Obama the New War President

Politico wrote on September 23:

“With his new offensive against Islamic State terrorists in Syria, Barack Obama has a chance to revive his presidency, but the only way he can do that is to become a brand-new president, one who will be almost unrecognizable to his supporters…

“So is Obama now a war president? As air strikes in Syria commenced Monday, there was no longer any doubt that this is his new role… what is happening now no longer falls into the category of cleaning up old wars… This is a wholly new war, Obama’s very own, and it is out in the open…

“It’s not that Obama has been shy about using force in the past six and a half years. But he has preferred to do it covertly…

“The risk today… is that Obama will be forced to compromise on his pledge of no new boots on the ground. In his Sept. 10 speech, he said: ‘It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.’ And yet as many as 1,700 U.S. troops are now acting in a vague role as advisers and trainers in Iraq, and it is reasonable to think that some U.S. operatives are helping to direct air strikes into their targets in Syria. The question is whether that can continue, or whether Obama will be forced to widen U.S. involvement…”

Quite a Different Message

US News wrote on September 24:

“Obama appears to be edging toward justifying a larger war. On Tuesday, he said the current attacks in Syria—which are opposed by the Syrian government—are designed to send a message “to anyone who would plot against America and try to do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people.” He also said the conflict will be lengthy and difficult.

“Obama… is now sending a far different message than he did when he ran for president. That message was so impressive that Obama won the Nobel peace prize shortly after taking office in 2009 because of his stated commitment to working for peace around the world and ending the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bild Online wrote on September 26:

“That’s how quickly it can happen, Barack Obama—from being the Winner of the Peace Nobel Prize to becoming War President… What has gone so terribly wrong?…  In one word: Weakness. His motto, ‘leading from behind’ is devastating. … Obama leaves behind a world of chaos…”

At War for Generations to Come?

Chicago Sun Times wrote on September 24:

“America will be at war for generations to come… It is impossible to feel optimistic about prospects for peace in Syria, or true democracy in Iraq or an end to Muslim sectarian strife anywhere in the Middle East. It’s hard to feel optimistic even about the ‘broad coalition,’ including Arab states such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, that Obama has pulled together to fight ISIS, which he called a ‘network of death.’

“Obama gave no hint as to just how fragile and queasy that coalition really is. All five Arab nations on board have declined to even mention the United States in their official statements of support… This war, and others to come, could go on for years…”

German analysts stated that the new war would go on for at least 20 years…

A Divided and Deeply Inconsistent Coalition…

The Huffington Post wrote on September 25:

“The U.S. administration… is between a rock and a hard place: Saudi Arabia desperately wants Assad’s head on a plate and volunteers to fund the ‘war’ effort for that end. But, for Obama to assent to Iranian-Russian conditions [to leverage the ‘war’ precisely (and only) at ISIS in Syria and Iraq]– and thereby indirectly strengthen President Assad — he will cause outrage in the Gulf and amongst the ‘moderate’ Syrian exile insurgents. By doing as the Gulf wishes (attacking Assad’s forces), however, he will almost certainly tip Russia, Iran and Hezbollah into overt opposition and escalation, which will greatly complicate the war on ISIS in Syria (and in Iraq, too).

“Turkey, too wants to ‘use’ the war on ISIS, but the Turkish immediate objective is not to weaken ISIS, but rather to help ISIS undermine the Syrian Kurdish semi-autonomous region that lies adjacent to Turkey’s own restless (and far from autonomous) Kurds.

“… in the final analysis, the deep inconsistency — and likely cause of this whole enterprise’s ultimate failure — is simply the paradox that the West’s allies of choice will not, and cannot, be true ‘partners’ to this ‘war.’…”

“Why the Military Campaign Against ISIS Will Fail”

The Times of Israel wrote on September 26, republishing an article which had appeared in The Globalist:

“No matter how much Washington and its allies may wish otherwise, the military campaign against ISIS will fail, possibly with disastrous consequences.  Surprisingly, this outcome is not dependent on the issue that is currently so hotly debated – whether or not there will be ‘boots on the ground’ (and whose).

“To understand why, one needs to consider the dynamics and legacies of history. In the ultimate analysis, the existence of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) can be ascribed in good part to the fact that… there was no reformation in the world of Islam…

“If one bears in mind the immense contribution made by the Arab world to science and civilization in centuries past — and indeed the fact that not that long ago cities like Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and Alexandria were booming global centers of commerce and creativity — notably in the arts — then one can arrive only at one conclusion. The panorama of the Arab world today is indeed depressing and discouraging. Compared with most other parts of the world, it is in regress as opposed to progress.

“It can only be remedied by the Arabs themselves, based on a profound reform and indeed renaissance of Arab society…  by virtue of insight — and not by external military force. Until and unless these reforms — this reformation and renaissance — occur in the Arab world, all Western interventions will fail, and indeed in all probability make the situation worse. The proposed battle to ‘the gates of hell’ against ISIS will suffer the same fate…”

Deja Vu as UK Heads Back to Iraq

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 26:

“The UK Parliament voted in favor of joining the military action against the ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq… The move was approved on Friday by a vote of 524 in favor to 43 against.

“The decision makes the UK the latest country to join the anti-IS coalition. As well as the Arab states taking part in the US-led military campaign against the terrorist militia ‘Islamic State,’ France has already bombed targets in northern Iraq. Denmark too announced on Friday that it was sending seven F-16 planes to join the campaign, while Belgium and the Netherlands have also sent combat aircraft…

“It seems that the West is now irrevocably set on another bloody adventure in the Middle East, less than three years after US troops were finally withdrawn from Iraq following a nine-year war.

“That war is now widely seen as a mistake in the UK – former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s fall from popularity was largely down to his support for it – and Cameron on Friday was eager to suppress the obvious comparisons… a study published in April this year by UK-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute found that ‘there is no longer any serious disagreement’ that Britain’s participation in the 2003 Iraq war contributed to the radicalization of many young Muslims in Britain.”

Mr. Cameron told the UK Parliament that the military engagement would go on for “years.” It was noted in the press that the UK was acting cautiously—even though the UK Parliament authorized military actions – because of distrust towards the USA.

Boots on the Ground

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 27:

“General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that between 12,000 and 15,000 US-trained and –armed rebel fighters would be required in Syria to defeat IS… Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has also offered seven F-16 fighter jets… for use over Iraq, not Russia-ally Syria… Germany has committed weaponry, humanitarian aid and training for Iraqis either fighting against or displaced by the ‘IS’ advance, but has ruled out direct military intervention. The first German weapons deliveries arrived in Iraq on Friday.”

Die Zeit Online reported on September 26 that the USA is in need of 15,000 Syrian rebels to fight for the coalition and against ISIS. According to Der Spiegel Online, dated September 27, 2014, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated some willingness to support fighting against ISIS, provided, among other conditions, that there would be boots on the ground.

The Huffington Post wrote on September 28 that House Speaker John “Boehner also said he believes that at some point the United States will have to send combat troops to fight the Islamic State. ‘At the end of the day, I think it’s going to take more than airstrikes to drive them out of there,’ Boehner said Sunday. ‘At some point, somebody’s boots have to be on the ground.’ Asked if those boots had to be American, Boehner said, ‘We have no choice.’”

Was There Really an Imminent Threat from Khorasan?

The website of Kansas.com (linked by the Drudge Report) published the following article on September 26:

“European counterterrorism specialists say their American counterparts never mentioned an imminent plot by al-Qaida operatives in Syria to attack Western targets and didn’t brief them on the group that’s supposedly behind the plan, a previously unknown terrorist unit that American officials have dubbed the Khorasan group.

“The interviews with the specialists, from two European NATO allies with close intelligence ties to the United States, raise questions about why the United States used its first series of airstrikes on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Syria to also attack eight installations belonging to the Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate that anti-government rebel groups consider an important ally in their fight to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad… U.S. officials… said the strikes were intended to break up a plan for an imminent attack.

“The European specialists, who meet regularly with U.S. officials on terrorism issues… said… [such] an omission [to warn them]… seemed unlikely if the plot were truly imminent.”

“Germany’s Military Feet of Clay”

The Local wrote on September 25:

“On Thursday at 10.30am a German military plane left Bonn for the Senegalese capital Dakar. It was carrying ten tonnes of supplies and a field hospital to help fight Ebola in Liberia. Almost nine hours earlier, but 12 hours late, a Dutch air force flight took off from Leipzig taking military equipment to Kurds in Iraq fighting the Islamic State (Isis). This is the role Germany wants its military to play on the world stage – transporting humanitarian aid and where necessary military trainers and equipment to help in the world’s trouble spots. But its military appears unfit for the task.

“Last week, the first military trainers being sent to join the Kurds were delayed after their own Transall aircraft broke down. Much of the Bundeswehr’s equipment is not combat ready. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended the Bundeswehr in the media on Wednesday, describing it as ‘highly capable’…

“German units are still in Afghanistan. Others are providing air defence in Turkey, hunting pirates off the coast of Somalia, and training troops or providing logistical support across Africa. But politicians’ promises that Germany will use its troops and material to intervene abroad and provide disaster relief, as in Iraq and West Africa, are placing a heavy load on the already strained Bundeswehr.

“… just 24 of the air force’s 56 Transall transport planes, which will be critical for the Iraq and West Africa missions, [are] fit to fly. The air force is close to overload with its fighter planes also well under half strength. Helicopters, too, are a weak point, with half the navy’s fleet grounded and only 16 of 83 CH-53 transport helicopters flight ready.

“There are also problems with the army’s Boxer personnel carriers and the navy’s frigates. Just 70 of the 180 armoured vehicles and seven of the 11 ships are in fighting condition… Germany spent €48.8bn, 1.4 percent of GDP, on its military in 2013, well below the target of two percent confirmed at a NATO summit in Wales in early September.”

Even though the German people might not like it, politicians will very soon work on substantially improving the Bundeswehr and bringing it up to speed.

Eric Holder’s Resignation Long Overdue

The Washington Times wrote on September 25:

“The nation thirsts for a successor who goes back to the old model, where the attorney general doesn’t check party affiliation before deciding whether to act or what to do… The next attorney general will have an uphill battle in repairing the damage done to the integrity of the Justice Department. John Fund and Hans von Spakovsky, authors of ‘Obama’s Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Justice Department,’ cite inside sources who describe Justice as ‘racialized and radicalized’ under Mr. Holder ‘to the point of corruption.’… Mr. Holder has consistently put partisan politics at the top of his agenda.

“He bashes America as a ‘nation of cowards’ because Americans don’t want to listen to harangues about race… It’s not a good sign that Al Sharpton, the noted theologian and race hustler, says that he is ‘engaged in immediate conversations’ with the White House about the selection of Mr. Holder’s successor…”

The involvement of the infamous and highly objectionable Al Sharpton—who truly gives religion a bad name—is  a matter of the greatest concern.

The Huffington Post wrote on September 28: “Holder has agreed to remain in his post until his successor is confirmed by the Senate — so, given the current state of D.C. dysfunction, he may be AG for some time to come.”

NEXT: Julia Pierson Resigns as Secret Service Director

The Washington Post reported on October 1:

“Julia Pierson resigned as Secret Service director on Wednesday after just 1 1/2 years on the job following a series of major security lapses that eroded President Obama’s confidence in her ability to run the agency tasked with protecting him.

“Pierson’s abrupt departure — one day after Obama expressed full confidence in her — came as lawmakers from both parties were calling for her ouster after her halting performance during a Tuesday House hearing.

“A decisive factor in the president’s change of heart, aides said, was that he learned only from news accounts Tuesday that a private security guard with a gun and a criminal history had not been screened before being allowed to board an elevator with him last month in Atlanta.”

Embarrassing as this latest resignation is for President Obama’s now lame-duck administration, the world is being given more and more evidence that America is no longer a dependable or even a capable ally.

“Married Couples Now a Minority in US”

“Married couples have become a minority in the United States during the past few years, while those married pairs with children comprise just one in five households… married couples living together, with or without children, accounted for 48.7 percent of households…

“In 2012, women living without a mate accounted for 15.2 percent of households, while men living without one comprised 12.3 percent. ‘Other family households’ accounted for 17.8 percent, mostly unmarried couples living together, with or without children, and to a lesser extent married couples living apart…

“The consistently decreasing percentage of Americans who are married is surely related to the rising percentage of U.S. babies born to unwed mothers… 36 percent of the generation of Americans born from 1993 through 2012, who are beginning to turn 21 this year, were born to an unmarried mother.”

Russia Puts Pressure on EU Against Ukraine

The EUObserver wrote on September 26:

“Russian energy minister Alexander Novak has warned that EU states which re-export gas to Ukraine will face cut-offs… Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia earlier this year began shipping Russian gas to Ukraine in order to help it cope in winter after Russia stopped supplying Ukraine in a price dispute which is bogged down in legal arbitration.

“Earlier this month, Russian gas flows to Poland temporarily dropped by 45 percent and to Slovakia by 10 percent in what was blamed on technical reasons. For its part, Hungarian gas distributor FGSZ on Thursday said it will no longer supply Ukraine ‘until further notice’ also due to ‘technical reasons’ linked to increased demand at home. But Ukraine transit firm Naftogaz said in a statement the decision is political.

“… two recent EU-brokered deals, on a ceasefire in east Ukraine and on EU-Ukraine free trade, have attracted criticism.  The ceasefire, agreed on 5 September, has seen Ukraine pass laws to let pro-Russia rebels stay in place in Donetsk and Luhansk and to create a buffer zone between the two forces… [Regarding the] EU-brokered trade deal…  Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said in a letter to the EU commission… that he will impose trade sanctions on Ukraine if it starts to make any pro-EU economic reforms in the next 15 months. He added that the substance of the trade treaty must be modified to meet Russian demands.”

EU Condemns Russia

The Local wrote on September 26:

“The EU condemned Russia on Friday for barring entry to the German leader of the Green fraction in the European Parliament who flew to Moscow to observe a trial of a Ukrainian pilot accused of espionage… Rebecca Harms, who co-chairs the Greens group in the European Parliament, said she was refused entry on Thursday despite holding a diplomatic passport. She said she was then sent on a flight back to Brussels after authorities told her they objected to her voting for sanctions against Russia…

“European parliament president Martin Schulz said he would lodge a formal protest with the Russian embassy in Brussels over the treatment of Harms. ‘I strongly denounce this grave diplomatic incident which is a worrying setback for relations between the European Parliament and Russia,’ he said.”

“Japan’s Cabinet Rocked by New Claims of Links to Neo-Nazis”

The Independent wrote on September 28:

“Japan’s government is weathering accusations of links to far-right groups that promote racism and hate speech. Several members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, including the Police Minister, have been forced to deny their neo-Nazi links after photographs surfaced of them posing with far-right figures…

“Mr Abe’s government has raised eyebrows with its far-right profile. Sixteen cabinet members belong to the League for Going to Worship Together at Yasukuni, a Tokyo shrine that honours leaders executed for war crimes. Sixteen support Nihon Kaigi, a nationalist think-tank that advocates a return to ‘traditional values’ and rejects Japan’s ‘apology diplomacy’ for its wartime misdeeds.

“Many belong to a parliamentary association that… deny many wartime atrocities… In August, Mr Abe sparked controversy when he paid tribute to soldiers, including war criminals, who gave their lives for ‘the foundation of the fatherland’. The tribute was sent to a temple housing a monument to 1,000 ‘martyrs’ who fought in the Second World War…”

Pope: Pray to Angels!

CNA reported on September 29:

“On Monday’s feast of the archangels Pope Francis spoke of the ongoing battle between the devil and mankind, encouraging attendees to pray to the angels, who have been charged to defend us…

“Pope Francis concluded his homily by encouraging those present to pray to the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and to recite the prayer to Saint Michael often.”

While this may represent Catholic doctrine, suggesting that we should pray to angels flies in the face of what Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 6:9 in which He said we are to pray to the Father.

Scotland Stays—“But It’s All Over Anyhow”

Fox News wrote on September 19:

“Scotland’s decision to remain part of the United Kingdom in an historic referendum Friday gave British markets a brief lift, as fears of an independent Scotland causing economic havoc waned. After an unprecedented voter turnout of just under 85 percent, 55.3 percent were against independence to 44.7 percent in favor. The decision prevented a rupture of a 307-year union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

The EUObserver added on September 19:

“In the end nothing changed and everything changed. Scottish people voted with a decisive majority against independence on Thursday (18 September) but the conversation in the UK has only just begun. David Cameron, seemingly invigorated by almost becoming the PM who oversaw the break-up of the UK, has promised devolution for everyone. In Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England…”

Breitbart wrote on September 19:

“First the good news. Thanks to last night’s “No” vote in the Scottish referendum Britain has been spared the following: a run on the pound; the hasty exodus of Scotland’s finance industry;… a collapse in the markets;… the entirely unnecessary and utterly ill-considered rupture of the greatest Union between nations the world has ever known; waking up this morning to find ourselves no longer in bed with cherished (if fractious) friends, allies, partners and comrades alongside whom we’ve fought, loved and prospered for over 300 years.

“Now the bad: it’s all over anyway.

“What… [the] Scottish National Party (SNP) insurgency achieved in Scotland last night is [this:] Yes they may have lost the battle. But it was their stepping stone towards ultimately winning the war… [They] are hardly going to view that 45 per cent they gained at the ballot box as a loss. Rather they will draw the conclusion that nearly half of Scotland’s population yearns for independence and that all they have to do now is press on…

“Their unlikely allies in this will be all those people in the rest of Britain driven to apoplexy by the concessions that have been made by the ‘Westminster government’… How can it possibly be fair, they’ll want to know, that… Scottish residents will continue to receive more than £1000 per capita per year of taxpayer-funded handouts than people in the rest of the United Kingdom? And how, with all these extra powers that Scotland’s parliament has been granted, can it be right that the 59 Scottish MPs at Westminster get to vote on matters exclusive to England, Wales and Northern Ireland… when their UK counterparts are denied any say on Scotland?

“The answers to both questions, of course, is that it isn’t. Which is why, in its desperate attempts to engender national unity by shoring up the Union, what the Westminster political class has actually ended up doing is sow the seeds for still further, deeper national division…”

Almost Queen of Scots

BBC News wrote on September 19:

“The Queen faced the prospect of becoming Elizabeth I of Scotland or even Elizabeth, Queen of Scots, had the Scottish people voted in favour of independence…

“As a 27-year-old, she was crowned more than 60 years ago in Westminster Abbey when she took a solemn oath to ‘govern the peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’.

“The Queen’s Scottish heritage has been an important part of her life. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, hailed from an ancient aristocratic Scottish family… The Queen is descended from Mary, Queen of Scots, James I, who was James VI of Scotland, and Robert the Bruce, who secured Scotland’s independence from England.”

Does God Exist?

NBC News wrote on September 18:

“The archbishop of Canterbury – the spiritual leader of the world’s 80 million Anglican Christians – has admitted he sometimes doubts whether God actually exists. Justin Welby made the comments during a relaxed interview in front of an audience at Bristol Cathedral, in England. ‘There are moments, sure, where you think, “Is there a God? Where is God?”’ The archbishop, who is also the leader of the Church of England, added that his admission was ‘probably not what the archbishop of Canterbury should be saying.’”

One in four people in Britain regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England. 1.7 million people take part in a church service every month, according to statistics from the Church of England.

The Guardian wrote on September 18:

“The archbishop of Canterbury… disclosed that, on a recent morning jog with his dog, he questioned why the Almighty had failed to intervene to prevent an injustice… Later in the interview, Welby said he was certain, however, about the existence of Jesus, even talking about his presence beside him…

“Welby, who was appointed to his post in November 2012, has frequently made known his feelings on a wide variety of issues… He has also offered wholehearted support for the consecration of women bishops, describing the rejection in 2012 as a ‘grim day’.”

Doubting the existence of God, but not of Jesus whose presence is being “felt,” seems rather incomprehensible. 

Russia and China—the NEW Warsaw Pact

The Washington Times wrote on September 19:

“The international security meeting in Paris on Monday showcased a world in fear of the growing threat that the Islamic State poses to the global order. A group of 26 countries have now vowed to fight the Sunni extremist group ‘by any means necessary,’ and more will continue to join the effort. However, there are two countries it seems that we, once again, can’t count on: Russia and China. Both nations — in different ways — are refusing to get on board.

“Russia is insisting that airstrikes must be coordinated with Damascus and Tehran. China has yet to acknowledge the proposal to participate in the U.S.-led coalition delivered last week by National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice. In this way, Russia and China are not only facilitating the power and reach of rogue regimes such as Syria and Iran, but are also continuing to solidify their alliance…

“Russian-Chinese collaboration has been growing for years, tracing back to the 2001 forming of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which Vladimir Putin called ‘a reborn version of the Warsaw Pact.’… Indeed, these longtime adversaries now work together along economic, technological, military and political lines.

“Russia and China proceed with strategic and tactical clarity — and often with mutual support. When Russia invaded Crimea in March, China abstained from a vote condemning it in the United Nations. When the European Union proposed new sanctions against Russia recently, Beijing loudly objected and suggested that additional sanctions ‘may lead to new and more complicating factors’ in Ukraine.

“Russia and China are increasing their military budgets across the board, while the United States is drawing down…

“The world is aflame today in no small part because of the influence of rogue regimes such as North Korea, Iran and Syria — and Russia and China have facilitated their activities, even if they often stay in the background… Russia and China are accomplished practitioners of cyberwarfare. The Justice Department indicted five Chinese officers of the People’s Liberation Army for cyber-espionage in May. Russian hackers, almost certainly affiliated with the Kremlin, have wrought havoc on American businesses with cyber-attacks…

“Mr. Putin has aroused memories of 1939 with his aggression in Ukraine, where tens of thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of tanks are currently operating — and he has hinted that he may move on to the Baltics. In a telephone conversation with the outgoing head of the European Commission, Mr. Putin reportedly said, ‘If I want, I’ll take Kiev in two weeks.’ China is more subtle, but no less aggressive…”

Russia, China and other Middle and Far Eastern nations will combine forces in opposition to the West—and especially Europe. See the next article.

China and Iran Conduct Joint Naval Drills

The Times of Israel wrote on September 20:

“For the first time, Chinese warships docked in an Iranian port Saturday as Beijing and Tehran prepared to conduct a series of joint naval drills… The arrival of the Chinese ships came a few days after the Iranian Navy thwarted a pirate attack on a Chinese container ship in the Gulf of Aden…

“Last year, Iranian ships were in the Sea of China ‘to deliver Iran’s message of peace and friendship to the Chinese,’ [the semi-official Iranian news agency] Fars reported.”

Putin Puts the World on Notice… But Who Is Listening?

The EUObserver wrote on September 19:

“Ukraine leader Petro Poroshenko has warned the US that Europe is at risk of a ‘terrible and unimaginable … war’ despite his two-week ceasefire with Russia. But his speech, to US congress members and senators in Washington on Thursday (18 September), failed to convince the White House to send military assistance.

“Referring to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its invasion of east Ukraine, he accused the Kremlin of having an ‘imperialistic mindset’ which threatens not just Ukraine, Georgia, or Moldova, but also EU and Nato countries such as the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria…

“His speech comes after a leaked EU paper brought to light a fresh threat by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. ‘If I wanted to, in two days Russian troops could be not only in Kiev, but in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw or Bucharest,’ Putin is said to have recently told Poroshenko, according to the minutes of the Ukrainian leader’s conversation with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Kiev last week obtained by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung…

“But the White House said only it plans to give him another $53 million in non-lethal aid – $7 million for humanitarian assistance, and the rest for equipment such as counter-mortar detection units, body armor, binoculars, and small boats. With Russia’s annual military spending dwarfing Ukraine’s by a factor of 20 to one… American weapons would make no difference if worst comes to worst…

“For their part, the EU and Ukraine recently made a big concession to Russia by agreeing to freeze their free trade pact until 2016. But Russia on Thursday said it wants more.

“Its foreign ministry noted in a statement that the trade pact should be ‘modified’ in substance… It added that if Russia does not get its way, ‘we reserve the right to respond swiftly’ with trade penalties against Ukraine.

“… the Polish foreign affairs thinktank, Pism… said there is a 50 percent chance that Russia will, in October, launch a new offensive in south east Ukraine designed to create a land-bridge to Crimea. It said there is a 30 percent chance that by the end of the year Russian leader Vladimir Putin will try to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea by conquering all of south Ukraine. It said the worst case is a full-scale invasion, including of Kiev.”

Ukraine announced that they have lost over 60% of their weaponry in their ongoing conflict with Russia. Der Spiegel Online reported that very soon, they might have no weapons left. And there are more troubles ahead for Ukraine. The Local reported that “Relatives of German victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plan to sue Ukraine and its president for criminal negligence for not closing the country’s airspace.”

Russia’s Further Provocations

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on September 19:

“Russian strategic nuclear bombers carried out air defense zone incursions near Alaska and across Northern Europe this week in the latest nuclear saber rattling by Moscow… The new aggressive military posture appears to be an element of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policy of seeking to return Russia to its Soviet empire status.”

The Local added on September 19:

“The Swedish Armed Forces confirmed on Friday afternoon that two Russian SU24 fighter-bombers had been detected flying over the country… The Foreign Ministry said the Russian Ambassador had been summoned so that Sweden could make a formal protest… The planes left Swedish airspace after a Swedish Gripen plane was scrambled to warn them off.”

We can expect an escalation between Russia and Europe… with the USA only playing a marginal future role or no role at all in that coming conflict.

No Likely Reductions of Nuclear Weapons in Europe

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 19:

“Last summer in Berlin, President Obama called for ‘bold reductions’ in U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons to ease the risk of annihilation in Europe… But since last summer, that hopeful outlook has evaporated. Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and nuclear threats made by Russian President Vladimir Putin have killed any chance that the U.S. would withdraw its tactical nuclear weapons any time soon…

“Newer members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Poland and the Czech Republic, have openly advocated for continued deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe…

“The weapons spread over the continent are exposed to potential theft or accidents…The U.S. began sending battlefield nuclear weapons to Europe in the 1950s, when it was feared the Soviet Union’s conventional military superiority would allow it to overrun Western Europe… Over the last 15 years, this U.S. nuclear umbrella has extended over an additional dozen Eastern European nations that gained entry into NATO…

“Pressure has built in Washington for the Obama administration to do more than increase the economic sanctions on Russia that seem to have had little effect…”

And so, we are moving closer and closer to the threat of total annihilation of the human race—which would in fact occur if Christ was not to intervene at the last moment to save us from ourselves (Matthew 24:22).

USA in War With “Enemies of Islam”?

Breitbart reported on September 19:

“On Thursday, in a session with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) whether America was at war in Iraq and Syria. Kerry responded: ‘If you’re more comfortable calling it a war against this enemy of Islam then please do so. We’re happy to call it that.’

“So it’s official: America is at war with the enemy of Islam. However, strange bedfellows arise if the Obama administration so chooses to uphold Kerry’s claim that we are at war with the enemy(s) of Islam.

“The following displays that Secretary of State John Kerry is far from the only person who claims to be at war with Islam’s enemies:

“Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, ‘Caliph’ of the Islamic State: ‘Support the religion of Allah through jihad in the path of Allah… Terrify the enemies of Allah and seek death in the places where you expect to find it…’

“Osama Bin Laden, former leader of Al Qaeda: ‘I am not afraid of the American threats against me… As long as I am alive there will be no rest for the enemies of Islam…’

“Ayman al-Zawahiri, current leader of Al Qaeda: ‘I invite you to gather around the true scholars of Islam, support them and protect them. I invite you to back them and support them and guard them. And I invite you to launch a massive public uprising in defense of Islam against the enemies of Islam.’

“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran: ‘The enemies of Islam are afraid… and try to confront Islam in the name of Islam and under the cover of Islam… The American Islam, despite having Islamic appearance and name, complies with despotism and Zionism… and totally serves the goals of despotism and the US.’” 

Not All Senators Agree that America Must Arm Syrian Rebels

Deutsche Welle reported on September 18:

“The US had long supported forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, but had not provided direct military assistance. Now, however, the measure [to arm Syrian rebels, including some very radical groups] has been portrayed as a part of the package of measures designed to combat the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terror group, which has taken control of parts of Syria as well as Iraq…

“Outspoken Senator Rand Paul was among the politicians to vehemently question the military assistance for Syrian opposition fighters. ‘Intervention that destabilizes the Middle East is a mistake. And yet, here we are again, wading into a civil war,’ Paul, the son of perennial Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, said. Like his libertarian father in several races before him, Paul is considered a certainty to run in the Republican primaries as a possible presidential candidate. However, he is considered a highly unlikely final Republican choice for the 2016 presidential race.”

Breitbart wrote on September 20:

“Paul told Breitbart News that while he does, in fact, support going after ISIS, he does ‘not think arming the Syrian rebels is the appropriate way to do it.’

“Syrian rebels have explicitly mapped out their priority as a toppling of the Assad Regime. However, beyond that, their interests do not lie with principles of western democracy, particularly as it relates to Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East: 

“‘If the [Syrian] rebels are to win, even the moderate rebels, how many of them do you think will recognize Israel? None. How many of them do you think might turn their arms against Israel? Maybe quite a few. In fact, some of them have said that their goal is to take back the Golan Heights if they can defeat Assad. I think that the one truism of the Middle Eastern morass is that, when we have toppled secular dictators, chaos has ensued and the rise of radical Islam has occurred. Whether this was Hussein being toppled, Mubarak being toppled, Gadaffi  being toppled, or potentially Assad being toppled, what comes in their wake is worse than what we had.’”

This is so VERY true.

Disinterested Congress Far Too Quick to Vote for War?

The Washington Post wrote on September 19:

“Before the U.S. military attacked Saddam Hussein’s forces in 1991, Congress spent months considering its approval of the war. Twelve years later, another attack on Iraq came after three weeks of debate and intensive negotiations.

“But this week, the House and Senate each took only a few hours to sign off on President Obama’s plan to once again deploy the military in the Middle East, approving it as part of a broader budget bill before bounding out of town for a two-month recess and hitting the midterm campaign trail.

“Some on Capitol Hill were stunned by the seeming congressional disinterest on a matter of such importance. Now, lawmakers in both parties are asking an uncomfortable question: Has Congress forfeited its rightful role in the most solemn of all national decisions?…

“The sentiment was expressed Friday in a stern letter from a dozen lawmakers — six Democrats and six Republicans — who wrote to House leaders in both parties…

“Both chambers approved the measure with wide bipartisan majorities, but there were visible signs of discord. Eighty-five House Democrats — more than 40 percent of the caucus — bucked the president, demonstrating the anti-war left has a new rallying point. In the Senate, several rising stars who are considered potential presidential candidates — including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — rejected the proposal…

“Some lawmakers fear this week’s action will be akin to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which was approved in 1964 after President Lyndon B. Johnson said North Vietnamese forces had launched two unprovoked attacks on U.S. ships off Vietnam. The resolution stated that the United States was ready to do all it could militarily in the region but stopped short of openly approving military action. Presidents in both parties went on to cite that resolution — approved unanimously in the House — for an escalating war in Vietnam.

“Critics from both parties note that Obama’s legal and military advisers have cited the 2001 authorization regarding the Sept. 11 attacks to justify his authority to target Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. ‘It’s no longer applicable in any way. If you read it, it says “those responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11”, so it’s clearly outmoded and needs to be updated,’ McCain said… There was no update this week, however…”

Americans Support Air Strikes Against ISIS Even Though “They Won’t Do Any Good”

The Huffington Post wrote on September 20:

“Americans remain big supporters of airstrikes against the Islamic State militants, even though few think they’ll do any good… 66 percent of Americans now support the decision to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State… even though only 32 percent of Americans think taking such action against the Islamic State will improve the situation in Iraq and Syria. Twenty-five percent said military action won’t make any difference, and 17 percent said it will make things worse. Twenty-six percent said they weren’t sure…

“Moreover, few Americans think that just airstrikes — the form of military action currently being taken by the U.S. — will make much difference. Only 30 percent said it’s possible that airstrikes alone can be an effective way to fight the militants, while 40 percent say it’s not possible.

“That doesn’t mean they want to go any further, however… Just 38 percent of Americans said they support sending ground troops, while 44 percent were opposed. President Barack Obama has declared that ground combat troops will not be used, but administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have continued to float the idea.

“Similarly, only 32 percent of Americans said they support arming more moderate Syrian rebels, while 47 percent were opposed.”

It has already been determined by God Almighty that due to America’s abhorrent sins, America will not win this war or any other future war. As we have pronounced for years, America won its last war in 1945—and they did not win that war because of any righteousness of the USA, but simply because of God’s unconditional promise to Abraham to bless his descendants for a while. But God also warned that if they would not obey Him, He would take away His blessings. And so, there has not been any American victory since World War II, nor will there be one in this day and age. 

Forever War and Broken Promises?

The Associated Press reported on September 20:

“President Barack Obama’s military campaign against the Islamic State group already has extended beyond the limits he first outlined. But military experts inside and outside the administration argue that an even greater expansion may be needed for the mission to succeed, including positioning U.S. ground troops with front-line Iraqi security forces. Doing that could put Obama close to violating his pledge to keep Americans out of combat…

“For Obama, re-engaging in combat in Iraq would mean going back on promises about the current mission and undercutting a pillar of his presidency — ending long wars and avoid new ones…”

Subsequently, the Obama administration answered affirmatively the questions in this challenging article. Note the next article.

Now America Is Clearly At War

The New York Times wrote on September 22:

“The United States and [Arab] allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the air and sea on the militants’ de facto capital of Raqqa and along the porous Iraq border.

“American fighter jets and armed Predator and Reaper drones, flying alongside warplanes from several Arab allies, struck a broad array of targets in territory controlled by the militants, known as the Islamic State. American defense officials said the targets included weapons supplies, depots, barracks and buildings the militants use for command and control. Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from United States Navy ships in the region.

“The strikes are a major turning point in President Obama’s war against the Islamic State and open up a risky new stage of the American military campaign. Until now, the administration had bombed Islamic State targets only in Iraq, and had suggested it would be weeks if not months before the start of a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria.

“Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates took part in the strikes…

“The strikes in Syria occurred without the approval of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, whose government, unlike Iraq, did not ask the United States for help against the Sunni militant group… But administration officials acknowledge that American efforts to roll back the Sunni militant group in Syria cannot help but aid Mr. Assad, whose government is also a target of the Islamic State…”

The Washington Post added on September 23:

“… in ordering the attacks, Obama also thrust the U.S. military directly into Syria’s devastating civil war, something that he had steadfastly tried to avoid since the country began breaking apart in 2011… The Islamic State also represents a mortal threat to Assad and has beaten back his forces on several fronts. The Obama administration has said repeatedly that it would not cooperate with Assad in any way, even though the two sides now share an enemy. As a result, it was unclear how Assad’s armed forces would respond to unauthorized intrusions into Syrian airspace by U.S. warplanes….

“The Syrian government has some of the most formidable air defenses in the Middle East. Obama had publicly warned Syria in advance not to interfere with any U.S. operations against the Islamic State, saying the Pentagon would respond forcefully. In the end, U.S. military planners said they expected Assad would stand down and allow them to attack Islamic State targets freely…

“The Pentagon also has a large number of aircraft stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a NATO installation. But with the exception of unarmed U.S. surveillance drones based there, Turkish authorities have said they won’t allow the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State from their territory…

“Although France has agreed to join in airstrikes in Iraq, and last week conducted a bombing raid there, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday that his government did not believe it had the legal basis to join the Syria operations…”

Germany has ruled out joining air strikes or any ground offensive in the fight against Isis jihadists. However, the beheading of French citizen HerveGourdel by an Islamic State (IS) affiliated Algerian group known asJund al-Khilafah has changed popular thinking in France.

BBC News added on September 23:

“US forces also attacked a network of al-Qaeda veterans named Khorasan who had established a safe haven west of Aleppo (Syria) and were [allegedly] plotting imminent attacks against the West.”

Russia, Iran and Lebanon condemned the air strikes as being in violation of international law.

Bombing Syria Bad Decision

The New York Times wrote on September 23:

“President Obama has put America at the center of a widening war by expanding into Syria airstrikes against the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group known as ISIS and ISIL. He has done this without allowing the public debate that needs to take place before this nation enters another costly and potentially lengthy conflict in the Middle East… In the absence of public understanding or discussion and a coherent plan, the strikes in Syria were a bad decision.

“Mr. Obama has failed to ask for or receive congressional authorization for such military action… Meanwhile, Congress has utterly failed in its constitutional responsibilities. It has left Washington and gone into campaign fund-raising mode, shamelessly ducking a vote on this critical issue…

“With so much at stake and so much unknown, before he gets any further into this operation, Mr. Obama needs to… prove that he has fully accounted for the consequences of this foray into Syria.”

Obama Ignores Iran

JTA wrote on September 24:

“President Obama devoted the bulk of his U.N. speech to the fight against violent Islamic extremism and hardly mentioned Iran’s nuclear program.

“In his address last year to the General Assembly, Obama spent a great deal of time talking about Tehran’s nuclear pursuit, describing it as one of two major focus areas for American diplomatic efforts (the other was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). On Wednesday, he devoted just four lines to Iran… The thin coverage of Iran drew immediate notice from Jewish groups… Near the speech’s conclusion, Obama also spoke a bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…

“Most of the president’s speech focused on the need for the international community to counter what he described as the ‘cancer of violent extremism.’ At the top of the list was ISIS, the Islamic group in Iraq and Syria also known by the acronym ISIL…

“The first nation Obama focused on was Russia, which he lumped in with ISIS and the Ebola virus as reasons for ‘a pervasive unease in our world – a sense that the very forces that have brought us together have created new dangers.’”

President Obama and Vice-President Biden—How Quickly “Convictions” Change

National Review wrote on September 23:

“Joe Biden mocked Mitt Romney’s foreign policy during the 2012 presidential campaign — but Obama-approved air strikes in Syria, which commenced Monday evening, suggest that the administration is coming around to the position of the former GOP nominee. ‘He [Romney] said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home,’ Biden told an audience in York, Penn., on September 2, 2012.

“‘He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he’s ready to go to war in Syria and Iran.’ Biden also scoffed at Romney for his tough talk about Russia: ‘He wants to move from cooperation to confrontation with Putin’s Russia. And these guys say the president’s out of touch?’”

According to Breitbart, September 22, President Barack Obama dismissed F-22 fighter jets as ‘outdated and unnecessary’ in a speech on July 21, 2009. But according to the Wall Street Journal of September 22, the US used F-22 fighter jets in their airstrikes against ISIS and Khorasan targets in Syria. Der Spiegel Online reported on September 22 that the F-22 fighter jets are the most sophisticated and important fighter jets of the American air force. In addition, there are more challenges for the Obama administration: Eric Holder who was heavily criticized, among other problems, for the “Fast and Furious” debacle, announced that he will step down as Attorney General.

More than 100,000 Syrians Seek Shelter in Turkey

The Washington Post wrote on September 21:

“The number of refugees seeking shelter in Turkey from the Islamic State’s advance across northern Syria has hit 100,000 in less than a week… the figure represents Syrians escaping the area near the Syrian border town of Kobane, where fighting has raged between Islamic State and Kurdish fighters since Thursday.

“The U.N. refugee agency said earlier Sunday that about 70,000 Syrians had crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, and that it was preparing for the arrival of hundreds of thousands more. Those are significant numbers, even in the context of the 1.5 million refugees who have fled to Turkey in the past 3 ½  years… The refugees, most of them ethnic Kurds, have been desperate to reach Turkey and escape the advance of religious extremists barreling across Syria.”

Philippine Terrorists Linked to ISIS Threaten to Kill German Hostage

The Local wrote on September 24:

“Islamist militants in the Philippines have reportedly threatened to kill one of their two German hostages over German support for the US-led campaign against jihadists in Iraq and Syria… [The] two German hostages… were captured from a sailing yacht in April… US-based SITE, which monitors extremists’ activities worldwide, released a picture attributed to the Abu Sayyaf group a masked militant with a machete beside a grey-haired white man, reportedly a German doctor. A younger white woman, said to be the doctor’s girlfriend, with close-cropped hair was also shown, while other masked men stood behind them, armed with assault rifles and machine guns…

“Abu Sayyaf, considered a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’ by the United States, is a loose band of several hundred Islamic militants originally organized with Al-Qaeda funding in the 1990s. It operates on remote and largely lawless southern Philippine islands that are mostly populated by the nation’s Muslim minority. Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the Philippines’ worst terrorist attacks, including kidnappings, abductions and beheadings of foreign and local hostages. It was also blamed for the bombing of a ferry on Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people in 2004…

“In recent months Abu Sayyaf has uploaded videos on the Internet proclaiming its allegiance to the Islamic State group, which has taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria. The US military has had a rotating force of a few hundred soldiers based in the southern Philippines since 2002 to train local troops in how to combat the group.”

Pope Francis in Albania

The Associated Press wrote on September 21:

“Pope Francis denounced how extremists around the world are ‘perverting’ religion to justify violence as he arrived Sunday in Albania, a Balkan nation where Christians and Muslims endured brutal religious oppression under communism but today live and work together peacefully. Security was unusually tight for Francis’ visit to the majority Muslim country amid reports that militants who trained in Iraq and Syria had returned and might pose a threat…

“It was Francis’ first visit to a majority Muslim nation since the Islamic State crackdown on Christians in Iraq, where members of religious minorities are being killed, persecuted or forced to flee their homes. The Vatican has voiced mounting concern about the exodus of faithful from lands where Christian communities have existed for 2,000 years…

“Albania is seeking European Union membership and his visit comes just a few weeks before he delivers a major speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Albania’s president, Nishani, thanked Francis for making the country his first European destination, saying it was a historic event for all Albanians…

“The capital’s main Boulevard Martyrs of the Nation was decorated with Albanian and Vatican flags, as well as giant portraits of 40 Catholic priests who were persecuted or executed under Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who declared Albania the world’s first atheist state in 1967. Hundreds of priests and imams were jailed, scores executed before the regime fell in 1990…

“Francis has a busy schedule in Tirana: In addition to the address to Albanian authorities, he celebrated a Mass before tens of thousands of people in a rain-soaked square named for Albania’s most famous Catholic — Mother Teresa. Later in the day, he was meeting with leaders of different faiths…”

Muslims make up about 59 percent of tiny Albania’s population, with Catholics amounting to 10 percent and Orthodox Christians just under that.

Man-Made Climate Change or Not?

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 22:

“Naturally occurring changes in winds, not human-caused climate change, are responsible for most of the warming on land and in the sea along the West Coast of North America over the last century, a study has found.

“The analysis challenges assumptions that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been a significant driver of the increase in temperatures observed over many decades in the ocean and along the coastline from Alaska to California.

“Changes in ocean circulation as a result of weaker winds were the main cause of about 1 degree Fahrenheit of warming in the northeast Pacific Ocean and nearby coastal land between 1900 and 2012, according to the analysis of ocean and air temperatures over that time.”

India First Single Nation to Reach Mars “At Its First Go”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 24:

“India has made history by becoming the first nation to reach Mars and enter the planet’s orbit in its maiden mission, a move that catapults the country into the scientific world stage…

“India’s low-cost Mangalyaan spacecraft entered orbit around the Red Planet on Wednesday, September 24, after a 10-month-long journey. The success of the mission represents a milestone in the country’s space program…

“With this achievement, India joins a club of deep space explorers such as the United States, Russia and Europe, all of which have reached Mars. The success is also a reason for national pride as India became the first single nation to reach the Red Planet and enter orbit at its first go. More than half of all missions to the planet have failed, including China’s in 2011 and Japan’s in 2003. Moreover, at a cost of 74 million USD, the mission cost is less than the estimated 100 million USD budget of the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Gravity’ and represents just a fraction of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, which began to successfully orbit the planet just a few days ago…”

Violent Chimps

AFP wrote on September 17:

“Chimpanzees can be lethally violent to each other… Chimps kill to wipe out rivals, thus gaining territory, mates, water or food… The evidence comes from an examination of five decades of research into 18 closely-studied chimpanzee communities in African forests. The researchers pored over 152 killings by chimps, most of which were carried out by males acting together.

“The groups would often band together to carry out murderous raids on another community, typically killing rival males and infants who were not genetically related. They sometimes snatched babies from nursing mothers to slaughter them but spared the females.

“The investigators had to determine whether these acts were driven by hunger, human disturbance or deforestation and whether the protected area the chimps inhabited was large or small. Most of the killings occurred in east African communities that were least affected by human interference of any kind.”

Neither evolution (survival of the fittest) nor God are responsible for this kind of conduct, either. There remains only one possibility, as discussed in our recent Q&A series on dinosaurs prior to man.

Dangerous Developments in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on September 12:

“Germany has banned the extremist group ‘Islamic State’…  Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere used a press conference in Berlin on Friday to announce the measure, saying the ban was immediately in effect… De Maiziere said the ban applied to any activities linked to the self-proclaimed ‘IS,’ including taking part in demonstrations or supporting the group through social media. It also included the wearing or display of IS symbols or collecting donations in the group’s name.”

The Local added on September 12:

“Germany on Friday officially banned Islamic terror group Isis from any activities in the country…  Thomas de Mazière announced the ban on flying Isis flags, wearing Isis symbols and all Isis activities… The move will also ban donations to the group, recruiting fighters, holding Isis meetings and distributing its propaganda…

“The ban, however, doesn’t mean Isis has been outlawed as a foreign terrorist organization, as a court judgement is needed to do that.”

According to Bild Online, the ban also refers to any activities on the Internet, Facebook or Twitter, and the passing on of any sympathetic information about ISIS except in an “objective, non-sympathetic” way for the purpose of reporting. Any violation can be fined or violators can be imprisoned for up to two years.

Die Welt Online added that the prohibition is based on Germany’s law for associations (“Vereinsgesetz”) “banning” foreign organizations which are active in Germany without the evidence of “judicially provable structures” (“gerichtsfest nachweisbare Strukturen”). This ambiguous and somewhat unintelligible term is of course subject to all kinds of interpretations.

Der Stern Online wrote that Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made the following announcement on Friday morning: “As Interior Minister, I hereby prohibit with immediate effect all activities of the terror group IS in Germany.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote that because ISIS has not been ruled to be a terrorist organization, de Maiziere had to use the “roundabout way” of the German law for associations (“Vereinsgesetz”) to prohibit ISIS and its activities.

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 13:

“… the ban of the terrorist organization… shows once more, how difficult it is for democratic states to respect law and order and still protect society from those who use the Middle Ages as a projection for the future. There will certainly be many experts who’ll reject the ban as inappropriate. But they should be asked what suggestions they have to put an end to the repulsive actions of ‘IS’… The interior minister’s ban is only a first step in this process. But it’s an important one.”

No decent person in his right mind would sympathize with ISIS; nor would he want it to conduct its murderous appalling and demonical terrorist activities in any country, including Germany (see other articles in this edition). What is very troublesome, however, is how de Maiziere pronounced the ban in an autocratic and dictatorial way, “as Interior Minister,” without the involvement of Parliament or the courts. This reminds us of activities which are known to occur in Russia, China, North Korea and former East Germany, but they should not occur in a working democracy.

De Maiziere’s reputation is very controversial for other reasons as well. Regarding the drone debacle of last year, many felt he would have to resign as (then) Defense Minister in Angela Merkel’s cabinet. But he stayed in power—a seemingly “deadly wound” was healed. Subsequently, he became (again) Germany’s Interior Minister, which he was before becoming Defense Minister.

Note this report of Der Spiegel Online of June 2013:

“The cancellation of the Euro Hawk surveillance drone program means the waste of a half billion euros in German taxpayer money. But somehow Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziére seems to have survived the debacle. German commentators wonder why… he admitted that his ministry had made significant mistakes leading up to the abandonment of the Euro Hawk program… he blamed senior Defense Ministry officials for not having kept him adequately informed.”

At the time, Business daily Handelsblatt wrote: “De Maizière, nominally responsible for the … chaos in the Defense Ministry, was not forced to admit that his portfolio is a state within the state, but he did have to come clean about the fact that there are many areas that operate in the shadows… and that are almost autocratic.”

De Maiziere’s latest move shows again his autocratic conduct as Interior Minister. This is VERY frightening indeed. Because it is ISIS today… but who is it going to be tomorrow, and the next day?

While Die Welt wrote at the time that Thomas de Maiziere “was also not exactly an innocent bystander,” die Berliner Zeitung was much more direct:

“…there are two possible conclusions to draw…: Either the minister is lying — or the Defense Ministry does indeed have its own agenda and de Maizière was unable to get it under control. Both versions are unsettling, and neither is complimentary of the minister.”

It appears that de Maiziere should be taken note of. 

Meet Thomas de Maiziere

On December 16, 2013, Deutsche Welle wrote the following about him:

“Thomas de Maiziere is Germany’s new -and old- interior minister and a close confidant of Angela Merkel. Sometimes tipped as a future chancellor, his political career has recovered from a surveillance-drone scandal… In 2011, he took over the defense minister post when Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg had to step down in a plagiarism scandal.

“De Maiziere also became known as ‘Merkel’s best man’ and as a talented politician with potential for higher office… One poll… placed him third among German politicians, behind only Merkel herself and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

“All that changed in 2013, when outrage over the cancellation of a surveillance drone project nearly cost him his credibility – and his job. In June, only 40 percent of Germans were ‘satisfied’ with the defense minister’s performance. But he resisted calls for his resignation – and kept Merkel’s backing, even when advisers told her to drop him ahead of November’s general election…

“He was born in Bonn, the capital of former West Germany, in 1954, the last of four children. His Huguenot forefathers fled religious persecution in France, resettling in Brandenburg, the region surrounding Berlin. His father, Ulrich de Maiziere, was an officer in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. By the war’s end in 1945, he had become a member of the Supreme High Command of the German Army. He continued his military career thereafter, advancing in 1966 to become General Inspector of West Germany’s newly founded Bundeswehr.

“Ulrich’s youngest son, meanwhile, was working his way toward graduating from a Catholic prep-school in Bonn. Thereafter Thomas de Maiziere joined a mechanized infantry battalion. By 1977 he had become a senior lieutenant in the reserve forces. After his military service, de Maiziere studied law in the cities of Freiburg and Münster, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1986…

“For Thomas de Maiziere, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 also marked his entry into politics and the reunification of his family. His cousin, Lothar de Maiziere, served as the only democratically elected prime minister of East Germany, holding that position over a period of approximately six months, from April 1990 until the reunification of East and West Germany on October 3 that year… Thomas de Maiziere worked under his cousin in 1990 as an adviser to the East German government. During that time he also became acquainted with Angela Merkel, a chemist who had joined an East German opposition party known as Democratic Awakening, which later merged with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU)…

“The entire issue [of the drone scandal] was virtually non-existent during the federal elections in September 2013. When it became clear that a grand coalition government of Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats (SPD) would come to pass, initial rumors were that Thomas de Maiziere would keep his post as defense minister. Those had to be revised after the official cabinet announcement: Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) will become Germany’s new defense minister, while de Maiziere will be returning to his old job of interior minister. Angela Merkel has managed to keep her ‘best man’ a part of her new cabinet.”

Angela Merkel was the protégée of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She replaced Kohl and became the new Chancellor (some claim that she did so by stabbing Kohl in the back). Will she experience soon something similar from her “best man,” Thomas de Maiziere?

Arm and Train Syrian Rebels—Escalation of America’s War

The Washington Post wrote on September 18:

“Even as the administration has received congressional backing for its strategy, with the Senate voting Thursday to approve a plan to arm and train Syrian rebels, a series of military leaders have criticized the president’s approach against the Islamic State militant group.

“Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis… became the latest high-profile skeptic on Thursday, telling the House Intelligence Committee that a blanket prohibition on ground combat was tying the military’s hands…

“Mattis’s comments came two days after Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took the rare step of publicly suggesting that a policy already set by the commander in chief could be reconsidered.

“Despite Obama’s promise that he would not deploy ground combat forces, Dempsey made clear that he didn’t want to rule out the possibility… He also acknowledged that Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander for the Middle East, had already recommended doing so in the case of at least one battle in Iraq but was overruled.”

It does not appear that the USA will be able to prevent from being drawn deeper and deeper into another war.

Misunderstanding ISIS and Islam

Times of Israel wrote on September 11

“[President] Obama… made the following remarks: ‘Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim…’

“This statement… underline[s] Obama’s general lack of knowledge and understanding of the Middle East and Islam. His statement about ISIL being not Islamic and Islam being a religion that rejects the killing of innocents is rather strange for someone who was raised as a Muslim. That’s because the Quran contains 109 verses that call upon Muslims to wage war against innocent nonbelievers.

“Here is for example one of these verses that clearly shows that ISIL’s recent beheadings, crucifixions and other atrocities are based on the holy book of Islam.

“Quran (5:33) – ‘The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement’…”

The article of Times of Israel continued by placing a link to the following website, http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm, quoting additional 108 verses from the Koran to prove its violent teaching.

Another Brutal Murder of a Hostage through ISIS Islamists

BBC News wrote on September 14:

“The UK will take ‘whatever steps are necessary’ to keep safe after a video showing the killing of [British] hostage David Haines was issued by Islamic State militants, the prime minister has said… In the video, IS threatened to kill a second Briton, named as Alan Henning, 47, a volunteer on an aid convoy… A masked man who appears to have a British accent was pictured beside Mr Haines holding a knife.

“[David] Cameron said of IS, also known as Isil and Isis, ‘they are not Muslims, they are monsters’… Mr Cameron also said the country was ‘sickened’ that a Briton could have carried out the ‘despicable’ killing…

“BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says several British prime ministers have pledged to bring the killers of a British hostage to justice whenever they are murdered in ‘cold blood’ by jihadists, but the reality is that historically the trail tends to go cold very soon afterwards. None of those who have taken British hostages in recent years have been brought to justice, our correspondent added.”

Breitbart added on September 14  that Mr. Cameron also said that Islam is a religion of peace. Mr. Cameron fell into the same trap as Mr. Obama. Of course, these ISIS terrorists are monsters, but it is incorrect to say that they are not Muslim; nor, that Islam is a religion of peace.

ISIS Planning to Murder the Pope?

International Business Times wrote on September 17:

“ISIS is planning to kill the Pope in one of his overseas trips, Iraq Ambassador to Vatican Habeeb Al Sadr warns. He said that the terrorist group had spoken of its plan to assassinate the Pope as he was vocally supporting U.S.’ intervention in Syria and Iraq. He underlined that the ISIS has foreign members – Canadian, American, French, Britain and even Italians. The group can instruct these members to kill the Pope when the opportunity arises.”

Inconsistent Messages on War

Reuters reported on September 13:

“Pope Francis said on Saturday the spate of conflicts around the globe today were effectively a ‘piecemeal’ Third World War, condemning the arms trade and ‘plotters of terrorism’ sowing death and destruction… ‘War is madness,’ he said… ‘War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying… Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often justified by an ideology …’ he said.

“Last month the pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God’s name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop ‘unjust aggression’ by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 13:

“… the pope didn’t point to any single nation or leader, but warned that less visible forces created the conditions for military conflict. ‘In today’s world, behind the scenes, there are interests, geopolitical strategies, lust for money and power, and there is the manufacture and sale of arms,’ he told a crowd of thousands at the graveyard, where more than 100,000 Italian soldiers who died in World War I are buried… ‘The shadow of Cain hangs over us today in this cemetery. It is seen here. It is seen from 1914 right up to our own time. It is seen even in the present,’ he added.”

Die Welt reported on September 13 that German Protestant Military Pastor Pascal Kober advocated war, stating that non-action was  tantamount to the people in the parable of the merciful Samaritan, who refused to help the man who had fallen under the robbers. He added that the hope for a better future required to act for a better future which included by necessity actions causing sin, stating that this was an understanding which Luther had.

Sadly, this “understanding” is not based on the Bible. True Christianity is indeed totally opposed to war; but this cannot be said about traditional or orthodox (so-called) Christianity.

First Catholic Marriage Ceremony of Its Kind in 14 Years

BBC News reported on September 14:

“Pope Francis has presided over the marriage of 20 couples at the Vatican, including some who were cohabiting, one of them with a child… It was the first papal marriage ceremony of its kind in 14 years…

“Pope Francis told the couples at the two-hour ceremony that marriage was ‘not an easy road, it’s sometimes a contentious trip, but that’s life,’ AFP news agency reports. Very slowly, the church under the guidance of Pope Francis is facing the fact that many Catholic couples cohabit before marriage, use contraception freely and divorce and remarry without seeking an annulment…

“He said in his homily that families are ‘bricks that build society’, but also believes that the church should forgive those who have sex outside marriage or who don’t obey church teaching to the letter.”

The Scottish Independent Referendum

Deutsche Welle reported on September 18:

“The votes are in, and the final results are not expected until Friday morning in Edinburgh. More than 4.2 million Scottish residents registered ahead of the referendum on independence from the United Kingdom… commentators remained cautious about a race that had proven far closer than many expected…

“Should Scotland support independence, politicians in London and Edinburgh would have around 18 months to hammer out the details of a split: Scotland’s planned Independence Day would be March 24, 2016. The potential implications of a yes vote internationally, for instance with membership of institutions like NATO or the EU, remain unclear.”

The Washington Post added on September 18:

“With civility and passion, nearly all of Scotland’s voters turned out Thursday for a historic referendum that offered residents of this ancient land the chance to create the world’s newest independent nation by breaking up one of its oldest unions… Then they settled in for the long and anxious wait until dawn to find out which country they’ll live in come 2016: an independent Scotland for the first time in more than 300 years or a Scottish nation that remains part of the United Kingdom.

“The campaign deeply divided Scots, with preelectionpolls showing voters almost evenly split… once the question of independence has been settled, Scotland will be under pressure to quickly heal its divisions. Whether the Scots opt for ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ nearly half the nation will be deeply disappointed.”

No EU-Ukraine Trade Treaty for Over a Year

The EUobserver wrote on September 12:

“Ukraine and the EU are to delay the entry into life of a strategic free trade treaty for more than one year due to Russian concerns. The trade pact was originally to enter into force on 1 November.

“But following meetings between European Commission trade chief Karel De Gucht, Ukraine’s foreign minister, and Russia’s economy minister in Brussels on Friday (12 September) it will now be implemented on 31 December 2015.  Defending the deal, De Gucht told press it means Russia will not impose trade restrictions on Ukraine in the next 15 months…

“The trade pact is 5kg of technical documents, but it has symbolic value in Ukraine. Hundreds of people died in the ‘Euromaidan’ revolution in February when Ukraine’s former leader decided not to sign it.  Thousands more died after Russia attacked Ukraine to stop it joining Western blocs.

“One Ukraine-based EU diplomat told EUobserver the De Gucht news caused ‘shock, astonishment’. He noted that European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko had earlier the same day in Kiev spoken of ratifying the treaty on 16 September and implementing it on 1 November. Barroso has on several occasions said Russia cannot have a veto on EU-Ukraine ties.”

Russia has won again; the EU turns out to be the big loser; and Ukraine is moving away from Europe and towards Russia—as is prophesied in Scripture.

India Applies for Full Membership in SCO

The Business Standard wrote on September 12:

“India Friday formally applied for full membership in the energy-rich Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a security grouping dominated by China, and said it is ‘ready to assume day to day responsibilities within the context of the bloc’. India has been functioning as observer at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan…

“The SCO has amongst its members three largest energy producers in the world – Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. India hopes that with an SCO membership it will gain more access to major gas and oil exploration projects in central Asia.”

Russia and China Sign 30-Year Gas Deal

Reuters reported on September 13:

“Russia and China are discussing more than 30 joint economic projects in a variety of areas from petrochemicals to banking… As Russia was hit by new sanctions by the United States and the European Union on Friday over its involvement in Ukraine…  Asian countries… [do] not support the Western sanctions and were keen to cooperate with Russia.”

It is prophesied that in these end times, Far Eastern Nations, including China, India and Russia (as well as its—former—satellite states) will form a coalition in opposition to Europe. 

The Ukrainian-Russian Ceasefire … Prelude for Another War?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:

“Under this military pressure, Kyiv agreed to a ceasefire… Ukraine had no choice. In fact, it capitulated to Russia’s superiority. Russia’s role is now far too great, with tanks, rockets and more and more new soldiers. The cynical and dishonest Kremlin continues to deny this is the case. But that it continues to lead the war in Ukraine is now well documented. Russian soldiers were captured and the fallen are buried in Russian cemeteries. Braver elements of the Russian media and the Union of the Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia have now reported it even inside Russia.

“With the ceasefire, Ukrainian President Poroshenko made a decision under duress…  Russia demands a high price: the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk will remain in the hands of the separatists… This moves Moscow one step closer to its goal:… the region will in the long run remain outside the control of Kyiv…

“Many Ukrainians were disappointed. Some regard Poroshenko and his government’s orientation towards Europe as the wrong choice, and that the Kremlin may be in the right…

“For the separatists and the Russian special forces, the ceasefire means a first respite. They can now consolidate their positions. And they can regroup, perhaps for an attack on other areas in eastern Ukraine. Therein lies the great danger, if it proves impossible to transform the ceasefire into a permanent truce.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin may have already given the go-ahead for further attacks. He recently questioned the statehood of Ukraine. He brought up the notion of ‘Novorossiya’ (New Russia), a vast area that could reach from Donetsk and Luhansk to Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa. This area was conquered by the Russian Empire during the 18th century war with the Ottoman Empire, but was never an independent state. Above all, Putin may want to create a corridor to the annexed Crimean peninsula, which can currently only be reached from Russia by sea or air…

“Some Ukrainians are already talking about treason and collusion between the West and Moscow, because Europe and the US have left them virtually alone militarily… [Ukraine is] at war with Russia. And the ceasefire hasn’t changed this predicament.”

Ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will join forces and collaborate against continental Europe. However, in the meantime, it was reported in the German press (by Stern and Bild), on September 6, 2014, that the “cease-fire,” which started Friday evening, was already broken and fighting resumed on Saturday, with Ukrainians and Russian separatists blaming each other. Further incidents happened subsequently as well. The occasional reports in the press that the cease fire was “holding” are therefore not completely accurate.

More European Economic Sanctions Against Russia

The EUobserver wrote on September 11:

“Poland and Slovakia have said gas supplies from Russia are down, as the EU prepares to impose new sanctions… Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary are involved in shipping “reverse-flow” gas to Ukraine after Russia cut off Ukraine gas in a price dispute…

“Gazprom’s reductions come the same week the EU adopted a new round of economic sanctions against Russia following its invasion of east Ukraine. Some EU states had wanted to wait and see if a ceasefire deal with Russia holds before implementing the new measures. But EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy announced on Thursday that they will enter into life the following morning… The Van Rompuy announcement saw the ruble fall to a historic low against the dollar.

“Russia… has threatened to block EU airlines from flying over Siberia to Asia… it also threatened to curb import of used cars, light industry materials, and some textiles.”

The USA announced on September 11 that they will also issue further sanctions against Russia.

NATO United?

Fox News wrote on September 5:

“President Obama on Friday delivered a tacit warning to Russia’s Vladimir Putin amid the unrest in Ukraine, vowing at the close of a NATO summit that the allies will not tolerate an attack on any member nation. ‘An armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all. This is a binding treaty obligation. It is non-negotiable,’ Obama said at a press conference…

“The U.S. has effectively ruled out military action in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member…”

It will still have to be seen what NATO will do if or when a NATO member is being attacked.

Germany’s Future Role

The Local wrote on September 5:

“The Western defensive alliance agreed on Friday to the creation of a ‘spearhead’ force to deter possible Russian aggression against its Eastern members. It will consist of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers and be capable of deploying within two to three days. Weapons, vehicles and equipment will be stockpiled in countries where they might be deployed, allowing the troops to travel light.

“Six German Eurofighter interceptors have been patrolling the Baltic Sea since September 1. Germany has also promised to send 60 more soldiers to Nato’s eastern headquarters in Stettin, Poland. Integrating German soldiers into the Nato ‘spearhead’ may be difficult, as the Bundestag has to approve any deployment of military forces overseas, a process which usually takes longer than a few days…

“Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry convened a meeting of a ‘core coalition’ of 10 nations on Friday to discuss tactics to fight terror group Isis on the sidelines of the conference. The coalition, which includes Germany, will need to ‘prevent [Isis] from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,’ Kerry said.

“Germany has already begun delivering military supplies, vehicles and weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, who have found themselves on the front lines of Isis’ rapid territorial expansion.”

Bild Online speculated on September 5 that Germany’s new military role might necessitate the reinstitution of the draft. 

The New NATO Spearhead Force—Mixed Feelings in Eastern Europe

The Associated Press wrote on September 6:

“Leaders in most Eastern European nations are just short of jubilant after NATO created a rapid-reaction ‘spearhead’ force to protect the region from Russian bullying… But not all share in the joy. Some who spent decades under the Soviet yoke — politicians and ordinary people — think that the move could enrage Moscow and undermine the sense of security they have felt since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO in the 1990s…

“Poland’s former ambassador to NATO, Jerzy Maria Nowak, believes that NATO’s decisions may be a comfort for some, but ‘for Russia they may be a provocation and a violation of the agreements’ it has with NATO…

“In Romania, which borders Russia across the Black Sea, reaction to NATO’s spear-shaking was also divided… Valerica Stefanescu, 57, who runs a small café on the sea front in the resort of Mamaia said everyone was ‘worried about the situation in Ukraine… But we don’t want to see more military presence on the Black Sea, we’d feel like it was war’…

“Nearby, retired mechanical engineer, Niculae Oprea, 66, drew an even gloomier picture. ‘[President Traian] Basescu will get us into a war, we are too small compared to Putin, who didn’t even bat an eyelid with Crimea. The sanctions aren’t hurting him. You saw how he placed an embargo and now you have fruit and vegetables rotting in Europe. The Russian bear won’t let us off lightly… He will turn off the gas and we will go to Russia crying and on our knees.’”

Russian Nuclear Pre-Emptive Strike on USA?

Newsmax reported on September 4:

“A Russian defense minister wants his country’s official military doctrine rewritten to allow for a pre-emptive nuclear attack against the United States and NATO, the Russian-language news agency Interfax reports.

“Russian Army Gen. Yury Yakubov said the doctrine, last revised in 2010, should be updated to classify the United States and other NATO countries as the ‘main enemy’ of Russia, Interfax reported on Wednesday…

“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday told children at a Kremlin-sponsored youth camp, ‘I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers.’”

Russia will not attack the USA prior to Christ’s return, but rumors of a Russian attack on Europe will prompt a future German leader to launch a pre-emptive strike against Russia.

Terror Attacks in Europe and USA in one or two Months?

The Washington Times wrote on August 30:

“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has a stark warning to America: The Islamic State’s terror will visit American shores in one month if it is not confronted in Syria and Iraq. ‘If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,’ the king said Saturday, Agence France Presse reported.”

Radical Islamists—Not Just a Tiny Minority

Breitbart wrote on September 4:

“Over the weekend, former President Jimmy Carter attended the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference in Detroit. There, he assured Muslims that the ‘principles of Allah; were designed to ‘bring peace and justice to all’… Carter isn’t alone… This week, Barack Obama said, ‘ISIL speaks for no religion’… Eric Holder has said that radical Islam is not consistent with the teachings of Islam. For years, George W. Bush assured Americans that Islamic extremists represented but a tiny minority of Muslims…

“American politicians, mostly Christian or atheist, know less about the nature of Islam and Islamic radicalism than members of ISIS… the polls show that Islamic extremism is on the rise… the enemy we face is not a ‘tiny minority’ of Muslims, let alone a rootless philosophy unconnected to Islam entirely…

“A new, widely-covered poll shows that a full 16% of French people have positive attitudes toward ISIS. That includes 27% of French between the ages of 18-24. Anne-Elizabeth Moutet of Newsweek wrote, ‘This is the ideology of young French Muslims from immigrant backgrounds…these are the same people who torch synagogues.’…

“In 2006, a poll for the Sunday Telegraph found that 40% of British Muslims wanted shariah law in the United Kingdom, and that 20% backed the 7/7 bombers. Another poll from that year showed that 45% of British Muslims said that 9/11 was an American/Israeli conspiracy; that poll showed that one-quarter of British Muslims believed that the 7/7 bombings were justified…

“A poll in 2011 showed that 32% of Palestinians supported the brutal murder of five Israeli family members, including a three-month-old baby. In 2009, a poll showed that 78% of Palestinians had positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. A 2013 poll showed 40% of Palestinians supporting suicide bombings and attacks against civilians. 89% favored sharia law. Currently, 89% of Palestinians support terror attacks on Israel.

“After the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the Gilani Foundation did a poll of Pakistanis and found that 51% of them grieved for the terrorist mastermind, with 44% of them stating that he was a martyr. In 2009, 26% of Pakistanis approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq. That number was 29% for troops in Afghanistan. Overall, 76% of Pakistanis wanted strict shariah law in every Islamic country…

“A 2009 poll showed that 68% of Moroccans approved of terrorist attacks on US troops in Iraq; 61% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan as of 2006. 76% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country…

“72% of Jordanians backed terror attacks against US troops in Iraq as of 2009. In 2010, the terrorist group Hezbollah had a 55% approval rating; Hamas had a 60% approval rating…

“In 2009, a poll demonstrated that 26% of Indonesians approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq; 22% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan. 65% said they agreed with Al Qaeda on pushing US troops out of the Middle East. 49% said they supported strict sharia law in every Islamic country. 70% of Indonesians blamed 9/11 on the United States, Israel, someone else, or didn’t know. Just 30% said Al Qaeda was responsible…

“As of 2009, 87% of Egyptians said they agreed with the goals of Al Qaeda in forcing the US to withdraw forces from the Middle East. 65% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country. As of that same date, 69% of Egyptians said they had either positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. In 2010, 95% of Egyptians said it was good that Islam is playing a major role in politics…

“In short, tens of millions of Muslims all over the world sympathize with the goals or tactics of terrorist groups – or both. That support is stronger outside the West, but it is present even in the West. Islamist extremism is not a passing or fading phenomenon – it is shockingly consistent over time…”

The concept that the “Holy Koran” –which was allegedly handed by the archangel Gabriel to Mohammed–preaches a peaceful way of life is an illusion. The Koran was not delivered through Gabriel, and Islam under its prophet Mohammed and his successors and different factions (Sunni and Shia) was a warrior religion from its very inception. Note the next article.

“Terrorizing the Enemy Part of Islam”

Newsmax wrote on September 5:

“A British imam gave a television interview this week in which he defended acts of terror, including the beheading of foreign journalists, as consistent with the teachings of the Koran, Breitbart News blogger John Sexton reported.

“London-based cleric Anjem Choudary told Russia Today that ‘terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam’ in an interview with the English-language RT news program, ‘Worlds Apart.’

“Choudary cited a passage of the Koran that calls for Muslims to use ‘steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah.’ ‘So terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam,’ Choudary said. ‘I mean this is something that we must embrace and understand as far as the jurisprudence of Islam is concerned.’

“Sexton wrote that, ‘Choudary went on to say that Muslims make no distinction between civilians and armed forces since civilians elect the leaders who direct the armed forces.’ Choudary, also a lawyer who lectures on Sharia law, headed an Islamic group, Al Muhajiroun, which was banned in the United Kingdom.”

President Obama said in his speech on September 10 that ISIS or ISIL is not a religion and does not represent Islam. He said this: “ISIL is not ‘Islamic.’ No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.” In light of the foregoing articles and a correct understanding of Islam, the President’s statements are clearly erroneous. ISIL is a radical Sunni group. ISIS murdered Shiites and those more liberal Sunnis who do not agree with ISIS. But that does not disqualify ISIS as being Islamic.

President Obama Pushes for War

The Washington Post wrote on September 11:

“Nearly six years into a presidency devoted to ending U.S. wars in the Muslim world, President Obama faced the nation Wednesday night to explain why he has decided to engage in a new one…

“Obama’s escalation of airstrikes and the use of U.S. personnel to help ‘degrade and destroy’ the extremist Sunni group represents a major setback for [the] commander in chief…”

Germany and Britain Will Not Participate in Airstrikes Against Syria

Deutsche Welle reported on September 11:

“German and British foreign ministers said on Thursday that their countries would not participate in airstrikes in Syria. The statements were in response to an address the previous day by US President Barack Obama that the US planned to expand its military campaign against the ‘Islamic State’ (IS)…

“Meanwhile on Thursday, the Syrian government criticized the US military campaign against IS militants within Syrian territory… Russia, the closest ally of Syrian President Assad’s government, also slammed the US’ strategy saying it would be a blatant violation of international law.”

USA in Cahoots with Iran?

The Washington Post wrote on September 5:

“The urgent fight to keep Islamic State forces­ from taking over more of Iraq has led the Obama administration to tolerate, and in some cases even approve, things it once would have loudly protested.

“When Iraqi Shiite militias, backed by Iran and long branded illegal by the administration, retook the town of Amerli from the Sunni Muslim militants last week, U.S. officials breathed a sigh of relief…

“Farther north, Kurdish fighters have occupied the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a prize the Kurds have long claimed but which lies outside the borders — recognized by both Baghdad and Washington — of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurd­i­stan region. Far from insisting the fighters withdraw, the administration is glad that someone is defending the city from the Islamic State…

“It is not, as one administration official said with significant under­statement, an ideal situation, and there is widespread recognition that facts are being created on the ground that are likely to cause problems in the future…

“While the administration has acknowledged discussing the Iraqi crisis with Iranian officials on the margins of separate talks about Iran’s nuclear program, ‘we do not coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and have no plans to do so,’ National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Friday… Asked whether there was a role for Iran in the international coalition the administration is forming to fight the militants in Iraq and ultimately in Syria, a senior administration official this week said, ‘I don’t know.’ But, the official acknowledged, ‘they already . . . have a role on the ground.’

“Iranian contributions have extended beyond weapons and advisers to the Shiite militias. Despite Tehran’s concerns about separatism within its own Kurdish community, it ‘was the first country to provide us with weapons and ammunition’ to fight the militants, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said late last month during a visit of Iran’s foreign minister.

“Iran is also believed to have conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.”

Iran, a Shiite nation, would obviously be opposed to a radical fundamental Sunni group. The idea of collaboration between the USA and Iran is very troublesome. See also the next article.

An Unusual Fragile Alliance

The Washington Post wrote on September 5:

“For weeks, Iraqi Kurdish fighters had joined an unusual alliance to free this dusty highway town besieged by Islamic State fighters. Shiite militias, Iranian trainers and U.S. military pilots had all contributed, finally wresting the city from the Sunni extremists and saving the 15,000 residents from starvation or brutal slayings.

“But on Friday, as the Kurdish pesh merga fighters approached the city to greet the residents they helped save, they were treated less like liberators and more like intruders. ‘Pesh merga forces are not allowed to enter this city!’ yelled a Shiite militiaman with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi group. He waved his rifle at them and the pesh merga retreated…

“The Obama administration’s strategy in Iraq is predicated on the country’s competing militia groups, as well as its battered army, setting aside their differences over territory, ethnicity and religion to form a grand coalition to battle the radical Sunni members of Islamic State. The aftermath of the fighting in Amerli shows how quickly this hodgepodge of militia forces can turn on each other as they fight for influence and the spoils of battle…

“The U.S. government has largely looked at the Kurds, who live in a semi-autonomous zone in northern Iraq, as a stabilizing force in the region. But the months of fighting are wearing on the pesh merga troops, who have begun to view everyone with distrust. The pesh merga forces — which are divided into two groups that report to the two major Kurdish parties — even suspect each other. Around Amerli, the pesh merga fighters complain that the best weapons from the U.S. government and Iran are going to Kurdish fighters associated with their rival party.

“The Sunnis and Shiites, meanwhile, say the Kurds are using the chaos to grab territory well beyond the Kurdistan region’s traditional borders with an eye to independence…”

UK Sends Heavy Machine Guns to Iraq

BBC News wrote on September 9:

“Heavy machine guns and ammunition are being donated to Iraq to help fight Islamic State militants, the Ministry of Defence says. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the equipment was worth about £1.6m, and there would be an estimated £475,000 in transport costs. He said the UK was committed to aiding the Iraqi government and helping Kurdish forces defend themselves.”

Venezuela Worships Hugo Chavez—Quite Literally

Deutsche Welle reported on September 8:

“‘Our Chavez, who art in heaven’ – Hugo Chavez’s most ardent admirers have been praying to the late Venezuelan leader with presidential support… At a recent congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, an activist actually recited a version of the Lord’s Prayer dedicated to Hugo Chavez, and was joined by hundreds of voices shouting ‘Viva Chavez!’ in place of Amen…

“As expected, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has denounced the use of Chavez’s name and called for respect for Christianity’s most sacred prayer… Less expected, however, at least from a rational perspective, was the reaction of the current Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro…  comparing the prayer to the work of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and calling critics ‘new inquisitors’…

“Maduro said during the 2013 presidential campaign that Chavez’s spirit had inspired him in the form of a ‘very little bird’… he spoke of Chavez as a ‘leader who embodied the values ​​of Christ.’…”

Hugo Chavez had been Venezuelan president for 14 years. The leftist leader was a staunch critic of the US. He retains huge popularity among the country’s working classes. Chavez lost his battle with cancer on March 5, 2013, at the age of 58.

Respiratory Illness for Children to Become Nationwide Problem in the USA

ABC News reported on September 7:

“A respiratory illness that has already sickened more than a thousand children in 10 states is likely to become a nationwide problem, doctors say. The disease hasn’t been officially identified but officials suspect a rare respiratory virus called human enterovirus 68… Doctors say they are not even sure yet how this particular virus spreads…

“Dr. Christine Nyquist, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said the virus usually ends up appearing similar to a severe cold but can be particularly dangerous for children with asthma because of how it affects the respiratory system… To stay healthy… basic sanitary practices [are recommended] to avoid spreading the virus, including washing hands, avoiding those who are sick, and covering the nose and mouth during sneezes or coughs.”

Meteorite Hits Nicaragua

BBC News reported on September 8:

“A small meteorite landed near the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, on Saturday night, government officials say. Residents reported hearing a loud bang and feeling the impact, which left a crater 12m (40ft) wide and 5m deep. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the meteorite seemed to have broken off an asteroid which was passing close to Earth…

“Astronomer Humberto Saballos said the meteorite could have broken off from the 2014RC asteroid which passed Earth at the same time. 2014RC, which is the size of a house, came closest to earth at 18:18 GMT on Sunday, when it passed over New Zealand at a distance of about 40,000km (25,000 miles).The asteroid was first discovered on 31 August and, at its closest approach, was about one-tenth of the distance from the centre of Earth to the Moon…

“It is expected to orbit near Earth again in the future. In February 2013, a meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Central Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people. Nasa currently tracks more than 11,000 asteroids in orbits that pass relatively close to Earth.”

“Dwarf”—Only Existing Animal of Its Kind

The Local wrote on September 5:

“Diederode, near the university town, boasts the world’s only living sheep-goat hybrid, which is now the object of study by scientists.

“Goats and sheep belong to the same sub-family of species, the Caprinae, but almost never produce offspring together. Livestock researcher Professor Christoph Knorr of Göttingen University told Focus that a cross between the two species is an extremely rare case. The animal in Diederode is the only one in the world which has been confirmed by scientists to be a true hybrid.

“Sheep farmer Dirk Pieper called it ‘Dwarf’ as it was so small, he told the Göttinger Tageblatt.”

The fact that even sheep-goat hybrids are extremely rare, even though they belong to “the same sub-family of species,” confirms the scientifically proven fact that a cross between two unrelated species from different families (such as a cross between a bird and a mammal) is impossible. This in turn proves the utter ridiculousness of the concept of the atheistic evolution theory.

Find of Largest Terrestrial Animal—So Far…

The Washington Post wrote on September 4:

“Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of a new long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur that has taken the crown for largest terrestrial animal with a body mass that can be accurately determined. Measurements of bones from its hind leg and foreleg revealed that the animal was 65 tons, and still growing when it died in the Patagonian hills of Argentina about 77 million years ago. ‘To put this in perspective, an African elephant is about five tons, T. rex is eight tons, Diplodocus is 18 tons, and a Boeing 737 is around 50 tons,’ said study author and paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara at Drexel University. ‘And then you have Dreadnoughtus at 65 tons.’

“Dreadnoughtus, meaning ‘fears nothing,’ is named after the impervious early 20th century battleships. Although it was a plant-eater, a healthy Dreadnoughtus likely had no real issues with predators due to its intimidating size and muscular, weaponized tail… ‘How do you come up with a body size that is so enormous when you’re a terrestrial animal?” said Luis Chiappe, director of the National History Museum of Los Angeles’s Dinosaur Institute, who was not involved in the study. ‘You need to have a structural design that allows you to support a body like that, and you have to be potentially adapted to eat 24 hours a day, nonstop, with a minimal amount of sleep.’

“The huge creature also had a smaller companion, which Lacovara and his colleagues also dug up. Both got caught in quicksand, which is how their bones became so well-preserved… The skeleton of Dreadnoughtus schrani is remarkably complete for a dinosaur of this size — over 70 percent of the bones were dug up, excluding the head…”

 

Remains of Largest-Known Carnivorous Dinosaur Found

BBC News wrote on September 11:

“A giant fossil, unearthed in the Sahara desert, has given scientists an unprecedented look at the largest-known carnivorous [aquatic] dinosaur: Spinosaurus… Scientists say the beast had flat, paddle-like feet and nostrils on top of its crocodilian head that would allow it to submerge with ease… Spinosaurus aegyptiacus remains were first discovered about 100 years ago in Egypt, and were moved to a museum in Munich, Germany. However, they were destroyed during World War II, when an Allied bomb hit the building…”

These huge dinosaurs did exist long before the creation of man. Please read our current series in our Q&As on whether there were dinosaurs prior to man.

USA—No Strategy Yet?

CNN wrote on August 29:

“It’s too soon to say what steps the United States will take against ISIS in Syria, President Barack Obama said Thursday. ‘I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,’ Obama told reporters during a White House news briefing. ‘We don’t have a strategy yet.’”

President Obama’s Unpopular Strategy

Fox News wrote on September 3:

“President Obama does have a strategy on dealing with the Islamist militants who have been beheading Americans and slaughtering religious dissenters in Iraq and Syria, but he apparently doesn’t feel very comfortable talking about it. Trying to mop up his mess from last week when he said he didn’t have ‘a strategy yet’ for dealing with the group, the president veered a bit in his press conference on a trip to Estonia… but then clarified that his aim was not to destroy the Islamist army but to hem in its forces until it was ‘a manageable problem.’ One sees now why Obama has been so reluctant to share his strategy since it is not one which Americans will likely accept. He probably should have just stuck with ‘we don’t have a strategy yet.’…

“In Estonia today, President Obama gave his first news conference since Steven Sotloff was beheaded by Islamist militants [see our report below]. It was also the first time the president answered questions since his infamous ‘we have no strategy’ line last week. And the president did something remarkable: He dug deeper. The big news going in was to see how the president ‘cleaned up’ last week’s statement. So after a strong opening about the atrocity of the newest beheading, the president said the strategy is to ‘degrade and destroy’ ISIS. But later, he backtracked and said [the] goal was to make ISIS a ‘manageable problem.’ So which is it? Destroy or manage? And how exactly do you manage barbarians who are beheading your citizens? What promised to be a clarifying moment instead offered more fuzzy wording. And we’re left again with the question – what is our strategy with ISIS?…”

Time published the following headline on September 2: “Obama Offers Muddled Message to Europe in Face of Crises.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel found stronger words than the Commander in Chief, saying on CNN on September 3 that the US is trying to destroy ISIS. But he also said that there will be no American boots on the ground, while admitting that airstrikes alone will not accomplish the goal. He never explained this glaring inconsistency.

Likewise, Vice President Joe Biden was far more outspoken than the President (even though this does not surprise too many), stating, according to Time (September 3) that “we will follow ISIS to the gates of hell because hell is where they will reside.”

USA Arms Lebanon—a Smart Move?

Reuters wrote on August 29:

“The United States has begun delivering nearly $20 million of arms including assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and mortars to bolster Lebanon’s army after Islamist insurgents seized a border town for several days this month…”

Germany Sends Weapons to the Kurds—A Smart Move?

The Local wrote on September 2:

“400 German citizens were currently fighting with Isis in Iraq and Syria and could return to carry out attacks in Europe, [Angela Merkel said]… For the first time, weapons from the Bundeswehr (German army) arsenal will be sent, including 40 machine guns, 500 anti-tank rockets, 16,000 rifles and 10,000 hand grenades.

“Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the arms would be used to outfit 4,000 Kurdish soldiers by the end of September. Some of the soldiers may be brought to Germany to be trained in their use… In a symbolic vote late on Monday, the Bundestag supported the government’s plans, with CDU/CSU and SPD members voting for and the Left and Green parties largely opposed.

“Left party leader in the Bundestag Gregor Gysi and Green leader Anton Hofreiter said that Germany would lose control of the weapons once they had been delivered… However, [Foreign Minister] Steinmeier shared his concerns about arming the Kurds, possibly enabling their longer-term goal of an independent state… ‘An independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq would lead to more secessions in the rest of the country,’ he said, causing ‘new battles over new borders and state territories.’”

The Massacres of the Demonic ISIS

The website of npr.org wrote on August 29:

“Ever since the Islamic State seized Mosul more than two months ago, it’s been difficult to get a detailed picture of life inside Iraq’s second largest city. But glimpses have emerged. This week, the United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, presented details of a massacre that took place at the city’s Badoush prison in June. Islamic State fighters seized more than 1,000 inmates. The group spared the lives of their fellow Sunni Muslims, but gunned down some 670 people.”

Newsmax wrote on August 29:

“Islamic State has issued a new video threatening the United States with more decapitations of prisoners and hostages while showing a Kurdish soldier being beheaded… The video was released just hours after the terror group… posted footage of the mass execution of 300 Syrian national army soldiers in the desert… The footage concludes with ISIS fighters parading near Mosul in armored personnel carriers, waving their black flags and brandishing weapons in the air…”

BBC News wrote on September 2:

“An Islamic State video has appeared which [shows] the beheading of Steven Sotloff, a US journalist [formerly with Time magazine] being held hostage by the militants… A militant in the latest video also threatens to kill a British hostage… The masked man, whose voice is similar to that of the executioner in the Foley video, then describes the act he is about to commit as retribution for the US air strikes…

“The US has launched more than 120 air strikes in Iraq in the last month, in an attempt to help Kurdish forces curb the advance of Islamic State militants and protect minorities threatened by them.”

ISIS Operates in Mexico, Plans Attack on USA

Judicial Watch wrote on August 31:

“Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle borne improvised explosive devices… High-level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that a warning bulletin for an imminent terrorist attack on the border has been issued…

“Specifically, the government sources reveal that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is confirmed to now be operating in Juarez, a famously crime-infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas. Violent crimes are so rampant in Juarez that the U.S. State Department has issued a number of travel warnings for anyone planning to go there. The last one was issued just a few days ago.

“Intelligence officials have picked up radio talk and chatter indicating that the terrorist groups are going to ‘carry out an attack on the border,’ according to one JW source.  ‘It’s coming very soon,’ according to another high-level source, who clearly identified the groups planning the plots as ‘ISIS and Al Qaeda.’…

“The disturbing inside intelligence comes on the heels of news reports revealing that U.S. intelligence has picked up increased chatter among Islamist terror networks approaching the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks…”

Islamist Terrorists in Possession of Stolen Libyan Passenger Jets?

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on September 2:

“Islamist militias in Libya took control of nearly a dozen commercial jetliners last month, and western intelligence agencies recently issued a warning that the jets could be used in terrorist attacks across North Africa.

“Intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks and included a warning that one or more of the aircraft could be used in an attack later this month on the date marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports.

“Meanwhile, officials said Egyptian military forces appear to be preparing to intervene in Libya to prevent the country from becoming a failed state run by terrorists, many with ties to al Qaeda. Libya remains an oil-rich state and if the country is taken over completely by Islamist extremists, U.S. counterterrorism officials believe it will become another terrorist safe haven in the region.”

Breitbart added on September 3:

“According to veteran reporter Bill Gertz, U.S. officials said that they received intelligence indicating eleven commercial aircraft could be used to attack New York City or Washington, D.C. on the anniversary of the September, 11, 2001 jihadi attacks on America… Tripoli Airport is currently occupied by two rival groups deemed ‘terrorists’ by the Libyan parliament: Misrata and Zintan, who had previously worked together to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

“On Monday, Libyan officials announced that their capital city in Tripoli had been completely lost to Islamist forces…”

Threat from Foreigners Overstaying Their Student Visas?

Newsmax wrote on September 2:

“The Obama administration is unable to locate 6,000 foreign nationals who have entered the United States on student visas, raising concerns about the government’s ability to track potential terror suspects who may already be in the country… The news comes as Prime Minister David Cameron  announced plans to block British jihadists with passports from re-entering Britain…

“U.S. immigration officials have had difficulty keeping track of the escalating number of foreign students entering the United States. In the past year alone, 58,000 students overstayed their visas… There are currently 9,000 institutions of higher learning which are on the government approved list certifying them to accept overseas applicants. But Congress has raised concerns that immigration officials have continued to grant schools certification even when they lack accreditation, state certification, or other measurable academic standards…”

In an atmosphere of hysteria, even these harmless categories become the subject of suspicion. But the real threat comes from another source: To demand state certification or accreditation of universities is far-fetched and supports universities which follow the dictates of state and government school curriculums.

Sinai Terrorists Behead Four Egyptian Men

JTA wrote on August 28:

“Four Egyptian men were beheaded by a Sinai-based terror group for allegedly spying for Israel… The terror group said that the men provided intelligence to Israel used in a July airstrike on northern Sinai… The Egyptian army said at the time of the strike that no Israeli aircraft had been in Egyptian airspace.”

Ukraine Turmoil Heating Up

Reuters reported on September 1:

“In the latest in a string of setbacks in the past week, Ukraine’s military said it had pulled back from defending a vital airport in the east of the country, near the city of Luhansk, where troops had been battling a Russian tank battalion… Ukrainian armed forces… fled a new rebel advance in the south which Kiev and its Western allies say has been backed up by Russian armored columns.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin… called on Sunday for immediate negotiations on the ‘statehood’ of southern and eastern Ukraine…

“[Ukrainian] Defense Minister Valery Heletey [said] that Ukraine no longer faced a threat from separatists but outright war with Russian troops…

“Putin made his statehood remarks two days after comparing the Kiev government with Nazis and warning the West not to ‘mess with us’…

“[German Chancellor Angela] Merkel took a hard line [advocating new sanctions against Russia], although she acknowledged the sanctions have hurt German exporters to the Russian market… EU leaders asked the executive European Commission to prepare further sanctions within a week…

“Putin called for the EU to think twice about stepping up the sanctions… ‘A political solution is the only way out. Sanctions do not help to solve the underlying problems in Ukraine,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

“Several EU countries heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, opposed new measures, which require unanimous agreement. ‘I consider sanctions meaningless and counterproductive,’ Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday. ‘I reserve a right to veto sanctions harming national interests of Slovakia.’”

Ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine?

Deutsche Welle reported on September 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko have said their two sides have reached a ceasefire deal… The ceasefire plan, agreed to during a telephone conversation, aims to end fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists…

“Putin spoke to the conditions of a ceasefire, saying Ukraine must withdraw all its troops and pro-Russian separatists must agree to stop offensive actions in eastern Ukraine. He said international monitors must be in place to observe any truce that is reached. The plan, published on the Kremlin’s website, says both sides must agree on an unconditional exchange of prisoners. It also rules out using combat aircraft against civilians in the conflict zone and calls for the creation of ‘humanitarian corridors’ for refugees and aid deliveries…

“Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk slammed Wednesday’s peace proposal announcement, calling it an attempt by Russia to deceive the West and avoid new sanctions. ‘The real plan is to destroy Ukraine and to restore the Soviet Union,’ he said in a statement. ‘All previous agreements made with Russia – in Geneva, in Normandy, in Berlin and Minsk – were ignored or brazenly violated by the Russian regime,’ Yatsenyuk added.”

…and Yatsenyuk is absolutely right.

New EU Sanctions Against Russia?

The EUobserver wrote on September 3:

“EU ambassadors are holding talks in Brussels on new proposals for Russia sanctions – seen by EUobserver – with ideas including ‘action’ to block its 2018 World Cup. The talks are taking place amid news of a ‘ceasefire process’ agreed between Kiev and Moscow, which EU diplomats regard with caution… [A proposal] adds that EU firms should stop providing ‘future associated services’ to Russian oil firms, in areas including: seismic services; drilling; well-testing; supply of floating vessels for deep water oil exploration and production; Arctic oil exploration and production; and shale oil projects in Russia…

“The ambassadors’ talks began after Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko announced earlier on Wednesday that he had agreed a ‘ceasefire’ with Putin by phone. But Russia later quashed the news, saying it cannot agree a ceasefire because it is not a party to the conflict… A Kiev-based EU diplomat said Poroshenko was ‘tricked by the Russians into making the announcement – this just gave them another chance to deny involvement in the conflict’.”

Russia Has Severed Its Relationship with Europe

The Local wrote on September 2:

“Russia has ‘effectively severed its partnership’ with Europe and wants to establish a new order, German President Joachim Gauck said on Monday…  Gauck [spoke] at a ceremony in Gdansk to mark the 75th anniversary of Germany’s invasion of Poland that set off World War II. Invoking the ‘miracle’ of post-war reconciliation between Germans and Poles, Gauck said he was disappointed with the turn of events in Russia…

“‘It was a shock when we were confronted with a new conflict on Europe’s borders. An armed conflict aimed at establishing new borders and a new order. It’s a fact, stability and peace on our continent are once again endangered,’ he added…”

Putin’s Further Ambitions

International Business Times wrote on September 1:

“Fears are growing in Kazakhstan over Moscow’s rhetoric towards the country following Russia President Vladimir Putin’s claim that ‘Kazakhstan never had any statehood’, it was ‘created’… Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union when it finally did so in December 1991…

“Putin’s comments conjure memories of a statement he made to former US President George Bush in 2008 when he said that ‘Ukraine is not even a state!’ during a Bucharest summit… Russia’s annexation of the Crimea Peninsula and its alleged incursion into eastern Ukraine and support of pro-Russian separatists have contributed to fears in Astana that Moscow may set its sights on other areas of the former Soviet Union.”

The New York Times added on September 2:

“President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reportedly told a European official that he could ‘take Kiev in two weeks’ if he wanted to, adding a new dimension to the tensions building in Ukraine as Russian forces become more involved in the fighting there… The Kremlin did not deny the remark, which was published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Monday, but on Tuesday it denounced the European official, José Manuel Barroso, for leaking details of what Mr. Putin understood to be a private telephone call.”

What IF Russia Were to Cut Off Gas Exports to Europe?

The EUobserver wrote on September 3:

“Finland would experience gas shortages even if Russia cut off exports just for one month, while other EU countries would last between three to nine months without Russian gas, according to a German study… Since Finland has no storage capacities and 100 percent of its gas comes from Russia, it would be the first country to experience supply shortages – up to 10 percent in the first month and over 50 percent if Russia halts gas exports for three months.

“A three-month Russian embargo would leave Poland with a 1.8 billion cubic metre shortfall and Turkey with a shortfall of 3.8 billion metres. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, the Balkan countries and Estonia would feel the effects of a six-month embargo.

“Meanwhile, if Russia switches off the tap for nine months, gas supplies in Germany, Italy and France would be ‘severely affected’ and a total of 46 billion cubic metres of European gas demand could not be served. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia would also have problems, as well as the countries already in trouble after three months (Finland, Poland, Turkey, Greece, Austria, the entire Balkan, Estonia and Switzerland).

“The countries in which gas supply would be secure even during a nine-month disruption are those who still have their own gas reserves, such as Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK. Countries importing from their neighbours or with LNG terminals would also be safe: Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

“The study also looks at the impact of one extremely cold week during a six-month disruption: ‘Supply shortfalls would occur in almost the entirety of Europe.’ In that scenario, Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Romania and Bulgaria would also be affected.

“But Russia would be hit too, as it would lose €4-4.5 billion of revenues for each month of an embargo, some 3.5 percent of Gazprom’s annual revenue…

“Similar ‘worse case scenarios’ are also being considered in the European Commission, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to affect the gas supplies to EU countries this winter. ‘That Putin would use false information, lies and weapons was beyond my imagination,’ energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in Brussels on Tuesday. ‘That’s why I am not ruling out worst case scenarios anymore,’ he added, referring to Europe’s energy security… Europe’s reliance on Russian gas is expected to last for at least another 10 years, according to US ratings agency Fitch. ‘Any attempt to improve energy security by reducing European reliance on Russia would require either a significant reduction in overall gas demand or a big increase in alternative sources of supply, but neither of these appears likely,’ Fitch said in a report on Tuesday.”

Planned NATO Military Exercise in Ukraine

Reuters reported on September 2:

“As fighting between the army and Russian-backed rebels rages in eastern Ukraine, preparations are under way near its western border for a joint military exercise this month with more than 1,000 troops from the United States and its allies.  The decision to go ahead with the Rapid Trident exercise Sept. 16-26 is seen as a sign of the commitment of NATO states to support non-NATO member Ukraine while stopping well short of military intervention in the conflict…

“In addition to staging air force exercises, the United States is moving tanks and 600 troops to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for joint maneuvers in October, replacing a more lightly armed force of paratroopers…

“The United States European Command (EUCOM) says the exercise this month will involve about 200 U.S. personnel as well as 1,100 others from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Britain, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain…”

Another NATO exercise in Ukraine (“Sea Breeze”)  with 400 US soldiers and 600 Allied soldiers is planned for the end of October. Russia responded that these planned exercises constitute provocations, fearing that NATO troops will stay in Ukraine after the exercises. Russia announced that in retaliation, it will conduct military exercises with more than 4,000 soldiers.

Italy’s Federica Mogherini New EU Foreign Police Chief and Poland’s Donald Tusk New EU Council President

BBC News reported on August 30:

“EU leaders have appointed Italy’s Federica Mogherini as EU foreign policy chief and Poland’s Donald Tusk as European Council president… Ms Mogherini, a centre-left politician, is Italy’s foreign minister. She will replace the UK’s Catherine Ashton. Mr Tusk, Poland’s centre-right prime minister, has been Polish leader since 2007. He will chair EU summits.

“The full-time appointments mean that the EU’s three top jobs are now filled. Mr Tusk and Ms Mogherini will work closely with the new European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker… Mr Van Rompuy said Mr Tusk would face three major challenges: the stagnating European economy, the Ukraine crisis and ‘Britain’s place in Europe’. He said the EU leaders were convinced that Ms Mogherini, 41, ‘will prove a skilful and steadfast negotiator for Europe’s place in the world’. He noted Italy’s ‘long-standing tradition of commitment to the European Union’.”

Who Is Donald Tusk?

The Guardian wrote on August 31:

“The elevation of Donald Tusk to one of the top jobs in Europe marks a coming of age for his native Poland. Ten years after joining the EU, Poland has secured the presidency of the European council and its prime minister has become the fixer for and mediator between Angela Merkel, François Hollande, Matteo Renzi, David Cameron and other European leaders. Tusk has already won the prestigious Charlemagne prize for leadership.

“Quiet, unassuming, firm and politically ruthless, the German-speaking centre-right liberal from Gdansk, the cradle of Poland’s anti-communist, anti-Russian revolution, has been one of the EU’s most successful and most pro-European prime ministers of recent years at a time when faith in the EU has been tested.

“… under Tusk’s seven years in charge of Poland and with the help of his anglophile foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, the country performed a strategic shift, redefining the country’s national interest. Coming into the EU, Poland was a natural ally of Britain… wary of the Franco-German dominion that ran the EU until the 2004 enlargement.

“Tusk inherited a Poland that was hostile to Russia and intensely suspicious of Germany, for good historical reasons. The alliance with the UK was reinforced by Britain’s championing of Poland’s membership against deep-seated west European reservations…

“Under Tusk and Sikorski, this has all changed. The keen pro-Americanism waned, leaving a sour taste. Tusk and Sikorski concluded that Britain and David Cameron in particular were making a mess of their tactics and strategy in Europe and with other EU governments.

“Tusk bonded with Merkel, the EU’s first among equals, cemented a close Polish-German alliance, and concluded that Poland’s destiny rested on its closest possible European integration, setting it at odds with a UK travelling in the opposite direction.”

What If Yellowstone Were to Erupt?

Time wrote on September 2:

“An eruption could blanket the east coast in a few millimeters and bury the Rocky mountains in several meters of ash. If Yellowstone erupted into a massive, ash-spewing volcano, how far might the plume travel across the continental United States? From coast to coast, blanketing every city in ash, according to an unsettling new study…

“[The] resulting ash cloud, depending on wind conditions, would blanket the continental United States in ash deposits of varying thickness… New York and Washington D.C., would get a light dusting of ash measuring roughly one-tenth of an inch, while San Francisco and Seattle would get a heaping 2 inches. Billings, Montana, meanwhile, would have to dig out from a 70-inch pile up.

“If the findings sound far-flunged, so to speak, researchers point out that Yellowstone’s last massive eruption spewed ash over tens of thousands of square kilometers. Deposits from that eruption have been traced as far afield as Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, the last time Yellowstone erupted on that scale was some 2 million years ago and counting…”

The above-mentioned report (published on onlinelibrary.wiley.com) reached the following conclusion:

“Geological activity at Yellowstone provides no signs that a supereruption will occur in the near future… [We] suggest a confidence of at least 99.9% that 21st-century society will not experience a Yellowstone supereruption. But over the span of geologic time, supereruptions have recurred somewhere on Earth every 100,000 years on average… As such, it is important to characterize the potential effects of such events. We hope this work stimulates further examination of ash transport during very large eruptions.”

Even IF one was to accept these figures as correct, since the last Yellowstone eruption allegedly took place 2 million years ago, and supereruptions occur on an average every 100,000 years, then this would mean that the Yellowstone eruption has been overdue for the last 1,900,000 years. This is not very assuring.

Russia Is Preparing for Invasion in Eastern Ukraine

The New York Times wrote on August 22:

“The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and was using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday. The West has long accused Russia of supporting the separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, but this is the first time it has said it had evidence that the Russian military was operating in Ukrainian territory.

“The Russian move represents a significant escalation of the Kremlin’s involvement in the fighting there and comes as a convoy of [100] Russian trucks with [alleged] humanitarian provisions has crossed into Ukrainian territory without Kiev’s permission…

“NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, criticized the Russian moves in a statement issued in Brussels on Friday. ‘I condemn the entry of a Russian so-called humanitarian convoy into Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities and without any involvement of the International Committee of the Red Cross,’ Mr. Rasmussen’s statement said… adding: ‘We have also seen transfers of large quantities of advanced weapons, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery to separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine. Moreover, NATO is observing an alarming buildup of Russian ground and air forces in the vicinity of Ukraine.’”

BBC News added on August 22:

“Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the [aid lorries] convoy was a ‘pretence’, that allowed Russia to encroach on Ukraine through unauthorised means… Meanwhile, Lithuania – a fierce critic of Russia’s actions in Ukraine – has said its honorary consul in Luhansk has been [kidnapped and brutally] murdered ‘by terrorists’, a term routinely used by Ukraine for pro-Russian separatists… The news came amid reports that some Russian aid lorries had reached Luhansk without any permission from Ukraine.”

Deutsche Welle reported on August 25:

“Moscow says it is sending more humanitarian aid to Eastern Ukraine – despite international condemnation of a first such convoy. Kyiv refused permission for the move, accusing Moscow of aiding the rebels.”

The Associated Press reported on August 25:

“For several evenings this month, convoys of military weaponry passed with clockwork-like regularity through Krasnodon, a rebel-held town in eastern Ukraine near the porous border with Russia. The convoys were seen three times last week by Associated Press reporters, and one of them carried about 30 units of weaponry and supplies. All were coming from the direction of Russia and heading west to where pro-Moscow separatists were fighting Ukrainian troops.”

In spite of Russia’s continued denials and juvenile lies, it is obvious that they are supporting the separatists in eastern Ukraine with the ultimate goal of invading the area. In fact, notice this report from BBC News, dated August 27:

“Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had received Polish intelligence reports that regular units of the Russian army were operating inside Ukraine… Accusations that Russia is sending both weapons and men into eastern Ukraine gathered force this week when 10 Russian paratroopers were captured on Ukrainian territory, near the Russian border…”

In addition, the Washington Post wrote on August 28:

“Russian soldiers, tanks and heavy artillery began rolling into southeastern Ukraine in earnest Thursday, the Ukrainian government said, as well-armed detachments captured key towns, burned buildings and sent the under-equipped Ukrainian forces into full retreat — a show of military force that the United States now considers an invasion in all but name.”

Please view our newest StandingWatch program,“Will Russia Invade Eastern Ukraine?”

Angela Merkel Spearheading Efforts to Resolve Crisis in Ukraine

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“Merkel… has been spearheading efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine… Germany has also been a major force behind the imposition of economic sanctions on Moscow… Since the outbreak of the crisis over four months ago, Merkel has regularly put pressure on Putin to use his influence on the separatists to bring an end to the fighting…”

Sounds good, even though it is clearly not good enough, but read the next article…

Merkel: Ukraine Can Go!

The EUObserver wrote on August 25:

“Germany’s Angela Merkel has said Ukraine is free to ‘go to’ Russia’s ‘Eurasian Union’, amid signs of a new willingness to make peace with Russian leader Vladimir Putin… ‘if Ukraine says we are going to the Eurasian Union now, the European Union would never make a big conflict out of it, but would insist on a voluntary decision,’ Merkel added. ‘I want to find a way, as many others do, which does not damage Russia. We [Germany] want to have good trade relations with Russia as well. We want reasonable relations with Russia. We are depending on one another and there are so many other conflicts in the world where we should work together, so I hope we can make progress’…

“[Some] fear Berlin is making a deal with Moscow over the heads of Brussels and Kiev… Andrey Illarionov, a former aide to Putin who works for the Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, also wrote on his blog on Sunday there is a Merkel-Putin deal in the making. He said it includes: Ukraine talks with pro-Russia rebels that would freeze the conflict and give Putin de facto control of east Ukraine; a promise that Ukraine will never join the EU; a promise it will never join Nato.

“Merkel in her ARD interview said ‘Nato membership for Ukraine is not on the agenda’. She added that Poroshenko’s participation at a Nato summit in September in Wales is part of Nato-Ukraine co-operation, ‘but not membership.’”

One is reminded of the infamous non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler, which did not last long. Any peace agreement between Germany (or Europe) and Russia is predestined to fail.

Ukrainian Parliament Dissolved

BBC News reported on August 25:

“Ukraine’s president has dissolved parliament and called snap elections, as government forces continue to fight pro-Russian rebel forces in the east.

“Petro Poroshenko said many current MPs were backers of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and that the majority of Ukrainians wanted a new parliament. Elections would be held on 26 October, he said in a TV address.”

One wonders what is really behind this move.

The Gaza War Continues…

BBC News reported on August 22:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said military operations will ‘intensify’ after an Israeli boy was killed by fire from Gaza. The four-year-old died in a mortar attack on a southern Israeli village near the Gaza border. [The missile landed near a kindergarten in the Sdot Negev region.]

“Meanwhile Israeli air strikes have continued, killing at least four people on Friday, Palestinian officials say. More than 2,090 Palestinians – mostly civilians – and 67 Israelis have been killed in recent weeks.

“On Thursday, an Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas leaders… on Friday, Hamas sources in Gaza said 18 people accused of collaborating with Israel had been executed…”

 
The Washington Post wrote on August 25:

“After 49 days of war, the armies of Israel and Hamas appear to have run out of new ideas — but not bombs… As the conflict enters its eighth week, the populations on both sides are less angry than exhausted… In Gaza, more than a quarter of the population has been at least temporarily displaced… In Israel, communities along the border with Gaza now resemble ghost towns, as families with children have fled…

“The 2006 Lebanon war between Israel and Hezbollah lasted 33 days. The last two wars in Gaza against Hamas, in 2009 and 2012, went 22 days and eight days, respectively. This time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that a war that began July 8 might continue into September, when Israeli schoolchildren are scheduled to return to classes — a potential setback for Netanyahu and Israeli military leaders, who have made a return to ‘peace and quiet’ their metric for success…

“On Monday, Israel pounded two mosques that it said were used as storehouses for weapons or as meeting points for militants. For its part, Hamas has sworn that it will never surrender or give up its arms. In a raw display of power — or panic —the group publically executed 24 alleged collaborators over the past five days…

“But despite calls from the Israeli right wing to strike a decisive blow against Hamas, neither Netanyahu nor the Israeli majority appears to have the stomach for a massive ground invasion and the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, which is what it would take for Israel to bring the Islamist resistance movement to its knees… there are no public signs in Gaza that the people are putting pressure on Hamas to stop. Nor has the military or political wing of Hamas been hurt in any existential way — so it is possible that Hamas’s campaign will go on and on.”

We can safely say that Tuesday’s ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will not hold. Hamas declared already that they “will refuse to disarm, as demanded by Israel, until all ceasefire demands are met,” stating that “the latest 50 days of bloodshed between Israel and Hamas would not be the last round of conflict between the two…” (Deutsche Welle, August 28, 2014).

Iraq Conflict Intensifies at a Critical Moment

BBC News reported on August 22:

“An attack by suspected Shia militiamen on a Sunni mosque in Iraq’s Diyala province has killed at least 68 people. Officials say a bomber blew himself up in the mosque during Friday prayers and gunmen fired on fleeing worshippers…

“The attack is seen as a blow to government efforts to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against Islamic State (IS) jihadists [consisting of radical Sunnis].

“Prime Minister designate Haider al-Abadi, a moderate Shia, is trying to form a more inclusive government… But two influential Sunni politicians… have suspended participation in talks on a new cabinet in protest at Friday’s massacre…

“It’s just the kind of sectarian provocation that is threatening to plunge the country back into the dark days of 2006 and 2007, when many thousands died in a vicious spiral of communal carnage… Bringing the Sunnis on board is a key element in the American strategy for isolating the Islamic State militants, who have capitalised on Iraqi Sunni grievances. But actions like the latest massacre in the mosque are not going to make that task any easier.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“A suicide bomb attack in Baghdad has killed at least 11 people, in what looks like revenge after Friday’s mass murder at a Sunni mosque… It was unclear Saturday whether the attack at the village mosque was carried out by Shiite militiamen or IS insurgents who have been advancing into mixed Sunni-Shiite areas in Diyala. Though IS is a self-proclaimed Sunni group, their fighters have also been known to kill Sunni Muslims who refuse to submit to their harsh interpretation of the Islamic code and Sharia law.”

Sunnis and Shiites will never work together under a powerful Islamist leader, as some suggest. They are too much divided amongst themselves.

Is ISIS Preparing to Blow Up Major US City?

Newsmax wrote on August 22:

“Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe has warned that Islamic State extremists are attempting to develop a weapon to blow up a major city in the United States. ‘We’re in the most dangerous position we’ve ever been in as a nation,’ the ranking GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee told Fox…

“Referring to the beheading of American journalist James Foley, Inhofe said that the terror group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has now set its sights on Americans and targets on U.S. soil. ‘They’re crazy out there, and they’re rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city, and people just can’t believe that’s happening,’ he said.”

Cities which have been suggested as potential targets include New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

IS Sleeper Cells in Europe and USA

Newsmax wrote on August 21:

“A former CIA officer said Thursday he has no doubt Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells are already planted on U.S. soil. An unnamed U.S. intelligence official told CNN there’s already an indication of ISIS sleeper cells in Europe that could target U.S. embassies and other American interests. But former CIA officer Bob Baer told the network ISIS is already on this side of the Atlantic. ‘I have been told with no uncertainty there are ISIS sleeper cells in this country,’ he said…

“In several telephone conversations with a Reuters reporter over the past few months, Islamic State fighters suggest their leader, Iraqi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is planning something for the West – and that attacks could take place through sleeper cells in both Europe and the United States… About 100 Americans are being tracked by the FBI because of their travels to Syria, some to join ISIS, analysts say. And ISIS is actively recruiting Westerners and European Muslims who could easily enter the US.”

IS Recruit in Canada

The Telegraph wrote on August 25:

“A Canadian imam known for his pacifist sermons has warned that Islamist militant group IS was actively recruiting in Canada and said one member issued him a death threat… In February, intelligence services said at least 130 Canadians were fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.”

James Foley’s Murderer Identified—Britons Fight for ISIS

Newsmax reported on August 24:

“A 23-year-old British former rapper was identified on Saturday by British security officials as the man suspected of beheading American journalist James Foley, according to news reports.  Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, who is said to be known by Islamic State members as ‘Jihadi John’ because of his British accent, was identified by unnamed British intelligence sources as the masked terrorist standing by Foley in a video ISIS posted on the Internet of the execution, The Sunday Times of London reports…

“Bary, whose music has been played on BBC radio, left his family’s home in West London last year to go to Syria, The Telegraph reports…

“According to the Evening Standard, Bary is the son of high-profile al-Qaida terror suspect Adel Abdul Bary, the Egyptian militant who was extradited to the United States in 2012 over allegations that he masterminded the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in East Africa…

“The British intelligence agencies and police estimate that up to 20 extremists from the U.K. are now traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS every month, the Times reports…

“Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Sunday that the killing of Foley by a man speaking with an English accent was an ‘utter betrayal of our country… our values and everything the British people stand for.’… Hammond also warned that IS was ‘turning a swathe of Iraq and Syria into a terrorist state as a base for launching attacks on the West.’ He added: ‘Unless they are stopped, sooner or later they will seek to strike us on British soil.’…

“More than 500 Britons have traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight with jihadists in the last few years…”

Ebola Outbreak Unprecedented

BBC News reported on August 22:

“The World Health Organization has said the speed and extent of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is ‘unprecedented’… The organisation confirmed 142 new cases of the disease had been reported since 19 August, as well as 77 deaths… At least 1,427 people have now died in the outbreak so far, with the number of cases now standing at 2,615…

“In Liberia on Friday, a boy of 16 shot during a protest about a quarantine died… Senegal has defended the closure of its border with Guinea because of the Ebola outbreak…

“Senegal also banned flights and ships from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three worst-hit countries… Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa have also imposed travel bans.”

President Obama Plays Golf on Vacation—Indifferent to the Turmoil Surrounding Him?

The New York Times wrote on August 21:

“He had just hung up the telephone with the devastated parents before heading in front of the cameras. Unusually emotional, President Obama declared himself ‘heartbroken’ by the brutal murder of an American journalist, James Foley, and vowed to ‘be relentless’ against Islamic radicals threatening to kill another American.

“But as soon as the cameras went off, Mr. Obama headed to his favorite golf course on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on vacation, seemingly able to put the savagery out of his mind. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the links even as a firestorm of criticism erupted over what many saw as a callous indifference to the slaughter he had just condemned…

“Yet the juxtaposition of his indignant denunciation of terrorists and his outing on the greens this week underscored the unintended consequences of such a remove… after the outcry over Wednesday’s game, he defied the critics by golfing again on Thursday, his eighth outing in 11 days on the island.

“It was all the more striking given that Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain canceled his vacation after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria released the video showing Mr. Foley’s death because the accent of the masked killer suggested he came from Britain.

“… the criticism went beyond the usual political opponents. Privately, many Democrats shook their heads at what they considered a judgment error. Ezra Klein, editor in chief of the online news site Vox, who is normally sympathetic to Mr. Obama, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that ‘golfing today is in bad taste.’ The Daily News published a front-page photograph of a grinning president in a golf cart next to a picture of Mr. Foley’s distraught mother and father…”

“Mr. Obama is not the first president to get in trouble with a golf club in hand. On the course one day in 2002, President George W. Bush delivered a tough-worded statement denouncing a suicide bombing in Israel and then, barely missing a beat, told reporters, ‘Now, watch this drive.’ Mr. Bush later concluded that such scenes sent a bad message, and in the fall of 2003, with the Iraq war raging, he gave up golf for the remainder of his presidency.”

“What Is It About August?” – Troubles Galore

The Associated Press reported on August 25:

“While in office, former President George H. W. Bush once plaintively asked, ‘What is it about August?’

“Indeed, this sultry month usually associated with the doldrums of summer has burdened modern presidents with personal, domestic or international crises. And for President Barack Obama, who returned to Washington Sunday from a two-week Martha’s Vineyard vacation, what remains of the August calendar looks perhaps more daunting than when he left.

“Islamic militants personalized their fight in Iraq and Syria by beheading American journalist James Foley. Russia escalated tensions in Europe by moving artillery and troops on the Ukrainian border… And a Chinese fighter jet provocatively buzzed a Navy plane in international air space…

“Obama faces his own self-imposed end-of-summer deadline for how to sidestep Congress on changes to U.S. immigration policies. And while racial tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of an unarmed young black man have subsided, the St. Louis suburb remains under the White House’s wary gaze…

“He certainly is not the first commander in chief to find August so vexing.

“President George H.W. Bush had to respond to Saddam Hussein’s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Bill Clinton admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinski in August of 1998 and days later ordered air strikes against terrorist bases in Afghanistan in retaliation for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania earlier in the month.

“For Obama, it’s the overseas trouble spots in Iraq and Syria and along Ukraine’s eastern border that present the president with his most immediate challenge… Obama, who has already ordered limited air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq, now must decide whether to expand that fight into Syria — a step he has previously been reluctant to take…”

Strong Earthquake Hits California

Deutsche Welle reported on August 24:

“California has been struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years, with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale [later downgraded to 6.0]… The quake, which was the region’s strongest since 1989, struck at 3:20 am local time, 6 kilometers (3 miles) northwest of American Canyon and 64 km northeast of San Francisco… the epicenter was located only 11 km under the earth’s surface…

“California lies on the San Andreas Fault, which forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, two of the large moving plates that form the Earth’s crust. In 1906, a devastating San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires destroyed over 80 percent of the city, killing more than 3,000 people. In 1989, San Francisco was hit by 6.9-magnitude earthquake, also known as the Loma Prieta earthquake, resulting in 63 deaths and close to 4,000 injuries.”

The website of nbcbayarea.com added on August 24:

“Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency after a 6.0-magnitude quake jolted the Bay Area early Sunday morning, igniting fires, damaging buildings, injuring dozens, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness…”

CBS SF reported on August 25:

“In just over 24 hours following the… Sunday earthquake the USGS recorded 124 minor quakes and counting in the area… The largest of the tremors was 3.6 magnitude, just hours after the initial earthquake.

“Immediately following the quake seismologists said there was over a fifty percent chance that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake will hit within the week in the same area, though that percentage begins to drop significantly more than 24 hours after the initial earthquake…

“Seismologists believed there was a 5-percent chance of an even larger quake over magnitude 6.0 in the next few days.”

On August 24, another “large 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck a sparsely populated area of central Peru” (The Associated Press).

French Government Collapses

Deutsche Welle reported on August 25:

“The French government has resigned after infighting in the cabinet about the country’s economy. French President Francois Hollande has announced there will be a cabinet reshuffle… The new ministers will not include former economics minister Arnaud Montebourg, whose harsh criticism of French austerity sparked the government’s collapse.”

Even though France would like to become the leader of continental Europe, they will have to realize that it is Germany which is pre-ordained to fulfill that leadership role in these end times.

Europe Sends Weapons to Iraq

Deutsche Welle reported on August 15:

“The European Union agreed on Friday to back the arming of the Pashmerga – Kurdish Iraqis who are fighting against IS militants. Individual EU governments now have the go-ahead to send weapons as long as they have the consent of national authorities…

“Britain and France have already begun plans to provide weapons to Iraqi forces… Most surprising was the support from EU member states who are historically less inclined to supply military arms abroad, such as Germany…”

The Local added on August 20:

“Germany is ready to send weapons to support Iraqi Kurds in their battle against the “barbaric” jihadist militants of the Islamic State, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday… He called the onslaught of the IS ‘barbaric’, the suffering of refugees ‘unimaginable’…

“Sending military hardware is unusual for Germany which, burdened by its past aggression in two world wars, shies from foreign military engagements and as a rule does not export weapons into live conflict zones. Critics oppose the idea of sending weapons to a war zone where fighters and arms can quickly change sides…

“The change of position is politically difficult in Germany, where recent polls have shown more than 70 percent of respondents reject the idea of German arms shipments to Iraq…”

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 20 that the Kurds are terribly divided among themselves, and at least one of the groups fighting ISIS (the “PPK”) has formerly been classified as a terrorist group by the USA, EU und Turkey.

Pope Endorses Use of Force

The Associated Press reported on August 18:

“Pope Francis… was asked if he approved of the unilateral U.S. airstrikes on militants of the Islamic State who have captured swaths of northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria and have forced minority Christians and others to either convert to Islam or flee their homes.

“‘In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor,’ Francis said. ‘I underscore the verb “stop.” I’m not saying “bomb” or “make war,” just “stop.”’… But, he said, in history, such ‘excuses’ to stop an unjust aggression have been used by world powers to justify a ‘war of conquest’ in which an entire people have been taken over.

“‘One nation alone cannot judge how you stop this, how you stop an unjust aggressor,’ he said, apparently referring to the United States…

“… the Vatican has been increasingly showing support for military intervention in Iraq, given that Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith and that Christian communities which have existed for 2,000 years have been emptied as a result of the extremists’ onslaught…

“Church teaching allows for ‘just wars,’ when military force can be justified under certain circumstances. And in recent days, a few Vatican officials have edged increasingly toward acknowledging the Iraq situation fits the bill… The Vatican’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi [said]… ‘Maybe military action is necessary at this moment.’”

The Catholic Church’s teaching on “just wars” is not in accordance with the Bible. In the past, it has caused much injustice and terrible atrocities. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in War?”    

Pope Francis Only Three More Years to Live… May Retire Sooner?

AFP reported on August 18 that “Pope Francis (77) on Monday publicly broached the prospect of his own death for the first time, giving himself ‘two or three years’ but not ruling out retirement before then.”

The article went on to cite Pope Francis as saying: “I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, not to become proud. Because I know it will last only a short time. Two or three years and then I’ll be off…”

The article also stated that “a Vatican source said he had previously told those close to him that he thought he only had a few years left,” and that “Pope Francis also mentioned the possibility of retiring from the Papacy, as his predecessor Benedict XVI did last year, if he felt he could no longer adequately perform his duties… Resigning the papacy was a possibility ‘even if it does not appeal to some theologians’, he told reporters. He added that 60 years ago it was practically unheard of for Catholic bishops to retire, but nowadays it was common. ‘Benedict XVI opened a door,’ he said.”

Are the IS Terrorists Unstoppable?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 18:

“Last week, thousands of Yazidis were evacuated from the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq, where they had fled due to marauding fighters from the Islamic State. Kurdish fighters from the PKK helped them escape, but it remains unclear if anyone can stop the IS jihadists…

“[There have been] stories of neighbors who suddenly became turned into their enemies, becoming accomplices to the IS… First, a discrete network of informants was established over a long period of time, including Arabs from surrounding villages, Turkmens and even some Kurds. The informants then directed the Islamist fighters to the houses full of valuables and showed them where Sunnis, Christians and Yazidis lived. The result was that the IS knew how strong their opponent was and who they should kill first. It’s the same blueprint the group followed in their attacks on cities and villages in northern Syria and on the Iraqi city of Mosul at the beginning of June…

“… the precision air strikes launched by American F-18 fighter jets have not stopped the IS… assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades have proven ineffective in stopping the jihadist fighters, equipped as they are with armored Humvees, rocket launchers and artillery captured from the Iraqi army. It is weaponry that was initially delivered to the Iraqi military by the United States…”

This might remind us of end-time events when, on a grand scale, “friends” and “neighbors” will betray true Christians to dictatorial governments.

IS’ Brutal Murder of an American Journalist

BBC News reported on August 20:

“Prime Minister David Cameron has said the… beheading of a US journalist by an Islamic State militant with an English accent is ‘shocking and depraved’. James Foley, 40, has been missing since he was seized in Syria in 2012… The Metropolitan Police… warned that ‘viewing, downloading or disseminating’ the video may be an offence under terrorism legislation…

“Earlier Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Breakfast the government was aware of ‘significant numbers’ of British nationals involved with extremist organisations overseas… ‘We’re absolutely aware that there are significant numbers of British nationals involved in terrible crimes, probably in the commission of atrocities, making jihad with Isil [now known as IS—“Islamic State”] and other extremist organisations,’ he said… It is estimated that IS, which has seized large parts of northern Iraq and Syria, has up to 400 recruits from the UK in its ranks.”

The New York Times wrote on August 20:

“President Obama declared that the entire world was ‘appalled’ by the beheading of an American journalist by militants in Syria… The president called ISIS a ‘cancer’ in the region and accused them of having ‘rampaged across cities and villages, killing unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence.’ He said it had committed torture and rape against innocent women and children and continued to enslave those they did not kill…

“Mr. Obama gave no indication that the gruesome video would change United States strategy in Iraq, although he vowed to protect Americans from the militants and bring those responsible to justice. He made no mention of Mr. Sotloff, who was shown in a similar orange outfit to the one Mr. Foley was wearing. Mr. Sotloff’s life depends on Mr. Obama’s ‘next move,’ a masked militant in the video says…

“But the killing of Mr. Foley and the subsequent threat of another slaying if the United States continues to target militants in Syria and Iraq creates a searing and personal dilemma for the president: he cannot give in to demands from terrorists, but continuing the bombing of militants in Iraq could lead directly to another gruesome death of an American.

“The video could intensify pressure on Mr. Obama to broaden the American military offensive against ISIS… Republican lawmakers who have been pressing for a more aggressive American response against ISIS seized on the beheading as evidence that Mr. Obama had not done enough to confront the Sunni militants and to acknowledge them as a direct threat to Americans…”

Did Syria’s Assad Turn James Foley Over to ISIS?

Business Insider wrote on August 20:

“Following the grisly murder of an American journalist by extremist militants, one key question remains: How did ISIS abduct James Foley, who was widely considered to be in the custody of groups loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?…

“Bashar al-Assad helped create ISIS by releasing many of its original members from Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison on May 31, 2011. He then let the group metastasize over three years to build a narrative that if the U.S. wants to choose sides in the Syrian war, it has to choose between the regime and ISIS…

“… it is well within Assad’s means and motives to give Western captors to the extremists that he helped make strong. ‘This is now the key question: Was Foley taken by the Assad regime?’ Middle East analyst Kyle Orton writes. If he was, then those who believe that Bashar al-Assad is a bulwark against [extremist jihadists] have yet another question to answer about their thesis.’” 

EU Offers to Take Charge of Gaza’s Border Crossings

The Associated Press reported on August 16:

“The European Union offered Friday to take charge of Gaza’s border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows, insisting on a durable truce and saying a return to the status quo before the latest war ‘is not an option.’…

“The EU is prepared ‘to play a strong role’ in managing the crossings while assuring that Israel’s security is guaranteed, said the 28-nation bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton… The EU foreign ministers said the bloc is also prepared to prevent arms smuggling and launch a training program for Palestinian Authority police and customs officers to be deployed in Gaza…

“Israel… has demanded that Hamas be disarmed — a non-starter for the militant group — or at the very least be prevented from re-arming. Hamas… has an arsenal of several thousand rockets, some of which can reach major Israeli cities.”

Ultimately, Europe will play a major political role in the Middle East, claiming that military invasion and occupation may be necessary to establish “peace” in the region.

Gaza Fighting Continues…

Deutsche Welle reported on August 20:

“Israel is continuing strikes on the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire broke down Tuesday amid rocket fire, air attacks and the failure by negotiators to agree on a longer-term truce.

“The most recent airstrikes took place Wednesday, when Israeli media reported the military had killed Hamas leader Mohamed Deif. A woman and child were killed in a Gaza City airstrike on Tuesday night, with speculation circulating through the media that they were Deif’s wife and child. [This was confirmed by the New York Times, on August 20.]… Hamas officials say Deif was not killed…

“In Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called together his security Cabinet to discuss Israel’s next steps. Hard-liners in the prime minister’s government have called on him to launch a broad military operation against Hamas, the Palestinian political faction that runs Gaza.

“Israel’s government has faced international criticism over its military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war has destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Gaza and seriously damaged its infrastructure, including water systems and the only power plant. More than 10,000 people have been left homeless in Gaza.”

More Terrorist Groups in Gaza

In addition to Hamas, JTA wrote on August 15 about additional terrorist organizations in Gaza which are determined to destroy Israel:

“Palestinian Islamic Jihad — Sometimes known in Israel simply as Jihad, this is the second-biggest terrorist group in Gaza after Hamas. Founded in 1979 as a break-away from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad resembles Hamas in many ways. It’s a Palestinian national movement, it receives funding from Iran and has a small social service wing that includes schools, hospitals and family mediation services… It is also party to the negotiations taking place in Cairo…

“The Popular Resistance Committees, or PRC, is a break-away from the Palestinian Fatah Party, which governs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The PRC was founded in 2000 and opposes Fatah’s peace process with Israel. Unlike many groups operating in Gaza, the PRC is not Islamist. In 2012, Yediot Aharonot estimated that it was the third-strongest militia in Gaza and that it receives much of its funding from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran…

“There are a number of jihadi groups reported to be active in Gaza and allied with, or supportive of, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda agenda of reestablishing an international Islamic caliphate. Among them [is] the Army of Islam…

“[Other terrorist groups are] Tawhid wal’Jihad [and] Jund Ansar Allah…”

Truly, Israel is surrounded by enemies…

Did Ukraine Destroy Russian Military Vehicles?

AFP wrote on August 15:

“Ukraine said on Friday it had destroyed part of a Russian armoured column that entered onto its territory in an incursion that has sent cross-border tensions rocketing. NATO accused Russia of active involvement in the ‘destabilisation’ of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Kremlin separatists have been fighting against Kiev for four months…

“Fears that the border clash could spill into all-out war between Kiev and Moscow sent major share markets tumbling across Europe and the United States…

“The European Union demanded that Russia ‘put an immediate stop to any form of border hostilities, in particular to the flow of arms, military advisers and armed personnel into the conflict region, and to withdraw its forces from the border.’…

“NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen backed reports of the ‘Russian incursion’ after British media said it had seen the column of some 20 military vehicles cross the border on Thursday.”

Steinmeier Warns of War

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 17:

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the conflict should not turn into ‘a direct confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian armed forces.’… The separatists shot down another Ukrainian warplane overnight. A military spokesman confirmed the downing of the Mig-29 fighter in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, saying the pilot had ejected and been found after a search.

“Separatists have brought down some 10 Ukrainian aircraft since June. They also stand accused of having shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, killing 298 people…”

Europe is very concerned that Russia might intervene in Ukraine, and they should be. Based on Scripture, a collaboration between Russia and Ukraine will occur, which will ultimately be directed against Europe. Then, a powerful political and military European leader, the beast or the king of the North, will try to stop Russia and other Far Eastern nations militarily, but he will not succeed.

Useless Talks

Deutsche Welle reported on august 18:

“The Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on Monday traded accusations after unconfirmed reports that rocket fire had hit a convoy of buses carrying refugees from the city of Luhansk… [A Ukrainian] spokesman said rebels were responsible for the strike and that the death toll was still unknown. However, rebel sources claimed that the government had carried out the attack on the convoy.

“Around 500 people a day have been leaving the city, a rebel stronghold that has been under siege from government forces and left almost without water or electricity for more than two weeks…

“The reports come after crisis talks in Berlin on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France aimed at bringing peace to the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the talks had brought no progress toward resolving the conflict in Ukraine…

“However, Lavrov said that ‘all questions’ regarding a Russian humanitarian convoy to Ukraine had been resolved with Kyiv and the Red Cross. The convoy has been parked at the border between Russia and Ukraine for days amid objections from Kyiv…

“The conflict in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east is in a critical phase, with Kyiv and Western governments fearing a possible Russian military intervention in support of the pro-Moscow insurgents, in view of a build-up of troops on Ukraine’s border…”

Now It’s Germany Spying on Clinton, Kerry and Turkey

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 18:

“A few months ago, following revelations about the NSA tapping her cell phone, Merkel famously stated, ‘Spying between friends is simply unacceptable.’ This quote is now being used in nearly every report about the alleged espionage carried out by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).

“A major humiliation for the German government could be in the works. After all, it was only recently that German politicians were harshly criticizing the US for spying on Germany. And Germany also expelled the top CIA official in the country after the activities of two US spies came to light.

“Now it has been revealed that the BND intercepted at least one call made by Hillary Clinton during her time as US secretary of state in 2012. The German government has responded by saying that the call was picked up ‘by accident’ as part of an intelligence-gathering focus on the Middle East. And in 2013 the agency allegedly recorded a call made by Clinton’s successor John Kerry…

“But while it seems that the Clinton and Kerry calls intercepted by the BND were indeed just a by-catch, the agency has been accused of not deleting one of them as it claims to do.

“Meanwhile, the German government has indirectly confirmed media reports that the BND has been spying on fellow NATO country Turkey for years… Turkey belongs to the core target countries under observation by the German intelligence service…

“The German government has defended this line of practice vehemently, saying that Turkey cannot be compared to the US or European countries like France and Great Britain. What happens in Turkey has a direct influence on domestic security in Germany, government sources told FAS. This includes the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, left- and right-wing Turkish groups in Germany, drug smugglers and people smugglers… According to Christian Democratic Union faction deputy chairman Andreas Schockenhoff, all of this justifies systematic spying on Turkey – a NATO member and EU accession candidate.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 18:

“Turkey on Monday summoned the German ambassador in Ankara, Eberhard Pohl… after news magazine Der Spiegel reported on the weekend that Germany’s intelligence services had been spying on its NATO ally since 2009.  In a statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry said such spying would be ‘a serious matter’ if the report were true…”

These are embarrassing developments for Germany, and they will not help to better the relationship between Germany and the USA… or Turkey.

Racial Tension and Police Misconduct in Missouri

Deutsche Welle reported on August 15:

“Information released by police was met with skepticism after the shooting of an unarmed black teenager [Michael Brown] by a white police officer [Officer Wilson], which sparked outrage and put the spotlight on racial tension and police conduct…

“According to information released by authorities on Friday, the young black man had been a suspect in a ‘strong-arm robbery’ of nearly 50 dollars’ worth of cigarillos at a convenience store with a friend before he was shot dead around noon time… the family’s lawyers [were] claiming the link with the robbery was a ‘devious attempt’ to smear the teenager. ‘There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution-style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender,’ the lawyers added.

“Officer Wilson had not known that Brown had been a suspect in a robbery at the time of the shooting, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said. He declined to comment on why the officer had stopped the two teens…”

The Associated Press reported on August 18:

“An unarmed black teenager killed by a white officer in Missouri was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy has found… The autopsy by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, found that one of the bullets entered the top of Michael Brown’s skull… Witnesses say the teenager had his hands in the air as the officer fired multiple rounds.

“Baden told the [New York] Times that Brown was also shot four times in the right arm and that all the bullets were fired into his front. The newspaper said the bullets did not appear to have come from very close range because there was no gunpowder on his body.”

Racial and ethnic strife and misconduct by an increasingly “militarized” police force are major problems in the USA.

Missouri Keeps Arresting German Journalists

“‘To be arrested and yelled at and be rudely treated by police I had to travel to Ferguson and St. Louis in the United States of America,’ writes [a German] veteran reporter of his ordeal. Ansgar Graw and Frank Hermann were cuffed and jailed for three hours the day after arriving in the beleaguered suburb of St. Louis. Graw and Hermann were there to cover the town of Ferguson, whose African-American population has clashed fiercely with local police since the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer on August 9.

“The journalists had wanted to take pictures of a burned out gas station on Florissant Avenue, the street at the centre of the week-long protest. The building was looted and burned the night of Brown’s death. ‘The street was empty at the time, there was no hint of violence or riotous assembly,’ Graw wrote for Die Welt of his ordeal… Graw took the pictures… but was then cuffed in zip ties… The [young] officer gave his name as Donald Duck.

“This was Graw’s first arrest. ‘This was a very new experience. I’ve been in several conflict zones: I was in the civil war regions in Georgia, the Gaza strip, illegally visited the Kaliningrad region when travel to the Soviet Union was still strictly prohibited for westerners, I’ve been in Iraq, Vietnam and in China, I’ve met Cuba dissidents. But to be arrested and yelled at and be rudely treated by police? For that I had to travel to Ferguson and St. Louis in the United States of America.’

“[A] Tabloid paper also wrote on Tuesday that one of their reporters had also been arrested by police in Ferguson. Lukas Hermsmeier spent the night in St. Louis County Jail in Clayton, Missouri.”

The tabloid paper was Bild, the most influential and popular tabloid in Germany, and normally very supportive of and friendly towards the USA. Bild has been reporting ever since on a daily basis about their journalist’s ordeal, expressing their outrage and consternation with American injustice and incompetency.  Apart from the militarization of police forces in America, it seems that many (young) police officers are simply not up to the task and due to their feelings of power and superiority, they act in a (perceived or real) conflict situation in a manner which is outside the bounds of propriety and sound reasoning.

A Feeling of Being Left Behind

The Washington Post wrote on August 18:

“Our society expects the police to keep unemployed, poorly educated African American men out of sight and out of mind. When they suddenly take center stage, illuminated by the flash and flicker of Molotov cocktails, we feign surprise…

“Millions of African Americans took advantage of the opportunities created by the civil rights movement to climb into the middle class — and in some cases far beyond, as exemplified by President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

“Yet millions of other black Americans did not reach the middle class. This group, mired in poverty and dysfunction, finds the paths others took are blocked. They live in neighborhoods with failing schools that cannot prepare them for today’s economy. Secure, high-paying blue-collar jobs are a thing of the past. Racial bias in policing means African Americans are much more likely to be arrested and jailed for minor nonviolent offenses, such as drug possession, than whites who commit the same crimes.

“Increasingly, these African Americans who were left behind are invisible… What happens in poor black neighborhoods has less and less to do with the everyday lives of middle-class Americans, white or black.

“Yet in Ferguson and other such pockets across the nation, millions of young black men and women grow up knowing that the deck is stacked against them. Did Michael Brown have a chip on his shoulder? Not according to his friends and family, although the convenience store video suggests otherwise…

“Brown had no police record. He had graduated from high school. He was about to enter a technical college. Given where he came from, it’s hard to do a whole lot better — and easy to do a whole lot worse.

“Now that the streets are filled with incoherent rage — and the rioting must be strongly condemned — we can see Brown’s struggle. Momentarily, at least. After the smoke clears, we will be blind once again.”

Shocking! America—the Richest Nation on Earth—One of the POOREST?

cnsnews.com reported on August 20:

“109,631,000 Americans lived in households that received benefits from one or more federally funded ‘means-tested programs”’— also known as welfare — as of the fourth quarter of 2012, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau has not yet reported how many were on welfare in 2013 or the first two quarters of 2014.

“But the 109,631,000 living in households taking federal welfare benefits as of the end of 2012, according to the Census Bureau, equaled 35.4 percent of all 309,467,000 people living in the United States at that time.

“When those receiving benefits from non-means-tested federal programs — such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and veterans benefits — were added to those taking welfare benefits, it turned out that 153,323,000 people were getting federal benefits of some type at the end of 2012.

“Subtract the 3,297,000 who were receiving veterans’ benefits from the total, and that leaves 150,026,000 people receiving non-veterans’ benefits.

“The 153,323,000 total benefit-takers at the end of 2012, said the Census Bureau, equaled 49.5 percent of the population. The 150,026,000 taking benefits other than veterans’ benefits equaled about 48.5 percent of the population.

“When America re-elected President Barack Obama in 2012, we had not quite reached the point where more than half the country was taking benefits from the federal government. It is a reasonable bet, however, that with the implementation of Obamacare — with its provisions expanding Medicaid and providing health-insurance subsidies to people earning up to 400 percent of poverty — that if we have not already surpassed that point (not counting those getting veterans benefits) we soon will.

“… the CIA World Factbook says there are 142,470,272 people in Russia. So, the 150,026,000 people getting non-veterans federal benefits in the United States at the end of 2012 outnumbered all the people in Russia.

“63,742,977 people live in the United Kingdom and 44,291,413 live in the Ukraine, says the CIA. So, the combined 108,034,390 people in these two nations was about 1,596,610 less than 109,631,000 collecting welfare in the United States.

“It may be more telling, however, to compare the 109,631,000 Americans taking federal welfare benefits at the end of 2012 to Americans categorized by other characteristics.

“In 2012, according to the Census Bureau, there were 103,087,000 full-time year-round workers in the United States (including 16,606,000 full-time year-round government workers). Thus, the welfare-takers outnumbered full-time year-round workers by 6,544,000.

“California, the nation’s most-populated state, contained an estimated 38,332,521 people in 2013, says the Census Bureau. Texas had 26,448,193 people, New York had 19,651,127, and Florida had 19,552,860. But the combined 103,984,701 people in these four massive states still fell about 5,646,299 short of the 109,631,000 people on welfare.

“In the fourth quarter of 2008, when President Obama was elected, there were 96,197,000 people living in households taking benefits from one or more federal welfare programs. After four years, by the fourth quarter of 2012, that had grown by 13,434,000…”

These numbers do not point at a success story under President Obama’s leadership. But they also show the incredible decline of America’s prosperity, which can only be explained by the fact that God has been withdrawing His blessings, as it was prophesied to occur, due to our national and individual sins. 

Oregon to Pay for Transgender Surgeries

The Associated Press reported on August 14:

“Oregon’s Medicaid program will soon pay for gender reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and other treatments for transgender patients, becoming… the third state besides the District of Columbia to extend coverage to gender dysphoria treatments…  ‘This is an historic step forward toward fairness and equality for transgender Oregonians,’ said Danielle Askini, policy director for the advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon. Oregon joins California, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in covering gender dysphoria treatments under Medicaid, Askini said.

“The coverage for gender dysphoria, previously known as gender identity disorder, is set to begin Jan. 1. The Oregon Health Authority still must formally change its rules to eliminate a prohibition against covering gender reassignment surgery…  Oregon insurance regulators in 2012 ordered private insurance companies to cover treatments for gender dysphoria. A lawsuit forced the state to cover treatments for public employees.

“With Medicaid patients gaining coverage, the last segment of Oregon’s health insurance market not required to cover gender dysphoria treatments is the Oregon Educators Benefit Board, which covers school district employees, Askini said.”

This is truly a terrible testimony against a country claiming to uphold Christian and biblical values. By no stretch of the imagination could it ever be said that the true God of the Bible would remotely support transgender operations. He calls this kind of conduct a blatant abomination.

Rick Perry Indicted

Newsmax reported on August 17:

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry, indicted late Friday [by a grand jury] on abuse of power charges, said he would make the same decision if the situation repeated itself. Perry is accused of threatening to withhold funding from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office after D.A. Rosemary Lehmberg, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated and seen in a police station video kicking a door and demanding to see the sheriff. ‘This is not the way we settle differences —  political differences —  in this country,’ Perry said of the indictment in an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ ‘You don’t do it with indictments. We settle our political differences at the ballot box.’

“The two felony counts of abuse of power against Perry could result in up to 99 years in prison if he is convicted. Perry told Fox News he takes the rule of law seriously, but doesn’t believe he has broken any laws. Instead, he said, he had done the same thing governors have done for decades…

“The indictment does not deal with Perry’s veto of $7.5 million in funding for the D.A. office’s public integrity unit. He is legally entitled to veto any law passed by the Texas Legislature. Instead, the charges are based on Perry’s public statements threatening to withhold the funds if Lehmberg refused to resign. That action constituted using his official capacity to coerce a public servant, the indictment claims.

“But Perry pointed out that liberals such as David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, and Alan Dershowitz, noted Harvard Law professor, have called the Perry indictment politically questionable.”

Dershowitz “Outraged” Over Perry’s “Political” Indictment

Newsmax wrote in an accompanying article, dated August 17:

“Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz calls himself a ‘liberal Democrat who would never vote for Rick Perry,’ but he’s still ‘outraged’ over the Texas governor’s indictment Friday on charges of abuse of power and coercion. The charges are politically motivated and an example of a ‘dangerous’ trend of courts being used to affect the ballot box and politics, he told Newsmax on Saturday.

“‘Everybody, liberal or conservative, should stand against this indictment,’ Dershowitz said… ‘This is another example of the criminalization of party differences…  This idea of an indictment is an extremely dangerous trend in America, whether directed at [former House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay or [former President] Bill Clinton.’ Further, Dershowitz said, such indictments are something that’s done in totalitarian countries and should not be done in the United States…

“Dershowitz also told Newsmax Perry was well within his rights when he vetoed the money for Lehmberg’s office, as he ‘saw a drunk serving as DA’ who ‘shouldn’t be enforcing criminal law.’ Dershowitz believes Perry will be acquitted, and the indictment will become an embarrassment to those involved.

“Perry is often named as a potential candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016, and has opted not to seek a fourth term as governor of Texas…”

Some Republicans Partly Responsible?

Breitbart added on August 18:

“In light of the malicious prosecution of Governor Rick Perry, Republican lawmakers are rushing to jump on the bandwagon opposing the Democrats politically motivated action. But several House Republicans loyal to liberal House Speaker, Joe Straus, bear responsibility for setting the stage leading to the indictments.

“In fact, 18 Republicans joined with the chamber’s Democrats in stopping Gov. Perry’s 2013 initiative to move the Public Integrity Unit out from under convicted drunk driver Rosemary Lehmberg, Travis county’s Democrat district attorney.”

Politics IS such a dirty business!

Ebola Out of Control

The Sidney Morning Herald wrote on August 16:

“The Ebola crisis in west Africa is outstripping the ability of aid organisations to stem the epidemic, the head of international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Friday, likening it to a war. ‘It’s moving, and advancing, but we have no clue how it’s going. Like in a war time, we have a total collapse of infrastructure,’ she added. The outbreak started at the beginning of this year in the forested border zone between Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and has also spread to Nigeria.”

The Mirror wrote on August 17:

“Here in the hellish Ebola zone of West Africa, the victims’ remains have to be cremated quickly as even the dead are contagious. This is the heart-breaking drudgery of life in disease-racked Liberia, where the worst outbreak of this violent disease in history claims fresh lives daily. The World Health Organisation admitted that the official death toll of 1,145 in the region ‘vastly underestimates the magnitude of the outbreak’…

“Survival rates are less than 40%, and there is no vaccine or treatment… That is why the capital Monrovia is currently gripped by paranoia and ­suspicion over the spread of the disease… Yet in the filthy slums, many seem to be going about their… business as normal. Torrential rain [turns]  the shanty town tracks into a putrid quagmire. It must be the ideal breeding ground for a virus so contagious a quick touch on the arm from a sufferer is apparently enough to spread it. By the time you know you should have been more careful, it might already be too late… Incubation can take up to 21 days…”

The Bible prophesies that worldwide diseases and pandemics will increase in these last days, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy—From Now Until Forever.”

Hamas Reign of Terror

The Times of Israel reported on August 12:

“Israel may wish that Gaza’s dire situation would push residents of the Strip to rise up against their Hamas rulers, but more than a month into Operation Protective Edge, there are very few indications of that happening…

“Bassem Eid, a veteran Jerusalem-based human rights activist and political analyst, said that Gazans are reluctant to demonstrate for fear of Hamas… ‘Hamas has a physical presence in almost every house in Gaza and can listen to what’s being said. It’s a Stasi regime par excellence,’ he continued, referring to the East German secret police notorious for its eavesdropping capabilities…

“‘The population is much more scared of Hamas than it is of the Israeli soldiers,’ Eid said. Hamas, for its part, is more worried about the possible return of control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority than it is of an Israeli military incursion…

“Palestinian Authority media repeatedly gives credence to Eid’s reports of an atmosphere of terror in Gaza. Official Palestinian news agency WAFA has told of Fatah activists being placed under house arrest by Hamas from the early days of the Israeli operation. Fatah’s official Facebook page reported shots being fired at the legs of Fatah members, including the bodyguards of Fatah official Abdullah Ifranji…

“But Mkheimer Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, said that anti-Hamas demonstrations were unlikely to emerge in a society which largely regards Israel as the main cause of its suffering. ‘Even if there’s anger at Hamas, people are mostly angry at Israel,’ Abusada told The Times of Israel in a phone conversation from Gaza. ‘Hamas may bear responsibility for the war, but it’s Israel which is destroying homes and killing civilians.’ (Of almost 2,000 deaths reported by health officials in the Hamas-run Strip, Israel says 750-1,000 are Hamas and other gunmen.)…

“Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza have launched over 3,000 rockets and mortar shells into Israel during Operation Protective Edge, many of them from densely populated areas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has charged Hamas with using the civilian population in Gaza as ‘human shields’ — firing rockets and building tunnels from residential areas, providing Gazans with no protection, and sometimes even urging civilians to remain in fighting zones despite IDF warnings — while Hamas’s leadership has taken to hiding in underground tunnels. But Abusada indicated that Gazans viewed themselves as victims of Israel, not Hamas…”

There is a REASON why Hamas has been rightly classified as a terrorist organization. All the sugarcoating by analysts such as Professor Abusuda notwithstanding, it is surprising that people cannot see what is really going on. Of course, one looks for a scapegoat, and Israel has always been an easy target. This has been prophesied to occur, especially in these end times. 

There Will Be Miracles… If You Believe…

Jews News wrote on August 6:

“An Israeli commander claimed that hundreds of Israeli lives were saved recently when ‘the hand of God’ stopped a Hamas rocket:

“‘A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died. We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock.

“‘At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident. Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that … sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned…’

“One Hamas member was asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets better and actually hit an Israeli target. He responded: ‘We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.’ The first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, said this once: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’”

Israel’s Existence Has Nothing to Do with the Bible?

Yes News wrote on August 3:

“In a special interview with Die Tagespost last week, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, named by Pope Benedict to represent the Vatican in the Jewish State, declared that ‘Israel’s existence as such has nothing to do with the Bible.’ He then compared Christians’ condition in today’s Jerusalem with Jesus’ Passion: ‘We Christians never forget that even our Lord himself suffered and was mocked in Jerusalem.’…

“A few days ago, Patriarch Twal responded enthusiastically to the agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah. He also denounced ‘the Judaization of Jerusalem’ and attacked Israel for ‘trying to transform it into an only Hebrew-Jewish city, excluding the other faiths.’… Twal’s position on Israel and the Bible has been embraced at the highest levels in the Catholic Church. The Vatican synod in 2010 declared that Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people.”

Perhaps a review of both the Bible and historical evidence might be helpful to these so called scholars and theologians!

Israel’s Monetary Costs of the Gaza War

The Times of Israel wrote on August 12:

“… through last week, including both direct military expenses and indirect hits to the Israeli economy, the total cost of the four-week conflict is estimated at $2.5 billion to $3.6 billion… [For instance] Iron Dome intercepted 584 of [the Hamas’ rockets] — at $50,000 a piece. That comes to a total of $29 million, or about $1 million per day…

“Israeli planes have bombed Gaza approximately 4,900 times during the war — roughly 150 times a day… each of the Air Force’s 4,900 sorties cost $15,000, for a total of over $73 million…”

What a terrible waste of money, while millions of people starve for lack of food.

Little Progress at Cairo Truce Talks

JTA wrote on August 12:

“Negotiators at the Israel-Hamas truce talks in Cairo said they were still far from an agreement. Palestinian officials said Tuesday that the current three-day cease-fire between the sides will be the final one unless Israel and Hamas make progress toward a truce. The cease-fire, which began Monday, is the second three-day truce between the sides after a month of fighting…

“Hamas is demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and the building of an airport and seaport, and Israel is demanding Gaza’s demilitarization…”

It was announced on August 14 that Hamas and Israel agreed to extend the truce for five days to continue negotiations in the Egyptian capital. However, there will be no lasting peace in the Middle East until Jesus Christ returns.

Waiting Too Long to Stop ISIS?

Breitbart wrote on August 8:

“Yazidis in Iraq are telling stories of mass murder and rape to their relatives abroad – including in Israel… [According to Der Spiegel Online, dated August 11, “Yazidis [is] an ancient, pre-Muslim religious community, with roots in Zoroastrianism, whose members worship seven angels, including a peacock angel, in addition to god.”]

“Obama announced action against the Islamic State as if that chamber of horrors sprang into existence last night, and he immediately leaped into action against it.  Nonsense.  He’s known this stuff was happening for weeks and months.  Contrary to his feeble excuses about learning everything at the same time we do, by watching the news, he gets presidential intelligence briefings.  The brutality shown by ISIS toward Christians has been a matter of record for a long time, and Obama said nothing.  No surprise the Islamists are even more brutal toward the Yazidis, who they consider ‘devil worshipers.’

“This was all as predictable as the sunrise, but Obama did nothing, said nothing, until global media lit up with pictures of those fifty thousand people stranded on the slopes of the mountain that looms above their ancestral homeland, dying of hunger and exposure…

“Foreign policy is all about timing.  Stopping ISIS when it was on the move into Mosul – with an almost laughably small initial invasion force that nevertheless caused Iraqi forces to break and run – would have been relatively simple…  Ejecting them from their conquered territory is impossible with only a few targeted bombing runs.  They’re mixed in with civilian targets now, and they won’t hesitate to take hostages.  They can threaten to blow up the Mosul dams.  They’re far stronger, better armed, and better financed than they were when they first came across the Syrian border…

“And no matter what happens next, there’s no way to bring back the people ISIS has already murdered, no way to undo the rape and pillage.  Obama treats foreign policy like he’s in college writing a thesis about something that happened a long time ago.  But the present is bad, and the future might be worse.  If ISIS uses its manpower and resources to launch terror strikes in the West – something they are very interested in doing – the same people trying to cover for Obama’s incompetence today will be asking why nobody stopped the Islamic State long ago, when it could have been done with relative ease…”

Sunnis and Turks Support ISIS

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 11:

“The IS advance would hardly be possible without support from Iraqi Sunnis.

“… the American air strikes on IS positions still won’t solve the fundamental conflicts in these two countries… the lack of strong governments in Iraq and Syria has allowed the IS to operate freely in large swaths of the region…  the Turks have sealed the border to Kurds attempting to flee. At the same time, Turkish officials are doing hardly anything to hinder jihadists who travel in and out of Turkish airports as they make their way into the region…”

ISIS Wants Conflict with USA

Newsmax wrote on August 10:

“ISIS has said it desires a direct conflict with the United States on American soil, and the current conflict may also be serving as a lure for new members… ISIS has stated it intends to form a caliphate, or Muslim religious state, and is known for its brutality, including beheadings, of non-Muslims and even non-Sunnis. It formerly was an al-Qaida affiliate, but broke from the group after al-Qaida criticized it for its tactics.

“Members of the Iraqi army laid down their arms and fled earlier this year as ISIS forces advanced. As a result, ISIS now possesses American weapons left for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki. It also has raided banks and taken over oil wells, adding to its power…

“Of ISIS’s estimated 10,000 members, up to half are thought to be from outside Iraq and Syria. And about 100 Americans are thought to have tried or succeeded in traveling to ISIS territory. That trouble[s] U.S. officials because they fear those Americans could return to launch terror attacks on the homeland.”

Iraq’s Political Turmoil –Shiites vs. Shiites

The New York Times wrote on August 11:

“Iraq’s president formally nominated a candidate on Monday to replace Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The step broke a months-long political deadlock, but it also seemed to take Iraq into uncharted territory, as Mr. Maliki gave no signal that he was willing to relinquish power.

“The Obama administration, which has been pushing Iraqi lawmakers to name a replacement for Mr. Maliki, added to the pressure on him by welcoming the nomination of the candidate, Haider al-Abadi, a member of Mr. Maliki’s own Shiite Islamist Dawa Party…

“The nomination of Mr. Abadi came hours after a dramatic late-night television appearance in which a defiant Mr. Maliki challenged the Iraqi president, Fuad Masum, and threatened legal action for not choosing him as the nominee…

“The United States has been reluctant to help the Iraqi government militarily as long as it is led by Mr. Maliki, a Shiite Islamist who is seen by many as exacerbating sectarian and ethnic tensions, alienating some Sunnis and driving them to join the militants…”

The Washington Post wrote on August 11:

“Iraq’s president chose a veteran Shiite politician to lead the government on Monday, setting the stage for a vicious political showdown in a country already struggling to contain an extremist Islamist insurgency…

“In his eight years in power, Maliki has consolidated power in his hands, ruling in a dictatorial style that has chipped away at his support among fellow Shiites and Sunnis alike. He is widely blamed for the fostering [of] an environment that has allowed for Sunni extremists from the Islamic State to seize control of huge chunks of Iraqi territory…” 

BBC News reported on August 14 that due to worldwide pressure, Maliki stepped down. The article stated:  

“Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has stepped aside, ending political deadlock in Baghdad as the government struggles against insurgents. He resigned on state TV to make way for Haider al-Abadi, who was asked by Iraq’s president to form a government. Mr Maliki had been under intense pressure to make way for Mr Abadi, a deputy speaker of parliament…

“There had been fears that Mr Maliki might use the power base he built up through his control of the armed forces to stay in power. But, with his own party and the Shia clerical establishment, not to mention influential outside powers such as Iran and America and the entire international community backing Mr Abadi, the writing was clearly on the wall for MrMaliki’s hopes of clinging to power.”

 

USA Provides Weapons to Kurds

The Telegraph wrote on August 11:

“The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, but the aid has so far been limited to automatic rifles and ammunition.

“Previously, the US only sold arms to the government in Baghdad, some of which would then be transferred to the Kurdish forces in the north.”

Germany Might Send Weapons to Iraq

The Local wrote on August 12:

“Germany said on Tuesday it was ready to send non-lethal military aid such as armoured vehicles to help Iraq push back against the advance of Islamist insurgents… Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that, aside from humanitarian aid, Germany could possibly send equipment such as helmets, night-vision equipment, booby-trap detectors and medical supplies for Iraqi soldiers…

“Von der Leyen reiterated her government’s official position that Germany as a rule does not send arms into conflict zones but added that, if a ‘genocide’ loomed in Iraq, this question should be ‘debated intensively’ in Germany.

“Several German politicians across the party spectrum, including Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, have suggested the rule may have to be reviewed in light of the IS onslaught across vast areas of northern Iraq. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also signalled a willingness to pave the way for German weapons shipments to support Baghdad, citing the ‘existential threat’ posed by the IS…”

Sending weapons to volatile areas is never without great risk. But it is interesting that the German stance on the matter is apparently changing.

Back Into Iraq

The Huffington Post wrote on August 11:

“Obama has stated that the U.S. will not become the Iraqi government’s air force. Such an unequivocal declaration, though, presupposes that there is a functional substitute — and one that will be available in time to deal with military threats of the first order that could emerge literally any day. So, this is a typical Obama fudge. Barack Obama is a temporizer, a devotee of half-measures, ‘too clever by half’ as with his time-table limited mini-surge in Afghanistan in 2009.

“… He too often deceives himself that verbal declarations or pat phrases constitute a policy or program. Although the preferred course of action is far from clear, evasion of the tough issues and postponement of hard choices will lower the odds on coming up with wise decisions once they have to be taken…

“What are Obama’s time-frames? They seem to be confused… Certainly, there are no signs of a general strategy emerging in Washington.

“What role (explicit, tacit, or pantomime) for other outside powers, e.g. Iran, Turkey, Syria and Egypt?… On this question, too, we have no signs of the Obama administration’s overall thinking — much less the outlines of a strategy… This is a major liability and potentially highly dangerous…”

Regarding the President’s time frame, the Washington Post wrote on August 12: “Obama vacations as the world burns.”

Clinton vs. Obama

Newsmax wrote on August 10:

“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has put the largest amount of space yet between herself and a rapidly more-unpopular President Barack Obama, calling his refusal to ‘build up a credible fighting force’ in Syria to battle the Assad regime a ‘failure’ that led to jihadists such as the Islamic State (ISIS) moving in… 

“Goldberg notes in his article that Clinton’s separation from Obama was only a matter of time, and as she comes closer to announcing her own candidacy, she was notably more blunt in her interview with him…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 11:

“Clinton… ‘is basically a believer in the use of military force for humanitarian purposes and is less sensitive than President Obama is…’ says David C. Unger, the long-time member of the New York Times Editorial Board…  As Obama’s previous secretary of state, Clinton had strongly argued for arming the Syrian opposition, but that argument lost out against a more cautious approach generally favored by Obama and others in the administration.”

 

Arming the Rebels?

The Daily Beast wrote on August 11:

“The argument that America should have done more in Syria, made for years by foreign policy leaders in both parties and several members of Obama’s senior national security team, was brought back to the fore this past weekend. Obama and Hillary Clinton gave dueling interviews in which they publicly split on whether the security and humanitarian catastrophe in Syria could have been avoided if the United States had played a larger role. Obama’s outburst on July 31, one week prior, reveals the criticism was already getting to him, even before the White House tried to deflect Clinton’s remarks as pre-presidential political posturing.

“Just before the congressional recess, President Obama invited over a dozen Senate and House leaders from both parties to the White House to talk about foreign policy. According to two lawmakers inside the meeting, Obama became visibly agitated when confronted by bipartisan criticism of the White House’s policy of slow-rolling moderate Syrian rebels’ repeated requests for arms to fight the Assad regime and ISIS.

“According to one of the lawmakers, Sen. Bob Corker asked the president a long question that included sharp criticisms of President Obama’s handling of a number of foreign policy issues—including Syria, ISIS, Russia, and Ukraine. Obama answered Corker at length… But days after the White House meeting, Corker wrote a blistering op-ed for The Washington Post criticizing Obama’s handling of foreign policy. ‘Today, after three years of bold rhetoric divorced from reality, 170,000 Syrians are dead, and we are not innocent bystanders. The president encouraged the opposition to swallow deadly risks, then left them mostly hanging,’ the senator wrote. ‘Extremist groups from Syria have surged into Iraq, seizing key territory and resources, and are threatening to completely undo the progress of years of U.S. sacrifice.’

“Top Democratic lawmakers agreed with Corker and Clinton that doing more to support the moderate rebels would have at least had a chance of averting or mitigating the current crisis, which has now spread to large parts of Iraq as ISIS expands its newly declared Caliphate…

“In a New York Times interview published Aug. 8, Obama said that the idea arming the rebels would have made a difference had ‘always been a fantasy.’ ‘This idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth, and that they were going to be able to battle not only a well-armed state but also a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, a battle-hardened Hezbollah, that was never in the cards,’ Obama said…

“Not all lawmakers support arming the rebels; Sen. Rand Paul, for example, is on the record opposing the use of U.S. military resources to fight ISIS in Iraq or Syria. Also, Clinton and many lawmakers acknowledge that arming the rebels was risky and might not have worked. The weapons could’ve fallen into the extremists’ hands…”

Arming rebels is indeed a very dangerous endeavor. Now, the discussion has shifted to arming the Kurds and others in Iraq to defend against ISIS, as previous articles discuss. However, today’s “friends” can very quickly become tomorrow’s enemies. Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are prime examples.

The Lawless United States—Always at War Somewhere

The Huffington Post wrote on August 10:

“Ukraine. Gaza. Syria. Yemen. Pakistan. If it feels like the United States is always at war somewhere, that’s because it is. Not just Iraq and Afghanistan – the two wars we all know about. And, granted, we’re not only talking boots on the ground. It’s our money, our weapons and – more often in recent weeks – our Secretary of State, engaged in high-stakes diplomacy to uneven results… investigative journalist Kevin Gosztola put the U.S. war count at 74. These are mostly unannounced and undeclared wars against enemies that have different aspirations, strategies and ideologies…

“While the eyes of the American media and public might have shifted back to Iraq for now, just a week ago they were, momentarily, back on Afghanistan. In another example of how dangerous the country still is for our military, we heard about the killing of Major General Harold Greene, who was killed by an Afghan soldier in a green-on-blue gunfire exchange… Three in four Americans believe that history will judge the war in Afghanistan a failure…

“What we are leaving behind is in fact… ‘more war, and more terror.’ What we’re leaving behind in terms of our reputation is the idea of American lawlessness… Our lawlessness doesn’t just hurt us abroad. Lawlessness has encroached into the U.S.’s domestic affairs, with the NSA’s almost Orwellian reach into civic life…”

There is indeed a connection between fighting in war and engaging in lawlessness. Please read our free booklets, “Should YOU Fight in War?” and “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”

Wild West in Ferguson, Missouri

The Washington Post wrote on August 14:

“The killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., has produced a rare and surprisingly unified response across the ideological spectrum, with Republicans and Democrats joining to decry the tactics of the city’s police force in the face of escalating protests… Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)… criticized what he called the growing militarization of local police forces…

“The images of police in riot gear, with armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, shooting a tear-gas canister at an Al Jazeera camera crew… have drawn alarming reactions from the left and the right.

“The rough treatment and detainment of two journalists, Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post, has added to the public outrage about the Ferguson Police Department’s handling of the protests over Brown’s killing.”

Erdogan Becomes Head of State in Turkey… Is This Bad for the World?

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 11:

“The Turkish presidential election is decided: [Outgoing] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will become head of state [i.e., President]. It’s a bitter win, and not just for opponents of further Islamization…

“The outcome was fully democratic and therefore irrefutable. That’s one side of the coin. But on the other side is the fear that Turkey could now head further down the path of transformation into an Islamic republic – with increasing religious requirements for citizens in everyday life.

“With Erdogan’s victory, the secular reforms of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk fall further to pieces… Erdogan was chosen because he gave the Turkish people a whole new sense of self-esteem based on religious values…

“Surrounded by ongoing crises in places like Iraq and Syria, and the conflicts in Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia, not to mention the recently renewed fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Erdogan must overcome fears that he will only add fuel to these fires. It’s something he has often done in the past. The EU – and especially Germany – will have to cope with an increasingly uncomfortable relationship with Erdogan…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 6:

“Erdogan, 60, has been in power for 11 years, and because he can no longer serve as prime minister after three terms in office, he has now [been elected as] president… [He] has become more and more authoritarian with each election win. He has had protests quelled and critics arrested, and has gradually implemented Islamic moral values…

“Istanbul law professor Bertan Tokuzlu believes that… [Erdogan] will transform Turkey into a one-man state, once and for all… Erdogan himself makes no secret of how he intends to govern in the future. In a television interview in late July, he announced his intention to introduce a presidential system, and he cited China and Russia as models…”

Turkey will continue to play a very controversial role in the near future. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.” 

 

“High Probability” for Russian Invasion in Eastern Ukraine

The New York Times wrote on August 11:

“The prospect of a Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine appeared to rise sharply on Monday, threatening to take to new lows what is already the sharpest East-West confrontation of the post-Cold War era.

“As the Kremlin announced it had sent a convoy of humanitarian aid to Ukraine under the auspices of the International Red Cross, the secretary-general of NATO said there was a ‘high probability’ of a Russian attack…

“With increasing urgency, Western governments have condemned in advance any Russian aid missions, which they fear could serve as a pretext for a military incursion to support hard-pressed pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian Army in the country’s southeast…

En Route Russian “Aid” Convoy Will Be Denied Access

Deutsche Welle reported on August 12:

“Just hours after Russia deployed 280 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson from Ukraine’s military said the convoy would be denied access at the border… pointing out that Russia’s army was managing the convoy and that its contents had not been verified by the ICRC [Red Cross].

“… The aid column is expected to complete its 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) journey from Moscow to eastern Ukraine within two to three days… French President Francois Hollande [said] that he had ‘grave concerns’ prompted by the ‘possibility of a unilateral Russian mission on Ukrainian soil.’…

“According to… NATO, roughly 45,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed to Russia’s southwest, close to the country’s border with Ukraine.”

The EUObserver added on August 12:

“The Red Cross says it has no agreement to govern what will happen when Russian ‘aid’ trucks arrive at Ukraine’s border…

“The UN estimates that some 168,000 people have fled from east Ukraine to Russia over the past three months of fighting, while another 117,000 people have become ‘internally displaced’… The Red Cross said on Monday: ‘The situation is critical – thousands of people are reported to be without access to water, electricity, and medical aid’.”

The Bible shows that ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will collaborate and become “friends,” at least temporarily. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy — From Now Until Forever”. See also our Q&A on the prophetic relationship between Russia, Ukraine and continental Europe. 

The Paralyzed US Superpower

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 5:

“John Kerry has spent months rushing from one conflict to the next, but has little [to] show for it. His failures are symptomatic of an America that lacks a foreign policy identity — and of a country that seems uncomfortable with its role as a superpower…

“In recent days, global diplomacy has seemed like an absurd form of theater, with John Kerry in the role of the tragic hero. He doesn’t look like the secretary of state from a world power, Haaretz jeered, but like ‘an alien who just disembarked his spaceship in the Mideast’…

“The helplessness of the world’s most important foreign minister shows just how little influence the US still has in the Middle East. And with each failure, Washington’s influence in the rest of the world erodes as well. A civil war is raging in eastern Ukraine, an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program is still a long way off, Islamist terrorists now control large swaths of Iraq — and the US doesn’t appear to be in a position to do anything about it.

“… as part of a government that is steering America away from its traditional role as global hegemon, Kerry also embodies the dilemma of the United States’ global role in the 21st century: How successful can a US foreign policy be if it depends more on strong words than it does on tanks and aircraft carriers?…

“The US remains the world’s only superpower, but it is also on the search for a new foreign policy identity. It is a country divided…”

The USA has lost the pride of its power, as was prophesied to occur thousands of years ago.

Did Israel Spy On John Kerry?

JTA wrote on August 3:

“Israeli intelligence reportedly eavesdropped on telephone conversations made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. In addition to Israel, at least one other intelligence agency also listened in on the phone calls, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported…

“‘Revelations of the eavesdropping could further damage already tense relations between the US government and Israel,’ der Spiegel wrote.”

USA And British People Condemn Israel

JTA wrote on August 3:

“‘The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed,’ State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Sunday. ‘The coordinates of the school, like all U.N. facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces…’

“The State Department statement was the harshest condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza… ‘The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.’”

JTA added on August 3:

“Much of the British public is ‘deeply disturbed’ by the impact of Israel’s operation in Gaza, the new foreign secretary of England said, and the response could be more widespread anti-Semitic attacks… Anti-Semitic incidents [in Britain] have doubled since Israel began its operation in Gaza nearly a month ago…”

Anti-Semitism Worldwide

The Hill wrote on August 26:

“The civilian casualties, though almost certainly overstated to include Hamas fighters in civilian clothes, are tragic.  The death of so many children is heartbreaking.

“But… Anti-Semitism has reared its head almost everywhere there are pro-Palestinian street protests.

“A heavily Jewish section of Paris was looted and attacked as crowds shouted ‘Gas the Jews,’ in what correctly has been called a pogrom.  Multiple synagogues and Jewish centers in Paris and elsewhere in France were firebombed, and neo-Nazi salutes were center stage.

“In Berlin protesters shouted ‘Jew, cowardly pig, come out and fight.’ While in Frankfurt they carried signs such as ‘The Jews are Beasts’ and the Star of David is ‘The Star of the Devil.’

“In the Hague, Netherlands, crowds chanted ‘death to all Jews,’ shocking local officials.  In England, particularly London, there have been over 100 anti-Semitic incidents, and anti-Israel protesters pushed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion anti-Semitic tract.

“And it was not just overseas.  In Miami, protesters chanted ‘Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammed is returning’ commemorating an Islamic war victory. In Boston, pro-Israel supporters had to be rescued from an angry crowd that shouted ‘Jews back to Birkenau’ and ‘Drop dead, you Zionazi whores.’  A pro-Israel student was attacked by a woman insisting that Jerusalem would be cleansed of Jews, while another crowd shouted that ‘Jews better learn how to swim.’…”

These horrible developments are not just rare exceptions of a few deceived and hateful Islamists. Sadly, they are becoming more and more commonplace. At the same time, Israel is not helping in winning the support of others, as the next article shows.

Israel’s Fears And The Military Messianic Right

On August 5, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz. We are bringing you the following excerpts from her comments:

“Israel has a split, schizophrenic self-awareness: It cultivates its strength and yet cannot stop seeing itself as weak and threatened… Israel is a colonial military power, a militarized society and a democracy all folded into one… It is a militarized civil society because almost every family has a father, son or brother in the army and because the military plays an enormous role in the ordinary mentality of ordinary Israelis and is crucial in both political decisions and in the public sphere… But it is also a democracy, which grants rights to gays and makes it possible for a citizen to sue the state…

“The messianic right has progressively gained power in Israel. It used to be marginal and illegitimate; it is now increasingly mainstream. This radical right sits in Parliament, controls budgets and has changed the nature of discourse. Many Israelis do not understand the radical nature of the right in Israel. It successfully disguises itself as ‘patriotic’ or ‘Jewish.’ …

“Fear is deeply engrained in Israeli society. Fear of the Shoah, fear of anti-Semitism, fear of Islam, fear of Europeans, fear of terror, fear of extermination. You name it. And fear generates a very particular type of thinking… You always think about the worst case scenario… many Israelis still hold on [to] the view they are morally superior…

“The real danger to Israel and its sustainability comes from within. The fascist and racist elements are no less a security threat than the outside enemies… Israelis pay a price, but we are not really aware of it… People don’t make a connection between the bad living conditions they have and the amount of resources invested in the settlements and in the army…  Israeli society has become very insensitive. Not only to the suffering of others, but also to its own suffering.”

Trust in weapons and the military will lead to the ultimate downfall of any country.

A New Order For The Middle East

On July 21, Der Tagesspiegel (translated by Federal Foreign Office) published the following article by German Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier:

“We Europeans are preoccupied by the Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, the Middle East is coming undone. The uprising against the Syrian dictator Bashar al‑Assad first turned into a civil war and then into a regional proxy war. Now the crisis in Syria is affecting neighbouring Iraq and has reignited the smouldering embers of the conflict there, which had not been resolved.

“Shiites are fighting against Sunnis, radical against even more radical fundamentalists, Kurds against Arabs, terrorists against democrats and against dictators. Neighbouring countries in the region, as well as major powers, are providing their proxies with money, as well as arms. The international community has not adopted a coherent approach. Some are acting out of a sense of responsibility, while some are reckless, some defensive and others proactive. Neither those involved nor outsiders can say exactly whether the other side is acting out of strength or weakness.

“Millions of people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, thus placing a crushing burden on state‑provided services there. The ISIS terrorist group is extending its power base in Syria and Iraq and wants to sweep away the existing states…

“We should think about a new order for the Middle East which could redefine and guarantee the security interests of all parties… Parallel interests which could form a basis for a new order are there: all neighbouring countries and the international community are united in their concern that terrorist groups such as ISIS could become a permanent fixture. None of the states in the region want to see force being used to move borders. All of them are afraid that arms could fall into the wrong hands and be used against them. And it is in the best interest of all of them to ensure that minorities within their countries, whether ethnic or religious minorities, do not drift into open hostility towards the state.

“No‑one expects such efforts to lead to overnight success. However, a start should be made, and the sooner the better. We owe that not only to people in the regions where tens of thousands have been murdered and millions forced to leave their homes. For this will also help ensure our own security. Syria is a training ground for thousands of European jihadists who practice there what they subsequently want to carry out in our cities. And there is a real threat that Iraq will go the same way.

“This cannot be allowed to happen. For this conflict concerns us, and much more so than many want to believe.”

In due time, Europe will attempt to create such a new order for the Middle East. Steinmeier’s words almost sound prophetic.

Germany May Have a Decisive Role in Gaza

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 7:

“In an article to be published Friday in the Bild newspaper, Frank-Walter Steimeier said that he could see Germany having a role in Gaza following Israel’s month-long war there… ‘Together with our European partners, we are ready to make a contribution, for example with an EU monitoring mission of the border crossing,’ Steinmeier told Bild. ‘We are holding intensive talks with all sides to work out what would be necessary for this,’ he added.

“On Wednesday, a diplomatic source said Germany, Britain and France would consider reactivating a European mission to monitor the flow of goods across Gaza’s border with Egypt… Launched in 2005, the EU Border Assistance Mission monitored the Rafah border crossing after Israel pulled its troops out of Gaza, but it was discontinued two years later after Hamas seized power in the coastal territory.”

The Local added on August 7:

“‘The Germans, as Europe’s political leaders, must take a very decisive role in the Gaza conflict,’ Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Bild newspaper on Thursday. He also called for Germany to bring EU governments together to develop a solution to avert the unfolding economic and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

“Lieberman demanded that Germany and the EU send inspectors in to the region to oversee trade between the Palestinians and neighbouring countries. Germany should ‘take responsibility as instigator of such a mission,’ said Lieberman, with the aim of preventing violence escalating further.”

“The Man Who Would Be Kaiser”

The Irish Times wrote on August 2:

“[After] Germany lost a second World War, the Allies in occupied Berlin passed a law stating: ‘The Prussian state, which from early days has been a bearer of militarism and reaction in Germany, has de facto ceased to exist.’…

“Prussia dominated Germany’s history for centuries. Mention Prussia to Germans today and they’ll trot out the ‘Prussian virtues’ – discipline, punctuality, deference to hierarchy – that many outsiders consider utterly German traits…

“Prince Georg [Kaiser Wilhelm II’s great-great-grandson] has no crown – and is not a prince under the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, which recognises the old title Prince of Prussia only as part of his surname – but has the calm energy of a man on a mission: to exhume and rehabilitate his family’s history, good and bad. His striking resemblance to Kaiser Wilhelm II, he jokes, makes it a delicate affair…

“[Prince Georg lost] his father when he was just a year old. In 1994 he lost his grandfather Louis Ferdinand snr, making the [then] 18-year-old head of the house of Hohenzollern…  Although they lost their aristocratic titles in 1918, the Hohenzollerns and other former ruling houses live on around Germany…

“The Hohenzollerns’ unhappy role in German history continued after 1918. Before Kaiser Wilhelm died in exile, in the Netherlands, in 1941, his son August Wilhelm flirted with the Nazis in the hope of taking back the throne. The relationship cooled after Hitler took office…

“After seven decades in the Third Reich’s shadow, Prussia is emerging again as a new generation of Germans shuffle the historical hand they have been dealt… Berlin is back on the political map and Germany’s role in Europe is shifting before our eyes. Understanding this country, and how it sees itself, means taking Prussia out of historical quarantine.

“Prince Georg sees Germany’s role in Europe differently from previous generations. He dismisses as absurd the former chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s recent remark that Third Reich crimes exclude Germany from a leading role in Europe for centuries to come. ‘I think it is clear to all that Germany should assume a leading role in Europe,’ he says.

“And what does he think about the leader shaping this new role, Chancellor Angela Merkel? ‘She represents the positive Prussian virtues of modesty, conscientiousness and sense of duty.’ Is such generous praise a sign that Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preussen, the man who would be kaiser, is happy to remain in the conditional tense? ‘The question of a return of the monarchy is not relevant at the moment,’ he says…”

Maybe not “at the moment”…

German Officer New Head Of U.S. Army Europe [USAREUR]

Army Times wrote on July 31:

“A German Army brigadier general [Markus Laubenthal] who recently served with NATO forces in Afghanistan is assuming duties as the chief of staff of U. S. Army Europe, the first time a non-American officer has held that position…

“Army sources in Europe said the first-ever assignment of a German general to the USAREUR staff is unrelated to the political furor over the spying revelations, but does reflect the increased importance of multinational operations in NATO… [It] is part of an American effort to give a more multi-national flavor to its major overseas commands.”

Germans are becoming more and more powerful and influential on the world scene.

Pope Celebrates Jesuits, Canonizes First Follower

Zenit wrote on August 6:

“Pope Francis on Saturday celebrated the feast of St. Peter Favre, the first follower of the founder of the Society of Jesus. St. Peter was the first of St. Ignatius’ followers, as Ignatius set the foundations for what would become the Society of Jesus.

“Some compare Pope Francis, the first Jesuit Pope, to St. Peter Favre. For his part, Francis has noted his own devotion to the saint, and as Pontiff, dispensed with some of the requirements of the canonization process in order to declare him a saint…

“Many note that Fr. Favre and Pope Francis have many characteristics in common and share many of the same ideas. Like Francis, Fr. Favre supported Catholic reform and was a pioneer of ecumenism…

“Fr. Favre became a canonized saint through the process of ‘equivalent’ canonization, which Pope Francis used also for now Saint John XXIII, canonized this April 27. ‘Equivalent’ canonization is a rare procedure, meaning popes can declare that someone who has enjoyed widespread reverence over time deserves veneration by the universal Church without having to go through the usual canonization steps. These steps include proving two miracles attributed to the candidate’s intercession. With ‘equivalent’ canonization, the Pope can override the two miracle requirement enabling the individual to become a canonized saint.”

The Jesuits have been viewed with great suspicion… and that for convincing reasons. Under Pope Francis, this perception is gradually changing. And not unlike President Obama who is circumventing Congress and the Senate through more and more “executive orders,” so Pope Francis ignores “usual canonization steps” by unilaterally declaring someone a saint through “equivalent canonization.”

Pope Pleads for Help

Reuters reported on August 7:

“Pope Francis appealed to world leaders on Thursday to help end the crisis in northern Iraq after a sweeping advance by radical Islamic state militants forced thousands of residents of Iraq’s biggest Christian town to flee their homes.

“‘His Holiness addresses an urgent appeal to the international community to take action to end the humanitarian tragedy now underway, to act to protect those affected or threatened by violence and to provide aid, especially for the most urgent needs of the many who have been forced to flee and who depend on the solidarity of others,’ the Vatican said in a statement.”

The Telegraph wrote on August 7:

“Islamic State, the jihadist group formerly known as Isis, have occupied churches in Iraq, removing crosses and destroying manuscripts, witnesses report, having overrun Kurdish troops forcing 200,000 to flee.”

Obama Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq “If Needed”

The New York Times reported on August 7:

“President Obama said Thursday that United States military aircraft had dropped food and water to thousands of Iraqis besieged by Islamic militants on a mountaintop in northern Iraq… the president said he had directed the United States military forces to conduct targeted airstrikes on the militants if they moved to take Erbil, threatening the American citizens and military personnel there.

“And he said that at the request of the Iraqi government, he had authorized the military to use airstrikes to help provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi citizens, many of them religious minorities, who are trapped on the mountain.”

Twelve Years Of CIA Lawlessness?

The Huffington Post wrote on August 6:

“Twelve years. The time has flown by. Seems like just yesterday that the Justice Department sent over its torture memos to then-CIA General Counsel John Rizzo, ramping up a CIA torture program that horribly abused more than a hundred men, killing a few of them. No one at the CIA was ever even charged with a crime. Some agents, in fact, got job promotions…

“The CIA, with the backing or orders of the White House, ran a worldwide network of secret prisons where it tortured men with barbaric techniques… kidnapped people from European streets; and then reportedly lied to Congress, the White House, and the Justice Department about it.

“The lawlessness continued, even after horrified Americans found out what was happening. More legal memos were written to try to keep torturing, even after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) convinced Congress to pass yet another law to stop it. Top CIA officials ordered evidence — videotapes of men being subjected to simulated drowning — destroyed before investigators could view them…

“CIA officials, and all Bush officials, dodged any criminal indictments, were protected from lawsuits by courts that deferred to CIA secrecy and immunity claims, and did whatever they could to get in the way of Senate investigators. The lawlessness remains because the Constitution’s system of checks and balances is broken. The president, Congress, and the courts seem unwilling or unable to hold the CIA accountable.

“Incredibly, more than 200 CIA employees who were involved in the torture program are today still employed at the CIA. The acting general counsel of the CIA until this past March was the very same person who had been one of the CIA’s top torture lawyers a decade ago…

“The lawlessness seems to be coming to a head this year. The CIA’s internal watchdog, its inspector general, just gave a report to the Senate Intelligence Committee that found that the CIA spied on the computers used by the Senate committee to investigate the CIA torture program…

“An uncontrolled — and seemingly uncontrollable — CIA threatens the very foundations of our Constitution… It is long past time for Congress and the president to forever ban the CIA from holding anyone in its custody and running a secret prison. But President Obama must also stand up to the CIA and to John Brennan himself…”

There is little hope that this will happen. A country allowing for and engaging in more and more lawlessness disconnects itself from the Author of all righteous Law—the God of the Bible. 

Why Armored Tanks for Californian City Police Department?

The Daily Mail wrote on August 7:

“A war of words has broken out over police force in California getting a new armored vehicle built more for a state of war than patrolling in the Golden State. The Salinas Police Department recently issued a news release proudly announcing the arrival of the armored truck built to survive minefield explosions, which it got compliments of federal taxpayers as part of a program to convert military equipment to law-enforcement use.

“Critics took to the police department’s Facebook page to ask exactly why a city of 150,000 on the northern California coast really needs a vehicle designed for battlefield use. It’s more likely to be used against its own citizens, they said…

“This country only two months ago saw rangers for the National Park Service – National Park rangers, for God’s sake – turn into a bunch of storm troopers keeping World War II vets out of their own monument, and visitors from ‘recreating’ at Yosemite…”

Eleven Countries At Risk Of Default

USA Today wrote on August 1:

“After years of bitter court battles with creditors, Argentina has defaulted on its debt… the country missed necessary bond payments on July 31, triggering the default announcement…

“Alongside Argentina, Moody’s currently lists [these] 10 other countries… at risk of default:

“Ecuador… Egypt… Pakistan… Venezuela… Argentina… Belize… Cuba… Cyprus… Greece… Jamaica… [and the] Ukraine.”

More countries might soon follow, or they are already in the same category, without being listed in the article. Many fear that another worldwide great depression might not be that far off. Also notice the next article.

The Sanctions Game

The Guardian wrote on August 6:

“Vladimir Putin has banned the import of agricultural goods from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in a tit-for-tat move that deepens the economic standoff between the Kremlin and the west… The import ban follows a threat of retaliation from Russia’s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, in response to the grounding of the budget airline subsidiary of Aeroflot as a result of EU sanctions. Russian officials are reported to be considering banning European airlines from flying to Asia over Siberia.

“Food has also been caught up in political tensions between Russia and the west. In recent days Russian food safety authorities have banned the import of Polish fruit and vegetables, while McDonald’s cheeseburgers and milkshakes are being investigated…

“The import ban will hit all EU countries and the United States, which last week stepped up punitive action against Russia in response to Moscow’s support for eastern separatists in Ukraine, unwavering despite the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17…

“Russia is Europe’s second largest market for food and drink and has been an important consumer of Polish pig meat and Dutch fruit and vegetables. Exports of food and raw materials to Russia were worth €12.2bn (£9.7bn) in 2013, following several years of double-digit growth… Russia banned EU pork at the start of the year as the Ukraine crisis escalated, cutting off 25% of all European pig meat exports in a move that the European Commission said exposed European farmers to significant losses.

“Russia’s state-owned banks have been cut off from Europe’s capital markets, while Russian defence and energy firms will no longer be able to import hi-tech western equipment that could have been used for military purposes, fracking or Arctic oil exploration.”

Ebola Outbreak

Reuters wrote on July 25:

“A Liberian man who died in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos on Friday tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said… If confirmed, the man would be the first case on record of one of the world’s deadliest diseases in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and with 170 million people, its most populous country…

“Nigeria has some of the continent’s least adequate healthcare infrastructure, despite access to billions of dollars of oil money as Africa’s biggest producer of crude…”

Deutsche Welle added on August 7:

“Liberians stocked up on food Thursday after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced emergency powers lasting 90 days. ‘Operation White Shield’ allows Liberia’s government to contain the epidemic by restricting movement, deploying troops and giving police the power to impose quarantines on badly affected communities.

“Lacking the medical equipment and training to handle the new disease, some 32 health workers have already died of Ebola in Liberia and many sick people have gone untreated after doctors deserted their posts…

“In eastern Sierra Leone – the worst-hit area of that country – police chief Alfred Karrow-Kamara said security forces had been deployed on Wednesday ‘to establish a complete blockade’ of the Kenema and Kailahun districts, setting up 16 checkpoints on major roads. ‘No vehicles or persons are allowed into or out of the districts,’ he added.

“The World Health Organization reports that 932 people of the 1,700 diagnosed so far have died…”

Bloomberg added on August 7:

“As the death toll rises in West Africa amid the worst Ebola outbreak on record, a separate threat is compounding the problem: the rainy season and the malaria that comes with it. In Sierra Leone, with the most Ebola cases in the epidemic, a fearful population is failing to seek medical attention for any diseases, health officials say. If they have malaria, the feeling is they don’t want to go near a hospital with Ebola cases. If it’s Ebola, they don’t believe the hospitals can help them anyway, instead turning to traditional healers.

“It’s a widening challenge complicated by the fact that Ebola, malaria and cholera share common symptoms early on, including fever and vomiting, which can cause confusion among patients…”

Europe’s Unique Success In Spacecraft Maneuvering… But At What Price?

BBC News wrote on August 6:

“Europe’s Rosetta probe has arrived at a comet after a 10-year chase. In a first for space history, the spacecraft was maneuvered alongside a speeding body to begin mapping its surface in detail… ‘We’re at the comet!’ said Sylvain Lodiot of the European Space Agency (Esa) operations centre in Germany… Getting a spacecraft to match the speed of a comet and effectively ride alongside it is a landmark in space exploration… The comet is travelling at 55,000km per hour (34,175 mph). The spacecraft’s speed has been adjusted so that in relative terms it will be flying beside the comet at a slow walking pace of 1m/sec (2.2mph, 3.6kph)…

“Total cost of the mission is said to be 1.3bn euros.

“… in November… mission controllers will attempt to put the Philae lander on the surface. The lander will use harpoons to anchor itself and will carry out a series of experiments, including drilling into the material that makes up the comet.

“The mission aims to add to knowledge of comets and their role in ferrying the building blocks of life around the early Solar System.”

We will be spending 1.3bn euros for this “mission” to ultimately “prove” the creation of life without a Creator. Also, a top NASA representative announced recently on American television that the only (!)  reason for the existence of NASA and its costly endeavors is to find alien life somewhere out there. What an incredible waste of money and resources.

Ebola Crisis Spreads

Herald Sun reported on July 31:

“A leading medical charity has warned that the outbreak of the deadly west African Ebola virus is out of control and there are fears it ‘can only get worse’. 
 
“Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says the crisis gripping Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could spread to other continents and warns there is no overarching strategy to handle the world’s worst-ever outbreak of the disease.

“Amid rising fears that the deadly virus could spread to the US, there are already plans to subject even healthy Americans into forced quarantine in the event of an Ebola pandemic.

“Western doctors are now on the lookout for symptoms of the disease after the death of US citizen Patrick Sawyer, who travelled through a major transport hub in Nigeria[,] prompted fears that the disease could spread to the US.

“Symptoms of the disease, which has anywhere from a 50 to 90 per cent mortality rate, include headache, fever, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and lack of appetite.

“There are now fears that the deadly and highly contagious virus will be passed on through air travel.”

North Korea Threatens US

Yahoo News wrote on July 28:

“A top-ranking North Korean military official has threatened a nuclear strike on the White House and Pentagon after accusing Washington of raising military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

“The threat came from Hwang Pyong-So, director of the military’s General Political Bureau, during a speech to a large military rally in Pyongyang Sunday on the anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

“Hwang, who holds the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People’s Army, said a recent series of South Korea-US military drills, one of which included the deployment of a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier, had ramped up tensions.

“‘If the US imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival… our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon — the sources of all evil,’ Hwang said in his speech broadcast Monday on state television.”

While no one believes North Korea actually possesses the capability to deliver on these threats, the next article shows what they can do to create problems which nag at the heels of American influence.

North Korea Arms Hammas

National Post reported on July 27:

“Hamas is attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications commitment that will allow it to maintain its offensive against Israel, according to Western security sources.

“Security officials say the deal between Hamas and North Korea is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and is being handled by a Lebanese-based trading company with ties to the militant Palestinian organization.

“Hamas officials are believed to have already made an initial cash downpayment to secure the deal and are hoping that North Korea will soon begin shipping extra supplies of weapons to Gaza.

“’Hamas is looking for ways to replenish its stocks of missiles because of the large numbers it has fired at Israel in recent weeks,’ said a security official. ‘North Korea is an obvious place to seek supplies because Pyongyang already has close ties with a number of militant Islamist groups in the Middle East.’

“Using intermediaries based in Lebanon, Hamas officials are said to be intensifying their efforts to sign a new agreement with Pyongyang to provide hundreds of missiles together with communications equipment that will improve the ability of Hamas fighters to coordinate operations against Israeli forces.”

Mid-East Crisis: Death and Blame

BBC reported on July 30:

“Israel attacked a UN-run school housing refugees in Gaza despite warnings that civilians were there, the UN has said.

“UN spokesman Chris Gunness said ‘the world stands disgraced’ by the attack, in which 15 died and dozens were hurt.

“Israel said an initial inquiry suggested soldiers responded to mortar fire. It called a partial, four-hour humanitarian ceasefire but Hamas, which controls Gaza, said it was meaningless.

“More than 1,300 Palestinians and 55 Israelis have died in the conflict.

“Most of the Palestinian deaths have been civilians.

“Fifty-three Israeli soldiers have been killed along with two civilians. A Thai worker in Israel has also died.

“Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after a surge in rocket fire from the territory.

“Hamas says it will not stop fighting until the blockade, maintained by both Israel and Egypt, is lifted.”

The Globe And Mail wrote on July 30 contrasting the differing positions of the US and Canada:

“The United States is condemning Israel’s shelling of a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip that was sheltering displaced Palestinians.

“It’s the sharpest criticism the U.S. has levelled at Israel over the more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

“White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan says the U.S. is also ‘extremely concerned’ that thousands of Palestinians aren’t safe in U.N.-designated shelters in Gaza even though Israel’s military has told them to evacuate their homes.

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated his government’s hard line on Hamas Wednesday, saying the organization is solely responsible for the death and destruction in Gaza following almost a month of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants.

“’Obviously no one likes to see the suffering and loss of life that has occurred,’ Harper told reporters in Air Ronge.

“’That said, we hold the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for this. They have initiated and continue this conflict and continue to seek the destruction of the state of Israel.’”

Kerry Creates More Crisis

TPM wrote on July 28:

“Obama administration officials were fuming Monday over a torrent of Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest bid to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

“In unusually harsh language, officials said the criticism of Kerry could put the relationship between the U.S. and Israel in jeopardy. They also said the personal attacks on Kerry crossed a line and were particularly disappointing at a time of active conflict.

“Israeli media commentators have leveled almost nonstop criticism at Kerry in recent days over his attempts to bring Qatar and Turkey — two countries viewed by Israel as strong Hamas supporters — into the cease-fire negotiations. Kerry was also being accused of abandoning some of Israel’s key demands during the negotiations.

“In trying to implement the cease-fire over the weekend, ‘U.S. Secretary of State of State John Kerry ruined everything,’ wrote columnist Ari Shavit in Monday’s Haaretz, Israel’s leading liberal newspaper. ‘Very senior officials in Jerusalem described the proposal that Kerry put on the table as a ‘strategic terrorist attack’.”

Putin’s “Little Green Men”

Foreignpolicy.com reported on July 30:

“As Malaysia Airlines’ 298 passengers died over the skies of eastern Ukraine, so did the last trace of hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin would back down from his support of eastern Ukraine’s separatist rebels or agree to a negotiated settlement to the seven-month-long conflict. Since the deadly incident, it is no longer in doubt whether or not the future of eastern Ukraine — or Novorossiya (New Russia), as pan-Slavic nationalists call it — will be decided by force. The only question remaining is how deadly the fight will be.

“At the moment, the government in Kiev is ramping up its fight to reclaim Ukraine’s restive eastern regions. At the same time, thousands of Russian troops are amassed along Ukraine’s eastern border, and not just the elite Airborne or Spetsnaz troops that took over Crimea in February, but also units designed to fight conventional wars and armies, like Ukraine’s. The result could be explosive.

“There was little Ukraine could do to stop the “little green men” who invaded Crimea. By the time Kiev had realized what was going on, Russia’s most elite and best-trained Naval Infantry, Airborne, and Spetsnaz troops (including the new Senezh unit, which seized the Crimean parliament) had prevented Ukrainian reinforcements from entering Crimea. But the separatist militiamen in eastern Ukraine, despite being equipped, trained, and funded by Moscow, are a different story. There, Kiev retains a vast advantage in firepower, [material], and troops, along with the implicit backing of the international community against an increasingly fragmented and uncoordinated separatist movement.”

Vladimir Putin is playing a very high stakes game, and it now seems inevitable to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine–an action that will only serve to further unify European plans for creating their own powerful military!