Halloween Undoubtedly Demonic
The New York Times wrote on October 27, 2012:
“In an article from Oct. 30, 1892, ‘Customs From Halloween; An Observance That has Come From Pagan Times,’ The New York Times described ‘All Hallow Even or Halloween’ as ‘undoubtedly a relic of pagan times.’ The article continues: ‘Druids were accustomed to kindling sacred fires on the eve of Nov. 1, possibly to ward off evil spirits, as in the popular imagination this has always been considered the high carnival season for witches, fairies and the immaterial principle in humanity to wander abroad. Supernatural influences prevail and divination by means of mystic ceremonies is at its highest power then.”
ABC News wrote on October 26, 2012:
“While many in the U.S. bemoan what they see as a war on Christmas, in Russia a very different holiday is under attack: Halloween. Here some don’t see it as the holiday of tricks and treats, but as a sinister celebration that endangers children. The latest salvo came from a group of Russian Orthodox Church leaders and a group of Cossacks, who are spearheading an effort to cancel Halloween celebrations in the region of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. A nearby region, Krasnodar Krai, recently prohibited celebrating the holiday in schools…
“Like Valentine’s Day, which has also been criticized as it has grown in popularity here in recent years, Halloween is a western holiday that was imported after the fall of the Soviet Union. While some Russians have embraced them, others fear them as foreign to the country’s culture. In 2003, Moscow’s Education Department banned Halloween celebrations from the city’s schools, citing concerns about ‘rituals of Satanically oriented religious sects’ and saying it promotes ‘the cult of death.’”
The Washington Times wrote on October 28:
“Prepare yourself this Halloween for a procession of pint-sized trick-or-treaters like none you’ve encountered before. If the companies that gamble on offering the right mix of costumes are correct, visitors to your doorstep will include a grisly array of waist-high killer clowns brandishing blood-soaked machetes, deranged convicts and zombie ninjas armed with knives.
“Add to that the full roster of fictional killers who gave people nightmares during the ‘80s and ‘90s — Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees from ‘Friday the 13th, and Chucky, the murderous doll from ‘Child’s Play’ — now available in sizes that can fit a 5-year-old…
“Cynthia Edwards, professor of child psychology at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. [says:] ‘Part of the thrill of Halloween for little kids is that you put on a costume and you become the thing. If you dress up as a fairy princess or a pilot, you are a fairy princess or a pilot for a couple of hours. But that’s when you get to the question, If you dress up as a really horrible thing, what is the kids’ perception of that?’…
“What can be especially confusing for kids, according to Fangoria’s Mr. Alexander, is that ‘parents, by and large, will say “no” to horror and say “no” to gore for kids all year long. But once a year they have no qualms about taking them to stores with body parts everywhere and animatronic dead things coming at them’ to buy disturbing costumes…”
It certainly is a horrible celebration of Satan and his demonic forces. A true Christian must have NOTHING to do with such ungodly conduct. We wrote the following in our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible? Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days?” :
“The Bible, in fact, commands us to have nothing to do with the devil or his evil forces of darkness (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; Ephesians 5:10–12). Paul warns us that we must not attempt to partake of the cup of the Lord and of the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). We are also warned not to try to communicate with the dead (Deuteronomy 18:9–14). Witchcraft, in all of its different forms and variations, is abominable and sinful (1 Samuel 15:23; Galatians 5:20)!”
However, some, if not many, professing Christians see it differently. For a typical example, note these statements from carm.org (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry):
“As Christians, there is a lot of debate on whether or not we should participate in Halloween. Is it alright to go trick-or-treating? Can we dress our kids up in costumes on that day? If we do any of this, are we celebrating an evil holiday?… it appears that the origins of Halloween are a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals superstition and early Catholic traditions… What does the Bible say about Halloween? Nothing. But it does speak concerning witches, the occult, and paganism… The Bible definitely speaks negatively about occultic practices, spirits, and witches and condemns not only the practice but also the people who are involved in it. As Christians, we are to have nothing to do with the occult. Tarot Cards, contacting the dead, séances, lucky charms, etc., are all unbiblical and can harm a Christian’s fellowship with God and open the Christian to demonic oppression. Most Christians know this and avoid these activities.
“But, the question still remains. Since there are ancient pagan connections and present occultic connections, what is the Christian to do? Can the Christian celebrate Halloween? The answer is simple: Yes and No. Let’s look at the negative first.
“The Christian is not to be involved with or support the occult, witchcraft, demonism, or any other thing that uplifts the occult. To do so is to contradict God’s word, dabble in the demonic, and invite judgment from God. If a Halloween celebration is centered on demons, devils, spirits, etc., I would say don’t have anything to do with it.
“On the other hand, it isn’t wrong to dress up in a costume and go door-to-door saying ‘Trick or Treat.’ Provided that the costume isn’t demonic, I can’t see anything wrong with this. It’s just fun for the kids. Take a look at the Christmas tree. It was originally an ancient fertility symbol. Yet, it has become a representation of Christmas and the place where gifts are placed. Are the Christians then paying homage to an ancient pagan fertility god? Not at all. They do not consider it pagan and are simply joining in a cultural event and giving no honor to anything unscriptural… Even though Halloween has pagan origins, because of your freedom in Christ, you and/or your kids can dress up in costumes and go door-to-door and just have fun…”
Similarly, the Billy Graham Organization (billygraham.org), which states:
“For some people this holiday is a time for dress-up and candy; it is an opportunity for fun. Others express concern for their child’s safety or for the emphasis that is often made on violence or horror at this time of year. Those who are interested in the right or wrong of the celebration may look at the holiday’s origin in the occult and believe it should not be celebrated at all; they are aware that some groups celebrate Halloween as a tribute to Satan. On the other hand, others recognize that Halloween, the eve of “All Saints’ Day” (November 1), is also associated with Martin Luther and the Reformation. They celebrate the religious freedoms won at that time in history. Since each of these perspectives contain truth, it is difficult to know how to respond…”
Such an evasive answer helps no one. It is not difficult to respond at all, unless one does not see the faulty trap of syncretism (combining right aspects of godly worship with wrong practices). But such is the logic of this world’s philosophy. It is detrimentally opposite to what God tells us. The Israelites were not even to inquire as to how the pagans worshipped their gods, so as to not use those pagan worship practices and apply them to the true God (such as the Christmas tree). Whom do you want to believe—human reasoning or God?
Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Should Christians Observe Halloween?”
Halloween and the Jews
The Jewish Press wrote on November 1:
“Halloween is also called All Hallows’ Eve, because, for the gentiles, it is a hallowed evening, the eve of All Saints’ Day, a day which honors all Christian saints.
“The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that in ancient Britain and Ireland, the Festival of Halloween was also [a] celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic goddess, Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle, the worlds of the dead and the living intertwine. This supposedly happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria, who, like most Celtic gods, does not wish to be seen by human eyes. This is one of the reason[s] behind Halloween costumes and for the holiday’s omens, spirits, demons, and witches.
“This date was also New Year’s Eve in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times, and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons said to be roaming about.
“It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divination concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes. These pagan observances also influenced the Christian festival of All Hallows’ Eve, celebrated on the same date…
“When it comes to the question whether Jews can take part in gentile holidays, the halachic discussion differs between clearly religious holidays like Xmas, which are forbidden, and purely secular holidays like Labor Day, which are permissible. Halloween’s religious origins and pagan history place it in the category of gentile holidays that are forbidden to celebrate… there is good reason for telling the kids that ‘Trick or Treating’ is a no-no for Jewish children.”
Halloween in Germany
The Local wrote on November 1:
“In Bonn, two drunken 17-year-olds who covered more than 30 cars with shaving foam, egg and tomato ketchup are likely to face hefty bills from the vehicles’ owners. A bus driver in nearby Remscheid was forced to pull over after being pelted with eggs.
“Up in the north east of the country, police were called to the scene of a robbery. A gang of opportunist thieves in Rostock forced an 8-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl to hand over their haul from treat-or-treating. They threatened the girl with what appeared to be a gun. A separate group took a bag filled with treats from a pair of 12-year-olds in neighbouring Schwerin.
“In fact, children wanting to go trick-or-treating Rostock should exercise a little caution – one elderly lady appeared to be so freaked out by the tiny monsters at her door that she hit two young girls in the face after [they] rang her doorbell. In the southern city of Trier, one of the scarier sights on Wednesday night was a 16-year-old boy being dragged through the streets by police, who said that he was very drunk and had been throwing things at the building of a security firm.
“The prize for the most police calls goes to the Rhein-Erft area near Cologne, where officers fielded 81 different cries for help – mostly complaints of loud music from parties. In Mannheim police received 50 phone calls and in the Swabia area of Bavaria there were 40. Officers in Esslingen near Stuttgart did not have an easy night either. They confiscated hundreds of eggs, 200 firecrackers and even homemade smoke-bombs…”
Roe v. Wade Based on Lies?
The Gatewaypundit.com wrote on October 24, 2012:
“Nearly 40 years ago, as a young, pregnant woman, Norma McCorvey played an instrumental part in the Supreme Court decision that brought legal abortion to America. McCorvey, the ‘Roe’ in the Roe v. Wade case… became a Christian in 1995 and has since repudiated her role in Roe v. Wade, campaigning for its reversal… McCorvey says the Roe v. Wade decision was based upon a lie… ‘I was persuaded by feminist attorneys to lie; to say that I was raped, and needed an abortion. It was all a lie. Since then, over 50 million babies have been murdered. I will take this burden to my grave. Please, don’t follow in my mistakes…’”
If true, that would really be scandalous, and these feminist attorneys will have to give account for such horrible conduct in the Day of Judgment.
Italian Court Decision Has Scientists Up In Arms
Reuters reported on October 25:
“Scientists reacted with alarm to the manslaughter conviction of six earthquake experts in Italy for failing to give adequate warning of the 2009 earthquake in the city of L’Aquila that killed 308 people. Scientists warned that researchers in areas involving unpredictable natural threats, like volcanology and even meteorology, will now be more reluctant to offer advice and insight to the public. ‘If it stands, this verdict will have a chilling effect on earthquake science in Italy and throughout Europe,’ said Sandy Steacy, professor of earthquake physics at the University of Ulster. ‘Who would now be willing to serve on an earthquake hazard evaluation panel when getting it wrong could mean a conviction for manslaughter?’…
“In the United States, Michael Halpern at the Union of Concerned Scientists lobby group said in a blog: ‘This is an absurd and dangerous decision that U.S. officials should rebuke, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano should overturn.’ Scientists warned the ruling could have repercussions beyond Italian borders and across other disciplines. ‘This bizarre verdict will chill anyone who gives scientific advice, and I hope they are freed on appeal,’ said David Spiegelhalter, a professor for the public understanding of risk at Cambridge University.”
The New York Times wrote on October 26:
“I learned with disbelief on Monday about the decision of an Italian judge to convict seven scientific experts of manslaughter and to sentence them to six years in prison for failing to give warning before the April 2009 earthquake that killed 309 people, injured an additional 1,500 or so and left more than 65,000 people homeless in and around the city of L’Aquila in central Italy.
“By this distorted logic, surgeons who warn a patient that there’s a small chance of dying during surgery should be put in prison if the patient does, in fact, die. Imagine the consequences for the health system. The effect on other fields would be just as devastating. In response to the verdict, some Italian scientists have already resigned from key public safety positions. Unless this shortsighted verdict is overturned by wiser minds, it will be very harmful in the long run.”
First, the ridiculous German court decision prohibiting circumcision; now this ridiculous Italian decision. What will be next? Where are the “no-nonsense” judges?
The US Government and the Sabbath
On October 25, 2012, the Jewish paper Haaretz, which is headquartered in Jerusalem, published the following on October 25, 2012, re-publishing an article, which was originally published by “The Jewish Daily Forward” paper on the same day:
“Jack Lew, who is an Orthodox Jew, on how he keeps Shabbat while serving as the chief of staff for the U.S. president.
“When Jack Lew was appointed chief of staff to President Obama in January, many in the Jewish community wondered how he could observe Shabbat in such a demanding position. ‘I saw the president on many occasions on Friday afternoons look at his watch, and ask: “Isn’t it time for you to get going?”’ Lew said, ‘or, “Why are you still here?”…
“Lew, who is Orthodox, revealed the details about his keeping Shabbat in an extraordinary interview with the Forward that touched on his need to observe the Jewish holy day… The chief of staff noted it was Obama who brought up the issue of Shabbat when first offering Lew the job. ‘He raised it with me saying: “I know that things are going to come up where there’s an emergency on Saturday or that you need to be here. I know you well enough to know that this is not an issue. I want you to know that I’m never going to ask you to work on Saturday if it’s not really necessary. It’s important for me that you know that.”’… On Fridays, Lew leaves the White House before Shabbat begins and he is off on Saturdays. In the cases where his presence was needed on Shabbat, the chief of staff usually walked to the White House and back.
“Rabbis he consulted with assured Lew that when there is a real necessity, Jewish tradition approves of working on the Sabbath. The number of times Lew actually had to work in Saturday has been ‘limited,’ he said. Lew had dealt with the potential conflicts between observing Shabbat and working in top level positions under President Bill Clinton, when he served as the White House budget director. Clinton made sure not to have his top budget adviser busy from sundown Friday to the end of Saturday, and Lew made himself available when emergencies occurred. ‘I have found that if you are true to your own beliefs, people respect it,’ Lew said. ‘I’ve found that President Obama considers it a sign of strength and value that there is something in my life that reflects principles that I adhere to.’”
This article poses numerous interesting questions. Following the Bible, one is only justified to do work on the Sabbath if it is a true emergency of an “ox-in-the-ditch” nature. It is never permitted to engage in work, KNOWING that “emergencies” will arise. Therefore, the advice by the Jewish Rabbis is not biblically correct. But it also gives another reason why the Bible does not approve of God’s people holding such political governmental offices in this day and age.
The reaction of the readers to the articles was mixed and highly charged. We are giving you a few representative excerpts:
“Regardless of your political viewpoint, could we not all agree that people supporting each other’s observance of Shabbat is a ‘good’ thing.”
“Obama thinks he can mistreat Jews for 4 years and then plant a ridiculous story like this to win us back. Obama really thinks the Jews are fools.”
“This is a scenerio [sic] I’m quite familiar with – having my non-Jewish coworkers remind me that it’s time to leave on Friday afternoon. As a Shabbos observer, the worst employment experience I ever had was when I was working for a major secular Jewish organization. My subsequent experience has always been that I’d much rather work for a non-Jew then a secular Jew. The latter will look up what time sunset is and then start arguing with me that ‘I don’t need to leave that early’, while a goy will respect my observance.”
Political Activities by Churches Break the Law
The Washington Times wrote on October 25, 2012:
“Pastor Ron Walker knew he was breaking the law when he took his place behind the pulpit of The Little White Church in Hill City, S.D., to preach a sermon critical of President Obama. ‘I think it’s a risk well worth taking,’ said the pastor of the nondenominational church of about 150 members. ‘We would be delighted to be sued and have the opportunity to defend ourselves — in front of the Supreme Court, if necessary.’
“Mr. Walker was one of more than 1,600 pastors — up from 33 five years ago — who risked their tax-exempt status to preach politics on ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ this month, challenging the 1954 tax law that prohibits nonprofits from politicking. For many of the protesting pastors, the law violates their Constitutional rights, and challenging the rule is a fight they welcome. Many of the participating pastors mailed recordings of their sermons to the Internal Revenue Service…
“The IRS, however, is declining to take the bait… The IRS declined repeated requests to comment on the protest, except to refer The Washington Times to the segment of the federal tax code that states tax-exempt organizations are ‘absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.’
“The tax code also warns that violations could get a nonprofit’s tax status revoked and make it vulnerable to excise taxes… One sign that the federal government may not be eager to tackle the church protests — especially in an election year — was the announcement this week that the IRS will not conduct any church audits until the Treasury Department clarifies which officials have jurisdiction over the churches. The tax agency was forced to rethink its jurisdictional rules after a federal district court tossed out a case against a Minnesota church accused of promoting Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann from the pulpit in 2009.
“Three years later, no work has begun on the jurisdictional rules. That delay may be the real roadblock stopping the IRS from cracking down on the Alliance Defending Freedom and churches, said John Pomeranz, a lawyer who specializes in lobbying and election-related activities by tax-exempt organizations.
“We have wondered whether or not the IRS is hamstrung at the moment,” said Mr. Pomeranz, who works at the Washington firm Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg LLP. “I think there is a fundamental question about the ability of the IRS to audit churches, and they need to address that before they can get to the question of whether they’re going to audit these Pulpit Freedom Sunday churches…”
Catholic Clergy Involved in Presidential Election
The Chicago Tribune wrote on October 31:
“Joining the chorus of Roman Catholic clergy in Illinois criticizing President Barack Obama before next week’s election, Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky ordered priests to read a letter to parishioners on Sunday before the presidential election, explaining that politicians who support abortion rights also reject Jesus. ‘By virtue of your vow of obedience to me as your Bishop, I require that this letter be personally read by each celebrating priest at each Weekend Mass,’ Jenky wrote in a letter circulated to clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.
“In the letter, Jenky cautions parishioners that Obama and a majority of U.S. senators will not reconsider the mandate that would require employers, including religious groups, to provide free birth control coverage in their health care plans…”
Churches and their pastors should NOT be getting involved in making political statements to promote voting for or against one particular political candidate. True Christians should have nothing to do with time-wasting political campaigns, and they should NOT vote in governmental elections. For more information, please listen to our video-recorded sermon, “What Would Be Jesus’ Vote?”
Fish Labeling Fraud
The Huffington Post wrote on October 28:
“It’s easy to identify the bright orange flesh of raw salmon, or tuna’s muted red tones. But when it comes to other types of fish, consumers are pretty much at the mercy of supermarket and restaurant labels, and fraud is rampant. That’s what NBC LA’s Get Garcia hidden camera investigation found when it DNA-tested samples of fish that were purchased from local stores and sushi restaurants.
“Of the 27 fish samples purchased at Ralphs, Sprouts, Pavilions, Gelsons, Whole Foods, San Pedro Fish Market and Sushi Yuzu, five were not correctly labeled… The substitutions, like the Ocean Perch fish that had been labeled ‘Red Snapper’ at Gelsons, Ralphs and Pavilions end up ripping off consumers. Ocean Perch costs $6.99 per pound, but Red Snapper retails for $14.99 a pound…
“In addition to the ripoff, mislabeling could also cause problems for people trying to avoid certain kinds of fish for health reasons.
“NBC LA’s findings echo a study released by conservation group Oceana back in April. Oceana’s investigation found that over half of the seafood sold in Los Angeles and Orange counties were fraudulently labeled, a violation of federal law. Some key findings, via the press release:
“Fraud was detected in 11 out of 18 different types of fish purchased. Every single fish sold with the word ‘snapper’ in the label (34 out of 34) was mislabeled, according to federal guidelines. Nearly nine out of every ten sushi samples was mislabeled. Eight out of nine sushi samples labeled as ‘white tuna’ were actually escolar, a species that carries a health warning for it purgative effects. The group has also found similar instances of mislabeling in Boston and South Florida… while the FDA has the authority to inspect seafood for fraud, they rarely elect to do so.”
This is a crying shame and abominable conduct, while the government watches, knows … and does nothing.
Hurricane or Cyclone Sandy Causes Once-in-a-Generation Flooding
The New York Times wrote October 29:
“Hurricane Sandy battered the mid-Atlantic region on Monday, its powerful gusts and storm surges causing once-in-a-generation flooding in coastal communities, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of people — including a large swath of Manhattan — in the rain-soaked dark.
“The mammoth and merciless storm made landfall near Atlantic City around 8 p.m., with maximum sustained winds of about 80 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. That was shortly after the center had reclassified the storm as a post-tropical cyclone, a scientific renaming that had no bearing on the powerful winds, driving rains and life-threatening storm surge expected to accompany its push onto land.
“The storm had unexpectedly picked up speed as it roared over the Atlantic Ocean on a slate-gray day and went on to paralyze life for millions of people in more than a half-dozen states, with extensive evacuations that turned shorefront neighborhoods into ghost towns…
“Hurricane-force winds extended up to 175 miles from the center of the storm; tropical-storm-force winds spread out 485 miles from the center. Forecasters said tropical-storm-force winds could stretch all the way north to Canada and all the way west to the Great Lakes. Snow was expected in some states. Businesses and schools were closed; roads, bridges and tunnels were closed; and more than 13,000 airline flights were canceled…
“Forecasters attributed the power of the storm to a convergence of weather systems. As the hurricane swirled north in the Atlantic and then pivoted toward land, a wintry storm was heading toward it from the west, and cold air was blowing south from the Arctic. The hurricane left more than 60 people dead in the Caribbean before it began crawling toward the Northeast…”
The Los Angeles Times wrote on October 29:
“Cyclone Sandy roared ashore Monday night with 80 mph winds in southern New Jersey, battering the most populous region of the United States, paralyzing epicenters of power and commerce, and plunging smaller coastal communities into crisis.
“After days of dire warnings and bustling preparations, the storm crashed ashore a little after 8 p.m. EDT, leaving more than 3 million people without power and at least two people dead. Although its winds reached low hurricane strength, officials called it a post-tropical cyclone. Cyclones, unlike hurricanes, are not defined by wind speed but how they find their energy, officials said…
“Sandy is a freak event — a late-season hurricane hemmed in by weather bands, gobbling up the energy of the Gulf Stream as it raked the coast while growing into a ragged, 1,000-mile-wide storm. As it grew, so did its power to push a wall of seawater onto shore — with such force that some rivers were expected to run backward… Sandy cast tropical-storm-strength winds from the Carolinas to Maine. Hurricane-force winds stretched from Virginia to Massachusetts.
“Because of its size, Sandy is more than a coastal event. Officials predicted a blizzard in the West Virginia mountains, 33-foot waves in Lake Michigan and high wind in Indiana. There were formal government warnings of one variety or another in 23 states, and 60 million people — nearly 1 in 5 Americans — might feel the storm before the end of the week…
“The storm derailed the presidential campaign just a week before the election, postponing early voting in some areas and causing President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to cancel campaign events…”
The Terrible Aftermath of Sandy
CNBC wrote on November 1:
“Power outages at hundreds of gas stations and a distribution bottleneck due to flooding damage and power loss has caused a gasoline shortage in the New York metropolitan area that may not be cleared up for at least a week… What was a problem for drivers when Super Storm Sandy ended two days ago has become a nightmare for frazzled motorists who find themselves in gas lines that can stretch on for hours. Some lines were hundreds of cars long in sections of New Jersey and New York Thursday… An estimated 75 percent or more of the gas stations in New Jersey were closed either because they had no gasoline, no power or both…”
Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 31:
“Hurricane Sandy revealed just how vulnerable America is to the forces of nature. Clean-up is likely to take weeks or even months in the hardest hit sections of New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy’s true power is only now becoming apparent, hours after the storm slammed into America’s East Coast. But now it is clear that entire regions of New Jersey have been destroyed. Some 8 million Americans will be without power for days. And the number of deaths has climbed to at least 45. Half of Manhattan seems like a ghost town on Tuesday…
“Sandy, like all natural disasters, didn’t differentiate between rich and poor, city or countryside. The super-storm’s swath of destruction reached from rural Virginia across New York and into the rich suburbs of Connecticut…
“The chaos in New York, unprecedented in a metropolis that has no shortage of catastrophes in its history, made the most headlines. But the worst of the damage can be found in the state of New Jersey, where the coastal city of Atlantic City was badly flooded and battered by an unprecedented storm surge. A tired-looking New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on Tuesday that the damage ‘is beyond anything I thought I’d ever see. Terrible.’
“The full extent of what happened only became apparent as the East Coast woke up on Tuesday morning. Sandy was the largest storm ever recorded in the region, with its effects being felt from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north. There were deaths in six different states and material damage is likely to exceed $20 billion. Even through Tuesday, Sandy continued to pummel states further inland, producing heavy snowfall, torrential rains and winds gusts of over 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). Its effects were felt as far west as the Great Lakes…
“Sandy also revealed just how fragile America’s infrastructure is. Streets and rail lines were destroyed, the power grid failed and communication networks collapsed, with both telephone and internet connections spotty up and down the East Coast. Telecommunications company Verizon was hit the worst, with technically vital facilities suffering floods in Manhattan, Queens and Long Island. The most densely populated and technologically advanced region in the US turned out to be defenseless against the elements…
“At least 18 people were killed in New York City alone, according to the Associated Press, with damage likely to exceed €7 billion. Two million people were without electricity on Tuesday afternoon, 660,000 of them in Manhattan, with the southern half of the island almost completely dark. ‘This will be the largest storm-related outage in our history,’ said John Miksad, vice president of the electricity utility Con Edison… Wall Street, busy even on Christmas, was completely dark and abandoned…
“New York’s subway system — the world’s largest with 1,355 kilometers (842 miles) of track and five million passengers per day — has suffered the worst damage in its 108-year history… A total of some 15,500 flights have now been cancelled as a result of Sandy… Numerous towns were almost entirely under water on Tuesday…”
Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 1:
“Hurricane Sandy has destroyed an entire neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York. First, the flood waters ravaged Breezy Point, and then a fire finished the job. Local residents have lost everything. Breezy Point has been decimated. Street after street, one house after the next — burned out, smashed to pieces or swept away…
“It is only now, three days after Sandy struck, that the sheer scale of the disaster has finally become apparent. Entire coastal stretches have been destroyed, 5 million people are still without power, and the death toll is rising daily. According to the latest data, 24 people have died in New York City alone — more than in any other previous natural disaster to have occurred here…”
Major Earthquake Hits Off West Coast of Canada
On October 28, the Washington Times wrote the following:
“A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck off the west coast of Canada, but there were no reports of major damage. Residents in parts of British Columbia were evacuated, but the province appeared to escape the biggest quake in Canada since 1949 largely unscathed.
“The U.S. Geological Survey said the powerful temblor hit the Queen Charlotte Islands just after 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. EDT) Saturday at a depth of about 3 miles and was centered 96 miles south of Masset, British Columbia. It was felt across a wide area in British Columbia, both on its Pacific islands and on the mainland… The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas of British Columbia, southern Alaska and Hawaii, but later canceled it… The weather service also canceled a tsunami advisory for Oregon [and] Northern California…
“Canada’s largest earthquake since 1700 was an 8.1-magnitude quake on August 22, 1949, off the coast of British Columbia… In 1970, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck south of the Haida Gwaii…”
“President Romney” and American-European Relations
Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 1:
“Germans have long since made up their minds about Mitt Romney. Only 5 percent would give him their vote if they had one, they say… When America votes, the German heart traditionally beats for the Democratic candidate. To many, the Republicans are suspect: cocky, Christian-conservative, narrow-minded and often hawkish — at least according to the widespread cliché… But what would a President Romney mean for Berlin? Frankly, politicians in the German capital aren’t sure. The Republican candidate, said Harald Leibrechts, Germany’s coordinator for German-American relations, is a ‘blank page, which makes him difficult to gauge.’ He is unlikely to be alone in this assessment.
“Romney has portrayed himself as both a tough guy and a diplomat, but his waffling has confused people both at home and abroad… In Berlin, the Republican nominee is seen as somewhat of an enigma. Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, for one, is puzzled…
“Rolf Mützenich, the foreign policy spokesman of the opposition Social Democrats in parliament, believes… that a Romney administration would most likely not see eye to eye with Germany and its fellow European Union nations when it comes to the global regulation of the financial markets.
“Braml, the DGAP expert and author of the book ‘Der amerikanische Patient’ (‘The American Patient’), champions the thesis that American’s poor socio-economic condition and growing isolationist sentiments will lead it to try to shift the burdens of military actions onto its allies. This view is shared by many in Berlin. Leibrecht, Chancellor Merkel’s coordinator for German-American relations, has said that one of the possible consequences of a Romney victory would be calls for augmenting defense budgets. ‘That is not particularly popular with us,’ he said…
“In any case, whether Obama or Romney wins, CDU politician Missfelder says that Germans will have to get used to one thing: ‘When it comes to global military actions in crisis zones, the Americans will definitely be coming to us and demanding more in the years to come.’”
Britain On Their Way Out Of the EU?
The New York Times wrote on October 27:
“Is Britain moving inexorably toward the European Union’s exit door?
“When the European Union unexpectedly won the Nobel Peace Prize this month, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy spoke of their pride. But the British prime minister, David Cameron, maintained an awkward silence. Before that, the British government said it wanted to exercise an opt out of an estimated 133 areas of European Union police and judicial cooperation to which it had once agreed.
“And Mr. Cameron supported a plan for a new budget for countries that use the euro (which Britain does not), something that would place his nation firmly in Europe’s outer tier. The prime minister has been hinting that he could hold a referendum on Britain’s relations with the union, and one newspaper reported recently that a senior cabinet minister wants Britain to threaten openly to leave the 27-nation bloc. There was no official denial of the report…
“Britain has always been ambivalent about the European project. Unlike the founding six nations, all of them defeated or occupied in World War II, Britain was a victor. In national mythology, the war was neither a moment of disgrace nor a humiliation. On the contrary, it was widely considered the country’s finest hour, when it stood alone against fascism.
“So the idea of reconciliation through integration never had the appeal in Britain that it did on the Continent. Unlike many other member countries, Britain always paid more into the union in contributions than it received in subsidies. Now, with the euro zone almost three years in crisis, British public opinion has hardened. The overwhelming majority of Conservative lawmakers are euro skeptics, and many privately favor withdrawal. For some this is a question of conviction…
“Mr. Cameron seeks a new arrangement that abandons any pretense of being at the heart of the European Union. He does not, for instance, want to stop the euro zone integrating without Britain. Indeed, he recognizes that this is necessary to save the euro…But to anchor Britain in Europe, Mr. Cameron needs to emerge from a whole series of negotiations successfully — or at least persuade his own skeptical party that he has done so.
“Most urgently, he faces tough discussions on the European Union’s next seven-year spending cycle. Many officials and other observers expect Mr. Cameron to veto a budget deal at a November summit. That will satisfy euro skeptics only if Mr. Cameron can bring home an improved offer later. Yet, playing to his domestic gallery with an aggressive veto may alienate the very European allies Mr. Cameron would need in later talks in any effort to redefine ties.
“Meanwhile, the emergence of an ever more clear-cut two-tier Europe, with much greater integration among the 17 euro zone nations on issues like banking and financial services, is putting a strain on Europe’s unified economic space, and could ultimately threaten London’s status as Europe’s financial capital.”
EU Member States Have Already Lost National Sovereignty
The EUobserver wrote on October 28:
“The EU should have the power to police and interfere in member states’ national budgets, [central bank chief] Mario Draghi [said…] he ‘completely supported’ the suggestion by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to give more autonomy to the EU’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner. ‘I am certain, if we want to restore confidence in the eurozone, countries will have to transfer part of their sovereignty to the European level,’ Draghi [said] demanding a more concerted push for European integration.
“‘Several governments have not yet understood that they lost their national sovereignty long ago. Because they ran up huge debts in the past, they are now dependent on the goodwill of the financial markets,’ Draghi said.”
