Working for a Third Temple

JTA wrote on August 12:

“It’s been nearly two millennia since the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, bringing to an end the priestly period of Jewish history and commencing the Diaspora. A third Temple has been prophesied, and in preparation for the messiah, [a] nonprofit Jewish group, The Temple Institute, wants to build it.

“Last month, the institute launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with the goal of raising $125,000 to breed a red heifer, a requirement for Temple purification rituals. It has already raised nearly $33,000 from some 500 donors… ‘For 2,000 years we’ve been waiting for a perfect red heifer,’ said Richman, an institute director in a video for the fundraising campaign. The project, he said, is ‘nothing less than the first stage of the reintroduction of biblical purity into the world, the prerequisite for the rebuilding of the holy Temple.’…

“The project is controversial, of course. The site of the ancient Temples, and thus the prescribed site for the new one, is on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where sites holy to Muslims – the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque – have stood for 13 centuries. The Temple Institute has admitted that the mosques must be cleared for the building of the Temple to begin…

“Haaretz reported in 2013 that nearly a third of secular citizens surveyed in a poll supported the building of the Temple, and the numbers rise for religious Jews. After the fundraising campaign is complete, the plan is for red cow embryos to be deposited in surrogate mother cows – what Haaretz referred to as essentially bovine Virgin Marys. When birthed nine months later, rabbis will determine if any of the offspring meet the strict kosher cow standards.

“If so, they will be ritually sacrificed and burned at age 2, allowing newly purified priests to ascend the Temple Mount. Then… the holy wars begin.”

 According to biblical prophecy, it is very likely that the Jews will build a Third Temple just prior to the return of Jesus Christ.

“Obama’s Track Record on Radical Islam”

 On August 13, The Times of Israel published the following blog by Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA):

“Citics repeatedly claim that the reason President Barack Obama agreed to a catastrophic nuclear deal with Iran is his naiveté, his ineptness, and his being out negotiated. Does Obama’s record validate that thesis? Or is there evidence that President Obama’s feelings toward Islam may require a different conclusion.

“President Obama attended Pastor Jeremiah Wright’s anti-America, anti-Israel church for 20 years while calling Wright a ‘great man and my mentor.’ Obama attended radical Muslim racist Louis Farahkan’s Million Man March in Washington – but refused to attend the four million man march against radical Islamic terrorism in Paris. Obama’s closest friends include Rashid Khalidi, Columbia professor, an extremist anti-Israel activist. There are pictures of President Obama having dinner with anti-israel activists Professors Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said.

“Although Obama has called American police and much of America racist, he has refused to ever utter the term, ‘Islamic terrorist’ when Jihadists murdered eighteen U.S. soldiers in Ford Hood and Tennessee and said nothing when two Islamic terrorists attempted to murder hundreds of Americans at a Mohammed cartoon drawing event in Texas. He’s even ordered that federal counter-terrorism training materials used for law enforcement and national security communities to delete such terms.

“It may surprise you to learn that during his first campaign for president, Obama stated that Hezbollah and Hamas have ‘legitimate claims’ (NY Times, May 16, 2008). And during the latest Hamas war against Israel, Obama sent Hamas $47 million, urged Israel to accept an early ceasefire, refused sending critical arms to Israel for several days and unnecessarily stopped US commercial flights to Israel for a short period.

“Moreover, President Obama not only didn’t condemn the Palestinian Authority (PA) for forming an alliance with Hamas but proclaimed he was going to continue funding the PA despite this, even though Hamas’ charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of every Jew! That didn’t surprise me since during a meeting at the White House with Jewish leaders that I attended, President Obama stated we Jews should speak to our Israeli friends and relatives and search our souls [to] see if we’re serious about peace. ‘You and the Israelis think since Israel’s economy is good, there’s little terrorism, so peace is overrated…but Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are sincere about peace.’ [Mahmoud Abbas is a holocaust minimizer, who, with Yasser Arafat, co-founded the terrorist group Fatah].

“What other Arab groups did Obama side with? When he gave his first major speech on the Middle East in Cairo, he invited the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed terrorist group to attend, despite pleadings against this from US ally Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. When Mubarak was forced from office, why did Obama embrace the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood who came to power, but was cold to new moderate Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah Al- Sisi. Furthermore, why did Obama publicly support rallies to oust US ally Mubarak from office yet refused to support rallies to oust the genocidal, anti-American, anti-Israel president Achmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran, America’s enemy. He was also silent about continuous Iranian rallies, even after the agreement was finalized, calling for ‘Death to America and Israel’ while Iran vowed support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. And Obama said nothing about Iran’s executing 1000 political dissidents a year, executing gays, imprisoning journalists, and closing dozens of opposition newspapers.

“Maybe this shouldn’t have been surprising since Obama delayed US votes on sanctions on Iran for over a year, fought against additional sanctions, and didn’t fully implement the sanctions that the US Congress passed.”

These are indeed very interesting questions in light of the facts presented in this article.

Ben Carson Tries to Justify His Research on Aborted Fetuses

 Newsmax reported on August 13:

“Ben Carson is defending research he did in 1992 on aborted fetal tissue… The research, which was co-authored by Carson, was revealed by Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB-GYN and pain medicine doctor, who said that while Carson was ‘opining on the uselessness of fetal tissue research to Megyn Kelly, Dr. Carson neglected to mention his own paper… published … in 1992.’

“The section cited by Gunter says that ‘Human choroid plexus, ependyma, and nasal mucosa were obtained from two fetuses aborted at the ninth and 17th week of gestation.’…

“Carson said that research on fetal tissue should not be banned and that it is not immoral… He added that he finds no contradiction between his pro-life views and the research he did…”

Creating a Human Brain…

The Independent wrote on August 19:

“Scientists have succeeded in growing an almost fully formed human brain in a lab for the first time ever. The miniature brain is about the size of a pencil eraser and resembles that of a five-week old foetus. It contains 99 per cent of the genes present in the human foetal brain and has an identifiable structure… The brain has been created by scientists at University. Professor Rene Anand from the department explains: ‘It not only looks like the developing brain, its diverse cell types express nearly all genes like a brain.’”

This horrible “research” is justified in the name of science for finding a cure against certain sicknesses.

… While Destroying Human Brains

BE WARNED about the gruesome nature of the following article. We are republishing portions of it to show how far the twisted mind of man, under Satan’s influence, is prepared to go. And most Americans are willingly ignorant about the terrible abominations which are happening in their country.

Breitbart wrote on August 19:

“In the latest video produced by the Center for Medical Progress, Holly O’Donnell describes a medical technician using scissors to cut through the face of a newly aborted but nearly fully developed baby boy at a Planned Parenthood facility so that his intact brain could be extracted…

“Holly O’Donnell and her Planned Parenthood colleague were harvesting organs that day at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, a mega-clinic in San Jose, California…

“O’Donnell, who turned whistleblower after leaving StemExpress, said the child was the most fully developed she had seen up to that point. She describes in great detail how the newly aborted boy was rinsed off and prepared for dissection… Her colleague then took an instrument and ‘tapped the heart and it starts beating.’… The medical technician said the child was so intact that they could ‘procure a lot from it. We’re going to procure a brain.’ The tech told O’Donnell they would need to ‘go through the face.’ The medical tech took scissors and cut through the child’s lower jaw up through the mouth. O’Donnell was directed to cut the rest of the way through ‘the middle of the face.’… O’Donnell had to take the boy’s remains and put him in a bio-hazard container and ‘then I realized I was the only person ever to hold that baby… That was the moment I realized I couldn’t work for [StemExpress] any more,’ she said…

“Up to now Planned Parenthood has been successful in convincing Americans that the federal funded group performs very few abortions. Planned Parenthood has claimed that abortions make up merely 3 percent of their overall annual ‘services.’ Even liberal outlets have debunked that claim. Even so, polls show that most Americans don’t believe Planned Parenthood performs abortions at all, when in fact it performs more than 300,000 every year, more than any other group, generating more than $100 million in revenue from abortions alone.”

“Sick” is not a word which could remotely begin to describe such inhumane abominations.

Trump To Be Used by God as a Trumpet?

WorldNetDaily wrote on August 12, 2015:

“A Christian minister in Florida has ignited a firestorm over his suggestion that God is using Donald Trump as a divine instrument in the 2016 presidential election cycle… Jeremiah Johnson… said he was praying several weeks ago ‘when God began to speak to me concerning the destiny of Donald Trump in America:

‘“‘The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, ‘Trump shall become My trumpet to the American people, for he possesses qualities that are even hard to find in My people these days. Trump does not fear man nor will he allow deception and lies to go unnoticed. I am going to use him to expose darkness and perversion in America like never before… Many will want to throw him away because he will disturb their sense of peace and tranquility, but you must listen through the bantering to discover the truth that I will speak through him. I will use the wealth that I have given him to expose and launch investigations searching for the truth. Just as I raised up Cyrus to fulfill My purposes and plans, so have I raised up Trump to fulfill my purposes and plans prior to the 2016 election. You must listen to the trumpet very closely for he will sound the alarm and many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger.”’

A big deal is made in the article regarding the alleged connection between the word “Trump” and the biblical use of the word “trumpet.” However, whoever might have spoken to this charismatic minister (if anybody), it was NOT God’s voice which he heard. We must understand that sometimes demons know the future as well and might even speak about it… but one never knows when they lie—and we are specifically warned not to listen to their “prognostications.”

We feel that Trump might be used, to an extent, by God, but most certainly not for the reasons given in the article. For more information, please view our new StandingWatch program, “The Trump Phenomenon—How To Explain It!”

Hillary Clinton’s Email Dilemma

Newsmax wrote on August 17:

“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s decision to use a private email server, let alone deleting at least half of the communications on it, was ‘extraordinary,’ Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward said Monday, and the omissions remind him of the decisions made by President Richard Nixon back in the 1970s…  Woodward said he expects the investigations to go on for a ‘long, long time and the answers are probably not going to be pretty’…

“He said the FBI, inspectors general and others are ‘furious’ because they have spent hours being trained in the proper use of government email… Woodward said… that Clinton is blaming the controversy about her private emails on ‘dirty politics,’ but he pointed out that it is President Barack Obama’s administration that is investigating her.”

CBS reported on August 19:

“Hillary Clinton continues to be dogged by questions about her use of a private e-mail account while she was secretary of state. CBS News identified two e-mails on her server Wednesday which the intelligence community says contained classified information. The messages were uncovered during an investigation of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others…

“The emails are among the some 30,000 Clinton turned over to the State Department from her private server. On Monday, the State Department said it had flagged 305 emails, out of the 20 percent it has reviewed, as potentially containing classified information. Clinton has insisted there was no classified information on her server…

“As for the server, Clinton’s attorney confirmed it was wiped clean of all data before she turned it over to the FBI. But the FBI is hopeful that some material may be recovered — or a backup server located.”

“Ukraine Threatens to Tip Europe into Full-Blown Military Conflict”

The Local wrote on August 17:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned on Sunday that conditions in Ukraine once again threatened to tip Europe into a full-blown military conflict. ‘The situation in eastern Ukraine is explosive,’ Steinmeier told Bild Am Sonntag. ‘There’s a lot at stake: if both parties to the conflict don’t pay heed to the peace processs, we could enter a new spiral of military escalation at any time.’

‘Steinmeier has been engaged in a whirlwind round of visits and phone calls over the past week with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in an attempt to bring the two sides together for talks. Sunday saw the ‘most intensive shooting for months’ in Ukraine, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army told journalists in Kiev…

“The OSCE said on Sunday that the separatists had refused its observers access to their heavy weapons, which according to the Minsk Accords signed in February are supposed to have been withdrawn from the front lines. Germany played a key role in brokering a ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine and the Kiev government in February, nearly a year after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.”

The Battle for Greece’s Membership in the Eurozone

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 14:

“Following six hours of talks in Brussels on Friday, eurozone finance ministers agreed Friday to lend Greece a further 86 billion euros ($96 billion), to be released in stages. Greek lawmakers had accepted a reform package – containing many of the austerity elements voters had rejected in a July referendum – following a lengthy debate in parliament. The agreement is awaiting approval by several parliaments of eurozone countries, among them Germany. If those parliaments agree, which it is expected they will, 13 billion euros should be in Athens next Thursday and a further 10 billion will be set aside at the European Stability Mechanism.”

The Telegraph stated on August 14:

“Greece last night stepped back from the ‘abyss’ as European finance ministers approved a third, three-year bailout to keep the country afloat and avoid a chaotic exit from the Euro… Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said that the past six months had been difficult and testing. ‘Together, we have looked into the abyss. But today, I am glad to say that all sides have respected their commitments. Greece is living up to its ambitious reform commitments’ Mr Juncker said in a statement.  ‘The message of today’s meeting is loud and clear: on this basis, Greece is and will irreversibly remain a member of the euro area,’ he said.

“The first payment to Greece could be €13bn, officials said.  That means Greece will have funds available to cover a debt payment to the European Central Bank due on August 20. And it means that an emergency bailout fund, supported by Britain’s taxpayers, will not be used. A further €10bn cash injection for the country’s beleaguered lenders is expected to follow shortly after…

“However, in a blow to Athens, ministers said the issue of writing-off some of Greece’s debt would not be discussed until October.  The IMF has stated that it will not participate in another bail-out programme unless it receives an ‘explicit and concrete agreement’ on debt relief.

“However, Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, and other countries are seeking a ‘binding’ commitment from the Fund to join the rescue programme in October, as he refused to rule out a second bridging loan for Greece to allow more time for talks…”

Sizeable Rebellion in Merkel’s Party Regarding Greece

The Local wrote on August 19:

“German MPs voted through a third European bailout package for Greece on Wednesday, although a large number of abstentions and ‘no’ votes pointed to a sizable rebellion among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ranks. With 454 voting in favour of the bailout package, 113 against and 18 abstentions, 63 MPs from Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) voted against the plan, while three abstained and 17 were absent altogether – leaving the party with just 228 votes from its 311 MPs.

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had earlier opened debate on the bailout with a final call for his party colleagues’ support. The new deal was ‘in the interest of Greece and the interest of Europe,’ Schäuble told the Bundestag (German parliament). ‘Of course after the experiences of the past months and years, there is no guarantee that everything will work. And doubts are always permitted…’

“Approval of the latest €86-billion emergency rescue plan for Athens was seen as assured given the 504 seats Merkel’s left-right ‘grand coalition’ holds in the 631-seat Bundestag lower house. With the Netherlands, Germany [was] one of the last eurozone countries to vote, after positive results from other countries, including Spain, Austria, and Estonia earlier this week…”

More Money for Greece

Deutsche Welle added on August 19:

“The finance ministers from the 19 eurozone countries gave the green light on Wednesday for the latest round of bailout funds to Greece, according [to] the EU commissioner for the common euro currency, Valdis Dombrovskis. The decision from the Eurogroup clears the final hurdle for Athens to receive its 85 billion euro ($95 billion) in rescue funds. The finance ministers approved the first tranche of 13 billions euros just in time for Greece to meet Thursday’s deadline for repaying about 3.4 billion euros to the European Central Bank.

“The Eurogroup’s move came right after the Dutch parliament supported the third bailout package to Greece, voting down a motion against it by a margin of 81-52. Prime Minister Mark Rutte also survived a no confidence vote called by far-right politician Geert Wilders…”

One will have to wait and see whether Greece will be able to remain a member of the Eurozone. It does not appear likely, however, that it will become one of the prophesied ten “kings,” “horns” or “toes” (member states of the coming Federation of the United Stated of Europe), which will emerge from the Eurozone and hand over their authority to a charismatic political leader, called the “beast” in the book of Revelation and the “king of the North” in the book of Daniel. The conservative German mass tabloid, Bild, is quite upset with the German government and especially with Angela Merkel, claiming that they broke their promises regarding Greece in at least four separate areas.

“Greece Gets its ‘Groundhog Day’ in Bundestag”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 20:

“Remember the film ‘Groundhog Day’? In this 1990s cult classic, an arrogant weatherman finds himself reliving the same day over and over again, with seemingly no way out of the time warp. What does this have to do with Greece’s credit? A lot.

“The latest loan approved by the Bundestag will not magically lift Greece out of its debt quagmire. It will only reinforce the status quo… it does not solve the underlying problem. Of the 86 billion euros ($95 billion) Greece will receive, 54 billion euros will go to repaying existing debt to the lenders. This creates new debt in order to pay old debt. And this new debt must also be paid at some point. But with what funds?

“Greece’ banks will get a further 25 billion euros to save them from bankruptcy. Again. A bit of the cash will flow into the state budget, but in reality this has already been spent. Greece has enough bills to pay, and, as soon as the money arrives, it will be gone. What then?… If things continue as they have, the answer is obvious: A fourth credit package will follow and then a fifth, and so on.

“And that brings us back to ‘Groundhog Day.’ The arrogant weatherman finds a way out of the time warp by making changes. And that’s what Greece’s creditors have to do. First, they have to realize that they are never going to see their money again as long as they keep replacing old debts with new ones…

“… legislators [who are against a credit package for Greece] are in the Bundestag minority… Maybe they’ll be able to get more people on their side when voting on the fourth bailout or the fifth or the sixth. See you soon in the time warp known as ‘aid for Greece.’”

On August 20, Germany’s mass tabloid Bild Online blasted Angela Merkel, stating that she behaved cowardly throughout the parliamentary debate and that she immediately took off afterwards to fly to Brazil. Bild, a conservative paper, is furious with the German government, and Bild is a very interesting mirror of the overwhelming view point of the German population. One wonders what would happen if a charismatic person such as Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump would arise in Germany.

Greece’s Prime Minister Resigns

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned on Thursday, hoping to strengthen his hold on power in snap elections after seven months in office in which he fought Greece’s creditors for a better bailout deal but had to cave in.

“Tsipras submitted his resignation to President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and asked for the earliest possible election date.

“Government officials said the aim was to hold the election on Sept. 20, with Tsipras seeking to crush a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party and seal public support for the bailout program, Greece’s third since 2010, that he negotiated…

“Faced with a near collapse of the Greek financial system which threatened the country’s future in the euro, Tsipras was forced to accept the creditors’ demands for yet more austerity and economic reform – the very policies he had promised to scrap when he was elected in January…

“His decision deepens political uncertainty on the day Greece began receiving funds under its 86 billion-euro ($96 billion) bailout program, five years after a previous government took the first bailout from the euro zone and IMF.

“But a snap election should allow Tsipras to capitalize on his popularity with voters before the toughest parts of the latest program – including further pension cuts, more value-added tax increases and a ‘solidarity’ tax on incomes – begin to bite. This may allow him to return to power in a stronger position without anti-bailout rebels in Syriza to slow him down…

“Tsipras had long been expected to seek early elections in the autumn. But he was forced to move quickly after nearly a third of Syriza lawmakers refused to back the program in parliament last week, robbing him of his majority…

“Tsipras nevertheless remains popular among his supporters for trying to stand up to the foreign creditors and with the opposition in disarray, he is widely expected to return to power.

“A Metron Analysis poll on July 24 put support for Syriza at 33.6 percent, making it by far the most popular party, but not enough to govern without a coalition partner…”

UK Powerless in Europe

Express wrote on August 20:

“British government votes failed to block a single European Union measure during David Cameron’s first five years in office, new research showed yesterday. It also suggests that although Britain seems to pick its fights by formally objecting in only a relatively few cases, its No has now not stopped a measure put to a vote from going through for at least 19 years.

“The stark statistics were seized on by eurosceptics as evidence of how powerless the UK is in Europe despite the claims by those who argue British influence in Brussels makes it worth our while to stay at the table… In decisive votes where regulations and decisions were being finally adopted between 2010 and this year, the UK voted No 23 times and abstained 18 times, the new research shows. In each case the measure went through anyway, often with potential to cost British taxpayers billions.

“Taking into account votes held at earlier stages of the legislative process, the UK voted or abstained in vain around 70 times in total – although this was still only a small proportion of more than 600 votes taken over the period. In other cases the UK could not vote because it was not part of the policy, for example by not being in the eurozone…

“Anti-Brussels Conservative MP Philip Davies, whose office based its analysis on data from VoteWatch Europe, said: ‘We are always told we need to be in the EU because of the influence it gives us. But these figures show clearly how little influence we have within the EU. Time and time again we have things imposed upon us against our will and there is nothing at all we can do about it. The case for leaving the EU gets stronger every day.’

“Daniel Hannan, a eurosceptic Tory Member of the European Parliament, said: ‘The actual situation is even worse than the headline figures suggest. British officials in Brussels tend to back down gracefully when they think they’re going to lose and find a face-saving way of doing so, such as claiming to have made some amendment that makes the measure acceptable. So the fact we have been actually outvoted as often as we have is just the tip of the iceberg. So much for the idea that we are gaining influence in the EU.’…”

Britons Have Little Trust in Their Government

Express wrote on August 20:

“A majority of Britons don’t believe a vote to leave the EU in the upcoming referendum will lead to the UK cutting ties with Brussels…

“David Cameron has promised the public a say on whether Britain should remain part of the 28-member bloc by the end of 2017 at the latest. But most remain sceptical that a vote for ‘Brexit’ would lead to the UK unshackling from Brussels.

“Four out of ten believe opting to leave the EU would simply result in the Government holding a second referendum, while 10 per cent said the UK would remain a member of the EU even with a decisive vote to leave. Just one in four believe a ‘No’ vote would result in Britain leaving the EU.

“And voters are also sceptical that the Prime Minister would support an exit if he doesn’t secure reforms. Just 22 per cent of British people believe Mr Cameron is trying to get major changes to Britain’s relationship with the EU. While a similar number say the PM is looking to achieve only ‘minor tweaks’ to the existing treaties.

“UKIP Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall described the figures as ‘depressing’ and added that they ‘reveal the contempt people feel they are held in by David Cameron and the political elite’. He said: ‘People do not believe that their wishes will be respected. They don’t believe that Cameron is serious in his negotiation strategy, and they certainly do not want a second referendum.’…

“Today’s survey by YouGov found support for Britain to remain a member of the EU stands at 44 per cent, ahead of backing for withdrawal from the union at 37 per cent. But a majority of those aged over 40 would like to see Britain cut ties with the union. It comes as research found thousands of people are in the process of applying for dual nationality amid fears of a breakup of the EU.

“In June, a leaked memo revealed the PM had set himself the ‘firm aim’ of ensuring Britain remained in the European Union. Mr Cameron was accused of embarking on a referendum campaign that focused on the perceived dangers of a British exit. The confidential document said: ‘He believes that people will ultimately vote for the status quo if the alternatives can be made to appear risky’…”

ISIS—a Demonic Movement

The New York Times wrote on August 13:

“In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted. He bound her hands and gagged her. Then he knelt beside the bed and prostrated himself in prayer before getting on top of her. When it was over, he knelt to pray again, bookending the rape with acts of religious devotion… ‘He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God,’ she said in an interview alongside her family in a refugee camp here, to which she escaped after 11 months of captivity.

“The systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution. Interviews with 21 women and girls who recently escaped the Islamic State, as well as an examination of the group’s official communications, illuminate how the practice has been enshrined in the group’s core tenets.

“A total of 5,270 Yazidis were abducted last year, and at least 3,144 are still being held, according to community leaders. To handle them, the Islamic State has developed a detailed bureaucracy of sex slavery, including sales contracts notarized by the ISIS-run Islamic courts. And the practice has become an established recruiting tool to lure men from deeply conservative Muslim societies, where casual sex is taboo and dating is forbidden… Repeatedly, the ISIS leadership has emphasized a narrow and selective reading of the Quran and other religious rulings to not only justify violence, but also to elevate and celebrate each sexual assault as spiritually beneficial, even virtuous… the Islamic State cites specific verses or stories in the Quran or else in the Sunna, the traditions based on the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad, to justify their human trafficking, experts say. Scholars of Islamic theology disagree, however, on the proper interpretation of these verses, and on the divisive question of whether Islam actually sanctions slavery…

“Cole Bunzel, a scholar of Islamic theology at Princeton University [points] to the numerous references to the phrase ‘Those your right hand possesses’ in the Quran, which for centuries has been interpreted to mean female slaves. He also points to the corpus of Islamic jurisprudence, which continues into the modern era and which he says includes detailed rules for the treatment of slaves. ‘There is a great deal of scripture that sanctions slavery,’ said Mr. Bunzel, the author of a research paper published by the Brookings Institution on the ideology of the Islamic State. ‘You can argue that it is no longer relevant and has fallen into abeyance. ISIS would argue that these institutions need to be revived, because that is what the Prophet and his companions did.’…

“The use of sex slavery by the Islamic State initially surprised even the group’s most ardent supporters, many of whom sparred with journalists online after the first reports of systematic rape… In a pamphlet published online in December, the Research and Fatwa Department of the Islamic State detailed best practices, including explaining that slaves belong to the estate of the fighter who bought them and therefore can be willed to another man and disposed of just like any other property after his death. Recent escapees describe an intricate bureaucracy surrounding their captivity, with their status as a slave registered in a contract. When their owner would sell them to another buyer, a new contract would be drafted, like transferring a property deed. At the same time, slaves can also be set free, and fighters are promised a heavenly reward for doing so…

“The Islamic State recently made it clear that sex with Christian and Jewish women captured in battle is also permissible, according to a new 34-page manual issued this summer by the terror group’s Research and Fatwa Department. Just about the only prohibition is having sex with a pregnant slave… Beyond that, there appears to be no bounds to what is sexually permissible. Child rape is explicitly condoned…”

 ISIS has become one the most demonically influenced movements known to mankind in recent years. But make no mistake. God is not mocked, and ISIS fighters and supporters will pay a severe price for their abominable crimes and for following their Satanic practices. Also, the article above claimed that only Yazidis were raped and kept as sex slaves [We omitted those statements in our quotes from the article above, since they are patently false,  as the next article proves.]

Breitbart reported on August 14:

“ABC News is reporting that Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi repeatedly raped American hostage Kayla Mueller while she was under ISIS control. The terrorist group murdered the young woman earlier this year… From ABC News: ‘Al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi who calls himself “Caliph” as ruler of the Islamic State, personally brought the enslaved 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, Arizona, to be imprisoned inside the home of Abu Sayyaf, a Tunisian in charge of oil and gas revenue for the group, counter-terrorism officials have told ABC News over the past several months…’

“In February, The Daily Beast reported that President Obama waited almost a month after British intelligence told him the location of American hostages to launch a rescue mission. Obama received the reports in June 2014, but by the time he acted on July 4, ISIS already moved the hostages, which included Mueller, James Foley, and Steven Sotloff, to another location. ISIS executed Foley and Sotloff in August and September.”

The following article about the horrible ISIS murderers is perhaps the most shocking of all, so please BE WARNED.

 Express reported on August 20:

“Savage Islamic State terrorists are reportedly selling off the organs of their sex slaves to fund the regime. A new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute – which monitors ISIS online – claims militants are openly discussing slavery on social media. It says that the terrorists are discussing prices for the women – some of whom are yet to reach their teenage years. The shocking messages also apparently reveal a horrific trade in the ‘possible trafficking in human organs’.

“Earlier this year dozens of bodies were discovered with surgical incisions as well as missing kidneys and other vital organs, according to the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Alhakim. The corpses were found piled up in shallow, mass graves in February.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses Accused of Massive Sexual Child Abuse Cover-Up in Australia

The Washington Post reported on August 14:

“The abuse was meticulously catalogued. From 1950 to 2014, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society amassed 5,000 files detailing sexual abuse of Australian children by 1,006 of its members, who believe that only they — the Jehovah’s Witnesses — proclaim the truth about God.  Young girls were assaulted by neighbors. Teenagers were raped by their fathers. Victims were forced to pray with their abusers…

“In all, 127 church officials were demoted. No one was reported to the authorities. Child abuse was recorded and hidden away. Now, sordid details from the closed world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are being exposed that could severely tarnish the image of a powerful organization that has 8.2 million members and has mostly avoided scrutiny.

“Two years ago, the Australian government established a royal commission — similar to a presidential commission in the United States — to investigate institutionalized child sexual abuse… The inquiry’s primary target was the Catholic Church, whose record of protecting pedophiles was almost as rampant in Australia as in the United States. To avoid singling out one religion, government officials gave the inquiry wide legal powers to examine any organization that may have covered up abuse…

“Of the religious and ­nonreligious groups being investigated, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are exceptional, experts say. In a converted office in downtown Sydney, the organization’s doctrines and practices are being parsed by lawyers, victims and journalists, providing rare insight into one of the Christian world’s most conservative churches.

“The church, which was founded in Pennsylvania during the 1870s to promote a 1st-century interpretation of the Bible, has emerged as the least able or willing to deal with sexual abuse within its ranks, said Anne Cossins, an associate law professor at the University of New South Wales and an expert in sex crimes who is a consultant for the inquiry…

“Unlike the pedophile priests of the Catholic Church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have no paid clergy. Abusers are mostly regular congregants, who are shielded from official prosecution by the church’s strict code of moral conduct…

“In 1988, a 17-year-old girl in the state of Queensland was abused by her father, a prominent member of the local Jehovah’s Witness congregation, while her mother and six brothers and sisters were on vacation, according to testimony given to the commission. He gave her alcohol and showed her pornographic movies… While she was being raped, her father quoted passages from the Bible and referred to verses of Scripture about being more obedient… After the rest of the family returned from vacation, the father prohibited her from speaking to anybody he thought she might confide in. ‘If I broke his rules, he flogged me,’ she said. When the teenager revealed the assaults to her mother, she learned that several of her sisters had gone through similar ordeals, including one who was 5 years old.

“The church has strict rules governing moral behavior. If a Jehovah’s Witness becomes aware that another member has committed a serious sin — such as ‘fornication, adultery, homosexuality, blasphemy, apostasy, adultery and similar gross sins,’ according to the commission — they are advised to tell senior men in their congregation known as elders. The process for handling these complaints is based on notions of justice and procedural fairness devised 2,000 years ago and recorded in the Bible.

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses set a high bar for the discipline of their own. Church elders need to secure a confession or the testimony of two credible witnesses to the same incident, two witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind, or strong circumstantial evidence testified to by at least two witnesses. The accuser also has to justify his or her allegations to church elders, often in the presence of the alleged perpetrator.

“Church officials acknowledge the process can be difficult for victims but say they have no choice but to follow the Bible… Those found guilty are often banned from the church for a number of years, or they are demoted in the church hierarchy.

“When the 17-year-old complained to church elders of being raped, two of her father’s friends carried out the investigation… She later filed a police report, left the church and tried to commit suicide. Her father was expelled from the church, convicted of rape and sentenced to three years in jail.

“Four years after the abuse, he was allowed to become a Jehovah’s Witness again. ‘I remember that when it was announced to the congregation, all of the brothers crowded around my father, shaking his hand and patting him on the back,’ his daughter told the inquiry, referring to male members of the church. ‘Despite many people in the congregation knowing what he had done to me and my sisters, I heard members of the congregation say, “‘Welcome back.’”’”

When a religious group mixes truth and error, by using some biblical injunctions together with human-devised wrong ideas, such horrible consequences as described in the article above are predictable and not unusual.

Cheating on Your Mate

Newsmax reported on August 19:

“Some 15,000 employees of the U.S. federal government were reportedly among the 32 million cheating spouses exposed in a hack of [an] online adultery site…  Names, ages, addresses, phone numbers, credit card details and detailed sexual fantasies have been leaked in the hack of a controversial seduction site — and the data included email addresses for U.S. government officials, United Kingdom civil servants and high-level executives at European and North America corporations…

“The Daily Mail reports that  15,000 users have been found to be registered under .gov and .mil email addresses – the official domain names of the American military and government. The website has long boasted that 59,000 Washington residents are members of the infidelity site, and that the district had the highest number of registrations across America for the last three years, the Daily Mail reports.”

Shocking: Most Catholics for Same-Sex Marriage

The Local wrote on August 20:

“A study carried out by a Münster University research group questioned around 12,400 Catholics in 42 different countries…

“Over two-thirds – 70 percent – of Catholics surveyed in Germany wanted same-sex marriages to be recognized and blessed by the church… This puts Germany in stark contrast with Poland, southern Europe and Brazil, where the majority of those surveyed were against homosexual marriage…

“Eighty-five per cent of those surveyed thought priests should choose whether or not to remain celibate. This figure was similar in most other countries, excluding Poland and southern Europe. Even among those Catholics who were fundamentally in favour of celibacy, a quarter thought priests should have the choice whether or not to follow this lifestyle.

“The vast majority of Catholics in Germany were also in favour of female deacons, with 87 per cent stating that women should be allowed to take on this role. In the Catholic Church, deacons assist bishops, and have numerous roles including teaching and distribution of food. But the role is still not equivalent to that of a priest…

“Only around 10 percent of the 7,900 Catholics surveyed in Germany thought divorcees who remarried should be excluded from communion – a subject currently under debate in the Vatican. Catholic teaching states that divorcees who remarry without having had their first marriage annulled are living in sin, making them ineligible for communion.

“However, Pope Francis has begun a high-level debate about whether this can be altered – and in December last year, the head of the German Bishops’ Conference announced that German bishops were in favour of allowing remarried divorcees to receive communion under certain conditions…

“Almost 80 per cent of those interviewed in Germany said they attend church more than once a month…”

Robots Appear Human-Like

The website of wired.co.uk published the following article on August 14:

“Japanese robotics professor Masahiro Mori devised the concept of the ‘uncanny valley’ in 1970. It’s the point at which a robot is made to appear so human-like — if not quite human enough — that it inspires feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in we mere mortals… But as androids are being developed to be more and more lifelike, copying human gestures, body language and even speech, our simultaneous fascination/horror at the world of uncannily human-like robotics shows no signs of slowing down…

“Created by Uncanny Valley robotics expert Hiroshi Ishiguro, Erica android is one of the most unnervingly human yet created. Not only can she speak and move, but she can also mimic human body language with disconcertingly accurate facility. Smiling, blinking, grimacing, turning her head as she speaks — you could easily be forgiven for mistaking her for a sentient mortal… But, of course, the very fact that Erica falls short of being entirely convincing is what makes her all the more strange… But it might not be too long before Erica and her mechanical brethren make an appearance a little closer to home…

“Designed and built by Hanson Robotics, Inc., Jules is a conversational character robot with a gleamingly bald head and the stilted voice of an English gentleman. A sophisticated AI creation, he’s made from a pliable, lightweight material called Frubber, which enables him to expressively move his face just like a real human. Jules can also boast of having a ‘statistically perfect face’ — which not many of us mere mortals can lay claim to. He’s also capable of having a ‘natural, interactive’ conversation if you’re so inclined. And Jules isn’t alone. Creator David Hanson has modelled an entire family of humanoids, including Alice, Han and — in honour of the great physicist himself – the Albert Einstein Hubo…

“Kurokawa was created by robotics firm Kokoro and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) as a ‘brother’ for their original — if not quite as ‘humanly’ named — Actroid-F. These super-realistic humanoid siblings are able to have a conversation with each other, and use their range of 12 facial expressions to indicate their reactions to the world around them. They can also imitate the movements of the people they’re watching. After being successfully trialled in hospitals to see how patients felt in their presence… AIST plans to employ the robots in other socially useful ways, including talking to elderly people to help prevent mental decline, and interacting with children who have developmental problems…

“Perhaps it was inevitable that the ultimate in unsettling humanoids would be an AI recreation of maverick sci-fi visionary Philip K. Dick. A dead ringer for the late, great novelist himself… you can watch him muse on everything from Cartesian philosophy to how he picks up new words…”

The question is: Where does it lead, and where does it end? One can be assured that the militaries of this world are eager to get their hands on these androids (if they have not already done so), to advance their further developments into fighting “machines.”

“Possible Home of Mary Magdalene Unearthed in Israel”

Newsmax wrote on August 18:

“Father Juan Solana purchased land in northern Israel to build a Christian retreat center six years ago. By law, he was required to perform test excavations, and soon discovered a first-century synagogue underneath the dirt… According to scripture, Jesus was said to have preached in the synagogues of the Galilee region. The recently unearthed synagogue is the only one in the area that would have existed during Jesus’ lifetime, so it’s very likely that he preached there.  ‘She lived here and she met Jesus here and she continued with Him. Yes, it’s that place,’ [said] senior Israeli archaeologist Arfan Najar, who oversees the excavation at Magdala. ‘This is the closest synagogue to Capernaum where He lived. So it was likely He was here many times,’ added Solana.

“So far, archeologists have uncovered mosaic flooring, frescos, pottery, and coins. Their biggest find, however, is the Magdala Stone… In speaking about the carved platform, Solana explained, ‘This is the first time ever a menorah carved in stone has been found out of Jerusalem.’ Additionally, archeologists have uncovered the town’s purification baths and a bowl that was likely for the washing of hands before citizens entered the synagogue. The bowl is over 2,000 years old, and Jesus himself may have washed his hands there.”

Donald Trump—the Winner

Breitbart wrote on August 7:

“Whatever you might think about how well Donald Trump did in Thursday night’s Republican Primary debate, there is no question the billionaire businessman is winning the most important part of the process: the post-debate spin. The Narrative on almost all the morning shows centered primarily around how Fox News was gunning to take out Trump. If anything, debate co-moderator Megyn Kelly is taking on the most damaging post-debate water.

“The very first debate question, asked by Bret Baier, was obviously aimed directly at Trump. For weeks, Trump has refused to dismiss the idea of running as a third party candidate should he lose the GOP nomination. When Baier asked the field of ten to raise their hand if they would not agree here and now to support whoever won the nomination, regardless of what you might think of the question, the whole world knew a target was being placed on Trump’s back…

“Kelly grilling Trump over tweets calling women ‘pigs’ and ‘slobs’ is being singled out Friday morning as a hatchet job. This spin is obviously going to work in Trump’s favor in a primary where voters are thoroughly and rightly disgusted with both the media and the Republican establishment…

“Kelly attacked Trump from the premise that he’s a sexist. The truth, though, is that Trump calls everyone names… Like him or not, Trump is playing political hardball by his own rules. And so far, it’s taken him this far.”

 According to polls by the Drudge Report and Breitbart, Trump turned out to be the WINNER of the debate. The New York Times admitted as well that Trump was the winner, as did Time Magazine and the Washington Post. A Morning Consult tracking online national poll, which was published on August 10, found Trump increasing his lead to 32 percent—21 percentage points ahead of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who garnered 11 percent.

According to Deutsche Welle, dated August 10, “Bombastic presidential candidate Donald Trump suffered no damage to his support among Republican party voters following a controversial performance at a recent debate, a new poll revealed Monday. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump with the support of 24 percent of Republican voters, maintaining a big lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump’s closest rival, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, trailed with 12 percent, down from 17 percent just before the debate. No other candidate garnered more than 8 percent in the poll…”

Bloomberg wrote on August 7 that “Fox News Couldn’t Kill Trump’s Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger.” The Washington Post published an opinion piece, stating that Trump avoided “the one mistake that could have seriously damaged his insurgent campaign: sounding like a professional politician. For that reason alone, he seemed… the clear winner.”

 An interesting report appeared in Germany’s mass tabloid, “Bild.” According to the on-line article, Fox-Chief Rupert Murdoch (84) tried to prevent his network, Fox News, and his papers (including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post) from reporting positively about Trump. But Murdoch’s Top-Journalist, Fox’s Chairman of the Board Roger Ailes (75), disagreed and saw to it that positive reports were continued to be published about Trump. The paper added that it became obvious that during the debate, the moderators followed Murdoch’s lead. However, the paper also wrote that during the debate, Trump looked like the winner, but that nobody so far has won a Republican pre-election, while being opposed by Fox News. Still, the paper concluded: “But with Trump, much develops differently anyhow.“

 But as we show below, Fox News does not seem to be opposed to Trump any longer. The war seemed to have ended, and Trump turned out to be the winner.

 The German magazine Focus commented that Trump survived the inquisition and stood his ground. Der Spiegel Online added that about 24 million viewers watched the debate (an unprecedented occurrence for political debates), which was largely due to Donald Trump. The magazine stated that Trump is one of the most likely Republican candidates for the run for the White House, but that the final word as to who will represent the GOP will be decided in several pre-elections within the party.

Piers Morgan Comes to Trump’s “Defense”

Newsmax wrote on August 7:

 “Tough-talking billionaire Donald Trump ‘created merry h… in the first GOP debate’ Thursday night, and though ‘he may not be everyone’s cup of tea’ he is nonetheless ‘single-handedly destroying the modern cult of political correctness’ with ‘his hugely entertaining, deeply provocative campaign,’ journalist and former CNN talk show host Piers Morgan writes in the Daily Mail. ‘It was classic Trump: he was at times hilariously funny, brash and super-confident, combative and aggressive, and played both the live audience and the far bigger TV audience like a rock star,’ according to Morgan, who won the 2008 season of Trump’s NBC show ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’

“Trump, Morgan continued, ‘just refused to play by the normal rules … as he has done since he declared his candidacy. And let’s be honest, whether you love him or hate him, isn’t it fantastically refreshing to see someone stomping around the political arena who DOESN’T behave like a robotic, media-trained, timid little mouse?’

“During Morgan’s month taping ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ he never witnessed Trump be ‘racist, sexist or homophobic despite boardroom sessions lasting up to four hours at a time with people of all colours, creeds, sexes and sexuality… He is not the dumb, ranting bigot many would like to portray him as. He’s a smart, cunning, alert showman who knows what it takes to win,’ all characteristics that Morgan says lead many to believe Trump would make an excellent president…

“Most Americans…  want someone who can stand up for them and their country in an increasingly difficult, hostile world. In Trump, many of them… see a man who would undeniably do that, hence his huge lead in the polls.’”

Trump’s Days Are Far From Over

Bild Online asked the question on Sunday: “Is Trump’s Campaign Dead?” Some Republican contenders claimed that Trump’s days were over. They could not be more wrong! After being confronted with an unexpected backlash from many viewers, Fox News back-paddled.

 According to Newsmax, dated August 10, “Fox News chief Roger Ailes appears to have stepped in to smooth things over,” by calling Trump, inviting him to appear again on Fox News, to which Trump agreed, and allegedly promising him that “he would be treated fairly by Fox News.” CNN quoted Ailes’ as follows: “I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared.”

 Trump turned out to be the winner against Fox. This fact became obvious in Fox’s follow-up coverage, which was very “accommodating” to Trump. We should realize that the “Trump phenomenon” is of much greater importance than many suspect. It will not go away soon—if at all.

“When It Comes to Jewish Ties, Nobody Trumps Trump”

 JTA wrote on August 7:

“Among the expansive field of Republican presidential candidates on display in the party’s first [debate] Thursday night, Donald Trump may be the most closely connected to the Jewish people. Trump is from New York, works in professions saturated with Jews and long has been a vocal supporter of Israel. His daughter and two grandchildren are Jewish [and] the executive vice president of his organization is Jewish…

“Given his myriad Jewish associations, Trump is not an unfamiliar face in Jewish circles. He has served as a grand marshal at New York’s annual Salute to Israel Parade. After Hurricane Katrina, he was among a group of celebrities who decorated Jewish federation tzedakah boxes to be auctioned off to support hurricane disaster relief. And in February, he was honored with an award at the annual gala for the Algemeiner, a right-wing Jewish news organization…

“Before the 2013 Israeli election, Trump recorded a video message endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… By the same token, Trump has made clear he believes President Barack Obama is bad for Israel and has questioned how American Jews could support the president. ‘I have many Jewish friends that support Obama and I say, “Why?” and they can’t explain why. They support him, they give him money, they give him campaign contributions,’ Trump told radio host Michael Savage in February. ‘This is the worst enemy of Israel.’…

“Trump’s record suggests he’s far from a Republican ideologue… Overall, Trump doesn’t appear to have very many fixed policy positions. Unlike the other Republican candidates, he has no policy section on his campaign website.

“When Ivanka Trump introduced her father at the Algemeiner dinner six months ago, she said, ‘He has used his voice often and loudly in support of Israel, in support of developments within Israel, in support of security for Israel and in support of the idea of the Israeli democracy.’ One thing is certain of Donald Trump: As long as he stays in this campaign, he will continue to use his voice often and loudly.”

Clinton’s Approval Rate Declining

 According to Newsmax, dated August 10, a “recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that Clinton’s favorability rating dropped to 37 percent, from 44 percent, between June and July… the results of a Post-ABC poll found Clinton’s favorability ratings had fallen to their lowest since April 2008, when she first ran for president. The poll found that 52 percent of Americans said Clinton is not trustworthy, ‘a 22-point swing in the past year,’ according to the Post, which noted that Clinton support from both independents and Democrats had diminished.”

In addition, Clinton is now agreeable to turning over her private server to the FBI, while mcclatchydc.com reported on August 11:  “The inspector general for the Intelligence Community notified senior members of Congress that two of four classified emails discovered on the server Clinton maintained at her New York home contained material deemed to be in one of the highest security classifications – more sensitive than previously known.”

The Associated Press reported on August 12: “The inspector general for the intelligence community had told Congress that potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information are among the cache that Clinton provided to the State Department.”

The Times of Israel reported on August 10 that Hillary Clinton “spoke publicly for the first time since the Republican debate… She said [Trump’s appalling] remarks should not overshadow the rest of the Republican candidates’ policies dealing with women.”

She added that she was supporting unequivocally Planned Parenthood and advocated women’s right to choose. Marco Rubio ruled out abortion for any reason. According to Breitbart, dated August 11, Trump said in an interview with CNN that he would not fund the abortion aspects of Planned Parenthood, but would be open to the idea of funding non-abortion services of Planned Parenthood. He was also in favor of the rape, incest, and life of the mother exceptions for abortion.

Clinton’s Email Messages Speak of UK’s Exit from Europe

 The Daily Mail wrote on August 3:

“David Cameron was branded ‘unsure, inexperienced, oblique and largely uncommitted’ on foreign policy by a key aide to Hillary Clinton, it has emerged. A series of emails sent by Sidney Blumenthal, an adviser in Bill Clinton’s White House, painted a bleak assessment of Mr Cameron’s positioning on the world stage before he became Prime Minister. The remarks were revealed in a slew of emails from a private system used by Mrs Clinton when she was US secretary of state…

“An email sent in October 2009, barely six months before Mr Cameron became Prime Minister… suggests Mr Cameron might be unable to stop his party from taking Britain out of the European Union… Mr Blumenthal, who was an aide to Bill Clinton during his time in the White House, said Mr Cameron’s foreign policy was largely driven by his ‘need to keep his party behind him’ on issues such as Europe… ‘His future problem is that he does not want to be the leader who takes Britain out of Europe but he is putting himself in a position where he may not be able to prevent his party doing so.’

“Downing Street sought to play down the impact of the highly-critical messages being sent to someone who now wants to take the White House. A spokesman said: ‘The special relationship between the UK and the United States is as strong as ever and the president recently acknowledged the importance of the alliance to the US.’

“In another email, Mr Blumenthal warned that the UK-US alliance was being destroyed by ‘the Obama administration’s denigration of the UK’ and the president’s indecision over Afghanistan…”

High-Ranking Democrats Oppose Obama’s Deal with Iran

JTA wrote on August 6:

“Two of the most watched Jewish lawmakers in Congress announced they will vote to disapprove of the Iran deal. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., both said Thursday evening they had considered the issue carefully before their decision. ‘Advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view that cannot simply be dismissed,’ Schumer said in a statement obtained by the New York Times. ‘This has made evaluating the agreement a difficult and deliberate endeavor, and after deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval.’

“Schumer, a Jewish lawmaker from New York who is poised to become his party’s leader in the Senate in 2017, and Engel, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives, had come under intense pressure from the White House and critics of the deal both because of the intensity among some Jewish New Yorkers and because of their influence as unabashed supporters of Israel. ‘The answers I’ve received simply don’t convince me that this deal will keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands, and may in fact strengthen Iran’s position as a destabilizing and destructive influence across the Middle East,’ Engel was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“Congress has a window until the end of September to kill the deal, but opponents of the deal must garner two thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome President Barack Obama’s pledged veto. Most Republicans want to kill the deal, making the battleground for votes among Democrats. MoveOn, a liberal group that backs the deal, announced within minutes of Schumer’s declaration that it would launch a donor strike targeting the Democrats’ Senate reelection committee…”

Schumer wrote the following in an open letter, which was published by JTA:

 “I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power. Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be.”

 Other top Jewish Democrats in the US House of Representatives who refused to be intimidated, announced that they will also vote against the deal: Reps. Nita Lowey and Steve Israel, both of New York, and Ted Deutch of Florida announced their opposition on Tuesday afternoon (August 4). In addition, the second Ranking Democrat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), announced his opposition to the deal on Friday.

 Sherman was an opponent to the Iraq war. Other prominent Iraq war opponents who oppose the Iran deal include Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz.

 Newsmax added on August 10 that “Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has been named chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and advocacy group that opposes the nuclear deal recently negotiated with Iran by the Obama administration.”

A New Greece Deal?

 The EUObserver reported on August 11:

“The Greek government and its creditors reached a deal on a third bailout programme on Tuesday morning (11 August). ‘An agreement has been reached. Some minor details are being discussed right now’, a Greek official told the Reuters press agency…

“The news has not yet been confirmed by Greece’s creditors – the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)… The Greek parliament is expected to be recalled from its summer recess to vote on the prior actions on Thursday… The exact amount of the bailout was not known Tuesday morning, but discussion[s] were on a programme of up to €86 billion…

“Several obstacles remain before Greece can effectively receive the bailout, however. First, the deal will have to be endorsed by eurozone finance ministers, either at a meeting or by conference call probably on Friday. Then it will have to be ratified by several eurozone parliaments, including the German Bundestag. Doubts remain about Germany’s willingness to sign a bailout agreement before all issues are settled…

“It was not clear on Tuesday morning if the IMF would participate in the bailout. It earlier said several times it would not do so if there was no restructuring of the debt, which it considers unsustainable. But Germany… wants the IMF to participate.”

The Telegraph added on August 11:

“Greece has agreed [to] the broad terms of a new three-year bail-out deal with its international lenders, though experts warned that severe austerity demands mean the country’s fiscal targets remained ‘utterly unachievable’.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 12:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert… added that Germany needed more time to thoroughly review the 400-page text outlining fiscal and policy measures… ‘So one can say that the agreement goes in the right direction. But at this hour it is not yet possible to say whether we are at the point where we can start the national process, in other words call for a vote in the Bundestag,’ Seibert concluded.”

Germany’s mass tabloid Bild Online wrote on August 12 that pursuant to information received by Bild, the German government will reject the Greece deal, which is scheduled to be discussed by the EU Finance Ministers on Friday. But Bild has been wrong before. Officially, it was reported that Germany needs more time to evaluate. One will have to wait and see.

Germany Gained 100 Billion Euros from Greece Crisis

 The Local wrote on August 10:

“Germany, which has taken a tough line on Greece, has profited from the country’s crisis to the tune of €100 billion ($109 billion), according to a new study on Monday. The sum represents money Germany saved through lower interest payments on funds the government borrowed amid investor ‘flights to safety’, the study said. ‘These savings exceed the costs of the crisis — even if Greece were to default on its entire debt,’ said the private, non-profit Leibniz Institute of Economic Research in its paper…

 “Germany, the eurozone’s effective paymaster, has demanded fiscal discipline and tough economic reforms in Greece in return for consenting to new aid from international creditors. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has opposed a Greek debt write-down while pointing to his own government’s balanced budget. The institute, however, argued that the balanced budget was possible in large part only because of Germany’s interest savings amid the Greek debt crisis… The bonds of other countries — including the United States, France and the Netherlands — had also benefited, but ‘to a much smaller extent’.”

Violence In and Surrounding Turkey

Deutsche Welle reported on August 11:

“Turkish air force has conducted airstrikes against Kurdish militants in the border regions of the country… The military jets targeted Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a series of overnight raids, the army announced on Tuesday… Also on Tuesday, a Turkish soldier was killed in the country’s restive southeast, in the attack army blamed on PKK militants.

“The latest bout of violence follows a police station bombing in Istanbul on Monday, which the government also claimed to be the work of Kurdish militants. Later, a group of gunmen fired on police inspecting the scene of the explosion. In addition, Kurdish forces targeted the security forces in southeastern Sirnak with a roadside bomb, and a Marxist group reportedly fired at the American consulate in Istanbul…”

Religious Zionism Growing in Israel?

 The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 7:

“Yuval Diskin, the former director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), warned on Friday that ‘religious Zionism is on its way to taking control of the State of Israel.’

“In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, the onetime Shin Bet chief wrote: ‘The “two-state solution” is emerging before our eyes amongst us Jews – there is the State of Judea, which is de facto being established alongside the State of Israel… These are two states in which the differences between them is only growing, and this chasm is becoming irreversible,’ Diskin wrote.

“The former Shin Bet head posted the notice in response to the deadly arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma last week that is alleged to have been committed by Jewish extremists in the West Bank. ‘Religious Zionism does not constitute the majority in the State of Israel, but as a very significant elite it has succeeded in making a vital contribution to the establishment, de facto of course, of the State of Judea, and it is now on its way to consolidating (in a democratic manner) its hold on the State of Israel,’ Diskin wrote. ‘This is, without a doubt, a victory for the ideology of religious Zionism, but it’s a pyrrhic victory,’ he wrote. ‘It’s a tragic victory’…”

Waiting for the Red Heifer

 The Times of Israel wrote on August 9:

 “… for the past few years, a number of rabbis have rolled up their tzitzit and stepped into rubber boots in a quest to create the ideal farm for a small herd of holy red heifers, called in Hebrew parah adumah. Red heifers were slaughtered as sacrifices in the Temple and the ashes were used in purification rituals, especially for people who had become impure through contact with dead bodies…

“What has made a modern-day red heifer an impossibility thus far lies in this description in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 19: ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.’

“Cows that are raised on commercial dairy farms are subjected to all sorts of blemish-causing conditions, including ears pierced with a numbered tag, cuts or bruises from roughhousing with other cows or contact with broken fences, and ulcers from ingesting metal accidentally mixed into cheap cattle feed. Even a vaccination could count as a blemish. Additionally, cows on commercial farms are used for work, which… is forbidden according to the red heifer criteria…

“The Temple [Institute] is in the process of importing frozen embryos from Red Angus cows in the United States – deemed most likely to create progeny that are completely red – in order to create the first herd of red heifers for ritual use in Israel. It is called a ‘red heifer’ because the cow must be female, but it can never have given birth…

“The Temple Institute recently launched [a] fundraising campaign to raise more than $125,000 in donations. Each frozen embryo costs approximately NIS 3,000 ($800). Thus far, implanting embryos in cows in Israel has had about a 30 percent success rate. The Agriculture Ministry does not allow the importation of live cattle due to the threat of cattle-borne diseases such as hoof and mouth or mad cow disease, so any farmer who wants to raise a breed of cow not available in Israel must use frozen embryos…

“[Rabbi Chaim Richman, the international director and co-founder of the Temple Institute] said that the organization’s focus on building ritual objects ready for use in the Third Temple does not have a messianic agenda and does not aim to hasten an eschatological end of days. Richman points out that one-third of the 613 commandments of Judaism are related to the Temple…

“More than one million people have visited the Temple Institute’s exhibition of the 70 ritual objects it has built according to specifications in the Torah… The Temple Institute’s most well-known object is a candelabra, or menorah, that stands in a plaza of the Old City near the Western Wall…

“But the Temple Institute is not alone in planning for a red heifer. There are reports of red heifers all the time…The Temple Institute has already had a small success, with the birth of a few completely red cows from the frozen embryos. There was only one problem: they weren’t red heifers. They were red bulls.”

Some associate the arrival of a red heifer with the appearance of the Messiah. But biblically, there is no connection. Please read our Q&A on the issue of the “red heifer.”

British and German Governments Call for Crackdown on Migrants

The EUObserver wrote on August 10:

“The British and German governments have called for a new crackdown on economic migrants…

“Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, told the BBC… that ‘large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around’ the Channel Tunnel entrance in France pose ‘a threat to … security’. He said the EU must ‘resolve the problem’ by deporting more people… But he said EU asylum laws make people ‘pretty confident’ that if they enter EU territory, they will get the right to stay…’

“In Germany, Volker Kauder, a senior figure in the ruling centre-right CDU party, targeted Western Balkan asylum seekers.  He told the Die Welt newspaper, also on Sunday, that ‘whoever comes from Kosovo, should be sent back home within a month’. Manfred Weber, the German leader of the centre-right EPP group in the European Parliament, told press the EU should reimpose visa regimes on Kosovo and Serbia. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, also said the list of ‘safe countries of origin’ in the Western Balkans, which excludes Kosovo and Montenegro, should be extended, making it more difficult for people to claim protection…

“The anti-migrant rhetoric is not new in the UK, where the PM, David Cameron, in July, spoke of a ‘swarm of people’ coming across the Mediterranean. It also isn’t new in Germany, Greece, and Italy, or at the EU level, where migrants have been likened to ‘slaves’ and labelled as potential ‘terrorists’.”

“Hardliner de Maizière Visits Migrant Processing Center

Deutsche Welle reported on August 11:

“Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière was in the Bavarian town of Deggendorf on Tuesday to visit a processing center for migrants seeking to enter Germany through the Balkans. De Maizière, who has been outspoken about reducing the number of asylum applications from Kosovo, Serbia, and Albania, visited the rural town near the Austrian border to acquaint himself with the procedures of the center.

“Made up of 50 containers turned into offices, the office photographs, registers, and performs medical examinations on some of the hundreds of migrants detained each day on Bavarian trains and highways. Germany faces an unprecedented influx of migrants from war-torn areas in the Middle East and Africa, and has sought to reduce migrants from eastern Europe by declaring some nations there ‘safe’ countries of origin and turning their citizens back. Germany expects to process around 450,000 asylum applications during the course of 2015.

“Later on Tuesday de Maizière was set to meet with the German Police Union, which has called for the reintroduction of international borders within Europe, and more staff to deal with the rising number of refugees. ‘From a policing point of view, a return to border controls would be the best of all measures,’ Rainer Wendt, union chairman, told a local newspaper.

“Europe abolished passport checks inside what is called the Schengen Zone – 26 EU member countries alongside Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Although migrants are legally bound to remain in the first EU country they set foot in, the lack of borders within the Schegen area prompts them to try their luck on international trains or roads to reach destinations thought to be most favorable.

“As a result, police have stepped up passport checks in border areas and on European flights. The union had said it planned to show de Maizière the ‘catastrophic conditions’ for overworked police due to the demands of increased migration.”

What Is Putin Up To?

 Bild Online reported on August 11, 2015 that during the Russian military exercise which is being conducted in Kaliningrad (500 kilometers from Berlin), bombs and transporters are carrying the designation, “To Berlin” and “for Stalin.”

 The paper stated that both “labels” were war cries used by the Russians in their fight against Nazi Germany. Observers do not feel that these labels were only attached because of nostalgia, but that they show dangerous tendencies of Putin and the Russian military.

The Telegraph wrote on August 12:

“Russia and Nato are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build-up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a new report says. Rival exercises by the Russian armed forces and Nato have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides…”

China’s Devaluation

The Washington Post wrote on August 12:

“China’s currency slid for a second day on Wednesday, sending more shockwaves through global financial markets and raising fresh questions about the credibility of the country’s economic management.

“The surprise moves by China to allow more market forces to set currency rates — an effective devaluation at the moment — have also deepened speculation about the true strength of the world’s second-largest economy after recent jolts including a stock market plunge.

“The sense that the Communist Party was an almost infallible steward of the nation’s economy took a battering during the stock crash in June and July. A few weeks later, China’s economic data — showing growth steady at 7 percent despite widespread signs of a slowdown — were widely derided by analysts as inaccurate and overblown…

“Over two days, China’s currency, known as the yuan or renminbi, was down 3.5 percent, sparking headlines about a global currency war and threatening to fan trade tensions with the United States. The currency shake-up has spilled far beyond China to drag down world financial markets…

“China’s decision to free up its exchange rate appeared to come in response to repeated urging from the International Monetary Fund — as well as from the United States. It appeared designed, experts said, to bolster the case for the yuan’s acceptance as a global reserve currency, and specifically its inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights basket alongside the dollar, euro, yen and pound.”

Newsmax added on August 11:

“Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday said China’s devaluation of the yuan would be ‘devastating’ for the United States as the global currency war entered a new and critical phase. ‘They’re just destroying us,’ the billionaire businessman, a long-time critic of China’s currency policy, said in a CNN interview… Earlier on Tuesday, China devalued its currency following a series of poor economic data in the yuan’s biggest fall since 1994. Some said this could signal a long-term slide in the exchange rate.

“China has been a frequent theme for Trump since he entered the 2016 presidential campaign, promising to be a tougher negotiator with Beijing in order to bolster the U.S. economy.”

The Disaster of Durango… with Many More to Come

 The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 10:

“Shock, sadness and anger have gripped this pretty college town [Durango] in southwestern Colorado as residents struggle to understand the slow-moving environmental disaster that has transformed their crystal clear Animas River — or the River of Souls, translated from its Spanish name — into a ribbon of mustard yellow sludge. The tragedy in Durango underscores the persistent menace of defunct hard-rock mines, lingering like cancers across the American landscape…

“On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency was supervising the draining of contaminated water from the defunct Gold King Mine above the town of Silverton. The water suddenly surged, overwhelming the crew and spilling into a tributary leading to the Animas River. The EPA initially estimated the spill at 1 million gallons, but tripled it to 3 million gallons Sunday. A slew of heavy metals — cadmium, aluminum, copper and perhaps even arsenic — turned the water a sickly fluorescent yellow. Local officials immediately ordered the river shut down…

“Durango and La Plata County proclaimed states of emergency Sunday… Meanwhile, the plume has flowed downstream to Aztec and Farmington, N.M., and is expected to reach the San Juan River, Lake Powell and eventually the Colorado River…

“The danger posed by mines was laid out in a 1993 report from the Mineral Policy Center, a Washington think tank dedicated to identifying threats to natural resources. The study said there were about 557,650 of these sites in 32 states and 50 billion tons of untreated waste covering public and private land. The waste included arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, cyanide and mercury. ‘Mine effluents have already polluted 12,000 miles of the nation’s waterways and 180,000 acres of our lakes and reservoirs and are a growing threat to underground aquifers,’ the report said.

“About 40% of all Western headwater streams are polluted by old hard-rock mines, the EPA has said. Colorado has 22,000 such mines, ranking third behind Arizona and Nevada. Cleaning them up is difficult because the owners are often dead or unknown. Even if they are alive, many fear making matters worse by trying to remedy the situation, as the EPA just did.

“Early mining techniques were all about speed and efficiency, with little or no regard for the environmental consequences. For example, the Sierra Fund’s 2008 report titled ‘Mining’s Toxic Legacy’ said that millions of gallons of mercury were used to extract gold from ore and that untold tons of waste rock were left to leak their toxic contents into rivers and streams…”

On August 12, denver.cbslocal.com reported:

“After the Gold King Mine spilled 3 million gallons of waste water into the Animas River, experts are concerned about the health of the river as well as the health of residents. People who live along the Animas River could be ingesting the contaminated water in any number of ways, from drinking it to showering in it, and the fear is how much exposure those people have had.

“Scientists fear effects from the yellow plume of waste water could linger well after the river regains its natural color. ‘Remember, this is mine waste, it’s heavy. It’s going to sink to the bottom of these streams, it’s going to get into the layer at the bottom,’ said Dr. Dan Teitlebaum. He is a toxicologist who says the elements in the water can pose the risk of illness. The waters were loaded in lead, copper, cadmium, and arsenic, some of which can cause cancers in prolonged exposures…

“Wildlife officials have been quick to show fish that have survived the event, but Teitlebaum says that’s not necessarily an indication that everything is safe. ‘If you’re going to eat those brown trout that somebody’s catching in that river, what are the arsenic levels going to be? What are the lead levels going to be? We don’t know!’ said Teitlebaum.

“He said health concerns in the river are just beginning, even as it appears to look more normal. When asked if it’s possible for that much pollution in a river to have no effect, Teitlebaum said, ‘Everything is possible. Is it likely? I think not.’”

Gender Equality–More Nonsense by TARGET

People.com wrote on August 10:

“On Friday, Target announced it will begin removing gender-based labeling from its stores, particularly in departments like toys and bedding, which are often separated by ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’ signs. ‘As guests have pointed out, in some departments like toys, home or entertainment, suggesting products by gender is unnecessary,’ reads a statement from the company. “Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance.’ The move comes after an increase in complaints over the past year from families who feel ‘frustrated or limited by the way things are presented,’ the statement reads…

“The company points out that the kids’ bedding area, for example, doesn’t need to suggest if certain patterns and colors are for boys or girls, but rather ‘just kids.’ The same applies to the toy aisles, where Target will also ‘remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves.’”

What’s Next? Marriage with Robots?

 On August 10, slate.com published the following article:

“The Supreme Court’s recent 5–4 decision… legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States has already spawned speculation about ‘what will be next’ in expanding marital rights. As the Supreme Court noted, ‘[t]he history of marriage is one of both continuity and change. That institution … has evolved over time.’ Interracial marriage, equality between husband and wife, and same-sex marriage were all excluded for long periods of time under our Constitution but now have been sanctioned and protected by the courts. While these changes have come slowly, and courts are unlikely to take the next step in expanding marital rights for some time, the courts are probably not finished expanding the legal definition of marital rights.

“A New York Times op-ed published shortly after the Supreme Court’s same-sex decision said that the court’s logic could eventually lead to recognition of polygamy or plural marriages, an argument also made by Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissenting opinion. This slippery-slope argument has also been used to contend that the court’s decision will open the door to legal recognition of bestiality or incest.

“Robot-human marriages might be next on the list. Probably not soon, admittedly, but it nevertheless will be an inevitable part of our future. Indeed, some critics of same-sex marriage, including some conservative Christian opponents of gay marriage, have argued that the court’s recognition of same-sex marriage would inevitably lead to robotic-human marriages. There has recently been a burst of cogent accounts of human-robot sex and love in popular culture… Or just look at the marketplace. Sex ‘dolls’ have become more and more realistic in appearance and touch, and one company recently announced that it was developing a sexbot with artificial intelligence that can talk back and express emotions…

“The era of love and sex with robots has begun and will continue to accelerate going forward, even if it remains a minority choice for the next couple of decades. But with sex and love will come calls for the right to marry…

“From a strictly legal perspective… the court’s decision… contains arguments and dicta that could be used to make the case for or against robot-human marriage. Of course, as a practical matter, the legal legitimacy of robot-human marriage is not going to be recognized anytime soon. Most people (including judges) presumably think robot-human relationships are absurd and twisted. But that was once also the case for interracial marriage and same-sex marriage. Of course those advances involved sanctioning the love and relationship of two human beings, regardless of their race or sexual preferences, which is arguably quite distinct from recognizing human-machine marriage. But as robots become more and more humanlike in their appearance and behavior, this distinction may eventually erode away.

“The Supreme Court itself recounted the long, difficult road to get to the point where the law (and most of society) could now recognize same-sex marriage. First, advocates had to overcome the classification of same-sex relations as an illness. Then they had to declassify it as a crime. And then finally… the right to marry people of the same sex was finally legally recognized.

“The path to recognition of robot-human marriage is likely to be equally, if not more, lengthy, torturous, and contested. But as the court emphasized at the close of its opinion… the issue comes down to the ‘fundamental right’ of a person in a free society to choose the nature of the relationships and lifestyle they choose to pursue, providing they do not unreasonably harm others in exercising their choices. Robot-human marriage is not about robot rights; it is about the right of a human to choose to marry a robot. While few people would understand or support robot-human intimacy today, as robots get more sophisticated and humanlike, more and more people will find love, happiness, and intimacy in the arms of a machine. Robot sex and love is coming, and robot-human marriage will likely not be far behind.”

What a SICK society we are living in…

Rise of Brain-Controlled Robot Armies

Daily Mail wrote on August 12:

“… the future of warfare could see robot armies controlled using just a commander’s mind. China has been training students at a military academy to use headsets that detect and interpret the brain activity of the wearer, allowing them to control the machines. At a demonstration at the People’s Liberation Army Information Engineering University in Zhengzhou, students used the device to send robots trundling in different directions. They were also able to turn the robot’s heads and get them to pick up objects… The technology is being developed at the military academy’s laboratory for brain-machine coordination.

“Among the other projects being developed at the laboratory are drones that can also be controlled using a brain headset… [This] has raised fears it could also be used for warfare. Rather than having to put its soldiers into the battlefield, China could exploit the technology to send mind-controlled robots into action… Researchers elsewhere have been developing similar technology to help amputees control robotic prosthetic arms.”

Regarding the last statement, CNBC wrote on August 12:

“Scientists have created a machine that’s able to have babies. Sort of. In an experiment designed to show how robots can learn and evolve, researchers in Cambridge and Zurich programmed a robot arm—or ‘mother’—with an algorithm to create a device made out of blocks containing motors—its ‘child’.”