Angela Merkel Announces Fourth Term Candidacy in “Turbulent Times”

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will stand in next year’s elections for a fourth term… Merkel said on Sunday evening that her decision to stand was not a trivial one, for the country or for herself… ‘This election will be even more difficult than those we have had before as we are facing a strong polarisation’ in the community. She drew a line between Germany and the US in describing as ‘grotesque’ the recent election campaign. Merkel said that for her, political discussion was about engagement not ‘fighting’ and ‘inciting hatred.’…

“Merkel has governed Germany since 2005 and is popular among voters who appreciate her as a pragmatic, down-to-earth politician under whose leadership the country has weathered the financial crisis better than most in Europe. However, she has been highly criticised and has lost popular support following her decision to let in more than one million asylum seekers stranded along the Balkan route in 2015… Her refugee policies have also boosted the populist, right-wing Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), which draws support through harnessing community fears about migration and Muslims. In state elections this year, the AfD garnered up to a fifth of the popular vote.”

Mrs. Merkel also said that “there will be hostility as never before from the right [and] from the left—with the possibility of a red-red-green coalition.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 20 in a related article:

“Angela Merkel, ‘The Queen of Germany’ is floundering with her highly controversial policies…  Now Angela Merkel will have to prove herself in the stormy times ahead . Low unemployment, a respectable growth rate and a solid financial position no longer soothe the majority of voters. Germany, Europe and the world have become polarized. Times are turbulent and the number of difficult international partners is growing.

“Merkel often stood up to Putin when her reputation in Germany was still untarnished and she was an important force in the EU. Her new weakness, that she is no longer invulnerable, is being exploited by President Erdogan, Turkey’s strongman. Even small eastern European countries, that once fawned over Germany like a wealthy uncle who would help them be accepted into the European family, are closing ranks against the pro-European chancellor because they believe in the absolute sovereignty of the nation-state…

“She and her party may end up being number one in the parliamentary elections but she will be the chancellor of a polarized political landscape. Her toughest years are yet to come…”

Yes, indeed. And who is to tell whether a serious “challenger” arises before the new election in November 2017?

“Merkel’s Fourth Election Will Be Her Toughest”

Bloomberg wrote on Nov. 21:

“Angela Merkel… will probably face the toughest election of her career; victory is far from assured… many suspect that, for all her skill at working out impossible compromises and pulling out of impossible situations, she doesn’t really have a plan for taking the country forward, whether tackling refugee integration or social security reform…

“Donald Trump showed what happens when people feel they aren’t being consulted on sensitive matters like mass immigration. Though the German system has overcome the initial shock and Merkel has done her bit to contain the flood, she still needs to tell Germans what she intends to do with the newcomers, how they will be integrated or sent back. It’s no longer enough to speak of values — freedom, openness, tolerance, inclusion — as Merkel has often done…

“And even if Merkel wins and finds steady coalition partners, her party, in which she has effectively destroyed all strong competitors for the leadership, will only get a brief respite from needing to look for a replacement… brilliant new politicians at the right of the political spectrum may well see more promise in a populist party like the anti-immigrant AfD than in Merkel’s staid old party that may end up essentially leaderless by the 2021 election.

“Merkel’s dominance has delayed the hour of reckoning for German centrists, something that hasn’t happened in the U.S. and many European countries because they lacked such a figure. Merkel’s fourth run… will… bare the political center’s problems. They can no longer be swept under the rug, in Germany or elsewhere.”

Breitbart added on November 21:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed her decision to run for a fourth term, vowing explicitly to take on the forces of anti-establishment populism currently sweeping the West… ‘This election will be more difficult than any before it, at least not since national reunification [in 1990]’ she said… Merkel followed up the press conference with an in-depth, 25-minute interview with German broadcaster ARD, during which she vowed to press ahead with a ‘strong Europe’ following Brexit, Die Welt has reported.”

… but It Won’t Be Easy to Beat Angela Merkel

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 21:

“The center-left Social Democrats insist they’re not interested in a continuation of the current grand coalition in which they’re junior partners to the conservatives, but they’re refusing for the time being to put forward their own candidate for chancellor. That decision won’t be made until January…

“The SPD contends that Angela Merkel’s ‘myth of invincibility’ is gone, but that claim will be hard to take at face value until someone gets the job of actually trying to beat her. SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel is the most likely candidate but he has relatively low personal popularity ratings. And European Parliamentary leader Martin Schulz – the only other politician often touted as a potential candidate – is hardly a household name in Germany…”

EU Parliament President Martin Schulz for German Chancellorship? 

Bloomberg wrote on November 24:

“European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he’ll vacate his post and run for a lower-house seat in Germany, marking him as one of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s potential challengers in next year’s election. Schulz, a Social Democrat, has led the European Union’s legislature since 2012 and is a prominent advocate of maintaining the EU. As a senior member of the SPD who’s well-known in Germany, he’ll be in a strong position as the party prepares to select its candidate for the top of the ticket in January.

“Merkel’s announcement on Sunday that she’ll seek a fourth term in 2017 is spurring the Social Democrats, her junior coalition partner, to consider options. Party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who sits at Merkel’s cabinet table as vice chancellor and economy minister, hasn’t said whether he’ll run for chancellor and Schulz, 60, is a possible alternative. ‘More than ever, the world needs a united European Union,’ Schulz told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. ‘From now on, I will fight for this project from the national level. Only by doing this will it be possible to regain the lost trust.’…

“The multilingual Schulz (German, English and French)…  became a member of the European Parliament in 1994. Schulz is due to step down in mid-January… Schulz was given an unprecedented second term as president until January 2017…  [There are] plans to pick a candidate for EU Parliament president next month…”

34 Percent of Germans Feel Like Strangers in Their Own Country

The Daily Caller wrote on November 22:

“A new study reveals some shocking statistics about German attitudes towards Muslim migration to the country. Around 34 percent of Germans reportedly ‘completely or slightly agree’ with the statement ‘because of the many Muslims, I sometimes feel like a stranger in my own country.’ The report, from German nonprofit Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, surveyed the feelings of German citizens in reaction to increased Muslim migration to the country…

“As Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks a fourth term, her chances are dogged by criticism of her refugee policy. A recent report from a German translator working at refugee camps said that asylum seekers had a ‘pure hatred’ of Christians and a desire to Islamize Germany.”

Europe’s Turbulent Times Ahead

Sputnik News wrote on November 18:

“The number of people who believe being an EU member is good for their country has fallen to 53%… 54% of respondents said they think ‘things are going in the wrong direction’…

“2016 has marked an extraordinary turning point in global politics. The status quo is well and truly under attack. In June, came the shock decision by the UK to vote to abandon its EU membership… European nationalism itself is being fueled by a perception that EU institutions, are out of touch with many of its own members. Yet, leaders of the EU Commission and European Parliament, which the general European public is not able to elect, wield significant and far reaching influence over nationally elected governments.

“There is a plethora of far-right leaders lining up for elections in the upcoming months. They’ll start with the Austrian presidential re-run and Italian constitutional referendum on December 4. Austria’s far-right presidential candidate Norbert Hofer, says he represents Austrians frustrated at Brussels’ authority…

“Romanian general elections will also be run on December 11; the Netherlands votes in March. Leader of the far-right Dutch Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, has called Mr. Trump’s recent victory a ‘revolution’, which should be copied across Europe. French Presidential elections will be held in late April, and the beginning of May. Together, with Germany, France has thus far been a strong supporter of the EU. If far-right candidate Marine Le Pen wins, Brussels will lose a key ally, in what would be a huge blow…

“However, it’s not all bad news. There is a vast disparity in how the EU is seen in different member states. In Ireland, 74% are happy that it is worth being a member of the EU… The upcoming political battles over the 12 months will reveal to Brussels whether there really is enough that connects Europeans, to keep the EU project intact.”

Slovakia’s Nazi-Party on the Rise

CBS News reported on November 18:

“The wave of far-right parties across Europe has been gathering steam from Greece to France, Austria and Germany. While most of the continent’s extreme forces have taken pains to steer clear of Nazi imagery, Slovakia’s answer to the trend celebrates it. The People’s Party Our Slovakia won almost 10 percent of the seats in Parliament in March. It openly admires the Nazi puppet state which the country was during the World War II.

“Party members use Nazi salutes, blame Roma for crime in deprived areas, consider NATO a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and the European Union. Thousands have signed a petition demanding that the party be banned. Analysts say the party’s popularity could grow even further…

“On Oct. 13, party members celebrated the 129th anniversary of the birth of Jozef Tiso, a Catholic priest and politician who was Slovakia’s war president. During his rule, some 60,000 Slovak Jews were transported to Nazi death camps. He was sentenced to death and hanged in 1947…”

European Leaders Talk Trump During Obama’s Final Day in Berlin

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 18:

“Closing the final leg of his last European visit as US President on Friday, Barack Obama met with leaders from five European countries as they sought reassurances following Donald Trump’s US election victory. Faced with the uncertain future of a transatlantic relationship with Trump at the helm, Friday’s meeting marked the first time since the Republican win that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Francois Hollande, Spanish Prime Minister Mario Rajoy and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all gathered together, along with Obama.

“A statement issued by the White House shortly after the summit said Obama agreed with his European counterparts that they need to continue working together as part of multilateral bodies such as NATO…

“As the UK prepares to leave the EU following June’s shock Brexit vote, Obama also stressed the importance of a united Europe, and urged the 28-member bloc not to take the transatlantic relationship for granted…

“As a parting gift on Friday, Merkel presented Obama with a German ‘Weihnachtspyramide.’ The traditional Christmas decoration dates back to the Middle Ages. Traditionally, people were said, in dark times, to try and avert disaster with the power of the pyramid’s light – an arguably fitting gift amid the apprehension surrounding Trump’s pending presidency…”

 It also signifies the real presence of evil.

Brexit and Donald Trump Glue Europe Together

The Washington Post wrote on November 24:

“Europe appears to have gotten used to crises by now. The war in Ukraine, the influx of refugees and the Greece’s debt woes have divided the continent. Surprisingly, two very different events that are being perceived as catastrophic in Europe could now help glue the political union back together. First, Britain voted to leave the European Union in a decision that was seen as a watershed moment in Europe’s history and triggered a series of emergency summits. Then, Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. Trump has extremely low approval ratings in Europe, and some leading politicians publicly opposed his candidacy. Again, the European Union called for a ‘crisis meeting.’ But it turns out that both Brexit and Trump’s election could actually help save the European Union…

“On Wednesday, the British government said it would have to borrow about $72 billion more over the next four years because of the economic fallout of the Brexit vote… As the British pound dropped to all-time lows, other nations took note. While more than 40 percent of Danes wanted an E.U. referendum before Britain decided to leave the union, support for such a vote has now declined by nearly 10 percentage points. Could the British decision glue Europe closer together? Austrians will head to the polls next month to elect a new president, and it is likely that far-right candidate Norbert Hofer could win. Hofer had previously demanded an E.U. referendum for Austria. But shortly after the Brexit vote — potentially amid fears that a shift in public opinion would cost him crucial votes — he indicated that being part of the European Union might not be so bad after all…

“The election of Donald Trump has also raised fears in Europe that he could weaken NATO and strengthen cooperation with Russia, which is viewed as increasingly dangerous in E.U. capitals. Eastern European and Scandinavian nations in particular fear Russia’s army and have so far comforted themselves with the presence of U.S. troops in the region. Trump, however, has suggested he would only defend countries that allocate a set ratio of their GDP to defense spending. Nearly no E.U. member state fulfills that criterion.

“German President Joachim Gauck this week was among those who have called for the country to focus more on its own security. His words were unusual for a German president: Most of his predecessors had advocated disarmament instead of more military spending. But Trump’s contradictory statements on that matter have raised worries that the United States might no longer be a reliable military ally. As the influence of NATO could decline during Trump’s presidency, smaller E.U. countries might increasingly have to rely on the European Union, which is pushing for stronger military cooperation on the continent.

“So far, E.U. politics have often appeared far removed from the everyday lives of Europeans. The E.U., critics argued, cared more about regulating the size and shape of bananas than about fundamental issues facing citizens. A military threat could change that calculation and the reputation of the Brussels bureaucracy in European Union member states. It is ironic that 2016, the year that appeared to be the beginning of the E.U.’s end, could in fact give the union its strongest boost.”

Coming—the EU Army

On November 22, Express published an article with the following headlines:

“DAWN OF EU ARMY: MEPs APPROVE new £420million-a-year SUPER FORCE to defend Europe. THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) Army will be up and running in less than a year after MEPs today voted for the creation of a super force which can override NATO.”

The article continued:

“The vote was not supported by everyone in the Strasbourg Parliament after it narrowly passed by 369 votes to 255, with 70 abstentions. And astonishingly it has been agreed that the EU should also be prepared to act autonomously in cases where NATO is not willing to take the lead… the EU is celebrating this victory claiming the security situation in and around Europe has worsened significantly in recent years, due to challenges like terrorism, hybrid threats or cyber and energy insecurity.

“The EU… says no country is able to tackle defence alone and ‘solidarity and resilience require the EU to stand and act together’. European politicians have now guaranteed at least £420m-a-year in funding to set up their new European wide army which will be a ‘rapid response’ team.”

Does Mr. Putin Destabilize European Security?

The Times wrote on November 22:

“Russia is deploying short-range ballistic missiles to its western European enclave, it emerged yesterday as President Putin threatened ‘counter-measures’ against Nato expansion [and in particular the installation of a U.S. missile shield in eastern Europe.]

“A senior Russian MP said that Moscow would permanently station the nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, a region between the Nato states of Poland and Lithuania, in retaliation for a military build-up by the alliance in eastern Europe. John Kirby, spokesman for the US State Department, said that the deployment of the missiles was ‘destabilising to European security’. He added: ‘We call on Russia to refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability.’”

Trump and Putin Asked to Help Building Third Temple

Israel National News reported on November 15:

“Eyeing what appears to be a twice-in-history opportunity, [an] organization called the Sanhedrin has called on U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to join forces and back the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin is an attempt to renew the glorious Great Court of the same name from the last Jewish kingdom, some 2,000 years ago.

“Prof. Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, said, ‘The political conditions today, in which the two most important national leaders in the world support the Jewish right to Jerusalem as their spiritual inheritance, is historically unprecedented.’ He said that the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, coupled with Putin’s expressed desire for the Temple’s rebuilding, prompted the Sanhedrin to send a letter to both leaders. The letter proposes that they act jointly as did King Cyrus of Persia 2,500 years ago and show most practically that they recognize the importance of Israel and the Holy Temple. ‘We are poised to rebuild the Temple,’ Weiss said.

“Trump’s support for Israel, and for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, is well-known, and many of his close aides are similarly strong supporters of Israel. Less well-known is Putin’s support for the Holy Temple. As the Sanhedrin writes in its letter, Putin paid a late-night visit to the Kotel (Western Wall) in 2012, during his third official trip to Jerusalem. Upon his arrival, the former KGB agent who became the leader of Russia stood in silent prayer for several minutes, after which he read Psalms from a Russian-Hebrew prayer book. At one point, an Israeli bystander called out in Russian, ‘Welcome, President Putin.’ Putin then approached the man, who explained the importance of the Temple Mount and the Jewish Temple. Putin reportedly responded, ‘That’s exactly the reason I came here – to pray for the Temple to be built again.’

“The Sanhedrin sent a letter at the time to Putin, calling on him to act to fulfill his prayer. President Putin did not respond, but the Sanhedrin hopes he will respond to the current letter, now that he has a potential ally for the project in the United States leadership.

“Basing himself on Biblical passages and Rabbinic tradition, Rabbi Weiss explained that ‘the leaders of Russia and America can lead the nations of the world to global peace through building the Temple, the source of peace.’ Supporting the Jewish claim to Jerusalem would bring benefit [to] Russia and America, as well as the entire world, he said.”

Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi: Homosexuality an Abomination

The Times of Israel wrote on November 18:

“Jerusalem’s chief rabbi lashed out at Israel’s gay community in an interview released Friday, calling homosexuality an ‘abomination’ and earning himself a police complaint for incitement. Shlomo Amar, who previously served as the country’s Sephardi chief rabbi, told Israel Hayom newspaper that homosexuality is an ‘abomination,’ and that Jewish law advocates the death penalty for those who choose to engage in same sex relationships.  ‘I call it a cult. It’s a cult of abominations, it is obvious. It’s an abomination,’ he said. ‘The Torah says it is punishable by death. It is in the first rank of severe offenses… a person can overcome it if they want to, like all lusts. This is among the most forbidden lusts, the most severe.’

“… He also came out against rabbis trying to build bridges with the LGBTQ community: ‘There is no such thing, to show understanding or tolerance for this. A simple truth needs to be stated – there is a severe prohibition, and there is no allowance for it.’…

“Amar’s comments were met with fury by members of the LGBTQ community and champions of civil liberties in Israel…

“Amar also … accused Reform Jews of ‘inciting’ against the Torah for political gain… He also said unequivocally that public transportation could not be allowed on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, and said he was against civil marriage for Jews in the State of Israel.”

Turkey’s President Erdogan Attacks Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on November 21:

“In his first interview with the Israeli press in over a decade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday slightly walked back a 2014 assertion that Israel’s military offensive in Gaza was more barbaric than Hitler, but made no apology for invoking the Nazi leader’s name in the context, said he was ‘well aware’ of the sensitivities, and again condemned Israel’s ‘barbarism’ against the Palestinians.

“Erdogan spoke to Channel 2’s Ilana Dayan in Turkish in a sweeping, and frequently tense, interview that covered Israel-Turkey relations, the Gaza Strip and the failed coup attempt in Turkey over the summer. The interview… leveled bitter criticism at Israel, especially regarding its policies on the Palestinians…  ‘I don’t agree with what Hitler did and I also don’t agree with what Israel did in Gaza. Therefore there’s no place for comparison in order to say what’s more barbaric,’ Erdogan said when reminded of his 2014 comments.

“Asked if he was conscious of the shock his reference to Hitler caused among Jews, Erdogan said ‘I’m very well aware… But is the Jewish community aware of what is done (in Gaza)? Thousands of people bombed in Gaza and Palestine’ in the 2014 war with Hamas.

“The Turkish president dismissed categorizing Hamas as a terrorist organization, calling it a legitimate political party, and a ‘refugee movement born out [of] nationalism’ that must be part of any future peace deal… He also said he was in ‘constant contact’ with Hamas.

“He accused Israel of failing to respect the holiness of Jerusalem, accusing it of trying to change the status quo at the Al-Aksa compound (the Temple Mount). ‘Jerusalem is holy to three religions. You have to respect that,’ he said.”

For President Erdogan to accuse Israel of “barbarism” is the epitome of hypocrisy, given his barbarous, totalitarian and brutal assaults on Turkey’s opposition. His comments show his deep-seated hatred towards the Jews… and end-time Turkey (biblical Edom) will ultimately act with such cruel hostility towards Israel that God will severely punish Turkey.

Obama’s Legacy in the Middle East

The Washington Post wrote on November 18:

“When President Obama strode to the podium at Cairo University on June 4, 2009, he faced a Muslim world bursting with optimism about his middle name — Hussein! — along with his barrier-bashing skin color, and a heart they believed was wide open to their concerns and dreams… He called for ‘a new beginning between the United States’ and the world’s billion Muslims. He promised to close the reviled prison at Guantanamo Bay, to ‘personally pursue’ Palestinian-Israeli peace and to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. Obama said he would invest billions in Afghanistan and Pakistan; seek a nuclear deal with Iran; encourage deeper ties in science, education and business; and promote women’s rights…

“Although much of the world still views Obama favorably, the dominant emotion in the Middle East is disappointment. The reasons Muslims give for their disillusionment are almost too many to count: seven years of drone strikes, deepening chaos in Iraq and the rise of the Islamic State, continued violence in Afghanistan, the collapse of Libya, the lack of Israeli-Palestinian progress, ongoing U.S. support for autocratic governments, the failure to close Guantanamo…”

Donald Trump Reiterates Some of His Promises…

Newsmax wrote on November 21:

“President-elect Donald Trump is telling the American people that he is assembling a Cabinet made up of ‘patriots’… He reiterated [in a surprise video] a number of his promises for the first 100 days of his administration, including vows to negotiate new trade deals, remove regulations on businesses and establish a five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists.

“Specifically, Trump vowed to issue a notification of intent on his first day to withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which he described as a ‘potential disaster for our country.’… Notably missing from his promises is his pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act and his vow to build a southern border wall with Mexico.”

 … While Breaking Others

The New York Times wrote on November 22:

“President-elect Donald Trump said he would not pursue any further criminal investigations of Hillary Clinton regarding her private email server use or the Clinton Foundation… Trump added he was seeking to unify the nation and he did not believe his decision would upset his supporters… Prosecuting the former secretary of state ‘would be very, very divisive for the country,’ Trump added…

“Trump’s decision brought a strong rebuke from Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. The organization has filed more than 20 lawsuits against the Obama administration over Clinton’s private email use. ‘Donald Trump must commit his administration to a serious, independent investigation of the very serious Clinton national security, email, and pay-to-play scandals,’ Fitton said. ‘If Mr. Trump’s appointees continue the Obama administration’s politicized spiking of a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton, it would be a betrayal of his promise to the American people to ‘drain the swamp’ of out-of-control corruption in Washington… President-elect Trump should focus on healing the broken justice system, affirming the rule of law and appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Clinton scandals,’ Fitton added.”

The New York Post added on November 22:

“At the second presidential debate in October, Trump [promised:] ‘If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there has never been so many lies, so much deception’…”

“Donald Trump Will Pay Dearly for His Outrageous Decision”

Newsmax wrote on November 22:

“President-elect Donald Trump ‘will pay dearly’ for his decision to not seek any new criminal prosecutions against Hillary Clinton for her private email use or the Clinton Foundation, political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax TV on Tuesday. ‘It’s your own people that will be mad at you, not the others,’ he told “Newsmax Prime” hosts J.D. Hayworth and Miranda Khan.

“‘It is so cynical. All of those Democrats who said this is just political, this is just an election nearing a charade, this isn’t serious judicial stuff, this isn’t real are suddenly proven right. And all the Republicans who said: “No, no this is very serious. This is real. Whether she’s running for president or not, this has to be prosecuted” are suddenly undercut by their own president.

“‘To do it now or to say he’s not going to pursue it when it was such a fundamental part of his campaign is outrageous — and I totally condemn Trump for doing that,’ he added. Further, ‘this makes it very easy for [President Barack] Obama to pardon her. This is outrageous. Just incredible,’ Morris told Newsmax…”

Newsmax also wrote this on November 22:

“Conservative pundit Ann Coulter slammed President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday for not pursuing  charges against Hillary Clinton over her private email server. Coulter, an ardent Trump supporter, tweeted: ‘I thought we elected Donald Trump president. Did we make him the FBI [and the] DOJ [Department of Justice]? His job is to pick those guys, not do their jobs. As happy as I am that our long national nightmare’s over, NO president should be blocking investigators from doing their jobs.’

“It’s not the first time Coulter disagrees with Trump. In August, she criticized his ‘softening’ stance on immigration after the billionaire developer said he would work with ‘upstanding’ illegal immigrants on a plan to have them stay in the country.”

Donald Trump’s Statement “Deeply Disturbing”

Breitbart added on November 22:

“Tuesday’s edition of ‘The Kelly File’ on the Fox News Channel, Breitbart editor at large Peter Schweizer, author of  ‘Clinton Cash,’ criticized President Elect Donald Trump’s statement that he doesn’t want to prosecute Hillary Clinton.

“Schweizer said, ‘I think it’s deeply disturbing. Look, he shouldn’t be talking about this at all. It’s not his job. I was on your program earlier this year, Megyn, talking about how inappropriate it would be for President Obama to intervene in an investigation. It is equally inappropriate for a President Elect and later President Donald Trump to do the same. If he wants to pardon her at the tail end of an investigation, if the Department of Justice decides that they’re not going to prosecute, they are fine to do that, but the FBI is undergoing an investigation right now, and the President Elect should not be telling them to halt their investigation.’

“Schweizer added that Trump was ‘overstepping’ his role, and President Obama would have been hammered by the right for doing likewise. And ‘If Hillary Clinton had won in November, I think it’s safe to assume that she would not have been investigated for the Clinton Foundation. She has lost in November, and now it seems that Donald Trump does not want her to be investigated for the Clinton Foundation. That is the definition of a rigged system.’”

It is also interesting to note that Donald Trump’s Foundation is now being accused of having accepted questionable donations, allegedly causing a serious conflict of interest.

More Broken Promises?

The New York Times wrote on November 22:

“President-elect Donald J. Trump tempered on Tuesday some of his most extreme campaign promises, dropping his vow to jail Hillary Clinton, expressing doubt about the value of torturing terrorism suspects and pledging to have an open mind about climate change.

“But in a wide-ranging hourlong interview with reporters and editors at The New York Times… Mr. Trump was unapologetic about flouting some of the traditional ethical and political conventions that have long shaped the American presidency. He said he had no legal obligation to establish boundaries between his business empire and his White House [He also said that “a sitting U.S. President ‘can’t have a conflict of interest,’” according to Newsmax, dated November 22; a claim which is patently incorrect.]

“He displayed a jumble of impulses, many of them conflicting… The interview demonstrated the volatility in Mr. Trump’s positions…

“On the issue of torture, Mr. Trump suggested he had changed his mind about the value of waterboarding after talking with James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, who headed the United States Central Command… On climate change, Mr. Trump refused to repeat his promise to abandon the international climate accord reached last year in Paris, saying, ‘I’m looking at it very closely.’…

“Asked about his antagonism with the news media and his vow to toughen libel laws, Mr. Trump offered no specifics but told the group, ‘I think you’ll be happy.’… Despite his frequent attacks against what he has dubbed the ‘failing New York Times,’ Mr. Trump seemed to go out of his way to [offer] praise to the institution, which he called ‘a great, great American jewel, world jewel.’”

What further “surprises” can we expect from Mr. Trump? How many promises will Donald Trump break, until he will experience a really big backlash? Note the next article.

Donald Trump Announces Pro-Common Core Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary 

Breitbart reported on November 23:

“President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team announces the choice of Common Core and charter school  supporter Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education.  Anti-Common Core grassroots groups of parents and teachers urged Trump to abandon DeVos as his choice, citing her support for the education reform policies of pro-Common Core Jeb Bush and her influence through the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) in favor of Common Core…

“While on the campaign trail, Trump said Common Core was a ‘disaster,’ and criticized Jeb Bush for his support for the standards. Trump also said he would get Washington, D.C. out of education, and said he favored local control of education and the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.”

Newsmax added on November 23:

‘Conservative Review panned the pick, writing…  ‘DeVos fails on two key promises Trump repeatedly made to voters: ‘Get rid of Common Core’ and ‘keep education local’…”

Multi-Million Dollar Settlement Agreed in Trump University Fraud Case

Deutsche Welle reported on November 18:

“The president-elect has agreed to a $25 million settlement in fraud cases related to Trump University. Trump had previously attempted to shut down the trial and repeatedly insisted the judge was biased against him…

“Trump was accused of misleading students by calling itself a university although it was an unaccredited school and by saying Trump ‘hand picked’ the lecturers. The program also falsely promised students success in real estate through programs which cost up to $35,000. The settlement, however, does not require Trump to acknowledge any wrongdoing.”

For a man who prided himself in not settling law suits, this settlement has opened up all kinds of questions.

Did Donald Trump Trash Major Media Executives?

Newsmax wrote on November 21:

“Major media executives and network hosts were berated in a private, closed-door meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, according to The New York Post. ‘It was like a… firing squad,’ one source told the Post of the one-hour ‘media summit,’ which took place at Trump Tower and included executives and anchors from CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business Network, ABC and NBC. ‘Trump started with Jeff Zucker and said “I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed.”’

“‘The meeting was a total disaster,’ he added. ‘The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down.’

“Trump has long been at odds with media outlets throughout his campaign, saying reporting has been biased and unfair to him. He has publicly criticized reporters at rallies, once putting an NBC reporter at risk as Trump supporters heckled her, ignored media members altogether, and said the New York Times was ‘failing,’ called them ‘fools’ after a story about a rocky start within his transition team.

“One of Trump’s senior advisers, Kellyanne Conway, meanwhile, called the meeting unprecedented and ‘excellent,’ and one source told The Wrap that Trump’s team and those in attendance made ‘real progress’ with regard to transparency.”

However, Politico collaborated the report of the New York Post. On the other hand, CNN wrote on November 21:

“Trump did criticize the media generally, and some of the networks present — including CNN — at the start of the meeting, another participant said. But that participant said Trump also asked for a positive relationship between his White House and the media, and that a New York Post account which had a source describing the meeting as Trump giving the assembled members of the media a ‘dressing down’ like a ‘firing squad’ was wrong.”

So it appears that we can say with some certainty that there was a meeting between Mr. Trump and the media. Beyond that, time will tell.

Donald Trump Nominates Messrs. Sessions, Pompeo and Flynn

On November 18, Newsmax wrote the following:

“President-elect Donald Trump has tapped three senior leaders of his national security and law enforcement teams, choosing Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Rep. Mike Pompeo as CIA director, and General Mike Flynn as national security adviser. All three have accepted, Reuters reports…

“All three have been fierce critics of President Barack Obama’s handling of terrorism and national security, and their selection likely signals a sharp shift in U.S. policy… Sessions and Pompeo would both require Senate confirmation before assuming their designated roles; Flynn would not.

“Even with Republicans in control of the Senate, Sessions could face obstacles. He withdrew from consideration for a federal judgeship in 1986 after being accused of making racist comments while serving as a U.S. attorney in Alabama…

“Pompeo is… a strong critic of Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran… Pompeo has said that Muslim leaders are ‘potentially complicit’ in terrorist attacks if they do not denounce those made in the name of Islam…

“Flynn was a critic of Obama’s military and… has been outspoken in his warnings about the dangers of Islamist groups… Flynn has also worried some national security experts with his warmth toward Russia. Like Trump, he’s called for the U.S. to work more closely with Moscow… Last year, Flynn traveled to Moscow to join Russian President Vladimir Putin at a celebration for RT, a television channel funded by the Russian government. Flynn said he had been paid for taking part in the event and brushed aside concerns that he was aiding a Russian propaganda effort…

“Since his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton last week, Trump has spoken with Russian President Putin, British Prime Minister Theresa May and nearly three dozen other world leaders by telephone. Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, also visited the Trump Tower and called the billionaire businessman ‘a true friend of Israel.’ He specifically cited as another ‘friend’ Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, whose selection as a top White House adviser has created a backlash among Democrats. Bannon’s news website has peddled conspiracy theories, white nationalism and anti-Semitism…”

Donald Trump Picks S. Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for UN Ambassador

Deutsche Welle reported on November 23:

“The President-elect has chosen former critic Nikki Haley as the US ambassador to the UN. Haley, who has little foreign policy experience, is the first woman to be tapped for a top-level post in Trump’s administration… Haley is the daughter of two Indian immigrants and became South Carolina’s first female and first minority governor in 2011. She is also the first woman and person of color to be nominated to a top Cabinet position in Trump’s administration… Last year, Haley signed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from state capitol grounds. The flag is an emblem of the American South and is associated with slavery…

“Haley was fiercely critical of Trump’s divisive election campaign in which he called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, threatened to ban Muslim immigration, and faced accusations of sexual harassment and assault from multiple women… Trump also criticized Haley on Twitter, writing in March that ‘the people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!’…

“The UN ambassador position is the second highest-profile diplomatic position after Secretary of State…”

Her bill removing the confederate flag from state capitol grounds has been sharply criticized by many as being deeply offensive, including by those whose forefathers fought for the South.

Japan’s Prime Minister Meets with Mr. Trump

Deutsche Welle reported on November 18:

“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has met President-elect Donald Trump in a hastily-arranged 90-minute meeting. Abe is the first foreign leader to meet Trump face-to-face… Abe, whose stances on security have earned him a reputation as a defense hawk, reportedly wanted Trump’s assurances on issues ranging from Asian security to trade… Japan will also want to know how Trump plans to approach North Korea, which has ramped up its testing of missiles this year, including a nuclear warhead… Trump alarmed Tokyo during his campaign by suggesting a pull-out of thousands of US troops from the region. He also said that Japan – officially pacifist – may need nuclear weapons…

“Trump has said that while Japan is spending more on defense, in the long run it will need to expand military spending… Trump also said he would tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade pact backed by outgoing President Barack Obama and which Abe had made a top priority. If the TPP is ratified before President Barack Obama leaves office, Trump still has the authority to withdraw the US from the treaty… Many commentators believe it highly likely Trump will slap tariffs on Asian imports, possibly triggering a currency war. A survey of investors in July by Nomura Holdings noted a list of worries under a Trump presidency: from a possible rise in trade protectionism to threats to regional security if the US cuts its military commitments in Asia.”

Asia Concerned

The South China Morning Post wrote on November 22:

“Pivot or not, the future of the US policy of engagement with Asia is likely to be a defining feature of a Donald Trump presidency, especially after the US president-elect released a video on Monday in which he pledged to withdraw from a major regional trade accord on his first day in office. Turning the worst nightmare of America’s regional allies into reality, the 70-year-old real estate mogul’s surprise election victory threatens to dismantle US President Barack Obama’s Asia policy legacy and put decades-old US alliances in the region in doubt.

“Some diplomatic pundits even say an isolationist foreign policy under Trump, known for his showman style and brash and blunt personality, might become a turning point for America’s leadership of a chaotic world – with an increasingly assertive China in mind as a successor. Although America’s president-elect has yet to unveil his foreign policy line-up or release any policy road map, observers warn that Asian nations should expect a bumpy ride ahead, with post-election chaos and uncertainty likely to reign in Washington in the coming weeks, if not months…

“In his post-election diplomatic debut, Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Thursday. Abe described the hour-long meeting with the president-elect as ‘candid’, which in the lexicon of diplomatese usually means heated discussion with few concrete results.”

Stephen Bannon’s Highly Offensive Comments

The Daily Mail wrote on November 19:

“Donald Trump’s newly-minted chief strategist and senior counselor Stephen Bannon seems to get a kick out of the villainous caricature liberals and the media have constructed for him. ‘Darkness is good: Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power,’ Bannon told the Hollywood Reporter in a new profile. ‘It only helps us when [the media and liberals] get it wrong. When they’re blind of who we are and what we’re doing.’

“He later adds that the media is ‘just a circle of people talking to themselves who have no… idea of what’s going on’…”

If his comments regarding Darth Vader and Satan were supposed to be “jokes,” then they were truly bad ones. If they were meant to be serious, then God help us.

Dark Forces in Myanmar

Deutsche Welle reported on November 18:

“A self-proclaimed sorcerer has gone on trial in Myanmar over charges of murdering three young children. The man told the court that he was overtaken by a ‘dark spirit’ during an exorcism ritual… He had previously told the children’s parents that they were possessed by demons and gave the villagers ‘blessed water’ to drink, causing them to lose their senses. The supposed exorcism ritual lasted for two days, according to witnesses. ‘Because of what he did everyone was out of their mind,’ an uncle of one of the murdered children told the AFP agency.

“Most of the population in Myanmar are Buddhist, but superstitions including astrology and evil spirits have strong influence as well. The country was run for more than 25 years by the famously superstitious military dictator Ne Win, who consulted soothsayers, changed the law to force everybody to drive on the other side of the road on the advice of a wizard, as well as changing the denominations of country’s bank notes – making them multiples of his lucky number nine.”

These Satanic and demonic activities in Myanmar (which include the belief in astrology) must be taken very seriously. It shows how active demons are these days… and the Bible prophecies that in the end time, demons—the powers of darkness—will rage and destroy as never before in the history of mankind.

The Terrible Krampus Legend of the Christmas Season

The Sun wrote on November 21:

“Satanic celebrations erupt in Austria as hundreds turn out as [the] terrifying Christmas demon Krampus. The folklore legend punished naughty children by beating them with branches – or even EATING them. The ‘Henndorfer Perchtenlauf’ event in Austria draws thousands of people as performers brandish flame torches and weapons to thrill the crowds. Thousands run through the streets dressed as the half goat, half demon folklore legend.

“… The half-goat, half-demon is the exact opposite of Santa Claus and legend has it that Krampus punishes children who have misbehaved… performers can be seen wearing gruesome goat masks and fur coats as they run through billowing clouds of dark smoke. The performers – many on stilts – parade up to children in the crowds and bare their sharp teeth as they celebrate pre-Christian traditions.

“Some brandish weapons such as pitchforks and smokebombs, while others have terrifying bloodshot eyes. Dozens stomp through Henndorf in Salzburg chasing children and adults with cowbells around their necks. Last year, a Christmas comedy horror film – ‘Krampus’ – based on the character was released, grossing over £1.4million at the UK box office.

“The terrifying legend was the opposite of St Nick but would visit houses with him and punish children. Krampus historically comes around the night of December 5 alongside Santa Claus. He visits houses all night with St. Nick and punishes naughty children. Legend has it that throughout the Christmas season, misbehaved kids are beaten with birch branches or can disappear – stuffed into Krampus’ sack and hauled off to his lair to be tortured or eaten.”

These are not just harmless ideas. They are Satanic and also reveal much about our pagan Christmas traditions. In Germany, Krampus is known as “Knecht Ruprecht”—the demonic alter ego of Santa Claus.

The Santa Claus Lie–“Harmless” or Dangerous?

Daily Mail wrote on November 24:

“For most young children, it is an essential part of the magic of Christmas. But letting them believe in Santa Claus could do more harm than good, two academics claim. That is because when a child discovers the truth, they will no longer trust their parents, the pair claim in the respected medical journal Lancet Psychiatry.

“Professor Christopher Boyle, a psychologist at the University of Exeter, and researcher Dr Kathy McKay from the University of New England in Australia,… add: ‘All children will eventually find out they’ve been consistently lied to for years, and this might make them wonder what other lies they’ve been told.’…

“Last night Professor Boyle… defended the claims, made in an essay titled A Wonderful Lie. ‘The morality of making children believe in such myths has to be questioned,’ he said… ‘The point is that it is based on a myth, it is based on a lie. There comes a point where the child is going to ask you “Is Santa real?” and at that point you have to decide what to tell them.’…

“In the essay, they write: ‘Perhaps the biggest moral breach of the Christmas lie comes with the fact that one day, the truth comes out. Children must all find out eventually that their parents have blatantly and consistently carried on a lie for a number of years. Children may find out from a third party, or through their parents getting bored of the make-believe and making a mistake; both might affect the trust that exists between child and parent. If adults have been lying about Santa, even though it has usually been well-intentioned, what else is a lie? If Santa isn’t real… [is] God?’”

The Catholic Church’s Stance on Abortion

CNN wrote on November 21:

“Pope Francis has extended indefinitely the power of Catholic priests to forgive abortions, making the announcement in an apostolic letter released Monday. It continues a special dispensation granted last year for the duration of the Year of Mercy — which finished Sunday — which gave all priests, rather than just bishops and specially designated confessors, the power to absolve the sin of abortion…

“[The] Catholic Church’s stance on abortion has not changed — it is still viewed as a ‘grave sin.’ But it makes it easier for women who have had abortions to be absolved for their actions, and rejoin the church… Since the first century, the Catholic Church has held that abortion is a ‘moral evil.’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that every human life ‘from the moment of conception until death is sacred’ — and that any Catholic who procures an abortion incurs automatic excommunication, a penalty that often only a bishop could lift.

“John Paul II, whose papacy ran from 1978 to 2005, emphasized the traditional Catholic view on abortion, describing it as ‘murder,’ and the church has been a strong force behind pro-life groups worldwide…

“Pope Francis has forged a more forgiving, merciful direction for the Church since his papacy began in March 2013, taking a more welcoming position toward groups that had previously found themselves on the margins of the Catholic establishment, such as gays and lesbians, and divorced Catholics…”

The Catholic Church is correct in stating that human life begins with conception; that abortion is murder; and that God forgives upon true and genuine repentance.

Earthquake Strikes Off Fukushima in Japan

NBC wrote on November 21:

“An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.3 [Deutsche Welle wrote about a magnitude of 7.4] struck Tuesday off the coast of Fukushima prefecture in Japan. A tsunami warning for waves of up to 10 feet was issued. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the quake struck around 6 a.m at a depth of 6 miles. It warned people along the coast to move to higher ground.

“Fukushima prefecture is home to the nuclear power plant that was destroyed by a huge tsunami following an offshore earthquake in 2011. NHK urged people to flee the coast immediately, reminding them of the devastating 2011 quake that killed about 18,000 people.”

Israel in Flames

“More than 60,000 people from the northern city of Haifa were evacuated from their homes Thursday, as firefighters battled a series of massive blazes that have gripped the country over the past three days. Five countries, including Russia and Turkey, sent fire fighting planes to assist Israel in tackling the fires, which officials said might have been started intentionally — possibly for nationalist motives. Israel’s internal security agencies are looking into the causes of the fires, which started on Monday night and have broken out in several places around the country since…

“Israeli officials said that some 10 firefighting planes from Greece, Italy, Croatia and Cyprus, as well as Turkey and Russia, had either arrived in Israel or were on their way to help put out the blazes that have showed no signs of abating. Netanyahu spoke Thursday morning with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who agreed to send two massive firefighting planes that could drop water on the blazes. Local media reported that Israel was planning to bring the supertanker firefighting plane from the U.S. to gain control of the situation but it will only arrive in 24 hours.”

“‘Unprecedented’: More than 100 Million Trees Dead in California”

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote on November 17:

“California’s lingering drought has pushed the number of dead trees across the state past 100 million, an ecological event experts are calling dangerous and unprecedented in underlining the heightened risk of wildfires fueled by bone-dry forests.

“… the U.S. Forest Service said 62 million trees have died this year in California, bringing the six-year total to more than 102 million. Scientists blame five-plus years of drought on the increasing tree deaths — tree ‘fatalities’ increased by 100 percent in 2016 — but the rate of their demise has been much faster than expected, increasing the risk of ecologically damaging erosion and wildfires even bigger than the largest blazes the state’s seen this year. There are about 21 million acres of trees spread across California’s 18 national forests, and the latest figures show 7.7 million of them — more than one-third — are dead…

“Rising temperatures throughout the state aren’t helping matters, and neither are the persevering infestations of bark beetles fond of gnawing through pine trees stressed by drought, leaving in their wake thousands of acres of brown, dead wood… Tree mortality, and what drives it,… is still a poorly understood process…”

New Discoveries About the Cheops Pyramid

Haaretz wrote on November 23:

“The oldest known harbor in the world has been discovered by archaeologists diving off Egypt’s Red Sea coast at Wadi el-Jarf. The site was found near a huge archive of papyri – which is also the oldest known to date, and which describe how the harbor was built and used by the great King Cheops to import materials to build his flagship monument, the Great Pyramid of Giza… Cheops, also known by his Egyptian name Khufu… had the harbor erected 180 kilometers south of Suez, in the foothills of the desert mountains. The site is nowhere near Giza: it seems it served mainly to import relatively lighter copper and minerals, which were used to manufacture the tools that were employed to build the pyramid…

“King Cheops himself was not only a great pyramid builder but evidently also a great businessman, trading along the Canaanite coast up to Byblos (today in northern Lebanon), and inland to the Sinai Desert and Jordan. The ancient Egyptians may have built the harbor to secure their supply of strategic resources, such as copper and turquoise, which were mined in the southern Sinai. Indeed, the entire history of pharaonic Egypt was inextricably linked with use of boats and ships.  Sail boats augmented with oars could travel 80 kilometers in a day, convenient not only for trade, but to quickly deploy troops…

“Perhaps most astounding was the discovery in summer of around 800 pieces of papyri, dating to the reign of Cheops´s 27th regnal reign. This is the oldest papyrus archive ever found in Egypt, according to the Egyptian Institute of Antiquities… The excavators believe that the papyri are the archive of a team of sailors, and includes two categories of documents. One is accounts organized in tables, corresponding to daily or monthly deliveries of food from various areas including the Nile Delta: mostly bread and beer for the port workers. The other documents are logbooks recording everyday activities of a team led by an inspector named Merer, an official from Memphis… Every fourth day, blocks would be delivered to a pyramid construction site on the Giza plateau called the ‘Horizon of Cheops’, the papers explain…

“Recent calculations estimate that actually building the pyramid required 5,000 men, or, 15,000 if one includes people bringing the raw material to Giza… They were not slaves, but specialists who were employed all the year long by the royal administration – and, from the records that we have on the papyrus, they were rather privileged…”

Strong evidence exists that Cheops, also known by his Egyptian name Khufu, was none other than the biblical Job.

Is Mr. Trump “Breaking” His Promises?

JTA wrote on November 11:

“Walid Phares, one of Trump’s top foreign policy advisers… signaled that Trump might not move the US Embassy to Jerusalem immediately and indicated he would make negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal a priority right off the bat.  The comments appeared to represent a break with some comments made by other Trump advisers and the president-elect himself, and highlighted persisting confusion over what the contours of a Trump administration’s foreign policy may look like. Speaking to BBC Radio on Thursday, Phares said the nuclear deal, which Trump has railed against and vowed to dismantle, would instead be renegotiated with Tehran. ‘Ripping up is maybe a too strong of word, he’s gonna take that agreement… and then review it,’ he said…

“During the election campaign, Trump described the nuclear deal as ‘disastrous’ and said it would be his ‘number one priority’ to dismantle it. Yet he also sowed confusion when he said he would demand greater oversight over the deal and enforce it…

“On Thursday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner warned that nothing was stopping Trump from tearing up the agreement, rebuffing comments from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the pact was enshrined by the United Nations Security Council and could therefore not be canceled by one party…

“Phares also told the BBC that while Trump was committed to moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as other presidential candidates have vowed, he would not do so unilaterally… Earlier Thursday, Trump Israel adviser Jason Dov Greenblatt told Israel’s Army Radio that the president-elect would make good on his promise… Congress passed a law in 1995 mandating the move of the embassy to Jerusalem, but allowed the president a waiver. Each president since then has routinely exercised the waiver, citing the national security interests of the United States, despite repeated campaign promises…

“In comments published in German weekly Der Spiegel Thursday, Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier [see more articles about him below] said it was urgent for the incoming US administration to set out its positions quickly since ‘very many questions are open’ on its foreign policy. Steinmeier said he had spoken several times with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger about what President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policies might look like. But Steinmeier said even Kissinger had no insights to offer…

“In Israel, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported Thursday that Israeli officials were viewing Trump as ‘a puzzle,’ without a clear sense of whether he will match his words with actions…”

Only Words…?

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 11:

“Donald Trump promised to undo the Iran nuclear deal hammered out by the Obama administration and its international partners with Tehran. He promised to take the United States out of the Paris climate agreement signed earlier this year after years of international negotiations. He promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health care reform, better known as ‘Obamacare.’ He vowed to undo numerous trade agreements negotiated by previous US administrations with various nations and replace them with better deals.

“These are just four out of the range of existing agreements and laws Donald Trump promised to repeal upon becoming president. And with both chambers of Congress in Republican hands, what could hold a President Trump back from making good on these promises which played a key role in his change-driven campaign agenda?…

“President Trump could pull the United States out of both the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal. Since both agreements are not binding treaties, which would have required Senate approval President Obama was unlikely to get, but executive agreements, Trump could potentially issue an executive order repealing Obama’s existing executive agreements…

“… while revoking the Affordable Care Act, loathed by conservatives, would fulfill a long-standing Republican promise and hand them an important symbolic victory, it would also strongly impact those covered by it…

“While there are clear political obstacles to fulfilling many of Trump’s central campaign promises, if Donald Trump has proven anything during his campaign, then it is that… in the end, he, not his advisors, makes the important decisions… The trouble with Trump is nobody really knows him…”

… Or Maybe Not?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 10:

“Donald Trump’s pledge to deny entry to the country for all Muslims temporarily disappeared from his campaign website after lingering there since December, following the attacks in San Bernardino. The removal prompted new questions about one of Trump’s most controversial promises. But it was restored Thursday afternoon after what Trump’s staff characterized as a technical glitch…

“Trump’s promise helped him win the GOP primary, while drawing criticism from people who said it ran counter to American values of religious tolerance. In recent months, Trump has suggested that he would revise it to instead target people from countries linked to terrorism, rather than use religion as a criteria. But he had not, until recent days, removed the initial statement from his website. Thursday, as he was strolling the Capitol with congressional leaders, he walked away from reporters who asked whether the plan to ban Muslims remained on his agenda.”

Mass Deportations or Not?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 13:

“Donald Trump has said he will deport 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants ‘immediately’ upon taking office…

“Speaking on CBS’ ’60 Minutes; on Sunday, Trump said that on entering office in January he will deport as many as 3 million undocumented migrants. ‘What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people – probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million – we are getting them out of the country or we are going to incarcerate,’ Trump said. ‘But we’re getting them out of the country; they’re here illegally.’

“However, Trump’s comments contradicted those made by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Speaking with CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday, Ryan said that mass deportation is not a focus of the Republicans right now. ‘I think we should put people’s minds at ease’ on mass deportation, he said, because the top priority is really border security.

“Reiterating his plans to reinforce the border between the US and Mexico, Trump also said in Sunday’s interview that his proposed wall may not entirely be built from concrete or bricks and mortar. ‘There could be some fencing,’ Trump said. ‘But [in] certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I’m very good at this; it’s called construction,’ he added… Once the border is ‘secure,’ the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement will assess the status of the remaining undocumented immigrants in the country, Trump told CBS…

“Trump made the first major appointments of his administration on Sunday, selecting Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff, the top employee in the administration. He also named Stephen Bannon, his campaign CEO and executive of the conservative website ‘Breitbart,’ as his chief strategist and senior counselor… As the head of the Republican National Committee, Priebus is expected to interact with Republicans on Capitol Hill, some of whom have been skeptical of a Trump presidency. Priebus is close to House Speaker Ryan.

“Priebus said the top priorities of the Trump administration were ‘to create an economy that works for everyone, secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism.’ Priebus, Bannon and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who was tasked with heading the transition team, will be the three primarily responsible for choosing Trump’s cabinet.”

Mr. Trump’s promises during the campaign did not allow for a “fence.” In addition, some of Mr. Trump’s surrogates suggested that the “wall” might not be a “real” wall made out of bricks, but just some security control from the air or through border guards.

Mr. Trump’s Shifting Positions

Newsmax wrote on November 11:

“In the first interview since his election Tuesday, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that President Barack Obama asked that he reconsider repealing the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act during their meeting Thursday at the White House.  ‘I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,’ Trump told the Journal. ‘Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced.’

“Trump described Obamacare as having become so unworkable and expensive that ‘you can’t use it,’ the Journal reported. But he said he favors keeping the prohibition against insurers denying coverage because of patients’ existing conditions — and a provision that allows parents to provide years of additional coverage for children on their insurance policies, the Journal reported.

“Trump also punted on a question if he’d appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, saying: ‘It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform.'”

Deutsche Welle added:

“During the presidential campaign, Trump described the Obama healthcare plan as ‘a total disaster’ and promised to ‘ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare’ on ‘day one of the Trump administration.’”

CNN added:

“President-elect Donald Trump appeared open Friday to compromising on his oft-repeated pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare — citing a conversation with none other than President Barack Obama himself. But the openness was complicated by a shift in the official positions listed on his website…”

The Huffington Post wrote:

“… it’s conceivable Republicans could decide to pass a law that they can label as ‘repeal and replace’ but that mostly modifies the existing system… Stopping short of full repeal would involve its own political peril, of course. Right-wing groups eager to rip out Obamacare, root-and-branch, would be furious. And, to be clear, it’s entirely possible Trump’s statement was just poor phrasing…

“But chances are good that Trump has never spent much time thinking about how the health care law actually works, let alone how to replace it. After finally confronting the real effects of repeal, he might not want to be the president whose term begins by yanking insurance from millions of people ― many of whom, assuredly, count themselves among his supporters.”

On Mr. Trump’s Website, the following is stated as of November 11: “Congress must act. Our elected representatives in the House and Senate must… [c]ompletely repeal Obamacare.” Mr. Trump’s words were not carefully chosen. He should not have used the word “amend,” as this is different from “repeal and replace.” To be fair, Mr. Trump did say before that he would like to retain some of the provisions in Obamacare, by incorporating them in his new health-care proposals.

Just Campaign Talk?

The Washington Post wrote on November 11:

“President-elect Donald Trump and key advisers in recent days have backed away from some of the most sweeping pledges that the Republican candidate made on the campaign trail, suggesting that his administration may not deliver on promises that were important to his most fervent supporters. Trump built his campaign message around bold vows to, among other things, force Mexico to pay for a massive border wall, fully repeal the Affordable Care Act and ban Muslims from entering the United States. But in the days since his upset election victory, he or his advisers have suggested that those proposals and others may be subject to revision…

“Trump… avoided answering whether he would follow through on a campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state…

“There is also no guarantee that Trump will not return to his previous positions. In August, he appeared to consider softening his proposal to deport millions of illegal immigrants en masse, only to give a rousing speech retaining his hard-line stance. With little clarity from Trump himself, some of his surrogates and advisers have given a mixed view of what Trump will hope to accomplish in his first 100 days in office, discounting some of his most well-known proposals.

“Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump adviser, cast doubt this week on whether the new president would seek to have Mexico fund his proposed border wall — a pledge that inspired regular chants of ‘Build that wall!’ during campaign rallies. He’ll spend a lot of time controlling the border. He may not spend very much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it, but it was a great campaign device,’ Gingrich said Thursday…

“Former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a close adviser to Trump, sounded certain that the wall would be built — but was far from clear about the timeline. He said during an interview on CNN Thursday that he thinks Trump should prioritize tax reform in his first 100 days rather than issues such as building the border wall…

“On deportations, the campaign has yet to detail how many undocumented immigrants might be targeted for immediate removal by the Trump administration. The number could range from 1 million to 6 million, according to various priorities Trump outlined over time throughout the campaign. During the GOP primaries, he repeatedly said that all of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants would have to leave. Other proposals also carry constitutional and ethical implications. After calling for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’ in 2015, Trump recast the idea this year as encompassing countries that have been ‘compromised by terrorism.’…

“Trump said during the campaign that he would reinstate the use of waterboarding against terrorism suspects — a practice that Congress made illegal after its use during the George W. Bush administration. But former House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said this week that Trump’s waterboarding remarks were just ‘campaign talk,’ according to CNN.

“The future president, who ran on an anti-establishment message, also faces pressure to accede to conservative orthodoxies that run counter to promises he made on the campaign trail. Speaking about the months ahead, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) signaled this week that he would consider cutting Medicare, arguing that the program ‘is going broke’ and would need to be reformed at the same time Republicans repeal Obamacare. That, however, would contradict Trump’s vows not to touch entitlement programs…

“On international trade, it remains unclear whether Trump will follow through on his recommendations for punitive tariffs against China. Trump made a point throughout his campaign of trashing the Chinese for devaluing their currency, and said on occasion that he would put a tax on goods from China as a retaliation. ‘The tax should be 45 percent,’ he told the New York Times in January, a figure he used on several occasions. But senior policy adviser Wilbur Ross, who has consulted with Trump on his first 100 days, sought to walk back those campaign claims during an interview this week with Yahoo Finance, denying that Trump had made the suggestion…”

The American people who followed the debates and campaigns diligently, remember very well what was promised. Even and especially Trump supporters will by no means be satisfied with broken promises labeled as “a great campaign device” or “just campaign talk.”  Nor will they accept that they are now being told that Mr. Trump never made a particular promise, while millions heard him doing so. If Mr. Trump does not deliver on what he has promised, he will have to face an angry nation. And if he delivers on some of his more outrageous promises, he will face an angry nation and an angry world. Mr. Trump appears to be in a “no-win” situation.

For instance, a 45% tax on Chinese goods was most certainly more than just a suggestion, and the Chinese understood very well what Mr. Trump was saying. Please note the next article:

China Warns Mr. Trump

CNBC wrote on November 14:

“Apple iPhones and other U.S. goods could suffer sales hits in China if President-elect Donald Trump goes through with his ‘naïve’ plan of slapping a large import tariff on Chinese products, a state-backed newspaper warned on Sunday. During his election campaign this year, Trump spoke of a 45 percent import tariff on all Chinese goods while failing to outline how it would work. Should any such policy come into effect, China will take a ‘tit-for-tat approach’, according to an opinion piece in the Global Times, a newspaper backed by the Communist party. ‘A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. U.S. auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and U.S. soybean and maize imports will be halted. China can also limit the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S.,’ the Global Times article read…

“But the Chinese newspaper was not convinced Trump would go through with his suggestion, calling it ‘merely campaign rhetoric’ and questioning its legal validity. U.S. law dictates that presidents can only impose tariffs of no more than 15 percent for a maximum of 150 days on all imports. As an example of earlier tariff-tit-for-tats, the Global Times pointed toward the 35 percent tariffs imposed in 2009 on Chinese tires. China retaliated with its own tariffs on U.S. car parts and chicken. ‘Both China and the U.S. suffered losses as a result. From then on, the Obama administration waged no trade war against China. If Trump imposes a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports, China-U.S. trade will be paralyzed,’ the Global Times said…

“Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump spoke over the phone on Sunday. ‘During the call, the leaders established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another, and President-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward,’ a statement from Trump’s presidential transition team said.”

What incredible nice political words after months and months of accusations…

Donald Trump Profited from Fake News

AFP wrote on November 10:

“With the mainstream media almost uniformly hostile toward him, Donald Trump rallied supporters during the presidential campaign by delivering his message on Twitter and a loose network of alternative news sites… The real estate billionaire kept momentum even as major news organizations unearthed embarrassing episodes about his past, including on his finances and sexual conduct. As mainstream media stepped up their investigations, going so far as to call him a ‘liar,’ Trump was able to sustain a counter-narrative on social media used by conservative, or ‘alt-right,’ news sites friendly to the Republican candidate…

“As a result, fact-checking by traditional media — which revealed Trump’s massive penchant for exaggeration and falsehood — had less impact than might have been expected… Many Trump supporters and conservatives turned to Twitter, Facebook and other social media to spread their messages and counter the news in traditional outlets. But much of the news on Facebook was fake… One local official shared news on Facebook with headlines such as ‘Hillary Clinton Calling for Civil War If Trump Is Elected’ and ‘Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President’… The dissemination of such fake news was a key factor in Trump’s win…”

The Bible reports about incidents when God allowed false rumors to spread, in order to fulfill His purpose.

Mr. Trump’s Double Standard

The Huffington Post wrote on November 12:

“In… tweets related to the 2012 election… Trump described the Electoral College as ‘phoney’ [sic] and called for a ‘revolution.’ ‘He lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election,’ Trump said then of Obama. ‘We should have a revolution in this country!’

“Of course, Trump ended up being wrong: Obama won both the popular and Electoral College votes.

“Trump himself won this year’s vote of the Electoral College, which he attacked in 2012 as a ‘disaster for a democracy.’ As of Friday, he was losing the popular vote, with 60,248,555 votes, compared with 60,811,795 for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to CNN.”

Will NATO Evaporate?

NBC News reported on November 12:

“If Donald Trump actually follows through on his bold rhetoric he is in danger of tearing NATO apart, and with it the very concept of ‘the West’ itself, according to experts. During his campaign, Trump sent shock waves of alarm through Europe after revealing that he might not come to the aid of his NATO allies if they were attacked. This called into question a fundamental principle of the alliance: that an attack against one of its 28 members is considered an attack against all.

“Furthermore, the president-elect has cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a strongman who’s positioned himself as NATO’s arch-antagonist. All this could have mortal consequences for a Euro-American alliance funded by billions of U.S. dollars over its 67-year history. ‘If a NATO member was attacked by Russia and Washington didn’t come to its aid, then ‘it’s finished — that’s completely the end of NATO,’ according to Judy Dempsey…  ‘If it becomes clear that the U.S. will not honor Article 5 commitments, or enough members believe that they won’t, then there’s a possibility to total disintegration,’ said Tate Nurkin…

“Many analysts agree Moscow could potentially create a standoff in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia… The Baltics were once part of the Soviet Union and many of their citizens self-identify as ethnic Russians. Moscow could claim that these ethnic Russians were somehow under threat by their Western-leaning governments, so the hypothetical scenario goes, and stage a military intervention to protect them. This could force the U.S. into a dilemma: Defend the Baltic nations and risk war with Russia, or abandon Article 5 and effect the disintegration of NATO.

“It wouldn’t even have to come to that. In reality, the concept of collective-defense works purely because of the threat the U.S. military would get involved. If Russia and the Baltics don’t believe the White House would intervene then this evaporates.”

Lithuania Fearful

The Guardian wrote on November 11:

“Donald Trump appeared overnight on a wall in the Lithuanian capital this spring – larger than lifesize and locked in a kiss with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The mural was meant as satire, a nod to the unexpected mutual appreciation between two macho demagogues on opposite sides of the world, and a wink at the long shadow of Soviet history that still hangs over the region. Now, with Trump president-elect and America’s commitment to protecting the Baltics in question for the first time in decades, it seems to express something much darker…

“Trump’s victory has been greeted with trepidation far beyond America’s borders. His confusing collection of policy promises and pride in his own unpredictability threaten disruption to the geopolitical order from South Korea to Syria. But those fears are felt particularly keenly in the Baltic states, western outposts of the Soviet empire less than three decades ago, now vulnerable republics on the doorstep of an increasingly assertive Russia…

“Lithuanians and other Baltic nations…  have watched the Russian leader foment war in Georgia and Ukraine, and seize Crimea, and have warned that they could be next, if Putin believes the protection from their US and European allies is faltering…

“Even more chilling for those willing to trust Trump was just indulging in election politicking were remarks from key ally Newt Gingrich, who dismissed Estonia… as virtually part of Russia and barely worth defending…

“Once a regional power, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania came under Moscow’s control in the 18th century, when Russia also tried to stamp out Lithuanian identity, banning books in Lithuanian and persecuting the Roman Catholic church… Immediately south-west of Lithuania is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where it has been ramping up troops and military hardware. Those weapons, and Russia’s close relationship with neighbouring Belarus, means the Baltics could be swiftly cut off from the rest of Europe, if Lithuania’s short stretch of border with Poland was threatened.”

Pro-Russian Candidates in Bulgaria and Moldova Win

Deutsche Welle reported on November 13:

“With nearly 100 percent of votes counted, Igor Dodon has declared victory in Moldova’s presidential election. The former economy minister hopes to strengthen ties with Moscow… The election results came as nearby Bulgaria voted in Moscow-friendly Rumen Radev in their presidential election. The victory for the Socialist ally triggered the resignation of center-right Prime Minister Boiko Borisov.”

Coming — A Great Bargain Between the USA and Russia?

The Daily Mail wrote on November 16:

“The restoration of the Soviet empire is under way — and America is not going to stop it. That is the chilling conclusion we must draw from Donald Trump’s first few days as President-elect, in which he received what he termed a ‘beautiful’ letter from Vladimir Putin, followed by an amicable phone call in which the two pledged to restore friendly relations between Washington and Moscow.

“Then, yesterday, Syria’s President Assad said that Mr Trump would be a ‘natural ally’ alongside Russia in the bloodsoaked Syrian civil war if he fulfils his pledge to fight terrorism. Assad and Putin are, of course, at the forefront of the aerial bombardment that began on Tuesday against rebel-held areas of the city of Aleppo after several weeks of relative calm.  The assaults were launched by war planes and via missile attacks from a Russian aircraft carrier stationed off the Syrian coast… the U.S. President-elect does not see it as a priority to stop Russian aggression outside its borders…

“The real damage will be done abroad — to us and to others who depend on strong defence and intelligence ties with America. Intelligence experts fear Putin will offer President Trump a ‘Grand Bargain’ some time in 2017… He [Putin] would promise… a future of peace and friendship. The deal-loving tycoon [Trump]… would boast about saving billions of dollars by being able to pull American troops out of Europe.

“In truth, this deal would be as shameful as the Yalta summit of 1945 at which Stalin outmanoeuvred Britain and America, consigning Eastern Europe to misery and captivity within the Soviet Empire. It would also have echoes of the Munich Agreement of 1938 in which our Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sought to appease Hitler by letting him dismember our ally, Czechoslovakia. Either way, the ‘Grand Bargain’ would be both cynical and astonishingly dangerous.

“Countries such as Estonia would fight, just as Ukraine has, rather than submit to a Kremlin take-over. We [Europe] would be drawn in — and would face an emboldened and powerful Russia — and without American help…”

 Barack Obama and Angela Merkel Lecture Donald Trump

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“Offering some pointed foreign policy advice to his successor, President Barack Obama expressed hope Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump would stand up to Russia when it deviates from U.S. ‘values and international norms.’ Obama, in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his final presidential visit to Germany, said that… Trump shouldn’t ‘simply take a real-politik approach’ and suggest[ed] ‘that if we just cut some deals with Russia, even if it hurts people or even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long-term problems in regions like Syria, that we just do whatever’s convenient at the time.’

“… A joint opinion piece by Obama and Merkel published Thursday in Germany’s weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche seemed directed as much at the incoming Trump administration in the U.S. as at European nations… Obama and Merkel noted that European Union-U.S. trade was the largest between any two partners worldwide, and emphasized that the trans-Atlantic friendship has helped forge a climate accord, provide help for refugees worldwide, form a collective defense under NATO, and strengthen the global fight against the Islamic State extremist group.

“Trump, in contrast, has called climate change a ‘hoax’ and said the climate accord should be renegotiated. He promised to tighten rules for accepting refugees, complained the U.S. was paying more than its share to support NATO and has sharply criticized the U.S. strategy for fighting IS…

“The mood for Obama’s latest visit was significantly tamped down compared with his first visit to the German capital in 2008, when some 200,000 exuberant fans packed the road between the landmark Brandenburg Gate and Victory Column to hear the then-candidate, in a speech that solidified his place on the world stage. Obama told Berliners then that progress requires sacrifice and shared burdens among allies. ‘That is why America cannot turn inward,’ Obama told the cheering crowd. ‘That is why Europe cannot turn inward.’

“Eight years later, his words seem to have foreshadowed the nationalist, isolationist forces gaining traction in some parts of Europe and punctuated by Trump’s victory in the U.S. election.”

EU to Uphold “Iran Deal”

The Associated Press reported on November 14:

“Top EU diplomats are calling for more robust European defense and a greater European voice in world affairs as Donald Trump — whose isolationist, protectionist promises have worried many in Europe — prepares to assume the US presidency… ‘The European Union is a superpower,’ EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters…

“In a first move Monday, the ministers reaffirmed their support for the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has branded the ‘worst deal in the world’… They said ‘the European Union reiterates its resolute commitment’ to the part of the action plan that EU heavyweights Britain, France and Germany agreed upon with Iran…”

The “Need” for a European Army after Mr. Trump’s Election

Daily Mail wrote on November 11:

“Donald Trump’s election as US President makes an EU army even more necessary, Eurocrats have said. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said Mr Trump’s pledge to cut spending on Nato and his isolationist approach to foreign policy gives Europe no choice but to strengthen its commons security and defence structures. His call to arms was echoed by the EU’s head of diplomacy, who called for the bloc to become a ‘superpower’ and act as the ‘principal global security provider’.

“It has sent alarm bells ringing in Britain as MPs fear that an EU army and a disengaged America will leave the UK isolated on the global stage. Setting out his plans to press ahead with building an EU army, Mr Juncker said: ‘The Americans… will not ensure the security of the Europeans in the long term. We have to do this ourselves. That is why we need a new start in the field of European defence, up to the goal of setting up a European army.

“Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative who represents the bloc on the global stage – published extensive plans for an EU army in the summer, deliberately waiting until after Britain’s EU referendum. Yesterday she said the EU must strengthen militarily in response to Mr Trump’s election to the White House. ‘In a changing global landscape, Europe will be more and more an indispensable power,’ she said. ‘This is the time to take on our responsibilities and to respond to that call and we can do this only as a true union.’…

“Reaction to Mr Trump’s shock victory on Wednesday was much colder in tone on the continent than Theresa May’s warm congratulations. French President Francois Hollande said his election ‘opens a period of uncertainty’ that must be met by a united Europe, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel… said her offer of ‘close cooperation’ was dependent with Mr Trump was dependent on him respecting liberal values.”

Germany Backs EU Army

The EUObserver wrote von November 11:

“Donald Trump’s victory, as well as Brexit, ought to speed up plans for EU defence integration, Germany has said. ‘Europe needs the common political will for more security policy relevance. The outcome of the election in America could provide an additional impetus’, German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen said in an opinion article in the Rheinische Post, a German newspaper, on Thursday (10 November).”

The Irish Times added on November 11:

“Germany has backed a renewed call by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker for the European Union to push ahead with developing an EU army… His call received swift backing from senior German figures on Thursday, ahead of an EU defence minister summit in mid-December.”

Europe’s Perfect Storm

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 10:

“The European Union is facing what the Americans like to call a ‘perfect storm.’ Russian President Vladimir Putin is pursuing expansionism on the back of violence and propaganda, Turkey is transforming into a dictatorship and populists are driving Britain out of the EU and have risen to power in Poland and Hungary… And now, Donald Trump.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel even made her cooperation with Trump dependent on his adherence to fundamental values. A German head of government admonishing a newly elected US president to uphold freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human dignity?… almost nothing seems normal these days — neither in European relations with the US nor elsewhere. Current events in Turkey, for example, would likely be the top issue of concern for the EU if it weren’t for Trump’s election…

“Trump could contribute to European unity, even if unwittingly… Thus far, the US president-elect hasn’t presented anything that could even remotely be called a coherent foreign policy agenda… Eastern European countries under threat from Russia… may not be able to wait until Trump presents more precise plans, if indeed he ever does. During the campaign, after all, Trump repeatedly emphasized that unpredictability in foreign and security policy was advantageous…

“Daniela Schwarzer of the German Council on Foreign Relations expressed a similar view. Even if Trump won’t be able to implement everything that he promised during the campaign, ‘Germany and Europe can no longer rely as usual on the trans-Atlantic partnership,’ says Schwarzer…

“Many in Brussels are concerned that the EU is facing the same fate as the US — namely that Front National leader Marine Le Pen could end up being elected president in France and that Frauke Petry, head of the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany, could even take over the German Chancellery. Such a thing might seem unimaginable, but many thought that Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections was unimaginable too.

“The anger that many voters feel against government institutions and the establishment, the anger that propelled Trump to the presidency, is also widely present in Europe. But nobody has yet found an answer for how to oppose it…”

Angela Merkel Last Powerful Defender of Europe?

The New York Times wrote on November 12:

“Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has emerged as the last powerful defender of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance after the election of Donald J. Trump… An increasingly divided Europe is looking to Germany, its richest power, to cope with its many problems…

“Italy and Spain are politically fragile, Austria might elect a hard-right president next month, and Ms. Merkel faces difficult negotiations with Britain over its so-called Brexit. And with Mr. Trump advocating ‘America First’ and questioning the value of the NATO alliance, there is pressure on Germany to take a greater role in European security — always a delicate matter…

“Berlin’s B.Z. tabloid… pronounced the election of Mr. Trump ‘the night the West died.’”

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier Refuses to Apologize to Mr. Trump

Express wrote on November 11:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has refused to apologise to President-Elect Donald Trump after calling him a hate preacher. And while world leaders have flocked to offer their congratulations to Mr Trump on his shock US election – Mr Steinmeier is not for turning. In a video of an interview the politician was asked directly whether he will apologise to Mr Trump now that he will have to work alongside him on world affairs. But Mr Steinmeier did what politicians do best and ignored the question – giving another scathing review of Mr Trump.

“He said: ‘We have probably never experienced an election campaign, especially not in the US, but I also can’t remember European election campaigns, in which the rift between the political candidates were dug so deeply and in which the confrontation was so harsh, so unyielding and so unforgiving as it was during this election campaign… A lot of hatred was involved there and I believe that this is an impression that I share with many others. If I think back to many conversations with my European colleagues who were similarly irritated, shook their heads. But, who were also especially worried about the question of how a society can come back together after such an election campaign and I believe this is one of the big challenges that a president Trump will be facing now, who was elected.’”

Frank-Walter Steinmeier the Next German President?

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“The conservative CDU and CSU parties have backed Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier to replace Joachim Gauck as president, paving the way for him to take up the post without a serious challenge. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) has backed Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier to be the ruling coaliton’s candidate for the German presidency, following talks among party leaders on Monday morning. The CDU’s Bavarian sister-party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), also gave its backing for Steinmeier. ‘We have come to an agreement, CSU and CDU,’ CSU leader Horst Seehofer said…

“The conservative Union’s support clears the way for the current foreign minister to go unchallenged in taking over the presidency from Joachim Gauck on February 12. The grand CDU-SPD-CSU coalition enjoys an overwhelming advantage in the electoral assembly that will choose the new president, meaning challenges from a candidate fielded by the Left party or the Greens should be easily overcome.

“The German presidency is a largely ceremonial role that is meant to transcend party politics and serve as a moral compass speaking hard truths to the nation. Steinmeier tends to score well in personal approval ratings, and has recently exhibited some of the hard talk expected from a president – for instance being cool towards British Foreign Minister and Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson, and towards newly-elected US President Donald Trump…

“Steinmeier has twice served as foreign minister in grand coalition governments, each time cooperating with the CDU/CSU and working under Merkel.”

The Anti-Trump Candidate

The Local wrote on November 14:

“Germany’s ruling coalition has backed Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the country’s next president, party sources said Monday, paving the way for a sharp critic of Donald Trump to become head of state… Steinmeier, 60, has emerged in recent months as the German government’s most strident detractor of US president-elect Donald Trump. He warned a day after Trump’s shock election that transatlantic relations would become ‘more difficult’… During the US campaign, Steinmeier was even more outspoken, saying the prospect of a Trump presidency was a ‘frightening’ prospect for the world. He also compared Trump to a ‘hate preacher’, saying he had much in common with ‘fear-mongers’ in Germany’s right-wing populist AfD party as well as advocates of Britain’s exit from the EU.

“On Monday, the respected daily Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) also saw the Trump presidency as relevant to Steinmeier’s proposed new role, describing him as the ‘anti-Trump.”

Japan and India Sign Nuclear Agreement

Deutsche Welle reported on November 11:

“Japan signed a civilian nuclear agreement with India on Friday, allowing the East Asian country to supply its advanced nuclear technology to its South Asian ally. The pact forbids that India use the resources for the production of nuclear weapons.

“This marks the first time that Japan has agreed to contribute to the nuclear energy industry of any country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The treaty’s objective is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy while stemming the production of nuclear arms… India has refused to sign the NPT on the grounds that the treaty’s definition of states who are allowed to build nuclear weapons discriminates against India. The definition in the treaty is limited to those states who tested weapons before 1967. India, which has nuclear weapons, tested its first bomb in 1974.”

Powerful Earthquakes Hits New Zealand

Reuters wrote on November 14:

“A powerful earthquake (with a revised magnitude of 7.8) rocked New Zealand on Monday… Emergency response teams were flying by helicopter to the region at the epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude quake, some 91 km (57 miles) northeast of Christchurch in the South Island, amid reports of injuries and collapsed buildings. Hundreds of aftershocks, the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude, continued to shake the country well into mid-morning, after the initial quake struck minutes after midnight…

“New Zealand lies in the seismically active ‘Ring of Fire’, a 40,000 km arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Ocean. Around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur within this region…”

Deutsche Welle added on November 14:

“New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Monday indicated that damage… could cost the country around 2 billion New Zealand dollars ($1.43 billion, 1.33 billion euros), local news reported.”