German Attack on Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 30:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a staunch proponent of the Iran nuclear deal, has slammed Israel in a series of tweets and statements since last Friday’s Security Council resolution condemning Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. In a statement issued to Germany’s largest circulation daily,  Bild, after the UN resolution, the Foreign Ministry claimed that ‘a democratic Israel is only achievable through a two-state-solution.’

“The statement prompted the editor-in-chief of Bild’s digital outlet, veteran journalist Julian Reichelt, to express astonishment at the harsh wording. In response to Reichelt’s criticism, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffan Seibert wrote on his Twitter feed: ‘Israel is a Jewish democratic state.’ Steinmeier, a Social Democratic politician who is jockeying to be the next president of Germany, later said on Twitter: ‘Israeli settlements in occupied territories jeopardize possibility of peace process.’

“The same English-language tweet was issued again. The flurry of messages attacking Israel appeared on the German- and English-language Twitter feeds of the Berlin-based Foreign Ministry. Steinmeier also endorsed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s Wednesday speech, writing that the ‘speech is a warning and a reminder that the 2 State Solution must not become an empty phrase.’…

“Prof. Gerald Steinberg, who teaches political studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, ‘In many ways, the Obama-Kerry perception of the conflict has been shaped by European conventional wisdom. So it is not surprising to see European leaders embracing Kerry’s speech. In Germany, Foreign Minister Steinmeier has been particularly critical of Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu (taking Germany farther away from its post-Holocaust role).’

“Steinberg, who is president of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, added, ‘Steinmeier, like powerful German NGOs such as Brot fur die Welt, [‘Bread for the World’] echoes the Palestinian victimization narrative. In addition, Steinmeier’s personal attacks on Netanyahu reflect German eagerness to do business with Iran, which was facilitated by Kerry.’

“Writing in the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel on Thursday, Volker Beck, a leading Green Party lawmaker and head of the German-Israel Parliament Group in the Bundestag, said, ‘No, settlement construction is not the most difficult problem on the way to a two-state solution. It is one of many.’ Beck voiced understanding for the outrage in Israel to the UN resolution. Beck termed the measure ‘counterproductive,’ adding that the decisive factor is the ‘security question,’ because after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the US- and EU-designated terrorist organization Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave, fired many missiles at Israel.”

The UK’s Hypocritical Position

The Guardian wrote on December 29:

“Theresa May distanced the UK from Washington over John Kerry’s condemnation of Israel…  Kerry, the outgoing secretary of state, delivered a robust speech this week, criticising Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as the ‘most right-wing coalition in Israeli history’, and warned that the rapid expansion of settlements in the occupied territories meant that ‘the status quo is leading toward one state and perpetual occupation’.

“The prime minister’s spokesman said May thought it was not appropriate to make such strongly worded attacks on the makeup of a government – or to focus solely on the issue of Israeli settlements… The UK backed the UN resolution passed last week condemning the continued expansion of settlements. But May’s spokesman said she was concerned about the language Kerry had used. ‘We continue to believe that the construction of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal, which is why we supported UN security council resolution 2334 last week.'”

Theresa May’s position is more than strange and appears to be quite hypocritical, as the UK backed the resolution which did “focus solely on the issue of Israeli settlements.” 

George Orwell’s Big Brother Coming to Legal Reality in the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on December 30:

“Police are now officially able to hack into your phones and check your browsing history after the Snoopers’ Charter came into force yesterday. The law – officially called the Investigatory Powers Bill – forces electronic data to be stored by app companies for 12 months, which can be subsequently collected by law enforcement. While critics have cited it as an attack on privacy, the Government believes the charter is essential for combating terrorism and organised crime…

“Aside from the controversy surrounding its morality, the charter’s effectiveness has also been questioned, with Virtual Private Network software already being highlighted as a potential way for internet users of getting around it. Using a VPN means data will be scrambled and protected from the company that provides the connection.

“In China VPNs are routinely used by expats to avoid Beijing’s rigid control of the internet, which involves blocking news websites like the BBC [and] anything which might be remotely critical of the Chinese Communist Party…”

Internet Shutdowns and Hackings

Breitbart wrote on December 30:

“There have been more than 50 government shutdowns of the Internet in 2016, costing the respective countries hundreds of millions of dollars and choking citizen freedoms during crucial moments…

“Global Advocacy Manager Deji Olukotun of the Access Now digital rights organization believes that an even greater cost can be counted in human lives. Olukotun says that the shutdowns ‘go hand in hand with atrocities,’ citing the deaths of Ethiopian protesters ‘during the kind of blackout where it’s difficult to report on what’s happening.’ Other shutdowns include communication blackouts during the Ugandan elections, and governments that chose to go so far as shutting down all Internet access just to keep students from cheating on exams.

“… estimates suggest that India lost nearly a billion dollars due to its shutdowns, while Saudi Arabia managed nearly half a billion on its own. Morocco gave up $320 million. Even governments that didn’t wall off the entirety of the Internet still blocked access to social media in some cases, and their methods have steadily become more sophisticated. As time goes on, it grows more and more difficult for citizens to find any way around restrictions on digital information…”

The Associated Press reported on January 1:

“President-elect Donald Trump says that ‘no computer is safe’ when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations. Trump rarely uses email or computers, despite his frequent tweeting.

“‘You know, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way,’ Trump told reporters during his annual New Year’s Eve bash. ‘Because I’ll tell you what: No computer is safe.’ Trump has repeatedly cast aside allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the presidential election through hacking…”

Putin Will Not (Yet) Retaliate Against Obama’s USA

The Washington Post wrote on December 29:

“In a rare break from the diplomatic tradition of reciprocal punishment, Russian President Vladi­mir Putin said Friday he would not deport U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to U.S. hacking sanctions, as Russia looks to cultivate relations with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. ‘We won’t create problems for American diplomats,’ Putin said in a statement… adding that Russia retained the right to punish U.S. diplomats in the future. He said he would ‘plan further steps for restoring the Russian-American relationship based on the policies enacted by the administration of President Donald Trump.’”

In response, Donald Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin for his decision to delay any measures, saying it was a “great move” and that he always knew that Putin was “very smart.”

Kremlin Unveils Unmanned Killing Machines With Which Russia Will Fight World War III 

Express wrote on December 31:

“Vladimir Putin has been showing off his latest high-tech robotic killing machines which are so advanced sabre-rattling Russia could fight a ground war without committing a single soldier. The terrifying combat robots were put through their paces in harsh winter conditions during military exercises on the outskirts of the capital Moscow… Lieutenant General Andrey Grigoriev, head of Moscow’s Advanced Research Foundation, said the longer-term plan was to fight wars without men. He added: ‘It would be powerful robot units fighting on land, in the air, at sea as well as underwater and in outer space. The soldier would gradually turn into an operator and be removed from the battlefield.’

“… Russian armed forces have significantly progressed over the years in the development and use of various robotic systems. State-of-the-art weapons systems, such as the T-50 fifth-generation fighter jet or brand new Armata main battle tank, are said to involve robotic technologies or artificial intelligence. Military industry officials predict robotic combat platforms will define future battlefields and eventually replace soldiers.”

We have been speaking for a long time about the possibility that armies of robotic soldiers will be created by powers in the Far East. In the book of Revelation, John sees in a vison a huge army consisting of “two hundred million” “horsemen” (Revelation 9:16). This “army” is described as originating in the Far East, being at war with continental Europe. The “horses” are described, symbolically, as weapons spewing “fire, smoke and brimstone” and doing harm with their tails which are like serpents, killing a third of mankind. This can easily be understood as a description of modern tanks and other destructive war machines. It is interesting that the “horsemen” are not necessarily human beings. The Greek word is, “hippikon.” It has the meaning of “cavalry” or “cavalry force.” The number of 200 million “horsemen” could be understood as describing, at least in part, the mass production of war machines and combat robots. Others have speculated that the number could include a “supernatural cavalry” of “demons or demonic-possessed humans” (compare Ryrie Study Bible). 

Trump or Strache—What’s Going On?

The Local wrote on December 22:

“A spokesman from the transition team working for newly-elected US president Donald Trump denied that their new national security advisor had met with Austrian far-right politicians in New York earlier in the month. The meeting was first mentioned by Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who claimed in a Facebook post that he had met with Lt. General Michael Flynn, the designated national security maven who will be appointed after the inauguration of Donald Trump.

“In a press call on Thursday morning, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller denied that such a meeting took place. ‘The fact of the matter is that General Flynn has never spoken with or met the Austrian politician in question and strongly disavows groups with such viewpoints,’ Miller said, according to media reports.”

Trump’s Election by Divine Providence?

Breitbart wrote on December 31:

“Celebrated evangelical… Franklin Graham says that it was the ‘hand of God,’ rather than Russian hackers, that determined the outcome of November’s presidential election… Graham said that beyond mere human factors, the mysterious hand of divine providence was at work in the elections.

“‘All I know is Donald Trump was supposed to lose the election’ according to all the polls, Graham said. ‘For these states to go the way they did, in my opinion, I think it was the hand of God,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t hacking. It wasn’t Wiki-leaky or whatever. It was God, in my opinion, and I believe his hand was at work…’”

US Embassy to Be Moved to Israel’s Eternal Capital, Jerusalem?

Israel National News wrote on January 3:

“Three Republican senators on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s official capital and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The new legislation, entitled the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act, was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Dean Heller of Nevada and Marco Rubio of Florida. ‘Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish state of Israel, and that’s where America’s embassy belongs,’ Rubio said… ‘It’s time for Congress and the President-elect to eliminate the loophole that has allowed presidents in both parties to ignore U.S. law and delay our embassy’s rightful relocation to Jerusalem for over two decades,’ he added.

“A statement from Heller said that some State Department funds would be withheld until the embassy was relocated. The measure is in line with President-elect Donald Trump’s support for moving the embassy to Jerusalem, something he repeatedly pledged to do during his election campaign… ‘Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel,’ Cruz said… ‘Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s vendetta against the Jewish state has been so vicious that to even utter this simple truth — let alone the reality that Jerusalem is the appropriate venue for the American embassy in Israel — is shocking in some circles…’”

The Return of Civil Disobedience

In the January 9, 2017 issue of The New Yorker, the following was stated:

“Last summer, the A.C.L.U. issued a report highlighting the ways in which Trump’s proposals on a number of issues would violate the Bill of Rights… But, with a Republican majority that has mostly shown compliance with Trump, despite his contempt for the norms of democracy, the fear is that he will achieve much of what he wants. Even if he accomplishes only half, the landscape of American politics and policy will be radically altered. This prospect has recalled another phenomenon of the nineteen-sixties: the conviction that ‘democracy is in the streets.’

“Two hundred thousand women are expected to assemble in front of the Capitol, on January 21st, the day after the Inauguration, for the Women’s March on Washington. Born of one woman’s invitation to forty friends, the event is meant as a rejoinder to the fact that a candidate with a troubling history regarding women’s rights—one who actually bragged about committing sexual assault—has made it to the White House.

“The first Inauguration of George W. Bush, in 2001, saw mass protests driven by the sentiment that the election had been stolen. The protests that greet Trump will, in all probability, exceed them: some twenty other groups have also applied for march permits. Given his history with African-Americans, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, unionized labor, environmentalists, and people with disabilities, it is not hard to imagine that there will be many more to come. The Congress is unlikely to check the new President, but democracy may thrive in the states, the courts, the next elections, and, lest the lessons of the sixties be forgotten, the streets…”

Obama Trying to “Cement” His Legacy

The New York Times wrote on December 31:

“Only two days after the election, President Obama sat by President-elect Donald J. Trump’s side in the Oval Office and declared that the No. 1 priority in his last days in the White House would be ensuring a smooth transition of power. What Mr. Obama did not say was that he also intended to set up as many policy and ideological roadblocks as possible before Mr. Trump takes his oath of office on Jan. 20. With less than three weeks before the Obama White House is history, making way for a new administration with radically different priorities, the president is using every power at his disposal to cement his legacy and establish his priorities as the law of the land.

“He has banned oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, established new environmental monuments, protected funding for Planned Parenthood clinics, ordered the transfer of detainees from Guantánamo Bay, criticized Israeli settlements and punished Russia for interfering in the recent elections through cyberattacks.

“The next president may be able to roll back some, or even most, of those actions, a point that Mr. Obama’s top aides concede. But every step the current president takes requires Mr. Trump to overcome one more legislative or procedural hurdle as he seeks to change direction in Washington.

“Mr. Obama is continuing to fill the ranks of the government with his own appointees; since Election Day, he has named 103 people to senior Civil Service jobs, boards, key commissions and oversight panels, including the National Council on Disability, the Amtrak board of directors, the Holocaust Memorial Council and the boards of visitors at military academies. He is also pushing ahead with his goal of freeing nonviolent drug offenders from federal prisons. In the last few weeks, he has commuted the sentences of 232 federal inmates and pardoned 78 others. And on Wednesday, he will meet with Democratic lawmakers to discuss ways to protect the Affordable Care Act from efforts by Mr. Trump and Republicans to dismantle it.

“To many conservatives, Mr. Obama is acting out of spite as much as conviction… Mr. Obama’s most permanent action may be his order banning oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, a decision rooted in a 1953 law that experts say will be legally difficult for Mr. Trump to reverse…”

The Battle For and Against Obamacare

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 5:

“The US Senate has voted to open the debate on beginning the repeal of Obamacare. The move prompted President Barack Obama to make a rare visit to Capitol Hill to urge Democrats to fight to preserve his signature policy… On Wednesday, the Senate voted 51-48 in a procedural tally that opened debate on beginning the Obamacare repeal process… Trump tweeted Wednesday that Republicans ‘must be careful…’

“[Vice President-elect] Pence, along with Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, failed to provide more details on what a Republican health plan might look like… Democrats have accused the GOP lawmakers of tearing apart Obamacare without a firm plan to replace it… Trump… has pledged to keep popular aspects of the act, such as the provisions that bar companies from refusing coverage due to preexisting conditions…

“However, a minority in the Senate coupled with a crushing presidential election loss means Democrats have few options to prevent the repeal of Obamacare…”

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange: Russia Not the Source for Hacking

Newsmax wrote on January 3:

“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange reiterated Russia was not the source of Democratic documents released over the summer and accused the Obama administration of trying to delegitimize Donald Trump’s White House victory. Assange’s comments came during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity… ‘We can say, and we have said repeatedly over the last few months, that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party,’ he told Hannity.

“Assange went on to say President Obama was focused on blaming the Russians for releasing the documents in an attempt to discredit the incoming Trump administration. ‘They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president. Our publications had wide uptake by the American people, they’re all true. But that’s not the allegation that’s being presented by the Obama White House.’”

Trump at Odds with CIA and Leading Republicans

Newsmax wrote on January 4:

“President-elect Donald Trump plans to restructure and scale back the nation’s intelligence agencies — amid concerns that they have become politicized and bloated — and that includes cutting CIA staff and moving more agents into field offices worldwide… Trump has slammed the nation’s intelligence agencies since the November election, particularly challenging findings that Russia has hacked into the Democratic National Committee and other party operatives and leaked its findings to WikiLeaks for publishing on its website.”

The Guardian wrote on January 4:

“Leading Republicans broke with Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president-elect appeared to put more faith in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange than in US intelligence agencies. The sharp differences on a highly charged national security issue are the latest sign that matters of intelligence and policy towards Russia reflect a deep fault line in Trump’s relationship with the Republican party establishment.

“The House speaker, Paul Ryan, called Assange ‘a sycophant for Russia’ on a conservative radio show and GOP Senator Tom Cotton told MSNBC that he had ‘a lot more faith in our intelligence officers serving around the world … than I do in people like Julian Assange’. The comments followed tweets from Trump on Wednesday morning in which he approvingly repeated Assange’s claim that the Russian state was not the source of the hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign chairman, John Podesta, published by WikiLeaks during the election. ‘Julian Assange said “a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta” – why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!’ one Trump tweet said. Another quoted Assange as describing US media coverage on the issue as ‘very dishonest’. Trump added: ‘More dishonest than anyone knows.’…

“McCain called the alleged Russian cyber-attacks ‘an act of war’ on Wednesday… Trump’s support for Assange has not led to [a] break with all his Republican allies. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday that she now regretted her attacks on Assange in 2010 after he published leaked documents from her time as governor of Alaska…”

Newsmax added on January 5:

“President-elect Donald Trump took aim at news coverage of his comments about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He took to Twitter Thursday to blast the ‘dishonest media’ for reporting that he agrees with Assange, insisting the he just repeats what the exiled figure says and expects Americans to make up their own minds. ‘The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange – wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people…. to make up their own minds as to the truth. The media lies to make it look like I am against “Intelligence” when in fact I am a big fan!’

“Thursday’s Twitter blast comes in the wake of reaction to his Wednesday tweets citing Assange’s statements about how easy it was for hackers to infiltrate the Democratic National Committee last year. He also highlighted Assange’s statement labeling the U.S. media dishonest.”

“New Quarantine Rule Could Violate Civil Liberties”

The Atlantic wrote on December 30:

“On August 15th, with little fanfare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took steps to improve its ability to deal with infectious outbreaks. The agency proposed a new rule that would expand its powers to screen, test, and quarantine people traveling into or within the United States, in the event of a crisis like the historic Ebola outbreak of 2014.

“On the face of it, this sounds like a good thing… But some epidemiologists, lawyers, and health organizations say that the rule, in its current form poses a serious threat to civil liberties, allowing authorities to detain and examine people with little heed to due process and informed consent…

“For a start, the rule is sparse when it comes to due process. It allows the CDC to detain travelers indefinitely before deciding whether to quarantine them, saying only that the agency ‘doesn’t expect’ such apprehensions to last for more than 72 hours. It doesn’t make provisions for legal counsel if people can’t afford a lawyer themselves. And it puts any reviews of the agency’s decisions under the auspices of its own employees, rather than a neutral third party. Using the rule, ‘a future administration could hold travelers in government custody for days or weeks without providing an explanation or an opportunity for the individuals to challenge their detentions,’ write Emma Roth and Kyle Edwards from Yale Law School.

“The rule also gives the CDC ultimate authority to carry out medical tests and treatments, stating that ‘the individual’s consent shall not be considered as a prerequisite to the exercise of any authority.’ That’s medically unethical…

“The stickier problem is that there’s little evidence to support screening or quarantining travelers. Consider the Ebola outbreak. The CDC screened more than 38,000 travelers flying into the U.S., by interviewing them and checking their medical records. They then monitored over 10,000 people for 21 days. And they caught exactly zero cases of Ebola…”

These new rules are indeed of great concern.

Merkel: Germany Must Take a Leading Role 

Thomson/Reuters reported on December 30:

“Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in a New Year’s address to the nation, and she vowed to introduce laws that improve security after a deadly attack before Christmas in Berlin. Describing 2016 as a year that gave many the impression that the world had ‘turned upside down,’ Merkel urged Germans to forsake populism and said Germany had an interest in taking a leading role in addressing the many challenges facing the European Union…

“‘And, yes, Europe should focus on what can really be better than the national state,’ Merkel said. ‘But we Germans should never be led to believe that [we] could have a better [happy] future by going it alone.’”

“Angela Merkel Is Losing Popularity in Germany and Abroad”

Express wrote on January 4:

“The three term Chancellor was desperate to impose year-long sanctions against Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but her supposed European allies have shunned her in favour of the Russian strongman.

“The EU’s top brass instead decided to impose just six months’ worth of sanctions against Mr Putin, who openly land-grabbed Crimea from Ukraine – a country desperate to join the European Union (EU).  Merkel’s rating in the opinion polls is also at a low ebb, with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party soaring in popularity to 15 per cent in the wake of the Berlin Christmas markets terror attack… According to the latest polls, support for the coalition between her Christian Democratic Union party and the Christian Social Union party has plummeted to just 32 per cent so far in 2017.

“To make matters worse, the result of the French elections is likely to weaken Merkel’s standing on the Continent even more. Marine le Pen openly wants France to leave the ailing Union, and the other candidate, Francois Fillon, will completely undermine the Chancellor when it comes to Russia as he opposes any form of strict sanctions…

“Embarrassingly, Merkel is now being ridiculed on the world stage too as she was forced to pull out of attending the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit for fear of receiving a hounding over her floundering leadership… It also coincides with Donald Trump’s inauguration as American President and the right-wing critic of Merkel is likely to be a frequent topic of conversation. Mr Trump’s supposed close relationship with Mr Putin, coupled with new found support for the Kremlin chief from Germany’s traditional European allies, could leave Merkel isolated.

“Jochen Bittner, the political editor for the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, said: ‘Germany is holding general elections next autumn, and with politicians sympathetic to Moscow on the rise, she may well be running for her fourth term as the sole European leader willing to stand up to a newly assertive Russia.’”

Archbishop of Vienna Schönborn on Islamization

Beitbart wrote January 3:

“The Archbishop of Vienna who has been tipped to be the next Pope, has implied the election of Donald Trump is a good thing as Ronald Reagan turned out to be ‘certainly one of the best presidents the U.S. ever had’.  Looking back on a transformational year in politics, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn also cautioned about the effects of mass Muslim migration, urging Europeans to retain the continent’s Christian heritage…

“[He said:] ‘We [Europeans] have responded with a great deal of generosity to the refugee crisis… The figures last year were simply dramatically high… The key issue we are facing in Austria is the integration of refugees… Of course, as a Christian, I would like the Middle East to become Christian again, as it once was, or North Africa. North Africa was completely Christianised…’

“Whilst insisting he did not blame individual Muslims for wanting to change Europe, he spoke of the huge rise in the number of mosques in the West and the destruction of churches in Muslim countries, claiming ‘religions are in competition with each other… But we already have 200 Islamic places of prayer in Vienna. We have mosques in cathedrals in Spain, and we have, for example, in Damascus, the cathedral of John the Baptist is now a mosque… The Islamisation of Europe is nonsensical if one does not contribute something to the fact that Europe remains Christian’…  we must reproach ourselves for not doing enough to maintain a Christian Europe.’”

New Year’s Eve Terror Attack in Istanbul by Insane ISIS Murderer(s)

AFP wrote on December 31:

“At least [39] people were killed and 40 wounded in a ‘terror’ attack in Istanbul Sunday when gunmen reportedly dressed as Santa stormed an elite nightclub where partygoers were celebrating the New Year, the latest carnage to rock Turkey after a bloody 2016. Two gunmen entered the venue dressed as Santa and spraying bullets at random inside the Reina nightclub, one of the city’s most exclusive party spots, Dogan news agency said…

“Many party-goers threw themselves into the Bosphorus in panic after the attack and efforts were underway to rescue them from the waters, NTV television said. Dogan news agency reported that some witnesses claimed the attackers were ‘speaking Arabic’… The nightclub in the Ortakoy district of Istanbul is one of the most elite spots in the city, and getting inside past the bouncers who seek out only the best dressed is notoriously hard… Turkey has been hit by a string of attacks in recent months blamed on Kurdish militants and Islamic State jihadists.”

The New York Times added on December 31:

“… the attackers — initial reports said there had been as many as three — had fired on the police before heading inside the club. ‘One person first kills the police officer outside, and then a civilian,; the governor said. ‘Inside, he rained bullets brutally, mercilessly over innocent people…’ The club overlooks the Bosporus — which separates Europe and Asia… On the European side of Istanbul, the neighborhood is an international travel destination known for its food stalls and vibrant night life…”

Daily Mail wrote on January 1:

“The ‘ISIS killer’… is the prime suspect in Turkey nightclub attack after gunman screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he used a Kalashnikov to kill 39 people, including a female security guard … The unnamed man is described as being from Afghanistan, Chechnya or East Turkestan – a region of western China that is predominantly Muslim. Turkish intelligence services reportedly believe that he could be a member of the East Turkestan branch of ISIS but his exact nationality is still unknown.”

German Superstition on New Year’s Eve

The Local wrote on December 30 about German superstitious practices Germans engage in on New Year’s Eve:

“Bibelstechen, literally ‘bible poking’ involves opening up a random page of the Bible and reading a passage in it. You then discuss what that could mean for [the next year]… Swinging a pendulum will also give you clues about what will happen in the new year. If you ask a question and the pendulum swings clockwise, it means yes. If it swings counterclockwise, the answer is no… Das Gummibärenchen-Orakel involves picking five gummy bear sweets at random from a packet. The colour of the sweets gives an indication of the future. A red one will mean love, a yellow one wealth, hence the name, the gummy bear oracle… Bleigießen in German involves heating some lead and pouring the melted contents into cold water. The shape the lead forms will tell you what might happen in the New Year. A cross, for example could signify death… In German ‘Das Drehen um die eigene Achse’ will help you out if all the omens so far from Bibles and gummy bears have been bad. Spinning turns a bad omen into a good one.”

There are even more superstitious activities, such as fire crackers and fireworks at the time of New Year’s Eve. It was believed that between Christmas and January 6, the ghosts became active. When winter storms howled around the houses of the Germanic tribes, Wotan’s wild hunt was present—a frightening train of gods, demons and ghosts of the dead. These ghosts were driven away with big fires and cracks of whips. The cracks of whips changed with the invention of black powder to fireworks.

France Prohibits Spanking of Children

Breitbart wrote on January 3:

“The French parliament has passed a formal ban on spanking children, bringing the global total to 52 different countries where such corporal punishment in homes is against the law. The new law that went into effect for 2017 bans ‘any cruel, degrading or humiliating punishment, including any use of physical violence,’ including spanking in the home… Unsurprisingly, the first country to make spanking illegal was Sweden, in 1979, followed by Finland in 1983. The last to join the list before France in 2016 were Mongolia, Paraguay and Slovenia.

“The decision of the French parliament follows a symbolic reprimand by the Council of Europe in 2015 decrying France’s lack of a specific law ‘prohibiting corporal punishment in a clear, binding and precise way, including slaps and spankings, in breach of Article 17 of the European Charter of Social Rights.’ ‘To comply with Article 17, states’ domestic law must prohibit and penalize all forms of violence against children,’ the Charter states, and the relevant provisions ‘must be sufficiently clear, binding and precise, so as to preclude the courts from refusing to apply them to violence against children’…

“In February 2015, Pope Francis expressed his approval of parents who spank their kids, as long as it is carried out with respect for their dignity. His words drew a wave of reactions, both negative and positive, to the idea that corporal punishment is okay…

“Despite the extensive debate regarding the value or detriment of corporal punishment, few have questioned the more problematic aspect of a creeping intromission of the state in the lives of families and their choice of how to educate their children. The Catholic Church teaches that the state should not interfere with parents’ education of children except in grave and extraordinary circumstances. ‘Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators,’ Catholic doctrine states.”

The Catholic Church is absolutely correct on this point, while 52 different countries and the Council of Europe have it completely wrong. Human laws prohibiting spanking of children in any way are in opposition to the clear teaching of the Bible. At the same time, parents need to exercise great caution in this world which is ruled by Satan the devil. We state the following in our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families”:

“There is never a justification for physical abuse. On the other hand, to totally ban spanking and define it as physical abuse only shows how liberal and anti-biblical our Western society has become. This is of course the fruit of the anti-authoritarian education that has brought about a curse on our Western world. As parents, we must be aware, though, that in certain countries, spanking is illegal, and could result in the authorities coming in and taking away our children. And even in countries where spanking is not illegal, many governmental officials look at such practice with great disfavor. There have been cases where Social Workers in the United States tried to take away children from Christians, because the Christian parents believed and practiced—in moderation and with great love and care—biblically-endorsed spanking.

“Note what the Bible clearly teaches in regard to corporal punishment in Proverbs 13:24, ‘He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who LOVES him disciplines him promptly [or early].’ Since using the rod is compared with prompt or early discipline, it is clear that this passage includes the concept of spanking, where and when appropriate. Of course, we don’t spank a teenager or an adult, so the spanking needs to be done early in the life of the child. But note, again, we discipline our children, because we LOVE them. If we discipline our children for any other reason, or because of any other motive, we do NOT follow God’s instructions. Spanking should never cause physical injury to a child. The intent is to break a rebellious spirit, not to bruise skin…

“We have heard a lot about child neglect. But one kind of child neglect is seldom ever mentioned—the neglect to discipline the child, in LOVE, when the child deserves, and must have, discipline for his or her own good.”

Rwanda Bans Witchcraft From Soccer

Breitbart wrote on December 30:

“The Rwandan soccer federation has banned witchcraft in soccer matches following a crazy incident in a match earlier this month between Mukura Victory Sports and Rayon Sport. Rayon Sport striker Moussa Camara, whose team was losing 1-0, is seen in the video running over to the goal and grabbing an object before running off. The goalkeeper and other opposing players chased after Camara in a frenzy, later resulting in yellow cards being handed out. Minutes later, Camara scored a goal to tie it up.

“The Rwanda Football Federation will now start fining players and teams 500,000 Rwandan Francs, or roughly $600, if found guilty of using witchcraft.”

Even though it may be difficult to believe that these kinds of witchcraft activities will lead to scoring goals, we must not forget that demons are indeed ruling this world. If players are indeed guilty of witchcraft (as the video seems to suggest), they should be totally banned from playing soccer anywhere, until they deeply repent of their evil deeds. For true Christians, it is extremely important not to have anything to do with occult activities, including consulting mediums. God killed King Saul for engaging in witchcraft (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

Neanderthals Were Cannibals

The website of phys.org wrote on December 30:

“Deep in the caves of Goyet in Belgium researchers have found the grisly evidence that the Neanderthals did not just feast on horses or reindeer, but also on each other… The bones in Goyet date from when Neanderthals were nearing the end of their time on earth before being replaced by Homo sapiens, with whom they also interbred.

“Once regarded as primitive cavemen driven to extinction by smarter modern humans, studies have found that Neanderthals were actually sophisticated beings who took care of the bodies of the deceased and held burial rituals. But there is a growing body of proof that they also ate their dead.

“… an international team… has proved from the bones found at Goyet that the Neanderthals there were cannibals. The bones show traces of cutting… The Neanderthals ‘broke these bones in the same way that they broke those of the reindeer and horses found at the entrance of the cave, certainly to extract the marrow’…  ‘Some of these bones have also been used to make tools to touch up the edges of flints to re-sharpen them’…

“But the reasons for the cannibalism remain a mystery, as to the extent to which the Neanderthals ate their dead…”

We speak in great detail about the Neanderthals in our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.”

Insane Tunisian Terrorist Murdering 12 People in Germany Shot Dead by Italian Police

The Sun wrote on December 23:

“Rewind five years, and just days after arriving from the Tunisian post of Sfax trouble-maker Amri was involved in burning down a migrant shelter. His four-year spell in an Italian jail saw him radicalised by extremists who admired ISIS… The extent of Amri’s radicalisation was revealed with his callous killing of 12 innocent people at the German Christmas market on Monday. In a pledge of allegiance to terror group ISIS, he said: ‘My message to crusaders bombing Muslims everyday… Their blood will not go in vain…’

“The Tunisian terrorist screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ before being killed in a hail of bullets by a rookie cop during a dramatic Milan shoot-out. Amri was brought down by Italian police at 3am this morning after officers asked him to show his ID. He is believed to have slipped over the border from France by train…”

Italy was able to do what Germany was unable to accomplish.

Arrests in Terrorist Attack in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on December 24:

“Three people – including a nephew of the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack – have been arrested in Tunisia… According to a statement, the three suspects are part of a ‘terrorist cell… connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin.’ One of the Tunisian suspects is allegedly Amri’s nephew.”

Further Arrest in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on December 28:

“Berlin police made [an] arrest early on Wednesday after searching the home and business premises of a 40-year-old Tunisian man in the southern Berlin district of Tempelhof. Investigators were reportedly led to the alleged accomplice after finding his contact details in the phone belonging to the main suspect, Anis Amri…

“According to research by German broadcaster WDR, Amri was much better connected to the western German Ruhr region than previously thought. Since the end of 2015, he regularly commuted between Berlin and the Ruhr region where he is believed to have visited a dozen mosques. The 24-year-old Tunisian is also thought to have had particularly good contacts in Dortmund and to have possessed a key to a mosque where he stayed overnight.”

Subsequently, Deutsche Welle wrote on December 29:

“German police have released a man who had been detained over alleged ties to Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri. Authorities have said they will continue the search for accomplices in the deadly attack. The 40-year-old was allowed to walk free on Thursday, after German authorities determined that he was not a ‘possible contact person for Anis Amri,’ spokesman Frauke Köhler told reporters on Thursday.”

Again, another blunder by the German authorities in this sad saga.

Mad Murderer “Fits the Profile” and “Should Not Have Been in Germany in the First Place”

Breitbart wrote on December 23:

“A member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has said illegal migrants such as Christmas market attack suspect Anis Amri play the German asylum system and should not have been in the country in the first place.  MP for Berlin and CDU member Dr. Philipp Lengsfeld told BBC Radio 4’s Today audience that men like Amri ‘fits a profile’ that sceptics of Merkel’s Willkommenskultur (‘welcome culture’) have been discussing for some time…

“He then stated that following revelations of the suspect’s background that it was right to review Germany’s asylum policies – a suggestion backed by Merkel’s coalition partner and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Horst Seehofer… Dr. Lengsfeld is a member of the ‘Berlin Circle’ – a traditionalist group within Merkel’s CDU which wants to return the party to its conservative roots and roll back Merkel’s migrant policy.”

Angela Merkel’s migrant policy has failed miserably. It was a disaster in the making from the very outset.

Too Little and Far Too Late–Merkel Orders “Sweeping Review” of Germany’s Failed Security Apparatus

The Local wrote on December 23:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday ordered a sweeping review of Germany’s security apparatus, which has drawn withering criticism after a known jihadist killed 12 people in a Berlin Christmas market. Anger has mounted since it emerged chief suspect Tunisian Anis Amri, 24 – who was shot dead Friday by police in Milan – was a known radical Islamist and criminal who had long been under counter-terrorism surveillance on suspicion he was plotting an attack. Critics have also pointed to a two-day delay before authorities issued a public wanted notice for the fugitive, as well as the fact the rejected asylum seeker should have been deported long ago. Amid the fierce criticism, Merkel pledged a ‘comprehensive’ analysis of what went wrong…

“Politicians and newspapers have deplored the fact that Amri had slipped through the net of security services, who knew he had been in contact with Islamist ‘hate preachers’ and, according to news weekly Der Spiegel, that he had offered himself for a suicide mission. German police had monitored Amri since March but dropped the surveillance in September thinking he was primarily… a small-time drug dealer.

“Anger has also focused on the investigation since Monday’s truck attack. After following an initial false lead, police only found Amri’s identity papers in the lorry’s cabin a day after the attack, and authorities took another day before issuing a Europe-wide public wanted notice. Merkel – already under fire from right-wing populists over her liberal migrant policies – can now expect the security debate to heat up ahead of an election expected in September. Berlin’s B.Z. tabloid charged in a blistering headline this week: ‘They knew him. They did nothing.’

“Conservative lawmaker Stephan Mayer said the case ‘held up a magnifying glass’ to the failings of Merkel’s migration policy, and Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democrats opposition party, charged that ‘catastrophic mistakes’ had been made. Peter Neumann, professor of security studies at the King’s College, pointed to ‘a systemic failure’…

“Criticism has also focused on Germany’s over-burdened asylum and immigration services. Amri’s asylum request was denied in June but because Tunisia refused to take him back, denying he was a citizen, he was issued a stay of deportation paper — the document that police found in the mangled truck cabin. The new Tunisian travel document only arrived on Wednesday, two days after the attack.

“Germany has repeatedly accused Tunisia and other north African states of stalling on the repatriation of their nationals. A law to designate Tunisia, as well as Morocco and Algeria, as ‘safe countries of origin’, to raise the bar for asylum requests, has been held up for months in Germany’s upper house, over human rights concerns in the North African countries.”

Germany will soon institute sweeping changes… but in all probability, not under the weak leadership of Angela Merkel and her incompetent subordinate ministers. It is by no means certain that she will be re-elected in 2017. Germany is being prepared for a strong male personage to lead… and such a person WILL arrive soon.

Huge Support for German Anti-Migration Party AfD

Daily Mail wrote on December 23:

“Support for Germany’s anti-migration AfD party soared to a one-year high of more than 15 percent in the wake of the Berlin truck attack… Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats lost 1.5 points to hit 31.5 percent while the Social Democrats, junior partners in the ruling coalition, ceded one point to 20.5 percent…

“In the immediate aftermath of the Berlin attack, the AfD blamed Merkel’s liberal border policy, under which more than one million asylum seekers entered the country since 2015, for posing a serious security threat to the country. One party official, Marcus Pretzell, even called the victims ‘Merkel’s dead’, in a tweet later criticised by the AfD leadership…

“On Wednesday, a senior German politician has blamed the Christmas terror attacks on ‘institutional political correctness’, arguing that the suspect – a known ISIS fanatic who was on a deportation list – would not have been free to act if police had enforced the law…

“Hugh Theodore Bronson, the deputy leader of the Alternative For Deutschland party (AfD), said that German deportation law was ignored because the authorities were afraid of offending Muslims. Referring to the fact that the prime suspect, Anis Amri, had been arrested three times in Germany and was a known ISIS fanatic with weapons training who was due to be deported, Bronson added: ‘There is a refusal by the authorities to implement German law…”

Not everything which is being said by AfD is incorrect propaganda.

Was “Political Correctness” Reason for Germany’s Failed Pursuit of Terrorist?

Breitbart wrote on December 24:

“German police and judiciary have accused Hamburg Justice Minister [and Green party politician] Till Steffen of delaying the release of pictures of the Christmas market attacker Anis Amri because he was worried about provoking ‘racist’ comments on Facebook… Steffen cited ‘privacy concerns’ when he initially prevented law enforcers from releasing pictures of Anis Amri. However, it has been claimed by members of the judiciary and the police that Steffen… denied the release of images of Amri because he was concerned it would incite racial hatred. It is alleged that he only released images after a 12-hour delay following a call from German newspaper Bild.

“Joachim Lenders, Hamburg’s chief of police, told Bild: ‘It is incomprehensible to throw such a spanner in the works of investigators. Steffen is incompetent.’ Parliamentary leader André Trepoll, who is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, called ‘Scandalsenator’ Steffen a ‘security risk’ for delaying the search for the world’s most wanted man…

“CDU judiciary spokesman Richard Seelmaeker called for a special meeting of the Justice Committee, stressing: ‘Anis Amri allegedly murdered twelve people, but instead of using all means necessary to search for him, Hamburg’s green justice senator was more concerned about the state of comments in a Facebook post – which hindered our police… If the allegations against Steffen are proven true, he can no longer hold the position of senator,’ the CDU judicial expert added.

“Calls for his resignation were also made by the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Dirk Nockemann, the party’s spokesman, said: ‘It is an incredible and scandalous process … [Steffen’s] concerns are unstable and far-fetched.’”

Austria’s Cardinal Christoph Schönborn Changes His View on the Migrant Crisis

Express wrote on December 25:

“Cardinal Christoph Schönborn [Archbishop of Vienna, Austria] said he had come to ‘rethink’ his stance on the migrant crisis… The Cardinal, who is tipped as a possible future leader of the Roman Catholic church, said he was no longer convinced that Europe should accept all arrivals… He said: ‘We have had to learn, this [crisis] goes well beyond our capacity and ability… Our country is worried”.

“… Cardinal Schönborn is something of a controversial figure within the church… In his homily at St Stephen’s Cathedral on September 11 he said: ‘Will there be a third Islamic attempt to conquer Europe? Many Muslims think this and wish this and say that Europe is at its end.’

“Cardinal Schönborn later clarified: ‘Europe’s Christian legacy is in danger, because we Europeans have squandered it. That has absolutely nothing to do with Islam nor with the refugees. It is clear that many Islamists would like to take advantage of our weakness, but they are not responsible for it. We are.’

“Cardinal Schönborn, who has a large amount of support from conservative elements within the church was originally a student of Joseph Ratzinger (aka Pope Benedict XVI) at the University of Regensberg and later became the co-editor with the future Pope Benedict XVI of the landmark Catechism of the Catholic Church commissioned by Pope St. John Paul II.”

Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn Meets with Austria’s Heinz-Christian Strache

The Independent wrote on December 21:

“Heinz-Christian Strache says he met General Michael Flynn ‘and other high-ranking US politicians’… at New York’s Trump Tower. Describing them as ‘friends’, he said they had discussed Mr Trump’s presidential victory.  Mr Strache, whose Freedom party was defeated in a rerun of the Austrian presidential election earlier this month, also announced he had signed a cooperation agreement Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.  They agreed to ‘contribute to the expansion of the partnership between the two parties and countries, including in matters of international security, migration crisis, economic and human development, supporting traditional values and protecting the environment’, the party said in a statement on its website.

“Mr Strache said: ‘The Freedom party is continuing to win political influence. A collaboration between the US and Russia is particularly important for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Syria and in the Crimea’. He also called the economic sanctions imposed on Russia after the July 2104 downing of the MH17 flight over the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, ‘ultimately useless’. ‘Politics has to serve the people and not be used for geopolitical power games’, he continued…”

USA’s “Complicity in the Aleppo Tragedy”

Newsmax wrote on December 23:

“John McCain again ripped into President Barack Obama’s inaction on Syria, this time writing an opinion piece for The Washington Post saying that the president ‘has borne witness to all of this and done nothing to stop it.’ The Arizona senator’s op-ed echoes many of the same sentiments and phrasing from a statement he and Sen. Lindsey Graham released nearly two weeks ago when Aleppo was falling to the Syrian military. Now that Aleppo has fallen, McCain is driving home the message that the United States had a hand in it all. ‘As we eulogize the dead of Aleppo, we must acknowledge the United States’ complicity in this tragedy,’ McCain wrote.

“Worse, McCain says Obama’s strategy of inaction and watching from afar threatens our homeland. ‘We must acknowledge that we have a stake in what happens in Syria. It is not just about the suffering of others, as moving as that is. It is about the national security of the United States,’ McCain wrote. ‘We do not need to become the world’s policeman to defend our interests. But we cannot wall ourselves off from the chaos of our dangerous world. And if we try, the instability, terror and destruction at the heart of that chaos will eventually make their way to our shores,’ McCain concluded.”

Even though John McCain addressed the failed policy of President Obama, his criticism would likewise apply to the intentions of President-elect Donald Trump to withdraw from American involvement on the world scene.

New Nuclear Arms Race between USA, Russia and China?

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 23:

“US President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday he would welcome an international nuclear arms race in an interview with broadcaster MSNBC. The network had asked Trump to elaborate on comments made a few days earlier on Twitter, wherein the president-elect promoted nuclear proliferation.

“Trump wrote that the US ‘must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.’… The comment on Twitter set shares in uranium production firms surging and caused a great deal of alarm amongst non-proliferation experts. When MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski asked Trump for details during a telephone call, he responded ‘let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.’

“Trump did not say who ‘them’ could be, but his original comment came on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow should also boost its nuclear arsenal… The president-elect’s spokesman Sean Spicer… implied that [‘them’ or] ‘other countries’ meant Russia and China… The United States has a stockpile of some 6,970 nuclear warheads, and Russia 7,300. The two nations began to cut down on nuclear spending in the 1970s…”

The idea that peace can be established through a nuclear arms race is erroneous. The Bible predicts a nuclear war in the not-too-distant future, and the USA will NOT prevail in that coming war, which will threaten the very survival of mankind.

Russian Plane Crashes Into Black Sea, Killing 92 People—Terrorism Not Excluded

The Associated Press reported on December 25:

“Backed by ships, helicopters and drones, Russian rescue teams searched for victims in the Black Sea after a Russian plane carrying 92 people to Syria crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff from Sochi. Investigators said they are looking into every possible cause for the crash, including a terror attack. All 84 passengers and eight crew members on board the Tu-154 plane operated by the Russian military are believed to have died when it fell into the sea two minutes after taking off in good weather from the southern Russian city…

“Asked if a terror attack was a possibility, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in Sochi that investigators were looking into every possible reason.

“The plane belonged to the Defense Ministry and was taking its world famous army choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, to a New Year’s concert at Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia. Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones. Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare Monday a nationwide day of mourning…

“The plane that crashed was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and earlier this year, according to the Defense Ministry… Some experts noted that the crew’s failure to report a malfunction pointed at a possible terror attack…

“Russian planes have been brought down previously by terror attacks. In October 2015, a Russian passenger plane carrying mostly Russian tourists back from vacation in Egypt was brought down by a bomb over the Sinai, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the explosive device was planted in the plane’s luggage compartment. The local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

“In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up in the skies over Russia by suicide bombers, killing 89 people. A Chechen warlord claimed responsibility for the twin attacks, which happened on the same day…”

Deutsche Welle reported on December 29:

“Based on the available evidence, the authorities ruled out a midair blast as the cause of the crash. ‘There was no explosion on board, I can say that for certain,’ said General Sergey Bainetov, head of flight safety for the Russian air force. ‘But an act of terror does not necessarily mean an explosion, there might be other causes. That is why we are not discarding this version of events.’”

Putin to US Democrats: “You Lost. Get Over It.” Relationship between Russia and USA “Can’t Get Any Worse.”

The Washington Post wrote on December 23:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has a message for the White House and Democratic leaders who accuse him of stealing their candidate’s victory: Don’t be sore losers. That was how Putin answered a question Friday at his nationally televised annual news conference about whether Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. The Democrats ‘are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to blame,’ he told the nearly 1,400… ‘In my view this, how shall I say it, degrades their own dignity. You have to know how to lose with dignity.’

“The Kremlin leader — who also sent an upbeat letter to Trump last week that the president-elect revealed Friday — pointed out that Republicans had won the House and Senate, as well. ‘Did we do that, too?’ he said with a slight grin… ‘Outstanding figures in American history from the ranks of the Democratic Party would likely be turning in their graves. Roosevelt certainly would be,’ Putin told the journalists… ‘Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him,’ Putin said…

“The Russian leader has repeatedly denied involvement in the U.S. election despite the accusations from the White House, and the Kremlin has questioned the evidence for the U.S. claims… Putin also reiterated at the news conference his interest in better ties with the United States after the inauguration of Trump, who, during the campaign, espoused positions favorable to Russia, including joining forces to fight terrorism and considering whether to recognize Russia’s annexation of Ukraine.

“The Russian president played down the significance of Trump’s tweet Thursday calling for the United States to expand its nuclear arsenal, calling it ‘nothing unusual’ and saying that Moscow did not intend to pursue an arms race ‘that we can’t afford.’ Putin did say that Russia was modernizing its nuclear strike capability, which he said, would enable it to overpower any missile defenses that the United States is developing. Russia, he said, ‘will be stronger than any aggressor.’

“Putin moved back the news conference a day to attend the funeral of his slain ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, who was shot dead in public by a man shouting slogans about the war in Syria.  Since the assassination, Moscow and Ankara have made a show of their willingness to work together and, along with Iran, bring a settlement to Syria… The Russia-Turkey-Iran troika met in Moscow on Tuesday. The United States’ absence was a sign not only of the stalemate of U.S.-Russian talks over Syria, but also of the bad blood in the relationship as a whole. ‘Mr Trump did, after all, say during the election campaign that he thought it right to normalize U.S.-Russia links and said it would not get worse,’ Putin said. ‘Because they cannot get any worse, I agree with him on that. We’ll think together about how to make the situation better.’ Someone asked whether Putin would accept an invitation from Trump to the United States. ‘Of course, I will, if he invites me,’ Putin said.”

Much of what Vladimir Putin said— especially regarding the White House and the Democrats—is not without merit. However, the relationship between the USA and Russia CAN get worse, but the truth is, that no big wars will break out between Russia and the USA. Rather, we will see devastating wars between Europe and Russia; as well as between Europe and the USA.

USA “Retaliates” Against Russia

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 29:

“The United States announced on Thursday that two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York, used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related activities, will be closed. Access to the compounds will be denied to all Russian diplomats as of noon on Friday, ‘The New York Times’ reported.

“The State Department also declared 35 Russian intelligence operatives ‘persona non grata,’ meaning they must leave the country.

“Washington has accused the Russian military’s Main Intelligence Directorate

(GRU) of hacking information with the intent to interfere with the US election – along with help from the Federal Security Service (FSB)…

‘US President Barack Obama said he implemented the sanctions in response to the Russian government’s ‘aggressive harassment of US officials and cyber operations’ aimed at last month’s US election… The president added, however, that the actions were ‘not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities.’…

‘Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaled that Moscow was now considering retaliatory measures against the US…

“With Trump due to take office on January 20, Obama’s move puts the president-elect in the position of having to decide whether to retract the measures once sworn in as president…”

Reuters added on December 29:

“Trump said in October he would ‘cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama’ on his first day in office, without saying who would determine their constitutionality.”

“Obama Backstabs Israel”

With this headline, the Drudge Report introduced the Obama Administration’s decision to abstain from, rather than veto, a Resolution by the Security Council, condemning Israeli settlements.

JTA wrote on December 23:

“The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution condemning Israeli settlements, with the United States abstaining. The resolution was adopted Friday afternoon with 14 votes in favor and only the U.S. abstention…

“Israel was defiant in its reaction to the resolution and the U.S. vote. ‘Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms,’ a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. ‘At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall “occupied territory.” The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes’…

“Speaking to the Security Council, Israel’s U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, described the resolution as ‘evil’ and likened it to condemning Americans for building in Washington or the French for building in Paris. ‘This resolution today will be added to the long and shameful list of anti-Israel U.N. resolutions,’ Danon said. ‘Instead of charting a course forward,  you are sending a message to the Palestinians that they should continue on the path of terrorism…’

“The resolution was introduced by New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal… On Facebook, Trump wrote that the resolution was ‘extremely unfair.’…

“Several U.S. lawmakers also criticized the American abstention. Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nita Lowey, both New York Democrats, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., all issued statements criticizing the Obama administration. ‘It is extremely frustrating, disappointing and confounding that the Administration has failed to veto this resolution,’ said Schumer, the incoming Senate minority leader. ‘Whatever one’s views are on settlements, the U.N. is the wrong forum to settle these issues.’…

“The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish community’s foreign policy umbrella group, issued a scathing denunciation of the resolution and the American vote. ‘There is no justification or explanation that validates the United States failure to veto the one-sided, offensive resolution adopted by the Security Council today,’ said a statement attributed from the Presidents Conference chairman, Stephen Greenberg, and its executive vice chairman, Malcolm Hoenlein. ‘The United States vote will be seen as a betrayal of the fundamentals of the special relationship that will nevertheless continue to mark the close ties between the peoples of the two countries’…”

Further Harsh Condemnation for President Obama

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 23:

“The Palestinian Presidency… commented that the UN vote amounted to a ‘big blow’ to Israel. Trump meanwhile only said that upon his inauguration, ‘things will be different’ in US-UN relations… the resolution is reportedly near-impossible for the Trump administration to reverse…

“The resolution, initially circulated by Egypt, was originally going to be discussed the previous day but then faced an indefinite postponement, after US President-elect Donald Trump reportedly intervened and spoke to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Egypt represents all Arab states on the Security Council…

“US Senator John McCain commented that the US’ abstention from the vote made the US ‘complicit in this outrageous attack against Israel.’…

“An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency that outgoing US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were ‘behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN… President Obama could declare his willingness to veto this resolution in an instant but instead is pushing it,’ the official said, calling it an ‘abandonment’ of the Jewish state, ‘which breaks decades of US policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace… The US administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel’s back which would be a tail wind for terror and boycotts and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory,’ the same official told the Associated Press news agency.”

President Obama Under Increasing Attack for Betrayal of Israel

Newsmax wrote on December 23 and 24 in a series of related articles:

“… former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton… thinks President Barack Obama took the action to ‘box the incoming Trump administration in.’ ‘This was a stab in the back against the Israelis,’ Bolton [said]. ‘It was entirely predictable. I would say this for people in the pro-Israel community in the United States who defended Obama’s Middle East policy over these last eight years: You should have seen this coming and this is what you get for supporting Barack Obama’… Further, Bolton said, the consequences of the resolution will be felt for many years in negative ways for both Israel and the United States… ‘I do think, contrary to what Obama says, this is the death now of the two-state solution,” Bolton said… Bolton continued that he’d recommend that Trump call the resolution ‘illegitimate’ and say the United States will try to repeal it, and if that fails, cut the U.S. contribution to the UN.’…

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee… slammed President Barack Obama Friday…  ‘I’m so outraged I can’t even hardly contain myself,’ the former Republican candidate [said]… He added that when President-elect Donald Trump takes over the White House next month, ‘the first thing he does I hope is send some jackhammers over to the Turtle Bay neighborhood in Manhattan and jack-knife the United Nations off into the river… When people use the term ‘settlements,’ they may think of the Israelis building a bunch of tents and mobile homes… These settlements are communities and neighborhoods with schools and synagogues and shops and permanent structures, where people live and raise their families. And Judea and Samaria belong to Israel. Obama is saying that the Western Wall ought to be part of territory that’s given back,’ he continued. ‘This is insane — so beyond anything that we’ve seen in 40 years. It’s just stunning’. Huckabee, who has long attacked the United Nations for its anti-Israel policies, joined several congressional Republicans in calling for an end to federal financial support for the organization ‘if they’re going to do stupid and frankly idiotic things that are hurtful to any hope of peace…’”

“Conservatives Friday ripped the U.N. Security Council for condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — and the Obama administration’s abstention from the unanimous vote — with Sen. Lindsey Graham threatening to cut funding to the United Nations. ‘This provocative action by the United Nations is an outrage and must be dealt with sternly and forcefully,’ said the South Carolina Republican, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees funding to the organization. ‘The United States is currently responsible for approximately 22 percent of the United Nations total budget. The Obama-Kerry foreign policy has gone from naïve and foolish to flat-out reckless,’ he added…

“Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he supported Graham’s call to strip the U.N. of federal funding ‘and reconsider aid to countries if they fail to join our opposition.’

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the abstention was ‘a failure of leadership and judgment’ by President Barack Obama. ‘It is highly regrettable that one of President Obama’s last actions in office was again to abandon our ally Israel,’ the Kentucky Republican said.

“House Speaker Paul Ryan called the vote ‘absolutely shameful.’ ‘Today’s vote is a blow to peace that sets a dangerous precedent for further diplomatic efforts to isolate and demonize Israel,’ the Wisconsin congressman said…

“Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton declared that Obama was ‘personally responsible for this anti-Israel resolution. ‘His diplomats secretly coordinated the vote, yet he doesn’t even have the courage of his own convictions to vote for it,’ the first-term GOP member said. ‘This cowardly, disgraceful action cements President Obama’s richly deserved legacy as the most anti-Israel president in American history.’…

“Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, called the abstention ‘an act of utter cowardice. ‘This dramatic shift in U.S. policy leaves our strongest ally in the region vulnerable,’ he said. ‘To make matters worse, this cowardly act — under the cover of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays — comes when the fallout will be left to the incoming administration.’

“Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said that ‘the actions of the Obama administration will forever be remembered as a dark, shameful moment for our country…’”

No Love Left Between Obama and Netanyahu

Times of Israel wrote on December 23:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at US President Barack Obama Friday, accusing him of actively working against Israel at the UN — seemingly abandoning all pretense of diplomatic cautiousness after a US abstention at the Security Council led to the passage of a resolution against settlements…

“Netanyahu said he would immediately call back Israel’s ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal — two sponsors of Friday evening’s resolution — for consultations. He also said a planned official visit by Senegal’s foreign minister next month would be cancelled and all Israeli aid programs in Senegal would be halted. Israeli officials reacted with disappointment and anger to Washington’s failure to veto the resolution.

“… cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi said the US vote also ‘spits in the face’ of incoming president Donald Trump…”

Whether or not the Obama Administration actively collaborated with the instigators of the Security Council resolution, their decision not to veto the resolution is indeed a shameful and well-calculated attempt to not only backstab Israel during the remaining days of Barack Obama’s failed Presidency, but it is also clearly designed at preventing President-elect Donald Trump from establishing a more friendly and productive relationship with Israel.  

Israel to Re-Assess Its Ties to UN—Stops Funding to Five UN Institutions

Deutsche Welle reported on December 24:

“Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday… ‘I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel,’ Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks. ‘I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel … and there is more to come,’ he said.”

Israel Summons Ambassadors

Reuters reported on December 25:

“Israel summoned the ambassadors of 10 nations to Jerusalem to reprimand them on Sunday… Ambassadors from 10 of the 14 countries that voted in favor of the resolution and have embassies in Israel – Britain, China, Russia, France, Egypt, Japan, Uruguay, Spain, Ukraine and New Zealand – were summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, the ministry said. Sunday is a regular work day in Israel, but most embassies are closed, and calling in envoys on Christmas Day is highly unusual.”

The Jerusalem Post stressed that Netanyahu summoned the US ambassador as well.

Why an American Veto Would Have Been Critical

The Guardian wrote on December 23:

“The resolution says Israel’s settlements on Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have ‘no legal validity’ and demands a halt to ‘all Israeli settlement activities’… The resolution reiterated that Israeli settlement was a ‘flagrant violation’ of international law… A resolution requires nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, France, Russia, Britain or China in order to be adopted…

“While the resolution is largely symbolic in some senses, it will be seen as empowering an increasingly tough EU over Israel and will give pause to international companies who have interests in the occupied territories…

“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), one of the most influential lobby groups, said it was ‘deeply disturbed by the failure of the Obama administration to exercise its veto to prevent a destructive, one-sided, anti-Israel resolution from being enacted by the United Nations security council’. It also pointedly thanked Trump for his attempts to intervene: ‘AIPAC expresses its appreciation to president-elect Trump and the many Democratic and Republican members of Congress who urged a veto of this resolution.’ …

“About 430,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state. The resolution demands that ‘Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem’.”

As can be seen, a veto by the USA would have prevented the resolution from being adopted. With the American abstention, the Obama Administration voted in effect FOR the resolution. This can only be viewed as a betrayal of Israel and of Israel’s position of Jerusalem as its eternal capital.

Impossible to Reverse?

The Independent wrote on December 23:

“The Israeli Prime Minister said his administration was looking forward to working with Donald Trump to negate Friday’s resolution…

“Given the world’s widespread opposition to settlements, the action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Mr Trump, to reverse. Nevertheless, the president-elect vowed via Twitter: ‘As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th.'”

Germany Supports Anti-Israel Resolution

Bild Online reported on December 25 that Frank-Walter Steinmeier, “currently Minister for Foreign Affairs and probably soon the next President,” supported the text of the “anti-Israel” resolution. In its article, Bild asked whether Israel was being forsaken by their friends. Bild continued that Steinmeier sided with autocratic countries which voted for the resolution, including Russia, China, Egypt and Venezuela.

Bild strongly disagreed with Steinmeier who “did not even say a word about the anti-Israel content.” The paper also pointed out that the resolution does not bring any solution; and ignores the historic relationship between the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the Jewish people. The tabloid referred to “the Western Wall of the Temple as the most holy site which was destroyed in 70 AD,” explaining that Israel will never allow that it will fall into the hands of Palestinians who want it to become a part of East Jerusalem as their capital.

Sadly, the German position is in line with most countries which are antagonistic against and hostile towards Israel. The Bible prophecies that Israel will indeed be forsaken by their “friends”—many of whom were never real friends to begin with.

Further Incredible Attacks by John Kerry: Israel Cannot Be Jewish and a Democracy at the Same Time

Grabien.com wrote on December 28:

“Secretary of State John Kerry declared Wednesday that Israel ‘can either be Jewish or democratic’ but ‘it cannot be both.’ “Here’s a transcript: ‘The truth is that trends on the ground, violence, terrorism, settlement expansion and the seemingly endless occupation, they are combining to destroy hopes for peace on both sides and increasingly cementing any reversible — an irreversible one state reality that most people do not actually want.

“‘Today, there are a similar number of Jews and Palestinians living between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea. They have a choice. They can choose to live together in one state or they can separate into two states. But here is a fundamental reality. If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic. It cannot be both. And it won’t ever really be at peace. Moreover, the Palestinians will never fully realize their vast potential in a homeland of their own with a one state solution.”

One wonders what the international reaction and outrage would have been, if a German politician would have dared to make comments like these.

Breitbart added the following:

“Kerry complained about Netanyahu’s democratically-elected government — which the Obama administration did its best to defeat in 2015 by using American taxpayers’ money to fund left-wing political efforts during the Israeli election — ‘His current coalition is the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.’”

The Kerry Backlash

The Washington Post wrote on December 29:

‘Secretary of State John Kerry set off a firestorm in the United States and Israel… It will be hard to argue that [UN] resolution and Kerry speech did anything but make matters worse and diminish the United States in the region… Indeed, the resolution and Kerry’s speech seemed more designed to blame Israel for the Obama administration’s disastrous Middle East policy than to prompt a return to the ‘peace process’…

“All of this will cement President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to move the embassy and increase chances he will cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority and maybe even the U.N. Like the rest of the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is much more volatile and further from a peaceful resolution than it was at the start of the Obama presidency.”

Trust in God

Breitbart wrote on December 29:

“The Times of Israel reports: The US has forsaken Israel, and the Jewish state can now place its trust only in God, Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said Wednesday, as Jerusalem and Washington continued to face off over Friday’s United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

“‘Sometimes, we need to be reminded from above that we can count on no one but our Father who art in heaven,’ Yosef told followers at the Western Wall. ‘Even America forsook us last week at the UN.’

“He added: ‘We mustn’t forget that the hearts of kings and captains are in the hands of the Lord, and we can count on no one but (the Lord).’”

Trump Attacks Obama

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 28:

“[US Secretary of State John Kerry’s public] remarks come just weeks before the Obama administration hands over power to President-elect Donald Trump, who on Wednesday reiterated his support for Israel over the settlement issue… Kerry warned that expanding settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem was leading to an ‘irreversible one-state reality’… On Wednesday, despite attempts to delay a local housing committee from approving plans to build 492 new homes in annexed East Jerusalem, the construction was later given the go-ahead, a local non-profit organization said.

“For his part in a worsening row, Trump took to Twitter ahead of Kerry’s speech on Wednesday to say: ‘Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!’ referring to his upcoming inauguration. The billionaire businessman said Obama had treated Israel with ‘total disdain and disrespect,’ adding that ‘They used to have a great friend in the US, but not anymore.’

“… Trump’s incoming ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, opposes a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian situation and has publicly stated that Israel’s settlement activity is not illegal, in his opinion.”

Trump also twittered this: “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!”

This was so predictable, and it will become even more contentious.

The Temple Will Be Built on the Temple Mount

Israel National News reported on December 25:

“Ne’emanei Har Habayit activists lit a Hanukkah menorah outside the Old City of Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate on Sunday morning, in response to the United Nations Security Council’s latest anti-Israel resolution. Ne’emanei Har Habayit is a group of activists dedicated to preserving the Temple Mount’s Jewish identity. The name literally means ‘the Temple Mount’s faithful.’

“During the ceremony, Ne’emanei Har Habayit CEO Gershon Salomon said, ‘Today, we send a message to the Jewish nation and to the entire world – especially to the ‘Oom Shmoom’ (UN – ed.). The Temple Mount belongs to us for eternity. Jerusalem belongs to us, and only to us. We will not move from this spot, ever… I am optimistic regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration, but the final decision will be made by Israel, not by the US, Rome, or Paris. Israel’s fate will be decided in Jerusalem, and on the Temple Mount we will build the Third Temple, right under the noses of world leaders,’ Salomon emphasized.”

Jerusalem Eternal Capital City of Israel

The Jewish Press wrote on December 27:

“President Reuven Rivlin [stated on Tuesday:] ‘United Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel and it will remain so. There is no international body with the power to revoke this. And as sovereigns of the city, I stand here today to repeat in the clearest way: the State of Israel is deeply committed to ensure the religious rights of all faith communities in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.’”

Christmas Tree Controversy in Israel

JTA wrote on December 21:

“Rabbinic officials in Jerusalem and northern Israel recently issued separate statements saying that displays of Christmas trees are against Jewish law… ‘As the secular year ends, we want to remind you that erecting a Christmas tree in a hotel contravenes halacha and that therefore it is clear that no one should erect [a tree] in a hotel,’ Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar wrote to hotel managers. The letter also said it was ‘appropriate to avoid hosting’ New Year’s parties, reminding hotel managers that the New Year is properly observed at the beginning of the Jewish calendar.

“A day earlier, the rabbi of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, a prestigious public science and engineering university in Haifa, forbade students from entering the student union on campus because of the presence of a Christmas tree in the building. ‘The Christmas tree is a religious symbol — not Christian, but even more problematic — pagan,’ Rabbi Elad Dokow wrote in a Q&A on the religious Srugim website. ‘Halacha clearly states that whenever it is possible to circumvent and not pass through a place where there is any kind of idolatry, this must be done. So one should not enter the student union if it’s not necessary to do so… This is the world’s only Jewish state. And it has a role to be a “light unto the nations” and not to uncritically embrace every idea.’ Dokow compared the Christmas tree’s display to… allowing a Spanish food festival that ‘prominently featured pork.’…

“The Chief Rabbinate — the highest Jewish authority in Israel and overseer of the Jerusalem Rabbinate — last year offered some protection to displayers of Christmas trees. Under threat of a petition to the Supreme Court, the Chief Rabbinate issued guidelines stating that its kashrut inspectors could not revoke the kosher certifications of hotels over the trees or Shabbat violations. The Technion responded to its Christmas tree controversy with a statement saying that Rabbi Dokow’s words ‘expressed his personal opinion and not that of the Technion’….

“Knesset member Yousef Jabareen of the Joint List of Arab political parties accused Dokow of incitement… ‘These statements contain clear incitement to racism, in violation of the law, and therefore also constitute a serious criminal offense,’ the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. According to Haaretz, Technion student Peter Hana said ‘an absolute majority of students, as well as management and the dean,’ supported the Christmas tree, and ‘only a handful of students and the rabbi himself chose to come out against it.’”

It is of course pharisaical to forbid entering a building because of the presence of a Christmas tree. At the same time, the Christmas tree IS of pagan origin and neither Christians nor Jews should display it.

 “5,000-Year-Old Nativity Scene Found in Egypt”

As linked by the Drudge Report, Seeker.com wrote on December 22:

“Italian researchers have discovered what might be the oldest nativity scene ever found — 5,000-year-old rock art that depicts a star in the east, a newborn between parents and two animals… ‘It’s a very evocative scene which indeed resembles the Christmas nativity. But it predates it by some 3,000 years,’ geologist Marco Morelli, director of the Museum of Planetary Sciences in Prato, near Florence, Italy, told Seeker.

“Morelli found the cave drawing in 2005, but only now his team has decided to reveal the amazing find… He noted the newborn is drawn slightly above, as if raising to the sky. Such position, with the baby not yet between the parents, would have meant a birth or a pregnancy… The scene becomes more symbolically complex if the other figures, two animals and a small circular feature, are taken into consideration. On the upper part is a headless lion, a mythical beast which appears in several rock art drawings from the same area, while below in the scene a baboon or an anthropomorphic monkey can be seen. In the east, the Neolithic artist [has] drawn what appears to be star.

“The researchers called the site the ‘Cave of the Parents.’ ‘No doubt it’s an intriguing drawing,’ Morelli said. ‘We didn’t find similar scenes until the early Christian age.’”

This find sheds some light on the pagan concepts associated with the birth of Christ. For more information, please listen to our sermon, “The REAL Christmas Story.”

Public Hanukkah Events in Europe to ‘Drive Out Darkness’

JTA wrote on December 22:

“Before Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Rabbi Yehudah Teichtal had planned to invite hundreds of people to the traditional lighting of the first Hanukkah candle at a large menorah erected at the city’s Brandenburg Gate monument. But he decided to change his original plan following the attack… And so, ‘Instead of one public lighting this Hanukkah, we’re going to have one on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah,’ Teichtal, a Chabad rabbi who is part of the Jewish community in Berlin, told JTA on Thursday. ‘It’s our way of driving out the darkness that is terrorism.’

“Teichtal’s determination is shared by rabbis across Europe, including France and the Netherlands, who speak of upholding and celebrating the relatively new tradition of public lightings of menorahs. Some Jewish leaders say that celebrating Hanukkah at central locales in European capitals and cities is considered an appropriate, uplifting Jewish response to the wave of Islamist terrorism hitting the continent…

“Separately, the Jewish community of the Netherlands is preparing to co-host, together with Christian Zionists from the Christians for Israel organization, a public lighting in The Hague of what organizers say is the largest Hanukkah menorah in Europe. Christian Zionists built the menorah in 2013 as a gift for the country’s Jewish community… Hanukkah, a holiday celebrating the defiance of Jews during the Maccabean revolt against the Syrian Greek army, is especially appropriate for such demonstrations…”

Sadly, these displays will do little, if anything, to drive out the darkness of terrorism or other ungodly conduct.

How Nuclear Wars Could Start

The Guardian wrote on December 25:

“A fake news story has touched off a Twitter confrontation between nuclear powers Pakistan and Israel. The exchange took place following the publication of a fake story headlined ‘Israeli Defense Minister: If Pakistan send ground troops to Syria on any pretext, we will destroy this country with a nuclear attack’. The story appeared on 20 December on the site AWD News.

“In an apparent response to the story, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif sent a warning to Israel on Twitter that ‘Pakistan is a nuclear state too.’ Israel’s defense ministry tweeted back on Saturday, saying the original story was ‘totally fictitious.’ AWD has been identified by fact-checking organisations as a fake news site.

“Israel maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying the existence of an arsenal but is widely believed to have its own nuclear weapons. Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998. The countries have no diplomatic ties. There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan to Israel’s response…”

Americans Admire Obama and Hillary Clinton the Most

Newsmax wrote on December 28:

“President Obama beat Donald Trump as the most admired man in 2016, a new Gallup poll shows. Twenty-two percent of those polled listed Obama as the most admired man, while Trump came in second with 15 percent… Here’s how the poll breaks down: Pope Francis (4 percent); Bernie Sanders (2 percent) and the Rev. Billy Graham (1) percent round out the top five admired men…

“Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman for the 21st time with 12 percent; Michelle Obama was second with 8 percent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (3 percent); Oprah Winfrey (3 percent) and Ellen DeGeneres (2 percent) complete the top five.”

One may have to wonder whether Americans have lost it completely, if these results are true.

Uncertainty and Fear Continue for 2017

The Guardian wrote on December 24:

“Britain’s Christian leaders are focusing their Christmas messages on uncertainty, anxiety and fear at the end of a tumultuous year on the global stage… Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales… quoted WB Yeats’s 1919 poem, The Second Coming: ‘Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.’…

“In the last week Prince Charles has also spoken about disturbing trends in 2016. ‘We are now seeing the rise of many populist groups across the world that are increasingly aggressive to those who adhere to a minority faith. All of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s,’ the prince said…  ‘We owe it to those who suffered and died so horribly not to repeat the horrors of the past.’”

The Guardian added on December 25:

“The phrase ‘turning point’ is overused, but future historians are likely to view the year 2016 as exactly that. The standout event was Donald Trump’s surprise victory. The maverick Republican’s defeat of Hillary Clinton produced a shock that reverberated around the world. The billionaire’s White House tenancy begins on 20 January. Many will dub that date Black Friday, fearful that Trumpism may irreparably damage international security, environmental protection and human rights. Others will see it as a sign of welcome change. It will be a year of living dangerously…

“Trump’s protectionist, isolationist stance brought into question the inevitability of globalisation, suggesting a return to a pre-1939 age of economic nationalism, punitive tariffs, trade barriers, controls on movement of labour and capital, closed markets and minds… he questioned the usefulness of international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and Nato. He cast doubt on key security alliances in Asia. Trump also ignited concern for April’s Paris climate change deal.

“Trump’s stated support for the unilateral waging of war, for authoritarian governance, torture, indefinite detention without trial, and religious and racial profiling of immigrants and refugees could, if copied, destroy the universal legal and human rights protections erected via the UN system since 1945…

“Britain’s narrow 52%-48% referendum vote in June in favour of leaving the EU was unexpected. Many drew parallels with the US, saying similar nationalist, populist forces were at work… If the British government’s timetable holds, Brexit will begin in March, when the UK will formally file for divorce…

“France will hold a presidential election in spring. Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Front, is expected to do very well. Le Pen wants France to quit the EU and euro. Her main challenger is likely to be François Fillon, a Catholic Thatcherite, for the centre right. The Socialist president, François Hollande, will not stand for re-election. In the Netherlands’ March general election, the Islamophobe Geert Wilders could prove an influential warm-up act for Le Pen. Wilders advocates a Dutch ‘Nexit’…

“Germany holds federal elections in September. Angela Merkel is seeking re-election for a fourth term as chancellor, but faces strong opposition from the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany… The fashionable idea that Merkel will pick up the torch from Obama and become defender-in-chief of western liberal democracy looks like wishful thinking…

“Despite repeated UN attempts at peace, Syria’s civil war passed the five-year mark in 2016 and approached a bloody denouement… The siege of eastern Aleppo became a symbol of the suffering and brutality of the Syrian war. Children were killed or maimed in large numbers. Hospitals and schools were repeatedly hit…

“In Iraq, an offensive to retake Mosul from Isis got bogged down. The war in Yemen showed no sign of abating, notwithstanding a furore in Britain and the US about arms sales to Saudi Arabia, whose airstrikes are blamed for numerous civilian deaths. In Libya, a new threat from Isis emerged, centred on the late Muammar Gaddafi’s stronghold in Sirte, prompting fierce fighting.

“Isis was also active in Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban for control of rural areas. Afghanistan is now America’s longest war. More than 8,000 US troops are still based there…

“The Isis threat will persist… the global spread of Islamist extremism is likely to continue…

“Syria aside, Russia’s military build-up along its border with the Baltic republics, its meddling in Ukraine, and its covert political influence-peddling, disinformation campaigns and cyber warfare in eastern Europe are expected to accelerate…

“Putin has been building bridges to Xi Jinping, China’s president. This alliance of convenience will create more headaches for the west in 2017. Xi has enlisted Russia’s support in conducting military ‘exercises’ around disputed South China Sea islands, where Beijing is rapidly expanding its presence. China defied a 2016 UN court ruling deeming its activities illegal…

“The nuclear brinkmanship of North Korea’s paranoid regime increased regional tensions. This problem will possibly come to a head in 2017. Kim Jong-un, the country’s dictator, conducted an underground nuclear test in September, the fifth and biggest, involving nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

“In Tokyo, there were calls for Japanese rearmament. Trump suggested Japan and South Korea acquire nuclear weapons… Trump demanded Japan and South Korea pay more for US bases…

“The biggest regional upset was in the Philippines, where the foul-mouthed Rodrigo Duterte was elected president… Protests from the US and UN prompted him to turn to China for support, repudiating the long-standing US alliance…”

Terror Strikes Germany!

nydailynews.com reported on December 21:

“Monday’s devastating terrorist attack at a Berlin Christmas Market was bleakly inevitable…

“Until last summer, Germany had been immune to the Islamist violence that has afflicted Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels and other European cities. But the rise of the Islamic State, the continued existence of which provides an alluring recruitment tool to disillusioned European Muslims, has sharply increased the threat of jihadist terrorism across the continent. Now, even Germany is under assault.

“The Christmas market attack — which killed 12 people and wounded dozens — bookends a tumultuous year in Germany. Last New Year’s Eve, as many as 2,000 migrant men sexually assaulted over 1,000 women just outside Cologne’s main train station. Police initially attempted to cover up the incident. Their motives — shielding Muslim immigrants from a xenophobic backlash — may have been benign, but the long-term effect has only redounded to the benefit of the far right.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 22:

“Klaus Bouillon of the state of Saarland who is currently spokesman for Germany’s 16 regional interior ministers said security was being tightened. ‘We will have more patrols, Officers will have machine guns,’ said Bouillon, referring to the more than 1,400 Christmas markets across Germany.

“Federal authorities searching for 24-year-old Anis Amri offered a reward for information leading to his capture and issued multilingual notices, including one in French.

“The public was warned that Amri could be armed. Police said ID papers identifying him as a Tunisian national were found in the cab of the truck used in Monday’s attack.”

Merkel and Police Under Fire

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 22:

“Both the Berlin police and Chancellor Merkel’s government faced heavy criticism on Thursday. The former for spending the first crucial hours after the attack focusing on a Pakistani suspect who turned out not to be involved in the attack, and the latter for its open-door refugee policy. The ire on behalf of the press and the public intensified as it became clear how much the intelligence services knew about Amri prior to the incident.

“According to Der Spiegel magazine, Amri had been under surveillance for associating with hate preachers online. He had offered to act as a suicide bomber on an Islamist website, and asked where he could obtain weapons. ‘He was even in deportation detention, but had to be released after a day,’ Stephan Mayer, the interior affairs spokesman for Germany’s conservative union in parliament, told RBB-Inforadio.

“Amri’s asylum application had been rejected in the summer and he was scheduled for deportation, but the procedure was postponed due to problems proving his Tunisian citizenship. Incidentally, his new Tunisian passport arrived in Germany on Wednesday. It was some of these asylum documents left behind in the truck used in the attack that turned the police onto Amri in the first place.”

The Telegraph added on December 21:

“Amri… had multiple identity documents with six different aliases under three nationalities, and a criminal record in Italy and Tunisia. He spent four years in an Italian prison before travelling to Germany after an expulsion order expired… It also emerged that the killer might have received hospital treatment for his injuries before slipping away.

“ The Polish lorry driver whose vehicle was hijacked sand used in the attack—claimed by the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) was being hailed a hero…  Mr Urban’s injuries suggested he may have been alive as the lorry ploughed into Christmas shoppers, having perhaps been assumed dead by the hijacker who had stabbed and beaten him.

“It gave rise to the theory that he grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the lorry off its intended course through the middle of the crowd and potentially saving countless lives. His life came to an end when he was shot in the head by the hijacker…

“British experts said the bungled police investigation highlighted fundamental flaws in Germany’s counter-terrorism strategy…

“The German investigation has also been hampered by the lack of available CCTV footage. State surveillance is a sensitive issue in Germany because of extensive snooping by the Stasi secret police in Communist East Germany and by the Gestapo in the Nazi era. The result is that there are far less cameras in public places than in the UK. However, on Wednesday a bill was passed to allow more video surveillance in German society with greater weight given to ‘the protection of life, health and freedom’…”

These horrible mass murders by an insane fanatic pose a further threat to Angela Merkel’s political survival.

Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Assassinated

Newsweek.com reported on December 21:

“Tragedy struck once again in Turkey on Monday, this time targeting the Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov at an art exhibit. His assassin was a Turkish police officer, who shot the ambassador multiple times as he was delivering a speech.

“Video footage suggests that the assassin had drawn no suspicion as he was waiting calmly behind the ambassador before the attack—this is supported by the revelation that he used his police badge to get past the security checkpoint at the entrance of the exhibit.

“The footage also shows the assassin saying a religious verse in Arabic: a pledge for jihad for Muhammed moments after the attack. He also said in Turkish: ‘Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria. Until our towns are safe, you will not taste safety. Only death will take me away from here. Everyone who played a role in this cruelty will pay.’”

Barack Obama’s Long-Form Birth Certificate Determined to Be a Fake

WND wrote on December 15:

“A years-long forensics investigation into the computer image of the long-form Hawaiian birth certificate image that Barack Obama released during a White House news conference during his first term and presented to the American people as an official government document concluded it is ‘fake.’ The probe also confirms that those who were subjected to the derogatory ‘birther’ label from many media outlets and Democrats were right – at least regarding the document used to establish Obama’s eligibility to be president.

“The issue is that the U.S. Constitution requires the president to be a ‘natural-born citizen’ but does not define the term. Scholarly works cited by the Founders defined it as a citizen at birth, born in the country to two citizens of the country, or merely the offspring of two citizens of the country. The birth certificate Obama displayed on the White House website as ‘proof positive’ of his eligibility states he was born in Hawaii to an American mother and a Kenyan father… Now, what has been described as the only official law enforcement investigation ever done into the Obama birth certificate, ordered by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, has concluded it is ‘not authentic.’

“Jerome Corsi, Ph.D., WND senior staff writer and author of ‘Where’s the Birth Certificate?’ was credited by sheriff’s officials with contributing to the investigation. Corsi said Mike Zullo, head of the Cold Case Posse, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio ‘have done the United States a heroic service demonstrating by forensic analysis that the long form birth certificate produced in a White House news conference on April 27, 2011, as Barack Obama’s authentic birth certificate is a forgery… That President Obama’s birth certificate is fake, as proven now by a legitimate law enforcement examination raises serious questions that high crimes and misdemeanors have been committed at the highest level of government. The clear conclusion is that the Obama presidency may have been illegitimate, having violated Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. Impeachment procedures may be required, even if those procedures are conducted after Obama leaves office.’

“The sheriff’s video said there were nine images on the Obama birth certificate that appear to be identical to, and copied from, another birth certificate issued in Hawaii just days after his birth. That certificate belongs to Johanna Ah’nee… Forlabs, an Italian company that specializes in extracting information from multimedia files, also produced the results [showing the birth certificate to be a forgery]. ‘We had two experts from two countries in separate disciplines of forensics that came to one conclusion: Barack Obama’s long form birth certificate it not authentic,’ the report said…

“The investigators also said they had developed credible evidence that Obama’s Selective Service card was a forgery, based on an examination of the postal date stamp on the document. Also, records of Immigration and Naturalization Service cards filled out by passengers arriving on international flights originating outside the United States in the month of August 1961, examined at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., were missing… for the week of President Obama’s birth…

“Zullo has noted that Reed Hayes, a document examiner who has served as expert witness for Seattle law firm Perkins Coie – the firm that flew an attorney to Honolulu to personally deliver two paper copies of the birth certificate to the White House – has concluded in a signed affidavit that the document posted on the White House website is ‘entirely fabricated.’

“… at the time Obama was born, only a short time after Hawaii was admitted as a state, there were a number of ways a Hawaiian birth certificate could have been obtained without the person having been born in Hawaii…

“Among the many records the Obama camp has refused to release are the marriage license of his father (Barack Sr.) and mother (Stanley Ann Dunham), name-change records (Barry Soetero to Barack Hussein Obama), adoption records, records of his and his mother’s repatriation as U.S. citizens from Indonesia, baptism records, Noelani Elementary School (Hawaii) records, Punahou School financial aid or school records, Occidental College financial aid records, Harvard Law School records, Columbia senior thesis, Columbia College records, record with Illinois State Bar Association, files from his terms as an Illinois state senator, his law client list, medical records and passport records.”

Newsmax added on December 15:

“Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio held a press conference on Thursday to release information he says proves that President Barack Obama’s long form birth certificate is a forgery. Arpaio said he received information in 2011 that indicated the certificate could have been forged, and he consulted forensic experts from around the world who agree it is not authentic. Arpaio and his team are not claiming that Obama was not born in Hawaii, but only that the long form birth certificate is not authentic. So-called ‘birthers’ have questioned Obama’s place-of-birth, saying he was born in Kenya, which they say disqualifies him to serve as president of the United States. Obama says he was born in Hawaii.

“… lead investigator Mike Zullo… showed video of Obama’s birth certificate alongside one of a person named Johanna Ah’Nee. Zullo said that the forensic experts found ‘nine points of forgery’ from which parts of Zullo’s birth certificate was copied to the one purporting to be Obama’s. Among them was a stamped date that had the exact same angle. By comparison, a set of twins born five minutes apart had birth certificates where the stamp did not align exactly… Zullo said the ‘safety paper’ used by Hawaii is easily obtained on eBay, but even at that, no original piece of paper has been seen by very many members of the press. Instead, the White House provided a .jpg image to the Associated Press, which distributed it to members. As for the stamp, one was obtained at Kinko’s for $25, ‘no questions asked.’ Arpaio… called on Congress to look into the matter.”

Mr. Trump did himself and the country a great disservice when he stated, without any explanation whatsoever for his 180-degree “turn-a-around” and “change” of mind, that Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii. Whether Congress would be willing to even look into this matter is a highly dubious question. It seems more likely that they would want to let sleeping dogs lie—being afraid of potentially horrible consequences for the country (and for an indifferent Congress which could be viewed as allegedly complicit in a potential cover-up), if Mr. Obama were to be found of not having been a legitimate president. We can be certain that America’s mainstream media—liberal AND conservative—will continue to speak of the horrible “LIE” of ignorant or malicious people (indiscriminately calling all of them “birthers”) to the effect that Mr. Obama was allegedly not born in Hawaii. But what IF it were to turn out one day that the mass media have perpetrated a propagandistic “LIE” in claiming, without evidence, that he WAS born in Hawaii? Many democratic and conservative politicians and the mass media are in panic about such an undesirable outcome.

Mass Media Wrong Again—President NOT Exempt from Conflict of Interest Laws

The Huffington Post wrote on December 15:

“When President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, he will be banned from using nonpublic information for private profit under the 2012 STOCK Act, the Office of Government Ethics said in a letter clarifying the law’s interpretation.

“The letter from OGE Director Walter Shaub released Thursday night expanded on an earlier letter to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) to make it clear Shaub’s official guidance is that the STOCK Act does apply to the president. ‘The STOCK Act bars the President, the Vice President, and all executive branch employees from: using nonpublic information for private profit; engaging in insider trading; or intentionally influencing an employment decision or practice of a private entity solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation,’ Shaub’s letter reads.

“The guidance further states the STOCK Act prohibits the president and vice president from participating in an initial public offering and participating in any action that could benefit or influence any person with whom they may be negotiating future employment or compensation after leaving office. This official guidance was necessary because OGE had not issued the guidance formally declaring how the law applied to the president and vice president…

“This law could cause significant problems for Trump, who appears ready to continue to hold a stake in his multibillion-dollar business enterprise. He has hinted that he will hand off control of the company to his two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump. If at any time he gives them profitable information that he has learned through his presidential duties and that has not been disclosed to the public, he would be committing a felony…”

It has been uniformly misrepresented by the uninformed mass media—both liberal and conservative—that there are NO laws prohibiting the President from engaging in actions, constituting a conflict of interest. As we have reported before in our Update, these interpretations are manifestly erroneous.

Another Turn-Around by FBI Director James Comey?

The Washington Post wrote on December 16:

“FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. are in agreement with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House, officials disclosed Friday, as President Obama issued a public warning to Moscow that it could face retaliation. New revelations about Comey’s position could put to rest suggestions by some lawmakers that the CIA and the FBI weren’t on the same page on Russian President Vladi­mir Putin’s intentions. Russia has denied being behind the cyber-intrusions, which targeted the Democratic National Committee and the private emails of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. Trump, in turn, has repeatedly said he doubts the veracity of U.S. intelligence blaming Moscow for the hacks…

“The positions of Comey and Clapper were revealed in a message that CIA Director John Brennan sent to the agency’s workforce Friday. ‘Earlier this week, I met separately with FBI [Director] James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election,’ Brennan said, according to U.S. officials who have seen the message…”

As we reported previously (note Update #764), it had been James Comey’s position that there was no credible evidence that Russia influenced the outcome of the recent U.S. presidential election by hacking the Democratic National Committee and the emails of John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign; that James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, agreed with this FBI assessment; and that it remained to be an open question whether the Russians did it and that it was just as likely that the hacking was done by people who had no direct connection to the Russian government.

Serious Test for U.S.-China Relations

Bloomberg and Newsmax wrote on December 17:

“U.S. President-elect Donald Trump slammed the Chinese navy’s capture of an American Navy underwater drone in international waters in the South China Sea, just hours after the country signaled it wants to resolve the issue smoothly. ‘China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act,’ Trump wrote Saturday in a Twitter post. After much criticism, the Tweet has since been deleted and re-posted to reflect the correct spelling of the of the word ‘unprecedented.’ …

“A Chinese naval ship unlawfully seized the small unmanned vehicle Thursday while the USNS Bowditch, a U.S. Navy survey ship, was [to] pick up the drone in a routine operation 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to a Defense Department statement…

“While the motive remains unclear, the move threatened to exacerbate tensions between the U.S. and China at a time when policy in Washington is becoming uncertain. Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Chinese products and questioned the U.S.’s policy regarding Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory. The seizure was ‘one of the most brazen actions that the PLA Navy has taken against U.S. Navy for a very long time,’ said Ashley Townshend, research fellow at the U.S. studies center at the University of Sydney. ‘Against a background of rising tensions in the South China Sea and Trump’s increasingly hawkish comments on China policy, this incident will be a serious test for U.S.-China relations.’”

It will remain to be seen in what way these developments will result in a prophesied closer collaboration between Far Eastern nations, such as China and Russia. See our article below, titled, “Russia and Japan Getting Closer.”  

Europe’s Responsibilities in Light of the Trump Administration

The EUObserver wrote on December 16:

“In European capitals like Warsaw, Budapest, and Bratislava, Trump’s election is being openly welcomed. Others, including the heads of EU institutions, appreciate the possible risks but are unwilling to make any moves. ‘We need to wait until we know who his cabinet picks are and what he wants to do,’ a high-profile EU diplomat told me recently… acting on such an assumption is reckless, particularly given what we already know about the foreign policy outlook of the new administration.

“We know, for example, that Rex Tillerson, the new US secretary of state, is generally opposed to sanctions and is also a recipient of the Kremlin’s Order of Friendship. We know that the president-elect has a reserved attitude towards Nato and America’s duty to defend allies, should they come under attack. Neither is it a secret that Trump has peculiar ideas about trade and liberalisation and is unlikely to champion further trade liberalisation with the EU or other trading blocs around the world.

“… these snippets add up to a coherent view of the world in which America abandons much of its global responsibilities. It can no longer be expected to act as the world’s policeman, the leading voice in free-trade negotiations, nor a country that necessarily holds its friends and allies to high standards of democracy and rule of law… However, history shows that when global hegemons become derelict in their duties, turmoil ensues.

“After World War I… the United Kingdom was not in a position to be the world’s leading nation. It’s natural successor, the United States, was not willing to take on the responsibilities… When the economic crisis of 1929 hit, there was no government willing to step in and prevent the Western world from descending into protectionism and competitive devaluations. It was the near-collapse of international trade that made the Depression Great… democracies were unable to stop Mussolini and Hitler in Abyssinia, Spain, Austria, or the Sudetenland…

“Trump needs to understand that he will not be remembered fondly if he presides over the demise of Nato, another Great Depression, or a world war. European leaders need to reach out to him quickly… It should not be impossible to explain to the Trump family just how much the post-Cold War order depends on America’s leadership.

“More importantly, Europeans have to be prepared also to do things – to invest in their security, to step in where they know America will be absent, and to be prepared to lead by example.. After all, these are the right things to do even if Trump’s administration turns out to be perfectly benign. If it is not, however, being ready is what will stand between Europe and a geopolitical disaster of proportions unseen since 1945.”

Based on biblical prophecy and the signs of the time, it does not appear that there will be a “benign” relationship between Europe and “Trump’s administration”. Europe will undoubtedly realize this, and in order to prevent “a geopolitical disaster of proportions unseen since 1945,” they WILL work toward a strong unified European power bloc of ten nations or groups of nations—united economically by the euro and militarily by a common army. The Bible shows that ultimately, war will break out between this future European configuration and the USA.

Strong Dollar – Weak Euro

Deutsche Welle reported on December 16:

“After the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates, a lot of cash has made its way into the United States. That makes other currencies like the euro drop. Now even parity is on the horizon – meaning one euro buys one US-dollar.”

But this will only last so long, until the dollar drops and the euro rises again.  

CSU’s Seehofer: Cap on Migrants a Precondition for Next Government

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 15:

“Never before has Bavaria’s state premier spoken so bluntly about limiting the influx of migrants. Now, Merkel’s conservative ally has said a cap will be a prerequisite to forming a new government next year. ‘Without an annual threshold of 200,000 migrants allowed to enter Germany, the Christian Social Union (CSU) will refuse to be part of the next government,’ the Bavarian party’s head Horst Seehofer told news agency dpa on Wednesday.

“While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has so far refused to entertain the notion of such a cap, Seehofer sought Wednesday to enforce his position…”

The relationship between Angela Merkel’s CDU and Horst Seehofer’s CSU has been difficult for some time. If Mr. Seehofer carries out his threat, the CDU would not gain enough votes for Angela Merkel to become the next German Chancellor.

No Euro Crisis in Italy

AFP wrote on December 15:

“Italy’s banking problems can be solved and the EU will do everything to help, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday, dismissing fears of something akin to the euro crisis. New Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has said his government was prepared to come to the aid of the country’s third largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS), if private rescue efforts fail.

“The bank, seen as being in danger of failing if it is not recapitalized, needs to raise five billion euros ($5.29 billion) to avoid a state-subsidized rescue. ‘I do not think that we have to expect that the problems of the Italian banks have to be considered as unsolvable,’ Juncker said in an interview with the German public television ZDF.”

As we have been saying repeatedly, Italy will not exit the Eurozone or the EU.

Cold Shoulder for Theresa May

Daily Mail wrote on December 15:

“Theresa May’s Brexit challenge was laid bare for all to see today as European leaders gave her the cold shoulder at a key EU summit in Brussels. As the other 27 heads of state hugged and kissed ahead of the meeting, the British Prime Minister was left with no one to talk to… After 11 seconds of looking around…, she gave up and took her seat at the table. To many it symbolises the EU’s attitude towards Britain following the decision to leave the EU in June.  EU leaders even excluded Mrs May from their dinner tonight so they can discuss their Brexit plans in secret… Theresa May did find some friendly faces to talk to eventually, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel… and European Parliament President Martin Schulz…

“[Mrs. May said:] ‘As we are going to invoke Article 50 and trigger Brexit by the end of March next year, it is right the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing. We will be leaving the EU, we want that to be a smooth and orderly process as possible – it’s not just in our interests, it’s in the interests of Europe as well.’”

The Brexit will ultimately take place, and even though the German government (modern Assyria) is not too happy about this, they will not be able to “help” Britain (modern Ephraim) and to prevent the prophesied outcome. In fact, the relationship between the UK and continental Europe under German leadership will continue to deteriorate.

Russia and Japan Getting Closer

Deutsche Welle reported on December 16:

“Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Japan’s leader Shinzo Abe failed to reach a breakthrough on the Kuril Islands during Putin’s two-day visit. Officials from both sides, however, inked dozens of economic deals…

“The dispute started with the USSR claiming the four islands at the end of World War II, and has burdened bilateral ties ever since. Tokyo and Moscow have yet to sign a peace accord to formally end wartime hostilities…

“Speaking alongside Putin on Friday, Abe said overcoming the issue was a complex task, considering the deal ‘has not been concluded in more than 70 years.’ ‘I think we as the two leaders were able to show our sincere determination toward signing a peace treaty, although a difficult path lies ahead,’ he said. Putin concurred, but stressed that signing a peace deal should be a priority in the relations between the two neighboring countries….

“During the talks in Nagato and Tokyo, representatives of the two countries finalized nearly 70 deals on economic, cultural, science and sports cooperation. Among other initiatives, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Japan Bank for International Cooperation agreed on creating a $1 billion… joint investment fund. Also, Novatek Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson said his company had signed agreements with Japan’s Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi Corp and Marubeni Corp for the liquefied natural gas plant in the Arctic.

“… Putin expressed concern about US missile defense systems in Japan, calling it an overreaction to the threat from North Korea…”

According to biblical prophecy, nations from the Far East will form an economic and military alliance which will be hostile towards Europe. This alliance will include China and Russia, and, in all likelihood, countries such as Japan and India.

The New False “Wisdom” of Pope Francis on Evolution

The Independent wrote on December 17:

“The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not ‘a magician with a magic wand’, Pope Francis has declared… the Pope made comments which experts said put an end to the ‘pseudo theories’ of creationism and intelligent design that some argue were encouraged by his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator – arguing instead that they ‘require it’.

“‘When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,’ Francis said… ‘Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.’

“… Pope Francis’s comments were more in keeping with the progressive work of Pope Pius XII, who opened the door to the idea of evolution and actively welcomed the Big Bang theory. In 1996, John Paul II went further and suggested evolution was ‘more than a hypothesis’ and ‘effectively proven fact’.

“Yet more recently, Benedict XVI and his close advisors have apparently endorsed the idea that intelligent design underpins evolution – the idea that natural selection on its own is insufficient to explain the complexity of the world. In 2005, his close associate Cardinal Schoenborn wrote an article saying ‘evolution in the sense of common ancestry might be true, but evolution in the neo-Darwinian sense – an unguided, unplanned process – is not’”

These comments by controversial Pope Francis are the product of faulty human reasoning. Allegations that God cannot do everything are highly offensive. If you want to understand what the Bible says about the hypothesis of evolution, which has not been and cannot be proven, please read our free booklets, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?” and “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.”