House Chickens Out on Planned Parenthood Scandal

 Breitbart wrote on July 29:

“The House is leaving for its summer recess until September 8 without voting on legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of the recent gruesome videos released of the abortion giant’s practice of harvesting the body parts of aborted babies for sale to biomedical companies… Thousands of Americans participated in rallies across the nation Tuesday to urge their state and federal lawmakers to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of the revelations in the videos.

“Rep. Diane Black… condemned the chamber for its failure to pass the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, a measure she introduced and for which there are 150 cosponsors, only one of which is a Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski…

“Black said on the House floor: ‘I stand here profoundly disappointed that the House will leave town today without taking a vote on my legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Over the past two weeks, we’ve all seen the gruesome videos showing the heartless depravity of this organization. We issued statements, we made passionate floor speeches, and we pledged action. Now, our constituents would like to know when we’re going to follow through on that promise. Today, I’m reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act,”’ she added.

“Black, who has been a nurse for over 40 years and is a member of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, concluded by saying, ‘[W]e have a moral obligation to defund Planned Parenthood, and we must do it now – not when the politicians and pundits think it is most politically expedient.’

“Though House Republican leaders have lambasted the videos, The Hill reports they have indicated legislation to defund Planned Parenthood would not likely come up for a vote in the near future. The Senate, nevertheless, is expected to vote next week on a legislation effort led by Sen. Rand Paul… that would defund Planned Parenthood. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell… confirmed Tuesday that the Senate will vote next week to eliminate the $540 million in taxpayer funding the nation’s largest abortion provider receives.

“At least one Republican senator, Sen. Susan Collins… said Wednesday… that until she knows more, she will oppose ending federal support to Planned Parenthood.”

There is really NO true leadership in the USA, and an appalling lack of morality and moral values in ALL political parties…

 The Fight Against Planned Parenthood

 Breitbart wrote on July 24:

“[Sen. Rand] Paul tried to get the floor to stand up and offer an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood and another one to arm servicemen and women on military bases. He intended to offer these measures as amendments to the highway bill that is currently on the Senate floor. Whoever was presiding over the floor refused to recognize Paul to offer his amendments…

“Paul isn’t taking this lying down. He is… currently circulating a petition to go around the Senate leaders and force a vote on defunding Planned Parenthood anyway. Paul is calling pro-life leaders to join him in this crusade, and some pro-life leaders are already whispering that this may be the perfect time to strike at Planned Parenthood. If he succeeds, it would of course be a massive rebuke of McConnell’s leadership of the GOP majority in the Senate…

“Planned Parenthood gets over $500 million a year in taxpayer funding. Senate sources also say that in addition to Paul’s effort to go around McConnell for a vote to defund Planned Parenthood, more damning videos—like the ones showing the organization’s executives sought to sell baby body parts for cash or for a Lamborghini sports car—may be coming, though it’s unclear when the videos will come out…

“If Paul can get the necessary support from his colleagues for these measures, a vote could come this week on this bill to defund Planned Parenthood either as an amendment to the highway bill or as a stand-alone piece of legislation.”

 Clinton Supports Planned Parenthood

 ABC News reported on July 29

“Hillary Clinton has staunchly defended Planned Parenthood in the wake of recently released videos that an anti-abortion group claims to show employees with the organization discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue.  But, in a new interview, she calls the graphic videos ‘disturbing’ and says there should be a national investigation into that practice… Clinton, however, did not waiver in her overall support of the organization…

“Clinton made the remark on the same day the Center for Medical Progress released a third video which it says shows the harvesting of fetal tissue, as well as current and former Planned Parenthood employees discussing the procedures and pricing.

“Several Republicans — including many GOP presidential candidates — have cited these videos as a reason why Planned Parenthood should lose federal funding. And Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has called for Clinton to return the group’s donations to her campaign. In response to the claims of illegal behavior in the video, Planned Parenthood has asserted that all of its actions are legal as well as ethical…

“Clinton, who is pro-choice, has vowed to defend Planned Parenthood over the weekend, even adding in a new line to her campaign stump speech. ‘I will defend a woman’s right to choose,’ Clinton said in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, ‘and I will defend Planned Parenthood.’”

Why can’t we all see that God HATES what is going on in this country, and that the murder of MILLIONS of innocent babies will NOT go unpunished?

 March the Jews to the Door of the Oven?

 On July 26, CNN wrote the following:

“President Barack Obama is marching Israelis to ‘the door of the oven’ by agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal, Mike Huckabee said Sunday… ‘This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,’ Huckabee said. He continued: ‘This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal. It should be rejected by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and by the American people. I read the whole deal. We gave away the whole store. It’s got to be stopped.’…

“Huckabee and other GOP presidential candidates have pledged to undo the deal, which the United States and five other world powers struck with Iran this month after weeks of negotiations in Vienna…”

 Kerry on the Defensive

 The New York Post wrote on July 24:

 “Secretary of State John Kerry had an ‘intense exchange’ when he tried to sell the Iran nuclear deal to skeptical Jewish leaders in New York on Friday. A day after GOP senators blasted him for getting ‘fleeced’ by Iran, Kerry faced another tough crowd in a closed-door meeting with about 120 Jewish leaders at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations…

“Kerry spoke from a podium and fielded pointed questions from a crowd of Israel supporters concerned that the deal could allow Iran to get relief from sanctions while still maintaining some nuclear infrastructure that could threaten Israel… One critic was former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Kerry’s former Senate colleague, who ‘made some impassioned comments’…

“Earlier, at the Council of Foreign Relations, Kerry said Israel would get the blame if Congress votes down the nuclear deal… That line of argument didn’t go over well with the Jewish leaders….

“In his speech at the Foreign Relations group, Kerry also went after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he hasn’t offered a real alternative to a deal he has been denouncing for months… Kerry also warned Israel would be making a huge mistake if it took unilateral military action against Iran.”

 Kerry Won’t Reveal Iran Side Deals to American People

 The Weekly Standard wrote on July 29:

“Secretary of State John Kerry testified on Capitol Hill today the U.S. government will not be revealing the contents of secret side deals with Iran to the American people. Senator Tom Cotton wanted to know why it can’t be made public.  ‘I’d like to stick with you, Secretary Kerry,’ Cotton said. ‘Why can’t we confirm or deny the content of these agreements in public? Why is this classified? It’s not a sensitive U.S. government document.’

“’Because we respect the process of the IAEA and we don’t have their authorization to reveal what is a confidential agreement between them and another country,’ said Kerry. Cotton said, ‘So the ayatollahs will know what they agreed to but not the American people?’ Kerry said that members of Congress would be able to learn about it in a classified briefing.”

 There is evidently something to hide, and it is not what the American people would like!

“Iran: Obama Administration Lying About Nuclear Deal”

freebeacon.com reported on July 30:

“Senior Iranian officials are accusing the Obama administration of lying about the details of the recent nuclear accord in order to soothe fears among U.S. lawmakers and Americans about the implications of the deal, which will release billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic while temporarily freezing its nuclear program, according to reports from Iran’s state-controlled media.

“As Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior Obama administration figures launch a full-court press to convince Congress to approve the  deal, Iranian leaders are dismissing the rhetoric as ‘aimed at domestic consumption.’…

“When addressing claims this week by the administration that the deal shuts down Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, Iranian officials scoffed and said that the Obama administration is misleading the public in order to sell the deal…”

The Times of Israel added on July 30:

“Iran will not allow American or Canadian inspectors working for the U.N. nuclear watchdog to visit its nuclear facilities, an official said in remarks broadcast by state TV on Thursday.

“Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will only allow inspectors from countries that have diplomatic relations with it.”

 

 Turkey Strikes Against ISIS and PKK

Deutsche Welle reported on July 27:

“Turkey says its warplanes have struck ‘Islamic State’ sites in Syria for a second straight night. Turkish jets also struck Kurdish PKK camps in Iraq. The twin strikes will complicate the US-led air campaign against IS.

 “On Saturday, Turkey risked double-fronted warfare against ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, respectively. IS and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are themselves bitter foes. Ankara’s change of tack follows a suicide bombing last Monday that shook Turkish society.”

Strikes against the Kurds will complicate the situation regarding USA, which considers the Kurds as their allies in the fight with ISIS.

Greece Not Ready to Leave the Euro

The Huffington Post wrote on July 20:

“Like many people following the negotiations between Greece and its creditors, I was inclined to see Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s finance minister, as the villain of the story. After all, Mr. Schauble insisted on severely punitive measures for Greece as a condition for continuing support from the European Central Bank (ECB). He appeared to be the bad cop relative to others in the negotiations, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was willing to make at least some concessions to keep Greece in the euro. But a more careful analysis arguably leads to the opposite conclusion.

“Schauble did not argue for throwing Greece out of the euro simply as a punitive measure, although he quite obviously disapproved of the way Greece had run its budget and its economy. He argued, quite possibly sincerely, that at least a temporary departure from the euro zone would be the best path forward for Greece… This divorce process was clearly not the first best solution. That would have involved restructuring Greek debt while keeping Greece in the euro, but none of the major actors among the creditors seriously considered such proposals…

“The Greek government had not prepared itself for the process of leaving the euro. Perhaps the world will be surprised and the deal it reached with its creditors will provide a basis for renewed growth. But if not, it may want to get back in touch with Mr. Schauble.”

 UK Government Accused of Trying to Buy Influence with US Power Family

Daily Mail wrote on July 25:

“Tens of millions of pounds of UK aid money has been siphoned through charities linked to Hillary Clinton, it emerged last night. British politicians – including Gordon Brown – stand accused of diverting huge amounts of cash through the organisations after falling under the spell of the US presidential candidate and her husband Bill. At least £50 million of taxpayer-funded foreign aid money has gone to Clinton charities, which are at the centre of allegations in the US that foreign governments used donations to buy influence.

“The UK is one of the biggest donors, handing over more than £20 million last year alone to the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), an organisation chaired by former President Bill, 68, and whose board includes the couple’s daughter Chelsea, 35. Since 2011, a total of £48.9 million has gone into the coffers of this charity alone.”

The Bible prophesies that in these end times, especially the UK and the USA will try to “buy” friends and allies, but this plan will backfire.

Obama Urges UK to Stay in the EU 

Deutsche Welle reported on July 23:

 “US President Barack Obama said Britain must remain in the European Union to maintain its global influence. In previous interviews Obama has avoided taking a stance on such issues. ‘Having the UK in the EU gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union, and is part of the cornerstone of the institutions built after (the second world war) that has made the world safer and more prosperous,’ Obama said.

“‘We want to make sure that the United Kingdom continues to have that influence,’ he added… Obama said that Britain was the US’ ‘best partner’ because of its willingness to project power beyond its ‘immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world.’”

With these derogatory comments about continental Europe, President Obama stepped again into a wasp’s nest.

 German Influence in Africa

German Foreign Policy wrote on July 22:

“Parallel to the escalating crises in Greece and Ukraine and the participation or involvement in various wars in the Arab world, the German government is intensifying its efforts to enhance its political and military influence on the African continent. German companies are seeking lucrative business opportunities in booming Angola at the ‘Angola/Germany Economic Forum’ ending today in the country’s capital Luanda. Despite its persistent efforts, so far, German trade relations with Angola have not achieved a real breakthrough, whereas Berlin has already made progress in its military cooperation with Luanda. In late 2014, both countries signed an agreement on a ‘partnership’ in military policy followed by a joint military exercise in March 2015. Angola is considered useful as an ally for implementing Germany’s geo-strategic interests in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been massively upgrading its military apparatus and thereby become a challenge to South Africa’s claim to continental hegemony…

“More than twenty German companies are currently present in the country, including the Frankfurt-based Commerzbank AG and the Swabian technology company Bosch. The Gauff Engineering Company, in Nuremberg, is participating in important infrastructure projects…

“For Germany, Angola’s arms buildup offensive is considered an ideal alternative to South Africa, with which Berlin had maintained a relatively intensive military cooperation. Pretoria’s ties to the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which in the long run is a challenge to the West’s hegemony, has made it increasingly unreliable in German eyes – not least of all in the context of the West’s current conflict with Russia…”

The fact that German-South African relationships are deteriorating is interesting in light of biblical prophecy indicating that continental Europe, under German leadership, will develop a hostile attitude towards the descendants of the ancient house of Israel, including South Africa.

Obama Clashes with Kenyan President over Gay Rights

The Telegraph wrote on July 25:

“Barack Obama… has directly challenged his host Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, on the issue of gay rights, suggesting that ‘bad things happen’ when countries don’t accept their citizens’ right to be homosexual.

“Mr Obama said that as an African-American, he was ‘painfully aware’ of what it was like to be treated as a lesser citizen in law in his own country and that such discriminatory policies ended up on the wrong side of history. ‘When you start treating people differently, not because of any harm they’re doing anybody but because they’re doing different, that’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode, and bad things happen,’ Mr Obama told reporters at State House in Nairobi. ‘And when government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits start to spread. I am unequivocal on this. The idea they are going to be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop.’

“But Mr Kenyatta, who was warned by senior members of his party not to comment on the issue in the run-up to Mr Obama’s historic visit, insisted gay rights in conservative Kenya was a ‘non-issue’… The tense exchange came during an unusually frank press conference in which Mr Obama raised concerns about endemic corruption holding back the economic growth of Kenya, where his father was born…

“Mr Obama also explained his failure to visit his ancestral home until now, six years into his presidency, saying he ‘didn’t want to play favourites’ but admitting that International Criminal Court charges facing Mr Kenyatta over post-election violence in 2007 were of concern to the United States. The ICC recently dropped the charges against Mr Kenyatta citing witness intimidation and a lack of evidence. Separate ICC charges still face his deputy, William Ruto. Before Mr Obama’s arrival, there had been questions whether he would meet Mr Ruto, who has waded into the homosexual debate by decrying the ‘dirty’ practice. Mr Obama shook Mr Ruto’s hand during an unguarded moment at State House that was captured by the Kenyan presidency photographer and posted on Twitter.”

It is exactly the attitude expressed by President Obama which will contribute to the downfall of the USA… where bad things happen…

Boy Scouts Under Attack

Thomson/Reuters reported on July 28:

“A decision by the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay leaders was met with indignation by the largest U.S. Protestant group on Tuesday along with criticism from a leading gay rights group that the move did not go far enough.

“About 70 percent of the roughly 100,000 U.S. Boy Scout units are sponsored by religious institutions, and many said the Monday decision runs counter to the moral standards set by the 105-year-old youth organization. ‘We express consummate sadness that this once vibrant organization continues to cave to social pressure, compromising its long-held, constitutionally protected tenets,’ said Roger ‘Sing’ Oldham, a spokesman for the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention. Even though the decision permits religious organizations to exclude gay adults in keeping with their beliefs, other major conservative church groups also criticized the change, which took effect with the vote Monday by the National Executive Board.

“The largest sponsor of Boy Scout units, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has said it was ‘deeply troubled’ by the move, adding the Mormons’ ‘century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined.’… The Catholic Church, another leading sponsor of troops, on Tuesday said in a statement it was concerned with the ‘practical implications’ of allowing gay leaders but remains committed to its relationship with the Irving, Texas-based Scouts… The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, called for the Scouts to drop the opt-out religious exemption and become fully non-discriminatory…

“The Boy Scouts’ president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called for the change in May, saying continuation of the blanket ban on gay Scout leaders was ‘unsustainable’. Gates helped end the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving. Earlier, corporate sponsors such as Lockheed Martin and Intel dropped funding for the organization to protest policies considered discriminatory. Membership in the Boy Scouts has been steadily declining over the past decade, but the 2013 decision to allow gay youth contributed to a steeper drop of 7.4 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to organization figures.”

 Britain Threatened with Terrible Winter Storms?

Express wrote on July 25:

“THE STRONGEST El Nino in recorded history could lead to Britain being battered by SIX MONTHS of violent storms… Climate scientists warned temperatures in the Pacific have increased by THREE degrees Fahrenheit in recent weeks as ocean winds have weakened. The so-called El Nino phenomenon, which has a huge impact on the world’s weather, has only been stronger twice before in recorded history – the last time in 1997, when a series of violent 100MPH Atlantic storms slammed into the UK. And experts claimed this year’s El Nino is STILL strengthening and could soon break all historical records with the extreme weather patterns lasting until next Spring – meaning Britain could face one of the worst winter storm seasons in living memory…

“The current El Nino event is under the watchful eye of meteorologists across the world as it can devastate farming and fish harvests. AccuWeather’s global weather centre said the world could be facing the strongest El Nino in 50 years. It threatens storms in parts of the US including California, heavy rain and floods in western Australia and an unsettled UK winter… Confidence continues to grow that this El Niño will be one of the stronger El Niños over the past 50 years… El Niño typically reaches its peak during the December through February period… The strongest El Niño on record since the beginning of the 20th century occurred during 1997-98.”

 Pope Francis the “Antichrist”?

In July 29, the Drudge Report posted a link to the following article by Charisma Link:

“… why do so many people think-or at least ponder-that the Latin American pontiff is the Antichrist (or at least the end-time False Prophet mentioned in Revelation 19:20)? It could be for some of the same reasons his popularity is declining. His approval rating in the United States has dropped from 76 percent a year ago to 56 percent today, according to Gallup. Indeed, even Roman Catholics are cooling off to Francis, the first-ever Jesuit pope who emerged as a darling among the evangelical community when he took over for the retiring Benedict. Some Pentecostal onlookers suggested he was Spirit-filled. And Kenneth Copeland and James Robison met privately with the pope in Rome and exchanged high-fives…

“Reuters’ Scott Malone points out: ‘The decline comes as Francis has changed the focus of his public remarks from that of his immediate predecessors, concentrating less on the Church’s opposition to abortion and gay marriage and spending more of his time discussing social inequity and poverty.’ Francis has been vocal about the evils of capitalism while backing off conservative views about homosexuals, asking, ‘Who am I to judge?’ He’s even called for a New World Order more than once…

“Francis has warmed up to Islam like no other pope before him. In a historic first, Francis opened the door to Muslim prayers and Quran readings at the Vatican last year. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres joined the pontiff in the Vatican gardens for a prayer meeting… Some saw this as a precursor to the one world religion.

“Protestant feathers really got ruffled when the washingtonpost.com.co and others falsely reported that Francis said the Quran and Holy Bible are the same… Although it seems unlikely that the pope actually said that… the fact that so many Christians took it as truth without a second blink is telling. He’s said and done enough other shocking things to make this statement believable in the ears of many believers…

“More than 50 years ago, a Jesuit priest predicted the resignation of Pope Benedict-to the day-and now Tom Horn, who worked with Cris Putnam to unveil a 900-year-old prophecy buried in the library at the Vatican that describes a series of 112 popes, and others are looking at his research.

“‘Was he divinely inspired? Was he demonically inspired?’ Horn asks. ‘Because we know demons know things about times and dispensations, too…’”

Indeed, they are, and since they are lying spirits, one never knows when they tell the truth…

The Abortion Culture of America

 The Boston Globe reported on July 22:

“It’s not often that a business-lunch conversation becomes a viral YouTube video. But then, it’s not often that a top Planned Parenthood official is recorded discussing, over a leisurely lunch of salad and red wine, the business of selling fetal organs harvested from aborted babies.

“More than 2.5 million people have seen the undercover video in which Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, readily details the ins and outs of harvesting the body parts of aborted fetuses, which are then sold for research. Nucatola thought she was speaking to buyers for a fetal-tissue supply firm in California. In fact, her lunch companions were researchers for the pro-life Center for Medical Progress, which posted the recording online — both the full footage, as well as a nine-minute abridged version.

“The video came as a bombshell. Selling fetal organs for profit is illegal under federal law, yet Nucatola appears quite candid in describing Planned Parenthood’s lively commercial interest in human tissue from abortion. She is alert to market demand — ‘I’d say a lot of people want liver,’ she tells her lunch companions — and understands how to carry out an abortion to maximize the quality of the organs that can be supplied to buyers afterward.

“’We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that,’ says Nucatola, ‘so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.’ She talks about properly trained abortion doctors using ultrasound to ensure that forceps don’t damage organs destined for sale. When she is asked for a ‘price range,’ Nucatola replies: ‘I would say it’s probably anywhere from $30 to $100’ per specimen, depending on the facility.

“Planned Parenthood adamantly insists that it does not traffic in fetal remains. Women who have abortions ‘sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research,’ the organization said in a formal statement, and Planned Parenthood receives ‘no financial benefit’ for facilitating such donations — merely compensation for its ‘actual costs,’ which is legal.

“As a matter of law, Planned Parenthood may be on solid ground. But it isn’t illegality that makes this video so scandalous. It is amorality. It is the nonchalance with which Planned Parenthood’s senior medical director schmoozes, between swigs of wine and forkfuls of salad, about dismembering a healthy unborn child and selling its parts for ‘anywhere from $30 to $100’ apiece. It is the sheer indifference to the enormity of destroying life in the womb and then ‘donating’ the wreckage for money.

“On Tuesday, a second undercover video was released. This one shows Dr. Mary Gatter, the president of Planned Parenthood’s medical directors council, haggling over the price for fetal organs. ‘We’re not in it for the money,’ Gatter says; still, the payment ‘has to be big enough that it’s worthwhile for me.’ She settles on $100 a specimen — and says she’ll talk to the abortion doctor about using a ‘less crunchy’ technique to retrieve more intact body parts.”

This scandalous admission reminds us of the nonchalance with which Nazi German officials planned the “final solution” at the infamous conference at Wannsee. The Bible warns that in these last days, the use and sale of organs (“bodies and souls of men”) will dramatically increase (Revelation 18:13).

Adultery Hacked!

CBS News wrote on July 22:

“The hackers who infiltrated AshleyMadison.com, a dating website geared toward people seeking extramarital relationships, have sacrificed their first hostage.

“The attack, reported Monday, collected personal information on 37 million members. The perpetrators demanded that the whole website be taken down or they would release all the names and private data they have…

“For a website like Ashley Madison that prides itself on secrecy and anonymity, a breach like this can be catastrophic. The site’s subscribers presumably felt that their private information was safe — and many even paid extra to have their information scrubbed.

“‘The quick answer is: not that safe,’ Dr. Michael Sulmeyer, the director of the Cyber Security Initiative at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center, told CBS Boston.

“He said Ashley Madison’s clients know now the truth of the web: Everything is hackable.”

The simple answer to situations like these can be found in the Bible; “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Exodus 20:17).

1 in 5 Ottawa Residents are on Ashley Madison

Global News reported on July 22:

“Ashley Madison, the Toronto-based website created for married people to find new lovers, is popular in Ottawa.

“According to data on AshleyMadison.com, there were more than 55,000 users on the website living in Ottawa in 2013, making it the most infidelity-friendly city in the country.

“The same was true this year when the website gave updated data to the National Post in February as Ottawa topped the list with roughly 189,000 users, or nearly one in five people living in the city. That’s a lot of people who might be worried their information might get leaked after Monday’s highly-publicized hack…”

ISIS Terrorists Sneak Into Europe 

Express wrote on July 22;

“ISIS fanatics have taken advantage of porous borders by travelling from North Africa to Italy on boats packed with refugees, according to terrorism experts.

“Now it is feared that the notorious group, which controls much of Iraq and Syria, could target Europe within months.”

Proposal for Eurozone Government

Bloomberg reported on July 19:

“French President Francois Hollande said that the 19 countries using the euro need their own government complete with a budget and parliament to cooperate better and overcome the Greek crisis. ‘Circumstances are leading us to accelerate,’ Hollande said in an opinion piece published by the Journal du Dimanche on Sunday. ‘What threatens us is not too much Europe, but a lack of it.’

“While the euro zone has a common currency, fiscal and economic policies remain mostly in the hands of each member state. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made a plea this week for deeper cooperation between the euro members after political squabbles over Greece almost led to a rupture in the single currency.

“Countries in favor of more integration should move ahead, forming an ‘avant-garde,’ Hollande said…”

International Business Times added on July 19:

“In his proposal, Hollande floated the idea of instituting an elected eurozone parliament ‘to ensure its democratic control.’ The escalating tensions over Greece’s debt have raised questions over the long-term viability of the eurozone project, doubts Hollande hopes a less-removed governance system would dispel. ‘What threatens us is not an excess of Europe but its insufficiency,’ Hollande wrote.

“‘Parliaments remain too far away from decisions,’ Hollande said. ‘And people are turning away after having been bypassed so much.’”

For more information on the future of the Eurozone, please view our StandingWatch program, “Greece in Prophecy.”

Europe the Next Middle East Peacemaker?

Fox News reported on July 20:

“The European Union’s top diplomat is looking for a fresh formula to revive the now moribund peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Federica Mogherini, who chaired negotiations that led to a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, said Monday she’s working on fleshing out an idea for ‘an international support group.’ The group would build on the existing ‘quartet’ of the EU, United States, Russia and the United Nations.

“Right now ‘there seems to be no peace process at all’ between Israel and the Palestinians, Mogherini said.

“She said a new regional and international framework is necessary to foster a more positive environment.

“Mogherini spoke to reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, who said in a statement that leaving the status quo unchanged ‘is not an option.’”

Grexit Off the Table?

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected the idea of a Greek debt haircut, saying it wouldn’t work in a currency union. At the same time, she has also ruled out forcing Greece to leave the eurozone. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday dismissed the idea of writing off part of Greece’s debt, but she said Berlin was open to a flexible repayment plan…

“On Friday, German MPs voted overwhelmingly to back another financial rescue package, despite being branded senseless by many voters…”

Germany Demands Answers

The Local wrote on July 23:

“Germany said on Wednesday it was ‘demanding answers’ from the United States over fresh allegations of official US espionage, this time against German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Berlin ‘confronted’ Washington with German media reports based on Wikileaks documents indicating that the… NSA… ‘systematically’ spied on Foreign Minister Steinmeier a ministry spokesman said. The spokesman, Martin Schaefer, told reporters that the revelations, ‘if true’, were ‘damaging’ relations between Germany and the United States.

“A high-ranking ministry official, Stefan Steinlein, phoned the US ambassador to Berlin, John Emerson, Tuesday. ‘He confronted him with the accusations and stressed that we expect the necessary clarifications and explanations on this case and all the other cases that remain unresolved,’ Schaefer said [continuing] that during the nearly two-year-long scandal over NSA spying against Germany, information had only emerged ‘bit-by-bit and via media outlet’…

“German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was dropped due to lack of proof…”

Seven Disturbing Facts about the Iran Deal

Beitbart wrote on July 17:

“As Iran and President Barack Obama cheer and champion their controversial nuclear deal, critics are roundly condemning the deal as a historic and catastrophic agreement that will strengthen Iran and imperil national security for America and its allies. Here, then, are seven facts about Obama’s proposed Iran nuclear deal Americans should know:

“1. U.S. Nuclear Inspectors Are Banned From Inspecting Iran’s Nuclear Sites. 

“Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice admitted to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that ‘no Americans will be part of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspection teams.’

“The administration’s claim that the deal provides inspections ‘anytime, anywhere’ is also false. Obama’s deal allows Iran to block inspector access to any undeclared nuclear site…

“2. Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal Lifts Economic Sanctions that Could Boost Iran’s Economy with $150 Billion in Revenue.

“As the Washington Post reports, ‘Yet another worry is that the lifting of tough economic sanctions on Iran would provide it with as much as $150 billion in revenue. Some of that money would be spent on infrastructure and the Iranian people. Some of it, critics say, would go to the likes of Hezbollah, Syrian Bashar al-Assad and Iraqi militias that no long ago were killing Americans.’

“3. The Obama Administration Admits That ‘We Should Expect’ Iran Will Spend Some of the $150 Billion in Revenues Obama’s Deal Gives Them On Their Military and Possibly Terrorism.

“In the same interview with Wolf Blitzer, Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice conceded the following: ‘Yes, it is real, it is possible, and, in fact, we should expect that some portion of that money would go to the Iranian military and could potentially be used for the kinds of bad behavior that we have seen in the region up until now.’

“4. On the Very Week Obama Brokered His Iran Nuclear Deal, Large Crowds Across Iran Could Be Heard Chanting ‘Death to America’—And Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Declared ‘Death to America’ Just Months Ago.

“As even the Huffington Post noted… ‘hatred towards the United States remains a basic tenet of Iran’s ruling system, on display just last week during an annual protest day that saw large crowds across Iran chanting ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’…

“5. Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal Does Not Require Iran to Release Any American Prisoners…

“6. Obama’s Deal Allows Russia and China to Supply Iran with Weapons.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed on Tuesday that ‘weapons supplies will be possible’ under the new deal. As the International Business Times reported, ‘Russia and China will continue to make weapons deals with Iran under U.N. procedures.’…

“7. 77 Percent of Americans Oppose Obama’s Lifting of Sanctions Against Iran

“According to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, 77 percent of Americans believe U.S. sanctions against Iran should be kept the same or increased, not lifted as Obama’s deal calls for…”

Secret Iran Deals?

The Blaze reported on July 22:

“Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) revealed on Tuesday that they were made aware of two secret side deals included in the Iran nuclear deal that will not be shared with Congress or the public.

“The lawmakers reportedly met with the International Energy Agency in Vienna on Friday and were informed that ‘two side deals made between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will remain secret and will not be shared with other nations, with Congress, or with the public,’ according to a press release.

“One of the alleged secret deals involves the ‘inspection of the Parchin military complex,’ and the second ‘details how the IAEA and Iran will resolve outstanding issues on possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program,’ the release added.

“The parties involved in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, including the Obama administration, reportedly agreed to the arrangement. Cotton and Pompeo urged the Obama administration to disclose details of the full Iran deal.”

“Stop Laughing at Donald Trump”

The Washington Post wrote on July 17

“… writing Trump off is dangerous… while establishment candidates in both parties might want to ignore him… an enormous number of voters clearly like his views…

“Republicans especially need to stop laughing…  Trump happily appeals to older, more conservative white baby boomers and seniors… Vilifying them cannot be a lasting political strategy for tomorrow…”

Donald Trump continues to change the political landscape in the presidential race. He is favored by 23% of potential GOP voters.

Rome in Decay

The Telegraph wrote on July 16:

“The Eternal City is facing crisis, with its administration engulfed in corruption scandals and debt, its roads scarred by pot-holes, the main airport partially closed and a growing immigration crisis… ‘Rome is on the verge of collapse,’ Giancarlo Cremonesi, the president of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters… Everything has been exacerbated by the effects of Italy’s longest recession since the Second World War, with homeless people on the street and youth unemployment over 40 per cent…

“Along the Tiber River, Romany gipsies have set up shanty villages, their shacks hidden from view by tall thickets of cane grass… A lack of bins mean that locals and visitors alike drop their rubbish on the ground…

“An investigation found that corrupt local politicians had colluded with criminal gangs to cream off money from a range of services, from rubbish collection to the management of refugee facilities. The scandal has been dubbed ‘Mafia Capitale’, and comes amid growing evidence that the city is being infiltrated by organized crime groups. On Wednesday police raided a restaurant close to the Pantheon… on suspicion that it was controlled by the Calabrian mafia…

“The crime syndicate is believed to be laundering more and more of its money through legitimate businesses in Rome, as well as Milan… On main roads out of the city, teenage prostitutes from eastern Europe and west Africa tout for business in miniskirts and high heels – a brutal departure from the romantic image of the capital portrayed by sentimental films such as Eat, Pray, Love or Three Coins in the Fountain…”

Looking for Aliens?

ABC News reported on July 21:

“Stephen Hawking is ready to find aliens.

“The cosmologist is throwing his support behind a $100 million initiative, funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, to begin an extensive search for proof of extraterrestrial life.

“What makes the search different this time, Hawking said at a news conference on Monday, are the extensive resources and access to some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, which may help answer the lingering question of whether we are alone.

“‘Mankind has a deep need to explore, to learn to know,’ Hawking said. ‘We also happen to be sociable creatures. It is important to us to know if we are alone in the dark.’

“The team behind the project, which is being called Breakthrough Initiatives, has booked time using two of the world’s best telescopes, one in West Virginia, the other in Australia, to beginning scanning the entire Milky Way and neighboring galaxies for radio waves and light sources that could indicate life exists beyond Earth.

“The telescopes are 50 times as sensitive and will cover 10 times as much territory as previous searches, according to Breakthrough Initiatives, giving the group what it believes could be mankind’s best opportunity yet to take a gamble on finding life outside Earth.

“Instead of asking the cosmos if anyone is out there, the project will instead focus on listening…

“’It’s time to commit to finding the answer to search for life beyond Earth,’ Hawking said. ‘We are alive, we are intelligent, we must know.’”

If one were to believe the Bible and not pride in atheism and agnosticism, then these horrendous amounts of wasted money could be put to a much better use. According to Scripture, GOD created the universe and all life on earth, and there is no hint of any alien lifeforms in the physical realm. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth…Before and After the First Man!”

Bad Deal

The Washington Post wrote on July 14:

“Israeli leaders across the political spectrum condemned in stark apocalyptic language the Iranian nuclear pact announced by the United States and world powers Tuesday, calling it a historic mistake that frees Iran to sponsor global terror while assembling the information and materials to build a nuclear weapon. ‘Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons,’ said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday… With the lifting of economic sanctions, Netanyahu warned, ‘ Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror.’

“Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partner, education minister Naftali Bennett said, ‘Today a terrorist nuclear superpower is born, and it will go down as one of the darkest days in world history.’…

“Many Israeli leaders view a nuclear Iran as an existential threat to their state. Israeli social media accounts were filled with images of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who pushed a policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler and the Nazis on the eve of World War II… ‘Israel will defend itself,’ Bennett warned, vowing that military action is still an option for the Jewish State, which feels itself in the crosshairs from a belligerent enemy, where just last week protesters in Tehran were chanting ‘Death to Israel!’…

“Israeli politicians and pro-Israel supporters in the United States will now likely press Congress to derail the deal, a difficult prospect that could eventually require trying to override a presidential veto, which would require deep Democratic support..

“Netanyahu and his government charge that Obama especially, is naive about Iranian intentions and has placed a foolish bet on a deceptive and devious partner…”

Biggest Foreign Policy Gamble

Reuters reported on July 14:

“The sealing of a nuclear pact with Iran marks the biggest foreign policy gamble of Barack Obama’s presidency – a legacy-defining achievement that could yet backfire if Tehran exploits any loopholes or escalates tensions in the Middle East. No other foreign policy challenge bears Obama’s personal stamp more than the final nuclear accord reached with Iran on Tuesday, and none poses a more critical test of his doctrine of talking to America’s enemies to avoid confronting them…

“But if the critics are proven right, Obama could go down in history as the president who only bought time before allowing Tehran to go nuclear. That could spark a regional arms race. Obama, who controversially won the Nobel Peace prize barely nine months into his first term, must overcome accusations from hawkish lawmakers that he abandoned many of his original ‘red lines’ and compromised on others.

“Initial U.S. demands dropped along the way included fuller dismantling of Iran’s nuclear architecture and rollback of its ballistic missile program. As details emerged on Tuesday, opponents complained that Obama also made concessions on inspection of military sites – although Iran too appeared to have given ground on the issue… He must now convince a skeptical Congress not to sabotage the agreement while reassuring allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia who fear that, once freed from economically crippling sanctions, Iran will be empowered to expand regional influence…

“The most immediate challenge for Obama will be to clear the obstacles in the Republican-controlled Congress, which will have 60 days to review the Iran agreement… If Congress votes down the accord, Obama would veto the ‘disapproval’ legislation and then likely have enough votes from fellow Democrats to make it stick. But resorting to such a move would underscore the deal’s unsteady footing in Washington…

“Critics say Obama’s drive to limit U.S. military engagement in the Middle East, most notably a failure to enforce his ‘red line’ on chemical weapons use in Syria in 2013, was seen by Iran’s nuclear negotiators as a sign of weakness. By contrast, President Richard Nixon’s unquestioned anti-communist credentials helped immunize him from criticism at home and shored up trust in his commitment to act from strength when he made a historic opening to China in the early 1970s.

“Many fear that even if Iran does not covertly work toward a bomb it would remain a nuclear-weapons threshold state able to race ahead once restrictions on its uranium enrichment activities begin expiring in a decade. That could leave a future U.S. administration with the decision whether to go to war to stop it.”

President Obama Should Think Again…

 The Telegraph wrote on July 14:

“You only had to look at the beaming smiles on the faces of the Iranian negotiating team to see who had emerged as the undisputed winners… Iranians have long enjoyed a reputation for being wily negotiators, but the outcome… will have surpassed even their wildest expectations. Tehran entered these talks, let us not forget, out of sheer desperation to escape the crippling effects of the economic sanctions imposed by the West…

 “The main reason we have ended up with this apology for a deal is that, rather than maintain the economic pressure on Iran until it guaranteed proper cooperation, President Barack Obama indicated he was more interested in securing his foreign policy legacy by signing a historic accord, irrespective of the concessions this would require.

 “Mr Obama might have convinced himself that the deal cuts off all of Iran’s ‘pathways to nuclear weapons,’ but that is certainly not how the deal will be viewed by those who have more intimate knowledge of the Iranian regime’s devious tactics, such as the Saudis and the Gulf states….

 “If Mr Obama really believes his ‘historic’ deal is going to bring peace to the region, then he needs to think again.”

Very Little That America Can Do Now

The Associated Press reported on July 14:

“Although President Barack Obama doesn’t need Congressional approval for the deal, lawmakers will likely try to derail it by passing new sanctions or preventing Obama from lifting existing sanctions – the key incentive for Iran to comply with the deal. Under an agreement that Obama struck with lawmakers earlier in the year, Congress has 60 days to review the agreement before he can start easing sanctions.

“Obama on Tuesday threatened to veto any resolutions from Congress seeking to undermine the deal, meaning opponents would have to muster a two-thirds majority in Congress to override the veto. That would require dozens of Democrats to vote against the president, which appears unlikely, and even if opponents are successful, Obama could use his presidential powers to offer substantial sanctions relief on his own.”

 The Deal with Greece

 Deutsche Welle reported on July 14:

“Eurozone leaders have reached a deal to provide Greece with a third financial bailout… European Council President Donald Tusk… along with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem appeared at a press conference to unveil the agreement.

“Tusk, trying to lighten the atmosphere after what by all accounts were at times heated discussions, described the bailout deal as an ‘agreekment’ to save the financially stricken eurozone country from bankruptcy. The European Council president pledged that the deal would allow Athens to ‘get back on track.’ ‘Grexit has gone,’ Juncker said, referring to the scenario of Greece being forced out of the eurozone, if a deal had not been reached…

“In her remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that despite the fact that the agreement provides for some debt relief for Athens, there would be no fresh debt ‘haircut’ for Greece. She also noted that ‘trust needs to be rebuilt’ between Greece and its creditors, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Achieving this and implementing the terms of the bailout would not be easy, she warned. ‘The road will be long, and judging by the negotiations tonight, difficult,’ Merkel said…

“The agreement announced on Monday will require Tsipras to push… spending cuts, tax increases and pension reforms. These are just the sort of reforms that Tsipras and his left-wing Syriza party vowed to stop in their successful January election campaign. Shortly after the deal was announced, his labor minister warned that it wasn’t clear whether there was a parliamentary majority prepared to endorse it. The joint statement released by the eurozone leaders about the deal said that none of the other countries would move to approve the deal until the measures have been passed by Greece…”

Subsequently, the Greek parliament approved the deal [see articles below]

Germany Flexes Its Muscles!

 USA TODAY reported on July 14:

“The deal agreed to Monday between Greece and its creditors was hard fought, and even if Athens did not come out on top, the lengthy negotiations call to mind another Greek battle: the Battle of Marathon, a famous Greek victory against Persian invaders in 490 B.C. that later inspired the marathon run.

“After hours of intense negotiations, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted terms for a third bailout that were far more onerous than those in the second bailout program, which expired June 30 after Greece rejected further austerity.

“The harshness of the terms and the intransigence of core eurozone creditors, led by Germany, astonished many economists and observers worldwide. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called it ‘vindictive folly’ and suggested it might be a fatal blow against European integration.

“Although many thought Tsipras had a secret agenda to lead Greece out of the euro, he remained faithful to his pledge — and the will of the majority of Greek voters — to stay with the joint currency.

“In fact, it seemed that that particular objective was German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s, with former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis attributing it to Schäuble as a way of enforcing discipline among other euro members.

“In the end, it was Tsipras who reneged on the other half of the pledge that got him elected: that Greece would not accept a bailout ‘at any cost.’

“Faced with the chaos of a collapsing economy and failing banks, which forced Greeks to scramble for food and risk running out of essential medicine, Tsipras ended up accepting austerity terms Greek voters had decisively rejected in a referendum last week.

“It was Merkel who remained firm in her declared objective to keep Greece in the euro but not ‘at any cost.’

“So is Merkel the winner and Tsipras the loser?

“It depends on what time frame you look at. In the very short term, Merkel has clearly won this battle.

“But in the longer term — can we now call it a war? — this ‘victory’ could produce a political backlash throughout Europe, with fateful consequences for the future of ‘ever-closer union’ in the eurozone and European Union, a 28-nation political bloc.

“Germany has made it clear that Europe will operate strictly on terms set in Berlin and Frankfurt. Voters in France, Spain, Italy and other eurozone countries have to decide if that’s the future they want for their countries.

“Even many voters in Germany have grown uncomfortable with Merkel’s display of naked power after she submitted another freely elected European leader to what one eurozone official at Sunday night’s negotiations termed, according to The Guardian, ‘extensive mental waterboarding.’”

Germans Dislike/Mistrust the Deal

The Local wrote on July 14:

“The deal on Greek reforms has been met with horror in certain quarters, as German journalists worry that their government is undermining 70 years of post-war diplomacy.

 “Merkel and her hardline finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, drove a tough bargain at the marathon negotiations, in line with Berlin’s stated goal of defending the cause of fiscal rectitude. But while Merkel, often called Europe’s de facto leader, has grown used to Nazi caricatures on the streets of Athens, a backlash appeared to be mounting this time at home too. Commentators of all political stripes said they feared that Berlin’s ‘bad cop’ stance in Brussels had brought back ‘ugly German’ stereotypes of rigid, brutal rule enforcers.

 “‘The German government destroyed seven decades of post-war diplomacy on a single weekend,’ news website Spiegel Online said. ‘There is a fine line between saving and punishing Greece. This night the line has disappeared,’ tweeted Mathias Mueller von Blumencron of the conservative standard-bearer Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as the details of the German-brokered austerity-for-aid deal emerged. ‘Merkel managed to revive the image of the ugly, hard-hearted and stingy German that had just begun to fade,’ the centre-left daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote…

“The German public though were more receptive to the deal.  A clear majority (62 percent) … voiced their support for Greece staying in the euro. But at the same time only a minority said they believed the Greek government would implement the reform package it has promised… These numbers have changed significantly in just a matter of weeks. When Tsipras announced that he would take the creditors’ proposals to a referendum at the start of July an equal number of Germans were for a Grexit as wanted the country to stay in the euro, at 45 percent…

“After a shock Schäuble proposal for a temporary Greek exit from the euro or ‘Grexit’ surfaced over the weekend… Spiegel called the package that was finally hammered out a ‘catalogue of cruelties’ that read like a ‘plan to humiliate Greece’.

“… former foreign minister Joschka Fischer said the Greek crisis had given rise to a rebirth of nationalism and accused Merkel of failing to use her considerable power to persuade Germans to look beyond their pocketbooks for the sake of Europe. Merkel, who in November will celebrate a decade in power and enjoys nearly 70-percent approval ratings, ‘as not argued or acted politically but as a bookkeeper’, he said.”

Britain to Pay for Greece?

Breitbart wrote on July 14:

“Britain could face a bill of up to £850m for [the] latest Greek bailout as European leaders desperately search for money for the heavily indebted nation. Although Britain is signed up to an emergency EU fund, Prime Minister David Cameron believes he has won an opt-out as the UK is not a member of the Eurozone. However, EU Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker is desperate to raise funds to keep Greece in the euro.

 “Greece needs €12bn to prevent it going into economic meltdown, and Britain could face £850m in liabilities if it is ordered to join the bailout. Any such move would likely enrage Conservative Eurosceptics and seriously weaken David Cameron’s attempts to EU renegotiation, thus playing into the hands of UKIP.

“Chancellor George Osborne has promised to fight attempts to raid British taxpayers’ money to pay for Greece…

“Britain was originally signed up to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), a €60bn fund, until it was ‘deactivated’ in 2011 after the EU created a bigger and more flexible fund that did not include Britain… France already wants to bring back the EFSM, and if German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble agrees, George Osborne could find himself outvoted…”

Would Britain Prosper from a Brexit?

Breitbart wrote on July 12:

“Britain has nothing to lose and everything to gain from leaving the European Union. A seamless Brexit could even spark a free market ‘chain reaction’ across the continent, driving the likes of Denmark and Sweden to take control of their own destiny…

“Britain [was encouraged] to rejoin the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which the UK was a founding member. Its members – Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and Liechtenstein – enjoy access to the EU’s common market, but are not subjected to the same political controls imposed by Brussels… The EU has declined in importance as a trade destination for the UK, with just 45.3 per cent of its goods exports headed to the political union in May, down from a peak of 66 per cent in the early 2000s…”

In an accompanying article, Breitbart wrote on July 12:

“Britain receives less than half the money it puts into the EU back as subsidies thanks to the ongoing Eurozone crisis, a new report has found. The report also found that British households could be as much as £933 a year better off if Britain left the EU. The think tank which compiled the report advised that staying within the EU poses ‘serious risks’.

“The comprehensive new report from Business for Britain, runs to a mammoth 1,032 pages, has found that, between 1976 and 2003 the average return from Britain’s financial input into the EU was 68 per cent, meaning that, for every £1 British taxpayers paid into the European project, just 68 pence was returned in grants and subsidies. That figure alone is enough to demonstrate that membership of the EU can only ever be justified on ideological, not economic grounds. But since the Eurozone crisis which began in 2008, the figure has dramatically worsened to the point that just 49 pence in each pound are now returned to British coffers, less than half of what is paid in.

“The report… notes that if Britain stopped paying into the EU, it is not just the direct payments which would be saved: ‘Without paying into the central EU Budget, the UK would make administrative savings by removing an extra tier of administration, add new options for efficiency savings, and could identify projects where it saw greater investment return.’ But direct payments from the government are not the only form of payments into the EU. Previous research by Business for Britain has already revealed how Brits pay more into the EU than citizens of other member states through VAT payments…

“… the authors… highlight that membership of the EU has never been about the economics. ‘The EU’s overriding objective has always been political,’ they say… The Eurozone is separating into ‘Euromark’ and ‘Eurodrachma’ groups… Even within the Eurozone there already exists a ‘two tier Europe’…”

Greece in Much Bigger Need of Help

Reuters reported on July 14:

“Greece will need far bigger debt relief than euro zone partners have been prepared to envisage so far due to the devastation of its economy and banks in the last two weeks, a confidential study by the International Monetary Fund seen by Reuters shows. The updated debt sustainability analysis (DSA) was sent to euro zone governments late on Monday, hours after Athens and its 18 partners agreed in principle to open negotiations on a third bailout program of up to 86 billion euros in return for tougher austerity measures and structural reforms.

“European countries would have to give Greece a 30-year grace period on servicing all its European debt, including new loans, and a very dramatic maturity extension, or else make explicit annual fiscal transfers to the Greek budget or accept ‘deep upfront haircuts’ on their loans to Athens, the report said.

“The latest IMF study said Greek debt would now peak at close to 200 percent of economic output in the next two years, compared to a previously forecast high of 177 percent.

“Even by 2022, the debt would stand at 170 percent of gross domestic product, compared to an estimate of 142 percent issued just two weeks ago…”

Greek Parliament Approves EU Austerity Measures

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 15:

“Greece’s parliament has approved a raft of fresh austerity imposed by international creditors… ‘We don’t believe in it,’ Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said ahead of the vote early Thursday, ‘but we are forced to adopt it.’”

The Washington Post wrote on July 15:

“Hours after police and demonstrators clashed in central Athens, Greek lawmakers early Thursday morning approved austerity measures that were overwhelmingly rejected by their citizens just days ago, in a stark turnabout that was the price Greece’s lenders demanded for not forcing it off the euro and into a whirlwind of economic turmoil.

“The vote reverberated around Europe, marking a stunning defeat for populist forces that have pushed for a break from years of grinding cuts that powerhouse economies led by Germany have enforced as the key to growth. In the new topsy-turvy reality, leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was tasked with advocating a stricter version of the austerity he has long opposed. Many of his allies abandoned him, saying their nation was taking more of the same toxic medicine that had forced it into five years of penury.

“The adoption of the new measures was a milestone on the road toward European approval of an up to $96 billion bailout, sparing Greece from certain bankruptcy and its ouster from the shared euro currency. Already, banks have been closed for more than two weeks. With a dearth of cash to fuel basic transactions, Greece’s economy is slowly suffocating under the pressure.

“Greek leaders were stuck Wednesday urging the approval of measures to which they could offer only tepid support, acknowledging that they may send their country into deeper recession…”

Trump the Clear Frontrunner

 Breitbart wrote on July 14:

“A new poll from USA Today and Suffolk University finds that billionaire Donald Trump is the clear Republican frontrunner for 2016.

“Trump leads the GOP field with 17 percent in the poll, whereas former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trails him by three points at 14 percent.”

Breitbart added the following commentary on July 14:

“Finally! A great, unifying figure emerges in American politics to bring the endlessly bickering factions here in Washington back together again. Not since 9/11 has everyone in Washington rallied in such unison as they do now — vehemently opposed to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. But unlike 9/11, the sophisticates and kleptocrats in both parties of Washington find themselves wildly out of step with actual American voters…

“Professional Republicans denounce him. Conservative commentators mock him and insist he is no part of the Grand Old Party. Professional Democrats abhor him and smear him as a racist boob. Liberal commentators predict that he will destroy the Republican Party… People here in Washington despise voters and think you are stupid and not to be taken seriously. You are rude and vulgar and uneducated.

“Take Mr. Trump’s comments about the illegals streaming across the border from Mexico who commit these heinous crimes… This was not a polite thing to say. But it is absolutely, incontrovertibly true. Just ask the grieving family of Kathryn Steinle out in California. And polls show that American voters in both parties agree with Mr. Trump and desperately want the crisis to be fixed.

“But in this ever-lying world of Washington politics, it is wrong to speak the truth if it is shocking or unpleasant. Which, of course, is how this country has gotten into the terrible fix we are in today. So Mr. Trump is denounced from every corner, branded as a racist and excommunicated by proper politicos of every stripe…

“Nobody is talking about people of Mexican extraction who are living and working legally in America. This is about illegal Mexicans illegally crossing the border and illegally committing atrocious crimes, in many cases even after they have been deported — repeatedly! It is about a broken border and a broken immigration system…”

The Biggest “Data Hack” in US History!

 The Washington Post reported on July 10:

“Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta resigned under pressure ­Friday, a day after the Obama administration announced that two major breaches of U.S. government databases holding personnel records and security-clearance files exposed the sensitive information of at least 22.1 million people.

“Archuleta, who had been leading the agency for 17 months, had been under fire from Republicans and Democrats in Congress and federal employee unions in the five weeks since she disclosed a massive hack of the employment files of 4.2 million current and former federal employees. But calls for her resignation grew late Thursday after administration officials revealed the full scope of a second hack that compromised background investigation files of federal employees, contractors, applicants and their families.”

Greece Votes “No!” — Now What?

Deutsche Welle reported on July 5:

“[The] Greeks have voted against the conditions of any further bailout, raising possible issues with regard to Athens’ future in the euro… It remains to be seen, however, how [the] eurozone leaders… will digest the result, and what’s more, whether it will trigger the ‘Grexit,’ or Greece’s exit from the eurozone, as has been supposed…

“The reaction in Germany was decidedly less enthusiastic [than in Greece]. Michael Fuchs, one of Merkel’s senior conservatives on the federal level, said a ‘disaster happened’ on Sunday…

“Greek government spokesman Sakellaridis said the Bank of Greece was immediately asking the European Central Bank to inject emergency euro cash for Greece’s depleted banks, which have been shuttered all week. Greece was officially declared in default on Friday by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which holds some 145 billion euros of Greek loans, after Athens failed to make an IMF repayment.

“Tsipras is demanding that the ECB, IMF and European Commission absolve Greece of 30 percent of the 240 billion euros Athens has received over the past five years. The Prime Minister also wants a 20-year grace period to repay the other 70 percent. Greece’s eurozone counterparts, as well as the institutions that approved and stipulated the bailout, have rejected those demands.”

The Washington Post wrote on July 5:

“… initial reaction from European officials suggested they were unmoved by the result [of the referendum], and had no intention to yield. ‘The E.U. is not a make-a-wish club in which a single member sets the rules and the others pay the bill,’ tweeted Julia Klöckner, deputy chairwoman of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party.

“Germany’s deputy chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, said Greece had ‘destroyed the last bridges across which Europe and Greece could have moved toward a compromise. Tsipras and his government are leading the Greek people onto a path of bitter sacrifice and hopelessness,’ he told Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel…

“Reuters reported that the euro-zone’s finance ministers, who would be responsible for crafting any deal, had no plans to meet…”

Newsmax added on July 5:

“[The outcome of the referendum] leaves Greece in uncharted waters: risking financial and political isolation within the euro zone and a banking collapse if creditors refuse further aid… Many of Athens’ partners have warned over the past week that a ‘No’ vote would mean cutting bridges with Europe and driving Greece’s crippled financial system into outright bankruptcy, dramatically worsening the country’s economic depression…”

Greece Only Temporarily Without the Euro?

The Telegraph wrote on July 4:

“Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble… mentioned the prospect of Greece only temporarily being without the euro, telling the newspaper [Bild] that he is no longer ruling out a Greek withdrawal from the Eurozone. ‘Greece is a part of the Eurozone. There’s no doubt about that. Whether with the euro or temporarily without, this question can only be answered by the Greeks themselves,’ he said… ‘I am certain that Europe and the EU will be better and stronger in a year’s time than at the beginning of the Greek crisis. At least, if we draw the right conclusions from the crisis… a community can only function if the members abide by the rules. And self-critically we must admit: it was us Germans and the French who in 2003 first broke the stability rules of the euro.’…

“A recent poll showed the overwhelming majority of Germans backed Mr Schäuble’s tough stance, with figures from broadcaster ARD giving the finance minister his highest-ever personal approval rating at 70 per cent. This is in stark contrast to public sentiment in Greece, where posters put up by those campaigning for a ‘no’ vote in the Greek referendum depict Mr Schäuble in a vampire-like image…’”

Der Stern wrote on July 5 that Greece has said “Bye-bye” to Europe. On the other hand, Die Welt wrote on July 5 that a Grexit is not inevitable, emphasizing the fact that the referendum was not a vote for Greece’s departure from the Euro, and that most Greeks prefer to stay in the Eurozone. The paper also said that it would be difficult, legally, to declare a Grexit, or to be thrown out of the Eurozone, as the Eurozone treaties compel a member state to remain part of the Eurozone for life. Only a departure from the EU would also include the departure from the Eurozone. (Of course, we also know that legal papers can be easily “re-interpreted” and treaties ignored or broken, and so voicers are being heard advocating a “Grexit” of sorts—by leaving the euro but not the EU.)

At the same time, we must reject speculation in the press that the events in Greece might signal the end of the EU and the Euro, and that national currencies will be reintroduced. Such a conclusion would be ridiculous. However, some ignorant writers propose this.

EU Is Causing Massive Resentment?

The Telegraph wrote on July 6:

“The European Union today is causing massive resentment between European nations. Just look at how relations between Germany and Greece have deteriorated. Far from bringing peace, the EU now sows resentment… Whatever fine aims there were fifty or sixty years ago have no relevance to the reality of life for young people right across the EU now, including in Greece. The EU’s old, outdated ideas have been rejected at the ballot box in exchange for a new approach and fresh thinking…

“The result is a tired, stumbling European Union that is dying on its feet before our very eyes. Credibility for the project is fading fast… With younger generations now turning against the EU project, we can see support for the EU’s dream of a United States of Europe fading fast. An outdated European Union has been found out and rejected emphatically by young Greeks in the 21st century.

“It is all too clear to see why: both the euro single currency and the European Union itself have done great harm to the prospects of young people who are now realising that we do not need a single currency or a political union to be friends, neighbours and trading partners. Far more important than this European Union is the concept of national democracy, of which this Greek referendum and its result are a beaming example of.”

Anti-European feelings might exist in the UK, but most continental Europeans are FOR the EU and the Euro—and most Greeks are likewise. Our new StandingWatch program, “Greece in Prophecy,” makes all of this very clear. But this is not to say that the EU and the Eurozone are a great accomplishment in the eyes of God. However, they fulfill prophecy to bring about end-time events.

Greek Finance Minister Resigns

AFP wrote on July 6:

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sacrificed his finance minister Monday in a gesture aimed at placating his eurozone creditors, which must now decide whether to loan more money to the debt-wracked country or prepare for a ‘Grexit,’ or Greek exit from the euro. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced that he was stepping down immediately and at Tsipras’s request… The euro had tumbled as much as 1.6 percent in electronic trading immediately on the 61-percent ‘No’ result from the referendum, but recovered after Varoufakis’s shock resignation to $1.1086, just 0.25 percent lower. European markets also gave a relatively muted reaction, with losses limited in mid-morning trade at around 1.5 percent…

“More than three quarters of Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone…”

Five Days to High Noon?

 The Washington Post wrote on July 7:

“An emergency summit of European leaders called to salvage Greece’s financial rescue broke up acrimoniously late Tuesday night, with officials saying the country now has just five days to avoid bankruptcy. Following a day’s worth of talks aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece’s proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Thursday. The leaders of all 28 European Union members will then meet Sunday in what officials said will be the final chance to save Greece from economic oblivion — or the moment the country is ejected from the euro zone…

“European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pounded the lectern as he announced that Europe has detailed plans for Greece’s exit from the euro zone — known as ‘Grexit’ — and for delivering humanitarian aid to Athens…

“President Obama on Tuesday escalated his involvement, speaking in separate conversations to Merkel and to Tsipras… But that prodding appeared to do little to bridge a divide that has only widened as Greece’s crisis has deepened…

“Even as several European officials expressed grave disappointment with Tuesday’s talks, others held out hope that the worst outcomes can still be avoided. French President François Hollande said France will do ‘everything to save all those who wanted this Europe.’ Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he was optimistic that ‘we can achieve an agreement on Sunday.’ Analysts, too, said there remained reason to think the two sides can reach a last-minute deal — but only because the dire circumstances in Greece have left no doubt about the potential consequences…”

Is Merkel Facing Her Waterloo?

The Local wrote on July 8:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s tough stance on Greece plays well with German voters but carries a huge risk, analysts warn – history would likely blame her for a catastrophic ‘Grexit’. The austerity champion often dubbed the ‘Queen of Europe’ now faces the toughest crisis in her nearly decade-long reign at the helm of the EU’s top economy…

“Daniela Schwarzer, of think-tank the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said Merkel ‘faces a huge dilemma because, on the one hand, if Greece leaves, she will be the chancellor who didn’t manage to hold the eurozone together. But if she keeps Greece in after all that has happened, then she will be extremely criticised for giving up the principles that govern the eurozone. Whichever way this goes, she will be criticised.’…

“The Greek ‘No’ vote to EU-IMF bailout terms last Sunday, cheered by left- and right-wing populists across Europe, heightened the pressure on Merkel. Germany’s conservative daily Die Welt called it her first ‘great defeat’… At home, conservative lawmakers and newspapers have warned Merkel not to give in now, as anger with Greece has come to cross mainstream party lines and polls show about half of Germans favour a Grexit.

“The mass-circulation Bild daily this week urged Merkel to be ‘an Iron Chancellor’ in her dealings with Greece, depicting her with a Prussian spiked military helmet. On Wednesday the tabloid-style newspaper was furious EU leaders were even considering a third bailout and fumed: ‘NO, we are not consistent. YES, we are open to blackmail. What a defeat!’

“News magazine Der Spiegel meanwhile warned that Merkel – heir to chancellor Helmut Kohl, a champion of European unity – could become the leader on whose watch Europe started to crumble. Its stark cover shows Merkel sitting on toppled Greek columns, with the headline ‘The Rubble Woman’, referring to the iconic survivors who cleared up bombed German cities after the Second World War… ‘The Greek crisis called for leadership, a plan, but Merkel did not want to commit to one. Merkel likes power, but at the crucial moment, she doesn’t know what to do with it. Now she faces the ruins of her policy on Europe.’

“Especially outside Europe, many wonder how a divided continent will deal with other challenges – from the Ukraine crisis to dealing with a wave of refugees to the looming threat of Britain leaving the EU. As Berlin has taken an increasingly central role in Europe, many are warning it must not fail now…”

Europe will not crumble. Rather, a powerful leader WILL arise… and it is not Angela Merkel.

Brexit Unimaginable? – Stranger Things Have Happened!

The Telegraph wrote on July 4:

“A British exit from the European Union is ‘unimaginable’, according to a senior German politician, who urged the UK to stay in the bloc… Michael Fuchs, a member of Angela Merkel’s party and deputy chairman of the ruling CDU-CSU coalition… described Brussels as a ‘huge’ bureaucracy that needed to be scaled back…

“Mr Fuchs said it was very unlikely that Mr Cameron would be able to achieve [a treaty change]…. ‘This is not easy because you are talking about the Lisbon Treaty and you know to change it you need 28 votes, a unanimous vote. The fathers of the EU made it complicated for us to change it because they knew at a later stage there could be demand for changes. It is difficult [to change].’”

Apart from the tremendous economic repercussions and political considerations and just analyzing it from a legal standpoint, a Brexit could be “accomplished” much more easily than a Grexit, because Britain is not a part of the Eurozone.

China at the Brink of Economic Disaster?

The Telegraph wrote on July 8:

While all Western eyes remain firmly focused on Greece, a potentially much more significant financial crisis is developing on the other side of world. In some quarters, it’s already being called China’s 1929 – the year of the most infamous stock market crash in history and the start of the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression.

CNBC added on July 8:

“The precipitous plunge in Chinese stocks, and Beijing’s struggle to halt the fall, has sent waves of panic through the country’s 90 million-plus retail investors, who say their life-savings are ‘falling into an abyss.’ At a Citic Securities brokerage in Beijing on Wednesday, the trading hall was packed with retail investors, many of them pensioners, lamenting the loss of the money in the stock market. One investor was watching the big screen between his fingers as if at a horror flick.

“The mood was fearful, panicked and sometimes hostile, as investors huddled around computer screens, waiting to see whether the latest moves by Chinese authorities to prop up the stock market would do any good. ‘The government has been manipulating the stock market all this time,’ one investor who didn’t want to be named told CNBC. ‘The authorities made us believe that we can make money from a bull market but actually we are falling into an abyss losing most of our life savings.’”

Hollywood’s Celebrities Take on Governor Jerry Brown’s Vaccination Law

The Hollywood Reporter wrote on June 30:

“Jim Carrey is speaking out against new legislation requiring all public school children in California to be vaccinated starting in 2016. Carrey, who has been an outspoken critic of vaccinations, said Gov. Jerry Brown needed to be stopped… The new legislation removes personal belief exemptions to vaccinations for religious reasons. Carrey was once in a relationship with Jenny McCarthy, the public face of the anti-vaccination movement. She has said her son developed autism after receiving a vaccination.

“Fellow celebrities have also voiced their displeasure with the law, taking to Twitter to retweet those voicing similar positions and writing their own opinions condemning the compulsory vaccination policy. Amongst those throwing their weight behind Carrey are Kirstie Alley… Others, such as fellow Scientologists Jenna Elfman and Danny Masterson, as well as actress Selma Blair and noted activist Erin Brockovich, clarified that though they aren’t necessarily anti-vaccine, they feel the law is an egregious case of government overreach and suppression of parental rights.

“A petition asking Brown to repeal the law has been gaining steam, with both Blair and Masterson sharing it on Twitter. Thus far, it has nearly reached its goal of 100,000 signatures.”

There can be no doubt that this new law is an incredible governmental intrusion into the rights of parents and another attempt of Big Brother to destroy religious freedom and liberty. In addition, the concern of a connection between vaccination and all kinds of dangerous reactions and sicknesses, including autism, is very real. To blindly believe self-serving scientists (many of whom have a conflict of interest in that they are being supported, sponsored or paid, directly or indirectly, by the drug- and vaccine-producing pharmaceutical industry) could prove to be devastating for our inoculated children.

Inasmuch as there is some confusion as to what the bill (SB 277) does and does not say, we are publishing below the most pertinent provisions:

“SEC. 2. Section 120335 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:…

“(g) (1) A pupil who, prior to January 1, 2016, submitted a letter or affidavit on file at a private or public elementary or secondary school, child day care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center stating beliefs opposed to immunization shall be allowed enrollment to any private or public elementary or secondary school, child day care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center within the state until the pupil enrolls in the next grade span.

“(2) For purposes of this subdivision, ‘grade span’ means each of the following:

“(A) Birth to preschool.

“(B) Kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, including transitional kindergarten.

“(C) Grades 7 to 12, inclusive.

“(3) Except as provided in this subdivision, on and after July 1, 2016, the governing authority shall not unconditionally admit to any of those institutions specified in this subdivision for the first time, or admit or advance any pupil to 7th grade level, unless the pupil has been immunized for his or her age as required by this section.

“SEC. 5. Section 120370 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

“(a) If the parent or guardian files with the governing authority a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that the physical condition of the child is such, or medical circumstances relating to the child are such, that immunization is not considered safe, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of the medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history, for which the physician does not recommend immunization, that child shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 1… to the extent indicated by the physician’s statement…”

CNN Takes on NSA and Obama Administration Regarding Spying on Journalists

CNN reported on July 4:

“An investigation by the German parliament is raising questions on whether the Obama administration not only spied on journalists in that country, but interfered in the exercise of the free press under the guise of U.S. national security…

“That the NSA was spying on German officials is not new, though it continues to upset free press advocates and those with memories of repressive governments both Communist and Nazi.

“… this week came news that the NSA was eavesdropping not only on Merkel, but in some capacity on Germany’s free press as well, namely Der Spiegel… ‘It feels bitter to learn that American intelligence agencies spied on reporters in another country and denounced alleged sources to the government,’ said one reporter involved, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions from his government or the U.S. government. ‘This is something I expected to happen in authoritarian states like Russia or China but not in a democracy.’…

“The incident raises questions about what exactly the German Chancellery knew and when it knew it — specifically that officials were notified by the CIA station chief in 2011, two years before the revelation that the NSA was spying on Merkel’s cell phone — that the U.S. was conducting surveillance that touched on both German journalists and the German government… Der Spiegel on Friday reported on the event, writing that ‘it is becoming increasingly clear that representatives of the German government at best looked away as the Americans violated the law, and at worst supported them.’ …

“Without question, Der Spiegel has broken many stories that have frustrated the U.S. intelligence community… It is clear that regardless of the national security principle, the Obama administration has been embarrassed before the world and seen its diplomatic efforts weighed down by the drip-drip-drip of these revelations…”

When even CNN begins questioning the Obama Administration’s conduct in relationship to NSA’s alleged wrongdoing, the situation must be really very serious and troublesome.

Pressure on Merkel… “Only the Tip of the Iceberg”

Daily Mail wrote on July 4:

“German leader Angela Merkel is coming under increasing pressure to act on the NSA spying scandal after it was revealed Washington spooks eavesdropped on the country’s top news magazine as well as politicians. Der Spiegel, a publication which enjoys a high level of trust among readers, politicians and the media classes in Europe, fell victim to the surveillance unleashed on Mrs Merkel and her top lieutenants…

“Germany, which has cherished a free press ever since the overthrow of Nazism, is more bitter about the Spiegel row than the surveillance of top politicians.

“One German journalist told Radio Bavaria: ‘This is a scandalous assault on a free press, a scandalous assault on the dignity of journalists and their craft. America perpetually claims it is acting in the interests of free people everywhere, but when you learn of dirty tricks like this, one must question this.’ …

“Mrs Merkel, who smoothed over relations with America after revelations last year that her own mobile phone was hacked by the agency, is now facing fresh demands for concrete action against Washington following the scandal which broke on Thursday… the latest raft of revelations may prove too large to sweep under the diplomatic carpet…

“Christian Flisek, the senior SPD lawmaker on the NSA committee, said the fresh revelations of spying were only the tip of the iceberg…”

It is very doubtful that Angela Merkel, who has proven to be weak and indecisive in her relationship with Mr. Obama, will take action towards the USA. However, a very charismatic and influential personage will arise in Germany in the near future, who will act…

Negative Media Coverage of Trump Might Actually Help Him

The Huffington Post wrote on July 2:

“According to Facebook… Trump’s announcement [to run for the Presidency] generated 6.4 million ‘interactions’… among 3.4 million Facebook users, over a million more than for Ted Cruz (at 2.1 million)… Only Hillary Clinton (10.1 million interactions among 4.7 million unique Facebook users) did better on her announcement day.

“Similarly, Trump has also dominated the other Republican candidates in Google searches since his announcement two weeks ago, and that huge difference has persisted… On Monday June 29… there were 38 searches for Trump for every 2 for Jeb Bush and 1 for Marco Rubio.”

Trump vs. Rubio vs. Bush—Our Immigration “System” in Shambles

Breitbart wrote on July 4:

“Rubio joined Democrats and liberals—as well as most of the mainstream media—in attacking Trump for calling out international criminals who exploit America’s weak and insecure border to get into the United States illegally. ‘Trump’s comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive,’ Rubio said…

“Rubio joins people like Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign co-chair and liberal actress Eva Longoria—who compared Trump to Adolf Hitler—and Univision programming president Alberto Ciurana–who compared Trump to Charleston, South Carolina, mass murderer Dylann Storm Roof. There are plenty of others throughout the mainstream media and institutional left who have slammed Trump as well, and some Republicans like former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former New York Gov. George Pataki [as well as Mitt Romney who said on July 4 that Trump made a “severe error,” that his comments were “unfortunate,” and that he was hurting the Republican Party].

“Sending out a link to a Breitbart California article detailing how one such illegal alien like the criminals Trump called out in his announcement speech allegedly murdered a woman in San Francisco on Wednesday, … Trump sent a message directly to Rubio: ‘… what do you say to the family of Kathryn Steinle in CA who was viciously killed b/c we can’t secure our border? Stand up for US.’…

“In addition, Trump’s adviser told Breitbart News that his boss can’t wait to expose Rubio’s weakness on immigration… Trump has also been extraordinarily critical of the Obamatrade deal that Rubio voted for… Trump is likely to turn the jets on Rubio, as Rubio continues sinking in the polls again…”

In addition, Trump’s outspoken criticism of Jeb Bush [presently number one amongst likely GOP voters] on just about every issue, including immigration—and that even long before Trump announced his candidacy—is well known and has been thoroughly documented. Trump issued the following statement on July 4:

“Just like the simple question asked of Jeb [Bush] on Iraq, where it took him five days and multiple answers to get it right, he doesn’t understand anything about the border or border security… Jeb will never be able to secure our border, negotiate good trade deals, strengthen our military or care for our veterans…”

Trump’s statements regarding an illegal immigrant who allegedly committed murder are to be seen in the light of the following article by The Associated Press, dated July 3:

“Declaring itself a sanctuary with no obligation to obey federal immigration law, the city of San Francisco ignored an order by federal immigration officials to detain for deportation a man now accused of gunning down a young woman at [a] popular city tourist destination. Francisco Sanchez has seven felony convictions and has been deported five times, most recently in 2009, a federal agency said Friday. He was arrested about an hour after Wednesday’s seemingly random slaying of Kathryn Steinle at Pier 14 — one of the busiest attractions in the city.”

This is beyond belief!

Business Insider wrote on July 6:

“Donald Trump is doubling down on his controversial comments about Mexican immigration. The entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate sent out an epic three page, 881 word statement on Monday afternoon detailing his belief that ‘the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government.’ ‘The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this,’ Trump wrote.

“‘Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world… I have lost a lot during this Presidential run defending the people of the United States. I have always heard that it is very hard for a successful person to run for President. Macy’s, NBC, Serta and NASCAR have all taken the weak and very sad position of being politically correct even though they are wrong in terms of what is good for our country,’ Trump wrote.”

“Obama Administration Responsible”

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“In 2013 the Obama administration released 36,007 criminal immigrants who had nearly 88,000 convictions. Those convictions included 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions, and 1,075 aggravated assault convictions… of those criminals released in 2013, 1,000 had gone on to commit additional crimes including, terroristic threats, lewd acts with a minor, various types of assault, DUI, robbery, hit-and-run, gang activity, rape, and child cruelty…

“In 2014 the administration released another 30,558 criminal immigrants, who had a total of 79,059 convictions. The convictions included in the 2014 releases included: 86 homicide convictions, 186 kidnapping convictions, 373 sexual assault convictions, 449 commercialized sexual offenses, 1,194 battery convictions, 1,346 domestic violence convictions, and 13,636 DUIs.

“‘When aliens released onto the streets go on to commit additional crimes yet could have been placed in ICE custody, this Administration is responsible …’ House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said in April… ‘The Administration… will be held accountable,’ he added…

“In May the Obama administration revealed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that between 2010 and 2014, 121 convicted criminal immigrants with final orders of deportation were never removed and now face murder charges.”

Daily Mail wrote on July 7:

“The mother of a teenage boy gunned down by an illegal Mexican immigrant in strikingly similar circumstances to how Kathryn Steinle died, has backed Presidential hopeful Donald Trump to ‘close our borders’. Anita Shaw, whose 17-year-old boy Jamiel Jr was murdered by gang member Pedro Espinoza in Los Angeles in 2008, says she is ‘angry’ at the current immigration policy. She told Daily Mail Online: ‘It makes me sad, it makes me angry, it makes me frustrated. It’s amazing to me that the same incident is still going on today. It’s like, when will the public wake up and do something. And this guy who is running for President, Donald Trump, he’s trying to do something and they’re trying to shut him down.’”

What Americans Think on Immigration

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“Several recent surveys show that a majority of Americans agree with Donald Trump that the United States needs to secure its southern border with Mexico. According to Rasmussen Reports, 63 percent of Americans want the U.S. to gain control of the border, while just 30 percent want to make undocumented immigrants legal citizens. As for President Barack Obama’s immigration plan that would grant amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., 55 percent of those polled by Rasmussen oppose it.

“Further, 58 percent of the Americans surveyed think that providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants will lead to more illegal immigration… According to the Rasmussen numbers, Americans have a favorable opinion of immigrants who are living in the U.S. to working hard and trying to achieve the American dream. Trouble is, just 54 percent think that’s what immigrants are doing here.”

Hispanic Leaders Warn GOP

On July 4, the times of Israel published the following article by The Associated Press:

“Hispanic leaders are warning of harm to Republicans’ White House hopes unless the party’s presidential contenders do more to condemn Donald Trump… Trump’s comments… have haunted the party for much of the last two weeks and dominated Spanish-language media. It’s bad timing for a Republican Party that has invested significantly in Hispanic outreach in recent years, given the surging influence of the minority vote…

“Not since the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush has a Republican presidential candidate earned as much as 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton cast Trump’s remarks as ‘emblematic’ of a larger perception within the Republican Party.”

We might recall that during the last presidential race, video-recorded semi-public comments by Mitt Romney about the Spanish community were largely responsible for Romney’s defeat.

San Francisco—The New Rome?

 Breitbart wrote on July 6:

“‘San Francisco: It’s the New Rome.’ That’s the anonymous comment overheard by Politico’s Mike Allen–or one of his sources–at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the summer gathering of the nation’s intellectual elite (and the people with enough money to be seen with them). It is an acknowledgment of the city’s new power–and its decadence…

“St. Augustine wrote that the collapse of ancient Rome showed the contradictions between the City of God–the ideal republic that awaited in Heaven–and the city of man on earth. San Francisco, the new Rome, is beset by contradictions between the ideal of liberal utopia and the reality of liberal government.

“The city’s environmentalists have imposed building restrictions that make housing astronomically expensive. The city’s socialists respond with higher minimum wages that drive up business costs. And so the city welcomes illegal aliens–a minority of whom commit horrific crimes.

“For fifty years, San Francisco has been the capital of a counter-culture–one that has since become the nation’s dominant culture. With the legalization of same-sex marriage as a ‘fundamental right’ by the U.S. Supreme Court last month, the city–recognized for decades as the gay capital of the world–has few taboos left to challenge…

“Today, Rome stands for both rise and fall. Which Rome, then, is San Francisco?…”

San Francisco, as well as the entire USA, is doomed to fall… like ancient Rome did.

Clinton a Better Friend to Israel than Obama

The Jewish Press reported on July 4:

“Hillary Clinton has promised that Israel will have her as a better friend than President Barack Obama if she is elected President next year. She also exclaimed that Iran poses an ‘existential threat’ to Israel…

“While strongly supporting attempts for a ‘good’ deal with Iran, she is trying to reassure wealthy Jews that they can safely contribute to her campaign coffers and can sleep safely last [at] night knowing that she will be good for Israel, even if Israelis spend the night running to bomb shelters. That is what President Obama also said in 2008. That is what every presidential candidate says, but American Jews love to hear [it] because they want to believe it…”

Jimmy Carter’s View of Jesus

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“Though he admitted he doesn’t have any supporting Scripture, former President Jimmy Carter says he believes Jesus would approve of gay marriage. Appearing on HuffPost Live, Carter, an evangelical Christian, was asked by host Marc Lamont Hill whether Jesus would support same-sex marriage. ‘I believe he would. I believe Jesus would,’ Carter answered, but admitted, ‘I don’t have any verse in Scripture… I think Jesus would approve of any love affair that was honest and sincere, and was not damaging to anyone else. And I don’t think that gay marriage damages anyone else.’”

Jimmy Carter’s view of Jesus is most certainly not in accordance with how the Bible describes Him.

Obama Is Being Warned Not to Bring His LGBT Agenda to Kenya

Breitbart wrote on July 7:

“Kenyan leaders are warning President Obama not to bring his ‘gay agenda’ with him when he visits his father’s homeland at the end of this month… Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the White House image was cloaked in the militant LGBT rainbow, as was the Facebook profile picture of the U.S. Department of Education.

“In Nairobi on Monday, members of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya called upon Obama to refrain from discussing the gay agenda… ‘Anybody who tries to come and preach to this country that they should allow homosexuality, I think he’s totally lost,’ said TNA lawmaker Jamleck Kamau, according to The Daily Nation. ‘And I would also like to add, our son from the U.S., Barack Obama, when he comes here, to simply avoid that topic completely because Kenyans will not be happy with him if he comes to bring the issue of homosexuality in this country.’…

“Rose Mitaru, one of 47 female lawmakers in Kenya, said that allowing same-sex marriage in her country would open ‘floodgates of evil synonymous with the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah.’… Deputy President William Ruto also said homosexuality was ‘against the plan of God’ during a church sermon in Nairobi. ‘God did not create man and woman so that men would marry men and women marry women,’ he was quoted as saying by The Daily Nation…

“White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that Obama would not avoid the topic of the gay agenda during his visit…

“In June, the U.S.’s openly gay ambassadors announced that Obama’s proposed trade agreements ‘will export our values of equality and tolerance,’ and ‘promote greater justice beyond our borders’… the eight openly gay U.S. representatives abroad said ‘trade policy’ is one of the ‘most promising tools’ to advance the meme that the LGBT agenda is the agenda that expresses America’s ‘values.’”

Nobel Prize Winner Challenges Obama on Global Warming

Newsmax wrote on July 7:

“A Nobel Prize-winning scientist who supported President Barack Obama has said that he does not believe global warming is a problem, and has openly criticized the president for his position on the issue. ‘I would say that basically global warming is a non-problem,’ Dr. Ivar Giaever announced during a speech at the 65th Nobel Laureate Conference in Lindau, Germany, last week… Quoting Obama’s warning that ‘no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,’ Giaever said it was a ‘ridiculous statement’… Obama said last year that 2014 is [the] hottest year ever. But it’s not true. It’s not the hottest.’

“Giaever, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1973, questioned the theory behind fears about rising carbon dioxide levels and said that the theory is not backed by evidence. ‘Global warming really has become a new religion. Because you cannot discuss it. It’s not proper. It is like the Catholic Church.’…”

The Pope in South America—Hinting At Big Changes

CNN wrote on July 6:

“Several hundred thousand pilgrims thronged to see the popular pontiff preach Monday… in… Ecuador… Waving flags from several South American nations — including Argentina, the Pope’s homeland — the crowd cheered Francis like a native son.

“Monday is the first full day of Francis’ weeklong trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, three of the smallest and poorest nations in South America…

“In his homily, or sermon, the Pope referred to a highly anticipated meeting of bishops to be held in Rome this October. The Catholic leaders are expected to discuss changes to several controversial areas of church teaching, including divorce and homosexuality… ‘I ask you to pray fervently for this intention,’ the Pope continued, ‘so that Christ can take even what might seem to us impure, scandalous or threatening, and turn it … into a miracle’…

“More than 425 million Catholics live in Latin America… That’s nearly 40% of the world’s total Catholic population. But Catholics in nearly every country, including Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, have fled the church in recent decades for other faiths, or no faith at all…”

Murderous ISIS Terrorists Don’t Stop at Anything

 Breitbart wrote on July 8:

“Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) militants have crucified dozens of Syrian men and boys for breaking the Ramadan fast, according to reports… The victims were placed about a block apart from each other, and some of the victims have signs placed around their necks. According to Syrian activist Saray ad-Din, since the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, ISIS has crucified dozens of civilians on charges of deliberately breaking the fast. This year, Ramadan extends from June 17 to July 17… In late June, ISIS executed and crucified two children in Mayadin on similar charges of having violated the fast.”

Demons are having a field day with the ISIS fanatics.

We begin with extensive coverage on the US Supreme Court’s “historic,” “landmark” and “watershed” decision on same-sex marriage; report on Israel’s reaction to the Vatican’s treaty with the Palestinian Authority; and point out that most Muslim countries reject Iran and its agenda.

 We continue with the terrible state of affairs in Greece and the dire financial situation in Puerto Rico; speak on ongoing futile attempts to silence Donald Trump and his resolve to fight back; and we conclude with the mysterious death of a popular doctor openly opposed to the vaccination of children.

Supreme Court RULES on Same-Sex Marriage

The Associated Press wrote on June 26:

“Gay and lesbian Americans have the same right to marry as any other couples, the Supreme Court declared Friday in a historic ruling deciding one of the nation’s most contentious and emotional legal questions… The vote was narrow – 5-4…  [with Kennedy’s usual swing vote supporting it. Kennedy also wrote the majority opinion.]

“In praise of the decision, President Barack Obama called it ‘justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.’…  [The four dissenting  judges] accused their colleagues of usurping power that belongs to the states and to voters, and short-circuiting a national debate about same-sex marriage. ‘This court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us,’ Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in dissent. Roberts read a summary of his dissent from the bench, the first time he has done so in nearly 10 years as chief justice… [He said:] ‘… do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.’

“Justice Antonin Scalia said he was not concerned so much about same-sex marriage as ‘this court’s threat to American democracy.’ He termed the decision a ‘judicial putsch.’ Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas also dissented…

“Speaking a few minutes later at the White House, Obama praised the decision as an affirmation of the principle that ‘all Americans are created equal.’…”

Opposition… But to What Extent?

Newsmax wrote on June 26:

“Franklin Graham, the president of… Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said that the Supreme Court did not define marriage and therefore cannot re-define it… ‘God gave us marriage. Period. And God doesn’t change his mind,’ Graham told Fox Nation.

“’If pastors are going to be forced to provide marriage services for gay couples, I’m not going to do it… ‘Long before our government came into existence, marriage was created by the One who created man and woman — Almighty God — and His decisions are not subject to review or revision by any manmade court. God is clear about the definition of marriage in His Holy Word: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) …’

“Earlier reports state that many Christian evangelicals say they would refuse to obey a decision allowing gay unions. ”

Breitbart wrote on June 26:

“President Obama reacted quickly to the Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage today, sending out a message on Twitter. ‘Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else,’ he wrote on his Twitter account. He signed his message with the hashtag ‘#LoveWins.’”

Some demonstrators at the court doorsteps, cheering the decision of the Supreme Court, were carrying signs, saying “Our Fight Against the Bible.”

 BBC News reported on June 26:

“Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called the ruling ‘an out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny’… Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licenses will now be issued to same-sex couples, said the justices ‘have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court’s previous decisions reserve to the people of the States.’”

Mashable.com wrote on June 28:

“Texas is doubling down on the fight against Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage. On Sunday, state attorney general Ken Paxton issued a statement calling the SCOTUS ruling ‘lawless’ and declaring that county clerks could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing religious objections…

“Paxton’s statement follows a declaration from Texas governor Greg Abbott on Friday that he, too, would continue to fight the SCOTUS ruling. Texas is hardly alone in refusing to abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling. Both Louisiana and Mississippi have said they will wait on issuing licenses. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal issued a statement echoing Gov. Abbott’s statement and Alabama governor Robert Bentley, no stranger to the battle over issuing same-sex marriage licenses, is also digging in to fight the ruling.”

However, this approach was tried before when states adopted same-sex marriages, and it failed. Sadly, the “law of the land” does not seem to allow religious objections for county clerks…

Deutsche Welle added on June 28:

“The Supreme Court has attempted to ‘unwrite the laws of nature and the laws of nature’s God’ with its decision, said Huckabee. Huckabee urged people to flout the decision, and he compared doing so to President Abraham Lincoln ignoring a 1857 high court decision that black people could not be citizens.

“Huckabee also derided President Obama for what Huckabee saw as flip-flopping on the issue, pointing out that the president opposed gay marriage until 2012: ‘He was either lying in 2008 or he’s lying now, or God has rewritten the Bible and only Barack Obama has gotten the new edition.’…

“Many of the Republican candidates took to social media to vent their frustration… Not every Republican was disappointed, however. Former Republican Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, changed his Facebook profile picture to display the rainbow stripes associated with gay pride following the ruling…”

Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s adulterous conduct is hardly an endorsement for any moral cause in the matter of marriage. In addition, the justices re-defined the clearly expressed will of America’s founding fathers, to totally rewrite the Constitution… which they have no authority to do. But it is now the “law of the land,” altering and redefining the plain language of the Constitution and holding that the Constitution states that marriage is between a man and a woman–and a man and a man–and a woman and a woman… and what else? It seems that only a constitutional amendment could change the legal status quo… and this is extremely unlikely to occur.

 The concept that we are all equal and we are all free to marry whom we want has potentially devastating consequences, if viewed on its face value: Does this mean a father can marry his daughter? Does this mean, a brother can marry his sister; a man can marry five women; or a woman can marry five men? Obviously, the issue that two transgender people can marry each other has now been answered in the affirmative. But what about bestiality and other abnormal sexual practices?

 Obama’s and Clinton’s “Evolving” Opinions

The Associated Press reported on June 28:

“When President Barack Obama praised the Supreme Court’s watershed same-sex marriage ruling, he held it up as evidence that a ‘shift in hearts and minds is possible.’ Obama may well have been describing his own public trajectory on gay unions — a complicated path that took him through opposition and ambivalence to enthusiastic embrace…

“Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign jumped on the Supreme Court decision, changing its red campaign logo to a rainbow colored H, releasing a gauzy video of gay wedding ceremonies, and blasting out supportive tweets aimed at building its campaign list. In a fiery speech Friday night to Democratic activists in Northern Virginia, Clinton said that ‘love triumphed in the highest court’ and declared: ‘We can sum up the message from the court and the American people in just two words: Move on.’

“But like Obama, such expressions of support mark a remarkable shift for Clinton, who opposed gay marriage for more than two decades as a first lady, a U.S. senator and a presidential candidate. Just three months ago, Clinton’s position was that while she personally supported gay marriage the issue was best left for individual states to decide — a policy stance held by most of the Republican presidential field. ‘It has been an evolutionary process,’ said Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. But he said Obama now stands as one of the great champions of gay rights, up there with the likes of Harvey Milk. As for Clinton, he said, ‘she connects with gay people on a level that is beyond explanation.’…

“By 2004, as [Obama] ran for the U.S. Senate, he said he opposed gay marriage for politically strategic reasons, saying Republicans would exploit the issue, and he advocated instead for gay civil unions. In his 2006 book, ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ he cited his own faith as a reason to oppose same-sex marriage…

“He came out firmly for same-sex marriage in 2012 and called for it in his second inaugural address. But earlier this year, his former top strategist, David Axelrod, wrote that Obama had feigned opposition to gay marriage for most of his political career, grudgingly taking Axelrod’s advice that African-American religious leaders and others would oppose him if he let it be known he supported gay marriage. ‘If Obama’s views were ‘evolving’ publicly, they were fully evolved behind closed doors,’ Axelrod wrote. Obama disputed the account…

“Clinton’s path into the embrace of the gay community has been similar. She backed her husband’s Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, described marriage between a man and a woman as a ‘fundamental bedrock principle’ in a 2004 Senate floor speech, and dodged the question when asked in 2007 whether she agreed with Gen. Peter Pace, then the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, that homosexuality was immoral. But as secretary of state, Clinton emerged as a champion of gay rights, declaring that ‘gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,’ at a 2011 conference in Geneva.”

True politicians have spoken…

 The US Supreme Court under Kennedy Plays God

Breitbart wrote on June 26:

“The day after declaring Obamacare magically rewritten and that the lawsuits against discrimination in housing require no proof of actual discrimination, the Supreme Court found a unicorn in the 14^th Amendment. By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy under that aforementioned 14^th Amendment (adopted in 1868, when every state in America criminalized sodomy) requires that every state in America grant marriage licenses to men who want to marry men and women who want to marry women, and that every state recognize such licenses from every other state…

“As our Supreme Rulers, the Supreme Court can declare what they want to declare, since rule of law died long ago… But this decision is particularly galling to those who believe words have meaning and that government is not God… Government is God, a dignity-conferring institution capable of making moral that which religion teaches is sinful, logic teaches is worthless, and societal experience teaches is societally counterproductive.

“Naturally, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has made it his lifelong work to read same-sex rights into the Constitution (this, after all is the man who once wrote, based wholly on the authority of the voices in his head, that the Constitution mandates ‘respect’ for sodomy), delivered the majority opinion…

“Kennedy quotes everyone from Confucius to Cicero on the importance of marriage. Then, begrudgingly, he admits, ‘It is fair and necessary to say these references were based on the understanding that marriage is a union between two persons of the opposite sex.’ He adds, patronizingly, that the view that such a definition is the only definition ‘has been held – and continues to be held – in good faith by reasonable and sincere people here and throughout the world.’

“But those people are wrong, because Justice Kennedy says so… Kennedy and the Court now contend that the intent of those who want to change marriage is a defining feature here, and that since people are born gay, this is their only path to happiness…

“Kennedy’s case is simply that to be against same-sex marriage is bigotry: ‘It demeans gays and lesbians…’

“For thousands of years, everybody got it wrong. For hundreds of years, every American state got it wrong. Today, the vast majority of the planet’s population gets it wrong, and so do hundreds of millions of Americans. But their wrongness is ‘manifest.’ Why? Because Kennedy says so.

“But he goes even further: he explains that rights emanate not from God or nature, but from the wise oligarchs of the government, who can reinterpret rights as they see fit… Which means that since the government is God, it can change the definition of fundamental rights and institutions at whim… It does not matter whether religious Americans stand for traditional marriage because of their religion or because of secular concerns. They are… to be considered legal bigots…

“The majority opinion drew [four] dissents… ‘Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us. Under the Constitution, judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be,’ [Chief Justice] Roberts writes, in a line that would have been far more convincing before he rewrote Obamacare in favor of how it should have been written according to him…”

The US Supreme Court’s recent decisions have been strictly political in nature and, in fact, have nothing to do with the law or the Constitution. That is the sad and shameful state of affairs in the United States of America.

 The Fall and Decline of America—Orthodox Christians to Become Persecuted Exiles in the USA

Time wrote on June 26:

“No, the sky is not falling — not yet, anyway — but with the Supreme Court ruling constitutionalizing same-sex marriage, the ground under our feet has shifted tectonically. It is hard to overstate the significance of the… decision — and the seriousness of the challenges it presents to orthodox Christians and other social conservatives. Voting Republican and other failed culture war strategies are not going to save us now.

“Discerning the meaning of the present moment requires sobriety, precisely because its radicalism requires of conservatives a realistic sense of how weak our position is in post-Christian America. The alarm that the four dissenting justices sounded in their minority opinions is chilling. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia were particularly scathing in pointing out the philosophical and historical groundlessness of the majority’s opinion. Justice Scalia even called the decision ‘a threat to democracy,’ and denounced it, shockingly, in the language of revolution…

“But when a Supreme Court majority is willing to invent rights out of nothing, it is impossible to have faith that the First Amendment will offer any but the barest protection to religious dissenters from gay rights orthodoxy. Indeed, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito explicitly warned religious traditionalists that this decision leaves them vulnerable.

“… we have to accept that we really are living in a culturally post-Christian nation. The fundamental norms Christians have long been able to depend on no longer exist… This is the new normal… The Supreme Court has now, in constitutional doctrine, said that homosexuality is equivalent to race. The next goal of activists will be a long-term campaign to remove tax-exempt status from dissenting religious institutions. The more immediate goal will be the shunning and persecution of dissenters within civil society.

“… social and religious conservatives must recognize that the… decision did not come from nowhere. It is the logical result of the Sexual Revolution… orthodox Christians must understand that things are going to get much more difficult for us. We are going to have to learn how to live as exiles in our own country…

“So many Christians… have no clue how far things have decayed in our aggressively secularizing world…  four Supreme Court justices [were] in effect declaring from the bench the decline and fall of the traditional American social, political, and legal order. We live in interesting times.”

 The Signs of the Time—Facebook, Google, Apple and Others All in Support of Gay Marriage

On June 27, gadgets.ndtv.com wrote the following:

“Facebook has introduced a new feature that lets users show off their support for marriage equality by superimposing a rainbow over their profile picture. CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally announced the Celebrate Pride tool on his personal page following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry.

“In another post Zuckerberg said, ‘Our country was founded on the promise that all people are created equal, and today we took another step towards achieving that promise. I’m so happy for all of my friends and everyone in our community who can finally celebrate their love and be recognised as equal couples under the law. We still have much more to do to achieve full equality for everyone in our community, but we are moving in the right direction.’…

“Other IT bigwigs such as Apple, Google, Uber and Salesforce too have voiced their support for gay marriages on social media channels throughout the day. On Twitter, you can automatically make a tiny rainbow heart appear in your tweet by including the #LoveWins hashtag.”

 American Jews Strongly in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

 JTA wrote on June 28:

“American Jews are among the most supportive religious groups of same-sex marriage. Some 77 percent of American Jews expressed support for same-sex marriage, according to data gathered in 2014 by the Public Religion Research Institute. Some 47 percent of American Jews polled said they ‘strongly favor’ allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, and 30 percent said they ‘favor’ it.

“Thirteen Jewish groups, among them organizations representing the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative streams, were among the 25 groups that joined the amicus brief filed by the Anti-Defamation League in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that  legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

“The only religious group to be more supportive of same-sex marriage are Buddhists at 84 percent, with 48 strongly favoring and 36 in favor. Seventy-seven percent of religiously affiliated also support same-sex marriage, with 45 strongly in favor and 32 in favor.”

Nothing to be proud of….

 JTA wrote on June 26:

“The notion that the decision would propel a broader debate about LGBT rights concerned the Orthodox Union, which in a carefully worded statement noted that it adhered to the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, but also recognized ‘that no religion has the right to dictate its beliefs to the entire body politic.’”

.. a “carefully worded statement,” indeed.

 Tax Exemption in Jeopardy Because of Biblical Belief?

 JTA wrote on June 30:

“Bob Jones University, the private Protestant college in South Carolina, lost its tax-exempt status in 1983 when the Supreme Court ruled that its policies banning interracial dating on campus were ‘wholly incompatible with the concepts underlying tax exemption.’

“Orthodox Jewish organizations, several of which publicly dissented from the Jewish community’s broad endorsement of the high court’s decision, now worry that similar consequences could befall Jewish organizations that decline to recognize gay marriage. ‘It remains to be seen whether gay rights advocates and/or the government will seek to apply the Bob Jones rule to all institutions that dissent from recognizing same-sex marriage,’ Nathan Diament, the Washington director for the Orthodox Union, said in an email.

“The groups point to an exchange in April between Donald Verrilli, the Obama administration solicitor general, and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who asked whether a school could lose its tax-exempt status if it opposed gay marriage? ‘I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue,’ Verrilli replied…

“How much of an issue is what is now exercising Jewish groups. Will Jewish schools lose their tax-exempt status if they don’t recognize gay couples? Could they become ineligible for government grants? Or face discrimination lawsuits for teaching the traditional Jewish perspective on homosexuality?…

“Marc Stern, the counsel for the American Jewish Committee, which also filed an amicus brief in favor of same-sex marriage, said immediate consequences were unlikely at the federal level. But on the local and state levels, there would be challenges, Stern said, especially in areas where the gay community has a strong political presence. ‘Will a state or city official take the decision to remove a tax exemption? In San Francisco, it’s a possibility. In New York City, it might happen,’ said Stern, who pointed out that he was speaking as a legal analyst and not expressing the AJC’s views….”

These concerns are not far-fetched or overblown. Mark Oppenheimer writes the biweekly “Beliefs” column for The New York Times. Time magazine published one of his opinion pieces on June 28, advocating the revocation of tax-exemption for churches and religious institutions which do not support same-sex marriages. 

Native Americans Say “No” to Gay Marriage

The website of thefederalistpapers.org published the following article just prior to the US Supreme Court decision:

“In the cultural battle over ‘same-sex’ marriage, one of the American groups overlooked in the debate is the Native American population.  Organized along ancestral tribes, these groups form a diverse, yet significant portion of the U.S. population… Tribal laws of the two largest Native American tribes in the United States prohibit gay marriage, as do the laws of nine other smaller tribes.

“The Navajo and Cherokee Nations, the first and second largest tribes respectively, together have about 600,000 members. The nine smaller tribes that ban gay marriage have another 350,000 members. These tribes all either define marriage as between a man and a woman or explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage…

“Since 2011, six of the eleven tribes revisited and upheld their preexisting legal definitions of marriage as between a man and a woman… Native American bans on gay marriage will remain in effect because federally-recognized tribes have the right to establish their own laws and are not subject to the U.S. Constitution.

“These Native American tribes have thought through this issue and their statements are clear, concise, and legally binding as CNS News explains: For example, the Cherokee Nation Marriage and Family Protection Act of 2004 defines marriage as ‘a civil contract between one man and one woman’ and states that ‘no marriage shall be contracted…between parties of the same gender.’ Title 6 of Chickasaw tribal law states that ‘a marriage between persons of the same gender performed in any jurisdiction shall not be recognized as valid and binding in the Chickasaw Nation.’ …

“The question, at this point, is whether homosexual rights bullies will eventually [focus on] on these Native American tribes as they have done to various Christian businesses around the nation. It is doubtful such challenges could be successful.  But, that may not stop these extremist radicals from trying to foist their ‘gender confusion’ onto Native Americans as well. Native Americans have endured far worse in their past and survived.  They will probably overcome this threat to their way of life as well.”

Israel Unhappy with the Vatican

AFP wrote on June 26:

“Israel’s… foreign ministry expressed its ‘regret regarding the Vatican decision to officially recognise the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a state, in the agreement signed today,’ spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement. ‘This hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the PA to return to direct negotiations with Israel,’ he said.

“The accord, a treaty covering the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, was the first since the Vatican recognized the Palestinian state in February 2013. The treaty, which took 15 years of negotiations to complete, was agreed in principle last month and bitterly condemned by Israel as a setback for the peace process. The Vatican’s recognition of the state of Palestine followed a November 12 vote in favor of recognition by the UN General Assembly. Vatican officials have described it as reflecting the Church’s desire to see the conflict in the Holy Land resolved by a ‘two-state’ solution.

“The Vatican has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1993 but has yet to conclude an accord on the Church’s rights in the Jewish state which has been under discussion since 1999. ‘We also regret the one sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem,’ Nahshon said… ‘Israel will study the agreement in detail, and its implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican.'”

Iran Rejected by Most Muslim Countries

Newsmax reported on June 28:

“Iran is viewed poorly… by Muslim-majority countries… Unfavorable views of Iran predominate in several Muslim nations in the Middle East — 89 percent in Jordan, 64 percent in Turkey, 58 percent in Lebanon, and 57 percent in the Palestinian territories.

“In Lebanon, 95 percent of Shiite Muslims have a favorable view of Iran, the nation with the world’s largest Shiite population, but just 5 percent of Sunni Muslims… have a favorable view of Iran.

“In Asia, seven nations have an unfavorable view… including mostly Muslim Malaysia (47 percent vs. 34 percent favorable) and Indonesia (41 percent vs. 36 percent favorable).

“Muslim Pakistan has a favorable view of Iran — 57 percent of respondents feel that way, while 16 percent have a negative view…”

The Joke with Greek Bailout Funds

The Huffington Post wrote on June 26:

“In 2010 and 2012, Greece accepted bailout deals from European creditors totaling hundreds of billions of euros in order to prevent the collapse of the Greek banking system. The funds kept Greece from a potential default that would force it out of the eurozone, but most of the enormous sum of money involved in the bailouts ultimately didn’t end up funding public services or directly going to the Greek people.

“Instead, as The New York Times reported in 2012, much of the bailout funds went back to the same creditors who gave Greece both the bailouts. This resulted in a situation where the so-called troika of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission were effectively lending Greece money so it could pay off the debt it already owed them. As a senior adviser to Germany’s Deutsche Bank told the Times then, the troika ‘is paying themselves.’

“At the time, the bailouts stopped a potential ‘Grexit,’ or Greek withdrawal from the eurozone, and quelled fears that Greece’s collapse could have a disastrous domino effect throughout the eurozone. But some economists say it did very little to actually put the nation on a path to growth…

“The first bailout largely went to paying off the private creditors that held Greek bonds and were owed debt payments, notes The Washington Post. This removed some of the danger that if Greece defaulted on its loans, it would lead these French and German banks to bankruptcy and in turn have a negative impact on Europe’s financial system. However… the bailout may have set up the Greek economy for a fall…

“In exchange for lending the funds, the creditors required Greece to institute strict austerity measures that many economists blame for holding back the country’s economic recovery. It also set up a stringent schedule of debt payments for Greece to meet with its creditors, but the country didn’t experience the growth predicted by the IMF that would have potentially given it the funds to pay these debts.

“This year’s debt crisis negotiations have focused around a June 30 deadline for Greece to pay the IMF 1.6 billion euros, with additional payments owed to the ECB in July and August… large amounts of the 7.2 billion euro tranche of bailout funds potentially released in these negotiations would quickly recirculate back to the creditors who lent it…”

David Cameron Prefers Greece to Leave the Eurozone

The Guardian wrote on June 26:

“David Cameron told a fellow EU leader that it ‘might be better’ for Greece to withdraw from the eurozone to allow it to fix its economy…

“The note, a leaked account of a private discussion between the prime minister and one of his European counterparts about his EU reform demands, indicates that Cameron made his remarks in an informal part of the meeting. The note says: ‘On Greece, the PM wondered if it was wise for Angela Merkel to allow the discussion with Greece to take place at PM level and mused that it might be better for Greece to leave the eurozone in order to sort its economy out – though also accepted that there were major risks in that too.’

“The prime minister’s remarks may cause some irritation among eurozone leaders who are fighting to avoid a Greek default, which could lead to its exit from the euro… The British prime minister’s suggestion that Greece might be better off outside the euro may revive criticism of Cameron among some eurozone countries for lecturing them on the single currency, which Britain decided not to be part of….

“Sir John Holmes, Britain’s former ambassador to France, told BBC… in 2012 that EU leaders were resentful of Cameron’s interventions. Holmes said: ‘Other leaders find David Cameron’s lectures rather irritating.’”

Keep Greece in Eurozone?

The Local wrote on June 28:

“This weekend there have been long lines at ATMs throughout Greece, following the collapse of talks on Saturday to reach agreement on austerity measures put forward by Greece’s creditors. The Greek prime minister’s decision to refer the measures to the Greek electorate in a referendum next Sunday precipitated the failure of the talks…

‘France’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, earlier urged Greece and other nations to do whatever they can to keep Greece in the 19-nation bloc that uses the euro currency. Valls said on Sunday that ‘we don’t know — none of us — the consequences of an exit from the eurozone, either on the political or economic front. We must do everything so that Greece stays in the eurozone.’”

Schäuble: Greece Will Stay in Euro…

 The Local wrote on June 30:

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that Greece will stay in the eurozone even if the Greek public vote ‘no’ on July 5^th… The MP said that those present were surprised by Schäuble’s comments as many were now working under the assumption that plans would be put in place to facilitate Greece’s exit from the single currency… On Monday and early Tuesday an increasing number of politicians in Germany were already calling for Greece to be gently ushered out of the euro.”

…Or Will it?

Breitbart wrote on June 30:

“Greece has failed to make the payment to the International Monetary Fund which was due at midnight Brussels time (11pm London, 6pm E.S.T.). If the IMF declares the non-payment a default then Greece becomes the first developed European country in 71 years of the IMF to join the club of defaulters, enjoying the illustrious company of the likes of Sudan, Zimbabwe and Somalia.

“At the same time as the possible default, the second European bailout package has now expired and tomorrow [Wednesday] Greece, for the first time in five years, will operate without a financial safety net…

“The IMF does not have to declare failure to pay a default, it can just cover its eyes and wait to see if a solution arises, so negotiations will continue. The real drop dead date is the 20 July when payment is due to the European Central Bank (ECB). If default has not been declared before that date and payment to the ECB is not forthcoming then Eurogeddon is upon us…

“Whatever happens in the next hours, days and weeks Greece has never been closer to falling out of the Eurozone.”

A Week of Huge Uncertainties

The Associated Press wrote on June 28:

“Greece’s parliament voted early Sunday in favor of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ motion to hold a July 5 referendum on creditor proposals for reforms in exchange for loans, with the country’s future in the eurozone looking increasingly shaky.

“Tsipras’ surprise call stunned Greece’s international debt negotiators, and the country took a big step closer to falling out of the euro currency union after fellow eurozone member states refused to extend its bailout program past its expiry date on Tuesday, leaving Greece on the brink of financial chaos.

“In the streets of Greece, worried people queued outside banks for cash from dawn to dusk after Tsipras’ announcement in the early hours of Saturday, after billions of euros had already been emptied in the preceding weeks…

“The radical left-wing leader accused the creditors of using blackmail and ultimatums against his proud but struggling people…

“If Greece’s banks collapse, the government would have to support them itself. Penniless, it would have to revert to printing a new currency, effectively drawing the country out of the euro union…”

Markets Suffering….

 The Guardian wrote on June 29:

“Markets suffered across Asia on Monday as Greece shut down its banks for a week ahead of an increasingly likely debt default… Turmoil in Asia had been widely expected after the failure of 11th-hour talks in Europe over the weekend raised the possibility of a Greek exit from the Eurozone.

“More than $35bn was wiped off the Australian stock market in the first hour of trading on Monday as investors braced for what could become a torrid week. Earlier the euro dropped more than 3% to 133.80 yen, its lowest level for five weeks. The common currency fell as much as 1.9% to $1.0955, its lowest level in almost a month…”

Is It Merkel’s Fault?

The Huffington Post wrote on June 29:

“If Greece leaves the eurozone in the coming days, it will be the result of decisions made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, more than any other institution or leader… The country is the single largest creditor in the series of bailout payments that the troika has provided to Greece since 2010. As such, Germany under Merkel’s leadership has been the lead architect of the loans-for-austerity policy Europe has used to manage the Greek debt crisis. Germany is also the euro monetary union’s largest economy and, arguably, its most powerful voice on the international stage…

“Under Germany’s leadership, the eurozone nations have insisted that Greece make rapid fiscal adjustments in order to pay off its mammoth debts in a timely fashion. Greece claims — and many economists agree — that it will never be able to repay the debt it currently owes the troika of creditors, and that continuing to try to do so is preventing the country from recovering economically…

“As such, analysts believe that if Greece leaves the eurozone, history will treat Merkel as the European leader who is most to blame…”

Merkel—the Villain of the Greek Drama?

The Washington Post wrote on June 30:”

“Her critics call her the villain of the Greek drama, a taskmaster forcing a bankrupt nation to its knees. But even as the Greeks reach their breaking point, the leaders of Europe are lining up behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel… Europe needs the deep pockets of its economic powerhouse, Germany, in case a broader financial crisis erupts from a Greek exit from the euro. And if there’s a revolt brewing so far, it’s against Tsipras, while Merkel is enjoying a surprising level of support… Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, for instance, has been a long-standing critic of Merkel’s tight fiscal line for Europe. But on Tuesday, he defended her, saying any effort to blame Berlin for a pending Greek tragedy is ‘a convenient alibi that doesn’t correspond to reality.’…

“French President François Hollande, who is, like Tsipras, a leftist, has nevertheless backed Merkel’s conservative stance. While calling for continued dialogue, he echoed the German consensus that Athens cannot dump austerity and keep the euro. And some of the harshest criticism of Tsipras is not coming from the Germans at all, but from nations such as Spain and Portugal that endured painful cuts and have begun to emerge from their financial black holes. Their leaders, not coincidentally, also have strong opponents on the left who would be empowered if Tsipras is seen to be a success.”

…Or Is It also the Fault of the German Media and the German Public?

The Local wrote on July 1:

“‘No more billions for the greedy Greeks’ or ‘Merkel shoots down new proposals from Athens’: these are just a couple of the bold headlines Germans have digested with their morning coffee in recent months. In a country still massively reliant on traditional forms of media – newspapers, and above all television – for its news, these headlines matter.

“In a 2015 survey, Reuters found that the country’s biggest online news source, Spiegel Online reaches just 16 percent of the population – despite 89 percent of people having access to fast internet. By contrast, large numbers continue to read newspapers and watch the two big TV news shows – ARD’s Tagesschau and ZDF’s Heute – which reach 52 and 38 percent of Germans, respectively.

“… the upshot for Greece has been a German Chancellor anxiously listening to the petulant voices coming from the talkshow armchairs and the tabloid rage of Bild against the spendthrift Hellenic Republic. Because those are the voices that will inform the largest single bloc of voters – the older people who will form the base for the next round of general elections. That meant prescribing the same tough medicine for Greece as seemed to be working in countries like Spain, Portugal and Ireland in the years following the financial crisis…

“The Sueddeutsche Zeitung pointed out on Wednesday that ‘alongside the politicians the people also bear responsibility’ for what has happened… The only way this can become a success story is if Merkel finally exhibits the flexibility and dedication that she’s been rightly demanding of the Greeks for five years,’ the SZ concludes.

“But the only way Merkel will be able to do that is by freeing herself from the fear of the media and the German people’s verdict – and on past form, that’s unlikely to happen.”

…and also Puerto Rico?

Chicago Tribune reported on June 28:

“Puerto Rico’s governor believes the U.S. territory’s $72 billion public debt is unpayable, a spokesman confirmed late Sunday, adding another blow to a world financial system already struggling with a possible default by Greece…

“Puerto Rico’s constitution dictates that the debt has to be paid before any other financial obligation is met. If Garcia seeks to not pay the debt at all, it will require a referendum and a vote on a constitutional amendment…

“Puerto Rico’s governor recently confirmed that he had considered having his government seek permission from the U.S. Congress to declare bankruptcy amid a nearly decade-long economic slump. His administration is currently pushing for the right for Puerto Rico’s public agencies to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9. Neither the agencies nor the island’s government can file for bankruptcy under current U.S. rules…”

 If Puerto Rico Defaults

Marketwatch reported on June 30:

“U.S. investors would actually have much more to lose in a potential Puerto Rican default than in a Greek default. The reason is that Puerto Rico’s bonds are trading in the U.S. municipal bond market, while the vast majority of Greek debt is in the hands of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and eurozone countries.”

Don’t Mess with Donald Trump

Politico wrote on June 26:

“Donald Trump sent a letter to Univision CEO and president Randy Falco on Friday informing him that ‘no Univision officer or representative’ is allowed to use his Trump National Doral, the resort and golf club immediately adjacent to Univision offices in Miami…

“The move is the latest in a public dispute that started Thursday when Univision announced it would end its business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is co-owned by Trump and NBCUniversal, based on what it described as Trump’s ‘insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants’ during the launch of his presidential campaign. Trump later announced that he would sue Univision for breach of contract and defamation, and accused Univision of defaulting on an ‘iron-clad’ $13.5 million contract, which he said it had no right to terminate.

“In the letter, Trump writes to Falco, ‘Please be advised that under no circumstances is any officer or representative of Univision allowed to use Trump National Doral, Miami—its golf courses or any of its facilities. Also, please immediately stop work and close the gate which is being constructed between our respective properties. If this is not done within one week, we will close it.’ In a post-script, Trump added: ‘Please congratulate your Mexican Government officials for having made such outstanding trade deals with the United States. However, inform them that should I become President, those days are over. We are bringing jobs back to the U.S. Also, a meaningful border will be immediately created, not the laughingstock that currently exists.’

“Shortly after publication of this item, a Univision spokesperson told the On Media blog that the following directive had been sent to all employees: ‘As part of this decision, [Univision Communications Inc.] employees should not stay at Trump properties while on company business or hold events/activities there.’

“Trump accused Univision of capitulating to pressure ‘put on them by various sources in Mexico.’ ‘The Mexican government is putting pressure on Univision to get me to stop exposing the weaknesses the U.S. has at the southern border,’ he said during the interview, citing his claims that U.S. leaders were ‘incompetent’ on trade with Mexico, allowing the country to take advantage of the U.S., and that the southern border ‘is a sieve’ that ‘illegals are pouring through…’”

CNN reported on June 29 that “NBC Universal, under pressure from an array of Hispanic groups, is severing its business ties to presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12, will no longer air on the network. Nor will the Miss Universe pageant, scheduled for next January. Both pageants were, until now, jointly owned by NBC and Trump… Trump told CNN correspondent Athena Jones that he may sue NBC… Trump is also the face of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice.’… On Monday, the network indicated that it wants to keep ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ going, but without Trump as the host.”

With these attempts to silence Trump, the opposite may be achieved. It appears that he will go full steam ahead… Note the next article.

 The Hill wrote on June 28:

“GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump says the Obama administration is making the U.S. ‘look like we’re beggars,’ as they pursue a long-term deal on Iran’s nuclear program… ‘The Persians … are very good negotiators… They’re dealing with fools…, ’ he said, adding that Obama is ‘not a negotiator.’…

“Speaking to reporters in Vienna on Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry said both sides still have ‘very tough issues’ to deal with before striking a deal. Trump likened the talks… to the prisoner swap the administration made with the Taliban for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl… ‘We get Sgt. Bergdahl, the traitor, and they get five leaders that they’ve wanted for years, and they’re out now on battlefield trying to kill everybody, including us,’ according to Trump… ‘It’s a very sad time for the country as far as I’m concerned,’ he said.”

 Trump Sues Univision for 500 Million Dollars in Damages

Breitbart wrote on June 30:

“GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump filed a $500 million lawsuit against Univision after it terminated its contract to carry the Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12.

“In a news release, Trump’s team announced: ‘Under the contract, Univision is required to broadcast the pageant live on television in Spanish.  While Univision claims its decision came solely in response to comments by Mr. Trump during a June 16, 2015 campaign speech announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, the decision was, in reality, a politically motivated attempt to suppress Mr. Trump’s freedom of speech under the First Amendment as he begins to campaign for the nation’s presidency…

“‘Nothing that I stated was different from what I have been saying for many years. I want strong borders, and I do not support or condone illegal immigration. There is a high level of crime occurring in this country due to unchecked illegal immigration. This is a major security issue for the United States… I have great respect for Mexico and love for the Mexican people and their tremendous spirit!…'”

CNN pointed out that they had reviewed the contract, and that the law suit for breach of contract is by no means frivolous.

NBC Cuts Ties with Trump, but not with Sharpton?

Newsmax wrote on June 30:

“Conservatives are calling foul on NBC for cutting ties with Donald Trump on Monday while keeping the Rev. Al Sharpton as a host on its sister cable network MSNBC… Al Sharpton… has called Jews white interlopers…”

Of course, Al Sharpton has made many derogatory comments pertaining to whites, playing the “race card” whenever he gets a chance.

 … and Now Macy’s

Bloomberg reported on July 1:

“Donald Trump has announced he is severing his ties with Macy’s due to ‘pressure being put on them by outside sources.’ The real estate tycoon and presidential candidate issued a statement on Wednesday terminating his relationship with Macy’s, the same day the retail giant said it would phase out its line of Trump menswear.

“Trump said like NBC, which cut ties with Trump on Tuesday, Macy’s is caving to pressure… ‘Clearly, NBC and Macy’s support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country. Both Macy’s and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty with special interest groups who are nothing more than professional agitators, who are not looking out for the people they purport to represent, but only for themselves. It is people like this that are actually running our country because our leaders are weak and ineffective.’…

“Trump said he’s fine with losing the clothing line, much of which is made in China and did not always meet his standards. ‘While selling Trump ties and shirts at Macy’s is a small business in terms of dollar volume, my principles are far more important and therefore much more valuable,’ he said. ‘I have never been happy about the fact that the ties and shirts are made in China, and should I start a new product line somewhere in the future, I would insist that they are made in America.  I was never satisfied with manufacturing my product in China, but because of what they’ve done in terms of devaluing their currency, it is very hard for other companies to compete and make such apparel in the United States. These are the kinds of issues I am committed to addressing. Securing our border, negotiating trade deals that benefit the United States and bringing jobs back to America is my top priority.’”

Macy’s decision to phase out Trump products might back-fire. According to Newsmax, dated July 1, “GOP 2016 presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump are rising in national polls among GOP primary voters. While Bush holds 19 percent of the vote among Republican voters, Trump holds 12 percent, making them the only Republican presidential candidates to have a double-digit showing in the poll, Business Insider reports.” Trump also holds second place in New Hampshire and Iowa among likely participants of Republican voters, according to Breitbart, dated July 1.

Mysterious Death of Anti-Vaccine Doctor

CBS/AP reported on June 27:

“Authorities say Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, who published research based on the medically disproved claim that vaccines cause autism, has been found dead in an apparent suicide in North Carolina. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release issued this week that Bradstreet died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest… His body was found by a fisherman. The sheriff’s department said Tuesday that a handgun was also pulled from the river…

“Bradstreet ran a clinic in Buford, Georgia. He also owned Creation’s Own, a maker of dietary supplements, which he also prescribed… agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, aided by the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, raided the Bradstreet Wellness Center last week. The FDA did not reveal to the paper why agents had searched Bradstreet’s office.

“Bradstreet’s family is now raising funds online to investigate his death, including ‘an exhaustive investigation into the possibility of foul play.’…

“In 2009, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims…  found Bradstreet’s research claiming causation between autism and environmental mercury exposure, which were published in non-peer-reviewed journals, and his testimony about links between a young patient’s autism and his MMR vaccination, to be unconvincing and unsupported by evidence…”

This article operates from the wrong assumption that causation between vaccination and autism has been “medically disproved.” This is clearly a false statement, and an opinion of just one court to the opposite is hardly convincing. The mysterious death of the doctor promoting the opposite raises at least an eyebrow. Whether the truth will ever come to light may be doubtful.

Europe’s Shift to the Right

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 19:

“Denmark’s elections resulted in a narrow yet decisive success for the country’s right-wing…

“Among the ones, who were up in Copenhagen all night celebrating victory, was Michelle Mork Hansen, a young politician with Denmark’s ‘Conservative Youth’ movement. She said that the outcome of the election was a ‘huge success’ for various right-wing parties in the country, adding that it would send a clear signal about Denmark’s position and outlook within the greater framework of the EU: ‘The ever-growing resistance against the European Union and a clear feeling among the population that most of our laws are directly dictated by Brussels have created a re-birth among the Danish right wing parties. The fact that Denmark is now fighting for the reintroduction of border controls has also been used as a symbol by the right wing throughout the election campaign along with the ever-rising amount of refugees entering our country,’ she said.

“Hansen’s observations bear the hallmarks of a movement that seems to be sweeping across many parts of Europe. Euroskeptic, right-leaning parties made gains across the continent, and predictions for upcoming elections in other EU nations have been confirming this trend. It would appear that Europe is largely turning to the right – and the reason for this is Europe…

“A lot of Europeans are not happy with the way things are going in Europe… ‘Throughout Europe, the right-wing parties have very charismatic and strong leaders, epitomized by Nigel Farage in the UK, Marine Le Pen in France and Kristian Thulesen Dahl here in Denmark, whose personalities and public speaking abilities seem to be drawing in the votes more than their party manifestos,’ [Hansen] said…”

In spite of or even because of right-wing charismatic euro-skeptics, the European unification process will continue, and a core Europe will emerge, consisting of ten nations or groups of nations. However, Israelite countries like Great Britain and even Denmark, Finland or Sweden might not be part of core Europe. The verdict on Greece is still out (Greece being a non-Israelite country, which is prophesied to have at the very least strong ties to Europe). While an overwhelming majority of Germans is in favor of a Grexit, most Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone. And while Angela Merkel is experiencing more and more resistance from her own party to loan Greece more money—especially from the “Euro-Man,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (see Bild Online, June 24)—she is reportedly determined to do whatever she can to keep Greece within the Eurozone. According to the EUObserver, dated June 19, “Viktor Orban, the Hungarian PM, has said only ‘strong’ leaders, not institutions, can create stability in Europe.” As Angela Merkel is undoubtedly not the kind of leader whom many envision and hope for, a strong leader, identified as the “beast” in the book of Revelation, will arise soon in Europe.

11^th Hour for Greece

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“As the 11th hour of bailout talks approaches, will Greece and its creditors agree on a bailout deal?… It only took an hour for eurozone finance ministers to call an end to crisis talks on Wednesday. The summit was expected to pave the way for a ‘final deal’ ahead of Greece’s impending deadline to repay the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1.6 billion euros ($1.79 billion) by June 30… However, widening rifts continue to postpone a deal between Greece and its creditors – European Central Bank (ECB), EU, and IMF – with the latter taking the harshest stance against the Greek government’s proposals…

“IMF chief Christine Lagarde said…  she did not want Greece to exit the eurozone, but added that if that did occur, she did not believe it would to an ‘explosion’ of the eurozone… Addressing lawmakers ahead of an EU summit slated for Thursday and Friday, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the monetary union had a ‘moral obligation’ to help Greece with a bailout deal. Renzi’s view runs contrary to a strain of public opinion in some countries…

“If an agreement is reached, it would unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds, allowing Greece to avoid a default on its IMF loan, which would likely force the country to exit the eurozone and possibly even the EU.”

Breitbart took a different stance on the matter, writing on June 24:

“The Greek farce continues its record-breaking run. After 43 last ditches, 28 eleventh hours and 17 late-night drinking sessions in the Last Chance Saloon, the comedians in Brussels and Athens are rehearsing their latest routine.

“The joke, of course, is on the taxpayers of Europe. For Grexit remains a remote contingency, at least for as long as the politicians can contain the situation by throwing other people’s money at a problem they manufactured. If the markets explode, that would be another matter. Barring meltdown in the markets, Brussels – which in this context is also an alias for Berlin – simply will not permit Greece to leave the Eurozone…

“Brussels knows only one law: ever-closer integration. If Greece departed the Eurozone, that would represent disintegration and that must not happen at any price…

“Which brings us to the crunch point. If the infatuated integrationists of Brussels will go to such extreme lengths, draining the European Central Bank and destabilising the European and wider economy, for the petty purpose of keeping basket-case, parasitic Greece within the Eurozone, how desperate would they become if there was the slightest prospect of Britain leaving the EU altogether?

“Britain is a net contributor to the EU, a nuclear power with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an economy with a growth rate over the past year of 2.4 per cent compared with 1 per cent in the Eurozone…

“The European Union could not survive the departure of Britain… Yet if Britain had representative leaders, honest media and real political will we could successfully demand any concessions – including full treaty change… If we held their feet to the fire they would squeal for mercy. That, along with the benefits of Brexit, is what we must bring home to our fellow citizens between now and the referendum.”

However, this conclusion is overly optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the view point. The Bible strongly indicates that Britain WILL leave the EU sometime in the future, and it is not specified whether Greece will stay within the Eurozone. But we know that in the future, there will be ten nations or groups of nations (apparently comprising Eurozone members), which will lead Europe. This means that some of the current 19 Eurozone members WILL have to leave.

Greece—No Breakthrough

AFP wrote on June 25:

 “Eurozone finance ministers’ talks broke up without an agreement on a Greek debt deal on Thursday, Finland’s Alexander Stubb said, with sources saying they were likely to meet again on Saturday.”

It was also reported that Greece will not vote over the weekend, and that no deal is expected—if at all—before Monday, June 29, just prior to the deadline of July 1, when the current EU assistance program for Greece runs out.  If that happens, then many commentators feel that Greece will be bankrupt by Friday, July 3.

David Cameron Changes His Mind… Again

BBC News reported on June 25:

“David Cameron has accepted it may not be possible to change the EU’s treaties before the UK’s in/out referendum on the EU, the BBC understands. The PM has argued instead for an ‘irreversible lock’ and ‘legally binding’ guarantees that EU law will at some point in the future be changed to accommodate Britain’s aims. As recently as January Mr Cameron said he would be demanding ‘proper, full-on treaty change’.

“Eurosceptics and those who want to leave the EU altogether have always been suspicious that agreements between political leaders can be later undermined in the courts. They believe that legal or treaty changes are necessary to deliver the prime minister’s negotiating objectives – in particular to free Britain from the EU’s commitment to build an ‘ever closer union’ of nation states and to ensure that benefits such as tax credits be withheld from migrants who have been in the country for less than four years.

“David Cameron’s critics may fear that the formula he is now using is a watering down of that commitment and will demand to know who would interpret any legally binding agreement reached between the UK and the rest of the EU. Downing Street insists, however, that it is simply a reflection of the fact that any treaty change will require a time consuming ratification process in 28 different countries involving parliamentary votes as well as referendums in France, Ireland and Denmark…

“Mr Cameron also discussed EU reform with Council President Donald Tusk, who said the substance of the UK’s proposals would be considered ‘but only in a way which will be safe for all Europe’. Mr Tusk warned that the fundamental values of the 28-member bloc ‘are not for sale and so are non-negotiable’.

“The PM’s official spokeswoman said… ‘ever closer union’ was not a principle Britain was attached to.”

Ireland’s Contingency Plan in Case of Brexit

The Guardian wrote on June 17:

“The Irish government is preparing contingency plans in the event that Britain leaves the European Union, Ireland’s foreign minister has said… Britain is Ireland’s largest trading partner and a Brexit would have damaging ramifications for its economy. A recent report by the Open Europe think tank predicted that Britain leaving the EU could cost Ireland a permanent loss of 3.1 per cent and even in the best case scenario it would still lose 1.1 per cent of GDP…

“Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern warned Mr Cameron that Ireland would not support treaty change – a key demand of Mr Cameron’s in his drive to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU…”

Northern Ireland’s Persecution of a Christian Pastor

TheBlaze reported on June 19:

“An evangelical pastor in Northern Ireland is under fire and will be prosecuted after calling Islam ‘satanic’ and claiming that its doctrine was ‘spawned in hell’ during a controversial 2014 sermon that streamed over the Internet. Pastor James McConnell, 78, of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, made his comments — which included calling Islam ‘heathen’ — in a sermon delivered last May.

“‘The Muslim religion was created many hundreds of years after Christ. Muhammad, the Islam Prophet, was born around the year A.D. 570, but Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion,’ he preached. ‘Now, people say there are good Muslims in Britain. That may be so, but I don’t trust them.’ McConnell continued, ‘Islam’s ideas about God, about humanity, about salvation are vastly different from the teaching of the holy scriptures. Islam is heathen. Islam is satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell.’

“He initially defended his comments, but relented and apologized for offending anyone after a public outcry; the police were subsequently called to investigate him for a potential hate crime… A representative for the Public Prosecution Service in North Ireland told the BBC that McConnell had violated the Communications Act 2003 and that his offence was ‘one of sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive.’

“But McConnell — who retired from Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle following the controversy — isn’t backing down, proclaiming in an interview that he is ‘not going to be gagged.’ ‘The police tried to shut me up and tell me what to preach. It’s ridiculous. I believe in freedom of speech. I’m going to keep on preaching the gospel,’ he said… ‘I have nothing against Muslims, I have never hated Muslims, I have never hated anyone. But I am against what Muslims believe.’ McConnell continued, ‘They have the right to say what they believe in and I have a right to say what I believe.’

“As TheBlaze previously reported, Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland was also recently convicted of discrimination after refusing to make a cake with a message supporting gay marriage.”

 Certainly, his choice of words should have been different. We don’t even know what he meant with his claim that Islam’s doctrine was “spawned in hell.” Still, it is an alarming sign when “Christian” governments attempt to silence those who preach what they understand to be the biblical teaching, while no Muslim or Islamist is prosecuted by those governments for ridiculing the Bible, libeling the Judeo-Christian religion, and blaspheming Jesus Christ.

 Little Boy Decided to Be a Girl… Mother is Proud About It!

On June 20, The Daily Mail published an article with the following headlines. One does not need to read the article—the headlines say it all:

 “Proud mother backs her ‘brave’ transgender 9-year-old son as he prepares to go back to school dressed as a girl and wearing a blonde wig. Sam Hughes [the proud mother] says son Joseph has made own choice to go to class as a girl. Has been dressing in girls’ clothes for ages and even painting his nails. When he puts on blonde wig he transforms from Joseph into Ellie-Jo. Has now decided he’ll take the big step of returning to school after summer as a girl.”

 Sickening…. 

 Luther’s Anti-Semitism

The Times of Israel reported on June 18:

“Germany’s top Jewish leader urged Protestants to confront and condemn anti-Jewish teachings of Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation. Speaking at a conference in Berlin last week, Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said he hopes for a clear sign from the Protestant Church condemning Luther’s anti-Jewish writings, ahead of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

“In his voluminous 1543 text ‘On the Jews and their Lies,’ Luther called Jews a ‘base’ people and urged faithful Protestants to burn down synagogues and drive Jews from their homes. Luther was responsible for regulations barring Jews from working or living in his region.

“Nikolaus Schneider, former council president of the Protestant Church in Germany, told Schuster during a public discussion at the June 10 conference that the church has begun to confront Luther’s anti-Jewish sentiments, adding he was he was fairly sure the council would issue a declaration on the matter in time for the anniversary…

“In 1517, Luther disseminated his Ninety-Five Theses condemning various church practices. According to some, he posted the theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. But while Luther took church leaders to task on their abuses, it has taken too long for Protestants to take Luther himself to task, critics have said.”

There can be no doubt that after Luther had tried unsuccessfully to convert Jews to Christianity, he propagated the persecution of Jews and other Sabbath keepers. One of his infamous works was titled: “Against the Jews and All Those Who Keep the Sabbath.” Some have said that Hitler carried out what Luther had recommended.

“Europe’s Jews Decry ‘Beast’ of Anti-Semitism Overtaking Continent”

The Times of Israel wrote on June 24:

“European Jewry is all in the same boat, and that boat is slowly but surely sinking. That, at least, was the impression from a roundtable conversation Tuesday at the Jerusalem Press Club with leaders from 25 of the continent’s Jewish communities.

“During the hour and a half lunch in a picturesque hall overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, even those leaders who claimed their countries are without anti-Semitism today were pessimistic about the future of Europe. The obliviousness to a looming Nazi regime pervasive in 1930s Jewish communities was referenced, as were the increased Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) efforts that have taken over Scandinavia and elsewhere.

“The 30-odd leaders were assembled under the banner ‘A Time for Action’ for the fifth Israeli Jewish Congress (Hakhel) Gathering and Solidarity Mission to Israel of senior European Jewish leaders…

“Musician Peter Gyori, the vice president of the Jewish Community of the Czech Republic, said his country doesn’t suffer from anti-Semitism, nor are there any calls for BDS. He said he can be openly Jewish, and appears widely on radio and television. But he has no utopian illusions. ‘I know that if something would happen to me, nobody would protect me,’ said Gyori.

“For her part, Gkratsiela Sofia Bourla, wife of the president of the Greek Jewish community, Moses Constatinos, said she cannot believe leaders, such as the delegates from the Czech Republic and Portugal, who say their countries do not have any anti-Semitism. ‘I think the beast is sleeping in their countries,’ said Bourla.

“Continuing with anti-Semitism as beast imagery, the Serbian Jewish community’s president Ruben Fuks said no one is dealing with the monster itself… ‘Seeing what’s around, how the beast is waking up, raising its ugly head, I’m worried,’ said Fuks.

“Born in Ostend, Belgium, in 1939 and hidden as a child during the Holocaust, Baron Julien Klener, the immediate past president of the Consistoire Israelite de Belgique, said he too is anxious in today’s Europe…”

Germany’s Latest Scandal

The Guardian wrote on June 22:

“German authorities have released al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour without charge, after he was detained on Saturday by police at Berlin’s Tegel airport on an Egyptian arrest warrant.

“Questions remain as to why the German authorities arrested Mansour at the behest of Egypt’s military regime in the first place, and why they waited until he was at the point of leaving Germany to do so. There was considerable confusion over the warrant, which a German government spokesman said on Monday came via Interpol’s ‘red notice’ system, though both Mansour and Interpol said no such red notice exists against his name. According to police spokesman Meik Gauer, the arresting officers at Tegel airport were answerable only to the federal police headquarters, not to Interpol. There also remains a question mark over why the police officers felt obliged to detain Mansour, given that Germany does not have an extradition agreement with Egypt… For that reason, legal commentators have suggested the warrant could not have been executed without consultation with the government.

“Last year, an Egyptian court convicted Mansour in absentia of torturing a lawyer in Tahrir Square in 2011 and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Mansour rejected the charges, calling them ‘a flimsy attempt at character assassination’… MPs across Germany’s main political parties had voiced concern over his detention…

“Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was criticised by opposition parties and rights groups for hosting the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, on a state visit this month. During the visit, the German industrial group Siemens signed an €8bn deal with Egypt to supply gas and wind power plants. Since Sisi took power in 2013 and won a presidential election the following year, courts in Egypt have issued scores of death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood members including the group’s leadership.”

Die Zeit commented on June 22 that Germany did everything wrong in the matter. In arresting Mansour, Germany angered the Arab world which does not have any great sympathy for the Egyptian government, while upholding the popularity of Mansour (showing again the ridiculousness of the notion, taught by some, that Egypt may be the “king of the south” and the leader of Arab nations.). But Germany also gave the impression to the corrupt Egyptian government that Mansour would be extradited to Egypt, angering the Egyptian government when he was set free. Die Zeit stated that part of the reason for Germany’s debacle is the fact that the German government does not seem to have any cohesive course of action towards Egypt at this point. But this is just one more example of increasing failures in Angela Merkel’s leadership.

NSA in Hot Water Again

The Telegraph wrote on June 24:

“Documents published online by WikiLeaks show that the US wiretapped three French presidents, including current leader François Hollande.

“A note dated May 22, 2012 and classified as ‘Top Secret’  shows that French president François Hollande had ‘approved holding secret meetings in Paris to discuss the eurozone crisis, particularly the consequences of a Greek exit from the eurozone’. Mr Hollande also arranged in a meeting with then-French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on May 18, just days after he had taken office, to hold secret meetings with Germany’s opposition Social Democratic Party. Mr Ayrault warned the president to keep the meetings secret to avoid ‘diplomatic problems’, with the cable explaining he meant ‘what could happen if Angela Merkel, German chancellor, finds out that Mr Hollande is going behind her back to meet with the German opposition’.

“The note said that after earlier talks with Mrs Merkel in Berlin, Mr Hollande had complained that nothing of substance was achieved and that the chancellor was fixated on Greece, ‘on which he claimed she had given up and was unwilling to budge’. This, the note said, made Mr Hollande ‘very worried’ for Greece and the Greek people, who he said may react by voting for an extremist party…”

The Globe and Mail added on June 24:

“The United States allegedly spied on three successive French presidents by eavesdropping on their phone calls, according to a new set of documents released by WikiLeaks that will reignite the controversy over American surveillance of its European allies. The revelations prompted outrage in Paris. President François Hollande called the reports ‘unacceptable’ and convened meetings of top legislators and security officials on Wednesday to discuss the controversy. In another sign of displeasure, the U.S. ambassador was also summoned to the French foreign ministry, the Associated Press reported.

“… A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council released a statement Tuesday evening saying the U.S. is ‘not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande.’ The statement did not address the allegations that the U.S. had spied upon Mr. Hollande and his predecessors in the past…

“As in Germany two years ago, French politicians were quick to express outrage about the revelations. But the subsequent experience in Germany has shown that lawmakers may not be quite as shocked as they first sound…  Michèle Alliot-Marie, a former defence and foreign affairs minister under Mr. Chirac and Mr. Sarkozy, told a local television channel that France was well aware of the U.S. ability to intercept conversations. ‘We are not naive, the conversations that took place between the defence ministry and the president did not happen on the telephone,’ she said. ‘That being said, it does raise the problem of the relationship of trust between allies.’”

Especially when the allies involve the USA.

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“US President Barack Obama has promised to stop ‘unacceptable practices’ after a row over eavesdropping on French leaders… Obama made a similar pledge to Germany in 2013 after former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked confidential information about the extent of the US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance. The documents showed that the NSA has tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone.”

 The text of a famous song comes to mind: “It’s only words…”

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies

Newsmax reported on June 25:

“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the nationwide availability of tax subsidies that are crucial to the implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, handing a major victory to the president. The court ruled on a 6-3 vote that the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, did not restrict the subsidies to states that establish their own online healthcare exchanges. It marked the second time in three years that the high court ruled against a major challenge to the law brought by conservatives seeking to gut it. Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by fellow conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy and the court’s liberal members in the majority.

“Justice Antonin Scalia took the relatively rare step of reading a summary of his dissenting opinion from the bench. In his reading of the statute, ‘it is hard to come up with a reason to use these words other than the purpose of limiting credits to state exchanges,’ Scalia said. ‘We really should start calling the law SCOTUScare,’ he added, referencing the court’s earlier decision upholding the constitutionality of the law. SCOTUS is the acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States… [He also wrote: “Under all the usual rules of interpretation, in short, the Government should lose this case. But normal rules of interpretation seem always to yield to the overriding principle of the present Court: The Affordable Care Act must be saved.”]

“The question before the justices was whether a four-word phrase in the expansive law saying subsidies are available to those buying insurance on exchanges ‘established by the state’ has been correctly interpreted by the administration to allow subsidies to be available nationwide. Roberts wrote that although the conservative challengers’ arguments about the plain meaning of the statute were ‘strong,’ the ‘context and structure of the act compel us to depart from what would otherwise be the most natural reading of the pertinent statutory phrase.’”

This is the second time that in regard to Obamacare, the US Supreme Court, under Bush-appointee Chief Justice John Roberts, made a strictly political decision, based on novel arguments, in order to reach a political result. Three years ago, the US Supreme Court, under Roberts, ruled that the individual mandate was a tax, even though the Obama Administration had argued that it was not a tax, but a fine. If it had been a fine, the mandate would have been unconstitutional. Now, the Supreme Court found that plain wording referring to the state (not the federal government), which has been used at least seven times in the law, does not mean what it clearly says—even though the Obama Administration never raised this issue. Sadly, the US Supreme Court has become a political institution, driven to and fro with the wind of political expedience, seemingly operating from the premise: The desired political end justifies the means of legal “interpretation.”

Germany’s Low Opinion of the USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 24:

“The USA is losing face among the German citizenry. In an interview with DW, USA expert Karsten Voigt talks about how this loss of respect came about…: ‘The slide toward a negative opinion began with former President George W. Bush’s wars in the Middle East. Many people believe that the Americans contributed to the instability of many countries in the region, and that the war in Iraq and the conflict in Syria have only exacerbated the problem. The military intervention in Libya, though originally a European idea, is often blamed on the Americans as well. To that, add Edward Snowden’s revelations, and the whole of the NSA affair…

“‘The laws that were enacted to fight terrorism after 9/11 contain many aspects that are constitutionally troubling. It was expected that all of these laws would be repealed by the Obama administration. That has happened in part, due to Congress limiting the powers of the intelligence services… The Patriot Act and Guantanamo are also viewed critically, and the practice of systematically torturing detainees to glean information about terror networks is especially controversial. In America, 58 percent of those polled support such tactics, in Germany, 68 percent are opposed to them…’”

The Local added on June 24:

“More than half of Germans (53 percent) said they did not believe the United States government respects the personal freedoms of its people… The poll also showed that 45 percent of Germans polled had negative views of the US, compared to 50 percent who had positive views. This was the most pessimistic outlook expressed by any of the western European countries surveyed…

“German support for the United States has plummeted over the 15 years since 2000, when nearly 80 percent of respondents in Germany said they felt favourable towards the US…”

Clinton vs. Trump

Newsmax reported on June 19:

 “GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has fired back at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton after she hinted that rhetoric he used during his campaign launch could ‘trigger’ a violent event, such as the shooting at the church in Charleston, South Carolina. Clinton said in an interview Thursday, ‘Public discourse is sometimes hotter and more negative than it should be, which can, in my opinion, trigger someone who is less than stable… I think we have to speak out against it,’ Clinton added. ‘Like, for example, a recent entry into the Republican presidential campaign said some very inflammatory things about Mexicans. Everybody should stand up and say that’s not acceptable.’

“Clinton was referring to comments Trump made during his speech when he described illegal immigrants from Mexico as criminals and ‘rapists.’ On Friday morning, Trump posted a video on Instagram responding to Clinton’s comments… ‘Wow, it’s pretty pathetic that Hillary Clinton just blamed me for the horrendous attack that took place in South Carolina. This is why politicians are just no good. Our country’s in trouble,’ he said in the short clip titled, ‘Hillary Clinton reaches new low.’…

“Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Trump said the real estate tycoon, who canceled a sold-out campaign event in the state after the shooting, sends his prayers and condolences to the people of South Carolina. ‘At this time of national sorrow, a responsible leader should be focused on uniting and healing the country,” said Sam Nunberg… ‘Mr. Trump believes that Hillary Clinton does not have any credibility when she blames words for violence. This is the same politician who lied to the world after she failed to take proper steps to secure the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and falsely blamed the radical Islamic attack on a YouTube video. This is the same person who illegally deleted her emails after getting a subpoena from the U.S. Congress.’

“Nunberg added it is ‘totally inappropriate’ for Clinton to use the tragedy to attack a political opponent. ‘She must be nervous about something,’ he said, hinting that Clinton must feel threatened by Trump’s entry into the presidential race.”

With Trump’s entry into the field, the fight for the White House has really begun. To underestimate Trump might be a big mistake for any of the other presidential candidates. It was suggested that Trump might very well win the first debate in August among the Republican candidates.

In this context, Newsmax wrote on June 17: “Much of what Donald Trump says ‘resonates’ both inside and outside the Republican Party, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Wednesday, and what he says ‘throws a monkey wrench’ in the predictability most candidates rely on…  While Trump has come under some fire over statements he made concerning the Mexican border and immigrants in his campaign announcement on Tuesday, ‘there are a lot of folks who look at the Mexican border the way he pronounced it yesterday,’ Steele said.  ‘I think that affords him the opportunity to not only be on that stage, but to say something that is going to make the party very uncomfortable over the next few months… It’s a real problem going into the early debates if he’s on that stage… The argument will be framed by Donald Trump, not by Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or others.’”

Clinton Has Something in Common With Trump

Breitbart wrote on June 24:

“A new Fox News poll has Trump in second place to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as a favorite for the Republican nomination. Trump jumped seven percentage points since the previous poll prior to his formal announcement. The top ten candidates and likely candidates per the Fox News poll results were as follows: Jeb Bush – 15%; Donald Trump – 11%; Ben Carson – 10%; Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) – 9%; Scott Walker – 9%; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) – 8%; Mike Huckabee – 6%; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – 4%; Carly Fiorina – 3%; Rick Santorum – 3%. Tied at two percent are Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rick Perry, and Bobby Jindal… George Pataki and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are both tied at one percent at the bottom of the poll.

“Trump also placed high in a Citizens United poll released Wednesday… He also trailed Bush at second place in a recent Suffolk University Poll of New Hampshire voters.

“However, the bad news for Trump is that the poll showed he had something in common with Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee. ‘More than twice as many say Trump is not honest and trustworthy as think he is (64 percent vs. 30 percent). That gives him an honesty score of negative 34,’ Fox News reported. ‘Clinton’s honesty score is negative seven.  Less than half of voters — 45 percent — rate her as honest.  That’s unchanged from earlier this year, but down from a record 54 percent who said she was honest in 2014.  A 52-percent majority says Clinton is not honest.’”

However, on June 24, Newsmax wrote about a totally different perspective:

“Donald Trump has the guts to say what other Republican presidential candidates can’t or won’t say — and that gives the billionaire developer an edge in the race to capture the 2016 GOP nomination, veteran political consultant Dick Morris said. ‘Telling the truth should not be a rare commodity in politics, but in fact, it’s a totally rare commodity and to have someone who actually does tell the truth like that is extraordinary,’ Morris said…”

Thanks to President Obama–Israel Is All Alone

Washington Free Beacon wrote on June 19:

“By the summer of 2013, President Obama had convinced several key Israelis that he wasn’t bluffing about using force against the Iranian nuclear program. Then he failed to enforce his red line against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad—and the Israelis realized they’d been snookered. Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, recalls the shock inside his government. ‘Everyone went quiet,’ he said in a recent interview. ‘An eerie quiet. Everyone understood that that was not an option, that we’re on our own.’

“… it’s clear that Israel has been on her own since the day Obama took office… Obama’s unending criticism of Israel… provide an opening for radicals to go even further. The diplomatic rupture endangers Israel in another way… Now, with the United States about to clear the way for Iranian nukes and flood the Iranian economy with cash, Israel is all the more at risk.

“… The alliance has faltered to such a degree that Oren is morose. He wonders whether Israel is in the same precarious position it was in 1967, before the Six Day War, or in 1948, when it came close to never being born. Neither option is comforting… But whatever happens, thanks to Michael Oren, history will know that an inexperienced and ideologically motivated president drove a lethal wedge between the United States of America and the young, tiny, besieged Jewish State.”

There can be no doubt that under the presidency of Barak Obama, the relationship between the USA and Israel has drastically deteriorated.

Most Israelis Don’t Have Confidence in President Obama

The Times of Israel wrote on June 24:

“Israelis have increasingly lost faith in US President Barack Obama, with the commander-in-chief taking a greater hit to his image in the Jewish state than in any other country in the world… Confidence in Obama slipped in Israel from 71% in 2014 to 49% in 2015, while half of Israelis said they have no confidence in the president’s leadership in international affairs…

“The findings reverse a several-year trend of rising support for Obama in Israel, amid increasingly cool relations between the two states over US foreign policy in the Middle East and tensions between the White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran’s nuclear program… 80% of Israelis disapprove of how Obama is dealing with Iran’s nuclear program…

“Obama’s dour image in the Jewish state didn’t affect America’s standing in Israel, with a firm majority of Israelis still enamored of Uncle Sam. Eighty-one percent of Israelis view the US in a favorable light, compared to 18% unfavorable — one of the highest favorable ratings of all countries quizzed — although there is a wide gap between Israeli Jews (87% favorable) and Arabs (48%)…

“By contrast, America’s image is mostly negative in the region, with most Jordanians (83%), Palestinians (70%), Turks (58%) and Lebanese (58%) giving the US a thumbs down. Additionally, 82% of Palestinians had no confidence in Obama’s foreign policy…”

Terrible Situation in Sudan

On June 23, dpa reported the following:

“At a United Nations-run displaced people’s camp in South Sudan’s capital Juba, white tarpaulin tents reach as far as the eye can see… Such camps are home to more than 130,000 people in South Sudan, mainly in the north, where people have massively fled fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel leader, Riek Machar.

“The 18-month conflict has killed tens of thousands and sent about 2 million people fleeing to UN camps, to the wilderness and to neighbouring countries. Some 4.6 million people, in a total population estimated to number between 10 million and 12 million, are classified as ‘severely food insecure’ by the UN…

“Camps in Juba are meanwhile trying to stem the spread of cholera… UN planes or helicopters are frequently unable to fly to crisis areas because the government does not grant them permission to take off…”

New Little ICE AGE for Britain?

 The Express wrote on June 24:

“Britain could face colder than average winters with a plunge in solar activity threatening a new ‘little ice age’ in the next few decades. Climate experts warn the amount of light and warmth released by the sun is nosediving to levels ‘not seen for centuries’. They fear a repeat of the so-called ‘Maunder Minimum’ which triggered Arctic winter whiteouts and led to the River Thames freezing 300 years ago.

“The Met Office-led study warns although the effect will be offset by recent global warming, Britain faces years of unusually cold winters… James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said the effects may be felt as soon as this winter. He said: ‘Solar activity levels, or solar flux, are currently estimated to be at their lowest for the last 100 years. We will head into another rapid decline throughout the remainder of the upcoming year. On the basis of past solar activity levels it is an inevitability that solar and sunspot activity will continue to fall off the charts in the coming years and decades, including the upcoming winter period of 2015/16’…

“The coldest winter ever recorded in 1684 occurred during the last Maunder Minimum period and saw the River Thames in London freeze over. Maunder Minimum is named after the English astronomer Edward Walter Maunder who noticed fewer sunspots were observed between 1645 and 1715.

“Professor Scaife said: ‘During the Mander Minimum period there were runs of cold winters including 1684 which was the coldest winter recorded. There are signs that solar activity has been dropping over the past decade with a one in five chance of it reaching a similar low by around 2050.’”

How the Pope’s Encyclical Was Prepared and Published

The Washington Post wrote on June 20:

“[The pope’s encyclical] marked the latest blow for those seeking to stop the reform-minded train that has become Francis’s papacy. It is one that has reinvigorated liberal Catholics even as it has sowed the seeds of resentment and dissent inside and outside the Vatican’s ancient walls.

“Yet the battle lost over climate change also suggests how hard it may be for critics to blunt the power of a man who has become something of a juggernaut in an institution where change tends to unfold over decades, even centuries. More than anything, to those who doubt the human impact of global warming, the position staked out by Francis in his papal document, known as an encyclical, means a major defeat…

“Papal advisers say Francis signaled his intent to draft a major document on the environment soon after assuming the throne of St. Peter in March 2013…

“In April, the [Chicago-based Heartland Institute] launched an ‘open letter’ to the pope, signed by more than 100 scholars and theologians, arguing that climate-change models ‘provide no rational basis to forecast dangerous human-induced global warming, and therefore no rational basis for efforts to reduce warming by restricting the use of fossil fuels or any other means.’

“[Some believe] that ‘between a quarter and a third’ of the signers were Catholic.

“… the pope sought to build on the progressive environmental platforms established by his immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. For advice, he turned to a number of scientific advisers who support the consensus that human activity is warming the Earth. They included Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, [a professed atheist and] founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany…”

Some claim that Pope Francis is not a politician, and that he is not afraid to speak his mind. But the way in which his encyclical was prepared and published was clearly a political act.

Great Powers Failed to Act to Help Persecuted in Nazi Germany

The Associated Press reported on June 21:

“Pope Francis on Sunday denounced what he calls the ‘great powers’ of the world for failing to act when there was intelligence indicating Jews, Christians, homosexuals and others were being transported to death camps in Europe during World War II. He also decried the deaths of Christians in concentration camps in Russia under the Stalin dictatorship, which followed the war… He also cited what he called the ‘great tragedy of Armenia’ in the last century. ‘So many died. I don’t know the figure, more than a million, certainly. But where were the great powers then? They were looking the other way,’ the pope said.

“In today’s world, he told the young people: ‘Everything is done for money.’ He criticized those advocating peace while manufacturing or selling arms. Francis reiterated his view that conflicts in the world today are tantamount to ‘a Third World War in segments.’”

It is also true, however, that the big Christian churches, especially the Catholic Church, looked the other way and did very little, if anything, to oppose Nazism and to help those who were persecuted under the Nazi Regime. Quite to the contrary, they engaged in political maneuvering to help the Nazis stay in power. As Klaus P. Fischer pointed out in his excellent work, “Nazi Germany… A New History” (on page 363):

“… the institutions of the church, both Protestant and Catholic, failed tragically in mustering the sort of Christian courage it would have required to stop the Nazis from committing their unspeakable crimes against God and humankind. Such institutional failure of nerve, ESPECIALLY ON THE PART OF THE VATICAN,  will forever be a stain on the historical record of Christianity.”

Ramadan — an Interesting Dilemma

The Independent wrote on June 14:

“As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches, and British Muslims prepare for four weeks of fasting during daylight hours, a perennial debate on changing the Ramadan observance times in northern regions has sprung up again. Dr Usama Haswan, an Islamic researcher from anti-extremism group Quilliam, has said that it would make more sense for Muslims in the UK to follow Mecca timings, as daylight lasts much longer this far north than it does in the Middle East.

“In Mecca, daylight during Ramadan usually lasts from around 12 to 13 hours. In the southern part of the UK, it typically lasts around 16 hours or more, and the timings mean that observers will have to wake up at around 4am if they want to eat in the morning. As the start of Ramadan is based on the first sighting of the new moon, it comes earlier and earlier each year. For the last few years, however, it has occurred during summer, meaning a much longer fasting time. This year, Ramadan will begin on 18 June.

“… things get worse the further north you go. In Aberdeen, more than 500 miles north of London, daylight will last for around 18 hours during Ramadan. And elsewhere in northern Europe, such as the far north of Sweden, the sun may only set for a couple of hours a day, if at all. In Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town, the sun has not set this month – and it’s not going to go down before August…

“There is no agreed-upon standard – some Muslims choose to observe Mecca time, others observe the timings of their own country. Mohammed Kharaki, a spokesman for Sweden’s Islamic Association, said the organisation had this week issued guidelines that said Muslims should fast between the times that the sun was last clearly seen to rise and fall – despite this concession, this could well amount to a 19-hour fast…

“However, even with a lengthy fast for British Muslims, the vast majority are adamant that they will observe it, no matter how difficult it is.”

Of course, the Bible does not prescribe such a fast at all—perhaps for the very reasons which are explained in the article above. The only enjoined fast takes place once a year, during one day, the Day of Atonement (known by Jews today as Yom Kippur), from sunset to sunset, which is always observed in the autumn.

 “Conservatives for Britain” Prefer Possible Brexit

Newsmax reported on June 13:

 “The number of lawmakers in Prime Minister David Cameron’s party to join a group pushing for Britain to leave the European Union unless it obtains major changes to its terms of membership has jumped from 50 to 110 in a week, a newspaper said on Saturday. One in three of Cameron’s 330 lawmakers, including some ministers, have joined ‘Conservatives for Britain’ (CfB), which is also backed by 13 members of the upper house and 12 members of the European Parliament, the Telegraph reported…

“Cameron angered some in his party at the start of the week when he suggested ministers who did not back his EU strategy, which envisions Britain remaining in a reformed EU, would have to quit the government. He later said he had been misunderstood and that his warning to ministers only applied to the EU negotiation period and not the referendum campaign itself where many Conservatives feel they should be allowed to vote according to their own conscience, rather than following the party line…”

Whether David Cameron will be able to reach agreements with the EU which will satisfy Britain’s euro-skeptics remains to be seen.

Europe Prepares for State of Emergency

Reuters reported on June 15:

“Greece and its creditors hardened their stances on Monday after the collapse of talks aimed at preventing a default and possible euro exit, prompting Germany’s EU commissioner to say the time had come to prepare for a ‘state of emergency’.

“Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ignored pleas from European leaders to act fast. Instead he blamed creditors for Sunday’s breakdown of the cash-for-reform talks, the biggest setback in long-running negotiations to unlock aid. He said his government had a responsibility to defend Greece’s dignity and would resist demands for further pension cuts… Athens now has just two weeks to find a way out of the impasse before it faces a 1.6 billion euro repayment due to the International Monetary Fund, potentially leaving it out of cash, unable to borrow and dangling on the edge of the currency area…

“Despite the deepening crisis, Tsipras is going ahead with a planned visit to Russia from Thursday, the day euro zone finance ministers hold a crucial meeting to review the standoff with Greece. He is due to stay till Saturday, attend an economic forum in Saint Petersburg and meet President Vladimir Putin. EU officials said that without improved Greek proposals by Thursday, the Eurogroup session would be very tough and was likely to present Greece with an ultimatum…

“Although some economists still believe that, as in past crises, a last-minute fix will be found to avoid default, European politicians sound more determined than before to resist compromising with demands they consider unreasonable. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis retorted in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper that a deal could be reached quickly if Merkel took part in the talks. ‘I rule out a “Grexit” as a sensible solution,’ Varoufakis said. ‘But no one can rule out everything. I can’t even rule out a comet hitting Earth.’”

And both might strike…

The New York Times wrote on June 17:

“It is the current doomsday scenario for Europe… Although Europe is better positioned to deal with a crisis than it was a few years ago, when Greece last teetered, there is simply no precedent for a country’s leaving the eurozone. And the big test may be only weeks away.

“Relations between Greece and its lenders have descended into a bitter standoff. The impasse is increasing the chances that Greece and its creditors will fail to forge a deal by the end of the month, when a pile of debt comes due and its current bailout expires.

“Many in Europe still believe that some sort of agreement will be reached at the last minute… But the war of words — and the apparent distance between both sides’ positions — is reducing hopes for a breakthrough…

“Optimistic analysts contend that markets would soon steady themselves after the initial shock of Greece’s crashing out of the euro. Much has changed, they say, since 2011 and 2012, when Greece’s problems spilled over into other countries… There are grounds for such confidence. Private investors and banks no longer have large holdings of Greek government debt, meaning their losses would be minimal if the country were to default. Instead, Greece’s debt is now mostly owed to other governments and official entities…

“Perhaps the biggest difference between the last Greek crisis and now is the stance of the European Central Bank…

“Some analysts are looking beyond the immediate financial repercussions of Greece’s leaving the eurozone… If Greece were to fall out of the eurozone, it would establish a dangerous precedent — and show that the euro is only for certain countries…”

… which, of course, it clearly is, showing again the concept of a Europe with two speeds or a core Europe of influential major countries, leading the rest of Europe. In addition, according to a new poll which was published on Wednesday, “58 percent of [German] people would prefer it if Greece simply left the Euro. Just 28 percent of Germans thought that Greece should remain in, while 14 percent had no opinion” (The Local, June 17, 2015).

The Guardian added on June 18:

“Greece is facing a full-blown banking crisis after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke down in acrimony and recrimination on Thursday evening, bringing the prospect of Greek exit from the eurozone a step nearer.

“Some €2bn of deposits have been withdrawn from Greek banks so far this week – including a record €1bn yesterday – triggering fears that a breakdown in talks would spark a further flight of funds. The German leader Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to stage an emergency EU summit on Monday as a last critical attempt to prevent Greece going bankrupt. A representative of the European Central Bank told the meeting it was unsure whether Greek banks would have the funds to be able to open on Monday.”

 German Prosecutor Chickens Out

The Local wrote on June 12:

“Germany’s chief prosecutor has dropped a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by US intelligence agencies, his office said Friday… The suspected surveillance and rampant online spying by the US… badly strained US-German relations.

“The German chief prosecutor Harald Range said he had put an end to his year-old probe, citing a lack of hard evidence that would stand up in a court of law. ‘The Chief Federal Prosecutor has closed the investigation over suspected spying on a mobile phone used by the chancellor by US intelligence services .. because the allegation cannot be proven in a legally sound way under criminal law,’ a statement said.

“Media reports in October 2013 said that the NSA had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone – a claim Washington appeared to confirm later when US officials said the cellphone was no longer a target… The German prosecutor’s office on Friday said that the ‘vague’ US comments did not legally amount to proof of past spying activity.”

This was to be expected, of course, but the rationale for the decision not to prosecute appears to be a pitiful, unconvincing and cowardly cop-out. This announcement comes on the heels of a meeting between President Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, with the publication of some friendly smiling faces and the exchange of political niceties… all of this in an effort to portray unity and harmony between them and their two countries.

America’s Future as a Third World Country?

On June 15, the website of creators.com published the following article by Pat Buchanan:

“Over three decades, [the] border [with Mexico] has been a causeway into the USA for millions of illegal immigrants who are changing the face of America… All sides of this quarrel have been using the figure of 11 million people here illegally. In her new best-seller, ‘Adios, America!,’ Ann Coulter makes a compelling case that the real figure is close to 30 million. If that is true, and if the next president embraces amnesty and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, that will mean the end to America as the Western nation we have been, and the beginning of America’s life as what Ann calls, unapologetically, a ‘Third World hellhole.’…

“Between 80 and 90 percent of those coming are from Third World nations. On average, they have higher illegitimacy rates than native-born Americans, higher drug use rates, higher rates of obesity, spousal abuse and child abuse, higher rates of disease, lower test scores and higher dropout rates, and higher crime and incarceration rates. Children of immigrants are more gang-oriented. And Third World immigrants consume more per capita in social services than they pay in taxes. Hence they contribute to fiscal deficits at every level of government…

“Among the myths or lies drummed into the heads of Americans is that we have always been a ‘nation of immigrants,’ and ‘diversity,’ i.e., racial, ethnic and religious diversity, ‘is a strength.’ But America in 1970 was a white nation with a black minority of about 10 percent…

“Is ethnic, racial and religious diversity truly a ‘strength’? Why then has the most diverse region of Europe, the Balkans — with its Serb, Croat, Albanian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Turkic peoples, and Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic religions — had the bloodiest history?…

“If diversity is a strength, then why are Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen falling apart? Why are Sunni and Shiite, Palestinian and Israeli fighting?… As racial, ethnic and religious hatreds pull people apart and create terrorists all over our disintegrating world, why would we make ourselves ever more diverse?…”

Trump IS Running After All

Breitbart reported on June 16:

“Real estate mogul and businessman Donald Trump announced he’s running for president at a private event in his own Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City on Tuesday in front of dozens of reporters and media outlets. Trump took the stage and promised to be a different type of candidate. While other presidential candidates have provided rhetoric, he promised to implement policies. ‘If I’m elected president,’ he announced, ‘we will make America great again.’

“To begin with, ‘we have to repeal Obamacare,’ he said… He promised to bring jobs back to the United States, and crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico. Trump promised to ‘immediately terminate President Obama’s executive order on immigration.’ … ‘I would build a great wall on our southern border,’ he added, “and I will have Mexico pay for that wall…’ [He later clarified that he would do so by taxing Mexico heavily for their goods imported into the USA.]

“He also promises to beef up the military by finding ‘the guy, the Gen. Patton or Gen. MacArthur’ to lead it. He also vows to get tough with Iran. Unlike Secretary of State John Kerry, Trump says he knows how to negotiate a good deal.

“He also took a jab at Jeb Bush. ‘Education has to be local,’ Trump said, announcing he’ll staunchly oppose Common Core. Bush, who just announced yesterday, has supported Common Core…

“When his financial statement is filed, Trump says, it will show he has $9.240 billion in assets. His net worth, after all debt, he says, is upward of $8.7 billion…”

He also stated that America has become a Third World country [compare the previous article], and that the American Dream is over, but that he would revive it as the “best jobs President that God ever created.” He would tax American firms heavily, such as Ford, which manufacture their products in Mexico or other foreign countries and then import them into the USA. And he said this:

“They [Mexico and other foreign countries] are sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs and they are bringing crime, and they’re rapists. Some, I assume are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting. They are not sending us the right people. It’s coming all over South and Latin America and it’s coming probably from the Middle East. But we don’t know because we have no protection and we have no competence. We don’t know what is happening and it has got to stop and it has to stop fast.”

He also stated: “We have people who are morally corrupt. We have people who are selling our country down the drain,” adding that US unemployment has risen sky high, even past 20 percent, challenging government figures that put it at under six percent. “Don’t believe the 5.6 percent,” he said.

The reaction to Trump’s announcement and speech was overwhelmingly negative. As could be expected, Democrats and left-liberal commentators blasted him, being anxious and eager to find “inconsistencies” in his address and his “rambling” and “bizarre” speech and charging him with defamation of the worst kind against American immigrants. Many Republicans blew into the same horn, but a few Republicans [including Sean Hannity] and a few conservative commentators [including Rush Limbaugh] were more reserved, giving him credit for an understanding as to what many Americans are looking for, feeling his comments might “resonate” with the GOP, and stating that he might not be a candidate who could or should be easily dismissed.

CBS commented that “It was a speech that drew immediate scorn online from a series of Republicans, who fear Trump will turn an otherwise serious Republican primary contest into a circus. The Democratic National Committee was just as sarcastic on Twitter…

“Meanwhile, based on guidelines recently announced by the television networks, Trump could play a prominent role in the upcoming nationally televised Republican debate in August. Those who rank in the top 10 in national polls, and Trump currently does, although he’s close to the bottom, will earn a place on the debate stage. That could place Trump in a debate alongside leading candidates such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who formally launched his candidacy on Monday.

“Trump also said he would not renew his contract with NBC for his reality show, ‘The Apprentice.’ He cannot appear on the network and run for president at the same time.”

Newsmax wrote about Trump on June 15:

“Donald Trump has become one of the most well-known Americans… His grandfather Friedrich and grandmother Elisabeth were born in Germany and emigrated to the United States. Their son Fred Trump married Donald Trump’s mother Mary Ann MacLeod, who was born in Scotland and met Donald Trump’s father during a vacation trip to New York… While Donald Trump did inherit wealth from his father, he is personally responsible for accumulating the great bulk of his fortune. Trump’s father built affordable rental housing, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. He had a net wealth estimated at between $250 million and $400 million at the time of his death, but his four surviving children were heirs. By 2011, Donald Trump’s business dealings had boosted his fortune to $2.4 billion, according to Forbes… Trump’s parents sent him to a military school, New York Military Academy, when he was 13 years old…  Trump’s oldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, served as a federal appeals court judge. She was nominated for the post by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Prior to that, she had a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.”

Bild Online summed it up this way: “The whole world laughs at Trump’s speech.” At the same time, Trump seems to be serious. Time will tell what this may mean for America, the political landscape and its standing in the world.

Gun Violence in the USA

The Huffington Post wrote on June 12:

 “More than two-thirds of all homicides in the United States are gun-related. Of the 16,121 homicides reported in 2013, 11,208 were caused by gun violence. Including suicides, nearly 34,000 people died in gun-related incidents in 2013…

“Suicide is the leading cause of gun-related deaths across the country in recent years. Of the 33,636 firearm deaths in 2013, more than 21,000 were suicides. In fact, suicide accounted for more than half of gun-related deaths in all but one state with the most gun violence. In three states — Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming — suicide accounted for more than 80% of all firearm deaths.

“… states with the highest rates of suicide often have the strongest culture of gun ownership in the country… While federal gun laws are uniform across the country, state regulations vary, offering more lax or more strict approaches to firearm use. Seven of the 10 states with the most firearm deaths in 2013 have enacted stand your ground laws… many states with these laws likely also have laws that make it easier to possess firearms and buy ammunition.

“In fact, none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register their weapons in any of these states. Meanwhile, many of the states with the least gun violence require a permit or other form of identification to buy a gun.

“Gun-related homicides were also relatively frequent in the states with the most gun violence. Nationally, there were 3.61 homicides per 100,000 people. Seven of the 10 states with the most gun violence reported homicide rates higher than the national rate… In 2013, Louisiana reported nearly 10 homicides per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the country…

“The poverty rate in eight of the 10 states with the most gun violence was above the national rate of 15.8%. Mississippi, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas, the states with the four highest poverty rates in the country, were among the states with the most gun violence. Educational attainment rates also tended to be lower in states with the most gun violence. The share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree was lower than the national rate of 29.6% in all 10 states on this list.”

A tragic testimony regarding a country which still believes the lie that guns and wars can produce peace and happiness. Only Christ’s return will bring a fundamental change of heart, the abolishment of guns, war and poverty, and the establishment of true education for all.

New US Supreme Court Decision on Abortion Highly Troublesome

The Associated Press reported on June 15:

“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from North Carolina to revive a requirement that abortion providers show and describe an ultrasound to a pregnant woman before she has an abortion. The justices left in place an appeals court decision that said the 2011 North Carolina law was ‘ideological in intent’ and violated doctors’ free-speech rights. The North Carolina law would have required abortion providers to display and describe the ultrasound even if the woman refused to look and listen — a mandate that the court found particularly troublesome.

“North Carolina is among 23 states, mostly in the South and the Midwest, which passed laws dealing with the administration of ultrasounds by abortion providers, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research institute that supports abortion-rights…

“Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the NC Values Coalition and a supporter of increased restrictions on abortion, said it made no sense to her that federal judges would block a woman’s access to what she described as life-saving information. ‘In any other medical procedure, doctors would have a duty to disclose all of the relevant information, and, yet, a procedure as destructive and life-changing as abortion is held to a lower standard,’ Fitzgerald said.”

In addition, the court’s finding that the law violated the doctors’ right of free speech does not make any sense at all, in the context.

Gay “PRIDE” Parade in Tel Aviv

 The Times of Israel wrote on June 12:

“Some 180,000 people marched through Tel Aviv’s streets Friday in the city’s 17th annual Gay Pride Parade, the nation’s largest and oldest gay pride event… The event has become one of Tel Aviv’s most popular annual festivals. Streets and stores have been decorated with rainbow flags for days. Thousands of Israelis flocked to the city center to observe the parade, filling cafes and restaurants along the route to capacity.

“‘Welcome to all our guests from abroad to the gay-friendliest city in the world,’ Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai declared at the event’s launch Friday morning. ‘We’ve been through a lot,’ he added. ‘In 17 years, we’ve achieved a different reality in this city, and also in Israel. I want to tell all the politicians, there is still a great deal of legislation that has to be passed to accept the gay community. We will continue to walk this path, and to support the pride parade.’

“The theme of this year’s parade was focused on transgender rights. Events like the parade are key to advancing recognition for the transgendered, Tel Aviv activist Elisha Alexander said earlier this week… This year’s celebration featured Eurovision song contest winner and LGBT rights representative Conchita Wurst, who was to perform at Charles Clore Park after the march.”

Eurovision song contest winner Wurst, appearing as a lady with a full beard, represents the wide-spread recognition and acceptance of the LGBT community with its aggressive agenda. That Tel Aviv is labeled as the “gay-friendliest city in the world” is remarkable.

God says to ancient and modern “Jerusalem” and “Judah”: “… they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves” (Isaiah 3:9).  He also says: “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; She and her daughter had pride , fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy, And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit” (Ezekiel 16:49-40).

This warning should ring loud and clear in the ears of those who proclaim different standards.

Same-Sex Marriages in Latin America

 The New York Times wrote on June 14:

“In ruling after ruling, [Mexico’s Supreme Court] has said that state laws restricting marriage to heterosexuals are discriminatory. Though the decisions have been made to little public fanfare, they have had the effect of legalizing gay marriage in Mexico without enshrining it in law… the Mexican court’s rulings have added the country to a slowly growing list of Latin American nations permitting same-sex unions.

“Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil already allow same-sex marriage. Chile plans to recognize same-sex civil unions this year; Ecuador approved civil unions in April; and Colombia grants same-sex couples many of the same rights extended to heterosexual married couples…

“The shift in Mexico, the second largest country in Latin America after Brazil, is the product of a legal strategy that advocates used to bypass state legislatures, which have shown little inclination, and often hostility, to legalizing gay marriage. In 2009, Mexico City, a large liberal island in this socially conservative country, legalized gay marriage — a first in Latin America. There have been 5,297 same-sex weddings there since then, some of them couples coming to the city from other states… The Supreme Court upheld Mexico City’s law in 2010, adding that other states had to recognize marriages performed there…

“[The Supreme Court’s ruling] allows gay couples who are denied marriage rights in their states to seek injunctions from district judges, who are now obligated to grant them… The Roman Catholic Church, often an influential force socially and politically in a country that is 83 percent Catholic, objected to the ruling, saying the court had flouted two millenniums of convention…”

The Catholic Church’s sincerity is of course being questioned even by many professing and practicing Catholics, since homosexual pedophiles are active within the priesthood and are being shielded from prosecution by the Church hierarchy, even though a few priests allegedly guilty of active misconduct and their superiors who chose to stay silent were urged to resign by the Vatican. One former archbishop will even be tried by the Vatican State for pedophilia… a case of first impression (see article below).

Debate Continues in Germany

The Local wrote on June 12:

“Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, voted on Friday in favour of a resolution calling for full marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. The debate followed a referendum in Ireland in which the population voted massively in favour of allowing same-sex marriage… Although the Bundesrat did not vote for a draft law, the move increases pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to confront more conservative voices in her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – and the more strongly religious Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU).

“Currently, homosexual couples can enter a civil partnership (‘Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft’, registered life partnership) in Germany and enjoy most of the same rights as married couples following a series of test cases in the Supreme Court. But there remains stiff opposition in the Bundestag, the lower and more powerful house of parliament.

“The Bundesrat, composed of representatives from the largely left-wing state governments, is easy to bring on side. But the CDU-CSU dominates the Bundestag, and is mostly against ‘marriage for all’. Pro-gay marriage Social Democratic Party (SPD) MPs would also be forced to vote against any bill that came up for debate under their coalition agreement with the CDU-CSU…

“Rheinland-Pfalz minister-president Malu Dreyer and member of the Bundesrat said after the vote ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.’”

Breitbart added on June 13:

“… campaigners [in Germany] say this is not enough and ordinary marriage should be redefined to cover same-sex couples… While the mainland United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and others have redefined marriage in recent years, Germany sits alongside Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and others who have split same sex unions off into a separate idea of a civil procedure. Well behind with Europe’s progressive agenda are nations like Poland and the rump Ukraine, who do not recognise gay marriage at all.”

Will Germany follow suit and recognize same-sex marriages, or will the country stand strongly in opposition? It is to be expected that the German government, in true political fashion, will end up agreeing with those who seem to have the strongest support.

Portland “Pride” Parade 2015

This week, Oregon Live reported the following:

“Pride Northwest chose recently appointed Gov. Kate Brown as grand marshal of the 2015 Pride Parade, a fitting honor for the nation’s first openly bisexual state leader. It won’t be Brown’s first time in the parade, and she wasn’t invited just because of her LGBTQ identification. Pride Northwest President Debra Porta said organizers have always invited Oregon governors to the parade, but Brown will be the first to participate…

“This year’s parade is expected to be the biggest ever in Portland, she added, shattering the attendance records set in previous years. The two-day Pride Festival will bring vendors, live music and representatives from local organizations to the waterfront…”

Is this a “ fitting honor” for the nation’s first openly bisexual state leader to participate as grand marshal? Fitting? Yes! An honor? That is the question.

Vatican to Try Former Archbishop over Child Abuse Charges

Deutsche Welle reported on June 15:

“Former archbishop Jozef Wesolowski is to stand trial on accusations of paying for sex with minors and possessing child pornography. The case is the first of its kind in the Vatican… The former priest [is] the first person to be tried after Pope Francis introduced anti-paedophilia laws in the Vatican penal code in July 2013.

“The 66-year-old former Polish archbishop was the Vatican ambassador… in the Dominican Republic for five years until 2013, when local media accused him of pedophilia. Wesolowski allegedly dressed in casual clothes, including a baseball cap and visited a beach area where he picked up poor child prostitutes. The former clergyman was then recalled from his position as the Vatican’s ambassador in 2013 and defrocked by a Vatican tribunal. He was convicted last year. The pope then ordered a criminal investigation, following which police found material indicating child pornography on his computer. Officials at the Vatican said at the time that Wesolowski could face up to 12 years in jail.

“If convicted, he would most probably not spend time in the Vatican’s prisons, which consist of only a few rooms. There was a chance the accused would be sent to Italy, which, according to an agreement with the Vatican, houses the holy city’s prisoners. Wesolowski could also be sent to his native country Poland or extradited to the Dominican Republic, Vatican officials told journalists.

“The case is the first high-profile incident since the 2012 trial of Paolo Gabriele, a papal butler accused of stealing and leaking former Pope Benedict XVI’s private papers. Gabriele was later pardoned.

“The Vatican also announced the resignation of two senior US clerics on Monday. Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche stepped down after they were accused of failing to act on repeated warnings that a priest in the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minnesota was a danger to children…

“Abuse victims’ network SNAP welcomed the Vatican’s initiatives, but remained apprehensive about the future. ‘After centuries of abuse and cover up done in secrecy…evidently one pope has seen fit to oust one archbishop for complicity in clergy sex crimes….But it’s only a very tiny drop of reform in an enormous bucket of horror,’ SNAP’s Southern Minnesota chief Frank Meuer told the AFP news agency.”

Pope’s New Encyclical Leaked to the Public… Pope Speaks of Unprecedented Worldwide Destruction and Paints Apocalyptic Picture

The Independent wrote on June 15:

“The Pope warned that the world is heading for ‘unprecedented destruction’ unless mankind confronts climate change and reforms the way it treats the planet, as the most eagerly anticipated papal document in living memory was leaked.

“In a 192-page encyclical on global warming that looks set to define his tenure, the Pope paints an apocalyptic picture in which the world’s poorest are the biggest victims of a web of environmental, human, financial and ethical degradation that puts the entire planet at risk. In an extraordinarily frank document, the Pope lambasts rich countries for ‘looting’ the world and takes aim at bankers and climate sceptics for accelerating its decline. He warns that the world is facing widespread crop failure, economic ruin, mass migration and the destruction of entire eco-systems. ‘If the current trend continues this century we could witness climate change unlike anything seen before and the unprecedented destruction of eco-systems, with serious consequences for all of us,’ he writes.

“Pope Francis has spent months working on the encyclical, the contents of which has been the subject of eager anticipation in the Vatican and environmental circles. It is the encyclical, or papal letter, aimed at everyone in the world, regardless of religion. Environmentalists hope his strident warnings will encourage right-wing climate sceptics – particularly US Christians – to rethink their position.

“The Vatican reacted with fury to the leak on Monday night, accusing the magazine responsible [of a] ‘heinous act’ that amounted to ‘sabotage against the pope’. [In the meantime, the final version of the encyclical was published, and no discrepancy between the leaked draft and the final version has been pointed out so far.] In the encyclical, titled  ‘Laudato Sii’, or ‘Praised Be’, the Pope quotes Patriarca Bartolomeo of the Eastern Orthodox Church as saying: ‘A crime against nature is a crime against ourselves and a sin against God’.

“And he is withering about the financial system… ‘The economic powers shall continue to justify the current world system, in which speculation and the aim for financial returns to prevail that tend to ignore each context and the effects on the environment and on human dignity. So clearly it reveals that environmental, human and ethical degradation are intimately connected,’ he wrote.

“Although the first ever encyclical on the environment concentrated heavily on the natural world, the pope repeatedly linked climate change with the plight of the poor. Pope Francis is also extremely concerned about the prospect of mass migration of animals, plants and humans as global warming means they cannot function in their traditional habitat.

“He calls for a new global political authority tasked with tackling the reduction of pollution and the development of poor countries and regions. Although he accepts that there may be some natural causes of global warming, the pope lays most of the blame for climate change squarely at the feet of mankind… The pope is very critical of anybody who stands in the way of tackling the problem of global warming – whether they are merely indifferent or actively sceptical. ‘The attitudes that stand in the way of a solution, even among believers, range from negation of the problem, to indifference, to convenient resignation or blind faith in technical solutions,’ he wrote.

“The letter to the world’s 1.2bn Catholics is aimed at influencing the debate ahead of crucial United Nations talks in Paris in December at which world leaders have pledged to agree [on] decisive action to curb global warming. The pope hopes that adding a moral dimension to the scientific arguments – together with the support of the huge number of Catholics around the world – will raise the ambition of world leaders to agree [on] a meaningful deal at the talks.

“The encyclical is likely to anger some sections of America, who are sceptical about the presence of climate change and mankind’s role in it…”

The New York Times wrote on June 15:

“Bishops around the world have been sent instructions on how to spread the pope’s message to the world’s more than one billion Catholics. Journalists accredited with the Vatican are supposed to receive official copies on Thursday morning so they can review the contents before the embargo is lifted at midday, after a news conference…

“In one section, Francis writes: ‘Numerous scientific studies indicate that most of the global warming of the past decades is due to the concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide and others), emitted especially because of human activities.’… In other chapters, Francis… pointedly disputes the idea that population control and contraception are solutions to the planet’s limited resources…

“He also calls for assertive government action, as well as better cooperation between governments, while saying progress has been too slow in addressing climate change… Massimo Faggioli, an associate professor of theology and the director of the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic college in St. Paul, Minn., said Francis ‘has always been very consistent that there is a role for citizens, but there is also a role for government in solving problems, and even for global governance.’ He added: ‘This will be particularly difficult for American Catholics,’ referring to those Catholics who believe that the church teaches against relying on governments to solve social problems.”

The Guardian added on June 16:

“Francis… called for a new global political authority tasked with ‘tackling … the reduction of pollution and the development of poor countries and regions’. His appeal echoed that of his predecessor, pope Benedict XVI, who in a 2009 encyclical proposed a kind of super-UN to deal with the world’s economic problems and injustices.

“At the start of the draft essay, the pope wrote, the Earth ‘is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her…’ He immediately makes clear, moreover, that unlike previous encyclicals, this one is directed to everyone, regardless of religion…

“Francis is likely to want to influence Republicans in Washington with his remarks. Most Republicans on Capitol Hill deny climate change is a man-made phenomenon and have staunchly opposed regulatory efforts by the Obama administration. The encyclical will make for awkward reading among some Catholic Republicans… While many Republicans have praised the pope, it will not be unprecedented for them to make a public break with the pontiff on the issue of global warming.”

The Huffington Post wrote on June 17:

“GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush criticized Pope Francis on Tuesday after a draft of his encyclical on climate change was leaked by an Italian newspaper… ‘I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope,’ Bush said…

“Other Republicans came out against the pope after he first spoke on climate change in January… Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) told a radio station earlier this month the church shouldn’t weigh in on scientific matters. ‘The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists…’, he said.

“… several Republican presidential hopefuls have question[ed] climate change and its origin. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has said ‘humans are not responsible for climate change in the way some of these people out there are trying to make us believe.’ Business mogul Donald Trump has called global warming a ‘hoax.’ Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has compared climate change activists to ‘flat-Earthers.’”

The Catholic Church has always cooperated with worldly governments and it has many times—far more often than not—influenced them to do its bidding. This collaboration has brought much more harm than good, and the Pope’s proposed human “global governance” is a very dangerous affair, no matter what the circumstances, “justifications” or intentions might be. Please note also the Church’s unchanged unbiblical stance on population control and contraception.

Mexico—a Country Infested with Demons?

 CNA wrote on June 16:

“Can a country with deep Christian roots like Mexico find itself at the mercy of demons? Some in the [Catholic] Church fear so. And as a result, they called for a nation-wide exorcism of Mexico, carried out quietly last month in the cathedral of San Luis Potosí. High levels of violence, as well as drug cartels and abortion in the country, were the motivation behind the special rite of exorcism… the first ever in the history of Mexico.

“But how can an entire country become infested by demons…?  ‘To the extent sin increases more and more in a country, to that extent it becomes easier for the demons to tempt (people),’ Fr. Fortea told CNA. The Spanish exorcist warned that ‘to the extent there is more witchcraft and Satanism going on in a country, to that extent there will be more extraordinary manifestations of those powers of darkness.’”

Enduring Anti-Americanism in Germany

The Associated Press wrote on May 7:

“President Barack Obama is aiming to show unity with Western allies on global challenges during an overnight trip to Germany, especially Chancellor Angela Merkel amid enduring anti-Americanism in her country over U.S. spying programs…

“The spying controversy has grown in recent weeks amid reports that Germany’s own Federal Intelligence Agency, better known by its German acronym BND, may have helped the U.S. spy on European companies and officials as long ago as 2008… ‘While we tend to view a lot of the impact of the NSA revelations in Europe as subsided, they have not subsided in Germany,’ said Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ‘This issue is being used in multiple ways to increase, I think, anti-Americanism in Germany and to weaken the chancellor.’…

“Obama said there ‘was no doubt’ the spying revelations damaged impressions of the United States in Germany and that he’s been trying to restore confidence… Julianne Smith, a former Obama White House official who is a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security, said part of the disillusionment in Germany and Europe more broadly comes from their sky-high expectations of Obama when he came to office…”

Ukraine About to Explode

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 7:

“The situation in Ukraine is about to escalate once again… In recent weeks, we were tempted to think, to some extent, that the situation in eastern Ukraine was about to calm down… Now, the period of treacherous calm is over.

“Using mortars and tanks, Russia-backed combatants of the so-called ‘people’s republics’ launched a massive military attack  from Donetsk along a major road stretching to the west. This onslaught could pave the way for a new large-scale attack, which people in the region have been fearing for a long time.

“As yet, no one has come forward to declare that the Minsk agreement, negotiated four months ago in the Belarusian capital, has failed. Instead, there is talk of a ‘setback’ and a ‘violation of the agreement.’ European politicians are voicing their concern and warning of a new spiral of violence. They have made a habit of that since the beginning of the conflict – always, it seems, simultaneously viewing the situation through rose-tinted glasses. Can the Minsk agreement work at all? Is a peace plan realistic if just one of the parties involved shows no commitment at all with respect to the objectives agreed upon?…

“To this day, Russia has denied involvement in the war. In fact, however, there was a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Soldiers from Russia were captured there; many have even died in Ukraine. The issue is controversial to such an extent that, a short while ago, a new law was passed in Russia according to which any reporting on the circumstances leading to the death of an army member is forbidden: a measure adopted to ensure secrecy, as if Russia were involved in a war.

“There are a number of indications that a large-scale attack is being prepared in Ukraine. In that case, the Minsk agreement would definitely be history… There is no indication that Russia – or the separatists – has renounced the path of war…”

Italy’s Ties and “Friendship” With Russia

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 10:

“Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi… spoke of ‘traditional Italian-Russian friendship’ while meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, at the beginning of [the] Kremlin chief’s diplomatic visit to Italy and the Vatican… The Italian prime minister, however, showed no intention of breaking ranks with other Western powers, only days after G7 countries [excluded Putin from their meeting and] reaffirmed sanctions against Moscow at a summit in Germany.

“Despite the G7 snub, the Kremlin still enjoys better relations with Rome than with most EU countries; Italy is Russia’s third-biggest trading partner after China and Germany, with deals between the two countries topping 30 billion euros ($33.9 billion) last year… The EU is due to decide in two weeks whether economic sanctions over Russian annexation of Crimea will stay in place…

“After meeting Renzi, the Russian president is to meet Pope Francis… On Wednesday, The United States urged the Vatican to take a tougher stance on Russia… Putin is also expected to meet long-time Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, who is a personal friend of the Russian president.”

Everybody is involved in politics and “self-serving” economic interests, which means, that nothing good will come out of these talks. And that Putin and Berlusconi are personal friends does not speak for either one of them.

NATO Unwilling to Defend Russia’s Neighbors Against Russian Aggression?

The Washington Post wrote on June 10:

“After more than a year of war in Ukraine, Western European citizens are extremely wary of using military force to defend NATO allies from Russia, according to a wide-ranging opinion poll released Wednesday. The findings highlight fears among Russia’s NATO neighbors that the Western defense alliance may not be ready if put to the test.

“Fewer than half of those surveyed in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain supported using military force to defend NATO allies if Russia entered a serious military conflict with one of them… The results came at a time of the worst tensions between Russia and the West since the Cold War…

“The NATO charter requires that member nations defend one another if one comes under attack. But the former Eastern bloc countries that joined the alliance in 2004 have long feared that their partners may not come to their aid…

“The three Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — as well as Poland have increased their defense spending since the conflict started in Ukraine…

“[The] United States was the most open to backing its allies if one was attacked. Of the Americans questioned, 56 percent were in favor of using military force and 37 percent were against. Germany, which has taken the lead European role in negotiations with Russia, was the most skeptical of a military response, with 38 percent in favor and 58 percent opposed…”

The Local added on June 10:

“The survey also shows a significant drop in [German] enthusiasm for Nato. Whereas in 2009 73 percent of Germans said they had a favourable opinion of the military alliance, this number has dropped to 55 percent in 2015. In no other Nato country did the survey find such drop in trust in the alliance.

“Germans are also fairly split over whom they attribute blame to for the Ukraine crisis. 29 percent say that Russia is to blame while 25 percent say that the pro-Russian separatists are responsible. 12 percent meanwhile say that the west is responsible.

“A large majority of Germans are in favour of economic support to the Ukrainian government (71 percent) although far fewer support delivering weapons to Kiev (19 percent.) A majority of Germans also reject both Nato membership and EU membership for Ukraine… There were also significant differences in attitudes between east and west Germany in evidence. While 19 percent of west Germans have a positive opinion of Vladimir Putin this number rises to 40 percent for east Germans.”

The Pope in Bosnia… Speaks of World War III

AFP wrote on June 6

“Pope Francis on Saturday bemoaned the ‘atmosphere of war’ haunting the world as he urged the people of war-scarred Sarajevo to provide an example of how different cultures and religions can co-exist peacefully… Many conflicts across the planet amount to ‘a kind of third world war being fought piecemeal and, in the context of global communications, we sense an atmosphere of war,’ the pontiff said in a mass at the stadium during a one-day visit to the Bosnian capital… ‘But war means children, women and the elderly in refugee camps, it means forced displacement, destroyed houses, streets and factories: above all countless shattered lives…

“The pontiff had earlier referred to Sarajevo, with its synagogues, churches and mosques, as a ‘European Jerusalem’, a crossroads of cultures, nations and religions…In a reference to the legacy of the war, which left Sarajevo in ruins and Bosnia permanently divided along ethnic lines, he urged the country’s Muslim, Serb and Croat communities to reach out to each other at every level… Later, at a meeting with Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Orthodox religious figures, he said Sarajevo could reclaim its former status as a beacon of multiculturalism…

“Despite a show of unity to welcome the pope, it was not hard to find reminders on Saturday of how fragile Bosnia’s unity is. It was noticeable that there were far more red and white Croatian flags being waved than Bosnia’s blue and yellow ones. The national anthem played for Francis on his arrival remains without words because the three communities have been unable to agree [on] a common text…

“The 1992-95 Bosnian war left nearly 100,000 people dead and resulted in half the population, some two million people, being forced to leave their homes, many of them never to return. More than a third of Bosnia’s pre-war ethnic Croat population have left the country which is now divided in two between a Bosnian Serb republic and a Croat-Muslim federation… Around 40 percent of the population of Bosnia is of Islamic heritage, just over 30 percent are from the Serbian Orthodox tradition and around one in 10, almost uniquely Croats, describe themselves as Catholics.”

This area, formerly known as Yugoslavia, has been a powder keg for many decades and even centuries, and it was here where World War I started.

 Coming – A Shiite-Sunni War?

McClatchy Newspapers wrote on June 10:

“The Middle East crisis that peaked one year ago Wednesday when the Islamic State captured Mosul may result in the breakup of Iraq and an indefinite continuation of a war in Syria that’s already out of control… Yet still worse things could happen. ‘The conditions are very much like 1914,’ says Michael Stephens of the Royal United Service Institute in London. ‘All it will take is one little spark, and Iran and Saudi Arabia will go at each other, believing they are fighting a defensive war.’  Hiwa Osman, an Iraqi Kurdish commentator, was even more blunt: ‘The whole region is braced for the big war, the war that has not yet happened, the Shiite-Sunni war.’

“U.S. and foreign experts say the U.S still has not developed a strategy for dealing with the Sunni extremists who now hold more territory [in] Iraq and Syria than one year ago… The experts criticize America’s detachment from the four wars now under way in the region. And they say the Obama administration is banking on Iran to stabilize the region, a very dubious course. ‘We really don’t have a strategy at all. We’re basically playing this day by day,’ Robert Gates, a former secretary of defense, told MSNBC last month.

“The one conflict where the U.S. has poured money, weapons and military advisers is Iraq, but the outlook after the Sunni city of Ramadi fell to the Sunni extremists is for a long, drawn-out conflict. John Allen, the former retired Marine Corps general who serves as U.S. envoy to the global coalition fighting the Islamic State… said an Iraqi civil war ‘is almost unavoidable’…

“Everyone agrees that the international system is very different from 1914, when the two competing European alliances went to war. But there are similarities. That was ‘a crisis nobody wanted to have. When it came, it would be over in a few months’ time. It would end all wars. Everybody knows what happened,’ said Thorbjorn Jagland, a Norwegian politician and secretary general of the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog body. ‘I don’t want to call the leaders today sleepwalkers, but maybe they have entered into a situation that nobody intended or wanted,’ he said.

“‘There are too many actors and too many unknowns. Everyone seems to be stuck in his own way,’ said Altay Cengizer, director of policy planning at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. He warned of the dangers of a prolonged crisis. ‘We are playing with fire,’ he said. ‘You cannot all day long play with fire. A fire will start.’”

More Bad News—ISIS Ready to Develop a Devastating Dirty Bomb?

The Independent wrote on June 10:

“The Isis militant group has seized enough radioactive material from government facilities to suggest it has the capacity to build a large and devastating ‘dirty’ bomb…  According to the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, Nato has expressed deep concerns about the materials seized by Isis from research centres and hospitals that would normally only be available to governments… The threat of Isis’s radioactive and biological weapons stockpile was so severe that the Australia Group, a 40-nation bloc dedicated to ending the use of chemical weapons, held a session on the subject at its summit in Perth last week… Ms Bishop spoke at the Australia Group meeting about fears Isis was weaponising poisonous gases such as chlorine…

“The growing concerns about Isis’s development of weapons of mass destruction come at a time when experts fear the militant group will be ‘more active than ever’ to mark the start of Ramadan and the one-year anniversary of its declaration of a ‘caliphate’. Isis said it was changing its name to ‘Islamic state’ following the first public address by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Mosul on 29 June last year, and the US-based Institute for the Study of War has noted that the group usually reserves its major operations to coincide with the Islamic holy month.”

Turkish President Erdogan Suffers Major Setback

The Associated Press reported on June 7:

“In a stunning rebuke of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions to expand his powers, Turkish voters stripped his party of its simple majority in parliament, preliminary election results showed Sunday. With 99.9 percent of the vote counted, Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, the AKP, had the support of around 41% of voters… According to projections, that would give it some 258 seats — 18 below the minimum needed to keep its majority.

“The unexpected setback for AKP likely puts an end, for the time being, to Erdogan’s hopes of passing constitutional changes that would have greatly boosted the powers of his office. Instead, he faces struggles to retain his pre-eminent place in Turkish politics without the obvious levers to steer the government through his party in parliament.

“The result is also a bitter blow to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose political prospects are uncertain after leading his party to such a disappointing result. AKP will now have to seek a coalition partner to stay in power, with the nationalist MHP the most likely candidate…

“The biggest setback for AKP came with the rise of the main pro-Kurdish party, HDP, which for the first time easily cleared the threshold of 10% for representation as a party in the parliament. The preliminary results put its tally at almost 13%…

“The vote came amid high tensions after bombings Friday during a HDP rally killed 2 people and wounded scores…”

AFP added on June 7:

“Turkey’s Islamic-rooted ruling party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in Sunday’s legislative elections… [This] means the AKP will need to form a coalition for the first time since coming to power in 2002…

“The result was a triumph for the HDP [a party dominated by ethnic Kurds], which in the campaign had sought to present itself as a genuinely Turkish party and reach out to voters beyond its main Kurdish support base to secular Turks, women and gays. It was also a personal victory for the party’s charismatic leader Selahattin Demirtas, dubbed the ‘Kurdish Obama’… He said there would be no coalition with the AKP and instead the HDP would make a ‘strong and honest opposition’.”

The Washington Post added on June 7:

“It was a remarkable achievement for a party [HDP] that was formed less than three years ago and has direct ties to the violent three-decade Kurdish separatist insurgency in Turkey’s southeast. The war between the militant Kurd­istan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Turkish state has claimed 40,000 lives since it first flared in the early 1980s… Among the HDP’s parliamentarians are relatives of jailed or slain leaders of the PKK, an organization still considered a terrorist group by Washington and An­kara. Demirtas, the HDP’s charismatic icon, is believed to have a brother among the guerrillas.

“For decades, Kurdish identity was suppressed by the Turkish state. Ironically, it was under Erdogan and the AKP that Kurds began to experience more cultural rights, including the freedom to speak and write in their own language.”

The EUObserver wrote on June 9:

“Turkey faced a near market crash on Monday (8 June) after ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to win a majority in Sunday’s general election, raising fears about the country’s political stability… Markets reacted negatively to the [election’s] results that left president [Erdogan’s] AKP with no majority for the first time since 2002 and no obvious coalition partner… Prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is due to meet Erdogan on Tuesday, will have forty-five days to form a government and new elections are not ruled out.

“The period could create instability for [a] Turkish economy that benefited much from Erdogan’s rule and AKP links with business… The political uncertainties could also weigh on relations with the EU, Turkey’s top import and export partner. In a statement Monday, EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said that ‘the coming period offers opportunities for further strengthening the EU-Turkey relationship’…”

The Battle for Greece

Reuters wrote on June 10:

“Greece and its international lenders moved closer to the brink on Wednesday… Athens said it was waiting for the creditors to respond to ideas it put forward on Monday. Euro zone officials said the proposals were inadequate to plug holes in the Greek budget and also dodged key reforms to make the economy more competitive…

“Athens is likely to default on a 1.6 billion euro repayment due to the International Monetary Fund at the end of June unless it receives fresh funds from its frozen bailout or the European Central Bank lets it sell more short-term debt to Greek banks. That will only happen if the two sides can agree in the coming days on a cash-for-reform deal that has been the focus of acrimonious negotiations for the last four months.

“A default could lead to the imposition of capital controls and possibly put Greece on a path to becoming the first country to leave the 19-nation single currency area, undermining the euro’s avowed irreversibility… The European Commission said its chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, who accused Tsipras on Sunday of misrepresenting the creditors’ proposals and misleading his parliament, had no plans as yet to meet the Greek premier…

“Greece appears to be insisting it will not sign any deal unless it contains a commitment to official debt relief, while the creditors say they will only start discussing debt rescheduling once a deal is signed and implemented… ‘If Greece does exit then it is possible that all hell breaks loose and that risk assets and peripheral government bonds suffer,’ said Gary Jenkins, chief credit strategist at LNG Capital. ‘However the least likely outcome is that Greece leaves and that the Eurozone takes no measures to stop speculation that it might fall apart.’”

This will remain to be seen. Earlier this week, Bild Online reported that Angela Merkel was apparently willing to come once again to the rescue of Greece, but many members of the coalition parties are allegedly strongly against further monetary help (The German population is overwhelmingly against it). On the other hand, politicians were strongly against monetary help for Greece several times before, and still finally agreed to it on several occasions.

Deutsche Welle reported on June 11 that the “International Monetary Fund has walked out on talks with Greece on Wednesday, dashing hopes of a compromise in ongoing debt negotiations.” Bild Online added on June 11 that a meeting on Wednesday night and Thursday morning between Angela Merkel (60), Alexis Tsipras (40) und François Hollande (60)failed to produce any results and that, as a consequence, Angela Merkel is now also preparing for a “Grexit.” A final meeting is scheduled for next Thursday.

Cameron Warned that 100 Conservative MPs May Vote for Brexit

The Independent wrote on Monday 8:

“David Cameron has been warned that 100 Conservative MPs will vote for Britain to leave the European Union unless he wins the reforms they want when he renegotiates new membership terms. The Prime Minister’s post-election honeymoon with his own MPs ended as Eurosceptic Tories set out demands that he has little chance of securing. They include reforms to the EU’s freedom of movement rules and allowing the UK Parliament to veto EU laws.

“Mr Cameron made clear that Conservative ministers would have to resign if they failed to back his position in the referendum. Speaking at the start of the G7 summit in Germany, he said he expected all Tory ministers to accept the deal he negotiates and that they would have to leave the Government if they decide to support a No campaign…

“But in a move likely to infuriate Tory rebels, Mr Cameron suggested he might be prepared to accept a renegotiation deal that did not include treaty change as long as it could not be challenged by European courts… Treaty change is one of the key demands of Conservatives for Britain…

“Mr Cameron said he could see no reason why the referendum debate could not be held on the same day as other UK elections – despite a call by the Electoral Commission for it to be held on a separate date. That means the plebiscite could be held next May, when there are elections for local authorities, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh assembly and Mayor of London…

“Speaking ahead of a meeting with Mr Cameron, President Obama re-iterated his desire for Britain to remain as a member of the EU… He added: ‘We have no closer partner around the world on a whole host of issues.’”

The Daily Express added on June 8:

“Mr Cameron spoke out at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, after a new Conservatives for Britain group was announced yesterday… More than 50 MPs are reported to have signed up to the group [this number is expected to grow to 100 and beyond], which will formally support the Prime Minister’s renegotiation drive but could lead the campaign for a British exit if the members are unimpressed with the terms of the deal…

“Tory MP Steve Baker, who is chairing Conservatives for Britain, said: ‘We wish David Cameron every success but, unless senior EU officials awake to the possibility that one of the largest EU members is serious about a fundamental change in our relationship, our recommendation to British voters seems likely to be: Exit.’

“The Daily Express has led the anti EU debate, helping to force Mr Cameron into a referendum.”

David Cameron’s undefined and shifting goals regarding his stance on Britain’s membership in the EU may lead to undesired consequences—either way.

“In Britain, No One Tells the Truth About Serious Stuff!”

Breitbart wrote on June 7:

“In Britain, no one tells the truth about really serious stuff. It’s not in the national character. So reporters had to do some maths this week to work out that, according to official statistics, 27 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales are abortions…

“According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 506,790 recorded deaths in England and Wales in 2013 – the most recent year for which figures are available. These, however, do not include abortions. Separate figures, also compiled by the ONS, reveal that a total of 185,331 abortions took place in England and Wales in the same year.

“Adding the total number of unborn babies who died as a result of abortion in 2013 to the total number of recorded deaths in England and Wales brings the overall death total to 692,121. This means that 26.78 per cent of the deaths were caused by abortion. The figure has remained relatively stable for the past few years, with abortions accounting for 27.76 per cent of deaths in 2010, 28.17 per cent in 2011 and 27.05 per cent in 2012.

“The current consensus, which appears to be that a woman’s body is hers to do with as she pleases until the little brat pops out, strikes me as utterly sociopathic and wrong. When two lives are at stake, surely a mother has a moral duty to consider the well-being of her unborn baby…

“I instinctively recoil from abortion as one of the great horrors of civilisation… it would be nice to have the conversation… without being told that men have no right to express an opinion on the subject, or that women must simply be left to murder as many of their children as they please, without care or consequence, and that neither society nor the law ought to encourage them to think it through.

“You rarely see anyone in Britain stating the pro-life position with any ferocity. It’s normally done apologetically in newspaper columns and in Catholic magazines… I wonder why that is. Is the reason we don’t even talk about this subject that there’s no strong religious conservatism in our public life? Because there really isn’t… The Catholic Church is almost as bad as the Church of England when it comes to speaking plainly about God. Our bishops would much rather bleat on about climate change — driving away thousands of young people, who come to the church seeking spiritual enlightenment, not green propaganda.

“Our religious leaders are spineless…”

The above-quoted comments ring so true… sadly!

Pope Francis: “Marriage Under Attack from ‘Demonic Gender Ideology’”

Breitbart wrote on June 9:

“Following the recent Irish referendum that recognized same-sex marriage, Pope Francis insisted again on Monday that the ‘complementarity of man and woman’ is essential to marriage, but is under attack from ‘so-called gender ideology, in the name of a freer and fairer society.’ The Pope has repeatedly warned his audiences of the dangers of an ideology of gender that seeks to undermine the proper understanding of marriage as well as human sexuality…

“Noting that the family is under attack from a series of social ills, the Pope underscored ‘the value and beauty’ of marriage, founded on ‘the complementarity of man and woman,’ which he called ‘the crown of God’s creation.’…

“This is not the first time the Pope has sounded the alarm on the dangers of gender politics. Francis has used the strongest language imaginable, calling modern gender ideology ‘demonic,’ and comparing gender theory with ‘the educational policies of Hitler.’ The Pope has also said that gender theory fails to recognize ‘the order of creation.’… Basing himself on Biblical theology, the Pope has declared that God creates people as ‘male and female,’ rather than an ever expanding spectrum of contrived pseudo-sexual genders.”

“Transgender Children’s Books Gain Popularity, Indoctrination Rises”

Newsmax reported on June 7:

“As transgender issues become more mainstream, so have books about the subject for children…

“The books include not only memoirs, but science fiction and young adult romance, the Times notes. And though some are printed by publishers that focus on gay and lesbian themes, mainstream publishers such as Scholastic Press and Disney Hyperion are getting on board. ‘As our culture is starting to acknowledge transgender people and acknowledge that they are part of the fabric of who we are, literature is reflecting that,’ Scholastic Press’ David Levithan told the Times.

“But not everyone is happy… Scholastic’s upcoming ‘George,’ has faced resistance from some teachers and librarians who say third- and fourth-graders may not be ready for the transgender discussion. But the publisher has actually increased its first printing from 35,000 to 50,000 copies based on strong pre-orders.”

This is abominable!

Jenner Welcome in Republican Party

Fox News reported on June 7:

“Republican presidential contender Lindsey Graham says his party has room for transgendered people like Caitlyn Jenner. The South Carolina senator calls himself a ‘traditional marriage kind of guy.’ But he says he ‘can only imagine the torment that Bruce Jenner went through’ before becoming a transgendered woman. He hopes that, now, she’s ‘found peace.’

“The underdog Republican candidate is campaigning on the need to counter threats from terrorists and Islamic State militants. He shares the opposition to same-sex marriage expressed by his rivals but says the Supreme Court is settling that question. Graham says if Jenner wants to be a Republican, she’s welcome. And he says if she wants a safe country and a strong economy, she should vote for him… Jenner has suggested earlier that he is a Republican.”

Lindsey Graham’s controversial statements are in total opposition to conservative commentators, such as radio host Rush Limbaugh, who warned Republicans not to go that route.

Will Trump Really Run This Time?

The News & Observer reported on June 7:

“Billionaire businessman Donald Trump all but confirmed he’ll run for the Republican presidential nomination during a stop Saturday at the N.C. GOP convention. Trump says he’ll make his formal announcement on June 16. ‘I think a lot of people are going to be very happy’ with the decision, Trump told The News & Observer before a sold-out speech Saturday night. ‘They’re tired of watching America go down. … It’s about making America great again. I can do it, and nobody else can do it.’…

“Trump referred to the constantly growing field of Republican candidates as ‘clowns’… [He specifically singled out Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in this context.]

“Addressing criticism that he lacks the political experience to be president, Trump said he’d be strong on foreign policy. ‘I’ve made a lot of money beating China and other countries,’ he said. ‘I only have experience beating other countries. Is that good experience?’

“Trump offered an alternative plan for the international trade negotiations under way. He said Ford and other companies looking to move manufacturing to Mexico or overseas should face a 35 percent tax when they ship the goods back to the U.S…

“Trump wasn’t modest about his credentials. ‘I would be the greatest jobs president that God ever created,’ he said. ‘I would be strongest by far on security, because I’m very big into the military, very big into the vets.’ He said he knows how to beat the Islamic State militants and criticized the Obama administration’s approach… Trump called President Barack Obama ‘most likely incompetent.’ He questioned why Secretary of State John Kerry bicycles at age 71… And he said Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is ‘unusual’ because she avoids media questions…”

Donald Trump has been announcing time and time again that he was contemplating running for the US Presidency… but he never did. Will it be different this time around?

America’s Spying Program… Back from the Dead?

The Guardian wrote on June 9:

“The Obama administration has asked a secret surveillance court to ignore a federal court that found bulk surveillance illegal and to once again grant the National Security Agency the power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans for six months.

“The legal request, filed nearly four hours after Barack Obama vowed to sign a new law banning precisely the bulk collection he asks the secret court to approve, also suggests that the administration may not necessarily comply with any potential court order demanding that the collection stop…

“Justice Department national security chief John A Carlin cited a six-month transition period provided in the USA Freedom Act – passed by the Senate last week to ban the bulk collection – as a reason to permit an ‘orderly transition’ of the NSA’s domestic dragnet. Carlin did not address whether the transition clause of the Freedom Act still applies now that a congressional deadlock meant the program shut down on 31 May.

“But Carlin asked the Fisa court to set aside a landmark declaration by the second circuit court of appeals. Decided on 7 May, the appeals court ruled that the government had erroneously interpreted the Patriot Act’s authorization of data collection as ‘relevant’ to an ongoing investigation to permit bulk collection. Carlin, in his filing, wrote that the Patriot Act provision remained ‘in effect’ during the transition period…

“On Friday, the conservative group FreedomWorks filed a rare motion before the Fisa court, asking it to reject the government’s surveillance request as a violation of the fourth amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. Fisa court judge Michael Moseman gave the justice department until this coming Friday to respond – and explicitly barred the government from arguing that FreedomWorks lacks the standing to petition the secret court. ‘The only federal appeals court to have considered this surveillance concluded, after very careful analysis, that it’s unlawful. It’s disturbing and disappointing that the government is proposing to continue it,’ said Jaffer, of the ACLU.”

But bad habits seldom die quickly…

The Danger of Deadly Mosquitoes in Europe

The Austrian edition of The Local wrote on June 10:

“The summer may bring hot sunny days and long evenings, but it also brings mosquitoes and this year experts are warning people to be on guard against ‘exotic’ species which bite during the day. ‘Unfortunately in the last two or three years we have noticed more exotic mosquito types in Austria – such as the Asian tiger mosquito – which are active during the day,’ Franz Allerberger, from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), told the ORF. He says the invasive Asian mosquitoes have already been spotted in Graz, and are likely to come to the Vienna area in the next year or two.

“The Asian tiger mosquito has become more common in central Europe, due to the global transport of goods and increasing international travel. It doesn’t need wetlands to breed and can survive colder winters. Researcher Bernhard Seidel, who first discovered the species in Austria in 2011, says that they came to Austria via Slovenia and Switzerland. They tend to colonise urbanised areas and will breed around houses and gardens in small containers such as bird baths, containers, and old tires. There are concerns that the mosquitoes, which are vicious biters, could transmit diseases such as West Nile virus, as well as new, emerging diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya – both of which can be deadly.

“Allerberger said the common house mosquito is more likely to breed after flooding, and the easiest way to eliminate them is to empty water that collects in buckets, cans, jars, barrels, boats, discarded tires, clogged roof gutters, paddling pools or pool covers and any artificially created collection of water. Cutting down weeds, trimming and maintaining shrubs and grass also helps reduce adult mosquito populations that hide in vegetation.

“In 2011 the common house mosquito was found to be carrying West Nile virus in Lower Austria, and in 2014 mosquitoes in Vienna were also found to be carriers of the disease… there is no vaccination for it.

“Experts recommend using mosquito nets, fly screens, and wearing light coloured, loose fitting clothing with long sleeves and legs to prevent bites. Mosquito repellent sprays contain chemicals which deter the mosquito from biting, but should not be used on small children or babies. Mosquito nets are recommended as the best way to protect babies in prams.”

ISIS Destruction of Oil Fields… the Unrealized Danger

The Telegraph wrote on May 30:

“Thick black smoke rising from the Baiji oil refinery could be seen as a dirty smudge on the horizon as far away as Baghdad after fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) set fire to the enormous processing plant just over 100 miles north of the capital last week. The decision to torch the refinery, which once produced around a third of Iraq’s domestic fuel supplies, was made as the insurgents prepared to pull out of Baiji, which they captured last June in a victory that sent shock waves across world oil markets…

“A year on from the start of the siege and a shaky alliance of the Middle East’s major Arab powers, with the limited support of the reluctant US government, has failed to contain the expansion of Isil.

“The problem for the US and the rest of the industrialised world is that the Middle East controls 60pc of proven oil reserves and with it the keys to the global economy. Should Isil capture a major oil field in Iraq, or overwhelming the government, the consequences for energy markets and the financial system would be potentially catastrophic…

“Although most of Iraq’s major oil fields are located in the south of the country, which are Shia Muslim heartlands, the failure of the Iraqi army to deal with the threat of Isil is a sign of their vulnerability to isolated attacks. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is in a virtual state of lockdown after the bombing by Isil militants of a Shia mosque in the oil-rich Eastern Province…

“To add to the problems facing Saudi Arabia’s new ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, his kingdom is also facing insurgency from the so-called Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorist group which is intent on destabilising the regime…

“Iran opposed Saudi Arabia last November when the kingdom’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, insisted that the group should stand on the side lines and allow market forces to drive down the oil price in order to render high-cost oil such as US shale unprofitable…”

When one considers this utmost picture of confusion in the Middle East, it is completely unrealistic to even suggest that in light of these in-fightings between Arab nations, ISIS, Iran and Syria, the nation of Saudi Arabia could be the next “king of the South” (as mentioned in Daniel 11). In addition, we have made clear and repeatedly explained in our literature that Egypt could not be the king of the South either. IF there is still another king of the South (which is not mandatory under biblical prophecy), it would have to be Ethiopia.

Iran’s Unwavering Support for Syria’s Assad Regime

Breitbart reported on June 1:

“The Speaker of Iran’s Majles [parliament] reiterated on Monday that Tehran continues its ‘unwavering’ support of the Assad regime in Syria. The Assad regime has been responsible for killing the majority of the 250,000+ dead as a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War… By some estimates, Assad’s forces have been responsible for more than 85 percent of the civilian deaths during the war. Larjani, a former Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, praised the Assad regime for its battles against the Islamic State and the ‘Zionist regime (Israel),’ state-run Mehr News Agency reported…

“On Monday, Larjani hosted a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, who said of the occasion: ‘I am now in Tehran to talk about and boost bilateral ties; we are attacked by terrorist Takfirists (false Muslim) supported by the western hegemonic powers and which is their foster child; Iran and Russia are in the frontline of support for Syria; we have support by Iran and BRICS group on our sides.’

“Al-Laham added that the Tehran-Damascus alliance serves to protect stability in the region…”

Iran’s Stockpile of Nuclear Fuel Increased by 20 Percent

Newsmax reported on June 1:

“Iran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel increased about 20 percent over the last 18 months as high-stakes talks were underway – and despite the Obama administration’s claim the program had been ‘frozen.’ The spike was included in a report issued last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations organization that monitors compliance with nuclear treaties.

“… the increase creates a daunting challenge for President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry as a deadline for completion of a nuclear agreement looms at the end of June: Convincing Congress and U.S. allies that Iran will shrink its stockpile by 96 percent while it continues to produce new material and hasn’t made a dent in its current stockpile.”

The New York Times added on June 1:

“A major element of the forthcoming deal, if it is completed, permits Iran to maintain a stockpile of only 300 kilograms, or about 660 pounds, of nuclear fuel, less than would be needed to make a single weapon.

“That means Iran… would have to rid itself of more than nine tons of its stockpile in a matter of months. One easy solution would be to ship the fuel out of the country, but that is a politically fraught topic for the Iranians — and one that their deputy negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, ruled out in March… A State Department statement released a few days later that outlined the preliminary agreement reached at a marathon session in Lausanne, Switzerland, was silent on the question of how the reduction would be realized… ‘How are they going to do it?’ one senior American official said recently when asked about the negotiations, details of which Mr. Kerry and his team are trying to keep confidential. ‘We’re not certain. It’s their problem, not ours. But it’s a problem.’

“Nonetheless, officials say they expect the radical reduction of Iran’s stockpile to happen in the opening months of any agreement, either by shipping it out of the country or changing it into a form that would make it impossible to re-enrich and use as a weapon…”

It is mind-boggling to read the stated position of the US government in regard to this matter. It is a mixture of illusion, wishful thinking, denial, and worse.

Turks See Israel as Biggest Threat to Their Security

The Times of Israel wrote on May 31:

“A survey conducted recently in Turkey found that nearly half that country’s citizens see Israel as the biggest security threat, followed by the United States, and only then Syria… A similar poll in 2013 found 41% saw the United States as Turkey’s biggest threat, while 37.1% named Israel…

“Israel and Turkey have been at loggerheads over a 2010 incident that saw the Turkish Mavi Marmara ferry boarded by Israeli commandos as it attempted to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the ensuing melee, after the Israeli soldiers were attacked with iron bars and wooden bats, troops opened fire and nine Turkish activists were killed; 10 Israeli soldiers were injured. The incident triggered a crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey, which were already strained since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in 2008-2009. Israel issued a formal apology to Turkey in March 2013 but disagreements persist over Ankara’s demand that Israel pay damages to families of the deceased and to the wounded.

“Ties between the two countries have yet to recover, with Turkish officials often unleashing scathing rebukes of Israel. In January Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, of killing Palestinian children and radicalizing the Muslim world. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is known for his angry outbursts at the Jewish state, declaring in July 2014 that Israel had ‘surpassed Hitler in barbarism.’ Turkey under his rule has been a consistent supporter of Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza.”

These developments are highly remarkable, as the Bible prophesies in the book of Obadiah that Turkey (ancient Edom or Esau) will participate in an end-time confrontation against Israel, and that many Turks will celebrate Israel’s defeat and act very cruelly against Israeli refugees—even though Turkey has been very accommodating towards Jewish refugees in the more distant past.

“When Ephraim Went to Assyria”

The Local wrote on May 29:

“In contrast to previous frosty receptions from Merkel to Cameron’s pushes for reform, she welcomed the newly-reelected Prime Minister and promised constructive talks. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way,’ Merkel said. ‘We can’t say that treaty change [to the agreements underpinning the EU, a difficult and complex process] is totally impossible.’

“Cameron had come to Berlin in search of support for his shopping list of reforms, including tougher rules against migrants claiming benefits, protection for the City of London, and an exemption from the Treaty of Lisbon’s promise to strive for ‘ever closer union’ among EU countries. ‘We already have a multi-speed Europe,’ Merkel said, noting that some EU member states remained outside the Euro single currency and the Schengen free-travel zone. ‘We will continue to have two speeds, and I don’t see a problem with that.’…

“One surprise came when Merkel suggested that Germany itself might have changes of its own if Britain’s push for reform bore fruit… Both countries made much of their mutual economic interests, with Cameron praising the push for a free-trade agreement between the EU and USA, also noting that Germany is the biggest European investor in the UK.

“The two leaders’ close harmony was in contrast to the lukewarm agreement from French President Francois Hollande at a Paris meeting with Cameron on Thursday. And after her own meeting with Cameron, Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said that her country would respond with a ‘definite no’ to his hoped-for migration reforms.”

The EUObserver added on May 29:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated she’s willing to go as far as changing the EU treaty in order to keep Britain in the Union… The Berlin trip is part of Cameron’s tour of all EU capitals ahead of next month’s EU summit and ahead of his referendum on EU membership, to be held by the end of 2017. He has promised to campaign for a Yes, but only if EU leaders agree to far-reaching reforms.

“Merkel said she’s willing to consider treaty change, but noted that London should first draw up concrete demands… She also voiced willingness to grant the UK an opt-out from ‘ever closer Union’. The phrase is contained in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the EU’s founding charter…

“… the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, accused [Cameron] of trying to ‘dismantle’ the EU. Despite Merkel’s words, an EU source said there’s ‘no appetite’ for treaty change at this point.  The process, which can take years, would, in any case, be almost impossible to complete in time for the UK vote… One solution could be to give the UK a legal promise that changes agreed now will be inserted later on.”

The Guardian wrote on May 29:

“[Cameron] is welcome here [in Berlin] in the most powerful EU country and, says Stefanie Bolzen in a commentary for Die Welt, the world’s most powerful woman [Merkel] ‘is an unconditional apologist for keeping the kingdom in the union, despite all the infuriation surrounding Cameron’s manoeuvring’.

“Despite the frustrations over what the German government sees as Cameron’s rather overly confident approach, and the distinct impression that he is ‘spoiling for a fight’… there are few in Berlin who want to see Britain leave…

“German business leaders too have warned that a referendum should happen sooner rather than later, and that 400,000 British jobs that are dependent on trade with Germany could be at risk if Britain leaves. Growing numbers of German companies in Britain have said they are plotting their departure in the case of a Brexit.”

The Local wrote on June 1:

“German Social Democratic Party (SPD) MEP Jo Leinen [a member of the EP’s Foreign Affairs, Environment and Constitutional Affairs committees] told The Local on Monday he was unhappy with comments from European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz, who suggested that Britain should be allowed to opt out of the call to work towards ‘ever closer union’ among EU countries. ‘The only country that has opted out of European integration with special rules in the past decades has been Great Britain,’ Schulz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. ‘We would only be recognizing what has been true for London for a long time.’

“But Social Democratic MEP Jo Leinen told The Local that Schulz’s fellow SPD members saw things differently. ‘European integration is an idea that’s been there from the very beginning – that it’s more than an economic space, but also a political community,’ Leinen said. ‘Anyone who wants to get rid of that doesn’t want to belong to a political community, but a single market… Many like me aren’t ready to throw the idea of European community overboard.’…

“He added that while German and UK interests are similar, with the two countries often forming the core of a northern European voting bloc to counterbalance the likes of France, Spain and Italy, the UK should take heed of Germany’s deeply ingrained sense of belonging to Europe. ‘Germany has the European idea almost in its Constitution,’ Leinen said. ‘That’s what has guided 60 years of German European politics.’

“While there were certainly reforms to be made so that the EU becomes more competitive and effective, Social Democrats wouldn’t abandon their political ideals just to keep Britain in, he said…”

Modern Ephraim (mainly the UK) is prophesied to try to find help from modern Assyria (mainly Germany), but God says in Hosea that such endeavors will fail, and that Assyria “cannot” help, even if it wanted to.

 Germany’s Blindness Regarding Egypt

Deutsche Welle reported on June 3:

“Angela Merkel has praised Egypt’s peace efforts in the Middle East following a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Berlin. The pair’s press conference was shut down after it descended into chaos. The news conference hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday came to an abrupt end after security was called in to remove a female reporter who addressed al-Sisi yelling ‘He’s a murderer!’ There were also cries of ‘down with the military rule’ from the press pack, while reporters from Egypt yelled ‘long live Egypt!’ before the two leaders were hurriedly whisked from the room.

“Before the upset, Merkel had pledged closer economic ties with Egypt, saying the country was a key strategic partner in the Middle East and in the fight against Islamist extremism… Al-Sisi, Egypt’s former army chief, led the coup that ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. He was subsequently elected by a landslide and has waged a brutal crackdown against Morsi’s supporters ever since. Hundreds have been killed or jailed, while dozens, including Morsi, have been sentenced to death in a series of mass trials.

“Al-Sisi’s two-day visit to Berlin has stirred up some controversy in Germany. Human rights activists have organized a number of street protests to coincide with the Egyptian leader’s trip, while NGOs including Amnesty International have asked Merkel to urge al-Sisi to end Egypt’s ‘human rights crisis.’

“Germany’s government is keen to maintain a cordial relationship with its partner in North Africa, although Bundestag house speaker Norbert Lammert called off his meeting with al-Sisi, citing Egypt’s lack of democracy and the crackdown on political opposition.

“In Wednesday’s press conference, Merkel acknowledged there were ‘differences of opinion’ between the two countries on human rights matters and capital punishment. The chancellor criticized Cairo’s reliance on the death penalty and stressed that ‘under no circumstances, even with regard to terrorist activities, must people be sentenced to death.’…

“Earlier on Wednesday, al-Sisi was welcomed by German President Joachim Gauck with full military honors at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace. The Egyptian leader was later expected to meet with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.”

The stance of many leading German politicians regarding Egypt’s dictatorship is shameful and cowardly.

Incredible Hatred and Anti-Semitism on the Temple Mount

The Times of Israel wrote on June 3:

“An Islamic preacher on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem told congregants that the Nazis burned the Jews of Europe during the Holocaust because they had been kidnapping children to use their blood in Passover bread. He also claimed that Jews worship Satan, plotted the 9/11 attacks, and control the Freemasons who sacrifice their wives and children in secret ceremonies…

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center sent a letter to Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urging them to ‘immediately take action against Sheikh Khaled al-Mughrabi, the religious teacher at the Al-Aqsa Mosque who is on the payroll of the Waqf [the PA religious authority], for using his class to promote the infamous blood libel screed that ‘explains’ why the Nazi Holocaust took place. The ‘Blood Libel’ is a Christian medieval canard that accuses Jews of using the blood of children to make Passover matzah,’ the center said in a statement sent out to the press.

“‘The Temple Mount is a site of ultimate religious importance to Judaism and revered also by both Christianity and Islam. It should be an area that promotes peace, tolerance, and mutual understanding. However, the Al Aqsa Mosque has now been used to repeat horrific lies and legitimize genocide. Left unchallenged, the Sheik’s ‘sermon’ will only spawn more hatred and violence,’ the letter to Abdullah and Abbas read.

“During the recent sermon captured on video, al-Mughrabi says: ‘On the holiday of Passover it is ‎forbidden for them to eat regular bread. These matzahs ‎[unleavened Passover bread] were not kneaded in the regular way, but rather with the blood of children. In the end it reached the point ‎where they were burned in Germany, because of these things, because they ‎kidnapped young children.’…

“Al-Mughrabi begins by explaining that of the multiple gods that Jews worship, Satan ranks above the Muslim god Allah… ‘The Children of Israel had the holiday of Pesach, ‎what is now called Passover,’ al-Mughrabi said. ‘Every holiday, every group would look for a small child, ‎kidnap and steal him, bring a barrel called the barrel of nails… They would put the ‎small child in the barrel and his body would be pierced by these nails. In the bottom of ‎the barrel they would put a faucet and pour the blood… The Devil or one of the big ‎gods, demanded it of them as a condition for fulfilling their wishes, that they eat ‎‎[matzah] bread kneaded with the blood of children.’…

“Freemasons, he went on, are ‘witchcraft gatherings of the ‎Children of Israel.’ ‘One of the ceremonies, for instance if someone wants to be ‎accepted as a new member, or rise in rank… he has to somehow bring one of his sons ‎or daughters, or his wife or one of his male or female relatives, and put them on the ‎table and slaughter them with his own hands as a sacrifice to Satan, in order to rise in ‎the ranks of the Freemasons. My brothers, this exists until today.‎’

“The myth of blood baked into matzah, known as ‘the blood libel,’ dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe, and was often used as a pretext to commit atrocities against Jewish communities. The false allegation is still believed in some Arab cultures and is occasionally cited by officials and public figures.

“In September 2014 Sheikh Abd Al-Mun’im Abu Zant, a former Jordanian MP revived the blood libel in an interview with al-Aqsa TV. ‘On their religious holidays, if they cannot find a Muslim to slaughter, and use drops of his blood to knead the matzos they eat, they slaughter a Christian in order to take drops of his blood, and mix it into the matzos that they eat on that holiday,’ Abu Zant said.

“In July 2014 Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shihad said that Israeli rabbis told IDF soldiers to knead the blood of Arabs into their dough… A year earlier, in May 2013, Egyptian politician Khaled Zaafrani, during an interview on al-Hafez TV, a Salafist Egyptian station, also brought up the blood libel. ‘It is well-known that during Passover they make matzos called the “Blood of Zion.” They take a Christian child, slit his throat, and slaughter him…they never forgo this rite.’…”

These hateful and completely false accusations are ridiculous, but gullible people and fanatics are eager to believe them. Unless the Arab world stands up in a unified fashion to strongly condemn these fabrications (which will never happen), Muslims should not be surprised when some Christians and Jews resort to drawing pictures of Mohammed and ridiculing him. This, in turn, leads to more Islamic violence and attempts to murder those who organize these contests and demonstrations.  

Newsmax wrote on June 3:

“A man shot and killed by police in Boston on Tuesday was allegedly conspiring with another man to behead police officers and kill the Jewish-American activist Pamela Geller who had recently organized a Mohammed cartoon competition that was attacked in Texas, CNN reported Wednesday night.”

Geert Wilder on the Roll

The Associated Press reported on June 3:

“Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders said Wednesday he plans to show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Dutch television after Parliament refused to display them.

“Wilders said he would show the cartoons during television airtime reserved for political parties, in a move likely to offend Muslims since Islamic tradition holds that any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is blasphemous. Political parties in the Netherlands get a small amount of airtime each year and broadcasting authorities have no say in what the parties show. Wilders said the broadcast would likely take place in the next few weeks, but an exact date has yet to be determined.

“The announcement came a month after Wilders gave a speech at a contest in Garland, Texas, for cartoon depictions of Muhammad. Shortly after Wilders left the event, it was targeted by two men with pistols and assault rifles. Security guards shot and killed the attackers…

“Wilders is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of free speech and targeting Islam. He has lived under round-the-clock protection since 2004 because of death threats.

“In the past, he triggered protests in the Muslim world for a short film he broadcast online which juxtaposed verses from the Quran against videos of violence and terrorism. He was acquitted in 2011 of hate speech as judges said that his anti-Islam rhetoric came in the context of a fierce national debate about immigration and multiculturalism. Wilders is again facing prosecution for hate speech over a chant last year in which he asked his supporters whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands and they shouted back ‘Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!’”

How such conduct could possibly lead to prosecution for hate speech is very difficult to comprehend.

Rand Paul’s Temporary Victory Against the NSA and the Political Establishment

Breitbart reported on June 1:

“Late Sunday the National Security Agency (NSA) shut down its bulk data collection program as the PATRIOT Act expired thanks to Paul’s efforts. He tells Breitbart News exclusively that ‘we’re excited by the fact that the battle has been won… The president has been told in no uncertain terms—and by the end of the week this will be in writing—that he can no longer illegally collect all of Americans’ phone records and keep them in Utah,’ Paul said.

“‘I think this is a big rebuke for the president. The courts told him it was illegal and he just kept doing it anyway. I think most Americans, particularly Republicans, don’t trust this president. This is the same president who went after Tea Party groups and went after religious liberty and religious groups. I don’t understand why some of the big government Republicans up here don’t get it because most Republicans I meet across the country don’t want this president to have access to all their phone records.

“Paul criticized—without naming names—GOP senators including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) of Florida, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of Arizona and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) of South Carolina and other Republicans like Jeb Bush for failing to listen to voters about their concerns with the NSA program.

“I think they get in a Washington echo chamber for so long and don’t get outside the beltway enough to listen to people in America,” Paul said of the Republicans who blindly support the program’… several recent polls that show he’s in the top tier of GOP candidates—and one of the best Republicans when it comes to facing off directly with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In fact, polls from battleground states ranging from Iowa to Colorado to Pennsylvania to New Hampshire have Paul beating Clinton if the election were held right now.

“What’s more, several GOP primary polls put Paul in the top tier of GOP candidates…

“In Paul’s interview with Breitbart News on Monday, he largely credited Matt Drudge—the proprietor of the wildly successful Drudge Report—for helping lead the fight to stop the NSA… Drudge himself has been very vocal on the matter, Tweeting out his disdain for the NSA’s data collection program many times and also highlighting stories and efforts critical of the program on his website.

“Paul added he thinks that his effort to take down the NSA’s data collection program is proof positive that one person can make a difference in this world—even when they’re going up against the entire federal government…”

Newsmax added on June 1:

“More than twice as many Americans stand with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in wanting to see parts of the Patriot Act dealing with the collection of citizens’ cellphone data expire compared with those who want to keep existing rules, according to a new poll.”

The Washington Post wrote on June 1:

“The Capitol Hill impasse over federal surveillance powers continued Monday, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) refused to yield to pressure from the White House and fellow Republicans to step aside and allow the reinstatement of key USA Patriot Act provisions that expired early Monday morning…

“Paul… faced criticism from all sides. McConnell on Sunday accused him of engaging in a ‘campaign of demagoguery and disinformation,’ while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he had a ‘higher priority for his fundraising . . . than the security of the nation…’”

However, it was recently reported and is widely believed that there is no evidence that any of the NSA’s data which was collected under the NSA’s data collection program has led to a substantive prevention of a terror attack.

The Associated Press reported on June 2:

“Congress approved (and President Obama signed into law on Wednesday) sweeping changes… to surveillance laws enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, eliminating the National Security Agency’s disputed bulk phone-records collection program and replacing it with a more restrictive measure to keep the records in phone companies’ hands. The legislation [revives] most of the programs the Senate had allowed to lapse in a dizzying collision of presidential politics and national security policy. But the authorization will undergo major changes, the legacy of agency contractor Edward Snowden’s explosive revelations two years ago about domestic spying by the government.”

In response to the new law, Rand Paul commented on June 3 that the American government only admits to its unconstitutional actions when those have been clearly revealed, after having repeatedly denied and lied about their conduct. TV Evangelist and political commentator Pat Robertson made some very strong remarks during his 700 Club TV program on June 3, accusing the NSA of conducting unnecessary Big Brother activities, which severely restrict individual liberties and freedoms.

USA Most Respected Country on Earth?

Breitbart reported on June 1:

“Monday while President Barack Obama was answering questions at a town hall… he said his administration has restored the United States as the ‘the most respected country on earth… People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia, and today once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth.

“‘Part of that I think is because of the work we did to reengage the world and say we want to work with you as partners with mutual interests and mutual respect. It was on that basis we were able to end two wars while still focusing on the very real threat of terrorism and try to work with our partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the reason why we are moving in the direction to normalize relations with Cuba and the nuclear deal that we are trying to negotiate with Iran.’”

Sadly, the President’s opinion could not be farther from reality. As some commentators have said, one wonders as to what planet the President is living on.

American Blackmail and the Virtually Non-Existent “Medical Vaccine Exemption”

On May 18, the website of www.nvic.org reported the following:

“Vaccine risks for you or your child can range from zero to 100 percent depending upon the genes you were born with; your microbiome DNA; the environment you live in; your age and health at the time of vaccination, and the type and how many vaccines you get.

“Vaccines are not safe or effective for everyone because we are not all the same and we do not all respond the same way to pharmaceutical products like vaccines.  Our response to infectious diseases and the risk for complications can also vary, depending upon our genes, environment, and age and health at the time of infection. That is why malnourished, vitamin deficient children living in impoverished environments, for example, are at higher risk for complications from gastrointestinal, respiratory and other childhood infections.

“The doctor or nurse giving vaccines to you or your child does not know whether the odds will be in your favor. You may get vaccinated and have no reaction or your immune system and brain function could be severely compromised. The scientific literature is clear about that fact and so is Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, which have declared vaccines to be ‘unavoidably unsafe’ and shielded the pharmaceutical industry from vaccine injury lawsuits.

“Since 1988, there have been thousands of children and adults in America who have suffered brain inflammation and other long recognized vaccine reactions and have been awarded $3 billion dollars in vaccine injury compensation. There are thousands more, who have been unable to secure federal compensation for their vaccine injuries.

“But doctors and nurses are not taught about the genetic, biological and environmental high risk factors that could make you or your child more vulnerable to experiencing disabling vaccine complications. Vaccines are being recommended and given in a vacuum of knowledge and vaccine policymakers know it. As many Institute of Medicine committees have repeatedly pointed out in published reports spanning a quarter century, there are huge gaps in vaccine safety science.

“Vaccine safety research is not a priority because long ago public health officials made a calculated decision that the lives of those harmed by vaccines are expendable in order to pursue what they consider to be a more important goal: the eradication of a long list of infectious microorganisms through compulsory vaccine use. When vaccine risks turn out to be 100 percent for you or your child, you are expected to quietly accept that you are unavoidable collateral damage in the war on microorganisms.

“This cruel utilitarian rationale, also known as ‘the ends justifies the means,’ has been used by public health officials and medical trade groups to narrow the medical vaccine exemption so that, today, almost no medical condition qualifies as an ‘official’ reason (contraindication) for a doctor to grant someone a medical exemption to vaccination… Basically, the Centers for Disease Control now tells doctors that a medical vaccine exemption should only be granted if you are one of the estimated 320,000 children and adults annually receiving chemotherapy; 39 40 or one of the estimated 47,000 Americans who have had a recent organ or blood cell transplant; 41 42 or your child is one of the 40 to 100 children born every year with Severe Combined Immune Deficiency, known as SCID.

“Once you are done with chemo, no medical vaccine exemption for you. Once you have recovered from your organ or blood cell transplant, no medical vaccine exemption for you. And if you are immunosuppressed but don’t have SCID, the rarest and most severe of all immunodeficiency disorders, in most cases no medical exemption for you.  If you or your child are already suffering with autoimmune or brain disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy or an immunosuppressive disease like HIV, no medical vaccine exemption for you. If you or your child have a family history of severe allergies, vaccine reactions, seizures, sudden infant death syndrome or serious autoimmune and neurological disorders, no medical vaccine exemption for you. If you or your child are sick at the time of vaccination with a fever or on antibiotics, no medical vaccine exemption for you.

“If, after vaccination, you or your child ran a 105-degree fever, collapsed or had seizures and symptoms of brain inflammation followed by serious health deterioration and you are still chronically ill but a doctor disagrees that your continuing health problems were caused by vaccination, no medical vaccine exemption for you.  If you are a pregnant health care worker and do not want to get a flu shot while you are pregnant because you do not want to risk a miscarriage, no medical vaccine exemption for you. If your child was injured or died after vaccination and you want to protect your other children from vaccine injury, no medical vaccine exemption for your children. If your baby was born prematurely and is low weight and struggling to survive, no medical vaccine exemption for your infant.

“For all practical purposes, the Centers for Disease Control and medical trade organizations now direct pediatricians and other vaccinators to deny the medical vaccine exemption to 99.99 percent of Americans. Although nobody can predict whether the odds will be in your favor, you are expected to obey doctors’ orders and get and give your children every government recommended vaccine – no exceptions and no questions asked – or be subjected to threats, coercion, discrimination and denial of medical care, education, and employment.

“Like drug companies selling vaccines, doctors giving vaccines are protected from vaccine injury lawsuits. If a doctor vaccinates you or your child against your will and you suffer a catastrophic vaccine reaction, you cannot seek justice in a civil court of law in front of a jury of your peers. Without accountability or liability, there is strong incentive for vaccinators to implement government vaccine policy and deny vaccine harm – but little incentive to prevent vaccine harm.

“Now public health and medical trade groups are pressuring legislators to pass laws that would not only eliminate non-medical religious and conscientious belief vaccine exemptions for children to attend school, but also would require children to get every one of the 69 doses of 16 federally recommended vaccines – unless a parent can get a medical vaccine exemption from a doctor…

“Zealously pursuing a 99.99 percent vaccination rate and using very small groups of immune compromised individuals as an excuse to eliminate all non-medical vaccine exemptions, liability free doctors want permission from lawmakers to blackmail virtually every American into playing vaccine roulette. And they want to do this in the absence of sound vaccine safety science, even for those potentially at higher risk for suffering vaccine harm…”

This entire scenario paints a horrible picture of scientific incompetence and prostitution, as well as cowardice and blackmail, uncontrolled morbid capitalism and governmental socialistic dictatorship, without ANY regard for individual liberties, freedom and religious conscience.

Pope Francis vs. Nancy Pelosi—the Epitome of Nonsense

Breitbart wrote on May 31:

“For the second time in a week, Pope Francis blasted abortion on Saturday, referring to it as a ‘scourge’ and insisting that ‘a just society recognizes the primacy of the right to life from conception to natural death.’ ‘The degree of progress of a civilization is measured by its ability to protect life, especially in its most fragile stages,’ he said in an address to the Science and Life Association, celebrating its 10th anniversary

“In a fascinating juxtaposition of news, on Friday the pro-abort House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi put herself forward in an MSNBC interview as a faithful, ‘mainstream Catholic’ unlike pro-life Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), whom she called a ‘polarizing’ figure for opposing same-sex marriage.

“On two of the biggest social justice issues of our day—abortion and gay marriage—Pelosi has taken a hardline stand in direct opposition to Church teaching, something resembling a ‘faithful’ Greenpeace member advocating baby seal killing or an orthodox Jew pushing pork. This past January, Ms. Pelosi said that she knew ‘more about having babies than the pope,’ and that a woman has “the right” to an abortion. In her acceptance speech for Planned Parenthood’s highest honor—the Margaret Sanger Award—Pelosi went still further, calling pro-lifers (like the pope) ‘dumb,’ ‘closed-minded’ and ‘oblivious.’

“At the time, Pelosi’s comments drew a stern response from her own archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who stated that ‘no Catholic can dissent in good conscience’ from Church teaching on the sanctity of life. In a recent interview, Pope Francis underscored the paradox of modern secular societies that go to great lengths to protect children from harm, and yet defend a ‘right’ to abortion. ‘Curiously,’ he said, these countries with very strict laws regarding the protection of minors, who even punish fathers or mothers who spank their children, ‘have laws allowing them to kill their children before they are born… Those are the contradictions we live with now,’ he said.”

Pope Francis it totally correct on the issue of abortion and related subjects, including childrearing, and Nancy Pelosi is not only totally wrong… it is incomprehensible that she would call herself a faithful mainstream Catholic with rebellious views which completely deny her church’s doctrine. It is a mystery why she thought she could get away with such an anti-Catholic position and still claim to be a faithful Catholic.

Clash of “Values” between Russia and the West

The EUObserver wrote on May 27:

“Recent events in the EU and the Eurasian Union, Russia’s new bloc, highlight the clash of values. In Luxembourg on 15 May, Xavier Bettel, the PM, married his gay partner – a first for an EU head of government. In Ireland, a week later, people enshrined gay marriage in the constitution by referendum – another first. But in Moscow on 17 May, the international anti-homophobia day, police arrested rights activists at a small rally. In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which is to shortly join the Eurasian Union, thugs beat up activists, who were taken away by police, who beat them up again.

“The clash is also visible, in green (equality) and red (rights violations)… Most EU countries, but not the former Iron Curtain ones, are becoming greener. Most former Soviet states, including pro-EU ones, such as Ukraine, are becoming redder. It’s a clash enforced from the top.

“Russia, in 2012, passed legislation saying NGOs that receive EU or US money, a category which includes most NGOs that promote gay rights, are ‘foreign agents’. In 2013, it forbid ‘propaganda’ of homosexual relationships. In May, it said ‘undesirable’ NGOs can be shut down.

“Kyrgyzstan is passing Russia-model ‘foreign agents’ and homosexual propaganda laws. In Armenia, which is already in the Eurasian Union, the Russian ambassador has recommended a ‘foreign agents’ law. A homosexual propaganda bill, tabled in 2013, is, activists say, ‘still on the agenda’…

“Conservative mores in Catholic and Orthodox societies aren’t new. But Russia’s project, to turn them into anti-Western feeling, is a recent development.

“Loparev, the film-maker, whose last work documents gay teenagers’ life in Russia… noted that state TV, fronted by celebrity homophobes such as Dmitry Kiselyev and Arkady Mamontov, began to depict gay people as a fifth column and to blame them for economic problems. Ivan Okhlobystin, another pro-Kremlin TV star, in December 2013 said gay people should be ‘burned in ovens’. He was fired from his PR post at a mobile phone firm. But a fashion company, Baon, snapped him up. It later said ‘he’s … consistent with our target audience, our brand values: attachment to family life; Orthodox Christianity’…

“The EU-Armenia association treaty called for hate crime legislation. That’s defunct. But EU conditions for Armenia visa-free travel also include hate crime laws… But off the record, some EU diplomats say it’s unwise to give gay rights a prominent place in EU communications in the eastern neighbourhood.”

Practicing homosexuality is wrong, and promoting it especially among children and teens is also wrong. But at the same time, committing violent acts against them is wrong, too, and a suggestion to burn them in ovens, which is reminiscent to Hitler’s atrocities, is outrageous and appalling.

Transgender Identity a Mental Disorder?

Breitbart wrote on June 3:

“On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal‘s online edition promoted a June 2014 op-ed by Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which argues that transgender identity is a mental illness akin to bulimia and should not be treated with surgery, which can cause more harm than good. Though the article did not appear in the paper’s print edition, its promotion on the website coincides with the debate over former Olympian Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner.

“At the time of the op-ed’s original publication, the left reacted in fury…

“Dr. McHugh’s arguments focus on treatments that are demanded for transgendered individuals as a matter of right, including surgery in adults and puberty-delaying drugs in children. He writes: ‘A 2011 study at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden produced the most illuminating results yet regarding the transgendered, evidence that should give advocates pause. The long-term study—up to 30 years—followed 324 people who had sex-reassignment surgery. The study revealed that beginning about 10 years after having the surgery, the transgendered began to experience increasing mental difficulties. Most shockingly, their suicide mortality rose almost 20-fold above the comparable nontransgender population. This disturbing result has as yet no explanation but probably reflects the growing sense of isolation reported by the aging transgendered after surgery. The high suicide rate certainly challenges the surgery prescription.’”

When Is a Man a Man and a Woman a Woman?

In an accompanying article, Breitbart wrote on June 3:

“On Monday, Bruce Jenner announced that he wanted to be called Caitlyn Jenner in a photo spread for Vanity Fair… The notion that gender is completely fluid – that a man can become a woman and a woman can become a man – rests on the redefinition of maleness and femaleness into nothingness. The media insist that everyone use female pronouns to describe Jenner…

“Furthermore, the media claim that womanhood is completely disconnected from biology… Gender, it turns out, is all in one’s head, and therefore can be shifted at will… Jenner has already said he doesn’t know whether he will choose to have sex with men or women or both or neither…

“A male cannot magically become a female simply by injecting estrogen, reshaping the jawline, or inserting silicon beneath the skin of the chest. All of the straight male politicians and media members currently babbling on about how Jenner is a ‘she’ ought to be asked whether they would now be capable of having sex with him. The answer, of course, is no…

“Being a female is more than injections and plastic surgery, and even those who purport to believe Jenner is now a female recognize that, or hold the utterly incoherent position that genders are completely subjective and impossible to objectively define, but that we can objectively recognize transitions between them – and that those who refuse to submit to the delusions of the mentally ill must be denounced as intolerant and unscientific.”

The Independent wrote on June 4:

“Jenner’s transition has been celebrated across the world, while the cover has been praised as ground-breaking and an important moment for transgender rights and visibility.”

In spite of the “values” and “standards” in our world which is ruled by Satan, the concept that a man could become a woman through surgery, or vice versa, is completely condemned in the Bible.

Clash of “Values” on Same-Sex Marriages

The Local wrote on June 3:

“Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) told the Saarbrücker Zeitung that she was worried about the consequences of changing the definition of marriage – currently narrowly defined as being between a man and a woman in the German Constitution. ‘If we open up this definition to become a long-term responsible partnership between two adults, then other demands can’t be ruled out, such as a marriage between close relatives or between more than two people,’ she opined.

“Social Democratic Party (SPD) politicians were quick to respond to Kramp-Karrenbauer, with secretary-general Yasmin Fahimi calling it ‘a new low for the debate on marriage for all… This is a blow in the face of hundreds of thousands of same-sex partnerships who stand up for one another and take on responsibilities,’ said Fahimi.

“The SPD were joined by Free Democratic Party (FDP) secretary-general Nicola Beer, who called Kramp-Karrenbauer’s words ‘shameless… She is deeply insulting homosexuals. I call on her to apologize for going off the rails’…

“A mother and a father pairing was the best way of raising a child, [Kramp-Karrenbauer] said…

“Politicians from the SPD, Greens and Linke (Left Party) are trying to put together a majority in the Bundesrat (upper house of parliament, representing the federal states) in favour of equalizing gay partnerships with heterosexual marriage. They hope to put Chancellor Merkel under pressure to overcome naysayers like Kramp-Karrenbauer in her own party.”

This is another example as to how liberal politicians are willing to aggressively silence those who do not agree with their unbiblical agenda through intimidation and defamation.

God a “She” in the Church of England

The Telegraph wrote on May 31:

“Support is growing within the Church of England to rewrite its official liturgy to refer to God as female following the selection of the first women bishops. Growing numbers of priests already insert words such as ‘she” and ‘mother’ informally into traditional service texts as part of a move to make the language of worship more inclusive, it has been claimed.

“But calls for a full overhaul of liturgy to recognise the equal status of women have already been discussed informally at a senior level… The Church of England’s worship already includes some references to God as female, many of them centuries old. Canticle 82, the song of Anselm, the 11th and 12th Century Archbishop of Canterbury, likens Jesus to a mother, while number 86, attributed to Julian of Norwich, speaks of God as ‘our mother in all things’…

“A spokesman for Lambeth Palace emphasised that the steering group is independent of the Archbishop of Canterbury and that any change in liturgy would have to be approved by the General Synod.”

To have women ministers and bishops in a Christian church is totally prohibited by the Bible, and to heap insult on injury, to refer to God as a woman is another abomination.

Being Christian Unimportant in Britain

The Independent wrote on June 1:

“The Church of England has lost nearly two million followers in the last two years and is on the brink of ‘extinction’, it has been warned.

“The number of people in the UK who describe their beliefs as being Church of England or Anglican dropped from 21 per cent to 17 per cent between 2012 and 2014- a loss of around 1.7 million followers. The number of Anglicans in Britain is now thought to stand at around 8.6 million…

“Over the same period, the poll found that the number of Muslims in Britain grew by close to a million making it the fastest growing religion in the UK. 4.7 per cent of Britons now describe themselves as Muslim, amounting to 2.4 million. When asked about their religious belief, the survey found that the most common response was having no religion. 49 per cent of people do not describe themselves has having any belief…

“Naomi Jones, Head of Social Attitudes at NatCen, said of the figures: ‘The proportion of people saying that they are Anglican has fallen quite dramatically in the last ten years, coinciding with a rise in people saying they are not religious… Another explanation could be that in the past religion played a more prominent role in people’s identity. We know… that people are less likely than in previous years to see being Christian as an important component of being British. Therefore, fewer British people may feel that the Church of England is an important part of their identity nowadays.”

With the Church of England having lost fundamental biblical standards, why should we be surprised?

Catholic Ireland Leads the Way

Deutsche Welle reported on May 24:

“After Ireland’s citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality in a historic referendum, members of Germany’s Green party have called for the recognition of same-sex marriage in Germany as well… Ireland voted by a landslide in favor of changing the constitution to recognize marriage between same-sex couples. It marks a significant step in a predominantly Catholic country where homosexuality was a criminal offense until 1993.

“Same-sex civil partnerships have been legal in Ireland since 2010. Similar recognition was introduced almost a decade earlier in Germany with the Civil Partnership Act in 2001… German partnerships, however, do not provide couples with exactly the same tax and adoption rights as marriage…

“Ireland is set to become the 19th country in the world to allow gay marriage, as well as the first to do so by referendum. More than 62 percent of the 3.2 million votes backed the change, while 37.9 percent opposed it…”

The Local added on May 26:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is feeling the pressure from opposition MPs, its own gay supporters and its Social Democratic Party (SPD) allies to look again at allowing gay marriage after Ireland’s popular ‘yes’ vote on Friday. Linke (Left) party leader Gregor Gysi told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the Irish decision came at a time of  ‘cultural revolution’ that would have been ‘unimaginable’ just a short time ago…

“The CDU is already facing pressure from within its own ranks to change, with the Federation of Gays and Lesbians in the CDU calling for the party to change its tune. ‘The clear “yes” in Ireland is a signal. In Germany, something has to change in our party, too,’ federation leader Alexander Vogt told Spiegel Online. ‘Frau Merkel doesn’t need to dash forward any more. She just needs to jump aboard the train.’”

The Local added on May 28:

“Three days after Ireland voted ‘Yes’ to gay marriage in a referendum, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert defended the moves that aim to ensure equal treatment for gay couples without granting them the right to legally wed. ‘We will, in Germany, have to find our way,’ he told reporters… ‘It isn’t an equalization with marriage … Putting it on the same footing as marriage is not a goal of this government.’”

“Germany has since 2001 allowed civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, granting many but not all the rights extended to heterosexual spouses. Critics in particular point to gay couples still being forbidden from adopting children together in Germany.”

The EUObserver wrote on May 23:

“Following the referendum, parliament will introduce a bill to amend the Irish constitution. The Irish Times says the law will pass before the summer break. The new wording in the Irish charter is to say: ‘Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex’.

“The vote means Ireland joins several other EU member states allowing same-sex marriage including Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, and the Netherlands – the first in the world in 2001.”

Many commentators consider the referendum by overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland as a protest vote against the Catholic Church itself, as trust and confidence in the church has strongly diminished, which is largely due to the pedophile scandals, involving Catholic priests and the perceived attempts by the church to cover them up. Please also see the next article.

 “Defeat for Humanity”

 The LAT reported on May 26:

 “A close aide to Pope Francis on Tuesday denounced Ireland’s vote last week to legalize same-sex marriage, calling it a ‘defeat for humanity.’ Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the outcome of the Friday referendum in Ireland, in which many voters defied the Roman Catholic Church by favoring marriage for same-sex couples…

“Although Francis made headlines in 2013 by saying ‘Who am I to judge,’ when asked for his views on homosexuality, he has fiercely defended heterosexual marriage and traditional family values. During his trip to the Philippines in January, Francis said the family was ‘threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage.’… The Vatican views homosexual acts as unnatural. In November, Francis said at an inter-religious conference that ‘children have the right to grow up in a family with a father and mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity.’

“On Monday, the Vatican’s daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, called the Irish vote ‘a defeat’ and ‘a challenge for the whole church.’ The newspaper quoted Swiss Cardinal Georges Cottier as saying the result of the referendum was linked to ‘the pedophilia scandal that has rocked the Irish Church.’ Thanks in part to the Vatican’s influence on Italian politics, Italy has long resisted rulings on gay unions. But the Irish vote has galvanized the Italian government, led by prime minister Matteo Renzi, to push ahead with its own planned legislation on civil unions, which would allow couples of the same sex to be recognized by law.”

On this issue, the teaching of the Catholic Church and the Vatican is biblically correct. On the issue of Evolution (see article below), their teaching is wrong.

How the “Yes” Vote Came About

On May 27, Breitbart published the following article:

“The world has now seen that last Friday Ireland voted 62 percent to 38 percent in favor of same-sex marriage. The symbolic significance of the vote can hardly be missed. Once-Catholic Ireland is now a ‘modern, tolerant, secular and inclusive’ society in the eyes of our peers in the Western world…

“I was one of the leaders of the No campaign. I am a national newspaper columnist and have been for 21 years. In January 2007, I founded something called The Iona Institute. We are a small think tank dedicated to arguing for the rightful place of religion in public life and for the importance of traditional marriage.

“In almost all that time, same-sex marriage (preceded by civil partnerships) has been on the political agenda. Until recently, we were the only organization in the country arguing against same-sex marriage on a consistent basis. More recently, we were joined by Mothers and Fathers Matter (to which I am an adviser).

“Arrayed against us was every major political party, all of the mainstream media, every relevant NGO, an army of celebrities, and enormous financial resources. On our side was a very badly weakened Catholic Church, discredited by the child sex abuse scandals and its own authoritarian part.

“The Catholic Church did not play a front-of-house role in the campaign because it knew if it did, it would have been counter-productive. Instead, the Catholic bishops limited themselves to issuing pastoral letters on the subject, which some priests read out at masses and some did not.

“The Yes side in the campaign has also benefitted hugely from millions upon millions of American dollars… The money came from an American foundation called Atlantic Philanthropies, and it was used to turn the LGBT lobby into one of the most formidable lobbies the country has ever seen… The money from America is almost all one way, from the pockets of American liberals into the pockets of Irish liberals.

“But the Irish media cared not a whit about the fact that the LGBT lobby here is so lavishly funded with American dollars…

“By changing the Constitution as we have done, the Irish people, whether they know it or not, have now declared that the marriage of two men or two women is as ‘natural, primary and fundamental’ to society as the sexual unions of men and women. In addition, for the first time in any country ever, two married men or women can go into a court of law and say they have a constitutional right to have children…

“Roughly 30 percent of posters put up by the No side during the campaign were illegally torn down by Yes side activists who often boasted about it on social media. Torrents of abuse was directed at No side speakers on social media on a daily basis. The result was that many ordinary No voters were scared to speak to journalists because of what would then be directed at them as a result.

“Members of our police force, in full uniform, helped out at voter registration drives on behalf of the Yes side. The head of Twitter in Ireland called for a Yes vote. Former Irish President Mary McAleese broke with all previous practice by other past presidents by calling for a Yes vote. (Our presidency is largely a ceremonial role.)

“In this atmosphere, it was a minor miracle that the No side managed to garner 38 percent of votes cast, amounting to almost 750,000 voters. If we had any major media on our side or any major political party, the whole business would have been a much closer-run operation.

“In any event, it is done. An 87-year-old priest wrote to me Wednesday and expressed very well what happened here in Ireland: ‘Compassionate care of homosexual people was confused with the nature of marriage.’ I cannot sum it up any better than that.”

One-Third of Germans Feel Betrayed by Merkel

Deutsche Welle reported on May 24:

“Tension in ties between the United States and Germany heightened yet again Saturday when the mass-market ‘Bild’ newspaper reported that US intelligence agencies had started reviewing their cooperation with Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, as reports emerged that confidential information was leaked to the media by a German parliamentary committee.

“Allegations that the BND helped the NSA spy on European companies and officials has also strained Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition and damaged her popularity…  A US official said the leaks were worse than those attributed to Snowden, according to ‘Bild.’…

“Pressure is increasing on Merkel as critics accuse her staff of allowing the BND to help the NSA… A poll conducted last week found that one in three Germans feels deceived by Merkel… The Social Democratic Party, the junior member in Merkel’s so-called grand coalition government, has seen support increase as the surveillance scandal goes on…”

The German press reported on May 26 that according to new revelations, Angela Merkel had prior knowledge of the fact that there would be no “no-spy” agreement between the USA and Germany, long before this fact was officially admitted, suggesting that Merkel and her friends intentionally lied to the German people.

Putin’s Ongoing Persecution of Dissenters

The Associated Press reported on May 24:

“President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law Saturday giving prosecutors the power to declare foreign and international organizations ‘undesirable’ in Russia and shut them down. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the measure as part of an ‘ongoing draconian crackdown which is squeezing the life out of civil society.’

“The law is part of a Kremlin campaign to stifle dissent that intensified after Putin began his third term in 2012. His return to the presidency had been accompanied by mass street protests that Putin accused the United States of fomenting. Russian suspicions of Western intentions have been further heightened because of tensions over Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine…

“U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said the United States is ‘deeply troubled’ by the new law, calling it ‘a further example of the Russian government’s growing crackdown on independent voices and intentional steps to isolate the Russian people from the world.’”

Sadly, this is very true, but most Russians don’t care; rather, they admire and support Putin’s conduct.

 Russia Goes on the Attack against Germany

 Deutsche Welle reported on May 25:

“Foreign affairs politician Karl-Georg Wellmann has been stopped from entering Russia, where he was to take part in talks on ‘the future of Ukraine’… Wellmann is the head of the German-Ukrainian group in the German Bundestag, and a known critic of [the] Kremlin.

“Russian authorities banned Wellmann from entering Russia until November 2019… officials only informed of the move after he landed in Moscow Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday night. He was then asked to take the next flight to Berlin… Wellmann returned to Germany on Monday morning, after spending the night in the transit area at Moscow’s airport…

“Wellmann, who is a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat party (CDU), has been sharply critical of Russia’s actions in east Ukraine. He has urged tougher sanctions on the Kremlin and called Russia a ‘warmonger’ for allegedly supporting the rebels… While in Moscow, Wellmann had intended to meet Konstantin Kosachev, the international affairs committee chairman in Russia’s upper house of parliament, as well as Sergei Glazyev who is economic adviser to President Vladimir Putin, the German politician told Focus Online.

“Wellman also said that he suspected Russian authorities of having created a whole list of Western officials that they intend to keep out of Russia… ‘Because the list is not public, you only know that you are on it only when you are in the entry hall,’ Wellmann said.”

… and the USA

Reuters reported on May 28:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s right to host the 2018 soccer World Cup on Thursday and accused the United States of meddling outside its jurisdiction in the arrest of top officials from world governing body FIFA.

“Putin said the arrests in Switzerland on Wednesday were an ‘obvious attempt’ to prevent FIFA head Sepp Blatter’s re-election this week [Deutsche Welle said that Blatter is expected to win Friday’s polls against Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, even though Europe and the USA have pledged to support Prince Ali, according to the New York Times] but that the 79-year-old had Russia’s backing. ‘If anything happened, it did not happen on U.S. territory and the United States has nothing to do with it,’ he said. ‘This is yet another blatant attempt (by the United States) to extend its jurisdiction to other states.’

“The world’s most popular sport was plunged into turmoil this week when seven senior soccer officials were arrested on U.S. corruption charges to face extradition from Switzerland. Swiss authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups, including the 2018 tournament which was granted to Russia in 2010 by a committee containing two of the indicted FIFA officials…

“‘Unfortunately, our American partners use such methods to achieve their selfish aims and illegally persecute people,’ [Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko] said, citing former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, both of whom have evaded prosecution in the United States for divulging secret information by hiding abroad. ‘I do not rule out that in the case of FIFA, it’s exactly the same,’ Putin said.”

Tanks Don’t Need Visas

 Newsmax wrote on May 26:

“‘Tanks don’t need visas,’ Russia’s deputy prime minister reminded western nations in an assertive weekend interview timed with the start of a massive military exercise. Dmitry Rogozin was reacting to a question about visa bans by the U.S. and European countries being imposed on him and other Russia politicians and business leaders connected with the Ukraine dilemma, when he quipped ‘tanks don’t need visas’…

“Reuters and AFP reported that Russia’s Defense Ministry kicked off air force exercises in the Ural mountains and western Siberia involving 12,000 soldiers and 250 aircraft. The maneuvers are meant to prepare for a larger drill in September, called Tsentr-2015. NATO began a dueling military exercise with Germany, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the U.S. gathering in the Artic for two weeks of maneuvers…

“On Sunday, Rogozin posted a message on Twitter that Russia is not a threat to the West, which is facing ‘collapse under the onslaught of ISIS and gays.’… Tensions between the West and Russia seemed to increase Monday when Germany complained about Moscow denying a German lawmaker [Karl-Georg Wellmann] into Russia because of the Ukrainian crisis…”

EU Plans for Military Involvement

BBC News reported on May 18:

“EU ministers have approved plans to establish a naval force to combat people-smugglers operating from Libya. The aim is to launch the operation next month, with a headquarters in Rome under an Italian admiral, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. The EU is struggling to cope with a surge in illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe…

“The UK is playing the lead role at the UN Security Council in drafting a resolution that would give the EU a legal basis for using military force against people traffickers… It is not clear how destroying boats at sea would stem the flow of migrants. If there are plans to destroy boats on standby before they leave Libyan shores then that would require a significant amount of intelligence on the ground. EU member states have no official presence in Libya…

“The mission could mean operating in areas controlled by a potentially hostile Islamist militia, and EU forces taking considerable risks to destroy boats and infrastructure used by smugglers…

“EU officials have said repeatedly that there will be “no boots on the ground”. But there will need to be an effort to disrupt the onshore operations of the smuggling gangs if the mission is to achieve its objectives. That could well involve the use of special forces, something that will not be advertised in advance. And there will be huge risks involved for the EU – political and military. It’s just that doing nothing is an even less attractive option.”

The EUObserver wrote on May 26:

“Another leaked EU paper on the Libya boat-sinking operation says it could harm Europe’s image and create false hope the warships are there to rescue people. The paper, drafted by the EU’s military committee, a branch of the foreign service, on 12 May was published on Monday (25 May) by whistleblower site Wikileaks… It says there’s ‘a risk to EU reputation’ if ‘loss of life be attributed, correctly or incorrectly, to action or inaction by the EU force’.

“It also says military activity in Libya risks ‘destabilising the political process by causing collateral damage, disrupting legitimate economic activity, or creating a perception of [the EU] having chosen sides’ between Libya’s rival authorities. It adds: ‘the information strategy should avoid suggesting that the focus is to rescue migrants at sea but emphasise that the aim of the operation is to disrupt the migrant-smuggling business model’…

“The military paper notes the warships, despite their mandate, will be in a tricky position if they encounter migrants whose safety is at risk, because ‘preservation of human life at sea is a legal obligation’ under international law… It also contradicts EU foreign service press statements there won’t be military activity on land… it says smugglers’ land-based ‘enabling assets (logistical facilities, fuel, communication equipment)’ are also targets.”

The UK might not be part of this planned EU endeavor. See the next articles.

Cameron Soon All Alone?

 The Telegraph wrote on May 26:

“Germany and France have agreed a pact to bring the Eurozone closer together without the need for treaty change in a potential blow to Britain’s plans for EU reform… The Prime Minister told Mr Juncker that the British people are ‘not happy with the status quo’ and believe that the EU needs to change ahead of a referendum on Britain’s membership by the end of 2017…

“After the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday, Mr Cameron will embark on a two-day diplomatic offensive to make his case with visits to Denmark, Holland, France, Poland and Germany…

“Earlier Mr Cameron spoke to Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, and the two men agreed to re-open talks over how to end the civil war in Syria and stop the rise of Isil.”

The Guardian added on May 26:

“Germany and France have forged a pact to integrate the eurozone without reopening the EU’s treaties, in a blow to David Cameron’s referendum campaign. Sidestepping Britain’s demands to renegotiate the Lisbon treaty and Britain’s place in the EU, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, François Hollande, have sealed an agreement aimed at fashioning a tighter political union among the single-currency countries while operating within the confines of the existing treaty…

“The Franco-German initiative, likely to be endorsed by the 25 June summit, would definitively close the door on treaty renegotiation… The Franco-German policy proposal, said Le Monde, ‘shows that French and German leaders do not have much in common with David Cameron’.”

The Local wrote on May 23:

“Germany and France have agreed to forge closer Eurozone ties without reopening the bloc’s treaties… The move is seemingly designed to undermine UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s attempts to renegotiate his country’s ties to the EU… Die Welt newspaper said the agreement represented ‘Berlin and Paris showing Cameron the red card’…

“Cameron wants EU heads of state to agree to reopen treaties so he can renegotiate Britain’s ties to the EU and win back some powers from Brussels, while at the same time allowing for closer cooperation among eurozone nations. The PM’s chief requirement is a change to laws surrounding access to benefits by EU migrants. Cameron wants restrictions on benefits unless migrants have lived in the country for four years. He is also expected to demand an opt-out from one the EU’s core principles of forging an ‘ever-closer union’ between member states.

“But it seems Hollande and Merkel have an entirely different agenda on the table… ‘Given that Cameron is about to go on tour around Europe and meet several heads of state, this move by Merkel and Hollande can’t be just coincidence,’ Philippe Marliere, professor in French and European politics at the University College London told The Local. ‘It’s clearly a signal of intent to show Cameron that “whatever he wants to get from us, we aren’t budging when it comes to treaties and the monetary union.”’”

Express added on May 26:

“Cameron’s attempts to renegotiate Britain’s role in the European Union will fail, Ukip’s deputy chairwoman [Suzanne Evans] has warned… The Prime Minister hopes to win ‘major concessions’ from Brussels – but Suzanne Evans claimed that he ‘won’t even get close’ to securing Britain’s independence… Evans also urged Britain to further its relations with the old Commonwealth and Anglosphere after leaving the EU, She said: ‘It’s the non-EU countries that mostly do the best trade with the EU.’”

Mr. Cameron’s desperate attempts to find allies and supporters for his cause, wherever he may be able to find them—inside and outside the EU—will not prevent the occurrence of the prophesied truth that the UK will find itself isolated and not helped by its allies in the very near future.

Austria to Repatriate Much of Its Gold Reserves from Britain

The Local wrote on May 28:

“Austria’s central bank announced on Thursday it would repatriate a large part of its gold reserves currently stored in Britain, after auditors warned of the risk of bulk storing in a foreign country. Until now the Austrian National Bank has kept 80 percent of its 280 tonnes of gold, worth around €8.6 million ($9.3 million), in London.

“But by 2020, the Bank of England’s stock of the precious metal will be reduced to 30 percent, while Austria will hold 50 percent and Switzerland 20 percent…

“Vienna confirmed it would begin to gradually repatriate 92.4 tonnes this summer. A further 47.6 tonnes will be transferred from Britain to Switzerland. Austria’s move echoes an announcement by Germany in 2013, which said it would repatriate all of its gold stocked in France as well as some of the reserves held in the United States, to ensure at least 50 percent was kept on German soil by 2020.”

 What’s Going on in Poland?

 Times of Israel wrote on May 26:

“Leaders of Poland’s Jewish community said Polish Jews are ready to cooperate with the country’s new right-wing president, who has criticized his predecessor’s apologies to Jews over the Holocaust.

“Andrzej Duda won Sunday’s presidential elections in Poland. Duda, whose father-in-law Julian Kornhauser is a well-known Polish-Jewish poet, garnered 52 percent of the vote, according to official results certified on Sunday night. His opponent, former president Bronislaw Komorowski, received 48 percent of the vote. Duda, a conservative politician, criticized the president’s apologies in recent years for the massacre that Polish farmers perpetrated against their Jewish neighbors in Jedwabne. The 1941 Jedwabne pogrom, in which dozens of Jews were burned alive by villagers who trapped them inside a barn, was exposed in the early 2000s by the historian Jan Gross. The discovery triggered furious reactions by Polish nationalists who claimed there was too little evidence to support the allegations, which they said falsely depicted Poland as a perpetrator nation instead of a victim of Nazi occupation.

“Komorwski said of Jedwabne during campaign debate that ‘the nation of victims was also the nation of perpetrators.’ Duda called Komorowski’s apologies an ‘attempt to destroy Poland’s good name.’… Duda is a member of the conservative right-wing Law and Justice Party. On Monday he announced that he would resign from membership in the party in order to serve as an independent president…

“Duda, a 43-year-old lawyer, will be taking office in August for a five-year term. Duda, a Roman Catholic, traveled on Monday to the Jasna Gora shrine in Czestochowa, and prayed there…

“Duda’s win is a serious warning for the ruling pro-EU government, in power since 2007, before fall parliamentary elections. It could herald a major political shift in the European Union’s sixth-largest economy, a country that has been able to punch above its weight in Europe without belonging to the 19-nation eurozone. Poland’s influence is underlined by the fact that one of its own, Donald Tusk, now heads the European Council in Brussels…

“Poland’s president has limited powers, but is the head of the armed forces, and can propose and veto legislation…

“In Moscow, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin congratulated Duda and ‘expressed confidence that building constructive relations between Russia and Poland, based on the principles of good neighborly relations and the mutual respect of interests, would strengthen security and stability in Europe.’”

The EUObserver added on May 25:

“Duda’s presidency will also influence Poland’s stance on the European scene, especially if Law and Justice wins parliamentary elections in October which past experience shows is likely… If it happens it is going to be a conservative and nationalistic shift in one of the most pro-European countries in EU… Duda is considered to be moderately eurosceptic. He thinks that Poland should not follow European mainstream politics which he sees as driven by Germany, but he supports Poland’s EU membership.”

IRS Hacked and Under Attack

 The Associated Press reported on May 26:

“Sophisticated criminals used an online service run by the IRS to access personal tax information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, part [of] an elaborate scheme to steal identities and claim fraudulent tax refunds, the IRS said Tuesday. The thieves accessed a system called ‘Get Transcript,’ where taxpayers can get tax returns and other filings from previous years. In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address, the IRS said…

“Identity thieves, both foreign and domestic, have stepped up their efforts in recent years to claim fraudulent tax refunds. The agency estimates it paid out $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds to identity thieves in 2013… ‘That the IRS — home to highly sensitive information on every single American and every single company doing business here at home — was vulnerable to this attack is simply unacceptable,’ said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. ‘What’s more, this agency has been repeatedly warned by top government watchdogs that its data security systems are inadequate against the growing threat of international hackers and data thieves.’’

 Republicans and Conservatives Clash with the Pope

Newsmax wrote on May 25:

“As Pope Francis makes pronouncements that are increasingly more progressive, this poses a problem for Catholic Republicans, Politico argues. The Vatican recognized Palestine as a state earlier this month, Pope Francis is expected to release an encyclical, which is a teaching document, addressing climate change by the end of June, and climate change will also be a topic he is expected to highlight when he addresses Congress in September. This is in addition to statements the pontiff has made previously about softening the church’s views on gay marriage, divorce and birth control.

“Catholic and conservative political activist and Iowa state treasure candidate Sam Clovis told Politico that ‘in northwest Iowa, we are discussing this a great deal, and sometimes it’s hard for us to reconcile the pronouncements we read from the Holy Father with our conservative principles.’ Politico contends that this may also present a problem for potential Catholic candidates for president such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Clovis, who also ran for Senate, told Politico that Bush’s Catholicism is ‘going to cause a lot of problems’ for him in Iowa ‘because Republicans are simply not going to take him seriously.’ …”

Our Awesome Universe

The Website of engadget.com reported on May 24:

“… imagine looking at something with the brightness of 300 trillion suns. That’s how intense ‘the most luminous galaxy found to date’ is, so much so that NASA has created a new classification for it and the 19 other similar galaxies it has discovered: extremely luminous infrared galaxies, or ELIRGs… This particular one is located 12.5 billion light years away, which means it started forming soon after the universe was born 13.8 billion years ago…”

Let’s put it in another way. GOD created it about 13.8 billion years ago (assuming these figures are remotely accurate).

 Flashback–The Erroneous Viewpoint of Pope Francis

The Independent wrote on October 28, 2014:

“The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not ‘a magician with a magic wand’, Pope Francis has declared… Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator – arguing instead that they ‘require it’. ‘When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,’ Francis said.

“He added: ‘He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment… The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it…’

“Giovanni Bignami, a professor and president of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos: ‘The pope’s statement is significant. We are the direct descendents from the Big Bang that created the universe. Evolution came from creation.’”

The pope’s comments are not only in total opposition to and rejected by the Bible, but they also make no sense. If he truly believes in the Evolution concept, then God did not create any human beings—rather, a cell developed in an original soup of gases. The comment by Bignsami about the big bang “creating” the universe is even more fanciful.

Teaching of Creationism (to Be) Prohibited … but Evolution Must Be Taught in Schools

On May 24, the website of heraldscotland.com stated the following:

“Campaigners who called for an official ban on teaching creationism in schools have welcomed a ‘clear statement’ from a Scottish Government minister it should not be taught in science classes…

“In England and Wales, the teaching of creationism as scientific theories is prohibited in schools.

“A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘Education Scotland does not identify creationism as a scientific principle, and it does not form part of the learning and teaching of science in our schools.’”

“Charlie Charlie” No Harmless Game!

CNA Daily News reported on May 27:

“A game that purports to invoke a Mexican demon – known as ‘Charlie, Charlie’ and considered to be a simplified version of the Ouija board – has gone viral on social media among young people…

“Scores of short video clips, mostly by teens, show players shrieking and running out of view when the pencil apparently moves on its own and points to a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ after they say a phrase inviting the demon.”

Parents beware—and know what your children and teens are doing… including in school.