Who Is Next?

CNN wrote on March 21:

“Putin said Russia had no intention of violating Ukraine’s sovereignty (beyond the 5% of its territory it has absorbed this week.) ‘Do not believe those who want you to fear Russia, shouting that other regions will follow Crimea,’ he told Ukrainians. But he then said this: ‘It should be above all in Ukraine’s own interest to ensure that these people’s rights and interests are fully protected. This is the guarantee of Ukraine’s state stability and territorial integrity.’

“In other words, if the Kremlin believes Russians are being discriminated against, Ukraine’s independence is no longer assured. Those words will have echoed across parts of the former Soviet Union with large Russian populations: Moldova (10%), Lithuania (6%), Latvia (27%) and Estonia (25%). Will the Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova begin agitating for its own referendum? Will oblasts (regions) of eastern Ukraine demand their own vote?

“… In a 2006 referendum more than 95% of voters [in Transnistria] said they wanted to be reunited with Russia. The assumption at NATO headquarters is that Putin won’t stop at Crimea… Nor does the White House see Crimea as Putin’s end-game…”

Obama Administration: Possible that Russia Will Invade Eastern Ukraine

CNN wrote on March 23:

“A top White House aide says it’s possible that Russia could invade eastern Ukraine, and even U.S. military assistance would be unlikely to prevent it… He says the U.S. is looking at providing military assistance to Ukraine. But he also says ‘it’s very unlikely to change Russia’s calculus and prevent an invasion.’”

America’s helplessness is astonishing.

Putin’s Aim Is All of Ukraine

AFP wrote on March 23:

“Ukraine’s Western-backed leaders voiced fears on Sunday of an imminent Russian invasion of the eastern industrial heartland following the fall of their last airbase in Crimea to defiant Kremlin troops. Alarm about a push outside Crimea by Moscow’s overwhelming forces — now conducting drills at Ukraine’s eastern gate — were fanned further Sunday by a call by its self-declared premier for Russians across the ex-Soviet country to rise up against Kiev’s rule.

“The interim leaders in Kiev fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin — flushed with expansionist fervour — is developing a sense of impunity after being hit by only limited EU and US sanctions for taking the Black Sea cape. ‘The aim of Putin is not Crimea but all of Ukraine… His troops massed at the border are ready to attack at any moment,’ Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy told a mass unity rally in Kiev…

“One of the biggest tests facing the besieged interim leaders in Kiev now comes from restless Russians who have been stirring up violent protests and demanding their own secession referendums in the southeastern swaths of Ukraine. The region’s mistrust of the new team’s European values lies from cultural and trade ties with Russia that in many cases are centuries old…”

Travel Warnings for US Citizens

CNN reported on March 22:

“The U.S. State Department also issued a travel warning for Ukraine Friday. It cautioned U.S. citizens ‘to defer all non-essential travel to Ukraine and to defer all travel to the Crimean Peninsula and eastern regions of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lugansk due to the presence of Russian military forces in the Crimean Peninsula.’”

Is It Transdniestria?

Reuters reported on March 23:

“NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, voiced concern about Moscow using a tactic of snap military exercises to prepare its forces for possible rapid incursions into a neighbouring state, as it had done in the case of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Russia launched a new military exercise, involving 8,500 artillery men, near Ukraine’s border 10 days ago. ‘The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready,’ Breedlove told an event held by the German Marshall Fund think-tank.

“The president of ex-Soviet Moldova warned Russia last Tuesday against considering any move to annex Transdniestria, which lies on Ukraine’s western border, in the same way that it has taken control of Crimea… Breedlove said NATO was very concerned about the threat to Transdniestria, which he said, in Russia’s view, was the ‘next place where Russian-speaking people may need to be incorporated. There is absolutely sufficient (Russian) force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transdniestria if the decision was made to do that and that is very worrisome.’”

Europe—not America—has the most to fear from a militaristic Russia, and Europeans know this. They will feel compelled to create their own strong military apparatus.

Is It Kherson?

Fox News wrote on March 21:

“As Ukraine appears to have all but conceded Crimea to Moscow, Ukrainians in Kherson, the province just north of the peninsula, are believed to be pushing a secession vote of their own in what a local leader angrily denounced as ‘treason.’ The province has a huge Russian speaking population, and a vote – particularly with politicking from Russia – could go against Kiev as did  [in] last Sunday’s referendum in Crimea. In addition to a major push from ethnic Russian politicians, the proposal in Kherson could be boosted by the presence of Russian soldiers, pro-Moscow protesters and the kind of propaganda Ukraine accused Moscow of engaging in before the Crimea vote.

“… an estimated 70 suspected Russian cossacks arrived in Strelkovoe on the Arabat spit in Kherson’s eastern Henichesky region. The group urged locals there to hold a referendum similar to the one in Crimea last Sunday, which passed overwhelmingly despite being called illegitimate by Kiev and western nations…

“Kherson is key in the unfolding conflict… because it links Crimea to the mainland by rail and road and provides the contested peninsula with most of its food, fresh water and electricity…”

Is It Latvia or Estonia?

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“Pro-Russians took over another Ukrainian military base in Crimea, and Poland asked the US to send more troops to Europe to strengthen NATO’s defenses against Russia…
“After Crimea declared their independence from Ukraine, the government said they would seize Ukraine property and disband the Ukrainian military in the peninsula… Vice President Joe Biden visited Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia on Tuesday and Wednesday to assure NATO allies the US will defend them if Russia continues to pose a threat…

“Alarms went off after the Russian ambassador said Moscow is ready to grant Russian citizenship to ethnic Russians in Latvia. A Russian diplomat also told the United Nations Human Rights Council Moscow is worried about the language rights of ethnic Russians in Estonia. The ex-Soviet states are worried they might be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next target.”

It is highly doubtful that America is prepared to send troops to Europe, and it was not specified what America means when it says that it will “defend” its European allies.

How Russia and China Annex Other Countries

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“With Russia’s annexation of Crimea now a fait accompli, it’s well to remember that this isn’t the first recent annexation of other countries’ territories. China has already seized islands in the South China Sea that have historically belonged to the Philippines and Vietnam and is operating on the belief that any ‘short, sharp attack’ on any one island won’t bring an American response. China intends to continue annexing islands in this fashion…

“The news on Friday is that Russia is massing over 20,000 troops on the border with eastern Ukraine, evidently with the intention of invading, in order to annex some or all of that territory. It’s really not logical for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to stop with Crimea, since there are plenty of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine—and because Crimea can’t survive without the fresh water, electricity, gas, and food that it imports from Ukraine…

“Russia has long complained about Estonia’s insistence that its large Russian minority in the country should learn to speak Estonian. But recent remarks by Russian diplomats that, for example, Russia was ‘concerned by steps taken… in Estonia as well as in Ukraine’ to use language to ‘segregate and isolate groups’ is giving rise to fears that Estonia is one of the countries on Vladimir Putin’s list to be invaded in order to protect Russian citizens.

“Estonia has a centuries-old bitter history with Russia. People today vividly remember that Josef Stalin’s Red Army reoccupied Estonia in June 1940 and made it part of the Soviet Union. On a one-night operation, June 13-14, 1941, thousands of Estonians, mostly women and children, were deported to Siberia, while tens of thousands of men were forcibly relocated to Russia to fight in the army. This period of bloody Soviet rule left a deep mark on the Estonians, and so when the German Nazis invaded later in 1941, they were greeted as liberators. The Nazis were just as brutal as the Soviets, but when the Red Army returned in September, 1944, some 70,000 Estonians fled the country and formed a diaspora throughout Europe and North America. After the war, Stalin’s Soviet brutality continued by forcing ethnic Russians to relocate to Estonia to dilute the Estonian population. Estonia only became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Today, as Estonia is well into a new generational Crisis era, it is haunted by ghosts of ‘Nazi sympathizers’ who opposed the Soviets, and a substantial Russian minority, mainly descendants of Russians whom Stalin had forced to relocate to Estonia after the war, who consider themselves to be victims as well.

“There are several countries that separate Russia from the European Union, and many of them have sizable ethnic Russian minorities who consider themselves to be victims. Many of these countries, including Estonia, are members of Nato, meaning that if Russia invades, then Nato will be required by treaty to fight the invasion militarily.

“Russia as a whole, and Putin in particular, are becoming increasingly nationalistic, and it’s possible that Putin will conclude from the experience of annexing Crimea that Nato won’t respond militarily even after a Nato country is invaded but will simply adopt new sanctions such as making it illegal for Russian politicians to visit Disneyland. Similarly, the Chinese may conclude from Russia’s experience in Crimea and their own experiences in the South China Sea that they can continue annexing other people’s islands and territories with impunity…

“It’s true that there’s a ‘new normal’ today that permits Russia and China to annex foreign territories with impunity. But actually it’s the same ‘old normal’ that existed in 1938 when Britain allowed Nazi Germany to annex Sudetenland with impunity…

“A year after taking office, president Xi Jinping is emerging as the strongest Chinese leader in decades. He’s adopted Mao Zedong’s populist style…”

Russia and China are operating in similar ways, and a collaboration between them is prophesied.

Russia Looks to China, Japan and India

Reuters wrote on March 21:

“When President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty this week annexing Crimea to great fanfare in the Kremlin and anger in the West, a trusted lieutenant was making his way to Asia to shore up ties with Russia’s eastern allies. Forcing home the symbolism of his trip, Igor Sechin gathered media in Tokyo the next day to warn Western governments that more sanctions over Moscow’s seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine would be counter-productive.

“The underlying message from the head of Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, was clear: If Europe and the United States isolate Russia, Moscow will look East for new business, energy deals, military contracts and political alliances.

“The Holy Grail for Moscow is a natural gas supply deal with China that is apparently now close after years of negotiations. If it can be signed when Putin visits China in May, he will be able to hold it up to show that global power has shifted eastwards and he does not need the West…

“The support of Beijing is vital for Putin. Not only is China a fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with whom Russia thinks alike, it is also the world’s second biggest economy and it opposes the spread of Western-style democracy… Chinese President Xi Jinping showed how much he values ties with Moscow, and Putin in particular, by making Russia his first foreign visit as China’s leader last year and attending the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi last month…

“Russia and China could also step up cooperation in areas apart from energy… the prospects of Russia delivering Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets to China, which has been under discussion since 2010, would grow…

“Tokyo has been working hard under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve ties with Moscow, despite a territorial dispute dating from World War Two… Putin did take time… to thank one other country apart from China for its understanding over Ukraine and Crimea – saying India had shown ‘restraint and objectivity’.  He also called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the crisis on Tuesday, suggesting there is room for Russia’s ties with traditionally non-aligned India to flourish… Russia remains a key defense supplier [to India] and relations are friendly… Putin’s moves to assert Russian control over Crimea were seen very favorably in the Indian establishment…”

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 20 that behind the scenes, Russia and China are working on a military pact “which could drastically change the alignments between world powers.”

Russia Reasserts Itself in Afghanistan and Middle East

The Washington Post wrote on March 21:

“As the U.S.-led war winds down and Russia reasserts itself in Ukraine and the Middle East, Moscow is also ramping up its investment in Afghanistan. It is rebuilding the relics of the Soviet occupation and promoting its own political and cultural prowess…

“Russia’s recent incursion into its neighbor, Ukraine, and its annexation of Crimea reflect its intent to maintain influence in some former Soviet republics. It also reaching out to old allies further afield. Last month, President Vladimir Putin received Egyptian army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, whose relations with Washington have been strained since a coup last summer, and expressed support for the military man’s expected presidential bid.

“Moscow is also negotiating a major arms deal with Sissi and agreed in 2012 to sell Iraq $4.3 billion in weapons. In Syria, Putin is strongly backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad as he seeks to crush a rebellion that has received support from the West.

“In Afghanistan, Russian officials point to their development activities as a counterexample to U.S. aid projects, which many Afghans criticize as wasteful and misguided… Many Afghans, including President Hamid Karzai, praise the Soviet model even though they fought a bloody 10-year war against the country’s army, which invaded in 1979 to support an unpopular communist government…

“The new warmth between the Kremlin and Afghanistan was visible this week when the Afghan government released a message from Putin marking the Islamic new year. It was the only such message made public, and was released at a time when the United States and European governments are imposing sanctions on Russia for its expansion into Ukraine…

“Russian officials say that supporting Afghanistan makes sense, given their regional interests. Afghanistan shares borders with three former Soviet states that still receive considerable funding — and direction — from Moscow…”

Russia’s ambitions are not limited to Ukraine and other former Soviet satellite nations. Russia’s ultimate goal is world domination.

Putin Eyes Latin America

The Hill wrote von March 21:

“Away from the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is quietly seeking a foothold in Latin America, military officials warn. To the alarm of lawmakers and Pentagon officials, Putin has begun sending navy ships and long-range bombers to the region for the first time in years. Russia’s defense minister says the country is planning bases in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and just last week, Putin’s national security team met to discuss increasing military ties in the region…

“The U.S. military says it has been forced to cut back on its engagement with military and government officials in Latin America due to budget cuts. Kelly said the U.S. military had to cancel more than 200 effective engagement activities and multi-lateral exercises in Latin America last year. With the American presence waning, officials say rivals such as Russia, China and Iran are quickly filling the void.

“Iran has opened up 11 additional embassies and 33 cultural centers in Latin America while supporting the ‘operational presence’ of militant group Lebanese Hezbollah in the region… China is making a play for Latin America [as] well, and is now the fastest growing investor in the region, according to experts. Although their activity is mostly economic, they are also increasing military activity through educational exchanges.

“The Chinese Navy conducted a goodwill visit in Brazil, Chile and Argentina last year and conducted its first-ever naval exercise with the Argentine Navy. Meanwhile, the U.S. had to cancel the deployment of its hospital ship USNS Comfort last year… [T]here are 10 countries in Latin America that currently have no U.S. ambassador because they either haven’t been nominated yet or confirmed, a sign that the region is seen as a low priority.”

China, India, Brazil and South Africa Support Russia’s Participation at G20 Summit

The EUObserver wrote on March 25:

“The G7 club of wealthy nations has cancelled a summit with Russia over its annexation of Crimea, but emerging economies have protested against its exclusion from a G20 meeting. The G7 leaders – from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US – announced the move in a communique published after their meeting in The Hague on Monday (24 March). The June summit, which was to be held in the G8 format with Russia in Sochi, on the Black Sea coast, will now be held in Brussels…

“For its part, US ally Australia had indicated Russia might also be excluded from a G20 summit in Brisbane in November. But Brazil, China, India, and South Africa rejected the idea. They said, together with Russia, also at The Hague, where almost 60 countries had sent VIPs to a Nuclear Security Summit, that ‘the escalation of hostile language, sanctions and counter-sanctions … does not contribute to a sustainable and peaceful solution’ to the Ukraine crisis…

“With Brazil and China now wealthier than some G7 countries, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov noted the G7 has lost its monopoly on global governance. Russia on Monday also hit back at Western sanctions by blacklisting 13 Canadians. It has mocked EU and US blacklists and economic threats.”

The Crimea Anschluss—Is History Repeating Itself?

The Times of Israel wrote on March 21:

“An overwhelming 95.5% voted for the union with Putin’s Russia… The context in which the referendum was held is staggeringly similar to another poll, held in Austria on April 10, 1938. That referendum took place less than a month after German forces had entered Austria and had a 99.71% turnout, with 99.73% of Austrians voting in favor of unification with Germany. The vote sealed the Anschluss, turning Austria into the province of Ostmark within the larger German Reich.

“The Crimean referendum took place against the background of a full-scale propaganda campaign led by the Kremlin-controlled media. In what was likely the worst threat related through the press since the Cold War, the Kremlin’s chief propagandist Dmitry Kiselev said on state TV that ‘Russia was the only country able to turn the US into radioactive ash.’ A giant mushroom-shaped cloud blossomed in the background as he spoke.

“The evening of March 18 saw a pro-annexation demonstration in Moscow’s Red Square. Pop music blasted from an enormous stage erected next to the Kremlin’s ancient walls, and over 100,000 people, according to official estimates, rallied under the slogan ‘One People – One Country.’ An unoriginal statement, which is part of a similar slogan that was invented by another authoritarian leader in the 20th century. Adolf Hitler’s mantra ‘Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer’ (One People, One Empire, One Leader) was widely used in Nazi propaganda on the eve of and throughout WWII.”

Of course, most Crimean people were willing participants in the Anschluss, as were most Austrians.

Russia Wants to Divide Europe

Deutsche Welle reported on March 22:

“During his trip to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has accused Russia of trying to divide Europe… Steinmeier’s visit comes a day after Ukraine signed the political chapters of an association agreement with the EU. Yatsenyuk… also called for greater military cooperation with the EU. ‘We have to re-arm and strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces,’ the prime minister said.”

Deutsche Welle added on March 23:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that the crisis in Crimea could escalate. He threatened Russia with further sanctions if it tried to claim more Ukrainian territory for itself…  ‘If Russia reaches beyond Crimea, we in Europe will decide on radical measures, even if we have to accept economic disadvantages by doing so,’ he said.”

As Europe finally wakes up to Russia’s goal, and feeling quite forsaken by America, it will prompt its leading core European nations to unite militarily.

Britain Defeated on Every Level

News Republic re-published the following article by Press Association, dated March 25:

“Britain has been defeated on every single one of the 55 occasions it has voted against a proposal in the European Council over the past 18 years, new research has found… Britain’s voting power in the European Councils has fallen since 1973 from 17% to 8% as the EU has expanded, while its representation in the European Parliament has decreased from 20% to 9.5% and its share of European Commission staff has dropped from 15% to 4% over the same period, said the report.”

Reintroduction of Compulsory Military Service in Germany?

The Local wrote on March 25:

“Mounting tension in the Crimea is prompting calls for compulsory military service to be reintroduced in Germany. A number of German ex-generals have raised fears over the nation’s military strength should it be drawn into a Nato-led conflict. ‘We need compulsory military service. There is no other way for Germany to guarantee national defence within the [Nato] mutual defence alliance,’ retired Nato general Egon Ramms told Bild newspaper. ‘[It certainly can’t be done] on a voluntary basis.’

“Ramms was commander of the Allied Joint Forces Command between 2007 and 2010, one of the highest-ranking positions in the Nato alliance. He expressed doubts about Germany’s readiness for war in light of the decision in July 2011 to abolish the nine-month stretch of compulsory military service.

“Similar fears were raised by retired Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Harald Kujat, who told the paper staff shortages meant the German army had been ‘brought to its knees’ by the move. ‘We don’t have enough soldiers and not enough qualified ones. We must talk about reintroducing compulsory service,’ agreed CDU politician Patrick Sensburg, who voted against the July 2011 decision in parliament…”

Israel Prepares to Strike Iran… Just an Empty Threat?

The Associated Press reported on March 21:

“A rising chorus of Israeli voices is again raising the possibility of carrying out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in what appears to be an attempt to draw renewed attention to Tehran’s atomic program — and Israel’s unhappiness with international negotiations with the Iranians.

“In recent days, a series of newspaper reports and comments by top defense officials have signaled that the military option remains very much on the table. While Israeli officials say Israel never shelved the possibility of attacking, the heightened rhetoric marks a departure from Israel’s subdued approach since six world powers opened negotiations with Iran last November…

“A front-page headline in the daily Haaretz on Thursday proclaimed that Netanyahu has ordered ‘to prep for strike on Iran in 2014’ and has allocated 10 billion shekels (2.87 billion dollars) for the groundwork. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon hinted that Israel would have to pursue a military strike on its own, with the U.S. having chosen the path of negotiations. And the military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said this week that Iran ‘is not in an area that is out of the military’s range.’

“An Israeli military strike would be extremely difficult to pull off, both for logistical and political reasons. Any mission would likely require sending Israeli warplanes into hostile airspace, and it remains unclear how much damage Israel could inflict on a program that is scattered and hidden deep underground. In addition, it would likely set off an international uproar, derail the international negotiations and trigger retaliation on Israeli and U.S. targets…”

Netanyahu Allocates Almost $3 Billion for Iran Attack

Newsmax reported on March 23:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have reportedly ordered the military to continue preparing for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Three Knesset members who were present at Knesset joint committee hearings on Israel Defense Forces plans said that at least 10 billion shekels ($2.89 billion) of the defense budget would be allocated this year for preparations for the strike on Iran, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

“After an interim accord between Iran and six world powers was reached, Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not consider itself bound by it. Netanyahu in fact is again making implied threats about a possible unilateral Israeli strike.  ‘My friends, I believe that letting Iran enrich uranium would open up the floodgates,’ Netanyahu said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington earlier this month. ‘That must not happen. And we will make sure it does not happen.’

“Ya’alon said in a recent speech at Tel Aviv University that he is now likely to back a unilateral strike on Iran in light of his assessment that the Obama administration will not do so, according to Haaretz.”

 Israel’s disappointment with the weak leadership of America is telling and frightening.

Israel Shuts Down All Its Embassies and Consulates Worldwide

JTA reported on March 23:

“Employees of the Foreign Ministry in Israel declared a general strike, shutting down the country’s 103 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions around the world. The strike, which is open ended, was called on Sunday following two weeks of labor sanctions and seven months of mediation. ‘Today, for the first time in Israel’s history, the Foreign Ministry will be closed and no work will be done in any sphere under the ministry’s authority,’ said a statement issued Sunday by the Foreign Ministry’s worker’s committee…

“The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem also was closed, preventing Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman from entering his office. The strike could torpedo a planned visit by Pope Francis in May. Limited sanctions initiated two weeks ago caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a trip to Latin America. Damage to Israel’s economy due to the work dispute has totaled millions of dollars.”

Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Warplane

The Associated Press reported on March 23:

“Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian warplane Sunday after it violated the country’s airspace, Turkey’s prime minister said, in a move likely to ramp up tensions between two countries already deeply at odds over Syria’s civil war. A spokesman for Syria’s military confirmed the incident, denouncing it as a ‘blatant aggression.’ The unnamed spokesman quoted on Syrian state TV said the plane was hit while pursuing gunmen near the border, and that the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft.

“Top NATO commander says Moldovan region is vulnerable as Russia masses forces on Ukraine’s eastern border. Turkey, once an ally of Syria, has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Syrian President Bashar Assad and is now one of the main backers of the 3-year-old rebellion against him. Hostilities have flared along the border on several occasions, although the exchanges of fire have generally been brief and very limited in scope…

“Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at a rally in northwestern Turkey a week ahead of local elections, congratulated the Turkish military. ‘If you violate our border, our slap will be hard,’ he said.”

Turkey—biblical Edom—will cooperate with Europe, but its brutal methods will be condemned by God.

Turkey Blocks Internet Access

Deutsche Welle reported on March 27:

“Authorities attempted to restrict access to video-sharing website YouTube on Thursday ‘as a precaution,’ Technology Minister Fikri Isik said… Just hours earlier an audio file was published on YouTube of a recording of a security meeting at which top government, military and spy officials had discussed a possible plan for military action inside Syria…

“The European Union’s top official for digital affairs called Turkey’s action on Thursday ‘desperate and depressing.’ ‘I express my support for all those supporters of real freedom and democracy,’ EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement. ‘We in Europe stand for an open Internet and free expression on it,’ Kroes said… Turkey also has the largest number of jailed journalists in the world.”

But Not Just in Turkey

Infowars reported on March 23:

“A major anti-Obama YouTube channel with 55 million views was shut down yesterday just days after a new policy went into effect handing governments the power to flag ‘extremist’ content on the video sharing website.  Media commentator and activist Mark Dice, whose channel had 55 million views and 265,000 subscribers, had his account suspended yesterday for what YouTube described as ‘severe terms of service violations’. The channel was not deleted due to copyright issues…

“The most popular videos on Dice’s channel lambasted supporters of Barack Obama. Dice had built up a reputation for his ‘man on the street’ videos which featured him getting Obama supporters to sign petitions that called for a number of insane proposal…

“After Dice made a video drawing attention to the censorship on his back-up channel, that too was deleted despite having zero strikes against it… Attempts to get an explanation for why the channel was deleted have proven fruitless.

“Dice’s YouTube channel was also deleted after parent company Google gave some 200 government and police organizations ‘super flagger’ powers enabling them to flag up to 20 videos for review and possible removal.”

Subsequently, Infowars reported:

“UPDATE: About 3 hours after this article was posted and following a wave of public pressure, Mark Dice’s channel was restored by YouTube.”

Controversial Court Decision in Egypt against Muslim Brotherhood

BBC News wrote on March 23:

“Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested. In a case centred on the killing of a single police officer, more than 520 defendants have been sentenced to death, at a breathtaking pace… The verdict now goes to Egypt’s supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti (a senior Islamic scholar), for approval or rejection…

“The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced death sentences and Washington expressed shock and concern… The Muslim Brotherhood’s spokesman in London, Abdullah el-Haddad, told the BBC the sentences showed that Egypt was now a dictatorship… The US government also questioned how the defendants could have had a fair trial in just two court sessions – one of which was Monday’s sentencing.”

Another consequence of the “Arab Spring”—a movement destined to failure from the outset.

Homosexuality Non-Pardonable Offense in Ethiopia?

The Washington Times wrote on March 25:

“Lawmakers in Ethiopia are about to pass a law that lists homosexuality as a crime for which there is no forgiveness — a stipulation that would have dramatic impact on those seeking amnesty or pardon. Specifically, the new rule would list homosexuality as a ‘non-pardonable’ offense under the country’s amnesty law, The Associated Press reported.

“The nation already has strict same-sex prohibitions. Those found guilty of engaging in sex acts with others of the same gender can be sentenced up to 15 years in prison. Those who engage in same-sex acts and infect another with HIV can be imprisoned up to 25 years, AP reported. The new law would mean that the president would not be able to pardon anybody convicted of those offenses — in much the same manner the law prohibits the president from granting freedom to anyone convicted of terrorism.

“Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers has already given the thumbs-up to the proposal, and it’s largely expected to pass with a wide majority during a scheduled vote next week, AP said.”

What to Do With Chemical Weapons

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 21:

“Even as the United States pushes Syria to surrender its chemical weapons for destruction in a matter of months, this country has struggled for decades with its own deadly stockpiles.

“Redstone Arsenal, in the swampy lowlands of northern Alabama, is the largest of the 249 sites in 40 states and territories where chemical weapons remain buried and await cleanup at a cost of billions of dollars. Just outside the Redstone gates is Huntsville, a city of nearly 200,000 residents.

“As World War II ended, the United States military collected chemical weapons from Nazi Germany and Japan, as well as from British and American stockpiles. A million chemical weapon munitions marked for storage or disposal were shipped to Redstone, where the U.S. had produced blister agents and other chemical weapons during the war… Today a toxic stew of some of the most lethal weapons ever devised rests beneath the surface: Nazi mustard, a liquid blister agent. Lewisite, another blister agent. Adamsite, a vomiting agent. And possibly Nazi tabun, a nerve agent. Also buried are containers of white phosphorus, chlorine, smoke bombs, tear gas and incendiary bombs…

“President Nixon declared a moratorium on new production of chemical weapons in 1969. In 1985, the U.S. declared its chemical weapons stockpiles obsolete and said they should be destroyed. By the time the U.S. in 1997 signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty outlawing production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their precursors, the country was stuck not only with buried weapons at sites such as Redstone, but also with stockpiles totaling 31,500 tons of chemicals in mortar and artillery shells, rockets and other lethal weapons. Most contained mustard or the nerve agents sarin and VX.

“In 1990, the process of incinerating those weapons began at eight sites in the U.S. and on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific. Nearly 90% of the job was completed by April 2012, leaving only two chemical weapons stockpiles, in Pueblo, Colo., and Blue Grass, Ky. Disposal by incineration was halted because of environmental concerns, and the remaining 10% is now set to be destroyed by a chemical process. The rough target dates for completion are 2017 for the Colorado stockpile and 2021 to 2023 for the one in Kentucky…

“The U.S. has rid itself of some chemical weapons by burying them at sea. There were about 72 separate disposals in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and Mediterranean Sea. Dumping chemical weapons at sea was banned by Congress in 1972, but there is no plan to clean up the underwater sites…”

The curse of chemical weapons will haunt the nations—including America—for a long time.

The Washington Mudslide

BBC News reported on March 27:

“The number of fatalities in a mudslide in Washington state will rise ‘substantially’ in the next two days, authorities say. Sixteen bodies have been recovered and another nine bodies have been found but not yet retrieved. Some 90 people remain missing after the 177ft (54m) wall of mud hit the town of Oso, north of Seattle…

“The mudslide on Saturday destroyed about 30 houses, temporarily damming a river and leaving a square mile field of muck and debris in its wake. ‘This disaster is so enormous, I sometimes think even the pictures don’t always do it justice,’ said Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents the area… The mile debris field is pocked with deep pits of water and strewn with sharp and dangerous wreckage, including fallen trees, propane and septic tanks, destroyed vehicles and smashed timber.”

USA Plans to Surrender Control over the Internet

Newsmax wrote on March 23:

“Former President Bill Clinton objects to the Obama administration’s plan to give up the United States’ control over online domain names and addresses saying that the country’s agencies have done a good job keeping the Internet free and open. ‘A lot of people… have been trying to take this authority from the U.S. for the sole purpose of cracking down on Internet freedom and limiting it and having governments protect their backsides instead of empowering the people,’ Clinton said…

“And although National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s revelations gave ‘new energy’ to an international opinion that the United States should not be in control of domain names, Clinton disagrees, saying that he does not believe the control should be spread out among other nations… The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers… has been in charge of managing Internet addresses since 1998.

“… opponents [to the plan to surrender US control] say the plan opens the door for totalitarian governments such as Russia and China to gain more control over the Internet… ‘I understand in theory why we would like to have a multi-stakeholder process,’ said Clinton. ‘I favor that. I just know that a lot of these so-called multi-stakeholders are really governments that want to gag people and restrict access to the Internet.’”

The Religious US Supreme Court

The Washington Post wrote on March 23:

“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. are devout Catholics who faced questions during their confirmation hearings about how their faith would affect their jurisprudence. Justice Clarence Thomas is a former seminarian who says God saved his life.

“Justice Antonin Scalia is the most outspoken. He has urged fellow intellectuals to be ‘fools for Christ’ and used an interview last fall to underscore his belief in the existence of the Devil, whose latest maneuver, he said, ‘is getting people not to believe in him or in God.’

“Justice Elena Kagan, not religious like the others, nonetheless has reminded Jewish groups that she undertook years of three-days-a-week religious instruction as a child. She negotiated with her rabbi to be the first girl to have a bat mitzvah at New York City’s Lincoln Square Synagogue…

“Much attention has been given to the religious makeup of the current edition of the Roberts court. With six Catholics and three Jews, it is the first without a Protestant member.”

Francis and Obama – a Lot in Common

Religious News Service reported on March 22:

“President Obama is to meet Pope Francis for the first time next week (March 27) as Obama wraps up a European tour, a high-profile encounter between two major world leaders that appears to carry especially high stakes from the U.S. perspective… the two men have a lot in common… Ken Hackett, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See… said there’s no doubt that Francis and Obama differ on issues like abortion rights and gay marriage. But neither he nor Vatican officials expect those wedges to dominate the discussions, nor would either camp want them to sidetrack the meeting…

“Instead, the talks are likely to be governed by two other realities. The first is that Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has clearly signaled that he wants the Catholic Church’s public witness to focus less on culture war issues and more on addressing income inequality and helping the poor and society’s outcasts — which dovetails with Obama’s priorities…

“A second factor shaping the upcoming Vatican meeting is the sudden eruption of violence in global hot spots. Obama has been drawn somewhat reluctantly into the foreign policy arena while he would prefer to focus on domestic issues at home. Francis, meanwhile, has sought to push the Vatican back onto the world stage as a voice for peace and a diplomatic player that can play a concrete role as well as providing moral and spiritual guidance…

“Hackett also noted that Francis’ planned visit to the Holy Land in May will give the Vatican another high-profile role in a volatile region at the same time Kerry is trying to develop a framework for peace… Vatican officials often speak highly of Obama in private conversations, and even when they disagree with him they do so in terms that are far less caustic and charged than the language many U.S. bishops use.

“For his part, Obama has gone out of his way to praise and quote the pope. That’s no surprise: Obama got his start as a community organizer working with the Archdiocese of Chicago fresh out of college — an experience that helped shape his views and politics much as Francis’ ministry as a priest and bishop in poor areas in Argentina shaped him…”

Some of the “similarities” are quite revealing…

Reuters added on March 27:

“Calling himself ‘a great admirer’, President Barack Obama held nearly an hour of private talks about the global situation with Pope Francis on Thursday and invited the pontiff to visit the White House… Ahead of the meeting, Obama told the Corriere della Sera that Francis’s ‘great moral authority’ had added weight to calls to redress the increasing imbalance between the winners and losers of globalization and economic change… Francis has turned his back on much of the traditional formality of the Vatican but he deployed the full weight of state ceremonial on Thursday, welcoming the U.S. President outside the Papal Library in the richly frescoed Small Throne Room, where they shook hands warmly before beginning their private meeting.”

… but Differences Remain!

The Washington Times wrote on March 27:

“President Obama’s first meeting with Pope Francis produced a little schism of its own. The Vatican and White House gave starkly different versions Thursday of Mr. Obama’s meeting with Francis… Mr. Obama deflected a reporter’s question about the extent of his discussion with the pope on the contraceptive mandate by saying that Francis ‘actually did not touch in detail’ on the subject. The administration has been locked in a lengthy legal and political battle with the U.S. Catholic Church hierarchy over Obamacare and issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

“The Vatican, however, issued a statement after the meeting saying the president’s discussions with Francis and two other top Vatican officials focused ‘on questions of particular relevance for the [Catholic] Church in [the United States], such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection’ — issues that have fueled divisions between Mr. Obama and the church.”

Bizarre Twist in Disappearance of Malaysian Airplane

Breitbart wrote on March 16:
 
“As the possibility… grows that Malaysia Airlines flight 370 may have been hijacked and taken to a hidden location, Israeli authorities are preparing for the possibility that the hijackers might attempt to use the Boeing 777 to mount an attack. According to the Times of Israel, Israel’s Channel 2 has revealed that Israeli air defenses have been boosted, and approaching civilian aircraft will be asked to identify themselves far earlier.
 
“Though the flight was presumed at first to have crashed, whole or in pieces, into the ocean, passive satellite transmissions from the aircraft suggest that it made a deliberate course change and may have headed north into central Asia. Pakistan has already said that the flight never registered on its radar, but at least one expert has suggested the flight could have landed in Bangladesh, whose air defenses presumably would be weaker.
 
“Though the possibility that the Boeing 777 could be used in a terror attack is mere speculation, it is evidently being taken seriously by Israel. A plane filled with nuclear material would not need to be in Israeli airspace long to do catastrophic damage, even if shot down…”

The Washington Times wrote on March 16:

“The disappearance this month of a Malaysian jetliner was a result of ‘an intentional, deliberate act,’ the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said as more details emerged Sunday about the circumstances behind Flight 370. ‘This was not an accident. It was an intentional, deliberate act to bring down this airplane,’ Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican, said on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ adding that mysteries about the plane’s disappearance continue to develop….

“Mr. McCaul said no evidence suggests terrorism but such a possibility shouldn’t be ruled out. He said the investigation is pointing toward actions on the part of the pilot and co-pilot, but the motivation and the intent are unclear. The scheduled destination was Beijing, but the plane could have been diverted north toward Kazakhstan or, more likely, south toward Australia and Indonesia, he said. ‘Now, two scenarios are here,’ he said. ‘One is the plane ran out of fuel and landed in the ocean… The other one is, it landed in a country like Indonesia, where it could be used later on as a cruise missile, as the 9/11 hijackers did.’…

“Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the possibility of terrorism was being investigated.”

CNN wrote on March 18:

“A law enforcement official told CNN Tuesday that the aircraft’s first turn to the west was almost certainly programmed by somebody in the cockpit. There is no indication of when the coordinates were entered into the computer. It could have been done during the flight or, as is more common, during preflight preparations, the official said… a leading theory from Malaysian investigators [claims that the] missing plane veered off course in a deliberate act by someone who knew what they were doing. But investigators still don’t know who was at the controls, or why whoever was flying the plane apparently took it far from its original destination.”

Newsmax reported on March 19:

“Iranian intelligence officials may be behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 earlier this month, former El Al Airlines security chief Isaac Yeffet says…  ‘They will land [the aircraft] in [a]place that nobody will know… Yeffet, who is also a former member of the Israeli Secret Service, believes the two passengers traveling with stolen passports may be a key part of the mystery, despite authorities discounting their culpability.

“‘With them [was] an Iranian man [who] said [he] was a businessman but this Iranian went to purchase three tickets for the three of them and paid cash,’ he said. ‘Who pays cash money, in the last 20 years, to purchase three tickets… For us, it’s immediately a suspicious sign. They boarded the flight without any difficulty and I am afraid if they had the plan to hijack the aircraft, inside the aircraft they will have more people to assist them.’

“Yeffet does not believe the Bejing-bound airliner, which had 239 passengers aboard, crashed into the sea. ‘If it was in the water we would find debris. History shows us that aircraft that crash in [the] ocean will be found immediately… if not the same day then the next day,’’ he said.”

Subsequently, it was claimed that debris from the crashed plane might have been located floating in the Indian Ocean.

John Kerry Betrays Israel

Breitbart wrote on March 14:
 
“On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress that it would be a ‘mistake’ to insist that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a condition of a peace agreement. That statement was a complete reversal of recent promises by Kerry and by President Barack Obama, and effectively makes a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians impossible. Yet the news was completely buried by the mainstream U.S. media… perhaps because journalists are disinclined to document the failure of Obama’s peace push, or perhaps because a story about him breaking a promise is nothing new.”
 
Sad indeed. The Jewish press did run the story, of course, shaming the US mass media. For instance, Haaretz wrote on March 13:
 
“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday that it is problematic for people to continue raising the issue of whether Palestinians would agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish state… Kerry added that the issue was resolved in 1947, referring to UN Resolution 181 that divided Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs, and reminded of former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state in 1988.

“According to the report, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said last week that the U.S. considers Israel as a Jewish state, but doesn’t require the Palestinians to do so. Kerry adopted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that Israel be recognized as a Jewish state back in December during a visit to Israel, and later turned to the Saudis and Jordan asking them to support Palestinian recognition. Last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made it clear there was ‘no way’ he would recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and later the Arab League came out in support of his statement.”

America’s back-paddling on the issue of the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state only shows its total lack of decisive leadership. Another example can be seen in America’s unsuccessful attempts to accomplish anything in regard to the Ukraine crisis. Note the next articles.

The Crimea Debacle —“Heim ins Reich” [“Back Home into the Empire”]

BBC News wrote on March 16:

“[97 %] of voters in Crimea have supported joining Russia… in a disputed referendum… Russia’s Vladimir Putin has said he will respect the Crimean people’s wishes. Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum, and the EU and US condemned it as illegal…

“Sergei Aksyonov, Crimea’s leader installed last month after the Russian takeover, celebrated the referendum on stage in Simferopol. Backed by the Russian national anthem, Russian flags, and the personnel of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, he told supporters that Crimea was ‘going home’… Some 58% of people in Crimea are ethnic Russian, with the rest made up of Ukrainians and Tatars. Most of the Tatars that the BBC spoke to said they had boycotted the vote, and felt that life under the Kremlin would be worse…

“The Tatars were deported to Central Asia by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. They were only able to return with the fall of the Soviet Union and many want to remain in Ukraine. But the referendum did not have an option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged. Voters were asked whether they wanted to join Russia, or have greater autonomy within Ukraine.

“Away from the Crimea region, unrest continued in the south-east Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Pro-Russian protesters stormed the prosecutor’s building shouting ‘Donetsk is a Russian city’, and then broke into the local security services headquarters for the second time in two days…”

Putin might very well use this “unrest” for justification of continued occupation of additional parts of Ukraine, knowing that the West sees no options to stop him. Ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will combine their military forces AGAINST the EU.

Crimea Parliament Declares Independence from Russia

BBC News wrote on March 17:

“Crimea’s parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation…

“According to the declaration approved by Crimean MPs, the region: becomes an independent state and applies to formally join Russia, with some autonomy; will adopt the Russia rouble as its currency within a month; will move to Moscow time (GMT+4 and two hours ahead of Kiev time) on 30 March; [and] will offer Crimean soldiers the chance to join Russian military.”

Putin Signs “Treaty” of Accession with Crimea; Declares Kiev as Mother of all Russian Cities

The Washington Post wrote on March 18:

“Invoking the suffering of the Russian people and a narrative of constant betrayals by the West, President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Russia was within its rights to reclaim Crimea, then signed a treaty that did just that. Putin, defiant in the face of U.S. and European pressure, dispensed with legal deliberation and announced a swift annexation of Crimea, as if to put Europe’s most serious crisis in decades beyond the point where the results could be turned back…

“Putin declared that Russia has no interest in expanding its hold within Ukraine… But he also said that Russia would always be ready to stand up for the rights of fellow Russians living in other countries. He mentioned, seemingly in passing, that Russians in eastern Ukraine, in the cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk, had been subject to the same sort of abuse at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists that he said had led him to act on Crimea…

“He also touched on Russians’ roots in the Ukrainian heartland, in a way that many Ukrainians may not have found reassuring. ‘We sympathize with the people of Ukraine,’ he said. ‘We’re one nation. Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities.’…”

Following the signing of the “treaty,” violence erupted in Crimea. According to Deutsche Welle, dated March 18, “Ukraine’s military says a base in Crimea has been stormed with one serviceman killed… The Ukrainian premier says the crisis has now become a military one… Kyiv [Kiev], which blamed Russia for the attack, authorized Ukrainian troops to use weapons if necessary to defend themselves… ‘Today, Russian soldiers began shooting at Ukrainian servicemen,’ said Yatseniuk. ‘This is a war crime.’” CNN added that “Ukraine’s defense ministry authorized its forces to open fire.”

Subsequently, on March 19, Reuters reported: “Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag.”

John Kerry Fails in Ukraine Crisis

Prior to the “referendum,” Deutsche Welle reported on March 14:

“Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have failed to resolve differences over Crimea… ‘We have no common vision of the situation. Differences remain,’ Lavrov said…”

The referendum was of course a manipulated effort to justify Russia’s continued occupation of the Crimean peninsula, but while it is true that a majority of Russians living there wanted to be annexed by Russia (one is reminded of the vast majority of Austrians supporting Austria’s Anschluss to Nazi Germany), it is also true that the Russian military apparatus employed terror measures to “persuade” the people of Crimea NOT to vote against Russian occupation, as the next articles show.

NATO Allies Criticize USA

The Washington Times wrote on March 18:

“NATO members criticized Washington for getting caught off guard by Russia’s military buildup… Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told Mr. Biden directly that Russia’s actions should not have come as a surprise, given Moscow’s significant increase in military spending… Estonian President Toomas Ilves told Mr. Biden that Russia’s action in Crimea should be a wake-up call… Mr. Biden tried to reject the suggestion that the U.S., in the midst of defense cutbacks, was allowing Russia to gain a strategic advantage…

“Mr. Ilves also sounded a note of discontent about the U.S.-led response with sanctions… In Congress, Republicans increased their calls for the administration to consider sending military aid to Ukraine and to reassess the U.S. relationship with Russia.” 

Russia’s Terror Regime in Crimea

The New York Times wrote on March 14:

“With a mix of targeted intimidation [and] an expansive military occupation by unmistakably elite Russian units… Crimea has been swept almost instantaneously into the Kremlin’s fold. This has happened well ahead of the referendum… Organizers of counterprotests have been threatened and in some cases disappeared…

“Crimean journalists have been ordered not to describe the soldiers on their soil as Russian or to use the word ‘occupation.’ And foreign and local journalists have been beaten and had their materials confiscated by uniformed men who are not officially connected to any government.

“Civilian airline flights to and from Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, have been blocked. The Berkut riot police, disbanded in February under accusations of brutality by Ukraine, the state they once served, have regrouped in Crimea, where they stand as enforcers of the new authorities’ will. All the while, Ukrainian government centers are blockaded by a mix of Russian troops and men identifying themselves as their supporters.

“… the Kremlin… has ensured that most anyone who might publicly resist secession is marginalized or discouraged…”

These methods are indeed similar to Gestapo activities in Germany prior to, and during World War II. And as the world did nothing then, so nothing is being done now. Chancellor Merkel of Germany placed Russia and the world on notice that European military actions are not an option. Even though some concerned German residents with Ukrainian roots hit the streets on Saturday to voice their disapproval of Putin’s occupation tactics, many short-sighted Germans are apparently indifferent as to what is happening in Ukraine and don’t seem to care whether or not a WORLD WAR breaks out. Indeed, this world is sound asleep.

Bloomberg reported on March 16:  “Russia has deployed about 60,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, the government in Kiev said. Ukraine closed border crossings to Russia and will mobilize as many as 15,000 volunteers in the next 15 days to defend the nation, officials said today.”

Of course, Ukraine alone has NO military chance against Russia, and since the West made it clear that it will not militarily intervene, Ukraine is as good as gone.

Crimea Just the Beginning

The Financial Times wrote on March 16:

“Crimea is now occupied by Russia – in violation of all norms of international law and treaties signed by Moscow itself. Russia is rapidly emerging as a rogue state…

“Crimea is a tasty slice of historic Russia – a region with the best resorts, beautiful scenery and strategically important military bases. Whoever controls Crimea controls the Black Sea… The invasion of Crimea cannot be explained with concern for the Russian-speaking people of Crimea. Russia’s rulers do not even care about their own people, robbing them cynically. Why would they suddenly care about their kinsmen in Crimea? And nobody has oppressed the Russians in Crimea…

“Mr Putin’s goals are far beyond the Crimean peninsula. First, Moscow’s rulers are terrified that Ukraine’s Maidan protest movement could replicate itself in Russia. The fate of Viktor Yanukovich, the ousted Ukrainian president, frightens them. They are also frightened by the tough anti-communist spirit of the Maidan. The revolution is taking place amid collapsing monuments to Soviet leaders: Lenin, Kirov, Dzerzhinsky. But in neighbouring Russia, 25 years after the ban of the Communist party, Grandpa Lenin is still resting in his mausoleum on Red Square, his monuments still stand. In Russia, we have a metamorphosis of the Communist order; in Ukraine, a decisive parting from it.

“This scares the KGB officers in charge of Russia today. It is also one of the reasons why the Russian media has branded the Maidan participants ‘fascists’. It is a logic familiar to many older Russians: if you oppose the Soviet Union, you are a fascist. Such was the custom in the Stalinist era; it has been now reborn…

“Second, Mr Putin is well aware of the Brezhnev doctrine – the principle of limited sovereignty of the involuntary allies of what was then the Soviet Union. The USSR kept its satellites on a leash, the length of which could  [be] adjusted according to taste… But even more important is the belief that, in the countries of the former Soviet Union, it is Moscow that must define the rules of the game. Ukraine, like Poland in 1981, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Hungary in 1956, rose up against this principle of limited sovereignty. And the Russians want to bring Ukraine to heel, just as they did with its western neighbours…

“So the occupation of Crimea is only a means for the current political regime in Russia – a means towards goals that are extremely dangerous for Europe, for Ukraine and for the Russian people itself.”

Der Spiegel Online added on March 19:

“It’s not only in Crimea where Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing with fire, but also in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the people in the economically powerful region speak Russian and reject the new government in Kiev.”

Consequences of Putin’s Invasion

Breitbart wrote on March 17:

“Russia has pushed the ‘reset’ button all right, resetting history and geography to take the Crimea back, while the U.S. and the European Union do virtually nothing… The weakness of the west in facing the Russian seizure of the Crimea is likely to have a significant geopolitical effect, both in the short term and long term. Here are five of the most likely consequences of the ‘Crimea reset’:

“1. China advances claims over territory and airspace. An aggressively nationalist China was already moving to broaden its air defenses and its claims to the Senkaku Islands, despite U.S. plans to ‘pivot’ from the Middle East to the western Pacific. It will now be even more assertive, knowing there are few consequences.

“2. Al Qaeda steps up its attempts to create an Islamic caliphate. The Obama administration, having dispatched Osama bin Laden, has left Al Qaeda to expand across Africa and the Middle East. Those hoping to establish an Islamic state in the ruins of Syria and Iraq will be encouraged by the failure of the west to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine, because the artificial borders of the Middle East seem even more vulnerable now.

“3. Israel plans for completely unilateral action on Iran. It is clearer than ever before that the Obama administration has no ability to enforce its own ‘red lines’ and no will to risk armed conflict. Israel will likely set aside the task of obtaining U.S. approval for a pre-emptive strike on Iran and will make independent plans–perhaps in coordination with Saudi Arabia, which has likewise learned that Obama is not to be trusted.

“4. Europe gets serious about fracking… the EU has realized that energy independence is vital to its security. It will start to reject pseudo-scientific ‘green’ arguments in favor of oil and gas development.

“5. Russia continues to challenge U.S. allies and create crisis. The Crimea crisis is hardly over, and may reach other parts of Ukraine, as well as NATO allies in Eastern Europe, as Putin tries the same trick again. He is also expanding Russian influence into Latin America…”

America Disappoints…

An article by The Associated Press, dated March 18, seems to support the concerns of Israel, stating:

“Israel cannot depend on the United States to lead any action against Iran’s nuclear program and can only rely on itself, the country’s defense minister said in remarks published Tuesday… the defense minister alleged American influence is waning in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine over the crisis there. ‘Weakness certainly does not pay in the world,’ he said. ‘… I hope the U.S. will come to its senses.’”

JTA added on March 19:

“In response, a [US] senior administration official told Israeli media, ‘We were shocked by Moshe Yaalon’s comments, which seriously call into question his commitment to Israel’s relationship with the United States. Moreover, this is part of a disturbing pattern in which the defense minister disparages the U.S. administration and insults its most senior officials. ‘Given the unprecedented commitment that this administration has made to Israel’s security,’ the unnamed official said, ‘we are mystified why the defense minister seems intent on undermining the relationship.’”

The Obama Administration seems to be delusional and sound asleep, not realizing reality. The USA imposed toothless sanctions on seven Russian and four Ukrainian officials, as well as a Russian bank, and the EU could only agree on 21 officials, while some had originally proposed to enact sanctions against at least 100 persons. Later, the EU added another 12 individuals to their list. None of the sanctions are targeting Putin. In fact, Putin laughed about and ridiculed them, while announcing sanctions in retaliation against U.S. White House officials and Senators. However, the EU and especially Germany might become bolder in their action. Note the next article.

Will Europe Impose Serious Sanctions?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 17:

“The EU has imposed new sanctions to prevent Vladimir Putin from further escalating the crisis in Ukraine. Berlin has played a leading role in the punitive actions, despite protests from the German business community. There’s no turning back for Merkel… Despite pressure from many European Union member states and the US, Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel initially managed to prevent swifter sanctions. They wanted to attempt to resolve the Crimean crisis through talks. The strategy ultimately failed because of Putin’s intransigence…

“Both the Americans and the Europeans have ruled out the possibility of a military response and instead want to strike Putin where he is most vulnerable: Russia’s economic dependency on the West…  The main role here also continues to lie with Germany. The reason is simple: The country has very close business relations with Russia and has the greatest capacity to exert pressure… Economic warfare could prove expensive for Germany. And this puts Merkel in a difficult situation since she may be forced to push through political measures that harm her country’s business interests. Now that it has made a claim to leadership, Berlin can’t simply retract it.

“The sanctions the EU imposed against Russia on Monday in response to Sunday’s Crimea referendum remain moderate. The plan involves freezing bank accounts and issuing travel bans against 21 Russian and Crimean politicians. If Putin continues to escalate the situation, however, more decisive action could follow…

“The consequences would be serious — for both sides. Last year, Germany and Russia had trade in goods of close to €77 billion ($107 billion). Russia primarily supplies petroleum and natural gas to Germany. Germany, on the other hand, exports mechanical engineering products, medicines, trains and automobiles to Russia. More than 6,000 German companies are registered in Russia and, together, they have invested €20 billion in recent years. German chemical giant BASF has holdings in Siberian gas fields and Russian gas monopoly Gazprom obtained natural gas storage facilities in the state of Lower Saxony in exchange.

“Without special chemicals from Germany, it would be difficult for Russia to refine its crude oil. It would be a shattering blow to supplies for Putin’s massive country if Merkel were to turn the screws on Germany-Russian economic relations. At the same time, Germany’s business community would also have to assume some severe losses…

“It is unlikely that such punitive measures would go unanswered by Russia; Putin has not been shy about threatening retaliation. A senator with his United Russia party is now calling for the expropriation of foreign companies doing business in the country. Moscow could respond by freezing bank accounts held in Russian banks as well as seizing assets…

“In Berlin, all officials can do is guess at just how far Putin might be willing to go… high-ranking diplomats believe it is… conceivable that Moscow might attempt to destabilize other regions like the Baltics or the Caucuses by using economic pressure or the presence of strong Russian minorities in countries in those places…”

Ukraine—Not All As It May Seem

The EUObserver reported on March 18:

“With Russia’s ratification of the Crimea bill to be completed by the end of next week, the annexation looks like a fait accompli. But there are fears Putin will go further.  He also told MPs that ethnic Russians in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kiev are ‘still’ appealing for his help and he described Kiev as the ‘mother of all Russian cities … ancient Russia, our common source.’

“He has amassed military forces on Ukraine’s north and eastern borders. If he is going to absorb Crimea, he will also need to take control of the electricity and water infrastructure which feeds it and which is located on the Ukrainian mainland…

“Yushchenko… warned the West that all may not be as it seems in Ukraine. Some Russian media reports say Yushchenko’s old rival, former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, cut a deal with Putin – to give him Crimea in return for helping her to regain power… Yushchenko said it is ‘quite strange’ that Ukraine’s Tymoshenko-dominated government has done nothing to secure the Crimean electricity and water infrastructure on the mainland.

“He said it is equally strange Ukraine did not close its border with Russia to stop Russian nationals from going to pro-Russia rallies in Donetsk and Kharkiv. ‘I belong to this group of people [who believe there is a Putin-Tymoshenko deal],’ Yushchenko said. ‘This is one of the biggest mysteries for Europeans … The line of relations between these two people have been significantly underestimated and Europe risks falling into their traps,’ he added.”

Ukraine Crisis–Parallel with the Crimean War of 1853…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 14:

“The Crimean War of 1853-1856… which ultimately consumed well over half a million lives, began when Russia sent 80,000 troops into the Ottoman-controlled Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Russia argued that it had the right and obligation to act as the guardian of orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire, much as it today claims the right to safeguard the interests of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine…

“NATO, as the alliance formed to protect Western interests in the Cold War, is focused firmly on the global balance of power, just as the Crimean coalition was in the 1850s. NATO and the EU are not coextensive and not identical in their interests. When the Americans, the Poles and the Baltic states proposed the extension of NATO membership to Georgia and Ukraine in 2008, France and Germany objected, just as Prussia refused to join the anti-Russian Western coalition of 1854-5…

“The Ukrainian emergency is a reminder of how quickly events can undo the best-laid plans and produce unforeseen constellations…”

The Bible warns that oblivious people will be caught by surprise when they are being hit by another World War…which will threaten to annihilate all human life on this planet.

Libya Is Falling Apart… and Western Powers and Media Are Much to Be Blamed

The Independent wrote on March 16:

“Without a central government with any real power, Libya is falling apart. And this is happening almost three years after 19 March 2011 when the French air force stopped Mu’ammer Gaddafi’s counter-offensive to crush the uprising in Benghazi. Months later, his burnt-out tanks still lay by the road to the city. With the United States keeping its involvement as low-profile as possible, Nato launched a war in which rebel militiamen played a secondary, supportive role and ended with the overthrow and killing of Gaddafi.

“A striking feature of events in Libya in the past week is how little interest is being shown by leaders and countries which enthusiastically went to war in 2011 in the supposed interests of the Libyan people. President Obama has since spoken proudly of his role in preventing a ‘massacre’ in Benghazi at that time. But when the militiamen, whose victory Nato had assured, opened fire on a demonstration against their presence in Tripoli in November last year, killing at least 42 protesters and firing at children with anti-aircraft machine guns, there was scarcely a squeak of protest from Washington, London or Paris.

“Coincidentally, it was last week that Al-Jazeera broadcast the final episode in a three-year investigation of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988. For years this was deemed to be Gaddafi’s greatest and certainly best-publicised crime, but the documentary proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted of carrying out the bombing, was innocent. Iran, working through the Palestinian Front for The Liberation of Palestine – General Command, ordered the blowing up of Pan Am 103 in revenge for the shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane by the US navy earlier in 1988…

“This is not to defend Gaddafi, a maverick dictator who inflicted his puerile personality cult on his people, though he was never as bloodthirsty as Saddam Hussein or Hafez al-Assad. But the Nato powers that overthrew him – and by some accounts gave the orders to kill him – did not do so because he was a tyrannical ruler. It was rather because he pursued a quirkily nationalist policy backed by a great deal of money which was at odds with western policies in the Middle East. It is absurd to imagine that… the real objective of the war was to replace Gaddafi with a secular democracy…

“Libya is imploding. Its oil exports have fallen from 1.4 million barrels a day in 2011 to 235,000 barrels a day. Militias hold 8,000 people in prisons, many of whom say they have been tortured. Some 40,000 people from the town of Tawergha south of Misrata were driven from their homes which have been destroyed…  Libya is a land of regional, tribal, ethnic warlords who are often simply well-armed racketeers exploiting their power and the absence of an adequate police force. Nobody is safe: the head of Libya’s military police was assassinated in Benghazi in October while Libya’s first post-Gaddafi prosecutor general was shot dead in Derna on 8 February. Sometimes the motive for the killing is obscure, such as the murder last week of an Indian doctor, also in Derna, which may lead to an exodus of 1,600 Indian doctors who have come to Libya since 2011 and on whom its health system depends.

“Western and regional governments share responsibility for much that has happened in Libya, but so too should the media. The Libyan uprising was reported as a simple-minded clash between good and evil. Gaddafi and his regime were demonised and his opponents treated with a naïve lack of scepticism and enquiry. The foreign media have dealt with the subsequent collapse of the Libyan state since 2011 mostly by ignoring it, though politicians have stopped referring to Libya as an exemplar of successful foreign intervention…”

Evidence for a Big Bang?

The Associated Press reported on March 18:

“Researchers say they have spotted evidence that a split-second after the Big Bang, the newly formed universe ballooned out at a pace so astonishing that it left behind ripples in the fabric of the cosmos… The discovery ‘gives us a window on the universe at the very beginning,’ when it was far less than one-trillionth of a second old, said theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who was not involved in the work. ‘It’s just amazing,’ Krauss said. ‘You can see back to the beginning of time.’”

As we explain in our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—A Fairy Tale for Adults,” the big bang theory is by no means an accurate explanation of the beginning of the universe. However, what it does admit is that the universe HAD a beginning! With this admission, it totally contradicts the Theory of Evolution. The Bible tells us of course WHY the universe had a beginning. It had a beginning and did not always exist BECAUSE GOD created it: “In the beginning, God created the heavens—the universe—and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Pope Benedict and Pope Francis

Zenit wrote on March 19:

“Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s private secretary, has disclosed that Pope Francis asked his predecessor to write down a critique of the interview he gave the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica last August. The German archbishop, who is also Prefect of the Papal Household under Pope Francis, told the German television channel ZDF over the weekend that, after the interview was published in September, the Pope gave him the interview, instructing him to take it to Benedict XVI so he could ‘read it and write down any criticism he may have.’

“The Pope Emeritus ‘did his homework,’ Archbishop Gänswein continued. ‘He read it and, in accordance with his successor’s request, he did indeed offer some thoughts and some remarks on certain comments or certain questions on which he thought something additional could perhaps be said in another context.’…

“The interview drew controversy, especially over the Pope’s comments on abortion, contraception and same-sex ‘marriage’ … Archbishop Gänswein said the Francis and Benedict ‘have a very good relationship,’ adding that ‘clearly they are in accordance with regard to the substance… There is a marked and visible difference with regard to presentation…’”

It was also reported that both popes are expected to be present and participate in the upcoming sanctification ceremony for the canonization of Pope John Paul II in April.

“Repent or Receive God’s Fiery Judgment”

The Hill wrote on March 7:

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) didn’t disguise his presidential ambitions on Thursday… ‘These are the things that I know. I know there is a God, and I know this nation would not exist had he not been the midwife of its birth. And I know that this nation exists by the providence of his hand, and if this nation forgets our God, then God will have every right to forget us,’ Huckabee said. ‘I hope that we repent before we ever have to receive his fiery judgment.’…

“The speech from the Baptist pastor was predictably heavy on social issues. Huckabee warned that ‘a society that sacrifices its own children is no better than the ancient Philistines… I know that the IRS is a criminal enterprise,’ he said. ‘The best way to get the IRS off our backs and out of our lives is to enact a fair tax which will eliminate the IRS once and for all.’”

Sadly, the realistic view point is that based on the Bible, only very few Americans will repent—the overwhelming majority will continue to practice their ungodly ways, until God’s judgment will be poured out upon them. God was in fact bringing about the birth of this nation, but not for reasons usually assumed. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Germany vs. Russia

Der Spiegel wrote on March 10:

“Russia’s occupation of Crimea has violated international law and created a new crisis among world leaders. Now the EU and the US are fighting over the best means to address Russia’s reawakened expansionary ambitions…

“The United States and the EU approved initial sanctions against Moscow late last week, Washington sent military reinforcements to Poland and the Baltic countries and the German federal police promptly suspended half a dozen cooperative programs with Russia. On Sunday, the Polish Defense Minister announced that the US was sending 12 fighter jets to Poland.

“But aside from these measures, the situation has thus far been characterized by a horrifying sense of helplessness… the Kremlin leader has succeeded in one respect: He has divided the West…

“Political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of the renowned New York-based Eurasia Group… fears that the events in Ukraine could reflect a ‘broader geopolitical shift.’ Russia, Bremmer writes, will use the crisis as an opportunity to strengthen its ties with China. ‘We are in a world with a distinct and dangerous lack of global, coordinated leadership.’ Meanwhile, the Republicans are critical of the [US] president for engaging in a foreign policy in which ‘nobody believes in America’s strength anymore,’ as Senator John McCain bitterly notes…

“Germany is playing a key role in the Ukraine crisis. The chancellor has spoken with the Russian president by phone three times in the last few days, and the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has met three times with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in addition to almost daily telephone conversations. Last Monday, Steinmeier even made a trip to Geneva to speak with Lavrov in person and to keep the conversation going.

“This is in keeping with the new, more active German foreign policy Steinmeier announced in January. At the same time, the German government is also clearly feeling the limits of this policy…

“Merkel spoke with Putin by phone on the Friday before last, after pro-Russian militias had taken over government buildings in Crimea… In their telephone conversations, the chancellor and Putin have been unable to agree on any of the central issues, from events in Crimea to the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government… Even cabinet ministers are saying ‘Crimea is gone,’ and that the West should now focus on preventing the Russian president from creating more precedents in eastern Ukraine… Keeping eastern and western Ukraine together is currently Merkel’s most important goal.

“When German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel met with Putin in Moscow last week, he told the Kremlin leader that Russia would suffer considerably under sanctions. He also tried appealing to the Russian president on a personal level, saying it was now up to him, Putin, to prevent Europe from sliding into a new Cold War. But the Russian leader remained impassive.”

Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations will unite against a United States of Europe under German leadership.

Merkel Condemns Putin

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 13:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday issued her strongest condemnation yet of Moscow’s intervention in Crimea, calling it a clear breach of international law. ‘If Russia continues down the course of the past weeks, it would not only be a catastrophe for Ukraine,’ Merkel told the German parliament, the Bundestag. ‘As Russia’s neighbors, we would not only consider it a threat. It would not only change the relationship of the European Union as a whole with Russia,’ Merkel said.”

Ukraine’s Political Spectrum—Opening of Pandora’s Box?

The International Business Times wrote on March 7:

“Ukraine’s leader of the far-right Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) paramilitary movement Dmytro Yarosh has announced his presidential bid in elections planned for 25 May. The ultra-nationalist movement’s chairman Andriy Tarasenko said that Right Sector will also become a political party… ‘We remain the leaders of this revolution. We are mobilising, we are preparing to react to foreign aggression,’ Tarasenko added, claiming that the movement was ready for a full-scale war with Russia.

“A leading figure in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Yarosh advocated a ‘national revolution’ during the protests and dismissed ousted Viktor Yanukovich’s administration as an ‘internal occupational regime’. Yarosh, who considers the far-right Svoboda ‘too liberal’, wants to ban both the former ruling party (Party of Regions) and the Communist Party of Ukraine.

“Tarasenko distanced the movement from the pro-EU government led by interim president Oleksandr Turchinov… Russia opened a criminal investigation against Yarosh for incitement to extremism and terrorism. Right Sector was condemned by the US State Department for ‘inflaming conditions on the streets’… Yarosh revealed that the ultra-nationalist movement had amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons. The movement’s ideology, which rejects any foreign influence over Ukraine, borders on fascism…”

JTA added on March 7:

“Israel’s ambassador in Kiev, Reuven Din El, and a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist movement agreed to work together to ‘prevent provocations.’ The agreement came at the end of a meeting held last week between Din El and Dmitry Yarosh, the leader of the Right Sector paramilitary group, which participated in the overthrow of the government of President Viktor Yanukovych… Yarosh’s troops had a decisive role in the revolution that forced Yanukovych to flee to Russia…

“Yarosh said that ‘non-Ukrainians’ should be treated according to principles set forth by the late Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. A onetime ally of Nazi Germany who later turned against the Nazis, Bandera said non-Ukrainian allies should be treated as brothers and neutral parties should be respected.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center and other Jewish organizations have condemned the glorification in Ukraine of Bandera, whose troops are believed to have killed thousands of Jews when they were allies of the Nazis in 1941…

“Svoboda’s leader, Oleh Tyahnybok, has in the past referred to a ‘Moscow-Jewish mafia’ which he said ruled Ukraine.”

Taking these last two articles together, we see a very unfavorable picture emerging in Ukraine, which is not reported widely in the Western press. We might be reminded of the chaotic consequences of the “highly praised” Arab Spring. Are we seeing a repeat in Ukraine?

“Putin the Great” Enjoys All-Time High Approval Rating in Russia

Breitbart wrote on March 7:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin may have to endure the stern disapproval of U.S. President Barack Obama, and the occasional insult from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as a result of his invasion of Ukraine. But at home… [over] 70 percent of Russians support Putin’s tactics in the Crimea… even some Russian opposition leaders are praising Putin. One… claims, ‘If Putin returns Crimea to Russia without blood, he will go down in history as a great, and there’s nothing you can do about that’…

“Praise for ‘Putin the Great’ has not been universal. Former international chess champion Garry Kasparov, who is also an important Russian opposition figure, wrote… that Putin’s domestic political gains are the whole point…

“Although a U.S. Navy destroyer entered the Black Sea on Friday, and the west has extended economic aid [to] Ukraine while applying some sanctions to Russia, the global response to Putin has been symbolic at best…”

How Putin Controls the Russian Media

The Washington Times wrote on March 13:

“Russians looking to get a different perspective on the Ukraine crisis will essentially have to settle for whatever story Vladimir Putin tells them — the Kremlin banned four opposition websites on Thursday… The move comes on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State  John F. Kerry warned Russia that ‘there will be costs’ if Moscow continues to escalate the crisis in Ukraine.

“Former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov, whose website was taken down within Russia, tweeted: ‘Obviously Putin is preparing something drastic if he’s blacking out the last sources of truth in Russia. I fear for the safety of Ukraine.’”

The Russian Fighting Machine

The Washington Times wrote on March 6:

“President Vladimir Putin has turned a once-moribund Russian military into a lean, quick-strike force that can invade Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula… Mr. Putin has built a military that can unleash a force to reclaim territory lost in the Soviet empire’s demise…

“The re-emergence of the Russian bear has rattled Europe and the Obama administration… Moscow’s 2013 defense budget funds a 40 percent increase over the next three years… putting the Kremlin only behind the U.S. and China in military spending… ‘There is no great mobilization capacity in Russia today,” [Mr. Kipp, of the Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office] said. ‘What that means is, in a crisis, if the military gets into problems, the Kremlin has some very unappealing options. What they’ve been doing in their exercises is, when the conventional forces fail in defense, they go nuclear.’”

America Knew

NRP wrote on March 7:

“Senior U.S. officials were warned of imminent Russian military action in Crimea about a week before the troop movements that have sparked a major international crisis over Ukraine, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency tells NPR…

“Barely a week after the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine accused Russia of sending troops into Crimea… The action… has pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest level in years.”

Ukraine and Crimea—The Conflict Continues

Deutsche Welle reported on March 11:

“Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych has blamed his opponents for the crisis in Crimea. Meanwhile, Crimea has voted in favor of adopting a declaration of independence ahead of Sunday’s referendum to join Russia… Yanukovych, who surfaced in Russia after leaving Kyiv late last month, also reiterated that he was Ukraine’s legitimate president and would soon return… He also lashed out against the West for acting as ‘protectors of the dark forces’ currently in power…

“On Tuesday the European Commission agreed to offer Ukraine trade breaks worth about 500 million euros ($675 million) a year as an immediate gesture of support for Ukraine’s economy… The measure would need to be approved by EU leaders and the European Parliament.

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has assured ex-Soviet Baltic states that NATO and the EU stand behind them amid rising tensions over the crisis in Ukraine… Steinmeier said the EU would rather avoid confrontation with Russia but would have to prepare a response if the country did not back down… French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius… told the radio station France Inter that the planned referendum in Crimea on joining Russia would be illegal…”

Libya Slides Into Chaos—The Curse of the Arab Spring

Reuters reported on March 7:

“Two-and-a-half years after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, the oil-rich North African state [of Libya] is struggling to contain violence between rival forces, with Islamist militants gaining an ever-stronger grip on the south of the country… [W]ith violent disputes between rival tribal factions disrupting exports of Libyan oil, the lack of a stable political foundation is causing growing concern for energy-hungry western countries, several of which were involved in overthrowing the Gaddafi government.”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 11:

“Parliamentarians in Libya have passed a vote of no confidence in the country’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. It comes after a ship full of Libyan oil exported by a militia escaped into international waters. Libya’s Defense Minister Abdullah al-Thani will step in as the country’s premier for two weeks, until a permanent replacement is approved by the General National Congress… Authorities in Tripoli have struggled to control much of the country since a revolt in 2011 which led to the downfall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

“A multitude of former rebel militias have carved out their own areas of control, particularly in the oil-rich country’s east. Last October the now-former prime minister Ali Zeidan himself was briefly abducted by a militia group in Tripoli.”

These further consequences of the “Arab Spring” which was highly favored by the West, have only brought about more headaches, chaos and total confusion.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar at War with Iraq—The Curse of the Iraq War

AFP wrote on March 8:

“Saudi Arabia and Qatar are destabilising Iraq by supporting militant groups and have effectively declared war on the country, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said…‘They are attacking Iraq, through Syria, and in a direct way, and they announced the war on Iraq,’ the premier said in an interview with France 24, in a rare direct attack on the Sunni Gulf powers.”

America’s unrealistic wish and goal to bring democracy to Iraq has terribly back-fired and brought about complete chaos.

Arab League Refuses to Recognize Israel

JTA wrote on March 10:

“The Arab League refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in the framework of current peace talks with the Palestinians, as per Israel’s demand. On Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers released a resolution at a meeting in Cairo that supported the decision by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. ‘The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a ‘Jewish state,’” the resolution said…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the signing of a peace agreement contingent on the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the first prime minister to do so. The U.S.-backed peace talks are scheduled to end on April 29. Abbas has said he will not allow for an extension of the nine-month process.”

There will never be a peace treaty between Israel and the Arab nations, nor will there be a peace treaty between Israel and Germany. All these concepts are fanciful ideas of the unlearned human mind which are nowhere supported in Scripture.

Germany’s “Saints”

The Local wrote on March 7:

“Germany is a land infested with saints. Travel more than a few miles in any direction and you’re liable to trip over a shrine to some ascetic or hermit with the reputation for performing miracles. It seems like every village church has an ornate shrine dedicated to their local holy hero, usually incorporating a grisly, preserved body part… Here in Germany nothing is done by halves and this is especially true of those the Catholic Church has seen fit to canonize.

“St Alban of Mainz… [a] 5th century bishop sent from Milan to preach to the heathens was so caught up in his work that he lost his head to angry locals. Not particularly perturbed by this change in his circumstances, he picked up his severed noggin and walked (accounts vary on the distance) to where he wanted to be interred.

“St Emmeram of Regensburg demonstrated similar levels of endurance when he was martyred in the 7th century. Having taken the blame for getting a duke’s daughter pregnant (the real father being a member of the Duke’s court), the understandably upset father and his son ambushed him, cutting him into pieces and reducing him to a limbless trunk. Amazingly, this wasn’t enough to kill him and he lingered on until he was found by some of his followers. They carried the (still alive) bishop to a green and lovely place where he saw fit to die. Some say at this point a ladder extended down from Heaven to take him up… Upon being interred, legend states that it rained for 40 days and nights, until frustrated locals dug him up and floated him down the river to Regensburg, where his various bits and pieces can be found today…

“St Corbinian, who also lived in the 7th century in Bavaria, was said to have power over beasts. Once, on a pilgrimage to Rome, a bear attacked and killed his horse. Without missing a beat, the saint commanded the unruly bear to take his belongings and carry them to Rome. Once he arrived, he released the bear, who quite happily loped back into the woods…

“Eucharius of Trier… was said to have been given St Peter’s staff, which he used quite liberally to bring the dead back to life. Another saint with this gift was St Fridolin, who was once memorably employed by a nobleman to raise a dead man so he could testify in a legal case…

“Hildegard of Bingen was just a girl when she entered the convent at Disibodenberg, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, during the 12th century… She wrote poetry, based on visions that she had, that are still being printed and reprinted to this day. She staged deeply mystical plays, using her nuns in an early form of liturgical dance.”

Especially the Catholic part of Germany has many saints. We might read an article which we quoted above and shake our heads in unbelief, or laugh about such superstition, but the fact of the matter is that such “beliefs” in saints will lead the way to the arrival of a religious “Christian” leader—called the false prophet–who will bring about miracles and signs. He will be empowered by Satan the devil, but people will be deceived thinking that he is used by God. It is he—not the political leader called “the beast”—who will be sitting in the temple of God—a newly built temple in Jerusalem—claiming to be God.

Religious Persecution and Hostilities Worldwide

The website of pewforum.org published the following article on January 14, 2014, which just came to our attention.  Although somewhat dated, it is still very relevant:

“The share of countries with a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion reached a six-year peak in 2012, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. A third (33%) of the 198 countries and territories included in the study had high religious hostilities in 2012, up from 29% in 2011 and 20% as of mid-2007. Religious hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the Americas. The sharpest increase was in the Middle East and North Africa, which still is feeling the effects of the 2010-11 political uprisings known as the Arab Spring. There also was a significant increase in religious hostilities in the Asia-Pacific region, where China edged into the ‘high’ category for the first time.

“The share of countries with a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion stayed roughly the same in the latest year studied. About three-in-ten countries in the world (29%) had a high or very high level of government restrictions in 2012, compared with 28% in 2011 and 20% as of mid-2007. Europe had the biggest increase in the median level of government restrictions in 2012, followed closely by the Middle East-North Africa – the only other region where the median level of government restrictions on religion rose.

“Looking at the overall level of restrictions – whether resulting from government policies or from social hostilities – the study finds that restrictions on religion are high or very high in 43% of countries, also a six-year high. Because some of these countries (like China) are very populous, more than 5.3 billion people (76% of the world’s population) live in countries with a high or very high level of restrictions on religion, up from 74% in 2011 and 68% as of mid-2007.

“Among the world’s 25 most populous countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan and Burma (Myanmar) had the most restrictions on religion in 2012… As in previous years, Christians and Muslims – who together make up more than half of the global population – were harassed in the largest number of countries (110 and 109, respectively)…

“The study finds that the share of countries where violence, or the threat of violence, was used to compel people to adhere to religious norms also increased in 2012… Governments used force against religious groups or individuals in nearly half (48%) of the world’s countries in 2012, up from 41% in 2011 and 31% as of mid-2007…”

Religious persecution will continue, including through powerful religious organizations and governmental agencies against religious minorities. The Bible warns of a soon-coming worldwide persecution of God’s true followers.

Large Earthquake in California

On March 10, the Los Angeles Times reported the following:

“The magnitude 6.9 earthquake off the coast of Northern California on Sunday night was the largest on the West Coast since the 7.2 Baja California quake in 2010. Sunday’s temblor was followed by a series of at least 13 aftershocks as large as a magnitude 4.6… The big quake occurred at 10:18 p.m. 50 miles west of Eureka in Humboldt County in the Pacific Ocean. The USGS put the depth of the quake at about four miles. Several of the aftershocks were much closer to land, including one about 16 miles off the coast that registered as a magnitude 3.4…

“The Eureka area is considered seismically active, and there have been similar-sized quakes in the area with some regularity… In 1964, an 8.8 earthquake in Alaska caused catastrophic damage on the North Coast…

“By California standards, Sunday’s quake was large. Two larger recent quakes occurred in remote areas: the 1999 Hector Mines temblor, magnitude 7.1, and the 1992 Landers quake, which was magnitude 7.3.”

The steady increase of strong earthquakes is a sign of the times, indicating the last days and the beginning of sorrows.

Alleged Benefits of Medical Marijuana

On March 6, CNN Health published the following article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent:

“It’s been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them. I have been reminded that a true and productive scientific journey involves a willingness to let go of established notions and get at the truth, even if it is uncomfortable and even it means having to say ‘sorry.’

“It is about emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics override science and patients are caught in the middle. Since our documentary ‘Weed’ aired in August, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

“I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy. I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I’ve seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

“I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana. I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.

“…many doctors and scientists, worried about being ostracized for even discussing the potential of marijuana, called me confidentially to share their own stories of the drug and the benefit it has provided to their patients… Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, defined as ‘the most dangerous’ drugs ‘with no currently accepted medical use.’ Neither of those statements has ever been factual. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana don’t agree with the Schedule I classification, knowing how it’s impeded the ability to conduct needed research on the plant.

“…the United States already holds a patent on medical marijuana…. Patent No. 6630507: Cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma. However, this particular issue still bothers me: How can the government deny the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits? Members of the Food and Drug Administration declined my repeated requests for an interview.

“This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, ‘I don’t think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol.’ And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country… cocaine and methamphetamine are actually more available than marijuana to patients, physicians and medical researchers: They are Schedule II drugs, with recognized medical uses… on average, a person dies every 19 minutes in this country from a legal prescription drug overdose, while it is virtually unheard-of to die from a marijuana overdose…

“I am a father myself, first and foremost. I don’t want my children taking or being offered a psychoactive substance. As a neurosurgeon, I know that the developing brain is more susceptible to the most harmful effects of cannabis and that brain development continues well into our mid-20s… Yes, I know there is a concern that many people out there will feign ailments just to get marijuana. But withholding legitimate treatment for the needy is a very unjust way of addressing that concern.

“As a physician and reporter, I feel a deeper obligation to present the real stories, soundly supported with the science from all over the world. When I first apologized for my previous marijuana reporting, I was thinking about the impact that reporting may have had on Charlotte Figi. She is a sweet little girl whose brain was locked in nearly nonstop seizure activity. Without success, she tried seven different medications, stringent diets and high-dose supplements. Modern medicine had nothing more to offer, which is why her parents turned to an ancient plant. As you know, it worked.

“And, as you will see, she is one of so many patients out there, suffering from different ailments, who believe cannabis rescued them when nothing else did. For conditions like Charlotte’s, the American Epilepsy Society says that there are a million people for whom existing therapies do not control their seizures. The society recently said anecdotes about medical marijuana ‘give reason for hope’ and said it supports ‘well-controlled studies that will lead to a better understanding of the disease and the development of safe and effective treatments.’ You should know that Charlotte continues to do well.

“When I saw her around the holidays, she ran over and gave me a hug. She looked me in the eyes, took me by the hand and led me all around to meet her friends. She is a delightful, happy and now healthy little girl. I know the discussion around this topic will no doubt get heated. I have felt that heat. But I feel a greater responsibility than ever to make sure those heated discussions are also well-informed by science.”

We reported on the alleged benefits of medical marijuana in our Update #624, where we said:

“If it is true that medical marijuana—especially those products in the form of oil with a greatly reduced or eliminated amount of THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana)–help patients who are suffering from serious and otherwise ‘untreatable’ diseases, such as cancer, kidney failure or epilepsy, then the federal law’s all-encompassing universal prohibition of the same seems to be highly suspect. Sadly, the desire of many to allow and legalize marijuana for ‘recreational’ improper personal purposes has clouded or even suppressed the recognition of a need for research regarding a potentially beneficial medical use of certain marijuana products with virtually no THC.”

The statements in the above-quoted article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta support our comments, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. government denies “the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits.” This is not merely suspect—it appears to be driven by ulterior (monetary) motives and/or highly hypocritical conduct.

The Budapest Memorandum

Daily Mail wrote on March 1:

“A treaty signed in 1994 by the US and Britain could pull both countries into a war to protect Ukraine if Putin’s troops intervene. Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma – the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine – agreed to the… Budapest Memorandum as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“Technically it means that if Russia has invaded Ukraine then it would be difficult for the US and Britain to avoid going to war.”

This conclusion is not compelling. Note the next article.

What Exactly Is the “Budapest Memorandum”?

Voice of America wrote on March 2:

“The ‘Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances’ is a diplomatic memorandum that was signed in December 1994 by Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is not a formal treaty, but rather, a diplomatic document under which signatories made promises to each other as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“Under the memorandum, Ukraine promised to remove all Soviet-era nuclear weapons from its territory, send them to disarmament facilities in Russia, and sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Ukraine kept these promises. In return, Russia and the Western signatory countries essentially consecrated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine as an independent state. They did so by applying the principles of territorial integrity and nonintervention in [the] 1975 Helsinki Final Act — a Cold War-era treaty signed by 35 states including the Soviet Union — to an independent post-Soviet Ukraine…

“In the ‘Budapest Memorandum,’ Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States promised that none of them would ever threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. They also pledged that none of them would ever use economic coercion to subordinate Ukraine to their own interest. They specifically pledged they would refrain from making each other’s territory the object of military occupation or engage in other uses of force in violation of international law…

“Is there anything legally binding about the ‘Budapest Memorandum’ regarding Russia’s obligations to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity? ‘That’s actually a much more complex question than it may sound. It is binding in international law, but that doesn’t mean it has any means of enforcement,’ says Barry Kellman, a professor of law and director of the International Weapons Control Center at DePaul University’s College of Law…

“Kellman concludes that there are a host of other sources of international law that oblige Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity — including the provisions of the CSCE treaty and the UN Charter.”

Russia Takes Crimea Without a Shot

The Associated Press reported on March 2:

“Igniting a tense standoff, Russian forces surrounded a Ukrainian army base Sunday just as the country began mobilizing its military in response to the surprise Russian takeover of Crimea. Outrage over Russia’s tactics mounted in world capitals, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling on President Vladimir Putin to pull back from ‘an incredible act of aggression.’ Fearing that Europe’s borders were being rewritten by force, world leaders rushed to find a diplomatic solution to reverse what had already happened on the ground: Russia captured the Black Sea peninsula on Saturday without firing a shot…

“Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine. His confidence is matched by the knowledge that Ukraine’s 46 million people have divided loyalties between Russia and Europe. While much of western Ukraine wants closer ties with the 28-nation European Union, its eastern and southern regions like Crimea look to Russia for support.

“Russia has long wanted to reclaim the lush Crimean Peninsula, which was part of its territory until 1954. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet pays Ukraine millions every year to be stationed at the Crimean port of Sevastopol and nearly 60 percent of Crimea’s residents identify themselves as Russian…”

Putin seems to think that no earthly power will stop him at this point.

Ukraine Mobilizes Its Troops Against Russia

The Independent wrote on March 2:

“Ukraine’s acting Prime Minister described the country as being on the ‘brink of disaster’ while his government ordered the full mobilisation of its army in response to Russian military movements across the peninsula…

“Kiev had asked its forces in Crimea, numbering around 3,500 and facing up to 30,000 better-armed Russians, not to ‘react to provocation’.”

A war between Russia and Ukraine would result in total subjection of Ukraine towards Russia. Whether anyone would intervene militarily to assist Ukraine in such a war against Russia is highly doubtful.

Putin’s “Defense” and His “Contact Group”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 3:

“Russian President Putin has agreed to a proposal from the German chancellor to form a ‘fact-finding’ mission to calm tensions with Ukraine. The move follows Western outcry over his deployment of troops to Crimea… Even though Putin defended his decision – directing Merkel’s ‘attention to the unrelenting threat of violence…to Russian citizens and the whole Russian-speaking population [in Ukrainian territory]’ – he also agreed to work with her to curb the diplomatic crisis. ‘President Putin accepted the German chancellor’s proposal to immediately establish a commission of enquiry as well as a contact group, possibly under the direction of the [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] to open a political dialogue,’ a statement from Berlin said… US President Barack Obama reportedly discussed the turmoil in Ukraine with Chancellor Merkel after her call with Putin, according to Reuters news agency…

“While Kerry derided what he called Russia’s ‘brazen act of aggression,’ he stopped short of threatening US military involvement… Ukrainian authorities also launched a treason case against the newly-appointed head of the navy, who announced on Sunday he had switched allegiance to Crimea’s pro-Russian regional leaders. In a televised statement, Denis Berezovsky said he ‘swears allegiance to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea’ and told Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms.”

Putin is good in playing politics, but can he be trusted? Many observers feel that his goal is to bring former Soviet Union satellite states back into “Mother Russia’s” fold, and being aware of the present weakness of the West, he might have concluded that he can’t be stopped at this moment. Europe realizes that they cannot rely on the USA, and this will motivate them to unite militarily. This then will bring about further swift fulfillment of end-time biblical prophecy.

Putin Detached From Reality?

The New York Times wrote on March 2:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told Mr. Obama by telephone on Sunday that after speaking with Mr. Putin she was not sure he was in touch with reality, people briefed on the call said. ‘In another world,’ she said.”

Putin’s Twists and Turns—While Putting the World on Notice

BBC News reported on March 4:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need yet to send troops into Ukraine, but that Moscow is ready to protect its citizens. His comments come as armed men, who Mr Putin says are not Russian troops but pro-Russian self-defence groups, surround army bases in Crimea…

“Meanwhile, two Ukrainian warships are reported to be blocked by a Russian ship in the port of Sevastopol… Ukraine says some 16,000 Russian troops have arrived in Crimea in recent days… Mr Putin said the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych last month following mass protests was an ‘anti-constitutional coup and armed seizure of power’. He also insisted that Mr Yanukovych – whom Ukraine’s parliament voted to impeach on 22 February – was still the legitimate president…

“Ukraine was in ‘chaos’, he said, with ‘nationalists’ and ‘anti-Semites’ roaming the streets of Kiev and other cities. If Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine asked for Russia’s help, or if there were signs of anarchy, ‘we reserve the right to use all means,’ he said. He accused the West of encouraging the street protests.”

On March 4, 2014, the German mass tabloid, Bild, published an article about Putin’s “seven lies,” accusing him of blatantly and intentionally misrepresenting the truth. Along the same lines, CNN reported on March 4 that “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of making up reasons for intervention in Ukraine, saying Tuesday ‘not a single piece of credible evidence supports any one of these claims.’”

Russian Retaliation and Pretext?

Reuters reported on March 4:

“Russia said on Tuesday that it would retaliate if the United States imposed sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine… In Kiev on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday condemned Russia’s ‘act of aggression’ in Ukraine and said Moscow, which has taken control of the Crimea region, was looking for a pretext to invade more of the country.”

Crimea Ready To Join Russia?

BBC News reported on March 6:

“MPs in Crimea have asked Moscow to allow the southern Ukrainian region to become part of the Russian Federation. The parliament said if its request was granted, Crimean citizens could give their view in a referendum on 16 March… The Crimean parliament resolved ‘to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation’. It said it had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘to start the procedure’.”

“Russia China Unite”

With this headline, the Drudge Report linked to the following article by Sky News, dated March 5:

“Russia has said China is largely ‘in agreement’ over Ukraine, after other world powers condemned Moscow for sending troops into the country… Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine by telephone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Monday, and claimed they had ‘broadly coinciding points of view’ on the situation there, according to a ministry statement…

“As the tense stand-off continues, the other seven nations of the G8 urged Moscow to hold talks with Kiev. ‘We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,’ they said in a statement. ‘We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June.’

“British Foreign Secretary William Hague… said Russia has taken operational control of Crimea. He described Russia’s intervention in Ukraine as the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century.”

“Worst Crisis Since Berlin Wall”

The Local wrote on March 3:

“Russia’s intervention means ‘the threat of a division of Europe is real again,’ Steinmeier said… ‘But now is time for diplomacy. Diplomacy does not mean weakness but is more needed than ever to prevent us from being drawn into the abyss of military escalation,’ he said… The German minister said ‘the situation in Ukraine worsens every day and so far, an end to the escalation is not seen’…

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert…  said he saw ‘no military option’ and that the German government ‘is not thinking in military terms’ about the crisis… ‘I don’t want to rule anything in or rule anything out,’ said British Minister for Europe David Lidington… Late on Sunday Germany said Putin had accepted an offer from Merkel to set up a ‘contact group’ with Ukraine over the crisis, but Moscow did not confirm the German reports…

“Merkel told Putin the intervention was a violation of a 1994 Budapest memorandum on security assurances in which Russia committed itself to respecting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine in its existing borders, as well as the 1997 treaty on the Russian Black Sea fleet, based in Crimea…”

No German Trust in Russia

The Local reported on March 6:

“A third of Germans expect there to be an armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia over Crimea, according to a poll on Thursday. It comes on a day of frenzied diplomacy by Germany to defuse the crisis. The poll from public broadcaster ARD also showed that trust in Russia among Germans had sunk to its lowest ever recorded level… Meanwhile, Germany’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Putin to discuss the Crimea crisis…

“The EU is discussing possible sanctions against Russia… The US announced the first sanctions against Russia on Thursday lunchtime with visa restrictions against Russian officials.”

America Without Any Real Options

The Washington Times wrote on March 2:

“… the U.S. appears to have few effective options to punish Russia for its actions, which Ukrainian officials consider to be ‘a declaration of war.’ Mr. Kerry who appeared on four Sunday political talk shows, stressed that all options are on the table, but it’s clear military force is unlikely. Instead, the U.S. and its allies are considering economic sanctions and a suspension of the nearly $40 billion-per-year U.S.-Russia  trade relationship. In another move of condemnation, the U.S. and its key allies… have halted planning efforts for the June meeting of the Group of Eight, set for Sochi…

“But those moves, if they come to fruition, may not sway Russia, some analysts say. For Mr. Putin… punishment from the international community may pale in comparison with the benefits of annexing key parts of Ukraine and expanding his influence across the old Soviet bloc. ‘Russia believes there is nothing going to stop them, which is why they’ve become so aggressive in Crimea. There is not a lot of options on the table and, candidly, and I’m a fairly hawkish guy, sending more naval forces to operate in the Black Sea is not really a very good idea,’ said Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, speaking during an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ ‘Unless you’re intending to use them, I wouldn’t send them…’”

USA, UK and France May Boycott G8 Meetings in Russia

Reuters reported on March 2:

“Britain will suspend its participation in preparations for a G8 meeting in Sochi after Russia violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Sunday. The United States has already said it will not take part in the meetings, and a source in President Francois Hollande’s office said France has also pulled out.

“Western countries are scrambling to respond to developments in Ukraine’s Crimea… ‘The United Kingdom will join other G8 countries this week in suspending our co-operation under the G8, which Russia chairs this year, including … meetings this week for the preparation of the G8 summit,’ Hague told media…”

The G8 countries include the US, Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Whether or not the G8 countries will meet; whether the other countries will speak to Russia or not—Vladimir Putin will do what HE wants to do.

“Why Is Britain Running Away from Europe?”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 28:

“Great Britain used to play a key role in leading Europe, and the benefits have been substantial. But now, the UK is turning its back on the EU and has chosen to focus on peripheral issues…

“In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill called for the creation of a ‘United States of Europe’ to bind France and Germany together. In doing so, he made clear that Britain would be a supportive but independent partner of any such entity. He famously said: ‘We are with Europe but not of it.’ In the end, Britain did join the European Economic Community but only in 1973, 15 years after the Treaty of Rome was signed…

“In other words: Britain was always a bit late to the party. But once it found its way to Belgium, Britain had an uncanny knack of winning the big strategic battles. It is therefore a puzzle that the current British government has diverted its attention from winning the next round of key policy debates in Brussels and, instead, focused on a pointless exercise of seeking treaty change to repatriate powers.

“… the UK has seen its leadership role in Brussels diminish…  Britain is losing more votes in the European Council than at any point in recent history…”

Whether Britain is running away from continental Europe or being pushed out, it will not be part of the prophesied member states of core Europe.

How Corporate America Defeated Arizona Bill Regarding Homosexuals

The Associated Press wrote on February 27:

“Voicing concern for their employees, customers and bottom lines, prominent companies from American Airlines to Verizon used threats of reduced business to help convince Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto legislation that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to gays based on the owner’s religious beliefs…

“The measure Brewer vetoed Wednesday night would have allowed people to cite their religious beliefs as a defense against claims of discrimination. She faced intense pressure from gay rights supporters, prominent politicians and local businesses. But ultimately, it might have been the national business community that tipped the scales…

“American Airlines CEO Doug Parker suggested his airline would cut flights… Verizon CEO Lowell C. McAdam also flexed some muscle… Other companies, such as Intel, PetSmart, American Express, eBay and GoDaddy joined with local and state chambers of commerce and other business collations, signing letters in opposition to the bill, known as SB 1062.”

Other companies mentioned in the article which opposed the bill were Yelp, Marriott, Southwest Airlines and Starwood Hotels.

Obama Warns Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on March 2:

“Israel can expect to face international isolation and possible sanctions from countries and companies across the world if Benjamin Netanyahu fails to endorse a framework agreement with the Palestinians, US President Barack Obama cautioned on Sunday… Obama stressed that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal, and added that he believed Netanyahu had the capacity to rally Israel’s citizens behind an agreement…

“The president went on to condemn in no uncertain terms Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank, and said that though his allegiance to the Jewish state was permanent, building settlements across the Green Line was counterproductive and would make it extremely difficult for the US to defend Israel from painful repercussions in the international community…”

Ultimately, the USA will withdraw all support from Israel.

President Obama’s Scary Interview

The Weekly Standard wrote on March 3:

“President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Jeffrey Goldberg that shows a chief executive who has learned next to nothing about the world in his five years in office… what emerged is an awful portrait of the president and his conception of the world.

“Take Syria. Here’s what Obama said: ‘I think those who believe that two years ago, or three years ago, there was some swift resolution to this thing had we acted more forcefully, fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the conflict in Syria and the conditions on the ground there. … nobody has been able to persuade me that us taking large-scale military action even absent boots on the ground, would actually solve the problem. And those who make that claim do so without a lot of very specific information.’

“Who are these people who have inadequate information, misunderstand the conflict in Syria, and think there is much more the United States could have done? They include both of Obama’s secretaries of state, Clinton and Kerry, his former defense secretary Leon Panetta, and his former CIA director David Petraeus—all of whom wanted much more U.S. support for the Syrian rebels…

“On Israel, Obama was harsh and unfriendly to Netanyahu… Mr. Obama says this: ‘Palestinians would still prefer peace. They would still prefer a country of their own that allows them to find a job, send their kids to school, travel overseas, go back and forth to work without feeling as if they are restricted or constrained as a people.’ If they would also prefer freedom of the press and of speech, and free elections, and an independent court system, and a government that does not steal their money, well, that isn’t of much interest to Mr. Obama. It isn’t even worth mentioning. So he would give the Palestinians the ‘dignity’ that led to oppression and uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, and seems to have no interest in the actual conditions of political life in the state he would create…

“As to that ‘aggressive settlement construction,’ it is worth noting that at Obama’s request Netanyahu suspended construction in settlements for ten months in 2009. Apparently that gesture, its political cost for Netanyahu, and the fact that it gained Netanyahu and Israeli absolutely nothing from the Palestinians or the Europeans, is now forgotten…

“When it comes to Iran, Obama shows an attitude that can only be described as solipsistic: what’s in his mind is reality. And any other reality is just plain silly… It’s pretty obvious to all analysts that Iran does not fear an American military strike much these days, especially after Mr. Obama’s failure to act in Syria last summer. But Obama denies it, referring to himself in the third person as someone ‘who has shown himself willing to take military action.’ Drones, sure; a quick raid as well. But in Libya and Syria, he showed himself extremely reluctant to take military action…

“Goldberg pushes him, asking why (as is obvious) no one in the Gulf believes Obama. ‘I don’t think it is personal,’ says the president; the problem is them, not him, and his analysis is therapeutic: change is always scary, and they are having trouble catching up with it.  But talk with Gulf Arabs and one finds quickly that it is in fact quite personal: they don’t trust Mr. Obama. They believe his handling of Iran and Syria and for that matter of Russia have made the world a more dangerous place.

“Change is apparently not scary to Mr. Obama, who is confident all his policies are right. Those who disagree are uninformed, or itching for conflict, or ignorant about the risks they will soon face, or sadly unable to adapt to world events. This is the Obama who said of his own nomination that ‘this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.’ If he believes it, it must be so. The Goldberg interview reveals that five years in, nothing has changed.”

To be clear, we most certainly do not support any military action or violence on either side. But we are quoting the article to show how the world perceives America and its “leadership.” From that standpoint, as Mr. Putin is apparently not in touch with reality, maybe Mr. Obama isn’t either…

Persecution of German Homeschoolers

The Associated Press reported on March 3:

“The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a German family seeking asylum in the United States because their home country does not allow home-schooling. The justices rejected an appeal from Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, who claim the German government is persecuting them because they want to raise their children in accordance with their Christian beliefs.

“The family moved to Morristown, Tenn., in 2008 after facing fines and threats for refusing to send their children to a state-approved school, as required by Germany’s compulsory attendance law. They say German laws violate international human rights standards. Last year, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that claim…”

WorldNetDaily added on March 4:

“The penalties [in Germany] are based on a Hitler-era law [enacted in 1938] that the German government still enforces against homeschooling. The Romeikes said they chose homeschooling because of anti-Christian and cult beliefs being taught in the public schools.

“The Obama administration successfully fought to overturn the federal judge’s decision that would have given the family permission to remain in the U.S. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the Romeike family was granted asylum in 2010 by a federal immigration judge who found that ‘Germany’s treatment of the family amounted to persecution.’… But on the request of the Obama administration, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided against the family, saying Germany was just enforcing its law… Justice Department officials… contended that Germany wasn’t persecuting homeschoolers, just applying the Hitler-era laws to everyone…

“Thomas Schirrmacher, executive chair of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, who is based in Germany, recently touched on the homeschooling law in a lecture on religious freedom. Germans, of all people, should know better, he said. ‘The fact that the laws of a nation make something lawful doesn’t make it right,’ he told the organization… He noted that the law against homeschooling was never changed after the war…

“In Germany, children having been seized from their parents in several cases, most recently last September when armed police officers equipped with a battering ram forcibly took four children from German parents Dirk and Petra Wunderlich because they were being homeschooled. WND reported later the children were return[ed] to the parents after they were given no choice but to agree to have the children begin attending public school classes…”

Breitbart wrote on March 4:

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has verbally informed the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) that the Romeike family, German homeschoolers who sought legal asylum in the United States, has been granted indefinite deferred action status, which means that the order for their removal from the United States will not be acted upon… the U.S. Supreme Court had denied the Romeike family’s petition for certiorari, or review. According to a press release Tuesday by HSLDA, however, news of the Supreme Court’s denial sparked ‘an immediate and unprecedented reaction.’

“Fox News informed HSLDA that it recorded one million page views of the story about the Romeike family within 24 hours – an all-time high. ‘We are happy to have indefinite status even though we won’t be able to get American citizenship any time soon,’ said Uwe Romeike. ‘As long as we can live at peace here, we are happy. We have always been ready to go wherever the Lord would lead us – and I know my citizenship isn’t really on earth. This has always been about our children…’ Before fleeing to the U.S. in 2008, the Romeike parents had been threatened with thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time in Germany because they chose to homeschool their children…”

But what would have happened if the American public would not have overwhelmingly shown their support for the Romeike family? And what about the many other German families who are being forced to have their children “educated” in a public school system which seems to become more and more hostile towards minority religions?

Former Ukraine President in Hiding—Russia VERY Unhappy

AFP wrote on February 24:

“Ukraine issued an arrest warrant Monday for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych over the ‘mass murder’ of protesters and appealed for $35 billion in Western aid to pull the crisis-hit country from the brink of economic collapse. The dramatic announcements by the ex-Soviet nation’s new Western-leaning team — approved by parliament over a chaotic weekend that saw the pro-Russian leader go into hiding — came as a top EU envoy arrived in Kiev to buttress its sudden tilt away from Moscow…

“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev issued one of Moscow’s firmest responses to date by condemning the ‘armed mutiny’ in Ukraine… Russia’s finance minister added to the pressure by warning that Moscow would have to raise duties on its goods if Kiev reversed Yanukovych’s decision and still signed the EU partnership pact… Russia’s anxiety about the changes sweeping its western neighbour were underscored Sunday when it recalled ambassador Mikhail Zurabov ‘due to the escalation of the situation in Ukraine’.”

Ukraine’s New Leadership on Collision Course with Russia

Deutsche Welle reported on February 26:

“Ukraine’s new pro-Western leadership has disbanded the feared riot police blamed for killing protesters. In a sign of tension with the West, Russia ordered a military drill to test the country’s combat readiness… The 46 million-strong nation’s sudden shift to a pro-Western government has fueled United States and Euopean Union tensions with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of his country’s armed forces… The district lies on the border with Ukraine…

“Far-right opposition protesters played a significant role in the protests that unseated Yanukovych. In particular, Lavrov cited the attempts of Ukraine’s new leadership to ban the Russian language in the country, restore Ukrainian as the obligatory language in official documents, and turn the ‘Russian-speaking population into “non-citizens”.’

“The change in power has also raised fears that the southern Crimea peninsula, a Russian-speaking region where Yanukovych is believed to have gone into hiding, could secede. The port city of Sevastopol has already seen pro-Russian protests and further demonstrations were held Wednesday…”

Russia and Ukraine—How Will it Play Out?

The New York Times wrote on February 23:

“The sudden collapse of the Kremlin-backed government in Ukraine has for now delivered a profound setback to President Vladimir V. Putin’s strategy to deepen political and economic ties with the country and thus keep it from embracing Europe… Mr. Putin now faces the task of reasserting Russia’s influence in a country that it considers a fraternal ally, one with deep cultural, social and political connections that bind it to Moscow’s orbit regardless of its new government.

“Russia still has enormous leverage and close allies in Ukraine, particularly in the east and on the Crimea Peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a sizable ethnic Russian population that views the leaders of the political uprising that toppled President Viktor F. Yanukovych with disdain. That has raised fears that Russia would use the disenchanted populations there as a pretext to intervene to reverse Ukraine’s new trajectory — even militarily, as the Kremlin did in two ethnic enclaves in 2008 in another former Soviet republic, Georgia.

“The fears have been so palpable — and the subject of endless speculation in Ukraine and here in Russia — that President Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, warned in a television interview on Sunday that it ‘would be a grave mistake’ for Russia to use force…

“How exactly Russia responds remains to be seen, but the turmoil is certain to further strain relations with Europe and the United States, which officials here have denounced for meddling in Ukraine at the expense of Russia’s vital interests. At the same time, the United States and Europe have accused Russia of trying to impose its will there…”

Putin Gets Tough in Moscow

The Daily Mail wrote on February 24:

“Russian president Vladimir Putin risked accusations of stifling dissent in Moscow today as police cracked down on a rally in support of a group [of] anti-government protesters facing jail. At least 100 were detained outside a courthouse in central Moscow where the defendants were sentenced today in the first protest since the fall of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich following protests there.

“Among those arrested were Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, from Pussy Riot, the dissident punk band. Putin is rumoured to be sheltering the ousted leader, an ally of the Kremlin, in the Crimea, a majority Russian area of Ukraine where the Russian Black Sea naval fleet is based.

“Today there were the first signs of support for the Ukraine demonstrations in Moscow, during a demonstration outside a court where opposition activists are being sentenced… Putin, who staked his reputation on the Olympics, engineered the release of long-jailed ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and two women from protest band Pussy Riot in December, moves widely seen as an effort to improve his image before the Games.”

Russia Is Getting More and More Involved

The New York Times wrote on February 27:

“Viktor F. Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, declared on Thursday that he remained the lawful president of the country and appealed to Russia to ‘secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.’ Russian news agencies reported that he had already arrived in Russia…

“Mr. Yanukovych’s remarks were his first since he appeared in a video on Saturday night after fleeing Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, for eastern Ukraine. His defiance of the country’s new interim leaders only deepened the political turmoil in the country and threatened to draw Russia more deeply into the conflict.

“Mr. Yanukovych, in a letter published by news agencies here, went on to suggest that largely Russian regions of Ukraine – including the east and Crimea – did not accept ‘the anarchy and outright lawlessness’ that had gripped the country and said that orders by the new authorities to use the armed forces to impose order were unlawful. He clearly meant the response to pro-Russia demonstrations in Crimea, which took an ugly turn on Thursday morning when armed gunmen seized control of the regional Parliament in Simferopol [and raised the Russian flag there]…

“Russia has denounced the political upheaval in Kiev and refused to recognize the interim government… With Mr. Yanukovych apparently under Russian protection, and still calling himself Ukraine’s legitimate leader, Russia now finds itself in a worsening confrontation with Europe and the United States, which have promised political and economic support for the new leaders in Kiev…”

The Associated Press added on February 27:

“Russia scrambled fighter jets to patrol its border and reportedly gave shelter to Ukraine’s fugitive president as pro-Russian gunmen stormed offices of Ukraine’s strategic region, deepening the crisis for the new Ukrainian government even as it was being formed.

“The moves pose an immediate challenge to Ukraine’s new authorities as they seek to set up an interim government for the country, whose population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West. Ukraine’s new prime minister said the country’s future lies in the European Union but with friendly relations with Russia…

“Oleksandr Turchynov, who stepped in as acting president after Yanukovych’s flight, condemned the takeover of government buildings in Crimea as a ‘crime against the government of Ukraine.’ He warned that any move by Russian troops off of their base in Crimea ‘will be considered a military aggression. Unidentified people with automatic weapons, explosives and grenades have taken over the governmental buildings and the Parliament building in the autonomous region of Crimea,’ he said. ‘I have given orders to the military to use all methods necessary to protect the citizens, punish the criminals, and to free the buildings.’…

“Shortly before the lawmakers chose him as the leader of the new Cabinet, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine doesn’t want a fight with Russia, but insisted the country wouldn’t accept the secession of the southern Crimea region… The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced concern Thursday about the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and vowed to protect their interests…”

No to Tymoshenko?

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 24:

“While Ukraine went through its dramatic revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko was stuck in jail. Now she wants to be president. But many protesters say the former opposition leader doesn’t represent the change they fought for… Tymoshenko’s return to politics brings with it a potential for conflict… Neither her disputed trial nor her conviction in 2011 ever really mobilized the people, with only a few hundred people ever present to call for her release. It seems the West was far more interested in her fate than her own people.

“What’s more, many Ukrainians hold Tymoshenko partly responsible for the failure of the Orange Revolution in 2004… Conflict is also on the horizon with fellow opposition figure and world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. Relations between the two have been tense for years… Both Tymoshenko and Klitschko have presidential ambitions, and both have made those public…”

Obama and NSA Have Not Learned Any Lessons

AFP wrote on February 24:

“US intelligence has stepped up eavesdropping on hundreds of key figures in Germany, including a government minister, after Chancellor Angela Merkel was dropped as a direct target, a German report said Sunday. Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that 320 political and business leaders in Germany were being monitored by the US National Security Agency (NSA), including Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. ‘We have the order not to allow any loss of information whatsoever after the communication of the chancellor no longer being able to be directly monitored,’ Bild quoted an unnamed high-ranking US intelligence employee in Germany as saying.

“US-German ties soured amid revelations leaked by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden that US intelligence agencies had allegedly eavesdropped on Merkel and collected vast amounts of online data and telephone records from average citizens. Last month, US President Barack Obama said the US intelligence service would continue to spy on foreign governments but assured Merkel that he would not let intrusive surveillance harm their relationship.”

Europe and Brazil vs. USA

Reuters reported on February 24:

“Brazil and the European Union agreed on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil’s reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia. At a summit in Brussels, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the $185 million cable project was central to ‘guarantee the neutrality’ of the Internet, signaling her desire to shield Brazil’s Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance…

“EU leaders are sympathetic to Brazil’s call following the revelations of fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that showed the agency also eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone and some EU institutions… Brussels is threatening the suspension of EU-U.S. agreements for data transfers unless Washington increases guarantees for the protection of EU citizens’ data…

“Rousseff clearly took heart from Merkel’s calls this month for a European Internet that is protected from U.S. surveillance, even if there are questions about the practicalities of setting up alternative networks in Europe. Rousseff said Brazil and the European Union have ‘similar concerns’ about U.S. dominance of fiber-optic cables and hoped to have a cable running from the Portuguese capital Lisbon to the northeastern Brazilian of Fortaleza from next year…

“Brazil, one of the world’s largest and most influential emerging economies, is ready to do a deal. It is backed by Uruguay and Paraguay but the question is whether Argentina, one of the most protectionist members of the Group of 20 countries, will join in opening its economy to greater EU imports.”

German Supreme Court Abolishes Three Percent Threshold for European Parliament

Deutsche Welle reported on February 26:

“The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday ruled that the current 3 percent threshold required to secure seats in the European Parliament is unconstitutional, abolishing the hurdle altogether… The decision now opens the door to smaller and fringe parties winning seats in the May 25 poll that will see 96 German lawmakers elected – the largest national contingent. Polls have suggested fringe groups would poll well in many countries in the upcoming elections.

“These parties include the Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD), the anti-establishment Pirate Party, Free Voters and the Ecological Democratic Party. The decision could also see the country’s far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) winning seats in May.

“National voting systems for the EU Parliament differ across the 28 member states with most – including Britain, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands – having no threshold at all. The maximum threshold allowed under EU law is 5 percent, which eight nations have, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania.”

As we can clearly see, out of the multitude of European nations within the EU, a core Europe of ten nations or groups of nations will have to develop.

Iranian-Iraqi Weapons Deal

Reuters reported on February 24:

“Iran has signed a deal to sell Iraq arms and ammunition worth $195 million, according to documents seen by Reuters – a move that would break a U.N. embargo on weapons sales by Tehran. The agreement was reached at the end of November, the documents showed, just weeks after Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returned from Washington, where he lobbied the Obama administration for extra weapons to fight al Qaeda-linked militants… Several Iraqi lawmakers said Maliki had made the deal because he was fed up with delays to U.S. arms deliveries…

“The Iranian government denied any knowledge of a deal to sell arms to Iraq. It would be the first official arms deal between Shi’ite Iran and Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government and highlight the growing bond between them in the two years since the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq…

“The official documents seen by Reuters showed that six of eight contracts were signed with Iran’s Defense Industries Organization to supply Iraq with light and medium arms, mortar launchers, ammunition for tanks as well as artillery and mortars. A final two contracts were agreed to with the state-owned Iran Electronic Industries for night vision goggles, communications equipment and mortar guiding devices… Officials from the Iraqi and Iranian defense ministries signed the agreements, according to the documents. They did not list a timetable for deliveries and it was not possible to confirm whether they had taken place.”

AFP wrote on February 21:

“A prominent hardline cleric in Iran warned on Friday against the Islamic republic resuming ties with the United States, and said any attempt to do so would prove futile… ‘Our people are anti-American…’ His comments sparked chants of ‘Death to the America!’ and ‘Death to Israel!’ from the thousands of Friday worshippers.

“Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all Iranian state matters including foreign policy and the nuclear issue… The most remarkable development to date was a 15-minute telephone conversation between [President Hassan] Rouhani and his US counterpart Barack Obama in New York in September… Khamenei later said he deemed part of Rouhani’s New York trip as inappropriate, but without referring directly to the phone call.”

These developments are interesting. As we point out in our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy,” Iran (biblical Elam) will fight against Israel [the state of Israel and also possibly the USA] and we also read that at the time of Christ’s return, “the remnant” of His people [remnants from the ancient houses of Israel and Judah] will be “left” in countries such as Shinar (Iraq) and recovered from there (Isaiah 11:11).

Israel at War with Lebanon’s Hezbollah

The Associated Press and JTA reported on February 27:

“Israel has allegedly opened a new front in its attempts to halt weapons smuggling to Hezbollah, striking one of the group’s positions inside Lebanon for the first time since the sides fought a war eight years ago. This week’s alleged airstrike, apparently meant to prevent the Islamic militant group from obtaining sophisticated missiles, is part of a risky policy that could easily backfire by triggering retaliation…

“With a lack of good choices, Israel has avoided taking sides in the Syrian war, and in the short term, is content watching the two sides beat each other up. But in the long run, officials have expressed concerns about the battlefield expertise that Hezbollah has gained…

“Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian war is highly controversial and divisive in Lebanon and has eaten away at the group’s wider base. But Hezbollah remains a formidable force in Lebanon, and has two ministers in the current national unity government that was recently formed following 11 months of impasse… The likelihood of retaliation is just one of the shortcomings of the Israeli airstrike policy. It also appears that the strikes have failed to halt the flow of arms to Hezbollah. In recent days, Israeli military officials have acknowledged that Hezbollah has likely succeeded in sneaking sophisticated weapons into Lebanon.”

The Rocky Israeli-German Relationship

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 24:

“German public opinion of Israel is slumping… There is growing public and political disillusionment over Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian neighbors… A recent BBC poll showed that only 14 percent of Germans today had a positive view of Israel. ‘I think German public opinion is actually worse than what’s shown in the polls because Germans don’t publicly state their opinion, they play it down,’ said Israel’s former ambassador to Germany and the European Union, Avi Primor. ‘The Germans are still very aware of their Nazi past, particularly Merkel who is originally from East Germany, so she has a bad conscience from the past but this is changing and you can’t ignore the growing public opinion,’ he told DW…

“A senior Israeli official confirmed to DW that recent phone calls between Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during and since the P5+1 meetings on Iran had escalated to shouting and disagreements. The most divisive issue between the two countries is over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank…

“Germany is Israel’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China and if relations deteriorate, trade could be impacted said former ambassador Avi Primor. ‘Germany is totally indispensable to Israel – Germany has many pro-Israel policies, but I think this is gradually fading and if nothing in the Middle East changes it will get worse.’”

Will Israel Turn Over Control of Mount Zion to Catholic Church?

WorldNetDaily wrote on February 22, 2014:

“Israel could be entering the final stages of negotiations to turn over control of Mount Zion to the Vatican, according to a report by Israel National News. According to the online news source, a secretive meeting took place this week between the Jerusalem Municipality, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Tourism and senior Catholic officials. During the meeting, the Catholic delegation reportedly pressed Israel to follow through on a years-old proposal to give the Church control over the compound that houses the traditional ‘Hall of the Last Supper.’

“The problem is that the same compound also houses the traditional ‘Tomb of David,’ a holy site revered and frequented by religious Jews. Not to mention that Mount Zion is symbolic of Jerusalem as a whole, and surrendering it to the Vatican would be seen by many Israelis as a repudiation of Judaism’s claim to the city.

“In response to reports regarding the negotiations, the Jerusalem Municipality released a statement insisting that it would remain ‘the central sovereign power on Mount Zion.’ Others are not so sure, and believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to turn over control of Mount Zion prior to Pope Francis’ visit to the Holy Land in May.”

Israeli Lawmaker Debate Temple Mount Sovereignty

JTA reported on February 25:

“Jews should be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, Likud party members said at a volatile Knesset debate on the right of non-Muslims to pray at the holy site. More than 30 Israeli lawmakers, from the right and left wings, asked to speak at the special session on Tuesday. Most of the Arab-Israeli lawmakers protested the debate by not attending the session. ‘I call on the government to apply the full sovereignty of the State of Israel in the entire Temple Mount,’ said the Likud’s Moshe Feiglin, who requested the debate. ‘I call on the Israeli government to allow free access to any Jew to the Temple Mount through any gate, and allow them to pray.’”

“… Zahava Gal-on, head of the Meretz party, said that while she believes Jews have a right to pray on the Temple Mount, it must be done in consultation with the agreement of the Arab world, the Times of Israel reported. She called Feiglin’s proposal ‘a match that could ignite the powder keg on which the Middle East rests,’ and said extending Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount would harm the peace process.

“The site is overseen by the Muslim Wakf, the Muslim religious administration charged with managing the Temple Mount site, which is holy to Jews and Muslims. Jews generally are not permitted by the Wakf to pray or bring any ritual objects to the Temple Mount. Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian youths rioted on the Temple Mount in response to the session, resulting in three arrests and injuries to two Israeli police officers.”

Jordan Responds to Israel’s Debate on Temple Mount Sovereignty

The Times of Israel wrote on February 27:

“Jordan warned Wednesday that it might review a 1994 peace treaty with Israel after Israeli MPs began a debate on allowing Jewish prayers at Jerusalem’s sensitive Temple Mount. ‘If Israel wants to violate the peace treaty in this issue, the entire treaty, its articles, details and wording will be put on the table,’ Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper in an interview. Under the peace treaty, Jordan is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

“Ensour’s remarks, quoted by state-run Petra news agency, came as Jordan’s parliament passed a motion urging the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to the kingdom, Daniel Nevo. ‘Such Israeli attempts would lead to the destruction of the peace treaty as the international community is pushing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians,’ government spokesman Mohammad Momnai told Petra. ‘The Jordanian custodianship is not a privilege granted by Israel. It is the Hashemites’ historic responsibility that is emphasised in the peace treaty.’

“Last year, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement to confirm a verbal deal dating back to 1924 that gave the kingdom custodianship over Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites. The Jordanian parliament’s vote followed a motion the previous day signed by 47 MPs demanding that the peace treaty with Israel be scrapped. ‘All deputies who attended a meeting today to discuss Israel’s debate on sovereignty over Al-Aqsa voted to kick out the Israeli envoy and recall the Jordanian ambassador in Israel (Walid Obeidat),’ prominent lower house deputy Khalil Attieh told AFP.”

Popes Francis and Benedict

Deutsche Welle reported on February 22:

“Pope Francis has appointed Catholic leaders from some the world’s smallest and poorest nations to the College of Cardinals. Former Pope Benedict XVI also joined the ceremony in a rare public outing… Two are from Africa, two from Asia and six from Francis’ native Latin America, which is home to nearly half the world’s Catholics. However, Latin American leadership is grossly underrepresented in the church’s hierarchy. German Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller is also among those appointed.

“Surprising the congregation, former pope Benedict XVI, who retired last year, made a rare public appearance at the ceremony. He was greeted by Francis with an embrace and by the people in the pews with applause and tears. It is the first time Benedict and Francis have appeared together at a liturgical ceremony since Benedict stepped down last March, the first pope to do so in 600 years. Two weeks later, Francis was elected the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.”

Pope Francis is also the first Jesuit who has ever been elected as Pope. At one time, the Catholic Church had even outlawed the Jesuits.

Uganda’s New Anti-Gay Bill

Deutsche Welle reported on February 24:

“Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed a controversial anti-gay bill into law that toughens already strict rules banning homosexual activity. In doing so, he defied international criticism about the legislation. ‘No study has shown you can be homosexual by nature, that’s why I have agreed to sign the bill,’ Museveni said in a speech after the signing ceremony… The law, which toughens penalties for homosexual sex, sets out a 14-year jail sentence for first-time offenders.

“The legislation also sets life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” This category of offenses is defined as repeated gay sex between consenting adults and acts involving minors, a disabled person, or where one partner is infected with HIV. It also outlaws the promotion of homosexuality and requires people to denounce gays… The bill is popular with the conservative local constituency that is vehemently opposed to homosexuality, but international rights groups have condemned it as draconian.

“Museveni is a key African ally of the United States and the European Union but he has been under fire recently by key Western donors over the anti-gay legislation… Many African countries, with the exception of South Africa, have laws that ban or suppress homosexuality. In January, a law took effect in Nigeria that outlaws same-sex relationships with up to 14 years in prison for gay couples living together.”

CNN added on February 24:

“At the public signing of the bill Monday, a defiant Museveni declared that he would not allow the West to impose its values on Uganda. ‘We have been disappointed for a long time by the conduct of the West, the way you conduct yourselves there,’ he told CNN’s Zain Verjee in Entebbe. ‘Our disappointment is now exacerbated because we are sorry to see that you live the way you live, but we keep quiet about it. Now you say “you must also live like us” — that’s where we say no.’… [He] said he’d sign [the bill] because scientists had determined that there is no gene for homosexuality and that it is merely a choice to embrace abnormal behavior. ‘It was learned and could be unlearned,’ Museveni said.”

According to the Bible, the practice of homosexual activities is in fact an abomination, and it is also correct that no one is “born” as a homosexual. In this context, note the next article.

Oregon Ready to Allow Same-Sex Marriages?

The website of oregonlive.com wrote on February 20:

“Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a legal filing Thursday that she will not defend the state’s ban on gay marriage and argued that the ban ‘cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review’…

“Federal judges in several states have struck down similar bans in recent months, saying that they conflict with last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking major provisions of a law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

“At the same time, supporters of gay marriage are nearly done with their effort to collect enough signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot asking voters to strike the ban on gay marriage from the state Constitution and allow same-sex couples to marry.”

Same-sex marriages are in violation of Scripture. The Bible defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

And Now—Police May Search a House without a Warrant Even When There is NO Emergency

The Los Angeles Times reported on February 25:

“Police officers may enter and search a home without a warrant as long as one occupant consents, even if another resident has previously objected, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a Los Angeles case. The 6-3 ruling, triggered by a Los Angeles Police Department arrest in 2009, gives authorities more leeway to search homes without obtaining a warrant, even when there is no emergency.

“The majority, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., said police need not take the time to get a magistrate’s approval before entering a home in such cases. But dissenters, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, warned that the decision would erode protections against warrantless home searches. The court had previously held that such protections were at the ‘very core’ of the 4th Amendment and its ban on unreasonable searches and seizures…

“In the past, the court has frowned upon most searches of residences except in the case of an emergency or if the police had a warrant from a judge.”

And the erosion of our privacy rights continues in the “land of the free”…

Piers Morgan Leaves CNN

CNN wrote on February 23:

“There have been times when the CNN host Piers Morgan didn’t seem to like America very much — and American audiences have been more than willing to return the favor. Three years after taking over for Larry King, Mr. Morgan has seen the ratings for ‘Piers Morgan Live’ hit some new lows, drawing a fraction of viewers compared with competitors at Fox News and MSNBC.

“It’s been an unhappy collision between a British television personality who refuses to assimilate — the only football he cares about is round and his lectures on guns were rife with contempt — and a CNN audience that is intrinsically provincial. After all, the people who tune into a cable news network are, by their nature, deeply interested in America.

“CNN’s president, Jeffrey Zucker, has other problems, but none bigger than Mr. Morgan and his plum 9 p.m. time slot. Mr. Morgan said last week that he and Mr. Zucker had been talking about the show’s failure to connect and had decided to pull the plug, probably in March.  Crossing an ocean for a replacement for Larry King, who had ratings problems of his own near the end, was probably not a great idea to begin with. For a cable news station like CNN, major stories are like oxygen. When something important or scary happens in America, many of us have an immediate reflex to turn on CNN. When I find Mr. Morgan telling me what it all means, I have a similar reflex to dismiss what he is saying. It is difficult for him to speak credibly on significant American events because, after all, he just got here…

“Old hands in the television news business suggest that there are two things a presenter cannot have: an accent or a beard…  Mr. Morgan’s approach to gun regulation was more akin to King George III, peering down his nose at the unruly colonies and wondering how to bring the savages to heel.  In the current media age… Mr. Morgan’s lecturing on the evils of guns have clanked hard against the CNN brand… We don’t look for moral leadership from CNN, or from a British host on a rampage. Guns, along with many other great and horrible things, are knit into the fabric of this country…”

The bottom line is, America’s TV network “news” culture is an atrocity, and the above article from CNN, somehow trying to justify CNN’s separation from Piers Morgan, inadvertently brings this out. If one wanted to rely on the news, as reported by America’s main TV stations and networks, one would be hopelessly lost. Whether it’s CNN, NBC, MSNBC or FOX, just to name the more “popular” ones, they are all driven by their ideologies and political agendas, while having their carefully selected “guests” “debating” and talking to death their view points, as well as by their desire to cater to the “interests” of their viewership and, due to satisfactory ratings, to attract as many sponsors as possible, while being willfully indifferent regarding the fact that those “interests” are for the most part inconsequential, immaterial and futile.

The article above, demanding that Morgan should have assimilated and “reported” on mundane and insignificant events, speaks for itself. The comment that guns are “knit into the fabric of this country,” which is, sadly, very true, and that no one should dare to question this, especially not a “foreigner,” is another example showing the ungodly ideas permeating America’s “way of life.” When Christ returns, all people will learn the horrible effects of guns and they will beat their guns into plowshares. Until that time, America has still a long way to go and bitter lessons to learn…

New York’s Shame

National Review wrote on February 21:

“In 2012, black women in New York City aborted over 6,500 more children than they gave birth to. Data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows that, among non-hispanic black women, there were 31,328 ‘induced terminations’ to 24,758 live births…

“In total, there were almost 74,000 abortions in New York in 2012, meaning that 42.4 percent of all abortions were of black children. Hispanic children accounted for 31 percent of those aborted in the city at a total of nearly 23,000. Altogether, black and Hispanic abortions were 73 percent of the total of 73,815 abortions in New York in 2012.

“For years, New York has had the highest abortion rate of any city in the nation.”

CNS News reported on February 25:

“Although whites outnumber blacks in Mississippi by nearly 2-to-1, 71.67% of the babies aborted in Mississippi are black, while 26.6% are white.”

2014—A Special Year

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 14:

“This year will be a historic one, marking three important anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the eruption of World War I, the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall…”

The Futility of War — “Christians in Iraq Worse Off Now Than Under Saddam”

Newsmax wrote on February 16:

“The persecution of Christians in Iraq is worse today than it was before a United States-led force deposed brutal dictator Saddam Hussein, a Republican congressman declared. ‘As we witness the black flag of al-Qaida again fly over cities such as Fallujah, which we had won at the cost of so much American blood, we wonder how it is that for Christians in Iraq, life appears to be worse now than it was under the vicious dictator Saddam Hussein,’ Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey said at a Tuesday hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.

“One of the witnesses at the hearing was Archbishop Francis Chullikat, who served as the papal nuncio to Iraq. Chullikat said the violence that children in particular have seen — including the killing of Christians — will ‘leave a lasting scar’ on that generation. Chullikat said ‘flagrant and widespread persecution of Christians rages even as we meet.’

“Smith disclosed that the population of Christians in Iraq has decreased from 1.4 million in 1987, prior to the first Gulf War, to an estimated 150,000 today. ‘Much of this exodus has occurred during a time in which our country invested heavily in blood and treasure in seeking to help Iraqis build a democracy,’ Smith said.

“In one of the most horrific recent attacks against Christians in Iraq, militants launched two separate bomb attacks against Christians celebrating Christmas, killing at least 37. In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in Baghdad’s southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, police said. Earlier that day, a bomb exploded at an outdoor market in a Christian neighborhood, killing 11 people and wounding 21.

“Smith added that ‘researchers from the Pew Center have documented incidents of harassment of religious groups worldwide — a term defined as including “physical assaults; arrests and detentions; desecration of holy sites; and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education, and housing” — and has concluded that Christians are the single most harassed group today.’”

America’s declared “noble” goal for invading Iraq to bring more freedom and democracy to the people backfired terribly and created a situation which is worse than it was prior to the invasion. Of course, the war was fought based on misleading, inaccurate and deceiving information, and many commentators feel that the real goal had nothing to do with bringing democracy to Iran. In any event, America’s conduct contributed to the prophesied alienation between America and the rest of the world. In regard to the issue of warfare, please view our StandingWatch program, “Should Christians Fight in War?” 

Iran Prepares for War Against USA

The Washington Examiner wrote on February 14:

“Iran’s surprising decision to move warships off the Atlantic coast poses a potential catastrophic threat to America from a nuclear or electromagnetic pulse attack, according to an expert who foresaw Iran’s move. Peter Pry, an expert on EMP attacks, said the ships are likely a dry run for a future attack, a maneuver meant to lull Washington into complacency while also embarrassing President Obama and his effort to convince Tehran to give up production of a nuclear bomb in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions…

“Pry said the ships are probably conducting a test for a future visit from an Iranian freighter that would launch the attack. ‘I think the Iranian Navy patrols off our coasts may be intended to lull us into complacency, to get the U.S. Navy accustomed to an Iranian naval presence in our hemisphere, so eventually they could contribute to “Zero Hour” and the great day when the Mullahs decide to drop the nuclear hammer on America,’ said Pry… Pry… one of the nation’s leading authorities on EMP, revealed that Iran recently purchased Russia’s Club-K missile launcher, which can be hidden in tractor-trailer-sized cargo boxes.”

America’s naivety in respect to Iran is topped by its indifference towards the dangers confronting the country from the outside and the inside. America’s downfall IS inevitable.

Nazi Scientists Worked on Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes as a Weapon

The Local wrote on February 14:

“Nazi scientists worked on ways to use malaria-carrying mosquitoes as a weapon, according to researchers… Until now, it had been generally thought by experts that the Nazis only intended ever to use biological weapons defensively… But tests with mosquitoes infected with malaria were never carried out and Hitler opposed biological warfare, according to Reinhardt.

“He and his team published their findings in the Endeavor scientific journal in December. It states how in 1942 head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, set up the Dachau institute to study the physiology and control of insects that inflict harm to humans.

“Institute leader Eduard May had, Reinhardt said, an interest in dragonflies before Himmler put him – for reasons unknown – in charge of the Dachau institute. Reinhardt said: ‘I have a special interest in dragonflies so really came across the mosquito plan by accident.’”

The coming world war will be fought, no doubt, with chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Eurozone’s Growth

The Telegraph wrote on February 14:

“The eurozone has taken a major step towards recovery with the single currency’s four major economies all growing for the first time in almost three years. Germany, Italy, and France all registered expansion in the final three months of 2013, official figures showed, with France avoiding a dreaded double-dip recession and Germany, the region’s biggest economy, performing better than had been expected.

“Along with Spain, which last month recorded its best quarterly growth since 2008, the countries led the 18-currency bloc to growth of 0.3pc in the final three months of 2013. The four biggest economies in Europe had not grown in unison since the first quarter of 2011.”

The “Revival” of Europe under German-French Leadership?

The EUObserver wrote on February 17:

“The French and German leaders will in Paris on Wednesday (19 February) discuss what France is calling ‘the revival of Europe.’ French President Francois Hollande has announced that his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers will launch three projects: harmonisation of French and German corporate tax; the creation of a joint company, on the model of aeronautic firm Airbus, specialising in renewable energy; and ‘a Franco-German partnership for European defence.’

“He said in a speech last month the initiatives will open a new chapter in European politics after the economic crisis. Harking back to the idea of France and Germany as the engine of EU policy-making, he added that Wednesday’s summit will also ‘establish a basic principle: namely, that our governments are to collaborate from an early stage on all large projects. Initiatives for Europe must first be agreed between France and Germany,’ he said. ‘This Franco-German momentum will enable us … to revitalise the European ideal.’”

The Local added on February 19:

“France and Germany have decided to send elements of the Franco-German Brigade to Mali: the first deployment under the aegis of the EU and in an African location,” a statement said after a security and defence meeting in Paris between the two countries… The statement said the troops sent would integrate into a European mission in Mali to train soldiers… The Franco-German brigade… was set up in 1989 to increase military cooperation between the World War II-era foes…”

For more information on Europe’s rise, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

European Communication Network to Circumvent USA

Reuters reported February 15:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would talk to French President Francois Hollande about building up a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States… Merkel said in her weekly podcast that she disapproved of companies such as Google and Facebook basing their operations in countries with low levels of data protection [such as the USA] while being active in countries such as Germany with high data protection…

“[Merkel said:] ‘Above all, we’ll talk about European providers that offer security for our citizens, so that one shouldn’t have to send emails and other information across the Atlantic. Rather, one could build up a communication network inside Europe.’…

“Government snooping is a particularly sensitive subject in Germany due to the heavy surveillance of citizens practised in communist East Germany and under Hitler, and there was widespread outrage at the revelations of NSA surveillance by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden… Germany has been pushing, so far in vain, for a ‘no-spy’ agreement with Washington.”

Due to America’s NSA spying activities and the Obama Administration’s short-sighted refusal to consent to a no-spy agreement with Europe, the prophesied alienation between the USA and Europe continues, and Europe is being pushed into a position of creating even more of a powerful fortress in many different respects, keeping out of Europe and barring American power, interests and activities.

“Americans Only Understand the Language of the Wild West”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 18:

“Away from the public eye, the German government is moving toward implementing plans to turn its own spies against partner countries like the United States, putting allies on the same level as the Chinese, Russians and North Koreans. The stubbornness of the Americans, who have answered few relevant questions from Germany during the National Security Agency spying scandal, has angered the new government… ‘They’re like cowboys who only understand the language of the Wild West,’ sources in Merkel’s party say, referring to the Americans’ intractability…

“The plans for monitoring allies are already well developed. Section 4 in the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, where just 100 specialists had been employed, is to be significantly expanded… The changes mean that, nine months after the NSA affair, the German government is steering towards a serious confrontation with the US. It would mark a break with the decades-long practice of allowing Western partners to essentially do as they please in Germany…”

Europe’s Economic Boycott against Israel

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on February 16:

“The European Union, Israel’s No. 1 trading partner, accounts for about a third of its total trade, and was long the favored destination for Jordan Valley produce. But these fruits and vegetables are grown on land that Israel has occupied since 1967. For a growing number of European consumers, that’s a problem. They say that buying such produce is supporting the illegal confiscation and control of land and water resources that should be in Palestinian hands.

“The campaign is starting to bite. Last year, Jordan Valley farmers lost an estimated $29 million, or 14 percent of revenue, because they were forced to find alternative markets for their exports, such as Russia, where prices are 20 to 60 percent lower. Pepper exports to Western Europe have stopped completely, and grape exports are likely to be phased out this year because of consumer pressure…

“According to a 2013 BBC poll, public opinion of Israel is worsening. Favorability ratings dropped 8 percent in both Spain and Germany, to the single digits. Even in Britain, the first European country to formally support the establishment of a Jewish state, only 14 percent of citizens have a positive view of Israel today. EU citizens and lawmakers alike have long opposed Israeli policies, but popular discontent… is increasingly pressuring businesses and governments to take more concrete action…

“In September a Dutch engineering firm, under pressure from the government, dropped plans to build a sewage treatment plant in East Jerusalem, and in December, a Dutch water company cut ties with Israel’s national water carrier over its operations in the West Bank. But it’s not just the Dutch. Germany announced in January that it would not renew research grants to Israeli companies that do business over the Green Line, the de facto border before Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war… Germany’s move prompted concern that if Israel’s best friend in Europe, still burdened by the guilt of the Holocaust, takes such steps, every other EU country could follow suit…”

Denmark Bans Religious Slaughter of Animals

The Independent wrote on February 18:

“Denmark’s government has brought in a ban on the religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat, after years of campaigning from welfare activists. The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called ‘anti-Semitism’ by Jewish leaders and ‘a clear interference in religious freedom’ by the non-profit group Danish Halal.

“European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed. Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that ‘animal rights come before religion’.

“Commenting on the change, Israel’s deputy minister of religious services Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan told the Jewish Daily Forward: ‘European anti-Semitism is showing its true colours across Europe, and is even intensifying in the government institutions.’ Al Jazeera quoted the monitoring group Danish Halal, which launched a petition against the ban, as saying it was ‘a clear interference in religious freedom limiting the rights of Muslims and Jews to practice their religion in Denmark’.

“The ban has divided opinions in the country, particularly after it recently made headlines for animal welfare policy after Copenhagen Zoo slaughtered the ‘surplus’ young male giraffe Marius… Last year politicians in Britain said they would not be outlawing religious slaughter despite ‘strong pressure’ from the RSPCA, the National Secular Society and other activists.”

Ukraine in Uproar

Newsmax reported on February 19:

“The office of Ukraine’s embattled president says he and leaders of the country’s raging protests have called for a truce. The brief statement late Wednesday came after President Viktor Yanukovych met with top leaders of the protests that flared into violence on Tuesday that has left at least 26 people dead… Yanukovych had moved to quell the growing insurgency by granting sweeping powers to the army and police after a region declared independence from his government, risking wider conflict.

“Reeling from the bloodiest clashes in a three-month standoff, the Russian-backed leader’s security service said Wednesday it was undertaking a nationwide anti-terrorism operation to restore public order and protect state borders. That move would give the military the right to search, detain, and even fire on Ukrainians in the course of the operation, the Defense Ministry said…

“Obama said the United States condemns the violence in the strongest terms and holds Ukraine’s government primarily responsible to ensure it is dealing with peaceful protesters appropriately… The European Union moved toward freezing the assets of Ukraine’s most powerful officials…

“Russia blames ‘extremists’ and ‘radical elements’ for the escalation of violence… Russia, which said this week it would renew funding for Ukraine, blamed the United States and the EU for the violence…”

The Washington Post added on February 20:

“Fierce fighting broke out Thursday between government forces and protesters in the Ukrainian capital, shattering a truce declared hours earlier and leaving scores of people dead. A top human rights official said at least 50 people were killed in the clashes that erupted Thursday morning in the streets around Kiev’s Independence Square. Other estimates of the death toll were considerably higher…

“In Washington, the White House called on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych  to ‘immediately withdraw his security forces’ from downtown Kiev and to ‘respect the right of peaceful protest.’ The statement Thursday also urged protesters ‘to express themselves peacefully.’ In Brussels, the 28-nation European Union decided unanimously Thursday in an emergency meeting to impose sanctions against Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for the violence… The E.U. also announced a suspension of arms sales to Ukraine…

“Videos indicated that some protesters have sniper rifles, and police were shown shooting automatic weapons… A truce reached late Wednesday between President Viktor Yanukovych and three main opposition political leaders has not been formally renounced, but the fighting demonstrated how neither side appears to have control over its armed contingents…

“The pressure on Ukraine — internal and external — has only increased, and the two sides are so far apart that reconciliation appears impossible. They are now faced with the challenge of getting the country back on track even without reconciling politically… Abroad, the Western nations and Russia blamed each other for supporting one of the two sides in Ukraine’s long-running political crisis…”

Syrian Electronic Army Attacks Forbes

The website of cnet.com reported on February 14:

“The Syrian Electronic Army has attacked Forbes, stealing user data and posting fake stories to its Web site. The hacking group announced the exploit on Friday, showing several screenshots of the WordPress-based backend of the Forbes.com Web site. The organization said in a tweet that more than 1 million user e-mails and passwords were successfully stolen and will be published at some point.

“Forbes acknowledged that its Web site and publishing platform were the targets of a hack in a Facebook post on Friday… IBTimes… talked to a spokesperson for the SEA, who said the attacks are based in its belief that Forbes’ ‘hate for Syria is very clear and flagrant in their articles’…

“The Syrian Electronic Army is one of the more active hacking groups. Last year, the organization hacked into Viber’s database, hijacked a Thomson Reuters Twitter feed, and took aim at both the Onion and BBC Twitter accounts. Earlier this year, the group also broke into several Microsoft Twitter accounts.”

And there seems to be no one able or willing to deal with these despicable criminal hackers.

Silly Governmental “Justification” for Video-Surveillance Cameras

Fortune reported on February 13:

“Is the video-surveillance system that blankets Manhattan from Midtown to the Battery, river to river, really not so different from an earlier anti-crime innovation, street lights? That’s what Richard Daddario, deputy commissioner for counterterrorism under former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, once told me. Street lights mean criminals can’t operate with impunity under cover of darkness. Cameras, same principle, slightly extended.

“‘That comparison seems a bit disingenuous and silly,’ according to Glenn Cohen, a professor at Harvard Law School, who spoke about privacy and technology recently at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge, and corresponded with me afterward by e-mail. ‘Lights don’t have the potential for “function creep” whereby they are introduced for one purpose but then used for something quite different in the future, like social security numbers. Lights are temporary in their effect and don’t record what we do for the indefinite future. Finally, there are few activities that people actually want to do in the dark in public, so losing darkness is not a loss to many people, if anyone. By contrast, there are many activities we want to undertake without being recorded and watched…’

“In the post-Snowden era, alas, such concerns can seem almost quaint. A street-corner surveillance camera, easily evaded by ducking indoors, is one kind of intrusion. A smartphone that tracks our movements and hoards for future inspection by parties unknown [of] our emails, blog posts, photos and tweets, is something else altogether.

“Like it or not, we have entered the era of assumed ubiquitous snooping, and we have not begun to parse the implications… Can the law protect us? We shouldn’t count on it…”

Let’s face it, we have gone far beyond a George Orwellian “1984” Big Brother mentality, when NOTHING is sacred anymore to our governments. Forget the right of privacy… the “exceptions” are so manifold that one could not even begin to write them all down. And the average American, indifferent, detached and non-involved, seems to not even care, while governmental officials invent ridiculous excuses to justify such blatantly ungodly and SINFUL behavior.

Most of our Christian churches—including even many of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God organizations–have been fearfully and suspiciously silent about such intrusions, and our main stream media and networks—“conservative” and “liberal” alike–have only half-heartedly “reported” about some of the most egregious violations, and even then, they were quick in interviewing a representative of either party to advance arguments as to why such activities are justified.

Especially in light of the appointment of czars and the issuing of executive orders to circumvent Congress, some, if not many in Europe—including older people who have experienced and still remember the horrors of World War 2–have begun to accuse the American government of trying to become as dictatorial as Hitler and Mussolini. Such impression, whether right or wrong, will not in any way build confidence and friendship between America and Europe.

Pope Francis—The “Super Pope” and Crowd Pleaser

The Associated Press reported on February 14:

“A year ago this past Tuesday [February 11], Pope Benedict XVI said in a voice so soft that cardinals strained to hear (and in a Latin not all could easily follow) that he was becoming the first pontiff to resign in more than half a millennium. On the eve of the anniversary, Benedict’s longtime private secretary credited the stunning decision with opening the way to the ‘enormous impact’ Pope Francis is having on the church and the world at large.

“Monsignor Georg Gaenswein’s comments sent a message of continuity between the awkward, bookish Benedict and his charismatic, superstar successor — the first Jesuit pope and the first pontiff from Latin America… ‘We are all seeing the impact that Pope Francis is having on the world, not just the faithful in the church but in the world. It’s an enormous impact…’

“Gaenswein is in the historically unique situation of serving two popes: While he remains Benedict’s secretary, lives with him in his retirement home in the Vatican gardens and takes daily walks with him in the afternoon, Gaenswein is also the head of Pope Francis’s household…

“As the anniversary of that momentous resignation day approached, Vatican officials have sought to stress Benedict’s generosity, courage and service to the church in deciding to step down as they battle to preserve his legacy amid the increasing temptation to contrast his often problematic papacy and reserved personality with his crowd-pleasing successor. It’s no easy feat when no one ever made a ‘Super Pope’ wall painting of Benedict or created a life-size chocolate statue of him — as has been the case with Francis….

“Benedict has largely stuck to his retirement pledge to live his remaining years ‘hidden from the world’ in a converted convent in the Vatican gardens… Francis seems perfectly at ease with the pope next door; they exchanged visits over the Christmas holidays, and they not only speak frequently by phone but also exchange written notes…”

Pope Francis—the Gentle Pontiff?

CNN wrote on February 19:

“In the year since Francis was elected Pope, the media have told us a certain story about this man ‘from the ends of the Earth,’ as he once described himself. Francis, we are told, is warm and friendly, gentle and compassionate. He embraces the poor, the disfigured, the outcast. These attributes pose a sharp contrast, we are informed, to his mean-spirited, judgmental and arrogant predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who was known for his fancy vestments and aloof, academic attitude.

“If Francis has the common touch, the story goes, Benedict was firmly out of touch, perched on an ivory tower far inside the Vatican. To many Catholics this media-driven contrast between the two Popes is laughable.

“Benedict may have been unpopular with the world and many of its opinion-makers, but those who loved him… knew a far different man than is cruelly caricatured in the media. We welcomed Benedict’s theology and liturgical vision… And when Benedict did say something likely to be deemed offensive, he was often extremely careful about the way in which he said it. In fact, he was much more careful not to offend than [Francis]… bluntness is a double-edged sword, and some of [Francis’] speeches and sermons have offended some of the papacy’s biggest supporters. This, of course, counters the image of Francis as the ‘gentle, pastoral shepherd.’ In sifting through media reports, I was shocked by how often the Pope criticized Christians and by the severity of his insults…

“Indeed, here’s some of the names the Pope has actually called people: ‘pickled pepper-faced Christians,’ ‘closed, sad, trapped Christians,’ ‘defeated Christians,’ ‘liquid Christians,’ ‘creed-reciting, parrot Christians,’ and, finally, those ‘watered-down faith, weak-hoped Christians.’ Catholics who focus on church traditions are ‘museum mummies,’ the Pope says. Nuns who fail to inspire faith in the church are ‘old maids,’ and the Vatican hierarchy has at times been ‘the leprosy of the papacy,’ in Francis’ words.

“Indeed, men of the cloth face the brunt of Francis’ fulminations. He has called some of them ‘vain’ butterflies, ‘smarmy’ idolators and ‘priest-tycoons.’ He’s described some seminarians as potential ‘little monsters.’… some Catholics have felt alienated by Francis’s criticisms, as if they are under attack. In blasting the status quo, it can sometimes seem as if the Pope is slighting the most faithful members of the church.”

California’s Ongoing Exceptional Drought—Is Climate Change Responsible?

The Telegraph wrote on February 14:

“For California this is the third year of little or no rain. More than 90 per cent of the state is in ‘severe to exceptional drought’. Records have been kept since the 1840s and last year was the driest yet. Some farm areas received less rain than Death Valley in 2013.”

The Washington Times wrote on February 14:

“While touring areas of California ravaged by a historic drought, President Obama on Friday sounded an ominous warning and said that even if the federal government takes meaningful action to combat climate change, much of the damage already has been done… ‘The planet is slowly going to keep warming for a long time to come,’ Mr. Obama said…

“Mr. Obama and many Democrats, along with their supporters in the environmental community, have held up extreme weather events such as California’s drought, Hurricane Sandy and others as proof that global warming is wreaking havoc all across the planet. But the issue remains bitterly divisive, and many lawmakers believe Mr. Obama’s dire warnings are grossly overstated. The heated debate over climate change has led to near gridlock on Capitol Hill, with Republicans and some Democrats standing in staunch opposition to major legislative proposals to address the issue.”

The Drudge Report linked to an article on February 16, stating: “If February ended today, this would be the third coldest winter on record in the US, after 1979 and 1899.”

The Washington Post wrote on February 16:

“Secretary of State John F. Kerry, calling climate change perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction, urged developing nations on Sunday to do more to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as he derided climate-change skeptics at home and blamed big companies for hijacking the debate.

“Kerry painted a picture of looming drought and famine, massive floods and deadly storms as a result of global warming, and he urged ordinary citizens in developing nations to speak out on the issue and demand more from their political leaders. He labeled those who denied the evidence of climate change as ‘shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues.’”

So, is it man-made global warming or man-made climate change? Are they, or which one of them, causing droughts in California, terrible winters in large parts of the USA, and flooding in the UK? Apparently, something seems to be wrong with this inconsistent picture, and polemic accusations by proponents against those who dare to ask questions don’t help. Many may not know or recall that late Michael Crichton (M.D. and author of Jurassic Park) concluded in his remarkable novel, “State of Fear,” with interesting arguments, that one cannot prove man-made global warming. San Diego’s famous KUSI weather man and founder of the Weather Channel, John Coleman, came to the same conclusion. Are these skeptics “shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues”?

Radiation Leak at New Mexico Military Nuclear Waste Site

Reuters reported on February 16:

“Unusually high levels of radioactive particles were found at an underground nuclear waste site in New Mexico on Saturday… U.S. officials were testing for radiation in air samples at the site where radioactive waste, such as plutonium used in defense research and nuclear weapon making, is dumped half a mile below ground in an ancient salt formation… A different part of the site was evacuated this month after a truck used to haul salt caught fire…”

We are playing with fire, and serious disasters involving our nuclear power plants are bound to occur.

US Lawsuit Charges Japanese Company with Negligence over Radiation

The website nextgov.com reported on February 19:

“The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier experienced radiation levels 30 times above normal while its crew conducted disaster relief operations off the coast of Japan in March 2011 after a tsunami damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, according to a new analysis published on Monday. That analysis came just days after 79 Reagan crewmen filed an amended lawsuit in federal court in San Diego against the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. The plaintiffs seek $1 billion in damages, claiming the company was negligent in construction and operation of the plant and during the subsequent meltdown of its reactors following the tsunami March 11, 2011.

“Kyle Cleveland, a sociology professor at Temple University Japan, cited transcripts of a conference call between high level Navy and Energy Department officials in an article in the Asia-Pacific Journal… The transcripts… show concern among U.S. officials discussing the level of radioactivity on the Reagan on March 13… Troy Mueller, deputy administrator for naval reactors at Energy, said the radiation is ‘about 30 times what you would detect just on a normal air sample out at sea . . . So it’s much greater than what we had thought. We didn’t think we would detect anything at 100 miles.’…

“The law firm Bonner & Bonner, based in Sausalito, Calif., charged in its lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power that crewmen on the Reagan exposed to radiation from the Fukushima plant ‘now endure a lifetime of radiation poisoning and suffering which could have and should have been avoided,’ if the company had not been negligent in construction and operation of the facility. The suit also charged that sailors aboard the Reagan ‘have been and will be required to undergo further medical testing, evaluation and medical procedures, including but not limited to chelation therapy, bone marrow transplants and/or genetic reprogramming.’

“Sailors on the Reagan were exposed to both airborne radiation and radiation from contaminated seawater, the suit said. One plaintiff said the ship was taking in sea water, ‘but obviously the ship can’t filter out the radiation. Water we all showered with, drank, brushed our teeth, and had our food cooked with.’ Tokyo Electric Power registered as a California foreign corporation in 2003. As a result, TEPCO is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal District Court, the suit said.”

Nulangate and German Anger

The Washington Post wrote on February 7:

“Germans were already smarting from revelations that U.S. intelligence listened in on the phone conversations of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Then came Nulandgate. On Thursday, a video was posted on YouTube in which Victoria Nuland, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, disparagingly dismissed European Union efforts to mediate the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine by bluntly saying, ‘F— the E.U.’ On Friday, Merkel, through press attache Christiane Wirtz, described the gaffe as ‘absolutely unacceptable,’ and defended the efforts of Catherine Ashton, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief. ‘The chancellor finds these remarks absolutely unacceptable and wants to emphasize that Mrs. Ashton is doing an outstanding job,’ Wirtz said.

“Still freshly furious over the phone-tapping scandals, Germans took to Twitter and other social media in a litany of bitter comments… In Brussels, E.U. officials remained publicly mum. Though the story played big across the continent, the official response beyond Germany appeared relatively muted. But the Germans were not the only ones smarting. Reactions among Austrian members of the European Parliament ranged from outrage to schadenfreude. ‘Victoria Nuland must step down after these remarks, otherwise there has to be a suspension of negotiations about the E.U.-U.S. free-trade agreement,’ Jörg Leichtfried, leader of the Austrian Social Democratic delegation in the European Parliament, told the Austrian press agency APA, according to the daily Die Presse.

“Nuland quickly apologized for the comments, with the United States pointing the finger Thursday at the Russians for recording and posting her private conversations with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt… Nevertheless, analysts said the unscripted moment served to underscore a serious point: the increasingly strained nature of the U.S. relationship with continental Europe — and, first and foremost, with Germany. In the aftermath of the exposure by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden of U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts in the region, distrust of the American agenda in Germany has jumped appreciably.

“Experts say the image of the United States has suffered deeply, with the Nuland gaffe reinforcing perceptions of American heavy-handedness at a highly sensitive time. This week, for instance, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published fresh allegations that the United States had wiretapped former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. In response, Schröder gave an interview to the Bild newspaper in which he said, ‘The U.S. has no respect for a loyal ally and for the sovereignty of our country.’

“Olaf Boehnke, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the gaffe could not have come at a worse time. To some extent, German officials — particularly Merkel — have sought to put the wiretapping scandal behind them, pragmatically attempting to move forward and mend the transatlantic relationship. Nuland’s comments, he said, had just made that effort more difficult, particularly with the increasingly skeptical German public. ‘It was really the worst thing that could happen; Germans will be going home tonight to discuss this at dinner,’ Boehnke said. ‘It fits into a broader picture that German people have of the U.S. betraying the trust in them.’”

BBC News wrote on February 7:

“The conversation between Ms Nuland and Mr Pyatt reveals deeper tensions between America and Europe. Washington seems to prefer a deal brokered by the UN rather than Brussels. If true, that would bruise the feelings of EU officials. They believe this is their crisis to solve. Today’s comments and accusations are a reminder that this crisis is far from over and that it has the potential to cause division and tension even between allies.”

The Local quoted the Geman newspaper, “Die Welt,” as follows on February 7:

“‘Not even those affected were surprised by Nuland’s unladylike turn of [a] phrase she used to express her negative judgment of the Europeans,’ Die Welt wrote. ‘In a different phone call, which can also be heard on YouTube, top German diplomat Helga Schmid can be heard complaining that the USA feel the EU is being ‘weak’ on Ukraine. Nuland’s conversation with Pyatt makes it clear how intensively the West, especially the US, are concerning themselves with the current uprising in Ukraine and what they think of opposition leaders,’ it added.”

The Bible prophesied long ago that the relationship between the USA and Europe (Germany in particular) will worsen until outright war will ensue between the two power blocs. A modern “King of Assyria” will be used by God to punish the sinful modern house of Israel—especially the USA and the UK. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.” Also, please take note of the next two articles, dealing with Germany’s history, which were written from a German perspective. As is so often the case, events of today and tomorrow can be explained, at least in part, by reviewing events of the past.

Obama—“No No-Spy Agreement with Europe”

The EUObserver wrote on February 12:

“US President Barack Obama after meeting his French counterpart in Washington poured cold water on European hopes that the US will sign no-spy agreements with countries like France and Germany. Obama said there is no country in the world the US has such agreements with, not even the UK.”

Germany’s Bad Memories of Hyperinflation

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 7:

“There’s a number that illustrates the brutal dynamics of the hyperinflation of 1923 better than anything else. It’s the number four. In the fall of 1923, prices were doubling in Germany approximately every four days… Three generations after the collapse of the German mark, the fear of hyperinflation is more alive today than ever before.

“The global glut of money as a result of the financial crisis has evoked painful memories of the great inflation that began with the beginning of World War I in 1914 and ended in chaos in 1923. Each new report on the need for billions in Europe’s crisis-ridden countries reignites concerns over the stability of money. According to a poll by the Allensbach opinion research firm, Germans fear inflation even more than life-threatening diseases like cancer…

“The euro has proven to be more stable than the deutsche mark ever was. Economists are more concerned that prices will decline on a broad scale, crippling the economy. It makes no sense to invoke terrible visions of 1923 today, says economic historian Hans-Joachim Voth. ‘A repeat is unthinkable,’ he notes. The Germans suffer from a sort of ‘collective psychosis,’ concludes Voth, who teaches in Barcelona…

“Families today still remember the horrifying reports of what once happened to grandparents and great-grandparents. The fate of someone like Berlin author Maximilian Bern illustrates the extent of despair. In 1923, Bern withdrew his savings, more than 100,000 marks, from the bank. But 100,000 wasn’t much compared with the 2.5 quintillion marks in circulation at the end of October. Years earlier, the money would have been enough to pay for Bern’s retirement, but now it was worth no more than the price of his last subway ticket. Bern went home, locked his door and died of hunger. Doctors, teachers and professors had not only lost everything they owned, but also their confidence in the state. In 1914, many had gone to war with enthusiasm, and they had bought bonds, which generally yielded a five-percent return. The government collected 98 billion marks, but not a pfennig of the money was repaid…

“People felt cheated, both of victory in the war and their money in the bank. The same bitter experience was repeated a generation later, when the Third Reich came to an end. This double loss of confidence shaped the civil society of the postwar period. Its members yearned for stability and order and were sharply opposed to experiments, especially with their money. This need for security — in other words, their aversion to risk — is practically proverbial to this day in Germany…

“In 1948, the Allies had decreed that the Bank of the German States was not to be ‘subject to the directives of any political entities or public agencies, with the exception of the courts.’ It was something then Chancellor Konrad Adenauer could never accept…  This is the irony of history: Washington and Paris, the Western wartime allies, once decreed complete independence and strict budgetary discipline for the Bundesbank, but now the mentors are violating their own principles.”

Germany’s Two Wars

On February 7, Der Spiegel Online published a lengthy article about Germany’s role in World War I and World War II, and the subsequent conduct of Germany’s enemies. We will be quoting quite extensively from this article, as it puts into perspective current conditions in Europe and it will give the reader a better understanding as to why things happened there in the past—and why and how prophecies will come to pass in the near future:

“As its name indicates, World War I was the first truly global conflict, the effects of which only a few nations managed to escape…  While Germany lost two million soldiers in World War I — more than any other country — that number was more than doubled in World War II. The situation was reversed among Germany’s adversaries in the West. More than twice as many Britons and four times as many Frenchmen died on the battlefields of World War I than in World War II…

“It is difficult to say how many German soldiers perceived the cease-fire as a shock, as Hitler did. But by the time the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the dream of exacting revenge for the humiliation Germany had suffered became an obsession… For many historians, there is a direct line between Verdun and Stalingrad… In their view, the years between 1914 and 1945 merge into a single, uninterrupted conflict interrupted by a prolonged cease-fire…

“The Treaty of Versailles seemed to confirm all fears… Under Article 231 of the treaty, Germany was forced to concede that it was solely responsible for the war — a genuflection from which the victorious powers derived their claim for extensive reparations… It was the United States that turned the tide in World War I… By August, some 1.3 million men had been shipped from the United States to Europe…

“Today Versailles is seen as a cardinal error, with the French playing the role of the victor seeking revenge. In truth, however, it was the United States that did not live up to its responsibility. Wilson drafted a new world order, in which all nations were granted a right to self-determination. But when it came to stepping into America’s new role as a hegemon, Congress withdrew its support by forcing the president to agree to a strict policy of nonintervention. The Europeans were on their own once again, but this time it was in a different configuration than before the beginning of the war.

“The British, who had entered the war as the world’s creditors, emerged from it as debtors to the United States. While the French were one of the victorious powers, they were in fact no longer a major military power… it was Germany that would hazard another war — precisely what the Treaty of Versailles was intended to avert…

“The indecisiveness of the United States, its political elites divided over how to assume their role as a new world power, was already apparent in the peace negotiations. The resulting peace was one with conditions that were insufficiently draconian to permanently weaken the German Reich, and yet too severe not to give rise to a desire among the losers to reverse the peace when the next opportunity arose…

“Germany’s total war reparations, enforced with massive threats, amounted to 132 billion gold marks, payable in 66 annual installments, together with 26 percent of the value of its exports. Present-day Germany was still suffering the consequences until 2010, when Berlin made its last interest payment on foreign bonds it had issued after World War I to satisfy the Allies’ demands for reparations. The most agonizing aspect of the war repayment was its duration.

“Hardly anyone was as familiar with the Germans’ smoldering resentment (or knew how to take advantage of it) as the private from Munich. Within three years, Adolf Hitler went from being an unknown veteran to the ‘King of Munich,’ a man who could fill the city’s largest beer halls with his appearances. The fact that the Allies had forced Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles was a central theme of Hitler’s speeches. At his rallies, he never failed to mention ‘shameful and humiliating peace’ that had condemned Germany to ‘servitude’ for the foreseeable future. Humiliation at the hands of the victorious powers became a collective trauma that united Germans far beyond the circle of supporters of the rising Nazi Party…

“Until 1929, the German economy had managed to keep itself more or less afloat, partly as a result of American investments. Now the creditors from abroad were withdrawing their money, plunging the German Reich directly into the vortex of the Great Depression. The deflationary policy of Reich Chancellor Heinrich Brüning drove unemployment numbers to well over six million.

“Despite the defeat in 1918, the pride of the German officer corps was still intact. It was clear to everyone, beginning with the general staff, that the French would never have achieved victory on their own… When Germany invaded France in 1940, the Wehrmacht had learned from past mistakes. In the first war, German attacks had frequently failed due to an inability to bring up additional artillery and infantry quickly enough to preserve the momentum of attack achieved by shock troops.

“Now the tank force was being combined with dive bombers, which functioned as airborne artillery. This enabled German troops to advance at speeds previously believed to be impossible. German troops reached the Meuse River in two days, and after six weeks France was forced to capitulate. It was the greatest defeat of a proud nation in military history. When the French laid down their arms, half of their soldiers had not even arrived in the combat zone yet.

“For the majority of German officers, the victory over France was the gratification they had desired. But for their commander-in-chief, the western campaign was merely one stage in a much more extensive war of conquest. As a result, the world was transformed into a hell on earth once again, and what began as a war of revenge ended in a war of extermination more complete and boundless than the massive slaughter of World War I.

“What was to be done with Germany? The Allies now faced the same question a second time, in the summer of 1944. By the time the Americans had landed in Normandy, everyone knew that the Third Reich’s days were numbered. But the victorious powers were confronted with the same problem they had faced a quarter of a century earlier: How to prevent the Germans from planning the next war soon after their defeat.

“One of the men who had been pondering this issue for some time was US Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau. He believed that the Germans were a people with an unquenchable thirst for war. Because there would no longer be anyone to stand in the way after a third attempt to achieve global dominance, the goal was to figure out how to prevent them from doing so. It was a question of survival, not just for Europe [but] for all of mankind.

“In September 1944, Morgenthau submitted a plan to the president in which he proposed the large-scale destruction of German heavy industry. Anything that could be used to produce weapons was to be destroyed, seized or placed under international control. This meant the elimination of Germany’s chemical, steel and electrical industries… Morgenthau had influential adversaries. Both the American State Department and senior military officials stationed in Germany were strictly opposed to sending Germany back to the Middle Ages… But the treasury secretary had both the strength of his convictions and the ear of President Roosevelt. Their wives were good friends, and the two couples socialized with each other.

“In addition, Roosevelt had little sympathy for what he called the ‘Huns.’… ‘We have got to be tough with Germany,’ Roosevelt told to his secretary of state. ‘You either have to castrate the German people or you have got to treat them so they can’t just go on reproducing people who want to continue as in the past.’

“Morgenthau seemed to prevail at a meeting between Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Quebec in September 1944. Churchill… initially had strong objections to the plan… But then money came into play and decided the issue. Churchill urgently needed a new loan from the United States. With that hurdle out of the way, the two commanders-in-chief placed their initials under a document agreeing on the transformation of Germany into a ‘country principally agricultural and pastoral in character.’

“That the Germans were eventually spared this fate is thanks the US public outcry over the plan and fear of the Russians. If Roosevelt dreamed of a long-term alliance with the Soviet Union, his successor Harry S. Truman had no illusions about the character of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. Churchill, too, did not have to be convinced of Stalin’s malevolence…

“Everything was done differently this time. Instead of rubbing the faces of the defeated in the extent of their humiliation by demanding submission, the United States carefully guided the country back into the family of nations. The victors also practiced leniency in the courts, limiting their prosecutions to a small number of leading war criminals. The majority escaped with a formal interrogation, with which the requirements of denazification were satisfied. Only two decades later, in the Auschwitz trials starting in 1963, did a true investigation of the crimes begin…

“The notion that they could never be allowed to possess weapons again is a view that the Germans, only too happy to be disarmed, completely internalized over the years. Pacifism had become national policy by the time the peace movement began. Even the swearing in of new recruits by torchlight can be a source of discomfort. When the Germans decide to do something, they do it thoroughly. In a strange reversal of roles, they had assumed the role of the reformed criminal who lectures others on how to bring about peace without weapons…

“To this day, the mistrust among Germans hasn’t disappeared completely. In the European debate, the suspicion that things could change drastically once again is a subliminal but clearly perceptible motif. Hardly any appeal to European solidarity makes do without a reference to the war and the resulting obligation to keep the peace. Integration into Europe is seen as a sort of self-shackling of the German giant, intended to relieve its neighbors’ fears of the country’s size and economic might…

“During the euro crisis, there has been a noticeable decline in the Germans’ desire to contribute to peace in Europe through transfer payments. But the ongoing impact of the memory of both world wars remains evident in the fact that an EU-critical party has yet to win seats in German parliament. Until his death in 1967, Morgenthau remained convinced that the Germans could not be pacified. ‘You are too young to be able to evaluate whether the Morgenthau plan was a mistake,’ he told his biographer when he tried to get Morgenthau to admit that his plan was wrong. ‘And I’ll bet you — though I won’t be around to collect — that you’re going to have to fight Germany again before you die.’

“Like many historians, the former US treasury secretary saw World War I as the beginning — not of a Thirty Years’ War but of a Hundred Years’ War.”

And so, even though Morgenthal, Roosevelt, Churchill and others did not understand biblical prophecies, it is interesting to note that another World War will break out in this century, involving, at first, Germany and the USA… but this time, it will be a war between the United States of Europe—under German leadership—and the USA and Great Britain.

Will the Bundeswehr be Deployed More Often in the Future?

Deutsche Welle reported on February 8:

“In Mali, the Bundeswehr is being trained for future military interventions, says Christine Buchholz in a DW interview. The Left party politician accompanied Defense Minister von der Leyen on her latest trip to Africa… ‘I believe that the deployment of the Bundeswehr doesn’t have much to do with Mali itself. Mrs. von der Leyen, President Gauck and Foreign Minister Steinmeier have oriented their policy toward more foreign military deployments, and so they are looking for more trouble spots. That’s the higher objective. Of course it’s also about the training of the Malian army which can then be deployed in the north. But the main purpose is the training of the Bundeswehr for future assignments in Africa.

“For the defense minister, the trip also seemed to be about creating images to counteract the low acceptance of the German population regarding foreign assignments of the Bundeswehr… Mali is also a training ground for the Bundeswehr. During the Mali mission, the Bundeswehr refueled warplanes in-flight during deployment for the first time. That is an exercise under real-life conditions in Africa. Insofar, I expect that the Bundeswehr is now being trained to intervene in comparable conflicts. I also expect that there will be more engagements in the future. They will be very different – they won’t all be such large missions like the one in Afghanistan. In different ways, the Bundeswehr will be deployed more often.”

New International Assignment for German Bundeswehr?

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 12:

“The German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, may be facing a new foreign assignment – the German foreign office confirmed Wednesday that it is considering participating in the planned destruction of Syrian chemical weapons on a US ship in the Mediterranean. The German navy may participate by providing security to the American ship where the destruction will take place.

“Berlin had already offered to destroy Syrian chemical weapons on German soil, which would take place at a state-owned company in Munster, Lower Saxony… According to a United Nations mandate, the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad must destroy all chemical warfare agents by June 2014. However, the removal of toxic substances – including sarin and mustard gas – has been slow going… Assad’s regime has said it remains committed to the June deadline, but that security problems… were causing delays…

“Peace talks between the two warring parties continued in Geneva on Wednesday, but little progress has been made. They came even as warplanes bombed the rebel-held town of Yabroud, near Syria’s border to Lebanon.”

“Merkel Toppled from Popularity Throne”

The Local wrote on February 7:

“Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has overtaken Angela Merkel to become Germany’s most popular politician, a poll on Friday showed, with the Chancellor slipping from the top spot for the first time in two years… Seventy percent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with how the Social Democrat (SPD) veteran was performing in his job as foreign minister, compared to 69 percent for Merkel. 

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, from Merkel’s CDU party, occupied third place, as 68 percent of those polled said they were happy with his work… Poll respondents were less pleased with the performances of Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who fell six points to 43 points, while Horst Seehofer, the leader of the Christian Democrats’ Bavarian sister party, the CSU, plunged ten points to 38 percent. Von der Leyen has started in her new post by looking to increase German troop numbers abroad, something which does not sit well with most Germans.

“Steinmeier, who served as foreign minister from 2005-09, has also been busy globetrotting in a sign Germany will pursue a more active foreign policy.”

Steinmeier, a Lutheran, is married and has one daughter. He studied law and served in many different political capacities, including that of Vice Chancellor. Merkel and Schaeuble are also Lutherans.

“Bosnia-Hercegovina Protests Break Out in Violence”

BBC News reported on February 7:

“Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings, in the worst unrest since the end of the 1992-95 war. Hundreds of people have been injured in three days of protests over high unemployment and perceived inability of politicians to improve the situation… Black smoke could be seen coming from the presidency building in Sarajevo…

“About 40% of Bosnians are unemployed. The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local population. This appears to be a case of simmering frustration boiling over. Two decades on from the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia has fallen off the international radar – and its people feel they have been forgotten. And not just by the wider world, but their own government.

“The administration is split along ethnic lines – and seems incapable of agreeing on anything but its own above-average pay packets.This has left the rest of Bosnia’s citizens struggling to move forward. Even practical matters like national identity cards, get mired in ethnic politics. At one point last year, desperate mothers formed a human chain around the main government building, begging for identity cards for their babies.

“The economic situation is desperate. Four in ten are unemployed – in large part due to a series of botched privatisations. That is what sparked the initial protests in Tuzla – but empathy with their cause brought demonstrators out in towns across Bosnia…”

American Presbyterian Church Angers Israel

JTA wrote on February 7:

“A study guide on Zionism published by an arm of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is drawing expressions of outrage from Jewish groups. The guide is ‘worthy of a hate group, not a prominent American church,’ said Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for Jewish public policy groups.

“The study guide by the church’s Israel Palestine Mission Network is titled ‘Zionism Unsettled.’ It posits that a ‘pathology inherent in Zionism’ drives the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and rejects theologies that uphold Zionism. It also calls for an ‘expanded, inclusive’ understanding of the Nazi genocide that would apply its lessons not just with respect to the persecution faced by Jews but also to the plight of the Palestinians, among others. The guide urges a ‘renunciation of the morally hazardous claims of a hierarchy of victimhood.’

“The Israel Palestine Mission Network advises the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) but does not necessarily speak for the church, according to mission network’s website. But the JCPA noted that the church funds and must approve the expenditures of the mission network. ‘As such it is impossible to separate the toxic actions of IPMN from the PCUSA without the kind of clarification from PCUSA officials that remains sorely missing,’ Gutow said in the statement.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center warned that the guide could result in Jews cutting off ties with the church. ‘If this book reflects the feelings of the PCUSA, the Simon Wiesenthal Center will divest all contacts from this institution and call on other Jewish organizations to do the same,’ the center said in a statement. The American Jewish Committee called the guide ‘a devastating distortion of Jewish and Israeli history, aimed at nothing less than eradicating the State of Israel.’”

“The guide was released ahead of the church’s biennial General Assembly, taking place this June in Detroit. The gathering will once again consider recommendations that it divest from companies that deal with Israel’s military. Similar resolutions have been narrowly defeated in the past.”

Vast Majority of Israelis Don’t Trust Obama, Kerry and America

Breitbart wrote on February 7:

“A new poll by Israel’s Geocartography Institute found that 70% of Israeli Jews do not trust the U.S. to protect Israeli security interests in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, according to the Jerusalem Post. The poll… also revealed that 75% of Jewish Israelis do not trust President Barack Obama, with degrees ranging from ‘definitely no’ to ‘not completely.’

“In addition, the poll found that two-thirds of Israelis agree with their government’s recent criticisms of statements by Secretary of State John Kerry. In recent months, Kerry has warned that Israel could face boycotts and even a ‘third intifada’ if it did not reach a deal with the Palestinians. U.S. officials were at pains to stress that Kerry did not mean to threaten Israel but to warn Israel about what other parties might try to do to it.”

The relationship between the USA and Israel will steadily deteriorate, until Israel will have been forsaken by all of its allies.

Israel Minister of Housing Wishes Construction of Third Temple

The website of israelvideonetwork.com wrote on February 2, 2014:

“The Israel Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel on Friday expressed his wish to see the construction of a ‘Third Temple’ in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque that is currently occupying the temple mount. Uri Ariel said ‘The first Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE, the second Temple in 70 CE, and ever since the Jewish People have been mourning its loss.’

“He then went on to say ‘Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently in place of the temple, despite the temple being much holier than it. Al-Aqsa Mosque is only the third most holy mosque in Islam.’ ‘Now that Israel has once again become a Jewish sovereign state, the desire to rebuild the Temple is growing stronger and strong’ he added.”

Uproar in Israel’s Knesset Over European Parliament President Martin Schulz’s Speech

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 12:

“European Parliament President Martin Schulz came under fire Wednesday after making remarks in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, about the water usage of Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank.

“In his speech, Schulz said that when he was in Ramallah earlier in the week, a young Palestinian had asked him ‘why an Israeli can use 70 cubic liters of water daily and a Palestinian only 17?’ He then added, ‘I haven’t checked the data. I’m asking you if this is correct.’

“The remarks caused the Knesset to break out in turmoil. Right-wing Jewish Home Party member Moti Yogev shouted at him, ‘Shame on you, you support someone who incites against Jews.’ Yogev and Naftali Bennett, Economy Minister and Jewish Home party leader, then left the hall. Bennett immediately took to his Facebook page: ‘I will not tolerate duplicitous propaganda against Israel in the Knesset … and especially not in German.’

“Likud Party member Moshe Feiglin, known for his extreme statements, was absent for the speech because, ‘it is inappropriate that a speech is given in the parliament of the Jewish state, in the language used when our parents were thrust into the railway wagons and in the crematoria,’ he wrote on Facebook.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own address to the Knesset, accused Schulz of repeating claims without fact-checking. ‘Check first,’ he said. Israeli media quoted Israel’s national water authority as saying the figures quoted by Schulz were inaccurate with West Bank settlers consuming 1.7 times more water per person, instead of 4.2 times more.

“In his speech, Schulz also said ‘the Palestinians have the right to self-determination and equality,’ and that they want to ‘live in peace and have unlimited freedom of movement,’ which he said they are denied in Gaza. Shortly before his Knesset speech, Schulz had complained of sensitivity in Israel against criticism from Europe…”

The Times of Israel wrote on February 12:

“Left-wing MKs reacted angrily to a right-wing walkout during the speech of EU Parliament President Martin Schulz in the Knesset Wednesday…  ‘The behavior of the Jewish Home MKs was shameful and scandalous,’ said opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor). ‘I think some of the [MKs] didn’t even hear the speech,’ he told Israel Radio shortly after the incident. ‘My colleagues and I were embarrassed. We know Martin Schulz. He defends Israel’s position, including in the European Parliament.’

“Schulz’s speech included ‘deep, historic words about the justice of Israel, about the Shoah and its lessons, about the battle against anti-Semitism and against evil; it was very impressive. And then he talked about our relationship with the Palestinians and the founding of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of the two-state solution. We have to get used to the fact that even our friends around the world are sometimes critical of us, and they’re going to say it. In the Knesset itself far worse things are said,’ Herzog added…

“Schulz had used the speech, delivered in his mother tongue of German, to reassure Israel of the European Union’s friendship, asserting that it plans no boycott against Israel and is committed to the Jewish people’s right to live in peace and security…

“‘I’m not familiar with the facts about water quotas,’ said Herzog, ‘but these are claims that can be dealt with, looked into, respectfully. Don’t put on a show. [Much of Schulz’s speech] would make Israel proud around the world, and we can only hope that every member of the EU Parliament will study it.’

“Meretz chair MK Zahava Gal-on was even harsher in her criticism. Responding to Jewish Home MKs’ complaints that criticism of Israel in German was especially problematic, she said in a statement: ‘The use of the Holocaust as a way to avoid dealing with international criticism isn’t just disgusting, it’s ridiculous.’ Jewish Home MKs were angry that Schulz ‘had dared to say that Israel needs to think about its relationship with the Palestinians,’ she said.”

America Is “Lying” and Still Iran’s Enemy

The Times of Israel wrote on February 8:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader said American officials are ‘lying’ when they say they are not seeking regime change in Iran… Khamenei also urged officials not to pin hopes for economic recovery on the sanctions relief from a landmark deal reached with world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program… Khamenei has given his blessing to Rouhani’s outreach policies. But he also has held to the line that the United States is fundamentally Iran’s adversary.”

The Associated Press reported on February 8:

“Iranian warships dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean will travel close to U.S. maritime borders for the first time, a senior Iranian naval commander said Saturday… The fleet, consisting of a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship, began its voyage last month from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The ships, carrying some 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews, are on a three-month mission…

“IRNA quoted Haddad as saying the fleet is approaching U.S. maritime borders for the first time. The Islamic Republic considers the move as a response to U.S. naval deployments near its own coastlines. The U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet is based in Bahrain, just across the Persian Gulf.”

Iran Prepares for War Against USA and Israel

The Washington Times wrote on February 12:

“A leading military chief in Iran said America’s threats against Tehran mean next to nothing — and that it’s the United States that better watch it. ‘We are ready for the decisive battle against the U.S. and the Zionist regime,’ said Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, according to Fars News, Iran’s government-run news agency. ‘If we are targeted from the U.S. bases in the region, we will hit those bases.’

“The general also said that Iran’s been prepping for war against the United States and Israel for the past 10 years… The bellicose threats come as the West, led by U.S. influence, forged a deal with Iran to freeze its nuclear activity for six months in exchange for relaxed international economic sanctions.”

How America Forsakes Its Poor

The Huffington Post wrote on February 6:

“Democrats failed on Thursday to win enough Republican votes to reauthorize long-term unemployment benefits for more than a million workers cut off in December. At least five Republicans needed to vote for the bill in order for it to advance, but only four did. The bill failed 58-to-40. Even if the Senate eventually passes an extension of unemployment benefits, which seems unlikely, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have been unenthusiastic about holding a vote.

“More than 1.7 million long-term jobless Americans have missed out on benefits since the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program lapsed on Dec. 28. Since 2008, the program had provided extra weeks of benefits to laid-off workers who use up the standard six months of state benefits. Democrats tried to sweeten the deal by banning millionaires from receiving benefits. Thursday’s measure would have required unemployment claimants to certify they’d earned less than $1 million in the previous year; previously, there was no income restriction…

“Congress routinely installs temporary federal benefit programs when the economy sours, then lets them expire when it improves. Democrats say that with an unprecedented 3.9 million Americans unemployed six months or longer, it’s too soon to drop the benefits…

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would try again… Last week, Reid told the story of a 57-year-old Nevada woman who’d written him to say that since her unemployment benefits stopped, she’s been couch surfing at friends’ houses. He revisited the story at a press conference on Thursday. ‘She couldn’t pay her rent,’ he said. ‘I hadn’t heard the term, some of the younger people probably have — she’s been couch-surfing. She’s been going from friend to friend to sleep on their couch. She said, “How do you think it makes me feel?’”’

Sadly, these real tragic life stories are no exceptions, but are becoming more and more common place in a country which prides itself of helping the poor. We might be doing this in other countries, granting them financial assistance beyond control, but what about our own people?

How America Punishes Its Poor

The Huffington Post wrote on February 12:

“In recent years, local governments throughout the United States have locked up growing numbers of people for failing to pay their legal debts… a new report takes a closer look at the emergence of modern-day ‘debtors’ prisons’ in Washington state, specifically.

“People throughout the state are often sent to jail because they can’t afford to pay the heavy fines and legal fees issued by county courts… The county’s District Court fines people for misdemeanors… defendants are often ordered to pay for the cost of their trials… Throughout the state, defendants frequently must pay fines, fees and other charges exceeding several thousand dollars per conviction, accruing interest at the rate of 12 percent per year…

“Under the U.S. Constitution, Americans can’t be jailed for failing to pay their debts when the reason for their failure to pay is poverty. But in Washington and other states, county governments get around that by insisting poor defendants could find a way to pay if they simply tried hard enough…

“In Ohio, a woman who couldn’t pay a $250 legal debt was held in jail for over a month… thousands of courts in Southern states jail people who can’t keep up with the fees imposed on them by private probation companies. Some states have begun curtailing their versions of the practice. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court announced last week that it would hand out ‘bench cards’ to state judges, encouraging them to offer payment plans to people who couldn’t afford their fines.”

Weak US Economy

BBC News wrote on February 7:

“The US economy added 113,000 jobs in January, the second month in a row the figure has been weaker than expected. Economists had predicted the US Labor Department would report an increase of about 180,000 new jobs… Getting America back to work is unfinished business… there were declines in hiring in retail, utilities, government, and education and health employment… Earlier this week, an unexpectedly weak manufacturing report raised concerns about the strength of the US economy and sent the Dow Jones tumbling by 326 points.”

Obamacare Problems

Newsmax wrote on February 12:

“The White House has been dealt a stunning new blow on Obamacare sign-up numbers with reports showing that only about half of the people ‘enrolled’ at healthcare exchanges in various states have actually paid their premiums. With the March 31 deadline for enrollment just seven weeks away, the number of sign-ups in federal and state marketplaces has slowed down to an alarming figure since the sudden surge in the latter part of December and early January.

“But the bigger problem for the Obama administration is that roughly 50 percent of consumers who had supposedly enrolled for President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform have missed their payment deadline for January 1.”

House and Senate Raise Debt Ceiling

Breitbart wrote on February 12:

“According to an analysis by the Senate Budget Committee Republican staff, the national debt when the debt ceiling comes back into effect [on March 15, 2015] will be $18.2 trillion, about $1 trillion more than the current, $17.2 trillion debt…

“After House Republicans failed to agree on a plan to include spending cuts and reforms in their debt ceiling bill, Speaker John Boehner brought a ‘clean’ debt ceiling increase to the House floor yesterday, which passed with mostly Democrats and 28 Republicans.

“The Senate just advanced its version of the legislation, voting to invoke cloture on the bill by a vote of 67-31… The vote puts the bill on the fast-track to a signature from President Obama.”

Deutsche Welle added on February 12:

“… [the] bill which will allow the US to continue borrowing normally for the next 13 months, also known as ‘raising the debt ceiling’…  the US Treasury will be able to pay its current debts, estimated at more than $17 trillion (12.5 trillion euros) until March 15, 2015.”

IRS to Tax American Gold Medalists

On February 7, 2014, the Drudge Report linked an article from the website of Americans For Tax Reform, stating this:

“As 230 U.S. Olympic athletes gear up to compete in the 2014 Winter Games, the only thing colder than the slopes at Sochi is the fact that any prizes awarded by the U.S. Olympic Commission (USOC) will be taxed by the IRS. Many Americans don’t realize that the U.S. taxes income earned abroad, and as such even the winnings of Olympic athletes are subject to the reach of the IRS.

“The USOC awards prizes to U.S. Olympic medal winners: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Relative to each athlete’s income tax bracket, some top earners such as Shaun White could end up paying over a third (39.6 percent) of their winnings to the IRS.

“Additionally, because the U.S. is one of only a handful of developed countries that tax income earned abroad, it is likely America’s competitors will not be subject to such a tax. Taken together – the tax on Olympic athletes and the tax on income earned abroad – it can be said the U.S. has officially ‘earned the Gold’ for having one of the most backwards and illogical tax codes in the world.”

Amen to that last comment.

Sweeping Changes for Same Sex Couples in Justice Department

Reuters wrote on February 8:

“Attorney General Eric Holder plans widespread changes within the U.S. Justice Department to benefit same-sex married couples, such as recognizing a legal right for them not to testify against each other in civil and criminal cases, according to excerpts of a speech on Saturday. The changes are designed to keep pushing for gay rights in the United States after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year said the federal government cannot refuse to recognize same-sex marriages carried out in states that allow them.

“U.S. law has long included a ‘spousal privilege’ that protects communications between a husband and wife so they cannot be forced to be incriminating witnesses against each other in court. In addition to extending the privilege to same-sex couples in situations involving the Justice Department, Holder said he plans to put same-sex couples on the same legal footing as opposite-sex couples in other areas, including how certain debts are handled in federal bankruptcy proceedings and visitation policies at federal prisons.

“‘In every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law,’ Holder said in the speech excerpts released in advance…

“Holder will also make same-sex married couples equally eligible for death benefits paid to the surviving spouses of law enforcement officers who have died on duty and for benefits from the September 11 victims’ compensation fund, according to the speech excepts. The Justice Department runs both programs…

“Only 13 U.S. states have legalized gay marriage. In states where same-sex marriage is not legal, spousal privilege for same-sex couples is not guaranteed. In politically conservative Kentucky, for example, a state judge in September denied a woman’s request for spousal privilege to shield her from testifying against her partner in a capital murder case.”

Worldwide Disagreements of Catholics with Their Church

The Washington Post wrote on February 8:

“Most Catholics worldwide disagree with church teachings on divorce, abortion and contraception and are split on whether women and married men should become priests, according to a large new poll released Sunday and commissioned by the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision. On the topic of gay marriage, two-thirds of Catholics polled agree with church leaders.

“Overall, however, the poll of more than 12,000 Catholics in 12 countries reveals a church dramatically divided: Between the developing world in Africa and Asia, which hews closely to doctrine on these issues, and Western countries in Europe, North America and parts of Latin America, which strongly support practices that the church teaches are immoral. The widespread disagreement with Catholic doctrine on abortion and contraception and the hemispheric chasm lay bare the challenge for Pope Francis’s year-old papacy and the unity it has engendered…

“19 percent of Catholics in the European countries and 30 percent in the Latin American countries surveyed agree with church teaching that divorcees who remarry outside the church should not receive Communion, compared with 75 percent in the most Catholic African countries.

“30 percent of Catholics in the European countries and 36 percent in the United States agree with the church ban on female priests, compared with 80 percent in Africa and 76 percent in the Philippines, the country with the largest Catholic population in Asia.

“40 percent of Catholics in the United States oppose gay marriage, compared with 99 percent in Africa.

“The poll… focused on 12 countries across the continents with some of the world’s largest Catholic populations. The countries are home to more than six of 10 Catholics globally…

“Seventy-eight percent of Catholics across all countries surveyed support the use of contraceptives, which violate the church’s teaching that sex should always be had with an openness toward procreation… More than 90 percent of Catholics in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Spain and France support the use of contraception. Those less inclined to support it were in the Philippines (68 percent), Congo (44 percent) and Uganda (43 percent). In the United States, 79 percent of Catholics support using contraception… The poll also showed 66 percent of Catholics opposing same-sex marriage, with majorities in eight of the 12 countries surveyed agreeing with church doctrine…

“Critics say [Pope Francis’] solicitation of opinions wrongly gives the appearance that Catholicism is a democracy. Others… say there’s no evidence that he would touch doctrine… Any change would be a complex undertaking, as Catholics are going in many directions… Catholics in Brazil, the most populous Catholic country, widely reject some core church teachings but are seeing a surge in men becoming priests for the first time in decades. Filipino Catholics… support church teachings on some social issues but have a powerfully charismatic faith that isn’t focused on being in step with church leaders.”

It has always been the policy of the Roman Catholic Church to open its doors to people of all kinds of different beliefs, convictions and persuasions, placing a “Christian” mantle on their pagan worship. This type of syncretism is one reason for the utter confusion within the Church.

Final Draft Agreement Between Catholic Church and Palestine

Zenit wrote on February 7:

“A Holy See-Palestinian commission announced Thursday that there is ‘great satisfaction’ at progress toward the final draft of an agreement that will regulate aspects of Church life and activity in the Holy Land…  The talks were chaired by Hanna Amireh, member of Executive Committee of the PLO and head of the Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs of the State of Palestine, and by Archbishop Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See.

“‘The discussions took place in a cordial and constructive atmosphere,’ the Holy See reported…  ‘The Palestinian side expressed its warm welcome to Pope Francis in view of his upcoming visit to the Holy Land.’”

Catastrophic Ice Storm in the USA

BBC News wrote on February 12:

“A ‘catastrophic’ ice storm wreaking havoc in the American South is now poised to pummel the eastern seaboard, say forecasters. More than 350,000 people are reportedly without power and 3,300 US flights have been cancelled due to ice and strong winds… North Carolina and Virginia are bracing for up to 1ft (30cm) of snow as the storm rolls north… The National Weather Service said it was an event of ‘historical proportions’, drawing comparisons with similar weather systems that struck the Atlanta area in 2000 and 1973…

“North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory urged residents to ‘stay smart’, asking people to charge their mobile phones and find batteries for radios and flashlights in anticipation of power cuts. Traffic was snarled in the state, especially in the city of Raleigh, as the snow began to fall in the early evening and prevented crews from clearing roads.”

The Weather Channel added on February 12:

“Winter Storm Pax continued its second wave of wintry weather Wednesday, dumping freezing rain and sleet across a wide area that could experience catastrophic conditions for a prolonged period of time. In North Carolina, snowfall led to a disastrous commute Wednesday afternoon in Raleigh and Charlotte…”

“Meanwhile, a Deluge in the UK…”

The Daily Mail wrote on February 8:

“A wave bigger [than] the hamlet of Sennen Cove, in West Cornwall, was seen crashing over the cliffs today as a series of devastating storms swept in bringing gales of up to 80mph. There are more than 300 low-level flood alerts and nearly 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across Wales and southern and central England as north as Hull – two of them pose ‘a danger to life’. Today’s storms are expected to be at least as severe as those which caused widespread destruction across southern England last week leaving swathes of the country under water.”

BBC News added on February 12:

“Further flooding is expected in parts of the UK, as forecasters warn stormy weather could bring the ‘strongest’ winds of winter and a month’s rainfall in the coming days.”

One member of UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party – “get the UK out of Europe” party) said that because of homosexuality etc., the country was having all these problems. The Guardian newspaper wrote on February 10 that “A UKIP councillor who blamed the Christmas and new year floods on the passage of gay marriage laws has been suspended from the party, Ukip said on Sunday, reversing an earlier view that he was entitled to his opinion.  Henley-on-Thames councillor David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron’s support for same-sex unions, said he had warned the prime minister of ‘repercussions’ if gay marriage went ahead.   He was suspended by Ukip after defying a request not to do further interviews on his beliefs following his initial claims made in a letter to a local newspaper. The move came as leader Nigel Farage launched a clearout of ‘extremist, nasty or barmy’ views from the party ahead of polls in May.”

This is just a tiny foretaste of what is to come when the nation is truly told about its sins! 

Appalling Conduct Towards European Zoo Animals

The Associated Press reported on February 9:

“Copenhagen Zoo killed a 2-year-old giraffe and fed its remains to lions as visitors watched, ignoring a petition signed by thousands and offers from other zoos and a private individual to save the animal. Marius, a healthy male, was put down Sunday using a bolt pistol… Visitors, including children, were invited to watch while the giraffe was then skinned and fed to the lions… the zoo, which now has seven giraffes left, followed the recommendation of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria to put down Marius… because there already were a lot of giraffes with similar genes in the organization’s breeding program.

“The Amsterdam-based EAZA has 347 members, including many large zoos in European capitals… EAZA membership isn’t mandatory, but most responsible zoos are members of the organization… [The] zoo had turned down offers from other ones to take Marius and an offer from a private individual who wanted to buy the giraffe for 500,000 euros ($680,000)… [The zoo] turned down an offer from Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Britain, which is a member of EAZA, because Marius’ older brother lives there and the park’s space could be better used by a ‘genetically more valuable giraffe.’… Copenhagen Zoo also turned down an offer from a zoo in northern Sweden, because it was not an EAZA member…

“EAZA said it supported the zoo’s decision to ‘humanely put the animal down and believes strongly in the need for genetic and demographic management within animals in human care.’ However, the organization Animal Rights Sweden said the case highlights what it believes zoos do to animals regularly. ‘It is no secret that animals are killed when there is no longer space, or if the animals don’t have genes that are interesting enough,’ it said in a statement…

“Elisa Allen, spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the U.K., said Marius’ case should serve as a wake-up call for anyone who ‘still harbors the illusion that zoos serve any purpose beyond incarcerating intelligent animals for profit…  Giraffes rarely die of old age in captivity, and had Marius not been euthanized today, he would have lived out his short life as a living exhibit, stranded in a cold climate, thousands of miles away from his true home.’”

This kind of animal cruelty and the destruction of perfectly healthy animals for arbitrary or no reasons won’t be allowed anymore, when Christ rules on this earth.

Israeli Prayers Against John Kerry

rt.com wrote on January 31:

“Thousands of Israeli Jewish hardliners gathered at the Western Wall imploring God to throw a wrench in a peace plan proposed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, which would see a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem and other territorial compromises. Police say around 2,000 people attended the gathering in Jerusalem’s Old City, where participants called on God to strike fear in the hearts of those who might cause harm to the land of Israel. Housing Minister Uri Ariel and other members of the far-right Jewish Home party, which forms part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition but fiercely opposes a two-state solution, were in attendance.

“In a not-so-veiled reference to Kerry’s role in peace negotiations, Ariel said ‘thousands of people came to pray for the people of Israel, to strengthen the government and the one who stands at its head, that he may be able to stand firm against the different pressures coming from the other side of the ocean,’ Israeli National News reported… Kerry, who is set to visit Israel for the 11th time in under a year, has enraged hardliner Israelis with a peace plan that reportedly includes an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and a future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital… Moshe Cohen, of the Beit El settlement, who was one of the Western Wall event’s organizers, told AFP: ‘Kerry’s plan endangers us since he wants to separate between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.’…

“Discomfort over Kerry’s plan and the alleged influence he is yielding over Netanyahu has led some in the Israeli government to accuse Kerry of anti-Semitism.  Knesset member Motti Yogev from the right-wing Bayit Yehudi Party told Israeli Radio that Kerry’s ‘anti-Israeli roots’ preclude him from being a fair mediator… Yogev said most senior officials from Netanyahu’s center-right Likud party agree with him…

“Earlier this month, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon was forced to apologize after calling Kerry’s drive for peace as ‘messianic’ and ‘obsessive.’… Meanwhile, Netanyahu sparked a crisis in his governing coalition Sunday by saying that Jews currently living in the West Bank would live under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority (PA)… New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman… who is viewed as being exceptionally close to the Obama administration, said Kerry has been ‘fanatically relentless’ but also ‘highly sophisticated’ in his attempts to bring both sides together. He says Netanyahu is clearly aware ‘that some kind of two-state solution is necessary for Israel’s integrity as a Jewish democratic state, with the healthy ties to Europe and the West that are vital for Israel’s economy,’ but is ‘deeply skeptical about Palestinian intentions.’”

The Telegraph added on February 2:

“John Kerry, the US secretary of state, triggered an angry backlash from Israeli leaders on Sunday after warning Israel faces an economic boycott if it failed to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians… Yuval Steinitz, the intelligence and strategic affairs minister and a close ally of Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said America’s top diplomat was ‘holding a gun to [Israel’s] head’…

“Naftali Bennett, the industry minister and leader of the far-Right Jewish Home party, said: ‘We expect of our friends in the world to stand by our side against the attempts to impose an anti-Semitic boycott on Israel, and not to be their mouthpiece.’ His comments were echoed by Adi Mintz, a senior official in the Settler’s Council, who accused Mr Kerry of ‘an anti-Semitic initiative’. ‘The anti-Semites have always resorted to a very simple method – hit the Jews in their pockets,’ he told Israel’s Channel 10 TV station. Mr Netanyahu was more restrained, telling Sunday’s cabinet meeting that efforts to impose a boycott were ‘immoral and unjust’ and doomed to fail.”

The relationship between the USA and Israel is bound to deteriorate more and more. To label John Kerry as an anti-Semite is absolutely preposterous.

The Unending Conflict in the Middle East

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 31:

“World War I may have ended in 1918, but the violence it triggered in the Middle East still hasn’t come to an end. Arbitrary borders drawn by self-interested imperial powers have left a legacy that the region has not been able to overcome… In no other theater of World War I are the results of that epochal conflict still as current as they are in the Middle East. Nowhere else does the early 20th century orgy of violence still determine political conditions to the same degree. The so-called European Civil War, a term used to describe the period of bloody violence that racked Europe from 1914 onwards, came to an end in 1945. The Cold War ceased in 1990. But the tensions unleashed on the Arab world by World War I remain as acute as ever. Essentially, the Middle East finds itself in the same situation now as Europe did following the 1919 Treaty of Versailles: standing before a map that disregards the region’s ethnic and confessional realities.

“In Africa, Latin America and — following the bloodletting of World War II — Europe, most peoples have largely come to accept the borders that history has forced upon them. But not in the Middle East. The states that were founded in the region after 1914, and the borders that were drawn then, are still seen as illegitimate by many of their own citizens and by their neighbors… No group of countries, particularly given their small sizes, has seen so many wars, civil wars, overthrows and terrorist attacks in recent decades. To understand how this historical anomaly came to pass, several factors must be considered: the region’s depressing history prior to World War I, the failure of the Arab elite and the continual intervention by the superpowers thereafter, the role of political Islam, the discovery of oil, the founding of Israel and the Cold War.

“Perhaps most important, however, was the wanton resolution made by two European colonial powers, Britain and France, that ordered this part of the world in accordance with their own needs and literally drew ‘A Line in the Sand,’ as the British historian James Barr titled his 2011 book about this episode [also referred to as the] ‘Peace to End All Peace,’ as Fromkin’s book is called.

“… the unresolved conflicts left behind by World War I, combined with the spill-over effects from the catastrophic World War II in Europe — the founding of Israel, the Cold War and the race for Persian Gulf resources — added up to a historical burden for the Middle East. And they have resulted in an unending conflict — a conflict that has yet to come to an end even today, almost 100 years after that fateful summer in 1914.”

Actions always have results. What we are seeing in the Middle East has of course been prophesied to occur—but this does not in any way justify past conduct of world powers which at least contributed to the current disaster.

Kerry Admits to Failure of US Policy in Syria

The Washington Times wrote on February 3:

“Two senators said Secretary of State John Kerry admitted to them behind closed doors that the White House position and policy on Syria was failing. He made the startling admission during private remarks to 15 congressional members, said two senators who were in the room, The Daily Beast reported. ‘[Kerry] acknowledged that the chemical weapons [plan] is being slow rolled, the Russians continue to supply arms, we are at a point now where we are going to have to change our strategy,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was in the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, The Daily Beast said. The other senator in the room who confirmed the discussions: John McCain, the outlet reported.

“Mr. Kerry also reportedly told the congressional members that he thinks Syria President Bashar Assad is not keeping his promise to turn over chemical weapons as scheduled and that neither the Geneva peace talks nor the Russians were proving helping in forging a peace deal, The Daily Beast said.”

Another US attempt in foreign policy which is failing. Also note the next article.

US Failed Road Building Policy in Afghanistan

The Washington Post wrote on January 30:

“They look like victims of an insurgent attack — their limbs in need of amputation, their skulls cracked — but the patients who pour daily into the Ghazni Provincial Hospital are casualties of another Afghan crisis. They are motorists who drove on the road network built by the U.S. government and other Western donors — a $4 billion project that was once a symbol of promise in post-Taliban Afghanistan but is now falling apart. Western officials say the Afghan government is unable to maintain even a fraction of the roads and highways constructed since 2001, when the country had less than 50 miles of paved roads. The deterioration has hurt commerce and slowed military operations. In many places, the roads once deemed the hallmark of America’s development effort have turned into death traps, full of cars careening into massive bomb-blast craters or sliding off crumbling pavement…

“Since 2012, the United States has refused to fund the Afghan government’s road maintenance projects because it has no faith in the country’s ability to perform even simple tasks, such as dispatching a contractor to fill in a pothole or repaving a stretch of highway. Despite those concerns, the U.S. government is still building new roads in Afghanistan, multimillion-dollar projects whose funds were allocated years ago…

“Before the U.S. invasion in 2001, almost all of Afghanistan’s roads — mostly Soviet-built — had been destroyed by war and neglect. The new, U.S.-built highways seemed to be a godsend for this impoverished nation. But the projects became notorious for their exorbitant costs and poorly implemented contracts. Sometimes, money landed in the hands of the Taliban in exchange for a tacit cease-fire during road construction…”

More Devastating Revelations About the NSA

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 5:

“It wasn’t only Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone that was on the NSA’s target list… Now it appears that, in addition to eavesdropping German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile communications, the National Security Agency was also eavesdropping on Gerhard Schröder’s phone while he was still chancellor. On Tuesday night, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and NDR reported that Schröder had appeared on the so-called National Sigint Requirement List, a list of people and institutions named for targeting by the intelligence agency whose telephone communications should be monitored…

“The reports cite unnamed US government and NSA insider sources claiming that Schröder was declared a target for monitoring because of his critical position on US preparations for a war in Iraq. A person with knowledge of the action is quoted as saying that the US had reason to believe that Schröder would not help lead the alliance toward success…

“In Germany, the revelations appeared to create new tensions in German-American relations. Speaking to SPIEGEL ONLINE, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, of Schröder’s center-left Social Democratic Party, accused the NSA of conducting indiscriminate mass surveillance…

“When SPIEGEL reported in October 2013 that Angela Merkel’s mobile phone had been tapped — even as far back as 2002, when she headed the conservative Christian Democratic Union party before becoming German’s leader — the article prompted massive outrage in Berlin. Further stories showed that the US intelligence service had also been eavesdropping on numerous other world leaders. In a speech addressing the NSA scandal, US President Barack Obama pledged that his agencies would no longer eavesdrop on the leaders of allied countries in the future. However, he at the same time imposed conditions that still give the intelligence agencies plenty of room for maneuver…

“In their reports, Süddeutsche and NDR claim the NSA was tasked not only with collecting metadata, but also information about when and with whom each target was speaking. The contents of telephone calls and SMS messages were also captured. And this appears to have applied to both Merkel and Schröder.”

Germany Gives Britain a Lukewarm Reception

The Local wrote on February 3:

“Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a lukewarm reception on Monday to Britain’s hopes of EU treaty change, days after France poured cold water on any renegotiation of London’s membership. Speaking after he met his British counterpart William Hague, Steinmeier said Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany appeared to have different views on the issue of changing the 28-member EU’s treaties. Prime Minister David Cameron’s hopes of renegotiating Britain’s relationship with the EU had largely rested with Germany, after President Francois Hollande of France said last week that treaty change was ‘not a priority’…

“Under pressure from eurosceptics in his Conservative party, Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain’s position in the EU and put the new deal to a referendum in 2017, provided that he wins the next election in May 2015. Cameron in particular wants to repatriate some powers from Brussels, as well as giving extra legal powers to protect the 10 member countries including Britain that do not use the euro currency…”

The UK will not stay within the EU, and it will never adopt the Euro.

Most Germans Opposed to Bigger Military Role

AFP wrote on January 31:

“Most Germans oppose a bigger role for their military in the world’s trouble spots despite a push by the country’s new defence minister, a poll released Friday indicated. Asked whether they would support more deployments of Bundeswehr forces to crisis regions, 61 percent said ‘no’ versus 30 percent who would back such moves… Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new defence chief Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview last weekend that Germany should engage more strongly in Africa by sending additional military trainers to Mali and supporting the French intervention in Central African Republic… The remarks triggered a debate in a country still marked by its militaristic past…”

Even though the majority of the people might not want a bigger military role of their country, sadly, prophecy reveals that, in part due to pressure from other nations, Germany is going to become a very powerful military might. See the next article.

Merkel to Extend German Military Engagement in Afghanistan?

Deutsche Welle reported on February 5:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday recommended to parliament that it extend Germany’s military deployment in Afghanistan until late December, the planned end of the NATO-led international combat mission. The Bundestag parliament is due on February 21 to make decisions on whether to mandate German military deployments, including 10 further months for Afghanistan and a plan to send extra personnel to train Mali’s army…

“Shortly after the cabinet session, it was reported that Germany’s new defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, had set out on a visit to Africa. Her destinations were not disclosed… Germany began a major reorganization of its Bundeswehr armed forces in 2010. The reform foresees 185,000 soldiers of which up to 10,000 could be deployed abroad on internationally mandate missions.”

Russia Warns Ukrainian Opposition

BBC News wrote on February 3:

“Russia has urged Ukrainian opposition leaders to end their campaign of ‘ultimatums and threats’ and to step up negotiations with the government. Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow was concerned by activists’ attempts to ‘inflame’ the situation.

“Protesters in Kiev have repeated their calls for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych, who is now back at work after four days of illness. The EU and US are considering a big loan to help debt-laden Ukraine… It’s an understatement to say that the plan depends on a number of variables. President Yanukovych’s acceptance of the plan – if it is offered – is one of the main ones. Another is the reaction to the protesters on Kiev’s streets, who might not welcome the possibility of a ‘national unity’ government, which leaves Mr Yanukovych in power…

“European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insisted that the EU was not going to enter into a ‘bidding competition’ with Russia to win Ukraine’s loyalty. Russia promised a $15bn (£9bn) aid package to Ukraine last year, but has indicated the next tranche will not be given until a new government is formed, following the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet last week.”

Ukraine will ultimately turn to Russia and disassociate from Europe.

Most Powerful Laser Weapon Fired

Mail On Line wrote on February 3:

“Lockheed Martin fires most powerful portable LASER weapon it has ever created in hi-tech race to replace missiles… It is a weapon that could mean the end of traditional missiles. Lockheed Martin revealed it has tested the a 30-kilowatt electric fiber laser, the highest power ever fired.

“The firm says the weapon could eventually be mounted on jets, tanks and fighter planes – and will more than triple in strength before being used in combat… The project has received funding from the US Army, which is also working with Boeing on a laser mounted weapon.”
 
Man has still not learned that his weapons of war will only bring destruction. As he advances in his developments of more and more powerful weapons, he is fast approaching the prophesied threat of total self-annihilation.

Bible Mindedness in American Cities

Time wrote on January 22:

“America, you may have a new Sodom and Gomorrah. The two least ‘Bible-minded’ cities in the United States are the adjacent metros of Providence, R.I., and New Bedford, Mass., according to a study out Wednesday from the American Bible Society. The study defines ‘Bible-mindedness’ as a combination of how often respondents read the Bible and how accurate they think the Bible is…

“Tennessee… is the most devout [state] in the union. Chattanooga was found to be the most Bible-minded city in America, a title it won from last year’s victor, Knoxville… ‘Not surprisingly, many cities in the East Coast continued to rank as the least Bible-minded in 2013,’ says a press release.

“Surprisingly, that den of sin called New York City didn’t make the top ten least Bible-minded cities, coming in at 89th in the list of 100. Suspecting New York’s large Jewish population may have rescued it from the bottom ten, TIME inquired as to whether the Torah counted as the Bible for the purposes of the survey. A spokesperson said questioners left it up to respondents to determine what they considered to be the sacred text, but the question asked was, ‘How many times do you read the bible outside of church or a synagogue?’”

In an accompanying chart, “Bible-minded” cities were listed in Missouri and Alabama, while least “Bible-minded” cities were identified in California and Iowa.

Catholic Church in Need of Reform?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 3:

“The Vatican last year sent out a survey to Catholics around the world focusing on attitudes to sex and sexuality. The responses are now in — and they show that the Church is badly in need of reform. Can Pope Francis meet such expectations?…

“SPIEGEL has taken a closer look at the mood in all 27 German dioceses… The outcome is devastating for the guardians of pure doctrine… Even in conservative Bavaria, 86 percent of Catholics do not believe it is a sin to use the pill or condoms, both condemned by the church. A look into the congregations reveals that Rome could soon be facing a wave of protest unlike anything the Vatican has experienced in a long time.

“… could it be that while the tone has changed at the Vatican, the substance remains unchanged? The Argentine pope has not eliminated or even softened a single dogma of his rigid church, even though he has the power to do so…

“The most contentious issue is the church’s strict prohibition of contraception, which almost all Catholics ignore… The Vatican’s notion that couples should only live together and have sex after marriage is equally outdated. Living together before marriage ‘is an unmistakable reality today,’ notes the Diocese of Augsburg. The same conclusions are drawn throughout the alphabet of dioceses, ending with Würzburg, where ‘about 90 percent of all couples practice cohabitation ‘ad experimentum’…

“Hardly anyone among the faithful understands how the various prohibitions are supposed to fit together. To begin with, couples are not supposed to have sex before marriage. Once they are married, they are not permitted to use birth control. And if the marriage fails, the church has other objections. Many Catholics are especially incensed over the treatment of people who have been divorced and then remarried, which, according to the wording of the survey, places them in ‘irregular marriage situations’ and excludes them from communion…

“Another group the church accused of committing sins also enjoys considerable support from the base: homosexuals. ‘Many Christians cannot understand this attitude,”’ the staff of Cologne’s Cardinal Joachim Meisner concluded after reading the survey responses they received…

“Finally, many Christians took advantage of a unique opportunity to tell the pope how they felt about issues that were not even included in the survey. One is the vow of chastity for the clergy… The parishioners [want] to see the church do away with mandatory celibacy.

“… the public pays little attention when the Vatican… energetically defends Catholic doctrine. The church’s new leader has already sent the relevant signals to the Roman Catholic community. ‘I am a son of the church,’ he reassured the curia…

“The retired pope [Benedict]  is the fixed star of the traditionalists in the Roman Catholic Church. His residence, the Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church) monastery, is only a few steps from St. Peter’s Basilica, set idyllically in the Vatican gardens. It forms the intellectual center of old Catholicism. Joseph Ratzinger keeps the strict worldview of his era alive through his presence alone. Benedict was in poor health during the weeks following his resignation. He suffered from heart and circulatory ailments, was emaciated and weak and plagued by depression. Many in his circle were convinced that he was dying. But then he recovered. His ideal of a spiritual church as an antithesis to a secularized, uninhibited society is very much alive. For the conservative establishment, Ratzinger continues to set the standard today.

“Of course, the retired pontiff keeps a low profile when it comes to the public… The old elites are not as discreet…

“A year of decisions is beginning for Francis and his church. Will the calls for attention from the basis be heard behind the thick walls of the Vatican? Can laypeople expect the church to change in accordance with their wishes?… Even Francis’s open-minded advisers are concerned that he will be unable to put the genie back into the bottle. Marcello Semeraro is the secretary of Pope Francis’ ‘crown council,’ the group of eight cardinals from around the world tasked with advising the pope on reforms. Semeraro does everything he can to dampen the overwhelming expectations of ordinary Catholics…”

This article raises quite a few interesting topics. First of all, we should clearly see that Catholic members are totally confused about right and wrong standards. Even where the Church is right, they disagree, as they have become more and more liberal.

For example, the church is absolutely right to speak out against sex before marriage and living together without being married, and it is also right in not justifying homosexual behavior. On the other hand, the church is wrong when prohibiting divorce for any reason or the use of birth control methods; and when it compels celibacy for priests.

We should not expect that major doctrinal reforms will occur in the Catholic Church. It is also noteworthy that the article refers to prior Pope Benedict as someone who is still exerting an important influence. We should not hastily dismiss him as a powerful force within the church.

UN “Interferes” in Church Matters?

BBC News wrote on February 5:

“The UN has said that the Vatican should ‘immediately remove’ all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers. The UN watchdog for children’s rights denounced the Holy See for adopting policies which allowed priests to sexually abuse thousands of children. In a report, it also criticised Vatican attitudes towards homosexuality, contraception and abortion.

“The Vatican responded by saying it would examine the report – but also accused its authors of interference…

“The Vatican has always given precedence to Church law, called Canon Law, over local criminal law in dealing with ecclesiastical crime. It does not easily tolerate interference by civil authorities in ecclesiastical matters. The recent case of a senior Vatican diplomat, a Polish archbishop, who was suddenly recalled to Rome from his post in Santo Domingo after serious police accusations of sexual abuse of minors there is a case in point. The Vatican has refused an extradition request by justice authorities in Poland and says an internal police investigation is under way inside Vatican City…

“The Vatican has denied any official cover-up. However, in December it refused a UN request for data on abuse on the grounds that it only released such information if requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.”

Sadly, the UN is not the body with any credibility in spiritual matters, which is emphasized by that fact that even though they are right in strongly deploring child abuse by the Catholic clergy, they are wrong in advocating abortion and homosexuality.

Was Bavarian King Ludwig II Really Mad?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 31:

“People have long believed that Bavarian King Ludwig II, the man responsible for building the famous castle of Neuschwanstein, was mentally ill. Indeed, he was dethroned for that very reason. But a recent study casts doubt on that diagnosis.

“When the fate of the king of Bavaria was placed into his hands, Bernhard von Gudden was a highly regarded figure in medical circles. Not only had the doctor perfected a machine that could cut human brains into fine slices for research purposes. But he had also made a name for himself in the area of psychiatry… Still, the psychiatrist thoroughly botched his most famous case. The doctor, together with several colleagues, provided the following diagnosis: ‘He is teetering like a blind man without guidance on the verge of a precipice.’ The king in question was Ludwig II, the most famous of Bavaria’s monarchs, both for his moniker of ‘Mad King Ludwig’ and for the fact that he built several picturesque castles that still dot the southern German state today, including the famous Neuschwanstein at the foot of the Alps.

“Gudden et. al. declared Ludwig II unfit to conduct government business. The diagnosis led to Ludwig’s being dethroned on June 10, 1886. Three days later he — and, mysteriously, Gudden — drowned in what is now called Lake Starnberg, located just south of Munich.

“But how accurate was this drastic medical report? Did it stem from a proper examination that lived up to medical standards of the time? And who had an interest in Ludwig II being toppled? These questions have now been addressed by a group led by Mannheim-based psychiatrist Heinz Häfner. Their findings, recently published in the journal History of Psychiatry, contradict the conclusions reached by Gudden. Häfner says that at no time did the king’s behavior ‘provide reliable evidence of his purported mental illness.’

“Many historians have refrained from questioning the conclusion that the king from the House of Wittelsbach was mentally ill. After all, Ludwig gave his contemporaries ample reasons to question his sanity. He plunged his kingdom into massive debt with his megalomaniac construction projects… Ludwig hadn’t just angered his family and come close to driving his country to financial ruin. He also embarrassed the Bavarian royal family at every opportunity. War Minister Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger, for example, was forced to leave office in 1885, partly because the gay monarch couldn’t refrain from recruiting his lovers from a cavalry unit, the Bavarian Chevau-légers.

“As such, Gudden’s misguided diagnosis was far from unwelcome. The lethal outcome was probably unintended, but couldn’t be ruled out given that Ludwig faced the prospect of being confined to a royal cell in the Berg palace on the shores of Lake Starnberg, with barred windows, doors with observation slits and no handles. Harsh treatment for a man whose behavior these days would be regarded at worst as the product of a personality disorder. It is a diagnosis that countless people live with these days, without being locked away.”

Obamacare’s Individual Penalties

Market Watch wrote on February 2:

“Starting this year, the Obamacare law imposes a penalty on individuals who fail to have so-called minimum essential health insurance coverage for any month. This coverage requirement is commonly called the individual mandate, and the penalty is the cost for failure to comply. You will owe the penalty if you don’t have minimum essential coverage for yourself and your dependents. Minimum essential coverage includes certain government sponsored programs (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program), eligible employer-sponsored plans, plans obtained in the individual market, certain grandfathered group plans, and other coverage specified by the Feds. However, if you fit into one of [numerous] categories, you are exempt from the penalty… You are supposed to pay any penalty you owe with your Form 1040 for the year—starting with your 2014 return which you will file sometime next year.

“However, the only enforcement mechanism is that the government can subtract any unpaid penalty from your federal income tax refunds. So if you’re not owed a refund for 2014 or a later year, there will never be any consequences for not paying the penalty. (You aren’t subject to criminal prosecution, and the IRS cannot put a lien or levy on your income or assets.).”

Dangerous Third-Hand Smoke

CBS wrote on February 3:

“Exposure to surfaces and objects that have been saturated in cigarette smoke, labeled as ‘third-hand smoke,’ is just as deadly as smoking the cigarette itself. A new study from the University of California, Riverside finds that the third-hand smoke that has soaked into the surfaces, objects and environment around people becomes increasingly toxic over time. Third-hand smoke is defined as the second-hand smoke that is allowed to settle on objects in any environment. Non-smoking children, co-workers, spouses and friends of smokers breathe in such carcinogens left in rooms exposed to smokers…

“The researchers note that smoking tobacco remains a worldwide cause of serious health threats for smokers and nonsmokers alike, affected approximately 1.5 billion people globally…  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 440,000 deaths each year in the U.S., which is about one-in-five deaths. The CDC notes that smoking causes more deaths annually than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries and firearm-related incidents.

“CDC data shows that exposure to secondhand smoke has “immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and can cause coronary heart disease.” Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease each year in the United States among nonsmokers. Past research has shown that older children whose parents smoke get sick more often, their lungs grow less and wheezing, coughing are more common in children who breathe secondhand smoke.”

As we can see from this article, first-hand, second-hand and third-hand smoke are a terrible curse with bad consequences for the smokers and others. How can we deny the fact that smoking is harmful, and that it causes harm (not just displeasure) to others? In what way can smoking be a reflection of love towards neighbor and self? It is clearly sinful in the eyes of God.

Deluge in England

The Guardian wrote on February 1:

“The deluge that has engulfed southern and central England in recent weeks is the worst winter downpour in almost 250 years… The rainfall… in January was greater than for any winter month since daily recording began there in 1767, and three times the average amount… the region from Devon to Kent and up into the Midlands suffered its wettest January since its records began in 1910.”

On some cities it will rain… but sadly, far too much…

Drought in California

Newsmax wrote on February 2:

“California’s three-year drought could end up being the area’s worst in 500 years, forcing even tougher restrictions on residents who have been cutting back on showers and farming already. On Friday, the State Water Project, which is the main distribution system of municipal water in California, announced it would not be allocating any water from its reservoirs to local agencies this spring. It is the first time it has taken such action in its 54-year history. Drinking water for 25 million people and irrigation for 1 million acres of farmland will be affected… A snow survey Thursday in the Sierra Nevada showed a snowpack of only 12 percent of normal… Reservoirs are lower than in 1977, one of the state’s previous worst drought years.

“With forecasts still calling for no rain, 17 rural communities that provide water to 40,000 people could run out of [it] within 60 to 120 days… And air pollution in Los Angeles, which had been declining over the past 10 years, is on the rise without rain to clean the air. Bans have been put on fireplace wood burning to combat the problem.”

The Associated Press wrote on February 2:

“Amid California’s driest year on record, the nation’s leading agricultural region is locked in drought and bracing for unemployment to soar, sending farm workers to food lines in a place famous for its abundance. One-third of the Central Valley’s jobs are related to farming. Strains on water supplies are expected to force farmers to leave fields unplanted, creating a ripple effect on food processing plant workers, truck drivers and those who sell fertilizer, irrigation equipment and tractors.”

… while there will be no rain on other cities…

Volcano Eruption in Indonesia

Reuters wrote on February 1:

“Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano erupted and killed at least 11 people on the western island of Sumatra on Saturday, the first time it is known to have claimed any lives, a senior government official said. The volcano has becoming increasingly active in recent months, regularly spewing columns of ash several kilometres into the air. The government has evacuated tens of thousands of residents near the area…

“Sinabung is one of nearly 130 active volcanoes in the world’s most populous country, which stands along the ‘Ring of Fire’ volcanic belt around the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia’s most deadly volcanic eruption in recent years was of Mount Merapi, near the densely populated city of Yogyakarta in central Java. It erupted in late 2010, killing more than 350 people.”

… and eruptions of volcanoes and other terrible natural disasters will continue, as we are nearing the return of Jesus Christ.

Dictatorial Governmental Restrictions in the UK

BBC News published an extremely disturbing report on January 24, showing the controlling and intrusive involvement of Western governments (in this case the UK) in private affairs and jeopardizing privacy and individual freedom, which terrible violations are normally only known in dictatorial countries. Let the reader beware as to what Satan’s world has still in store for us:

“Some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it, the BBC has learnt.  Listeners have told Radio 4’s Money Box they were stopped from withdrawing amounts ranging from £5,000 to £10,000…

“Stephen Cotton went to his local HSBC branch this month to withdraw £7,000 from his instant access savings account to pay back a loan from his mother. A year before, he had withdrawn a larger sum in cash from HSBC without a problem. But this time it was different, as he told Money Box: ‘When we presented them with the withdrawal slip, they declined to give us the money because we could not provide them with a satisfactory explanation for what the money was for. They wanted a letter from the person involved.’

“Mr Cotton says the staff refused to tell him how much he could have: ‘So I wrote out a few slips. I said, “Can I have £5,000?” They said no. I said, “Can I have £4,000?” They said no. And then I wrote one out for £3,000 and they said, “OK, we’ll give you that.”’

“He asked if he could return later that day to withdraw another £3,000, but he was told he could not do the same thing twice in one day. He wrote to complain to HSBC about the new rules and also that he had not been informed of any change. The bank said it did not have to tell him…

“Mr Cotton cannot understand HSBC’s attitude: ‘I’ve been banking in that bank for 28 years. They all know me in there. You shouldn’t have to explain to your bank why you want that money. It’s not theirs, it’s yours.’

“Peter from Wiltshire, who wanted his surname withheld, had a similar experience. He wanted to take out £10 000 cash from HSBC, some to pay to his sons and some to fund his long-haul travel plans…

“Money Box asked other banks what their policy is on large cash withdrawals. They all said they reserved the right to ask questions about large cash withdrawals…

“Douglas Carswell, the Conservative MP for Clacton, is alarmed by the new HSBC policy: ‘All these regulations which have been imposed on banks allow enormous interpretation. It basically infantilises the customer. In a sense your money becomes pocket money and the bank becomes your parent.’”

This is truly outrageous. The next step might be that banks will begin to confiscate (steal) the money of their customers, or the state will come in to impose a tax on bank accounts to rob their citizens of some of their savings… as did happen in Greece. Such conduct is ungodly and without any justification whatever. Bank executives and government representatives enacting such abominable rules should be ashamed of themselves… and will have to give account for it when their day of reckoning comes and they have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ to “justify” their ungodly conduct.

British Royal Household Living Beyond Their Means

NBC wrote on January 28:

“Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has just £1 million ($1.6 million) left in financial reserves after the royal household overspent on its budget last year, according to a report by British lawmakers released Tuesday. The royal household had to dip into its reserves after overspending £2.3 million ($3.8 million) on the £31 million ($51.4 million) it was given by the taxpayer in 2012/13.

“The report by the Public Accounts Committee said the amount was ‘historically low’ and that it was ‘concerned that the household has reduced its balances to such an extent that it could be unable to cover its expenditure on any unforeseen events.’

“This paltry figure of £1 million is in contrast to 2001 when the royal household had £35 million ($58 million) in its reserves. The royals spend the money on costs such as staff wages, maintaining their palaces and travel… The report also criticized the royals’ ‘complacency’ in allowing some 39 percent of royal buildings and land to slip into a state of disrepair. It said the 60-year-old heating system in Buckingham Palace alone will cost between £500,000 and £1 million to replace.”

Royals should not set such a bad example, lest citizens follow it.

Circumcision Divide between Denmark and Israel

The Copenhagen Post reported on January 24 about another example of potentially ungodly governmental intrusion in the affairs of minority private citizens, following the high level of approval of their citizens, which is ungodly. In this case, Denmark is the culprit, but other European states might follow suit. One is reminded of Shakespeare’s famous words that there is “something rotten in the state of Denmark (and Europe)”:

“Denmark may soon be the first country in the world to issue a ban on non-therapeutic circumcision of boys… In two fresh statements, Danish doctors express deep concern over ritual circumcision of boys. The Danish Society of Family Physicians, whose 3,000 members include two thirds of all general practitioners in Denmark, announced in December that circumcision of underage boys with no proper medical indication is nothing short of mutilation. In a separate statement, the overarching Danish Medical Association recommended earlier this week that non-therapeutic male circumcision should wait until the boy or young man is old enough to provide informed consent.

“An editorial in Jyllands-Posten, the second largest national newspaper in Denmark, urged the Danish government yesterday to ban ritual circumcision of underage boys, and a result poll among readers of BT, another large national newspaper, showed that 87 percent of well over 26,000 votes were in favour of such a ban.
 
“Not surprisingly, Israel has a quite different view on this matter. In December 2013, an Israeli delegation of Knesset politicians travelled to Paris in an attempt to overturn a visionary, human rights-based resolution that was passed by a comfortable majority of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 1 October  2013. The PACE resolution 1952 recommends that member states start moving towards abolishing all kinds of physical assaults on children, including non-therapeutic circumcision of boys and girls.

“The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organization with a current total of 47 member states, each of which has signed the European Convention of Human Rights. Israel is neither a member, nor has it signed the European Convention of Human Rights but, since 1957, Israel has held observer status in the Council of Europe…

“To most Europeans circumcision is an ethically problematic ritual that is intrinsically harmful to children…”

Of course, the left-liberal article goes on to try to defend such a ban, without any regard whatsoever for the Bible and God’s view point. This world is drifting farther and farther away from the truth and godly standards.

Another Deep Freeze in the USA

The Associated Press wrote on January 28:

“Parents brought kids to work or just stayed home because schools were closed, again. Office workers hailed cabs to ride a block — or less. And companies offering delivery services were inundated with business as [Arctic] air blasted the central U.S. on Monday for the second time in weeks, disrupting the lives of even the hardiest Midwesterners. As temperatures and wind chills plummeted throughout the day, even simple routines were upended by the need to bundle up, with anyone venturing outdoors being well advised to layer up with clothing, coats, hats, scarves and gloves.

“And there’s no quick relief in sight as subzero highs were expected to dominate across the region into Tuesday. ‘This is similar to what we had three weeks ago’ in terms of life-threatening conditions, said Sarah Marquardt, a National Weather Service meteorologist. ‘With wind chills in the minus 30 to minus 40 range, you can get frostbite within 10 minutes on exposed skin.’

“In Chicago, temperatures had fallen below zero by Monday afternoon with wind chills in the negative double-digits… Residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin faced similar if even somewhat more severe weather. Wind chills in the minus 40s were expected in Minneapolis, while in Milwaukee the chill hit minus 23 by mid-afternoon. Elsewhere, wind chills of minus 18 were expected in Dayton, Ohio, minus 14 in Kansas City, Mo., and minus 3 in Louisville, Ky.”

Edward Snowden Speaks to German TV Audience

Deutsche Welle reported on January 27:

“Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has told German public television what motivated him to go public, has asked whether NSA tapping stopped at Chancellor Merkel’s phone, and has said his return to the US is unlikely.

“German public broadcaster ARD showed a half-hour interview with Edward Snowden on Sunday night, the ex-NSA contractor’s first television interview since gaining temporary asylum in Russia last year. The 30-year-old fugitive whistleblower said there was ‘no question’ that the NSA conducted industrial espionage  and also alluded to a recent BuzzFeed article quoting unnamed US security officials as saying they wanted Snowden dead.

“Hubert Seipel, a journalist for ARD’s regional member NDR who conducted the interview in a Moscow hotel room, also asked Snowden what convinced him to go public with his information on global intelligence practices. ‘I would say sort of the breaking point was seeing how Director of National Intelligence James Clapper directly lied to Congress when under oath,’ Snowden said. ‘There’s no saving an intelligence agency that believes it can lie to the public, and to legislators, who need to be able to trust it and regulate its actions.’…

“When asked about the tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, and whether previous governments might have been similarly monitored, Snowden said this was ‘a particularly difficult question for me,’ saying it pertained to as-yet unpublished information which he ‘very strongly’ believed to be in the public interest. Snowden instead formulated his answer as a series of rhetorical questions, repeatedly asking ‘how reasonable’ it was to assume that the monitoring of Merkel would not extend to other European leaders, or to Merkel’s advisors or other prominent German politicians like ‘heads of ministries, or even local governments.’

“The relationship between the NSA and its German equivalent the BND was described by Snowden as ‘intimate.’ He alluded, among other things, to the BND’s ability to access the NSA’s ‘X Key Score’ database, which Snowden described as a ‘one-stop-shop for access to the NSA’s information… If I am a traitor, who did I betray? I gave all of my information to the American public, to American journalists,’ Snowden said.

“Asked where he had applied for asylum in Europe, Snowden said he no longer remembered the entire list, but numbered Germany, France and Britain among the European countries to turn him down.

“Hubert Seipel’s last questions were about the possibility of Snowden returning to the United States, either as part of an amnesty arrangement or to face trial. Snowden said he was unwilling to return if he was to be tried under the 1918 Espionage Act, because he would not get the chance ‘to convince a jury that what I did was in their benefit. So it’s, I would say, illustrative,’ Snowden said, after a lengthy pause before picking his adjective, ‘that the president should say, “come and face the music,” when he knows that “the music’ is a show trial.’”

The Local added on January 27:

“In his first TV interview since fleeing to Russia, Snowden told German broadcaster ARD: ‘If there’s information at Siemens that’s beneficial to US national interests, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with national security, then they’ll take that information nevertheless.’  The former NSA contractor also spoke about how he feared for his life. ‘These people, and they are government officials, have said they would love to put a bullet in my head or poison me when I come out of the supermarket, and then watch as I die in the shower,’ he said in the interview which was filmed in Moscow…

“Snowden is wanted by US authorities on treason charges for disclosing details of a vast intelligence operation that monitored millions of phone calls and emails across the world. He received temporary asylum in Russia in August – a move that infuriated the United States and was a key factor behind President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin last year.”

NSA and GCHQ Are Tapping Smartphones

Fox News reported on January 27:

“The NSA and its British counterpart [GCHQ] are tapping popular smartphone apps such as [the] Angry Birds [game] to peek into the tremendous amounts of very personal data those bits of software collect — including age, location sex and even sexual preferences, according to new reports from the New York Times and The Guardian… Both spy agencies showed a particular interest in Google Maps, which [are] accurate to within a few yards or better in some locations and would clearly pass along data about a phone owner’s whereabouts

“… surprising is the wide range of apps that the agencies cull for data, including innocent-seeming apps such as Angry Birds. One document in particular from GCHQ listed what information can be extracted from which apps, citing Android apps but suggesting the same data was available from the iPhone platform… Mobile photo uploads appear to be a particularly rich source of information for the spy agencies as well. Metadata in the photos — which is often ultimately stripped from pictures by social media sites like Facebook and Twitter — is briefly available.”

The Guardian added on January 27:

“Many smartphone owners will be unaware of the full extent this information is being shared across the internet, and even the most sophisticated would be unlikely to realise that all of it is available for the spy agencies to collect… The means of interception mean GCHQ and NSA could obtain data without any knowledge or co-operation from the technology companies. Spokespeople for the NSA and GCHQ told NBC all programs were carried out in accordance with US and UK law.”

NSA Will Continue to Spy on Germany

The EuObserver wrote on January 27:

“Major economic deals, which look as if they could cause ‘difficulties’ for the US, are a legitimate reason to spy on EU leaders, a US intelligence oversight panelist has said. ‘If Germany were making an economic deal for a gas pipeline in a way that would cause large international difficulties, that might be a reason to try to prevent a bad outcome,’ Peter Swire, a professor of law and ethics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told journalists in Brussels on Friday… He noted that he was speaking in a personal capacity.

“But his remark sheds light on US President Barack Obama’s thinking about the future of the National Security Agency (NSA) in light of Edward Snowden’s revelations. The professor is one of five authors who recently drafted 46 recommendations on how to reform US intelligence. The panel’s ideas formed the basis of Obama’s speech and presidential directive of 14 January on NSA regulation.”

Merkel Rebukes US and UK Over Spying

While President Obama made only a passing comment about the spying activities of the NSA in his disappointing State of the Union Address 2014 on Tuesday “without vision or any new ideas” (Die Welt, dated January 29), “having reached a new level of emptiness” (Politico), The Local reported on January 29 the following about Angela Merkel’s major speech to the German Parliament:
 
“Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a strong rebuke to the United States and Britain on Wednesday over sweeping surveillance and spying activities reported by fugitive IT contractor Edward Snowden. In a major speech to parliament… Merkel said that Western powers sacrificing freedom in the quest for security were sending the wrong signal to ‘billions of people living in undemocratic states. ‘Actions in which the ends justify the means, in which everything that is technically possible is done, violate trust, they sow distrust,’ she said…

“Merkel… also conceded that the allies remain ‘far apart’ on the ‘ethical question’ of freedom versus security in state surveillance. ‘Is it right that our closest partners such as the United States and Britain gain access to all imaginable data, saying this is for their own security and the security of their partners?’ asked Merkel. ‘Is it right to act this way because others in the world do the same?’ she added before also touching on alleged British spying at international talks. ‘Is it right if in the end this is not about averting terrorist threats but, for example, gaining an advantage over allies in negotiations, at G20 summits or UN sessions? Our answer can only be: No, this can’t be right. Because it touches the very core of what cooperation between friendly and allied countries is about: trust.’”

Please make sure to view our new StandingWatch program on the topic of the widening rift between Germany and the USA and the increasing influence of the Eurozone members, titled, “The Prophetic Rise of the Eurozone.”

Difficult Time in Trans-Atlantic Ties

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29:

“US Secretary of State John Kerry plans to visit Berlin on Friday in an attempt to repair the damage done by the NSA spying scandal. German officials aren’t expecting any official apology, and the trip comes at a difficult time in trans-Atlantic ties.

“United States Secretary of State John Kerry wants to step in personally to smooth out trans-Atlantic relations that have deteriorated as a result of the NSA spying scandal…

“German diplomats are already warning against high expectations for the meeting. Already the way in which the visit has been planned suggests that the US government isn’t giving the secretary of state’s Germany visit its highest priority. American officials didn’t alert their German counterparts of the details of when they could expect Kerry in Berlin until Wednesday.

“Diplomats say they aren’t expecting the secretary of state to provide any formal apology for spying by the NSA. Instead, the trip will address more general working issues. Hopes for a formal no-spy agreement between Germany and the United States have also largely vanished…

“It has been alleged in SPIEGEL reporting that the NSA spied on the data of Germans millions of times and that it eavesdropped on the chancellor’s mobile phone… Kerry’s trip also coincides with a phase of new tensions in German-American relations. This week, members of the Bundestag, the federal parliament, want to submit a petition for the creation of a special committee to investigate the NSA affair…”

Separate Parliament for Eurozone Member States?

Bild Online reported on January 27 that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (who is presently Germany’s most popular politician) recommended in Brussels the creation of a parliament for the Eurozone member states. He stated that Germany and France had recommended in May to connect the EU parliament closer to decisions of the Eurozone members. He said that could be easily accomplished if the Eurozone member states had their own parliament.

The EUObserver added on January 29:

“German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has laid out ideas on how the single currency area should evolve, including having a eurozone parliament. Schaeuble’s plans – aired just four months ahead of EU elections – are likely to be controversial. They raise questions about how the existing EU parliament would function alongside a new euro-focused institution. They are also likely to heighten concerns, particularly in non-euro Britain, that the eurozone is the political heart of the EU.”

The Bible shows that out of the EU, ten nations or groups of nations will evolve financially, politically and even militarily, to lead Europe.

Germany on a New European Policy Course?

Der Spiegel wrote on January 28:

“Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen want Germany to assume a greater role in world affairs, including military missions abroad. Their stance marks a break with Angela Merkel’s policy of restraint.

“Last Tuesday’s meeting between German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius could hardly have been more harmonious… Relations between Berlin and Paris are better than they’ve been in a long time, and that’s evident not just in the effusive exchanges of pleasantries. The French now want to follow the German example in economic policy, after two years of resisting it. Berlin in turn wants to provide Paris with stronger support in military missions in Africa in future…

“That’s a big step not just for France, but for Germany as well. The new German government, inaugurated just a month ago, is charting a new course in foreign policy. The central question under Steinmeier’s predecessor, Guido Westerwelle, was: ‘How can we keep out of armed conflicts?’ Westerwelle favored a culture of military restraint, which meant leaving unpleasant tasks up to others.

“Now, two ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new coalition, which pairs her conservatives with the center-left Social Democrats, have set about abandoning Westerwelle’s legacy. Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen believe that an economic powerhouse like Germany can’t continue to stand on the sidelines. They want to show Germany’s allies that the country can be relied upon…

“The new approach has already led to concrete policy changes. Germany plans to dispatch more troops to support France’s campaign against Islamists in Mali. The government is also considering providing military aircraft for transport and medical evacuation in the Central African Republic…

“Germany gained a reputation as a moralistic nation keen to wag its finger, but unwilling to get involved when things got dangerous. Steinmeier and von der Leyen want that to change…

“In her eight years in office thus far, Merkel has lost faith in the notion that military intervention can bring about improvements. She was particularly disillusioned by the German army’s mission in Afghanistan. In addition, she tends to be influenced by opinion polls, which show that Germans are skeptical about the army engaging in combat missions…

“Steinmeier would also like to become more involved in Europe than his predecessor was. French Foreign Minister Fabius could hardly hide his contempt for Westerwelle when the two met. Now, he has expressed his willingness to join Steinmeier on trips. ‘The Foreign Ministry has realized that the key to the European project is to be found in French-German relations,’ says Ulrike Guérot from the Open Society Initiative for Europe…

“Steinmeier would like to strengthen European institutions while von der Leyen, in her previous role as labor minister, voiced her support for a ‘United States of Europe.’… the two plan to present themselves as representatives of a changed Germany at the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday.

“In recent years, Berlin has been in the uncomfortable position of having to defend its passivity at the conference. This year, the Germans want to change the narrative. It is a message that German head of state, President Joachim Gauck, plans to deliver as well. In his opening speech, Gauck plans to call on Germans to recognize their place in the world, according to plans from his office…

“Defense Minister von der Leyen is not only interested in improving Germany’s image among its allies. Rather, she would also like to develop a joint European defense policy worthy of the name… Von der Leyen would like to increase Germany’s credibility and has even broached the topic of a joint European army. Just one year ago, her predecessor Thomas de Maizière rejected the concept at the Munich Security Conference.

“Just how far Steinmeier and von der Leyen get with their new policy ideas depends to a large degree on Merkel. In recent years, the Chancellery was not always happy about Westerwelle’s choice of words, but it supported his policy of military restraint. Merkel believes that Germany’s foreign policy role should be primarily that of enabling allies in difficult regions to solve crises themselves. To that end, she has authorized substantial exports of German weapons to authoritarian countries like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

“Last week, during a cabinet retreat near Berlin, Steinmeier and von der Leyen presented their vision of a new German foreign policy, with the foreign minister focusing on Mali and the defense minister speaking about Central Africa. When they were finished, Merkel said: ‘I am not now going to say yes or no to the mission.’ One could hardly come up with a more precise formulation or her approach to policy.”

Ukraine’s Prime Minister and Government Resign

BBC News wrote on January 28:

“Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych has accepted the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet amid continuing anti-government protests. Mykola Azarov had offered to step down as prime minister to create ‘social and political compromise’. The move came after the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelmingly to annul a controversial anti-protest law…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at an EU-Russia summit in Brussels, said all the agreements reached with Mr Azarov would remain in place despite the resignation even if the opposition formed the next government. [He later stated that he wants to wait with giving financial aid until a new government is formed.] The loan was to ‘support the people of Ukraine, not the government. It’s the people, the common people that suffer’, he told a news conference after talks with EU leaders…

“Despite the president accepting their resignations, the cabinet can remain in their posts for 60 days until a new government is formed…”

The Guardian wrote on January 30:

“Ukraine’s embattled president, Viktor Yanukovych, has accused the opposition of escalating the situation in the country and insisted that his government is doing all it can to solve the crisis. Yanukovych’s defiant statement – released on the presidential website – followed an announcement that he is taking sick leave due to an acute respiratory illness and high fever. There was no indication of how long he might be on leave or whether he would be able to do any work. The chief medical officer said the president was suffering from a ‘severe cold with a high temperature’”.

While the USA has imposed sanctions against Ukraine, the EU has refused to do so; in verbally “condemning” the violence in Ukraine, the EU is trying to please the government and the people. That approach will backfire, and Ukraine is going to become more strongly aligned with Russia.

EU-Russian Summit—“No Good News from Moscow”

The EUObserver wrote on January 28:

“This week’s summit has already been downgraded to a brief encounter between the European Union and Russian leaders and will not be able to overcome the deep rift which is widening between the EU and Moscow. The political reality is far from the ‘strategic partnership’ we mutually pretend to have established.

“The Russian Federation under Putin, despite the media charm offensive in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, has backtracked on democracy and the rule of law, and is run and governed by a regime more interested in feathering its own nest than improving the lives of Russian citizens and modernising its country…

“In 2013 we witnessed Russia pursuing a combination of hostile economic and political measures towards the countries that were actively seeking a closer association and integration with the European Union. Russia succeeded in blowing the Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit off course… Russia imposed a series of targeted sanctions against Ukraine’s exports…

“In parallel with a new EU-Russia policy framework, it is clear that the EU can and should play a stronger and more pro-active role in the search for political solutions to the frozen conflicts in its eastern neighbourhood and the EU’s External Action Service should come forward with an action plan for a renewed EU engagement in finding political solutions to these conflicts…

“We have recently celebrated the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Pussy Riot and [Arctic] Rise activists. These individual cases should not distract our attention from the systematic and worsening crackdown on human rights defenders, civil society and political dissent… the EU has leverage and influence and soft power to influence developments abroad. However, for soft power to work, our engagement must be backed up by more robust measures when provoked or challenged.”

And so, the EU will become more influential and asserting… but ultimately, that will not be good news for the world….

Attack on Pope’s Doves Symbolic for Pope’s Failed Policy?

The Washington Post wrote on January 27:

“Pope Francis called for peaceful dialogue in Ukraine on Sunday, concluding his remarks by having adorable Italian children release two white doves from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The magical and touching symbol was quickly attacked by the harsh reality of bird-on-bird violence, with one seagull and one black crow attacking the doves. The crowd, inspired and blessed only moments earlier, watched in helpless horror as the crow and gull pecked and pulled at the doves.

“What better symbol could there be for the world in 2013, its many setbacks and disappointments, and in particular for Pope Francis’s well-intentioned but, so far, frequently unsuccessful attempts to improve it. Since taking  office last March, the pope’s high-aiming campaigns and grand gestures have often, and tragically, been overtaken by the cold, hard realities on the ground…

“One of Francis’s most significant forays into world affairs may have been his campaign against U.S. offshore strikes against Syria as retaliation for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians. In September, the pope went on a fast and led a global prayer vigil to oppose the strikes. Where this rankled many Syria activists and observers was Francis’s declaration that he was rallying against war and for peace by opposing U.S. strikes – a puzzling assertion given that both the Syrian regime and rebels had killed, and were continuing to kill, far more people than any U.S. cruise missiles would have done…

“Other papal doves have fallen less spectacularly… His forays into the U.K.-Argentine dispute over the Falkland Islands (a British colonial possession whose population has voted overwhelmingly to

Industrial Hemp in New Farm Bill

The Washington Times wrote on January 28:

“It’s not marijuana legalization, but the massive new farm bill includes a pilot program that would allow universities and state agricultural departments to legally grow industrial hemp. Pot advocates have long pushed for hemp legalization, touting it as a miracle plant that can be used for making rope, paper, clothing and a number of other products. But industrial hemp’s production has been illegal under federal controlled substances laws, since it is a cultivar of the same plant species that produces marijuana. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been fighting for a change, and they said Tuesday that they’ve managed to get the relaxed rules written into the farm bill, which the House will vote on this week…

“Some states have legalized hemp but growers have still had to face the federal ban, which has required obtaining a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Industrial hemp plants contain less than 1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical at work in marijuana. Marijuana plants typically contain between 3 percent and 15 percent THC by weight. But federal authorities say that in the field it’s impossible to distinguish between the two plants, which some critics argue makes it easy to hide marijuana plants in a hemp plot.

“The marijuana debate has undergone a major shift in recent years. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized personal marijuana use, while a number of others have legalized it for medicinal purposes. It is still considered a controlled substance under federal law, but President Obama and Justice Department officials have said they don’t intend to go after users in states where it has been legalized.”

Politico wrote on January 29:

“The research title of the farm bill conference report, released Monday, allows for colleges, universities and agriculture departments in states that have legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to grow the crop for research purposes. Industrial hemp is defined by the bill to contain no more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol — the mind-altering ingredient contained in its even more controversial cousin, marijuana…

“Hemp is bred to contain far less tetrahydrocannabinol than marijuana and was widely grown in the United States until the mid-1900s. The plant, which historians say was grown by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, was cultivated mainly for rope fibers, paper and textiles that were often used as ship sails. Farmers abandoned hemp in the mid-1900s due to stringent federal restrictions. And lawmakers failed to include an exemption for hemp in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, sounding a death knell for domestic production of the crop.

“But interest in industrial hemp has grown in recent years, following the discovery of its potential nutrition benefits in food and as a component in composite materials and biofuel source material. Sales of hemp products in the U.S. reached $500 million in 2012, according to Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, which lobbies for the legalization of the product. ‘All of that’s coming from imported material,’ Steenstra said. ‘It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that really all our trading partners can grow these crops [but U.S. farmers can’t]. I think there is no question that hemp could be a multibillion-dollar market [in the United States].’

“Already 10 states have legalized cultivation of hemp — including Kentucky, Colorado and California — and 11 more are set to consider bills on the issue during their 2014 legislative sessions. The initiatives follow an August 2013 Justice Department memo in which the Obama administration left policing the cultivation of industrial hemp off a list of marijuana enforcement priorities. Since then, states have been quick to interpret that as a green light to move ahead with laws allowing the crop.

“However, it’s not quite that simple. Hemp and hemp seeds are still considered a controlled substance and cannot be imported…”

Medical Marijuana—Does It Really Work?

Fox News reported on January 27:

“A Florida measure that would allow the use of medical marijuana has cleared its final hurdle and will be on the November ballot. The state Supreme Court on Monday approved the language for the proposed constitutional amendment. The justices gave its approval by a 4-3 vote just three days after a petition drive reached the required number of signatures to place the measure on the ballot. The decision is a defeat for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who challenged the ballot language by saying it’s misleading.”

CBS Denver wrote on January 24:

“There’s a medical marijuana plant that has parents moving to Colorado to help their children. The strain of marijuana is called ‘Charlotte’s Web’ [named after Charlotte, a young girl suffering from epilepsy]… The strain, converted into oil, has drastically changed Charlotte Figi’s life for the better. Now advocates claim hundreds of families are moving to Colorado in a last ditch effort to help their suffering children…

“The Jay family hails from Minnesota, but they have now been Coloradans for about two weeks. It was a move solely to help their daughter Jenna. ‘Jenna has extractible epilepsy due to brain malformation,’ Marie Jay said. Jenna’s smile is bright, but her past is filled with years of suffering — 20 different medications and a surgery. Right now she takes 15 pills a day, but still has up to 500 seizures a month. Marie and Jason Jay are done guessing with doctors… They are one of many families turning to Colorado…

“The Harmons came from Amarillo, Texas, to help 8-year-old Jillian, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy… Charlotte’s Web has less than .03 THC… Currently about 300 patients are on the marijuana oil, a number that tripled in only a few months after its name-sake gained notoriety. ‘(Charlotte) is amazing. She’s the same two years into this. Now off all her pharmaceuticals,’ Charlotte’s mother Paige Figi said… Paige Figi now works with Realm of Caring, a nonprofit that educates parents, patients and even other state legislatures on the drug that changed her daughter’s life. ‘She has her life back again. She can do things like a 2- to 3-year-old child can do,’ Paige Figi said.

“Just this month state health officials have offered $7.1 million in research grants to look into the helpful properties of marijuana and its derivatives.”

The Website of myfoxdc.com added on January 24:

“A Frederick, Md., mother wants to give her 3-year-old twin boys medical marijuana to help ease their severe seizures, and now she is working with state lawmakers to help make it happen. Nicolas and Byron Deliyannis were born with a rare disorder called Miller-Dieker syndrome. It is a condition that [has] brought on almost daily seizures. Their mother, Shannon Moore, says nothing her family and doctors have tried is helping her little boys. ‘The medicines that they’re on, in addition to having really negative side effects, have really stopped working for them,’ she says.

“Moore wants to give her kids medical marijuana to help calm their seizures. She says she learned about the therapy and its success while watching a news report. The problem is marijuana isn’t legal in Maryland where Moore and her family live. ‘Medical marijuana is helping to save lives of children with catastrophic epilepsy in other states where it’s legal, and I want it to be legal here,’ Moore says.

“Last year, the state legislature passed a bill that only made medical marijuana available through academic medical centers. None is taking advantage of the new law.

“Now, Moore is working with local and state lawmakers, including Frederick County Delegate Patrick Hogan, to craft a better law…

“There has been some push back by those concerned about the potential for abuse. But a recent poll shows 90 percent of Maryland residents support medical marijuana if prescribed by a doctor. Moore says even if it can’t save Nicolas and Byron’s lives, it is worth it to help other kids who may be just as severely sick. Studies show that medical marijuana works for about 85 percent of kids with epilepsy. It is usually administered dietarily, but can also be used with a vaporizing apparatus…”

The Las Vegas Sun reported on January 16:

“Several Nevada municipalities are issuing moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries, but [US Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid really thinks they should be moving in the opposite direction – toward making medicinal pot legal… Reid, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not one who normally rushes to embrace controversial substances…

“But Reid described his evolving opinion on medical marijuana by citing the stories of individuals whose ailments found no other relief… people he’s heard about on the news, and people he’s known personally. There was one case in particular, about the only son of a Las Vegas elected official whom Reid did not specify by name, who had severe kidney failure, losing not just one, but two kidneys while a college student…

“Reid cited CNN and NPR reports about children suffering from seizures as well, to make the case that over the past several years, he’d come to think that marijuana seemed a sensible and humane treatment for people suffering from particular conditions with no other treatment or cure… Reid stressed that his opinions only pertain to medical uses of marijuana…”

BBC News reported on January 5:

“The US state of New York is planning to relax its marijuana laws to allow limited use by seriously ill patients, reports say… The drug is still illegal under federal law. New York’s new policy is expected to be far stricter than in California or Colorado, which had already loosened rules around the use of medical marijuana.

“In California, people suffering from mild medical complaints can obtain prescriptions for the drug. But in New York, the drug will be made available in only 20 hospitals across the state for people with cancer, glaucoma or other serious diseases that meet standards to be set by the state department of health.”

If it is true that medical marijuana—especially those products in the form of oil with a greatly reduced or eliminated amount of THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana)–help patients who are suffering from serious and otherwise “untreatable” diseases, such as cancer, kidney failure or epilepsy, then the federal law’s all-encompassing universal prohibition of the same seems to be highly suspect. Sadly, the desire of many to allow and legalize marijuana for “recreational” improper personal purposes has clouded or even suppressed the recognition of a need for research regarding a potentially beneficial medical use of certain marijuana products with virtually no THC.

Do Cold and Flu Meds Spread the Flu?

The website of wtop.com reported on January 27:

“Could cold and flu drugs help spread the flu? Some researchers think so. Over-the-counter cold and flu drugs contain ibuprofen, acetaminophen or other drugs that can reduce fever. When patients’ fever is down, they tend to feel better. But researchers at Canada’s McMaster University concluded that when some patients reduce their symptoms with cold and flu medications, they feel better and return to work or school while still infected. While patients feel fine, they are still able to infect others, according to the study…

“NBC News reports that it’s a controversial study, but it suggests as many as 1,000 more people a year may die from flu because of people taking over-the-counter medicines that make them feel good enough to get out of their sick beds and back into the swing of things, infecting others. ‘We aren’t saying don’t take medication. That’s not the message,’ David Earn, who specializes in mathematics and disease, said to NBC News. ‘Be aware that if you take this medication, there is this effective increase in transmission.’

“Just because you have a mild case of flu doesn’t mean the person you infect will get a mild case, too. Influenza kills anywhere between 3,000 and 49,000 people a year, NBC reports. Earn says a flu that may make a child feel bad, could be more serious for the elderly.”

The State vs. Individual Beliefs Against Vaccinations

KPBS wrote on January 2:

“A new state law went into effect Jan. 1 making it a little harder for California students to skip required vaccinations. The law says parents can now only claim a personal belief exemption from vaccines if they have a signed form from their doctor… California law requires students be vaccinated against diseases like polio, measles and whooping cough before they can attend school. But parents have been able to skip these requirements by signing a personal belief exemption, which says immunization is contrary to their way of thinking.

“Under the new California law, parents will still be able to do that. But they have to get a signed form from their pediatrician saying they’ve been informed of the ‘benefits and risks of immunization.’ Although the law took effect at the start of 2014, students only need this new form when they start kindergarten or middle school or move to California from out of state. Otherwise, their existing exemption will still apply.

“The new form also has a box that says the family belongs to a religion that prohibits ‘seeking medical advice or treatment.’ If parents check this box, they don’t need a doctor’s signature to exempt their children from vaccinations. This religious exemption was added by Gov. Jerry Brown when he signed the law. Catherine Flores Martin, the director of the California Immunization Coalition, told NPR she worries the additional box on the form will weaken the law, because parents don’t have to provide proof of their religion to check it…”

The new California form is available under http://eziz.org/assets/docs/CDPH-8262.pdf

In Colorado, similar developments can be observed.

As Fox 31 reported on December 11, 2013, “Soon it may not be as easy to get vaccination exemptions for your child. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a new report with recommendations on improving immunization rates among children Tuesday… The rate of parents claiming ‘personal belief exemptions’ to get out of school and daycare immunizations requirements triggered the report… 3,000 kindergarteners last year were not immunized. Ninety-three percent for personal beliefs—not religious or medical. The state says the exemptions can put other children at risk…”

It is the position of the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates that it is a personal decision of their members whether or not to immunize their children, but the Church recognizes the convictions of those who refuse immunization, and it supports such requests for exemption, as everything which is not done from faith and out of (godly-permissible and approved) conviction is sin (Romans 14:23). The Church recognizes the biblical validity and rationale of such conviction as it very well understands that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that immunizations may not be harmless and could cause serious side effects.

“The Truth about Israel’s Secret Nuclear Arsenal”

The Guardian wrote on January 15:

“Israel has been stealing nuclear secrets and covertly making bombs since the 1950s. And western governments, including Britain and the US, turn a blind eye. But how can we expect Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions if the Israelis won’t come clean?… Israel managed to assemble an entire underground nuclear arsenal – now estimated at 80 warheads, on a par with India and Pakistan – and even tested a bomb nearly half a century ago, with a minimum of international outcry or even much public awareness of what it was doing.

“Despite the fact that the Israel’s nuclear programme has been an open secret since a disgruntled technician, Mordechai Vanunu, blew the whistle on it in 1986, the official Israeli position is still never to confirm or deny its existence. When the former speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg, broke the taboo last month, declaring Israeli possession of both nuclear and chemical weapons and describing the official non-disclosure policy as ‘outdated and childish’ a rightwing group formally called for a police investigation for treason.

“Meanwhile, western governments have played along with the policy of ‘opacity’ by avoiding all mention of the issue. In 2009, when a veteran Washington reporter, Helen Thomas, asked Barack Obama in the first month of his presidency if he knew of any country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, he dodged the trapdoor by saying only that he did not wish to ‘speculate’.

“UK governments have generally followed suit. Asked in the House of Lords in November about Israeli nuclear weapons, Baroness Warsi answered tangentially. ‘Israel has not declared a nuclear weapons programme. We have regular discussions with the government of Israel on a range of nuclear-related issues,’ the minister said. ‘The government of Israel is in no doubt as to our views. We encourage Israel to become a state party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT].’…

“The list of nations that secretly sold Israel the material and expertise to make nuclear warheads, or who turned a blind eye to its theft, include today’s staunchest campaigners against proliferation: the US, France, Germany, Britain and even Norway… Meanwhile, Israeli agents charged with buying fissile material and state-of-the-art technology found their way into some of the most sensitive industrial establishments in the world. This daring and remarkably successful spy ring, known as Lakam, the Hebrew acronym for the innocuous-sounding Science Liaison Bureau, included such colourful figures as Arnon Milchan, a billionaire Hollywood producer behind such hits as Pretty Woman, LA Confidential and 12 Years a Slave, who finally admitted his role last month…

“As more and more evidence of Israel’s weapons programme emerged, the US role progressed from unwitting dupe to reluctant accomplice. In 1968 the CIA director Richard Helms told President Johnson that Israel had indeed managed to build nuclear weapons and that its air force had conducted sorties to practise dropping them… The Johnson White House decided to say nothing, and the decision was formalised at a 1969 meeting between Richard Nixon and Golda Meir, at which the US president agreed to not to pressure Israel into signing the NPT, while the Israeli prime minister agreed her country would not be the first to ‘introduce’ nuclear weapons into the Middle East and not do anything to make their existence public.

“In fact, US involvement went deeper than mere silence. At a meeting in 1976 that has only recently become public knowledge, the CIA deputy director Carl Duckett informed a dozen officials from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the agency suspected some of the fissile fuel in Israel’s bombs was weapons-grade uranium stolen under America’s nose from a processing plant in Pennsylvania… The investigation was shelved and no charges were made…

“In the Arab world and beyond, there is growing impatience with the skewed nuclear status quo. Egypt in particular has threatened to walk out of the NPT unless there is progress towards creating a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. The western powers promised to stage a conference on the proposal in 2012 but it was called off, largely at America’s behest, to reduce the pressure on Israel to attend and declare its nuclear arsenal…”

More and more countries will align themselves against the state of Israel, until it will be completely isolated. See the next article as well.

Diplomatic War Against Israel in Every Conceivable Forum

The Times of Israel wrote on January 17:

“The Palestinian leadership has reportedly decided to reject Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and instead launch a global diplomatic and legal assault on Israel. The Palestinian Authority is currently setting up teams to wage diplomatic war against Israel in ‘every conceivable’ forum, including pushing for boycotts of Israel and seeking legal rulings against Israel via international courts in The Hague, Israel’s Channel 2 news reported Friday night.

“Unless Kerry significantly changes the current formulation of his proposals, the report said, the Palestinians will reject his overtures, confident that much of the international community will consider them to be the injured party and hold Israel responsible for the failure of peace efforts. The Palestinians are furious that Kerry is offering them a state ‘with no borders, no capital, no [control over] border crossings… and without Jerusalem,’ the TV report said, quoting Palestinian sources.

“On Jerusalem, rather than the complete control that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is demanding over all areas of the city captured by Israel in the 1967 war, including the Old City, Kerry is merely offering the Palestinians a capital based in one of the city’s outlying neighborhoods such as Isawiya, Abu Dis (where construction of a Palestinian parliamentary building was begun in 2000), Beit Hanina or Shuafat…

“Palestinian sources told AFP in early January that Abbas rebuffed pressure from Kerry to recognize Israel as a Jewish state… Neither Kerry’s security proposals, nor his evolving framework deal for ongoing talks, have been made public, but leaked details indicate Israel and the Palestinians are at odds over almost all key issues — notably including the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugee demands, border demarcations, land-swap arrangements, and security proposals. Current talks are set to end in April…”

Israel in Fear of Major Earthquake

The Times of Israel wrote on January 21:

“With Israel situated in one of the world’s earthquake-prone areas, officials are taking action to protect the Holy Land’s most important ancient treasures so they don’t come tumbling down. After a series of five moderate earthquakes shook the country in October, experts installed a seismic monitoring system at the Tower of David, one of Jerusalem’s most important — and most visible — historical sites…  ‘We have to remember that this is the Holy Land,’ said Avid Shapira, head of a national steering committee for earthquake preparedness… Most of Israel’s historical sites ‘have not been checked,’ said Shapira…

“Israel sits along the friction point of the African and Arabian tectonic plates, and is prone to small tremors… About once a century throughout history, a large earthquake has rattled the region, often damaging key historical sites. The last major quake occurred in 1927.

“The Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, was destroyed in an earthquake shortly after it was built in the 8th century and was damaged and repaired multiple times since due to quakes. The 1927 quake, which was over 6 in magnitude, caused hundreds of deaths and damaged Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried.

“Israel has been bracing for another major earthquake for years. But those efforts have focused on retrofitting existing schools and hospitals and apartment buildings, and improving standards in new construction. The country is just getting around to surveying its historical sites, and the assessment process has turned out to be sensitive… Political sensitivities have prevented Israeli officials from conducting earthquake-impact assessments on the region’s most revered, most ancient, and likely most vulnerable sites, including the gold-capped Dome of the Rock… In the past, Israeli involvement in the Old City’s ancient buildings has sparked protest from Palestinians who seek sovereignty there in their quest for an independent state…”

According to the Bible, a major earthquake will strike Israel and destroy parts of the city of Jerusalem, killing 7,000 people (Revelation 11:13).

Iran: We Did Not Agree to Dismantle Anything

CNN reported on January 21:

“Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted Wednesday that the Obama administration mischaracterizes concessions by his side in the six-month nuclear deal with Iran, telling CNN in an exclusive interview that ‘we did not agree to dismantle anything’… He repeated that ‘we are not dismantling any centrifuges, we’re not dismantling any equipment, we’re simply not producing, not enriching over 5%.’”

Iran sends Warships to Atlantic Ocean

Breitbart wrote on January 21:

“Iran is sending its first flotilla of warships to the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of a helicopter carrier and a destroyer, and passing through the Mediterranean, the Times of Israel Reports. Rear Admiral Seyyed Mahmoud Moussavi declared that the mission will be peaceful, though Iran also wishes to show its capabilities–and to stake a claim as a Mediterranean power, which it has achieved through its virtual control of Syria and Lebanon. Iran is also planning a naval mission to the Pacific in the weeks ahead…”

Will NSA Spying Continue after Obama’s Speech? Chances Are, It Will…

In this and subsequent articles, we discuss President Obama’s speech regarding the NSA’s spying activities around the world, and the less-than-enthusiastic reactions from allies and foes alike.

“Five Big Takeaways from Obama’s NSA Speech”

The Washington Post wrote on January 17:

“Here are the major changes in U.S. policy on conducting surveillance both at home and abroad…

“1) Obama has declared that U.S. spy agencies will no longer hold Americans’ phone records. As a result, the surveillance program that became the biggest Edward Snowden-related controversy will come to an end, at least as it is constructed now. This major shift will take months if not more to accomplish. In the meantime, President Obama is imposing new limits on the government’s ability to access such data.

“2) Even so, Obama wants to ensure that the government can still access call records when it needs to. How is not yet clear…

“3) Obama has ordered significant new restrictions on spying on close U.S. allies. Heads of states that are friendly with the United States will now be off-limits for electronic surveillance. White House officials said they already stopped collection on ‘dozens’ of such targets. Still, there are loopholes. Obama isn’t making clear who qualifies as a close ally, and the restrictions don’t apply to foreign leaders’ aides.

“4) Obama is calling for the creation of a new panel to serve as public advocates in cases handled by a special surveillance court. Members of the panel would be cleared to appear before a court that has approved massive surveillance programs entirely in secret, with no input from the public or those who would be surveillance targets. Creating the new panel would require action by Congress.

“5) Obama is also promising new privacy protections for foreigners, aiming to assure citizens of countries in Europe and elsewhere that they won’t be swept up in U.S. surveillance unless there is a compelling national security purpose for the United States. The new rules are to be developed in the coming months.”

These “promises” are vague and ambiguous at best…

Obama’s Definition of “Spying”

In an accompanying article, The Washington Post wrote on January 17:

“Obama placed restrictions on access to domestic phone records collected by the National Security Agency, but the changes he announced will allow it to continue — or expand — the collection of personal data from billions of people around the world, Americans and foreign citizens alike… Obama squares that circle with an unusually narrow definition of ‘spying.’ It does not include the ingestion of tens of trillions of records about the telephone calls, e-mails, locations and relationships of people for whom there is no suspicion of relevance to any threat… Obama described principles for ‘restricting the use of this information’ — but not for gathering less of it…

“Obama avoided almost entirely any discussion of overseas intelligence collection that he authorized on his own, under Executive Order 12333, without legislative or judicial supervision… Those operations are sweeping in a large but unknown number of Americans, beginning with the tens of millions who travel and communicate overseas each year… Under the classified rules set forth by the president, the NSA is allowed to presume that any data collected overseas belongs to a foreigner. The ‘minimization rules’ that govern that collection, intended to protect the identities of U.S. citizens and residents, remain classified. The White House and NSA have declined requests to release them…”

Obama Vindicates Snowden

The Huffington Post wrote on January 17:

“In a major speech Friday on the future of the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama announced a series of modest reforms to the way the agency does business. While he was doing so, he also grudgingly acknowledged the secret surveillance programs that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed needed changing… Obama’s remarks were grudging toward Snowden, who fled to Russia after his leaks were made public and has been charged with violating the Espionage Act…

“Snowden’s leaks didn’t just inform the public debate: in a piece on Thursday, The New York Times reported that Obama himself was unaware until Snowden’s disclosures that the NSA was tapping the phones of foreign leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel… For Snowden, whose supporters have always maintained that he is a whistleblower motivated by the Constitution’s higher ideals, the speech and the changes it telegraphs will likely come as a major vindication.”

Obama Vindicates NSA

The Guardian wrote on January 17:

“US president Barack Obama forcefully defended the embattled National Security Agency on Friday in a speech that outlined a series of surveillance reforms but stopped well short of demanding an end to the bulk collection of American phone data… Obama made it clear that the databases would continue to exist, effectively rejecting a call from civil libertarians to require the NSA to collect subscriber information from phone companies only when they possess specific suspicion of connection to a terrorist group or other wrongdoing.

“Mounting a forceful defence of the NSA, Obama said: ‘They’re not abusing authorities in order to listen to your private phone calls, or read your emails.’ He did not mention that judges on the secret surveillance court have found NSA has repeatedly and ‘systematically’ overstepped its bounds. ‘We cannot unilaterally disarm our intelligence agencies,’ Obama said.

“Obama’s remarks were bound to give the beleaguered NSA a boost of confidence, while disappointing civil libertarians who wanted to hear Obama more defend the privacy of American citizens more emphatically…

“Obama said that ahead of transitioning the database out of government hands, the NSA will now have to receive approval from the secret surveillance court before searching through the data trove for connections to terrorist groups. Those searches would be restricted to two ‘hops’, meaning that a number ‘reasonably’ suspected can have all the numbers it called and from which it received calls reviewed, and all of those numbers can also have their connections examined… That call fell short of expectations from privacy advocates in and outside of Congress, who want the government collection of Americans’ metadata without specific connections to terrorism, approved by a judge, to stop…

“Obama did not issue new protections for non-Americans abroad, saying instead that he wanted additional privacy protections for foreigners… Obama defended a program, now conducted under Section 702 of the Fisa Amendments Act, that allows the NSA to hold the internet communications of foreigners abroad…

“Much of the substance of Obama’s proposals remain undefined… The lack of clarity places increasing pressure on Congress to ultimately resolve many of the complexities of surveillance – creating effectively a new round of jockeying on Capitol Hill between privacy advocates and the NSA’s allies, who fear losing what Obama described as a valuable tool for determining domestic connections to terrorism…”

All Show and No Substance

Fox News published the following article on January 17:

“Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said Friday… that President Obama’s speech on the administration’s review of government surveillance practices was all show and no substance. ‘It was a terrific speech,’ Krauthammer said. ‘It was 90 percent smoke and mirrors, and very little substantive change, which is what we need.’

“Krauthammer went on to say the speech at the Department of Justice was the ‘best use of Obama’s rhetorical powers of dazzling with very little content’ since his first election campaign. ‘He made enough rhetoric…to make it look as if he did something,’ Krauthammer said, adding, ‘But if you look at all the points he mentioned, they are really unimportant in the overall scheme.’”

Obama’s Missed Moment—“He Did Not Even Try!”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 17:

“The NSA’s massive intelligence gathering apparatus remains largely untouched and in place. That was the gist of US President Barack Obama’s remarks at the Department of Justice on Friday (17.01.2014). To be sure, Obama announced a few helpful measures to increase judicial oversight and restrict access to certain data sets… But the president’s remarks did not address the heart of the matter. Obama does not intend to curb or cut any of the NSA’s myriad of mass surveillance collection programs that sweep up much of the world’s Internet and phone traffic. That means every Internet or phone user is still presumed guilty by default…

“While the minor changes announced by Obama were meant to at least try to assuage Americans worried about government snooping, he did at best make a half-hearted effort to address international concerns about US mass surveillance. Obama’s message to everyone outside the US was essentially what his intelligence services have been saying all along – just trust us that we will use your data responsibly. The only concrete assurance Obama gave was that foreign allied leaders will not be placed under surveillance any longer unless there are compelling national security reasons. Given all that has been revealed by the Snowden disclosures and the damage done specifically to the transatlantic relationship, that is not a good sign for Washington’s international allies.

“Obama, a former constitutional law professor and NSA critic, apparently has made his choice. By leaving the agency’s mass surveillance gathering systems that sweep up as much of our collective digital lives as they can essentially unchanged, he has clearly sided with the intelligence apparatus over citizens’ privacy concerns. The sad thing is that he hasn’t even tried to balance the two.”

Deutsche Welle added on January 18:

“Obama’s speech was mainly addressed to his fellow US citizens, who have proved to be much less upset with the scope of spying conducted by the NSA than people in Europe and Brazil… Obama, who was quick to bring up the ills of the all-encompassing surveillance state in the former East Germany, remained vague in his 40-minute speech while making promises of transparency and judicial oversight. But he did not provide details on how such measures would be implemented. Only the leaders of friendly nations received a promise that their privacy would be respected, which makes Chancellor Angela Merkel the only German who can feel safe from the NSA’s spy programs. But mere promises of transparency and new controls were not enough to restore the German government’s trust in Obama’s administration completely… “

The Local wrote on January 19:

“Norbert Röttgen, head of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee and a member of Merkel’s CDU party, said Obama’s comments were ‘technical’ and didn’t respond to ‘the real problem’ of ‘transatlantic divergence’ on matters of security and freedoms. Germany’s confidence in Washington will not be restored unless ‘we sign an accord to protect, in a way that is judicially binding, the data of all citizens,’ German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in comments run by the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.”

Criminal Investigation in Germany Against NSA?

The Local wrote on January 20:

“Parliamentary chairman of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) Thomas Oppermann said on Monday: ‘A “no spy” treaty must come. Obama’s speech on Friday can only be the beginning. The USA knows that spying for us is a crime. The German justice system will not stand idly by if the efforts of the NSA blithely continue here,’ he told Bild newspaper on Monday.

“Magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday that the Federal Attorney General, Harald Range, told the country’s Minister of Justice, Heiko Maas, that there were grounds for a criminal investigation into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone by the US National Security Agency (NSA). And it appears the Minister of Justice, who is authorized to give orders to the Federal Attorney General, would not block an investigation…

“The Berliner Morgenpost wrote: ‘Finally the American President seems to have grasped the extent of the breach of trust caused by the mass spying of his intelligence services… The speech on Friday was, so far, little more than a glimmer of hope.’

“Berlin’s Tagesspiegel [said:]  ‘… Obama has disappointed the expectations of many Germans. That should not surprise us. He is the President of Americans and they think differently and carry on using the, from their perspective, traditional methods, indifferent to outrage abroad.’”

The Guardian wrote on January 17:

“Europeans were largely underwhelmed by Barack Obama’s speech on limited reform of US espionage practices, saying the measures did not go far enough to address concerns over American snooping on its European allies.”

To summarize, the trust in America, its political leadership and its institutions has pretty much gone around the world, and President Obama’s reputation continues to falter. Overall, his speech is being rejected as too little, too late—or, as the Bible might put it, “great swelling words of emptiness.”

Execution of Inmate in Ohio Raises Doubts

The Associated Press reported on January 18:

“Ohio’s latest experience with putting an inmate to death raises new question about the ability of states to carry out executions in constitutional fashion. A gasping, snorting Dennis McGuire took 26 minutes to die after the chemicals began flowing Thursday — the longest execution of the 53 carried out in Ohio since capital punishment resumed 15 years ago, according to an Associated Press analysis… Whether McGuire felt any pain was unclear. His death — unconsciousness, followed by apparent obstructed breathing — followed the prediction of one state expert…

“States are in a bind for two main reasons: European companies have cut off supplies of certain execution drugs because of death-penalty opposition overseas. And states can’t simply switch to other chemicals without triggering legal challenges from defense attorneys…

“Missouri at one point proposed using propofol, the powerful operating room anesthetic infamous for its role in Michael Jackson’s overdose death. But Missouri’s governor backed off for fear the European Union, which opposes the death penalty, would cut off exports to the U.S. and cause a nationwide shortage of propofol. Companies in India and Israel put similar prohibitions on their drugs…”

According to biblical injunctions in the Old Testament, no person could be convicted unless at least two witnesses testified unanimously against the perpetrator. Circumstantial evidence was never sufficient all by itself, and God, as the supreme Judge over ancient Israel, saw to it that there was no miscarriage of justice. Those who strongly support the death penalty today need to realize that it was part and parcel of a system of safeguards and quick execution, while prolonged appeal processes with the declared goal of just delaying the execution were prohibited—as was the kind of execution described in the article above.

Ukraine Is Becoming a Totalitarian State

Deutsche Welle reported on January 17:

“The extensive legislative package the Ukrainian Parliament passed on Thursday (16.01.2014) came as a complete surprise. The laws were waved through without any consultation with advisory boards and after just a single parliamentary reading. The government majority carried out the vote by a show of hands in the parliament and all protest from the opposition was in vain.

“The new law is supposed to make it punishable to spread ‘defamations’ – especially online: The legislation could silence journalists and bloggers if they criticize state officials or politicians. The right to peaceful protests will also be curbed. There might also soon be a Ukrainian equivalent to the recent controversial Russian law which labels non-governmental organizations as ‘foreign agents’ if they receive funding for their projects from outside the country. The legislative package will come into law as soon as the president has signed it.”

The EUObserver added on January 17:

“The German government on Friday (16 January) said controversial Ukrainian laws banning pro-EU protests would have ‘consequences’ for its EU relations… according to Ukrainian media, [the President] already signed [the new law] in secret on Friday. The law is aimed at deterring people from joining the anti-Yanukovych and pro-EU protests which erupted in Kiev last November when he declined an EU pact in favour of a Russian bailout… Germany’s message on Friday was echoed by Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt, who said ‘there can be no business as usual with Kiev.’”

Ukraine will end up aligning closely with Russia against Europe.

Warmer Ties Between Russia and Japan

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 20:

“Japan’s PM Abe has announced he would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Sochi Winter Olympics, an indication of the thawing ties between Moscow and Tokyo after decades of disguised distrust. Japan and Russia have yet to sign a peace treaty to conclude World War II, a result of troops from the Soviet Union occupying Sakhalin and a scattered archipelago of islands off northern Japan in the final days of the conflict. But after years of respective governments giving each other the cold shoulder, the relationship has started to grow warmer

“The latest indication of improvement in bilateral ties includes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe… announcing that he will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games on February 7 in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. The prime minister has also made it clear that he would like to take the opportunity to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Japanese media are strongly behind the meeting, although there have been expressions of concern about the security situation in the region. If the meeting goes ahead, then it would be the fifth time the two leaders have met since Abe took office in December 2012 – a remarkable number given the preceding years of apparent indifference between Russian and Japanese leaders.

“President Putin returned the positive message in a slightly different manner by declining to criticize Abe for visiting Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine in December. Visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders draw criticism from countries that were occupied by Japan in the early decades of the last century as it is considered a place to honor the souls of Japanese who died in war, including a number of Class-A war criminals…

“‘The warmth has been coming back into Russia-Japan ties for the last couple of years, but it is getting even stronger now,’ Go Ito, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s Meiji University, told DW. He added that Putin has been positive towards improving ties with Japan, as he doesn’t want the Russian economy to become overly reliant on China for oil and natural gas exports,’ he said…

“Moving beyond cooperation in trade and energy, the Japanese government has hinted that it is considering revising a memorandum on defense exchanges with Moscow to expand areas of possible cooperation, including reciprocal visits by defense ministers and joint military exercises. The new agreement could be in place this autumn…

“Yet another advantage of warmer ties between Russia and Japan – and one that Tokyo is particularly keen on, given recent tensions in the Asia-Pacific region – would be closer commitments in the areas of security and defense.”

The Bible indicates that countries such as Russia, China and Japan will build strong military ties against Europe. See also the next article.

Japan Moves in Far-Right Direction

Asia One wrote on January 20:

“A longtime no-war pledge has disappeared from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party’s annual working policy revealed on Sunday, while the ruling party vowed to continue visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and push ahead constitutional revision, in another move leading the country in a far-right direction, observers said.

“At its 81st LDP annual convention in Tokyo, the party removed the pledge that Japan would “never wage a war”, China Central Television reported on Sunday. In another change from last year’s policy, the party added a phrase saying it will ‘bolster veneration for the war dead’ – referring to continued shrine visits – and also made clear it will amend the country’s constitution. The changes show that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also the party chief, will intensify efforts step by step to push Japan further into animosity with neighbouring countries, analysts said.”

Eurozone Political Heart of Europe

The EUObserver wrote on January 22:

“Poland wants to join the eurozone because it is the political heart of the European Union, its foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, has said, with the country looking to enter the single currency by 2020… ‘Our judgement is that in the next decade the real European union will be inside the eurozone. And we want to be part of that.’”

Serbia Wants to Join the EU

The EUObserver wrote on January 21:

“It was on the UN sanctions list and bombed by Nato in the 1990s Balkan wars, but Serbia on Tuesday (21 January) officially started EU membership talks at a ceremony in Brussels. It will take several years of talks before it can join. But the Serbian Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, who flew in to the EU capital, described the event as the ‘most important moment for Serbia since the end of World War II.’ He said his country is now seen for what it wants to be – an EU member state – instead of people focusing on its role in past conflicts.”

Come-Back of Berlusconi?

BBC News reported on January 19:

“Italy’s controversial ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi has returned to the centre of the political stage, striking a reform deal with a centre-left rival. Berlusconi was thrown out of parliament in 2013 after a tax fraud conviction. But he still heads the opposition Forza Italia party and held lengthy talks with Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi late on Saturday.

“Under their agreement, he will back electoral and constitutional proposals aimed at making Italy more governable. The current electoral system has left Italy with a series of shaky coalitions… After the talks Berlusconi said the deal would ‘consolidate the biggest parties and simplify the political system’…

“Silvio Berlusconi is keen to make a political comeback despite his fraud conviction and a separate conviction for paying an underage prostitute for sex. He is appealing against a seven-year jail term. Much wrangling is expected in parliament over the reform proposals, with smaller parties hostile to changes likely to diminish their role in future governments.”

Italy will play a major role within the final resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

Benedict Defrocked 400 Priests for Molesting Children

The Associated Press reported on January 17:

“A document obtained by The Associated Press shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for molesting children… The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.”

Pope Pleads for Unity of all Christian Churches

Zenit wrote on January 22:

“Pope Francis… said that while certainly Christ was not divided, sadly Christian communities continue to live divided. ‘The divisions among us Christians are a scandal. There is no other word: a scandal,’ he said… Christ’s name creates communion and unity, not division! He has come to make communion among us, not to divide us. Baptism and the Cross are central elements of Christian discipleship which we have in common. Divisions, instead, weaken credibility and the effectiveness of our commitment to evangelization… Let us go forward on this path, praying for the unity of Christians, so that this scandal may cease and be no longer with us…’”

The Bible predicts that most “Christian” denominations and organizations will return to the Roman Catholic Church as  their “mother church.”

Unprecedented Droughts in Western USA

The New York Times wrote on January 5:

“The sinuous Colorado River and its slew of man-made reservoirs from the Rockies to southern Arizona are being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years… many experts believe the current drought is only the harbinger of a new, drier era in which the Colorado’s flow will be substantially and permanently diminished. Faced with the shortage, federal authorities this year will for the first time decrease the amount of water that flows into Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, from Lake Powell 180 miles upstream.

“That will reduce even more the level of Lake Mead, a crucial source of water for cities from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and for millions of acres of farmland. Reclamation officials say there is a 50-50 chance that by 2015, Lake Mead’s water will be rationed to states downstream. That, too, has never happened before… Should Mead continue to fall, Arizona would lose more than half of its Colorado River… The Southern California region using Colorado water is expected to add six million people to the existing 19 million in the next 45 years, and its other water source — the Sierra Nevada to the north — is suffering the same drought and climate problems as the Colorado basin…”

NBC wrote on January 17:

“Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency Friday for California after weeks of intensifying pressure from lawmakers to take action as the state’s water reservoir levels remain strained with no rain in the forecast. The declaration comes during one of the driest winters on record in California, following two dry years that already have left many reservoirs depleted. The state is facing ‘perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen’ since records began, Brown said during the Friday morning announcement…

“The U.S. Drought Monitor has reported extreme drought conditions in central and northern California, and there has been little snowfall so far this winter. Precipitation in most of the state is less than 20 percent of normal, and reservoirs are dwindling. Forecasts suggest the dry spell could continue, exacerbating the already heightened fire danger.

“California is on pace for the driest January on record. The all-time low rainfall record in January occurred in 1984, when just 0.3 inches of rain fell across California.”

The website of cbslocal.com wrote on January 22:

“In California, 2013 was a record-setting year because of the lack of rainfall. A professor at UC Berkeley warns this time could go into the record books as the driest in centuries… Dried up creek beds along with golden hills that look like its August instead of January could become our typical landscape, if history repeats itself… A study about tree rings led her to predict that we could be in for the driest winter in 500 years. Narrow tree rings indicate little or no water for growth, just like people saw in the 1500s…

“Some droughts, like one in the Middle Ages, lasted more than a century…”

The Bible predicted that in these end times, the modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel—especially the USA—will be plagued with prolonged droughts. We read in Deuteronomy 28:23-24: “And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”

The Curse of Abortion

Life News wrote on January 21:

“I thought of the more than 55,000,000 lives that have been [aborted] in the U.S. since 1973, and I became overwhelmed at the tragedy. Tragedy for the babies, their mothers, their fathers, families, and us… 40 years ago today, seven men on the Supreme Court decided in favor of a case presented to them from a 27 year-old, unknown, post-abortive lawyer, Sarah Weddington. That case was Roe v. Wade and, along with its companion Doe v. Bolton, it legalized abortion in all 9 months of pregnancy, for any reason, in the United States.

“Today, this 27 year-old is writing to you as a survivor of that decision. The undeniable fact is that nearly a third of my generation is missing. We are missing brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, husbands and wives. You see, Miss Weddington’s generation got it wrong. In attempting to correct gender inequality in the workplace and in our society, they set into motion the ultimate act of discrimination – abortion. Instead of glorifying motherhood, they pitted the mother against her child, creating an endless cycle of selfishness, pain, and deceit.”

In ancient times, idol worshippers killed and sacrificed their children to their terrible “gods,” by throwing them into the fire. Today, we are killing and sacrificing our unborn children to our self-made modern idols, by butchering them in the mother’s womb. You might want to listen to our shocking StandingWatch program, “Why Abortion Is Murder in God’s Eyes.” 

Francis vs. Obama on Abortion

Breitbart wrote on January 22:

“On Wednesday, Pope Francis sent out a tweet supporting the pro-life marchers and offering his prayers: ‘I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable,’ he tweeted.

“On a day set aside to mourn the sadness, hardship, and pain associated with abortion, President Obama praised Roe v Wade as a great moment in history for women…”

Superstition Among Sports Fans

The Washington Post wrote on January 21:

“50 percent of sports fans see some aspect of the supernatural at play in sports, meaning they either pray to God to help their team, have thought their team was cursed at some point in time, or believe that God plays a role in determining the outcome of sporting events… A fervent 26 percent of the respondents say they have prayed that ‘for God to help their team’, while an equal number have entertained the notion that their team was ‘cursed.’…

“Football fans are also more likely than other fans to say they pray for their team (33 percent ), perform pre-game or game-time rituals (25 percent), or to believe that their team has been cursed (31 percent). White evangelical Protestants (38 percent), white mainline Protestant (33 percent) and minority Protestant (29 percent) sports fans are considerably more likely than Catholic (21 percent) or religiously unaffiliated (15 percent) fans to say they have prayed for their team, the survey found. Twenty one percent have either a special ritual or a lucky item of clothing they associated with a big game…”