Dangerous War Preparations

The International Herald Tribune wrote on September 14:

“The Bush administration is pushing through a broad array of foreign weapons deals as it seeks to re-arm Iraq and Afghanistan, contain North Korea and Iran, and solidify ties with onetime Russian allies. From tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and even warships, the Department of Defense has agreed so far this fiscal year to sell or transfer more than $32 billion in weapons and other military equipment to foreign governments, compared with $12 billion in 2005. The trend, which started in 2006, is most pronounced in the Middle East, but it reaches into northern Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and even Canada… 

“The United States is far from the only country pushing sophisticated weapons systems: It is facing intense competition from Russia and elsewhere in Europe, including continuing contests for multibillion-dollar deals to sell fighter jets to India and Brazil…

“About 60 countries get annual military aid from the United States, $4.5 billion a year, to help them buy these American weapons. Israel and Egypt receive more than 80 percent of that aid. The United States has also recently given Iraq and Afghanistan large amounts of weapons and other equipment…

“The United States has long been the top arms supplier to the world. In the past several years, however, the list of nations that rely on the United States as a primary source of major weapons systems has greatly expanded. Among the recent additions are Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, India, Iraq, Morocco and Pakistan… Cumulatively, these countries signed $870 million worth of arms deals with the United States from 2001 to 2004. For the past four fiscal years, that total has been $13.8 billion…

“In the Gulf region, much of the re-armament is driven by fears of Iran. The United Arab Emirates, for example, are considering spending as much as $16 billion on U.S.-made missile defense systems… Saudi Arabia, this fiscal year alone, has signed at least $6 billion worth of sales agreements to buy weapons from the U.S. government – the highest figure for that country since 1993, which was another peak year in U.S. weapons sales, after the Gulf War. Israel, long a major buyer of U.S. military equipment, is also increasing its orders, including planned purchases of perhaps as many as four American-made coastal warships, worth $1.9 billion.”

Israel Prepares for a Strike Against Iran

The Jerusalem Post wrote on September 14:

“The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale to Israel of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities… The bomb Israel wants is the GBU-39, developed in recent years by the US as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low-collateral damage strikes. Israel has also asked for 150 mounting carriages, 30 guided test vehicles and two instructors to train the air force in loading the bombs on its aircraft.

“The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world… Tests conducted in the US have proven that the bomb is capable of penetrating at least 90 cm. of steel-reinforced concrete…

“In its recommendation to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote that Israel’s strategic position was ‘vital to the United States’ interests throughout the Middle East.’… The agency’s announcement came amid growing concern that the Pentagon was not willing to sell Israel advanced military platforms such as bunker-buster missiles in an effort to dissuade Jerusalem from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Bunker-buster missiles would be a fundamental component of an air strike against Iran, since many of the nuclear facilities, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, have been built in underground, heavily fortified bunkers.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to Become New Prime Minister?

BBC News reported on September 18:

“Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is beginning the task of putting together a new government after her election as leader of the ruling Kadima party. She has 42 days to form a coalition and replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister… The Islamist movement, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said it expected no change in Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians… The centre-right opposition Likud party of former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which is currently leading in the polls, immediately called for a general election…

“If she can form a fresh governing coalition within the next six weeks, Ms Livni will become Israel’s first woman prime minister since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974. The BBC’s Tim Franks in Jerusalem says that will be no easy task, and if it were to end in failure, general elections will follow in a further three months.”

Russia’s Provocations Continue… While Europe Gives In… Again…

Deutsche Welle reported on September 17:

“Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed friendship treaties with Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Wednesday and promised them the backing of Russia’s armed forces… The deals were signed in the face of widespread global condemnation of Russia’s incursion into Georgia… In a speech after the signing ceremony in the Kremlin, Medvedev said Russia was committed to defending Abkhazia and South Ossetia from any Georgian attempts to reclaim the two enclaves. Georgia has insisted the two regions be returned to Tbilisi’s control…

“Just hours after the signing of the treaties, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the European Union may resume talks on a cooperation agreement with Russia, even if Moscow maintains a military presence in Georgia’s separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. On Sept. 1, EU leaders attending an emergency summit in Brussels agreed to postpone talks on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Russia until Russian troops ‘have withdrawn to the positions held prior to Aug. 7.'”

The EUObserver reported on September 17:

“France, Germany, Spain and Italy are leaning toward pulling Georgia and Ukraine into the EU over the next 10 or more years, but keeping them out of NATO to avoid antagonising Russia. The UK is keen on both NATO and EU membership for the pair, Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza writes.”

With the exception of the UK and some Eastern European states, Europe’s conduct in this entire affair has been deplorable. Europe’s cowardice towards Russia has been clearly dictated by political and economic interests, and Europe has demonstrated that it is willing to turn its back on an ally in the pursuit of its own purposes.

Russia’s Alliances with Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua

The Times wrote on September 18:

“Russia snubbed its nose at the United States today by announcing plans to sell military equipment to both Iran and Venezuela… Reports have circulated for some time that Russia is preparing to sell its S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran, offering greater protection against a possible US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities. The missiles have a range of more than 150 kilometres and can intercept jets approaching at low altitudes.

“Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, said that it was logical to conclude a lucrative contract with Iran ‘in the current situation, when the US and the West in general are stubbornly gearing toward a confrontation with Russia.’ Russia has already delivered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems under a $700 million deal with Iran in 2005.

“Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-owned Russian Technologies also disclosed that Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chavez wanted to buy anti-aircraft systems, armoured personnel carriers, and new SU-35 fighter jets when they come into production in 2010… Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, one of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, has visited Venezuela and Cuba this week… Mr Sechin travelled to Nicaragua yesterday as part of Russia’s efforts to revive its influence on America’s doorstep in Latin America. Nicaragua was the only state to join Russia in recognising the independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia…”

Palin Ready to Go to War With Russia?

The EUObserver wrote on September 9:

“US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has backed Georgia’s NATO membership in a television interview, while leaving open the option of war with Russia if it were to attack a NATO ally. In an interview with ABC News, Ms Palin was asked whether the United States would have to go to war with Russia if it invaded Georgia, and the country was part of NATO, Ms Palin said: ‘Perhaps so’…

“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday (11 September)… that tensions between Russia and the EU may well worsen if the planned US missile defense shield is deployed in Poland, threatening yet once more to point Russian missiles at European targets… Mr Putin fiercely defended Russia’s invasion of Georgia, accusing the West of ‘anti-Russian hysteria’ and saying that if this military operation had not been carried out, it would have been like Russia ‘getting a bloody nose and hanging its head down.'”

How German Paper “Die Welt” Saw Palin’s Interview With ABC

Die Welt wrote on September 12:

“Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s assertion that she believes humans play a role in climate change – made in her first major interview since joining the Republican ticket – is at odds with her previous statements… ‘Show me where I have ever said that there’s absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any effect or no effect on climate change. I have not said that,’ Palin told ABC News in an interview broadcast Thursday and Friday. However, in the past Palin has said she does not believe global warming is caused by human activity. She has told the Internet news site Newsmax, ‘A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. … I’m not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made…’

“She also… [a]ppeared unsure of the Bush doctrine – essentially that the United States must help spread democracy to stop terrorism and that the nation will act pre-emptively to stop potential foes. Asked whether she agreed with that, Palin said: ‘In what respect, Charlie?’ Gibson pressed her for an interpretation of it. She said: ‘His world view.’ That prompted Gibson to say ‘no, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war’ and describe it to her… Asked three times what her position would be if Israel felt threatened enough to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, Palin repeatedly said the United States shouldn’t ‘second guess’ Israel’s steps to secure itself.”

U.S. Faces “Once-in-a-Century” Financial Crisis

AFP reported on September 14:

“The United States is mired in a ‘once-in-a century’ financial crisis… former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan said… [adding] that the crisis… still had a long way to go and would continue to effect home prices in the United States… Asked whether the crisis, which has seen the US government step in to bail out mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, was the worst of his career, Greenspan replied ‘Oh, by far’… [He] also predicted that the financial crisis would see the failure of more major financial institutions, even as embattled Wall Street investment giant Lehman Brothers scrambled to find a buyer.”

U.S. Financial Mess Deepens

Reuters reported on September 15:

“Global markets plummeted on Monday after investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, rival Merrill Lynch agreed to be taken over and the Federal Reserve threw a life line to the battered financial industry… a deepening crisis took new, bigger victims…

“The events signal a seismic shift in Wall Street’s power structure with big name investment banks biting the dust and major banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase becoming the survivors. ‘It’s a return to pure capitalism, the survival of the fittest — the government can’t and won’t bail everybody out,’ said Justin Urquhart Stewart, investment director at 7 Investment Management in London. Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch in an all-stock deal worth $50 billion, seeking a bargain as the world’s largest retail brokerage sought refuge from fears it could be the next victim.

“‘It’s just shockingly fast how it happened,’ an employee for Merrill in Asia said. ‘It’s hard to believe there will be no more Merrill Lynch,’ he said…

“Asian and European stock markets tumbled… Shares in U.S. banks trading in Frankfurt tumbled… The euro jumped to as high as $1.4479, up 1.7 percent from Friday, while U.S. Treasury yields dropped to five-month lows…

“With Lehman and Merrill out of the picture, three of the top five U.S. investment banks have effectively departed the scene inside six months…

“Britain’s Barclays emerged as a front-runner to buy Lehman late on Sunday after Bank of America pulled back, but it was deterred by the U.S. government’s unwillingness to provide a financial backstop to potential losses.

“The New York Times also reported that AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, had made an approach to the Federal Reserve seeking $40 billion in short-term financing…

“One of the catalysts for this weekend’s events was the stance of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who opposed using government money to resolve the Lehman crisis after a week earlier bailing out mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, wary of accusation of encouraging excessive risk-taking by bailing out the bank.”

“Black Sunday” Affects Europe

Der Spiegel Online reported on September 15:

“Financial authorities tried to shore up confidence on Monday as world markets plummeted following ‘Black Sunday’ on Wall Street where Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection and Bank of America took over Merrill Lynch.

“Europe’s big central banks pumped liquidity into the financial system to calm investors… The European Central Bank conducted a one-day tender for €30 billion… The Bank of England and Swiss National Bank also provided liquidity as Asian and European stock markets tumbled. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares fell 5 percent, led by falling bank stocks such as UBS, down 10 percent. The Dax index of leading German [banks] fell as much as 4.7 percent to its lowest level in two years.
 
“Fears of a global crash swept through markets on Monday… The German finance ministry, the Bundesbank central bank and the Bafin financial supervisory authority all tried to restore calm in German markets with a joint statement saying the exposure of German banks to Lehman was manageable.”

For further discussion on the worldwide financial crisis, listen to our new StandingWatch program on Global Depression. It is posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube.

U.S. Housing Market Still Very Unstable

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 17:

“A steep decline in new home construction last month to a 17-year low suggests that the hoped-for stabilization of the housing market — key to boosting the U.S. economy — is still a ways off. Construction of new homes dropped by 6.2% in August to a seasonally adjusted 895,000 annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Construction of multifamily units fell sharply. Single-family home construction fell by a smaller amount…”

Stocks Fall and Gold Rises, as Federal Reserve Bails Out AIG

The Associated Press reported on September 17:

“Gold prices soared Wednesday, notching the biggest one-day advance ever as mounting credit market turmoil prodded jittery investors to pull money out of equities and into safe-haven assets. Gold’s huge rally came as the government moved overnight to rescue troubled insurer American International Group Inc. with an $85 million bailout loan. The Federal Reserve stepped in after AIG, teetering on collapse from losses tied to the subprime crisis and the credit crisis, failed to find adequate capital in the private sector.

“Fearing more tightening of credit markets, investors reacted swiftly and began dumping stocks and socking money into gold, silver and other safe-haven commodities. Gold is especially attractive during times of crisis because the metal is known for holding its value.”

AIG Bailout–Abuse of Taxpayer Money?

Die Welt wrote on September 17:

“For the second time this month, the U.S. government intervened to bail out a private financial company, saying the failure of the huge insurer American International Group Inc. would further disrupt markets and threaten the already fragile economy… The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it would provide up to $85 billion in an emergency, two-year loan to rescue AIG… In return, the government will get a 79.9 percent stake in AIG and the right to remove senior management.

“The move was similar to the government’s seizure on Sept. 7 of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where the Treasury Department said it was prepared to put up as much as $100 billion over time in each of the companies if needed to keep them from going broke. Both moves were bound to raise questions about the use of taxpayer money to bail out private firms…

“The decision to help AIG marked a reversal from the government’s move over the weekend, when it refused to use taxpayer money to bail out Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Lehman, which filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, collapsed under the weight of mounting losses related to its real estate holdings…

“The central bank also pumped $70 billion into the nation’s financial system to help ease credit stresses. In emergency sessions over the weekend, the Fed expanded its loan programs to Wall Street firms, part of an ongoing effort to get credit flowing more freely…”

The Collapse of Lehman and AIG–Bad and Good News for Europe?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 17:

“America’s central bank has saved Wall Street insurance giant AIG from failure, but a federally insured German fund could be facing €6 billion in liabilities following the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers…

“World markets Wednesday briefly reversed their slides after a sudden bailout by the United States Federal Reserve of the American insurance giant American International Group (AIG) — which on Tuesday joined Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch in a brutal series of Wall Street failures. But by late morning, Germany’s blue chip DAX index was headed south again, with investors doubting that the worst is over…

“Stock markets have been sliding worldwide since Bank of America announced a deal to buy Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. The Lehman failure is said to be the largest bankruptcy in history and it could also have massive implications for Germany. Lehman Brothers’ German subsidiary is a member of the Deposit Guarantee Fund of the Association of German Banks (BdB); and the fund, backed by Germany’s biggest banks, could be required to cover up to €6 billion of Lehman’s liabilities… The fund’s liability can only be reduced if parts of Lehman’s German subsidiary are sold — and that could present a serious problem.

“According to Germany’s Finance Ministry, the Deposit Guarantee Fund has only $4.6 billion at its disposal… Experts noted… that if the amount reaches €6 billion it would be the largest single loss in the history of a German fund…

“On Tuesday, news emerged that the German state lender KfW had transferred €300 million to Lehman Brothers the day it filed for bankruptcy in an erroneous swap — a transaction in which two parties agree to exchange one stream of cash flows against another, according to Reuters. The transfer exposed the government lender to €300 million in losses, triggering criticism from the Finance Ministry, which demanded a ‘swift explanation of such a technical failure.’

“But other German companies viewed Monday’s development and the announcement of the AIG bailout as an opportunity to step into the lucrative American financial market — just as the British bank Barclays announced a deal to buy Lehman Brothers’ core businesses for what the New York Times described as a ‘fire-sale price’ of $1.75 billion.

“AIG provides insurance not just for consumers but also for large Wall Street investment firms against just the sort of credit crisis that has brought Lehman and Merrill to their knees. German insurance giants like Allianz and Munich Re are openly on the lookout for Lehman-style bargains… given a strong euro and a relatively weak dollar…”

Washington Mutual for Sale?

The Associated Press reported on September 18:

“Ailing bank Washington Mutual Inc. appeared headed toward a sale Wednesday… The New York Times, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, said an auction of the bank was already under way, and The Wall Street Journal reported Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. expressed interest in a takeover. WaMu, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all declined to comment…

“After losing $6.3 billion in the past three quarters, Washington Mutual believes it is slowly healing under a new chief executive, Alan Fishman, who will receive an $8 million bonus if he can keep WaMu alive through 2009… Nonetheless, analysts still expect the company to sustain a loss of about $1.8 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30… The company’s stock fell 31 cents to $2.01 Wednesday, leaving the stock price with a decline of 85 percent so far this year. The erosion has left WaMu with a market value of about $3.5 billion—down from $43 billion at the end of 2006.”

“Who Will Bail Out Uncle Sam?”

CBS reported on September 17:

“The federal government may seem like a financial knight on a white steed riding to the rescue of big companies in trouble. The irony is that Uncle Sam’s got enormous money problems of his own. The government is far deeper in debt than any of the companies it’s bailing out.

“As of this morning, the national debt stands at over $9.634 trillion. That’s trillion – with a ‘T.’ And that’s nearly $4 trillion more than it was on the day President Bush took office. This year alone, it’s costing taxpayers more than $230 billion just to pay the interest on the national debt.

“And it’s getting bigger every day thanks to the relentless rush of the government spending money it has to borrow. The federal deficit for the fiscal year ending September 30 is expected in the range of $400 billion – close to the all-time high. In fact, the government doesn’t have the $85 billion needed to bailout insurance giant American International Group. The treasury department announced this morning it would auction new debt to raise funds for the Federal Reserve’s rescue plan for AIG… But where does the federal government go when it needs a bailout? Taxpayers need only look in the mirror.”

“The Greatest Destruction of Financial Wealth the World Has EVER Seen”

The Washington Post wrote on September 17:

“Having pumped $100 billion into the banking system, and lent another $115 billion to rescue Bear Stearns and AIG, the Federal Reserve was forced to ask the Treasury yesterday to borrow some extra money to replenish its coffers… This is what a Category 4 financial crisis looks like. Giant blue-chip financial institutions swept away in a matter of days. Banks refusing to lend to other banks. Russia closing its stock market to stop the panicked selling. Gold soaring $70 in a single trading session. Developing countries’ currencies in a free fall. Money market funds warning they might not be able to return every dollar invested. Daily swings of three, four, five hundred points in the Dow Jones industrial average.

“What we are witnessing may be the greatest destruction of financial wealth that the world has ever seen…”

“In the end, however, there is only so much the government can borrow and so much the government can do. The only other choice is for Americans to finally put their spending in line with their incomes and their need for long-term savings… But if everyone cuts back at roughly the same time, a recession is almost inevitable. That’s a bitter pill in and of itself, involving lost jobs, lower incomes and a big hit to government tax revenues. But it could be serious trouble for regional and local banks that have balance sheets loaded with loans to local developers and builders who will be hard hit by an economic downturn. Think of that… as the inevitable second round of this financial crisis that, alas, still lies ahead.”

The New York Times added on September 18:

“The Dow industrials closed up more than 400 points [on Thursday], but there was little relief from the paralysis that has gripped the credit markets.”

US FINANCIAL CRISIS–“The World As We Know It Is Going Under”

Der Spiegel wrote on September 19:

“Panic is the word of the hour on Wall Street…

“The bad news on Wall Street was coming thick and fast. All the US indexes were crashing again after Tuesday’s brief and deceptive breather. In its wild, rollercoaster ride, the Dow Jones lost about 450 points, which was almost as much as it lost on Monday, the most catastrophic day on US markets since 2001… Things got worse after the markets closed. Washington Mutual, America’s fourth-largest bank, announced that it had started the process of putting itself up for sale. The Wall Street Journal reported that both Wells Fargo and the banking giant Citigroup were interested in taking over the battered American savings bank.

“And then came the announcement that would dominate all of Thursday’s market activities: Morgan Stanley — the venerable Wall Street institution and one of the last two US investment banks left standing — had lost massive amounts and was fighting for survival. Media reports were saying that it was even in talks about a possible bail-out or merger. Rumor had it that possible suitors might include Wachovia or China’s Bank Citic…

“In fact, it really does look as if the foundations of US capitalism have shattered. Since 1864, American banking has been split into commercial banks and investment banks. But now that’s changing. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch — overnight, some of the biggest names on Wall Street have disappeared into thin air. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the only giants left standing. Despite tolerable quarterly results, even they have been hurt by mysterious slumps in prices and — at least in Morgan Stanley’s case — have prepared themselves for the end…

“Many are drawing comparisons with the Great Depression, the national trauma that has been the benchmark for everything since. ‘I think it has the chance to be the worst period of time since 1929,’ financing legend Donald Trump told CNN. And the Wall Street Journal seconds that opinion, giving one story the title: ‘Worst Crisis Since ’30s, With No End Yet in Sight.’

“… the era of the unbridled free-market economy in the US has passed — at least for now. The near nationalization of AIG, America’s largest insurance company, with an $85 billion cash infusion — a bill footed by taxpayers — was a staggering move. The sum is three times as high as the guarantee provided by the Federal Reserve when Bear Stearns was sold to JPMorgan Chase in March…

“The situation appears to be so serious that George W. Bush cancelled two domestic trips he had planned for Thursday on short notice. Instead, the president will remain in Washington to discuss the ‘serious challenges confronting US financial markets.’…

“So far, the US presidential candidates have made few helpful remarks about the crisis other than the usual slogans… Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain had the most to say. On Monday, he said ‘the foundation of our economy’ was ‘strong,’ adding that he opposed a government-led bailout of US insurer AIG. But now he’s promising further government steps ‘to prevent the kind of wild speculation that can put our markets at risk.’ McCain’s explanation for the current crisis: ‘unbridled corruption and greed.’

“But Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama didn’t move past superficialities, either. ‘We’re Americans. We’ve met tough challenges before and we can again.’ What else are they supposed to say? After all, US presidents have very little influence on stockmarkets. And Wall Street is expecting the status quo for the next president…”

Terrible Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

The Associated Press reported on September 16:

 “More Hurricane Ike relief was on the way for evacuees Tuesday as tens of thousands of people waited for food, water and ice, for the electricity to return to their homes or for their first hot meal and shower… Many service stations have no gasoline, and some major highways remain under water. More than 30,000 evacuees are still living in nearly 300 public shelters, and roughly 2 million people in Texas alone are without power…

“A curfew remains in force for Houston, barring people from being on city streets from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., and officials were working to prevent looting and theft…

“Officials on the barrier island said it could be months before the city of Galveston reopens. The main gas and a primary electric transmission line to the island were severely damaged… Officials warned that mosquito-borne diseases could begin to spread… Across the entrance to Galveston Bay on Bolivar Peninsula, a resort community where entire neighborhoods were obliterated by the height of Ike’s storm surge, only one or two buildings remained standing in the town of Gilchrist. Aaron Reed, a spokesman for Texas Parks and Wildlife, said the town ‘is almost completely gone. Like somebody took a razor and went pffft.'”

Lawful Excuse to Intentionally Destroy Property Over Global Warming Dispute?

The Independent wrote on September 11:

“The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided yesterday. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage.

“Jurors accepted defence arguments that the six had a ‘lawful excuse’ to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent to prevent even greater damage caused by climate change. The defence of ‘lawful excuse’ under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage – such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire…”

Pope Benedict in France

AFP reported on September 12:

“Pope Benedict XVI Friday threw his weight behind a call by President Nicolas Sarkozy to rethink the strict separation of religion and state in France, the ‘eldest daughter’ of the Catholic Church. Bells tolled across Paris to greet the arrival of the leader of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics, whose four-day visit comes as France faces a freefall in the number of churchgoers despite its deep Christian heritage… Sarkozy, a twice-divorced lapsed Catholic, defended his vision in presence of the pope, saying it would be ‘madness’ to ‘deprive ourselves’ of religion.”

NPR reported on September 12:

“Pope Benedict has arrived for his first visit to France, which has 35 million baptized Catholics. Polls show the French have lost much of their sense of belonging to the church though Catholicism remains by far the country’s No. 1 religion.”

Reuters added on September 13:

“Pope Benedict prayed on Saturday at the site where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a French peasant girl 150 years ago… At Lourdes, Benedict prayed in the grotto where Saint Bernadette Soubirous said she had seen the Madonna 18 times in 1858, and drank water from a spring that believers say has healing powers. In the past 150 years, the Church has recognized as ‘miracles’ 67 medically inexplicable healings of sick pilgrims who visited Lourdes…

“At mass on Saturday morning in Paris, the pope told more than a quarter of a million people that the modern world had turned money, possessions and power into idols as false as the gold and silver statues worshipped by the pagans of antiquity… ‘Has it not imitated, perhaps inadvertently, the pagans of antiquity, by diverting man from his true end, from the joy of living eternally with God,’ he said in fluent French, wearing gold, white and red vestments. Benedict, who arrived in France on Friday, celebrated the mass at Les Invalides, a complex of military buildings begun by King Louis XIV in the 17th century that houses the sarcophagus of Napoleon Bonaparte…

“Since he arrived on Friday, the pope has been encouraging Catholics to speak out confidently in a country where ‘laicite’, the separation of church and state that often relegates faith to the private sphere, is part of the national psyche. The once powerful French church struggles with a shortage of priests and Sunday mass attendance is below 10 percent. But religion has re-emerged as a factor in public life, especially because of the growth of Islam, and French Catholics have increasingly spoken out on social issues.”

Due to more “miracles, signs and wonders,” which will be in some way attributed to the “Virgin Mary” and the present or future leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the number of practicing Roman Catholics in France–and around the world–will greatly increase in coming years. Also, the fact that Pope Benedict celebrated mass at Les Invalides where Napoleon I is buried, is highly significant. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte represented the fifth revival of the HOLY Roman Empire (a confederation of Church and State)–or the eighth resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire. For more information, please listen to our Public Bible Lecture, which is posted on Google Video and titled, “Public Bible Lecture: Europe in Prophecy” and read our free booklet on “Europe in Prophecy.”

Remembering September 11, 2001

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 11, 2008:

“Most people in the world can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the planes terrorists flew into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. This Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of the disaster, and since then a global ‘war on terror’ has been waged — but not won.

“With NATO support, the US has toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and established a new government, but not stabilized the country. A second war was started in Iraq with 9/11 as a justification — but on false premises, as most of the world knows now and many people already understood in 2003.

“Most of the world now has a new understanding of ‘security.’ Global terrorism of the sort practiced by al-Qaida finds targets that are not always easy to comprehend: a Danish embassy in Pakistan, nightclubs on Bali, trains in London and Madrid, wedding parties in Jordan, a synagogue in Tunisia, a British bank in Istanbul.

“To protect themselves, Western as well as non-Western states have passed new laws, some of them draconian. The United States set up a prison at Guantánamo Bay which has yet to be dismantled.

“The CIA has kidnapped and transported terror suspects all over the world, including people who weren’t especially suspect and have long been proved innocent. Arab nations have signed dubious extradition treaties to move terrorist suspects back and forth. Russia and China use the ‘war on terror’ for their own purposes — to declare Chechens and Uighurs potential terrorists, for example. The debate over torture, once thought to be settled in civilized nations, has enjoyed an unexpected and in some ways ignoble renaissance…

“Al-Qaida is not beaten. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are still at large. A number of high-ranking members of the organization have been killed or arrested, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and others. But terrorism hasn’t stopped. Al-Qaida has retreated in Iraq, perhaps, but in Pakistan as well as North Africa, it has gained influence and space…”

Special EU Status for Britain?

The Daily Mail reported on September 9, 2008:

“The architect of the despised European Constitution has reopened old wounds after he attacked Britain for ‘hampering’ the creation of an EU superstate. Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who spearheaded the drafting of the constitution – only to see it soundly rejected by his own countrymen – said the UK should be given a ‘special status’ to prevent it blocking closer integration. The former French president said Britain’s attempts to curb the expansion of power in Brussels was ‘exhausting for all concerned, and disappointing’.

“The arch Europhile, who was speaking at a conference in Westminster on Britain’s future relationship with Europe, has always been committed to a continental-wide ‘superstate’. As the president of the EU convention he played a key role in drafting the constitution – which was then dumped by French and Dutch voters in 2005. It was revived last year as the Lisbon Treaty, which Labour forced through Parliament in March…

“M Giscard d’Estaing insisted closer integration of the EU’s 27 member states would continue. But he suggested Britain should have a ‘special status’ which would maintain close links with the EU but prevent us from ‘acting as a brake’. He condemned the UK for its ‘permanently antagonistic standpoint’ towards the EU.

“The EU Treaty creates a permanent European president, a foreign affairs minister and a legal personality for the EU which would allow it to sign international treaties on Britain’s behalf. Despite being rejected by Irish voters in June, the EU has vowed to push ahead with it.”

“European Court of Justice Violates National Jurisdictions”

The EUObserver wrote on September 10:

“The European Court of Justice needs to be stopped from undermining national jurisdiction, former German President Roman Herzog and Lüder Gerken, the director of the Centre for European Policy, have warned… The sharp words come in the wake of similar arguments coming from Denmark and Austria accusing the court of stepping beyond its bounds.

“Several cases analysed by Mr Herzog prove, in his view, that the European Court of Justice ‘systematically ignores fundamental principles of the Western interpretation of law’, that it ‘ignores the will of the legislator, or even turns it into its opposite’ and ‘invents legal principles serving as grounds for later judgements’…

“Mr Herzog’s comments come amid growing frustration amongst Danish leaders that a ruling by the court regarding Irish legislation covering the residency rights of non-EU citizens who are spouses of citizens, is having a knock-on effect on similar Danish legislation… In 2006, former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel also attacked the European Court of Justice after it forced Austrian universities to open its doors to more foreign students, arguing that the court was interfering in education, ‘a clear national competence,’ he said at the time.”

Sarah Palin a Former Practicing Pentecostal

CNN reported on September 8:

“For more than two decades, current Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal. She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska… she attended the church from her teenage years through to 2002…

“Palin’s former pastor, Tim McGraw, says that like many Pentecostal churches, some members speak in tongues, although he says he’s never seen Palin do so. Church member Caroline Spangler told CNN, ‘When the spirit comes on you, you utter things that nobody else can understand … only God can understand what is coming out of our mouths.’ Some Pentecostals from Assembly of God also believe in ‘faith healing’ and the ‘end times’ — a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver Jesus Christ’s second coming…

“The McCain campaign says the Governor doesn’t consider herself Pentecostal… Palin’s former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy… Six years ago, Palin left Assembly of God… But the Assembly of God says she still returns for special conferences and events, such as the graduation of ministry students in June…

“Palin now attends the [non-denominational] Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God’s ‘judgment’ of Jews who haven’t embraced Christianity… The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin’s spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

“Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin’s former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn’t get into heaven. He told them, ‘I question your salvation.’ Assembly of God issued a statement online in response which said Kalnin was ‘joking’…”

Still Unfavorable Relations Between USA and Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 10:

“According to a major survey, Europeans want the Democrats to win back the White House this year. But Barack Obama’s positions on Iran’s nuclear program and Afghanistan are not widely supported in Europe…

“According to the latest ‘Transatlantic Trends,’ 47 percent of those polled across 12 European countries agree that there would be an improvement in relations between Europe and the US if Obama moved into the White House. By contrast, just 11 percent of those surveyed thought there would be a similar improvement under a President John McCain…

“These figures clearly do not back up the assumption that relations between Europe and the US have already relaxed… The image of the US in Europe has remained almost unaltered during the second Bush administration. Then as now, only 36 percent of Europeans view America’s role as a superpower positively (before the Iraq War that figure was still 64 percent.)…”

Worship of “the Virgin Mary”

Vatican Information Service (VIS) reported on September 7:

“Benedict XVI departed from Rome’s Ciampino airport, landing at the airport of Cagliari-Elmas on the Italian island of Sardinia… Having greeted the political, civil and ecclesiastical authorities, he travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria, which he visited briefly… the Pope celebrated Mass in the presence of 100,000 people on the esplanade in front of the Marian shrine…

“Going on to refer to the hundredth anniversary of the proclamation of the Virgin as patroness of the island, the Pope called on the faithful ‘to give thanks to Mary for her protection and to reiterate our faith in her, recognising her as the ‘Star of the new evangelisation’… [He] asked the Virgin to help the people of Sardinia ‘to bring Christ to families… May Mary, he said, ‘help you… evangelise the world of work, of the economy and of politics’… At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, Benedict XVI performed an act of consecration to Mary which concluded with the consignment of a golden rose to Our Lady of Bonaria.”

High U.S. Unemployment Rate in August

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 6:

“A jump in the unemployment rate to 6.1% in August, the highest in nearly five years, underscored the economy’s fragility and deepened political debate over whether a second stimulus package is needed. The jobless-rate jump, from 5.7% in July, was larger than anticipated, reflecting how energy prices and problems in the housing and financial sectors have radiated outward to slow overall economic activity.”

U.S. Government’s Take-Over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

CNN reported on September 7:

“Federal officials on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants… The move, which extends as much as $200 billion in Treasury support to the two companies, marks Washington’s most dramatic attempt yet to shore up the nation’s housing market, which is suffering from record foreclosures and falling prices… Fannie… and Freddie…, which were created by the U.S. government, have been badly hurt in the last year by the sharp decline in home prices as well as rising mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. All told, the two firms have racked up about $12 billion in losses since last summer…

“Fannie and Freddie have become virtually the only source of funding for banks and other home lenders looking to make home loans… The two firms buy loans, attach a guarantee, then sell securities backed by the loans’ income stream. All told, they own or back $5.4 trillion worth of home debt – half the mortgage debt in the country.

“… the cost to taxpayers [will] largely depend on the future financial performance of Fannie and Freddie. Another unintended yet unavoidable consequence may be the impact to the nation’s banks. Some of the nation’s largest financial institutions… own a big chunk of the estimated $36 billion in preferred shares of Fannie and Freddie… Those stakes are at risk of being wiped out…”

US Stocks Fall

The Financial Times wrote on September 10:

“US stocks suffered their worst fall of the year as a 45 per cent drop in Lehman Brothers shares renewed fears about the health of the global financial system… Lehman is expected to have suffered billions of dollars in credit-related writedowns in the third quarter.”

Reuters added on September 11:

“Washington Mutual Inc… shares sank below $2 for the first time since 1990 as anxiety grew about the largest U.S. savings and loan’s mortgage losses, capital needs and survival prospects… Wall Street is worried that Washington Mutual, like Lehman Brothers… may not have time to right itself… Washington Mutual has said mortgage losses could reach $19 billion through 2011… the falling stock price could make further capital raising prohibitively expensive.”

USA–“$407 Billion in the Hole”

CNN reported on September 9:

“The budget deficit will jump by $246 billion to $407 billion this year, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimates in a report released Tuesday… The budget deficit shot up 153% from last year’s shortfall of $161 billion… Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid alone is expected to jump 30% in the next decade… [Peter] Orszag [director of CBO] said… ‘The nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course.'”

Russia’s Cat-and-Mouse-Game with the West

The Associated Press reported on September 9:

“Russia announced Tuesday it would keep 7,600 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the foreseeable future, asserting power in the breakaway regions even as it began a pullout from positions deeper in Georgia. The Kremlin’s plans for a heavy military footprint in the enclaves mock Georgia’s hopes that a revised peace agreement will lead to a complete Russian withdrawal from the fractured country at the heart of a bitter fray between Moscow and the West…

“A senior U.S. official… told lawmakers… that the United States is reviewing how to help Georgia rebuild its military. Georgia blames Russia for the war and is calling for a complete withdrawal of Russian forces, including from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. ‘There is no way Georgia will ever give up a piece of its sovereignty, a piece of its territory,’ Saakashvili said Tuesday.”

Ukraine Disappointed Over Germany

The EUObserver wrote on September 9:

“EU and Ukraine leaders will celebrate a ‘great day’ as they unveil plans for a new bilateral treaty in Paris [referred to as “Association Agreement”]…, but behind the fanfare, Ukraine diplomats are disappointed… Nine EU members including Poland, the UK, Sweden, the Czech republic and the Baltic states had pushed for the Paris declaration to ‘recognise’ Ukraine’s EU membership ‘perspective’… Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg blocked any suggestions of future EU expansion into post-Soviet territory, however…

“French diplomats have explained that while the title ‘Association Agreement’ is reminiscent of treaties signed with countries such as Poland in the run-up to the 2004 round of enlargement, it carries no special promise, as ‘association’ deals also exist with Chile or Morocco…

“Ukrainian diplomats see the summit declaration as a sell-out… ‘I feel like we have thrown away our European future,’ one Ukrainian contact said.”

Ukraine Could Be Next

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 10:

“Perhaps the most urgent question in the world affairs today is whether Russia’s invasion and continuing occupation of Georgia was a singular event. Or was it the onset of a distinct, and profoundly disturbing, national security and foreign policy agenda? Much as one would like to cling to the former theory, the evidence favors the latter…

“Apart from Estonia and Latvia… by far the most likely target is Ukraine… Mr. Putin has made his contempt for Ukrainian sovereignty clear, most notably at the NATO summit in Bucharest last April when, according to numerous reports in the Russian and Ukrainian press, he told President Bush that the Ukraine is ‘not even a real state,’ that much of its territory was ‘given away’ by Russia, and that it would ‘cease to exist as a state’ if it dared join NATO… Whatever the operational specifics, the Russian political barometer seems to augur storms ahead.”

Russia’s Continued Threats

AFP reported on September 10:

“Russia could point missiles at strategic US targets in central Europe, including planned American missile shield sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, a senior Russian general said Wednesday. ‘I can’t exclude that if such decisions are taken by our military-political leadership, the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and other such objects could be chosen as designated targets for some of our inter-continental ballistic missiles,’ General Nikolai Solovtsov said… Moscow ‘is obliged to take corresponding measures that prevent under any circumstances the devaluing of Russia’s nuclear deterrent…’

“The comments came as tensions mounted between Russia and the United States over last month’s Russian military surge into Georgia and the fraught question of missile defence… Moscow sees the plans for new US missile defence facilities in central Europe as part of an effort to encircle Russia. Washington insists the planned facilities are directed against ‘rogue states’ such as Iran and in no way threaten Russia.”

Germany’s Political Dilemma–Waiting for a Strong Leader

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 9:

“Frank-Walter Steinmeier doesn’t seem to be looking forward to next year, and who can blame him. The Social Democrat candidate for the 2009 election has never campaigned for office and must unite a bitterly divided party. Few analysts rate his chances of beating Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“… the most likely outcome of the next general election is a continuation of the current grand coalition between Germany’s two main parties, Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats and Steinmeier’s SPD. The two rival parties have been ruling Europe’s largest economy together since 2005 in a loveless marriage that has failed to produce significant economic reforms and has plunged the country’s already staid political scene into a dull torpor… Expect more of the same, is the depressing prediction by seasoned observers…

“Angela Merkel’s government is likely to come to a near-complete standstill over the next year as the SPD and CDU square off ahead of the election… The irony is that after that long election campaign the rivals will probably find each other seated round the exact same cabinet table next year.”

Iran–Is Time Running Out for Israel?

Reuters reported on September 9:

“Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant is nearing completion and the start-up of its reactor will soon become ‘irreversible’, the Russian state-owned company that is building the power station said on Tuesday. Russia has already delivered nuclear fuel under a $1 billion contract to build the Bushehr plant, on the Gulf coast in southwest Iran, and Iranian officials say the reactor is likely to be started up soon [i.e., December 2008 – February 2009]…

“Russia signed a contract to build the plant in 1995 on the site of an earlier project begun in the 1970s by German firm Siemens. Siemens’s project was disrupted by Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.”

Pakistan’s New President

The Associated Press reported on September 9:

“Repeatedly paying homage to his assassinated wife, new President Asif Ali Zardari… was long on platitudes but short on specifics while meeting with media after taking the oath of office in a short ceremony at the presidential palace. He was chosen to replace Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally who resigned under pressure last month… The United States came to depend heavily on Musharraf for cooperation to capture or kill al-Qaida leaders who plotted the 9/11 attacks on America and fled Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban regime. However, the Taliban revived on Musharraf’s watch, and al-Qaida chiefs Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri remain on the run, probably somewhere in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

“Washington has increasingly taken matters into its own hands in recent weeks, with controversy erupting every time civilians become casualties. Missile strikes in Pakistan’s northwest have killed dozens, and U.S.-led forces last week took part in a helicopter-backed ground assault that killed at least 15… The unilateral actions have sparked a public backlash, including official protests, although it appears that Pakistan, the Islamic world’s only nuclear power, is too dependent on the billions of dollars in U.S. aid to do much more than complain.”

Strained Relations Between Pakistan and USA

CNN reported on September 10:

“Pakistan’s military chief said Wednesday that no foreign forces will be allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan in light of last week’s ‘reckless’ U.S. military ground operation… The announcement came as Pakistan’s military resumed its battle against Taliban militants in its tribal region… A ground incursion last week by U.S. forces into Pakistan strained relations between the two countries. Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador in Islamabad to complain about the incident, which it said killed 15 civilians.

“The Pentagon has not confirmed the raid, but a senior U.S. official… told CNN… that U.S. helicopters dropped troops into the village of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan. The official said there was no evidence of any civilian deaths. The U.S. official said the operation was launched fairly quickly without formal permission from Pakistan’s government after it became clear that there was sufficient intelligence to take the risk of putting U.S. troops on the ground in a potentially hostile area of Pakistan.

“In the U.S., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, warned Congress on Wednesday that cross-border attacks into Afghanistan by militants in Pakistan’s tribal region are a problem… He added that the U.S. is ‘running out of time’ to win the war in Afghanistan and that sending in more troops will not guarantee victory. On Tuesday, President Bush announced the deployment of 4,500 additional troops in Afghanistan.”

The Associated Press added on September 11:

“Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday backed a harsh rebuke of the U.S. by the Muslim nation’s military chief, a sign of a strain in relations seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks forged the two countries’ anti-terror alliance. Pakistan’s public show of anger with the U.S. comes amid revelations that President Bush secretly approved new U.S. military raids in that country.”

Waste of Time and Money–The Large Hadron Collider

The Sun wrote on September 10:

“Scientists from 60 countries have been working 250ft underground on the project which is trying to recreate conditions in the first billionth of a second after the Big Bang dawn of the universe 14 billion years ago. They aim to fire beams of protons at almost the speed of light in opposite directions through a 17-mile ring-shaped frozen tunnel. Each beam will pack as much energy as a 93mph Eurostar train. The tunnel has been dug under mountain rock in the Alps along the border between Switzerland and France. Although the big switch-on took place today, the first high-energy collisions are not due until October 21.”

AFP added on September 10:

“Now that the beam has been successfully tested in clockwise direction, CERN plans to send it counterclockwise. Eventually two beams will be fired in opposite directions with the aim of recreating conditions a split second after the big bang, which scientists theorize was the massive explosion that created the universe.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 9:

“Will the Large Hadron Collider… bring about the end of the world? Most physicists say no — but they are hoping for clues as to how the universe began… Physicists say that the €6.4 billion ($9.2 billion) project — the lion’s share of which came from European countries — may provide unique new insights into how our universe was formed, the existence of ‘dark matter’ and even the possible reality of a number of new dimensions…

“Still, despite all the hype and the hope, scientists truly don’t know exactly what they’ll find in this grandest of all scientific experiments…  for those expecting the end of the world, the wait will continue for another few weeks. The Large Hadron Collider won’t actually begin bashing protons against each other until later this autumn.”

If we could only believe God–and all that money could be used for much more needful purposes. The Bible TELLS you how the universe began. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults?”

Europe’s Half-Hearted Measures Towards Russia

The EUObserver reported on September 2, 2008:

“EU leaders on Monday (1 September) agreed to postpone talks on a new EU-Russia partnership until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia following the insistence of a bloc of member states… Poland – one of the countries pushing for the suspension – hailed the final declaration as a victory and insisted its position was not isolated. ‘We were not alone, we were acting within a group,’ including also the Czech Republic, the Baltic States – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the UK and Sweden, Polish President Lech Kaczynski told journalists…

“Additionally, EU states agreed to ‘strongly condemn Russia’s unilateral decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia…’ However, as expected, EU leaders… stopped short of imposing formal sanctions on Russia… The EU has also decided to appoint an ‘EU special representative for the crisis in Georgia’ and to send immediately a ‘fact-finding mission’ to gather information on the ground.”

Germany and France Block EU Sanctions Against Russia

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 2:

“Last week, some European Union members talked of levying sanctions on Moscow. On Monday evening in Brussels, however, German and French-style diplomacy won out… In the five page document, the word ‘sanctions’ doesn’t make a single appearance. It is, of course, a calculated omission…

“‘Postponed [talks],’ but not abandoned — there is a fine line between the two in diplomatic language. If the talks had been abandoned then initiating new ones would have required the approval of the leaders of the EU member states…”

Germany Main Obstacle to Signing of Major EU-Ukraine Treaty?

The EUObserver wrote on August 28:

“Germany’s close relations with Russia are the main obstacle to signing a major EU-Ukraine treaty at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit in France [in September]…

“‘There are maybe two or three countries who are strong opposers, strong sceptics,’ Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Konstantin Yeliseyev said in Brussels…, commenting on EU reluctance to state clearly that ‘the future of Ukraine lies in the European Union’ in the preamble to the new treaty. ‘In this regard, we count very much on the leadership of Germany, which is the engine of EU integration and a very powerful country, we count very much on their courage,’ he added…

“The statement on EU enlargement is a deal-breaker for Ukraine, which says that if Germany’s preferred wording – that the new treaty ‘does not prejudge future relations’ – is used, it will effectively rule out any Ukraine moves toward EU accession for the next 10 to 15 years, when the pact is due to expire. Ukraine is also pressing for NATO countries to offer it a Membership Action Plan in December, with Germany also leading opposition at NATO-level to such a move.

“Mr Yeliseyev warned that lack of a clear political commitment by the West to Ukraine will be seen by Moscow as a green light to expand influence in the east… ‘If Ukrainian security deteriorated, it would not be a Georgia scenario, it would be a more dangerous scenario,’ he said, with the 50 million-strong, former nuclear power currently controlling most of Russia’s natural gas exports to the EU.”

Highly Irresponsible Article by Der Spiegel on Russia-Georgia Conflict

On September 1, the left-liberal German magazine, Der Spiegel, wrote a highly offensive piece which almost sounded like Russian war propaganda. The article was entitled, “Russia and the West–The Cold Peace.”

In the article, the authors even gave some credence to the ridiculous allegation that U.S. Vice President Dick “Cheney may have sparked the crisis in Georgia as a favor to the Republican presidential candidate. There is a wealth of evidence to support such a theory.” In making this outrageous claim, Der Spiegel became a mouth-piece for Vladimir Putin, who was referred to by The International Herald Tribune, on August 29, as follows:

“[Putin] suggested that the Bush administration may have tried to create a crisis that would influence American voters in the choice of a successor to President George W. Bush… Putin offered scant evidence to support his assertion, and the White House called his comments absurd.”

In addition, Der Spiegel also referred to “indications” that Georgia’s leader “Saakashvili attacked the civilian population [of South Ossetia] while they were asleep in their beds. That could be tantamount to a war crime.”

In spite of these irresponsible allegations, the article included a few worthwhile statements which we would like to quote, for your consideration:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel loves the Russians… She also loves Russian, and back in the former East Germany, Merkel learned the language so well that she won a Russian contest… She also said that if Russia were to send its military into Estonia, the country would be covered by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, meaning that an armed attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against them all… War, of course, would be the result… Nobody has a solution to the problems…

“After the EU summit, [Merkel] is due to call US President George W. Bush to pitch the European line on Russia, assuming there will be one. During the Cold War this would have been a call to the leading Western power. But these days the US is in no position to play a leading role… The crisis with Russia comes at a time when US foreign policy is plagued by uncertainty. Bush, the warrior, is powerless to act. He commands the largest military machine in the world, and yet no major breakthrough has been achieved in Iraq or Afghanistan. America has occupied these countries, but failed to pacify them…

“A colonel in the FSB, Russia’s domestic secret service and the successor organization to the KGB, expressed alarm last week. A violent conflict between Americans and Russians ‘on what is currently Ukrainian territory’ is ‘highly probable,’ he said, adding that if followers of Ukraine’s reformist president Viktor Yushchenko continue to insult the Russian inhabitants of the Crimea and defame the Russian Black Sea Fleet then it will be ‘time to come in and help the Russians living there.’ Around 1,500 kilometers to the north of the Crimea, in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, belligerent statements of this kind evoke a distinct sense of fear. In 1939, these Baltic countries were deprived of their independence as a consequence of the Hitler-Stalin Pact.”

Haider Back in the News–with a “New” Image

Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) reported on August 31:

“Rising prices and immigration are emerging as key topics in Austrian general elections due September 28, with right-wing parties expected to win up to 25 per cent of votes. Shortly after Social Democratic Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer stepped down as party chief in June, the conservative People’s Party (OVPe), the junior partner in government, announced the end of the coalition and called for early parliamentary elections… [Joerg] Haider… wants to fight high gasoline costs by opening government-subsidised petrol stations.”

On September 1, 2008, Reuters added the following:

“Right-wing populist Joerg Haider, staging a national comeback, aims to boost his party’s fortunes in Austria’s September 28 snap election but without the firebrand politics that once made waves across Europe. Gone are the xenophobic outbursts and the apologist rhetoric about Hitler’s Third Reich that helped provoke brief European Union sanctions on Austria when his party was part of the federal ruling coalition from 2000 to 2006.

“Haider, whose penchant for controversy once extended to cultivating ties with Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, has cut a notably calmer and conciliatory profile since re-emerging from a three-year retreat as governor of Carinthia province. He says his small party can be part of a ‘responsible alternative’ to dysfunctional coalitions of Austria’s two big parties, arguing his views — still anti-immigration and anti-EU integration — have become mainstream… he said his Alliance for the Future of Austria Party would take 6 to 8 percent, roughly double its showing in 2006… ‘(Our goal) is the biggest possible piece of the 25 percent pie,’ he told Reuters in an interview…

“Once a maverick more comfortable in opposition, Haider has played up a statesman’s image, saying an anti-inflation subsidy plan he applied in Carinthia could work on the national level and that he was open to a Vienna coalition with anyone…

“He said the European Union should forge ‘a privileged partnership or special treaties’ with Turkey to obtain a natural gas pipeline not dependent on Russia… But Haider said Turkey was culturally too different from the EU to qualify for membership — a mainstream view in Austria. He said asylum seekers convicted of crimes should be fitted with electronic tags to ensure they cannot vanish while awaiting deportation…”

McCain’s New Running Mate

The Associated Press reported on August 29:

“McCain’s veep choice is historic and hardly known… She has more experience catching fish than dealing with foreign policy or national affairs… McCain picked an independent figure in his own mold… [Alaska’s Governor Sarah] Palin’s selection was a jaw-dropper, as McCain passed over many other better known prospects, some of whom had been the subject of intense speculation for weeks or months… She brings a strong anti-abortion stance to the ticket and opposes gay marriage — constitutionally banned in Alaska before her time — but exercised a veto that essentially granted benefits to gay state employees and their partners… Democrats seized on the gaping experience gap and said McCain now has no business questioning the seasoning of their nominee…

“Palin’s clean-hands reputation has come into question with an investigation recently launched by a legislative panel into whether she dismissed Alaska’s public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper. Trooper Mike Wooten went through a messy divorce from Palin’s sister. The governor denied orchestrating the dozens of telephone calls made by her husband and members of her administration to Wooten’s bosses…

“Four months into her most recent pregnancy, Palin learned the child would have Down syndrome, and she said she never had any doubts about whether she would have the baby. ‘We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential,’ Palin told AP earlier this year in describing what she and her husband had confronted…

“During her first year in office, Palin moved away from the powerful old guard of the state Republican Party and has refused to kowtow to the powerful oil industry, instead presiding over a tax increase on oil company profits that now has the state’s treasury swelling. But she is a proponent of petroleum development, in tune with McCain, although the two disagree on drilling in Alaska’s protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She favors drilling there; he opposes it.

“The governor also opposed designating polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, fearing that step would get in the way of a proposed natural gas pipeline tapping the North Slope’s vast reserves.”

The Associated Press reported on August 29:

On August 29, nbc4.com published the following profile on Governor Sarah Palin:

“With the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, Sen. John McCain has extended an olive branch to the far right wing of his party… Below is a list of her stance on several important issues.

“Abortion: Palin is outspokenly pro-life.

“Marriage: Palin opposes same-sex marriage and stated on her campaign web site that she believes ‘marriage should only be between a man and a woman.’

“Climate: Upon being elected governor of Alaska, she created a sub-cabinet on climate change. However, she has been a vocal critic of scientists who suggest that climate change is leading to the decrease in polar bears in Alaska. She has also threatened to sue to have polar bears not listed as a threatened species.

“Immigration: Being that her state only borders Canada and is thousands of miles from the Mexican border, Palin has not often expressed her views publicly on illegal immigration.

“Guns: Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA. On her Web site, she wrote that she supports ‘our Constitutional right to bear arms and am a proponent of gun safety programs for Alaska’s youth.’

“Economy: She supports reducing property taxes and taxes for small businesses to grow the economy.

“Iraq: Palin is generally supportive of America’s presence in Iraq, her 18-year-old son Track Palin is in the Army and is slotted to go to Iraq in September. Palin has also visited members of the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait.

“Health Care: According to her campaign Web site, Palin supports flexibility in government regulations that allow competition in health care. She believes it will drive down health care costs and reduce the need for government subsidies. Palin also feels patients should have access to full medical billing information.”

The Iraq War a Task from God?

The Associated Press reported on September 3, 2008:

“Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church [Wasilla Assembly of God] that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a ‘task that is from God.’ In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it ‘God’s will.’

“Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there. ‘Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God,’ she said. ‘That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan’…

“Palin attended the evangelical church from the time she was a teenager until 2002… She has continued to attend special conferences and meetings there.”

Palin’s Daughter Is Pregnant…

MSNBC reported on September 1, 2008:

“The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
   
“Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement… ‘We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,’ the Palins’ statement said. ‘Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,’ the Palins said…”

A question is being debated on the Internet whether the case involves statutory rape under Alaska law. Much false information has been circulated in this regard. According to the press, at the time of sexual intercourse, the boyfriend was 18 and the teenage girl 17. Based on this statement, no statutory rape would be involved in Alaska for numerous reasons.

However, we may want to consider the issue of proper conduct. In virtually all press releases, nothing was said about sin. Rather, if at all, the word “mistake” was used, or it was emphasized how important it is to use contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies. What ever happened to the Biblical command to “flee fornication”?

We are glad that the decision was made not to abort the child–but rather, to get married. However, this does not justify the sin of fornication. Of course, God forgives sin upon repentance, and so must we. At the same time, our young people must be taught that it IS still sin to live together and engage in sexual activity outside of the sanctity of marriage. To just gloss over such conduct and call it “mistake,” if it leads to unwanted consequences, is NOT the way to proceed.

One point of view, which may come close to what we are addressing, was perhaps expressed in an article published on September 3, 2008, by the New York Daily News. It was titled, “Just Too Young.” We are quoting the following excerpts:

“Whatever its political implications, the out-of-wedlock pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is emblematic of a truly lamentable social phenomenon. Across America – and especially here in New York City – far too many teenage girls become pregnant every year, well before most are emotionally and financially equipped for parenthood. Ditto for the fathers…

“In 2006, the city was home to 268,000 girls who were 15 to 19 years old. More than 23,000 got pregnant – almost one out of every 11, which was more than double the national rate. These pregnancies added to a national total of roughly 730,000 teen pregnancies, 80% of which were unplanned. They also drove up the number of abortions, with almost 14,000 New York girls ending their pregnancies, as well as the number of single-parent households, with more than 7,500 giving birth out of wedlock…

“Thanks to Palin’s newfound prominence as John McCain’s running mate, Bristol Palin and her partner, Levi Johnston, 18, have been thrown into the spotlight as poster children for what not to do in a relationship at a young age. The responsibility they are said to be taking in planning to marry and raise their child does not eliminate that they are adjusting to the lifetime consequences of irresponsibility… the country would be well served by a frank discussion of the ills that often follow when immature teenagers blunder into pregnancy.”

117 U.S. Banks “Problem Banks”–with the Number Expected to Rise

Bloomberg reported on August 29:

“Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Georgia, was closed by U.S. regulators today, the 10th bank to collapse this year amid a surge in soured real-estate loans stemming from the worst housing slump since the Great Depression…

“Banks are being closed at the fastest pace in 14 years as financial companies report more than $505 billion in writedowns and credit losses since 2007… The FDIC this week said 117 banks are classified as ‘problem’ in the second quarter, a 30 percent jump from the first quarter. The agency doesn’t identify ‘problem’ lenders. ‘More banks will come on the list as credit problems worsen,’ FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said…

“The credit market turmoil may topple some of the nation’s biggest banks, Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said in Singapore Aug. 19. ‘Like any shrinking industries, we are going to see the exit of some major players,” Rogoff told Bloomberg, declining to name the banks he expects to fail.”

USA to Strike Iran in Coming Weeks?

On September 1, 2008, the Jerusalem Post published an article with the headline, “US to strike Iran in coming weeks.” In the article, it was pointed out:

“The Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran’s weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is imminent… The report claimed that the Dutch operation had been ‘extremely successful,’ and had been stopped because the US military was planning to hit targets that were ‘connected with the Dutch espionage action.’ The impending air-strike on Iran was to be carried out by unmanned aircraft ‘within weeks,’ the report claimed, quoting ‘well placed’ sources…”

Will Israel Strike Iran?

The Jerusalem Post reported on August 29, 2008:

“Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear capability and if time begins to run out, Jerusalem will not hesitate to take whatever means necessary to prevent Iran from achieving its nuclear goals, the government has recently decided in a special discussion… Jerusalem has begun preparing for a separate, independent military strike… Jerusalem has consistently warned in recent years that it will not settle for a ‘wait and see’ approach, merely retaliating to an attack, but will rather use preemption to prevent any risk of being hit in the first place.

“Ephraim Sneh, a veteran Labor MK who has recently left the party, has reportedly sent a document to both US presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. The eight-point document states that ‘there is no government in Jerusalem that would ever reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran. When it is clear Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons, an Israeli military strike to prevent this will be seriously considered.’…

“Sneh also visited Switzerland and Austria last week in an attempt to lobby them against the Iranian threat. Both countries have announced massive long-term investments in Iranian gas and oil fields for the next decade. ‘Talk of the Jewish Holocaust and Israel’s security doesn’t impress these guys,’ Sneh said wryly. Hearing his hosts speak of their future investments, Sneh replied quietly ‘it’s a shame, because Ido will light all this up.’ He was referring to Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, the recently appointed IAF commander and the man most likely to be the one to orchestrate Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, should this become a necessity. ‘Investing in Iran in 2008,’ Sneh told his Austrian hosts, ‘is like investing in the Krupp steelworks in 1938, it’s a high risk investment.’ The Austrians, according to Sneh, turned pale.

“In related news, a top official said Friday that Iran had increased the number of operating centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant to 4,000… Meanwhile, the pan-Arabic Al Kuds al Arabi reported Friday that Iran had equipped Hizbullah with longer range missiles than those it possessed before the Second Lebanon War and had also improved the guerrilla group’s targeting capabilities. According to the report, which The Jerusalem Post could not verify independently, Hizbullah was planning a massive rocket onslaught on targets reaching deep into Israel’s civilian underbelly in case Israel launches an attack on Iran.”

Will Conflict with Iran Ignite World War III?

AFP reported on August 29, 2008:

“A senior Iranian military commander has warned that any US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic would start a new world war… Another top military commander said Iran was prepared to ‘take the enemies off-guard’ and would unveil more weapons in case of an attack… During war games in July which provoked international concern, aides to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran would target US bases and US ships in the Gulf as well as Israel if it was attacked. Iran also test-fired its Shahab-3 missile which it says puts Israel within range.”

AFP added on September 2:

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Tuesday that an attack by Israel on Iran would have catastrophic consequences for the entire world. ‘We think that Israel could try to launch attacks against Iran, even against Lebanon or Syria,’ he said…”

Serious Water Shortage in Israel

The British paper, The Independent, wrote on August 30:

“The 2,000-year-old fishing boat of Galilee in which, the story goes, Jesus may have sailed, is one of the most precious ancient treasures in Israel. The vessel, which draws thousands of tourists to a kibbutz in Ginosar, was discovered by chance in 1986 when the sea level dropped dramatically because of a severe drought.

“‘This year it is actually worse. I have been here 54 years and I have never seen the water so low, the situation so bad,’ said Haim Binstock, an expert on the boat in the museum where it is kept. ‘I don’t think the outside world realises just how dangerous the situation is, not just for Israel but for the whole region.’

“The waters of the Sea of Galilee are now at their lowest on record and, officials say, are set to fall even lower. The crisis is both natural and man-made. Four successive years of droughts, with rainfall less than half the annual average, has combined with a lack of snow on the peaks of Mount Hermon to lead to the shortage. At the same time, Israel’s relentless pumping of water to irrigate farmland and supply homes has been massively worsening the situation.”

“Iraq Signs $3 Billion Oil Deal with China”

CNN reported on August 30:

“Iraq has signed its first major oil deal with a foreign company since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime… It was the first time in more than 35 years that Iraq has allowed foreign oil companies to do business inside its borders. The contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation could be worth up to $3 billion. It would allow the CNPC to develop an oil field in southern Iraq’s Wasit province for about 20 years, Oil Ministry spokesman Assim Jihad said.

“Iraq’s Cabinet must still approve the contract, but Jihad said that would happen soon and work could start within a few months. The Chinese company will provide technical advisers, oil workers and equipment to develop al-Ahdab oil field, providing fuel for al-Zubaidiya power plant in Wasit, southeast of Baghdad, bordering Iran, Jihad said.

“Once development begins, the field is expected to start producing a preliminary amount of 25,000 barrels of oil a day and an estimated constant daily amount of 125,000 barrels after three years, he said. Iraq currently produces about 2.5 million barrels a day, 2 million of which are exported daily, Jihad said. That is close to its status before the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam in 2003, but below its levels prior to the Persian Gulf War in 1991… Iraq has among the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 115 billion barrels, tying Iran for the No. 2 status behind Saudi Arabia’s 264 billion barrels…”

Germany Worried About Afghanistan

Germans are worried and concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. Deutsche Welle reported on September 3:

“With German troops tense about the growing risk of Taliban attacks, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung traveled to Afghanistan on an unannounced visit. Jung met on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with a tribal leader near Kunduz and conveyed Germany’s condolences over the shooting deaths of an Afghan woman and two children. They were killed last Thursday evening when German troops at a roadblock opened fire on a car when it ignored an order to stop…

“Jung said he assured him the German army was doing everything it could to prevent civilian casualties. German prosecutors have been conducting a routine inquiry into whether the shooting was allowed under German rules of engagement.

“Tension has been high in the German contingent amid an upsurge of both attacks and warnings of attacks, German soldiers say. Last week a German soldier was killed when a remote-controlled bomb went off near an armored vehicle. At a briefing, Jung was told that security had ‘markedly deteriorated’ with a growing risk of attack on the Germans by booby traps, missiles, ambushes and suicide bombers.”

Is the World Facing Another Global War?

Times-On-Line wrote on August 24:

“Is the world drifting towards a new global war? From this week the dominant super-power, America, will for three months pass through the valley of the shadow of democracy, a presidential election… Barack Obama and John McCain will not act as statesmen but as politicians… Their eye will stray from the ball.

“Meanwhile, along history’s fault line of conflict from Russia’s European border to the Caucasus and on to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan… drums are sounding and harsh words are spoken. The world is now run by a generation of leaders who have never known global war. Has this dulled their senses?…

“The world is showing alarming parallels with the 1930s. Lights are turning to red as the world again approaches depression. The credit crunch and the collapse of world trade talks are making nations introverted. Meanwhile… Russia… is flexing its muscles and finding them in good working order…

“Any student of McCain or Obama, of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, or of the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, might conclude that these are not people likely to go to war. They are surely the children of peace. Yet history shows that ‘going to war’ is never an intention. It is rather the result of weak, shortsighted leaders entrapped by a series of mistakes. For the West’s leaders at present, mistake has become second nature.”

Russia’s Intentional Provocations Continue

The Associated Press reported on August 26:

“Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories [Abkhazia and South Ossetia]… heightening tensions with the West… a day after Russia’s Kremlin-controlled parliament voted unanimously to support the diplomatic recognition. Western criticism came almost immediately.”

AFP added on August 26:

“US President George W. Bush on Tuesday demanded that Russia reverse its ‘irresponsible decision’ to recognize Georgia’s rebel regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. ‘The United States condemns the decision,’ he said… warning that ‘Russia’s action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations’ on the future of Georgia.

“Leading the West’s outraged response, Bush said Moscow’s diplomatic gesture violated a French-brokered August 12 ceasefire pact, as well as ‘numerous’ UN Security Council resolutions backed by Russia in the past… ‘In accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions that remain in force, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia, and they must remain so,’ he said…

“Absent significant, concrete reprisals, [Medvedev] has shrugged off warnings of growing isolation from the international community [and a new Cold War], saying: ‘We’re not afraid of anything’…

“German [Foreign Minister] Frank-Walter Steinmeier said all sides were ‘playing with fire’ and urged: ‘The spiral of provocation must stop, and immediately.'”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 26:

“It looks as if Moscow is courting isolation. Russia’s relationship with the West was already straining under the ongoing crisis in the Caucasus. Now, though, the situation has become even more tense…

“The Russian move was swiftly met with sharp Western criticism, revealing the dismay with which Europe and the United States have watched Moscow fail to be swayed by any international threats. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the decision ‘completely unacceptable’ while France expressed its deep regret and reiterated its commitment to the territorial integrity of Georgia. A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said: ‘We reject this categorically and reaffirm Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.’

“Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the fact that Russia’s leadership ‘has now chosen this route means they have chosen a policy of confrontation, not only with the rest of Europe, but also with the international community in general’…

“The move has certainly upset the markets, with Russian stocks falling to their lowest level in two years directly after Medvedev’s announcement, as traders worried about rising tensions in the region. Masha Lipman, an expert at the Moscow Carnegie Center think tank said that the decision is likely to lead to the further diplomatic isolation of Russia. Speaking to the Associated Press, she said that it was an ‘indication that Russia has opted for further aggravation in relations with the West, and a very serious rift this time.'”

Europe Must Act With One Voice

Bild Online reported on August 26 that German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned Russia’s decision to recognize two former provinces of the Russian Empire, stating that the EU must and will act as a unity, and that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of NATO.

“Explosive” Proposals as to How to “Deal” With Russia

On August 26, The Wall Street Journal published the following opinion by Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, and Joe Lieberman, an Independent Democratic senator from Connecticut:

“Russia’s aggression is not just a threat to a tiny democracy on the edge of Europe. It is a challenge to the political order and values at the heart of the continent… There is disturbing evidence Russia is already laying the groundwork to apply the same arguments used to justify its intervention in Georgia to other parts of its near abroad — most ominously in Crimea. This strategically important peninsula is part of Ukraine, but with a large ethnic Russian population and the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol…

“Our response to the invasion of Georgia must include regional actions to reassure Russia’s rattled neighbors and strengthen trans-Atlantic solidarity. This means reinvigorating NATO as a military alliance, not just a political one. Contingency planning for the defense of all member states against conventional and unconventional attack, including cyber warfare, needs to be revived. The credibility of Article Five of the NATO Charter — that an attack against one really can and will be treated as an attack against all — needs to be bolstered.”

The Former Soviet Republics Faced With Russian Aggression

In its September 1, 2008, edition, Time magazine published a map designating the former Soviet Republics. Many of them must now be afraid of Russian invasion. As the magazine stated, “… after the invasion of Georgia, former members of the U.S.S.R. face an inescapable truth: you can’t run from geography. Try as they might to move closer to Europe, many are now nervously eyeing a resurgent Russia on their borders.”

Starting with the former provinces in the north and then moving towards the south and the east, the former Soviet-Russian republics, which are all bordering on Russia, are as follows:

The Baltics and their “prickly relationship with Russia,” consisting of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania;

Eastern Europe, consisting of Belarus, Ukraine [“Russia has held a grudge against Ukraine” since 2004] and Moldova;

The Caucasus [“a vital region for the West”], consisting of Georgia, Armenia [“which borders Turkey and Iran, readily accepts Russian protection”] and Azerbaijan; and

Central Asia [“wedged between Russia and China”], consisting of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Russia Determined to Threaten the West

The Associated Press reported on August 26:

“Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means. Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders ‘will of course create additional tensions. We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way…'”

On August 27, AFP reported:

“As Medvedev prepared to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, a KEY ALLY , the Russian military criticised NATO’s naval presence in the Black Sea, said by the West to be part of planned exercises and to deliver aid to Georgia…

“Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that any attack by the alliance on the Moscow-backed regions would ‘mean a declaration of war on Russia’…”

The Associated Press added on August 27:

“A U.S. military ship loaded with aid docked at a southern Georgian port Wednesday, and Russia sent three missile boats to another Georgian port as the standoff escalated over a nation devastated by war with Russia… Although Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear violation of an European Union-brokered cease-fire, a top Russian general has called using warships to deliver aid ‘devilish.'”

Russia Tests Missile, Receives Some Support from China

AFP reported on August 28:

“Russia on Thursday tested an inter-continental missile, heightening tensions with the West as France said the European Union could impose sanctions on Moscow over the Georgia conflict…

“The missile test in northern Russia came barely a week after the United States completed an accord with Poland on basing an anti-missile shield in central Europe and as Russia accuses NATO of building up its navy vessels in the Black Sea… Russia has been developing the missile in response to US plans to develop a missile-defence shield…

“A statement released by the six nations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit voiced support for Russia’s ‘active role’ in ‘assisting in peace and cooperation in the region’… [The statement was] signed by Medvedev, President Hu Jintao of China and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.”

However, as Der Spiegel Online pointed out on August 27, the SCO refused to follow Russia’s lead to recognize Georgia’s rebel regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. This prompted Russian media to criticize Medvedev and calling his mission a failure, according to Der Spiegel.

Russia Shows Strength, While Europe Shows Weakness

On August 27, The Wall Street Journal published the following analysis about Russia and the EU:

“Russian power is extraordinarily brutal in the post-Soviet era, as we have already seen in Chechnya. This brutality has been confirmed — although on a smaller scale — in the spectacle of the Russian army occupying a sovereign country, moving through it as it pleases, advancing and retreating at will, and casually destroying the military and civilian infrastructures of a young democracy as an astonished world watches. Today it is Georgia. Tomorrow will it be Ukraine? Or, in the name of the same solidarity with the supposedly persecuted Russian-speaking populations, will it be the Baltic countries? Or Poland?…

“The new Russia is indifferent to international protests, admonishments and warnings… Russia has no shame when it comes to twisting principles and ideals… European — and in this instance French — diplomacy is weak. We expect a great democracy to condemn and sanction the aggressor, without nuance. But in effect the opposite was done… Mikheil Saakhashvili, the Georgian president, was… forced to ratify a document that the Russians speak of as the ‘Medvedev document.’ Not a word in it mentions the territorial integrity of the country. Then there are the famous ‘additional security clauses’ acknowledging the Russian army’s right to be stationed there and to patrol, as scandalous in principle as they are vague in their modalities of application. Has the world turned upside down? This must be a dream.

“Western public opinion fell with disconcerting facility for the thesis advanced — from the very first day — by the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. We know now that the Russian army had been hard at work on its war preparations since before Aug. 8… We must analyze in greater depth the mechanisms of… blindness… Reason, if not honor, demands that we go to the rescue of Europe in Tbilisi.”

China and the USA–“A Biblical Seven Years”

The New York Times published the following article, which was re-published by Der Spiegel Online on August 27, titled, “A Biblical Seven Years”:

“China did not build the magnificent $43 billion infrastructure for these games, or put on the unparalleled opening and closing ceremonies, simply by the dumb luck of discovering oil. No, it was the culmination of seven years of national investment, planning, concentrated state power, national mobilization and hard work. Seven years… Oh, that’s right. China was awarded these Olympic Games on July 13, 2001 — just two months before 9/11.

“As I sat in my seat at the Bird’s Nest, watching thousands of Chinese dancers, drummers, singers and acrobats on stilts perform their magic at the closing ceremony, I couldn’t help but reflect on how China and America have spent the last seven years: China has been preparing for the Olympics; we’ve been preparing for Al Qaeda. They’ve been building better stadiums, subways, airports, roads and parks. And we’ve been building better metal detectors, armored Humvees and pilotless drones.

“The difference is starting to show. Just compare arriving at La Guardia’s dumpy terminal in New York City and driving through the crumbling infrastructure into Manhattan with arriving at Shanghai’s sleek airport and taking the 220-mile-per-hour magnetic levitation train, which uses electromagnetic propulsion instead of steel wheels and tracks, to get to town in a blink. Then ask yourself: Who is living in the third world country?

“… the first rule of holes is that when you’re in one, stop digging. When you see how much modern infrastructure has been built in China since 2001, under the banner of the Olympics, and you see how much infrastructure has been postponed in America since 2001, under the banner of the war on terrorism, it’s clear that the next seven years need to be devoted to nation-building in America.

“We need to finish our business in Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible, which is why it is a travesty that the Iraqi Parliament has gone on vacation while 130,000 U.S. troops are standing guard. We can no longer afford to postpone our nation-building while Iraqis squabble over whether to do theirs…”

Iran Builds Submarines With Capacity to Launch Torpedoes and Missiles

On August 26, The New York Sun reported the following:

“Iran’s Defense Ministry said it started to build submarines to give its military ‘the most advanced arms’ and maintain ‘security’ in the Strait of Hormuz. The production line for the Qaem submarines, which will have the capacity to transport and launch torpedoes and subsurface missiles, was inaugurated yesterday, Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted as saying…

“The Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is a chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which about a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply is shipped. Iran is caught in a standoff with Western countries over its nuclear program. America, while saying it is committed to a diplomatic solution, has never ruled out military action.

“Iran warned in June that it would ‘impose control’ on the Gulf, including the strait, in response to any attack on its atomic installations.”

America’s Weak Banking System

Reuters reported on August 27:

“Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported… The last time the FDIC had borrowed funds from the Treasury was at nearly the tail end of the savings-and-loan crisis in the early 1990s after thousands of banks were shuttered.

“The fact that the agency is considering the option again, after the collapse of just nine banks this year, illustrates the concern among Washington regulators about the weakness of the U.S. banking system in the wake of the credit crisis, the Journal said.”

Another U.S. Bank Folds…

Bloomberg reported on August 23:

“Columbian Bank and Trust Co. of Topeka, Kansas, was closed by U.S. regulators, the nation’s ninth bank to collapse this year amid bad real-estate loans and writedowns stemming from a drop in home prices. The bank, with $752 million in assets and $622 million in total deposits, was shuttered by the Kansas state bank commissioner’s office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp… Citizens Bank and Trust will assume the failed bank’s insured deposits…

“The pace of bank closings is accelerating as financial firms have reported more than $500 billion in writedowns and credit losses since 2007. The FDIC’s ‘problem’ bank list grew… to 90 banks with combined assets of $26.3 billion.”

How Germans View Obama’s Choice of Biden

On August 25, following Barack Obama’s announcement that he chose Joe Biden as his running mate, the German press responded in a divided manner.

According to Der Spiegel Online, “The right-leaning Die Welt writes: ‘(Choosing Joe Biden as his running mate) is not without its problems… In the minds of the voters, Joe Biden is just as much as a blank slate as Obama is. In America, that’s what you call “double trouble.” Naming Biden doesn’t mitigate people’s stranger anxiety with Obama. It actually accentuates it.’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘By deciding on Biden as his running mate, Obama … has made it clear that he considers his lack of foreign policy experience to be dangerous and that, given the current global situation, it might even be decisive in the election. Otherwise, it’s very unlikely that he would have chosen Biden, as he represents a tiny state and neither he nor Obama enjoys general popularity with the common citizen. Biden’s own runs for the presidency have usually ended fairly early, with extremely poor results…’

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘… If Biden makes it to the White House, it would be a good thing for Europe, too. Biden is a frequent guest in European capitals, and he’s seen the problem spots with his own eyes. … With Biden, Obama is putting a specialist on his team in a time of foreign-policy crisis. That can only help the occasionally troubled trans-Atlantic relations.'”

Democrats Support Unconditional Right of Legal Abortion

The Associated Press reported on August 25 about the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado:

“In one of their first orders of business, delegates ratified a party platform tailored to Obama’s specifications. It backs ‘complete redeployment within 16 months from Iraq,’ as well as health care for all, a new economic stimulus package and higher taxes on families earning over $250,000 a year.

“‘The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right,’ it said.”

Catholics Attack Biden and Pelosi

The Washington Times reported on August 26:

“Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. arrived at the Democratic National Convention on Monday amid rumblings over whether his pro-choice Catholicism would help or hurt the Democratic ticket. An Irish-Catholic from a working-class upbringing, Mr. Biden won the nod as presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama’s running mate in part because of his appeal to blue-collar Catholics… But the party’s hopes of winning the critical Catholic vote took a hit Sunday when Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver said Mr. Biden should avoid taking Communion as a result of his pro-choice stand on abortion…

“The debate underscored what has emerged as a central theme of this year’s convention: the tension between the Democratic Party’s renewed outreach to religious voters and its long-standing support for unfettered access to abortion… Catholics, the nation’s largest religious voting bloc, represent 26 percent of the electorate… Catholic advocacy groups didn’t wait long before weighing in on the ‘wafer wars.’ The conservative Catholic group Fidelis condemned the selection of Mr. Biden. ‘Now everywhere Biden campaigns, we’ll have this question of whether a pro-abortion Catholic can receive Communion. … Selecting a pro-abortion Catholic is a slap in the face to Catholic voters,’ said Fidelis President Brian Burch.”

On August 25, TheHill.com reported:

“In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington [Donald W. Wuerl] said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the [question when human life begins] has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church… Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic…

“Wuerl… cited Catechism language that reads, ‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception … Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.'”

“Black Against White” — “The Hidden Issue in the US Presidential Campaign”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 27:

“McCain against Obama. Republican against Democrat. Old against young. There are a number of ways to define the ongoing battle for the White House. But the most important is getting short shrift: black against white… Whenever a question about race is asked, the interviewee either tries to act as if he hadn’t heard properly, or the answer quickly meanders into meaninglessness…

“… it is not just Russia and the Georgian war that have suddenly granted McCain serious-contender status in this election. The race issue… remains, despite being pushed into the background by political correctness, unresolved. Now, the issue of race is playing a role in weakening Obama and strengthening McCain and almost no one wants to talk about it. Indeed, the issue of race in the campaign has become the province of the lunatic fringe — such as radio personality Rush Limbaugh. Obama’s candidacy, he said on air, ‘goes back to the fact that nobody had the guts to stand up and say no to a black guy.’ He also referred to Obama as the ‘little black man child.’

“Limbaugh may be extreme, but it’s not difficult to imagine that a large percentage of Republican voters are also wary of seeing a black president. More important, though, is whether the swing voters will be willing to vote for a black man over a white man. And it also depends on the fickle Democrats, many of whom voted for Ronald Reagan in the ’80s. Now they must choose between voting for Obama — or maybe, in the end, McCain.

“It will also, of course, depend upon the aggrieved and defeated Hillary Clinton and how well she fades into the background after her Tuesday night speech in Denver. Obama, for his part, can only help himself by holding his tongue when it comes to Clinton. There are, after all, a number of white skeptics who would have preferred to see Clinton as the Democratic candidate. Race, after all, was a hidden factor in the primaries as well.”

California Appeals Court Affirms Home Schooling by Non-Credentialed Parents

On August 8, 2008, The Mercury News reported the following:

“In a decision widely praised, a California appeals court this morning affirmed the right of parents who don’t have a teaching credential to educate their children at home. A three-judge panel overturned a lower-court order in February that had created an uproar among home-schooling parents when it required that they be credentialed. An estimated 166,000 California children are home schooled.

“The Second District appellate court in Los Angeles ruled that individual parents, like private schools, are exempt from the requirement that those who teach children be credentialed by the state…”

Misrepresentation of the Biblical Sabbath

RTE News reported on August 24:

“Cardinal Séan Brady has suggested that EU hostility to religion may have prompted some Irish voters to reject the Lisbon Treaty. He said a succession of anti-family, anti-life and other anti-Christian decisions by Brussels has made it more difficult for committed Christians to maintain their instinctive support for Europe in the Lisbon Referendum.”

Christianity Today added on August 25 how Cardinal Brady blatantly mischaracterized Sunday, calling it “the Sabbath.” As any serious biblical scholar knows, the Bible commands the worship of the Seventh-Day Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset)–not Sunday, which is the FIRST day of the week. To refer to Sunday as the Sabbath is either willfulness or blatant ignorance. The Bible prophesied however, in the Old Testament book of Daniel, that the Catholic Church WILL attempt to change the times of holy worship. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days.”

Christianity Today wrote:

“Cardinal Sean Brady… told the audience: ‘Successive decisions… have undermined the family based on marriage, the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death, the sacredness of the Sabbath, the right of Christian institutions to maintain and promote their ethos, including schools… Ignoring this trend within the EU and its impact on people of faith has inevitable political and social consequences, not least on levels of support for the project itself.'”

The US Fiddled While Georgia Burned

On August 15, The Telegraph published the following article by John R Bolton:
 
“Russia’s invasion across an internationally recognised border, its thrashing of the Georgian military, and its smug satisfaction in humbling one of its former fiefdoms represents only the visible damage.

“As bad as the bloodying of Georgia is, the broader consequences are worse. The United States fiddled while Georgia burned, not even reaching the right rhetorical level in its public statements until three days after the Russian invasion began, and not, at least to date, matching its rhetoric with anything even approximating decisive action. This pattern is the very definition of a paper tiger. Sending Secretary of State [Condoleezza] Rice to Tbilisi is touching, but hardly reassuring; dispatching humanitarian assistance is nothing more than we would have done if Georgia had been hit by a natural rather than a man-made disaster.

“The European Union took the lead in diplomacy, with results approaching Neville Chamberlain’s moment in the spotlight at Munich: a ceasefire that failed to mention Georgia’s territorial integrity, and that all but gave Russia permission to continue its military operations as a ‘peacekeeping’ force anywhere in Georgia. More troubling, over the long term, was that the EU saw its task as being mediator – its favourite role in the world – between Georgia and Russia, rather than an advocate for the victim of aggression.

“Even this dismal performance was enough to relegate [NATO] to an entirely backstage role, while Russian tanks and planes slammed into a ‘faraway country’, as Chamberlain once observed so thoughtfully. In New York, paralysed by the prospect of a Russian veto, the UN Security Council, that Temple of the High-Minded, was as useless as it was during the Cold War…

“The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. Georgia wasted its dime making that famous 3am telephone call to the White House… Moreover, the blood on the Bear’s claws did not go unobserved in other states that were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia demonstrated unambiguously that it could have marched directly to Tbilisi and installed a puppet government before any Western leader was able to turn away from the Olympic Games. It could, presumably, do the same to them…”

For more information, please watch our new StandingWatch program on StandingWatch or Google Video, titled “Georgia Burns, While the West Fiddles.”

Germany’s “Balanced” Shameful Approach!

Deutsche Welle reported on August 14 about Germany’s dubious role in the Russia-Georgia affair:

“Germany’s foreign minister [Steinmeier] urged the EU to take a balanced… [and] even-handed approach to the conflict between Russia and Georgia if it wanted to play a constructive role in forging long-lasting peace in the Caucasus… ‘We should also pursue a policy which is sensible and realistic,’ Steinmeier said on German television…

“But divisions have emerged in the European Union over the best way to deal with Moscow… Many new EU members have condemned Russia’s violent push into Georgia… The United States, a strong backer of Georgia, and Britain have slammed Russia’s military campaign against Georgia…

“Steinmeier’s comments, however, reflect a more nuanced attitude in Germany towards Moscow in the current conflict. German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have carefully avoided assigning blame in the conflict. The country, which is heavily dependant on Russian energy supplies, is a strong advocate of closer ties with Moscow. Earlier this year, Germany led European resistance to plans, pushed by the US, to put Georgia on the track to NATO membership…

“Ruprecht Polenz, a veteran member of Merkel’s conservative party and head of the foreign policy committee of the German parliament… told news agency Reuters the EU should bind Russia closer to the bloc… [and] consider offering Moscow a ‘privileged partnership’ if it shows a willingness to adopt European values… adding it would be a mistake to scrap ongoing partnership talks with Russia because of its conflict with Georgia.”

Russia Returns to Its Past

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 19:

“The sight of Russian tanks rolling through Georgia was shocking yet familiar. Images flash back of Chechnya in 1994 and ’99, Vilnius ’91, Afghanistan ’79, Prague ’68, Hungary ’56. Before that the Soviet invasions, courtesy of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, of Poland and the Baltics in ’39 and ’40. Kazaks, Azeris, Tajiks, Ukrainians remember — from family stories and national lore — their own subjugation to Russian rule… Vladimir Putin… doesn’t give the impression he ever believed in… partnership with the West and freedom at home.”

Russia Threatens Poland

The British tabloid, The Sun, wrote on August 16:

“RUSSIA threatened to NUKE Poland yesterday as the world faced the prospect of a terrifying new Cold War.  The chilling threat was issued by a top general of Vladimir Putin amid mounting tensions over the war in Georgia.  Gen Anatoly Nogovitsy lashed out after Poland agreed to help the US create a ‘missile shield’ over Europe. He said: ‘Poland is making itself a target. Such targets are destroyed as a first priority.’  Gen Nogovitsy stressed Moscow was ready to use nuclear weapons ‘against allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them’. Russia is furious [that] Poland has said the US can put an interceptor base and a battery of Patriot missiles on its territory…”

ABC News reported on August 20:

“Russia’s foreign ministry today threatened to go beyond diplomatic protests in response to the signing of a U.S.-Polish deal to base part of an American missile defense system in Poland, which borders part of Russia. The latest threat came after a top Russian general said Poland would risk a military strike if it allowed the base and as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed Russia’s saber rattling, saying the threats ‘border on the bizarre. When you threaten Poland, you perhaps forget that it is not 1988,’ Rice said… ‘It’s 2008 and the United States has a … firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland’s territory as if it was the territory of the United States. So it’s probably not wise to throw these threats around.’

“But in addition to the threats, Russia may be making a more concrete move. Norway’s defense ministry claims Russia has told it that it plans to cut all military ties with NATO… Today, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a new threat — implying that Russia was the target of the new missile base and not some ‘imaginary Iranian danger. Russia in this case will have to react, and not only through diplomatic protests,’ said a statement from the ministry… The statement described the missile shield as ‘one of the instruments in an extremely dangerous bundle of American military projects involving the one-sided development of a global missile shield system.’… In today’s pact, the United States and Poland agreed to a ‘mutual commitment’ to come to each other’s assistance ‘in case of military or other threats.’…

“Marek Ostrowsk, an analyst for the Polityka weekly, told ABC News that Poland traditionally has more confidence in the United States than its European alliances. ‘Traditionally and historically, we think America is more reliable than Europe,’ Ostrowsk said. ‘In 1918, we regained independence thanks to the U.S. When World War II began in 1939, we were let down by our allies, Britain and France. But the U.S. has never failed us.'”

Poles Fear Russian Attack from “Adolf Putin”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 19:

“A recent opinion poll shows that one in two Poles fears that their country will be the target of a Russian attack. The poll was published in news magazine Wprost which this week featured a drawing of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on its front cover with a Hitler moustache and the headline: ‘Adolf Putin.’  Some 40 percent of respondents said they regarded Russia as Poland’s biggest enemy…”

Ukraine on Russia’s Nuclear Hitlist?

The Telegraph reported on August 18:

“Ukraine offers satellite defence co-operation with Europe and US… The proposal, made amid growing outrage among Russia’s neighbours over its military campaign in Georgia, could see Ukraine added to Moscow’s nuclear hitlist. A Russian general declared Poland a target for its arsenal after Warsaw signed a deal with Washington to host interceptor missiles for America’s anti-nuclear shield…”

Russian Atrocities in Georgia

The Telegraph wrote on August 18:

“Just hours before Mr Medvedev put his signature to the ceasefire deal, Russian forces blew up a Georgian railway bridge on the main line west of the capital, Tbilisi, an act that critics interpreted as a [malicious] attempt to cripple the country’s infrastructure. Moscow at first issued a denial, but television footage shot by the Reuters news agency clearly showed the bridge’s twisted remains…

“Meanwhile, disturbing reports of abuse of ethnic Georgians in captured parts of the disputed region emerged. A group of captive soldiers were paraded in the streets of the South Ossetian capital, Tskinvali, and the bodies of at least 40 dead troops rotted in the sun. Teams of ethnic Georgians, some under armed guard, were forced to clean the streets. It was the first apparent evidence of humiliation or abuse of Georgians in the Russian-controlled breakaway republic.”

Russia Moves Missile Launchers into South Ossetia

The Associated Press reported on August 18:

“The New York Times, citing anonymous U.S. officials who were familiar with intelligence reports, reported Sunday that the Russian military moved missile launchers into South Ossetia on Friday.
 
“The U.S. officials told the Times that Russia deployed several SS-21 missile launchers to positions north of Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital. That would put the missiles within range of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, the Times reported on its Web site. ‘There’s no doubt there will be further consequences,’ said [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice…”

Russia Threatens Europe with Nuclear Confrontation

The Sunday Times wrote on August 17, under the headline: “Russia’s new nuclear challenge to Europe”:

“Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, senior military sources warned last night. The move, in response to American plans for a missile defence shield in Europe, would heighten tensions raised by the advance of Russian forces to within 20 miles of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, yesterday.

“Under the Russian plans, nuclear warheads could be supplied to submarines, cruisers and fighter bombers of the Baltic fleet based in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between the European Union countries of Poland and Lithuania… The Russians have already indicated that they may point nuclear missiles at western Europe from bases in Kaliningrad and Belarus. They are also said to be thinking of reviving a military presence in Cuba.”

Will Russia’s Imperialism Motivate Europe to Unite?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 18:

“The war in the Caucasus has shattered relations with Russia and sparked disagreements within the EU — and with the United States… This is the most serious foreign policy crisis ever faced by the head of the German government. At stake here is more than just reinstating peace in the Caucasus. German foreign policy has been deeply shaken on virtually all fronts. Germany’s delicate relations with Russia have become even more delicate, the war in the Caucasus has plunged the EU into a severe crisis, and relations with the US are weighed down by new tensions that may even extend beyond George W. Bush’s term of office…

“The German government has shown that it can act in this crisis — but the sobering reality is that the Germans alone cannot resolve the situation. A German political consensus is not enough to counter the Russians. That would require, at the very least, a united European front. But that does not exist. Once again it becomes clear that German political policies cannot influence global politics when they do not reflect a united European position. It is already apparent in the committee sessions of NATO and the EU that Russia has successfully divided the rest of the continent into two parts.

“The Eastern Europeans, Swedes and Britons constitute the core of Russia’s critics. Germans, French and Italians, on the other hand, are pushing for an approach that would maintain dialogue with the superpower. In the cabinet session, Merkel said that the EU cannot afford to send such mixed messages…

“Currently, Germany and France are not working together to create a strong backbone for European foreign policy. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proven unreliable and no effective partnership can be forged with him. Recently, the French magazine Le Point quoted him as saying: ‘There are not many who are running the show. Bush’s time is up, Blair is no longer there. Merkel, no, that’s not it either. Actually, there is only me.’

“Such statements do not go over well in the chancellery in Berlin, especially since the inimitable Sarkozy, who currently heads the EU Council Presidency, did a slipshod job of negotiating the ceasefire between Georgia and Russia. He allowed the Russians to cruise their tanks through Georgia. In any case, Sarkozy has failed to gain the trust of Eastern European countries…

“Sarkozy has announced that he will ‘examine’ a military mission for the European Union. At a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier found an amazing amount of willingness to embark on such a course. Since then his ministry has begun to map out scenarios for deploying EU troops. The question is whether police officers, soldiers or civilian observers should be sent to Georgia…

“Nevertheless, during her Sunday visit to Tbilisi, Merkel repeated her claim that eventually Georgia would become a member of NATO. Speaking at a press conference she said ‘Georgia will become a member of NATO if it wants to — and it does want to.’

“Eastern Europeans see the situation somewhat differently — they would like to see Georgia already firmly on the path to NATO membership — as does the US administration, represented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Strong criticism has also emerged from the American election campaign. US presidential candidate John McCain has warned that withholding fast-track membership for Georgia might have been viewed ‘as a green light by Russia for attacks on Georgia.’ He said: ‘I urge NATO to reconsider its decision.’

“Somehow this makes Germany partly responsible for the war in the Caucasus, at least in McCain’s eyes, and that does not bode well for Germany should the Republican be elected president in November. Berlin actually had hoped that it only had to get through the last few months of the Bush administration, and then everything would get better. But, no matter who is president, Germany’s relationship with the US promises to be fraught with tension should America allow itself to be provoked by Russia…

“Where to from here? There is no recipe for dealing with an imperial Russian superpower, not even a concept. Only one thing remains certain: ‘It will definitely be difficult,’ said German Foreign Minister Steinmeier last week as he met with reporters over a cup of coffee — and gazed rather helplessly into the distance.”

For more information about what IS going to happen soon on the world scene, make sure to read the following free booklets: “Europe in Prophecy,”  “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Would the Lisbon Treaty Have Helped Georgia?

The EUObserver wrote on August 18:

“French president Nicolas Sarkozy has used the ongoing crisis between Russia and Georgia to put the case for the EU’s new treaty, currently facing ratification difficulties… ‘It is notable that had the Lisbon Treaty, which is in the process of being ratified, already been in force, the European Union would have had the institutions it needs to cope with international crises.’…

“The short pitch for the Lisbon Treaty also revealed a little how the French president views the role of the EU’s first longterm president of the EU – a post that can be held for up to five years… [Mr Sarkozy] suggests that the president’s position in such crises as the Russia-Georgia one would be one of ‘acting in close consultation with the heads of state and government most affected.’

“This would very much put the President in the foreign policy field. It would also foresee a formal hierarchy among member states as it would give priority to those considered most affected. This kind of scenario has been predicted by some smaller member states who fear that the president would have an all-powerful role, reducing the say of certain governments… But Mr Sarkozy’s words of support for the Lisbon Treaty come amid doubt that it will ever come into force. Although ratified by the vast majority of national parliaments, it was rejected by Irish voters in a referendum in June.”

NATO’s Half-Hearted “Measures” Against Russia

The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 19:

“The Western military alliance today criticized Moscow for its ‘disproportionate’ military action in Georgia and vowed that relations with Russia would change because of it. But the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathering stopped short in an emergency meeting of agreeing to rearm the beleaguered state as Russian troops continued potentially provocative military operations throughout Georgia and showed little signs of abiding by an agreement signed in Moscow over the weekend to withdraw from the country.

“Russian reaction to the NATO summit was harsh. Russia’s foreign minister blasted the statement as ‘un-objective and biased,’ while Dmitry Rogozin, Moscow’s envoy to NATO, dismissed it as irrelevant…

“Foreign ministers of the NATO issued a statement calling for Russia to withdraw forces to positions before the Aug. 7 outbreak of hostilities between the two countries and expressed their support for the sovereignty of Georgia. They said they would hold no meetings of a NATO-Russia coordinating group until Russian troops withdrew, and they threatened unspecified further steps.”

Reuters added the following on August 19:

“NATO… stopped short of accelerating [Georgia’s] efforts to join NATO, an ambition which had enraged Russia even before the two-week-old conflict over Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region…

“The statement did not explicitly refer to a U.S. demand to suspend contacts within the six-year-old NATO-Russia Council (NRC), but NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said it was clear such contacts could not take place at present. ‘As long as Russian forces are basically occupying a large part of Georgia I cannot see a NATO-Russia Council convening at whatever level,’ he told a news conference. ‘But I should add that we certainly do not have the intention to close all doors in our communication with Russia,’ he said, after several European allies including Britain and Germany expressed doubts about cutting off links with Moscow.

“The NATO statement drew sharp condemnation from Moscow, where Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the alliance of bias and wanting to support a ‘criminal regime’ in Tbilisi. ‘Certainly there will be a lot of changes in our cooperation with NATO and we will have changes in the volume, the quality and the timeframe in our consultations and meetings,’ Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said in Brussels.”

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 20:

“Under the headline ‘NATO Is at a Loss,’ conservative daily Die Welt writes: Tuesday’s statement from NATO ‘is the absolute minimum that could be expected in reaction to Russia’s cynical disregard of Georgian sovereignty. Moscow cannot have been overawed. It confirms the impression of Putin and Co. that NATO is a paper tiger at the moment, at odds with itself and unassertive.’…

“Germany’s… financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘The realization has come slowly — but surely: The political partnership with Russia was an illusion. In reality, the country under the double leadership of (Prime Minister Vladimir) Putin and (President Dmitry) Medvedev is a difficult comrade. Day after day, Moscow refuses to withdraw its troops from Georgia as promised… In the beginning, the Kremlin spin doctors managed to push through their interpretation that Georgia was the aggressor and that Russia was merely protecting its own citizens. But in the meantime it has become apparent that Putin had planned this war long before, prepared for it, and lured Georgia into a trap. South Ossetia and Abkhazia have already been swallowed up and Tbilisi has been humiliated. Now, Moscow is destroying Georgia’s economy — with little regard for the EU peace plan and the warnings from the West. Europeans and Americans are watching seemingly powerlessly…'”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 20:

“‘Empty words.’ That’s how Moscow glibly dismissed NATO’s criticism yesterday of Russia’s continued occupation of Georgia. The Russians may be bullies, but like all bullies they know weakness when they see it. The most NATO ministers could muster at their meeting in Brussels was a statement that they ‘cannot continue with business as usual’ with Russia. There was no move to fast-track Georgia’s bid to join NATO, nor a pledge to help the battered democracy rebuild its defenses… NATO leaders also failed to mention Ukraine, another applicant for NATO membership that has angered Moscow in recent years and could become its next target. Also missing was any indication that the alliance would begin making long-delayed plans for defending the Baltic member states and other countries on its eastern flank in case of attack…”

Don’t Forget Russia’s Friend Iran…

AFP reported on August 17:

“Iran said it had sent a rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space on Sunday, triggering fresh concern in Washington that the technology could be diverted to ballistic missiles. The launch is likely to further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive, which Iran’s arch-foe Washington and its allies claim is a cover for atomic weapons ambitions…

“Sunday’s development comes amid an international standoff over Tehran’s long-standing refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but also the core of an atomic bomb. Israel and its staunch ally the United States have never ruled out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites… On Sunday, Iran’s air force commander said its fighter jets have been upgraded to allow them to fly 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) without refuelling which would put Israel easily within reach… Sunday’s launch came on the birth anniversary of eighth century Imam Mahdi, who vanished as a boy and who Shiites believe will return one day as the messiah.”

Subsequently, AFP reported on August 19 that “An Iranian missile test aimed at putting a dummy satellite into orbit failed, a US defense official said Tuesday. ‘We detected a missile launch from Iran on August 16 and our reports indicated it was unsuccessful,’ said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

The Associated Press reported on August 19:

“Iran’s official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants… The country is building its first nuclear power plant in the southern port of Bushehr with the help of Russia. It is expected to go on line later this year.”

For more information, please watch our StandingWatch program, “Is War With Iran Coming Soon?”

… and Russia’s Friend Syria

Times On Line wrote on August 20:

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad headed to Moscow today to discuss an expansion of his pariah state’s military cooperation with Russia. The trip is raising fears that the new Cold War that has erupted in the Caucasus will spill over into the Middle East, long a battleground between East and West, and crush tentative hopes for peace… with Israel and the US providing military backing to Georgia, Russia appears set to respond in kind by supporting Syria.

“Already, Israeli observers worry that the chaos in the Caucasus may disrupt gas supplies to Europe and Turkey from the Caspian Sea region, creating a greater energy reliance on Iran and its vast reserves. The crisis could in turn allow Tehran to exploit splits in the international community and use Russia as a powerful backer to advance its controversial nuclear programme. In a sign of warming ties, Mr al-Assad… said he fully backed Russia’s pursuit of its ‘legal interests’ in its fight with Georgia…

“Some Israeli analysts… fear [close ties with Russia] could encourage Syria to try to take back the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967, by force. Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean, with some Russian reports even saying Moscow is already deepening it to accommodate a fleet of war ships. Russia may have similar ambitions for the port of Latakia…”

Control of Nuclear Weapons in Pakistan–Safe or Not?

The Associated Press reported on August 19 on the control of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, after Pervez Musharraf’s announcement of his resignation earlier this week:

“Pervez Musharraf’s departure from the presidency is unlikely to have a significant impact on how Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are controlled. Experts say a 10-member committee, and not just the president, makes decisions on how to use them and only a complete meltdown in governance… could put the atomic bomb in the hands of extremists… While experts say Pakistan’s nuclear assets will stay in safe hands for now, fears persist about the potential for an Islamist takeover.”

The German daily, Die Welt, wrote on August 19: “Pakistan is more important than it seems: a nuclear-armed state, not tied in to arms control, with conflicts on both sides, fragile internally, on the new frontline between the East and the West. Pakistan after Musharraf is the cause for much worry in global politics.”

The Associated Press reported on August 19 that “Just a day after Pervez Musharraf’s resignation, Pakistan’s governing coalition fell into wrangling Tuesday over restoring the judges he fired, exposing troublesome divisions that could disrupt picking his successor as president.”

The German tabloid, Bild, wrote on August 19:

“Since Monday, Pakistan is without a President and without strong leadership. And only one day after Pervez Musharraf’s resignation, violence rules in the region. 20 people died during an attack on a hospital in the northwestern region of Pakistan. During attacks in Afghanistan, [insurgents killed] 10 French soldiers in a mountain ambush and then [sent] a squad of suicide bombers in a failed assault on a U.S. base near the Pakistan border. The actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan show that without strong leadership, Pakistan and the entire region will descent into chaos.”

Obama and Catholics At Odds Over Abortion

On August 12, Pat Buchanan wrote the following on Human Events.com:

“In the Pennsylvania primary, Barack Obama rolled up more than 90 percent of the African-American vote. Among Catholics, he lost by 40 points… But if Barack had a problem with Catholics then, he has a far higher hurdle to surmount in the fall…

“He supports the late-term procedure known as partial-birth abortion, where the baby’s skull is stabbed with scissors in the birth canal and the brains are sucked out to end its life swiftly and ease passage of the corpse into the pan… Yet, when Congress was voting to ban this terrible form of death for a mature fetus, Michelle Obama was signing fundraising letters pledging that, if elected, Barack would be ‘tireless’ in keeping legal this ‘legitimate medical procedure.’ … When the Supreme Court upheld the congressional ban on this barbaric procedure, Barack denounced the court for denying ‘equal rights for women.’

“As David Freddoso reports in his new best-seller, ‘The Case Against Barack Obama,’ the Illinois senator goes further than any U.S. senator has dared go in defending what John Paul II called the ‘culture of death.’  Thrice in the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block a bill that was designed solely to protect the life of infants already born, and outside the womb, who had miraculously survived the attempt to kill them during an abortion. Thrice, Obama voted to let doctors and nurses allow these tiny human beings die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste… If, as its advocates contend, abortion has to remain legal to protect the life and health, mental and physical, of the mother, how is a mother’s life or health in the least threatened by a baby no longer inside her — but lying on a table or in a pan fighting for life and breath?…

“In 2007, Barack pledged that, in his first act as president, he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would cancel every federal, state or local regulation or restriction on abortion… What we once called God’s Country would become the nation on earth most zealously committed to an unrestricted right of abortion from conception to birth… if, as Catholics believe, abortion is the killing of an unborn child, and participation in an abortion entails automatic excommunication, how can a good Catholic support a candidate who will appoint justices to make Roe v. Wade eternal and eliminate all restrictions on a practice Catholics legislators have fought for three decades to curtail? And which Catholic priests and prelates will it be who give invocations at Obama rallies, even as Mother Church fights to save the lives of unborn children whom Obama believes have no right to life and no rights at all?”

For more information, please watch our StandingWatch program, “Abortion–Right or Wrong?”

“Global Recession–Eat Sweets, Drink Alcohol, Smoke and Be Merry”

The Associated Press wrote on August 12:

“As a global recession looms, what better way to cope than to eat, drink and be merry? Even as consumers face soaring energy costs, rising food prices and higher mortgages or rent, it seems clear they’re not prepared to forgo many of life’s little treats — alcohol, cigarette and candy makers are all reporting healthy sales amid the gloom…

“Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the biggest brewer in the United States, turned a profit in the most recent quarter despite fears that rising costs for raw materials like glass, barley and wheat and fuel would cut into The King Of Beers’ bottom line. The company is so confident that consumers won’t abandon the beer that it plans to increase prices for popular brands like Budweiser and Bud Light to stay ahead of the higher costs.

“Similarly, Denmark’s Carlsberg A/S reported a 36 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, saying stronger sales, particularly in eastern Europe and Asia, helped offset rising costs… London-based Diageo expects its Scotch whisky business to continue to grow at least 8 percent to 9 percent annually, amid growing demand from emerging markets in Asia and Latin America…

“But much of the demand is also still coming from the United States and Europe, which have been hardest hit by the credit squeeze, with price rises not dissuading many consumers in those regions — Constellation Brands Inc., the world’s largest wine company by volume, posted a 35 percent rise in branded wine sales in North America in the first quarter…

“And while people can’t smoke at the bar because of spreading smoking bans, tobacco companies are doing just fine. Philip Morris International said its earnings rose 23 percent in the second quarter and it raised its earnings forecast for this year… British American Tobacco PLC posted a 15 percent rise in its first-half profits with help from higher prices and increased sales of premium brands. Sales of BAT’s most expensive brands, such as Dunhill and Lucky Strike, grew 7 percent…

“Cadbury PLC, the world’s biggest confectionary company, reported a 7.3 percent rise in first-half sales in its first results since spinning off its U.S. drinks business. Among the big sellers in its candy store was Dairy Milk chocolate, rising 9 percent. In the United States, the Hershey Co. reported dramatically higher second-quarter sales and profit and reaffirmed its 2008 guidance of sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent.”

Failing U.S. Economy

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 19:

“U.S. producer prices unexpectedly soared at their highest annual rate in 27 years last month as rising wholesale prices for energy spread to a variety of products including automobiles, prescription drugs and capital equipment… it will be difficult for Federal Reserve officials to look past this latest report, which comes on the heels of a 17-year-high rise in consumer prices.”

“The Worst Is To Come”–Large US Banks May Go Under

Times On Line wrote on August 19:

“Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a leading academic economist, said there was yet worse news to come from the worldwide credit crunch and financial turmoil, particularly in the United States, and that a high-profile casualty among American banks was highly likely.

“’The US is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say the worst is to come,’ Prof Rogoff said at a conference in Singapore. In an ominous warning, he added: “We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we’re going to see a whopper, we’re going to see a big one — one of the big investment banks or big banks,’ he said.  Rising anxieties over ‘worse to come’ in the credit crisis sent shares tumbling in Europe and Asia…

“[Rogoff] also suggested that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the struggling US secondary mortgage lending giants, were likely to cease to exist in their present form within a few years. His prediction over the fate of Fannie and Freddie came after investors dumped the two groups’ shares on Monday after reports suggested that the US Treasury may have no choice but to effectively nationalise them.

“The professor also sounded a warning over rising US inflation, which rose last month to its highest since 1991, and criticised the Federal Reserve for having cut American interest rates too drastically. ‘Cutting interest rates is going to lead to a lot of inflation in the next few years in the United States,’ he said.”

For more information, please watch our StandingWatch programs, “Coming–The Great Depression?”, “WHY Is Our Economy THAT Bad?” and “America’s Financial Crisis“.

Recession Fear in Britain

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 19:

“For 30 years, the British economy has been on a steady climb skyward. Now it’s being hit with a credit crisis that resembles the American subprime disaster. And just like across the pond, the victims are those who can least afford it… Between March and June alone, 37,740 British homeowners had to turn their property back over to the banks. By the end of the year it’s likely to be 75,000.

“More than a million people in Britain will have difficulties paying off their debt. After 15 years of economic boom, a word is on their lips again that the country thought it had struck from its vocabulary entirely: recession.”

Special Report–The War in the Caucasus

The Associated Press reported on August 8 that “Russia dispatched an armored column into the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia on Friday after Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a surprise offensive to crush separatists… The fighting, which devastated the capital of Tskhinvali, threatened to… escalate tensions between Moscow and Washington…”

And indeed, it has escalated tensions. Russia has once again shown its true colors, and both the USA and Europe have been incapable or unwilling to do anything about it–notwithstanding some “harsh” lip services of “condemnation.” Although Russia claims that it had to act to protect Russian citizens in South Ossetia, this claim is belied by its brutal actions against innocent women and children. Russia’s real goals are quite different–and have nothing to do with the welfare of the South Ossetian people. America and Europe should not have been caught by surprise as they were–and their conduct in this power play has been quite embarrassing.

Even though Russia has claimed that it has ceased further aggressions against Georgia, new reports prove the opposite. In any event, the conflict is far from over and will continue to be fought on the political stage. Will America overcome its weakness and paralysis and do something productive in this matter? The recent developments seem to suggest the opposite. Insofar as Europe is concerned, they have again realized the sad state of affairs for themselves–that they are presently too powerless to stand up against the Russian Bear.

The BIBLE indicates that the situation on the world scene will drastically change in a few years from now. While America’s influence will steadily deteriorate, a united Europe will become a very powerful entity in the world. At that time, Europe WILL react MILITARILY to perceived or real Russian aggression–as Russia has proven historically that it IS willing to invade other countries if it seems to serve its purposes. But that future conflict won’t be good news for the world, either. Notice this remarkable prophecy in the book of Daniel, pertaining to the very end time:

“But news from the east and the north [referring to countries like Russia and China] shall trouble him [the “king of the North,” a future political leader of a united States of Europe]; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many… yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:44).

Notice the following excerpts from the world press, reporting on the ongoing crisis in the Caucasus. They demonstrate how wars are made and lost; how war propaganda is aimed at brainwashing people and soliciting “patriotic and nationalistic support”; and how interests of big politics [including the brutal occupation of other countries and the fight for oil] overrule any humanitarian decency and love for our fellow man (compare James 4:1-4).

It’s the Oil

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 8:

“[The conflict] is one that, in the past, has repeatedly shone the spotlight on differences between Russia and the US. Russia does not want to lose its influence on the former Soviet Republic of Georgia whereas Washington — which sees the country as a vital regional bridgehead and as an important transit country for gas and oil — would like to see the country join NATO and has provided political and economic support…

“Europe has also supported Tbilisi so far… But now that bombs have started to fall, no one in Brussels, Berlin or Paris quite knows what to do…

“As the gateway to the Central Asian oil and gas fields, the former Soviet nation has huge strategic importance to Europe. Planned pipelines will pass through Georgia to help reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Russia. The EU has pumped more than €500 million ($754 million) into aid and development programs in the country…”

The Associated Press reported on August 8:

“A U.S.-backed oil pipeline runs through Georgia, allowing the West to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil while bypassing Russia and Iran… The pipeline that crosses Georgia can pump slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, or more than 1 percent of the world’s daily crude output. The 1,100-mile pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea fields, estimated to hold the world’s third-largest reserves.”

In this context, the following unverified report by Reuters, dated August 9, is quite alarming:

“Russian fighter jets targeted the… major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline which carries oil to the West from Asia but missed, Georgia’s Economic Development Minister… said on Saturday.”

War Propaganda–How Russia Distorts the Facts and Justifies War Crimes

In spite of Russia’s brutal actions against Georgia, murdering indiscriminately women and children, in a terrible piece of war propaganda, the Russian Pravda justified on August 9 Russia’s action. In distorting the facts and ignoring Russia’s brutal murderous conduct, as has sadly occurred so many times before in its bloody history, the article spread the following fairy tale for warmongers under its appalling headline: “Russia: Again Savior of Peace and Life”:

“The international community collectively held their breath waiting for the reaction of Russia after the savage, brutal, criminal attack by Georgia on South Ossetia. After having offered a cease fire in hostilities, the back stabbing Georgians immediately violated the cease fire, invading South Ossetia and causing massive destruction and death among innocent civilians, among peacekeepers and also destroying a hospital… Georgian troops attempted to storm the city much as Hitler’s Panzer divisions blazed through Europe. Also noteworthy is the fact that Georgian tanks and infantry were being aided by Israeli advisors, a true indicator that this conflict was instigated by outside forces.

“Meanwhile, the western corporate media was maintaining a blackout of ‘the grand silence’ on the aggression of Georgia. When they did finally report on it, they were as usual telling the story backwards with headlines such as ‘Russian Jets Attack Georgia’ and ‘They Have Declared War Against Us’ as though Georgia had not done anything wrong… NATO, the US and the EU all called for an immediate end to hostilities… In a display of cowboy bravado, Georgia also announced that their contingent in Iraq would be withdrawn, ostensibly to be available for further incursions and murderous rampages such as the one of Friday morning…

“President Medvedev said, ‘The Russian military presence in South Ossetia complies with international law and is aimed at enforcing peace. As it has been throughout history, Russia continues to guarantee peace and security in the Caucasus…’ Vladimir Putin stopped by the North Ossetian capital on his way back from the Olympics to survey the situation and speak about the refugee situation. ‘Georgia’s actions are criminal, whereas Russia’s actions are absolutely legitimate,’ the Russian Prime Minister said…

“And so protecting LIFE is the honorable duty of the Russian military. Much as it was during the Great Patriotic War, when the Red Army hoisted the hammer and sickle flag on the Reichstag building, signifying the defeat of fascism.”

Can ANYONE, who knows just a little about Russia’s brutal and bloody history, really believe the nerve with which this article was written? Sadly, some WILL believe it–and that is WHY wars are fought and WHY man CANNOT live in peace with his neighbor. The bloody and murderous history of mankind WILL continue–until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, returns to put an end to this MADNESS.

More Russian Propaganda

Sadly, AFP reported on August 12 about another incredible piece of Russian propaganda, as follows:

“Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, commenting on the Russia-Georgia conflict, accused the United States of making a ‘serious blunder’ in pursuing its interest in the Caucasus region. He also said that the US charge that Russia was committing aggression into Georgia was ‘not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity’.

“‘By declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its “national interest”, the United States made a serious blunder’, Mr Gorbachev said in an opinion piece to be published in the Washington Post on Tuesday. Mr Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, said Russia was not seeking territorial expansion, but it has ‘legitimate interests’ in this region.”

Europe Did NOT Help Georgia

Der Spiegel wrote on August 11:

“The dispatch of the Black Sea fleet to Abkhazia, the bombing of the Georgian towns of Poti and Gori and of an aircraft factory near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi show how determined Russia is to escalate this conflict. And how uninterested Russia is in living up to its role as a peacekeeping power. Russia wants to prevent Georgia from joining NATO and it wants to topple Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the initiator of this policy… The Russian attacks are a blatant violation of Georgian territorial sovereignty, and the fact that many Abkhazians and South Ossetians have Russian passports provides no legal justification for Russia’s actions…

“Since Saakashvili came to power in 2004 with the ‘Rose Revolution,’ he has been urging US and Europe to take a greater role in helping to solve the conflicts. His calls have been in vain as far as Europe is concerned. Georgia is a member of the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy, but when it came to concrete steps to limit and prevent conflicts, Berlin in particular has been quite reticent — in contrast with Sweden, Poland and the Baltic States.

“Georgia’s demands for European solidarity have been refused amid — albeit justified — criticism of the country’s democratic shortcomings… In the end it will be up to Washington to show Russia the red line it must not cross, although the threshold for US intervention will be very high. And for Berlin and Brussels, it’s time to grant Georgia the kind of European solidarity that a European state is entitled to under the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.”

Once Again, Russia Has Shown Its True Face

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 12:

“Earlier in the day, Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia, after five days of air and land attacks that took Russian forces deep into its small US-allied neighbor in the Caucasus… The UN and NATO had called meetings Tuesday to deal with the conflict, which… raised fears in former Soviet bloc nations of Eastern Europe. Poland’s president and the leaders of four ex-Soviet republics headed to Georgia for a meeting with President Mikhail Saakashvili to send a signal of solidarity with Tbilisi.

“‘We may say that the Russian state has once again shown its face, its true face,’ said Poland’s Lech Kaczynski, who will be joined by counterparts from Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and Latvia… The Russian onslaught, accompanied by relentless Russian air raids on Georgian territory, angered the West, bringing the toughest words yet from US President George W. Bush… ‘Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century,’ Bush said in a televised statement from the White House.”

Russia’s TRUE Intentions

On August 12, The New York Times published an article, which was re-published by Der Spiegel, stating the following:

“Russia is portraying its war in Georgia as a legitimate response to Georgia’s incursion last week into its breakaway region of South Ossetia… But the truth is that for the past several months, Russia, not Georgia, has been stoking tensions in South Ossetia and another of Georgia’s breakaway areas, Abkhazia. After NATO held a summit in Bucharest, Romania, in April — at which Georgia and Ukraine received positive signs of potential membership — then-President Vladimir Putin of Russia signed a decree effectively treating Abkhazia and South Ossetia as parts of the Russian Federation. This was a direct violation of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

“It came after years of growing Russian efforts to assert control over these regions, for example, by distributing Russian passports to citizens and arranging the appointment of Russians to the territories’ governments. Mr. Putin, who is now Russia’s prime minister, oversaw a build-up of Russian ‘peacekeeping’ forces in Abkhazia, which was clearly intended to provoke Georgia into a military response. Yet Georgia showed restraint — in large part because Mr. Saakashvili understood that military adventurism would harm his NATO prospects. Moscow, in turn, transferred its efforts to South Ossetia, where pro-Russian rebels carried out attacks on Georgian forces and villages, finally provoking the response that Moscow had sought as a pretext to intervene.

“Now Moscow has sent out the Black Sea fleet to Georgia’s coast and broadened the war into Abkhazia and Georgia proper, showing that Moscow’s war is not just about South Ossetia. In any case, Moscow’s own treatment of separatism — killing tens of thousands of Chechens over the past decade — says volumes about its claims that it is just trying to protect a minority population.

“This war is about making an example in Georgia, about the consequences post-Soviet countries will suffer for standing up to Moscow, conducting democratic reforms and seeking military and economic ties with the West. No Eurasian country has come so far as Georgia in recent years in terms of democratization and reform. Georgia has the third-largest contingent of forces in Iraq, and before this crisis it had pledged to send forces to Afghanistan…

“Should we allow Russia to occupy Georgia or even just depose the Saakashvili government, the implications for America’s standing in Eurasia would be dire… Indeed, we have no real military options against Russia. But we can put together a meaningful comprehensive reaction, attaching real costs to Russia for its policies.

“America must hit where it hurts: Russia’s international prestige, an obsession of Mr. Putin’s. To begin with, we must do everything possible to see Russia’s membership in the Group of 8 industrialized nations be suspended (something the Republican presidential hopeful John McCain called for even before this crisis). Once the fighting is over, America must step up its campaign for NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine. Should European countries reject the idea, America could designate them ‘major non-NATO allies,’ along the lines of Israel and Pakistan. This would involve more American military trainers in Georgia, intelligence-sharing, joint exercises and other steps, if not a full pledge by Washington to defend the country in case of attack.

“Finally, in a measure of fitting symbolism, America must note that Russia started this war on the opening day of the Olympics, while it plans to hold its own Winter Olympics only a dozen miles from the victim of its aggression. America should seriously consider announcing a boycott of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. We owe our Georgian allies nothing less.”

“Vladimir Bonaparte”

On August 12, 2008, The Wall Street Journal wrote the following:

“The farther Russia’s tanks roll into Georgia, the more the world is beginning to see the reality of Vladimir Putin’s Napoleonic ambitions. Having consolidated his authoritarian transition as Prime Minister with a figurehead President, Mr. Putin is now pushing to reassert Russian dominance in Eurasia. Ukraine is in his sights, and even the Baltic states could be threatened if he’s allowed to get away with it. The West needs to draw a line at Georgia…

“While the rape of Chechnya was brutal, this is the most brazen act of Mr. Putin’s reign, the first military offensive outside Russia’s borders since Soviet rule ended. Yet it also fits a pattern of other threats and affronts to Russia’s neighbors: turning off the oil or natural-gas taps to Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, and even to NATO-member Lithuania; launching a cyberassault on Estonia; opposing two antimissile sites in NATO members in Eastern Europe that couldn’t begin to neutralize Russia’s offensive capabilities…

“The Georgia invasion is a direct slap at the Western alliance. Tbilisi, like Kiev, has been pushing for NATO membership. Mr. Putin decided to act while some alliance members, led by Germany, dallied over their applications. Georgia was first. Ukraine, which has been pushing Russia to move its Black Sea fleet’s headquarters out of the Crimea, could be next…”

“As for the U.S., this is perhaps the last chance for President Bush to salvage any kind of positive legacy toward Russia, amid what is a useful record elsewhere in Eurasia. While Mr. Bush has championed the region’s fledgling democracies, he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice badly misjudged Mr. Putin. Now would be a good moment for Mr. Bush to publicly acknowledge his misjudgment and rally the West’s response.

“John McCain had the Russian leader pegged better, which speaks well of his foreign-policy instincts. The Republican Presidential candidate has long said that Russia should be booted from the G-8 and yesterday he outlined a forceful Western strategy on Russia that stops short of military action. Barack Obama has in the past indicated support for the Georgia and Ukraine NATO bids, but the Democratic candidate has yet to explain in any detail how he would respond to the current conflict.”

How Much Can You Believe Russia?

The Associated Press reported on August 12:

“The State Department is recommending that all U.S. citizens to leave Georgia due to ongoing Russian bombing of civilian and military targets despite Russia’s claim to have halted military operations there.

“In a new travel warning, it says the security situation throughout Georgia remains uncertain and that it is organizing a third evacuation convoy to take Americans who want to leave by road to neighboring Armenia. More than 170 Americans left Georgia on Sunday and Monday in two similar convoys. The entire contingent of Peace Corps volunteers in Georgia has left for Armenia.

“The department says the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi remains open for emergency services and that Americans who chose not to leave should consider moving to secure locations.”

Will the USA Be Drawn Into the War?

Times On Line reported on August 13:

“President Bush dispatched US military hardware to the heart of the Caucasus yesterday and warned Russia that it could be frozen out of international bodies as punishment for its aggression in Georgia. In his toughest criticism of Russia since becoming President, Mr Bush accused it of breaching the provisional ceasefire agreed with Georgia only 24 hours earlier.  He cited intelligence showing that Russian troops had again taken the town of Gori and could threaten the capital, Tbilisi. He insisted that Moscow respect the former Soviet republic’s territorial integrity. There were also reports of Russian-backed militia in South Ossetia looting ethnic Georgian villages and killing inhabitants…

“Although direct military intervention is not being considered, Pentagon sources have hinted that a limited number of troops could be deployed to support what Mr Bush described as a vigorous and continuing humanitarian mission headed by the US military. The first US air force transport aircraft arrived last night, and the navy was heading to the Black Sea – which is controlled by Russian warships – to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies direct to Georgian ports…

“Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, flew to France last night to meet President Sarkozy before heading to Tbilisi. Sergei Lavrov, her Russian counterpart, said that the US must choose between supporting the Georgian leadership and maintaining a partnership with Russia on international issues. Dr Rice said: ‘This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbours, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed.'”

Is The USA Waking Up?

Time Magazine published the following analysis on August 12, with the headline: “Failing the Georgia Test”:

“Russia’s swift invasion of Georgia appears to have met its goals: humiliating a neighbor that deigned to escape its sphere of influence, and proving that the Bear still has very sharp claws. While it is not yet clear that all military operations have ceased (Georgia reported that bombings continue), the past five days have been a test case for the limits of post-Iraq U.S. power – and the nimbleness of American policy. The results are not encouraging for Washington: the incursion of Russian troops beyond the secessionist province of South Ossetia represents a direct challenge by Moscow to the U.S., the European Union and NATO, reviving the old confrontation between the former cold war adversaries.

“If the stakes are high, you wouldn’t have known it from Washington’s early reaction. The President made cautious statements of condemnation over the weekend at the Olympic games in Beijing, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice remained on vacation, oddly absent from public view on an issue she had made her career on. At the same time, the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain have seen the crisis largely as an occasion for political sniping, perhaps more eager to gain an edge in the race for the White House than they are to seek solutions.

“The Administration struggled to shape a response to the crisis from the beginning. A senior State department official tells TIME that on Aug. 7 he personally warned the Georgian foreign minister ‘not to get into a military tangle’ with the Russians. ‘The Russians are looking for an excuse to kill Georgians,’ the official says he told the foreign minister – reiterating a similar message the official says he delivered in May, during a prior uptick in tensions. But the warning came too late: Georgia’s attack in South Ossetia, in response to provocative attacks by pro-Moscow separatists, began Aug. 6; by the time of the State Department official’s warning, a day later, Russia’s forces were already on the move…

“The crisis has played mostly to McCain’s advantage. McCain and his advisers have long pushed for the U.S. to respond more aggressively to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s threats against pro-Western neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine by kicking it out of the G-8 and limiting its contact with NATO. The campaign wasted no time calling this position ‘prescient,’ and it called for a more thorough application of diplomatic pressure than did either the Administration or the Obama campaign – including an emergency session of the NATO council to consider a peacekeeping force, to reassess relations with Russia and to reconsider offering a membership plan to Georgia.

“Obama’s campaign made two early missteps. First, in its initial statement, it called for restraint from both Russia and Georgia… Then Obama’s campaign released a statement questioning McCain’s objectivity in the crisis because a top McCain aide, Randy Scheunemann, had lobbied for the Georgians…

“What neither Bush nor either of the campaigns are saying is that the outcome of conflict in Georgia is likely to redefine perceptions of American and European power around the world, especially in the strategically important regions of the caucuses and Central Asia. Russia’s attack has been met with fairly weak diplomatic warnings; and, with no negative consequences in the offing for its adventure, the invasion could mark a return of the military compulsion Moscow practiced in the Soviet era. There is no greater incentive than success.”

Germany’s Newspapers Demand: “The West Must Stop Putin”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 13:

“The West urgently needs to get tough to contain Russia’s new-found imperialism in the wake of its military action in Georgia, write German media commentators. The problem is that the EU, as usual, lacks the required unity while the US has a lame duck president whose invasion of Iraq robbed him of authority. Russia has shown the world it won’t shy away from using tanks to enforce its geopolitical interests. And the West has shown it doesn’t have any leverage to halt Russia’s new-found imperialism, write German newspaper commentators…

“Left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘The EU cannot accept such developments in neighboring countries and it must not look on without doing something…’ Center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘The West would be well advised to get used to the idea that Moscow no longer shies away from military action in pursuing its interests. That forces the EU to define its foreign policy lines more clearly. Should a country like Georgia that is of strategic importance to the West as a transit country for oil and gas be left to Russia? The EU will have to tackle these uncomfortable questions and even more uncomfortable answers, if it ever wants to be more than a superfluous ‘mediator’ in the step-by-step restoration of the Russian empire.’

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘…After hesitating for days, George W. Bush found strong words and branded the Russian attack on a “sovereign neighboring state” as unacceptable in the 21st century. But the admonition of the outgoing American president won’t have much impact in Moscow. Firstly, the Russian leadership doesn’t see itself as morally accountable to the Iraq warrior Bush. Secondly, it’s waiting to see who will be moving into the White House: Republican hawk John McCain, who wants to throw Russia out of the G8 group of leading industrial nations, or the young Democrat Barack Obama who has made more moderate noises…’

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘The world, and that means not just the West, has a choice: It can keep on knuckling under to Putin by just tut-tutting and doing nothing. If it does, it will have to live with the consequences of Putin’s imperialism. Or it shows him a clear stop sign and forces him and his so-called peacekeepers out of Georgia so that an international peacekeeping force can be stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Travel restrictions, economic sanctions or frozen Russian bank accounts abroad are measures that could hit Russia’s economy hard.'”

… And Big Politics and Fighting Are Going On…

The Associated Press reported on August 14:

“The White House says it is ignoring Russia’s claims that Georgia’s territorial integrity has been breached and that its two separatist provinces will no longer be part of the former Soviet Republic… Russia apparently is sabotaging airfields and other military infrastructure in Georgia as its forces pull back, in a deliberate attempt to cripple the already battered, U.S.-trained Georgian military, a U.S. official said Thursday.

“Reports from Georgia indicate that Russian forces are doing what they can to disable Georgia’s ability to fight a future conflict, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe incomplete but apparently convincing eyewitness accounts. Explosions were heard near Gori on Thursday as a Russian troop withdrawal from the strategic city seemed to collapse. A fragile cease-fire appeared even more shaky as Russia’s foreign minister declared that the world ‘can forget about any talk about Georgia’s territorial integrity.'”

That was one of Russia’s goals from the outset–to occupy Georgia and to force it back into the “loving” arms of  “Mother Russia.” In the recent past, Russia occupied and brutally suppressed the peoples of Poland, East Germany and Czechoslovakia. It is now trying to do the same regarding former Soviet countries, beginning with Georgia. As reported above, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: “This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbours, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed.”

But have they? Only the future will tell.

For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy,” “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

“The USA Has Won the Iraq War”?–NO WAY!!!!

In a polemic and highly opinionated piece, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on August 5, stating that the USA has won the Iraq war. Here is what it said: “No matter what happens in November, the war in Iraq will not be brought to an end by either Barack Obama or John McCain. The war in Iraq is over. We’ve won.”

This is utter nonsense, and it totally defies the expert opinions of competent commentators and prominent world leaders–such as former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, as reported in the Current Events of Update 351 (“Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt–‘Both Sides in the Grips of Insanity'”). Schmidt stated that the USA has NOT won, and CANNOT win the Iraq war. The reasons are clear: IF the USA would withdraw its ground troops at once–which, according to Schmidt, are not even sufficient at this point–absolute chaos would ensue in Iraq. Therefore, both U.S. presidential candidates agree that the troops will have to be withdrawn carefully and slowly, depending on the conditions in Iraq. What we are witnessing, then, is an implied or expressed admission of DEFEAT, NOT of victory, with the goal to save face as much as possible under the circumstances.

Notice this article from The Associated Press, which was published on August 7:

“Two Iraqi officials say the U.S. and Iraq are close to a deal under which all American combat troops would leave by October 2010 with remaining U.S. forces gone about three years later. A U.S. official in Washington acknowledges progress has been made on the timelines for a U.S. departure but offered no firm date. Another U.S. official strongly suggested the 2010 date may be too ambitious.

“A timetable is part of a security agreement being negotiated by U.S. and Iraqi officials. Both sides stress the deal is not final and could fall apart over the issue of legal immunity for American troops.”

As we have said so many times, the USA will NOT win another war, according to the clear prophecies of the Bible, UNLESS all of us drastically and fundamentally REPENT of our ways. We have said the same regarding the terrible USA economy–even though some continually DENIED the indisputable fact THAT the U.S. economy is in an awful condition.

When we point out these things in our publications and video presentations, many scoff or become irate and hostile. National repentance does not seem likely, but DENIAL of the true facts will get us nowhere.

Interestingly, the following was reported by AFP on August 7:

“Iraq on Thursday postponed provincial elections due in October after MPs failed to agree the necessary legislation in time, in a blow to US-backed efforts to consolidate national reconciliation… Thursday’s decision was a major setback for both Washington and the United Nations which viewed the ballot as critical to consolidating Iraq’s fledgling political process and reconciling its deeply divided ethnic groups…

“The disagreement centres on an article of original draft legislation that would have divided power amongst the province’s Arab, Kurds and Turkmen communities, but is opposed by the Kurds on the basis of their superior numbers and historical claims to the city. Ethnic tension has dogged Kirkuk since the US-led invasion of 2003 that ousted now executed dictator Saddam Hussein… At least 22 people were killed more than a week ago in a suicide bombing during a protest rally held by Kurds over the same issue in Kirkuk and in gunfire in the panic that followed.”

For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

How American Presidential Campaigns Are Run

On August 5, The Associated Press published an article with the following headline: “Negativity the norm in presidential campaign.”

In the article, it was stated:

“For all the talk about John McCain’s hard-hitting politics, Barack Obama is hardly innocent. Both candidates and their allies are fully engaged in creating unflattering caricatures of each other that they hope will stick in voters’ minds for the next three months. Obama and his Democratic allies argue that the Republican is negative and offers nothing new, while McCain and his Republicans claim the Democrat is presumptuous and ill-prepared… Nevermind that at the outset of the general election Obama and McCain each expressed a desire for a courteous campaign focused on issues and free of the negative politics that have marked – and marred – presidential races.”

Preparations for Strike Against Iran

The Associated Press reported on August 6:

“Israel is building up its strike capabilities amid growing anxiety over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran’s atomic program, even if it can’t destroy it… The Jewish state has purchased 90 F-16I fighter planes that can carry enough fuel to reach Iran… It has bought two new Dolphin submarines from Germany reportedly capable of firing nuclear-armed warheads — in addition to the three it already has…

“America’s ability to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities is far superior to Israel’s. Unlike Israel, the United States has cruise missiles that can deliver high-explosive bombs to precise locations and B-2 bombers capable of dropping 85 500-pound bombs in a single run.  Yet the cost of an attack — by the U.S., Israel or both — is likely to be enormous. Iran could halt oil production and shut down tanker traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which could send the price of crude skyrocketing and wreck Western economies.”

News24.com reported on August 6:

“Amid the continued tensions, Iran said on Monday it had successfully test-fired an anti-ship missile with a range of 300km that would allow it to close the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman. ‘Given the equipment our armed forces have, an indefinite blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be very easy,’ said the commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari. But Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that any move by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz would be ‘self-defeating’ because its economy is so heavily dependent on income from oil exports.”

German Papers Comment on Potential War With Iran

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 7:

“Following Iran’s non-committal response [earlier this week]  to join in talks over its nuclear enrichment program, UN diplomats are fuming and threatening a fourth set of sanctions… The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘It is incomprehensible that the West continues this senseless game with Iran about nuclear issues. … This strategy of sticks and carrots only hurts the West’s economy and pushes Iran even further into the arms of Russia and China. And it’s also a dangerous game to be playing because it could lead to war. The consequences of such a war would be gruesome not only for Iran and the region, but also for Europe and the United States…’

“The Berlin daily Tagesspiegel writes: ‘Without even a blush, Germany is doing business with the world champion of anti-Semitism and undermining international efforts aimed at imposing sanctions on Iran — such is the tenor of the critique aimed at Berlin for the last week. The source of the criticism is the planned and supposedly “harmless” delivery of three liquefied natural gas plants to Iran by the firm Steiner-Prematechnik Gastec (SPG)… The case makes it clear that the government is disengaged and lacking in any sense of responsibility. And it has also become obvious that the current sanctions and export restrictions on Iran are completely insufficient… The only remaining alternative to military strikes has yet to be tried in earnest: imposing the most targeted and painful economic and political sanctions possible on the regime. Diplomacy without real pressure is just asking for failure. Tehran is just playing for time.'”

The “Conscience of Russia” Is Dead

Reuters reported on August 4:

“Russians on Monday mourned Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the author and dissident whose criticism of the tyranny of Soviet rule made him one of the bravest figures of the 20th century… a chorus of voices across the world expressed grief at the death of a man whose struggle exposed the horror of Josef Stalin’s camps and made him the conscience of Russia… Mikhail Gorbachev… President Dmitry Medvedev and top Russian officials as well as global leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President George W. Bush sent their condolences.”

Der Spiegel added on August 4:

“Solzhenitsyn’s unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the gulags provoked persecution by the Soviet authorities and forced him into an unhappy exile in the West… Solzhenitsyn was arrested in 1945 while fighting Hitler’s forces as a captain in the Red Army. His crime — writing a letter criticizing Stalin — earned him eight years in the slave labor camps, where tens of millions of people perished. He was released in 1953, suffering from stomach cancer, and in 1962, as part of Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin, he was allowed to publish his scathing account of his gulag experiences ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.’

“His acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 earned him the wrath of the new hardline regime of Leonid Brezhnev. He managed to smuggle out his epic work ‘The Gulag Archipelago,’ to be published in Paris. The book’s searing description of the brutal repressiveness of the Soviet system changed the way many Western intellectuals viewed the USSR. It also forced Solzhenitsyn into exile. He was arrested in 1974, stripped of his Soviet citizenship and then expelled to West Germany, where he stayed for a time with the German writer Heinrich Böll. He eventually settled in the US state of Vermont with his wife Natalya.

“The writer became a leading critic of the Soviet Union but he also attacked the West for its materialism and what he saw as the shallow obsession with individualism and liberty. He returned to Russia in 1994 and was outraged by the huge gap between rich and poor, refusing to accept an honor from then President Boris Yeltsin because of his disgust with post-Soviet society.

“Solzhenitsyn gradually warmed to Yeltsin’s successor Vladimir Putin, despite his background as a former KGB officer. Some Western critics began to accuse the writer of becoming an apologist for the increasingly authoritarian rule in Russia and he was also dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism.”

Some German Writers Not Happy With Solzhenitsyn

Especially Solzhenitsyn’s friendship with Vladimir Putin and his support of modern Russia’s policies caused severe criticism in parts of Germany. The Financial Times Deutschland wrote on August 5:

“… to Western observers, he was always an alien figure, and this says a lot about the relationship between established democracies and Russia. As courageous as the maverick Solzhenitsyn may have been in the Soviet era, after his return from exile in 1994 he expressed an opinion that would come to be shared by millions of Russians: Namely, that the Western model of the market economy and democracy nearly destroyed Russia. Coming from the minds of simple Russians who lost their jobs as a result of the unbridled capitalism of the 1990s, that’s an understandable position. But it’s different coming from an intellectual who lived for years in the US.

“For most in Western Europe and America, it is accepted as fact that socialism itself led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, making the re-emergence of Russia possible. But the majority of Russians do not share this viewpoint. And Putin often enjoyed support not because he supported democracy, but because of his anti-democratic tendencies. The Russian people have an arcane yearning for an all-powerful leader. With his vision of a village-like Russian solidarity, Solzhenitsyn nourished and supported Putin. Though Solzhenitsyn contributed significantly to the fight against Stalinism, he had little interest in democracy.”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung echoed these sentiments on August 5, stating:

“For too long, the West overlooked the Solzhenitsyn’s reactionary, anti-modernist tendencies. …the West confused Solzhenitsyn’s hatred of the Soviet powers as a commitment to democracy… Of all people, it was former KGB chief Vladimir Putin who was finally accepted by Solzhenitsyn. Putin… had once again turned the media into an uncritical government mouthpiece… But that didn’t seem to matter to Solzhenitsyn — after all, Putin had restored Russia’s greatness. That was merit enough for the author.”

“Mikhail Gorbachev, who the author despised, praised Solzhenitsyn for his battle for a ‘truly free and democratic country.’ But it was a misunderstanding. The tragedy in Solzhenitsyn, this man of the century, is that he has never recognized his people’s greatest historical achievement: That they liberated themselves from Bolshevism without any bloodshed. Nevertheless, he did help them to achieve this victory — and that’s a lot to accomplish in one lifetime.”

Will Russia Renew Its Ties with Cuba?

Reuters reported on August 4:

“The Kremlin is angry at U.S. plans for a missile defence system in Eastern Europe, and last month a news report suggested Russia might use Cuba, a thorn in America’s side for half a century, as a refueling stop for nuclear-capable bombers… ‘We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries,’ news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying…

“Just 144 km (90 miles) from the coast of U.S. state of Florida, Cuba still has no formal diplomatic ties with Washington D.C. At the height of the Cold War in 1962, a two-week crisis over Soviet missiles on the island nearly led to full-blown war.

“Putin’s remarks came after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin reported on a recent three-day visit to Cuba, where he discussed a raft of trade and investment issues and met with Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother and now the island’s leader.”

France Accused of Participation in Mass Genocide in Rwanda

On August 5, Der Spiegel Online reported the following:

“Rwanda’s government has released a report into France’s alleged role in the 1994 genocide on Tuesday. It accuses senior French political and military officials of involvement in the mass murder — a charge Paris denies… Those named by the report include former French Prime Minister Dominque de Villepin and late President Francois Mitterand.

“‘The French support was of a political, military, diplomatic and logistic nature,’ the report said. The commission named 33 French political and military officials, Reuters reports. ‘Considering the gravity of the alleged facts,’ the report reads according to Reuters, ‘the Rwandan government asks competent authorities to undertake all necessary actions to bring the accused French political and military leaders to answer for their acts before justice.’…

“The commission spent nearly two years investigating France’s alleged role in the genocide which saw some 800,000 people killed in just 100 days in 1994. It heard testimonies from genocide survivors, researchers and reporters. Kagame’s government has repeatedly accused France of arming and training the Hutu extremists, the Interhahamwe, who perpetrated the genocide — a charge France denies.

“Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations with Paris in 2006 after a French judge implicated Kagame, former leader of the Tutsi rebels, in the downing of then President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane in 1994. The incident unleashed the mass killings of members of the Tutsi minority.”

The French press agency, AFP, added the following on August 5:

“‘French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis… French forces committed several rapes on Tutsi survivors,’ said a justice ministry statement released after the report was presented in Kigali. The 500-page report alleged that France was aware of preparations for the genocide, contributed to planning the massacres and actively took part in the killing. It named former French prime minister Edouard Balladur, former foreign minister Alain Juppe and then-president Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, among 13 French politicians accused of playing a role in the massacres. The report also names 20 military officials as being responsible.”

The Olympics in China–A Drastic Mistake

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 4:

“Just days before the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies usher in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reporters from around the world who are in China to cover the games are pulling their hair out. Two things in particular are driving them nuts: not knowing what they will be able to cover and not knowing how much the Chinese government will censor their online coverage…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Now, just a few days before the Olympics start, there is wave upon wave of outrage because Chinese officials are practicing censorship and are trying to put some controls on the freedom of the press. But they are only doing what authoritarian and dictatorial regimes always do. No one can really be unclear about the true character of the Chinese system of rule.’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘Seven years ago, it was already clear what is now becoming even clearer: The Olympics cannot be held in a country ruled by a dictatorship without having to play by its rules.’

“Right-leaning Die Welt writes:

“‘… The Chinese leadership continues to bully and even imprison its critics. Dissidents are exiled into the countryside. Journalists are threatened and even denied visas…. The true spirit of the Olympics is dead…'”

German Firms Leave China

Der Spiegel wrote on August 4:

“China lost its status as the world’s cheapest country for manufacturing some time ago. The momentum now seems to be shifting away from outsourcing to the Far East, with one in five Germany companies pulling production out of the country… Some are searching for countries with lower wages while others are returning production to Germany…

“Rising energy costs, stricter environmental rules, the elimination of many tax incentives, a dearth of skilled workers and the increasing strength of the yuan against the dollar have all pushed production costs up in China. In addition, the country’s 8-percent inflation rate has also driven up wages in the past year by as much as 20 percent… For some companies and industries, China is already getting to be too expensive… Chinese companies, too, are increasingly outsourcing production abroad…

“Four years ago, Steiff, a world-famous German company that makes high-quality teddy bears, moved part of its production to China. In early July, though, the company announced it would return all manufacturing to Germany… Steiff CEO Martin Frenchen… said it took six months to train workers to produce the teddy bears’ complicated stitching and to meet the company’s standards for quality. ‘By then you might have already lost them to an automobile factory next door that pays more,’ he added. Despite the company’s arduous efforts to produce high quality products in China, Steiff executives weren’t satisfied with the end result, [Frenchen] said.

“The company also complained of the length of delivery times. Sometimes the ships carrying the company’s stuffed animals would take up to three months to get to Germany. For sales successes like the company’s stuffed Knut polar bear, of which 80,000 were sold, that waiting period was just too long. Following a major scandal last year in which researchers discovered that some toys made in China were coated in toxic lead paint, the public’s faith in production in the country was shaken, and Steiff decided to end its production in Asia.”

Haider To Run for Austrian Chancellor?

The International Herald Tribune wrote on August 2:

“Right-wing politician Joerg Haider said Saturday that he will return as leader of the slumping breakaway party he formed in 2005. Haider, now serving… as governor of the province of Carinthia, said he would replace Peter Westenthaler, who was convicted of providing false testimony about a brawl involving his former bodyguard. Haider also said he was also considering to become the party’s leading candidate for the Sept. 28 elections, but would only vacate his post as governor to serve as chancellor…

“Haider founded the Alliance for the Future of Austria three years ago after breaking away from the extreme-right Freedom Party. That party joined Austria’s coalition government in 2000 after an election campaign tinged with anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic rhetoric, which led to seven months of punitive EU sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Haider handed over the alliance’s leadership to Westenthaler in 2006.”

The Knights Templar Sue the Pope

The Register reported on August 4:

“The Knights Templar are demanding that the Vatican give them back their good name and, possibly, billions in assets into the bargain, 700 years after the order was brutally suppressed by a joint venture between the Pope and the King of France… The Daily Telegraph reports that The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ has launched a court case in Spain, demanding Pope Benedict ‘recognise’ the seizure of assets worth €100bn…

“This might come as a surprise to those who believe that the order of warrior monks – also credited with possessing the Holy Grail and laying the foundation of the European banking system – was smashed in 1307 by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France…  it appeared that the order’s suppression was more a piece of realpolitik on the pope’s part to pacify Philip, who was somewhat irked by the prospect of the powerful order increasing its continental activities after Jerusalem fell to the Turks.”

Royal Seal Discovered–Proving Once More the Accuracy of the Bible

WorldNetDaily reported on August 5:

“A team of archaeologists in Israel has unearthed what’s believed to be the royal seal of an Old Testament prince who is said to have tossed the prophet Jeremiah down a well. The stamped engraving, known as a ‘bulla,’ was discovered earlier this year about 600 feet south of the Temple Mount, but is just now making headlines.

“Team leader Dr. Eilat Mazar of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University says the imprint was found in clay, astonishingly well-preserved, bearing the name of Gedaliah, the son of Pashur. ‘How absolutely fantastic and special this find is can only be realized when you hold in your hand this magnificent one-centimeter piece of clay and know that it survived 2,600 years in the debris of the destruction, and came to us complete and in perfect condition,’ Mazar said.

“Gedaliah is mentioned by name in Jeremiah 38:1 as he served Judah’s King Zedekiah in the final days before Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The prophet’s writings tell of the actions that Gedaliah and his fellow princes took against him:

“‘Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.’ (Jeremiah 38:6) The prophet was rescued after an Ethiopian eunuch pleaded with the king on Jeremiah’s behalf, saying, ‘he is like[ly] to die [from] hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.’ (38:9) The king then ordered 30 men to hoist up the prophet before the city fell to the Babylonians.

“The letters on the seal are in ancient Hebrew… This is actually the second recent discovery of an ancient bulla from the time of Jeremiah. In 2005, Mazar found another seal with the name of Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, who is mentioned twice in the prophet’s book. That artifact was found in a stone structure Mazar believes was part of King David’s ancient palace. She added, ‘It is not very often that such a discovery happens to archaeologists in which real figures of the past shake off the dust of history and so vividly revive the stories of the Bible.'”

Muslims Deny Jewish and Christian Access to Temple Mount

Israel Today wrote on August 1:

“In an interview with Israel Today, Azzam Khatib, director of the Islamic Trust (or Waqf) that safeguards the mosques that sit atop the Temple Mount, said that Jews and Christians who try to pray at the ancient holy site are effectively declaring war. Any non-Muslim ‘who seeks such an approach is really seeking a religious war,’ said Khatib, who insisted that the Temple Mount is an exclusively Muslim site and that Jews and Christians should not even want to pray there…

“Khatib refused to consider the possibility that the site was once home to the First and Second Jewish Temples, calling such claims unsubstantiated myths. When presented with a citation from a 1929 tourist guide published by the Supreme Muslim Council that acknowledged the Temple Mount as the site of Solomon’s Temple, Khatib rejected the idea that such a book was ever published by a Muslim authority… Various Waqf officials also failed to provide a single, cohesive answer as to why the gate on the eastern side of the Temple Mount, known in the Bible as the Golden Gate, is sealed shut. Historical Muslim sources state that the gate was sealed and a cemetery planted in front of it to prevent Jesus’ prophesied return.”

Soon to Come–NUCLEAR War in the Middle East?

The German mass tabloid, Bild, published two articles on its Website on July 20 and 22, discussing the possibility of a NUCLEAR WAR in the Middle East.

The first article quoted Benny Morris, author and professor at the Ben Gurion University in Israel, saying that “it is virtually certain that Israel will attack the Iranian nuclear facilities within the next four to six months.” He continued that the attack had better be successful, because if it was not, a NUCLEAR WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST would be the likely consequence. His rationale: If Israel’s attack fails, then Iran will retaliate, forcing Israel to respond with nuclear weapons. Morris is also quoted as saying: “Israel has the choice between the Black Death and Cholera. In either case, a nuclear Holocaust looms over the Middle East.”

The second article quoted U.S. Major-General Henry Obering as saying that Iran possesses missiles which could reach a very large part of Europe, including Great Britain. Although not expressly stated in the article, the implication was given, of course, that Iran might strike Europe with missiles if it was attacked by European ally Israel.

In addition, Reuters reported on July 29:

“The United States will soon link Israel up to two advanced missile detection systems as a precaution against any future attack by a nuclear-armed Iran, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday… Barak declined to give details on whether Israel, which is believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, would be prepared to take on Iran alone. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons and has vowed to retaliate for any attack… Israeli and U.S. officials this month voiced differing assessments on when Iran might acquire advanced S-300 anti-aircraft systems from Russia. The S-300s would complicate any pre-emptive air strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites… Israeli Defence officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, predicted first delivery of the systems as early as September.”

ABC reported on July 30:

“Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, met with House Democrats yesterday [and] told the caucus, according to an attendee, ‘Nobody said this to me directly  but I get the feeling from my talks [in the Middle East] that if the sanctions don’t work Israel is going to strike Iran.’ Others in the room recall this as well.

“The notion that Israel is preparing for such an action against Iran’s myriad nuclear facilities is not new, with conjecture heating up in May after an Israeli military exercise featuring 150 aircraft flying almost a thousand miles over the Mediterranean Sea in what was seen as a dress rehearsal for an air strike. Now that the Bush administration is engaged in diplomatic efforts with Iran, many Israeli officials are worried the US is getting soft on Iran, prompting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to travel to the US this week to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Barak’s office released a statement saying ‘a policy that consists of keeping all options on the table must be maintained.'”

For more information, please watch our StandingWatch program, “Is War With Iran Coming Soon?”, which is posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube.

Israel’s Olmert Announces Intent to Resign

The Jerusalem Post reported on July 30:

“Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to hand his resignation letter to President Shimon Peres the day after the September 17 Kadima primary and ask him to entrust the new party leader with forming a new government, Olmert’s associates said Wednesday night… By law, Olmert will remain prime minister until a new government is formed. If the new Kadima leader forms a government soon after the primary, Olmert will then leave office. But if no new government is established, Olmert, despite having formally tendered his resignation, could remain prime minister until after a general election that would likely be held in spring 2009.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 31:

“When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped in front of the camera and spoke to the nation on Wednesday evening, it is not hard to imagine millions of his countrymen united in a deep sigh of relief. Olmert, plagued by accusations of corruption, finally did that which the country of Israel had been awaiting for months: He said he would resign…

“For months, his countrymen have followed every new piece in an ever-growing mosaic of corruption allegations. The most recent low point was reached two weeks ago when the Israeli police indicated they suspected Olmert of having double- or even triple-billed for trips abroad and pocketing the profit. Olmert also stands accused of having accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from a Jewish-American businessman to fund his luxurious lifestyle and propensity for fat cigars. Dubious real-estate deals and sketchy political appointments made before he became prime minister round out the dossier against him…

“Israelis are sure to welcome the news of Olmert’s resignation. A huge percentage of the country’s voters have been unhappy with the prime minister for months and almost 60 percent of those in his own party were in favor of his stepping down. A survey carried out on Wednesday evening found that over 77 percent of Israelis think that Olmert did a poor job as head of Israel’s government. Even worse, many Israelis fear that Olmert has inflicted lasting damage on the office of prime minister. Olmert’s zigzag policies of the past few months have had just one aim: his own political survival…

“On Wednesday night, he also pledged to prove his innocence, saying that ‘those preaching to me today will one day have to contend with the truth.’ That, though, seems unlikely given the mountains of material state prosecutors have gathered to use against him. Few in Israel believe that his name will ever be cleared. The Israelis are sorely afflicted when it comes to scandals involving politicians. The then Chief of Staff Dan Halutz sold off his Israeli share package just before the war with Lebanon in 2006, fearing a stock market dip. Olmert’s predecessor Ariel Sharon had to defend himself on several occasions against corruption allegations. One of his sons even ended up in jail.

“Once the initial relief about Olmert’s resignation fades, the debate will begin about who will succeed him… Whoever follows in Olmert’s footsteps will face a huge task. Alongside all the other problems, he or she will have to re-establish a basic level of trust among Israelis in the integrity of their politicians.”

White House Sees Record Budget Gap of $482 Billion in 2009

Reuters reported on July 28:

“The Bush administration on Monday projected the U.S. budget deficit will soar to a record of nearly half a trillion dollars in fiscal 2009 as a housing-led economic slowdown cuts into government revenues. The economic and fiscal deterioration will complicate efforts to bring the budget to balance and pose challenges for whoever takes over the White House in January, either Republican Sen. John McCain or Democratic Sen. Barack Obama…

“Reacting to the White House’s new prediction that the budget deficit will hit $482 billion in the fiscal year that starts October 1, [Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent] Conrad said that number easily could rise by an additional $80 billion when the full costs of the Iraq war are tallied next year.”

New Bill INCREASES U.S. Debt Limit by Almost 1 Trillion Dollars

Bloomberg reported on July 30:

“President George W. Bush signed into law legislation that helps 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure and extends a lifeline to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac… The measure passed the Senate July 26 and the House three days earlier… [Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson] who was the lead lobbyist for the White House, persuaded Bush to back off a threatened veto over a section of the legislation that provides $3.9 billion in grants to states to buy and repair foreclosed properties. Bush said he regarded it as a bailout of lenders. Democrats said it would stabilize neighborhoods…

“Under the law, the Federal Housing Administration can now insure higher loan limits, up to $625,500 from $417,000 in high- cost areas. The law also raises the nation’s debt limit to $10.6 trillion from $9.816 trillion to accommodate the Paulson plan.”

The Associated Press added on July 31:

“The Treasury Department gains unlimited power, until the end of 2009, to lend money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or buy their stock should they need it… Democratic leaders, recognizing that the measure could be one of the last items to become law during what’s left of their abbreviated election-year schedule, tacked on an $800 billion increase, to $10.6 trillion, in the statutory limit on the national debt… Conservative Republicans were vehemently opposed to the bill, particularly the help for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Critics charge the companies enjoy lavish profits in good times and wield their outsized political clout to resist regulation while depending on the government to bail them out should they falter.”

“Ford Posts $8.7 Billion Loss”

The Associated Press reported the following on July 24:

“Ford Motor Co. posted the worst quarterly performance in its history Thursday, losing $8.67 billion in the second quarter… Ford shares dropped 58 cents, or 9.6 percent, to $5.45 in morning trading… Ford’s capital expenditures will reach $6 billion annually between now and 2010 because of the cost of revamping plants and introducing new products and engines. Ford plans to upgrade or replace all of its engines by 2010… Cost cuts also will come from employee layoffs. Ford said 4,000 U.S. hourly workers took buyouts in the second quarter, and the company will continue offering buyouts at targeted U.S. plants. Ford also has announced plans to cut its salaried costs by Aug. 1 through voluntary and involuntary layoffs…

“Ford reported a pretax loss of $1.3 billion in North America because of the deteriorating U.S. market and the shift away from trucks. U.S. sales overall were down 10 percent in the first half of the year, with Ford’s sales down 14 percent.

“The company, though, continued to be profitable overseas, posting a $582 million profit in Europe and $388 million in South America. The company also made $50 million at its Asia-Pacific-Africa division… Ford said it does not expect a U.S. economic recovery to start until early 2010.”

The Latest U.S. Bank Failures

The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 28:

“The latest bank failures… came late Friday, when federal regulators shut down First National Bank of Nevada, based in Reno, and First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach, Calif. The $3.2 billion in deposits of the closed banks were acquired by Mutual of Omaha Bank, a unit of insurer Mutual of Omaha. The branches are reopening Monday.

“The two failed banks were units of closely held First National Bank Holding Co., based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Both had been grappling with problem loans and had a combined first-quarter loss of about $140 million. First National Bank of Arizona, which was absorbed into First National Bank of Nevada in June, had a first-quarter loan-loss provision of $95.9 million…

“They are the sixth and seventh banks to have been shut by regulators so far this year, though they are far smaller than IndyMac Bank, the Pasadena, Calif., lender that collapsed earlier this month. IndyMac was a nationwide powerhouse in mortgage lending, while First National Bank of Arizona relied on brokers to generate loan volume from much of the U.S. Regulators are anticipating more closures as banks are overwhelmed by bad loans.”

“Is Your Bank Safe?”

Business Week wrote on July 28:

“Nothing says hard times like people standing outside a bank demanding their money. IndyMac Bancorp’s failure and the resulting chaos were reminiscent of Depression-era bank runs… the FDIC compiles a quarterly watch list of troubled banks; there are 90… That list ‘is going to grow longer, given the stresses we have in the marketplace, given the housing correction,’ Paulson said on July 20 in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation. Just don’t ask for the names of any banks on the list. The FDIC cannot discuss which firms are in danger of failing, given that the agency collects proprietary data from each bank and says it would be unfair to use the information to expose them publicly…

“Many more people now have deposits that are above FDIC-insured limits, meaning that if their bank failed they might get only a portion of that money back… Today, only about 62% are insured…

“Wachovia’s new president and CEO, Robert Steel, is featured in a video on the company’s Web site aimed at bank customers. ‘Although the nation’s financial news lately has been a bit troubling and Wachovia certainly isn’t immune, I want you to know that our company is on exceptionally sound footing,’ he says. Steel goes on to list the bank’s capital ($50 billion), liquid funding capability ($150 billion), and says the bank has enough cash to meet its current long-term debt obligations for three and a half years… Associated Banc-Corp, a regional bank based in Green Bay, Wis., issued talking points to tellers and other bank employees the week after IndyMac’s demise. It wanted customers to know, among other things, that it was well-capitalized and had issued dividends for 154 consecutive quarters…

“But even as banks try to reassure their customers, they are competing with increasingly vocal skeptics. Lists of troubled institutions continue to proliferate on the Internet…”

Who Wins in Today’s Economy

CNN reported on July 31 that “Exxon Mobil [the world’s largest publicly traded oil firm] once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter. That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.”

In addition, as the International Herald Tribune wrote, “Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, reported a 33 percent increase in second-quarter profit Thursday, helped by a higher oil price even as production declined. Like smaller rival BP earlier this week, Shell profited from an oil price that almost doubled in the second quarter from the year earlier…”

The Current (and Future) State of Affairs of the US Economy

The Associated Press wrote on July 31:

“The country didn’t get the energetic rebound in economic growth hoped for from the government’s tax rebates in the second quarter, and the economy jolted into reverse at the end of 2007, raising new recession fears.

“The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the April-to-June period. That marked an improvement over the feeble 0.9 percent growth logged in the first quarter of this year…

“Still, the second-quarter rebound wasn’t as robust as economists had hoped; they were forecasting growth at a 2.4 percent pace. The pickup, while welcome, isn’t likely to be seen as a signal that the fragile economy is growing healthier. There are fears that as the bracing tonic of the tax rebates fades, the economy could be in for another rough patch later this year…

“A trio of crises — housing, credit and financial — have badly bruised the economy. In response, employers have cut jobs for six months in a row, bringing total losses this year close to a staggering half-million — 438,000. The Labor Department reported Thursday that layoffs rose sharply last week. New claims filed for unemployment insurance jumped to 448,000, the highest in five years… With more job cuts expected for July and in coming months, there’s growing concern that many people will pull back on their spending… dealing a blow to the shaky economy. These worries — along with the negative GDP in the fourth quarter of last year — may rekindle recession fears.”

“Obama Will Be Costly and Difficult for Germany”

Der Spiegel Online reported on July 25 on the German reaction to Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin:

“Barack Obama conjured up Berlin’s Cold War past in his speech on Thursday, urging Germany to strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship. The German press on Friday regards the plea as a prelude to demands for more Bundeswehr soldiers in Afghanistan… Most hear one essential message loud and clear: If Obama ends up in the White House, then Europeans — and Germans in particular — will be called upon to play a greater role in the war on terror — and that means contributing more troops to the war in Afghanistan.
 
“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘There is no doubt that Obama will demand more from the Europeans to ensure success in Afghanistan and Iraq. … And the Germans in particular should prepare themselves for those demands. Obama will be costly for Germany. The haggling over sending more troops to Afghanistan will continue. And a President Obama will demand help in winding up the Iraq adventure in the name of strengthened trans-Atlantic solidarity…’

“Conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘… if he were to become president, he would demand that Germany and the EU play a much stronger role than they have been up to now in the war against terror and against the other evils in the world… Someone who dares to claim that now is the moment of great change should have very good arguments to back up that claim. And he should make it clear that he knows something about those tragedies where goodwill often creates nothing good. Unfortunately there was little trace of this in Barack Obama’s otherwise pleasant speech.’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… It is now finally clear to the German government that more involvement — and particularly in Afghanistan — will be expected from Berlin. The US doesn’t see why they should grind away at fighting the Taliban while the Germans play the nice reconstruction aid workers…. Obama will ask for more. He’ll ask the Germans to deploy troops in the dangerous south. Although this has long been clear to the German government, Obama was still treated like a teddy bear. Politicians from almost every party projected the feeling that the trans-Atlantic partnership would automatically blossom with the Democratic politician (as president).

“‘While the government already knows what awaits it, the voters for the parties in Berlin’s grand coalition could soon experience a rude awakening once they see that Obama’s new America is pursuing the same old goals. Until now, the Germans have always been able to reject a more robust mandate for Afghanistan with the unspoken knowledge that there was no need to run after someone like George W. Bush. But it will be much tougher to reject any urgent requests from a President Obama, who has just been so widely celebrated here.’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘Obama’s agenda seems to contradict George W. Bush’s foreign policy on nearly every point. … His agenda is well thought through and could easily have been drafted by political thinkers in Europe. However, it is very abstract on many points. When he eventually gives them substance, then these differences with the Bush administration’s policies fall away. For Obama, as for John McCain, a militarily strong America forms the basis of all their foreign policy concepts… Obama makes no mention of fewer troops, agents or weapons. On the contrary… The Europeans must renew their efforts to formulate their own common security and foreign policy…’

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘… When you take away the Obama feel-good factor, what remains is a crystal clear demand: More European soldiers for Afghanistan. If he wins, Obama will also be a difficult US president for Germany…’

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘… He did not spare the Germans and the Europeans the bitter truth that a change of administration in Washington will not change anything in the difficult task that faces the alliance. That was a friendly way of saying that the Europeans should not be under the illusion that the departure of George W. Bush will mark the beginning of paradise…'”

The Bible reveals that the relationship between the USA and Europe will not substantially improve. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Google Under Attack in Italy

Times Online wrote on July 25:

“Italian prosecutors have indicated that they will press charges against four Google executives over a video which was posted on one of the search giant’s Italian sites in 2006, which showed four youths making fun of a disabled teenager in a classroom in the northern city of Turin… A spokesman for Google was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that the company co-operated with Italian prosecutors throughout their investigation and that the video was removed from the site in question within hours of administrators being notified of its existence in September, 2006…

“A Google spokesman was quoted as saying that there was no basis for the legal action because under EU legislation – which has been incorporated into Italian law – Google isn’t required to monitor third-party content on its sites. It must only take down offending content when it is notified.”

National State of Emergency in Italy

On July 28, the EUObserver wrote the following:

“The Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi is facing strong criticism from the country’s opposition over the declaration of a national state of emergency to deal with the ‘exceptional and persistent influx’ of irregular immigrants… The decision came shortly after Italy passed another controversial piece of law that would make undocumented migration a criminal offence punishable by six months to four years in prison. The law also allows that property rented to such an immigrant can be confiscated…

“In June, the Berlusconi government also found itself under heavy criticism… for plans to conduct a census, under which all Roma people, including children, would be fingerprinted. Left critics of the move compared it to the policies of Benito Mussolini, the country’s fascist leader during the second world war.”

European Double-Standards Policy

The following article was originally published by Adevarul, Bucharest, in Romanian, on July 24, 2008, and published in English by the BBC:

“Corruption is deeply rooted in Bulgarian society and the European Union is naive to think that several rules or highways will change the situation. However, corruption is an issue for new EU member Bulgaria (also Romania), so that it is no surprise that Brussels is threatening to suspend financial aid and retain travel restrictions for work- seekers should Sofia not crack down on organized crime and other forms of corruption. Bulgaria, the poorest EU member, is hoping to get 7m euros for structural reforms over the next five years… the EU threat shows a recurrent habit – the European Commission bullies smaller member states but is often soft on the important ones.

“Do you remember the agitation caused by Joerg Haider’s party getting good results in Austria? Fourteen countries, although they were not officially part of the EU, condemned Austrians as if Haider had set the Reichstag on fire. Portugal and Ireland were criticized for having infringed the euro zone debt rules and the Danish and the Irish were threatened in various ways for the ‘wrong’ results of their respective referendums.

“I do not recall, however, when the French or the German governments were last threatened or when the Italians were seriously warned about their own corruption, which swallowed a large slice of the EU aid intended for southern Italy. One can see those highways suddenly end in the middle of some Sicilian plain.  In short, if Brussels often lacks courage in front of the EU ‘big guys,’ the fact that it pompously and severely points at the ‘little ones’ can only highlight its double-standards policy.”

“Two-Speed Europe May Emerge Over Divorce Rules”

The EUObserver wrote on July 25:

“In the face of long-lasting deadlock, a group of nine EU states have decided to take the unprecedented path of closer co-operation and apply common rules for divorce between couples of different European nationality… Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia and Spain have teamed up in order to formally request the European Commission launch the so-called enhanced co-operation mechanism – allowing a group of countries to move ahead in one particular area, even though other states are opposed…

“A controversial and politically sensitive issue anyway, this route for dealing with the divorce question has further irked some capitals because, under normal procedures, a decision in this area would have to be taken by unanimity… Under the foreseen rules, if a Czech-German couple living in Belgium decide to divorce, spouses would be allowed to choose the competent court and the law to apply to their case. Should they fail to agree, the couple would be automatically referred to a court in Belgium, their place of residence.

“Malta and Sweden are widely considered the most reluctant to give the go-ahead to a EU-wide divorce scheme. Strongly Catholic Malta does not recognise divorce, while Stockholm fears that EU harmonisation in the area could threaten its liberal family law…

“Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Lithuania are also believed to be considering joining the initiative.”

“Multi-Speed Europe” On Defense

The EUObserver wrote on July 29, 2008:

“Europeans are a heterogeneous lot, and efforts to develop European defence need to recognise and accommodate this diversity. This last point is especially relevant in the aftermath of the Irish ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty. For some, this latest failure to get 27 runners and riders into the starting gates at the same time has only confirmed the need to accept a ‘multi-speed’ Europe. Whether or not this is true for the future of the Union as a whole, there is no room for dispute in defence – multi-speed is the reality, and will remain so as long as 27 Member States reserve the right to set their own defence policies, and take their own decisions about sending their young men and women into danger…

“This approach – the concept of the ‘pioneer group’ – appears in the Lisbon Treaty in the provisions on ‘permanent structured cooperation’. But, with Lisbon in baulk for the foreseeable future, the principles should be introduced as far and as fast as possible into the existing practices and institutions of European defence – most obviously, into the workings of the European Defence Agency.”

Deutsche Welle reported on July 29:

“Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has called for a group of EU states to develop a military force capable of reacting to crises around the world. He said the bloc needs a flexible defense policy. A group [of] EU nations should form a ‘pioneering group’ to deal with issues of European security and defense, Fischer said Tuesday, July 28, at the presentation of a European Council on Foreign Relations study. ‘We must recognize the reality of a “multi-speed Europe” on defense,’ said Fischer, one of the council’s co-chairs. ‘The reluctant should not be bullied, but neither must they hold the others back.’ Fischer added that the bloc needed to take a ‘flexible approach’ to cooperation between states on key issues in order to move forward after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, which foresees creating a new post to steer European foreign and security policy…

“A former leader of the German Greens party, Fischer was instrumental in convincing his fellow party members to turn away from the party’s pacifist roots and to support NATO efforts in the Balkans in the late 1990s. It represented the first time German soldiers conducted military operations since World War II. Though he opposed sending troops to Iraq, Fischer lent his support to the Bundeswehr’s mission in Afghanistan.

“If such a European reaction force were created it would be able to react to violence around the globe such as in Chad and Congo, more effectively than allowed by current policies, according to the council’s report. ‘Europe’s security is being jeopardized by the reluctance of defense ministries to change and to work together,’ said Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General, and one of council’s members. ‘Stronger European defense cooperation will only strengthen NATO.’ ‘A large part of the 200 billion euros that Europe spends on defense every year is simply wasted,’ the study says.”

A two-speed Europe–with a core Europe leading the continent–is inevitable. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

No Second Vote in Ireland?

The EUObserver wrote on July 28:

“Almost three quarters of Irish voters are opposed to the idea of a second vote on the EU’s Lisbon treaty…The leader of France, which currently [holds] the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, last week proposed to the Irish prime minister, Brian Cowen, that a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty be held on the same day as elections to the European Parliament next June…

“The survey also suggested that in the case of a repeated referendum, even more people would vote No than the first time around…

“Twenty out of 27 EU states have definitively ratified the EU treaty. Spain, Germany and Poland’s parliaments have approved the text but the respective heads of state must still sign off on the document, with the German constitutional court still considering a legal challenge.

“The Italian lower house is expected to back the text this week. Swedish MPs are set to pass the treaty without serious opposition when they begin their autumn session in September. And Czech deputies are planning to hold a vote in autumn, after the verdict of the country’s constitutional court on a legal appeal.”

New Sunday Law in Croatia

The Associated Press reported on July 26:

“The Croatian parliament has passed a law forcing shops to close on Sundays in a concession to the Roman Catholic church… The church has campaigned for years for Sundays to be devoted to family or Mass in Croatia, which is almost 90 percent Roman Catholic. But Croatians have begun spending weekends in shopping malls that have flourished across the country in the past few years and remain open seven days a week.

“The law [was] adopted Tuesday and goes into effect Jan. 1. It allows Sunday shopping over the summer and Christmas holidays. The law also allows stores in gas, bus and train stations to open on Sundays year-round, along with those in hospitals. Bakeries, newsstands and flower shops are also exempt from the ban.”

First Ever Recession in Eurozone?

The EUObserver wrote on July 25:

“The eurozone is facing the threat of the first ever recession in its brief history since 1999, according to the latest business data on the 15-country single currency bloc. A survey issued on Thursday (24 July) of some 5,000 companies showed both manufacturing and services activity declining rapidly in July, after data for March to June suggest that the second quarter may have experienced economic contraction. If the July to September period continues on its downward trajectory, the eurozone will meet the technical definition of a recession: two consecutive quarters of contraction…

“Employment in the service sector also shrank in July, the first time the number of services jobs has not grown in four years. And Employment in manufacturing dropped to a three-year low. Manufacturing output is at its lowest rate since the attacks on New York and Washington in September 2001 and new orders are at their lowest level in seven years.

“A slew of other surveys of the French, German and Italian economies also backed up the PMI data. A key survey of German business sentiment… showed the business climate in Europe’s largest economy at a three-year low. In France, business confidence fell this month for the sixth month in a row, and slipped to its lowest level since May 2005… In Italy, business sentiment plunged to its lowest levels for almost seven years… For its part, the Spanish government, struggling with a collapse in the housing market, has cut its growth forecast for 2008 to 1.6 percent, down from 2.3 percent.

“‘Economic growth in the eurozone is coming almost to a halt,’ said Bank of America economist Holger Schmieding, according to AFP.”

AFP also reported on July 31 that “Deutsche Bank [the biggest German bank] posted on Thursday a 63.0-percent slump in second-quarter net profit… the bank has suffered from the global credit crisis that broke a year ago, and was obliged to write down the value of its assets by 2.3 billion euros in the second quarter, following a markdown of 2.7 billion in the first three months of the year.”

WTO Talks Collapse With Gloomy Consequences

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 30:

“The WTO [World Trade Organization] efforts to strike a new global trade pact ended in failure on Tuesday, after the US resisted what [it] saw as protectionism from China and India. German papers on Wednesday are gloomy about the impact on the global economy.

“The negotiations had already dragged on for seven years but nine days of marathon talks in Geneva could not bridge the gap. On Tuesday the current round of World Trade Organization talks… collapsed in failure. The result is no trade deal and no good news in a time of increasing economic uncertainty.

“In the end, the deal hit a fatal snag when the United States refused to allow China and India a loophole which would have protected farmers from a sudden surge in imports. The recriminations started almost immediately, with each side blaming the other for what has been widely regarded as a disaster. On Wednesday China blamed ‘selfish’ wealthy Western nations for the failure to free up global trade, while Japan pointed the finger at China and India for focusing on their own interests instead of considering the global economy…

“The disappointment was all the more crushing because a compromise which had been painstakingly negotiated was so close to being accepted by all 153 WTO member states. The deal would have allowed poorer countries to sell more produce to rich countries while Western nations would have had access to emerging markets for their industrial goods and services. US officials were reported to be particularly bitter because they had made significant concessions by agreeing to limit US farm subsidies…

“Business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘In the long term the debacle in Geneva marks a break of immense importance… Above all the failure of the WTO talks reflects the changing power relations in the world. Gone are the days when the US and Europe could set the tone and largely draw up the world trade agreements amongst themselves. China and India took a tough stance. They fight hard for their interests and only support free trade when it suits them. The old industrial powers will slowly realize the bitter truth of this. Geneva was just a foretaste.’

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘On Tuesday in Geneva the hope died that the powerful WTO would be capable of at least getting close to solving the most urgent problems facing people across the world. These are: rising food prices, declining natural resources, the crisis in the financial markets and the economic downturn in the Western industrial countries. A flourishing world trade, according to the WTO, could lead to a greater availability of food, which would decrease the prices of bread, rice and corn, make cars cheap and make it easier for people to make a living.'”

Earthquake in Southern California–A Drill for the “Big One”

The Associated Press reported on July 29:

“The strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California in more than a decade rattled windows and chandeliers, made buildings sway and sent people running into the streets on Tuesday… The 5.4-magnitude quake — considered moderate — was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and as far east as Las Vegas, 230 miles away. Nearly 30 aftershocks quickly followed, the largest estimated at 3.8. The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County city of 80,000 built mostly in the early 1990s with the latest in earthquake-resistant technology…

“As strong as it felt, Tuesday’s quake was far less powerful than the deadly magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that toppled bridges and buildings on Jan. 17, 1994. That was the last damaging temblor in Southern California, though not the biggest. A 7.1 quake struck the desert in 1999.

“The earthquake had about 1 percent of the energy of the Northridge quake, said Thomas Heaton, director of the earthquake engineering and research laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. ‘People have forgotten, I think, what earthquakes feel like,’ said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at Caltech. ‘So I think we should probably look at it as an earthquake drill. … It’s a drill for the “Big One” that will be coming some day.'”

LifeScience wrote on July 29:

“As if the San Andreas Fault weren’t long and menacing enough, newly found mud pots and mud volcanoes now suggest it extends another 18 miles, going under the Salton Sea and beyond, in the desert southeast of Palm Springs… Geologists had suspected that the San Andreas Fault extended beyond its agreed-upon terminal point near Bombay Beach, a location about midway along the eastern shore of the Salton Sea… The Salton Sea is an extremely salty, below-sea-level lake and the largest lake in California. It formed starting in 1905 when rainfall forced the Colorado River to swell and breach a nearby dike. The town of Salton and some Indian land was submerged by the time the flooding was controlled, two years later…

“The San Andreas Fault is a 700-mile plate boundary in California, separating the Pacific and North American plates. Seismologists say that enough stress has accumulated at the fault to generate the next ‘Big One,’ an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or greater, any day now or 10 years or more from now. Southern California is at greatest risk…”

What About Cell Phones and Cancer?

LifeScience wrote on July 29:

“Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, shocked just about all law-abiding scientists (abiding by laws of physics, that is) with his warning last week to his faculty and staff that cell phones might pose a cancer risk. This is troublesome because this time a really smart person is saying it, not just another nutcase. The basics still ring true, and Herberman admitted as much: There’s no convincing evidence that cell phone radiation causes cancer. Nor is there plausible biological or physical reasoning for why it would cause cancer.

“Herberman said his warning is based on early, unpublished data from a 13-country study on cell phone use. Scientists tend to be wary of preliminary results, and many are scratching their heads over why Herberman would make such a stern and public warning now. Herberman countered that until there’s definitive proof that cell phones are harmless, users should practice some caution…

“Yet Einstein, in a way, disproved the notion that cell phone radiation causes cancer. It’s called the photoelectric effect: Light is composed of photons which, when above a threshold energy, can dislodge electrons from atoms – for example, break chemical bonds in DNA and cause cancerous mutations. That threshold energy is near the ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum, thousands of times more energetic than cell phone radio waves. UV, X-rays and gamma rays cause cancer. These photons are like golf balls, whereas radio photons are like cotton balls. You can throw millions of cotton balls against a window; it just won’t break…

“Despite myriad studies showing no increased cancer risk from up to 20 years of cell phone use, some scientists continue to probe – as they should, given the omnipresence of cell phones.

“One alternate theory is that heat generated by cell phones can cook brain cells… One problem with the heat theory is that the sun can heat your head far more efficiently than a cell phone. And your body does a rather decent job at regulating heat, anyway… Each type of living tissue absorbs radiation at a different frequency. So it is plausible that cell phone radiation bypasses the skin and skull and is absorbed selectively by brain tissue. But scientists see only marginal evidence for changes at the cellular level induced by cell phone radiation in Petri dishes, fruit flies and mice. Similarly in human studies, such as the 13-country study Herberman was privy to, called INTERPHONE, there is at best only an inkling of evidence that cell phones might cause cancer if you use them long enough, for 30 or more years.”

American Economy MUCH MUCH WORSE Than Assumed

Bloomberg reported on July 21:

“American Express Co., the biggest U.S. credit-card company by purchases, withdrew its 2008 earnings forecast after second-quarter profit fell 37 percent on worse-than-expected consumer defaults… Profit from continuing operations declined to $655 million… ‘By almost any measure, the U.S. economy and business environment are much weaker than the assumptions’ the company had in January, Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Chenault said today in a conference call. ‘Unemployment rates took the largest jump in over twenty years. Home prices declined at the fastest rate in decades and consumer confidence is at one of its all-time low points.’ The U.S. economic slowdown worsened in June, affecting even American Express’s wealthier cardholders with high credit scores…

“American Express, Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services shares have dropped by more than a third in the past year as consumers have a harder time repaying debt of all kinds… Discover, based in Riverwoods, Illinois, said last month that profit from continuing operations in the quarter ended May 31 fell 19 percent to $202 million.”

The Associated Press reported on July 22:

“Wachovia Corp. reported a surprisingly large second-quarter loss Tuesday, deflating Wall Street’s hopes that the nation’s big banks are weathering the credit crisis well. The nation’s fourth-largest bank by assets said it lost $8.86 billion, is slashing its dividend and eliminating 10,750 positions after losses tied to mortgages soared. Even excluding one-time items, the results substantially missed Wall Street estimates…

“Late Monday, Wachovia announced plans to leave the wholesale mortgage lending business. And beginning Friday, the company will no longer offer mortgages through brokers, joining other lenders making similar moves to exit the troubled sector. Big banks, such as Bank of America Corp. and National City Corp., have stopped making loans through brokers entirely, relying instead on their loan officers.”

In a related article, The Associated Press reported on July 22:

“A federal rescue of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers as much as $25 billion, Congress’ top budget analyst said Tuesday… [Treasury Secretary Henry M.] Paulson said that Fannie and Freddie have issued $5 trillion in debt and mortgage backed securities. Of that amount more than $3 trillion is held by U.S. financial institutions and over $1.5 trillion is held by foreign institutions, making the stabilization of the two companies essential to the global economy… Paulson said that housing was at the ‘heart of our nation’s economy.’ He added that a key to turning the housing market around was bringing home buyers back into the market, an area where he said Fannie and Freddie needed to play a critical role to provide mortgage financing.

“The effort to provide support to the two mortgage giants follows the government’s involvement in dealing with the near-collapse of Bear Stearns in March when the Federal Reserve provided a $30 billion loan to facilitate the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan.”

How much longer can the Federal Reserve “bail” out banks and thereby deplete its FDIC fund of an estimated amount of $75 billion? How soon are taxpayers going to be asked to “help” in the form of higher taxes and other hidden “incentives”? Surely, this country is facing a gigantic economic storm of unparalleled proportions in recent times–with all of our politicians being absolutely unable and helpless to weather it.

God HAS declared far in advance that this IS going to happen–all gainsaying and scoffing of so-called experts and an uninformed and indifferent public notwithstanding. The reason is that we do NOT OBEY God and that this country has been turning its back on God FAR TOO LONG. Now, man is going to reap what he has been sowing.

For more information, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound“

Worldwide Economy in Mortal Danger

The Telegraph wrote on July 21:

“It feels like the summer of 1931. The world’s two biggest financial institutions have had a heart attack. The global currency system is breaking down. The policy doctrines that got us into this mess are bankrupt. No world leader seems able to discern the problem, let alone forge a solution. The International Monetary Fund has abdicated into schizophrenia…

“Oil has queered the pitch. So has America’s fatal reliance on foreign debt… China, Russia, petro-powers and other foreign states own $985bn of US agency debt, besides holdings of US Treasuries. Purchases of Fannie/Freddie debt covered a third of the US current account deficit of $700bn over the last year. Alex Patelis from Merrill Lynch says America faces the risk of a ‘financing crisis’ within months. Foreigners have a veto over US policy…

“The coalitions in Belgium and Austria have just collapsed. Germany’s left-right team is fraying… This is the healthy part of Europe… Finance minister Pedro Solbes said Spain is facing the ‘most complex’ economic crisis in its history.”

Coming–Worldwide Water Shortage

The Economist wrote on July 19:

“SO WORLD markets are short of oil, and supplies of food are running thin. The prices of all sorts of basic commodities are soaring, and now there may also be reason for many to worry about the most fundamental of necessities—water. Some experts believe so, at least, and they are spreading doom-laden warnings of a Malthusian crisis in the world’s water supply.

“Goldman Sachs, an investment bank which likes to ponder the future of the world, recently suggested that a global lack of water could prove to be a bigger threat to mankind than rising food prices or the depletion of energy resources. Sir Nicholas Stern… points to some big local problems, for example in the Himalayas, where melting glaciers risk disrupting supplies of usable water in the region, just as many underground aquifers are drying up. He argues that water—at least the fresh sort—is not a renewable resource…

“Global water consumption is doubling every 20 years says Goldman Sachs. According to Sir Nicholas, in many places supplies are running short as rising consumption cannot be matched by fresh rainfall. As a result, suggests Goldman Sachs, the price of water is bound to rise…”

Coming–Worldwide Flu Pandemic

The Independent wrote on July 21:

“The world is failing to guard against the inevitable spread of a devastating flu pandemic which could kill 50 million people and wreak massive disruption around the globe, the [British] Government has warned… The Government’s evidence appeared in a highly critical report… which attacked the World Health Organisation (WHO) as ‘dysfunctional’…

“The Government said: ‘While there has not been a pandemic since 1968, another one is inevitable.’ Ministers said it would… leave up to 75,000 people dead in Britain and cause ‘massive’ disruption.”

Obama Wants MORE Troops–Not Less…

The Associated Press reported on July 19:

“Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama started a campaign-season tour of combat zones and foreign capitals, visiting with U.S. forces in Kuwait and then Afghanistan — the scene of a war he says deserves more attention and more troops… Obama advocates ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq by withdrawing troops at the rate of one to two combat brigades a month. But he supports increasing the military commitment to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been resurgent and Osama bin laden is believed to be hiding…”

Jerusalem the Capitol of Israel?

AFP wrote on July 23:

“Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to forge an ‘unshakeable’ bond with Israel if he becomes the next US president and warned a nuclear Iran would pose a ‘grave threat’ which the world must forestall. The Democratic White House hopeful hailed Israel as a ‘miracle’ as he courted Jewish voters at home… The Illinois senator also tried to convince the Palestinians, during a short trip to see the conflict from the other side, on the occupied West Bank, that he would sponsor a vigorous peace effort if elected…

“The senator reiterated his vow to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon, but defended his offer of talks with leaders from the Islamic Republic, promising to use ‘big carrots and big sticks. A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,’ Obama said…

“Obama also said that he had not backed down from his comment that Jerusalem should not be divided, which he made before the US Jewish lobby last month, sparking anger among Palestinians… ‘I continue to say that Jerusalem will be the [capitol] of Israel. I have said it before and will say it again… but I’ve also said that it is a final status issue’ that must be decided by negotiation. Obama’s original comment was seen by some observers as prejudging final status peace talks, and his campaign has since said that it was poorly worded.”

Israeli Attack on Iran Inevitable?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on July 16:

“An Israeli attack on Iran seems inevitable. If it succeeds, it will return to Israel its deterrent power and send a clear message to the saber-rattling jihadists that they were too early in beginning the countdown for the disappearance of the Jewish state.

“If it fails, or fails to achieve the majority of its objectives, it could amount to an act of national suicide. Fanatical Muslims on every side will be encouraged by the failure and outcome of an Iranian retaliation which would cause heavy damage to the whole center of our country… A non-nuclear Israeli attack on Iran would be a ‘surgical’ operation… Iran has the motivation to destroy Israel, and if it is allowed to gain nuclear weapons it will not need an excuse to do so…

“Let us try a scenario in which Israel carries out a successful attack, with or without active American help, on a few key Iranian reactors. Such an operation would not completely destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, but it would badly wound its national and Islamic pride.

“The Iranian people, including the opposition would, at least in the initial stage, rally around the ruling mullahs. The price of oil would soar, Israel would be blamed for the destruction of the West’s economy, and Europe might go so far as to impose sanctions on Israel, with or without a UN decision.

“Moreover, being an easy target, Israel would have to brace for the inevitable Iranian retaliation. Iran would attack with the Shihab 3 ballistic missiles that carry a warhead of up to one ton and have an accuracy of 50 meters-100m. Israel has an answer to a limited number of these missiles, of which Iran has probably a few hundred. It has no answer to all the missiles that would be launched against it from three fronts.

“Theoretically, Iran can deliver 1,000-1,500 tons of the most modern explosives within a few days. The long-range missiles that have been supplied to Hizbullah via Damascus, and the arsenal that has been massed by Hamas in Gaza, which includes missiles that can reach Beersheba, must also be taken into consideration.

“There is no question that these two organizations will move into action together with Iran, and it is not impossible that Hizbullah would attempt the invasion of Israel proper to gain a local victory by occupying a border village, killing inhabitants and kidnapping a few over to Lebanon.”

German Politicians Warn Obama

Der Spiegel Online reported on July 21:

“In the run-up to Barack Obama’s visit to Berlin, leading foreign and security policy experts for Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) are warning the United States presidential candidate against making any far-reaching demands on the Germans.

“‘Obama should only ask of us what we are able to deliver,’ Niels Annen — a member of Germany’s federal parliament, with the left wing of the SPD — told SPIEGEL ONLINE Monday. ‘We won’t increase our number of troops.’

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet, however, has approved a plan to increase the number of troops from Germany’s armed forces in Afghanistan by 1,000 to 4,500 soldiers. All troop deployments of the Bundeswehr require a mandate from the German parliament, which is expected to consider the issue in the autumn. And SPD party chief Kurt Beck made clear over the weekend that 4,500 was the ceiling of what could be expected from Germany…”

Will Europe’s Adulation of Obama Soon End?

On July 21, Der Spiegel Online wrote about Germany’s Adulation of Barack Obama, which may end very soon. The magazine reported:

“Germans have fallen in love with the man many in Europe have come to see as the anti-Bush — the man who many hope will steer America back toward the path of peace, love and happiness. Almost three-quarters of Germans would vote for Obama were they given the opportunity to do so; in France, that number approaches 90 percent…

“… The financial daily Handelsblatt… looks at what Berlin might expect from Obama’s speech. ‘With the speech at the Siegessäule on Thursday, a new phase is beginning. And there are a number of signs pointing to the fact that those pleasantly anticipating an Obama presidency might not be quite as euphoric should he get elected. The reasons are clear: Obama’s superstar status in Germany is based primarily on two factors. One is the fact that he is not George W. Bush…. The second is that Obama has remained quite vague until now: Everyone can see in him what he or she wants. But now the senator from Illinois is beginning to mold a concrete foreign policy. Soon, it will be clear what ‘change’ really means. Obama wants to withdraw from Iraq but at the same time he wants to bolster troops in Afghanistan… Obama, should he become the superpower’s next president, will not suddenly transform into a dove. He too will use the US military to reach his political goals.'”

“An American Idol in Germany”

In a related and unnecessarily lengthy, laborious and almost tiresome article of July 21, titled, “An American Idol in Germany,”  Der Spiegel Online wrote about Europe’s perception of Barack Obama as a savior of mankind–a perception which might soon disappear. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“Europeans have fallen in love with the Democrat, mostly because he’s not Bush. But they may not like what they hear this week… He will be in Berlin this Thursday, when Germans will hail him as a magician with the ability to transform a gloomy world into a brighter place. Never before has there been so much excitement in Germany over the visit of a presumed US presidential candidate. Obama may be running for the White House, but judging by the commotion, one would think that he had already advanced two steps further and were the president of the world.

“Which is precisely the issue. Obama raises hopes that he will not just change America, but politics as a whole. Obama is the hope of a Western world filled with concerns… It is time for leadership. And only one man inspires the kind of confidence that would enable him to assume this leadership: Barack Obama…

“Chancellor Angela Merkel was also a candidate for the global presidency once. But by now it has become clear that she even has trouble leading her coalition government at home. Obama will be visiting a country that lacks leadership… it’s no wonder that many a German sees the charismatic American as a savior… While Germany looks forward to being spellbound by Obama this week, the magician’s allure has already begun to fade in America…

“Perhaps the ‘honeymoon’ will last a little longer with Obama, says Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg, a CSU foreign policy expert. But, Guttenberg adds, the ‘fracture point’ will be reached no later than the NATO summit in the spring of 2009, when the new US president, be it Obama or McCain, outlines exactly how he envisions trans-Atlantic cooperation in the future — and that will include US demands that Germany send more troops to embattled southern Afghanistan.

“Most US experts at research institutions share this assessment. They warn of exaggerated expectations. They warn against discounting McCain and the experience he brings to the table. And they warn of Obama’s lack of experience, speculating that the presidency could very well turn out to be a rude awakening for the Democratic candidate…

“Just how Obama feels about the Europeans becomes clear from chatting with Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security advisor under former President Jimmy Carter and a current advisor to the Obama campaign… ‘I think the Europeans have to decide whether they want to be a global power or not,’ says Brzezinski. Should they decide they do, Brzezinski’s message continues, they will be called upon to assume their fair share of the decision-making process, responsibility and the financial burden.

“Suffering, of course, would also be a part of that. More than 4,500 Americans have died and more than 30,000 have been wounded, many of them severely, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Only recently, President Bush invited a group of war invalids to join him for a jog at the White House. Bush posed for photographers next to the wounded soldiers, as they stood there on prosthetic metal legs and plastic feet. The war on terror would not cease under a President Obama. Bush’s foreign policy meant tanks, aircraft carriers and bombers. Obama’s foreign policy would be focused on diplomacy, reconstruction aid and, if this doesn’t work, tanks, aircraft carriers and bombers…

“In the 60 years since the end of World War II, there has been only one president who, with the exception of an attempt to liberate hostages, did not command a military campaign. That president was the hapless Jimmy Carter. All others have taken greater or lesser advantage of their powers as commander-in-chief of the US Armed Forces. In this regard, there have been few distinctions between Republicans and Democrats. Under Obama, the tone might be different than it has been under the stubborn President Bush, but the larger foreign policy substance likely would not be…”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 24:

“Meanwhile, the foreign policy spokesman for Chancellor Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats, Eckart von Klaeden, told RBB-Inforadio public radio he didn’t share the expectation of many German politicians that there would be a major shift in foreign policy under Obama. ‘Regardless whether it is a President McCain or a President Obama, people will quickly determine that the trans-Atlantic relationship will not be transformed to the degree that many are expecting.'”

We share this assessment, in spite of Obama’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, during which the “restoration of Transatlantic ties” was discussed (see AFP, dated July 24). Regardless of who the next American President will be, the relationship between Europe and the USA will NOT improve. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,”and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Obama Speaks in Berlin

On July 24, Barack Obama gave his long-awaited speech in Berlin. The “Superstar,” as Der Spiegel Online called him, spoke to an estimated crowd of more than 200,000 people, according to Bild Online. He said a few things which Europeans and especially Germans might NOT have wanted to hear, including his allusion to the need of the continuance of the war in Afghanistan and the necessity of Europeans to send more troops. It was observed that the crowd was more enthusiastic when they came than when they left. The Associated Press reported on July 24:

“Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to ‘defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it’ as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

“‘The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand,’ Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city. ‘The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand,’ he said…

“He drew loud applause when he talked of a world without nuclear weapons and again when he called for steps to counter climate change. Obama mentioned Iraq, a war he has opposed from the start, only in passing. But in discussing Afghanistan, he said, ‘no one welcomes war. … But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success’…”

AFP added on July 24:

“The strikingly audacious speech, in a fevered atmosphere in Berlin’s famed Tiergarten, took the White House race out of US borders in a way never seen before, and was designed to portray Obama as a leader with unique global appeal… Despite its soaring cadences however, the speech was short on specifics… The Illinois senator rebuked both his country and Europe for blaming one another for strains in their relations…

“In a speech that risked being seen as presumptuous, considering Obama will not even face US voters for another three months, he warned of a world where partnership was not a choice but the only means of survival… He promised America under his watch would be serious about tackling global warning, a huge concern in Europe and a cause of rifts between the continent and the United States during the Bush administration. But he also signalled he would demand Europe live up to its side of the bargain, asking for more help in the struggle against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. ‘America cannot do this alone,’ Obama said.”

Europe Pressures Ireland

The EUObserver wrote on July 24:

“The Italian senate’s unanimous support for the Lisbon treaty on Wednesday (23 July) should help force Ireland into a revote, Italian politicians said, with Ireland looking increasingly likely to stand out as the only EU country not to ratify the text… Twenty one out of 27 EU states have definitively ratified the EU treaty despite the Irish No vote in a referendum in June. The Spanish, German and Polish parliaments have also approved the text, which now awaits the signatures of the respective heads of state…

“Meanwhile, France is pushing Ireland to hold a second vote, with President Nicolas Sarkozy on his visit to Dublin on Monday suggesting that the June 2009 European Parliament elections would be a good time for another referendum on Lisbon.

“The EU summit in October will see the next major discussion of the future of the EU treaty, with Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin pledging to give ‘clarity’ on Ireland’s plans in December.”

However, the article by the EUObserver is somewhat misleading. Deutsche Welle correctly reported on July 24:

“The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty has left the bloc searching for a new way to move forward as the treaty must be unanimously ratified in order to go into effect. [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel was one of the driving forces behind the new treaty under Germany’s EU presidency in the first half of last year.

“The treaty faces obstacles in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. German President Horst Koehler has said he will await a decision by the Constitutional Court on the treaty’s compatibility with the German Constitution before signing into law the necessary legislation, which has been passed by both houses of parliament.”

The Bible clearly shows that ultimately, ten core nations or groups of nations will lead Europe, and they will, in turn, give their power and authority to a charismatic political leader.

The European “Beast” Overtakes the USA…

The EUObserver wrote on July 16:

“Mark Schapiro – an American investigative journalist of some twenty years’ standing and the editorial director of the Center for Investigative Journalism – believes… that we can date the eclipse of the United States by the European Union quite precisely indeed – 25 June, 2004.

“On that day, some 200 million Europeans went to the polls to elect their representatives to the European Parliament, consolidating the union’s ascendancy. Europe’s parliament leap-frogged the US Congress in size of population represented, with an additional two member states, Romania and Bulgaria, boosting the numbers still further to almost half a billion people in 2007. Even more critically, in 2005, the GDP of the EU overtook that of the States.

“‘The EU is now the single largest trading partner with every continent except Australia,’ he writes in his recent book, Exposed, which considers the massive global economic power shift that has occurred as a result of these changes. He looks at how companies and state governments in the US, China and the rest of the world increasingly take their legislative lead – whether willingly or dragged kicking and screaming – on issues such as environmental standards, health and safety regulation and consumer protection not from Washington, but Brussels.”

Shapiro was quoted in the article, as follows:

“The world is changing, and it’s changing in dramatic ways in a number of different arenas. What’s interesting is that the role of the United States is shifting very sharply, independent of Iraq. Let’s not even talk about Iraq – which has also delivered a body-blow to American power in the world – let’s just look purely at the level of economics. In 2005, the US was supplanted as the world’s largest single market by the EU, and that was reported to us by our own CIA in their World Factbook…

“US corporations along with other companies are increasingly reliant on foreign markets to sustain their profitability. For many American firms, that means Europe… all these firms, which had become quite expert at influencing the rule-making apparatus in the United States through lobbying in congress and campaign contributions – suddenly had this new beast to deal with – the EU… This is indeed a self-interested political beast…”

The choice of the word “European beast” is quite interesting–since the Bible uses the same expression for the final political European revival of the ancient Roman Empire–as well as for the human leader of that revival (Revelation 13:1-4, 18). For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

America’s Banks Are Failing–The Handwriting IS On the Wall

The Associated Press reported on July 11:

“The last thing the Bush White House and the rest of the country needed in these economically trying times was another financial crisis. But they got one. The Republican administration and Democratic-run Congress now are facing the possibility that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, once staid and stable, could need a bailout or even go under. Their default would send shock waves through already distressed financial markets, drive the U.S. economy further into recession territory and make it even harder for people to obtain mortgages or refinance their homes…

“Bush told reporters that [Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson had briefed him on financial markets and ‘assured me that he and (Federal Reserve Chairman) Ben Bernanke will be working this issue very hard. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are very important institutions,’ Bush said.

“Bush, the first U.S. president with an MBA degree, may have been assured, but investors apparently weren’t. They dumped stocks in response to the woes of Freddie and Fanny, pushing the Dow Jones industrials at one point below the 11,000 mark for the first time in two years before recovering slightly. The two companies’ stocks are now at their lowest levels in 16 years, down 80 percent from just a year ago.”

Please make sure to watch our recent StandingWatch program on YouTube titled, “Coming–The Great Depression?”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–an “Unmitigated Disaster”

Bloomberg reported on July 14:

“The U.S. Treasury Department’s plan to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is an ‘unmitigated disaster’ and the largest U.S. mortgage lenders are ‘basically insolvent,’ according to investor Jim Rogers. Taxpayers will be saddled with debt if Congress approves U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s request for the authority to buy unlimited stakes in and lend to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Rogers said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Rogers is betting that Fannie Mae shares will keep tumbling…

“‘I don’t know where these guys get the audacity to take our money, taxpayer money, and buy stock in Fannie Mae,’ Rogers, 65, said in an interview from Singapore. ‘So we’re going to bail out everybody else in the world. And it ruins the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and it makes the dollar more vulnerable and it increases inflation.’… The U.S. economy is in a recession, possibly the worst since World War II, Rogers said. ‘They’re ruining what has been one of the greatest economies in the world,’ Rogers said… ‘[They] are bailing out their friends on Wall Street but there are 300 million Americans that are going to have to pay for this.”’

US Government Not to Expect to Help More Lenders

The Associated Press reported on July 13:

“The U.S. government is signaling it won’t throw a lifeline to struggling financial companies – except for mortgage linchpins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – marking a shift to a new and potentially more volatile phase of the credit crisis.

“Such an approach could mean beaten-down investment banks like Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and regional banks must now fend for themselves as they try to recover from billions of dollars in mortgage-related losses. That is bound to unnerve Wall Street, already anxious as it awaits financial companies’ earnings reports that are expected to be down a stunning 69 percent from a year ago when all the numbers are in…

“‘The credit crisis has obviously entered into a new phase – the government has one bailout left in them, and this is it,’ said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief investment officer of TCW Group in Los Angeles, which invests $160 billion. ‘One consequence of Freddie and Fannie is that other firms are allowed to go under,’ he said.”

IndyMac Bank Seized by Federal Regulators

The Los Angeles Times reported on July 12:

“The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset…

“Based on a preliminary analysis, federal authorities said the takeover of IndyMac, which had $32 billion in listed assets, would cost the FDIC between $4 billion and $8 billion. Regulators said deposits of up to $100,000 were safe and insured by the FDIC. IndyMac’s failure had been widely expected in recent days. As the bank was shuttering offices and laying off employees to cope with huge losses from defaulted mortgages made at the height of the housing boom, nervous depositors were pulling out $100 million a day. The bank’s stock price had plummeted to under $1 as analysts predicted the company’s imminent demise.

“The takeover of IndyMac came amid rampant speculation that the federal government would also have to take over lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together stand behind almost half of the nation’s mortgage debt.”

Reuters reported on July 14:

“IndyMac Bancorp Inc customers lined up outside a branch at the company’s headquarters on Monday, hoping to withdraw their money after regulators seized what was once one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States… IndyMac is the fifth U.S. banking company to fail this year, and the largest since the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis… Gerard Cassidy, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, on Sunday estimated that 300 U.S. banks might fail over the next three years because of credit losses and tight capital markets…”

U.S. Economic Tempest Overtakes Europe

On July 16, Der Spiegel Online re-published the following article from the New York Times:

“Spain, Ireland and Denmark are either in a recession or on the brink. Italy is stagnating. France is weakening fast. And Germany, the sturdy locomotive of European growth, is suddenly faltering — dashing most residual hopes that Europe could escape the upheaval in the United States. On Tuesday, an influential poll of German investors by the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim found that confidence had plummeted to its lowest level since the survey was started in 1991…

“While most economists had predicted that Europe would suffer fallout from the financial market chaos and the broader American malaise, the speed of the deterioration has been surprising… The tense mood in the United States is pushing investors to sell dollars and seek refuge in the euro. For all the storm clouds here, Europe still looks like a safe harbor in comparison to the United States… Still, the strong euro — combined with high oil prices — is exacting a toll on Europe’s export machine.”

How long will Europe allow the weak U.S. dollar to damage or destroy its economy? When will Europe begin to make drastic changes? For sure, it can’t be too long from now. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Temporary Rebound of the U.S. Dollar

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 17:

“The greenback staged a surprising, though brief, rally when oil prices fell. But don’t mistake an uptick for a bottom.

“On July 15, traders in Europe knocked the dollar to an all-time low of $1.6020 to the euro and a three-month low against the British pound. It was hardly a surprise: Investors around the world were appalled by the US government’s need to rescue the multitrillion-dollar mortgage behemoths, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, last weekend… The Asian markets duly punished banks that held Fannie and Freddie paper.

“But to the surprise of many traders, instead of plunging to uncharted depths, the dollar managed to bounce back and was trading at about 1.584 to the euro on July 16. ‘A lot of hedge funds were confused by the price action,’ says Stephen Jen, currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in London.

“Jen and other analysts think several factors have helped — at least, so far — to keep the dollar from going into the out-of-control downward spiral that many fear could be coming. For one thing, the greenback is already quite cheap, especially against the euro, making investors wonder how much lower it can go. But what may be even more important is that the wave of economic misery that began in the US last year is clearly starting to hit European economies, as well.

“… the dollar’s decline is hurting the US, because the weakness is being passed along to consumers in the form of higher energy prices, which, among other things, have largely negated the Bush Administration’s tax rebates.

“Awareness in the markets that intervention [of the U.S. government] is a growing possibility is probably another reason the dollar didn’t plunge further on July 16. The sharp selloff in oil prices that began on July 15 was also positive for the dollar. Indeed, the fact that the greenback kept its head above water could signal a turn, or at least a temporary bottom. But don’t count on it.”

US Faces Global Funding Crisis

The Telegraph wrote on July 15:

“Merrill Lynch has warned that the United States could face a foreign ‘financing crisis’ within months as the full consequences of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage debacle spread through the world. The country depends on Asian, Russian and Middle Eastern investors to fund much of its $700bn (£350bn) current account deficit, leaving it far more vulnerable to a collapse of confidence than Japan in the early 1990s after the Nikkei bubble burst. Britain and other Anglo-Saxon deficit states could face a similar retreat by foreign investors…”

President Bush Backs Israeli Plan for Strike on Iran

The Sunday Times wrote on July 13:

“President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an ‘amber light’ to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times.

“’Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you’re ready,’ the official said. But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use US military bases in Iraq for logistical support.

“Nor is it certain that Bush’s amber light would ever turn to green without irrefutable evidence of lethal Iranian hostility. Tehran’s test launches of medium-range ballistic missiles last week were seen in Washington as provocative and poorly judged, but both the Pentagon and the CIA concluded that they did not represent an immediate threat of attack against Israeli or US targets.

“’It’s really all down to the Israelis,’ the Pentagon official added. ‘This administration will not attack Iran. This has already been decided. But the president is really preoccupied with the nuclear threat against Israel and I know he doesn’t believe that anything but force will deter Iran.’ …

“Senator Barack Obama’s previous opposition to the war in Iraq, and his apparent doubts about the urgency of the Iranian threat, have intensified pressure on the Israeli hawks to act before November’s US presidential election. ‘If I were an Israeli I wouldn’t wait,’ the Pentagon official added…

“The one thing that all sides agree on is that any strike by either Iran or Israel would trigger a catastrophic round of retaliation that would rock global oil markets, send the price of petrol soaring and wreck the progress of the US military effort in Iraq… How genuine the Iranian threat is was the subject of intense debate last week, with some analysts arguing that Iran might have a useable nuclear weapon by next spring and others convinced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is engaged in a dangerous game of bluffing…

“Obvious targets would include Iran’s Isfahan plant, where uranium ore is converted into gas, the Natanz complex where this gas is used to enrich uranium in centrifuges and the plutonium-producing Arak heavy water plant. But Iran is known to have scattered other elements of its nuclear programme in underground facilities around the country. Neither US nor Israeli intelligence is certain that it knows where everything is.”

Whom to Believe…?

Reuters reported on July 11:

“An Israeli military spokesman described as ‘utterly baseless’ media reports on Friday about Israeli warplanes secretly training in U.S.-controlled Iraq for possible attacks on neighbouring Iran. The Baghdad government and the Pentagon similarly played down a report, carried on the website of the Jerusalem Post and quoting a Iraqi news network, that Israeli jets were practising in Iraqi airspace and landing on U.S. airbases in the country… Recent months have seen a flurry of high-level contacts between Israel and the United States, which accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.

“The talks have stoked global speculation that the allies are planning pre-emptive military strikes… The Iraqi report carried by the Jerusalem Post referred to an airbase in western Anbar province near the town of Haditha. The airbase is controlled by the U.S. military. The Israeli newspaper said it could not confirm the veracity of the report.

“Security for Anbar is still formally in the hands of the U.S. military, although control is expected to be transferred to Iraqi security forces soon. Iraq has security control over nine of its 18 provinces.”

Iran and the Bomb

The Wall Street Journal wrote the following on July 15, voicing the opinion that military confrontation in the near future between Israel and Iran appears more and more likely–perhaps with the support of the USA. Please make sure to watch our new StandingWatch program on YouTube, titled, “”Is War With Iran Coming Soon?

“Iran’s test salvo of ballistic missiles last week together with recent threatening rhetoric by commanders of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards emphasizes how close the Middle East is to a fundamental, in fact an irreversible, turning point.

“Tehran’s efforts to intimidate the United States and Israel from using military force against its nuclear program, combined with yet another diplomatic charm offensive with the Europeans, are two sides of the same policy coin. The regime is buying the short additional period of time it needs to produce deliverable nuclear weapons, the strategic objective it has been pursuing clandestinely for 20 years.

“Between Iran and its long-sought objective, however, a shadow may fall: targeted military action, either Israeli or American… If Iran reaches weaponization… the Middle East, and indeed global, balance of power changes in potentially catastrophic ways. And consider what comes next for the U.S.: the Bush administration’s last six months pursuing its limp diplomatic efforts, plus six months of a new president getting his national security team and policies together. In other words, one more year for Tehran to proceed unhindered to ‘the point of no return.’

“We have almost certainly lost the race between giving ‘strong incentives’ for Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and its scientific and technological efforts to do just that. Swift, sweeping, effectively enforced sanctions might have made a difference five years ago. No longer…

“That is why Israel is now at an urgent decision point: whether to use targeted military force to break Iran’s indigenous control over the nuclear fuel cycle at one or more critical points… The alternative is Iran with nuclear weapons, the most deeply unattractive alternative of all… What will the U.S. do if Israel decides to initiate military action?…

“Israel sees clearly what the next 12 months will bring, which is why ongoing U.S.-Israeli consultations could be dispositive. Israel told the Bush administration it would destroy North Korea’s reactor in Syria in spring, 2007, and said it would not wait past summer’s end to take action. And take action it did… we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible. At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel’s path, and facilitate its efforts where we can. These subjects are decidedly unpleasant. A nuclear Iran is more so.”

Could Iran Strike Europe with Missiles?

Reuters wrote on July 15:

“The Pentagon said on Tuesday that Iran has the ability to launch a ballistic missile capable of hitting sections of eastern and southern Europe… Older versions of the Shahab-3 have a 800-mile (1,300-km) range. But a new extended version is believed to have a range of up to 1,250 miles, making it capable of hitting targets as far away as Greece, Serbia, Romania and Belarus.”

“Two Coffins for a Murderer”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 16:

“Some had hoped that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev [Israeli soldiers who were abducted in the 2006 raid] still lived. But on Wednesday, a deal negotiated by German intelligence led to Hezbollah handing over two coffins with their remains. In exchange, Israel turned over a brutal murderer — and a bit of its dignity… ‘Today is a great victory for the resistance movements and for Hezbollah,’ said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. ‘It shows that the only successful way to free the prisoners is by kidnapping soldiers’…

“That Olmert and his cabinet… agreed to the deal on Tuesday was largely attributable to the government’s weakness domestically. For months, the prime minister has been plagued by corruption investigations…”

Chaos and Upheaval in Belgium

Der Spiegel Online reported on July 16:

“Chaos has returned to Belgium’s capital: The government has collapsed, the prime minister has offered his resignation. German newspapers on Wednesday wonder if the linguistically divided country will ever get its act together. The Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme threw in the towel late on Monday night, saying he could not force through a consensus between the Flemish and French-speaking coalition partners…

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘In terms of economics, Belgium is the most successful “failed state” of all time. Its per capita income is way ahead of Germany, the world’s leading exporter… Belgium can continue to flourish without a national government for the simple reason that the cabinet doesn’t have to decide much anyway. Most authority has devolved to the regions … The central government is left to deal with foreign policy, defense and finance policy — all issues that are increasingly taken care of at the EU level… The Belgian government still controls spending on social welfare. And this is where the conflict has blown up between the two language groups, because rich Flanders wants to pay less for poorer Wallonia…’

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘Belgium had always prided itself on being a model for Europe: exemplifying, through the art of compromise and the virtue of tolerance, how nations and cultures can exist peacefully side by side. The country can no longer claim this. The latest political crisis sees the kingdom moving towards the limits of being governable… The question is how much solidarity people are prepared to show when times are tough… In the end it’s all about money.'”

EU’s Galileo Satellite for Military Use

Deutsche Welle reported on July 10:

“The European Parliament in Strasbourg approved by 502 votes to 83 the military use of the European Union’s Galileo satellite. The bill, proposed by German conservative politician Karl von Wogau, aims to create a space surveillance system to watch out for space debris and other threats. It was approved on Thursday, July 10. Changes to the bill proposed by the Greens to use the system purely for civilian purposes were rejected. Secure, independent and sustainable access to space was a basic requirement for the EU, the text of the draft bill said.

“The system was about acquiring information so that the EU could prevent conflicts, be effective during crises and increase world security by, for example, monitoring the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ‘The EU and NATO are expressly called upon to start up a strategic dialogue on the politics of space and missile defense,’ the text of the bill said.”

America’s Shrinking Influence in the World

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 11:

“There is little consensus on whether the G-8 summit can be seen as a success for the climate. What is certain is that US President George W. Bush had little part in the efforts to save the world. He didn’t lead, he only followed — and the American superpower never before looked as small as it did this week… the president doesn’t want to understand and he doesn’t even want to go for a walk. That’s why at the meeting of the world’s eight most industrialized nations the most powerful man in the world had to have the world explained to him by seven less powerful leaders.”

“This Bud Is For the EU”

The Associated Press reported on July 14:

“The maker of the King of Beers has agreed to go to work for the Belgian brewer InBev SA. Anheuser Busch Cos. said early Monday it had agreed to a sweetened $52 billion takeover bid from InBev, creating the world’s largest brewer… InBev is the world’s second-largest beer-maker, narrowly behind SABMiller. Swallowing Anheuser-Busch sees it leap ahead, capturing half of the U.S. beer market and a fifth of China and Russia… To some in St. Louis, losing Anheuser-Busch to a foreign buyer meant losing a little bit of history. From college buildings to theme parks to offices to the stadium where the Cardinals play baseball, the Busch name is virtually everywhere in the Gateway City.”

Religion and War

USA Today published an interesting article on July 14 about religion and war. Although much of the article must be rejected as inaccurate interpretation, here are a few worth-while excerpts:

“The specter of violent religion certainly hangs over us in these times, especially when it comes to certain followers of the world’s two dominant religions. Christian and Muslim conflict-mongers drone on against ‘Islamic terrorists’ and ‘Christian infidels,’ respectively, while violence continues erupting in the name of Islam, and conservative Christian figures in America… urge violent solutions to foreign policy problems…

“Yes, there appears to be considerable truth to the oft-heard claim that Christian-Muslim co-existence must be achieved lest our collective future turn out brief and brutal…

“As demonstrated by James Carroll’s powerful and dark new documentary, Constantine’s Sword, Christians over the centuries have too often wielded religion as a lethal weapon. Today that dubious distinction is most strongly associated with violent extremists from the Muslim world, who invoke Islam in terrorist strikes that have killed many thousands of innocents… Judaism, too, has had its spasms of violence, as have other major faiths and sects…

“So how we will know religion in the final analysis? By its peace or by its violence? The scriptures have had their say. It’s now up to the believers  — through their words and works  — to settle the account.”