its European allies. The revelations prompted outrage in Paris. President François Hollande called the reports ‘unacceptable’ and convened meetings of top legislators and security officials on Wednesday to discuss the controversy. In another sign of displeasure, the U.S. ambassador was also summoned to the French foreign ministry, the Associated Press reported.

“… A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council released a statement Tuesday evening saying the U.S. is ‘not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande.’ The statement did not address the allegations that the U.S. had spied upon Mr. Hollande and his predecessors in the past…

“As in Germany two years ago, French politicians were quick to express outrage about the revelations. But the subsequent experience in Germany has shown that lawmakers may not be quite as shocked as they first sound…  Michèle Alliot-Marie, a former defence and foreign affairs minister under Mr. Chirac and Mr. Sarkozy, told a local television channel that France was well aware of the U.S. ability to intercept conversations. ‘We are not naive, the conversations that took place between the defence ministry and the president did not happen on the telephone,’ she said. ‘That being said, it does raise the problem of the relationship of trust between allies.’”

Especially when the allies involve the USA.

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“US President Barack Obama has promised to stop ‘unacceptable practices’ after a row over eavesdropping on French leaders… Obama made a similar pledge to Germany in 2013 after former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked confidential information about the extent of the US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance. The documents showed that the NSA has tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone.”

 The text of a famous song comes to mind: “It’s only words…”

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies

Newsmax reported on June 25:

“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the nationwide availability of tax subsidies that are crucial to the implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, handing a major victory to the president. The court ruled on a 6-3 vote that the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, did not restrict the subsidies to states that establish their own online healthcare exchanges. It marked the second time in three years that the high court ruled against a major challenge to the law brought by conservatives seeking to gut it. Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by fellow conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy and the court’s liberal members in the majority.

“Justice Antonin Scalia took the relatively rare step of reading a summary of his dissenting opinion from the bench. In his reading of the statute, ‘it is hard to come up with a reason to use these words other than the purpose of limiting credits to state exchanges,’ Scalia said. ‘We really should start calling the law SCOTUScare,’ he added, referencing the court’s earlier decision upholding the constitutionality of the law. SCOTUS is the acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States… [He also wrote: “Under all the usual rules of interpretation, in short, the Government should lose this case. But normal rules of interpretation seem always to yield to the overriding principle of the present Court: The Affordable Care Act must be saved.”]

“The question before the justices was whether a four-word phrase in the expansive law saying subsidies are available to those buying insurance on exchanges ‘established by the state’ has been correctly interpreted by the administration to allow subsidies to be available nationwide. Roberts wrote that although the conservative challengers’ arguments about the plain meaning of the statute were ‘strong,’ the ‘context and structure of the act compel us to depart from what would otherwise be the most natural reading of the pertinent statutory phrase.’”

This is the second time that in regard to Obamacare, the US Supreme Court, under Bush-appointee Chief Justice John Roberts, made a strictly political decision, based on novel arguments, in order to reach a political result. Three years ago, the US Supreme Court, under Roberts, ruled that the individual mandate was a tax, even though the Obama Administration had argued that it was not a tax, but a fine. If it had been a fine, the mandate would have been unconstitutional. Now, the Supreme Court found that plain wording referring to the state (not the federal government), which has been used at least seven times in the law, does not mean what it clearly says—even though the Obama Administration never raised this issue. Sadly, the US Supreme Court has become a political institution, driven to and fro with the wind of political expedience, seemingly operating from the premise: The desired political end justifies the means of legal “interpretation.”

Germany’s Low Opinion of the USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“The USA is losing face among the German citizenry. In an interview with DW, USA expert Karsten Voigt talks about how this loss of respect came about…: ‘The slide toward a negative opinion began with former President George W. Bush’s wars in the Middle East. Many people believe that the Americans contributed to the instability of many countries in the region, and that the war in Iraq and the conflict in Syria have only exacerbated the problem. The military intervention in Libya, though originally a European idea, is often blamed on the Americans as well. To that, add Edward Snowden’s revelations, and the whole of the NSA affair…

“‘The laws that were enacted to fight terrorism after 9/11 contain many aspects that are constitutionally troubling. It was expected that all of these laws would be repealed by the Obama administration. That has happened in part, due to Congress limiting the powers of the intelligence services… The Patriot Act and Guantanamo are also viewed critically, and the practice of systematically torturing detainees to glean information about terror networks is especially controversial. In America, 58 percent of those polled support such tactics, in Germany, 68 percent are opposed to them…’”

The Local added on June 24:

“More than half of Germans (53 percent) said they did not believe the United States government respects the personal freedoms of its people… The poll also showed that 45 percent of Germans polled had negative views of the US, compared to 50 percent who had positive views. This was the most pessimistic outlook expressed by any of the western European countries surveyed…

“German support for the United States has plummeted over the 15 years since 2000, when nearly 80 percent of respondents in Germany said they felt favourable towards the US…”

Clinton vs. Trump

Newsmax reported on June 19:

 “GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has fired back at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton after she hinted that rhetoric he used during his campaign launch could ‘trigger’ a violent event, such as the shooting at the church in Charleston, South Carolina. Clinton said in an interview Thursday, ‘Public discourse is sometimes hotter and more negative than it should be, which can, in my opinion, trigger someone who is less than stable… I think we have to speak out against it,’ Clinton added. ‘Like, for example, a recent entry into the Republican presidential campaign said some very inflammatory things about Mexicans. Everybody should stand up and say that’s not acceptable.’

“Clinton was referring to comments Trump made during his speech when he described illegal immigrants from Mexico as criminals and ‘rapists.’ On Friday morning, Trump posted a video on Instagram responding to Clinton’s comments… ‘Wow, it’s pretty pathetic that Hillary Clinton just blamed me for the horrendous attack that took place in South Carolina. This is why politicians are just no good. Our country’s in trouble,’ he said in the short clip titled, ‘Hillary Clinton reaches new low.’…

“Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Trump said the real estate tycoon, who canceled a sold-out campaign event in the state after the shooting, sends his prayers and condolences to the people of South Carolina. ‘At this time of national sorrow, a responsible leader should be focused on uniting and healing the country,” said Sam Nunberg… ‘Mr. Trump believes that Hillary Clinton does not have any credibility when she blames words for violence. This is the same politician who lied to the world after she failed to take proper steps to secure the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and falsely blamed the radical Islamic attack on a YouTube video. This is the same person who illegally deleted her emails after getting a subpoena from the U.S. Congress.’

“Nunberg added it is ‘totally inappropriate’ for Clinton to use the tragedy to attack a political opponent. ‘She must be nervous about something,’ he said, hinting that Clinton must feel threatened by Trump’s entry into the presidential race.”

With Trump’s entry into the field, the fight for the White House has really begun. To underestimate Trump might be a big mistake for any of the other presidential candidates. It was suggested that Trump might very well win the first debate in August among the Republican candidates.

In this context, Newsmax wrote on June 17: “Much of what Donald Trump says ‘resonates’ both inside and outside the Republican Party, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Wednesday, and what he says ‘throws a monkey wrench’ in the predictability most candidates rely on…  While Trump has come under some fire over statements he made concerning the Mexican border and immigrants in his campaign announcement on Tuesday, ‘there are a lot of folks who look at the Mexican border the way he pronounced it yesterday,’ Steele said.  ‘I think that affords him the opportunity to not only be on that stage, but to say something that is going to make the party very uncomfortable over the next few months… It’s a real problem going into the early debates if he’s on that stage… The argument will be framed by Donald Trump, not by Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or others.’”

Clinton Has Something in Common With Trump

Breitbart wrote on June 24:

“A new Fox News poll has Trump in second place to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as a favorite for the Republican nomination. Trump jumped seven percentage points since the previous poll prior to his formal announcement. The top ten candidates and likely candidates per the Fox News poll results were as follows: Jeb Bush – 15%; Donald Trump – 11%; Ben Carson – 10%; Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) – 9%; Scott Walker – 9%; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) – 8%; Mike Huckabee – 6%; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – 4%; Carly Fiorina – 3%; Rick Santorum – 3%. Tied at two percent are Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rick Perry, and Bobby Jindal… George Pataki and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are both tied at one percent at the bottom of the poll.

“Trump also placed high in a Citizens United poll released Wednesday… He also trailed Bush at second place in a recent Suffolk University Poll of New Hampshire voters.

“However, the bad news for Trump is that the poll showed he had something in common with Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee. ‘More than twice as many say Trump is not honest and trustworthy as think he is (64 percent vs. 30 percent). That gives him an honesty score of negative 34,’ Fox News reported. ‘Clinton’s honesty score is negative seven.  Less than half of voters — 45 percent — rate her as honest.  That’s unchanged from earlier this year, but down from a record 54 percent who said she was honest in 2014.  A 52-percent majority says Clinton is not honest.’”

However, on June 24, Newsmax wrote about a totally different perspective:

“Donald Trump has the guts to say what other Republican presidential candidates can’t or won’t say — and that gives the billionaire developer an edge in the race to capture the 2016 GOP nomination, veteran political consultant Dick Morris said. ‘Telling the truth should not be a rare commodity in politics, but in fact, it’s a totally rare commodity and to have someone who actually does tell the truth like that is extraordinary,’ Morris said…”

Thanks to President Obama–Israel Is All Alone

Washington Free Beacon wrote on June 19:

“By the summer of 2013, President Obama had convinced several key Israelis that he wasn’t bluffing about using force against the Iranian nuclear program. Then he failed to enforce his red line against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad—and the Israelis realized they’d been snookered. Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, recalls the shock inside his government. ‘Everyone went quiet,’ he said in a recent interview. ‘An eerie quiet. Everyone understood that that was not an option, that we’re on our own.’

“… it’s clear that Israel has been on her own since the day Obama took office… Obama’s unending criticism of Israel… provide an opening for radicals to go even further. The diplomatic rupture endangers Israel in another way… Now, with the United States about to clear the way for Iranian nukes and flood the Iranian economy with cash, Israel is all the more at risk.

“… The alliance has faltered to such a degree that Oren is morose. He wonders whether Israel is in the same precarious position it was in 1967, before the Six Day War, or in 1948, when it came close to never being born. Neither option is comforting… But whatever happens, thanks to Michael Oren, history will know that an inexperienced and ideologically motivated president drove a lethal wedge between the United States of America and the young, tiny, besieged Jewish State.”

There can be no doubt that under the presidency of Barak Obama, the relationship between the USA and Israel has drastically deteriorated.

Most Israelis Don’t Have Confidence in President Obama

The Times of Israel wrote on June 24:

“Israelis have increasingly lost faith in US President Barack Obama, with the commander-in-chief taking a greater hit to his image in the Jewish state than in any other country in the world… Confidence in Obama slipped in Israel from 71% in 2014 to 49% in 2015, while half of Israelis said they have no confidence in the president’s leadership in international affairs…

“The findings reverse a several-year trend of rising support for Obama in Israel, amid increasingly cool relations between the two states over US foreign policy in the Middle East and tensions between the White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran’s nuclear program… 80% of Israelis disapprove of how Obama is dealing with Iran’s nuclear program…

“Obama’s dour image in the Jewish state didn’t affect America’s standing in Israel, with a firm majority of Israelis still enamored of Uncle Sam. Eighty-one percent of Israelis view the US in a favorable light, compared to 18% unfavorable — one of the highest favorable ratings of all countries quizzed — although there is a wide gap between Israeli Jews (87% favorable) and Arabs (48%)…

“By contrast, America’s image is mostly negative in the region, with most Jordanians (83%), Palestinians (70%), Turks (58%) and Lebanese (58%) giving the US a thumbs down. Additionally, 82% of Palestinians had no confidence in Obama’s foreign policy…”

Terrible Situation in Sudan

On June 23, dpa reported the following:

“At a United Nations-run displaced people’s camp in South Sudan’s capital Juba, white tarpaulin tents reach as far as the eye can see… Such camps are home to more than 130,000 people in South Sudan, mainly in the north, where people have massively fled fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel leader, Riek Machar.

“The 18-month conflict has killed tens of thousands and sent about 2 million people fleeing to UN camps, to the wilderness and to neighbouring countries. Some 4.6 million people, in a total population estimated to number between 10 million and 12 million, are classified as ‘severely food insecure’ by the UN…

“Camps in Juba are meanwhile trying to stem the spread of cholera… UN planes or helicopters are frequently unable to fly to crisis areas because the government does not grant them permission to take off…”

New Little ICE AGE for Britain?

 The Express wrote on June 24:

“Britain could face colder than average winters with a plunge in solar activity threatening a new ‘little ice age’ in the next few decades. Climate experts warn the amount of light and warmth released by the sun is nosediving to levels ‘not seen for centuries’. They fear a repeat of the so-called ‘Maunder Minimum’ which triggered Arctic winter whiteouts and led to the River Thames freezing 300 years ago.

“The Met Office-led study warns although the effect will be offset by recent global warming, Britain faces years of unusually cold winters… James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said the effects may be felt as soon as this winter. He said: ‘Solar activity levels, or solar flux, are currently estimated to be at their lowest for the last 100 years. We will head into another rapid decline throughout the remainder of the upcoming year. On the basis of past solar activity levels it is an inevitability that solar and sunspot activity will continue to fall off the charts in the coming years and decades, including the upcoming winter period of 2015/16’…

“The coldest winter ever recorded in 1684 occurred during the last Maunder Minimum period and saw the River Thames in London freeze over. Maunder Minimum is named after the English astronomer Edward Walter Maunder who noticed fewer sunspots were observed between 1645 and 1715.

“Professor Scaife said: ‘During the Mander Minimum period there were runs of cold winters including 1684 which was the coldest winter recorded. There are signs that solar activity has been dropping over the past decade with a one in five chance of it reaching a similar low by around 2050.’”

How the Pope’s Encyclical Was Prepared and Published

The Washington Post wrote on June 20:

“[The pope’s encyclical] marked the latest blow for those seeking to stop the reform-minded train that has become Francis’s papacy. It is one that has reinvigorated liberal Catholics even as it has sowed the seeds of resentment and dissent inside and outside the Vatican’s ancient walls.

“Yet the battle lost over climate change also suggests how hard it may be for critics to blunt the power of a man who has become something of a juggernaut in an institution where change tends to unfold over decades, even centuries. More than anything, to those who doubt the human impact of global warming, the position staked out by Francis in his papal document, known as an encyclical, means a major defeat…

“Papal advisers say Francis signaled his intent to draft a major document on the environment soon after assuming the throne of St. Peter in March 2013…

“In April, the [Chicago-based Heartland Institute] launched an ‘open letter’ to the pope, signed by more than 100 scholars and theologians, arguing that climate-change models ‘provide no rational basis to forecast dangerous human-induced global warming, and therefore no rational basis for efforts to reduce warming by restricting the use of fossil fuels or any other means.’

“[Some believe] that ‘between a quarter and a third’ of the signers were Catholic.

“… the pope sought to build on the progressive environmental platforms established by his immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. For advice, he turned to a number of scientific advisers who support the consensus that human activity is warming the Earth. They included Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, [a professed atheist and] founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany…”

Some claim that Pope Francis is not a politician, and that he is not afraid to speak his mind. But the way in which his encyclical was prepared and published was clearly a political act.

Great Powers Failed to Act to Help Persecuted in Nazi Germany

The Associated Press reported on June 21:

“Pope Francis on Sunday denounced what he calls the ‘great powers’ of the world for failing to act when there was intelligence indicating Jews, Christians, homosexuals and others were being transported to death camps in Europe during World War II. He also decried the deaths of Christians in concentration camps in Russia under the Stalin dictatorship, which followed the war… He also cited what he called the ‘great tragedy of Armenia’ in the last century. ‘So many died. I don’t know the figure, more than a million, certainly. But where were the great powers then? They were looking the other way,’ the pope said.

“In today’s world, he told the young people: ‘Everything is done for money.’ He criticized those advocating peace while manufacturing or selling arms. Francis reiterated his view that conflicts in the world today are tantamount to ‘a Third World War in segments.’”

It is also true, however, that the big Christian churches, especially the Catholic Church, looked the other way and did very little, if anything, to oppose Nazism and to help those who were persecuted under the Nazi Regime. Quite to the contrary, they engaged in political maneuvering to help the Nazis stay in power. As Klaus P. Fischer pointed out in his excellent work, “Nazi Germany… A New History” (on page 363):

“… the institutions of the church, both Protestant and Catholic, failed tragically in mustering the sort of Christian courage it would have required to stop the Nazis from committing their unspeakable crimes against God and humankind. Such institutional failure of nerve, ESPECIALLY ON THE PART OF THE VATICAN,  will forever be a stain on the historical record of Christianity.”

This Week in the News

Ramadan — an Interesting Dilemma

The Independent wrote on June 14:

“As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches, and British Muslims prepare for four weeks of fasting during daylight hours, a perennial debate on changing the Ramadan observance times in northern regions has sprung up again. Dr Usama Haswan, an Islamic researcher from anti-extremism group Quilliam, has said that it would make more sense for Muslims in the UK to follow Mecca timings, as daylight lasts much longer this far north than it does in the Middle East.

“In Mecca, daylight during Ramadan usually lasts from around 12 to 13 hours. In the southern part of the UK, it typically lasts around 16 hours or more, and the timings mean that observers will have to wake up at around 4am if they want to eat in the morning. As the start of Ramadan is based on the first sighting of the new moon, it comes earlier and earlier each year. For the last few years, however, it has occurred during summer, meaning a much longer fasting time. This year, Ramadan will begin on 18 June.

“… things get worse the further north you go. In Aberdeen, more than 500 miles north of London, daylight will last for around 18 hours during Ramadan. And elsewhere in northern Europe, such as the far north of Sweden, the sun may only set for a couple of hours a day, if at all. In Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town, the sun has not set this month – and it’s not going to go down before August…

“There is no agreed-upon standard – some Muslims choose to observe Mecca time, others observe the timings of their own country. Mohammed Kharaki, a spokesman for Sweden’s Islamic Association, said the organisation had this week issued guidelines that said Muslims should fast between the times that the sun was last clearly seen to rise and fall – despite this concession, this could well amount to a 19-hour fast…

“However, even with a lengthy fast for British Muslims, the vast majority are adamant that they will observe it, no matter how difficult it is.”

Of course, the Bible does not prescribe such a fast at all—perhaps for the very reasons which are explained in the article above. The only enjoined fast takes place once a year, during one day, the Day of Atonement (known by Jews today as Yom Kippur), from sunset to sunset, which is always observed in the autumn.

 “Conservatives for Britain” Prefer Possible Brexit

Newsmax reported on June 13:

 “The number of lawmakers in Prime Minister David Cameron’s party to join a group pushing for Britain to leave the European Union unless it obtains major changes to its terms of membership has jumped from 50 to 110 in a week, a newspaper said on Saturday. One in three of Cameron’s 330 lawmakers, including some ministers, have joined ‘Conservatives for Britain’ (CfB), which is also backed by 13 members of the upper house and 12 members of the European Parliament, the Telegraph reported…

“Cameron angered some in his party at the start of the week when he suggested ministers who did not back his EU strategy, which envisions Britain remaining in a reformed EU, would have to quit the government. He later said he had been misunderstood and that his warning to ministers only applied to the EU negotiation period and not the referendum campaign itself where many Conservatives feel they should be allowed to vote according to their own conscience, rather than following the party line…”

Whether David Cameron will be able to reach agreements with the EU which will satisfy Britain’s euro-skeptics remains to be seen.

Europe Prepares for State of Emergency

Reuters reported on June 15:

“Greece and its creditors hardened their stances on Monday after the collapse of talks aimed at preventing a default and possible euro exit, prompting Germany’s EU commissioner to say the time had come to prepare for a ‘state of emergency’.

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ignored pleas from European leaders to act fast. Instead he blamed creditors for Sunday’s breakdown of the cash-for-reform talks, the biggest setback in long-running negotiations to unlock aid. He said his government had a responsibility to defend Greece’s dignity and would resist demands for further pension cuts… Athens now has just two weeks to find a way out of the impasse before it faces a 1.6 billion euro repayment due to the International Monetary Fund, potentially leaving it out of cash, unable to borrow and dangling on the edge of the currency area…

“Despite the deepening crisis, Tsipras is going ahead with a planned visit to Russia from Thursday, the day euro zone finance ministers hold a crucial meeting to review the standoff with Greece. He is due to stay till Saturday, attend an economic forum in Saint Petersburg and meet President Vladimir Putin. EU officials said that without improved Greek proposals by Thursday, the Eurogroup session would be very tough and was likely to present Greece with an ultimatum…

“Although some economists still believe that, as in past crises, a last-minute fix will be found to avoid default, European politicians sound more determined than before to resist compromising with demands they consider unreasonable. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis retorted in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper that a deal could be reached quickly if Merkel took part in the talks. ‘I rule out a “Grexit” as a sensible solution,’ Varoufakis said. ‘But no one can rule out everything. I can’t even rule out a comet hitting Earth.’”

And both might strike…

The New York Times wrote on June 17:

“It is the current doomsday scenario for Europe… Although Europe is better positioned to deal with a crisis than it was a few years ago, when Greece last teetered, there is simply no precedent for a country’s leaving the eurozone. And the big test may be only weeks away.

“Relations between Greece and its lenders have descended into a bitter standoff. The impasse is increasing the chances that Greece and its creditors will fail to forge a deal by the end of the month, when a pile of debt comes due and its current bailout expires.

“Many in Europe still believe that some sort of agreement will be reached at the last minute… But the war of words — and the apparent distance between both sides’ positions — is reducing hopes for a breakthrough…

“Optimistic analysts contend that markets would soon steady themselves after the initial shock of Greece’s crashing out of the euro. Much has changed, they say, since 2011 and 2012, when Greece’s problems spilled over into other countries… There are grounds for such confidence. Private investors and banks no longer have large holdings of Greek government debt, meaning their losses would be minimal if the country were to default. Instead, Greece’s debt is now mostly owed to other governments and official entities…

“Perhaps the biggest difference between the last Greek crisis and now is the stance of the European Central Bank…

“Some analysts are looking beyond the immediate financial repercussions of Greece’s leaving the eurozone… If Greece were to fall out of the eurozone, it would establish a dangerous precedent — and show that the euro is only for certain countries…”

… which, of course, it clearly is, showing again the concept of a Europe with two speeds or a core Europe of influential major countries, leading the rest of Europe. In addition, according to a new poll which was published on Wednesday, “58 percent of [German] people would prefer it if Greece simply left the Euro. Just 28 percent of Germans thought that Greece should remain in, while 14 percent had no opinion” (The Local, June 17, 2015).

The Guardian added on June 18:

“Greece is facing a full-blown banking crisis after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke down in acrimony and recrimination on Thursday evening, bringing the prospect of Greek exit from the eurozone a step nearer.

“Some €2bn of deposits have been withdrawn from Greek banks so far this week – including a record €1bn yesterday – triggering fears that a breakdown in talks would spark a further flight of funds. The German leader Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to stage an emergency EU summit on Monday as a last critical attempt to prevent Greece going bankrupt. A representative of the European Central Bank told the meeting it was unsure whether Greek banks would have the funds to be able to open on Monday.”

 German Prosecutor Chickens Out

The Local wrote on June 12:

Germany’s chief prosecutor has dropped a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by US intelligence agencies, his office said Friday… The suspected surveillance and rampant online spying by the US… badly strained US-German relations.

“The German chief prosecutor Harald Range said he had put an end to his year-old probe, citing a lack of hard evidence that would stand up in a court of law. ‘The Chief Federal Prosecutor has closed the investigation over suspected spying on a mobile phone used by the chancellor by US intelligence services .. because the allegation cannot be proven in a legally sound way under criminal law,’ a statement said.

“Media reports in October 2013 said that the NSA had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone – a claim Washington appeared to confirm later when US officials said the cellphone was no longer a target… The German prosecutor’s office on Friday said that the ‘vague’ US comments did not legally amount to proof of past spying activity.”

This was to be expected, of course, but the rationale for the decision not to prosecute appears to be a pitiful, unconvincing and cowardly cop-out. This announcement comes on the heels of a meeting between President Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, with the publication of some friendly smiling faces and the exchange of political niceties… all of this in an effort to portray unity and harmony between them and their two countries.

America’s Future as a Third World Country?

On June 15, the website of creators.com published the following article by Pat Buchanan:

“Over three decades, [the] border [with Mexico] has been a causeway into the USA for millions of illegal immigrants who are changing the face of America… All sides of this quarrel have been using the figure of 11 million people here illegally. In her new best-seller, ‘Adios, America!,’ Ann Coulter makes a compelling case that the real figure is close to 30 million. If that is true, and if the next president embraces amnesty and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, that will mean the end to America as the Western nation we have been, and the beginning of America’s life as what Ann calls, unapologetically, a ‘Third World hellhole.’…

“Between 80 and 90 percent of those coming are from Third World nations. On average, they have higher illegitimacy rates than native-born Americans, higher drug use rates, higher rates of obesity, spousal abuse and child abuse, higher rates of disease, lower test scores and higher dropout rates, and higher crime and incarceration rates. Children of immigrants are more gang-oriented. And Third World immigrants consume more per capita in social services than they pay in taxes. Hence they contribute to fiscal deficits at every level of government…

“Among the myths or lies drummed into the heads of Americans is that we have always been a ‘nation of immigrants,’ and ‘diversity,’ i.e., racial, ethnic and religious diversity, ‘is a strength.’ But America in 1970 was a white nation with a black minority of about 10 percent…

“Is ethnic, racial and religious diversity truly a ‘strength’? Why then has the most diverse region of Europe, the Balkans — with its Serb, Croat, Albanian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Turkic peoples, and Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic religions — had the bloodiest history?…

“If diversity is a strength, then why are Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen falling apart? Why are Sunni and Shiite, Palestinian and Israeli fighting?… As racial, ethnic and religious hatreds pull people apart and create terrorists all over our disintegrating world, why would we make ourselves ever more diverse?…”

Trump IS Running After All

Breitbart reported on June 16:

“Real estate mogul and businessman Donald Trump announced he’s running for president at a private event in his own Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City on Tuesday in front of dozens of reporters and media outlets. Trump took the stage and promised to be a different type of candidate. While other presidential candidates have provided rhetoric, he promised to implement policies. ‘If I’m elected president,’ he announced, ‘we will make America great again.’

“To begin with, ‘we have to repeal Obamacare,’ he said… He promised to bring jobs back to the United States, and crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico. Trump promised to ‘immediately terminate President Obama’s executive order on immigration.’ … ‘I would build a great wall on our southern border,’ he added, “and I will have Mexico pay for that wall…’ [He later clarified that he would do so by taxing Mexico heavily for their goods imported into the USA.]

“He also promises to beef up the military by finding ‘the guy, the Gen. Patton or Gen. MacArthur’ to lead it. He also vows to get tough with Iran. Unlike Secretary of State John Kerry, Trump says he knows how to negotiate a good deal.

“He also took a jab at Jeb Bush. ‘Education has to be local,’ Trump said, announcing he’ll staunchly oppose Common Core. Bush, who just announced yesterday, has supported Common Core…

“When his financial statement is filed, Trump says, it will show he has $9.240 billion in assets. His net worth, after all debt, he says, is upward of $8.7 billion…”

He also stated that America has become a Third World country [compare the previous article], and that the American Dream is over, but that he would revive it as the “best jobs President that God ever created.” He would tax American firms heavily, such as Ford, which manufacture their products in Mexico or other foreign countries and then import them into the USA. And he said this:

“They [Mexico and other foreign countries] are sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs and they are bringing crime, and they’re rapists. Some, I assume are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting. They are not sending us the right people. It’s coming all over South and Latin America and it’s coming probably from the Middle East. But we don’t know because we have no protection and we have no competence. We don’t know what is happening and it has got to stop and it has to stop fast.”

He also stated: “We have people who are morally corrupt. We have people who are selling our country down the drain,” adding that US unemployment has risen sky high, even past 20 percent, challenging government figures that put it at under six percent. “Don’t believe the 5.6 percent,” he said.

The reaction to Trump’s announcement and speech was overwhelmingly negative. As could be expected, Democrats and left-liberal commentators blasted him, being anxious and eager to find “inconsistencies” in his address and his “rambling” and “bizarre” speech and charging him with defamation of the worst kind against American immigrants. Many Republicans blew into the same horn, but a few Republicans [including Sean Hannity] and a few conservative commentators [including Rush Limbaugh] were more reserved, giving him credit for an understanding as to what many Americans are looking for, feeling his comments might “resonate” with the GOP, and stating that he might not be a candidate who could or should be easily dismissed.

CBS commented that “It was a speech that drew immediate scorn online from a series of Republicans, who fear Trump will turn an otherwise serious Republican primary contest into a circus. The Democratic National Committee was just as sarcastic on Twitter…

“Meanwhile, based on guidelines recently announced by the television networks, Trump could play a prominent role in the upcoming nationally televised Republican debate in August. Those who rank in the top 10 in national polls, and Trump currently does, although he’s close to the bottom, will earn a place on the debate stage. That could place Trump in a debate alongside leading candidates such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who formally launched his candidacy on Monday.

“Trump also said he would not renew his contract with NBC for his reality show, ‘The Apprentice.’ He cannot appear on the network and run for president at the same time.”

Newsmax wrote about Trump on June 15:

“Donald Trump has become one of the most well-known Americans… His grandfather Friedrich and grandmother Elisabeth were born in Germany and emigrated to the United States. Their son Fred Trump married Donald Trump’s mother Mary Ann MacLeod, who was born in Scotland and met Donald Trump’s father during a vacation trip to New York… While Donald Trump did inherit wealth from his father, he is personally responsible for accumulating the great bulk of his fortune. Trump’s father built affordable rental housing, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. He had a net wealth estimated at between $250 million and $400 million at the time of his death, but his four surviving children were heirs. By 2011, Donald Trump’s business dealings had boosted his fortune to $2.4 billion, according to Forbes… Trump’s parents sent him to a military school, New York Military Academy, when he was 13 years old…  Trump’s oldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, served as a federal appeals court judge. She was nominated for the post by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Prior to that, she had a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.”

Bild Online summed it up this way: “The whole world laughs at Trump’s speech.” At the same time, Trump seems to be serious. Time will tell what this may mean for America, the political landscape and its standing in the world.

Gun Violence in the USA

The Huffington Post wrote on June 12:

 More than two-thirds of all homicides in the United States are gun-related. Of the 16,121 homicides reported in 2013, 11,208 were caused by gun violence. Including suicides, nearly 34,000 people died in gun-related incidents in 2013…

“Suicide is the leading cause of gun-related deaths across the country in recent years. Of the 33,636 firearm deaths in 2013, more than 21,000 were suicides. In fact, suicide accounted for more than half of gun-related deaths in all but one state with the most gun violence. In three states — Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming — suicide accounted for more than 80% of all firearm deaths.

“… states with the highest rates of suicide often have the strongest culture of gun ownership in the country… While federal gun laws are uniform across the country, state regulations vary, offering more lax or more strict approaches to firearm use. Seven of the 10 states with the most firearm deaths in 2013 have enacted stand your ground laws… many states with these laws likely also have laws that make it easier to possess firearms and buy ammunition.

“In fact, none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register their weapons in any of these states. Meanwhile, many of the states with the least gun violence require a permit or other form of identification to buy a gun.

“Gun-related homicides were also relatively frequent in the states with the most gun violence. Nationally, there were 3.61 homicides per 100,000 people. Seven of the 10 states with the most gun violence reported homicide rates higher than the national rate… In 2013, Louisiana reported nearly 10 homicides per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the country…

“The poverty rate in eight of the 10 states with the most gun violence was above the national rate of 15.8%. Mississippi, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas, the states with the four highest poverty rates in the country, were among the states with the most gun violence. Educational attainment rates also tended to be lower in states with the most gun violence. The share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree was lower than the national rate of 29.6% in all 10 states on this list.”

A tragic testimony regarding a country which still believes the lie that guns and wars can produce peace and happiness. Only Christ’s return will bring a fundamental change of heart, the abolishment of guns, war and poverty, and the establishment of true education for all.

New US Supreme Court Decision on Abortion Highly Troublesome

The Associated Press reported on June 15:

“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from North Carolina to revive a requirement that abortion providers show and describe an ultrasound to a pregnant woman before she has an abortion. The justices left in place an appeals court decision that said the 2011 North Carolina law was ‘ideological in intent’ and violated doctors’ free-speech rights. The North Carolina law would have required abortion providers to display and describe the ultrasound even if the woman refused to look and listen — a mandate that the court found particularly troublesome.

“North Carolina is among 23 states, mostly in the South and the Midwest, which passed laws dealing with the administration of ultrasounds by abortion providers, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research institute that supports abortion-rights…

“Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the NC Values Coalition and a supporter of increased restrictions on abortion, said it made no sense to her that federal judges would block a woman’s access to what she described as life-saving information. ‘In any other medical procedure, doctors would have a duty to disclose all of the relevant information, and, yet, a procedure as destructive and life-changing as abortion is held to a lower standard,’ Fitzgerald said.”

In addition, the court’s finding that the law violated the doctors’ right of free speech does not make any sense at all, in the context.

Gay “PRIDE” Parade in Tel Aviv

 The Times of Israel wrote on June 12:

“Some 180,000 people marched through Tel Aviv’s streets Friday in the city’s 17th annual Gay Pride Parade, the nation’s largest and oldest gay pride event… The event has become one of Tel Aviv’s most popular annual festivals. Streets and stores have been decorated with rainbow flags for days. Thousands of Israelis flocked to the city center to observe the parade, filling cafes and restaurants along the route to capacity.

“‘Welcome to all our guests from abroad to the gay-friendliest city in the world,’ Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai declared at the event’s launch Friday morning. ‘We’ve been through a lot,’ he added. ‘In 17 years, we’ve achieved a different reality in this city, and also in Israel. I want to tell all the politicians, there is still a great deal of legislation that has to be passed to accept the gay community. We will continue to walk this path, and to support the pride parade.’

“The theme of this year’s parade was focused on transgender rights. Events like the parade are key to advancing recognition for the transgendered, Tel Aviv activist Elisha Alexander said earlier this week… This year’s celebration featured Eurovision song contest winner and LGBT rights representative Conchita Wurst, who was to perform at Charles Clore Park after the march.”

Eurovision song contest winner Wurst, appearing as a lady with a full beard, represents the wide-spread recognition and acceptance of the LGBT community with its aggressive agenda. That Tel Aviv is labeled as the “gay-friendliest city in the world” is remarkable.

God says to ancient and modern “Jerusalem” and “Judah”: “… they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves” (Isaiah 3:9).  He also says: “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; She and her daughter had pride , fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy, And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit” (Ezekiel 16:49-40).

This warning should ring loud and clear in the ears of those who proclaim different standards.

Same-Sex Marriages in Latin America

 The New York Times wrote on June 14:

In ruling after ruling, [Mexico’s Supreme Court] has said that state laws restricting marriage to heterosexuals are discriminatory. Though the decisions have been made to little public fanfare, they have had the effect of legalizing gay marriage in Mexico without enshrining it in law… the Mexican court’s rulings have added the country to a slowly growing list of Latin American nations permitting same-sex unions.

“Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil already allow same-sex marriage. Chile plans to recognize same-sex civil unions this year; Ecuador approved civil unions in April; and Colombia grants same-sex couples many of the same rights extended to heterosexual married couples…

“The shift in Mexico, the second largest country in Latin America after Brazil, is the product of a legal strategy that advocates used to bypass state legislatures, which have shown little inclination, and often hostility, to legalizing gay marriage. In 2009, Mexico City, a large liberal island in this socially conservative country, legalized gay marriage — a first in Latin America. There have been 5,297 same-sex weddings there since then, some of them couples coming to the city from other states… The Supreme Court upheld Mexico City’s law in 2010, adding that other states had to recognize marriages performed there…

“[The Supreme Court’s ruling] allows gay couples who are denied marriage rights in their states to seek injunctions from district judges, who are now obligated to grant them… The Roman Catholic Church, often an influential force socially and politically in a country that is 83 percent Catholic, objected to the ruling, saying the court had flouted two millenniums of convention…”

The Catholic Church’s sincerity is of course being questioned even by many professing and practicing Catholics, since homosexual pedophiles are active within the priesthood and are being shielded from prosecution by the Church hierarchy, even though a few priests allegedly guilty of active misconduct and their superiors who chose to stay silent were urged to resign by the Vatican. One former archbishop will even be tried by the Vatican State for pedophilia… a case of first impression (see article below).

Debate Continues in Germany

The Local wrote on June 12:

Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, voted on Friday in favour of a resolution calling for full marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. The debate followed a referendum in Ireland in which the population voted massively in favour of allowing same-sex marriage… Although the Bundesrat did not vote for a draft law, the move increases pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to confront more conservative voices in her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – and the more strongly religious Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU).

“Currently, homosexual couples can enter a civil partnership (‘Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft’, registered life partnership) in Germany and enjoy most of the same rights as married couples following a series of test cases in the Supreme Court. But there remains stiff opposition in the Bundestag, the lower and more powerful house of parliament.

“The Bundesrat, composed of representatives from the largely left-wing state governments, is easy to bring on side. But the CDU-CSU dominates the Bundestag, and is mostly against ‘marriage for all’. Pro-gay marriage Social Democratic Party (SPD) MPs would also be forced to vote against any bill that came up for debate under their coalition agreement with the CDU-CSU…

“Rheinland-Pfalz minister-president Malu Dreyer and member of the Bundesrat said after the vote ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.’”

Breitbart added on June 13:

“… campaigners [in Germany] say this is not enough and ordinary marriage should be redefined to cover same-sex couples… While the mainland United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and others have redefined marriage in recent years, Germany sits alongside Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and others who have split same sex unions off into a separate idea of a civil procedure. Well behind with Europe’s progressive agenda are nations like Poland and the rump Ukraine, who do not recognise gay marriage at all.”

Will Germany follow suit and recognize same-sex marriages, or will the country stand strongly in opposition? It is to be expected that the German government, in true political fashion, will end up agreeing with those who seem to have the strongest support.

Portland “Pride” Parade 2015

This week, Oregon Live reported the following:

“Pride Northwest chose recently appointed Gov. Kate Brown as grand marshal of the 2015 Pride Parade, a fitting honor for the nation’s first openly bisexual state leader. It won’t be Brown’s first time in the parade, and she wasn’t invited just because of her LGBTQ identification. Pride Northwest President Debra Porta said organizers have always invited Oregon governors to the parade, but Brown will be the first to participate…

“This year’s parade is expected to be the biggest ever in Portland, she added, shattering the attendance records set in previous years. The two-day Pride Festival will bring vendors, live music and representatives from local organizations to the waterfront…”

Is this a “ fitting honor” for the nation’s first openly bisexual state leader to participate as grand marshal? Fitting? Yes! An honor? That is the question.

Vatican to Try Former Archbishop over Child Abuse Charges

Deutsche Welle reported on June 15:

“Former archbishop Jozef Wesolowski is to stand trial on accusations of paying for sex with minors and possessing child pornography. The case is the first of its kind in the Vatican… The former priest [is] the first person to be tried after Pope Francis introduced anti-paedophilia laws in the Vatican penal code in July 2013.

“The 66-year-old former Polish archbishop was the Vatican ambassador… in the Dominican Republic for five years until 2013, when local media accused him of pedophilia. Wesolowski allegedly dressed in casual clothes, including a baseball cap and visited a beach area where he picked up poor child prostitutes. The former clergyman was then recalled from his position as the Vatican’s ambassador in 2013 and defrocked by a Vatican tribunal. He was convicted last year. The pope then ordered a criminal investigation, following which police found material indicating child pornography on his computer. Officials at the Vatican said at the time that Wesolowski could face up to 12 years in jail.

“If convicted, he would most probably not spend time in the Vatican’s prisons, which consist of only a few rooms. There was a chance the accused would be sent to Italy, which, according to an agreement with the Vatican, houses the holy city’s prisoners. Wesolowski could also be sent to his native country Poland or extradited to the Dominican Republic, Vatican officials told journalists.

“The case is the first high-profile incident since the 2012 trial of Paolo Gabriele, a papal butler accused of stealing and leaking former Pope Benedict XVI’s private papers. Gabriele was later pardoned.

“The Vatican also announced the resignation of two senior US clerics on Monday. Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche stepped down after they were accused of failing to act on repeated warnings that a priest in the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minnesota was a danger to children…

“Abuse victims’ network SNAP welcomed the Vatican’s initiatives, but remained apprehensive about the future. ‘After centuries of abuse and cover up done in secrecy…evidently one pope has seen fit to oust one archbishop for complicity in clergy sex crimes….But it’s only a very tiny drop of reform in an enormous bucket of horror,’ SNAP’s Southern Minnesota chief Frank Meuer told the AFP news agency.”

Pope’s New Encyclical Leaked to the Public… Pope Speaks of Unprecedented Worldwide Destruction and Paints Apocalyptic Picture

The Independent wrote on June 15:

“The Pope warned that the world is heading for ‘unprecedented destruction’ unless mankind confronts climate change and reforms the way it treats the planet, as the most eagerly anticipated papal document in living memory was leaked.

“In a 192-page encyclical on global warming that looks set to define his tenure, the Pope paints an apocalyptic picture in which the world’s poorest are the biggest victims of a web of environmental, human, financial and ethical degradation that puts the entire planet at risk. In an extraordinarily frank document, the Pope lambasts rich countries for ‘looting’ the world and takes aim at bankers and climate sceptics for accelerating its decline. He warns that the world is facing widespread crop failure, economic ruin, mass migration and the destruction of entire eco-systems. ‘If the current trend continues this century we could witness climate change unlike anything seen before and the unprecedented destruction of eco-systems, with serious consequences for all of us,’ he writes.

“Pope Francis has spent months working on the encyclical, the contents of which has been the subject of eager anticipation in the Vatican and environmental circles. It is the encyclical, or papal letter, aimed at everyone in the world, regardless of religion. Environmentalists hope his strident warnings will encourage right-wing climate sceptics – particularly US Christians – to rethink their position.

“The Vatican reacted with fury to the leak on Monday night, accusing the magazine responsible [of a] ‘heinous act’ that amounted to ‘sabotage against the pope’. [In the meantime, the final version of the encyclical was published, and no discrepancy between the leaked draft and the final version has been pointed out so far.] In the encyclical, titled  ‘Laudato Sii’, or ‘Praised Be’, the Pope quotes Patriarca Bartolomeo of the Eastern Orthodox Church as saying: ‘A crime against nature is a crime against ourselves and a sin against God’.

“And he is withering about the financial system… ‘The economic powers shall continue to justify the current world system, in which speculation and the aim for financial returns to prevail that tend to ignore each context and the effects on the environment and on human dignity. So clearly it reveals that environmental, human and ethical degradation are intimately connected,’ he wrote.

“Although the first ever encyclical on the environment concentrated heavily on the natural world, the pope repeatedly linked climate change with the plight of the poor. Pope Francis is also extremely concerned about the prospect of mass migration of animals, plants and humans as global warming means they cannot function in their traditional habitat.

“He calls for a new global political authority tasked with tackling the reduction of pollution and the development of poor countries and regions. Although he accepts that there may be some natural causes of global warming, the pope lays most of the blame for climate change squarely at the feet of mankind… The pope is very critical of anybody who stands in the way of tackling the problem of global warming – whether they are merely indifferent or actively sceptical. ‘The attitudes that stand in the way of a solution, even among believers, range from negation of the problem, to indifference, to convenient resignation or blind faith in technical solutions,’ he wrote.

“The letter to the world’s 1.2bn Catholics is aimed at influencing the debate ahead of crucial United Nations talks in Paris in December at which world leaders have pledged to agree [on] decisive action to curb global warming. The pope hopes that adding a moral dimension to the scientific arguments – together with the support of the huge number of Catholics around the world – will raise the ambition of world leaders to agree [on] a meaningful deal at the talks.

“The encyclical is likely to anger some sections of America, who are sceptical about the presence of climate change and mankind’s role in it…”

The New York Times wrote on June 15:

“Bishops around the world have been sent instructions on how to spread the pope’s message to the world’s more than one billion Catholics. Journalists accredited with the Vatican are supposed to receive official copies on Thursday morning so they can review the contents before the embargo is lifted at midday, after a news conference…

“In one section, Francis writes: ‘Numerous scientific studies indicate that most of the global warming of the past decades is due to the concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide and others), emitted especially because of human activities.’… In other chapters, Francis… pointedly disputes the idea that population control and contraception are solutions to the planet’s limited resources…

“He also calls for assertive government action, as well as better cooperation between governments, while saying progress has been too slow in addressing climate change… Massimo Faggioli, an associate professor of theology and the director of the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic college in St. Paul, Minn., said Francis ‘has always been very consistent that there is a role for citizens, but there is also a role for government in solving problems, and even for global governance.’ He added: ‘This will be particularly difficult for American Catholics,’ referring to those Catholics who believe that the church teaches against relying on governments to solve social problems.”

The Guardian added on June 16:

“Francis… called for a new global political authority tasked with ‘tackling … the reduction of pollution and the development of poor countries and regions’. His appeal echoed that of his predecessor, pope Benedict XVI, who in a 2009 encyclical proposed a kind of super-UN to deal with the world’s economic problems and injustices.

“At the start of the draft essay, the pope wrote, the Earth ‘is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her…’ He immediately makes clear, moreover, that unlike previous encyclicals, this one is directed to everyone, regardless of religion…

“Francis is likely to want to influence Republicans in Washington with his remarks. Most Republicans on Capitol Hill deny climate change is a man-made phenomenon and have staunchly opposed regulatory efforts by the Obama administration. The encyclical will make for awkward reading among some Catholic Republicans… While many Republicans have praised the pope, it will not be unprecedented for them to make a public break with the pontiff on the issue of global warming.”

The Huffington Post wrote on June 17:

“GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush criticized Pope Francis on Tuesday after a draft of his encyclical on climate change was leaked by an Italian newspaper… ‘I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope,’ Bush said…

“Other Republicans came out against the pope after he first spoke on climate change in January… Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) told a radio station earlier this month the church shouldn’t weigh in on scientific matters. ‘The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists…’, he said.

“… several Republican presidential hopefuls have question[ed] climate change and its origin. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has said ‘humans are not responsible for climate change in the way some of these people out there are trying to make us believe.’ Business mogul Donald Trump has called global warming a ‘hoax.’ Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has compared climate change activists to ‘flat-Earthers.’”

The Catholic Church has always cooperated with worldly governments and it has many times—far more often than not—influenced them to do its bidding. This collaboration has brought much more harm than good, and the Pope’s proposed human “global governance” is a very dangerous affair, no matter what the circumstances, “justifications” or intentions might be. Please note also the Church’s unchanged unbiblical stance on population control and contraception.

Mexico—a Country Infested with Demons?

 CNA wrote on June 16:

“Can a country with deep Christian roots like Mexico find itself at the mercy of demons? Some in the [Catholic] Church fear so. And as a result, they called for a nation-wide exorcism of Mexico, carried out quietly last month in the cathedral of San Luis Potosí. High levels of violence, as well as drug cartels and abortion in the country, were the motivation behind the special rite of exorcism… the first ever in the history of Mexico.

“But how can an entire country become infested by demons…?  ‘To the extent sin increases more and more in a country, to that extent it becomes easier for the demons to tempt (people),’ Fr. Fortea told CNA. The Spanish exorcist warned that ‘to the extent there is more witchcraft and Satanism going on in a country, to that extent there will be more extraordinary manifestations of those powers of darkness.’”

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