German Government Tells Citizens to Prepare for War

Reuters reported on August 21:

“For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the German government plans to tell citizens to stockpile food and water in case of an attack or catastrophe, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported on Sunday…  ‘The population will be obliged to hold an individual supply of food for ten days,’ the newspaper quoted the government’s ‘Concept for Civil Defence’ – which has been prepared by the Interior Ministry – as saying… People will be required to stockpile enough drinking water to last for five days, according to the plan, the paper said.

“The 69-page report does not see an attack on Germany’s territory, which would require a conventional style of national defense, as likely. However, the precautionary measures demand that people ‘prepare appropriately for a development that could threaten our existence and cannot be categorically ruled out in the future,’ the paper cited the report as saying. A further priority should be more support of the armed forces by civilians, it added…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 21:

“A civil defense plan… would require citizens to stockpile supplies in case of a catastrophe…  [Under the plan] the government will require people to stock 10 days’ worth of food and five days… worth of drinking water.  The civil defense strategy would require citizens to have a sufficient supply of food, water, energy, money and medicine to wait out a period until the state would be able to initiate a response to a catastrophe or attack.”

Germany Considers Reinstitution of the Draft

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“Germany’s interior ministry is considering taking steps toward bringing back conscription, including compulsory service to support the military, which was suspended five years ago. This is according to a report by German news agency dpa, which had access to a confidential copy of a government draft proposal. The proposal… comes as the government seeks to push forward a new concept for civilian defense, titled ‘Support of the Armed Forces.’

“… Military conscription was abolished in 2011 after 55 years, because the government said there was no longer a need for it. However, compulsory military service is still a part of Germany’s Basic Law, or constitution. Therefore, it can be easily reintroduced by the government…”

Germany in Panic Mood

Deutsche Welle reported on August 24 that the “government of Chancellor Angela Merkel (the German cabinet) has “given the green light to the first civil defense strategy in 21 years,” which would include “the possibility of bringing back military conscription” and the requirement for “civilians to stockpile food and water for use in emergency situations…”

Deutsche Welle continued:

“The new strategy lists attacks by conventional, biological and chemical weapons as among the possible threats facing the country, as well as attacks targeting critical infrastructure such as water, electricity and gas supplies. According to government sources, the measures are not a direct result of the recent terror attacks in Germany.”

Erdogan’s Disturbing Spy Apparatus in Germany

The Local wrote on August 24:

“A security politician told Die Welt that Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency has some 6,000 informants in Germany. For Germany’s population of about 3 million people with Turkish roots, that means that each informant could be responsible for monitoring 500 people… In comparison… the Stasi had around 10,000 agents in West Germany to monitor a population of roughly 60 million – meaning 6,000 people per agent.

“The Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi, was communist East Germany’s secret police force, which secretly monitored millions until the end of the Cold War and German reunification. But the Stasi engaged primarily in gathering military, political or economic intelligence in West Germany, rather than targeting former citizens, as MIT seems to be doing in Germany…

“Since a failed coup attempt in Turkey last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been enacting mass detentions in his own country of suspected opponents, including academics, journalists and military members… Turkey’s internal conflicts between Gülen and Erdogan, and between Kurds and Turks have been brought into Germany, and are impacting the internal peace… The informants in Germany are often unpaid supporters of Erdogan…

“These informants are putting pressure on Kurds, Gülen supporters and others perceived as being opponents, for example by calling for boycotts on their businesses, writing negatively about them in Turkish publications, or threatening their family members… They can go to the regular German police to complain about it, but this is difficult to do in this kind of parallel society… The government feels that Turkey is an important partner in the refugee crisis, so they may turn a blind eye…

“Germany’s Turkish population is the largest ethnic minority in the country. Many came through a guest worker programme in the 1960s…”

Burka Ban in Germany?

The Telegraph wrote on August 19:

“Germany could impose a ban on women wearing burkas or full-face Islamic veils at schools and universities and while driving under new proposals announced on Friday by Angela Merkel’s party.  The burka ‘does not belong in our cosmopolitan country’, Thomas de Maiziere, the interior minister and one of Mrs Merkel’s closest allies, said as he announced the new policy. ‘We all reject the full veil —  not only the burka but also other types of full veil that only leave the eyes visible. They have no place in our society.’…

“Mrs Merkel made her own feelings on the issue clear in an interview with a number of German newspapers in advance of the announcement. ‘In my view, a fully veiled woman has almost no chance of integrating successfully in German society,’ she said. The new policy was agreed at late night talks between Mr de Maiziere and interior ministers from several of Germany’s 16 federal states where the CDU is in power…”

Merkel Wants a Better Europe

Reuters wrote on August 21:

“The leaders of Germany, France and Italy will meet on Monday to discuss how to keep the European project together in the second set of talks between the premiers of the euro zone’s three largest economies since Britain’s shock vote to leave the bloc… Officials in Brussels and Berlin fear the June 23 vote could lead to a referendum in the Netherlands – a founding member of the union – on whether to also leave the bloc….

“Faced with existential risks, Merkel wants to cement ‘a better Europe’ rather than forge ahead with ‘more Europe’…

“Lingering threats to the union that emerged long before the Brexit vote are also likely to be on the agenda, including internal and external security after Islamist militant attacks and Europe’s migration crisis. Emboldened by the Brexit vote, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called a referendum on Oct. 2 on whether to accept any future EU migrant settlement quotas as his government steps up its fight against the EU’s migration policies.

“In another symbolic choice of venue, the three leaders will hold their closing news conference on the Italian aircraft carrier, the Garibaldi, which is the flagship of the EU’s ‘Sophia’ mission in the Mediterranean. The naval operation has a mandate to tackle migrant smugglers, help enforce an arms embargo off Libya, and train the Libyan coast guard. The EU plans to offer incentives to African governments to help slow the flow of migrants who have poured into Europe over the past three years…”

“Europe Must Remain as One”

Daily Mail wrote on August 22:

“Under-fire EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker risked widening divisions with European leaders today by saying borders were the ‘worst invention ever’. He called for all borders across Europe to be opened, despite the chaos caused over the last year from the flood in refugees fleeing Syria and the wave of terror attacks hitting various continent’s cities… Mr Juncker also said a stronger EU was the best way of beating the rising trend of nationalism cross Europe.

“In another extraordinary remark, he appeared to warn of war on the continent if the EU disintegrates as he echoed the warning from the former French president Francois Mitterrand, who said nationalism added to nationalism would end in war…

“The embattled EU Commission president described Brexit as an ‘unheard-of political crisis’ for the EU but told EU member states that the only way of overcoming the challenge of Britain leaving would be to remain as one…”

Europe to Ensure Its Own Defense

The Telegraph wrote on August 22:

“The EU must sharply increase cooperation on defence and intelligence to combat Islamic terrorism and other threats, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy said… The German chancellor, who is known to back deeper EU defence plans, called for more sharing of information between European intelligence services to thwart the kind of attacks that have hit her country, France and Belgium… President Hollande also called for greater cooperation on defence, as France comes to terms with a string of terrorist attacks in recent months.  ‘Europe must ensure its own defence, and France is certainly playing its role,’ the French leader said… Plans to press ahead with a so-called ‘EU army’ will be easier now that the UK has decided to leave the bloc, a former head of the Italian military said.

“General Vincenzo Camporini, former chief of the general staff, said the British thwarted a common defence policy for Europe [for] years.  ‘Every step forward was blocked [by the British]. The British position was crucial – everyone knew that without London, you couldn’t even begin to talk about a common European defence policy,’ he told La Repubblica newspaper.  Mr Renzi echoed the call for deeper defences, while adding that Europe would not suffer from Britain’s departure as many had predicted after the June 23 vote to leave.  ‘Many people felt that after Brexit Europe would come to an end, but that is not the case,’ he said, ‘We respect the choice made by the British citizens,  but at the same time we want to be able to turn the page on a new future.’”

The Express added on August 22:

“‘Brexit will be the beginning of a new Europe’ EU leaders pledge to reform troubled bloc. BRITAIN’S decision to leave the European Union can usher in a new era of solidarity for the troubled bloc, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy said today.”

Germany’s Many Capitals

The Local wrote on August 18:

“In most west European states, power has been centralized around one city for centuries. In England, London (or more accurately Westminster) became the seat of power in the 12th century. Madrid became capital of the Spanish kingdom in 1525. Lisbon was named home of Portuguese government in 1255.

“But Germany is an exception. From the Middle Ages through to modern times, power shifted between various cities, while Berlin was a latecomer to the party, only really gaining prominence in the 18th century…

“The westernmost city of the Federal Republic of Germany, Aachen, is also known as Aix-la-Chapelle in English… the city was the residence of medieval king and emperor Charles the Great, whose kingdom stretched over regions now belonging to France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800 by Pope Leo III in the Vatican. After his coronation, the sovereign made Aachen the capital of his empire… from 595 until 936, it was the place of coronation of German kings and queens. After his death, Charles the Great’s kingdom slowly dissolved, but it gave birth to another empire 162 years later…

“Otto I revived the title of Charlemagne and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 after creating the archbishopric of Magdeburg. The Holy Roman Empire had no fixed capital, as each king travelled between residences… Otto I’s empire was enormous and included French-speaking Waloons, Flemings in the Netherlands, Slovaks, Slovenes, Danes, Czechs, Croats and Italians. After a marriage to the Byzantine princess Theophanu, the ‘King of the Germans’’ influence even spread as far as Constantinople, modern day Istanbul…

“During the Holy Roman Empire, the archbishop of Mainz was one of the seven ‘Prince-electors’ – the council who collectively elected new rulers of the vast empire, which at its height spread from the Baltic Sea to southern Italy… The archbishop… was also considered Primas Germaniae, the Pope’s highest representative north of the Alps. To this day, the archiepiscopal See of Mainz is the only other Western location outside of the Vatican recognized under the title of Holy See…

“Trier… is arguably the most ancient city in Germany, having been founded by Celts in the late 4th century BC [Our comment: This is erroneous, even though it is acknowledged that Trier was NOT founded by Rome, as many falsely believe. In fact, Trier was founded by the ancient Assyrians. See our free booklet, “Germany in Prophecy.”]…

“Cologne, Trier, and Mainz were capitals of important states and ruled kingdoms in the empire, but some cities such as Speyer temporarily had more prestige within the empire… In 1027, Conrad II rose to be emperor and by 1033, he was King of Italy, Germany and Burgundy. Conrad came from Speyer and Worms, and upon rising to the throne ordered work to start on a magnificent cathedral in Speyer…

“Cities were usually capitals of a certain territory. However, some cities were independent states. The case of Nuremberg is truly exceptional: it was both an independent city-state and the ‘unofficial capital’ of the Holy Roman Empire. While Nuremberg may not have been capital in name, imperial assemblies were regularly held there and in 1356, Charles IV decreed that all new kings had to hold their first assembly there. The imperial court also worshiped at the town’s Frauenkirche, which was built between 1352 and 1362. Sigismund of Luxembourg also ruled that the imperial regalia be kept in the city permanently. For 350 years between 1423 and 1796, the most precious possessions of the emperor, including the imperial crown, the holy lance and the imperial sword were kept in the city. [Our comment: For more information on these “precious possessions of the emperor” and the role they might still play in the future, please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”]…

“In the later years of the Holy Roman Empire, the balance of power progressively shifted from the emperor to local rulers, and in 1806 the empire dissolved altogether. By this stage Berlin had already been capital of the Prussian state for over a hundred years and Prussia had become a major European power. Thanks to the efforts of Otto von Bismarck, it established itself as the core of the modern German state, and Berlin was made capital of modern Germany in 1871.” [Our comment: After World War II and the division of Germany, East Berlin became the capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the capital of West Germany. Berlin resumed its role as the German capital after German reunification.]

Goebbels’ Father-in-Law Was Jewish

JTA wrote on August 21:

“The wife of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels had a Jewish father, according to a new document discovered in the Berlin archives. The document was published in the German newspaper Bild… It shows that the father of Magda Goebbels was a Jewish businessman named Richard Friedlander, who married Magda’s mother, Auguste Behrend, when Magda was about 7 years old. Friedlander had an affair in 1901 with Behrend before she married German engineer Oskar Ritshel, who had been blamed for impregnating Behrend before their wedding.

“Friedlander’s residency card, the document found in the archives, states that Magda is his biological daughter… Friedlander died in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1939; his daughter did not attempt to help him.

“The Goebbels had been portrayed by the Nazis as the ideal Aryan family. Joseph and Magda Goebbels and their six children committed suicide on April 30, 1945, a day after Adolf Hitler took his life.”

Italy Struck by Massive Earthquake

Reuters reported on August 24:

“A powerful earthquake devastated a string of mountainous towns in central Italy on Wednesday, trapping residents under piles of rubble, killing at least 38 people and leaving thousands homeless. The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome.

“A family of four, including two boys aged 8 months and 9 years, were buried when their house in Accumoli imploded. As rescue workers carried away the body of the infant, carefully covered by a small blanket, the children’s grandmother blamed God: ‘He took them all at once,’ she wailed.

“The army was mobilized to help with special heavy equipment and the treasury released 235 million euros ($265 million) of emergency funds. At the Vatican, Pope Francis canceled part of his general audience to pray for the victims. Aerial photographs showed whole areas of Amatrice, voted last year as one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns, flattened by the 6.2 magnitude quake…

“The quake hit during the summer when the area, usually sparsely populated, hosts large numbers of holidaymakers… ‘Three quarters of the town is not there anymore,’ Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi told state broadcaster RAI… RAI reported that two Afghan girls, believed to be asylum-seekers, were also missing in the town…

“INGV reported 60 aftershocks in the four hours following the initial quake, the strongest measuring 5.5…

“Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. The last major earthquake to hit the country struck the central city of L’Aquila in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The most deadly since the start of the 20th century came in 1908, when an earthquake followed by a tsunami killed an estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily.”

Subsequently, Deutsche Welle reported on August 25 that “at least 250 people” were killed in the earthquake.

The Bible prophesies that in the end time, a massive earthquake will hit and destroy the city of Rome.

More and More Americans Are “Giving Up” on God

The Washington Examiner reported on August 24:

“Half of Americans who have left their church no longer believe in God, leading a surge of nearly one quarter of the nation who have no affiliation with any religion, according to a new survey. Pew Research Center said Wednesday that 49 percent of what they term ‘nones’ left their church and religion because they ‘don’t believe.’ Another 20 percent said they don’t like organized religion. Other reasons included ‘common sense’ and a lack of [belief]in miracles. The survey is the latest from Pew that demonstrates a growing trend in America: More and more people are junking religion and many are giving up on God.

“… This includes many respondents who mention ‘science’ [i.e., the belief in Evolution] as the reason they do not believe in religious teachings, including one who said ‘I’m a scientist now, and I don’t believe in miracles.’ Others reference ‘common sense,’ ‘logic’ or a ‘lack of evidence’ – or simply say they do not believe in God.”

The Pew Research Center wrote:

“One-in-five express an opposition to organized religion in general. This share includes some who do not like the hierarchical nature of religious groups, several people who think religion is too much like a business and others who mention clergy sexual abuse scandals as reasons for their stance. A similar share (18%) say they are religiously unsure. This includes people who say they are religious in some way despite being unaffiliated (e.g., ‘I believe in God, but in my own way’), others who describe themselves as ‘seeking enlightenment’ or ‘open-minded,’ and several who say they are ‘spiritual’ if not religious…

“Religious ‘nones’ are by no means monolithic. They can be broken down into three broad subgroups: self-identified atheists, those who call themselves agnostic and people who describe their religion as ‘nothing in particular…”

You might want to listen to our recent sermon, “Why Will God Punish America?”

Iran Deal… Looking Bad for Obama

On August 19, the Washington Post wrote the following:

“Back in January, Iran released five American prisoners it had been holding. That same day, we have come to find out, the American government sent $400 million in cash to Iran. It isn’t hard to draw conclusions based on the proximity of those two events. And yet, the Obama administration repeatedly sought to separate them from one another — even as Republicans have almost universally accused it of paying a ‘ransom’ for American ‘hostages.’…

“In response to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the State Department on Thursday acknowledged that the money was used as ‘leverage’ in the prisoner-release negotiations. The money was already due to Iran as part of a settlement over a decades-old failed arms deal — also reached in January — but State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed it was withheld until the prisoners had left Iran… Asked whether Kirby was saying the payment was contingent upon the prisoners being released, he responded, ‘That’s correct.’

“How does this square with what the Obama administration said before? Back on Aug. 3, after the Wall Street Journal revealed the $400 million payment, Kirby said the two matters were ‘completely separate.’…  Kirby’s assurance… is hard to square with the fact that the $400 million was contingent upon the prisoner release…

“Thursday’s revelation does indeed look bad for the administration, as did the after-the-fact revelation of the $400 million transfer made to Iran, and they both breathe life into Republicans’ long-standing allegations that this was a quid pro quo in which prisoners were released in exchange for cash. There’s a reason such things are avoided; they risk putting overseas Americans in danger of being held in exchange for money.”

Did Hillary Clinton Break the Law–Again?

Newsmax wrote on August 22:

“A second cache of newly released emails during Hillary Clinton’s stint at secretary of state glaringly illustrates how special access was given Clinton Foundation donors — from Middle Eastern royalty to international sports and music stars — by Clinton’s staff, Judicial Watch charged Monday.

“The conservative watchdog group made public 725 pages of State Department documents, many of which included previously unreleased email exchanges between Clinton’s longtime aide Huma Abedin and Doug Band, a then-employee of the Clinton Foundation — and 20 Clinton email exchanges that Judicial Watch asserts weren’t part of the 55,000 pages of emails Clinton turned over to the State Department.

“Earlier this month, Judicial Watch released another batch highlighting the privilege afforded Clinton Foundation donors at Clinton’s State Department. According to Judicial Watch, in one blatant example of privileged access in the new batch, Abedin coordinated with Band to set up a meeting between the Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain and Clinton after Salman couldn’t get a meeting set up through normal State Department channels. In the email chain, Band stresses Salman was a ‘good friend of ours,’ Judicial Watch reports, noting the Kingdom of Bahrain has given up to $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

“Also included among the Abedin-Band email chains is an exchange in which Band urged Abedin to get the State Department to intervene in order to obtain a visa for members of a U.K. football club, one of whose members was having trouble [be]cause of a ‘criminal charge,’ Judicial Watch reports. Band was acting at the behest of millionaire Hollywood sports entertainment executive and president of the Wasserman Foundation, Casey Wasserman, who has donated between $5-10 million to the Clinton Foundation, Judicial Watch reports.

“The Abedin emails also show former Bill Clinton aide Ben Schwerin, who helped set up the Clinton Foundation, urged Abedin to help U2’s Bono to broadcast from the international space station, according to Judicial Watch. ‘These new emails confirm that Hillary Clinton abused her office by selling favors to Clinton Foundation donors,’ Judicial Watch’s president Tom Fitton said in a statement. ‘There needs to be a serious, independent investigation to determine whether Clinton and others broke the law.’”

The Associated Press added on August 23:

“More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation. It’s an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president. At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.

“Donors who were granted time with Clinton included an internationally known economist who asked for her help as the Bangladesh government pressured him to resign from a nonprofit bank he ran; a Wall Street executive who sought Clinton’s help with a visa problem; and Estee Lauder executives who were listed as meeting with Clinton while her department worked with the firm’s corporate charity to counter gender-based violence in South Africa…

“Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump fiercely criticized the links between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department, saying his general election opponent had delivered ‘lie after lie after lie… It is impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins. It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office’…

“On Monday, Bill Clinton said in a statement that if his wife were to win, he would step down from the foundation’s board and stop all fundraising for it. The foundation would also accept donations only from U.S. citizens and what it described as independent philanthropies, while no longer taking gifts from foreign groups, U.S. companies or corporate charities… Those planned changes would not affect more than 6,000 donors who have already provided the Clinton charity with more than $2 billion in funding since its creation in 2000. ‘There’s a lot of potential conflicts and a lot of potential problems,’ said Douglas White, an expert on nonprofits who previously directed Columbia University’s graduate fundraising management program. ‘The point is, she can’t just walk away from these 6,000 donors.’

“Former senior White House ethics officials said a Clinton administration would have to take careful steps to ensure that past foundation donors would not have the same access as she allowed at the State Department…”

“Emails Show Clinton Ties to Supporters of Turkish Cleric Fethullah Gulen”

Newsmax wrote on August 24:

“Newly released Hillary Clinton emails show that two Turkish businessmen who are top lieutenants of the Islamic cleric living in the U.S. being sought for extradition by Ankara received helped from then secretary of state’s aide Huma Abedin in 2009…  Other emails released show that the two businessmen, Gokhan Ozkok and Recep Ozkan, were on the guest list for a June 2012 Clinton Foundation dinner held at Clinton’s home.

“The series of emails from the two praise Clinton and emphasize that Turkish Americans believe in her friendship. They provide further evidence of the ties the two have fostered with Clinton over the years, at the same time they have worked for Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in self-exile in Pennsylvania and whom the Turkish government has demanded that the U.S. extradited. Ozkok and Ozkan have also contributed money to Clinton presidential campaigns and gained access to her through Abedin, Clinton’s longest serving aide.

“The New York Post has also raised questions about Abedin, revealing that for a decade she edited a radical Muslim publication that opposed women’s rights and blamed the U.S. for 9/11.

“The U.S. has confirmed it has received a formal extradition request from Turkey for Gulen, but not over the July coup attempt the Turkish authorities has accused him of planning… This comes as Vice President Joe Biden meets on Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan in Ankara.

“The emails and strain in Turkish relations raises questions over whether Clinton’s ties to Gulen’s supporters will influence her policy toward Ankara if she becomes president. In addition to the Turkish allegations against Gulen, The Daily Caller reports that he has drawn scrutiny in the U.S. over alleged visa violations and illegal construction deals connected with his vast American charter school system and think tanks promoting his teachings.”

These revelations complicate even further the relationship between the USA and Turkish dictator Erdogan.

Trump and Farage Together for Independence?

The Telegraph wrote on August 24:

“Heaping praise on the former leader of the UK Independence Party, the Republican presidential nominee [Donald Trump] introduced Mr Farage to 15,000 supporters at a rally in Jacksonville, Mississippi, as the man who orchestrated Brexit. ‘On June 23, the people of Britain voted to declare their independence – which is what we’re also looking to do, folks – from their international government,’ Mr Trump said. ‘They voted to reclaim control over immigration, over economy, over government. Working people, and the great people of the UK, took control of their destiny. We will have one American nation, not divided. November 8 is our chance to re-declare American independence.’

“Mr Farage said he came ‘with a message of hope and optimism’. ‘We made June 23 our independence day when we shamed the establishment… Mr Farage criticised US President Barack Obama, who had urged the British to stay in the EU, saying he ‘talked down to us, as if we were nothing… If I was an American citizen, I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me. In fact, I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if she paid me.’

“Saying ‘the parallels are clear’ between what was happening in the US and what happened in Britain, Mr Farage said American voters had a ‘fantastic opportunity’ to ‘beat the pollsters, the commentators, Washington… And you’ll do it like with Brexit in Britain, (with) a people’s army. If you want change, you better get your walking boots on, you better get out [there] campaigning, and, remember, anything is possible if enough decent people are prepared to stand up against the establishment.’”

Mr. Farage is probably the most-hated British politician in Europe. If Mr. Trump follows his footsteps, as he appears to do, then he might turn out to be the most hated American politician in Europe. (He is already hated by many Europeans.) As the relationship between the UK and Europe drastically deteriorated because of the Brexit, so the relationship between the USA and Europe might also deteriorate—especially, if Mr. Trump becomes the next President—because of his declared policy of “America first.”

Trump Backs Away from His Immigration Stance

Newsmax wrote on August 25:

“Donald Trump backed away farther from his hard-line stance on deporting millions of illegal immigrants, saying in remarks broadcast on Wednesday he would be willing to work with those who have followed U.S. laws while living in the country.

“Trump’s comments came in the second part of an interview conducted on Tuesday with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. They signaled a further softening in his immigration position as he girds for a battle against Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election and faces pressure to bolster support among moderate voters and minority groups.

“Trump, who defeated 16 rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in part based on his opposition to illegal immigrants, said he would not permit American citizenship for the undocumented population and would expel lawbreakers. To qualify to remain in the United States, Trump said, illegal immigrants would have to pay back taxes…

“Trump’s new position seemed to resemble in some respects the failed 2007 reform push by former Republican President George W. Bush. That effort offered a way to bring millions ‘out of the shadows’ without amnesty and would have required illegal immigrants to pay a fine and take other steps to gain legal status…

“Trump… still wants to build a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico but he has emphasized in recent days a need to deal most urgently with illegal immigrants who commit crimes and also those who might be displacing African-American and Hispanic workers. At a rally earlier in Tampa, Florida, Trump did not talk about deporting as many as 11 million illegal immigrants as he has in the past, instead saying he would aim enforcement efforts at people who are committing crimes such as overstaying their visas…”

To be clear, overstaying a visa does NOT constitute a crime. And Trump’s new position, which is totally contrary to his prior bombastic promises, will, no doubt, disappoint many of his hardline supporters.

Glenn Beck Attacks Trump and Bannon

The Week wrote on August 24:

“Had Glenn Beck used his trusty chalkboard Wednesday night during an appearance on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, it almost certainly would have been filled with arrows, circles, unidentifiable symbols, and scrawls of ‘Stephen Bannon,’ ‘despicable,’ ‘Never Trump,’ and ‘noooooooooooo!!!!!’

“Beck has never been a Trump fan — the conservative commentator, radio host, and founder of TheBlaze supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the Republican primary — and he’s also not big on Bannon, the Breitbart News executive chairman turned Trump campaign CEO. O’Donnell said he had never heard of Bannon before his new appointment, and he invited Beck, who previously called Bannon ‘a horrible, despicable human being,’ to give him the scoop.

“‘He describes himself as a Leninist, and I was kind of hoping it was John Lennon, but it’s not,’ Beck said. ‘He is not a Marxist, he doesn’t believe in Marxism or socialism or communism or anything else. What he means by that is he is a destroyer of everything. He believes that Lenin was right the way he went in; he destroyed the system, destroyed the Duma, brought down the parties, then punished his enemies.’ Beck said he agreed to go on MSNBC because Bannon is ‘dangerous’ and Beck is ‘truly, gravely concerned about the direction of the country, and it is very important for conservatives or constitutionalists to stand up and let the left know, “Hey guys, we’re not all like that.” We have concerns and there has to be some things we come together on, basic values and principles. Let’s not go into a chaos theory; that never goes well.'”

Russia’s Political Murders

The New York Times wrote on August 20:

“Used extensively in the Soviet era, political murders are again playing a prominent role in the Kremlin’s foreign policy, the most brutal instrument in an expanding repertoire of intimidation tactics intended to silence or otherwise intimidate critics at home and abroad.

“Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, has made no secret of his ambition to restore his country to what he sees as its rightful place among the world’s leading nations. He has invested considerable money and energy into building an image of a strong and morally superior Russia, in sharp contrast with what he portrays as weak, decadent and disorderly Western democracies.

“Muckraking journalists, rights advocates, opposition politicians, government whistle-blowers and other Russians who threaten that image are treated harshly – imprisoned on trumped-up charges, smeared in the news media and, with increasing frequency, killed.

“Political murders, particularly those accomplished with poisons, are nothing new in Russia, going back five centuries. Nor are they particularly subtle. While typically not traceable to any individuals and plausibly denied by government officials, poisonings leave little doubt of the state’s involvement – which may be precisely the point…

“Other countries, notably Israel and the United States, pursue targeted killings, but in a strict counterterrorism context. No other major power employs murder as systematically and ruthlessly as Russia does against those seen as betraying its interests abroad. Killings outside Russia were even given legal sanction by the nation’s Parliament in 2006.

“Applied most notoriously in the case of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a Putin opponent who died of polonium-210 poisoning in London in 2006, murders and deaths under mysterious circumstances are now seen as such a menace that Kremlin critics now often flee the country and keep their whereabouts secret. Russia has never acknowledged using the authority under the 2006 law and has specifically denied any government ties to high-profile cases, including the Litvinenko murder.

“Among those fleeing Russia recently is Grigory Rodchenkov, a whistle-blower in Russia’s sports doping scandal. This is not without reason. In the case over state-sponsored doping, two other officials with knowledge of the scheme died unexpectedly as the outlines of the scandal began to emerge…

“Poison has been a favorite tool of Russian intelligence for more than a century. A biochemist, Grigory Mairanovski, labored in secret from 1928 on the task of developing tasteless, colorless and odorless poisons. In 1954, a K.G.B. defector described a secret lab near the agency’s Lubyanka headquarters and ‘experiments on living people.’ The agencies developed an arsenal of lethal, hard-to-trace poisons that, analysts of Russian security affairs say, is still in use…

“In 1971, a year after he won the Nobel Prize for literature, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn survived a poisoning attempt. Ricin, made from  castor beans, was probably involved, according to news media accounts and a biography of the dissident writer…

“Some do take precautions. Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and now an opposition figure, has long had bodyguards carry bottled water and prepared meals for him.”

The New Vaccination Madness

CBS SF Bay Area wrote on August 22:

“Scores of California students may be sent home on their first day of school because of a new vaccine law that took effect this year. The new state law took effect July 1. Now, parents can no longer use personal or religious beliefs as a reason not to have their kids immunized. This school year, kindergartners and seventh graders must show proof of immunizations.

“Monday WAS the first day of school for kids in Oakland. Hundreds of them were expected to be sent home… Young children who got their personal belief exemptions approved before January 2016, will be grandfathered in. According to the new law, they still must get immunized when they reach seventh grade.”

The website of the denverchannel.com reported on August 20:

“School bells are ringing again across Colorado. As kids head back to school, some parents, who opt not to vaccinate their children, are pushing back against some of the wording in the state’s new non-medical immunization exemption form.

“That form reads in part: Failure to follow the advice of a physician, registered nurse, physician’s assistant or public health official who has recommended vaccines may endanger my child’s/my health or life and others who come into contact with my child/me.

“State Senator Kevin Lundberg, Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee says, ‘That (phrasing) amounts to compelled speech.’ He said the state has no business trying to force parents to agree to something that they don’t believe is true. The Senator told Denver7 that state health officials drew up the new forms themselves. He said state law only requires that parents, who want to ‘opt out’ of the vaccination requirements, submit a note to their child’s school.

“A group called CitizenGo has launched an online petition drive urging Governor Hickenlooper and legislative leaders to ‘immediately modify these forms and regulations to protect the privacy and freedom of Colorado families.’…

“Denver7 asked the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment [CDPHE] about the petition drive to get the language changed. A spokeswoman said, ‘we’re not going to comment because of the possibility of a lawsuit.’”

In addition, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is contesting the legality of the form in respect to CDPHE’s authority to create an unconstitutional requirement.  HSLDA contends that by signing such a statement, a person could be making an admission that could be used against him in later civil or criminal proceeding. The HSLDA contends in a letter, dated August 6, 2016, to the CDPHE that the language contained in the exemption form is unconstitutional as it “requires the affirmation of a viewpoint with which many people disagree or which violates their personal or religious beliefs.” The HSLDA cites a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to the effect that “the First Amendment prevents the government from compelling individuals to express certain views.”

The HSDLA is correct in their analysis that the CDPHE violates the rights of US citizens, as the new vaccination law in California is also blatantly unconstitutional. But it appears, not too many sees to care that our personal rights and liberties are being violated on a constant basis by our government. The awakening for all of us will be grim and severe.

No Proof that People are Born Gay or Transgender

Newsmax reported on August 22:

“Two top Johns Hopkins University psychiatrists say there is insufficient evidence to conclude people are born with heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual attractions. ‘The understanding of sexual orientation as an innate, biologically fixed property of human beings — the idea that people are “born that way” — is not supported by scientific evidence,’ Drs. Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh conclude in their new study… ‘While minor differences in the brain structures and brain activity between homosexual and heterosexual individuals have been identified … such neurobiological findings do not demonstrate whether [they] are innate or are the result of environmental and psychological factors.’

“In addition, studies comparing brain structures of transgender and cisgender individuals demonstrate ‘weak correlations between brain structure and cross-gender identification’ and do not provide any evidence for a neurobiological basis for cross-gender identification, they say… Mayer is a scholar-in-residence at the Maryland school’s psychiatry department and Paul McHugh, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.”

Syphilis on the Rise

The Guardian wrote on August 24:

“The disease, caused by the bacterium Treponema Pallidum and passed on through unprotected oral, vaginal and anal sex, has affected the famous through the ages (Al Capone and, reportedly, Hitler, to name just two).

“But syphilis is in no way confined to big names, nor is it a sexually transmitted infection (STI) of the past. The 2016 Public Health England (PHE) syphilis report has shown that infection rates are on the up, with disproportionate rates in London. In 2015, the capital accounted for 56% of all cases in England, with a 22% increase in diagnoses in the year 2014-15. Since 2010 the number of cases of syphilis in Londoners has increased by 163%, with a 22% increase in the year from 2014 to 2015…

“Men who have sex with men (MSM) represented 90% of all syphilis cases in 2015, with a 232% increase in diagnosis over the last five years, said the report. More than half of the MSM diagnosed with syphilis in 2015 were also infected with HIV, and over half additionally tested positive for a separate STI…”

Man’s Morbid Fascination with Alien Life

The Sun wrote on August 24:

“Astronomers have discovered a ‘second Earth’ orbiting our closest star and it could have exactly the right conditions to sustain alien lifeforms. Stargazers from the European Southern Observatory spotted the mystery world circling Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star that’s just four light years away. The planet is orbiting in the “goldilocks zone” of Proxima Centauri, which means it’s close enough to the  star that water would not freeze but far away enough so that water wouldn’t boil. This is important because the presence of liquid water is thought to be necessary for the development of life…

“Now scientists are trying to figure out a way of getting a robotic probe to the planet to see if it is home to alien organisms, although this is not a mission many of us will live to see. Using current rocket technology, it would take 76,000 years to get to our nearest star. However, there is hope that ‘light sail’ technology currently under development could allow us to send a robotic probe to the planet in about 25 years…

“We asked Nick Pope, a British researcher who used to run the Ministry of Defence’s UFO investigation department, if he thought we’d find aliens on the planet. He said: ‘This game-changing discovery may help us answer the question of whether or not we’re alone in the universe – one of the biggest and most profound questions we can ask.  Many people believe there are aliens out there and now it’s possible that they’re our galactic next door neighbours. Every effort should be made not just to find out more about this planet, but to look for evidence of life – and maybe even intelligent life.’”

Alien life forms would not have “evolved”—life forms do not evolve from nothing—and God did not create any alien life forms. But any “encounters” with aliens, if those “encounters” were “real,” would have been of demonic origin.

Israel Ordered to Pay $1.1 Billion to Iran

Forbes wrote on August 15:

“The Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, ordered Israel to pay $1.1 billion plus interest to Iran in a decades old dispute over a secretive oil pipeline  predating Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The verdict was dated June 27, while media broke the story late last week. Until the Islamic revolution and the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, Israel and Iran maintained close ties. In fact, after the Six-Day War (1967 Arab-Israeli War), Iran supplied a large part of Israel’s oil demand while Israel returned the favor…

“After the fall of the Shah of Iran, however, Israel and Iran became the region’s most stringent antagonists and bitter enemies…

“Israeli media said that Iran had tried for years to recoup its disputed assets from EAPC, despite decades of refusing to recognize Israel. Israel Haymon News said that it remains unclear whether Israel will pay up, given its laws restricting ‘trading with the enemy.’ Lawyers from both countries have failed to comment on the verdict.”

Unlike America’s pitiful payout (a/k/a ransom money) to Iran (which was evidenced in a detailed analysis by the Wall Street Journal), it is highly doubtful that Israel will pay this amount to Iran. Newsmax wrote on August 17 that “President Barack Obama has maintained the $400 million paid to Iran was not a ransom for American prisoners, but a report Wednesday [by the Wall Street Journal] detailed a ‘tightly scripted exchange specifically timed’ with the plane carrying the cash and one carrying three freed Americans.”

The Third Jewish Temple Is Coming

JTA wrote on August 12:

“‘It’s time to build,’ reads the tagline of the Temple Institute’s latest YouTube video. The phrase encapsulates the group’s controversial mission to rally Jews to reconstruct the Temple that was the heart of their religion until its destruction 2,000 years ago. Over much of those two millennia, mourning the loss of the Temple and longing for its restoration has been central to Jewish thought and practice…

“‘Our goal is to raise the consciousness of the Jewish people and all humanity toward the central role that the Holy Temple plays in the life of mankind,’ Rabbi Chaim Richman, the Massachusetts-born co-founder and the international director of the Temple Institute, told JTA…

“Established in 1987, 20 years after Israel conquered the Temple Mount and the Palestinian territories in the Six-Day War, the Temple Institute was one of the first groups to openly advocate the rebuilding of the two temples that once stood on the plaza. Another co-founder is Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who was among the paratroopers who took the Temple Mount from Jordanian forces in 1967.

“The problem for supporters is that the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem is sacred not only to Jews but to Muslims and Christians, too. The site includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, two of the most significant shrines in Islam. Israel chose to leave it under Muslim control in 1967, and Jewish prayer is prohibited there. Ever since, even rumors of changes to the ‘status quo’ — let alone provocative calls to build a third Temple in their place — have drawn international Muslim ire and Palestinian violence. Tensions surrounding the Temple Mount played a major role in the first and second Palestinian intifadas, or uprisings, and helped trigger the most recent wave of attacks that started in October.

“Some Israelis have always opposed the government’s decision not to reclaim the mount. In the 1980s, the Jewish Underground, a Jewish settler terrorist group, plotted to bomb the Dome of the Rock, in part to catalyze the construction of the third Temple in its place. The Shin Bet security agency thwarted the plot…

“The Temple Institute focuses on preparing the objects and skills needed for the sacrifice of animals and the esoteric rituals that were carried out by kohanim, or priests, in front of crowds of Jewish pilgrims before the last temple’s destruction. All of its work is led by a rabbinical council and based on meticulous analysis of Jewish scripture and academic research…

“These days,… weekly TV and radio shows are among the 914 videos that appear on the Temple Institute’s YouTube channel… Most content is in English to maximize reach, including to the many evangelical Christians who support the group, many through tax-exempt charities in the United States. For many evangelicals, the construction of a third Temple fulfills a prophecy about the second coming of Jesus…

“This year’s campaign is for a school to train the priests to staff the third Temple… The Israeli government provides some funding to the Temple Institute…”

“Israel Heute” added on August 12 that the Temple Institute opened a school to teach descendants of Levi as to how to carry out services in the third Temple.

Trump’s Ultra-Progressive Pro-Gay Policy

The Telegraph wrote on August 15:

“Donald Trump said he would introduce a new ideological test for admission to the United States called ‘extreme vetting’ in which would-be immigrants would be asked what they believe on issues like religious freedom, gender equality and gay rights… The government would use questionnaires, social media, and interviews with friends and relatives to determine if people seeking to immigrate or get visas supported American values like tolerance and pluralism.

“Those excluded would be people who did not believe in the US Constitution, support bigotry and hatred, believe Shariah law is more important than US law, or would not ‘flourish in our country.’… The Trump’s campaign has yet to say whether additional screenings would apply to the millions of tourists who visit the US each year…”

Times of Israel wrote on August 16:

“Donald Trump said he would test would-be immigrants for anti-Semitic beliefs and that Israel would be a key ally in defeating radical Islam…

“The Anti-Defamation League immediately took to Twitter to express concerns about Trump’s reiterated call to ban Muslim entry and entry from countries subject to violence… Also speaking out was HIAS, the lead Jewish group advocating for immigrants and refugees. ‘For the American Jewish community, the thought of barring a refugee family because of their religion or home country is simply unpalatable,’ Melanie Nezer, the group’s vice president, said in a statement…”

Breitbart wrote on August 15:

“Donald J Trump… has just outflanked Hillary Clinton on the Left and announced what can only be described as an ultra-progressive immigration policy… Trump’s plan is to introduce a screening process for prospective immigrants to the U.S., testing their ideological commitment to western values like women’s rights, gay rights, and religious pluralism… Actually, it’s about the most pro-gay policy I’ve ever heard from a presidential hopeful…”

In his speech, Trump also said that Hillary Clinton wanted to become America’s Angela Merkel. The German press (Die Welt, August 16) responded that with this statement, Trump “continued his defamation against Angela Merkel.” Note the next article.

“Donald Trump Has No Clue About Germany”

The Local wrote on August 16:

“US presidential candidate Donald Trump has been on the attack against Chancellor Angela Merkel once again. The lies he told about Germany show how dangerous he is. Discussing his Democrat rival’s health care, education and plans, which he claimed would create a ‘lifetime cost of $400 billion’, Trump concluded that ‘in short Hillary Clinton wants to be America’s Angela Merkel.’

“After lapping up the mixture of jeers and claps he continued on the completely unrelated topic of crime. ‘You know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and the people of Germany. Crime has risen to levels that no one thought they would ever, ever see. It is a catastrophe.’

“To listen to Trump you would think that Merkel spends most of her free time handing out 100 euro bills to refugees on the street while all around her foreigners are robbing banks and plundering the homes of honest, hard-working Germans. It was interesting to see how the tycoon seamlessly jumped from social spending to immigration and crime – as if these things were one and the same. It told us a lot about how angry conservatives in the USA see Germany, but absolutely nothing about reality in the Federal Republic.

“On closer analysis Trump’s statements turn out… to be complete fantasy. If Trump had even the slightest idea about German politics he would know that Merkel has presided over a government that has an obsession with financial tight-fistedness. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble fastidiously sticks to the concept of schwarze Null, whereby the tax man takes in more than the government spends in a year.

“Critics point to decaying road and rail infrastructure, and to increased levels of child poverty, in appealing to the government to loosen the purse strings and start investing in the country’s future. World Bank figures on government debt as a percentage of GDP shows that Germany is one of the class swots in the developed world, with public debt coming to 52.3 percent of GDP. As a comparison the USA’s public debt is 96.8 percent of GDP and the OECD average is 68.3 percent. And, to Merkel’s credit, Germany manages this while providing free higher education, a national minimum wage and a health care system that ensures no one is left behind.

“Trump’s claim about unimaginable crime levels since the refugee influx of 2015 is even more risible. Crime has been falling in Germany for decades. Since a high point in 1993 of just under 8,500 registered crimes for every 100,000 residents, crime rates have declined and plateaued between 2010 and 2012 at roughly 7,400 registered crimes per 100,000 people. German police figures for 2015 show that the crime rate rose during the year by 4.1 percent to slightly over 6.3 million registered crimes. This came out to just under 7,800 crimes per 100,000 residents.

“But this increase was completely distorted by one statistic: that the huge numbers of refugee arrivals had created an explosion in the number of people illegally entering the country. Take this statistic out and overall crime fell in Germany in 2015 in comparison with 2014 from 7,337 crimes per 100,000 resident to 7,301 per 100,000 residents.

“Crimes committed by migrants, such as sexual assaults in Cologne over New Year (around half of the suspects for which had arrived in Germany in the previous 12 months) and an axe attack on a train in Würzburg in July, have made international headlines. But these only represent a vanishing proportion of overall crime. The fact is in 2015 Germans were safer than they have ever been since the reunification of the country…”

In all fairness, Trump’s comments about Clinton and Merkel were clearly made in the context of immigration and refugees, and NOT in the context of the financial situation in Germany. It is true, however, that the crime rate did not significantly rise because of refugees entering the country. And so, the German anti-Trump reporting continues. Der Spiegel wrote on August 16 that “there can no longer be any doubt that Donald Trump is a liar, narcissist and agitator. As president, he would be a danger for the entire world,” concluding that “Donald Trump represents one of the gravest threats of our time.” It is a fact of life that domestic popularity rises in light of international attacks.

NATO and the USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 15:

“The US has long warned its European partners it was losing patience with paying the majority of NATO’s bills. The nomination of Donald Trump has made the threats of a US withdrawal from NATO seem real and present… He pledges if he becomes president, US participation in an Article V operation would depend on whether the ally under attack had ‘fulfilled their obligations’ to the US. It’s unclear whether Trump believes other NATO countries owe money directly to the US for military reassurance, as he also said recently that European allies ‘don’t pay us what they should be paying’ and that he ‘want[s] them to pay.’

“As for whether Trump really would or could pull the US out of NATO, [Reuel Marc Gerecht, a prominent neo-conservative commentator and former CIA officer] speculates a Trump presidency might mean there won’t even be a NATO to quit. ‘Any president has within his powers as commander-in-chief to effectively gut NATO,’ he says. ‘And certainly by simple statements that he’s already made, if he were to make them again after becoming president, that he would not honor Article V, then NATO is de facto defunct.’”

Lying About Having Lied About Lying…

Newsmax wrote on August 15:

“Newt Gingrich on Monday said he was puzzled by the FBI’s decision not to interview Hillary Clinton under oath, but said he’s looking forward to the agency’s notes, which will reportedly be released to Congress.

“As for Clinton’s part in the interview, Gingrich said… ‘This is a person who has lied repeatedly. She lies about lying and now she lies about having lied about lying’…”

How Sick Is Hillary Clinton?

Heat Street wrote on August 15:

“Heat Street has compiled evidence of the media’s growing willingness to touch the forbidden question of the Democratic nominee’s health. Does she need to release those medical records to be straight with the public? What’s going on with Hillary Clinton’s health? That’s a question many people are asking these days. There’s a lot we still don’t know about the mysterious health scare Clinton suffered in December 2012, when she was hospitalized for what was later described as a blood clot on her brain.

“The event was shrugged off as a minor scare, and Hillary eventually returned to work as secretary of state, sporting a pair of very thick spectacles. However, in 2014, Bill Clinton revealed that his wife’s ‘terrible’ health episode ‘required six months of very serious work to get over.’

“Some of Hillary’s behavior over the course of the campaign has been described by observers as ‘erratic’ … leading some critics to raise questions about her current health. Hillary Clinton will turn 69 in October.”

US News added on August 15:

“Fox News, the Drudge Report, and a slew of conservative or conspiracy-theory themed sites on the internet are raising questions about Clinton’s medical fitness to be president… Fox’s Sean Hannity dedicated an entire week to the matter, pointing to an exchange with reporters in which Clinton, Hannity said, did a ‘twitching thing,’ followed by a ‘violent, violent, repetitive jerking of the head.’…

“Dr. Ben Carson, a former GOP presidential candidate himself, wouldn’t declare Clinton’s behavior proof of any specific ailment but did note that ‘as a person gets older, the number of medical conditions that we have to watch for increases,’ and that Clinton should reveal her full medical records. Jane M. Orient, a medical doctor and executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons… is convinced Clinton has something wrong with her… During Clinton’s 11 hours of testimony before Congress on the Benghazi matter – an episode Clinton’s backers point to as an example of her physical endurance – Clinton laughed at length and inappropriately, Orient says, suggesting she was not quite right…”

Even though Trump’s poll numbers are currently dropping, Clinton’s health and her unresolved and still lingering Email scandal (now also involving an investigation of the Clinton Foundation) could change all of this—let alone further terrible events related to terrorism and migration.

Both Flawed… Neither Better Than the Other

Newsmax wrote on August 15:

“Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are flawed and ‘neither is clearly better than the other,’ the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia says… ‘This is depressing and liberating at the same time… Depressing, because it’s proof of how polarized the nation has become. Liberating, because for the honest voter, it’s much easier this year to ignore the routine tribal loyalty chants of both the Democratic and Republican camps …

“‘Neither major candidate lives anywhere near the solar system where most Americans live, work and raise families. Nonetheless, we’re asked to trust them,’ he writes. ‘The next few months will determine the next decade and more of our nation’s life..’”

USA Abrogates Control Over the Internet

The Washington Examiner wrote on August 16:

“The Department of Commerce is set to hand off the final vestiges of American control over the Internet to international authorities in less than two months, officials have confirmed…

“The move means the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which is responsible for interpreting numerical addresses on the Web to a readable language, will move from U.S. control to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a multistakeholder body based in Los Angeles that includes countries such as China and Russia. Critics of the move, most prominently Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, have pointed out the agency could be used by totalitarian governments to shut down the Web around the globe, either in whole or in part.”

The Washington Post’s Strong Condemnation of President Obama’s Failure to Help Syrians  

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post wrote the following  on August 16:

“‘DEVASTATING AND overwhelming.’ Those are the conditions in the ancient and once-great metropolis of Aleppo, according to the head of delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Marianne Gasser, who was in the Syrian city recently. ‘We hear that dozens of civilians are being killed every day and scores more injured from shells, mortars and rockets,’ Ms. Gasser said. ‘The bombing is constant. The violence is threatening hundreds of thousands of people’s lives, homes and livelihoods.’

“War crimes appear to be near-constant also. The air forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his chief backer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, target apartment buildings, bakeries and – this is their specialty – hospitals and clinics. The United Nations is investigating credible reports that Mr. Assad again has used chemical weapons, in this case chlorine gas. Water has been cut off from hundreds of thousands of people.

“The last surviving physicians in the rebel-held half of Aleppo a few days ago begged President Obama to help. ‘The world has stood by and remarked how “complicated” Syria is, while doing little to protect us,’ they wrote. ‘The burden of responsibility for the crimes of the Syrian government and its Russian ally must therefore be shared by those, including the United States, who allow them to continue.’

“Why would these brave, forlorn doctors look to Mr. Obama for rescue? Perhaps one of them, through the terrible din of war, remembers hearing the president promise to stand by the Syrian people as they were being ‘subjected to unspeakable violence, simply for demanding their universal rights.’ Mr. Obama made his pledge during an address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in April 2012. He boasted that he had decreed, in a first for any U.S. president, that preventing mass atrocities ‘is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States of America.’ That did not mean that the United States would ‘intervene militarily every time there’s an injustice in the world,’ he cautioned. But when it came to Syria, Mr. Obama was clear.

“‘The Syrian people have not given up, which is why we cannot give up,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘And so with allies and partners, we will keep increasing the pressure, with a diplomatic effort to further isolate Assad and his regime, so that those who stick with Assad know that they are making a losing bet.’ Alas, that was many atrocities ago. According to the Red Cross, more than 12 million Syrians – half the prewar population – have been forced from their homes, with millions more under siege. Hundreds of thousands have been killed. Well over 1 million have been wounded. Iran and Russia continue to place their bets on the Assad regime.

“And Mr. Obama no longer pledges to stand with the Syrian people, though he remains clear-eyed about what they are facing. ‘The regime and its allies,’ Mr. Obama observed at a Pentagon news conference this month, are engaged in ‘vicious attacks on defenseless civilians, medieval sieges against cities like Aleppo, and blocking food from reaching families that are starving.’

“But the administration’s response has not changed: a combination of halfhearted support for the rebels, who increasingly gravitate by necessity to more extremist groups; requests to the Russians to behave better; and finger wagging. ‘It is deplorable,’ the president said during his visit to the Pentagon. Small comfort to the people of Aleppo.”

The German mass tabloid, Bild Online, cited and linked the above-stated article, stating that “Obama has failed in Aleppo,” having given “nothing but empty promises.” Quite an assessment of the world’s “most powerful leader.”

Obama’s Drug Enforcement Administration Accused of Heartless and Mad Hypocrisy

SFGate.com wrote on August 15:

“The Drug Enforcement Administration is enduring perhaps the most pronounced round of criticism in its 43 year-history, after a widely discredited decision last week to keep treating marijuana as the most dangerous drug on the planet. Last week, the DEA denied two petitions seeking to change cannabis’ official federal designation as a schedule 1 drug — a label reserved for drugs with ‘no medical use and a high potential for abuse’.

“Pot is considered by the federal government to be as dangerous as heroin or LSD, and more dangerous than prescription painkillers, which cause dozens of fatal overdoses a day. Cannabis has no lethal overdose…

“DEA critics from Washington DC to the heartland are now blasting the DEA, calling the ruling ‘hypocrisy’, ‘absurd’, ‘heartless’ and 2016’s version of the ‘flat Earth’ theory. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s camp immediately stated Clinton would, as president, downgrade cannabis’ status to schedule 2. ‘Marijuana is already being used for medical purposes in states across the country, and it has the potential for even further medical use,’ Maya Harris, a senior policy advisor to Clinton’s campaign, said in a statement, reported by The Denver Post…

“More than half of polled physicians say cannabis should be legal. Bay Area Congresswoman Barbara Lee tweeted: ‘Politicians aren’t doctors or scientists. Marijuana research prohibitions are outdated, unscientific [and] dangerous…’ Trauma neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta, writing for CNN, called the DEA ruling a danger to countless people who will be denied potential therapies from cannabis research.

“Dr. Gupta called the decision hypocrisy, and cited the DEA’s own judge, who almost 30 years ago ruled, ‘In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.’

“The Los Angeles Times editorial board — usually reticent to support pot-related reforms — put the DEA on blast, saying the decision was based on ‘a bizarre circular logic’ that amounts to ‘a different kind of reefer madness. … The DEA opted to keep its policies mired in the 1970s, which will only exacerbate the growing divide between the states and feds.’

“The San Francisco Chronicle’s relatively conservative columnist Debra Saunders opined that ‘really, how can drug warriors who want to make it harder to prescribe opioids also want to make pain-alleviating medical marijuana off-limits? There is only one reason to cling to the status quo — willful institutional blindness.’ Saunders blames President Obama, and said she will vote for California legalization Proposition 64 this Fall. Prop 64 would direct $2 million per year to study medical cannabis in California, beyond the reach of federal prohibition…

“And the Cannabis Business Alliance noted that the DEA profits from federal drug war funding and asset forfeitures related to cannabis prohibition, and so cannot make an unbiased decision about the plant…

“About 700,000 Americans will be arrested for marijuana this year. Pot arrests are the leading type of drug arrest in the nation, and drug arrests are the most frequent arrests police make in America. Blacks in the U.S. are arrested at almost four times the rates of white for pot, despite similar levels of use, the ACLU reports.”

All of this seems to prove willful political money-driven maneuverings of the Obama Administration. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals thwarted the Administration’s unrelenting plans to an extent. Note the next article.

“Ruling: DOJ Can’t Prosecute Medical Marijuana Cases”

Newsmax wrote on August 17:

“The Ninth Circuit’s U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the Department of Justice could not prosecute medical marijuana suppliers in states where it’s legal, as long as no laws were otherwise broken. ABC News reported that the department has been ordered to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington state broke laws in those states.

“Marijuana is illegal under federal law — the court of appeals rejected the Justice Department’s idea applied only to states, not individuals who provide medical marijuana to patients. The appeals court disagreed, saying that all federal marijuana defendants can have hearings where they can try to prove that their actions were legal according to state law…

“Marijuana activists and lawyers that represent medical marijuana suppliers said the ruling adds to what they say is a growing call to legalize the drug. Marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes in 25 states and the District of Columbia, and is on the ballot in ten states for the November election…

“Oregon Democrat Rep. Earl Blumenauer said that the Justice Department has not been quick to notice that lawmakers want prosecutors to pursue organized drug rings, not medicinal marijuana… In July, Republican delegates chose not to support medical marijuana in the party’s official platform… Earlier, the Democratic Party endorsed a ‘pathway’ that would eventually lead to legalization for the drug.”

Disastrous Obamacare

NBC News wrote on August 16:

“Aetna, the No. 3 U.S. health insurer, on Monday said that due to persistent financial losses on Obamacare plans, it will sell individual insurance on the government-run online marketplaces in only four states next year [Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska and Virginia], down from the current 15 states. Aetna’s decision follows similar moves from UnitedHealth and Humana, which have cited similar concerns about financial losses on these exchanges created under President Barack Obama’s national healthcare reform law… Only about 11 million people have signed up through the exchanges, about half as many as expected…

“Aetna said that the current risk adjustment system, in which the government balances out the costs of sicker than typical populations through payments to insurers, is not adequate. Aetna said that it had a second-quarter pretax loss of $200 million on the individual business and has lost $430 million since the plans first went on sale in 2014.”

Even though Aetna’s position and figures may be questioned, the truth of the matter remains that Obamacare has been a complete disaster from the outset.

ISIS Sleeper Cells in Germany

The Sun wrote on August 12:

“ISIS hit squads and ‘sleeper cells’ intent on waging war on Europe have entered Germany disguised as refugees, a leading spy chief has confirmed. Intelligence agencies also have ‘irrefutable’ evidence they are following a command structure, meaning a coordinated attack like those seen in Paris and Brussels is ‘likely’. This was the chilling warning issued by the deputy head of Bavaria’s spy agency, Manfred Hauser, on the BBC’s Today programme this week.”

IBD Under Surveillance

Deutsche Welle reported on August 12:

“Germany’s Federal intelligence services confirmed on Friday that the right-wing group IBD [“Identity Movement for Germany”] is being monitored in nine of Germany’s 16 states, including Bavaria, Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. ‘We see evidence in the “Identity Movement” of unconstitutional efforts,’ German Intelligence Services Chief Hans-Georg Maassen said.

“The group, which has its roots in France, first arrived in Germany in 2012 and has developed offshoots across Europe. Known for its anti-immigration stance – particularly against Muslims – the German offshoot of the movement first made its presence known online via Facebook and YouTube… In recent months, however, demonstrations and leafleting have also become more common.

“According to German authorities, the IBD believes the current increase in immigration is a conspiracy of the global economy, politics and the media – the objective of which is allegedly to replace ‘Europeans’ with ‘non-European immigrants’ and thus destroy traditional culture.

“The IBD isn’t the first right-wing movement to garner support in Germany in recent months. Anti-Islamization group PEGIDA has been holding almost weekly demonstrations against Islam, refugees and politicians in various German cities since October 2014… Links between the IBD and PEGIDA have already been reported in Germany… Several German states have also reported contact between the IBD and politicians belonging to the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party…”

Military EU Collaboration

Deutsche Welle reported on August 12:

“There is mounting pressure on the Bundeswehr to engage in military action abroad. Operations on home soil are also discussed. To be able to carry out those tasks, the Bundeswehr considers recruitment of EU citizens…

“Since the Bundeswehr was established 61 years ago, only German citizens have been allowed to become soldiers. That’s what Germany’s Military Act provides, and it would have to be changed for the proposed opening to materialize. Until now, the Bundeswehr can incorporate citizens from other nations only on a case-by-case basis…

“By opening up to EU citizens, the Bundeswehr would enter unchartered territory. It has, however, much more experience when it comes to collaborating with soldiers of other EU countries. The German-French Brigade was established in October 1989. August 1995 saw the launch of the German-Dutch Corps. German, French, and Belgian soldiers, among others, collaborate in the Eurocorps. And in 2014, some 2,300 Dutch paratroopers were integrated into the German Division Schnelle Kräfte (Rapid Forces Division).

“This kind of close collaboration is in line with the proposals for a new European foreign policy and security strategy recently submitted by EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini. While it does not advocate an EU army, it does call for closer collaboration and capacity to act when it comes to collective defense, in order to improve the EU’s ability to respond to crises.”

Restrictions of Freedom of Movement in the UK

The EUObserver wrote on July 29:

“British leader Theresa May has said free movement of EU workers to Britain cannot continue as in the past, while visiting Slovakia and Poland on Thursday (28 July). ‘It’s a very clear message that has come from the vote of the British people – they don’t want freedom of movement to be continued in the same way as in the past, they want some level of control’, she told press in Warsaw, referring to the British referendum, in June, on leaving the EU.”

The Death of a True Hero–Wallenberg Was Killed by Russia

JTA wrote on August 16, 2016:

“Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazi gas chambers, was executed in a Soviet prison, according to a KGB head’s diaries. The diaries of Ivan A. Serov, who ran the former Russian secret police and intelligence agency from 1954 to 1958, were discovered inside the walls of his second home in northwestern Moscow, which his granddaughter is now renovating. Discovered four years ago, the diaries were published this summer, The New York Times reported Sunday…

“A 1991 joint Russian-Swedish effort to discover what happened to Wallenberg… found that documents had been destroyed or altered to eliminate all traces of him.

“Wallenberg was posted to Nazi-occupied Hungary during World War II, where he issued protective passports to Jews in the final months of the Holocaust. He disappeared in 1945 after being seen surrounded by Soviet officers in Budapest. The Soviets later claimed Wallenberg had died of heart failure in prison…”

On February 14, 1957, JTA had published a report revealing that an “affidavit of a German businessman incarcerated in the same Moscow prison where Raoul Wallenberg was held apparently was a key factor in inducing the Soviet Government to admit its arrest of the Swedish diplomat… abandon[ing] their previous insistence that Wallenberg was unknown to them and had never been in the Soviet Union.”

Is Russia Preparing for War with Ukraine?

Business Insider wrote on August 17:

“The Pentagon has identified eight staging areas in Russia where large numbers of military forces appear to be preparing for incursions into Ukraine, according to US defense officials. As many as 40,000 Russian troops, including tanks, armored vehicles, and air force units, are now arrayed along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia. Additionally, large numbers of Russian military forces will conduct exercises in the coming days that Pentagon officials say could be used as cover for an attack on Ukraine.

“… over the past several months large numbers of Russian troops and tanks have been moving into eight bases stretching from Yelnya, near Smolensk and northeast of Ukraine, southward through Rostov—a city located very close to eastern Ukraine. Defense officials said it is not clear whether the massing of forces is saber rattling by Moscow designed to coerce Ukraine into accepting the takeover of Crimea or preparations for further conflict….”

“Why Jordan Is the ‘Different’ East”

The Local wrote on August 1:

“Geography may appear to be Jordan’s curse… to the north, civil war in Syria; to the west, unrest and violence between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. To the east and south, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. At first glance, not exactly a peaceful neighbourhood, to put it mildly.

“Geography, though, is in fact Jordan’s blessing… its location – nestled on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula and not far from the Mediterranean – has blessed it with an enviable collection of wonders – natural and manmade – that put the country in a class by itself. If it weren’t for Jordan’s geography, it wouldn’t boast the awe-inspiring rock city of Petra; the spectacular canyons of Wadi Rum and Mujib; the ancient city of Jerash; or Mount Nebo, from where Moses saw The Promised Land; or the site of Jesus’ baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan.

“In some ways, Jordan’s distinctiveness comes from simply having been around for a long, long time. But more than that, it’s also how the country has preserved the legacy while at the same time embracing what lies ahead… The sentiment was perhaps best expressed by the late King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for more than four decades until his death in 1999: ‘Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow.’”

Zika Virus on the Rise in Puerto Rico

CBS News reported on August 12:

“The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has reported 1,914 new Zika cases over the past week. Health Secretary Ana Rius said Friday there are 10,690 cases altogether, including 1,035 involving pregnant women. Zika has been tied to severe birth defects.

“The newest statistics were released a day after the U.S. surgeon general visited Puerto Rico and said he expected 25 percent of people on the island will be infected by Zika by year’s end.”

Historic Floods in Louisiana

ABC News reported on August 15:

“President Obama has approved a request from the governor of Louisiana for federal emergency funds to help the state recover from the historic floods that have… submerged thousands of homes and vehicles.”

Reuters used the term, “unprecedented flooding.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 17:

“… a huge clean-up operation got underway in the southern US state of Louisiana on Wednesday, as severe floods receded after a deluge that lasted several days… The American Red Cross described the flooding, which claimed [at least 13] lives and damaged some 40,000 homes, as the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.”

State of Emergency in California Due to Wildfires

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 17:

“California’s latest wildfire mushroomed into an inferno covering more than 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) in just a day, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group said on Wednesday.

“The fast spread of the so-called ‘Blue Cut’ fire led to a mandatory evacuation order for at least 82,000 people due to what authorities described as an ‘imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures.’… More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the fire, utilizing air tankers and helicopters to sweep over the flames from the sky. Local media showed footage of ‘firenadoes’ – tornado-like flaming vortices – that were sent spinning into the air by the sheer strength of the blaze. The newest fire also closed several roads including a major interstate highway linking Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County, just 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Los Angeles, saying the blaze was too big for the region to fight alone. Emergency teams have been battling wildfires throughout California over the past three months, amid a historic drought, and as NASA revealed that July was the 10th month in a row to break the monthly temperature record, becoming the hottest month since records began in 1880.”

UFO Sightings on the Rise

Oigel.com wrote on August 10:

“Europe is under attack after more than 6 UFO sightings in the area… the continent is no stranger to alien sightings in the past. In fact, Winston Churchill had X-Files of his own that are now public.

“UFO sightings are increasing all over the world but in Europe specifically, there is a concentrated occurrence. In the past, alien researchers suggested that aliens are interested in Earth. Hollywood likes to use [them] to their advantage, implying they have violent intentions. However, many believe these aliens to be peaceful observers. It’s not a coincidence that alien sightings occur around natural disasters or global warfare.

“The European nations are going through intense conflict right now which is likely to attract the attention of intelligent life. They find our meaningless violence fascinating, hence the sudden increase in sightings during the violent year of 2016.”

Many times, UFO sightings are natural phenomena, the result of hallucinations and wishful thinking, or merely made-up faked stories. At other times, something “unexplainable” might be observed or even photographed, but we can be sure that these would not be aliens from other planets. Rather, they would be based on demonic activities. That increased sightings are reported in Europe may be significant, as it has been reported that just prior to World War II, Indian gurus claimed that all their powers had gone to Europe.

Japan’s Emperor to Retire?

The Daily Beast wrote on August 8:

“When the Emperor speaks, Japan listens and so does the world. Monday at 3:00 p.m. local time a speech by Emperor Akihito was televised on a date that commemorated no anniversary or major tragedy, as most of his addresses do. Instead it pertained to the very Imperial System itself.

“The Emperor, who is 82, discussed his health, his position as a symbol of the state under Japan’s modern constitution, the hardship of his duties, his love for the people of Japan—and made clear his desire to abdicate the throne in his lifetime in a way that would cause the least amount of turmoil…

“Monday’s speech left little doubt his desire and intent is to step down, if such a thing can be arranged, but more importantly it marks the prelude to what may be an epic battle between the emperor’s successor, Crown Prince Naruhito, and the man some critics call the Clown Prince—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

“Media reports in Japan already are calling the consideration of abdication the current emperor’s final act of resistance against the prime minister, a bid to halt the return to Japan’s aggressive pre-war attitudes and policies…

“Japan’s remilitarization is steadily underway. The weapons industry has been revived; the country is shipping arms.

“The State Security Laws will enable Japan to wage war overseas for the first time since the war ended. And if the ruling coalition somehow fails to alter the pacifist constitution, it will push to pass an emergency powers act, which will give the Prime Minister power to rewrite the laws during a time of crisis—something straight out of the Nazi playbook. (Some members of Abe’s cabinet have a well-known admiration for Hitler’s political stratagems.)…

“Prime Minister Abe and his political allies have long derided Japan’s constitution as a humiliation imposed upon the Japanese people by the United States occupation government, impinging on ‘basic human rights.’”

China Pushes Japan

Reuters wrote on August 9:

“Japan warned China on Tuesday that ties were deteriorating over disputed East China Sea islets, and China’s envoy in Tokyo reiterated Beijing’s stance that the specks of land were its territory and called for talks to resolve the dispute.

“The diplomatic tussle comes amid simmering tension as China builds on outposts in the contested South China Sea, including what appear to be reinforced aircraft hangars, according to new satellite images.

“Ties between Asia’s two largest economies have been strained in recent days since Japan saw a growing number of Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailing near the East China Sea islets, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

“The flurry of Chinese incursions into the waters follows a period of sustained pressure on China over its activities in the South China Sea, and China’s criticism of what it sees as Japanese interference in that dispute.”

North Korea Threatens Japan

AFP reported on August 8:

“Japan’s newly appointed defence minister on Monday ordered the nation’s military to be ready to destroy any missiles fired by North Korea that threaten the country, local media reported.

“Tomomi Inada issued the order, public broadcaster NHK said, without mentioning any indication that Pyongyang is preparing to launch such a missile.

“Last week Prime Minister Shinzo Abe picked Inada, a close confidante with staunchly nationalist views, as the new defence minister.

“NHK said Inada is expected to renew the readiness order every three months so that Tokyo can seamlessly maintain a state of alert.”

China Militarizes Contested “Islands”

NBC wrote on August 9:

“WASHINGTON — Recent satellite photographs show China appears to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings in the disputed South China Sea, according to a Washington-based think tank.

“Pictures taken in late July show the hangars constructed on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly islands have room for any fighter jet in the Chinese air force, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“‘Except for a brief visit by a military transport plane to Fiery Cross Reef earlier this year, there is no evidence that Beijing has deployed military aircraft to these outposts. But the rapid construction of reinforced hangars at all three features indicates that this is likely to change,’ CSIS said in a report.

“China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.

“The images have emerged about a month after an international court in The Hague ruled against China’s sweeping claims in the resource-rich region, a ruling emphatically rejected by Beijing.”

South Korea’s Relation With China Sours!

Bloomberg wrote on August 9:

“South Korean President Park Geun Hye has discovered first hand the feeling of getting the cold shoulder from China.

“Under the fluent Mandarin speaker’s watch, South Korea had seen improved ties with China, drawn together in part by concern about Japan’s wartime past and the military ambitions of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Park was the only leader of a U.S. ally to attend a military parade in China last year for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

“Now, relations that were hailed by both countries as the best in history have soured, and Park may get a frosty reception in China next month for the Group of 20 summit. The reason: Her agreement to deploy a U.S. missile shield on Korean soil.

“While South Korea says the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system would be aimed at prickly neighbor North Korea, which has been busy of late test-firing missiles, China has reacted angrily, saying the shield could be applied to it. Russia has also opposed it being stationed in Asia…

“One consequence of the tensions over Thaad could be an arms race in North Asia, with both China and Russia moving to develop more sophisticated weaponry. The deployment may also play into the hands of North Korea, allowing leader Kim Jong-Un to shore up ties with China, its only major ally.”

Vietnam Arms Itself Against China

Reuters wrote on August 10:

“Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China’s runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials.

“Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into position on five bases in the Spratly islands in recent months, a move likely to raise tensions with Beijing…

“The move is designed to counter China’s build-up on its seven reclaimed islands in the Spratlys archipelago. Vietnam’s military strategists fear the building runways, radars and other military installations on those holdings have left Vietnam’s southern and island defenses increasingly vulnerable.

“Military analysts say it is the most significant defensive move Vietnam has made on its holdings in the South China Sea in decades.”

We know from biblical prophecies that a powerful collaboration of many Far Eastern nations will form, which will be hostile towards continental Europe. It appears certain that nations such as Russia and China will be part of this confederacy, but it is not clear as to what role some of the other countries will play, which are mentioned in the above-quoted articles. It is therefore important that we watch events in the Far East.  

“US Press Aghast at Trump Gun Remarks”

BBC News reported on August 10:

“Trump’s latest remarks on the possibility of the ‘Second Amendment people’ doing away with his opponent drew immediate outcry… The mainstream US press has largely reacted to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s gun rights remarks with dismay and some anger.

“Most forthright is New York’s Daily News, which declares ‘Trump must go’. ‘Hinting at assassination is too much, even for him,’ it explains. The Wall Street Journal reports a ‘new flap for Trump over gun comments’, saying Mr Trump has ‘confounded the hopes of Republicans who want him to run a more measured presidential campaign.’ The New York Times says ‘Trump suggests gun owners act against Clinton’ and reports ‘alarm’ at his remarks… Veteran commentator Thomas Friedman writes… that this is… ‘how Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin got assassinated’…

“The Washington Post describes a tactic of ‘outrage, headlines and then denial’ in Mr Trump’s campaign speeches, which it says may not serve to attract undecided voters to his cause… It gives space to Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and MSNBC TV host, who calls for his party to ditch Mr Trump… ‘A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored. At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens,’ he writes…”

German Government Breaks Neutrality on US Elections

The Local wrote on August 10:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier believes Donald Trump becoming US president would be a ‘frightening’ prospect for the world, his spokeswoman said Wednesday. Steinmeier ‘is not neutral’ on whether the Republican candidate is fit to occupy the Oval Office, the spokeswoman, Sawsan Chebli, told reporters. ‘He is of the opinion that it is frightening, if you follow Trump’s remarks, what could become of this world if Trump actually became president,’ she said. ‘The foreign minister is calling attention to that and that is his right.’

“Die Welt reports that it is the first time that a member of the German government has stated an official position on how they hope the US elections will pan out. However Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, had made his feelings pretty clear already when he compared Trump last week 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.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman told the same news conference that she would stand by her policy of not commenting on the US election campaign. French President Francois Hollande said Trump makes ‘you want to retch’ following the Republican’s ‘hurtful and humiliating comments’ against the Muslim parents of a slain US soldier who criticised the candidate.

“Trump’s bid to take the White House is reeling from a series of self-inflicted scandals after he disparaged Muslims, babies, firefighters and the military, prompting his Republican stablemates to issue awkward denunciations. He stirred new controversy Tuesday over comments interpreted by some as a threat of violence against rival Hillary Clinton.”

Subsequently, Mr. Trump caused further outrage when he stated repeatedly that President Obama and Hillary Clinton “founded” ISIS.

New Emails May Prove Disastrous for Hillary Clinton

The New York Times wrote on August 9:

“A new batch of State Department emails released Tuesday showed the close and sometimes overlapping interests between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department when Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state.

“The documents raised new questions about whether the charitable foundation worked to reward its donors with access and influence at the State Department, a charge that Mrs. Clinton has faced in the past and has always denied.

“In one email exchange, for instance, an executive at the Clinton Foundation in 2009 sought to put a billionaire donor in touch with the United States ambassador to Lebanon because of the donor’s interests there.

“In another email, the foundation appeared to push aides to Mrs. Clinton to help find a job for a foundation associate. Her aides indicated that the department was working on the request…

“The State Department turned the new emails over to a conservative advocacy group, Judicial Watch, as part of a lawsuit that the group brought under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The documents included 44 emails that were not among some 55,000 pages of emails that Mrs. Clinton had previously given to the State Department, which she said represented all her ‘work-related’ emails…

“Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, charged that Mrs. Clinton ‘hid’ the documents from the public because they appeared to contradict her official pledge in 2009 to remove herself from Clinton Foundation business while leading the State Department…

“The F.B.I. spent more than a year examining Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email account, but it is not clear how the work of the Clinton Foundation figured into that investigation. James B. Comey Jr., the F.B.I. director, was noticeably circumspect in an appearance last month before the House oversight committee when Republicans questioned whether the investigation had looked at the Clinton Foundation. Twice, he declined to say.”

Breitbart added on August 11:

“While the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State was underway, ‘several FBI field offices’ asked the Justice Department to investigate the murky connections between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation, but were shutdown, according to a report by CNN.”

The Storm in Europe Has Just Begun…

The Week wrote on August 5:

“In a world filled with political bunglers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel deserves special mention for outstanding achievement in recklessness. Her refugee policy puts all of Europe at risk, though continental elites may be too zealous in their devotion to humanitarian ideals to recognize it…

“The reason we should look beyond the anecdotes is that focusing on them allows Merkel and her defenders to deflect — to suggest that all of these events are outliers, that they don’t represent a portentous glimpse of the European future, and that those who oppose Merkel’s refugee policy are guilty of racism, xenophobia, and other archaic forms of prejudice that all enlightened Europeans are duty-bound to reject out of hand as a precondition for participation in civilized conversation and debate…

“Recall those overwhelming majorities who say they are unhappy with how the EU has handled the refugee issue. Those are voters who helped pass the Brexit referendum in the U.K. And who nearly elected a far-right anti-EU and anti-immigrant party in Austria just four months ago. And who are now giving that same party the lead in the run-up to the re-run of the election scheduled for October. And who are contributing to a surge in the polls for the far-right National Front in France. And so on and so forth.

“All of these developments are a product of growing unease among European voters, who believe (and not without reason) that their leaders are prone to pursue policies, without popular consultation, that will drastically and negatively affect the quality of life in — and the linguistic, ethnic, economic, and religious character of — their nations. This populist discontent began building long before Merkel instituted her well-meant but profoundly foolish refugee policy, but that policy more than any other in recent memory has galvanized it.

“Having set out, with the best of moral intentions, to act like an extra-political citizen of a world without walls, Angela Merkel has ended up reaping a nationalist whirlwind. And the storm has only just begun to gather.”

Germany Is Granting Islam “Too Much Respect”

Breitbart wrote on August 11:

“Bundestag member Erika Steinbach and Iranian-born pastor Mahin Mousapour called for much stronger sanctions for Muslims who abuse Christians in Germany at a press conference on Monday. Highlighting the fact Christians suffer violence, harassment, and death threats in migrant lodgings, Ms. Mousapour criticised Germany for granting Islam ‘too much respect’.  Declaring anti-Christian hate attacks an affront to German values, politician Erika Steinbach advocated the government deport migrants who insult or attack Christians…

“At the press conference Ms. Mousapour, who converted to Christianity more than 25 years ago, reported that Christians face various forms of persecution in migrant housing.

“Ms Mousapour warned that Christians living in migrant housing are told they are ‘impure as a dog’ and deserved death for rejecting Islam. ‘Toys of Christian children are being destroyed, Christian asylum seekers are told not only to wash their dishes after eating but also that they must clean the entire kitchen as it would otherwise be “unclean”. Many Muslim asylum seekers call all Christians unclean. Church services are held in secret, bibles and crucifixes have to be hidden,’ she explained.

“Ms Mousapour… disclosed that even converts who no longer live in migrant housing attract Muslims’ ire…

“Ms. Steinbach advocated deportation for Muslims who attack or insult Christian migrants on the basis of their religion. A vocal critic of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy to open Germany’s borders, Ms. Steinbach called for the European Union to set up refugee camps outside the bloc’s external borders. Here, the popular MP said, migrants would ‘stay until the war is over, then go back home’…

“During the Islamic month of fasting, migrant shelters in Germany catered to Muslim eating schedules, with Christians receiving only leftovers…

“Ms. Mousapour commented: ‘We are here in Germany, in a Christian country! We must not allow others to change that.’”

Strict Measures in Germany to Increase Security

The Telegraph wrote on August 10:

“Senior ministers in Germany have called for a ban on burqas and an end to dual citizenship in response to the threat from terrorism. Angela Merkel’s government is preparing to unveil increased security measures in the wake of recent terror attacks.

“Thomas de Maiziere, the country’s interior minister, is to detail a series of new proposals on Thursday, including the deportation of preachers who incite terrorism. But senior elected officials from Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrat party (CDU) believe the new measures do not go far enough, and have published a series of more far-reaching proposals… The document, already known as the Berlin Declaration, has already been signed by state interior ministers across Germany.

“It includes 27 measures to increase security, including thousands of new police officers and video camera surveillance in city centres. But the most controversial proposals are the calls for a ban on the full-face veil in public and an end to dual citizenship. Unlike some European countries, Germany has no restrictions on the wearing of burqas or headscarves in public… The declaration calls for an end to dual citizenship… ‘We reject this divided loyalty,’ the declaration reads. ‘We suggest whoever wants to get involved with the politics of foreign governments leaves Germany.’”

The Local added on August 11:

“German citizens with dual nationality who fight for a terror group should be stripped of their German citizenship, the interior minister said Thursday, unveiling tough new measures after two attacks by Islamic State militants. ‘Germans who participate in fighting abroad for a terror militia and who have another citizenship should lose their German nationality,’ Thomas de Maiziere said…

“But the proposal is controversial. Green lawmaker Volker Beck swiftly condemned it as ‘desperate activism’. De Maiziere himself also acknowledged that junior coalition partner the Social Democrats is likely to raise objections.”

Turkey Does Not Belong in the EU

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 4:

“Autocracies have no place in the European Union… By suggesting Wednesday that talks on Turkey joining the European Union should be reconsidered, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern is just saying what all responsible politicians at EU headquarters in Brussels have known for quite some time: Accession talks with Turkey should be ended. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has also admitted that Turkey will not be ready for membership for years to come.

“Eleven years ago, EU member states still hoped that then EU-friendly Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could steer a Muslim Turkey into the EU as a modern democracy and a developing economic power within a decade. At the time, EU members politely ignored his claims that Turkey would one day dominate the bloc… Today, the vision has vanished. President Erdogan has gone from being a reformer to being an autocratic president, who undermines the rule of law, curtails freedoms of the press and expression and has most recently begun using emergency laws to prepare for the transformation of the Turkish state into a presidial, autocratic regime…

“Erdogan and the state that he has created are truly unfit for membership. He is no longer even willing to join. In 2014, long before last month’s attempted coup, Erdogan said that he ‘didn’t care’ if the EU accepted Turkey or not. At the time he was incarcerating undesirable journalists with the help of a compliant judicial system.

“Nevertheless, the European Union still clings to the decision it made long ago to continue membership negotiations no matter what the outcome. Why? Especially when everyone knows that they will never lead to Turkish membership?… the willingness of many of the EU’s member states to welcome 80 million people from another cultural sphere is also severely limited. Erdogan himself has complained that Europeans don’t want the Turks just because they are Muslims. There is some truth to that. Above all, skeptical EU citizens would not want Turks that – like Erdogan – see Islam as a superior ideology and contemptuously refer to the EU as a ‘Club of Christians.’…

“In actuality, accession talks have been at a standstill for years. Indeed, they never really started. That’s because Turkey, since 2005, has steadfastly refused to recognize the EU membership of Cyprus, of which, contrary to international law, Turkey currently occupies the northern half. All attempts to find a solution to the issue have failed due to Turkish resistance. For that reason alone, membership negotiations make no sense at all.

“The formal burial of accession talks demands a presumably difficult-to-achieve decision from EU heads of state and government. Turkey’s membership chances died long ago. The beautiful dream of a European Turkey has burst like a soap bubble.”

Turkey and Russia Vow “Friendship”

The New York Times reported on August 9:

“Against a backdrop of rising tensions between Turkey and the West, Presidents Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey pledged on Tuesday to repair relations after nine months of open antagonism.

“Although their meeting in St. Petersburg on Tuesday produced little beyond vows of friendship and cooperation, the symbolism of the two former antagonists coming together for a friendly talk was enough to raise alarms in Western capitals. Besides being a member of the NATO alliance, Turkey is vital to Europe’s efforts to stanch the flow of migrants from Syria and Afghanistan.

“Washington and Ankara, long at odds over American support of the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, have had a series of problems lately. Anti-Americanism has been on the rise in Turkey, amid accusations that the United States played a role in the failed coup in Turkey and widespread resentment of the White House’s criticism of the resulting crackdown.”

Ukraine on Highest Alert

Newsmax wrote on August 11:

“Vladimir Putin summoned his security council and the Russian Navy announced war games in the Black Sea a day after the Russian president accused Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed in 2014…

“Using some of his most aggressive rhetoric against Kiev since the height of the war two years ago, Putin has pledged to take counter-measures against Ukraine, which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts.

“Ukraine has called the accusations false and says they look like a pretext for Russia to escalate hostilities…

“Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he had ordered all Ukrainian units near Crimea and in eastern Ukraine onto the highest state of combat readiness. He was seeking to urgently speak to Putin, the leaders of France and Germany, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Donald Tusk.

“In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States was extremely concerned and called on both sides to reduce tension and rhetoric. In New York, the U.N. Security Council held a closed-door meeting at Ukraine’s request to discuss the growing tensions.

“Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko warned that Russia had amassed more than 40,000 troops in the region and said the build-up could reflect ‘very bad intentions.’”

UK’s Prisons Aren’t Big Enough to Jail All Paedophiles!

The Independent wrote on August 8:

“One of the most senior police officers in the UK has called for greater debate about treating paedophiles rather than sending them to prison, amid concerns there is not enough space in prisons to jail them all.

“Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas, president of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales issued the warning and called for a ‘rethink’ on current approaches to sex offenders, The Times reports.

“Currently, there are close to 45,000 names on the sex offenders’ register. The list contains details of people convicted of sexual offences and is used to monitor offenders following their release from prison. It has been steadily increasing since it was established in 1997.

“Mr Thomas said: ‘One of the major concerns from our members is managing the register already, and it’s growing. For offenders at the highest level there are visits to be made [and] monitoring access to the internet.’

“He added that there is not enough room in prisons to jail all child sex offenders and called for discussion of alternatives: ‘Should we be going down the criminal justice route or, based on a proper assessment, should we be going down the health route? At the moment I am not seeing alternative thinking on how we deal with this issue as it grows and grows and grows’…

“Of 86,200 people who are currently in jail, around 11,500 have been convicted of a sexual offence.”