Current Events

Obama’s Nuclear Proliferation Summit

The Associated Press reported on April 12:

“Presidents, prime ministers, and top officials from nearly 50 countries mingled Monday on the threshold of President Barack Obama’s nuclear proliferation summit, the largest assembly a U.S. leader has hosted since the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945. Obama wants world leaders to confront the threat of nuclear arms falling into the hands of terrorists — a specter he labels ‘the single biggest threat to U.S. security.’ And he’s looking at the high-profile security forum here to help him reach his goal of ensuring that all nuclear materials worldwide are secured from theft or diversion within four years…

“At an unofficial parallel conference of more than 200 international nuclear experts, participants said too many around the world don’t share the concern that nuclear terrorism is an urgent threat… American nonproliferation expert Robert Gallucci told the conference he believes it’s ‘probable’ over time that terrorists will detonate an atomic weapon in a city somewhere…”

Burma–A New Nuclear Foe?

Yahoo! News wrote on April 14:

“Even as President Obama won agreement from world leaders this week to block the spread of nuclear weapons, the United States is facing a new—and unexpected—nuclear foe: Burma… Intelligence officials fear the paranoid, iron-fisted generals who run Burma see a nuclear program—and ultimately, a nuclear bomb—as a way of securing their hold on power forever…

“While most of Burma’s 50 million people live in shocking poverty, the country is rich in natural resources; the junta earns hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the sale of natural gas, hardwood and the fabled Burmese rubies cherished by the global gem dealers. Although it denies interest in a nuclear weapon, Burma does not hide all of its nuclear ambitions. In 2007, it signed an agreement with Russia for the construction of a small nuclear reactor on Burmese soil…

“Last June, Japanese authorities announced that they had broken up a criminal smuggling ring that was attempting to export a high-tech magnetometer to Burma…

“In 2007, Burma and North Korean restored diplomatic and military relations after a 24-year break… The alliance between the Burmese and North Koreans brings together two of the world’s most isolated, repressive and,—some would say—loony governments.”

U.S. Economy in Great Danger

Die Zeit, a highly respected German newspaper, wrote on April 8:

“The U.S. Economy is facing a new downfall.” The article continued:

“Careful–Appearance is deceptive. The seed of coming problems has been sown and can already be seen in part. But: One has to be willing to see them… The Middle class is not doing good… Smaller banks have no access to governmental financial help, as all the money has been given to the big banks. The consequence is that credit for the middle class is tremendously suffering… The recovery only affects a few big companies– the majority has still huge problems…”

Discussing the unparalleled rise of the price of copper (8000 dollars for one ton) and the rise of oil and the possibility that a barrel of oil will soon cost 150 dollars, the article said: “Such increase of over 40 percent within 12 months has in the past always led to a recession.”

The Deceitful New Health Care Bill

The Los Angeles Times reported on April 13:

“Public outrage over double-digit rate hikes for health insurance may have helped push President Obama’s healthcare overhaul across the finish line, but the new law does not give regulators the power to block similar increases in the future. And now, with some major companies already moving to boost premiums and others poised to follow suit, millions of Americans may feel an unexpected jolt in the pocketbook. Although Democrats promised greater consumer protection, the overhaul does not give the federal government broad regulatory power to prevent increases.

“Many state governments — which traditionally had responsibility for regulating insurance companies — also do not have such authority. And several that do are now being sued by insurance companies… At least in the short term, regulators will be able to do little more than require insurers to publicly explain why they want to raise rates. Consumer advocates think that will not be an effective deterrent against premium increases such as the 39% hike that Anthem Blue Cross sent some California customers last year.

“… congressional rules prevented Democratic leaders from including the rate control provision in the final healthcare package… Prior approval requires insurers to submit proposed rate increases to regulators… Insurers cannot raise premiums without explicit permission from the regulator.

“Some states have given prior approval authority to their insurance commissions and have used it to force down premiums… California… does not have the power to block health plan increases… A handful of states, such as Missouri, do not even require insurers to publicly disclose rate hikes.

“The new federal healthcare law would step up oversight of health insurers in states with such limited regulation. The bill directs the secretary of Health and Human Services to work with state regulators to develop a process for reviewing proposed premium increases to determine if they are unreasonable. Insurers that propose such hikes would be required to post justifications on their websites. Stepping up regulation doesn’t promise to be easy…”

That certain health insurance companies are free to operate in a mafia-like fashion and are permitted to bleed its customers to death by increasing annual premiums in excess of 30 % is of course an abomination and a testimony for the terrible state this country is in. It also shows the complete lack of competency of certain state regulators who should have prevented these hikes from occurring. But it is also an outrage that Washington’s political spin machine has misrepresented what the new health care law would or would not accomplish, and the American people are facing a rude awakening.

“Obama Not Qualified to Be President”

Canada Free Press reported on April 12:

“On page 31 in the transcribed text of the March 25, 2010 session of the Kenyan Parliament, there is a brief statement by the Kenyan Minister for Lands (Mr. Orengo). What Mr. Orengo says is nothing short of a bombshell, and yet not a mention has been made anywhere in the mainstream media. I think, for obvious reasons.Here is the text of the salient portion:

“‘… If America was living in a situation where they feared ethnicity and did not see itself as a multiparty state or nation, how could a young man born here in Kenya, who is not even a native American, become the President of America? It is because they did away with exclusion’…

“Since the first report of Barack Hussein Obama’s doubtful heritage surfaced, those citizens brave enough to swim upstream have been ridiculed, defamed, derided and denounced, and not just by uberliberals such as those infesting the halls of MSNBC, but by members of their own political demographic… at the very least a congressional inquiry into our sitting President’s birth record should be instigated…

“Consider NPR, National Public Radio, not a common hotbed of conservative opinion. NPR reported Obama’s birthplace as Kenya, not Hawaii.  During the presidential campaign, Michelle Obama, one who should know where her husband was born, listed Kenya as Obama’s birthplace… No less a personage than the Kenyan Ambassador to the U.S. confirmed Mrs. Obama’s assertion, using the phrase that Barack Hussein Obama’s origins in Kenya were ‘well-known’. This was backed up by the Kenyan Parliament on the day after the 2008 election. On November 5, 2008, the Kenyan Parliament refers to Obama as a ‘son of the soil’.

“That phrase may mean little in U.S. English, but in African culture it means a lot… it means that the current sitting American President is a Native Kenyan, not American…

“It seems to me that the assertions by the Kenyan Parliament are more than serious enough to warrant action… I cannot accept the suggestion that this statement of fact was anything other than just that… Barack Hussein Obama is not qualified to be the U.S. President.”

“Merkel’s Difficult Friendship with Obama”

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 12:

“Angela Merkel is traveling across America this week. It’s a country she loves, but the German chancellor is still having trouble connecting with Barack Obama. Her political style couldn’t be any more different from that of the US president. She’s fighting to prevent the US from disregarding or dominating the Europeans…

“The two years in which Merkel has interacted with Obama have been filled with tension… He is precisely the president she didn’t want to see in office… At the moment, the partners on both sides of the Atlantic are disappointed with each other. Whenever the Americans want something from the Germans, they are guaranteed to be turned down: on prisoners from Guantanamo, on sending significantly more soldiers to Afghanistan and on new economic stimulus programs.

“Merkel, on the other hand, was repeatedly appalled last year at how inconsiderate the Americans were of German or European interests. Whenever she spoke to Obama about climate protection, he was only concerned with the consequences for the United States. When the Americans settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan, they didn’t ask their allies first. Merkel also suspects that the United States is not interested in reining in the financial industry…”

As we have pointed out for many years, the relationship between the USA and Germany and continental Europe will consistently deteriorate in these last days.

Germany’s War in Afghanistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 12:

“Germans have a difficult relationship with war, for obvious reasons. But the current government’s attempts to play down the war in Afghanistan are cowardly. It’s time for Germany to face reality and initiate an open debate about the purpose of its mission… For quite some time, the key question has been what the Germans actually can and want to do to help change things for the better in Afghanistan. The answer is that militarily they can do practically nothing. The reason for this is not that their soldiers are poorly trained or that their equipment leaves something to be desired. Germany’s military restraint reflects a conscious policy — one that aims to keep the war in Afghanistan from becoming a political problem back home.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel is keeping her distance from the war… Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is conspicuous by his deafening silence. Thus, when the German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, said that there is a situation in Afghanistan that would colloquially be called war, his choice of words was perceived as an act of liberation.

“Yes, there is a state of war in Afghanistan, that poor and mistreated country in the world’s most dangerous region. War is terrible. War kills civilians, including women and children. War also often changes the soldiers that fight it. There is no such thing as a just war because unjust things always happen, often accompanied by atrocities and barbarity. Yet asymmetrical wars against terrorists and insurgents are clearly an integral part of the 21st century. And sometimes, despite all reservations, fighting a war is the right thing to do…

“It is a good thing that Germany, mindful of its 20th century past, has a difficult relationship with war. Its governments, however, tend either towards dramatic exaggeration — as with former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who used Auschwitz as an argument for the Kosovo war — or towards dramatic downplaying, as Merkel and Westerwelle are currently doing…

“Today it is simultaneously more difficult and easier to justify the war in Afghanistan. It is more difficult because many illusions concerning democracy and stability in the country have been shattered. At the same time, it is easier because there is general agreement that Afghanistan should not fall again into the hands of the Taliban and al-Qaida. An even worse scenario would be if Pakistan, a nuclear power, were to be left at the mercy of extremists…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel… has to take political responsibility. This starts with the simple acknowledgment that Germany is conducting a war in Afghanistan that the chancellor feels is right. The long phase of understatement is over. The distant war has come home to Germany, and, after the period of fleeing from reality, it is now high time that Germans talk openly about war and death.”

All propaganda aside–when a left-liberal magazine like Der Spiegel advocates German participation in war, it is high time to wake up.

And the Afghan War Drags On…

The Sunday Times wrote on April 12:

“Nato plans for a massive operation in southern Afghanistan suffered a major setback yesterday when soldiers opened fire on a bus, killing four civilians [including one woman] and injuring at least a dozen more… The shootout yesterday morning sparked angry protests. Elders inside the city said what little faith people still put in the coalition had evaporated.

“‘The operation hasn’t even started yet, but every day they kill civilians,’ said Haji Wali Jan. ‘Even they must know a bus is full of civilians? If they are afraid of a bus how can they continue with an operation in Kandahar?’… Securing Kandahar city – the country’s first capital and the spiritual home of the Taleban – is seen as a key test of Barack Obama’s 30,000 soldier surge…

“The bullet riddled bus is the latest in a long and bloody line of civilian casualty incidents which threaten to undermine public support for the presence of foreign troops. President Hamid Karzai, who has wept in public demanding Nato stop killing innocent people, issued a statement condemning the attack and offering his condolences to the victims yesterday.”

…And On…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 15:

“Four German soldiers are reported dead in an attack on a military patrol in Afghanistan, less than two weeks after a deadly ambush in the same region… the soldiers were attacked with shoulder-fired rockets during a patrol between Kunduz and Baghlan. An as yet unknown number of Bundeswehr troops have been seriously injured.

“The attack came a day after German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg made a surprise visit to Afghanistan…

“The government in Berlin appeared this week to be taking steps to better equip its troops. On Thursday the Financial Times Deutschland reported that the government planned to order 60 Eagle IV armored vehicles from Swiss manufacturer Mowag. Another 90 will be ordered in 2011 according to current government plans, the paper reported.

“During his visit on Wednesday, Guttenberg had already pledged to improve the soldiers’ equipment. He promised to send two large armored howitzers, TOW anti-tank missiles and additional Marder armored personnel carriers.

“About 4,500 German troops are stationed in Afghanistan now. They currently have around 975 armored vehicles from various manufacturers… but… Guttenberg wrote that 600 of the vehicles needed to be replaced in light of an increased threat from roadside bombs and other attacks.

“Guttenberg said in the letter that the armored vehicles were needed as quickly as possible — especially considering the government’s plans to bolster the number of Bundeswehr troops in Afghanistan to 5,350. German involvement in Afghanistan remains a controversial topic for voters.”

Poland–A Firm U.S. Ally

The Associated Press wrote on April 11:

“Poland, a nation of 38 million people, is by far the largest of the 10 formerly communist countries that have joined the European Union in recent years. Last year, Poland was the only EU nation to avoid recession and posted economic growth of 1.7 percent. It has become a firm U.S. ally in the region since the fall of communism — a stance that crosses party lines. The country sent troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and recently boosted its contingent in Afghanistan to some 2,600 soldiers.

“U.S. Patriot missiles are expected to be deployed in Poland this year. That was a Polish condition for a 2008 deal — backed by both Kaczynski and Tusk — to host long-range missile defense interceptors. The deal, which was struck by the Bush administration, angered Russia and was later reconfigured under President Barack Obama’s administration. Under the Obama plan, Poland would host a different type of missile defense interceptors as part of a more mobile system and at a later date, probably not until 2018.”

Poland–A Secure Part of the EU

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 12:

“As the world mourns the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the 95 other victims of [an] airplane crash in western Russia on Saturday, German commentators are having a hard time agreeing on what Kaczynski’s legacy will be for Poland and its foreign relations.

“After being seen off by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Smolensk, the coffin carrying the body of Polish President Lech Kaczynski arrived at Warsaw’s military airport Sunday, where it was greeted by tens of thousands of mourning Poles, including his identical twin brother, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and his daughter Marta.

“Kaczynski was one of the 96 Poles — including dozens of political, military and religious leaders — who died Saturday when his aging Polish government Tupelov airplane crashed in thick fog while trying to land at the Smolensk airport in western Russia. The delegation was traveling to nearby Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of a 1940 massacre in which the Soviet Union’s secret police executed more than 20,000 Polish military officers and intellectuals. Russian investigators who have examined the plane’s flight recorders have not been able to determine that there were any technical problems with the plane and instead suspect pilot error may have been involved in the crash.

“Poland has declared a week of national mourning, and its acting president, Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, has said that he will soon call for early elections, which must be held by late June. A funeral for the deceased president will not be held until the body of his wife, Maria, has been identified and returned to Poland. Identifying the bodies is expected to take two to three days and require the use of DNA analysis. In Russia, which Poland has long viewed as its historical oppressor despite recent moves toward reconciliation, President Dmitry Medvedev declared a national day of mourning.

“In Monday’s newspapers, German commentators mourn the victims of the crash while musing on Kaczynski’s legacy. They don’t seem to agree on whether he kept Poland in the past or brought it forward, or whether recent improvements in Polish-Russian relations were happening because of or in spite of him.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… Perhaps the country can now succeed in doing what its politicians and intellectuals have failed to do in the post-Cold War period — reconcile the nation with its past, help Poles arrive at a common understanding of their own history and depoliticize this history. Kaczynski belonged to the group of politicians that is so obsessed with the past that it continues to divide the Polish people and make Poland a problematic partner in Europe… Poles should understand the catastrophe as an appeal to free themselves from the chains of their own history… Poland doesn’t need any more victims. It has found its place in Europe…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘One of the key thrusts of Lech Kaczynski’s presidency was keeping alive the memory of the crimes that Germany and the Soviet Union committed against the Poles in the 20th century…’

“The conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘… Poland is more secure and stable than ever. It is part of the EU and NATO, a beneficiary of America’s protective umbrella and no longer has to fear being ground down between Germany and Russia… While the majority of other national economies, and particularly European ones, have contracted, the Polish economy has continued to grow… Poles can be proud of what they have achieved in the last 20 years. And, from that, they should draw the energy and the confidence they’ll need to get past this horrific loss as well…'”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 11:

“Germany had taken a complacent attitude toward its small and supposedly weak eastern neighbor. It advocated for Poland’s EU membership and believed that to be enough penance for the Nazis’ crimes… Germany is Poland’s most important trading partner and in the western part of the country especially, German mayors meet with their Polish counterparts and Polish businesses work together with their German neighbors every day.”

Controversy in Poland

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 15:

“Controversy has erupted in Poland over a decision not only to bury President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, among the most august in the country’s history, but also to bury them at all before the investigation of the airplane crash that killed them has been closed…

“If all goes according to plan, they will be buried in a state funeral Sunday at the 1,000-year-old Wawel Cathedral, whose crypt has been the resting place for Polish monarchs and national heroes for over 600 years. Still, the decision to do so — which, according to the AP, the Kaczynski family made along with Catholic church without public debate or a vote in parliament — has sparked a wave of protests… The crux of their argument is that, despite his tragic death, the often-controversial president does not merit a place among the most esteemed figures in the country’s history.

“In Thursday’s newspapers, German commentators tend to agree with the protestors, attributing the decision to the surge of emotion spawned by the tragedy. They also worry that burying him before the investigation is complete will merely provide more fodder for the suspicious.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The overwhelming majority of Poles viewed Kaczynski as an often blundering president who was not held in high regard by Poland’s European neighbors…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… While he was alive, no one in Poland would have thought of granting him a place among the kings and intellectuals in Poland’s history. The only thing elevating him to this level is the swelling of emotion felt in the core of Polish society.'”

“Poland–How To Move On…?”

On April 11, Deutsche Welle quoted the following additional comments from German newspapers:

“In an editorial, the Tagesspiegel am Sonntag called Kaczynski’s untimely death ‘a dagger in the heart.’ The Berlin-based newspaper paid tribute to his legacy, while acknowledging the often difficult relationship he had with fellow European heads of state. ‘This little man quite often drove Angela Merkel and many other European leaders to the edge of reason with his mix of provinciality, unpredictability and cunning,’ an editorial stated. ‘Yet this little man, he actually did something very big in Poland.’

“Meanwhile, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper concentrated on the ‘cynical twist of fate’ that the crash occurred en route to the Katyn memorial service to commemorate Poles massacred by Soviet troops in World War II. ‘The big moments in recent Polish history are almost all tainted with blood,’ the paper said.

“The daily Bild am Sonntag  ran the headline ‘Poland, we are crying with you,’ on the front page. Inside, the paper devoted its first eight pages to the tragedy, including a full-page picture of the crash scene. In their online coverage of the tragedy, Bild.de quoted the Polish ambassador to Germany, Marek Prawda, who openly wondered about the future of the Polish politics. ‘A big part of the Polish political class is no longer there,’ Prawda told the paper.  ‘It raises the question of how we will move on…'”

Israel Mourns for Poland

Haaretz reported on April 11:

“Israel’s leaders on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, calling him a true friend of the Jewish people and praising his efforts to heal the scars of the Holocaust. The Nazis erected their major death camps on occupied Polish soil – killing more than 3 million Jews, most of them from Poland. That strained Polish-Israeli relations after World War II.

“In recent years, ties improved dramatically and Israel considered the Kaczynski-led Poland to be among its staunchest European allies… The outpouring of grief was not limited to leaders. Ordinary Israelis flocked to the Polish Embassy in Tel Aviv to light candles and lay flowers.”

Preparing for the Third Temple on the Temple Mount

A-7 News reported on April 13:

“Moslem leaders [of the Palestinian Authority] repeatedly claim that the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism, where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac, where the two Holy Temples stood, and where the third is to be rebuilt – has no Jewish history or background… Similarly, Islamic Movement chief Raed Salah has said, ‘We reiterate for the 1,000th time that the entire Al-Aqsa mosque [on the Temple Mount], including all of its area and alleys above the ground and under it, is exclusive and absolute Moslem property, and no one else has any rights to even one grain of earth in it.’

“Jordan, too, has not waived its demands for sovereignty and responsibility over the Temple Mount. Jordanian government minister Abdel Salam Abbadi said last week that Jordan’s 1988 decision to disconnect from Judea and Samaria did not mean that it detached itself from Jerusalem and the holy sites…

“To counter this approach… various Jewish groups in Israel seek to cement the Jewish bonds to the Temple Mount. They visit the Mount whenever possible, attempt to secure rights for Jews to visit and pray there, arrange marches outside the Temple Mount gates, and raise Temple Mount awareness with events, classes, pamphlets, exhibits and more.

“Among them are The Temple Institute, the Organization for the Renewal of the Temple, the Sanhedrin, the Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount, and others… The Organization for the Renewal of the Temple has initiated a petition/letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, urging him to add the Temple Mount to his new list of sites preserved as National Heritage sites. The letter states that though ‘the Temple Mount is the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people, yet the Muslim authorities, aided by Israel Police, systematically deny the right of religious expression on the Mount to all non-Moslems. On numerous occasions the High Court of Justice has upheld the Jewish people’s right to pray at the site, yet the police continue to prevent this. Furthermore, Jewish visitors are harassed and degraded… Please, end this travesty and allow Jewish freedom of expression at the Temple Mount. I urge you include the Temple Mount in your “Heritage Plan” of sites significant to the Jewish people.’

“The Temple Institute, engaged in education, research, and development towards the Holy Temple in accordance with Biblical law, recently held its 29th annual Temple Institute Passover Symposium… Issues discussed included questions such as, ‘Will massive digital screens allow worshippers to observe the work of the High Priest from a great distance? Will computers be used to keep track of the sacrifices, public and private? Will special impurity-proof buses be used to transport Passover pilgrims and their Paschal offerings?'”

Obama’s Attacks on Israel

On April 12, Newsmax published the following article by former New York Mayor and Democrat Ed Koch:

“I weep as I witness outrageous verbal attacks on Israel. What makes these verbal assaults and distortions all the more painful is that they are being orchestrated by President Obama. For me, the situation today recalls what occurred in 70 A.D. when the Roman emperor Vespasian launched a military campaign against the Jewish nation and its ancient capital of Jerusalem.

“Ultimately, Masada, a rock plateau in the Judean desert, became the last refuge of the Jewish people against the Roman onslaught. I have been to Jerusalem and Masada… The Jews of Masada committed suicide rather than let the Romans take them captive. In Rome itself, I have seen the Arch of Titus with the sculpture showing enslaved Jews and the treasures of the Jewish temple with the menorah, the symbol of the Jewish state, being carted away as booty during the sacking of Jerusalem…

“The most recent sacking of the old city of Jerusalem — its Jewish quarter — took place under the Jordanians in 1948 in the first war between the Jews and the Arabs, with at least five Muslim states — Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq — seeking to destroy the Jewish state.

“At that time, Jordan conquered East Jerusalem and the West Bank and expelled every Jew living in the Jewish quarter of the old city, destroying every building, including the synagogues in the old quarter and expelling from every part of Judea and Samaria every Jew living there so that for the first time in thousands of years, the old walled city of Jerusalem and the adjacent West Bank were ‘Judenrein,’ a term used by the Nazis to indicate the forced removal or murder of all Jews. Jews had lived for centuries in Hebron, the city where Abraham… pitched his tent and where he now lies buried, it is believed, in a tomb with his wife, Sarah, as well as other ancient… patriarchs and matriarchs…

“My loyalty and love is first to the U.S. which has given me, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants, so much. But, I have also long been cognizant of the fact that every night when I went to sleep in peace and safety, there were Jewish communities around the world in danger. And there was one country, Israel, that would give them sanctuary and would send its soldiers to fight for them and deliver them from evil, as Israel did at Entebbe in 1976.

“I weep today because my president, Barack Obama, in a few weeks has changed the relationship between the U.S. and Israel from that of closest of allies to one in which there is an absence of trust on both sides… our closest ally, the one with the special relationship with the U.S., has been demeaned and slandered…

“I believe President Obama’s policy is to create a whole new relationship with the Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, and Iraq as a counter to Iran, the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the Muslim world, which we are now prepared to see in possession of a nuclear weapon… I am shocked by the lack of outrage on the part of Israel’s most ardent supporters… Members of Congress in both the House and Senate have made pitifully weak statements against Obama’s mistreatment of Israel, if they made any at all. The Democratic members, in particular, are weak…

“To those who call me an alarmist, I reply that I’ll be happy to apologize if I am proved wrong. But those who stand silently by and watch the Obama administration abandon Israel, to whom will they apologize?”

Obama’s Far-Reaching Shift

The New York Times wrote on April 15:

“It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama’s news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement. When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a ‘vital national security interest of the United States,’ he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.

“This shift… is driving the White House’s urgency to help broker a Middle East peace deal…”

Hungary Shifts to the Right

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 13:

“The people of Hungary shifted to the right in their general election on Sunday, evicting the Socialists from government after eight years, handing the center-right Fidesz party of Viktor Orban a strong mandate to form a government and making the far-right Jobbik party the third-strongest force in parliament…

“German media commentators are worried about the resurgence of nationalism in Hungary and wonder whether its political system is strong enough to cope with the hate-filled polarization that has swept the country. The Jobbik party got some 17 percent after campaigning on a deeply xenophobic platform. Commentators said Jobbik makes the Freedom Party of the late Jörg Haider, the Austrian populist, and Dutch right-winger Geert Wilders seem moderate.

“Left-wing Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Twenty years after the end of the collectivist dictatorship, Hungary has turned into a grubby hive of nationalism in which far-right blood and soil ideologies are flourishing, pseudo-democrats are hailing the glorious history of the Magyars and militant racists are fighting against an allegedly “overflowing” number of foreigners and ethnic minorities living in the country by parading around the streets with machetes and Molotov cocktails…’

“‘The right-wing extremists of the Jobbik party and their militant followers from the New Hungarian Guard have been engaging in unabashed badgering of homosexuals, Roma and Jews. They raid districts where Roma people live and are campaigning for the restoration of Greater Hungary by demanding the incorporation of all the provinces of Romania, Slovakia, the Ukraine and Serbia in which Hungarian ethnic minorities live…

“‘The incoming prime minister, Viktor Orban, and his Fidesz party… gave the right-wing extremists the feeling of being secret allies in the fight against the post-communist Socialists, and the sense that they may even one day be allowed to join government. When Jörg Haider’s Freedom Party joined the government in Austria there was an uproar in Europe. The Hungarian Fidesz party is even more right-wing than Haider’s people in many respects. Europe has ignored this development far too long…’

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘The former model country Hungary is a prime example of what can go wrong if reforms are carried out too late…’

“Conservative Die Welt writes: ‘Hungary has been unable to escape the clutches of a difficult history that has been laced with defeat and has therefore fuelled national resentments. It’s worrying that more than two-thirds of Hungarians have opted for parties that either toy with right-wing populism or are openly reactionary. The crisis, which is not just economic, has brought the ghosts of the past back onto the political stage. The propaganda of aggressive self-pity has worked, and last Sunday was a black day for minorities such as the Roma. Europe can only hope that the electoral success of the right-wing extremists will serve as a warning to the new prime minister, Viktor Orban. He must now clearly distance himself from the ghosts that he himself has helped to awaken.’

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘Hungary hasn’t developed a sense of democracy or any enthusiasm for the parliamentary system…’

“Berlin daily Tagesspiegel writes: ‘The victory of the national conservative Viktor Orban and the entry of the far-right protest party Jobbik into the Budapest parliament are a desperate and resigned reaction to a miserable economic situation, a rapid rise in debt and increasing social dislocation in the country. They are of course also a punishment for the Socialists, who ruled for eight years and destroyed themselves as a serious political force… Central Europe is part of the whole of Europe once again. But its political structures aren’t stable enough to withstand the severest political quakes. Hungary is in the process of putting the new era of freedom and self-determination to a dangerous test.'”

Hungary, as an integral part of a united Europe, may be a precursor of things to come…

The Euro Jumps…

The Sunday Times wrote on April 12:

“The euro surged to a one-month high and stock markets in Asia rallied today as traders welcomed a €30 billion (£26.5 billion) loans package [at well below the market rate]  for Greece, agreed by the currency’s [Eurozone] member countries to help the country tackle its debt crisis.

“The euro surged to $1.3691 against the dollar, its highest level since mid-March, although concerns about the long-term nature of Greece’s debt burden and worries about how the loans package would be implemented limited its gains… A further sum will be available from the International Monetary Fund as part of the package, understood to be between €10 billion and €15 billion.”

The BRIC Nations–A New Power Bloc

The Indian edition of Zeenews.com reported on April 14:

“The BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — are set to wrestle with international pressure to back sanctions against Iran when they hold the second-ever summit in Brazil at the end of the week. The diplomatic issue is expected to be raised at the Friday gathering in Brasilia, along with other matters involving the four countries, which together represent 40 percent of the world’s population and which have emerged as an increasingly powerful bloc on emerging economies. The meeting is sandwiched between a Washington summit early this week on nuclear security, and a looming UN Security Council vote on whether to broaden sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

“The United States, Britain, France and Germany have been urging the BRICs to support sanctions against Iran… Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the five permanent council members whose power of veto mean they must support or at least abstain on any sanctions resolution. Brazil is a temporary UN Security Council member with no veto power, but it is one of Iran’s biggest defenders at the world body’s top table — and therefore the focus for lobbying by the Washington and other Western capitals.

“Thus far, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has shown no sign of acquiescing, even after a trilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday…

“The BRIC nations together accounted for nearly half the world’s growth this decade, and 16 percent of the world’s economic output, according to the IMF.”

We can expect to see a growing world influence, especially in political, economic and MILITARY matters by the “BRIC” nations.

More Strong Earthquakes

Foodconsumer reported on April 11: “The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the Solomon Islands on Sunday April 11, 2010 at 08:40 p.m.”

Sky Channel reported on April 11:

“Is it almost time for the big one? We’ve seen a string of large earthquakes in the last year. Haiti, Japan, Mexico, Southern California… and now Spain. Early Monday morning in Granada, Spain (Sunday evening on our east coast), a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck. The epicenter of the quake was 15 miles southeast of… Granada, and about 230 miles south of Madrid. Major damage has not been reported and is not likely considering the tremor was at a depth of 400 miles. Geophysicist Susan Potter said that ‘when an earthquake is deeper, the seismic energy is absorbed by the Earth. So there will be less damage expected in the epicenter area’. We’re wondering if these quakes will continue, and where the Earth will decide to shake next…”

Subsequently, the Associated Press reported on April 14:

“A series of strong earthquakes struck a mountainous Tibetan area of western China on Wednesday, killing at least [600] people and injuring more than 10,000 as houses made of mud and wood collapsed, officials said. Many more people were trapped, and the toll was expected to rise.

“The largest quake was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey as magnitude 6.9… The USGS recorded six temblors in less than three hours, all but one registering 5.0 or higher. The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the largest quake’s magnitude at 7.1.”

Volcanic Eruption in Iceland

Deutsche Welle reported on April 15:

“Hundreds of people in Iceland were evacuated and flights across northern Europe were grounded Thursday after a volcanic eruption in southern Iceland. The eruption, on Wednesday, melted part of a glacier, triggering flash floods and causing property damage…

“Airlines canceled flights in Britain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark due to poor visibility and the possible damage that volcanic ash can cause to aircraft engines. German flag carrier Lufthansa said it was halting some flights as airspace over parts of northern Germany was closed to civilian air traffic.

“Flights in and out of London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, as well as other British airports were canceled until at least 17:00 GMT, including many transatlantic flights. In Scotland, the airports in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh were also closed. Travel delays to Europe were reported as far away as San Francisco in the United States… Airports in Sweden, Norway and Denmark were closed indefinitely as a giant cloud of ash and smoke affected visibility in the region. About 100,000 passengers in Norway were stranded at Oslo airport due to the disruptions… The cancellations were also expected to spread to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and northwestern Russia starting Thursday afternoon…

“This is the second volcanic eruption in Iceland in a month. The earlier eruption, at the same glacier in March, was the first since 1823 and spewed lava for weeks.”

BBC News added on April 15:

“Up to 4,000 flights are being cancelled with airspace closed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark among others… The volcano is still spewing ash and the wind direction is expected to continue bringing clouds into UK and European airspace for some time to come.

“The UK’s airspace restriction was the worst in living memory, a Nats spokesman said. Some 600,000 people are thought to have been affected.”

The Telegraph wrote on April 15:

“Volcanic ash, which consists of the pulverised rock and glass created by the eruptions, can jam aircraft machinery if a plane flies through the plume, shutting down the engines. Ash can also be sucked into the cabin itself, contaminating the passengers’ environment as well as damaging the plane’s electronic systems.”

The Catholic Church’s Misconduct

The Associated Press and MSNBC reported on April 14:

“In an investigation spanning 21 countries across six continents, The Associated Press found 30 cases of priests accused of abuse who were transferred or moved abroad. Some escaped police investigations. Many had access to children in another country, and some abused again.

“A priest who admitted to abuse in Los Angeles went to the Philippines, where U.S. church officials mailed him checks and advised him not to reveal their source. A priest in Canada was convicted of sexual abuse and then moved to France, where he was convicted of abuse again in 2005. Another priest was moved back and forth between Ireland and England, despite being diagnosed as a pederast, a man who commits sodomy with boys…”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 15:

“Pope Benedict XVI for the first time addressed the Vatican’s handling of the sex-abuse crisis, saying the Church should ‘do penance’ in response to recent public attention to its ‘sins’… ‘We Christians, even lately, have often avoided the word “penance”… Now, under the eyes of the world that speaks of our sins, we see that doing penance is grace and we see how penance is necessary,’ he added. The excerpts of the pope’s homily did not specifically mention sex-abuse by priests.”

Even when trying to at least indirectly address the grave misconduct of the Vatican, the pope resorts to unbiblical and ungodly concepts such as “penance”–something which the Bible nowhere teaches.

Homosexuality to Blame for Pedophilia?

Der Stern wrote on April 13:

“The ‘foreign minister’ of the Vatican [Cardinal Secretary Tarcisio Bertone, also referred to in the article as the right hand of the Pope] defended again the criticized celibacy within the Catholic Church and blamed instead homosexuality for the crimes perpetrated on the children.”

The article continued:

“Bertone says that scientific results justify his opinion: ‘Many psychologists and psychiatrists have shown that there is no link between celibacy and paedophilia, but many others have shown, I have recently been told, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia. That is the truth and the problem.'”

Reuters reported on April 14:

“Gay groups and politicians condemned Pope Benedict’s number two on Wednesday for calling homosexuality a ‘pathology’ and linking it directly to sexual abuse of children. The comments made by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone during a visit to Chile… and the controversy they caused, were splashed on mainstream Italian newspapers on Wednesday. The French foreign ministry and in some Catholic blogs that support the pope also condemned the cardinal’s remarks…

“Gay rights activists reacted with derision and outrage. ‘This is a scientific absurdity. The World Health Organization calls homosexuality a variation of human behaviour. It is paedopholia that is a pathology, a crime, not homosexuality,’ said Franco Grillini, a former parliamentarian who was at the vanguard of Italy’s gay rights movement.’

“A front-page editorial in Rome’s left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper titled ‘The Confusion in the Church’ said Bertone’s comments would end up causing the Church more ‘harm to itself, not homosexuals.’ Bertone was also criticized by Alessandra Mussolini, a right-wing parliamentarian whose grandfather, wartime Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, sent gays into internal exile. ‘You can’t link sexual orientation to paedophilia . . . this link risks becoming dangerously misleading for the protection of children,’ Mussolini said.

“ArciLesbica, Italy’s main lesbian rights group, accused the Vatican of using ‘violent and deceptive statements’ to divert attention from its abuse scandal and said Italian parents should consider removing their children from Church-run institutions.”

It is of course true that most pedophiles are homosexuals, but not all homosexuals are pedophiles. To try to exculpate FORCED celibacy is denying one of the problems for pedophilia. Rather than making necessary changes in unbiblical doctrines, the Catholic Church is determined to continue its wrong practices, which are based on paganism and human traditions. And as critics of the church are becoming louder and more vocal, so will the church in its response.

In a clumsy attempt to “clarify” its position, the Vatican only added insult to injury. BBC News reported on April 14:

“A spokesman provided ‘data’ to support the claim, but also said Church leaders were not trying to make assertions of a ‘psychological or medical nature’… Vatican spokesman… Lombardi insisted the cardinal had not been making an assertion, but also detailed its ‘statistical data’ on the abuse of minors by priests… ‘Church authorities do not consider it their responsibility to make general statements of a specifically physiological or medical character, which is why they naturally refer back to experts’ study and ongoing research on the subject,’ he said.”

This is stunning! The Catholic Church is unwilling to say what SIN is–rather leaving it to “experts” to explain the reasons for sinful conduct!!!

To Arrest and Try the Pope?

Deutsche Welle reported on April 12:

“Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and Christopher Hitchens, the British-American author and journalist – both vocal atheists – support efforts to ascertain whether Pope Benedict XVI can be arrested and tried when he comes to Britain in September. Hitchens is paying lawyers to look into the possibility of prosecuting the pope for crimes against humanity in the wake of the sex abuse scandal that has embroiled the Catholic Church worldwide. While Dawkins is not contributing financially, he says on his Web site that he ‘wholeheartedly supports it.’

“Hitchens has hired human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC and solicitor Mark Stephens from the London law firm Finers, Stephens Innocent, who both believe they can make a case against the pope. ‘It is clearly a crime against humanity to be complicit in the cover-up of a crime against humanity, and that would be susceptible to being heard before the ICC [International Criminal Court] in The Hague,’ Stephens told Deutsche Welle.

“‘The alternative is, if and when the pope comes to this country [the UK] in the autumn, individuals who have been abused will be able to bring criminal proceedings in the criminal courts of the UK,’ he explained. Robertson also believes that the Holy See can no longer ignore international law. The Catholic Church’s cover-up of cases of abuse in Ireland, for example, he writes in the British newspaper The Guardian, ‘amounts to the criminal offence of aiding and abetting sex with minors.’

“Pope Benedict is to be in Britain from September 16-19, the first papal visit to the country since 1982. Stephens argues that the pope is not a head of state, so he does not have to be granted immunity from prosecution, and could, therefore, be arrested on British soil. ‘The Vatican is not a country, as you and I understand it, it’s not a member of the UN, the US prevented it from becoming a member of the United Nations,’ he told Deutsche Welle…

“The Catholic Church has been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse in the US, Ireland, Austria and, most recently, the pope’s native Germany… A recent poll by the newsmagazine Focus shows that the majority of Germans have no faith in the Roman Catholic Church and a quarter of the Catholics surveyed are considering leaving the Church in the wake of the recent revelations…”

All legalese and atheist thinking aside, such a lawsuit, even if it were to be permitted to be pursued, should be destined to failure, as the Vatican is viewed as a state or a country, and the pope is considered as the head of the Vatican STATE. IF a British court were to rule otherwise and actually try the Pope, this would result in condemnation from the entire “Christian” world. Of course, stranger things have happened… After all, the Bible prophesies that ultimately, Britain, the USA and the state of Israel will be hated by all other nations.

Contaminated Vaccines

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) wrote on April 7:

“On March 22, 2010, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials adhering to the precautionary principle advised American doctors to suspend use of Rotarix vaccine until the agency finds out why DNA from a swine virus… was found in the live rotavirus vaccine… Rotarix is a genetically engineered vaccine… created by isolating human rotavirus strain infecting a child in Cincinnati and using African Green monkey kidney cells to produce the original viral seed stock from which all Rotarix vaccine has been made…

“Contamination of vaccines with animal viruses is not new. In the 20th century, polio vaccines given to tens of millions of people worldwide were contaminated with simian virus 40 (SV40), which was found to cause cancer in animals and is associated with human brain, bone and lung cancers but the government denies SV40 is causing those cancers in humans…

“There has been controversy about the link between experimental polio vaccines tested in Africa in the 1950’s and 1960’s that were contaminated with a monkey virus… Soon after the polio vaccine trials in Africa… HIV… emerged… Many questions about the failure of researchers and technology to screen for monkey viruses in those vaccines remain to this day…

“Vaccine manufacturers have long used cell material that comes from the bodies of mammals, including humans, monkeys, cows, pigs, dogs and rodents, as well as birds or insects to make vaccines now in use or to make experimental vaccines. There is an inherent risk of contamination with viruses and other microbes (or DNA from those microbes) that can escape detection during the vaccine development, testing, licensing, manufacturing and oversight process…

“In searching for ways to make seasonal influenza vaccines in a faster, easier and less expensive way than relying on chicken eggs for production, drug companies have experimented with using dog kidney cells and human fetal retinal cells. However, these cell lines have been documented to cause tumors in animals, especially dog kidney cells…

“There are lots of questions about how the manufacturer of Rotarix vaccine and the FDA both missed the pig virus DNA contaminating the original seed stock and all doses of Rotarix vaccine given to more than one million American children in the past few years… What about the significance of finding bird viral DNA in measles vaccine and the monkey viral DNA in RotaTeq vaccine?…

“The contamination of Rotarix vaccine is only the latest in a long history of vaccine contamination issues that require a re-examination of the way vaccines are made and tested… The big question people are asking is:  why do drug companies making vaccines continue to use cells from animals, birds and insects that can be contaminated with viruses and other adventitious agents that are hard to detect? The FDA was right to suspend use of Rotarix vaccine until they know more. Hopefully, this serious vaccine production and testing issue will be addressed immediately by vaccine manufacturers. If not, the next pandemic or serious health problem affecting large populations may be one that comes out of a vaccine lab.”

Drugs, Poisons and Heavy Metals in Our Meat

The Huffington Post wrote on April 15:

“Washington dumped some more bad news Friday afternoon when the USDA’s Office of Inspector General issued a damning and unsettling report on the department’s ‘National Residue Program for Cattle.’ It found gaping holes in the safety of American beef production, including residue of drugs, poisons and heavy metals in the meat we eat.

“It’s a stomach-turning, chilling read… ‘Based on our review, we found that the national residue program is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for harmful residues,’ the USDA’s oversight office wrote. The audit revealed that USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), along with the FDA and EPA, ‘have not established thresholds for many dangerous substances (e.g., copper or dioxin), which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce.’

“Even worse, the federal government does not attempt to recall meat, ‘even when its tests have confirmed the excessive presence of veterinary drugs,’ the audit said… some US beef is contaminated with heavy metals like copper and arsenic, antibiotics like Flunixin, penicillin, and Ivermectin, and a host of pesticides – all of which are used in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), better known as factory farms.”

Current Events

Major Mexican Earthquake

Trading Markets reported on April 4:

“A nuclear power plant in Southern California remained intact after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook the region on Sunday, authorities said. The temblor did not result in the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in the region… The nuclear plant is built to withstand a 7.0 earthquake 5 miles (8 km) away, according to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)…

“The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at 7.2 magnitude, correcting its previous measurement of 6.9 magnitude. The quake struck in Baja California, Mexico, southeast of Mexicali, at 5:40 p.m… The shaker rocked all of Southern California, and sent high rise buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego rocking back and forth.

“Nearly 2,400 customers lost power in Dana Point… near Los Angeles… In San Diego County, more than 600 customers lost power in Borrego Springs when the earthquake struck… Three strong jolts including a magnitude-5.1 aftershock were felt in the Imperial County desert east of San Diego in the hour after the magnitude-7.2 quake struck. Magnitude-4.5 and magnitude-4.3 aftershocks came before and after… The earthquake was also felt in Phoenix and Las Vegas…

“The epicenter for the quakes was under a small volcanic caldera that last erupted about 10,000 years ago, located about 20 miles ( 32 kilometers) southeast of the border crossing between Calexico, California, and Mexicali, Mexico. The caldera, which is home to a large geothermal power plant, has been delivering small-to-moderate quakes for the past several months.”

More and stronger earthquakes will occur soon, including in the United States. Christ referred to earthquakes, which will increase in strength, as one of the signs indicating His return.

Use of Nuclear Arms–Major Shift in Policy

BBC News reported on April 6:

“President Barack Obama’s administration has unveiled a defence policy to significantly narrow the circumstances in which the US would use nuclear arms. But its Nuclear Posture Review warned that countries breaking the rules would remain potential targets. The US strategy document also raised concerns about a ‘lack of transparency’ in China’s nuclear programme. The review comes two days before Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart sign a landmark nuclear arms reduction pact.

“The deal, agreed last month, commits Russia and America to big cuts in nuclear warheads and is to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expired last December… The document is carefully worded – it limits the use of nuclear weapons but carves out exceptions to use them against countries that break the rules – in other words countries like North Korea and Iran…

“President Obama though is likely to be criticised by both sides- the left will say he should impose a blanket ban on the use of American nuclear warheads. The right will say he’s undermining the credibility of America’s nuclear deterrent by limiting the circumstances in which it can be used…

“For the first time, the US is ruling out a nuclear response to attacks on America involving biological, chemical or conventional weapons. But this comes with a big caveat: countries will only be spared a US nuclear response if they comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – this does not include Iran and North Korea…

“The new nuclear pact – which Mr Obama is due to sign on Thursday in Prague with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev – commits the former Cold War rivals to significant cuts in their weapons’ stockpiles. The treaty would restrict both Moscow and Washington to a maximum of 1,550 warheads each, about 30% less than currently allowed, the US says. But Russia drew some lines in the sand on Tuesday, warning it could pull out if it decided a US missile defence shield, proposed for Europe, threatened its security.”

While America is willing to sign this Treaty with Russia unconditionally, in its attempts to “buy” allies, Russia reserves the right to withdraw. The Bible prophesied that America’s and Britain’s allies will finally turn against them.

The New York Times added on April 5:

“… the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary. Mr. Obama’s strategy is a sharp shift from those of his predecessors… For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack… White House officials said the new strategy would include the option of reconsidering the use of nuclear retaliation against a biological attack, if the development of such weapons reached a level that made the United States vulnerable to a devastating strike.

“Mr. Obama’s new strategy is bound to be controversial, both among conservatives who have warned against diluting the United States’ most potent deterrent and among liberals who were hoping for a blanket statement that the country would never be the first to use nuclear weapons…

“The most immediate test of the new strategy is likely to be in dealing with Iran, which has defied the international community by developing a nuclear program… Mr. Obama said he was now convinced that ‘the current course they’re on would provide them with nuclear weapons capabilities,’ though he gave no timeline…

“There are five declared nuclear states — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Three states with nuclear weapons have refused to sign — India, Pakistan and Israel — and North Korea renounced the treaty in 2003. Iran remains a signatory, but the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly found it in violation of its obligations, because it has hidden nuclear plants and refused to answer questions about evidence it was working on a warhead.”

It should be clear that this announcement will weaken the USA militarily. The Bible prophesied that in these last days, America will lose the pride of its power and will become increasingly unwilling to defend itself, even in times of war.

The New Arms Reduction Agreement–Experts Skeptical

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 8:

“The presidents of the United States and Russia have signed a new arms reduction agreement in Prague signalling a willingness to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But experts on the whole are largely disappointed…

“The Prague signing this week is being sold by Washington spin doctors as further evidence of Obama’s courageous commitment to reducing nuclear weapons and his desire to ‘reset’ relations with Russia but experts are skeptical of how historic the agreement will turn out to be and whether Obama’s vision is anything other than a utopian pipe dream…

“Nick Witney, a transatlantic and defence expert at the European Centre for Foreign Relations… believes that… the agreement suggests the US focus is moving away from Europe and that this could have repercussions for European defense. ‘The US is no longer worried about defending Europe from those land invasion scenarios of the Cold War…’, he said. ‘… What will happen is that the Europeans will be forced to look more at their own defense strategies and spending…’

“… some eastern European nations are nervous at the growing détente between the US and Russia for other reasons, particularly the possibility of President Obama acquiescing should Moscow demand an end to plans for a US missile shield in Europe in return for full disarmament cooperation in future agreements.”

This development highlights the ongoing discussion in Europe about the need for coordinated European defense strategies and the establishment of a European army.

New U.S. Health Care — Nothing But Confusion…

The “McClatchy Newspapers” wrote on April 6:

“Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them. Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors’ offices, human resources departments and business groups.

“… the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were hoping that the overhaul would translate into instant, affordable coverage. That widespread misconception may have originated in part from distorted rhetoric about the legislation bubbling up from the hyper-partisan debate about it in Washington and some media outlets, such as when opponents denounced it as socialism…

“Adults with pre-existing conditions are frustrated to learn that insurers won’t have to cover them until 2014 (though those under 18 will be protected in late September); then they become both hopeful and confused upon learning that a federal high-risk pool for them will be established in the next few months…

“The Obama administration is embarking on a years-long public education campaign about the overhaul, including a Web component. However, much of the guidance will depend on Department of Health and Human Services regulations that are still being developed.

“Parents of young adults, including those who are preparing to graduate from college this spring, have heard that the overhaul will let them keep their children on their insurance plans until they reach age 26. That starts in September, however; they have to determine how to cover them until then. A new wave of inquiries could come next month as federal COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers dry up…

“Americans who already have good coverage aren’t so worried about the immediate implications, but some admit that they’re plenty confused… Many small business owners are nervous about requirements being phased in… Suntan businesses face a new excise tax starting in July as part of the overhaul. Other business owners are trying to understand new Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements related to business-to-business transactions that will kick in as a result of the new law. Others are looking ahead to coverage mandates for 2014 and calculating how many part-time versus full-time employees they should have to best contain costs.

“While Obama has been touting a tax credit for small businesses that offer employees health coverage… many small businesses wouldn’t be able to participate… The president has begun traveling the country to talk about the new law to ordinary Americans… However, Obama’s remarks were laced with enough political rhetoric to dilute his policy message…”

Violence in Iraq

The Associated Press reported on April 4:

“Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 42 people and wounding more than 200 in back-to-back bombings. Authorities said they foiled two other attacks aimed at diplomatic targets. The bombings came two days after a chilling execution-style attack by gunmen who raided homes south of Baghdad, killing 24 people, many of them believed to be anti-al-Qaida fighters. The rise in bloodshed after a relative lull deepened fears that insurgents are seizing on the political uncertainty after last month’s close parliamentary elections to sow further instability.

“Sunday’s blasts went off within minutes of each other – one near the Iranian Embassy and two others in an area that houses several embassies, including the Egyptian Consulate, and the German and Spanish embassies… The force of the blasts shook buildings and rattled windows miles away. AP Television News footage showed civilians outside the Iranian Embassy loading casualties into police vehicles and ambulances. Stunned victims in bloody clothes fled the scene as smoke rose…

“While overall violence has dropped considerably in Iraq since 2006 and 2007, the ability of insurgents to carry out large well-planned attacks against prominent targets in the heart of Baghdad shows that significant security lapses remain.”

To believe that there will ever be rest and peace in Iraq prior to Christ’s return would reflect hopeless naivety. In addition, Europe is outraged about revelations of prior misconduct of American troops in Iraq, as the next article shows.

Europe Outraged Over American Misconduct in Iraq

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 8:

“In the latest high-profile leak of sensitive material onto the Internet, the Web site WikiLeaks has published a video showing an attack on civilians by US soldiers in Baghdad three years ago that killed a dozen people. It has been authenticated by a senior US military official. The video was recorded by cameras in US Apache helicopters and records a deadly attack on a group of civilians from the air. It was later discovered that the group included two employees of the Reuters news agency…

“The Berliner Zeitung says it is hard to support the US military view that the 2007 attack was a fight between insurgents and soldiers. ‘The leaked WikiLeaks material shows bloodthirsty soldiers coldly pursuing their business’…

“‘There is only one word to describe what happened that day: murder,’ writes the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper criticized the soldiers ‘casual’ use of ‘excessive force’. ‘Nothing in the images suggests the victims were terrorists or insurgents,’ it writes. ‘The pilots were not fired on, there were no comrades on the ground, it was broad daylight and visibility was good — all the usual excuses which the military usually uses for civilian deaths. Instead, it shows trigger-happy American soldiers, talking into the camera, calmly killing a dozen people.’

“The Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita says the video undoes some of the good work that American troops are doing abroad. ‘So you win a war. Build hospitals in Iraq, roads in Afghanistan, train the local police and organize free elections. But all of America’s good intentions are overshadowed with one compromising video recording,’ it writes.

“Writing on the Guardian’s ‘comment is free’ site, Douglas Haddow highlights the similarity between reality and warfare computer games. ‘It demonstrates how similar the logic of the Apache pilots is to that of the average gamer,’ Haddow writes. He adds that the video forces the viewer ‘to simultaneously confront both the deplorable unreality of American aggression and the grim fate of those caught within its scope’…

“The video shows the ‘omnipotent war machine’ according to German daily newspaper Der Tagespiegel. It writes that watching the video is like being involved in a vile and cynical reality television show…”

Violence and Unrest in Afghanistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 6:

“On Friday, Taliban fighters ambushed and killed three German soldiers in Afghanistan, leaving eight wounded, four severely. In a separate incident, German Bundeswehr troops killed six Afghan soldiers in the northern Afghan region of Kunduz. The incidents have added new fodder to a public debate over Germany’s role in Afghanistan that has intensified following the killing of civilians in a bombing strike against the Taliban in September.

“Over the weekend, German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg offered an assertive response to the tragic developments. Speaking to the press on Sunday, the defense minister addressed the incidents, rejecting criticism at home that German troops had been underequipped and ill-prepared for responding to the Taliban ambush, and apologizing for the accidental killing of six Afghan soldiers in the ‘friendly fire’ incident…

“The incidents come on the heels of an increasingly tense situation between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Afghanistan’s Western allies. On Thursday, the Afghan leader accused the United Nations and the international community of helping to perpetrate [a] ‘vast fraud’ during last year’s presidential elections…

“Even though Karzai didn’t mention the United States by name, the American government described the speech as ‘genuinely troubling.’ Karzai attempted to control the damage by calling Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, but then he turned around and expressed repeated anti-NATO sentiments at a private meeting of around 70 Afghan politicians on Saturday… He also accused the US of interfering in Afghan affairs and said the Taliban insurgency would become a legitimate resistance movement if the meddling doesn’t stop…

“German commentators express their concern over the recent turn of events in Afghanistan…

“The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Karzai is clearly determined to become his own man… What this means for democracy and human rights — let alone women’s rights — is unthinkable. But it is not as if the international community has been particularly interested in this issue over the past year — even though that was the justification for war in the Hindu Kush in the first place…’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… For the Americans and their allies, Karzai’s unconcealed verbal attacks have caused political discomfort. For it was they who put Karzai in office and, despite obvious vote rigging, it was them supporting him over the past year. Karzai himself is no innocent lamb… Now that it lacks any real means to pressure Karzai, the West must be prepared for more nasty surprises. It is not unforeseeable that he will enter into a relationship with some part of the Taliban in the near future…’

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The road to reality is paved with death. It wasn’t so long ago that one German defense minister, Franz Josef Jung, insisted that Afghanistan was a “stabilization mission” for the German armed forces. Then, in September 2009, dozens of people were killed in a bombing on a river in Kunduz ordered by a German colonel. This led new Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to come up with the phrase: “Conditions similar to war.” Three dead Germans and six dead Afghans, killed by German armed forces, later and Guttenberg is saying one can speak colloquially, at least, of “war.”

“Reductions in the number of foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan will begin in 2011. This promise matches reality about as well as trying to put a beer bottle cap on a coffee cup. And Guttenberg’s words of “war” only make this disparity more marked. If the German Bundeswehr is at war, then the debate should be not only about pulling out, but also about what the military is allowed to do until then. Should the military be limited to defending itself — or should it allowed to attack? How many victims are we willing to accept — from among German soldiers, from among Afghan soldiers and in extreme cases, from among the civilian population? Or will the majority in the German parliament and in the German public no longer support war under these circumstances?’

“The conservative newspaper Die Welt writes: ‘… On Good Friday, the US Air Force declined to attack entrenched Taliban fighters — even though, in this case, German soldiers were truly in danger. Under no circumstances should any civilians get killed as they were in the Sept. 4 air attack in Kunduz, the thinking went. But the Taliban can also tell when their enemies are hesitating — and Karzai can sense it too.'”

As is the case with Iraq, we will not see any peace in Afghanistan, either, prior to Christ’s return. It is interesting that Germany is realizing that they are at WAR, and demands become louder that German soldiers must be allowed to ATTACK, not just to defend themselves. At the same time, the German government, including Defense Minister Guttenberg, are becoming more and more unpopular while trying to justify the unexplainable–why German soldiers should continue to fight in Afghanistan. This is especially true in light of the report that the US Air Force refused to come to the defense of German soldiers.

Coming–The Third Temple?

The Jerusalem Post reported on March 29:

“While tensions continue to simmer around the Temple Mount after riots in and around the capital’s Old City earlier this month, a new campaign calling for the construction of the Third Temple atop the holy site has made its way to the sides of 200 Egged buses in the city, which now sport posters featuring a picture of a rebuilt temple on the Mount…

“The posters… were sponsored by the Our Land of Israel group, which is led by Rabbi Shalom Dov Volpo and activist Baruch Marzel… The campaign’s organizers chose to plaster the posters on buses whose routes take them through predominately Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

“With regards to the campaign, Volpo said Israel is waiting breathlessly for the coming of the messiah and the rebuilding of the temple. ‘The Arabs and President Obama know that the Temple will be built on the Temple Mount,’ he said. ‘Instead of the temporary buildings that are there today.’”

The Bible strongly suggests that a third temple will be built in Jerusalem PRIOR to Christ’s return. This development, in conjunction with the beginning of sacrifices, will catapult the region into incredible unrest, turmoil and war.

Turkey Accuses Israel

AFP reported on April 7:

“The prime minister of Turkey, Israel’s only ally in the Muslim world, on Wednesday branded the Jewish state the ‘principal threat to peace’ in the Middle East. [His] remarks… marked a new low in rapidly deteriorating relations between Israel and Turkey, which once had close military and political ties. ‘If a country uses disproportionate force in Palestine, in Gaza — uses phosphorous shells — we’re not going to say “bravo”,’ he declared, referring to Israel’s January 2009 offensive against Hamas-controlled Gaza.”

The Bible foretells that in the end, Turkey will turn against Israel.

UK General Election on May 6

BBC News reported on April 6:

“Political leaders have headed off on the campaign trail after Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the UK general election would be held on 6 May. He said he would seek a ‘clear’ mandate to continue the ‘road to recovery’, as Labour bids for a fourth term. David Cameron, whose Conservative Party has been ahead in the polls, said they offered ‘hope’ and a ‘fresh start’. Nick Clegg, leader of the UK’s third biggest party the Liberal Democrats, said only they offered ‘real change’….

“Mr Brown said: ‘We will say to the British people: “Our cause is your cause”‘… But Mr Cameron said he offered a ‘modern Conservative alternative’ and his party offered ‘hope, optimism and change’ and a ‘fresh start’. ‘It’s the most important general election for a generation. It comes down to this. You don’t have to put up with another five years of Gordon Brown.'”

These slogans sound all too familiar. But real change, hope and optimism will ONLY come, when Jesus Christ returns.

The Pagan Easter Festival

The Frederick News Post wrote on April 4:

“While most people can explain what Easter represents, they are at a loss for words when asked about the origins of the Easter Bunny and the egg hunt tradition… Many websites… trace the nonreligious celebration of Easter to pagan practices. Most accounts suggest the modern Easter Bunny sprang from pre-Christian fertility lore. The rabbit was the most fertile animal known, and it came to represent new life as spring emerged.

“The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival honoring Eastre, their goddess of fertility… What we know as the Easter Bunny was first mentioned in Germany during the 15th century… The rabbit was known as Osterhase… in Germany… It is thought that Germans who settled in Pennsylvania brought their homeland’s Easter tradition to the U.S. Tradition held that the bunny would lay brightly colored eggs for good children who made special nests in their caps or bonnets the night before Easter.”

The celebration of Easter is based on pagan worship. Even though some professing Christians seem to realize the true origins of Easter, they don’t really seem to care. However, our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days,” explains WHY it is wrong to celebrate Easter.

The Roman Catholic Scandal

The following articles show that the sex scandal is not going away any time soon. The strategy of the Vatican and the Roman Church, not to admit guilt and instead to attack the “accusers,” may pay off. More and more faithful Catholics will ultimately become tired of the accusations and they will come to the defense of their organization.

Even though some bishops in Europe openly disagree at this time with the Vatican’s strategy, the overwhelming majority, especially in Latin America, welcomes and endorses it.

In the light of biblical prophecy predicting a total alienation between Catholics and Jews, it is also interesting to note that the Catholic rhetoric has angered Jews and again strained the relationship between that church and the Jewish communities.

Vatican on the Attack

The New York Times wrote on April 4:

“A prominent cardinal, in a marked departure from Easter Mass tradition at the Holy See, stood before Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday and delivered a very public show of support in the face of growing anger over the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal — a topic that the pope stayed resolutely aloof from in his Easter appearances.

“The remarks by the prelate, Angelo Sodano, a former secretary of state and the dean of the college of cardinals, came among a chorus of denunciations by church officials of what they have framed as a campaign of denigration of the church and its pontiff.

“Shortly before the Mass started, with thousands of pilgrims filling a rain-swept St. Peter’s Square, Cardinal Sodano offered special greetings to the pope, wished him a happy Easter and said the bishops and 400,000 priests around the world stood by him. ‘Holy Father, the people of God are with you, and do not let themselves be impressed by the gossip of the moment, by the challenges that sometimes strike at the community of believers,’ Cardinal Sodano said…

“Benedict rose to greet Cardinal Sodano with an embrace, clasping his shoulders warmly and shaking his hand. Vatican observers said they could not recall such an appearance in past Easter celebrations in St. Peter’s…

“The church hierarchy, from local bishops to the cardinals who run the church to Vatican officials, have grown increasingly aggressive in lashing back at sweeping criticism of the church, and more pointedly, at charges that Benedict failed to act strongly enough — both as a bishop in his native Germany and as leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before coming pope — against pedophile priests. The congregation had overall responsibility for such cases starting in 2001, and selectively before that. Benedict became pope in 2005.

“The divide between the church and its critics, who include victims’ rights advocates and lawyers, editorial voices and even the archbishop of Canterbury, has widened in the past two weeks, in the week of continuing disclosures about a history of molestation of children by priests in parishes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France.

“Leading the charge has been the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, which on Sunday published a summary of comments over Easter weekend in support of Benedict from bishops around the world. The headlines said Benedict was the target of ‘crude propaganda’ and a ‘base defamatory operation.’

“Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the archbishop of Mexico City, said Benedict was facing ‘defamation and attacks of lies and vileness because of a few dishonest and criminal priests.’ Lima’s archbishop, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, said the church’s enemies have mistreated the pope with ‘an unusual lack of respect for the truth and an incredible show of cynicism.’ Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, cited an ‘offensive that aims at destabilizing the pope, and through him, the church.’ Carding Vingt-Trois said such an offensive ‘should not hide our failings and our eventual errors.’

“The closing of ranks notably included a sermon delivered before the pope on Good Friday by the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, who equated the criticism of the church over the priest sex abuse scandal with anti-Semitism, antagonizing both victims’ groups and Jewish leaders. That appeared to go too far. The Vatican’s official spokesman disassociated the Holy See and the pope from the sentiment, and Father Cantalamessa backtracked in an interview published Sunday in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera…”

Vatican Angers Jews

Regarding Cantalamessa’s comments, quoted above, Deutsche Welle reported on April 3:

“Stephan Kramer, Secretary General of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the comments were ‘impertinent and an insult to the victims of sexual abuse as well as victims of the Holocaust.’ Kramer added that the Vatican ‘is falling back upon the regular methods it has used over the decades to suppress and hide any affairs which compromise’ the Catholic Church…

“The Vatican quickly tried to distance itself from the comments, saying they ‘should not be interpreted as an official position.’ But, some Jewish groups are insisting on a personal apology from the pope for the words delivered by the priest. ‘These hurtful remarks were made in the presence of the pope and the pope himself should take responsibility and apologize for them,’ said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the international Jewish human rights group. Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo di Segni, also condemned the sermon by the pope’s personal preacher…”

The Local added on April 3:

“Kramer said he finds it highly unlikely the pope’s preacher would make such a statement without Vatican approval. ‘It was a step taken at a high level to relativise anti-Semitism and the Holocaust,’ he said, adding that such remarks make religious dialogue between Jews and Catholics impossible. The Central Council of Jews in Germany has also criticised a German bishop for comparing the criticism by the press of the Church over the predator priest scandal to Nazi methods.”

Vatican Strongly Condemned by European Bishops

Deutsche Welle added on April 4:

“The celebrations leading up to Easter Sunday have been overshadowed by European bishops condemning the church’s role in child abuse cases…

“The leader of Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch said the Catholic Church must examine its ‘dark aspects as well as our own shadowy sides’… Belgian Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Mechelen-Brussel also denounced what he called the ‘guilty silence’ of the Church, criticising officials for often caring more about the reputation of priests rather than the abused children.”

Fresh Scandal in America

Deutsche Welle reported on April 4:

“In the United States, a fierce defender of Pope Benedict XVI during this ongoing scandal has now come under personal scrutiny. Court documents show Cardinal William Levada reassigned a priest and alleged child molester in the 1990s without warning parishioners… He was asked if he had warned parishioners about the Oregon priest’s past – inappropriate sexual behaviour with teenagers in the 1970s. He said no. Levada now heads the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and was chosen for the post by his predecessor and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger…”

Latin American Catholic Church to the Defense

The Los Angeles Times wrote on April 2:

“In Latin America, home to nearly half the world’s Catholics, church leaders are reacting cautiously, if at all, to the sex abuse scandal rocking the Vatican. Few of the region’s top clerics have spoken out since allegations of pedophilia and other crimes committed by priests in Europe and the United States began stacking up at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI. Many, not surprisingly, have leaped to the pope’s defense…

“Roman Catholicism is planted deeply in Latin American culture. Most Latin Americans grew up in the church, and the hierarchy is generally quite conservative, thanks in part to efforts by the Vatican under the late Pope John Paul II to displace leftist priests… The Latin American Bishops Conference, in a statement published Friday, expressed solidarity with the pope and lashed out at the ‘baseless’ and ‘calumnious’ news reports — mostly in the U.S. — that suggest Benedict was an accomplice in covering up rape and other crimes by priests.

“Some experts on the Vatican are predicting that the sex abuse scandal will spread through Latin America. The region has already seen a number of cases… In Brazil, the world’s most populous Catholic country, three priests are under police investigation, suspected of having had sex with altar boys and other children and teens for years.”

Vatican Under Attack

On March 31, 2010, The Economist  printed the following telling cartoon:

vatican under attack

Current Events

Current Events

This week, we focus on the EU deal pertaining to Greece, showing Germany’s dominant influence in Europe. The BBC wrote it was a deal “on German terms,” and MSNBC commented that it was “a clear victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.” The mass tabloid Bild wrote: “By taking on our chancellor, Europe has bit off more than it can chew.” And Der Spiegel Online said that all EU member states fell in line “like dominos.” Reuters concluded that “the masks have fallen” and that we have now reached a “more German Europe,” with the possibility that for those “outside the euro zone or the EU, the outcome could be a two-class Europe in which an inner core, under strong German influence, increasingly calls the shots.” Times on Line warns of a future clash between Germany and Britain.

In other news, the number of deaths or injuries of American troops is sky-rocketing, while America refuses to sell any major weapons to Israel, but it is more than anxious to sell advanced weapons to Egypt and the Arab League states, including Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, Arab nations are uniting against Israel, asking Europeans to help them in their endeavor.

Insurance companies are already beginning to circumvent the mandates of the new U.S. Health Care law, and its constitutionality is being challenged in court. Suicide Chechen bombers killed innocent civilians in Russia, allegedly in “retaliation” of the brutal treatment of Chechen civilians by Russian soldiers, showing that violence only breeds more violence.

The widening worldwide Catholic sex scandal has been described by CNN as the worst crisis the Catholic Church has ever faced. However, the Vatican and the Pope remain defiant, and while denying many of the allegations, they become more and more aggressive toward those who criticize them. Irresponsible claims by an irate leading Catholic publisher were made this week on CNN’s Larry King show, shouting that there was “no shred of evidence” for any culpability of the pope or the Vatican. Other Catholic leaders even went so far as to blame the “attacks” on the pope on the devil. Lack of trust by Germans–Catholics and non-Catholics alike–in the pope or the Catholic Church has reached unparalleled low levels, as more and more scandals are being revealed almost on a daily basis and the roles of the current and former popes in these scandals are being scrutinized.

Der Spiegel Online asked in an editorial why the pope does not simply resign, concluding that this is unlikely, due to his [false] claim that he is the spiritual successor of the Apostle Peter. The magazine also warned about the dangerous course of conduct Ratzinger has been taking since becoming pope: “… he has done more damage to his church than good. He has strained relations with Jews several times, he played with fire in relations between Christians and Muslims with his Regensburg address, he angered the indigenous people during his Latin America trip, he has alienated Protestants and he has shown himself to be conciliatory to Holocaust deniers. Even loyal Catholics have been stunned by the course of action he has taken.”

While the Catholic Church is confronted with its abominable sex scandal, Germany’s openly homosexual Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, announced that he will be the official patron of the eighth annual Gay Games in Cologne this summer, and scientists spend over 10 billion dollars in their vain and futile attempts to learn more about the beginning of the universe.

This is the crazy world we are living in!

German Deal on Greece….

BBC News reported on March 26:

“All 16 eurozone countries have backed a financing plan to help debt-laden Greece, which will include IMF money… The plan was worked out at a summit in Brussels. Greek PM George Papandreou called it ‘a very satisfactory’ move. The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said the deal was significant ‘not just for Greece, but for the stability of the eurozone’…

“It was, as is so often the case, German approval that swung it, and it is a deal done on German terms. Early on in this crisis the idea that the IMF would be involved in bailing out Greece was regarded as a humiliation for Europe; but Germany insisted that the IMF would play a role, and so it will, alongside loans from individual members of the eurozone.

“There’s more in the deal that Germany wanted – a call for strengthened surveillance of economic and budgetary risks and a task force to look at what further measures are needed.”

MSNBC and the Associated Press wrote on March 25:

“The deal at a summit meeting Thursday night in Brussels was a clear victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had taken a tough line on any bailout. She demanded that a rescue for Greece only come when the country runs out of other options and said it must include the IMF… Germany sees itself as a fierce defender of prudent budget spending and is unwilling to use its taxpayer money to help Greece, which overspent and faked budget figures for years…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 26:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel managed to convince the rest of the euro zone to back her concept for a Greek bailout…

“In the end, it was like dominoes. French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated his agreement early in the week; the rest of the euro zone leaders followed just prior to the beginning of the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday evening. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Luxembourg’s leader Jean-Claude Juncker, European Central Bank boss Jean-Claude Trichet — one European torch-bearer after the next gave up their opposition to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“… Merkel was able to bask in a brief ray of domestic popularity as a result. Even the tabloid Bild found room for a bit of Merkel-related triumphalism. ‘By taking on our chancellor, Europe has bit off more than it can chew,’ read the paper’s Thursday headline…

“Merkel sees the new German toughness as providing a way forward for the euro zone. Someone has to stand up for the currency’s stability, seems to be her position. Indeed, she even appeared prepared to abandon her famous pragmatism in her defense of the euro…”

A More German Europe

Reuters wrote on March 26:

“The masks have fallen. From now on, we will all be living in a more German Europe, with economic policy driven by Berlin’s hair-shirt export-or-die model. That is the lesson of a deal among euro zone leaders on a financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece, adopted largely on German conditions on Thursday after months of wrangling that battered confidence in the single European currency.

“‘The politics of the EU are undergoing a fundamental change at present, with Germany becoming increasingly willing to cast off the shackles of the past and make its voice heard,’ said RBS analyst Timothy Ash in a research note… ‘This will ultimately lead to German political and financial hegemony without sublimation,’ said Ulrike Guerot of the European Council on Foreign Relations…

“In the tradition of EU leadership, it was euro co-founders France and Germany who negotiated the compromise on Greece that was then ratified by the other 14 euro zone members, and eventually by the whole 27-nation EU… France made most of the concessions to convince Merkel not even to open her chequebook but at least to agree to show it… Merkel’s domestic weakness may have made her more assertive in Brussels and others more willing to accommodate her…

“Britain and Poland were irritated that decisions affecting the continent’s future, including on EU budget discipline, were being taken by the 16 euro zone leaders while they were in the dark, waiting outside the room. Even those inside the meeting had little option but to accept Germany’s conditions for a fallback mechanism to protect the euro zone against a possible sovereign default. ‘Next time we might as well just phone to find out what’s been agreed by France and Germany,’ one EU diplomat said…

“For those outside the euro zone or the EU, the outcome could be a two-class Europe in which an inner core, under strong German influence, increasingly calls the shots.”

The Bible prophesies that Europe will unite and that Germany will play a leading role. Ultimately, we will witness the emergence of ten European nations or groups of nations–a “core” Europe–being led by a charismatic political and military leader of German or Austrian descent.

Coming Clash Between Germany and Britain?

Times On Line wrote on March 27:

“David Cameron was facing the unwelcome prospect last night of a referendum on Europe after Germany called for a new EU treaty to strength the rules of the eurozone. The demand from Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, left the Tory leader — or Gordon Brown if he is re-elected — on course for an early clash with Germany over plans that would be seen as heading towards a European economic government.

“Both Labour and the Conservatives are committed to a referendum on future treaty changes but none had been on the agenda until the Mrs Merkel’s intervention yesterday. The move is particularly unhelpful to Mr Cameron, who would want to develop a good working relationship with the EU after years of hostility, and particularly with its Centre Right leaders. Tories fear that any referendum in Britain could turn into a wider debate on whether Britain should stay in the EU…

“Mr Cameron could argue that Mrs Merkel’s demands would not directly affect Britain and need not trigger a referendum. She will also have difficulty convincing France, Sweden and others that a new EU treaty is needed after the drawn-out process of passing the Lisbon Treaty.”

It is very likely that Britain will ultimately exit the EU.

Number of U.S. Troops’ Deaths and Injuries on the Rise

The Associated Press reported on March 27:

“The number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year as Washington has added tens of thousands of additional soldiers to reverse the Taliban’s momentum. Those deaths have been accompanied by a dramatic spike in the number of wounded, with injuries more than tripling in the first two months of the year and trending in the same direction based on the latest available data for March…

“After a summer marked by the highest monthly death rates of the war, President Barack Obama faced serious domestic opposition over his decision in December to increase troops in Afghanistan, with only about half the American people supporting the move. But support for his handling of the war has actually improved since then, despite the increased casualties…

“A rise in the number of wounded – a figure that draws less attention than deaths – shows that the Taliban remain a formidable opponent. The number of U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan and three smaller theaters where there isn’t much battlefield activity rose from 85 in the first two months of 2009 to 381 this year, an increase of almost 350 percent. A total of 50 U.S. troops were wounded last March, an average of 1.6 per day. In comparison, 44 were injured during just the first six days of March this year, an average of 7.3 per day.”

America’s attempts to play a decisive role in foreign affairs are doomed. God announced thousands of years ago that because of America’s unwillingness to obey Him, He will withhold His blessings from the nation.

No More American Weapons for Israel?

A7 News reported on March 25:

“The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) revealed in a January report that was updated recently that… over the last year, the Obama administration has refused to approve any major Israeli weapons requests. Government sources asserted that the refusal represents a new White House policy to link arms sales to the Jewish state with the Netanyahu government’s willingness to submit on Washington’s demands that Israel surrender Judea, Samaria and most of Jerusalem to the American-backed Palestinian Authority…

“[There are] American plans to sell F-16s, Harpoon Block 2 anti-ship missiles, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, fast attack craft and helicopters to the Egyptians. In addition to the advanced weapons sold to Egypt, Washington has also approved more than $10 billion worth of arms sales to Arab League states, including Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…

“According to the report, the failure to sponsor Israel’s qualitative edge, which violates a pledge given more than 40 years ago to maintain Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors, began not with Obama but under the previous administration of President George W. Bush… A major U.S. policy shift came in 2004, when the Bush Administration needed Gulf Arab help for the American-led invasion of Iraq – particularly after Turkey denied Bush entrance into Iraq from the north – and wanted to bolster Washington’s influence and ability to deal with regional problems…

“According to the report, the U.S. aid to Arab states has hampered Israeli military cooperation with Washington…”

America is trying to buy allies in the Arab world, but this attempt is not sanctioned by God and doomed to fail.

Arabs vs. Israel

AFP wrote on March 27:

“Arab leaders open their annual summit on Saturday determined to send a clear message to Israel that any plan to ‘Judaise’ Jerusalem would spell doom for the Middle East peace process. The summit is the first to be hosted by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, the longest-serving Arab head of state who considers Israel the ‘enemy’ and has frequently lambasted Arab countries who seek peace with the Jewish state.

“It comes amid a spiral of violence that an Israeli general said killed two soldiers and four Palestinians on Friday as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to stay the course with his east Jerusalem settlement policy… Pro-Western and radical Arab leaders have also been angered by the opening of a restored 17th century synagogue near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound — home to Islam’s third holiest site…

“Libya, which wants the summit to be one of unity, has also invited UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to address Saturday’s opening session. Ban arrived Friday and met with Arab officials, including Abbas, to brief them on last week’s meeting of the Middle East Quartet — the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — which called on Israel to halt settlements.”

The Bible prophesies that many Arab nations will unite against Israel, and that Germany will ultimately be part of that anti-Israel confederation. Are we beginning to see the fulfillment of this prophecy?

The New Health Care Law…

The New York Times wrote on March 28:

“Just days after President Obama signed the new health care law, insurance companies are already arguing that, at least for now, they do not have to provide one of the benefits that the president calls a centerpiece of the law: coverage for certain children with pre-existing conditions. Mr. Obama, speaking at a health care rally in northern Virginia on March 19, said, ‘Starting this year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.’

“The authors of the law say they meant to ban all forms of discrimination against children with pre-existing conditions like asthma, diabetes, birth defects, orthopedic problems, leukemia, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. The goal, they say, was to provide those youngsters with access to insurance and to a full range of benefits once they are in a health plan.

“To insurance companies, the language of the law is not so clear. Insurers agree that if they provide insurance for a child, they must cover pre-existing conditions. But, they say, the law does not require them to write insurance for the child and it does not guarantee the ‘availability of coverage’ for all until 2014.

“William G. Schiffbauer, a lawyer whose clients include employers and insurance companies, said: ‘The fine print differs from the larger political message. If a company sells insurance, it will have to cover pre-existing conditions for children covered by the policy. But it does not have to sell to somebody with a pre-existing condition. And the insurer could increase premiums to cover the additional cost.'”

“Congressional Democrats were furious when they learned that some insurers disagreed with their interpretation of the law…”

… Will It Survive?

The Washington Times wrote on March 29:

“The same Supreme Court justices whom President Obama blasted during his State of the Union address this year may ultimately decide the fate of his crowning achievement as more than a dozen states have called on the courts to strike down the health insurance mandate of Democrats’ health care overhaul – a move that would threaten the entire law.

“Two major constitutional challenges have been levied against the new law, one by the state of Virginia, which enacted a law exempting its citizens from the federal health insurance mandate, and another by Florida and 12 other states. Legal scholars are divided on the merits of the cases, and even Congress.. has said it’s an open question whether the provision could pass constitutional muster.

“At issue is the scope of the federal government’s power over states and individuals. Critics of the law say the requirement that all Americans buy insurance or pay a fine, if allowed, would mean that Congress has virtually boundless authority to compel actions. Proponents argue that legal precedents support an expansive reading of the legislative branch’s license to regulate such activity… The mandate, which doesn’t take effect until 2014, is central to Democrats’ goal of insuring about 32 million more Americans.”

After all the time, money, political maneuverings and efforts spent and waisted on the new health care laws, it might have been all for nothing… As the Bible says: When the Lord does not build the house, the laborers toil in vain.

Suicide Bombings in Russia

Deutsche Welle reported on March 31:

“The Islamist group ‘Emirate of the Caucasus’ has claimed responsibility for this week’s Moscow metro bombings, a Chechen Internet site said on Wednesday. In a video statement recorded on Monday, the leader of the group, Doku Umarov, said the purpose of the attack had been to avenge ‘the massacre by Russian invaders of the poorest residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia, who were picking wild garlic in the Arshty village on February 11, 2010, to feed their families.’

“In the video… Umarov warned of fresh strikes against Russia, saying soldiers stabbed their victims to death and then ‘mocked’ their corpses. He told Russians that ‘war will come to your streets, and you will feel it with your own lives and skins.’

“The video – the authenticity of which couldn’t be independently confirmed – was the first claim of responsibility for Monday’s metro bombings in Moscow that killed 39 people. In response, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered security forces to apprehend the masterminds, saying they would be caught even if police had to ‘scrape them from the sewers.'”

Even though these kinds of suicide bombings must be condemned, it is true that the Russians have dealt with utmost brutality in their “fight” against Chechen civilians. As Christ said: “When you take the sword, you will perish by the sword.”

Vatican Under Attack

The New York Times wrote on March 24:

“Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit. The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed, their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal.

“The documents emerge as Pope Benedict is facing other accusations that he and direct subordinates often did not alert civilian authorities or discipline priests involved in sexual abuse when he served as an archbishop in Germany and as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer. The Wisconsin case involved an American priest, the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who worked at a renowned school for deaf children from 1950 to 1974…

“Father Murphy not only was never tried or disciplined by the church’s own justice system, but also got a pass from the police and prosecutors who ignored reports from his victims, according to the documents and interviews with victims. Three successive archbishops in Wisconsin were told that Father Murphy was sexually abusing children, the documents show, but never reported it to criminal or civil authorities.

“Instead of being disciplined, Father Murphy was quietly moved by Archbishop William E. Cousins of Milwaukee to the Diocese of Superior in northern Wisconsin in 1974, where he spent his last 24 years working freely with children in parishes, schools and, as one lawsuit charges, a juvenile detention center. He died in 1998, still a priest…

“The Vatican’s inaction is not unusual. Only 20 percent of the 3,000 accused priests whose cases went to the church’s doctrinal office between 2001 and 2010 were given full church trials, and only some of those were defrocked… To many, Father Murphy appeared to be a saint…”

In a related article, the New York Times wrote on March 24:

“The fallout from the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church settled across Europe on Wednesday, as prosecutors said they were weighing criminal charges against a priest suspected of molesting children in Germany, and Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of a bishop accused of mishandling allegations of abuse in Ireland.

“… church officials in Munich said the priest, the Rev. Peter Hullermann — whose transfer in 1980 to an archdiocese led at the time by Benedict, then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, has drawn the pope himself into the nation’s child abuse controversy — had been accused of molesting a minor as recently as 1998.

“The latest revelation comes as church officials in northern Germany say they have “credible evidence” of at least two other cases of sexual abuse committed by Father Hullermann in the 1970s, adding to a trail of accusations that suggest a pattern of abuse over two decades. During that time, church officials repeatedly transferred Father Hullermann to new parishes and allowed him to work with children, even after a 1986 conviction for sexually abusing boys.”

On March 25, The New York Times published the following editorial:

“Pope Benedict XVI’s latest apology for the emerging global scandal of child abuse by predatory priests — an issue that the Roman Catholic Church should have engaged years ago — is strong on forgiveness but far short of the full accountability that Catholics need for repairing their damaged church.

“With the scandal spreading across Europe, Benedict apologized to Irish Catholics last week for the “sinful and criminal” sexual abuse of thousands of children across decades. But he made no mention of the need to discipline diocesan leaders most responsible for shielding hundreds of priests from criminal penalties by moving them from parish to parish to continue their crimes.

“The pope’s apology fell short not only for Catholics in Ireland, but for those in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, where hundreds of new allegations are emerging to be investigated by a Vatican office that has but 10 workers to do the job…

“It was hard to see how Vatican officials did not draw the lessons of the grueling scandal in the United States, where more than 700 priests were dismissed over a three-year period. But then we read Laurie Goodstein’s disturbing report in The Times on Thursday about how the pope, while he was still a cardinal, was personally warned about a priest who had molested as many as 200 deaf boys. But church leaders chose to protect the church instead of the children. The report illuminated the kind of behavior the church was willing to excuse to avoid scandal.

“… what is most urgently needed was well described by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel — ‘truth and clarity about everything that took place.’”

… And Now Also in Italy…

MSNBC wrote on March 25:

“Revelations that the Vatican halted the investigation of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys have eerie echoes in Italy, where 67 deaf men and women accused two dozen priests of raping and molesting children for years… The two cases are the latest in a burgeoning abuse scandal on both sides of the Atlantic that now threatens to tarnish the papacy itself…”

What Did Pope John Paul II Know?

The Associated Press wrote on March 26:

“The Vatican is facing one of its gravest crises of modern times as sex abuse scandals move ever closer to Pope Benedict XVI – threatening not only his own legacy but also that of his revered predecessor… as attention focuses on Benedict, a perhaps thornier question looms over how much John Paul II, beloved worldwide for his inspirational charisma and courageous stand against communism, knew about sex abuse cases and whether he was too tolerant of pedophile priests.

“John Paul presided over the church when the sex abuse scandal exploded in the United States in 2002 and the Vatican was swamped with complaints and lawsuits under his leadership. Yet during most of his 26-year papacy, individual dioceses and not the Vatican took sole responsibility for investigating misbehavior.”

Should the Pope Resign?–Ratzinger a Dangerous Pope!

Der Spiegel Online published the following editorial on March 25:

“Allegations that Pope Benedict XVI may have had detailed knowledge about instances of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church continue to mount… With his authority eroded, why does he even remain in office?

“When is it time for a pope to resign? Margaret Kässmann, the former head of the Protestant Church in Germany, stepped down in February upon deciding that she no longer had the necessary moral authority for her office after being caught driving drunk. But how much authority does Pope Benedict XVI still enjoy?

“These days, what is left is disappearing almost daily. Each new detail about the role he played in his church’s handling of instances of sexual abuse erodes it further. But a pope doesn’t just resign. He is not the CEO of a company, not the head of a political party — he is the direct spiritual descendent of the Apostle Peter.

“It is, in theory, possible according to church law. Canon 332, Paragraph Two, provides for a papal resignation, allowing the pope to step down whenever he wishes and without asking anyone for permission. But in the long history of the Catholic Church, it is extremely uncommon. Pope Celestine V was the most recent church leader to resign — 700 years ago.

“And even if numerous abuse victims have long been calling for Benedict to stand down, it is simply not papal to turn one’s back on the papacy. Instead, the Vatican prefers to reject any accusations that have been made as being fully unfounded… The Church’s motto has long seemed to be ‘the perpetrators first.’ They were taken good care of — the victims, however, were left to their own devices.

“Since 1982, Ratzinger had been responsible for that part of the Vatican which deals with cases of sexual abuse. Who, other than he, was responsible for the Church’s path? You can rename Ratzinger ‘Benedict,’ SPIEGEL wrote in the face of the euphoria over the German pope that spread here after his election to the papacy in 2004, but you can’t take Ratzinger out of the pope. Since then, as pope, he has done more damage to his church than good. He has strained relations with Jews several times, he played with fire in relations between Christians and Muslims with his Regensburg address, he angered the indigenous people during his Latin America trip, he has alienated Protestants and he has shown himself to be conciliatory to Holocaust deniers.

“Even loyal Catholics have been stunned by the course of action he has taken. And now, on top of all that — one area where he has been consistent over the decades has been in his negligence in dealing with pedophiles within his own institution… What happened behind the facades of the Church is still far from being an open book… Evil has been perpetrated inside one of the highest moral authorities, one whose men have preached from the pulpit in the finest detail about what is right and what is wrong…”

Vatican’s Denials and Attacks

BBC News reported on March 25:

“The Vatican has condemned claims that Pope Benedict XVI did nothing about a US priest who is suspected of molesting up to 200 deaf boys decades ago. A Vatican newspaper editorial said the claims were an ‘ignoble’ attack on the Pope and that there was no ‘cover-up’… One victim told the BBC that the Pope had known ‘for many years’… But the Vatican’s rather lame excuse for lack of any action is that canon law, as Church law is called, ‘does not envision automatic penalties’…

“Meanwhile, one of the Pope’s top aides, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, told reporters there was ‘a conspiracy’ against the Church, without specifying who was responsible.”

Times On Line wrote on March 28:

“Pope Benedict XVI has opened Holy Week indicating that he will ‘not be intimidated’ by accusations against the Vatican over the clerical sex abuse crisis. In his Palm Sunday address the Pope said that Jesus Christ ‘leads us towards courage which does not allow us to be intimidated by the chatter of dominant opinions, towards patience which supports and sustains others’…

“Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, former archbishop of Milan and at one time a contender for the papacy, told an Austrian paper that priestly celibacy should be ‘reviewed’ as a possible cause of abuse by clergy. The Vatican has rejected suggestions that celibacy causes abuse, and Pope Benedict this month reaffirmed it as ‘a gift to God.'”

If All Fails–Blame It on the Devil…

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) wrote on March 31:

“Noted Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, commented this week that the recent defamatory reporting on Pope Benedict XVI, especially by the New York Times, was ‘prompted by the devil.’… ‘There is no doubt about it.  Because he is a marvelous Pope and worthy successor to John Paul II, it is clear that the devil wants to “grab hold” of him.’ Father Amorth added that in instances of sexual abuse committed by some members of the clergy, the devil ‘uses’ priests in order to cast blame upon the entire Church: ‘The devil wants the death of the Church because she is the mother of all the saints.'”

Pope Can’t Testify–Enjoying Immunity as Head of State

Reuters reported on April 1:

“Pope Benedict, accused by victims’ lawyers of being ultimately responsible for a cover-up of sexual abuse of children by priests, cannot be called to testify at any trial because he has immunity as a head of state, a top Vatican legal official said on Thursday… the pope is protected by diplomatic immunity because more than 170 countries, including the United States, have diplomatic relations with the Vatican. They recognize it as a sovereign state and the pope as its sovereign head…

“The Vatican has taken off the gloves in its response to media reports alleging the pope mishandled a series of abuse cases before he was elected. It launched a frontal attack on the New York Times on Wednesday night by posting a long statement on its website… by Cardinal William J. Levada, who succeeded the pope… as head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department.”

The Catholic Church is a religious STATE, patterned after other STATES–a fact which has clearly been prophesied in the Bible. See Revelation 13:11-15.

Germans–Little Trust in Catholic Church or the Pope

The Local wrote on March 24:

“Trust in the Catholic Church has taken a heavy blow… with barely one in six Germans saying they had confidence in the Church in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. German-born Pope Benedict XVI has also suffered a crippling blow to his authority, with fewer than one in four people saying they trusted him personally, the poll published by Stern news magazine found.

“Just 17 percent said they trusted the Church and 24 percent the Pope. That compares with 29 percent and 38 percent respectively in a similar poll taken at the end of January. The poll taken by the Forsa surveying firm found that, even among Catholics, only a minority trusted either the Church or the Pope. Just 39 percent had confidence in the Pope, down from 62 percent at the end of January, while 34 percent trusted the Church, down from 56 percent.

“Among non-denominational Germans, just 5 percent said they trusted the Church. By comparison, the Protestant Church’s standing has barely been affected by the recent resignation of its leader Margot Käßmann, who was caught driving drunk. Some 42 percent of Germans said they had faith in [the] Church compared with 44 percent at the end of January. Among Protestants, trust was at 65 percent, actually a slight rise on the 64 percent registered six weeks ago.”

As has happened in history on numerous occasions, when the pope or the leadership of the Catholic church were criticized, they responded by launching out–sometimes with violent means–against those who dared to question them. The current reaction of the Vatican or leading Catholics was to be expected. Many Catholics begin to see what their leadership is all about, but they are too much “Catholic” in their heart than to think of leaving the organization. However, God tells us: “Come out of her [modern Babylon], my people, least you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4-5).

Germany’s Foreign Minister Patrons Gay Games…

The Local reported on March 25:

“German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has agreed to be the official patron of the eighth annual Gay Games in Cologne this summer… On July 31, Germany’s first openly gay minister and vice chancellor, who is in a long-term relationship with entrepreneur Michael Mronz, will kick off the quadrennial games at the Rhein Energie Stadium.

“Westerwelle’s participation was a ‘clear signal for more tolerance and acceptance of homosexual people in our society,’ Gay Games Cologne 2010 director Annette Wachter said, adding that organisers hope this will enhance how the athletes are received in their daily lives. More than 12,000 athletes from around the world are expected at the games, which run from July 31 to August 7 in the city.

“The first Gay Games event took place in 1982 in the California city of San Francisco with the aim of fighting discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals.”

In spite of modern “enlightenment,” God calls homosexuality a sin and does not endorse the practice.

The Atom Smasher…

The Associated Press reported on March 30:

“The world’s largest atom smasher threw together minuscule particles racing at unheard of speeds in conditions simulating those just after the Big Bang — a success that kick-started a mega-billion dollar experiment that could one day explain how the universe began. Scientists cheered Tuesday’s historic crash of two proton beams, producing three times more force than researchers had created before and marking a milestone for the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider.”

If scientists would only believe the Bible, all that money could be saved and used for proper purposes.

God tells us: “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). And: “All things were made through Him [the Word, Jesus Christ], and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). And: “God… has in these last days spoken to us by His Son… through whom also He made the worlds…” (Hebrews 1:2). And finally: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults?”

Current Events

Health Care–The Fight Is Just Beginning…

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 21:

“Democrats may feel today as though they just fought — and won — the equivalent of a 100-year war. The House passage Sunday night of sweeping healthcare legislation ends months of caustic debate over the plan and the way it was enacted, marked by a steep decline in approval for Democrats almost everywhere. Now, they hope, the discussion will finally shift in their favor.

“President Obama was spared a devastating defeat, and squabbling lawmakers showed they could accomplish something epic and important in the face of unanimous GOP opposition. That should count for something, they hope, at a time when many voters had written off Washington as utterly dysfunctional…

“But in fact, the political battle is just beginning. The party now must live or die with its landmark legislation in hundreds of congressional districts across the country, in the most hostile midterm election climate Democrats have faced since the Republican landslide year of 1994…

“This year figured to be tough for Democrats, whatever happened Sunday. The party holding the presidency almost always loses House seats in the first midterm vote. Since World War II the average is 16. (It’s been pretty much a wash in Senate races.) Democrats would be thrilled if that were the outcome Nov. 2, but it seems highly unlikely…

“For Democrats, the next several months will be spent trying to hold down their losses, which makes passage of the gargantuan healthcare bill all the more audacious — especially when the chief animating force in politics today is a profound mistrust of Washington and anger over the expansive growth of government…”

USA Today wrote on March 22:

“Some Republicans have already promised to make repeal of the legislation a major theme of the 2010 campaign year, and beyond… Lawyers for both sides are gearing up. Legal challenges could focus on parts of the health care bill, such as its requirement that all Americans buy health insurance or face financial penalties…”

“US Health Care — Bad for the World”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 22:

“Obama has made history. His health care package is the most important reform America has seen in decades. But what is good for the US may not be a positive for the president himself — nor for the rest of the world…

“There is little doubt that the reform package, which guarantees health care coverage for 95 percent of Americans, is one for the history books. It was a scandal that the world’s richest country for so long offered its citizens such pitiful protection against illness or injury… Nevertheless, [Obama] cannot really celebrate the reform that he promised for so long… Insurance companies will get millions of new customers, but no real competition. Their shares are currently skyrocketing — they are the true winners of US health care reform.

“The president, in other words, won the moral debate, but he is paying a high price… One thing… seems clear: the debate over health care is far from over… Every other issue has become a sideshow, particularly those outside the borders of America. The Afghanistan mission: of marginal interest. Protecting the environment: postponed. Peace in the Middle East: off in the distance. Sanctions against Iran: delayed. Europe: not even worth a trip.

“The one remaining global superpower has succumbed to navel gazing. The nature of Obama’s hard-fought victory means little will change in the near future. On the contrary: Now he must explain to the country and to his own party why the entire health care journey, as all-encompassing as it turned out to be, was worth it in the end. He will have little time for anything else.”

The ongoing fight pertaining to health care reform will only contribute to America’s demise. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Obama the Antichrist?

Mail On Line wrote on March 24:

“Nearly a quarter of Republicans believe the Democrat president ‘may be the Antichrist’, according to a survey. An even greater number compared him to Hitler.

“Mr Obama was jubilant this week after securing his £626billion healthcare reform plan. But his triumph seems only to have inflamed his critics among the evangelical Christians from America’s heartland who kept George Bush in power for eight years and have demonised his successor.

“More than half of the Republicans… believed the president was secretly Muslim, something he has consistently denied. And 67 per cent of Republicans who responded believed Obama was a socialist, despite his central leanings.

“The startling results came as lawyers representing 14 U.S. states filed lawsuits yesterday challenging an overhaul of the country’s $2.5trillion healthcare system, minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation. One joint lawsuit by a dozen Republican attorneys general and a Democrat claims the sweeping reforms violate state-government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments.

“Virginia went to court separately, while Missouri Republican Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder said he would like to join the suit. The joint suit, led by Florida, was filed with a federal court in Pensacola, according to the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. In addition to McCollum, the Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington joined the suit.

“The lawsuit says the law – which expands government health plans for the poor, imposes new taxes on the wealthy and requires insurers to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions – violates the Constitution’s commerce clause by requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance. Mr McCollum said: ‘It forces people to do something – in the sense of buying a healthcare policy or paying a penalty, a tax or a fine – that simply the Constitution does not allow Congress to do.’

“Mr McCollum, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for Florida governor, said the healthcare reforms would add $1.6billion to Florida’s spending on the Medicaid health program for the poor. The Justice Department, which is responsible for defending U.S. law in court, pledged to vigorously fight any challenges to the new healthcare law… The White House agreed the suits would fail…

“But on the most historic occasion of his presidency so far, vice-president Joe Biden managed to put his foot in it. Gaffe-prone Mr Biden inadvertently broadcast the F-word to America after he introduced the President to sign his much vaunted health reform bill into law yesterday. After hugging Mr Obama at a…ceremony in the White House, Mr Biden leaned in and whispered in the President’s ear: ‘This is a big [omitted] deal.’

“The remark was caught on microphones recording the event that was shown live across the country. By last night, the clip was being replayed all over the internet.”

The idea that President Obama could be the “antichrist” is of course utter nonsense. For more information on the concept of the “antichrist,” please read our Q&A on the topic. Many confuse the idea of the “antichrist” with the prophesied “beast” and/or “the false prophet.” But President Obama is neither. For more information on these two future personalities, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy,” and “Is That in the Bible? — The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

“Clinton Warns Israel”–Worst Crisis for Decades

BBC News reported on March 22:

“US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Israel to make ‘difficult but necessary choices’ if it wants a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Mrs Clinton warned that the status quo was ‘unsustainable’… Her comments come amid a dispute between the US and Israel over plans for 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out halting settlement construction in the city.”

Times On Line wrote on March 24:

“Two separate meetings between President Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, failed today to produce so much as an official photograph as a deep chill settled over US-Israeli relations and secrecy shrouded any efforts to repair them. The Israeli Prime Minister was due to fly home from Washington after three days marked by fierce Israeli defiance on the issue of settlements and an extraordinary silence maintained by both sides after his three-and-a-half hour visit to the White House.”

BBC added on March 24:

“Differences remain between Israel and the US, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, the White House has said. President Obama urged the Israeli PM to take steps to build confidence in the peace process, during ‘honest’ talks on Tuesday, spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Mr Gibbs added that the US was seeking ‘clarification’ of the latest plans to build homes in occupied East Jerusalem. Mr Netanyahu’s trip came amid the worst crisis in US-Israeli ties for decades.”

Reuters reported on March 24:

“In a move sure to anger Palestinians and frustrate Western proponents of a freeze on settlement construction, a city official said approval was given to develop a flashpoint neighborhood from which Palestinians were evicted last year. Word of the move came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completed an unusually low-profile meeting in Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama for fence-mending talks, after their open spat over East Jerusalem earlier this month.”

Jordan: “Israel Playing with Fire”

AFP wrote on March 25:

“Israel is ‘playing with fire’ in expanding Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem and attempting to alter the Holy City’s identity, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Thursday. ‘We have warned repeatedly that Israel is playing with fire, and Jordan rejects and condemns all measures aimed at changing the identity of Jerusalem and the displacement of its Christian and Muslim Arab population,’ the king said in an interview with Jordanian journalists.

“‘East Jerusalem must be the capital of an independent Palestinian state which should be established as soon as possible… Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967…’, the king added…

“Abdullah said Israel’s settlement policy risked damaging relations between Israel and Jordan, already ‘frosty’ because of Israeli actions that threatened to ‘destabilise the region and put all Middle East peace efforts at risk.'”

Israel in Isolation?

The Washington Post wrote on March 24:

“The two-week-old dispute between Israel and the United States over housing construction in East Jerusalem has exposed the limits of American power to pressure Israeli leaders to make decisions they consider politically untenable. But the blowup also shows that the relationship between the two allies is changing, in ways that are unsettling for Israel’s supporters.

“President Obama and his aides have cast the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not just the relationship with Israel, as a core U.S. national security interest…

“The cooling in the U.S.-Israel relationship coincides with an apparent deepening of Israel’s diplomatic isolation. Anger has grown in Europe in the wake of Israel’s suspected misuse of European passports to kill a Palestinian militant in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced the expulsion of a senior diplomat over the incident, an unusually drastic step for an ally. Relations with Turkey, a rare Muslim friend of Israel for decades, have hit a new low…

“Arab leaders have long said that a peace deal would be possible if the United States pressured Israel. But many experts say such hope is often misplaced. In the case of East Jerusalem, Netanyahu believes that a halt to construction represents political suicide for his coalition, so no amount of U.S. pressure will lead him to impose a freeze…”

The Bible predicts that in the near future, the state of Israel will find itself more and more alone–without any support from its allies. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Book of Zechariah–Prophecies for Today!”

Sarkozy Suffers Bruising Defeat

The EUObserver wrote:

“President Nicolas Sarkozy suffered a bruising defeat in the last round of France’s regional elections on Sunday, with his centre-right party losing in all but one of the 22 mainland regions. Some cabinet ministers are likely to be reshuffled as a consequence. The Socialist Party, Greens and other left-wing allies took some 54 percent of the vote at a national level… leaving Mr Sarkozy’s Union du Mouvement Populaire (UMP) at just 36 percent, the centre-right’s worst showing in 50 years…

“Right-wing veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen… mounted something of a comeback, whose National Front party did well enough to stay in the race in 12 mainland regions, depriving Mr Sarkozy’s party of about 10 per cent of voters. His daughter Marine also won some 22 percent of the vote in her region, suggesting she may inherit the leadership of Mr Le Pen’s party once he retires.”

Will Guttenberg Resign?

Deutsche Welle reported on March 19:

“Members of the Green Party and the Social Democrats are saying that Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg should resign if he lied about being ill-informed regarding a fatal Afghanistan airstrike. ‘If Guttenberg is found to have lied in connection with a central leadership decision, his position as defense minister is no longer viable,’ Social Democratic Party whip Thomas Opperman told the Berliner Zeitung on Friday. The Greens’ spokesman for defense matters, Omid Nouripour, told the ARD television network that Guttenberg should step down if that is proven to be the case. But Nouripour added that he had not yet seen proof in that direction.

“Germany’s former top military officer, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, told the inquiry on Thursday that Guttenberg had been well briefed about the September 2009 airstrike, which killed as many as 142 Afghan civilians. That contradicts Guttenberg’s earlier claims that he was relying on incomplete information when he initially described the attack as ‘militarily appropriate.’ He later rescinded that statement. ‘Minister zu Guttenberg has up to now failed to explain in any way how he came to his mistaken evaluation and how he corrected it,’ Rainer Arnold, the Social Democrats’ expert on defense policy, told Deutsche Presse Agentur on Friday…

“Guttenberg was serving as economics minister when the incident occurred in September 2009. He became defense minister when Prime Minister Angela Merkel assembled her second cabinet last February. Guttenberg replaced fellow Christian Democrat Franz Josef Jung, who resigned in the scandal’s aftermath.  Jung will go before the committee next week. Guttenberg’s appearance is scheduled for April 22.”

Possible reconstitutions of the French and German governments might be revealing in light of biblical prophecy. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

Vatican Silent on Catholic Sex Scandal in Germany

The Associated Press reported on March 20:

“Pope Benedict XVI rebuked Irish bishops Saturday for ‘grave errors of judgment’ in handling clerical sex abuse and ordered an investigation into the Irish church but did not mention any Vatican responsibility. In a letter to the Irish faithful read across Europe amid a growing, multination abuse scandal, the pope doled out no specific punishments to bishops blamed by victims, and Irish government-ordered investigations, for having covered up abuse of thousands of Irish children from the 1930s to the 1990s.

“Ireland’s main group of clerical-abuse victims, One in Four, said it was deeply disappointed by the letter because it failed to lay blame with the Vatican for what it called a ‘deliberate policy of the Catholic Church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders, thereby endangering children’…

“The letter directly addressed only Ireland, but the Vatican said it could be read as applying to other countries. Hundreds of new allegations of abuse have recently come to light across Europe, including in the pope’s native Germany, where he served as archbishop in a diocese where several victims have recently come forward. One priest suspected of molesting boys while the future pope was in charge was transferred to a job where he abused more children.

“While a cardinal at the Vatican, Joseph Ratzinger penned a letter instructing bishops around the world to report all cases of abuse to his office and keep them secret under threat of excommunication. Irish bishops have said the letter was widely understood to mean they shouldn’t report the cases to police.”

German Reaction to Benedict’s “Apology”

On March 22, Der Spiegel Online published reactions of the German press to Pope Benedict’s most recent “apology”:

“Though highly anticipated, the apology was not well received. Many slammed the letter for not including a requirement that Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the Irish church, step down. Requirements that other church leaders be punished were likewise missed by victims groups…

“In Germany… expectations that the pope might finally break his silence on the church abuse scandal that has shaken the country in recent weeks remain unfulfilled. Hundreds of people have come forward since the end of January with stories of sexual maltreatment perpetrated by priests and by teachers at Catholic boarding schools.

“Of particular concern are allegations that the pope, back when he was the Bishop of Munich in the 1980s, knew of one particular abusive priest from Essen, who had forced a young boy to perform oral sex before being transferred to Munich. According to SPIEGEL information, the pope, then called Joseph Ratzinger, was aware of the church’s decision not to turn the priest over to the police. Just weeks later, the abusive priest was once again working with children, a fact which Ratzinger may also have known about…

“Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘The pope has done little to indicate the way forward for churches in Ireland or Germany, so that they may atone for past wrongs as well as avoid doing harm in the future…’

“Left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘The central issues of the scandal will remain. Now, as before, and despite all his warm words for the victims, the pope shies away from any debate about sexual morality in the church. And one can only hope that his public silence about the abuse cases in Germany, is not because the pope himself was unhappily involved in such a case when he was the archbishop of Munich…’

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… the letter is not going to rescue the church from the crisis it is currently enmeshed in. The letter will not do this because it is addressed to the Irish church only. The letter localizes a problem that actually affects the church throughout the world.”

“‘And the pope’s letter is also problematic when it tries to come to grips with the reasons for the abuse. Benedict XVI suggests that these problems arose because of a moral laxness in the clergy and church that arose after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (eds note: the 1960s reforms that the church brought about in acknowledge[ment] of the changing modern world). The pope says these were mistakenly interpreted as a softening of moral standards. With respect, this is nonsense. Many of the cases from the more distant past, which are currently coming to light, demonstrate this…’

“The conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘Had the pope actually said anything about the occurrences in his homeland, the letter’s impact on the church worldwide would doubtless have been greater. Even without that, the text is explosive. That bishops protected perpetrators, that camouflage and concealment were not exceptions: The head of the Catholic church has never been as clear about any of this before. His call for the church to be subject to the law of the land is an unmistakable instruction to all who abide by the church’s rules. But his pastoral letter will not dispel all of the dark clouds hovering over the Catholic church. Nor will it put to rest the debate over celibacy, that so many in the church find so troubling…'”

Even though the Catholic Church is under attack, it will play a prominent influential role in the near future. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Current Events

“No Alternative to the Euro”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 12:

“Another general strike in Greece shut the financially beleaguered nation down on Thursday. But… now nobody [in Germany]… believes there is any danger to the euro’s long-term survival.

“In the Financial Times Deutschland, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble writes in a signed editorial: ‘… There is no alternative to the monetary union. The euro has established itself as the second most important currency in the world, and as a currency in which to invest…'”

The Euro–Built on a Lie–But Predestined to Stay…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 9:

“The notion that the European common currency is based on nothing but a series of lies is now taking its toll. All of the founders of the euro knew that the new currency could only be stable if all member states committed themselves to sound financial policy and, in the long run, spent only as much as they collected in tax revenue. But many ignored this principle right from the start… The first lie was soon followed by the second. The euro-zone members had promised to support the common currency with a common policy. The problem was that they were not prepared to make good on their promise.

“… a second Europe, which remains largely concealed from the public, currently exists in parallel to the public Europe of summit meetings, government statements and official visits…

“Since joining the euro zone, the 16 euro countries have violated the deficit rule, under which net new debt cannot exceed 3 percent of GDP, 43 times. Most of the infractions have occurred in the last two years. Greece is at the top of the list of violators…

“On the one side are the EU’s heavyweights, headed up by Germany. The new currency has made them more competitive, and they now produce far more than they consume. On the other side are countries like Spain and Ireland, which attracted large amounts of foreign capital, and where wages and asset prices rose rapidly…

“Many now feel vindicated, including Harvard Professor Martin Feldstein, a prophet of the euro’s demise for many years… But such considerations are naïve. It’s possible that the euro was indeed introduced too soon. But that is by no means an argument to abolish it prematurely. It is clear that a fracture in the monetary union would not just be a political disgrace, but also an economic catastrophe. For 10 years, European businesses and banks have become accustomed to a uniform European basis of calculation. Reversing it would trigger economic disruptions so severe that the Greek crisis pales by comparison.

“Europe doesn’t need a new currency. What Europe does need is the culture of stability, transparency and credibility that its governments have promised citizens, but have never created. Although the euro zone has a common monetary policy, it lacks a shared financial and economic policy… Even if the Germans are far from supporting a European economic government, as the French have long advocated for the euro zone, the German government believes that cooperation on economic policy must be coordinated far more closely and intensified in the future…

“The recent crisis shows, however, that even small countries can jeopardize the entire common currency project. ‘European leaders are now realizing that the members of the monetary union are all in the same boat,’ says one senior Brussels diplomat, ‘and that its members, for better or worse, are dependent on each other.'”

A European Two-Class System? — But No Exit from the Eurozone

Reuters wrote on March 8:

“When they negotiated the 1991 Maastricht Treaty, Helmut Kohl, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Delors believed that European Monetary Union would lead inevitably over time to a closer political union with more federal governance. But the flaws revealed by Greece’s fiscal jam seem more likely to hasten a two-class system in which ‘grown-ups,’ led by Germany, exert ever more control over wayward ‘children’ such as Greece, but accept no reciprocal scrutiny…

“Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed last week giving the EU executive new powers… French President Nicolas Sarkozy has seized on the Greek crisis to revive ideas of a ‘European economic government’ that would coordinate member states’ economic policies and keep the euro exchange rate competitive against the dollar and the yuan. But Germany, the biggest economy, has made clear it does not want EU surveillance of its own export-oriented policies, which generate big current account surpluses that economists say are partly responsible for widening imbalances in the euro zone…

“A two-class euro zone has been a reality since 2004, when EU budget discipline rules applied more strictly to small countries were suspended, then rewritten to avoid sanctions against France and Germany after they repeatedly breached the deficit limit. The Greek crisis has strengthened that trend, whether or not Athens ends up being bailed out by its partners… Any financial support for Greece is likely to be an ad hoc arrangement, with Germany calling the shots as Europe’s de facto lender of last resort. Berlin would attach draconian conditions to deter potential emulators.

“This two-class euro zone will likely cause resentment and aggravate mistrust between large and small member states, and between North and South. It may be how power works in the real world, but the EU was created to do things differently…

“The… most improbable option is that a country might be tempted to walk away from the euro zone. The price of a euro exit would be enormous in devaluation, extra borrowing costs, diplomatic isolation, unemployment, loss of purchasing power and at least short-term loss of investment. Strikingly, there is no serious discussion of this in Greece or other euro states under pressure.

“Debate about temporary or permanent exits from the euro is largely confined to countries and people who opposed monetary union all along and forecast it would end in tears.”

German Government in Disarray

Time Magazine wrote in its latest edition, dated on March 22:

“When Germany’s Deputy Chancellor and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle held a briefing for reporters in Berlin last month, he arrived exuding an aura of defiance and ebullience. It didn’t last… Five months after Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party began forming a new center-right government with Westerwelle’s probusiness Free Democratic Party (FDP), the alliance that was billed as a marriage made in heaven is on the rocks. The government has been riven by infighting, bitter personal rivalries and squabbles over policy direction. The partisan bickering has grown so bad it threatens complete inertia…

“Merkel’s main headache is Westerwelle, whose various job titles seem to have given him carte blanche to be the government’s unofficial troublemaker. Finding himself holding the balance of power following 11 years in opposition, the ambitious politician is enjoying his first taste of power. Even though his main job is Foreign Minister, Westerwelle has flexed his muscles on domestic issues from tax reform to health care to nuclear power…

“One recent crunch came when Westerwelle launched a blistering attack on Germany’s cherished welfare state, criticizing handouts for the long-term unemployed. Raising welfare benefits smacks of socialism, Westerwelle wrote in the daily Welt newspaper on Feb. 11. ‘Whoever promises the people effortless prosperity encourages late Roman decadence.’ The FDP leader went on to argue that those who work should always get more than the unemployed and that young jobless Germans should take up community work like shoveling snow…

“Criticism of the welfare state touches a raw nerve among Germans. They have jealously guarded social benefits since they were introduced by Otto von Bismarck, the ‘Iron Chancellor,’ in the 1880s. Bismarck’s system — designed to win over workers and increase productivity — guaranteed every citizen social insurance, including a pension, national health insurance and disability benefits. Westerwelle thinks that should change, and is also pushing for lower taxes and a new simplified tax system… Merkel was not amused…

“The government’s bickering is set against the backdrop of the ongoing economic crisis, which remains the key issue for voters. Germany may be officially out of recession but Europe’s biggest economy is struggling to get back on its feet… Germans are disgruntled.”

Even though it is perceived that presently there is no alternative to the current German government, stranger things have happened. It only takes the manifestation of a powerful charismatic leader who would seemingly be able to bring back order and direction to a disorderly government. Some have suggested that Germany’s Defense Minister Guttenberg might be such a man–but as the next article shows, this analysis seems to be far-fetched and unsupportable by the current facts.

German Defense Minister Guttenberg’s Star Is Sinking

Deutsche Welle reported on March 13:

“German Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg has been sharply criticized for sacking a general who wrote him a letter asking for the reason why Military Inspector General Wolfgang Schneiderhan was sacked in last year. ‘It looks like the heads of disagreeable oddballs are rolling just because they have a different opinion than the minister,’ Green party speaker Omid Nouripour told the daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung… Following Schneiderhan’s dismissal in November 2009, Brigadier General Henning Hars, a former military attache to Washington, wrote a letter to the defense minister asking why the high-ranking officer had been dismissed. Hars also asked Guttenberg for his assessment of the controversial Kunduz air raid, which killed a large number of civilians in northern Afghanistan last September. Hars did not receive a response to his letter.

“Defense Minister Guttenberg then used his right to move General Hars into involuntary retirement, according to a report in the Tagesspiegel newspaper. A few days ago, Hars received his discharge papers from German president Horst Koehler… “Rainer Arnold, a spokesman for the opposition Social Democratic Party, criticized Guttenberg’s decision. ‘Of course a minister can send a general into retirement if he has no confidence in him,’ Arnold told the newspaper Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger. ‘But I have the impression that it’s the military leaders who do not have any more confidence in the Minister,’ Arnold added.”

Praised as the rising star in German politics, Guttenberg has come increasingly under attack for his controversial actions, especially pertaining to Germany’s participation and conduct in the Afghan war. The German press, like Der Stern, recently portrayed him as a showman with much talk and little substance.

Germany Third Largest Weapons Dealer

The Local reported on March 15:

“Germany has doubled its arms exports over the last five years, making it the world’s third largest weapons dealer after the United States and Russia, according to a new study released on Monday. Sales of mainly submarines and armoured vehicles helped Germany capture 11 percent of the global arms market, compared to 30 percent and 23 percent for the United States and Russia, the study from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

“Warships made up 44 percent of all arms exports, while armoured vehicles accounted for 27 percent… Fourteen percent of Germany’s arms exports went to Turkey, while Greece bought 13 percent and South Africa imported 12 percent… The growth is part of a worldwide increase of 22 percent in weapons sales in the last five years, particularly in the trade of extremely expensive fighter planes.

“SIPRI warned of an arms race in tense regions like the Middle East, North Africa, South America and South Asia. Meanwhile Greece has become one of the world’s top-five importers despite being on the verge of bankruptcy.”

If we were to include all the additional European arms exports, it stands to reason that Europe would probably be the world’s largest weapons dealer.

Widening Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal in Germany

Bild Online wrote on March 9:

“Germany has been shocked by the scandal surrounding the world-famous choir. Victims were forced to endure excessive force, including violence, whipping and perverse sex games from teachers and even headmasters.

“Many of them are still suffering today… producer and composer Franz Wittenbrink, who was at the Regensburg Cathedral choir boarding school until 1967, believes that the school staff did have some knowledge: In the school an ‘elaborate system of sadistic discipline connected to a sexual lust’ was in existence, according to ‘Spiegel’… ‘Everyone knew it,’ Wittenbrink added.”

Vatican Tries to Defend Pope in Sex Abuse Scandal

The Associated Press wrote on March 13:

“The Vatican on Saturday denounced what it called aggressive attempts to drag Pope Benedict XVI into the spreading scandals of pedophile priests in his German homeland. It also insisted that church confidentiality doesn’t prevent bishops from reporting abuse to police. The Vatican’s campaign to defend the pope’s reputation and resolve in combatting clergy abuse of minors followed acknowledgment by the Munich archdiocese that it had transferred a suspected pedophile priest to community work while Benedict was archbishop there.

“Benedict is also under fire for a 2001 church directive he wrote while a Vatican cardinal, instructing bishops to keep abuse cases confidential. Germany’s justice minister has blamed the directive for what she called a ‘wall of silence’ preventing prosecution… Irish bishops have said the document was widely taken to mean they shouldn’t go to police. And victims’ lawyers in the U.S. say the document shows the church tried to obstruct justice… The Catholic church in Switzerland has become swept up in the scandals.”

Deutsche Welle added on March 13:

“In a reaction to the widening pedophile scandal in Germany, the Vatican has rallied around the pontiff, claiming that ‘certain elements’ had launched a targeted campaign to discredit the Catholic Church… The pope’s former diocese in Bavaria on Friday said he was involved in a decision in 1980 to move a priest who was suspected of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy. Instead of undergoing therapy, the priest was assigned to a Munich parish without restrictions. Six years later, the priest was given a suspended jail sentence for child sex offenses during that period.

“The diocese claims this was a decision made by then-vicar general Gerhard Gruber, but the head of the Catholic lay reform movement in Germany, Christian Weisner, has rejected that interpretation, saying that due to the Church’s hierarchal structures, it was the pontiff – then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger – who was ultimately responsible.

“On Friday, the head of Germany’s Catholic Bishops Conference, Robert Zollitsch, briefed journalists about the situation in Germany, where more than 100 reports have emerged of abuse at Catholic institutions, including schools and one linked to the prestigious Regensburg choir run by the pope’s brother from 1964 to 1994…

“The recent raft of revelations prompted Weisner to express his disappointment that the pope had ‘not found any words of sympathy (for the victims), nor asked for forgiveness and reconciliation.’

“The president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, Alois Glueck, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in an interview on Saturday that the Church needed new structures. He said it was time to consider whether ‘church-related conditions’ had promoted the abuse and that the issue of celibacy for priests should be re-examined…

“In another blow for the Catholic Church, an opinion survey conducted by the Emnid Institute for a German television news channel on Friday found that 86 percent of those polled had lost faith in the church leaderships’ willingness to pursue the sex abuse allegations.”

Forced Celibacy the Root of Evil…

Mail On Line wrote on March 11:

“In recent weeks the church has been rocked by a series of abuse scandals in Ireland, Holland and Germany [and Austria]… It is thought that many Catholic priests privately believe a married clergy is the obvious solution to a number of problems confronting the church, from the shortage of priests to the recent sex scandals.

“The celibacy rule for priests was not part of the early Christian Church but was introduced in the Middle Ages. A number of early Christian fathers were married, including St Peter himself, according to St Mark’s Gospel.”

“The Devil Is in the Vatican”

Times On Line wrote on March 11:

“Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that ‘the Devil is at work inside the Vatican’, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist. Father Gabriele Amorth, 85… said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as ‘cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon’. He added: ‘When one speaks of “the smoke of Satan” [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia.’

“He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican ‘cover-up’ over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead… A remarkably swift Vatican investigation concluded that Corporal Tornay had shot the commander and his wife and then turned his gun on himself after being passed over for a medal. However Tornay’s relatives have challenged this. There have been unconfirmed reports of a homosexual background to the tragedy and the involvement of a fourth person who was never identified…”

Bild Online added on March 11:

“The chief exorcist also spoke of an attack by Satan on Pope Benedict XVI (82): ‘The Pope fought with the Devil on Christmas Eve. Satan threw him to the ground.’ He was referring to an incident where Pope Benedict was attacked and pulled to the floor by a mentally unstable woman.”

For more information on the Roman Catholic Church — past, present and future — please read our free booklets, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” “Europe in Prophecy” and “Is That in the Bible–the Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

The End of the Road for President Obama?

The Telegraph wrote on March 8:

“The descent of Barack Obama’s regime… has been swift and precipitate. It was just 16 months ago that weeping men and women celebrated his victory over John McCain in the American presidential election. If they weep now, a year and six weeks into his rule, it is for different reasons.

“Despite the efforts of some sections of opinion to talk the place up, America is mired in unhappiness, all the worse for the height from which Obamania has fallen… 15 million Americans, or 9.7 per cent of the workforce, have no job. Many millions more are reduced to working part-time. Whole areas of the country, notably in the north and on the eastern seaboard, are industrial wastelands. The once mighty motor city of Detroit appears slowly to be being abandoned, becoming a Jurassic Park of the mid-20th century; unemployment among black people in Mr Obama’s own city of Chicago is estimated at between 20 and 25 per cent. One senior black politician – a Democrat and a supporter of the President – told me of the wrath in his community that a black president appeared to be unable to solve the economic problem among his own people. Cities in the east such as Newark and Baltimore now have drug-dealing as their principal commercial activity…”‘

“Mr Obama benefited in his campaign from an idiotic level of idolatry, in which most of the media participated with an astonishing suspension of cynicism. The sound of the squealing of brakes is now audible all over the American press; but the attack is being directed not at the leader himself, but at those around him…

“The root of the problem seems to be the management of expectations. The magnificent campaign created the notion that Mr Obama could walk on water. Oddly enough, he can’t…

“There are lessons from the stumbling of Mr Obama for our own country as we approach a general election. Vacuous promises of change are hostages to fortune if they cannot be delivered upon to improve the living conditions of a people. The slickness of campaigning that comes from a combination of heavy funding and public relations expertise does not inevitably translate into an ability to govern. There is no point a nation’s having the audacity of hope unless it also has the sophistication and the will to turn it into action. As things stand, Barack Obama and America under his leadership do not.”

Biblical prophecy shows that America will not recover substantially from its present crisis. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Obama Disappoints Israelis and Palestinians

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 15:

“Hopes were high in the Middle East when US President Barack Obama took office last year. But instead of progress toward peace, he has shown indecision and hesitancy. With many in the region united against Iran, he is in danger of letting a golden opportunity slip through his fingers…

“Never before had a US president enjoyed such trust in the Middle East — and gambled it away in such a short time. Obama has vacillated to an extent that has confused friend and foe alike…

“US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Jerusalem, where he assured his hosts of Washington’s ‘absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel’s security’ — only to discover, hours later, that the Israeli interior ministry had just approved the construction of 1,600 housing units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. Biden was so angry that he showed up an hour-and-a-half late for a dinner with Netanyahu and his wife. ‘I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem,’ he said afterwards. ‘It is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now.’ It was undoubtedly a brazen insult to Israel’s powerful ally. Nevertheless, sympathy with the Americans has been muted. ‘Mr. Obama has himself to blame,’ the Financial Times remarked drily…

“Obama’s failure in the Middle East is but one example of his weakness, though a particularly drastic and vivid one. The president, widely celebrated when he took office, cannot claim to have achieved sweeping successes in any area. When he began his term more than a year ago, he came across as an ambitious developer who had every intention of completing multiple projects at once. But after a year, none of those projects has even progressed beyond the early construction phase. And in some cases, the sites are nothing but deep excavations…

“He set out to negotiate with Iran. He courted the regime… But the end-of-the-year deadline he had loudly proclaimed passed without incident, and yet Iran’s uranium centrifuges in Natanz and Qom are still up and running. Although Iraq held an election two Sundays ago, the results are so ambiguous, and the situation is so unclear, that Ray Odierno, the commanding general of US forces in Iraq, is thinking about delaying the withdrawal of his troops — which would represent yet another breach of Obama’s campaign promises.

“Obama has turned his attention to Afghanistan, sending an additional 30,000 troops to the country. But even that measure was announced and then withdrawn in the same speech. The troops were deployed in 2009, but their withdrawal is set to begin by mid-2011. By announcing his plans for the deployment and withdrawal of the troops at the same time, Obama didn’t exactly create the impression of supreme decisiveness among America’s enemies in Afghanistan…

“Obama can hardly count on gaining the support of allies, partly because he doesn’t pay much attention to them. The American president doesn’t have a single strong ally among European heads of state…

“In the Middle East, the irresolute Obama is missing an opportunity to bring about peace that he… will not be offered in its current form anytime soon. Never before in Israeli history have Jews and Arabs been as united as they are today, in the face of the Iranian nuclear threat. Indeed, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has spoken openly of the need for a military strike against Iran.

“SPIEGEL has learned that Western intelligence services believe that the Saudis would even provide the Israelis with access to their airspace for such a strike… The Arab states are no longer the ones who benefit from the Middle East conflict. Instead, it is the Iranian leadership, whose ruthless rhetoric and nuclear program has the Arabs just as nervous as the Israelis.

“Nevertheless, Obama continues to stand alone on the world stage, seemingly without a goal and oceans removed from achieving a solution to the toxic Middle East conflict… The Palestinians no longer trust him, and the Israelis don’t take him seriously, as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ‘apology’ to Vice President Biden demonstrated last week. Netanyahu said that he regretted the ‘unfortunate timing’ of the settlement announcement. Netanyahu’s spokesman claimed that the premier had not known about the settlement plans — one of the biggest construction projects in Jerusalem.

“It isn’t as if the US government had no leverage to convince Israel to at least make minor changes to its settlement policy. The Jewish state receives about $2.5 billion (€1.8 billion) in annual military aid alone from Washington. Some of Obama’s predecessors had no qualms about threatening Israel with cuts in aid. President Gerald Ford did it in 1975, because he felt that the Israelis were too inflexible in negotiations with Egypt. President George H.W. Bush held back $10 billion in US government loan guarantees until Israel agreed to participate in the planned Madrid peace conference. Even his son, President George W. Bush, froze some of the loan guarantees in 2003, when Israel began building a ‘security fence’ that penetrated deeply into Palestinian territory.

“Obama, on the other hand, has shied away from setting tough conditions for Israel. Many of his critics blame that stance on his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, 50. In Washington, every Democrat who would like to but doesn’t dare to criticize the president is turning against Emanuel. They see him as a dark Rasputin exerting his virtually hypnotic control over Obama. In Arab countries, many believe Emanuel is an Israel agent, and they cite his background as proof. The son of a Zionist underground fighter, he served in the Israeli army as a civilian volunteer, despite being an American citizen.

“Obama’s many mistakes in the Middle East are reflected in the low opinion of Emanuel held among Prime Minister Netanyahu’s staff members, who see him as a despicable figure. In their view, it was Emanuel who incited Obama against Israel and was responsible for Jerusalem’s and Washington’s troubles with the settlements.”

US-Israeli Relations at All-Time Low

The Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad wrote on March 15:

“Will Israel succeed in imposing its will on the United States again? Or will it be forced into compliance this time around?

“Last year, prime minister Netanyahu’s government ignored Obama’s demand to freeze the construction of settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories. Last May, American secretary of state Clinton emphasised that all construction had to stop… Last November, Netanyahu announced construction would indeed cease for ten months, but this freeze did not apply to East Jerusalem, where the foundations for some 3,000 homes had already been laid, and some other projects.

“Washington responded warmly to Israel’s offer. The small nation had succeeded in imposing its will on its biggest ally. Last week, the American vice president Joe Biden visited Israel to improve US-Israeli relations. The US had persuaded the Palestinians to return to negotiations with Israel, if only indirectly, even though construction of settlements continued. On the second day of Biden’s visit to Israel, its government announced it would be building another 1,600 homes in occupied East Jerusalem. Biden condemned the announcement, Netanyahu apologised (for the timing of the announcement, not for the construction itself) and, as far as Israel was concerned, the matter was now a thing of the past.

“But on Friday, secretary Clinton lambasted the Israeli prime minister over the phone, calling the Israeli act ‘deeply negative’ for American-Israeli relations. David Axelrod, one of president Obama’s chief political advisors, went even further, calling the Israeli move ‘an insult’ to the US which ‘undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region’ on the American TV-programme Meet the Press. ‘For this announcement to come at that time was very, very destructive,’ he added. The relationship between the two countries has rarely been as bad as it is now.

“This morning, Israeli officials and newspapers reported that the American government would not be satisfied until the entire construction project had been scrapped. This has put the Israeli prime minister in a tough spot. The Ramat Shlomo settlement is an orthodox-Jewish stronghold, and the construction project there is considered of utmost importance to his orthodox coalition partner Shas. It was Shas-minister Eli Yishai who announced the plans in the first place.

“Netanyahu needs the Shas’ support, otherwise his coalition might fall apart. But Netanyahu also needs the US’s support. Not only does it depend on the billions in economic and military aid, it also desperately needs the US’s political support against Iran’s nuclear programme which Israel considers an ‘existential threat.'”

How Ridiculous Can It Get?

The Sacramento Bee reported on March 14:

“It was every businessperson’s nightmare. Arriving at Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. ‘They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,’ says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff. The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff’s on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was … 4 cents.

“Inexplicably, penalties and taxes accruing on the debt – stemming from the 2006 tax year – were listed as $202.31, leaving Harv’s with an obligation of $202.35.

“Zeff, who also owns local parking lots and is the president of the Midtown Business Association… [is] trying to figure out how penalties and interest could climb so high on such a small debt. He says he’s never been told he owes any taxes or that he’s ever incurred any late-payment penalties in the four years he’s owned Harv’s.

“In fact, he provided us with an Oct. 22, 2009, letter from the IRS that states Harv’s ‘has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due.’ IRS spokesman Jesse Weller isn’t commenting ‘due to privacy and disclosure laws.'”

This serves as just one example proving that human rule is bound to fail. Godly justice would never allow anything grotesque like the above to happen. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

Watch Putin’s Coming Soviet Union!

Times On Line wrote on March 9:

“The Soviet Union is gradually being rebuilt as Vladimir Putin eyes a return to the Kremlin. The man who declared the collapse of the Communist state to be the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century’ appears determined to forge a new empire.

“The latest evidence emerged in a suggestion by Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister in Mr Putin’s Government, that Russia may abolish the rouble and create a common currency with Kazakhstan and Belarus. The three states have already established a customs union and plan to form a single economic market by 2012. Mr Shuvalov said… that it would be modelled on the euro.

“The last time these countries had a common currency, of course, was in Soviet times. Mr Putin was quick to extend an invitation to join the customs union to Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s new pro-Russian President, when they met in Moscow on Friday. Were Ukraine to sign up, there would be a common economic space encompassing the ‘Big Four’ republics of the Soviet era, with a combined population of 213 million and stretching from the European Union to China. Its political, military and economic centre would be in Moscow, where Mr Putin is expected to reclaim the presidency in 2012 for up to 12 more years…

“Other ex-Soviet republics would find it hard to resist the gravitational pull of a single currency and economic space. Armenia’s economy is almost completely owned by Russian companies already… Russia’s history of political interference in its former Soviet satellites has no comparison in the EU.”

The Bible predicts that in these last days, a militaristic alliance, under Russian leadership, will become a mortal enemy to a united EU. The resurgence of the Soviet Union would be another piece of the prophetic puzzle, leading to Christ’s return, which we are commanded to watch.

EU: Iran Is Building Nuclear Weapons

Israel National News reported on March 3:

“The European Union announced Wednesday that it agrees with the position of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that Tehran is secretly developing nuclear weapons for military purposes. In a statement given to the Council of Trustees of the Atomic Energy Agency, the European Union said that Europe will support any action against the Iranian nuclear threat agreed upon by the UN Security Council.”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 13:

“Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said the EU remained committed to seeking a UN resolution on sanctions against Iran, but lacking that, the 27-nation block would take action on its own.”

A war in the Middle East, involving Israel and Iran, is likely to occur soon. And it is very possible that as a consequence, the EU will intervene in an effort to “bring peace” to the region.

“US Prepares for Total Destruction of Iran”

Scotland’s The Sunday Herald wrote the following on March 14:

“Hundreds of powerful US ‘bunker-buster’ bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 ‘Blu’ bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures. Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.

“Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius… A shipping company based in Florida, Superior Maritime Services, will be paid $699,500 to carry many thousands of military items from Concord, California, to Diego Garcia…

“‘They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran,’ said Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London, co-author of a recent study on US preparations for an attack on Iran. ‘US bombers are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours,’ he added…

“For Alan Mackinnon, chair of Scottish CND, the revelation was ‘extremely worrying’. He stated: ‘It is clear that the US government continues to beat the drums of war over Iran, most recently in the statements of Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. ‘It is depressingly similar to the rhetoric we heard prior to the war in Iraq in 2003.’

“The British Ministry of Defence has said in the past that the US government would need permission to use Diego Garcia for offensive action. It has already been used for strikes against Iraq during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars. About 50 British military staff are stationed on the island, with more than 3,200 US personnel. Part of the Chagos Archipelago, it lies about 1,000 miles from the southern coasts of India and Sri Lanka, well placed for missions to Iran.”

Current Events

Dutch Government Collapses Over Afghanistan

The collapse of the Dutch government will have wide-reaching consequences, not just for The Netherlands, but also for Europe and the future of the Afghan War. Sentiments against America’s insistence to continue the war will increase in Europe and force European governments to either follow public demands to withdraw their troops, or risk their political survival.

The EUObserver wrote on February 22:

“Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende said on Sunday… that his country’s troops are likely to be pulled out of Afghanistan by the end of this year, a move he said may prompt other wavering states – including EU members – to think about doing the same… The centre-right leader was speaking a day after his government collapsed over the issue. The Labour Party quit the coalition on Saturday, saying it could not agree to a Nato request to extend the Dutch mission beyond 2010…

“There is also tension between contributing countries. Germany, which has the third biggest contingent behind the US and the UK, has its troops mainly stationed in the less risky northern part of the country. Fighting is heaviest in the south. France, which has just over 3000 troops in Afghanistan last month said it will not be sending any more, while London is feeling the political toll of the high number [of] British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan – over 100 last year…

“The move is a set-back for US President Barack Obama, who has been arm-twisting EU nations to do more in Afghanistan since making it a key plank of his foreign policy…

“The collapse of the government could result in a swing to the right in the 16-million strong country, which has been suffering from tensions over how to treat its Muslim and wider immigrant communities… Polls show that the anti-immigration Freedom Party, which was second only to Mr Balkenende’s Christian Democrats in last June’s European elections, may gain the most from the coalition’s dissolution.”

German Reactions to the Dutch Debacle

On February 22, Der Spiegel Online reported on the reaction of the German press to the collapse of the Dutch government, and the Afghanistan mission in general:

“The Dutch government is the first to collapse in a dispute over NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan. German media commentators say other NATO member states could share the same fate if they continue to ignore growing public opposition to the mission. The home front, it seems, is starting to crumble… The Afghan mission is unpopular across Europe and other governments will get into trouble too if they keep on ignoring public concern, say editorial writers at leading German commentators.

“The Dutch withdrawal is expected to fuel public debate in Germany, which has over 4,000 troops in Afghanistan. The mission has become even more controversial since an air strike ordered by a German commander on two hijacked fuel trucks in the northern region of Kunduz killed several civilians, possibly dozens, in September 2009…

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘The alliance no longer seems able to muster and preserve the unity without which the war will scarcely be winnable. The political home front is crumbling at a time when the alliance is making a tremendous military and political effort to turn the situation in Afghanistan in its favor. This shows that the public and politicians are losing patience with the Afghanistan mission. The political class is now, for the first time, prepared to take the consequences. The Dutch government is the first to have stumbled and collapsed over the war…

“‘It is only a matter of time before the pressure in other capital cities becomes so great that politicians will be forced to choose between staying loyal to the alliance and their own political survival… The writing is on the wall. If NATO doesn’t soon outline a clear plan for its withdrawal, more and more national governments will organize their own pullout in response to public pressure. Even at the cost of doing lasting damage to the alliance.”

“Conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘The collapse of the government in The Hague could open the European floodgates. Madrid, just like Berlin, can no longer sell the Afghanistan operation as a peace mission. In Britain too, public support for the mission is increasingly brittle…’

“Left-wing Berliner Zeitung writes:

“‘The Netherlands was always regarded as a reliable partner in NATO and the EU. They were rewarded for their loyalty with top jobs in international organisations. The collapse of the coalition marks a break with that foreign policy tradition. Dutch policy has undergone a reversal and shows how domestic political calculations will in future dominate foreign policy…'”

It is perhaps interesting to speculate whether The Netherlands, as the prophetic Zebulon–a modern descendant of one of the tribes of the ancient House of Israel–will be or won’t be a part of the final ten nations or groups of nations, which are prophesied to rise in Europe just prior to Christ’s return. For the identity of modern nations in biblical prophecy, please read our Q&A on the matter.

The EU in Afghanistan

The EUobserver wrote on February 24:

“The EU’s new envoy to Afghanistan, Lithuanian diplomat Vygaudas Usackas, has said he aims to demonstrate that new member states are up to handling the bloc’s top overseas postings… Mr Usackas… will in April leave behind his family to go to Kabul, where he will take charge of around 80 staff as the EU Special Representative to Afghanistan and the head of the EU delegation in the Afghan capital.

“The move will see him become the second ever person from a new EU member state to lead one of the EU’s 136 foreign missions, six years after the 2004 round of enlargement. The first was by a Hungarian diplomat in Norway. But the Afghanistan job is of a different magnitude.

“Afghanistan is a theatre of war for over 110,000 foreign troops including armed forces from 25 EU states… But unlike in Lithuania, where public opinion supports the war, other EU countries are starting to pull out. It is also a huge recipient of EU aid, with around €8 billion pumped in by the European Commission and member states over the past eight years, and hosts one of the union’s fastest-growing police missions.

“Mr Usackas’ job will be to advise President Hamid Karzai on the conduct of parliamentary elections in autumn, to help build Afghan government structures in pacified territories, oversee the influx of aid and speak on behalf of the EU… The new EU envoy warned that Nato-caused civilian deaths, such as the incident in Uruzgan last Sunday which saw 27 casualties, are generating opposition to the international presence both inside Afghanistan and in Europe.”

Europe is getting more and more involved politically and militarily–including and especially in areas outside Europe.

Afghan War Unwinnable

BBC reported on February 23:

“Sixty-four per cent of British people think the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, a BBC poll suggests… Only 27% agree that the government has given sufficient support to UK forces… The data was collected between 19-21 February 2010, while more than 1,000 British troops were taking part in Operation Moshtarak as part of a 15,000-strong Nato and Afghan offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Helmand province…

“63% of respondents to the Newsnight poll agreed when asked if they thought that whoever formed the next government after this year’s general election should commit to removing Britain’s armed forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2010. It is widely expected that a general election will take place in early May.

“When asked whether the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable, older people were gloomier than the young about the prospects of success. Seventy per cent of people aged 55 and over agreed that the war was unwinnable, compared with 58% of those aged 18-24. Otherwise, the response to this question was virtually unchanged since polling last November, suggesting that Operation Moshtarak might not have made an impact on the public.”

France’s Warship Sales to Russia “Very Risky”

The EUObserver wrote on February 19:

“Georgia on Thursday (19 February) warned Europe against a proposed French sale of warships to Russia, as it would allow Moscow to invade any former Soviet republic ‘within hours,’ echoing concerns raised by Baltic leaders that the deal is in breach of an EU code on arms trade. During a visit to London, President Mikheil Saakashvili said that the warship sale was ‘very risky’ and would ‘reward’ Russia’s continued military presence in Georgia’s breakaway provinces, in violation of a French-brokered ceasefire agreement after a brief war in 2008.

“Russia is negotiating a €500 million deal to buy at least one Mistral, an assault ship capable of carrying up to 16 helicopters and a 750-strong landing force. It has also expressed interest in three others.
 
“Mr Sarkozy has defended the sale, saying ‘one cannot expect Russia to behave as a partner if we don’t treat it as one.’ The deal would be a considerable boost for France’s Saint-Nazaire shipyard, which builds Mistrals…

“The Georgian leader also referred to remarks made last year by admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, the commander of Russia’s navy, who said that if his country had such a ship in 2008, it could have won the war against Georgia ‘in 40 minutes instead of 26 hours’… Vladimir Putin was now searching for a new conflict to underpin his bid to recapture the Russian presidency in 2012, Mr Saakashvili claimed.

“Baltic ministers last week also warned against the deal with Russia, which would be the first time a Nato country sells advanced military technology to the former Cold War enemy. There is no EU law governing arms sales by member states. But in 2008 the bloc adopted a political commitment not to sell weapons or components to countries which violate human rights, pose a risk to regional stability or hurt the security interests of EU allies. The code was signed into life by the French EU presidency four months after the Georgia war…

“Earlier this month, a Pentagon spokesman said the US’s ‘friends and allies’ in Eastern Europe had ‘good reason’ to be nervous about the deal. On Wednesday, Moscow signed a military treaty with the Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia, which has access to the Black Sea. The deal includes setting up a Russian military base for at least 45 years. Moscow has currently about 1,700 troops in the self-declared independent province, despite the ceasefire agreement stipulating a scale-back in its military presence.”

Europe has had its history of signing pacts and making deals with Russia, only to break them later. There can be no doubt that Russia is on an aggressive course against nations which once belonged to the Soviet Empire. The Bible predicts that the relationship between the prophesied ten European nations or groups of nations and a power bloc under Russian and Chinese leadership will deteriorate and end in an out-right war.

“USA and Britain Are Next…”

A-7 News reported on February 24:

“Meeting with foreign ambassadors in the Knesset on Tuesday, Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin (Likud) said, ‘If the trend doesn’t change, the U.S. and Britain will be next in line’ to pay the price for the world’s double standards, and for their willingness to fight, in the war against terrorism.

“‘According to the standards laid down by the Goldstone investigation,’ Rivlin said, ‘Winston Churchill should have been charged with war crimes, as should the American and British armies in Iraq. In the meanwhile, though, only Israel is paying the price of the double standard that does not differentiate between attacker and victim, or between terrorism and self-defense.’

“The Goldstone Commission, charged by the United Nations with investigating Israel’s counter-terrorist Cast Lead offensive against Hamas-run Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009, accused Israel of war crimes, attacks upon civilians, and the like. ‘If the trend doesn’t change,’ Rivlin continued, ‘the next in line to be accused will be the members of the militaries of Great Britain, the U.S., and the other countries of the free world.’

“Some 70 ambassadors and foreign representatives took part in the Knesset event, which dealt with the fight of the democratic countries against terrorism… Rivlin warned of another terrific loss of life such as occurred in World War II… ‘Terrorism is trying to paralyze and silence democracies fighting against it,’ the veteran Jerusalemite Knesset Member said… Rivlin called on the nations of the world to stand by Israel in its fight against terrorism – a struggle that he said is ‘beginning to take on dimensions of World War III.'”

“PIIGS to the Slaughter”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 22:

“As speculators attack the euro, Europe is facing a growing threat of national bankruptcies. The consequences would be dramatic for the whole of the continent, especially German banks, which are highly exposed to risky debt. EU politicians are willing to pay almost any price to help the beleaguered countries…

“Europe is indeed currently the hottest topic on the global financial markets. The value of the battered euro has been falling since the Greek government confessed to the actual scope of its debt — and since it became clear that things are not looking significantly better in the other PIIGS countries (the acronym refers to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain).

“There has never been this much uncertainty. No one knows whether the Greeks will manage to solve their problems, whether and how other countries will come to their aid, whether the crisis can be confined to Greece or whether it will spread like wildfire among the PIIGS — and end up tearing apart the European currency union…

“The financial industry is back to its old tricks, playing with the greatest possible amount of risk. In the past, it speculated with the debts of American homeowners and, as a result, triggered the biggest crisis in the world economy since the Great Depression of the 1920s. Now it is gambling with the debts of entire countries…

“It is no coincidence, however, that the speculators have not zeroed in on the dollar, the British pound or the yen. Although the United States, Britain and Japan are also groaning under the burden of their debt, the euro is much more vulnerable, for both historic and political reasons. The weak southern countries, members of the so-called Club Med, have always been seen as problem cases. They have lived beyond their means and neglected the need to be competitive, they have built up — partly in full view, partly cleverly hidden — enormous mountains of debt, and they have avoided hard-hitting reforms. These conditions existed before they became members of the euro zone, and they did not improve afterwards.

“The other euro countries looked the other way. Initially, before the establishment of monetary union, they looked away because they didn’t want to jeopardize their political goal of a European common currency. Later, it was because they themselves were benefiting from the euro. The German export economy, in particular, was able to expand continuously…

“The euro has been a success story until now. During the recent financial crisis, the common currency proved to be a blessing at first, particularly for the smaller countries. But as debt levels increased, the problems, previously suppressed, became more and more evident…

“US investment bank Goldman Sachs, in particular, has its finger in several pies at once: as an adviser to the beleaguered governments — and on the side of the hedge funds that are speculating against the Greeks. Goldman Sachs was also involved when the Greeks tried to hide their debts from Brussels. In 2002, the US bank helped them exchange a portion of their dollar and yen debts, worth $10 billion, into euro debts. Goldman even granted Greece a loan of €1 billion, which was never reported as such to Brussels, and collected €200 million for its efforts… even the new Greek government… cannot manage without the US investment bank…

“The situation would spin completely out of control if, in addition to Greece, countries like Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain got into difficulties… German banks are apparently the ‘principal creditors in Spain and Ireland, and the second-most important creditor in Italy’… Early last week, the German-French duo brought the remaining finance ministers in the euro group on board. Officially, all are still cloaked in silence and behaving as if bailouts will not be necessary. Nevertheless, the package of measures is beginning to take shape. The German Finance Ministry expects support for Greece to amount to between €20 billion and €25 billion. All the members of the euro group are expected to participate, including those, like Spain and Portugal, who also might find themselves needing help soon… The assistance is to consist partly of loans and partly of loan guarantees… the official version is that the participating countries will not assume any of Greece’s debt, which would be forbidden under the treaty. Instead, they will add new debt to the existing debt, something that the rules do not prohibit…

“The Finance Ministry officials are also thinking about creating a new institution… to handle future bailout efforts. This European fund would provide financing to countries in difficulty. It is still unclear how the new rescue fund will be financed. There are two conceivable options: Each member state’s contribution could be based on either its share of ECB capital or the level of its deficit. The second solution would be fairer: the worse a country’s financial policy, the higher its contribution. In other words, the biggest sinners would be required to pay the highest indulgence.

“Such an institution doesn’t exist yet, which means that European politicians will have to make do with what they have. The financial strength of the donor countries could soon be depleted. This could force ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet to buy up the debt of the countries facing bankruptcy — which is tantamount to printing money. Although this is prohibited under the Maastricht statutes, the EU finance ministers already demonstrated that the treaty could be amended if necessary when, in 2005, they stealthily relaxed the 3 percent criterion for government debt. Such a bailout would come at a high price: It would turn the European monetary union into an inflation union.”

The present European crisis, caused by Greece and blamed on U.S. banks, might be another stepping stone to the unification of ten leading and powerful European nations or groups of nations within larger Europe, as prophesied in Scripture. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Germany Urges Catholic Church to Come Clean on Child Abuse

Deutsche Welle reported on February 21:

“German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger leveled criticism at the Bishop of Augsburg, Walter Mixa, who she said was ‘hiding behind polemic excuses instead of contributing to clearing up’ the matter. The controversial bishop had previously told a local newspaper that the media and the ‘so-called sexual revolution’ were partly to blame for the problem of child abuse in society…

“The minister’s comments come to a backdrop of a widening scandal involving allegations of sexual molestation at Catholic schools throughout Germany dating back to the 1960s…

“Hamburg Archbishop Werner Thissen said the scandal was the result of ‘structural problems’ in the church… An association of Catholic lay people… has also called on bishops to come clean, and admit that cases that have come to light are not isolated.”

Der Spiegel Online added on February 24:

“The Catholic Church in Germany is under pressure as more and more cases of sexual abuse come to light. Now the government is demanding that the Church take rigorous action to investigate the incidents… But Benedict XVI remained silent…

“New allegations of abuse by members of the Catholic Church are emerging every day… Despite the apparent urgency of the situation, Germany’s highest-ranking Catholic… had been unavailable for comment for weeks during the scandal…

“In reacting to what is probably the biggest scandal within their ranks in decades, German bishops have seemed helpless and dazed, sometimes concerned about the victims, but often stubborn, out of touch with reality or ignorant — and generally confused…

“Even the German government is unequivocally calling upon Church leaders to take action — an extremely unusual approach in the context of the relationship between Church and state… The prevalent view within the clergy, however, is still that sexual assaults are isolated cases, the regrettable transgressions of brothers gone astray… At the same time, the many new suspected cases indicate that abuse of children and adolescents was apparently widespread throughout the Catholic world…

“Given their experiences, however, many victims have little confidence in an investigation conducted by precisely the institution that concealed the abuse, sometimes for years or even decades.”

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Catholic Church will do to get itself out of this mess. Please watch our new StandingWatch program on this important issue, titled, “Why Catholic Sex Abuse?”

Head of German Lutheran Church Resigns Over Drunk Driving

Deutsche Welle reported on February 24:

“The head of the Lutheran Church in Germany, Margot Kaessmann, announced her resignation at a press conference on Wednesday after being pulled over for drunk driving days before… Her resignation as head of Germany’s Protestants and Hanover’s bishop is effective immediately, but she will remain a pastor in the local Hanover church…

“Police had stopped the 51-year-old, who was driving a car provided by the Church, for running a red light in Hanover on Saturday night. A test showed her blood alcohol level to be 0.154 percent, three times the legal limit for driving in Germany, prosecutors said.

“‘I am shocked at myself for committing such a grievous error,’ Kaessmann had told Bild newspaper. ‘I am aware how dangerous and irresponsible it is to drink and drive. I will accept the legal consequences’…

“Kaessmann was elected in October 2009 to be the first woman to head the Protestant Church in Germany, an umbrella organization that unites Germany’s 25 million Protestant Christians. She was a controversial choice, because she was divorced. Kaessmann was viewed as a modernizer and a supporter of improving ties with Catholics. She gained attention recently by calling for a pullout of German troops from Afghanistan, saying there was no such thing as a just war.”

The Habsburg Legacy

The Habsburg Empire was for many years a predominant force in continental Europe and constituted the seventh resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire and the fourth resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. Even though it is very unlikely, based on the facts set forth below, that the Habsburgs will ever come to political power again in Europe, stranger things have happened in history.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 19:

“Many tourists take an underground detour to the Imperial Crypt, an internationally famed heritage site beneath the city of Vienna… When night falls, loneliness sweeps in around Leopold I. The deceased emperor lies inside his coffin… The man who lies buried beneath this dusty splendor was once the continent’s most powerful monarch. Leopold I reigned over the Holy Roman Empire for nearly half a century, beginning in 1658. He drove Turkish forces back from Vienna, defied King Louis XIV of France, and paved the way for an empire that stretched as far as the Netherlands, the Carpathian Mountains, Silesia, and Sardinia. Of the 146 Habsburg relatives to Leopold I who are interred in that part of the crypt open to the public, only Emperor Franz Joseph I reigned longer. But resting in his robust copper coffin since 1916, Franz Joseph I hasn’t yet needed to visit the workshop…

“The crypt provides one of the prime attractions within Vienna’s historic city center… Nearly 400 years’ worth of coffins and heart urns are collected here. Reform-inclined emperors lie alongside crowned warmongers, murder victims like Empress Elisabeth — better known by her nickname ‘Sisi’ — lie alongside suicides like her son Rudolf, who was the heir apparent. The remains of blue-blooded relatives from the houses of Bourbon, Parma, Burgundy and Aragon also rest here. The Habsburgs became a major power through their strategy of nonviolent annexation through marriage.

“Today, though, aside from the monks and the city of Vienna, only a ‘Society for the Preservation of the Imperial Crypt,’ with around a thousand members, sees to it that the deposed Habsburgs’ Valhalla, at least, still reflects the family’s former splendor. ‘We were dispossessed, so we didn’t even have funds available for restoration,’ complains Karl Habsburg, loyal grandson of the last emperor and now himself head of the House of Habsburg…

“Even 90 years after it enacted the Habsburg Law, the Republic of Austria still greets requests from the former dynasty with ‘limited enthusiasm’… The decision from April 3, 1919, still holds. The Habsburgs were dispossessed of private property held in family funds, denied the right to run for election, and forbidden to remain in Austria, unless they renounced in writing their claims to the throne and their affiliation with the deposed dynasty.

“Carl Ludwig, son of the last Habsburg emperor, was interred in the family crypt in January 2008. He refused his entire life to meet the full demands of the Habsburg Law, and paid for it with more than half a century of being denied entry to the country. Carl Ludwig was the younger brother of the heir to the throne, Otto von Habsburg, and took part in the Allied landing at Normandy in 1944 in an American uniform. He felt he had sufficiently proved his republican sentiments.

“Using the relics of the fallen dynasty as a tourist attraction but ostracizing the family’s heirs is typically Austrian, living descendents of the family argue. Michael Salvator Habsburg, a great-grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph I from the Tuscany line, has the same complaint. His ancestors, the historian says, relinquished their claim to the throne and remained in the country, yet still have not been rehabilitated…

“To this day, Vienna continues to supplement individual EU laws at the national level with conditions concerning the Habsburgs, as if a return to the throne remained a constant threat. Any remaining concerns that the republic is in danger of collapse, though, should be dispelled by the appearance of the elderly gentlemen who make up the Teutonic Master Guard Corps. They come every year on November 20, the anniversary of Franz Joseph’s death, to sing ‘God Save the Emperor’ in the Capuchin Church above the vault and then gather to pray in the crypt chapel below, within view of the vault’s last three empty marble plinths.

“It ‘doesn’t take much of a stretch of imagination’ to guess who is meant to take these last places of honor, Karl Habsburg commented shortly before his mother’s death two weeks ago. Karl’s father Otto, 97, has joked that the Capuchin monks seem to eye him with particular attentiveness during his visits to the crypt — ‘to take measurements for later’…

“What should be done, for example, with the monstrous copper coffin standing around uselessly at Vienna’s Central Cemetery? It was originally meant for Emperor Charles I, but he was buried in Madeira, where he was forced into exile. Since his beatification in 2004, the emperor’s resting place on the island has drawn more tourists than ever before. The autonomous Portuguese archipelago declines to transfer the tomb to the Imperial Crypt in Vienna…

“One gets a clearer sense of the ephemeral nature of things down here, adds Michael Salvator Habsburg. ‘The Christian Western world speaks out of the depths of the crypt,’ he says. ‘You can sense continuity and legitimation here.’ But things are different above ground, amid the daily life of the republic, Habsburg comments: ‘A government thinks first and foremost about its pension rights.'”

Scientists Retract Global Warming Study

The most important aspect in the following article is the fact that scientists openly admit that they make mistakes of such a magnitude that they can have wide-ranging consequences. It is high time that our “modern” and “sophisticated” civilization begins to place its trust and belief in God–rather than in erring scientists–and that it rejects scientific “knowledge” when it is in clear contradiction to the revealed Word of God–the Holy Bible.

The Guardian wrote on February 22:

“Scientists have been forced to withdraw a study on projected sea level rise due to global warming after finding mistakes that undermined the findings.

“The study, published in 2009… confirmed the conclusions of the 2007 report… It used data over the last 22,000 years to predict that sea level would rise by between 7cm and 82cm by the end of the century.

“At the time, Mark Siddall, from the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Bristol, said the study ‘strengthens the confidence with which one may interpret the IPCC results.’ The IPCC said that sea level would probably rise by 18cm-59cm by 2100, though stressed this was based on incomplete information about ice sheet melting and that the true rise could be higher.

“Many scientists criticised the IPCC approach as too conservative, and several papers since have suggested that sea level could rise more…

“Announcing the formal retraction of the paper from the journal, Siddall said: ‘It’s one of those things that happens. People make mistakes and mistakes happen in science.’ He said there were two separate technical mistakes in the paper, which were pointed out by other scientists after it was published. A formal retraction was required, rather than a correction, because the errors undermined the study’s conclusion.”

Current Events

Euro Flawed from the Beginning?

Mail-On-Line wrote on February 12:

“The European single currency is facing an ‘inevitable break-up’ a leading French bank claimed yesterday. Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide ‘sticking plasters’ to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc. The stark warning came as the euro slipped further on the currency markets and dire growth figures raised the prospect of a ‘double-dip’ recession in the embattled zone… Claims that the euro could be headed for total collapse are particularly striking when they come from one of the oldest and largest banks in France – a core founder-member… The euro slid almost 1 per cent to $1.357 yesterday, meaning it has lost 10 per cent of its value since November. The pound rose to 1.14 euros.

“David Cameron… told the Tories’ Scottish conference: ‘… If I am elected for as long as I am prime minister the United Kingdom will never join the euro.’ The French bank’s warning was echoed by Mats Persson, Director of the Open Europe think-tank, which campaigns for reforms in Brussels. He said: ‘The eurozone is facing a fully-fledged crisis. The Greece episode has made it painfully clear how flawed the euro project was from the very beginning…’

“Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, a long-standing skeptic on the euro, yesterday said the single currency ‘isn’t working’ because member governments have no incentive to keep their public debts under control. Axel Weber, President of Germany’s Bundesbank, warned the German economy will contract this year. The eurozone faces the danger of a ‘doubledip’ recession after Germany’s economy retreated into stagnation.

“Figures [from the European Commission] published yesterday revealed that the countries who have joined the euro collectively grew a mere 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year… The figures… are a blow to Britain’s embattled manufacturers, which count the eurozone as their biggest export market.”

However, this pessimistic viewpoint about the euro is refuted by others, pointing out that especially Britain should look at their horrific budget deficit, before blaming the eurozone, as the next articles show.

Britain Rejoices Over Decline of Euro–But Has Its Own Problems…

The LATimes wrote on February 13:

“It’s not hard to find some smug smiles in Britain these days as the rest of Europe grapples with a debt crisis that has cast doubt on the future of the euro. This island nation has fiercely resisted adoption of the single regional currency and has clung to the pound as a symbol of tradition and independence.

“Before a summit of European Union leaders this week, his usual Scottish dourness barely succeeded in masking Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s schadenfreude when he declared that the euro’s problems were for euro-using nations such as France and Germany to solve, not British taxpayers.

“But Britain is in no position to sit back and relax, much less crow, analysts say, not when its own economy is still in such shaky condition, its credit rating in danger of an embarrassing downgrade and its government sinking deeper into debt.

“The global downturn has hit Britain particularly hard, in part because of London’s status as an international financial center. Britain’s was the last of the major economies technically to emerge from recession, and that only barely: It grew by a tiny 0.1% in the final quarter of last year, and economists fear it could just as easily start contracting again.

“Like many other countries, including the United States, Britain went on a spending spree to stimulate demand during the recession’s darkest days, funding infrastructure projects and cash-for-clunkers-style rebates. And as elsewhere, that has compounded a budget deficit now at a level not seen since World War II.

“In fact, as a percentage of gross domestic product, Britain’s yawning deficit is close to that of Greece, whose 12.7% shortfall triggered the euro crisis. Athens’ deficit is more than four times the prescribed limit for countries in the so-called Eurozone and investor panic over a possible default has hammered the euro’s value…

“Just as Greece has unveiled an austerity plan to get its finances in order, Britain must soon bite the fiscal bullet as well. Exactly what and how deeply to cut is already shaping up as the dominant issue in the national election that must be held by early June. The opposition finance spokesman, George Osborne of the Conservative Party, caused a minor stir in December when he said that Britain might be on the same path to misery as Greece…

“As for Greece, Britain may yet be on the hook for bailing it out, despite distaste for the idea. If the EU as a whole, instead of just the Eurozone, decides to give credit assurances for Athens or to issue EU-wide bonds, then British taxpayers will have no choice but to be involved because Britain remains one of the 27 EU member states.”

In addition, BBC News reported on February 17 that the “UK inflation rate rose to 3.5% in January – the fastest annual pace for 14 months – from 2.9% the month before.” And Times on Line added on February 18 that “The [British] Government is on course to run up a higher budget deficit this year than Greece after dire figures on the public finances today showed that it borrowed £4.3 billion more than it received in taxes in January, the first time this has happened.”

The Strong Eurozone and Wrong US Politics

In a Spiegel interview, dated February 12, European Central Bank Chief Economist Jürgen Stark discussed the threat of a Greek bankruptcy, disruption in the euro zone and the growing problem of excessive national debts in countries that have adopted Europe’s common currency. We are bringing you the following excerpts from the interview:

“We have been in a global crisis for more than one-and-a-half years now. We still can’t say whether it’s over… There were many skeptics at the beginning of the currency union. Since then, the euro has experienced 11 successful years. However, the current crisis has shown that we are all moving in unknown terrain. For instance, the central banks have had to adopt measures that I would have considered to be impossible only two years ago. But all market players and currencies have been put to the same test since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. That, by the way, happened on the other side of the Atlantic and led to the tsunami that then hit Europe.

“… the Greeks had a double-digit and not a single-digit budget deficit, which is close to 13 percent of the gross domestic product… Greece covered it up for a long time with an extremely generous spending policy… I would like to see better supervision. This is where Eurostat (the European Union’s statistical office) and the European Commission, in particular, can play a role. We should all learn from the mistakes of the past. Greece was living beyond its means. That has to be corrected now… [Greece] has to regain the confidence of the markets. Ireland was in a similar situation and has since regained some confidence… The responsibility for setting its house in order clearly lies with the Greek government…

“We began with 11 countries and we have 16 today. The euro zone was never a closed affair. The goal is and must continue to be that all 27 EU countries have the same currency in the end. However, this cannot result in the currency zone drifting apart… Great Britain has a budget deficit of the same magnitude as Greece’s. The US budget deficit is also more than 10 percent of GDP. All advanced economies are currently having problems. In fact, it is astonishing to see where most of the criticism of the euro is coming from at the moment… much of what they are printing reads as if they were trying to deflect attention away from problems in their own backyard.

“Yes, everyone is a sinner at the moment. But we also happen to be dealing with the consequences of the worst recession in 80 years. That’s one of the reasons so many governments have yielded to the enormous pressure, in some cases, to take on huge debts. A renaissance of the government’s role in the economy was celebrated. The politicians were proud that they could finally rescue something. But who will rescue the state in the end?… Things cannot be allowed to go so far that the state has to be rescued… We cannot take that approach [of the United States, where the Fed prints money and buys treasury bonds].”

Euro Is Here to Stay

This week, the EUObserver published the following comments:

“The financial turmoil arising from the Greek government’s indebtedness is likely to have a profound effect of the future constitutional development – and enlargement – of the European Union. So anyway it seems to me.  All the improbable articles in the British press about the threatened collapse of the euro and the end of civilisation as we know it are, in a sense, correct.  Apart, that is, from the euro collapsing.

“The euro will not collapse; it is one of the world’s reserve currencies, underpinned by the world’s largest trading block. And if in recent months there has been some readjustment against the dollar that is principally the result of the dollar recovering some of its value lost in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other Wall Street institutions.

“Greece – and a number of other countries in the European Union – are, as we know, burdened with unsustainable budget deficits and high levels of public debt.  Britain, though not in the eurozone, is among them.  Whether Britain’s public finances would have been in better order had she not – in an act of hubris – turned her back on the Single Currency project in 1997 and 1998 – is a moot point.

“What is certain is that the pound has in the last year or two lost some 20 per cent of its external value – something that impoverishes us all and whose lesson – (you can’t make yourself richer by devaluing) we thought had long been learned. Certainly Britain’s finances will not again meet the qualifying terms for joining the euro for many a long year to come…”

Based on biblical prophecy, we can safely say that the euro is here to stay, and that more and more European countries will join the eurozone. Interestingly, in all likelihood, countries like Britain and Sweden won’t accept the euro. There are prophetic reasons for this. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy,” “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” and “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Greece and the Euro Zone

On February 15, Reuters reported the following:

“A majority of Germans want debt-ridden Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone if necessary and more than two-thirds oppose handing Athens billions of euros in credit, a poll published on Sunday showed. Vocal opposition to aid for Greece from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition also grew at the weekend with several senior politicians expressing skepticism, especially as Germany’s own recovery is fragile… Merkel has adopted a cautious stance on support, saying while Greece will not be left on its own, it is up to Athens to sort out its own problems… Merkel’s coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) are even more resistant to helping Greece.”

The Associated Press reported on February 15:

“Germany has rejected the idea of setting up a special fund to bail out eurozone countries, like Greece, that run into budget trouble. Finance Ministry spokesman Michael Offer said Monday that a European Monetary Fund would not help a case such as Greece’s. He said there was ‘no way around’ painful austerity measures being pushed through by the Greek government.

“Offer said Greece must reduce its budget deficit by four percentage points this year and bring it down to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2012. That is in line with requirements for participation in the common currency. Greece’s debt trouble has shaken confidence in the 16-country currency union and pushed the euro to a nine-month low against the dollar.”

Whether Greece will remain a member of the euro zone will have to be seen. Bible prophecy indicates that Greece will cooperate with a united Europe and especially with the last ten nations or groups of nations, as described in Revelation 17, but it is unlikely that it will be one of the ten nations.

The EU Shows “Strength”

The Telegraph wrote on February 16:

“The European Union has shown its righteous wrath by stripping Greece of its vote at a crucial meeting next month, the worst humiliation ever suffered by an EU member state.

“The council of EU finance ministers said Athens must comply with austerity demands by March 16 or lose control over its own tax and spend policies altogether. It if fails to do so, the EU will itself impose cuts under the draconian Article 126.9 of the Lisbon Treaty in what would amount to economic suzerainty.

“While the symbolic move to suspend Greece of its voting rights at one meeting makes no practical difference, it marks a constitutional watershed and represents a crushing loss of sovereignty.”

A New Era of Strong EU Politics?

On February 12, Der Spiegel reported about the reaction of the German media pertaining to the decision of the EU Parliament to block an agreement with Washington on sharing European bank data.

The magazine wrote:

“The move marks a new era in EU politics, write German commentators, who largely agree that the European people now have more power as a result of the Lisbon Treaty… What looked on Thursday like a setback for the war on terrorism — to members of the Obama administration — was cheered in Europe on Friday as a victory for citizens’ rights. The European Parliament moved Thursday to reject a George W. Bush-era agreement that allowed United States authorities to inspect European bank transfers… The unambiguous vote — 378 to 196 — comes against a background of shifting power in the EU…

“A crucial development is that the EU’s new constitution — the so-called Lisbon Treaty, which came into effect on Dec. 1, 2009 — gave the popularly elected parliament new powers over EU policy, which the representatives on Thursday showed they were eager to use. One of those powers is the requirement that any international EU treaty must be given parliament’s stamp of approval before it can be ratified. Most German commentators on Friday welcome the vote as a sign of health, strength and democratic right in an EU that long suffered from a democratic deficit.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… Some Washington officials will moan, but EU lawmakers have done a service to trans-Atlantic relations in the long run. Because now Washington will understand: Terrorism can be fought together, but not at the cost of European citizens’ rights…’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… The SWIFT controversy is a perfect chance for the parliament to prove its effectiveness… This revolt against the SWIFT agreement is a foretaste of decisions in the coming years, particularly on security. The European Council and European Commission will now have to take the parliament seriously.’

“Business daily Handelsblatt likewise writes: ‘Good news at last from Europe: The controversial SWIFT agreement between the EU and Washington has collapsed.'”

Europe is destined to become more and more powerful, and it is predestined to become a real challenge to the USA.

German Government Divided…

Deutsche Welle reported on February 12:

“Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister and vice-chancellor [as well as leader of Germany’s coalition party, FDP], remains defiant over controversial comments he made after the social welfare program Hartz IV was declared unconstitutional this week. After the ruling came out, Westerwelle said that the debate about Hartz IV had ‘socialist elements’ and that ‘those who promise effortless wealth, are inviting Roman decadence.’

“Germany’s highest court has ordered the government to recalculate the payments it makes under the Hartz IV program for the unemployed. The ruling has triggered a debate about whether to raise benefit payments for children, for example [Note: In Germany, every parent is paid a certain benefit amount for his child. The more children, the higher the payments.] Westerwelle’s comments sparked calls for an apology, but the foreign minister was sticking to his guns on Friday.

“‘Those who work must earn more than those who do not,’ he said in Berlin. ‘I must be allowed to say that in Germany. Everything else is socialism. I speak a language that people understand,’ he added. But chancellor Angela Merkel as well as coalition partners from the [Bavarian] Christian Social Union (CSU) have distanced themselves from Westerwelle…

“The opposition parties were even more vociferous in their anger. Social Democrat and premier of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Kurt Beck, said Westerwelle was completely off track and should apologize. He also called him ‘arrogant’ and said that ‘his (Westerwelle’s) comments are a slap in the face of those who work hard but do not earn enough to live without state benefits.’ [However, this is not really the issue of debate.] The Greens were also up in arms. ‘This stirring up of social unrest is undignified for a German foreign minister and vice chancellor,’ said Renate Kuenast, who is the leader of the Green party in parliament.

“Politicians from the Left party agree [with the Greens]… Union representatives also condemned the comments… But, perhaps most importantly, voters also seem to be going off the Free Democrats. ‘Westerwelle has lost his compass,’ said the head of the Forsa polling institute, Manfred Guellner.”

Guido Westerwelle responded by calling his critics “hypocrites,” as many of those attacking him are “responsible” for the current disaster. According to Deutsche Welle, dated February 17, “Merkel herself finally admonished her foreign minister at the CDU rally Wednesday evening, after days of no public comment on the matter. ‘I have made it clear that, what Guido Westerwelle said, is not my words,’ Merkel said. ‘It is not my style.'”

However, the article continued:

“‘It had to be said what needed to be said,’ Westerwelle told FDP supporters… Of course, as foreign minister he was obligated to follow a diplomatic tone when abroad. But, he said when in Germany, he would ‘continue to belong to the club of clear debate.’ ‘The left-wing zeitgeist may criticize me for it, but the fact remains: work has to be worth it and someone who works more has to get more than someone who doesn’t work at all,’ he said… Westerwelle at least got some support from the head of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), Horst Seehofer…”

Guido Westerwelle is correct in what he says. But since politics is not only dirty and hypocritical business in the United States and Great Britain, but also, of course, in Germany, his political “friends” and opponents criticise him because they fear a substantial loss of votes in the upcoming state elections. And so, one cannot permit vice-chancellor Westerwelle to express what many believe, but don’t dare to say, because it is just not “politically correct.”

However, it is FACTUALLY correct! Germany IS embracing socialist elements (as are the United States and Great Britain), and it IS “inviting Roman decadence”–which ultimately led to Rome’s fall. The Bible tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” As mentioned above, parents with many children [especially from certain ethnic minorities] can easily live from benefit payments for their children, coupled with unemployment and/or welfare payments and payments for housing. And it is the hard-working gainfully employed or self-employed German citizens who support and finance this system through the payment of heavy and stiff taxes.

Catholic Church Scandal Widens in Germany…

Deutsche Welle reported on February 15:

“A lawyer representing victims of a sex abuse scandal at Catholic schools in Germany said on Monday that the number of cases was three times higher than at first believed. News of the abuse allegations involving around 30 former pupils first surfaced in late January, when a former priest admitted that he forced boys to have sex at the elite Canisius College in Berlin from 1975 to 1983.

“Since the revelation, many more former pupils have come forward with allegations against clerics and laymen at Jesuit colleges and other Catholic schools across the country. The Jesuits have since issued an apology, admitting they covered up abuse that had taken place at schools in Berlin, Hamburg, St. Blasien, Goettingen and Hildesheim in the 1970s and 1980s. The worldwide order also confirmed cases in Spain and Chile.”

The San Diego Tribune reported on February 10:

“The Catholic Church faces yet another child abuse scandal, this time in Pope Benedict XVI’s native Germany. The scandal began last month with allegations that three priests at the elite Canisius Jesuit high-school in Berlin had sexually abused students in the 1970s and ‘80s. The magazine Der Spiegel also published an article last weekend that said nearly 100 clerics and lay people had been suspected of abusing children and teenagers nationwide since 1995.”

Catholic Church Scandal in Ireland…

Deutsche Welle reported on February 15:

“Pope Benedict XVI began talks on Monday with a delegation of Irish bishops summoned to the Vatican to discuss a child sex abuse scandal, which has shaken the Catholic Church in Ireland.

“The talks, which are to last two days, stem from a report last November about unchecked child abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin over a period of nearly 30 years. The Murphy Commission report detailed a litany of abuse perpetuated by priests against more than 300 victims and strongly criticized the Irish church’s handling of the situation…

“Revelations of pedophile priests also have rocked the Church in recent months after similar scandals in the United States and Australia… Anti-abuse campaigners, meanwhile, have called on Pope Benedict to visit Ireland to meet the victims of the pedophile scandal. Christine Buckley, herself an abuse survivor… criticized that many of the accused Irish priests had left Ireland and gone to countries such as Australia and America, where they continued their abuse.”

BBC News added on February 16:

“As the Roman Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the penitential rites of Lent, during which the faithful beg forgiveness for their sins, an unprecedented act of private penance has been held behind closed doors at the Vatican.

“Pope Benedict spent two days in one of the Vatican’s sumptuous marble audience halls closeted with 24 Irish bishops who both individually and collectively confessed to him their shortcomings and omissions in the paedophile clergy scandal which has shocked the entire Catholic world.

“… we know from the official Vatican communique issued at the end of this extraordinary crisis meeting that the Pope strongly condemned the child abuse scandal which has been the subject of an official Irish government inquiry… Pope Benedict did not spare his words in addressing his Irish bishops. He said that child abuse was a ‘heinous crime’ as well as a ‘grave sin’. He lambasted the bishops for failing to act effectively over cases of sexual abuse of young people.

“Seated at two long tables, the red-clad bishops were invited by the Pope to describe individually… how they had dealt with cases of priestly paedophilia in their own dioceses, and to explain why so many cases had been systematically covered up during a period of decades. Although four Irish bishops have tendered their resignations over the scandals, only one of them has had his resignation accepted by the Vatican…

“At stake is not only the credibility of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, but also a lot of Church money… The Vatican fears that just as in similar scandals of priestly paedophilia in other parts of the world, including the United States, claims by paedophilia victims in Ireland could eventually bankrupt several religious orders as well as individual dioceses…

“The sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy has been reported from many countries, and dealing with these scandals has in fact been a worldwide problem for the Pope… But the crisis within the Irish church goes deeper perhaps than in any other country with a significant Catholic population.”

The Associated Press and USA Today reported on February 18:

“Pope Benedict XVI told Irish bishops at a special summit meeting Tuesday to be courageous in confronting the pedophile priest scandal that has rocked that Catholic nation’s church, but took no action on victims’ demands the Vatican take some responsibility… activists troubled by what they contend is a pattern of Vatican denial of responsibility were branding the talks a failure…

“Victims had already warned the talks would be a failure unless the pope demanded resignations of bishops who had any role in concealing wrongdoing. They also demand that the pope accept in full the findings of the Irish investigations, which some church officials in Ireland have criticized as unfair.

“[Irish Church leader Cardinal Sean] Brady said Irish church leaders needed to do penitence for the scandal that would be ‘the equivalent of sackcloth and ashes’ and have a ‘change of heart.'”

President Obama Preparing to Use His Executive Power

The New York Times wrote on February 13:

“With much of his legislative agenda stalled in Congress, President Obama and his team are preparing an array of actions using his executive power to advance energy, environmental, fiscal and other domestic policy priorities. Mr. Obama has not given up hope of progress on Capitol Hill, aides said, and has scheduled a session with Republican leaders on health care later this month. But in the aftermath of a special election in Massachusetts that cost Democrats unilateral control of the Senate, the White House is getting ready to act on its own in the face of partisan gridlock heading into the midterm campaign…

“Any president has vast authority to influence policy even without legislation, through executive orders, agency rule-making and administrative fiat. And Mr. Obama’s success this week in pressuring the Senate to confirm 27 nominations by threatening to use his recess appointment power demonstrated that executive authority can also be leveraged to force action by Congress.

“Mr. Obama has already decided to create a bipartisan budget commission under his own authority after Congress refused to do so. His administration has signaled that it plans to use its discretion to soften enforcement of the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military, even as Congress considers repealing the law. And the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with possible regulations on heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change, while a bill to cap such emissions languishes in the Senate…

“The use of executive authority during times of legislative inertia is hardly new; former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush turned to such powers at various moments in their presidencies… But Mr. Obama has to be careful how he proceeds because he has been critical of both Mr. Clinton’s penchant for expending presidential capital on small-bore initiatives, like school uniforms, and Mr. Bush’s expansive assertions of executive authority, like the secret program of wiretapping without warrants…

“Another drawback of the executive power strategy is that actions taken unilaterally by the executive branch may not be as enduring as decisions made through acts of Congress signed into law by a president…”

Those who might have thought that in times of crises, the USA could never become a dictatorship ruled by a few in office should perhaps reconsider.

War in Afghanistan

Reuters reported on February 15:

“U.S. Marines leading one of NATO’s biggest offensives against Taliban Islamic militants in Afghanistan are facing fierce resistance in some areas, bogged down by heavy gunfire, snipers and booby traps. Marine units have tried twice since Sunday to reach a bazaar in Marjah, the last militant stronghold in the country’s most violent province, Helmand, only to be pushed back. Coming under heavy gunfire and sniper attacks — one assault lasted over an hour — they were forced to call in Harrier jets and attack helicopters with Hellfire missiles.

“There have been conflicting assessments of how much progress NATO has made, but it seemed clear that the campaign to seize insurgent-held areas before a planned 2011 troop reduction could drag on for weeks… The assault, one of the biggest in the eight-year war, is the first test of U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban have made a steady comeback since a U.S.-led invasion ousted them in 2001.

“The Marines’ efforts to close in on Taliban snipers in Marjah’s bazaar came a day after the compound the U.S. troops are holding in the heart of the town was attacked several times, showing the Taliban are not confined to one area. Afghanistan is a top foreign policy issue for Obama so failure here could be seen as damaging to his presidency. Much of the operation’s success in Helmand province depends on whether the administration wins residents’ trust and Afghan troops are able to keep the Taliban from returning…

“NATO and the Afghan government’s credibility rests on limiting civilian casualties, and NATO commanders told Marjah residents to stay at home during the offensive. NATO rockets killed 12 civilians by accident on Sunday in the attack on Marjah, a farming area criss-crossed by canals, a breeding ground for insurgents and lucrative opium poppy cultivation, which Western countries say funds the insurgency.”

The Washington Post wrote on February 18:

“Although U.S. and Afghan forces have made steady inroads here since beginning the largest joint military operation of the war four days ago, they control only a few modest patches of this farming community, principally around the two biggest bazaar areas. Much of Marja has not yet been patrolled by troops on the ground, and video images from surveillance drones have shown Taliban fighters operating with impunity in those places.

“U.S. and NATO commanders were not certain whether the insurgents who have lorded over Marja for the past three years would stay and fight, or flee to parts of Afghanistan with fewer international security forces. It appears clear, however, that many Taliban members here have opted to stay — at least for now.

“That may mean many more weeks of arduous house-to-house clearing operations for Marines and Afghan forces in this 155-square-mile area, making this a far more complex and dangerous mission than initially envisaged…”

The Afghan war is dragging on. Conditions in the country are worse than they were before the invasion began eleven years ago.

Iran and Saudi-Arabia’s Ambiguous Stance

The Associated Press reported on February 15:

“Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Monday expressed doubts about the usefulness of more sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Prince Saud al-Faisal told a news conference in the Saudi capital that the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions demands a more immediate solution than sanctions. He described sanctions as a long-term solution, and he said the threat is more pressing.

“The Saudi minister spoke at a joint appearance with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is in the Persian Gulf to shore up support for new sanctions against Iran. The Saudi minister also said efforts supported by the U.S. to rid the Middle East of nuclear weapons must apply to Israel… He didn’t identify a preferred short-term resolution.

“U.S. officials traveling with Clinton said privately they were uncertain what al-Faisal meant, since the Saudi government has been explicit in its support of sanctions against Iran. They said he appeared to be suggesting that sanctions may not be effective and that other action could be required.”

If he implies military actions against Iran, is he also implying military actions against Israel?

Israel In Trouble… Again…

The EUObserver wrote on February 18:

“The Israeli ambassadors to the UK and Ireland have been summoned to explain the use of fake passports by the hit squad that killed a senior Hamas leader in Dubai three weeks ago… the British Foreign Office has requested that the country’s ambassador to the UK ‘share information’ on how it was that six counterfeit versions of passports held by dual British-Israeli citizens came to be used in the operation…

“On 20 January, Mohammed al-Mabhouh, who was attached to the al-Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing, and, according to Israeli sources, was the lead gun-runner from Iran to Gaza, died in mysterious circumstances in a Dubai hotel. The Dubai police investigating his death have revealed that Mr al-Mabhouh had been poisoned by eleven individuals travelling on European passports from the UK, Ireland, France and Germany…

“Separately, the case has widened to Austria, with Vienna on Wednesday announcing an investigation into the assassination after it was revealed that the killers used mobile phones with Austrian numbers.

“Israeli officials are concerned that the incident has opened a diplomatic rift between the Jewish state and the UK and that similar summonses could occur in Paris and Berlin, according to Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper. Dublin has suggested to London, Paris and Berlin that a joint investigation be carried out, according to one Israeli official.

“Meanwhile, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said there was no proof that the Mossad was responsible for the murder, noting nevertheless Israel’s “policy of ambiguity” regarding its intelligence service. At a memorial rally for the slain Palestinian in Gaza on Wednesday, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal called on EU states to hold Israel to account… ‘Israel deserves to be placed on the terror list.'”

The Bible shows that Israel will be forsaken by all the nations, including its closest allies, the USA and Great Britain. Contrary to a wide-spread belief in a friendship agreement between Europe and Israel just prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the Bible nowhere prophesies that there will ever be such an agreement.

Current Events

Britain’s Corrupt Political System

The Daily Express wrote on February 8:

“Britain’s standing in the world has fallen dramatically while our debts have soared. Our democracy has been corrupted, our economy shattered, our freedoms removed and our national identity weakened.

“Yet in the face of these disasters, support for the Labour Party [Democrats] remains remarkably strong. The bulk of the blame for Labour’s resilience is being heaped on Tory [Conservative] leader David Cameron, who is accused of being over-cautious and indecisive. There is some justification in these charges. The Conservatives seem to have neither a clear economic plan, nor any robustness on crime, immigration or Europe. But the weakness of the Tories’ prospects is not entirely Cameron’s fault. Even if he were a cross between Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservatives would still be struggling to make headway. For the truth is that for decades the entire political system has been outrageously biased in favour of Labour…

“In recent opinion polls, Labour’s support has consistently hovered at 30 per cent, no matter what the depth of the recession, the splits in the Cabinet, the expenses abuses of ministers or the politically correct idiocies of the Government. To some critics this seems utterly bizarre, a sign that the British public has taken leave of its senses. But in truth, the 30 per cent conundrum is easily explained. The fact is that Labour has developed three large voting blocs which guarantee that its vote will not fall much below a third of the electorate, no matter how dismally the government performs.

“These three blocs comprise public sector employees, immigrants and welfare claimants, all of whom are dependent on the state either for their living or their residency here. It is no coincidence that each of these three groups has massively expanded during the past 13 years of Labour rule, with crude party advantage playing a vital role in this policy.

“The public sector has grown by at least one million people since 1997, not counting all the staff in quasitate positions like contractors or GPs. Moreover, workers on the state payroll have enjoyed higher pay [raises], better pensions, shorter hours, longer holidays and greater job security than their counterparts in the private  sector. In many Labour strongholds, the public sector is now by far the largest employer.

“Similarly, mass immigration has significantly helped Labour’s cause, especially since the Government is radically extending the franchise by dishing out more than 200,000 British passports a year. According to authoritative studies, around 80 per cent of migrants and ethnic minorities back Labour, while the pressure group operation Black vote claims that at least 70 marginal seats at the coming election will be decided by the ethnic minority vote.

“The full cynicism of Labour’s eagerness to exploit immigration for electoral ends was laid bare in the diaries of former minister Chris Mullin, who at one point privately bewailed the Government’s reluctance to tackle misogynistic abuses in Asian culture… But then added, ‘At least 20 seats, including Jack Straw’s, depend on Asian votes.’

“The third great bloc is made up of benefits claimants, on whom over £180billion a year is now spent. Thanks to remorseless expansion of the welfare system under Brown, there are more than five million people of working age living on social security. They are hardly likely to vote for a tougher regime under the Tories.”

Politics all over the world is dirty business. Political parties and politicians come to power and stay in power, not necessarily because of achievements and competence, but far too often because of political maneuvering, sickening compromise and the “buying” of necessary votes. This is true–not just in our political systems–but everywhere where a candidate for whatever office or position is dependent on the votes of others.

Europe’s Voice Does Not Move Anyone

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 9:

“The relationship between the US and the European Union is cooling. By declining to come to Spain for a trans-Atlantic summit, President Barack Obama made it clear that Brussels is far down on his priority list… The message, though, couldn’t have been any clearer. The president has plenty of time in his schedule to visit Australia and Indonesia in March… but the European Union has slipped far down on his priority list. The Europeans are none too pleased. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero defiantly told a confidant that the US shouldn’t forget that Europe is ‘an economic power and an important political actor’…

“All too often, Europe gets lost in diplomatic protocol… At the Madrid summit, the unassuming Belgian Herman van Rompuy, who has been president of the European Council since December, was insistent that he be the first to greet Obama. But advisers to Zapatero, the Spanish host, refused. After all, the Spanish prime minister also currently holds the position of ‘president of the European Council.’ The EU, as it happens, is still holding on to its tradition of bestowing a rotating ‘presidency’ on a different EU member state every six months…

“A compromise was eventually found. Zapatero would get to say the first ‘hi,’ Rompuy would then be able to sit to the right of Obama at dinner. But soon enough, other EU top brass voiced complaints. The seat planned for Rompuy was actually a privilege reserved for European Commission President Manuel José Barroso, who is in third place on the current scale of most important people in Brussels…

“And what about Catherine Ashton, the EU’s new ‘high representative for foreign and security policy’? Her role at the summit hadn’t even been addressed. The skirmishing does little to dispel the unfavorable impression Americans have about Europe’s foreign policy…

“Europe seems intent on using etiquette to compensate for its diminishing role on the world stage. No one wants to admit what everyone can see: Europe’s voice doesn’t move anyone at the moment — neither future major powers, like India and Brazil, nor leaders in Washington, Moscow or Beijing. And how could it? The EU may be a successful economic community, but it is just as deeply divided on questions of foreign and security policy as it is on issues like climate change and inner security.

“When it comes to foreign policy, each member state is looking out for its own interests. This is particularly clear when it comes to relations with the United States. The Brits continue to guard over their ‘special relationship,’ French President Nicolas Sarkozy always tries to edge his way to Obama’s side in group photos — and then the Spaniards wanted to use the US-EU summit to bask in the spotlight.

“Now officials are searching for a substitute date for the EU-US summit — possibly in the autumn, when Obama plans to fly to Portugal for a NATO summit. But the more important question is whether European leaders have really listened to the ‘wake-up call for Europe’ that many EU observers are speaking of following this American affront.”

Europe is realizing that it is becoming irrelevant on the world scene. Strong forces within the EU will try to change that development.

As the next articles show, the ongoing European duplicity of its member states can clearly be seen in their dealings with Iran. And now, Europe is beginning to reap what it has been sowing.

Iran’s Duplicity

AFP wrote on February 7:

“Iran will begin enriching uranium to 20 percent from Tuesday, the Islamic republic’s atomic chief announced on Sunday just hours after being told to do so by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The decision raises the stakes in a dispute with the West less than a week after Iran had appeared to accept a UN-drafted nuclear deal on the supply of fuel for a research nuclear reactor in Tehran. Ahmadinejad’s move drew fire from Britain and the United States, and analysts said it was a bid to exert pressure on Washington and drive a wedge between the six powers over attempts to impose new sanctions on Tehran…

“Britain and the United States condemned the declaration… US Defence Secretary Robert Gates called for mounting ‘international pressure’ on Iran… A Western analyst who asked not to be named said Iranian declarations such as Ahmadinejad’s on Sunday were attempts to ‘delay potential sanctions by dividing the six world powers without backing down on the nuclear programme.'”

Iran a Nuclear State

On February 11, Mail-On-Line reported:

“Iran is now a ‘nuclear state’, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning. As Gordon Brown warned that the world’s patience is wearing thin, Ahmadinejad told scores of cheering Iranians that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing weapons-grade uranium.

“He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Despite fears of violence, opposition supporters found themselves largely overwhelmed by the clerical regime and pro-government demonstrators.

“The massive security clampdown appeared to succeed in preventing protesters from converging into a cohesive demonstrations.”

Iran’s Chess Game With the World’s “Super Powers”

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 8:

“Since 2004, the European Union has publicly claimed the united position that the row over Iran’s nuclear program should be resolved diplomatically, but has reserved the right to back United Nations Security Council sanctions if Iran does not comply to international demands. Yet, consistently since that time, individual nations have indicated a willingness to establish independent relationships with Iran, both political and economic, which seemingly ignore Brussels’ position. Europe claims to be united, but a closer examination shows that this unity is an illusion.

“For instance, Germany has developed deep business ties with Iran, with more than 50 German companies basing their offices there. Trade volume between the two has increased steadily over the last decade despite UN sanctions, with Germany having the largest share of Iran’s export market. Italy also has developed a strong relationship, both political and economic, with Iran. Last year Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini met with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran to discuss a host of matters from the Italian, not EU, perspective. Italian companies also have frequently done business with Tehran, selling them goods and services that could have both military and civilian uses.

“These relationships have helped Iran to sustain and continue its nuclear program. As of Tuesday, Tehran plans to enrich uranium at a higher level than previously, prompting the United States to renew its call for heavy sanctions against Iran…

“The EU’s public front masks internal disagreement and double-speak. Charting a course for allies to have a united front will be difficult, let alone getting countries like China and Russia, reluctant  to punish Iran, to back stronger sanctions. And as the international community dithers over what action to take, Israel is looking to Europe to take the lead. The prospect of unilateral Israeli action looms…

“US President Barack Obama has followed through on his promise to diplomatically engage Iran, taking a much different approach than predecessor George W. Bush. But no progress has been made, despite promising talks last fall in which Iran appeared to agree to a deal to move nuclear fuel out of the country. Yet the deal was abandoned by the Iranians at the last moment…

“This lack of faith, combined with Iran’s insistence that it would not retreat from what it deems its right to develop a nuclear program, has led to a recent escalation in tone from Washington. At the end of January, White House officials indicated that they would  increase missile defenses in the Middle East to protect Gulf state allies against Tehran. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has publicly pressed China for tougher sanctions.

“The United States also has begun to pressure European allies to lessen business ties with Iran. It seems to have had an affect; last week, German manufacturer Siemens announced that it would cut future trade ties with Iran. Italian companies have yet to do the same, but Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi indicated last week that a nuclear Iran was not acceptable.

“France holds the UN Security Council’s presidency this month and is widely expected to bring a resolution calling for strict sanctions…

“Even with the United States and its allies on the same page, Russia or China still need to support sanctions if they are to succeed. China has close energy relations with Tehran – energy which is needed to sustain China’s economic growth – and is loath to do anything that risks them. Russia, meanwhile, has been Iran’s loudest defender. It has provided Tehran with a number of materials, from weapons to heavy machinery with dual-use nuclear purposes. Moscow has consistently watered down sanctions in the past, and has yet to indicate whether it would be willing to revisit that stance…

“The United States did itself no favors by recently announcing a deal to sell weapons to Taiwan. But other factors in the Middle East might force China’s hand and compel them to acquiese to sanctions supported by the United States and its European allies…

“Israel has used unilateral military force in similar situations in the past, taking out nuclear sites in Iraq and suspected nuclear sites in Syria. Iran presents a more unique challenge, as its nuclear sites are spread around the country and are difficult to target.”

Even though Israel may be looking at Europe to lead in this controversy with Iran, Europe, due to their financial interests, may not be willing to do so. America, on the other hand, might not want to, either. So, Israel may face a situation where it alone might try to act decisively, even including using military force. This might be a fatal development.

As Die Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on February 8:

“All this is triggering a tragic momentum that will boost all those who favor a military strike against Iran. But we should be careful: before engaging in all the careless talk about military options, the arsenal of alternative options must be exhausted.”

At the same time, the Frankfurter Rundschau pointed out the undesirable results of tough economic sanctions: “… the UN veto powers plus Germany are walking a tightrope. There are no special sanctions that could target just the regime or the Revolutionary Guards. Sanctions only make sense if they really hurt — and that inevitably entails hurting the population. The regime could seize on that as an opportunity to call for the great national struggle against the evil rest of the world and to choke off its domestic opposition…”

Germany For European Army

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has said Berlin supports the long term goal of creating a European army, which will bolster the EU’s role as a global player… Mr Westerwelle, who is just a few months into the job as Germany’s top diplomat as part of a ruling Christian Democrat and liberal coalition, suggested that moving further on common security and defence will be the ‘motor for greater European integration’…

“Under EU rules, member states with certain military capacities and the political will to move in this direction can club together to move forward on common defence. In recent years, the need for an EU army has often been floated in political discussions – politicians in France, the UK and Poland have also spoken favourably of the idea…

“Within the EU’s 27 member states, France and the UK have the greatest defence means. Their co-operation and willingness is seen as essential for any possible development of EU military defence… Britain called for enhanced military action between itself and France… Analysts suggest that the pressure on defence budgets caused by the economic downturn may spur further defence sharing among EU member states.”

Germany is becoming painfully aware of Europe’s present political irrelevancy in world affairs. Voices for a unifying European army are becoming louder, as the next article shows as well.

“The EU ‘Has No Vision of Where We Are Heading'”

On February 9, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with former European Commissioner Günter Verheugen, whose 10 years in office ended Tuesday. We are bringing you the following excerpts from Mr. Verheugen’s comments:

“With the 27 members that it has today, compared to the 15 that it had back then, the EU has obviously changed dramatically… There seems to be no vision within the Union of where we are heading. There is no consensus over where the borders of the EU should lie in the future, and there is no consensus over how we should define our role in the world… The Americans expect more participation in global affairs from our side…

“Take the war in Iraq, which the overwhelming majority of Europeans opposed. It wasn’t possible to bring Europe’s weight to bear and to dissuade the Americans from pursuing this folly. From the very beginning, we Europeans were divided into two irreconcilable camps regarding this issue… I believe that having a global role won’t be possible as long as Europe continues to see itself exclusively as a ‘soft power.’ It’s an illusion to think that you can conduct global politics just with humanitarian assistance and diplomacy. One also needs to have the means to enforce your decisions…

“I believe it’s necessary to have a common EU military force, for reasons of efficiency apart from anything else. Today, Europeans have 2 million soldiers under arms, but they are not even able to deploy 60,000 of them somewhere…

“Probably it could only be those heads of government [to create a defense project] who have both a strong desire to lead and a European vision. But it is precisely those member states who are currently strongest that lack both of those things. Take Britain, for example. Elections are about to be held there, and if the pollsters are right, there’s probably going to be a new government which isn’t particularly pro-Europe and which will therefore be unwilling to push European integration forward.

“[The Franco-German motor is] not running perfectly at the moment. And even if it were, it would no longer be enough. We need at least three countries from the group of the strongest member states which don’t always immediately form a kind of blocking alliance within the EU in order to hinder each and every proposal that is put on the table… We had Britain, but we can’t depend on it anymore. We also don’t need to talk about Italy at the moment. Spain is in a critical economic situation and isn’t able to exercise a leadership role. Poland is heading in that direction, but [it] still got a long way to go…

“Reinvigorating this partnership [between France and Germany] would be a good thing for Europe whatever happens, particularly if France and Germany don’t just revert to pushing their own national interests…”

Europe will build a most powerful unifying army, and it stands to reason, based on biblical prophecies, that Britain will not have a part in it. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

European Parliament Rejects SWIFT Deal for Sharing Bank Data With US

Deutsche Welle reported on February 11:

“The European Parliament has voted against a controversial deal that would have led the EU and US to share bank transfer data, something Washington has said is crucial for counter-terrorism investigations… The parliamentarians resisted appeals from Washington to continue a nine-month interim agreement allowing US authorities to monitor Europeans’ financial transaction data from SWIFT, an international banking transfer system…

“‘The majority view is that the correct balance between security, on the one hand, and the protection of civil liberties and fundamental rights, on the other, has not been achieved,’ European Parliament head, Jerzy Buzek, said in a statement after the vote… The United States expressed its regret after the vote, calling it a ‘setback for EU-US counter-terror cooperation’…

“A temporary agreement with the US was ratified by EU member countries in November – just one day before the European Parliament would have taken on its additional Lisbon powers. With the Lisbon Treaty now in force, the European Parliament’s rejection of the interim deal can be seen as a drive to ensure that its expanded powers are respected in practice.

“The Lisbon Treaty allows the parliament to decide jointly with EU governments on legal affairs, and the SWIFT vote happened to be the first opportunity for the deputies to demonstrate their new strength… The EU Commission, which was in favor of the deal from the outset, is now faced with the task of re-starting negotiations with the US for a new data sharing agreement, one that completely ensures EU data protection standards.”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on February 11:

“In the runup to the vote, Washington put considerable pressure on the parliament to clear the deal, saying access to the sensitive financial information has been vital for foiling terrorist activity, including a planned attack on a transatlantic flight. Several senior U.S. officials, including Vice-President Joe Biden and the secretaries of state and the Treasury, told numerous EU officials, including parliamentarians, ‘about the importance of this agreement to our mutual security,’ the U.S. mission said in a statement.”

The outcome was unexpected. As Der Spiegel Online commented on February 11:

“The demonstration of European power surprises Washington. [It’s a] slap in the face for Washington.”

Germany’s Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 8:

“The Catholic Church in Germany has been shaken in recent days by revelations of a series of sexual abuse cases. Close to 100 priests and members of the laity have been suspected of abuse in recent years. After years of suppression, the wall of silence appears to be crumbling…

“It started when Berlin’s Canisius College, an elite Jesuit high school, recently disclosed the sordid past of a number of members of the order, who had abused students at the school in the 1970s and 1980s. After that, new victims began coming forward on a daily basis. By last Friday, at least 40 of them had accused three Jesuit priests of molesting children and adolescents, first in Berlin and later at the St. Ansgar School in Hamburg, the St. Blasien College in the Black Forest and in several parishes in the northern German state of Lower Saxony…

“For decades, German bishops tried to look the other way when their pastors engaged in sexual abuse, as well as to downplay the problem by characterizing it as isolated incidents. Now they are finally revealing their own figures, though hesitantly. According to a SPIEGEL survey of Germany’s 27 dioceses conducted last week, at least 94 priests and members of the laity in Germany are suspected or have been suspected of abusing countless children and adolescents since 1995…

“A tremor is currently passing through the Catholic Church in Germany. It could be merely the beginning of an earthquake of proportions which have so far only been seen in the American and Irish Church. Tens of thousands of abuse cases were brought to light in both countries. Could Germany be next?

“The scandal is just beginning, and yet it has already made a deep impression: on parents, who expect Catholic schools to provide their children with moral guidance; on the victims, who are now confronting their dark past after living with it half their lives; and on the faithful, who now regard their church with dismay. Their shock stems not only from the fact that there are pedophiles in the church, as there are elsewhere in society. It also comes from the fact that the church systematically protected the perpetrators and ignored the victims, and that it repressed and covered up sexual abuse in its own ranks for decades — and in doing so enabled pedophile priests to leave behind a trail of emotional devastation throughout Germany.

“… the clerics are still a long way from any sort of true self-criticism or far-reaching analysis, because it would require them to examine the Church’s repressed sexual morality that is dictated from above. It would require an honest discussion about celibacy and its consequences, particularly when it comes to the Church’s recruitment practices. In a church that is having trouble attracting men to the priesthood, particularly as a result of the ban on marriage, the number of good candidates has become so small that too many inappropriate candidates get admitted…

“In addition to the Canisius College and the schools in St. Ansgar and St. Blasien, there have now been revelations of abuse at the Jesuits’ Aloisius College in Bonn’s Bad Godesberg neighborhood, where entire generations of children of politicians and diplomats went to school… Many parents in Germany have long regarded Catholic schools as an attractive alternative to poor quality public education… But now cracks are beginning to appear in this carefully cultivated image…

“Whenever rumors surfaced in Catholic schools, parishes, youth groups and children’s homes, or victims overcame their shame and reported the abuse, the church would downplay the cases, characterizing them as isolated, regrettable exceptions or the misconduct of an errant priest. This was the position taken by the Vatican and by German bishops, who were unwilling to accept that the problem could lie in the system itself. But what happens when the number of cases begins to rise, as it did in other countries?

“In the United States, it also began as a problem of individual priests who had molested altar boys or students. Like their German brothers, American Catholic bishops tried for years to protect the priests, downplaying the accusations and ignoring the victims — until US courts, politicians and the public started demanding answers, and forced them to pay compensation. In the state of Delaware and elsewhere, for example, lawmakers lifted the statute of limitations, leading to a flood of new lawsuits. The resulting rulings forced dioceses to open their archives. More and more victims came forward, and in the end the Catholic Church in North America was overrun by the biggest scandal in its history.

“The US bishops concluded that there were credible accusations against around 5,000 priests involving the abuse of about 12,000 children and adolescents since 1950. Several dioceses, including Tucson, Arizona and San Diego, California, had to seek bankruptcy protection when they were unable to pay the financial settlements ordered by the court on hundreds of claims that had been filed. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles alone was ordered to pay more than $660 million (€470 million) in damages, which represented a substantial share of the more than $2 billion paid out by the US Catholic Church as a whole. A series of sex scandals also shook Ireland, where a commission concluded that about 35,000 children were beaten and abused in Catholic children’s homes and orphanages between 1914 and 2000…

“The prevailing view at the Vatican is that the public outcry over abuse cases is used as an excuse to revive old animosities toward the Catholic Church as a whole, as well as to fuel the usual criticism of the pope by secular intellectuals and the disenchanted…

“Celibacy, which has only been a general requirement since 1139, is seen as the main reason for the repressed accumulation of sexual urges, which sometimes erupts in brutal ways, within the clergy. Celibacy and the prohibition of marriage are rigorous standards that not all members of the clergy can live up to. Although surveys and studies have produced a wide range of figures on the sexual behaviors of Catholic priests, they all arrive at the same conclusion: Very often, the sanctimonious show of chastity in the church is at odds with reality. According to a US survey, two-thirds of priests adhere to their vows of chastity, while the rest have sex in all shapes and forms: heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, monogamous, promiscuous.

“There is widespread agreement that this climate of repressed sexuality promotes sexual molestation of children in schools, homes and parishes. A number of studies in the United States conclude that about 2 percent of all Catholic priests are pedophiles. When applied to Germany, this figure suggests that of a total of 20,000 Catholic clergy, at least 400 could potentially be pedophiles…

“The Vatican’s attitudes toward homosexuality are particularly inhibited, despite the fact that it is somewhat widespread within the church and appears to be relatively tolerated, as long as it is not discussed… many priests who become sex offenders have never learned to develop close and intimate relationships…

“In light of its recruitment problems, the church accepts almost anyone who decides to become a priest. However, few in the official church are willing to admit that the new recruits include more and more young men who find the priesthood so appealing in part because they believe it will allow them to conceal their sexual problems. It is a vicious circle… the official church stubbornly adheres to the vow of celibacy and the prohibition on marriage…”

These terrible scandals turn back the dark curtains from a worldwide church organization which, in order to protect its image and status, has been willing to ignore terrible crimes which were being perpetrated by pedophile priests on helpless young victims. As pointed out in the article above, enforced celibacy and the Catholic church’s dubious and unbiblical stance on the holy institution of marriage are contributing
largely to a culture where priests (and nuns) are trying to find fulfillment in the practice of homosexual conduct. However, the growing criticism of outraged parents and victims, as well as society as a whole, could back-fire. The Catholic church, being pushed more and more into a corner due to appropriate criticism, might respond by attacking its critics, in order to solidify the priesthood and the faithful within its own ranks. Historically, the Roman church has had its terrible episodes of incredible abominable crimes, perpetrated by popes and priests, which were oftentimes accompanied by violent attacks on their critics.

You might also want to read our Q&A in Update 339 for the Week ending April 11th, 2008, addressing the issue of Compulsory Celibacy.

Current Events

Economy on Road to Recovery?

The Associated Press reported on January 29:

“The economy boomed at the end of 2009, growing at the fastest rate in more than six years. Now if only it could keep it up. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the second straight quarter of growth. But analysts warn it’s unsustainable.

“Consumer spending, chilled by double-digit unemployment and scant wage gains, remains weak. And the benefits of government aid and higher company output to feed stockpiles will dwindle. Many analysts predict gross domestic product will expand at a rate closer to 2.5 to 3 percent in the current quarter and 2.5 percent or less for the year. That won’t be enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, now 10 percent. In fact, most analysts expect the rate to keep rising for months and to remain close to 10 percent through year’s end. To drive down the jobless rate by just 1 percentage point this year, the economy would have to grow by 5 percent for the whole year. No one thinks that will happen…

“Roughly two-thirds of the quarter’s growth came from increased manufacturing as businesses drew down their stockpiles of goods at a slower rate. But companies will eventually let those inventories fall again unless consumers — who account for about 70 percent of the economy — spend more. Unlike past rebounds driven by the spending of ordinary shoppers, this one appears to hinge on spending by businesses, foreigners and — until it runs out — government stimulus.

“History suggests this isn’t the recipe for a strong recovery… Still, the overall news for 2009 wasn’t good. Friday’s report showed economic activity for the year fell by 2.4 percent — the sharpest drop since 1946. It was the first annual decline since 1991… If gains from inventories and exports are taken out, the economy last quarter grew at just a 1.7 percent pace.”

As we warned for a long time, belief in a substantial recovery of the U.S. economy is just wishful thinking. The sad reality is that we are reaping what we have been sowing… and what we are still planning to sow, as the next two articles show.

The U.S. Budget — “Spend-While-You-Can”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on February 2:

“One rule of budget reporting is to watch what the politicians are spending this year, not the frugality they promise down the road. By that measure, the budget that President Obama released yesterday for fiscal 2011 is one of the greatest spend-while-you-can documents in American history… The budget reveals that overall federal outlays will reach $3.72 trillion in fiscal 2010, and keep rising to $3.834 trillion in 2011.

“As a share of the economy, outlays will reach a post-World War II record of 25.4% this year. This is a new modern spending landmark, up from 21% of GDP as recently as fiscal 2008, and far above the 40-year average of 20.7%… All of this spending must be financed, and so deficits and taxes are both scheduled to rise to record levels… But this is a giant tax increase on American companies that operate overseas, and it includes no offsetting cut in the U.S. 35% corporate tax rate, which is among the highest in the world… Even these tax increases won’t be enough to pay for the spending…”

The U.S. Budget — “A Recipe for Financial Disaster”

USA Today wrote on February 2:

“Since taking office last year, President Obama has been preaching fiscal restraint while practicing something else. Nothing shows this more than the budget he released Monday. His administration is planning a deficit for this year of almost $1.6 trillion.

“… the budget plan forecasts an endless flow of red ink that will push the American economy relentlessly toward a perilous economic precipice. This is, of course, Obama’s failing. But it is also testament to years of dysfunction in Washington by both parties.

“To make the mind-boggling budget numbers easier to understand, it helps to subtract eight zeroes. Say you earned $21,000 this year, spent $37,000 and borrowed $16,000 to cover the difference. Maybe you could get away with this for a year or two to get through unusually hard times. Beyond that, though, it’s a recipe for financial disaster. Such is the fate facing the federal government. The recession turned an already yawning budget gap into a chasm…

“What causes the most concern is not that Obama’s budget forecasts three $1 trillion-plus deficits in a row, including the one he inherited from George W. Bush. It is the large deficits projected even when the stimulus will be done and presumably the economy will be in much better shape. The deficits for 2013 through 2015 all run above $700 billion a year…

“Most important, Obama has not laid the groundwork for going after the real problem behind the nation’s grim fiscal outlook… America is on a collision course with the kind of debt crisis associated with Third World countries.”

U.S. Budget Outlook “Bleak”

MoneyNews.com reported on January 29:

“Global equities are “vulnerable to correction” after rallying from their March lows and as governments around the world withdraw stimulus measures, says investor Jim Rogers.

“‘We’re overdue for a correction,’ Rogers says… ‘We have huge amounts of money printed throughout the world. It’s going to cause currency instability. It’s going to cause more inflation. It’s going to cause higher interest rates.’

“The Congressional Budget Office has called the U.S. budget outlook ‘bleak,’ in a forecast that hurts the chances for extending Bush-era tax cuts and raises pressure for fiscal belt-tightening, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“In its annual report, the nonpartisan CBO… said the government will run an aggregate deficit of about $6 trillion during the next decade, a level that many economists worry could lead to currency shock, inflation, crippling interest rates or other economic maladies. By the end of 2020, ‘debt is projected to climb to $15 trillion, or 67 percent of gross domestic product,’ CBO director Doug Elmendorf said on his blog post. ‘With such a large increase in debt…interest payments on the debt are poised to skyrocket.'”

Unemployment on the Rise

The Associated Press wrote on February 4:

“The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, evidence that layoffs are continuing and jobs remain scarce. The rise is the fourth in the past five weeks. Most economists hoped that claims would resume a downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter.”

Huge Bailout for Social Security?

CNNMoney wrote on February 4:

“… another huge bailout is starting, this time for the Social Security system. A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that for the first time in 25 years, Social Security is taking in less in taxes than it is spending on benefits. Instead of helping to finance the rest of the government, as it has done for decades, our nation’s biggest social program needs help from the Treasury to keep benefit checks from bouncing — in other words, a taxpayer bailout… without the interest income, Social Security will be $28 billion in the hole this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30…

“Social Security hasn’t been cash-negative since the early 1980s, when it came so close to running out of money that it was making plans to stop sending out benefit checks. That led to the famous Greenspan Commission report, which recommended trimming benefits and raising taxes, which Congress did. Those actions produced hefty cash surpluses, which until this year have helped finance the rest of the government. But even then, it was clear the surpluses would be temporary. Now, years earlier than projected, Social Security is adding to the government’s borrowing needs…

“Social Security currently provides more than half the income for a majority of retirees. Given the declines in stock prices and home values that have whacked millions of people, the program seems likely to become more important in the future as a source of retirement income, rather than less important.

“It would have been a lot simpler to fix the system years ago, when we could have used Social Security’s cash surpluses to buy non-Treasury securities, such as government-backed mortgage bonds or high-grade corporates that would have helped cover future cash shortfalls. Now it’s too late… Until this year, Social Security was a problem for the future. Now it’s a problem for the present.”

The Afghan Conference–Unrealistic and Doomed to Failure

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29:

“The Afghanistan conference on Thursday ended with a long list of plans and promises. But how realistic is NATO success in the war-torn country?… Still, will the conference really make much of a difference in Afghanistan? German papers on Friday aren’t so sure.

“The left leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes:

“‘It is not a new idea to make demands of the Afghan government. However, they have never before been as unrealistic as they are now. Such demands will only succeed if there are consequences should they not be met. NATO is just as dependent on Karzai as he is on NATO: It is inconceivable that Karzai would be dropped just because he failed to meet his targets. After all, the alliance needs a reasonably intact government in order to pull off a face-saving withdrawal. The fact that even a big electoral fraudster is considered good enough for this role shows just how desperate NATO is.’

“Conservative daily Die Welt writes:

“‘… Yesterday, Taliban leaders rejected outright the reconciliation policy of the ‘occupiers.’ The London conference has dodged the question of what to do if the plan does not work out. Any answer to this is not under discussion at the moment. This agreement gives the impression that none of the parties would be responsible should the project fail. If the reconciliation of Taliban sympathizers and civilian society are derailed, the participants of the London conference… would be able to say, to themselves and their voters, that they have tried to improve this situation using all their powers, both military and otherwise’…

“The left-leaning paper Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘… It is an illusion to think that the Afghan police and army will develop into respected forces in the near future. There is not enough time and state wages will not rise enough to make the security forces resist corruption and the temptation to ally themselves with those making money from drugs.'”

The Western world will not win their war against Afghanistan. And especially the USA will have to learn the hard way that without God on their side, everything will turn against them.

The Difficult War in Afghanistan

AFP wrote on January 31:

“To force the Taliban leadership to the negotiating table… US military officials have said there needs to be greater success on the battlefield — and this is where the Marines come in. But the challenges on the ground are immense. Fields are littered with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) responsible for most of the deaths of foreign troops in Afghanistan, which hit a record 520 fatalities last year.

“The Taliban are also entrenched in their strongholds holding sway over the population and setting up shadow governments across the country, meaning they have the local intelligence that the Marines desperately need… Five Marines were killed in southern Afghanistan in two days of January alone in IED blasts and ambushes.

“… the Marines prepare a full-on assault on Marjah in the coming weeks or months. Marjah has a population of at least 60,000. Built in the 1950s with US government help, it was intended to be a model agricultural town with an irrigation system flowing from the Helmand river. But instead of legitimate crops, poor farmers plant opium poppy, the trafficking and sale of which bankrolls the Taliban movement.

“The Marines’ mission is to show US strength, assist in installing government control in Helmand province and let the local population know they have arrived. The challenge however is huge. Taliban militants harass the villagers at night, warning them of trouble if they help US troops. Under the cover of darkness, they also plant IEDs in fields the Marines have to cross.”

Everything Seems to Work Against the USA

The Times wrote on February 1:

“President Karzai announced a timetable for the first round of peace talks with the Taleban yesterday as US troops admitted that they may have bombed an Afghan army base by mistake… Speaking in Kabul for the first time since he returned from last week’s London conference, Mr Karzai called on militants in Pakistan to return home and make peace so that US-led forces could withdraw. The Taleban have called repeatedly for all foreign forces to leave Afghanistan as a precondition of talks.

“… details emerged of an [U.S.] attack south of the capital that left four Afghan soldiers dead and at least seven injured… Afghan troops in a remote outpost mistook the American patrol for insurgents and opened fire. Nato said that the Americans, on a joint patrol with Afghan commandos, returned fire before calling in an airstrike…

“Hours earlier, an interpreter opened fire at a base in the same province, killing two US soldiers before being shot… Afghan authorities confirmed the account, saying that the interpreter had argued with troops over pay.”

Brussels Disgruntled–Obama to Skip EU-US Summit

Deutsche Welle reported on February 2:

“Brussels is disgruntled by US President Barack Obama’s decision not to attend the EU-US summit in May. Washington, however, insists the move is not meant as a snub against Brussels… Obama is increasingly facing challenges implementing his domestic reform agenda and has indicated that in 2010 he will spend more time on home soil. His approval ratings in the US have dropped as the economic recovery has been slow to translate onto the job market…

“US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon on Monday told reporters that it never had been on Obama’s agenda to attend the Spanish summit… Obama’s absence at the summit would likely be regarded as a blow for Brussels. The new president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, has yet to formally meet with Obama.”

On February 3, Der Spiegel Online reported on German media reactions to President Obama’s refusal to attend the summit:

“While it is certainly plausible that Obama’s prime motivation is to focus his attention on his difficult domestic agenda, there are some indications of growing frustration in Washington with the EU’s confusing structures. State department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Tuesday that the EU leadership was part of the problem, indicating that there was a lack of clarity on both sides as to where and how the annual summits would be held…

“‘The very fact that the summit is taking place in Spain, after the establishment of a more permanent presidency and a high representative, is indicative of the fact that the EU is still in institutional limbo,’ Charles A. Kupchan, a senior fellow for European studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the Associated Press…

“While Obama’s election was widely welcomed across the Atlantic in 2008 after the often fraught dealings with his predecessor, George W. Bush, relations have not been particularly smooth with the new White House…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… It’s understandable that the Americans no longer have any desire to get involved in bizarre intra-European affairs.'”

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘… As for Europe, Obama’s refusal of the invitation is a pity…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… The Europeans now have their dream president, and he obviously has better things to do than jet across the Atlantic to spend a few hours chatting with them… But, seriously, does Obama have nothing to discuss with the EU that is important to him and that might be worth the flight over? Or does he not even consider the EU as being all that relevant?… perhaps it will now dawn on the Europeans that they are not the center of this president’s attention.'”

As we have foretold for many years, the relationship between the USA and Europe will deteriorate. In addition, as was pointed out above, Europe is still not totally united–but the Bible says that it will soon become the most powerful bloc on earth. For more information, read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Tensions Between USA and Iran Heighten Dramatically

The Guardian wrote on January 31:

“Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran. The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait – and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.

“American officials said the move is aimed at deterring an attack by Iran and reassuring Gulf states fearful that Tehran might react to sanctions by striking at US allies in the region… Washington is also concerned at the threat of action by Israel, which is predicting that Iran will be able to build a nuclear missile within a year, a much faster timetable than assessed by the US, and is warning that it will not let Tehran come close to completion if diplomacy fails…

“Washington is also concerned that if Iran is able to build nuclear weapons, other states in the region will feel the need to follow. Israel is the only country in the Middle East to already have atomic bombs, although it does not officially acknowledge it…”

Washington’s and Iran’s Mixed Signals

The Financial Times wrote on February 2:

“On a day when Washington sought to make sense of favourable comments from Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, president of Iran, about a compromise previously spurned by Tehran, Dennis Blair, US national intelligence director, said the final decision about nuclear arms was Iran’s to make.

“Other US officials were seeking clarification on Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s remarks about a deal offered by the US and allies last year under which most of Tehran’s low-enriched uranium would be sent abroad to be processed into fuel for a medical research reactor. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said on Tuesday that Iran would have ‘no problem’ giving the west its low-enriched uranium and taking it back when it was enriched for use in the reactor… Iran had previously balked at the idea of handing over uranium unless fuel was returned straight away…

“‘The real question is, “Are they serious?”‘ said a state department official.”

And the real answer is, of course not. Iran is trying to buy time, as the next article shows, while producing the bomb. And Washington’s attempts to walk away from any responsibility is not helpful.

Washington’s policy towards Iran is one of glaring inconsistencies and indecisiveness. It is truly amazing that such a small country like Iran can hold the USA hostage in such a dramatic way.

Iran Plays Cat and Mouse with the West

The Times wrote on February 4:

“President Ahmadinejad demonstrated yesterday that he has become a master of playing cat and mouse with the West — and this time the mouse was real. Once again, the Iranian leader offered a last-minute concession to head off the West’s drive for new sanctions against the Islamic republic [stating that Iran had “no problem shipping enriched uranium abroad”].

“At the same time, Iran thumbed its nose at UN restrictions on its ballistic missiles programme by sending a rocket into space carrying a mouse, two turtles and some worms…

“Mr Ahmadinejad hailed the launch as a breakthrough that would help to break ‘the global domineering system’ of Western powers. At a ceremony for a new satellite he said that Iran hoped to send astronauts into space soon. Western experts suggested that the space programme provided cover for the development of long-range missiles capable of carrying a nuclear pay-load… A senior Western diplomat acknowledged that Mr Ahmadinejad’s gambit could buy Iran more time.”

Former Mentor Highly Critical of Obama

The Times wrote on February 1:

“President Obama’s self-confidence borders on complacency. He is ill served by senior staff, especially his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. He does not appear to be learning on the job as he did when campaigning for the White House. His Administration is too deferential to Congress, too reliant on the President’s personal charm, and as a result is regarded by its enemies as weak and ineffectual.

“As Mr Obama prepared to release his $3.8 trillion (£2.4 trillion) budget today, this assessment of his first year in office came not from one of his established critics on the Right, but from one of his most respected mentors — his former professor at Harvard Law School, Chris Edley… Professor Edley, who worked in the Clinton and Carter Administrations, added: ‘I wouldn’t give [Obama] as high a grade as President as I gave him when he was my student. I know he can do better.’

“He reserved the harshest criticism for Mr Emanuel, the second-most powerful figure in the White House, who has been pilloried by liberals for appearing to undermine Mr Obama’s healthcare reforms since the loss of a crucial Senate seat to the Republicans…

“Mr Edley lamented the failure of the White House to force Congress into line, as President Lyndon Johnson would have done… The professor fears that Mr Obama’s best chance to deliver the change he promised may have been wasted… The Administration’s biggest mistake, he said, has been to pander to Congressional vanities by leaving the two chambers to argue about their own versions of healthcare reform with little concrete guidance from the White House…”

While President Obama is criticized by his former professor at Harvard Law School, Mr. Obama’s strongest challenger, “Republican” Senator Scott Brown, is giving equally confusing signals, as the next article shows.

Brown Backs Abortion Rights

The Associated Press reported on January 31:

“Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts says he opposes federal funding for abortions, but thinks women should have the right to choose whether to have one. Brown tells ABC’s ‘This Week’ that he disagrees with his party’s position that the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion should be overturned.

“Brown says the abortion question is one that’s best handled by a woman, her family and her doctor. He also says more effort needs to go into reducing the number of abortions in the U.S. Brown has said the GOP shouldn’t take his vote for granted on every issue. He says he’s fiscally conservative but more moderate on social issues.

“Brown recently won the Senate seat long held by liberal Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, who died last summer.”

Merkel Isn’t Doing That Good

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 1:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new center-right coalition has been in office for 100 days this week, and media commentators aren’t impressed with its performance or with Merkel’s leadership.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first 100 days in power at the head of a new center-right government following her re-election in September have been marred by infighting on economic and foreign policy and opposition accusations of cronyism and incompetence.

“Merkel has been accused by members of her Christian Democratic Union of failing to show leadership, and opinion poll ratings for her coalition of conservatives and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) have been falling ahead of an important regional election in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, in May…

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘The center-right government has agreed [to] just one law in the 100 days since it took office. And now prominent members of the FDP want to reverse a key part of that legislation… That’s more than populism. That is tantamount to dismantling oneself… It shows that the FDP and to some extent the conservatives as well, are stumbling their way through government without a coherent strategy.’

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… The glow of victory has vanished and members from the parties’ own ranks are opposing the federal government because they’re increasingly panicking about a regional election campaign.’

“Left-wing Die Tageszeitung has a photomontage of a blind Merkel being led by a blind guide dog in the shape of FDP leader Westerwelle. ‘Neither of them has a vision of society, neither has any idea how to make an export-orientated nation like Germany fit for the future. It’s been one major mistake after another… There are no clear policies on financial market regulation, on social or education policy or on a future-oriented energy policy. It’s reckless to think that doing nothing is enough to avoid making mistakes…’

“Conservative Die Welt writes: ‘Angela Merkel faces a dilemma. The leadership style that enabled her to get to the pinnacle of politics is now increasingly becoming a burden and is endangering her power. Her internal critics expect Angela Merkel to exert more authority and decisiveness… But such so-called leadership skills are diametrically opposed to the consensus-seeking, moderating style with which the 55-year-old has so far run her party…'”

It appears that the world is presently lacking decisive leadership. And while we do not expect any strong leader to arise in the USA, the Bible shows that a very powerful political personage will arise in Europe in a very short time. Unfortunately, this will bring the world to the brink of annihilation.

Voodoo in Haiti

The Telegraph wrote on February 1:

“Every evening, Monique Henri offers thanks to the voodoo deity Ogu Feray at a shrine in her home for sparing her family from the earthquake. She used to be a regular worshipper at her local Catholic church. But these days she goes there less often. The disaster has moved voodoo centre-stage in Haiti. Yesterday, 1,000 members of the national convention of voodoo priests met in an emergency session to formulate their response to it. Failure to take decisive action, they warned, could bring down another disaster on the shattered country.

“The devastation in Haiti has led many in the traumatised population to seek solace in faith and mysticism and there has been a move by some to turn back towards the old religion, with a marked rise in the numbers taking part in voodoo ceremonies and rituals.

“… the foreigners have trouble competing with voodoo, the fusion of African religions and Christianity which found its first adherents among the original slave population, and which is now deeply ingrained in the culture of the country. It’s a faith that leaps barriers: as the Haitian saying goes, people here are ’60 per cent Catholic, 40 per cent Protestant and 100 per cent voodoo.'”

The Bible predicts that in the end time, the world will refuse to repent and submit to God and rather continue to worship demons (Revelation 9:20). Haiti is not an exception, as the next article about the U.S. Air Force shows.

U.S. Air Force’s Worship Areas for Pagan Worship

The Associated Press reported on February 1:

“The Air Force Academy has set aside an outdoor worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and other Earth-centered believers… A double circle of stones atop a hill on the campus near Colorado Springs has been designated for the group, which previously met indoors… Lt. Col. William Ziegler, one of the academy’s chaplains, said designating the space is part of the school’s effort to foster religious tolerance and to defend the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom…

“The school also has worship facilities for Protestant and Catholic Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists… The academy has about 4,000 cadets. The school is one of five U.S. service academies, including West Point and Annapolis. Cadets graduate as second lieutenants.”

Pope Condemns U.K. “Equality Rights” Laws

AFP wrote on February 2:

“Gay-rights campaigners and secularists called on Tuesday for protests during a visit to Britain by Pope Benedict XVI this year after he condemned equality legislation seen as friendly to gays… [The pope said] that ‘the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.’

“Observers said the pontiff was referring to legislation that took effect on January 1, 2009 preventing adoption agencies — including Catholic ones — from discriminating against gay couples.”

Mail-On-Line wrote on February 2:

“The Pope yesterday hit out at Britain’s equality legislation, claiming Harriet Harman’s attempts to bring in new laws enforced sinful behaviour.

“The National Secular Society (NSS) today said it would mount a protest campaign against the visit made up of gay groups, victims of clerical abuse, feminists, family planning organisations and pro-abortion groups among others.

“His remarks have been interpreted as an attack on the Sexual Orientation Regulations which forced Catholic adoption agencies to consider gay couples as potential adoptive parents. By the time the regulations came into force in January last year, five of the agencies in England and Wales had cut ties with their Roman Catholic dioceses in order to comply with the new laws…

“Despite praising Britain’s ‘firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society’, the world’s most powerful religious leader turned his guns on Miss Harman’s equality agenda, which many in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church say could force them to hire homosexuals or transsexuals.

“The powerful attack from Rome will deepen Miss Harman’s difficulties over her Bill. The criticism, unexpected by ministers since it comes from abroad, follows last week’s emphatic rejection by the House of Lords of clauses Catholic churches feared would force them to hire actively homosexual priests and staff, or force Catholics to allow women to become priests. Miss Harman’s Bill has already provoked deep opposition from the Church of England…

“When he visits the UK the Pope is expected to address MPs and peers on the issue of religious freedom from the spot in Westminster Hall where Sir Thomas More was condemned to death in 1535 for opposing the adultery of Henry VIII.”

While the Roman Catholic Church has been officially condemning homosexuality, Jesuit priests perpetrated despicable sex abuse crimes against boys in Germany and other countries, as the next article reports.

Sex Scandal at German Catholic School

The Local wrote on February 2:

“The scope of a child sex abuse scandal that was uncovered at an elite Berlin Catholic school last week has spread to other parts of Germany and beyond, the provincial superior for the country’s Jesuit order… has revealed.

“In addition to the 20 victims who have come forward at the Canisius College in Berlin, three from Hamburg and another two from the town of St. Blasien in the state of Baden-Württemberg have also said they were abused by the same two priests in the 1970s and 1980s]. There are also indications from Church files that one of the perpetrators… may have also sexually abused children in Chile and Spain up until 1990.

“In a statement addressed to his victims over the weekend, the 65-year-old former sports teacher Wolfgang S., who left the order in 1992, said it was ‘a sad fact that I abused children and young people for years under pseudo-educational pretexts’… Wolfgang S., who currently lives in South America, claimed that he had informed his Jesuit superiors of his dark past in 1991. Jesuit provincial leader Dartmann said over the weekend that the order did know of his crimes, and has hired a lawyer ‘to ascertain what the Jesuits specifically knew at the time, and what steps were taken.’

“According to Dartmann, Wolfgang S. taught between 1975 and 1979 at the Canisius College before moving on to the Saint Ansgar School in Hamburg between 1979 and 1982. Then in 1982 he went the St. Blasien in the Black Forest and stayed until 1984 before moving on to Chile in 1985. He was also reportedly under psychiatric care while he served in Hamburg and St. Blasien.

“The second suspect in the Canisius case, 69-year-old former religion teacher Peter R., taught religion at Canisius College between 1972 and 1981 in Berlin, before he moved on to Göttingen to work with youth between 1982 and 1989. He was suspended between 1989 and 1992, and then left the order in 1995. The church now has no contact with him, Dartmann said.”

No French Citizenship for Burqua-Wearing Muslims

On February 3, Deutsche Welle reported:

“France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Wednesday on Europe 1 radio he would sign a decree sent to him by Immigration Minister Eric Besson refusing citizenship to a Moroccan man. The reason, he said, was that the man stated in his application he would never allow his wife to leave the home without a full veil and that a woman ‘is an inferior being.’ Fillon said the applicant does not respect French values of secularism and equality of the sexes… The applicant’s wife is a French citizen, Fillon said.

“France has made similar citizenship decisions in the past. A veiled Moroccan woman was denied citizenship by a French court two years ago because the court claimed her ‘radical’ practice of Islam was incompatible with French values…

“This most recent case comes as France engages in a heated national debate about what it means to be French and whether the burqa has a place in French society. President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the burqa was ‘not welcome’ in secular France, and last week a parliamentary commission recommended banning burqas in schools, hospitals, government offices and on public transportation. Sarkozy and his government have pushed for some sort of burqa ban.”

These decisions by the French government show the ongoing struggle of a Catholic country against non-Catholic beliefs–especially the Muslim faith. We can expect those controversies to intensify and to become (more) violent in the near future.

Guilty of Homicide for Failing to Seek Medical Help

The Oregonian on February 2:

“A Clackamas County jury found Jeffrey and Marci Beagley guilty today of criminally negligent homicide for failing to seek medical care for their 16-year-old son Neil Beagley [who] died June 17, 2008, of an undiagnosed and untreated urinary tract blockage. Instead of taking their son to a doctor when he became ill, the Beagleys treated him with faith healing – prayer, anointing with oil and laying on of hands.

“The Beagleys will be sentenced Feb. 18. They could face a maximum of 10 years in prison, although the normal sentencing range for people with no criminal history would be 16 to 18 months in prison. They could also be sentenced to probation… The Beagleys are the first parents from the Followers of Christ church in Oregon City to be convicted of homicide in the faith-healing death of a child.

“Legislators cracked down on faith healing in 1999, due in large part to a history of child deaths associated with the members of the church. A change in law eliminated the spiritual treatment defense for cases involving second-degree manslaughter and first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment.”

It is important that Christian parents know of the stance of their government regarding faith healing of children. Note this excerpt from page 36 of our booklet, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us”:

“If, as a parent, your individual conviction prohibits you from consulting doctors or taking medications, then you are not to violate your conviction (compare Romans 14:23). But it is always good to evaluate your conviction based on the Bible, to make sure that it is not the product of human reasoning or pre-conceived notions. In addition, the law in most countries prescribes that, as a parent, you are to seek medical help for your sick child. If you fail to do so, the government might take your child away from you, or, if the child should die, you may face charges of involuntary manslaughter, or worse.

“Additionally, faith is necessary in order to be healed. But what if your child does not have the required faith? God does not transfer your faith to that of the child. The Bible clearly states that God does not apply the righteousness of the parents to the children (Ezekiel 14:19–20). Romans 14:22 asks, ‘Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God!’

“This is not to say that parents are not to teach their children the necessity of having faith in God when they are sick. They are, in fact, supposed to encourage them to ask God for healing by asking the elders of the church to anoint them with oil and to pray over them. We are only addressing here those parents who, because of conscientious reasons, would refuse to consult and work with doctors and get medical help. Even though parents are to teach their children to place their faith in GOD for healing, they should not withhold medical help from them, if it is due (compare Proverbs 3:27).”

Current Events

Recovery? What Recovery?

The Associated Press reported on January 25:

“Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit.

“The report reflects a sharp drop in demand after buyers stopped scrambling to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homeowners. It had been due to expire on Nov. 30. But Congress extended the deadline until April 30 and expanded it with a new $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who move…

“December’s sales fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million… Sales had been expected to fall by about 10 percent… The report ‘places a large question mark over whether the recovery can be sustained when the extended tax credit expires,’ wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics… The Federal Reserve’s $1.25 trillion program to push down mortgage rates is scheduled to expire at the end of March…

“Many experts project home prices, which started to rise last summer, will fall again over the winter. That’s because foreclosures make up a larger proportion of sales during the winter months, when fewer sellers choose to put their homes on the market…”

This development will have further devastating consequences for the US economy. Many big banks are holding on to “their” money–especially in light of proposed “fees” requiring them to pay back “bail-out” money received from the government. They are unwilling to provide reasonable and affordable loans and mortgages, while many of the smaller banks are being shut down by the Federal Government. 

“The U.S. Is Broke…”

USA Today wrote on January 27:

“Trouble is, the deficit is only a symptom of a chronic disease that strikes at the very heart of democratic government… Thanks to decades of promises for ever-higher benefits and low taxes for the indefinite future, there’s now less give in future budgets than at any point in American history. At least profligate Congresses in the past confined their excesses and temporarily large deficits to the current year. Until recently, they didn’t box in the future…

“For the first time in U.S. history, in 2009 every single dollar of revenue was committed before Congress voted on any spending program. Meanwhile, most of government’s basic functions — from justice to education to turning on the lights in the Capitol — are paid for out of swelling, unsustainable deficits. Blame the recession for some of this dip. But even a recovery only temporarily restores a bit of financial freedom, not enough to reverse the downward trend.”

Hillary Clinton Deeply Resents International Criticism of USA

AFP wrote on January 26:

“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she ‘deeply resents’ foreign criticism of the US response to the earthquake in Haiti, saying the United States was doing as much as it could. ‘I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake,’ Clinton told State Department employees…

“Clinton did not single out critics but said that ‘some of the international press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued’ the US decision to send troops along with civilians to Haiti. A senior Italian official on Sunday criticized the lack of a coordinated international aid effort in Haiti, saying that the United States had ‘too many officers’ there and could not find a capable leader.”

All justification for anger about such criticism aside, the fact that the US IS encountering these kinds of verbal attacks shows the lack of trust and confidence many nations have in US leadership.

“Warfare” Between US and German Armies Over Afghanistan

Bild Online wrote on January 21:

“In a BILD interview US General Stanley McChrystal yesterday challenged the Germans to also take more risks in the fight against the Taliban. But German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg held a press conference in which he hit back at McChrystal’s criticism and gave his full support to the German army: ‘Our soldiers are being exposed to high risks every day.’ Asked by a reporter whether the German soldiers are cowards, Guttenberg said: ‘That interpretation is nonsense! General McChrystal made it clear how much he values the engagement of the Germans.’

“Guttenberg told BILD: ‘McChrystal describes the high risks that all ISAF soldiers are exposed to in Afghanistan. Our German soldiers also risk their lives there every day. For this they deserve thanks and recognition from all of us.’ A German general told news agency ‘ddp’ that the comments of the US General were ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unfounded.’

“It is true that other countries in Afghanistan are indeed exposed to much higher risks. The main reason for this is that they are fighting in the South whereas the German army has been assigned, at least in recent years, to the noticeably quieter North. It could also explain why the British, for example, have deployed around double the number of troops in Afghanistan but have had seven times the number of deaths (249)…

“The German army is even often left out of important operations in the North. Yesterday special forces invaded a farmstead in Kunduz to dismantle a weapon store – an operation headed by the Americans and Afghans. The German soldiers were not with them…”

The Bible clearly shows that the relationship between the USA and Germany–and united continental Europe–will deteriorate. The next article shows the degree of German frustration with the USA.

Afghanistan–Another Nail in the Coffin of American-German Friendship…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 25:

“The German government hopes to discuss a new approach to Afghanistan at Thursday’s conference in London. But the Americans see the strategy as already fixed. If Berlin adopts the new counterinsurgency methods, more German troops are likely to die — making the operation even more unpopular back home…

“The weeks leading up to the London conference were also deeply humiliating for the Germans, and not just because of the arrogance of someone like Richard Holbrooke [the US government’s special envoy for Afghanistan]. The Americans decided to deploy an initial contingent of 2,500 soldiers to northern Afghanistan, and perhaps to even double that number in the future. It was a vote of no confidence in the Germans, who are responsible for the north, and the message was clear: You can’t get it done, so move aside and let us take over…

“Germany has acquired the reputation of a discredited nation, a nation incapable of waging war, a cowardly nation. It is an accusation that has been around for a long time. It was apparent when the Germans refused to take part in the first and second Iraq wars. It was apparent when the Germans requested a region that was guaranteed to be safe during the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia. And it was apparent when the Germans took responsibility for what was then the relatively safe northern part of Afghanistan. Now the north is no longer safe, and the Germans are seen as too cowardly to take on the Taliban.

“It is largely an unfair accusation. After the horrors of World War II, the Germans had to take an extremely cautious approach to the subject of war. For the Germans, unlike their current allies, military traditions are severely tainted by historical events. But now, almost 65 years after the end of the war, Germans are grappling with the question of how and when a democratic Germany should wage war.

“Until now, the Germans had expected Afghanistan to be a clean mission in support of a worthy cause, with no bloodshed involved. Germany can now forget about that idea, after Colonel Georg Klein used fabricated information to order an air strike on two tanker trucks which killed up to 142 people, including civilians, on Sept. 4, 2009. It is no longer possible to separate the worthy cause from bloodshed…”

The time will come when Germany WILL wage war again. It is a great paradox and a tragedy that countries like the USA will be highly responsible for this development, since they are encouraging and demanding German military engagement in other countries, including Afghanistan.

Germany’s Incoherent Government

On January 26, Berlin announced it will send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan, plus an additional 350 soldiers as a “flexible reserve.” It was also stated that Berlin will contribute €50 million towards a program to reintegrate Taliban fighters. At the same time, German Foreign Minister Guide Westerwelle stated on Tuesday that he will begin withdrawing German troops by 2011. This inconsistent approach is puzzling to many. The German government is in disarray.

Openly gay Westerwelle’s decision to have his partner accompany him to official visits with Arab leaders did not help in building foreign confidence in effective German leadership. According to a report of The Local and DDP, dated January 27, a “new poll on Wednesday showed public support for the pro-business Free Democrats, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior coalition partners, had dropped by a third just four months after national elections.”

Angela Merkel’s position on Afghanistan has been met with strong criticism. It might actually lead to her political downfall.

The German press wrote in overwhelmingly negative terms about Germany’s future engagement in Afghanistan. Der Spiegel Online reported on January 26.

“German commentators on Tuesday take a closer look at the cash-for-Taliban idea, with most of them pointing out the massive potential for corruption in the proposed ex-Taliban money pool. But others wonder why, after eight years, Afghanistan’s state institutions are so weak.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘…There will be no more “presence” without more soldiers. And working closer to the Afghan people will mean more danger for German troops… A defense minister who wants to send soldiers into Afghan villages in anything besides up-armored vehicles is proposing more risk.’

“The left-wing Berliner Zeitung argues: ‘… Under the new plan German taxpayers could… be subsidizing human-rights violators.’

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘… Presence in Afghanistan, for German soldiers, means taking far greater risks. If they follow newly-trained Afghan soldiers into new regions, they will come in range of insurgents… The German government hopefully understands that a public debate over mounting casualties will be the result.'”

However, it seems that the German government does not understand this, or that it does not want to. This will have terrible consequences for its survival.

Growing Tensions Between Germany and Iran

The Local and AFP reported on January 27:

“Iran said Wednesday it arrested two German diplomats for allegedly having a hand in deadly anti-government protests which erupted on a Shiite Muslim holy day last month… The agencies did not specify whether the diplomats were still detained, but German officials dismissed the reports. ‘No German diplomats were arrested on December 27 last year,’ German Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told a press conference in Berlin. ‘If the accusations turn out to have been made, we reject them categorically’…

“Meanwhile, German industrial giant Siemens said on Wednesday it would stop signing new business deals in Iran from mid-2010 amid growing tensions between Berlin and Tehran… Germany is one of the world’s leading exporters to Iran, although pressure to roll back dealings with the regime in Tehran has grown as the international community mulls sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that German-Iranian trade had ‘declined considerably’ while acknowledging that the two countries had a ‘long tradition of economic cooperation.’ In 2008, German exports to Iran, mainly machine tools and industrial equipment, rose by nearly nine percent despite international condemnation of the regime in Tehran.

“For her part, Merkel warned that time was running out before the international community considers sanctions, adding that February would be the ‘crucial month’ in the UN Security Council. Sanctions on Iran would only work if applied ‘over the broadest possible basis,’ Merkel added, following talks with Israel’s President Shimon Peres.”

US Court Recognizes Religious Persecution in Germany

The Local wrote on January 27:

“A US court has granted asylum to an evangelical Christian family who fled Germany because they were not allowed to homeschool their children. An immigration judge in Nashville, Tennessee ruled that parents Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, and their five children, are free to stay in the US, where they have been since 2008… The parents, who came from the state of Baden-Württemberg, allege they were persecuted for their faith and defiance of Germany’s compulsory school attendance since those who do not comply face fines and jail time.

“According to Uwe Romeike, his family was fined the equivalent of some $10,000 over two years, but could not afford to make payments after their court appeals failed. ‘I think it’s important for parents to have the freedom to choose the way their children can be taught,’ Romeike told AP, later adding that German curriculum was increasingly ‘against Christian values.’

“In October 2006, police forcefully took the family’s children to school in their home town of Bietigheim-Bissingen when they refused to do so themselves. One year later, the country’s high court ruled that in some similar cases the state could take children from their parents…

“’This decision finally recognises that German homeschoolers are a specific social group that is being persecuted by a Western democracy,’ Mike Donnelly, a lawyer for the Home School Legal Defense Association, said in a statement. ‘It is embarrassing for Germany, since a Western nation should uphold basic human rights, which include allowing parents to raise and educate their own children,’ he said. ‘We hope this decision will cause Germany to stop persecuting homeschoolers’… In November 2009, another Christian couple was fined by a Kassel court for refusing to send their children to school.”

The importance of this decision, even though not yet final, cannot be over-emphasized.

As Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 28, “Fundamentalist Christians in the United States have been critical of German mandatory school attendance laws for years… It is illegal to keep children out of school for any reason. The outcomes of several cases in the past indicate that parents opposed to mandatory school attendance have little chance of success…

“In late May 2006, the German Constitutional Court ruled that parents are not entitled to keep their children from attending school because of their religious views. In November 2007, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that parents can even be deprived of the custody of their children… In September 2006, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Germany’s mandatory school attendance policy, along with the corresponding ban on homeschooling, is compatible with both European law and the European Convention on Human Rights.”

As a consequence, according to Der Spiegel, the court in Memphis held that Germany’s mandatory school law violates the basic human rights of German citizens. The magazine wrote:

“Announcing his verdict in a court in Memphis, Tennessee, Judge Lawrence Burman ruled that the Romeikes’ were entitled to political asylum… Burman argued that he believed the Romeike family’s basic human rights were being violated in Germany… Burman also defined so-called homeschoolers… as ‘a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress.’ The family, Burman argued, has ‘a well-founded fear of persecution’ and, as a result, the right to political asylum in the United States.

“HSLDA attorney Mike Donnelly [said:] ‘This is simply about the German state trying to coerce ideological uniformity in a way that is frighteningly reminiscent of past history.'”

State of the Union Address

The Telegraph wrote on January 28:

“As expected, Barack Obama’s 70 minute State of the Union address focused heavily on the economy and the domestic political agenda. This was hardly surprising in the aftermath of last week’s catastrophic defeat for his party in the Massachusetts special Senate election, where the Republicans scored an historic victory. American voters are turning strongly against the president’s health care reform package as well as his big government vision for the economy, which has contributed to spiraling public debt and mounting unemployment, now standing at over 10 percent.

“But the scant attention paid in the State of the Union speech to US leadership was pitiful and frankly rather pathetic. The war in Afghanistan, which will soon involve a hundred thousand American troops, merited barely a paragraph. There was no mention of victory over the enemy, just a reiteration of the president’s pledge to begin a withdrawal in July 2011. Needless to say there was nothing in the speech about the importance of international alliances, and no recognition whatsoever of the sacrifices made by Great Britain and other NATO allies alongside the United States on the battlefields of Afghanistan. For Barack Obama the Special Relationship means nothing, and tonight’s address further confirmed this.

“Significantly, the global war against al-Qaeda was hardly mentioned, and there were no measures outlined to enhance US security at a time of mounting threats from Islamist terrorists. Terrorism is a top issue for American voters, but President Obama displayed what can only be described as a stunning indifference towards the defence of the homeland.

“The Iranian nuclear threat, likely to be the biggest foreign policy issue of 2010, was given just two lines in the speech, with a half-hearted warning of ‘growing consequences’ for Tehran, with no details given at all. There were no words of support for Iranian protestors who have been murdered, tortured and beaten in large numbers by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s thuggish security forces, and no sign at all that the president cared about their plight. Nor was there any condemnation of the brutality of the Iranian regime, as well as its blatant sponsorship of terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“As the example of Iran showed, the advance of freedom and liberty across the world in the face of tyranny was not even a footnote in the president’s speech. I cannot think of a US president in modern times who has attached less importance to human rights issues. For the hundreds of millions of people across the world, from Burma to Sudan to Zimbabwe, clamouring to be free of oppression, there was not a shred of hope offered in Barack Obama’s address.

“Obama’s world leadership in his first year in office has been weak-kneed and little short of disastrous. He has sacrificed the projection of American power upon the altar of political vanity, with empty speeches and groveling apologies across the world, from Strasbourg to Cairo. He has appeased some of America’s worst enemies, and has extended the hand of friendship to many of the most odious regimes on the face of the earth. Judging by the State of the Union address tonight, we can expect more of the same from an American president who seems determined to lead the world’s greatest power along a path of decline.”

Just Blame Others…

The New York Post added on January 28:

“Obama’s response last night was to recommit himself to the agenda that has gotten him in so much trouble… Obama, in his supreme arrogance, didn’t really seem to care… there was an innumerate, inaccurate and distinctly unpresidential whine — blaming George W. Bush for nearly all of his problems (leaving out, among other things, that the Democrats have been controlling Congress and crafting budgets since 2006).

“… the president promised more jobs bills, more ‘investments’ in schools, roads, trains and factories. He even reaffirmed his support for his carbon-tax legislation — which would send far more jobs overseas than it would create here at home.

“But Obama has a bigger problem: Aside from a few throwaway lines of self-deprecation, whenever he grew passionate, it was to blame others. His predecessor topped his list, of course. But also everyone else who disagrees with him. Obama insists that Americans need to muster the courage to agree with him, to sign on to his agenda…

“He decried the politicians who are in ‘permanent campaign’ mode — the same week he brought into the White House his campaign manager. Other politicians are vain, cowardly and insubstantial. They need the courage to change. Meanwhile, Obama is great the way he is. That is the attitude that has gotten the president in so much trouble. And last night’s State of the Union speech showed us that change really isn’t easy, particularly for the president.”

No Specifics Given…

Times On Line wrote on January 28:

“In a gesture to his liberal base, the President said that he would seek the repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy instituted by President Clinton on gays in the military. He also admitted that he and his team had made mistakes in their first year. Most were unspecified but he owned up to a failure to communicate his aims for health reform more clearly.

“No detailed strategy was expected for saving the healthcare Bill that dominated Mr Obama’s first year in office, and none was offered. Mr Obama restricted himself to a plea ‘to come together and finish the job for the American people’. Earlier, Senator Harry Reid, who led round-the-clock negotiations on the Bill until the Democrats lost their Senate supermajority last week, said that there was ‘no rush’ to get it passed.

“… polls published yesterday showed that three quarters of Americans believe that their federal government is not working and 58 per cent feel that their country is heading in the wrong direction.”

… But What ARE the Facts?

In analyzing President Obama’s State of the Union address, The Associated Press wrote on January 28:

“The anticipated savings from this proposal [to freeze government spending for three years, beginning in 2011] would amount to less than 1 percent of the deficit – and that’s if the president can persuade Congress to go along. Obama is a convert to the cause of broad spending freezes. In the presidential campaign, he criticized Republican opponent John McCain for suggesting one. ‘The problem with a spending freeze is you’re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel,’ he said a month before the election. Now, Obama wants domestic spending held steady in most areas where the government can control year-to-year costs. The proposal is similar to McCain’s…

“OBAMA [said:]: ‘I’ve called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can’t be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.’

“THE FACTS: Any commission that Obama creates would be a weak substitute for what he really wanted – a commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to consider unpopular remedies to reduce the debt, including curbing politically sensitive entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. That idea crashed in the Senate this week, defeated by equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Any commission set up by Obama alone would lack authority to force its recommendations before Congress, and would stand almost no chance of success…

“OBAMA [said:] ‘Because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. … And we are on track to add another one and a half million jobs to this total by the end of the year.’

“THE FACTS: The success of the Obama-pushed economic stimulus that Congress approved early last year has been an ongoing point of contention. In December, the administration reported that recipients of direct assistance from the government created or saved about 650,000 jobs. The number was based on self-reporting by recipients and some of the calculations were shown to be in error.

“The Congressional Budget Office has been much more guarded than Obama in characterizing the success of the stimulus plan. In November, it reported that the stimulus increased the number of people employed by between 600,000 and 1.6 million ‘compared with what those values would have been otherwise.’ It said the ranges ‘reflect the uncertainty of such estimates.’ And it added, ‘It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package.’

“OBAMA… called for action by the White House and Congress ‘to do our work openly, and to give our people the government they deserve.’

“THE FACTS: Obama skipped past a broken promise from his campaign – to have the negotiations for health care legislation broadcast on C-SPAN ‘so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.’ Instead, Democrats in the White House and Congress have conducted the usual private negotiations, making multibillion-dollar deals with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders behind closed doors. Nor has Obama lived up consistently to his pledge to ensure that legislation is posted online for five days before it’s acted upon.”

Obama’s Fiercest Opponent?

Conservative German tabloid Bild Online wrote on January 22:

“A man who once stripped off for the nude centrefold of ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine has become US President Barack Obama’s (48) fiercest opponent. Scott P. Brown (50) is an ultra conservative Republican who recently stunned America by conquering Massachussetts, the stronghold of the Democrats and the Kennedy clan. In doing so, Obama lost his majority in the Senate, giving the Republicans back the power to block his major projects such as health reform.

“So just who is Scott P. Brown, the hunk who stripped naked for a photo shoot in ‘Cosmopotitan’ in 1982? He’s a lawyer, lieutenant colonel in reserve and ‘Aerosmith’ fan. He’s a child of divorced parents who had constantly changing stepfathers, who were in part violent. And he’s a fitness freak – he gets up at 5 am every morning and jogs for 10 km. ‘I was the small boy who was woken at night by his mother screaming and believed that he had to save her…'”

The disappointment of many Americans with President Obama and his government, as well as with former President Bush and his administration, will induce especially independent voters or disenfranchised and disillusioned Democrats and Republicans to look for leaders in different places, such as the growing “Tea party” movement, which can be classified as a development of protest. However, that search for alternatives will likewise be met with disappointment. The only security would lie in a return to God and His laws–but neither the American people as a whole nor any other nation today, is simply willing to do so.

The Sickness of Self-Flagellation

CNN wrote on January 27:

“Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep naked on the floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says. The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, ‘Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II.’

“‘As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself,’ the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth. ‘In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo,’ the book says.

“The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005…

“Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way…

“Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura…

“David Gibson [is] a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope… ‘John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism,’ said Gibson… The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added. ‘Even though it’s going to weird people out, it’s obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness,’ he said…

“The authors of the book based it on interviews with 114 “witnesses” and access to unedited documents in the Vatican’s archives… The book is available only in Italian, but the publisher is having it translated into Polish and other languages.”

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