Saudi’s Brutal Crush on Dissidents

The Week wrote on March 18:

“More than a year before Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved a secret — and brutal — plan to crush dissent, using surveillance, abduction, and torture, U.S. officials who read classified intelligence reports on the matter told The New York Times. Saudi citizens were targeted around the world, with a special team — called the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group by U.S. officials — involved in at least 12 operations beginning in 2017, the Times reports.

“This is the same team that killed Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. After being captured and brought back to Saudi Arabia, these people were housed in palaces belonging to the crown prince and his father, King Salman, the Times reports, with many tortured during interrogations.”

The New York Times wrote on March 17:

“Saudi laws prohibit torture and hold accountable those involved in such abuses of power… The Saudi government insists that the killing of Mr. Khashoggi… was not an assassination ordered from Riyadh. The decision to kill him was made by the team on the spot, government officials say…

“Saudi Arabia has a history of going after dissidents and other Saudi citizens abroad, but the crackdown escalated sharply after Prince Mohammed was elevated to crown prince in 2017… [He] locked hundreds of princes, businessmen and former officials in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton in 2017 on accusations of corruption…”

Nothing of such magnitude happens in Saudi Arabia without the Crown Prince at least knowing about it. Clearly, he was behind the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. To deny this FACT because of political motives and “advantageous” considerations is outrageous!

Violence in the Netherlands

Reuters wrote on March 18:

“A gunman shot dead three people and wounded nine on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht on Monday and police said they were hunting for a 37-year-old Turkish man in an apparent terrorist attack. Dutch authorities raised the terrorism threat to its highest level in Utrecht province… Prime Minister Mark Rutte [said] he was deeply concerned about the incident, which came three days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.”

Daily Mail added on March 18:

“[The] Turkish ‘terror’ suspect is arrested after ‘shooting a relative on Dutch tram “for family reasons” and then firing at anyone who tried to intervene‘ … [The suspect’s] family members in Turkey say the person targeted on the tram was a relative of the 37-year-old.”

npr wrote on March 18:

“A motive for the shooting remains unclear; police have said they were investigating a ‘possible terrorist motive’ for the attack, but reports have also emerged that the shooting might have its roots in a family dispute.”

Tighter Gun Laws in New Zealand

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 18:

“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that her Cabinet had agreed ‘in principle’ upon tighter gun laws for New Zealand. The proposed changes… were spurred by Friday’s Christchurch terror attacks, in which a shooter used multiple weapons, including military-style semi-automatic ones, to open fire on worshippers at two mosques… In the meantime, she encouraged individuals to surrender weapons similar to the ones used in the attacks to the authorities…

“Ardern also announced that her government would launch an inquiry into the country’s intelligence services. The suspect charged in relation to the attacks, a self-declared white nationalist who had posted a racist manifesto online, was not on the security services’ radar…”

These senseless mass murders in the Netherlands and in New Zealand are committed by deranged individuals who are obviously under demonic influence, if not possession.

Third Brexit Vote Illegal unless Substantial Change in Brexit Deal

The Guardian wrote on March 18:

“The House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has said the government cannot bring the meaningful vote back to parliament again unless there has been substantial change to the Brexit deal. In a shock move likely to infuriate the prime minister, the Speaker said the House of Commons was ‘being repeatedly asked to pronounce’ on the same question…

“Quoting from the guide to parliamentary procedure, Erskine May, Bercow said that by convention, the question ‘may not be brought forward again during the same session’ and that it was a ‘strong and longstanding convention’ dating back to 1604. He said the convention had been confirmed again many times, including in 1864, 1870, 1882, 1891 and 1912…

“He said the change must make the deal ‘fundamentally different’, rather than just a unilateral reinterpretation…”

UK Asks for Short Brexit Delay

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 20:

“The United Kingdom has requested delaying Brexit until June 30 in a letter to European Union leaders, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. ‘As prime minister I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than the 30th of June,’ May told MPs in Parliament… In the letter she says that she intends to hold a third vote on the twice-rejected Brexit deal, but will need more time to do so…”

Daily Mail wrote on March 20:

“The EU will give Britain a ‘short’ Brexit delay but only if MPs back Theresa May’s deal next week, European Council President Donald Tusk said today – setting up a dramatic political showdown days before the UK is due to leave…

“If no delay or deal is agreed with the EU before Friday, the law says Britain will leave without a deal – despite years of dire warnings about its impact on Britain. If May’s deal fails, the EU has not ruled out offering a longer delay but this would likely come with preconditions such as a second referendum.”

Still Shorter, If At All

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 21:

“The European Council on Thursday agreed to offer the UK two different Brexit extension options…

“Option 1: If the UK parliament accepts the withdrawal agreement, it can delay exiting until May 22 to ratify the text.

“Option 2: If it does not accept the deal, the EU will offer a shorter extension until April 12.

“If it rejects the deal and takes the shorter extension, it can decide whether to seek a much longer delay and vote in the European elections…

“British Prime Minister Theresa May… called on British MPs to accept the deal, saying it would be wrong to participate in the European elections.”

What to Know about Brexit

Axios wrote on March 18:

“On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom shocked the world and voted to ‘Brexit,’ or leave the European Union. More than two years later, with divisions sowing within and between political parties — and with the March 29 withdrawal date approaching rapidly — the country seems no closer to negotiating the terms of its exit…

“At the time of Brexit, the Conservative Party held a majority in Parliament. The party lost its majority in a snap election called by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017 and was forced to form a coalition party with the Democratic Unionist Party.

“David Cameron [was] Prime Minister from 2010-2016. He called the referendum, campaigned for ‘Remain,’ and resigned after losing the vote. Theresa May [is] U.K.’s current prime minister. May supported remaining in the EU before winning the leadership election to replace Cameron. She has managed to keep the job, but has failed to win much support for her approach to Brexit. Boris Johnson [is one] of the most vocal proponents of leaving the EU from within the Conservative Party.

“[The] Labour Party [is the] opposition party in Parliament, which overwhelmingly supports remaining in the EU. Jeremy Corbyn [is the] hard-left leader of the Labour Party. He opposed Brexit (at least officially) but after the vote said the results must be respected. He’s been accused of failing to take a firm line on the issue.

“‘Leave’ [is the] pro-Brexit campaign focused on cutting immigration, gaining sovereignty and slashing payments to Brussels. ‘Remain’ [is the] opposing campaign emphasized economic harm if Brexit went ahead…

“A hard Brexit is the preferred exit strategy of hard-line Brexiteers. It would include a full withdrawal from the EU customs union…

“A soft Brexit, as outlined by Theresa May’s plan, includes keeping closer economic ties to the EU.

“No deal Brexit [is the] case in which the U.K. leaves the E.U. with no formal exit agreement, which would be bad for Europe and disastrous for the U.K. There is an overwhelming consensus on both sides of the aisle that a no-deal Brexit cannot be allowed to happen…

“A backup solution… would avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland until the EU’s future relationship with the U.K. is resolved…

“We are less than a month away from Brexit Day, when the U.K. is scheduled to leave the EU, and nowhere close to a deal. Now, May will have to get the EU to sign off on the proposal to push the Brexit deadline back. Getting the EU to agree to an extension will be tricky, though, and pushing back the deadline won’t get May any closer to a parliamentary majority.”

Brexit will happen in God’s due time. What is going to happen afterwards?

Europe after Brexit

spiked online wrote on March 15:

“As Britain prepares for Brexit, what will happen to the EU that we leave behind? To understand the EU and its direction of travel, you have to understand Germany – the bloc’s richest, most populous and most powerful nation. Sir Paul Lever has worked in the Foreign Office and the European Commission [and] he was the British ambassador to Germany between 1997 and 2003.”

The article quoted Sir Paul Lever as follows:

“I’d hesitate to say the EU won’t change at all when Britain leaves because the UK is a major state. But it won’t change fundamentally. The two things that currently matter in the EU, and the things that most matter to Germany, are the Euro and immigration. Since we’re not in the Euro and we had opted out of Schengen, Britain’s voice hasn’t been relevant for years on the two most important issues… Brexit won’t have an existential effect on the EU…

“If you look at the actual structures of the EU, there’s the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Court. That is exactly the same way that Germany is governed. The Bundesregierung, or federal government, is like the Commission, the Bundestag, or German parliament, is like the European Parliament, and the Bundesrat, the council of the German Länder (the federal states), is like the Council of Ministers, and both the EU and Germany have very powerful constitutional courts, too. So for a German politician moving into the EU, it’s a very familiar world, which is precisely why the Germans find it so easy to operate in Europe… The EU is Germany writ large. And this is how it has been from the beginning. It is not some recent German plot to subvert the EU – it is how it was set up…

“When the Euro was originally set up, the rules were ones which the old Bundesbank (the German central bank) insisted on: it wasn’t going to be a transfer union, there was going to be a big budget, and there would be strict obligations on debt and deficits. In the first few years, those rules weren’t always adhered to. In recent times, during the Greek crisis, for instance, the Germans started to insist on a strict application of these rules. In fairness, every country did sign up to them. And the Germans weren’t reneging on any obligations when they first refused to bail out Greece, for instance. They had never implied that they would accept responsibility for the debts of other member states – it would have been political suicide in Germany to promise this…

“Germany has been a huge beneficiary from the euro. A study was published recently by the Centre for European Policy Studies in Germany, which estimated that Germany had earned €1.9 trillion from adopting the euro in its first 20 years. But it had cost France €3.6 trillion and Italy €4.3 trillion. German politicians don’t like to admit this…”

Germany is destined to become and remain THE leading nation in Europe. It is also destined to bring much pain and misery to the world, when the end-time leader of core Europe arrives—a person of German or Austrian descent, who is called the beast in the Bible.

Another Step Towards Russian Autocracy

Axios wrote on March 18:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a set of controversial measures into law Monday that criminalize the dissemination of information online that ‘exhibits blatant disrespect for the society, government, official government symbols, constitution or governmental bodies of Russia,’ the Washington Post reports…

“Russian lawmakers say the bills are intended to combat fake and abusive comments online, but critics have labeled the legislation ‘direct censorship’ and yet another step toward autocracy. Online publications and users that repeatedly spread ‘fake news’ will ‘face fines of up to 1.5 million rubles, or $22,900.’ Repeat offenders that publish information deemed insulting to Russian authorities — including Putin — could face 15 days in jail.”

It will of course be the Russian government and its judges who will decide what is fake news and what constitutes insults to Putin and other Russian authorities.

USA to Recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over Golan Heights

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 21:

“On Thursday, US President Donald Trump tweeted that ‘after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights,’ calling the area important to regional stability…

“Israel took control over the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights, which was previously part of Syria, during the Six-Day War in 1967. The eastern portion of Golan remained under the control of the Syrian Arab Republic. The western section of the Golan remained occupied by the Israeli army from 1967 until December 14, 1981, when the Israeli government passed the Golan Heights Law, essentially annexing the area.

“Despite the fact that Israeli settlements had been built in the area, the move was roundly condemned in the United Nations Security Council when it passed UN Resolution 497 on December 17, 1981, declaring the annexation ‘null and void and without international legal effect.’ The United States is the only country that has signaled a willingness to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”

The Obscure Celebration of Purim

JTA wrote on March 12:

“On [Palma de Mallorca, a Spanish] island south of Barcelona, Jews celebrate Purim these days pretty much as they do most anywhere else in Europe [that is, without deep contemplation for the events described in the book of Esther]… 50 years ago, Purim was the holiest day of the year — comparable to Yom Kippur — for this island’s unique Jewish community. Persecuted for centuries during the Spanish Inquisition, the forcibly converted Jews of Mallorca had exploited their persecutors’ relative ignorance of Purim to mourn their situation and sustain their faith and culture. ‘Purim wasn’t celebrated in Mallorca, it was sorrowfully observed in secret,’ said Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham… Celebrating any of the major Jewish holidays — including Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot — would have been too risky… Those holidays were too well-known and featured too many distinctive customs to be practiced safely…

“In previous centuries, [Purim,] a holiday that celebrates the Jews’ triumph over people who conspired to annihilate them in fifth-century B.C. Persia was far less joyous than its carnival-like character today. Jews only began dressing up [that is, wearing costumes] on Purim in the 16th century. Before that, the holiday’s essence was primarily in the daylong Fast of Esther, which comes immediately before the actual holiday and is meant as a sign of gratitude to God for the survival of Jews in Persia… The fast aligned comfortably with Lent, a 40-day period in early spring during which Catholics abstain from certain indulgences, including meat. Many Christians would fast on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, thereby providing a handy alibi… observing the Fast of Esther at around the same time…

“Some… fasted on Purim as recently as 30 years ago.

“… after the fall of the pro-Catholic dictatorship of Francisco Franco in 1975, anti-[Jewish] sentiment declined [on Mallorca] and with it the need for secrecy around the Purim customs. By then, thousands of tourists to Mallorca had transformed the remote island into a European party capital…”

Today, many Jews keep Purim in the form of carnival celebrations and worldly parties. This year, Purim will be held by the Jewish community from the evening of March 21 to the evening of March 22. It is not a biblically-commanded festival for neither Jews nor Christians.

“Front Page in Polish Paper: ‘How to spot a Jew'”

Fox News wrote  on March 15:

“A right-wing newspaper in Poland sparked widespread criticism after running an anti-Semitic article on its front page instructing readers ‘how to spot a Jew.’ The Polish-language weekly, Tylko Polska, or ‘Only Poland,’ includes a list of supposed markers [such as ‘names, anthropological features, expressions, appearances, character traits, methods of operation’] and ‘disinformation activities.’… The newspaper’s front page – which also included a headline that read ‘How to defeat them? This cannot go on!’ – ran an article, which read, ‘Attack on Poland at a conference in Paris’ – in reference to a Holocaust studies conference at the French capital last month that sparked criticism over alleged anti-Polish speakers…

“It included a photo of Jan Gross, a Polish and Jewish Princeton scholar who wrote ‘Neighbors: The Destruction of [the] Jewish Community in Jebwabne, Poland,’ which is about the massacre of the Jewish people in Jebwabne by their non-Jewish neighbors during the Nazi occupation in Poland… The newspaper was first spotted at the lower house of the Polish parliament – the Sejm – on Wednesday, as part of the weekly package of publications sent to lawmakers…

“Opposition lawmaker Michal Kaminski called for prosecutors to investigate, as it’s a crime in Poland to incite hatred based on race or religion. A lawmaker from the ruling right-wing party called for the paper to be banned altogether. The director of the Parliament’s information center initially said his office could not take action because the paper was being sold from kiosks inside the Sejm, which was responsible for the choice of newspapers. Andrzej Grzegrzolka also suggested that a court could look into the front page to decide whether ‘Only Poland’ should be suspended under Polish law, the [Washington] Post reported. He later relented and announced his office would request that ‘Only Poland’ be removed from the set of periodicals delivered to the Parliament…

“According to JTA, the newspaper is published by Leszek Bubl, a fringe nationalist political candidate. In the past, he has sung anti-Semitic songs about ‘rabid’ rabbis. Poland, which was home to Europe’s largest Jewish community before the 1939 occupation by Nazi Germany, has a history of anti-Semitic speech and actions. The government has also been accused in the past of trying to rewrite history by banning any suggestion of Polish complicity in the Holocaust.”

Fragile Relationship between Poland and Israel

The Washington Post also wrote on March 14:

“Poland’s collective historical memory over treatment of Jewish people and Polish-Jewish relations have been fraught issues in the past few years. In 2018, the Polish government backed a law that made it punishable by jail time to refer to Poles as complicit in Nazi atrocities, sparking an international outcry, largely from Israeli and U.S. lawmakers. The law was later watered down, removing the prison terms. Then last month, Polish-Israeli relations were tested again when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was misquoted on his return from a Middle East summit in Poland as saying that ‘the Poles’ collaborated with Nazis during World War II. The paper that quoted him, the Jerusalem Post, later added a correction to make clear that Netanyahu meant to say ‘Poles,’ not ‘the Poles.’

“But then Israel Katz, on his first day as Israel’s acting foreign minister, reiterated that Poles collaborated with Nazis during World War II and quoted former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir by saying that Poles ‘sucked anti-Semitism with their mothers’ milk.’ Poland pulled out of a summit between Israel and the Visegrad Four countries (the other three being the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia), and the summit was replaced with bilateral meetings between Israel and the other three.”

That anti-Semitic Poles collaborated with the Nazis in the persecution and murder of Jews is a well-known and undisputable fact.

Shocking! “Germany’s Parliament Favors Anti-Israel U.N. Voting Pattern!”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 16:

“Political representatives in Germany’s Bundestag overwhelmingly rejected a resolution by the Free Democratic Party to urge Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to reverse its anti-Israel voting record at the United Nations. The Free Democratic Party (FDP)… introduced the pro-Israel resolution calling on the federal government… ‘to dissociate [in the UN] from unilateral, primarily politically motivated initiatives and alliances of anti-Israeli Member States, and protect Israel and legitimate Israeli interests from unilateral condemnation’…

“Merkel, who said in Israel in 2008 that its security is ‘non-negotiable’ for her administration, voted with authoritarian regimes, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, 16 times in 2018 to condemn the Jewish state… from a total of 21 anti-Israel resolutions… Germany abstained from four anti-Jewish state resolutions.

“The vote in the Bundestag was from a total of 626 MPs participating. An eye-popping 408 voted to reject the pro-Israel resolution while 155 urged its acceptance. A total of 63 MPs abstained. The depth of anti-Israelism in the Bundestag sparked criticism from a tiny number of German politicians and journalists. The FDP and the largely anti-immigration party, Alternative for Germany, supported a reversal of Merkel’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN.

“The Social Democrats, the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Democratic Party, The Left Party, and the Green Party lined up behind targeting Israel for punishment at the UN. The Green Party abstained, but German critics viewed the abstention as a cowardly escape hatch… Green Party politician Volker Beck wrote on his Twitter feed that ‘This was not a glorious chapter for foreign policy and national interests of the German Bundestag. And it will not be the last word. I am angry, also about my parliamentary group.’

“When asked on Twitter why the Social Democratic politician Frank Schwabe voted against the pro-Israel resolution, he declined to answer. The Post also questioned the Christian Democratic Union MP Andreas Nick who declined to respond about his anti-Israel vote. The German journalist and author, Alex Feuerherdt, who is an expert on the UN and Israel, wrote that the vote shows the lack of solidarity for the Jewish state in Germany. ‘Dead Jews are always capable of solidarity in Germany, especially on days such as 9 November or 27 January,’ he wrote. ‘The living and her state [Israel], on the other hand, are maximally in Sunday sermons, but not when it matters. What a lousy hypocrisy.’

“The Israeli security and defense expert Arye (ARO) Sharuz Shalicar tweeted: ‘I was born in [Germany]. I grew up in Berlin. I have a German high school diploma. I even served in the armed services. But today I am ashamed of German politics!’”

Was this just an exceptional cowardly behavior by most German Parliamentarians… or is there much more to it? The underlying anti-Semitism in Germany, which has ALWAYS been prevalent, cannot be denied. Bild Online chastised the main parties in Parliament and congratulated the FDP and the often-maligned AfD for their pro-Israel stance, stating that the AfD puts parties like the CDU and the SPD to shame. The Bible shows that very soon from now, Germany will align with Arab states against Israel.

Will Germany Renege?

The Wall Street Journal published the following article on March 18:

“The German government is poised to renege on its pledge to raise military spending, the latest gesture of defiance by Chancellor Angela Merkel toward President Donald Trump.

“… the move would mark a fresh step in the gradual estrangement between the U.S. and its erstwhile loyal European ally and comes after Mr. Trump’s repeated attacks of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders for not meeting a 2% military-spending target.”

US Ambassador Should Be Expelled from Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 19:

“US ambassador Richard Grenell is acting like ‘a high commissioner of an occupying power,’ the deputy leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) has said. Grenell has also drawn rebuffs from Germany’s two governing parties.

“Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy chairman of the opposition Free Democrats (FDP), said Richard Grenell’s repeated interference in German sovereignty should prompt Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to immediately declare Grenell persona non grata. ‘Any US diplomat who acts like a high commissioner of an occupying power must learn that our tolerance also knows its limits,’ said Kubicki, who is also one of five deputy speakers of Germany’s Bundestag parliament.

“Grenell had on Tuesday criticized Germany’s military spending plans within NATO as insufficient, prompting Kubicki to accuse the envoy of ‘interfering’ repeatedly in political issues of a sovereign country.

“Grenell’s criticism of Germany’s defense spending came weeks after he demanded that Berlin halt Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline being laid across the Baltic Sea to deliver gas from Russia to Germany, and threatened firms involved in the project with sanctions.

“Carsten Schneider, caucus manager of the Social Democrats (SPD) within the parliament, told the German news agency DPA on Tuesday that ‘Mr Grenell is a complete diplomatic failure,’ adding that ‘Mr Grenell damages transatlantic relations with his repeated clumsy provocations.’…

“Michael Grosse-Brömer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance (CDU/CSU), urged Grenell to show restraint…”

Once an ambassador is declared to be “persona non grata,” he has to leave the country. German media pointed out that this episode will further alienate the two countries.

Is Trump Really Proposing to Cut Medicare?

The Week wrote on March 12:

“President Trump… promised [in 2015] to ‘save Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security without cuts.’… Trump’s new national budget proposal was released [this week]. Democratic presidential contenders… are all pouncing on the president for supposedly including $845 billion in cuts to Medicare in his budget’s 10-year window. Meanwhile, Trump’s budget director is firing back that it isn’t true.

“Which is it? Does Trump want to cut Medicare or not? The answer is complicated.

“Usually, what people imagine when politicians talk about ‘cuts to Medicare’ is benefit reductions: Seniors getting less coverage, fewer drugs and procedures, or having to pay more money out of pocket. For the most part, those kinds of cuts aren’t in Trump’s proposal. Instead, his budget looks to reduce what Medicare pays to doctors and hospitals and private insurers for all those things…

“Specifically, Trump’s budget would cut the payments that Medicare sends to hospitals to reimburse them for unpaid bills, as well as payments to the outpatient care that hospitals provide. Payments to nursing homes and home health-care providers would be reduced. And Trump’s budget also includes a bunch of different policies aimed at lowering prescription drug prices…

“The funny part is that the two parties found themselves in opposite roles over the exact same issue several years ago. When they passed ObamaCare, the Democrats… [cut] Medicare’s payments to providers… Republicans at the time accused Democrats of cutting Medicare and endangering seniors… Democrats shot back that these attacks were unfair, because the cuts were to provider payments, as opposed to benefit reductions… the GOP made no effort to rollback ObamaCare’s cuts after they took the presidency and both houses of Congress in 2016. That’s politics for you…

“America’s total spending on health care is through the roof: almost 17 percent of the economy in 2015. That’s 5, 6, or even 7 percentage points higher than most other advanced Western nations. Most of what drives that gap is prices: What American health-care providers charge for drugs, services, procedures and everything else is just way higher than in those other countries. There are definitely enormous savings to be found here.

“Ironically, what makes it harder for Medicare to get those savings is that it doesn’t cover the entire population. Which gives providers an out. If nothing else, that’s a point in favor of Democrats’ plans for a Medicare-for-all system: It would finally allow us to get our arms around the entire health care pricing system. For providers, there would finally be no escape from the government’s payment terms.”

This would be an area where the government could do some good, in keeping greedy pharmaceutical companies in check. The article shows once again the lying and deceptive manner with which politicians operate.

Is Trump Threatening with Real Violence?

The Guardian wrote on March 16:

“In an interview with Breitbart News published on Wednesday, Trump noted: ‘I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough – until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.’ In case you missed it, ‘they’ are Trump’s political opponents, including House Democrats and the mainstream media…

“It is impossible to know what bizarre scenario is playing out in Trump’s head. But another hint came on Friday, when, in the wake of the horrific shootings at two mosques in New Zealand, Trump told reporters he didn’t believe white nationalism was on the rise… ‘I think it’s a small group of people.’

“… the facts are otherwise. The number of hate groups in the US increased 7% last year, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hate crime reports increased 17%, according to the FBI… 11 people were murdered at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on 27 October, at the hands of a white supremacist. A few days earlier, a white supremacist murdered two black people at a grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky…

“At a rally for Missouri Senate candidate Josh Hawley in September, Trump said his opponents ‘were lucky that we’re peaceful’. He continued: ‘Law enforcement, military, construction workers, Bikers for Trump … They travel all over the country … They’ve been great.’ But, he warned, ‘these are tough people … they’re peaceful people, and antifa and all, they’d better hope they stay that way.’ In February, the White House Correspondents’ Association called on Trump to make it ‘absolutely clear to his supporters that violence against reporters is unacceptable’. To date, he has not. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon [former White House Chief Strategist in the Trump administration during the first seven months of Trump’s term] … predicted that ‘2019 is going to be the most vitriolic year in American politics since the civil war’.”

Trump: Tariffs against China Will Stay for Now

Axios wrote on March 20:

“President Trump said he plans to keep tariffs in place on Chinese goods for a ‘substantial period of time,’ possibly even after a trade deal is forged to ensure Beijing’s compliance…

“China has been pushing the Trump administration to eliminate tariffs in any forthcoming deal, so the president’s comments are certainly not a carrot for China’s end of the bargain…”

How America Poisons Its Citizens

The Guardian wrote on March 20:

“About 70% of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed… strawberries, spinach and kale are among the most pesticide-heavy produce, while avocados, sweetcorn and pineapples had the lowest level of residues.

“More than 92% of kale tested contained two or more pesticide residues… Dacthal – the most common pesticide found, which was detected in nearly 60% of kale samples, is banned in Europe and classified as a possible human carcinogen in the US…

“Other foods on the group’s ‘dirty dozen’ list include grapes, cherries, apples, tomatoes and potatoes. In contrast, its ‘clean 15’ list includes avocados, onions and cauliflower…

“A… Harvard study found that for women undergoing fertility treatment, those who ate more high-pesticide fruits and vegetables were less likely to have a live birth…

“The Environmental Protection Agency… is fighting a court order to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that is associated with development disabilities in children…”

Oregon on its Way to Mandate Vaccinations

Portland Tribune wrote on March 14:

“A legislative proposal that would ban nonmedical exemptions for required vaccinations passed out of committee on a party-line vote Thursday, March 14, the committee’s seven Democrats voting in favor… it would still need to survive votes in the House and Senate and be signed into law by [Democratic] Gov. Kate Brown, who supports the proposal… unvaccinated children could still attend an online school, though they would not be able to participate in organized school activities, such as field trips. It also added a grace period, giving parents until August 2020 to comply with the law, if it were to pass…

“The proposal has been controversial, as more than 100 showed up to oppose the bill… People who opposed the bill said they went to committee members’ offices to distribute flowers representing injuries they say their children incurred when vaccinated. Some lawmakers’ staff declined the flowers, deeply upsetting some citizens…”

The Bulletin added on March 14:

“Oregon is [at this time] one of 17 states that allow students to attend school if they are not inoculated for personal, philosophical or religious reasons…  Several Republican opponents of the bill spoke during the debate over the final committee vote. ‘I find this bill to be far overreaching,’ said Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg. ‘I have five children who are vaccinated. But I believe in parental rights.’

“Rep. Denyc Boles, R-Salem, said she was disappointed the legislation appeared on its way to approval. ‘I did not expect to be part of something I think is a complete disregard to the individual freedoms we have,’ she said.”

Some “liberal” Democrats become more and more a driving force for totalitarianism in this country. Also note the next article.

David vs. Goliath—the Fight against Abortion

news ag org wrote on March 11:

“Cedar Park Church, an Assemblies of God congregation in Bothell, Washington, filed a federal lawsuit on March 8 against Washington state officials to challenge a newly implemented law that forces all employers — including churches that already provide maternity coverage — to pay for abortion and abortifacient contraceptives in health insurance plans. ‘We’re standing for the rights of people of faith to not be forced into being complicit with something inconsistent with our faith,’ says [a] senior pastor of the Seattle-area church. ‘Abortion is the antithesis of who we are as an organization, what our beliefs are, and how we live out our faith.’…

“The suit contends Washington’s law is an intentional attack on people of faith. No abortion exemptions are allowed for churches or religious organizations that provide insurance coverage for maternity care. Cedar Park currently provides comprehensive coverage as part of its employee package. ‘Cedar Park’s deeply held religious belief is that abortion is the ending of a human life and is a grave sin,’ the suit declares.

“The bill… [signed by Democratic governor Jay Inslee] requires employee health plans to also ‘provide a covered person with substantially equivalent coverage to permit the abortion of a pregnancy.’… The suit contends that Cedar Park cannot use tithes and offerings for purposes deemed to be religiously and morally repugnant to its members… under the current law church leaders would face not only fines, but also prison time for noncompliance. ‘Cedar Park believes and teaches that abortion violates the Bible’s command against the intentional destruction of innocent human life,’ the suit states.”

This law is truly catastrophic in that it is trying to, in effect, force churches which are biblically opposed to abortions, to tolerate or even encourage abortions by demanding financial support for those of their employees who, in violation of church teaching, choose an abortion. Churches would thereby have to compromise their religious beliefs and become complete hypocrites, or they would face severe punishment from ungodly governmental agencies.

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.

Additional $8.6 Billion for the Wall?

Reuters reported on March 10:

“President Donald Trump… will ask the U.S. Congress for an additional $8.6 billion to help pay for his promised wall on the U.S-Mexico border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking… The demand, which drew swift criticism from Democrats, is more than six times what Congress allocated for border projects in each of the past two fiscal years, and 6 percent more than Trump has corralled by invoking emergency powers this year…

“Funding legislation needs to be passed before Oct. 1 – the start of the 2020 federal fiscal year – or the government could shut down again. If Congress and the White House fail to agree to lift mandatory spending caps set in a 2011 law, steep automatic cuts in many programs would kick in. Around the same time, Trump and lawmakers must agree to lift the debt ceiling, or risk a default, which would have chaotic economic fallout.

“Trump’s wall request is based off a 2017 plan put forward by Customs and Border Protection officials to build or replace 722 miles (1,162 km) of barrier along the border, which in total is estimated to cost about $18 billion.  So far, only 111 miles (179 km) have been built or are under way, officials said…”

The Independent added:

“The White House is proposing $2.7trn (£2trn) in spending cuts for the year beginning 1 October, a reduction of 5 percent across all non-defence agencies while military funding is boosted to $750bn (£577bn).”

JTA wrote on March 12:

“The 2020 fiscal plan sent by the White House to Congress on Monday includes the full $3.3 billion in assistance promised under a 10-year memorandum of understanding, despite spending cuts throughout the proposal… The $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding, a 10-year defense agreement signed under President Barack Obama, went into operation in October at the start of the last fiscal year…

“The budget plan includes domestic cuts to education and social welfare programs, among others, and includes $8.6 billion for a controversial border wall with Mexico and increased defense spending. Leaders in the House of Representatives said the plan had no chance of passing.”

No European Visas for Americans, but…

npr wrote on March 9:

“European Union officials have moved to clarify travel regulations for U.S. citizens, following erroneous reports this week that Americans will soon be required to apply for visas. Last summer, the European Union announced that starting in 2021, it will require citizens from countries that don’t currently require visas, including the United States, to apply for authorization in order to visit member states. The process will occur through the European Travel Information and Authorization System, an automated online system meant to [allegedly] strengthen security checks on visitors.

“An application will cost about $8, and it will ‘not take more than 10 minutes,’ according to the European Commission. Responses will be cross-checked by Interpol and other security databases, and prospective travelers will receive an emailed approval or rejection in as little as a few minutes or as long as four weeks… The approval will be valid for three years, allowing people to make multiple entries and to freely visit European countries in the Schengen Area – a zone of 26 nations that agreed to ease border restrictions. Currently, U.S. travelers can enter Europe without a visa or registration for up to 90 days…”

Ethiopian Crash and Big Trouble for Boeing

The Associated Press wrote on March 11:

“Boeing’s stock plunged 8 percent Monday morning as aviation authorities in China, Indonesia and Ethiopia ordered airlines to ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes the day after one crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. The crash of the Ethiopian Airlines jet shortly after it took off from Addis Ababa on Sunday is drawing renewed scrutiny of the plane just four months after a similar crash of the same model that killed 189 people in Indonesia…

“The 737 is the best-selling airliner in history, and the Max, the newest version of it with more fuel-efficient engines, is a central part of Boeing’s strategy to compete with European rival Airbus…

“A spokesman for Ethiopian Airlines… said the carrier had grounded its remaining four 737 Max 8 planes until further notice as an ‘extra safety precaution.’ The airline had been using five new 737 Max 8s and awaiting delivery of 25 more…

“China’s Civil Aviation Administration said that it ordered airlines to ground all 737 Max 8 aircraft… Chinese carriers and leasing companies operate 96 Boeing 737 8 MAXs, according to the government, with dozens more believed to be on order. China Southern Airlines is one of Boeing’s biggest customers for the aircraft.

“Indonesia also grounded 11 737 Max 8s for inspections to ensure flight safety…

“Boeing has delivered about 350 737 Max planes to scores of airlines and has orders for more than 5,000…”

CNBC wrote on March 12:

“[The] European Union [following the lead of Germany, France and Britain] joins other nations in grounding Boeing 737 Max jets… The decision not only applies to airlines within the European Union but to operators outside of the region flying to or from the region… The Federal Aviation Administration [of the USA] said Monday that it did not see a reason to ground the planes and Boeing said it wasn’t planning to issue new guidance to pilots ‘based on the information currently available.’

“American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flight attendants and ground crews urged the companies to take their Boeing737 Max airplanes out of service.”

The Week added on March 13:

“The U.S. is one of the few remaining countries still allowing the 737 MAX 8 aircraft to fly, with the European Aviation Safety Agency banning the aircraft from the airspace of the 32 countries it oversees on Tuesday and Canada following suit on Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing are standing behind the new jet…”

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are the only two US airlines which use Boeing 737 Max airplanes. They refused to ground the airplanes on their own. Another [non-American] company flying Boeing 737 Max airplanes, United Airlines, likewise refused to ground the planes on its own.

Trump Steps In

Newsmax wrote on March 13:

“President Donald Trump says the U.S. is issuing an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from its airspace, but until now, the Federal Aviation Administration had been saying that it didn’t have any data to show the jets are unsafe… Trump says pilots and airlines have been notified. He says the safety of the American people is of ‘paramount concern.’”

Daily Mail wrote on March 13:

“Trump said he made the decision following conversations with Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary, and the airline companies, he said, after new information emerged on the tragic crash….

“[Boeing] suggested in a statement a half-hour after Trump’s shocking announcement that the company asked the FAA to suspend the flights. It said in the statement, as its stock shares started to tumble, ‘Boeing continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. However, after consultation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and aviation authorities and its customers around the world, Boeing has determined — out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety — to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft…’

“The FAA said almost an hour later… that it was ‘ordering the temporary grounding’ of the Boeing Max airplanes.”

“We Europeans Won’t Be Blackmailed by Trump”

Politico wrote in March 6:

“Manfred Weber, the center-right candidate to be the next European Commission president, urged Brussels on Wednesday to hit back hard if Donald Trump hikes tariffs on European cars. ‘As Europeans, we will not be blackmailed,’ Weber declared in a speech in his home state of Bavaria, which is also home to two major German carmakers, BMW and Audi.

“‘The U.S. economy is similar in size to the EU. Economically, we are on equal footing,’ said Weber, the lead candidate in May’s European Parliament election for the European People’s Party (EPP), the Continent’s center-right alliance. ‘And that is why America must know that if it starts a trade war with Europe and levies car duties, also on our products from Lower Bavaria, then we will have to respond.’… He said the EU should be both self-assured and prepared for possible economic ‘thunderclouds’ to come…

“Weber suggested Trump might not particularly care about the statistics and just dislike the view ‘from his Trump Tower, when he looks down at the streets of New York, and sees so many BMWs, Audis and Mercedes.’…

“In his speech to the rally, CSU chief and Bavarian state premier Markus Söder echoed Weber, and linked the trade feud to another transatlantic battle, over defense spending. ‘How can German tanks improve security but Bavarian cars be a threat to security?’ Söder asked.”This is a good question indeed.

Will Trump Win a Second Term?

Project Syndicate wrote on March 7:

“It seems that every time I write about Donald Trump’s presidency, I pronounce it to be in more trouble than ever. This time is no different: he and his presidency are indeed in more trouble than ever. And yet that may not prevent him from winning again in 2020. I used to think Trump might not even finish his first term, much less get a second…

“Logic would suggest that Trump can’t make it through a reelection fight: his base, an estimated 35-38% of voters, is too small, and he’s done next to nothing to expand it… But logic isn’t a trademark of the Trump presidency…

“Trump’s success at solidifying his base could be his salvation in 2020 if the Democratic nomination process doesn’t produce a strong enough opponent or ends in hostility…”

 Logic has nothing to do with it. God’s will does!

UK Plunged into Chaos

The Sun wrote on March 12:

“Britain was tonight plunged into chaos once again as MPs voted to kill off Theresa May’s Brexit deal by 391 votes to 242. Now 993 days after the referendum, and with just 17 days before Brexit, Brits are still in the dark… Furious MPs blasted the uncertainty – saying the ‘wretched soap opera of Brexit continues’ as the country heads ‘back to square one’…

“Parliament has repeatedly voted against Mrs May’s strategy for leaving the EU on March 29 – tonight the Commons laughed and cheered after the fresh chaos was confirmed. But without a clear alternative on the table, the latest defeat opens the door to a range of wildly different outcomes…”

The Week wrote on March 12:

“The Brexit disaster could destroy the United Kingdom… Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is on the brink of a disastrous, unnegotiated departure from the EU, which in addition to inviting economic calamity, may ultimately push Scotland, Northern Ireland, and eventually even Wales to leave the U.K….”

Europe’s Reactions

Express wrote on March 13:

“… the European Union said that only the UK can sort out the Brexit problem… The spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk added: ‘On the EU side we have done all that is possible to reach an agreement. It is difficult to see what more we can do. If there is a solution to the current impasse it can only be found in London.’”

Brexit “Neverendum”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 13:

“[On Wednesday] British lawmakers have voted to reject the UK leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement — under any circumstances, even after March 29.”

The Sun added on March 13:

“Tory Remainers betray Theresa May to bury No Deal Brexit FOREVER and kill our hope of leaving EU in 16 days. The House of Commons hit by chaos as Remainers seize control from [a] weak Prime Minister… Tonight’s vote is not legally binding – but the PM had already pledged to abide by it anyway…

“The chaos was another sign the Prime Minister has lost control of the Brexit process and her party – with Tories calling on her to sack the top ministers who failed to support her. Brexiteer Ben Bradley, who backed Mrs May’s deal, fumed: ‘… We promised to leave on the 29th, now Parliament has said we’re not going to leave.’

“The Commons verdict is a massive blow to Brexiteers who think the UK should quit the EU on time with or without a deal… It’s still not clear whether the EU will actually grant Britain an extension to the Brexit process even if the Commons votes to request one…”

The UK WILL leave the EU when it is time.

Brexit to Be Delayed?

The Associated Press wrote on March 14:

“British lawmakers were voting Thursday on whether to scuttle the already dwindling chances the U.K. will leave the European Union this month as scheduled, but EU officials warned they would only allow a delay if the country made a fundamental shift in its approach to Brexit… The vote in Parliament was on whether to seek a delay of at least three months to Brexit, which currently is due to take place March 29… Lawmakers voted to rule out the idea of holding a second Brexit referendum — at least for now… Thursday’s vote doesn’t prevent lawmakers from trying again later to get Parliament’s support for another referendum.

“May… is proposing that Brexit be delayed until June 30 — but only if Parliament approves her Brexit deal… Any delay in the Brexit process would require the unanimous approval of all 27 remaining EU member states...

“In another sting for the beleaguered May, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was ‘surprised at how badly’ the Brexit negotiations have been handled. Trump… said he gave May advice but she didn’t listen to him… The EU, meanwhile, is reluctant to postpone Brexit beyond the late May elections for the European Parliament, because that would mean Britain taking part even as it prepares to leave. The bloc is more open to a long delay to allow Britain to radically change course… European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he will appeal to EU leaders ‘to be open to a long extension if the U.K. finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus about it.’

“The EU has also warned that Parliament voting against no-deal Brexit isn’t enough to stop it. By law, Britain will leave the EU on March 29, with or without a deal, unless it cancels Brexit or secures a delay.”

Criminals and Terrorists Might Have Entered Germany as Migrants

Breitbart wrote on March 10:

“[A] new report claims that from 2014 to 2019, the German government not only let in around 5,000 migrants who were subject to investigation for violating international law, but only investigated a handful of them itself [i.e., 129, according to] German tabloid Bild…

“Since the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, many have been concerned over the possibility of criminals and terrorists using the crisis as a way to enter Europe. Several reports have claimed that groups like the Islamic State have purposely used the crisis to smuggle in their fighters with several arrests of ISIS fighters being made in Germany and other countries.

“War criminals have also been discovered among the migrants and several have faced trial in various European countries. In Sweden, the government has seen a surge in reports of war criminals since 2014…”

Italy Enforces Compulsory Vaccination Laws

BBC wrote on March 12:

“Italian children have been told not to turn up to school unless they can prove they have been properly vaccinated. The deadline follows months of national debate over compulsory vaccination. Parents risk being fined up to €500 (£425; $560) if they send their unvaccinated children to school. Children under six can be turned away… children must receive a range of mandatory immunisations before attending school. They include vaccinations for chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella.

“Children up to the age of six years will be excluded from nursery and kindergarten without proof of vaccination under the new rules. Those aged between six and 16 cannot be banned from attending school, but their parents face fines if they do not complete the mandatory course of immunisations.”

Another step towards total governmental control… all based on unscientific assumptions financed by the pharmaceutical industry, while ignoring or even denying the real dangers of these kinds of vaccinations.

The World Is Unprepared for the Next Crash

New Statesman wrote on March 6:

“A decade has passed since the start of the Great Recession – the momentous downturn that shook the global economy as none had since the 1930s. In the intervening years, the world has experienced a slow but consistent recovery. Economic dangers, however, are now apparent at every turn: a new global debt crisis, trade wars between great powers and a Chinese slowdown… Some market analysts are now warning of a possible global recession this year – far earlier than most have anticipated…

“Perhaps the greatest cause for concern is that, when the next recession does arrive, as it will, we will be even less prepared than we were in 2008… History teaches us that when the status quo only offers stagnation or decline, voters will look for radical alternatives…”

Radical alternatives can be seen in the acceptance and support of radical politicians and other “Savior”-like personages.

Israel only for the Jewish People?

JTA wrote on March 10:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media that Israel is ‘not a country of all its citizens,’ but rather ‘the nation-state of the Jewish people.’…

“[He also wrote:] ‘According to the nation-state law we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people — and not anyone else… there is no problem with Israel’s Arab citizens. They have equal rights and the Likud government has invested more than any other government in the Arab population…’ But he added that a government including Arab parties would ‘undercut the state’s security.’”

The Guardian added on March 11:

“Netanyahu’s comments referenced a deeply contentious ‘nation state’ law passed last year declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country. Critics of the law have said it amounted to ‘apartheid’ for the 1.8 million Arabs in Israel with citizenship, who make up about a fifth of the total population. They consist of Palestinians who remained on their land following wars surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948. Others either fled or were expelled from their homes.”

In the future, Israel and the Promised Land will be a country for the descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah… not just the Jews.

Don’t Count Out Netanyahu too Quickly

Bloomberg wrote on March 6:

“Criminal charges seem to be looming, but don’t count Benjamin Netanyahu out: Chances are good that he’ll form Israel’s next government. A fragmented political system, many undecided voters and the stature that comes with 13 years in office could converge with a loyal base to hand Israel’s prime minister a fifth term on April 9. And though the attorney general plans to indict Netanyahu for bribery and fraud, a decision is months away…

“Netanyahu’s ability to weather the storm could have a profound influence in a Middle East that’s realigning as the U.S. confronts Iran and prepares to present its formula for regional peace. He has labored to contain Iran’s influence and sideline the Palestinians’ quest for statehood as ties with Gulf Arab states warm, often finding a sympathetic ear in Trump’s White House…

“During the campaign, Netanyahu will continue to characterize the attorney general’s investigation as a left-wing ‘witch hunt’ and his supporters will likely continue to accept that…

“No single party has ever won a majority in Israel’s history, meaning the country has always been run by coalitions. What’s key is which faction can put together the most stable bloc… Netanyahu seems to have a clearer path to building a narrow coalition…”

Clashes on the Temple Mount, Leading to a Religious War?

CBN News wrote on March 13:

“Jerusalem Authorities re-opened the Temple Mount Wednesday following a violent clash on the holy site the day before. Israeli forces temporarily closed the compound after police say a firebomb was hurled at a security post Tuesday. The post went up in flames and an officer was injured by smoke inhalation. Dozens of police flooded the Temple Mount after the attack and clashed with Muslim worshippers. Several people were arrested and taken in for interrogation… Jerusalem authorities found Molotov cocktails, firecrackers, and flammable material at the holy site after conducting a security search.

“However, The Islamic Waqf, the body that controls the Temple Mount, claims the firebomb attack ‘was fabricated and deliberately escalated and planned by the police.’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also blamed Israel for the escalation and called on the international community to ‘halt Israeli assaults on al-Aqsa Mosque.’ The Palestinian Authority warned there will be violence if Israel ‘tampers’ with the holy site. ‘Al-Aqsa Mosque is a redline,’ said spokesman Osama Qawassmeh. ‘Tampering with holy sites, especially al-Aqsa Mosque, is a direct call for violence. Fatah won’t allow Israel to carry out its schemes, regardless of the price.’

“Israel’s Public Safety Minister Gilad Erdan accused the Palestinian Authority of trying to spark a religious war. ‘Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] continued to lie and incite violence together with the terror organizations of Murabitoun and Hamas, in an attempt to ignite a fire and cause a religious war on the Temple Mount,’ Gilad Erdan said… ‘We will not allow this to happen,’ Erdan said. ‘We will continue to act to restore calm on the [Temple Mount]. Police will respond with strength and determination to any act of violence or attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount.’

“Tuesday’s clash is just a symptom of mounting tensions on the Temple Mount. In recent weeks, Muslim worshippers have protested the closure of an area on the compound near the Gate of Mercy. The area was closed in 2003 after allegations that the group overseeing the site was linked to terror activity. Last month, the Islamic Waqf, the body controlling the Temple Mount, reopened the site to Muslim worshipers, despite Israel’s desire to keep it closed. Worshippers on the mount have staged protests and clashed with police over the site.”

These tensions and clashes will continue, and they will reach a violent climax when Israel begins to bring animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount and build the prophesied Third Temple there, which will occur, of course, prior to Christ’s return. This will result in a military intervention of European forces, under the beast or the king of the North, and the occupation of the rebuilt Temple by the false prophet who will claim to be God and who will “support” this claim with Satanic powers and demonic signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9 with Revelation 13:13; 19:20).

The Church of God, under its late human leader, Herbert W. Armstrong, has always and consistently identified the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2 as the false prophet. James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, under “Antichrist”, says correctly that the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians refers to the false prophet—“a false Messiah, a prophet… the opponent of the true Messiah.”

While the Church felt at times that the “temple” might be a reference to a spiritual temple—the Church—it has also taught at other times that it is referring to a literal temple. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following about the man of sin and the Third Temple, in the Plain Truth of June 1967:

“There will be a Jewish Temple built in Jerusalem, with animal sacrifices once again being offered… For a long time the Jewish people have had in mind the rebuilding of the Temple… And it must be built on the exact site of Solomon’s Temple… [Jesus said:] ‘When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the Holy Place …’ – this ‘Holy Place’ has to be IN THE TEMPLE! And IN JERUSALEM!… before the second coming of Christ, a vile leader will stop the daily sacrifices being offered in the Temple (yet to be built) in Jerusalem, and will profane the Holy Place with an idol…

 “There will very soon be a Temple in Jerusalem, with daily sacrifices once again being offered. But the ruler of the soon-coming resurrected ‘Holy Roman Empire’; a political- military union of ten European nations – will stop the daily sacrifices and profane the Holy Place in the Temple… Jerusalem will be surrounded and captured… by the… armies of the European Empire… They will invade Jerusalem, and take charge of the Temple.

“This European power, resurrecting for a VERY short while the Roman Empire, will take over the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2.) They will take the Temple, and plant the palace of their headquarters there. With this coming military leader, pictured in Revelation 17 as the symbolic ‘beast,’ will be a supreme religious leader, called ‘the False Prophet,’ [Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10] and the ‘man of sin.’ So will you turn next to II Thessalonians 2:3-4: ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day’ — the Day of the Lord, verse 2 — ‘shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and THAT MAN OF SIN be revealed, the SON OF PERDITION; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.’ So there will have to be the Temple there!”

We can clearly see now that the Bible speaks indeed of the building of a LITERAL Third Temple on the Temple Mount just prior to Christ’s return, and that the false prophet will occupy that Temple, claiming to be God (perhaps in the Person of the Messiah—the returned Jesus Christ).

2016 “Coup” in Turkey Fake News!

The EUObserver wrote on March 11:

“The failed coup in Turkey in 2016 transformed its internal politics and EU relations. But two and half years later, evidence is trickling out to support what the EU initially suspected – that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan knew what was going to happen and let it go ahead as a pretext to create one-man rule. The new evidence recently came in the form of a document written by a Turkish prosecutor on 16 July 2016, and obtained by an investigative journalist, Ahmet Donmez, who lives in exile in Sweden.

“The document is a detailed record of events which took place between the start of the coup and 5AM and 7AM that morning. It said that putschists in the Turkish air force had bombed the parliament and the garden of the presidential palace, for instance. They did so. But oddly enough, the prosecutor who minuted the events, Serdar Coskun, dated his record as having been written at 1AM – four hours before it all happened.

“Coskun… gave an interview to a pro-government journalist in which he confirmed the authenticity of the document, but in which he also said he had made a mistake on the timing… Coskun’s explanation lacked credibility because some of the things he minuted as having just taken place never did take place… The non-events he recorded included a siege of the MIT (the national intelligence service), the bombing of the special forces command HQ, and the bombing of the police intelligence bureau… the minutes indicate that Erdogan’s people knew exactly what was going to happen, let some of the events unfold in a controlled way as a pretext for the ensuing crackdown, and even began drafting papers beforehand that they would later use in trials against his political opponents…

“The fact that Erdogan himself was not captured or harmed also looked odd… In a proper coup, he [Erdogan] would have been the main and possibly only target of the plotters…

“Erdogan blamed the coup on Fethullah Gulen, the head of a religious movement who lives in exile in the US and who is one of his main political opponents. But the IntCen report on the coup, dated 24 August 2016… said it was ‘unlikely that Gulen had the abilities and the capacities to take such steps… The coup was just the catalyst for the crackdown prepared in advance,’ the IntCen report said.

“Much has happened since… 16 July 2016… Erdogan has detained over 70,000 people, including opposition MPs, 110 journalists, and human rights defenders. He has sacked 150,000 public officials and shut down all government-critical media. He also rammed through constitutional changes under a post-coup state of emergency that gave himself new powers amounting to one-man rule…

“The idea that Turkey might one day join the EU has evaporated no matter how much it helps Europe to control flows of refugees. Erdogan’s decision, last weekend, to expel three German journalists, shows that his contempt for Europe has continued to deepen. ‘The Turkish government managed to more or less silence the national media, and they are now trying to do it with the international media,’ Joerg Brase, the head of German broadcaster ZDF’s Istanbul bureau, who was given 10 days to leave the country, said.

“‘It cannot be ruled out … that the Turkish government will take further action against representatives of German media and civil society organisations,’ the German foreign ministry added in an update to its Turkey travel advice. ‘Statements, which are covered by the German legal understanding of the freedom of expression, can lead in Turkey to … criminal proceedings,’ it also said.

“Meanwhile, Coskun has been promoted to become a member of one of [Turkey’s] highest courts, the court of cassation. At the same time, many military officers are behind bars on the basis of trials which referenced his strange minutes in official court records.”

It was clear from the start to many that autocrat Erdogan was either himself responsible for the coup or used a somewhat juvenile attempt of a “coup” to became the one-man dictator of Turkey, while brutally suppressing all of his real or imagined critics or opponents. Hitler employed similar tactics when a confused and mentally disturbed Jewish communist set fire to the Reichtstag to initiate anti-Jewish laws and persecute the Jews systematically.

Politically Hot Season in Finland

The EUObserver wrote on March 11:

“Finnish prime minister Juha Sipila’s centre-right government’s surprise resignation on Friday (8 March) kicks off a political hot season in the otherwise cool Nordic country.

“Voters are facing national elections on 14 April as well as EU elections on 26 May, while the country is also preparing to hold the EU’s rotating six-month presidency from 1 July.”

Fox News Moderators in Trouble? Not Really, it Seems…

The Independent wrote about Fox moderator Tucker Carlson on March 11:

“Fox News host Tucker Carlson has refused to apologise for comments he made on a new unearthed radio programme. Progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America published recordings… which originally aired from 2006 to 2011…

“The recordings, which see Carlson cover a wide range of topics, include a clip from 2007 in which he compares women to dogs, adding: ‘They’re extremely primitive…’ The show host talks about Tucker Carlson’s 14-year-old daughter and girls her age at school sexually experimenting with each other. Mr Carlson responds: ‘If it weren’t my daughter I would love that scenario.’’

The Drudge Report linked to an article in the Wrap, adding:

‘He then mentioned reading a story about a teacher who molested her 13-year-old student ‘28 times in one week,’ and asked…, ‘Are you physically capable of doing that or do you take your hat off to this kid?… So my point is that [teachers] like this, not necessarily this one in particular, but they are doing a service to all 13-year-old girls by taking the pressure off. They are a pressure relief valve, like the kind you have on your furnace.’”

Even though Carlson might have made some of the comments “in jest,” they are still sick and outrageous!

The Huffington Post wrote about Fox moderator Judge Jeanine Pirro on March 11:

“Fox News on Sunday said the network ‘strongly’ condemns Jeanine Pirro’s stunningly Islamophobic attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar… The Fox News host said on Saturday that Omar wears a hijab because the Koran ‘tells women to cover so they won’t get molested.’ She also said the lawmaker’s religious dress may be ‘antithetical to the Constitution.’… Fox offered no details about any possible consequences for Pirro…

“The hijab attack was part of Pirro’s questioning of whether Omar’s criticism of Israel shows ‘her adherence to Sharia law.’

“The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S., demanded that Fox News fire Pirro… Pakistani American Hufsa Kamal, a producer on the ‘Special Report with Bret Baier,’ reminded Pirro that she actually works with Muslims at Fox News.”

On the other hand, Omar’s anti-Semitic statements have been extremely problematic, and while many Democratic members of Congress were unwilling to condemn her for these, questions regarding her political stance must be allowed. From the context of Pirro’s comments, it is clear that she was just talking about Omar, not about all Muslims.

Nevertheless, more and more prominent Fox moderators have been leaving the network or were being fired for alleged wrongdoing. The left-liberal media is having a field day, while some of their moderators have likewise been strongly criticized for alleged inappropriate conduct or offensive statements.  

Australian Catholic Cardinal Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

npr wrote on March 13:

“Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77, a former leading Vatican official who last month was convicted of sexually abusing two boys, has been sentenced to six years in prison. He will be eligible for parole after three years and eight months. During the sentencing hearing, Victoria state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd acknowledged the disgraced cleric may not live to serve the full sentence. The prospect of facing jail at Pell’s advanced age ‘must be an awful state of affairs,’ Kidd added.

“Pell was convicted in December of five sexual offenses committed against two 13-year-old choirboys during an incident in 1996 at Melbourne’s grandest cathedral, when he was archbishop… A 12-member jury unanimously found him guilty of exposing himself to the two boys, fondling them and forcing one to perform oral sex on him. The jury also convicted Pell of indecently assaulting one of the boys more than a month later…

“Pell denies the allegations, and his lawyers argue he has been made a scapegoat for the failings of the Catholic Church regarding sexual abuse by priests… Pell has filed an appeal, and the court will determine if there are sufficient grounds for it to be heard. A court date has been set for June 5. In court on Wednesday, Pell was told he will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. He is the most senior Vatican leader ever charged with sexual abuse. He was selected by Pope Francis to run the Vatican’s new economic ministry.”

Deutsche Welle added on March 13:

“Pell’s lawyers have appealed the decision but for now Pell will go straight to jail… The trial against Pell has shocked and divided Australia’s Catholic Church, and society at large. Some argue his sentencing was much overdue, while others believe Pell is being used as a scapegoat to settle a score with the church. Some figures in Rome, meanwhile, have dismissed the accusations against Pell as ‘absolutely unbelievable,’ which smacks of cynicism and arrogance — an attitude that has characterized the Catholic Church for decades. Indeed, accusations of sexual abuse against Pell began surfacing many years ago but were not taken seriously.

“Chief Judge Peter Kidd said Pell acted with ‘callous indifference to the victims’ distress’ and had been ‘breathtakingly arrogant.’ The conviction illustrates just how big of a sexual abuse scandal the church really faces. Indeed, the college of cardinals currently counts 122 men who are eligible to elect a new pope and thus leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, when the time comes. Pell is one of them. And so is the archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was recently sentenced to six months probation for failing to report allegations of assault. Fortunately, Cardinal Barbarin wants to resign from his position. Meanwhile, the Vatican has launched a canonical trial against Pell, yet will wait until his civil trial ends before reaching a decision.

“Pope John Paul II made Pell an archbishop and a cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI later gave him a say in important decision-making processes in Rome, and in 2014 Pope Francis named him the Vatican treasurer. Pell’s rise to power makes clear a fundamental problem with the all-male Catholic Church: outside criticism is ignored. That explains why some figures in Rome still dismiss the court case against Pell in Australia.

“… Francis must realize that the credibility of his institution has been ruined…”

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.

Push for Third Temple Intensifies… While Deniers are Without a Clue

Express published on March 4, 2019 the following headline:

“Jerusalem third temple ‘fulfils Biblical prophecy’ of the end times.”

The article went on to state:

“Talk of a third temple being built emerged this week in response to a letter penned by the powerful Jewish assembly of rabbis known as the Sanhedrin. Jerusalem is heading into a mayoral election next week and the Sanhedrin urged both running candidates, Ofer Berkovich and Moshe Lion, to rebuild the temple.

“The first two Holy Temples of Jerusalem were constructed on the city’s Temple Mount centuries ago but were razed to the ground by the Babylonians and the Romans respectively. The Holy Temple plays a crucial role in Jewish tradition and is a central player in prophecies and tales concerning the apocalypse.”

There are still those who deny the biblical fact that a third temple must exist prior to Christ’s return. One proof text can be found in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 which proclaims that just prior to Christ’s return, the false prophet (sometimes erroneously referred to as the Antichrist) will sit in the Temple of God, claiming to be God. Here is an example of a writer trying to “explain” this passage without admitting that this is talking about the Third Temple:

“… the ‘man of sin’ (also known as the King of the North in Daniel 11 and ‘the Beast’ in Revelation 13) may be sitting in some type of formerly Christian occupied building for some short while during the Great Tribulation.” The writer then goes on to state that that building might be one which had been used by his organization prior to their flight to the place of safety.

Apart from the fact that the man of sin is not the beast, but the false prophet, this whole “explanation” is unbelievably ludicrous. But those who deny or are unable to understand biblical revelation are doomed to present astonishing man-made nonsense.

Netanyahu Without a Majority

The Algemeiner wrote on March 2:

“A new poll taken after Israel’s attorney general announced that he will indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges shows that Netanyahu would not be able to form a right-wing government if elections were held today, and that 68 percent of the Israeli public wants him to resign now or after he is formally indicted.

“The announcement of intent to indict… charged Netanyahu with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in corruption cases dealing with gifts from supporters and alleged media collusion to give the prime minister favorable coverage in return for political and regulatory favors. Netanyahu responded to the announcement with a combative speech in which he declared the investigation a left-wing witch hunt intended to aid the election of his primary rivals…

“Those surveyed were also asked whether they believe Netanyahu’s claim that the attorney general made his decision due to pressure from the left and the media — 59 percent said the attorney general acted from professional considerations, while 42 percent agreed with Netanyahu. Elections will be held on April 9.”

Middle East Peace Process Without Success

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 4:

“The US is closing its consulate in Jerusalem, with a Palestinian affairs unit in the embassy to take its place… Diplomatic work will now be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit that is under the command of the US Embassy to Israel.

“The move has raised fears among Palestinians that US President Donald Trump’s administration is downgrading the handling of their diplomatic concerns and that Washington is no longer working for a two-state solution. When plans for the merger were announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last fall, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat called the decision ‘the final nail in the coffin’ for the US role in a Middle East peace process. The merger also means that diplomatic channels with Gaza and the West Bank will now be handled by US Ambassador David Freedman—who has long supported the controversial West Bank settler movement and has been an outspoken critic of Palestinian leaders.

“Trump sparked global outrage over his December 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is the home to numerous sites that are holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Palestinians want to establish an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.”

The American-initiated peace process is dead… in fact, it was never alive.

Israel Without Arab Friends

The Jordan Times wrote on March 4:

“Participants at the 29th conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU) on Monday called for supporting Palestinians through stopping all forms of normalisation with the Israeli occupation as stipulated in relevant Arab summits’ resolutions. The final statement of the conference, which concluded in Amman on Monday, praised the Kingdom’s Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites, and His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts in supporting the Jerusalemites’ resilience, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The statement also commended King Abdullah’s quick steps and response in stopping recurrent Israeli attacks in Jerusalem, the most recent of which was the reopening of the Bab Al Rahma (Gate of Mercy) for prayers.

“Meanwhile, the Amman Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the conference, warned against the threats of the Israeli colonisation expansion on the expense of the Palestinian national soil, and rejected all attempts to impose the policy as a fait accompli, which requires more unified Arab stances to counter Israeli attempts to confiscate more Palestinian rights. The declaration added that Jordan will continue to be at the forefront of any effort to support the central cause of Arab and Islamic nations, which is the Palestinian one, and that the Kingdom will not stop exerting any effort that can serve Palestinian interests until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty over its national soil, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

A united Europe under German leadership will collaborate with Arab nations against Israel.

European Jews Without True Friends

Politico wrote on March 4:

“Anti-Semitism is back in Europe… This particularly European pathology never truly went away, of course, but it had been confined, after the Holocaust, to the far-right fringes of society. Now the numbers of high-profile incidents and violent attacks are multiplying. Not only is this disease back; it is being weaponized by nationalist governments and parties on both sides of the political spectrum…

“The collapse of Europe’s center-right, center-left political consensus plays an important role. As the center has dissolved, the fringes have expanded. The rise of extremist parties has acted like a green light for the Continent’s anti-Semitism… The danger goes beyond the physical. Issues that, on the face, have nothing to do with Jews — the migration crisis or a protest movement sparked by fuel prices — suddenly became all about them. Centuries-old stereotypes have reappeared: the conniving Jewish financier, the all-powerful Jewish conspirator accused of buying political influence or acting as a ‘globalist,’ pulling the levers of power in pursuit of enrichment. The common theme: Jew are ‘others’ who do not belong in European society…

“In the West, the danger comes from left-wing opposition and from the street. In the U.K., anti-Semitism is tearing apart the opposition Labour Party… Muslim critics of the Jewish state are also often guilty of extending their criticism to all Jews…

“In the former Communist bloc… [r]ight-wing nationalist politicians propagate anti-Semitism themselves. Many of the region’s governments — led by Hungary — have rehabilitated their wartime criminals and minimized their country’s guilt in the destruction of their Jewish communities.

“Adding fuel to the fire is Israel. Instead of criticizing Europe’s revisionists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cozies up to them, justifying his outreach to leaders in Poland and Hungary as a way to counterbalance the European Union’s more Palestinian-friendly Western states…

“The United States, too, is standing on the wrong side of this ideological battleground. Like the Israeli prime minister, President Trump favors Holocaust-revisionist leaders in the East over longtime democratic allies in the West. At home, he traffics in anti-Semitic stereotypes…”

JTA wrote on March 4:

“Participants in a street celebration in the Belgian city of Aalst paraded giant puppets of Orthodox Jews and a rat atop money bags…

“The group Vismooil’n created the two puppets as their 2019 theme for the Aalst carnival, the local edition of celebrations that take place throughout parts of Europe and Latin America annually in anticipation of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter… They titled the work ‘Shabbat Year.’… One of the puppets is grinning while smoking a cigar and extending a hand, presumably to collect money. That puppet has a white rat on his right shoulder. Both puppets are standing on gold coins and have money bags at their feet. In the background is a round window reminiscent of the architecture of many European synagogues and a small box resembling a mezuzah on its right-hand side…

“In 2013, a different group designed for the Aalst carnival a float resembling a Nazi railway wagon used to transport Jews to death camps. The people who designed the float, known as the FTP Group, marched near the float dressed as Nazi SS officers and… Orthodox Jews. A poster on the wagon showed Flemish Belgian politicians dressed as Nazis and holding canisters labeled as containing Zyklon B, the poison used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews in gas chambers in the Holocaust.”

Something like this is shocking indeed. Carnival organizers had prior knowledge of the float, reviewed and approved it. They subsequently “apologized” for the float after workers had spent hours creating it. But the “mayor of the Belgian city… defended the display, telling the local media that ‘In Aalst it should be allowed,’” according to JTA, dated March 5.

Aish.com added on March 5:

“The Belgian city of Aalst is only a short drive from the gleaming modern towers that house the European Union in central Brussels. But on Sunday, the picturesque town seemed to belong to a previous era, as a grotesque anti-Semitic parade float promenaded through the center of town, looking like something out of the Middle Ages or Nazi times… Anti-Jewish feeling is rising across Europe and beyond. Britain, the United States and Canada have all seen record levels of anti-Jewish attacks in recent years…

“The outrageous float in Aalst isn’t a wakeup call; it’s more like an alarm we’re hearing after hitting the snooze button a hundred times. In too many quarters, it’s become acceptable to make fun of Jews or to express blatant anti-Semitism…”

CNN wrote on March 5:

“…the ‘De Dokwerker’ statue… stands as a permanent reminder of the day Amsterdam came together on February 25, 1941 to protest against the anti-Semitic laws imposed on its Jewish citizens by the Germans. By the end of World War II, about 75% of the Dutch Jewish community had been wiped out.

“At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe, the vandalizing of the… statue last week caused headlines both inside and outside the country… the nature of the vandalism, the green and yellow paint on the statue, and the painting of green swastikas on the street, suggested a blurring of the lines between anti-Semitism, and hatred of the city’s football club, Ajax. Throughout the Netherlands, and much of Europe, Ajax is known as a ‘Jewish club.’ The vandalism… shone a light on the complicated and often uneasy relationship between Ajax, the Jewish community and the anti-Semitism that it often attracts…”

Anti-Semitism is not confined to Europe.

Fox News reported on March 7:

“After several days of infighting and a near-rebellion by rank-and-file Democrats, as well as a major last-minute revision, the House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution that only indirectly condemned Minnesota [Muslim] Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s repeated ‘anti-Semitic’ and ‘pernicious’ comments– without mentioning her by name…

“The final draft of the resolution was expanded Thursday afternoon to condemn virtually all forms of bigotry, including white supremacy, in what Republicans characterized as a cynical ploy to distract from Omar’s remarks…

“‘Today’s resolution vote was a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism,’ [House Republican Conference Chair Liz] Cheney said in a statement…”

Brexit Without a Deal

Axios wrote on March 3:

“Welcome to March! The United Kingdom is due to leave the EU this month. And yet if anything, there’s less clarity than ever about whether and when the U.K. might actually leave, and under what terms it might do so.

“The state of play: British politics is more fractured than ever: 11 MPs have left the Tories and Labour to form The Independent Group, which is not so much a party as a cry for sanity. The opposition Labour party now wants a referendum, perhaps, and the governing Conservative party now is OK with a short delay, perhaps, but neither option seems to command a majority in Parliament.”

The Sun wrote on March 3:

“DOWNING STREET was accused of ‘surrendering to Europe’ after a fresh delay to an announcement on No Deal tariffs. Sources claimed the long-awaited details of proposed import duties for foreign goods had been postponed AGAIN – and would not now come this week…

“The plans could even be delayed until after the PM’s crunch Commons showdown on her Brexit deal – which is likely to come on March 12.”

These attempts to delay the inevitable Brexit will only be “successful” for so long.

Breitbart added on February 4:

“Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox has reportedly abandoned efforts to win serious concessions from the European Union on the unpopular ‘Soft Brexit’ deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May. The charismatic Brexiteer was sent to Brussels to try and win concessions on the controversial ‘backstop’…

“Parliamentarians were concerned that the backstop — which would see the EU effectively annex the British province of Northern Ireland for customs and regulatory purposes while mainland Great Britain would be incorporated into an EU-controlled ‘singles customs territory’ — is not time-limited, and the British government would not be allowed to leave it without the EU’s permission.

“Cox had been seeking a so-called ‘break clause’ which would allow the United Kingdom to walk away from the backstop on its own initiative, or at least a legally-binding agreement that it could not persist indefinitely, but has been stonewalled by the EU’s negotiating team and is instead seeking changes to the ‘arbitration mechanism’ deployed should one side express a desire to end the arrangements. The EU is said to be refusing to countenance Cox’s suggestion that backstop arbitration should be overseen by an ‘independent’ body outside the jurisdiction of its own Court of Justice, however, making it difficult to see how any tweaks to the mechanism currently laid out could be anything but cosmetic.”

The EUObserver wrote on March 6:

“EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart, Stephen Barclay, met in Brussels for a four-hour long dinner on Tuesday together with British attorney general Geoffery Cox. They made no comment afterward in an unusual step, with fewer than 30 days left to a potential no-deal Brexit. An EU official told the Reuters news agency the talks did not go well.”

The Local wrote on March 6:

“All British nationals living in Germany will need to apply for a residence permit from their local Foreigners Authority (Ausländerbehörde), according to new advice from the UK government. And they have to apply for a permit whether the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal…

“As Germany is a federal country, there are different ways that British people can apply for a permit. In Berlin a registration process has been underway since January where people can voluntarily register… In Bonn and Düsseldorf, Brits can apply through an online registration process. Some states have issued letters asking residents to book an appointment with the immigration office, while others are asking British people to fill in a form online… the latest figures for 2018 show there are 117,225 British people [living] in Germany… Berlin is host to the largest British community in Germany…”

EU Without Turkey

Reuters wrote on March 6:

“Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union, said Manfred Weber, the European Peoples Party’s (EPP) lead candidate for the upcoming European elections, adding that he would end accession talks if he becomes European Commission president…

“… ‘if I become Commission president, then I will instruct the offices in Brussels to end the talks with Turkey on accession to the European Union,’ [Weber] said to rapturous applause [by German conservatives in Bavaria]…

“In October, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would consider putting Turkey’s long-stalled bid to join the EU to a referendum, signaling exasperation with a process he says has been waylaid by prejudice against Muslims.”

Turkey Without Freedom of Expression

Deutsche Welle reported on March 6:

“The German government criticized Turkey on Wednesday after the Turkish interior minister threatened to arrest ‘terrorists’ and ‘traitors’ from Germany arriving at Turkish airports… Germany has one of the largest Kurdish diasporas in the world and supporters of the PKK regularly hold rallies in support of Kurdish causes. However, Turkey considers a number of organizations that are legal in Germany as terrorist organizations, including the Gulen movement Ankara blames for orchestrating a failed 2016 coup attempt.

“Over the past several years, ties between Berlin and Ankara have been strained over the arrest of dual nationals, including journalists and human rights activists. Many have been detained on trumped-up terrorism propaganda charges…

“[Foreign Office spokesperson Maria] Adebahr warned Germans to look at the foreign office’s travel warnings and safety information, which clearly ‘point to the risk of arrest,’ especially when there exists any connection ‘to terrorist organizations under Turkish interpretations. Statements that are covered in Germany by freedom of expression can lead to prosecution in Turkey,’  Adebahr warned.

“After Russians, Germans were the second largest tourist group visiting Turkey in 2018.”

USA and EU Without True Partnership

Deutsche Welle reported on March 4:

“The US has put an end to its dispute with the EU over diplomatic protocol…

“The US ambassador to the European Union [Gordon Sondland] said that the US Department of State ‘will again recognize the European Union’s representation in Washington as equivalent to that of a bilateral mission… The EU is a uniquely important organization, and one of America’s most valuable partners in ensuring global security and prosperity,’ Sondland said…

“Despite the soothing in terms of protocol, there remain issues for the EU and US to resolve. EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom is in Washington this week to meet her counterpart Robert Lighthizer for talks on car tariffs. She said ‘there is full support’ from EU member states to respond if the Trump administration imposes tariffs on cars and car parts…”

Trump’s Emergency Declaration Without Majority Support

npr wrote on March 3:

“Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says he’ll vote in favor of a resolution to terminate President Trump’s national emergency declaration with regards to the U.S.-Mexico border. Paul’s support… could force the president to issue his first veto. Paul’s announcement, coming from an-otherwise close ally of the president, lays bare the discomfort many Republicans have had with the emergency declaration…

“On Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled House voted 245-182 to approve the resolution. Only 13 Republicans joined Democrats to end Trump’s emergency declaration. The Senateis expect[ed] to vote later this month on the House resolution. Paul joins three Senate Republicans… who have already said they will vote with Democrats in opposition to the president’s actions. With Republicans holding just 53 Senate seats, those defections mean the resolution will likely pass…

“‘I can’t vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress,’ Paul said. ‘We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it’s a dangerous thing.’

“Trump made the declaration in February to free up billions of dollars in funding for border wall construction, after Congress allocated just a fraction of what he had asked for. Other [Republican] Senators have expressed reservations about the national emergency declaration but haven’t said how they’ll vote… More Republicans may be willing to come out against the emergency declaration now that the balance of votes has already tipped against the president. ‘I support what the president wants to do on border security, but not the way he has been advised to do it,’ [Lamar] Alexander [R-Tenn.] said in a statement last week. ‘There has never been an instance where a president has asked for funding, Congress refused it, and the president then used the National Emergencies Act to justify spending the money anyway.’

“… Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell… told reporters on Tuesday that he expects the Senate will vote before March 18.”

However, if the Senate votes against the emergency declaration and President Trump vetoes the decisions of the House and the Senate, it is not expected that there will be enough votes to override the veto. In addition, note the following article.

The Washington Times wrote on March 5:

“Illegal immigration continues to break records on the southwestern border… The number of families snared trying to sneak into the U.S. soared by 50 percent in one month alone, setting an all-time record with more than 36,000 family members apprehended, Homeland Security officials announced Tuesday. The government has also encountered some 70 groups of at least 100 migrants during the first five months of the fiscal year, shattering records and placing new challenges on Border Patrol agents. The mini-caravans are being funneled to some of the remotest parts of the border, where there is little in the way of medical help and it takes hours to process and transport the groups. That takes agents off the line, and drug smugglers use the distraction to send across their shipments, top border officials said…

“Overall, Border Patrol agents nabbed 66,450 illegal immigrants last month, marking the worst February since 2008. [This is an 80 percent increase over the same time last year]. Of those, 6,825 were unaccompanied alien children — juveniles who arrived at the border without any parent. Another 36,174 were family members — a majority of the total and a record-shattering number… All told, nearly 160,000 unaccompanied alien children and family members have been encountered at the border over the past five months. That is far more than the 120,000 encountered in 2014, when President Obama first called it a crisis…

“Fifty-five migrants a day are being sent to clinics or hospitals for care, and the Border Patrol says it’s on track for 31,000 total this year… Agents have to accompany each of those migrants, taking them away from enforcement duties…”

Fox News added on March 6:

“Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued a dire assessment Wednesday of the migration crisis on the southern border, telling a House committee that illegal immigration is ‘spiraling out of control’ and predicting that crisis will ‘get even worse’ in the coming months… she said Customs and Border Protection is on track to apprehend almost 1 million illegal immigrants at the border this year…”

Russia Without Freedom of Expression

The Guardian wrote on March 6:

“Russia’s parliament has approved a controversial law that allows courts to jail people for online ‘disrespect’ of government or state officials, including the president, Vladimir Putin.The law, which critics say is reminiscent of Soviet-era legislation used to target political dissidents, stipulates fines of up to 100,000 roubles (£1,155) for ‘indecent’ online posts that demonstrate a ‘blatant disrespect for society, the country, Russia’s official state symbols, the constitution, or the authorities’. Repeat offenders can be hit with fines of up to twice this sum, or 15 days behind bars.

“Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of the Moscow-based Sova Centre, which monitors abuse of anti-extremism legislation, said people could face prosecution for online… jokes about parliament. Others expressed concern that the law was so vaguely worded that almost any online criticism of the authorities, including satirical memes, could be construed as ‘disrespect’… Putin is expected to sign the law into force in the coming weeks.

“Parliament also approved separate legislation… that will give the authorities powers to block webpages that publish ‘disrespectful’ material or ‘fake news’…”

School Teaching Homosexuality and Gender Equality Without Students

Daily Mail wrote on March 3:

“An estimated 600 Muslim children have been withdrawn from a school in protest against lessons about homosexuality and gender equality… The children involved in the mass exodus represent about 80 per cent of the school’s entire enrolment… the pupils were pulled out of the classroom, because the school was ‘undermining parental rights and aggressively promoting homosexuality’… One father at the school, whose six-year-old daughter attends the school, said his wife wanted to leave the country rather than let her daughter attend the lessons…

“Some of the parents said Islam did not accept homosexuality, while others said they were not against it, but accused the teacher [who is gay] of promoting ‘personal beliefs’… [He] is in a civil partnership [and he] is currently shortlisted for a ‘world’s best teacher’ award. He resigned from a previous teaching post at another school after a row with Christian parents over lessons challenging homophobia…”

Words fail…

Germans Without Humor

AFP and the Local wrote on March 4:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s anointed successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, faced harsh criticism Monday over a carnival joke that ridiculed intersex people…. Attempting to poke fun at politically progressive Berlin, she said newly introduced toilets for intersex people were ‘for those men who don’t know whether to pee standing up or sitting down’. The comment was greeted with jeers, fanfare and booming laughter in the Lake Constance town of Stockach in southern Germany, but fewer people were laughing when it was shared on the website queer.de and Twitter.

“Another one of those days that make you cringe… is it really that difficult to make a humorous speech without flat jokes beating up on minorities?’ commented lawmaker Jens Brandenburg of the FDP party… The Social Democrats’ general secretary Lars Klingbeil charged that the comment showed ‘an absolute lack of respect’ for intersex people…

“The newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger in Cologne… slammed AKK’s joke as ‘low-brow’, ‘sordid’, ‘populist’ and tapping into society’s ‘culture wars’.

“AKK, a devout Catholic who has spoken out against same-sex marriage, was named ‘Miss Homophobia 2018’ in an online poll conducted by gay and lesbian rights group Enough is Enough.”

The Guardian added on March 4:

“Asked on Monday about the chancellor’s reaction to the comments [by AKK], Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, pointed out that the government had recently strengthened the rights of intersex people by allowing the inclusion of a third gender, ‘diverse’, on birth registers… Alexander Vogt, the chair of the CDU’s gay and lesbian association, told the broadcaster SWR: ‘Of course we are owed an apology…’ Lars Klingbeil, the general secretary of the Social Democrats, a junior coalition partner in Merkel’s government, said: ‘Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer shows what kind of arch-conservative views once again prevail in the [Christian Democratic] Union. Such comments – even during carnival – are utterly disrespectful.’ Sven Lehmann, a Green politician, tweeted: ‘After a period of modernisation through Angela Merkel, I am sorry to see that the leader of CDU … cannot do without cheap gags at the cost of minorities in our society’…

“Kramp-Karrenbauer recently reiterated her belief that the concept of marriage should be tied to the ability to conceive a child, and she refused to modify a 2015 statement in which she linked same-sex marriages to incest and polygamy… The CDU agriculture minister, Julia Klöckner, tweeted in defence of her party leader: ‘We make jokes about men, we make jokes about women. Those who don’t make jokes about the third gender just because it’s the third gender discriminate against it.’”

Most readers of the conservative mass tabloid Bild Online liked the joke. When it comes to “culture war,” it is the homosexual community who starts and engages in that war. And there is nothing “progressive” about it. Let us be clear: practicing homosexuals are living in a state of sin. The same goes for “intersex people” who don’t like the gender with which they are born and who want to change it to the opposite sex. What may the consequences be? A classic example is a young school boy claiming to be a girl so he can be in the girls’ locker rooms, toilets and showers. For more information, please read our free booklet, “God’s Teaching on Sexual Relationships.”

Judges, Gender Clinicians and Pro-Trans Therapists Without Any Sense

Life Site News wrote on March 1:

“A British Columbia judge ruled a father can’t stop doctors giving his troubled 14-year-old daughter testosterone shots against his wishes… [The judge] ruled [that the teen] ‘be referred to as male and identified by his chosen name in all legal proceedings, be allowed to change his legal name without the need for consent from his parents, is “exclusively entitled” to consent to medical treatment for his gender dysphoria,’ the National Post reported.

“Moreover, ‘Any attempt to persuade A.B. to abandon treatment or references to [the teen] as a girl or using female pronouns “shall be considered to be family violence” under the Family Law Act,’ ruled the B.C. judge.”

A totally senseless judgment. Now read the next article.

The Christian Post wrote on March 4:

“Parents… who do not agree with or support their children’s belief that they are the opposite sex risk legal repercussions, including being reported to Child Protective Services…

“The notion that children are at greater risk or will take their own lives if they’re not allowed to alter their bodies to become their ‘authentic’ selves is the most common manipulation technique employed by gender clinicians and pro-trans therapists. They do this, therapists and doctors who oppose transgender ideology say, to put confused children and teens on the pathway to transition and undergo permanent surgical procedures.

“Transgenderism has become so deeply entrenched within certain respected professions that much of the general public now believes that socially and medically transitioning children into these identities is not only completely safe but necessary…

“In February 2018 [a judge in Ohio] ruled that a 17-year-old should be removed from the custody of her parents due to their objections to the controversial hormone treatments for trans-identifying teens…

“Parents… regard what is going on… as a serious medical scandal, especially given that so many doctors are afraid to speak up against medicalizing and performing surgeries on youth based on a scientifically unproven identity and feelings… In addition to the lack of oversight, proponents of gender-transitioning youth as essential health care, have framed those who oppose them as rank bigots…

“Unless people can somehow see through the fog that radical activists have overhauled the professional guidelines and engineered a takeover of the medical field and its public relations apparatus, the general public and parents in doctors’ offices will believe in what the expert associations stipulate with great confidence…

“In December, a … report unpacked the risks and harms of Lupron, a hormone blocker used to treat prostate cancer patients and sex offenders, which is now being given to youth with gender dysphoria…

“Dr. Michelle Cretella is the president of the American College of Pediatricians and is an outspoken critic of transgender medicalization. She has frequently called it institutionalized child abuse. The Southern Poverty Law Center… has labeled the ACP a ‘hate group.’…”

It is those who advocate and support such unconscionable practices for confused children and teens who could be classified as belonging to a hate group… as they are opposing and thereby hating God’s LAW and His Word.

Churches Without Many Parishioners

The Associated Press wrote on March 2:

“[This] has been a wrenching season for three of America’s largest religious denominations, as sex-abuse scandals and a schism over LGBT inclusion fuel anguish and anger within the Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist and United Methodist churches. There’s rising concern that the crises will boost the ranks of young people disillusioned by organized religion…

“For the U.S. Catholic church, the clergy sex-abuse scandal that has unfolded over two decades expanded dramatically in recent months. Many dioceses have become targets of investigations…

“The Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, confronted its own sex-abuse crisis three weeks ago in the form of an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. The newspapers reported that hundreds of Southern Baptist clergy and staff had been accused of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years, including dozens who returned to church duties, while leaving more than 700 victims with little in the way of justice or apologies…

“The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination, ended a pivotal conference Tuesday in a seemingly irreconcilable split over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT clergy. About 53 percent of the delegates voted to maintain bans on those practices and strengthen enforcement, dismaying centrists and liberals who favored LGBT inclusion and now are faced with the choice of leaving the UMC or considering acts of defiance from within… Adam Hamilton, whose Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is the nation’s largest UMC congregation, said the outcome would push youthful pastors and other young adults away. ‘Three out of four of millennials who live in the U.S.support same-sex marriage and do not want to be a part of a church that makes their friends feel like second-class Christians,’ he told the conference.”

These churches and their members do not belong to God’s true Church and the Body of Christ anyway.

A World Without True Knowledge of the Devil

Breitbart wrote on March 4:

“Pope Francis told a group of young people Sunday that the devil is not a fairy tale but truly exists, and that he is their ‘biggest enemy.’ In a meeting with children and young people… the pope said that the devil is ‘the ruler of the pagan spirit’ and ‘the lord of evil,’ while urging them to resist his wiles through prayer and recourse to Jesus… ‘[The devil] is the one who tries to make us slip up in life. He is the one who puts bad desires and bad thoughts in our hearts and leads us to do bad things, many bad things in life, ending with war.’…

“‘The devil is a liar,’ Francis said… ‘You have to tell the devil, “Go away, liar!”’ he told them… ‘When the attack comes, go to Jesus, who never told a lie,’ he said… Francis also told the children that the devil promises happiness, yet never delivers…”

Most do not believe in the devil… at least not in the devil as described in the Bible. But to clarify, a person not being ordained to the ministry of God, should never speak directly to the devil or his demons. Rather, when he or she senses a satanic or demonic attack, he or she should pray to God the Father, asking Him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to rebuke the devil and free him or her from satanic and demonic influence.

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.

Microsoft Workers Protest against their Company’s Warfare Dealing with US Army

The Associated Press wrote on February 22:

“A group of Microsoft workers is demanding the company cancel a contract supplying the U.S. Army with HoloLens headsets… A letter signed by more than 50 Microsoft employees Friday and circulated on an internal messaging board said the technology could help soldiers spot — and kill — adversaries on the battlefield. They say they ‘refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression.’

“‘We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used,’ the letter says. It asks Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith to cancel a $480 million contract the Army announced in November. Microsoft said in a statement Friday that it is committed to working with the military, including the Army under the HoloLens contract…

“The protesting workers write that ‘it will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated “video game,” further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed.’…”

This article shows how far-ranging war technology is going. But thanks be to God, a time WILL come when mankind shall not “learn war anymore…” However, right now, mankind in its God-defying ways is determined to invent and use more and more sophisticated weapons and engage in unrestricted warfare… which will ultimately lead to the brink of human annihilation. Note the following articles.

A Completely New Form of Combat

Newsmax wrote on February 24:

“The Russian company that changed warfare with the AK-47 has unveiled a new smart weapon – an unmanned combat aerial system… The low priced, efficient, and deadly weapon is ‘a step toward a completely new form of combat,’ according to chairman of Russia’s state-owned Rostec arms manufacturer Sergey Chemezov… The drone, also known as the KUB, is ‘roughly the size of a coffee table that can be guided to explode on a target 40 miles away,’ the [Washington] Post reported.

“The low price could make it readily available and be a great equalizer – potentially for terrorists, too – as the target market is ‘smaller armies…”

All-Male Military Draft Unconstitutional

Newsmax wrote on February 24:

“Now that women are eligible for combat roles in the U.S. military, an all-male Selective Service draft is unconstitutional, according to a Texas federal judge… Women had not been permitted to register for Selective Service and men who failed to register at their 18th birthday could be denied benefits such as federal employment and student loans. ‘The average woman could conceivably be better suited physically for some of today’s combat positions than the average man, depending on which skills the position required,’ [the judge] wrote in his ruling…

“The National Coalition For Me brought the case to the court by two men who argued an all-man draft was unfair… ‘Yes, to some extent this is symbolic, but it does have some real-world impact,’ Marc Angelucci, the men’s lawyer, told USA Today. “Either they need to get rid of the draft registration, or they need to require women to do the same thing that men do.’”

The fact that they are even talking about and ruling on the draft is frightening.

Coming… US Military Intervention in Venezuela?

Newsmax reported on February 24:

“On Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned [Venezuela’s President Nicolas] Maduro as ‘the worst of the worst of a tyrant,’ asserting citizens there ‘have made it clear’ the days of his regime ‘are numbered.’… Pressed on whether there will be military force used against Maduro, Pompeo said ‘every option is on the table.’”

The Guardian wrote on February 25:

“US vice-president Mike Pence has repeated a veiled threat of military intervention in Venezuela, but Washington appeared increasingly isolated in its willingness to contemplate using force to oust President Nicolás Maduro. Both European powers and some of Donald Trump’s key Latin American allies– all of whom have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader – warned that they would oppose sending troops into the country…

“In Latin America, there is a painful and bloody history of US interventions, and the terrible fallout from the 2003 invasion of Iraq is another deterrent to the use of military force. An invasion would be complicated and bloody, with a strong chance of sliding into protracted civil war. Venezuela has armed forces that are more than 300,000 strong, thousands more members of pro-government gangs or guerrilla groups, complex terrain – and a government that still has some support from international partners including China and Russia.

“Brazil’s vice-president, retired general Hamilton Mourão, said on Monday that under no circumstances would his country allow the United States to intervene militarily from Brazilian territory… Colombian president Iván Duque, has also now ruled out intervention… Chile and Peru were also among other regional powers opposing military action on Monday.

“There was similar concern across the Atlantic, where European nations including Spain and Germany made clear they considered the deployment of troops a line that should not be crossed… The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, insisted there could be no military solution to a political crisis.”

US War with Iran and Europe Imminent?

Handelsblatt Today wrote on February 22:

“It was at the 2007 Munich Security Conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin first signaled a cooling of Russian-Western relations. Soon thereafter, Russia invaded Georgia; and in the years since, it has annexed Crimea, launched incursions into Eastern Ukraine, and carried out cyber-attacks against Western democracies. Today, Russian-Western relations are in a downward spiral…

“Last week’s three-day conference, which had record-high attendance, will most likely be remembered for years to come. The speeches delivered by US Vice President Mike Pence and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not have been more different, in terms of both style and substance. At a gathering originally designed to facilitate German-American cooperation, Germany and America’s foreign-policy positions have rarely been so far apart.

“For his part, Pence delivered a hardline ‘America first’ message and celebrated the Trump administration’s adamant refusal to accept longstanding rules and international agreements. Europeans, he declared, have no choice but to follow America’s lead… Pence refused to take any questions after his speech. Many of his ‘applause lines’ were met with stony silence.

“Prior to Pence’s appearance, Merkel had delivered a speech that might well go down as one of the best of her career… She delivered a pointed rebuke of ‘America first’ unilateralism. Merkel’s speech received a standing ovation, which is unusual for the Munich Security Conference. She also took questions, which she answered with confidence and a hint of humor, winning herself another standing ovation.

“Like Putin’s aggressive remarks in 2007, Pence and Merkel’s speeches will be remembered for what they augur for the future. Taken together, they confirm that Donald Trump’s presidency has ushered in a period of escalating transatlantic tensions that show no signs of abating…

“If and when Iran restarts its nuclear-weapons program, US-Iranian tensions will almost certainly escalate to the point of crisis… The tensions on trade issues are no less acute. The Trump administration has already designated European steel and aluminum exports a threat to US national security, and now it may be preparing to add European cars to that list. If it does, the transatlantic trade conflict will enter dangerous territory…

“A year from now, many of the same leaders and policymakers will gather in Munich once again. If the worst-case scenario suggested by this year’s gathering comes to pass, we might be heading for open war in the Middle East and a devastating trade war across the Atlantic.”

Sadly, it appears that this “worst-case scenario” will come to pass… but it is not even the WORST-CASE scenario.

Russia Threatens USA with Nuclear War

Reuters wrote on February 25:

“Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes. The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.

“The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a ‘Cuban Missile’-style crisis if the United States wanted one.

“With tensions rising over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near U.S. waters…

“In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russia’s main weekly TV news show ‘Vesti Nedeli’, showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war… Kiselyov is one of the main conduits of state television’s strongly anti-American tone, once saying Moscow could turn the United States into radioactive ash.”

Michael Cohen’s Explosive Testimony

Newsmax wrote on February 27:

“President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen accused him of breaking the law while in office and said for the first time that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails that hurt his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton.

“In a dramatic televised hearing in Congress on Wednesday, Cohen said Trump approved hush payments to cover up extra-marital sexual relationships in violation of campaign finance laws, and signed a personal check for $35,000 in 2017 to reimburse Cohen for at least one of those payments.

“Cohen, 52, was a close aide of Trump for years and his testimony could increase the legal and political pressure on the Republican president, but he did not appear to disclose a ‘smoking gun’ that could sink his former boss. Cohen told a House of Representatives committee he had no direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Moscow during the election campaign…

“Republican lawmakers at the hearing tried to undermine Cohen, portraying him as an irredeemable liar who had benefited from financial crimes he pleaded guilty to last year, and saying the hearing was an opening gambit in a Democratic push to impeach Trump [Cohen had previously lied to Congress as well]… Cohen was mostly calm and contrite under the heated questioning from Republicans, and cautioned them not to make the same mistake he did in protecting Trump…

“Cohen was one of Trump’s closest aides and fiercest defenders, working with him on business and personal deals for a decade. But he turned against him last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations…

“Cohen said he was in Trump’s office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a self-described ‘dirty trickster’ and longtime political adviser to Trump, called the then Republican presidential candidate. Cohen said Stone told Trump he had been speaking with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a dump of emails within a couple of days that would damage Clinton’s campaign… ‘Mr. Cohen’s statement is untrue, ‘Stone said in an email, but did not specify which parts of the statement he meant. Stone was indicted by Mueller on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with others related to WikiLeaks email dumps…”

Axios wrote on February 27:

“Cohen told the committee that Trump is ‘becoming an autocrat,’ adding that The Trump Organization was steeped in a culture of threatening people — sometimes physically — who might pose a threat to Trump. ‘Every day, most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something. And that became the norm. … It’s exactly what’s happening here in government, sir.’”

The Week added on February 27:

“Michael Cohen… testified publicly on Wednesday that Trump has been deeply involved in various crimes and lies to the American public. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings told reporters that based on Cohen’s testimony, ‘it appears that’ Trump committed a crime while in office; Cohen produced a check he says shows Trump broke campaign finance laws while… repaying a hush money sum for Stormy Daniels. Cohen also claimed he knows about more alleged illegal acts involving Trump but can’t talk about them because they’re under investigation… Cohen will testify in a closed-door hearing with the House Intelligence committees on Thursday.”

Here is the bottom line: Democrats tried to use the occasion to find more dirt on Trump; Republicans used the occasion to castigate Democrats and Cohen; but it was all tantamount to a show of utter hypocrisy on all parts, given the well-known fact that politicians lie, from the very top down. Some may do it more than others, and in a more blatant and obvious fashion, and some may be more sneaky and devious than others, but trustworthy is none of them. That is why politics is such a DIRTY business.

Further, Trump will not be impeached, nor will he resign, but he will stay in office. And if there are elections in 2020, he will be reelected.

Cohen Threatened with Murder

The Daily Mail wrote on February 27:

“An heir to the Gambino crime family has issued a stark warning to Michael Cohen, predicting that President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney may face retaliation behind bars over his Congressional testimony… Giovanni, the 43-year-old son of late Sicilian mob boss Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Gambino and cousin to infamous crime boss Carlo Gambino, speculated that Cohen’s withering testimony could have harsh consequences. ‘Inmates love Trump, and hate rats. If he wants to get out alive, he better keep his mouth shut about Trump,’ Giovanni said.”

Cohen had stated that he and his family had received death threats. His concern in this regard is not unfounded. It was Trump who called Cohen a rat. It is truly shameful and appalling that any of this could happen in the US.

Trump and Dictator and Mass Murderer Kim Jong Un Meet

The Week wrote on February 27:

“President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday to discuss denuclearization and other topics, and to sign a joint agreement… This is their second in-person meeting; Trump said ‘we made a lot of progress’ in the first summit after greeting Kim in Vietnam on Tuesday. The two leaders shared a private dinner, and Trump predicted North Korea could prosper if his ‘friend’ Kim agrees to denuclearize.”

President Trump should look out for better “friends.” Further comments by Trump about Kim Jong Un are equally shocking and sad at the same time.

The Guardian wrote on February 27:

“Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have begun their second summit, with the US president calling his North Korean counterpart ‘a great leader’ and offering to help give his country a ‘tremendous future’… [He also said:] ‘It is an honour to be with Chairman Kim…’”

Chairman Kim is a totalitarian mass murderer! How can he be a great leader, and how can it be an honor to have a meal with him?

Trump Believes Kim-Jong-Un

The Guardian wrote on February 28:

“Donald Trump has said he took Kim Jong-un ‘at his word’ when he denied any responsibility in the imprisonment and torture of Otto Warmbier that led to the US student’s death in 2017…  Although Kim wields tremendous power in one of the world’s last totalitarian regimes, Trump said he believed the North Korean leader was not aware of Warmbier’s imprisonment in January 2016 and torture in jail until it was too late…

“Trump’s remarks exculpating the North Korean dictator are likely to draw sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle in Congress, where there is persistent outrage over Warmbier’s treatment…

“Any criticism of Trump’s comments is likely to be heightened by the fact that he invited Warmbier’s family to his State of the Union address in January, and looked up at them in the first lady’s box during his speech. ‘You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires us all,’ Trump said, drawing a standing ovation from Congress. ‘Tonight, we pledge to honour Otto’s memory with total American resolve. After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labour, before returning him to America last June – horribly injured and on the verge of death,’ Trump continued.

“But on Thursday in Hanoi he struck a markedly different tone, saying he did not think Kim ‘would have allowed that to happen’… He suggested instead that the death was because of generally bad jail conditions…

“It could be argued that Trump’s protectiveness of Kim is part of a pattern of giving dictators the benefit of the doubt on abuses. Otherwise loyal congressional Republicans have broken with him over his willingness to believe figures such as Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin, rather than his own advisers and intelligence services.”

But all of this uncalled-for flattery by Trump did not do him any good, as subsequent events show.

Trump-Kim Jong-Un Summit Ends in Predictable Disaster

The Daily Mail wrote on February 28:

“Donald Trump’s talks with Kim Jong-un ended abruptly on Thursday as the president said he was forced to walk away after the North Korean dictator demanded that all sanctions be lifted in return for giving up only some of his nukes. Trump said the final snag that caused the sudden breakdown was over sanctions – and Kim’s push to have all of them lifted in exchange for a concession Trump and his secretary of state could not live with… The president expressed his hope that the two leaders would meet again, but acknowledged: ‘It might be soon, it might not be for a long time. I can’t tell you.’… Trump said that he remains on good terms with Kim and continued to tout the ‘enormous potential’ of North Korea…”

The Week wrote:

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that negotiations would resume quickly, but [North Korea’s foreign minister] Ri said the U.S. had wasted an opportunity that ‘may not come again.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote:

“Much excitement, no progress — a predictable outcome. It was already clear in advance that the outcome of the Hollywood-style meetingbetween US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would not live up to its political symbolic meaning…

“Kim already announced through state propaganda that the US was on the brink of economic collapse, that North Korea had brought Washington to its knees militarily, and that the great leader, Kim Jong Un, would show the whole world the path to lasting peace…”

Trudeau Dismisses Calls for His Resignation

Breitbart wrote on February 28:

“Former Canadian Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould gave a bombshell testimony accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials of ‘veiled threats’ to force her to drop a case for political purposes. Ms Wilson-Raybould gave testimony before the Canadian House of Commons justice committee for several hours on Wednesday, speaking out against members of staff and Prime Minister Trudeau attempting to interfere with an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin corporation, The Globe and Mail reports. Accusations that the prime minister and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) interfered with the SNC-Lavalin investigation first emerged on February 7^th.

“The engineering company, which is based in Quebec, was accused of engaging in bribery in Libya in efforts to secure lucrative contracts in the country. Since the accusations were made public, further allegations have revealed that the corporation may also have gone as far as paying for prostitutes for Saadi Gadhafi, son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, during a visit to Canada in 2008. Receipts claim that the company spent as much as $30,000 on prostitutes for Gadhafi while he was allegedly in Montreal and Toronto at the invitation of the company to learn English. Initially, after the first Globe and Mail report on the SNC-Lavalin affair, the accusations were dismissed by Trudeau and the PMO…

‘The scandal has rocked the Canadian political scene and has led to calls from Conservative opposition lead Andrew Scheer for the prime minister to resign from office… Prime Minister Trudeau, meanwhile, rejected calls for his resignation saying that voters would get to decide their next prime minister at the upcoming national elections in October.”

More Turmoil on the Temple Mount

AFP wrote on February 24:

“Israeli police said Sunday they arrested a top Palestinian Muslim official in Jerusalem after scuffles at a flashpoint holy site in the city in the past few days. The arrest drew condemnation from Jordan, the custodian of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, in the disputed city.

“Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Abdel Azeem Salhab had been arrested for violating an order preventing entry into a prohibited area of the holy site. Salhab is the head of the council of the Waqf in Jerusalem, the religious authority that governs the site…

“The arrests follow the detention of 60 others overnight Thursday to Friday as police said they were responding to calls for unrest at the holy site surrounding Friday prayers there… The site is the third-holiest in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood. It is also the location of Judaism’s most holy spot — Jews refer to it as the Temple Mount — and a frequent scene of conflict between the two sides… The religious site is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.”

The Temple Mount is the hot bed for turmoil. The Bible shows that it will get much worse when the Jews begin to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount and offer animal sacrifices there. For proof which completely contradicts those who deny the FACT that a Third Temple WILL BE BUILT, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People.” Also note the next article.

The Third Temple Will Be Built Soon

Express wrote on February 26:

“The Third Temple of Jerusalem is a prophetic sign of the approaching apocalypse, doomsday preachers have warned, as rumours circulate the Jewish house of worship is about to be rebuilt…

“Earlier in 2018, the Jewish council of the Sanhedrin committed an offering, or dedication, to the sacrificial altar of the Third Temple. The event, which occurred one day after Hannukkah on December 11, sparked concerns biblical prophecy has begun to unfold.

“According to Christian evangelist and preacher Paul Begley, the secrets of the ancient Jewish temple are now being revealed to the world. In an online sermon dubbed The Coming Apocalypse, the firebrand preacher said ancient balsam trees used to make the biblical Balm of Gilead have returned to Israel. The miraculous balsam trees were used to create the sacred balm and aromatic incense in the Jerusalem temples of old… Pastor Begley said: ‘But why is this happening? Well, the Third Temple is about to be built.’

“The first Holy Temple of Jerusalem was raised from the ground on the city’s ancient Temple Mount centuries ago. Solomon’s Temple was completely destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in the 587BC siege of Jerusalem. The Second Jerusalem Temple was reconstructed in the sixth century BCE until its destruction by the Romans in response to a Jewish revolt. Today, scores of conspiracy theorists believe the temple’s reconstruction will signal the arrival of the end times.

“In particular, doomsday prophet Irvin Baxter of the End Time Ministries believes the Third Temple will reappear… The End Time Ministries explained: ‘In Matthew 24:15, Jesus described an event known as the Abomination of Desolation. The Abomination of Desolation is when the Antichrist stands in the temple claiming to be God…’

“Many believe the ‘holy place’ Jesus spoke of is the Jewish Third Temple in Jerusalem. The Third Temple is also mentioned in the Bible’s book of Daniel 9:27, where scripture speaks of the Antichrist entering the temple during a period of tribulation.

“Dr David R Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries explained: ‘The Apostle Paul mentions it when he declares that the “man of lawlessness” will profane the temple by entering it and declaring himself to be God – 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The Third Temple is also mentioned in the book of Revelation when John is told to measure it… Revelation 11:1-2… This is the temple from which Jesus will reign over all the earth. It is described in detail in Ezekiel 40-46.’”

It is amazing to us that in spite of the overwhelming biblical evidence to the contrary, some self-appointed “prophets” still refuse to believe that a literal third temple will be built prior to Christ’s return. Rather, they teach that the biblical reference to the temple is strictly to the Church of God. Even though the Church is most certainly described as a spiritual temple, many passages, like the ones quoted above, CLEARLY refer to a literal temple. It would be ludicrous to suggest otherwise. Such stubborn denial can only be described as self-righteous willfulness.

Netanyahu to Be Indicted

Axios reported on February 28:

“Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Thursday his decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in one case of bribery and two cases of fraud and breach of trust. All indictments are pending a hearing… The announcement comes after more than two years of investigations and less than two months before Israel’s highly anticipated April 9 elections.

“In case 4000 — which involves Netanyahu’s relationship with Israel’s leading telecommunications tycoon — the indictment is for bribery. In case 2000 — Netanyahu’s alleged deal with a newspaper publisher for favorable coverage — the indictment is for fraud and breach of trust. In case 1000 — involving Netanyahu allegedly taking $200,000 from businessmen in return for promoting their interests — the indictment is for fraud and breach of trust.

“Israeli police in December recommended Mandelblit indict Netanyahu and his wife for bribery due to their relationship with Israel’s leading telecommunications tycoon. This was the third time in the last year police had recommended Netanyahu be indicted for bribery.”

nbc wrote:

“Netanyahu called the prosecution’s announcement ‘outrageous’ and an ‘unprecedented witch hunt’ carried out by his liberal opponents.”

This wording sounds very familiar.

India-Pakistan Military Conflict… with Israel in the Middle

The Algemeiner wrote on February 28:

“On Tuesday, the Indian Air Force had crossed the de facto border between the Indian and Pakistani-held areas of Kashmir for the first time since 1971. The IAF fired multiple missiles utilizing Israeli-made Spice-2000 guidance kits…

“Tensions between India and Pakistan have been on the rise since a suicide bombing on February 14 hit an Indian paramilitary convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 Indian soldiers… Manufactured by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Spice-2000 kits turn air-droppable unguided warheads into precision-guided weapons…

“India accounted for 49 percent of Israeli arms export between 2013 and 2017, making Israel the third-largest supplier to India, according to a 2017 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In 2017 alone, $2 billion worth of missile system deals were signed between state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and India, making up nearly 22 percent of Israel’s overall $9.2 billion in arms exports sales that year.”

Agora Financial added on February 27:

“Trivia-obsessed U.S. media are… overlooking the real possibility nuclear war could break out… ‘It is almost unprecedented for two nuclear-armed countries to carry out air strikes into each other’s territories,’ reports the BBC’s correspondent in Delhi… and yet that’s what’s happened in recent days…

“India’s conventional forces would overwhelm Pakistan’s in the event of all-out war. Pakistan’s only means of effectively fighting back would be tactical nukes…[a decade ago it was estimated that] an Indo-Pak nuclear exchange would kill 2 million immediately and 100 million in ensuing weeks. India’s and Pakistan’s major water sources would be contaminated. Clouds of radioactive dust would blow around the globe…

“A more recent estimate… pegs the numbers at 20 million dead in the first week and 2 billion from the resulting global famine.”

The Bible warns of wars and rumors of wars. However, it does not indicate a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Europe Moves to the Extreme Right

The Associated Press wrote on February 24:

“The May 23-26 European Parliament vote could prove to be a tipping point in post-war European politics. Some traditional political powerhouses might start to crumble, allowing extremist, populist parties to gain more clout and throw a new wrench into the EU’s political machinery…

“Since the last EU election in 2014, Britain has voted to leave the EU and Italy and Austria have government coalitions that include the far right. Over a dozen EU nations have fragile minority governments and Poland has turned as hostile toward Brussels as Hungary. ‘After the fall of London, Rome, Warsaw, Budapest, or Vienna into the hands of anti-European and/or xenophobic forces, we no longer speak of the “enemy at the gate” but of the “enemy inside the gates,”‘ wrote Jose Ignacio Torreblanca for the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“And all this comes at a time when the European Parliament now has more powers… the parliament is now an effective decision-maker with a real say on everything from Brexit to anti-pollution regulations…

“The influential VoteWatch Europe think tank said ‘right-wing nationalists are set to gain, although they are likely to fall short of getting over 25 percent of seats.’ But it said a united group of right-wing nationalists could become the second largest group in the legislature.”

German Rearmament Necessary

Project Syndicate wrote on February 22:

“Postwar Germany abandoned military-based power politics… Germans on both the left and the right became pacifists… But this… came to an end with the election of Trump… Germans are currently engaged in an intense debate over defense spending…

“Needless to say, Germany’s rearmament on its own would raise many questions and historical concerns. Rearmament with and for Europe and NATO, however, would be a completely different matter. One way or another, Europe must grow stronger. It is in everyone’s interest that Germany be productively engaged in that process.”

Brexit Divorce Bill

The Telegraph wrote on February 25:

“The [British] Government is making plans to pay billions of euros to Brussels to settle large parts of the £39bn Brexit divorce bill even in the event of a ‘no deal’, the Telegraph can reveal. Ministers signed off the in-principle decision on Monday at a meeting of the Brexit ‘no deal’ preparedness cabinet committee, according to senior Whitehall sources.

“Under a plan agreed on Monday, the Government will table an executive order, or Statutory Instrument, in the final days of the Brexit negotiations to create the legal foundations for future payments to Brussels. The move flies in the face of expectations of leading Brexiteers that a ‘no deal’ Brexit will save the country from paying the £39 billion EU…”

More Time?

Newsmax wrote on February 27:

“Prime Minister Theresa May won a two week reprieve on Wednesday from British lawmakers, who postponed a threatened rebellion aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit after she agreed to a possible delay to Britain’s departure from the EU…

“But it now means British citizens and businesses will not learn how, or possibly even whether, they are to leave the European Union until the final weeks or even days before the deadline.”

The EUObserver added on February 27:

“French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ruled out delaying Brexit beyond 29 March, unless London comes up with ‘clear objectives’ for the extension. ‘As [EU chief negotiator] Michel Barnier said, we don’t need time, we need decisions,’ he said after meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel, who hit a more conciliatory tone. ‘If Britain needs some more time, we won’t refuse but we are striving for an orderly solution,’ Merkel said.”

China’s Totalitarian Government

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote on February 23:

“Chinese government censors are reading Australian publishers’ books and, in some cases, refusing to allow them to be printed in China if they fail to comply with a long list of restrictions. Publishing industry figures have confirmed that the censors from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China are vetting books sent by Australian publishers to Chinese printing presses, even though they are written by Australian authors and intended for Australian readers.

“Any mention of a list of political dissidents, protests or political figures in China, including president Xi Jinping, is entirely prohibited… Printing books, particularly those with colour illustrations, is significantly cheaper in China… Sandy Grant, of publisher Hardie Grant, said he had scrapped a proposed children’s atlas last year because the censors ruled out a map. Chinese authorities are extremely sensitive about maps, and any map appearing in a book must fit with the Communist Party view of the world. ‘I think this book might have said Tibet on one map,’ Mr Grant told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald…

“Most major religions are also on the ‘sensitive’ list…”

The important fact to take away from this is that those books were not even meant for the Chinese market. But this shows us how repressive the government must be towards their own citizens.

Discrimination in the UK against Able White Heterosexual Males

Daily Mail wrote on February 22:

“The son of a police chief who tried to join his father’s force was rejected for being ‘a white, heterosexual male without disability’. Matthew Furlong, 25, had applied for his ‘dream job’ as a constable with Cheshire Police, where his father, Liam, 52, is a detective inspector. He performed well in tests and at interview but the force was so desperate for more recruits from ethnic minorities or who were gay or transgender that it refused to hire him.

“Mr Furlong, who has a degree in particle physics from Lancaster University, lodged a discrimination claim against Cheshire Police under equality legislation, and won. It is believed to be the first successful case of its kind.

“In a ruling last week a judge criticised the force for treating candidates with ‘protected characteristics’ – including those who were gay, transgender, disabled, black or from other ethnic minorities – more favourably than Mr Furlong, who was ‘a white, heterosexual male without disability’…

“The case came as the leader of Britain’s police chiefs called yesterday for radical laws to allow police to positively discriminate in favour of ethnic minority candidates.”

We are told not to discriminate as it is against the law but the police want to discriminate against qualified candidates. Will this kind of nonsense ever stop? But then, read the next appalling article.

Stupid and Dangerous “Political Correctness” in France

news au reported on February 19:

“A change to a law in France will see schools unable to refer to a child’s parents as their ‘mother’ or ‘father’ on school documents, instead the titles will be replaced with ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’. The amendment was passed in parliament as part of the country’s Schools of Trust law and aims to reduce the discrimination faced by same-sex parents…

“French President Emmanuel Macron’s Republique en Marche party backed the change, with MP Valérie Petit saying this amendment of the wider law recognises ‘children’s family diversity in administrative forms’… Supporters of the change claim that using gender-neutral language on school documents relating to parents is a natural step after the country legalised gay marriage six years ago, The Telegraph reported…

“A number of conservative MPs denounced the change, calling the amendment ‘frightening’ and claiming it disrespected heterosexual parents. ‘When I hear people say this is an old-fashioned model, I would remind people that today among unions celebrated, civil or marital, some 95 per cent are man-woman couples,’ MP Xavier Breton said…

“The amendment is part of a wider law that also makes school attendance mandatory for all three year olds.”

…so that “three year olds” can be indoctrinated even further with this kind of appalling liberal God-defying nonsense. All of this reflects a picture of absolutely dangerous stupidity.

No More Requirement to Hold Sunday Services

msn wrote on February 22:

“The Church of England has… lifted a 400-year-old rule requiring that all churches hold services every Sunday. Canon law dating from 1603 required priests to hold morning and evening prayers and a communion service each Sunday in every church they oversaw. But after decades of declining attendance, many priests are now responsible for multiple churches, especially in rural areas. Until now, they have needed permission from a bishop not to hold Sunday services in each church.”

Good change for the wrong reasons. Sunday worship is not authorized by the Bible, while conducting and attending weekly and annual Sabbath services are commanded.

Catholic Church and Italian Government in Collaboration with Covering Up Sexual Abuse of Children

The New York Times wrote on February 22:

“This month, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child gave Italy a failing grade on protecting minors from sexual exploitation. In particular, the committee expressed concern ‘about the numerous cases of children having been sexually abused by religious personnel of the Catholic Church’ and the ‘low number of investigations and criminal prosecutions’ of those crimes. And while other countries have taken a hard look at the problem of clerical abuse, Italy has approached it with something closer to a media blackout.

“Experts consider Italy’s response to be one of the worst among Western nations, comparable to that of some African and Asian churches in which denial about clerical sex abuse is still rampant… In Italian, ‘there is no corresponding word for accountability,’ said the Rev. Hans Zollner, one of the Vatican’s top experts in safeguarding minors and an organizer of this week’s meeting…

“Survivors accuse the government and the judiciary, which has been slow to investigate clerical abuse cases, of silence on the issue… Italian politiciansvie to stay on the good side of the Vatican…

“Some analysts who say Pope Francis has been slow to respond to the abuse crisis point to the fact that he is surrounded by Italian advisers in an essentially Italian bureaucracy, in the heart of Italy. ‘That is part of the Vatican bubble in which Pope Francis operates,’ said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University. ‘The Vatican is an economic and political power in Italy, it hushes everything up,’ said Marco Lodi Rizzini, the spokesman for a group of Provolo Institute alumni.”

Even in the face of such widespread abuse, Italian politicians, the judiciary and the people turn a blind eye to reality! The Catholic Church remains dominant and powerful, and its collaboration with the Italian government is interesting, as it reflects the situation which existed under Mussolini and the Vatican.

Pope Talks the Talk… Somewhat

AFP wrote on February 24:

“Pope Francis on Sunday compared the sexual abuse of children to human sacrifice as he addressed the Catholic Church’s top bishops at the end of a landmark summit to tackle paedophilia… Francis said those priests who prey on children are ‘tools of Satan’.”

The Huffington Post added on February 24:

“The crimes won’t be covered up ‘as was usual in the past,’ [the pope] promised… The statement comes just after German Cardinal Reinhard Marx admitted on Saturday that documents that could have named abusers ‘were destroyed, or not even created’ while victims’ rights ‘were effectively trampled underfoot’…

“Opening the summit last Thursday, which the pope called after botching a sex abuse case last year in Chile that was known to have been a coverup, he told the nearly 200 leaders present it was time for action… ‘The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established,’ Francis said.”

Bild Online reported that many observers felt his speech was a complete fiasco, as he did not set forth any concrete measures as to what to do with pedophiles. Note the next articles.

Abused Victims Disappointed… Pope Keeps Covering Up… No Concrete Measures Announced

The Associated Press reported on February 24:

“Pope Francis closed out his extraordinary summit on preventing clergy sex abuse by vowing Sunday to confront abusers with ‘the wrath of God’ felt by the faithful… But his failure to offer a concrete action plan to hold bishops accountable when they failed to protect their flocks from predators disappointed survivors, who had expected more from the first-ever global Catholic summit of its kind…”

The Guardian wrote on February 22:

“Activists for survivors of clerical sexual abuse have reacted furiously after Pope Francis failed to promise a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to paedophile priests and the bishops who cover up their crimes as he closed a landmark summit at the Vatican… a significant part of the pontiff’s closing speech focused on the prevalence of child abuse across society… he said that the majority of cases arose within families and that the perpetrators of abuse were ‘primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child brides and teachers’…

“While the pope acknowledged that the occurrence of the sexual abuse of children within the Catholic church was even more ‘scandalous’… his speech failed to reflect the concrete action that survivors of sex abuse were hoping for.

“Anne Barrett Doyle, the co-founder of Bishop Accountability, which tracks clergy sex abuse cases, described the speech as ‘recycled rhetoric’. ‘I am utterly stunned,’ she told the Guardian. ‘The pope has undone the tiny bit of progress that possibly was achieved this week. He was defensive, rationalising that abuse happens in all sectors of society. Ironically and sadly, he exhibited no responsibility, no accountability and no transparency.’…

“Peter Isley, spokesperson for Ending Clergy Abuse… criticised the pope’s speech… ‘A child will be harmed today due to what the pope didn’t say today,’ he said. ‘What he’s actually saying to all bishops is to “keep on covering it up”… The problem is his internal conflict – does he protect the priests within his family or the victims of abuse?’”

There are far too many influential and powerful homosexuals and pedophiles in the Catholic priesthood. The pope will not change that, even if he wanted to. Note the next article.

More Horrors to Come

The Guardian wrote on February 25:

“Pope Francis must have hoped that last week’s unprecedented summit in Rome of senior bishops and church figures from around the world would mark a turning point for his papacy on sexual abuse. The world would see that the Vatican was finally getting a grip on the issue that has caused such grave damage to the church for the past 20 years.

“Such hopes have been dealt a devastating blow by the news that Cardinal George Pell, until recently the third most senior figure at the Vatican, is facing a prison term for the sexual abuse of minors in the 1990s. The Australian’s conviction on criminal charges will have powerful reverberations throughout the global church. It propels the toxic issue of the ‘abominations’ of children – Francis’s own word – directly into the heart of the papacy, where until December the disgraced cardinal had a seat as an influential member of C9, the inner circle of pontifical advisers.

“It is likely to herald further haemorrhaging from the pews of Roman Catholic churches by disillusioned and despairing parishioners in the west. And it sends a potent message to the church’s elite that no one is too important or too powerful to escape justice; some will be quaking in fear under their cassocks as Pell is led away to prison.

“Pell’s downfall comes just days after another high-profile figure was defrocked by the pope after a Vatican hearing found him guilty of sexually abusing minors. Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, was removed from the priesthood after years of swirling rumours about his predatory behaviour with trainee priests. Francis was accused of failing to investigate or take action until a man went public last summer.

“In France, a verdict is expected next week in the trial of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, who is accused with five others of helping to cover up alleged sexual abuse. Last month, the Vatican announced that Gustavo Zanchetta, a former Argentinian bishop who was appointed to a senior position at the Holy See in 2017, was under preliminary investigation over alleged sexual abuse claims.

“Last June, Francis accepted the resignation of three Chilean bishops over their handling of abuse cases, including one he had robustly defended a few months earlier. In July, Philip Wilson stepped down as archbishop of Adelaide after he was convicted of concealing child abuse, although he was subsequently acquitted on appeal. In August, a damning grand jury report laid bare the scale of sexual abuse and its cover-up in Pennsylvania.

“After a disastrous papal visit to Ireland, a once staunchly Catholic country where the legacy of sexual abuse has decimated some congregations, an investigation in Germany found that more than 1,600 clergy were implicated in the abuse of 3,677 children over a 60-year period; it was ‘probably only the tip of the iceberg’. More than half the senior clerics in the Netherlands were accused of covering up sexual abuse, and thus allowing the perpetrators to commit more crimes, between 1945 and 2010.

“In the UK, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse heard graphic testimony from former pupils at Catholic schools. In December, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior cleric in England and Wales, denied under cross-examination that he had covered up abuse; this month, it emerged that the pope’s representative in Britain had failed to respond [to] the inquiry’s demands for information.

“Observers point out that the scandals uncovered so far focus on the sexual abuse of minors in western countries. There has been little detail heard thus far on the ‘sexual slavery’ – again, the pope’s words – and abuse suffered by nuns and sisters in religious orders; and few accounts of abuse and exploitation by clerics in the global south, where the Catholic church has enjoyed exponential growth. That is all to come, they say.

“It is hard to see how Pope Francis can avoid the blowback from such a global disaster, and particularly from Pell’s downfall, despite his repeated talk of shame, remorse, zero tolerance and ‘never again’. He has identified ‘clerical culture’, or excessive deference to the clergy, as a major problem. Changing a culture so dominant at all levels of the church is essential but extremely difficult. And, as ever, Francis will face powerful resistance from those with most to lose.”

Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Widespread Sexual Abuse Within Catholic Church… Could It Ever Be Stopped?”

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.

Munich Security Conference 2019: Europe vs. USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 16:

“NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg grew increasingly exasperated as he batted away different versions of the same question: Do you really still think that Trump believes in NATO? ‘Every time I speak to President Trump he tells me that he likes NATO!’ he told one reporter, to a flutter of incredulous laughter. ‘And not only that he likes NATO, but that he’s 100 percent in favor of it!’

“In her remarkably fired-up speech on Saturday too, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuked the spirit of Trumpism… ‘Who can pick up the pieces of the world’s puzzle? Only all of us together,’ she concluded, to a rush of audible excitement in the room, half of which stood up to applaud…

“US Vice President Mike Pence… on Saturday condemned European allies (in particular Germany, France and Britain) for adhering to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after Washington pulled the plug on the accord… Pence evoked a visit he made to Auschwitz the previous day to say anti-Semitism voiced by the Iranian leadership should be taken at its word. ‘The Iranian regime openly advocates another Holocaust,’ he said… ‘The time has come for our European partners to stop undermining US sanctions against this murderous revolutionary regime.’…

“Pence… received modest applause for his Iran comments… In an apparent dig at Germany, the vice president praised European allies who had taken a stand against the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline. ‘We commend others to do the same,’ said Pence… while the scheme is backed by Germany and France, it is opposed by the Baltic states and Poland. The US has said it fears that Europe could become dependent on Russian gas, while Washington also wants to sell shale gas to its allies. [‘We cannot strengthen the West by becoming dependent on the East,’ Pence said, according to Reuters.] However, Angela Merkel has dismissed US concerns, saying Europe is keen to have both Russia and the US as key energy suppliers… “

Rift Wide Open at Munich Security Talks

AFP added on February 16:

“The United States and European powers voiced sharply differing views on issues from Mideast security to trade Saturday, laying bare a deep trans-Atlantic rift in the era of President Donald Trump.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders… voiced dismay at a range of Trump decisions deemed hostile to America’s NATO allies. In one awkward moment Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence said he was bringing greetings from Trump, only to be met with stony silencefrom a room full of national leaders, ministers and generals.

“… Especially Trump’s announcement he would soon pull American troops out of Syria has left allies scratching their heads about how to prevent further chaos and instability there.

“French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian — whose country contributes about 1,200 troops in the region — asked why the US would create a power vacuum that could benefit its declared enemy Iran, calling it a ‘mystery’…

“… there was spirited pushback from Merkel, the veteran leader who has sometimes been dubbed the leader of the free world, and who has spoken out more strongly in her final term as chancellor due to end in 2021. On Syria… she openly challenged the wisdom of the looming US troop withdrawal… On the trade dispute, she insisted that in Germany ‘we are proud of our cars’ and explained that the biggest plant of luxury brand BMW was not in Bavaria but in South Carolina, from where it exports vehicles to China…”

Angela Merkel’s Masterful Munich Moment…

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 17:

“The German chancellor spoke freely, without a script — a rare occurrence. She talked about a world order that is in danger of decline and destruction. A world order that in its current form may not exist for much longer. In one bold speech she traveled around the globe, from Russia to China to the United States and then back to Germany and Europe. Trade, security, the environment: No political sphere was left out…

“Her words came as a relief to the audience, particularly when contrasted with the speech from United States Vice President Mike Pence… Pence plugged along with his message, at times sounding like he was carrying out an order.

“The contrast between these two speeches clearly illustrated just how strained the trans-Atlantic relationship is at the moment. But while Merkel rocked the conference hall and triggered a worldwide wave of support on social media, her domestic critics groaned. Regional leaders of her own conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) started a petty discussion about whether they should let Merkel campaign for them in upcoming state elections in eastern Germany. The chancellor’s popularity east of the Elbe River is so low at the moment it could actually hurt the CDU’s election chances…

“Vilified at home, celebrated abroad. This is a problem Merkel shares with many of Germany’s post-war chancellors: The benefit of global respect and attention goes hand in hand with a decline in authority when it comes to domestic politics. Be it Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt or Helmut Kohl — they all lost the backing of their party colleagues, some were even forced out of office by their own people, all while their reputation was growing on the international stage.

“Merkel has already stepped aside as leader of the CDU… So who is going to pick up the pieces from our shattered world order?… The chancellor may not be leading the way much longer…”

The fear is that someone will replace Merkel who might be much more radical and fanatic.

US-European Relations at Worst Level Ever

The Times wrote on February 19:

“President Trump has threatened to reignite a transatlantic trade war by imposing hefty tariffs on European car imports. ‘I like punitive tariffs’, he said ahead of a US Commerce Department report this week which is expected to recommend that the EU vehicle industry be classified as a threat to US national security because it robs the country of an industrial base needed to produce military hardware.

“Mr Trump is expected to raise tariffs tenfold from 2.5 per cent to 25 per cent within the next three months. Relations between the US and Europe have now slumped to their worst level since the start of the Iraq war as Brussels vowed to retaliate with ‘swift and adequate’ measures of its own.”

EU Commission Head Jean-Claude Juncker claims that Trump had promised him that he would not raise tariffs on European cars. It was not revealed when this alleged promise had been made.

Trump and Kurz—Not the Best of Friends

The EUObserver wrote on February 21:

“The current rift in transatlantic relations seems to be deepening by the day. The visit of the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, to the White House on Wednesday (20 February) – the first such summit in 13 years – only underlined this even further. And this is despite the fact that Trump and Kurz share a common conservative agenda and a number of foreign policy goals… But it seems that it was more the issues that divide Europe and the US which dominated Wednesday’s talks at the White House…

“‘Trump has very strong opinions, he is very direct, and not always very diplomatic, especially with regard to topics that are important to him such as trade between the US and the EU,’ Kurz said in an interview with the Austrian television ORF, immediately following his meeting at the White House. ‘We argued against this and therefore the discussions were very controversial,’ he added…

“When asked about the possibly of tariffs to be imposed on European cars, Kurz said that ‘he (Trump) is using this as a threat and he is trying to exert pressure, even if he continues to mention that the talks are ongoing’… Kurz added in his ORF interview that Trump was adamantly opposed to Germany’s plan to build a new gas pipeline with Russia called Nord Stream 2, involving Austrian energy firm OMV. ‘We in Austria are supporting this project because we have an interest in securing our gas supply’, the chancellor said…

“Trump’s request for Austria to increase its military spending also did not go down well… ‘We are taking our own decisions when it comes to how we spend our budget,’ Kurz said.

“But while new avenues of transatlantic cooperation are badly needed, it seems that Trump and Kurz did not become best friends despite their many shared opinions.”

Releasing 800 ISIS Fighters?

Politico wrote on February 17:

“U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to release 800 ISIS fighters captured in Syria unless European allies agree to accept them and put them on trial. ‘The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial,’ Trump wrote. ‘The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them.’

“Trump’s threat, characteristically in a tweet, drew confusion and some outrage from European officials and security experts gathered Sunday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.

“Trump has previously unnerved allies by announcing a unilateral pullout of U.S. forces in Syria and in recent days Trump allies, including Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Lindsey Graham, have said during the Munich conference that the president expected European forces to take over for the withdrawing American troops.  Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell was among the European officials to quickly say they have no intention of meeting Trump’s demand for additional troops…

“Trump’s demand regarding the 800 fighters complicates an already tense debate about what European countries should do regarding combatants who have been captured fighting for the Islamic State, some of whom are European citizens.”

The EU’s Proposed Copyright Laws Would End Freedom of Expression

Light Stalking wrote on February 14:

“The EU’s new copyright laws are entering the final phases before being approved by the EU Parliament… these new directives have drawn a lot of criticism from Internet users – and even some massive corporations… The most controversial aspect of the new law, Article 13, would require a lot of web services to start monitoring what people upload to their platforms. Basically, it’s going to involve filters and, in some cases, human monitoring as well. Huge companies like Facebook and Instagram are going to need to start investing in technology to prevent so-called copyright infringement by their users, or face fines themselves. This is the crux of the controversy because it… could absolutely upend business models like YouTube.

“Another aspect of the copyright law, Article 11, means that publishers can charge people who link to and quote their articles online… Though it isn’t the law of the land yet, the basic language is final and now it begins its process through the EU’s legislative process.”

This dangerous law would clearly be another Satanic attack with the goal to prevent the publication of the meaningful and powerful warning message which the Church of God is commissioned to proclaim in these last days. Note the next article as well.

Incredible Arrogance of EU Commission

Boing Boing wrote on February 18:

“The EU Commission has been forced to retract a Medium post in which it patronised and dismissed opponents of the controversial Article 13 proposal that will force platforms to surveil and censor users’ postings with copyright filters, calling them a ‘mob.’… The Copyright Directive… is coming up for a vote this spring, just before EU elections; the Commission has, it seems, chosen a side in that vote and is attempting to sideline and marginalise EU voters who might put pressure on their elected representatives.

“The Commission’s piece has been removed… and replaced with a message that blames readers for not understanding it correctly.

“This patronising dismissal marks a new phase in the effort to force the Directive through… Parliament; it supercedes an earlier tactic of characterising opponents of the Directive as ‘bots’… The tactic is backfiring. This weekend, thousands marched against the Directive in Cologne, carrying signs that mocked the ‘mob’ and ‘bot’ characterisations. More events are planned for March across the EU, ahead of the final vote. This vote will come weeks before the EU elections, and parties will be extremely sensitive to pressure from voters. Indeed, in Germany — the key EU nation whose support or opposition will make or break the Directive — the trending hashtag #NieMehrCDU (never again Christian Democratic Union, a reference to Germany’s leading political party) has spooked politicians.

“What is even more bewildering is that the Commission is not sorry for what was written. The article was removed not because it was incorrect, but because the public apparently doesn’t have the capacity to understand it. Evidently, a simple update and clarification wouldn’t have been understood either, hence the deletion of the entire piece.”

Most EU Governments Without Concern for their Citizens

The EUObserver wrote on February 20:

“The majority of EU governments Wednesday endorsed a draft reform of copyright rules which would force Google, Facebook, and other platforms to pay publishers for news fragments and filter out copyright-protected content [Of course, it does a lot more than that, as the previous articles show]. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Poland refused to back the deal, which they said damages the interests of citizens and companies. The final vote in the European Parliament is expected next month or in April.”

Anti-Semitism in Austria

Reuters wrote on February 20:

“A group representing Austrian Holocaust survivors voiced outrage on Wednesday over staffing shortages in a government department dealing with Nazi-related crimes, calling on Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to take action. Kurz, a conservative governing in coalition with a far-right party founded by ex-Nazis, has repeatedly denounced anti-Semitism and the Holocaust since taking office just over a year ago. His government has pledged to offer citizenship to the descendants of Austrians who fled the country under Nazi rule.

“But a department at the main domestic intelligence agency that handles reports of Nazi-related crimes is understaffed to the point of having a large backlog, according to the Mauthausen Committee, which represents survivors of Austria’s biggest Nazi-era concentration camp. ‘The government – and in particular the chancellor – stresses at every opportunity that everything is being done to fight neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism effectively,’ the committee said in a statement. ‘In fact the Nazism-reporting department is being denied the necessary staff, to the point that it has a backlog of hundreds of pieces of evidence and some far-right crimes are falling under statutes of limitations,’ it said, adding that it mainly gets no reply when it passes on information to the department.

“The far-right Freedom Party controls much of Austria’s security apparatus including the Interior Ministry, to which the main domestic intelligence agency belongs. ‘Chancellor Kurz is responsible for ensuring that Interior Minister (Herbert) Kickl no longer hinders the fight against neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism. One can only hope that there is no political intent behind this hindrance,’ the committee said.

“In Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, it is a crime to deny the Holocaust or give the Hitler salute. As in several other European countries, cases of anti-Semitism appear to be on the rise. The leader of Austria’s main Jewish organisation also says the far-right Freedom Party that is in power has failed to tackle anti-Semitism within its ranks, even after scandals involving party officials. Israel refuses to deal directly with Freedom Party ministers even though the party says it has turned its back on its Nazi past…”

Brexit–“No Deal Inevitable”

Express wrote on February 22:

“CHIEF Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker tonight declared he was tired of Brexit and suggested Britain is on course to leave without a deal. Cabinet ministers spent hours locked in talks with Brussels negotiators as they raced against the clock to find a way to break the deadlock before March 29. But Mr Juncker, who met Theresa May on Wednesday, said he was ‘not very optimistic’ that an agreement will be reached by exit day. And Government sources admitted an agreement is unlikely to have been struck by next week’s crucial Brexit vote…

“Mr Juncker said he had ‘Brexit fatigue’ and was still ‘recovering’ from his talks with the Prime Minister. ‘Brexit is deconstruction, it is not construction. Brexit is the past, it is not the future,’ the European Commission president said. ‘If a no-deal would happen – and I can’t exclude this – this would have terrible economic and social consequences, both in Britain and on the continent, and so my efforts orient in a way that the worst can be avoided. But I am not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.’”

Pope Francis Accuses Accusers

Reuters reported on February 20:

“Pope Francis says that those who are constantly attacking the church are linked to the devil… [He said that those who] spend their lives ‘accusing’ the church are either the devil’s friends or relatives. Francis spoke on the eve of a Vatican summit on clergy sex abuse and cover-ups by the church’s hierarchy. Detractors, including a former Vatican ambassador to the United States, have accused him of not properly dealing with top prelates and priests who were suspected abusers…

“…Many Catholic church leaders around the world continue to protect the church’s reputation by denying that priests rape children and by discrediting victims, and the pope himself admits to having made similar mistakes.”

However, during his afore-mentioned speech, Pope Francis seemed to belittle the huge amount of sexual abuse cases and cover-ups in his church by commenting that “we are all sinners.”

Trump Tax Cuts—Not that Great!

The Los Angeles Times wrote on February 16:

“President Donald Trump again indicated this week that he might be open to revisiting the new limit on state and local tax deductions that hits many middle-income residents hard in California and other high-tax, Democratic states. Even so, don’t count on any changes soon to the Republican tax law that went into effect last year.

“Legislative and political realities mean the $10,000 cap is unlikely to be scrapped or increased until after the 2020 elections at the earliest…

“There have been stories about angry taxpayers, many of whom find that they may owe money to the IRS or that their refunds are smaller than expected because of the various changes, including the elimination of personal exemptions and other deductions, and new withholding tables put in place last year.”

These misrepresentations of huge tax cuts for many Americans are bad enough. Now read the next article.

Individual Mandate Still in Force for 2019 Tax Returns

Some might be surprised to learn that if they did not have health insurance in 2018, they are still subject to the stiff penalty of the individual mandate. Even though it has been proclaimed time and again by President Trump and Republican lawmakers that the “terrible” individual mandate of Obamacare was revoked, the truth is, and it was never explained as to why, that it has NOT been revoked effective as of 2018. There is no rationale as to why it would have to drag on until 2019.

Very Well Health wrote on July 23, 2018:

“Is There Still an Obamacare Penalty for Being Uninsured in 2018?

“Yes, the ACA’s [Affordable Care Act] individual mandate penalty is still in effect, and will continue to be in effect in 2018. If you’re uninsured in 2018 and not eligible for an exemption, you’ll owe a penalty when you file your taxes in early 2019. But after that, the penalty will not be assessed.

“Republican lawmakers passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and President Trump signed it into law in December 2017. Although the tax bill leaves the rest of the ACA intact, it repeals the individual mandate penalty, as of 2019 (other provisions of the tax bill take effect in 2018, but the individual mandate repeal is delayed by a year.”

How Laws Are Made in the USA

Newsmax wrote on February 15:

“Sen. Rand Paul… tweeted his disagreement with the 1,159-page bill Thursday evening, which passed in both houses of Congress.

“‘I’m disappointed with both the massive, bloated, secretive bill that just passed… He added, ‘I, too, want stronger border security, including a wall in some areas. But how we do things matter. Over 1,000 pages dropped in the middle of the night and extraconstitutional executive actions are wrong, no matter which party does them.'”

All of this is shameful indeed.

16 States Sue Trump

The Associated Press wrote on February 18:

“A group of 16 states filed suit in federal court in California to stop President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border… Joining California and New York are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia. All have Democratic governors but one — Maryland, whose attorney general is a Democrat — and most have legislatures controlled by Democrats…

“The suit seeks a preliminary injunction against Trump’s play to move federal funding to pay for the wall. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.”

All the 16 states have Democratic attorney generals.

Trump Hits Back

The Guardian wrote on February 19:

“One week after Donald Trump called California’s high-speed rail project a ‘green’ disaster’, the US Department of Transportation announced plans to cancel $929m in federal grant funds that were yet to be paid toward the $77bn endeavor. The department also ‘is actively exploring every legal option to seek the return from California of $2.5bn in federal funds FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) previously granted,’ according to the statement released Tuesday… Trump sent out a tweet asking for the return of ‘three and a half billion dollars’…

“The federal government’s moves are the latest point of friction between the Trump administration and California’s state government. The transportation department’s announcement came one day after California led a coalition of 16 states to sue the Trump administration over the president’s decision to declare a national emergency for border wall funding. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, ‘The failed Fast Train project in California, where the cost overruns are becoming world record setting, is hundreds of times more expensive than the desperately needed Wall!’…”

Unparalleled National Debt… but Nobody Cares

Agora Financial wrote on February 15:

“Not that anyone cares, but as of yesterday the national debt exceeds $22 trillion. ‘The Treasury Department reported the debt hit $22.012 trillion,’ says USA Today, ‘a jump of more than $30 billion in just this month.’… But as we said, no one cares about the national debt. We know this because White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says so. As we noted last week… a few hours before the State of the Union address, someone asked him whether there’d be any mention of the national debt. His reply? ‘Nobody cares.’

“Quite the turnabout from when Donald Trump said he’d eliminate the national debt ‘over a period of eight years.’ That was during an interview with The Washington Post in April 2016 — when the national debt was still ‘only’ $19.22 trillion. By the time of his inauguration the total was $19.95 trillion. So the national debt has grown 10.3% over his first two years… now he’s got only six years left to fulfill his promise.”

Trump’s Political Move to Decriminalize Homosexuality Abroad

NBC News wrote on February 19:

“The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay…

“U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

“… the campaign was conceived partly in response to the recent reported execution by hanging of a young gay man in Iran, the Trump administration’s top geopolitical foe… Reframing the conversation on Iran around a human rights issue that enjoys broad support in Europe could help the United States and Europe reach a point of agreement on Iran…

“Yet by using gay rights as a cudgel against Iran, the Trump administration risks exposing close U.S. allies who are also vulnerable on the issue and creating a new tension point with the one region where Trump has managed to strengthen U.S. ties: the Arab world. In Saudi Arabia, whose monarchy Trump has staunchly defended in the face of human rights allegations, homosexuality can be punishable by death…

“The push to end laws that outlaw homosexuality abroad also stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s mixed record on gay rights at home… since he took office, his administration has scaled back some workplace protections for gay people… He has also announced a ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military…”

Arrested U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant a Domestic Terrorist?

The Week wrote on February 20:

“Federal prosecutors say that a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant arrested last week on drug and gun charges wanted to ‘murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.’ … investigators discovered 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in his Maryland home, court documents say. Prosecutors allege that [the Coast Guard] was a ‘domestic terrorist,’ who held extremist views and read ‘neo-fascist and neo-Nazi literature’ online… [He] allegedly compiled a list of ‘political leaders, media leaders, cultural leaders, and industry leaders’ he wanted to target, including… several MSNBC and CNN journalists.”

Fox News added on February 20:

“A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant arrested last week on weapons and drug charges is a white nationalist… [He] regularly read a manifesto written by a Norwegian far-right extremist who killed 77 people in a pair of 2011 terror attacks, and stockpiled weapons and ammunition… [He] drafted an email to ‘friends’ in which he said he was ‘dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth. I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something.’

“In the same email, [he] mused: ‘Start with biological attacks followed by attack [sic] on food supply … Two pronged [sic] attack seems it might be more successful. Institute a bombing/sniper campaign.’”

And such an insane and mentally ill person works for the Coast Guard! What is this country coming to?

China and Russia—“Together We Can Rule the World”

Politico wrote on February 17:

“Seen from Moscow, there is no resistance left to a new alliance led by China. And now that Washington has imposed tariffs on Chinese exports, Russia hopes China will finally understand that its problem is Washington, not Moscow. In the past, the possibility of an alliance between the two countries had been hampered by China’s reluctance to jeopardize its relations with the U.S. But now that it has already become a target, perhaps it will grow bolder…

“The thing to remember is that both countries are obsessed with overturning the American-led global order… Imagine an international crisis in which Russia and China suddenly emerge as a single bloc… Washington would feel under attack; Europe, intimidated and unsettled… It would be an entirely new world, and it’s one that is coming closer to becoming reality…”

China and Russia will form an alliance which will ultimately be hostile towards Europe.

Drone Swarms and Robots Fighting Wars

The Washington Post wrote on February 11:

“Swarms of small attack drones that confuse and overwhelm anti-aircraft defenses could soon become an important part of the modern military arsenal, Britain’s defense secretary said, something that would mark a major evolution in robot-enabled warfare…

“The technology to enable synchronized drone swarms is here, and military leaders are starting to embrace the idea of building it into their operations…

“The U.S. military has been exploring different iterations and uses of the drone swarm concept for more than a decade… It envisions tiny, disposable aircraft that are meant to be deployed in large numbers to ‘seed’ areas with small electronic sensors, something that could allow military surveillance of dense jungle areas without sending a human pilot into enemy territory. An experimental program… is looking for a way to launch small, jet-powered drones out of the belly of a C-130 cargo plane and recover them later, effectively turning the plane into a flying aircraft carrier… employing drone swarms would mean figuring out how a single human could command masses of robots and still have a degree of control over them…

“Kingston Reif, director for disarmament and threat control policy at the Arms Control Association, said he is worried that drone swarms could increase the risk of a nuclear first strike if they were used to upset missile defenses. There is also a possibility that they could be used to deliver chemical or biological weapons…”

Politico wrote on February 12:

“The killer robots are coming, and it won’t be the United Nations that’ll stop them… an effort to ban ‘lethal autonomous weapons systems; under the U.N.’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons seems set to fall apart… The effort — which would have outlawed killer robots alongside blinding lasers and the use of napalm against civilians — has been unable to overcome resistance from military powers such as Russia, the United States, South Korea, Israel and Australia… a ban… would require a consensus of all the signatories of the treaty… few expect… a binding decision…

“A failure of the talks would mean there will be no barriers to countries wishing to develop autonomous systems that can decide on their own when and whom to kill… The use of similarly self-acting weapons could soon multiply, as artificial intelligence technology gallops ahead. Arms manufacturers have already begun developing autonomous systems that can be deployed in areas where adversaries seek to jam communications between the robots and their human controllers…

“If communication breaks down, will the weapons be allowed to strike targets on their own without human approval? If an enemy shoots at them, will they be allowed to fire back? If the system launches an attack against civilians, who will be responsible for that decision?…”

A Third Temple on the Temple Mount

Breaking Israel News reported on February 14:

“When most people think of the Temple Mount they consider one building; the golden Dome of the Rock built by the Muslims in the Seventh Century. The Temple Mount Compound is actually quite large… most of it either empty or covered in trees planted in the last few decades. Though Israeli and international law mandates allowing equality of religions and universal prayer at the site, the Israeli police cite security concerns for restricting the right to pray only to Muslims.

“In a rare display of Islamic pluralism, a 2017 article in The Muslim Times noted that there is certainly room at the site to create a worship space, even a Third Temple, for the Jews. The editor, Dr. Zia Shah, suggested a multi-story structure to maximize the space…”

The Bible CLEARLY reveals that a Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, prior to Christ’s return. While the Church of God might not have always understood this point clearly in the past, it has grown in God’s knowledge and proclaims now with dogmatic certainty that such a Temple will be built. Incredibly, there are still some who claim to be Christians who deny this fact.

Israel Closes Golden Gate Site at Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on February 19:

“The Palestinian Authority on Monday warned that Israel was ‘playing with fire’ after clashes erupted at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem over the closure of the Golden Gate site – also known as the Gate of Mercy – to Muslim worshipers. The PA also accused Israel of ‘waging war on Islam’ and called on the intervention of the international community… Palestinians claim that Israel is planning to turn the area into a prayer site for Jews. The site, which once housed the offices of the Islamic Heritage Committee, was closed by the Jerusalem Police in 2003 after it was revealed that the committee was involved in political activities. In 2017, a court issued an order to keep the site closed until further notice.

“Last week, Muslim worshipers entered the premises and prayed there, prompting the police to lock the gate with chains… Mahmoud Habbash, religious affairs adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned what he called the ‘occupation’s criminal measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque and at its gates, especially the closure of Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy) and the eviction of worshipers by force and under the threat of weapons.’… The Palestinians, he added, will defend the ‘precious and blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.’…

“Jordan, meanwhile, protested to Israel over the closure of the site and said it constitutes a ‘flagrant violation of the historical and legal status quo and Israel’s obligation under the international law and humanitarian law.’”

When the Jews begin to build the prophesied Third Temple and to bring animal sacrifices, it will really set the Middle East on fire.

The Animal World Is Being Decimated

The Week wrote on February 17:

“As the human population has swelled to 7.5 billion, our species’ massive footprint on planet Earth has had a devastating impact on mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and marine life. We’ve driven thousands of species to the edge of extinction through habitat loss, overhunting and overfishing, the introduction of invasive species into new ecosystems, toxic pollution, and climate change. In the past 40 years, the number of wild animals has plunged 50 percent, a 2014 study found. And the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that populations of vertebrates – higher animals with spinal columns – have fallen by an average of 60 percent since 1970. The past 20 years have brought a 90 percent plunge in the number of monarch butterflies in America, a loss of 900 million, and an 87 percent loss of rusty-patched bumblebees. Only 3 percent of the original populations of the heavily fished Pacific bluefin tuna remain in the sea…

“Earth is home to between nine million and as many as one trillion species – and only a fraction have been discovered. Vertebrate species have, however, been closely studied, and at least 338 have gone extinct, with the number rising to 617 when one includes those species ‘extinct in the wild’ and ‘possibly extinct.’ Recent vertebrate extinctions in the wild include the northern white rhino, which lost its last male member in 2018, and Spix’s macaw, a blue parrot native to Brazil…

“There are 26,500 species threatened with extinction… That includes 40 percent of amphibian species, 33 percent of reef-building corals, 25 percent of mammals, and 14 percent of birds. There are now only 7,000 cheetahs left, and the number of African lions is down 43 percent since 1993. Only about 100 Amur leopards – often poached for their beautiful coats – are left in the wild in southeastern Russia and China. A third of insect species are endangered…

“Many scientists now believe humans are living through a ‘mass extinction,’ or an epoch during which at least 75 percent of all species vanish from the planet… the last one occurred about 66 million years ago, when the aftermath of a massive asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs…

“99 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth are gone… More than half of the vertebrate extinctions since 1500 have occurred since 1900… The loss of species can have catastrophic effects on the food chain on which humanity depends. Ocean reefs, which sustain more than 25 percent of marine life, have declined by 50 percent already – and could be lost altogether by 2050. This is almost certainly contributing to the decline of global marine life, down – on average – by 50 percent since 1970… Insects pollinate crops humans eat…”

These facts bring to mind haunting prophecies in the books of Hosea and Revelation about the extinction of most animal life on this planet.  

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

The World in Crisis

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 11:

“The world is in crisis — and the US is only making things worse. That’s the bold verdict of the Munich Security Report (MSR)…

“President Donald Trump’s administration… is showing little interest in holding to international agreements… Even worse: Under Trump, the US appears ready to relinquish its role as a leading power in what is often still called the ‘free world’…

“The rivalry between the US and Russia… remains mired in accusations and counteraccusations about arms… ‘The European Union is particularly ill-prepared for a new era of great power competition,’ the MSR declares… [2019] is going to be a fateful year for the European Union… it [is] important that [it is shown to the] non-European participants that the EU is ready to fight for its interests by asserting itself…

“Brexit proceedings will continue to inflict wounds on both sides of the Channel for years to come…

“Can Germany’s leaders save the liberal order?  Can the European Union play a role, or is it too weak?… a new survey… found that only 42 percent of French people, as opposed to 59 percent of Germans, believe their country should remain neutral in international questions. Similarly, far more German than French people reject military interventions (65 percent to 50 percent)… The current crisis of the trans-Atlantic partnership is a bigger challenge for Germany than for France…”

Even though polls differ widely as to how many Germans are in favor of military interventions of their country, the Bible shows that parts of continental Europe, under German and perhaps Austrian leadership, will emerge as a very powerful political, economic and military bloc, which WILL become engaged in military actions.

Sebastian Kurz… the New European Leader?

The American Interest wrote on February 8:

 “For years it has been an open question who will be the informal ‘leader of Europe.’ Over the last few years, it has been assumed that only Angela Merkel or Emanuel Macron could be serious contenders for the job—only natural given that Germany and France are the biggest countries within the European Union.

“But the European project is in crisis once again. Angela Merkel is out, and the clout of her younger successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) has yet to be proven. Meanwhile, Macron’s support has dried up and Paris is burning… The weakness of both Macron and Merkel, of both France and Germany, opens the door to another player on the European chessboard: the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

“At first glance it seems controversial to claim that the Prime Minister of a country with less than nine million inhabitants can become the key European leader. But Kurz has proved he has more vision than any of his peers, and that he understands better than anyone how politics on the European level is going to work going forward.

“On the key question of migration, Kurz was already positioning himself as a guy who can get things done while media mandarins from the West were celebrating Angela Merkel for her ‘bravery’ in doing nothing…

“Whereas the euro crisis was mainly a north-south affair, the migrant crisis revealed a new east-west rift in Europe. The rift manifested itself most vividly in the founding of the so-called Visegard Group of countries—the coming together of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia—who all favored a drastically different approach to migration… all of these states were part of the Warsaw Pact, dominated by Moscow…

“Austria is not a formal member of this grouping, but it is highly respected among them… All members of the Visegrad Group were either part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or have kept historically close relations with Vienna. Before World War I, Austria was the dominant Western power in the Balkans… during the Cold War, Austria, due to its neutrality, maintained special relations with all these states…

“Fredrick the Great once said that the most important precondition for any good foreign policy is a good domestic policy, since ‘no one will be respected by others if he is weak at home.’ Kurz probably knows that dictum.”

Even though Kurz might very well play an important role in the future, as pertaining to the unification process of Europe, his present policies do not reflect the kind of concepts which would have to be expected from THE coming European leader.

Sweden Suspends Schengen Agreement

Express wrote on February 11:

“Sweden has passed plans to scrap the EU’s Schengen rules and extend border checks for another three months over fears of public safety… Sweden first brought in the checks in autumn 2015 after hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in the country after travelling through Europe. Interior minister Mikael Damberg hit out at the EU and what he saw as failures of the Schengen agreement, which grants free movement between participating countries across Europe.

“When announcing the measures on Thursday, he said: ‘Sweden is one of a handful of countries that continue to have internal border controls due to lack of border controls at the Schengen’s external borders’… In a statement, the government said: ‘The decision is based on the government’s assessment that there is a threat to public order and internal security in Sweden.’”

Sweden might end up outside the emerging core European power bloc, to be consisting of ten nations or groups of nations. Britain will most certainly not be part of it. Note the next article.

Another Brexit Defeat for May

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 14:

“Lawmakers in Westminster have voted against the government’s motion to send the PM back to the EU for final negotiations… Now that the motion has failed,  May will have almost zero credibility left to continue talks with the EU… May lost support from both the hard-Leave and hard-Remain factions of her own party, leading to the motion failing…

“Across the English Channel, Germany’s Justice Minister, the half-German half-British Katarina Barley, told DW that it seemed to her like May ‘is only trying to gain time and put more pressure on the other member states. And that is a strategy that will not work out.’ Barley also criticized British MPs who are resisting the backstop measure to avoid at all costs a hard Irish border…”

The Controversy regarding the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“Germany alone will decide whether to enforce EU law on its new gas pipeline with Russia, after France caved in during last-minute talks on the issue…

“Leaving Germany the option whether to impose the EU laws on Nord Stream 2 might see Gazprom keep its monopoly…

“Opponents of Nord Stream 2 include most eastern EU countries, the Nordic states, and the UK… Nord Stream 2 is to concentrate 70 percent of Russian gas sales to the EU in Germany. Its opponents, including the US, say Russia has a track record of using gas-cut offs to ‘blackmail’ its neighbours. They also say it might embolden Russian aggression in east Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014…

“EU leaders recently agreed to aim for ‘strategic autonomy’ in foreign policy and military terms, amid Franco-German plans for joint EU armed forces.  The US has threatened to impose sanctions on Anglo-Dutch, Austrian, French, and German energy firms who co-financed Nord Stream 2. It has also posted troops as part of a Nato battalion to Poland to deter Russian aggression in wider Europe.”

The EUObserver added on February 13:

“Germany will need to make sure that EU rules are being followed by Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline currently under construction, it was decided in negotiations between EU institutions on Tuesday evening… If Gazprom does not adhere to all EU rules and Germany decides to ignore it, the commission can start an infringement procedure. However, this legal route would mean that it can take a long time before the commission could make Germany reverse course.”

Once again and in the face of tremendous opposing pressure, Germany has still emerged as the leader of Europe.

Disconnecting the Internet in Russia?

ZDNet wrote on February 11:

“Russian authorities and major internet providers are planning to disconnect the country from the internet as part of a planned experiment… The reason for the experiment is to gather insight and provide feedback and modifications to a proposed law introduced in the Russian Parliament in December 2018. A first draft of the law mandated that Russian internet providers should ensure the independence of the Russian internet space (Runet) in the case of foreign aggression to disconnect the country from the rest of the internet. In addition, Russian telecom firms would also have to install ‘technical means’ to re-route all Russian internet traffic to exchange points approved or managed by Roskomnazor, Russia’s telecom watchdog. Roskomnazor will inspect the traffic to block prohibited content and make sure traffic between Russian users stays inside the country…

“A date for the test has not been revealed, but it’s supposed to take place before April 1, the deadline for submitting amendments to the law–known as the Digital Economy National Program… The proposed law, fully endorsed by President Putin, is expected to pass. Ongoing discussions are in regards to finding the proper technical methods to disconnect Russia from the internet with minimal downtime to consumers and government agencies… The end goal is for Russian authorities to implement a web traffic filtering system like China’s Great Firewall, but also have a fully working country-wide intranet in case the country needs to disconnect.”

BBC added on February 11:

“It’s important to understand a little about how the internet works. It is essentially a series of thousands of digital networks along which information travels. These networks are connected by router points – and they are notoriously the weakest link in the chain. What Russia wants to do is to bring those router points that handle data entering or exiting the country within its borders and under its control– so that it can then pull up the drawbridge, as it were, to external traffic…– or if it decides to censor what outside information people can access.

“China’s firewall is probably the world’s best known censorship tool and it has become a sophisticated operation. It also polices its router points, using filters and blocks on keywords and certain websites and redirecting web traffic so that computers cannot connect to sites the state does not wish Chinese citizens to see.”

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“Ostensibly the goal of the legislation is to protect the Russian internet from the US… However, many observers think the creation of a Russian intranet is a further step towards a goal of duplicating the Great Firewall of China to restrict the access of the country’s internet users to content deemed harmful by the authorities.

“Russia has already moved to block webpages run by opposition figures… Russia has tried, so far with extremely limited success, to block Telegram, a popular encrypted messaging service, but its use continues to be widespread, including among some senior Russian government officials…”

In other words, Russia’s “big brother” approach wants to have total supervision and control over the communication of their citizens and it wants to be able, at the same time, to prevent any communication of Russian citizens with anyone outside Russia. This reveals an unrestricted totalitarian system, which should wake up everybody who still may be in doubt about the real motives of Vladimir Putin. The same goes for dictatorial China. Ultimately, Satan is behind this, as this would be a means of preventing the preaching of the gospel in those countries.

Deal Reached to Avoid Shutdown

The Washington Post wrote on February 11:

“Key lawmakers said late Monday they had reached a tentative agreement over immigration rules and funding for border barriers…

“The framework would provide $1.375 billion for barriers along the border, including 55 miles of new fencing, with certain restrictions on the location… Trump called for using $5.7 billion in taxpayer money to construct more than 200 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border…”

NBC wrote on February 12:

“President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is ‘extremely unhappy’ with the bipartisan deal… but he vowed to build a border wall anyway…”

Newsmax wrote on February 13:

“President Donald Trump [is] expected to grudgingly accept [the] agreement that would keep the government open but provide just a fraction of the money he’s been demanding for his Mexican border wall…

“Trump has a history of suddenly balking at deals after signaling he would sign them… Trump and his aides have also signaled that he is preparing to use executive action to try to secure additional funding for the wall by shifting federal dollars [including from disaster relief funds] without congressional sign-off.

“Accepting the deal… would be a disappointment for a president who has repeatedly insisted he needs $5.7 billion for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and painted the project as paramount for national security. Trump turned down a similar deal in December, forcing the 35-day partial shutdown that left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and Republicans reeling… Democrats are also pressing to try to make sure employees of federal contractors receive back pay for wages lost during the last shutdown…

“… the proposal was met with fury by some on the right, including Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, a close friend of the president, who slammed it as a ‘garbage compromise.’”

In addition, extreme right-wing anti-immigration proponents like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Lou Dobbs also voiced their sharp disagreement with the deal. In the past, President Trump listened to them and rejected a similar deal in 2018 (of $1.6 billion for 65 miles of fencing), even though he had said earlier that he would sign it. However, it is felt that if he were to refuse to sign THIS deal, his veto would be overruled by Congress. Subsequently, Trump announced that he would sign the deal… but for a price. Note the next articles.

Trump to Declare National Emergency

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 14:

“White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Senator Mitch McConnell have said President Trump will declare a national emergency at the border with Mexico. He will also support a funding bill to avert another shutdown… Such a declaration will likely lead to a court battle between the government and lawmakers over the president’s ability to redirect money Congress committed to other uses.

“Under the National Emergencies Act, the president can declare a national emergency [and] then be granted power by other laws to declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, expand the military, seize property and restrict trade, communications and financial transactions.

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would support Trump’s emergency declaration. That is a turnabout for the Republican leader who, like Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans, had until now opposed such a declaration…

“Reaction to Trump’s intention to declare a national emergency has been swift… ‘Declaring a national emergency would be a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall,’ [Speaker of the House Nancy] Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.”

The Guardian added on February 14:

“Lawmakers of both parties have raised concerns about Trump declaring a state of emergency… Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said Trump’s use of a state of emergency is of ‘dubious constitutionality’ and will face challenges in court. ‘We have a crisis at our southern border, but no crisis justifies violating the Constitution,’ said Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida. He warned that Trump was setting a precedent: ‘A future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal.’…

“Pelosi told reporters that she would consider a legal challenge to the declaration – something that most observers say is inevitable and would likely result in a victory. ‘You want to talk about a national emergency – let’s talk about today,’ Pelosi said, noting that it was the first anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives. ‘That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr President.'”

It appears certain that a declaration of a national emergency will be immediately challenged in court and, as a first step, it will be stayed. Most legal experts feel that President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to declare a national emergency and to redirect funds. One of those experts is Judge Andrew Napolitano who already stated in early January that President Trump does not have such authority. He reiterated his opinion again on February 14, as reported by Fox News.

Fox Business News wrote on January 7, 2019:

“President Trump is looking for ways to get his wall on the southern border built, but Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said he does not have the authority to declare a national emergency and use the resources to build the wall. ‘The Supreme Court has made it very clear – even in times of emergency – the president of the United States of America cannot spend money unless it’s been authorized by the Congress,’ Napolitano told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Monday…

“In 1950, President Harry Truman proclaimed a state of emergency during the Korean War to nationalize the steel industry, but the Supreme Court struck it down. ‘When there was a steel strike during the Korean War he asked the Congress to seize the steel mills and operate them against the striker’s wishes and produce steel for our troops who desperately needed [it] in the Korean War,’ said Napolitano. ‘The Supreme Court said no, you can’t do that. Congress can do it. Congress can pay for the steel mills and operate them but the president can’t do it on his own.’”

U.S. Government’s Public Debt Higher than Ever

npr wrote on February 13:

“The U.S. government’s public debt is now more than $22 trillion — the highest it has ever been. The Treasury Department data comes as tax revenue has fallen and federal spending continues to rise. The new debt level reflects a rise of more than $2 trillion from the day President Trump took office in 2017… the U.S. is projected to rack up annual deficits and incur national debt at rates not seen since the 1940s, according to the Congressional Budget Office…

“Annual deficits and the national debt rose to new heights under the Obama administration, and the trend has continued under President Trump… The national debt nearly doubled under Obama: It was $10.6 trillion when he took office and was nearly $20 trillion when he left…”

Trump’s Approval Rating Highest since 2017

The New York Post wrote on February 11:

“President Trump’s approval rating has reached 52 percent… his highest level since shortly after his inauguration in 2017… Trump’s approval rating was at 55 percent just days after he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2017…

“His marks have been on the rise since his State of the Union address last Tuesday and in the wake of the 35-day partial government shutdown over border security and his demand for $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall.”

Trump’s Foreign Policy Has Arrived

The National Interest wrote on February 9:

“Donald Trump is moving to assert control over foreign affairs. The most prominent members of his original foreign policy team—Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, James N. Mattis and Nikki Haley—are gone…

“During his first two years, Trump took several steps that appealed to his base—abandoning the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, imposing trade tariffs and demanding that NATO allies contribute more financially—but he did not fundamentally reorient American foreign policy. In recent months, with his declarations that he wishes to withdraw American troops from Syria as well as Afghanistan, Trump has signaled that he is returning to the precepts that he enunciated in 2016…

“Does Trump… mark the end of an era?… In his hostility to the European Union—he referred to it in July as a ‘foe’—Trump has made it plain that he wants to deal with states on an individual basis when it comes to trade matters, which is why he has urged Britain, among other things, to fulfill Brexit and conclude a separate deal with America…

“In assessing Trump, for example, Antony J. Blinken and Robert Kagan in the Washington Post offered a predictable peroration: “‘If the United States abdicates its leading role in shaping international rules and institutions—and mobilizing others to defend them—then one of two things will happen: Some other power or powers will step in and move the world in ways that advance their interests and values, not ours. Or… the world will descend into chaos and conflict, and the jungle will overtake us, as it did in the 1930s…”

The Terrible State of Affairs in Venezuela

Express wrote on February 13:

“MILLIONS of Venezuelans are starving, while their streets are ridden with disease and rubbish piles line the streets…

“Since 2013 [Nicholas] Maduro has oppressed political dissidents, eroded the country’s constitution, and been accused of election fixing, to solidify his grip on power. Under his rule, life in the South American country has become a living nightmare with annual inflation at 1.7million percent…

“Nearly 90 percent of Venezuelans now live in poverty… The brutal tyranny of the left-wing regime has caused many to fear speaking out against Maduro’s rule since he came to power… A chronic shortage of medicines means measles and Diphtheria are spreading throughout the country. Meanwhile… 73 Venezuelans died a violent death every day in 2017.

Following the re-election of Maduro as president in a corrupt election last year, the leader of the country’s national assembly, Juan Guaido, claimed the constitution gave him the legal authority of president until new elections could be held. His claim to power has been supported by the UK, US and many other national leaders, giving hope the Maduro regime could soon collapse.”

The Independent wrote on February 13:

“Beleaguered Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro has accused the Trump administration of warmongering and has claimed the White House is controlled by the Ku Klux Klan… Maduro insisted he would not give in to what he said was a foreign attempt to back a coup…

“Russia, China, Turkey and Mexico continue to recognise Mr Maduro as president, as does, crucially, the Venezuelan military. Mr Maduro has been criticised for moving to block humanitarian aid from the US that many in his country would welcome…”

Will Hawaii Ban Smoking Altogether?

BBC News wrote on February 5:

“In a new bill, proposed by Democrat Richard Creagan, the smoking age [in Hawaii] would increase rapidly between 2020 and 2024. It will need to pass through the state legislature and weather a potentially strong backlash from tobacco companies in order to become state law…

“Dr Creagan, who was an emergency room physician before he was elected as state representative in 2014, calls the cigarette ‘the deadliest artefact in human history’ in the bill. In January 2017, Hawaii became the first US state to raise its smoking age to 21. In other US states the legal age is usually 18 or 19. The new bill, HB 1509, suggests that the smoking age should go up to 30 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, and 60 in 2023 – until finally, in 2024, people would need to be 100 years old to buy cigarettes.

“He told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that a ‘ridiculously bad industry’ had designed the cigarette to be ‘highly addictive, knowing that it is highly lethal’… E-cigarettes and cigars are left out of the bill because Dr Creagan believes they are significantly safer for smokers than regular cigarettes – although the National Cancer Institute warns that ‘all tobacco products are harmful and cause cancer’…

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US say that cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable disease and death in the country. About half a million people in the US die every year from smoking-related conditions.”

Everybody knows or should know that smoking cigarettes is causing cancer and premature death. But due to the powerful and dishonest tobacco industry, it is still allowed and promoted, thereby causing the DEATH of many gullible, careless and deeply selfish people, but also of innocent victims, due to second-hand smoke.

Now… Revocation of Medical Exemptions in California?

Even though the following article is somewhat dated, its relevance and actuality is still, sadly and shockingly, far too real and exemplifies the ungodly and very dangerous proposals of left-wing politicians. US News and World Report wrote on October 29, 2018:

“In 2015, California passed a law eliminating personal belief exemptions for vaccinations that kids must receive before they can attend public school… The 2015 law made California the first state in nearly 35 years to eliminate personal belief exemptions for mandatory vaccinations…

“Democratic state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and author of the California law… [would] like to amend California law so public health officials would have the power to revoke doctors’ authority to issue medical exemptions… [and] invalidate all of the medical exemptions that have been inappropriately written, as a threat to public health…”

This whole ridiculous argument for vaccinations constitutes a damnable and ungodly development. The so-called success of vaccinations is highly disputed, and there are clearly many proven cases of terrible side effects, including autism, due to vaccinations. To use a totally unsubstantiated claim of “inappropriately written” medical exemptions as “justification” for the prohibition and revocation exemplifies once more the terrible development within the hype of vaccinations, which is being supported and endorsed by left-wing politicians, and if enacted, would be contributing to and causing the DEATH of innocent children! Note the next article.

More than Half of American Parents against Flu Shots

Study Finds wrote on February 9:

“Millions of parents in America have reservations about their child getting the flu shot… A recent survey shows that more than a half of parents believe their child can get the flu from the vaccine itself, while a third simply believes it doesn’t work.

“… doctors say there’s no risk of contracting the virus from the vaccine itself. The body takes up to two weeks to develop the correct responses to the flu after receiving the vaccine, so if one contracts the disease immediately after getting vaccinated, they could still get sick, experts warn.

“Of course, the belief that the vaccine causes autism has been a topic of debate for many years, with 28% of respondents in this latest survey believing that it does. Three in ten respondents believe the flu shot is actually a conspiracy. Still, doctors insist it’s simply not true… Medical experts recommend every healthy person over the age of six months get a flu shot every year…”

Of course, the article claims that medical experts, paid by the medical industry, assure us that flu shots work and are safe, and conveniently asserts that when someone gets sick after receiving the flu shot, it is not the flu shot’s “fault.” This IS in fact a conspiracy which we should not believe. However, the next article addresses a conspiracy theory which is ludicrous.

Flat Earth Nonsense

The Guardian wrote on February 9:

“Though not a new phenomenon, flat Earth theory has enjoyed a huge resurgence recently. A YouGov poll indicated that a third of Americans aged 18 to 24 were unsure of the shape of our planet, in spite of scientific proofs…”

The IGNORANCE of these people and their willingness to fall for such completely ridiculous nonsense is truly shocking.

Drift of North Magnetic Pole

CNN wrote on February 5:

“The north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast that it could be a problem for smartphone maps and navigation systems… unlike the geographic north pole, which is fixed, the north magnetic pole has been slowly migrating over time — moving across the Canadian Arctic toward Russia since 1831.

“But its swift pace toward Siberia in recent years at a rate of around 34 miles per year has forced scientists to update the World Magnetic Model… a year ahead of schedule… The model… is typically updated every five years, the most recent being in 2015… the model’s primary user is the military.

“… Scientists first noticed the change in 2018… which showed the pole had gone beyond the model’s predicted area… The drift is caused by processes deep inside the planet… Some scientists think a jet stream of molten liquid is pushing the north pole, while others have suggested that the south and north magnetic poles are reversing positions…”

It will remain to be seen whether catastrophic occurrences could be the result of this apparent shift.

Decline in Insect Populations

Fox News wrote on February 11:

“A decline in insect populations happening across the planet has Earth’s ecosystems and humankind facing catastrophic consequences. The sobering message has emerged from a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports on insect population declines which found the rate of extinction is eight times faster than vertebrates such as mammals, birds and reptiles… Humans have wiped out about 60 percent of the planet’s animal life since 1970…

“Insects are considered vital to many of nature’s ecosystems for the productive role they play, particularly in controlling populations of other organisms. They maintain soil structure and fertility, pollinate plants and control insect and plant pests. Many insects feed on dead animals and fallen trees, thereby recycling nutrients back into the soil. Various insects are also a common food source for larger animals… If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death…

“The main driver behind the decline… was habitat loss due to intensive agriculture and urbanization. They also pointed to the growing use of pollutants, mainly synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as the impact of invasive species and climate change…”

The Bible tells us that especially in these last days, man will be destroying the earth (Revelation 11:18), and many animals will die and become extinct in the process (Hosea 4:3). It also condemns those who “join” house to house (Isaiah 5:8), thereby causing extreme habitat loss for animals. Also note the next sickening article.

The Appalling Business with Sick Trophy Hunters

The Sun wrote on February 13:

“The Zambian government stands to make MILLIONS by letting sick trophy hunters slaughter thousands of hippos in the country, a charity has said. Zambia says the mass killing is being carried out to control the hippopotamus population in Luangwa Valley in the east of the African nation. However, experts at Born Free have slammed the decision insisting the species is increasingly rare and is being threatened across the African continent.

“The killing of 1,250 hippos over five years could generate upwards of £2.6m for trophy hunting outfitters and the Zambian government, the charity says. Dr Mark Jones, Associate Director of the International wildlife organisation… said: ‘We don’t believe there is any reason the hippos should be culled and trophy hunting is not in any way an appropriate way of managing animal populations… they’re talking about hunters killing two hippos for over £4,350… this is very far from an animal management programme and very much to do with lining the pockets of trophy outfitters and very presumably of some of Zambia’s officials.’…

“There are only approximately 130,000 wild hippos remaining on the planet and the sick trophy hunting industry is driven by Asian demand for their tusks as a substitute for ivory.”

This is VERY sick indeed.

Chaos and Devastation in Australia

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“After what can only be described as an environmental massacre of mammoth proportions throughout the whole of north-west Queensland, the people of this country are heartbroken… The scale of devastation here and throughout the north-west is impossible to put into words. There are estimates of hundreds of thousands of domestic livestock having been lost so far during this disaster and it is impossible to put into numbers the impact on the region’s native wildlife…

“Almost overnight we have transitioned from relative drought years to a flood disaster zone…

“There are kangaroos dead in trees and fences, birds drowned in drifts of silt and debris… The sheer amount of storm water that engulfed the region has demolished fences, exposed pipelines, destroyed water infrastructure, created huge gullies that were once only small seasonal streams, turned roads into rivers and washed dam banks away… reports are coming in of entire herds being washed away. Many homestead complexes have been completely submerged…

“It will be four years before many of these people once again have a useful income… This is possibly the greatest disaster that our livestock industries have suffered in Australia’s history.”

“Four in Five Vatican Priests Are Gay”

The Guardian wrote on February 12:

“Some of the most senior clerics in the Roman Catholic church who have vociferously attacked homosexuality are themselves gay, according to a book to be published next week. Eighty per cent of priests working at the Vatican are gay, although not necessarily sexually active, it is claimed in the book, In the Closet of the Vatican. The 570-page book, which the French journalist and author Frédéric Martel spent four years researching, is a ‘startling account of corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of the Vatican’, according to its British publisher Bloomsbury. It is being published in eight languages across 20 countries next Wednesday, coinciding with the opening day of a conference at the Vatican on sexual abuse, to which bishops from all over the world have been summoned.

“Martel, a former adviser to the French government, conducted 1,500 interviews while researching the book, including with 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 priests and seminarians… Martel describes a secretive culture among priests that creates conditions in which abuse is not confronted…”

We should note that the book’s author, Frédéric Martel, is a non-believer and openly gay.

Canada’s Ungodly Agenda

Life Site News wrote on February 7:

“Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will spend $30 million over the next five years to push the homosexual and gender identity agenda in developing countries… After that, Canadians will fork over $10 million every year in perpetuity… to advance the homosexual agenda as part of their country’s international aid…

“The non-stop multimillion dollar international homosexual promotion fund is intended to… further the aims of the Feminist International Assistance [FIAP] Policy… Adopted in June 2017, the Trudeau government’s FIAP has as a key goal the promotion of global legal abortion. Indeed, the Liberals earmarked $650 million over three years in March 2017 to push abortion in the developing world, including funding campaigns to legalize abortion in countries where the unborn child is protected…

“The first Canadian prime minister to march in a homosexual Pride Parade, Trudeau most recently green-lighted the Royal Mint’s release of a new one-dollar coin designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his father’s decriminalization of homosexuality… More substantially, the Liberals codified the unscientific gender identity theory in law in June 2017 with Bill C-16, which added ‘gender expression’ and ‘gender identity’ to Canada’s Human Rights Code and the Criminal Code’s hate crime section…

“That was during his tearful apology in the House of Commons for Canada’s alleged past mistreatment of LGBTQ persons, including apologizing to Canadians convicted under former laws against… running bawdy houses. In February 2017… [the government began] forcing public servants to take a pro-LGBT ‘gender equality’ test, with unspecified consequences if they refused or failed to provide the appropriate ‘feminist’ answers. The Canadian military… responded to Trump’s 2017 ban on transgender military members by declaring they actively recruit LGBT people.”

Please view our StandingWatch program, “Persecutions of Homosexuals and Conversion Therapies”.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

The State of the Union Address—Facing a Deeply Divided Congress

The Guardian wrote on February 6:

“Donald Trump issued sharp warnings to Democrats, including that ‘ridiculous partisan investigations’ would harm economic progress, in comments that clashed with an appeal for unity during his first State of the Union address to a newly divided Congress. ‘If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,’ Trump declared. The presence of Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi on the dais behind him was an acute reminder of the political challenges he faces in the next two years…

“Trump appealed to two areas of his base supporters by reasserting his vow to build a wall on the southern US border with Mexico, and urging lawmakers to ban late-term abortions…

“During the speech, Trump’s comments careened from dark proclamations about the ‘lawless state of our southern border’ and the ‘bloodthirsty monsters’ who fight for Isis, to sweeter moments, such as praising the optimism of a 10-year-old girl who fought brain cancer, and veterans who helped liberate Europe from Nazism during the second world war.

“Trump commanded one of the biggest stages in American politics on Tuesday night but… Capitol Hill was something of a hostile environment. Pelosi… who has thwarted his border wall at every turn… sat mostly stone-faced… She was joined on the dais by Vice-President Mike Pence, who dutifully applauded the president at each opportunity…

“Trump decried ‘new calls to adopt socialism in our country… On foreign policy, an area where Trump faces an increasingly adversarial Republican Senate, the president defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan. Just hours prior, the Senate approved a resolution opposing the plan… ‘Great nations do not fight endless wars,’ he said.”

Newsmax added on February 6:

“Facing a divided Congress for the first time… Trump peppered his remarks with calls for bipartisanship, urging Washington to govern ‘not as two parties, but as one nation.’ But his message clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation’s capital — as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his path during his next two years in office…

“Trump’s speech to lawmakers and the nation comes at a critical moment in his presidency. He pushed his party into a lengthy government shutdown over border security, only to cave to Democrats. With another shutdown deadline looming, the president has few options for getting Congress to fund a border wall, and he risks further alienating his party if he tries to circumvent lawmakers by declaring a national emergency instead.”

High Marks in Polls

The Week wrote on February 6:

“President Trump earned high marks among those who tuned into his State of the Union address Tuesday night. A CBS News poll found that 76 percent of speech-watchers approved of what the president said, and 72 percent specifically approved of his remarks on immigration.

“In this poll, 24 percent disapproved of the speech. CNN found that 59 percent of speech-watchers had a very positive reaction, up from 48 percent in 2018, while 17 percent had a somewhat positive reaction, and only 23 percent had a negative reaction…”

USA and Russia Withdraw from Nuclear Arms Treaty… Europe Worried

The Associated Press wrote on February 1:

“Russian politicians accused the United States on Friday of undermining global security by ending compliance with a nuclear arms treaty, while NATO said Russia was at fault for the pact’s demise and European countries watched with dismay.

“The U.S. announced it would stop observing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty as of Saturday and would withdraw within six months from the pact, a cornerstone of international security since 1987. The treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union bans the development, deployment and testing of land-based nuclear weapons with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310-3400 miles). Moscow and Washington have for years traded claims of the other party being in violation.

“Before Friday’s announcement, the United States alleged that a new Russian missile breached the treaty. Russia in turn accused the United States of unilaterally seeking to neuter the agreement and of resisting Russian attempts to resolve the dispute. ‘I “congratulate” the whole world; the United States has taken another step toward its destruction today,’ Konstantin Kosachev, head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of Russia’s parliament, said…

“However, the end of the treaty could also serve Russia’s strategic interests, removing any obstacle to Moscow deploying intermediate-range missiles that could reach Europe and China. U.S. officials had expressed worry that China was gaining a significant military advantage in Asia by deploying large numbers of missiles with ranges beyond the treaty’s limit…

“Washington’s decision was received with anxiety in Europe… The Europeans are keen to avoid a repeat of a crisis in 1983, when NATO allies decided to deploy U.S. cruise and Pershing 2 ballistic missiles as negotiations with Moscow faltered over Russia’s stationing of SS-20 missiles in Eastern Europe… European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini [said:] ‘What we definitely don’t want to see is our continent going back to being a battlefield or a place where other superpowers confront themselves,’ Mogherini told reporters in Romania.”

Europe will become a battlefield where superpowers (continental Europe and mainly Russia and Ukraine) will confront themselves.

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 2:

“Russia will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday… Putin said Russia would, for now, not initiate talks with the US on disarmament… Putin added that Russia would now begin work on developing new medium-range missiles, but would only deploy them if Washington does so…

“The US [said it] would develop ‘military response options’ and work with its NATO allies ‘to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct’… German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas… said on Twitter that ‘many new weapons have been developed for which there are almost no international rules.”

Russia’s New Weapon

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“A weapon that sounds like something out of the ‘Star Wars’ movies has apparently been installed onto a pair of Russian Naval ships…

“[It allegedly] fires a beam that resembles a strobe light. People on the receiving end of the beam have their vision impacted. Others who participated in the weapon’s tests experienced hallucinations and vomiting. More specifically, people on whom the weapon was tested had difficulty aiming rifles because their vision was affected by the light.”

Rearming Europe

Focus Online wrote on February 2: “The Cold War is back and we can’t rely on the USA. Europe must rearm.”

Global Firepower wrote: “… the combat tank remains the primary spearhead for ground offensives combining the qualities of fire power, mobility protection into an all-in-one system.”

They continued to give the following statistic:

Russia has 20,300 tanks; China has 7,716 tanks; North Korea has 5,243 tanks; India has 4,426 tanks and Japan has 679 tanks. The USA has 5,884 tanks.

Poland has 1065 tanks; Germany has 432 tanks; France has 406 tanks; Spain has 327 tanks; United Kingdom has 227 tanks; Italy has 200 tanks; and other European countries have less than 160 tanks each. Some have no tanks at all.

No wonder, then, that there is call for re-armament.

Closer European Defense Cooperation

Handelsblatt Global wrote on February 4:

“The announcement by the United States and Russia that they both plan to abandon a key nuclear arms limitation agreement has stoked German fears of a revived nuclear arms race…

“Speaking to Handelsblatt, Wolfgang Ischinger, the chair of the conference and a former German ambassador to Washington, said Europe should engage in a two-pronged strategy. It should bolster its conventional defenses while also supporting negotiations to reduce the risk of a nuclear arms race…

“This did not mean Germany or Europe were powerless, he added. But Europe needed a more coherent policy-making environment… Germany should take the lead on this, he suggested…

“US-European relations [are] worse than at any time in decades…”

Capturing the Neoliberal EU?

The Week wrote on February 1:

“For those who support the European Union, the good news of recent months has been that Brexit is unfolding so disastrously in the U.K. that the temptation of some to bolt from the bloc has faded across the continent. But the bad news is that those who despise the bureaucrats in Brussels may have found a new strategy to advance their aims — and one that has a much greater chance of succeeding. Instead of fighting the EU, the anti-liberals now hope to capture it.

“The first big push to make that happen will take place from May 23 to May 26, when elections for the European Parliament will be held across 28 member countries. The idea is simple: Parties that oppose the neoliberal policies of the EU aim to forge a right-wing popular front — and perhaps even a truly big-tent anti-liberal movement that includes both right- and left-wing populist parties — that can win a large block (and maybe even a plurality) of seats in the legislative body.

“… There are ideological and practical political reasons why this is likely to happen — and some signs that it has already begun… over the past two decades, the institutional left and right have converged across Europe, with differences between them becoming miniscule. A long list of policies has been championed by both sides… It’s been an era of nearly homogenous elite consensus — on immigration and refugees (follow humanitarian imperatives that demand acceptance of all comers), on crime (don’t talk about it), and on economic policy (austerity is the only responsible option)…” We should not forget that Hitler’s declared rule was based on national socialism.

World’s Largest Free Trade Agreement between EU and Japan

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 1:

“A free trade agreement between Japan and the EU entered into force on February 1, covering 635 million people and almost one-third of the world’s economy. Dubbed the world’s largest free trade agreement,  [it] removes duties on almost all agricultural and industrial products and opens up the service sector and procurement. It also moves to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade…

“Japan is the EU’s second-largest trade partner in Asia after China. EU businesses export €58 billion in goods and €28 billion in services to Japan every year. The EU estimates exports to Japan will increase 13 percent, or €13 billion, as a result of the free trade zone. Japan exports €69 billion in goods and €18 billion in services to the EU annually.”

A close economic relationship between Europe and Japan has been prophesied before the relationship between those powers becomes hostile and Japan joins an economic and military coalition of Far Eastern nations.

Status of Gibraltar and Free Travel

The Guardian wrote on February 1:

“A straightforward change in EU law guaranteeing visa-free travel for Britons in Europe after Brexit has sparked a diplomatic row after Brussels described Gibraltar as ‘a colony of the British crown’ in its no-deal legislation.

“The footnote containing the contentious description of the Rock was attached to the EU’s regulation on the insistence of Spain, with whom the UK has been in dispute over Gibraltar for three centuries…

“Despite the flare-up, the decision means UK citizens entering the EU’s Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180 days should be granted visa-free travel. The EU said, however, that British tourists would lose that right if the UK government imposed visa requirements on any of its member states.”

Recently, Spain has renewed its claims for Gibraltar in case of a no-deal Brexit. The UK will ultimately lose Gibraltar to continental Europe.

Brexit and War Talk

The Guardian wrote on February 4:

“A Conservative MP (Daniel Kawczynski) came under fire this weekend after invoking the second world war in a statement about the way the ‘ungrateful’ EU treats the UK on Twitter… But Kawczynski… isn’t the first politician to have used war analogies to describe Brexit proceedings:

“Last week (MP) Mark Francois said: ‘My father, Reginald Francois, was a D-Day veteran. He never submitted to bullying by any German and neither will his son.’…

“Johnson [argued] in May 2016, when he argued in a Telegraph interview that the EU were trying to create a superstate like Hitler had. ‘Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods,’ said Johnson.”

Wars start with words…

Brexit “Talks” Become More Hostile

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 6:

“European Council President Donald Tusk did not mince words on Wednesday with regards to Brexit. Writing on Twitter, Tusk wrote: ‘I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.’

“The president’s comment was criticized by prominent pro-Brexit voices, such as Nigel Farage, who called Tusk and his colleagues ‘arrogant bullies’…  British Prime Minister Theresa May took a slightly more subdued, but no less critical tack, saying ‘it’s a question for Donald Tusk as to whether he considers the use of that kind of language helpful.’

“Tusk’s strong words came as he met Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Brussels… ‘The top priority for us, remains the issue of the border on the island of Ireland… There is no room for speculation…’  Tusk said in a statement… But Northern Ireland’s conservative unionist DUP party, which props up May’s government, was insisting the backstop, the only measure the UK and EU agree unequivocally on, be scrapped… The DUP also had choice words for Tusk’s Twitter tirade, calling him a ‘devilish, trident-wielding, euromaniac.’”

Iran’s New Cruise Missile

Breaking Israel News wrote on February 3:

“On Saturday, during celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran state television announced their military had successfully tested the new Hoveizeh surface-to-surface cruise missile. The missile, launched from a mobile launcher, has an effective range of 800 miles, puttingIsrael and U.S. troops stationed in the region within range…

“Debka File, an English language Israeli military intelligence news site, described the effectiveness of this type of missile. ‘Iran is confident that neither the United States nor Israel has the answer to this threat,’ Debka wrote. ‘And indeed, say our military experts, no military force in the world has so far found an effective means of intercepting cruise missiles before they strike unless they are of short range.’”

Iran Threatens Israel with Obliteration

Express wrote on February 1:

“Iran has chillingly warned Israel that it will be ‘destroyed’ with a death toll so high there will not be sufficient space to bury them as tensions mount over Syria.

“The shocking remarks made by a senior Iranian military leader come after Israel hit several military targets in Syria, which… killed up to 12 Iranians… it said the overnight operation… was in response to a rocket fired towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights… Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Israel would be obliterated before its closest ally, the United States, has a chance to intervene…

“Since the war in Syria broke out in March 2011 Israel has hit military targets in Syria on dozens of occasions. Israel’s arch-enemy Iran has backed President Bashar al-Assad since the war began as an uprising of rebels and jihadists against the regime. Assad’s other top foreign ally, Russia, has called on Israel to end its strikes on its war-torn neighbor… Moscow joined in on the war in 2015 at the request of Assad, saying it was acting to ‘fight and destroy militants and terrorists’ in Syria rather than wait for them to come to Russia…”

These may not be just idle threats. We are told in the Bible that the state of Israel or “Judah” will receive a wound… apparently some kind of defeat in a war with its enemies.

Executions of Homosexuals in Iran

On February 1, Bild Online published the following commentary by US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who is openly gay:

“The recent press reports, first carried by ‘The Jerusalem Post,’ that the Iranian regime publically hanged a 31-year-old man for being gay should be a wakeup call for anyone who supports basic human rights… This is not the first time the Iranian regime has put a gay man to death with the usual outrageous claims of prostitution, kidnapping, or even pedophilia. And it sadly won’t be the last time they do it either. Barbaric public executions are all too common in a country where consensual homosexual relationships are criminalized and punishable by flogging and death.

“In Iran, where children as young as nine can be sentenced to death, gay teenagers are publically hanged in order to terrify and intimidate others from coming out. Iran’s horrific actions are on par with the brutality and savagery regularly demonstrated by ISIS. Being gay is a death sentence in eight countries and criminalized in 70 more. LGBT status or conduct means arrest, imprisonment, and violence for people who are simply dating or falling in love…

“The truth for LGBT people is that we were born gay. Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the idea that all of us are born free and equal in dignity and rights. People can disagree philosophically about homosexuality, but no person should ever be subject to criminal penalties because they are gay.

“India, Trinidad and Tobago, Angola, and Belize have recently decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual conduct. But there’s still much more work to be done. Reasonable people can help by speaking out when young gay men are publically hanged in Iran or shot in Chechnya. And government officials must work harder to demand that UN Members decriminalize homosexuality.”

First of all, LGTB people are NOT born gay. Rather, this is an adopted lifestyle which, according to the Bible, is wrong. In addition, why does Ambassador Grenell not single out the most vicious and brutal culprit when it comes to killing homosexuals… which is America’s ally, Saudi Arabia? Could it be that political motivations played a decisive role for writing this article against America’s enemy, Iran? In this context, read the next article.

Curing Homosexuals?

Handelsblatt Global wrote on February 3:

“‘The physical and mental state of homosexuals is far from normal.’ Or: gay people ‘are not healthy.’… those statements were published by a group of German doctors just five years ago… Homosexuality, ‘a disturbance in the developmental phase,’ can be treated, the Munich-based group insists. [It] offers ‘treatment’ ranging from psychoanalysis to homeopathy, prayer or ‘detoxification.’…

“German doctors stopped ‘diagnosing’ homosexuality as a mental disease after the World Health Organization dropped it from its list of illnesses in 1992… the World Medical Association has condemned so-called ‘conversion’ or ‘reparative’ methods targeting same-sex attraction. ‘These constitute violations of human rights and are unjustifiable practices that should be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties,’ the WMA said in a 2013 statement. The body represents some 10 million physicians in over 100 countries…

“Nearly two dozen US states, Canadian provinces and Latin-American countries have outlawed or restricted anything resembling a ‘gay cure.’ It has been outlawed, at least for minors, in places like Ontario, California, Illinois, among others, while Brazil and Argentina have imposed nationwide bans. But not in Germany, where conversion therapies are still legal. This is also true throughout most of Europe, despite a non-binding resolution against conversion therapy overwhelmingly backed by the European Parliament last year. In fact, Malta and Switzerland are the only European countries that have passed any legislation against them, in addition to a handful of Spanish regions…

“Six years ago, Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, raised eyebrows when she wrote a letter congratulating the Gnadau community on its 125th anniversary. An Evangelical organization with some 200,000 members in Germany, Gnadau is an outspoken proponent of ‘healing’ gays. Another CDU heavyweight, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, once endorsed a Christian festival in Bremen which promoted gay conversion seminars. And last spring, German media reported that regional CDU politicians in Saxony-Anhalt, including a former president of that eastern state, supported a Protestant group that for decades had attempted to cure homosexuals…

“The current health minister, Jens Spahn, is one of the country’s best known gay politicians – and unsurprisingly, he is against ‘curing’ homosexuals, which falls within his remit. In a Facebook post last summer, he called conversion therapies ‘nonsense’ and ‘a form of torture.’ [But] in early July, a left-wing lawmaker submitted a written request asking the government to take steps to ban conversion therapies. The written answer consisted of one word: ‘Nein.’”

Regardless of what man might say, the practice of homosexuality is clearly condemned in the Bible as sinful and an abomination. The apostle Paul made it clear that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the Kingdom of God and eternal life, but he also said that those who became members of God’s true church were cured and healed from committing this sinful practice.

God Wanted Trump to Become President

CNN wrote on January 31:

“White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she believes God wanted President Donald Trump to win the 2016 election, the Christian Broadcasting Network reported on Wednesday. ‘I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that’s why he’s there,’ Sanders told CBN’s David Brody and Jennifer Wishon, according to a transcript of the interview provided by CBN. ‘

“‘I think he has done a tremendous job in supporting a lot of the things that people of faith really care about,’ Sanders added. When asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling Trump’s proposed wall along the US southern border ‘immoral,’ Sanders told CBN, ‘The idea that protecting the people of your country, which is the fundamental duty of being president of the United States, would in some way be immoral is a ridiculous charge.'”

To be clear, we believe too that Donald Trump was placed in the position of President to fulfill biblical prophecy–not, in order to support a lot of things which true Christians care about, but in order to bring about the speedy downfall of the USA.

Suicide Risks Through Contraceptive Pills

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 1:

“The European Medicines Agency demands that a warning about a heightened suicide risk be included in the medication package insert for contraceptive pills. What is the connection between hormones and mental health?

“… there are scientific studies that do draw a connection between depression and hormonal contraception… Women who take the pill have a higher risk of suffering from depression than women who do not use hormonal contraception… the probability of suicide is about three times higher for women taking the pill than for women who did not use hormonal contraception. And the probability of a (first) suicide attempt is twice as high with the pill as it is without it. Similar to the study on depression and the pill, teenagers were particularly at risk…

“In addition to depression and suicide attempts, the pill is also associated with other risks. These include an increased likelihood of thrombosis, an increased risk for certain types of cancer and reduced libido.”

It has been known, but many times ignored, that “the pill” poses a great risk to the health of women. In addition, using medication after conception constitutes abortion which is sinful in the eyes of God. Note the next article.

Third-Trimester Abortions

Newsmax wrote on February 1:

“The growing laws allowing third-trimester abortion is a serious issue for many Americans,… Rep. Mark Walker said Friday… Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is refusing to back down from comments about a late-term abortion proposal in his state that would have allowed women to have the legal right to abort a fetus up until and even after birth, and Walker said he finds that frustrating.

“‘One of the things that bothers me as well is almost the arrogance or prideful spirit he has with this,’ said Walker. ‘Never once have I heard him mention (anything) about the baby, the concerns about the third trimester.’ However ‘81 percent of Americans are against’ third-trimester abortion, said Walker…”

“The baby” is indeed an innocent human being who is being murdered through abortion.

AI Today and Tomorrow

Express wrote on February 2:

“Robots will be in a position to outstrip the abilities of mankind within half a century, an expert in artificial intelligence has warned, stressing it was vital to introduce safeguards to prevent mankind being ‘replaced.’ Luca De Ambroggi, the research and analysis lead for AI solutions [said:] ‘In 50 years, it is reasonable to think that robots will be able to ‘support’ and replace human beings in several activities. Already electro-mechanical devices outperform humans in sensitiveness and reaction time.’ Considering the vast technological progression witnessed in the last decade, Mr Ambroggi said 50 years was ‘sufficient’ to close several gaps with human beings.

“He added: ‘Even if our brain will still have advantages and human beings will remain more dynamic and versatile, electronics will be able to outperform humans in several specific functions, as it does today, from machine vision, to audio/speech recognition…’ He said: ‘Artificial Intelligence is here, and it’s here for the long haul… from the sensing perspective electronics and semiconductor support, to the ability to see, hear, touch, as well as smell and taste with the latest MEMS technologies.”

Once-in-a Century Floods Overtake Australia

Breitbart wrote on February 3:

“Once-in-a-century floods have turned streets into rivers and forced thousands to abandon their homes in northeast Australia, with authorities warning of tornadoes and more rain over the next few days. Australia’s tropical north experiences heavy rains during the monsoon season at this time of the year, but the recent downpour has surged far above normal levels…

“Military personnel were delivering tens of thousands of sandbags to affected locals, as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned residents to be careful. ‘It’s basically not just a one in 20-year event, it’s a one in 100-year event,’ she told reporters Saturday…

“The deluge comes amid a severe drought in the eastern inland of the vast Australian continent, including parts of Queensland state… Extreme heatwaves during the southern hemisphere summer have also led to maximum-temperature records being broken in some towns…”

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 Ends Shutdown Temporarily

The Wall Street Journal wrote on January 25:

“President Trump [has] reached a deal with congressional leaders to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations over border security funding continue… The stopgap spending bill… provides no immediate funding for a border wall…

“Mr. Trump warned that if no deal is reached by Feb. 15, the government could shut down a second time. He also threatened to address border security unilaterally [by declaring a national emergency] if no agreement is struck by that point…”

Breitbart wrote on January 27:

“Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S. Mexico border would be a ‘terrible idea’ and that he would fight it.”

Many Republicans feel the same.

The Hour of National Turmoil

The Associated Press wrote on January 25:

“Recent polls found Trump bore the blame for the shutdown… Republicans were openly calling on him to back down from his demands and reopen the government…

“The breakthrough came as LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey both experienced at least 90-minute delays in takeoffs Friday due to the shutdown. And the world’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — was experiencing long security wait times, a warning sign the week before it expects 150,000 out-of-town visitors for the Super Bowl…

“The standoff became so severe that, as the Senate opened with prayer, Chaplain Barry Black called on high powers in the ‘hour of national turmoil‘ to help senators do ‘what is right.'”

Right-Wing Conservatives Against Trump

Breitbart wrote on January 25:

“On Friday’s edition of the Fox Business Network’s ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ host Lou Dobbs stated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) won the shutdown battle and President Trump ‘got rolled on this.’ Dobbs said… ‘to deny it is to try to escape from reality.’”

Breitbart added on January 25:

“The White House finally caved to Democrats demands, despite Trump’s repeated assertions this week that he would not do so.”

The Guardian wrote on January 25:

“Ann Coulter, author of In Trump We Trust, tweeted: ‘Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.’ And so it was that Trump… found himself crushed by Pelosi on his left and Coulter on his right…”

Trump Should Be Praised

USA Today wrote on January 26:

“Right-wing pundits are not happy… As the saying goes, with friends like these who needs enemies?

“Indeed, right-wing pundits caused the mess… by bullying the president into a decision he originally rejected: close the government, and then negotiate…

“Of course Ann Coulter, Michael Malice, Tomi Lahren, Breitbart News, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Steve Doocy and their ilk have a First Amendment right to make disparaging comments about the president of the United States. But the president has an Article 2 responsibility to make sure the government is functioning…

“The president’s decision on Friday to reopen the government… demonstrates that he recognizes his immense constitutional responsibility.

“President Trump should be commended for his decision, not condemned for it.”

Only the First Round?

Fox News wrote on January 25:

“… this shutdown, and the one that will likely follow it on Feb. 15, was not about money. It was about establishing dominance. It was about base voters. It was about bragging rights. And most of all, it was about the 2020 election.”

Many feel that President Trump will not shut down the government again, as he would lack support for such a step from most Americans, including many Republicans. On the other hand, the right-wing pundits who speak for many of his supporters would strongly support such a move.

On Saturday morning, and subsequently, President Trump tweeted several messages, reiterating that he will insist on building a wall.

Second Shutdown an Option

The Hill wrote on January 28:

“Lawmakers in both parties are skeptical about President Trump’s chances of securing funding for his wall on the Mexican border… Democrats seem unlikely to budget any money for a border wall, and even if they did, lawmakers say such a deal would likely require Trump to include significant immigration reforms, such as giving immigrants known as Dreamers a pathway to citizenship or permanent residency.

“That would be a tough nut to crack in only three weeks, and the concessions could also damage Trump with his base… Trump [said on Sunday] that he is doubtful Congress can come to a deal over border wall funding, adding that another government shutdown is ‘certainly an option.’”

The Cost of the Shutdown

The Week reported on January 28:

“The 35-day government shutdown cost the American economy $11 billion, $3 billion of which will never be recovered, an analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed. The loss of work from federal employees, suspension of federal services, and decreased economic demand chiefly contributed to the slowdown, the report says…

“A separate CBO economic outlook report also found that, if taxation and spending remains unchanged, the federal deficit will grow to an annual total of $1 trillion in [the] next decade.”

Will Americans Remember?

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 25:

“The ‘deal’ President Trump announced to temporarily end the longest government shutdown in US history was no deal at all. But given the suffering his shutdown continues to cause for so many, there are no winners here.

“It took US President Donald Trump 35 days to sign off on a bill that he could have had before Christmas [Instead, he listened to the bad advice of right-wingers such as Limbaugh and Coulter]…

“Trump’s… triggering of the shutdown… meant that 800,000 government workers and their families have had to make ends meet despite going without pay for over a month. Not to mention the more than one million government contractors who went unpaid…

“One could speculate now what caused Trump to cave… But it is an exercise in futility; no one really knows Trump’s mind…

“Let’s hope that Americans remember the… president who would readily gamble other people’s lives and livelihoods for a pointless border wall he ultimately did not even get…”

The Reckless Nature of Politicians

Some feel that President Trump has a chance of receiving the support of Democrats for building a wall for a barrier, as Democrats advocated better border security in the past. The following article questions this conclusion, with interesting arguments:

The Week wrote on January 25:

“After 35 days… the longest government shutdown in history is finally coming to an end. It accomplished nothing…

“The worst thing of all? It’s only going away for three weeks. Meanwhile the president and the Democratic Party remain as divided on the question of funding for the border wall as they were in December. The deal will fund the government for less than a month while members of both parties in Congress are expected to ‘negotiate.’ What do they have to say to each other that they have not been saying for days and weeks and months now? Nothing will come of it…

“As long as Democrats control the House, the wall is never going to happen… Politicians change their minds about all sorts of things every day. It is almost never because they have had a genuine change of heart. These shifts follow a straightforward pattern: The Blue Team says x because it is rhetorically beneficial to them at a certain juncture. The Red Team says not x for the same reason. Eight or even four years later the Red Team might say x and the Blue Team not x, making exactly the same arguments as the other side. Who cares…”

This describes perfectly the nature and motives of politicians.

New Nuclear Weapons

npr (National Public Radio) wrote on January 28:

“The U.S. Department of Energy has started making a new, low-yield nuclear weapon designed to counter Russia (called W76-2)… The (already existing) W76-1 is believed to have a yield of around 100 kilotons… By contrast, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of about 15 kilotons.

“The Energy Department would not provide details about the W76-2, but it’s believed to have a yield of around 5 to 7 kilotons… That smaller yield is probably created by removing or disabling the secondary stage of the W76-1. The secondary is designed to deliver a large thermonuclear blast triggered by a much smaller nuclear weapon known as the primary. Removing or disabling the secondary while leaving the primary would, in effect, create a smaller weapon.

“Last year the Trump administration made the case for the development of a smaller nuclear weapon that could be launched from a submarine… [There are worries that] the new warhead could actually make nuclear war far more likely…

“The National Nuclear Security Administration says its first production unit of the new weapon is underway. It is on track to deliver a small number of weapons to the Navy by October of this year.”

The Polar Vortex… Historic Winter Freeze

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 30:

“A record arctic air mass will remain over the central and eastern United States over the next several days. Chicago has already recorded temperatures colder than parts of Antarctica…

“Including the wind chill factor, parts of the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Minnesota had temperatures of -70 Fahrenheit (-56.7 Celsius)…  In Chicago, the morning temperature was -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius), which was colder than Alaska’s state capital and parts of Antarctica…”

Dangerous Cold and Global Warming

The Weather Channel wrote on January 29:

“President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he wants global warming to ‘come back fast’ in response to the dangerous cold outbreak… ‘In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the… is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need you!’ Trump tweeted.

“The comment highlights a lack of understanding about the difference between weather and climate. NASA makes this distinction: ‘Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long periods of time.’ The consensus of scientists is that individual weather events do not reflect the long-term trend of global warming…

“This isn’t a one-off comment by the president on weather and global warming. Trump continues to deny the existence of climate change and often points to individual weather events as evidence that climate change is a ‘hoax,’ as he has called it in the past. In November, Trump denied his own administration’s National Climate Assessment, noting that global warming is only temporary.”

Scientists are not as unanimous in their conclusions for man-made global warming as the article implies. Quite a few scientists deny man-made global warming. Interestingly, the late founder of the Weather Channel, meteorologist John Coleman, was an ardent denier of climate change and filed a lawsuit to prove his conclusions.  Apparently, the lawsuit ended with Coleman’s death. Amongst others, the late Michael Crichton, a doctor and novelist (“ER,” “Twister,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “Jurassic Park”), also questioned man-made global warming.

Is This Really Happening in the USA? It Sure Is!

The New York Post wrote on January 25:

“New video shows the moment Roger Stone, President Trump’s longtime confidant, was taken into custody during a pre-dawn raid Friday carried out by armed FBI agents. With their guns drawn, several agents stormed Stone’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around 6 a.m. — pounding on the door and bellowing, ‘FBI! Open the door!,’ according to the footage obtained by CNN.

“The dramatic moment was witnessed by former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chad Johnson. ‘FBI arrested my neighbor Roger before my morning jog, I’ve only seen [something] like that in movies, crazy to start to my Friday,’ he tweeted.

“Stone is facing multiple counts including obstruction of an official proceeding, making false statements and witness tampering related to his communications with WikiLeaks and information he’s alleged to have shared with the Trump campaign. The charges stem from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.”

Sadly, such controversial and objectionable behavior by the FBI is only all too common. In addition, special counsel Muller was commissioned to look into collusion by Trump with the Russians. He found nothing in that regard; instead, he indicted some friends of Trump for unrelated crimes, which he was not commissioned to investigate, to justify two years of time and millions of dollars on what many have labeled a “witch hunt.”

FBI Can’t Find Motive in Las Vegas Shooting

The Week wrote on January 29:

“The FBI has concluded its 16-month investigation into the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival in 2017, which left 58 people dead and hundreds injured, but could not find [a] ‘single or clear motivating factor’ behind it. Shooter Stephen Paddock wanted to inflict ‘the maximum amount of damage,’ the FBI said in a report released Tuesday, but added that he was not ‘directed, inspired, nor enabled by ideologically-motivated persons or groups.’

“His decision to die by suicide suggests he wanted to ‘attain a certain degree of infamy via a mass casualty attack,’ the FBI said. Because he did not leave a note, investigators say this report ‘comes as close to understanding the why as we’re ever going to get.’”

Actually, it is quite astonishing that the FBI could not find a motive after 16 months of investigation. Of course, the FBI would not even dare to consider factors outside the physical realm. It is obvious to us, however, that the murderer was influenced, if not possessed, by demonic forces.

Martial Law in the UK?

Daily Mail wrote on January 27:

“Whitehall officials have been ‘war-gaming’ imposing martial law to avoid chaos on the streets after a no-deal Brexit… The extreme measures are being considered as part of a major response if the UK crashes out of the EU at the end of March.

“Mandarins have been discussing whether to use wide-ranging powers in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 – which include curfews, travel bans and deploying the army…

“Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was no ‘specific’ plan for martial law, but did not completely rule it out. ‘Of course Government all the time looks at all the options in all circumstances,’ he [said]. ‘It remains on the statute book but it isn’t the focus of our attention.’”

Brexit–No Deal No Money?

Daily Mail wrote on January 30:

“Ministers ramped up tensions with the EU today in the wake of Theresa May’s historic Commons victory – warning that the £39billion divorce bill could be axed if it does not compromise.

“Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng insisted Brussels would not get a ‘penny pinch’ from the UK unless there was ‘some give’ on the hated Irish border backstop. The threat came as the PM braces for ‘trench warfare’ with the EU after leaders flatly dismissed calls to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement.”

Putin’s Apocalypse

Project Syndicate wrote on January 24:

“In the last year, Putin has spoken about a ‘nuclear apocalypse’ more than any Western leader has over the last decade… Putin has blamed the risk of a catastrophic outcome on the West, framing Russia’s hypothetical use of nuclear weapons as revenge or retaliation.

“… the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has predicted a Book of Revelation-style reckoning [and it is] his belief that doomsday is near… Chair of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin has argued that the end of the world is already upon us and ‘the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.’

“… apocalyptic rhetoric in Russia is closely related to positioning Putin as a kind of messiah… Alexander Dugin, the leader of the Eurasia movement and arguably the Kremlin’s chief ideologist, calls Putin ‘katechon,’ an Orthodox leader who prevents the ‘kingdom of the Antichrist,’ which he defines as a combination of Western ‘globalization, post-liberalism, and post-industrial society’…”

The Bible shows that Europe will attack Russia and other Far Eastern nations, apparently with chemical and biological weapons, and that these nations (the kings of the East) will retaliate against Europe, apparently with nuclear weapons.

Coming… War with Iran?

Lobe Log wrote on January 25:

“Donald Trump’s domestic troubles, combined with the current makeup of his foreign policy team, provide a confluence of circumstances, perhaps a perfect storm, to pull the United States into a war with Iran… Trump’s position has never been weaker. And despite what appears to be his personal desire to extract U.S. troops from the Middle East… his deepening political problems may make war more attractive.

“Israel has exhibited a new boldness in bombing suspected Iranian weapons sites in Syria. ‘Analysts have warned that Israel’s new openness [in publicly claiming responsibility for the strikes] could ratchet up tensions, making it harder for Iranian leaders to ignore attacks and pushing them to retaliate,’ The New York Times reported this week.

“Meanwhile, any incident involving Iran… could quickly spiral out of control, drawing in U.S. forces.

“The potential of some kind of conflict with Iran escalating into a larger regional war is very real, possibly more real than ever. Although some have been sounding the alarm, the attention given to this dire situation is nowhere near the level it deserves… it’s possible that the United States could find itself in a new Middle East war without anyone really noticing it happen.”

Europe vs. USA on Iran

Handelsblatt Global wrote on January 31:

“Germany, France and Britain have set up a special payment platform to keep trade with Iran intact despite Washington’s sanctions. That’s unlikely to go down well with the US administration… It won’t be the first time that Europe and America clashed over how to handle Iran after their quarrel over the nuclear deal in 2015…

“European countries tried to keep doing business in Iran, and were promised protection by Brussels. The EU called on companies to reject US sanctions and passed a blocking statute guaranteeing help for businesses in case of US retaliation. This has not proved successful, however. The US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, countered these efforts and contacted companies individually, pressuring them to withdraw from Tehran. One after another, German firms fell into line. Within short order, Siemens, BASF, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom and Munich Re announced they would stop doing business in Iran.

“Now, there are several ways Washington might respond to the newly-created payment channel… The administration could sanction the bureaucrats involved in the vehicle, the French, British and German board members. It could sanction companies attempting to use the vehicle. Or it could warn such businesses that if they engage with the vehicle, legally or not, they will face consequences…”

Deutsche Welle added on January 31:

“On Thursday, the US State Department said it was ‘closely following’ reports on the European mechanism. ‘As the president has made clear, entities that continue to engage in sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequencesthat could include losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do business with the United States or US companies,’ the State Department said in a statement.”

EU Warns USA over Tariff Debacle

The Hill wrote on January 23:

“The European Union said Wednesday that it will retaliate with nearly $23 billion in tariffs if President Trump puts taxes on imported EU cars and auto parts…

“Trump has long threatened to slap 25 percent tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts, citing the national security concerns his administration raised to impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last year… a U.S. probe of automotive imports will be completed in February.”

Comeback for Schulz?

Bild Online reported on Sunday, January 27, that former SPD leaders Martin Schulz and Sigmar Gabriel are very dissatisfied with their own party (the junior governmental coalition party of Angela Merkel’s CDU) and are allegedly contemplating to initiate a comeback.

Der Merkur confirmed on January 27 that there are rumors regarding a putsch from Gabriel and Schulz if the SPD were to lose the upcoming European election and the local election in the city of Bremen by the end of May. It was stated that in such a “worst-case scenario,” the current leaders of the SPD would no longer be tolerable.

On January 29, Focus Online discussed the pro and cons for such an alleged putsch as well, but concluded that it won’t happen.

Given Sigmar Gabriel’s current position on political issues, including the European army and the German-French friendship, it does not seem that he will play a prominent role in the future. It may be different for Martin Schulz.

A European Army

Forbes wrote on January 23:

“With Brexit looming and Europe under threat from populism, France and Germany have signed a historic new friendship treaty in the city of Aachen. Both countries agreed to establish common positions and issue joint statements on key EU issues, deepen economic integration and further develop their defensive cooperation…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the aim of the pact is a ‘German-French economic area with common rules’ and ‘a common military culture’ which could ‘contribute to the creation of a European army.’ Unsurprisingly, the announcement of the treaty and particularly Ms. Merkel’s references to the potential creation of an EU army have enraged nationalists and Eurosceptics. Some merely called it a symbolic and irrelevant gesture while others accused their governments of signing away national sovereignty.

“The subject of an EU-army has been a prickly issue across Europe for years. After World War II, plans for such a force initially gained traction before grinding to a halt in the mid-1950s. While the threat from a resurgent Russia has given the idea new impetus, it has proven extremely controversial in many parts of the EU. In some countries, such as the UK, a united military service with old Second World War enemies Germany and Italy would prove unacceptable in some quarters…

“The most recent research on the issue was conducted… in 2017 and it found that support was highest in the Netherlands and Belgium at 74%. In France and Germany, it stood at 65 and 55% respectively. In the EU’s neutral countries, support was 45% in Austria, 46% in Ireland, 42% in Finland, 55% in Malta and just 40% in Sweden.”

However, today, the figures would show that the support for a European army is much higher in certain countries, especially in Germany.

Bigger than the USA

Express wrote on January 23:

“Angela Merkel has boasted about Germany and France’s plans for an EU Army in a defiant speech where she warned it would be bigger than the US forces…

“She said: ‘… we have even more than 170 different weapons system, the US have less than 60… The French leader argued the two nations’ partnership will provide EU citizens with the ‘real protection’ they need.”

USA Committed to NATO

USA Today wrote on January 25:

“President Donald Trump ‘is committed to NATO’ and deserves credit in obtaining $100 billion more in defense spending for the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said Sunday…

“Stoltenberg’s comment stands in contrast to Democrats who fear Trump wants to pull out of NATO… A New York Times report earlier this month said Trump repeatedly told aides he wanted to pull out of the alliance. In response to the report, Democrats pushed for legislation requiring congressional approval of any move to leave NATO.

“Trump has also been criticized for his aggressive approach in insisting America’s ‘delinquent’ allies pay a greater share toward the collective defense agreement. At the summit in July, he demanded the other members ‘immediately’ increase their contributions. Stoltenberg said the tough approach paid off.

“‘… you have to remember that the increase we now see in defense spending by European and NATO allies comes after years of decline. So before they were cutting billions. Now they’re actually adding billions,’ he said.”

On the one hand, Stoltenberg is fooling himself and others, not knowing and understanding biblical prophecy. On the other hand, the US is causing actions, which will in turn lead to an attack by the newly powerful EU—and that on Britain and America!

Free Europe in Danger

The Guardian wrote on January 25:

“Liberal values in Europe face a challenge ‘not seen since the 1930s’, leading intellectuals from 21 countries have said, as… nationalists look set to make sweeping gains in EU parliamentary elections…

“They write of their regret that Europe has been ‘abandoned from across the Channel’ – an oblique reference to the drawn-out Brexit process that has arguably brought Anglo-European relations to their lowest point since the second world war…

“Unlike Eurosceptics in the UK, most European counterparts do not want to leave the EU but to take it over…”

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Europe

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 27:

“Jewish organizations say they have seen an increase in anti-Semitism in Germany… Some 41 percent of Jews in Germany said they were victims of anti-Semitic hostility, compared to an average of 28 percent in the other surveyed countries.

Handelsblatt Global wrote on January 25:

“Anxiety is increasing that remembrance of the Holocaust, and of Germany’s and Europe’s anti-Semitic past, is fading. A survey published this week found that 90 percent of Jewish people in the European Union feel that anti-Semitism has grown in the last five years. One in three is considering emigrating.

“Another survey, taken last year, showed that anti-Semitism is strong in France, but also prominent in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden and Belgium. Last fall, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, noted that in Germany people are almost accustomed to Jewish institutions requiring police protection.

“Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress, highlighted this situation in a speech to the European Parliament marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The future for Jews in Europe is bleak, he said.

“… the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, said… he was deeply worried that Jews are afraid to practice their faith in Europe, and that Holocaust denial remains alive on the continent…”

Hitler’s Plan for Holocaust in USA and Canada

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 27:

“A Canadian archive has acquired a book owned by Adolf Hitler that shows his plans for Jewish people living in Canada and the US. The archive said the book shows what could have happened if World War II ended differently.

“[The book] contains detailed Jewish population data, as well as information on key organizations and media for Canadian and American Jewish communities… [It] demonstrates that the Holocaust was not purely a European event, but rather an operation that was stopped before it reached North America.”

Earthquakes in Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 27:

“Last Thursday evening, northern Israel was shaken by a 3.6 magnitude earthquake. Earthquakes are not uncommon in Israel as the Syrian-African fault line… runs underneath the Jordan Valley.

“The last earthquake in northern Israel was in July, measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale, but seismologists estimate that according to statistics and the geologic history, the region should experience a major quake every 80-100 years. The last major quake was in 1927 and registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale killing 500 people. Another major earthquake is therefore now due…

“A 2016 report… stated that in the case of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, an estimated 7,000 people would be killed, another 8,600 injured and 377,000 left homeless. In addition, such a quake could cause up to $55 billion in damages.”

According to Revelation 11:13, a future earthquake in Israel will cause the death of 7000 people.

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.

“It’s Time to Let the UK Go”

Der Spiegel wrote on January 18:

“The EU should let the British go, so that they can answer that question in peace outside of the European Union. Instead of continuing to run after the Brits in the hope they might give their blessing to a deal after all, Europeans should just allow a hard Brexit to come to pass and focus their energies on preparing for the fallout…

“DER SPIEGEL has joined many others in the past in arguing that Brexit is a mistake and that Europe is stronger with the UK as a member. At the best of times, Britain made the EU a better place…

“But now the EU risks allowing the political malaise in Britain to cause lasting damage to the community’s already weakening foundations. When it comes to solving its problems — be it migration, currency reform or, more importantly, an American president who is increasingly hostile to the bloc, the EU cannot afford to allow itself to be held hostage by Britain’s Tories…

“The consequences of a no-deal Brexit would, of course, be unpleasant, but hardly a disaster — at least not for the EU…”

Brexit will happen… with devastating consequences for the British people.

“Blocking Brexit Will Unleash ‘Political Tsunami’”

Breitbart wrote on January 20:

“Britain’s Secretary of State for International Trade [Cabinet Brexiteer Liam Fox] has warned that if politicians refuse to respect the people’s vote for Brexit it could unleash a ‘political tsunami’ with ‘unknowable consequences’ for the stability of the realm.

“… commentators have warned that membership of either the European Union Customs Union or a permanent customs union with the EU would leave the United Kingdom at the mercy of the bloc, which would be able to both drag it into trade wars with third countries and… force it to allow third countries privileged access to the British market on disadvantageous terms, according to their own commercial interests. Brussels would also be able to both raise and reduce tariffs on non-EU goods in Britain, and receive a large part of the revenue from said tariffs…

“[Fox also said:] ‘… it is not possible to take “No Deal” off the table for, if agreement is not reached, the law as it stands would mean that the European treaties no longer apply to the UK after 29th March.”

No More Glue for Britain

The Local wrote on January 16:

“As Brexit hangs in the balance, Politicians, newspapers and commentators in Germany and Europe have been having their say on the chaotic events taking place on the island. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday that delaying Brexit beyond March 29th would make no ‘sense’…

“… in an opinion piece, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung didn’t hold back. ‘There is no glue that can be used to reassemble the British political system, which has disintegrated into a thousand splinters,’ it said.”

New Challenges for Brits

The Sun wrote on January 23:

“Brits could be banned from travelling to the EU if they have less than 15 MONTHS left on their passports after No Deal Brexit…

“The UK Foreign Office warns: ‘If the UK leaves the European Union with no deal, the passport validity rules for travel to most countries in Europe will change from 29 March 2019. Some passports with up to 15 months validity remaining may not be valid for travel.’ Countries popular with British tourists such as France, Spain and Portugal could all be affected.

“This could lead to a rush in passport applications in the UK, following previous advice that just six months validity would be needed… Up to five million passengers could face travel chaos after Brexit with plane tickets at risk of being cancelled.”

Preparing for a No-Deal Brexit

Der Spiegel wrote on January 21:

“A no-deal Brexit threatens to have a major impact on the European economy. Companies have long since begun making concrete preparations for an eventuality that is looking increasingly likely…

“Policymakers are also preparing for a no-deal Brexit, with the German government having introduced two packages of laws to regulate the residence status of British citizens — a necessary step because they will be losing their freedom of movement in the EU. The European Commission has likewise presented emergency legislation to prevent trade and traffic from ending abruptly. Air traffic is particularly sensitive given that the only airlines for whom there will be total freedom are those that are majority-owned and controlled by investors inside the EU.

“The consequences for airlines like Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, Ryanair or Easyjet would be disastrous, given the size of British holdings in those companies. They would lose all route rights from and within the EU. As a precaution, Easyjet has taken the step of setting up a subsidiary in Vienna, while Ryanair is considering ways of reducing the influence British shareholders have over the company.

“The European Commission is eager to prevent planes from being grounded and is considering granting companies their old route rights between Britain and Continental Europe until a new aviation treaty can be concluded, or at the latest, until March 2020. Still, they would not be allowed to operate flights from point to point within the EU.

“The planned regulations, however, are of no help to aircraft manufacturers. Without certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which would no longer have supervisory authority over Britain following a no-deal Brexit, no British-made parts could be installed in European jets. Such a situation that would hit Airbus hard; the wings used in the Airbus family of jets are all manufactured in Britain…

“The impact of a disorderly Brexit would be a… serious blow to German carmakers, above all BMW. The Bavarians operate four plants in Britain, and more than 200,000 ultra-compacts of the cult-brand Mini are built in Oxford each year. Each Mini is composed of 3,000 parts, most of which are delivered by semi-truck from Continental Europe…”

Europeans will not be happy if they suffer economically due to a no-deal Brexit. Voices of “declaring war on Britain” have already been heard in the European population.

“EU Has Many More Weapons Systems than the USA”

Reuters wrote on January 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday the European Union must deepen cooperation in defense and in particular weapons systems development…

“In a speech to her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in the northern city of Rostock, Merkel said: ‘It is good that after several decades we want to develop a common defense policy … We must develop weapons systems together,’ adding Europe had many more systems than the United States.

“Arguing that EU countries should not compete among themselves for new projects and fighter planes but develop products together, she said there would be a need to compromise on export rules…

“In her weekly podcast, Merkel stressed the importance of the French-German partnership at the heart of the EU…”

These comments should wake everybody up and disprove the false notion that Europe would never dare to attack the USA, as they would be so much weaker militarily than America.

US Fear of Missile Attacks from Russia, China and Other Nations

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote on January 18:

“US President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped US missile defence strategy on Thursday that called North Korea an ongoing and ‘extraordinary threat,’ seven months after he declared the threat posed by Pyongyang had been eliminated… The plan, which also detailed concerns about the burgeoning capabilities of Iran, Russia and China, called for developing space-based sensors to detect incoming enemy missiles and exploring space-based weapons to shoot down missiles among other steps to shield the United States…

“The report said Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East… US intelligence officials believe [North Korea] is still advancing its nuclear program despite a halt to missile launches last year.

“Pentagon officials contend that American missiles defences are too few to effectively counter a major first-strike on the US homeland by an advanced nuclear power like Russia or China. Washington hopes those countries will instead be deterred from attacks by America’s nuclear arsenal.”

Even though the Bible does not indicate a major attack from countries such as Russia, China, North Korea or Iran, it does imply that these and other Far Eastern nations will collaborate militarily and fight against Europe, referring to them as the “kings of the East.” At the same time, we know that Europe will attack America with nuclear weapons.

Russia Deploys Missiles and Troops Near Ukrainian Border

Fox News wrote on January 18:

“Satellite images shot Thursday… have revealed a new Russian deployment of Iskander missile batteries and launchers… 270 miles from the border with Ukraine… The Iskander ballistic missile has a range up to 310 miles, and can carry both unconventional as well as nuclear warheads, putting most of America’s NATO allies at risk…

‘Fox News has reported of further Russian troops deployment and S-400 Surface to air missile[s]…”

The Bible tells us clearly that Russia and Ukraine will combine forces against Europe.

Venezuela… the Next US Battle Ground?

CNBC wrote on January 23:

“Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning over the backing of the Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Nicolas Maduro to break relations with the United States… Maduro said he would give U.S. diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave Venezuela, which is suffering from a hyperinflationary economic collapse.

“U.S. President Donald Trump formally recognized Guaido shortly after his announcement and praised his plan to hold elections. That was swiftly followed by similar statements from Canada and a slew of right-leaning Latin American governments, including Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it would not remove American diplomats because it did not recognize the Maduro regime as the government of Venezuela…

“Guaido’s declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the opposition now running a parallel government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions…

“Maduro welcomed the deployment of two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers. The Russian aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, landed in Caracas last month in a move designed to show Moscow’s support of Venezuela’s socialist regime. The Pentagon swiftly criticized the Russian deployment of warplanes to Venezuela…

“Maduro started a second term on Jan. 10 following a widely-boycotted election last year that many foreign governments described as a sham. Venezuela’s constitution says if the presidency is determined to be vacant, new elections should be called in 30 days and that the head of congress should assume the presidency in the meantime. However, the pro-government Supreme Court has ruled that all actions taken by congress are null and void and Maduro’s government has previously accused Guaido of staging a coup and threatened him with jail…

“The South American country has the largest crude reserves in the world and is a major supplier to U.S. refiners…”

The Guardian wrote on January 24:

“The head of Venezuela’s armed forces has thrown his weight behind the embattled president, warning that the country could be thrust into a devastating civil war by what he called a US-backed ‘criminal plan’ to unseat Nicolás Maduro… Further bolstering Maduro’s position, Russian President Vladimir Putin… insisted [the crisis] was ‘provoked from abroad’…

“Donald Trump has warned that ‘all options are on the table’ for a US response if the Maduro government seeks to hold on to power by force. His national security advisor, John Bolton, refused to exclude military action on Thursday, but said the immediate emphasis would be on economic measures… He said that Washington was currently trying to strengthen the coalition against Maduro among American and European states. The EU has called for new elections but most member states have not followed Washington in recognising Guaidó… The UK however, broke European ranks on Thursday and sided with the US.”

Iran Deal further Divides Europe and America

Politico wrote on January 19:

“Of all the damage Trump has done to transatlantic relations, no issue has divided the U.S. from its European allies as starkly as the dispute over the Iran accord… The fight is about to heat up. EU officials… plan to approve and register in France a ‘special purpose vehicle’ aimed at helping European companies to continue doing business with Iran and circumvent the sanctions Trump unilaterally reimposed on Tehran last year… The refusal of the EU… France, Germany and the U.K…. to fall in line behind Trump’s pullout from the deal has enraged the president and his administration.

“Escalating the dispute, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has railed recently against the EU and other multilateral organizations, will hold a conference in Poland next month on Middle East peace that will put a spotlight on tensions between Warsaw and Brussels, including on foreign policy…”

President Trump’s Huge Impact

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 19:

“At the halfway-mark of his first term it is time to acknowledge the huge impact he’s already had – and wonder how much more could come.

“In his first two years in office, US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the landmark international nuclear arms agreement with Iran, out of the signature global climate accord and out of the historic trade pact with Asia, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). He launched a bruising trade war with China, slapped tariffs on America’s European allies and ordered a speedy withdrawal of all US forces from Syria.

“He signed into law one of the largest tax overhauls in recent history, instituted a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants and triggered the longest government shutdown in US history. And he is in the process of remaking US courts by appointing more federal judges to the bench than any of his recent predecessors at the same time.

“These are only some of the most striking examples of the tangible impact Trump has had. And it is important to note that all of these moves, while often rolled out erratically, should not have come as a surprise to anyone as all of them were campaign promises made by then-candidate Trump…”

President Trump is determined to carry out his remaining campaign promises as well.

“If You Thought the first Two Years Were Crazy, then You’d Better Buckle Up”

The Independent wrote on January 19:

“With so many challenges confronting him, so many pitfalls to face, and so much likelihood he will be pressured in a way he does not like, we can expect two years of hard fighting and ugliness from the White House… Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College in New York… said if Trump finds himself with his back to the wall as a result of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller… things ‘will get very ugly… If we think things have been divisive over the government shutdown, that will look like child’s play’…

“Trump and his legal team have always dismissed the probe as a witch hunt and denied any collusion. But this week saw two interesting developments: a vow from Trump’s new pick for attorney general, William Barr, that he will let the Muller investigation be completed, and an apparent admission from Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani – ‘clarified’ the following day – that somebody in the campaign may have colluded with Moscow…

“Two other things are going to further unsettle the president. One is the fact that the Democrats now control the House of Representatives and everything that means… The final factor that will trigger reverberations from the White House is the 2020 election… if Trump fights the 2020 campaign as he did the one in 2016, we can expect it to be unpleasant, toxic and ill tempered. The name-calling he deployed against people such as Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz will be the least of it…

“Given the pace of developments…, it has been nothing less than exhausting. The next two years will only be worse.”

In regard to allegations of collusion with Russia, notice the next article.

BuzzFeed vs. Trump vs. Mueller

Newsmax wrote on January 19:

“BuzzFeed News released a statement Saturday standing by their Thursday report that Donald Trump directed his then-attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow after the Mueller team disputed the report Friday. ‘As we’ve re-confirmed our reporting, we’ve seen no indication that any specific aspect of our story is inaccurate,’ wrote BuzzFeed’s director of communications Matt Mittenthal in a statement. ‘We remain confident in what we’ve reported, and will share more as we are able.’

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s spokesman issued a rare statement disputing BuzzFeed’s report Friday. ‘BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate,’ said Peter Carr, Mueller’s spokesman.

“It was unclear exactly what Mueller’s office was disputing, but BuzzFeed reported that the special counsel learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie through ‘interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages and a cache of other documents’…

“Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani called the claims ‘categorically false,’ and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also denied the report. BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith wrote on Twitter that ‘we stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he’s disputing’…”

It appears that somebody is not telling the truth.

Trump’s Proposal to End Shutdown—Dead on Arrival

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 19:

“President Trump offered to extend protections for some immigrants in exchange for $5.7 billion to build a wall at the Mexican border…

“Trump’s proposal:

“$5.7 billion for wall or steel barriers for critical areas of the border

“$800 million dollars in urgent humanitarian assistance to the border

“$800 million for technology, border protection

“75 new immigration judge teams, to reduce immigration casework backlog

“Measures to protect migrant children from exploitation, a new system for minors to apply for asylum from their home countries

“Three years of legislative relief for young immigrants who arrived illegally with their parents (DACA), including access to work permits and protection for deportation

“A three-year extension to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) refugee program…

“Prior to the speech, the White House made the proposal public, stressing the DACA and TPS extensions. Both programs have been imperiled by Trump, as he sought to end them early in his presidency. The fate of more than 700,000 DACA recipients, young people who entered the US illegally before the age of 14, has rested on the courts since Trump announced his plan to end the program.

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed Trump’s plan as a ‘non-starter.’ ‘His proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives,’ Pelosi said.”

Fox News added on January 19:

“Trump announced that he was prepared to back a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children and were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program… The offered deal would also extend protections for 300,000 recipients of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program — which protects immigrants from designated countries with conditions that prevent nationals from returning safely. It would allocate $800 million for drug detection technology to secure ports of entry [and] 2,750 new border agents and law enforcement professionals…

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Trump for his ‘bold solution’ to re-open the government… Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voiced support for the president’s compromise plan, pledging his support for it via Twitter.

“The partial government shutdown, which has dragged on for 29 days and led to hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed or working without pay, is the result of Republicans and Democrats being unable to come to an agreement over Trump’s demand for wall funding. Trump has said he will not sign a bill to open the government unless it includes that funding, while Democrats have refused to consider the $5.7 billion figure, instead offering $1.3 billion for general border security.

“Trump’s move marks a rare outreach in a week where both sides appear to have hardened in their positions, with Trump canceling a Democratic delegation’s military flight to Afghanistan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on him to delay his State of the Union address earlier in the week. On Saturday before the speech, Trump described Pelosi as being ‘controlled by the radical left.’”

It does not appear that the shutdown will end any time soon. This is really a terrible testimony to America’s inability to govern and lead. At the same time, both Democrats and rightwing Republicans rejected President Trump’s attempt to come to a compromise. Note the next article.

Juvenile Stalemate between Republicans and Democrats Continues

The Washington post wrote on January 24:

“The Senate on Thursday rejected competing Republican and Democratic plans to end the partial government shutdown, now in its 34th day. The Republican bill included funding for President Trump’s border wall while the Democratic plan did not. Both measures failed to win the 60 votes needed to move forward…

“The votes follow a dramatic day in which Trump agreed to postpone his State of the Union address after Speaker Nancy Pelosi… disinvited him from making the speech next week in the House chamber.”

Rightwing Hard-Liners Attack Trump

The Huffington Post wrote on January 19:

“Rightwing scold Ann Coulter is tearing into President Donald Trump’s offer to extend protections for the so-called immigrant Dreamers in exchange for Democrats’ support for $5.7 billion for his southern border wall. Coulter lashed out after Trump offered to extend protections for three years under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Coulter mocked the plan’s ‘amnesty,’ noting sarcastically that maybe Trump could finally get an entire border wall if ‘we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners.’ [She] also accused Trump of turning into his GOP presidential candidate rival Jeb Bush, who is far more supportive of immigrants.

“Coulter speaks for extreme immigration hardliners. But many observers believe her opinions sway the president… Earlier this month Coulter told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business that she would rather deport Dreamers than MS-13 gang members.”

Sadly, it may very well be true that President Trump thinks he needs to listen to such extreme right-wing views as expressed by Coulter and others. Note the next article.

Trump Responds to Coulter and Hard-Liners

The Hill wrote on January 20:

“President Trump early Sunday… chastised Democrats for dismissing his plan, and attempted to assuage immigration hard-liners who likened the administration’s latest proposal to amnesty for immigrants already in the country illegally.

“‘No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer,’ Trump tweeted. ‘It is a 3 year extension of DACA. Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else. Likewise there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally–but be careful Nancy!’”

His implied threat to Pelosi in the context of removal of illegal aliens is worrisome to many observers.

How America Feels about the Shutdown and the Wall

Newsmax wrote on January 23:

“Sixty-six percent of Americans want President Donald Trump to agree to a budget without funding for a wall on the southern border, while 52 percent want Democrats to reach a deal on a budget that includes funding for the barrier… Only 28 percent said the border wall is worth the government shutdown, while 71 percent said it is not worth it. Only 37 percent said a wall is necessary to secure the border, while 61 percent said the border can be secured without it…

“Sixty percent of Americans said the government shutdown is causing serious problems, while 34 percent said it is causing some problems, but not serious ones and 5 percent said it is causing no problems.

Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped three percentage points from November to 36 percent today. Fifty-nine percent of Americans now disapprove of the job he is doing, a high for his presidency… The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample is plus or minus three percentage points.”

How 34 percent of Americans can possibly feel that the shutdown does not cause serious problems is a mystery and further testimony of total ignorance.

Worldwide Hatred for Jews

The Algemeiner wrote on January 23:

“Israel was condemned at least 20 times in the UN General Assembly for human rights abuses, illegal settlements, and continued occupation of East Jerusalem in 2018 — more than any other country. According to former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, since the 1940s, the UN has condemned Israel at least 500 times…

“Consider the charge a few years ago by newly-elected Congresswoman Ilhan Omarthat ‘Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel‘…

“Medieval persecutions of Jews were horrible. In 1349 in Germany alone, more Jews were slaughtered than early Christians were killed in all Roman persecutions…

“Medieval Jews were expelled from one Western European country after another. But today, as the Jewish population has been ‘globalized,’ antisemitic conspiracy mongers have a much easier time portraying Jews through modern media as a ‘world menace.’

“The existence of Israel is double-edged. Israel, since the Shoah, has been a potential haven for Jews seeking to escape persecution. But on the other hand, there is a real ‘Jewish state’ that antisemites can depict as an all-powerful evildoer on the world scene.”

Many anti-Semites refuse to believe in the Devil, while calling Israel the Devil. They do not realize that it is they who are inspired by the Devil to believe and act in that way.

“More than Half of all Food Produced in Canada Lost or Wasted”

CBC wrote on January 17:

“According to [new] research, some 4.82 million tonnes of food, or nearly $21 billion worth, is lost or wasted during the processing and manufacturing process. Some 2.38 million tonnes of food, or more than $10 billion worth, is lost at the consumer level. In total, the value of all food that is lost or wasted in Canada is a staggering $49 billion…

“The amount of food is enough to feed every Canadian for five months… The annual cost of avoidable food loss and waste in Canada is $1,766 per household.”

That is so sad. While many people starve to death in certain parts of the world because of lack of food, wealthy and blessed nations such as Canada destroy and waste surplus food supplies.

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.

Brexit Delay?

The Guardian wrote on January 13:

“The EU is preparing to delay Brexit until at least July after concluding that Theresa May is doomed to fail in getting her deal through parliament… The country’s 29 March deadline for exiting the EU is now regarded by Brussels as highly unlikely to be met… A ‘technical’ extension until July is a probable first step to give May extra time to revise and ratify the current deal…

“Senior EU sources said that a further, lengthier extension could be offered at a later date… although the upcoming May elections for the European parliament would create complications… The first session of the parliament is in July. You would need UK MEPs there if the country is still a member state…”

Der Spiegel Online commented that it would be impossible to delay the exit until July, due to the EU parliamentary elections in May. In any event, if there were such a delay, it would only postpone the inevitable.

May Defeated in Parliament

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 15:

“The UK parliament on Tuesday voted to reject an agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, in the biggest ever defeat of a modern government in the House of Commons. It was a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May and her Brexit plans.

“Lawmakers in the parliament’s lower House of Commons voted by 432 to 202 to reject the withdrawal agreement. The loss by 230 votes far exceeds the previous record for a defeat which was held by the Labour government of Ramsay Macdonald, crushed by 166 votes in 1924…

“The European Union will intensify its preparations for a scenario in which Britain leaves the bloc without a withdrawal agreement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday. ‘The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,’ Juncker said…”

Newsmax added on January 15:

“British lawmakers… [were] triggering political chaos… the United Kingdom is now ensnared in the deepest political crisis in half a century…

“The humiliating loss, the first British parliamentary defeat of a treaty since 1864, appeared to catastrophically undermine May’s two-year strategy of forging an amicable divorce with close ties to the EU after the March 29 exit… Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said there would be no further renegotiation…”

The End of the British Empire

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 16:

“Britain needs a new prime minister, but opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is plagued by the lack of unity within the Labour Party. And so far, there has been no one else in sight to take on the role… there’s no guarantee of a good outcome. But this shows Brexit’s unprecedented destructive power: It is not tearing apart the European Union as expected, but, rather, it is tearing Britain apart. Brexit will likely prove the country’s greatest disaster.”

The Week wrote on January 15:

“The drama of Brexit has both revealed and deepened cleavages between the nations that make up the United Kingdom…”

Bild Online wrote on January 16:

“It’s over… How can the island leave the European Union (EU) without sinking itself?…

“In the course of the negotiations with the very united EU (from Hungary to Germany and Italy), the British Prime Minister… was toppled by the expectations that she herself had fueled for far too long… The 48 percent of Brits who do NOT want Brexit have no audible political voice in parliament or among the parties. That’s why re-elections also wouldn’t help…

“It is sad to witness the tarnishing of the future of the proud United Kingdom…  Of course, one can stop the clock and continue to negotiate. But what will talking achieve…?”

“Zombie May Shambles On”–Theresa May Barely Survives No-Confidence Vote

Breitbart wrote on January 16:

“Theresa May’s government has survived a vote of no confidence by 325 votes to 306… The Prime Minister would not have survived without the support of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The Brexit-supporting party has provided her minority government with its parliamentary majority through a confidence and supply arrangement, but helped the Opposition… hand the Withdrawal Agreement she negotiated with the EU a stunning defeat, believing some of its provisions would have undermined Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.

“Mrs May adopted a magnanimous stance after the vote confirmed her position, offering to hold talks with the leaders of rival parties on how to take the Brexit negotiations forward the same night. How fruitful these can be remains in doubt, however…”

 German-French Treaty

Euractiv wrote on January 10:

“With their signature in 1963, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulles laid the ground for the beginning of an unexpected friendship. The document, with just under six pages, did not define any political goals but was rather a blueprint for what became later the Franco-German engine on the European level.

“The extension to the Élysée Treaty approved by the German and French cabinets will be signed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in the German border city of Aachen on 22 January – an ancient symbol of European concord… German government spokesman Steffen Seibert, called the decision ‘an issue of historical importance’…

“The document… stipulates that a priority of German-French diplomacy will be for Germany to be accepted as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.”

The treaty will also include a cooperation agreement in the area of defense… or collaboration of their militaries.

Breitbart wrote on January 10:

“There is profound significance to having chosen Aachen… the ancient Roman spa city… [that] was also the residence and burial place of the early medieval ruler Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor dubbed the ‘Father of Europe’ for having united the western part of the continent by the 9th century.”

We are witnessing Europe’s LAST revival of the ancient HOLY Roman Empire.

Europe Is Forming an Army

On January 10, Handelsblatt published this opinion piece by German Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen:

“Europe’s army is already taking shape. Reforms in recent past months and years have brought our armed forces closer together. We’re working quickly…

“Among European nations, Germany and France are the driving forces in defense. But the German army’s close cooperation with other European partners, especially with Dutch forces, has also proven effective in many missions, and illustrates how to do integration properly.

“Now 25 countries have joined forces in a security initiative we call Pesco. And not because we’re following requirements from Brussels, but voluntarily, because we see the obvious benefits, and because it’s in Europe’s security interests.

“We’re moving even further ahead with our close partner France. The draft of ‘the new Elysèe Treaty’, agreed by the cabinet yesterday, shows that in future we want to address our security challenges together… Let’s note also that France and Germany, rivals and arch-enemies until 70 years ago, have now pledged mutual assistance and every conceivable kind of help to each other, in case of an armed attack on the territory on the partner country…

 “I have therefore proposed forming a special committee at the European level, composed of members of national parliaments, which is to be informed early on about crisis scenarios as they take shape. That could speed up decision-making processes at the national level, as well as strengthen support for any military action… Europe must be able to defend itself.”

Breitbart wrote on January 12:

“On Friday, the bloc’s top military official Claudio Graziano said he had been working with other EU army chiefs to thrash out what can be done to enhance the bloc’s capabilities, saying there is ‘a lot of expectation’ about what the EU can undertake.”

German Ban on Homeschooling Upheld by European Court of “Human Rights”

CNA wrote on January 11:

“Two homeschooling German parents who said their parental rights were violated by the enforcement of compulsory school attendance laws did not prevail in the European Court of Human Rights, which unanimously rejected their claims Thursday…

“In August 2013, a group of at least 20 police officers and social workers raided the… home and took away their four children… they were eventually returned to their parents…

“In its Jan. 10 decision, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights said that compulsory school attendance to ‘prevent social isolation’ and to ensure their integration in society are relevant justifications to intervene against parental authority. German officials were reasonable to assume that parents had ‘endangered their children by not sending them to school,’ the court said…

“The court acknowledged that the parents later submitted learning assessments showing that the children had ‘sufficient knowledge, social skills and a loving relationship with their parents’…

“Homeschooling has been illegal in Germany since 1918, though in recent years the policy has raised questions and concerns with human rights groups who say it is an infringement on the right to family life…

“Several German families who wish to homeschool, many of them Christian, have sought refuge in the United States to ensure their ability to educate their children at home. Others have moved to countries like France or Austria, which have less strict laws [at this point].

“In 2014, Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled that restrictions on homeschooling were justified on the grounds that the government has a compelling interest in preventing the formation of religious or ideological parallel societies. The court also argued that requiring children to attend school provides them the benefit of interacting with other children who might think differently.

“In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there is no right to homeschool.”

This practice in Germany and other European countries and the decision by the European Court of Human Rights place an undue burden on religious parents—Jews and Christians alike—who are opposed to the German and Europe school courses on sex education and unbiblical religious activities. Homeschooling should be a decision which should be made by the parents—not by the government. However one may look at homeschooling, a ban on homeschooling clearly violates the parents’ right of free exercise of religion and other constitutional guarantees and should have been deemed to be illegal by the courts.

AfD Proposes DEXIT

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 13:

“The AfD blasted the ‘privileged’ members of the European Parliament while campaigning to join that very body… The final version of the manifesto passed on Sunday evening retained the threat of a ‘Dexit,’ [Germany’s departure from the EU] but jettisoned any concrete timeframe…

“The AfD was founded in 2013 as a euroskeptic party intent on having Germany leave the euro currency. But it has since been taken over by anti-immigrant and Islamophobic members and has risen in popularity to become the largest opposition party in the Bundestag… Their manifesto also opposes the EU having a joint defense and foreign policy.

With that stance, the AfD will have no future and unless it changes its position again, like the proverbial chameleon, it has signed its own death certificate, as the Bible clearly shows that Germany will not leave the EU and that there will be a European army.

US Ambassador to Germany Threatens German Companies

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 13:

“The US ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, has sent threatening letters to German companies working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline…

“German companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Germany and Russia received letters from US Ambassador Richard Grenell warning them of ‘a significant risk of sanctions’ if they did not pull out of the project, Germany’s mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag has reported. The large pipeline is set to deliver gas from northwestern Russia to northern Germany under the Baltic Sea and effectively double the amount of gas Germany imports from the country.

“The US opposes the project over fears that the gas link would tighten Russia’s control of Europe’s energy supply and diminish the importance of gas transit countries such as Ukraine. US companies are also keen to sell gas obtained by fracking to many European countries…

“Grenell’s latest move remains highly unusual and is likely to prompt fresh tensions between Washington and Berlin…”

AFP added on January 13:

“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas… weighed in on the transatlantic row last week, saying ‘European energy policy should be decided in Europe, not in the United States.’”

Did Trump Forsake Europe?

BBC News wrote on January 14:

“For generations, American presidents have saved some of their warmest words for their European colleagues.

“They came to the Berlin Wall and spoke of freedom – and, after it fell, they spoke of a new era of co-operation with a rebuilt Europe. But in the era of Donald Trump, leaders across the continent now know that those days have gone.

“John F Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ declaration, Ronald Reagan’s 1987 message to Moscow: ‘Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall,’ George HW Bush’s promises of collaboration after the Cold War and Barack Obama’s warm words about binding ties across the Atlantic are all now distant memories.

“With every visit to Europe and every White House tweet about the cost of Nato or EU tariffs, this president makes it clear that he believes Europe is more often an impediment than an ally.

“None of his predecessors would have dreamed of calling the EU a ‘foe’, as President Trump did in a recent interview about trade…

“With Europe embroiled in its Brexit difficulties, which leave so many questions unanswered, its leaders also find themselves scrambling to work out what it might mean if these old ties with the United States continue to unravel.”

Trump Rebuked by European Parliament and US Congressional Democrats

Deutsche Welle reported on January 17:

“The Trump administration’s recent downgrading of the EU ambassador’s status without prior notice… has led to parliamentary action on both sides of the Atlantic. In a strongly worded letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 27 congressional Democrats denounced the diplomatic downgrade. ‘Disturbingly, this step, which appears to have taken place late last year, occurred without congressional consultation or apparent notification to the European Union,’ the lawmakers wrote in a letter published this week… Both the substance of this decision and the undiplomatic way in which it was carried out needlessly denigrate trans-Atlantic relations.’…

“US lawmakers demand answers by January 30 to four specific questions about the downgrade, among them why the decision was made, why Congress was not informed, and how it was reviewed and approved within the Trump administration. ‘We ought to support and strengthen our allies, not turn them into foes,’ the letter concludes. ‘Insulting them for no apparent reason does not typically encourage them to take a warmer view of the United States.’

“The missive echoes the sentiment expressed in a letter by members of the European Parliament. Addressed to members of the US Congress and published one day after the downgrade became public, the letter by the European Parliament’s 58-member Delegation for Relations With the United States slammed the White House’s ‘increasingly harmful approach’ to trans-Atlantic relations and urged Congress to help ‘strengthen and not undermine each other’.

“The MEPs criticized the demotion of the EU’s ambassador to the United States, David O’Sullivan, saying neither the ambassador nor the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had been ‘formally notified of this change’ in advance. ‘This is no way to treat partners,’ they wrote.”

Killing NATO

The New York Times wrote on January 14:

“Last year, President Trump suggested a move tantamount to destroying NATO: the withdrawal of the United States… several times over the course of 2018, Mr. Trump privately said he wanted to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization… Mr. Trump told his top national security officials that he did not see the point of the military alliance, which he presented as a drain on the United States…

‘American national security officials believe that Russia has largely focused on undermining solidarity between the United States and Europe after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Its goal was to upend NATO, which Moscow views as a threat…

“Russia’s meddling in American elections and its efforts to prevent former satellite states from joining the alliance have aimed to weaken what it views as an enemy next door, the American officials said. With a weakened NATO, they said, Mr. Putin would have more freedom to behave as he wishes, setting up Russia as a counterweight to Europe and the United States…

“Mr. Trump’s skepticism of NATO appears to be a core belief…

“Allies feeling threatened by Russia already have extreme doubts about whether Mr. Trump would order troops to come to their aid…”

Especially now, in light of President Trump’s announcements regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Syria (note the articles below). President Trump responded to the article by saying that the US is “100% in support of NATO”… a dubious claim in light of recent developments.

In Light of Shutdown… US Constitution Outdated and Near Collapse?

The Week wrote on January 11:

“President Trump’s shutdown will stand alone… as the longest in American history…

“In most modern democracies, this kind of preposterous standoff is simply not possible. In Canada, for instance, failure to pass a budget is an automatic vote of no confidence that triggers new elections… In the meantime, the previous budget is basically rolled forward until the new government can get a chance to pass a fresh budget…

“By contrast, the American Constitution not only allows for this sort of thing, but encourages it… There is no democratic principle on the basis of which it can be resolved…

“Trump… starkly illustrated a weakness inherent to the American system… Every other country with an American-style constitution watched it collapse eventually, most of them over impasses very similar to the one we are experiencing now. It is not at all impossible that we are in the first stages of that same process. The U.S. Constitution was clearly outdated 100 years ago. It might be time to start thinking about how to replace it.”

The shutdown is continuing, with no end in sight. In fact and quite incredibly, the childishly stupid divisions between Trump and the Republicans on the one hand, and the Democrats on the other hand, are even deepening.

National Emergency

President Trump has indicated that he might declare a national emergency if no deal can be reached regarding the building of a wall between Mexico and the USA.US News and World Report wrote on January 8:

“What actually constitutes an emergency… is up for debate and requires the president to use existing law to justify a declaration. Presidents in recent history have exercised their power to declare national emergencies under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 [However, it is up to the President to “define” what constitutes a national emergency.]

“… [Under a national emergency], the President may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens.

“Congress, however, can check the executive branch and overrule the president’s use of the act by passing a joint resolution out of the House and Senate. Like a law, the resolution would require a simple majority in each chamber and require the president’s signature, or require Congress to override his veto” [by 2/3rd vote in both House and Senate].

US Begins Withdrawal from Syria

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 11:

“The United States has started the ‘deliberate withdrawal’ process of its forces from Syria, US military officials confirmed on Friday, but they refused to provide any details on exactly what troops and equipment were being moved… A Defense Department spokesperson later said that while equipment was being moved out of Syria, troops were not withdrawing.

“Separately, the head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights… confirmed that the US had started withdrawing troops from the airfield base near the town of Rmeilan in northeast Syria on Thursday evening. Some 150 soldiers and 10 armored vehicles, along with some trucks and heavy equipment, left the town and crossed the Iraqi border, he said…”

Newsmax wrote on January 13:

“President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that the United States has begun withdrawing from Syria. ‘Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions,’ Trump wrote. ‘Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds…’

“The president also warned the Kurds not to antagonize Turkey in a continuation of his tweet…

“Strains in relations with Turkey have also increased over American demands that Kurds be protected…”

This will make neither side happy.

ISIS Kills American Troops in Syria

Newsmax wrote on January 16:

“A bomb attack claimed by Islamic State killed U.S. troops in northern Syria Wednesday, weeks after President Donald Trump said [the] group was defeated there and he would pull out all American forces… [Reportedly] four U.S. troops had been killed and three wounded in the blast, which an Islamic State-affiliated site said was the work of a suicide bomber…

“The attack, which took place in the town of Manbij, controlled by rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, appears to be the deadliest on U.S. forces in Syria since they deployed on the ground there in 2015…

“A witness in the city said the attack had targeted a restaurant where U.S. personnel were meeting members of the local militia that Washington backs there. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said 16 people had been killed in all, including two Americans. A militia source in north Syria also said two U.S. troops had been killed.”

Ukraine Could Soon Cease to Be a Country

The Independent wrote on January 16:

“Ukraine could lose its statehood if the former Soviet republic continues to be divided by competing interests, Russia’s top security official has said. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s security council, accused Ukrainian authorities, including president Petro Poroshenko, of being ‘controlled’ by the US amid simmering tensions between Kiev and Moscow… He continued: ‘The Kiev authorities are doing everything to split Ukraine, implementing the West’s scenario to break Ukraine away from Russia, while ignoring the interests of its own people. As a result, the country has been de facto split.’

“Mr Patrushev’s comments come amid a crisis between the two countries following Russia’s 2014 invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea, an autonomous region in Ukraine’s southeast with close historical and cultural ties to Russia. The standoff moved a step closer towards open conflict last year when three Ukrainian vessels and 24 Ukrainian sailors were fired at and captured by Russian coast guards in the Black Sea in November. A Moscow court on Wednesday extended the detention of eight of the seamen. Russia insists the men should be put on trial for violating its border. Ukraine calls them prisoners of war who were illegally captured…

“The US has provided more than $1bn to Kiev to help enhance its defensive military capabilities, and last year their militaries co-hosted a major exercise involving US Navy warships and hundreds of sailors and Marines…

“Mr Patrushev said [that] ‘anti-government sentiment in the [western] regions is mounting…”

Is Russia creating a scenario under which it will justify a coming annexation of Ukraine?

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.