Leading Historian Compares USA with Nazi Germany

Vox wrote on October 5:

“Usually, comparisons between Donald Trump’s America and Nazi Germany come from cranks and internet trolls. But a new essay in the New York Review of Books pointing out ‘troubling similarities’ between the 1930s and today is different: It’s written by Christopher Browning, one of America’s most eminent and well-respected historians of the Holocaust. In it, he warns that democracy here is under serious threat, in the way that German democracy was prior to Hitler’s rise — and really could topple altogether.

“Browning, a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, specializes in the origins and operation of Nazi genocide. His 1992 book ‘Ordinary Men’, a close examination of how an otherwise unremarkable German police battalion evolved into an instrument of mass slaughter, is widely seen as one of the defining works on how typical Germans became complicit in Nazi atrocities…

“Browning’s essay covers many topics, ranging from Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy — a phrase most closely associated with a group of prewar American Nazi sympathizers — to the role of Fox News as a kind of privatized state propaganda office. But the most interesting part of his argument is the comparison between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Paul von Hindenburg, the German leader who ultimately handed power over to Hitler…”

These parallels are truly remarkable.

The Coming Economic Crash

Lobelog reprinted on September 20 the following article from Focus:

“The stock market reached its all-time high at the end of August. In its second quarter this year, U.S. economic growth was 4.1 percent. Unemployment remains below 4 percent, and inflation remains moderate. Even wages are going up…

“… it’s never if there will be a bust but when. On the tenth anniversary of the financial collapse of 2008, it’s worth looking at the potential pinpricks that will… send America crashing back to earth.

“… The deficit for this year will rise to $890 billion… The shortfall in government expenditures will rise above $1 trillion next year… Total household debt reached a new high in August: $13.3 trillion. That includes a record amount of student debt ($1.5 trillion), an ever-growing amount of mortgage debt ($9 trillion, which is perilously close to the $10.5 trillion it reached during the mortgage crisis in 2008), and an overall credit card debt that just surpassed $1 trillion for the first time.

“… This summer, corporate debt hit a new high of $6.3 trillion. Worse, the cash-to-debt ratio, which was 14 percent in 2008, has dropped to 12 percent: that’s $1 in cash for every $8 of debt… all this debt is like the termites eating away at the foundation of your house…

“Currently, the U.S. government owes $21 trillion, which is slightly more than the household and corporate debt combined. The owners of U.S. debt include federal agencies like Social Security…, the Federal Reserve…, mutual funds, and banks. Foreign countries also hold about a third of the debt… The big player… is China, and right now the Trump administration is escalating its trade war with China. Trump just announced tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports after targeting $50 billion of goods in the first round. If China retaliates with more tariffs of its own, the Trump administration is threatening a third round  sanctioning all Chinese imports… China could retaliate in other ways, such as devaluing its currency. A potentially more devastating action would be to follow Russia’s example and sell its stake in Treasury bonds… At a certain point, foreign creditors will no longer support unsustainable U.S. spending…

“For much of the post-World War II era, international transactions have been conducted in dollars… But that situation is changing… As of July, it was used in 39 percent of transactions. The euro was in second place at 35 percent. Further down the list came the pound, the yen, and the yuan. The fall of the dollar anticipates an eclipse of U.S. global economic hegemony.

“It’s hard to predict when all of these indicators will converge. Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio expects a major economic downturn in the United States in two years, after the impact of the tax cuts disappears and the government finds itself short on money… This will be no ordinary downturn. Irrational exuberance has pushed up stocks above their value, sent household and corporate debt into the stratosphere, and burdened the government with debt it will have greater difficulty covering. Interest rates remain low, so there’s no real option to lower rates to stimulate the economy… if the United States goes down, it will drag much of the global economy with it. After all, U.S. debt is only part of a larger problem. As Walden Bello explains:…  There is a consensus among economists along the political spectrum that this debt build-up cannot go on indefinitely without inviting catastrophe.”

Project Syndicate wrote on September 13:

“… by 2020, the conditions will be ripe for a financial crisis, followed by a global recession… Unlike in 2008, when governments had the policy tools needed to prevent a free fall, the policymakers who must confront the next downturn will have their hands tied while overall debt levels are higher than during the previous crisis. When it comes, the next crisis and recession could be even more severe and prolonged than the last.”

Sooner Than Expected?

Express wrote on October 11:

“Global markets have been plunged into chaos today with stocks plummeting in Europe and Asia following Wall Street’s worst day since February. Shares sank into a sea of red as world markets slumped to their lowest level in eight months…

“… in Europe, the market has…  felt the ripple effects of the ongoing fallout between Italy and European Union chiefs over Rome’s deficit budget proposal… Markets also sunk this morning in Asia, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 losing 3.9 per cent, its biggest daily drop since March. China witnessed its lowest stock market level in almost four years…

“The turbulent start for investors comes after the US stock market tumbled…

“The crumbling of global markets comes following concerns from investors surrounding global economic growth and rising interest rates. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates which makes it more expensive for companies to borrow and harms share prices… President Trump described the Fed as having ‘gone crazy’…”

Explosive Situation in the Middle East

Reuters wrote on October 10:

“U.S. President Donald Trump increased pressure on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to provide information on what happened to missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi [a US resident working for the Washington Post] and said he wanted to get [to] the bottom of what he called ‘a very serious situation.’… Pressure appeared to be building worldwide on close U.S. ally Saudi Arabia on the whereabouts of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi policies, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get documents for his planned marriage… Turkish sources said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the building and removed, allegations that Riyadh dismisses as baseless…”

Bloomberg added on October 11:

“Allegations that Saudi agents flew into Turkey and murdered one of the kingdom’s leading critics would have sent shock waves through bilateral relations at any point. But with the two countries already on opposite sides of some of the Middle East’s defining rifts, the accusations… are potentially even more explosive. Each chilling leak about the possible fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the resultant international condemnation, makes a behind-the-scenes compromise that much harder…

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he can’t remain silent over Khashoggi’s fate, adding to growing differences between the countries. Those disagreements run deep and extend far: from Turkey’s support for a leading Islamist group that Saudi Arabia has designated as terrorists, to relations with Shiite power Iran and the Saudi-led boycott of Qatar…”

These developments are of high significance for the USA, as both Turkey and Saudi Arabia belong to America’s close allies.

Hurricane Michael’s Devastation

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 11:

“Hurricane Michael has caused widespread damage across the Florida Panhandle. The Category 4 monster was among the most powerful hurricanes in half a century to strike the mainland United States.

“The storm blew ashore early Wednesday afternoon near Florida’s Mexico Beach as a Category 4 hurricane. It was just short of being categorized as level 5. With winds surging to 155 mph (250 kph), Michael wreaked havoc on the Florida Panhandle, leaving a devastating trail of destruction along the Gulf coast…

“… Michael was… the most powerful hurricane to hit the Florida Panhandle…

“Some 375,000 people had been urged to leave their homes for stronger shelters in Florida, but many residents were trapped after they were caught surprised by the storm doubling in strength as it approached land. By Wednesday night, more than 400,000 people in Florida, Georgia and Alabama were without power… [The figure rose to over 900,000 homes and businesses without power by Thursday.]

“The governors of North and South Carolina urged residents to prepare for heavy rain and winds, which come less than a month after Hurricane Florence battered the mid-Atlantic coast… In the past year, several massive stormsbattered the US coasts, including Irma, Maria and Harvey. Houston’s metropolitan area suffered a record-equaling $125 billion (€108 billion) in damage…”

Many blame climate change for the increased hurricane activities. Whatever the truth, it is clear to us that Satan, the prince of the power of the air, is the real instigator of these devastating developments, but God allows them in His attempt to wake America up.

What if Trump Refuses to Leave?

 Politico wrote on September 20:

“What if, after having moved into the White House and gotten comfortable, Donald Trump refuses to check out when his term ends?… Who’s to say that Trump’s legal advisers might construct some pretext — a national security crisis or charges of election fraud — that would place him above the constitution and cement his place in the Oval Office?

“The fear that a president might not go at his appointed time has a precedent. President Franklin D. Roosevelt… contemplated taking dictatorial powers at the beginning of his first administration, but then reconsidered… Nixon intimates began to believe that he was contemplating some sort of a coup d’état to maintain power.

“… half of all Republicans surveyed favored postponing the 2020 election until new standards made it certain that only eligible American citizens could vote… This isn’t the first time the idea of postponing the federal election has surfaced. In 2004… Congress… passed a resolution, 419-2, declaring that nobody could shelve an election. So if Trump couldn’t postpone an election, could he just ignore it? The nation would erupt, of course…

“The president’s cheerleading for anti-democratic authoritarians like Vladimir Putin, Rodrigo Duterte, Xi Jinping and Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and the mutual admiration pact he’s signed with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un does not bode well for an orderly transition of power in 2020 or 2024 or whenever…”

As we have proclaimed from the outset (when Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy) that Trump would become America’s 45^th President, we have also stated time and again that we believe strongly that Trump will be America’s last President.

Brett Kavanaugh Sworn in as USA Supreme Court Justice

The Guardian wrote on October 8:

“Donald Trump, speaking at a triumphalist White House ceremony, has made the baseless claim that the new supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh was ‘proven innocent’ of allegations of sexual assault. In what he acknowledged was a break from tradition, the US president told a packed East Room on Monday: ‘On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation, not a campaign of political and personal destruction based on lies and deception.’

“… The president added: ‘…I must state that you, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent…’

“The judge was found neither guilty nor innocent of allegations brought by research psychologist Dr Christine Blasey Ford that, when he was 17 and she 15 in the 1980s… Kavanaugh’s furious, politically charged denials before the Senate judiciary committee raised questions over his judicial temperament and independence…

“Laurence Trib‏e, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, tweeted: ‘I pity the Justices who had no realistic option but to attend and serve as props for the partisan display. Only Thomas, clapping with gusto, looked like he was really pleased to be there. The others looked like polite hostages. A grim and tasteless spectacle.’…”

Nevertheless, the appointment of Kavanaugh as Supreme Court Justice constitutes a big victory for Donald Trump, which might also have some relevance for the upcoming midterm elections.

Cannabis Reform Coming?

Fox Business News reported on October 11:

“The White House is planning on tackling cannabis reform after the midterm elections, according to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.. Rohrabacher tells FOX Business that the Trump administration has made a ‘solid commitment’ to fix marijuana regulation… ‘I have been reassured that the president intends on keeping his campaign promise.’

“Rohrabacher says the president has spoken in support of legalizing medical marijuana on the federal level – and leaving the question of recreational marijuana use up to the states… ‘It could be as early as spring of 2019, but definitely in the next legislative session.’”

It is high time that the ridiculous condemnatory federal designation of medical marijuana is changed. Patients who truly NEED medical marijuana should be allowed to use it. At the same time, we strongly reject recreational marijuana in any manner, shape or form.

Merkel Warns Trump

AFP wrote on September 30:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday warned US President Donald Trump against ‘destroying’ the United Nations. ‘I believe that destroying something without having developed something new is extremely dangerous,’ Merkel said… The veteran leader… added that she believed multilateralism was the solution to many of the world’s problems.

“Trump failed to see the possibility for win-win solutions, she said, instead seeing only one winner from any international negotiation. In his second appearance before the UN’s annual gathering last week, Trump told the General Assembly that he and his administration ‘reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism’. ‘Global governance’ is a form of ‘coercion and domination’ that ‘responsible nations must defend against’, he charged.

“Merkel’s opposing view to the US leader puts her in the same camp as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who warned before Trump took the podium in New York Tuesday that ‘today, world order is increasingly chaotic’”.

Europe Defies Trump over Iran

Handesblatt Global wrote on October 4:

“Defying Trump, EU plans to support trade with Iran. The EU is rushing to set up a payments system to bypass US sanctions against Iran. The move is likely to deepen the rift between the US and Europe. The European Union, China and Russia, battling to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran after the United States withdrew from it in May, plan to create a system of export loans to stop US sanctions crippling trade with Iran… The planned Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to process trade payments with Iran is to be furnished with a banking license as soon as possible in addition to the bartering system already being discussed, government sources said.

“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas met with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Washington on Wednesday but both statesmen failed to find common ground on Iran… Crucially, Washington has warned countries they face penalties if they disregard those sanctions…

“Washington has taken note of the new US strategy outlined by Mr. Maas in August when he became the first post-war German foreign minister to suggest that America should be treated as a strategic rival in central political questions, and that Mr. Trump’s unilateralism must be countered. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo… said last week he was ‘disturbed and indeed deeply disappointed’ at the planned special payment system. ‘This is one of the most counterproductive measures imaginable for regional global peace and security,’ he told a conference. “By sustaining revenues to the regime, you are solidifying Iran’s ranking as (the) No. 1 state sponsor of terror.’’

The differences between the USA and Europe over Iran became also highlighted during Merkel’s recent visit in Israel, when Netanyahu took America’s side against Europe. It is also remarkable that Trump’s worldwide unpopularity is not shared by most Israelis who agree with Trump on many issues, including his stance on Iran.

Are Merkel’s Days on a “Sinking Ship” Numbered?

The Local wrote on September 26:

“The news that a key ally of Angela Merkel lost his post as the CDU’s parliamentary chief dropped like a political bomb in Berlin… It was a shock that no one saw coming. On Tuesday Volker Kauder, who has headed the parliamentary group of Angela Merkel’s CDU and Bavarian allies CSU for 13 years, lost in a re-election battle to challenger Ralph Brinkhaus, a relative unknown… The surprising result came a day after Merkel was forced to admit mistakes in her handling of a row surrounding Germany’s outgoing domestic spy chief. Political observers and opponents called the vote a slap in the face for the chancellor, who had campaigned hard for Kauder’s re-election…

“An opinion piece published by Die Zeit on Tuesday said: ‘The Chancellor’s power is dwindling at an alarming rate. If Merkel’s chancellorship were a ship, the water would now be up to the engine room.’… Sueddeutsche Zeitung called the defeat a ‘humiliation’ for Merkel… Earlier on Tuesday, Spiegel Online had said that a win by Brinkhaus would mean that ‘Merkel should really clean out her office in the chancellery immediately – his election would be nothing short of a vote of distrust against the leader of the government.’

“… Voter anxiety over the policy swelled support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party…”

The ongoing infighting within the ruling grand coalition (GroKo) between the CDU, Bavaria’s CSU and the SPD has taken its toll. The government is perceived as not acting, but only as reacting to the problems of their own making. The right-wing anti-immigration and pro-military AfD party is of course profiting from such incompetent rule. According to polls, the AfD has now become the second-strongest party in Germany, following the CDU but in front of the SPD [see article below]. However, the government is not interested in new elections, rightly fearing that the AfD would even receive more votes than in the previous election.

Concerns regarding the AfD are well–founded. A leader of the AfD has made outrageous and ridiculous statements, including the preposterous allegation that Hitler was “forced” to invade Poland. He also called Count Stauffenberg a coward. As recently prominently pictured in the movie, “Valkyrie” with Tom Cruise, Stauffenberg tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Hitler in 1944.

However, time for Merkel is running out, and upcoming state elections might very well decide her fate. The youth group within the CDU recently demanded more recognition and support for the German military (perhaps to counter the AfD), and Merkel reacted again, by endorsing the request, rather than leading in the first place. The patriotic and pro-military stance of many Germans is also noteworthy, as post-war Germany used to be known for its pacifistic stance in the past. But times have most certainly changed.

The AfD and National Socialism

Project Syndicate wrote on October 9:

“By adopting a program based on ‘identity and solidarity,’ Germany’s far-right AfD is harking back to classic National Socialism. It is likely to be a winning formula in this month’s state elections in Bavaria and Hesse… If opinion polls counted as elections, large parts of Germany would already be governed by the far right. In several eastern German states, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has established itself as the strongest political force. Almost everywhere else in the country, the party currently ranks second – on par or just ahead of the struggling Social Democrats (SPD) and behind only Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

“In coming weeks, matters could get even worse. In regional elections in Bavaria on October 14 and in Hesse two weeks later, the AfD is poised to enter the two last remaining regional parliaments without far-right representation… The AfD has always been a political chameleon, cleverly exploiting mismanaged issues… much will depend on how Germany’s center responds… But this will be difficult to do for the CDU and the SPD. Locked in an unpopular grand coalition,… an ideological realignment would make finding common ground in the government increasingly challenging and could well result in an early federal election. And such an outcome would only further strengthen the AfD.”

AFP added on October 9:

“German historians on Wednesday accused far-right leader Alexander Gauland of paraphrasing Adolf Hitler in a newspaper column taking aim at a ‘globalised class’ that he claimed threatens all that is good in his ‘homeland’. The co-leader of the far-right AfD rejected allegations of parallels with a 1933 speech by Hitler, but the latest episode is yet another controversy raising questions over his anti-migrant party’s views on the Nazi-era…

“Historian Wolfgang Benz, a prominent researcher on the Nazi era, noted… that Gauland’s commentary was strikingly similar to a speech made by Hitler in 1933. ‘It’s a paraphrase that looks like the AfD chief had the Fuehrer’s speech from 1933 on his desk when he was writing his column for the FAZ,’ wrote Benz in Tagesspiegel daily…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 9:

“Germany’s far-right AfD wants to set up online portals across the country where schoolchildren can denounce teachers who speak against the party… Teachers groups and politicians from other parties have spoken out against the idea. ‘They are organizing open denunciation — these are all building blocks toward totalitarianism,’ said Winfried Kretschmann, state premier of Baden-Württemberg, on Tuesday…

“For many Germans, the concept of informing on other people is reminiscent of dark chapters in the country’s history, such as the Nazi era or the communist German Democratic Republic, when denunciation was actively encouraged. Thuringia’s education minister, Helmut Holter, said the AfD move was reminiscent of ‘the darkest chapter in German history.’ Christian Piwarz, the culture minister from Saxony, echoed Holter’s view, saying the AfD was displaying a ‘disgusting’ snooping culture that was known to Germany from the Nazi dictatorship or the East German Stasi.”

Catholic Church Disappearing in The Netherlands

Dutch News reported on September 17:

“More than half of the Netherlands Catholic bishops and cardinals were aware of cases of sexual abuse between 1945 and 2010, the NRC reported at the weekend, on the basis of its own research. The paper accuses the Church of covering up the abuse, allowing the perpetrators to make more victims after making an inventory of the known and less-well known abuse cases which have come to light since 2010…  The church told the paper in a statement that the story by and large is accurate…

“Meanwhile, the AD reports that the Catholic church is disappearing from the Netherlands at high speed… Although the Netherlands officially has 3.5 million Catholics, few are regular churchgoers and the average number of attendees at mass has fallen to 173,500 in total…”

Massive Child Abuse in German Catholic Church

Evangelical Focus reported on September 13:

“As many as 1,670 priests in Germany have been accused of sexually abusing children in the last seven decades. An internal report commissioned by the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference reveals that 25% of the cases would have happened in church buildings. Around 38,000 documents have been analysed by criminologists, gerontologists and psychologists of three universities (Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim), which describe cases between 1946 and 2014. The number of priests accused of sexual abuse represents 4.4% of the Catholic leadership in the time investigated. Most of the 3,677 victims were male and 13 years old or younger. Every sixth case involved a rape, and three in four victims knew the perpetrator through the church…

“According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the first in publishing the report, 4% of the priests accused of abuse in the research are still working for the Church… The Bishops Conference lamented that the report was leaked to the media…

“According to German website Deutsche Welle, ‘accused priests were often quietly transferred to other parishes, without providing the affected communities with information about the abuser. The church pursued only one-third of abusers, who submitted themselves to church law. However, they received either minimal sanctions or their charges were dismissed altogether’…”

These despicable actions appear to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Blame it on the Devil

Reuters reported on October 8:

“The devil is alive and well and working overtime to undermine the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis says. In fact, the pope is so convinced that Satan is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis and deep divisions racking the Church that he has asked Catholics around the world to recite a special prayer every day in October to try to beat him back… The Church has recently been hit by one sexual abuse scandal after another, from Germany, to the United States, to Chile. At the same time, a deepening polarization between conservatives and liberals in the Church has played out on social media.

“Francis’ use of the term ‘the great accuser’ to describe Satan hit a raw nerve with one of the pope’s harshest conservative critics, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican’s former ambassador to Washington. In an 11-page statement published on Aug. 26, Viganò launched an unprecedented broadside by a Church insider against the pope and a long list of Vatican and U.S. Church officials. He accused Francis of knowing about sexual misconduct by a former U.S. cardinal with male adult seminarians but not doing anything about it…

“Francis…  has enlisted the aid of… Michael the Archangel… Catholics are being asked to recite the rosary daily in October and conclude it with a prayer to St. Michael that was said after Mass until 1964 but then fell into disuse.”

Letters by former Pope Benedict have surfaced, suggesting that he resigned because of the economic and homosexual powers within the Vatican and also because of devious sexual conduct by high-ranking Catholic priests which had come to his attention. To pray to an angel is of course prohibited in the Bible.

Pope Condemns Abortion as “Contract-Killing”

AFP wrote on October 10:

“Pope Francis on Wednesday compared having an abortion to hiring a ‘contract killer’. ‘Interrupting a pregnancy is like eliminating someone,’ Francis said in an address to worshippers in the Vatican. ‘Getting rid of a human being is like resorting to a contract killer to solve a problem,’ he added…

“In his address, the Argentine pontiff complained of a ‘depreciation of human life’. He cited wars, exploitation and what he called a culture of wastefulness, as well as abortion. ‘How can an act that suppresses innocent life be therapeutic, civil or even human?’ he asked.

“Francis this year opposed a bill that would have legalized abortion in Argentina. In August a lay campaign group said thousands of Argentine Catholics had renounced their membership of the church to protest against his opposition to the bill.”

Deutsche Welle reported on October 11:

“German family minister Franziska Giffey slammed Pope Francis on Thursday for his recent comments on abortion… Minister Giffey said the pope’s comments were unacceptable, saying no women take lightly the decision to abort…

“Germany’s professional association of gynecologists was also outraged, saying abortions are performed out of necessity. ‘They do not carry out abortions because they are unscrupulous, but because they feel obliged to help, especially for reasons of conscience,’ association president Christian Albring said.”

Abortion is wrong. The Bible DOES call it MURDER. Abortions are NOT performed out of necessity. This is a ridiculously stupid comment.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

European Leaders Alarmed!

The Los Angeles Times reported on September 12:

“Warning against the danger of intensifying nationalism across Europe, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in separate appearances Wednesday that the rise of populism and the far-right represents an existential threat to the European Union’s future.

“In their respective speeches at the German Reichstag in Berlin and the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, the two powerful leaders raised alarm over burgeoning right wing movements in several member countries amid the arrival of large numbers of refugees and migrants. They also lamented waning cohesion in the EU, which grew out of efforts to unite European nations in the decades following the devastation of World War II…

“Merkel, in her address in Berlin, condemned right-wing mob attacks that erupted two weeks ago against foreigners in the eastern city of Chemnitz. Protests turned violent after two refugees were arrested in connection with the fatal knife attack on a German man, a crime that reignited a national debate on Merkel’s decision to let in more than 1.5 million foreigners since 2015…

“A far-right party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been gaining strength from month to month with strident opposition to Merkel’s pro-refugee policies, which President Trump has also criticized.

“‘The fundamental dispute is also taking place across Europe,’ said Merkel, currently Europe’s longest serving leader, noting that European parliamentary elections next year would be a battleground over the issue of migration…

“In Strasbourg, Juncker took aim at far-right nationalism and growing intolerance that has caused tensions in EU countries, none of which has taken in as many refugees as Germany. In his state-of-the-union address, the former Luxembourg prime minister, who will retire next year, recalled how Europe was caught off guard a little more than a century ago with tensions that led to the outbreak of World War I.

“‘I am not suggesting that we are on the verge of a similar catastrophe in Europe,’ said Juncker. ‘The EU is a guarantor of peace. Let’s be happy that we live on a continent that enjoys peace thanks to the EU. Let us show more respect to the EU. Let’s not sully its image. Let us defend our life, our way of being. Let’s embrace the kind of patriotism that is not directed against others’ and look for ‘solutions that allow us to coexist better.’”

Leaders like Merkel and Juncker who call for restraint are NOT winning the battle. Already, unrest in the EU nations is surfacing more and more. The Bible reveals that new leadership will soon emerge, and that it will not be at all conservative!

2019 EU Elections—What Direction?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 11:

“European nations must stand together to fight extremism and avoid sliding back into the past, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg on Tuesday as he looked to the upcoming EU elections in 2019.

“The politician from the left-wing Syriza party, who had been invited to the EU parliament to speak about the future of Europe, described next year’s vote as ‘more than just one more election.’

“‘It will be a fight of basic principles and values to defeat extreme neo-liberalism and far-right populism,’ the Greek leader said. He called on the bloc’s pro-European and democratic forces to unite and ‘stand side by side on the same side of history.’

“The European Union currently faces a broad range of challenges, including migration management, the UK’s departure from the bloc, and the rise of right-wing populism, which have led to internal disagreement among its 28-member states and could significantly impact its future direction.”

This call for resistance against far-right extremism will not stop the groundswell of activities growing throughout Europe! Note the following articles:

Chemnitz Worse than Assumed

Deutsche Welle reported on September 8:

“German authorities are investigating reports that neo-Nazis attacked a Jewish restaurant in Chemnitz last month as far-right protests erupted in the city, according to Die Welt am Sonntag. The newspaper reported that a group of around a dozen masked individuals stormed the kosher eatery ‘Schalom’ on August 27, shouting ‘Get out of Germany you Jewish pig.’ The assailants allegedly threw stones and bottles at the restaurant, damaging the building’s facade and shattering a window. The owner, Uwe Dziuballa, was also reportedly injured after being hit on the shoulder with a rock…

“The German commissioner for anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, called on police and prosecutors to bring the perpetrators to justice and show that ‘anti-Semitic offenses will be swiftly punished. If the reports are true, then we are dealing with a new level of anti-Semitic crime… It calls to mind the worst memories of the 1930s,’ he added, referring to the rise of the Nazis and their murderous campaign to wipe out millions of Jews across Europe…

“There have been almost-nightly rallies in the eastern city. Sometimes the marches have turned violent, with reports of attacks on police, journalists and people perceived to be migrants. There have also been confrontations in the streets between right-wing protesters and counterdemonstrators… The unrest has triggered a nationwide debate about right-wing extremism and xenophobia in parts of German society. It has also exposed an apparent rift between Chancellor Angela Merkel and security officials.

“Merkel said the images from Chemnitz ‘very clearly’ showed hate and ‘the persecution of innocent people.’ Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany’s VfS domestic intelligence service based in Cologne, sparked controversy on Friday when he voiced skepticism over reports that right-wing extremists had ‘hunted’ down foreigners, suggesting that an internet video depicting such behavior could have been faked. He was contradicted Saturday by Dresden senior public prosecutor Wolfgang Klein, who told the online outlet of the newspaper Die Zeit: ‘We have no indication that the video could be a fake.’”

More Attempts to Downplay Chemnitz Violence

Deutsche Welle reported on September 7:

“The president of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, has expressed doubts about reports that right-wing extremists were chasing down non-Germans during demonstrations in Chemnitz… Referencing one of the videos posted online showing far-right protesters chasing after people who looked non-German, Maassen said: ‘There is no evidence to suggest that the video of this alleged incident circulating online is authentic.’…

“Maassen has recently come under fire for unexplained meetings with members of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. A book by a former AfD member has even alleged that during one such meeting, with former AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry, Maassen gave tips for avoiding monitoring by the BfV…

“It was unclear exactly which video Maassen was referring to… as several videos depicting similar assaults surfaced during the protests — and he did not provide further evidence backing up his claim that at least one video was faked…

“Contrary to Maassen’s findings, journalists and social media verification experts have said there is no evidence to suggest that the videos were faked, reported German public broadcaster ARD. Journalist Lars Wienand and others were able to confirm the time, date and location of one the most-shared videos of far-right protesters.

“On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin that Maassen hadn’t spoken with the government about possible misinformation concerning the Chemnitz protests. The Interior Ministry also said that it hadn’t received any reports from the BfV concerning the protests…

“Reactions to Maassen’s comments were split on Friday, with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the Left harshly criticizing the intelligence chief’s remarks. ‘I don’t expect any trustworthy assessments from Mr. Maassen any more,’ said Katrin Göring-Eckardt, the parliamentary party leader for the Greens. ‘The fact that he only commented on a video, but not on the acts of violence and the public displays of anti-constitutional symbols in Chemnitz, shows me that Mr. Maassen is not up to the job.’

“Members of Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) as well as the German Federation of Journalists (DJV) called for Maassen to provide evidence for his claims. ‘The term “deliberate misinformation” is a very serious accusation that places the media under suspicion of manipulation,’ DJV head Kajo Döhring said in a statement, adding that whoever makes such claims must be able to back them up.

“Maassen did receive support from other conservative lawmakers, particularly from the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister-party to Merkel’s CDU. ‘It’s his job to inform the public about where his facts stand on this,’ CSU parliamentary party leader Alexander Dobrindt said, defending Maassen’s decision to speak to the press before informing the German government.”

The EUObserver wrote on September 6:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel contradicted Thursday her interior minister Horst Seehofer [of the Bavarian Christian Social Union], who said on Wednesday that migration was ‘the mother of all problems.’ ‘I say it differently,’ she replied in an interview on RTL television. ‘Migration presents us with challenges and here we have problems, here we also have successes,’ she said.”

Sweden –Far Right Makes Gains

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 10:

“Sweden faces weeks of a stalemate after its traditional center-left and center-right blocs tied, with neither holding a majority. The far-right made gains on a hard-line anti-immigration platform…

“The parliamentary election was one of Sweden’s most important because the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats — who rose from the white supremacist and neo-Nazi fringe — were expected to gain significant strength and change the landscape of Swedish politics.

“… An initial allocation of parliamentary seats gave the center left 144 seats, compared with 143 for the center-right Alliance bloc. The far-right Sweden Democrats gained 13 seats to hold third place, with 62. 175 seats are required to form a majority in the 349-seat Riksdag…

“Meanwhile far-right leaders in Austria, Italy and France hailed the Sweden Democrats’ results. “Sweden, birthplace of multiculturalism and model for the left, has finally decided to change after years of wild, uncontrolled immigration,” Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said on Twitter.

“…Analysts said that it will be difficult to form a stable government without some kind of support from the Sweden Democrats unless the blocs break away from their traditional alliances. Parliament opens on September 25. If the prime minister is ousted after a mandatory vote on whether to replace him, the speaker is permitted to give a maximum of four PM candidates the opportunity to form a government. If they all fail, fresh elections will be called.”

Italy Bans Sunday Shopping

DailyMail.com wrote on September 12:

“The new Italian government will introduce a ban on Sunday shopping in large commercial centres before the end of the year.

“The right-leaning government will move to tighten trading rules in an effort to defend family traditions, deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday…

“’This liberalisation is in fact destroying Italian families,’ said Di Maio, who is head of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

“’We need to start limiting opening and closing times again,’ he said.

“Earlier this year, Poland restricted Sunday shopping as the conservative government in Warsaw pushed ahead with what it said was a return to Roman Catholic values.

“The Italian and Polish initiatives run against a slow liberalisation of Sunday shopping hours throughout Europe, where retailers face pressure from a boom in online shopping.

“Small shopkeepers in Italy have long sought to overturn Monti’s reform, saying their businesses face unfair competition from the big malls.”

Russia and China—A Show of Force

The Guardian reported on September 11:

“Russia has launched what it has called its largest ever military drills, with hundreds of thousands of troops joining Chinese soldiers in a show of force condemned by Nato as a rehearsal for large-scale conflict.

“Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is expected to attend the exercises after hosting an economic forum in Vladivostok where his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is a guest.

“The week-long exercise, known as Vostok-2018 (East-2018) ‘have kicked off’ in far-eastern Russia, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

“Taking part in the drills are around 300,000 Russian soldiers, 36,000 military vehicles, 80 ships and 1,000 aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as 3,500 Chinese troops.”

Further Problems for Brits with Brexit

Handelsblatt Global wrote on September 7:

“Brexit will affect thousands of Germany-based firms that adopted British forms of incorporation. Shareholders risk being made personally liable for the companies unless they convert to German corporate forms… The German government wants to help the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 companies that are incorporated under British law but are based in Germany. ‘Many small companies and people who set up their own business, have in the past, opted for the British Limited (a form of incorporation) which is simple to set up,’ Justice Minister Katarina Barley told Handelsblatt. Such companies are active in Germany but can use European laws to suit their business needs. ‘Brexit poses a serious challenge for them. We want to help them.’ Brexit could deprive firms organized as a ‘private company limited by shares’ or a ‘public limited company’ of their legal status. That could have serious consequences for shareholders, according to a justice ministry spokesman. It could mean that shareholders become personally liable with their private assets, also for the company’s old debt.

“Ms. Barley, who has a British father, wants the new law to enable firms to convert to German forms of incorporation. One option is for companies to become a limited partnership (Kommanditgesellschaft), in which a German limited liability company, which is known here as a GmbH; or an entrepreneurial company with limited liability (Unternehmergesellschaft) could take a stake as a personally-liable shareholder. That would spare companies having to come up with the €25,000 ($29,060) needed as minimum capital to set up a GmbH in the six months left before Brexit, the justice ministry said.

“The transformation will remain optional but the ministry made clear it won’t provide guarantees for firms that fall victim to the corporate legal implications of Brexit. To do so would place other firms at a disadvantage, it said. That means people who don’t bother changing the legal status of their firms risk automatically finding themselves saddled with major new liabilities. Companies that take up the offer will be able to do so before Britain leaves the EU or before the end of any transition period that Britain and the EU agree to.”

“President For Life? Why Donald Trump May Never Leave the White House.”

The Week wrote on September 11:

“The degree to which Trump has saturated American media is unprecedented… No public figure in the history of this or any country has ever figured so prominently in the lives of its citizens, not even in the great authoritarian regimes of the 20th century, as President Trump… [W]ill the institution of the presidency, with its undreamed powers and numberless prerogatives, and the man in whom it is vested achieve a kind of total monopoly over law-making, first by fiat, then by custom, and eventually as a matter of settled law? I think the answer is yes…

“America is now a kind of elective monarchy in which Congress clings, like the Roman Senate, to its antique ceremony as its formal powers… become increasingly irrelevant. Meanwhile the Supreme Court is headed in the direction of an almost limitless deference toward administrative autonomy.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to dismiss the possibility of a third term for this president as idle speculation. The 22nd Amendment can be repealed like any other, and both geography and math favor Republican attempts at amendment… I do not know a single supporter of the president who opposes the idea, at least in theory, of Trump serving more than eight years. The man himself has entertained it openly, praising Xi Jinping for getting rid of term limits in China…”

Now No Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem?

The Algemeiner wrote on September 7:

“US Vice President Mike Pence urged Paraguay’s new president to stick to his predecessor’s decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Pence’s office said on Thursday after Asuncion announced plans to shift the diplomatic mission back to Tel Aviv… Most countries do not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city.

“Pence, who played a main role in President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, spoke on Wednesday to Paraguayan President Mario Abdo, who was elected on Aug. 15. Pence ‘strongly encouraged’ Abdo to follow through with Paraguay’s commitment to move the embassy to Jerusalem ‘as a sign of the historic relationship the country has maintained with both Israel and the United States,’ Pence’s office said in a statement. Former Paraguay President Horacio Cartes opened the new embassy in Jerusalem on May 21, just days after the United States and Guatemala did. Hours after Paraguay announced its change on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by ordering the closure of Israel’s embassy in Paraguay… Abdo on Wednesday defended his decision as part of an effort to support ‘broad, lasting and just peace’ among Israelis and Palestinians.”

Red Heifer Heralds Construction of the Third Temple?

The Daily Star wrote on September 8:

“The Temple Institute announced the birth of an entirely red female calf that ‘brings the promise of reinstating Biblical purity to the world’. The cow’s birth and sacrifice is said to proceed the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem. And the Third Temple’s construction – following the destruction of the previous two – heralds the arrival of the Jewish Messiah…

“Rabbi Chain Richman, director of the Temple Institute, hailed the red heifer’s birth as suggestions the time could be right for the Third Temple…

“The cow went under ‘extensive examination by rabbinical experts’ who confirmed she is a ‘viable candidate for the Biblical red heifer.’ They admitted however the cow could be disqualified through natural causes… It is claimed there have only been nine true red heifers – and the 10th will herald the construction of the Third Temple. The Temple Institute believes a red heifer will be needed to be scarified to complete the ritual of purification for the temple – heralding the coming of the Jewish Messiah.

“Red heifers have previously been found by the organisation – who have then disqualified them for not meeting prophetic standards.  One was found in 1999, but was disqualified for being male – and a second was born in 2002, which was found to have a patch of white hair…

“Evangelical Christians believe the construction of the Third Temple all herald their own end times prophecy…”

The Bible does not necessitate the appearance of a red heifer, but many Jews and some Christians believe it is necessary as a prerequisite for bringing animal sacrifices and building a third temple. For more information, please read our Q&A, “Can you shed some light on the significance of a ‘red heifer’ to be born prior to the coming of the Messiah?” Please also read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People.” 

A Catastrophe Coming for the Internet?

The Verge reported on September 12:

“The European Parliament has voted in favor of the Copyright Directive, a controversial piece of legislation intended to update online copyright laws for the internet age…

“The fallout from this decision will be far-reaching, and take a long time to settle. The directive itself still faces a final vote in January 2019 (although experts say it’s unlikely it will be rejected). After that it will need to be implemented by individual EU member states, who could very well vary significantly in how they choose to interpret the directive’s text…

“Despite these disagreements, what’s clear is that if the Copyright Directive receives final approval by the European Parliament in January, it will have a huge, disruptive impact on the internet, both in the European Union and around the world. Exactly how the legislation will be interpreted will be up to individual nations, but the shift in the balance of power is clear: the web’s biggest tech companies are losing their grip on the internet.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Trump Bash at McCain Funeral

The Associated Press reported on September 1:

“John McCain’s daughter opened his memorial service by posing her father’s legacy as a direct challenge to President Donald Trump, setting a tone that echoed the senator’s own fighting spirit as former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush eulogized him Saturday at the Washington National Cathedral. Bush and Obama, both challenged by McCain in their bids for the White House, drew on the senator’s legacy at home and abroad to talk of the nation’s values in remarks that at times seemed a clear rebuke of Trump and his brand of politics.

“Obama spoke of the long talks he and McCain would have privately in the Oval Office and the senator’s understanding that America’s security and influence came not from ‘our ability to bend others to our will’ but universal values of rule of law and human rights. ‘So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, tracking in bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage,’ Obama said in another not-so-veiled nod to Trump. ‘It’s a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that.’

“Bush said one of the great gifts in his life was becoming friends with his former White House rival. He said they would in later years recall their political battles like former football players remembering the big game. But mostly Bush recalled a champion for the ‘forgotten people’ at home and abroad whose legacy will serve as a reminder, even in times of doubt, of the power of America as more than a physical place but a ‘carrier of human aspirations.’…

“Trump was not on hand for the ceremony, after McCain’s family made clear he was not invited. But Meghan McCain made sure Trump was part of the memorial in another way, leveling pointed criticism at the president in her eulogy. ‘We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness — the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served,’ she said, her voice first choking back tears then raising to anger. Later, she said to applause, ‘The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.’

“In another clear swipe at Trump, she said some resented her father for being ‘a great fire who burned bright’ and what he revealed about their own characters. Those critics, she said, still have an opportunity to emulate her father’s legacy.

“Those gathered Saturday morning to eulogize the six-term senator included three former presidents, scores of members of Congress, current and former world leaders and family and friends. Among those in the front row were Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as Dick Cheney and Al Gore… ‘His death seems to have reminded the American people that these values are what makes us a great nation, not the tribal partisanship and personal attack politics that have recently characterized our life,’ said former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a longtime friend and fellow global traveler who McCain once considered as his vice presidential running mate…

“Two of [Trump’s] top aides, White House chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, flanked Cindy McCain as she placed the wreath at the memorial and [joined] the service. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner [also] attended…”

Also, Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, attended; and others spoke as well, such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who gave a short address by quoting a passage from the Bible. Especially Graham made recent headlines when he criticized Trump for the “disturbing” way with which he “remembered” McCain after his death, stating, according to Newsmax, dated August 30: “You’re going to have to be a big man in a big office. John McCain was a big man, worthy of a big country. Mr. President, you need to be the big man that the presidency requires.”

In an obvious reply to Meghan McCain’s [questionable] comment that America always was great and does not need to be made great again, Breitbart pointed out on September 3 that Ronald Reagan used the phrase, “Make America Great Again,” on Labor Day 1980: “Ronald Reagan kicked off his 1980 campaign for the presidency on the banks of the Hudson River, overlooking the Statue of Liberty, on Labor Day in 1980 with a promise to ‘make America great again.’ Standing side-by-side with the father of Poland’s Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa, Reagan proclaimed that ‘where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.’ Reagan wrapped up his speech with words that will sound familiar today: ‘Let us pledge to each other, with this Great Lady looking on, that we can, and so help us God, we will make America great again.’”

On a lighter note, here are some funny excerpts from former Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech:

“Personally, I can tell you that [he] was a real friend in accommodating what were to him my unusual practices as a religiously observant Jew, whether it was walking with me on a Saturday to an important meeting [orthodox Jews don’t use their cars or public transportation on the Sabbath, but they rather choose to walk] or turning down a popular Friday night dinner invitation at the Munich security conference we went to every year because it was too far to walk, we would stay in the hotel and have what John learned to call our shalom dinners. With John they weren’t that peaceful. John naturally in doing these wonderful acts of friendship grumbled all the way about what I was putting him through, you know. Right now I think he is probably deriving some pleasure from the fact it turned out his funeral was held on a Saturday and I had to walk to get here. I’m sure if he were here now, he would tell me that was divine justice.

“He ultimately as he did with so much of his life turned these interfaith interferences into a truly hilarious comedy routine. It began with a solemn pronouncement by John that he was converting to Judaism. Then he explained less solemnly ‘I do this not because of any particularly liking for the religion, it is just that for so many years I had to go along with all of Joe’s religious nonsense, I might as well convert and get the benefits.’”

The problem is, of course, that Joe Lieberman’s “religious nonsense” was and is not in accordance with biblical injunctions or teachings.

Trump vs. Woodward

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:

“Veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book that describes scenes of chaos in the White House left US President Donald Trump fuming on Wednesday. The book draws on hundreds of hours of taped interviews with current and former aides and officials to paint a damning portrait of the Trump administration. Excerpts from the 420-page book, to be released next week, have been published by various US news outlets. In the book, Woodward reports:

“Top administration staff enacted an ‘administrative coup d’etat’ by frequently hiding documents, or secretly preventing Trump from acting on impulses and causing disaster. Chief of staff John Kelly doubted the integrity of Trump’s mental faculties, declaring during one meeting, ‘We’re in Crazytown’ and calling Trump an ‘idiot.’ Trump wanted to order the assassination of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Defense Secretary James Mattis assured Trump he would get right on it but then told a senior aide they’d do nothing of the kind. Mattis told ‘close associates that the president acted — and had the understanding of — a fifth- or sixth-grader,’ after Trump raged about the cost of the US military presence in South Korea. Trump’s former lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, thought the chances of Trump perjuring himself during an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller were so high that he told him not to testify. ‘Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit,’ Dowd is quoted as saying. He later called Trump ‘a… liar.’ Trump called Attorney General Jeff Sessions ‘mentally retarded’ and ‘a dumb southerner.’

“Trump insisted he’s ‘the exact opposite’ of the book’s portrayal of him, complaining on Twitter that people can ‘get away with’ such depictions and suggested changing libel laws. He later [said:] ‘It’s just another bad book. He’s had a lot of credibility problems.’ He then suggested Woodward could have made the whole thing up. Several officials quoted in the book issued denials, with Kelly calling the book ‘total BS’ and Mattis labeling it ‘fiction.’ Dowd denied saying Trump would end up in an orange jumpsuit. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, cast doubt on the account about Assad. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: ‘This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad.’

“In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, ‘I stand by my reporting.’

“… Woodward is one of America’s most respected journalists, with his reporting on the Watergate scandal bringing down President Richard Nixon. Trump himself had previously endorsed his credibility, saying in 2013 ‘Only the Obama WH can get away with attacking Bob Woodward.’… Several damaging accounts of chaos in the White House have been published in recent months, most notably Michael Wolff’s ‘Fire and Fury.’ But Woodward’s account will be particularly difficult to counter as it is based on recorded interviews and comes from a highly respected investigative reporter… The book, titled Fear: Trump in the White House, is scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 11.”

The Week added on September 5:

“President Trump pushed back against excerpts of veteran Washington journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear, claiming statements from Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly ‘refuted and discredited’ the book. ‘Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public,’ Trump tweeted. He also denied saying Attorney General Jeff Sessions was ‘mentally retarded’ with the accent of a ‘dumb Southerner.’ Kelly and Mattis denied calling Trump an ‘idiot’ and a ‘liar’ with little grasp of global affairs. The book also quotes Trump as saying that condemning white supremacists was his ‘biggest… mistake’ as president, and telling Mattis he wanted to… ‘kill’ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”

Reuters and The Algemeiner wrote on September 5:

“Israel’s intelligence minister said on Wednesday he had no knowledge of close ally US President Donald Trump ever ordering the killing of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad… While formally neutral on the 7-year civil war in neighboring Syria, Israel has carried out scores of air strikes against suspected attempts by Assad’s Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah allies to set up permanent posts or advanced arms.

“Under decades of Assad family rule, Syria has maintained a Cold War-style hostility toward Israel. Katz said Israel did not see a better alternative to Assad among Syrian rebel groups…”

Don’t Confuse God’s Kingdom with Today’s Politics

Christianity Today wrote on August 31:

“In a Monday meeting with evangelical leaders at the White House, President Trump reportedly warned of violence against conservative Christians if the GOP loses in November. As evangelicals, we would do well to correct the president on this point. If an election can cause us to lose everything, what is it exactly that we have in the first place?… the church does not preach the gospel at the pleasure of any administration or decline to preach it at another administration’s displeasure…

“Something tremendous is at stake here: whether evangelical Christians place their faith more in Caesar and his kingdom than in Christ and his reign. On that one, we do have everything to lose—this November and every other election cycle…

“Let’s face it. Liberal and conservative, Catholic and Protestant, have courted political power and happily allowed themselves to be used by it. This always happens when the church confuses the kingdom of Christ with the kingdoms of this present age…

“At his trial, Jesus told Pontius Pilate that he was indeed a king—but the heir to a greater throne than the Roman prefect could imagine… every New Testament command on the subject calls us to love and pray for our enemies… In his Great Commission, Jesus gave authority to the church to make disciples, not citizens; to proclaim the gospel, not political opinions; to baptize people in [better: into] the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, not in the name of America or a political party; and to teach everything that he delivered, not our own personal and political priorities…

“Anyone who believes, much less preaches, that evangelical Christians are ‘one election away from losing everything’ in November has forgotten how to sing the psalmist’s warning, ‘Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save’ (Ps. 146:3).”

We completely agree with the above-quoted statements and observations.

Displacing the US Dollar

Project Syndicate wrote on September 3:

“The benefits [of the US dollar] are diminishing with the rise of the euro and China’s renminbi as competing reserve currencies. And now US President Donald Trump’s misguided trade wars and anti-Iran sanctions will accelerate the move away from the dollar… The euro is the dollar’s main competitor, with the renminbi coming in a distant third.

“The US gains… important economic benefits from the dollar’s key currency role. [One] is the ability to borrow abroad in dollars. When a government borrows in a foreign currency, it can go bankrupt; that is not the case when it borrows in its own currency…

“America’s monetary stewardship has stumbled badly over the years, and Trump’s misrule could hasten the end of the dollar’s predominance… Just as Brexit is undermining the City of London, Trump’s ‘America First’ trade and financial policies will weaken the dollar’s role and that of New York’s role as the global financial hub…

“Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, recently declared Germany’s interest in establishing a European payments system independent of the US [calling it] ‘indispensable.’…

As we have announced for many years, the euro is predestined to become the strongest currency in the world. We have also stated very clearly that President Trump was placed in charge of the USA to accelerate its downfall.

Chemnitz Symptom for Growing Polarization in Germany over Merkel’s Immigration Policy

The New York Times wrote on August 31:

“Waving German flags, with some flashing Nazi salutes, the angry mob made its way through the streets, chasing after dark-skinned bystanders… A Syrian refugee and father of two… watched horrified from a friend’s fourth-floor balcony. They were hunting in packs for immigrants just like him, he said. ‘Like wolves.’

“For a few perilous hours over two days this week, the mob owned the streets of Chemnitz where anger exploded after word spread that an Iraqi and a Syrian asylum seeker were suspected in a knife attack that killed a German man early Sunday.

“Chemnitz, a city of some 250,000 in eastern Germany, has a history of neo-Nazi protests. Usually they draw a few hundred from the fringes of society… The crowd this time was 8,000-strong. Led by several hundred identifiable neo-Nazis, it appeared to be joined by thousands of ordinary citizens…

“The city had never seen anything like this — and, to some degree, neither had post-World War II Germany. The rampage now stands as a high-water mark in the outpouring of anti-immigrant hatred that has swelled as Germany struggles to absorb the nearly one million asylum seekers who arrived in the country after Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to open the borders in 2015.

“That decision sharply divided Germany, with critics soon arguing that Ms. Merkel’s administration had lost control of the situation. Three years later, what the government is struggling to control is an anti-immigrant backlash. Neo-Nazis are growing bolder and stronger, and they are better organized…”

The Associated Press wrote on September 2:

“Germany’s foreign minister [Heiko Maas] told his fellow countrymen Sunday they’re too lazy when it comes to battling racism and fighting for democracy… ‘Our generation was given freedom, rule of law and democracy as a present. We didn’t have to fight for it; (now) we’re taking it too much for granted.’

“Maas’ comments followed Saturday’s demonstrations by about 4,500 far-right protesters in Chemnitz, who were rallying against migration… 4,000 leftist protesters also marched through the city in a counter-protest, and 1,800 police officers were deployed to keep the groups apart…

“The tension that has built up over the past week in Chemnitz, reflects the growing polarization over Germany’s ongoing effort to come to terms with an influx of more than 1 million refugees and migrants seeking jobs since 2015…”

The clashes between extremists from the right and from the left remind us of the violent situation in Germany when Hitler was coming to power. Some commentators in the international press have already pointed out this frightening parallel. Note the next articles as well.

Downplaying the Chemnitz Debacle?

Deutsche Welle reported on September 5:

“Saxony’s state premier Michael Kretschmer [a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU)] has claimed that reports of mob violence at anti-immigrant protests in the city of Chemnitz were exaggerated… ‘One thing is clear. There was no mob, there was no hunt and there were no pogrom in Chemnitz,’ said Kretschmer… [He] condemned the way events in the city had been characterized by media outside Saxony, saying it was ‘astonishing that those who are so far away have passed a particularly sweeping and harsh judgment on this city.’

“… Chancellor Merkel appeared to contradict her party colleague’s assessment of the situation. ‘We saw pictures that very clearly revealed hate and thereby also the persecution of innocent people. One must distance oneself from that,’ said Merkel… Meanwhile, the state premier’s comments drew direct criticism from political opponents. Ralf Stegner, deputy leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), told Germany’s mass-circulation Bild newspaper that Kretschmer was pandering to the right. ‘The CDU in Saxony has apparently not understood that there is no use in playing up to the right. If Mr. Kretschmer still doesn’t understand that, then he is beyond help.’

“Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of Germany’s Green party, accused Kretschmer of not taking the situation seriously enough. ‘By downplaying this, Mr. Kretschmer is just continuing to look the other way, which is exactly what led to Chemnitz. There is obviously a serious problem with the right wing,’ Baerbock told Bild.”

The Good and Bad Germans

Politico wrote on September 4:

“When right-wing mobs marauded through the east German town of Chemnitz last week, attacking foreigners and doing the Hitler salute, Germans elsewhere made sure to put things into context. ‘Saxony again!’ they said, wrote and tweeted. The conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked, ‘Is Saxony still a part of Germany?’ Der Spiegel put the word ‘Saxony’ on its cover, with big letters turning into brown, old-German type (translation: Nazi type). A leftist columnist for the magazine suggested sarcastically that Saxony should secede from the country.

“At a time when right-wing populism is on the rise across Germany, the eastern state of Saxony has gotten a particularly bad name. Chemnitz is only the latest in a series of attacks. The towns of Heidenau, Freital and Bautzen have all acquired notoriety for similar reasons…

“Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rift between the east and west Germany is still palpable — and it keeps evolving. East Germans who struggled after 1989 have long mourned the end of the socialist German Democratic Republic. But lately Ostalgie, the eastern yearning for life under socialism, has found its match in a new variety of Westalgie, a western yearning for a Germany stripped of the east…

“The good Germans in the west… are deeply confused by the rise of right-wing violence… they blame the easterners. They will admit grudgingly that some right-wing violence occurs in western states as well — and then add that Saxony or Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are far worse. The Federal Republic of Germany, they say, would have been better off if the country had not been reunified. That’s wishful thinking. After three decades, the lives of people in the east and west are far too interconnected to allow for such a distinction…

“The notion of a good and a bad Germany is pretty old. It’s found in oft-made juxtapositions: Goethe and Goebbels, Heine and Hitler, Beethoven and Buchenwald. The implication is that the Germans are a special people, capable of extreme good as well as of extreme bad. That may be true. But any suggestion that a good Germany can be found in the west and a bad Germany somewhere further east is stupid. If more and more east Germans embrace the idea that they are the bad Germans, things will get much worse — and not just in Saxony…”

In addition, please note this article by Deutsche Welle, reporting on September 6:

“A survey in Germany reveals… a marked difference between Germany’s western states and those in the east on whether concerns about migration were being taken seriously by the German government… Worries about the government’s approach to migration were high across the board, with 49 percent of Germans overall feeling that the matter was not being properly addressed… 46 percent of respondents in the former West German states and 66 percent of respondents in the former East German states [were] saying they were not satisfied.”

Controversial Verdict against Afghan Murderer of German Teen

Deutsche Welle reported on September 3:

“An asylum-seeker, thought to be from Afghanistan, has been given an 8-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the murder of a teenage German girl… in the town of Kandel in December last year. The murder had been seized upon by many opponents of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy to support their anti-immigration stance…

“Fifteen-year-old Mia V. was stabbed to death in a drugstore by her ex-boyfriend Abdul D… The teen was stabbed seven times with a kitchen knife that had a 20-centimeter (7.9-inch) blade. According to prosecutors, the two dated for several months until Mia V. ended the relationship in early December. After the breakup, both she and her parents went to the police about Abdul D.’s harassing and threatening behavior. Prosecutors believe he acted out of jealousy and was seeking revenge for the breakup.

“Abdul D. entered Germany in the spring of 2016 and was registered as an unaccompanied minor. He first lived in a juvenile care institution in the Germersheim district in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. He was later transferred to a supervised living group in the town of Neustadt and attended school in Kandel, where he met Mia V. As authorities believe Abdul D. was underage at the time of the attack, he was tried as a minor. The maximum penalty for murder under German juvenile law is 10 years.

“However, prosecutors have cast doubt over Abdul D.’s age. Although he says he was 15 when the stabbing occurred, an expert medical assessment ordered by the public prosecutor’s office said that he is likely between 17 and 20 years old… When asked why Abdul D. was convicted of bodily harm along with the murder charge, the court’s press spokesman… said he couldn’t give any further information about the case at this time, as it was closed to the public due to the defendant’s status as a minor…

“The case sparked several months of anti-immigrant rallies and counterprotests in Kandel, a small town near the French border. The population of around 9,000 has been regularly swelled since January as demonstrators from leftist and right-wing groups have descended on the town. Hundreds of people took part in right-wing protest on Saturday… Dozens of counterprotesters from leftist… groups as well as local residents were also present. The focus of the right-wing protests has… become platforms for anti-refugee and anti-Islam sentiments, with demonstrators blaming the media and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.”

Bild wrote on September 3:

“These are the verdicts which make people doubt judges and the justice system… and that justice is pronounced in our name. The guilt of Mia’s murderer has been proven without a doubt. The court even found that Abdul D. stabbed the 15-year old girl with malice and evil motives. Our laws do not know worse crimes. It is totally incomprehensible why a more serious punishment was not given.

“Even though Abdul D. was, in reliance on a medical assessment, in all likelihood 20 years old, and lied to and deceived this country about his true age in order to gain admission…his deed was tried based on juvenile law. He is a murderer, a liar and he even attacked an official in the court house… How and on what basis the judges could find mitigating circumstances, we will never know. The judgment will not be published because of juvenile law. Maybe that is better this way, because nobody would understand it anyhow.”

Sweden’s Upcoming Election in Light of Wildfires and Refugee Crisis

The Local wrote on September 5:

“Sweden is heading for a general election on September 9, with… pressing political issues driving the agenda… More than 50 wildfires raged across Sweden during the summer of 2018 – the warmest summer since 1756… The gravity of the situation brought environmental questions to the fore…

“But the event most defining these elections is the refugee crisis. In the autumn of 2015, Sweden opened its doors to asylum seekers from Syria and elsewhere, taking in more than 100,000 people over a period of just a few months. Managing the influx of people proved difficult… This effectively closed down Sweden’s southern border with Denmark and temporarily suspended the Schengen agreement, which allows free movement through continental Europe…

“The refugee crisis has had a major impact on Swedish politics… The political field has been divided into those who are in favour of a more generous immigration approach (Social Democrats, the Left, the Greens and the Centre Party) and those who prefer a stricter policy (the Conservatives, the Christian Democrats, the Sweden Democrats and to some extent, the Liberals). Disagreements over immigration may even lead to a split within the centre-right Alliance that held power in two consecutive governments (2006-2010 and 2010-2014), with the Centre Party defecting from the group position to embrace a more restrictive immigration approach…

“Integrating non-EU migrants into the labour market has been a slow process. And, if you add into the mix the generous welfare benefits traditionally provided by the Swedish state (long parental leave, free education at all levels, subsidised healthcare), the dilemma faced by Swedish politicians is evident. The biggest issue of this (and coming) elections will really be the future of the welfare state. Parties must either find creative solutions to finance public services – or propose cutting some of them.”

Big Brother: Google, Amazon and Facebook in Cahoots with Your Bank!

Gizmodo wrote on August 31:

“… until recently, you could live without fear that some multibillion-dollar Silicon Valley giant would buy up your banking data in order to serve you more effective ads. Based on new details about an apparent arrangement between Google and Mastercard, those days are over…

“This is a… bombshell… Thanks in part to heavy government regulation, your credit card and banking data has long been private. If you wanted to spend $98 at Sephora on a Tuesday afternoon, that transaction was between you, your bank, and Sephora. It now appears that Google has found a way to weasel its way into the data pipeline that connects consumers and their purchases…

“But when you consider everything else that Google knows about you, the proposition becomes more Orwellian. Google told Gizmodo in a statement, also shared with Bloomberg, that it encrypts and anonymizes the credit card transaction data that it’s using with the new ad tool. There’s no getting around the fact that Google becomes a more powerful, all-seeing ad engine when it can see specific details about people’s spending habits, even if they’re anonymized and used in aggregate, as Google says the data it gets from Mastercard is. This future—one where your email, your search history, your social connections, and now, your spending habits—is one that we should really be scared of…

“It’s not so much that Google has been using credit card data to help advertisers run more effective ads. It’s that Google is doing these things on a tremendous scale, and the full nature of what it’s been doing was kept secret. The reported arrangement between Google and Mastercard immediately drew comparisons to the recent saga of Facebook reportedly meeting with banks in an attempt to gain access to its users’ private financial data. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook wanted detailed financial information, like checking account balances and even individual transactions. Sources said that Facebook wanted to build chatbots for Messenger so that people could ask a robot simple banking questions, like their current checking account balance. Realistically, Facebook could be doing a lot more with that kind of data…

“Amazon certainly knows a lot about the things we buy, and we learned earlier this year that the online retail giant was exploring the possibility of getting into the banking business itself. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Amazon, like Facebook and Google, has had conversations with banks about gaining access to personal financial information…”

It is truly appalling what is going on behind the scenes, and to what extent BANKS are again “participating villains” in this despicable SECRET scheme with Silicon Valley giants.

Greatest Crisis for Pope Francis

The Guardian wrote on September 3:

“Ever since he was elected as the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics, Pope Francis has been the target of conservative adversaries deeply opposed to… his efforts to reform the church. But in the past week, the war at the heart of the Vatican has exploded into the open, plunging Francis into the worst crisis of his five-year papacy. Cardinals and bishops have openly fired shots; accusations of lies, treachery, score-settling, character assassination and fake news have engulfed the global church…

“Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, a former Vatican ambassador to the US and a conservative within the church, said the pope knew that Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, ‘was a corrupt man, [but] he covered for him to the bitter end’. Viganò named a string of cardinals and archbishops who he said also knew about the McCarrick claims. ‘Corruption has reached the very top of the church’s hierarchy’; Francis should resign, he said…

“Viganò’s claims – timed when Francis was already vulnerable – unleashed opposing forces within the church. The old guard of the Curia – the Vatican’s governing bodies, a hotbed of power struggles, intrigue and paranoia – bitterly resents Francis’s efforts to root out what they view as centuries of clerical tradition and he sees as hypocrisy, narcissism and ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s’… Francis loyalists leaped to his defence and lambasted the former diplomat… But others said Viganò’s allegations must be taken seriously…

“In the coming weeks, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US bishops’ conference, is expected to travel to Rome to press for an Apostolic Visitation – a high-level Vatican inquiry – into the McCarrick case… Any such inquiry is bound to investigate who knew what and when – right up to the Vatican and the [pope] himself. But scepticism about the integrity of a Vatican investigation that could uncover wrongdoing at the pinnacle of the church is inevitable.

“The pope has said little apart from appealing to people to make their own judgment. According to his secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, his mood is ‘serene’ in the face of raging controversy…”

These events are highly remarkable. It remains to be seen as to how this pope’s future role will unfold.

Catholic Church for Unified Europe

On September 1, 2018, Deutsche Welle quoted the following comments by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Chairman of the German Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference:

“Faith tells us we belong to a human family. Patriotism is good, but nationalism is not Catholic. I agree with Franz-Josef Strauss, who has always said: Bavaria is our home, Germany is our fatherland, Europe is our future.

“The path we have taken in the last 50 or 60 years since the Treaty of Rome was also morally connoted. That is why the church has always viewed the unity of Europe positively, even today. The work of unification began with a longing for peace and reconciliation. Let us not forget: Nationalism is one of the biggest causes of war… the church must never cease working or doing something for the unity of Europe.”

The Catholic Church has been heavily involved, from the very outset, in helping to revive, one last time, the ancient Holy Roman Empire in Europe.

Bavarian Conservative Manfred Weber Next Head of European Commission?

Euractiv wrote on August 30:

“Angela Merkel has given her backing to fellow German conservative Manfred Weber’s bid to front the centre-right’s campaign in next year’s European Parliament elections… If other member parties follow the chancellor in backing Weber… he would be front-runner to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission. That would make the 46-year-old Bavarian the EU’s day-to-day leader as it attempts to navigate a world in which a Donald Trump-led United States is seen as an unreliable partner, it faces a stiff challenge from Russian and Chinese rivals and reinvents itself following Britain’s departure from the bloc…

“It has been decades since a German has headed the Brussels-based Commission, whose 30,000 staff draft and enforce legislation and has been instrumental in driving the process of European integration since the bloc’s beginnings in 1957… While Weber is an ally of Merkel, his Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) party is well to her right on social policy, and he is seen as an ally of strongman East European leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán…

“Weber holds fast to conservative values and is simultaneously pushing for an ‘aggressive and positive Europe policy’ from the CSU…Weber has aligned with a majority in the EPP against Nord Stream 2, despite the fact that the government in Berlin strongly backs this project to bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Conversely, Weber is a strong backer of the Southern Gas Corridor, a project to bring Azeri gas via Turkey to Europe.”

Euractiv added on August 31:

“Blessed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and backed by big national delegations, Germany’s CSU heavyweight Manfred Weber is expected to soon confirm his candidacy for the post of the new European Commission president, with migration emerging as the top issue on his agenda… Migration is a top concern for… [Austrian] Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose country is chairing the EU’s rotating presidency.

“Weber advocated for giving ‘billions of dollars’ in aid to North African countries to cooperate on the migration issue, as Europe already did with Turkey. The goal would be to set up centres in third countries to see who is entitled to asylum protection…

“Weber could have the support of EPP [European People’s Party] members from Germany, Spain, Ireland, Croatia and France, among others… Candidates can throw their hat into the ring between 15 September and 16 October. The party will pick its Spitzenkandidat at a congress in Helsinki in early November.”

In a Fit of Rage, Putin Admitted Russia’s Responsibility for Ukrainian Uprising

Business Insider wrote on September 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin became so enraged during a shouting match with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that he revealed he was lying about Russia’s role in a military uprising in eastern Ukraine, former French President Francois Hollande wrote in a book published earlier this year about his time in office.

“In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine and began to support separatists in the eastern part of the country through information warfare, direct shipments of weapons, and the deployment of Russian fighters posing as Ukrainian separatists… Russia denied responsibility…

“But in a heated argument with Poroshenko at the 2015 talks to form the Minsk Agreement… ‘Poroshenko and Putin constantly raised their voices with each other. The Russian president was so worked up, that he started threatening to decisively crush his counterpart’s forces… This showed that there are Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Putin suddenly realized, and got a grip on himself,’ Hollande wrote…

“Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with more than 10,000 dead. Russia still denies any official involvement in the fighting and remains under the sanctions imposed in 2014.”

This is interesting, as everybody should have known that Putin was lying when he denied Russia’s illegal involvement in Ukraine.

Terrible Atrocities by Myanmar Military

Reuters reported on September 3:

“A Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country… The verdict comes amid mounting pressure on the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi over a security crackdown sparked by attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on security forces in Rakhine State in west Myanmar in August 2017. More than 700,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims have fled into Bangladesh since then, according to U.N. agencies.

“The two reporters, who were investigating the killing by the security forces of Rohingya villagers at the time of their arrest, had pleaded not guilty… U.S. ambassador Scot Marciel said the ‘deeply troubling’ verdict could undermine the confidence the Myanmar people had in the justice system… British ambassador Dan Chugg, speaking on behalf of EU members, said the verdict had ‘dealt a hammer blow for the rule of law’. France said it deplored the prison sentences and that the convictions represented a serious violation of press freedom and the rule of law.

“In Bangladesh, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, a media adviser to the prime minister, said it was ‘an open secret’ that anyone exposing ‘atrocities of the Myanmar army’ would be persecuted… A U.N mandated fact-finding mission said last week that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with ‘genocidal intent’ and called for top generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings. The International Criminal Court is considering whether it has jurisdiction over events in Rakhine, while the United States, the European Union and Canada have sanctioned Myanmar military and police officers over the crackdown.”

Apart from being accused of mass murders, gang rapes and now a corrupt court system, it is appalling to contemplate that Myanmar’s leader had received the ‘honor” of being a “Nobel laureate,” showing the irrelevant mockery of these institutions.

Turkey—the “Sick Man of Europe”—Returns

Project Syndicate wrote on August 28:

“One of the great geopolitical issues in nineteenth-century Europe was the so-called Eastern Question. The Ottoman Empire, then known as the ‘sick man of Europe,’ was rapidly disintegrating…

‘[Now, modern] Turkey is quickly reclaiming its title as ‘the sick man of Europe.’ Given its strategic location and economic and human potential, the country should be moving toward a brilliant twenty-first-century future. Instead, it is marching backward toward the nineteenth century, under the banner of nationalism… Erdoğan, who assumed the presidency in 2014… failed… [He] has squandered a unique opportunity for both Turkey and the Muslim world generally. His country is now beset by a currency crisis… and it could even face the prospect of national bankruptcy… he risks destabilizing the Middle East even further…

“And yet Turkey’s strategic importance to Europe remains. Millions of EU citizens are of Turkish origin, and the country will continue to bridge the gap between East and West, North and South. Under Erdoğan’s regime, Turkey is no longer a prospective candidate for EU membership… a destabilized Turkey is the last thing Europe needs… Europe’s own security depends heavily on Turkey…”

And so, Europe will overlook dictator Erdogan’s many terrible atrocities, while collaborating with Turkey against Israel, as the Bible predicts.

African Swine Fever Coming Back

The Guardian wrote on September 3:

“In 1957, [African swine fever (ASF)] was introduced into Portugal, reportedly after infected airline food was fed as swill to pigs near Lisbon airport. The disease spread to Spain and France and took until the 1990s to eradicate through concerted surveillance and culling. In southern Spain, where ticks acted as an additional reservoir, old-fashioned farm buildings were destroyed and replaced with modern facilities to keep ticks out…

“This time the spread has been far more rapid… The current outbreak in central and eastern Europe began in January 2014, when cases were first reported in Lithuania, swiftly followed by outbreaks in Poland in February, and in Latvia and Estonia in June and September that year.

“Cases were also confirmed in the east of the Czech Republic in June 2017, and in Romania and Hungary earlier this year. More outbreaks have also been reported in Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. In recent weeks outbreaks have been reported in China, home of more than half the world’s pigs, which produces twice as much pork as the EU, and five times more than the United States.

“In Germany, farmers have called for a cull of 70% of the wild boar population, which is thought to be hundreds of thousands strong… They’re very successful animals with a range right across Asia and Europe. They can swim as well… In Denmark, a fence is planned along the border with Germany to prevent the migration of wild boars… it is only a matter of time until the disease reaches Denmark, a major pork exporter…

“ASF presents no risk to humans, but for pigs it is often fatal. With no effective treatment or vaccine, farmers can only guard against outbreaks using tight biosecurity measures and by adding anti-virus drugs into feed. Once it has been diagnosed, entire herds are preventatively culled. In both 2016 and 2017 more than 300,000 pigs were culled in attempts to control the spread of the disease.

“Transmission occurs only through direct contact with infected animals (alive or dead) or meat – the virus is not airborne. However, it is hardy. It can survive for up to 1,000 days in frozen meat and can persist for long periods in boar carcasses, on clothing, boots and soil…”

Of course, pigs were not created by God for human consumption. But in our God-defying world, one can easily contemplate the serious global economic consequences as ASF spreads.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

German Mandatory Community Service Even for Refugees?

Deutsche Welle reported on August 24:

“Members of Angela Merkel’s conservatives say a year of community service would help integrate refugees. The proposal comes against the backdrop of a larger debate about reinstating mandatory service for Germans.

“A year of [mandatory or voluntary] community service would help refugees and asylum-seekers integrate and promote their acceptance by the public, the general secretary of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives said Saturday. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) ignited nationwide debate earlier this month when it brought up the idea of reinstating mandatory military service or a year of community service…

“Military conscription was scrapped in 2011 after Berlin opted for a professionalized army. Prior to this decision, all young men were obliged to either serve in the nation’s military, the Bundeswehr, or perform an alternative service for a limited period of time in civilian areas such as emergency management or medical care… Kramp-Karrenbauer said the CDU would discuss four models for reinstating a community service year for men and women at the party conference in December.”

The sad and crazy idea of mandatory conscription gains more and more attention in a once “pacifistic” country.

German Military Entices Minors

Reuters reported on August 24:

“To help attract new recruits, the [German] military has targeted youngsters with slick online video campaigns, drawing criticism from… child welfare advocates…

“But the campaigns are paying off. In 2017, 2,128 people under 18 joined the German army, up 11.4 percent from 2016 and accounting for 9 percent of new recruits… With lively music and scenes showing the lives of young soldiers, the Bundeswehr’s shows on YouTube… have attracted more than 64 million views. In October, traffic at the Bundeswehr jobs website increased 60 percent during a six-week broadcast of ‘Mali’, a YouTube series centered on eight soldiers serving in the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in the West African country.

“The Bundeswehr Exclusive YouTube channel has over 330,000 followers and its latest production portrays the lives of a group of young paratroopers. The army is also active on other sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. According to a… survey of 20,000 school students across the country, the military is now considered Germany’s third most attractive employer…

“Overall, the army spent about 35 million euros ($40 million) on recruitment last year… More than 30,000 people signed a letter delivered to German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen a year ago that urged the Bundeswehr to stop recruiting minors. ‘This is embarrassing and sends a wrong signal to the world,’ said Ralf Willinger from rights group terre des hommes… ‘It weakens the international 18-year standard, encouraging armed groups and armies from other countries to legitimate the use of minors as soldiers.’

“Recruits under 18 in Germany undergo military training like other adult trainees, but they have special provisions such as not being allowed to participate in guard duty or foreign missions, and weapons are only used for educational purposes. Ilka Hoffmann, a board member at the GEW union… that represents about 280,000 teachers, social workers and education workers, [said:] ‘In no other profession does one learn to kill, and is one confronted with the danger of dying in war. That is the one difference.’”

Young people had better be aware as to what the military is “offering” them.

Huge Dangerous Fire Near Berlin

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 24:

“Three villages were evacuated in the northern German state of Brandenburg as 400 hectares of forest went up in flames outside Berlin… Germany has been suffering under a massive heatwave and drought for weeks, leaving forests and fields extremely dry…

“The German state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, was dealing with one of the biggest forest fires in the postwar history… The fire produced so much smoke that people in Berlin 60 kilometers away phoned emergency services on Friday morning, while Brandenburg locals heard explosions in the forest as old World War II munitions was set off…

“State Premier Dietmar Woidke [said that] munitions dumped in the forests during World War II and subsequently by the Soviet Army, which once used the surrounding countryside as a training ground, posed a ‘huge danger’ to the firefighters… ‘We in Brandenburg are in a very special situation here,’ he said. ‘We have areas of around 100,000 to 120,000 hectares all around Berlin that have old munitions in the ground…’”

One wonders where else old munitions—and what kind—are still buried throughout Germany and beyond.

Violence in Chemnitz, East Germany

The EUObserver wrote on August 28:

“Far-right activists clashed with police and leftist protestors for a second day in the eastern German city of Chemnitz, demanding foreigners to leave Germany. Monday’s events were a continuation of Sunday’s protests, which were triggered by a stabbing of a 35-year old German. A Syrian and an Iraqi remained under arrest on suspicion of the lethal attack. German chancellor Angela Merkel warned that ‘vigilante justice’ would not be tolerated.”

Der Spiegel wrote on August 28:

“Chemnitz is the third-largest city in the eastern state of Saxony and initially, over a thousand people had gathered on Monday to protest the kind of right-wing violence seen here on Sunday. Later, several thousand participants in a right-wing rally gathered at the city’s iconic monument to Karl Marx. The two camps were separated only by a single road and handful of law enforcement officers. The mood was tense – and turned violent once darkness began to fall. Fireworks were set off and the two groups began throwing projectiles at each other. There were several injuries.

“Later, the police would say that they had underestimated the number of people that would be participating in the two demonstrations. That they were caught off guard. But given the events in the city just one day earlier, that seems unlikely…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 28:

“In response to the events, most lawmakers echoed Merkel’s sentiments in a blanket condemnation of racism and violence… Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who has been in a highly-publicized feud with Merkel over his desire to curb immigration, was more muted in his disavowal of the far-right, and focused instead on the stabbing: ‘My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of the knife attack victim…but I want to say clearly, that nothing justifies the call to violence or violent riots.’

“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was split down the middle, with some inside the party distancing themselves from the right-wing demonstrators and calling off their own planned rally, and others suggesting that the media had blown the situation out of proportion…”

German Police in Chemnitz Under Fire

The Guardian wrote on August 29:

“The leak of an arrest warrant to far-right groups has heightened widespread suspicions of links between German police and xenophobic demonstrators. Authorities have confirmed reports of the leak after the arrest warrant – containing the full name of the main suspect in the murder of a 35-year-old man, which triggered violent anti-foreigner protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz – was tweeted by Lutz Bachmann, the founding member of the far-right protest group Pegida. The suspect is a 22-year-old Iraqi man…

“The police were accused last week of standing up for Pegida protesters after stopping a camera team from the state broadcaster ZDF from filming a demonstration in Dresden for 45 minutes after complaints by a protester, who it later emerged was a police employee. They faced further accusations on Wednesday that they had lied over their claim to have underestimated the numbers who would attend the Chemnitz demonstration, after it emerged that Saxony’s office for protection of the constitution had warned them in advance that a large number of extremists from across Germany – including neo-Nazis, as well as football hooligans and martial artists with a known far-right background – were expected in the city…”

No-Deal Brexit Could See Brits in EU Lose Access to their UK Bank Accounts

The Local wrote on August 23:

“The British government released a list of 25 ‘technical notices’ on Thursday, revealing that Brits living in the European Union could lose access to their UK bank accounts in the event of a no-deal Brexit…

“Meanwhile, consumers buying products from the EU would face slower and more expensive credit card payments, and businesses were told that in the event of a no-deal ‘the free circulation of goods between the UK and EU would cease.’”

This is almost too fantastic to believe, and the British government did not give any details as to why Brits, living in the EU, would lose access to their bank accounts in the UK in case of a “no-deal Brexit.” But this news is truly alarming. According to the EUObserver, dated August 28, “French prime minister Edouard Philippe instructed his ministers on Monday to prepare measures in case of a no-deal Brexit.”

Brexit Breakthrough?

The Daily Mail wrote on August 29:

“EU negotiator Michel Barnier finally conceded he would have to offer Britain a unique deal on Brexit today… In remarks that sent the pound soaring up against the euro and the dollar, Mr Barnier promised a ‘partnership with Britain such as has never been with any other third country’.

“Mr Barnier has repeatedly insisted Britain must choose from an existing model used by either Norway or Canada – a deal the UK say[s] [is] unacceptable. The Brussels chief still insists Britain cannot have an ‘a la carte’ choice of benefits from the EU single market. Brexiteers welcomed his ‘more optimistic tone’ but warned that actions speak louder and urged the EU to get on with coming up with a new offer… Government sources said they would look at the comments but played down the shift, suggesting Mr Barnier had made ‘similar’ remarks before…

“In other developments today, [new Brexit Secretary] Dominic Raab admitted that a Brexit deal could be delayed until after the October (18 or 19) deadline – amid fears the UK could crash out without an agreement… His words are a shift in tone from the Government, which yesterday was still stressing that it is working towards the October deadline.

“Mr Davis quit… in protest at Theresa May’s Chequers proposal – a compromise deal which would mean the UK sticks to EU rules for goods but leaves the single market and customs union. The proposal sparked outcry from Brexiteers and Tory activists who warned it would leave the UK stuck half inside the Brussels bloc and hamper the country’s ability to strike free trade deals globally. And the EU also greeted the plan with scepticism – and it emerged yesterday that Mr Barnier threatened to boycott Brexit talks if Mrs May insisted on basing a deal on her Chequers plans.”

Dramatic U-Turn?

Express reported on August 30:

“Michel Barnier has made a dramatic U-turn and warned the European Union to prepare for a no-deal Brexit only a day after insisting the bloc was preparing to offer the UK a deal like no other third country.”

Deutsche Welle reported on August 30:

“Berlin and Brussels showed a united front on Wednesday delivering a single message to London: There will be no cherry-picking when it comes to the single market…

“[German Foreign Minister Heiko] Maas professed that the ‘last big hurdle’ was the question of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ‘We are firmly convinced that the exit agreement must guarantee that Brexit must not lead to a hard border in Northern Ireland,’ said Maas. ‘It is important that this guarantee must be valid regardless of how the EU and Britain will shape its new relationship.’

 “Should no deal be reached by then, Britain will be subject to the World Trade Organization rules, which include many types of customs and border regulations for any trade with the EU.

“In contrast to all this harmony on the continent, the strife between Barnier and his main counterpart in the UK remains palpable… As if to illustrate this trouble on the high seas, French and British fishermen are currently in the middle of a maritime dispute of their own. Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that French boats had rammed British scallop dredgers they believed had encroached on their seabed in the Baie en Seine…”

Could America Suffer Outright Military Defeat?

The National Interest wrote on August 25:

“America taunts China by taking needless risks, provokes Russia with military operations on their border that in no way improves our own security, extends military guarantees to small countries that could drag us into a war we should never fight, and engages in active combat operations in scores of countries where no U.S. security interests are at stake.

“…great powers frequently fell because they came to believe they could not be defeated. Without question, we have the greatest air force and navy the world has ever known. We are the dominant global power, both militarily and economically. Much of America’s dominance is based on our modern weapons and the technology that empowers them. Our reliance on technology, however, is a double-edged sword.

“Should an adversary one day use space-based weapons to strip away our navigation and intelligence satellites, we would suffer a substantial and immediate loss of military capability. Many of our precision weapons would be useless, our ability to navigate on the land, in the air, and on the oceans could be temporarily crippled. Communications would be hampered. Even at the tactical level, much of our ground-combat power is predicated on an ability to disperse units and mass fires—all of which requires uninterrupted ability to communicate across great distances…

“We must expect that one day another world power is going to develop a new class of weapon or capability that has never been seen which will allow them [to] either neutralize our greatest offensive weapons or against which our best defenses will be inadequate…

“Maintaining the status quo… will continue the erosion of our strength and increase the chances we may one day suffer outright military defeat.”

The Bible prophesies that the USA WILL suffer outright military defeat, and that the world power bringing this about will be a united core Europe under German leadership (“the beast”).

EU and USA—No Tariffs at All?

Fox Business News wrote on August 30:

“Although European Union officials have said they are supportive of lowering tariffs on automobiles to zero if the U.S. reciprocates, President Trump believes this is not a stand-alone issue or trade deal… Trump wants to see all tariffs removed on all industries, including agriculture, steel aluminum and medical equipment…

“‘We are willing to bring down even our car tariffs to zero, all tariffs to zero, if the U.S. does the same,’ European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told members of the European Parliament on Thursday in Brussels. But… Malmstrom has said that agriculture would not be included in this deal, and because of this, the White House is not celebrating the comments made today by Malmstrom.”

Europe Supports Turkey against the USA

The EUObserver wrote on August 24:

“The Turkey-US trade spat has led to EU leaders backing Turkey against the US administration’s policies. This not only shows the extent of economic interdependence between Europe and Turkey, but also signals the development of a common stance in the face of a bullying trade partner.

“When US president Donald Trump took to Twitter to celebrate the downward trajectory of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, Europe was concerned about the potential spillover of rapidly growing economic turmoil in Turkey. In particular, Germany, Turkey’s biggest trading partner, came to Turkey’s defence… In Italy, decision makers were equally concerned about contagion from Turkish markets…

“Meanwhile, the European Parliament declared the tariffs as illegitimate and urged the US to solve its problems with Turkey with ‘constructive diplomatic engagement.’ French economy minister Bruno Le Maire vowed to ‘strengthen economic ties between France and Turkey’ signalling that France and Turkey would work together to take a stance against the US…

“In the past 12 months alone, the tension between Europe and the US escalated like never before… the US and Europe have found themselves on the opposing sides of global conflicts and major foreign policy issues… There is a growing sense in Europe that collective action is needed for dealing with the US administration… A foreign policy based on ‘America first’ is likely to result in further isolation for the US to the extent that it undermines the US’ major allies across the world.”

Turkey will be aligned with Europe and Arab nations against Israel (the state of Israel as well as the USA and the UK), according to biblical prophecies, and America will become more and more isolated on the world scene.

Trump’s Terrible Week

The Guardian wrote on August 25:

“[On Tuesday, in] New York, Trump’s longtime lawyer and ‘fixer’ Michael Cohen implicated the president in a crime to influence the 2016 presidential election. Pleading guilty to dodging taxes and campaign finance violations, he alleged that Trump directed him to pay hush money to prevent two women – a Playboy model and pornographic actor – speaking out about extramarital affairs.

“In Alexandria, Virginia, Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, was found guilty of eight tax and bank fraud charges and could now spend the rest of his life behind bars – unless Trump chooses to pardon him.

“… But the day from hell [August 21] was far from done. The Republican congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted on corruption charges, namely converting more than $250,000 in campaign money to pay for personal expenses… In 2016, Hunter was the second member of Congress to endorse Trump for president. Earlier this month the first, Chris Collins of New York was indicted for insider trading. The third [member of Congress who endorsed Trump]? Jeff Sessions, now Trump’s out-of-favour attorney general…

“And then, in one more dose of humiliation, the candidate Trump endorsed for governor of Wyoming, Foster Friess, lost the Republican primary to the state treasurer, Mark Gordon…

“Then there was Wednesday… the president gave an interview to Fox News which, as always, had sought to play down the firestorm. He denied instructing to Cohen to commit a crime… He also claimed that he did not find out about the payments until ‘later’, contradicting earlier statements. For the first time, the Washington Post’s factchecker said the president was lying rather than merely misleading or false…

“On Thursday there was no let-up. It emerged that David Pecker, chairman of American Media Inc, which owns the pro-Trump National Enquirer, had been granted immunity to provide information about Cohen and Trump’s involvement with payments to the two women who allege sexual affairs. The Associated Press added fuel to the fire by reporting that the Enquirer kept such secrets locked in a safe…

“On Friday… attention turned back to Trump’s legal crisis as the Wall Street Journal reported that Allen Weisselberg, his longtime financial gatekeeper, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors for providing information about Cohen…”

Just about Cohen? Many feel that the alleged “investigation” regarding “collusion with Russia” has far exceeded its claimed legitimate legal justification and that it does constitute a political witch-hunt of unparalleled historical proportions. At one time, Trump said that if special counsel Robert Mueller should begin to investigate Trump’s or his family’s private financial affairs, he would have crossed the red line. Constitutionally, Trump can’t probably fire Mueller himself or through his Attorney General Sessions who recused himself, after he took the job, without telling Trump ahead of time. But Trump could fire Sessions (which many, such as evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., a religious adviser to Trump, believe is long overdue) and/or insist that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein fire Mueller, and if he refuses [he had told Congress he would fire Mueller only for clear misconduct and he gave him great latitude regarding the “investigation”], Trump could fire him too until he finds someone who carries out his demands.

Politico pointed out on April 17, 2018, that this man might be Solicitor General Noel Francisco: “Under Justice Department rules, Rosenstein’s successor should be the department’s third-ranking official, the associate attorney general. But the last occupant of that job, Rachel Brand, departed in February and has not been replaced [Presently, Jesse Panuccio is serving as the Acting Associate Attorney General; while the Trump administration has put its search for the Justice Department’s No. 3 official on hold]. Next in line is Francisco, 48, a former George W. Bush White House and Justice Department lawyer whom Trump last year named to be U.S. solicitor general, representing his administration and the U.S. government before the Supreme Court.”

It might not be “politically correct” for Trump to fire Mueller in the way described above, and the Democrats will and many Republicans might revolt and cry foul, but they still may not dare to impeach Trump, as many American citizens would be on his side, going beyond just his loyal base, since he would truly have begun, in the minds of many, to drain the swamp which he had promised to do. After all, many congressional Republicans were never his friends to begin with, nor are they his friends today, and now we see that some of Trump’s long-time loyal “friends” are receiving immunity while turning against him.

Impeach Trump, and the American People Will Revolt

The Washington Post wrote on August 24:

“‘I think impeachment would be totally horrible,’ Giuliani said, later adding, ‘You could only impeach him for political reasons, and the American people would revolt against that.’ On this point, Giuliani is largely correct.

“First, impeachment is indeed a purely political process… it’s also probably true that there would be a revolt of some significant form against an effort to impeach Trump… ‘Revolt’ is a strong word, and ‘the American people’ is overly broad. But a substantial number of Americans would certainly take strong issue with an impeachment effort against Trump…

“We talk a lot about Trump’s base of support, how broadly steady it is and how enthusiastic it is. Talk to Trump supporters and a common theme is that they feel the need to stand with him because he’s constantly embattled by the outside forces of Democrats and government investigators…”

Trump won’t be impeached.

Trump Like Cyrus Helping to Build the Temple?

The Huffington Post wrote on August 30:

“[Roger E.] Olson, a professor of Christian theology… said many evangelicals don’t necessarily believe that Trump is a man of faith. But they view him like Cyrus, the biblical Persian emperor who helped to free the Hebrew people and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem despite not being Jewish himself.

“‘They regard [Trump] as a person who is not one of God’s own people (Jewish or Christian), but an instrument of God to deliver Israel and American evangelical Christianity from persecution…’”

Trump’s role in the building of the Third Temple prior to Christ’s return will be interesting to observe. Please view our StandingWatch program, “Netanyahu’s Announcement of a Third Temple?”

John McCain and His Farewell Message

The Week wrote on August 27:

“The passing of Sen. John McCain marks the end of an era in American political life… Americans are always hungry for heroes, and McCain served admirably in that role for many years. His service, sacrifice, and suffering as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War was genuinely awe-inspiring and worthy of profound… respect…

“Honor, nobility, courage, public-spiritedness — he esteemed them all and did his best to embody them in his life. That… is the source of the heartfelt tributes that have flowed forth from so many at the news of his death. His life was a reminder of an older, elevated notion of politics that places country before party and self-sacrifice before self-interest. That such displays of public virtue can still move so many, even at such an otherwise tawdry time in our history, is powerful evidence that they grow out of and touch something deep and ineradicable within the human soul.”

JTA wrote on August 28:

“McCain reserved two paragraphs in his posthumous farewell for a warning about the dangers of hypernationalism, alluding to the rise of the ‘alt-right,’ the white supremacists whom he reviled. And he invoked a slogan that predates the Nazis, but that was made popular by them: blood and soil… ‘We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil… We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process… We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe.’

“It was not the first time McCain had referenced the term ‘blood and soil,’ which the Nazis used to justify their theories of racial purity. Last October, receiving the National Constitution Center’s Liberty Medal, he used the term to warn against the white supremacism that had led to violence and murder in Charlottesville, Virginia just two months earlier.

“‘To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain “the last best hope of earth” for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history,’ McCain said then. ‘We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil.’…

“McCain was furious with President Donald Trump for equivocating following Charlottesville, when the president insisted both sides were to blame for the violence and… declared that there were ‘very fine people’ on both sides. And McCain’s final statement segues from a warning about the term to an indictment of Trump’s policies, particularly the president’s anti-immigrant postures.

“‘We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down,’ McCain said, an allusion to the wall Trump hopes to build along the border the United States shares with Mexico, and which runs through Arizona… Trump despised McCain and had to be pressured into honoring the senator’s memory.”

Earthquake in Southern California

The Los Angeles Times reported on August 29:

“Parts of Southern California were rattled by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake Tuesday evening that was centered near La Verne but felt over a wide area… the epicenter was three miles from San Dimas, four miles from Claremont and five miles from Glendora.

“… Victor Flores, who lives in a two-story house in the hills of La Verne, said the shaking was ‘extremely violent.’ ‘It was moving the whole house,’ he said. ‘It shook hard for what seemed like 10 to 20 seconds, and then it just kept going. It was really loud too, kind of like thunder. It just hit really hard and quick.’ Flores, his wife and daughters ran to their backyard, but when they saw the water in their pool swaying back and forth, they ran back inside…

“Rochelle Puente was watching her 7-year-old son’s football practice at Bonita High School in La Verne when she felt the shaking. She and at least 100 other people at the field looked up at the tall trees and swaying poles. Puente heard people scream… ‘It felt way stronger than a 4.4,’ Puente added.

“The… quake was widely felt, either as a sharp jolt near the epicenter or a rolling motion farther away. It shook buildings for several seconds in downtown Los Angeles.”

Please view our StandingWatch program,  Is California’s Big Earthquake About to Strike?

Further Outrageous Conduct by Bank of America

Miami Herald wrote on August 30:

“Saeed Moshfegh woke up earlier this month to discover the strangest thing: though he had plenty of money in his Bank of America account, he couldn’t access it. An Iranian getting his Ph.D in physics at the University of Miami, Moshfegh used the account for everyday transactions. All he had to do to maintain the account was show proof of legal residency every six months. Moshfegh… has lived in the U.S. for the past seven years. He recently married an American.

“That Thursday, Moshfegh went to his local branch near South Miami. He was told that the documentation he had provided could not be accepted. Bank officials insisted he produce a different form, according to Moshfegh. The bank was wrong, he maintains, because the form he had supplied was the correct one based on his current status as a student nearing graduation. ‘This bank doesn’t know how the immigration system works, so they didn’t accept my document,’ said Moshfegh, 36.  Locked out of his account, Moshfegh couldn’t pay his rent, which was due that week. Credit card payments were suddenly rejected.

“His case isn’t unique. In recent months, Bank of America has been accused of freezing or threatening to freeze customers’ accounts after asking about their legal status in the U.S. In July, the Washington Post reported that multiple customers had been locked out of their accounts after Bank of America questioned whether the account holders were U.S. citizens or dual citizens.

“According to the Post, Kansas-born Josh Collins received an unusual-looking letter purportedly from the bank asking about his citizenship status. He said he thought the mailer was spam and ignored it—only to have his account frozen a few weeks later. After Collins’ story was first reported locally, he and his wife received messages from others who had been locked out of their accounts for weeks, the Post reported.

“Tennessee native David Lewis says he received the same suspicious-looking letter as Collins. In an interview with the Miami Herald, Lewis said he has maintained an account with Bank of America for about 30 years. In the letter, the bank inquired about his citizenship, income, and Social Security number. When he called Bank of America, he was told his account would be frozen if he did not fill out the forms. That phone conversation led him to cancel his account, he said…

“Proof of citizenship is not required to open a bank account in the U.S., according to Stephanie Collins, a spokesperson for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal agency that supervises branch banking. Banks are merely required to identify and report suspicious transactions and maintain and update customer information, she said…

“Paulina Gonzalez, executive director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, told the Herald: ‘…We have Bank of America customers who we’ve spoken to who have never been asked this before last year…’ In recent months, her group has received several complaints about being asked for proof of citizenship; almost all have come from Bank of America customers, she said. An article in American Banker magazine also highlighted Bank of America as the one institution specifically facing backlash for its policies…

“For Moshfegh, the Miami physics student, it was not until he’d had conversations with multiple Bank of America officials that he was able to convince them to let him withdraw all his funds; Bank of America would not let him keep the account.”

This is truly appalling. For more information, please view our StandingWatch program, “Do Banks and the Government Control You?” 

Another Change in Australia’s Government

The Telegraph wrote on August 25:

“Australia’s new prime minister Scott Morrison, a staunch conservative and devout evangelical Christian [who opposes same-sex marriage], yesterday pledged to heal the ruling Liberal party after a week of infighting that outgoing leader Malcolm Turnbull said left his nation ‘dumbstruck and so appalled’. Following a brutal party brawl, Mr Morrison emerged victorious as leader in a 45-40 party-room vote against Peter Dutton, a hardliner who led a coup against Mr Turnbull.

“Mr Morrison, formerly the treasurer, equivalent to Chancellor of the Exchequer, was sworn in on Friday by the Governor-General, the Queen’s representative, to become Australia’s sixth prime minister in eight years. Mr Turnbull, a former investment banker who became leader after toppling Tony Abbott in 2015, was ousted by a group of right-wing MPs who mistrusted his progressive views, even as he veered rightward on issues such as climate change, the republic and same-sex marriage…

“The toppling of Mr Turnbull means that no Australian leader has served a full term since John Howard after the 2004 election… Adding to the turmoil, Mr Turnbull said he planned to leave parliament, which would require a by-election that could threaten the ruling Liberal-National Coalition’s one-seat majority. This could force an early general election, which is currently due by May.

“Mr Morrison, a father of two and faithful member of an American-style mega-church, did not support the move to topple Mr Turnbull. He was elected after a three-way contest against Mr Dutton and Julie Bishop, the foreign minister, who was defeated in the first round of voting.

“On Friday night US President Donald Trump congratulated Mr Morrison. Trump tweeted, ‘There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!’ Mr Morrison soon responded, writing on Twitter: ‘Had a great discussion with @realDonaldTrump this morning. We affirmed the strength of the relationship between the US and Australia…’ Known as a shrewd political operator, Mr Morrison developed a reputation as a tough but capable minister after overseeing Australia’s efforts to stem the flow of asylum seekers by boat. This involved detaining refugees on remote offshore islands and towing boats back to Indonesia, measures condemned as unlawful and inhumane by the United Nations.”

If there are no greater friends than the USA and Australia, where do the UK and Israel fit in? The Bible says that God is not pleased with a country’s national sin manifested by the fact that its leaders change constantly and quickly (Proverbs 28:2 says in the Luther Bible 1984: “Because of the sin of the land its leaders change often…”).

Deadly Side Effects of Prescription Medications

ABC News wrote on August 27:

“The authors collected health information of over 23,000 children 19 years and younger using [a survey] from 2003 to 2014. Nearly one in five children and adolescents used at least one prescription medication; approximately 7.5 percent used two or more and the use of prescription medications was the highest among adolescent girls (28 percent) and boys ages 6 to 12 years (26.5 percent).

“Among those using multiple medications, one in 12 was at risk for a major drug interaction, and the vast majority of these potential interactions involved antidepressants. Adolescent girls were at a higher risk of interacting drug regimens compared to other groups, largely because of their higher rate of medication use… side effects related to medications remain a leading cause of injuries and death among children and adolescents in the United States… approximately 200,000 children and teens visit emergency departments each year because of side effects related to medication…”

Hatred for the Bible?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 17:

“Would you believe it if I told you the mere sight of the Bible is offensive to some people?… Apparently, in our intolerant culture, we no longer can display the Bible in public…

“Harvard, Yale and a number of the other original nine colonial colleges in America were established by people who believed in the Bible. The Salvation Army, which has helped countless vulnerable people, was started by a man who believed in the Bible and lived accordingly. The abolitionist movement was led by men and women who believed the words in the Bible and took them to heart. And let’s not forget Martin Luther King Jr., whose celebrated speeches, which in many ways were really sermons, are now enshrined in our collective consciousness. And yet, here we are, having to tiptoe around some who find it offensive.

“We can find Bibles in nearly every hotel room in America, and most Americans have at least one Bible in their home. In fact, 47% of American adults, including 50% of college graduates, believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. At the same time, there is a significant disconnect. Half of those who claim to read the Bible aren’t able to name the four Gospels in the New Testament…”

The situation in Europe, especially Germany, is much worse. Anyone who dares to read the Bible in public (including in public transportation) is being considered by most as being weird, strange, abnormal or a religious fanatic. You can read any book you want in public, but woe to you if you read the Bible! We need to understand that the author of such hatred for God’s Word is none other than Satan the Devil.

Separation of Catholic Church and State in Italy?

Evangelical Focus reported on August 20:

“The state funeral in Genova for the victims of the Morandi bridge, which killed at least 41 people, was not attended by all the victims. About half of the relatives decided not to take part in the ceremony held on August 16^th…

“The state funeral followed a Roman Catholic rite… Among those who did not attend the state funeral were the parents, siblings and friends of Stella Boccia (24). They decided to do their own funeral the day before… Francesco Boccia, brother of the victim, is an evangelical pastor of an Assemblies of God…

“This is not the first time a state funeral in Italy is officiated in accordance to the Roman Catholic liturgy, even when those honoured include people of other faiths and non-believers. According to the Italian Evangelical Alliance (AEI), the state funerals after the earthquakes of Aquila (2009) and Amatrice (2016) followed a similar religious framework. ‘The state funeral is delegated to the Catholic church as if the state could not “handle death” apart from “mother” church’, Vice President of the AEI, Leonardo De Chirico, told Evangelical Focus. Therefore, the state funeral becomes ‘actually a Catholic funeral. The distinctions between state and church are blurred… It assumes that everyone is Catholic and that the Catholic Church acts on behalf of the state’…”

We need to note as well that Roman Catholicism was recognized under Mussolini as the state’s official and only religion, and this declaration in a treaty between church and state was never revoked. The same “blurred distinctions” can be observed in other European countries in which Catholics constitute a majority of the people, including Austria, Germany, France and Spain.  

Pope Francis—Change of Mind or Damage Control?

The Guardian wrote on August 27:

“The Vatican has rolled back on a recommendation by Pope Francis that parents seek psychiatric help for children who show homosexual tendencies. The pope made the comments to journalists as he was flying back to Rome from Ireland, but the Vatican later removed his phrase from its official account, saying he had not meant to suggest that homosexuality was a mental illness.

“The pope was asked by a journalist what he would say to parents who observe homosexual traits in their children. ‘When it shows itself from childhood, there is a lot that can be done through psychiatry, to see how things are. It is something else if it shows itself after 20 years,’ he said. He added that ignoring a child who showed homosexual tendencies was an ‘error of fatherhood or motherhood’…

“The pope’s trip to Ireland was fraught with controversy amid accusations that he ignored sexual abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick.”

It was even alleged that he knew and covered up alleged sexual abuses of children. The pope has refused to comment to such allegations.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.