In this edition, we focus primarily on events pertaining to and affecting Europe. We begin with an article about Britain, showing how interest groups and political maneuvering are trying to keep a party and a leadership in power which have–by all objective standards–shown themselves to be politically bankrupt.

We then address the present difficulties that European unification is facing. It is being proposed that because of European disarray, America’s President has no need to even listen to or meet with Europeans. The duplicity of European and other nations in dealing with Iran is now being matched by Iranian duplicity in its dealings with Europe and others.

Realizing the sad state of European affairs, especially German politicians are now pleading for a unifying European army–realizing that Britain will probably not have a part in such a project. At the same time, frictions between Europe and America continue.

We conclude with a lengthy report on Germany’s Catholic sexual abuse scandal, which is casting a very dark and disturbing light on the very “image and system” of the Catholic church itself.

The state of the U.S. economy appears to be hopeless. No recovery is in sight, nor should we expect any substantial improvement. Instead, we are told that the latest U.S. budget is “a recipe for financial disaster” and that America’s debt crisis can be associated with Third World countries.

The recent Afghan conference was a total and complete failure, and it is interesting how everything seems to work against the USA. Brussels is upset with Washington, and Europe is becoming painfully aware that it must do more to achieve influential and powerful unification. Tensions between the USA and Iran are heightening, in spite of empty words and “promises” from the Iranian government, and mixed signals from Washington show an ongoing policy of glaring inconsistencies and indecisiveness.

While Barack Obama’s mentor goes public with his criticism of the President’s performance, Republican challenger Scott Brown continues to make controversial remarks in an effort to distance himself from the Republican GOP, and Germans become increasingly dissatisfied with their current government.

In Haiti, survivors thank their voodoo gods and goddesses for protection, as, according to a Haitian saying, “people here are ’60 per cent Catholic, 40 per cent Protestant and 100 per cent voodoo.” At the same time, the U.S. Air Force “accommodates” cadets by setting aside an outdoor worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and other Earth-centered believers.

While the pope criticizes British equality rights laws as endorsing homosexual conduct, an ever-widening scandal in Germany and elsewhere sheds a terrible light on Jesuit priests who committed sex crimes against boys.

The government of Catholic France is refusing to grant citizenship to Muslims unwilling to cease wearing burquas, and a jury in Oregon convicts parents who believe in divine healing “of criminally negligent homicide for failing to seek medical care for their 16-year-old son.” We conclude with an excerpt from our free booklet, titled, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us,” addressing parental responsibilities in cases of sick children.

While we hear about lofty promises and representations about “the end” of the U.S. recession and recovery being just around the corner, the housing market and the debt deficit paint quite a different picture. And while Hillary Clinton is upset about international criticism of U.S. engagement in Haiti, the controversies between the USA and Germany over Afghanistan are continuing.

Notwithstanding Angela Merkel’s highly unpopular decision to send more German troops into Afghanistan–a decision which could lead to her political demise–the Afghan war proves to be another nail in the coffin of deteriorating relationships between the USA and Germany. At the same time, German anger begins to be directed against those who claim Germans are not good soldiers and are not doing enough in Afghanistan.

While the relationship between Germany and Iran is (temporarily) worsening, at least in part due to inhumane activities of the Iranian government, a US Court recognized that Germany engages in persecution of religious minorities.

The Telegraph, in commenting on President Obama’s State of the Union address, wrote that “Barack Obama gets an F for world leadership.” And even domestically, looking at the seemingly insurmountable problems that this nation is facing–with no true answers being offered by our politicians–President Obama’s “optimism” sounded shallow and unconvincing, when he said, referring to the recession: “The worst of the storm has passed.” Or when he stated: “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We don’t allow fear or division to break our spirit.”

At the same time, a revealing article on the background of Mr. Obama’s greatest current challenger, Scott Brown, shows the depth of trouble this country is in. It reminds us of a biblical prophecy in Isaiah 9:13-16 about the modern house of Israel (i.e., the USA, Great Britain, Canada and other English-speaking nations). That passage reads:

“For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush IN ONE DAY. The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.”

We conclude with an article about the unchristian and sick custom of self-flagellation, showing how far this world has turned away from the true God of the Bible.

The earthquake in Haiti will not be the last BIG earthquake predestined to occur very soon. Since last Sunday, several earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 5.8 to 6.3, were reported worldwide. And while the USA has assumed a leadership role in Haiti to deal with the crisis, it is being blamed for apparent shortcomings, and especially France has begun to accuse the USA of trying to occupy Haiti. And while President Obama had to face a huge and extremely embarrassing loss in liberal Massachusetts exactly one year after he took power, the relationship between the USA and China is bound to deteriorate, which will greatly hurt the US economy.

At the same time, it is felt that German engagement is a key factor for European success in the Middle East. Evidence is also mounting that the fanatic Iranian regime or Hezbollah were responsible for the murder of Masoud Ali Mohammadi, and Germans, including the two big churches, are becoming increasingly frustrated with German military involvement in Afghanistan in lieu of the recent terrorist attack of the Taliban. We conclude with a report of the pope’s visit to Rome’s main synagogue, highlighting the ongoing troubled relationship between the Vatican and the Jews.

We begin by addressing the irresponsible “opinion” of some “experts,” saying that the U.S. recession is over, and quote from a British paper, showing that America is actually sliding deeper into depression. Another article is wondering whether the USA will have to declare bankruptcy one of these days.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s alleged racial comments have prompted interesting reactions from politicians of all parties and persuasion–showing again the deeply self-serving nature of politics. We also report on a possible religious exemption from mandatory health care insurance, and show in articles about the most recent major earthquakes in Haiti and California, what may be in store for the entire globe.

Turning to the war-stricken areas of Afghanistan and the Middle East (including Iran and Israel), several articles show the ability of man to devise more and more sophisticated weapons and war machinery and his inability to live in peace. All of this points to the prophesied scenario of a soon-coming man-made Great Tribulation which will threaten the very survival of all human life.

We conclude with an interesting discovery that the Great Pyramid of Giza was not built with the help of forced labor. The Bible may indicate what famous biblical personage built that pyramid.

We begin with an article by Reuters, listing the possible economic and political crises we might be confronted with in 2010, and continue with several reports on Yemen which has been labeled as the “newest hotbed of international terrorism.” However, the sad truth is that Yemen is not really a “new” operation base for al-Qaida and other radical Islamist organizations. Rather, the USA and Western nations have been sleeping at the switch and ignoring the growing problems. Now, as the German media reports, there are no real solutions for dealing with the dilemma, and Yemen is accusing the USA of having created at least part of the debacle.

We then report on President Obama’s many challenges–all of them very dangerous, and none of them easily solvable. His appointment of a transgender as Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department does not help and is not a light matter in the eyes of God Who condemns such practices in His Word. The lack of spiritual leadership in this country could also be seen in the willingness of the head of the nation’s evangelical non-denominational megachurches to give the opening prayer during the swearing-in ceremony of the new lesbian mayor of Houston.

While the Los Angeles Times states the opinion that the last decade was the worst in modern American history, Reuters feels that the prospects for any American recovery are extremely slim. We most certainly agree with this assessment in the light of biblical prophecy.

The discussion in Germany regarding the unpopular Afghan war was fueled again by statements from the head of the German Lutheran Church and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, pleading for an end to the war and withdrawal of all German troops–a move which would create further friction between the USA and Germany.

Turning to social issues, we quote from an article by the Telegraph, advocating occasional spanking of young children; speak on the terrible rise of the misuse of alcohol in Britain; explain the German pagan customs and demonic practices of New Year’s; and conclude with reports about the astonishing intelligence of dolphins.

This world’s conditions deteriorate with alarming speed, as man has rejected God! While the world believes in the Satanic concept of evolution and involves itself with Satanic rites, for instance on New Year’s, it rejects God Who has created animals and man–and Who has told us what to believe; how to live; and how to raise our children. Sadly, this world has it all backwards. It is high time that the light of God’s truth shines in this darkness (John 1:5), and that those, who have the light, make every effort to continue to believe and walk in it, lest darkness overtake them, as it has the rest of the world (John 12:35-36).

A widely circulated clip on YouTube, which was also linked on December 28 by the Drudge Report, shows Senator Max Baucus apparently being drunk or intoxicated on the Senate Floor, when “debating” the new health care bill. This brings vividly to mind certain biblical prophecies about “drunkards” in high positions (compare Isaiah 28:1, 3, 7).

A man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam and then to the U.S. on a Northwest Airlines flight Friday tried to ignite an explosive as the plane prepared to land in Detroit. As could be expected, governments, airlines and airport securities which were caught sleeping at the switch in the first place, have now introduced stringent “security” restrictive measures for passengers–several of which border on the ridiculous. (It was subsequently announced that some of these measures might or might not be carried out on every flight.) These (contemplated) measures seem to amply prove man’s inability to show proper balance and sound wisdom. We can see how the world trembles at an attempted terrorist attack. We can only imagine the panic which would have ensued if that attack would have been successful.

In other news, we are focusing on the disappointment which has set in worldwide regarding President Obama’s politics and perceived lack of leadership. German papers in particular claim that President Obama missed golden opportunities for improvement in many areas, even though it is being maintained that the criticism, especially on the “left,” is “exaggerated”; and they claim that the relationship between the USA and France, as well as Germany, has not improved substantially. They conclude that due to the failure of leadership of the USA, for instance on the hotly discussed issue of “climate change,” Europe under Germany must lead.

Calls in this country as well as in Europe are being heard to deal “tough” with Iran, and a U.S. military strike is no longer ruled out.

We are addressing Russia’s war-like ambitions of maintaining its status of a nuclear power and its willingness to come militarily to the “rescue” of “threatened” countries; and we conclude with reports on a closer relationship between Japan, India and China, and strained relationships between these nations and the USA and Britain.

We begin with reports on the health care “reform.” On December 21, the Senate conducted the first of several procedural votes needed before a vote on the bill could take place on December 24. While Republicans were unanimously opposed, Democrats managed to muster the necessary 60 votes. Politics went into high gear when Democratic votes were only secured after granting special concessions–a procedure which was criticized as “corrupt” and “bribery.”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on December 21: “Change Nobody Believes In. A bill so reckless that it has to be rammed through on a partisan vote on Christmas eve. And tidings of comfort and joy from Harry Reid too… Mr. Obama promised a new era of transparent good government, yet on Saturday morning Mr. Reid threw out the 2,100-page bill that the world’s greatest deliberative body spent just 17 days debating and replaced it with a new ‘manager’s amendment’ that was stapled together in covert partisan negotiations. Democrats are barely even bothering to pretend to care what’s in it, not that any Senator had the chance to digest it in the 38 hours before the first cloture vote at 1 a.m. this morning… Even in World War I there was a Christmas truce.

“The rushed, secretive way that a bill this destructive and unpopular is being forced on the country shows that ‘reform’ has devolved into the raw exercise of political power for the single purpose of permanently expanding the American entitlement state. An increasing roll of leaders in health care and business are looking on aghast at a bill that is so large and convoluted that no one can truly understand it, as Finance Chairman Max Baucus admitted on the floor last week. The only goal is to ram it into law while the political window is still open, and clean up the mess later.”

On December 24, the Senate adopted the new health care bill. As USA Today reported, “It was the first time since 1963 that the Senate met on the day before Christmas and the first time since 1895 that senators cast a roll call vote on this day… The bill would require most individuals to purchase health insurance and offer subsidies for those who cannot afford the coverage. It also makes companies with more than 50 employees subject to penalties if they do not provide health care and their workers require subsidies…

“The Senate vote now sends the legislation to a conference committee, where Democratic leaders will try to reconcile differences between House and Senate bills on such things as how to pay for health care; how to help low- and middle-income-earners pay for the insurance they will be required to buy; and what restrictions to place on insurance coverage for abortions. The committee cannot formally meet or take action until Jan. 19… Republicans are vowing to wage a public relations campaign to derail the legislation before the next round of votes…”

Turning our attention to the climate summit in Copenhagen, President Obama announced an “unprecedented breakthrough.” However, what was achieved was a non-binding “agreement” between just five nations. It has been described as a trick; and the Copenhagen summit was labeled as an “utter failure”; and the Obama Administration and China are being blamed for it. The summit has received so much negative coverage in the European press that it was coined “Flopenhagen.” While most news reports regret that no results were obtained, the German conservative paper, Die Welt, warns that our approach toward perceived man-made global warming might be totally off track.

We also tell you about continued bank failures in the USA–with no end of the recession in sight; the incredible appointment of President Obama’s “safe schools czar”; another example why our legal system does NOT work, reporting on the conviction of an innocent person; strained relations between the Vatican and Israel; and conclude with an article about ambitions of the Habsburg family to run for the Austrian presidency.

We begin with a few articles covering President Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Financial Times utters the opinion that the Nobel committee made fundamental misjudgments; the left-liberal Huffington Post chides the President for confusing war with peace in his acceptance speech; and the Israeli paper, Haaretz, strongly condemns the award and feels that the world needs a leader–but that it isn’t President Obama. (When one may think the decision regarding the Peace Nobel Prize was controversial enough, Time magazine just announced that they chose Mr. Bernanke as the “person of the year.” While Mr. Bernanke denied for over a year that we were in a recession, the editors of “Time” congratulate him for having averted a depression.)

The health-care debacle continues, with political maneuverings, changed positions and disappointed players. The Wall Street Journal wonders about the reasons for the Obama Administration’s disdain for Britain, while Britain angers Israel due to breached promises to repudiate an antiquated law. It also appears that the EU wants to accept a plan to establish East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

While Iran accelerates the production of powerful weapons and while the debate of the spread of Islam in Europe continues, the German paper, Die Tageszeitung, rejects the decision of Germany’s constitutional court to generally ban shopping on Sundays, and asks this pointed question: “How is it that Switzerland’s recent prohibition on minarets can be seen as an affront to religious freedom, but in Germany we allow churches rather than a democratically elected government [to] tell us what to do with our Sundays?” (We have posted a German StandingWatch program on the Web, Sonntagsverkauf unchristlich? discussing this decision and its ramifications; as well as the fact that Sunday is NOT the Biblically-commanded seventh day of rest, but an “invention” of the Roman Catholic Church, adopted from worship of pagan sungods.)

The Catholic Church is beginning to lay down the ground rules for non-Catholic priests [such as members of the Anglican clergy] to join the Church of Rome as priests, and the requirements are not as “liberal” as some might have thought. We also report on Germany’s tradition to celebrate “Nikolaus’ day” on December 6, and conclude with an article in the Daily Mail that Prince William–and not Prince Charles–could be the next King of England.

We begin with a selection of articles on Europe–including an alarming report on Europe’s secret nuclear weapons; a Russian plea for a European army; and the charge that the EU is escalating war in the Middle East, while Europe is anxious to please both sides. As Jews come to the rescue of Muslims in Europe–for fear that the EU might turn against Jews next–the Anglican church in the USA nominated a lesbian to the office of bishop, thereby angering headquarters in Britain.

We also note that Britain and France are at odds again–as they have been so many times during their turbulent history–but the latest feud might very well contribute to Britain’s likely decision to exit the EU. In addition, the USA might very well abandon Britain in the end.

We report on “wartime” President Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize and his bewildering statements justifying war.

We quote an article on the return of the historical plague of syphilis in Britain and conclude with a special report on the summit in Copenhagen and the ongoing heated and sometimes mean-spirited controversy on “man-made global warming” or “climate change.” It is becoming obvious that Europe and the USA, as well as China, are drifting further and further apart on the issue–as one article’s headline reads: “Europe Turns on US and China Over Weak Emission Targets.”