“War Is a Solution to Nothing”

The Huffington Post wrote on February 22:

“As President Barack Obama presented his proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to Congress, he declared, ‘I do not believe America’s interests are served by endless war, or by remaining on a perpetual war footing.’ Yet Obama’s proposal asks Congress to rubber-stamp his endless war against anyone he wants, wherever he wants. Obama has launched 2,300 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since August 8, 2014.

“In his six years as president, he has killed more people than died on 9/11 with drones and other forms of targeted killing in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia — countries with which the United States is not at war. Obama’s proposed AUMF contains some purported limitations, but their vagueness amounts to a blank check to use U.S. military force in perpetuity… [It] contains no geographical limitation. It would authorize the use of military force anywhere in the world…

“But even if Congress were to authorize Obama’s wars in Iraq and Syria, those wars would still violate the UN Charter. The charter requires all states to settle their disputes peacefully, and to refrain from the use of armed force except when acting in self-defense or with the blessing of the Security Council. The Syrian government has not consented to Obama’s bombing in Syria.

“And although the Iraqi government has blessed Obama’s bombing campaign, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ‘is a puppet government that Obama installed and therefore has no authority under international law to consent to U.S. military operations in Iraq,’ according to law professor Francis Boyle… Indeed, ISIS is a direct outgrowth of the U.S. invasion and installation of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim who viciously killed, disappeared and tortured Sunni Muslims after most U.S. troops pulled out…

“We need to stop using military force as a solution to everything — indeed, it is a solution to nothing… We cannot rely on Congress or the president to reverse the course of rampant U.S. militarism…”

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?” 

The Founding Fathers and Islam

Breitbart wrote on February 20:

“‘Here in America,’ Obama stated, ‘Islam has been woven into the fabric of our country since its founding.’… [He] stated in 2006, ‘Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.’… [He] said in April 2009, ‘Although, as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values…’

“That does not mean that there were no Muslims in America at the founding — many African slaves were originally Muslim, and were forcibly converted from that faith. But to say that Islam as a religion has been ‘woven into the fabric of our country since our founding’ is simply false. The first wave of Muslim immigrants to the United States did not begin until well after the Civil War. The first mosque in the United States was not built until 1915, by most reports.

“Islam had zero impact on the founders or their philosophy – less than zero, given that the founders despised the religion, or what they knew of it. President Obama fictionalized this history at an Iftar dinner in 2012: ‘… Thomas Jefferson once held a sunset dinner here with an envoy from Tunisia — perhaps the first Iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago. And some of you, as you arrived tonight, may have seen our special display, courtesy of our friends at the Library of Congress — the Koran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. And that’s a reminder, along with the generations of patriotic Muslims in America, that Islam — like so many faiths — is part of our national story.’

“Well, not so much. That magical ‘first Iftar’ was a meeting between Sidi Solima Mellimelli, an emissary of the brutal Barbary pirates, and the president. Jefferson had over Mellimelli in an attempt to bribe him into submission after the USS Constitution captured ships from the [bay] of Tunis. Mellimelli requested food, lodgings, and concubines. Jefferson already knew of Islam, having been educated in 1786 after Barbary pirates attempted to blackmail America into monetary tribute. At that time, the Barbary emissary justified piracy with reference to the Koran, according to a report from Jefferson: ‘The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the Laws of the Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners.’

“John Quincy Adams, writing of these negotiations, stated: ‘The precept of the Koran is perpetual war against all who deny that Mahomet is the prophet of God. The vanquished may purchase their lives, by the payment of tribute; the victorious may be appeased by a false and delusive promise of peace; and the faithful follower of the prophet may submit to the imperious necessities of defeat: but the command to propagate the Moslem creed by the sword is always obligatory, when it can be made effective. The commands of the prophet may be performed alike, by fraud, or by force.’

“Quincy Adams would later lament, ‘Such is the spirit, which governs the hearts of men, to whom treachery and violence are taught as principles of religion.’… philosophers upon whom the founders relied had similarly negative views of Islam. Montesquieu wrote that the Turks were despotic. William Blackstone wrote that religion could be used for despotism, as shown by ‘terrible ravages committed by the Saracens in the east, to propagate the religion of Mahomet.’…

“The historical record demonstrates that Islam had virtually no role in the foundation of the early Republic outside of being used as a negative comparison point for freedom and self-government. President Obama is obviously rewriting history…”

The idea that Islam had a determining role or positive influence on America’s founding fathers is laughable and plain ridiculous. The question must be asked as to why President Obama keeps bringing up Islam in a positive way, while refusing to attack and strongly condemn radical Islam and to identify the ISIS hordes as “Islamic terrorists” (see the next articles).

“The Wave of Muslim Immigration Is Not Going to Stop”

The website of investors.com reported on February 19:

“France, Belgium and now even liberal Denmark regret letting in so many immigrants from Muslim countries. Their swelling Islamic communities have become breeding grounds for terrorists. So why is the U.S. opening the floodgates to foreign Muslims?… Vice President Joe Biden assured Muslim groups… that the ‘wave’ of Muslim immigration is ‘not going to stop.’…

“Between 2010 and 2013, the Obama administration imported almost 300,000 new immigrants from Muslim nations — more immigrants than the U.S. let in from Central America and Mexico combined over that period… Many of the recent Muslim immigrants are from terrorist hot spots like Iraq, where the Islamic State operates. From 2010-2013, Obama ushered in 41,094 Iraqi nationals from there. Now the State Department says it will quadruple the number of refugees brought here from Syria, where IS is headquartered…

“Top U.S. counterterror officials say terrorists could easily slip into the country from Iraq and Syria, in spite of promised screening procedures for such refugees… House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul called the new policy ‘a federally sanctioned welcome party to potential terrorists.’…

“The British press is reporting that IS has threatened to release a huge wave of migrants from Libya across the Mediterranean disguised as refugees to cause chaos in Europe. Who’s to say they aren’t setting a similar immigration bomb for America? Authorities can’t even get a handle on homegrown IS jihadists who are already in America… The FBI director says he’s got open cases against IS suspects in every state but Alaska. More than 100 American Muslims have hooked up with the vicious terror group in Syria or Iraq, and at least a dozen fighters already have returned to America and may be forming sleeper cells to attack the homeland…

“After an influx of Syrian and other Muslim immigrants, a recent poll found that 40% of Germans say they don’t feel at home in their own country thanks to ‘Islamization.’”

Austria Passes Dangerous “Law on Islam”

Reuters reported on February 25:

“Austria’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday that seeks to regulate how Islam is administered, singling out its large Muslim minority for treatment not applied to any other religious group. The ‘Law on Islam’ bans foreign funding for Islamic organizations and requires any group claiming to represent Austrian Muslims to submit and use a standardized German translation of the Koran.

“The law met with little opposition from the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population, was backed by Austria’s Catholic bishops, and was grudgingly accepted by the main Muslim organization. But it upset Turkey’s state religious establishment. ‘We want an Islam of the Austrian kind, and not one that is dominated by other countries,’ said Sebastian Kurz, the 28-year-old conservative foreign minister – formally the minister for foreign affairs and integration – who is easily Austria’s most popular politician.

“Austria’s half a million Muslims make up about 6 percent of the population and are overwhelmingly the families of Turkish migrant workers. Many of their imams are sent and financed by Turkey’s state religious affairs directorate, the Diyanet. Mehmet Gormez, head of the Diyanet, said before the law was passed that ‘with this draft legislation, religious freedoms in Austria will have fallen back a hundred years’.

“Austria’s biggest Islamic organization, IGGiO, accepted the law, but its youth arm opposed it, as did the Turkish-financed Turkish-Islamic Union in Austria (ATIB), which runs many mosques and has vowed to challenge the bill in the Constitutional Court…”

Deutsche Welle added on February 25:

“Austria’s parliament has banned funding of some Muslim clergy by countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Two years in the works, a law passed Wednesday requires Austria’s 450 Muslim groups to demonstrate a ‘positive approach toward society and the state’ to continue receiving official licensing…

“‘I say that Islam does not belong to Austria, neither culturally nor historically,’ FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache said in parliament on Wednesday. [He and his party voted “No” to the new law.] He had wanted the law to require imams to preach in German and to ban burqas and minarets…’”

These are indeed VERY dangerous developments. With all of this faulty and flawed reasoning, other religious minorities can be easily targeted as well.

“Obama Is on a Rampage”

The New York Post wrote on February 22:

“He can’t bring himself to call Islamic terrorists what they are, but President Obama finally said something with which we can all agree. Speaking of his remaining time in office, he said: ‘Two years is a long time.’… ‘Two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American policy,’ he told wealthy ­donors in San Francisco. ‘So I intend to run through the tape and work really hard, and squeeze every last little bit of change.’

“That makes the next two years extremely dangerous. Not just for Americans, but also for people around the world who count on us for their security and well-being. It is party time for the bad guys. Imagine you are the head of Islamic State or al Qaeda. Or you are Vladimir Putin, the head of China or the ayatollah of Iran. You know Obama has spent six years shrinking America’s footprint and abandoning allies, leaving behind the vacuums you are filling. It’s already a bonanza, and his vow to double down over the next two years means you will never get a better opportunity to make more hay…

“To cite one example, what if Putin isn’t content with the parts of Ukraine he’s taking and wants a piece of the Baltic states? Unlike battered Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania belong to NATO, and its treaty obliges all members to ­respond if one is attacked. Given Obama’s fondness for ‘leading from behind,’ Putin probably assumes America would do nothing if he gobbled up the ­Baltics. If Putin does that and gets away with it, NATO would be kaput. It protected Europe from the Soviet Union and Russia since World War II, but it would die a quick death if peripheral members were carved up with impunity. Not incidentally, such a move would consign millions of people to life ­under Russia’s boot.

“The domestic implications of a rogue Obama rampage are less dramatic, but not less radical. From the economy to regulations on business and the Internet, he could do so much damage that would take years to correct, if correction were possible. Consider immigration. The ruling by a Texas federal judge to temporarily halt the president’s executive order on mass amnesty is leading open-border advocates to vow they won’t be stopped. Threats of violence hang in the air…”

America is in trouble, domestically and internationally. This is all in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. For more information, view our recent StandingWatch program, “Why America’s and Europe’s Betrayal of Ukraine?”.  Note also the next article on Ukraine.

Ukraine at the Brink of Bankruptcy Amidst Ongoing Fighting

The Washington Post wrote on February 23:

“Ukraine’s currency touched record lows Monday as continued violence in the rebel-held east fueled pessimism about the country’s economic future. The currency slump came as the Ukrainian military said it will not pull back its heavy arms from the front lines until attacks by pro-Russian rebels cease altogether… A pullback of heavy weaponry is a key step in a cease-fire deal reached this month, but both sides have said that fighting is continuing, casting doubt on efforts to quell the 10-month-old conflict…

“Ukraine’s currency has dropped 42 percent this month and is down 69 percent in the year since President Viktor Yanukovych fled office after months of pro-European street protests. The Ukrainian central bank on Monday announced new measures to stem the losses, imposing limits on the ability of Ukrainian businesses to purchase foreign currency…

“The plunge calls into question Ukraine’s ability to repay money borrowed from global creditors. The central bank’s reserves of foreign currency are depleted, raising the prospect that the nation could soon go bankrupt… Germany, the primary Western driver of the cease-fire deal, said Monday that it was losing hope about the peace plan’s prospects… The currency plunge came a day after a bombing at a pro-Ukrainian rally in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv that killed two people. A third victim, a 15-year-old boy, died Monday of wounds suffered at the rally, city authorities said. A spate of attacks in Ukrainian-held cities has sparked fears even in areas far away from the harshest fighting in the east.”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 25:

“Secretary of State John… Kerry told lawmakers in Washington during congressional hearings that Russia and pro-Moscow separatists were not respecting the Minsk ceasefire plan… Kerry had said a day earlier that Moscow was telling ‘lies … to my face’ about its activities in eastern Ukraine…”

Now Compulsory Military Service in Lithuania because of Fear of Russia

The Times wrote on February 24:

“Lithuania today announced the return of military conscription to counter the immediate threat to its security posed by mounting Russian aggression in the region. The move is the latest indication of rising tension in the Baltic States which, like Ukraine, border Russia and contain significant Russian minority populations. Michael Fallon, the British Defence Secretary, said last week that President Putin poses a ‘real and present danger’ to the three former Soviet nations, all of them now members of Nato and the European Union.”

The Guardian added on February 24:

“Lithuania, like its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, was occupied for five decades by the Soviet Union before regaining independence in 1991. It abolished conscription in 2008, four years after joining Nato…

“The three Baltic nations have watched with increasing trepidation as Moscow has flexed its muscles, with a recent increase of reported airspace violations in the region where part of Lithuania’s border runs along the Russian Kaliningrad enclave with important military bases.

“Last month, the defense ministry published a booklet advising citizens how to react in case of war, prompted by what the defense minister, Juozas Olekas, called ‘Russia’s aggression against its neighbors, presently in Ukraine.’”

We can expect that other European countries will re-introduce compulsory military service when they feel threatened by a real or imagined enemy. The same could be true for the USA. It is therefore important that young Christian men and women who claim to be conscientious objectors are thoroughly familiar with the biblical teaching on war and military service and that they have a personal sincere conviction, based on Scripture, preventing them to join the military or to fight in war. In our Statement of Beliefs, we point out the following under “Relationship with God”:

“We believe that a Christian’s duty to God is of a superior and higher nature than our duty arising from any human relationship (Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-29). We therefore, following Biblical commands and principles, do not participate in voting for national elections or jury duty, and we do not join the military. On the other hand, we do not object to participation in civil service. If compelled by governments to enlist, we refuse to serve in any capacity that would violate the spirit of the sixth commandment against murder (Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:17-21).”

Obama or Netanyahu— “Now We Know Who to Believe on Iran”

The Times of Israel’s David Horovitz wrote on February 23:

“In an op-ed on February 9, I suggested that Israel’s opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, should stand alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Congress on March 3, to underline ‘their common conviction that the regime in Tehran cannot be appeased and must be faced down.’ On Monday evening, as details of the looming US-led deal with Iran emerged from Geneva, Israel’s most respected Middle East affairs analyst, Channel 2 commentator Ehud Ya’ari, made precisely the same suggestion. So problematic are the reported terms of the deal, Ya’ari indicated, that Israel’s two leading contenders in the March 17 elections, Netanyahu and Herzog, need to put aside their differences and make plain to US legislators that the need to thwart such an accord crosses party lines in Israel and stands as a consensual imperative.

“After anonymous sources in Jerusalem leaked to Israeli reporters in recent weeks the ostensible terms of the deal being hammered out, various spokespeople for the Obama administration contended that the Netanyahu government was misrepresenting the specifics for narrow political ends. They sneered that Israel didn’t actually know what the terms were. And they made the acknowledgement — the astounding acknowledgement for a United States whose key regional ally is directly and relentlessly threatened with destruction by Iran — that the Obama administration is consequently no longer sharing with Jerusalem all sensitive details of the Iran talks.

“And yet among the terms of the deal being reported by the Associated Press from Geneva on Monday are precisely those that were asserted in recent weeks by the Israeli sources, precisely those that were scoffed at by the Administration. Centrally, Iran is to be allowed to keep 6,500 centrifuges spinning, and there will be a sunset clause providing for an end to intrusive inspections in some 10-15 years. If anything, indeed, some of the terms reported by the AP are even more worrying than those that were leaked in Jerusalem: ‘The idea would be to reward Iran for good behavior over the last years of any agreement,’ the AP said, ‘gradually lifting constraints on its uranium enrichment program and slowly easing economic sanctions.’ There is also no indication of restrictions on Iran’s missile development — its potential delivery systems.

“In his TV commentary on Monday night, Ya’ari highlighted that the deal could further embolden Iran as it expands its influence throughout this region, and he noted that the isolation of Iran even by Israel’s key allies was already cracking, with the firmly pro-Israel foreign minister of Australia, Julie Bishop, announcing an imminent visit to Tehran — the first Australian foreign minister to make such a trip in a decade.

“Ya’ari also noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency has made clear that it lacks the tools to effectively monitor the kind of nuclear program that Iran will be allowed to maintain under the emerging deal — incapable, that is, of ensuring that Iran does not fool the West as it has done in the past.

“The devil of such deals is generally in the detail. But the devil, here, is in the principle as well — the principle that the P5+1 is about to legitimize Iran as a nuclear threshold state. From there, it will be capable of rapidly breaking out to the bomb, well aware that the international community lacks the will to stop it.

“The Obama administration would evidently like to believe that 10-15 years from now, the ayatollahs will be gone, Iran will have a different leadership, and the threat of what Netanyahu has repeatedly called ‘the most dangerous regime in the world attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world’ will have passed. But if the deal now taking shape is indeed finalized, the chances of the regime being ousted from within, or effectively confronted from without, will drastically recede. This deal, indeed, will help cement the ayatollahs in power, with dire consequences for Israel, relatively moderate Arab states, and the free world.

“It goes without saying that this weekend’s developments in Geneva have only bolstered Netanyahu’s determination to sound the alarm before Congress next Tuesday. It’s also still clearer today why the Obama administration has been so anxious to query his motives and seek to discredit his concerns. I headlined my February 9 op-ed ‘Who to believe on Iran: Obama or Netanyahu?’ I think we know now.”

Tensions Between White House and Netanyahu Intensify

The Washington Post wrote on February 25:

“Tensions between the White House and Benjamin Netanyahu intensified Wednesday as top administration officials condemned the Israeli prime minister’s plan to address Congress next week, while Netanyahu accused six world powers, including the United States, of ‘giving up on their commitment’ in negotiations to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“The unusually public spat marked one of the lowest points in a relationship that has long bonded the two countries. Although the new round of recriminations reflected the frosty personal relations between President Obama and Netanyahu, it came at a critical juncture in multilateral talks…

“The latest volley of high-level criticism began when national security adviser Susan E. Rice… condemned Netanyahu’s decision to accept the invitation of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to appear at a joint session of Congress shortly before the Israeli elections… Netanyahu fired back. ‘I respect the White House and the president of the United States, but on such a critical topic that could determine whether we exist or not, it is my duty to do everything to prevent this great danger to the state of Israel,’ Netanyahu said…

“No love has been lost between Obama and Netanyahu. ‘This is clearly the most dysfunctional relationship between an American and Israeli leader,’ said Aaron David Miller, a vice president at the Wilson Center and a former U.S. negotiator and adviser to both Republican and Democratic administrations. Moreover, he said, ‘the durability is troubling.’ He said that earlier tensions preceded incremental peace accords but that Obama and Netanyahu remain far apart on basic issues and that Kerry’s efforts to bring Israel and Palestinians together failed…

“Meanwhile, leaked details about Iran nuclear negotiations have made many lawmakers more interested in what Netanyahu has to say…”

Republicans: Gay Marriages Not Worth Fighting Against…

The Huffington Post reported on February 22:

“A divide over gay marriage is emerging in the potential Republican presidential primary field, with candidates falling into one of two camps: those who want to admit defeat on a key social cause and move on, and those who want to keep fighting… A narrow majority of Republican voters polled in early caucus and primary states… said it was unacceptable for candidates to oppose gay marriage… Some GOP analysts worry that a noisy gay marriage debate could pose a threat to the party’s eventual nominee, if it means that Republicans are unable to attract young voters…

“Thirty-six states, including the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, have legalized gay marriage since Massachusetts became the first to do so more than a decade ago. Nearly 72 percent of the US population now lives in a state where gay marriage is legal. The Supreme Court is expected to decide this summer whether gay marriage should be permitted nationwide…

“To be sure, none of the potential Republican candidates have come out in support of same-sex unions. But several, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have softened their rhetoric, seeking to turn the focus to other issues and avoid alienating voters over a lost cause…

“Others planning to run are not ready to yield. They insist their socially conservative principles are more important than political pragmatism or public opinion, and they plan to make gay marriage a central topic in the 2016 debate. ‘It’s like asking someone who’s Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli,’ former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee… recently told CNN…

“Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would leave it up to states to define marriage, and would prevent the federal government from getting involved. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former US senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and former Texas governor Rick Perry have also been among the most vociferous opponents of gay marriage…

“In a new NBC News and Marist College poll, about half of Republican voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina say candidates who oppose gay marriage are ‘mostly’ or ‘totally’ unacceptable…

“Governor Chris Christie, who supports civil unions but not gay marriage, said last year that the issue had been ‘settled’ in New Jersey. Although Democrat Hillary Clinton supports gay marriage, she has also said that it should be left up to the states to decide. For her the issue is complicated by the fact that her husband, President Clinton, signed into law several pieces of legislation that gay-rights groups oppose, including the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred same-sex couples from receiving federal marriage benefits. The Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional in 2013.”

In light of this cowardice and hypocrisy, the question ought to be asked as to why true Christians would even want to vote in governmental presidential elections.

“German Chancellor Merkel Meets with Pope Francis”

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 21:

“Pope Francis has received German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a private audience at the Vatican. The talks focused on the fight against poverty and international crises, including the conflict in eastern Ukraine… Angela Merkel described the talks as ‘enriching’ and wide-ranging, covering the alleviation of poverty, the role of women in developing countries, equality, and Germany’s agenda for the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in the southern German state of Bavaria in June.

“Germany currently chairs the G7 group of major industrialized states, consisting of Germany, the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Italy and Britain. Russia had been a part of what was formerly known as the G8, before it was excluded over Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region…

“Following her audience with the pope – the second since he was appointed – Merkel met Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and German ambassador to the Holy See, Annette Schavan. Schavan, a former German education minister, was considered one of Merkel’s close confidantes before she resigned from her post amid a plagiarism scandal in 2013.”

This relationship between Germany and the Vatican is quite interesting, in the light of biblical prophecy. For further information, please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

A European Army?

News.at wrote on February 25 that German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday in a speech that she hopes for a European army. She added that she does not believe that it will be accomplished soon. The Austrian website also mentioned that SPÖ-EU-deputy Josef Weidenholzer advocated recently the creation of a European army.

Der Spiegel Online had published an interview with Ursula von der Leyen on January 28, stating that “Germany has been heavily criticized in recent years for not doing its share in hotspots around the world. [von der Leyen] says that it is time for Berlin to take more responsibility. She also dreams of a European army.”

Quite to the surprise of many observers, the creation of a European army is in no way that far off.

“Greek Bailout Extension Receives Mixed Reactions Across Europe”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 21:

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government agreed on Friday to receiving a four-month extension of their bailout, but no money to tide Greece over in the meantime…

“Liberal Danish newspaper Politiken wrote on Saturday that Europe had ‘avoided an unpredictable period with a weak economy by means of a temporary solution.’ The paper also criticized the eurozone members and governments for ‘giving Greece cheap loans to enable them to continue, in the belief that no eurozone country could ever face real problems.’ Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, it is not part of the 19-member euro common currency zone and continues to use Danish krones.

“Conservative Austrian paper Die Presse also warned on Saturday that ‘the compromise in Brussels was only half the battle,’ adding that the decision as to whether Greece leaves the eurozone will take off again in just a few months…

“German economist Hans-Werner Sinn, the head of the Munich-based Ifo economic institute, went as far as saying Greece should leave the eurozone…”

BBC News reported on February 24:

“Eurozone finance ministers have approved reform proposals submitted by Greece in order to obtain a four-month extension of its bailout. The Eurogroup said it had agreed to begin national procedures – parliamentary votes in several states to give the deal final approval. The measures offered by Greece include combating tax evasion and reforming the public sector…

“However, International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde expressed reservations about the reform proposals…

“This is, in reality, a short-term fix for an economy in which public debt is unsustainable and growth negligible. And in four months’ time, Greece will be back at the top of the agenda as the eurozone attempts to work out a long-term strategy for its most debt-stricken member.”

The Destruction of Pforzheim—“the Dresden Nobody Knows About”

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 23:

“At the 70th anniversary of the Allied bombing of Dresden [which caused the death of about 25,000 people—not 600,000, as some falsely claim], even the German president showed up. In Pforzheim, a site of comparable destruction, no high-rankers were present – just people out to promote peace… Thousands of people gathered here on the Platz des 23. Februar (February 23 Square) to remember the day their city was obliterated in 1945…

“The 22 minutes [of hellfire] was figurative for inconceivable suffering and destruction. Between 19:50 and 21:12 local time on February 23, 1945, RAF aircraft dropped 1575 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on Pforzheim, setting off a firestorm that is widely seen as one of the most devastating in military history. According to official statistics, 17,600 people died, and tens of thousands of others were injured. The market square and old town area were destroyed and completely depopulated. In the entire city, over 80 percent of the architecture that existed in 1945 was defaced, making Pforzheim, proportionally speaking, the worst instance of destruction at the end of WWII.

“The allied destruction in Dresden and Hamburg has been well documented and remains in the public consciousness today, both in Germany and abroad. But Pforzheim doesn’t…

“The city of 80,000 did not possess any major munitions factories or heavy industry at all, although a tube-rolling plant owned by Metalindustrie Richter was in operation in Pforzheim at the time of the bombing. However, there were a host of technical manufacturing plants and factories that produced, among other things, periscope optics and radio and radar components for German submarines. The city was also a major road and rail communications center within the Baden area.

“Does this justify its almost complete annihilation?…

“A year after the end of WWII, author Alred Döblin, one of Germany’s most important modernists, wrote of Pforzheim: ‘Utterly vanished from the surface of the earth, razed completely to the ground, smashed to bits and pieces. No soul left here. Pforzheim – you have been wiped from the world’s atlas.’”

War is so useless and wrong… and it affects so many totally innocent people. Those who advocate war and “glory” in the fighting “for their country” should realize that their glorying is not good (1 Corinthians 5:6). Rather, war is a curse, leading to destruction (Romans 3:15-16). In doing so, they do not know the way to peace, nor is there any fear of God before their eyes (verses 17-18).

Holocaust Deniers Imprisoned in Germany

The Local reported on February 25:

“Sylvia Stolz, 51, was sentenced [by a Munich, Germany, court] to 20 months’ imprisonment for telling an anti-censorship congress in Switzerland in 2012 that the ‘so-called Holocaust’ under Adolf Hitler’s National-Socialist (Nazi) Party had never been legally defined or proven…. In an almost 100-minute address, video footage of which was used as evidence in her trial, Stolz stated before a crowd of 2,000 people there was no hard evidence of either Nazi plans or orders ‘to partially or wholly destroy Jewry’.

“Therefore it was in itself a breach of the law that people like her who defended others put on trial for Holocaust denial should be prosecuted, she argued. Denial of the Holocaust is illegal in Germany and several other EU countries. Stolz, whose husband is a jailed Holocaust denier, was sentenced on the same charge in 2008 and served three years and three months in a Bavarian jail before she was released in 2011. The following year she accepted an invitation to speak at a conference organized in Switzerland by the ‘Anti-Censorship Coalition’ (AZK).

“Three months after the event, a Swiss lawyer filed a criminal complaint, accusing her of transgressing Swiss race law by stating that the Holocaust was unproven in court and that findings on its location and time, perpetrators, methods and numbers killed were lacking. At Wednesday’s final hearing of the case at the Munich District Court, Judge Martin Rieder rejected the defendant’s claim that she was protected by her rights to freedom of speech. Hardly any other event in world history had been so well researched and documented as the extermination of Jews in Europe by the National Socialists, Rieder told the court…

“As well as a count of ‘incitement of the people’, Stolz’s sentence included time for unauthorized use of an official title. Documentation was produced which carried her name and a lawyer’s stamp, despite the fact that she was barred from practising after her earlier conviction. Stolz was previously jailed for statements she made while defending Ernst Zündel, a German publisher known for his Holocaust denials. Zündel was jailed in 2007 for the offence.

“Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust by the Nazi regime and its allies. Hundreds of thousands of members of other minorities, including Sinti and Roma, disabled and homosexuals also died in Nazi death camps.”

One might indeed question the constitutionality, wisdom and necessity of a law prohibiting the denial of the Holocaust and imprisoning those who do. On the other hand, there can be no doubt that the Holocaust did take place, and that millions upon millions of Jews and others, including ethnic and religious minorities, were brutally murdered by demonic Nazis. If true Christians were to deny those facts, they would be guilty of lying. The Bible tells us that true Christians will be persecuted for their belief and for righteousness sakes, but they are not to be found as evildoers—and lying is a terrible sin which is abhorred by God.

Majority of British Voters want to Leave the EU

Daily Mail wrote on February 22:

“More than half of [British] voters want to leave the European Union, a surprise new opinion poll shows. Some 51 per cent of people want to sever ties with Brussels, while 49 per cent want to remain in the EU… It comes as Norway warned Britain not to copy its own situation outside the EU, which leaves it unable to influence key economic rules it must abide by to trade with the 28-nation bloc.”

UK Plagued by Super Rats as Big as Cats

Mail On Line reported on February 22:

“… pest controllers revealed the shocking epidemic of mutant rats – some as big as cats – across the UK. The rodents, which have been seen across the country over the past year, are twice as large as normal species and cannot be killed with traditional substances… Last week, experts warned of a plague of super rats after it was revealed that pest control budgets have been slashed by a quarter by local authorities…

“The species has developed a genetic mutation which means substances approved by the EU to control rat populations has no effect on them… So-called ‘super rats’ are expected to outnumber humans two to one by next year. Genetic testing… has revealed that some rodents have developed a mutation that allows them to survive conventional poisons. In counties including Berkshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Kent, all the rats tested were found to have immunity to poison… In Southampton, 75 per cent of the rodents were found to have the genetic mutation.”

Historic Snowstorms in Boston

CBS reported on February 25:

“Boston eclipsed 100 inches of snow in a season for just the second time in recorded history Wednesday morning. Overnight snow showers brought the season total to 101.8 inches. That’s less than 6 inches shy of the all-time record of 107.6 inches set in the winter of 1995-96.

“Boston has smashed several snowfall records, including snowiest February and snowiest all-time month, as one snowstorm after another pummeled New England. It’s also been one of the coldest months ever, breaking the record in Boston for most sub-freezing days ever seen in February.

“The never-ending snow and cold has crippled the region’s public transportation system, collapsed roofs and has schools scrambling to make up all the snow days.”

As we pointed out in Update #673, Boston is one of America’s least Bible-minded cities.

Beware of Yoga

The Huffington Post wrote on February 25:

“Pat Robertson has some words of caution for anyone considering taking up yoga. Responding to a viewer’s question posed during Tuesday’s episode of ‘The 700 Club,’ Robertson claimed that the ancient mindfulness practice tricks people into ‘praying to a Hindu deity.’ During yoga lessons, he said, participants unknowingly repeat mantras ‘in Hindu’… ‘You don’t know what the Hindu says, but actually it’s a prayer to a Hindu deity…’ Robertson argued. ‘So you’re saying ‘kali, kali, kali,’ but you’re praying to a Hindu deity.’

“Yoga has a long and ancient connection to Hindu spirituality, but modern practice is often divorced from these religious roots… Swami Narayanda, director of the Sivananda Yoga Vendanta Center, told The Huffington Post in December: ‘The goal is to achieve better physical, mental and spiritual health and to achieve happiness through achieving peace of mind.’”

There is no question that Yoga is extremely dangerous when it involves repeating mantras, which are indeed the names of Hindu deities. The same is true for other Indian meditation methods, including Transcendental Meditation (TM). But even if the saying of Hindu words is not involved, the declared goal of achieving “spiritual health” through Yoga sounds very problematic.

70 Years after the Bombing of Dresden

The Associated Press reported on February 14:

“The Allied decision to firebomb Dresden… has long been a source of controversy. At the time, the Allies hoped the attack on a city deep in the German heartland would hit hard at civilian morale and help force the Nazis to capitulate. Some historians, however, said the destruction was a tragic waste of human life and cultural patrimony — with little to no effect on the outcome of the war.

“Speaking at a memorial event in the rebuilt center of the city Friday, German President Joachim Gauck assured dignitaries from Britain and other former Allied nations: ‘You should know that we bear no lasting grudge.’

“The raids that began on February 13, 1945, left the city littered with corpses, and tens of thousands of Dresden’s buildings had been turned to rubble, including its famous opera house and museums in the historic old city. The baroque Church of Our Lady appeared initially to have survived, but, weakened by the intense heat, it collapsed two days after the bombing under its own weight…

“It was not just the bombs dropped by the waves of British and US bombers that wreaked devastation. The fire made superheated air rise rapidly, creating a vacuum at ground level that produced winds strong enough to uproot trees and suck people into the flames. Many Dresden residents died of collapsed lungs… [About] 25,000 people were killed in the attack.”

Deutsche Welle added on February 14:

“Seventy years ago, [on February 13, 1945,] Allied bombers attacked Dresden… As the bombs rained down on the city, its churches and palaces were turned to rubble. Up to 25,000 people – many of them refugees fleeing the advancing Soviet Red Army – died in the inferno that raged in the city for days…

“The bombings were intended to break the German population’s morale – a decision that to many was incomprehensible, given that the war had long been decided and Dresden’s economic and strategic importance was relatively minimal…”

The Local wrote on February 14:

“German President Joachim Gauck warned Friday against a cult of victimhood over the World War II destruction of the city of Dresden 70 years ago. ‘We know who started the murderous war,’ the head of state said in a remembrance church service. ‘And that’s why we will never forget the victims of German aggression, even as we remember the German victims today… A country that perpetrated the monstrosity of genocide could not expect to emerge with impunity and undamaged from the war that it had started.’”

Archbishop of Canterbury “Apologizes” for Dresden… and Is Strongly Criticized

The Daily Mail reported on February 13:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury last night issued an extraordinary apology for the British bombing of Dresden during the Second World War. In what was immediately criticised as an insult to the young men who gave their lives to defeat the Nazis,… Justin Welby told the German people of his ‘profound feeling of regret and deep sorrow’ over the attack. His comments at a ceremony in Dresden to mark the 70th anniversary of the bombings came amid a growing row about BBC coverage of the commemoration in which Britain was described as ‘worse than the Nazis’ over the raids that killed thousands at the end of the war.

“Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth criticised the Archbishop, saying: ‘I do not hear Angela Merkel apologising for the Blitz.’…

“Archbishop Welby said the bombing of Dresden, which killed an estimated 25,000, ‘diminished all our humanity’. But he made no reference to the 55,573 British aircrew killed in the struggle to overthrow Hitler, nor to the German bombing of London and Coventry.

“Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘These remarks do sound to me like an apology. For the Archbishop to make an apology for our defeat of Hitler is bizarre. I would have thought the last thing we should be doing is apologising. We should be praised for defeating Hitler. These words are an insult to the young men who gave their lives in the defeat of Germany.’

“The Archbishop – whose great uncle Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal was one of the main architects of Britain’s campaign of bombing German cities – told the congregation he thought it was ‘miraculous’ that they were welcoming him given the ‘brutal and devastating’ nature of the attack. ‘Over three days in February allied bombers brought death and destruction on a scale and with a ferocity it is impossible to imagine,’ he said.  ‘Much debate surrounds this most controversial raid of the allied bombing campaign. Whatever the arguments, events here 70 years ago left a deep wound and diminished all our humanity. So as a follower of Jesus I stand here among you with a profound feeling of regret and deep sorrow.’

“The references to profound regret and deep sorrow sparked furore among veterans and Conservative politicians already angered by BBC news reports on the anniversary dominated by graphic accounts of the deaths of German victims. An interview with a British prisoner of war – who called the bombing of Dresden a ‘war crime’ – was repeated several times.

“Sir Gerald, a Tory MP, said: ‘Our wartime military commanders, Winston Churchill, and the men of Bomber Command should not be held to blame for the deaths of civilians such as those in Dresden. That was the fault of the German people who failed to remove Hitler and his evil regime. It is very unfortunate that the Archbishop felt unable to pay tribute to the heroism of the young men of Bomber Command, half of whom gave their lives so that the German people could ultimately be liberated from Hitler’s tyranny.’

“Of the BBC coverage, military top brass, RAF veterans, politicians and historians said it ignored the atrocities committed by Hitler and the military justifications for the attack…”

Can Merkel Save Europe?

On February 14, Der Spiegel Online published a lengthy article on Angela Merkel’s role in Europe and the future of Ukraine. We are bringing you the following insightful and revealing excerpts:

“With intense focus during dozens of hours of telephone conversations and negotiations across the globe, the German chancellor helped wrest a cease-fire from the belligerents. It is a fragile deal full of question marks, one which can only succeed if all parties dedicate themselves to adhering to it. Whether that will be the case is doubtful. The Minsk deal is brief respite. Nothing more. But it is a success nonetheless…

“Above all were questions of international diplomacy: … What is the correct path: American weapons deliveries or European diplomacy? And, perhaps most crucial of all, the focus was on European emancipation: Is Europe able to solve its own conflicts without help from the United States?

“The exertions of Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier make it clear that Germany has recognized its responsibility in Europe and in the world. One year ago, German President Joachim Gauck demanded that German foreign policy become more assertive in addressing international conflicts. It is a plea that Merkel and Steinmeier have answered in recent weeks.

“The Ukraine crisis has changed German politics and it has changed Merkel as well. The German leader… is making moves she would have avoided in the past… The Ukraine crisis has changed Merkel’s view of reality…

“Should both sides adhere to the cease-fire, time will be won. That isn’t much, but it is a far cry from nothing… The Minsk deal also bought valuable time for US President Barack Obama. He recently stood up to the hawks in Washington and rejected the idea of delivering weapons to Ukraine. But during Merkel’s visit to the American capital on Monday, he told her that were the Minsk talks to fail, he would no longer be able to contain the weapons delivery discussion. It came across almost as an ultimatum.

“Internally, Vice President Joe Biden had previously thrown his support behind supplying Ukraine with weapons, as had Secretary of State John Kerry… The American NATO General Philip Breedlove believes that missile defense systems are absolutely essential to defend against Russian artillery and also believes Ukraine should be provided with drones.

“But the Ukrainians are currently unable to operate such high-tech equipment. They would have to receive extensive training from American advisers. That, though, would essentially make the US a party to the conflict, as Obama well knows. Which is why he was hesitant following his talks with Merkel, saying only that which American presidents always say in such moments: ‘What I’ve asked my team to do is to look at all options.’…

“American weapons deliveries, on the other hand, don’t impress Putin one bit. On the contrary: Were US weapons and military trainers to turn up in Ukraine, the Russian people, 85 percent of whom already support Putin, would unanimously stand behind their president, one Kremlin insider, who does not belong to the hawkish camp, says. ‘Plus, we would be happy to see American weapons quickly fall into the hands of the separatists as captured loot.’…

“The Ukrainian army was unprepared for the war in the east. Whereas Russia completely modernized its military recently, Ukraine scrapped or sold off much of the equipment it had inherited when the Soviet Union collapsed and radically reduced the size of its military, dismissing two-thirds of its soldiers. The weapons now being used by Ukrainian troops fighting in the east are far inferior to those possessed by the separatists.

“At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army had some 130,000 troops according to the most optimistic estimates, with half of them fulfilling their compulsory military service. Now, many young men are doing their best to avoid conscription altogether by heading overseas… the Ukrainian army is slowly disintegrating, demoralized by the separatist advances and short on personnel…

“Russia has likely already achieved its minimum goal, that of preventing Ukraine from joining NATO or the European Union…

“[Merkel] is now drawing parallels between Ukraine and the construction of the Berlin Wall… East Germany is serving as an illustration that there are situations where nothing can or should be done. Even the Americans weren’t prepared to use military means to protect the people of East Germany in 1961, Merkel said in Munich. ‘I don’t blame them,’ she added. It was simply realistic…

“Some see Merkel as being weak. US Senators in particular have voiced criticism of her approach, even uttering the unflattering word ‘appeasement,’ a reference to the Munich Agreement of 1938, which handed part of Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler’s Nazis…

“She is afraid of a proxy war over Ukraine between the nuclear powers of US and Russia… Obama wasn’t of a mind to reject her approach… [He] told Merkel that he is happy about every problem that doesn’t land on his desk. Indeed, he is a president who gives Merkel room, and a chance, to make her own foreign policy, a European foreign policy… she resisted American calls for arming the Ukrainian army… It was also a Merkel who did exactly what Germans expect from her: Fight for peace, search for compromise with the Russians and resist the Americans. All of that conforms nicely to the present mood in Germany. Along the way, she also patched up relations with France, restoring the German-French axis by including Hollande. That is good for Europe…

“But the price of the chancellor’s realpolitik is a high one, and Ukraine is paying it. Merkel already told the Ukrainian president weeks ago that the West wasn’t prepared to go to war for the country. Now, though, it has become clear that the West is willing to accept Ukraine’s partition. Ukraine hasn’t just lost the Crimean Peninsula, it has now also lost territories in the east.

“Officially, Merkel has continued repeating two mantras: The first is that there is no military solution. The second is that Ukraine’s territorial integrity will not be sacrificed. They are both lovely sentences, but they are unfortunately not reconcilable. If the West doesn’t intend to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity with military means, then that integrity exists only on paper… The West will accept that Moscow will define at least part of Ukraine as being within its sphere of influence.

“It is always good when the weapons go quiet, but Merkel has achieved little beyond that. Separatist leaders along with a determined Putin, who knows that the West is not prepared to spill the blood of its soldiers to defend Ukraine’s integrity, have shown her the limits of her influence…”

Angela Merkel Meets Pope Francis

Zenit reported on February 13:

“Steffen Seibert, the Berlin government spokesman, announced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be meeting Pope Francis on February 21^st… [The Pope] and Chancellor Merkel are expected to discuss several issues including interreligious dialogue, globalization, international crisis and the role of Europe in the world. Chancellor Merkel last visited Pope Francis in May 2013, two months after [his] election to the papacy.

“Chancellor Merkel  is scheduled to meet with French President Francois Hollande prior to her meeting with the [Pope] to discuss her country’s presidency of the G7 as well as developments in Ukraine.”

Fighting Ongoing in Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 14:

“Pro-Russian rebels are pushing on with an offensive in eastern Ukraine despite an imminent planned ceasefire, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday. It reported 120 separate attacks by the rebels in the past 24 hours, and said fierce fighting was continuing around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, which has formed a focus of the separatists’ offensive in recent weeks.

“Separately, officials in the port city of Mariupol said a number of artillery attacks hit areas nearby in the morning. Ukrainian authorities fear that separatists may want to capture the city in a bid to establish a corridor between mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed 11 months ago.

“The violence comes as a truce is due to come into effect at midnight on Sunday… Fears are growing that the truce will have no chance to take hold as separatists try to gain as much territory as possible before it goes into effect. A previous ceasefire called in September failed to bring any significant let-up in violence. Reports… of heavy weaponry entering eastern Ukraine from Russia over the past few days have also fueled doubts as to whether the creation of a heavy weapons-free zone as envisaged by the latest agreement will go ahead.”

Deutsche Welle added on February 16:

“Fighting continues to rage around the eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve – in spite of a European-brokered peace deal. Western leaders have appealed for both sides to respect the ceasefire… Both pro-Russia separatists and the Ukrainian government continue to insist that they are committed to the truce negotiated last week. Chancellor Merkel, the driving force behind the deal reached early Thursday after all-night negotiations in the Belarusian capital Minsk, described the situation on Monday as ‘fragile.’ She appealed for the ceasefire to be respected.”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 18:

“Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine attacked the city of Debaltseve forcing Ukrainian troops to pull out of the city. The move has led some to call the ceasefire in Ukraine into question… US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry had urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call earlier on Wednesday to stop Russian and separatist attacks on Ukrainian forces in Debaltseve…

“‘We want to shape this European peace order together with Russia, not against Russia,’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her first comments since pro-Russian separatists captured the railway hub of Debaltseve… Merkel added, however, that she couldn’t ignore Moscow’s violations of international law. ‘We cannot wave our principles – and the annexation of Crimea for example is a violation of international law,’ the chancellor said…

“Ukraine’s general armed forces has reported at least 22 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and more than 150 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in Debaltseve over the past three days… ‘The ceasefire has not been respected,’ said [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg, who added that the refusal of the separatists to respect the ceasefire is a threat to the Minsk agreement.”

When they will say, Peace, peace!, then there will be no peace!

US Senators Accuse Germany of Weakness

The Local wrote on February 18:

“The German government said on Wednesday that pro-Russian rebels’ advance into the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve was a serious breach of ceasefire terms agreed last week in Minsk…

“The news came as American senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of giving in to Russian President Vladimir Putin too easily. They said that it was ‘inexcusable to stick to a failed ceasefire agreement’ that Russia and its ‘proxies’ continued to ignore. ‘In the absence of greater Western support for Ukrainian forces, a Russian-imposed military solution is exactly what will continue to unfold,’ the senators said.

“There had been continued fighting between pro-government troops and surrounding rebel forces over the vital railway junction in recent days, despite the ceasefire having officially come into effect at midnight on Sunday… In a phone call with US Vice-President Joe Biden, Poroshenko also renewed his appeal for American weapons to arm his men for the fight against the rebels.”

Putin’s Victory in Ukraine Against a Weak West

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post wrote the following on February 18:

“VLADIMIR PUTIN’S latest victory in Ukraine is turning into a rout. Having already induced Western leaders to endorse a peace plan that virtually guarantees continued Russian control over parts of two provinces, the Russian ruler ordered a large Ukrainian force holding Debaltseve, a key crossroads in the region, to surrender. His forces, including regular Russian army troops, then assaulted the city in brazen violation of a cease-fire. On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian forces withdrew from Debaltseve under fire, suffering a devastating defeat that will further destabilize the shaky Kiev government of Petro Poroshenko.

“Mr. Putin was so pleased that he indulged in some taunting of the Ukrainians. ‘Of course, it’s always bad to lose,’ he said at a news conference Tuesday. ‘It’s always a hardship when you lose to yesterday’s miners or yesterday’s tractor drivers.’ That was another lie, of course — the forces who seized Debaltseve were not former Ukrainian workers but Russian regulars; one Western reporter encountered soldiers who had been dispatched from Siberia.

“What about Western leaders, who just last week solemnly declared they would hold Russia accountable if the new deal were violated? All agreed there had been, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman put it, ‘a massive violation’ of the cease-fire agreement. But there was little visible movement toward imposing meaningful consequences. Instead, officials in Brussels echoed a White House statement that said ‘the costs to Russia will rise’ if it ‘continues to violate’ the agreement. That suggested only that additional aggression by Mr. Putin would get a response, maybe.

“Given the West’s weakness, more aggression seems likely… The takeover of Debaltseve will go a long way to consolidate the breakaway puppet state he is building in eastern Ukraine…

“Meanwhile, Mr. Poroshenko will be rocked politically by the latest costly blow to a Ukrainian army that lacks the weapons to stop Russian tanks. He will find it even harder to explain to Ukrainians why they must accept the harsh economic austerity measures his government recently agreed to in exchange for desperately needed international financing. Yet he still has scant hope of obtaining significant new aid or arms supplies from the United States; the White House seized on the supposed peace accord as one more reason to postpone meaningful action.

“Mr. Obama has frequently boasted of leading a collective U.S.-European response. But he stood back last week as Ms. Merkel and French President François Hollande negotiated the giveaway of eastern Ukraine to Mr. Putin. When the European Union announced a small round of new sanctions against Russian officials Monday, before Debaltseve fell, the Obama administration did not join in. Rather than lead, the president appears to have ceded the Ukraine crisis to Germany, with predictably poor results.

“European leaders will not stop Russian aggression without a determined U.S. president. Ukrainians must be wondering how much more of their country must fall to Russian troops for Mr. Obama to set aside his ‘strategic patience.’”

Ukraine will fall into Russian hands, and neither America nor Europe will prevent it…nor do they seem to even have the will power trying to do so.

US-Iran Deal in the Making?

Reuters reported on February 14:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has responded to overtures from U.S. President Barack Obama amid nuclear talks by sending him a secret letter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday… Obama’s letter suggested the possibility of U.S.-Iranian cooperation in fighting Islamic State if a nuclear deal was secured, the paper said, quoting the diplomat… Khamenei said this week he could accept a compromise in the nuclear talks and gave his strongest defense yet of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s decision to negotiate with the West, a policy opposed by powerful hardliners at home…

“The nuclear talks with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are aimed at clinching an accord that would ease Western concerns that Tehran could pursue a covert nuclear weapons program, in return for the lifting of sanctions that have ravaged the Iranian economy. Negotiators have set a June 30 final deadline for an accord, and Western officials have said they aim to agree on the substance of such a deal by March.

“Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address the U.S. Congress on Iran on March 3 – to the annoyance of the Obama administration – has vowed ‘to foil this bad and dangerous agreement.’”

“European Jews – Move to Israel!”

JTA wrote on February 15:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Jews in Europe to move to Israel in the wake of an attack on a synagogue in Copenhagen. ‘Extremist Islamic terrorism has struck Europe again, this time in Denmark. We send our condolences to the Danish people and to the Jewish community in Denmark,’ Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

“‘Jews have been murdered again on European soil only because they were Jews and this wave of terrorist attacks – including murderous anti-Semitic attacks – is expected to continue. Of course, Jews deserve protection in every country but we say to Jews, to our brothers and sisters: Israel is your home. We are preparing and calling for the absorption of mass immigration from Europe. I would like to tell all European Jews and all Jews wherever they are: Israel is the home of every Jew.’

“Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Liberman, in a statement released Sunday said that the terror attacks in Copenhagen ‘demonstrate what we have said for years: Israel and the Jewish people have been victims of this terror primarily because they are at the forefront of the terror war being waged against the west and the entire free world.’…

“The suspected gunman was killed Sunday in a shootout with police…”

AFP added on February 15:

“[Netanyahu] had made a similar call after three days of bloodshed in Paris that started with the January 7 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo where 12 people were gunned down, followed the next day by the shooting death of a policewoman just outside the city. On January 9, the gunman who killed the policewoman took hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris and four Jews were killed during a police commando raid.”

European Leaders Upset, but Are They in Denial?

Daily Mail wrote on February 16:

“Zvika Klein, a reporter for Jewish news outlet NRG, silently walked in the city [of Paris] for ten hours wearing a kippah – also known as a yarmulke – on his head and a tzitzit (ritual tassels) and filmed the public’s reaction using a hidden camera. The shocking clip shows antisemitism is rife in the French capital as he is seen being harassed and intimidated.

“As he wanders around neighbourhoods wearing the garments associated with the Jewish faith, he is spat at, threatened and even called a ‘dog’. It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the mass emigration of Jews from Europe to escape the rising tide of antisemitic terror attacks.

“His comments sparked fury from Jewish groups and were promptly refuted by the leaders of France, Germany and Denmark. But Mr Klein’s video shows, in Paris, Jews ‘are barred from entering certain areas’. ‘Jews prefer to stay inside in the evening,’ he says. ‘It is safer at home.’”

USA Defends Greece; Warns Europe and Germany; Bailout Talks Collapse

The Telegraph wrote on February 14:

“The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Greece, warning Germany and Europe’s creditor powers that they must meet Athens half-way to avert a potentially dangerous rupture and a euro break-up… each [side] is in a different cognitive universe on the core dispute over austerity and debt relief…

“The chief critique by US officials and the International Monetary Fund is that Germany is pursuing a balanced budget at a time when the eurozone is still struggling to recover from a six-year slump that is proving more intractable than the equivalent years in the Great Depression… the White House’s confidence in the macro-economic judgement of the [European] policy elites is near exhaustion.”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 16:

“Talks aimed at extending Greece’s bailout package – and preventing a Greek exit from the eurozone – came to a halt less than four hours after negotiations got underway on Monday in Brussels. ‘Everyone’s disappointed,’ a dispirited Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling said after the inconclusive Eurogroup meeting…

“A new opinion poll showed that nearly 70 percent of Greeks want a ‘fair’ compromise with international lenders, while 30 percent said that Athens should stand tough even if it means reverting to the drachma currency. The poll, however, also found that 81 percent want to stay in the eurozone. This comes as investment bank JP Morgan reported that deposit outflows in Greece have picked up, with some 2 billion euros fleeing Greek banks every week.”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 18:

“Athens is to submit a formal request for a loan extension on Thursday, according to Greek officials. The application is also expected to ask for tough austerity conditions to be removed. Greece’s current 240-billion-euro ($273-billion) bailout program will expire on February 28. The country says an extension is the only way to avoid a possible default, and eurozone exit… The nation has received two major bailouts since 2010…

“Germany, who has been a vocal critic of increasing aid to Greece, said it was not open to making changes. ‘Simply saying, “we need more money again and we’re not going to do anything anymore,” and then insulting people, that absolutely won’t work,’ Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on German television on Tuesday…

“Any changes to the current bailout program would have to first be approved by various European parliaments, including Germany…

“Without an extension Greece’s cash reserves are expected to begin running dry on February 24. At a meeting in Brussels on Monday, EU finance ministers set conditions for its continued financial support of Athens, including Greece leaving reforms in place. Greece has signaled its desire to overturn many of these measures, including raising the minimum wage.

“But Germany’s Schäuble said doing this would ruin any chance of Greece getting its requested delay granted. ‘It can’t and won’t be the case that you go for an extension without the agreed reforms,’ he said on Tuesday.”

ISIS at Doorsteps of Europe

The Independent reported on February 16:

“The beheading of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya has brought Isis to the doorstep of Europe. The mass murder… realised long-held fears of militants reaching the Mediterranean coast. Isis started in Iraq and now controls swathes of adjoining Syria, including along the Turkish border, as part of its so-called Islamic State. Its ideology has spread much further, with pledges of allegiance from terrorist groups in Egypt, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen and now Libya.

“Days before Isis released its gory video depicting the Egyptians’ beheadings, Libya’s former Prime Minister warned that the group would soon reach the Mediterranean and even Europe if order was not restored in the country. Ali Zeidan said Libya’s fractured government and easy access to weapons seized during the fall of Colonel Gaddafi made it more susceptible to the activities of jihadists… ‘(Isis) are growing. They are everywhere,’ he added… ‘It will be a big war in the country [of Libya] and it will be here in Europe as well.’”

According to Breitbart, dated February 16, a masked ISIS leader said the following on a video before his demonically-possessed fanatical Islamist fellow terrorists brutally murdered the Egyptian captives:

“Oh people, recently you have seen us on the hills of Al-Sham and Dabiq’s plain, chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross for a long time, and today, we are on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message…  The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood… And we will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission, the promise of our Prophet…”

These brain-washed Isalmist terrorists—followers of radical Islam–are clearly under the total control of Satan the devil.

Egypt Responds

The Associated Press reported on February 16:

“Egypt bombed Islamic State militants in neighboring Libya on Monday and called on the United States and Europe to join an international military intervention in the chaotic North African state after extremists beheaded a group of Egyptian Christians. The airstrikes bring Egypt overtly into Libya’s turmoil, a reflection of Cairo’s increasing alarm. Egypt now faces threats on two fronts — a growing stronghold of radicals on its western border and a militant insurgency of Islamic State allies on its eastern flank in the Sinai Peninsula — as well as its own internal challenges.

“Islamic State group weapons caches and training camps were targeted ‘to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers,’ a military statement said. ‘Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield to protect and safeguard the security of the country and a sword that cuts off terrorism.’ The announcement on state radio represents Egypt’s first public acknowledgement of military action in post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya, where there has been almost no government control.

“Libya is where the Islamic State group has built up its strongest presence outside Syria and Iraq…”

As Jordan did before when a Jordanian hostage was brutally burned alive by cowardly masked Isalmist terrorists, so Egypt took up the fight as well—while America and Europe watch from the outset and participate, if at all, with providing dangerous Kurdish rebels with weapons (while refusing to provide the Ukrainian army with weapons), and conducting unsuccessful air strikes which are extremely expensive and accomplish next to nothing.

Further Horrendous Atrocities by Murderous ISIS

Newsmax reported on February 17:

“Reports Tuesday that the Islamic State burned to death 45 people in Iraq just days after posting a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians proves that ‘we’re witnessing atrocities that were reserved for the Dark Ages,’ Los Angeles author Johnnie Moore told Newsmax. ‘Just as soon as you think it can’t get worse, it gets worse,’ said Moore…  ‘My concern is that it’s going to get worse and worse and worse,’ he said.

“Pete Hoekstra, the former Michigan congressman who once chaired the House Intelligence Committee, said the deaths clearly reflect an emboldened Islamic State. ‘What the radical jihadists are learning is that for much of the West, the response is temporary, and it is restrained,’ he told Newsmax. ‘It’s one thing to go after these folks with limited airstrikes — but if you really want to stop these folks, everyone agrees that you’ve got to get boots on the ground, you’ve got to find these folks, and you’ve got to either capture them or kill them. It’s not a complex formula, but that doesn’t happen,’ Hoekstra said.”

On the other hand, note this article by Newsmax, dated February 17:

“Iraq, Syria and Yemen could become part of a ‘new Iranian empire’ if the U.S.-led coalition is successful in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS), former New York City Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani [said]…  ‘If you allow Iran to help you defeat ISIS, which we seem to be doing … one [enemy] gone, and (allow) a new Iranian empire, which is what the Iranians are trying to do and have been trying to do from the beginning — nobody’s looking at that, and they should,’ Giuliani said Tuesday.”

Mega-Droughts for the USA?

The Independent wrote on February 13:

“Since the turn of this century, the US south-west has spent more than a decade in drought. Last year was the warmest on record in California, which is in the middle of its driest spell for more than 400 years. But according to a new scientific study, that’s nothing compared to what comes next.

“In the paper, published by the journal Science Advances, researchers from Nasa and Columbia and Cornell universities warn that a vast swathe of the US, including the south-west states and the central plains, should prepare for ‘unprecedented drought conditions’ unlike anything in the past 1,000 years… The long-term dry conditions could devastate the region’s agricultural capability, decimating both crops and cattle herds, and sending some food prices sky-rocketing. It would directly affect more than 60 million people from San Diego to San Antonio and from Oakland to Omaha, who depend on increasingly scant water resources and on infrastructure designed during an abnormally moist 20th century…

“The scientists said the effects of a mega-drought, which would be especially pronounced in desert cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix, should be considered a slow-motion natural disaster, of a piece with earthquakes or hurricanes. Data discovered in tree rings shows that between the ninth and the 14th centuries, the region also endured lengthy periods of intense drought…

“A mega-drought would lead to major water shortages, which would cause vegetation to dry up, bringing about regular, massive wildfires in Arizona and California. But while the drought in California and its neighbouring states has grabbed recent headlines, the study suggests a far larger area would be hit, encompassing all, or parts, of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana…

“According to the study, there is a greater than 80 per cent chance of a mega-drought of 35 years or longer occurring in the US this century, unless swift and aggressive action is taken to alleviate the speed and impact of climate change, which would lower the risk. The authors said their research differed from other recent reports in its level of certainty about future droughts because they had taken into account the rise in carbon emissions.”

One has to be careful with the conclusions of this study, as they rely heavily on the assumption that “made-made” global warming or climate change will continue to raise the temperatures. Nevertheless, the Bible predicts that within a few years, vast areas in the USA will be plagued by unparalleled hunger and famine, due to droughts.

Congressional Chaos Over Obama’s War Authorization

Bloomberg wrote on February 12:

“Congress is flummoxed about how to deal with President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization for war against the Islamic State… All week, Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have been meeting behind closed doors to strategize on the White House’s proposal, which places vague limits on the use of ground troops, allows the president to expand the war to any country, and sunsets in three years. Many Republicans want to give Obama (and his successor) more flexibility; many Democrats want to tighten restrictions.

“Both parties acknowledge the need for some bipartisan support for their ideas. But neither leadership has figured out how to craft a coalition that can muster 60 votes in the Senate and 218 in the House…

“For months, the Obama administration and Congress have had an unspoken agreement; both sides publicly called for a new war authorization while neither side actually pushed the issue out of a mutual comfort with the status quo. Now that the White House has made its move, Congress is forced to respond, but infighting among lawmakers could result in a failure to exert the oversight power they claim to wield.

“For the White House, it’s actually a win-win. If Congress manages to pass something, it will be seen as a bipartisan endorsement of the president’s war, despite widespread discontent with how he is actually prosecuting it. If Congress balks, the president retains even more flexibility to fight the war than he is asking for, and Congress will have ensured its own irrelevance in the debate.”

Hypocrisy in the Medical Field over Measles Vaccinations

Medical Kidnap wrote on February 16:

“The New York Times has published an opinion piece from a pro-vaccine doctor who earns millions of dollars in royalties from the sale of childhood vaccines. The title of the article is: ‘What Would Jesus Do About Measles?’ According to this medical doctor [Dr. Paul Offit who is practicing in Philadelphia], Jesus would force everyone to vaccinate their children for the sake of the ‘greater good.’ This pharmaceutical industry insider is calling on all states in the U.S. to remove the religious exemptions for vaccines that currently exist in 48 states.

“Could the day come in the United States of America where parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will have their children removed from their home by force and injected with vaccines they do not approve of against their desire? Yes. Not only could it happen, it already has happened.

“In 1991, Philadelphia had a measles outbreak that reportedly infected 1400 people. Nine children reportedly died during this time, and seven of them reportedly were from two ‘fundamentalist Christian churches’ where most members did not vaccinate their children. So during the media frenzy surrounding the measles and the MMR combo vaccine that includes measles, much like we are seeing today over the Disney outbreak in California, public health officials stepped in and convinced a court to allow them to take the children from their parents and force them to be vaccinated… [even though] a religious exemption to vaccination had been on the books in Pennsylvania for about a decade…

“As is the case today, not everyone who came down with the measles in 1991 was unvaccinated. Some of the cases occurred among those fully vaccinated as well. The vaccine is not a 100% guarantee that it will prevent the measles, and there are documented cases showing that the measles vaccine itself can ‘shed’ and cause measles among those fully vaccinated…

“This is not the first time Dr. Offit has used a highly publicized health outbreak to try to further his agenda of removing all vaccine exemptions. Dr. Paul Offit holds a patent on a vaccine he developed with Merck [the company under attack for allegedly falsifying test results and purportedly committing other illegal acts, as we reported in Update #674], and has earned millions of dollars in royalties. When Sharyl Attkisson still worked for CBS, she ran a story with then anchor Katie Couric about his massive conflict of interest: Dr. Offit has gone on record stating that he believes a baby can handle as many as 10,000 vaccines during infancy.

“In addition to his repeated calls to end all vaccine exemptions, he has gone on record to state that all information on the risks and dangers of vaccines should be censored from the media, and that journalists who question vaccines should go to ‘journalism jail.’ Is this man really qualified to answer the question ‘What would Jesus do about measles?’”

If all of this is correct, then Dr. Offit would be a disgrace for the medical profession—and so would be that infamous judge for the legal profession who issued a totally unconstitutional order in 1991 in Philadelphia. For a thorough look on this misunderstood topic, please view our recent StandingWatch program, “‘Measles Outbreak’—Blaming the Unvaccinated.” 

This video program is also available in German, as an AufPostenStehen broadcast, titled, “Sind Impfgegner Schuld am Masernausbruch?” 

Another Outrageous Decision by a “Family” Judge

ABC Eyewitness News reported on February 17:

“A woman who was brutally beaten by her ex-fiance has been ordered to write letters to the man. Natalie Allman, 29, was left with her throat slashed and bruises on her face. But in her town in England, a judge ruled that she must stay in contact with her ex and send him letters and pictures of their children. If she doesn’t, she could go to jail for contempt of court.

“Allman was ordered to send her ex three letters a year, updating him on their twin sons, even though the brutal attack happened in front of the children. She’s also been ordered to save the letters he’s writing to the boys.”

First Openly Bisexual Governor in American History

The Washington Post wrote on February 13:

“Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown (D) will become the first openly bisexual governor in U.S. history when Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) resigns Wednesday. An open LGBT governor has never been elected, although New Jersey did have an openly gay governor briefly in 2004, after Gov. Jim McGreevey (D) came out as gay and admitted an affair with a man he had appointed to a key job. He resigned three months later.

“Brown is married to husband Dan Little; she has publicly discussed her bisexuality in past campaigns. She is already arguably the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in America; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) became the first bisexual member of Congress in 2013. There are about 525 openly LGBT public officials in office at all levels of government, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Most of them are Democrats… and only about 20 are Republicans.

“This will also be the second time in Brown’s career she has taken office because of a resignation. Her start in politics came in 1991 when she was appointed to the state House following the resignation of Rep. Judy Bauman (D), who left office because she was appointed to an executive position. Brown served in the House until 1997, when she won a seat in the Oregon state Senate. In 2008, she was the first woman to serve as Oregon Senate majority leader, and later that year she was elected secretary of state…

“But Brown isn’t without her own controversy. Even as Kitzhaber’s personal troubles were mounting late last month, she was facing questions about having written to the FCC endorsing Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable after having received campaign contributions from Comcast — a letter that was reportedly written in large part by a Comcast lobbyist. Comcast has given Brown $9,500 since 2009, according the National Institute of Money in State Politics.”

The Associated Press added on February 13:

“Kate Brown, who is widely considered to be to the left of the departing Democratic governor… will not assume office until Wednesday, when Kitzhaber’s resignation takes effect. He is stepping down amid suspicions that his fiancée used their relationship to land contracts for her green-energy consulting business.”

It seems, there is a lot of corruption going on in the state of Oregon.

Reincarnation and Its Appalling Teachings

Breitbart wrote on February 13:

“Veteran actress Shirley MacLaine drew the ire of Jewish groups Thursday after passages from her recently published book suggest that the six million Jews and others who died in the Holocaust were ‘balancing their karma’ by paying for sins in a previous life. MacLaine, 80, also compared Stephen Hawking to Jesus, writing that just as Jesus chose martyrdom, Hawking ‘chose to live’ with a debilitating disease…

“Of Holocaust victims, MacLaine writes: ‘What if most Holocaust victims were balancing their karma from ages before, when they were Roman soldiers putting Christians to death, the Crusaders who murdered millions in the name of Christianity, soldiers with Hannibal, or those who stormed across the Near East with Alexander? The energy of killing is endless and will be experienced by the killer and the killee.’

“Later, MacLaine claims that her ‘friend’ Stephen Hawking [an atheist who teaches that the universe created itself] chose to give himself amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) so that he could devote all of his energy to scientific pursuit.

“Jewish groups and disability charities were quick to condemn the comments made by MacLaine [who] is notorious for her opinions on reincarnation; according to the Telegraph, MacLaine has claimed to be a Japanese geisha in a previous life, and that she seduced Charlemagne in yet another. She also reportedly believes her dog Terry is a reincarnation of Anubis, the Egyptian god of the afterlife.”

One may shake his head over such nonsense, but what kind of “religion” is such an unbiblical belief in reincarnation, which allows for these kinds of horrific and appalling conclusions?