September 11 Conspiracies Alive and Well

 A highly controversial and speculative piece about the alleged “inside job” of the September 11 attack was published in the respected scientific magazine, “Europhysics News,” Volume 47, Number 4, July-August 2016, which was authored by four writers. The Editors noted the following:  “This feature is somewhat different from our usual purely scientific articles, in that it contains some speculation. However, given the timing and the importance of the issue, we consider that this feature is sufficiently technical and interesting to merit publication for our readers. Obviously, the content of this article is the responsibility of the authors.”

These authors included Steven Jones, a “former full professor of physics at Brigham Young University.” (According to Der Stern, dated September 9, 2016, this Mormon university dismissed him in 2006 when he began to propagate the 9-11 conspiracy theory). Another author was (retired) Robert Korol, “a professor emeritus of civil engineering at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada”; Anthony Szamboti, “a mechanical design engineer,” and Ted Walter “who holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley” (compare Europhysics News’ annotation.)

The article caught attention in obscure pseudo-scientific and occult publications, but also in the German magazine “Der Stern” (as mentioned above). However, that magazine made it clear that the article presented nothing new and that it was just a repetition of the old conspiracy concepts (especially the so-called “False Flag Theory,” according to which the attack was “instigated” to justify military intervention in the Middle East.)

 On the other hand, the idea of an “inside job” continues to be believed in by many people, including by at least more than 30% of Germans.

 Die Welt ran an article on September 9, discussing the many aspects of the conspiracy theory  and concluded that  “doubts in the official explanation are groundless.”

On September 7, Esquire published a convincing article with the headline, “Disproving 9 of the Biggest 9/11 Conspiracy Theories.” In the article, it was stated:

“There are still plenty of 9/11 conspiracy theorists, and no matter what you tell them, they will tell you the attacks on September 11, 2001 did not happen the way our government or our media claim. Conspiracy theorists will tell you it was an inside job. They will tell you the government let it happen. They will tell you the buildings couldn’t have fallen that way, or the Air Force could have stopped the whole thing if they wanted to.

“There are an untold number of theories about what really happened that day. They are the subject of a well-known documentary film, and they have spawned countless websites. Most of them are weird, and some are almost comical. But exploring these theories involves venturing into the darkest corners of our imagination, where confusion and despair bleed into reactionary paranoia, and the enduring sacrifice of the innocent people who died that day is almost cheapened by slander and suspicion.”

How “dark” these theories are can be seen by an article of Bild Online, stating that one “unexplained” occurrence was the observance of “ghosts” right after the attack, “helping with searching for survivors.”

We are bringing you excerpts from the Esquire article, focusing on the two most common “beliefs” in a conspiracy:

“The theory: The fuel from the planes that hit the World Trade Center could not have caused the buildings’ structural failures, because no kerosene fire burns hot enough—2,750 degrees Fahrenheit—to melt their steel frames. The debunk: Jet fuel burns at 800 to 1,500 degrees, Popular Mechanics notes—not hot enough to melt the steel frames. But the frames did not even need to fully melt for the buildings to collapse; they just had to weaken significantly. Steel loses about half its strength at 1,100 degrees, and moreover, the fuel wasn’t the only source of fire. The combustible material inside the buildings (rugs, curtains, furniture, paper) brought the temperature up to 1,832 degrees in some places…

“The theory: An addendum to the previous theory, many theorists believe that controlled explosions, not the planes, brought down the towers. Among the evidence cited: Puffs of dust shot out horizontally as the buildings fell, and the initial damage was too widespread (particularly to lower floors) to have been caused by the jets. The debunk: A spring 2005 report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that plane debris ‘sliced through the utility shafts at the North Tower’s core,’ Popular Mechanics reports, ‘creating a conduit for burning jet fuel—and fiery destruction throughout the building.’ The blaze exploded down the elevator shafts, disabling them and causing damage (and killing people) all the way to the lobby below, long before the towers collapsed. The puffs of dust were the result of each floor bearing down on the one below ‘with pulverizing force’ as the buildings fell, in what is known as ‘pancaking.’ That force caused the air between floors to shoot out with formidable speed and power, creating the bursting clouds of dust…”

From all the evidence available, the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates have concluded a long time ago that 9/11 was NOT an “inside job,” but that it was a terrorist attack of 19 hijackers. Ideas to the contrary have been convincingly debunked.

House Passes Saudi 9/11 Bill

Newsmax wrote on September 9:

“Rep. Pete King took a victory lap Friday as the House passed a bill allowing 9/11 victims and their families to sue the Saudi Arabian government. The House passed the measure by overwhelming margin on a voice vote, confirming a similar Senate vote in May… ‘The Saudi government employs many former government officials and they tried to stop [the bill] at every turn,’ he said.

“The bill goes to President Obama’s desk for signature. The Obama administration has vigorously opposed the bill and already has signaled a veto is coming. But some question whether the president will veto a bill that will likely be overridden by Congress. It took nearly 15 years after the worst assault on U.S. soil by a foreign aggressor.

“Since then 9/11 families and other groups have complained of Saudi involvement in the attacks — 15 of the 19 perpetrators were Saudi nationals – and have argued for the right to sue and legally explore the involvement of this foreign power. The bill amends a 1976 law that grants foreign states immunity from lawsuits in the U.S.

“The new law provides that Americans can sue if any nation was directly involved in terror attacks against U.S. nationals…

“The September 11, 2001, attacks killed 2,966 people, and injured more than 6,000. Of those killed, the majority — 2,606 — died in New York’s World Trade Center and the surrounding area…”

North Korea’s Latest Nuclear Test

The Washington Post wrote on September 9:

“North Korea defiantly celebrated its fifth nuclear test Friday, claiming that it can now make warheads small enough to fit onto a missile and warning its ‘enemies’ — specifically the United States — that it has the ability to counter any attack… the test appeared to mark another step toward North Korea’s goal of putting a nuclear warhead on a weapon capable of reaching the mainland United States…

“The U.S. Geological Survey detected an artificial 5.3-magnitude earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test site at 9 a.m. local time on Friday, a national holiday marking the 68th anniversary of the formation of the communist regime by Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather. ‘This is clearly a nuclear test,’ said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. He estimated the size at between 10 and 20 kilotons. The North’s last nuclear test, carried out in January, was about six kilotons…

“In a White House statement Friday, Obama called the test ‘a grave threat’ to regional and international security and noted Pyongyang’s claims to be developing nuclear warheads capable of hitting the United States and its allies…”

North Korean Test Leaves U.S. With a List of Bad Options

The New York Times wrote on September 9:

“North Korea’s latest test of an atomic weapon leaves the United States with an uncomfortable choice: Stick with a policy of incremental sanctions that has clearly failed to stop the country’s nuclear advances, or pick among alternatives that range from the highly risky to the repugnant.

“A hard embargo, in which Washington and its allies block all shipping into and out of North Korea and seek to paralyze its finances, risks confrontations that allies in Asia fear could quickly escalate into war. But restarting talks on the North’s terms would reward the defiance of its young leader, Kim Jong-un, with no guarantee that he will dismantle the nuclear program irrevocably…

“For more than seven years, President Obama has adopted a policy of gradually escalating sanctions that the White House once called ‘strategic patience.’ But the test on Friday — the North’s fifth and most powerful blast yet, perhaps with nearly twice the strength of its last one — eliminates any doubt that that approach has failed and that the North has mastered the basics of detonating a nuclear weapon… American experts warn that it is speeding toward a day when it will be able to threaten the West Coast of the United States and perhaps the entire country.

“… an agreement between the United States and South Korea to deploy an advanced missile defense system in the South, has inflamed China…  In both South Korea and Japan, a small but increasingly vocal minority has begun to advocate developing nuclear weapons to counter the North instead of relying on the United States…”

Serious Concerns about Hillary Clinton’s Health

Newsmax wrote on September 9:

“Hillary Clinton has been struck by coughing attacks, leading to a resurfacing of speculation about her health…

“Concerns about Hillary Clinton’s health are ‘serious—could be disqualifying for the position of President of the U.S.,’ say nearly 71 percent of 250 physicians responding to an informal internet survey by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). About 20 percent said concerns were ‘likely overblown, but should be addressed as by full release of medical records.’ Only 2.7 percent responded that they were ‘just a political attack: I have confidence in the letter from her physician and see no cause for concern.’”

Breitbart wrote on September 14:

“Doctors are raising concerns about Hillary Clinton’s recent pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, suggesting a case of the disease that causes a patient to collapse should be treated more seriously… Clinton’s campaign initially left the press in the dark about what occurred at the 9-11 ceremony, but nearly two hours later, the campaign blamed Clinton’s health episode on the former first lady being overheated. Later in the evening, Clinton’s doctor Lisa Bardack issued an official statement, explaining that Clinton had been overheated and dehydrated. The statement revealed Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday…”

Why Hillary Clinton Might Have Avoided the Hospital

The New York Post wrote on September 12:

“Hillary Clinton was headed to an emergency room following her frightening collapse at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony – but detoured to daughter Chelsea Clinton’s apartment to keep details of her medical treatment under wraps, The Post has learned.

“Secret Service protocol called for the Democratic presidential nominee to be rushed to a state-designated Level I Trauma Center in the wake of her Sunday morning health crisis, sources said. In Manhattan, that would be Bellevue Hospital. But a campaign operative decided to change course to avoid having Clinton seen by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who could leak details to reporters, according to a source.”

Hillary Clinton’s Fishy E-Mail Story

On September 8, The Denver Post Editorial Board published the following article:

“Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton used Denver-based Platte River Networks to host private her e-mail when she was secretary of state. The latest controversy involving Hillary Clinton’s decision to run her State Department e-mail through private servers contains a hard-to-believe shocker that ought to give reasonable people pause.

“Her supporters will join her campaign in decrying a ‘conspiracy’ to spoil her presidential aspirations. But really, how can an objective observer not find problems with this latest story, which suggests a dark conspiracy indeed: An errant engineer decides on his own volition to delete e-mails from her private account after a congressional committee orders them preserved?…

“The FBI said that in December 2014 a top Clinton aide told Denver-based Platte River Networks to destroy an archive of e-mails from her private server, but the company failed to do so. Then, after The New York Times reported in early March 2015 details of then-Secretary Clinton’s use of a private server, the House committee investigating the deadly attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, ordered that her e-mails be preserved, and subpoenaed those related to the attack. Three weeks later, the story goes, the engineer responsible for deleting Clinton’s archive suddenly remembered the failed duty, and acted on it by deleting the e-mails with a program (wonderfully named BleachBit) that apparently rendered most of them unreadable.

“Around the time of the engineer’s sudden remembrance, the FBI said, Platte River officials joined a conference call with a longtime Clinton aide and personal lawyer. But when the FBI tried to look into this call, they met with frustration. Platte River’s attorney told the engineer who did the deed to claim attorney-client privilege.

“That just looks awful. So little wonder the Republican chairman of the House committee investigating Clinton’s e-mail arrangement – Utah’s Jason Chaffetz- has asked federal prosecutors to investigate whether she or others were involved in the decision to destroy those e-mails following the preservation order.

“Given that FBI director James Comey’s decision to clear Clinton of wrongdoing in the e-mail scandal came with his unusual denunciation of her actions as ‘extremely careless,’ the information from the bureau’s summary of its investigation doesn’t sit well. It’s reasonable to ask why the FBI didn’t look deeper. It’s reasonable to ask why the engineer would act if, as the logic of the cover story must argue, the e-mails were simply personal notes about yoga appointments and being a grandmother.

“No wonder Chaffetz would seek to dig in. He’s asking the Justice Department ‘to investigate and determine whether Secretary Clinton or her employees and contractors violated statutes that prohibit destruction of records, obstruction of congressional inquiries and concealment of cover-up of evidence material to a congressional committee.’…

“We worry that Chaffetz is right on this one. Something about this story feels whitewashed – or maybe bleached out is the better term for it now.”

There seems to be little doubt about this; and the FBI’s and the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton is really unbelievable. Note the next two articles.

Immunity for the Perpetrators

The New York Times wrote on September 8:

“A computer specialist who deleted Hillary Clinton’s emails despite orders from Congress to preserve them was given immunity by the Justice Department during its investigation into her personal email account… Mr. Combetta is one of at least two people who were given immunity by the Justice Department as part of the investigation. The other was Bryan Pagliano, a former campaign staff member for Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, who was granted immunity in exchange for answering questions about how he set up a server in Mrs. Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, N.Y., around the time she became secretary of state in 2009.

“The F.B.I. described the deletions by Mr. Combetta in a summary of its investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s account that was released last Friday. The documents blacked out the specialist’s name, but the law enforcement official and others familiar with the case identified the employee as Mr. Combetta. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing matters that were supposed to remain confidential.

“Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, said that the deletions by the specialist, who worked for a Colorado company called Platte River Networks, had already been ‘thoroughly examined by the F.B.I. prior to its decision to close out this case. As the F.B.I.’s report notes… neither Hillary Clinton nor her attorneys had knowledge of the Platte River Network employee’s actions. It appears he acted on his own and against guidance given by both Clinton’s and Platte River’s attorneys to retain all data in compliance with a congressional preservation request.’… According to the F.B.I. documents, Mr. Combetta told the bureau in February that he did not recall deleting the emails. But in May, he told a different story… [He had] said [he] realized that he had not followed a December 2014 order from Mrs. Clinton’s lawyers to have the emails deleted. Mr. Combetta then used a program called BleachBit to delete the messages, the bureau said.

“In Mr. Combetta’s first interview with the F.B.I. in February, he said he did not recall seeing the preservation order from the Benghazi committee, which Mrs. Clinton’s lawyer, Cheryl D. Mills, had sent to Platte River. But in his May interview, he said that at the time he made the deletions ‘he was aware of the existence of the preservation request and the fact that it meant he should not disturb Clinton’s email data’ on the Platte River server.”

Newsmax added on September 14:

“House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz was clearly frustrated on Wednesday after a former Hillary Clinton aide was a no-show at a hearing on Tuesday, even though he had been served with a subpoena… Bryan Pagliano, who had helped maintain Clinton’s private email server, has been granted immunity by the Justice Department and already invoked his Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate himself twice on the matter… Just one of the five witnesses called, Justin Cooper, a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton, testified and answered questions for nearly two hours. The other three invoked their Fifth Amendment rights [not to discriminate themselves.].”

Combetta and Pagliano got immunity; others refuse to testify; and so, Hillary Clinton is still not being prosecuted.

Trump Gives Interview to Russia’s Controversial RT Network

The Washington Post wrote on September 9:

“In an interview Thursday, Donald Trump was asked what surprised him most about the American press. ‘Well, I think the dishonesty of the media,’ the Republican presidential hopeful responded, with little hesitation. ‘The media has been unbelievably dishonest.’ That Trump has an unfavorable view of American journalism will surprise few…

“But his outlet for venting this frustration may have been more surprising. Trump’s comments came during an interview with Larry King that was aired on RT America — part of a state-owned Russian media organization that critics accuse of propagandistic aims and poor journalistic standards… Originally known as Russia Today, the organization was founded in December 2005 as an English-language television network… To get a sense of this style of programming, consider this: Julian Assange was given his own show on RT for a few months in 2012. His first guest was Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

“RT America began airing Larry King’s interview show, ‘Politicking,’ after CNN dropped him in 2010… Last July, it hired Ed Schultz after MSNBC canceled his low-rated program, ‘The Ed Show,’ after six years… The network also airs a weekly debate and interview show hosted by Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler and governor of Minnesota… It also has a deeply conspiratorial side, providing airtime to the notion that the 9/11 attacks were engineered by the government…

“Trump’s interview with RT comes at a time of heightened concerns about Russia’s alleged interference in the upcoming U.S. election. Russia is suspected of involvement in a hack of the Democratic National Committee email system and subsequent leak. (Mr. Trump stated that he does not believe so and that this was probably made up by the Democrats.) The United States is investigating what it thinks could be a wider Russian plan to disrupt the November elections. To complicate matters further, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a number of seemingly admiring comments about each other. During an NBC presidential forum Wednesday evening, Trump said the Russian president had been more of a leader than President Obama. In other comments, he has jokingly suggested that Russia should hack the email of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.”

Donald Trump’s granting of an interview to a media outlet which is controlled by the Russian government raises more than just an eyebrow.

“Why Did a Christian Bishop Give Donald Trump a Jewish Prayer Shawl?”

The Times of Israel wrote on September 9:

“When images of Donald Trump sporting a Jewish prayer shawl during his September 3 visit to a Detroit black church hit the web, the reactions on social media ranged from amusement to shock, and, in some cases, outrage.  ‘You guys, a Jewish prayer shawl – a tallit – is a ritual garment. Meant to be worn only by Jews. This is the worst kind of appropriation,’ declared Conservative Rabbi Danya Rutenberg on Twitter.  ‘Wait, did Donald Trump get bar mitzvahed?’ asked The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs, while The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg observed that the anti-Semitic alt-right movement supporting the real estate mogul must be ‘paralyzed by this photograph.’

“But for the pastor [Wayne Jackson] who presented Trump with the tallit, wearing the traditional Jewish garment is standard practice at the congregation he leads, the Great Faith Ministries International… In fact, there are other Jewish traditions the congregation observes. It was no accident Trump visited for a ceremony on a Saturday rather than the normal Sunday church service. ‘We do worship on the sabbath, because I do recognize the holy days,’ Jackson said…

“Great Faith Ministries, which Jackson leads, follows a Pentecostal tradition in which it is common for clergy and worshippers to wear the religious garment with fringes hanging from each of its four corners… Jackson is known to be a proponent of ‘prosperity theology,’ which entails the belief among certain sects of Christianity that an individual’s financial standing and physical condition come from the will of God, and that proper faith will tip the scales in their favor…

“At the service, Jackson not only gave Trump the tallit, but also a Jewish Heritage Study Bible, which the bishop said talks about the foundation of the Christian faith. ‘You know, a lot of Christians who sit in church don’t even know that the foundation of the Christian faith goes back to God’s covenant with Abraham,’ Jackson said…

“John Hagee, the televangelist Christian leader and pastor of a mega-church in San Antonio, Texas, has worn [the tallit] on multiple occasions, and a number of evangelical churches throughout the country sell them in their gift shops. Jackson also stressed: ‘This was nothing to be offensive. I love Israel. I support Israel. I love the people of God. The prayer shawl was meant to do nothing but to show the power of the holy spirit.’… The Christian leader said that bestowing the candidate with the garment was also intended to shore up his feeling for the Jewish state. ‘You know, this man may carry the government on his shoulders. Who knows? He may be the most powerful man in the world, if he becomes the president. And we want him to love the nation of Israel… It was all about the love that was displayed in that service. it was the love there in that room that had Donald Trump leave feeling the love of Yeshua [Jesus].’”

These are very alarming developments. Many of the “Messianic Jewish” concepts, as displayed in the article and claimed to be of Pentecostal origin, are not biblical and do much more harm than good. We address many aspects of false “Messianic Jewish” teachings and practices in our free booklet, “Old Testament Laws—Still Valid Today.” In regard to the use of the word “Yeshua,” please also note our recent Q&A, titled, “Should We Use Hebrew Expressions in Our Worship of God?”

Unbiblical Transgender Policy Affects Churches

WorldNetDaily wrote on September 10, 2016:

“President Obama’s transgender agenda has taken huge leaps forward in the last year or so. There have been orders for public building managers, for colleges and even for public schools to allow a male who says he’s female to use locker rooms and restrooms set aside for women… Now a second state has decided that churches, too, are bound by the agenda.

“The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination this month released a ‘Gender Identity Guidance’ that imposes its demands on society… ‘Under [the law] places of public accommodation may not discriminate against, or restrict a person from services because of that person’s gender identity. For example, a hotel or motel may not refuse to book a room for a person because of the person’s gender identity,’ the state threatens. It continues, ‘Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public.’

“The demands include having church officials, and even members, use whatever pronouns a person would demand, irrespective of their actual gender…

“[In Iowa], a church sued the state in federal court, demanding that officials withdraw their threats of prosecution because of the content of the church’s sermons, specifically what is said about homosexuality, same-sex ‘marriage,’ transgenderism and other related topics… That case erupted when the state’s Civil Rights Commission first claimed the authority to control the content of sermons and then to define what’s religious. At issue is the state’s nondiscrimination requirements that specify any ‘public accommodation’ can be ordered not to say anything that might make a homosexual or a transgender feel ‘unwelcome,’ such as even reading from the Bible a condemnation of such behavior…

“The Iowa Civil Rights Act bans places of ‘public accommodation’ from expressing their views on human sexuality if they would ‘directly or indirectly’ make ‘persons of any particular … gender identity’ feel ‘unwelcome.’ The state claims churches are a ‘public accommodation.’”

PJ Media wrote on September 9:

“Contrary to many scientific studies (pediatricians have even called youth transgenderism ‘child abuse’), [transgender ideology] argues that people who identify with the gender opposite their biological sex should be encouraged to do so, even to the extent of undergoing ‘gender re-affirming surgery.’ This is a fancy name for bodily mutilation which causes even more confusion than before.”

This dangerous set of law manifests the anti-biblical approach of the liberal agenda.

Germany’s “Clear and Present Danger”

Reuters wrote on September 10:

“Germany’s interior minister has warned that the country is home to more than 500 Islamic militants who could be capable of carrying out assaults on their own or as members of ‘hit teams.’… He said another 360 ‘relevant’ people were known to police because of their close proximity to the potential attackers…

“‘The hit teams are secretly smuggled into Europe and prepare their actions without being noticed, as we saw with the attacks in Paris and Brussels,’ he added. ‘But it’s even more difficult to uncover the fanatical lone wolves. Unfortunately, there is a real and present danger from both threats.’”

German Military Sends 650 Soldiers to the Mediterranean Sea

Deutsche Welle reported on September 13:

“A new NATO initiative hopes to stop jihadi militants in the Mediterranean Sea. The German military is pitching in to help via major troop commitments to the yearlong mission… [It will] have powers to search vessels suspected of harboring terrorists… Operation Sea Guardian also hopes to curb human trafficking and arms smuggling while assisting the European Union’s border agency, Frontex.

“Germany is expected to join the NATO operation, and could contribute up to 650 soldiers to the international mission in Mediterranean waters… The deployment is regarded as part of a broader shift in Germany to expand its military role in Europe and NATO…”

“France and Germany to Beef Up EU Defence”

The Local wrote on September 10:

“France and Germany are preparing joint proposals for a ‘more active and more useful’ European defence policy, the French defence ministry told AFP on Friday… The Franco-German document proposes the establishment of a European defence headquarters, a common satellite surveillance system and the sharing of logistics and military medical resources… There would be a tighter circle of EU members for some defence projects where it proves impossible to gain agreement from all…

“There is also a suggestion for better use of Eurocorps, an intergovernmental military body that has France and Germany at its centre. Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg are members of the Strasbourg-based Eurocorps, set up for rapid deployment to hotspots. The EU has already been involved in the training of foreign armies, as part of conflict resolution, and might become involved in financing their equipment.

“The bloc could also become engaged in research and development, to strengthen the European defence industry. The discussions are in part due to the June vote by Britain to leave the EU. According to [German defence minister] von der Leyen, London had long ‘paralysed’ European efforts to have a more closely integrated security policy.”

“Europe Needs a Military Headquarters”

BBC News wrote on September 14:

“The European Union needs a military headquarters to work towards a common military force, the Commission president [Jean-Claude Juncker] has told MEPs in Strasbourg… Mr Juncker said a common military force ‘should be in complement to Nato’… A European Defence Fund would stimulate military research and development, he said…

“All EU members have military forces; most are also members of Nato; and several have extensive experience of operations abroad, from peace-keeping to war-fighting. The real question is how to organise these component parts to get greater security. Mr Juncker insists that the EU must have a role here. He wants to improve EU command and control facilities and appears to be suggesting that EU civil and military aspects of a given mission should be run out of the same headquarters…

“Since 2003 the EU has launched some 30 civilian and military operations in Europe, Africa and Asia – under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Sixteen are still going on, including six military operations…

“[Juncker] urged a renewed focus on the EU as a ‘driving force that can bring about unification, for instance in Cyprus’…

“Anti-EU MEPs lined up to criticise Mr Juncker’s rallying cry: UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was ‘the usual recipe: more Europe, in this particular case, more military Europe’.”

Austria’s Presidential Election Pushed Back

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 12:

“Austria’s presidential election, originally set for October 2, will be pushed back, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said on Monday. The decision came after a number of voters planning to vote by mail complained the seals for the ballot forms were faulty… The new round of voting is set to take place on December 4.

“This was the latest problem to beset the race for Austria’s head of state… the election became the subject of intense international interest when it was first contested last spring, as Austria came without 31,000 votes of being the first country in western Europe to elect a far-right leader since World War II.

“Austria holds presidential elections every six years, and goes to a second-round run off vote if no candidate garners more than 50 percent in the first ballot. Norbert Hofer of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) came in less than a percentage point behind Green-party affiliated candidate Alexander Van der Bellen in May’s run-off. However, Austria’s highest court annulled that vote in June and called for a new election after it emerged that thousands of absentee ballots had been counted incorrectly.

“The FPÖ is one of a number of parties in western Europe using anti-immigrant rhetoric to gain steam during the continent’s refugee crisis. It is part of a European parliamentary group chaired by Marine Le Pen of France’s National Front as well as members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Britain’s right-wing populist UKIP.”

Ireland to Appeal EU Commission’s Controversial Decision on Apple

Reuters reported on September 8:

“Ireland’s government won strong backing from parliament for its appeal against a 13-billion-euro back tax bill the European Commission ordered it to collect from Apple, following 12 hours of debate on Wednesday. Ireland’s fragile coalition overcame initial misgivings from independent members of cabinet to join Apple last week in fighting the ruling that Ireland granted state aid to the company through undue and selective tax benefit.

“The government says Ireland did not give favorable tax treatment to Apple and that no state aid was provided, and it won a motion to endorse its position in parliament by 93 votes to 36. ‘The picture of Ireland painted by the Commission in its decision, as a country prepared to play fast and loose with the law to gain unfair advantage, could not be more damaging or further from the truth,’ Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told lawmakers. ‘This is not a Commission finding that stands by a small country that has played by the rules. It cannot be allowed to stand.’”

This will make the EU not too happy. The EU Commission has been under constant criticism for its sometimes highly controversial political decisions.

Election Debacle for Angela Merkel in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

BBC News reported on September 5:

“Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party has been beaten into third place by an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party in elections in a north-eastern German state. The Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party took just under 21% of the vote behind the centre-left SPD’s 30%. The German chancellor’s CDU was backed by only 19% of voters, its worst ever result in the state. The vote was seen as a key test before German parliamentary elections in 2017.

“Before the vote in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, in the former East Germany, all of Germany’s other parties ruled out forming a governing coalition with the AfD. But the party, formed only three years ago, is already represented in nine of Germany’s 16 state parliaments.

“One leading CDU politician called the result catastrophic, while another, Wolfgang Bosbach, said the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants without documents had ‘put the wind in the AfD’s sails’. This is humiliating for Angela Merkel – not least because this was on home turf…

“Alternative fuer Deutschland’s anti immigrant and increasingly strident anti-Islam message has a powerful appeal to people concerned about integration and worried about domestic security. It doesn’t look good for Mrs Merkel. Her approval ratings are at a five-year low. But… there is no serious contender waiting in the wings to replace her.

“BBC Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness says that following her political embarrassment, Mrs Merkel will now come under greater pressure to change her welcoming position on refugees. Addressing supporters, local AfD leader Leif-Erik Holm said: ‘Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship today.’… ‘How many more electoral disasters can Merkel take?’ wonders tabloid Bild, and predicts that temporarily pacified opposition to Mrs Merkel’s line inside her conservative bloc could erupt with full force… An article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts an ‘autumn of discontent’ for the chancellor…

“But a commentary in news magazine Der Spiegel believes that while the election is a ‘debacle’ for Ms Merkel, her job is not on the line quite yet. Some also think it’s not all just about Mrs Merkel. A commentary in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues that voters are angry at ‘(almost) all’ mainstream parties, and not just the Christian Democrats…”

This distrust of all the established parties may give way to the rise of a charismatic personage in Germany who will galvanize the masses and offer them ”solutions” for the many problems they are facing.

Angela Merkel Blamed for AfD Success

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 6:

“After the CDU’s electoral defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, tensions in the CDU-CSU union have intensified. Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer has blamed Merkel’s refugee policy for the AfD’s success… Seehofer has been a long-time vocal critic of Merkel’s open-door policy since the chancellor allowed some 1 million refugees to cross Germany’s borders last year… ‘Confidence [in the government] is dwindling rapidly,’ said Seehofer…

“Merkel defended her government’s handling of the refugee crisis on Monday…”

The Local wrote on September 8:

“The CSU are a political anomaly in Germany, only standing for election in Bavaria, where the CDU have no presence. The two parties have always had an alliance at the federal level… Securing the support of the CSU leader is key for a CDU chief who is seeking the chancellorship.”

This stubborn refusal to accept responsibility and admit grave error might very well lead to Angela Merkel’s complete downfall.

Seehofer’s CSU Opposes Angela Merkel

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:

“Merkel’s words have fallen upon deaf ears in the CSU, whose party line appears to be more radical than the AfD’s…

“The conflict in Germany’s conservative camp has entered a new round. Angela Merkel shouts unmistakably in the direction of Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer and his CSU party: Tone it down, otherwise the populists win and we will lose our orientation if we start following the AfD’s lead, language-wise.

“The next day, the press has a CSU paper [that…] doesn’t care one iota about what the chancellor wants… The paper not only agrees with the AfD party platform on many points, but it even goes one step farther… on the topic of dual citizenship. The Bavarian party wants to make exceptions: ‘Migrants from our Western Christian cultural circle should be given priority.’

“Even the AfD wasn’t able to escalate matters to this level at its own convention…

“The CSU was dissatisfied with Merkel’s European approach to refugee policies from the beginning and wanted tougher national measures. The CSU’s second motive is fear of the AfD… Thirdly, the mood among the CSU base and in Bavaria is critical of Merkel… And finally, the Bavarians see what their neighbors in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava – who are counting on closing the door to outsiders – are doing…

“[Merkel’s] call in the Bundestag didn’t even last a few hours. Her power has diminished again.”

In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:

“Also proposed is… a ban on body-obscuring burqas… The burqa was described as the ‘uniform of Islamism.’ Also contained in the CSU draft was a rejection of ‘special swimming times for Muslims’…  ‘A nation must decide itself who it admits – that is not decided by the migrants,’ the CSU draft said, while adding ‘we are opposed to our world-open country being changed by immigration and refugee flows. Germany must remain Germany.'”

“European Right Hails AfD Success in German Election”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:

“Right-wing populists across Europe cheered the strong showing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)…  ‘All victories of patriotic and EU-critical parties are helping freedom loving people and parties all over Europe,’ Geert Wilders, the founder and leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), told DW in an email statement. ‘No one will be able to stop the Patriotic Spring, and the old times where the ruling political elite – like Merkel, Hollande, Rutte and others – could bypass and ignore the common people on issues such as immigration, asylum and EU-policy are definitely over. Their soon-to-come political end is the start of a new political wave of patriotism, national sovereignty and the end of cultural relativism.’

“France’s Marine Le Pen tweeted, ‘What was impossible yesterday has become possible: the AfD patriots have swept away Merkel’s party!’ Those sentiments were echoed by leaders of anti-European Union and anti-immigration parties in Austria and Italy as well.

“Can such statements be taken at face value? Does the fact that the AfD took 20.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s poll represent a victory for right-wing populists on the continent as a whole? ‘Definitely,’ Alexander Häusler, a sociologist and expert on right-wing populism at Düsseldorf University, told DW. ‘The other right-wing populist parties in Europe were looking for a partner in Germany. Now with the electoral success of the AfD, they have one. A gap in the political landscape, if you will, has been closed.’…

“Given the deep-seated social problems and frustrations that motivate people to vote for right-wing populist parties, it is unlikely the movement will dissipate any time soon in either Germany, or Europe as a whole… Le Pen currently leads polls in France, which has a national election next year, attracting as much as 30 percent of electoral support. Having a like-minded partner in Germany can only bolster her campaign to become the next French president. Wilders will also hope for a boost ahead of the Netherlands’ national vote on March 15, 2017. So they and right-wing populist leaders in other European countries will be paying close attention to other upcoming local German elections in Berlin on September 18 and in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 14, 2017…”

Minorities Deeply Concerned

The Local wrote on September 5:

“Since the results were announced, minority groups have… been reacting with concern over the far-right party’s success. ‘That an extreme-right party which blatantly incites hatred against minorities in a disgusting way can rise unhindered in our country is a nightmare come true,’ Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria (IKG), said on Monday… ‘It is pathetic when a party – in which xenophobia, antisemitism, racism, homophobia, historical denialism and conspiracy theories are the basis for argument – can become such a strong social and political influence,’ she said.

“Knobloch warned that, in collaboration with other far-right parties, the AfD had the strength to threaten Germany’s democratic foundations…

“The AfD was founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party that advocated a return to the Deutsche Mark, but it has since shifted to become a mainly anti-immigration and Islamophobic party. It has grown strongly even as its top members have sparked outrage with insulting remarks, including one disparaging star footballer Jerome Boateng, who is of German and Ghanaian descent.

“The right-wing populist party is the first to establish itself in the German political landscape since the Second World War, after decades in which no such party crossed the five percent hurdle to enter national parliament. At national level, it is now polling at 14 percent according to a September survey, a gain of 10 points in the year since Merkel threw open German borders to a mass influx of asylum seekers.”

Austria vs. Hungary vs. Germany vs. Greece

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 7:

“Austria’s interior minister [Wolfgang Sobotka] has threatened Hungary with a lawsuit if Budapest refuses to take back migrants. Hungary, in turn, has blamed bad policy in Germany, Austria and Greece for Europe’s migrant crisis…

“Tensions over immigration are high ahead of October 2 presidential elections in Austria… The presidential vote could see the anti-immigration, far-right Freedom Party take over the presidency in Vienna.”

Turkey’s Erdogan vs. Deutsche Welle

Deutsche Welle reported on September 6:

“Turkish authorities have confiscated footage of an interview with Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, filmed for DW’s show ‘Conflict Zone.’ The action has prompted an outcry over press freedom.

“The interview at the center of the controversy took place with DW host Michel Friedman in Ankara on Monday evening. Friedman asked Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, about the July coup attempt as well as the mass layoffs and arrests that took place in its aftermath. He also asked about the media situation in Turkey and the position of women in Turkish society, before asking Kilic elaborate on several controversial statements made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on these subjects.

“Immediately following the interview, Kilic excused himself from the room. No sooner had the minister left, [than] his press officer announced that DW would not be allowed to broadcast the interview. When Friedman and his editorial colleague protested, the video material was confiscated by employees of the ministry… ‘This is proof that freedom of the press in Turkey is very restricted,’ Friedman said. ‘The incident is very disturbing. If the foreign media is already been treated in this manner, one could well imagine how difficult it is right now for Turkish journalists.’…

“The German Journalists Union (DJV) called for an immediate release of the video. ‘That is the most severe offense against press freedom, like we only know from dictatorships,’ criticized DJV Chairman Frank Überall…

“Despite several repeated requests for the release of the video footage, Turkey’s decision remained unchanged…”

Turkey has become an absolute dictatorship, and the German government’s policy of appeasing Erdogan is shameful. But prophecy reveals that a dictatorial Turkey will collaborate with a future European dictatorship in their mutual fight against Israel.

National Governments Back in the EU?

The Times wrote on September 8:

“Former communist states are planning to exploit the fallout of Brexit with a ‘counter-revolution’ designed to block migrant deals and assert the power of national governments over Brussels.

“Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, an influential diplomatic European Union bloc known as the Visegrad Group, will lobby together at a summit next week to ensure that national governments are put back in the EU’s driving seat.

“The summit will gather all EU leaders, excluding Theresa May, in Slovakia’s capital to forge a new vision of Europe…”

Attempted Terrorist Attack in France 

Deutsche Welle reported on September 9:

“French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday that three women aged between 19 and 39 were arrested in connection with the discovery of six gas cylinders in the French capital on Sunday. Cazeneuve said the suspects were ‘radicalized fanatics’ who were preparing ‘new violent … and imminent actions.’…

“A police officer also suffered a knife wound during the arrest… Four other people – two brothers and their girlfriends – were already arrested earlier in the week.

“The first couple to be arrested – a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman – are known to the security services for links to radical Islamists. More people are still being sought in the Notre Dame case, the prosecutor’s office said…”

Barack Obama Upsets Great Britain

The Daily Mail wrote on September 4:

“Barack Obama yesterday said the UK can expect no special favours on a trade deal with America after voting to leave the EU. The President stepped up his controversial cautions about Brexit – and suggested Britain’s relationship with the United States risked ‘unravelling’ in the wake of the referendum. Mr Obama caused anger at the height of the referendum campaign when he used a visit to London to warn voters that the UK would go to ‘the back of the queue’ in negotiating a new trade deal if it opted for Brexit.  He hinted again yesterday that any deal was likely to take time – with potentially serious consequences for UK-US trade in the meantime…

“Speaking after an hour-long meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in China, Mr Obama bridled at suggestions he had threatened to ‘punish’ Britain for leaving the EU. He said he and Mrs May had confirmed the ‘very special relationship’ between the two countries, but added that he still believed the Brexit vote was a mistake, which could cost Britain dearly…

“Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said of Mr Obama’s comments: ‘Who cares what he says? He’s going. Bye bye.’ Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Eurosceptic Tory MP, added: ‘Fortunately, he is yesterday’s man and will no longer be President early next year… These comments tell us all we need to know about how President Obama has never been a friend of ours.’…

“Meanwhile, the Prime Minister rebuffed overtures from Vladimir Putin to reset the UK’s frosty economic relations with Russia. She challenged the Russian President over Moscow’s intervention in Syria and warned him there could not be ‘business as usual’ in the relationship between the UK and the Kremlin…”

The Bible shows that even the friendship between the USA, the UK and Israel will deteriorate.

UK To Build a “Great Wall”

Breitbart wrote on September 7:

“Just two months after voting to leave the European Union (EU), the UK has announced the construction of a ‘great wall’ near its most porous border in Calais, to keep illegal migrants out. The UK’s southern border checks are conducted in northern France and attempted illegal crossings have more than quadrupled in recent years. UK Border Force guards on French soil stopped 84,088 illegal immigrants last year, figures released last month show.

“The new 13-foot (4 metre) high wall will be built of smooth concrete, making it hard to climb, and will line the roads into the port town of Calais where the entrance to the channel tunnel also sits. ‘We are going to start building this big, new wall as part of the £17 million package we are doing with the French,’ the UK’s immigration minister Robert Goodwill told a parliamentary committee yesterday, the Telegraph reports. ‘People are still getting through,’ he added. ‘We’ve done the fence, now we’re doing the wall’.”

This wall could be symbolic for the UK’s isolation from continental Europe.

Britain Second Biggest Arms Dealer in the World

The Independent wrote on September 4:

“Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world, official government figures show…

“Since 2010 Britain has also sold arms to 39 of the 51 countries ranked ‘not free’ on the Freedom House ‘Freedom in the world’ report, and 22 of the 30 countries on the UK Government’s own human rights watch list. A full two-thirds of UK weapons over this period were sold to Middle Eastern countries, where instability has fed into increased risk of terror threats to Britain and across the West… the UK has sold more arms than Russia, China, or France on average over the last 10 years. Only the United States is a bigger exporter…”

This is a very sad record…

Sodom in the Church of England

The website of pinknews.co.uk wrote on September 6:

“Fourteen Church of England clergy members have revealed that they secretly married their same-sex partners in defiance of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The revelation was made in an open letter published today. Some of the signatories were already open about being in same-sex relationships, but others came out in the letter.

“The open letter called for ‘diversity’ in the church, the same week it was revealed that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was already aware that a bishop is in a same-sex relationship… The letter says: ‘We encourage you to be bold … to what you know to be increasingly the direction of travel, not just in our church but in many churches in this country… We will be praying for the College of Bishops as it meets this month. We appreciate the time may not yet be right for a change in the church’s official understanding of marriage, but it is time to respect that a diversity of theology within the church now exists and many in our parishes have already made the move. We hope for an outcome that will enable those who wish to do so to celebrate publicly where we see God at work in the lives of our congregations without fear and in openness.’…

“Colin Coward of Changing Attitude added that ten serving bishops are also in same-sex relationships or are gay or bisexual. One of the first clergy to marry his same-sex partner, Andrew Foreshew-Cain…  warned that gay members of the Church will not back down on the issue. He told the Times: ‘We are now going to keep pushing for the next and the next and the next [step] until we get full equality in the church. We are not going away’…”

And so they will continue to push and push and push, until the indifferent majority gets tired and gives in to a vocal minority.

Germany Warns the UK

The Local wrote on September 7:

“Germany on Wednesday warned Britain against negotiating free trade deals with non-EU member states before it quits the bloc, after Prime Minister Theresa May sought to drum up commerce agreements during a G20 summit in China… [Germany stated that] ‘it is clear that an EU member state cannot hold bilateral talks on free trade deals with non-EU states as long as it remains a member of the EU’.”

Even though the UK might think that they can find help and support from Germany, they will become bitterly disappointed.

Theresa May Under Attack for Delaying Brexit

Express wrote on September 8:

“EUROCRAT Donald Tusk has urged Theresa May to begin Brexit talks as soon as possible…  In a sign that Brussels may be losing patience with Mrs May’s dithering over Brexit, Mr Tusk said it was a ‘crucial time’ for the UK and the EU… Mr Tusk said: ‘To put it simply, the ball is now in your court…’

“The Prime Minister yesterday told MPs she was seeking ‘the right deal’ on trade in goods and services after Britain withdraws from the EU. But she refused to say whether she wanted the UK to remain in the European single market…

“In response, the Prime Minister and her ministers were accused of ‘waffle’ by Scottish National Party Westminster leader Angus Robertson. The Liberal Democrats’ Tim Farron said: ‘This Government isn’t concealing its hand. It hasn’t got a hand or, it would appear, a clue.’ And under-fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of issuing ‘contradictory messages’ on Brexit.

“Earlier this week Mrs May slapped down Brexit Secretary David Davis for suggesting continued membership of the single market was ‘very improbable’… In response, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted Mr Davis he was giving a personal opinion rather than outlining Government policy.”

China Snubs Obama

The Guardian wrote on September 4:

“China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou before the start of the G20.

“Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, and the British prime minister, Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.

“But the leader of the world’s largest economy, who is on his final tour of Asia, was forced to disembark from Air Force One through a little-used exit in the plane’s belly after no rolling staircase was provided when he landed in the eastern Chinese city on Saturday afternoon. When Obama did find his way on to a red carpet on the tarmac below there were heated altercations between US and Chinese officials, with one Chinese official caught on video shouting: ‘This is our country! This is our airport!’ ‘The reception that President Obama and his staff got when they arrived here Saturday afternoon was bruising, even by Chinese standards,’ the New York Times reported.

“Jorge Guajardo, Mexico’s former ambassador to China, said he was convinced Obama’s treatment was part of a calculated snub. ‘These things do not happen by mistake. Not with the Chinese,’ Guajardo… told the Guardian… Guajardo added: ‘It’s a snub. It’s a way of saying: “You know, you’re not that special to us.”’…

“Bill Bishop, a China expert… agreed that Obama’s welcome looked suspiciously like a deliberate slight intended ‘to make the Americans look diminished and weak’.

“It sure looks like a straight-up snub,” Bishop said. “This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: ‘Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane.’”…

“Obama’s unconventional welcome… were a reminder of the underlying tensions. The Washington Post said Obama’s bumpy landing in China was ‘a fitting reflection of how the relationship between these two world powers has become frayed and fraught with frustration’… Official statements issued by both sides on Saturday, as the pair held more than four hours of bilateral meetings, hinted at some of the disagreements between the world’s two largest economies…

“Bishop said: ‘Other than in climate, in most areas of the US-China relationship there is increasing amounts of friction and some actually increasingly quite hot friction around the South China Sea and some of these military [interactions] in the region. The US is looking a little weak and a little tired and I think [Beijing is] happy to put anybody in their place when they can. I think they see the opportunity to make Obama look weak,’ he added…”

Tense Meeting Between President Obama and Premier Putin

The Sun wrote on September 5:

“PRESIDENT Obama shared a tense exchange with Russian premier Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in China this morning as the two failed to agree over a ceasefire in Syria. They were pictured shaking hands in an icy encounter at the gathering of leaders from the world’s twenty biggest economies in Hangzou. It comes after weeks of talks between US and Russian diplomats have failed to turn up an agreement on bringing peace to the war-torn country.

“Russia is firmly backing barrel-bombing dictator Bashar Al-Assad, providing military assistance and war planes. America is on the side of what it calls ‘moderate’ anti-Assad rebels and Kurdish forces leading the ground fight against ISIS…”

Dangerous Confrontation between Russia and USA Over Fighter Jet

Deutsche Welle reported on September 7:

“A Russian fighter jet has flown within 3 meters of a US Navy surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea. As tension in Ukraine reflares, alongside the ongoing Syria quagmire, US-Russian relations need no such flashpoints… Moscow said the intercept was conducted ‘in strict accordance with international rules’ because the Americans were trying to snoop on Russian army exercises…

“According to the US, the Russian jet conducted four intercepts of the Poseidon and the one that was considered unsafe lasted about 19 minutes… In a dramatic incident earlier this year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 10 meters of the warship.

“Relations between Russia and the West are at their worst since the Cold War…”

Obama Administration’s Ransom Money Payment to Iran Much Worse than Previously Known

Newsmax wrote on September 7:

“The Obama administration delivered $1.3 billion more in cash to Iran earlier this year after the initial and infamous $400 million ‘ransom’ payment, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The Journal reported that lawmakers were briefed Tuesday about the payments, months after the U.S. sent a total of $1.7 billion in non-U.S. currency to Iran from Jan. 17 through Feb. 5.

“The subsequent $1.3 billion was transferred in the same way as the initial $400 million – to an Iranian cargo plane in Switzerland.

“Lawmakers were livid to learn of the initial payment, which coincided with Iran’s release of five American prisoners. When pressed, officials have since acknowledged the initial $400 million was used as leverage to guarantee their release, which many have called a ransom payment, a charge the president continues to deny.

“The news of the additional $1.3 billion prompted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s pledge to introduce legislation to block any further payments to Iran. Titled the No Ransom Payments Act, it would also require Iran to return the funds it has already received…

“Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign launched an attack on the Obama administration Wednesday after a report revealed it has paid Iran a total $1.7 billion in cash to settle an old military transaction… ‘President Obama’s secret $400 million ransom payment to Iran already set an incredibly dangerous precedent, and news that it was followed by two more plane loads of cash only makes this blunder even worse,’ Trump’s senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement… ‘The United States should not be helping fund the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism…’”

The Trump campaign states the obvious, but who in the Obama Administration is listening?

“President Obama Defends Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest”

The New York Post wrote on September 5:

“President Obama on Monday defended San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand during the playing of the national anthem… The president added, ‘I don’t doubt his sincerity. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, he’s generated some conversation around some topics that need to be talked about…’

“Kaepernick has refused to stand for the pre-game playing of the national anthem, citing racial injustice and the oppression of minorities in America… Obama… praised the 28-year-old [black] professional athlete for speaking out…  Obama didn’t encourage standing for the playing of the national anthem…”

This is quite a divisive position to take for an American President!

US Soccer Star Joins Kaepernick’s Protest

Breitbart wrote on September 5:

“U.S. Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe refused to stand during the national anthem before a Seattle Reign game against the Chicago Red Stars in Illinois. The teams played to a 2-2 stalemate. Just over 3,000 people attended the match. ‘It was very intentional,’ Rapinoe told American Soccer Now. ‘It was a little nod to [Colin] Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now. I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it…’

“Rapinoe called herself ‘disgusted’ by the ‘overtly racist’ reception to Kaepernick’s protest…

“Rapinoe won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and played a crucial role in securing a victory for the American women at the 2015 World Cup… ‘Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,’ she told American Soccer Now. ‘… It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this…’”

Minorities become more and more vocal in this country, while the vast majority is pressured into silence.

“Ben Carson: Trump Should Apologize for Obama Birther Comments”?

Newsmax wrote on September 6:

“Ben Carson said Tuesday that Donald Trump should ‘absolutely’ apologize for insinuating that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. In an interview on CNN’s ‘The Lead,’ the former GOP presidential primary candidate, who now is a Trump supporter, said Trump’s appeal among African-American voters could be improved with a mea culpa pursuing the birther issue…

“The issue continues to dog Trump; on Monday, he refused to give a definitive yes or no about whether he believes the president was born in the United States. In 2011 while under fire from Trump, Obama produced his long-form birth certificate to prove he was born in Hawaii…”

Why Ben Carson would make such an unreasonable recommendation is difficult to understand and can only be explained with a desire to attract black voters. The question as to whether or not Barack Obama was really born in Hawaii is far from settled; much credible evidence exists suggesting the opposite (the so-called long-form birth certificate, which is actually only a copy, has been termed as dubious at best). It would be a fundamental mistake for Donald Trump to “absolutely apologize” to President Obama for “insinuating” that he was not born in the USA… which he might not have been…

The US Presidential Debates Announced

The New York Times wrote on September 2:

“Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace have been selected to moderate this year’s presidential debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Friday. Mr. Holt, the anchor of the ‘NBC Nightly News,’ will moderate the first debate on Sept. 26; Ms. Raddatz of ABC and Mr. Cooper of CNN will moderate the town hall debate on Oct. 9; and Mr. Wallace of Fox News will handle the final debate on Oct. 19… Additionally, the CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano will moderate the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 4…

“Debates have allowed challengers and relative political newcomers to reach out to reluctant voters, providing reassurance about their qualifications. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton helped put to rest questions about their preparedness for the presidency in confident debate exchanges, and George W. Bush defied the caricature of himself as a lightweight by holding his own against Al Gore. Even Mitt Romney, who ultimately lost to Mr. Obama, shook up the 2012 race late in the season by routing the president in their first debate.

“Mr. Trump, facing significant skepticism among voters about his character and temperament, will be aiming for a similarly forceful performance. But Mrs. Clinton is one of the most practiced debaters in modern politics, after two campaigns for the Senate and the presidency, and she is perceived to have a considerable advantage…

“Presidential debates… draw enormous ratings themselves, far greater than the 21 million average for Sunday Night Football games, the highest rated regular programming in television. The first presidential debate in the 2012 election drew around 70 million viewers… Ratings records have been set going back to August 2015: The first Republican debate attracted 24 million viewers, the highest rated non-sports cable event in history. Democratic debates similarly broke viewing records for the party.”

Are We Continuing to Destroy the Earth?

On September 3, 2016, the website theearthchild.co.za published the following article:

“Right now the largest Native American PROTECT (not PROTEST) in history is happening in the Dakota’s… the US Government is taking control of Native American lands and forcing them to allow oil developers to drill on their land and move oil via pipelines. From watching what happened with the Tar Sands of Canada, we can get a good glimpse at what the land will look like after they’re done with it. Running through a similar pathway as that of the well-known failed Keystone XL project, the Bakken Pipeline would run across the Ogallala aquifer and the Mississippi rivers through sovereign Native lands… to take natural resources from the US and sell them to Asian and European markets…

“Dating back to 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil disaster springs to mind when we mention the last 30 years of history regarding production and distribution of oil… the Bakken pipeline is slated to be the largest oil line coming out of North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, among the nation’s most active due to the fracking boom. The line would move up to 570,000 barrels of sweet crude oil daily through the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois. The nearly $3.8 billion pipeline is slated to cross multiple watersheds in its more than 1,150 mile course… critics say the pipeline brings the threat of spill damage to thousands of miles of fertile farmland, forests, and rivers… Most of the affected land is farmland, but the project does run through wildlife areas and major waterways like the Mississippi, and the Missouri, the longest river in North America.

“Would you instill your trust in America’s track records relating to oil disasters? Could we even remotely lay our trust in the very government and private industry when it comes to running major rivers and watersheds? Just imagine the possibilities of water contamination in areas spread over Texas to North Dakota!”

Something to think about…