Who Are Israel’s Friends?

The Times of Israel wrote on May 15:

“Forget the United States of America. Move over, Canada, Australia and Germany. The days when those countries were considered Israel’s closest friends are over. The Jewish state’s new best buddies are Egypt and Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. At least that’s the impression one could get if one listened carefully to… Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“… he has repeated this idea perhaps a dozen times — perhaps because he believes statements about peace can soften the expected pressure from the US and the European Union to advance the peace process with the Palestinians…

“Netanyahu officially agrees, in principle, to the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people. But he believes that in the current circumstances, with radical Islamists spreading havoc in Israel’s immediate vicinity, a two-state solution as imagined by the international community is unfeasible if not impossible.

“Both the US administration and the EU have explicitly called on Israel’s new government to commit to the goal of Palestinian statehood and take actual steps toward a renewal of the peace process…

“So what of Netanyahu’s dream of an Arab-Israel détente?… experts doubt that an alliance with the Gulf states is in the cards… In the absence of significant progress on the peace process, Netanyahu’s new ‘best allies’ in the Arab world will continue to show Israel the cold shoulder. Jerusalem’s friends in the US and Europe will not be so kind either…”

Israel will find itself isolated and alone in the near future. The notion that Germany might intervene in the Middle East on Israel’s behalf, as propagated by some religious groups, is naïve and unrealistic. In fact, the Bible prophesies something altogether different.

Violence on Jerusalem Day

Times of Israel wrote on May 17:

“Tens of thousands of revelers danced at Jerusalem’s Western Wall Sunday evening amid celebrations throughout the capital, marking Israel’s conquest of the city in the 1967 Six Day War. The celebrants marched to the Western Wall plaza, adjacent to Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount, through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, where Jewish marchers and Arab protesters clashed violently throughout the afternoon and evening.

“While some 2,000 police were deployed in an effort to preserve the peace and separate Israelis and Palestinians along the route of the march, Jewish teens chanted nationalistic slogans and threw cardboard boxes at the Palestinians, while Arab teens threw stones at marchers and police. Altercations broke out between the groups at the Old City’s Damascus Gate Sunday evening. It was the latest of multiple rounds of clashes…

“Israelis marked the 48th anniversary of the IDF’s capture of East Jerusalem Sunday, a military victory that opened the holy city’s ancient center — and with it the holiest place in Judaism, the Temple Mount and its Western Wall — to Jewish worshipers for the first time since Israel’s founding in 1948. The day is celebrated with official ceremonies, special tours and events, and a march which for years has raised tensions over its route through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

“The march concluded in the evening with tens of thousands of celebrants dancing at the Western Wall in the company of prominent politicians and rabbinic leaders. Events were taking place throughout the city Sunday, including concerts, museums opening to the public for free and parades to mark Israel’s larger victory in the 1967 Six Day War and the unification of the capital under Israeli rule. Official events included memorials for soldiers killed during the 1967 war and a ceremony featuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and other prominent officials…

“A number of other ceremonies were also scheduled at the Mount Herzl military cemetery, at the Rockefeller Museum, the American consulate in Jerusalem, and a special event for Ethiopian Jews who died on their journey to Israel. Settlements throughout the West Bank also celebrate Jerusalem Day as the beginning of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank.”

Abbas an Angel of Peace?

The Associated Press wrote on May 16:

“Pope Francis praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an ‘angel of peace’ during a meeting Saturday at the Vatican that underscored the Holy See’s warm relations with the Palestinians.

“Francis made the compliment during the traditional exchange of gifts at the end of an official audience in the Apostolic Palace. He presented Abbas with a medallion and explained that it represented the ‘angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war.’ Francis said he thought the gift was appropriate since ‘you are an angel of peace.’ During his 2014 visit to Israel and the West Bank, Francis called both Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres men of peace.

“Abbas is in Rome for the canonization Sunday of two 19th-century nuns from what was then Ottoman-ruled Palestine. The new saints, Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, are the first from the region to be canonized since the early days of Christianity. Abbas on Saturday offered Francis relics of the two new saints… Abbas’ visit also comes days after the Vatican finalized a bilateral treaty with the ‘state of Palestine’ that made explicit its recognition of Palestinian statehood…”

Pope Francis’ Diplomatic Leadership

Reuter’s reported on May 17:

“Pope Francis’ hard-hitting criticisms of globalization and inequality long ago set him out as a leader unafraid of mixing theology and politics. He is now flexing the Vatican’s diplomatic muscles as well.

“Last year, he helped to broker an historic accord between Cuba and the United States after half a century of hostility.

“This past week, his office announced the first formal accord between the Vatican and the State of Palestine — a treaty that gives legal weight to the Holy See’s longstanding recognition of de-facto Palestinian statehood despite clear Israeli annoyance.

“The pope ruffled even more feathers in Turkey last month by referring to the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th century as a “genocide”, something Ankara denies.

“After the inward-looking pontificate of his scholarly predecessor, Pope Benedict, Francis has in some ways returned to the active Vatican diplomacy practiced by the globetrotting Pope John Paul II, widely credited for helping to end the Cold War.

“Much of his effort has concentrated on improving relations between different faiths and protecting the embattled Middle East Christians, a clear priority for the Catholic Church…

“‘He’s someone who’s capable of praying in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and then talking about the Armenian genocide. He’s not someone who’s bound by political correctness,’ said former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

“‘It’s the diplomacy of a real leader.’”

Iran’s True Colors

Breitbart wrote on May 15:

“Iran will never allow Western powers or the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Tehran’s military sites as part of a final agreement with the P5+1 world powers, Iran’s Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani said Friday in an address to Tehran University students. Kermani has enormous influence in the country as Tehran’s Friday Prayers imam, and is appointed directly by the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“He said that the West, and particularly the United States, ‘are hallucinating’ if they think that Iran would allow inspection of its military apparatus, according to Iran’s state-controlled Fars News agency. Those who wish for Iran to recognize the State of Israel as part of a final agreement should ‘bury their dreams,’ the Ayatollah added…

“In addition to his role as Friday prayers leader, Kermani serves as the leader of the Combatant Clergy Association, an Iranian political party that helped overthrow the Shah in 1979 and install the radical Islamic Republic into power.”

As Iran is very clear in its ambitions and goals, why is the West so set on striking a deal with Iran?

Egypt’s New Phase of Terrorism

AFP wrote on May 16:

“An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced deposed Islamist [first democratically elected] president Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 other people to death for their role in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising. [The verdict included Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badei, already sentenced to death in another trial, and his deputy Khairat al-Shater.]

“Hours after the ruling, gunmen shot dead two judges, a prosecutor and their driver in the strife-torn Sinai Peninsula, in the first such attack on the judiciary in the region…

“Morsi, elected president in 2012 as the Brotherhood’s compromise candidate after Shater was disqualified, ruled for only a year before mass protests spurred the military to overthrow him in July 2013. He was among dozens of Islamist leaders detained during a crackdown that left hundreds of Morsi supporters dead. Many of those sentenced on Saturday were tried in absentia, including prominent Qatar-based Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

“The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2, since under Egyptian law, death sentences are referred to the mufti, the government’s interpreter of Islamic law, who plays an advisory role. Defendants can still appeal even after the mufti’s recommendation…

“Amnesty International lashed out at Saturday’s verdict, saying it reflected ‘the deplorable state of the country’s criminal justice system’. ‘The death penalty has become the favourite tool for the Egyptian authorities to purge the political opposition,’ the London-based rights watchdog said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the death sentence, saying the country was ‘turning back into ancient Egypt’, referring to Pharaonic rule that ended more than two millennia ago… [He also accused the West of turning “a blind eye” to the 2013 coup.]

“Many of the defendants are Palestinians alleged to have worked with Hamas in neighbouring Gaza. They were tried in absentia, as was a Lebanese Hezbollah commander. They were alleged to have colluded with Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood to carry out attacks in Egypt in what prosecutors allege was a vast conspiracy…

“Condemning the verdict, Hamas said that some of its members mentioned in the proceedings were already dead before the 2011 uprising, while some are in Israeli prisons…

“Morsi and other former opposition members have now been condemned for violence during the anti-Mubarak uprising, while Mubarak himself has been cleared of charges over the deaths of protesters during the 18-day revolt that toppled him. Morsi was in prison when the anti-Mubarak uprising erupted on January 25 2011, having been rounded up with other Brotherhood leaders a few days earlier.

“On January 28, protesters fuelled by police abuses torched police stations across Egypt, allowing thousands of prisoners to escape when the force all but collapsed. Since Morsi’s overthrow, the police [have] largely been rehabilitated in public eyes, with officials and loyal media blaming the Brotherhood and foreigners for the violence of the anti-Mubarak uprising.

“The army chief who overthrew Morsi, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, was himself elected president last year. He has pledged to eradicate the Brotherhood, once Egypt’s largest political movement.”

This does not sound like Egypt will become a modern “king of the South,” as some erroneously claim, leading the Arab world, including Iran, the Palestinians and other Islamic countries, and “pushing”  against Europe. Welt Online commented that these verdicts show how much Egypt has departed from being a “constitutional state.”

US Forces Kill One of IS Leaders in Syria

Deutsche Welle reported on May 16:

“US troops flew into eastern Syria and killed IS militant leader Abu Sayyaf in what Washington has called a ‘major blow’ to the terrorist group. Sayyaf is believed to have handled the IS’ oil and financial operations.

“Sayyaf was killed ‘during the course of the operation when he engaged US forces,’ White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said. The operation was carried out with the ‘full consent of Iraqi authorities’ and was ‘consistent with domestic and international law,’ she added.

“US authorities, however, did not coordinate with Syrian authorities, Meehan said, adding that Washington had ‘warned the Assad regime not to interfere with our ongoing efforts against ISIL [The Islamic State in Syria and the Levant] inside of Syria.’

“US Special Operations Forces had been ordered to conduct an operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria to capture Sayyaf and his wife, Umm Sayyaf, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said late Friday.”

Bild Online reported that the US forces had attempted to capture Sayyaf alive, but when he resisted, he “had to be” killed. However, Welt Online reported that according to the White House, the order to kill Sayyaf was given directly by President Obama at Camp David. The paper also claimed that Syria had NOT been informed ahead of time of the action.

To contribute to the confusion, The Associated Press added on May 16:

“Syrian state TV earlier reported that Syrian government forces killed at least 40 ISIS fighters, including a senior commander in charge of oil fields, in an attack Saturday on the country’s largest oil field — held by ISIS… It was not immediately clear why both Syria and the U.S. would claim a similar operation in the Omar oil field. The U.S. has said it is not cooperating with President Bashar Assad’s government in the battle against the Islamic State group. But it says it usually gives Damascus a heads-up on operations within its borders.

“… National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said the U.S. government did not coordinate with the Syrian government or advise it in advance of the operation…

“The extremist group controls much of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. It has control of most of the oil fields in Syria, which are a key source of its funding… The special operation was announced as ISIS fighters were advancing in central and northeastern Syria. The militants are nearing the historic city of Palmyra, in the central province of Homs, and have seized [a] water facility and an oil field on the city’s eastern outskirts, activists said.

“The advances in the Palmyra countryside were coupled with an announcement Saturday by the Islamic State group that its fighters have seized full control of Saker Island in the Euphrates River north of Deir el-Zour, the northeastern province divided between areas held by the group and the government.”

Breitbart added on May 21:

“Just two days after Islamic State fighters were supposedly routed and driven into the desert by Syrian government troops, ISIS has reportedly taken the entire city of Palmyra, placing both its population and historical treasures in grave peril… 

“CNN quotes one Palmyra resident saying of ISIS fighters, ‘They are everywhere.’  Many of the 70,000 people who lived in the city have fled, while others are huddled in their houses, hoping to escape the notice of the brutal occupation force. ‘After at least 100 Syrian soldiers died in fighting overnight, Syrian warplanes carried out airstrikes Thursday in and around Palmyra, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. 

“But there’s no indication when, or if, Syrian ground forces will try to take back the city. Nor is there a sense that any of the others fighting ISIS, like the United States, will come to the rescue,’ writes CNN.”

The Financial Times added on May 21:

“Ever since the Islamist militants of Isis swept into northern Iraq from Syria last June, the Obama administration has had a consistent response: the Syrian conflict may be complex and uncertain, officials would argue, but the US had a clear plan for Iraq. The dramatic fall in recent days of Ramadi [in Iraq] has blown a hole in that confidence… 

“For an administration still struggling to come to terms with the rapid rise of Isis, which seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, the fall of Ramadi has had uncomfortable echoes of the takeover nearly a year ago of the northern city of Mosul, when Iraqi forces simply melted away.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 21:

“The Islamists are now thought to control more than half of Syria.”

In addition, the Huffington Post wrote on May 21:

“U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State and other militants in Syria killed two young girls in November, the military confirmed Thursday. The announcement is the first American acknowledgement that the campaign, begun in September 2014, has killed civilians…

“The killing of civilians, even unintentionally, has serious ramifications for the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State and Washington’s hopes to restore stability to Syria. Many Syrians — particularly non-extremists central to President Barack Obama’s vision for the country — are already highly skeptical of the international mission because they say it neglects the real problem in their country — the oppressive, bloody rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“Scores of reports have questioned previous U.S. claims that no civilians have been killed. The most recent evidence of civilian deaths caused by the U.S.-led campaign emerged earlier this month as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air raid hit a civilian village by mistake and claimed 52 lives — including those of seven children. 118 civilians appeared to have died in the overall campaign at that point…”

England on Its Way Out?

Daily Express wrote on May 16:

“During face-to-face talks with Mr Cameron in Edinburgh yesterday, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for a veto for Scotland, as well as for England, Wales and Northern Ireland [pertaining to a decision to leave the EU]. It would have meant that Britain could not leave the EU without the agreement of all four nations. But the Prime Minister said Britain will vote as one nation.

“His pledge is a key manifesto commitment and marks a giant leap forward for the Daily Express crusade for the UK to quit the EU. Ms Sturgeon has said if the UK votes to leave the EU in a referendum and a majority in Scotland back staying in, that could trigger a second Scottish referendum. [Mr Cameron rejected that possibility.]…

“Yesterday Foreign secretary Philip Hammond [was] raising the possibility of an in-or-out referendum vote a year early in 2016.”

US Worried About the UK

The EUObserver wrote on May 14:

“US policymakers are worried about the UK. The US’ closest and most capable ally is facing defence spending cuts that could lower the army to its smallest size in 250 years, inhibit its ability to run both its forthcoming aircraft carriers simultaneously, and drop its defence spending rate below the critical 2 percent of GDP threshold that Nato guidelines stipulate. The UK’s national elections last week did little to alleviate these concerns. The Conservatives’ victory raises international concerns over a ‘Brexit’ from the EU and a country fractured along political fault lines through the nascent UK Independence Party and Scottish National Party, which vehemently opposes the country’s nuclear triad…

“But beyond the numbers, these projected defence cuts manifests a larger existential debate on how the UK defines itself in the world. Cracks and fissures are appearing around the edges of the UK’s globalised foreign policy, from the bungled 2013 Parliament vote on intervention in Syria after Cameron convinced the US it was a done deal, to Cameron’s conspicuous absence from the ceasefire agreement his French and German counterparts brokered between Russia and Ukraine, to record-low public support for retaining the UK’s nuclear trident (the linchpin of its nuclear deterrence), to the unresolved ‘Brexit’ debate that continues to erode the UK’s standing in the EU.

“While the UK elections featured a swell of bold platforms from all factions, no political party seemed willing to tackle the uncomfortable question that underlies all these elements: Does the UK still have an appetite for a grander role and global presence, or does it want to close ranks and merely defend the realm? This question does not augur well for the US’ future reliance on the UK as its go-to ally for new military operations…

“The ink was barely dry on an Alliance-wide commitment to reverse defence cuts at the Nato Summit in the UK last September when it was revealed the summit’s host nation likely won’t uphold this pledge…”

What Does Cameron Mean?

The Independent wrote on May 13:

“Britain is too ‘passively tolerant’ and should not leave people to live their lives as they please just because they obey the law, David Cameron has said. At the National Security Council today Mr Cameron unveiled a series of measures that he said would crack down on people holding minority ‘extremist’ views that differed from Britain’s consensus. ‘For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens “as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone”’, he said. ‘It’s often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that’s helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance.’”

These are potentially dangerous and explosive words. Would this include religious views being held by a small minority of people, while the majority believes differently? Would this lead to the enforcement of religious practices being upheld by the vast majority, but opposed by a small minority, based on biblical injunctions?

For instance, would this mean that everyone would have to observe Christmas, Easter or Sunday (“Christian” religious holidays which are derived from paganism), while being prevented from keeping the biblically mandated Sabbath and other annual biblical holidays which might be considered “extremist” by orthodox Christianity and the Church of England? One might think that this is far-fetched, but Great Britain’s past includes many cases of severe persecution of Sabbath-keepers—as is true for all European countries, the USA and of course other nations.

The “Biggest Scandal of Our Times”

Der Spiegel wrote on May 15:

“The NSA scandal first morphed into a BND intelligence scandal and eventually into a German government scandal. The biggest scandal of our times. A US intelligence agency, thrown into panic by the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, gathered every last scrap of data it could, presumably (if this qualifier is even necessary at the point), breaking American, German and international law in the process, conducting itself like a secret society inside an open one.

“This breach of law was justified as being in the interests of security… the NSA’s spying activities, carried out with the help of the BND and the failure of the German government, amount to an attack on our freedom, our values and our way of life…”

Annual Charlemagne Prize for Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament

Deutsche Welle reported on May 14:

“At a ceremony in the Germany city of Aachen on Thursday, European Parliament President Martin Schulz was presented with the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. The prize is awarded for ‘work done in the service of European unification’…

“German President Joachim Gauck, French President Francois Hollande, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and other European and German dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony… In his keynote address, Gauck began on ‘a dark note,’ as he put it, quoting Schulz himself: ‘For the first time in the post-World War II period, the failure of the European Union is a realistic scenario.’ Gauck was referring to problems facing Europe, from the conflict in Ukraine to the divisive, nationalist tendencies in countries such as Greece.

“He said these conflicts showed that many Europeans harbored doubts about the European Union, looking instead to go it alone as nation states in setting policies and crafting foreign relationships. Gauck said Schulz was a man… who saw the need to restore trust in the European Union, implying that this was his biggest contribution to Europe…

“Schulz is German and originally from the town of Würselen, near Aachen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia… he became a member of the European Parliament in 1994. The Social Democrat is serving his second consecutive stint as president of the European Parliament, a role he first assumed in January 2012…”

First Same-Sex Marriage of a EU Leader

The New York Times wrote on May 15:

“The prime minister of Luxembourg on Friday wed his partner of several years in the first same-sex marriage of a European Union leader. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel married Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect, less than a year after lawmakers in Luxembourg overwhelmingly legalized same-sex marriage, a sign of shifting attitudes in the predominantly Roman Catholic duchy…

“Mr. Bettel, a 42-year-old lawyer, is the head of the center-right Democratic Party and was elected prime minister in 2013 after having served as mayor of the capital, the city of Luxembourg. He replaced Jean-Claude Juncker, now head of the European Commission, who had been in power for nearly 19 years.

“Johanna Sigurdardottir, the former prime minister of Iceland, which is not a European Union member, married her female partner in 2010, while still in office… Stéphane Bern, a French journalist, noted how Luxembourg, often seen as more conservative than its European neighbors, had surprised even the president of France, where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2013 after months of tumultuous and angry debate…”

How times have changed. Note the next article.

UK Holds the Crown on LGBTI Rights, but Sweden Not Far Behind…

The Local wrote on May 12:

“After looking at how well 48 different nations ranked on issues such as marriage equality, employment, adoption and medical treatment, the ILGA (European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) gave Sweden a score of 72 percent on its annual Rainbow Map. The result puts Sweden above all other Nordic countries for LGBTI rights and in fourth place overall…

“The other Scandinavian countries weren’t far behind, with Denmark and Norway also reaching the top ten and Finland coming in 13th place. The UK held on to its crown at the head of the table while Malta jumped eight places to come third. Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan remained the bottom three nations…

“In Sweden it was agreed that the gender-neutral pronoun ‘hen’ would enter the dictionary, a promise that was fulfilled earlier this year. The move coincided with a number of local initiatives including gender-neutral toilets in several municipalities.

“Denmark was also praised in the report for ‘great steps forward’ in the shape of its ‘progressive legal gender recognition law’ designed to make it easier for transgender people to have their gender identity legally recognised.

“Meanwhile Estonia became the first former USSR country to officially recognise same sex unions by passing an historic cohabitation act and future marriage equality was approved in Finland and enacted in England, Wales and Scotland, the report noted…

“In 2013, the Spartacus International Gay Guide ranked Sweden the most gay-friendly nation in the world.”

Israelite nations excel in their sad reputation of being highly supportive of “alternative life styles,” which the Bible condemns as abominations.

Legalization of Same-Sex Marriages by Popular Vote in Catholic Ireland?

The Washington Post wrote on May 16:

“Catholic and deeply conservative, Ireland was long known as one of the toughest places in the Western world to be gay. Homosexuality was only decriminalized here in 1993, following years of pressure from European authorities. But now Ireland may be preparing for its coming-out party, with a referendum on Friday [May 22] that could make it the world’s first country to approve same-sex marriage in a popular vote.

“That such a momentous event in the gay rights struggle could happen here, of all places, reflects the breathtaking social change that has swept Ireland in recent years and the weakening hold of the scandal-scarred Catholic Church. The church has come out firmly against the referendum. But in a country where priests once held unquestioned sway and where 85 percent of the nation still identifies as Catholic, a large majority of Ireland appears ready to defy church teachings and vote to give same-sex partners the same right to marry as heterosexual couples…

“The change to Ireland’s constitution could reverberate well beyond this island nation’s borders at a time when other countries, the United States among them, are wrestling with the issue in legislation and in the courts. Unlike in the United States, where nine Supreme Court justices will soon give their ruling, Ireland has placed the choice in the hands of its 4.5 million people — leading to a passionate and colorful campaign that has made a once-taboo subject the focus of a national debate…

“Abortion is still prohibited in Ireland. But same-sex marriage is seen by traditionalists as perhaps the ultimate concession to cultural relativism in a country where divorce was illegal and the sale of condoms was tightly regulated until the mid-1990s…

“The government backs a yes vote, as do all the significant political parties, the major media organizations, unions and business groups. The yes campaign has also won support from sports stars and even some dissident clerics. In January, a Dublin priest announced during a Saturday night mass that he supported the referendum and that he is gay. His congregants gave him a standing ovation. The church hierarchy has been notably quiet — releasing letters and preaching sermons against the measure but hardly putting its full weight behind the referendum’s defeat. In a country where the wounds of the church’s child sex abuse scandal are still raw, it’s unclear whether Catholic leaders could influence voters even if they tried…

“Polls have shown that same-sex marriage is favored by a significant majority of Irish voters. But the contest is expected to tighten as the campaign enters its final days…”

 Mandatory Vaccination Bill Passes California Senate

The Huffington Post wrote on May 14:

“A bill that would make vaccines mandatory for nearly every child in California passed the state Senate on Thursday morning. The controversial bill ensures that parents enrolling their children in California schools will be allowed to opt them out of immunizations only for medical reasons and may no longer cite religious or personal belief exemptions as reasons not to vaccinate. It passed 25-10 in the Senate, The Associated Press reported…

“The bill now advances to the state Assembly and, if passed by that chamber, to Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for final approval. While the governor has not taken a stance on whether vaccines should be mandatory, a spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that Brown ‘believes that vaccinations are profoundly important and a major public health benefit, and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered.’

“If the measure becomes law, California will join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict vaccine requirements. Bills aimed at limiting non-medical exemptions to vaccines failed in Washington state and Oregon in March.

“Since the bill was introduced, the state’s vocal anti-vaccination community has staged protests outside lawmakers’ offices throughout the state. Pan’s office has received so many phone calls that it had to open a second phone line, ABC 7 reported.”

This is just another example as to how antagonistic and ignorant law makers in some of our most liberal states are really trying to suppress and abandon religious freedom and liberty in this country—for the sake of the “greater good” (i.e., the “outbreak” of just a very few (!) cases of measles in one of California’s amusement parks, allegedly due to unvaccinated children—a claim which has been highly disputed and which is really without merit).

This slogan has led to the violation and “sacrifice” of individual liberties, while it has caused many atrocities through the years… one may only think of Nazi Germany or Stalin’s dictatorship. This liberal way of thinking justifies the killing of innocent civilians in war, labeling their death as necessary casualties—or it tolerates or even advocates the murder of unborn children through abortion, as it is allegedly within the right of the mother to rule over her body. None of the liberal advocates (including many Catholics and Protestants) seem to care about the right of the innocent and helpless child.

Report from the UK by Brian Gale:

The British general election has just taken place and the outcome is surprising, to say the least.   Before the election, not one of the eleven polling companies predicted a Conservative victory but suggested that both of the two main parties would be very close in the number of seats won.   However, the final exit poll showed a different picture much to everyone’s surprise, and that has been borne out by the result.

Certainly the victory could turn out to be something of a poisoned chalice with the Prime Minister and the newly elected government facing nationalism in Scotland and anti-European sentiment in England plus many other things that need attention.   It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

Even though we are not to vote or take political sides, it is always interesting to see what happens as we have to live with the result and consequences.   Wikipedia writes about one of the most famous slogans in political history: ‘‘It’s the economy, stupid’ is a slight variation of the phrase ‘The economy, stupid,’ which James Carville had coined as a campaign strategist of Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign against sitting president George H. W. Bush.   Clinton’s campaign had advantageously used the then-prevailing recession situation in the US as one of the campaign means to successfully unseat George H. W. Bush.”

The existing coalition government in the UK focused their campaign on their financial management of the economy, having inherited a dire economy in 2010 and they were, in effect saying, “It’s the economy stupid”.  Of course the other parties told a different story.   They said, as you would expect, that they would do a better job if they were elected.

The leaders of two of the three main parties are both atheists (they have both subsequently resigned as leaders of their party after their defeat) and Mr Cameron is a believer in God and an Anglican churchgoer although he admits that he doesn’t attend church as much as he should.   Mr Blair, a former UK Prime Minister, was a believer in God but allowed those around him to say that “we don’t do God”.   Is it any wonder that we continually have problems when the ideas for running the economy and legislation enacted come from the recesses of men’s minds without any reference whatsoever to God’s Word?

There was a time when leaders did acknowledge the wisdom that can be found in the Word of God, and our nations were influenced in a positive way.   However, any such influence that there was has been eroded by the liberal permissive society in recent decades, and to our detriment.

Unfortunately, UK politicians no longer seem to have any deference towards the Bible and the wisdom that it can give to those who read it in belief and who ask God for understanding.   Problems are evident in every nook and cranny of society today, but the very obvious is ignored.  The problems are now far too big, not only because they are now out of hand, but there is also absolutely no willingness to acquire true knowledge from the pages of the Bible.   It is seen as archaic and completely out of touch, rather than having the answers to the woes currently being experienced.

Running the country, according to those in power or seeking power, is all about GDP (Gross Domestic Product), inflation, interest rates, unemployment levels, a minimum wage, taxes paid to government spending, stock market indices and a number of other issues.

We have surely passed the point of no return when mankind at large does not have the capacity to solve the manifold and often complex problems that engulf the world at this time.   We have seen that many countries around the world have economic problems on a scale hitherto not experienced, and at the same time, a breakdown in understanding right from wrong.   Are the two connected?

In effect, it is believed that it is all about material prosperity – “it’s the economy stupid.”   But consider carefully the following:

Our UK governments in recent years have striven to allow and encourage women to go out to work.   Children suffer with little parental instruction and absent parents (of course, in some cases, this may be very necessary because of an absent parent or the inability to earn sufficient income even from a two parent working family).

Our UK governments have approved and promote homosexuality and other perverted sexual activities.

Our UK governments have their own definition of the family which emerge from the ideas and thoughts of politicians according to their own reasonings.

Our UK governments have allowed abortion and, in the process, have killed millions of innocent unborn children.

Our UK governments have presided over education which is increasingly liberal with the false, ridiculous theory of evolution being taught as fact.

Our UK governments have allowed ill-discipline in schools to proliferate, so that teachers can’t do their jobs properly, and this ill-discipline is now endemic in society at large.  It all leads to more aggression and violence and affects the very fabric of our society.

Our UK governments have presided over the marginalisation of Christianity whilst allowing foreign religions to promote their own creed in this country.

You will note from the above examples that the economy is not mentioned except in passing.   And this is the fundamental problem today.  Yes, a vibrant and successful economy is necessary to sustain all that needs to be done but if the foundation is wrong then the whole house falls.

In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 we read about the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.   If we had, as a nation, observed all of God’s Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:3), we wouldn’t have all the problems that are extant in society today.   Whilst these were blessings that would have been given to ancient Israel, the same principles apply to their descendants.    And we are those descendants today (see our booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America”).

In Deuteronomy 28, verses 2-6, many blessings are outlined which we don’t enjoy today.   In verse 7 we read that we would be protected against our enemies and many blessings are revealed in verses 8-14.   From verses 15 onwards, the curses for disobedience are described, which we are now reaping because God is seen, generally, as either non-existent or irrelevant.

Just think of the change that would happen if the leaders and nations turned to God.   The book of Jonah shows what can happen when a nation “from the greatest to the least of them” (Jonah 3:5) believe God and obey Him.

Our new government in the UK has no chance of resolving the issues that confront our nation because they are tackling them from a wrong perspective.   If they said that obedience to God was essential; if they promoted marriage between a man and a woman only and totally supported the Godly family-ordained unit; if they removed all the approval of perversion that engulfs our society; if they said that abortion would no longer be allowed; if the educational system taught the truth of God rather than the false evolutionary concept; and if our government only allowed the truth of God to be taught and not all of the false religions that have invaded our lands; then we would be truly headed in the right direction.

The problem is that leaders give no thought to proper moral values; in fact, it seems that they continue to ignore the source that would ensure success.  Is a change of attitude in the nation likely to happen?   It could, but there would have to be such a transformation throughout the country that it is unlikely to happen now.

We live in a society where someone can be convicted for calling someone else a name that offends them but anybody can blaspheme the Name of the great Creator God and Jesus Christ without any sanction or prosecution whatsoever.   The nation, at large, has no respect for God and He will only allow such behaviour to go on for so long.

One other simple example will show how far the nation has descended into the depths of depravity.   On May 1st (a minority party leader stated that she was “open to the idea of legalising three-way marriages.  Party members could get the chance to formulate policy to permit so-called polyamorous relationships, which would allow more than two people to enter into marriages or have civil partnerships.”   She said that she had already led the way in calling for the liberalisation of marriage laws and is “open” to going further. This answer was given to the question, “As someone living with his two boyfriends in a stable long-term relationship I would like to know what your stance is on polyamory rights. Is there room for your support on group civil partnerships or marriages?”

It should be quite clear that since the UK has turned its back on God in so many ways, curses are the inevitable consequence.  It is safe to say that if politicians campaigned on instituting Godly values in our society, they wouldn’t be voted into power anyway.

In the book of Jeremiah we read: “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’?  Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood. The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?” (Jeremiah 8:8-9).

However, we do know from God’s Holy Days that it will happen.   The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the time when Christ will rule on earth and a right way of living will be taught and implemented at that time.   Whilst it won’t happen before the return of Jesus Christ, it will happen when He returns to this earth.   There will be no more elections, no more politics and no more Satan-inspired activities.   It will be well worth waiting for!

Cameron Wins with Simple Majority

JTA wrote on May 8:

“Ed Miliband, the first Jewish leader of Britain’s Labour Party, is resigning as British Prime Minister David Cameron definitively won reelection… The surprisingly strong showing scuttled Miliband’s ambitions of becoming his country’s first Jewish prime minister…

“According to polls, British Jews strongly favored Cameron, in part because of Miliband’s relative coolness on Israel and the Labour Party’s shift to the left since the departure of Tony Blair, who led Britain in the 1990s and the first part of the 2000s.

“Poor showings by the anti-immigrant U.K. Independence Party led its leader, Nigel Farage, to resign on Friday. Also resigning was David Clegg, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats…”

The UKIP executive refused to accept Nigel Farage’s resignation and so he is now back as their leader.   Although they only have one seat in Parliament (out of 650 available) they did poll 3.9 million votes and many had been drawn to the party by their immigration stance and their commitment to withdrawal from the EU.

Many “explanations” were given as to why all these polls were so terribly wrong and totally unreliable. But the real answer might be that God directed the outcome of these elections, to keep Mr. Cameron in office so that he could bring about God’s prophesied purpose of having Great Britain leave the EU (Mr. Cameron insisted after the election that the promised referendum will take place in 2017, when Britain will decide whether or not it would stay in Europe—a vast majority is expressing a wish to leave the EU). Even though Mr. Cameron has only pledged to hold it—not to support it—Mr. Milliband had vowed a much closer co-operation with the EU. Please view our new StandingWatch program, “WHY the Surprise Victory for David Cameron?”

Cameron’s Victory “Bad News for Europe?” — Germany Will Have to “Take an Even More Dominant Role in Europe”

 The Local wrote on May 8:

“German politicians and commentators confronted the reality that Germany would have to take an even more dominant role in Europe on Friday after David Cameron’s Conservative party achieved a surprise victory in the British general election.

“Cameron’s promise to put the UK’s membership of the European Union to a vote in 2017 and the massive surge of support for the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) will likely see the country consumed with its internal politics. Meanwhile, elections the same year in France could see the eurosceptic National Front divide the country, leaving Germany the only one of Europe’s three largest nations with the stability to look to a long-term vision.

“… the trend of recent years which has seen Germany take a leading role in European foreign policy is set to continue…

“Spiegel interpreted the election result in the European context, leading with the blunt headline ‘Bad news for Europe.’ ‘Firstly this is a bad result for Europe. It means that Cameron, the weak leader, will become even more susceptible to pressure from within his own party. The eurosceptic loudmouths from the back-benches will become even more powerful,’ wrote Christoph Scheuermann…

“The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung spoke of having to ‘rub one’s eyes’ when the results were announced, expressing disbelief at how misleading opinion polls had been… the paper expressed anxiety at the repercussions for Europe…

“Süddeutsche Zeitung was sceptical of the surprise Conservative victory, and focused on the various problems the Prime Minister will face in his second term. ‘Struggling to triumph’ read the headline. ‘Cameron may have secured a slim overall majority, but this is far from a great victory,’ wrote Björn Finke…

“Business daily Handelsblatt went with the headline ‘Election winner in a torn land’… ‘This election accelerates dramatically historical changes that have been long in the making. For us in Europe this means the possibility of a “Brexit.”’”

The New York Times added on May 8:

 “Prime Minister David Cameron, having achieved a smashing and unexpected outright victory in Britain’s general election, heads into his second term facing severe — even existential — challenges to his nation’s identity and place in the world: how to keep the United Kingdom in the European Union and Scotland in the United Kingdom.”

AFP wrote on May 8:

“Prime Minister David Cameron’s expected new five-year term could prove less stable than the outgoing one and will put Britain on a rocky course to an EU membership referendum, analysts said Friday… Without his former junior coalition partner, the centrist Liberal Democrats, Cameron could find himself under pressure to be more right-wing and pursue a harder line on Europe, experts said.”

Things Have Changed in the UK

The Associated Press wrote on May 9:

“After years of sharing power, David Cameron pulled off an unexpected election triumph that gave the Conservative prime minister a second term with an outright majority Friday and dealt a stinging defeat to his three main rivals… But he faces a fractured Britain – divided by rich and poor, by separatist gains in Scotland and by doubts over its place in the European Union.

“The election ushers in a new era in British politics, with veteran lawmakers ousted by a public that made clear it had lost trust in its political leaders. The victors included a 20-year-old Scottish nationalist who beat out a senior Labour Party leader in Scotland.

“It was also unexpected. Polls had predicted a dead heat – a result that would have meant days of haggling to form a new government. Queen Elizabeth II was out of town at her castle in Windsor, and needed to rush back to London for the traditional meeting at Buckingham Palace in which the victor offers to form a government… The surprising outcome merely underscored how much things have changed – that there is now a new unpredictability in British politics…”

UK Referendum Earlier?

The EUObserver wrote on May 12:

“The UK could hold a referendum on EU membership as early as July 2016, The Guardian reported Monday evening (11 May). The paper quoted a government source as saying that the ‘mood now is definitely to accelerate the process and give us the option of holding the referendum in 2016’… The referendum will be preceded by negotiations to get a ‘better deal’ in Europe for UK. The idea is that British voters can then decide, based on the results of the talks, if they want their country to stay in the EU, of which it has been a member since 1973.

“… The Guardian noted that a bill, which is needed to hold a referendum, could be passed by June 2016, making a referendum possible the next month, or in September 2016, after the summer break.”

No Special Deal for Britain

The Local wrote on May 13:

“[German] Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had a prickly response to British demands for reform of the EU in the margins of a European finance ministers’ meeting on Tuesday… Schäuble was in no hurry to meet Prime Minister David Cameron’s timetable – and was fed up with ‘silly’ and ‘unnecessary’ interventions in the eurozone crisis from across the Channel… He explicitly rejected attaching a package of British demands to any reforms made to shore up the currency union.

“Cameron hopes to press other member countries into treaty change ahead of a referendum on EU membership set for 2017, a key promise he made to bolster support on his right wing before last week’s parliamentary election… But Schäuble’s brusque dismissal of British officials’ plan to tack special terms for the UK onto a new push for political and fiscal integration among eurozone members sets the scene for a showdown between the two countries.

“… That was a stark difference from UK Chancellor (finance minister) George Osborne, who said in Brussels that he had ‘a very clear mandate to improve Britain’s relationship with the rest of the EU and to reform the EU so that it creates jobs and increases living standards for all its citizens.’”

The EUObserver added on May 13:

“French finance minister Michel Sapin dismissed the idea of a ‘so-called renegotiation’ leading to a EU treaty change. ‘If it’s about discussing the functioning of the EU, this sort of discussion is possible. If it’s about renegotiating treaties, you know the position of France. That’s a completely different matter. In the current context, no treaty change, no constitutional debate,’ he said.”

Jury Duty Decision in the UK

The Telegraph wrote on May 11:

“A devout Muslim man who objected to jury service by claiming his religion forbids it was forced to serve by an Old Bailey judge. The man wrote to the court asking to be excused because he felt unable to sit in judgement of others. ‘As a Muslim, I believe you shouldn’t judge anyone and can’t come to any decision regarding another person,’ he wrote. ‘I could not take the responsibility of judging a person innocent or guilty. ‘I believe we are judged after our death and I would hate to think an innocent person would suffer because of the evidence and my decision.’

“The juror was ordered to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday morning to argue his case on the first day of his jury service. He said: ‘I deeply believe I can’t take that responsibility. I would be really uncomfortable to come to any decision when a decision is to be made.’

“But Judge Timothy Pontius QC said his situation was no different to other Muslims asked to serve on a jury. ‘Many understandably will have religious beliefs and are members of one faith or another,’ said the judge. ‘Some have very deeply-held religious beliefs and yet they discharge their responsibilities consciously and consistent with their religious beliefs. ‘It is common for many members of the jury to be practising Muslims, some hold their religious faith very deeply indeed, and yet are content to sit in judgement of fellow citizens.’

“The juror conceded he would want a jury to decide if a crime was committed against his family and eventually agreed he would serve if ordered to do so. ‘I’ve made my excuse,’ he said. ‘I’ve written to you asking for my dismissal. I live in this country and have to go by the law, but if you order me to be of service that is my responsibility.’

“Judge Pontius told him: ‘I don’t for a moment doubt the strength of your religious beliefs, but for the reasons I have set out and applying the logic which I have expressed about the position, I regret I can’t excuse you from jury service.’’

The problem with this potential juror is that his conviction was not strong enough. This should serve as an example to everyone who refuses to become a juror due to his sincerely held religious conviction. He could not serve on a jury and render a decision, even IF ordered by a court to do so. The biblical injunction is very clear: We must obey God rather than man, if there is a conflict. For the same reason could a true Christian not serve as a combatant in the army and kill an enemy, even IF ordered to do so.

US Camp David Summit Skipped by Most Gulf Heads of State

The Associated Press reported on May 11:

“It is not just the Saudi king who will be skipping the Camp David summit of U.S. and allied Arab leaders. Most Gulf heads of state won’t be there. The absences will put a damper on talks that are designed to reassure key Arab allies, and almost certainly reflect dissatisfaction among leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council with Washington’s handling of Iran and what they expect to get out of the meeting…

“At the summit, leaders of Gulf nations will be looking for assurances that they have Obama’s support at a time when the region feels under siege from Islamic extremists and by Iran’s rising influence. The Gulf states worry the nuclear pact taking shape with the U.S., Iran and other nations may embolden Tehran to act more aggressively in the region…

“Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of political science at Emirates University, said Gulf leaders were staying away from the Camp David gathering to signal their displeasure over the nuclear talks. ‘I don’t think they have a deep respect, a deep trust for Obama and his promises. There is a fundamental difference between his vision of post-nuclear-deal Iran and their vision,’ he said… Abdullah… said the Gulf ties with the United States remain strong, but they have been strained during Obama’s tenure.”

The Weekly Standard wrote on May 11:

“It was a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away: In July 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama made big, bold news by travelling to Berlin to – as The New York Times triumphantly recorded – ‘restore the world’s faith in strong American leadership and idealism.’ With 200,000 Berliners waving campaign-provided American flags, Obama called for renewing America’s alliances and undoing the cowboy unilateralism of George W. Bush and Obama’s 2008 opponent Sen. John McCain.

“The events of recent months are an indication of how spectacularly Obama has failed to fulfill his 2008 promise. This week comes the news that Saudi Arabia’s newly installed King Salman and three of the other six Gulf monarchs are boycotting Obama’s Camp David summit – a meeting called by Obama to reassure the Arab states that the forthcoming nuclear deal with Iran was not a betrayal of their longstanding security relationship with the United States. Beyond their fears of Iran’s nukes, the Gulf states see the rise of an aspiring Persian hegemon – in Yemen, in Syria, in Iraq – taking advantage of, if not actively conspiring with, a retreating America.  In this case ‘no show’ means ‘no confidence.”

Did President Obama Lie?

Breitbart wrote on May 11:

“Seymour Hersh, the Pulitzer Prize winning left-wing investigative journalist, is accusing Pres. Obama of lying about the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden… Hersh’s story describes a politically obsessed President Obama rushing to get word out about the raid over the objections of key officials like Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Hersh points out that the bin Laden raid ‘was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election.’

“Hersh’s other main claim involves the knowledge of Pakistani officials. Hersh says the Obama administration claimed that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. ‘This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account.’

“Appearing on CNN Monday morning, Hersh strongly defended the story from attacks by host Chris Cuomo and CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen, who wrote a lengthy rebuttal for CNN. Responding to the charge that his article was based primarily on just one single, anonymous source, veteran reporter Hersh told Cuomo he had ‘vet and verify[ied]’ his reporting with other sources.

“Bergen claims Hersh’s argument is essentially a massive conspiracy theory, calling it ‘farrago of nonsense that is contravened by a multitude of eyewitness accounts, inconvenient facts and simple common sense.’ In his criticism, however, Bergen notes that the Obama administration made false statements right after the raid.

“In his article, Hersh correctly points out that in the immediate aftermath of the bin Laden raid, White House officials initially made some false statements about the raid — for instance, that bin Laden was using his wives as human shields during the raid — but these were quickly corrected. Hersh says the reason for the inaccuracies is that President Obama wanted to take immediate credit for the raid. Hersh said that the initial plan was to announce the death of bin Laden about a week later, but Hersh writes:

“‘Obama’s speech was put together in a rush, the retired official said, and was viewed by his advisers as a political document, not a message that needed to be submitted for clearance to the national security bureaucracy. This series of self-serving and inaccurate statements would create chaos in the weeks following.’

“Hersh quotes from Robert Gate’s book Duty about how upset Gates was that President Obama decided to push narrative in order to take credit. ‘That we killed him, I said, is all we needed to say. Everybody in that room agreed to keep mum on details. That commitment lasted about five hours. The initial leaks came from the White House and CIA. They just couldn’t wait to brag and to claim credit. The facts were often wrong… Nonetheless the information just kept pouring out. I was outraged and at one point, told the national security adviser, Tom Donilon, “Why doesn’t everybody just shut… up?” To no avail.’

“Hersh reports others were also incensed by President Obama’s approach to organizing and delivering the speech: ‘Gates wasn’t the only official who was distressed by Obama’s decision to speak without clearing his remarks in advance, the retired official said, “but he was the only one protesting. Obama didn’t just double-cross Gates, he double-crossed everyone.’”

The Washington Post reported on May 11 that “the CIA and White House are both rejecting his account” and that a “CIA official told The Washington Post that Hersh’s story is ‘utter nonsense.’’’

Of course, what else would they say? Hersh’s story was also rejected by Robert O’Neill, the former Navy SEAL who says he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden. But Hersh is not a nobody, nor is he a conservative. He “earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for exposing the mass killing of civilians in the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam in 1969, and later was credited with helping to expose the abuse of detainees by the U.S. military at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.”  Hersh also claims that from the outset, the goal of the mission was to assassinate bin Laden, and that his dead body was not “buried” in the way as claimed by the White House, but disposed of in a most despicable way.

More Sources Confirm Hersh’s Account

 Newsmax reported on May 12:

“After Seymour Hersh claimed in a lengthy expose that the Obama administration inaccurately took full credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden, more sources have come forward to confirm his account. Two intelligence sources have told NBC News that the year before the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a ‘walk in’ asset from Pakistani intelligence told the CIA where bin Laden was hiding, while three sources say that the Pakistani government was aware of bin Laden’s location all along…

“John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, dismissed Hersh’s account…  For his part, Hersh has defended his account. He told CNN on Monday, ‘I’ve been around a long time … and I understand the consequences of what I’m saying.’”

Newsmax added on May 13:

“Another voice has joined the chorus of those who say that Seymour Hersh’s account of the demise of Osama bin Laden is more accurate than the claims of the Obama administration: New York Times foreign correspondent Carlotta Gall. Gall has said that she had gleaned from her sources that Pakistan’s intelligence service had kept bin Laden prisoner since 2006, and that the CIA learned about his location from a Pakistani informer who sold the information for $25 million.  ‘On this count, my own reporting tracks with Hersh’s,’ Gall wrote.”

Those who dismiss Hersh’s account outright—such as John McCain—had better beware what they are saying. The German magazine, Focus, reported this week that other journalists confirmed Mr. Hersh’s account as well, stating that most of the information had been known in Washington all along.

Netanyahu’s Shaky Government

The Washington Post wrote on May 7:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a dominating political figure in the United States this year, seemingly invincible as he hurled thunderbolts at President Obama and other adversaries. But here in Israel, not so much. After winning a narrow election victory in March, Netanyahu formed a fragile government late Wednesday with a bare one-vote margin in parliament. Israeli analysts, left and right, are questioning whether the government can last long. Netanyahu said Thursday that he had been leaving the foreign-minister position vacant for Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, in hopes of broadening his base, but Herzog rejected the offer…

“Netanyahu’s camp hopes for a new opening with Gulf Arab states that share mistrust of Iran… An Israeli-Arab alliance against Iran is intriguing. But like much else about Netanyahu’s fledgling government, it’s more an aspiration than a practical agenda. Netanyahu, so potent in the United States, has a shaky base at home.”

Vatican Recognizes State of Palestine

The Associated Press reported on May 13:

“The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects. The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, is both deeply symbolic and makes explicit that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.

“The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state and had referred to the Palestine state since. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state, giving the Vatican’s former signs of recognition an unambiguous confirmation in a formal, bilateral treaty…

“The United States and Israel oppose recognition, arguing that it undermines U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian deal on the terms of Palestinian statehood. Most countries in Western Europe have held off on recognition, but some have hinted that their position could change if peace efforts remain deadlocked. The treaty was finalized days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Pope Francis at the Vatican. Abbas is heading to Rome to attend Francis’ canonization Sunday of two new saints from the Holy Land.”

Female Genital Mutilation Highest in Egypt

The website of egyptianstreets.com reported on May 10:

“Egypt’s Minister of Health Adel Adawy announced on Sunday that 92 percent of married Egyptian women [aged between 15 and 49] have experienced female genital mutilation… The majority of females undergo genital mutilation between the ages of nine and 12, with only 31 percent of the operations run by doctors, said the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health added that FGM in rural areas is as high as 95 percent, compared to up to 39.2 percent in urban cities… more than 50 percent of married women in Egypt favor female genital mutilation and is in accordance with religious teachings…

“Despite a large number of women surveyed believing that FGM is condoned by Islam, Egypt’s top Islamic authority has condemned the act as ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘barbaric’. Moreover, Egypt banned female genital mutilation in 2008. Article 242 of Egypt’s Penal Code criminalizes the circumcision of girls The punishment for performing FGM is a prison sentence ranging from three months to two years or a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds…

“According to the World Health Organization, Egypt, Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti and Sierra Leone have the highest rates of FGM. A 2013 UNICEF report found that Egypt has the world’s highest total number of FGM sufferers, with 27.2 million women having undergone FGM.”

China’s Military Ambitions

The website of freebeacon.com wrote on May 8:

“China’s military plans to produce nearly 42,000 land-based and sea-based unmanned weapons and sensor platforms as part of its continuing, large-scale military buildup, the Pentagon’s annual report on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) disclosed Friday. China currently operates several armed and unarmed drone aircraft and is developing long-range… unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both intelligence gathering and bombing attacks.

“The acquisition and development of longer-range UAVs will increase China’s ability to conduct long-range reconnaissance and strike operations,” the report said… The drone buildup is part of what the Pentagon identified as a decades-long military buildup that last year produced new multi-warhead missiles and a large number of submarines and ships… Additionally, the Pentagon for the first time confirmed China’s development of an ultra-high speed maneuvering strike vehicle as part of its growing strategic nuclear arsenal… a strike weapon that travels at the edge of space at nearly 10 times the speed of sound…

“The Chinese military, once a backward, ill-equipped force, is rapidly becoming a very sophisticated high-technology military organization that is focused on developing asymmetric warfare capabilities that will allow it to defeat the United States or other advanced militaries in a future conflict. The new capabilities include anti-satellite weapons, including a high-earth orbit missile capable of hitting strategic satellites as high as 22,000 miles in space, and cyber warfare capabilities… Chinese nationalism is also on the rise.”

It was also reported that on May 8, Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping signed an “economic” agreement between Russia’s Eurasian Union and China’s Silk Road.

 Russia’s Re-Invention of History

 The EUObserver wrote on May 8:“Russia’s EU ambassador, Vladimir Chizhov… [said] ‘Crimea was not an annexation by any means … it was an attempt by local people to decide their future for themselves’. He justified Russia’s deployment of special forces in Crimea by claiming Ukrainian nationalists were preparing a ‘massacre’ of Russian speakers.

“He added that Stalin, who, like Hitler, murdered millions of Russians…  is a ‘national hero’ for many Russians… He also defended Russia’s invasion of Poland in 1939, under the ‘Molotov-Ribbentrop’ pact with Germany, as an act of ‘necessity’ at the time. It’s a narrative espoused by many Russian people… The narrative causes horror in Russia’s neighbours… [It] has also caused alarm in EU chancelleries and in Washington…

“Opposition leaders, such as Boris Nemtsov, are being murdered, and NGOs are being harassed as ‘foreign agents’. ‘He [Putin] has nothing to brag about at home … so the only thing he can offer to Russian people is fear of an outside enemy and fantasies of imperial greatness’, Garry Kasparov, a former Soviet chess champion who lives in the US, told EUobserver in a recent interview… For Kasparov, they do it because ‘the collapse of the Soviet Union was painful. But, unlike Germany, there was no process of reconciliation or lustration, of cleansing society of former Communist apparatchiks, and, most importantly, of the KGB’, he said, referring to the Russian intelligence service, now called the FSB…”

Some gullible and uninformed Western authors and commentators have even bought into the Russian propaganda that Russia—and not the USA and its Western Allies— brought an end to World War II and that Russia defeated Nazi Germany. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, blame must be asserted against the USA and its Western allies that they collaborated with Stalin… who was an evil dictator and no better than Hitler.

 History would have turned out much differently if the USA and Great Britain would have cooperated with Count Stauffenberg and those German officers who were quite active in trying to defeat (assassinate) Hitler as early as 1943, asking for support from the Allies who tragically refused to lend any helping hand, insisting instead in Germany’s unconditional surrender, which, as they knew, German officers (opposed to Hitler) could never agree to.

 So, the Western Allies chose instead to work with mass murderer Stalin against mass murderer Hitler—but as the old German proverb says, “The one who wants to eat with the devil must have a big spoon.” As it turned out, the spoon of the Allies was not big enough, and terrible consequences ensued, which, correctly understood, will be a major cause for a future World War, which will be fought by continental Europe, under German leadership, against the USA and the UK.

Germany’s Spy Scandal Intensifying

Thomson/Reuters reported on May 11:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her present and past chiefs of staff on Monday against criticism that they lied to the public about the prospects of a ‘no-spy agreement’ with the United States. Media reports alleging lying by Merkel’s aides were the latest in a controversy over German intelligence… The latest report said Washington never offered Germany a no-spy agreement after those revelations, despite statements from Merkel and senior aides during the campaign for Germany’s general election held only a few months later…

“Raising the pressure on Merkel, SPD Secretary General Yasmin Fahimi said on Monday: ‘If it’s true the U.S. never held out the prospect of such a no-spy agreement between Germany and America, then the conservatives lied in the 2013 election campaign.’… Former Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger from the Free Democrats (FDP), who were in coalition with Merkel’s conservatives from 2009-2013, joined the attack, telling Der Spiegel magazine’s online edition: ‘In the end, the chancellery pulled the wool over people’s eyes.’”

The Local wrote on May 10:

“The US intelligence agency NSA asked its German partner service BND to spy on the European country’s engineering and technology giant Siemens, a German newspaper [Bild am Sonntag] reported Sunday. In the latest report on a widening spying scandal, the newspaper said the US National Security Agency (NSA) suspected that Siemens was supplying communications technology to a Russian secret service, said the newspaper…

“In response to the scandal, which is straining Merkel’s ruling left-right coalition, the BND last week reportedly scaled back its cooperation with the NSA on communications intercepted at its listening post in Bad Aibling in the southern state of Bavaria. The Merkel government has so far declined demands by a parliamentary oversight panel to release a list of the NSA’s requested search terms or ‘selectors’ for IP and email addresses and mobile phone numbers, citing its ongoing consultations with Washington.

“The Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday that the United States had already rejected the request, citing its ongoing operations, and that it had threatened to scale back cooperation if Berlin released them anyway. The US side had warned it would limit its help to terror warnings but would no longer share material such as high-resolution images of war zones or of areas where German citizens have been kidnapped, the report said.

“Fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who is living in hiding in Russia, told Germany’s news weekly Spiegel that the latest reports show that ‘massive surveillance is a reality’. ‘Industrial espionage is practised and the intelligence services are working beyond the control of the representatives of the people and of justice,’ said Snowden.”

The Fight Against ISIS—While the Innocent Die

The Independent wrote on May 2:

“At least 52 civilians, including seven children, have been killed in air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syria, according to a monitoring group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights branded the operation on Friday a ‘massacre’, claiming innocent people had become casualties of the hunt for Isis militants. Rami Abdulrahman, who founded the UK-based group, said Friday’s strike saw the highest civilian death toll in a single attack by US and Arab forces since they started operations in Iraq and Syria last year… So far 52 civilians, including seven children and nine women have been confirmed dead, from six families, the Observatory said… US-led strikes had reportedly killed at least 66 civilians in Syria from the start of the raids on 23 September until Friday, which brought the total to at least 118…

“Analysts have disagreed on the impact operations by the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have had against Isis and other extremists. Militants’ advances appear to have been slowed but Isis’ power in its strongholds has not been substantially weakened. Britain has not joined air strikes in Syria…

“A third of the population has been made homeless in the four-year civil war and more than 220,000 people have been killed. Almost 4,500 of those fatalities were in April alone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documented the deaths of at least 950 civilians, 760 rebel fighters, 1,200 foreign Islamist militants and 750 regime soldiers.”

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Texas Shooting at Anti-Islam Conference

Newsmax/AFP reported on May 4:

“Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who addressed participants at a [cartoon contest and art exhibit held for depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in Texas] before a shooting erupted outside the event, believes he is on a mission to stop the ‘Islamization’ of the West. Reviled and supported in equal measure for his anti-Islamic rhetoric, the 51-year-old firebrand has become a divisive figure in the Netherlands, which prides itself on its long but fading tradition of consensus politics and multi-cultural tolerance…

“In Texas on Sunday, he told the meeting organised by the right-wing American Freedom Defence Initiative that ‘we are here in defiance of Islam… Today, too many of our Western leaders want us to shut up,’ he told the gathering. Shortly after he left, two gunmen drove up to the conference centre and began shooting at a security guard. The two attackers were subsequently shot dead by police…

“Wilders… has no hesitation branding the Koran a ‘fascist’ book. He wants to ban the Koran, halt Muslim immigration, and tax headscarves…”

JTA wrote on May 5:

“The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack on a Texas building housing an exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad organized by an anti-Islamic organization… The statement threatened future attacks… The keynote speaker was the anti-Muslim Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who late last month spoke on Capitol Hill at the invitation of Reps. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Louis Gohmert, R-Texas.”

Deutsche Welle added on May 6:

“Geert Wilders… proposed posting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad – considered blasphemous by many Muslims – in the Dutch parliament following a shooting in Texas… ‘I am going to request parliament to exhibit the same cartoons as those that were displayed in Garland,’ Wilders told news agency AFP Wednesday. ‘I want to send a message that if you use violence to suppress free speech, the only effect is that we’ll do it even more,’ Wilders said, adding, ‘We must show we’ll not be intimidated.’ He concluded: ‘I don’t want to provoke, but at the same time, we must show that we’re standing for freedom of speech.’”

Keep Bombing… Whom?

The Independent wrote on May 3:

“The Saudis are bombing Yemen because they fear the Shia Houthis are working for the Iranians. The Saudis are also bombing Isis in Iraq and… Isis in Syria. So are the United Arab Emirates. The Syrian government is bombing its enemies in Syria and the Iraqi government is also bombing its enemies in Iraq. America, France, Britain, Denmark, Holland, Australia and… Canada are bombing Isis in Syria and Isis in Iraq, partly on behalf of the Iraqi government (…Shia militias) but absolutely not on behalf of the Syrian government.

“The Jordanians and Saudis and Bahrainis are also bombing Isis in Syria and Iraq because they don’t like them, but the Jordanians are bombing Isis even more than the Saudis after their pilot-prisoner was burned to death in a cage. The Egyptians are bombing parts of Libya because a group of Christian Egyptians had their heads chopped off [by Isis]. The Iranians have acknowledged bombing Isis in Iraq – of which the Americans (but not the Iraqi government) take a rather dim view. And of course the Israelis have several times bombed Syrian government forces in Syria but not Isis…

“The Sunni Saudis are bombing the Shia Yemenis and the Shia Iranians are bombing the Sunni Iraqis. The Sunni Egyptians are bombing Sunni Libyans… and the Jordanian Sunnis are bombing Iraqi Sunnis. But the Shia-supported Syrian government forces are bombing their Sunni Syrian enemies and the Lebanese Hezbollah – Shia to a man – are fighting the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Sunni enemies, along with Iranian Revolutionary Guards and an ever-larger number of Afghan Shia men in Syrian uniforms.

“… just take a look at Saudi Arabia’s latest request to send more Pakistani troops to protect the kingdom (and possibly help to invade Yemen), which came from the new Saudi Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman (34)… But the Saudis added an outrageous second request: that the Pakistanis send only Sunni Muslim soldiers. Pakistani Shia Muslim officers and men (30 per cent of the Pakistani armed forces) would not be welcome…

“And then, of course, there are the really big winners in all this blood, the weapons manufacturers. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin supplied £1.3bn of missiles to the Saudis only last year. But three years ago, Der Spiegel claimed the European Union was Saudi Arabia’s most important arms supplier and last week France announced the sale of 24 Rafale fighter jets to Qatar at a cost of around £5.7bn. Egypt has just bought another 24 Rafales…”

Iran Can’t Be Trusted

Western Journalism reported on April 30:

“Iran deceiving the West on its nuclear program is nothing new… Today Reuters reported that Great Britain has informed a United Nations sanctions panel of the existence of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to two blacklisted firms. ‘The existence of such a network could add to Western concerns over whether Tehran can be trusted to adhere to a nuclear deal due by June 30 in which it would agree to restrict sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief,’ Reuters reported…

“The UK government informed the Panel on 20 April 2015 that it ‘is aware of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network that has been associated with Iran’s Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA) and Kalay Electric Company (KEC)’, the Panel of Experts said in its annual report… KEC is under U.N. Security Council sanctions while TESA is under U.S. and European Union sanctions due to their suspected links to banned Iranian nuclear activities…

“This is the second time in five months that the U.N. Panel has been informed about illicit nuclear activities by Iran during the current negotiations with the six world powers. In December of last year, Foreign Policy published a similar report about a U.S. delegation informing the U.N. Panel of experts about Iranian procurement agents who had been increasing their efforts to illicitly obtain equipment for the IR-40 research reactor at the Arak nuclear complex…

“[An] article by the Free Beacon detailed how the U.S. Administration kept information about shipments of missile components from North Korea to Iran secret from the U.N. Panel that monitors sanctions violations by Iran.”

Ongoing Hostility Between President Obama and Israel

On April 16, 2015, israpundit.org published a write-up by Rabbi Spero, stating the following:

“Just last month, Barack Obama published classified information showing the world photographs of Israel’s hidden nuclear site, and its inner workings. It was his gift to Iran, Hamas, and ISIS. This puts Israel and her citizens, not just Mr. Netanyahu, at great risk. But, Obama had his people darken out all the information on that page regarding the nuclear sites of other countries.

“At a meeting at the White House in 2009, Obama stated early-on that ‘it’s time to put daylight between Israel and America’… Last month, Obama again singled out Israel by crudely questioning Israel as a democracy… He wants to break the historic bonds between America and Israel.

“… he has taken Hizb’allah and Iran off our list of terror organizations…

“What Mr. Obama wants above all else is to strip Israel of David’s city, its eternal capital, Jerusalem, and hand the ancient, historic city to Islam. Obama knows that whoever controls and manages historic Jerusalem can lay claim to the Land’s entirety. Jerusalem is the heart and pride of Israel…

“Obama’s inner identity is tied to Islam… His father and stepfather were Islamic, as is his family back in Kenya and Indonesia. His brothers are active Islamists. He was raised on the Koran in Islamic countries, and attended Islamic madrassa and grew up with its attitudes, sights and sounds, aspirations and narrative, likes and dislikes. As I grew up to favor Israel, he grew up to dislike it…

“The Marxism Obama was fed, from very early on, made him viscerally dislike successful Western countries, such as America, Israel, and Britain. He was taught they were colonizers and imperialist… As with America, the next two years will be difficult, for Obama has set his antagonistic sights on America and Israel… as well as its citizens. Obama has spent the last 50 years waiting for these next two.”

Strong words… And the next two years will indeed show how antagonistic President Obama will prove to be towards American and Israeli values. Maybe he was placed here to fulfil biblical prophecy to accelerate America’s downfall.

Israel’s New Hard-Line Government

The Associated Press reported on May 6:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completed the formation of a new coalition late Wednesday, putting him at the helm of a hard-line government that appears to be set on a collision course with the U.S. and other key allies. Netanyahu reached a deal with the nationalist Jewish Home party shortly before a midnight deadline, clinching a slim parliamentary majority and averting an embarrassing scenario that would have forced him from office. But with a government dominated by hard-liners that support increased West Bank settlement construction and oppose peace moves with the Palestinians, he could have a hard time rallying international support. Controlling just 61 of 120 parliamentary seats, the narrow coalition could also struggle to press forward with a domestic agenda.

“After Netanyahu’s Likud Party won March 17 elections with 30 seats, it seemed he would have a relatively easy time forming a coalition and serving a fourth term as prime minister. But the six-week negotiating process, which expired at midnight, turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated as rival coalition partners and members of the Likud jockeyed for influential Cabinet ministries…

“The coalition talks stalled this week when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a longtime partner of Netanyahu’s, unexpectedly stepped down and announced his secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party was joining the opposition. That left Netanyahu dependent on Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, a former aide who has a rocky relationship with Netanyahu. With Bennett driving a hard bargain, the talks stretched throughout the day and well into the night before Netanyahu called President Reuven Rivlin, as required by law, to announce the deal…

“Analysts do not expect the new government to last long or accomplish much. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, head of the centrist Zionist Union, called the coalition ‘a national failure government.’ He said it was ‘an embarrassing farce’ and ‘the narrowest in Israel’s history.’…

“Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners, Shas and United Torah Judaism, are bent on reversing reforms passed by the last government. Those reforms sought to end an unpopular system that granted the ultra-Orthodox exemptions from compulsory military service…”

No More Special Relationship Between USA and the UK

The Financial Times wrote on May 1:

“Britain’s nail-biting election, and the fragile coalition government it seems likely to produce, are confirming many of Washington’s worst fears about the country’s dwindling influence in the world. Once the US’ most reliable ally, the UK is now seen as a distant player in the crisis over the Ukraine and the euro, has introduced swingeing cuts to its military and recently rebuffed Washington by joining a China-led bank.

“On top of that, the Obama administration is waking up to the prospect that the next government in London could be even more inward-looking as it grapples with Britain’s membership of the European Union and strong support for Scottish independence. US officials say they still value close intelligence and military ties with the UK, but at times sound almost dismissive about the current British government’s reluctance to play a bigger role in the world…

“The fabled ‘special relationship’ between Washington and London has always contained an element of hype that played to Britain’s postcolonial quest for relevance. Successive US administrations have valued Britain’s role as a bridge between North America and the EU, as a mediator within Nato and as a reliable supporter in times of crisis. ‘Until recently, Britain was very much our most trusted, dependable and capable ally,’ says Nicholas Burns, a former US ambassador to Nato and third-ranking official at the state department, who worries that Britain might soon no longer play a ‘central role in global affairs… It is very striking the way that Angela Merkel has become the undisputed leader of Europe,’ he said…

“The frustrations in Washington with Mr Cameron’s government burst into the open last month when a senior US official accused the UK of ‘constant accommodation’ of China… Mr Obama himself has also been accused of looking to disengage from parts of America’s traditional role in the world and one former senior US official said that the president had not been helped by Mr Cameron’s international reticence. He pointed to Margaret Thatcher’s famous warning to George HW Bush after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 that he should not ‘go wobbly’… The former US official continued: ‘Obama has at times looked lost and it would have helped him to have a stronger British prime minister who could have given him some direction.’”

Cameron On Course to Win

Thomson/Reuters reported on May 7:

“British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives are on course to win the most seats in parliament but will be just shy of an outright majority, an exit poll showed on Thursday after voting closed in a national election. The poll put the Conservatives on 316 seats and the main opposition Labour Party on 239. The Scottish National Party (SNP) is set to win 58 seats, all but wiping Labour out in its former Scottish stronghold.

“The centrist Liberal Democrats, who have governed in coalition with the Conservatives for the past five years, will get just 10 seats in the 650-seat Westminster parliament, according to the poll released by national broadcasters. However, the combined total of 326 for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats indicated that Cameron should be able to stay in office, maybe with the support of another small party… Cameron’s Conservatives campaigned on a promise to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU before holding a referendum by 2017 on whether to stay in the bloc or leave.”

USA Today reported on May 7:

“If the exit poll from Britain’s election Thursday proves reasonably accurate, the expected frenetic political horse-trading to form a new government likely will be avoided… The projected Conservative seats still would not be quite enough for Cameron to secure an outright majority in the House of Commons, but it would be close. And it would be more than the 307 seats Cameron’s party secured in 2010, when the Conservatives were forced into a coalition with Nick Clegg of the centrist Liberal Democrats to form a governing majority in the 650-member House of Commons.

“Backroom deals and alliances with smaller parties further out of the political mainstream might probably still occur, but the Conservatives should find it easier to get over the 326 line — perhaps by partnering again with Clegg and the anti-immigrant, European Union-bashing United Kingdom Independence Party. Earlier projections of a stronger showing by left-center Labour suggested it would take days, possibly weeks to form the next government. Now it may all be wrapped by the weekend with a pretty red ribbon on top.”

Baltimore Charges Unsustainable… Based on Politics and Crowd Control

Newsmax reported on May 2:

“Criminal charges filed Friday against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray were based on ‘politics and crowd control,’ not justice, renowned civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV. ‘This is a very sad day for justice . . . Today had nothing to do with justice. Today was crowd control. Everything was motivated by a threat of riots and a desire to prevent riots,’ Dershowitz said… ‘The mayor outrageously said we’re going to get justice for the victim, the family and people of Baltimore, never mentioning the defendants. Under our Constitution, … the defendants… are presumed innocent, they need due process of law, and the mayor and the state attorney have made it virtually impossible for these defendants to get a fair trial. They have been presumed guilty.’

“Dershowitz made the comments hours after Baltimore’s top prosecutor, State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, announced criminal charges against six cops who were suspended after Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in custody in a police van. The charges came nearly two weeks after Gray’s death, which sparked riots that caused millions of dollars in damage and left dozens injured. The stiffest, second-degree, ‘depraved heart’ murder charge was lodged against the [black] driver of the van. The others face charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault and illegal arrest.

“But Dershowitz… said the case will very likely be thrown out for lack of evidence… ‘There’s no plausible, hypothetical, conceivable case for murder under the facts that we now know them… Nobody wanted this guy to die, nobody set out to kill him, and nobody intentionally murdered him. ‘The worst-case scenario is a case for involuntary manslaughter or some kind of reckless disregard… This is a show trial…

“Dershowitz added that the charges did not meet the criteria for justice in the United States. ‘It may have been the criteria in Rome, for Fidel Castro, in Iran, and in other countries, but in our country you don’t base indictments on what impact it’s going to have on the crowd,’ he said. ‘You base it on a hard, neutral, objective view of the evidence, and it doesn’t look like that was done here . . . They have invited a mess… They’ve overplayed their hand, it’s unlikely they’ll get any convictions in this case as a result of this, and if they do, there’s a good possibility it’ll be reversed on appeal and will just postpone the riots for months ahead.’”

Legalizing Three-Way Marriages in the UK?

The Daily Mail wrote on May 1:

“Green party leader Natalie Bennett has revealed she is open to the idea of legalising three-way marriages. Party members could get the chance to formulate policy to permit so-called polyamorous relationships, which would allow more than two people to enter into marriages or have civil partnerships. Ms Bennett said the Greens had already led the way in calling for the liberalisation of marriage laws and is ‘open’ to going further…

“David Robertson, from the Free Church of Scotland, contended the idea. He said: ‘Natalie Bennett is of course just being consistent. Given her presuppositions and philosophy, why shouldn’t “marriage equality” extend to multiple people who “love each other”? We warned that the redefinition of marriage would not end with same-sex marriage and were ridiculed and abused as being ridiculous. It gives us no pleasure to know that we were right.’

“The Green Party… proposes ‘mandatory HIV, sex and relationship education – age appropriate and LGBTIQ inclusive – in all schools from primary level onwards… It also suggests considering a reduction in the 12-month blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men, based on individual risk assessment where the donor is identified to be not at risk of passing infections into the blood supply.”

Let this be a warning for other countries, including the USA, where same-sex marriages are legal or where they are considered of becoming legal.

“If He Says He Is a Woman, Then He Is a Woman…”

The Hill reported on May 2:

“Bruce Jenner got support from a surprising quarter on Saturday: Rick Santorum. ‘If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman,’ Santorum, the former GOP senator from Pennsylvania, said… Jenner, the former Olympic gold medalist and reality television star, announced last week that he identified as and was transitioning to a woman. Santorum, who is considering a second straight bid for the Republican nomination, has long had a reputation as a staunch social conservative. ‘My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are. I can criticize, and I do, for what people do, for their behavior. But as far as for who they are, you have to respect everybody,’ Santorum said.

“Santorum did add that ‘these are tough issues’ for both businesses and society, including the question of whether Jenner could use a women’s bathroom. Santorum has been one of the GOP’s most strident opponents of gay marriage over the years, at one point comparing the issue to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Last month, Santorum said he wouldn’t attend a gay wedding – something other potential GOP candidates have said they would.”

“Hillary Clinton Believes She Is a God”

Breitbart reported on May 2:

“In a candid interview, Nigerian bishop Emmanuel Badejo has responded bluntly to Hillary Clinton’s recent assertion that religious beliefs ‘have to be changed’ in order to give women access to reproductive health care. ‘If these values are not precious to Hillary Clinton, I think she has no right at all to call for a change in religious values and religious beliefs,’ he said. ‘I believe there are three groups of people in this world: those who believe in God, those who do not believe in God, and those who think they are gods. Hillary Clinton I think is one of those who thinks she is a god,’ said Badejo, who is Director of Communications for the African Bishops.”

It is amazing that Catholic Bishop Badejo would equate those who believe they can change God’s spiritual law with those who believe they are “gods.” The Roman Catholic Church has changed consistently God’s spiritual law and His values, by replacing the Sabbath with Sunday, God’s annual Holy Days with holidays such as Christmas and Easter which have their origin in paganism, and God’s prohibition against killing with the concept of a “justified” war, just to list a few examples. The time will come when a Pope will sit in the future Temple of God in Jerusalem, claiming to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), and when he sets “his heart as the heart of a god” (Ezekiel 28:6), but then realizes that he is just a man, and not a god (verse 9).

The Russian Rehabilitation of Evil Stalin

AFP wrote on May 5:

“Since President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000, there has been a growing chorus of Russians who take a positive view of the Soviet tyrant’s role in history… The palpable change… has particularly come into stark focus in the run-up to Russia’s celebrations of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in WWII… In February, Russia unveiled a monument to the watershed 1945 ‘Big Three’ Yalta summit that features Stalin along with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill, despite objections from Crimean Tatars, an ethnic group persecuted under his rule…

“‘Stalin’s rehabilitation is being steadily implemented,’ Nikita Petrov, a historian at Memorial, Russia’s most prominent rights organisation, told AFP. ‘It’s a sign of unlearnt history lessons, a reluctance to look at yourself and honestly admit that we took the wrong path and that our country committed a host of crimes against its own people and the people of neighbouring states.’ He said officials, who are nostalgic for the superpower status of the USSR, have consciously been promoting Stalin as a tough leader who led the Soviet Union to victory in WWII and presided over the country’s industrialisation. Those sentiments are now shared by many everyday Russians…

“45 percent of respondents said in March that sacrifices sustained by people under Stalin were justified by the country’s ‘great goals’, up from 27 percent in October 2008. On top of that, the number of those who viewed Stalin negatively fell to 20 percent from 43 percent in April 2001… According to Petrov of the Memorial rights group, which is dedicated to honouring the memory of Stalin-era victims, about ten million people died of starvation, more than five million were displaced, and about six to seven million were arrested for political reasons. Many analysts warn that unless Russians get the Stalin cult out of their system history may repeat itself.”

Stalin was a brutal mass murderer… no better than Hitler. Russia’s positive view of him is alarming and frightening indeed.

The German Navy Gets Involved

Deutsche Welle reported on May 2:

“The German navy has sent two ships as part of efforts to prevent migrants from dying in the Mediterranean. The EU was spurred into action after a migrant ship capsized, killing around 800 people a few weeks ago… The frigate is equipped with a radar system that would allow it to locate migrant boats as far as 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. It would also be capable of picking up up to 100 people in distress. The combat support ship, on the other hand, is equipped with a military hospital and has the capacity to treat 250 people for two days… a German army source… said that the two German ships would not be tasked with trying to catch human traffickers who take money from would-be migrants…

“France and Britain are among EU countries that pledged during last month’s Brussels summit to send more ships to the Mediterranean [to] cope with the problem. The leaders also agreed to triple funding for the Triton border protection mission. The conflicts in Syria and Libya have contributed to a major increase in the number of migrants attempting the crossing…”

“European Army One of the Main Goals for EU”

SputnikNews.com reported on May 3:

“Creating a European army remains one of the main goals for [the] EU, but it is important to start strengthening the union’s security system now, Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. A European army is a long-term goal, while for now the most important thing is to gradually strengthen the European Defense Community, she said.

“Answering a question on the goals of strengthening the European Defense Community, von der Leyen said that the Ebola outbreak and Islamic State organization’s attacks on Yazidis demonstrated that in case of crisis, Europe needs to be more flexible and quick in providing a response.”

Germany Remembers Dachau

AFP wrote on May 3:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Sunday that society must ‘never close its eyes’ to anti-Semitism as she joined Holocaust survivors to mark 70 years since the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau… American forces liberated the Dachau camp on April 29, 1945 and discovered on arrival the unspeakable horror that had led to the death of around 43,000 people from starvation or disease…

“US President Barack Obama paid tribute Wednesday to the more than 200,000 Jews, gays, Roma, political opponents, the disabled and prisoners of war who were imprisoned at Dachau from 1933…”

The Associated Press wrote on May 3:

“Merkel thanked survivors for sharing memories of suffering that is ‘beyond our imagination,’ which she said help young people today ‘connect naked numbers and data with faces, names and individual lives.’ And she stressed the importance of ensuring that today’s youth do not turn to extremism. All in Germany must ‘make unmistakably clear that Jewish life is part of our identity; that discrimination, marginalization and anti-Semitism can have no place here, that they must be fought with determination and the full force of legal means,’ she said.

“Abba Naor, a Lithuanian-born former Dachau prisoner who now lives in Israel… recalled an SS guard ordering the killing of a new-born Jewish boy in December 1944 and reports that some SS commanders were ‘loving fathers who played with their children after they had driven thousands into the gas chambers… If you think the Nazis were inhuman, then you’re wrong,’ he said. ‘They were humans like you and me. And that is what is so terrible.’”

The German NSA Scandal… Is Getting Worse

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 5:

“The Austrian government has filed suit due to suspicions that Germany’s BND spying agency, in collaboration with the NSA, may have spied on its authorities and companies… German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her country’s intelligence agency on Monday against suggestions that it illegally assisted the US in spying on politicians and companies in Europe, including France’s Airbus, the main competitor of America’s Boeing aircraft manufacturer. [Subsequently, the French aviation giant Airbus has announced that it would file a criminal complaint.]

“But the BND affair does not promise to go away quietly and has shown how dangerous it could prove for the ‘untouchable’ Ms. Merkel and her Christian Democrats (CDU). Sigmar Gabriel, the vice-chancellor from coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), broke a Berlin taboo on Monday by discussing a personal conversation he had with the chancellor over the matter… He hedged his comments, however, by adding that if [Merkel’s] allegations turn out [not] to be true, ‘it would be a big strain of the faith of the economy in governmental behavior.’

“Gabriel’s move was deemed a ‘clever’ one by analysts – a way to put responsibility on Chancellor Merkel and her CDU as his party continues to trail them in the polls – while stopping short of openly challenging her.”

On Tuesday, Gabriel added in parliament that the CDU has been in power for over 10 years and are therefore responsible. Der Spiegel Online said that the harmony between the two partners is over, and Bild Online spoke of an open rift between the two coalition parties. According to Deutsche Welle, dated May 6, “A poll released Wednesday found that 62 percent of respondents… believe the affair has damaged Merkel’s credibility.”

De Maiziere “Knew Nothing”!

The Local wrote on May 7:

“Merkel’s close ally, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière… emerged from a closed-door grilling by a parliamentary oversight panel, denying any wrongdoing while he ran her office and oversaw intelligence matters. ‘As chancellery chief of staff in 2008 I knew nothing about search terms from the US side or … similar things for the purpose of industrial espionage in Germany,’ he told reporters…

“… de Maiziere was accused of misleading parliament over the ‘BND affair’… Opposition politicians harshly disagreed with the latest comments by de Maiziere, who was last week caricatured as a liar with a Pinocchio nose in Germany’s best-selling newspaper Bild…

“Domestically, the scandal presents a rare threat to the broadly popular Merkel… Now facing allegations of hypocrisy, Merkel has softened her statement to say friends ‘shouldn’t’ spy on each other, while stressing the importance of US intelligence cooperation in the face of terrorist threats… For now the affair shows no sign of abating…”

De Maiziere is famous for his proclaimed “innocence.” He has weathered several scandals in the past, when his integrity, honesty and competency were severely questioned.

BND Cuts Spy Data Feed to NSA

The Local wrote on May 7:

“The foreign intelligence agency BND this week stopped sharing Internet surveillance data with the US National Security Agency (NSA), passing on only fax and phone intercepts… Berlin now demands that the NSA provide a justification for each online surveillance request, reported the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, public broadcasters NDR and WDR, and national news agency DPA…

“‘This is definitely a dramatic step,’ said Green party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz, who serves on a parliamentary panel investigating the NSA’s surveillance activities… , charging that the [German] government was unable ‘to protect German and European interests’… The ‘BND affair’ has rattled the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel and caused a rift in her ‘grand coalition’ government with the centre-left Social Democrats…”

“Animals Will Waste Away”

The Washington Post  wrote on May 6:

“… on California’s sprawling Carrizo Plain, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles,… the drought is turning hundreds of thousands of acres of grassland into desert.

“Without grass, long-legged kangaroo rats cannot eat. And as they go, so go a variety of threatened animals that depend on the keystone species to live…

“Endangered kangaroo rats are just one falling tile in the drought’s domino effect on wildlife in the lower Western states. Large fish kills are happening in several states as waters heated by higher temperatures drain and lose oxygen. In Northern California, salmon eggs have virtually disappeared as water levels fall. Thousands of migrating birds are crowding into wetlands shrunk by drought, risking the spread of disease that can cause huge die-offs.

“As the baking Western landscape becomes hotter and drier, land animals are being forced to seek water and food far outside their normal range. Herbivores such as deer and rabbits searching for a meal in urban gardens in Reno are sometimes pursued by hawks, bobcats and mountain lions. In Arizona, rattlesnakes have come to Flagstaff, joining bears and other animals in search of food that no longer exists in their habitat…

“About 4,000 mule deer have vanished from a mountain range near Reno since late last year, probably because of drought…

“Chinook salmon are in great danger… For two years, only 5 percent of their eggs have survived winter and spring migrations because the cold water their eggs need to survive drains from rivers and reservoirs…

“Smelt are at the lowest number ever recorded in the state. They are a major forage fish, feeding other fish and birds in the marine ecosystem…”

The warning in Hosea 4:3 comes to mind: “… the beast of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.”

The Armenian Genocide Through the Turks

While many countries and leaders have recognized and labeled as genocide the slaughter of Armenians through the Turks, President Obama once again refused to use the term.

On April 23, The Washington Post wrote this:

“As he has for the last six years, President Obama on Thursday marked the day set aside to commemorate the mass killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire without using the word ‘genocide.’… The statement… was again a bow to NATO ally Turkey, which has denied what took place was genocide… Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu [had] said that any use by Obama of the term would have a ‘detrimental effect’ on U.S.-Turkish relations…

“Turkey, the democratic successor to the Ottomans, has long denied what took place during the early days of World War I constituted a genocide. The word was first coined in 1943, at least partly referring to the Armenian tragedy but most commonly associated since then with the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany…”

The Huffington Post wrote on April 23 about the facts, clearly establishing that Turkish behavior was genocide:

“In 1915, more than 1.5 million Armenians were systematically annihilated by Ottoman-era Turkish authorities. Men, women and children were massacred, deported and condemned to death marches into the Syrian Desert where they died of thirst and starvation. No final rites, no burial — an assault on the dignity of a dignified and proud people. This indisputable tragedy of history has been acknowledged by innumerable scholars and historians, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and no less than 53 Nobel Laureates. The European Parliament and Pope Francis recently joined the chorus that honestly labels this horrific chapter of Turkey’s history a genocide.

“Hopelessly infected by the disease of denial, modern-day Turkish authorities have now made it clear they were never going to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the Genocide with anything approaching candor, honesty or the most minimal degree of self-reflection… In Turkey, anyone who uses the word ‘genocide’ to describe the massacre of the Armenians is subject to criminal punishment under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code…”

Even German President Gauck—after a long time of silence by German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel,—has now, for the first time, publicly used the word genocide.

Deutsche Welle reported on April 24:

“[During an] ecumenical ceremony in Berlin on Thursday evening… German President Joachim Gauck… referred to the massacres as genocide… In the run-up to discussions in the German parliament, the leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany declared the killings to have been genocide… Turkey has fiercely lobbied to stop countries recognizing the 1915 massacres as genocide… On Thursday, it recalled its ambassador in Vienna over a condemnation of the killings as genocide by Austrian lawmakers…

“Genocide was defined by the UN in 1948 as ‘acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.’ More than 20 countries – France and Russia among them – have so far recognized the Armenian killings as genocide.”

However, Der Spiegel Online added on April 23:

“A total of 22 countries officially define the massacre that took place as such, although Germany, which is home to a large Turkish population, is not one of them… There are only rough estimates of the number of Armenians, Jews, Greeks and Yazidis who converted to Islam in order to prevent death or oppression at the time…

“At the time, Russia was standing in wait at the borders. The Ottomans, led by the Germany military, suspected the Armenians were collaborating with the Russian enemy… The Armenians were expelled. Officially, it was called deportation, but the reality is that the Armenians were sent on death marches into the desert where they starved, were attacked and murdered…”

Now discussions in the German parliament have begun to decide whether or not to refer to the massacre at least “indirectly” as genocide. So, America and Germany seem to be partners again–on the issue of being “careful” for political gain.

On April 24, The Local pointed out the politically-motivated conduct of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who insisted on Friday that “calling Armenian massacres genocide risks belittling the Holocaust, after President Joachim Gauck broke a taboo by using the word on Thursday…

“Steinmeier has come in for fierce criticism this week, with one high profile politician comparing him to Germany’s First World War leadership. Both Gauck and Bundestag (German parliament) president Norbert Lammert condemned the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman forces a century ago as a ‘genocide’, the first time Germany has officially used the term… Germany also has a three-million-strong ethnic Turkish population deriving from a massive ‘guest worker’ programme in the 1960s and 1970s…”

Sadly, Israel does not fare any better.

The Washington Post wrote on April 24:

“…Israel and the United States… don’t recognize what happened a century ago as a ‘genocide.’ The reason for this skittishness is nationalist politics… For decades, the stubborn Turkish position compelled the United States, a staunch ally, to avoid ruffling Ankara’s feathers. The same was true for Israel, which, ironically until Erdogan’s rise, had close political and military ties to Turkey…

“Israel has  a conspicuously close relationship to Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority state that, like Armenia, emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Israel  imports 40 percent of its oil from Azerbaijan and exports a considerable supply of weapons and defense systems to Baku. Armenia and Azerbaijan do not get along, and still feud over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan that the two countries battled over shortly after winning independence in 1991.

“Last week, after the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesman said it was an example of European double-standards — since Armenia has yet to atone for its alleged role in deadly massacres in the 1990s. There are multiple, complicated layers of history here, but Israel knows what’s clearly in its interest. Azerbaijan, petro-rich and perched on Iran’s border, is a useful friend — at least more so than tiny, land-locked Armenia…”

But Israel will become bitterly disappointed about Turkey, when that country will collaborate with Europe against Israel. So, it’s all about politics and personal advantages. What a crying shame!!!!

Turkey Will Not Forgive!

Newsmax reported on April 24:

“Turkey on Friday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for referring to genocide during commemorations of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians during World War I. The Turkish foreign ministry said that ‘we reject and condemn . . . [Putin’s] characterization of 1915 events as genocide despite all our warnings and calls.’ …  The foreign ministry also condemned French President Francois Hollande, who attended the ceremony in the Armenian capital Yerevan. ‘Turkey rejects and condemns France’s unfair and biased approach,’ it said…

“In a separate statement, the Turkish foreign ministry lashed out against ‘unfounded accusations’ directed by German President Joachim Gauck, who characterized the 1915 killings as genocide and acknowledged that Germany bore partial blame for the bloodletting… ‘Turkish people will not forget or forgive German President Gauck’s statements,’ it added.

“Earlier this month, Pope Francis drew Turkey’s wrath after describing the 1915 killings as ‘the first genocide of the 20th century.’ Turkey summoned the Vatican ambassador in Ankara over the remarks and recalled the Turkish envoy to the Holy See…

“President Barack Obama on Thursday described the killings as ‘terrible carnage’ but avoided the term ‘genocide.’…  Ankara also criticized Obama’s statement, which it said reflected a ‘unilateral point of view,’ and added, ‘We reject the discriminating and biased understanding of justice.’…”

America’s Descent into the Abyss of Sexual Perversion

CNN wrote on April 23:

“It’s only April, but 2015 may be remembered as the year the term ‘transgender’ fully entered mainstream consciousness. In January, President Obama condemned the persecution of ‘people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,’ becoming the first president to utter the word in a State of the Union address…

“Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity — their internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman — differs from what’s typically associated with their sex at birth. Some transgender people alter their bodies through hormones and or surgery, although many don’t…

“Now, between ‘Transparent’ and other shows, recognition from Obama and tabloid headlines about Jenner, the national conversation around gender identity appears to have reached a new level… For relatives and friends who are used to seeing someone as male or female, gender changes can be hard to accept. Transgender people have long been misunderstood and persecuted — as recently as 2012, the American Psychiatric Association classified them as having a mental ‘disorder.’…

“In December, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that transgender people will receive federal protection from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…”

Judaism is not behaving any better, as the next article shows.

Abominable Jewish Twisting of the Bible

The Time of Israel, dated April 24, wrote the following:

“For Judaism, all this talk of transgender is old hat.

“In rabbinic literature, Judaism has held an ongoing 2,000-year conversation on the subject of gender, and terminology for the transgendered appears hundreds of times in the Midrash, Mishnah and Talmud. Even the biblical creation of the world could be interpreted through a transgender lens…

“In the midrash Bereshit Rabba, a biblical expositive text on the book of Genesis redacted around the 5th century CE, Rabbi Yirmiya Ben Lazar said that at the time God created the first man, He created him ‘androgynous.’ As stated in Genesis 1:27, ‘God created him in His image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.’

“The midrash continues that according to Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman, when God created the first man, ‘He created him with two faces and sawed them apart, and made them with two backs here, and two backs there.’

“Most streams of progressive Judaism accept and welcome the transgender community with open arms. There are a growing number of transgender rabbis who are spearheading the creation of new and innovative rituals, or the changing of existing liturgy to reflect more inclusive language.

“But the question of halacha vis-a-vis the Orthodox transgender community is much more complicated, and often fraught with emotional turmoil… for many, if not most, in the transgender community, surgery and cross-gender hormones are an integral part of their transition. These steps… present serious halachic problems, including ‘the prohibition of sirus — castration/sterilization, which is a Biblical prohibition for men (Leviticus 22:24) and at least a Rabbinic prohibition for women (Even HaEzer 5:11). Authorities understand the forbidding of cross-dressing (Deuteronomy 22:5) as including any procedure (including hormonal treatments) that leads to the appearance of another gender. Bodily mutilation is one of the other difficult issues…”

Let us be clear. According to the Bible, God created first a man, Adam, and then He created a female, Eve, out of the rib of the man. Eve was to be a helper to the man. By no stretch of the imagination can one twist the Scriptures to say that God created the human being as a transgender. In addition, the very concept of “transgender” is an abomination in the eyes of God.

American Jews and Buddhists Overwhelmingly in Favor of Same-Sex Marriages

JTA wrote on April 22:

“Jews are overwhelmingly supportive of same-sex marriage, according to a new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute… 47 percent said they strongly favor allowing same-sex couples to marry legally and 30 percent said they favor it. Nine percent of respondents said they oppose gay marriage, and the same percentage said they strongly oppose it…

“After Buddhists, Jews were more likely than any other religious group to support gay marriage. Among the survey respondents, 84 percent of Buddhists favored gay marriage, followed by Jews and the religiously unaffiliated, 77 percent; mainline Protestants (Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Unitarians), 62 percent; and Catholics, 61 percent.

“Those opposed to gay marriage outnumbered supporters among Jehovah’s Witnesses, with 75 percent opposed; Mormons, 68 percent; and white evangelicals, 66 percent.

“Overall, support for same-sex marriage rose sharply from 2003, when Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize gay marriage. Then, less than one-third of Americans supported gay marriage and 59 percent opposed. By early 2014, 53 percent supported gay marriage and 41 percent were opposed…

“Politically, gay marriage had support levels in 2014 of 64 percent among Democrats, 57 percent among independents and 34 percent among Republicans. The 2014 survey also showed a significant age gap, with 69 percent of millennials supporting gay marriage compared to 37 percent of those age 68 and older.”

This shows that many Buddhists, Jews, mainline Protestants and Catholics, especially the younger generation, have been drifting away more and more from godly standards, as revealed in the Bible.

The Change in Politicians on Same-Sex Marriages to GET More Votes

The New York Times wrote on April 26:

“Rick Santorum said he would never attend a same-sex wedding. Marco Rubio said he might attend one. Scott Walker actually went to a same-sex wedding reception… Ted Cruz said he is firmly opposed to gay marriage, but would be comfortable if his daughter were gay.

“Republican presidential candidates are struggling to adjust to a rapidly changing legal, political and cultural landscape this primary season…  Once a winning primary issue as well as a powerful wedge issue wielded against Democrats, opposing same-sex marriage has grown far more complicated for Republicans… it looms as a liability with general election voters, particularly independent ones, who are more supportive of same-sex marriage than more conservative Republicans…”

Of course, Hillary Clinton stated as late as 2004 that “heterosexual marriage is a fundamental bedrock principle of civilization.” Now she “evolved” into endorsing same-sex marriages (SSM).

Stupid Same-Sex Couple Decision by Oregon Judiciary

Breitbart wrote on April 26:

“An Oregon judge has awarded Lesbian couple Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer $135,000 for ‘emotional damages’ in a lawsuit against Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes Bakery. They are a Christian couple who declined to provide a wedding cake to the same-sex couple in 2013. In their lawsuit, the two women claimed they felt ‘mentally raped’ as part of a list of 88 symptoms of emotional distress they experienced at being refused a cake.

“The long list of symptoms included ‘acute loss of confidence, doubt, excessive sleep, felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful, high blood pressure, impaired digestion, loss of appetite, migraine headaches, pale and sick at home after work, resumption of smoking habit, shock, stunned, surprise, uncertainty, weight gain and worry’…

“The award will reportedly bankrupt the seven-member Klein family and force Sweet Cakes by Melissa Bakery to shut down. The Kleins’ lawyer, Anna Harmon, said that the damages awarded were not limited to the sale of business assets, but would be taken out of their personal funds. The important thing to realize is this,’ Harmon said, ‘This is real money that Aaron and Melissa are going to have to pay that otherwise would be used to pay their mortgage and feed their kids.’…

‘This past February, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) announced that the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery must pay the lesbian couple damages for refusing to sell them a wedding cake. BOLI spokesman Charlie Burr said there was sufficient evidence that the bakers discriminated against the same-sex couple.

“A GoFundMe crowdfunding page in support of the bakery had been set up, but was deleted after the judge’s ruling Friday, since GoFundMe’s terms of service do not allow fundraising for people found in violation of the law.”

We really DO need some “no-nonsense judges” in this country. What an atrocity in the “religious” land of the “brave and the free,” purporting to guarantee free speech and freedom of religion, while suppressing and punishing religious convictions, which are based on the Bible (!). No wonder God is ANGRY with the USA, calling it an “ungodly nation” (Isaiah 10:6).

Christians Pledge Civil Disobedience in Same-Sex Marriage Cases

Fox News wrote on April 28:

“‘We will not obey.’ That’s the blunt warning a group of prominent religious leaders is sending to the Supreme Court of the United States as they consider same-sex marriage. ‘We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross that line,’ read a document titled, Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage. ‘We stand united together in defense of marriage. Make no mistake about our resolve.’…

“The signees are a who’s who of religious leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, National Religious Broadcasters president Jerry Johnson, Pastor John Hagee, and Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association… And that means the possibility of Christians – people of faith – engaging in acts of civil disobedience.”

US Economy Not That Good!

Bloomberg wrote on April 29:

“The world’s largest economy sputtered to a near-halt in the first quarter, choked by a slump in U.S. business investment and exports that dimmed hopes for a meaningful short-term rebound. Gross domestic product rose at a 0.2 percent annualized rate after advancing 2.2 percent the prior quarter…

“The figures come as Federal Reserve policy makers meet, and the weaker-than-forecast reading signals officials will be in no rush to raise interest rates. While the economy is likely to bounce back from the temporary restraints of harsh winter weather and delays at West Coast ports, the harm caused by the plunge in fuel prices and stronger dollar will probably prove longer-lasting… Stocks fell as investors awaited the Fed’s statement. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.6 percent to 2,102.14 at 12:12 p.m. in New York.”

Anger in Baltimore and Elsewhere

Newsmax and AFP wrote on April 29:

“Thousands of young protesters marched through downtown Baltimore and demonstrated in New York on Wednesday demanding justice for an African-American man who died of severe spinal injuries sustained in police custody. In contrast to Monday, when violence erupted and stores were looted, the rally that started at Baltimore’s main train station was good-natured and included black and white demonstrators…

“The 2,000 National Guard personnel who have flooded the city this week kept a low profile, although authorities have said they are primed to swoop should the march spark unrest like that which flared following the funeral of Freddie Gray, 25, on Monday. His death was the latest instance in the United States of a black man succumbing at the hands of police — a situation that has stirred resentment among African Americans who believe they are the victims of police brutality.

“That anger sparked coast-to-coast demonstrations in major US cities after a white policeman shot dead an unarmed black teenager in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson in August. Baltimore authorities urged calm and warned that they would again enforce a citywide curfew beginning at 10:00 pm (0200 GMT Thursday) and lasting until 5:00 am. Tuesday night’s curfew was largely respected…

“Amid the violence on Monday, the Baltimore Orioles postponed two Major League Baseball games against the Chicago White Sox and opted to bar fans from Wednesday’s contest at Camden Yards. The 8-2 victory for the home team was played before empty stands.

“Among the many startling images to emerge from the riots in the city was that of an infuriated mother hitting her teenage son repeatedly for joining the demonstrations on Monday and dragging him away.”

The mother was hailed as a hero and a shining example on numerous left-liberal and conservative TV stations, calling her conduct appropriate “tough love.” It appears that for the time being, Child Protection Services wisely decided not to raise their voice to condemn spanking and physical punishment of children…

No Public Transportation on the Sabbath?

The New York Times wrote on April 25:

“Israelis frustrated with the lack of public buses on the Jewish Sabbath and holidays hijacked the Facebook page of the transportation minister during Passover… The minister, Yisrael Katz, derisively dismissed the ride-seekers as leftist sore losers after conservatives’ success in elections last month…

“As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to stitch together a new governing coalition that is expected to be made up of rightist and religious parties, a continuing struggle over Israeli identity is in the balance. The debate over transportation is part of a larger one over a so-called nationality bill that seeks to redefine the relationship between Israeli democracy and Jewish character, which was among the divisive issues that helped collapse Mr. Netanyahu’s previous coalition last fall.

“Controversy over public transportation predates Israel’s establishment in 1948 — Tel Aviv once banned horse-drawn carriages from its main street on Saturdays — but recent efforts to change the status quo, in which buses are idle in all but a few places, have met stiff opposition…

“Orthodox Jews do not use motor vehicles on the Sabbath and holidays because of prohibitions on igniting fuel, creating sparks and traveling beyond certain distances… adherents to these strictures make up perhaps a fifth of Israel’s population…

“Experts on religion and state say that Israeli politicians have for decades traded control over public transportation on Shabbat — along with marriage, conversion and rules at religious sites — to the Orthodox in exchange for their support on foreign policy. While allowing transportation services could actually reduce the number of drivers violating Orthodox rules, analysts said such specifics were less important than the symbolism…”

As we pointed out in our last Update, when discussing ridiculous Jewish Sabbath restrictions, this article serves as another example of Pharisaical unbiblical rules which are clearly condemned in Scripture. As at the time of Christ, orthodox Judaism has made a burden out of the Sabbath, which was created by God to be a joy for man. But without the lead of God’s Holy Spirit, man cannot and will not understand the intent of God’s Law, including the Sabbath law.

USA Will Continue Controversial Drone Strikes in Spite of Killing Innocent People

The Daily Beast wrote on April 24:

“The accidental slaying of a pair of Westerners won’t end—or even significantly change—the American unmanned air campaign that has been responsible for thousands of deaths. The United States’ controversial campaign of drone strikes will continue despite the accidental killing of a pair of Western hostages, four U.S. officials told The Daily Beast. These sources said they don’t expect the rules governing the strikes to change significantly.

“Defense officials told The Daily Beast there was no immediate discussion to suspend their drone program, including the use of ‘signature strikes,’ which target people based on patterns of behavior, even if their identity is unclear. American contractor Warren Weinstein and Italian hostage Giovanni Lo Porto were killed in one such signature strike in January.

“Officials said that the military conducts far fewer signature strikes than the CIA, which attacked the compound in Pakistan where the two men were being held. But while acknowledging that Weinstein and Lo Porto’s deaths were tragic, defense officials described them as unavoidable. ‘It’s a war. Tragedies unfortunately happen,’ one U.S. official said…

“‘They clearly have no idea, literally no idea, of who it is that they’re killing,’ Chris Anders, the senior legislative council at the American Civil Liberties Union, told The Daily Beast. ‘And there are thousands of people who have been killed through the drone program.’ Anders noted that the administration has acknowledged eight American citizens have been killed in drone strikes, but that only one of them was knowingly targeted…

“Elaine Weinstein, the widow of Warren Weinstein, criticized U.S. intelligence agencies in a statement Thursday for what she called ‘inconsistent and disappointing’ assistance during the years her husband was held by Al Qaeda. ‘We hope that my husband’s death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the U.S. Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families.’…

“The U.S. government’s hostage rescue policy has been notoriously disjointed, with agencies withholding information from one another…”

Newsmax added on April 27:

“President Barack Obama has gotten support with the drone strike deaths of two hostages from a very unlikely source — Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. ‘I tend not to want to blame the president for the loss of life here,’ the Republican lawmaker and 2016 presidential candidate told Fox News. ‘I think he was trying to do the right thing.’… Paul’s statement seems a dramatic reversal of his attitude on drones. His past opposition to drone warfare has been well known…

“In 2013, Paul had conducted a 13-hour filibuster against CIA Director John Brennan over U.S. drone policy… Earlier this year, Paul told CNN that if a drone flies over his house, ‘They better beware, because I’ve got a shotgun’…

“However, Paul told Fox News, ‘So these people were in a war zone and probably got what was coming to them — the captors. Unfortunately, some innocent people lost their life.’”

These political maneuverings just to GET votes are so despicable. But Paul’s “dramatic reversal” might back-fire on him. War is SO wrong, and the practice of using drones to kill innocent people must be strongly condemned. There is NO excuse for such conduct.

2010 Al-Qaida Plot to Attack the Vatican

Newsmax and Reuters reported on April 24:

“The arrests of 10 people in Italy Friday linked to an al-Qaida plot to attack the Vatican and other cities represented a widening of the battle Islamic jihadists are waging against Christians around the world, terrorism experts said. ‘What disturbs me is the target, the Vatican,’ intelligence analyst Bob Baer told CNN. ‘We’re seeing a radicalization of Islam that I haven’t seen before. The Vatican is not a participant in any of the wars in the Middle East. There’s no justification that we can understand why they’re at war with the Vatican.’

“Noting the recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Libya, Baer told Wolf Blitzer, ‘things seem to be getting worse rather than better’…  the Vatican attack was planned for March 2010 as part of ‘a big jihad in Italy,’ said Mario Carta, head of the police unit on the case. Pope Benedict XVI was serving at the time. He was succeeded in March 2013 by Pope Francis. ‘We don’t have proof, we have strong suspicion,’ that Pope Benedict was a possible target, Carta said…

“Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said that the issue was in the past and that Friday’s disclosures were not a matter for concern. However, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said: ‘We are all afraid because we don’t know what can happen.’”

The Miracle of Fatima—A Huge Fraud

On April 27, Zenit reported the following:

“Pope Francis is expected to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal) in 2017 on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary… On May 13th, 1917, three shepherd children: Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto and Francisco Marto were visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary. After several months, almost 30,000 people witnessed ‘The Miracle of the Sun’, a phenomenon in which the sun spun and changed colors. The sign was promised by the Virgin Mary so that the faithful would believe. St. John Paul II credited the Blessed Mother with saving his life from an assassin’s bullet on May 13th, 1981. He later placed the bullet in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.”

IF the three children actually witnessed something, it was clearly NOT the “Virgin Mary,” as Mary, the mother of Jesus, is dead and awaiting the resurrection from the dead with all the other faithful servants of God who likewise died over the centuries and Millennia (Hebrews 11:13). Jesus is the ONLY one who has been raised from the dead to glory and immortality (1 Corinthians 15:22-24). The “apparition” and subsequent phenomenon of the “miracle of the sun,” if true, would have to be ascribed to demonic activities.

“Eurozone Slams Door on Greek Hopes”

The EuObserver wrote on April 24:

“Greece is no closer to agreeing a new deal with its eurozone creditors after the latest round of talks broke up acrimoniously, with one fellow minister describing the meeting as a ‘complete communication breakdown’… Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was on the receiving end of heavy criticism at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Riga. The meeting broke up on Friday lunchtime… without agreement on an economic reform package that would allow the remaining €7.2 billion of Greece’s bailout programme to be paid out…”

The Telegraph added on April 24:

“Time is running out for Greece, officials have warned at a crucial eurozone meeting in which finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was heavily criticised for stalling over urgent measures needed to release vital financial aid… Greece’s current €240bn programme expires at the end of June. Before then, the Greek government is trying to unlock the remaining €7.2bn to prevent the country from bankruptcy. Watchers had long given up hope of a deal being struck at today’s finance ministers’ meeting in Riga…

“Germany, the chief funder of eurozone bailouts, has taken a hard-line approach to Greece’s financial woes this year and officials have repeatedly expressed concern that Greece isn’t doing enough to meet its bail-out requirements… As the stalemate risks running into another month, the risk of a Greek default rises along with an exit from the single currency.”

The Financial Times wrote on April 24:

“Months of mounting tensions between Greece and its creditors boiled over at a high-level EU meeting on Friday with eurozone finance ministers angrily accusing their Greek counterpart of backtracking on commitments and failing to grasp the deep differences that still divide them…

“The contentious session undermined claims by Greek officials that a Thursday meeting in Brussels between Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, and Angela Merkel, his German counterpart, had narrowed the differences. The claims briefly sent the euro rallying in morning trading, but those gains evaporated after news of the differences emerged…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 27:

“Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may be ready to compromise with the EU and introduce reforms… Tsipras was finally ready to negotiate after he spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem in separate phone calls on Sunday. He then met Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis, causing the media in Greek to speculate that Varoufakis would be slowly removed from the position of chief negotiator in Greece’s talks with its creditors… ‘They want his head,’ said a headline in the Greek daily Ta Nea…

“Experts say that Prime Minister Tsipras will need to make tough choices, like cutting pensions and reducing public spending to convince his financers. If he does not agree, the country could default on its payments, but if he agrees to the reforms, he could face opposition from radical leaders in his own Syriza party. The toughest challenge for Tsipras would be to get support from the parliament on implementing pension cuts. However, advisors say Tsipras should decide on spending cuts through a referendum to solve the problem.”

Der Spiegel Online added on April 27:

“… new Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos categorically rules out his country exiting the euro zone and supports calls for German reparations payments in connection with Nazi war crimes… Although Greece is under tremendous financial stress, with the government now forcing hospitals, universities and public agencies to hand over their savings to the central bank, Pavlopoulos stated that his country would fulfill all of its obligations…

“After last week’s meeting of the Euro Group once again failed to deliver an agreement, most EU politicians do not share this view…

“Pavlopoulos clearly denied threats from other Greek politicians to confiscate property in Greece owned by the German state… The Greek president said the seizure of German property was not a consideration…”

New Scandal in Merkel’s Government… NSA Snooping and German Hypocrisy

The Local wrote on April 27:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office has known since 2008 of US economic espionage targeting European companies… but did not react, Bild said Monday, citing intelligence agency documents… The report is potentially embarrassing for the German government, which has always portrayed itself as a victim of spying by its allies, notably the United States.

“Germany reacted with outrage at revelations in 2013 by fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden that the NSA was conducting massive Internet and phone data sweeps, including in Germany. The revelations, which included claims the NSA tapped Merkel’s mobile phone, strained ties between Washington and Berlin.

“The documents cited by Bild refer to NSA attempts to keep tabs on telephone numbers and email addresses at EADS, the aerospace and defence group now known as Airbus and Eurocopter, which now goes by the name of Airbus Helicopters…

“‘It was definitely known for years in the chancellery that the NSA tried, with German help, to monitor German companies,’ Bild quoted an unidentified source from the Bundestag (German parliament) NSA inquiry committee as saying. ‘It is unlikely and would be highly unusual if the head of the chancellery would not have been informed about such an occurrence,’ the source added…

“German news weekly Spiegel reported last week that the NSA spied on European companies for years with the help of German intelligence. The American agency is believed to have provided the BND with mail addresses and mobile phone numbers which were then monitored by the Germans on behalf of the United States, Spiegel Online reported.”

The Local wrote on April 29:

“The government has been accused of lying to the Bundestag (German parliament) after it emerged last week that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office knew German spies were conducting economic espionage on behalf of the Americans. ‘We have no knowledge of alleged economic espionage by the NSA or other US agencies in other countries,’ the Interior Ministry wrote to the Bundestag on April 14th in response to a question from the opposition Linke (Left Party). Statements of this kind are signed off by the whole government.

“But it emerged last week that Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) had been spying on German and European companies on behalf of the NSA. Further, officials at the Chancellery, which is responsible for overseeing the BND, knew about the economic espionage and did nothing.

“The Chancellery knew as early as 2010 that the NSA had asked the BND to target firms including arms companies EADS and Eurocopter, both since merged into Airbus.The NSA provided the BND with email addresses , phone numbers and other ‘selectors’ (identifying information) belonging to the company’s employees and asked the Germans to monitor their communications. A press release from the government last week said that the Chancellery was ‘now checking whether parliamentary answers in this case remain totally valid’…

“Linke MP Jan Korte told Der Spiegel on Wednesday that ‘the parliamentary answer from April 14th is very clearly a lie’. He wouldn’t believe ‘one more word’ from the government relating to spying, he said.

“The latest twist in the scandal puts Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière under pressure, as he was head of the Chancellery from 2005-09 and ultimately responsible for supervising the spies. Mass-circulation tabloid Bild singled de Maizière out for a broadside on Wednesday, saying that he was ‘lying in black and white’ [the German said: “Sie luegen wie gedruckt,” a very strong accusation] and illustrating the story with a picture of the minister with Pinnochio’s long nose…”

Deutsche Welle reported on April 29:

“De Maiziere… said on Wednesday the accusations were ‘untrue’ and could be disproved by documents, which needed to remain secret…

“Opposition Greens parliamentary co-leader Anton Hofreiter told the newspaper Rheinische Post: ‘Either the BND under Chancellor Merkel has gotten fully out of control or the government has lied to the public’… The opposition Pirate party leader in the North Rhine-Westphalia state assembly in Düsseldorf, Joachim Paul, said on Wednesday his party would ask Germany’s federal prosecutions office to press charges against Chancellery and BND officials. If there was suspicion of NSA economic espionage and the Chancellery was informed of this, then it would amount to treason, Paul said.”

The Local added on April 30:

“German intelligence services spied on top French officials and the European Commission on behalf of the American spy agency NSA, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung… A spokeswoman for the German federal government refused to comment when contacted by The Local on Thursday, saying only that it would answer to the parliamentary committees responsible for overseeing the spies in due course…

“Thursday’s revelations are likely to be the most damaging on a diplomatic level, in so far as they affect relations with one of the Federal Republic’s most vital allies.”

That the German government and highly controversial Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière would deny the accusations surprises no one. That the tiny opposition of the Left, the Greens and the Pirate Party will have any substantial  influence in the matter is doubtful—rather, it is to be expected that criminal charges, if they were to be filed, would be immediately dismissed. But it remains to be seen how the German press is going to act and react, since left-liberal and conservative papers alike have begun to smell blood.

Hungary’s Maverick Leader

The Guardian wrote on April 29:

“Hungary’s nationalist rightwing leader, Viktor Orbán, has threatened to reintroduce the death penalty, outlawed in the European Union.

“The prime minister also reinforced his reputation as the EU’s main maverick with a powerful anti-immigration manifesto that equates migrants with terrorists, says immigrants are taking Hungarians’ jobs, recommends internment camps for illegal immigrants and states they should be forced to work.

“[Orban is a] persistent critic of the EU, who holds up Russia’s president Vladimir Putin as a model leader…”

But things will change in Hungary, insofar as the relationship with Russia is concerned, as it is very possible that Hungary will become part of the final ten core nations or groups of nations, leading Europe.

TWO Magma Chambers Underneath the Giant Volcano of Yellowstone National Park

Science wrote on April 23:

“Underneath the bubbling geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming sits a volcanic hot spot that has driven some of the largest eruptions on Earth. Geoscientists have now completely imaged the subterranean plumbing system and have found not just one, but two magma chambers underneath the giant volcano…

“Scientists had already known about a plume, which brings molten rock up from deep in the mantle to a region about 60 kilometers below the surface. And they had also imaged a shallow magma chamber about 10 kilometers below the surface, containing about 10,000 cubic kilometers of molten material. But now they have found a deeper one, 4.5 times larger, that sits between 20 and 50 kilometers below the surface… the deeper chamber does mean that the shallow chamber can be replenished again and again…”

Bild Online added that this new discovery is a time bomb for a natural catastrophe with unimaginable consequences for the entire globe. An eruption would be 1,000 times stronger than the one at Mount St. Helen in 1980.

Huge Earthquake Kills Thousands of People

The Huffington Post reported on April 25:

“A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday killed more than 1,800 people, caused a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest and left a wake of destruction across the broader region… The earthquake [was] the worst to hit Nepal in over 80 years…

“Powerful tremors also rocked neighboring countries, killing 34 in northern India, six in Tibet and two in Bangladesh, as well as two Chinese citizens on the Nepal-China border…

“Nepalese authorities struggled to assess the full scale of the damage across the remote Himalayan nation, with communications systems down in many areas. ‘We are totally cut off from most parts of our country,’ Nepal Disaster Management Authority official Ram Narayan Pandey told Reuters. Many feared the worst. ‘Almost the entire country has been hit,’ Krishna Prasad Dhakal, the deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s Embassy in New Delhi, warned.”

Following powerful aftershocks, The Associated Press wrote on April 27: “The official overall death toll soared past 4,000, even without a full accounting from vulnerable mountain villages that rescue workers were still struggling to reach two days after the disaster.”

Deutsche Welle reported on April 28: “The United Nations has said the earthquake that hit Nepal on the weekend has affected 8 million people. The death toll has passed 5,000 and could rise sharply as aid workers struggle to reach remote villages.”

The Telegraph added on April 28 that “the country’s Prime Minister said the death toll could reach 10,000.”

Bizarre Jurassic Dinosaur Gives Plenty of Headaches to Evolutionists

The Guardian wrote on April 28:

“Fossil hunters in Chile have unearthed the remains of a bizarre Jurassic dinosaur that combined a curious mixture of features from different prehistoric animals. The evolutionary muddle of a beast grew to the size of a small horse and was the most abundant animal to be found 145 million years ago, in what is now the Aysén region of Patagonia. The discovery ranks as one of the most remarkable dinosaur finds of the past 20 years, and promises to cause plenty of headaches for paleontologists hoping to place the animal in the dinosaur family tree.

“’I don’t know how the evolution of dinosaurs produced this kind of animal…’ said Fernando Novas at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires… What’s surprising is that in this locality the most bizarre dinosaur is not the exception, but the rule. It is the most abundant animal we find,’ he added.

“… the animal belongs to the theropod group of dinosaurs, which includes the carnivorous tyrannosaurs and velociraptors. But unlike its meat-eating cousins, Chilesaurus had switched diets and become a vegetarian…”

Or maybe, it was the other way around: Vegetarians became meat-eaters. For more information, please read our new booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.” 

No Inspections in Iran–Ever!

Newsmax reported on April 20:

“A top Iranian commander said over the weekend that Tehran will never permit outsiders to inspect the regime’s military sites under any nuclear agreement, the state media organ Press Television reported. Brigadier Gen. Hossein Salami, the number two official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, said a harsh response would await anyone who raised the subject of inspections. ‘Visiting a military base by a foreign inspector would mean the occupation of our land,’ Salami said. Even discussing the subject is tantamount to ‘national humiliation,’ he added.

“Iran and six world powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China – announced  earlier this month that they had reached a framework deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions. Participants said they would work to conclude a final agreement by June 30. A fact sheet on the framework accord issued by the State Department said Iran would be required to grant the U.N.-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency access to any ‘suspicious sites,’ the Associated Press noted.

“But Iran has questioned numerous points in the fact sheet – including Washington’s claim that sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be lifted only after the IAEA verified Tehran’s compliance with commitments it made in the talks. Iranian leaders, by contrast, have said the deal requires that sanctions be removed immediately, and have accused Washington of lying about its contents…

“Salami declared that permitting foreign inspectors to visit a military base was unacceptable because it would potentially expose Iranian ‘military and defense secrets,’ the Associated Press reported.”

So where is that great deal now? It sounds like it’s a fairy tale of delusional politicians.

Conflict in Yemen—US vs. Iran

The Associated Press reported on April 20:

“The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

“Navy officials said Monday that the Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea. The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid reports that a convoy of about eight Iranian ships is heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. Navy officials said there are about nine U.S. warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels…

“The U.S. has been providing logistical and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia-led coalition launching airstrikes against the Houthis. That air campaign is now in its fourth week… So far… U.S. naval personnel have not boarded any Iranian vessels since the Yemen conflict began.

“White House spokesman Josh Earnest… said the U.S. has concerns about Iran’s ‘continued support for the Houthis… These are exactly the kind of destabilizing activities that we have in mind when we raise concerns about Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East.’”

On April 20, Deutsche Welle added the following about the Pentagon’s usual denial:

“Later on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the US Navy had sent an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile cruiser into the waters near Yemen to conduct maritime security operations. However, he denied that the vessels were on a mission to intercept Iranian arms shipments.”

Russia’s Ambitions in the Middle East

BBC News wrote on April 21:

“Russia’s decision to go ahead with the sale of the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran has angered its critics in the West and alarmed the Israeli government in equal measure. For some it has raised additional question-marks over the fate of any putative nuclear deal between Iran and the international community. But more significantly it may also mark a renewed effort by Moscow to bolster its diplomatic profile in the Middle East…

“During the years of Washington’s active engagement in Iraq, Russia’s once-strong role in the Middle East seemed to have been eclipsed… But in many ways appearances are deceptive. Russia had never really gone away and it has seized upon every opportunity in the wake of the failed ‘Arab spring’ to maximise its influence.

“No more so than with the government of its long-standing ally Syria, whose President, Bashar al-Assad, is anathema to the West, but not for the Kremlin… In addition, its former ally Egypt is again cosying up to Moscow. A major arms deal was signed last year; a sure indication of the military government’s frustration at its dealings with Washington.

“Moscow has also developed a highly pragmatic relationship with the region’s other major power, Turkey…

“Israel gave up arms deals with Georgia and has hesitated to sell lucrative drones to Ukraine in an effort to win favour with Moscow. Closer ties with Iran will also frustrate the Saudis and others in the Gulf…

“These are indeed difficult diplomatic waters to navigate, given the many regional rivalries that have only come to the fore as significant parts of the region’s political landscape have descended into chaos and blood-letting.”

Israel’s attempts to cozy up to Russia will back-fire.

Murders of Pro-Russian Journalists and Politicians in Ukraine

Deutsche Welle reported on April 21:

“… near the center of Kyiv, Ukrainian writer [and pro-Russian journalist] Oles Buzyna was shot dead last Thursday in broad daylight… The presumed assassination of the controversial journalist is particularly sensitive. Only a day earlier, on Wednesday evening, opposition politician Oleh Kalashnikov was shot dead in the Ukrainian capital. He too articulated Kremlin-friendly views. The 52-year-old was a former member of parliament for the pro-Russian Party of Regions.

‘The murders of Buzyna and Kalashnikov are the latest in a series. Ukrainian media have tallied around a dozen murders and suicides of members of the former ruling class in less than a year…

“Opposition politician Olena Bondarenko has received police protection. ‘I have to leave Kyiv,’ she told DW by telephone. She did not want to reveal her current location. The 41-year-old lawmaker and former member of the Party of Regions is known for her pro-Russian views…

“The two recent murders have further fueled the already tense atmosphere in Ukraine…  Whether on television talk shows or social networks, the division in the country has become noticeably deeper. Not infrequently, Ukrainian activists and ordinary citizens even go so far as to praise the killings of pro-Russian politicians, whom they consider ‘traitors.’”

If this continues, Russia will undoubtedly use this as justification to intervene militarily in Ukraine.

Morsi’s Sentence a Travesty of Justice?

Deutsche Welle reported on April 21:

“A Cairo court on Tuesday sentenced Morsi to 20 years for his role in attacks against people protesting his rule in 2012, convicting the former president and 14 associates of use of force, false imprisonment and torture against protesters. Rights group Amnesty International called the verdict ‘a travesty of justice’ and called for Morsi to be either retried, or released. The verdict is subject to appeal. ‘This verdict shatters any remaining illusion of independence and impartiality in Egypt’s criminal justice system,’ said Hassiba Hadj Saharaoui, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International. ‘Any semblance of a fair trial was jeopardized from the outset by a string of irregularities in the judicial process and his arbitrary, incommunicado detention.’

“Morsi’s questioning took place without his lawyers present during his detention in an undisclosed location for four months following his ouster in July 2013. Amnesty also said Morsi’s lawyers could only access case files days before the trial’s start, and that only evidence of violence by Morsi supporters – and not of violence against them – were documented in court…

“Lawyers for the victims, however, told reporters in Cairo that they had anticipated a sterner sentence against the ex-president with regards to the dropped incitement of murder charges. ‘We were expecting them to be convicted of murder,’ Ramy Ghanem, a lawyer for an anti-Morsi protester wounded in the clashes…

“Twenty-two Morsi supporters received death sentences on Monday. The Brotherhood’s leader, Mohammed Badie, faces a death sentence but can appeal; all capital sentences in Egypt must go to an appeals court…

“Though democratically-elected, Morsi was toppled after major public protests against his government, with some in Egypt appealing to the military to intervene. The 63-year-old famously interrupted the first day of his trial repeatedly with cries of ‘I am the president of the republic!’…”

It is a sad truism that, no matter as to how one wants to look at this verdict, many of those in power (especially in dictatorial countries in the Middle East and elsewhere) rule without justice and mercy, until they are toppled by others who will rule without justice and mercy.

Controversial Statements of US Republican Presidential Candidates

Bloomberg News reported on April 19:

“Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says he does not believe sexual orientation is a choice for the ‘enormous majority of people.’ [He added:] ‘In fact, the bottom line is, I believe that sexual preference is something people are born with…’… [He also] said he would attend a same-sex wedding…

“Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he has never had to make such a decision, dodging the question. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who has not announced a campaign yet, said he would not attend such a wedding. Ohio Governor John Kasich, another possible candidate, said he and his wife had been invited to a same-sex wedding and plan to attend…”

The only one who is clear and correct on this particular question, as quoted, is Rick Santorum. You might also want to review carefully the Q&A in this issue, regarding the topic of homosexuality.

Newsmax reported on April 18:

“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told Iowa radio talk-show host Jan Mickelson that the Obama administration had ‘an open hostility toward the Christian faith’ — urging prospective military recruits to enlist after President Barack Obama leaves the White House… ‘There’s nothing more honorable than serving one’s country and there’s no greater heroes to our country than our military,’ Huckabee said. ‘But I might suggest to parents, I’d wait a couple of years until we get a new commander-in-chief who will once again believe in “one nation under God” and believe that people of faith should be a vital part of the process of not only governing this country, but defending this country.’”

Mike Huckabee is correct in advising people not to enlist in the army now, but he is incorrect in advising people to enlist in the army later. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?” 

Controversial Statements of US Democratic Presidential Candidate

The Website of eonline.com reported on April 15:

“Just a few days after officially announcing she will run for president in the 2016 elections, Clinton has addressed one of the most hotly debated topics in politics—marriage equality. In her first remarks about same-sex marriage in nearly a year, a spokeswoman for Clinton’s campaign says [Clinton] hopes the Supreme Court will embrace marriage equality when it considers cases out of four states on April 28. ‘Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right,’ Adrienne Elrod told the Washington Blade today. This means Clinton is the only declared candidate for presidency who believes that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.”

Hillary Clinton is wrong on this issue, and the Supreme Court might very well decide this issue wrongly as well.

One of US’s Biggest Legal Scandal Unfolding

Deutsche Welle reported on April 20:

“The FBI has admitted that most of the experts in its forensic unit gave flawed testimony over two decades. This testimony was crucial in several rape and murder cases, some of which carried the death penalty… The US domestic intelligence service admitted officially that the Washington Post revelations on Saturday were correct. The paper had reported that 26 of 28 examiners with the FBI’s microscopic hair comparison unit had overstated matches of hair at crime scenes in ways that favored the prosecution’s cause. Wrong evidence was included in over 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed for the twenty year period leading up to 2000.

“The paper… found that of the 32 defendants who were sentenced to death during that time, 14 had been executed or had died in prison… The review of a total of 2,000 criminal cases in which the FBI conducted microscopic hair analysis of crime scene evidence is being conducted under an agreement with the US government. It was launched after three men were exonerated by DNA evidence in three separate cases where different FBI analysts had provided scientifically invalid evidence…

“The report reveals one of the US’s biggest legal scandals, revealing that the courts had failed to recognize dubious scientific information that contributed to wrongful convictions in more than a quarter of 329 cases since 1989 where defendants were later exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence…”

How could a true Christian sleep at night if he had served on a jury and convicted a person to death, based on such false evidence and testimony?

How Could the Holocaust Happen?

The EUObserver wrote on April 21:

“The director of the US intelligence service FBI James Comey has caused a diplomatic row between his country and Poland with comments on Polish and Hungarian complicity in the mass killings of Jews during the Second World War. Hungary has also protested against the comments he made… [He said:] ‘In their minds, the murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn’t do something evil. They convinced themselves it was the right thing to do, the thing they had to do. That’s what people do. And that should truly frighten us.’…

“Historians estimate that during the Second World War six millions Jews have been killed. Many of Nazi Germany’s death camps were in the occupied region that is now Poland, but there was no independent Polish government at the time. In 1944-45 Hungary briefly had an anti-Semitic government which killed thousands of Jews…

“Many of Europe’s nations struggled after the war with the question how the genocide could have been allowed. Anti-Semitism was widespread in Europe, and according to historian Mark Mazower governments that were approached for support for the so-called Final Solution, ‘tended to be particularly cooperative in handing over Jewish refugees and other non-nationals’. It is difficult to determine how widespread support for the extermination of Jews was in the popular opinions of regular people in occupied Europe, Mazower notes in his book Dark Continent.

“However, ‘approval of the Final Solution was not a common phenomenon. In response to the horrors of occupation, most people living under Nazi control had retreated into a private world and tried to ignore everything that did not directly concern them.’”

People become complacent and indifferent about the horrors which are happening all around them… and which will increase in the near future. But this is not the attitude which a true Christian should have. He is most certainly not to participate in any violent action or military intervention, but he IS to “sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done…” (Ezekiel 9:4; compare also 2 Peter 2:7-8 and Psalm 119:136).

Greece’s Poker Game With Russia, the EU and the USA

The Telegraph wrote on April 18:

“Greek sources have told The Telegraph that [Greek’s] Syriza may sign a deal with Russia for Gazprom’s ‘Turkish Stream’ pipeline project as soon as next week, unlocking as much as €3bn to €5bn in advance funding. This confirms a report in Germany’s Spiegel magazine, initially denied by both the Russian and Greek governments. It is understood that the deal is being managed by… Greece’s energy minister and head of Syriza’s militant Left Platform, a figure with long-standing ties to Moscow…

“Bridging finance from the Kremlin would transform the situation, allowing Greece to avert a disastrous clash with the IMF… The drama has escalated into a bizarre form of brinkmanship for the highest stakes, with Greece effectively playing off Moscow, Brussels, and Washington, against each other in three-way geo-strategic poker… it is not yet clear whether Syriza can expect much more than a comfort blanket from the US… The Kremlin appears to have outbid the White House in the latest round. Brussels has yet to make any bid at all.”

The Telegraph added on April 20:

“The Greek government has ordered a mandatory transfer of cash reserves from state-owned enterprises to its central bank, in a desperate bid to gather enough cash to remain solvent. Citing ‘extremely urgent and unforeseen needs’, the government issued the emergency decree which will apply to all local government bodies immediately… Even the most conservative estimates calculate the government’s coffers will run dry in a matter of weeks.

“Despite the risk of violating its fiduciary obligations, the decree could now help the government meet its monthly €1.7bn wage and pension bill, averting a default on its own citizenry. It is thought the confiscation of reserves held in commercial banks to the Bank of Greece could raise as much as €2bn for the government.”

Fortress Europe for Migrants?

The Guardian wrote on April 23:

“Only 5,000 resettlement places across Europe are to be offered to refugees under the emergency summit crisis package to be agreed by EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

“A confidential draft summit statement seen by the Guardian indicates that the vast majority of those who survive the journey and make it to Italy – 150,000 did so last year – will be sent back as irregular migrants under a new rapid-return programme co-ordinated by the EU’s border agency, Frontex. More than 36,000 boat survivors have reached Italy, Malta and Greece so far this year.

“The draft summit conclusions also reveal that hopes of a major expansion of search-and-rescue operations across the Mediterranean in response to the humanitarian crisis are likely to be dashed, despite widespread and growing pressure.”

Genetically Modifying Human Embryos?

The Telegraph wrote on April 23:

“China has been ordered to ‘rein in’ scientists who have edited the DNA of human embryos for the first time, a practice banned in Europe. In a world’s first, researchers at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou confirmed they had engineered embryos to modify the gene responsible for the fatal blood disorder thalassaemia.

“The team, led by Junjiu Huang attempted to head off fears of eugenics by claiming the embryos were ‘non-viable’ and could never had become babies. But critics warned that China was becoming the ‘Wild West’ of genetic research saying it was the first step towards designer children and called for a worldwide ban on the practice…

“Advocates of gene editing say that it could eradicate devastating inherited disease. But others are worried that it crosses an ethical line, allowing children to be genetically engineered. And because the genetic changes are happening to embryos the changes will be passed down to future generations…

“Huang said he had abandoned the current project to go back to working out how to minimise the unexpected mutations in adults cells and animals. However at least four groups in China are believed to be currently working on genetically modifying human embryos.”

Ridiculous Pharisaical Teachings in Modern Judaism

JTA wrote on April 16:

“By changing the way a light switch works, the patented Kosher Switch offers a novel — and, its backers say, kosher — way to turn light switches (and, perhaps, other electrical appliances) on and off during Shabbat, circumventing one of the Sabbath’s central restrictions: the use of electricity… But critics say the Kosher Switch isn’t really kosher for Shabbat at all…

“At issue is whether the device’s permissibility for Shabbat relies on a Jewish legal loophole that applies only to extraordinary circumstances like medical or security needs. The loophole, known as a ‘gramma,’ allows for indirect activation of electronic devices on Shabbat. How does gramma work? If, for example, a non-life-threatening field fire is burning on Shabbat, jugs full of water may be placed around the fire to indirectly cause its eventual extinguishing. Dowsing the fire directly — a Sabbath prohibition — is permitted only in life-threatening circumstances.

“Kalati, 43, says his switch does not rely on the gramma loophole. When the switch is in the off position, a piece of plastic blocks an electronic light pulse that when received turns on the light. Turning the switch on moves the piece of plastic, which is not connected to anything electrical, so that it no longer obstructs the pulse. Because the light pulse is subject to a ‘random degree of uncertainty’ and won’t instantaneously kindle the light when in Sabbath mode, it is kosher for use on Shabbat…

“But Yisrael Rosen, head of the Zomet Institute, the leading designer of electronic devices for use on the Jewish Sabbath, says the Kosher Switch is unfit for Sabbath use… The son of another rabbi… Rabbi Oelbaum said his father’s true position is that while the switch does not involve a technical violation of the Sabbath prohibition against labor (which forbids electricity use), it is a desecration of the Sabbath spirit…

“For decades, Sabbath-observant Jews have used electronic timers set before Friday night to control lights and appliances like air conditioners or hot plates. Multistory buildings throughout Israel and some in the United States have Shabbat elevators that can run on autopilot. In 2004, Canadian rabbi and entrepreneur Shmuel Veffer invented a bedside-style lamp called Kosher Lamp that could be “turned off” by twisting a cylinder encasing a lit bulb so that the bulb was completely concealed.

“The Zomet Institute, located in the Jerusalem suburb of Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, has invented baby sensors, sump pump gadgets, hot water heater contraptions, and special switches that modify wheelchairs, hospital beds, electronic scooters and staircase elevators for use on Shabbat. However, many of these devices rely on the gramma loophole and are permitted only for medical or security use.

“Many observant Jews also rely upon non-Jews for help circumventing Sabbath restrictions, though such requests for help are forbidden from being expressed explicitly…”

These kinds of ridiculously burdensome, ungodly and UNBIBLICAL restrictions pertaining to the Sabbath were expressly and explicitly condemned by Jesus Christ. He stated that these human traditions (as opposed to God’s Law) made the Sabbath a burden, explaining that the Pharisees had done away with the commandments of God (including, how to observe the Sabbath in the RIGHT way), in order to uphold their own traditions (also referred to as “Judaism” in the Bible.). For more information, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”.

“Exorcisms” on the Rise in the Catholic Church

Newsmax reported on April 13:

“A new report says Pope Francis is playing a role in an increased number of exorcisms being performed worldwide. According to The Telegraph, Francis’ repeated references to the devil have spurred a rebirth of the practice that removes demons from people’s souls through intense prayer. The Vatican has also endorsed an exorcism conference taking place in Rome this week, which is hosting about 160 Catholic priests, according to The Telegraph…

“Pope Francis, whose papacy began two years ago, has made a habit of referencing the devil in his remarks. He linked Satan to Mexico’s drug problems over the winter, and has said in the past that the devil is trying to destroy the family… ‘Pope Francis talks about the devil all the time, and that has certainly raised awareness about exorcisms,’… Cesare Truqui, a Mexican priest trained as an exorcist, told The Telegraph. ‘But all Latin Americans have this sensibility — for them, the existence of the devil is part of their faith.’…

“‘Until a few years ago, a significant number of people in the church didn’t believe in the devil, but people are now going back to the Scriptures,’ an unnamed British exorcist priest told The Telegraph… ‘A few years ago, at least half the dioceses in England and Wales did not have an exorcist. Now, pretty much all of them do.’

“Truqui told the British paper that one-third of telephone calls made to the Diocese of Rome are related to exorcisms. Two years ago, after Francis became Pope, he was suspected of performing an exorcism in the middle of St. Peter’s Square after saying Sunday Mass. He placed his hands on a young boy’s head and said a prayer, to which the boy responded by heaving deeply several times and shaking before slumping back into his wheelchair. The Vatican, however, played down the incident, saying Francis simply said a prayer for a boy ‘who was suffering.’”

Satanic activities will drastically increase in the years to come. However, the Catholic practice of “exorcisms” will not really cast out a demon… even though it might appear to be the case. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.” 

Pope Francis Angers Turkey

AFP wrote on April 12:

“Pope Francis uttered the word ‘genocide’ on Sunday to describe the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago… In a solemn mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman killings of Armenians, Francis said the murders were ‘widely considered “the first genocide of the 20th century”’, quoting a statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001.

“Many historians describe the World War I slaughter as the 20th century’s first genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusations. ‘The pope’s statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted,’ Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter. ‘Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations,’ he added.

“The foreign ministry summoned the Vatican envoy to Ankara to explain the pope’s comments. It accused the pontiff of engaging in a ‘one-sided narrative’ that ignored the suffering of Muslims and other religious groups at that time… ‘It was a very courageous act to repeat clearly that it was a genocide,’ Vatican expert Marco Tosatti told AFP. ‘By quoting John Paul II, he strengthened the Church’s position, making it clear where it stands on the issue,’ he added…

“The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under pressure to use the term “genocide” publicly to describe the slaughter, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the fight against radical Islam…

“Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide. But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

“More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise the killings as genocide…

“When Francis visited Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered the pontiff a pact under which he would defend Christians in the Middle East in exchange for the Church tackling Islamophobia in the West…

“Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were ‘perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism’, before pointing to more recent mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. ‘It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood,’ he said… He referred once again to the modern day as ‘a time of war, a third world war which is being fought piecemeal’, and evoked the ‘muffled and forgotten cry’ of those ‘decapitated, crucified, burned alive, or forced to leave their homeland.’”

As Jesus Christ foretold, we will experience more and more wars, until a coming nuclear World War will endanger the very survival of mankind. Insofar as Turkey is concerned, the Bible tells us that it will collaborate with Europe against Israel, but there is no reason to think that Turkey – a Muslim country — will ever become a recognized part of a United States of Europe under the leadership of the “beast” and the “false prophet.”

The Iran Deal—Would America Become Indirectly Responsible for Mass Murders?

Newsmax reported on April 10:

“Iran’s top officials, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, are saying economic sanctions must end immediately and that UN inspectors will not be granted unfettered access to military installations and nuclear construction sites.

“But this may be nothing more than Iranian domestic political spin. And as long as there’s a potential deal, a critical point needs to be made: There is no provision for, or even discussion of, putting political restraints on Iran. That is, there is nothing in this deal that would force Iran to change its terrorist ways. Iran will continue to be the number-one state sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East, no matter what the deal.

“How can this be?

“Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz make a crucial point: ‘Absent the linkage between nuclear and political restraint, America’s traditional allies will conclude that the U.S. has traded temporary nuclear cooperation for acquiescence to Iranian hegemony.’…

“Iran will continue to sponsor its terrorist proxies, like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, keep proxy troops in Syria, continue its efforts to take over Iraq, further its designs on Yemen, and confront Sunni Saudi Arabia… Kissinger and Shultz write, ‘Iranian or Iranian client forces are now the pre-eminent military or political element in multiple Arab countries . . . With the recent addition of Yemen as a battlefield, Tehran occupies positions along all of the Middle East’s strategic waterways and encircles archrival Saudi Arabia, an American ally’…

“Make no mistake, the nanosecond sanctions are lifted U.S. and Western investment will pour into Iran. Looser financial sanctions will put an estimated $50 billion into Iran’s economy. And a number of European oil companies will jump to develop the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserve and second-biggest national-gas reserve. Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil, German’s Siemens, and French car companies Peugeot and Citroën are ready to move. It’s reported that Boeing is looking to do business in Iran. HP and Google have been exploring contracts and licenses in Iran. Other major U.S. and European Internet companies have been approached by Iranian officials. And financial-service and credit card companies will move in quickly…

“Iran is our enemy, whether the president believes it or not. And if we cut deals that allow Iran to continue its terrorist and hegemonic activities, the Obama administration will have created an unbelievable Middle East powder keg, setting the stage for a conflict that could possibly dwarf any we’ve seen before. This is the worst U.S. foreign policy of my lifetime. It may be the worst in American history.”

Sadly, it looks this way.

Under the Deal, America Would Become Isolated!

On April 9, the Washington Post published the following article by Charles Krautheimer:

“As Kissinger and Shultz point out, we will be fought every step of the way, leaving the United States, not Iran, isolated. Obama imagines that this deal will bring Iran in from the cold, tempering its territorial ambitions and ideological radicalism. But this defies logic: With sanctions lifted, its economy booming and tens of billions injected into its treasury, why would Iran curb rather than expand its relentless drive for regional dominance?

“An overriding objective of these negotiations, as Obama has said, is to prevent the inevitable proliferation — Egypt, Turkey, the Gulf states — that would occur if Iran went nuclear. Yet the prospective agreement is so clearly a pathway to an Iranian bomb that the Saudis are signaling that the deal itself would impel them to go nuclear.

“You set out to prevent proliferation and you trigger it. You set out to prevent an Iranian nuclear capability and you legitimize it. You set out to constrain the world’s greatest exporter of terror threatening every one of our allies in the Middle East and you’re on the verge of making it the region’s economic and military hegemon.”

Another Sickening Compromise on the Iran “Deal”

Deutsche Welle reported on April 14:

“Senators from both sides of the aisle have compromised over a bill allowing congressional review of any final nuclear deal with Iran. The measure calls for the lifting of sanctions only with legislative approval.

“In a show of bipartisanship over what has been a hotly contested issue in Washington, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a measure Tuesday that struck a compromise between Congress’ wish to be involved in a final nuclear deal with Iran and the White House’s concern that such a deal be completed by June.

“The Senate panel unanimously approved the measure with a vote of 19-0. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 allows Congress to review the deal before any US sanctions against Iran are lifted, to be followed by a 12-day period for a possible presidential veto and a 10-day window for an attempt to override such a veto.

“President Obama withdrew his objection to the bill after language was removed obligating him to prove that Tehran was not engaging in terrorism. Another controversial amendment was removed by its author Marco Rubio… The amendment would have required Iran to recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

These compromises are sickening… with NO politician willing to stand up for their alleged convictions…

Russia Gives Green Light for Sending Missiles to Iran

Bloomberg News reported on April 13:

“President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on the delivery of S-300 air-defense missile systems to Iran as Russia pushed for repeal of an arms embargo following an agreement on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. Putin repealed its 2010 prohibition on S-300 exports to Iran… While the two countries had signed an $800 million contract for the systems in 2007, Russia halted delivery after the United Nations imposed an arms embargo three years later.

“The S-300 is a ‘purely defensive’ weapon and delivering it to Iran won’t ‘threaten the security of any state in the region, including, of course, Israel,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday… Russia ‘will promptly carry out the order of the president’ and send the S-300 systems to Iran ‘if a political decision is taken’ to deliver them…”

Russia and Iran are in fact prophesied to collaborate against other nations, including militarily. For more information, please read our free booklets on “Biblical Prophecy… From Now Until Forever,” and “Middle Eastern Nations and African Nations in Prophecy.” 

“Putin Warship and Nuclear Bombers Menace the UK”

The Daily Mail wrote on April 15:

“A Russian warship and two bombers strayed close to UK territory yesterday in yet another apparent attempt to test Britain’s defences. A destroyer equipped with missiles, anti-aircraft guns and torpedoes entered the English Channel along with two other Russian ships. It forced the UK to send a heavily-armed frigate to monitor the vessels.

“Just a few hours later, two Russian long-range Bear bombers, capable of carrying nuclear missiles, hugged British airspace – prompting the RAF to deploy two Typhoon fighter jets. Sources claim both incidents may have been an attempt to ‘snoop’ on a huge Nato war games exercise taking place in Scotland…”

The Shaky “Cease-Fire”-Agreement Between Russia and Ukraine

The Local wrote on April 14:

“The French, German, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers expressed ‘grave concern’ Tuesday at a meeting in Berlin about violations of a shaky ceasefire in separatist-held east Ukraine… Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted the five-hour-long talks had been ‘very long, very intensive and at times very contentious’ given the tense situation on the ground…

“European OSCE monitors reported ‘renewed intensive fighting’ Sunday around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.. The results of the talks in Berlin will be discussed at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the northern German city of Lübeck on Tuesday and Wednesday. Russia will once again not participate. It has been closed out of the group of the world’s largest economies since the annexation of the Crimea in March last year.

“US Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive on Wednesday after attending a US Congress hearing on the nuclear deal with Iran on Tuesday. The discussions will lay down the groundwork for the main G7 summit to be held on June 7th and 8th at the Elmau Palace in Bavaria. The two meetings take place during Germany’s year-long chairmanship of the group.

“Other themes up for discussion will be the nuclear deal with Iran, the conflict with Isis in Syria and Iraq, and improving defence mechanisms against the Ebola virus…”

The controversy between Europe and Russia over Ukraine is bound to continue. Germany, as the current leader of the G7 countries, will have further opportunity to flex its muscles.

The Gap Widens Between Russia and the EU

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 14:

“… the Russian president is preparing his country for May 9, which marks the anniversary of the end of the war with Hitler’s Germany. It is ‘our country’s most important and most honest holiday,’ Putin said in Staraya Russa. ‘It is the day of the great victory.’

“The end of the war will be commemorated in Russia for the 70th time this year. Since it was declared an official holiday in 1965, May 9, with its spontaneous gatherings of veterans in the streets, public festivals and gun salutes in the evening, has in fact become Russia’s most moving holiday — and perhaps the only one that has truly united the people…

“May 9, 2015 shows that… the war still hasn’t ended for Russia. It demonstrates that the country’s leadership needs the memory of that war more than ever… The parade in Moscow on the morning of May 9 is intended to set an example. It will be the biggest military parade ever held. Some 15,000 soldiers will march across Red Square, 4,000 more than at the last major anniversary. Two hundred tanks, artillery and missiles will roll past the Kremlin, and 140 fighter jets will crowd the skies over Moscow. Weapons will be displayed that ‘will astonish the entire world,’ wrote the tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda…

“The Kremlin had invited 68 leaders of foreign countries to the victory celebration, including the most important politicians in the Western world. So far, only 25 have accepted Moscow’s invitation. US President Barack Obama will not be attending, nor will British Prime Minister David Cameron or French President François Hollande. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be there, but only on May 10, the day after the parade. TV images from Moscow will illustrate how isolated Russia has become as a result of its policy on Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea…

“Senior representatives of only three European Union countries — the Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus — are so far planning to attend the ceremonies… Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also won praise from Russia during his mid-week visit to Moscow, when he paid tribute to the two countries’ joint struggle against Nazism and promised to return in one month to attend the parade on May 9… Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, now the president of the European Council and therefore spokesman of the European heads of state and government, had declared weeks ago why we would not attend the Moscow parade on May 9. ‘A presence at the military parade, hand-in-hand with today’s aggressors and a person using weapons against civilians in eastern Ukraine? For me, delicately speaking, it’s too ambiguous,’ Tusk said…

“The controversy over the Moscow victory celebration on May 9 illustrates how far Russia has distanced itself from the Europeans, and just how wide the gap between the two sides has grown…

“Many Russians say that Vladimir Putin has repurposed it into a day that celebrates war itself and, most of all, Russia’s strength. For them, it is no longer a day of tears and commemoration…”

Germany Wants to Supply Lithuania Weapons Against Russia

The Local wrote on April 15:

“Germany said Wednesday it wants to sell howitzer-type mobile artillery vehicles to Lithuania as the Baltic NATO nation boosts its defences amid concerns over neighbouring Russia… German media reported the hardware was used by Berlin in Afghanistan and is now worth €15 million… the Baltic state [is] also mulling whether to buy German Boxer-type armoured fighting vehicles.

“Under Moscow’s thumb until 1991, Lithuania along with fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia launched a concerted drive to boost defences since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last year. NATO members since 2004, the three Baltic states have repeatedly asked allies to step up their presence to deter Russia.

“Berlin will send over 500 troops to Lithuania for military exercises this year. NATO is also reinforcing its defences on Europe’s eastern flank with a rapid reaction force of 5,000 troops and command centres in six formerly communist members of the alliance, including the three Baltic states.”

GOP Slams Obama Over Cuba Decision

Newsmax reported on April 15:

“Republicans slammed President Barack Obama’s decision Tuesday to remove Cuba from the State Department’s list of terrorism sponsors, with Florida Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen accusing the White House of acting ‘only for political reasons and not in accordance with the law.’…

“House Speaker John Boehner said he was ‘disappointed’ by the decision, adding that Obama’s ‘cozying up to the oppressive regime in Cuba is a blow to all who long for liberty and dignity. It’s just one more example of this administration focusing more on befriending our enemies than helping our allies,’ he said…

“The move came three days after Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met informally during a regional summit in Panama. The talks marked the first official meeting between the leaders of their countries in more than a half-century…

“Removing Cuba from the terror list could pave the way for the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Havana and other steps. The countries still on the list are Iran, Sudan and Syria…

“Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida also slammed Obama’s decision. ‘Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism,’ he said in a video message. ‘They harbor fugitives of American justice. It’s also the country that’s helping North Korea evade sanctions by the United Nations…’

“Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who also is considering a presidential run, said after a speech of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce that ‘we’re not a step closer to freedom in Cuba because of the steps the president is taking’…

“And another possible 2016 contender, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, cited the decision as ‘yet   (another) example of President Obama viewing the world through rose-colored glasses’…”

ISIS in Mexico and the USA?

Newsmax reported on April 14:

“The Islamic State (ISIS) is operating a camp in northern Mexico just a few miles from El Paso, Texas, Judicial Watch said Tuesday, citing sources that include a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police inspector. Judicial Watch sources said that ‘coyotes’ working for the notorious Juarez Cartel are involved in helping to ‘move ISIS terrorists through the desert and across the border between Santa Teresa and Sunset Park, New Mexico.’

“Moreover, east of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, cartel-backed coyotes are smuggling members of the jihadi terrorist group ‘through the porous border between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas,’ Judicial Watch reported…

“The watchdog group’s sources say the precise location where ISIS has established the base is approximately eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as ‘Anapra,’ located just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

“Another ISIS cell is said to be located in Puerto Palomas, located to the west of Ciudad Juárez. That cell ‘targets the New Mexico towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United States,’ Judicial Watch’s Mexican sources say…

“Judicial Watch — which has been successful in prying loose substantial amounts of information on an array of Obama administration-linked scandals, including the ‘Fast and Furious’ gun-walking case — told Newsmax that four ISIS members had in fact been apprehended after crossing into the United States.”

The media also reported on ISIS’s recent surprise attacks and victories in Iraq.

The UK and the EU

Express wrote on April 15:

“In news that is likely to bolster calls for the UK’s complete withdrawal from the EU, the president of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker, has put the brakes on reforming the relations between member states and Brussels. Mr Cameron has vowed to hold an in/out vote on Britain’s membership of the EU in 2017, but only after a series of talks aimed at reconfiguring the UK’s relationship with Brussels.

“But, now he appears to have been told Brussels chiefs will only negotiate two years AFTER that date – when Mr Juncker steps down from office. An official close to the EU’s top politician told The Times: ‘No treaty change proposals are envisaged until after November 2019’.

“British hopes for amendments are now likely to have to wait until as late as 2025, when EU treaties are scheduled to be overhauled…

“The fact that it is Mr Juncker who is said to be ruling out potential negotiations will be particularly galling as Mr Cameron had sought to block his appointment as EC president last June…”

UK Among the Least Religious Countries in the World

The website of itv.com reported on April 13:

“A new survey has revealed that the UK is among the least religious countries in the world. In a global ranking of 65 countries, the UK came six places from last with 30% of the population calling themselves religious.

“While 53% of people said they were ‘not religious’… 13% said they were a ‘convinced atheist’ and the remainder ‘did not know’. It compares to 94% of people in Thailand who are religious and 93% of people in Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia and Morocco.

“At the bottom of the list was China where only 6% of people say they are religious while 61% say they are convinced atheists. It was followed by Japan, where just 13% of people are religious, Sweden with 19% , Czech Republic with 23%, and the Netherlands and Hong Kong with 26%.

“Jean-Marc Leger, president of Win/Gallup International Association, said globally an average of two-thirds of people still consider themselves religious. ‘Religion continues to dominate our everyday lives and we see that the total number of people who consider themselves to be religious is actually relatively high,’ he said.”

The website of wingia.com added on April 13:

“The research discovered that the most religious regions are Africa and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) where 86% and 82% respectively of the people consider themselves to be religious… Western Europe (51%) and Oceania (49%) are the only regions where approximately half of the population are either not religious or convinced atheist… The Swedish prove to be the least religious in the Western World with 78% saying they are either not religious or convinced atheists.

“In Israel, 65% of those asked said that they are either not religious or convinced atheists compared to just 30% who say that they are religious. Meanwhile in the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza) the population is considerably more religious with 75% saying that they are religious compared to 18% who say that they are not religious.”

Vaccination – Yes or No?

The website of skynews.com.au reported on April 13:

“Australian parents will lose thousands of dollars of childcare and welfare benefits if they refuse to vaccinate their kids… Thousands of families could lose payments, with the government estimating about 39,000 children under seven have not received immunisation because their parents are vaccine objectors… Children can still be exempted on medical or religious grounds, but… the latter exemption is ‘very narrow’…

“But there are some who strongly oppose measures that mandate immunisation. An online petition against compulsory vaccinations in Australia that states ‘all parents deserve to make an uncoerced choice’ has received more than 3000 signatures in five days. Parents have taken to the change.org webpage to express their concerns about vaccinations and what they view is a potential encroachment on civil rights…”

Reuters reported on April 14:

“A Washington state school district pulled 143 students who lacked documentation proving they had received required immunizations from classrooms on Monday, in a first-in-the-state clamp-down… All U.S. states require certain vaccines for students for diseases such as mumps, rubella, tetanus or polio, but school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons, including an inhibited immune system.

“Almost all states also grant religious exemptions against immunizations, with 20 states also allowing philosophical exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Parents who want to opt out of school shots on philosophical, religious or medical grounds in Washington state… must file a state-mandated waiver with the district…”

On March 30, the website of motherjones.com published the following article:

“The Waiting Room at Pediatric Alternatives in Mill Valley, a town in the affluent hippie enclave of Marin County, California, is a far cry from the drab doctors’ offices I remember from childhood… The practice’s five physicians have impeccable credentials, having trained and completed residencies at some of the nation’s top medical schools and institutions. Several are fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“Given all this, it might surprise you to learn that one of Pediatric Alternatives’ policies is extremely unorthodox: It suggests that families delay certain childhood immunizations—in some cases for years past the age recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and forego others entirely. A little less than 20 percent of the families the practice treats choose not to vaccinate at all. The rest use a modified vaccine schedule…

“Kenet Lansman tells me she would never deny any vaccine to parents who request it for their child. But she does share her personal beliefs with her patients: She fears that vaccines have contributed to the recent uptick in autoimmune disorders and other chronic conditions… She has a policy of giving only one vaccination at a time, and only when a child is completely healthy…

“The main reason for the delay, Kenet Lansman says, is that she still believes there could be a link between vaccines and autism. She acknowledges that the scientific community has rejected this theory, yet she says she has seen children from her own practice who begin to show signs of autism shortly after being vaccinated…”

Breitbart reported on April 14:

“Parents opposed to a California legislative effort to revoke their ability to exempt their children from some vaccinations… promise to yank those kids out of school if the measure passes into law.

“The Democrat-sponsored Senate Bill 277 was proposed in response to a measles outbreak whose spread began at Disneyland last December. If passed, SB 277 would remove parents’ ability to sign a waiver that currently allows them to exempt their children from one or more school required vaccinations… In related news, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine campaign… ran into trouble after he connected autism to the Holocaust.”

Late Günter Grass Warned of World War III

The Guardian wrote on April 14:

“Germany’s Nobel-winning author Günter Grass said he feared humanity was ‘sleepwalking’ into a world war in the last interview he gave before his death on Monday.

“’We have on the one side Ukraine, whose situation is not improving; in Israel and Palestine things are getting worse; the disaster the Americans left in Iraq, the atrocities of Islamic State and the problem of Syria,’ he told the Spanish newspaper El País in the interview published on Tuesday. ‘There is war everywhere; we run the risk of committing the same mistakes as before; so without realising it we can get into a world war as if we were sleepwalking,’ he added.

“Spain’s top-selling newspaper said the interview, carried out at the author’s home in Lübeck in northern Germany on 21 March, was his last before his death aged 87.

“Grass, who achieved worldwide fame with his debut and best-known novel, The Tin Drum, in 1959 was a pacifist, opposing the installation of nuclear missiles on German soil. In his lengthy interview with El País, he also expressed concern over climate change and overpopulation. ‘All of this together makes me realise that things are finite, that we don’t have an indefinite amount of time,’ he said. Grass pressed Germany for decades to face up to its Nazi past, winning the Nobel prize for literature in 1999, when the Swedish academy said his ‘frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history’”.

Other papers, reporting on the death of Grass, tried to discredit him by pointing out that he had first concealed, but subsequently revealed the fact that he had been drafted, as a 17-year-old boy (!), to the German Waffen-SS at the very end of World War II. Such hypocritical reporting in some papers is difficult to understand, and we chose not to quote any of these inflammatory articles. Grass declared that he never used his gun to shoot anyone and that he did not know anything about the Holocaust until after the War. The fact that he strongly opposed Nazism in all its different forms and shapes supports his claim.

Resurrecting Dead Animals?

The Independent wrote on April 13:

“De-extinction, or the idea of bringing extinct species back from the dead, has come a long way over the quarter century since Jurassic Park was first published. It has now matured into a quasi-serious science and has even been the subject of its own TEDx conference… some scientists are proposing to resurrect a range of other, more-recently extinct species such as the passenger pigeon and the gastric-brooding frog, both lost within living memory.

“There are quite a few animals that have become extinct relatively recently that are potential candidates for de-extinction. They include the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, a large marsupial carnivore wiped out by sheep ranchers a century ago, the Pyrenean ibex which was hunted for sport until the last one fell dead in 2000, and the Steller’s sea cow, a gentle giant annihilated by hungry sailors in the 18th century.

“Perhaps the most emblematic of them all is the woolly mammoth. There are few animals that better represent the lost world of the Pleistocene than these huge, shaggy relatives of the modern elephant. Woolly mammoths roamed the vast grassy steppe of Eurasia and North America for hundreds of millennia. The very last individuals were an isolated population of pygmy woolly mammoths that lived on Wrangel Island off northern Russia about 4,500 years ago.

“There is no shortage of woolly mammoth tissue, some of it remarkably well preserved in the permafrost of Siberia and some scientists are confident that they can extract its DNA to bring the species back to life, either as clones or as a kind of mammoth-elephant hybrid.

“Scientists in South Korea and Russia are collaborating on a project to clone a woolly mammoth by extracting a cell nucleus from frozen mammoth tissue and inserting its entire genetic material into the enucleated egg cell of an Asian elephant, which would also act as a surrogate mother. It’s the same basic cloning technique that led to the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996, except this time two species are involved rather than one – and one of them has been extinct for thousands of years…

“Another de-extinction approach is to cut and paste large fragments of mammoth DNA into the chromosomes of an Asian elephant, thereby creating a genetically-engineered mammoth-elephant ‘hybrid’. Scientists involved in this project prefer to think about it as a way of making a cold-adapted Asian elephant with mammoth-like traits, such as hairy skin and layers of subcutaneous fat for good thermal insulation.

“Scientists have already managed to sequence about half of the mammoth genome from the many small fragments of DNA isolated from frozen remnants of biological material, such as skin, hair, bone, teeth and even dung. They believe it is only a question of time before they achieve their ultimate de-extinction aim: a living hybrid…”

You might want to read our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man,” which addresses many topics related to the gist and substance of this article.

Muscle-Flexing by Iran

AP reported on April 8:

“Iran dispatched a destroyer and another naval ship to waters off Yemen on Wednesday, raising the stakes amid a Saudi-led air campaign targeting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels fighting forces loyal to the country’s embattled president.

“The Iranian maneuver came as the U.S. deepened its support for the Saudi-led coalition, boosting weapons supplies and intelligence-sharing and carrying out the first U.S. aerial refueling mission of coalition fighter jets.

“The Iranian warships were sent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait as part of an anti-piracy campaign to ‘safeguard naval routes for vessels in the region,’ Iranian Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying by the English-language state broadcaster Press TV.

“Securing navigation in the narrow strait was a key reason for the Saudi-led air and maritime blockade that began after Yemen’s internationally recognized president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, fled the country two weeks ago as the rebels closed in on Aden, Yemen’s second-largest city where he was based.”

ISIS Pushes Closer to Damascus

Breitbart reported on April 5:

“Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) militias have taken control of a southern district in Damascus, Syria, and are just a few kilometers from the military headquarters of the regime of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. Al-Assad’s army has suffered several recent defeats, especially the major military defeat in Idlib, and so it appears that ISIS may present a real military challenge to the regime in its seat of power. Reports indicate that ISIS is also receiving help from the al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front), a group with which it often has battles in other places and times.

“ISIS’s advance into Damascus is through the Yarmouk refugee camp, home to about 18,000 Palestinian refugees. The camp has been under siege from al-Assad’s army since 2011, since al-Assad feared that the Palestinian refugees would join the fight against him. In the last couple of years, the Free Syrian Army and al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front) have entered Yarmouk and fought each other, making Yarmouk increasingly dangerous for the civilians living there. Now the invasion of ISIS has turned Yarmouk into a humanitarian disaster. Aid groups are unable to enter Yarmouk, with the result that the civilians have no food and water, no electricity. Anyone who leaves his home risks getting shot and killed by snipers on the rooftops.

“Other reports indicate that al-Assad’s forces are trying to fight ISIS by means of ‘violent shelling by the regime forces using tank shells and ground-to-ground missiles,’ weapons that are more likely to kill civilians than ISIS.”

Obama’s Deal with Iran Weakens the USA

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post wrote on April 6:

“PRESIDENT OBAMA has launched an aggressive lobbying campaign for his preliminary nuclear deal with Iran… Unfortunately… the president’s claims could have a self-fulfilling quality. By loudly insisting there is no alternative to the terms he has agreed to, Mr. Obama helps ensure that the option of maintaining sanctions while insisting that Iran agree to dismantle more of its nuclear infrastructure… is no longer a practical alternative.

“At the same time, the White House stance risks weakening its negotiating position in the crucial bargaining with Iran. Mr. Obama conceded that some vital ‘details’ have not yet been worked out, including how the lifting of sanctions on Iran would be tied to its implementation of steps such as reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium and its base of installed centrifuges. Worryingly, the fact sheets issued by the U.S. and Iranian governments differ sharply… The gulf between those two scenarios is extremely important…

“Similarly crucial differences may be buried in the as-yet-unspecified details of how inspectors will obtain access to new suspected nuclear sites and how they will get answers to outstanding questions about Iran’s previous work on nuclear warhead designs. By insisting that the deal is already the best available, Mr. Obama is making it more difficult for his negotiators to walk away from the follow-up talks if they are unable to obtain satisfactory terms. If Iran continues to insist on the ‘immediate’ lifting of sanctions, will the president give in rather than reverse his rhetoric?…”

America’s foreign policy, including Obama’s controversial and ill-advised “deal” with Iran, is one of utter weakness, inconsistency and failure.

Western Leadership Failing!

AP reported on April 5:

“On a basic level, the framework deal between world powers and Tehran will be judged by whether it prevents an Iranian bomb, but that will take years to figure out.

“A more immediate issue is the projection of Western power. Supporters of the framework deal can argue that the U.S. and world powers extracted significant concessions from Iran, breaking a decade-long impasse and proving that diplomacy backed by tough sanctions can bring about positive change even in the Middle East.

“But if, as critics contend, the agreement ends up projecting U.S. weakness instead, that could embolden rogue states and extremists alike, and make the region’s vast array of challenges — from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Syrian civil war to the fighting in Libya and Yemen — even more impervious to Western intervention.

“The United States wants to rein in Syria’s President Bashar Assad as his ruinous civil war grinds into year five. It would like to encourage more liberal domestic policies in Egypt and push Iraq’s leaders to govern more inclusively. Despite years of setbacks, the U.S. would still like to see a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…

“The implications of a weak United States, meanwhile, are not just regional but global, affecting events from Russia to China and North Korea — as well as the prospects for global accords on climate change or even significant trade deals.”

Obama: “Nuclear Deal Cannot Depend on Iran Recognizing Israel”

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 7:

“Barack Obama has told US radio network NPR that demanding for Iran to recognize Israel would go beyond the scope of the nuclear deal discussed with Tehran… ‘The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won’t sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms…And that, I think, is a fundamental [mis]judgement,’ Obama said in the interview…

“Meanwhile, Republican leader Mitch McConnell criticized the pact with Iran saying that lawmakers opposed to the deal were planning a formal response…

“On Monday, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, said his country was still considering military action against Iran’s nuclear program. ‘It was on the table. It’s still on the table, it’s going to remain on the table…Israel should be able to defend – for itself, by itself – against any threat,’ Steinitz told reporters in Jerusalem.”

Taking America Down…

The Weekly Standard reported on April 8:

“Vice President Dick Cheney had harsh criticism for President Barack Obama in an interview last night with radio host Hugh Hewitt.

“Hewitt asked the former vice president, ‘Is he naïve, Mr. Vice President? Or does he have a far-reaching vision that only he entertains of a realigned Middle East that somehow it all works out in the end?’

“‘I don’t know, Hugh. I vacillate between the various theories I’ve heard, but you know, if you had somebody as president who wanted to take America down, who wanted to fundamentally weaken our position in the world and reduce our capacity to influence events, turn our back on our allies and encourage our adversaries, it would look exactly like what Barack Obama’s doing. I think his actions are constituted in my mind those of the worst president we’ve ever had.’”

America is going down! However, it is because of our national sins and our refusal to turn in heartfelt repentance to God. President Obama may well be an instrument to this end, as Mr. Cheney suggested.

Police Brutality and Abuse in America

The Local wrote on April 7:

“Three German journalists announced on Thursday they are taking the police in the American town of Ferguson to court after they were arrested while covering race riots there in August 2014.

“The journalists, Ansgar Graw of Die Welt, Lukas Hermsmeier of Bild and Frank Hermann, a freelancer for regional newspapers were arrested and detained for ‘refusal to disperse’… Graw told The Local that the police never gave him any official reason for his arrest but that his mugshot was accompanied by the text ‘refusal to disperse.’

“The correspondent said that the case was not about him but about asking ‘whether a county in the USA can accept that their police violate freedom of the press.’ ‘The American police overstep their rights very clearly and too often,’ he said…

“The journalists are arguing that their incarceration was a violation of the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the American Constitution, which cover freedom of speech, freedom of the press and protection against unlawful arrest. Graw, who has been based in Washington since 2009, also complained that conditions in prison were meant to ‘humiliate’ him. He was not only handcuffed but also chained to a wall… ‘In America the attitude is “We are the law and you have to accept whatever we tell you.”'”

Sadly, this seems to be very true far too often—see the appalling report below:

Shot in the Back!!!

Nytimes.com wrote on April 8:

“A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.

“The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.

“The shooting came on the heels of high-profile instances of police officers’ using lethal force in New York, Cleveland, Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere. The deaths have set off a national debate over whether the police are too quick to use force, particularly in cases involving black men.

“A White House task force has recommended a host of changes to the nation’s police policies, and President Obama sent Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to cities around the country to try to improve police relations with minority neighborhoods.”

Justice has departed from our land!

The Murder of Walter Scott

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 9:

“The man who shocked the world with a video apparently showing a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, shoot unarmed African American Walter Lamer Scott came forward late Wednesday, saying he immediately recognized the significance of the chilling footage he recorded… As a result of the recording, 33-year-old Slager was charged with murder on Tuesday and faces a sentence of life imprisonment or death if convicted. Slager stands accused of killing Scott, 50, after a scuffle that began with a traffic stop for a broken tail light. The video contradicted Slager’s claim that he fired because he felt threatened…

“In an interview with the Associated Press, another North Charleston resident claimed to have lodged a complaint against Slager in 2013 for use of excessive force, but that the officer was allowed to remain on duty following a brief investigation. Mario Givens, now 33, said in the interview that Slager forcibly entered his home and used a stun gun on him despite the fact that Givens had surrendered and put his hands in the air. Givens also claimed that Slager never said what he wanted or who he was looking for…”

One must wonder why persons like Slager are allowed to work as police officers…

California Drought Brings Changes

NYTimes.com reported on April 4:

“For more than a century, California has been the state where people flocked for a better life — 164,000 square miles of mountains, farmland and coastline, shimmering with ambition and dreams, money and beauty. It was the cutting-edge symbol of possibility: Hollywood, Silicon Valley, aerospace, agriculture and vineyards.

“But now a punishing drought — and the unprecedented measures the state announced last week to compel people to reduce water consumption — is forcing a reconsideration of whether the aspiration of untrammeled growth that has for so long been this state’s driving engine has run against the limits of nature.

“The 25 percent cut in water consumption ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown raises fundamental questions about what life in California will be like in the years ahead, and even whether this state faces the prospect of people leaving for wetter climates — assuming, as Mr. Brown and other state leaders do, that this marks a permanent change in the climate, rather than a particularly severe cyclical drought.

“This state has survived many a catastrophe before — and defied the doomsayers who have regularly proclaimed the death of the California dream — as it emerged, often stronger, from the challenges of earthquakes, an energy crisis and, most recently, a budgetary collapse that forced years of devastating cuts in spending. These days, the economy is thriving, the population is growing, the state budget is in surplus, and development is exploding from Silicon Valley to San Diego; the evidence of it can be seen in the construction cranes dotting the skylines of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“But even California’s biggest advocates are wondering if the severity of this drought, now in its fourth year, is going to force a change in the way the state does business.”

European Rapid Reaction Force Ready Within Eight Hours

The Local wrote on April 9:

“Soldiers from Nato’s new rapid reaction force, including hundreds of German troops, were ready to deploy within eight hours of receiving the alert in an exercise simulating an urgent deployment to eastern Europe.

“Around 900 of the 1,500 personnel involved in the 12-nation exercise are based in Germany, where they are supposed to be ready to leave their bases in Saxony, Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate with their vehicles and equipment within five days.

“The VJTF was formed in response to growing fears over the threat Russia poses to bordering countries such as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. By holding forces ready to be deployed at any moment, the alliance hopes to deter Russia from any aggressive moves towards its neighbours in north-eastern Europe…”

California Drought Becoming Critical—Rationing Grows!

Reuters wrote on April 1:

“California Governor Jerry Brown, acting in the face of a devastating multiyear drought, ordered the first statewide mandatory water restrictions on Wednesday, directing cities and communities to reduce usage by 25 percent.

“The cutbacks, to be implemented by state and local water agencies, will affect consumers and businesses throughout the most populous U.S. state, but farmers, who are already making do with less water for irrigation, will be exempt.

“‘We’re standing on dry ground and we should be standing on five feet (1.5 metres) of snow,’ Brown said at a state snow monitoring station in the Sierra Nevada community of Phillips near Lake Tahoe, where dry grass lay limp on the ground.

“‘This is rationing,’ said Brown, a four-term Democrat whose two non-consecutive stints in office have coincided with two of the state’s worst droughts on record. ‘We’re just doing it through the different water districts.’

“The governor said the move, which comes as California reports its lowest snowpack levels on record, would save some 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months.

“Brown said he was ordering that 50 million square feet (4.6 million square metres) of lawns across the state be replaced with drought-tolerant landscaping and the creation of a consumer rebate program to replace old appliances with newer, more water-efficient models.

“Different parts of the state will have to reduce their water use more than others, because some have already cut way back, Brown said.

“Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board, said regulators would not hesitate to issue fines of up to $10,000 per day to water districts that do not succeed in implementing the cutbacks.”

These dire circumstances are increasing for not just California but for the entire country. California’s food production is distributed nationwide, and the state’s economy will begin to erode without adequate water supplies. This is the very thing which God warned would happen to our people if we rebelled against Him!

Religious Persecution in Northern Ireland

NewsWithViews.com wrote on March 28:

“Every now and then, an unassuming character of quiet strength and integrity comes into the limelight, and the world once more watches the unjust, and uncalled for battle of good versus evil.

“Daniel McArthur, General Manager of Asher Baking Company, Northern Ireland, which is a small family business operating for 23 years, is one such man, who along with his family have become the latest target of inequality accusations, after the bakery politely turned down the commission of a wedding cake, when it was discovered it was ordered to bear the inscription ‘support gay marriage’.

“Mr McArthur, a committed Christian, has stated that they have declined other requests in the past, where customers wanted bad language or lewd images, decorating their cakes. However, on this occasion, when he declined to promote another contradictory statement to his faith, he promptly received a letter from the Equality Commission, stating they would be seeking compensation from him on the grounds of discrimination against the customer. He was ordered to pay damages within one week.

“He joins a growing number of people in the workplace who have all been hounded and persecuted, not for any attack they have made on another, but for quietly living according to their conscience. Many have lost their jobs.”

As it is so often the case in history, minorities who might have been persecuted in the past are now becoming persecutors.

The Dark Side of Germany’s Co-Pilot Murdering 149 Innocent People

Reuters reported on March 28:

“The co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a passenger plane in the French Alps told his girlfriend he was in psychiatric treatment, and that he was planning a spectacular gesture that everyone would remember, the German daily Bild reported on Saturday. The newspaper published an interview with a woman who said she had had a relationship in 2014 with Andreas Lubitz… ‘When I heard about the crash, I remembered a sentence, over and over again, that he said,’ the woman, a 26-year-old flight attendant… told Bild.

“‘“One day I’ll do something that will change the system, and then everyone will know my name and remember it.”… He did it because he realized that, due to his health problems, his big dream of working at Lufthansa, of a having job as a pilot, and as a pilot on long-distance flights, was nearly impossible… He never talked much about his illness, only that he was in psychiatric treatment,’ she told the paper, adding they finally broke up because she was afraid of him. ‘He would suddenly freak out in conversations and yell at me,’ she recalled. ‘At night he would wake up screaming “we are crashing” because he had nightmares. He could be good at hiding what was really going on inside him.’

“German authorities said on Friday they had found torn-up sick notes showing that the co-pilot was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy. Germanwings, the budget airline of the flag carrier Lufthansa, has said he had not submitted any sick note at the time…”

According to Welt Online, Lubitz suffered from a severe psychosomatic illness, and investigators found several medications in his home. In addition, according to the New York Times, Lubitz “sought treatment for vision problems that may have jeopardized his ability to continue working as a pilot.”

Daily Mail added: “The disclosures will raise more questions for Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, as to how he was allowed to fly a passenger jet when he was known to suffer from depression – and to have suffered burnout and mental illness. Unusually, Lubitz’s file with the German Civil Aviation Authority had been ‘flagged’ with the warning that he needed regular psychological assessment before being allowed to continue to fly.”

It is indeed almost incomprehensible to believe that Germanwings and its parent company, Lufthansa, did not know or that they shouldn’t have known about Lubitz’s dangerous state of health.

Hillary Clinton’s Email Nightmare

The Associated Press reported on March 27:

“Hillary Clinton wiped her email server ‘clean,’ permanently deleting all emails from it, the chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, said Friday. Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said the former secretary of state has failed to produce a single new document in recent weeks and has refused to relinquish her server to a third party for an independent review, as Gowdy has requested…

“The Benghazi committee demanded further documents and access to the server after it was revealed that Clinton used a private email account and server during her tenure at State… Here is what the committee’s statement said: ‘… We learned today, from her attorney, Secretary Clinton unilaterally decided to wipe her server clean and permanently delete all emails from her personal server. While it is not clear precisely when Secretary Clinton decided to permanently delete all emails from her server, it appears she made the decision after October 28, 2014, when the Department of State for the first time asked the Secretary to return her public record to the Department.

“‘Not only was the Secretary the sole arbiter of what was a public record, she also summarily decided to delete all emails from her server, ensuring no one could check behind her analysis in the public interest…’”

Hillary Clinton is also in hot water—not only because former President Bill Clinton’s controversial history of having committed adultery and perjury under oath—but also because her son-in-law, Eaglevale’s hedge fund manager Marc Mezvinsky, has now been accused of having engaged in controversial business transactions, according to Bild Online, the New York Times, and the Washington Times, dated March 25.

The Washington Times wrote:

“The latest Clinton saga — this is from the scandal machine that keeps on giving — was revealed this week by The New York Times. Marc Mezvinsky, husband of Chelsea, has apparently used his inside track with his in-laws to attract investments to Eaglevale, the hedge fund he co-founded and manages. Several wealthy Wall Street friends of his mother-in-law, who have contributed to her presidential campaign, have become Mr. Mezvinsky’s investors, too.

“There’s apparently nothing jail-y or even unethical. So far. But it’s curious and maybe a conflict of interest when mother-in-law is running for president. It may be only the reckless gamble of a cocky young man…”

Politics is such a predictably dirty business. And political GOP candidates are known to “change their views,” when it is convenient for them, to gain more votes. Just listing two recent examples, Ted Cruz fought Obamacare, pledging to “kill” it, until now, when he signed up for it. Rand Paul has consistently advocated the decrease in military spending, until now, when he asked for an increase of 190 billion dollars. And so the list of flip-flopping candidates goes on and on…

Russia Threatens Nuclear Response

The Independent wrote on April 2:

“Russia has threatened to use ‘nuclear force’ to defend its annexation of Crimea and warned that the ‘same conditions’ that prompted it to take military action in Ukraine exist in the three Baltic states, all members of Nato.

“According to notes made by an American at a meeting between Russian generals and US officials – and seen by The Times newspaper – Moscow threatened a ‘spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military’ if Nato moved more forces into Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

“The Russians told the meeting, which took place in Germany last month, that an attempt to return Crimea to Ukraine would be met ‘forcefully including through the use of nuclear force’.”

Russia’s continuing belligerence is receiving a much more attentive ear in Europe than in the U.S., and leaders in the European Union are being forced to respond by turning to their own resources for a much stronger home-grown military capability.

The Danger of Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO’S Nuclear-Armed Members

Hoover.org reported on March 25:

“A US government study recently concluded that a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb detonated by terrorists a few blocks north of the White House would kill 45,000 people and leave 323,000 wounded. That bomb would be less powerful than most tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) now sitting in European storage bunkers. What is even more alarming: TNW are smaller and more portable, making them inviting targets for terrorists.

“TNW were originally deployed by NATO and Russia during the Cold War to reduce risks—in this case, a war on the European continent. There has never been much transparency or regulation associated with these deployments. Neither NATO nor Russia provides information on their number or location throughout Europe. So NATO and Russian publics have little information with which to assess the risks or benefits associated with their continued deployment…

“In April 2010, General James E. Cartwright, who at the time was vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, made clear his view that these weapons do not serve a military function… former senator Sam Nunn wrote in 2011 that… TNW are more of a security risk than an asset to both NATO and Russia…

“While NATO as an international organization does not possess nuclear weapons, its claim to be a nuclear alliance is based on the willingness of its nuclear-armed members to make their own weapons available to NATO for deterrence and defense. All of the United Kingdom’s ­submarine-based nuclear weapons are formally assigned to NATO, except where the UK may decide that its supreme national interests are at stake. France’s nuclear weapons, while not assigned to NATO, ‘contribute to the overall deterrence and security of the Allies.’ (France is not a member of NATO’s nuclear structure.) While there is no formal consensus on the extent to which US nuclear forces are assigned to NATO, America’s TNW are often assumed to be; they have remained deployed in Europe under nuclear sharing arrangements with NATO members for decades…

“Data from various non-governmental sources indicate that the United States currently deploys somewhere between 150 and 240 air-delivered nuclear weapons (B61 gravity bombs) that are deliverable by NATO aircraft (F-15s, F-16s, and Tornados) at six air force bases in five countries…”

Ukraine in an Almost Impossible Situation

Business Insider wrote on March 27:

“Russia will not negotiate delaying repayment over its $3 billion (£2 billion) loan to Ukraine that is due in December… This leaves the Ukrainian government in an almost impossible situation — either try to change Russian minds, convince the IMF to shift the conditions of its already contentious bailout package (it is highly unusual to provide funds to countries undergoing a civil war), or seek to inflict even deeper losses on private bondholders.

“The $3 billion loan was negotiated in 2013 by the previous government under President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country following huge anti-government protests on the streets of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. It stipulated that Ukraine had to keep its national debt below 60% of its GDP — a condition that the country has clearly breached as a civil war has hammered state finances and driven the country into a deep recession.

“This has given Moscow the ability to recall the loan whenever it sees fit, acting as a sword of Damocles over the head of the authorities in Kiev.”

Putin Guilty of Hypocrisy, Saudi Arabia Says

Reuters wrote on March 29:

“Saudi Arabia accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy on Sunday, telling an Arab summit that he should not express support for the Middle East while fuelling instability by supporting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. In a rare move, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that a letter from Putin would be read out to the gathering in Egypt, where Arab leaders discussed an array of regional crises, including conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya…

“Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia have been cool over Moscow’s support for Assad, whom Riyadh opposes. The civil war between Assad’s forces and rebels has cost more than 200,000 lives in four years… The Saudi rebuke may have been awkward for summit host Egypt, which depends heavily on billions of dollars in support from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab allies, but has also improved ties with Moscow.

“In February, Putin received a grand welcome in Egypt, signaling a rapprochement.”

Arabs Want to Form Joint Military Force

AFP wrote on March 29:

“Arab leaders agreed on Sunday to form a joint military force after a summit dominated by a Saudi-led offensive on Shiite rebels in Yemen and the threat from Islamist extremism. Arab representatives will meet over the next month to study the creation of the force and present their findings to defence ministers within four months, according to the resolution adopted by the leaders…

“The decision was mostly aimed at fighting jihadists who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria and secured a foothold in Libya, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said ahead of the summit. On Sunday, Arabi told the meeting the region was threatened by a ‘destructive’ force that threatened ‘ethnic and religious diversity’, in an apparent reference to the Islamic State group.”

The New York Times added on March 29:

“The Arab states said on Sunday that they had agreed to form a combined military force to counter both Iranian influence and Islamist extremism, a gesture many analysts attributed in large part to their drive for more independence from Washington.

“The agreement came as American and other Western diplomats in Lausanne, Switzerland, were racing to beat a self-imposed deadline of Tuesday to reach a deal with Iran that would restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions. In response, Saudi Arabia and other American allies in the region have made clear that they are seeking to bolster independent regional security measures because they see the proposed accord as a betrayal of Washington’s commitment to their security.

“Regardless of Iran’s nuclear program, they complain, the deal would do nothing to stop Iran from seeking to extend its influence around the region by backing favored factions, as it has done in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen.

“Many of the Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan and most of the Gulf monarchies, have thrown their support behind a Saudi Arabia-led campaign of airstrikes to counter advances by the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen; Washington is providing only intelligence and logistical support, but Saudi Arabia is leading the bombing while Egypt, with the largest Arab army, has pledged to send ground troops ‘if necessary’…”

Nuclear Agreement With Iran “Worse Than Feared”

Thomson/Reuters wrote on March 29:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned on Sunday the framework Iranian nuclear agreement being sought by international negotiators, saying it was even worse than his country had feared. Israel has mounted what it terms an ‘uphill battle’ against an agreement that might ease sanctions on the Iranians while leaving them with a nuclear infrastructure with bomb-making potential. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful.”

AFP added:

“[Netanyahu] said the ‘Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis’ was ‘dangerous for all of humanity’ and that combined with Tehran’s regional influence, a nuclear deal could allow Iran to ‘conquer’ the Middle East.”

An Arab joint military force (without and in defense against Iran) might prevent any (further) Iranian occupation of the Middle East. At the same time, American foreign policy is almost too incomprehensible and inconsistent as to make any sense. While America tries to strike a deal with Iran, it supports the fight against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, while supporting the fight against Iranian-opposed Sunni radicals (IS) while supporting both Sunni and Shiite rebels against Syria’s Assad, while antagonizing Israel…

Washington Lacks Sympathy For Its Partners and Friends

Foreign Policy wrote on March 30:

“As a March 31 deadline looms in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, the United States and France, two strong allies, have found themselves increasingly at odds, at times quite publicly. While the White House has been pushing hard for consensus on the framework for a deal ahead of the deadline, Paris has been pushing back…

“Relations between Paris and Washington have been tainted with suspicion ever since Syria used chemical weapons in August 2013 and Obama failed to enforce his ‘red line.’…

“Paris is in good company, alongside many of Washington’s traditional allies in the region, including the Gulf states, Israel, and Turkey, which have all felt shunted aside in the interest of reconciliation with Iran…

“Behind the Iran nuclear talks hovers the question of the future and shape of American power and leadership. For a decade, European countries have worked on trying to rein in Iran’s nuclear program. France, like the other countries, has taken an economic hit in this effort, thanks to the sanctions regime. Now the view from Paris is of a Washington that seems to lack empathy and trust for its longtime friends and partners — more interested in making nice with Iran than looking out for its old allies.”

April Fool’s Day Deal with Iran?

Reuters wrote on April 1:

“Six world powers and Iran will meet again later on Wednesday in a bid to reach an outline accord reining in Tehran’s nuclear programme, after failing to agree [on] crucial details such as the lifting of U.N. sanctions by a Tuesday deadline.

“The negotiators ended talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in the early hours of Wednesday and said they would reconvene later in the day, with Iran and Russia expressing optimism that an initial agreement was within reach…

“With Iran asserting its ‘nuclear rights’ and the United States threatening on Tuesday to abandon the negotiations, the talks have been bogged down on the issues of nuclear research, the lifting of U.N. sanctions and their restoration if Iran breaches the agreement.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said negotiators had reached a general accord on ‘all key aspects’, according to Russia’s TASS news agency, while his Iranian counterpart said a draft agreement could be prepared on Wednesday.

“But a diplomat close to the talks denied that such an agreement had been reached…”

Controversial Deal With Iran Reached

The Associated Press reported on April 2:

“After marathon negotiations, the United States, Iran and five other world powers announced an agreement Thursday outlining limits on Iran’s nuclear program to block it from developing atomic weapons and directing negotiators toward a final accord this summer.

“The United States and Iran each hailed the framework, reached by weary but upbeat diplomats after a week of intense diplomacy in Switzerland that capped 18 months of negotiations. Speaking from the White House, President Barack Obama called it a ‘good deal’ that would address concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Crucially for the Iranians, it also would provide them broad relief over time from international sanctions that have crippled their economy. Still, critics in both nations as well as wary U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia were likely to oppose the ‘plan of action’ because of concessions allowing Iran to maintain significant elements of a program that could be used to produce either energy or nuclear arms…

“Negotiators from the nations involved — including Russia and China — will now start writing the text of a final accord…”

Iran Deal Complete Capitulation of the West

Breitbart wrote on April 3:

“The P5+1 powers have, as expected, reached a ‘framework agreement’ on a nuclear deal with Iran. And, as suspected, the agreement allows Iran to retain its enrichment facility at an underground bunker. It also allows Iran to maintain a small amount of enriched uranium, and will offer the regime sanctions relief as soon as it can show it is keeping its end of the bargain…

“The deal is a near-complete capitulation by President Barack Obama… Obama taunted his critics, saying that a deal was surely better than war, which he suggested was the only alternative.

“But the question at stake is not whether there will be war with Iran. There already is. Iran’s Houthi proxies ousted a government in Yemen that had provided the most important foundation for Obama’s policy of attacking Al Qaeda terrorists who threaten the United States. The Iranians are also propping up Bashar al-Assad in Syria, whom the Obama administration is at least theoretically committed to deposing. And though it is fighting ISIS in Iraq, Iran is taking over what the U.S. once defended.

“The question, simply, is not whether there will be war, but whether Iran will be able to obtain a nuclear weapon. And while President Obama promised Thursday that the framework agreement closes off all paths to a bomb, that is simply not true. Iran maintains a significant amount of control over international inspections. It has been forgiven for its past cheating, and allowed to maintain significant nuclear assets. And it may have other secret nuclear facilities, including military ones yet unknown.

“The negotiations took place as if in a vacuum, separate from the role Iran is playing in the region—as if its ongoing “non-negotiable” pledges to destroy Israel did not matter, as if Iran were not supervising the slaughter of innocents in Syria, or trying to bomb an embassy in Uruguay….

“There is only one way to close off Iran’s path to a bomb, and that is to depose the regime. The region wants them gone. The Iranian people want them gone. And the mullahs nearly were gone, six years ago. But Obama preserved them by refusing to intervene on behalf of the pro-democracy movement. He preserved the Ayatollahs for this moment, for the gesture of a grand bargain….”

“Obama’s Revenge”—“US Declassifies Report Detailing Israel’s Nuke Program”

Newsmax reported on March 26:

The U.S. government has chosen to declassify a top secret document that pulls the lid off Israel’s nuclear weapons program… It is believed to be the first time the U.S. has publicly acknowledged Israel has nuclear arms. The 386-page document provides a detailed breakdown of how Israel developed nuclear weapons in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Israel is ‘developing the kind of codes which will enable them to make hydrogen bombs…’ reads the report… [saying that] Israel was ‘reaching the ability to create bombs considered a thousand times more powerful than atom bombs’ in the 1980s.

“The document also says Israel’s nuclear research laboratories ‘are equivalent to [the United States’] Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.’ ‘As far as nuclear technology is concerned the Israelis are roughly where the U.S. was in the fission weapon field in about 1955 to 1960,’ reads the document…

“In the section about Israel, the report details the nation’s several weapons programs, complete with charts and pictures that depict weapons systems. The report was written by the Institute for Defense Analysis, an agency working in tandem with the Pentagon.”

Obama a Modern Haman and Chamberlain?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 29:

“Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, on Saturday night compared US President Barack Obama to Haman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mordechai. Speaking at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, the American-born Riskin said that he could not understand what was going through Obama’s mind. ‘The president of the United States is lashing out at Israel just like Haman lashed out at the Jews,’ he said… Just as Mordechai was focused on saving the Jews of Persia from destruction, he said, so Netanyahu is focused on saving Israel and the world from destruction…

“Riskin drew an analogy between the conquest of Babylonia by ancient Persia and the armed conflict between Iran and Iraq. In relation to Iran, he said that the only difference between Iran and the Islamic State was who would be using power to control the world…

“Riskin was not the only prominent rabbi to criticize Obama over the weekend for his diplomatic policies. The World Values Network, founded and run by American rabbi and public figure Shmuley Boteach, took out a full page advertisement in The New York Times on Saturday comparing the deal being drawn up with Iran on its nuclear project to the Munich Agreement signed in 1938 by British prime minister Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, widely seen as an act of appeasement that emboldened the Nazi leader.

“The Times ad bore a picture of a pensive-looking Obama with an inset picture of Chamberlain holding aloft a copy of the Munich Agreement that he infamously declared to represent ‘peace for our time,’ just 11 months before Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland marking the beginning of the World War II.

“The ad described Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a ‘terror overlord’ and a ‘Hitler-wannabe,’ and said that the deal being discussed with Iran would ‘enable the world’s foremost sponsor of terror to become a nuclear power.’

“It called on Obama to demand that Khamenei personally and publicly repudiate his threats against Israel, that Iran cease support for terrorist groups and for the US president not to approve a deal that ‘allows the potentially catastrophic one-year-weapons-breakout period, which endangers Israel, the Middle East, America and the world.’”

Netanyahu Has His Work Cut out for Him

JTA wrote on March 20:

“When Netanyahu said on Monday that he wouldn’t allow a Palestinian state on his watch, supporters saw it as an honest and sensible assessment of the lessons Israel has drawn from the upheaval that radical Islam has brought to the Arab world… He clarified his position (or backtracked, depending on your view) in an MSNBC interview Thursday, saying he supports ‘a sustainable, peaceful, two-state solution — but for that, circumstances have to change.’

“This view holds currency across the Israeli political spectrum… After what happened with Gaza and Lebanon following Israel’s withdrawals, polls show few Israelis believe it’s possible right now to cede West Bank territory without it becoming a staging ground for attacks.

“… with the ascendance of radical Islamists in the Arab world, rising anti-Semitism in Europe, deep unease about the emerging nuclear deal with Iran and a growing sense of diplomatic isolation in Israel, the right-wing parties — and Likud in particular — were able to capitalize on Israeli fears. Whether Netanyahu’s premiership will be seen as having improved Israel’s security or imperiled it may ultimately depend on how history unfolds… What’s clear is that with Israel facing threats on multiple fronts, including myriad domestic challenges and a crisis in relations with the U.S. president, Netanyahu has his work cut out for him.”

US-Israel Tensions Deepen

The New York Times wrote on March 20:

“The White House is stepping up its antagonism toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite his victory in this week’s elections, signaling that it is in no rush to repair a historic rift between the United States and Israel… In a congratulatory call to Mr. Netanyahu on Thursday that Mr. Obama waited two days to place, the president chided the prime minister for his pre-election declaration that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch.

“Although Mr. Netanyahu has since tried to backtrack on those comments, Mr. Obama said that they had nonetheless forced his administration to reassess certain aspects of its policy toward Israel… The schism has exacerbated tension between the White House and the most powerful American pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, with which sitting presidents have traditionally been in lock step. Aipac, which like Mr. Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran, on Friday said the onus was on the White House to repair the breach.”

The Huffington Post wrote on March 21:

“Obama declined to say whether the United States would continue to block Palestinian efforts to secure statehood through the United Nations…”

Israel United Against US Criticism of Netanyahu

The New York Times wrote on March 24:

“… many… Israelis have been astonished by the unrelenting White House criticism that has helped sink relations between Washington and Jerusalem to a nadir not seen for more than 25 years. Even some who mainly blame Mr. Netanyahu for antagonizing President Obama over the last six years now see the scales flipped… Mr. Obama showed no signs Tuesday of softening his stance on Mr. Netanyahu’s momentary disavowal of the two-state solution that has long been the cornerstone of American policy…

“Israeli analysts are now suggesting that Mr. Obama and his aides might be overplaying their hand, inviting a backlash of sympathy for Mr. Netanyahu, and that they may not have clearly defined what they expected to gain diplomatically by continuing to pressure the Israeli leader. The president’s harsh words have been deemed by some to be patronizing and disrespectful not only to Mr. Netanyahu but also to the voters who rewarded his uncompromising stances with a resounding mandate for a fourth term.

“Several Israeli analysts said the administration’s criticism of Mr. Netanyahu seemed like a pretext for a longstanding plan to change the United States’ policy of protecting Israel in international forums, which the administration has said it will reassess. Others suspect a ploy to undermine Israel’s lobbying efforts against the American negotiations for a nuclear accord with Iran.

“The rift widened further on Tuesday with a Wall Street Journal report in which administration officials accused Israeli officials of spying on the closed-door negotiations with Iran and sharing secret details about them with Congress and journalists. Three top Israeli ministers vehemently denied the report. Several congressional Republicans said they had received no such information, and those in Mr. Netanyahu’s close circle said it seemed like more poisoning of dirty waters…

“In contrast with the White House, leading Israeli voices seem to have accepted Mr. Netanyahu’s post-election clarification that current circumstances make it impossible to imagine meeting his longstanding conditions for supporting a Palestinian state…

“As for Washington, the Obama administration’s rethinking of its policy on protecting Israel in the United Nations and other international forums may not be as simple as it sounds. The White House is likely to want any United Nations Security Council resolution on the two-state solution to include Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, something the Palestinians have roundly refused. And Republicans have already threatened to cut off United Nations funding if President Obama supports such a resolution.

“‘The very tough thing for the administration to explain to itself is, “What is the actual strategy?”’ said Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group. ‘O.K., so you’ve passed a Security Council resolution, both sides say they reject it, so what do you do and what have you achieved? It’s going to be a big headache to get it done, you’re going to expend a bunch of diplomatic effort, and for what? The arguments that you hear in favor of doing it is that Obama would leave a legacy.’

“Right now, that legacy includes the lowest point in the alliance that diplomatic sages can recall… ‘Obama and his team had assembled this rage over several months or maybe a few years, and now it’s all coming out,’ added Mr. Rabinovich, no fan of Mr. Netanyahu. ‘I think they are overdoing it. I think they are ignoring the complexity of Israeli politics. I think Netanyahu would like to make amends, but if Obama doesn’t want to make amends, the fight will continue.’”

It seems, whatever the Obama Administration is trying to do is predestined to failure.

Turmoil in Yemen

The Associated Press reported on March 26:

“Saudi Arabia began airstrikes Wednesday against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen, vowing that the Sunni kingdom will do ‘anything necessary’ to restore a deposed government that has been routed by the Iranian-backed group…

“The White House said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama has authorized logistical and intelligence support to the military operations…

“The Saudi strikes were the latest in a series of fast moving developments in Yemen… Driven weeks ago from the capital by the Houthis, U.S.- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi abandoned the country Wednesday.

“… the reality is that the capital and some of the country’s main cities already have fallen to the [rebel] group, and ground troops will be required to take them back.”

Majority of Germans Trust in the Euro

The Local wrote on March 24:

“A survey published on Tuesday shows that German public trust in the single currency has risen sharply over the last two years to hit 57 percent… In Germany, the sharp rise in trust in the Euro made it the fifth most respected public institution… It has now been established in the public mind that the worst fantasies of the media will not come true and the Eurozone will indeed stay together.”

Insane Mass Murder 

Deutsche Welle reported on March 26:

“German authorities have searched two residences of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz (28). Investigators believe Lubitz deliberately crashed flight 4U9525 into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board… locking himself in the cockpit and adjusting the altitude setting on the plane. This is a conclusion reached through audio recordings from one of the downed plane’s black boxes… The audio appears to show the captain, who left the cabin briefly, presumably to use the restroom, trying to force his way back in.”

The Local added on March 26:

“If this theory is officially confirmed in the days to come it will realise one of the greatest fears of both airlines and passengers alike and raise serious questions about security on board airplanes…

“If Lubitz did deliberately fly the passengers to their deaths, it would not be the first time a pilot has acted in such a devastating way.

“In 2013 a Mozambican airlines flight is believed to have crashed for a similar reason, as did a SilkAir flight in 1997 in Indonesia and an Egyptair plane in 1999, that had 217 people on board, although in this case the pilot suicide theory is disputed…”

Russia Warns Denmark of Nuclear Attack… Baltic States Worried

The Telegraph wrote on March 21:

“Russia has gone on the offensive in the Baltic… ‘I don’t think that Danes fully understand the consequence if Denmark joins the American-led missile defence shield. If they do, then Danish warships will be targets for Russian nuclear missiles,’ said Mikhail Vanin, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, to the Jyllands-Posten newspaper. ‘Denmark would be part of the threat against Russia. It would be less peaceful and relations with Russia will suffer…’

“Denmark’s Foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, reacted strongly to the comments…  ‘If that is what he has said, then it is unacceptable. Russia knows full well that Nato’s missile defence is defensive and not targeted at (Russia)…

“In follow up statements that will worry the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in particular, Mr Vanin went on to say that from being one of the most peaceful parts of the world a year ago, the Baltic is now ‘one of the most unpredictable in the world’.

“Germany, Poland, Lithuania, the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark all border the Baltic Sea. Six of them are Nato states. The three formerly Soviet Baltic states, now all members of Nato and the European Union, have repeatedly expressed their concern at their own situation, not least because as with Ukraine, both Estonia and Latvia in particular have large Russian populations and fear Russian encroachments…”

Doomsday Closer Than We Think?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 22:

“With most of the world’s focus on the Iran nuclear negotiations, little attention has been paid to a complete breakdown in the push to limit nuclear weapons proliferation on a scale not seen in years.

“Analysts may be correct that a deal which leaves Iran as a nuclear weapons ‘threshold state’ – or a state which has mastered the skills for making nuclear weapons and need only decide to produce one – may expand a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, involving Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others…

“The next most obvious problem is North Korea, which is estimated to have somewhere between six to 10 nuclear bombs. It is also continuing to produce new ones and is likely, based on its information exchanges and mutual visits with Iran in recent years, to be illegally sharing its technology with other dangerous new countries that may produce nuclear weapons.

“The increasing North Korean threat along with China’s fast-expanding conventional and nuclear forces may cause a new nuclear arms race, with Japan and South Korea finally joining in. Those countries may decide they can no longer rely on US protection alone…

“China’s potential new ability to launch a second or retaliatory nuclear strike against the US from its harder-to-attack mobile weapons sites and submarines mean the US would need to think much harder about intervening to protect its Asian allies from Chinese adventurism.

“Pakistan is another obvious problem, though with its already built nuclear weapons arsenal – estimated at 100 to 120 – it strangely receives far less attention than Iran…

‘But all of these threats may pale in comparison to the return of the Russian nuclear behemoth… As Russia more directly butts heads with the US and Europe, will its nuclear power status allow it to restore its old empire beyond parts of Ukraine? Will the US and Europe need to restore their Cold War military levels of preparedness to fend off a Russian attack? Could these broken-down relations lead Russia to be more aggressive in helping Tehran or even terror groups use smaller tactical nuclear weapons or gain nuclear technology in a new destabilizing fashion?…”

Interestingly, nobody seems to be focusing on a nuclear threat from Europe, even though the Bible clearly states that it will be Europe, under German leadership, which will end up fighting with the USA, the UK and Israel, and that Europe will destroy major American, British and Israeli cities, “laying them waste,” obviously through nuclear weapons (see our Q&A in this Update). From that standpoint, the following article is extremely important as it shows the utter lack of American willpower to defend against an enemy.

As the Bible has said, God will break the pride of America’s power (Leviticus 26:19), and even though America would get “ready” for  battle, God would not even allow them to fight. Ezekiel 7:7, 13-14, 17 speaks to the modern houses of Israel and Judah, warning:

“Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land: The time has come, A day of trouble is near, And not of rejoicing in the mountains… the vision concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; No one will strengthen himself Who lives in iniquity. They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready, But no one goes to battle; For My wrath is on all their multitude… Every hand will be feeble, And every knee will be as weak as water…”

America Defenseless Against Nuclear Attack

Forbes wrote on March 20:

“Russia has about 1,600 missile warheads capable of reaching U.S. territory, and if even a small fraction were launched, they could wipe out our electric grid, our financial networks, and quite possibly the whole U.S. economy…

“But this commentary isn’t about Russian military intentions. It is about the utter absence of U.S. active defenses for repulsing the sole man-made threat capable of wiping out American civilization for the foreseeable future.  Imagine every person you know dead, injured, or lacking shelter and sustenance.  Not at some dim point in the future, but by this time tomorrow.  Russia has that power, because America has no defenses against long-range ballistic missiles…

“Russia still has an assured capacity to obliterate America’s society and economy.  That isn’t going to change, because Moscow doesn’t trust Washington and nuclear weapons are its sole remaining claim to superpower status.

“… on the day deterrence fails, America’s highly capable strategic force will be little comfort because it can’t do anything to intercept incoming warheads.  All it can do is lay waste to Russia.

“The minimal defensive system the Obama Administration has sustained… can potentially intercept warheads attacking from any direction, but more than a dozen Russian warheads would overwhelm it.  So here we sit, able to detect a Russian launch almost immediately and retaliate with devastating force, but powerless to defend our homeland and loved ones from nuclear aggression.

“This is the kind of strategic myopia that eventually leads to catastrophe…”

Netanyahu Wins

Breitbart wrote on March 17:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has… defied the mainstream media and the Obama administration with a stunning, come-from-behind victory in Israel’s elections on Tuesday. Netanyahu’s Likud Party had been projected to lose to Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union by a margin of 26-22… Netanyahu is now expected to form a new governing coalition.”

JTA wrote on March 18:

“After weeks in which polls consistently showed Zionist Union holding a slight lead over the Likud Party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader effected a dramatic comeback to win a decisive victory in Israeli elections. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Netanyahu’s Likud had won 30 seats  — a quarter of the Knesset and six more than the Zionist Union’s 24.”

The Associated Press added on March 18 that Netanyahu is now “in a position to build with relative ease a coalition government with its nationalist, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.”

The Netanyahu Miracle–CNN Wrong Again

Breitbart wrote on March 17:

“All day long CNN has been relentlessly beating the drum and practically celebrating the forgone conclusion that sitting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to lose today’s elections. Every move Netanyahu made over the past few weeks that outraged Obama and his media allies was framed by CNN today as a blunder — from the speech he made before Congress to  sounding the alarm today about Israeli Leftists busing Arabs to the polls.

“CNN was quite obviously setting up a Narrative to explain and gloat over what polls said was almost certain to be a Netanyahu defeat. A funny thing happened at 4 pm ET when the exit polls from Israel came in. Netanyahu was tied or slightly ahead. An hour later news reports suggested Netanyahu had already cobbled together enough allies from other parties to form a governing coalition. This means he will remain Prime Minister. This is why he took to Twitter to declare victory.

“By 6pm, the biggest story in the world, and one of the biggest electoral upsets in recent memory, was no longer the biggest story on CNN. Despite all the domestic and international ramifications of Netanyahu’s almost certain victory, despite all the backfilling CNN had done all day to ‘explain’ Netanyahu’s defeat, Netanyahu’s upset did not lead CNN’s 6 pm hour with Wolf Blitzer. Netanyahu giving his victory speech  did not lead the 7 pm hour with Erin Burnett.

“At 6 pm and 7pm, CNN decided that the story of the night was … a single Air Force veteran trying to join ISIS. At around 7:10 pm, Burnett finally decided it was time to talk about the Israeli elections, and when she did she read a chyron that read, ‘Is Netanyahu About to Lose?’ Not ‘Too Close to Call.’ Not ‘Bibi Upset Victory?’ Nope. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, CNN stuck to its ‘about to lose’ narrative.

“Things got much worse. An obviously rattled Burnett came back from commercial and then went on to prove she knows absolutely nothing about how the Israeli government works. For some ignorant reason she is under the impression that a tie or something close to it means Netanyahu is weakened and will — this is a direct quote — ‘have to share a significant amount of power with Isaac Herzog.’…

“CNN isn’t alone. But CNN was the news outlet that had gone further out on a limb than any other in gambling big on a Netanyahu loss.

“As far as the rest of our unbiased, objective media, let me put it this way: All the planned and hotly anticipated ‘Did Bibi’s Speech to Congress Backfire?’ narratives and thought pieces will not be replaced with ‘Did Obama’s Meddling In the Israeli Elections Backfire?’ narratives and thought pieces. The media likely lost this one…”

No Palestinian State?

The EUObserver wrote on March 17:

“Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that if he is re-elected there will be no Palestinian state, putting in doubt the future of EU-Israel relations… his anti-Palestine comments pose fundamental questions for EU relations…

“EU diplomats are waiting for the US to restart talks in the final months of president Barack Obama’s second term in office. But the prevailing mood in Washington is that there’s no point if Netanyahu retains office, meaning the two-state idea would be put on hold for years to come… But without US engagement, neither EU restrictive measures nor diplomatic recognitions would change facts on the ground. The two-state solution, in any case, involves moving, by force, more than 110,000 Israeli settlers from East Jerusalem and the West Bank.”

Iran a Disruptive Player in the Arab World

BBC News reported on March 16:

“A senior member of the Saudi royal family has warned that a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme could prompt other regional states to develop atomic fuel. Prince Turki al-Faisal told the BBC that Saudi Arabia would then seek the same right, as would other nations…

“With a late March deadline for an Iran deal approaching, Saudi Arabia last week signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with South Korea that included a plan to study the feasibility of building two nuclear reactors in the kingdom. Riyadh has also signed nuclear co-operation agreements with China, France and Argentina, and intends to construct 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years.

“The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, flew to Riyadh earlier this month to reassure Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab allies that America would not accept any deal unless it prevented Iran from building a nuclear weapon. He was told that they found Iran’s support for armed Shia Muslim groups in regional conflicts as troubling as the prospect of an atomic bomb. ‘Iran is already a disruptive player in various scenes in the Arab world, whether it’s Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, or Bahrain,’ said Prince Turki.”

The Other Side of Iran—Iranian Dissidents Lashing Out at Obama’s “Diplomacy”

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on March 17:

“A group of Iranian dissidents and political prisoners have lashed out at the Obama administration, lambasting its ongoing diplomacy with Iran, according to two open letters sent to the White House in recent days… In each letter, the dissidents—most of whom are currently political prisoners in Iran—criticize the White House for ignoring the issues of human rights and democracy in Iran as they push to finalize a deal with a regime that the dissidents says     is murderous and untrustworthy.

“Iranian reformers and those seeking a change in the country’s leadership say they do not view the agreement as representing the plurality of Iranians. ‘Any deal in which the real representatives of Iranian people are not present and human rights are ignored, is basically a deal between President Obama and Khamenei’s agents, and Iranian people will not consider it to be legal,’ 21 Iranian political prisoners wrote in an open letter to Obama…

“As the Obama administration negotiates with Iran, the Islamic Republic continues to execute scores of political prisoners and dissidents each day, the letter states. An American pastor, Saeed Abedini, also continues to be imprisoned in Iran. ‘In this chaos, Iranian people, human rights, and basic civil rights are absent without any representation,’ they write. ‘During President Obama’s negotiations for a profitable deal with the non-democratic Regime of Iran, the number of people executed increases every day; freedoms of speech, religion, women, and journalists are restricted more and more, and civil, labor, and political associations are suppressed heavily.’

“On Sunday, another Iranian dissident currently in jail for leading protests against the regime sent his own letter to Obama. Heshmat Tabarzadi says that the Obama administration has been ignoring human rights issues in order to placate the Islamic Republic in talks. ‘When the people of Iran asked you to support them against the tyranny of the Shia clerics over five years ago you, the president of the most powerful country on earth, were secretly writing letters to the dictator of Iran,’ he writes in the letter, which was smuggled out of Iran by human rights activists and provided to the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, an advocacy group.

“Obama’s outreach has only empowered Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, writes Tabarzadi, who says he shares a prison cell with Saeed Abedini. ‘In June 2009, as Khamenei ruthlessly ordered his paramilitary forces to kill people on the streets and on university campuses, imprisoning and torturing journalists, intellectuals, the young and the old mercilessly, your friendly communications with the tyrant of Iran continued in the name of the people of the United States, ignoring the human rights of the people of Iran,’ the letter states. ‘You helped Khamenei to continue his Islamic tyranny in the name of Allah and Islam… The Islamic clerics have taken our nation hostage to their fanatical Islamic tyranny…

“‘In 2009 when the people of Iran loudly and clearly asked for your support for their freedom and sovereignty, you ignored us and empowered the tyrants to imprison, torture, and kill us.’ Nations such as the United States should be supporting ‘the People of Iran, not the tyrants,’ according to Tabarzadi…  ‘You claim that the only choice that you have is either to make a deal with Khamenei—which I believe means surrender—or war,’ he states. ‘I dare say this claim is a form of misinformation and intimidation of the people of America… Please sanction and weaken the illegal regime of Khamenei, and empower the people to overthrow this tyranny… You know that you can support the people in many ways, such as giving us Internet access that the Khamenei regime cannot police. This would allow us to organize and rise up against these godless tyrants.’…

“Saeed Ghassiminejad, an Iranian dissident and expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the letters reflect growing frustration with the Obama administration among reform-minded Iranians… ‘[Obama] has shown that he does not care at all about human rights and democracy. Whether it is Cuba, Iran, or Syria he and his secretary of state are either neutral or on the side of dictators.’”

ISIS and Boko Haram Join Forces

Newsmax wrote on March 13:

“ISIS has declared its intention to ‘blow up your White House, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower,’ its official spokesman said in a new audio message [continuing] that the organization had accepted a pledge of allegiance from the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram… [The] ISIS spokesman… declared that Boko Haram’s move was ‘a new door opened by Allah’ and said jihadists should go to West Africa… [and that] ISIS wanted control of numerous cities across the globe, including Jerusalem, Kabul, Rome, and Paris.

“The ISIS spokesman warned Jews and Christians that they could either ‘convert to Islam or pay the ultimate price when your armies are expelled from Muhammad’s peninsula, from Jerusalem, and all Muslim lands.’”

Lost–$500 Million in US Military Aid Given to Yemen

The Washington Post wrote on March 17:

“The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials. With Yemen in turmoil and its government splintering apart, the Defense Department has lost its ability to monitor the whereabouts of U.S.-donated small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies. The situation has grown worse since the United States closed its embassy in Sanaa, the capital, last month and withdrew many of its military advisers.

“In recent weeks, members of Congress have held closed-door meetings with U.S. military officials to press for an accounting of the arms and equipment. Pentagon officials have said they have little information to go on and that there is little they can do at this point to prevent the weapons and gear from falling into the wrong hands…

“Yemen’s government was toppled in January by Shiite Houthi rebels, who receive support from Iran and have strongly opposed U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. The Houthis have taken over many Yemeni military bases in the northern part of the country, including some in Sanaa that were home to U.S.-trained counterterrorism units. Other bases have been overrun by fighters from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula…”

Terror Attack on Tourists in Tunisia

Deutsche Welle reported on March 18:

“At least 19 people have been killed when militants attacked a popular museum in Tunisia’s capital, the prime minister confirmed. The attack was the country’s worst in nine years… Tunisian state television reported that two gunmen had died in the violence, but Prime Minister Essid said some of the terrorists could still be at large.

“Tourists from Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain were among those who lost their lives in Wednesday’s attack, the prime minister added. Another 22 tourists and two Tunisians were injured… The European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini condemned the attacks, blaming the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) militants, who were, according to her ‘once again targeting the countries and peoples of the Mediterranean region. This strengthens our determination to cooperate more closely with our partners to confront the terrorist threat,’ she said, adding that the EU was willing to ‘mobilize all the tools it has to fully support Tunisia in its fight against terrorism.’

“Gunmen opened fire on tourists as they were getting off buses outside Tunisia’s national museum on Wednesday, officials said. Many tourists remained inside the museum until security forces stormed in and killed the two militants. The attack dealt a huge blow to the small country which is still recovering from the political uprising, also known as the Arab Spring in 2011. Tunisia relies heavily on tourism from Europe and has tried to avoid terror attacks since leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted four years ago… Officials estimate that around 3,000 Tunisians have joined the ‘Islamic State’ in Syria and Iraq, raising fears that they may plan terror attacks at home.”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 19 that ISIS claimed responsibility for the abominable and cowardly terrorist attack, and that at least 20 people were killed. In an audio message, ISIS said that this was only the first drop of the rain.

Putin Was Willing to Use Nukes Over Crimea

AFP wrote on March 15:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to put the country’s nuclear forces on alert as he sought to annex Crimea last year after the fall of a Moscow-backed government in Kiev.

“In a nearly three-hour documentary aired on state TV in Russia on Sunday a year after the takeover of the Black Sea Peninsula from Ukraine, Putin showed the lengths he was willing to go to in order to protect Russian-speaking citizens of the province he considered a historic slice of Russia. The documentary, ‘Homeward Bound’, features interviews with Putin and reconstructions in which the Russian leader presents himself as the saviour of Crimea, forced to deploy elite troops to prevent a war with ‘nationalists’ who took power in Kiev… And unsure whether the West would intervene militarily to stop the annexation, he was ready to face ‘the worst possible turn of events.’”

Putin Does It Again

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 18:

“Russia tightened control over South Ossetia on Wednesday, when… Putin and his self-declared counterpart, Leonid Tibilov… signed the 25-year ‘Treaty on Alliance and Integration.’ The tiny mountainous region’s 50,000 inhabitants broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, and Russia effectively gained full control over it and a second secessionist territory, Abkhazia, after a brief war between the government and separatists in 2008, stationing troops there to preserve the peace. ‘This step made against the territorial integrity of a sovereign state further worsens the situation created as a result of the occupation and brings it to the level of an annexation,’ Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in a statement Wednesday…

“The treaty hands border control to Russia, which would also formally take charge of South Ossetia’s economy and military… ‘A joint defense and security zone will be created between our two countries, our customs agencies will be integrated, and border crossings for our citizens will become open,’ Putin said on Wednesday…

“On Wednesday, the European Union’s diplomacy chief said that the agreement undermined efforts to strengthen security and stability in the region. ‘This ‘treaty’ – which includes references to a transfer of powers in some areas – clearly violates Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ EU Foreign Policy coordinator Federica Mogherini said.”

“Putin Has Started a War, and Ten Million Could Die”

Express wrote on March 17:

“Vladimir Putin has started a war with the ‘whole civilised world’ which could leave ‘ten million people dead’. Polish statesman Lech Walesa made the ominous warning as the Russian President made clear he will deploy the nuclear-capable Tupolev bomber to annexed Crimea. The 62-year-old has also signalled his attentions to send Iskander surface-to-surface missile systems close to Poland’s border.
“The man who as a Gdansk trade union leader inspired the end of the Cold War accused the Kremlin leader of playing with fire… ‘He broke agreements, contracts, guarantees. The world cannot just leave it like this. If something like this happens, only force is left… If Russia takes a risk and attacks Poland and other countries… there will be a war… a million will be killed, ten million maybe’…

“World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko echoed Mr Walesa, saying… ‘What is happening at the moment could set off a third World War… I think that the European community is sleeping. Putin is doing what he wants to… He will continue to march forward.’”

Russia’s Northern Fleet on Full Alert

CNN reported on March 17:

“As the U.S. and several Eastern European NATO countries conduct a series of military exercises near Russia’s border, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his Northern Fleet ‘to full alert in a snap combat readiness exercise’ in the Arctic, state-run media reported Monday.

“… a Kremlin spokesman described the Northern Fleet inspection as routine practice aimed at improving military capabilities… Conversely, a diplomat told Tass that Russia was ‘deeply concerned’ about NATO drills near its border…”

Dangerous Putin and Helpless EU

The EUObserver wrote on March 16:

“Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in a pre-filmed interview, has said he was ready to use nuclear weapons if the West had tried to stop him seizing Crimea… He said he also deployed high-tech coastal defence missiles, which can be seen from space, to deter outside intervention.

“He added that he warned his Western counterparts he is prepared to go to war… Russian propaganda outlets have said it is capable of reducing the US to ‘radioactive ash’. Putin has also claimed he could conquer Kiev, Bucharest, and Warsaw ‘in two days’ by conventional means if he is provoked…

“But speaking to European media at the weekend, EU Council chief Donald Tusk noted how hard it is to maintain EU unity.  ‘A common policy of the 28 member states doesn’t exist. We have 28 different foreign policies’, he said.

“He noted he has little faith in the recent, so-called Minsk 2, ceasefire accord… He added that any EU leader who believes Putin is ready to make peace is guilty of ‘naivete or hypocrisy’.”

“A Pan-European Army with or Without American Help”

NBC News wrote on March 15:

“As conflicts worsen on NATO’s eastern borders, the case is being made for a pan-European army as commanders seek multinational ‘coalitions of force’ — with or without American help… ‘Europe must accept that the world regards the E.U. as more than just an economic union,’ Raimund Kirch, editor in chief of the Nürnberger Zeitung, wrote in an editorial. ‘Therefore, it must develop an independent moral and military power, in order to survive between the bi-polar forces.’…

‘‘This is not about having more influence in NATO,’ former German NATO general Harald Kujat told NBC News. ‘But the idea is that Europe wants to show “we must be more powerful” in light of the Ukraine crisis. NATO’s reaction time is too long because the Europeans have reduced the readiness status of their forces so much that they are, in practice, not available within the necessary time frame… the fact that the Europeans are not in a situation to defend their eastern allies in the Baltics and Poland without American support is shameful,’ said Kujat… ‘Germany spends about 1.3 percent of its GDP on the military. That’s not enough’…

“Stefan Soesanto, of the RAND research institute in Brussels, argues for an ‘enhanced interoperability among European soldiers’ which in the long term could also lead to more independence from American dominance within NATO.”

How Pope Francis Sees It

Breitbart wrote on March 13:

“In an exclusive interview Wednesday, the second anniversary of his election to the papacy, Pope Francis spoke on a wide range of topics, many of which revolved around Mexico. He said that ‘the devil doesn’t forgive Mexico because there [the Virgin Mary] revealed her Son,’ referring to the appearances of the Virgin of Guadalupe…

“‘I think the devil punishes Mexico fiercely.’… ‘Mexico… is privileged in martyrdom, for recognizing and defending its Mother… You will find Catholics, non-Catholics, and atheists in Mexico, but they are all ‘guadalupanos.’ That is, everyone feels like her child. Children of the one who brought the Savior, who destroyed the devil.’”

Reuters reported on March 13:

“Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday he believes his pontificate will be short and that he would be ready to resign like his predecessor [Pope Benedict] rather than ruling for life… ‘I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief – four or five years, even two or three. Two have already passed. It’s a somewhat strange sensation,’ he said… ‘I feel that the Lord has placed me here for a short time…”

The Associated Press added on March 13:

“Francis announced a special Jubilee Year starting Dec. 8 [and ending November 26, 2016] to focus the church on forgiveness and mercy. It’s only the 27th time in the history of the Catholic Church that there has been a Holy Year. [The first one was in 1300] The last one was called by St. John Paul II in 2000 to mark the start of the third millennium.

“Holy Years allow the faithful to receive special indulgences, ways to repair the damage of sin beyond the absolution granted by going to confession. The year begins with the symbolic opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.”

These are interesting developments. If Francis steps down soon or if he dies, it would be quite important to see who the next pope would be… and how he would view things. Would he be another more “liberally” minded pope, or a conservative follower of Catholic Church doctrine? In addition, Francis’ comments regarding Mexico show the fascination with the “Virgin Mary”—regardless of the religious convictions of the Mexicans. In fact, it may be the symbol and “appearances” of the “Virgin Mary” which might bring about strong collaboration between the Catholic Church and other religious groups believing in apparitions of Mary… such as Greek and Russian Orthodox believers and many Muslims. The Bible warns against such “visions and dreams”—since they are not Godly in any way. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World” and “The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

The Catholicism of Jeb Bush

The New York Times wrote on March 17:

“Twenty years after Mr. Bush converted to Catholicism, the religion of his wife, following a difficult and unsuccessful political campaign that had put strain on his marriage, his faith has become a central element of the way he shapes his life and frames his views on public policy…

“Many of his priorities during his two terms as governor of Florida aligned with those of the Catholic Church — including his extraordinary, and unsuccessful, effort to force a hospital to keep Terri Schiavo on life support, as well as less well known, and also unsuccessful, efforts to appoint a guardian for the fetus of a developmentally disabled rape victim, and to prevent a 13-year-old girl from having an abortion…

“He differed from his church, significantly and openly, over capital punishment; 21 prisoners were executed by the state on his watch, the most under any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. But he has also won praise from Catholic officials for his welcoming tone toward immigrants, and his relatively centrist positions on education — two issues in which he is at odds with the right wing of his party…

“The son and brother of Protestant presidents, Mr. Bush, if elected, would be the nation’s second Catholic president. He carries a rosary in his pocket, fingering its beads at moments of crisis, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and has retweeted Pope Francis. He was part of the American delegation to the installation of Pope Benedict XVI, and during his travels in the United States he sometimes attends Mass in local churches…

“Mr. Bush is not the first Catholic in his family. His great-grandfather George Herbert Walker was a Jesuit-educated Roman Catholic. But Mr. Walker married a Presbyterian and joined her church, a pattern that would be repeated multiple times in Mr. Bush’s family tree. George Bush, the former president, joined the Episcopal Church of his wife, Barbara; George W. Bush joined the United Methodist Church of his wife, Laura…

“Mr. Bush was officially received into the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil of 1995, making a profession of faith and being anointed with oil before receiving Communion for the first time as a Catholic… He has also suggested that concerns about the Episcopal Church, which has moved steadily to the left on social issues and liturgical matters, played a role in his decision…

“Mr. Bush is now courting Protestant leaders as well, presenting himself as a man of faith who understands the concerns of religious voters…”

Is Obama Trying to Stop Clinton?

Newsmax wrote on March 17:

“President Barack Obama definitely knew that Hillary Clinton was using a private email account as secretary of state — and he cautioned her not to, veteran political journalist Edward Klein told Newsmax TV.  ‘According to State Department, White House, and Clinton sources — three separate sources — the president of the United States was … aware she was using a private server, a private email,’ Klein said… ‘And either he or his people told her and warned her not to.’…

“Klein called Clinton’s apparent skipping of a separation agreement, requiring her to return all government documents when she left the State Department, a ‘classic Clinton avoidance.’ ‘She knew what she was doing when she used the server to begin with, which meant that nobody could get it,’ he said. ‘And … when she was asked or knew she was supposed to sign a separation agreement, she didn’t because that separation agreement requires you to then turn over all your emails to the State Department.’

“Last week, Klein said the Obama administration ‘is up to its eyebrows in efforts to stop’ Clinton from running for the White House — including six investigations launched by longtime presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett involving Clinton’s years as Secretary of State. ‘This administration… will do virtually anything to prevent Hillary from becoming president,’ Klein [said]. ‘It’s their view that if she does become president — like her husband, Bill — she will govern from the left of center and not be a true liberal,’ Klein said, ‘and will, therefore, compromise with Republicans like Bill did when he was in office, and will undo a lot of the Obama legacy. They are determined to stop her — and of course, it’s not going to be easy,’ he said.”

Danger Alert–Voting to Become Mandatory in the USA?

The Associated Press reported on March 19:

“President Barack Obama is floating the idea of making it mandatory to vote in the United States… He says the U.S. should be making it easier — not harder — to vote.

“The president is noting that countries like Australia have mandatory voting. He says if everyone voted in the U.S., it would completely change the political map… Obama says it would be ‘transformative’ and would counteract the influence of money in politics more than anything else.”

One of the many problems with (mandatory) voting is that there are NO qualified candidates to vote for.

Religious Confusion of Americans and Jews

Times of Israel wrote on March 18:

“An Idaho state senator’s description of Hinduism as ‘a false faith with false Gods’ drew calls from Jewish clergy for an apology. Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll joined two other Republican senators in refusing to attend the daily invocation on March 3 because a Hindu chaplain, Rajan Zed, led it.

“Nuxoll was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that she refused to attend because she sees the United States as a Christian nation… Her statement led Rabbi Daniel Fink of Boise’s Congregation Ahavatah Beth Israel to recruit a slate of local clergy to sign on to a letter he wrote calling for an apology. ‘Being a public official who is expected to represent all citizens, it is highly inappropriate and insensitive for Ms. Nuxoll to unnecessarily label a major religion as “false,” as there are about 3 million Hindus in U.S.A., including some in Idaho,’ said the March 14 letter, organized through the state’s Interfaith Equality Coalition. It was signed by 28 clergy and a number of other people.

“Also asking for an apology was Rabbi ElizaBeth Beyer of congregations in Reno, Nev. and Tahoe Vista, Calif., who has served with Zed on interfaith panels. ‘If Nuxoll had a clue, she would know that Hinduism is the third largest religion of the world and it offers rich philosophical thought,’ Beyer said in a statement…”

What ridiculous reasoning and utter confusion! Because someone is a public official and because a religion is the third largest in the world, he or she must participate in its religious practices? 

No, It’s Not Russia or China… It’s the USA—the Land of the “Free”!

People Magazine published the following article on its website, people.com, on March 15:

“After being forced by the state of Connecticut to undergo chemotherapy treatments she did not want, the 17-year-old known in court papers as Cassandra C. is now in remission – fighting to get out of the hospital where she has been held since Dec. 9. ‘I have been alone in the hospital for the most part,’ the Windsor Locks, Connecticut, teen tells PEOPLE from the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, where she has been legally required to stay since late last year under the temporary custody of the state Department of Children and Families…

“Even though the chemotherapy she received brought her into remission, she says, ‘I would never get chemo again after this if I ever relapsed. I would explore alternative methods like I originally wanted to. I don’t want to go through this again.’

“Last fall, when Cassandra’s doctors at CCMC suspected she might have Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she began researching chemotherapy, its standard treatment, which medical experts say has about an 85 percent chance of curing it. Without it, her doctors said she could have died. She says she wasn’t that concerned about side effects such as nausea or hair loss. She says she was most worried about other ‘major possible side effects’ she had read about including possible heart damage and secondary cancers…

“Her mother, she says, initially wanted her to have chemotherapy. ‘She told me as a parent that she didn’t want to lose her only daughter and that we would get through the chemo, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to try anything else that wasn’t as potentially harmful as chemo. Eventually she chose to not fight with me about it. She chose to stand by me’…

“After doctors confirmed her diagnosis, Cassandra says, CCMC scheduled appointments for Cassandra to begin chemotherapy. Instead, Cassandra and her mother went to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, to get a second opinion, she says. When she missed several appointments at CCMC (Cassandra says her mother told the hospital she would reschedule them), doctors there notified DCF, according to court records…

“DCF took temporary custody of her and placed her in a foster home with a family member, she says. She returned home after she agreed at a Nov. 12 court hearing to undergo the chemotherapy. But on Nov. 18, on her second day of treatment, her oncologist told her that she needed surgery the next morning to insert a chemotherapy port in her chest, which she did not want and thought she would not have to get for another month. ‘I was freaking out.’ She ran away, leaving home after her mother fell asleep…

“On Dec. 9, after she returned home, a Superior Court judge granted DCF temporary custody of Cassandra… ‘ DCF kind of just took me away, so there was really no time to make a decision on what we wanted to do or to research alternative treatments. No one ever sat down and talked to me about the chemotherapy. It was, “You have cancer. You have to get in here so we can start chemo.’”

“Life in the hospital was bleak at first for Cassandra. She wasn’t allowed to have a phone. DCF limited who could come see her, banning visits from her mother after Jan. 8, though she is trying to regain her visitation rights. Someone even stood guard outside her room for the first few weeks to make sure she didn’t try to leave. ‘I feel like a prisoner,’ she says.

“On Dec. 17, she says, her doctor told her that she was scheduled for surgery the following morning to insert the port she feared, so that she could get the chemotherapy she had fought so hard against. On the morning of the surgery, ‘a nurse came in and I told myself just to fight. When she started to put an IV in me, I wouldn’t let her.’

“After spending two hours telling her doctor, DCF and other hospital staff that she didn’t want the surgery, ‘Security had to pick me up, pin me to the bed and strap me down by my wrists and ankles,’ she says. ‘When I woke up, I looked down and there was a port in my chest. I thought, “I cannot believe they did this to me”’…

“The following day, she was forced to resume the chemotherapy. And on Jan. 8, the Connecticut Supreme court ruled that Cassandra had to continue the state-ordered treatments, saying she was not mature enough to make that decision for herself…

“Looking back on everything she has gone through, she says, ‘I can only hope that if there is a kid out there who doesn’t want chemo, they will show my story to a judge and say, “Remember this girl?’””

To read something like this makes one wonder how insensitive governmental officials, doctors, nurses, judges and above all DCF employees can be when it comes to human beings who are being treated like cattle and prisoners to follow medical procedures which are questionable at best. As we have pointed out in our Updates, personal liberties and freedoms ARE being taken away from American citizens on a CONSISTENT BASIS.