WARNING! Despicable Animal Experiments with Aborted Baby Parts under Fauci’s Direction

 Life News wrote on February 4:

“When it comes to the grisly use of aborted baby parts for dubious scientific research in America, a new report shows embattled NIH director Anthony Fauci is behind most of the funding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which Fauci directs, is behind $27 million in taxpayer funding for research involving tissue or body parts from babies killed in abortions, or approximately 80% of the funding for all such research in the United States.”

In quoting from an article by Fox News, the paper wrote:

“‘The White Coat Waste Project (WCW), which opposes animal experimentation, looked through NIH data to uncover the scope of funding, which includes support for things like transplanting fetal lungs, liver and thymus into mice…  NIH expects to spend $88 million on this type of research in fiscal year… 22.’”

LifeSiteNews continued:

“Christine McPherson, Development Manager of WCW, said in a statement to Fox: ‘A majority of Republican and Democrat taxpayers don’t want to be forced to pay university white coats tens of millions of dollars each year to implant fingers, scalps, eyes and other parts from aborted human fetuses into monkeys and mice for nightmarish experiments.’

“Recently, the University of Pittsburgh continued to defend its gruesome experiments involving implanting aborted babies’ scalps onto rodents and other research with aborted baby body parts, citing a new investigation this week that found its research is ‘fully compliant’ with state and federal laws. [Republican legislators are still looking for answers, suggesting that the recent investigation was woefully inadequate.] The university commissioned the outside investigation last year after Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress exposed evidence of babies potentially being born alive in abortions and other disturbing practices at the university. The evidence came from documents they obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a Freedom of Information Act request…

“One horrific experiment at the university involved scalping second-trimester aborted babies and then implanting their scalps onto rodents to study the human immune system…

“The Center for Medical Progress and several doctors, including one who supports abortion, also pointed to documents and statements from university officials that suggest some aborted babies’ hearts still may be beating when their organs are harvested for scientific research….

“In a House Appropriations hearing in May, Fauci was asked about the NIAID’s funding of Pitt experiments grafting scalps from 18- to 20-week aborted fetuses onto rats, and if the agency is aware of where the fetuses come from. Fauci replied that the study went through ‘all the appropriate guidelines and oversight.’ [So, Fauci did not answer the question which is very revealing.]

“[David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress] skewered Fauci’s response as ‘outrageous,’ [saying] intact scalps used, which can be seen in pictures included in the study, are only obtainable at the size shown through a partial-birth abortion. ‘Intact heads’ would not be obtainable through ‘dismemberment abortion where the skull is going to be crushed,’ Daleiden explained.

“[The] University of Pittsburgh… has been using Americans’ tax dollars to become a ‘tissue hub’ for aborted baby body parts for scientific research for years. According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress, the university… has received at least $2.7 million so far.”

WARNING! More Abominable Experiments

Fox News also wrote on February 4:

“Fauci’s institute has come under fire for research surrounding the coronavirus, among other things. More recently, WCW uncovered an experiment in which dogs were injected with cocaine. Other experiments involving humanized mice have surfaced.

“One study involved humanizing mice through ‘reconstitution with human fetal liver’… Another study… entailed studying fetal eye cells… Fetal lungs were also incorporated…. Besides attempting to grow fetal kidneys, Ganogen also experimented with placing fetal hearts in lab rats and posted a video of a fetal heart beating inside of a rodent…

“Last year, the Senate rejected an amendment geared toward criminalizing participation in research that created certain chimeras, or human-animal hybrids… ‘Dr. Fauci’s funding of research using aborted fetal tissue is disgusting and indefensible,’ said Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich…

“The University of Pittsburgh has also been suspected of utilizing trafficked or illegally obtained tissue…”

Let’s not forget Fauci’s despicable experiments on beagles.

The Herald-Tribune reported on November 9:

“These taxpayer dollars funded barbaric trials that involved injecting dozens of beagles with experimental drugs before murdering and dissecting them. To make matters worse, these beagles were puppies between the ages of six to eight months.

“Even more heinous, reports were also uncovered revealing that Fauci authorized the vocal cords of the beagles to be cut so that they could not cry while being tortured… In 2016 Fauci authorized experiments where infectious sand flies were strapped to beagles to feed on them for 22 months before the beagles were killed.”

The Sun added on December 30, 2021:

“In October, the non-profit organization White Coat Waste Project accused Fauci of funding a project that had beagles infected with disease-causing parasites in order to test an experimental drug. It claimed the beagle puppies were locked in cages with hungry sandflies that would eat them alive.

“The Hill reports that a bipartisan group of 24 House Representatives has written a letter demanding that Fauci answer to the claims by the nonprofit. The organization claims that as many as 44 beagle puppies were used as part of the cruel experiment in a Tunisia laboratory… ‘Our investigators show that Fauci’s NIH division shipped part of a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia to drug beagles and lock their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry sandflies so that the insects could eat them alive,’ White Coat Waste told The Hill. ‘They also locked beagles alone in cages in the desert overnight for nine consecutive nights to use them as bait to attract infectious sand flies,’ they added.”

The liberal left-wing mass media was anxious to somehow rebut this story, although the NIH [National Institute of Health] admitted that some of the beagles had their vocal cords cut, insisting that the practice was common in scientific settings to reduce noise levels.

But consider this article, published by The Sun on December 30, 2021:

“Peta has accused the NIH and other labs of purchasing 5,000 beagle dogs and puppies over the past decade from Virginia-based supplier Envigo for experiments where the dogs were allegedly confined and some tortured. It also accused Envigo of running a ‘puppy mill’ where dogs were abused in conditions so bad that some of them died. An investigator from Peta claimed to have found 360 dogs dead, according to Fox News… Peta has claimed that Envigo keeps 5,000 beagles at the location and breeds around 500 puppies per month to sell for experimentation…

“[Fauci’s] spokesman told the Washington Post that the company believed that PETA’s allegations are ‘misleading and lacking important context’… adding that animal experimentation is ‘essential’ in developing medicines, vaccines, and other medical devices…”

Dr. Fauci should be fired immediately and be held accountable for these alleged terrible and inhumane experiments under his direction. Further, it should be obvious that Dr. Fauci has lost all credibility.

China’s Record of Horror

The Sun wrote on February 5:

“The world’s eyes have descended on Beijing as the glitzy opening ceremony kicked off the 2022 games. But hidden from view are the hideous human rights abuses allegedly carried out like clockwork by the regime. Gory executions, brutal torture and ‘concentration camps’ are just some the of vile measures the Communist regime has allegedly inflicted on its own people for decades… As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, it’s feared China will put on a glossy and carefully stage-managed image to the rest of the world as the Communists attempt to airbrush their horrendous history of show trials, executions, and some of the worst torture imaginable – let alone alleged genocide.

“Ahead of the games, China has been determined to crush any sign of dissent, and officials have warned that even foreign athletes who make political statements would be subject to ‘certain punishment’…

“In its 100 year history, the Communist party has run a murderous regime… Thousands are thought to perish each year at the bloody hands of authorities using firing squads, lethal injections and mobile death vans. The true numbers of those killed by the Communist Party are thought to be staggeringly high…

“With successive leaders over this period, the regime has crushed peaceful opposition with anyone falling foul of the Communist Party facing the abyss of mental or physical death… human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghur Muslims against their will over the past few years.

“Hundreds of thousands have been incarcerated in a network of what the state calls ‘re-education camps’ – but what has been branded by some as ‘concentration camps’. There is also evidence they are being used as forced labour in factories producing goods for well-known western brands… And from the 90s and into the 00s it is claimed China sought to ‘eradicate’ the Falun Gong religious movement…”

Terrible what evil people and governments, following Satan, are willing to do to their fellow man.

Russia Bans Deutsche Welle in Retaliation of Germany’s Ban of RT

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 4:

“A decision by the Russian government to shut down Deutsche Welle’s Moscow office and withdraw accreditation from the German broadcaster’s journalists in Russia came into effect on Friday at 9 a.m. local time… The Russian Foreign Ministry announced a day earlier that it was canceling DW’s broadcasting license in Russia, calling it a response to the ban of the Russian broadcaster RT DE in Germany….

“Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said if Germany moved to end the dispute over RT’s licensing, Moscow would respond in kind… German officials have called the comparison between RT and DW a false equivalence because DW is a taxpayer-funded independent public service broadcaster rather than a state-owned channel… German government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner on Friday condemned Russia’s DW ban…

“The European Union also slammed the ‘unjustified’ move by Russia… Germany’s Foreign Ministry said the decision would ‘represent a renewed strain on German-Russian relations.’”

On February 3, Deutsche Welle wrote the following in another article:

“Public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio all condemned the closure, saying it turned press freedom into a bargaining chip…

“Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Germany was responsible for an attack on freedom of speech by not granting RT DE a broadcasting license, despite allowing Russian journalists to remain in Germany, attend press events and report from the country…”

Russia’s reaction to Germany’s ban of RT was somewhat predictable, but the sleepy and somewhat hypocritical German government did not see it coming, it seems.

German Troops to Lithuania, but not Ukraine

Deutsche Welle reported on February 6:

“Germany does not rule out sending additional troops to Lithuania, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said…  ‘We (Germany) are already making a very important contribution in Lithuania, where we are the only country in the European Union to have a battlegroup,’ Lambrecht said… Germany has been the leading nation in the NATO operation in Lithuania for five years and provides around half of the 1,200 men and women in the multinational unit.

“Lambrecht also defended Germany’s refusal to supply arms to Kyiv, after Ukraine’s embassy in Germany sent a list with requests to the foreign and defense ministries in Berlin.”

This is ridiculous German hypocrisy. But it all works out according to prophecy.

Scholz Went to Washington

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 7:

“Biden said there would be no chance of the project going ahead if Russian tanks and troops crossed the Ukraine border. ‘There will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it. I promise you we’ll be able to do that.’… When pressed on Nord Stream 2, Scholz avoided mentioning the project explicitly but repeated his message of solidarity….”

Deutsche Welle added on February 8:

“Despite presenting a unified front, their statements also revealed divisions in Berlin and Washington’s approach to Russia… there is discord between the two sides, particularly in regards to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and potential sanctions towards Russia… it’s unclear whether Germany will really be willing to shut down the controversial pipeline project…  [Deutsche Welle wrote in an accompanying article that, “with much of its natural gas imported from Russia, Berlin remains reluctant to commit to using the pipeline as a bargaining tool.”]

“Germany and the United States have not clearly stated ‘what kinds of sanctions will be imposed in the case of the Russian incursion.’… there seems to be ‘disunity’ not only between Germany and the US, but also other NATO allies… Germany’s neighbor, France, may also be willing to differ from common NATO and US positions when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine crisis… Macron also recently told French media that it is ‘legitimate’ for Russia to raise concerns about its security, an idea which has been roundly rejected by the US and NATO…”

The New York Times commented on Scholz’ meeting with Biden and the subsequent press conference: “On Ukraine, Germany Is Nowhere to Be Seen.” The Telegraph wrote: “Once again, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offers only evasions on Russia.” Bild Online spoke about a huge rift between Biden and Scholz.

How Biden Has Helped Putin

Express wrote on February 6:

“By scrapping America’s KeystoneXL Pipeline [on his first day in office] and imposing ‘harsh’ regulations on its gas industry, the US President has been accused of ‘letting Europe become more dependent on Russian gas’. KeystoneXL was a planned 1,179-mile (1,897km) pipeline running from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska. It was intended to join an existing pipe and could carry 830,000 barrels of oil each day… The [European] bloc already depends on Russia for 40 percent of its gas supplies…

“Mr Putin has been accused of deliberately slashing gas deliveries travelling into the EU through its vast network of pipelines… As Ukraine is a key transit country for Russia’s gas to reach the EU, there are fears gas could get cut amid the conflict…. having waived sanctions on a new [Nord Stream 2] gas pipeline [that will transit gas from Russia to Germany once it gets approved] back in May last year, Mr Biden was accused of taking a soft line on Russia.”

It is amazing how Mr. Biden’s decisions add to a prophetic picture which is so detrimental to America and its Western allies.

Russia Predicts Unification with Ukraine

Russian-sponsored and controlled RT wrote on February 6:

“Ukraine could ultimately join a union state with Russia and Belarus as soon as 15 years from now if ‘mistakes’ are avoided during the current crisis, President Alexander Lukashenko predicted in an interview with YouTube… The main problem is that the ongoing crisis is being stoked from across the Atlantic, he claimed, accusing Washington of actively pushing Kiev into a war with Russia…”

It won’t take 15 years until Russia and Ukraine are united.

Why Europe Needs an Army

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“The last few years have shown that the US cannot and does not want to be the policeman of the world anymore. Additionally, Russia and China seem to be aligning their strategies – one targeting Ukraine, and the other Taiwan.

“A military takeover would not only wipe two democracies off the earth, it would also hit Europe in its heart… The EU must… be careful not to make the same mistakes as the Roman Empire – which fell victim to decadence and the idea that its own security could be outsourced to others. Even in the European Union, countries hardly invest in their armed forces. Worse, many countries are opposed to a common European foreign and security policy. They remain stuck in the idea that the US will continue to keep us safe through Nato.

“This is naïve…

“It is therefore high time to make progress towards an European army based on a common foreign policy… A survey of European citizens has shown that the need for a European army is perceived as the most urgent.”

Israel Might Still Attack Iran even if there is a Deal

Time of Israel and The associated press wrote on February 6:

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett implied Sunday that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran even if the Islamic Republic and world powers revive their 2015 nuclear deal… ‘Our position is well-known and clear: An agreement – according to the apparent terms – will damage the ability to deal with the nuclear program. Anyone who thinks that an agreement will increase stability is mistaken… It will temporarily delay enrichment but all of us in the region will pay a heavy, disproportionate price for it.’…

“On Friday, as US negotiators headed back to Vienna for what could be a make-or-break session. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities… Friday’s move lifts the sanctions threat against foreign countries and companies from Russia, China and Europe that had been cooperating with non-military parts of Iran’s nuclear program under the terms of the 2015 deal…”

Trump vs. Pence

Fox News wrote on February 4:

“Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech in Florida Friday and pushed back against claims from former President Trump and his supporters that he had the ability to use his power to contest the 2020 presidential election. ‘There are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, I possessed unilateral authority to reject electoral college votes,’ Pence said in the speech to the Federalist Society. ‘And this week, our former president said I had the right to overturn the election. President Trump is wrong… I had no right to overturn the election.’ Pence continued, ‘Frankly there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.’

“Pence explained that ‘under Article II Section One, elections are conducted at the state level, not by Congress’ and that ‘the only role of Congress with respect to the electoral college is to open and count votes submitted and certified by the states.’..

“Pence also referred to the January 6 riot as a ‘dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.’..

“Pence’s comments come days after Trump voiced his belief that his vice president, via the Electoral Count Act, had the ability to send the electoral votes back to the states. ’The Vice President did have this right or, more pointedly, could have sent the votes back to various legislators for reassessment after so much fraud and irregularities were found,’ Trump said. ‘If it were sent back to the legislators, or if Nancy Pelosi, who is in charge of Capitol security, had taken my recommendation and substantially increased security, there would have been no “January 6” as we know it!’

“Pence’s speech comes as speculation about his 2024 presidential ambitions run rampant, as do questions about his current relationship with Trump following their vocal disagreement on the outcome of the 2020 election…”

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“Former President Donald Trump clapped back on Friday night to comments made by his former vice president earlier in the day…  criticizing Pence’s statement to the crowd of conservative lawyers… ‘Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible,’ Trump said. ‘Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist. That’s why the Democrats and RINOs are working feverishly together to change the very law that Mike Pence and his unwitting advisors used on January 6 to say he had no choice.’

“The former president said that he was ‘right and everyone knows it,’ and that officials in both parties are attempting to change the rules to prevent a similar event from happening again. ‘The reason they want it changed is because they now say they don’t want the Vice President to have the right to ensure an honest vote,’ Trump said. ‘If there is fraud or large scale irregularities, it would have been appropriate to send those votes back to the legislatures to figure it out,’ he added. ‘The Dems and RINOs want to take that right away…’”

Trump has a point. If it is that clear that under the law, Pence could not have refused to certify the election, why then the anxious attempts to change the law?

Republican Party Censors Cheney and Kinzinger

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“The Republican National Committee formally voted  Friday to censure Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., for participating in the House probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“The resolution… read in part:

“‘The conference must not be sabotaged by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022. Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger have engaged in actions in their positions as members of the January 6th select committee not befitting Republican members of Congress, which include the committee’s disregard for minority rights, traditional checks and balances, due process, and adherence to other precedent and rules of the U.S. House and which seem intent on advancing a political agenda to buoy the Democrat Party’s bleak prospects in the upcoming midterm elections.

“‘The Republican National Committee hereby formally censures Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and shall immediately cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.’”

San Diego’s Highest Electricity Rate in the Nation

CBS8 wrote on February 3:

“San Diegans have been shocked by their recent power bills, and now CBS 8 has confirmed that we are paying higher rates than any other city in the country… ‘“The price per kilowatt is the highest in the country,’ said Edward Lopez, Executive Director of Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN). ‘San Diego is even out-passing Hawaii, which is not even on the mainland’… A SDG&E spokesperson pointed to the 2007 wildfires started by the company’s power lines. He said that $3 billion has been spent since then hardening their system, including replacing wood poles with steel and undergrounding wires… Lopez questions why ratepayers have to foot the entire bill, getting no help from shareholders.

“SDG&E is owned by Sempra, a publicly traded company. In their most recent year-to-year figures, Sempra reported a profit of over $9 billion, but SDG&E recently raised our rates again…SDG&E is not allowed to simply raise rates on their own, they have to get permission from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)….”

CPUC is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. Five commissioners each serve staggered six-year terms as the governing body of the agency. Commissioners are appointed by the governor and must be confirmed by the California State Senate.

ABC 10 wrote on August 23, 23021:

“‘Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office exerted control over a powerful state agency… We do whatever the governor tells us to do, period,’ former CPUC executive director Alice Stebbins said. ‘You don’t do anything without [Gov. Newsom’s] staff reviewing it or talking to you or approving it….’”

So, why are Newsom and his staff approving obscenely high electricity rates?

Fox 5 San Diego added on February 1: “Customers across the county are experiencing sticker shock at their San Diego Gas & Electric bills this winter. One customer told FOX 5 their January SDG&E bill jumped to $700 from the normal $200 a month.”

It seems that on an average, customers’ bills were twice as high in February as in January.

Politicians more Dangerous than Covid

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on February 6:

“The denigration of the Canadian trucker protest convoy exemplifies how freedom is now the biggest villain of the covid-19 pandemic.

“A Washington Post cartoonist portrayed the trucker convoy as ‘fascism’ incarnate while another Post column derided the ‘toxic ‘Freedom Convoy.’” Anyone who resists any government command is apparently now a public enemy….

“Politicians like Trudeau and Biden, who fuel mass rage against any group that does not kowtow to officialdom, are sowing seeds of hatred that will proliferate long after the pandemic ends. In the long run, people have more to fear from politicians than from viruses.”

Sadly, this assessment rings very true.

Liberal Media Ignores Illuminating Report on COVID Restrictions

Fox News wrote on February 4:

“There has been a full-on media blackout of the new study outlining the ineffectiveness of lockdowns to prevent COVID deaths. According to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies, lockdowns during the first COVID wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced COVID mortality by .2% in the U.S. and Europe… the researchers wrote[:] ‘… lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.’

“However, the Johns Hopkins study received no mention on any of the five liberal networks this week… CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC all ignored the anti-lockdown findings after having spent much of the pandemic shaming red states with minimal restrictions and events deemed by critics as ‘superspreaders.’…

“The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Reuters, USA Today, Axios, Politico among other outlets also turned a blind eye to the findings…

“The researchers… analyzed the effects of lockdown measures such as school shutdowns, business closures, and mask mandates on COVID-19 deaths. ‘We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates…’ The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding that they reduced COVID-19 mortality by 2.9%… The researchers concluded that limiting gatherings may have actually increased COVID-19 mortality… ‘often, lockdowns have limited peoples’ access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks, and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places.’…

“Researchers also pointed out other unintended consequences of lockdowns, such as rising unemployment, reduced schooling, an increase in domestic violence incidents, and surging drug overdoses…”

Something which we have stated in our publications for over two years. Now some come to their senses, but the damage has been done.

Most of the Very Sick Are Fully Vaccinated

Israel National News reported on February 3:

“Prof. Jacob Giris, director of Ichilov Hospital’s coronavirus ward, said in a TV interview that many of the severe cases are vaccinated. ‘Right now, most of our severe cases are vaccinated,’ Giris told Channel 13 News. ‘They had at least three injections. Between seventy and eighty percent of the serious cases are vaccinated. So, the vaccine has no significance regarding severe illness, which is why just twenty to twenty-five percent of our patients are unvaccinated.’

“Giris also spoke at the cabinet meeting on Sunday and told ministers, ‘Defining a serious patient is problematic. For example, a patient with a chronic lung disease always had a low level of oxygen, but now he has a positive coronavirus test result which technically makes him a ‘serious coronavirus patient,’ but that’s not accurate. The patient is only in a difficult condition because he has a serious underlying illness.’”

Here goes the left-wing propaganda of the mass media.

Canada’s and America’s “Justice”?

The Blaze wrote on February 6:

“A Canadian judge ruled that an unvaccinated father cannot see his three children because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Justice Nathalie Godbout of the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled on Monday that the father from New Brunswick would lose custody of his children… [as] the unvaccinated posed a serious risk to the children…

“The mother and father [separated in 2019 and agreed to share custody]. They were also in disagreement about the children getting vaccinated. The mother wanted to get the children vaccinated when they became eligible in November, the father was against it. Godbout ruled that the mother could get the kids vaccinated without the father’s consent. The children reportedly received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine following the ruling on Monday…

“In December, another Canadian father lost custody of his 12-year old child after a Quebec judge ruled that it was in the child’s ‘best interest’ to bar the dad from seeing his child since he was unvaccinated. In August, a  Chicago mother temporarily lost custody of her child because she was unvaccinated against COVID-19.”

Canadians Fed Up With COVID Restrictions

The Denver Gazette wrote on February 4:

“A late January poll… found 54% of Canadians want to end [Covid] restrictions… That was up 14 percentage points from just a few weeks earlier… As COVID fatigue turns into angst, weary government leaders must decide whether it’s time to start treating the virus as an endemic disease, like seasonal flu… if Canada is any guide, there will likely be growing public pressure to remove restrictions…

“Trudeau… has shown no sign of reversing his government’s vaccine mandates… Yet the backlash is being felt by political leaders. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, Trudeau’s primary rival in the 2021 election, was dumped by his caucus this week… For some, his refusal to embrace the protesters’ cause was another sign of weakness. After deposing him in a vote on Wednesday, a few went out and posed for pictures with the truckers.

“Quebec’s premier backed down on a threat to impose a special tax on unvaccinated residents. The government of Saskatchewan… said it will scrap all restrictions soon, including proof-of-vaccination requirements for public places.”

An Unholy Mess?

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on February 5:

“There is a narrow window — a month or two, maybe — for governments to declare ‘victory over the virus’ and roll back their segregation systems, mask-wearing mandates, ‘vaccine’ mandates, and the rest of the so-called ‘Covid restrictions.’ Many governments are already doing so, England, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, etc. They have seen which way the wind is blowing, and they are rushing to dismantle the New Normal in their countries before…. a convoy of angry truckers arrives at their doors.

“If they let that happen, they will find themselves in the unenviable position that Trudeau is now in. The Canadian truckers appear to be serious about staying there until their demands are met, which means Trudeau only has two options: (1) give in to the truckers’ demands, or (2) attempt to remove them by force. There’s already talk about bringing in the military. Imagine what an unholy mess that would be. Odds are, the military would disobey his orders, and, if not, the world would be treated to the spectacle of full-blown New Normal Fascism in action.

“Either way, Trudeau is history, as long as the truckers stand their ground. I pray they do not give an inch, and I hope the leaders of other New Normal countries, like Australia, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, are paying close attention.”

Leftist Trudeau Under Attack, but Not Listening

Breitbart wrote on February 9:

“Leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced jeers and insults in Parliament on Tuesday as he once again faced questions regarding his derision towards citizens who oppose civil rights violations tied to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic…

“Trudeau has repeatedly insisted he would not listen to any calls for lifting the mandates and restoring normal life to Canada. He has accused the protesters of racism and misogyny and equated them with Nazis in his statements in Parliament on Monday. The next day, he once again faced calls to meet with opposition leaders and bring an end to the onerous mandate regime currently in place. The interim leader of the Conservative Party, Candice Bergen, asked Trudeau if he would consider ending restrictions once again. ‘This cannot be a slow and dragged out process simply because of the prime minister’s ego, pride, or denial,’ Bergen said. ‘Canadians are too tired. Canadians need hope. So will the prime minister follow the science, follow the evidence, end the restrictions, end the mandates?’

“Trudeau did not answer the question, instead asserting, amid heckling and jeers, ‘we’re going to continue to follow the science, we’re going to continue to have Canadians’ backs, we’re going to continue to protect people’s lives.’ Bergen again asked him to answer the question, but upon his second attempt, the jeering became so loud that he stopped abruptly and sat down to wait for it to end. Amid the shouting, one voice could be heard saying, ‘Let him answer, he’s not good at it!’

“Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota admonished the chamber and confirmed that the shouting was, indeed, jeers. ‘The honorable leader of the opposition asked a question and she’s trying to hear, but she can’t hear it above all the heckling and shouting that’s going on,’ Rota scolded. The speaker did not succeed in silencing the shouting entirely but diminished it enough for Trudeau to finish his response, which was nearly identical to his first statement…

“On Monday, Bergen pressed Trudeau for an apology for his invective against those who choose not to receive a Chinese coronavirus vaccine. ‘Does he regret calling people names who didn’t take the vaccine?’ Bergen asked of Trudeau. ‘Does he regret calling people misogynist and racist… and being so divisive to individual Canadians that he might not… agree with, that he might have thought were wrong?’

“Trudeau responded by associating the protesters with Nazis…”

Sweden and other Countries lift COVID restrictions, but…

LifeSiteNews wrote von February 4:

“The Swedish government announced Thursday that it will be lifting all COVID restrictions by February 9… there will no longer be any limitations on how many people can gather at restaurants, sports stadiums, and other venues… In addition, Swedes will no longer be required to work from home, and travel restrictions between Sweden and other Nordic countries will be relaxed. Vaccine passport requirements, mask mandates on public transports, and social distancing will also be scrapped.

“Throughout 2020 and 2021, Sweden has been the source of heated debate for its management of COVID-19. It was one of very few countries which decided against going into lockdown. The government did not shut down schools or the economy, and did not remotely restrict individual freedoms to the degree seen in the United States and much of Europe…

“In announcing the lifting of its COVID restrictions, Sweden is now aligning itself with Denmark, which ended them on Tuesday, declaring that COVID was ‘no longer a dangerous disease’ for society’. Two other neighboring Nordic countries, Norway and Finland, have also announced the lifting of some of their COVID restrictions recently, as have a number of countries throughout Europe…

“While the relaxing or lifting of COVID restrictions in many places will come as good news for the millions of people throughout the world who have been protesting en masse against restrictions to their freedoms, leaders have suggested that the measures might come back in the future, or not be lifted at all, depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the appearance of potential new variants.

“Moreover, in virtually every country where restrictions are being relaxed or lifted, the decision is not only attributed to the herd immunity generated by the fast-spreading and mild omicron variant, but above all to the alleged efficacy of the COVID-19 ‘vaccines’ and booster shots.

“Despite the current relaxing of measures, leaders everywhere are still encouraging, if not legally obliging, people to get vaccinated with the mRNA gene therapy which has been associated with thousands of deaths and millions of adverse events worldwide. Unvaccinated people are also still being blamed for the fact that the pandemic is still ongoing, despite evidence showing that vaccinated people now account for a majority of cases and hospitalizations in many places.”

Austria Enacts Mandatory Vaccination as of February 5, 2022

Breitbart wrote on February 5:

“Just over two months after the draconian measure was first announced, Austria has made getting vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus mandatory for all those over the age of 18 in the country. The new forced jab rules come into force from Saturday, but penalties for those who do not abide by the mandate will not come into effect until mid-March.

“According to a report by Kronen Zeitung, Austria’s Federal President, Alexander Van der Bellen, as well as Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, successfully signed the bill into law on Friday morning…

“Herbert Kickl, who serves as leader of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs — or Freedom Party of Austria — denounced the law, which he claimed would put Austria ‘on a par with authoritarian states’… Meanwhile, a post made by the party on social media declared that it will aim to support the nation’s unvaccinated against any mandate penalties… ‘We will exhaust all legal options and inform citizens how they can defend themselves against impending penalties.’

Some of Austria’s Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs—or Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)—are also opposing mandatory vaccinations.

If the opposition grows, like in Canada, the current Austrian government might not be in power much longer.

Goldberg’s Jewish Race Comments

Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) wrote on February 2:

“Whoopi Goldberg waded into a charged discourse that has polarized the Jewish community — and those who seek to discriminate against them — for centuries… The genocide was not ‘about race,’ she said, it was instead about ‘man’s inhumanity to man.’ And it involved ‘two white groups of people.’

“The comments immediately went viral and struck a nerve, leading to what Goldberg described as a deluge of accusations of antisemitism and Holocaust denial… the storm reached a climax on Tuesday night when ABC decided to suspend Goldberg from ‘The View’ for two weeks ‘to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments’… Goldberg… attempted to clarify the situation… In her experience as a Black person, she said, race is something ‘I can see.’…

“Jews have long debated whether they are a ‘race’ or something else. Judaism is a religion, practiced by people of all varieties and races across the globe. But Jews do not have to be practitioners to regard themselves or be accepted by other Jews as Jews… Judaism also accepts converts.

“Taken all together, these various understandings have led Jews to regard themselves (and others to regard Jews) variously as a people, a nation, a tribe, a family and a faith…

“But Hitler, like many antisemites before him, specifically — and repeatedly, in writings and laws and speeches — labeled Jews as physically impure Slavic-descended race, in contrast to what he termed the blonde, blue-eyed genetically pure German Aryan race. Nazi propaganda promoted pseudoscientific ways to supposedly identify Jews — by the size of their nose and lips, or the shape of their heads, among other things.

“Hitler… wrote that the ‘Final Solution’ was inspired in part by his drive to create a more ‘pure’ and singular human race, rid of ‘Jewish’ and other impurities… the Jews were persecuted as a ‘race’ by their neighbors in Europe and elsewhere for centuries before Hitler outlined many of his ideas in ‘Mein Kampf’ in a jail cell in 1925…

“The majority of Jews in North America may be Ashkenazi Jews with roots in Eastern Europe, but Jews also descend from ancient communities in Ethiopia, India, China and beyond. Sephardic Jews come from communities in Northern Africa and what is now Spain and Portugal, while Mizrahi Jews come from the Middle East, including once vital communities in Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria and other countries….

“Thousands of Jews come from mixed-race and interfaith backgrounds, so even many Jews with Ashkenazi roots are not white…”

Arguments like these are often made to claim that Jesus, as a Jew, was not white. This is false. The genealogy of Jesus, through Mary, is clearly documented, and his ancestors were white. As the article above points out, many times the term “Jew” is referring to religion, rather than race.

Pope Francis’ Communion with the Dead

The National Catholic Register wrote on February 4:

“Pope Francis’ Wednesday audience drew a reaction from some who wondered whether he had intentionally included the damned in the communion of saints… The communion of saints includes the dead, said the Pope. ‘They too are in communion with us,’ he said…

“Pope Francis then raised an objection from a hypothetical speaker: ‘Let’s think about those who have denied the faith, who are apostates, who are the persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism…’

“The Pope responded: ‘Yes, these too. All of them. The blasphemers, all of them. We are brothers. This is the communion of saints. The communion of saints holds together the community of believers on earth and in heaven, and on earth: the saints, the sinners, all… In this sense, the relationship of friendship that I can build with a brother or sister beside me, I can also establish with a brother or sister in heaven,’ he said…”

Does communion with the dead also mean, communication with the dead?

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.

The Freedom Convoy

The Guardian wrote on January 28:

“Earlier this month, Canada began requiring any truckers arriving from the US be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. Those who are not vaccinated… are required to quarantine for 14 days…. A convoy of truckers and their supporters is set to converge on the Canadian capital in a protest which has spiralled from frustrations over vaccine mandates into calls for the repeal of all public health measures – and even the overthrow of the federal government.”

The USA imposed similar requirements for truckers entering the USA.

Breitbart wrote on January 27:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has labelled the anti-mandatory vaccination trucker convoy… a ‘fringe minority’ with ‘unacceptable views.’…

“Wednesday’s comments come after Canadian mainstream media outlets… have painted many of the truck convoy participants as having links to ‘far-right groups.’ The claim has been rejected by Tamara Lich, one of the Freedom Convoy organisers…

“The allegations are not the first time Canadian politicians or media have equated those against lockdowns or vaccination policies to white nationalists or far-right extremists. Last year in March, former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi claimed that anti-mask and anti-lockdown protestors were extremists…”

One wonders who the extremists are.  According to Fox News, dated January 28, the convoy of truckers is 70 kilometers or 43.5 miles long. Protests are now all over Canada, not just in Ottawa. For whole families to be out protesting in -20C to -30C for hours, they must be determined.

The Daily Mail wrote on January 30:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have left their home in the national’s capital Ottawa for a secret location as up to 50,000 truckers gather to protest against the country’s vaccine mandate and Covid lockdowns. .. Trudeau said Friday that the truckers’ views — which he described as anti-science, anti-government and anti-society — posed a risk not only to themselves but to other Canadians as well… Despite security concerns, there have been no incidents at the rally…

“Elon Musk… tweeted praise for the truckers, saying: ‘If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny. ‘He’d earlier tweeted that ‘Canadian truckers rule’… As many as 32,000, or 20 percent, of the 160,000 Canadian and American cross-border truck drivers may be taken off the roads due to the mandate…

“In a list of demands, the organizers of the Freedom Convoy are calling for an end to vaccine passports and for the federal government to respect the rights of the unvaccinated. Trudeau hit the brakes on their demands. ‘What we are hearing from some people associated with this convoy is completely unacceptable,’ he said. ‘We know the way through this pandemic is to get everyone vaccinated.”

Who is “we”?

Breitbart wrote on January 29:

“Former President Donald Trump on Saturday praised the ‘freedom convoy’ of Canadian truckers protesting against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s coronavirus health mandates… ‘The Canadian truckers… who are resisting bravely these lawless mandates are doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders by far,’ he said, speaking to a crowd in Conroe, Texas.

“He made clear that he supports the convoy’s movement, saying, ‘and we want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way.’”

What impact the demonstrating truckers will have on the Canadian government and even many Canadians who support draconian restrictions, is unclear.

The Calgary Herald wrote January 29:

“… the Canadian Trucking Alliance said on Sunday that they ‘strongly disapprove’ of the cross-Canada trucker protest and that the vast majority of Canadian truck drivers are vaccinated with estimates upwards of 90 per cent…”

Trudeau the Coward

Fox News wrote on January 31:

“Critics are slamming… Trudeau as a ‘coward’ for reportedly fleeing his residence in the country’s capital of Ottawa as a massive anti-vaccine mandate protest converged on the city. ‘What a complete coward. He won’t even face the citizens he has discriminated against,’ Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe tweeted. The protests have been peaceful, with most disturbances coming in the form of honking horns, chanting and dancing. ..

“Critics in both the U.S. and Canada lambasted and mocked the prime minister as ‘gutless’ and ‘cowardly’ for fleeing the protesters instead of addressing their concerns over health freedom. “

Of course, there were occasional incidents where monuments were defaced, which are now being used by the government to attack the truckers and launch criminal investigations. In all likelihood, these incidents were not even committed by any of the truckers but by elements who always appear at peaceful demonstrations to commit their despicable acts. According to the mass media, “violence” broke out at the Alta. Border, “after multiple trucks and tractors broke through police lines Tuesday afternoon.”  But  Alberta Premier Jason Kenney only said that “he received reports from the scene ‘of people aligned with the protesters assaulting RCMP officers, including in one instance trying to ram members of the RCMP, later leading to a collision with a civilian vehicle’” (The Western Producers, February 1).

In addition, Breitbart wrote on February 2:

“Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have confirmed to Breitbart News that no officers have been assaulted by protesters at the Alberta border blockade despite the assertion from the province’s Premier, Jason Kenney, that they had…. 

“As first reported by Rebel News, the assault claim was untrue, and RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters, who is on the ground in Coutts, independently confirmed to Breitbart News that no such assault took place, and the incident with the vehicle was an accident that occurred between civilians. ‘There were no RCMP officers assaulted,’ he said. ‘There was an assault that took place between two civilians. One of them was a protester who had been traveling the wrong way on a one-way lane of highway and then got in a collision with the innocent person. … But we haven’t had any assaults of police.’ According to Peters, the collision caused a fight to break out between the drivers.”

It can be expected that the truckers will be labeled by Trudeau’s  government once again as “dangerous and violent extremists.”  

Zero Hedge wrote on January 31:

“[The] Canadian Prime Minister was accused of hypocrisy when he suddenly was nowhere to be found late last week as a convoy of truckers rolled into Ottawa to protest the government’s COVID mandates. Many scoffed at Trudeau’s sudden disappearing when confronted by a massive crowd of protesters, many carrying signs mocking his comment that the truckers and their supporters were part of a “tiny fringe minority”.

“Making matters worse for the PM, Canadian media reported Monday morning that Trudeau had been diagnosed with COVID, despite receiving a booster dose early this month on Jan. 4. [He tweeted from his undisclosed location that he was feeling fine.]

“Is it possible to get infected with COVID while being boosted and in hiding? Or has Trudeau really been stricken with COWARD-19?”

Trudeau’s Berlin Wall of Covid Totalitarianism

Ron Paul wrote on January 31:

“We all remember where we were when the Berlin Wall came down. While it may have seemed that communist rule would go on forever, when the people decided that they had enough suddenly the wall fell. Just like that. Thus it is after two years of Covid authoritarianism that in Canada the largest truck convoy in history has smashed through the Berlin Wall of tyranny. I have watched as… Canada… turned into one of the most repressive countries on earth…

“Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had been basking in his ability to terrorize the population in the name of fighting a virus. He was so confident in his seemingly unlimited power that he felt he could ridicule any Canadian with different views. The prime minister said in a recent interview that unvaccinated Canadians were ‘extremists,’ ‘misogynists,’ and ‘racists.’

“When the Canadian truckers stood up to his tyranny and began their historic convoy to Ottawa, he thought he could continue ridiculing people…  Less than a week later, as tens of thousands of trucks began entering the capital with millions of supporters behind them, the ‘brave’ Canadian prime minister had fled the city and shuffled off to an undisclosed location…

“The Canadian mainstream media is obviously just as obedient to the regime as ours. They ignored the Freedom Convoy for as long as possible. There was almost no reporting. Then, when it became impossible to ignore, they began to attack and ridicule instead of trying to report it accurately. It was disgusting and almost comical to see a ‘reporter’ from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation suggest that the Canadian Freedom Convoy was cooked up by Putin and the Russians!…

“This protest is so important because it’s not limited to Canada. The truckers are being supported worldwide, and a similar convoy is being planned from California to Washington, DC. In a US where grocery store shelves are increasingly bare, the truckers have more leverage than the powers-that-be would like to admit. [The Daily Mail reported on January 31 that “Australian drivers have taken inspiration from a ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Canada to drive to Canberra and protest against vaccine mandates [as] Victoria’s Premier has warned booster shots will soon be mandatory. Protesters from all around the country arrived in the nation’s capital on Monday as part of the ‘Convoy to Canberra’ demonstration. The convoy of cars between Pheasants Nest, NSW and the capital trailed for several kilometres.”].

“If I were prime minister of totalitarian Australia or New Zealand – or most anywhere in Europe – I would be getting pretty nervous right now. Just as the Covid tyranny descended across the globe in a seemingly coordinated fashion, now that the Berlin Wall of the tyrants has been breached, it’s just a matter of time before the shockwaves are felt far and wide.”

Let’s hope Ron Paul is right. According to the Edmonton Sun, dated January 31, a remarkable change in attitude has happened, as “A majority of Canadians now say it is time to end COVID restrictions, according to an Angus Reid poll, a sharp increase from when the same question was asked in early January. The latest poll, taken Jan. 27-28, found 54% want restrictions to be lifted compared to just 39% who wanted restrictions lifted when the same question was asked two weeks earlier.”

We received the following report from one of our Canadian members:

“The things happening in our capital are on everyone’s mind here… a very special event, that the main media has basically blocked out, or if they say anything, they bash everyone there and pick on minute details. There has been NO violence, no arrests as per Ottawa police dept, in spite of the media and politicians describing the protesters as extremists. Many pastors at an open air service on Parliament Hill were telling our Prime Minister and the government to bring back God’s word to the parliament and schools.”

The Nonsense of Mandatory Vaccinations

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 28:

“Thrice vaccinated German politician Ricarda Lang (28) has tested positive for COVID-19 only hours after giving a speech in favor of mandatory vaccination at the German parliament Wednesday. Lang is currently running to become the leader of the Green party… Lang, who says she is bisexual, had done two rapid tests on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, both of which came back negative. On Wednesday night, after she gave a speech in support of mandatory vaccination in Germany, she received the results of a PCR test which came back positive… Lang claimed she had ‘no symptoms,’ which she attributed to the fact that she has been vaccinated three times against COVID-19…

“Meanwhile, far left member of parliament Sahra Wagenknecht, who is unvaccinated and one of the most outspoken German politicians in the fight against vaccine mandates, tested positive as well, and has no symptoms, either. Lang also argued that vaccination against COVID ‘protects very reliably against severe courses and death,’ despite the fact that fully vaccinated people actually represent a majority of hospitalizations in many countries…”

Breitbart wrote on January 28:

“Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement from his office released on Friday night. The 74-year-old Senator, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, is asymptomatic. Romney’s wife, Ann, tested negative for coronavirus.”

Another Rock Star stands up to Vaccine Mandates

Breitbart wrote on January 28:

“Detroit rocker Kid Rock says if venues implement vaccine or mask mandates for concerts on his upcoming ‘Bad Reputation Tour,’ fans will ‘be getting your money back, because I won’t be showing up.’… Kid Rock noted that his tour ‘actually scratched Buffalo, New York, off the list because of that — and Toronto, Canada, and several other cities we were looking at.’…

“On Monday, Kid Rock released a politically charged song, titled, ‘We the People,’ bashing mandates in response to the Chinese coronavirus, and slamming President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci.”

Fauci should be in so much Trouble

Breitbart wrote on January 28:

“Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested his political opponents are ‘bad people’ and need to be healed by accepting his political opinions, the Washington Post reported Friday. While Fauci called a U.S. senator a moron during his last Senate committee hearing, he told the Post his political opponents are feeling ‘pain’ and ‘suffering’ and are ‘rebelling’ against society…

“The Post also interviewed Fauci’s old boss, Dr. Francis Collins, who recently resigned. Collins told the Post he is worried about Fauci being too focused on those who politically oppose Fauci’s opinions…

“Fauci’s political opponents have struck a chord with independents, according to polling. A majority of 53 percent of Democrats believe Fauci should resign from his position, while 46 percent said he should stay. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) have accused Fauci of lying to Congress about his financials and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) medical investments. President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser also reportedly owned a $10.4 million investment profile in 2020 that included Chinese companies.”

Apart from worrying signs of Fauci “losing it” mentally and his conflicting medical recommendations, he stands accused of suppressing reports suggesting that the Chinese virus was manufactured in labs, and he still has to account for allegedly supporting Chinese labs being engaged in gen-altering experiments and the despicable torturous experiments on beagles.  Fauci should resign for sure, and he must give an account for his alleged wrongdoings. Note the following article.

The New York Post wrote on January 28:

“Fauci… should be under federal investigation answering serious questions about his knowledge of the National Institutes of Health’s reckless funding of dangerous gain-of-function research of bat coronaviruses at China’s Wuhan lab via EcoHealth Alliance while overseeing the government agency.

“And [he] should be explaining shocking new information and emails obtained by Fox News’ ‘Special Report’ program exposing Fauci’s reported role in withholding vital information about the true origins of the suspected bioengineered coronavirus and subsequent alleged cover-up at the outset of the pandemic beginning in January 2020. The fact that [he] reportedly failed to disclose this critical information to the public is beyond frightening; it’s a dereliction of duty warranting his immediate dismissal and full investigation by authorities…

“Over the course of the pandemic, Fauci has been instrumental in getting social media networks and Big Tech to censor anyone spreading ‘misinformation’ about vaccines or lab leak ‘conspiracy theories’ while spreading misinformation himself to America and the world…”

BLM in Hot Water?

The Washington Examiner wrote on January 27:

“No one appears to have been in charge at Black Lives Matters for months. The address it lists on tax forms is wrong, and the charity’s two board members won’t say who controls its $60 million bankroll…

“BLM’s shocking lack of transparency surrounding its finances and operations raises major legal and ethical red flags…

“BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors appointed two activists to serve as the group’s senior directors following her resignation in May amid scrutiny over her personal finances. But both quietly announced in September that they never took the jobs due to disagreements with BLM…”

The New York Post wrote on February 2:

“California’s Department of Justice is pursuing Black Lives Matter over its murky $60 million coffers — warning the group’s shadowy leadership that it will be ‘personally liable’ for any fees or fines. The state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a formal warning to the controversial activist group on Monday… BLM was given 60 days to file tax and charity documents for 2020 — the year it previously confirmed  collecting a staggering $90 million, with at least $60 million left over after expenses and grants.”

CNN Boss Resigns in Disgrace

Fox News wrote on February 2:

“Embattled CNN boss Jeff Zucker walked away from the liberal network on Wednesday after failing to disclose a “consensual relationship” with a CNN staffer….

“Under Zucker, CNN has recently been plagued by scandals,  embarrassing headlines and struggles to attract an audience, leading critics to wonder if he would be shown the door once a planned merger between Warner Media and Discovery is finalized later this year. However, the sudden resignation before the potential deal was finalized sent shock waves across the media industry.”

Biden’s FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn

The New York Post wrote on January 29:

“Gigi Sohn’s journey to the Federal Communications Commission has seen more volatility than the Nasdaq… new, troubling details have emerged that could further taint her nomination to one of the country’s most important and powerful regulators of big business... Sohn, a vocal, progressive telecom lawyer and activist who co-founded an advocacy group funded by…  billionaire George Soros,  is being vehemently opposed by Senate Republicans. She has received at best lukewarm support from moderate Dems in the Senate, making her nomination a tough lift for the Biden administration.”

Wikipedia wrote the following about Gigi Sohn:

“Gigi Sohn has been married to her wife, Lara Ballard since August 2007… not much of her wife Lara’s life is known to the world… Gigi Sohn only has a daughter in terms of her children. She adopted her in 2004 even before marrying her wife Lara… the current whereabouts of her daughter are also not accessible along with her name and age. Biden’s nomination choices for his new government including Sohn have been termed as ground-breaking by NPR.”

German Government’s Fight against Telegram

Breitbart wrote on January 29:

“Nancy Faeser, Germany’s current Minister for the Interior, has distanced herself from previous threats she made against the popular encrypted messaging service, Telegram. The app has proved popular amongst the so-called ‘lateral thinker’ anti-lockdown movement within the country, and is frequently used to help organise and coordinate anti-lockdown protests in the Federal Republic.

“According to a report by Der Spiegel, Faeser had previously threatened to block the app from Germany over concerns to do with ‘hate speech’, as well as ‘violence and hatred on the internet’… The minister had also requested for Apple and Google to throw Telegram off of smartphone app stores over the messaging services transgressions, saying that both tech companies had a ‘social responsibility’ to do so.

“However, Faeser has suddenly stepped back on her fiery rhetoric, distancing herself from her previous remarks about shutting the service down in Germany. ‘Of course it’s not my goal to switch off Telegram,’ Der Spiegel reports Faeser as saying on Thursday, instead arguing that she was merely attempting to ‘increase the pressure’ on the company with her shutdown comments.

“While Germany’s political class may not approve of the app, the act of shutting off the service in Germany, according to Der Spiegel would be logistically very difficult. Russian authorities had reportedly tried — and failed — to shut out the messaging service from the country in 2018, resulting in nothing but embarrassment for the Kremlin as the app bypassed restrictions. Meanwhile, it seems doubtful whether the app will acquiesce to Germany’s demands for moderation, with two fine warnings sent to the company — which is located in Dubai — not receiving any response.

“Instead, the Federal Republic has begun looking at more direct approaches to the issue, with Der Zeit reporting that The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has set up a task force to deal with people who break the law on the platform.”

The question is, WHAT LAW are they referring to?

German Police Officers Raid School

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 31:

“A German school not registered with the government, where children were being taught in a mask-free environment, was closed following a raid by heavily armed police on January 20. The school had been set up by parents in an effort to protect their children from some of the most traumatic and long-term damaging effects of COVID restrictions such as mask mandates currently imposed on school children in Germany. According to local reports, the raid took place after the police was tipped that school-aged children were being taught at a private property in a small town near Erlangen in Bavaria during school hours.

“Following the raid, the city of Erlangen stated that the school, which was ‘operating without a permit,’ had been closed… there had been previous unsuccessful searches at the school, including an attempt by police to gain access to the building without a warrant… some 30 to 35 police officers successfully stormed the property in full gear, masked in black, and equipped with batons and automatic weapons. The entrance door of the school was broken open with a battering ram…

“The 15 children, aged 4 to 14, who were present on that day attempted to flee to the upper floor but were stopped by the officers. They were then separated from their parents and gathered on the second floor before being questioned individually for four hours… the police used intimidation tactics in order to obtain information from the children, telling them that they would be placed into juveniles’ homes if they refused to provide their names. The police also told the parents that they would have to file a missing person’s report before their children could be returned to them.

“Money and school equipment were also confiscated by the police. The city of Erlangen stated that any confiscated property would be returned following an investigation. In their previous schools, the children had been forced to wear a mask from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., even while using the restroom. When eating, the mask could only be lifted, but not removed completely. One of the mothers characterized this as a ‘torture method’ and reported that some children even fainted at home after having been forced to wear the mask all day… In Germany, children are forced to attend school in government-sanctioned environments. Private schools essentially follow a curriculum outlined by the government. Homeschooling is banned.”

Germany’s school system is an abomination.

Austria’s Growing Dictatorship

Bloomberg wrote on February 1:

“Austria is embarking on a dramatic public health experiment from Tuesday, with a controversial new law that makes Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for everyone.  Multiple European countries have stigmatized people who refuse a vaccine, but Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s government is going further and will start criminalizing holdouts.  Police will begin checking the vaccination status of people on the street and during traffic stops. Beginning in mid-March, offenders who haven’t had a shot will face fines rising to as much as 3,600 euros ($4,050).

“Political and public-health analysts suggest the policy is replete with risk. With opposition lawmakers rebelling and tens of thousands of protesters regularly thronging Vienna’s streets, Nehammer — less than two months in the job — is facing a huge test….

“Denmark, which has one of the highest vaccine rates in the world, last week reclassified Covid as no longer a threat to society.”

The West’s Capitulation to Russia

The Daily Mail wrote on January 24:

“If Russia does invade – and with thousands of troops and materiel massed on the border that could happen any day – the whole Western political class should hang their heads in shame. Through disunity and mixed messaging they have handed Putin a gift-wrapped opportunity to expand his autocratic empire at Ukraine’s expense.

“Guarantor of peace for more than 70 years, Nato is wracked with division. Germany is reluctant to offend Putin because it is a slave to Russian energy. French President Emmanuel Macron undermines the alliance further, describing it as ‘brain-dead’ and calling for the creation of an EU army… Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden says a ‘minor incursion’ might not be enough to justify the most extreme sanctions. Could there be a more open invitation?…

“If Europe fails Ukraine, Putin’s greedy eye will fall next on some other former Soviet state. We should have learned by now that appeasing tyrants never works.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 24:

“Germany, Austria and Hungary are more closely linked to the Russian economy than, say, Portugal or the Netherlands; and, because the EU requires unanimity to pass any political actions, the only thing that the European Commission has at the moment is a list of possible sanctions, tucked away in a drawer in Brussels…. [They]  would have to be coordinated with the United States and the United Kingdom, which has also announced unspecified plans for sanctions.”

American Troops to the Region

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 28:

“US President Joe Biden said Friday he will soon send a small number of US troops to bolster the NATO presence in Eastern Europe… ‘I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term. Not too many,’ Biden told reporters.”

Newsmax added:

“The Pentagon has placed about 8,500 U.S. troops on stand-by for possible deployment to Europe amid Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine’s border.”

Politico stated:

“The president told reporters on Tuesday that he does not foresee U.S. troops moving into Ukraine.”

3,000 More US Troops to Europe

Fox News reported on February 2:

“Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters Wednesday that the current situation around Ukraine ‘demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO’s eastern flank… To be prepared for a range of contingencies, the United States will soon move additional forces to Romania, Poland and Germany,’ he said.

“Kirby announced that 1,000 American troops will be repositioned from Germany to Romania, while another 2,000 are set to be deployed to Europe from the U.S. in the coming days… These troops are separate from the 8,500 currently based in the U.S. who were placed last week ‘on a heightened preparedness to deploy’ if needed, Kirby added.”

Deutsche Welle clarified on February 2:

“Under the plan, the US will reportedly send about 2,000 American troops to Poland and Germany, while 1,000 troops would move from Germany to Romania…. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed they would not be fighting in Ukraine…. Following the announcement, the Kremlin said the deployment was a ‘destructive’ move.”

If they won’t be fighting in Ukraine, what’s the point?

While Johnson Acts, Biden Sleeps

The Sun wrote on January 29:

“AS UKRAINIAN mothers and grandfathers practise drills with wooden rifles to protect their homeland, Joe Biden once more sits on his hands and hopes. The US president who abandoned millions to starve in Afghanistan has again failed to truly stand up and be counted in the face of tyranny.

“It is into this moral void that Britain — freed from a paralysed EU led by a ­thoroughly compromised Germany — has honourably stepped… the PM [Boris Johnson] today vows to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression by land, sea, and air.

“Thankfully, he is not merely offering warm words. He has rightly pledged to double within days the number of UK Armed Forces in Eastern Europe — backed by fighter jets, rocket launchers and warships. It is a significant show of support for our threatened ally…

“Fundamental freedoms in the world are at risk – not to mention the lives of countless innocent Ukrainians. The stakes could not be higher.”

Biden’s Offers of Appeasement

The New York Post wrote von February2:

“The White House floated an offer to Russian President Vladimir Putin that would allow Kremlin access to key NATO bases in exchange for Moscow de-escalating tensions over its military buildup on Ukraine’s border.

“The proposal was included in Washington’s response last week to Moscow’s demands for so-called ‘security guarantees’ from the West, including barring Ukraine and other former Soviet states from becoming NATO members and rolling back forces from Eastern Europe. … The five-page US response also indicates willingness to discuss refraining from installing ground-based missile systems or deploy combat forces in Ukraine if Russia agrees to do the same. “

Putin’s Many Options

The Daily Mail wrote on January 28:

“Vladimir Putin is weighing up how to respond after the US and NATO rejected his security demands around Ukraine, with Biden warning an attack is likely to come in February when the ground freezes solid, allowing Putin’s tanks to roll in. If he’s right, that gives Zelensky just a few weeks to prepare his defenses, with the main question being: Where will Putin attack, and what will his targets be?

“MailOnline has pulled together expert opinion and open source information to lay out the strongman’s likely options, from cyberattacks and sabotage to assaults on ports, nuclear reactors, the seizure of key military bases and infrastructure such as powerplants and bridges. Defending all this is the daunting task facing Ukraine’s military, if Putin decides to take the plunge.”

The Daily Mail also published in its article charts with five options which Putin has to conquer Ukraine. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10442787/How-Putin-invade-Ukraine-amid-warnings-imminent-attack.html

Russia Sends Blood Supplies to Ukraine Border

Reuters wrote on January 28:

“Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine has expanded to include supplies of blood along with other medical materials that would allow it to treat casualties, in yet another key indicator of Moscow’s military readiness, three U.S. officials tell Reuters.

“Current and former U.S. officials say concrete indicators — like blood supplies — are critical in determining whether Moscow would be prepared to carry out an invasion, if Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to do so…

“The Pentagon has previously acknowledged the deployment of ‘medical support’ as part of Russia’s buildup. But the disclosure of blood supplies adds a level of detail that experts say is critical to determining Russian military readiness. ‘It doesn’t guarantee that there’s going to be another attack, but you would not execute another attack unless you have that in hand,’ said Ben Hodges, a retired U.S. lieutenant general now with the Center for European Policy Analysis research institute.”

Ukraine Gone in 48 Hours?

Express wrote on January 29:

“AN ALLY of Vladimir Putin claimed it would take the Kremlin no more than 48 hours to win over Ukraine in case of war.

“Konstantin Malofeev, a Russian tycoon said to be a sponsor of several pro-Kremlin Orthodox and ultra-conservative projects, claimed ‘open military conflict between Russia and Ukraine’ can only go one way given the massive ‘difference in military potential’ between the two. Calling the crisis a ‘suicidal conflict’, he largely blamed the West for it… ‘It will take 48 hours maximum, and we cannot talk about different fronts’…

“Mr Malofeev… considers NATO’s and its allies’ actions  a provocation rather than an attempt to stop the conflict from going any further. He claimed: ‘We consider Ukraine as a country temporarily occupied by the Anglo-Saxon special services, in which there is no sovereign power, which is completely under the control of these special services…’ Putin… wants under no circumstances [to] see Kyiv being made part of the [NATO] alliance.”

Germany the Key?

Express wrote on January 29:

“RUSSIA and Ukraine’s growing tension has an ‘80 percent chance’ of erupting into a full-blown conflict by the end of February, former US Army chief Ben Hodges warned… ‘The only thing that is going to stop it is if Germany and the rest of Europe are 100 percent force-squared against what Russia is doing. Germany is the key… Germany, they don’t have the self-confidence right now. They don’t know who they are in Europe.’

“He also suggested Vladimir Putin might look to wait until the end of February before pushing ahead with any military action in Ukraine… ‘The two big factors are the Beijing Winter Olympics, I don’t imagine he’s going to want to upstage his friend’s big show. He waited until the end of his Sochi Olympics in 2014 before he invaded Ukraine. The other thing, of course, is getting everything in place.’”

Focus wrote on January 29:

“The Western world is behind Ukraine – except for the Germans. The failed delivery of 5,000 steel helmets not only caused jokes in the US media, but also made the Americans doubt the federal government’s foreign policy abilities. ‘Is Germany a reliable US partner?’ – the ‘Wall Street Journal’ answered the question already in its headline with a clear ‘no’. The conservative daily newspaper is by no means alone with this opinion. Left- and right-wing US media currently seem to be in agreement: The American press reacted with astonishment and were in some cases stunned by Germany’s hesitant attitude to the Ukraine crisis. Open criticism of the federal government is getting louder and louder…

“[The New York Times] calls Olaf Scholz’ attitude towards Ukraine a ‘shambles’… Bloomberg News also describes the German chancellor as the ‘weakest link in the Ukraine crisis’ . .. ‘Berlin puts Russia’s interests ahead of those of the West’, according to the ‘Wall Street Journal’,[continuing:] Cheap natural gas and the appeasement of Putin are more important to the Germans than their solidarity with allied democracies. It is hardly understandable that President Joe Biden continues to call Germany America’s most important ally – there can no longer be any talk of a credible partner…

“The Germans as reliable allies – this image is becoming increasingly difficult to believe, NBC concludes, and wonders whether Germany’s focus is on its relations with America and Europe – or on those with Russia.”

If Germany is the key, then Ukraine is doomed.

Germany’s Ex Chancellor Supports Putin

Bild Online wrote on January 29, 2022:

“Ex-Chancellor and Putin friend Gerhard Schroeder (77, SPD) apparently no longer has any inhibitions when it comes to twisting the facts in the Ukraine crisis. While the world looks on in fear at the approximately 130,000 Russian soldiers who could invade Ukraine at any time, Schröder accuses Ukraine of fueling the conflict and provoking Putin’s revenge.

“‘I really hope that the saber-rattling in Ukraine will finally stop,’ he said on the podcast ‘The Agenda’. ‘What I have to hear there, also about blame being laid on Germany because of the reasonable rejection of arms deliveries, that sometimes knocks the bottom out of the barrel.’…

“Only someone can speak that way who makes a lot of money as top manager of the state-owned companies Nord Stream 2 and Rozneft. CDU’s foreign politician Norbert Röttgen described Schröder as ‘Putin’s paid henchman!'”

How the EU Can Become a Superpower

Euractiv wrote on January 27:

“The EU is losing its relative significance at the global stage every day; while we have the potential to be a superpower, it must be unlocked by necessary reforms, such as moving to qualified-majority voting in foreign affairs, according to Dr Federiga Bindi, expert on the EU’s foreign policy at a Citizens’ Panel of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE)…

“‘ As long as one country can block decisions, we will always go with the lowest common denominator. … Getting rid of unanimity is the number one priority in foreign and security policy… In terms of their individual military potential, even the strongest EU member states like France have puny armies compared to the rest of the world. In addition, maintaining separate armed forces is a huge waste of money… The reality is that our armed forces, at least at the leadership level, are already highly integrated. Their commanders genuinely talk to each other and work together. Still, we need more integration on the lower levels…”

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.

US Evacuates Ukraine

Fox News wrote on January 22:

“The State Department has ordered families of U.S. Embassy personnel in Ukraine to begin evacuating the country as soon as Monday, U.S. officials tell Fox News. Next week, the State Department is also expected to encourage Americans to begin leaving Ukraine by commercial flights, ‘while those are still available,’ one official said.

“Late Friday night, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine announced the first shipment of ammunition had arrived as directed by President Biden. U.S. officials say small arms ammunition constitute the bulk of the 200,000 pounds of what the State Department is calling lethal aid – needed by Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines. U.S. officials also tell Fox that Javelin anti-tank missiles are expected to arrive early next week from the Baltic states and from U.S. military stockpiles.

“Advanced Russian fighter jets have now arrived in Belarus, north of Ukraine.  The Pentagon is concerned that Ukraine’s capital is ‘now in the crosshairs,’ another official added. The U.S. government is planning to move ‘a ton’ of weapons and ammunition into Ukraine in the coming days, officials say.”

No More Normal Relationship with Russia?

Fox News wrote on January 22:

“Senate Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News that earlier Friday he met with former President Donald Trump and that the two had a frank discussion about the state of the country. Graham told ‘Hannity’ that both agreed President Biden has been a disaster as commander-in-chief, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin no longer fears a serious U.S. response to his geopolitical proclivities… ‘Putin realizes that under Biden, he can invade Ukraine and get away with it,’ he continued…

“‘But here’s what President Trump said to me today: Putin is realizing that Biden’s weak, but he doesn’t realize that Biden won’t be around in 2024 — so President Trump said today if they invade the Ukraine, the Russians will make it impossible for any future president to have a normal relationship with Russia...’”

Will Russia invade soon? In any event, we know from the Bible that ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will be united and fight Europe together.

What Is Russia Planning?

The Associated Press wrote on January 23:

“Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected a British claim that Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration…

“‘The disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine,’ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said…

“British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the information ‘shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking’… “

The Associated Press wrote on January 22:

“With tens of thousands of Russian troops positioned near Ukraine, the Kremlin has kept the US and its allies guessing about its next moves in the worst security crisis to emerge between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. Amid fears of an imminent attack on Ukraine, Russia has further upped the ante by announcing more military drills in the region. It also has refused to rule out the possibility of military deployments to the Caribbean…

“The military muscle-flexing reflects a bold attempt by the Kremlin to halt decades of NATO expansion after the end of the Cold War. In talks with the United States, Russia demands legally binding guarantees that the alliance will not embrace Ukraine and other former Soviet nations, or place weapons there. It also wants NATO to pull back its forces from countries in Central and Eastern Europe that joined the alliance since the 1990s…

“Putin has repeatedly asserted that Russians and Ukrainians are ‘one people,’ and says large chunks of Ukrainian territory are historic parts of Russia — arbitrarily granted to Ukraine by Communist leaders during Soviet times…

“In recent days, Putin also spoke by phone with the leaders of Nicaragua and Venezuela, and a Russian government plane was recently seen cruising between Cuba and Venezuela in a possible harbinger of the next Kremlin moves. After the US and its allies rejected Russia’s demands for a halt to NATO expansion, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov kept the door open for the deployment of military assets to Cuba and Venezuela.”

Putin will not stop with Ukraine.

EU not that Unified

The Guardian wrote on January 23:

“Behind the repeated assertions of unity, it is no secret that western allies are divided on how to respond to further Russian military aggression. Joe Biden’s comments that Nato allies would be ‘having to fight about what to do and not do’ in the event of a ‘minor incursion’ of Ukraine – comments that the White House subsequently rowed back on– were seen as undiplomatic, rather than untrue, in Brussels. In the EU, where sanctions have to be agreed by unanimity, differences are emerging. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has expressed doubts about cutting off Russian banks from the Swift global payments system, one option under discussion. Poland and the Baltic states, however, think it is a mistake to take anything off the table.

“Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, accused Germany over the weekend of not showing enough support for his country. Writing on Twitter, he expressed disappointment about Germany’s apparent hesitations on Swift, refusal to supply offensive weapons, as well as recent comments from the head of the German navy, who said Ukraine would never get Crimea back [He subsequently resigned.]… Michael Gahler, a German MEP from the centre-right Christian Democratic Union party [and] the parliament’s standing rapporteur on Ukraine, said it was ‘unfortunate’ that Germany was not delivering offensive weapons to Ukraine…

“But it is not just Germany that has raised questions about EU unity. Alarm bells were set off when it was announced last week that Hungary’s autocratic prime minister, Viktor Orbán, would meet Putin on 1 February to discuss a planned Russian-built nuclear power station in Hungary, the Sputnik vaccine and Hungary’s gas supply contracts…”

Germany not only refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, but also prohibits other European countries which have bought weapons from Germany, to send their weapons to Ukraine.

Is the West preparing for War with Russia?

Fox News wrote on January 24:

“NATO announced Monday that it will send fighter jets and ships to eastern Europe… Denmark will sail a frigate to the Baltic Sea and send four F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania. Spain is also sending ships to join NATO naval forces in the region and is considering sending fighter jets to Bulgaria, the statement read. France said it is willing to send troops to Romania, and the Netherlands also said it will send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April.”

The Guardian added on January 24:

“The US administration was also ready [other reports say, “considering”] to increase its military presence in eastern Europe, Nato’s chief, a former prime minister of Norway, warned in a statement… Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European commission, announced that the EU would provide €1.2billion in loans and grants to Ukraine to help cover the financial cost of the conflict.”

The Daily Mail wrote on January 24:

“Boris Johnson delivered a stark message as he admitted that the prospects of averting a confrontation over Ukraine were ‘gloomy’. Russia has stirred the pot by announcing live-fire naval drills off the coast of Ireland next month… There are concerns that any escalation will send gas prices spiralling again, with threats of punitive sanctions against Moscow. Speaking on a visit to a hospital in Milton Keynes, Mr Johnson said: ‘The intelligence is very clear that there are 60 Russian battle groups on the borders of Ukraine, the plan for a lightning war that could take out Kyiv is one that everybody can see’…”

Germany and France vs. USA and UK

 The Guardian wrote on January 26:

“Germany and, to a lesser extent, France are in danger of dividing from the US and the UK… [There is]  a deep fissure going back decades about what Germany and France, as opposed to the Anglosphere, regard as the best way to handle Russia…

“In Britain, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has been openly critical of Germany for leaving itself so dependent on Russia for energy, and Berlin’s recent refusal to allow Estonia to send German-manufactured arms to Ukraine...

“In the US, the German question is increasingly riling Republicans, leading to commentary in the Wall Street Journal with the headline ‘Is Germany a Reliable American Ally? Nein.’…

“… in the wake of Russia’s intervention in Georgia in the summer of 2008, the then German Social Democrat (SPD) foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier[now German President], warned Europe against sanctions that he said would shut doors to rooms it wanted to enter later. Although Merkel’s response to the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was firm, Steinmeier… went to Moscow and proposed an economic partnership with Russia… Within a week of the invasion, the chief executive of Siemens was in Moscow…

“That remains the dominant thinking inside parts of the SPD. The current economics minister, Robert Habeck, whose ministry is responsible for sanctions, is opposed to cutting off Russian access to the Swift payments system…

“However, in recent weeks the compromises inherent in Ostpolitik [by SPD chancellor Willy Brandt] have come under challenge from a younger generation. Michael Roth, the SPD chair of the foreign affairs committee, argued his party had to escape the shadow of Brandt… Other ministers have insisted that energy, including the future of Nord Stream 2, cannot be removed from the list of potential sanctions, as it was in 2014.”

Notwithstanding some “lip services” to the contrary, Germany’s new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz (SPD), seems to be following the official party line of not willing to antagonize Russia in any way. 

Who is in Charge at the White House?

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on January 23:

“It sure doesn’t look to be President Biden. The latest evidence came last week when chief of staff Ron Klain delivered a behind-the-scenes message to Democratic allies and staff, just hours after Biden’s disastrous news conference: The prez had failed to mention that his next Build Back Better bill would fund child and elder care, but Klain insisted it would.

“As Axios reported,  ‘Klain’s private comments are yet another indication the White House has a core set of priorities it plans to fight for’ … even if the president doesn’t know about it fully yet. Klain’s real message: Don’t worry, we staff will make sure Biden does what we say.

“Yet some in Congress want the actual president to take charge: Politico reports that moderate Democrats complain that Klain is ‘overly deferential to their liberal colleagues’ and want him out…”

Fox News added on January 24:

“NBC anchor Chuck Todd said Sunday that President Biden was in trouble with the American electorate following the release of a new NBC poll last week showing dismal approval ratings to kick off the midterm election year. During the opening segment on ‘Meet the Press,’ Todd… declared Biden’s 43% approval rating showed he’d ‘lost his identity,’ and was ‘no longer seen as competent and effective’ in the eyes of voters, spelling a potential ‘shellacking’ for Democrats  in November.”

Trump the 47th US President?

 The New York Post wrote on January 26:

“Donald Trump has confidently declared himself the “45th and 47th” US president. The former president made the remarks while playing a round of golf at one of his clubs… As Trump was filmed walking to the first tee, one of his playing partners could be heard saying: ‘Now on the tee, the 45th president of the United States.’ ‘The 45th and 47th,’ a grinning Trump quickly fired back…

“Trump hasn’t publicly said if he is planning to run for the White House again — but he has repeatedly teased a second campaign and has been holding rallies ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. He already holds a commanding lead over other potential Republican 2024 candidates, according to several polls conducted this month. In one Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump was leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 43 percentage points.”

Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers

The New York Post wrote on January 21:

“A Texas federal judge has blocked the Biden administration’s order for federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the latest setback to the administration’s pandemic response. The ruling… stated that ‘because the President’s authority is not that broad, the court will enjoin the second order’s enforcement,’ wrote [Judge Jeffey] Brown, who was nominated to the federal bench by President “Donald Trump.

“Brown cited the Supreme Court’s decision last week that prevented the administration from enforcing a requirement that all businesses with at least 100 employees mandate that workers get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing… Brown claimed the administration’s order for federal workers was a ‘bridge too far’ by allowing the White House ‘with a stroke of a pen or without the input of Congress, [to] require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.’’…

“The DOJ has already appealed Friday’s ruling, sending its request to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

“The mandate, which was first announced by President Biden last September, ordered more than 3.5 million federal employees to be vaccinated or face termination — with some medical or religious exemptions. Unlike the vaccine requirement for private businesses, federal employees were not given the option to test weekly for COVID-19 instead of receiving the vaccine.”

In the meantime and in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, mentioned above, Starbucks announced that they are no longer requiring their employees to be vaccinated.

Biden Withdraws Vaccine Mandates for Large Employers

 CNN reported on January 25:

“The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday it will be withdrawing the vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard for businesses with 100 or more employees.”

Another defeat for Biden… deservedly so. 

USA with New Restrictions

Global News wrote on January 21:

“Starting Jan. 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will require all Canadian and non-U.S. individuals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country.

“This means anyone wanting to enter the U.S. at land borders or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must provide proof of vaccination whether they are travelling for essential or non-essential reasons, DHS said in a release… These requirements do not apply to U.S. citizens [or] lawful permanent residents…”

More than a Quarter of Canadians Support Jail for Unvaccinated

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 21:

“A recent poll says that more than a quarter of Canadians support sending people who refuse COVID jabs to jail…  The poll also reported that 33% of Canadians believe the unvaccinated should not be allowed to renew their driver’s licenses, and two-thirds of Canadians are in favor of mandatory vaccines for everyone over the age of five.”

Global News wrote on January 25:

“… a majority of Canadians are in favour of imposing more restrictions on those who have not gotten the shots yet, according to new polling…. 67 per cent want the government to impose further measures on the unvaccinated population, with nearly half (49 per cent) of the respondents blaming the unvaccinated for prolonging the pandemic… 52 per cent said they were in favour of putting a tax on the unvaccinated…”

The article claimed that “Canadians have become increasingly polarized when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, lockdowns and the pandemic in general.”

This shows where nasty and ridiculous propaganda leads. But Canada, once a free country, is becoming more and more dictatorial and authoritarian. Note the next article.

Outrageous Persecution of Christians in Canada

Fox News wrote on January 16:

“Thousands of clergy in North America devoted their sermons on Sunday to affirming biblical sexual morality in response to a new Canadian law some warn could effectively criminalize such teachings… The controversial legislation, which went into effect Jan. 8 after being fast-tracked through the Canadian Parliament in December without extensive debate, describes as a ‘myth’ the belief that heterosexuality and cisgender identity are preferable. Counseling that does not align with such a worldview now carries a potential five-year jail sentence.

“Critics claim the language of the bill is overly broad and could even encompass private conversations. Several pastors, including some who have recently been imprisoned in Canada for keeping their churches open in defiance of government health orders, explained to Fox News that they believe the scope of the new law could open the door to religious persecution.

“Leading the protest against the bill in the United States is Pastor John MacArthur, whose Grace Community Church in Los Angeles won an $800,000 settlement in September after tussling with state and county authorities for continuing to congregate in defiance of the government…

“MacArthur’s involvement in the initiative was in part because of an email he received from Pastor James Coates, who was the first Canadian clergyman to be imprisoned in the name of public health. When he refused to shutter his church in Edmonton last year, Coates spent more than a month in a maximum-security prison. Federal law enforcement later raided his church at dawn, locked it and barricaded it behind three layers of fencing.

“Pastor Tim Stephens, who was imprisoned twice last year for keeping his Calgary church open, also told Fox News that he believes persecution is going to increase in Canada and other Western countries. Stephens’ second arrest, which happened after a police helicopter found his church gathering outside, prompted Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to send a letter to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom… urging it to consider adding Canada to its watch list…

“Pastor Artur Pawlowski, a Polish Canadian pastor from Calgary who has faced repeated dramatic arrests after refusing to limit church attendance, described Bill C-4 as “straight from Soviet Russia.” … ‘I lived in a country that implemented laws like that,’ said Pawlowski, who met with U.S. lawmakers and warned large audiences last summer that Western governments increasingly resemble the communist regime in Poland he fled as a young man…

“Pastor Andrew Brunson, a missionary whose unjust imprisonment in 2016 plunged Turkey into a diplomatic feud with the United States, has been warning since his dramatic, high-stakes release in 2018 that he believes religious persecution is swiftly approaching in Western countries. Brunson, who now serves as special adviser for religious freedom at Family Research Council, told Fox News that he sees the issues around the Canadian law as part of ‘a dark wave of hostility’ that he believes is going to crash onto the church…

“Pastor Michael Thiessen, who is president of Liberty Coalition Canada, which began the initiative, told Fox News that he believes the government response to COVID-19 has helped prepare the way for such hostility… “A regime and agenda based on lies has to be coercive in order to maintain its power. It can’t rely on persuasion, truth, or beauty. So I anticipate further exile and punishment for non-conformists and those who will still stand and preach truth and reality in our time,’ he added.”

We hasten to add that the same developments can be seen in continental Europe, and especially in Germany, a so-called Christian nation, where government officials and their obedient agents, including their judges, behave anything but Christian.  

YouTube Removes Sermon about Sexuality as “Hate Speech”

 CBN News wrote on January 19:

 “Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, CA, preached a sermon Sunday about biblical sexuality... MacArthur said, ‘There is no such thing as transgender. You are either XX or XY, that’s it. God made man male and female. That is determined genetically, that is physiology, that is science, that is reality. On the one hand, the reality of that lie and deception is so damaging, so destructive, so isolating, so corrupting that it needs to be confronted, but on the other hand, that confrontation can’t exaggerate what already exists, which is a sense of feeling isolated in relationships,’ he said.

 “YouTube removed MacArthur’s sermon from its platform and told conservative commentator Todd Starnes  that MacArthur’s video presentation was ‘hate speech.’…

 “Jenna Ellis, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, who represented MacArthur when Los Angeles County tried to shut down Grace Church for defying pandemic-induced health orders, spoke out against YouTube’s censorship of MacArthur’s sermon.  ‘The big tech oligarchy in the United States is implementing the equivalent of Canada’s insane law by censoring truth and the right of pastors to teach the Bible,’ Ellis [said].  ‘If Americans don’t stop big tech, this new Regime will circumvent the Constitution to foreclose our fundamental rights to speak and exercise religion and the impact will be devastating.’

 “Critics worry the law will perpetuate religious persecution and could even govern private conversations. ‘Americans should be preparing for a time when pastors and religious leaders will face persecution for teaching the Word of God,’ Starnes warned.”

Bible Racist?

The Daily Mail wrote on January 22:

“One of Britain’s leading mental health clinics could face legal action after telling a student therapist to watch lectures saying that white people are unconsciously racist, that Christianity is a racist religion, and that the Bible can be blamed for racism because it contrasts ‘darkness’ and ‘light’.

“Amy Gallagher, a mental health nurse from south London, has spent more than £20,000 training to become a psychotherapist on a course run by the prestigious Portman Clinic in North London, part of The Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust But now the 33-year-old is preparing a legal case, saying she believes the Trust is guilty of religious and racial discrimination against her as a white Christian… Ms Gallagher says it is particularly concerning that radical identity politics are now ‘leaking into the health service’.”

Fox News Hypocritical?

The Huffington Post wrote on January 22:

“Tucker Carlson was pummeled on social media Friday night after he compared vaccine requirements to protect Americans from COVID-19 to the barbaric experiments Nazis inflicted on Jews during World War II. Critics pointed out that Fox News has a vaccine requirement so Carlson is likely not worried about contracting COVID himself, even while he encourages his viewers not to get them.

“They also pointed out that, late last year, Fox ‘ghosted’ contributor Lara Logan after she compared White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci to infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele…”

Silly and Rude Conduct of American Airlines

The Washington Times wrote on January 21:

“An American Airlines plane headed to London was more than hour into its flight when its pilot decided to turn around and head back to the departure point, Miami, because a female passenger declined to wear a face mask… the airline then canceled the flight, screwing over 129 passengers who were told to exit, stage right, the plane in Miami, alongside the woman. And now American Airlines is patting itself on the back for a job well done…

“American, no doubt, is hiding behind the January 2021 announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration of a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for unruly passenger behavior — defined by this coronavirus crazed government we now have in place in the United States as anyone who dares disobey the government dictates. And plenty in America, too many in America, are probably on the side of the airline, saying American was just doing its job to keep passengers safe; American was just abiding the mandates put in place by the Joe Biden presidency; American was just simply trying to keep the peace and make sure all passengers were treated equally, fairly, equitably, safely, securely…

“Enough of the pretend care and concern on the part of businesses toward customers — care and concern that manifests in outright tyrannical crackdowns on freedoms and choice of customers… Let’s remember: these rules aren’t so much rules as fabricated dictates by overreaching bureaucrats… America has yet to see a federally passed law about face masking. We’re all still living under executive orders that were created out of fear and that continue on because of fear, bad science and the political exploitation of bad science.

“Besides, with American Airlines, there’s this consideration: the multibillion-dollar bailout it received, courtesy taxpayers. ‘American Airlines said it would receive $5.8 billion as part of the [bailout deal], with more than $4 billion in the form of grants and the remaining $1.7 billion as a low-interest loan,’ The New York Times wrote in March, 2021. ‘The airline also plans to apply for a nearly $4.8 billion loan from [the government]… That — so American could turn around and cancel hundreds of flights due to staffing issues, while taking big tax bucks. That — so American’s CEO, Doug Parker, could turn around and rake in $10 million plus in compensation while taking big tax bucks.

“And now that — so American can climb high and mighty and throw a hissy fit to boot a passenger for refusing to wear a face mask… Instead of booting this woman for refusing to comply with an unconstitutional demand from public servants, i.e., the political class, American Airlines ought to have extended her a red carpet for keeping the company in business. Biting the hand that feeds never ends well.”

This is an article which is rare in today’s mass media. The Washington Times is of course one of America’s most prestigious and established publications.

Routine Corona Vaccinations for Newborn Babies…

Israel Today wrote on January 23:

“Some of Israel’s top doctors are recommending that once the pandemic ends, the COVID-19 vaccine should be added to the regular vaccine regimen offered to children between birth and the age of five. Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, head of Israel’s doctors union and an advisor to the government on the coronavirus crisis, said this is the logical way forward…”

Israel 365 wrote on January 365:

“The Health Ministry plans on adding the Covid vaccine to the initial round of vaccines given to newborn babies in the hospital… In the meantime, Pfizer is undergoing clinical trials on infants to reduce the age of the vaccine from five years to six months.  Chief Medical Advisor to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the FDA could approve Prizer’s covid vaccine for children under the age of five by next month.”

Amazing what doctors come up with. Sadly, Israel has been one of the most radical proponents of dictatorial measures.

The Protection through Natural Immunity

The Associated Press wrote on January 22:

“A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people who were both vaccinated and had survived a prior bout of COVID-19 were best protected from infection

“The study, that examined infections in New York and California last year, found that unvaccinated people with a past infection were a close second. By fall, when the more contagious delta variant had taken over but boosters weren’t yet widespread, that group had a lower case rate than vaccinated people who had no past infection.”

Frightening Numbers of Sickness in Military as Consequence of COVID Vaccinations?

The Blaze wrote on January 26:

“Data, transparency, and surveillance. That is what has been missing from the greatest experiment on humans of all time throughout this pandemic. Now, military medical whistleblowers have come forward with what they claim is perhaps the most accurate and revealing data set on vaccine safety one could possibly find… [presenting] data that, if verified, would signal extremely disturbing safety concerns about the vaccine… On Monday… Ohio attorney Thomas Renz, who has been representing clients suing the vaccine mandates, presented DOD medical billing data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) that paints a shockingly disturbing picture of the health of our service members in 2021…

“Drs. Samuel Sigoloff, Peter Chambers, and Theresa Long — three military doctors — revealed that there has been a 300% increase in DMED codes registered for miscarriages in the military in 2021 over the five-year average… the numbers tended to be remarkably similar in all those preceding years, including in 2020, which was the first year of the pandemic but before the vaccines were distributed. But then in 2021, the numbers skyrocketed, and the 2021 data doesn’t even include the months of November and December. For example, some public health officials speculate that COVID itself places women at higher risk for miscarriages. But the number of miscarriage codes recorded in 2020 was actually slightly below the five-year average (1,477)…

“Aside from the spike in miscarriage diagnoses… there was an almost 300% increase in cancer diagnoses (from a five-year average of 38,700 per year to 114,645 in the first 11 months of 2021). There was also a 1,000% increase in diagnosis codes for neurological issues, which increased from a baseline average of 82,000 to 863,000! Some other numbers…: myocardial infarction –269% increase; Bell’s palsy – 291% increase; congenital malformations (for children of military personnel) – 156% increase; female infertility – 471% increase; pulmonary embolisms – 467% increase.

“… one of the sworn declarations from one of the military doctors… states as follows, ‘It is my professional opinion that the major increases incidences of the above discussed instances of miscarriages, cancers, and disease were due to COVID-19 “vaccinations.”’…

“If these numbers are verified in the upcoming court cases, then absent some massive military insurance fraud or bizarre glitch in the system, it potentially paints a shocking picture of vaccine safety concerns…. Sen. Ron Johnson said at the Monday hearing that he put DOD on notice that it better not delete any of the data. ‘The Department of Defense, the Biden administration is on notice they must preserve these records and this must be investigated,’ said Johnson…

“Even if somehow these earth-shattering increases have nothing to do with the vaccines, isn’t it important that our government investigate what appears to be a catastrophic decline in the health of our active-duty fighting force?… The bottom line according to Renz is that the onus of proof is on the government, not on the military personnel and citizens being forced to take the shots. If the manufacturers are exempt from liability for government coercion to use their product, and the only pharmacological safety data we have is completely ignored, then where is the recourse of the people to redress safety concerns? In the opinion of the Ohio attorney, if the shots are safe and effective, then the Pentagon should have no problem explaining the source of these gargantuan increases in instances of numerous illnesses…”

One would think so. It is especially revealing that many in the military have refused to be vaccinated.

Austria Repeats History… Mandatory Vaccination for all Adults

Breitbart wrote on January 21:

“In a vote of 137 to just 33, the Austrian parliament has overwhelmingly voted to make vaccination against the Wuhan coronavirus mandatory for all residents over the age of 18… those who refuse to take the vaccine could face a fine of up to €3,600 (£2,994/$4,072), newspaper Kronen Zeitung reports.  Those who are not able to be vaccinated for medical reasons will be exempted from the mandatory vaccination along with pregnant women. Those who have recovered from the coronavirus will also be exempt for a period of six months after they recover.

“From mid-March Austrian police will also be checking vaccination status during routine checks and traffic stops and giving out fines to those who cannot prove they are fully vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus. Some officers have expressed concern regarding the enforcement of the vaccine mandate, stating that controls could damage their reputation in the eyes of the general public. ‘It is incomprehensible to me why the police are used here, in such an excess of controlling activity. I’m even talking about the fact that the police are used here for political purposes quite inappropriately!’ Werner Herbert, head of the police union AUF said.

“While the vast majority of the members of the Austrian parliament voted for the measure, the populist Freedom Party, led by firebrand Herbert Kickl, voted against the measure. ‘Today is a day of shame for the Austrian Parliament and for our democracy,’ Kickl stated on Facebook and added, ‘The FPÖ deputies have voted unanimously against this unjust law, which is the totalitarian low point… We will do everything possible to bring down compulsory vaccination with a majority of citizens.’

“Kickl has been a sceptic of the government’s policies to combat the coronavirus, including both the lockdown measures and the mandatory vaccine policy. ‘For us, it’s about voluntariness. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or not. No Austrian should be forced to vaccinate,’ Kickl said earlier this week.”

Deutsche Welle reported on January 21:

“The move makes Austria the first EU country to pass a vaccine mandate, despite tens of thousands of angry citizens continuing to protest such measures in Austria and across Europe… Herbert Kickl… railed against the law Thursday during the parliamentary debate, claiming it ‘paves the way to totalitarianism in Austria.’ Kickl vowed that he would continue to personally refuse vaccination.

“Cancellor Karl Nehammer however, told reporters ‘Vaccination is an opportunity for our society to achieve lasting and continuous freedom, because the virus cannot restrict us any further.’

“Austria now joins Ecuador, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia and Micronesia as among the only countries in the world to have passed vaccine mandates.”

What a company! SHAME on Austria! Kickl gave an EXCELLENT speech during the parliamentary debate, showing the many lies of Austrian politicians and the march towards totalitarianism in Austria, but his warnings fell mostly on deaf ears.—as they did before when Austria was about to embrace Hitler. It is amazing and deeply disturbing that the Austrian chancellor describes totalitarian measures, which deprive the people of their freedom, as the way to achieve lasting and continuous freedom.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Others vs. Corona Vaccination Mandates

JTA wrote on January 24:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. invoked Anne Frank while comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, saying ‘none of us can hide’ today like the Jewish diarist could during World War II. ‘Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in the attic like Anne Frank did,’ Kennedy said at a rally against vaccine mandates on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. ‘Today the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run, none of us can hide.’

“Kennedy, the son of former Sen. Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy, went on to list what he perceived as threats from ‘low-orbit satellites’ and 5G internet networks, and named Bill Gates among those posing a threat to privacy…”

WND added on January 24:

“Despite frigid temperatures, thousands of Americans showed up Sunday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to voice strong opposition to COVID-vaccine mandates. Kennedy hammered the companies that manufacture the experimental vaccines being mandated in many locations worldwide, with no legal liability. ‘You think they found Jesus suddenly … and they’re suddenly concerned with public health?’ he said. ‘These are the companies that gave us the opioid crisis. These are not good citizens, these are criminal enterprises.’

“He warned of what he called ‘turnkey totalitarianism,’ as dark powers look ‘to control every aspect of behavior.’…

“Kennedy was joined by doctors who have been censored by Big Tech as they warn of the dangers of the COVID shots. Among them was Dr. Robert Malone, one of the developers of the technology being used in today’s vaccines. ‘These vaccines do not prevent omicron infection,’ Malone declared….

“Kyle Warner, who was a professional mountain biker until he was severely injured by a COVID vaccine, also spoke at the event… Warner challenged President Joe Biden and health officials to hold a meeting with the victims of adverse reactions to the coronavirus vaccines. ‘Look them in their eyes, acknowledge their suffering, admit this is real, not just rare,’ Warner said. ‘Make the companies responsible for the damage they are causing. … to even consider requiring a vaccine that no one will stand behind is a total disgrace to the very idea of America.’…

“Rizza Islam, an author and minister for the Nation of Islam, said the devil is behind the current madness, saying ‘Satan [is] the one who has obviously declared war on all humanity.’”

Kennedy Apologizes … why?

“On Tuesday, [Kennedy] tweeted, ‘I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors. My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.’”

One gets sick and tired of people making appropriate comparisons only to apologize later because they might have hurt someone, as some Jewish organizations claimed. Apparently his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, who does not see eye to eye with Kennedy on the entire vaccination hysteria, objected as well. “Hines previously drew scrutiny after it was reported that she threw a holiday party at the couple’s California home and requested in the invitation that guests be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative before arriving” (New York Post, January 24).

What Kennedy was expressing was clearly correct, noting the context.

Eric Clapton’s Fight against Corona Virus Mandates

The New York Post wrote on January 24:

“The 76-year-old musician … discuss[ed] how his life has changed since reluctantly taking AstraZeneca’s therapy in 2021… He claimed that he’d been duped into getting the COVID-19 jab by subliminal messaging in pharmaceutical advertising — and urged others not to fall for it…. Credited to Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet, the theory essentially points to a sort of mind control that has taken over society, allowing for unscrupulous leaders to easily manipulate populations into, for example, accepting vaccines or wearing face masks… Clapton recalled ‘seeing little things on YouTube which were like subliminal advertising’…

“He said [van] Morrison, 76, complained that he wasn’t ‘allowed’ to freely object to vaccine requirements… Clapton also admitted that he’d given up on recent news media, which he described as ‘one-way traffic about following orders and obedience’… Despite making headlines, others in the music community have alienated him, Clapton said.”

It was recently reported in the press that Clapton played at a venue with vax mandate, even though he had said that he would not. It was later clarified that this news was bogus. We do not doubt the existence of subliminal messages in advertisement. But the real originator of the present hysteria is none other than Satan the Devil.

“This Justification Is a Scandal”

Bild Online wrote on January 21:

“The Australian federal court took four days to justify the expulsion of tennis star Novak Djokovic (34). Now the judges have said that the unvaccinated Serb’s presence could have fueled anti-vaccination sentiment in the country. They thus adopted the reasoning of the Immigration Minister, who described Djokovic as a potential threat to the security and order of Australia due to his vaccination skepticism… Djokovic had to leave the country because the government and judiciary are afraid of his opinion. And that’s despite the fact that he didn’t even come to Australia to spread his views – just to play tennis.

“The justification is reminiscent of politically motivated judgments that are actually unworthy of a democratic constitutional state like Australia. One of the defining characteristics of a free society is that everyone is free to express their opinion – without being disadvantaged or even punished for it. The fact that this cornerstone of democracy in Australia has now cracked is a sad side effect of the ‘NoCovid’ strategy there. after the government tried for two years to keep the number of infections low through tough lockdowns…

“It would have been easy for the judges to find plausible reasons for expelling the Serb, for example formal errors in his entry application or simply the principle of ‘equal rights for all.'”

But their main concern is not the violation of a technicality, but the suppression of opinions which do not fit into the political paradigm of the government. The same development can be seen in Germany… note the next article.

German Constitutional Minister against the Basic Law

Bild Online wrote on January 20:

“‘All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully and without weapons [and] without [prior] registration or permission,” says Article 8 of the Basic Law [“Grundgesetz”]. But Constitutional Minister Nancy Faeser (51, SPD) of all people seems to be questioning this right. Literally, Faeser wrote Wednesday evening on the social network Twitter: ‘I repeat my appeal: You can express your opinion without gathering in many places at the same time.’… Faeser calls on demonstrators to stop taking their protest to the streets.

“But who does the minister mean exactly?…

“‘The minister’s statement should be seen in the context of the corona protests and against the background of the dramatically high number of corona infections,’ a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior told BILD.

“At the same time, the Federal Minister of the Interior [Constitutional Minister] is a fervent advocate of public protest, of outdoor demonstrations and – also quite rightly! – public expressions of opinion. ‘I’m totally amazed at how many people took to the streets yesterday for climate protection…’ That was [in September of 2019,] before Corona. But even during the pandemic, she advocated demonstrations in public spaces and was even there several times. ‘Today I was in the Dannenröder forest as a parliamentary observer. Protest is legitimate…’, she tweeted in November of 2020. In February of 2021, she took part in a vigil for the victims of the right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, laid a wreath at the site of the attack and commemorated the dead.”

But when it comes to protests against Corona, the left-wing political agenda is more than anxious and willing to violate the law.

The West Should Fight Dictatorships

Thomson/Reuters wrote  on January 21:

“Britain on Friday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping that its allies would stand together to fight for democracy against dictatorships that it said were more emboldened than at any time since the Cold War. Speaking in Australia, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain and its allies in the ‘free world’ must respond together to global threats, deepen ties with democracies in the Indo-Pacific…

“Truss argued that the ‘Kremlin has not learned the lessons of history’ and that ‘invasion will only lead to a terrible quagmire and loss of life, as we know from the Soviet-Afghan war and conflict in Chechnya.’

“More than 15,000 Soviet troops died in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, while hundreds of thousands of Afghans perished. The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 led to more than 3,500 deaths among the international military coalition. Global aggressors ‘are emboldened in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War,’ Truss said in the speech. ‘They seek to export dictatorship as a service around the world,’ she added. ‘That is why regimes like Belarus, North Korea and Myanmar find their closest allies in Moscow and Beijing.’”

There is a deep bitter irony here: While the West and the “free world” claim they will fight dictatorships in Russia and China, it is they, and especially Australia, which are becoming more and more totalitarian.

No Plea Deal with Netanyahu

Axios wrote on January 24:

“Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been hoping to reach a plea deal on the corruption charges against him before Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit left office at the end of January, but Mandelblit has reportedly notified Netayahu’s lawyers that won’t be possible… The deal Mandelblit and Netanyahu had been discussing would have kept him out of prison but seen him banned from politics for seven years. Netanyahu broke his silence on the plea talks after they collapsed and said he’d never accepted the seven-year ban.

“In a video statement, Netanyahu resumed his attacks on the police and prosecution and claimed the case against him was collapsing and should already have been dismissed. In a nod to the intra-party fight that had begun over his potential replacement if he took the deal, Netanyahu said he’d stay on as leader of the Likud party and of the opposition.

“The plea deal is not totally dead but will be frozen for now. The highest-profile case in recent Israeli political history will now pass to the next attorney general, who has yet to be named…”

Earthquakes in Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on January 24:

“Some one million homes in Israel are at risk of collapse in case of an earthquake, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

“The report comes after two minor earthquakes shook northern Israel earlier this week around 12 hours apart. The first quake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, struck late Saturday, while the other, at a magnitude of 3.5, was felt at around noon the following day…. At this point, Home Front Command officials and geological experts are not sure whether the earthquakes were an isolated incident or a prelude to a more powerful event…. a major earthquake is predicted to cause about 7,000 deaths and 145,000 injuries, with 170,000 people left homeless and 320,000 buildings damaged.”

It is interesting that the Bible prophesies an earthquake in Israel which will kill 7,000 people (Revelation 11:13).

The Scandal-Ridden Catholic Church

Chron wrote on January 21:

“Catholic Pope emeritus Benedict XVI committed ‘wrongdoing’ in the way he handled sexual abuse cases in his German archdiocese before he was pope, according to a church-commissioned investigation released Thursday. The German law firm that conducted the investigation said Benedict’s claims to have no direct knowledge of sexual abuse cases were not credible.

“The report amounts to a shocking and harsh condemnation of the retired pope – the first pope to resign his position before death in 600 years….

“Benedict is not the first pope among the nearly 270 in history whose scandals have caused Catholics and the Catholic Church headaches. The period between late 9th and 10th centuries saw some particularly bad popes… There was Pope Stephen VI, in power from May 896 to August 897. His predecessor was pope for only 15 days before dying, perhaps of gout or perhaps murdered by Stephen VI’s followers. Once installed, Stephen VI put his enemy – another of his predecessors – Pope Formosus, on trial, which was kind of weird considering Formosus had been dead for months. His corpse was dressed in papal vestments and propped up on a throne before being found guilty of perjury and other offenses, mutilated and tossed into a river. The people of Rome thought that was pretty gross, and they soon deposed and murdered Stephen VI.

“Then there was Pope Sergius III, pope from 904 to 911, who murdered his predecessors, bribed and threatened bishops and fathered an illegitimate child… This period also saw the papacy of John XII, who became pope at 18 in 955. He spent much of his time sleeping around and warring with rival factions… He died in 964 in the bed of a married woman, either of a stroke, being stabbed by the woman’s husband or thrown out the window by said husband, depending on which account you believe…

“Where other popes veered into lives of excess, Pope Paul IV, who led the church from 1555 to 1559, was controversial for his extreme austerity…  No one in Paul’s Rome had it worse than the Jews; he confined them to a ghetto, made them wear yellow hats whenever they left, and ordered dozens burned at the stake. He was so hated when he died that celebratory rioters tore down many of his statues; other statues were mocked with yellow hats.”

The Catholic Church claims that all popes are in direct succession of the Apostle Peter—a claim which is completely false.

Benedict Apologizes

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 24:

“Former Pope Benedict XVI has apologized for providing false information during a probe into sexual abuse in his old Munich archdiocese, his secretary said in a statement on Monday… The statement… said the false information was not given ‘with ill intent.’ Instead, it was blamed on an editing ‘oversight’ that occurred with Benedict’s written testimony to the inquiry.

“The former pope, 94, had told the inquiry that he had not been present at a 1980 meeting discussing a pedophile priest. He has now confirmed that he did attend the meeting but insisted that no decision had been made there about reassigning the priest to pastoral duties. ‘Rather, only the request to provide [the priest] with accommodation during his therapeutic treatment in Munich was granted,’ the statement said. Benedict was ‘very sorry’ for the mistake and said he hoped that it could be forgiven…”

Women Become more Influential in Catholic Church

Newsmax wrote on January 23:

“Pope Francis on Sunday for the first time conferred the lay Roman Catholic ministries of lector and catechist on women… he criticized those who need to have rigid regulations and ‘more rules’ in order to find God…

“Lectors read from scripture… and catechists teach the faith to children and adult converts…

“The change will be particularly important as a recognition for women in places such as the Amazon, where some are the de facto religious leaders of remote communities hit by a severe shortage of priests. The Vatican stressed that the roles are not a precursor to women one day being allowed to become priests… Francis has appointed a number of women to senior jobs in Vatican departments previously held by men.”

Transplant of Pig Kidneys into a Brain-Dead Human

NBC News wrote on January 20:

“In an operating room at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the surgical team was nervous but hopeful. It was Sept. 30, and they were attempting a medical first: implanting kidneys from a genetically altered pig into the abdomen of a human.  The lead surgeon, Dr. Jayme Locke, carefully sewed the first pig kidney into the patient, James Parsons, 57, a carpenter and father from Huntsville, Alabama.

“Days earlier, Parsons had been rendered brain-dead in an accident in a dirt bike race. A registered organ donor, he had long expressed a desire to his family to donate his organs after he died.”

Man playing God… where will it end…?

The Pro-Life Movement

Newsmax wrote on January 21:

“Actor Kirk Cameron told Newsmax on Friday that ‘more and more people’ in Hollywood are ‘coming to terms with the fact that equality begins in the womb.’… Cameron also mentioned how personal the issue of abortion is to his family, sharing how his wife, Chelsea Noble, and [their] first four children were adopted. ‘My wife is an adopted child. She was one doctor appointment away from not existing,’’ Cameron said.

“‘We adopted our first four children, and each of them were very close to not being here. And if my wife hadn’t been born, neither would our two natural-born children be here. And so my entire family of six kids and my wife I see not as mistakes, but as miracles, and I’m so glad and thankful for the pro-life community and their work, which resulted in me having this wonderful family.’’”

These are insightful comments showing the utter abomination of abortion.

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.

Fears and Tensions with Russia on the Rise

The Associated Press wrote on January 15:

“U.S. intelligence officials have determined a Russian effort is underway to create a pretext for its troops to further invade Ukraine, and Moscow has already prepositioned operatives to conduct ‘a false-flag operation’ in eastern Ukraine… White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday the intelligence findings show Russia is also laying the groundwork through a social media disinformation campaign that frames Ukraine as an aggressor that has been preparing an imminent attack against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. Psaki charged that Russia has already dispatched operatives trained in urban warfare who could use explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s own proxy forces — blaming the acts on Ukraine — if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides he wants to move forward with an invasion…

“White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday said… this is similar to what the Kremlin did in the lead-up to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that had been under Ukraine’s jurisdiction since 1954…

“Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Friday that Moscow wouldn’t wait indefinitely for the Western response, saying he expects the U.S. and NATO to provide a written answer next week. Lavrov described Moscow’s demands for binding guarantees that NATO will not embrace Ukraine or any other former Soviet nations, or station its forces and weapons there, as essential for the progress of diplomatic efforts to defuse soaring tensions over Ukraine. He argued that NATO’s deployments and drills near Russia’s borders pose a security challenge that must be addressed immediately.”

Ukraine’s Fate Sealed

Thomson/Reuters wrote on January 14:

“A week of diplomacy by U.S. President Joe Biden failed to defuse tensions between Russia and Ukraine, but has maintained unity with European allies against Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to expose cracks… “Biden’s bid to rebuild U.S. leadership globally was also hindered by a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August that prompted the European Union to consider ways to become more independent of the U.S. military… Biden has faced lingering doubts about America’s reliability as a partner. Leaders from the Group of Seven advanced economies, NATO and the European Union are worried…

“Although Biden pledged to continue giving military aid to Ukraine and to boost support if Russia invades, Washington’s response has been almost entirely diplomatic, and the West is not in a position to defend Ukraine militarily. The main attempt to deter a Russian invasion is a U.S. threat of ‘unprecedented’ sanctions, including export controls and measures targeting Russia’s financial system.

“U.S. officials have spent weeks trying to ensure Europe would match Washington’s planned sanctions response, but no clear agreement has been reached on what specific sanctions will be leveled. While the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia when it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, the bloc has shown divisions over how to deal with Moscow, which accounts for one-third of EU gas imports.

“The United States said Moscow’s behavior towards Ukraine will play a crucial role in the fate of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, meant to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. But Germany on Thursday warned against drawing a link between the pipeline and the Russian tensions…”

Of course, Germany, being dependent on Russia, does not want to jeopardize its lucrative Nord Stream 2 pipeline deal. And while the USA will not intervene militarily, and Europe cannot do so at this point, Ukraine will fall into Russia’s hands… as it is prophesied.

No German Weapons for Ukraine

 Deutsche Welle wrote on January 19:

“Germany has declined to join allies such as the US and UK in shipping weapons to Ukraine… [Germany’s] foreign minister, the Greens’ Annalena Baerbock, has made… expressions of solidarity with Ukraine but rejected its latest request for weapons deliveries…. Baerbock said her government’s decision on weapons had a historical dimension — a reference to Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War….

“Germany remains one of the world’s top arms producers and exporters, with sales increasing 21% from 2016 to 2020… Its largest customers were South Korea, Algeria, and Egypt….

“Ukrainian officials [were] most recently asking for warships and air defense systems. While Germany often cites its own belligerent history as grounds for sidestepping the military question, Ukraine is leaning into it. ‘This responsibility should apply to the Ukrainian people, who lost at least 8 million lives during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine,’ Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, told the DPA news agency.”

Germany’s Reliance on Russia

The Daily Mail wrote on January 19:

 “At the heart of the dispute is Nord Stream 2, Russia’s new gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe across the Baltic Sea: built, filled with gas but not yet approved for operation. If and when it is switched on, the pipeline will prove vital for German industry and heating the country’s homes…

“Poles and Lithuanians still remember how their ancient independence was signed away by Germans, Austrians and Russians as far back as the 18th century… we in Western Europe should not forget how Berlin and Moscow have benefited from colluding at our expense, too…

“Siemens and Mercedes along with a host of other big German companies also profit from exports to the Russian market. And this winter’s fuel crisis has exposed how dangerously dependent Germany already is on Russian gas. Europe is once again being rocked by soaring inflation — and now haunted by the prospect of a new German-Russian axis…”

Biden: Russia WILL Attack Ukraine

The Guardian wrote on January 19:

“Joe Biden has said he thinks Russia will attack Ukraine, warning that Moscow would face a ‘stiff price’, but he admitted Nato was divided on how to respond if there is only a “minor incursion”.

“The White House was forced to issue a hasty clarification to that last point, saying that any movement of Russian forces over the border would be treated as invasion. But Biden, in his most extensive remarks on the Ukraine crisis to date, given at an extended press conference on Wednesday, alarmed the government in Kyiv and strayed from the show of determined unity that Nato has sought to project.”

The New York Post, calling Biden’s news conference “an utter disaster,” added on January 19:

“President Biden blundered during his White House news conference Wednesday by saying that Russia’s military’ “will be able to prevail over time’ if it launches an invasion of Ukraine…”

Russia Won’t Tolerate NATO’s Invasion of Ukraine

Newsmax wrote on January 16:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman [Dmitry Peskov] says Russia will no longer ‘tolerate’ NATO’s eastward expansion and ‘gradual invasion’ into Ukraine… ‘When Germany was reunited and when the then-Soviet Union and the Soviet Union leader Mr. [Mikhail] Gorbachev said OK to that, there was a promise by American side,’ Peskov continued. ‘Unfortunately, not fixed in a juridical, in a legally binding guaranteeing document, but it — there was a guarantee that NATO would never … expand its military infrastructure or political infrastructure eastwards.’

“‘Unfortunately, the opposite thing started to happen since then, and NATO’s military infrastructure started to get closer and closer to the borders of the Russian Federation,’ he said… ‘At first… they were just words, but with the time being, we have seen the gradual invasion of NATO into Ukrainian territory, with its infrastructure, with its instructors, with supplies of defensive and offensive weapons, teaching Ukrainian military, and so on and so forth. And that brought us to the red line. That brought us to the situation when we — when we couldn’t tolerate it anymore.’”

Russian Cyberattack on Ukraine

The Associated Press wrote on January 16:

“Ukraine said Sunday that Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced its government websites and alleged that Russia is engaged in an increasing ‘hybrid war’ against its neighbor. The statement from the Ministry of Digital Development came a day after Microsoft said dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies had been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware…

“In 2017, Russia targeted Ukraine with one of the most damaging cyberattacks on record with the NotPetya virus, causing more than $10 billion in damage globally. That virus, also disguised as ransomware, was a so-called ‘wiper’ that erased entire networks.”

Joint Military Exercises between Russia and Belarus

TRT World wrote on January 17:

“Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has announced that his army will conduct military exercises next month with Russian forces and criticised what he said was NATO’s growing presence in Europe… He said the drills would be dubbed ‘Determination of the Union 2022,’ and should focus on a scenario in which his country’s military is forced to ‘resist forces coming from the West’…

“Lukashenko, who has grown closer to the Kremlin as the West shunned him, accused Ukraine of building up troops near Belarus in comments circulated by the Defence Ministry. He said Poland and the Baltics had more than 30,000 soldiers near Belarus’ borders.”

Russia’s New “War Games”

The Associated Press wrote on January 19:

“Russia is sending an unspecified number of troops from the country’s far east to Belarus for major war games, officials said Tuesday, a deployment that will further beef up Russian military presence near Ukraine amid Western fears of a planned invasion…

“Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said the joint drills with Belarus would involve practicing a joint response to external threats. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine from several directions, including from its ally Belarus.”

According to MSN, dated January 15, the danger of war in Europe has never been higher for 30 years. The publication also states that Russia threatened with stationing troops in Latin America.

Military Cooperation between Russia and Iran?

VZGLYAD reported on January 18:

“On Friday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that President Vladimir Putin, together with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, will conduct an ‘inventory’ of our entire agenda during a visit to Russia. As the VZGLYAD newspaper wrote earlier, almost the main purpose of Mr. Raisi’s visit to Moscow, according to some reports, is Russian weapons.

“During an October visit to Russia, the head of the Iranian General Staff, Mohammad Bagheri, is rumored to have indicated his readiness to conclude large-scale contracts, including the purchase of multi-purpose Su-35s. A separate issue is the prospect of Iran buying the Russian S-400 system. However, there was no consensus in the expert community as to whether Russia was ready to sell this system.

“Earlier, military expert Konstantin Sivkov, in an interview with the VZGLYAD newspaper, suggested that in the event of new provocations from Washington, Moscow would begin a close military cooperation with Tehran.”

The EU Army and Europe’s Lust for Power

Express wrote on January 17:

“The EU has been mulling the deployment of 5000 troops from across the bloc as a backup plan in emergency missions in the name of enhanced ‘strategic autonomy’. The idea, first floated by French President Emmanuel Macron, is taking shape around the EU Commission’s table and will reach Parliament in Strasbourg soon. New Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollogren attempted to minimise the plan saying the troops are not to be called ‘EU army’ per se. But Nexit Denktank campaigners warned: ‘… Just because you don’t call it an EU army doesn’t mean it isn’t an EU army… 5,000 soldiers are just the beginning. They know they don’t have the people on their side, so they play games with language…

“Confirming the two leaders’ [Von der Leyen’s and Macron’s] defence ambitions, a senior French government official told Politico on Thursday: ‘I would like the EU in the coming years to become aware of its power, because power not only gives you prosperity but also the ability to defend your values. You can see how we sometimes hesitate to defend our values against China. Why do we hesitate? Because we are not powerful enough, because we want to have access to the Chinese market, because we depend on certain technologies. Power gives prosperity, power gives independence. And if we could all collectively realise that, that it’s better to be powerful than weak, that it’s better to be sovereign than vassal, it would be a great political idea for the EU.’”

And so, Europe will develop a POWERFUL army.

Germany’s Scholz Should Do Something…

Der Tagesspiegel wrote on January 17th:

“Union parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul (CDU) accuses Chancellor Olf Scholz (SPD) of inactivity and leadership failure in the field of foreign policy. ‘We are in the most dangerous situation we have experienced since the end of the Cold War,’ Wadephul told the Tagesspiegel. ‘There is a danger of war in Europe, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz hardly makes an appearance in terms of foreign and security policy,’ criticized the CDU politician.

“[He also said that] in the current tense situation, the head of government’s reticence is dangerous… Also because Macron is tied to his election campaign, Germany currently has a special responsibility in Europe.”

Scholz is not the man, but when that man arises, then there will be war.

Sweden on the Alert

Bild Online wrote on January 15:

“Fear of war now also in Sweden! While the world is spellbound on the Russian-Ukrainian border, disaster could also be brewing elsewhere in Europe due to Vladimir Putin’s fantasies for great power.

“Sweden’s army has been moving soldiers and weapons to the Baltic Sea island of Gotland since Friday. According to BILD information, Stockholm actually sees the possibility, albeit small, of a Russian attack on the largest island in the Baltic Sea. Soldiers and Swedish infantry fighting vehicles arrived in the coastal town of Visby (23,000 inhabitants) on Friday morning and secured the town’s harbor. In the evening, a US Air Force C-17 military aircraft landed at the nearby regional airport and brought 100 additional Swedish soldiers to the island. According to BILD information, the flight took place as part of a long-standing military cooperation between Sweden and the USA.

“Background: On Wednesday, Russia moved three of its heavy landing ships from the Kola Peninsula in the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. They would be deployed should Putin plan an attack on the Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. Since then, the Swedish army has been on alert.”

Biden’s Foreign Policy Setbacks

Fox News wrote on January 17:

“The one area in which presidents have the most executive power is foreign policy…  But a year into his presidency, Biden is receiving low marks for his foreign policy record. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Biden has a 35% approval rating on foreign policy a year into his presidency, with 54% disapproving.

“Among the first setbacks in March of last year was when the summit with the Chinese, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, to address trade, human rights, Hong Kong, cyber-attacks…  and rising military tensions in the South China Sea went off the rails [when the Chinese lectured America]… In the months to follow, China sent an unprecedented number of warplanes toward Taiwan to test the U.S. response, raising fears that an invasion of Taiwan appeared imminent…

“Biden’s handling of Afghanistan and his decision to pull all U.S. troops out of the country… has led to a humanitarian disaster. Afghanistan now stands on the verge of starvation and a collapsing economy, just four months after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal… NATO allies who believed Biden would consult with them… were blindsided by the sudden unilateral U.S. withdrawal, leaving relations in the Gulf particularly frayed as those countries question whether the US is a reliable ally…

“Even the French, America’s first ally, erupted in anger when the Biden administration suddenly announced a nuclear submarine deal with Australia, undercutting a prior deal between the French and the Australian military — something President Biden had to apologize to the French President for.

“… in the past week, talks with the Russians ended without progress…

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted recently that time was running out for a new Iran deal. North Korea tested multiple ballistic missiles, which the Pentagon fears may have included a hypersonic weapon [This happened again on Monday.] And Iran keeps backing Shia militias sending drone strikes and rockets targeting the U.S. military and its allies in Iraq and the Gulf. A year into the Biden administration, the foreign policy tests continue to mount.”

Biden has been failing in just about every foreign policy situation. And it will only get worse. Domestically, his record has not been any better.

Biden as Unpopular as Ever

Axios wrote on January 15:

“In the two months since signing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, President Biden has by almost every measure bombed big time… Biden, who marks one year in office next Thursday, has never been less popular nationally, after personally lobbying his party and the public on Build Back Better and voting rights — and failing….

“It’s rare for a president to be at odds with Republicans, moderate Democrats and liberal Democrats — all at once. But that’s where Biden finds himself at the start of an election year that many Democrats believe will result in the loss of the House and maybe the Senate… Yesterday was the third time in 3½ months Biden made an in-person trip to the Hill — and the third time he walked away having failed to persuade his party to back his plans. Biden can’t be faulted for having a 50-50 Senate and an unmovable Democratic centrist in Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). But he knew the daunting numbers game full well as he went into these fights.

“The Supreme Court yesterday blocked Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers. The Afghanistan pullout played out about as poorly as it could have. Russia is messing with him: Biden’s warnings haven’t deterred Vladimir Putin from continuing to build toward a Ukraine invasion. Inflation is soaring: It’s the worst in 39 years. Empty grocery shelves get network-news coverage…”

It does not help that Biden blames everyone else but himself for the fiasco. His claim to the press on Wednesday that great progress has been achieved under his leadership is more than just a joke.

Trump Campaigning Again

The New York Post wrote on January 16:

“Former President Donald Trump held his first political rally of the new year in Arizona on Friday, continuing to insist that he had won the 2020 election without evidence… ‘Last year we had a rigged election and the proof is all over the place,’ he continued. ‘We have a lot of proof and they know it’s proof. They always talk about the Big Lie — they’re the Big Lie.’…

“Trump also mentioned the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill rioters, whom he said were being ‘persecuted’ for expressing their First Amendment rights when they disrupted congress’ certification of the electoral votes that would officially make Biden president.”

Why it is stated above that Trump provided no evidence in his speech is hard to understand, as Trump referred to thousands upon thousands of dubious and strictly illegal ballots during the election.

Newsmax added on January 17:

“He also excoriated the Biden administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘It’s a criminal agenda what they’re doing; they’re mishandling it so badly,’ Trump said, adding a rebuke of Dr. Anthony Fauci. ‘Biden’s made him the big person; he’s like the king,’ Trump said…

“Notably, Trump said America’s kids have strong immune systems, suggesting pushing vaccines on kids is an overreach… ‘Leave our business alone. Leave all of us… alone. Tell Joe Biden the Americans’ health choices are none of his business. We can make our own choices…’”

This is a switch from his prior comments regarding vaccinations when he followed Bill O’Reilly’s foolish advice and “encouraged” his followers to get vaccinated, prompting an outcry from quite a few supporters. In an interview with Newsmax, Trump said that he would get rid of any vaccine mandates.

Insulting Comments by FBI

The New York Post wrote on January 17:

“Jewish leaders ripped the FBI on Monday and said the bureau ‘got it wrong’ when they said the terrorist who took hostages at a Texas synagogue didn’t make demands that were ‘specifically related to the Jewish community,’ reports said… Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said… the attack was ‘obviously a matter of anti-Semitism.’ ‘Failure of the FBI to understand this is something of a pattern with law enforcement in the United States and frankly in Europe,’ Marcus told Fox News Digital. ‘It seems that time after time, we see law enforcement officials fail to understand when an anti-Semitic incident occurs, even when it’s entirely obvious,’ he said…

“Anti-semitism has been on the rise in the US for several years and remains at a ‘historically high level’… Late Sunday, the FBI clarified its comments in a statement but again, did not say that the hostages were targeted for their faith…”

Strange indeed. It should have been clear from the outset that this was a horrible attack on the Jews and their faith.

Airlines Cancel Flights over 5G Concerns

The New York Post wrote on January 19:

“Multiple international airlines canceled US-bound flights scheduled for Wednesday as a planned rollout of 5G service prompts safety concerns. The cancellations occurred despite decisions by AT&T and Verizon to temporarily delay their 5G launch near airports. Federal aviation officials and top US airlines fear the 5G signals could interfere with instruments that measure altitude on some passenger plane models, such as the widely used Boeing 777.

“Dubai-based Emirates said it was changing flight plans ‘due to operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the US at certain airports.’… Japan-based All Nippon Airways made a similar announcement, noting the Federal Aviation Administration ‘has indicated that radio waves from the 5G wireless service may interfere with aircraft altimeters.’… Air India noted it would cancel flights bound for New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco ‘due to deployment of the 5G communications in USA.;

“Japan Airlines said it would stop using the Boeing 777 plane model on US-bound flights until the safety concerns are resolved. Germany-based Lufthansa said it canceled a flight bound for Miami and would switch from the Boeing 747-8 model to the 747-400 model on some flights… British Airways canceled some US flights slated to use the Boeing 777 and switched to different models on others.

“On Tuesday, an AT&T spokesperson said the firm would continue with its 5G rollout as scheduled, but ‘voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways’ due to safety concerns. Verizon said it had ‘voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.’…

“Their decision to alter plans came after US airline and shipping firm CEOs warned top Biden administration officials that the launch could cause ‘catastrophic’ disruptions to air travel. The CEOs suggested flight cancellations could exceed 1,000 per day if potential signal interference was not addressed. Despite the decision to alter the 5G rollout, Delta Air Lines warned some flight schedule disruptions may still occur.”

Australia’s Persecution of the Unvaccinated Continues

The Guardian wrote on January 15:

“Tennis champion Novak Djokovic… has been described as a risk to ‘civil unrest’ and a ‘talisman of anti-vaccination sentiment’…  Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, personally cancelled the unvaccinated world No 1’s visa, arguing his presence in Australia could incite ‘civil unrest’ and encourage others to eschew vaccination against Covid-19…

“Hawke said he accepted Djokovic’s recent Covid-19 infection meant he was a ‘negligible risk to those around him’, but [he wrote:] ‘I consider that Mr Djokovic’s ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment generated in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission.”

Australia has become one of the worst dictatorships in so-called “Democratic” countries. If they can do it to Djokovic, then they can and will do it to EVERYONE who dares to object to their ridiculous vaccination policies.

Newsmax wrote on January 16:

“In a rollercoaster ride, the world’s top men’s player was first detained by immigration authorities on Jan. 6, ordered released by a court on Jan. 10 and then detained on Saturday again pending Sunday’s court hearing… The player’s visa saga has dominated headlines around the world and fueled a debate over the rights of people who opt to remain unvaccinated…”

News.com.au wrote on January 16:

“Novak Djokovic left Australia late on Sunday night after the 20-time grand slam champion’s legal team failed to overturn Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel his visa… The case was heard by a full bench of the Federal Court of Australia on Sunday afternoon which ruled unanimously to deport the Serbian star…

“‘This is not an appeal against the decision of the executive government,’ [Chief Justice James] Allsop told the court. ‘It is an application to the court as a separate arm of government being the Commonwealth judicial branch to review a decision by a member of executive, the minister, for the lawfulness or legality of the decision on the three grounds put forward. These grounds focus on whether decision was, for different reasons, irrational or legally unreasonable. It is no part or function of the court to decide upon the merit or wisdom of the decision.’”

Lack of wisdom was most certainly obvious.

“Serious Situation” for Democracy

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 17:

“British politician Nigel Farage, who supported Djokovic from the start of his legal issues with Australian authorities, published a video on his YouTube channel in reaction to the tennis star’s deportation, and described the situation as ‘serious..’ ‘There are lessons from history about authoritarian governments that behave in this way,’ he said. ‘My battle wasn’t just for a Serbian tennis player; it was about the direction that the free world is taking. Today, it feels much less free than it ought to.’…

“Djokovic has previously voiced his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccination and mandates, including travel mandates. He revealed his inclination not to take the jab back in April as part of a Facebook Live video with fellow Serbian athletes, saying, ‘Personally I am opposed to vaccination, and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.’”

Farage’s analysis of the situation is absolutely correct. It seems there is not much freedom left in the “free” world.

A Political Decision?

The Guardian wrote on January 16:

“Serbia’s president has said… Djokovic had been ‘harassed … but not humiliated’ and the prime minister called his treatment ‘scandalous’ as the world tennis No 1’s home country reacted furiously to his deportation from Australia…. The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, called the court ruling ‘a farce’….

“If it was ‘up to principle, they should have said unvaccinated players cannot enter – but they did not say that,’ Vučić said. ‘They gave him an exemption… ‘He said he was sure Djokovic ‘would have been treated differently if he hadn’t come from Serbia …’

“… the sports minister, Vanja Udovičić, described it as ‘nonsense and shame, absurdity and hypocrisy’. The Serbian tennis association said the ‘farce was over’ and expressed its ‘huge disappointment’, describing the decision to deport Djokovic, who has won nine Australian Open titles, as political. ‘Political pressure has led to the revocation of his visa to satisfy public interest,’ it said. ‘It begs the question whether athletes will from now on be incarcerated like criminals and deported when it suits the political interests of powerful individuals.’

“Boško Obradović, the leader of the far-right opposition party Dveri (the Doors), said Belgrade should introduce countermeasures and ‘chase the Australian ambassador’ out of the country.”

Austria’s Dictatorship Continues…

Politico wrote on January 16:

“Austria will make coronavirus vaccination mandatory from February, the government confirmed Sunday… Chancellor Karl Nehammer sought to reassure Austrians that ‘this is not about the battle of vaccinated versus unvaccinated’ but rather to underscore that ‘vaccination is the best guarantee for us to live together in freedom.’ The mandate… will apply to Austrian residents aged 18 and older, with exemptions for pregnant women and people who cannot receive the vaccine on medical grounds. An earlier draft wanted to make vaccination compulsory from age 14.

“The law takes effect on February 1 but police checks won’t be carried out until March 15. Unvaccinated people then face a penalty of around €600 and up to €3,600…  The government plans to set another deadline after March and send out reminders to the unvaccinated, who may then face another round of fines.

“In total, those not complying with the mandate can be fined up to four times a year. A fine will be dropped if the recipient gets vaccinated within two weeks of receiving the penalty notice. Austria’s parliament has still to vote Thursday on the vaccination mandate, but the law is expected to pass.”

Shocking how Austria’s past is repeating itself, including the misrepresenting propaganda.

 … so does Germany’s Dictatorship

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 16:

“The German government on Sunday added Austria to its list of high-risk travel destinations, meaning all nine of Germany’s neighbors now have the designation. Anyone crossing the borders who has not been vaccinated or recently infected must go into quarantine for 10 days. The isolation period can be shortened if they provide a negative test. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark were already on the list..

“Germany’s army, the Bundeswehr, is investigating 50 to 60 soldiers who have refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite a vaccine mandate for all 180,000 soldiers… The refusal to get the vaccine has been classified as insubordination since the end of November. Soldiers who still refuse may face disciplinary action.”

Bild Online wrote on January 17:

“This comes as a surprise to many: people who contract Corona are only considered recovered [“genesen” and therefore immune] for THREE months since Saturday…

“So far, anyone who has been infected with Covid-19 is considered to have recovered [and is therefore immune] for six months. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (58, SPD) had even promised that this status could possibly apply beyond these six months. Now the RKI – an authority that reports to Lauterbach’s Ministry of Health – has changed the conditions for all those who fell ill with Corona a few weeks or months ago.

“And actually it’s even less: The status only applies from 28 days after the infection, i.e. before that, you are not considered to have recovered. The 28 days are then included in the 90 days. Affected people have therefore effectively recovered for only 62 days. This regulation has been in effect since Saturday (January 15). Without much announcement, without this change being passed on to the citizens by politicians, millions of recovered citizens now have to find out what this means for them.”

What incredible German bureaucratic unscientific nonsense! But most Germans seem to like it.

A Couple of Particularity Bad German Traits

The Local wrote on January 14:

“The lights go on and the shopkeeper comes to the door, unlocks it, and barks at us to put our masks on. ‘Impfnachweis!’ he shouts at the first person in the queue before, having inspected their proof of vaccination with the demeanour of an Afghanistan-hardened army medic, reluctantly letting him in – and then slamming the door in the face of the second person in the queue and locking it shut again…

“That was life in Germany in late 2021. And life in Germany in early 2022 is about to get even worse – as of this weekend actually, when ‘2G-plus’ will become the latest nationwide requirement for doing all sorts of things…

“It would be unfair to single Germany out here: at some point in this pandemic… A couple of particularly German traits, however, are making our current situation unbearable… [It] feels like a return to the worst days of post-war German gastronomy, when café owners would impose all sorts of rules on their long-suffering customers, the most notorious of which was ‘Draußen nur Kännchen!’ – a petty refusal to serve single cups of coffee on outdoor tables which became an ironic catchphrase.

“Maybe our national love of excessive compliance – affectionately referred to as Kadavergehorsam (literally ‘corpse obedience’) – wouldn’t grate as much if it weren’t for the violent resurgence of another clichéd German characteristic: bone-headed rudeness. It’s such a shame, because even within the short space of my lifetime, Germany had made strides here.

“Where it had once been common for police officers to growl ‘Ausweis her!’ to see your ID, and for train guards to bark orders at passengers, by the late 2010s, Germany had reached a relaxed, friendly public tone – direct at times, blunt even like in the Netherlands (or the north of England), but warm-hearted nevertheless. Now, a shouty ‘Halt! Hände desinfizieren!’ (disinfect your hands) or a curt ‘Maske!’ with a long E are the new refrains of a country once again strikingly ill-at-ease with itself. Other Germans are upset about this too, but we all just can’t seem to help ourselves whenever we are the ones exercising authority….”

Sadly, we cannot argue with this report.

France’s Dictatorship Continues

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 17:

“France’s Parliament has passed a controversial bill turning the so-called French ‘health pass’ into a full-blown vaccine passport. Unvaccinated citizens will no longer be able to present a negative COVID test in lieu of proof of vaccination to access certain premises… the final version of the bill was passed with a majority of 215 votes in favor and 58 votes against.

“The bill has sparked massive controversy in France, with thousands of people taking to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday to oppose it. Tension between police and demonstrators led to scuffles in some places. Some French politicians have expressed outrage at the bill which has, ever since its introduction, exacerbated the segregation that already exists between vaccinated and unvaccinated people in France…

“Once the bill is implemented… French citizens will have to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter leisure venues as well as restaurants, bars, and regional public transports…”

This absolute insanity is mind-boggling.

American Dictatorship Supported by many Democrats on the Horizon

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 17:

“A shocking recent Rasmussen poll result highlights just how divided the US is after two years of covid lockdowns, restrictions, and propaganda. Nearly 50 percent of Democrats polled support fines or imprisonment for anyone questioning efficacy of covid shots on social media [including television, radio, or in online or digital publications.]

“This comes after several of the top ‘experts’ have themselves radically scaled back early promises of shot virus protection.”

Newsmax added on January 17:

“59% of Democrats told Rasmussen they like the idea of the government requiring unvaccinated Americans to stay at home ‘at all times’ unless there is an emergency…. Forty-five percent of Democrats liked the idea of limiting the spread of the virus ‘by having federal or state governments require that citizens temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.’…

“When broken down by party, the unvaccinated were 58% Republican and 15% Democrat…

“Many who have been resistant to getting vaccinated have said they fear the vaccines have not been tested thoroughly and may present a higher health risk than COVID-19. They cite what they say is conflicted advice from government health agencies, which have even drawn fire in recent days from Democrats all the way up to the Biden administration.

“Others cite religious concerns, saying fetal tissue was used in research. While no such tissue is contained in the two approved mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna), they do benefit from research into fetal tissue from two elective abortions in 1973 and 1985.”

LifeSiteNews added on January 17:

“47% ‘favor a government tracking program for those who won’t get’ one of the vaccines. Nearly a third of Democrats, 29%, would even support ‘temporarily removing parents’ custody of their children if parents refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine,’ according to the results. Further, poll respondents tend to understate positions they fear would be perceived negatively by interviewers, so the true number of Democrat voters willing to employ such coercive measures against their fellow Americans may be even higher.

“On Saturday, the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board gave voice to those impulses by declaring that, if Utah was a ‘truly civilized place, [Gov. Spencer Cox’s] next move would be to find a way to mandate the kind of mass vaccination campaign we should have launched a year ago, going as far as to deploy the National Guard to ensure that people without proof of vaccination would not be allowed, well, anywhere.’”

These radical concepts by Democrats and others are shocking, alarming and extremely dangerous.

Democracy will not Protect Us

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 15:

“If the era of COVID Mania has showcased one thing about democracy, it’s that the system we were brought up to… defend is no guarantor of our rights whatsoever. Far from securing our liberties, pure or representational democratic systems — as the foundation of over 100 governments — has instead been used in this era as a cudgel to impose totalitarianism on the masses.

“With so many of the world’s ‘democracies’ transforming into some of the worst examples of full-blown COVID tyranny, our present time reminds us of the inherent weaknesses of majority rule systems… We are now two years into this global authoritarian ‘great reset,’ and much of it has been imposed upon us with the eager consent of the governed. Surveys show that the COVID police states in Australia and New Zealand have long had the majority support of the people. Left wing enclaves in the United States, such as New York City and San Francisco, have imposed discriminatory movement pass systems, and they have been cheered on by the locals. Democracy in action.

“In reality, almost all of this authoritarian nonsense is being ordered and enforced by democratically elected representatives and bureaucrats who they’ve empowered… when put to the test in the era of COVID Mania, democracy has catastrophically failed to secure anything for us but a completely unchecked ruling class… Meanwhile, the people in charge continue to elevate themselves to greater positions of authority and power…”

Britain Ends All Covid Restrictions

Newsmax reported on January 19:

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the end of COVID-19 measures [including Covid passports, mask mandates and work restrictions] introduced to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in Britain as he looks to live with the virus after a peak in cases.

“… while cases soared to record highs, hospitalisations and deaths have not risen by the same extent…”

Covid in spite of full Vaccination

Newsmax wrote on January 17:

“U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing very minor symptoms while isolating and working remotely, a spokesman said on Monday…

“Milley is vaccinated and has received his booster, the spokesman added.”

So much for the false claim that the fully vaccinated could not get Covid.

Fourth Dose not Good Enough

Deutsche Welle reported on January 17:

“An Israeli study found that a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine was able to boost antibodies to higher levels than the third shot, but researchers found that it is still not enough to prevent omicron-variant infections researchers at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center said on Monday.”

Meaning, we would “need” a fifth booster shot, and then a sixth one, and so on…

Recovery Stronger Protection than Vaccination

On January 19, statnews.com wrote the following:

“New data released Wednesday showed that both vaccination and prior infection offered strong protection against infection and hospitalization from Covid-19 during the Delta wave — and that case and hospitalization rates were actually lower among people who had recovered from Covid-19 than among those who had been vaccinated.

“The data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health agencies in California and New York, are sure to inflame arguments from those who insist they don’t need to be vaccinated if they can show they’ve recovered from Covid-19.”

Demolition of Golden Dome

Israel 365 wrote on January 14:

“The Jerusalem Municipality has issued a demolition order for the ‘Golden Dome’ building in the Beit Safafa neighborhood of Jerusalem. ‘This is a huge construction, on a very large scale, built without a permit, without planning, while placing a finished fact on the ground, while violently and blatantly disregarding the rule of law,’ the demolition order said.

“Construction of the building was completed several months ago…

“The Al-Rahman Mosque in Beit Safafa, [one] of four mosques in the neighborhood, was built in 1948 but was recently refurbished and dramatically enlarged. Unlike the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, the dome of the Al Rahman Mosque is painted with a reflective gold [colored] paint.

“Maor Tzemach, chairman of Lech Yerushalayim, and Matan Peleg, chairman of the Im Tirtzu (If You Will It) movement, who exposed the construction of the illegal dome, said: ‘We congratulate the Jerusalem Municipality and Mayor Moshe Leon on issuing the demolition order. The last thing Jerusalem needs is more radical actions through illegal construction. The dome is intended to be another source of violence and rioting and therefore rapid action by the municipality is needed here…’”

Even though it’s not the Dome of the Rock, this example shows that even a demolition of the Dome of Rock on the Temple Mount would not be inconceivable.

Eruption of Undersea Volcano near Tonga

The Associated Press wrote on January 15:

“An undersea volcano erupted in spectacular fashion near the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, sending large tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. A tsunami advisory was in effect for Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coast… Satellite images showed a huge eruption, a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the blue Pacific waters… The explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano was the latest in a series of spectacular eruptions…

“The volcano is located about 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of the capital, Nuku’alofa. Back in late 2014 and early 2015, a series of eruptions in the area created a small new island and disrupted international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days. There is not a significant difference between volcanoes underwater and on land, and underwater volcanoes become bigger as they erupt… With underwater volcanoes, however, the water can add to the explosivity of the eruption as it hits the lava…”

Israel365 News wrote on January 17:

“An underwater volcano near the Pacific Island of Tonga erupted for the third time in just four days. The eruption could threaten surveillance flights to monitor the damage caused to Tonga after Saturday’s major eruption and subsequent tsunami…

“Saturday’s eruption was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years… Satellite images  caught the explosion in real-time, which sent a massive plume of ash, gas, and steam about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) into the atmosphere as tsunami waves rippled throughout the Pacific.”

Die Welt pointed out that if the eruption would have occurred on land, the results would have been “apocalyptic.” According to the Bible, we can expect more dramatic volcanic eruptions all over the world.

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.

US Supreme Court Judge Spreading False information

Fox News wrote on January 7:

“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor [who had been appointed by Obama] came under withering criticism Friday after she falsely suggested that upwards of 100,000 children in the United States are hospitalized from COVID-19, many of them on ventilators. During oral arguments on the Biden administration’s mandate on private businesses for employees to be either vaccinated or frequently tested, Sotomayor drastically overstated the number of young people who have fallen severely ill from coronavirus.

“…according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average of pediatric hospitalizations [of children] was around 3,700 this week, according to the Washington Post. As with prior strains of the virus, younger people are at far less risk than old ones of severe outcomes from the coronavirus… ‘Inexcusable for a SCOTUS justice to peddle this fear mongering false info,’ the Hudson Institute’s Rebeccah Heinrichs wrote. ‘It’s actually terrifying that a Supreme Court justice can be so misinformed…’ Ron DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw chimed in. ‘Justice Sotomayor’s comment on 100,000 children in serious condition with covid is such a flagrantly untrue statement she should have to correct it after the argument. It’s embarrassing for the Supreme Court to allow that factual inaccuracy to occur in an oral argument,’ OutKick’s Clay Travis tweeted.”

Fox News reported on January 9 that CDC Director Rochelle Walensky clarified… that “there are fewer than 3,500 children in hospitals with COVID-19… Walensky also pointed out that numbers of COVID hospitalizations generally include patients who go to hospitals for other reasons and just happen to test positive while they are there, as opposed to those who go to the hospital because they are sick with COVID…”

The left-liberal Washington Post performed what they call “the Pinocchio Test” and gave Sotomayor “four Pinocchios” for her “absurdly high” figure, arguing that “it’s important for Supreme Court justices to make rulings based on correct data” (compare Fox News, dated January 9).

Breitbart added on January 7:

“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor also claimed that vaccinated people cannot transmit the coronavirus.”

This claim is also false, as set forth in an article below. But this is how the fearmongering propaganda operates, and even US Supreme Court Judges fall victims to its deception. How can we then expect a fair and reasonable judgment?

Fox News reported on January 8:

“Laura Ingraham… noted [in her show] that ‘’even Anthony Fauci admits that most kids are hospitalized with COVID, not because of COVID.’…

“Later she highlighted Clinton-appointed Justice Stephen Breyer claiming a delay in the Biden mandate could lead to thousands of more COVID infections… ‘If we delay [a decision for one day] then 750,000 more people will have COVID who otherwise, if we didn’t delay it, wouldn’t have,’ Breyer, 83, claimed.

“Ingraham responded: ‘Wait, so in Breyer’s warped thinking, if OSHA’s mandate is upheld, all infections would be eliminated? Who said you need basic logic and math skills to be a Supreme Court justice. You don’t. We are repeatedly told that the liberals on the court are some of the brightest legal minds in the country,’ she said. ‘I’m beginning to have my doubts, especially after hearing th[o]se words leave Justice Sotomayor’s mouth.’”

The comments to this article were telling:

“This is potentially a dire situation when we have supreme court justices spreading misinformation over an already politicized pandemic…. The problem here is does she KNOW this is misinformation, or is she simply badly misinformed? Both scenarios are bad, since this woman will be part of a decision that will affect 100M workers, and determine the future of how much a President can mandate…. I still can’t believe the republicans on the judiciary committee voted for her appointment to the supreme court with her past track record. she is more of a social activist than a judge… This was no accident. There is no way she can be this misinformed… And these justices are supposed to be the protectors of the constitution/nation against rogue government. The founders erred in thinking that by giving lawyers a job for life it would somehow ensure their integrity… How long before twitter takes down both Supreme Court justices for misinformation? Don’t hold your breath!… Kagan [the third liberal US Supreme Court Judge, appointed by  Obama] said this mandate/policy is the only thing that can end this pandemic. Wrong and her job is not to assess the policy but how it’s being implemented and by whom and is THAT constitutional.”

US Supreme Court “Decides”

 CNBC wrote on January 13:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies… The mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work. ‘Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,’ the court wrote in an unsigned opinion…. Liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented…

“President Joe Biden, in a statement, said the Supreme Court chose to block requirements that are life-saving for workers. Biden called on states and businesses to step up and voluntarily institute vaccination requirements to protect workers, customers and the broader community…

“In a separate, simultaneously released ruling on the administration’s vaccination rules for health-care workers, a 5-4 majority sided with the Biden administration… Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, four of the six conservatives on the nine-seat bench, dissented…

“Biden, in a statement, said the vaccine requirement for health-care workers will save the lives of patients, doctors and nurses. ‘We will enforce it,’ the president said of the mandate.”

Australian Lunacy

The U.S. Sun wrote on January 7:

 “TENNIS star Novak Djokovic… was granted a vaccine exemption to compete in the Australian Open before his visa was cancelled following a six hour stand-off at Melbourne Airport and a major U-turn by Australian authorities. He was then banished to a filthy hotel ‘full of fleas and maggots’ to isolate…

“The 34-year-old had been granted an exemption to play despite his unvaccinated status before it was dramatically cancelled. As the athlete attempted to enter Aussie territory, he was ordered into a side-room by Border Force guards after a visa ‘blunder’ was revealed. Djokovic, seeking to win a record 21st Grand Slam title, was stripped of his phone and kept alone in the room, with armed police on patrol outside.

“Even Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic got involved, eventually contacting Djokovic to offer his support and backing and summoning Australia’s ambassador to the country for a dressing down. It emerged that Tennis Australia had granted exemptions to two other players who did not meet strict Border Force rules…

“In another twist, a second Australian Open competitor was detained by Border Force under similar circumstances and sent to the same hotel. Despite already playing in Melbourne earlier this week, Czech Republic doubles specialist Renata Voracova has now been asked to leave the country….”

CNN added on January 8:

“The 34-year-old… was granted a medical exemption to compete in the tournament unvaccinated ‘on the grounds that he had recently recovered from COVID,’ his lawyers said in a court submission Saturday…. Djokovic’s exemption was determined to be invalid under Australia’s BioSecurity Act because his ‘previous infection with COVID-19 is not considered a medical contraindication for Covid-19 vaccination in Australia.’…”

Breitbart wrote on January 8:

“Brexit champion Nigel Farage has backed tennis ace Novak Djokovic against ‘big, bullying, nasty government’ in Australia… Farage… insisted that the sportsman did have an exemption under the relevant regional rules…  ‘The most astonishing thing with all of this is how few people are prepared to speak out, how the broadcasters are making out that somehow Djokovic is a threat to public health — well, he absolutely isn’t,’ Farage asserted, claiming that even if you have ‘one, two, three, or in Israel four injections’ you are still at risk of catching and spreading the coronavirus. The BBC, citing research published in The Lancet, did report in October that people ‘who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed’…

“‘It seems to me that Australia has lost any sense of liberty, any sense, frankly, of common sense,’ Farage added… ‘What has happened to Australia, and what has happened here [in Britain] to us? Why are the majority prepared to allow Big Government, in the name of fighting this virus, to take away our liberties and freedoms?’ he demanded.”

Fox News commentator Will Cain condemned Australia’s “lunacy” and “authoritarian insanity” which has been going on ‘for 2 years.”

On January 10, Deutsche Welle reported:

“Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the government to release [Djokovic from detention] within 30 minutes of the ruling, and return his passport and other travel documents to him…. However, it is still not certain the Serbian tennis star will be able to compete at the Australian Open as the government may yet still order him to be deported.”

Deutsche Welle reported on January 12:

“Djokovic’s form said that he had not traveled anywhere in the 14 days before arriving in Australia, even though the tennis player had been seen at events in Spain and his native Serbia within that time period… Djokovic said his travel declaration was filled in by his support team, and that his ‘agent sincerely apologizes for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box.’ ‘This was human error and certainly not deliberate,’ Djokovic wrote.”

The World’s Insane Persecution of the Unvaccinated

The Los Angeles Times wrote on January 7:

“In one European country after another, public health restrictions are steadily tightening. Italy declared a vaccination mandate for those over age 50…

“Austria plans to enhance enforcement of existing measures banning the unvaccinated from many public venues…[Also, vaccine mandates for everyone will be enforced in February.]

“In Germany, many of those who have chosen to remain unvaccinated report feeling socially ostracized as a result… Many Germans, mindful of their history under communist and Nazi rule, are also squeamish about a prospective national registry of the vaccinated, saying that runs counter to the country’s cherished data-privacy laws.

“And the anti-vaccination movement, while still relatively small, has grown in intensity, with protests sometimes boiling over into violence. On Monday, more than 35,000 people participated in protests that resulted in police being hit by bottles and firebombs…”

It will only get worse. On Friday, Germany foolishly decided the following, according to Deutsche Welle:

“Access to restaurants will be limited to people who are fully vaccinated or considered recovered, who can additionally provide evidence of either a booster shot or a current negative COVID-19 test…. Under the new rules, people who have received a booster shot will no longer have to quarantine if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19…. The existing rule that private gatherings of vaccinated and recovered persons with a maximum of 10 persons are allowed will remain in place. Those who are not vaccinated will continue to be subject to strict contact restrictions [meetings of only two households are allowed]”

In addition, according to Deutsche Welle, dated January 8, “German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has insisted vaccine mandates are the only way out of the pandemic… Lauterbach said gaining immunity through infection was a ‘dirty vaccination’ and not the solution… ‘Mandatory vaccination is also important for the future variants that may still develop,’ he told Welt. ‘Omicron infection does not necessarily make one immune to the next viral variant.’ Lauterbach also warned of the possibility that a new, more dangerous variant could start spreading.”

However, ABC News reported on January 9:

“Germany’s ruling parties are hitting the brakes on plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations, saying it may take months for lawmakers to properly debate the contentious measure in parliament. Berlin daily Tagesspiegel… reported that implementation could be delayed until June to ensure the technical conditions, such as a nationwide vaccine register, are in place… Among those who oppose a vaccine mandate are some members of the Free Democrats, who are part of the ruling coalition, and Germany’s former health minister [Jens Spahn] who pledged last summer not to introduce a general vaccine mandate…”

To top the irony, it was now revealed by Focus that Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer [loosely translated, “no Hammer”] was tested positive with Corona and is in quarantine, even though he had been fully vaccinated with three shots…

In addition, as Express reported on January 8, “On Friday, [Macron] said he stood by his earlier comments saying he wanted to ‘p*** off’ the five million French people who are still not vaccinated against COVID-19… Macron’s coarse language barely three months before a presidential election was widely seen as a politically calculated, tapping into [an] intensifying public frustration against the unvaccinated.’”

Health Tax and Fines for the Unvaccinated

BBC News wrote on January 11:

“The Canadian province of Quebec will charge a health tax to residents who are not vaccinated against Covid-19…. Starting later this month, Greeks over age 60 are being required to pay a €100 (£85; C$142; $113) fine for each month that they remain unvaccinated.”

Propagandistic Article by Daily Mail

The Daily Mail wrote on January 9:

“A staggering six million people follow UK accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok that pump out anti-vaccine propaganda, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Social-media giants have been accused of a ‘moral failure’ for not curbing the torrent of misinformation, which Boris Johnson last week blasted as online ‘mumbo-jumbo’…

“Technology giants claim they are cracking down on anti-vax propaganda but Imran Ahmed, from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, accused them of putting profit before public health… “Among the accounts spreading anti-vaccine misinformation is that of Leilani Dowding, 41, a former Miss Great Britain and Page 3 glamour model, who has attracted more than 90,000 followers… On Twitter, she wrote: ‘I Will NOT be part of their real world experiment‘, and on Facebook she posted: ‘2 years on my unvaxxed self had NOT had Covid!! Not after all the protests I’ve been to, the thousands of people I’ve hugged, having never worn a mask.’ Approached for comment, she said: ‘I absolutely stand by what I said. I’m never going to have the vaccine. I just don’t believe the science behind it.’

“Former reality TV star Jay Gardner, who appeared in Geordie Shore, regularly posts anti-vaccine and conspiracy theories to his 800,000 Twitter followers. Last month, he tweeted ‘These guys telling you to take all these shots have absolutely 0 idea of any long term damage, but we will force you to do it anyway’…

“Anna de Buisseret, 56, a lawyer with 24,000 Twitter followers, last week claimed that vaccinated people had been ‘deceived, lied to, coerced, threatened, intimidated, harassed, guilt tripped and shamed into taking part in this live human experiment’. Last night she said: ‘I am not “anti-vaccine”, I am against the use of experimental gene treatments.’…”

We do not deny, of course, that misinformation by anti-vaxxers is being spread, but are unable to agree with The Daily Mail that the excerpts quoted by the outlet in the article above are necessarily misinformation. Also, it is ludicrous to suggest that the manipulative social-media giants, which have been rightly accused of suppressing free speech, are cooperating with anti-vaxxers. Quite to the contrary, according to their own words, Facebook and Instagram alone have removed accounts of “more than 20 million pieces” of –what they determined to be—”harmful Covid misinformation.”

First Anniversary of January 6, 2021

Newsmax wrote on January 6:

“President Joe Biden, speaking Thursday morning on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, excoriated former President Donald Trump — without ever mentioning Trump’s name — saying he ‘rallied the mob to attack… The will of the people was under assault … for the first  time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the capitol but they failed. They failed.’

“Trump, said Biden ‘has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principal, because he sees his own interest as more important than his country’s interest and America’s interest and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy and Constitution.’ But Trump… ‘can’t accept that he lost, even though that’s what 93 U.S. Senators, his own attorney general, every battleground state have all said,’ said Biden. ‘He lost. That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward. He has done what no president in the history of this country has ever done. He refused the results of the election and the will of the American people.’

“Trump slammed Biden after the speech, saying in a statement that the president is ‘destroying our nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures’… ‘Why is it that the Unselect Committee of totally partisan political hacks, whose judgment has long ago been made, not discussing the rigged Presidential Election of 2020?’ Trump said. ‘It’s because they don’t have the answers or justifications for what happened…’”

Trump also wrote:

“Does anybody really think that Biden beat Obama with the Black population in select Swing State cities, but nowhere else? That he would lose 18 out of 19 bellwether counties, and 27 out of 27 ‘toss up’ House races, but somehow miraculously receive the most votes in American history with no coattails? That he would lose Florida, Ohio, and Iowa and win, even though it has never been done before?

“They spread a ‘web of lies’ about me and Russia for 4 years to try to overturn the 2016 election, and now they lie about how they interfered in the 2020 Election, too. Big Tech was used illegally. Where did all those votes show up from in Georgia, where it was just revealed they sold ballots for $10 a piece, or in Pennsylvania, and Arizona, and Wisconsin. He acts like he’s aggrieved, but we’re the ones who were aggrieved and America is suffering because of it with poisonous Borders, record Inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, $5 a gallon gas and higher, empty stock shelves, and rampant crime. America is a laughingstock stock of the world, and it’s all because of the real insurrection, which took place on November 3^rd… Never forget the crime of the 2020 Presidential Election.”

After Biden thanked Trump for the speedy “success” of his vaccinations, Trump said that it would be difficult for him now to say bad things about Biden. Well, that “peace treaty” did not last long.

Dick Chaney’s Horrible Legacy and His Support of His Daughter and the Democrats

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 8:

“Former Vice President Dick Cheney visited the House of Representatives yesterday. He and his daughter Liz were the only two Republicans present at a moment of silence commemorating the events of last January 6^th...  the Washington Post wrote that ‘Democrats put aside their fierce and lasting policy divides with the Cheneys to thank them for condemning the attack and Trump’s continued effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election results with his false claims of fraud.’…

“I don’t mean to understate the seriousness of January 6th, even though it’s been absurdly misreported for over a year now. No one… could mistake 1/6 for ‘a coup.’…  a coup is a real attempt to seize power… we saw none of that on January 6th, but it’s become journalistic requirement to use either ‘coup’ or ‘insurrection’ in describing it…

“The endless hyperventilating efforts to describe January 6th as a disaster on the order of Pearl Harbor or even 9/11 has been awesome to behold. Huffington Post… even called it ‘1,000 percent worse’ than 9/11…

“Ted Cruz made a plea for mainstream recognition by denouncing 1/6 as a ‘violent terrorist attack’ before cowering in retreat on Tucker Carlson Tonight, in the process [placing] himself with audiences in all directions…

“It was no heroic storming of the Bastille… Trump [is] always trying out new material, and if he gets the right reaction, he comes back with a bigger delivery next time… The man has no attention span, no interest in planning or strategy, and most importantly, no ability to maintain relationships with the type of people who do have those qualities… Even if he wanted to overturn ‘democracy itself’ — I don’t believe he does, but let’s say — Trump has proven over and over he lacks the qualities a politician would need to make that happen.

“Which brings us back to Cheney. All those things Trump is rumored to be, Dick Cheney actually is. That’s why it’s so significant that he appeared on the floor of the House yesterday to be slobbered over by the Adam Schiffs and Nancy Pelosis of the world. Dick Cheney did more to destroy democracy in ten minutes of his Vice Presidency than Donald Trump did in four years… Even if you find the Trump phenomenon troubling, his opposition is not only authoritarian, but organized and armed with the intellectual tools to understand and appreciate how the technological elimination of democracy might be achieved in the 21st century.

“We’re living through a period where an unpleasantly likely outcome for the ordinary American is the invocation of emergency powers to eliminate basic rights…  have you noticed the total lack of interest among pundits and politicians in distinguishing between anti-vaxxers and people who merely have anti-mandate or anti-passport attitudes?…

“Where have we seen this style of intentional line-blurring to justify the expansion of executive authority before? From Cheney, who took emergency politics to places even a sober Joe McCarthy could never have dreamed of. On the pretense that new powers were needed to combat the sweeping global threat whose existence 9/11 supposedly proved, Cheney institutionalized executive assassination, torture, mass surveillance, secret prisons, secret budgeting, and the wholesale elimination of congressional oversight over most of his programs…

“It was under Cheney’s watch that we turned into a country that snatched people off the streets all over the world, put them in indefinite detention in an archipelago of secret hell-holes, threatened to rape their family members, and resorted to techniques like ‘rectal feeding’ so often that one Guantanamo Bay prisoner had to bring a special pillow to sit in court.

“The core principle of Cheney’s politics was protecting his new bureaucracies of murder and open-ended detention from legal challenge. That meant creating structures that were legally invisible… Courts repeatedly declined to listen to complainants… because the secrecy of the programs made it difficult or impossible to prove they had a cause of action, a perfect Catch-22.”

We should also not forget his terrible role in the misguided Iraq war which was fought under the pretext of Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction” which were never found. As the Atlantic wrote on August 30, 2011:

“When Vice President Dick Cheney left office, his approval rating stood at a staggeringly low 13 percent. Few political figures in history have been so reviled… President Bush bears ultimate responsibility for the Iraq War, as do the members of Congress who voted for it. But Dick Cheney’s role in the run-up to war was uniquely irresponsible and mendacious. And after the invasion, he contributed to the early dysfunction on the ground…

“Cheney undercut the CIA by instructing subordinates in that agency to stovepipe raw intelligence directly to his office. He also worked with Donald Rumsfeld to establish an alternative intelligence agency within the Pentagon. Both of these actions directly contributed to the faulty information that informed the decision to go to war…”

The White House’ Latest Spin

Fox News reported on January 8:

“… a disappointing jobs report showed hiring had fallen far below expectations in December… Biden defended the economy under his watch on Friday. ‘There’s been a lot of press coverage about people quitting their jobs,” he said from the White House. “Well, today’s report tells you why – Americans are moving up to better jobs. This is the kind of recovery I promised and hoped for, for the American people.’

“While economic experts had expected 400,000 new jobs to be added in the last report of the year, it was a dismal 199,000.”

Biden Keeps Lying

Fox News wrote on January 11:

“Laura Ingraham said that ‘lies that [have] bound’ President Biden the Democrats and the media ‘regime’ together are finally unraveling, and the administration is being exposed as a group of power-hungry bureaucrats who proclaim to be the arbiters of science, while instead continuing to ignore science to further take control and violate the autonomy of the American people…

“She pointed out that President Biden’s long-held public claims that people cannot be infected by the coronavirus if they are vaccinated, as well as his administration’s claim that a third ‘booster’ is effective, are both turning out to be false, as the omicron variant continues to infect vaccinated Americans. ‘On the vaccine mandates, it’s now a proven fact that being vaccinated and boosted neither protects you from contracting the virus nor spreading it. And more shocking is the new data that the vaccinated are more likely to contract omicron than the unvaccinated,’ she said.

“‘A fantastic piece today in the Wall Street Journal correctly notes that one study found that after 30 days, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines no longer had any statistically significant positive effect against omicron infection, and after 90 days, their effect went negative — i.e. vaccinated people were more susceptible to omicron infection,’ Ingraham reported. ‘Their house of cards is falling in on itself, but courageous medical experts featured here as far back as May 2020 warned that… obsessing over case counts and mandating vaccines would crush our hospitals, our businesses and our schools. And lo and behold, even California now says it can’t go on this way forever. It’s now allowing asymptomatic hospital staff to return to work, calling it temporary flexibility once again,’ the host continued…

“‘But as with lies, they’re eventually overtaken by truth and experience…’”

 Fox News wrote on January 13:

“The Washington Post awarded President Biden its harshest fact-check rating of ‘Four Pinocchios’ over his false claim this week that he was ‘arrested’ for the first time as a teenager while attending a civil rights protest in Delaware. In a Thursday piece headlined, ‘Biden claims yet another arrest for which there’s little evidence,’ Glenn Kessler, The Post’s resident fact-checker, wrote that Biden was ‘not always a reliable source’ when it came to his ‘exaggerated’ stories, and that too many elements of his claim didn’t add up…

“Biden was forced to admit in 2020 he had concocted a tale of once getting arrested while trying to see Nelson Mandela in South Africa.”

“Is the US really heading for a second civil war?”

The Guardian wrote on January 9, 2022:

“It is a question that many inside America and beyond are now asking… A slew of recent opinion polls show a significant minority of Americans at ease with the idea of violence against the government. Even talk of a second American civil war has gone from fringe fantasy to media mainstream… The mere fact that such notions are entering the public domain shows the once unthinkable has become thinkable…

“Although most Americans have grown up taking its stable democracy for granted, this is also a society where violence is the norm, not the exception, from the genocide of Native Americans to slavery, from the civil war to four presidential assassinations, from gun violence that takes 40,000 lives a year to a military-industrial complex that has killed millions overseas.

“Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: ‘America is not unaccustomed to violence. It is a very violent society and what we’re talking about is violence being given an explicit political agenda. That’s a kind of terrifying new direction in America… Of course, it doesn’t help in America that guns are prevalent. Anyone can get a gun and you have ready access to explosives. All of this is kindling for the precarious position we now find ourselves in.’…

“And yet the assumption that ‘it can’t happen here’ is as old as politics itself. [Barbara] Walter [a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego] has interviewed many survivors about the lead-up to civil wars. ‘What everybody said, whether they were in Baghdad or Sarajevo or Kiev, was we didn’t see it coming,’ she recalled. ‘In fact, we weren’t willing to accept that anything was wrong until we heard machine gun fire in the hillside. And by that time, it was too late.’”

As can be expected from a left-liberal outlet such as the Guardian, blame for the violence and the potential outbreak of civil war is placed on Republicans and Trump supporters, while ignoring the fact that the real violence with killing, arson and looting has been perpetrated in 2021 by followers of Antifa, Black Lives Matter and other left-wing radical left groups.

Russia in Kazakhstan

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 7:

“The importance of Kazakhstan for Russia can hardly be overstated. It’s the largest and richest former Soviet republic in Central Asia, which also has the closest ties with Moscow… Kazakhs made up the largest group among foreign students at Russian universities in 2020, numbering more than 60,000. In surveys conducted by the renowned Moscow polling institute Levada Center, about a third of Russians repeatedly rated Kazakhstan as the second most friendly country after Belarus. In 2014, it was overtaken by China and has since ranked third….

“Around 3.5 million ethnic Russians live in the northern provinces of Kazakhstan, out of a total population of around 19 million. There has been speculation in both countries for years about whether Russia might annex these territories in a manner similar to Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula… Now there is renewed discussion… about Russia’s actions in Kazakhstan. There is a widespread view that Putin could seize on the deployment of troops as an opportunity to expand Russian presence in Kazakhstan. Russia currently has no military bases in the country…

“In any case, the unrest in Kazakhstan is a nightmare for the Russian president. The Kremlin has called such events ‘color revolutions’ and accused the West of orchestrating them. The last successful uprising was in 2018 in Armenia, which has close ties with Russia. In Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko was able to hold on to power by force in 2020… All of Russia’s major neighbors have been rocked by social unrest…”

The Guardian wrote on January 7:

“The old joke about the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact was that it was the only military alliance to attack itself, after its tanks rolled into Prague in 1968 to crush a reform movement there. With the deployment of troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to Kazakhstan on Thursday, some heard ‘eerie echoes’ of the so-called Prague spring of 1968, and the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian revolution in 1956.

“Meant as a mutual defence pact, the CSTO has not made any joint deployments since its founding in 1999. Now it has been called upon to quell internal unrest in one of its member states. Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, claimed the revolt was inspired by foreign-backed ‘terrorists’ to justify his appeal, but the call to the CSTO suggests he no longer felt he could trust his own forces. When Tokayev’s request came, the CSTO jumped into action in a matter of hours…

“In a hardline address to the nation on Friday in which he said he had personally approved orders to shoot to kill, Tokayev gave ‘special thanks’ to Vladimir Putin for sending the troops, but said they had not taken part in any fighting…

“One definite similarity with the Warsaw Pact is that although the CSTO is an alliance, the decision to intervene was almost certainly taken in Moscow. It was cheered on by Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, who in 2020 was able to crush a huge revolution using his own domestic forces, but Putin will have made the final call.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 10:

“Putin has said the Moscow-led… military alliance would only remain in Kazakhstan for a limited time. He also said the bloc’s intervention was a signal that it would not allow any governments in the region to be undermined [or]  overthrown.”

Sweden Warns NATO of Russian Demands

Reuters wrote on January 7:

“Sweden’s security strategy would be entirely undermined if NATO agreed to refrain from expanding further and curb some of its activity in Europe, as Russia has demanded, Sweden’s top military commander said… Sweden… has strengthened ties with the alliance even if it has no plans to join at present…

“‘We aim to become a stronger defence power in all categories and develop overall defence. But that hinges on developed international cooperation,’ the commander said [adding that] Europe’s security order was non-negotiable. ‘In Sweden, we ourselves decide over our foreign and security policy and who we cooperate with.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 8:

“The US said it has no plans to cut troop numbers in Eastern Europe to defuse tensions with Russia. Top diplomat Antony Blinken said Russia is pushing a ‘false narrative’ to justify troop deployments on Ukraine’s border… US outlet NBC News, citing several sources, reported on Friday that Washington was ready to discuss scaling back US forces in Eastern Europe, with Russia also pulling back from the Ukrainian border and other parts of the region.”

Austria’s Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz Joins Anti-Racism NGO

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

“Sebastian Kurz has been appointed co-chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, just a few months after leaving office amid a corruption scandal. Conservative politician Sebastian Kurz, who stepped [down] as Austrian chancellor… last year, was announced on Sunday as the new co-chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR). The ECTR is an international NGO that describes its goal on its website as fighting ‘such evils as extremism, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia.’

“Other noteworthy co-chairmen of the group are former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar — both of whom were in power when their nations joined the 2003 invasion of Iraq…  “During his time in office, Kurz made efforts to confront Austria’s role in the Holocaust and placed himself firmly on the side of Israel in diplomatic affairs… During his political career, Kurz was also instrumental in forming a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party in 2017 — making Austria the only country in Western Europe to have a far-right party in government. He also opposed the acceptance of refugees from camps in Greece as well as those fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power. Since leaving office, he has joined the investment firm led by tech billionaire Peter Thiel whom many see as a far-right figure.”

Have we heard and seen the latest of Sebastian Kurz’s political career… or not?

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.

Germany and France for a more “Sovereign” Europe

Breitbart wrote on January 1, 2022:

“Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister of Germany’s new left-led coalition government, has pledged that her country will support France in making ‘a more sovereign Europe’ — that is, one with more power over its member-states’ national governments. The declaration comes as France assumes the European Union’s rotating presidency for the next six months. ‘Our French friends can count on our support from the first to the last day to lay the right foundations within the EU: for a sustainable economic recovery, in the fight against the climate crisis, in digitization and for a more sovereign Europe in the world,’ Baerbock said…

“The German minister went on to say… that Germany and France as ‘the closest friends at the heart of Europe, bear a particular responsibility for a united European Union, capable of acting and oriented towards the future’.

“France’s President Emmanuel Macron has already promised that the nation will aim to increase the power of Europe on the world stage during its presidency of the bloc, which kicks off on January 1^st… As France begins its presidency of the EU, Germany will begin its presidency of the G7 on the same date, with Berlin to host a summit of the seven nations in June…

“The [German] coalition — led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz — has declared that it will push for a so-called ‘United States of Europe’ during its lifespan. In the document outlining the government’s goals, the three coalition members commit to ‘lead developments to a European federal state’, with the document noting the move is Germany’s ‘special responsibility’ as the EU’s ‘largest member-state’…

“Germany has even been accused of using the EU to create a ‘Fourth Reich’, with Polish deputy prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński making comparisons between the bloc and the Holy Roman Empire. The French government has also repeatedly backed the call for stronger European ties, with one government source even saying that Macron was willing to surrender its seat on the UN Security Council to the bloc in exchange for the establishment of an European Army.”

Comments by readers to this article are telling:

“Makes it easy for another Hitler or Stalin leader to appear… Germany still trying to create its own army & take over Europe… the next three years will be perilous indeed, as there will be no one in the White House calling out Brussels and its policies… The Reconstitution of the Roman Empire continues…”

20 Years of the Euro

The Local wrote on January 1:

“The euro on Saturday marked 20 years since people began to use the single European currency… European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the euro ‘a true symbol for the strength of Europe’…

“Euro banknotes and coins came into circulation in 12 countries on January 1, 2002, greeted by a mix of enthusiasm and scepticism from citizens who had to trade in their Deutsche marks, French francs, pesetas and liras. The euro is now used by 340 million people in 19 nations, from Ireland to Germany to Slovakia. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are next in line to join the eurozone…

“While the dollar still reigns supreme across the globe, the euro is now the world’s second most-used currency… Von der Leyen, in a video statement, said: ‘We are the biggest player in the world trade and nearly half of this trade takes place in euros.’”

We have emphasized time and time again that the euro is here to stay, as it is the glue which holds European member states together.

Austria Reliving its Past Dictatorship?

Breitbart wrote on December 31:

“On Thursday, Austria’s National Council decided to extend the lockdown for the unvaccinated until at least January 10^th… The new measures are the fourth amendment to Austria’s COVID-19 Protective Measures Ordinance and were passed in parliament by the ruling Austrian People’s Party (OeVP), their coalition partners the Greens, as well as the Social Democrats (SPOe)… the new amendment states that private New Year gatherings must not exceed ten people. A curfew for all restaurants has also been set for 10 p.m.

“The EU member-state has also decided that any vaccine certificates that involved a single dose inoculation will expire on January 3rd. Those who took a one-dose vaccine will be required to take a booster shot for their health passport to remain valid.

“Unvaccinated individuals in Austria have been under a general lockdown since late November, which ultimately included fully vaccinated residents as well — but the government lifted restrictions for the vaccinated earlier this month. The new amendment is just the latest time the lockdown for the unvaccinated has been extended by the government, which will meet on January 10th to possibly extend the lockdown yet again. The new year will also see Austria make the vaccine mandatory for all citizens. Those who do not comply could face large fines as well as possible prison time beginning in February.”

Comments to this article are telling:

“… everybody in my family who took the vaccines are sick ! The ones of us who didn`t take the shots are working very hard to take care of them, that`s the facts around this family…  the actual science actually says that the ‘vaccinated’ are at greater risk of catching and getting ill from Omicron than the unvaccinated… The mind boggles at the stupidity of these silly restrictions… Same here. Vaccinated daughters got the virus, non-vaccinated parents didn’t…. I know of several families where everyone is vaccinated and everyone is now sick. Unvaxxed…. no one sick… I got horribly ill from the second Moderna vaccine I will not be taking the booster!… Austria, original home of the Nazi menace, has truly returned to its roots…. It makes one wonder if the spirit of the 1930s ever really died in Austria….

Imagine, a lockdown over a bad cold. Now we know why Hitler was able to march in and take Austria over without firing a shot…. Austrians learned NOTHING from history…”

It appears that most Austrians did NOT learn from their history. However, the anger of a vocal minority against governmental restrictions grows in parts of Austria and Germany. Dictatorial reactions of the governments can be expected.

 The Western Standard wrote on January 2:

“Close to 350,000 people took to the streets in Vienna, Austria this weekend to protest some of the most Draconian COVID-19 restrictions in the world. Austria was the first country to announce mandatory vaccinations for all citizens 14-years-old and up. This week it was announced the mandate comes into effect February 1 and will cost the unvaccinated up to 3,600 euros… every three months.”

Breitbart wrote on January 4:

“A number of protests have taken place in Germany, with estimates putting the number of anti-lockdown protesters attending events at over 100,000 in total nationwide… 50,000 turned out in Baden-Wuertemberg, ‘tens of thousands’ in Saxony, and 17,000 in Thuringia.  While a number of protests took place in the country with the permission of relative authorities, others went ahead despite non-compliance, with thousands attending so-called ‘unannounced’ rallies despite being threatened with fines by police. Monday night ‘strolls’ have a history in Germany reaching back to the Communist era where protesting could be a dangerous occupation…

“While protests in a number of regions last night remained relatively peaceful… others did experience some levels of violence… East German members of the ruling Free Democratic Party (FDP) have expressed a desire for security authorities to clamp down on violent protesters. A strategy paper by the group’s eastern head, Hagen Reinhold, has called for better coordination between security authorities in dealing with internet bubbles and chats that he claims are used to mobilise people… Reinhold calls out Telegram in particular as a potential source of problems, the encrypted messaging service having already drawn much institutional ire in Germany over recent months.

“German authorities have already launched legal proceedings against the app last month over claims that it did not abide by laws requiring social media to police the actions of users on the platform. ‘Should Telegram fail to react to the European and German legal situation, our security policy will increasingly begin in the chat groups in the future,’ wrote the FDP politician in the paper.”

The more some Germans object to the restrictions, the more the government will respond, especially when it can be alleged that demonstrators, even if it is just a handful, become “violent.” Such problematic governmental reactions will not only be directed at the actual perpetrators, but also at the organizers of demonstrations.

Macron Attacks the Unvaccinated

BBC News wrote on January 5:

 “French President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of using divisive, vulgar language after he used a slang term to say he wanted to make life difficult for unvaccinated people. ‘I really want to p… them off, and we’ll carry on doing this – to the end,’ he told Le Parisien newspaper…. ‘So we need to tell them, from 15 January, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant. You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema.’…

“The airwaves in France are shrill this morning with the sound of angry politicians. From left and right, moderate and extreme, opponents are outbidding each other in condemnation…”

The Sun added on January 5:

“FUMING Emmanuel Macron has vowed to ‘p**s off’ France’s unvaccinated population as he branded them ‘non-citizens’ in a furious outburst… He insisted he would not ‘vaccinate by force’ the minority who had not had a dose, but instead persuade them to get jabbed by ‘limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life’.”

These terrible tactics by governmental officials have become common in other countries as well. Later on in this section, we report on awful accusations against the unvaccinated in Canada and the USA.

Ethiopian War Danger to Europe

Market Research Telecast wrote on December 31:

“Brussels fears that the armed conflict in Ethiopia will degenerate in 2022 and cause a humanitarian catastrophe and a migration crisis of historic proportions. Community sources warn of the risk that the war will destabilize the entire Horn of Africa, an area where more than 200 million people live and already undergoes the stress of gigantic internal population displacements…

“Brussels fears that the Ethiopian conflict will… end up dragging other countries in the area such as Sudan, South Sudan or Somalia, in addition to Eritrea, already clearly involved. Community sources point out that the outbreak of the area would cause ‘a migratory exodus of historical proportions comparable to that of the breakup of Yugoslavia.’ That dismemberment from 1991 caused population movements that affected more than three million people and almost one million sought refuge in the countries of the European Union…

“Europe was overwhelmed despite the fact that the former Yugoslavia had only 23 million inhabitants. But Ethiopia, the epicenter of the conflict in the Horn of Africa, is a giant of 112 million people. And it is surrounded by countries like Sudan (45 million), South Sudan (16 million) or Somalia (16 million), which already suffer enormous internal tensions… although the geographical distance from the EU is much greater than in the case of Yugoslavia, Brussels considers it likely that part of the migratory flows will move to the old continent through, above all, Libya. ‘Ethiopia is experiencing one of the bloodiest wars that are being fought at the moment on the planet,’ say community sources. And they show their concern for the peaceful subsistence of the area ‘even when the war ends.’ The conflict, according to data from the European Commission, has already caused the displacement of more than two million people and thousands have sought refuge in Sudan…

This could lead to much hostility between Europe and Ethiopia.

China Hoards over Half of World’s Grain

Nikkei Asia wrote on December 23:

“Less than 20% of the world’s population has managed to stockpile more than half of the globe’s maize and other grains, leading to steep price increases across the planet and dropping more countries into famine. The hoarding is taking place in China…

“According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China is expected to have 69% of the globe’s maize reserves in the first half of crop year 2022, 60% of its rice and 51% of its wheat.”

TikTok Danger to our Children

Daily Mail wrote on December 26:

“Campaigners have accused TikTok of helping children to be ‘brainwashed’ by hosting viral social-media videos that promote changing sex as ‘cool’. Material posted by transgender influencers on the social networking service – in which they provide advice on transitioning and accessing hormone therapies – has been seen by millions of young viewers. Some parents are concerned the involvement of TikTok, which became the UK’s most downloaded app last year, is fuelling a ‘social contagion’ of pressure on impressionable youngsters and the rise in teenagers who are identifying as trans…

“TikTok signed a partnership earlier this year with Stonewall, the controversial lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, to promote this material.

“One popular transgender TikTok influencer, Bella Fitzpatrick, raised £20,000 from followers in less than three months to fund private gender-reassignment surgery. The 19-year-old has 700,000 followers and explains the process of transitioning, including her experience of bypassing NHS waiting lists.

“Another is Alex Consani, 18, who has more than 680,000 followers. She went viral five years ago when, aged 12, Cosmopolitan magazine featured her life as a trans model. One of her videos, seen 2.3 million times, tells followers they are ‘one oestrogen pill away from a glow up’. A ‘glow up’ is a mental, physical and emotional transformation for the better.

“A channel featuring influencer Jaison Jowett shows the process of transitioning and carrying out reassignment surgery. One video includes the caption ‘Heal with me after top surgery!’ – a reference to a reconstructive chest operation. Another video begins with the words ‘I used to be a good Christian kid’ before showing the transformation to a ‘trans, gay atheist who loves tattoos and chaos’….

“A spokesman for TikTok said: ‘We are honoured that the LGBTQ+ community has embraced TikTok from our very early days, as a platform for self-expression, education, community-building and joy.’ A spokesman for Stonewall said: ‘Our content allows young LGBTQ+ people to know that they are not alone in their experiences.’”

Tik Tok is owned by “Beijing-based technology company ByteDance, founded by the Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, Zhang Yiming. The 38-year-old was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2019, who described him as ‘the top entrepreneur in the world’” (The Sun, dated December 18, 2021).

“US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order announcing that he would ban US businesses and citizens from doing business with or downloading TikTok… The move came after the Trump administration aired concerns about user data being shared with Chinese authorities, a claim that ByteDance denied. However, the ban did not come into effect after a US District Judge ruled to temporarily halt the ban on TikTok downloads… It seems unlikely that Biden will take as drastic actions as Trump did when it comes to China’s tech giants, while he will still be concerned about data security” (Focus, November 20, 2020).

We should note that Trump’s and Biden’s concerns were and are strictly based on data security, not on their questionable and dangerous contents.

Make Believe Insanity in Switzerland

International Family News wrote on December 30:

“Switzerland has now joined a host of nations that allows a person to change gender identity by merely declaring so. Starting January 1, 2022, proof of undergoing hormone therapy or having had ‘sex-reassignment’ surgery, or a declaration from a doctor attesting to a person suffering from gender dysphoria, are not required. Now all one must do to legally change one’s gender is go to a civil registry office and fill out a simple form. It is just that easy.

“Allowing mere belief–no matter how objectively wrong it may be–to determine legal reality is a pathway leading to societal chaos. How this snowball will end can be glimpsed in Mexico, where the state Supreme Court recently ruled that a person’s belief about his age trumps the actual age of that person. With this decision, pedophilia could end as a crime if an adult in good faith believes he is a child. A minor could be allowed to purchase alcohol or visit a strip club if he or she in good faith believes they are twenty-one. With this ‘make believe’ movement gathering steam, a person could soon be able to legally change his race and ethnicity by merely declaring so; and people would be incentivized to do this because of all the quotas and set-asides reserved for minorities. Indeed, what is to stop a person from lying on his resume when applying for jobs, government grants, and colleges if he actually believes that he had the experiences listed on it? Living in a world turned upside where fiction is truth and truth is fiction is where this snowball stops….”

This is indeed insane, but one can see where these ungodly movements are heading…

Where Putin Is Right

IFN wrote on December 24:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has many flaws and reasons to be disliked. He illegally occupied and annexed the Crimea. He is supporting a civil war in Ukraine. He jails and may even poison political opponents. He repeatedly makes threats against the West. Yet, in one area he should be admired—in thinking clearly about woke cancel culture and the radical transgender agenda…

“In regard to the radical transgender agenda that holds that any biological man can become a woman just by saying so and vice versa, Putin made several common-sense remarks; remarks that all of humanity unanimously agreed with until the last few decades in the West. ‘If someone believes that males and females are the same thing, well, let them believe that, but let’s think about common sense,’ Putin stated. Regarding allowing biological men to compete against biological women in sports, Putin declared: ‘Say, for example, males say they are females and compete in weightlifting competitions [as happened in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics]. This renders the entire area of women’s sports meaningless. I believe that the traditional approach is correct: a male is a male, a female is a female. Mother is mother and father is father.’…

“Putin then discussed the insanity of placing biological men identifying as women with biological women prisoners…

“After hearing Putin’s remarks, you have to ask yourself: Why is Putin, flawed in so many ways, the only current Western world leader courageously confronting the ‘virus’ of cancel culture and the lie that a biological man can become a woman just by saying so? Why are so many officials in the West afraid to defend objective reality and common sense?…”

Of course, Putin is totally correct in this regard, but one must not overlook that he is viciously opposing everyone who does not conform to his ideas, whatever they may be.

Second Putin-Biden Phone Call

Daily Mail wrote on December 31:

“Tensions between Russia and the West have… reached new highs over Ukraine. Putin discussed the soaring tensions in a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

“Biden reaffirmed the U.S. threat of new sanctions against Russia in case of an escalation or invasion, to which Putin responded with a warning of his own that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations.”

It was reported that the call “ended without clarity about Mr. Putin’s intention.”

Russia Warns Finland and Sweden

EU Today wrote on December 29:

“Moscow has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato amid rising tensions between Russia and the western military alliance. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, accused the alliance of trying to pull the two countries into its orbit…

 “Finland and Sweden both pursued a policy of neutrality throughout the Cold War and neither country has ever formally applied to join Nato. However, Sweden, which increased its defence budget after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, introduced legislation last year that would allow it to join Nato in the future if it decided it was in its interests. Swedish troops have held joint military exercises with Nato.

“Finland has also said that it could apply for Nato membership in the future…

‘Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the two countries in October and praised their willingness to work with the alliance amid Russia’s ‘aggressive posturing.’”

Turmoil in Kazakhstan

The Guardian wrote on January 5:

“Kazakhstan’s president has appealed to a Moscow-led security bloc to help regain control amid protests sparked by fuel price rises, after demonstrators took over government buildings and reportedly stormed the airport in Almaty, the country’s commercial capital and largest city.

“In a televised address late on Wednesday, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military alliance of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan – after what he described as ‘attacks’ by foreign-trained terrorist gangs…

“Earlier in the day, there were violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the city and the mayor’s office was set on fire…

“Tokayev accepted the resignation of the government on Wednesday morning and introduced a state of emergency… to the entire country… The protests began in the west of the country at the weekend, after a sharp rise in fuel prices, but have spread quickly and taken Kazakhstan’s authorities and international observers by surprise… on Wednesday, the internet went down across much of Kazakhstan…

“Images of police being overpowered by protesters are likely to cause alarm in the Kremlin, as another country neighbouring Russia succumbs to political unrest. Kazakhstan is part of an economic union with Russia and the two countries share a long border. ‘We hope for the earliest possible normalisation of the situation in the country, with which Russia is linked by relations of strategic partnership and alliance through fraternal, human contacts,’ the Russian foreign ministry said [and that] it was important no foreign countries interfered in Kazakhstan.

“Tokayev spoke to the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who crushed a huge uprising with brutal force in 2019. Before calling Tokayev, Lukashenko spoke to Putin…

“Kazakhstan has never held an election judged as free and fair by international observers…”

The West is anxiously observing these developments, wondering what Putin might do.

Russia Sends Troops to Kazakhstan

Reuters reported on January 6:

“Fresh violence erupted in Kazakhstan’s main city on Thursday after Russia rushed in paratroopers to put down a countrywide uprising in one of Moscow’s closest former Soviet allies…. The Russian deployment was a gamble by the Kremlin that rapid military force could secure its interests in the oil and uranium-producing Central Asian nation, by swiftly putting down the worst violence in Kazakhstan’s 30 years of independence….

 “Moscow did not disclose how many troops it was sending, and it was not possible to determine if any were involved in Thursday’s unrest…. The swift arrival of Russian troops demonstrated the Kremlin’s willingness to safeguard its influence in the ex-Soviet Union with force… The West has so far mainly limited its response to calls for calm.”

Abortion Leading Cause of Death

Breitbart wrote on December 31:

“As of noon on December 31, 2021, there were 42.6 million abortions performed in the course of the year… while 8.2 million people died from cancer, 5 million from smoking, 1.7 million of HIV/AIDS, 1.3 million from traffic fatalities, and 1 million from suicide.

“Totaling all the deaths in the world from causes other than abortion reveals a figure of 58.7 million, meaning that abortions accounted for just over 42 percent of all human deaths in 2021. By comparison, worldwide deaths from coronavirus in 2021 totaled around 3.5 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).”

We dare to say that the number of deaths from corona is highly exaggerated. Note the next article.

Fauci “Clarifies” Prior Lies

Townhall wrote on December 31:

“Chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci finally acknowledged an important point about Covid-19 case numbers in hospitalized children… ‘many of them are hospitalized with Covid as opposed to because of Covid,’ Fauci admitted… ‘And what we mean by that — if a child goes in the hospital, they automatically get tested for Covid. And they get counted as a Covid-hospitalized individual. When in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So, it’s over-counting the number of children who are, quote, ‘hospitalized with Covid,’ as opposed to because of Covid.

“Many pointed out that people were banned from social media channels for making this exact point, which is happening not just for children but adults, too. ‘Fauci acknowledges what others were censored for saying: Many children enter hospitals for reasons unrelated to Covid like broken bones but are registered as Covid hospitalizations simply because they got a + PCR test, thereby inflating the numbers,’ said The Grayzone’s editor Max Blumenthal.”

Still, the FDA just backed Pfizer booster shots for kids ages 2 to 15 (The Week, dated January 3). The money machine must go on…

A Country Divided

npr wrote on January 3:

“One year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Americans are deeply pessimistic about the future of democracy… 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is ‘in crisis and at risk of failing.’ That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the… claim that ‘voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election’… Fewer than half of Republicans say they are willing to accept the results of the 2020 election…

“Nearly two-thirds of poll respondents agree that U.S. democracy is ‘more at risk’ now than it was a year ago. Among Republicans, that number climbs to 4 in 5… “More than half of Democrats say the Jan. 6 assault was an ‘attempted coup or insurrection,’ while Republicans are more likely to describe it as a ‘riot that got out of control.’…”

The New York Post wrote on January 3:

“40 percent of Republicans agreed it could sometimes be ‘justified for citizens to take violent action against the government.’ Twenty-three percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Independents also endorsed situational violence. Of those who agree that rising up in arms against the government could be acceptable, 22 percent said it would be justified for invasions of personal liberties, while 15 percent pointed to a military takeover or democratic collapse. Three percent said violence was appropriate if the government did not accept election results…

“The numbers had risen sharply in recent years. In 2015, 23 percent of Americans approved of violence against authorities, researchers said. Five years before that, 16 percent agreed — up from only 13 percent in the mid-90s.

“The same poll found that 92 percent of Democrats thought Trump was largely to blame for the Jan. 6 riot, compared to 27 percent of GOP voters.”

These are dangerous numbers. When so many Americans feel violence is sometimes justified to be used against the government, then it is only a matter of time… To be clear, God condemns the use of violence against governmental officials or governmental institutions. HOW MUCH the nation is divided can also be seen in the next article.

FBI Biden’s Personal Gestapo?

Breitbart wrote on January 4:

“Many U.S. voters think the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is Democrat President Joe Biden’s ‘personal Gestapo,’ according to a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday. ‘Roger Stone, an adviser to former President Donald Trump, has said there is “a group of politicized thugs at the top of the FBI who are using the FBI … as Joe Biden‘s personal Gestapo,”’ the poll report states. ‘Forty-six percent of voters agree with Stone’s assessment, including 29 percent who Strongly Agree. Thirty-eight percent disagree with Stone’s claim, including 25 percent who Strongly Disagree.’

“The results of the poll, which was conducted… on Dec. 29-30, come after the FBI conducted a raid on the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, looking for information about Ashley Biden’s diary… Voter opinion on whether FBI Director Christopher Wray is influenced by the president has reached a ‘near-complete reversal.’ Now, 50 percent of voters believe Wray is influenced by Biden ‘in his decision making,’ and only 26 percent think he is independent of the administration. Twenty-five percent of those polled are unsure. In May 2017, 53 percent thought the FBI director was independent while 26 percent thought he was beholden to the president. Approval of Wray has also declined since 2020…

“Fifty-seven percent of Republicans and 56 percent of unaffiliated voters have an unfavorable view of the FBI compared to 30 percent of Democrats…”

YouTube Worst Censor of All?

Newsmax wrote on January 3:

“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he won’t be posting to YouTube anymore because the video platform site is ‘the worst censor of all.’ ‘Today I begin my exodus from Big Tech, starting with the worst censor of all, YouTube,” Paul said in a statement… Instead, Paul’s team said viewers can see his content on Rumble.com.

“Paul’s YouTube account was suspended for seven days twice in August and September over videos the platform said violated its COVID-19 misinformation policy. In one of the videos, Paul, a staunch critic of Biden administration vaccination policies and of key COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In the video, Paul says: ‘Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.’ Later in the video, he adds, ‘Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science, which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.’”

The irony is that now, more and more scientists agree that cloth masks do not work. For instance, the Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 2:

“Germany’s official government health authority reported last week that 90 plus percent of new Omicron variant cases are among vaccinated individuals, obliterating the long-repeated claim that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Other narratives are also crumbling – former FDA head Scott Gottlieb says cloth masks are useless.”

Trudeau and Biden Malign and Accuse the Unvaccinated

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 3:

“Prime Minister Trudeau maligned Canadians who are opposed to receiving the experimental COVID-19 gene-therapy injections as ‘extremists,’ ‘racists,’ and ‘misogynists’ who deny science. The September interview went viral on social media only late last month and has since attracted strong criticism from politicians and citizens alike… They ‘do not believe in science, who are often misogynists, often racists, too; it is a sect, a small group, but who are taking up space, and here we have to make a choice, as a leader, as a country,’ added Trudeau.

“He made the shocking statement that he is unsure if Canada should even ‘tolerate these people’ while telling the host that the unvaccinated ‘are going to block us’ from getting back to the ‘things we like doing.’ Trudeau’s discriminatory and confusing statements had seemed to have gone unnoticed by Canadian society until December 28, when career politician and federal leader of the pro-freedom People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, posted the clip to social media while labelling Trudeau a ‘psychopathic fascist.’…

“Despite Trudeau and all of Canada’s provincial leaders supporting vaccine mandates and vaccine passports for access to various parts of Canadian society, coronavirus vaccine trials have never produced evidence that the vaccines stop infection or transmission...

“Trudeau’s assertion that those opposed to vaccination are ‘racist’ is at odds with the fact that many of the most vaccine-hesitant people are members of minority communities who have a strong distrust of government due to mistreatment in past generations. In Canada, indigenous groups like the Six Nations community in Ontario have a vaccination rate of only 46 percent as of mid-December, compared to a rate of over 85 percent for the province’s population as a whole.

“In America, the group to report the highest levels of hesitancy is black Americans, with a whopping 50 percent reporting a distrust in the procedure.

“In addition to cultural hesitancy, there are those too who oppose the shots on scientific or religious grounds…”

Sadly, such mean-spirited and hateful comments, as uttered by Trudeau, can be expected to be made by politicians and leaders in other countries as well. Note the article on France above.

Also, even though less offensive in his words than Trudeau, Biden keeps maligning the “unvaccinated” and holds them responsible for the spread of the Omicron virus, as he did on January 4 in a speech to the nation, even though the facts do not support his claim at all. Incredibly, Biden said this:

“The impact from the rising cases depends on the effect on the person based on whether that person — what their vaccination status is… if you’re vaccinated and boosted, you are highly protected… if you’re unvaccinated, you have some reason to be alarmed.  Many of you will — you know, you’ll experience severe illness, in many cases, if you get COVID-19 if you’re not vaccinated.  Some will die — needlessly die.

“The unvaccinated are taking up hospital beds and crowding emergency rooms and intensive care units.  That’s a place that other people will need access to those hospitals… there is no excuse — no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated.  This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated… And for [parents] who still haven’t gotten your kids vaccinated, please get them vaccinated.  Look out for their interests here.  It’s the best way to protect them.

“And for parents with kids too young to be vaccinated, surround your kids with people who are vaccinated.  And make sure you’re masking in public so you don’t get COVID and give it to your kids.”

What absolutely divisive and scientifically false remarks! Fox News, in pointing out the many misrepresentations in Biden’s speech, wrote on January 5:

“But those who have been vaccinated are still getting sick. The U.S. recorded its record number of COVID-19 cases for a single day on Monday, almost doubling the previous record of about 590,000 set just four days earlier. This, despite 73% of the U.S. population being at least partially vaccinated and 62% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control…. the CDC noted on December 20 that it ‘expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms…’”

The Past Two Years… a Testimony of Autocratic Insanity

Dr. Ron Paul wrote the following in his weekly column in the Ron Paul Institute on January 3:

“… these past two years have been a bad dream. It seems like we fell asleep in early 2020 and woke up in 1984! They said that if we just put on a mask and stayed home for two weeks, we’d be able to return to normal. The two weeks came and went and instead of going back to normal they added more restrictions. These past two years have been a story of moving goalposts and ‘experts’ like Anthony Fauci constantly contradicting themselves…

“The history of these past two years is that the worst ideas have been adopted by force and anyone questioning those ideas has been suppressed by force…

“As my son Rand said on a recent Liberty Report, thousands of people died because Fauci refused to consider the proven effectiveness of natural immunity against Covid. He and his colleagues were determined to deny any outpatient treatments and insisted on vaccines as the only way out. Now, as we see the vaccines performing so poorly versus natural immunity, their whole strategy lies in tatters. Will anyone apologize to the relatives of all those who died?

“When we look back at these two years, hopefully one thing that will be remembered is [that] the institutions of state power… have been exposed as frauds and worse.

“In a recent massively popular Joe Rogan interview with Dr. Robert Malone – inventor of the mRNA technology that is the backbone of the ‘vaccines’ – Malone discusses the disturbing concept of mass formation psychosis, where fear and manipulation are used to drive a society mad in the service of a group of elites with an agenda. We saw it in Germany in the 1930s….”

Judge Blocks Navy Vaccine Mandate

Thomson/Reuters wrote on January 4:

“A federal judge on Monday barred the U.S. Department of Defense from punishing a group of Navy SEALs and other special forces members who refused COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds.

“U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, acting in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 35 special forces service members, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Navy and Defense Department from enforcing the mandate. O’Connor, who was appointed to the federal bench in Texas by President George W. Bush, said the Navy had not granted a single religious exemption to the vaccine rule.

“‘The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect. The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms,’ the judge wrote in a 26-page decision.”

Ultimately, the highly political US Supreme Court will have to decide these issues.

And Now.. Another Variant?

Mashable wrote on January 4:

“The world is still coping with the rapid spread of Omicron and the previously reported Delta variant. As infection rates surge in several countries, yet another COVID-19 variant has been discovered. Scientists in France have detected a new coronavirus variant called ‘IHU’…

“So far, 12 cases have been reported in Marseille with an initial case being linked to travel history in Cameroon… The researchers revealed that the IHU variant is believed to contain 46 mutations (higher than Omicron) which could mean that it’s far more infectious and resistant to vaccinations. Currently, it is too soon to tell if this is the latest variant of concern. The WHO is still investigating the findings.”

Big Pharma will have a lucrative field day to develop a vaccine against that variant. It appears many mutations might occur because of the vaccinations.

How many more booster shots?

CNN wrote on January 4:

“A leading expert who helped create the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19  said Tuesday that giving everyone in the world booster shots multiple times a year is not feasible. ‘We can’t vaccinate the planet every four to six months. It’s not sustainable or affordable,’ Professor Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and head of the UK’s Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published Tuesday…

“Pollard also said he thought further evidence was needed before offering a fourth Covid-19 shot to people in the UK… Israel has already begun its rollout of a fourth vaccine dose, offering it to all medical workers and people 60 and older as of Monday. And in late December, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told public broadcaster ZDF that Germans ‘will need a fourth vaccination’ against Covid-19.”

What Germany, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Israel and many other countries need are competent and knowledgeable health experts.

Historic Wildfires in Colorado

Bloomberg wrote on December 31:

“The infernos near Boulder, Colorado, destroyed as many as 1,000 homes, overwhelming firefighters as hurricane-force gusts propelled flames through suburban neighborhoods left tinder dry by months of drought. The blazes dashed erratically from house to house, scorching about 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares) and devouring structures ‘in just a blink of an eye,’ Colorado Governor Jared Polis said… Authorities suspect the grass fires were touched off by power lines that toppled in the 100-mile (161-kilometer) per-hour winds. No deaths have been reported…”

These fires with “historic” winds made it the “most destructive fire in state history.”

“Highly Credible” Unexplained UFO Sightings

The Hill wrote on January 5:

“The Navy has a perplexing mystery on its hands. For several weeks in 2019, unknown objects stalked U.S. warships off the coast of southern California. While the bizarre ‘drone’ encounters remain unsolved, the incidents occurred in an area with a long history of UFO sightings, including two of the most credible encounters on record… The Navy, working with the FBI and Coast Guard, now appears to have ruled out civilian activity or U.S. military operations as plausible explanations for the encounters. This leaves two possibilities, each with extraordinary implications.

“Either a foreign adversary is spying on Navy ships around the Channel Islands (which lie just west of Los Angeles and San Diego), or devices of truly unknown origin are operating with impunity around U.S. (and allied) vessels.

“The implications of a foreign power deploying drones to spy on American warships just off the California coast are immense. For starters, this scenario suggests a monumental U.S. counterintelligence failure. Moreover, such a brazen and technically complex intelligence operation amounts to an enormous gamble for a hostile nation. Any shoot-down – as the Navy reportedly attempted – of a foreign surveillance drone so close to U.S. shores would invite sweeping geopolitical repercussions.

“Importantly, if the UFOs that stalked the Navy warships were part of an adversarial intelligence collection effort, the objects’ operators made little effort to conceal their presence. Videos taken aboard one U.S. vessel show the mysterious craft displaying bright and flashing lights. At the same time, Navy radar operators tracked the objects with apparent ease, even expressing surprise as the craft engaged in anomalous maneuvers. In another video, a spherical object… appears to descend slowly into the ocean.

“To be sure, investigators and intelligence analysts must take seriously the possibility that a foreign power is spying on U.S. warships a stone’s throw from two major American cities. But based on what is known publicly about these bizarre incidents, investigators should also consider the long history of UFO sightings around the Channel islands…

“Now, with Congress forcing the government to take the UFO phenomenon seriously for the first time, investigators must consider whether the objects that followed Navy warships are linked to the long history of inexplicable – yet highly credible – encounters in the waters off southern California.”

The author of the article, Marik von Rennenkampff, served as an analyst with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, as well as an Obama administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Defense. Of course, a third and most plausible explanation for these UFO sightings is demonic activities to prepare mankind for Armageddon.

Israel Prepared to Attack Iran?

Townhall wrote on December 31:

“The timing of recent rhetoric throughout the Middle East is directly related to renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran. Nobody thinks the Iranians are honest players or can be trusted. But there are world leaders who think that continuing to negotiate… is a goal in and of itself…

“A large part of the problem and Israel’s justified concern is that the western secular world does not understand religious fanaticism…

“If Israel really believes that Iran is on the verge of a nuclear breakout, is Israel prepared to act on its own assuming others won’t?… Making such a decision to attack Iran will be a historic Jewish decision, like Prime Minister Begin’s in 1981… Israel’s actions will be based on its understanding of the historic enormity of the decision. The more it does, the fewer restraints there will be, militarily and diplomatically. Unless the U.S. is on board from the outset, it’s likely the U.S. may not be informed until planes are in the air… If the U.S. does not participate in an attack, would it support Israel or vote against it in the event of a UN condemnation?

“Between the probable military backlash and the inevitable international pushback, Israel is between a rock and a hard place… As the Jewish sage Hillel said, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me.’ The modern application of that in Israel is, ‘If I am not for myself, who will stop Iran?’”

An Israeli attack on Iran is not unlikely. If it happens, it could lead to terrible consequences for Israel.  

Fate of Al Aqsa

Israel 365 wrote on December 28:

“Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz) has always been an outspoken advocate for Israel but he recently went even further when criticizing the recent UN resolutions concerning Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. In his response, Gosar called on the UN to dismantle the Muslim structures in Jerusalem that were built on the ruins of the Jewish Temple… ‘The Jewish Temple, located in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, is holy ground to Jews and it belongs solely to their faith.  I object to any effort to ethnically cleanse the Jewish people from their sole historic claim to this land and temple… It remains an abomination that a mosque was allowed to be built over this temple. The United Nations should be finding ways to dismantle and move that mosque, which is an affront to all religions,’ concluded Congressman Gosar.

“It is interesting to note that Gosar did not specify which Muslim structure on the Temple Mount he felt should be dismantled. The UN resolution specified al-Haram al-Sharif (the noble sanctuary), a term that refers to the Temple Mount and not to a specific structure. The major structures currently on the site are the grey domed Al Aqsa Mosque (the further mosque) and the gold-domed Qubbat a Sakhra (shrine of the rock) that was built on the site of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temples.

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, does not believe that all of the Muslim structures on the Temple Mount needed to be removed. ‘As long as the Muslims agree to live peacefully with the other religions in Israel, there is no reason to remove the Aqsa Mosque,’ Rabbi Weiss said. ‘An entrance can be set up and pathways arranged so that they can, like the Jews and everyone else, remain in the permitted areas. In fact, the current entrance to the Aqsa Mosque fits that description. Al Aqsa is not in the part of the Temple Mount that was used in the Temples. But by calling the entire Temple Mount by the name Al Aqsa, they are laying claim to the entire mountain with the intent of preventing the Jews from returning the Temple service. This has no source in Islam or benefit to the Muslims. It is simply a political lie that was created by the Palestinians and perpetuated by those who hate the Jews.’…”

It would be difficult to imagine that the Muslims would agree to such an “arrangement,” as proposed by Rabbi Weiss.

Friction between American Jews and the State of Israel

The Associated Press wrote on January 2:

“When Israel’s new government took office last June, it indicated it would press ahead on an egalitarian prayer site at Jerusalem’s Western Wall — a sensitive holy site that has emerged as a point of friction between Jews over how prayer is conducted there. But the plan is coming up against the limits of Israel’s fragile government, which is struggling to move forward on the issue due to its own internal divisions. The inaction has disappointed both Israeli groups that promote religious pluralism and their American Jewish allies, who view the issue as an important test of recognition from the Israeli government…

“The Western Wall is considered the holiest site where Jews can pray. Under ultra-Orthodox management, the wall is currently separated between men’s and women’s prayer sections. Under the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, women and men pray together and women are allowed to read from the Torah, which Orthodox Judaism prohibits. Those streams are a minority in Israel but make up the majority of American Jews. Israel’s refusal to recognize these liberal streams has long been a point of tension with American Jews.

“After years of negotiations, Israel approved a plan in 2016 to officially recognize a special prayer area at the Western Wall. The $9 million plan vowed to expand an egalitarian prayer site and make it more hospitable to prayer and religious events held by Jews who don’t follow Orthodox traditions. The deal was welcomed by Jewish American leaders and seen as a significant breakthrough in promoting religious pluralism in Israel, where the ultra-Orthodox authorities govern almost every facet of Jewish life. But then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never implemented the plan due to objections from powerful ultra-Orthodox allies who had initially endorsed it.

“He shelved the plan the following year, leading to strained relations with American Jewish leaders that continued until he left office last year. His tight relationship with President Donald Trump further unsettled the heavily Democratic-leaning Jewish community…

“The new government, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett — the child of American immigrants — brought hope that the plan may be revived… But Bennett heads an unwieldy coalition of parties from across the political spectrum — ranging from nationalist parties to dovish liberal ones and even an Islamist faction — that was united behind the goal of ousting Netanyahu and very little else. While the Western Wall plan features in agreements that brought the coalition together, its leaders have generally chosen to sidestep divisive issues that might rattle its stability. Moving ahead with the Western Wall plan could spark an outcry from ultra-Orthodox opposition parties, which in turn could exert pressure on more sympathetic elements of the coalition to oppose the move. And while the government isn’t likely to fall over the Western Wall plan, a public brawl over the issue within government ranks could wear down the already delicate ties that bind the coalition.”

 As predicted from the outset, the Israeli coalition won’t accomplish much. This in turn will alienate American Jews from the state of Israel even further.

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.

Democracy in Peril Worldwide

Breitbart wrote on December 24:

“Several of the world’s free nations will greet the year 2022 under the immediate threat of conquest by authoritarian forces, either through military invasion or subversion from within.

“The best-known example is Taiwan, an outpost of free-market democracy under the perpetual threat of conquest by the hideous tyrants of China… Last week, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said it fears China could turn large-scale military exercises near Taiwan into a full-scale surprise attack, while simultaneously deploying naval forces to keep allies like the United States and Japan from coming to Taiwan’s assistance. Chinese officials and state media are increasingly belligerent about threatening to attack any military that attempts to defend Taiwan, including the U.S. military…

“Seizing Taiwan may appeal to Chinese leaders as a bold move that would destroy the credibility of the United States and Europe, frightening other Asian powers into China’s orbit because they can no longer rely on Western security guarantees. The death of democracy in Taiwan could threaten its survival in South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere…

“And then again, democracy could conceivably topple in Taiwan without a military invasion. China invested considerable effort in subverting Taiwanese democracy and nourishing pro-Beijing opposition parties…

“Also living under the threat of invasion from the authoritarians next door is Ukraine. Russia now has over 90,000 troops massed along the Ukrainian border and Ukrainian intelligence believes they could invade by the end of January 2022… Relentless Russian propaganda portrays the Ukrainian government as an illegitimate puppet of foreign interests….

“In South America, there are troubling signs of anti-democratic leftist dictatorships on the rise. The odious regime of Nicolás Maduro appears securely in control of Venezuela, having vanquished a pro-democracy movement even as the national economy comes crashing down in socialist flames. International observers are nervously hoping the new leftist president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, does not follow in Maduro’s footsteps…

“Authoritarian powers like China and Iran are increasing their influence in Latin America, posing both a strategic challenge to the United States and an ideological threat to democracy…

“Democracy in other parts of the developing world is threatened by a string of military coups. The most horrific example is obviously Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency swept away the elected civilian government in a matter of days while the Biden administration fumbled through a disastrous withdrawal of American troops. Thanks to Biden’s reckless abandonment of American military equipment and weapons, the Taliban is now the best-armed junta in the world, with plenty of munitions to spare for sale to other anti-democratic forces.

“In Myanmar and Sudan, military juntas seized power… These juntas have survived intense pressure from human rights activists, democratic governments, and the United Nations.

“Libya, transformed into a gruesome wasteland of warlords and jihadis by Biden’s Democrat predecessor Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is still struggling to hold a nationwide democratic election. Ten years after Obama’s invasion, Libya perpetually teeters on the edge of either disintegrating completely or becoming a military dictatorship…

“2022 will dawn with democracy in peril – not just from the vicious struggle to redefine it being waged across the Western world, but from numerous fragile democracies on the brink of external invasion or authoritarian revolution. 2021 was the year that saw freedom and autonomy die in Hong Kong. Representative government is on the chopping block in far too many other places.”

This analysis is, sadly, very real and true. Dictatorships will increase. There will be more and more wars and rumors of wars, as well as famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places, indicating the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Close to Civil War

The Washington Post wrote on December 17:

“Barbara F. Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego, serves on a CIA advisory panel called the Political Instability Task Force that monitors countries around the world and predicts which of them are most at risk of deteriorating into violence…

“Her bottom line: ‘We are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe… No one wants to believe that their beloved democracy is in decline, or headed toward war,’ she writes. But, ‘if you were an analyst in a foreign country looking at events in America — the same way you’d look at events in Ukraine or the Ivory Coast or Venezuela — you would go down a checklist, assessing each of the conditions that make civil war likely. And what you would find is that the United States, a democracy founded more than two centuries ago, has entered very dangerous territory.’…

“Walter writes that the United States is now an ‘anocracy,’ somewhere between a democracy and an autocratic state….”

Of course, as can be expected from the Washington Post, this decline of US democracy is blamed on Trump, without mentioning the ongoing autocratic dictatorial measures imposed by the Biden Administration.

2021 in Review

The Rutherford Institute wrote on December 27:

“A simmering pot of political tensions boiled over on January 6, 2021, when protesters stormed the Capitol… It took no time at all for the nation’s capital to be placed under a military lockdown, online speech forums restricted… The subsequent  military occupation of the nation’s capital by 25,000 troops as part of the so-called ‘peaceful’ transfer of power from one administration to the next was little more than martial law disguised as national security…

“On any given day, the average American going about his daily business was monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears… In response to the events of Jan. 6, the tech giants meted out their own version of social justice by way of digital tyranny and corporate censorship… ‘Domestic terrorism’ became the new poster child for expanding the government’s powers at the expense of civil liberties…  the ramifications… are so far-reaching as to render almost every American an extremist in word, deed, thought or by association.

“Political correctness gave way to a more insidious form of group think and mob rule which, coupled with government and corporate censors and a cancel culture determined not to offend ‘certain’ viewpoints, was all too willing to eradicate views that do not conform. Critical race theory also moved to the forefront of the culture wars…

“Government agents routinely violated the Fourth Amendment at will [by invading homes] under the pretext of public health and safety…

“Caught in the crosshairs of a showdown between the rights of the individual and the so-called ‘emergency’ state, concerns about COVID-19 mandates and bodily integrity remained part of a much larger debate over the ongoing power struggle between the citizenry and the government over our property ‘interest’ in our bodies. This debate over bodily integrity covered broad territory, ranging from abortion and forced vaccinations to biometric surveillance and basic healthcare…

“What started out as an apparent effort to prevent a novel coronavirus from sickening the nation (and the world) became yet another means by which world governments (including our own) expanded their powers, abused their authority, and further oppressed their constituents.

“The national debt exceeded $29 trillion. Meanwhile, the government continued to spend taxpayer money it didn’t have on programs it couldn’t afford; businesses shuttered for lack of customers, resources and employees; and consumers continued to encounter global supply chain shortages (and skyrocketing prices) on everything from computer chips and cars to construction materials…

“Owing in large part to the government’s deep-seated and, in many cases, top-secret alliances with foreign nations and global corporations, the US entered into a new world order—a global world order—made up of international government agencies and corporations. Fascism became a global menace…

“Every crisis—manufactured or otherwise—since the nation’s early beginnings has become a make-work opportunity for the government to expand its reach and its power at taxpayer expense while limiting our freedoms at every turn: The Great Depression. The World Wars. The 9/11 terror attacks. The COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the government’s (mis)management of various states of emergency in the past 20 years from 9/11 to COVID-19 has spawned a massive security-industrial complex the likes of which have never been seen before….

“There may have been a new guy [Biden] in charge this year, but for the most part, nothing changed. The nation remained politically polarized, controlled by forces beyond the purview of the average American, and rapidly moving the nation away from its freedom foundation. Over the past year, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans found themselves repeatedly subjected to egregious civil liberties violations, invasive surveillance, martial law, lockdowns, political correctness, erosions of free speech, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc….”

Sadly, this synopsis does point out convincingly our decline in democracy, freedom and liberties.

More on Russia and Ukraine

The Week wrote on December 22:

“Before this week, I’d never heard of Dmitri Alperovitch or Silverado Policy Accelerator, the nonprofit think tank for which he is co-founder and chair. But Alperovitch is on my radar now, thanks to a viral tweet thread about Russia’s intentions in Ukraine that is at once smart, highly informed, and chilling.

“Alperovitch’s core assertion is simple: The Kremlin has already ‘made a decision to invade Ukraine later this winter.’ The evidence he marshals in defense of this claim is overwhelming. Alperovitch points to Russia’s massive troop deployment to the Ukraine border, increased acts of cyber intrusion into Ukraine, the issuing of diplomatic ultimatums and public demands that would be extremely difficult to walk back, and several other recent moves on Russia’s part.

“He then pivots to listing the reasons he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided on this bellicose course of action. These range from internal conflicts within Ukraine that threaten Russian interests to longstanding concerns about NATO expansion into Russia’s near abroad [sic], which the Kremlin considers a serious danger, to the waning effectiveness of economic sanctions from the West as a deterrent. All of it builds to a prediction: Putin ‘is unlikely to invade western Ukraine but can relatively easily split the country in half along the Dnieper [River] and establish a permanent buffer zone between Europe and Russia, as well as a land bridge to Crimea.’

“Since we’re making predictions, I’ll propose my own: If Alperovitch is right and Putin launches an invasion of Ukraine, the United States and NATO will raise rhetorical hell about it from Washington and Brussels, but they will do nothing to stop it militarily. And that, as Alperovitch points out, ‘would put a permanent end to all talk of Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, or any Central Asian states of ever joining NATO.’

“… a Russian invasion of Ukraine would propel the United States and the world into an era of geopolitical risk unlike any we’ve seen in several decades. And if Alperovitch is correct, that era may be poised to begin in a matter of weeks.”

Deutsche Welle reported on December 26:

“Russia announced on Saturday that 10,000 troops had finished month-long military drills near Ukraine and would be returning to their permanent bases.”

Whether this is even true and whether, if true, this is only another ploy by Putin to calm the West a little while secretly planning an invasion will have to be seen. In any event, the Bible prophesies that Russia and Ukraine will “unite” in some way and ultimately fight against a mighty European power bloc .

Russia’s Ambitions in the Balkans

Foreign Affairs wrote on December 27:

“This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the beginning of the Yugoslav wars, Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II…. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is seizing his opportunity and using the former Yugoslav states as the next battlefield to weaken NATO and the European Union.

“Russia’s goal in the Balkans is to ramp up tensions so that it can position itself as the sole regional mediator and security guarantor. It simultaneously aims to demonstrate that neither NATO, the EU, nor their members are credible partners for any of the Balkan countries. As Moscow also continues its military buildup near the Ukrainian border, its influence campaign in the Balkans serves as another theater to challenge the West.

“Russia’s efforts have been helped immeasurably by the EU’s weak response. Despite the many years and billions of euros spent preparing the Balkans for EU integration, the effort has stalled. Western Europe was asleep at the wheel the last time war broke out in the Balkans—the stakes are too high for it to ignore the region this time around.”

Europeans “Need” for their  Army

Arab News wrote on December 24:

“The EU is once again at a crossroads that requires bold decisions, in the face of severe cracks from within and relentless external challenges…

“One of the recurring ideas that surfaces among European leaders… is the establishment [of] an independent military force [and] that in international affairs it is no longer enough to concentrate on economic and soft power while relying for hard power on NATO, as that organization does not necessarily provide the answers to an increasingly polarized and conflictual international arena…

“The messy withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan in August has sent a clear message to EU strategists that it is necessary to lead from the front whenever European interests and values do not coincide with those of friends and foes alike….

“One of the EU’s more immediately pressing vulnerabilities was exposed by the deliberate mayhem instigated by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of President Putin, in orchestrating border crossings by refugees who had been residing in his country into Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. This was retaliation for sanctions imposed on Belarus for its brutal crackdown on opposition activists protesting against Lukashenko’s highly questionable electoral victory last year. The EU’s lack of capacity to adequately respond to this type of cynical, hybrid act of aggression was revealing — and this at a time when Russia has been deploying its troops close to its border with Ukraine in a menacing fashion that leaves little room for doubt about Moscow’s true intentions…

“Ursula von der Leyen, the current European Commission president and a former German defense minister, is one high-profile proponent of the idea of an EU military force. In her State of the Union address in September she emphasized the need to reflect on how the mission in Afghanistan had ended so abruptly, in what was a coded criticism of the US and NATO… For her, it is about recognizing that Europe’s geopolitical vulnerabilities demand that it must itself be prepared to help deal with overseas crises, otherwise it will end up having to deal with such crises on its own soil…”

Ultimately, both will happen, but first, a European army will be established soon at the time when we observe the unification of ten European core nations, including, in all likelihood, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, France, Italy, Spain and others.  

Germany’s Fourth Reich?

The Guardian wrote on December 24:

“The head of Poland’s ruling party, Jarosław Kaczyński, has said Germany is trying to turn the EU into a federal ‘German fourth reich’… the head of the Law and Justice party (PiS) said some countries ‘are not enthusiastic at the prospect of a German fourth reich being built on the basis of the EU’…  Kaczyński is also a deputy prime minister. He added that the European court of justice was being used as an ‘instrument’ for federalist ideas.

“… The EU this week said it was launching legal action against Poland for ignoring EU law and undermining judicial independence. Poland has accused the bloc of ‘bureaucratic centralism’.

“During a visit to Warsaw by the new German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, this month, the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said the current Berlin government’s support for EU federalism was ‘utopian and therefore dangerous.’”

Whatever expressions are being used, current developments and biblical prophecy show that Germany and a leader of German or Austrian descent will indeed lead a united Europe under ten nations or groups of nations, and this emerging power bloc will by no means be democratic and freedom-loving. The paradox is that in all likelihood, Poland will be part of that authoritarian and dictatorial beast power.

Kurz Becoming a Global Strategist?

Bloomberg wrote on December30:

“Billionaire Peter Thiel’s investment firm is tapping former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to become a global strategist. Kurz, who resigned under a cloud of controversy in October and remains under investigation for corruption, is set to start his new role at Thiel Capital LLC in the first three months of 2022, he told the Heute newspaper.

“The appointment comes amid multiple criminal probes into Kurz and his inner circle over allegations that he used taxpayer money to plant fabricated public-opinion polls in newspapers to help build his career. He completely withdrew from politics earlier this month, setting off another change in power. Kurz has denied wrongdoing.

“Kurz long cultivated connections to Thiel, a conservative power broker. The German-born venture capitalist — one of the first investors in Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook — has supported Republican candidates in the U.S. and endorsed Donald Trump. Kurz, 35, is looking to move beyond a blitz career in politics that made him the youngest head of government in Europe. He was touted as a pioneer of populist conservative politics on the continent before his downfall.”

“UK and the EU Set to Remain Best of Enemies”

The Guardian wrote on December 25:

“The year 2021 has been marked by a remarkable level of petulance in the UK-EU relationship. The unfortunate reality is that 2022 doesn’t offer much hope of redemption.

“France will hold the rolling presidency of the EU for the first six months, during which Emmanuel Macron will have an election campaign to fight and win against the centre and far-right. Boris Johnson is on his uppers, with a large and vocal wing of the Conservative party frothing over Covid restrictions and a lack of Brexit dividend.

“It is quite hard to imagine a less favourable context for relations to be patched up and mature conversations to be had… New German chancellor Olaf Scholz attended his first EU summit just a week ago, but it is yet to be seen whether a date with the British prime minister is even in the diary…”

The relationship between the UK and continental Europe will not improve.

Kamala Harris: Our Democracy Biggest Threat to National Security

The New York Post wrote on December 25:

“During the interview on CBS News ‘Face the Nation,’ host Margaret Brennan asked her about the one national security threat that keeps her up at night worrying. ​‘​Frankly, one of them is our democracy. There is,​ I think, no question in the minds of people who are foreign policy experts that the year 2021 is not the year 2000​,’ she said…

“Later in the interview, she clarified her earlier comment, saying there is a need to ‘fight for the integrity of our democracy.’”

In light of the desired move of the Biden Administration to replace our democracy with a dictatorship—something which Trump admittedly would also have liked to do—note that Christ said this: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

The article continued:

“Harris also refused to take any responsibility for the debacle surrounding the US military pullout from Afghanistan in August, instead blaming the Trump administration for inking an agreement with the Taliban…”

She said this: ““I strongly believe that had we broken that agreement, we would be talking about the war in Afghanistan and American troops in Afghanistan, and we’re not talking about that. I don’t regret that…”

No, but we are talking about the unprotected tens of thousands of people whom Biden had left behind, not to mention valuable and sophisticated American equipment and armory,  and the terrible atrocities of the Taliban being committed to the women of Afghanistan. Kamala Harris seems to be living in a dream world… and it‘s a dangerous one.

Fauci’s Method of Coercion

Fox News wrote on December 27:

“Fauci said that taking masks off while on an airplane is ‘not something we should even be considering.’… ‘A vaccine requirement for a person getting on the plane is just another level of getting people to have a mechanism that would spur them to get vaccinated; namely, you can’t get on a plane unless you’re vaccinated, which is just another one of the ways of getting requirements, whatever that might be,’ Fauci said. ‘So I mean, anything that could get people more vaccinated would be welcome…”

He is continuing to show his true colors, but many Americans are sound asleep, without recognizing the real danger of his ideas.

Trump’s Push for Vaccines

The Washington Post wrote on December 23:

“In August, Trump called extra vaccine doses a ‘moneymaking operation,’ and in September he said that he ‘probably’ would not get a booster. He also did not make public that he had received his first two doses during his presidency. But this week he became a vocal advocate for the shots — while maintaining an opposition to vaccine mandates.

“On Sunday, during an event with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Trump revealed to a crowd of supporters that he had gotten a booster shot. He was immediately booed, but the former president told his supporters to knock it off. ‘Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,’ Trump scolded, waving his hand dismissively. ‘If you don’t want to take it, you shouldn’t be forced to take it — no mandates,’ Trump said. ‘But take credit, because we saved tens of millions of lives.’

“Then, during an interview published Wednesday by the Daily Wire, Trump told conservative commentator Candace Owens that the coronavirus vaccines are ‘one of the greatest achievements of mankind.’ Owens tried to cast doubt on this, saying that ‘more people have died’ since the vaccines became available and calling their efficacy into question. Trump interrupted her. ‘Oh no, the vaccines work,’ Trump told her. ‘The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. But it’s still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you’re protected.’

“He told Owens he takes credit for the ‘incredible speed’ with which the vaccines were developed, and he said that ‘people aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.’

“On Monday, O’Reilly said during an interview with NewsNation that the reason Trump had not discussed his booster status before was that he was afraid of alienating his anti-vaccine supporters. O’Reilly said he reassured Trump of his pro-vaccine views ahead of the event, telling him that the fact that vaccines were developed during his presidency should be part of his pitch to voters…

“Trump, however, told Fox News on Tuesday evening that it is tough for him to be ‘overly critical’ of Biden after the president praised his administration for the vaccines’ rollout. Earlier that day, Biden credited Trump with spurring the development of the vaccines, a day after the former president revealed he had gotten a booster… ‘I think he did something very good,’ Trump added. ‘It has to be a process of healing in this country, and that will help a lot.’…

“Still, the former president’s promotion of the shots puts him at odds with a large portion of his base. The widest divide in vaccination rates in the United States is between Democrats and Republicans. Polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that, for every unvaccinated Democrat or Democratic-leaning independent, there are about three unvaccinated Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. Even among those who have already been vaccinated, Republicans are less likely to say they will get a booster…”

Many of Trump’s comments about the effectiveness of “his” vaccines, as underlined in the article above, are demonstrably false or misleading. O’Reilly, no stranger to controversy, also reported that Trump was hurt by the disapproval from the crowd regarding his vaccination push, but that he consoled and encouraged Trump to continue his pitch to voters (compare the Daily Beast, dated December 21). O’Reilly also said that Trump will “definitely run in 2024.” O’ Reilly, who was fired in April of 2017 from Fox News for alleged sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior, may turn out to be one of Trump’s extremely bad counselors [as Dr. Fauci had turned out to be]. Many wrote on Breitbart that they had supported Trump in the past, but now, they have had it with him.

In any event, it makes no difference as to who is leading the USA, as the prophesied downfall of the USA is inevitable. This is because of the abominable sins of the nation, from the top down, while there is absolutely no sign of sincere and deep repentance of the people and their leaders.

Far Right against Trump

Mediaite wrote on December 26:

“Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones lit into former President Donald Trump on Saturday for his recent statements supporting the Covid-19 vaccinations.

“‘This is an emergency Christmas Day warning to President Trump,’ Jones said… ‘You are either completely ignorant about the so-called vaccine gene therapy you helped ram through with Operation Warp Speed, or you are the most evil man who has ever lived to push this toxic poison on the public and to attack your constituents when they simply try to save their lives and the lives of others… What you told Candace Owens is nothing but a raft of dirty lies,’ Jones added…

“Trump has angered many on the far-right with his recent comments on the vaccines…”

Trump can’t afford to lose the votes of the “far right.”

Hypocrisy of Trump Hotels

The Week wrote on December 24:

“The Trump Grill, located inside Trump Tower in New York City, refused to allow a group of vaccine mandate protesters to eat at the restaurant on Thursday after they failed to provide proof of vaccination…

“While Trump has come around on promoting the COVID-19 vaccines, he’s maintained that ‘there can’t be mandates and all those things.’ As he further put it to Fox News this week, ‘The mandate will destroy people’s lives — it destroys people’s lives, just as the vaccine saves people.’

“Trump Hotels, however, says on its website that its Manhattan location requires proof of vaccination ‘in accordance with the most recent local government mandate.’”

The Sun added on December 25:

“‘We came to Trump Tower because we thought Donald Trump was supposed to be for America, he said he’s against vaccine mandates,’ one unmasked protester said. ‘I thought as a man, who’s for America, he would stand up, pay a $1,000 fine, and let us eat freely – you know the man’s a billionaire, he can afford a $1,000 fine. It would make him look good. But instead, he’s had his people not serve us and it just exposed him as a fraud,’ the anti-vaxxer said. ‘All talk but no action.’…

“‘Prove to us that we are a threat,’ one protester said to the cop, while another said: ‘The burden of proof is on them because they are assuming that we are a threat because we don’t have a vaccine. Well, prove to me that we are a threat.’ The cop explained that Trump Grill didn’t have to prove anything to the protesters.”

So, it appears that the restaurant even called the police. However one views it, Trump’s position in this matter, which is viewed by some of his supporters as clearly hypocritical, becomes more and more controversial and problematic for him.

Biden’s Approval Rating Really Bad… but not as Bad as Trump’s was

Fox News wrote on December 27:

“Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. But the president’s numbers started sagging in August… There is a slight uptick in some of the most recent surveys. Biden stood at 47% approval and 51% disapproval in the latest FOX Business poll, 48%-52% in the most recent CNN survey and slightly back above water at 48%-46% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. But his average heading into the end of his first year in the White House is nothing to brag about.

“The approval rating is a key indicator of a president’s political strength nationwide and… [it] has also long been a much-watched indicator ahead of the midterm elections, and Biden’s flagging numbers could spell major trouble for the Democrats as they try to hold on to their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate in the 2022 elections…

“Biden’s numbers lag behind recent predecessors at this point in their presidencies. Former President George W. Bush stood at 84%-12% [sic] in late December 2001, with his numbers skyrocketing as the country rallied around the government in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton stood at 50%-45% and 54%-40%, respectively, at the end of their first years in office. The only recent president whose poll numbers were worse than Biden’s at this point during a White House tenure was Donald Trump, who stood at 39%-56% as 2017 was coming to a close.

“The Democrats suffered disastrous midterm elections in 1994 under Clinton and in 2010 under Obama, but both Democratic presidents rebounded and won reelection two years later. House Republicans were shellacked in the 2018 midterms during Trump’s presidency, losing their eight-year-long majority in the chamber…”

Police Officers too Quick to Fire?

The LA Times Newsletter reported on December 27:

“… the Los Angeles Police Department killed a 14-year-old girl at a Burlington clothing store in North Hollywood last week, only a few days before Christmas… The teenager was in a fitting room with her mother trying on dresses for a quinceañera…  Officers were responding to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at the store. When they arrived, authorities encountered a man they said was assaulting someone, and they opened fire, according to the LAPD. It was not immediately clear what prompted the officers to shoot.

“The man was taken into custody and died at the scene, a spokesperson for the department said. When officers fired their weapons, their gunfire penetrated a wall, which killed the girl in the dressing room. Authorities said that they found a metal cable next to the suspect whom officers were confronting, but that no gun was recovered.

“The case has caused an uproar, with many citing the shooting as the latest example of officers being too quick to draw and fire their weapons…”

In the Millennium, such tragedies won’t occur, as there will not be any police officers with weapons shooting at people…

Canada’s Privacy Intrusion

The New York Post wrote on December 25:

“Canada’s federal government admitted to secretly surveilling its population’s movements during the COVID-19 lockdown by tracking 33 million phones… Canada’s entire population totals 38 million…

“‘Evidence is coming in from many sources, from countries around the world, that what was seen as a huge surveillance surge — post 9/11 — is now completely upstaged by pandemic surveillance,’ David Lyon [said], author of ‘Pandemic Surveillance’ and the former director of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University in Ontario…

It can indeed be assumed that the governments of other “democratic” countries engage in the same kind of abominable “Orwellian” conduct.

Israeli Airstrike Sets Port in Syria Ablaze

The Guardian wrote on December 28:

“An Israeli airstrike hit Syria’s Latakia port before dawn on Tuesday, sparking a fire that lit up the Mediterranean seafront in the second such attack on the cargo hub this month, Syrian state media reported. Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out airstrikes on its neighbour, mostly targeting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters. But it is only the second time it has hit Latakia port, in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community…

“Pictures released by Sana showed firefighters hosing stacks of blazing containers that lit up the night sky… the British-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the cargo was ‘arms and munitions’ that had detonated in ‘powerful explosions that were felt across the city of Latakia and its suburbs’… The Syrian government’s other major ally [in addition to Iran], Russia, operates a naval base in the port of Tartus, 53 miles (85km) to the south.

“So far this year, Israel has targeted Syria nearly 30 times, killing 130 people including five civilians and 125 loyalist fighters… On 7 December it carried out a strike targeting an Iranian arms shipment in Latakia, its first on the port since the start of the civil war… According to a report by the Israeli army, it hit about 50 targets in Syria in 2020.

“In the deadliest operation since the strikes began, Israel killed 57 government troops and allied fighters in eastern Syria in January this year. The Israeli military has defended the strikes as a necessary measure to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep… In a shadow war, Israel has targeted suspected Iranian military facilities in Syria and mounted a sabotage campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Iran has been a key supporter of the Syrian government in the decade-old conflict. It finances, arms and commands a number of Syrian and foreign militia groups fighting alongside the regular armed forces, chief among them Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah. The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.”

The violent controversy between Israel and Iran will continue….

Bird Flu in Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on December 27:

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with security officials on Monday to discuss an epidemic of bird flu that has killed vast numbers of wild and domestic fowl in Israel in recent days… The Agriculture Ministry is culling hundreds of thousands of birds [mainly chickens and turkeys], in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease in animals and ‘prevent the infection of the human population,’ the statement said…

“Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg called the outbreak ‘the worst blow to wildlife in the country’s history.’”

Israel 365 added on December 27:

“On Sunday, avian experts from the Nature and Parks Authority counted some 5,000 cranes at the Hula Lake Reserve in the Jezreel Valley in the north of Israel that had died from an outbreak of the  H5N1 virus, known as the avian flu. Another 250 dead cranes were seen in the Hula Valley outside of the reserve, and a further 30 were documented elsewhere, mainly in the Jezreel Valley. “

More Nonsense—Contacting Aliens

Newsmax wrote on December 26:

“NASA is reportedly hiring two dozen theologians to take part in a program at Princeton University to assess how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets, and how that would impact ideas about creation and God.

“In 2008, the Vatican’s chief astronomer said there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of ‘extraterrestrial brothers’ perhaps more evolved than humans…

“Jose Gabriel Funes, who heads the Vatican Observatory… told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in an interview last week… ‘How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere,’… explaining the large number of galaxies with their own planets made this possible.”

Of course, if one believes in the ungodly and blasphemous fairy tale of evolution, then everything seems to be possible. But all of this keeps the false notion in place that there are aliens on other planets, not realizing that UFO “sightings” do not prove the existence of extraterrestrial aliens, but they could be fraudulent; simply natural phenomena; or, most likely, part of Satan’s attempts to deceive mankind in preparation for his fight against the returning “alien” Jesus Christ. Note the next article.

The Guardian wrote on December 26:

“From mysterious discs over Slemish Mountain in County Antrim to strange images spotted on CCTV, unexplained sightings increased in Northern Ireland again last year.

“UFO sighting reports… include unidentified flying objects (UFOs); aerial phenomena; unidentified aerial phenomena; lights in the sky; and aliens and extraterrestrials.

“Nick Pope, who used to investigate reports of UFO sightings for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), said… he believed the true number of sightings was much higher.”

We can expect that more and more of these “sightings,” “encounters” and “experiences” will be reported as we are nearing the time of the Great Tribulation and Christ’s Second Coming. Compare  Luke 21:11.

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.

Christians Refuse to Celebrate Christmas

Israel 365 wrote on December 20:

“It’s time to explain why many of Jesus’ followers stop celebrating Christmas. It’s done out of a deep desire to respect Jesus and God’s Word. No longer celebrating Christmas can be easily misunderstood and challenging for one’s family, relatives, and congregation. It is usually perceived as if one is no longer celebrating the birth of Jesus, his life and God’s great gift to the world. With this in mind, why are more and more of Jesus’ followers giving up Christmas celebrations?

“The reason that many stop celebrating Christmas, is not that they try to minimize the Son of God. Rather, they do it out of respect for him. To understand this question, some background history is needed… A clear and concise source for the history of Christmas is bibelfragan.com (The Bible Question):..

“‘During the first 300 years of the history of the Christian Church, no one celebrated the birth of Jesus whatsoever. The reason was primarily threefold: Firstly, the date for the birth of Jesus is not given anywhere in the Bible. Secondly, in the Bible, only wicked people celebrated their birthdays. Thirdly, in the pagan Roman Empire (which was occupying Israel at the time of the beginning of the Church) there was a common tradition to celebrate the birthdays of the pagan gods.

“‘… In Rome, the great god was called Saturn. In the middle of the winter, there was a long celebration held in his honor. This feast was called ‘Saturnalia’ and lasted from December 17–24. It was a feast when one ate and drank, gathered friends together, and gave gifts to one another. December 25th was the last and greatest day of Saturnalia.

“‘During the first 300 years of the Roman Empire, sun worship had begun to spread from the East—from Syria and Persia—and reached large parts of the Empire. Already in ancient Babylon, people had worshiped the sun. One of the highest deities among the Babylonians was the sun god Shamash. The most important day in the solar religion was the day when the sun was ‘born’ again and rose in the heavens, after it had been sinking closer to the horizon and the days had become shorter and shorter in the fall and early winter. When the winter solstice occurred on December 25, it was celebrated with a great feast.

“‘Eastern philosophers and mystics preached about the divine nature of the sun and immigrants from the East brought their faith to the West. This resulted in the solar religion getting ever more followers in the Roman Empire. Then it happened that a Roman emperor won a great military victory after praying to the sun god for victory. As a thank you, he elevated the ‘Invincible Sun’ (Sol Invictus) above all the other gods of Rome. In the year 273 CE, he had a magnificent temple built for the sun. This temple was dedicated on the birthday of the sun—December 25.

“‘Barely 50 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine became an adherent of the Christian doctrine. He was a former sun worshipper and the new religion presented a problem. What should he do with the annual festival for the sun? To begin with, the Church tried to have him ban the sun religion and its December festival, but he refused. If he banned the popular feast, conflicts could arise between the followers of the different religions. Finally, a compromise was made. December 25 was the winter solstice, the day when the sun was born again. Why not transfer the worship of the masses from the sun god to the “sun of righteousness,” “the light of the world”—Christ?… If one “Christianized” the festival of the sun god, by instead celebrating the birth of Jesus on that day, perhaps conflict could be avoided. In addition, many people would automatically join the new religion.

“‘Consequently, the Romans were allowed to continue celebrating the large feast on December 25, but the sun god was removed and Christ was put there instead. And, once Rome had accepted December 25 as the “birthday” of Jesus, there was no difficulty for the feast to spread to the rest of the Roman Empire.

“‘In Constantinople, they started to celebrate Christmas year 380 CE; in Asia Minor, year 382; in Egypt, around year 430; and in Jerusalem, around year 440. This spread up through Europe, where the “sun-turning feast” had been celebrated since ancient times in most of the countries. Also, in the far North, something called “Jul” [still the Swedish name for Christmas today], a midwinter feast was celebrated. The word jul some claim comes from the Anglo-Saxon hweol which means “wheel,” symbolic of the divine sun and its path around the earth… When Christianity arrived, the ancient northern “Jul” was Christianized and ever since then we have continued to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25…’

“There is another aspect to the story as well. The church adopted the holiday within a larger paradigm shift, a process of intentionally cutting itself off from its Jewish roots and God’s own calendar, in order to establish a separate identity and gain cultural influence in Rome. The majority of today’s Christians are probably unaware of this history. Some, who do know it, feel that the pagan origin of Christmas is something in the past and of no current significance. They feel that the history might be unfortunate, or that the Church did right in Christianizing the feast, but maintain that Christians who celebrate Christmas do not worship idols, but simply celebrate Jesus and spend quality time with family.

“… many… see the nature of Christmas as ultimately irreconcilable with Biblical faith for several serious reasons. It is primarily because Scripture teaches strongly against such syncretism, i.e. to ‘Christianize,’ or appropriate, pagan rites (see for instance Deut. 12:1–5, 30–31)… It is a question, not about how we feel about the subject, but about how God feels about it, and what He has said in His Word… The pagan elements of Christmas are far from absent… nearly every Christmas custom has pagan roots… the dark principalities that once were worshipped through the holiday are still a reality in our world…”

But those who do not WANT to know will not care… Please read our free booklet “Don’t Keep Christmas,” and note our two-part series on Christmas celebrations in this and the previous Q&A. Also view our new StandingWatch program in this regard, titled,“Why Won’t Some Christians Keep Christmas this Year?”.

Biden tested on China, Russia and Iran

Newsmax wrote on December 17:

“There is ‘every indication’ that Russian President Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping are coordinating their strategies ‘more closely than ever before,’ and that puts the United States in a ‘crisis situation,’ former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said… Bolton said he believes Putin is sensing weakness in President Joe Biden, and that leaves the United States ‘vulnerable.’

“Meanwhile, Russia is laying demands for a sweeping new security deal with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including a written agreement that the alliance won’t expand east to Russia, and Bolton said he thinks that the move is another way Putin and Moscow are testing Biden’s administration. ‘I think this is a real test for NATO. This is something that the Biden administration will be judged for. If it gives up on this point it will be a terrible signal not just to Russia but China and our other adversaries around the world.’…

“The former ambassador has also recently written that he believes Biden is losing the contest of wills with Iran over nuclear weapons… Bolton said he’s worried that Biden is so determined to revive the [Iran] deal, which was struck while he was vice president under President Barack Obama, that he will make ‘very dangerous concessions’ that will cause problems for the United States, Israel, and other allies in the Middle East.”

So far, Biden has failed just about every test.

Russian-Chinese Financial Collaboration

The Russian government’s controlled RT wrote on September 15:

“Both Russia and China are said to be increasingly looking to move away from using the US dollar as the main currency of international trade, instead using their own denominations to underpin the booming volume of Moscow-Beijing trade.

“Russia and China will develop shared financial structures to enable them to deepen economic ties in a way that foreign states will be unable to influence, the Kremlin has announced following talks between the countries’ leaders.”

Russia’s Demands and Military Threats

The Moscow Times reported on December 20:

“Russia demands immediate talks with the United States on security guarantees from NATO… while President Vladimir Putin’s chief arms control negotiator warned of a ‘military response’ if the alliance continues to step on Moscow’s ‘sore spots.’…

“In its list of demands published Friday, Russia demanded that the U.S. not establish any new military bases in ex-Soviet countries and that NATO guarantee to block these states’ future memberships. Russia also wants NATO to abandon all military activities in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region and Central Asia. Additionally, Russia wants NATO to pledge not to deploy troops in former-communist member states Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltics without Moscow’s consent.”

The article also pointed out:

“The United States has responded to Russia’s demands… that it would not negotiate without input from Europe. The EU has rejected Russia’s bid to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. European officials have in recent days signaled a willingness to negotiate with Moscow, however. ‘We need to solve the current tensions on the diplomatic level,’ the Financial Times quoted Germany’s new defense minister Christine Lambrecht as saying.”

Will Germany Confront Russia?

The Week wrote on December 17:

“Germany has long had a Russia problem. Even before their unification under the Hohenzollerns in 1870, German principalities struggled to deal with their giant neighbor to the east. In 1863, at the beginning of his long stint in power, the legendary statesman Otto von Bismarck quipped, ‘The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.’ But despite interludes of stability, Germany hasn’t quite figured out how to make its agreements, both formal and informal, stick.

“Now, time may be running out…  Germany may hope to muddle through, neither conceding the former Soviet sphere of influence to Russia nor imposing painful economic and perhaps military consequences. But Putin’s ambitions won’t let them avoid the choice forever. As with his predecessor Angela Merkel, Scholz’s ambivalence about Russia follows domestic opinion…  Germans overwhelmingly want more co-operative relations between Berlin and Moscow. At the same time, Russian provocations have grown harder to ignore. Beyond the Ukraine situation, Germans were outraged by Russian agents’ 2019 murder of a former Chechen fighter in Berlin. Just this week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced the expulsion of two Russian diplomats as punishment for that offense.

“Despite their hopes for a middle way, Scholz and the German public need to decide what they’re willing to tolerate from Russia — and what they can hope to prevent… Russia looms larger in the German mind than most Americans realize… the German and Russian economies are also closely linked… [Russia] is an important market for German exports and major supplier of energy. That’s why Scholz was silent about the planned Nordstream II pipeline in his speech on Monday… [In] 2014, Merkel sharply condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The problem is that nothing much has [followed.] Like Merkel, Scholz has expressed his opposition to Russian encroachment on Ukraine as a matter of principle. What he hasn’t done is spell out the consequences he’s willing to impose…

“To be fair, the coercive measures at Scholz’s disposal are limited… Germany and its partners can’t expect much military help from the United States, either as the Biden administration has made clear we won’t fight for Ukraine. Nor could we, realistically… With the American presence in Europe receding… Berlin enjoys more flexibility in choosing its Russia policy than at any time since the end of World War II. Doing so, however, requires a clarity about its goals, resources, and principles… In seeking inspiration for a new Ostpolitik, Scholz could do worse than asking what Bismarck would do. But Olaf Scholz is no Bismarck.”

He certainly is no “Bismarck,” who was also called the “Iron Chancellor.” Not much can be expected from Scholz and his new government when it comes to opposing Russia. It will require a strong leader of German or Austrian descent who will do just that… but with terrible and disastrous consequences. Scholz is not that leader.

Friedrich Merz new CDU Party-Chief

AFP and The Local wrote on December 17:

“Friedrich Merz, a die-hard opponent of Angela Merkel within Germany’s conservative CDU, was elected party chief on Friday, marking a new direction after its disastrous defeat in September’s election.

“Merz, a 66-year-old member of the Bundestag and former MEP… [walked] away with 62.1 percent of the vote share. Merz will replace Merkel ally Armin Laschet, who was forced to announce his resignation after leading the CDU-CSU bloc to its worst-ever result in the September general election.

“… the election of Merz marks a decisive shift away from the cautious, centre-leaning politics of the Merkel era. As a staunch right-winger, he was one of 130 conservative MPs to vote against repealing a law change to make rape in marriage a criminal offence in 1997. He has also been a vocal opponent of a proposed wealth tax to off-set the impact of the Covid crisis on the poorest in society…

“A millionaire and corporate lawyer by trade, Merz had previously been pushed out of politics altogether by a power struggle with Merkel in the 2000s before returning when she resigned as head of the CDU in 2018. He has since lost out twice in his quest to become party leader, beaten in both cases by candidates preferring a more centrist course and continuity with the Merkel era.”

Bild Online commented on December 17 that Merz’ victory is at the same time an expression of disapproval for Merkel, and that with Merz, Chancellor Olaf Scholz will face the strongest and persistent leader of the opposition. The paper also opinionated that the role of Chancellor may now be in reach for Merz. In his first interview with Bild Online after his election as CDU Party Chief, Merz stated that new Health Minister Lauterbach (SPD) is prone to very strong exaggerations (“sehr starke Übertreibungen”).  

Germany’s Persecution of Christians

The Daily Mail wrote on December 17:

“Hate crimes targeting Christians in Germany have nearly trebled in a year amid a wave of religious discrimination across Europe… Overall, hate crime in Germany rose by 19 per cent last year. .. On Germany, the [Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance against Christians in Europe] OIDAC report says: ‘Freedom of expression has been limited in Germany when it comes to discussions about gender, marriage, bioethics, and sexuality.’…

“A study by Matthias Revers and Richard Traunmüller at the Goethe University Frankfurt found that a third of German students are in favour of banning controversial books from the student library. Meanwhile between a third and a half of university students would not allow a controversial speaker on campus.

“Gynaecologist Michael Kiworr was blocked from speaking at Gottingen University about abortion after being invited by Christian student group Reformatio 21.The group Alternative Linke Liste Göttingen staged protests and forced the university to rescind the invitation. The move was criticised by The Professor’s Forum, an 800-member strong association of academics in Germany. They said: ‘There are frequent incidents in which aggressively appearing political groups sabotage the right to freedom of expression.’”’

For quite a while, Germany has severely restricted, if not outright prohibited, the pursuit of numerous liberties, including the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of expression, assembly, movement and the exercise of religion, just to name a few.

“The Year of the New Normal Fascists”

The Consent Factory wrote on December 18:

“Here in Europe, things are particularly fascist. One by one, New Normal countries are rolling out social-segregation systems, ordering ‘lockdowns’ of ‘the Unvaccinated,’ and otherwise persecuting those who refuse to conform to official New Normal ideology…

“In New Normal Germany, ‘the Unvaccinated’ are under de facto house arrest. We are banned from society. We are banned from traveling. We are banned from protesting. Our writings are censored. We’re demonized and dehumanized by the New Normal government, the state and corporate media, and the New Normal masses on a daily basis…”

 According to new left-wing German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, mandatory vaccinations should be enforced as soon as possible, but he does not believe they will be enforced as early as January!!!!

According to reports from Germany which we have received, more and more people get Corona, although [or because?] they had been “fully” vaccinated.

New Measures in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 21:

“Germany’s federal and state leaders on Tuesday agreed to impose contact restrictions — including for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals – starting next week. The regulations — which come into effect ‘at the latest’ on December 28 — are aimed to dissuade people from holding and attending large New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“… a maximum of 10 people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 would be allowed to attend a private gathering. In cases when an unvaccinated person is present, only one other household would be able to attend. The new capacity limits apply to both indoor and outdoor celebrations. Access to restaurants remains limited to people who could provide proof of vaccination or recovery…

“Starting on December 28, spectators will be banned from sporting events, cultural shows, concerts and other large public events…  the German government is also preparing for the event that more drastic measures could be necessary next year… German lawmakers in the Bundestag will also debate whether to make COVID vaccines mandatory for the general public — and how they will implement it.”

These restrictions—which did not work under Merkel either—show Germany’s descent into full blown dictatorship, and it will only get worse. But most Germans are totally blind.

The Global Decline of Democracy

Axios wrote on December 16:

‘Democratic governance is sliding backward in the U.S. and much of the world, according to a series of recent reports…

“Democratic decline stems in part from the pandemic, as governments pursue policies to control the virus that involve restricting civil liberties like free movement and as citizens become frustrated that those policies haven’t yet brought an end to COVID-19… Authoritarian countries like China are taking advantage of democratic woes to tout their own systems…”

We have reported about this development for a long time.

Pope Francis’ Fight with Conservatives Continues

Breitbart wrote on December 18:

“Pope Francis doubled down Saturday on his efforts to quash the old Latin Mass, forbidding the celebration of some sacraments according to the ancient rite in his latest salvo against conservatives and traditionalists.

“The Vatican’s liturgy office issued a document that clarified some questions that arose after Francis in July took the extraordinary step of reimposing restrictions on celebrating the so-called Tridentine Rite. Francis’ July move outraged conservatives and traditionalists, given it amounted to a direct reversal of one of the singular policies of Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict in 2007 had relaxed the restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass in a bid to reconcile with a breakaway group of traditionalists who were opposed to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Francis said in July he had to reverse course because Benedict’s 2007 decision had divided the church and been exploited by conservatives on ideological grounds.

“The Vatican repeated that rationale on Saturday in explaining the need for the new restrictions. The new decree outlaws using the ancient ritual for the sacraments of Confirmation and ordaining new priests, and will make it exceedingly difficult for traditionalists to access the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage and First Communion according to the old rite. Archbishop Arthur Roche, prefect of the Vatican’s liturgy office, said the restrictions were needed to promote unity in the church and unity in the celebration of its sacraments.”

Far from creating unity, the division within the Catholic Church is widened. Also note the next article.

Vatican Apologizes to LGBT Community

ABC News wrote on December 17:

“A Vatican official apologized to a leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group for having yanked a reference to it on the Vatican website, drawing immediate praise Monday from the group as an ‘historic’ move to repair the painful rift between the Catholic hierarchy and the gay community…

“The flip-flop on the reference to New Ways Ministry on the Synod website is indicative of the mixed messages the Holy See over the years, and Pope Francis himself, have sent about the Vatican’s position on gays and their place in the church.

“Francis made international headlines in 2013 when he quipped ‘Who am I to judge?’ about a purportedly gay priest. He followed up over the years with unprecedented gestures of papal outreach to the gay and transsexual communities… But he has also upheld official church teaching… asserting that the Catholic Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions since God ‘cannot bless sin.’

“In the aftermath of the Synod’s original removal of the webinar video, New Ways Ministry revealed that Francis had written the group two letters this year commending its work. That was significant… “

Based on the clear Word of God, practicing homosexuality is sin, and we are to judge this accordingly. The Vatican’s flip-flop is for the sole purpose of embracing and keeping as many of the “faithful” in their fold, no matter what their background, preferences and persuasions. This stands in sharp contrast to Francis’s attack on traditionalists and conservatives [see previous article].

Abortion by Mail

CNN wrote on December 16:

“The US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is lifting a requirement that patients seeking medication abortion had to pick up the medication in-person, instead allowing pills to be sent by mail. The move comes as the Supreme Court is poised to undo its abortion rights precedent.

“Relaxing the federal restrictions on medication abortion is one thing that the Biden administration could do to mitigate the fallout from a Roe v. Wade reversal… Medication abortion, in which a pregnancy is ended in a two-pill process, has become a prevalent approach to terminating a pregnancy.”

Whatever it takes to promote the left-wing liberal agenda of the Biden Administration.

BBC News added on December 17:

“The change is… allowing women to receive the pill by post from a certified medical worker or pharmacy and receive abortion consultations on the internet…

“…the move will be overridden by 19 states that already have rules banning mail-order abortion pills.”

Biden’s $4.91 Trillion “Build Back Better Act” Doomed?

Breitbart wrote on December 19:

“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said on Sunday he will oppose the $4.91 trillion Build Back Better Act, effectively killing the ‘mammoth’ legislation… Manchin, the West Virginia moderate Democrat, serves as the critical swing vote in the Senate for Democrats to pass the bill through the Senate…

“[Since] Democrats only have a one-member majority, it would require the approval of two swing votes, Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). ‘This is a no on this legislation,’ Manchin said…”

Thanks to Manchin for standing up for what he believes and for saving America, at least for now, from another terrible increase of national debt. Of course, the backlash against Manchin was predictable, but the mean viciousness was surpassing.

Trump: American Jews Don’t Like Israel

i24News and the Algemeiner reported on December 17:

“… former US president Donald Trump [said] American Jews, especially those in positions of power in the media… ‘either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.’

“Trump also had harsh and controversial words for the New York Times. ‘I mean you look at the New York Times, the New York Times hates Israel. Hates them,’ he said. ‘And they’re Jewish people that run the New York Times.’

“The statements garnered condemnation from multiple officials across the political spectrum.”

In fact, Trump was accused of making antisemitic statements, which is of course utter nonsense, given the fact that his son-in-law is Jewish and that his daughter converted to Judaism. According to the Guardian, dated December 18, Trump also said: “… the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country.” Trump also allegedly criticized Netanyahu for congratulating Biden right away after the “rigged” election.

Trump might very well be correct, which might be evidenced by the biblical prophecy in the Book of Zechariah that Judah will fight against Jerusalem. In addition, it is becoming common and convenient to label opposing views as being antisemitic. Note the next article.

Don’t Dare to Express Your Belief

JTA wrote on December 16:

“Following a court order, a Dutch lawmaker removed social media messages in which he drew parallels between COVID-19 measures and the treatment of Jews by the Nazis… The previous day, a judge in Amsterdam issued an injunction ordering the deletion of the content, prescribing a fine of 25,000 euros – or $28,000 – for each day that the content is still online.

“The judge said that [Thierry] Baudet’s tweets ‘contribute to a climate in which antisemitism is encouraged.’… Speech that equates to Holocaust denial is illegal in many European countries, though not in the Netherlands, where some forms of denial are prosecuted under laws against hate speech.

“In one of the deleted tweets, from Nov. 14, Baudet called the unvaccinated ‘the new Jews’… Two days later, Baudet posted a picture of a child unable to attend a seasonal holiday procession juxtaposed with a picture of a child wearing a yellow star during the Holocaust in Poland. Later last month he posted a sign requiring vaccination certificates at the entrance to the museum on the grounds of the Buchenwald former concentration camp…

“‘I am extremely sad that I am not allowed to express what I believe in, and I will not accept it. We will definitely be appealing,’ Baudet wrote…”

To even suggest that Baudet’s statements amount to antisemitism is beyond ridiculous. Neither can Baudet’s statements be remotely compared with a Holocaust denial. It should be obvious that just the opposite is the case!

Transgender Rights and Persecution in the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on December 20:

“The Scout Association has apologised to a campaigner after investigating her for two years for ‘misgendering’ someone on Twitter.

“Assistant cub scout leader Maya Forstater inadvertently called a bearded transgender scout leader ‘he’ rather than ‘they’ in 2019. This prompted an inquiry, which found Miss Forstater had brought the organisation into disrepute.”

Along the same lines, the Daily Mail published this article by Andrew Pierce on December 19:

“Hounded out of her job for her feminist views in the trans debate, academic Kathleen Stock is an archetypal victim of cancel culture. Stock, who is gay and opposes ‘self ID’ for trans people, which makes it easier for biological males to enter women-only spaces, was until recently Professor of Philosophy at Sussex University.

“Then balaclava-wearing trans-rights activists forced her out of her job by running a vindictive campaign, brandishing signs demanding for her to resign and, they hoped, ending her career.”

This scenario is a really peculiar one. The author of the article is homosexual, commenting on a lesbian who is being harassed by the transexual lobby. What a combination…

Big Trouble Ahead for Boris Johnson

The Sun wrote on December 17:

“The scale of the Tories’ by-election ­disaster dwarfs even Downing Street’s ­grimmest nightmares. A 23,000 majority [was] blown away in a super-safe Leave-backing North Shropshire seat the Conservatives had held for most of two centuries. The winners, by a mile, [are] the Lib-Dem ultra-Remainders…

“Governments often lose mid-term by-elections, but this calamity is of a different order. It is the dire consequence of Boris Johnson sneakily trying to bend rules… [It is the] predictable result of illicit parties and other scandals…

“Elected by a landslide, then boosted by his world-beating jabs programme, the PM has in a few bewildering weeks shredded a huge amount of the goodwill and authority he enjoyed. His poll leads have gone, handing ill-deserved hope to Labour’s rabble and their wooden, opportunist leader Keir Starmer…

“Boris must… develop a credible long-term plan to live with Covid — and not be plunged by overwrought scientists into lockdowns with every new variant. [He must deal with the] soaring cost of living — with prices rocketing and our vast tax burden going in precisely the wrong direction. Crime, too. The illegal migrants cheating the system by sailing across the Channel.

“We fear [we] are in for a tough few months. They need a PM focused on their lives, not distracted by crisis after crisis as his enemies drag him ever deeper into the quicksand.”

Will Boris Johnson accept the challenge and step up to the plate of true leadership?

Britain’s “Brexit Mastermind” Quits over Corona Restrictions—Boris Johnson in Big Trouble

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“BORIS Johnson was rocked by a fresh crisis last night as his Brexit mastermind quit the Cabinet. Lord Frost — one of his most loyal ministers — sensationally resigned in protest over the direction of the Government. Lord Frost’s walk-out will intensify the pressure on Mr Johnson’s faltering leadership…  Sources said the final straw for [Lord Frost] 56, was last week’s bid to impose Covid passports for pubs and big events as well as his growing ‘disillusionment’ with the ‘direction’ of Tory policy…

“The hammer blow came as Boris planned his fightback after his worst week in charge. Mr Johnson has agreed to fire [“Chief whip” Mark] Spencer… Ministers blame Spencer for last week’s rebellion when 100 Tory MP’s voted against Government Covid pass plans…”

“Lockdowns Do Immense Harm”

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“Lockdowns do immense harm to our livelihoods, mental health and children’s safety, as horrific recent cases prove.

“Our way of life, and our kids’ futures, cannot be endlessly restricted by the constant need to protect a health service supposedly always on the brink… The political price for Boris Johnson if he opts for a new lockdown vote, and the inevitable backbench mutiny, would be massive. That’s a side issue to the damage it would mean for the rest of us.”

It surely would mean that.

Archbishop of Canterbury’s Divisive Comments

The Daily Mail wrote on December 22:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has implied that Jesus would get vaccinated against Covid. Justin Welby suggested that people who refuse to get jabbed are ‘immoral’ as he told people to ‘love one another, as Jesus said’…

“Last month, he was forced to apologise after saying that failure to strike a climate change deal at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow would lead to a ‘genocide’ worse than that committed by the Nazis. …

“And in April, the archbishop was accused of ‘jumping on a woke bandwagon’ after claiming that being a royal is like serving ‘life without parole’ – in words that appeared to signal his support for Harry and Meghan over Buckingham Palace.”

A more ridiculous comment than the one that Jesus would get vaccinated against Corona has rarely been uttered.

Fury Erupts in London over Johnson’s Lockdown Plans

Express wrote on December 18:

“A demonstration against mandatory vaccinations [occurred] at Parliament Square in Westminster. The iconic location was said to be ‘rammed’ with angry Britons on Saturday afternoon… The  protest today saw people travel to the capital from across the UK and there are also rallies in Bournemouth, Blackburn, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and the Isle of Wight. The protest is supported by an umbrella movement called the ‘Together Declaration’, with 170,000 signatures including business, religious and campaign leaders, as well as MPs, which is campaigning against mandatory vaccinations as well as an end to vaccine passports and mass testing…

“It is understood the Prime Minister is also considering further measures under a so-called Plan C, which includes another lockdown, the Financial Times reports.”

Resistance to autocratic governmental measures is rising all over the world, and the concern is that real violence will break out between protestors and governmental agents… perhaps even creating civil unrest and civil war. And it creates animosity between certain countries, as the next article shows.

France’s and Germany’s Attack on the UK

The Guardian wrote on December 16:

“France will dramatically tighten restrictions on travel from Britain… effectively banning all non-essential journeys. The government announced in a statement that incoming travellers would require ‘an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated’ from midnight on Saturday…

“‘People cannot travel for tourism or professional reasons,’ it said… In addition, all arrivals from the UK will need a negative PCR or antigen test taken within the previous 24, rather than 48 hours, and will have to quarantine in France for seven days – reduced to 48 hours if they can produce a new negative test…. The French government also… asked travellers from France who had planned to visit the UK to postpone their journey….”

The age-long animosity between France and Britain can again be seen in this example of willful discrimination… And Boris Johnson seems to be a far-too-willing “accomplice.”

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“GERMANY is the latest country to ban travel to and from the UK from this weekend over Omicron variant fears… From midnight on Sunday, or 11pm UK time, any travellers from the UK apart from German nationals, residents and transit passengers will be banned.

“Everyone entering Germany from Britain, whether vaccinated or not, will need a negative PCR test and is required to be quarantined for 14 days.”

Of course, Germany would join France against the UK. No surprise there.

Huge Demonstrations against Corona Restrictions in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“Thousands of people have demonstrated against coronavirus rules in several major German cities… Several thousand people took to the streets in the northern port city of Hamburg, then marched in several blocks through the city center, police said. About 8,000 attendees were registered [This means, many more participated.] ‘No to compulsory vaccination!’ was written on self-made placards, as well as ‘Hands off our children.’ In the western city of Düsseldorf, police said an estimated 4,000 protesters marched through the city center…

“Vaccinations for children are beginning in Germany, following recommendations made by the country’s top vaccine body. However, many parents are divided on the issue… Demonstrations also took place in the financial hub of Frankfurt am Main, as well as the southwestern cities of Karlsruhe and Freiburg.  Police said around 3,500 people marched through the center of Freiburg, adding that they sporadically split up groups because some attendees were not wearing obligatory face masks. Around 900 people took to the streets in Karlsruhe to protest mandatory vaccinations, particularly for health care workers such as nurses. In Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, nearly 2,000 people demonstrated under the slogan ‘Basic rights are not negotiable,’ according to police. Around 1,900 people attended a protest against restrictions in Schwerin, the capital of the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, police said…

“Meanwhile, officials in Berlin banned a demonstration that had 2,000 registered protesters, citing the expectation that demonstrators would violate coronavirus rules such as the obligation to wear a mask and maintain social distance. However, protesters have gathered on many occasions despite police bans.

“Police in the eastern German state of Saxony shut down gatherings organized by the Querdenker or ‘lateral thinkers’ group. People demonstrated in several parts of Dresden, which is one of the cities where the Querdenker movement is most popular. Meanwhile, in Rathenow in the state of Brandenburg, 360 police officers stopped a protest on Friday evening, citing a lack of people complying with mask requirements…”

The more people demonstrate, the more German state governments will respond harshly. Violence is to be expected.

The Netherlands Pushes the Panic Button

Reuters wrote on December 18:

“The Netherlands will go into a strict lockdown over the Christmas and New Year period to try to contain the highly- contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Saturday.

“All non-essential shops and services, including restaurants, hairdressers, museums and gyms will be closed from Sunday until Jan. 14. All schools will be shut until at least Jan. 9…. Other measures include a recommendation that households receive no more than two visitors and that gatherings outside are also limited to a maximum of two people…”

Israel again in the News

Israel Today wrote on December 19:

“Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appeared to fail a critical Covid-combatting leadership test at the weekend, after opposition to his wish to impose a near-total travel ban on Israelis forced him to backtrack… The prime minister used coercive manipulation, including warnings that those who opposed the measures would be to [be blamed] for any Covid-19 disaster that might result…

“Following those reports, and as the premier huddled with his government leaders at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday morning, news emerged that he was no longer planning a sweeping travel ban, but would announce a more limited list of countries to which Israelis may no longer fly, including the United States, Canada, Germany and Turkey. These restrictions will reportedly go into effect a little later this week.”

Far from being a shining light of democracy in the Middle East, the governments of Israel have been at the forefront of imposing dictatorial coronavirus restrictions.

More and More Vaccinations Required

Deutsche Welle reported on December 21:

“The European Commission announced Tuesday that COVID vaccine certificates in the bloc would only be valid for nine months without a booster shot…. The new rule concerns traveling within the European Union, but the Commission said in a statement that it recommends EU countries also apply it on a national level… EU residents are recommended to receive a booster shot six months, at the latest, after they’re fully vaccinated. But the certificate will be valid for three additional months as a grace period to ensure access to booster doses…”

JTA wrote on December 22:

“Israel will likely begin administering a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine to seniors, immunocompromised people, and healthcare workers in an effort to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.

“The move was recommended Tuesday by the panel of experts advising Israel’s government on the coronavirus pandemic. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had been hinting at the possibility of a fourth shot and embraced the recommendation in a statement Tuesday. ‘This is wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world,’ Bennett said…

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on December 22 that a fourth dose might become necessary soon, as the vaccines might not be that “durable.” When will it end? And how about the lack of confidence of scientists and doctors in their own vaccines?

Canada’s Dictatorial Restrictions

Life Site News reported on December 17:

“A Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP sounded the alarm that the Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to keep COVID jab mandates and rules for years to come… as [h]idden in [Trudeau’s] Fiscal and Economic Update”…

“Many Canadian doctors have spoken out against both jab mandates as well as their purported safety and effectiveness…

“The Liberal’s fiscal update also praises the draconian and discriminatory Trudeau travel ban by air, sea, or train for the vaccine-free, which has been in place since December 1… The Liberal’s fiscal update also highlights the federal government’s mandate of COVID shots for all federally regulated sectors.

“However, many consider jab mandates as a blatant assault on individual freedoms that’s unnecessary given COVID’s high survivability among most groups, its minimal risk of asymptomatic spread, and research indicating that post-infection natural immunity is equally protected against reinfection [in fact, as the evidence proves, and as it is pointed out in this section, it is MORE EFFECTIVE than vaccinations.]

“There is also a substantial amount of evidence that vaccine mandates are a failed strategy for tackling COVID… the government once again has mandated COVID testing for returning air travelers, along with mandatory quarantine, even for those who are considered ’fully vaccinated.’”

They must not have too much confidence in their vaccinations.

“Dr. Fauci, Please Stop Lying!”

The left-liberal outlet, The Week, wrote on December 17:

“American public health bureaucrats… have repeatedly lied to the public, playing politics with the pandemic, and in the process undermined both the fight against COVID-19 and confidence in their own credibility… Back in February and March 2020… Anthony Fauci was all over the media downplaying masks. ‘If you look at the masks that you buy in a drug store, the leakage around that doesn’t really do much to protect you,’ he told USA Today that spring. ‘Now, in the United States, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to wear a mask.’ In an interview with 60 Minutes in March, he said, ‘Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks.’

“It turns out Fauci almost certainly didn’t believe what he was saying. In an interview with InStyle several months later, he admitted that trying to preserve the mask supply for doctors and nurses was his first motivation…

“Fauci didn’t learn his lesson. Not only did he lie more, but he exposed his own deception once again. Last December, he told The New York Times he’d also been lying about how many people would have to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity (moving from 60 to 90 percent)…”

We do not endorse the gist of the article nor the premises expressed therein [such as the importance of wearing masks and the need for three vaccinations]. But what we found interesting is the recognition of Fauci’s repeated lies and the lack of trust people are having in his advice, competence and predictions. Also note the next incredible article.

Fauci, the Spin Doctor

Fox News reported on December 17:

“Fauci said Friday that the possibility of changing the definition for fully vaccinated is ‘certainly on the table’… which currently states a person is fully vaccinated when they have received two doses of a Pfizer or Moderna regimen or a shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In the face of omicron, some have suggested the definition should include a booster shot… Friday morning he finally planted his flag in the war of words around the pandemic when he suggested that some terms may – and in one case, should – change… [He said:] ‘… there’s no doubt that optimum vaccination is with a booster’…

“He also discussed the difficulty in pushing ‘mandates,’ instead suggesting that people should discuss ‘requirements’ as a more palatable term. ‘Mandates — that’s a radioactive word. Requirements people seem to respond better to that. They work,’ Fauci argued. ‘We are never going to get out of this outbreak if we still have 50 million people who for reasons that are very difficult to understand refuse to get vaccinated.’

“Fauci has walked this line in the past two weeks, making a distinction between ‘fully’ vaccinated versus ‘optimum’ vaccination [stressing] that ‘optimum’ vaccination would include a booster.

“Omicron has driven new cases up across the country…  The new variant appears to spread more than the delta variant while only creating mild symptoms so far. Hospitalizations and deaths have not increased to the same degree if at all… The United States has yet to record a death as a result of the omicron variant.”

Not only that, as WND reported on December 17, “Nearly 80% of the omicron variant cases in the United States were found in people who were fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… In Israel, where most of the population has received a booster shot, 54 of 67 omicron cases, 80%, were people who had received three COVID-19 shots.”

Fauci’s spinning of the facts cannot hide the truth that we are dealing with a money-making political agenda.

The Fallacy of “Public Health” Experts

The Dossier wrote on December 18:

“There’s one thing that the ‘public health expert’ class is certain about these days. They claim to have ‘the tools’ to stop this coronavirus. But the thing about these ‘tools’ is that they require blind faith in order to work, since every observable metric shows that they’ve failed in catastrophic fashion…

“We are now almost two full years into our population-wide ‘public health expert’-managed COVID tyranny, and it has not exactly paid dividends for anyone other than the people in charge, who have catapulted to a life of fame and prestige.

“There is no evidence anywhere in the world that top-down authoritarianism, guided by these excessively praised ‘public health experts,’ has produced positive outcomes for the health and safety of any nation. In fact, the opposite is true. Throughout the world, sickness and unhealthy habits are increasing across the board, both indirectly and directly related to COVID-19… In fact, most of these ‘tools,’ when employed, are making everything worse.

“The mRNA shots were originally sold to the public with the claim that they prevent people from both infecting others and being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. This is why the FDA and CDC, among other ‘public health’ bureaucracies, decided to green light injecting unthreatened 5 year olds with experimental drugs. The promise was that they would be ‘doing their part’ to ‘save grandma’ and ‘stop the spread.’ Yet the prevention and transmission claim has been completely memory-holed. As evidenced most recently by the breakouts in universally compliant settings, after a period of time, the shots seem to do nothing at all to prevent infection or transmission.

“Universal masking, another agreed upon tool to stop a virus, doesn’t work, yet the ‘experts’ continue to [demand it]. Curfews and lockdowns… have done absolutely nothing to solve a virus problem…”

Still, gullible people are listening to their unfounded and oftentimes totally false opinions…

Masks Don’t Help on Flights

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on December 16:

“CEOs of Southwest Airlines and American Airlines testified before Congress this week that forcing people to wear masks on board their planes does little if anything to prevent spread of the virus.

“As predicted, Dem Members freaked out after hearing this blow to their deep faith.”

It has been known for a long time that masks on flights do not help at all. For many, they could be harmful. Still, airlines follow Biden’s mandate to demand wearing masks. Fauci responded that masks on planes will “always be necessary, no matter what” (Fox News, December 19). What an incredible situation.

Natural Immunity Overlooked

Newsmax wrote on December 20:

“Former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Sunday said… on CBS News: ‘A lot of people believe, including myself, that the reason why it’s [Omicron] manifesting as a less severe illness is probably because we have baseline immunity in the population… Probably around 80% of Americans and 90% of South Africans have some level of immunity, either from prior infection or through vaccination’… Gottlieb also believes omicron will ‘blow through fairly quickly.’”

In a related article, Newsmax wrote on December 20:

“Stumping for the overlooked science of natural immunity and denouncing the ‘inconsistent’ political science ‘tune’ of Dr. Anthony Fauci, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she has overcome COVID-19 and does not need a vaccination from it now. ‘It’ll be over my dead body that I’ll have to get a shot,” Palin [said] on Sunday. ‘I will not. I won’t do it and they better not touch my kids either.’…

“The remarks came as Republicans are denouncing Biden’s vaccine mandates, not only on choice, but also on the scientific belief natural immunity might be protection enough, if not better.”

Natural immunity is overlooked because it does not pay the Big Pharma industry.

And Now… First Death in USA Reported

Reuters reported on December 20:

“Texas’ Harris County on Monday reported its first death related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, a man who was unvaccinated, the county health department said… Earlier in December, Britain reported the first publicly confirmed death globally from Omicron. Twelve people in Britain have now died with the variant, and 104 are currently in hospital with it…”

Of course, an unvaccinated person is blamed and the push for vaccinations ensues as a consequence, even though the virus affects many more vaccinated than unvaccinated people. It would also be interesting to find out the exact circumstances of the person’s death.

Biden’s War on the Unvaccinated

Fox News reported on December 20:

“The White House was viciously mocked over the weekend after pushing the message that unvaccinated Americans would experience a winter of ‘severe illness and death’ due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus….

“Critics took to social media to mock the White House’s message of death, with some referring to Biden as the ‘Grim Reaper’…

“‘President Biden’s warning of a “winter of severe illness and death” makes President Jimmy Carter’s “malaise” speech urging Americans to lower expectations seem a cheerful upper by contrast. How do Democrats run as the party of ‘severe illness and death’? This is madness,’ wrote former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Other critics echoed his Jimmy Carter comparison…”

Madness indeed. God has poured out a spirit of deep slumber on our leaders.

Utter Confusion regarding Biden’s Vaccine Mandates

Newsmax, The Associated Press and Thomson/Reuters wrote on December 18:

“A U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, a federal government rule that covers 80 million American workers. The ruling by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers…

“The [decision] comes a day after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a nationwide ban on the mandate [for healthcare workers]. The court instead allowed the mandate to remain blocked in 14 states that had collectively sued in federal court in Louisiana. That action altered a Nov. 30 ruling by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who originally applied his order nationwide.

“A different appeals court, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has declined to disturb a lower court order blocking the mandate in 10 other states.

“The Biden administration asked the justices to allow the mandate to take effect in the 24 states covered by those two courts’ decisions. A federal judge in Texas granted an injunction Thursday that applies only to that state.”

The Associated Press wrote on December 17 about the decision of the 6^th Court of Appeals regarding private companies:

“‘Given OSHA’s clear and exercised authority to regulate viruses, OSHA necessarily has the authority to regulate infectious diseases that are not unique to the workplace,’ Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, who was nominated to the court by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, wrote in her majority opinion…. She was joined in the majority decision by Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, an appointee of former President Barrack Obama, a Democrat… The dissent in Friday’s ruling came from Judge Joan Larsen, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, who said Congress did not authorize OSHA to make this sort of rule and that it did not qualify as a necessity to use the emergency procedures the agency followed to put it in place.’”

This decision by two judges (against one) is SO unconstitutional and plainly wrong.

Fox News added on December 18:

“The Supreme Court earlier this week refused to block a New York regulation mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers – a move that could spell trouble for those opposed to the sweeping mandate.”

All of this is becoming SO political, as evidenced by the fact that courts and judges disagree amongst themselves and decide, strictly based on political preferences. The concern for the health of the American people is secondary, if it exists at all, even though lip-services to the contrary might be uttered here and there. Nobody knows how the utterly political and divided Supreme Court will decide, while innocent workers are the pawns in this despicable chess game.

The Associated Press added on December 18:

“A vaccine mandate for companies that have contracts with the federal government is on hold nationwide, while a separate mandate for health care employees who work for providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding has been blocked in half the states…

“… vaccine mandates for federal government employees and the military remain in effect, as do mask requirements for airline passengers and people using public transportation.”

Californians Openly Defy Newsom’s Corona Mandates—Good for Them

NBC San Diego wrote on December 18:

“Coronado and El Cajon leaders said this week if the state wants to enforce the new indoor mask mandate it can use its own resources. On Friday the city of Oceanside joined them. The mandate won’t be enforced at privately owned businesses in Oceanside, and many small business owners who made it through the pandemic are fine with it…”

Breitbart wrote on December 17:

“Californians are ignoring Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide mask mandate, which went into effect Wednesday for most indoor spaces… Newsom exempted San Francisco — where he used to be mayor of the city — and the surrounding counties…

“In Los Angeles County, for example, gyms and restaurants are continuing as before…  The Sacramento Bee reported that no one can figure out who is responsible for enforcing the mask mandate, and that Newsom says he has ‘faith’ in Californians to enforce his mandate themselves, saying that they would ‘self-enforce’ but didn’t provide specifics on what would happen if they didn’t…

“Local government officials say the state hasn’t given any guidance on enforcement, and some local authorities say they won’t enforce the state’s order at all. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said… he would not enforce vaccine mandates in his county.”

Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 16:

“A fascinating connection between Ethiopia and Jewish history is the belief that the Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments, may reside to this day in Ethiopia. While a Talmudic source relates that the ark – along with several other of the Temple’s sacred objects – was hidden just prior to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, numerous other theories exist as to its whereabouts.

“A longstanding religious legend in Ethiopia describes how the Ark of the Covenant was brought there 3,000 years ago by a man named Menelik, who, according to the legend, was the son of the Queen of Sheba and Israel’s King Solomon. The legend states that the Queen of Sheba was from Ethiopia and that she traveled to Jerusalem, where she was seduced by King Solomon, giving birth to Menelik upon her return home. Menelik later traveled to Jerusalem and studied with his father before taking the ark and bringing it to Ethiopia, where, legend has it, it still resides in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, where only ‘The Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant’ can view it.

“Others maintain that a sect of Jews driven by King Manasseh from Israel took the ark with them and transported it to Egypt, from where they eventually sailed up the Nile to Ethiopia. Researchers who journeyed to Aksum and made their way to Mary of Zion Church were purportedly introduced to a man referred to as the guardian of the ark. This man was said to live his entire life inside a fenced-off area surrounding the church and will not leave his post until he dies, at which time he will be replaced by the next guardian. In the chapel of the church, 30 robes from 30 previous guardians are on display – and every one of those 30 professed that the object they protected was the true Ark of the Covenant.

“While others dispute and debunk this legend – claiming that, at most, the ark in the church is merely a replica of the real thing – it fits neatly with the claim by Ethiopia’s former emperor Haile Selassie that he was a direct descendant of Menelik. Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia from 1930-1974, called himself ‘the Lion of Judah,’ the 225th king descended from King David, and prominently displayed a Lion of Judah motif on the country’s flag and currency.”

Whether true or not, the question is what others believe, especially the Roman Catholic Church which is very interested in possessing all kinds of religious relics and which therefore might be prompted to participate in a war against Ethiopia (Daniel 11:40-43). Regarding the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant and its future, see our Q&A on the issue. 

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.

Inflation at all Time High since 1982

The Associated Press wrote on December 10:

“Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing and other items left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate since 1982.

“It is the sixth straight month that inflation has been above 5%.”

Fox News added on December 10:

“Consumer prices surged at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in November as Americans paid more for practically everything from groceries to cars to gasoline… Price increases were widespread: Energy prices jumped 3.5% in November and are up 33.3% year over year. Gasoline is a stunning 58.1% higher than it was a year ago. Food prices have also climbed 6.1% higher over the year, while used car and truck prices – a major component of the inflation increase – are up 31%.”

No spin of the Biden Administration that we are on the road of economic recovery can change the facts.

US Debt Limit now at 31.4 Trillion Dollars

Newsmax wrote on December 15:

“The U.S. Congress on Tuesday approved raising the federal government’s debt limit by $2.5 trillion, to about $31.4 trillion, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign and avert an unprecedented default… A deal last week between Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, set the stage for Tuesday’s vote, bypassing normal Senate rules requiring at least 60 of the chamber’s 100 members to agree to advance most legislation. The Senate passed the bill earlier on Tuesday in a partisan 50-49 vote.

“The Democrat-led House of Representatives approved the bill in a 221-209 vote.”

CNS News reported on December 15:

“With that limit lifted, the federal debt will take a jump upward, then keep steadily climbing, constantly increasing the burden on future taxpayers….

“Among those lending money to the federal government so it can continue to run its massive annual deficits are foreign governments and foreign interests. According to the Treasury Department, entities in Japan owned $1.299 trillion in U.S. government debt as of the end of September. Entities in mainland China owned $1.047 trillion. Entities in the United Kingdom owned $566.5 billion; entities in Luxembourg owned $311.8 billion; entities in Ireland owned $309.6 billion; and entities in Switzerland own $296.5 billion…

“In fiscal 2021, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement, interest payments on Treasury securities hit $562.38 billion. That was more than three times as much as the fiscal 2021 cost of the Department of State ($35.814 billion), the Department of Justice ($39.261 billion) and the Department of Homeland Security ($91.069 billion) combined ($166.144 billion).

“Will the federal government ever again balance its budget? The obvious bet is: No.”

Foreigners become the head, and the borrower is servant to the lender…

Violent America

ABC News wrote on December 8:

“At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021… Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation’s two largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of Nov. 27). That’s an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke the 1990 record.

“Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as of the end of November, up 3% from 2020…

“Other major cities that have surpassed yearly homicide records are St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which broke its record back in August.

“… the nation saw a 30% increase in murder in 2020, the largest single-year jump since the bureau began recording crime statistics 60 years ago…”

America’s Crazy Windstorms

Gizmodo wrote on December 15:

“Dust Bowl-like conditions have spread across the Plains, with dust storms, ferocious fires, and staggering storms that are exceptional for this time of year…. Less than a week after a freak tornado outbreak  [in six states, especially in Kentucky], meteorologists are again gawking in awe and horror at the scenes unfolding on their radar screens and across the Midwest and Plains.

“A powerful windstorm unleashed by the clash of record heat and a vigorous storm system dropping out of the Mountain West has unleashed chaos for a huge swath of the United States. Raging winds have whipped up to 107 mph (172 kmh) in Colorado, fires have lit up the Texas Panhandle, and monster plumes of dust have turned night into day from Nebraska to Kansas.

“As if that wasn’t enough, a line of thunderstorms is now screaming into the region with shocking speed and ferocity—and could be poised to unleash a handful of tornadoes in locations usually covered in snow at this time of year. Dealing with one of these hazards alone would be shocking for this time of year, but seeing the weather map painted in broad brush strokes with some of the most extreme warnings that the National Weather Service issues is a nightmare…

“The conditions that gave rise to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s have become twice as likely thanks to carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels… In addition to satellites showing dust, smoke is also visible in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. Wildfires have rapidly spread in the region…”

How Biden and Harris, and other Lefties, Led Frenzy in Jussie Smollett’s False Claims

Fox News wrote on December 10 in three different articles [which were compiled below in just one publication]:

“It is shameful, but predictable, that Smollett’s false accusations were accepted as gospel by prominent politicians and others without ever waiting for the facts to unfold…

“In 2019, top Democrats, celebrities, and liberal news outlets, including CNN, all uncritically peddled the false narrative that [‘Empire’ actor] Jussie Smollett [who is gay] was attacked by two MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporters at 2 AM during the polar vortex in Chicago… Even when his story began raising scrutiny, CNN’s left-wing media guru Brian Stelter defended the media’s coverage of the disgraced actor at the time….

“Smollett was found guilty on five [out of six] charges of staging a hate crime [by hiring two Nigerian brothers to fake the attack against him] and lying to police on Thursday…

“What happened today to Jussie Smollett must never be tolerated in this country,” President Biden tweeted in January 2019 when he was mulling a presidential run, ‘We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.’

“Vice President Kamala Harris also believed Smollett’s story and posted about it on Twitter calling the alleged attack an attempted ‘modern day lynching.’ New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat who ran for president, also referred to the alleged attack as an attempted ‘modern day lynching.’…

“Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took Smollett’s side as well and used the incident to push for hate crime legislation… Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California called the alleged attack ‘vile’ and ‘tragic.’… Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and many other prominent Democrats also chimed in with support for Smollett..

“It says something about the quality of leadership in the White House when neither the president nor vice president have the common decency to apologize for their role in blindly supporting a phony hate crime….”

Shameful indeed, but this narrative was used eagerly by the left in their support of the “hate crime-racial oppression” agenda.

CNN Anderson Cooper’s Arrogance

Breitbart wrote on December 9:

“CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said Thursday on his show ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ that those who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are arrogantly shirking their responsibilities to society, which he finds ‘infuriating.’”

What about the arrogance of many proponents of mandatory vaccinations towards the unvaccinated? Comments published by Breitbart were telling:

“No tyranny can survive without a complicit media… Notice no anger toward the drug companies who made these big promises?… The drug companies support the media by pumping big $ into ads… a full third of those fully vaccinated are getting sick. It’s coming to light the original vaccine only lasts 4-5mos…”

Brian Williams Retires with a Sober Warning

Real Clear Politics wrote on December 10:

“Longtime NBC News broadcaster Brian Williams issued a strange warning Thursday as he retired from his 11 p.m. MSNBC show.

“‘I’m not a liberal or a conservative. I’m an institutionalist. I believe in this place. And in my love of my country… But the darkness on the edge of town has spread to the main roads and highways and neighborhoods. It is now at the local bar, and the bowling alley, the school board, and the grocery store. And it must be acknowledged and answered for. Grown men and women who swore an oath to our Constitution, elected by their constituents, possessing the kinds of college degrees I could only dream of, have decided to join the mob and become something they are not while hoping we somehow forget who they were.

“‘They’ve decided to burn it all down with us inside. That should scare you to no end as much as it scares an aging volunteer fireman… The reality is though, I will wake up tomorrow in the America of the year 2021, a nation unrecognizable to those who came before us and fought to protect it, which is what you must do now…”

But his warning will fall on deaf ears…

Build Back Better Will Cost Almost 5 Trillion Dollars

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters on Friday that the true cost of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion reconciliation package is far more costly and debt-ridden than previously disclosed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“Upon request from Graham, the CBO issued a report Friday that revealed the reconciliation package would increase the deficit by $3 trillion over a ten-year period and cost $4.9 trillion in scope. The CBO’s original scoring claimed the deficit would only increase $0.2 trillion over ten years…

“Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said in a statement on Friday that the $4.9 trillion Build Back Better Act will ‘bankrupt the economy’ while Americans continue to suffer from soaring inflation.”

Wisconsin 2020 Election Rigged?

Life Site News reported on December 9:

“Tens or even hundreds of thousands of people likely cast illegal votes in Wisconsin’s 2020 election, according to newly-released findings from a months-long investigation by a conservative legal group. Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) published the results of a 10-month probe of last year’s elections in the battleground state, reporting that the number of unlawful ballots in Wisconsin all but certainly surpassed Joe Biden’s victory margin of under 21,000 votes. ‘It is almost certain that in Wisconsin’s 2020 election the number of votes that did not comply with existing legal requirements exceeded Joe Biden’s margin of victory,’ the group said…

“It seems clear that voters abandoned the rules for voting indefinitely confined, drop boxes were used, at least one ballot harvesting event was conducted without statutory authorization, absentee balloting in nursing homes was conducted contrary to law, ballots were cured without authorization, and voter rolls were not accurately maintained as required by state and federal law… WILL said that while it did not find evidence of widespread, intentional fraud, the possibility ‘cannot be excluded.’

“While the fact that something ‘could have’ happened is not evidence that it did, failure to follow the required procedures raises the possibility of fraud and undercuts confidence in the results… It is unclear whether, had these ballots been disqualified, the results of the election would have changed. ‘It is not possible to know who these legally questionable votes were cast for,’ according to the WILL report. ‘Given the location of the votes it may be more likely than not that, depending on which ballots were thought to be unlawfully cast, that Trump would have wound up the winner’ due to Wisconsin’s ‘drawdown’ method, the group concluded.”

But the left-wing mass media does not want to hear about that.

Meadows Held in Contempt

NBC News wrote on December 15:

“The House voted Tuesday night to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for a potential criminal charge over his refusal to answer questions about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol [claiming executive privilege]. Lawmakers passed the measure largely along party lines in a 222-208 vote. Two Republicans voted with Democrats: Reps. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois…

“Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio… accused Democrats of ‘destroying executive privilege’ by seeking to force ‘the closest of close’ presidential advisers [i.e. Trump] to testify…’

“A contempt referral is not the first to stem from the Jan. 6 investigation. The House previously voted to refer former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to the Justice Department for contempt charges after he defied the committee’s subpoenas. The Justice Department acted on the recommendation… Bannon has been charged with two counts of contempt and could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in July.”

Trump’s claim of executive privilege is being adjudicated. To hold Meadows and Bannon in contempt is premature at best. Meadows rightly pointed out that this is another attempt by Democrats and two Rino’s to get to Trump.

Elon Musk “Person of the Year”

The Brownstone Institute published the following article by Jeffrey Tucker on or about December 15:

“It’s a good call for Time Magazine: it made Elon Musk the person of the year… Musk is arguably the most prominent opponent of lockdowns and vaccine mandates in the US. In his official interview, he refused to take back his last-year denunciation of stay-at-home orders as ‘fascist.’

“He stepped it up even further concerning vaccine mandates. ‘I am against forcing people to be vaccinated, not something we should do in America… ‘I believe we’ve got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America.’…

“For some reason, people have a hard time understanding how someone could be for the right to accept the vaccine but also be against imposing it by force. And yet that position is clearly the most reasonable one, the one consistent with freedom, and good public health…

“Only a few weeks ago, he told the Wall Street Journal that the whole of the Democrats’ and Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending bill on infrastructure should be scrapped… There is nothing worth anything in it… What’s surprising is that someone so rich, so influential, so decisive to our present economic lives, would actually say openly what everyone knows… Musk… is now beyond being controlled or contrite at this point. In that way he is a very dangerous man, in the best possible way we can use that term. He had better watch his back.

“Today, the White House spokesman routinely says that no edicts against rights and freedom are ‘off the table.’ Anything is possible. Anything can happen. They will decide. No one says a word; the craven press believes this is just normal. It’s not. It’s dangerous…

“[Musk] began to realize that the governing elites in this country are incredibly inept and unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. He noted the completely undemocratic methods and the unscientific rationale that were deployed to bring about lockdowns. For that reason, he has been smeared and put down as a promoter of misinformation. Anyone who has paid attention for the last two years knows exactly what that means: he is telling truths he is not supposed to tell…”

Fauci and Lauterbach—the great Dividers

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on December 9:

“As Biden’s vaccine mandates continue to be smacked down by courts, as the Senate has held a bipartisan vote rejecting mandates, as even Democrats are…  ‘souring’ on vaccine mandates, Fauci was asked in a MSNBC interview whether it might be time to back down a bit. Not at all! – was Fauci’s response. If people won’t take the shots they must be forced to take the shots, he replied.”

Newsmax wrote on December 10:

“Fauci says families should ‘ask,’ and ‘maybe require’ that guests be vaccinated if they come over for holiday celebrations…”

Fauci’s clone or alter ego, Germany’s new Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, blows into the same horn. According to an article in Bild Online, dated December 10, [“Unvaccinated are hit now very hard” – “Ungeimpfte trifft es jetzt ganz hart”], he said in a discussion televised by ZDF:

https://www.bild.de/politik/talk-kritik/talk-kritk/omikron-debatte-im-zdf-lauterbach-ungeimpfte-trifft-es-ganz-hart-78500232.bild.html

“I will continue to say that one is perhaps only protected well with three vaccinations [“Ich werde immer wieder erklären, dass man nur mit drei Impfungen wahrscheinlich gut geschützt ist”.]… [Those who are not vaccinated] are not protected at all [“Die sind gar nicht geschützt!”].” He also stated that the vaccines can only be preserved for nine months. [“Der Impfstoff ist neun Monate lagerbar, tiefgekühlt”], and that Delta and Omicron can only be fought with the two pillars of booster shots and mandatory vaccination.” [“Delta und Omikron wirklich effektiv zu bekämpfen [ist] nur möglich mit den zwei Säulen Boosterimpfung und Impfpflicht.“]

Nothing was said that those who have had corona ARE protected because of natural immunity.

Wochenblick ran a lengthy article on December 10, stating that “Lauterbach continues to lie.” [“Lauterbach lügt weiter.”] 

California Joins the Corona Hysteria

NBC7 wrote on December 13:

“… the state announced Monday that beginning Wednesday, mask-wearing will become mandatory in all indoor public settings across California regardless of vaccination status. The mask mandate… will remain in place until Jan. 15.

“The state will also toughen the restriction for unvaccinated people who attend indoor ‘mega-events’ of 1,000 people or more, requiring them to receive a negative COVID-19 test within one day of the event if it’s a rapid antigen test or within two days for a PCR test… State officials will also recommend, but not require, that people who travel to California or return to the state after traveling be tested for COVID-19 within three to five days.”

Nothing else was to be expected from left-wing Governor Newsom.  

Is WH Press Secretary Jean Psaki for Real?

Fox News wrote on December 10:

“White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested Friday that it is OK for kids to eat their lunches outside in cold temperatures in an effort to maintain safety amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

“Asked whether the White House wanted school children to ‘get back to a more normal school experience,’ Psaki insisted schools are having children practice social distancing measures, mask up, and eat their snacks and lunch in frigid outdoor temperatures in an effort to ‘keep their kids safe and keep students safe.’

“Psaki said she believes the ‘vast majority of parents appreciate’ such measures being taken by school systems to limit the spread of the coronavirus among elementary-aged school children.”

This is appalling. We would say that the vast majority of parents who have not been brainwashed by the left-wing propaganda, do NOT appreciate such measures being taken by autocratic school systems which endanger the health of our children much more than COVID could ever do.

Confusion regarding Mandatory Vaccinations

 Fisher Phillips wrote on December 16:

 “Serving up yet another curveball for healthcare employers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively reactivated the [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] CMS vaccination mandate across nearly half of the country with a surprise decision on Wednesday afternoon…

“… It is… possible that the vaccine mandate may have received only a brief reprieve. The Fifth Circuit stopped short of approving the mandate, ruling only that the Louisiana judge had exceeded his authority in enjoining the vaccine mandate nationwide.

“In states such as Florida and Tennessee – where the CMS mandate is reinstated and new state laws or executive orders have all but gutted employer vaccine mandates – a clear conflict exists between state and federal law on this issue. Although the CMS mandate clearly states its intention to supersede any contrary state or local law, it remains to be seen as to how long it remains in place, if at all.”

Bad Signs for Europe’s “Democracies”

The Local wrote on December 10:

“As the German parliament votes through a vaccine mandate for medical and care workers, the new Health Minister has clarified that people who avoid compulsory Covid jabs will face fines… ‘The imposition of fines is unavoidable,’ Lauterbach said… If someone doesn’t pay, the fines will have to be increased considerably, he said… [He] also spoke out in favour of a vaccine mandate for teachers and nursery school employees…

“From March 15th, 2022, employees in clinics, doctors’ surgeries and care homes will have to show proof that they are fully vaccinated – or present a doctor’s note explaining why they are unable to get their jabs…

“The step towards compulsory jabs for certain sections of the population follows similar moves by France, Italy, Britain and Greece. Neighbouring Austria plans to bring in a general vaccine mandate by next February, with fines of around €3,000 for people who still refuse to get their Covid jabs.

“Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is in favour of compulsory jabs [for] the general public…”

It does not look as if many of the European nations will ever return to a free democracy. Rather, the build-up to an authoritarian and dictatorial society is steadily and swiftly increasing.

The Propaganda against the Unvaccinated

The medical Journal, the Lancet, published an article by Guenther Kampf, “a prominent German researcher,” on November 20, which was referenced by the Ron Paul Institute on December 14:

“In the USA and Germany, high-level officials have used the term pandemic of the unvaccinated, suggesting that people who have been vaccinated are not relevant in the epidemiology of COVID-19. Officials’ use of this phrase might have encouraged one scientist to claim that ‘the unvaccinated threaten the vaccinated for COVID-19.’ But this view is far too simple.

“There is increasing evidence that vaccinated individuals continue to have a relevant role in transmission. In Massachusetts, USA, a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases were detected during various events in July, 2021, and 346 (74%) of these cases were in people who were fully or partly vaccinated, 274 (79%) of whom were symptomatic. Cycle threshold values were similarly low between people who were fully vaccinated (median 22·8) and people who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median 21·5), indicating a high viral load even among people who were fully vaccinated.

“In the USA, a total of 10 262 COVID-19 cases were reported in vaccinated people by April 30, 2021, of whom 2725 (26·6%) were asymptomatic, 995 (9·7%) were hospitalised, and 160 (1·6%) died. In Germany, 55·4% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in patients aged 60 years or older were in fully vaccinated individuals, and this proportion is increasing each week…

“People who are vaccinated… are still a relevant part of the pandemic. It is therefore wrong and dangerous to speak of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Historically, both the USA and Germany have engendered negative experiences by stigmatising parts of the population for their skin colour or religion. I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens, and to put extra effort into bringing society together.”

AMEN!

Governmental Persecution of Christians in Europe

Christian Today wrote on December 9:

“A new report [by OIDAC] has identified the UK as one of the most challenging places for Christians in Europe amid a startling rise in anti-Christian hate crime across the continent…. It reveals a 70 per cent increase in anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe between 2019 and 2020, with the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Sweden forming the top five countries where Christians face the ‘most severe challenges’ for their faith… The hate crimes include… physical attacks on Christians, and restrictions on religious freedom, freedom of expression and parental rights…. It warned of ‘a strong and sometimes even extreme opposition to Christian morals derived from core beliefs’, and the increasing criminalisation of opinion.

“OIDAC director Madeleine Enzlberger said the 60-page report revealed a ‘worrisome phenomenon’… When Christians are forced to choose between their moral values and their professions; Christian students and speakers get silenced on campuses; when parental rights are trampled on by overreaching governmental interference or asylum claims of Christian refugees are arbitrarily denied; we often find that the main source of this intolerance and discrimination against Christians is due to a simple ignorance towards the problem or an explicit anti-Christian bias,’ she said.”

We should note that Germany is mentioned as one of the five top countries guilty of Christian persecution by the government.

The UN and the Lion with Wings

On December 9, Israel 365 wrote the following:

“A statue with Biblical implications has been erected recently outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The statue, entitled the ‘guardian for international peace and security, is situated on the Visitor’s Plaza outside UN Headquarters. According to the UN, the ‘guardian’ is a ‘fusion of jaguar and eagle.’ It was donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico.

“Many have noticed an eerie similarity to Daniel’s dream in the Bible… His dream featured four beasts – a lion with wings, a bear with fangs, a four-winged leopard. The fourth beast had ten horns… The lion with wings represents Babylon. The bear represented Persia. The four-winged leopard represented Greece and the final most treacherous of them all represented Rome…”

In Daniel 7, four world-ruling empires are described and compared with wild beasts—the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman Empires. The first beast, the Babylonian Empire, is described as “a lion, and had eagle’s wings” (Daniel 7:4). Although the Babylonian Empire was replaced by the Medo-Persian Empire and ultimately absorbed by the ancient Roman Empire, it would experience a revival in these last days… in the form of a revived Roman Empire in Europe. The modern Chaldeans will lead that revival into an all-encompassing war. It is interesting that the UN headquarters would erect such a statue, claiming peace and security, but signifying dictatorial war-mongering world domination.

No War with Russia

An Editorial by Pat Buchanan of December 9, published by buchanan.org, states the following:

“A U.S. war with Russia over Ukraine would be a disaster for all three nations. Nor could the U.S. indefinitely guarantee the independence of a country 5,000 miles away that shares not only a lengthy border with Mother Russia but also a history, language, religion, ethnicity and culture…

“Forced to choose between accepting Russia’s demand that NATO stay out of Ukraine and Russia going in, the U.S. is not going to war.”

See our new StandingWatch program, titled, “War between Russia, America and Europe over Ukraine?”

America’s Cluelessness regarding Russia and Ukraine

Here are some comics which were published in the Week (December 10, 2021) on the Russia-Ukraine developments https://theweek.com/cartoons . Even though satirical, they DO point out the current danger of the situation and Biden’s cluelessness as to how to deal with it. .

Ukraine Hopes for Europeans to Intervene

The Telegraph wrote on December 9:

“Vladimir Putin will be emboldened to invade Ukraine if European Union countries don’t sign up to a package of sanctions to deter Russia, Ukraine’s country’s foreign minister has warned. Dmytro Kuleba told the Telegraph that Mr Putin’s goal was to ‘destroy Ukraine’ and that he would be more tempted to resort to military actions if Western allies do not quickly find agreement on punitive measures… The Kremlin has denied planning an attack, but has simultaneously signalled that it will go to war unless the West and Ukraine concede a list of demands…

“Meanwhile, Joe Biden… promised ‘additional military capabilities’ would be deployed in the region – although he ruled out sending forces to Ukraine.”

Tensions Escalate

Express wrote on December 13:

“President Putin has sent the notorious Buk-M1 medium-range surface to air missiles to the frontline of the conflict. The Buk became infamous in 2014 after a missile fired from a territory controlled by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine shot down a Malaysian airline, killing all 298 people aboard.

“The news of Mr Putin sending in this deadly weapon does not bode well for peace talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine… Even if he does not launch a full-scale invasion, experts suggest Mr Putin may be leaving his troops and the Buk near the frontline as leverage for negotiations. However, Russian and western analysts also agree that this military buildup is a dire warning about a series of future crises over Ukraine…

“With over 175,000 personnel now ready in the region, the US has warned allies the Russian leader may be planning a renewed invasion for real this time. In the past few days alone, Mr Putin has likened Ukraine’s policy in the Donbas, the border region where Russia has led a slow-burning separatist war since 2014, to ‘genocide’ – words Kyiv fears may be a pretext to invade.

“The US has shared intelligence to convince even the most sceptical European allies that Mr Putin may be prepared to make good on Russia’s quasi-imperial ambitions early next year but has yet to conclude precisely when or if he may give the order to invade. Officials and analysts in Washington and Europe, and even people close to the Kremlin in Moscow, admit Putin’s true intentions with Ukraine remain a mystery.”

Russian-Chinese Cooperation

The New York Ledger wrote on December 15:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to present a united front with Xi Jinping as the Kremlin said the Chinese leader supported Moscow’s demand for security guarantees that would limit western influence in its backyard. In remarks shown by Russian state television at the start of their 90-minute video call on Wednesday, Putin told his ‘dear friend’ Xi that ‘a new model of co-operation between our countries has formed on principles such as non-interference in internal affairs and respecting each other’s interests’…

“‘Certain international forces are interfering in the internal affairs of China and Russia, and trampling on international law and recognised norms of international relations,’ Xi added. ‘China and Russia should carry out more joint actions to safeguard the security interests of both parties.’”

While Russia is reportedly planning an invasion of Ukraine, China is reportedly planning an invasion of Taiwan.

Scholz NOT the new European Leader

Politico wrote on December 9:

“The power shift in Berlin this week sparked hopes around Europe and across the Atlantic that the new chancellor’s government would unfreeze Germany’s stance on everything from pipelines to Poland, reversing Angela Merkel’s why-can’t-we-all-be-friends approach to the world. Instead, they’re likely to get more of the same.

“For Germany’s international partners, that shouldn’t be reassuring. With serious tensions on Europe’s eastern flank, not to mention challenges the EU faces on its southern doorstep and its dealings with China and even the U.S., a divided Continent could use some leadership from its most populous country. It’s unlikely to get any…

“Germany’s new coalition promises to be a difficult partner for Washington…

“Germany’s future engagement with the world isn’t clear. It doesn’t suggest, however, that Germany… is eager to play a central role… If [Scholz] fails to act quickly, his international standing will melt long before summer.’

It should have been clear from the outset that Scholz and his left-wing coalition spell disaster for Germany.

France and Hungary United?

The Times wrote on December 14:

“President Macron smoothed over differences yesterday with Viktor Orban, the man he has defined as his European adversary, and won Hungarian support for French goals for EU defence, nuclear power and agriculture.

“The Hungarian prime minister… struck a relatively friendly note with the French leader, who was visiting Budapest to push his plans for an ambitious French turn in the rotating six-month presidency of the European Council. Four months from an election in which he hopes to win a second term, Macron is treating the usually routine EU role as a moment for France to shine on the global stage. ‘Hungary’s relation towards President Macron is that of respect,’ Orban said.”

Europe Is Losing It

Israel 365 wrote on December 8:

“After widespread criticism (including from the Pope) the European Union retracted a manual for communications that claims to promote religious and gender ‘inclusion’ but which many believe is anti-religion.

“The 32-page internal document called the ‘Union of Equality’ was released last month as an initiative of Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, President of the European Commission to ensure that ‘everyone is valued and recognized’. The manual for EU officials was intended as a guide for how they should communicate in press briefings and social media. It recommended that EU representatives ‘update your language’…

“It also suggested using the phrase ‘first name’ rather than ‘Christian name’ and using names ‘Malika and Julio’ instead of ‘Mary and John’ to describe an ‘international couple’…

“The manual also instructed to avoid gender-referencing words such as ‘Man-made’ and ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ which should be replaced with more neutral phrases like… ‘dear colleagues.’ Words such as ‘chairman’ should be replaced by ‘chairperson’, and ‘policeman’ or ‘policewoman’ substituted for ‘police officer’, the guide said. It also recommended the word ‘stewardess’ be avoided in preference of ‘flight attendant’, and ‘principal’ be used instead of ‘headmaster’ or ‘headmistress’.

“Pope Francis reacted strongly to the EU statement, comparing it to other anti-religious ideologies. In a statement on Monday, the pontiff said, ‘In history many, many dictatorships have tried to do it. Think of Napoleon: from there… Think of the Nazi dictatorship, the communist one… it is a fashion of a watered-down secularism, distilled water… But this is something that throughout hasn’t worked… This could end up dividing the countries and [causing] the European Union to fail. The European Union must respect each country as it is structured within, the variety of countries, and not want to make them uniform.’

“‘[Nazism] ended up annihilating democratic life, indeed life itself with the death of the people, in becoming a bloody dictatorship,’ Pope Francis said… ‘This happens when there is a superpower that dictates economic, cultural, and social behavior to the other countries…’”

Now China

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on December 9:

“China’s military ‘will heavily attack U.S. troops who come to Taiwan’s rescue’ if a war between China and Taiwan breaks out, a possibility that is increasingly likely as the Communist regime readies its war machine on Taiwan’s borders.

“China’s latest threat to escalate tensions with Taiwan comes on the heels of remarks by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said the United States is prepared to counter an attempt by China to forcefully seize Taiwan and bring it back into the Communist country’s orbit. The long-simmering standoff comes as the Biden administration confronts Russian attempts to invade Ukraine… China has been threatening to take Taiwan since the Biden administration took office.”

Biden’s troubles only mount, while he seems incapable of dealing with them.

You Must Not Tell the Truth

The Associated Press wrote on December 10:

“A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily publicly apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist… The diocesan communications director, the Rev. Alessandro Paolino, said Stagliano was trying to underline the true meaning of Christmas and the story of St. Nicholas…  Italian news reports quoted Stagliano as saying during a recent religious festival that Santa doesn’t exist and that his red costume was created by the Coca-Cola company for publicity.

“‘First of all, on behalf of the bishop, I express my sorrow for this declaration which has created disappointment in the little ones…’ Paolino wrote on the diocesan Facebook page. ‘We certainly must not demolish the imagination of children, but draw good examples from it that are positive for life,’ he continued…

“While several welcomed the bishop’s attempt to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas, others faulted Stagliano for interfering with family traditions and celebrations, and crushing the spirits of children…”

So, one is willing to continue to LIE to their children and attack those who are daring to tell the truth.

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.

“Immigration Hardliner” Karl Nehammer new Austrian leader

The Guardian wrote on December 3:

“Austria’s ruling conservatives have picked the interior minister, an immigration hardliner, to lead them and the nation after a wave of resignations by senior officials set off by Sebastian Kurz…

“Karl Nehammer succeeds Kurz as party chief and will lead the coalition government with the Greens. He takes over a party in disarray since Kurz stepped down as chancellor in October because he had been placed under criminal investigation on suspicion of corruption offences.  Kurz denies any wrongdoing. Nehammer said… fighting coronavirus would be a top priority. Austria is in lockdown…

“Kurz’s resignation as party leader on Thursday sent shock waves through the party and prompted two of his closest allies, the chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, and the finance minister, Gernot Blümel, to say they too would step down. Schallenberg had been in the job for less than two months.

“Bluemel is under investigation in a separate corruption case and also denies wrongdoing. Both he and Kurz said that having newborn children had motivated their decisions… Neither the OVP nor the Greens have an obvious interest in a snap election as opinion polls suggest both would lose seats. But tensions between them are such that few analysts expect their government to survive until the end of this parliament in 2023.”

Voices have warned that under Nehammer, Austria’s dictatorship will even get worse.

On Monday, Nehammer was sworn in as the new Chancellor. Wochenblick added on December 6:

“Other ÖVP members were also newly sworn in … the appointment of the new Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who stood out in the past by caring for the remembrance of the Austro-Fascist dictator Engelbert Dollfuss, is causing criticism. Will the Interior Ministry now act even more aggressively against the resistance than it did under Nehammer? In any case, the Interior Ministry has already found the right [person as the] head of state security for dictatorial reprisals. Just yesterday, the ‘Director for State Security and Intelligence’ Omar Haijawi Pirchner announced that he wanted to monitor closely the social media.”

Demonstrations in Austria

Wochenblick wrote on December 4:

“Tens of thousands are back on Vienna’s streets today. They stand up against the coming compulsory vaccination…. People from all walks of life and of all ages are protesting. Mothers appeal: ‘Protect our children – get children out of schools!’ The state has been repressive from the start. Penalties for not wearing a mask were imposed…

“The lawyer from the Ministry of Defense, Monika Donner, gave an incendiary speech against the lies of the government…

“As a trained medical doctor, the FPÖ politician Dagmar Belakowitsch… spoke again at the rally. Alexander Tschugguel from the Catholic St. Bonifatius Institute spoke out decisively against the state access to our bodies and appealed to the people to continue to offer resistance before everything is taken from us…

“The fact that Karl Nehammer is now the new Federal Chancellor is causing a particular resentment among those who resist. They know from their own demonstration experiences that as minister of the interior, he was known by his autocratic, inhuman style… As the government will… force injections, this will also apply to the children and, if nothing changes, even to the newborns as well.”

Wochenblick stated on December 5 that “more than 100,000 people demonstrated in Vienna.”

The New York Times added the following on December 5:

“Austria has also announced that vaccination would become compulsory as of Feb. 1, making it the first Western country to take that step… the editorial board of The Financial Times [has] said the plan exacts too high a price in terms of individual freedom and see it a sign of political failure.”

By Sunday, the lockdown in Austria for the vaccinated will end, for the time being, but NOT for the unvaccinated.

Germany’s New Lockdown and Mandatory Vax Health Minister…

Breitbart wrote on December 6 in a headline:

“New German Government Taps Lockdown Loving Lawmaker as New Health Minister.”

It continued:

“The most closely watched appointment was that of the health minister… Scholz chose Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and media-savvy lawmaker who lacks executive experience but has been one of Germany’s most prominent voices urging caution and strict measures against COVID-19 since the pandemic started… Federal and state leaders last week announced tough new restrictions that largely target unvaccinated people… parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate.”

Lauterbach is also an advocate of mandatory vaccinations. Lauterbach is a controversial figure, even in his own party (SPD). Leader of the opposition party AFP, Alice Weidel, tweeted: “It could not have been worse for Germany.”  The three coalition parties of the new government (SPD, Green and FDP) also agreed on other controversial measures, such as obtaining 80% of Germany’s electricity from renewable energies by 2030; lowering the voting age to 16; and legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. Dark clouds on the horizon in Germany…

Germany’s “Fight” against the Unvaccinated

The Local wrote on December 7:

“In a press conference held after the signing of the new government’s coalition agreement in Berlin, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed ‘threatening’ protests against Covid restrictions and vaccinations. His comments were echoed by Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck… ‘The fact that we need a higher vaccination rate isn’t up for debate,’ he said. ‘It becomes problematic when, out of the multitude of different reasons (for not getting vaccinated), a movement arises – not necessarily against vaccination, but against the state, against a free and open democracy,’ he added…

“Demonstrations against current Covid measures have been ramping up in Germany as the incoming government moves to bar unvaccinated people from most areas of public life, including non-essential shops. The country has also introduced contact restrictions that prevent unvaccinated people from meeting more than two other people at a time.

“Critics of the measures claim that the moves risk sowing more division in an already divided society, but Scholz defended the move on Tuesday, claiming the German population was ‘not split’ but rather ‘of one mind’. ‘We have to do everything in our power to protect the population, and we’ll only succeed if as many people as possible are vaccinated,’ said Scholz. ‘We need restrictions, particularly for the people who haven’t got vaccinated, because there’s no doubt whatsoever that it’s the people who aren’t vaccinated who are driving the high infection rates.’”

The Local published the following comments:

“What a hypocrisy! To talk about democracy when there is in fact absolute tyranny and segregation.

“The hypocrisy is real… To claim that the only way to succeed in fighting covid is by getting as many people as possible vaccinated or to claim that the unvaccinated are to blame for the rising covid cases is just bogus and false…”

New German chameleon and backpedaling politician Olaf Scholz might be right to the extent that most brainwashed Germans, but by far not all, are of “one mind” when it comes to blaming the unvaccinated and mandating vaccinations.

Meet Karl Lauterbach… the German Anthony Fauci

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 6:

“During the COVID pandemic, epidemiologist and eccentric Karl Lauterbach became known as a voice of reason for some, and an infuriating lockdown supporter for others. Now he will be Germany’s new health minister… Karl Lauterbach… is a regular guest on talk shows, gives interviews and regularly tweets — sometimes every hour… his media appearances were to impart bad news. He regularly called for a tougher stance and more restrictions in Germany’s coronavirus policy…

“Karl Lauterbach is a controversial figure. Some are annoyed and [describe] him as a ‘Cassandra,’ a nod to the ancient Greek mythical clairvoyant who always predicted disaster… But many others trust him, and some even became ardent supporters during the course of the pandemic…

“[His] appointment was a highly controversial decision within the SPD right up to the end. In the party, to which Lauterbach has belonged for 16 years as a directly elected member of parliament, he is regarded as a lone wolf, an eccentric and a know-it-all… Olaf Scholz likely knows that with Karl Lauterbach he is bringing a politician into his Cabinet who will not please everyone…”

Germany’s “Quarantine Centers” in Use Again

Life Site News wrote on December 3:

“A recent survey by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag found that at least 15 people have been taken to quarantine facilities in Germany’s 10 largest cities since the beginning of the year. The 15 individuals, who allegedly violated at-home isolation requirements for COVID-19, include 11 in Munich, two in Stuttgart, and one each in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, Welt am Sonntag reported. The full number of cases is likely higher, as authorities Berlin and Leipzig did not provide figures to the paper.

“Some of the quarantine facilities were located within prisons, according to Welt. ‘Most of the federal states have closed areas in hospitals or prisons for quarantine breakers,’ the outlet noted. ‘In Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, refusals were last housed in a former deportation detention center, in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, in a Solingen clinic.’…

“German Infection Protection Act of 2000 specifically authorizes ‘placement in a locked hospital’ or ‘locked facility’ to that effect. ‘The fundamental right to freedom of the person can be restricted in this respect,’ the law states. With hundreds of thousands of Germans subject to domestic quarantine orders at any given time, city authorities typically ‘check’ residents ‘if there is a specific suspicion,’ according to Welt. In Stuttgart, officials rely on ‘special tipsters,’ including ‘neighbors, acquaintances and relatives.’…

“The 10 largest cities in Germany have also initiated more than 250 fine proceedings for quarantine violations, the newspaper noted. Fines ranged between 250-1,000 euros, though they can run up to 25,000 euros….”

Incredible Falsification in Bavaria

Focus wrote on December 4:

“The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder caused a sensation at the end of November with a graphic: The incidence of unvaccinated people in Bavaria is 1469, compared with only 110 people who have been vaccinated. ‘There is a direct connection between low vaccination rates and high infection rates,’ Söder wrote. His appeal: ‘So please get vaccinated. Only vaccination helps.‘

“Now it became known, however, that the State Office for Health and Food Safety [LGL] which collects the data in Bavaria, apparently often does not even know the vaccination status of the individually infected people, according to ‘Welt’ research. Instead of ignoring the cases with an unknown status, they are added to the unvaccinated.

“The imbalance can be serious. According to a spokesman for the authorities, a total of 81,782 corona cases were reported for the week before November 24th – 9,641 infected people with full vaccination protection, 14,652 without vaccination protection and 57,489 with ‘unknown’ vaccination status. According to the LGL, these 57,489 infected people were then assigned to the group of unvaccinated – with considerable consequences for the incidence value for unvaccinated people.

“Apparently Bavaria is not an isolated case. This counting method is also used accordingly in Hamburg, as a spokesman for the Hamburg Senate of the ‘Welt’ confirmed …

“There has been harsh criticism from the opposition regarding the incidence reports in Bavaria. Martin Hagen, FDP parliamentary group leader in the Bavarian state parliament, called for ‘unreserved clarification’. He criticized according to ‘Welt’: ‘The suspicion that state authorities are deliberately giving the public a wrong picture with distorted statistics weighs heavily.’ And turning to the Prime Minister, he asks: ‘Did Söder know that the numbers were manipulated with which he justifies his politics?’”

It will end up as it did in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mackie Messer”: “… who knows nothing of any of it” (“der von allem nichts gewusst.”)

Subsequently, Focus reported on December 5 that the Bavarian government responded to the report. The audacity with which their falsifications were justified is incredible:

“LGL President Walter Jonas says: ‘This accusation is absolutely absurd. We decided to initially count the cases without information on the vaccination status among the unvaccinated… Merely omitting the missing values ​​would have led to completely wrong incidence ratios … Even after changing the calculation, nothing will change…’

“However, the authority does not provide any information about what the ‘conversion of the calculation’ of the data is all about.”

This is how the people are being misled.

Abolishing the Nuremberg Code?

Ddbnews.org wrote on December 4:

“Ursula Van Der Leyen, chairwoman of the EU Commission, told the press on Wednesday that she was in favor of abolishing the long-standing Nuremberg Code and forcing people to get vaccinated against COVID… In Austria, unvaccinated people aged 12 and over are currently almost completely banned and are only allowed outside for essential tasks such as eating or seeing a doctor…

“The Nuremberg Code was enacted in 1947 immediately after World War II to prevent many of the egregious human rights violations committed by the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese during the war.

“In particular, it was about carrying out medical procedures on test subjects without their consent. These procedures, often under the direction of the likes of Dr. Josef Mengele or Hideki Tojo, often included the worst torture methods. Since then, full and proactive ongoing consent has been required.”

If this does not ring alarm bells…

Israel too?

Israel Today wrote on December 6:

“Israel’s ‘Corona Czar’ said last week that the Jewish state must consider mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all citizens. Other officials retorted that doing so would make Israel a dictatorship. Israel is currently not mandating vaccination against coronavirus, though many have argued that there is heavy governmental control to get the jab… Government officials, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, insist that those sectors of society still refusing the vaccine are now threatening the success of Israel’s battle against the pandemic.

“…  there is a good chance Israel will eventually mandate vaccination in light of decisions by several major European countries… However, Israel is a more fractured society. Vaccination rates are still lowest among the Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews, and it is difficult to see those sectors peacefully acquiescing to any government mandates.”

Italy of Course

The Associated Press reported on December 6:

“Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people this holiday season, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theaters and museums starting Monday to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their shots.

“Italian police have been empowered to check whether diners in restaurants or bars have a ‘super’ green health pass certifying that they are either vaccinated or have recently recovered from the virus. Smart phone applications that verify people’s health pass status have been updated to prevent entry to concerts, movies or performances to those who have merely tested negative in recent days. The measures run through Jan. 15.”

Mussolini is coming to town…

Comeback of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi?

The Daily Mail wrote on December 5:

“Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been tipped to make one more run to be Italy’s next president. The 85-year-old media tycoon… remains Italy’s longest serving post war leader, having been in office three times. Despite regular brushes with the law – including being convicted of tax fraud in 2013 – and a number of health concerns, he has previously been referred to as ‘the immortal’ for his longevity in politics. And now, those within his centre-right Forza Italia party, which he led for more than two decades, are tipping him to make one final run for the top job.

“Antonio Tajani, the deputy leader of the party told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘It would be a dream. A lot of us have asked him [to run]…’ Berlusconi has not officially entered the race but is reportedly campaigning behind the scenes. The right-wing bloc… are expected to back him if he were to officially enter the race… He is currently a legislator in the European Parliament…

“Gianfranco Rotondi, a veteran Forza Italia MP and a former minister under Berlusconi’s last government said his former boss has a ’50-50 chance to make it’ in voting which starts around January 20. Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome’s Luiss university, said he predicted Berlusconi’s attempt to fade, but expected him to be ‘one of the kingmakers’ in the presidential race. The frontrunner in January’s elections is currently Mario Draghi, the current prime minister, while sitting president Sergio Mattarella has also been mentioned as a credible option, despite saying he wants to retire.

“Italian presidents are elected by approximately 1,000 national and regional lawmakers in a secret ballot.”

A Global Treaty for Pandemics?

Climate Depot wrote on December 1:

“… global leaders on Wednesday agreed to start negotiations to create an international agreement to prevent and deal with future pandemics — which some have dubbed a ‘pandemic treaty.’ The special session of the World Health Assembly, only the second ever held by the WHO’s governing body, pledged by consensus to begin work on an agreement… The United States has said it is largely in favor of such an accord… Britain and European Union states have also championed an agreement…”

Climate Depot went on to comment:

“… if a ‘radical’ WHO ‘pandemic treaty’ that is ‘legally binding’ becomes reality, global mandates may be coming your way… Even the Washington Post is calling a ‘pandemic treaty’ a ‘radical’ idea. Once a ‘pandemic treaty’ is set in place, COVID mandates will become permanent as elite officials fly around the world to discuss how to further crush freedom… Just like the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the architects of a ‘pandemic treaty’ will seek more and more power and control and become a self-interested lobbying organization…”

This is frightening news.

Global Tyranny

Life Site News wrote on December 3:

“Dr. Robert Malone, the original inventor of the mRNA vaccine technology 40 years ago, praised the recent call by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to build an anti-globalist alliance…

“Archbishop Viganò had proposed on November 18 to ‘free humanity from a totalitarian regime that brings together in itself the horrors of the worst dictatorships of all time,’ and he challenged ‘rulers, political and religious leaders, intellectuals and all people of good will, inviting them to unite in an alliance that launches an anti-globalist manifesto, refuting point by point the errors and deviations of the dystopia of the New World Order and proposing concrete alternatives for a political program inspired by the common good, the moral principles of Christianity, traditional values, the protection of life and the natural family, the protection of business and work, the promotion of education and research, and respect for creation.’…

“Dr. Malone [is] a strong opponent to the currently debated and planned vaccine mandates, lockdown policies, and mask mandates, all of which are, according to his study and research, ineffective and potentially harmful to human health… The vaccine expert compared the lockdowns with the ‘camel’s nose’ metaphor: ‘Once the camel’s nose gets in the tent, pretty soon the whole camel is in the tent,’ Dr. Malone said…

“‘There is a growing sense by many people that there’s something fundamentally evil going on here (…) I’ve become convinced that we do have a situation that is essentially the growth and expansion of global tyranny that is harmonized, that is managed, that is aligned across nation states, and it appears to be aligned with the economic interests of a small cluster of investment funds that represents the bulk of global western capital… For two years now we have been witnessing a global coup d’état, in which a financial and ideological elite has succeeded in seizing control of part of national governments, public and private institutions, the media, the judiciary, politicians, and religious leaders… Fundamental rights, which up until yesterday were presented as inviolable, have been trampled underfoot in the name of an emergency: today a health emergency, tomorrow an ecological emergency, and after that an internet emergency.’”

Poll: US Government without Power to Mandate Vaccination

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“Most voters say the federal government does not have the authority to mandate coronavirus vaccines, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday found… “Most, 57 percent, said ‘no,’ the government does not have that power, while 35 percent said ‘yes,’ and eight percent said ‘not sure.’

“The vast majority of Republicans, 81 percent, said the government does not have that power, and 63 percent of independents agree. However, most Democrats, 59 percent, believe the government does, in fact, have the power to make the coronavirus vaccination mandatory.”

This shows where at this point, the greatest danger for US democracy comes from. We are not promoting or endorsing any political party or candidate—we are just stating facts and focusing on trends. However, Trump keeps taking credit for developing the vaccine at high speed “when everyone said it wasn’t possible.” Since the vaccine was not, and could not have been tested for long-time complications, his continued “encouragement” to get vaccinated contributes to the problems which we are facing today. But there can be no doubt that the vaccination policy of the Biden Administration does endanger the safety, security and survival of this country. Note the next article.

Oklahoma’s AG Sues Biden over Vaccine Mandates

Breitbart reported on December 3:

“Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor (R) has sued the Biden administration over its federal coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal employees and National Guard members… Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this week reinforcing the need for military members to be vaccinated following Stitt’s request to bypass the mandate…

“‘Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate ensures that many Oklahoma National Guard members will simply quit instead of getting a vaccine, a situation that will irreparably harm Oklahomans’ safety and security,’ O’Connor said in a statement. ‘These patriots, along with many federal employees, who serve their country and their state are now at risk of being terminated because they do not wish to take the vaccine.’”

Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors

Breitbart wrote on December 7:

“A federal judge Tuesday issued an injunction striking down the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors, saying the plaintiffs are ‘likely [to] succeed in their claim that the President exceeded the authorization given to him by Congress.’

“The lawsuit was brought by Attorney General Alan Wilson and Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina, along with the attorneys general of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Utah, and West Virginia and the governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Idaho, as well as other state entities.

“The case revolves around the president’s authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (Procurement Act) and the authority it gives the president to issue public health mandates such as the one President Joe Biden issues in Executive Order (EO) 14042 to require all federal contractors to be vaccinated or face possible termination. ‘The Court acknowledges the tragic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought throughout the nation and the globe,’ Judge Stan Baker begins. ‘However, even in time of crisis this Court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.’ Furthermore, writes Baker, the government’s  ‘“strong interest in combating the spread of [COVID-19]’ … does not permit the government to ‘act unlawfully even in the pursuit of desirable ends.’”…

“Baker also pointed out that the Biden administration has neither cited a case that allows the president ‘to promulgate such a wide and sweeping public health regulation,’ nor cited a case in which a court upheld an analogous action. Concluding his determination of the merits, Baker explained that if the Biden administration were to have success in this case, it would give the president the ‘right to impose virtually any kind of requirement on businesses that wish to contract with the Government.’”

New York City’s Ongoing Tyranny under Mayor de Blasio

CNBC wrote on December 6:

“New York City is imposing a vaccine mandate for all private sector employers as a preemptive measure to fight a surge of Covid cases this winter, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday. The mandate covers 184,000 businesses and will go into effect on Dec. 27, de Blasio said. Everyone 12 and older, workers and customers, will be required to show proof of two vaccine doses by that date, unless they received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine…

“The city will also require proof of vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 for indoor dining, entertainment and fitness establishments, the mayor said. Kids will be required to have proof of at least one dose by Dec. 14. They will also have to show proof of one dose for high-risk extracurricular activities such as sports, band, orchestra and dance by the same date.

“The New York City policy comes after the Biden administration was forced to halt implementation and enforcement of national vaccine and testing requirements for businesses with 100 or more employees to comply with a federal court order… It’s unclear whether omicron causes more severe disease, according to the WHO. The people who have tested positive…  so far have shown mild to moderate symptoms.”

This incredible “first in the nation” measure has been summarized by Breitbart in this way: “Covid-1984… It’s All About Control.” De Blasio’s mayoralty ends at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, so he moved quickly to get these new dictatorial measures in place before vacating his office. The proposed new measures have already received sharp criticism from many New Yorkers (see New York Post, December 6).

New York City has been setting a really bad example of terrible dictatorship.

Far Weaker US Jobs Report as Expected

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“The U.S. economy added 210,00 jobs in November and the unemployment rate sank to 4.2 percent. This was a far weaker jobs report than expected. Economists had forecast 545,000 positions added to payrolls and an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent…”

The White House and President Biden tried to spin the devastating report by saying it contained “incredible news” and proof of a “strong” recovery.  Fox News moderators and others responded to this spin with mockery and condemnation.  Sean Hannity said on Fox News:

“The November jobs report was abysmal, falling well short of every projection — keep in mind we’re already facing a severe worker shortage, record-setting inflation, insanely high gas prices, stagnant growth, and now it appears to be getting even worse,” adding that Biden was supposed to shut down the virus, not the economy (see Fox News, December 4).

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network,… said Biden’s speech is evidence of the ‘complete delusion concerning the actual state of the economy.’… Ortiz put forth some sobering economic data, that Biden omitted… ‘Biden touted the “significant improvement” in created jobs since he took office, yet chooses to ignore the fact that we are still 4 million jobs behind pre-pandemic numbers. Today’s jobs report showed there are still 6.9 million Americans unemployed. The number of those who currently want to work but can’t find work is a stagging 5.9 million. It’s worth noting, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does NOT count those 5.9 million looking for work among the 6.9 million currently unemployed…’”

How Soros “Makes” Left-Liberal Politics

Fox News reported on December 9:

“Liberal billionaire George Soros has poured millions of dollars into a dark money hub used by far-left activists pushing to dismantle the police…

“[This] is yet another instance showing how [Soros’] cash funds efforts to reshape the justice system. For years, Soros has showered district attorney races with money, oftentimes backing the most progressive candidate.

“Parker Thayer, a researcher at the Capital Research Center, estimated that Soros has dropped $28 million into prosecutor races since 2015.

“Soros’ Open Society Foundations also devoted $220 million in 2020 to a racial equality push, which included $70 million for local efforts geared toward criminal justice reform.”

Breitbart added on December 9:

“Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón gathered ‘progressive’ prosecutors from around the country to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his time in office, but the party was derailed by questions about rising violent crime.

“Gascón, who ran against the first black woman to hold the job, and who received millions of dollars in donations from left-wing billionaire George Soros, has pursued an aggressive, radical agenda of ‘criminal justice reform’ since taking office. But crime has spiked, leaving the city in the throes of what the Los Angeles Times has called a spate of ‘brutal, brazen’ crimes.”

So much for left-wing billionaire Soros’ policies.

BLM Calls for Boycott of White Companies

Fox Business wrote on December 1:

“The Black Lives Matter movement’s national arm is leading a boycott of ‘white companies’ until New Year’s Day, encouraging supporters to help ‘end white-supremacist-capitalism’ by visiting only Black-owned businesses during the holiday shopping season…

“‘We’re dreaming of a #Blackxmas. That means no spending with white companies from 11/26/2021 – 01/01/2022,’ the BlackXmas website says. The organization also calls on supporters to ‘move your money out of white-corporate banks that finance our oppression and open accounts with Black-owned banks.”

Serious questions about Biden’s Mental Health

The New York Post wrote on December 3:

“President Biden is having a series of worrisome episodes that seem to be a mix of his trademark plagiarism (adopting episodes from other public figures’ lives as his own in addition to appropriating their words) and what we sometimes euphemistically call a ‘senior moment.’

“Recently, President Biden told a truck driver: ‘I used to drive a tractor-trailor.’ This wasn’t the first time he had made the claim. But the White House has since conceded that it is a fabrication…

“But that’s par for the course for Biden, who infamously slandered an innocent man in the matter of the death of his first wife and daughter, claiming that the man had been a drunken driver. He wasn’t, there was no suggestion that he was, and police reports at the time suggested that it was probably Mrs. Biden who had been at fault in the accident. Yet Biden spent years alleging that the man ‘drank his lunch’ before causing the accident.

“Biden also has a rich fantasy life, which is not limited to his mythical truck-driving days… On Wednesday, he told an audience that during the Six-Day War, he had acted as a liaison between Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and the Egyptian government. The Six-Day War occurred in 1967, when Levi Eshkol was the prime minister of Israel and Biden was plagiarizing his way toward finishing No. 76 of 85 in law school… He was years away from beginning his Senate career. This is another fantasy, one that Biden keeps repeating. Is it an ordinary lie, or is it a delusion?

“… Because of Biden’s long history of habitual dishonesty, it is difficult to tell how much of this is Biden being Biden and how much of it is Biden no longer quite being Biden — how much is his longstanding and familiar moral disability and how much is, as it may be, late-life mental disability.

“We need an independent medical assessment of the president’s mental health. That is a sobering fact to face, but face it we must. And right now, we need a Democrat who will say so in public.”

But Democrats are not willing to raise this, and neither do Republicans because the replacement of Biden through Kamala Harris would seem to be even more devastating to many.

The Pope in Greece

The Associated Press wrote on December 4:

“Pope Francis warned Saturday that the ‘easy answers’ of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe… Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Francis used a speech to Greek political and cultural leaders to warn Europe at large about the threats facing the continent…

“Francis, who lived through Argentina’s populist Peronist era as well as its military dictatorship, has frequently warned about the threat of authoritarianism and populism and the danger it poses to the European Union and democracy itself… Francis praised the ‘necessary vaccination campaign’ promoted by government authorities to tame the coronavirus…

“Francis has accelerated inter-faith initiatives, as the two churches attempt to shift from centuries of competition and mistrust toward collaboration. Orthodox churches are also seeking alliances amid a deepening dispute over the independence of the Ukrainian church, which was historically governed by the Russian Orthodox Church…

“Up to 4,000 police officers were readied for duty in Athens for the pope’s visit, and authorities banned protests and large public gatherings in parts of central Athens over the weekend.”

Francis warned of authoritarianism and praised at the same time the “necessary vaccination campaign” of governments, which includes mandatory vaccinations. These measures clearly constitute authoritarianism. What a contradiction.  It is also interesting that the Greek government prohibited protests against the Pope. So much for Francis’ highly praised Greek democracy. According to the Bible, most “Christian” churches will unite under the umbrella and leadership of the Catholic Church.

Russian Offensive against Ukraine Coming Soon?

Deutsche Welle reported on December 4:

“US intelligence officials claimed on Friday that Russia is planning a military offensive against Ukraine that could begin as early as 2022 [which] would supposedly involve an estimated 175,000 Russian military personnel. A US intelligence document obtained by the Washington Post showed apparent evidence of Russian forces massing in four locations and the arrival of tanks and artillery…

“[While denying that an invasion is planned,] Russian foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said that President Vladimir Putin will reiterate Russia’s ‘red lines’ in negotiations, including demands for a legally binding guarantee that NATO will not expand into Ukraine. NATO has not set a timeline for Ukrainian membership in the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia has no say in whether Ukraine will join the alliance…”

Newsmax added on December 4:

“Ukrainian officials also warned that Russia could invade next month… But some U.S. government officials say Putin also could be seeking attention and concessions from Biden and other Western leaders, using the military escalation to force Russia back into a central role in world affairs as it had in the days of the Soviet Union.”

Biden and Putin Talk for two Hours… with little or no success

Deutsche Welle reported on December 7:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Joe Biden held a virtual summit Tuesday, with Moscow’s troop build-up on Ukraine’s borders dominating the talks. The two presidents spoke for roughly two hours…

“‘President Biden voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia’s escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation,’ the White House said in a statement after the summit… The Kremlin also issued a statement after the call, saying that Putin had ‘complained about NATO’s dangerous attempts to develop Ukraine’ for its own goals, and that he ‘expressed concerns about Kyiv’s provocative actions’ towards Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia-backed separatists…

“A Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory could come with consequences for Germany too. US approval for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Europe was contingent on Moscow refraining from military provocations. Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that Washington would pull its approval if Russian troops enter Ukrainian territory.”

The approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was one of the biggest blunders by Merkel and Biden.

The Sun added on December 7:

“Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN that there would be a ‘really bloody massacre’ if Russia decides to invade Ukraine… The defense minister also said that five million Ukrainian refugees are fleeing into Europe amid heightened alarm about troop movements on the nations’ border.”

The New York Post added on December 7:

“Following… a virtual summit between President Biden and his Russian counterpart Tuesday, the White House appeared to be taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to a potential invasion of Ukraine by Moscow… national security adviser Jake Sullivan… acknowledged in the afternoon that ‘we still do not believe that President Putin has made a decision’ about whether to send his massed forces across the border and into Ukraine… Sullivan declined to say whether additional American forces would be dispatched to eastern Europe in the event of an invasion… When asked why the US should wait to take action… Sullivan responded that American policy, in ‘lockstep with our European allies,’ was to deter a Russian invasion…

“Sullivan also suggested Tuesday that the US could persuade Germany to cut off the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Russia invaded Ukraine.’ The fact is the gas is not currently flowing through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means that it’s not operating, which means that it’s not leveraged for Putin,’ Sullivan claimed. ‘It is leverage for the West. If Vladimir Putin wants to see gas flow through that pipeline, he may not want to take the risk of invading Ukraine.’

“That claim caused an uproar among online critics, who pointed out that Biden waived sanctions against the pipeline in May despite concerns that it would weaken Ukraine’s security by pumping gas directly from Russia to Germany — depriving Kiev of lucrative gas transit fees…”

Would Germany be willing to give up the Nord Stream 2 pipeline? That is highly doubtful.

But it’s all pretty immaterial as to what different powers may want to do, as the Bible is clear that Russia and Ukraine will unite in some way. Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “War between Russia, America and Europe over Ukraine?”

Christmas Trees Unite Us?

JTA wrote on December 8:

“A Fox News host explained that the Christmas tree represents the Christmas spirit — and Hanukkah… after a man was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the Christmas tree outside Fox News Channel headquarters in New York. ‘It’s a tree that unites us, that brings us together. It is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about Hanukkah,’ Earhardt said… ‘It is about everything we stand for as a country…’

“Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish temple several centuries before the birth of Jesus,  and its main story is about a Jewish sect’s resistance to assimilating into the dominant religious culture. The two holidays, Christmas and Hanukkah, are coincidental in their midwinter timings, but in little else.

“There is suggestive evidence in the New Testament that Jesus attended a Hanukkah event [as] described in John 10:22… Some angry Jews confronted Jesus about his claim to messiahhood, and it almost ended in a stoning. The apostle does not report any tree-burnings, however.”

Even though of different origins, there can be no doubt that a mixture between Christmas and Hanukkah has occurred. The Christmas tree is thoroughly pagan and was used as a means of worship long before the birth of Christ. If it unites the country, then woe to the country.

Swarm of Earthquakes rattles Oregon

Beach Connection wrote on December 9:

“What seems like an unprecedented number of small to sizable quakes off the Oregon coast have rattled underwater starting early Tuesday morning, with the number still rising 36 hours later. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, some 74 undersea quakes have hit about 300 miles directly west of Yachats in just over 24 hours… Experts say it’s nothing to worry about because it has nothing to do with the larger Cascadia Subduction zone that also exists off the Oregon coast, which will one day create a massive quake and subsequent tsunami…

“The quake swarm is unusual, as that area generally receives about 20 to 30 quakes per year… Most were in the 4.0 to 4.8 magnitude range, but at least ten were over 5.0, which is sizable… they are not ‘releasing’ pressure for that area and are not lessening the chances of the big one.”

KIRO 7 added on December 8:

“Harold Tobin leads the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington. He points out the Blanco Fracture Zone is a long way from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which is what we worry about for a major quake around Seattle… Still, any seismic event is a reminder that we live in earthquake country and should be prepared. ‘We always have the risk of a substantial earthquake that is damaging but I don’t think that risk is different in the Pacific Northwest today than it was two days ago,’ Tobin said.

“Emergency managers now ask people to be ‘two weeks ready,’ which means having enough supplies to be on your own for two weeks.”

If you are naïve enough to take the “experts’” words for it… 

Is the USA-Israel Honeymoon Period Over?

JTA wrote on December 2:

“[Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett has allowed for the construction of thousands of new settler homes. Biden is pushing to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, formerly the principal venue for U.S.-Palestinian relations. Last month the United States sanctioned two Israeli spyware companies.

“Then there is the ongoing strife over Iran’s nuclear program, a point of contention that those who analyze the U.S.-Israel relationship say could eventually blow the doors wide open… Israeli officials have said they believe Iran is weeks away from nuclear weapons capability; the country is enriching uranium to 60% purity, perilously close to the 90% needed for weaponization…”

It might very well be over, but then note the following surprising news, which was published by a paper in Israel.

Biden and the Third Temple?

Israel 365 wrote on December 2:

“US president Joe Biden hosted the White House’s annual menorah lighting ceremony on the fourth night of Chanukah on Wednesday. During his speech, Biden referenced the story of Chanukah and the destruction of the Second Temple. Biden compared the holy Temple to the ‘temple of our democracy’…

“Later on in his speech, the US president seemed to be optimistic that the third Temple will be rebuilt saying: ‘Whether it’s in the temple of Jerusalem or a temple of our democracy nothing broken or profaned is beyond repair…nothing. We can always build back better. Or perhaps, build back brighter.’

“The speech was not without the president’s signature gaffes… Ironically, Biden who champions both mask and vaccine mandates hailed the lessons of freedom and liberty that could be learned from the Maccabees.”

With Biden, one never knows, of course, how serious he is with speeches drafted for him, and whether any references are intentional or just “accidental.” Still, a third temple WILL BE built prior to Christ’s return, even though some are still stiff-necked or willfully ignorant enough to totally dismiss this possibility, against current events, better judgment and the clear prophecies in the Bible. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “A False Messiah in the Temple of God?” 

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.