November 9th: A fateful Day in German History

The Local wrote on November 9:

“So many momentous events happened in Germany on November 9th during the 20th century that it has become known as the country’s ‘day of fate’… here’s a look at four times history was made on November 9^th…

“With Germany on the brink of defeat in World War I and a revolutionary mood sweeping the country, the unpopular emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate, ending Germany’s monarchy… on November 9th, 1918, the deputy chairman of the Social Democrats, Philipp Scheidemann rushed to the balcony of Berlin’s Reichstag parliament to announce the birth of what would become the Weimar Republic…

“Adolf Hitler, the then relatively unknown Nazi Party leader, and his cronies tried to seize power with a coup that started in a crowded Munich beer hall on November 9th, 1923…

“Nazi thugs torched synagogues, smashed Jewish-owned shops and rounded up Jewish men across Germany on November 9th, 1938, in what became known as ‘Kristallnacht’ or the ‘Night of Broken Glass’…

“The fall of the Berlin Wall in a bloodless revolution on November 9th, 1989 [ended] 28 years of Cold War separation. But because of the dark chapters associated with the date in the past, it was considered an ill choice for a public holiday. Germans instead celebrate October 3rd, 1990, the official reunification of East and West Germany.”

Some of these events might have been staged to take place on November 9, but others were clearly not. And they might not have been “coincidental” either.

Remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989

Express wrote on November 9:

“Angela Merkel… paid tribute to those who were killed or imprisoned for trying to flee from East to West Germany and insisted that the fight for freedom worldwide was not over. She said: ‘The Berlin Wall… teaches us: No wall that keeps people out and restricts freedom is so high or so wide that it can’t be broken down.

“The values on which Europe is founded – freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, respect for human rights – are anything but self-evident. And they have to be filled with life and must be defended again and again…”

While focusing on Europe, her critical remarks about walls were obviously directed at President Trump.

Walls Still Exist in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 9:

“… the hope on East Germans’ faces in those images from 1989 stands in stark contrast to the divided Germany of today, where many still debate the outcomes of reunification… German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier… warned, new walls have been built across Germany: ‘Walls of frustration, walls of anger and hatred; walls of speechlessness and alienation; walls that are invisible but still divide; walls that stand in the way of our cohesion.’…

“Despite the progress made since German reunification, the political, economic and cultural divide between eastern and western Germany still runs deep. Unemployment is still higher in the east, eastern Germans are still underrepresented in leading positions and many still feel left behind as the ‘losers’ of reunification…

“Thirty years after reunification, Germany is faced with the decision of what kind of country it wants to be.”

The political, economic and cultural divide between eastern and western Germany explains why especially in East Germany, radical parties on the left and the right are so successful.

The West’s Takeover

The Guardian wrote on November 9:

“Thirty years ago, Elfriede Begrich delivered a stirring sermon to a packed Gethsemane church in East Berlin. She quoted Deuteronomy 2.7: ‘God watches over you as you wander through this great wilderness’. ‘In those days every verse in the bible sounded like a political manifesto,’ the former Protestant pastor recalled this Saturday…

“This year… 42% [of the citizens of Berlin] felt the process of reunification had taken place too quickly. Many, like Elfriede Begrich, had hoped for at least symbolic gestures to assure them that the new Germany would be a fusion of its two halves, rather than a takeover by the west…”

East Germany was clearly taken over by the West. Even though it is described as being a peaceful takeover, East Germany’s institutions and laws were totally dismantled. East Germans have not forgotten that.

Remembering the Reichskristallnacht on November 9, 1938

The Algemeiner wrote on November 8:

“It’s been 81 years since Kristallnacht (“The Night of Broken Glass”), when Nazis torched synagogues, vandalized thousands of Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and killed nearly 100 Jews on the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938 in what was a precursor of things to come in Germany.

“In the aftermath, some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps… ‘This Shabbat marks 81 years since Kristallnacht. It is inconceivable that today Jews need to remove their kipah in order to walk the streets of Europe,’ said [Jewish Agency chairman Isaac] Herzog…”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 8:

“António Guterres [the secretary-general of the United Nations] said that terrorists and neo-Nazis are ramping up recruitment and radicalization, and that they use the Internet as a tool to spread bigotry. He said online efforts are specifically targeted at luring in young and vulnerable people. Guterres called for urgent action by parents, teachers and political leaders ‘before underground hatred becomes an overt and alarming new normal.’…

“Ambassador Danny Danon, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations… echoed Guterres’s warning on the dangers of rising antisemitism… ‘Tonight we are remembering what happened on Kristallnacht on November 9… It is important not only because of the destruction that night, but also what is happening now. We know that it might happen again.'”

Indeed it will, and much worse.

Europe vs. Israel

Times of Israel wrote on November 12:

“Israel on Tuesday condemned as politically motivated and discriminatory a decision by the European Court of Justice that determined that Israeli goods made in the settlements must be labeled as such. The ruling… serves as ‘a tool in the political campaign against Israel,’ the Foreign Ministry said in a statement… There are more than 200 territorial disputes across the world, but the European court has never ruled on any of them, the ministry said…

“Tuesday’s ruling, handed down by 15 judges in the court’s Grand Chamber in Luxembourg, ‘diminishes the chances of reaching peace,’ the ministry stated… According to the Luxembourg-based court, ‘Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin… Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely joined the chorus of condemnation, calling the judges’ ruling political and hypocritical. Settlements are an integral part of Israel, and it does not make a difference whether a product was manufactured in Tel Aviv or in a West Bank outpost, she said…

“Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem also chimed in, taking to Twitter to suggest the court ‘label and condemn the hundreds of rockets fired into Israeli territory today.’”

Bild Online spoke about a scandalous judgment and reported that the USA has condemned it as well. It reminds us somewhat of the requirement for Jews to wear special identification cards in Nazi Germany.

More Power to Europe?

Reuters wrote on November 9:

“… incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [who is supposed to take over the EU Presidency on December 1] said on Friday, ‘… Europe must… learn the language of power… That means on the one hand developing our own muscles… for example in security policy. On the other hand, it means engaging our available power with more focus,’ she added…”

Reuters wrote on November 12:

“European Union governments gave the green light on Tuesday for 13 new defence projects in a step to develop more firepower independently of the United States… work will begin on a new patrol vessel, an electronic jamming weapon for aircraft and technology to track ballistic missiles…

“Some 47 joint EU defence projects are now in the works following the signing of a pact by France, Germany and 23 other EU governments in late 2017 to fund, develop and deploy armed forces following Britain’s decision to quit the bloc… the bloc hopes to launch a multi-billion-euro weapons fund from 2021 requiring EU member states to work together on designing and building new tanks, ships and technology…

“France will head plans to better track ballistic missiles in space, and develop an electronic jamming weapon with Spain and Sweden for European combat aircraft to overcome enemy air defences. With Italy, France will develop a prototype for a new class of [a] military ship, to be known as a European Patrol Corvette.

“France, Portugal, Spain and Sweden also aim to deliver a new anti-submarine system to protect sea lanes and communication. France is already leading work on new European helicopters.”

Europe will become more and more powerful militarily and will soon be able to challenge the US and the UK.

Boris Johnson to Break Another Promise?

The Guardian wrote on November 11:

“The incoming president of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote to the prime minister [Boris Johnson] last week, asking him to propose a British candidate or candidates for EU commissioner ‘rapidly, in the shortest time possible’. Johnson’s spokesman said on Monday that the government would comply with the law…

“In his first address to the House of Commons after becoming prime minister in July, Johnson told MPs that ‘under no circumstances’ would he nominate a new commissioner…’”

However, as Express reported on November 12, “BORIS JOHNSON has infuriated new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen by once again ignoring a request for Britain to nominate a candidate for her team” as “the deadline to put forward a British commissioner came and passed on Monday.”

Deutsche Welle added on November 14:

“The European Commission said on Thursday it was initiating infringement proceedings against the UK, hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to nominate a British candidate as an EU commissioner. 

“‘As the Guardian of the Treaties, the European Commission has today sent a letter of formal notice to the United Kingdom for breaching its EU Treaty obligations by not suggesting a candidate for the post of EU Commissioner,’ the Commission said in a statement.

“It added that London had time until next Friday, November 22, to respond.”

The relationship between the EU and the UK is deteriorating more and more.

Most Britons Prefer Brexit over Northern Ireland

The Huffington Post wrote on November 11:

“A majority of Remainers and Leavers would be prepared to see Northern Ireland leave the Union in order to achieve their preferred Brexit outcome, a survey has found…

“Four in 10 Britons would not be concerned if Northern Ireland leaves the UK. 41% said they cared little or not at all about Northern Ireland. A majority would rather have their preferred Brexit outcome than see Northern Ireland stay in the Union; which was true for both Remainers and Leavers. Even those who care a ‘great deal’ about Northern Ireland, and want it to stay in the UK, would choose their Brexit preference over the Union remaining intact.”

Many Britons feel that in a few years from now, the UK, uniting Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will be history.

More Uncertainty in Spain

The Associated Press wrote on November 11:

“A general election called to end political deadlock in Spain has only deepened uncertainty about the future of the European Union’s fifth-largest economy… No party achieved a clear mandate to govern in Sunday’s vote, which was the second election in seven months and was intended to clear away the stalemate. Further weeks or months of political jockeying now lie ahead.

“Incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left-of-center Socialists captured the most seats, with 120. But that is far short of a majority in the 350-seat chamber…

“Support surged for far-right party Vox, which was launched just six years ago. It collected 52 seats, more than double its showing in the last election in April, making it the third largest party in parliament behind the Socialists and the conservative Popular Party, which recovered to collect 88 seats. Across Europe, far-right parties have made gains in recent years, setting off alarm bells about the bloc’s political direction.

“Some analysts put down Vox’s rise to nationalist sentiment stirred up as a result of mass protests by separatists in the wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia. The protests have included recent violent clashes with police that left more than 500 people injured. The push for Catalan independence, which the national government won’t allow, is Spain’s most serious political issue in decades and shows no signs of abating. Three Catalan separatist parties won a combined 23 seats, one more than in April…”

“Spain’s Pedro Sánchez Is Paying the Price for Underestimating the Far Right”

New Statesman wrote on November 11:

“After refusing to form a left alliance, the Socialist Prime Minister gambled on an early election and was painfully exposed… The previous election in April handed Sánchez victory but his party was still short of the 176 seats needed for an outright majority… And so, as King Felipe VI dissolved parliament and triggered a new election…

“Spanish fascism didn’t end with a war or a revolution…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 12:

“The Spanish Socialists have reached an initial agreement to work towards forming a minority government with left-wing populists Podemos. With a deal, the two parties’ seats still fall 21 short of a majority… Possible parties to make up the shortfall could be the leftist Mas Pais and the Basque nationalists…”

None of that sounds too promising. And as there is turmoil and uncertainty in Spain, so there is turmoil and uncertainty in Bolivia, a former Spanish colony. Bolivia’s independence from Spain was declared in 1825 and officially recognized in 1847. Note the next article.

Bolivia in Turmoil

The Week wrote on November 11:

“[Socialist] Bolivian President Evo Morales resigned Sunday… Despite agreeing to new elections, Morales was put in an even more difficult position after Bolivia’s military chief Gen. Williams Kaliman appeared on television and called for the president to resign in the hopes of allowing ‘peace to be restored and stability to be maintained for the good of our Bolivia.’

“Morales was first elected in 2006 and was the first member of the country’s indigenous population to become president. For years, Morales was lauded for his government’s progress, but Bolivians eventually grew concerned about his reluctance to give up power, especially after his most recent re-election, which led to accusations of fraud.”

The Independent added on November 11:

“Former Bolivian president Evo Morales has denounced what he has claimed was an ‘illegal’ warrant for his arrest, as supporters of the outgoing leader were accused of setting fire to his opponents’ homes… he has claimed he was the victim of a military coup – and that the police were preparing to take him into custody…”

NPR added on November 11:

“[Morales’] resignation has not settled the nation… A slew of other top officials have also resigned, including the vice president, the heads of both legislative chambers, the head of the electoral tribunal, and Bolivia’s police commander. The result is a power vacuum: it’s not clear who is in charge of Bolivia, and how a successor to Morales will be chosen.”

Deutsche Welle added on November 12:

“Former Bolivian President Evo Morales is headed for Mexico after being granted asylum there… The Mexican Foreign Ministry said it had made the decision to grant an asylum request… for humanitarian reasons. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Morales’ ‘life and physical integrity’ were at risk in Bolivia…

“The world has reacted with a variety of perspectives on the developments… Mexico, Uruguay, Cuba, Venezuela and Argentine President-elect Alberto Fernandez have said Morales was deposed illegally. However, the US State Department has said the situation in Bolivia was not a coup…”

Bolivia’s “Interim President”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 12:

“Opposition politician Jeanine Anez on Tuesday declared herself Bolivia’s interim president… Clashes broke out on the streets of La Paz, Bolivia’s capital… after Anez’s declaration… Morales… called her announcement ‘the most disastrous … coup in history.’ The former Bolivian president said that the opposition leader ‘declared herself… interim president without a legislative quorum, surrounded by a group of accomplices and backed by the armed forces and police that repress the people.’…

“Bolivia’s political crisis is far from over after Anez’s move. Under the Bolivian constitution, Morales’ resignation needed to be approved by both houses of Congress, and lawmakers failed to get the quorum for an assembly session on Tuesday…”

Trump Hails Morales’ Ouster

The Hill wrote on November 11:

“President Trump hailed the ouster of Bolivian President Evo Morales as a ‘significant moment for democracy’…

“‘After nearly 14 years and his recent attempt to override the Bolivian constitution and the will of the people, Morales’s departure preserves democracy and paves the way for the Bolivian people to have their voices heard,’ Trump said in a statement. Trump said the events in Bolivia ‘send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail. We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere.’”

Current events in Bolivia do not seem to support the claim that “democracy” is being preserved. Rather, it looks more like anarchy.

No Peace, but More Complex Wars

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 8:

“After the Cold War ended, the world hoped for an era of peace. But things turned out differently. Now… wars are more complex than ever. The 20th century was dominated by wars. An estimated 80 million people died in two world wars. Then there was the Cold War: An arms race between the USA and Russia. In Europe and large parts of the world, two hostile sides faced each other. In Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America, the global powers financed bloody proxy wars…

“There are still many conflicts around the world. Since the mid-2000s, their number has increased again… Among them are the Yugoslav wars and the conflicts in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war in Mali from 2012 and the continuing war in Syria, which began in 2011, seem to continue the trend. In the last ten years alone, researchers… have counted 23 wars and 162 minor conflicts…

“In addition to the model of bilateral conflict with two opposing sides, there are often other parties involved as well who may for example send troops or supply weapons, expertise or training. Until the beginning of the 2000s, only two or three external parties, on average, participated in any given conflict. In the following years, that average rose to between four and five.

 “The main reason for this is the complex conflicts in the Middle East: In 2009, 46 external parties were involved in the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan… The war in Syria today is similarly complex: Bloomberg, for example, counted ten different main participants alone in the constantly changing network of interests at the beginning of October 2019…”

Christ warned that in these end times, we will be hearing more and more of wars and rumors of wars. Nuclear World War III is now clearly on the horizon. There will not be any peace until Christ returns.

A Third Term for Trump?

The Telegraph wrote on November 9:

“Robert De Niro… believes [that] the US president… is leading America towards war. In the past, the actor has been extremely vocal of his dislike for Donald Trump… ‘If he did win the next election, there’s definitely more chance of him allowing us to get into a war, and if you’re a president in a war, it’s more likely a chance you would stay for a third term. Imagine him in a third term.’”

It might come to that.

Trump—the Anointed King to Build the Third Temple?

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 11:

“After much deliberation, the Sanhedrin has issued a declaration calling on Iran to… return to their Biblically-correct identity as the Persian Empire. If they do not, another, possibly President Trump, will take the role of the ‘anointed king’ designated to lead the effort to build the Temple…

“[The Sanhedrin stated:] ‘Iran’s actions are in stark contrast to the great King Cyrus of Persia who ended seventy years of exile that began with the destruction of the First Temple. King Cyrus commanded the Jews exiled in Babylonia to return to Eretz Yisrael and rebuild the temple. King Cyrus aided in the restoration of the Temple by providing the tools to restore the temple and begin the Temple service. Cyrus is the ‘Anointed King’ that is mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah one hundred and fifty years before his reign…’

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, emphasized that Iran stands at a historic crossroads… ‘The role of Cyrus as the anointed king was for a specific role… There needs to be a central figure… In his time, it was Cyrus,’ Rabbi Weiss said, noting that the Sanhedrin had compared President Trump to the Persian king. ‘This could be Trump but he also stands at a crossroads…’”

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 13:

“At a super donor event, being blessed by Jews as a King, Trump suggested he may take on a new role: Prime Minister of Israel… The invitation said the event was intended to ‘show appreciation’ to Trump, as ‘never before have Jews, here and in Israel, had such a loyal friend and supporter in the White House.’

“To honor the occasion, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler… ‘I think I have an approval rating of 98 percent in Israel,’ Trump said. ‘If anything happens here, I’m taking a trip over to Israel. I’ll be prime minister.’”

Note our Editorial in this issue.

DACA’s Uncertain Future

The Independent wrote on November 12:

“Donald Trump [stated that] ‘Many of the people in DACA, no longer very young, are far from “angels”… ‘Some are very tough, hardened criminals.’

“In June 2019 there were a reported 825,000 total DACA recipients — otherwise known as Dreamers. The majority are 25 years old or younger, Latin American-born and live across 20 US metro areas…

“The president attempted to terminate the programme two years ago, though two federal court rulings have since blocked the move. The nation’s top court will hear arguments on three consolidated cases… and determine whether the administration has a reasonable explanation to begin dissolving DACA. 

“It’s unclear what would happen if the justices sided with the White House: Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have been unable to draft any legislation meeting the president’s demands for a wall while also extending protections to certain undocumented immigrants. Mr Obama found himself at a similar point when he introduced DACA in the Rose Garden in June 2012, urging Congress to pass an act that would protect Dreamers…”

This is indeed a terrible situation. Even IF some of the dreamers were criminals, many are not, and to deport all of them would constitute a terrible injustice.  

Is DACA Doomed?

The Week wrote on November 12:

“As many as nine in 10 poll respondents say the so-called ‘Dreamers’ should have a path to citizenship. Crucially, that is a view shared by most Republicans, even though President Trump announced the end of the program in 2017. DACA is popular…

“The case before the Court turns on a pretty narrow question of law. The debate isn’t whether Trump had the right to bring DACA to an end, but whether his administration gave the wrong reason for doing so. The administration said that former President Obama overstepped his authority when he created DACA by executive order in 2012, and that the White House had no legal choice but to end the program.

“The Supreme Court might agree. Or it could decide — as lower courts have — that Obama had the authority to create DACA, and that the Trump administration’s reasoning for ending the program was based ‘on an erroneous view of what the law required.’ If that happens, the Trump administration would probably be given the chance to go back to the drawing board and come up with a proper reason for ending the program. Still, if Obama had the discretion to create the program, there is little question that Trump has the authority to pull the plug — what a president can make, a president can unmake…

“It is at this point that Congress could step in and do the right thing. But the legislative branch’s failures on immigration in general — and saving the Dreamers, in particular — are legion. The House and Senate have been trying to pass a path to citizenship for the young migrants for nearly two decades.”

The incompetency of the US government is breath-taking.

America’s Pitiful Record

Axios wrote on November 12:

“New government data shows that the U.S. government held 69,550 migrant children in custody in 2019, a 42% increase from fiscal year 2018… UN researchers report that the U.S. detained more children than any other country in the world this year…

“Around 4,000 kids are still in custody, but more are arriving every week… Nearly 3,000 children were forcibly removed from their parents’ custody, while an additional 1,556 migrant families were separated between July 2017 and June 2018…”

The immigration record of the USA is indeed awful and inhumane.

US Borrowers Are Going Underwater on Car Loans

The Wall Street Journal wrote on November 9:

“Consumers, salespeople and lenders are treating cars a lot like houses during the last financial crisis: by piling on debt to such a degree that it often exceeds the car’s value. This phenomenon—referred to as negative equity, or being underwater—can leave car owners trapped. Some 33% of people who traded in cars to buy new ones in the first nine months of 2019 had negative equity, compared with 28% five years ago and 19% a decade ago…

“Borrowers with negative equity at the time of purchase tend to get longer loan terms, higher interest rates and higher monthly payments… The result for some consumers is a cycle in which each new trade-in leaves them deeper underwater… If borrowers default, lenders generally repossess the cars and try to resell them, then apply that money to the unpaid balance. Often, though, that isn’t enough to cover the borrower’s unpaid balance.”

The same phenomenon can be observed in the housing market. We should not fool ourselves in thinking that we will not experience another financial crisis soon, which will be devastating for many Americans.

Wildfires in Australia

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 11:

“The Australian state of New South Wales declared a state of emergency on Monday due to ongoing, unprecedented wildfire danger. New South Wales Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said on Monday that residents were facing ‘what could be the most dangerous bushfire week [the] nation has ever seen.’…”

Deutsche Welle added on November 12:

“Increased heat and high winds have threatened to make the already devastating bushfires worse. Authorities in Sydney are warning residents of ‘catastrophic fire danger’ — the first time that designation has been assigned since fire ratings were introduced in Australia in 2009. The warning has triggered evacuations in the state of New South Wales and forced more than 600 schools across the state to close.”

The Guardian wrote on November 12:

“It could be months before eastern Australia has more than a million hectares of bushfires under control, the New South Wales fire chief has warned, as the country faces one of its worst bushfire outbreaks… concern was growing over unpredictable wind changes worsening fires in the neighbouring state of Queensland, with much hotter temperatures also predicted for the Sydney area next week.”

The Bible has predicted that in these end times, more and more devastating wildfires will spread throughout the world, and especially in countries which are descendants of the ancient House of Israel. Australia is of course one of those countries.

Breaking the Seal of Confession?

MSN wrote on November 11:

“The Roman Catholic Church says it would reject any recommendation from a U.K. inquiry that would require priests to break confession to report child sexual abuse. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, [said:] ‘The history of the Catholic Church has a number of people who have been put to death in [defense] of the seal of the confession. It might come to that.’…

“When asked by Brian Altman, the lead lawyer on the inquiry, how the Catholic Church would respond to a recommendation of breaking the seal of confession in cases where abusers have admitted child abuse, Nichols said: ‘It would not be well received. It would be rejected,’ he said. This comes after the Australian Catholic Church opposed the Australian Royal Commission’s recommendation of breaking the seal of confession in 2018.”

This problem is not limited to the Catholic Church. Any minister who is being given confidential information must make a conscious decision as to how to proceed and use the communication received. It would therefore be important to tell anyone before communication is given what the parameters and consequences of obtaining that information would be for the parishioner.

Pope Francis: The Devil Destroys

Vatican News wrote on November 12:

“‘The devil exists, sowing hatred and death throughout the world… When you talk badly about someone you destroy them… The tongue is a fearsome weapon… Gossip kills. Slander kills’, [the Pope] said…  ‘Cain and Abel were brothers’, he said, ‘but the jealousy and the envy of the one destroyed the other’. This is the way it is, said the Pope, just watch the evening news: ‘wars, destruction, people dying of illnesses caused by wars’.

“Pope Francis recalled the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the horrors of war, the Nazis, and those who ‘tortured anyone who was not of “pure race”’… The Pope said he often has the impression the news is a story of hatred and destruction, wars and terrorist attacks. ‘So many children die of hunger and disease’ because they have no water, no education, or healthcare, said the Pope. Instead, ‘the money needed for this goes to manufacturing weapons of destruction’…”

The Devil exists indeed, even though most people don’t believe in him. That foolish ignorance empowers him even more.

Abortion an Act of Love?

Breaking Israel News reported on November 10:

“The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) launched a new campaign… dubbed ‘Abortion Actually.’ [It] makes the following claim:… ‘What is abortion actually? An act of love. An act of compassion. An act of healing. An act of selflessness. Abortion actually is something 1 in 4 people will experience in their lifetimes. It’s health care. It’s freedom… If you believe that abortion is at its core, an act of love, compassion, healing, and selflessness – please join our campaign today…’

“The NWLC campaign seeks to keep abortion available with an initial investment of $350,000 to 11 pro-abortion groups across the U.S.

“Dr. Eli Schussheim, a highly regarded Israeli surgeon who is the director of EFRAT-C.R.I.B, reacted to the new campaign from a Biblical perspective… ‘I object to abortion as a doctor… I am a doctor and have treated approximately 76,000 women that all claimed to have economic or family reasons to have an abortion,’ Dr. Schussheim said. ‘Not a single one has expressed regret at her decision to have a baby. On the other hand, unlike other surgical procedures, abortion does not leave a physical scar but always leaves a scar on the psyche. From a medical standpoint, abortion, as this organization describes it,  is horrible for women…’”

This new campaign endorses and promotes entirely ungodly and despicable concepts. Woe to those who call evil good!

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.

USA—A Deeply Divided Nation

The Associated Press reported on November 3:

“The nation will plunge into the election as deeply divided as it has been politically in more than half a century, when cities were in flames with protests over war and civil rights… Many of those divisions existed before Trump, but his presidency has exacerbated them…

“Indeed, no president in the history of public opinion polling has faced such deep and consistent partisan polarization.”

The USA is deeply divided. A house divided cannot and will not stand.

Piers Morgan: Trump Guaranteed to Win in 2020

Newsmax wrote on November 1:

“The impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump will backfire, Piers Morgan predicted on Friday, saying it will fire up his base, demoralize his liberal opponents and … virtually guarantee him another win. Morgan, the host of ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain,’ wrote in an opinion piece for The Daily Mail on Friday that Democrats have misjudged their opportunity, and will inadvertently hand Trump victory in 2020. ‘I don’t think this impeachment has a… chance of being successful, given the hyper-partisan nature of current US politics,’ he wrote…

“Morgan goes on to say that ‘what the Democrats don’t seem to have realized, or have chosen to ignore in their self-righteous desperation to nail Trump for anything, is that a failed impeachment attempt will hugely help him get re-elected.’ He adds that this, combined with a strong recent job reports, including record-low unemployment for African-Americans, the recent killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ‘virtually guarantee him another win.'”

We agree.

America Tired of Fighting Endless Wars

Breitbart wrote on November 3:

“American Veterans who risked their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are increasingly opposing foreign interventionism that continues to dominate the Washington, DC, political establishment. The latest Pew Research Center survey on the issue finds that 64 percent of Veterans say the Iraq War is ‘not worth fighting,’ along with 62 percent of all American adults who agree. Only 33 percent of Veterans say the Iraq War is worth fighting.

“Likewise, nearly 60 percent of Veterans and all American adults say the Afghanistan War was not worth the fight. Less than 40 percent say the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was worth fighting…

“Even when it comes to the U.S. intervention in Syria, Veterans by a majority oppose the effort. The Pew Research Center survey found that 55 percent of Veterans said U.S. involvement in Syria is ‘not worth it’ while almost 60 percent of American adults agreed.

“Former President George W. Bush led the U.S. into war in Afghanistan and Iraq with more than 4,500 Americans dying in Iraq — including more than 3,500 killed in combat — and up to 205,000 Iraqi citizens dying in the war since March 2003. In total, Bush’s post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and intervention in Pakistan have resulted in the deaths of between 480,000 and 507,000 people — including nearly 7,000 American soldiers who had deployed to the regions.”

What is reflected in the article is an interesting phenomenon: The Bible has predicted that Americans will be tired of fighting and refusing to go out when the trumpet for war sounds… but not because they realize that war is wrong per se. That change of heart will only come when Christ has returned.

US Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s Health Insurance Visa Restriction

Deutsche Welle reported on November 3:

“A judge in the United States on Saturday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to insist on immigrants having health insurance, or the resources to pay for medical care, before they can get visas. The legislation was due to come into effect as of November 3 but Federal Judge Michael Simon in Portland, Oregon, granted a 28-day restraining order on the proposal.

“Simon said the possible suffering to would-be incomers and their families prevented him from approving the bill. ‘Facing a likely risk of being separated from their family members and a delay in obtaining a visa to which family members would otherwise be entitled is irreparable harm,’ Simon wrote in a statement that was 18 pages in length.

“Saturday’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by seven US citizens and an advocacy organization, arguing it ‘rewrites our immigration and healthcare laws by Presidential fiat.’ ‘We’re very grateful that the court recognized the need to block the health care ban immediately,’ Justice Action Center senior litigator Esther Sung said. Sung, who acted on behalf of the plaintiffs, added: ‘The ban would separate families and cut two-thirds of green-card-based immigration starting tonight, were the ban not stopped.’

“The Trump administration wanted the new legislation in order to stop taxpayers from bearing the ‘substantial costs in paying for medical expenses incurred by people who lack health insurance or the ability to pay for their healthcare.’ However, healthcare policy specialists stated immigrants use the system far less frequently than US citizens.

“In addition, according to a study carried out by Leighton Ku, director of the Center for Health Policy Research at George Washington University, newcomers to the US who arrive without insurance were responsible for less than one-tenth of 1% of medical expenditures in 2017.”

This is good news. The only question is, how long will the temporary blockade last? Will the 28-day restraining order be prolonged; will it be replaced by a permanent order prohibiting Trump’s proposals to re-write America’s long-standing immigration laws, and will the highly political US Supreme Court agree or disagree with Judge Simon or President Trump?

The US Dollar under Worldwide Attack

CNBC wrote on October 30:

“The U.S. dollar has been the world’s major reserve currency for decades, but that status could come under threat as ‘very powerful countries’ seek to undermine its importance… China, Russia and the European Union are some ‘major movers’ behind this push. One of those reasons driving their shift away from the dollar is the prospect of being subject to U.S. jurisdiction if they transact in dollars…

“When the U.S. dollar is used or transactions are cleared through an American bank, entities are subject to U.S. jurisdiction… Europe wants to do business with Iran. It doesn’t want to be subject to U.S. law for doing business with Iran… Nobody wants to be picked up at an airport for doing business with countries that the U.S. isn’t happy that they’re doing business with…

“But if the dollar declines in influence, other currencies could fill the role traditionally played by the greenback…”

According to the Bible, it will be the Euro which will replace the US Dollar.

The Trump Administration’s Obsession with Persian Emperor Cyrus

The Washington Post wrote on November 1:

“On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commemorated a moment more than 2,500 years ago. ‘Today in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great entered Babylon and freed the Jewish people from captivity,’ Pompeo tweeted…

“Pompeo was referring to a rather famous event in history. According to sources including biblical scripture, Cyrus allowed the Judeans deported and exiled following the ravages of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II to return to their homeland. His conquest of Babylon cemented his dominion over much of the lands we now consider to be the Middle East, an empire that stretched from the Indus River basin to the Mediterranean Sea. Like any other ancient warrior king, he presided over massacres and pillage, including a notorious incident immortalized by the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus where Cyrus burned a vanquished foe and 14 young boys alive on a funeral pyre.

“But Cyrus is memorialized by Iranians (and non-Iranians) as a unifying proto-national hero, an all-powerful emperor who still allowed for toleration and coexistence among different peoples, sects and religions. The Cyrus Cylinder, a barrel-shaped tablet etched in Babylonian cuneiform that was unearthed by archaeologists in the late 19th century, announced his victory and his desire to let his new subjects retain their traditions… the cylinder… casts Cyrus as an agent of the Babylonian god Marduk… A replica of the ancient artifact sits on display in the lobby of the United Nations…

“Some right-wing Christian evangelical supporters of the president have embraced the idea of a ‘Trump prophecy,’ seeing in Trump’s political gifts to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu – including the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – a glimmer of divine providence. ‘Some evangelicals, who support Zionism out of the belief that the Jewish migration to Israel would trigger the Second Coming, have eagerly elevated Trump to the status of a biblical ruler,’ Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi noted earlier this year. ‘He, in turn, has happily obliged and made a number of political concessions to Israel, out of the rather worldly consideration that the evangelical vote could win him re-election next year.’

“Trump’s closest Israeli partner is only happy to oblige. Netanyahu has declared Trump to be one of a singular set of non-Jewish heroes ‘in the long sweep of Jewish history,’ linking his deeds with those of the British Lord Balfour, President Harry S. Truman and, yes, Cyrus the Great.

“Pompeo, a devout evangelical himself, has entertained other parallels also, citing the Old Testament story of Queen Esther, the Persian Jewish queen who foiled a plot to kill all Jews in the Achaemenid kingdom. Earlier this year while in Jerusalem, Pompeo was asked whether ‘President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace?’ He responded: ‘As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.’”

What is missed by the author of the article—whether because of ignorance or deliberately–is the role of Cyrus to allow the Jews to build the Second Temple. As was pointed out in other news outlets, it appears that Trump believes that he has the providential role of helping to build the Third Temple… as a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

What Will the US Do in Case of an Israeli-Iran War?

The Atlantic wrote on November 4:

“The senior ministers of the Israeli government met twice last week to discuss the possibility of open war with Iran. They were mindful of the Iranian plan for a drone attack from Syria in August, aborted at the last minute by an Israeli air strike, as well as Iran’s need to deflect attention from the mass protests against Hezbollah’s rule in Lebanon. The ministers also reviewed the recent attack by Iranian drones and cruise missiles on two Saudi oil installations, reportedly concluding that a similar assault could be mounted against Israel from Iraq… Israel is girding for the worst and acting on the assumption that fighting could break out at any time…

“And over all of them looms a pressing question: How will the United States respond?… Whether inadvertently… or purposefully… the United States has empowered Iran… Donald Trump failed to respond forcefully to the Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and on international shipping in the Gulf, or even for the downing of a U.S. Navy drone last June… the hasty withdrawal of American troops from Syria appears to many in the Middle East as yet another American move that will strengthen Tehran…

“I recall President Obama’s comment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office six years ago this week, on the last day of my service as Israeli ambassador. ‘The United States will always come to Israel’s aid in the event of a war,’ he said, ‘because that is what the American people expect.’ But I also remember that, back in 1973, Egypt and Syria saw a president preoccupied with an impeachment procedure, and concluded that Israel was vulnerable. In the subsequent war, Israel prevailed—but at an excruciating price. The next war could prove even costlier.”

Trump Meddles in Brexit Debacle

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 30:

“US President Donald Trump urged Britain to speed up its departure from the European Union and advised Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage to team up with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the upcoming elections… Trump said that Britain is being ‘held back by the European Union’ and that the country would be ‘much better without it,’ particularly as it would enable the UK ‘to do much more on trade with the United States.’ The president added: ‘Brussels is very difficult to deal with.’

“However, Trump cast doubt over the current deal the EU and the UK have in place, saying it limits the possibility of trading between the two English-speaking nations… ‘this Brexit deal — certain aspects of the deal -—you can’t… trade,’ he said.”

Johnson responded by refusing to line up with Farage, and stating that he disagrees with Trump on his assessment on the proposed EU-UK deal.

Johnson Leads…

Money Morning wrote on November 1:

“… this general election is going to purge Parliament. Of the 57 MPs who are stepping down, the vast majority are Remainers. Many more of those who have scuppered the Brexit process… are likely to lose their seats. The Speaker himself is gone. Parliament is going to be a very different place on 13 December.

“The polls show Boris Johnson has a strong lead… it looks as though Johnson is going to have the majority he needs to make Brexit happen along the lines of his deal.”

Time will tell, as so far, all predictions—pro and con—have failed.

Europe Is Ready for Its Own Army

On September 5, 2019, Foreign Policy wrote:

“As the United States retreats, the EU is shaping its own military…

“The United States still has military bases all over the world and significant troop deployments on NATO’s eastern borders, so it could still intervene to stop, for example, direct military aggression against NATO members from a resurgent Russia. Washington can still choose to project power in the region as it pleases. But if European NATO countries cannot know for certain that the United States will do so in any given circumstance, they must now start taking the idea of defending themselves seriously. In effect, Trump has granted Europe its political independence.

“European leaders, foremost among them French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have grasped the new reality with a speed that should alarm policymakers in Washington. Some quarters of Europe… have long aspired to a continental military force…

“France has its own, highly developed arms industry and runs its own missions and deployments, notably in Francophone Africa, without asking anyone for permission. The French army is almost never not at war somewhere, officially or otherwise… So it should not be surprising that France has been the first to call for the formation of a European army. What is new, is that most other Western European countries agree, and most significantly that Germany agrees… There’s a traditional division of roles. France is the muscle, Germany is the money. The union of the two is a game changer.”

A powerful European Army is prophesied to happen.

The EU vs. GB

New Statesman wrote on October 30:

“…there is only one other empire that has the same reach and ability to shape the global system as the US and China: the EU… there are some moves afoot in Brussels to make the EU a third power bloc that can help its members resist pressure from the competing giants. Many European states realise that the only way of defending their national sovereignty from secondary sanctions is through common action…

“The EU has signed a series of new trade deals with Japan, Canada, South Korea and Vietnam. It is shoring up European defence by moving towards a defence union and a powerful fund for common military projects…

“Many Brexiteers believe that Europe is a paper tiger, and yet the EU has shown that it was able to move the needle in some important areas. Its data privacy code (GDPR) has set global standards for regulating data flows and privacy in the new great power competition, leading some experts to declare that it is the ‘Brussels effect’ of global rule-setting that makes Europe a third bloc…

“The EU’s powerful trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström has led an impressive push-back against Trump’s tariffs and restrictions of transatlantic trade, with EU counter-tariffs and credible threats of what would happen if the US were to escalate the transatlantic trade war.

“All of this reinforces the strategic dilemma for the UK in the world of blocs after Brexit. Will European sovereignty… be organised against Britain? The experience with the European Galileo GPS system – where Europeans forged ahead without the UK – shows that being left outside European projects and decision-making can be tough. The same sort of dilemmas could develop in other areas… in a world of great power blocs Britain may find itself at the mercy of other powers…”

The Bible says that very soon, the USA, the UK and Israel will fall together.

Germany and Europe to Control their Military Destiny

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 7:

“German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer [AKK] said in a speech delivered Thursday at the Bundeswehr University in Munich… that allies are increasingly asking for Berlin to play a proactive role in global security… She pledged to boost defense spending to… eventually make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world, behind the US and China… In an earlier interview… she urged Berlin to take an increasingly active role in military engagements abroad…

“But her proposal was met with caution from other Cabinet members. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the idea of a more assertive German military required robust support from European allies… [He said:] ‘… we as part of Europe play a leading role in competition between superpowers.’…

“French President Emmanuel Macron has called on European allies to ‘wake up’ to the realities of the transatlantic alliance before it’s too late. ‘What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,’ Macron said in an interview… The French president warned that Europe will ‘no longer be in control of our destiny’ if it fails to recognize its strategic relevance as a geopolitical power.”

Pompeo’s, Merkel’s and Mass’s Views Irrelevant

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 7:

“Merkel… condemned comments by French President Emmanuel Macron [on NATO]… ‘This view does not correspond to mine,’ she said. Merkel described Macron’s statement as ‘drastic words’ that she did not agree with, and she reconfirmed Germany’s commitment to its role within NATO. ‘Such a sweeping attack is not necessary,’ she said.”

Macron is totally correct, and Merkel’s expressed views and her role become more and more irrelevant.

The Associated Press wrote on November 7:

“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his German counterpart (Heiko Maas) stressed the close ties between their two countries Thursday, batting away talk of trans-Atlantic friction and insisting that the NATO alliance that both are part of remains relevant today… U.S. President Donald Trump has worried many NATO members with comments that the trans-Atlantic alliance is ‘obsolete”…

“Maas, who was widely criticized in recent days for failing to mention the U.S. contribution to ending the Cold War in an op-ed that was published in 26 European newspapers over the weekend, appeared to go out of his way to name American leaders who helped bring the divided nation back together again in 1989…”

Trump is directing American foreign policy, not Pompeo. Maas, the proverbial politician, is also becoming equally irrelevant as Merkel and AKK. A new powerful leadership—replacing Germany’s current lame duck and/or unpopular politicians—will arise soon.

Germany’s Descent into Anti-Semitism

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 2:

“US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, has sharply criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government for its blasé dismissal of Iran’s threat to destroy the Jewish state. ‘Threatening the destruction of Israel is something that should not be dismissed, especially when the threats come from Iranian regime officials who regularly use terrorism as a weapon of intimidation,’ Grenell told Fox News last week…

“Grenell, who enjoys enormous popularity among German Jews, pro-Israel advocates and Israeli government officials, responded to two Iranian officials who recently called for the obliteration of Israel…

“When pressed by the Post if the Iranian regime’s call to exterminate the nearly seven million Jews in Israel meets the definition of antisemitism, [Merkel’s] spokespeople said it is just ‘anti-Israel rhetoric.’…

“Antisemitism experts in the United States and Germany expressed outrage over the Merkel government’s cavalier attitude toward Iran’s genocidal antisemitism targeting Israel.”

Germany’s descent into Anti-Semitism is deeply worrisome.

US Nazi Group Issues Death Threats to former Co-Leader of Germany’s Green Party

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 2:

“Police are investigating a death threat to Cem Özdemir, the former co-leader of Germany’s Green party. A US neo-Nazi group was linked to the email, which featured the politician among a list of its assassination targets. An offshoot of the US-based neo-Nazi group Atomwaffe Division Deutschland (AWD) appeared to be behind the message, which featured Özdemir — one of Germany’s highest-profile politicians with Turkish origins — at the top of an assassination hit list…

“Long a recipient of police protection, Özdemir is no stranger to intimidation. A staunch critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he has received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists…

“Members of the AWD in the United States have been linked to several murders and planned terror attacks. The group, organized in cells, operates largely online and has repeatedly called for attacks on minorities. While the group formed in the southern US, it has since expanded across the country and into the UK, Canada, Germany and the Baltic states.”

Satan is busy as never before. He looks for and finds his people who are willing to carry out his evil devices.

Mexico’s Hopeless “Fight” against its Cartels

In light of the horrible terrorist attack by members of a cartel on several American-Mexican citizens living in Mexico, The Guardian wrote on November 5 about a prior incident:

“Cowed and outgunned: why Mexico’s police ‘don’t stand a chance’ against drug cartels. The 14 October massacre that left 13 state police dead was just one extreme episode of violence in a recent litany of horrors… More than 30 suspected cartel gunmen ambushed the police officers in the town of El Aguaje on Monday as they were traveling in a convoy to serve a warrant, killing 13 officers and wounding nine others…

“Corruption among the ranks [of the police force] is also encouraged by dismal salaries from which officers are not only expected to buy their own bullets, but often their own uniforms as well…the president has given orders to avoid direct confrontations with the cartels… Meanwhile, the president insists that his newly formed militarized national guard will enforce the law, but so far the new force has been busier blocking migrants from reaching the United States than pursuing organized criminals…

“But while Mexico waits for justice, a new generation is growing up that has only known life amid a multi-sided conflict where there are no clear good guys.”

It is not clear which cartel was behind the gruesome massacre and what the reason for the mass killing was.

More Scientific Nonsense… What Was Before the Big Bang?

Express wrote on November 2:

“THE Big Bang theory has long been accepted as scientific fact as an explanation of [how] the universe came into being – but it has always begged the question ‘what happened before the big bang?’ Now an international team of researchers looking at the timescale of the early universe – measured in trillionths of seconds – think they know. But it’s complicated. And we are still not quite there. Two theories exist as to exactly what happened 13.8 billion years ago when the universe, which is now unaccountably huge, emerged from something so unimaginably small – according to the new research one hundred billionth the size of a proton.

“First there is cosmic inflation – a period BEFORE the Big Bang when, according to physicists, an ultra-high energy particle inflated at an incomprehensible speed and scale. During this period matter, such as it was, remained a cold dark formless mass. Then, less than a trillionth of a second later, came the Big Bang – an almost infinitely hot fireball which exploded ultimately forming all the matter as it now exists, and eventually Earth and us.

“But scientists struggled to link the two processes – how a cold dark soup could trigger the most explosive moment conceivable? Now a team of physicists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aided by teams as far away as Holland, have discovered a linking period – a phase they call ‘reheating’. The inflation to reheating period was clearly a crazy time. At one point gravity worked in reverse and another it was modified by quantum effects – and it was this which allowed the hot Big Bang to emerge from the cold Cosmological Inflation period.

“Professor at MIT, David Kaiser, said: “Reheating was an insane time, when everything went haywire. ‘The postinflation reheating period sets up the conditions for the Big Bang, and in some sense puts the ‘bang’ in the Big Bang. It’s this bridge period where all hell breaks loose and matter behaves in anything but a simple way…

“However, as clever as the research is, the question of where the Universe came from remains unanswered… The research was supported, in part, by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.”

What utter nonsense and what a terrible waste of money, energy and time. That’s how taxpayer money is WASTED. The answer has been there all along: “In the beginning GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth.”

Smoking Banned in Austria

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 1:

“Austria banned smoking in bars and restaurants on Friday, bringing the country’s laws into line with most other European nations. The indoor smoking ban came into effect after lawmakers approved the move in July.

“Before the new law came into force, Austrians were still able to light up while drinking and eating inside bars and restaurants larger than 50 square meters (540 square feet), and as long as it was in a separate area, although this was not strictly enforced. The smoking ban will now apply to all such establishments and will be enforced with heavy penalties.

“Smokers who break the ban will have to pay €1,000 ($1,115), and owners of establishments who allow patrons to smoke will be fined $2,000 rising to €10,000 if found repeating the offense. The smoking ban also applies to shishas and electronic cigarettes.

“Austria has an above-average percentage of smokers with 25% of its 8.8 million inhabitants smoking in comparison with an 18% average in other EU nations. Currently, 17 EU countries have comprehensive smoke-free laws. Ireland, the UK, Greece, Bulgaria, Malta, Spain and Hungary have the strictest laws with bans on smoking in all enclosed public spaces, on public transport and in workplaces.

“In the Czech Republic it is up to the bar owner to decide if they want to permit smoking or not. In Denmark, smoking is banned indoors except in Copenhagen, where it is permitted in bars under 40 square meters. The debate about the ban has been ongoing for over 10 years, with the far-right Freedom Party — formerly led by a keen smoker — opposing the measure.”

Smoking is wrong and hazardous and deadly to the health of the active and the passive smoker. In addition, somebody who smokes in the presence of a non-smoker only shows his stupidity and selfishness, as well as his lack of love for God, himself and his neighbor.

How Governments Control the Internet… and the Minds of their Citizens

PCMAG wrote on October 31:

“On Nov. 1, Russia is poised to disconnect from the internet—in theory. That is when a long-planned internet bill will go into effect and lay the foundation for a national network whereby internet service providers are controlled by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecom agency. The goal is to give Russia the power to disconnect from the global internet in the event of a cyberwar and, in the interim, serve up a walled-off version of the web sanctioned by the Russians. It also gives President Vladimir Putin greater control over Russian citizens…

“Russia’s system uses a proxy to steer packets of information away from the public DNS [Doman Name System] resolver by default, look at where the data is located, and either let that information through, redirect it, or block it completely. We see examples of this kind of control in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and China…

“China restricted its web access from the start, with the Communist Party legislating in 1996 (two years after the internet arrived there) that all service providers be licensed by the government and that all internet traffic go through state-owned telecommunication companies…

“Russia has reportedly spent about $300 million on its sovereign internet plan. But while the country has restricted access to certain services in recent years… it’s unlikely the Russian government will be able to exert on its citizens the level of control China has accomplished with its Great Firewall by Nov. 1…

“… while the American view of the internet—heavily influenced by its history of free markets and free speech—might be closer in theory to the open internet that was proposed by the web’s pioneers, the hegemony of Silicon Valley has created a state in which the majority of the internet is de facto under the control of the US government… In a world of splinternets, it’s easier to say that you have an open system when the nexus of power is within your borders. The future will likely bring more legislation like Russia’s…”

The Bible condemns those who suppress the Truth. The trend to do so, especially on the Internet, is clearly alarming.

Microchipping the new Trend?

Der Spiegel wrote on October 25:

“An estimated 5,000 people in Sweden, which has a total population of 10.2 million, have had chips planted under their skin, which they use to open their front door or even as a digital train ticket…

“The idea… of employees getting chipped raises numerous questions. In Germany… it would be a horror scenario… if there’s anything we have learned in recent years, it’s that where data is collected, it also has the potential to be abused…

“In 2018, [the EU] parliament commissioned a study investigating ‘the use of chip implants for workers.’ The report states that every EU citizen has the right to the integrity of the human body and that companies cannot force their workers to be chipped. But the study also advises against voluntary chipping — for data-protection reasons. ‘The chips are not necessarily secure,’ the report concludes. The report also states that the possibility cannot be ruled out that they could get hacked or become the subject eavesdropping, cloning, deactivation or manipulation…”

As the article points out, Europe and especially Germany is at this point strongly opposed to microchipping their citizens. Some have suggested that the mark of the beast has something to do with microchipping. This assumption is clearly wrong. We explain the mark of the beast in these Q&As: https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-14976/ and https://www.eternalgod.org/is-bitcoin-the-mark-of-the-beast/ .

No Pagan Idols in the Catholic Church?

Life Site News wrote on October 30:

“Three cardinals and three bishops have separately voiced opposition to paganism in Church ceremonies in the Vatican surrounding the Amazon Synod, including the Oct. 4 pagan ceremony in the Vatican Gardens where people bowed down and worshiped the Pachamama idol as Pope Francis and other top-ranking prelates looked on.

“Catholics around the world were indignant to not only see the pagan statues present in various ceremonies, but to see Pope Francis actually bless one of them during the Vatican Gardens ceremony…Paulo Suess, one of the key authors of the Amazon Synod’s working document, commented on this ceremony, saying ‘so what. Even if it would have been a pagan rite, then it is nevertheless a pagan worship of God.’…

“Cardinal Gerhard Müller… said that the ‘great mistake was to bring the idols into the Church, not to put them out, because according to the Law of God Himself – the First Commandment – idolism [idolatry] is a grave sin and not to mix them with the Christian liturgy’…

“Bishop Athanasius Schneider… stated that ‘Catholics cannot accept any pagan worship, nor any syncretism between pagan beliefs and practices and those of the Catholic Church.’ ‘The acts of worship of kindling a light, of bowing, of prostrating or profoundly bowing to the ground and dancing before an unclothed female statue, which represents neither Our Lady nor a canonized saint of the Church, violates the first Commandment of God: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me,’ he added…”

If the dissenting cardinals and bishops were consequential, they would have to condemn everything pagan in the Catholic Church… including the celebration of pagan holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Note the next article.

Paganism Nothing New in Catholic Church

Catholic Outlook, in trying to defend paganism in the Roman Catholic Church, wrote on November 1:

“Roman Christianity basically put a cross on… ‘pagan’ temples and on the people that worshiped there. Church authorities… ‘baptised’ those elements that could be useful, or at least were not detrimental, for making people members of the Christian faith… The cult of Christian saints, miracles and holy myths – and how that is celebrated – has been influenced by these now baptised, pre-Christian religious customs.

“Even the calendar of some [of] the most important Christian festivals – including Christmas – originated from such inculturation. The Christian faith – its architecture, forms of worship, symbols – continued to adapt from the Greek and Roman cultures and adopt what was useful from them. The Roman Catholic Church has more exterior elements from the old Roman Empire than it does from the Nazareth or Jerusalem of Jesus’s time.”

It is well-known that the Catholic Church has ALWAYS incorporated pagan doctrines, rites and practices in its worship services by giving them a Christian mantle. The two reasons for this were its desire to attract pagans and its Anti-Semitism.

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—the Left and AfD Win and Merkel and SPD Lose in State Election

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 27:

“Voters in the eastern German state of Thuringia boosted the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in regional elections on Sunday… but the Left party will remain the dominant political force in the state… the Left party winning 31% of votes in the state that was once part of the communist former East Germany.

“The far-right AfD party snagged 23.4% of the vote, making it the second-largest party in the assembly — and pushing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party into third place with 21.8%.

“The turnout for the Thuringia polls was unusually high. Nearly 65% of the state’s 1.7 million voters cast their ballots, compared to less than 53% five years ago…

“The populist AfD party in Thuringia is led by Björn Höcke, who often draws attention to himself with firebrand statements. Höcke has notably criticized the Holocaust memorial in Berlin, describing it as a ‘memorial of shame’… The AfD boasts strong support in other eastern states, winning 27.5% in Saxony-Anhalt and 23.5% in Brandenburg in September…

“Support for the SPD… slid down to 8.2%, losing some 4% compared to its 2014 result… the Greens suffered a smaller loss, and are now hovering around 5.2%… Preliminary results put support for the FDP at 5% — just enough for the party to clear the threshold to enter parliament…

“Merkel’s CDU suffered the greatest loss during Sunday’s election, dropping down 11% from 2014. The result is a heavy blow for the center-right party and a win for the AfD, which had eyed the CDU’s disillusioned supporters. Projections showed that the AfD pulled the most support from voters who did not participate in Thuringia’s last state election, followed by voters who previously voted for the CDU…”

These results are a total debacle for Germany’s established parties. Weimar and the subsequent rise of Hitler come to mind.

Merkel under Fire

AFP wrote on October 29:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces renewed pressure from within her Christian Democrats… Her conservative critics charge that Merkel has dragged the CDU too far to the left on immigration, climate and other issues, allowing the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on the extreme right.

“A long-time rival who hopes to succeed Merkel, Friedrich Merz, suggested the veteran leader dubbed ‘Mutti’ (mummy) is already a lame duck and should bow out long before she plans to leave politics in 2021…

“News website Spiegel Online asserted that the state election showed that ‘the state of the CDU is at least as desolate’ as that of the SPD. The big difference for now was that the CDU remains the party of the chancellor, it said, adding however that ‘this could easily be missed given that Angela Merkel is barely heard or seen these days’.

“It was after a similar state poll setback last year that Merkel dramatically handed over the CDU leadership to her preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely known by her initials AKK.

“AKK in a later vote beat Merz for the party chair’s position and more recently also took on the post of defence minister, but in recent months her political star has dimmed. Doubts about AKK have grown after several blunders and gaffes…

“An outsider, the Free Democrats’ co-leader Wolfgang Kubicki, [declared] that Kramp-Karrenbauer simply ‘lacks the stature’ to lead the CDU or run for chancellor.

“Things are likely to come to a head toward the end of the year, when the SPD will decide whether to stay in Merkel’s coalition or leave, which could spark new elections…”

Jews and Muslims Worried

JTA wrote on October 28:

“Electoral gains by Germany’s strongest far-right party has both Jews and Muslims here worried… ‘Something has fundamentally gone off the rails in our political system,’ former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, told reporters on Sunday… Aiman Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, in a tweet expressed shock that so many voters supported ‘a right-wing radical party… it is much worse than merely a warning sign.’

“International Auschwitz Committee Executive Vice-President Christoph Heubner said in a statement that Holocaust survivors see the AfD’s climb up the political ladder as ‘a renewed signal of terror, which gives rise to fears that right-wing extremist attitudes and tendencies in Germany will continue to consolidate.’

“Meanwhile, a newly released study shows an increase in open anti-Semitism in Germany. Felix Klein, Germany’s commissioner on fighting anti-Semitism, commented that, while anti-Semitism was always present, people are expressing it more openly than before…”

AfD’s Björn Höcke

The Algemeiner published on October 28 an article with the following headline:

“Shock in Germany as Far-Right Demagogue Björn Höcke Strengthens Position With Regional Election Victory for AfD.”

The article continued:

“Höcke leads a hardline nationalist faction within the AfD called Der Flügel (‘The Wing’), which is militantly anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic, and which supports the repeal of legislation in Germany banning the denial of the Nazi Holocaust. In an interview with the German news outlet taz in the lead-up to the Thuringia elections, Mike Mohring — the center-right CDU’s candidate —  said that he was in no doubt that ‘Höcke is a Nazi.’

“In January 2019, the official German agency tasked with countering political extremism announced that it was treating both Der Flügel and Höcke’s AfD party in Thuringia as a threat to Germany’s ‘democratic governance.’ But after the party’s success in Thuringia on Sunday, the German news magazine Stern noted, members of the AfD’s leadership with known reservations about Höcke found themselves with little choice other than to defend him… his position within the AfD has continued to strengthen.”

Even though the mass media and political parties are demonizing Björn Höcke, some of his positions are clearly in line with biblical standards, while others are in opposition. Some are also contrary to what is prophesied to happen in Germany. Wikipedia wrote the following:

“Björn Höcke was born in Lünen, Westphalia. His grandparents were expelled ethnic Germans from East Prussia. After his Abitur… he served in the Bundeswehr and went to law school at the University Bonn, which he did not finish… He is married and has four children… He supports the return to national currencies… Höcke is an advocate of the heterosexual elementary family… He opposes sexual education in elementary schools and wants to ‘stop the dissolution of the natural polarity of the two genders.'”

EU Agrees to further Brexit Delay… Big Defeat for Johnson

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 28:

“The European Union on Monday agreed to give the United Kingdom a Brexit extension until January 31, European Council President Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter… the former Polish prime minister tweeted that the 27 member states were in agreement…

“This is the third delay since the UK invoked Article 50 in March 2017, beginning what should have been a two-year exit process. Prime Minister Boris Johnson… had previously said he would rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than ask for an extension…”

 Johnson had sent three letters to Brussels. The first one, which was not signed by him, asked to delay Brexit beyond October 31, the second made clear that the first one was from Parliament – not the Government, and the third one urged Brussels NOT to grant an extension.

A Brexit on Satan’s festival of Halloween would have made a lot of sense, but it appears that God has another time table in mind. As we said from the outset, Johnson will either turn out to be the biggest loser or the biggest winner in the ongoing Brexit debacle. As of now, it seems that he has been losing all the way, but the last word has not been spoken yet. Note the articles below.

Already on October 20, Germany’s mass tabloid, Bild, had written the following:

“I am sick and tired of your chaotic parliament and your endless parliamentary Brexit blabbering. It is an affront to all of us. You don‘t know of any yes or no. Get out of here, you Brits. The question really is: Do I love you or don’t I love you anymore? This debate must stop. Yes or no. Both is okay.”

The Bild newspaper has usually a correct understanding as to how most Germans feel. While politicians are still reluctant to make an end to this ongoing Brexit nightmare, the people in Europe become increasingly dissatisfied with their leaders, and might be willing to replace all or most of them very soon.

New Elections on December 12

The Sun wrote on October 28:

“BRITAIN is on track for a Christmas election as [“leftie boss”] Jeremy Corbyn FINALLY agreed to go back to the people today… Jeremy Corbyn… made the spectacular reversal today after a crunch meeting with his shadow Cabinet this morning. He told his MPs that No Deal was now off the table as the EU have offered and accepted a third Brexit delay… Just last night the PM’s latest attempt to force a festive poll was torpedoed by Labour, making it short of the 434 MPs needed to get it through…

“Yesterday’s extension news means the PM’s ‘do or die’ promise to leave the EU by October 31 has now been completely shattered. Boris refused to resign for breaking his promise, or say sorry…  It means Britain will be in the EU until January 31 now, or could leave sooner if a deal is passed before then.”

The Sun added on October 29:

“BORIS Johnson has FINALLY won backing in the Commons for a Christmas election tonight as MPs voted for his plan to go to the polls on December 12. Brits will be given the chance to give the PM a majority to push through his Brexit Bill by the New Year… Parliament will be shut down from November 6 ready for the election to take place.”

The New Election Is Risky

The Associated Press wrote on October 29:

“…an early national vote… could break the country’s political impasse over Brexit — or turn out to be merely a temporary distraction… after three years of inconclusive political wrangling over Brexit, British voters are weary and the results of an election are hard to predict…

“An election is a risk… Opinion polls currently give Johnson’s Conservatives a lead, but there’s a strong chance that an election could produce a Parliament as divided over Brexit as the current one. Theresa May called an early election in 2017 with the aim of boosting the Conservatives’ majority and strengthening her hand in negotiations with the EU. The party ended up losing its majority in Parliament, and May failed to pass her key Brexit measures.

“Many voters are fed up with politicians from all sides after more than three years of Brexit drama, and all the parties are worried about a backlash from grumpy voters asked to go to the polls at the darkest, coldest time of the year.”

What Will Come Out of It?

The Independent wrote on October 29:

“Over the next six weeks, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will ‘break the Brexit deadlock’ by screaming at each other about absolutely anything but Brexit…

“The MPs can’t agree on any form of Brexit, or indeed any form of non-Brexit, and so the people must do their bit… we can say with absolute certainty that nobody has a clue what will happen. The polls are not just hopelessly volatile but extremely unhelpful…

“It is distinctly possible, likely even, that this election fails to achieve anything. That the deadlock returns with the same certainty. But it is also distinctly possible, likely even, that the country will take decades to recover from it. Indeed, it may never do so at all.”

US Housing Market Crash Is Here!

CNN wrote on October 25:

“… the monthly price decline was the biggest seen since September 2014… a sign that a US housing market crash is here… flailing consumer confidence seems to have struck the US housing market…

“Just last month, Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Shiller predicted that home prices are headed for a crash. His prophecy stands true now… Americans became more concerned about the security of their jobs… With the probability of a recession looming large, consumers can be expected to play it safe and not go for big-ticket purchases. That’s bad news for the US housing market… we shouldn’t be in denial and accept the fact that the US housing market crash has officially arrived.”

It will get much worse. America’s highly praised booming economy is not as great as some politicians want it to be.

At the Brink of Civil War?

The Washington Examiner wrote on October 23:

“Partisan political division and the resulting incivility has reached a low in America, with 67% believing that the nation is nearing civil war… ‘The majority of Americans believe that we are two-thirds of the way to being on the edge of civil war. That to me is a very pessimistic place,’ said Mo Ellaithee, the executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.

“And worse, he said in announcing the results of the institute’s Battleground Poll, the political division is likely to make the upcoming 2020 presidential race the nastiest in modern history… voters [are] angered with compromise and growing unfavorable ratings of President Trump and most 2020 Democratic presidential candidates…

“84% believe that ‘behavior that used to be seen as unacceptable is now accepted as normal behavior.’”

Sadly, this is true. Civil war might very well happen in this country.

Update on US Immigration Status

National Law Review wrote on October 26:

“The Trump administration’s public charge rule is on hold, at least temporarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State each introduced a version of the rule. Both versions were scheduled for implementation on October 15, 2019, and would have established expansive new tests to be used by those agencies when determining if certain visa applicants were likely to become public charges—a determination that would generally make them inadmissible to the United States…

“Federal district judges in five states (New York, California, Washington, Illinois, and Maryland) recently issued injunctions blocking the implementation of DHS’s revised public charge rule. If implemented, the rule would not only have greatly expanded the types of public benefits to be considered toward the ground of inadmissibility, but also increased the discretion given to immigration officers when determining if an individual was ‘more likely than not’ to become a public charge. At least one court also blocked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from implementing a series of new and revised petition and application forms issued in furtherance of the rule. The forms would have required certain applicants to provide a substantial amount of personal information and documentation, including credit scores, evidence of health insurance, and/or school transcripts…

“Litigation challenging DHS’s public charge rule will continue to play out in the courts, as there are still a number of lawsuits pending in additional jurisdictions. The Trump administration is likely to appeal the injunctions. Many expect that the Supreme Court of the United States will ultimately decide the public charge issue, as was the case with the travel ban…

“With all of the attention focused on the public charge rule right now, it is easy to overlook the Trump administration’s new health insurance requirement. As of November 3, 2019, immigrant (i.e., permanent resident) visa applicants applying through a U.S. consulate will be required to prove that they will obtain approved health insurance within 30 days of entering the United States or that they can afford to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical expenses while they are in the United States. However, unlike the public charge rule, where health insurance is just one of a number of weighted factors immigration officers will consider, the presidential proclamation provides that lack of health insurance alone will result in the outright denial of an immigrant visa. The proclamation does not apply to nonimmigrant visas (e.g., work permits, visitor visas, etc.).”

The handwriting is on the wall.

Americans Love Illegal Mexican Drugs … While Mexico Is Slipping into National Chaos

The New York Post wrote on October 27:

“A recent RAND Corporation study reports that Americans spent just shy of $150 billion on illegal narcotics in 2016. The bulk of this money goes to Mexico, which also has become a major conduit into the United States for synthetic opioids like Chinese-manufactured fentanyl, upping the cartels’ take.

“Americans, in other words, love their illegal chemicals, they have the ready cash to indulge themselves — and they are not particularly mindful of the consequences of this for others. Hence the emergence of the Mexican drug cartels, not the sole supplier of the American drug market, but pretty much at the top of the list. Mexico’s fragile political institutions, and its long history of overtly corrupt local government, made it fertile territory for the rise of extra­legal quasi-governments…

“Mexico… is either unable, or unwilling, to protect its citizens from organized lawlessness… And this, in turn, ratifies a warning from US Joint Forces Command that Mexico is slipping toward national collapse — and this was before government troops were losing all-out gun battles with criminals. It doesn’t take much imagination to anticipate what such a collapse would mean for the United States. A legitimate refugee crisis would dwarf the manufactured border chaos that convulsed American politics this year. And it remains that Mexico is America’s third-largest trading partner, amounting to some $557 billion in business in 2017.

“Potential solutions are elusive. Enhanced law enforcement stands only to drive up drug prices and cartel profits. And a more radical approach — attempting to remove profits through drug legalization — would encounter so many legal, cultural and moral barriers in the United States that it is an ­effective nonstarter.

“So the crisis is likely to proceed. But as it does, don’t lose sight of one core truth: America is, and has long been, the world’s largest importer of illegal drugs… As the philosopher Walt Kelly once noted: ‘We have met the enemy, and he is us.’”

Is Trump Losing His Grip on White Evangelicals

Politico wrote on October 24:

“President Donald Trump is on a rescue mission to preserve his grip on the religious right. In call after call over the past two weeks, Trump has sought counsel from prominent evangelical figures on how to protect his relationship with conservative Christians amid mounting criticism over his withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria…

“It’s a first for Trump’s presidency: The same evangelical leaders who’ve been notoriously unmovable through prior controversies have spoken out forcefully to condemn his policy toward Syria. Televangelist Pat Robertson said Trump was ‘in danger of losing the mandate of heaven.’…

“There is also the shadow that impeachment has cast over Trump’s presidency, and how white evangelicals are responding. A much-discussed Fox News poll found that nearly three in 10 white evangelicals want the president impeached and removed from office… [and] only 62 percent of white evangelicals said they definitely plan to vote for Trump next fall…”

Still, Trump will be re-elected. His success in killing Isis leader al-Bagdhadi at this time and in light of his terrible Syrian policy is interesting and not just coincidental. His “mandate of heaven” will be carried out, but only very few seem to know what that mandate really is.

Preparing to Build the Third Temple?

Breaking Israel News wrote on October 24:

“At a Parliament meeting in the Gaza Strip… Hamas MP Ahmed Abu Khaliya decried the ‘disturbances’ of ‘Zionists’ in the al-Aqsa mosque and their ‘desecration’ of it… Achmad Abu Khalbiah, who heads the Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Commission in the Palestinian parliament, categorized permitting Jews to practice freedom of worship on the Temple Mount ‘a blatant provocation’ and warned that Israeli officials seek to demolish the Al-Aqsa mosque and build the temple on its ruins…

“On the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) alone, 3,881 Jewish pilgrims entered the Temple Mount, a 42% increase since 2015. Additionally, more high profile celebrities are also ascending the mount…”

It was also pointed out that nearly 1,800 Jews, which is unprecedented, ascended the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in observance of the annual Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the first and the second Temple.

Breaking Israel News reported on October 30:

“In September, the Sanhedrin hosted the first conference for the Organization of 70 Nations. The organization will bring together all of the nations under the common belief in the sanctity of the Bible…

“The Sanhedrin has received responses from several nations since the conference from the most unexpected sources… One such response came from a respected academic Palestinian scholar who lives in Judea… ‘He contacted the Sanhedrin and wants to work with us…’ Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, told Breaking Israel News. ‘…He accepts the historical truth that Jewish Temples once stood on the Temple Mount. He wants the Palestinian people to be part of the Organization of 70 nations and is aware this includes a Biblically mandated Sanhedrin, court of nations, and a Third Temple as a House of Prayer for all nations.’… The members of the organization agree to the sanctity of Jerusalem and the Temples…

“Another purpose of the conference and the organization of the 70 Nations is to begin the return of the lost ten-tribes of Israel…

“Last year, a World Creation Concert was held adjacent to the Temple Mount. During a ceremony held at the concert, representatives from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico signed an agreement with the Sanhedrin to accompany the people of God, as peoples, nations, and individuals toward establishing the Temple in Jerusalem as a house of prayer for all nations as prophesied in the Bible.”

Israel Feels Betrayed

Breaking Israel News wrote on October 11:

“At the 46th annual Yom Kippur War memorial service on Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu recalled the event [in 1973] and how the United States abandoned their closest ally in the Middle East during their time of need… Referencing the Biblical prophet Balaam, Netanyahu added that: ‘We do not aspire to be “a nation that dwells alone,” but that is how we were forced to stand at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War,’ he said, reminding those present that American aid arrived only towards the end of the 1973 war…

“But then, Netanyahu compared the events of that time to today saying: ‘We always remember and apply the basic principle that guides us: Israel will defend itself, by itself, against any threat.’ This statement was a clear reaction to what many perceive to be Trump’s abandonment of the Kurds, also a close US ally, to Erdogan’s war machine. Reading between the lines, it appears as though Netanyahu is preparing for the day when Trump abandons him too…

“Netanyahu isn’t the only Israeli leader who believes that it’s only a matter of time before Trump abandons Israel. Former MK and popular politician Moshe Feiglin took it a step further. That’s because after Trump justified his abandonment of the Kurds by noting that the ethnic group ‘didn’t help us in the Second World War’ and ‘didn’t help us with Normandy’ Feiglin understood this to mean that Trump will abandon any country who didn’t help the US in WW2, including Israel. That’s why Feiglin took to social media saying: ‘Israel didn’t help the US with Normandy either.’ Echoing Netanyahu’s comments, New Right party leader Naftali Bennett said: ‘The lesson for Israel is simple. Israel will always defend itself by itself.’”

Ultimately, the USA WILL abandon Israel, but only after Trump has fulfilled his role in regard to helping the erection of the Third Temple.

USA Back in Syria?

The Guardian wrote on October 28:

“The US military has started reinforcing its positions around oil fields in eastern Syria, saying the new deployments are part of its continuing counter-terrorist mission after the killing of the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi…

“Video footage from the region showed US military convoys re-entering Syria, days after Donald Trump had ordered them out in advance of a Turkish invasion. The change of mind reportedly came after Pentagon officials persuaded the president that it was essential to protect east Syrian oil resources…

“Trump has defended his decision to abandon the [Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces] SDF, saying it was not America’s job to police a longstanding conflict between Turks and Kurds…

“[Defense secretary Mark Esper] would not say whether the deployment meant that there were more or less US soldiers in Syria than before Trump ordered the withdrawal last month, paving the way for Turkey’s invasion into north-eastern Syria. But the defense secretary insisted that: ‘At the end of the day we will be sending troops home.’”

This confusing lack of clarity and Trump’s indecisive backpedaling do not give “allies” any confidence in America’s reliability.

Europe Must Intervene in the Middle East

Politico wrote on October 10:

“The Kurds have been abandoned, again. Theirs is a long history of Western betrayal, dating back to colonial times. That the West would once again turn its back, after enlisting Kurdish help in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State, has been in the cards for years… But U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision this week to provide a de facto green light for yet another Turkish offensive into Kurdish-held territory in Northern Syria is not just another instance in a long, unfortunate pattern in Western-Kurdish relations. It’s the turning of a new page in the history of the Middle East… For Europeans, in particular, it should serve as a shock that moves us to act.

“The sudden power vacuum has Europe looking weak and unprepared. But the truth is that Europe has not led in the region for decades. As long as upheavals in the region unfolded under the shell of U.S. hegemony, Europeans operated in Uncle Sam’s shadow. Sometimes European countries complemented American action, at other times they sought to moderate it. But they never opposed it or charted an autonomous path. If our weakness has been exposed, it’s because we can no longer hide behind the U.S.’s skirts…

“Erdoğan gambled on Trump’s isolationism and on Europe’s cowardice… As the U.S. retreats from the Middle East, Russia is gloating on the sidelines… Erdoğan’s incursion — and Trump’s acquiescence — makes clear Europe needs to learn to stand on its own. Europeans do not have the U.S. luxury of being able to walk away. They are bound to Turkey and to the Middle East for historical, geographical, societal and economic reasons. The question we need to ask ourselves is how can we regain influence in the region, and in particular with Turkey…”

 And so, Europe will do just that, including militarily.

Big Win for Salvini

Politico wrote on October 28:

“After half a century of left-wing rule, the central Italian region of Umbria voted for a regional government spearheaded by Matteo Salvini’s far-right League… As the scale of the League’s victory became apparent Sunday night, Salvini told reporters: ‘We are writing history here tonight.’ The result is a major blow to the PD-5Stars government, whose formation two months ago removed the League from power… the governing parties’ disastrous defeat is certain to have major repercussions for the already-fragile coalition…

“Salvini will use the League’s landslide victory to demonstrate he still has the backing of most Italians despite having pulled the plug on the government over the summer and having been forced into opposition. The next big test for the PD-5Stars alliance will come in another regional vote, in Emilia-Romagna, in January…”

Pope Francis under Attack

Express wrote on October 13:

“POPE FRANCIS is facing a potential religious coup from within the Catholic Church, but there is also an emerging threat from outside the Vatican…

“The current tenure of Pope Francis has been one of the most polarising moments in the history of the Catholic Church, as his progressive and status-quo denying values provoke disdain from Vatican norms. One of the unorthodox features of the current Pope’s tenure is his appointing of cardinals from less notorious churches spanning further across the globe…

“His critics have grown impatient with this policy with [former pope] Benedict demanding he remains domiciled in an apartment on Vatican grounds amid his own doubts of Francis’ methods. He is attracting opposition from right-wing politicians in Italy too, including Matteo Salvini who recently withdrew his support in the coalition government leaving Rome in political chaos…

“The right-wing politician has also enlisted the help of former White House strategist Steve Bannon, whose Brussels-based international group, ‘The Movement’, was denied access to the Vatican for political training… Bannon advised Salvini himself that the actual Pope is a sort of enemy… Salvini [is] claiming that conservatives in the Vatican were on his side… he was also pictured in 2016 holding a shirt saying ‘Benedict is my pope.’”

“With Francis continuing to take on the right in Italy and the Catholic Church, the political grappling is expected to continue.”

This is very remarkable. We must watch these developments to see who the announced false prophet or the “man of sin” is going to be.

Is Pope Francis Changing Catholic Doctrines?

CNS News wrote on October 9:

“Pope Francis’ longtime atheist friend and interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, claims that the Pope told him that once Jesus Christ became incarnate, he was a man, a ‘man of exceptional virtues’ but ‘not at all a God.’

“The teaching of the Catholic Church and most Christian churches is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was incarnated as fully man and fully God.

“As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, ‘The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man.’

“… Scalfari states… ‘Those who, as it has happened many times with me, have had the luck of meeting him and speaking to him with the greatest cultural intimacy, know that Pope Francis conceives Christ as Jesus of Nazareth, man, not God incarnate… Once incarnate, Jesus stops being a God and becomes a man until his death on the cross.’…

“In a March 2018 interview with Scalfari, Pope Francis reportedly said, ‘There is no Hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls.’ That interview caused an uproar… The Vatican did not deny what Scalfari reported but said it could not ‘be considered as a faithful transcription of the words of the Holy Father.’ The Pope himself never denied what Scalfari reported and the article never ran a correction or removed the article from its website…

“In a statement issued Oct. 9…,  the Vatican said, ‘As has been affirmed in other occasions, the words that Dr. Eugenio Scalfari attributes between quotes to the Holy Father during his colloquies held with him cannot be considered as a faithful account of what was effectively said, but represent more a personal and free interpretation of that which he heard, as appears entirely evident from what was written today concerning the divinity of Jesus Christ.’

“Church Militant’s Michael Voris commented, ‘That is the relevant part of the statement, and it, in itself, is now creating its own firestorm because it does not actually deny Scalfari’s characterization, merely hinting at the possibility.’”

 If reported accurately, then the views of Pope Francis on the humanity of Christ and the non-existence of an ever-burning tormenting hell fire would be biblically correct.

And Now… Married Priests?

The Associated Press wrote on October 27:

“On the heels of a landmark call by Amazon region bishops for married men to become priests, Pope Francis on Sunday exhorted Catholics to be open to fresh ways of evangelization, saying the church must ‘open new roads for the proclamation of the Gospel.’ He also cautioned against self-righteousness, in an apparent slap at conservative critics who fear he is weakening the church’s foundations.

“Allowing married men to be ordained in remote Amazon areas with severe shortages of priests would chip away at the church’s nearly millennium-old practice upholding priestly celibacy. It would also help the church compete with evangelical and Protestant churches that have been increasingly winning converts there… Francis… has said he will put his response in writing by year’s end…

“Francis has often praised celibacy for priests. If the Argentine-born pontiff embraces the appeal from bishops on his native continent, it is not clear whether that might trigger an erosion of the celibacy rule elsewhere. Ordaining married men, even in limited circumstances, risks deepening the antipathy in strongly conservative church circles toward Francis, whom they deem to be dangerously progressive…

“His critics, including so-called traditionalist Catholics, insist the Vatican adheres strictly to centuries-old rules demanding that priests be celibate, unmarried men. But in the first centuries of the church, married men did serve as priests… Peter… was married, as were many of the first apostles.

“Currently, the Vatican allows married men to become priests in Eastern rite churches. Eager to include converts, it has also allowed married Anglicans to remain priests when they join the Roman Catholic church…”

A clash between Francis and “traditionalist Catholics,” even including within the Vatican, might be inevitable.

Highly Unprepared for the Next Inevitable Pandemic

The Daily Mail wrote on October 25:

“No country is fully equipped to deal with the next global pandemic, a major report has claimed. Scientists say an outbreak of a flu-like illness could sweep across the planet in 36 hours and kill tens of millions due to our constantly-travelling population.

“But a review of health care systems already in place across the world found just 13 countries had the resources to put up a fight against an ‘inevitable’ pandemic…

“Writing in their report, the scientists said: ‘… a threat anywhere is a threat everywhere. Deadly infectious diseases can travel quickly; increased global mobility through air travel means that a disease outbreak in one country can spread across the world in a matter of hours.’”

The Bible says that due to pandemics and disease epidemics, millions upon millions of people will die in our time.

The Pure Language

Breaking Israel News wrote on October 27:

“Modern linguists have speculated that a single language… is the predecessor of all other human languages. Dr. Isaac E. Mozeson’s life’s work has been to document that this original language, the one first spoken in the Garden of Eden, is the source for all the world’s languages. He named this proto-human language Edenics for its connection to the Garden of Eden. Not surprisingly, Edenics is very similar to Biblical Hebrew… Mozeson claims that Edenics is the ‘Semitic mother tongue’ that ‘was scrambled into 70 languages’ 3,784 years ago, after the episode of the Tower of Babel. According to his theory, every human language today shares elements of Biblical Hebrew…

“Rabbi Tuly Weisz, publisher of Breaking Israel News, wrote, ‘The ultimate purpose of the return of the Jewish people to the Land is to serve God and to correct the sin of Babel, and to speak the one ‘language of purity,’ Hebrew. And in these days of redemption, not just the Jews, but all the people of the world will learn the Hebrew language.’”

We do not know whether it was indeed Hebrew or a language from which Hebrew was derived, which was spoken by Adam and Eve prior to the Tower of Babel incident. Nor do we know whether the pure language of the Millennium will indeed be a purified version of Hebrew.

How the Earth Might Have Become Void and Empty…

The Atlantic wrote on October 23:

“The worst day in the history of life on Earth, so far, happened almost exactly 66 million years ago, when an asteroid roughly the size of Manhattan slammed into the Yucatán Peninsula… The asteroid… immediately drilled a 20-mile hole into the planet’s surface, vaporizing bedrock and spewing it halfway to the moon. The planet shuddered with magnitude-12 earthquakes, loosing tsunamis across the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the ejected debris condensed in orbit and plunged back to Earth as searing spheres of molten glass, which torched the land and turned forests into firestorms. Other debris remained high in space, where it blocked the sun’s rays and began to chill the surface of the planet… By the time it was over, about 75 percent of all species on Earth had died, including all nonavian dinosaurs. The event, which ended the Cretaceous Period and began the Tertiary Period, is named the K-T extinction…

“The impact changed the chemical content of the ocean, rendering seawater more acidic and inhospitable to the tiny plankton that form the base of the marine food chain. Combined with the other effects of the asteroid—darkened skies and a snap of global cooling—this ecologic disruption doomed much of life on Earth…

“When the asteroid hit, untold megatons of that old organic material—rich in nitrogen and sulfur—instantly became dust and shot up into the atmosphere. Soon it began to fall back down, now as nitric oxide and sulfuric acid… It was raining brimstone and acid from the sky…

“Ocean acidification also likely worsened other sweeping environmental changes wrought by the impact, such as the years-long darkness caused by orbiting debris and ash from the global wildfires… it now appears that all three of the worst mass extinctions in Earth’s history featured huge spasms of ocean acidification. They include the K-T extinction; the End-Triassic Extinction, when volcanoes in New Jersey killed 75 percent of all species; and the dread End-Permian Event, the worst extinction in the history of the planet, which killed roughly 85 percent of all species and nearly sterilized the oceans. Scientists call that event ‘the Great Dying.’…”

We read in the Bible that after God had created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, the earth became (as it should be translated) void and empty, and that darkness was upon the face of the deep, until God began to remove that darkness.

Halloween—Spookier and Deadlier than You Might Think

Country Living wrote on September 4:

“…in the midst of the parties and games and sugar rushes, have you ever stopped to wonder what the history of Halloween even is in the first place?… Halloween falls on October 31 because the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, considered the earliest known root of Halloween, occurred on this day. It marked a pivotal time of year when seasons changed, but (more importantly) observers also believed the boundary between this world and the next became especially thin at this time, enabling them to connect with the dead. This belief is shared by some other cultures…

“The early pagan holiday of Samhain involved a lot of ritualistic ceremonies to connect to spirits… many believe the Celts celebrated in costumes… as a disguise against ghosts, enjoyed special feasts, and made lanterns… Halloween previously posed a huge (albeit rather superstitious) matchmaking opportunity for young women in the 19th century.”

The following was stated by Express on October 31, 2018:

“Halloween is the most important day of the year for Devil worshippers, according to the founder of the Church of Satan, and everyone else has been urged to avoid celebrating this ‘dark’ day… the holiday has its roots in evil…

“Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan in the US in 1966. He was the country’s most prominent Satanist up until his death in 1997 and authored several books… In the Satanic Bible, Mr LaVey wrote: ‘… the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween.’

“Walpurgisnacht, or Saint Walpurgis Night, is a German annual event which is known in German Folklore as Witches Night… the Church of Satan recognises Halloween as an extremely important day for evil… As a result, some Christians are warning people to steer clear of Halloween celebrations. Christian website Charisma News writes: ‘There will be many people who will read this article and will continue to celebrate Halloween just as they normally do. If that is you, then you need to understand that engaging in dark practices can open up doors to spiritual darkness for yourself and your entire family.’”

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.

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz Back in Power

NPR wrote on September 29:

“Austria’s youngest-ever chancellor, 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz, is poised to reclaim his job after his party received its biggest victory in years… His conservative Austrian People’s Party received more than [38] percent of the vote, five percentage points higher than its showing in 2017, when it teamed up with the far-right Freedom Party to form a government…

“Kurz’s first government came crashing down in May after his coalition partner, the Freedom Party, became embroiled in a cash-for-contracts scandal… Strache resigned, the Freedom Party left the government, and Kurz lost a no-confidence vote in parliament…

“While Austria has warm ties with Russia, the Freedom Party openly admires the Kremlin… Like other radical right parties, they also oppose immigration and are unabashedly nationalist — which means something in Austria, the birthplace of Adolf Hitler. Many in the Freedom Party see the defeat of Nazi Germany ‘not as a victory for democracy but as a defeat for their cause’…

News analysts are divided as to whether Kurz will try again to form a coalition with the Freedom Party under Norbert Hofer, which encountered a debacle by receiving only [17] percent—[9] percentage points lower in 2017–or whether he may try to form a coalition with other parties, such as the Greens, who won 12% of the votes or perhaps even the Social Democrats who received 21.5 percent of the vote—a debacle for them and their worst-ever result.

Kurz’ victory turned out much more decisive than many had expected. Even Kurz himself declared that he was pleasantly surprised about the many votes he got. Der Stern commented: “Messiah and Macron of the Alps… the comet-like rise of Sebastian Kurz continues…” Der Spiegel wrote: “Back into the 18^th century… the dream of [Kurz’s party] is totally controlled subjects…” Die Welt wrote: “Germany’s media celebrates King Kurz.” Previously, practicing Catholic Sebastian Kurz had been referred to in the Austrian press as “holy Sebastian.” Bild Online commented that Kurz is being celebrated in Austria like a pop-star and that he could become a political example or role model for Europe.

What’s Austria’s Future?

Deutsche Welle commented on September 29:

“The victory of former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz represents a broad conservative consensus: ‘We’ Austrians are doing well, without refugees, with a modest (and above all lower) number of foreigners, with a strong sense of national pride and identity…

“If the people want a move to the right, politicians from all parties have to follow suit. The Greens had their opposition to the right’s tough refugee policies to thank for their weak performance in 2017. This time around, they avoided the topic — and it paid off. Their renewed focus on climate change has been successful, as long as they don’t threaten to impose painful measures to limit CO2 emissions….

“The center-left Social Democrats, on the other hand, suffered on Sunday… the Social Democrats chose a weak and insecure candidate in Pamela Rendi-Wagner… But strong men and tough attitudes are what the voters want right now, and the Social Democrats weren’t prepared…

“The FPÖ could decide to refuse a coalition and move to the opposition — a scenario that would be most unappealing for Kurz…”

Kurz Needs a Coaltion… but with Whom?

Deutsche Welle added on September 30:

“‘I fear coalition talks will be a little more challenging this time,’ Kurz said on Monday, referencing the relatively smooth talks with the FPÖ which followed the 2017 election. [He] indicated that he will take his time determining which party or parties with which the ÖVP would be prepared to enter coalition talks.

“‘Of course we will seek talks with all parties and try to determine which parties there’s overlap with, which parties a stable government can be formed with,’ the ÖVP leader said. He also denounced calls from German commentators that he should avoid a fresh pact with the far right. ‘I don’t think we need advice from abroad, including from Germany,’ he said.”

The EUObserver wrote on September 30:

“The FPO’s new leader Norbert Hofer told Austria media he believed his party would not take part in coalition talks, after they lost 10 percent of votes in Sunday’s election. ‘A party needs to learn from the mistakes of the past and rebuild itself,’ he said.

“The Greens leader, Werner Kogler, said his party would only consider a coalition with Kurz if there was a ‘radical change’ in the political direction of the party compared to his previous coalition with the far-right. ‘We might end up having no government,’ Kogler said. The Social Democrats, who have led many of Austria’s previous coalitions, remain a possible partner.”

Whatever the constellation, it is clear that Austria will stay in the EU as an influential member state.

Strache Withdrawing from Politics… for Now

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 1:

“Heinz-Christian Strache is withdrawing from politics and suspending his membership with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), he said on Tuesday morning… Strache, who led the FPÖ for 14 years, also served as vice-chancellor from 2017 to 2019 before he was forced out of the government in May…

“Until Tuesday, Strache had left open the possibility of seeking public office again in the future. The former vice chancellor is also under investigation for the alleged misuse of party funds. In Tuesday’s press conference, he repeated his claim that he was the victim of a conspiracy against his party.”

Still, we might not have heard the last word from Strache.

Hungary to Stay in EU

The EUObserver wrote on September 30:

“Hungary has no plans to leave the EU, but western and eastern Europe are ‘different’, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban told a party congress on Sunday…

“‘We are a member of the Union and will remain a member,’ he said. But ‘the western and eastern halves of the Union clearly follow different paths … and respect different values,’ he added, amid EU clashes on judicial independence and refugees.”

We would expect that Hungary stays in the EU. They might even be part of the final core European nations. We also read that those ten core nations or groups of nations will be partly strong and partly fragile, and that they won’t really adhere to one another.

Making the Euro Stronger

CNBC wrote on September 30:

“In an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, ECB President Mario Draghi said ‘what matters is to make the (euro) union stronger’ and ‘in some areas, further integration achieves that goal.’

“The euro zone is made up of 19 European nations that share the same currency — the euro. Their monetary policy is decided by the ECB, which is based in Frankfurt. However, their fiscal policies are decided at the national level – which often creates discrepancies and makes the region more exposed to financial shocks.

“While some countries argue that they need to share more when it comes to fiscal policy, other capitals are reluctant to delegate more power to European institutions, fearing to lose control over their economies or having to finance high-indebted nations. ‘To have a stronger EMU (economic and monetary union), we need a common euro zone budget. Clearly the political debate on that still has a long way to go. But I am optimistic,’ Draghi said, supporting a plan that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, has tried to implement.

“Led by the French delegation, European finance ministers agreed to create a common euro zone budget earlier this year. However, details of how it will be financed and how big it will be have yet to be agreed upon…

“Draghi ends his eight-year mandate at the ECB on October 31. Christine Lagarde will take over from Draghi on November 1.”

The euro is the glue which will keep the ten core nations or groups of nations together.

British Chancellor: Ready to Leave EU

The Sun wrote on September 30:

“SAJID Javid has pledged that Brexit will take place in DAYS – deal or no deal. The Chancellor told Tory party delegates that Britain was ready to leave the EU now. Mr Javid said: ‘t’s not a matter of if – it’s a matter of days…

“The Chancellor also blasted Labour for its muddled Brexit position – while taking a swipe at leader Jeremy Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.”

Ultimately, Britain will leave the EU.

A No-Deal Brexit’s Ramifications for British Overseas Territories

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 27:

“In the lead up to Brexit, some five weeks away, the likelihood of the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal is increasing. Come end of October, a disorderly exit will also have dramatic consequences for the 20 or so British Overseas Territories and exclaves.

“Despite the vast distance, the Caribbean island [of Anguilla] would be greatly impacted by a no-deal Brexit… The EU is the island’s biggest financial donor to its aid development program and has helped support reconstruction costs. With the uncertainty of Brexit, the voices of those calling for independence from the United Kingdom are growing louder.

“The Falkland Islands lie in the southern Atlantic Ocean some 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) from the UK, but the archipelago is almost entirely dependent on the UK. Its currency, the Falkland pound, is tied one-to-one to the pound sterling… The Falklands’ economy relies not only on the sales from its livestock, wool and tallow, but also on its fishing industry. Nearly all fish is exported to Spain and then from there makes its way to other EU countries, while a third of all the calamari bought in Spain comes from the Falkland Islands. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, buyers would suddenly have to pay customs duty between 6%-18%, making seafood much more costly. Whether Spain, or other EU states, would still be interested in the goods is questionable.

“Gibraltar [is] British territory at the southern tip of Spain. [It] voted almost unanimously — with 96% — to remain in the EU… Every day some 15,000 people commute to Spain and, conversely, about 10,000 Spaniards work in Gibraltar… For the last 300 years, Gibraltar’s sovereignty has been an issue of contention between Spain and the UK…

“Channel Islands and Isle of Man … [are] geographically located in the southwest of the English Channel… The islands of Guernsey and Jersey, as well as the Isle of Man in the British Isles further north, are the three Crown Dependencies… the primary GDP is… from being a tax haven… many foreign companies can pay zero tax. Moreover, there are no capital gains tax nor inheritance tax. But Brexit may cause a serious headache for those seeking the tax havens, as Great Britain may not be able to protect the territories from the EU…”

If these predictions come true, we might see an exodus of some of the British colonies from the UK, to be embraced by the “loving” arms of the EU.  

Leaders Gather for Jacques Chirac Funeral

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 30:

“Foreign dignitaries gathered in the French capital on Monday for the funeral of Jacques Chirac, who died last week at the age of 86. The former statesman served as president of France from 1995 to 2007, during a political career that spanned four decades…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and outgoing head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker [attended]. Germany’s ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder was also expected to travel to Paris. However, his office said that Schröder has not been formally invited by French officials, and a chair marked with his name was left empty during a church service honoring Chirac, according to an AFP reporter. The reasons for the missing invitation were not immediately clear…

“Chirac was celebrated by many in France for asserting the country’s role as a global player, with his opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 considered one of his most significant actions. Chirac is also being remembered for being the first French president to acknowledge France’s role in the deportation of Jews during World War II. He remained a popular figure after leaving office, despite a conviction for misusing public funds.”

“The End of the German-American Affair”

Politico wrote on October 1:

“Nearly 75 years after the end of World War II, the U.S.-German relationship isn’t just moribund, it’s on life support… About 85 percent of Germans consider their country’s relationship with the U.S. to be ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’… while a clear majority want Germany to distance itself from the U.S…

“The fraying of ties — which began long before Trump came to power but has accelerated since — carries implications that stretch far beyond the two countries’ bilateral relationship…

“Germans’ attitude to Trump is… straightforward: They universally dislike him… most Americans continue to have a positive view of Germany… the U.S.-German alliance has never been a partnership of equals… If Konrad Adenauer and John F. Kennedy shared a mutual dislike, Helmut Schmidt and Jimmy Carter absolutely despised one another. From the 1960s until the end of the Cold War, Germans took to the streets in droves to voice their opposition to both the U.S. war in Vietnam and the arms race with the Soviets.

“Even so, this time, things really are different…

“The German distrust began to take hold in the aftermath of 9/11. Though Germany joined the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan against the Taliban, Berlin refused to participate in the Iraq War, arguing there wasn’t enough evidence to support claims that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. While Germany’s decision under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder proved to be prescient, it also left a wound that has never fully healed. In recent years, Germany’s view of the U.S. has been framed by Guantanamo, NSA spying and Trump’s attacks…”

As we have explained many times before, the relationship between the USA and Germany will completely deteriorate.

Further Problems between USA and Europe

The EUObserver wrote on October 3:

“The US will impose tariffs worth €6.8bn annually on European imports of whiskies, French wine, Italian cheese, and planes and plane parts in retaliation for illegal EU subsidies to airplane maker Airbus.

“The new tariffs will come into force as early as 18 October, after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled on Wednesday (2 October) in a 15-year-long case that the US could retaliate for the EU subsidies…

“The EU has said it would retaliate against the Airbus-linked tariffs, when next year the WTO is expected to rule on US subsidies to aircraft-maker Boeing.”

2019 like 1929?

The Hill wrote on September 29:

“I am increasingly worried that 2019 feels ever more like 1929. Back then, inequality was at an all-time high. Authoritarian nationalism was on the rise. World War I had exploded the old global order without creating a new one. Then the stock market crash of October 1929 ignited the horrendous cascade of depression, fascism and World War II —arguably the worst 15 years in history.

“Fast forward to today. Three intersecting geo-economic and geo-political trends feel a lot like an update of the 1920s:

“China and the United States seem increasingly determined to decouple their economies from each other — making a second Cold War a reality and superpower war more likely.

“Robotics and AI threaten to destroy many more jobs  than it creates —undermining the foundations of a good life based on a good job.

“Populism seems here to stay — eroding the foundations of democracy and increasing the chances of international conflict…”

World War 3 might be closer than many realize, even though there are many more reasons—and different ones—than listed in the article.

China a Nuclear Superpower… But Still No Match for USA or Russia

National Interest wrote on October 1:

“Paramount leader Xi Jinping just presided over the largest, most impressive military parade in the history of the world. The occasion: to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which just exceeded the Soviet Union’s lifespan by one year. The parade indeed showcased numerous military technological accomplishments far exceeding previous Soviet efforts…”

The Associated Press added on October 1: “A parade Tuesday by China’s secretive military will be a rare look at its rapidly developing arsenal, including possibly a nuclear-capable missile that could reach the United States in 30 minutes, as Beijing gets closer to matching Washington and other powers in weapons technology…

“China has about 280 nuclear warheads, compared with 6,450 for the United States and 6,850 for Russia, according to SIPRI. Beijing says it wants a ‘minimum credible nuclear deterrent’ but won’t be the first to use atomic weapons in a conflict.”

Sadly, in the next world war, atomic weapons will be used.

Congratulating China?

National Review wrote on October 1:

“Seventy years ago today, Mao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China after his Communist forces had conquered most of the mainland. A decade later, Mao’s Great Leap Forward killed perhaps 45 million people. The Communist regime still denies its people freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and has imposed a policy of forced abortion. At the present moment, China has detained something like 1.5 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in re-education camps. Its crackdown on Hong Kong escalated this week, when a protester was shot in the chest.

“President Donald Trump marked the 70th anniversary of the ‘People’s Republic’ with the following congratulatory tweet: ‘Congratulations to President Xi and the Chinese people on the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China!’

“But Senate Republicans have marked the anniversary with condemnation of the regime.

“Missouri senator Josh Hawley: “Seventy years ago, the Chinese Community Party seized power from the Chinese people. Since then, its ruthless rule has resulted in the deaths of millions of its own citizens.’

“Arkansas senator Tom Cotton: ‘… From the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution to the camps in Xinjiang today, it has been a ghoulish 70 years of Chinese Communist Party control.’

“Nebraska senator Ben Sasse: ‘Today Chinese tyrants celebrated 70 years of communist oppression with their typically brutal symbolism: by sending a police officer to shoot a pro-democracy protester at point-blank range. The freedom-seekers in Hong Kong mourn this anniversary, and the American people stand with them against those who deny their God-given dignity.’

“Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey: ‘The 70th anniversary of communist rule in China is not a day for celebration. It’s a day to remind ourselves of the horrors inflicted on the Chinese people over this time…’”

What the Main Stream Media Missed about Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on September 29:

“While covering his address to the 74th session of the UN General Assembly last Thursday, most of the media focused on the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affair’s harsh words concerning Iran and its renewed nuclear program. But the mainstream media missed a far more shocking aspect of his speech in which Yisrael Katz quoted the Prophet Isaiah in calling all of the gathered nations to come to the House of Prayer for All Nations.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (a Levite), canceled his appearance in front of the UN General Assembly, ostensibly due to high-pressure coalition negotiations but it could be that he was deferring to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yisrael Katz, who is a Kohen (a descendant of Aaron the priest)…

“‘I want to thank the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for his historic and brave decision to recognize Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish People for three thousand years, as the capital of Israel, and to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem,’ Katz said. ‘I call on all countries to follow the United States and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. No-one can separate the Jewish People from our historical homeland, and no-one can separate us from Jerusalem, our eternal capital.’

“Katz’s speech contained [a] Biblically mandated rebuke, calling on the Palestinian Authority to stop inciting violence and return to negotiations for peaceful coexistence with the Jews. He also rebuked Turkish President Erdogan for oppressing the Turkish people, slaughtering the Kurdish people, and supporting Hamas. The Israeli minister also sided with the U.S. in calling for Iran, which he referred to as ‘the biggest terror state,’ to cease its support of the Yemenite Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia.

“His speech was short and to the point but concluded with an absolute bombshell. Katz cited the prophet [Isaiah] in Hebrew and English… ‘I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon my altar; for my house shall be called ‘a house of prayer for all people’ (Isaiah 56:7).

“Katz then performed his Biblically mandated duty as one of the descendants of Aaron the priest by blessing the gathered people. ‘As we are about to celebrate the Jewish New Year (the Feast of Trumpets), I would like to close with the traditional Jewish blessing—for all of you, for the people of Israel, and the Jewish communities around the world:… A happy and sweet New Year.’”

“Katz is considered strong on security and supports annexing Judea and Samaria.”

As the article suggests, Katz might have very well intended to advocate the building of the Third Temple and the commencements of animal sacrifices.

Impeachment Procedures against Trump… but what was Hunter Biden Being Paid for?

Breitbart wrote on September 29:

“Breitbart News senior contributor… Peter Schweizer… told host Mark Levin:

“‘The key question here that nobody seems to want to ask in the media is: What was [Hunter Biden] being paid for? He wasn’t being paid for his expertise. What was he being paid for? And what were the Ukrainians expecting to get in return?…

“‘I think when you overlay the financial payments with the fact that Joe Biden as point person on Obama administration policy to Ukraine was steering billions of dollars of Western money to Ukraine it becomes crystal clear exactly why they were paying him money. They wanted access and they wanted to influence Joe Biden. And Joe Biden has been around a long time here, and he had to know exactly why his son was being paid.’”

Newsmax published this article by Bloomberg News on September 30:

“Interviews with voters across the country in recent days found few have changed their minds about the president as a result of the Trump-Ukraine scandal… It was Biden who may suffer the most, as even some who support the impeachment inquiry said they now had questions about what Biden’s son, Hunter, did in Ukraine…

“The perception that politicians are corrupt plays a big role in that. A 2018 survey by the Wall Street Journal found that 77% of registered voters ranked reducing the influence of special interests and corruption as a top issue. For many voters, the Trump-Ukraine scandal was just the latest example.”

The Week commented on October 1 that Biden will not survive the “Trump Impeachment” procedure, stating:

“Trump doesn’t need to accuse Biden of a crime or even prove he did anything… blatantly corrupt… He just needs to use the impeachment hearings to damage Biden’s favorability… ‘I used to like Biden, but now he doesn’t seem that much different than Trump,’ voters might say. And once they start muttering things like that, Biden will be finished, his aura of electability shattered…”

In playing to his base and others, Trump’s comments and tweets have become more and more aggressive, likening the whistleblower and White House officials who gave information to the whistleblower to spies and suggested they committed treason, alluding to what happened to spies in the past; charging Representative Adam Schiff with treason and suggesting his arrest; calling the impeachment inquiry “the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country” and a “coup” that intends to “take away the power of the people”; saying to reporters that China should launch an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, though he noted that he hasn’t yet asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to do so; and retweeting a comment by a pastor, stating that there would be civil war if Trump were to be impeached, while adding on his own that this will not happen—that is, that he will not be forced out of office.

It is certain that Trump will stay in power and be reelected.

Also, the Democrats become more aggressive in their desperate approach, including subpoenaing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Guiliani. Pompeo who admitted that he listened in to the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, responded by accusing the Democratic committee heads of attempting to “intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State.” Please view our StandingWatch program, “Impeaching Donald Trump? No Way—and here Is WHY!”

Most Americans Unprepared for Next Recession… Socialism and Big Government Not the Answer

Zero Hedge wrote on September 27:

“Just like in 2008, most Americans are living right on the edge financially, and so any sort of an economic downturn is going to be extremely painful for tens of millions of American families… During the last recession, millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and… couldn’t pay their mortgages.  In the end, millions of Americans lost their homes… and today the housing bubble is even larger than it was back then.

“… the top financial priority for 38 percent of all Americans is just trying to pay the bills, and for 19 percent of all Americans it is dealing with credit card debt… a very large percentage of Americans are not following any sort of a financial budget…

“The big financial institutions want to get Americans into as much debt as possible, because the deeper we are in debt the more money they make… In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau is telling us that the gap between the rich and the poor is now ‘greater than it has ever been’… wealth inequality in the U.S. is far greater than it is in any country in Europe… the vast majority of Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck.

“The way that our entire system is structured greatly favors Wall Street, the big banks, the largest corporations and those with enormous amounts of money.  And they are able to maintain control of the system by literally buying elections and controlling public opinion through their control of the mainstream media…  Unfortunately, more Americans than ever are convinced that socialism is the answer to the problems…, and this is fueling the rise of politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But socialist experiments have failed all throughout human history, and socialism would fail here too.

“Big government is never the answer. Sadly, we already have the biggest government in the history of the world, and many Americans seem absolutely determined to make it even bigger.”

A recession or even depression is coming, and denials will not prevent it. When this terrible disaster strikes, many Americans who have naively believed the promises of politicians to further their personal agenda, will be woefully unprepared.

MGM Resorts to Pay Las Vegas Shooting Victims up to $800 Million

The Week wrote on October 3:

“MGM Resorts International is set to pay up to $800 million to victims of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting… Stephen Paddock in 2017 killed 58 people and left hundreds more injured when he shot at concertgoers from one of MGM Resorts’ locations, the Mandalay Bay resort. Victims of the shooting have accused MGM of negligence for not monitoring Paddock while he brought to his suite the weapons used in the shooting.

“MGM said Thursday its settlement is not an admission of liability. This comes two days after the anniversary of the massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.”

Pope Endorses Attack on Conservative US Christians

Breitbart wrote on September 27:

“On Thursday, La Civiltà Cattolica journal released the transcript of a meeting between Pope Francis and a group of 24 Jesuits on September 5, 2019, during his recent trip to Mozambique in which the pope suggested that certain Evangelical Protestants in the United States ‘cannot really be defined as Christian.’…  ‘It has nothing to do with the preaching of a Lutheran or any other serious evangelical Christianity.’ ‘Two important articles in Civiltà Cattolica have been published in this regard. I recommend them to you. They were written by Father Spadaro and the Argentinean Presbyterian pastor, Marcelo Figueroa. The first article spoke of the “ecumenism of hatred.” The second was on the “theology of prosperity,”’ the pontiff said…

“In the first essay recommended by the pope, the authors who are both friends of Francis, slammed conservative Christians in the U.S. as ignorant, theocratic, Manichean, war-mongering fanatics. For the ‘Evangelical right,’ the authors proposed, the panorama of threats to the American way of life ‘have included modernist spirits, the black civil rights movement, the hippy movement, communism, feminist movements and so on. And now in our day there are the migrants and the Muslims.’

“The authors did not hesitate to suggest that many Evangelicals are southern racists who reject climate change… Throughout the essay, the authors criticize a string of exclusively Republican presidents as being tainted by the teachings of Evangelical Protestantism. The list of those mentioned includes Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and, of course, Donald Trump.

“One of the most serious evils of American Evangelical Christians, the article stated, is ‘the defense of religious liberty’… The authors went on to denounce the ecumenical alliance between conservative Catholics and Evangelical Christians… This poisonous alliance over shared objectives ‘happens around such themes as abortion, same-sex marriage, religious education in schools and other matters generally considered moral or tied to values,’ the essay claimed, which unite Catholics and Evangelicals in ‘the nostalgic dream of a theocratic type of state.’

“At the time of its publication, the article triggered an avalanche of critical responses denouncing the ignorance and political ill-will underlying the essay… In his critique of the article, Dr. Samuel Gregg called the article ‘disturbing,’ while lamenting the tacit anti-Americanism and ‘distinctly amateur grasp of American religious history.’

“As Dr. Gregg noted, to describe ‘Marxism-Leninism, Islamist jihadism, or National Socialism’ as evil is not evidence of a Manichaean worldview. ‘It is simply recognition that some ideas are indeed wicked and lead to many people, even nations, engaging in gravely evil acts.’

“It is not a theocratic nostalgia that leads Evangelical and Catholic Christians in America to make the argument that ‘unborn human beings are entitled to the same protections from the unjust use of lethal force as any other human being, or that religious liberty is more than just freedom of worship, or that parents are entitled to insist that their children not be subjected to the nonsense of “gender theory’”at school,’ Gregg added.

“The published criticisms of the original article by serious scholars, both Christian and secular, ended up being so numerous they could fill a book. The article was eventually dismissed as simply an embarrassing attempt at political propaganda by overly zealous Italian and Argentinian clerics who were completely out of their depth. Which could lead one to wonder what Pope Francis could possibly be thinking when he dredges up this ill-begotten essay out of the swamp of oblivion to recommend it as a useful aid for understanding America’s complex religious landscape.”

One must also wonder WHAT Pope Francis really believes! To recommend the opinions expressed in the articles is truly alarming, deeply unsettling and disturbing.

More than Half of Europe’s Trees in Danger of Extinction

CNN wrote on September 27:

“More than half of Europe’s endemic trees — species that are only found in the region — are at risk of extinction because of diseases, pests and human activities, a conservation organization based in Geneva has said… While the European Red List had already assessed 15,000 species, including vertebrates, freshwater molluscs and trees, the latest study focused on the dangers to lesser-known species.

“In total, 58% of Europe’s endemic trees are at risk of dying out — as well as more than two-fifths of the continent’s 454 native species. The horse chestnut — native to Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia but widespread elsewhere in Europe — is among those in danger…

“In the UK, three types of whitebeam that were only discovered 10 years ago are now critically endangered. They belong to the ‘Sorbus’ genus, which is particularly affected — three-quarters of its 170 species are at threat…

“The latest assessments show that it is not only trees that are endangered — almost half of Europe’s shrubs and more than a fifth of land molluscs are at risk of extinction.”

The Bible predicts that more and more trees will be destroyed in Europe in many different ways.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

Trump in Hot Water… Again!

The Associated Press wrote on September 20:

“President Donald Trump urged the new leader of Ukraine this summer [during a phone conversation] to investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden… It was the latest revelation in an escalating controversy that has created a showdown between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration…

“During a rambling interview Thursday on CNN, Giuliani was asked whether he had asked Ukraine to look into Biden. He initially said, ‘No, actually I didn’t,’ but seconds later he said, ‘Of course I did.’”

The Wall Street Journal reported that over the course of the call, Trump encouraged Ukraine’s new leader, Zelenskiy, eight times to work with Giuliani on an investigation into the Bidens. A rough five-page transcript of a reportedly almost 30-minutes-long phone conversation, which was subsequently released by the White House, does not support this allegation. In fact, “Biden” is only expressly mentioned twice in the entire transcribed conversation, and “Biden’s son” is only mentioned once.

… But So May Be Biden…

The Daily Mail wrote on September 23:

“In 2014… Biden’s son Hunter was hired to sit on the board of a Ukrainian gas company…

“Trump has urged reporters to ‘look into’ Biden’s comments in early 2016 when the then-VP said the Obama administration would freeze $1 billion in American loan guarantees unless Kiev fired its top prosecutor, who was looking into the gas company…

“On Saturday, the former vice president said he never speaks to his son about his overseas business dealings. Hunter Biden said the opposite in an interview for a July article in The New Yorker…”

Vice President Pence stated in an interview with Fox on September 23 that while there was no evidence for a quid pro quo regarding the dealings between Trump and Zelenskiy, there was allegedly much evidence of a quid pro quo regarding the dealings between Biden and the Ukrainian government. In fact, there is suspicion of a quid pro quo on both sides; that is, regarding Biden and his son (for instance, Sen. Rand Paul said, “Biden is the one who threatened Ukraine’s aid, not Trump, and that has to be investigated”)  as well as other Democratic senators who allegedly threatened to withhold aid, unless Ukraine were to act in a particular way, as well as regarding Trump. Prior to his phone conversation with Zelenskiy, Trump had withheld money approved by Congress to be given to Ukraine, and in the released transcript of the phone conversation, statements are made which could be construed as an attempt of a quid pro quo arrangement. Democrats are now raising again the ghost of impeachment (see articles below). Whatever they may want to do, Trump will stay in office and he will be reelected in 2020.

And Now… the “Whistleblower” Complaint

Axios wrote on September 25:

“House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday after reviewing the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower complaint behind closed doors that the materials he viewed ‘exposed serious wrongdoing’… The Democratic members who were willing to speak to reporters… expressed alarm at the contents of the complaint…

“Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas)…  said he didn’t think the report was that damaging, and that the information in it doesn’t justify impeachment. He did say the report provided information that went beyond the transcript. Ratcliffe also said lawmakers don’t know who the whistleblower is…

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi… told reporters that… the whistleblower complaint… had been ‘retroactively classified’ by the Trump administration.”

The complaint shows that the whistleblower was not even a witness to the phone conversation, but only heard about it second- or third hand. In a court of law, such “testimony” would be totally inadmissible. However, impeachment procedures have nothing to do with the law, but they simply constitute a political circus.

Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano Charges Trump with a Crime

Fox News reported on September 24:

“Judge Andrew Napolitano told Fox News host Shepard Smith on Tuesday that the president effectively confessed to a crime when he admitted he asked Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Napolitano, a Fox News senior judicial analyst, had framed President Trump’s earlier statement as an admission that he tried to ‘solicit aid for his campaign from a foreign government.’

“‘So that to which the president has admitted is in and of itself a crime,’ Smith followed. Napolitano responded, ‘yes’… Napolitano indicated that the president’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, could have committed a crime if he urged Ukraine to investigate Biden in a bid to help the president’s reelection efforts…”

Napolitano was impolitely accused of being a “fool,” but in a Fox News interview with Shepard Smith the next day (September 25), he stood by his prior comments. What an incredible mess. Chaos rules Washington. But if the Democrats’ attempt to actually impeach Trump fails—which is expected—then this will undoubtedly help Trump for his reelection in 2020. Note the next articles.

Pelosi’s Incredible Blunder

The Week commented on September 24:

“On Tuesday evening Nancy Pelosi made one of the most colossal blunders in the modern history of American electoral politics… she set aside her own instincts and announced the beginning of formal impeachment proceedings against President Trump on the basis of a third-hand rumor about a phone call with the president of a Eurasian republic.

“Pelosi knows this will not be popular. She knows more than that. She knows that it will be a disaster for the Democratic Party, that it will inflame the president’s base and inspire even his most lukewarm supporters with a sense of outrage. She knows that in states like Michigan, upon which her party’s chances in 2020 will depend, the question of impeachment does not poll well. She knows, further, that Joe Biden will not be able to spend the next 14 or so months refusing to answer questions about the activities of his son, Hunter, in Ukraine, and that increased scrutiny of the vice president’s record in office will not redound to his credit.”

Why Trump Won’t Be Impeached

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 24:

“The founders of the United States gave Congress powers [to] remove from office ‘the president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States’ if the accused is convicted of ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.’

“Simply put, to impeach means to bring charges similar to an indictment in court… The House has the ‘sole power of impeachment.’… The House debates and votes on whether to bring charges by a simple majority of the House’s 435 members…

“The Senate has the ‘sole power to try all impeachments; meaning that it has the power to convict. When the president is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over proceedings. Only two presidents in US history have been impeached: Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. However, neither was removed from office by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned to avoid a House impeachment vote.

“The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times. However, only a third of cases resulted in full impeachment. Just 8 officials — all federal judges have been convicted and removed from office… For the president to be removed from office, a two-thirds majority in the 100-seat Senate must vote to convict. If they do, the president must step down. In the case of Donald Trump, his Republican party currently controls the Senate, making it highly unlikely he will be forced out.”

That’s why “The Week” felt that Pelosi, in trying to appease left-wing radicals in the Democratic Party, made a colossal blunder.

Trump Accused Germany and France

Deutsche Welle reported on September 25 that in the released transcript of the phone conversation between Trump and Zelenskiy, the following was stated:

“In his conversation with Zelenskiy, Trump also lauded US support for Ukraine, adding that European countries, especially Germany, ‘should be doing much more.’ ‘Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it’s something that you should really ask them about,’ Trump said according to the transcript. ‘When I was speaking to Angela Merkel she talks Ukraine, but she doesn’t do anything.’ Zelenskiy agreed with Trump, and said the US president’s criticism was ‘1000% absolutely right.’

“Zelenskiy said he had asked both Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to do more on enforcing sanctions against Russia. ‘They are not enforcing the sanctions. They are not working as much as they should work for Ukraine,’ Zelenskiy said in the transcript, adding that although the EU should ‘logically’ be Ukraine’s strongest partner, in fact, the US ‘is a much bigger partner’ than the EU.’

According to the Bible, the relationship between Europe and Ukraine will drastically deteriorate, and so will of course the relationship between the USA and Germany.

Boris Johnson’s Suspension of Parliament Unlawful

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 24:

“The UK Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament was unlawful. The ruling [of the 11 judges] was unanimous. No further appeal by the government is possible. ‘This was not a normal prorogation in the run-up to a Queen’s Speech,’ said Brenda Hale, the president of the Supreme Court. ‘The court is bound to conclude, therefore, that the decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful.’ It means that ‘the prorogation was void and of no effect.’ Parliament can therefore reconvene ‘as soon as possible,’ she concluded.

“Responding to the decision, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would abide by the court ruling. Speaking from a UN General Assembly in New York, Johnson also said he ‘strongly’ disagreed with the Supreme Court…

“The leader of the Brexit party and the founder of UKIP, Nigel Farage, took [shots] at prime minister’s trusted adviser, Dominic Cummings, who allegedly spearheaded the idea of suspending Parliament. ‘The calling of a Queen’s Speech and prorogation is the worst political decision ever,’ Farage said on Twitter. ‘Dominic Cummings must go.’”

The Sun wrote on September 24:

“The ruling represents a catastrophic blow for Boris with the loss now allowing Remainer MPs more time to block us leaving the EU – with just 37 days until the Halloween deadline… [It] will have far-reaching consequences for Britain for years to come – and could make it harder for future PM’s to shut down Parliament… Despite the drama – Boris Johnson can’t be forced out by today’s ruling.

“MPs could try and table a vote of no confidence in him when Parliament does come back. If he loses, he would have 14 days to command control of the House, or a general election is automatically called. With Boris now in a minority government he would be unlikely to win such a vote – meaning an election is sure to happen within weeks. However, Remainer MPs and Labour would be incredibly wary of this because it could cause Britain to crash out without a deal on October 31…

“Brexit is still set to take place at the end of October as planned. But Remainers passed a new law earlier this month which would force the PM to seek a third Brexit extension if he hasn’t got a deal in place. Boris has repeatedly saying he won’t ask for another delay, but hasn’t said what he will do instead.”

What an incredible mess. Chaos rules in Britain.

Queen in Middle of Political Storm

BBC News wrote on September 24:

“This is precisely where the Queen does not want to be – right in the middle of a political and constitutional hurricane, with the Supreme Court redefining the relationship between judiciary, legislature, government and monarch… what happened today was painful for the Palace…

“It wasn’t just Mr Johnson’s request for a prorogation that was found by the Supreme Court to be unlawful, void and of no effect. It was also the Order in Council, the legal mechanism that the Queen personally approves, that was found to be unlawful, void and of no effect… More importantly, the Queen has been dragged by the PM’s unlawful prorogation into the place where for decades politicians have agreed she should never be – right into a domestic political argument…

“Elizabeth… has been a conservative monarch, content to play little more than a symbolic and ceremonial role. She understands that her position is dependent on her staying deep in the shadows of government. But now daylight has flooded in. No wonder the Palace has decided to stay silent.”

None of that sounds good as the Queen is deemed more or less as being “untouchable” in Britain.

Ongoing Russia’s Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 20:

“A Russian court has sentenced six Jehovah’s Witnesses to jail [of two up to three-and-half years] for belonging to an ‘extremist organization’ in the western city of Satatov. Since 2017 the movement founded in the USA has been outlawed in Russia… which reportedly has 170,000 followers in Russia and 8 million worldwide.

“Russia’s Orthodox Church which is allied with President Vladimir Putin, had cast Jehovah’s Witnesses — who reject military service and blood transfusions — as belonging to a foreign sect that erodes state institutions… Thursday’s jailings followed the conviction and jailing for six years of a Danish individual in Russia for his association with Jehovah’s Witnesses last May…

“Over 250 in Russia are facing criminal charges, with 41 in detention and 23 under house arrest, according to the movement… Those convicted, all men, had been jailed for nothing, said Rachel Denber of the US-based Human Rights Watch.”

Shameful… and no one in a governmental position raises their voices in opposition to Russia’s abominable conduct.

California Resolution Blames ‘Religious Groups’ for LGBT Suicides

Life Site News wrote on September 17:

“The California legislature has voted in a resolution that blames ‘religious groups’ who hold to biblical understandings of sex and gender as responsible for ‘disproportionately high rates’ of suicide among homosexuals and transgenders.

“Assembly Concurrent Resolution 99 declares that homosexuality and transgenderism are ‘part of natural variations that occur in sexual orientation and gender identity’ and condemns counseling services that help people resolve unwanted gender confusion or same-sex attraction… The resolution… has no legal force but formalizes the official position of the state legislature…

“Despite the common pro-LGBT narrative that outside ‘stigma’ is the primary driver of LGBT suicides, a wealth of data suggests otherwise. Research out of LGBT-friendly Sweden has found that homosexual and transgender residents remain more likely to attempt or commit suicide, despite having achieved the type of culture advocated by ACR 99.

“The University of Cambridge’s Stonewall report found that 96% of trans students in Scotland attempted self-harm through actions such as cutting themselves, and 40% attempted suicide. 40% in the United States have attempted suicide, as well, according to a 2016 survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). According to a 2011 study from Sweden, trans people remain 19 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population, even after ‘sex-change’ surgery.”

That should make us think. But the carnal human mind, which is ruled by Satan, is hostile towards the Law of God condemning homosexuality, transgender and other sexual abnormalities. It is incapable of understanding or keeping God’s true values.

Absolutely SICK!

The Daily Mail wrote on September 21:

“Dr. Ulrich Klopfer died on September 3, prompting his family to search his home in Illinois. His widow found 2,246 preserved aborted fetuses that he had been keeping since 2000 in their garage. They were being kept in sealed bags filled with formalin, a preservative. The Chicago Tribune reports that they had dates on them but police will not verify that detail. They say however he carried out the abortions between 2000 and 2002…

“Klopfer… was once known as Indiana’s ‘most prolific abortion doctor’ but was hit with a spate of malpractice allegations towards the end of his career. In 2016, he had his license suspended for a number of violations including failing to report abortions on two 13-year-old girls.”

These are the evil fruits of the ungodly practices of abortion.

Italy’s Salvini—His Comeback Certain?

The EUObserver wrote on September 20:

“Italian politics is never short of drama, and the past few weeks have been no exception… [As Salvini] now retreats to lick his wounds, there will be one thing only on his mind: a glorious comeback. A 21st century March on Rome… And in all likelihood, all he would have to do is sit back and await his turn… The alliance between the two longstanding foes has looked dysfunctional from the start… Their loose 26-point joint programme will almost certainly be unable to [endure]…

“All the while, Salvini will be on a war footing, whipping up a blizzard across the land in preparation for the inescapable general election. And that’s where Salvini will flourish… Over the past year in government, he has monopolised the public debate with his anti-migrant rhetoric, belligerent attitude towards Brussels, and extensive social media following… His zero-tolerance approach to irregular migration, including a ban on migrant-rescuing NGO vessels docking in Italian ports, has won him many supporters…

“And as the new government begins to unpick his hard-line policies and move towards a more conciliatory relationship with the EU, expect public anger to grow and for Salvini to duly capitalise on it… if there’s one certainty in Italian politics, it’s that stable governments are not the order of the day. Much less when they’re composed of two sworn enemies. On that basis, Salvini will be making a return sooner rather than later. And this time it could well be as prime minister, at the head of a hard-right coalition with the neo-fascist Brothers of Italy party.

“October local elections will give an early indication of the impact the saga has had on the Lega vote, with opinion polls currently giving them as much as a 13 point lead at 33 percent. That’s only likely to increase as the government fumbles. Salvini’s recent gambit may have failed but dismiss him at your peril – in his own words ‘From today you will find me even more…. [omitted] and determined. I will go from town to town and we will take this country back.’”

Italy to Join the EU Military Coalition

The Defense Post wrote on September 19:

“Italy’s government said… that it is ready to join a European military coalition to react to crises near the continent’s borders, as the country’s new government rekindled ties with the E.U.… Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom have signed up [already]…”

With Italy, the military coalition would consist of ten nations, but the United Kingdom will not remain a member for long.

Germany’s AfD –as Powerful as Ever

NPR wrote on September 20:

“The center-left coalition governments in both Brandenburg and Saxony managed to hold onto power by just single percentage points. The two state elections confirmed what political analysts have been warning for years: that the [extreme right-wing party] AfD is rapidly gaining popularity among German voters. In 2013, when the party was founded, it didn’t have enough votes to sit in Germany’s Bundestag or parliament. Six years later, the AfD is now the third-largest party in Germany, winning 94 of the Bundestag’s 704 seats in the last federal elections…

“Polling data released this week shows that… the AfD… is rapidly gaining in national popularity. A monthly survey by the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach shows the AfD achieving its highest popularity score all year among voters throughout Germany… Political analysts will be closely watching the upcoming state elections in the eastern state of Thuringia on Oct. 27, where the AfD is polling neck-and-neck with centrist and leftist parties.”

The incredible success of extreme right-wing parties in Europe such as the AFD in Germany will force the “established” main-stream parties to turn more and more to the right.

Trump Sends Troops to Saudi Arabia

The Sun wrote on September 21:

“DONALD Trump will send troops [as well as military hardware] to Saudi Arabia after a drone attack on the world’s biggest oil plant. The US President confirmed the deployment of US forces as tensions ramp up in the Middle East amid fears of a vicious new war… Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today the attack was a ‘dramatic escalation of Iranian aggression’… Esper said ‘all indications are that Iran was responsible for’ the drone attack on the world’s biggest oil plant that could cut the world’s supply in half…”

Germany, Britain and France said on Monday that Iran was behind the attack on Saudi oil facilities.

US-Iranian Tensions Escalate

The Telegraph wrote on September 22:

“Iran’s president has warned American and other foreign forces to ‘stay away’ from the region, as Tehran paraded long-range missiles capable of reaching American bases… and arch-foe Israel…”

Trump’s Misconceived Middle East Policy

The Guardian wrote on September 21:

“The president’s immediate reaction to the attacks was to declare the US ‘locked and loaded’ for retaliatory strikes. Then… Trump switched tack, saying the attacks were no big deal, even as global oil prices rocketed, because the US no longer needed Middle East energy. That’s not strictly true. Official figures show the US imported 48 million barrels of oil and petroleum products a month from the Gulf in 2018…

“Trump ended the week still trying to have it both ways. He imposed additional sanctions on Iran and ordered a limited number of troops to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for defensive purposes… It had become painfully clear Trump simply had no idea what to do… he… has no strategy, no back-up plan – and no clue…

“Trump could start firing off missiles at any moment. His unpredictability is part of the problem. The Iranians, emboldened, could overplay their hand… Military analysts say missile strikes, or a naval blockade of Iranian ports, would invite devastating retaliation. After the Iraq experience, ground troops are out of the question…

“European governments… blame aggressive US policy for the current escalation. Britain does not say so in public, but Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, is not so timid…

“All told, Trump’s misconceived Iran policy has suffered a comprehensive, very public drubbing… The harshest reality laid bare… is that the age-old fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not necessarily America’s fight – and few Americans believe that murderous Saudi royal despots are worth dying for.”

This article is quoted to show Europe’s perspective without taking ourselves a position on the issue.

China’s Giant $400 Billion Iran Investment Complicates U.S. Options

Forbes wrote on September 19:

“Amidst historic U.S. – Iran tensions, Beijing is doubling-down on its strategic partnership with Tehran, ignoring U.S. efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic from global markets…  the two countries agreed to update a 25-year program signed in 2016, to include an unprecedented $400 billion of investment in the Iranian economy…

“[Iran] has little choice but to forge a closer relationship with China… Russia, too, is a major Iranian partner, weapons and nuclear, rocket, and military technology supplier.”

The Bible indicates that a collaboration will indeed exist between China, Russia and Iran.

Netanyahu Fights for His Political Survival

Reuters wrote on September 20:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced Israeli media headlines on Friday suggesting power is slipping from his grasp…

“Netanyahu and Gantz will now seek potential coalition allies, prominent among whom is the far-right former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman. He secured eight seats for his Yisrael Beitenu party, making him a potential kingmaker.

“Increased turnout by Israel’s 21-percent Arab minority saw the Arab-dominated Joint List coalition grouping win 13 seats, making it the third largest grouping…”

Both Netanyahu und Gantz insist that they should be the next Prime Minister. They are now also toying with the idea to create a rotating office of Prime Minister to prevent the prospect of a third election — the mandatory last resort if nobody can form a coalition. However, they could not agree as to who should be the first Prime Minister.

The Jerusalem Post reported on September 25 that “President Reuven Rivlin formally gave Netanyahu four weeks to form the government” “for the sixth time, after succeeding in his five terms in office,” after “a meeting at the President’s Residence with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz failed to bring about a breakthrough. The deadline will be October 24.”

Everyone agrees that Netanyahu’s task won’t be an easy one.

The Week reported on September 25 that “Netanyahu earned one more seat than Gantz in the country’s parliamentary elections earlier this month, but neither were able to secure a majority government, leaving Rivlin to decide who would get the first opportunity to do so. Netanyahu currently holds 55 seats in parliament, but needs at least six more to form a government… If Netanyahu is unable to form a government after 28 days, which could be extended by another 14, the task will then pass to Gantz.”

Egypt’s Dictatorship

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 21:

“Egyptian authorities made dozens of arrests after hundreds of people took to the streets of Cairo and other cities overnight in the first significant antigovernment protests in years, raising a new challenge to the rule of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi… The protests were significant because they defied a vast government effort overseen by Mr. Sisi to stamp out political dissent since he took power after a military coup in 2013…

“According to Twitter, more than a million tweets [were] calling for the removal of Mr. Sisi and supporting the call for protests…

“Living standards have dropped for most Egyptians in recent years as Mr. Sisi’s government devalued Egypt’s currency and raised the price of basic goods and services like fuel, electricity, and subway tickets… with 32.5% of Egyptians now living in what the government describes as extreme poverty…”

Dictatorships seldom provide for the people.

Thomas Cook Airline Collapses

The Associated Press wrote on September 23:

“Brought down by a variety of factors, including crushing debts and online competition, the 178-year-old travel agency… ceased operating in the middle of the night. Its four airlines stopped carrying customers, and its 21,000 employees in 16 countries lost their jobs. The company’s failure rippled across the tourism industry, particularly around the Mediterranean, with travelers uncertain how they would get home, hotels worried they wouldn’t get paid, guests afraid they wouldn’t be allowed to check out without settling their bills, and resorts hit with cancellations.

“Overall, about 600,000 people were traveling with Thomas Cook as of Sunday… British government swung into action, lining up flights to bring an estimated 150,000 Britain-based customers back home from vacation spots around the globe in what was called the biggest peacetime repatriation effort in the country’s history.

“Some 50,000 Thomas Cook travelers were reported stranded in Greece, up to 30,000 in Spain’s Canary Islands, 21,000 in Turkey and 15,000 in Cyprus. Travelers lined up at airports, looking for other ways to get home… An estimated 1 million customers also found their bookings for upcoming trips canceled…”

The Sun added on September 23:

“Travel firms have been accused of hiking the price of their holidays and flights following the collapse of Thomas Cook. Social media users have slammed operators such as Jet2 and Virgin for being ‘greedy’ with some flights costing double the amount overnight.”

A Virgin spokesperson denied, of course, that prices were increased because of the Thomas Cook collapse, but admitted at the same time: “… we operate a dynamic pricing system that is based on availability and demand.” A similar “disclaimer” and admission was made by a Jet2 spokesman: “Our pricing, as is common practice in the travel industry, is based on the principle of supply and demand.”

Deutsche Welle reported on September 23:

“Thomas Cook may have been born and headquartered in Britain, but it is a familiar name in dozens of countries and its bankruptcy is causing a ripple effect, particularly in Germany. More than 140,000 German holidaymakers have been impacted and tens of thousands of future travel bookings may not be honored…

“The travel firm [includes] one of its main German subsidiaries, Neckermann Reisen… The German subsidiary has applied for a €200 million bridging loan from the government for its airline, Condor, which is being assessed. The airline made a €43 million profit last year and is on course to beat expectations in 2019… In May, Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa made a non-binding offer for the airline, which was thwarted after China’s Fosun took a stake in Thomas Cook group. Condor said on Monday that its operations were continuing ‘on schedule’ but that it could not fly Thomas Cook customers to their destinations…”

Bild Online reported on September 23 that Germany’s federal government and the state government of Hesse agreed to provide Condor with a €380 Million bridging loan for six months. However, the European Commission must still approve the loan. In August of 2017, Air Berlin received a loan in the amount of €150 Million to avoid bankruptcy. In the meantime, the airline has paid back the loan in its entirety.

It is remarkable to observe the different ways of dealing with the crisis, as Boris Johnson refused to bail out Thomas Cook. While Britain is suffering even in this regard, Germany is not. On the other hand, according to Deutsche Welle, dated September 25, “Germany’s Thomas Cook GmbH, a daughter company of the UK’s Thomas Cook, filed for insolvency in Germany, and several subsidiaries across the EU were also left scrambling after the parent company’s demise. Thomas Cook’s Polish arm has also announced it was insolvent… On Monday, the German company halted all of its trips. Some 140,000 people were currently traveling abroad with the subsidiary or its brands Neckermann, Öger Tours, Air Marin and Bucher Reisen.”

The Blackface Nonsense

AFP wrote on September 21:

“Three separate images of the Canadian leader in blackface makeup decades ago were published a month before Canadians go to the polls on October 21 … Trudeau… apologized publicly for the blunders from his teens and 20s. ‘Darkening your face, regardless of the context or the circumstances, is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface,’ Trudeau said. ‘I should have understood that then and I never should have done it.’

“The blackface photographs and video footage were taken of Trudeau at a high school talent contest belting out a Harry Belafonte hit, at a party with fellow rafting guides in the early 1990s and at an ‘Arabian Nights’-themed event at a school where he taught 18 years ago…”

Former Fox and NBC Moderator Megyn Kelly lost her job with NBC when she defended whites wearing blackface costumes, saying, “When I was a kid, it was ok.” It sure was then and it still should be today. This exaggerated hype is just ridiculous. Is anyone equally upset when a black person pretends to be white at a costume party? Neither should they be, but it goes both ways.

Further Confusion

Daily Mail wrote on September 23:

“Piers Morgan has slammed Sam Smith for ‘causing a Brit Awards shake-up’ after it was revealed the ‘best male’ and ‘best female’ categories could be abolished. The change could affect next year’s Brit Awards and comes just a week after the singer, 27, who was nominated in the best male category at this year’s ceremony, pleaded ‘after a lifetime of being at war with my gender’ to be referred to as ‘they’ rather than ‘he‘.

“On Good Morning Britain on Monday, Piers said: ‘I think it’s just great that time honoured traditions should be scrapped because one guy can’t decide if he is male or female.”

Morgan also said that this a bunch of nonsense. We agree.

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.

“Historic Israel Elections”

Breitbart wrote on September 17:

“Exit polls from all three of Israel’s major television networks project no clear winner in today’s historic Israeli elections, which took place five months after the last round of voting failed to form a stable governing coalition for the first time in the country’s history…

“Ultimately, it will be the size of each party after final results that will determine whether [the centrist Blue and White party, led by ex-military chief Benny] Gantz or [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu [and his right-wing Likud party] will have the first shot at forming a coalition. It could take weeks of negotiations to eventually form a coalition.”

Deutsche Welle added: “Both Netanyahu and Gantz’s parties will fall well short of the 61 seats they need for a majority in the Knesset. It’s even possible that neither side can reach the hurdle with the support of their allies, and that they may have to seek to govern together.”

The Week added that if the forecasts hold true, “… complicated political maneuvering will ensue while Netanyahu remains a caretaker prime minister, and he reportedly could be forced out if a broad unity government is formed.”

If forced out, Netanyahu might face charges and an indictment for criminal misconduct (see article below). The developments in Israel will be of great importance in the light of biblical prophecy.

The Associated Press wrote on September 18:

“Israel’s two main political parties were deadlocked Wednesday after an unprecedented repeat election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to hold on to his job. The election’s seeming political kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman, said he’ll insist upon a secular unity government between Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White parties, who are running neck-and-neck to become the country’s largest party.

“Without Lieberman’s endorsement, though, neither party appears able to secure a parliamentary majority with their prospective ideological allies… Netanyahu, the longest serving leader is in Israeli history, had desperately sought an outright majority with his hard-line and ultra-Orthodox allies in hopes of passing legislation to give him immunity from his expected indictment. Israel’s attorney general has recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three scandals, pending a long-awaited hearing scheduled in the coming weeks. A formal indictment would increase the pressure on Netanyahu to step aside if he does not have immunity.”

Avigdor Lieberman—the Dangerous Kingmaker

The Week wrote on September 18:

“Lieberman has long been viewed as both an extremist and a sower of chaos, for now he holds the balance of power in the Knesset… Lieberman forced Israel’s electoral ‘do-over’ in the first place by refusing to join Netanyahu’s government after last April’s election, thereby depriving it of a majority… he saw an opportunity to dislodge Netanyahu, enhance his own stature, and make himself indispensable to the next coalition.

“That mission is now accomplished… Without Lieberman, there will not be a right-wing government… Lieberman is an unapologetic ethno-nationalist. He has proposed revoking the citizenship of Arab Israelis who refuse to take an oath of loyalty to the Jewish state, and transferring populous Arab areas within Israel to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Jewish settlement blocs on the West Bank…

“Lieberman is a fairly rare political animal: a pragmatic extremist. And the main obstacle to his continued rise is the degree to which he is loathed by enemies and allies alike… a man of unequivocally right-wing instincts, willing to be brutal, to take big risks and loud stands.

“If Lieberman has now made himself the indispensable match-maker to a national unity government of Likud and Blue and White, he will likely prove a dangerous addition to the coalition, ready to tear it apart whenever he sees an advantage… to do so — as he did to Netanyahu in 1997, to Sharon in 2004, and to Ehud Olmert in 2008. But for now, they have few if any other choices.”

Defense Treaty between USA and Israel?

JTA wrote on September 15:

“President Donald Trump resurrected an idea that Americans and Israelis have for decades considered and always ultimately rejected — a mutual defense treaty… [which] commits the parties to treating an attack on one signatory as an attack on all.

“Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has for a number of years been talking about advancing such a pact. ‘This would be a game-changer for Israel’s security and would be sending the right message to Iran and other bad actors,’ Graham said on Sunday. ‘I stand ready to lead efforts in the Senate if necessary.'”

Such a treaty might very well come into force and effect.

EU Member States Reject Annexation, Condemns Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on September 13:

“France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom issued a statement on Friday expressing ‘deep concern’ at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement Tuesday of intention to annex the Jordan Valley… and the northern portion of the Dead Sea. ‘This would, if implemented, constitute a serious breach of international law…’”

If such an annexation were to take place, Europe might not stand idly by.

The EUObserver wrote on September 18:

“The European Union on Tuesday condemned Israel’s latest move to approve a new settlement, currently an outpost, in the Jordan Valley… ‘The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity and to dismantle the outposts erected since March 2001, in line with prior obligations,’ said the EU in a statement.”

“This Is the Big One”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 14:

“A coordinated drone strike hit at the heart of Saudi oil production on Saturday, sparking an enormous blaze and forcing the kingdom to shut down about half of its crude output… Iran-allied Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed responsibility for what would be one of their largest-ever attacks inside the kingdom. The Saudi production shutdown amounts to a loss of about five million barrels a day… roughly 5% of the world’s daily production of crude oil. The kingdom produces 9.8 million barrels a day.

“The strikes on facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province mark the latest in a series of attacks on the country’s petroleum assets in recent months, as tensions rise among Iran and its proxies like the Houthis, and the U.S. and partners like Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have also claimed credit for drone attacks on Saudi pipelines, tankers and other infrastructure during a four-year war.

“This attack appeared to be the most effective, starting large fires at Hijra Khurais, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest oil fields, and at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest crude stabilization facility. Khurais produces 1.5 million barrels a day while Abqaiq helps produce up to 7 million barrels a day…

“Disruptions in Saudi oil production could have ripple effects through the global economy, as the kingdom exports more crude petroleum than any other country. Saudi officials have called for the international community to help protect its oil infrastructure.”

The Week added on September 14:

“[A] Houthi military spokesman said the Iran-backed rebels launched 10 drones in a coordinated attack and warned more strikes could come if the Yemeni civil war, in which Saudi Arabia backs a coalition fighting the Houthis, does not stop soon.”

Deutsche Welle added on September 17 that despite reassurances by Saudi Arabia that “the kingdom can deal with the effects of last week’s attack,” “Sources cited by the Reuters news agency said a return to normal production could take months…”

The USA finds itself between a rock and a hard place. President Trump does not seem to have any desire to get involved in a war with Iran; on the other hand, doing nothing would be interpreted as a sign of weakness which could in his mind jeopardize his chances for re-election. Axios reported on September 18 that “President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he’s instructed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to ‘substantially’ increase sanctions against Iran. It’s unclear what the new sanctions will target.” It is also unclear whether this move by Trump against Iran will be deemed to be enough.

“Top Hostage Czar” Robert C. O’Brian New National Security Advisor, Replacing John Bolton

NPR wrote on September 18:

“President Trump has named Robert C. O’Brien, who has been his special envoy for hostage affairs, to be his new national security adviser. Trump made the announcement in a Wednesday morning tweet… O’Brien replaces John Bolton… O’Brien will be the president’s fourth national security adviser in less than three years in office. Prior to his appointment, O’Brien had been perhaps best known for his efforts to win the release of American rapper A$AP Rocky, who was held in a Swedish jail after being arrested for his involvement in a Stockholm brawl. Before that, O’Brien had worked in other State Department roles, including as a member of Bolton’s team during the administration of President George W. Bush…

“National security insiders welcomed the appointment. Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security Chair for the Hudson Institute, said O’Brien has a ‘razor-sharp mind and a diplomatic demeanor.’ And Andrew Exum, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy toward the end of President Barack Obama’s administration, wrote on Twitter that O’Brien is a good man who’s been given a ‘challenging role.’

“O’Brien does not require Senate confirmation to move into his new job…

“Trump entered office with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who was removed due to his role in the Russia imbroglio and who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Taking his place was Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, with whom Trump did not click personally. The split between those two men created the opening that Bolton filled last year. Bolton’s commentary on Fox News and elsewhere appealed to Trump, but his hawkish positions once he was back inside government ultimately estranged him from the president and other advisers.”

We need to wait and see as to how long O’Brien will serve as National Security Advisor.

Trump’s Favorite Dictator

Axios wrote on September 14:

“Searching a room for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at last month’s G7 summit in France, the WSJ reports, President Trump called out: ‘Where’s my favorite dictator?’… Sisi really is a dictator, and he really is closely allied with the Trump administration.

“Trump is untroubled by the idea of partnering with authoritarians, but his remark was ‘met by a stunned silence’ according to the WSJ, which notes it’s unclear if Sisi was in the room to hear it. When the two leaders met moments later, Trump praised Sisi as a ‘very tough man’ who had ‘done a fantastic job.’”

Trump’s favoritism for unscrupulous dictators is quite alarming.

Fed Reduces Rates Again

The Associated Press wrote on September 18:

“A sharply divided Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year but indicated that it may not cut rates any further this year. The Fed’s move will reduce its benchmark rate — which influences many consumer and business loans — by an additional quarter-point to a range of 1.75% to 2%.

“The action was approved 7-3, with two officials preferring to keep rates unchanged and one arguing for a bigger half-point cut. It was the most Fed dissents in three years… Stock prices tumbled after the Fed issued its statement, reflecting disappointment that it had declined to indicate that more rate cuts are likely this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 150 points an hour later.

“The Fed’s modest rate cut irritated Trump, who has attacked the central bank and insisted that it slash rates more aggressively. The president immediately signaled his discontent.”

Johnson’s Humiliation in Luxembourg Makes No Deal Brexit More Likely

The Financial Times wrote on September 16:

“EU chiefs said they heard no fresh proposals from Boris Johnson after a high-profile visit to Luxembourg ended with an abandoned press conference and an extraordinary public reprimand from the country’s leader, Xavier Bettel. Mr Johnson, the UK prime minister, headed to Luxembourg for talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr Bettel on Monday hoping he would advance his renegotiation of Britain’s Brexit deal. Instead, Brussels said the UK prime minister had brought no fresh proposals to the table, while a visibly angry Mr Bettel chastised the Conservative government for trying to blame the EU ‘for the mess we are in at the moment’.

“The comments underline the EU’s mounting frustration at the gap between Mr Johnson’s claims of progress in the negotiations and the impasse over how to prevent a hard Irish border after Brexit. They also reflect the EU’s determination to push back against claims by Mr Johnson, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab and others that the EU is seeking to impose unfair conditions on Britain. ‘We did not decide to organise Brexit, it is a unilateral decision of the UK government,’ Mr Bettel said…

“Mr Johnson’s.. meeting with the Luxembourg prime minister degenerated into a public relations fiasco…

“The prime minister said he was determined that Britain would leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal, while refusing repeatedly to explain how he would surmount the legal and political obstacles placed in his way by parliament. ‘I see no point whatever in staying on in the EU beyond October 31 and we’re going to come out,’ Mr Johnson told the BBC. ‘And actually that is what our friends and partners in the EU would like too. And I think that they’ve had a belly full of all this stuff.’”

The Independent wrote on September 16:

“Boris Johnson’s humiliation at the hands of Luxembourg will make a Brexit deal harder to reach and could make a no-deal more likely, some on the EU side believe. Norbert Röttgen, chair of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a senior MP from Angela Merkel’s party, was among those to publicly criticise the Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel on Tuesday.

“Mr Bettel had strongly criticised Mr Johnson and the UK government and empty-chaired the British prime minister after he refused to take part in a planned press conference in Luxembourg on Monday. ‘Xavier Bettel’s speech yesterday did not serve the European cause,’ Mr Röttgen, a former minister in Ms Merkel’s government warned. ‘His public venting ignored that a deal is still in everyone’s interest. Even without a deal there will be a post-Brexit life, which means that right now everyone needs to behave in a way that avoids animosity.’

“One EU diplomat in Brussels suggested that Mr Bettel had gone too far and ‘reinforced the us versus them narrative’ in the UK. Another accused Luxembourg’s leader of playing into the hands of hard Brexiteers back in the UK who wanted a no-deal… During Monday’s visit Mr Bettel warned an absent Mr Johnson that the ‘clock is ticking’, adding on Monday: ‘Stop speaking and act.’

“But the comments enraged Conservatives back in Westminster. Even pro-EU figures such as Sir Nicholas Somes, who has lost the Tory whip, criticised what he called the ‘very poor behaviour’ of the Luxembourg government. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith dredged up memories of the Second World War, saying: ‘The irony is that Luxembourg was saved by Britain. National leaders should always treat one another with courtesy and civility. Good ones do.’

“And Nigel Evans, the joint secretary of the backbench 1922 committee, said Mr Bettel’s stunt was ‘another reason why the British people voted the way we did.’”

Germany (modern Assyria) becomes more and more isolated in Europe in its support for Great Britain. The Bible shows that ultimately, Germany will not be able to help Britain.

The Battle Continues

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 18:

“EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament ‘time is running out’ to secure a Brexit agreement [and that] he believed the risk of a no-deal Brexit was still ‘very real.’ … At the end of the three-hour debate, European lawmakers in Strasbourg  voted 544 in favor and 126 against supporting another extension to the Brexit deadline should Britain request it. A further 38 members abstained.

“Johnson remains optimistic that the UK will exit the EU on October 31 with a deal, but he has repeatedly vowed that Brexit will happen on this date even if no deal is agreed and despite a British law requiring him to request an extension of the Brexit deadline if no deal is agreed upon. This comes on the same day that the head of the Federation of German Industries, Joachim Lang, announced that extending the deadline would cause German businesses ‘unnecessary expenditures.’…

“The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said, ‘We need legally operational solutions. It is not enough to explain to us why the backstop should be removed.’… Brexit Party leader and prominent hard Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said during the debate that Barnier was ‘keeping us trapped inside, this was the objective of Barnier’s from the start.’… German lawmaker Manfred Weber, leader of the center-right EPP group in the European Parliament, described Brexit as ‘stupid’ and vented his annoyance at the ongoing suspension of the UK Parliament. ‘Brexiteers claimed Westminster would take back control, but now they shut it down,’ he said during the debate. The UK Supreme Court is due to decide in the coming days whether Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament was illegal.”

The EUObserver wrote on September 18:

“British people ‘didn’t need a lecture from anybody on how to run their country  … and that includes Brussels’ because the UK once ‘built the greatest empire’ in the world and ‘held off the Nazis’, Woody Johnson, the US ambassador in London, said Tuesday. His WW2 references echoed British eurosceptic rhetoric on ‘standing up to Europe’. US president Donald Trump has also praised Brexit and verbally mauled the European Union…

“British chaos over Brexit has dampened other member states’ potential appetite for leaving Europe, Villeroy de Galhau, a French governor of the European Central Bank (ECB), said Tuesday. ‘It is a gratitude we have to the British today,’ he said at an event in the London School of Economics, Reuters reported, in comments which risked giving ammunition to British claims the EU was trying to punish the UK for leaving.”

The EU and the Revival of the Roman Empire?

Express wrote on September 17:

“The European Union has unveiled ambitious plans to incorporate western Balkan nations as Brussels seeks to continue to enlarge the bloc despite Britain’s imminent departure – prompting comparisons with the Roman empire…

“Sheila Lawlor, director of the Politeia think tank, suggested the EU’s approach was ‘reminiscent of the Roman empire’…

“European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt…said: ‘In the world order of tomorrow, the world order of tomorrow is not a world order based on nation states or countries, it’s a world order that is based on Empires… in which we Europeans and you British can only defend your interests, your way of life by doing it together in a European framework and a European Union.’”

Europe will become indeed a powerful Empire—the last revival of the ancient Roman Empire. But it will not exist for long.

Nuclear War to Destroy Europe?

Express wrote on September 18:

“A TERRIFYING simulation has laid bare the sheer horror which would be unleashed by a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, with the ensuing firestorm likely to kill more than 34 million people in less than five hours.

“The sobering four-minute video produced by experts at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security, depicts deadly nuclear bombs raining down on major population centres on both sides of the Atlantic. The simulation, entitled Plan A, is based on ‘real force postures, targets and fatality estimates’, and begins with a conventional conflict in Europe.

“In a bid to stop the advance of NATO force, Russia fires a single ‘nuclear warning shot’ from a base near the city of Kaliningrad. In retaliation, NATO launches a single tactical nuclear air strike. As the ‘nuclear threshold’ is crossed, the conflict escalates into a tactical nuclear war in Europe. Russia launches 300 nuclear warheads via aircraft and short-range missiles at NATO bases and troops, with NATO launching a salvo of 180 warheads via aircraft. As a result, 2.6 million people are killed and wounded over the course of three hours.

“London is depicted as being carpet-bombed, and Europe is devastated, at which point NATO launches a further 600 warheads from US soil and via nuclear submarines aimed at Russian nuclear forces, with Russia responding with a salvo of its own. There are a further 3.4 million casualties in just 45 minutes. Both sides then launch further strikes on major population centres, with another 85.3 million people killed and wounded in the course of 45 minutes. By the end of the exchanges, there are a total of 91.5 million casualties, including 34.1 million deaths.

“The video warns: ‘Deaths from nuclear fallout and other long-term effects would significantly increase this estimate.’ A blog post carried on Princeton’s website said: ‘This project is motivated by the need to highlight the potentially catastrophic consequences of current US and Russian nuclear war plans. The risk of nuclear war has increased dramatically in the past two years as the United States and Russia have abandoned long-standing nuclear arms control treaties, started to develop new kinds of nuclear weapons and expanded the circumstances in which they might use nuclear weapons…

“In 2016, after years of threats, Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear-capable Iskander missiles with a range of 440 miles to be deployed in the region, putting Berlin comfortably in range… Russia has a total of 6,850 nuclear weapons at its disposal, while the US has 6,550.”

We know that such a scenario, as described in the article, will not happen, as there will not be a nuclear war between the USA and Russia, but we DO know that a nuclear war will occur soon with devastating consequences. How and between whom it is going to occur is described in our many free booklets on prophecy.

Trump’s Public Charge Rule under Ongoing Attack

The Hill wrote on September 17:

“Democratic Senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would block the Trump administration’s new ‘public charge’ rule, which allows the government to deny entry or green cards to immigrants based on their use of public programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

“The Protect American Values Act would block the enforcement of the rule by immigration authorities. ‘The true intent of the public charge rule is to create a climate of fear among immigrant families, and sadly its working,’ Hirono said at a press conference Tuesday. Twenty-seven senators already support the bill, Hirono said. ‘Neither of us would be here if this rule existed when we were born,’ Blumenthal said, telling the story of his father immigrating to America. ‘The immigrants that this rule seeks to bar from this country are potentially the source of scientists and teachers and doctors.’

“Under the new definition of ‘public charge,’ participation in federal programs such as food stamps, housing assistance and Medicaid will be a negative factor when determining if an immigrant can be granted a green card or visa. Previously, only receipt of significant direct cash subsidies from the government qualified applicants as ‘public charges.’ Critics say the policy could dramatically limit the number of people using social safety net programs by creating a chilling effect that could discourage noncitizens and permanent residents from renewing or applying for benefits for which they are qualified. The rule has already been challenged by 16 state attorney generals.”

So far, no court has been willing to make even a preliminary ruling in the matter.

Our Abominable Abortion Industry

Breitbart wrote on September 12:

“The preliminary hearing in the criminal case against Planned Parenthood video journalists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt is in its second week in San Francisco as abortion industry workers have admitted to trafficking the body parts of aborted babies. Daleiden and Merritt, video journalists with the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), produced a series of undercover videos that exposed the fetal tissue trafficking practices of Planned Parenthood and its partners in the biomedical procurement industry.

“Daleiden and Merritt are the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state of California, noted Liberty Counsel, which represents Merritt. The journalists were slapped with 15 felony charges by the office of the California Attorney General (AG), including its past AG, current U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, and her successor, Xavier Becerra. Harris received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from Planned Parenthood and, subsequently, she and her office raided Daleiden’s home and seized his personal property, including his laptop, instead of prosecuting the abortion giant.

“…under oath the company’s founder and CEO, known as ‘Doe 12’… admitted that when a fetal brain is able to be harvested, it is because the baby’s head may still be attached to the body after being pulled out of the womb… she also did not deny that StemExpress harvests and transfers unborn children from completely intact abortions…

“Daleiden is represented by Thomas More Society (TMS). Peter Breen, TMS vice president, said in a statement: “Everything that Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation have been trying to do is an attempt to shut down and silence anyone who knows about their scheme to sell baby parts and organs for profit. Their heinous practices have involved exterminating babies born alive and manipulating abortion techniques without informing the women they’ve victimized. These bad players – the abortion industry movers and shakers – are doing terrible things for money…’”

The abortion industry, politicians and representatives of the legal system seem to be working hand in hand in a corrupt endeavor to protect abortionists and the trafficking of body parts of aborted babies, while prosecuting and trying to silence those who expose such abominable practices. This is despicable and utterly ungodly. Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Our Scandalous Corrupt Abortion Industry.”

Our Crazy Insurance-Company Driven Health-Care System

NPR wrote on September 18:

“Diabetes activists and legislators have started to focus attention on the surging price of insulin, leading to legislative pushes, lawsuits and congressional hearings. But insulin isn’t the only thing people with Type 1 diabetes are struggling to get. Managing the condition requires other essential, often life-saving medical supplies. And patients frequently face hurdles in getting access to those supplies — hurdles put in place by insurance companies…

“Peralta learned about the Dexcom continuous glucose monitor from the mother of one of his patients. He visited the company’s website and, within two weeks, the device had been shipped to his front door. For each of these parts, Peralta needs something called a ‘prior authorization’ from his insurer — a requirement from his insurance company that necessitates his physician seeking approval from the insurance company before prescribing the device. The Dexcom sensors last about 10 days each and Peralta’s insurance allows him to buy a three-month supply at a time. But he also has to get prior authorization for each supply, meaning every three months his doctor needs to reconfirm with his insurance company that the sensors are medically necessary. Same goes for the device’s transmitters — which last about six months each…

“Peralta ordered a new supply of sensors directly from Dexcom but says the company submitted a request for approval of a new transmitter, as well. And because his insurance approves the sensors and transmitters on different authorization timelines, the whole claim was denied. Peralta estimates he spent four hours on the phone with Dexcom and his insurer over the next month and a half to sort it all out. During that time he had to revert to finger stick tests…

“Prior authorizations have become a major concern of physicians across the U.S. health care system, as evidenced by a December 2018 survey by the American Medical Association. Of the 1,000 physicians surveyed, 91 percent said prior authorizations ‘have a negative impact on patient clinical outcomes;’ 75 percent said the requirements ‘can at least sometimes lead to patients abandoning a recommended course of treatment;’ and 28 percent said the prior authorization process had ‘led to serious or life-threatening events’ for their patients…

“The AMA has even created a website that catalogs stories of patients and providers who say they’ve struggled to gain access to important medical products and procedures because of problems getting prior authorizations from insurers — everything from pain medication for a cancer patient to X-rays in the ER…”

All of this shows how BROKEN our health-care “system” really is.

America’s Mainstream Press Least-Trusted Institution

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 17:

“A Columbia Journalism Review poll released this year found that half of all Americans have ‘hardly any confidence at all’ in the media, which beat out even Congress as the institution for which the public has the lowest confidence. It’s not hard to see why. Last week, CNN reported that the CIA was forced to pull a highly placed source inside the Kremlin because of concerns that President Trump might burn him — when it turns out the decision to extract the source was made before Trump took office because of leaks from senior Obama administration officials.

“Now, the New York Times has published an adapted excerpt from a new book by Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly in which they breathlessly describe a ‘previously unreported story’ about how Max Stier, a male college classmate of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, notified senators and the FBI that he saw Kavanaugh [engage in inappropriate sexual conduct].

“One small problem: In the book, Pogrebin and Kelly write that the female student in question ‘refused to discuss the incident’ and that ‘several of her friends said she does not recall it.’ That calls the entire allegation into question. Yet the Times did not include this vital information in the excerpt it published…

“The Times was later shamed into appending an editors’ note to the story saying ‘the book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article.’ Too little, too late. This is simply journalistic malpractice. Indeed, if prosecutors in a court of law were to do what the Times did — fail to disclose evidence that goes toward negating a defendant’s guilt— they could have their case thrown out and face potential disbarment for prosecutorial misconduct. But apparently in the court of public opinion, anything goes.

“That’s not all. In their article, the reporters innocuously describe Stier as someone ‘who runs a nonprofit organization in Washington.’ They fail to share with readers in the story the fact that Stier was a member of Bill Clinton’s legal team at the same time that Kavanaugh was working for independent counsel Kenneth Starr on the other side of the Monica Lewinsky investigation. That seems relevant information that could call his motives into question…

“The only thing more shameful than the Times’s irresponsible reporting was news of… the Democratic presidential candidates who seized on the Times story to call for Kavanaugh’s impeachment… And if the media wants to understand why it has surpassed Congress as the least-trusted institution in the country, here is a textbook example.”

What a terrible indictment of corruption and dishonesty. Note also the next article.

Another Example as to How the Media Can Destroy a Famous Person?

The Russian News Agency Tass wrote on September 16:

“Renowned Russian conductor Yuri Bashmet will be invited to join world-famous opera star Spanish tenor Placido Domingo as a special guest at his concert in Moscow on October 17. The legendary singer will travel to Russia with his son, singer Placido Domingo Jr… The repertoire of 78-year-old Placido Domingo boasts 150 parts, he sings in Italian, French, German, Spanish, English and Russian. The singer graced the stages of the most prestigious and famous opera theaters in the world – from Milan’s La Scala to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The tenor has received numerous awards, including fourteen Grammys, starred in many opera movies and fifty music videos.

“In August, a scandal erupted when Associated Press reported that nine women had accused the singer of sexual harassment, while eleven more women put their accusation forward in September. The cases allegedly span around 30 years since the late 1980s. Domingo himself underlined that the accusations dating back three decades put forward by unnamed women aggrieve him. Nancy Seltzer, a spokesperson for Domingo, said that those close to him decisively reject the false picture the AP is trying to paint about the singer.

“Artists and theaters around the world have come out in support of the Spanish singer, including Madrid’s Teatro Real and the Vienna State Opera. The Los Angeles Opera, where Domingo is the General Director, hired special attorney Debra Wong Yang to investigate the allegations. At the same time, a number of theaters and companies are changing the previously announced concert programs and performances, like the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas, War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California and the Philadelphia Orchestra in Pennsylvania.”

Whatever happened to the long-standing assumption that one is deemed innocent until proven guilty? It is truly shameful for America that Russia adopts this assumption in this case, while American theaters reject it and prejudge a person—many feel, the best opera singer alive–who finds himself as the victim of unsubstantiated accusations.

Failed Doomsday Predictions

Fox News wrote on September 18:

“The dire predictions, often repeated in the media, warned of a variety of impending disasters – famine, drought, an ice age, and even disappearing nations – if the world failed to act on climate change. An Associated Press headline from 1989 read ‘Rising seas could obliterate nations: U.N. officials.’ The article detailed a U.N. environmental official warning that entire nations would be eliminated if the world failed to reverse warming by 2000.

“Then there were the fears that the world would experience a never-ending ‘cooling trend in the Northern Hemisphere.’ That claim came from an ‘international team of specialists’ cited by The New York Times in 1978…

“In 2008, ABC released.. a video about what the world would look like in 2015. As the video warned about rising sea levels, a graphic showed significant portions of New York City engulfed by water. [Former Vice President Al] Gore… famously predicted in the early 2000s that Arctic ice could be gone within seven years…”

Careful with predictions!

13 a Lucky Number for Jews

JTA wrote on September 13:

“On Friday the 13^th we typically watch for planes falling out of the sky and elevators crashing and relationships falling apart. Americans are so spooked by the number 13 that some buildings even skip the 13^th floor. But… in Israel, and in Judaism in general, 13 is considered a lucky number…

“Just think: What is the age of a bar mitzvah boy? How many months are there in the Hebrew lunar calendar?…  When Israel was established in 1948, the first provisional government had 13 members.”

One can use numbers any way one wants to, and sometimes with rather dubious argumentation. But SOME numbers have biblical significance. Read our free booklet, “Hidden Secrets in the  Bible.”

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.

No Lessons Learned from 9/11?

Breitbart wrote on September 11:

“America has not ‘learned any of the lessons’ of the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, estimated [author and Los Angeles Times alumnus] Terry McDermott… ‘The reason Al-Qaeda was successful was because they weren’t a state. Our whole foreign policy [and] counterterrorism apparatus is aimed at state actors. These guys were so small we couldn’t see them… This thing should’ve been stopped a hundred different ways, but they got lucky with a clever idea, and they got away with it. After the event, we still focused on state actors. These are non-state actors. It’s a gang…’

“America’s post-9/11 counterterrorism strategies have generated more terrorists than they have eliminated, assessed McDermott… ‘Iraq made every problem worse. It’s the worst foreign policy decision in the history of the United States, without question to me… It never had a chance of success.’”

Sadly, we fear that based on biblical warnings, another major terrorist attack will hit the USA.

Trump Fires John Bolton

NBC News wrote on September 10:

“President Donald Trump has fired National Security Adviser John Bolton after a string of disagreements between the two over how the U.S. should handle North Korea and Iran. Trump announced on Twitter that he had asked for Bolton’s resignation, which he received this morning, after the president had ‘disagreed with many of his suggestions.’ …”

Deutsche Welle wrote:

“Bolton, however, gave a different story. He said he offered to resign on Monday night but that Trump had told him: ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.’”

CBS News wrote on September 10:

“Bolton was often at loggerheads with Pompeo, most recently over U.S. negotiations with the Taliban to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. The two disagreed over whether a reduction of U.S. troops could happen with or without a negotiated deal. Bolton opposed negotiating with the Taliban.

“On Saturday, Mr. Trump made the surprise announcement that peace talks with the Taliban had been canceled. Mr. Trump tweeted that he ‘called off peace negotiations’ in the wake of last week’s car bomb attack near the U.S. embassy in Kabul that killed one American service member and another NATO soldier, as well as at least 10 civilians.

“The president further revealed that the meetings with Taliban representatives and the president of Afghanistan would have been held at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland — on the very week marking the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, in which 3,000 Americans died on U.S. soil.

“Bolton, who served in the George W. Bush administration and was a supporter of U.S. engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, was one of the most hawkish foreign policy voices in Mr. Trump’s cabinet. Bolton often advocated for a harder line in dealing with Iran… He is the fourth national security adviser to depart the administration since Mr. Trump took office.”

JTA added on September 10:

“President Donald Trump fired John Bolton, his national security adviser and one of the administration officials seen as closest to the views of Israel’s government… Bolton has deep ties to the mainstream pro-Israel community dating to his outspoken Israel advocacy during a stint as U.N. ambassador in the mid-2000s and then to his pivotal role as a State Department official in the early 1990s in repealing the body’s infamous ‘Zionism is racism’ resolution.”

Leaders topple in the USA as well as in the UK (see the next articles). According to the Bible, this reflects unrighteousness of a nation. Proverbs 28:2 reads in the revised Luther Bible 2009: “Because of the sin of the land, rulers change often.”

No Help for Bahamian Refugees!

Axios wrote on September 11:

“The Trump administration will not grant Hurricane Dorian refugees from the Bahamas temporary protected status (the same program applied to the victims of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)… Temporary protected status would only be applicable to those in the U.S. at the time of designation.

“As of Monday, 1,500 Bahamians have come to the U.S. after being displaced by Dorian, with at least 3,500 people evacuated from the islands and the death toll currently standing at 50. The Department of Homeland Security said this week that displaced Bahamians traveling to the U.S. [as short-term visitors] must have a valid passport and travel visa.”

This constitutes utterly shameful conduct by the US government.

Brexit Chaos – No Early Election; Parliament Suspended

Deutsche Welle reported on September 9:

“British lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for a snap election early Tuesday morning following a chaotic day in Parliament. A total of 293 of the 650 House of Commons members backed holding an early election, well short of the required two-thirds majority. Johnson had wanted a snap election on October 15, two weeks before the scheduled October 31 Brexit date. During parliamentary debate, Johnson said an early election would be the only way to ‘break political deadlock.’ But opposition parties said they wouldn’t support an election until Britain secured a Brexit delay to avoid a no-deal divorce from the EU.

“The UK government then suspended — or prorogued — Parliament until October 14, in a move critics view as anti-democratic and a political move to limit parliamentary debate on Brexit… Earlier on Monday, an opposition-backed bill requiring the UK to delay Brexit was passed into law after receiving the formal consent of Queen Elizabeth. The law requires Johnson to delay Brexit if he cannot get a new deal with Brussels at a crucial EU summit on October 17-18, or receive the backing of Parliament for a no-deal crash out of the EU…”

No Further Brexit Delay?

Deutsche Welle wrote on Septembers 8:

“Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that under the current circumstances France won’t offer the UK another extension to its withdrawal from the EU. ‘We’re not going to do this every three months,’ he said… Britain has so far been given two extensions to its proposed withdrawal from the EU…

“Britain is currently due to leave the bloc on October 31 [Halloween, Satan’s festival], and [Boris] Johnson [the 77^th Prime Minister of the UK] has pledged to leave without a deal if necessary, insisting earlier this week that he would ‘rather be dead in a ditch’ than ask for another delay… A team of leading lawyers said that the prime minister could be found in contempt of court and even face jail.”

The Sun added on September 8:

“The EU’s Brexit chief… Guy Verhoftstadt warned Remainers just hours after France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drain, said the country would refuse… to extend Brexit… Verhoftstadt… said another extension would be ‘unacceptable unless the deadlock in London is broken’…

“[Johnson] wrote to Tory members saying he would not carry out Parliament’s instructions to ask for another extension… Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith urged Boris to be a Brexit ‘martyr’ and defy the will of Parliament…”

That would really make him even more popular in Britain.

Johnson Far Ahead in Polls

Breitbart wrote on September 8:

“[Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic] Raab has said that Boris Johnson is ‘sticking to his guns’ on his Brexit plans, saying that despite the efforts of Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘surrender bill’ to stop no deal Brexit, the UK will leave the EU on October 31st ‘come what may’…

“The prime minister holding firm appears to be winning favour with the public, with a YouGov poll for the Sunday Times finding the Conservatives on 35 per cent approval, 14 points ahead of Labour (on 21 per cent), with the Liberal Democrats in third on 19 per cent, and the Brexit Party on 12 per cent.”

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party plus leaders from other groups may be seen by many as obstructionists for their own political gain. Put simply, the opposition from all parties to a no deal Brexit have joined together and have taken away a big negotiating tool by insisting that the UK will not leave without a deal and so many don’t really want to leave the EU at all. It restricts the negotiating power that Mr. Johnson now has.

What Became of the Party of Margaret Thatcher?

Der Spiegel wrote on September 6:

“Whatever Brexit might ultimately bring, there are a number of images from this week that will stick in our memories for a long time. We won’t forget, for example, that Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, was expelled from the Conservative Party after 36 years of service…

“The party of Margaret Thatcher, of Harold Macmillans, of Winston Churchill… no longer really exists in its traditional form… A group of zealots remains, led by Boris Johnson. And their language and behavior are astonishingly similar to those of other authoritative populists, such as those in the U.S., Italy, Poland, Hungary and elsewhere… This group represents a form of English nationalism that threatens the unity of the country, strengthening not just the Scottish independence movement but also the Northern Irish Republicans’ dreams of reunification. Several weeks ago, Gordon Brown — a Scot and the last Labour prime minister — said that Boris Johnson could very well be the United Kingdom’s last prime minister…

“Even as British civil servants, the opposition, the Bank of England, the Confederation of British Industry and numerous other organizations predict food shortages, border chaos, civil unrest, billions in losses and a possible recession [in case of a no-deal Brexit], the prime minister and his government are deaf to the warnings… The speed with which the remnants of the Conservative Party have moved to the right-wing populist fringe is astonishing. The party’s anti-EU wing, a minority not all that long ago, is now mainstream…”

Der Spiegel, a left-liberal proponent of the anti-Brexit German press, is portraying an anti-British picture which will ultimately lead to further antagonism… especially, if Britain crashes out of Europe without a deal, which appears to be more and more likely.

Merkel’s Warning to Britain

The Guardian wrote on September 11:

“Angela Merkel has highlighted the economic danger [and threat] posed by Britain if it is allowed to become a Singapore-on-Thames as Boris Johnson’s Brexit envoy outlined a plan to ditch the UK’s commitments to stay aligned to the EU’s social and environmental standards…

“[She said:] ‘… the fact remains that after the withdrawal of Britain, we have an economic competitor at our door, even if we want to keep close economic, foreign and security cooperation and friendly relations. ‘On the one hand, as Europeans we are weaker with Britain’s exit – that has to be said – but on the other hand, this is the moment to develop new strengths.’”

The choice of her words – “even IF we want to keep… friendly relations” is quite revealing.

The Worst Case Scenario

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 11:

“Britain could face massive disruptions to its food supply, financial services and cross-channel traffic in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to government projections. And public disorder is likely to follow…

“The key points:

“The UK will revert to ‘third country’ status and the relationship with the EU will be ‘on the whole unsympathetic,’  with a range of potential effects, including:

“Cross-channel traffic being cut by 40-60% within a day, with disruption lasting 3 months. Protests taking place across the country, placing a strain on police resources. Financial services and the sharing of law enforcement and personal data being disrupted. Small and medium-sized business being unable to cope. Severe weather in winter potentially exacerbating negative impacts.”

“In the short-term, trucks would face delays of around 2 days while trying to cross the border, the report outlined. This would have an impact on medicines and medical products imported into the UK. These are particularly reliant on short crossings of the English channel and would therefore be particularly affected by hold-ups. The UK government would not be able to do much to mitigate these effects due to the short shelf-life of some medicines and supplies, according to the report.

“The food sector would be hit in a matter of weeks, if not days, due to its reliance on free-movement and non-tariff trade within the EU, protected by high tariffs on goods coming from outside the trading bloc. Up to 282 EU vessels could enter UK waters on the first day, leading to anger and even violent clashes with UK fishing boats. Any workers, students, travelers and pensioners in the EU would immediately lose their access to healthcare, which is currently funded in the EU via the UK’s National Health Service. Law enforcement data and information-sharing between the UK and the EU would also be immediately affected.”

Critics claim that some of these points are overblown and exaggerated. Nevertheless, the consequences of a no deal Brexit would be traumatic for the UK, and its relationship with the EU would further deteriorate drastically.

Worldwide Rise of Nationalism and Populism

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 6:

“People around the world believe the political system is rigged against them, a survey by Ipsos revealed on Thursday, highlighting a growing trend towards populism globally. Levels of political distrust and a desire for strong leaders who are willing to break the rules mirrors the political zeitgeist surrounding the election of US President Donald Trump and the British decision to leave the European Union…

“64% said their country needs a strong leader to take it back from the rich and powerful… 49% [said] that, to fix it, their country needs a strong leader willing to break the rules…

“Germany was one of just three countries in which less than half of respondents felt a strong leader was the answer to their political shortcomings. It was joined by Japan and Sweden, which nonetheless had the biggest increase in populist tendencies… Dr. Robert Grimm, head of political and social research at Ipsos in Germany [stated:]… ‘many Germans see no solution in a strong leader, probably also because of their profound experience with totalitarian regimes… Thus, in an apathetic political culture, the country is driving from one unwanted coalition to the next…’”

That will change soon, as a strong leader will arise in Germany, who might also be willing to “break the rules.”

Germany’s Divided Soul

Project Syndicate wrote on September 2:

“This November, Germany will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But the country is in a gloomy mood, and cheers will be few and far between – especially in the east.

“Today, more than one-third of eastern Germans describe themselves as second-class citizens. Contrary to their expectations at the time of German reunification in 1990, the east of the country has not become as prosperous as the west. Unsurprisingly, eastern Germans today think, feel, and vote differently than western Germans do. In fact, Germany is one country with two souls.

“The latest evidence of this came on September 1, when the xenophobic right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) secured a strong second place in regional elections in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg, with 27.5% and 23.5% of the vote, respectively. In western German states, the AfD’s electoral share is typically half of that.

“Germany’s east-west political divide reflects sharp economic differences… Economic convergence within Germany stalled largely as a result of policy decisions… an economic recovery in the east would not only bring material benefits. It would also help to heal Germany’s psychological divide, and thus make eastern Germans less likely to vote for extremist parties that prey on their fears.”

But maybe, due to the ongoing faulty politics of the German government, the pendulum will swing to the other direction so that many more people in West Germany will vote for far right populist parties and candidates.

Far-Right Extremism in German Military

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 10:

“Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is widening its investigation into far-right extremists within the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, German media reported on Tuesday, particularly focusing on the most elite unit in the military, the Kommando Spezialkraefte (KSK)… The number of soldiers in the special forces unit believed to harbor fringe far-right sympathies is ‘extraordinarly high,’ security sources told Spiegel magazine…

“… the problem is particularly bad among paratroopers and known to center around the Franz-Joseph-Strauss base in Altenstadt, Bavaria. The base became infamous in the 1990s when MAD discovered that soldiers there were celebrating Hitler’s birthday and singing the anthem of the Nazi party… MAD is also looking into online extremist groups like ‘North Cross.’ However, as the smallest of Germany’s intelligence-gathering services, there are some concerns that it may not have enough personnel and resources needed for the breadth of the investigation….”

Far right extremism is not disappearing in Germany. Rather, it seems that it is on the rise.

Netanyahu Announces Intensions to Annex Jordan Valley 

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 10:

“In a live TV address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he plans to annex the Jordan Valley [and the northern Dead Sea] if he wins next week’s general election…

“The Jordan Valley comprises around one-third of the West Bank and contains numerous Israeli settlements.”

The Week added on September 10:

“More than 3 million Palestinians and 400,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, which Israel’s military captured during the Six-Day War in 1967. Netanyahu has said the Trump administration’s peace plan would provide an opportunity for the annexation.”

JTA wrote on September 10:

“This move would further entrench Israel’s presence in the West Bank and make a future evacuation of the territory — what many see as a part of an eventual two-state solution — even more unlikely. The Palestinians have insisted on governing the Jordan Valley as part of a future peace deal.

“Netanyahu also promised, in his speech and earlier, to annex even more Israeli settlements down the line. The more Israel annexes, the less possible a contiguous Palestinian state would be…

“Israelis as a whole are split. Nearly half of Israeli Jews and 11 percent of Israeli Arabs favor annexing the Jordan Valley if Trump supports it, according to a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute. Twenty-eight percent of Jewish Israelis and a majority of Arab Israelis oppose the idea.”

If carried out, this would create further conflicts with Arab nations and Europe.  

Suicide Rates on the Rise in the USA

NBC News wrote on September 6:

“Suicide rates are on the rise… From 1999 to 2016, the rate of suicide among Americans ages 25 to 64 rose by 41 percent… Rates among people living in rural counties were 25 percent higher than those in major metropolitan areas. A number of factors appear to be driving suicide rates up in rural America, including poverty, low income and underemployment…

“The study also found that counties with high levels of social fragmentation — based on the levels of single-person households, unmarried residents and transient residents — and a high percentage of veterans had higher rates of suicide…

“The presence of more gun shops was also associated with an increase in suicide rates in all counties, except for the most rural ones…

“The rise in suicide rates in rural counties is ‘alarming,’ said Oren Miron, a researcher at the Clalit Research Institute in Israel, who also studies suicide rates in collaboration with the Harvard Medical School. Miron, who wasn’t involved with the new research, said two of the factors identified in the study — high veteran rates and unemployment — ‘may interact in a dangerous way.’

“‘If a veteran returns from deployment to a county without jobs, he might lose hope in rejoining civilian life,’ Miron said. ‘The re-entry to civilian life is a period with high suicide risk…’

“Suicide ‘is a growing American tragedy,’ said Dr. Albert Wu, an internist and a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ‘It has become a leading cause of death in the U.S., and is a major public health problem… Lack of health insurance kills people,’ he said…”

NBC News wrote on September 11:

“A megachurch pastor in Southern California known for his mental health advocacy died by suicide on Monday, church officials said in a statement. Jarrid Wilson… was 30… Open about his battle with depression, Wilson spoke often of his struggles online and in his work as a pastor… In addition to his wife, Wilson is survived by two sons…

“Greg Laurie, senior pastor at the Harvest megachurch [wrote:] ‘Sometimes people may think that as pastors or spiritual leaders we are somehow above the pain and struggles of everyday people… We are the ones who are supposed to have all the answers. But we do not.’

“Sunday marked the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Week, a weeklong campaign meant to bring awareness to the warning signs of suicide…”

Examples like these are truly terrible testimonies of those who are scattered without a Shepherd. But Suicide is always wrong. It constitutes and is tantamount to murder. Factors might be involved which may lead a desperate person to perform that terrible step, including the horrors of wars and their evil consequences, as well as the inability to find work or adequate health insurance. However, suicide is never a solution. A person who has killed him- or herself will awake in the next second of his or her consciousness and will have to give account to God for his or her actions.

We said this in our Q&A about suicide:

“What circumstances would give rise to such a thought? Perhaps someone has an incurable disease (by man’s reckoning) and is in such severe pain that it seems to be the only way out of a terrible situation?… What about someone who experiences demonic activity in his or her life which presses that individual to take such action as a way out of this misery? Drug or alcohol addiction, mental illness, depression, family issues, bullying and marital and financial problems can also be reasons why suicide might seem to be the answer, but it never is. When someone commits suicide, he or she will have to give an answer to God for that course of action within his or her very next waking moment.”

Tremendous Anti-Semitism in Canadian “Christian Orthodox Church”

Breaking Israel News wrote on September 8:

“A Christian Orthodox priest in Nova Scotia was forced to retire after delivering a sermon that honored Judaism and Israel… in which he [also] requested that congregants pray for Israel and reminded the congregation that Jesus was a Jew… He also said that over the last several years, his sermons have connected Christianity’s roots and the Old Testament’s Jewish background… While studying the early Christian era… he says that he realized that early Christians were actually Jewish and their scripture was the Old Testament…

“‘I wrote a piece for publication, but was told by my superiors that it was “too Jewish.” That increased my determination that Christianity grew from Judaism. My own theology recognized a faith that started with Abraham and grew through the centuries through Christ,’ he explained.”

The fact that true Christianity does not do away with the spiritual teachings of the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, is not accepted by most professing Christians. Underlying anti-Semitism might be one reason for this false sentiment.

California’s Democrats Continue their War for Mandatory Vaccinations

NBC San Diego wrote on September 9:

“California [Democratic] Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Monday to crack down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children’s vaccinations… Protesters forced delays in both the Assembly and Senate. They unfurled an upside-down American flag from the Senate’s public gallery in a traditional signal of distress and chanted ‘My kids, my choice’ and ‘We will not comply.’…

“Republicans in both chambers objected that there were no public committee hearings before the Assembly approved the measure with a 43-14 vote and the Senate followed on a 27-11 roll call. ‘This goes past vaccines and is again a major government overreach,’ said Republican Assemblyman Devon Mathis of Visalia, adding that, ‘Our medically fragile children are what are at stake.’

“Newsom demanded a phase-out period for medical exemptions similar to one allowed when California eliminated personal belief vaccine exemptions in 2015. A kindergartener with an exemption could retain it through sixth grade, for instance, while a seventh grader could be exempted through high school… The companion bill also would allow officials to revoke any medical exemptions written by a doctor who has faced disciplinary action. The bill would make it clear that enforcement will start next year, meaning doctors who previously granted a high number of medical exemptions won’t face scrutiny…

“Republican Sen. John Moorlach of Costa Mesa grew emotional as he recalled a developmentally disabled cousin who died at a young age. ‘That’s what these people fear,’ Moorlach said of protesters. ‘We’ve got to hit the pause button.’”

The irresponsible hysteria of mandatory vaccinations which is driven by the pharmaceutical industry and its doctors poses a real danger for the health and welfare of our children.

The Nonsense of Gender Neutral School Uniforms in the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on September 5:

“[The] Priory School in Lewes forced all pupils to wear trousers in 2017 after ‘concerns’ were raised over the length of skirts and to cater for their transgender pupils… the school stated that all students, not just newcomers, will be required to wear the ‘gender neutral’ uniform. The school has warned parents that children still wearing the old uniform will be sent home from… school… There are at least 40 other schools which have a similar uniform requirement.”

All of this is geared towards teaching our children that homosexuality, transgender and other similar sexual behavior are “normal” and “acceptable.”

The Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs

The Wall Street Journal wrote on September 9:

“Drilling into the seafloor off Mexico, scientists have extracted a unique geologic record of the single worst day in the history of life, when a city-sized asteroid smashed into Earth 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs…

“Their analysis of these new rock samples from the Chicxulub crater… reveals a parfait of debris deposited in layers almost minute-by-minute at the heart of the impact during the first day of a global catastrophe. It records traces of the explosive melting, massive earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and wildfires as the immense asteroid blasted a hole 100 miles wide and 12 miles deep…

“The sediments also offer chemical evidence that the cataclysm blew hundreds of billions of tons of sulfur from pulverized ocean rock into the atmosphere, triggering a global winter in which temperatures world-wide dropped by as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit for decades…

“The asteroid blasted a cavity between 25 and 30 miles deep in the first seconds of impact, creating a boiling cauldron of molten rocks and super-heated steam, according to the scientists’ interpretation of the rock. Rebounding from the hammer blow, a plume of molten rock splashed up into a peak higher than Mount Everest. Within minutes, it collapsed into itself, splashing gigantic waves of lava outward that solidified into a ring of high peaks…”

The Bible says that after God had created the heavens and the earth in a beautiful state, the earth became void and empty, with darkness on the face of the deep.

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.

Far-Right Surge in East Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 2:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) just about managed to come out on top in regional elections in Saxony and Brandenburg respectively. But both parties, who form the governing coalition at national level, still took an electoral hit. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) came second in both states, a massive gain on results four years ago, but with a similar share of the vote as in the last national election in 2017.

“… political observers thought the result, while certainly not great for Angela Merkel’s grand coalition, was still good enough to ensure that her administration was not about to collapse immediately. The key was the SPD’s very mixed results. While the Social Democrats slumped to just 7.7%, or fifth place, in Saxony, they still won the election in Brandenburg, all but assuring they could continue to govern there…

“The results were a ‘shock … but not the earthquake that everyone feared,’ as Italy’s Corriere della sera put it. La Repubblica expressed deeper worries, ‘The nightmare that the far-right AfD would be the strongest party in two federal states in the former GDR and rattle the Merkel government was averted …But the extreme right is on a worrying advance… Fear, nationalism and xenophobia were the main instruments used in the election campaign.’…

“France’s regional Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace wrote, ‘… The right is getting closer, they’re nibbling away, one election at a time, pushing and shaking the foundations of social democracy.’ The Alsace paper added that as eastern Germany is in ‘economic despair,’ the AfD can ‘surf on the wave of latent and historical racism, which was caused by the massive influx of migrants in 2015.’ French daily Le Monde called the AfD’s rise a ‘strong breakthrough,’ saying that the party has ‘never scored as high,’ while the Dutch De Telegraaf said the results were ‘a double slap in the face for the unstable German coalition.’ Volkskrant, another Dutch daily, said that while the right-wing populists were not the largest party in either state, the AfD can now ‘call itself the “People’s Party” in the [former] East.’… Denmark’s Politiken said that while Merkel’s CDU and the SPD suffered a blow in the east, they managed to ‘bypass the great catastrophe.’”

For now…

No Coalition with AfD?

Axios wrote on September 2:

“The results are being viewed as a victory for AfD, but all parties have sworn not to work with the far right in a coalition government. That could be a difficult promise to keep, however, with vote share dispersed across a number of smaller parties…

“The state elections are being viewed as a crucial test for Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), the hand-picked successor to Merkel. A series of missteps have Germans — including some in AKK’s own party — questioning her leadership. Her CDU has become especially vulnerable with AfD chipping away at its popularity in recent elections.”

What Could It Mean for Germany?

The Week wrote on September 2:

“Germany’s politics, like most other European countries, is now in turmoil…

“What does this mean for Germany and the rest of Europe?

“Firstly, it will be increasingly difficult to form stable government coalitions… Previously, it was usual for one of the big parties — CDU or SPD — to form a coalition with one of the smaller parties such as the FDP or Greens. However, the decline of CDU and SPD makes it difficult to gain a majority… This means that coalitions need to be formed of more than two or even three parties, and between parties that normally would never have paired up… this development in the most stable country in Europe will send tremors through the entire continent.

“Secondly, if the AfD continues to rise, it is only a question of time until they become part of a government… in countries such as Poland, Hungary or Italy, the far-right parties are already dominant forces. In France, Marine Le Pen was close to becoming president! However, Germany has for eight decades maintained a strong barrier against right-wing politics. It’s a worrying ‘normalization’ when right-wing positions are en vogue again…”

This is how Hitler came to power too.

Austria’s Uncertain Future

AFP wrote on August 29:

“Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) could once again partner with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ)… The ÖVP-FPÖ partnership came crashing down in spectacular fashion in May when hidden camera footage from 2017 showed then FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache appearing to offer public contracts to a fake Russian backer in exchange for campaign help… Strache resigned as vice chancellor and from all his other posts, the coalition fell apart, Kurz was thrown out in a no-confidence vote – the first-ever such successful vote in modern Austrian history – and fresh elections were set for September 29th.

“Despite the unprecedented chaos, both the ÖVP and the FPÖ – founded after World War Two by former Nazis – have sustained their popularity… The ÖVP remains the strongest party on 36 percent, while the FPÖ stands at 20 percent, six percentage points lower than in October 2017 but neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats…

“Strache has continued to defend himself from various corruption allegations on his Facebook page. The page counts almost 800,000 followers – far more than his party colleagues and most other Austrian politicians… Norbert Hofer, who replaced Strache as FPÖ leader, has openly said he wants another coalition with Kurz…

“Kurz, whose party’s popularity now is four percentage points higher than in October 2017 but who cannot form a majority government alone, has so far avoided saying which partner he prefers. He ended a coalition with the Social Democrats – who are scoring their lowest-ever poll numbers – when he took over the ÖVP leadership in 2017, triggering that year’s elections.

“A possible coalition with the Greens has been floated, which would be a first on the national level but similar to those which already govern some Austrian states. The Greens stand at 12 percent in the Unique Research survey, far higher than in 2017, when they failed to make the four percent threshold to enter parliament in a shock result.”

We should definitely watch Sebastian Kurz, who has been nicknamed “holy Sebastian” because of his strong Catholic belief.

Italy’s New Government

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 4:

“Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte unveiled his new cabinet on Wednesday, uniting two rival political parties in an unlikely coalition between the anti-establishment [M5S] and the center-left Democratic Party [PD]… Luciana Lamorgese, a former Milan security chief and top civil servant with no political affiliation will serve as the new interior minister, replacing far-right League leader Matteo Salvini.

“However, even after being sworn in, the new government will still need to be approved by votes of confidence in Italy’s two houses of parliament later this week to ensure it has a majority… [These confidence votes will start on Monday.]

“Salvini, who now sits on the opposition sidelines, labelled the new administration ‘a government produced by Paris and Berlin, born out of fear to give up power, without dignity or ideals, with the wrong people in the wrong places.’ The head of the League party also tweeted that the new government ‘can’t escape from the judgment of Italians for long,’ predicting that ‘in the end we will win.’

“Salvini continues to lead in opinion polls. Political scientist Giovanni Orsina from Rome’s Luiss University says that ‘most Italians see the new government as a kind of anti-Salvini coalition… Orsina expects Salvini will hold on to his high polling numbers for some time longer. ‘Salvini won for certain reasons, and these reasons haven’t changed,’ he said…”

It will have to be seen as to how long Italy’s 66^th government since World War II will last…

Brexit News

The Week wrote on September 4:

“U.K. lawmakers voted 327-299 on Wednesday to push a bill that would block Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to withdraw from the European Union on Oct. 31 if no agreement is reached. Wednesday’s vote was the second stage in a two-step process; Johnson was defeated on Tuesday night, as well, when the House Of Commons voted by a count of 328-301 to hold a debate on the proposed law. Following the Tuesday vote, Johnson expelled 21 Conservative lawmakers who voted against him, fracturing an already tenuous party.

The EUObserver wrote on September 5:

“The upper chamber of the UK parliament – the House of Lords – has agreed to pass the rebel bill from MPs blocking any no-deal Brexit by Boris Johnson’s government. In the early hours of Thursday, members were told the bill would return to the House of Commons on Friday, where it is expected to pass…”

Deutsche Welle added on September 5:

“That would give the House of Commons enough time to debate any amendments made by the upper house and send the legislation — if it passes again — to Queen Elizabeth II, who could put the law into effect by as soon as Monday. The bill would force Johnson to delay Britain’s EU exit until January 31, unless Parliament approves a new deal or votes to support a no-deal Brexit by October 19 — which are both unlikely scenarios.

“The UK could still crash out of the EU without a transition agreement — the only question would be when that would take place. The current bill only delays the issue, kicking the can down the road until January. Any extension would also need the unanimous approval of the leaders of the remaining 27 EU member-states — and the British government would have to provide a valid reason for doing so. Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said on Wednesday there isn’t enough widespread support among EU leaders to grant a third extension…

“Despite Johnson’s failed bid to call a snap election, Britain could soon be headed to the polls. Once again, it’s a question of timing. Johnson wanted to hold the election on October 15… Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he supports early elections, but only once the no-deal Brexit blocking bill has been passed. The Labour leader also reportedly said that he wouldn’t want to hold the election before the current Brexit deadline on October 31…”

Axios wrote on September 5:

“It was a week of absolute mayhem in the world of Brexit and U.K. politics…  No one — not even Britain’s best and brightest — knows exactly what’s coming next.”

Boris Johnson might face his biggest defeat or his biggest victory.

Consequences from the War in Syria

The EUObserver wrote on September 2:

“Russian and Syrian forces killed 1,151 civilians between February and August this year in the Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama provinces counted together… They also caused 92,119 people to flee their homes in one week in August in southern Idlib and northern Hama… Russia and Syria have dropped tens of tonnes of explosives on people’s heads and aid camps are overflowing with women and children in need… The suffering is unbearable and this is where people are being forced to go – to break the Turkish border and cross into Europe…

“If we pass a tipping point and there is a mass exodus, it might look like 2015 all over again, when one million refugees fled to Europe. That caused a political shock, prompting the rise of far-right parties, which helped Russia in its strategic goal to break up the EU… And that is why Idlib is at the centre of a crucial moment in post-World War II European history.”

This would surely cause right-wing anti-Immigration parties in Europe to rise.

The 80th Anniversary of World War II

The Huffington Post wrote on September 2:”

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday asked Poland to forgive his country for its role in World War II. ‘In no other square in Europe do I find it more difficult to speak, and to address you in my native language of German,’ Steinmeier said at a ceremony in Pilsudski Square in Warsaw… ‘I ask for forgiveness for Germany’s historical guilt, and I recognize our enduring responsibility.’

“Steinmeier joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders for events marking the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II, which began when the Nazis attacked Poland. Nearly 6 million Poles were among the 50 million people who died in World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history…

“Polish President Andrzej Duda said it was difficult to even imagine now that ‘cataclysm of history … which brought the most disastrous consequences in the history of mankind.’ Duda scolded Europe for not standing up to Adolf Hitler sooner, saying, ‘Perhaps the Second World War would not have broken out in the first place if the states in the west had put up a decisive resistance against … the imperial ambitions of Hitler.’

“[He] also criticized Western leaders who have been soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow’s aggression in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. ‘We are still faced, even in Europe, with the return of imperialist tendencies. … Closing one’s eyes is not a recipe for peace,’ he said. ‘It is a simple way … to give permission for further attacks.’ Putin was not invited to the events.”

Very true.

Coming… War Between Israel and Iran?

BBC News wrote on September 2:

“The most recent clash between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon may or may not be over, but the signs still point to a potentially catastrophic conflict ahead… What is going on here is an undeclared war not just between Israel and Hezbollah, but between Israel and Hezbollah’s sponsor, Iran.

“Outside actors seem unable to alter Tehran’s direction of travel. The US is clearly in no position to do so. And assurances from Moscow that it will persuade the Syrians to contain the advance of Iran and its proxies, have proved illusory…

“It is like one of those old-fashioned movies in which a bomb is discovered with a long-burning fuse, which the hero gets to snuff out with moments to spare. The fuse for this impending conflagration is longer; but nobody knows quite how long. The fuse has been snuffed out now on multiple occasions. But each time when it is re-lit, it gets ever shorter.”

Further turmoil in the Middle East IS prophesied.

USA or Europe to Intervene?

The Times of Israel wrote on September 1:

“Lebanon’s prime minister on Sunday urged the United States and France to intervene after the Hezbollah terror group fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli territory, prompting retaliatory fire by the Israel Defense Forces.”

Previously, Breaking Israel News reported on August 30 that “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that Israel can rely on diplomatic, legal and military assistance in the event of a war with Iran.”

While the USA might very well assist Israel militarily, it is not be expected that the USA will intervene on Lebanon’s behalf against Israel. On the other hand, Europe will do so in due time. The consequences will be disastrous.

Israel to Help Ethiopia

The Times of Israel wrote on September 1:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday calls for strengthened security cooperation with Ethiopia… ‘We believe that we can offer some experience, some shared experience that we have garnered because of our unfortunate need to defend ourselves,’ Netanyahu [said]…

“He hail[ed] the prime minister of the Horn of Africa country as ‘one of the most important and influential leaders in Africa.’”

As we have stated for a long time, Ethiopia will play a significant role in the future in the light of biblical references. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Third Temple Advocate Part of Netanyahu’s New Government?

Breaking Israel News wrote on August 29:

“It has been confirmed that Zehut (Identity) party leader Moshe Feiglin will order his party, Zehut, to step down in the current election to join Netanyahu’s Likud party who will make him a ‘high ranking official’ in the PM’s next government.

“Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut was the only party head in the current elections who openly calls for building the third Temple and has placed it on his party’s platform…”

This is interesting as we know from the Bible that a third Temple will be built prior to Christ’s Return. Note the next article.

More Political Support for the Third Temple

Breaking Israel News wrote on September 5:

“Head of the Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party has come out in support of building the third Temple in an exclusive interview with Breaking Israel News on Thursday.

“On the same day that Ben-Gvir expressed support for building the third Temple, polls showed him passing the minimum threshold of four seats and entering the upcoming Knesset following elections on September 17.

“The Otzmah Yehudit party is considered to be the most right wing party in the current elections…Ben-Gvir is also in favor of asserting sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria and Gaza. He also calls for assisted emigration for Arabs from Israel and encouraging them to leave… The party and its members are proud disciples of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane H”yd, a right-wing activist who was known for his plan to expel Arabs from Israel. Kahane was assassinated by a member of Al Qaeda in New York in 1990 making it the first Al Qaeda terror attack on American soil.”

Jews to Pray Soon on the Temple Mount?

Breaking Israel News reported on August 30:

“In the course of an interview last week in Ukraine, Ze’ev Kam, a reporter for Kan News, asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ‘elementary rights of the Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, their holiest site.’ Netanyahu’s answer… was, ‘Don’t worry, it will happen, and before the arrival of the Messiah.’

“On the website for Temple Mount advocacy, Har-Habait, they noted that Netanyahu had already made this promise. Yehuda Etzion, founder of the Chai V’Kayam temple mount advocacy group, sent a letter to then-Likud candidate Netanyahu asking about his views on Jewish rights at the site. ‘The right of the Jewish people to their holy place, the Temple Mount, is unquestionable,’ Netanyahu wrote…”

This, all by itself, would ignite serious repercussions against Israel.

Pope: It’s an Honor to Be Attacked by America

Ynet News wrote on September 4:

“Pope Francis has acknowledged his growing opposition within the conservative right-wing of the U.S. Catholic Church and says it is ‘an honor if the Americans attack me.’

“Francis made off-hand comments about critics of his papacy as he received a copy of a new book titled ‘How America Wants to Change the Pope.’ Author Nicholas Seneze, who covers the Vatican for the French Catholic newspaper La Croix presented it to Francis aboard the papal plane while en route to southern Africa on Wednesday.”

Developments like these could explain why the coming political and religious leaders of a United Europe will not be opposed to a military attack on the USA.

There is NO Gay Gene

PJ Media wrote on August 29:

“A new study… released Thursday proved that there [is] no ‘gay gene’ and that genetic factors are insignificant in determining sexual orientation… This means that non-genetic factors, including environment, upbringing, personality, and nurture ‘are far more significant in influencing a person’s choice of sexual partner…’ according to the researchers.

“… This new study ‘analyzed survey responses and performed analyses known as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on data from more than 470,000 people who had given DNA samples and lifestyle information… the size and comprehensive nature of this new study ought to crush the ‘born that way’ myth…”

According to the Bible, homosexuals are not and could not be born that way, as God demands repentance and change, which can occur due to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hurricane Dorian–Second Strongest Atlantic Storm Ever

The Sun wrote on September 2:

“Hurricane Dorian is now the second strongest Atlantic storm in history as the 225mph killer edges towards Florida. The category 5 monster made landfall in the Bahamas with devastating force on Sunday… Dorian’s maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph, with gusts up to 225mph – tying the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall. That equalled the Labour Day hurricane of 1935, before storms were even named.

“The only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980 – which had sustained 190mph winds but didn’t make landfall at that strength.”

Reuters added that “Winds gusting up to 200 mph (320 km/h) destroyed or damaged more than 13,000 homes” in the Bahamas.

The Guardian wrote on September 4:

“The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas could cost ‘hundreds of millions, if not billions’ of dollars to repair, according to the deputy prime minister, as aerial images showed whole neighbourhoods destroyed. With the death toll climbing to seven and scores more still missing, helicopters operated by the US Coast Guard among others were delivering emergency supplies to residents on the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, the two worst hit locations in the Caribbean nation’s north.

“‘It’s total devastation. It’s decimated. Apocalyptic,’ said Lia Head-Rigby, who helps run a local hurricane relief group, after flying over the Abaco Islands. ‘It’s not rebuilding something that was there; we have to start again.’”

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.

Stalin Glorified in Modern Russia

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 22:

“As the 80th anniversary of the Hitler-Stalin pact and the beginning of World War II approaches, the Russian state has unleashed a massive media exercise… The campaign aims to convince the Russians and the world that the calamity of 1939 was of Western making, and that the Poles and the Baltic states, who were victims of aggression, were in fact as bad as the occupiers and had made their own deals with the Nazis… [Putin wants to picture Stalin’s actions as] a boisterous celebration of the pact and resulting conquests, especially the USSR invading Poland together with the Nazis in September 1939 and occupying Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the summer of 1940…

“Since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and its invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, Putin’s actions have been frequently compared to those of Stalin… [Putin] continues to forge ahead with creating and imbuing the Russians with his own version of the country’s history, identity and patriotism. In it, state authority is always right and righteous — whether exercised by the tsar, the general secretary or the president. The noblest civic duty is to unquestionably accept this authority’s judgement and be ready to die when it orders you to. The Second World War, with its immense and heroic sacrifice by the peoples of the Soviet Union, has for the last five years served as the ultimate propaganda justification for Putin’s ‘Fortress Russia’ isolation policy. Glorification of Stalin’s cynicism and aggression as ‘pragmatism’ and ‘defense of national interests’ serves this purpose well…”

Putin views Stalin as his great hero. That should tell us a lot.

Condemning the German-Russian Treaty

The EUobserver wrote on August 23:

“Five EU states have issued a statement condemning a World War 2-era German-Russian treaty which divided Europe, but Russia has defended the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

“The treaty, signed between Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and his Nazi German counterpart, Joachim von Ribbentrop, on 23 August 1939 ‘sparked World War 2 and doomed half of Europe to decades of misery’ the foreign ministries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania said on Friday (23 August), the day of its 80th anniversary.”

Hitler’s and Stalin’s Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement

Politics wrote on August 22:

“Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin signed a Nazi-Soviet non-aggression treaty known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement… From the very beginning of the Second World War until the Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941, the Soviet Union was on the same side of the war as Hitler. Everyone remembers Hitler invading Poland on September 1st 1939. A lot of people conveniently forget that the USSR invaded Poland from the east only a few weeks later. Indeed, Soviet and German troops staged a joint parade at Brest, along their newly defined frontier.

“The Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland meant that 200,000 square kilometres of Poland and over 13 million Polish citizens found themselves under the yoke of Soviet oppression. A quarter of a million Polish prisoners of war found themselves in Soviet camps, not German ones. Many were massacred at Katyn in 1940. The German Gestapo and Soviet NKVD even held a series of conferences on how to cooperate in the oppression of occupied Poland.

“The alliance was economic as much as geopolitical. The amount of trade between the two nations during the 1939-1941 period was staggering. Massive amounts of raw material flowed from the USSR to Nazi Germany, including 1.6 million tons of grain and 900,000 tons of oil. The fascist army that invaded France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was literally fed by communist grain. Bomber planes over London were fuelled by communist oil.

“In return, Stalin received a low interest loan from Germany for the equivalent of billions in modern money and bought technology and manufactured goods…

“Stalin invaded Finland, as it was firmly assigned by the treaty to the Soviet sphere of influence. Finland, greatly outnumbered and outgunned, fought the Red Army to a standstill, but had to eventually concede defeat and give up various border regions to Soviet control. The region of Karelia remains under Russian control to this day, a testimony to the lasting impact of the pact…

“What is now the nation of Moldova was carved off from Romania in 1940. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were ‘given’ to the USSR by this agreement… these three Baltic states were forcibly annexed into the USSR in 1940. Soviet occupation in the three Baltic states was fierce – both in its original 1940 incarnation and when they were re-occupied in 1944. It stayed that way until 1991… The borders of Poland, Romania, Finland, and Belarus are affected by the treaty. Karelia is still in Russia. Many cities that were once Polish are now in Ukraine or Belarus.

“[In 1990], Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all re-asserted their independence.”

It is entirely possible that for a short time, a similar pact will be entered into between Russia and the unified core nations of the EU, under German leadership.

Unprecedented Amazon Wildfires

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“With a record number of fires raging in the Amazon rainforest, international leaders are joining forces to call for action to stop them… But such calls for action from outside Brazil, have been met with rebuttal and even mockery from within…

“Colombia, home to part of the northern Amazon, said it was already working to contain the fires as they headed towards its territory… Paraguay and Bolivia are also battling separate wildfires that have devastated large areas of their rainforests.

“In Brazil itself, federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into the massive wildfires in the Amazon region… Nearly 73,000 fires were recorded between January and August, compared with 39,759 in all of 2018… This number is the highest since records began…”

Business Insider wrote on August 22:

“More than 70,000 fires have been recorded this year in the rainforest, which produces more than 20% of the world’s oxygen — threatening its future, the billions of plants and animals that call it home, and possibly the entire planet’s health… Earlier this week, the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, 2,000 miles from the rainforest, was plunged into darkness as smoke from the fires obscured the sun.”

AFP wrote on August 24:

“Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil… some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday… The new data came a day after [far-right leader] Bolsonaro authorized the deployment of the military [44,000 troops] to fight the fires and crack down on criminal activities in the region… Environmental specialists say the fires have been accompanied by increasing deforestation in the Amazon region, which in July quadrupled compared to the same month in 2018…”

The EUObserver wrote on August 28:

“A spokesperson for Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has said the country will accept foreign aid to extinguish Amazon fires. Bolsonaro earlier declined €18m from the G7 states [while insisting on an apology from Macron for alleged insults]… The Brazilian spokesman said his country must have full control of foreign grants and that outside help must not impinge on its sovereignty.”

Children playing with fire…

Worldwide Fires

The Sun wrote on August 27:

“SHOCKING new satellite images show there are now MORE wildfires raging across Africa than in the flame-ravaged Amazon. More than one million square miles of forest in the Congo Basin are now ablaze in an area known as the Earth’s ‘second green lung.’… In a period of two days last week Angola had roughly three times more fires than Brazil…

“The stats revealed there were 6,902 fires in Angola and 3,395 fires in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, compared with around 2,200 recorded fires in Brazil. Like the Amazon, the African forests absorb CO2 and are sanctuaries for hundreds of endangered species… The Congo Basin covers an area of 3.3 million square kilometres in several countries, including about a third in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the rest in Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and Central Africa…”

According to the Bible, worldwide catastrophes such as these will increase in unparalleled fashion.

Israel Strikes Iranian Killer Drones in Syria and Lebanon

Reuters wrote on August 24:

“Israeli aircraft on Saturday struck Iranian forces near Damascus that had been planning to launch ‘killer drones’ [armed with explosives] at targets in Israel…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had thwarted the planned Iranian attack. ‘Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our forces operate in every sector against the Iranian aggression,’ he said on Twitter…

“Iran and Hezbollah are helping President Bashar al-Assad in the eight-year Syria war. Russia, which is also aiding Assad, has largely turned a blind eye to the Israeli air strikes… On Thursday, Netanyahu hinted of possible Israeli involvement in a series of blasts in the past few weeks that have hit weapon depots and bases belonging to paramilitary groups in Iraq, many of them backed by Iran.”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 25:

“Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun blasted Israel on Sunday after two drones, one being armed, crashed in the Lebanese capital of Beirut early Sunday morning…

“Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly 33-day war in 2006, which came to an end under UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Israel and Lebanon are still technically at war and Beirut regularly accuses Israel of violating its airspace with fighter jets and drones.”

Aoun called the Israeli drone attacks on the capital of Beirut and in the Qusaya a ‘declaration of war… that entitles us to resort to our right to defend our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity’…”

Palestinians Determined to Wipe Out Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on August 22:

“In a video… Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said while addressing a terror rally at the Jalazone village near Ramallah that: ‘We shall enter Jerusalem – millions of fighters!’ along with the ‘entire Islamic nation.’ The PA chairman added that: ‘every building built by the Zionist occupation will be destroyed.’ The statements were made while the crowd chanted ‘To Jerusalem, we march, martyrs by the millions!’…

“The proud Holocaust denier also claimed that Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians. He went on saying that ‘the entire Palestinian nation will enter Jerusalem as millions of fighters, along with the Arab, Islamic, and Christian nations.’… The video was uploaded to the PA’s leader’s Facebook page on August 10, 2019.”

This reminds us of the warning in Zechariah 14:2. The situation in the Middle East will deteriorate much more.

War between Israel and Iran?

On August 28, the Drudge Report linked to the following article which was originally published by endoftheamericandream:

“Are we about to see World War 3 erupt in the Middle East?… if a full-blown war erupts between Israel and one of her neighbors, it is likely to become a multi-front war almost immediately.  But at the core, this is a conflict between Israel and Iran…

“Missiles are not flying directly back and forth between Israel and Iran yet, but at this point a state of war essentially exists, and many are deeply concerned about what is going to happen next. In particular, it looks like Hezbollah could launch a large scale attack against Israel at any moment, because their leadership is absolutely furious that the Israelis just hit their headquarters building in Beirut… Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are now at their highest point since the 2006 war…

“This is an extremely serious situation.  Israel is literally on the brink of war with Hezbollah, and many feel that such a war is inevitable… Ultimately, nothing is going to be able to stop the massive war that is coming to the region.  The Iranians and all of their allies have a religiously-fueled hatred for Israel that most people living in the western world will never understand, and they are absolutely obsessed with permanently destroying the nation of Israel as it exists today…

“This can definitely be described as a time of ‘wars and rumors of wars’, and the situation on the ground is extremely fluid right now…”

The Algemeiner and Reuters wrote on August 28:

“Hezbollah will respond with a ‘surprise’ strike against Israel after drones crashed in Lebanon, but a new war remains unlikely, the Iran-backed movement said, amid heightened fears of a full-scale confrontation between the longtime adversaries.”

We read in the Bible that Israel will receive a wound in a coming military confrontation, prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

Nearly 900,000 Asylum Seekers Living in Limbo in EU

The Guardian wrote on August 25:

“Close to 900,000 asylum seekers in the EU are waiting to have their claims processed… Women, men and unaccompanied children are living for years in uncertainty, with numbers of pending applications for international protection almost unchanged from two years ago when 1.1 million migrants were ‘stuck’ in the continent. ‘Living in limbo is now the norm for those seeking protection,’ said Karl Kopp of Pro Asyl, Germany’s largest pro-immigration advocacy organisation. ‘Limbo means living in the miserable Greek EU hotspots, or being trapped and pushed back at the borders…’

“Eurostat figures have revealed a backlog of 878,600 requests at the end of 2018, with Germany having the largest share of pending requests (44%), ahead of Italy (12%). The figure comes despite the number of migrant arrivals in Europe practically halving in the last two years. Factors leading to the continuing backlog include new laws from right-leaning governments and an increase in the number of rejections, leading to lengthy appeals processes… The rejection rate for asylum requests in Europe has almost doubled in three years… In Italy, rejections were at 80% at the start of 2019, up from 60% the previous year as the populist government also removed key forms of protection.

“The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has in 2019 rejected three-quarters of family reunification requests from Greece, where migrants live in the overcrowded camps of Athens and Lesbos… Experts point out how some governments in recent years, especially in Italy and Germany, have accelerated evaluation procedures for asylum requests, which appears to have caused an increase in rejections because high-speed procedures are not carried out with as much thoughtful evaluation. ‘The agenda of the rightwing extremists is now the agenda of the mainstream…,’ said Kopp…

“… Those who stay after rejection are at risk of suddenly becoming illegal immigrants…”

Reading this, it is hypocritical for Europeans to condemn the USA for its immigration policy.

US-German Ties at Absolute Low… with Potentially Dangerous Consequences

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 21:

“Never since the founding of postwar Germany have relations between Berlin and the United States been as fragile as they are today. There is virtual radio silence between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump… ‘There is a crisis in the U.S. German relationship of a type that I would never have expected to occur in our time,’ says Nicholas Burns, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO…

“Germany has become the antithesis to Trump’s America… Trump is openly calling for the European Union to split up. He is publicly encouraging the new British prime minister, Boris Johnson, to embark on a hard Brexit. Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, traveled to London last week to communicate that the U.S. would ‘enthusiastically’ support a decision by the UK to leave the EU with no deal.

“Trump has shaken the relationship between the Germans and the Americans in ways that extend far beyond politics. The U.S. is more unpopular with Germans than ever before… 85 percent of Germans view the relationship with the U.S. as negative or very negative… Many now see the U.S. as a bigger problem than China and Russia…

“From a German perspective, conversations with the president are mostly just seen as futile… Trump is being faced with a German chancellor who clearly wants to go down in history as his opponent…

“It has now become normal for Merkel not to ask for a meeting with Trump when she visits the U.S… For Trump, Germany is a ‘flyover country’ when he visits Europe… he has not paid a single visit to Berlin…

“[US ambassador] Grenell has shown that he is primarily interested in garnering headlines… prompting Martin Schulz, who was the head of the Social Democrats at the time, to say that the ambassador was behaving like a ‘right-wing extremist colonial officer.’ Grenell then gave an interview to the right-wing news portal Breitbart in which he made it sound like he was hoping for a Trump-style right-wing revolution in Europe… No U.S. ambassador in recent German history seems to have been so isolated… Merkel made it clear in no uncertain terms how little regard she has for Grenell… German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas hasn’t had a significant conversation with Grenell in almost one year…

“Trump and Grenell are astonishingly similar. Both are happy to dish it out, but they are highly sensitive when they are the subject of attacks. Like Trump, Grenell also has a penchant for right-wing conspiracy theorists… Like Trump, Grenell is also a virtuoso at self-promotion…

“In Berlin, many are still holding out hope that the good old days of trans-Atlantic cooperation can resume once the Trump era has passed. But that could prove illusory. ‘The U.S. won’t remain the way it is under Trump, but it will also never be the same as it was before him again,’ says [Sigmar] Gabriel. The fact is that the Democrats agree with many of the points where Trump is critical, and Washington would remain an uncomfortable partner even if a Democrat is elected into the White House next year. Trump, in all his brutal openness, has made it clear that the U.S. is no longer willing to pay for Europe. The Democrats are also raising the question of military spending…

“Trump has become a convenient excuse for the Germans. Whatever he says is rejected almost reflexively. This is true for both the military mission in the Strait of Hormuz and NATO’s 2-percent target. The Germans need to finally get over the idea that they can remain a kind of giant Switzerland in the middle of Europe forever…

“Robert Kagan, a former adviser to two Republican presidential candidates who now works at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington… wrote that the German question, which led to two world wars and millions of deaths, could return… ‘Trump is actually fanning the flames of nationalism … again and again by supporting basically nationalist parties in Europe,’ Kagan told DER SPIEGEL. ‘He’s clearly destroying the global free trade regime by pursuing protectionist American policies which are directly harming Germany…’”

First of all, we do not believe that there will be an America after Trump. And however Germany will manifest itself on the world scene, it will, together with other core European countries, become as antagonistic towards the USA as it never has been since the end of World War II. It will also be part of a powerful European army in opposition to the USA. Or does the next article reflect a change in the German-US relationship?

Friendship between Trump and Merkel?

The Local wrote on August 26:

“US President Donald Trump showered Chancellor Angela Merkel with praise at the G7 Summit… ‘She is a brilliant woman, and she understands exactly where everything is, she knows it before most people,’ said Trump… The comments came during a relaxed reunion between the pair. It’s a stark contrast to previous meetings when relations have appeared frosty. After Trump was asked about the G7 losing its only female leader, Merkel said in English: ‘I’m still here,’ prompting laughs from reporters. Trump then predicted that the Chancellor, who plans to step down from politics after her term ends in 2021, may surprise everyone and might be around ‘for a long time’.

“When asked by a reporter if the Chancellor had invited Trump to Berlin, Merkel said she had done so ‘on previous occasions.’ Trump then said he is planning to ‘maybe soon’ go to Germany for a state visit… ‘I have German in my blood,’ he added – at which point Merkel laughed. Trump does indeed have ancestors who hail from Kallstadt, a small wine-growing town in the far western state of Rhineland-Palatinate…

“Trump has not yet been on a bilateral visit to Germany since taking office in January 2017. By contrast, he has already visited France and the UK two times. He is also traveling to Poland for the second time next weekend… Compared to Trump’s predecessors, his absence from Germany is unusual. Less than five months after his inauguration, Barack Obama travelled to Dresden to meet Merkel in June 2009, before the two travelled together to the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar.”

Even though Trump and Merkel displayed a unified front before journalists and exchanged some niceties, nothing will change. The relationship between the two powers is bound to deteriorate drastically. And Merkel will not be around “for a long time.”

Queen Approves Suspension of U.K. Parliament

The Week wrote on August 28:

“Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday approved British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament until mid-October, leaving lawmakers little time to try and block Britain from crashing out of the European Union on Oct. 31 without a divorce settlement. Johnson asked the queen to end the current session of Parliament in preparation for a Queen’s Speech, typically a formality to lay out a government’s legislative agenda.

“The queen’s approval was not unexpected, as she has refused to get involved with politics throughout her reign. Unlike dissolving Parliament to hold new elections, MPs don’t get a vote on prorogation. Parliament was scheduled to return from summer recess next week, and opposition lawmakers have reportedly been working on a plan to prevent Johnson’s no-deal Brexit. Opposition leaders bitterly denounced the move.”

The EUObserver added on August 28:

“Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other British opposition leaders have agreed not to call for a confidence vote on prime minister Boris Johnson in early September in order to create a care-taker government. Instead, they will work on legislation to make a no-deal-Brexit illegal. The opposition leaders also agreed to organise an alternative parliament in case Johnson forced a delay in recalling MPs until after Brexit day on 31 October.”

The Sun added that “Today’s move caused the pound to drop against the dollar as markets jittered amongst the uncertainty.”

Boris the Dictator

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 28:

“The British prime minister wants a hard Brexit, no matter the cost. He didn’t even hesitate to suspend Parliament. It’s the kind of move you’d expect from a military dictatorship… Now a weakness in the British political system — rooted in its archaic traditions and heritage — is coming back to haunt the country. It exposes the lack of a modern, written constitution that could block such arbitrary acts.

“‘Take back control’ was one of the main slogans of the Brexit campaign three years ago. Voters at the time probably didn’t imagine that meant handing over absolute power to Johnson… No one argued the goal was to allow an unelected prime minister — who would likely never get a parliamentary majority — to determine the fate of Brexit, and thus the entire country, on his own…

“Parliament is to be due to go on break as early as September 10, then return shortly before the Brexit deadline. This tight timeframe makes it impossible for the majority of MPs to have their say… Johnson is the most dangerous politician to have moved to Downing Street in decades…”

Boris Johnson–From Trump Hater to Trump Lover

Bloomberg wrote on August 24:

“In December 2015, Boris Johnson joked that he wouldn’t go to some parts of New York because of the risk of meeting Donald Trump, a man of ‘stupefying ignorance.’ How times change… Both men came to power with populist messages…

“Trump is toxic in the U.K…. so Johnson also needs to be careful not to appear to be too cozy with the U.S. leader… But there may eventually be a quid pro quo for the ‘fantastic’ trade deal Trump has dangled. Trump’s trade talks rarely prove speedy. He remains locked in a trade war with China and a revised accord with Canada and Mexico dragged on for over a year and is stalled in Congress. An agreement with the U.K. could be years in the making and Trump drives a hard bargain — whether he likes you or not…

“There are also important differences in their world view [even though Johnson’s world views are quite flexible]. Johnson favors immigration, Trump famously doesn’t. The U.K. is signed up to the Paris climate agreement whereas Trump pulled out. And while the U.K. shares Trump’s concerns about access to Chinese markets, Johnson believes they should be addressed by giving the World Trade Organization more teeth. Trump is more concerned at blunting the WTO’s teeth…”

America Is Losing (Again)

The Week wrote on August 23:

“Saudi Arabia and America’s Yemen war is now on the verge of collapse…

“Historically, Americans have shown a remarkable ability to deny outright military failure. We killed millions of civilians in North Korea and North Vietnam in an effort to turn, in the first case, stalemate into victory and, in the second, defeat into stalemate. Both efforts ultimately failed. In our wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, we initially claimed victory, inasmuch as we ousted the Taliban, killed Osama bin Laden, overthrew Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, and precipitated the fall of Moammar Gadhafi. The failure in each case [was] to ‘win the peace’…

“Over the past four decades, we have pursued a variety of different strategies to maintain a dominant position in the Middle East… None of these have delivered anything resembling ‘victory,’ nor even stability. It’s well past time to admit these are goals we simply don’t know how to achieve and conduct a foreign policy in a duly chastened spirit, rather than make further millions pay the price for our inability to acknowledge our limits.”

The Bible says that God will destroy America’s pride of and in its power. America won World War II. It has won NO WAR subsequent to World War II.

Trade War Is Getting Worse–China Retaliates against the “Chosen One”

Daily Mail wrote on August 23:

“China hit back at President Donald Trump in the latest volley in the growing trade war – slapping tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. products and causing an immediate drop in stock futures. The move comes after Trump… has defended the trade war and called himself the ‘chosen one’ to take on China…

“The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday the tariffs of 10% and 5% take effect on two batches of goods Sept. 1 and Dec. 15… Trump previously announced plans to raise tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports on Sept. 1 but postponed a portion of that to Dec. 15.”

Even though some niceties were exchanged during the G-7 summit, nothing has changed. New tariffs on Chinese goods become effective on September 1, which means that goods will become more expensive for American consumers, as Fox News correctly pointed out in their telecasts on August 27. They also hinted at the prospects of a recession, due to Trump’s trade war with China.

In regard to his declaration that he is the chosen one, Der Spiegel Online wrote: “The Messiah in the Oval Office,” and then asked: “Has Donald Trump completely lost it? And who is protecting him from himself?” Later, Trump stated, due to the heat he got for his comment of being the “chosen one,” that it was just a joke. The video of the event clearly shows, in context, that it was NOT a joke but that it reflects, sadly, his true state of mind.

Trump ORDERS American Businesses to Close Operations in China; Increases Tariffs on Chinese Goods

Reuters wrote on August 23:

“President Donald Trump said on Friday he was ordering U.S. companies to look at ways to close their operations in China and make more of their products in the United States instead…

“China… holds $1.11 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. For many products sold in the United States, there are few alternatives to Chinese production, and shifting production for major goods produced there could take years and be expensive. American companies could also sue the U.S. government in response to any order to shutter plants in China.

“… companies like Boeing Co, Apple Inc and General Motors Co… are both big U.S. contractors and have large business interests in China… They would resist any pressure to close their facility there, given the size and importance of the Chinese market…”

The Week wrote on August 23:

“[Trump’s] attacks sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling down 623 points for the day, marking it and the other two major indexes’ fourth straight weeks of declines.”

Does Trump Have the Power to Order Businesses to Move Out of China? Maybe!

Breitbart wrote on August 24:

“While speaking to reporters on Friday, President Trump stated that he has ‘the absolute right’ to order American businesses not to do business with China. Trump said, ‘Well, in 1977, we had an act passed, a national emergency act. I have the absolute right to do that. We’ll see how that goes, but I have the absolute right.’”

Vox wrote on August 24:

“The Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) allows the president of the United States to regulate commerce during a national emergency… And as there has not yet been a national emergency declared with respect to Chinese trade, Trump’s present abilities to govern economic interactions with China are limited to measures like tariffs…

“IEEPA allows a US president to declare a national emergency… Congress can vote to end the state of emergency, but the president can veto such a vote. Without a veto-proof majority in Congress, this president could use this tool to take a range of economic actions against countries with whom he takes issue… A state of emergency has existed against Iran since the 1979 hostage crisis, for example, and that state of emergency has allowed executive branches over the past decades to levy sanctions against Iran and individual Iranians…

“Trump is the first president to date to use IEEPA to justify the imposition of tariffs… Were he to declare an emergency in order to limit economic interactions with China, Trump still would lack the authority to pull existing investments out of China… However, he would be able to prevent future US funds from being transferred there and could create conditions that would make it so difficult to do business with China that firms would be heavily encouraged to relocate…”

So, from a PRACTICAL standpoint, the potential avenues of the US Presidency are enormous. For example, Trump declared that German cars pose a threat to national security.

Trump’s “Ominous” Announcement—Wanting to Stay Beyond 2025?

The Independent wrote on August 23:

“Donald Trump has issued an ominous warning to his opponents amid mounting speculation a looming recession could cost him the 2020 presidential election, saying ‘I always find a way to win’…

“In a series of outrageous and increasingly erratic outbursts, the 73-year-old attacked any Jews who vote Democrat instead of Republican as ‘disloyal’ to Israel and threatened to rip up part of the constitution in order to rescind birthright citizenship…

“‘Let me tell you. In six years – or maybe 10 or maybe 14, right? – in six years, when I’m not here, the New York Times goes out of business very quickly.’ While the president has joked with increasing frequency about continuing as president beyond 2025 – when he would be required by the constitution to step down – his latest reference displayed no clear indication he was attempting be humorous…

“Previous examples of Mr Trump’s flirtation with unlimited term limits include a June tweet in which he floated the idea American voters could demand he stay at the White House beyond 2025… The following month… he wrote: ‘When I ultimately leave office in six years, or maybe 10 or 14 (just kidding)…’  The president has previously suggested he only jokes about remaining as president beyond two terms in an effort to provoke liberals, while critics have suggested he does so with a view to gradually normalising the concept among voters.”

As we have stated before, we do believe that Trump is the last President of the USA, as unbelievable as that may sound to some. And we have made it clear that we believe that Trump will be re-elected in 2020. Please view our StandingWatch program, titled, “Donald Trump–America’s Savior or Destroyer?”

Living in Berlusconi’s Shadow

Foreign Policy wrote on August 25:

“Italy has always been at the cutting edge of political innovation. The Papal States were trialing Christian theocracy for centuries before others caught on; fascism inspired Nazism. And—most telling of all today—Silvio Berlusconi’s billionaire buffoonery preempted his later imitators… by decades…

“An often overlooked aspect of Berlusconi’s career was his astonishing ability to cast himself as a victim and as a martyr. ‘We’re persecuted by the judges,’ he claimed as he pondered entering politics in July 1993, when a corruption scandal was sweeping away the First Italian Republic. Berlusconi frequently compared himself to Jesus because of what he called ‘political show trials.’ ‘I’m the most persecuted man in all of history,’ he once said. Any criminal accusation (and there were many) was turned to his advantage, making him appear the long-suffering savior of an ungrateful nation: ‘I put up with everything and sacrifice myself for everyone,’ he said in 2006.”

D-Day for Italy

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 28:

“Italy’s populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the center-left Democratic Party (PD) have put aside their traditional differences to form a new government and prevent new elections. Five Star (M5S) said the coalition would be led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who had resigned following the collapse of the coalition government between M5S and the far-right Lega earlier this month…

“[Current Interior] Minister Matteo Salvini… who triggered the crisis on August 8 when he withdrew his party from the governing coalition with M5S, said the new set-up was fragile and unlikely to last. ‘So we have to wait six months or a year to win? We’re in no hurry,’ he said. Some political pundits have warned a M5S-PD deal could play into Salvini’s hands in the long run, should the new accord come undone in the coming months.”

The Week added on August 28:

“Matteo Salvini, who serves as both Italy’s deputy prime minister and interior minister, will likely be sidelined by the deal, stripping his anti-immigrant League party of its power.”

Salvini’s Supporters Furious

The Telegraph wrote on August 27:

“Matteo Salvini’s allies have called for supporters to take to the streets in protest as Italy inches towards forming a new government that could shut him out of power for years… Mr Salvini’s party, the League, is furious, pointing out that the party won 34 per cent of the national vote in May’s European parliament elections and that it was polling as high as 39 per cent earlier this month. ‘Let’s hope that if a Democratic Party-Five Star government is formed, the people will rise up as soon as possible,’ said Alessandra Locatelli, a League minister.

“‘A government made up of Five Star and the Democrats will not correspond to the sentiment of the people,’ said Mr Salvini, who remains as interior minister and deputy prime minister in the lame duck administration…

“When he withdrew his support and declared the coalition dead this month, Mr Salvini’s hope was that the country would go to new elections, which would likely have crowned him prime minister as the head of a hard-Right coalition with the Brothers of Italy party. Giorgia Meloni, the head of Brothers of Italy, condemned the prospect of a Democratic Party-Five Star government, saying that it was contrary to the votes of millions of Italians.”

Interesting and frightening times for Italy.

Where Is the Catholic Church Going vis-à-vis the Jewish People?

The Algemeiner wrote on August 23:

“First Things is a conservative Catholic magazine with an intellectual influence beyond its small circulation. Its ‘ecumenism’ once meant outreach to evangelical Protestants, but also to Jews open to interfaith dialogue. Yet today, First Things is having an identity crisis not boding well for the future of Catholic-Jewish rapprochement.

“A manifesto published earlier this year, ‘The Dead Consensus,’ announced that the GOP, for the welfare of America, must embrace wholeheartedly the Trump era ‘nationalist’ foreign policy…

“First Things also ran a review that was sympathetic to Pope Pius IX’s 1858 decision to sanction the kidnapping and Catholic upbringing of a Jewish child, Edgardo Mortara, who had been secretly baptized by his teenage Catholic nurse. Authored by Dominican Professor of Theology at Boston’s St. John’s Seminary, Romanus Cessario, the article not only launched a pre-emptive attack on Steven Spielberg’s planned film about the Mortara case, but offered a spiritual encomium to Pius IX for green lighting the Mortara kidnapping…

“Alas, if First Things gives credence to Cessario’s preaching of a return to absolutist Catholicism, it has become the last thing that American Jews should embrace.”

We must watch the direction in which the Roman Catholic Church is heading.

Catholic Church Allowing for Salvation Apart from Christ?

Breitbart wrote on August 26:

“The Vatican has created a special committee to draw out the principles contained in the controversial Abu Dhabi document, signed last February by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar. The text was subsequently criticized by prominent theologians for ‘devaluing the person of Jesus’ and ‘undermining the gospel itself’ since it seemed to propose that God willed the existence of a plurality of religions just as he wills a plurality of sexes, races, and languages, rather than willing that all people find their salvation in Jesus Christ…

“At a later date, the pope seemed to walk back that passage, but he never requested to have it amended and the entire statement reads today just as it did last February. The joint declaration will now be the foundation and reference point for a committee set up for its implementation.”

The Bible teaches that we can ONLY inherit salvation through Jesus Christ. There is NO other way.

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.

Italy in Turmoil… Matteo Salvini the new “Il Duce”?

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 20:

“Italy’s government collapsed, plunging the economically fragile country into deeper political turmoil…

“Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced his resignation in a speech to the Senate on Tuesday, blaming far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for causing a political crisis…

“If Italy holds early elections, Mr. Salvini could become the first leader of a major EU nation who comes from a self-described populist party to the right of Europe’s mainstream conservatives. Mr. Salvini [is] an avowed admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin…

“Mr. Conte, a nonparty premier… attacked Mr. Salvini for undermining the government in which Mr. Salvini has served as interior minister since June 2018. Mr. Salvini said on Aug. 8 that he wanted to ‘ask the Italians if they want to give me full powers.’ Some critics pointed out that Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini used a similar phrase to demand power in 1922…”

This ends Italy’s 65th government since World War II and Italy’s 14-month-old populist government.

AFP wrote on August 20:

“With his ‘Italians first’ rallying cry and his tub-thumping against Islam and illegal migrants, Matteo Salvini’s stint as Italy’s deputy prime minister and interior minister made him the country’s most popular and controversial politician… His blunt language has reminded some Italians of the Mussolini era in the 1920s and 30s, when minority groups were persecuted…

“Salvini has forged alliances with other far-right Europeans like France’s National Rally and Dutch anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders…

“Although happy to talk about his two children — 14-year-old Federico and Mirta, five — Salvini is less happy to discuss his complicated love life. His then girlfriend, model and TV presenter Elisa Isoardi, broke up with him in an announcement on Instagram last November… His children come from previous relationships, one with ex-wife Fabrizia Ieluzzi, a political journalist, and the other with former girlfriend Giulia Martinelli.”

Interestingly, Mussolini was also well known for his licentious lifestyle.

 The Guardian wrote on August 20:

“Conte… criticised the minister’s use of religious symbols in his constant campaigning across Italy, describing it is as ‘offensive to the faithful.’ Salvini kissed a rosary and retaliated in his response to Conte in the Senate, saying ‘I’ll ask the Madonna for protection for as long as I live’.”

Further parallels with Mussolini are striking. In order to appeal to the masses, Mussolini would pretend to be a devout Roman Catholic (which he clearly was not). Pope Francis recently criticized Salvini sharply for his Hitler-like rhetoric, which criticism Salvini dismissed.

In addressing the immediate future of Italy, the Guardian wrote on August 20:

“The president, Sergio Mattarella, is now calling the shots [and] has three options: immediately dissolve parliament and call a snap election; begin consultations with parties to see if a new parliamentary majority can be formed; or install a caretaker government to at least pass Italy’s budget for 2020.”

The Guardian added on August 22:

“Italy’s president has given the country’s main political parties four more days to negotiate the formation of an alternative government after [its] collapse… [He] said… that the crisis must be ‘resolved quickly’ and that without a solid majority the only other option would be new elections. [He] said he will host new consultations on Tuesday in order to ‘make the necessary decisions’.”

No Deal Brexit

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“A no-deal Brexit would jam British ports, leading to shortages in food, medicine and fuel, the latest United Kingdom government report suggested on Sunday. Leaked to the Sunday Times, the forecast warned that 85% of lorries using the main crossings between England and France ‘may not be ready’ for French customs. The report… said disruption at ports could last for three months, prompting a decrease in the fresh food supply. It says this could potentially lead to panic buying.”

Breitbart wrote on August 16:

“Johnson has insisted Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal, arguing that the ‘backstop’ arrangement to keep goods flowing smoothly between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland in the U.K. would bind his country to European trade rules and must be dropped from the Brexit agreement.

“Austria’s Brexit negotiator… accused Britain of failing to offer feasible alternative solutions to the Northern Ireland border issue… He noted that any new agreement would still need approval from British lawmakers and this is far from certain.”

Johnson announced that he is sure that Europe and Germany will buckle to avoid a no-deal Brexit. He may be wrong.

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on August 20:

“Johnson’s demand that the European Union reopen the Brexit divorce deal was rebuffed on Tuesday by the bloc, which said the UK had failed to propose any realistic alternative to an agreed insurance policy for the Irish border. After more than three years of Brexit crisis, the United Kingdom is heading towards a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate the divorce terms…

“Britain’s pound, sensitive to the prospects of a no-deal departure, promptly fell to near three-year lows against the euro and the US dollar.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 22:

“French President Emmanuel Macron put the brakes on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bid to reopen Brexit negotiations, saying on Thursday that there was not enough time to find a new withdrawal agreement by the October 31 divorce deadline.”

Gibraltar Defies the USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“Gibraltar authorities have rejected a US warrant to seize an Iranian tanker that was previously detained by UK troops…

“Gibraltar’s Supreme Court… lifted the detention order on Thursday, citing Iran’s guarantees that the ship ‘was never destined to an EU-sanctioned entity.’”

Gibraltar officials said that US sanctions against Iran did not apply in the EU.

EU to Oppose Trump?

Project Syndicate wrote on August 19:

“With Donald Trump due to visit Europe again for the G7 summit later this month, European leaders have run out of options for dealing with the US president. They have tried to charm him, persuade him, ignore him, or agree to disagree with him… The only alternative, therefore, is to oppose him…

“It is important to call these actions what they are: the personal decisions of an… individual, not the result of legislative action or the outcome of any semblance of public deliberation. Remarkably, 230 years after its constitution was adopted, the United States suffers from one-man rule… He must be opposed, not appeased… his… actions… will increasingly threaten Europe’s economy and security… Any enemy of the Union – such as Johnson, Italy’s Matteo Salvini, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – is therefore a friend of Trump…

“Europe’s leaders… should recognize that a significant majority of Americans also oppose Trump’s… behavior…”

Trump Cancels Trip to Denmark

BBC News wrote on August 21:

“Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she is ‘annoyed’ at Donald Trump’s decision to cancel his visit after being told Greenland was not for sale. ‘Our preparations were well under way,’ she said, adding she had been looking forward to meeting the US president… Mr Trump was scheduled to visit on 2 September at the invitation of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II.

 “[Fredriksen] said despite this, the US was one of Denmark’s closest allies, and that the president’s two-day visit would have been an ‘opportunity to celebrate Denmark’s close relationship to the US’…

“While praising Denmark as a ‘very special country’, Mr Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday that his planned visit would no longer go ahead because Ms Frederiksen had ‘no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland’.

“The cancellation of what was considered an important state visit in Denmark was described as a ‘farce’ by the leader of the populist Danish People’s Party, Kristian Thulesen Dahl…

“Former foreign minister Kristian Jensen said Mr Trump’s move had resulted in ‘total chaos’. Pia Kjaersgaard, the populist former speaker of the Danish parliament, said it showed a ‘complete lack of respect’, adding: ‘Rude behaviour to the Danish people and the Queen, who invited him.’

“Danish royal expert and historian Lars Hovbakke Sorensen said the whole episode was ‘very strange… This is a violation of all traditions and etiquettes…’”

The Guardian wrote on August 21:

“So what do people in Denmark think about Trump’s decision to call off his trip to the country? Not much, it seems – with one former Danish foreign minister comparing Trump to ‘a clown in a circus’…”

Trump’s behavior disassociates the USA from even most of its closest European allies.

Trump—King of Israel and Second Coming of God?

Sputnik News wrote on August 21:

“US President Donald Trump has once again demonstrated his uncanny knack for riling up social media after he thanked American conservative author and radio host Wayne Allyn Root for declaring him ‘the greatest president for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world.’ In a recent tweet, the US president quoted Root as saying that the ‘Jewish people in Israel’ love Trump ‘like he’s the King of Israel’ and ‘like he’s the second coming of God’, though ‘American Jews don’t know him or like him.’ ‘Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words,’ Trump wrote, describing the praise heaped upon him simply as ‘wow!’”

Trump’s approval of such blasphemous descriptions about him is very dangerous. Note Acts 12:20-23.

Trump had tweeted before that American Jews who vote for Democrats are guilty of “total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty”. Over 70% voted for the Democrats in the last presidential election, and nearly 80% voted for Democrats in the Midterm election.  

JTA reported on August 21:

“Mainstream and left-wing Jewish groups called out President Donald Trump as ‘dangerous’ and displaying ‘textbook anti-Semitism.’… Meanwhile, the Republican Jewish Coalition [representing less than 20% of American Jews] defended Trump’s comments.”

“I am the Chosen One”

“President Trump, when asked about his ongoing trade war with China, deemed himself ‘the chosen one’ when talking with reporters outside the White House on Wednesday. As Trump put it, when it comes to dealing with China’s trade practices, ‘somebody had to do it.’ He then added ‘I am the chosen one’ as he looked up to the sky.”

In fact, he spread his arms and looked up to heaven. There was no mistaking the fact as to what he was indicating. This is QUITE serious!

Rift with Israel?

The Washington Post wrote on August 17, in regard to Netanyahu’s decision to bar entry of two US congresswomen, following the “advice” of Trump:

“For decades, Israel held a special place in American politics, with almost universal support. That has eroded over the past several years but seemed to disintegrate this week in a way that some fear could do irreparable damage… many hawks on Israel have found themselves in a position of having to release statements criticizing a nation they have long defended… Numerous Democrats said they worried about the long-term effects of politicizing the U.S.-Israel relationship…

“Israel is the greatest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, with the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding in 2016 outlining $38 billion in military aid for the next 10 years. Typically, Congress approves the funds on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis — but with Democrats such as Sanders [who is Jewish] calling that into question, the future is uncertain… A Pew survey released in April showed that the Israeli government was viewed negatively by 51 percent of Americans…

“Jews overwhelmingly vote Democratic, with 71 percent in 2016 voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and 24 percent voting for Trump, according to exit polls… Many American Jews also have viewed Netanyahu as problematic and oppose some of his policies and his abandonment of a two-state Middle East solution… [One commentator said:] ‘This is a strategic blunder of epic proportions that Netanyahu and his advisers have made, turning Israel into a branch of the Republican Party. This is a tiny little country in a very bad neighborhood that needs all the friends it can get.’”

It was reported that Nancy Pelosi stated that the good relationship between the USA and Israel would continue regardless or in spite of Trump or Netanyahu. On the other hand, “Senior Democratic members of Congress are said to have launched discussions to formally censure the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Jerusalem’s envoy in Washington over Israel’s decision to bar entry to [the two] congresswomen,” according to Breitbart.

Jordan Warns Israel over “Violations”

Fox News wrote on August 18:

“Jordan summoned Israel’s ambassador on Sunday in protest over what it called ‘violations’ at a Jerusalem holy site sacred to Muslim and Jewish people. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the country delivered a ‘decisive letter’ to Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Amir Weissbrod, a letter that included a call ‘to immediately cease all Israeli violations and all Israeli attempts to change the historical, legal status’ at the site.

“Last week, a day of riots at the Jerusalem holy site, which Muslims have referred to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews have referred to as the Temple Mount, left at least four Israeli police officers and several Muslim and Jewish people injured, in the worst bout of fighting there in months…

“The diplomatic protest came days after Israel’s Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan told a radio station that the country should work toward Jews being allowed to pray at the holy site… Jordan’s foreign ministry reportedly expressed ‘the kingdom’s strong condemnation’ over Erdan’s statements. Jordan said the site was a ‘place of worship for Muslims only.’… Jewish people have been allowed to visit the site but are banned from praying there.

“Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi tweeted on Sunday, “Met… EU (European Union) ambassadors to stress urgency of effective Int’l (international) steps against Israel’s violations of Holy Sites in occupied… Jerusalem. These violations & others seeking to change status quo in Holy Sites violate Int’l law, deepen tensions.’”

Europe might in fact intervene here. Europe’s anti-Semitism and its antagonism towards Jewish rites are well-known and become more and more manifest. Note the next article.

Europe Moves Forward with Banning Traditional Slaughter of Animals

Politico wrote on August 20:

“From September 1, the French-speaking region of Wallonia will be the second Belgian authority after Flanders to ban halal and kosher slaughter…

“While traditional slaughter without stunning has already been banned in EU countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Slovenia, Belgium is turning into a critical test case of where the line lies in European law between animal welfare and religious freedom… This debate, though, has not always been exclusively about animal welfare.

“For some, there is a sense that far-right politicians in Flanders used animal suffering as a Trojan horse to push a populist anti-Muslim agenda… stating that the Muslim community was being targeted, with Jews left as the ‘collateral damage.’… Belgian Muslims and Jews feel like they are in the same boat… The gulf between animal rights activists and religious communities… could hardly be more stark.”

Al Aqsa and the Third Temple

Israel Today wrote on August 13:

“Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been trying to reignite the situation primarily by issuing urgent warnings that Israel plans to divide the sacred plateau in preparation for rebuilding the Jewish Temple… The alleged conspiracy of the Jews against the Al Aqsa Mosque was first utilized a century ago by the Nazi-affiliated Palestinian Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini… the Mufti sought to convince the Arab world that the Jews intended to demolish the Al Aqsa Mosque and replace the Dome of the Rock with the Third Temple…

“By the late 1920s, clashes between Jews and Arabs near the Western Wall had increased greatly. On September 23 and 24, 1928, rioting Arabs attacked Jewish worshippers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The Mufti took advantage of the riots, claiming that the Jews were trying to seize control of the Temple Mount. He presented the British authorities with what he insisted was conclusive evidence that the Jews were trying to destroy Al Aqsa, which by that time Muslims had deemed their third holiest site.”

On the other hand, many Jews and evangelical Christians feel that the Third Temple would have to be built on exactly the place where Al Aqsa stands today.

The Red Heifer and the Third Temple

Israel Today wrote on August 7:

“… without the Red Heifer, the Temple can’t be rebuilt… Jews and Christians share the belief that when the Messiah will arrive, he will enter the Temple. So, for him to come, there must be a Temple… there are still enough who are doing everything they can to make all the necessary preparations for the building of the Third Temple, and that includes breeding red heifers and practicing the ceremonial burning of the calf.

“The Temple Institute has recently done just that: Experimenting with the meticulous rabbinic rituals surrounding the red heifer. The effort includes burning a dead cow on a kind of a wooden altar. Into the burning fire were also thrown cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet-dyed wool. The experiment was designed to check the amount of ash produced, and whether it would be enough to purify every Israelite living today.

“According to the Jewish Voice news portal, Prof. Zohar Amar of the Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University took part in the experiment and described it as an historical moment. ‘For 2000 years we have been waiting for this moment,’ said Prof. Amar…”

Even though a red heifer is not a biblical requirement and prerequisite for animal sacrifices and the building of the Third Temple, this is what many (but by far not all) Jews believe.

Christians Celebrate “Jewish” Holidays… Why?

JTA wrote on August 19:

“On Aug. 10 and 11, many Jews worldwide observed the religious holiday of Tisha B’Av by fasting, praying and reading Bible passages related to the destruction of the first Temple by the Babylonians. Religious Jews have kept Tisha B’Av for centuries as a day of communal mourning. But this year they were joined by a growing number of evangelical Christians who now observe the holiday to lament the historical persecution of Jews by the church. The new Christian Tisha B’Av calls for penance for past misdeeds — most especially by growing Christian support for the state of Israel…

“Christians have observed Jewish holidays dating to the days of the New Testament, and holidays such as Pentecost, based on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, have remained fixtures on the Christian calendar.

“But today’s evangelicals and Pentecostals have built upon this long-standing practice in a distinctly modern way: by fusing religious observance, general support for Israel and public denunciations of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Christians are not only reviving Jewish holidays and practices in their own faith in recognition of the Jewish roots of Christianity. They also are responding to the seismic events in modern Jewish history, most especially the horrors of anti-Semitism, some of it perpetrated by Christians…

“One early pioneer, educator G. Douglas Young… denounced ‘supersessionism,’ the historical Christian teaching that God’s covenant with the Jewish people had been superseded by a new covenant with the church… Billy Graham also attacked anti-Semitic beliefs… Evangelicals in his orbit encouraged Christians to observe Jewish feast days to get in touch with the Hebrew roots of their faith…

“In 1979, hundreds of Christians — mostly American and European — celebrated the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in Jerusalem. The organizers chose Sukkot to gather in Jerusalem alongside Jews as a symbolic fulfillment of a prophecy in Zechariah that in preparation for the end of time, people from all nations ‘will go up year after year [to Jerusalem] to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.’

“The next year, a much larger group gathered to celebrate this feast… Christian Zionists used the second annual Feast of Tabernacles gathering to inaugurate the International Christian Embassy, the largest Christian Zionist organization operating today. This movement has blossomed since 1980…

“The ramifications for this could be huge, especially in the United States. Conservative evangelicals are the largest and most influential constituency in the Trump era… when it comes to Israel, and their success in deepening and broadening Christian Zionist activism through interreligious cooperation will define the future of U.S. support of Israel. This growing solidarity could have enormous political ramifications…”

These ramifications might include a collaboration between Israel and the USA under Trump to build the prophesied Third Temple on the Temple Mount.

“Our Socialist President?” – The Curse of Trump’s Trade War

The Week wrote on August 19:

“Railing against socialism.. is probably sound campaign strategy for the president. It’s also wildly duplicitous, as his administration’s own attempts to ameliorate the damage of his trade war are themselves the sort of redistribution critics of socialism decry…

“Many American farmers… have opposed the president’s trade war and the bailout Trump has offered to band-aid the damage… Federal funds may enable them to stay afloat in the short term, but the long-term disruption of trade patterns Trump has inflicted will be felt for years to come…

“Trump’s trade war is… making America more socialist, not less. By upending farmers’ trade relations, he is keeping them from the work they’d like to do. The subsidies are ‘substantial, but we cannot overstate the dire consequences that farmers and ranchers are facing in relation to lost export markets,’ Zippy Duvall of the American Farm Bureau Federation said when the redistribution program was announced. Instead of payouts, Duvall insisted, farmers would prefer an ‘end to the trade war’ and ‘restor[ed] markets.’…”

Trying to Wish the Recession Away…

The Independent wrote on August 18:

“Donald Trump’s top economic adviser is scrambling to play down fears of a looming recession – after financial markets dropped sharply last week. Larry Kudlow predicted the economy will perform well in the second half of 2019, and said consumers are seeing higher wages so they can spend and save more… However, he played down fears of a recession in 2007 – just months before the worst financial crash since the Great Depression.

“… consumer confidence has dropped more than six per cent since July… Kudlow also defended the president’s tariffs on goods coming from China – despite his known opposition to them before joining Mr Trump’s administration.”

Obviously, Larry Kudlow is not the financial expert one should be listening to. Trump echoed Kudlow’s assessment, denying that there would be any recession. However, the signs of the times are grim and foreboding.

Many Business Economists Concerned about Coming Recession in 2020 or 2021

The Associated Press wrote on August 19:

“A number of U.S. business economists appear sufficiently concerned about the risks of some of President Donald Trump‘s economic policies that they expect a recession in the U.S. by the end of 2021.

“Thirty-four percent of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics, in a report being released Monday, said they believe a slowing economy will tip into recession in 2021. That’s up from 25% in a survey taken in February. Only 2% of those polled expect a recession to begin this year, while 38% predict that it will occur in 2020. [To be clear, this means that 74% economists expect a recession in the U.S. in 2020 or 2021]…

“The financial markets last week signaled the possibility of a U.S. recession, adding to concerns over the ongoing trade tensions and word from Britain and Germany that their economies are shrinking…

“As a whole, the business economists’ recent responses have represented a rebuke of the Trump administration’s overall approach to the economy…”

“See No Recession, Hear No Recession, Speak No Recession.”

Agora Financial wrote on August 19:

“… this president finds himself in the strange position of praying the Federal Reserve can keep inflating the ‘big, fat, ugly bubble’ he was denouncing on the campaign trail in 2016 — at least long enough to ensure his reelection in 2020… Interest rates might be too low for cuts to make a difference. And the Fed’s balance sheet might be too big now to get blown up fivefold as it was from 2008–2014. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that rate cuts and renewed money printing might reinflate the ‘big, fat, ugly bubble’ — only to set us up for an even bigger collapse down the road.”

Money Week wrote on August 20:

“One of the more reliable recession indicators has signalled that a downturn is on its way. Earlier last week, after years of hovering threateningly on the threshold, the US yield curve finally inverted… when the curve inverts – namely, longer-term yields are below shorter-term ones – it implies that investors are very pessimistic… they expect low inflation, or even deflation, which tends to go hand in hand with recessions.”

cnbc wrote on August 21:

“The spread between the yield on the 10-year Treasury note and that of the 2-year note on Wednesday turned negative for the second time in one week, a recession warning that flashed for the first time since 2005 on Aug. 14.”

The Independent wrote on August 20:

“Donald Trump has said he will continue with his trade war with China even if it means the United States falling into recession. The president stressed that he thought the US was ‘very far’ from a recession but acknowledged that his administration was discussing a payroll tax cut, something that had previously been denied. He also called for further cuts in interest rates, saying: ‘If the Fed would do its job we would have a tremendous spirit of growth .. you would see a burst of growth like you’ve never seen before.’”

Really?

Germany Warns of Worldwide Recession

The Associated Press wrote on August 19:

“Germany, Europe’s industrial powerhouse and biggest economy, with companies like Volkswagen, Siemens and BASF, may be entering a recession, according to a gloomy report from the country’s central bank Monday — a development that could have repercussions for the rest of the eurozone and the United States… Deutsche Bank went further Monday, saying ‘we see Germany in a technical recession’…”

Syrians in Germany May Lose their Asylum Status

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced a tough response to Syrian refugees who leave Germany for holidays in their home country. ‘If somebody, a Syrian refugee, regularly takes holidays in Syria, he cannot honestly claim to be persecuted in Syria,’ Seehofer told Bild am Sonntag weekly. ‘We would have to strip him of his refugee status,’ he added…

“German officials are currently unable to deport people to Syria as the Middle Eastern country is considered unsafe. The ban is set to expire at the end of 2019, although there is an option to prolong it…

“Some 780,000 Syrians have migrated to Germany in recent years, fleeing the civil war, which started in 2011. The Syrian regime, led by President Bashar Assad, now controls most of Syria. The fighting and airstrikes continue in the nation’s northwest… Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives in the conflict.”

Stephen Miller’s Tough Stance on Immigration

The Washington Post wrote on August 18:

“Stephen Miller, Trump’s 33-year-old senior adviser… is writing the central plot of his presidency… In Trump, Miller has found a champion for his ideological goals. He is the singular force behind the Trump administration’s immigration agenda…

“Miller secured tighter immigration rules that can disqualify green-card applicants if they are poor or deemed likely to use public assistance, cutting off a pathway to U.S. citizenship for those immigrants who could become a burden on taxpayers, or ‘public charges.’ …

“He is dismissive of Kushner’s more moderate immigration views and efforts to forge compromise, other senior officials say, and Miller has questioned how much the president’s son-in-law knows about the topic…

“Miller urged the president to… end… the U.S. family-based immigration model, which the White House calls ‘chain migration.’… Miller helped devise the ‘zero tolerance’ prosecution effort with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions… During a span of six weeks, border agents took children away from migrant parents and sent the adults to court for prosecution. At least 2,600 families were separated until public outrage forced the president to back down.

“Miller defended the separations and had encouraged the president to enact them — telling others in the West Wing they would prove to be a migration deterrent. Trump soon realized it was a ‘PR nightmare’… and blamed Miller. The president also grew frustrated with Miller over the botched implementation of the travel ban in the first weeks of the administration. Miller is among the few administration officials who continue to defend zero-tolerance separations today, insisting the approach would have worked if the policy had continued.

“Miller is obsessed… with boosting deportations. Early in the tenure, he tried to persuade Kelly, as DHS chief, to deport anyone here illegally. Kelly wanted to focus on criminal felons, frustrating Miller…”

As long as Miller has a free hand and the ear of the President, we can expect even worse things to happen in the immigration field.

Further Lawsuits Against Trump’s New Public Charge Immigration Rule

The Hill wrote on August 20:

“New York State… on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against proposed new rules expanding the kinds of public aid immigrants can potentially be denied a green card for receiving… Connecticut and Vermont’s respective state attorneys general [also filed]. Thirteen other states [Fox News says, more than 15 states] had already filed a suit against the proposed change last week.

“The rule would add Medicaid and food stamps to the list of programs whose past recipients could be deemed a ‘public charge,’ potentially jeopardizing their ability to become citizens…

“[New York’s attorney general] argues that [the proposed rule] contravenes ‘a century’s worth of case law,’ writing that, historically, immigrants who rely on noncash benefits cannot be considered public charges. ‘Finally, the rule fundamentally misunderstands that these non-cash programs are designed to help immigrants who arrive in this country with limited means move out of poverty and achieve upward mobility.’”

NBC News added on August 20:

“Under the new rule, officials can deem immigrants seeking to change their legal immigration status and who are enrolled in publicly funded programs such as food stamps and public health insurance as a ‘public charge,’ meaning they will likely use public benefits in the future. Once labeled a ‘public charge,’ immigrants would be denied green cards, visas and other forms of legal immigration status…

“Many families eligible to receive public benefits have dropped out of certain government programs or barred themselves from applying for assistance since a draft of the ‘public charge’ rule was leaked last year…

“In the lawsuit [the three attorney generals] say the administration arbitrarily extended the ‘public charge’ bar in a way that violates equal protection rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution…

“Over 60 lawsuits have been filed to block the public charge rule, including by New Mexico, Colorado, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts, said [New York attorney general Letita] James during a press conference Tuesday morning.”

Fox News added:

“The rules would go into effect in October [on October 15], but the legal challengers seek a nationwide injunction blocking enforcement until the cases are fully litigated.”

Inasmuch as these new rules are fundamentally wrong and unbiblical, let us all pray that they will be overturned.

Further Dangerous Trump Immigration Rules and Proposals

The Guardian wrote on August 21:

“The Trump rule change on detaining immigrant families will be published this week in the Federal Register, and would take effect 60 days later, the New York Times reports… Under the new rule, the administration would be free to send families who are caught crossing the border illegally to a family residential center to be held for as long as it takes for their immigration cases to be decided. Officials said families cases could be resolved within three months, though many could drag on much longer. (If past experience is a guide, it could last for YEARS.)

“Trump administration officials… said that many of the families would be detained until they were either released after being awarded asylum or they were deported to their home countries… Currently the government may not detain children for more than 20 days unless they are detained in a state facility. The Wall Street Journal reported that the two largest facilities designed to house families, both in Texas, aren’t licensed to house children beyond 20 days. ‘To circumvent that requirement,’ the Journal wrote: ‘The new set of rules would enable the Department of Homeland Security to create its own licensing system, effectively allowing the government to house families in any of its detention facilities through their court proceedings, until they are either granted asylum, paroled into the US or deported.’… The rule is expected to be challenged in court, but adds to the raft of anti-immigration measures Trump is attempting to enforce.”

The Week reported on August 21:

“President Trump hasn’t given up on his plan to end birthright citizenship. Trump said… last October that he planned to sign an executive order ending the right of citizenship to every child born in the United States, and although he never ended up doing so, 10 months later, he once again said he’s considering it. ‘We’re looking at that very seriously,’ Trump said Wednesday…

“When Trump raised the idea of ending birthright citizenship by way of an executive order last year, he drew plenty of criticism from his fellow Republicans, including then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said the president ‘obviously’ can’t do that, considering it’s a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and the ‘14th Amendment is pretty clear.’ Trump quickly shot back at Ryan, claiming the speaker was commenting on an issue he ‘knows nothing about.’ Trump also insisted that the 14th Amendment doesn’t actually cover birthright citizenship and that it ‘will be ended one way or the other.’”

As we mentioned before, Trump’s dangerous anti-immigration measures are intended to change the very fabric of American ideals and goals… but in no way for the better.

The End of a Love Affair—Trump Trashes Fox News

Mediaite wrote on August 18, 2019:

“President Donald Trump went on a tear against Fox News… Trump said, ‘Fox is a lot different than it used to be…And I’m not happy with it… I think Fox is making a big mistake because, you know, I’m the one that calls the shots on that — on the really big debates. I guess we’re probably planning on three of them…’

“He went on to give shout-outs to Fox News personalities like Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs and Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro and ‘even Greg Gutfeld.’”

AFP added on August 18:

“[Trump said:] ‘Watching Fake News CNN is better than watching Shepard Smith…”

Shepard Smith has been a constant critic of Donald Trump, and so have been other highly profiled and popular Fox moderators. Smith, who is openly gay, famously said in 2015 when Trump was running for the Presidency: “Somebody needs to come up and remind them [Trump and his supporters] what this nation is and what we’re about and how we dream and the way we were founded and what our Constitution is. He’s not representing any of that. He’s representing the worst, darkest part of all that is America.”

The Daily Beast wrote on August 20:

“Toward the end of his Fox News broadcast on Monday evening, Special Report anchor Bret Baier responded to President Trump’s recent criticism of the network’s polling, which shows him trailing every major Democratic candidate in hypothetical head-to-head matchups… ‘Fox has not changed,’ Baier said…

“‘We have a news side and an opinion side. Opinion folks express their opinions. We do polls.’ After explaining that Fox’s polls reflect the reality of the race at this moment, the anchor said, ‘Mr. President, we’ve invited you on Special Report many times. We’d love to have you back on. You’ve talked to George Stephanopoulos and Chuck Todd. Come on back. Me, Chris Wallace, the news side cover it fair, balanced, and unafraid.’”

Russia’s Nuclear Catastrophe None of Our Business?

The Daily Beast wrote on August 20:

“Russia has told the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization that the nuclear-reactor explosion at a White Sea missile test site in early August is none of their business. The news came as two additional Russian monitoring stations designed to warn about nuclear radiation threats have gone silent after the mysterious Aug. 8 blast at the site this month, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Four monitoring stations are now down, which is alarming experts who suspect Russia is attempting to cover up what really happened and keep details about the weapon being tested under wraps…”

Putin’s remarks reflect the sayings of a true dictator and despot who does not care about the lives of others.

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.